Israel fights swarms of locusts from Egypt

Source :   Maan News Agency

KEMEHIN, Israel (Reuters) -- Israel on Wednesday began battling a swarm of locusts from Egypt on Wednesday to prevent crop damage in the south of the country.

Locust clouds darkened skies some three weeks before the Jewish Passover holiday that recalls 10 Biblical plagues, one of them locusts, that struck Egypt during the exodus of Israelite slaves.

The insects covered nearly 2,000 acres of desert overnight, officials said. Israel sprayed pesticides from the air and land to try to kill them in the early morning before dew on their wings dried and they could take off again.

Miriam Freund, director of plant protection in the Agriculture Ministry, called i a "medium-sized swarm" and her office set up a hotline for farmers to call in case they see it advance.

"We hope our actions are effective," one of the pilots of a plane spraying the fields said on Army Radio. "Let's hope the damage will be minimal."

Locusts, which wreak havoc by eating crops, last invaded southern Israel in 2004, said the pilot, who gave only his first name, Shai.

Potato farmer Pavel Rosenfeld, who lives about 3 km from the Egyptian border, said 30 to 40 percent of his land had already been damaged.

"Everything depends on the wind ... and we are praying that the wind doesn' bring us more," he said on Army Radio.

UN: about 20 peacekeepers detained by armed fighters in Golan

Source : The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Syrian rebels say they have seized a convoy of United Nations observers near the Golan Heights, according to videos posted on the Internet site YouTube on Wednesday by a violence monitoring group.

A young man saying he was from the "Martyrs of Yarmouk" brigade said the convoy would not be released until forces loyal to President Bashar al- Assad withdrew from the village of Jamla, a mile east of the ceasefire line with the Israeli- occupied Golan.

Surrounded by several rebel fighters with assault rifles, the man stood in front of a two white armoured vehicles and a truck with "UN" written on them. At least five people seen sitting in the vehicles were wearing United Nations light blue helmets and bullet-proof vests.

"The command of the Martyrs of Yarmouk announced that it is holding forces of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force until the withdrawal of forces of the regime of (President) Bashar al-Assad from the outskirts of the village of Jamla," said the man, wearing civilian clothes.

"If no withdrawal is made within 24 hours we will treat them as prisoners," he said, accusing them of collaborating with Assad's forces to push the rebels out of Jamla. UNDOF supervises a 1974 ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel.

Chief of Syrian rebel army urges EU to lift arms embargo

Source :  Xinhua

BRUSSELS, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The chief of staff of Syria's rebel army on Wednesday called on the European Union (EU) nations to lift an arms embargo on Syria and supply the rebels with arms and ammunition.

Brigadier General Selim Idriss, the chief of staff of Supreme Military Council, said in the European Parliament that "if we have the arms and ammunition we need, we can bring down the regime within one month."

He told lawmakers from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe that while forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are still getting weapons and support from Iran and Russia, the Syrian rebels are the only one that is affected by the arms embargo.

The EU has imposed an arms embargo on Syria since May 2011. Britain is pushing to end the arms embargo and provide more aid to the rebels. However, other EU countries are worried that more weapons could fuel conflicts in Syria.

Syria has been witnessing unrest for nearly two years. The international community is keeping on mediation efforts in a bid to end violence and bloodshed in the country.

Assad said in a recent interview that he was ready "to negotiate with anyone, including militants who surrender their arms."

The embattled leader made the remarks as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry renewed calls for him to step down, saying in the last week that he was drafting diplomatic proposals about ways to "ease Assad out (of power)."

Palestinian PM to resign after Obama's visit: source

Source :   Xinhua

RAMALLAH, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad plans to resign after U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to the region this month, a source said Tuesday.

Fayyad is facing pressure from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party over the financial crisis engulfing the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), said the source, a member of Fatah central committee.

Fayyad, a U.S.-educated economist, prefers to submit his resignation after Obama visits Israel and the West Bank on March 20 and 21, so Fayyad will not be appearing as taking a position against Obama, the source added.

