Paradox Personified posted:

That's supposed to be against the rules, naming your daughter Aisha... How'd he get away with it, or he just doesn't care?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/27/us-palestinians-reconciliation-idUSTRE73Q50820110427 posted:

CAIRO | Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:01pm EDT

(Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement has struck an agreement with bitter rival Hamas on forming an interim government and fixing a date for a general election, officials said Wednesday.

The surprise deal was brokered by Egypt and followed secret talks between the two sides, who fought a brief civil war in 2007 that left the Islamist Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip and the Western-backed Abbas in charge of the West Bank.

Forging Palestinian unity is regarded as crucial to reviving any prospect for an independent Palestinian state.

"We have agreed to form a government composed of independent figures that would start preparing for presidential and parliamentary elections," said Azzam al-Ahmad, the head of Fatah's negotiating team in Cairo. "Elections would be held in about eight months from now," he added.

"The intentions were more serious this time and have been coupled by the efforts of our Egyptian brothers," said Taher al-Nono, the spokesman of the Hamas government in Gaza.

"Implementation will start following the official (signing) ceremony which could be within a week," he added.

There was also no immediate word from Israel, which has long opposed any moves by Fatah to form a government with Hamas, whose founding charter calls for the destruction of Israel.

Ham posted:

AMAZING news, kudos to the military council in Egypt, the interim government. In 2 months they managed to do what Mubarak couldn't in decades.

Ham posted:

AMAZING news, kudos to the military council in Egypt, the interim government. In 2 months they managed to do what Mubarak couldn't in decades.

el samayo grande posted:

I don't think Mubarak had any interest in actually solving the Palestine issue - it kept Egyptians focused on Israeli crimes, not his own.

Ham posted:

AMAZING news, kudos to the military council in Egypt, the interim government. In 2 months they managed to do what Mubarak couldn't in decades.

Jut posted:

Shame that after all this time the Palestinians can't get recognition as a sovereign state:(

Mr Teatime posted:

This is a kind of silly what if question on my part, but had we never invaded iraq is it the kind of country that would also be rising up like this against saddam?

Mr Teatime posted:

This is a kind of silly what if question on my part, but had we never invaded iraq is it the kind of country that would also be rising up like this against saddam?

quote:

MISURATA, Libya — At least one NATO warplane attacked a rebel position on the front lines of this besieged city on Wednesday, a rebel commander said, killing 12 fighters and wounding five others in what he called an accident that could have been avoided.

THE HORSES rear end posted:

Looking at the aftermath of the invasion, hindsight tells us that there would probably be a really nasty civil war, and Saddam's crackdown would be much, much worse than Assad's.

Think the Lebanese Civil War on steroids, with one of the main power players being a guy who makes Gaddafi look like a pacifist.

quote:

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sharply criticized the Western coalition attacking Libya on Tuesday, saying it had neither a right nor a mandate to kill Moammar Gadhafi.

Putin said the coalition had gone beyond the bounds of a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing intervention to protect civilians and suggested Gadhafi's actions did not justify foreign interference, let alone attempts to remove him.
"They said they didn't want to kill Gadhafi.

Now some officials say, yes, we are trying to kill Gadhafi," Putin said on a visit to Denmark. "Who permitted this, was there any trial? Who took on the right to execute this man, no matter who he is?"
Putin spoke as Britain and the United States discussed stepping up military pressure on Gadhafi, who has survived more than a month of NATO air strikes.

"The country's whole infrastructure is being destroyed, and in essence one of the warring sides is attacking under the cover of aircraft," Putin said at a news conference after talks with his Danish counterpart, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

"When the entire so-called civilized community falls upon a small country with all its might, destroys infrastructure created over generations -- I don't know, is that good or not?" Putin said. "I don't like it."
Shortly after Putin spoke, Libyan state news agency Jana said Libya had urged Russia to call an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss "Western aggression."

Jut posted:

In all fairness this does appear to be happening to the point where France and Italy are asking for the open border policy to be revised.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13189682

OwlBot 2000 posted:

Shut up Putin. You had your chance to do the right thing and veto the resolution but you didn't. Now you want to talk?

Slantedfloors posted:

Coincidentally, the question of recognizing Palestinian statehood will be going up to vote at the UN soon at the General Assembly, not the Security Council. The US will have no veto to stop it, and the main supporters are stating the unless Israel makes some immediate concessions and starts dealing in good faith, the 1967 border will be considered the starting point.

Interesting days, these.

dj_clawson posted:

Palestinian statehood has actually been declared by Palestinian leaders a couple times in various forms, but they've for some reason taken it back, which of course is something you really want to do if you want independence - take back your declaration of independence. I think the last time was in 2005?

Putin posted:

Slantedfloors posted:

Israel isn't in that nebulous gray area they try to keep around, they're officially illegally occupying another country's sovereign territory and liable for the whole gamut of responses that situation entails.

Paradox Personified posted:

That's supposed to be against the rules, naming your daughter Aisha... How'd he get away with it, or he just doesn't care?

Kenning posted:

Man people have some weird ideas about Islam.

Slantedfloors posted:

This time isn't just the Palestinian government making a declaration, it's the UN officially recognizing Palestine as an independent state with complete autonomy. If it goes through, Israel isn't in that nebulous gray area they try to keep around, they're officially illegally occupying another country's sovereign territory and liable for the whole gamut of responses that situation entails.

dj_clawson posted:

That's very true. Does this declaration say anything about where the state IS? Because that's the real hang-up here.

