US, S Korea to hold more war games

As tensions continue to run high in the Korean Peninsula, top US and South Korean military officers announce plans to stage more joint military exercises.

The announcement came as top military officials of the two countries, Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and his South Korean counterpart General Han Min-Koo held talks in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on Wednesday over the deteriorating situation on the Korean Peninsula. 

The two officials condemned North Korea's recent alleged attacks on Yeonpyeong Island, describing it as deliberate and illegal. 

During the meeting, Mullen reiterated Washington's commitment to defend South Korea. 

US President Barack Obama has already promised what he called unshakeable support for Seoul. 

In recent months, the US and South Korea have conducted several massive joint sea and air drills in waters east of the Korean Peninsula. 

The North has called the drills provocative and an effort to trigger a war, warning the South against holding more joint military exercises with Washington. 

Tensions have erupted between the two Koreas after last month's deadly clash between South and North Korean forces along their disputed sea borders. 

The fighting left four South Koreans, including two civilians, dead. Each side blames the other for initiating the fighting.

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Nigeria seizes more militant camps

Nigeria's Joint Task Force has taken over eight more militant camps in the southern Rivers state in the Niger Delta in the latest clampdown on militants in the oil-rich part of the country.

In a statement on Sunday, Nigeria's Military Spokesman Timothy Antigha said, "The Joint Task Force (JTF) has taken over eight camps formerly owned by Ateke Tom during the stormy days of militancy in the Niger Delta," AFP reported. 

According to JTF Commander Major General Charles Omoregie the militant leader laid down arms and surrendered the camps voluntarily. 

There are conflicting reports about the number of civilians killed in the operations. 

The military has staged a series of raids in recent weeks targeting John Togo, the most wanted militant leader of the Niger Delta Liberation Force. 

A campaign of oil pipeline bombings and high-profile kidnappings has been ongoing in the region since 2006. 

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta blames the government for not equally distributing energy revenues from the Niger Delta's resources. 

Oil exports of the country account for 80 percent of government earnings. 

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Afghan Taliban attacks on NATO rise

Taliban small-arms attacks against the US-led troops in Afghanistan have almost doubled in less than a year, Pentagon officials say.

According to the Pentagon officials, at least 18,000 attacks were launched by the Taliban against the US-led forces in 2010 as compared with 10,600 in 2009. 

Army Captain Ryan Donald, a military spokesman in the Afghan capital, Kabul, said the rise is a result of bringing "the fight to them." 

According to Donald, the coalition troops have been on the offensive in an attempt to dislodge the Taliban from their strongholds in southern Afghanistan and in the East along the mountainous border with Pakistan. 

Taliban forces used automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and in some cases, missiles against NATO troops. 

The rise in battles comes as the Obama administration prepares a year-end review of how its strategy is working in war-torn Afghanistan. 

There are about 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan, including a "surge" of 30,000 troops ordered into combat by US President Barack Obama. 

There are about 40,000 troops from allied countries fighting alongside the US and Afghan troops.

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'Israel dumps chem. waste in W Bank'

Israeli factories are quietly dumping hazardous industrial waste from polluting industries in the West Bank city of Tulkarm, the city's governor says.

The Israeli move came to light in November when Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces seized a truckload of chemical waste, originating from Israeli factories, to be emptied in the grounds of Khaduri University, Talal Dweikat said. 

PA officials said that a Palestinian man was hired for the job, Ma'an news agency reported on Sunday. 

The waste was examined in PA laboratories and was found to be dangerous. 

PA forces were put on high alert to check every Israeli truck, arriving in Tulkarm, for hazardous material. 

Meanwhile, University President Daoud Az-Za'tery said the university is holding awareness courses to educate students on the hazardous materials. 

He noted that many complaints have been received from Tulkarm residents concerning the chemical waste being dumped in the area by Israeli factories. 

Some occupied West Bank towns have become "dustbins" for Israeli industrial wastes -- including toxic wastes -- raising cancer rates up to 10 times, according to local Palestinian doctors. 

Another report says there are at least seven Israeli industrial zones in the occupied West Bank and an estimated 200 such factories are located there. 

Many of the factories are built mainly on hilltops, which often results in the flow of industrial wastewater into adjacent Palestinian lands damaging the citrus trees, polluting the soil as well as polluting the underground water. 

For example, a pesticide factory in Kfar Saba which produces dangerous pollutants has been moved to an area near Tulkarm. 

The Dixon Gas industrial factory, which was located in Netanya has also been moved to the Tulkarm area. The solid waste generated by the factory is burned in open air. 

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US accused of human rights abuse

A rights group based in the US state of Arizona has accused the White House of severe human rights violations against immigrants and minorities.

Border Action Network on Monday called on the US government to adhere to human rights laws recognized by the international community. 

The group's executive director, Jennifer Allen, told Iran's official news agency IRNA in an interview that Washington rarely prevents violations against immigrants and minorities in the United States. 