Earlier this week, Palestinian Finance Minister Nabil Qasis resigned. Fayyad accepted the resignation of Qasis, but Abbas reportedly rejected it.

The PNA suffers a financial crisis with a shortfall exceeding one billion U.S. dollar as donors reduced their grants and Israel stopped transferring Palestinian tax revenues regularly.

Report: Israeli Army to Use Live Fire against Fireworks Protesters

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Israeli forces will respond to fireworks shot toward them with live ammunition at protesters, an army official said.

"Palestinian protestors are increasingly shooting fireworks recently," an army official told Israel's Maariv newspaper.

"We see these as dangerous weapons rather than toys," he said.

Maariv described the fireworks, adapted to be let off through metal pipes, as a new symbol in the latest wave of protests.

It said an incident at Qalandia checkpoint, in which a Palestinian protester was shot dead by Israeli forces, was the catalyst for the Israeli army's decision to respond to fireworks in the same way soldiers respond to Molotov cocktails, by shooting at protesters' lower bodies.

Soldiers thought the protester was firing a gun, but he was actually shooting fireworks, it said.

The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem plans to file a complaint against the Israeli army's increased use of live ammunition against protesters.

"We noticed an increase in critical conditions in the last few days, of which four cases were transferred to Hadassah hospital because of the use of live ammunition, which can be deadly or paralyzing," a representative of B'Tselem told Ma'an.

UN agency cancels Gaza marathon over ban on women

Source : MiamiHerald.com

JERUSALEM -- A U.N. aid agency has canceled the marathon in Gaza following a ban on women runners imposed by the territory's militant Islamic Hamas rulers.

UNWRA, which assists Palestinian refugees and also sponsors and organizes the event, announced on Tuesday that plans for the April race have been scrapped.

A statement from agency says that "this disappointing decision follows discussions with the authorities in Gaza who have insisted that no women should participate" in the marathon.

Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007 when it ousted its rival Fatah movement in street battles in the coastal strip.

The group is cracking down on behavior it deems contrary to Islam and has already banned women from riding on the backs of motorbikes, smoking water pipes, and men from working in hair salons.

Iran FM spokesman: talks with IAEA and P5+1 group moving into positive direction

Source :  Trend.Az

Azerbaijan, Baku, March 5 /Trend S.Isayev/

Iran's negotiations with IAEA and the P5+1 group move into positive direction, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said today at the press conference, Press TV reported live.

"The talks move into positive direction and the results have improved compared to the past meetings," Mehmanparast said. "Reciprocal measures should be taken to achieve desired results."

The spokesman underscored that Iran's nuclear rights for peaceful purposes must be recognized.

With regard to the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group in Kazakhstan, Mehmanparast said that the most important thing is that general understanding was reached, and optimistic atmosphere was created.

"During the negotiations there were some responses made to the proposals Iran made previously," Mehmanparast noted. "Other measures may be necessary to reach the final agreement."

He further said that the new approach by the P5+1 group made "the proposals worthy to be addressed and explored".

"This however is only the first step, as there will be more meetings after the negotiations in Kazakhstan," he added.

Mehmanparast also touched upon some countries and media outlets and how they presented the Iran- P5+1 group talks' outcome.

"It is surprising that some Western and regional countries, along with their media outlets adopt different approach, trying to actually tarnish the atmosphere and posotive results of the negotiations," Mehmanparast said.

On Monday, the head of the UN atomic agency called on Iran to allow immediate access to the Parchin military base where it suspects nuclear weapons research took place.

Yukiya Amano said that this should be granted "without further delay" and without waiting for stalled talks to conclude an agreement on investigating other alleged "weaponisation" activities.

"I request Iran once again to provide access to the Parchin site without further delay, whether or not agreement has been reached on the structured approach," Amano told the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting.

