CentrePoint News News That Matters

By IRNA

Addressing International Conference on ‘National and Islamic Solidarity for Future of Palestine’, he said that it is well-known for all that the Zionist regime’s mission is threat, violence and beating drums of war.

Supporters of the Zionist regime who are shouting slogans of human rights and anti-terrorism, support systematic crimes of the occupying regime, the president said.

He said that everybody knows that the regime is seeking hegemony over the world.

He said that the Zionist regime is the origin of all the wars, genocide, terrors and crimes against humanity and that they are the racist group not respecting the human principles.

For the rest of this story, click here…

http://www.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=986188&idLanguage=3

For Robert Spencer’s commentary on Ahmadinejad, click here…

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/02/thug-in-chief-existence-of-israel-is-insult-to-entire-humanity.html

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By Carlos H. Conde

MANILA — Eleven people, at least three of them children, were killed in an attack believed to have been carried out by the militant group Abu Sayyaf in retaliation for the recent arrests and deaths of several of its members, officials said Sunday.

About 70 members of Abu Sayyaf strafed several houses early Saturday in the southern village of Tubigan, on Basilan, an island province in Mindanao where the group got its start, the police said.

The 11 dead included a year-old child, and 17 others, including four children, were seriously wounded. The attackers also burned down several houses. The attack was among the worst against civilians in nearly a decade, officials said.

Lt. Steffani Cacho, an army spokeswoman, said the attack might have been a “retaliatory action” by Abu Sayyaf after several of its leaders and members were either killed or arrested in a series of military and police operations in the past two weeks.

She added, however, that it could also have been prompted by a clan feud, which is common in Mindanao, the main Muslim area in the south.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/world/asia/01manila.html

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By Steven Ertelt

Milwaukee, WI (LifeNews.com) – After an undercover video released last Tuesday showed staff at their Milwaukee abortion clinic agreeing to cover up the sexual abuse of a purportedly 14-year-old girl by her 31-year- old “boyfriend,” Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin says they “were unable to make any report” of the suspected abuse because the girl would not give the clinic any identifying information. Live Action, the group responsible for the video, has released extended footage proving Planned Parenthood’s claim false.

Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) – Ohio Right to Life says pro-life advocates should be concerned about a bill in the Ohio legislature that would hurt conscience rights for medical workers. H.B. 333, which was introduced by State Rep. Dan Stewart (D, Columbus) in October, has been advancing in the Ohio House Health Committee. A hearing was held for proponents of the bill on February 24 and the bill is scheduled for proponent, opponent and interested party testimony on Wednesday, March 3. The bill tramples on the conscience rights of medical professionals and religious hospitals, ORTL says. Under the bill, hospital emergency rooms, including those at religiously-affiliated hospitals, are required to provide the morning-after pill (referred to as “emergency contraception”) to victims of sexual assault.

Nashville, TN (LifeNews.com) – Tennessee’s Freedom from Coercion Act (HB 3301) by pro-life Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mount Juliet) will be heard again next Wednesday, March 3, following limited debate last week by members of the House Public Health and Family Assistance sub-committee. Action was slowed when Rep. Henry Fincher (D-Cookeville) expressed concern that women at risk of undergoing coerced abortions may not benefit from proposed signage to be displayed in the offices of physicians performing abortions.

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http://www.lifenews.com/nb261.html

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By Victor Camras

Could it be that while the Taliban is awash with cash, Al Qaeda is struggling for every dime? This is the supposition that emerges from recent assessments by different sets of experts. But can such a thesis stand in the face of the continuing close cooperation between the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and with what is now occurring in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa? International terrorism alerts are now at their highest levels since just after 9/11. And senior US officials are warning that a major terrorist attack against the United States should be considered imminent.

The thesis that Al Qaeda may be running out of cash has been given increased credence recently at the Council of Foreign Relations and several other think tanks. The fall-off in donations to al Qaeda, they maintain, stems largely from the increased pressure being placed on potential terrorist financiers by national and inteernational regulators, and may also reflect the general international economic downturn.

After all, money is now tight all over. According to Treasury Assistant Secretary David Cohen “al-Qaeda is in its weakest financial condition in several years (and)…as a result, its influence is waning.” Similar claims have been made by Richard Barrett who leads the group of experts supporting the work of the UN’s Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee.

For the rest of this story, click here…

http://counterterrorismblog.org/

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By BBC

At press time for this story…

The number of people confirmed dead after Chile’s earthquake has soared to 708 and is expected to rise further, President Michelle Bachelet has said.

Previously about 300 people had been reported to have been killed in Saturday’s 8.8 magnitude quake – one of the most powerful recorded.

Massive damage is hampering rescue teams as they struggle to reach those still buried in the rubble.

The Chilean government has declared a curfew in two of the worst-hit areas.

State television reported that the curfew would apply in the regions of Maule and Concepcion, and begin at 2100 local time (midnight GMT).

The army is being sent to support police to prevent unrest in Concepcion.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8542122.stm

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By Brian Hutt

World Vision is assembling tarps, blankets, water and other aid for survivors of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile on Saturday.