Slantedfloors posted:

As I mentioned, right now it's proponents are pushing for a recognization of the 1967 borders as a starting point, unless Israel starts negotiating in good faith (for control over Jerusalem, etc) instead of their usual "WE GET EVERYTHING WE'VE SETTLED UP TILL RIGHT NOW OOOPS YOU DIDN'T AGREE IMMEDIATELY SO WE'LL BUILD MORE SETTLEMENTS" bullshit.

ChaosSamusX posted:

Wait, isn't this the guy that launched a unilateral invasion of Georgia that was heavily criticised by the international community?

ChaosSamusX posted:

Wait, isn't this the guy that launched a unilateral invasion of Georgia that was heavily criticised by the international community?

OwlBot 2000 posted:

Exactly, he's really not in any position to talk smack and act smug right now. However, the Georgia situation was very much Saakashvili's fault. He did the equivalent of going up to the biggest guy in the bar and throwing a beer in his face, then acting all shocked when he got slapped.

Warthog posted:

That's one point of view - the other is that he supported the south-ossetians in their fight for independence (from Bush-backed Georgia).

(I still think Putin is a bastard but so was Bush)

PS: I was in Ukraine at the time of that conflict and there were huge discrepancies between US, western- and eastern- European news reports.

shotgunbadger posted:

Yea basically this, the concept of the evil russian empire raping Georgia is entirely an American/West Europe manufactured concept. He was supporting a people getting stomped by an American protected jackass. Putin's a bad man, but in this case he was on the legit side of liberty.

quote:

Syria looks sets to be the main focus today after more than 200 members of the ruling Baath party resigned over the violent repression of the protests. Could the regime of President Bashar al-Assad be wobbling?

The party members were from Deraa province where the crackdown has been most severe, Reuters reports.

It also repeats dissident claims of signs of mutiny within the army.

"No one is saying that Assad is about to lose control of the army, but once you start using the army to slaughter your own people, it is a sign of weakness," a diplomat told the agency.

These are other main developments and stories:

• The UN Security Council failed to agree on a statement condemning Syrian violence. Russia said security forces were also killed and the actions don't threaten international peace. China and India called for political dialogue and peaceful resolution of the crisis, with no mention of condemnation.

• The University of St Andrews, where Kate Middleton and Prince William studied, is to review how its Syrian studies centre is financed. The Guardian revealed that the centre was funded by Sami Khiyami, Syrian ambassador to the UK, whose invitation to the royal wedding has sparked controversy. The centre's board of advisers is also closely associated with the Damascus regime.

• Dozens of tanks have been reported to be en route to Deraa, the city at the centre of protests against President Bashar al-Assad, as a number of EU nations protested at the increasingly bloody government crackdown that is now believed to have killed more than 450 people.

• Our diplomatic editor, Julian Borger, examines the long embarrassing history of British overtures to Damascus. He writes: "The hope that [President] Assad would one day relax his autocratic regime, distance himself from Iran, make peace with Israel – and along the way open Syria's sclerotic markets to British business – waned over the years but never quite died until the bloody events of the past few days."

• Our Middle East editor, Ian Black, profiles Fawaz Akhras, the London-based father- in-law of Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, and his informal gatekeeper to journalists. Acquaintances say that Akhras has turned on the charm to raise funds for the British Syrian Society but that he has never abused his position, and they dismissed unsubstantiated rumours of shady deals.

• Muammar Gaddafi is arming Libyan 17-year-olds to build a "home front" against Nato military intervention and the possibility of rebels from the east of the country reaching largely loyalist towns and cities in the west. As part of the drive towards an unofficial civilian army, the government is releasing thousands of AK-47 assault rifles into communities and is organising classes in the use of weapons.

• Yemeni security forces opened fire on an anti-government demonstration in the capital Sana'a, killing 12 protesters and wounding some 190, a doctor said. The violence broke out as 100,000 regime opponents filled a landmark square at the centre of the uprising, spilling into the streets around the state TV building.

Slantedfloors posted:

Coincidentally, the question of recognizing Palestinian statehood will be going up to vote at the UN soon at the General Assembly, not the Security Council. The US will have no veto to stop it, and the main supporters are stating the unless Israel makes some immediate concessions and starts dealing in good faith, the 1967 border will be considered the starting point.

Interesting days, these.

quote:

Correction: April 10, 2011

A Diplomatic Memo article last Sunday... referred incompletely to the options available to the United States for blocking such a resolution. It has no veto power in the General Assembly, as the article stated, but such a resolution would first require a recommendation from the Security Council, where the United States could exercise a veto.

quote:

Russia is not planning to respond to Libya's plea that it call an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss what Moscow has described as Western aggression, a foreign ministry official told Itar-TASS news agency.

Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, has criticised the Western countries enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya and said they have gone beyond the limits of a Security Council resolution designed to protect civilians.

Libya urged Moscow on Tuesday to request an emergency Security Council meeting. But, quoting deputy foreign ministry head Gennady Gatilov, Itar-TASS said: "An emergency meeting of the Security Council is not planned."

Russia holds the power of veto as a permanent member of the Security Council but abstained last month in a vote on a resolution authorising force to protect civilians.