"Providing access to the Parchin site would be a positive step which would help to demonstrate Iran's willingness to engage with the Agency on the substance of our concerns," he said, according to the text of his remarks at the closed-door gathering.

Iran and P5+1 group have wrapped up the nuclear negotiations in Kazakhstan on Feb. 27 after two days of talks.

The sides agreed to hold expert level talks in Istanbul on 17-18 March, which will be followed by another Iran-P5+1 talks in Kazakhstan.

In 2012, representatives of P5+1 group and Iran held three rounds of talks in Istanbul (April 14), Baghdad (May 23-24) and Moscow (June18-19). None of these meetings resulted in breakthroughs on disputed nuclear issues.

Previously talks between the "Six Powers" and Iran were not conducted for over a year.

The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear energy for medical researches instead.

Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment.

Practical Steps to Boycott Israel

Source :   Al Akhbar English

Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon held its first press conference on 28 February 2013 at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut to answer questions related to their boycott platform.

Questions addressed issues like the purpose and effectiveness of the boycott; alternatives to boycotted entities; and the fate of those employed locally in companies that support Israel.

More specifically, some asked whether or not the boycott of performers who take part in events in Israel constitutes a snub to “culture and modernism,” as opponents of the boycott like to maintain. Others wondered about the viability of implementing the boycott in the “Information Age” since so many spheres seem open to all, even Israel.

The conference’s Q&A session tried to debunk such myths and refute claims about the inability of individuals to boycott the state of Israel.

When the governments of the Arab League member states enforced a systematic boycott of Israel and the businesses that supported it at the end of the 1940s, the Jewish state incurred losses of up to $96 billion until the early ‘90s. As a result of the Camp David Accords and other pacts with Israel, some Arab states withdrew their public boycotts, weakening the official pan-Arab stance against Israel.

What is the aim of the boycott today? Should we proceed to individually boycott everyone and everything that supports Israel?

The Campaign’s answer is simple: ideally, yes. The campaign further advises to adopt the following tactic: “Boycott wherever possible.” In difficult circumstances, create some sort of ranking scale for boycott targets of “worst to least bad.”

What are the determining criteria of “worst to least bad”? At the top of the list, according to the Campaign, are companies that have built facilities on territory that has been “cleansed” of Palestinians.

For instance, the Coca-Cola Company signed an agreement with the Israeli government in 2002 to establish a plant in Kiryat Gat, a settlement built on the ruins of two depopulated Palestinian villages, Faluja and Iraq al-Manshiyya.

Furthermore, the beverage company donates to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, which promotes Jewish immigration to Palestine. It is worth noting that Coca-Cola was absent from Arab markets from 1968 to 1991 due to the Arab boycott.

For its part, the Swiss multinational company Nestlé built its most important facility in Sderot, a settlement built on the lands of Najd, a Palestinian village that was ethnically cleansed in 1948.

Such boycott criteria applies to firms that acquire Israeli companies or stakes in them, a process that helps inject money into Israeli bank accounts. This is the case with firms like General Electric and Johnson & Johnson.

The boycott can be indeed effective, as is evident with Burger King, whose sales slumped by 50 percent in Saudi Arabia after the fast food chain opened an outlet in the illegal Israeli settlement Ma'ale Adumim.

Likewise, McDonald's sales plummeted in Muscat, Oman by 65 percent in January 2003, while campaigns against Starbucks’ support for Israel led the American coffee chain to shut down all of its stores in Israel in 2003, citing “operational challenges.”

What about the boycott of certain performers? This issue is often controversial as it draws accusations of obscurantism toward the Campaign.

Regardless, the Campaign maintains that performing in Israel contributes to whitewashing its crimes and promoting Israel as a “beacon” of culture.

OCHA: 440 Palestinians wounded in one week of protests

Source : Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades

RAMALLAH - At least 440 Palestinians were injured in the West Bank in violent clashes with Israeli forces during protests held in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jail, the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) said in a new weekly report.