The Christian aid agency is preparing to transport the emergency supplies and workers, despite airport closures in Chile delaying the departure of its first relief flight.

Steve Matthews, of World Vision’s global rapid response team was quick to allay fears that Chile would turn out to be another Haiti, where a massive earthquake on January 12 killed more than 200,000 people.

“This quake will not be like the one in Haiti,” he said. “Haiti was concentrated, and that led to the challenge of tons of aid and hundreds of aid workers being sent into a small zone.”

He added, however, that it would be extremely difficult to assess the number of deaths and extent of the damage caused by the Chilean quake because of its potential to reach remote areas.

For the rest of the story, click here…

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/world.vision.readies.emergency.response.to.chile.earthquake/25395.htm

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By ABC

Chilean president Michelle Bachelet says 2 million people have been affected by a massive earthquake that hit the country on Saturday.

The 8.8 magnitude earthquake killed at least 300 people and caused widespread damage, destroying buildings, bridges and roads.

Addressing the nation formally for the first time since the disaster, Ms Bachelet urged earthquake victims to remain calm and said help was on the way.

Ms Bachelet, who has only two weeks left in office, said international waterways would be opened to allow aid into quake-ravaged coastal regions, but cautioned the relief effort would take some time.

“This earthquake was of great magnitude and we have a great task ahead of us,” she said.

“It requires time and resources, but more than anything the will and collaboration of each one of us.

“We have done it before. I have no doubt that we will move forward once again. Let’s be strong Chile.”

Rescue teams are scrambling across Chile following the quake, which centred over 300 kilometres south of Santiago in a relatively sparsely-populated area.

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/28/2832303.htm?section=world

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By BBC

The head of the Lebanese Shia Islamist movement Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has made a rare public appearance in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Sheikh Nasrallah attended a dinner with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

He is under an Israeli death threat and makes very few appearances in public. When he addresses Hezbollah, he does so by video from a secret location.

Both Syria and Iran provide the group with financial and military support.

Hezbollah fought a 33-day war with Israel in 2006 during which more than 1,200 Lebanese people, mostly civilians, were killed. Some 160 Israeli people, most of whom were soldiers, also died.

In November, Sheikh Nasrallah vowed to boost the capacity of its military wing and threatened to retaliate if Israel attacked Lebanon.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8539178.stm

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By CO2

Evan Bayh falls victim to a mutation in the Gore Effect, Dead Kennedy’s view is likely to be spoiled by a zombie wind farm and the IPCC becomes a gated community.

Also, there’s a nice bit of Welsh for your global hottie.

Part One: Al Gore & Friends

Al Gore has buried his head in the sand and continues to pretend that his global warming hoax is still credible. When Climategate broke, Al said this:

“A few out-of-context lines from decade-old e-mails aren’t going to change that in the long term, and anyone who thinks we’ll be talking about these e-mails a year from now hasn’t been paying attention to a news cycle that moves at Twitter speed.”

As we know, Climategate was always about more than emails. Even Phil ‘Hide the Decline’ Jones has admitted that there has been no warming since 1995.

Al doesn’t want to hear that, he wants you to believe that it’s even worse than we thought:

…as Barber and his colleagues explain in a recent paper in Geophysical Review Letters, the analysis of what the satellites were seeing was wrong. Some of what satellites identified as thick, melt-resistant multiyear ice turned out to be, in Barber’s words, “full of holes, like Swiss cheese.”

Kind of like AGW science, right Al?

For the rest of the story, click here…

http://www.iloveco2.org/2010/02/global-warming-hoax-weekly-round-up-feb_18.html

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By Vijay Sakhujah

The 2010 U.S. Quadrennial Defense Review noted that “India has already established its worldwide military influence through counter-piracy, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief efforts. As its military capabilities grow, India will contribute to Asia as a net provider of security in the Indian Ocean and beyond” (Hindustan Times, February 3).

India’s Navy, however, has backed away from suggestions that it might take a dominant role in establishing security in the Indian Ocean, according to Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, who states “India has no intention of playing a headmaster’s role in the Indian Ocean Region” (Press Trust of India, February 5; The Hindu, February 6). The Indian Navy is instead seeking a cooperative regional approach to maritime security, as embodied in its recent participation in regional naval exercises and its upcoming Malabar war-games with U.S. naval forces in April and May.

Earlier this month, the Indian navy hosted the seventh biennial Milan-2010 exercises in the seas around the Bay of Bengal’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where eight Asia-Pacific navies (Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, along with observers from Brunei, Philippines, Vietnam and New Zealand) had gathered (Andaman Chronicle, February 3).

The agenda at this naval congregation included discussions on maritime terrorism, piracy, and a seminar on humanitarian aid and disaster relief (Press Trust of India, February 5). Afterwards the participating navies conducted joint naval exercises focused on sea lane security.

For the rest of the story, click here…

http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=36086&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7&cHash=695f96425e

Posted under News