LoL, you can access the records of your child's future potential husband/wife when they come to ask or before you go to ask Google :cool:

LoL@Lily I need a break. A lengthy one at that. Full of sleep, sleep and more sleep!

Google Watching You CAIRO — Internet search giant Google is building the most comprehensive database of personal information, a step that sparked fears of an online Big Brother society, The Independent reported on Thursday, May 24. "The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as 'What shall I do tomorrow?' and 'What job shall I take?'" said Google's Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, unveiling the new plan. The information users seek and their physical location will be collated and used for lucrative personalized advertising. Company chiefs believe gathering more facts about users is a logical step to organize the world's information. "We are very early in the total information we have within Google. The algorithms [software] will get better and we will get better at personalization," Schmidt told a conference in London this week. The company recently started its mission by launching iGoogle, which allows users to personalize their own Google search page and publish their own content. Another service, launched two years ago, allows users to give Google permission to store their web-surfing history - what they have searched for and clicked on - and use this to create more personalized search results for them. Set up in 1996 by two students at the US University of Stanford, Google is the world's leading search engine, taking billions of requests in 100 languages. As well as the standard search, it offers an e-mail service and last year it bought the popular video-sharing site YouTube for £884million. The name comes from a misspelling of the word "googol" which refers to the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. The verb "to google" - meaning to search on line - was added to the Oxford English Dictionary last year. Privacy Google argues that its ambitious plan should not raise privacy concerns. "This is about personalized searches, where our goal is to use information to provide the best possible search for the user," said its privacy counsel Peter Fleischer. "If the user doesn't want information held by us, then that's fine. We are not trying to build a giant library of personalized information." However, privacy protection experts fear that governments can compel search engines and internet service providers to surrender information. "The danger here is that it doesn't matter what search engines say their policy is because it can be overridden by national laws," one expert told The Independent. Google has also raised concerns when it proposed $3.1bn acquisition of DoubleClick Company. Fears have been stoked by the potential for Google to build up a detailed picture of someone's behavior by combining its records of web searches with the information from DoubleClick's "cookies", the software it places on users' machines to track which sites they visit. The Article 29 Working Group, a body representing Europe's data protection watchdogs, has already written to Google requesting more information about its information retention policy. Ross Anderson, chairman of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, said that Google will make it impossible for internet users to protect their privacy. "A lot of people are upset by some of this," added the professor of Security Engineering at Cambridge University. "Why should an angst-ridden teenager who subscribes to MySpace have their information dragged up 30 years later when they go for a job as say editor of the Financial Times?" "The precise type and size of this problem is yet to be determined and will change as Google's business changes." islamonline.net