The report, which covered some of the Israeli violations against the Palestinians from 19 to 25 February, added that these clashes escalated following the death, on 23 February, of the Palestinian detainee Arafat Jaradat in Megiddo Prison.

His death angered the Palestinians whose protests were responded to by Israeli soldiers with tear gas canisters, rubber-coated metal bullets and live ammunition, the report said.

Over half of those injured were treated for tear gas inhalation, and one third for injuries sustained from rubber-coated metal bullets, while 16 Palestinians sustained injuries from live ammunition and the remaining from other means, according to the report.

In the gravest incident, a 16-year-old boy from Ayda refugee camp was seriously injured in the head by live ammunition fired by Israeli troops.

The report also pointed to the remarks made lately by the special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, saying that he called on Israel to fully respect the human rights of all Palestinian detainees and prisoners in its jails.

OCHA quoted him as saying that "those held in administrative detention should be charged and face trial with judicial guarantees in accordance with international standards, or promptly released."

"He also stated that the United Nations expects the autopsy to be followed by an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Jaradat's death, the results of which should be made public as soon as possible," it added.

Its report also covered in detail the settler-related incidents, saying that at least 28 Palestinians were injured and different kinds of their property were destroyed in settlers' attacks during the reporting week.

No end to Iran support for Palestine: Salehi

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has reiterated Tehran’s support for the Palestinian nation and their efforts to liberate the occupied Palestinian territories.

In a meeting with the deputy head of Hamas Political Bureau, Mousa Abu Marzuk, in Tehran on Sunday, Salehi stressed Iran’s unwavering support for Palestine and Palestinian resistance groups.

He said the Islamic Republic as the current president of the Non-Aligned Movement will explore all available means to aid Palestinians and ease their suffering and pain.

He also pointed to Tehran’s efforts to end the Syrian crisis, and criticized attempts by certain countries to obstruct national dialogue between the Syrian government and opposition groups.

Marzuk, for his part, expressed gratitude for the support of the Iranian nation and government for Palestine.

The senior Palestinian official also stressed the need for convergence among major regional countries to resolve regional issues, including the Syrian crisis, without foreign meddling. – See more at: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/ 03/03/291763/no-end-to-iran-support-for-palestine/#sthash.Pt26Z3Hv.dpuf

Commander: Terrorists in Syria to Hit Heavy Blow at US, Europe in Future

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Cultural Affairs and Defense Publicity Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri warned the US and certain European states which support the terrorist groups in Syria that the same terrorists will hit a heavy blow at them in future.

“Regional reactionaries, certain European states and the US which are responsible for the turmoil in the region will receive heavy blows from the same terrorists (that they have supported),” Jazayeri said in Tehran on Sunday.

“The US mistakenly thinks that it can use al-Qaeda and the terrorist groups to its interests for a long time and it will witness the presence of its protégés in the US and European cities,” he added.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against the Syrian police, border guards, statesmen, army and the civilians being reported across the country.

Thousands of people have been killed since terrorist and armed groups turned protest rallies into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was almost restored in most parts of the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies brought the country into chaos through every possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May, 2012 that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling Assad’s government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

According to the report, material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons – most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past – has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.

Assad refuses to quit as foes advance in north Syria

Source :   thenews.com.pk

DAMASCUS: President Bashar al-Assad insisted he will not step down and blasted Britain's support for his armed foes who reportedly killed dozens of soldiers on Sunday in attacks on a police academy in northern Syria.

"We are ready to negotiate with anyone, including militants who surrender their arms," Assad told Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, in a rare interview conducted last week at his Al-Muhajireen palace in Damascus.

"We can engage in dialogue with the opposition, but we cannot engage in dialogue with terrorists," he said in the videotaped interview.

His offer of talks was aired as UN chief Ban Ki-moon and his Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said they were prepared to broker peace talks between the Assad regime and the opposition.