She also accused local and federal US law enforcement agents of violating the rights of legal immigrants and even American citizens. 

Border Action Network is an organization that works with immigrant and border communities to ensure their rights are respected. 

The comments come as Arizona officials grapple with a controversial immigration law introduced by the state's governor, Jan Brewer. 

According to the Arizona law, which took effect on July 29, immigrants in the state will be treated as criminals if they fail to provide proper immigration documents. 

The law also allows law enforcement agents who are not necessarily federal agents to stop suspected people and check their status. 

Supporters argue that the law is intended to be race neutral, but critics believe it will inevitably open the way for racial profiling against Latinos in a state on the Mexican border. 

The law has raised the ire of Latin American countries and has sparked protests in Arizona, especially among the Hispanics and labor activists. 

The United States is home to an estimated 11 million illegal residents, with Hispanics comprising the majority of them.

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US frisks 2nd Indian diplomat

A second Indian diplomat has been frisked at Texas Airport in the US after he was asked to remove his turban while refusing to do so.

India's UN envoy, Hardeep Puri, was held for more than half an hour at Texas International Airport. 

The incident comes after the Indian ambassador to the US Meera Shankar was pulled out of a security line at a Mississippi airport. 

She was patted down despite telling security officials of her diplomatic position. 

India's Foreign Ministry has lodged a formal complaint with the US over the frisking of its UN envoy, Hardeep Puri. 

Puri, a Sikh, first refused to let his turban be searched and was then detained in a holding room, the news channel reported. 

Washington responded to the complaint by assuring that it would look into the alleged insult, the news report said. 

The incident follows several recent cases of Indian diplomats being apparently singled out for security checks in US airports. 

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N Korea gives fresh warning to South

North Korea has warned that the cooperation between the US and South Korea could bring a nuclear war to the already volatile Korean Peninsula.

The warning comes after South Korea began fresh military drills amid lingering tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The drills are scheduled to run from Monday to Friday at 27 different locations. 

The regularly-scheduled exercises are receiving special attention following a North Korean artillery attack on frontline Yeonpyeong Island that claimed the lives of two South Korean marines and two civilians. 

In a show of unity, top diplomats from South Korea, the US and Japan met in Washington last week and said they would not resume negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program until the country's behavior changed. 

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited South Korea last week and warned Pyongyang to stop its "belligerent, reckless behavior." 

The November 23 artillery barrage, the North's first assault to target a civilian area since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, began after the North accused South Korea of having fired the salvo toward its territorial waters. 

South Korea said it had fired shells southwards, not towards North Korea, as part of routine exercises. 

After the attack, South Korea staged joint military drills with the United States and pushed ahead with more artillery exercises despite the North's warning that they would aggravate tension. 

A South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff officer tried to play down the significance of this week's drills, saying they were part of routine military exercises and would not occur near the disputed western Korean sea border where last month's attack took place. 

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Storm claims 15 lives in Egypt

Raging storms have left 15 people dead and dozens injured in Egypt as heavy rains and fierce winds hit countries across the Middle East.

Police sources confirmed that 11 people were killed and 58 injured in road accidents around the country, reported Ahram Online on Monday. 

Three people lost their lives in other incidents, while at least one person was dead in the collapse of a textile factory in Alexandria, a security official said, blaming "bad weather and heavy rains." 

"It has been raining steadily and very hard since yesterday (Saturday) in Alexandria. The building is 30 years old and the foundations could have been damaged," one security official said. 

Relief workers rushed to the scene to assist more factory workers, officials said, adding that 30 people could have been working in the six-storey factory in the northern Alexandria neighborhood of Moharram Bey. 

Twenty-six ships were barred from entering the Suez Canal and 29 vessels were delayed for three hours before they could move through the waterway linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. 

The waterway was hit by poor visibility and winds of up to 40 knots an hour, said an official at the canal, Egypt's third-largest source of foreign revenue after tourism and remittances from expatriate workers. 

High waves also closed all eight of Egypt's main Red Sea ports on Sunday for the second consecutive day, as well as its Mediterranean ports of Alexandria and Dekheila, officials said. 

Meanwhile, officials at Cairo airport said preventive measures were being taken after visibility was reduced to 300 meters. 

People in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, have also been advised to stay indoors due to a sandstorm that has blanketed the city. 

With temperatures having plunged since Friday night, thunderstorms and heavy rains have lashed the north coast, Red Sea region and the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. 

Strong winds reaching up to 60 kilometers per hour have whipped up sandstorms in Syria and Jordan as well. 

In Lebanon, at least one person has been killed and some of the country's roads have been closed. 

Flights to and from many airports in the region have been delayed or canceled. 

The stormy weather is expected to last through Monday. 

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West blamed for Ivory Coast standoff

The camp of Ivory Coast's incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo has accused Western diplomats of trying to turn the country's military against him.