Which Men Are Marrying and Why? By Hwaa Irfan Writer, counselor, editor - Egypt The US mainstream society today, there has been a steady decrease (40 percent) of marriage annually from 1970 to 2002. The declining marriage rates have reached federal concerns in the past few years with US Congressional committee hearings taking place. As a part of the process toward welfare reform, a study published by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University , United States explores the state of men and marriage in the United States . A national survey was carried out on male heterosexuals aged 25 to 34. Below are some of the findings. Unmarried Men The survey found that men today are less likely to consider marriage as a process towards adulthood and building a family than in the past. The reasons for delaying or avoiding marriage given ranged from: 74% wanted to have fun and freedom. 46% felt the demands of work make it difficult. 47% felt that they were not financially buoyant enough to establish a home. 40% wanted to hold a nice wedding. 36% felt that the single life held more interest. 22% felt that the idea of marriage was good for others, but not for them. 60% did not trust women to tell the truth about previous relationships. 66% were worried about divorce. 70% felt that it was acceptable for a woman to have a baby on her own. 29% did not want children. 62% feared loss of personal freedom. Men Likely to Get Married It was found that men from traditional or religious backgrounds hold positive views towards women and children and were therefore more likely to get married. Men who grew up with both parents, whose fathers participated in their upbringing or held religious values, were more likely to get married, contrary to 55% who were not. Among the married men surveyed, 63% had been living with both their parents at 15 years of age, unlike 55% of unmarried men. 83% of married men agreed they got married when they were ready to settle down. 35% of men surveyed got married when they were ready to have children Reason for Getting Married It was found that 53% of men who were ready to get married had fathers who were actively involved in their upbringing. In their choice of spouse, 75% looked for a woman who would be a good mother. A majority of young men were seeking a “soul mate” to fulfill their emotional, sexual, and spiritual desires, as well as to share in providing financial stability. Married Men 94% of married men said they were happier being married than single. 73% of married men said that their sex life was better in marriage. 68% said that marriage had helped them to become financially stable. Percentage of Persons Age 35 Through 44 Who Were Married by Sex, 1960-2003, United States Children The report on the survey pays attention to the issue of fertility. In America in the 1880s, approximately 75% of households had children (under 18) as compared to 33% in 2000. There has been a sharp drop in the birth rate since the 1960s, and an increase in the 1980s and 1990s has been as a result of immigrant population. The report therefore concludes that adults are less likely to be living with children and children are less likely to be a consideration in daily life. Of the men surveyed: 75% of married men felt that children should be brought up in a religious home. 59% of unmarried men felt that it is not important for children to be brought up in religious homes. Two-thirds of married men surveyed did not see children as the focus of a marriage. Conclusion “Finishing schooling, obtaining full-time employment, and being financially independent” are now the sequence of events in the move towards adulthood, when in the past marriage was the primary and important step towards adulthood, states the report. “For men, even more than for women, marriage is a transformative event. Getting married tends to change men's behavior in notable and predictable ways. When men marry, they begin to lead healthier and more productive lives. They work harder and do better financially than men who are not married. They are less likely to hang out in bars, to abuse alcohol or drugs or to engage in illegal activities. They are more likely to spend time with relatives and to be involved in religious and community activities. Their sex lives are better. They are more responsible and involved fathers.” Wives take care of the health of their husbands and provide emotional support, stability, and a financial advantage if they work outside of the home. However, among men looking for their perfect partner in life, the survey deduces that the process of constantly looking for the ideal partner may lead to dissatisfaction with a current girlfriend in the hope for a better one. The report also considers the factor of the pornography industry and its role in creating the “soul-mate/babe” as an ideal that can never be realized. Sources: US Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1961, Page 34, Table 27; Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1971, Page 32, Table 38; Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1981, Page 38, Table 49; and US Bureau of the Census, General Population Characteristics, 1990, Page 45, Table 34; and Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2001, Page 48, Table 51; internet tables (www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hh-fam/cps2002/tabA1-all.pdf) and data calculated from the Current Population Surveys, March 2003 Supplement. The Social Health of Marriage in America (last accessed January 10, 2005) http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1157365799017&pagename=Zone-English-Family%2FFYELayout

Spurs are 3-0 and King James is not playing well. Hope its not a white wash.

"I have spoken to some of them (in the government) and they all say it won't happen. They have not even set an agenda or picked the delegates. They will announce a delay tomorrow and blame lack of donor funding ." LoL, this guy seems to know the truth of the matter unlike our Somali Pro TFG nomads Go on put a brave face on,,,,,,,

Had a fresh fish with rice and chips for lunch. Plus a fruit salad with ice cream. Feeling sleepy now, need shaah,,,,,

LoL

I see. I may go there in July IA. If i do i will write 'LFC' on that same wall.

dp

^^Your obsession with SL is quite remarkable.

I was going through the pages and saw 'a little tuulo' called Jaca Qamar which i thought meant Jaamac Qam/bar. Dont you think you should cut her some slack then? ps I would have thought 'Liverpool' would be a better graffiti than the Cardiff one no?