A joint statement by the pair said the UN would "be prepared to facilitate a dialogue between a strong and representative delegation from the opposition and a credible and empowered delegation from the Syrian government".

The offer came after both sides in Syria had indicated a "willingness to engage in dialogue", the UN said.

In Iran, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that Assad, a close ally of Tehran, would contest a presidential election next year and it was up to the Syrian people to choose their own leader.

Syria is locked in a two-year-old conflict in which the United Nations estimates more than 70,000 have been killed. But Assad rejected the idea of standing down to end the bloodshed.

"If this argument is correct, then my departure will stop the fighting," the president told The Sunday Times. "Clearly this is absurd, and other recent precedents in Libya, Yemen and Egypt bear witness to this."

Assad turned his sights on Britain, accusing London of seeking to arm the rebels. "How can we expect them to make the violence less while they want to send military supplies to the terrorists and don't try to ease the dialogue between the Syrians?" he asked.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has called for changes to a European arms embargo on Syria "so that we can provide a broader range of support to the National Coalition", the opposition umbrella group. Assad ruled out any mediation role for Britain, saying: "We don't expect an arsonist to be a firefighter."

On a reported Israeli air strike near Damascus in January, Assad said his country would retaliate. "Retaliation does not mean missile for missile or bullet for bullet. Our own way does not have to be announced," he said.

Turkish demonstrators protest against Patriot systems

Source : Strategic Culture Foundation

Turkish people have once again protested against the presence of NATO forces and its Patriot missile batteries in Turkey, expressing solidarity with the people of Syria.

Anti-capitalist Muslim groups and activists took to the streets of Istanbul on Saturday and chanted anti-NATO slogans.

The protesters say they do not want Turkey to be a NATO member state. They are also opposed to a war in neighboring Syria.

The demonstration in Istanbul came a day after anti-US protesters outside the Turkish prime minister’s office in Ankara rallied against the official visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was in the country to coordinate plans to support militants fighting the Syrian government.

In November 2012, NATO announced a plan to deploy six Patriot missile batteries to “protect Turkey” from potential Syrian missile strikes. The Patriots are deployed by the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands, and they became operational in the southern cities of Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, and Adana in February.

The Western alliance says the missiles are to avoid dangers caused by the crisis in Syria. However, countries like Iran, Russia and China have repeatedly voiced their opposition to the deployment. They say the move will only increase regional tensions.

Iran says Assad to run for president in 2014 Syrian elections

Source :  Xinhua

March 2 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said here Saturday that Bashar al-Assad is currently the " legal" president of Syria and will take part in the presidential elections in 2014.

Salehi made the remarks at a joint press conference with his visiting Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem in Tehran.

Syria, like any other country, has a president by elections, said Salehi, adding that by the next elections in Syria, Assad is the legal president of the Syrians and this is the official stance of the Islamic republic.

In the next presidential elections of Syria, anybody who is elected by the people will be the president of the Syrians for the next term, said the Iranian foreign minister.

Also, Salehi said that no country, except Syria, would be allowed to decide for the Syrians.

No country outside has the right to make decisions for Syria, Salehi said, adding that nobody can inflict its will on the Syrians using force and arms.

Salehi said there is no military solution to the Syrian issue, and the first and foremost demand of the Islamic republic is to end the violence in the Arab state.

He said foreign intervention in the Middle-Eastern Arab state is not acceptable, adding that Iran supports the efforts by the joint special representative of the UN and Arab League for Syria, Lakhtar Brahimi, to bring peace to the war-torn state.

Iran and Syria has a long history of relations and Iranians will never forget Syria's support for Iran during the eight-year Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), said Salehi.

Iran is the major regional ally of the Syrian government in its conflict with armed opposition groups.

For his part, al-Moallem said Saturday that the talks between the Syrian government and the opposition groups have started and in order for the talks to bear "successful" results, the violence in the country should be stopped.

Joint efforts should be done to stop violence, he said, emphasizing that those who back "terrorists" with arms and finance should give up their supports.