On Sunday, Gbagbo, who is under pressure to step down, accused US-led western countries of meddling in the country's internal affairs. 

Meanwhile, the newly-named Interior Minister Emile Guirieoulou accused foreign envoys of seeking to turn the military against Gbagbo. 

Guirieoulou has warned that the Gbagbo-led government "will no longer tolerate meddling by any diplomat in the internal affairs of the state of Ivory Coast." 

"For several days, civil and military members of certain Western chancelleries in Abidjan have discreetly approached senior officers in our national army," AFP quoted him as saying. 

Political crisis is mounting in Ivory Coast as both men claiming presidency are involved in a bitter standoff over who should hold the post. 

The country's ten-year President Gbagbo says he is ready to sit down and talk. 

But his rival Alassane Ouattara says he would not negotiate unless Gbagbo steps down from office and respects the will of the Ivorian nation and the international community. 

Following South Africa's former President Thabo Mbeki's visit to the country, the African Union suspended the membership of Ivory Coast for as long as Gbagbo remains in office. 

The UN Security Council has also threatened to impose sanctions on the country unless Gbagbo lets go of the presidential seat. 

The country's Electoral Commission declared Ouattara as the winner of the November 28th run-off vote. 

Gbagbo's allies, however, rejected the outcome by alleging fraud. Both contenders have sworn themselves in as president and have appointed governments. 

The disputed presidential election has raised the risk of a long power struggle in the country. The world's top cocoa-producing nation is still reeling from the 2002-2003 civil war, which split the West African country in two.

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2010 WISE chooses summit theme

The second World Innovative Summit on Education (WISE) in Qatar has chosen “The Future of Education” as its theme this year.

In today's rapidly evolving world where technology has become part of our daily lives, there is a growing need to develop education, stressed the delegates. 

High on the agenda were methods of working out innovative solutions and meeting the challenges of funding, Euronews reported 

“You have to prioritize, give it a priority in the sense that we all have problems, but government owes it to the people to provide the funding. Because education is very essential, so if you have a budget, you allocate an adequate amount of money for education,” said Hamidoun Ali, the President of the UN Economic and Social Council 

The forum was held from 7 to 9 of December, 2010, in Doha, Qatar. 

The summit has become an annual platform for more than 1,200 delegates from around the world - teaching professionals, decision-makers and business leaders - to share ideas and come up with innovative solutions to the problems of providing education. 

The organizers of the forum unveiled the first international award for next year which brings with it a cheque for nearly 400,000 euros. 

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15 children held hostage in east France

An armed young man has taken hostage at least 15 children in a primary school in eastern France, a report says.

The 17-year-old man, holding two swords, initially took 20 children hostage when he burst into the school in the city of Besancon but later released five of them, AFP reported on Monday. 

"Around 14 children have come out and at the moment there are still five or six inside," Besancon mayor Jean-Louis Fousseret told French Info radio. 

According to French media reports, the teenager suffers from depression. 

Police have surrounded the school and Education Minister Luc Chatel was on his way to the city, officials said. 

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Hundreds protest Egypt elections result

Hundreds of political activists and opposition leaders in Egypt have protested against the outcome of the parliamentary elections, which has been marred by widespread allegations of fraud.

The protest outside the Supreme Court in Cairo on Sunday came as President Hosni Mubarak's ruling party said the elections had been fair despite a few irregularities. 

Hundreds of demonstrators repeatedly chanted slogans that the elections were "null." 

"This is not our parliament. Down with the illegitimate parliament," said a placard held by a demonstrator. 

George Ishak, one of the leaders of the National Association for Change, a broad coalition of opposition groups and movements, said that dissidents intended to challenge the legitimacy of the new parliament. 

"We will file complaints locally and nationally against this parliament," AFP quoted Ishak as saying. 

"This is a protest against what happened in the election, which proved to be forged," he added. 

This is while some of the losing candidates have said they were organizing a parallel popular parliament. 

Mubarak's party won a sweeping victory in the parliamentary elections, after a final round of voting boycotted by the two main opposition groups. The two rounds of voting were held on November 28 and December 5. 

Meanwhile, major Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has also called for a boycott of the country's presidential election, slated for next year. 

In a video posted on Facebook, the Nobel Laureate and former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said, "The opposition must join ranks... and announce, frankly, that it will boycott the presidential election as long as the constitution has not been amended." 

"I urge you to send a clear message to the regime that we will not take part in this farce next year," he added. 

ElBaradei warned that the opposition could resort to violence unless political reforms were implemented in Egypt. 

"I hope that the regime understands that if they don't allow us this, the Egyptian people will be left by one choice only... there will be violence in Egypt and that is something no Egyptian wants," he said. 

Muslim Brotherhood opposition party has called for the dissolution of the new parliament. The party says it is gathering evidence of vote rigging. 

Earlier, international and local human rights activists condemned the elections for widespread fraud.

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