Since all institutions of governmenance have broken down and we do not have reliable source to distinguish who genuinely believes he or she is a citizen of the Republic, we must use our Islamic faith . I strongly suggest to PM Geed and his cabinet to pass a by-law requiring each citizen to undergo an oath process in which he or she clarifies, without doubt, that he or she believes the unity of Somali Republic . Dont you think he or she should take an oath declaring their belief in Allah, his prophets etc (tawheed) if you are going to use 'our Islamic faith'? A pledge of allegiance to the republic has nothing to do with Islam. Confused souls :rolleyes: ps I need a passport to buy freehold in area of the UAE which my UK passport cant get me. A Somali passport will make me an Arab which will let me buy that property. So please arrange a passport for: Northerner Al Burcaawi Bin Maxamuud If not then I'll just get a recommendation from the Somali Embassy (if you can call it that) in Abu Dhabi

Very sad indeed. I thought NG was refering to the other murder of a yound Kurd girl by her father in 2002. Didnt know it happened again. A preventable tragedy The police are right to blame themselves over the 'honour killing' of Banaz Mahmod: the lessons were there to be learned long ago. The police, with unexpected humility, are busy crying mea culpa in the fallout from the murder convictions of two Kurdish men, Ari and Mahmod Mahmod, for the brutal strangulation of Banaz, a young woman, who had "strayed", and therefore dragged her family honour through mud. All she had done was leave a violent husband, to whom she was forcibly married at the tender age of 16, and then fallen in love with a family friend who was not a "good" enough Muslim. Of course, humility is the only hiding place left for the police. Ever since the murder of Heshu Yonez in 2002, in chillingly similar circumstances, the police went on record for saying that the issue of honour killing must be tackled. Commander Andy Baker of the Metropolitan police set up a special taskforce to research the issue. Five years later, we might be forgiven for expecting that the police would be up to speed and ready for action. Since then, the only action that has been taken, according to Hannana Siddiqui of Southall Black Sisters, is the issuing of internal guidance to the force on honour-based violence and better monitoring of such crimes. The good intentions of senior police officers have not translated into action on the ground. Those working with women escaping domestic violence are familiar with police inaction, failure to take allegations seriously, and reluctance to intervene in "cultural" practices. What takes the cake in Banaz's case is that one police officer even considered charging her for criminal damage for breaking a neighbour's window in a frantic attempt to raise the alarm that her father was trying to kill her. After all the progress that has been made in terms of legislation such as the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, public awareness, zero tolerance of domestic violence and vast quantities of police training, the police officer thought that Banaz was being melodramatic! Although the police did offer Banaz a refuge space, which she refused for fear of inflaming the situation, they do not appear to have referred her to a specialist women's organisation where she could have discussed her options and been given the counselling and confidence she needed to get to a place of safety. Of course, if Ruth Kelly, the communities secretary, has her way, specialist organisations dealing with a single ethnic group would no longer receive funding because their very existence threatens social cohesion. Her commission on integration has also recommended that translation services be cut back. If leaflets on honour crimes were only available in English, then learning English would become, literally, a matter of life and death. Integration is being touted as the magical solution to the shortcomings of multiculturalism, in which the state allowed community leaders to police their own to avoid charges of racism. Under both policy regimes, it appears that minority women will remain unprotected. Mature multiculturalism, which advocated respect for diversity but also state intervention to protect human rights in all communities, has been trampled in the rush towards integration. CiF