"We should make efforts to end bloodshed in Syria," and those who avoid dialogue must be held accountable, he maintained.

The current dialogue in Syria displays that the crisis in the country would be resolved "only through political means," said al- Moallem.

He further stressed that the Syrian Army is duty-bound to defend the country against "terrorists."

Rejecting pressures on the Syrian government, he added that his country will not allow anybody to violate its sovereignty and will not accept the dictations and pressures of the foreigners.

The Syrian nation is able to overcome the crisis and to choose its leaders, and they are able to show their will via ballot boxes, said the Syrian foreign minister.

Reforms in the country is only possible through national dialogue, he added.

The Syrian foreign minister criticized international sanctions against his country, saying that the sanctions by the United States and the European Union have hurt the ordinary people in the Arab state.

Al-Moallem, who arrived in Tehran on Saturday, will meet other high-ranking Iranian officials, including Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Saeed Jalili, to discuss the latest bilateral and regional developments.

UN ready to help talks between Syrian government, opposition

Source :   Voice of Russia

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the Special Envoy of the UN to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi say that the UN is ready to help the Syrian government and the opposition to start a dialogue.

They said this during their recent meeting in a place called Mont Pelerin in Switzerland.

Mr. Ban and Mr. Brahimi are concerned with the fact that the world community is still unable to make the conflict in Syria end. Besides, both the Syrian government and the opposition undertake many actions that are unlikely to end the conflict, they say.

The conflict in Syria started 2 years ago and has already taken the lives of more than 70,000 people.

Voice of Russia, TASS

Syrian Foreign Minister condemns US aid for rebels

Source : LBCI News

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Saturday that some countries are calling for President Bashar Assad’s step down, but this is considered as an intervention in the Syrian internal issues.

In a press conference held with his Syrian counterpart Walid al- Moualem in Tehran, Salehi said that the Syrian crisis has become “wide” and the Syrian people are suffering at a time foreign countries are supporting the opposition.

In this context, Salehi said that the Syrian people are the ones to decide their fate and stressed that foreign countries should stop supporting the opposition in order to maintain the Syrian stability.

Minister Salehi added that “it is only by dialogue that the Syrian crisis gets solved” and called on the government to ensure security.

For his part, the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said that his visit to Teran is “to express the Syrian people’s thankfulness to the Iranian people and leadership” and pointed out that Syrian is engaged in a crisis that “the entire world is participating in”.

Moualem added that the Syrian people are aware that the only political solution to the crisis is via a comprehensive dialogue and stressed that the regime is facing al-Qaida linked groups.

Syria’s FM Moualem mentioned that joint efforts to stop violence begin by exerting pressure on Turkey and Qatar that are supporting, funding, and arming terrorist groups.

In regards to the US, al-Mouallem condemned its move to give non- lethal aid to rebels who are fighting to topple President Bashar al- Assad, and accused Washington of “double standards”.

"I do not understand how the United States can give support to groups that kill the Syrian people," he said.

"This is nothing but a double-standard policy; one who seeks a political solution does not punish the Syrian people," he said.

Saudi Arabia arrests over 300 women and men

Source : http://old.mehrnews.com

TEHRAN, Mar. 2 (MNA) – Security forces in Saudi Arabia have arrested over 300 women and men who were protesting in front of the Attorney General Inspection Office.

In this massive rally yesterday, (Friday) the families of Saudi detainees gathered in front of the Attorney General Inspection Office in ‘Buraydah’, capital of Al-Qassim Province, to protest the illegal arrest and detention of their loved ones.

The website, Aljazeeraalarabianews.com said that 15 of the arrested people were women. The gathering of Saudi citizen and their insistence to continue their sit-in protests brought Saudi security forces to attack them and they arrested more than 300 of the protestors including 15 women.

The participants on this sit-in rally stressed that, until the women are released from custody, they will not accept the negotiation offer by the representative of Qassim Province Emir.