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Guysen Israel News 26/02/2010 |
Thursday 25 February 2010 | 13:49 | Palestinians plan mass demonstrations over Israel's heritage list (Guysen.International.News)
Palestinian ofifcials said mass demonstrations have been planned in the West Bank and Jerusalem Fridat to protest Israel's decision to include the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem national heritage sites | |
| 13:44 | France defends sale of warships to Russia (Guysen.International.News)
France's defense minister defended Thursday the sale of a modern assault ship to the Russian navy, saying critics should not treat Russia as if it were the former Soviet Union. Herve Morin said he understands the concerns of Baltic and other nations "given the past history of their relations with Russia." "At the same time, we cannot build a partnership of peace and security in Europe if we continue to view Russia as if it were the Soviet Union," Morin said while attending a meeting of EU defense ministers on this Spanish island. France has agreed to sell Russia a single Mistral warship and is considering a request for three more vessels that may be built under license in Russian shipyards. Each ship costs between €400 million and €500 million (between $547 million and $684 million). | |
| 13:15 | Amnesty International tells Noam Shalit they will assist to free his son Gilad (Guysen.International.News)
Amnesty International responded Thursday to Noam Shalit’s call for the group to pressure Hamas to release his son Gilad, who has been held in Gaza since June 2006. In a written response, Itai Epstein, head of Amnesty International’s Israel branch, expressed his “empathy” to Shalit and his family for the “difficult situation they are in.” Epstein said he “sincerely hopes you will see your son Gilad soon,” and pledged that Amnesty International would continue to help the family in any way it could. He stressed that the organization had on “many occasions” raised its concern about Shalit’s condition to Hamas officials. In a letter he wrote to Amnesty on Wednesday, Noam Shalit had said, “I expect Amnesty International to use its high-profile international status to ensure that whenever it has reason to contact any high ranking official of the Hamas organization, it calls for Gilad’s immediate release." | |
| 12:30 | Sarkozy in Rwanda, it is the first time a French president has visited the country in 25 years (Guysen.International.News)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in the first visit to Rwanda by a French president in 25 years. The meeting comes Thursday despite French international arrest warrants for eight people close to Kagame. The trip is the first to Rwanda by a French leader since the 1994 genocide. It aims to cement diplomatic ties that were restored in November, three years after they broke down because of arrest warrants accusing those close to Kagame of a role in the presidential assassination that sparked the genocide. | |
| 12:19 | Kazakh court sentences Israeli businessman to 11 years (Guysen.International.News)
A military court in Kazakhstan sentenced an Israeli businessman and a local defence official to 11 years in jail on corruption charges, Kazakh prosecutors said on Thursday. Boris Sheinkman, an Israeli citizen, and Kazhimurat Mayermanov, a former deputy defense minister, were tried behind closed doors | |
| 12:16 | Ahmadinejad in Damascus - Iran, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon will all stand against Israel. (Guysen.International.News)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Arab nations will usher in a new Middle East without Zionists and without colonialists. Ahmadinejad made the comments during his visit in Syria, where he met with President Bashar Assad, opening a two-day visit that follows U.S. efforts to break up Syria's 30-year alliance with Tehran. The Iranian president also said that if the Zionist regime wants to repeat its past mistakes, this will constitute its demise and annihilation. | |
| 10:30 | British airman dies in southern Afghanistan not linked to NATO operation (Guysen.International.News)
Britain's Ministry of Defense says an airman has died in an explosion in southern Afghanistan. The ministry says the death is not connected to the NATO operation in Marjah. The airman from 2 Squadron, Royal Air Force regiment, was taking part in a patrol north of Kandahar Air Base on Wednesday when the explosion took place. | |
| 10:05 | Former PM Olmert said outside Jerusalem court he will leave an innocent man (Guysen.International.News)
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said upon arriving at the Jerusalem District Court, where the evidentiary phase of his trial will start on Thursday, "A few months ago I arrived here a man innocent of any crime, and I believe I will leave here a man innocent of any crime." "Today the stage of bombastic declarations, plastic descriptions, and attacks that have part of the public atmosphere in the past two years has come to an end. The facts will be made clear in court. Here I will let everything we know and believe be heard," he added. | |
| 08:45 | Quake strikes southwest China (Guysen.International.News)
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck China's southwestern province of Yunnan on Thursday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. | |
| 07:52 | Hebron:Palestinians to mark 16th anniversary of Goldstein massacre, Jews to hold special prayer service (Guysen.International.News)
Amid heightened tensions in Hebron, Palestinians plan to march in the city on Thursday, to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the Baruch Goldstein massacre. On February 25, 1994, the Israeli American physician killed 29 Muslims who were praying at the mosque that is part of the Cave of the Patriarchs complex. He wounded another 150 before being beaten to death. The march comes after the cabinet on Sunday added the Cave of the Patriarchs to the list of Jewish heritage sites marked for renovation and preservation. To highlight the importance of the cave, Hebron’s Jewish community plans to hold a special prayer service there on Thursday, to mark the Fast of Esther. Both events are being held after three days of violence in Hebron, in which Palestinians have thrown rocks and bottles at soldiers and burned tires. | |
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