Men who decided a daughter had to die - for the good of the family · Father and uncle found guilty of murder plot · Kiss in street sealed fate in close-knit community Karen McVeigh Tuesday June 12, 2007 The Guardian It began with a kiss on a south London street. For Banaz Mahmod, 20, and the secret lover she called "my prince, my shining one", it was a symbol of their love and the freedom they longed for. But in the eyes of her family the public display of intimacy was a step too far. Banaz had already, they thought, shamed the family by leaving an arranged marriage with a husband who she claimed beat and raped her. Her new boyfriend, Rahmat Sulemani, 29, was not of their tribe, nor a strict Muslim. Article continues -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Within weeks, Banaz had vanished. Her body was finally discovered, crammed into a suitcase and buried in a pit, in April 2006. She was half-naked, the shoelace used to kill her still around her neck. Yesterday at the Old Bailey her father, Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and her uncle, Ari Mahmod, 51, from Mitcham, south London, were found guilty of her murder. An associate, Mohamad Hama, 30, of West Norwood, south London, had earlier pleaded guilty to murder. Two other suspects have since fled to Iraq. In court, her father told the jury: "I loved her, I loved all my children. I could not harm her." But prosecutors said nothing could be further from the truth. To the Mahmod brothers the family name was everything. They had already suffered the shame, as they saw it, of one of Banaz's four sisters moving out of the family home. The additional embarrassment of having Banaz divorce and then remarry a man they deemed unsuitable would have been unacceptable, in their eyes. Ms Mahmod left Iraq for London with her family at the age of 10, after their successful asylum application. But she never escaped the strict rules imposed by her violent father and uncle. When she and Mr Sulemani, a friend of the family, fell in love, they met in secret. But in the close-knit Kurdish community in Mitcham where she lived nothing was secret for long. A few months into their relationship they were spotted out together by a group of men in a car. They were followed and, when they kissed, those watching captured it on a mobile phone. The court heard how, after evidence of Banaz's "betrayal" - the kiss - was passed to her uncle he called a family meeting on December 2 2005. It was decided that she and Mr Sulemani were to be killed. The jury was left in no doubt about the violent nature of the Mahmod brothers. Banaz's older sister, Bekhal, 22, told the Old Bailey how she was subjected to a campaign of physical and verbal abuse by her father, and placed in foster care for her own protection. After she moved out she was battered over the head with a training weight in what she alleged was a murder attempt ordered by him. Her uncle Ari also told her she deserved to be "turned to ashes". Bekhal told the court that she still fears for her life. The first attempt to kill Banaz ended in failure on December 31 2005, the Old Bailey jury was told, after she managed to escape. Her boyfriend described seeing her later that day, bloodied and covered in bruises and scratches, as "a moment I can never forget". But in what became a crucial piece of evidence in the trial, he filmed her account of what happened on his mobile phone. Lying in a hospital bed, terrified and bleeding, Banaz described how her father forced her to drag a suitcase to her grandmother's house. Her voice still slurred from the alcohol, she described how he made her drink most of a bottle of brandy, against her Islamic beliefs. It made her "sleepy and dizzy", she said. "It was just me and my dad in the living room," she said. "The curtains were shut and it was dark. He said: 'Turn your back to me'. I turned around every now and again because I didn't trust him." Terrified, she escaped through the back door, cutting her wrists in a frantic attempt to raise the alarm by smashing a neighbour's window. When an ambulance was called she kept repeating to the crew that her father and uncle had tried to kill her. She told police what had happened but said they did not believe her. Later, her father told the court she had made up the allegation because she wanted a council house. That night she stayed at Mr Sulemani's house. But after promising her that she would not be hurt, her mother persuaded her to return home. But nothing had changed. In fact, time was running out for the Mahmod brothers. They knew that police had been alerted. They had to move quickly. On January 22 2006 henchmen tried to abduct Mr Sulemani from a street in Hounslow, west London. He was protected by friends, but was warned: "We're going to kill you and Banaz because we're Muslim and Kurdish. We're not like the English where you can be boyfriend and girlfriend." The next day the young couple agreed to go to their respective local police stations. Ms Mahmod reported everything, but even then found it difficult to believe her parents would not protect her. She refused offers of a refuge, telling officers that it was her uncle she was worried about. "I'll be OK with my mum," she said. It was the last time she was seen alive. Her father left home with his wife and youngest daughter the next morning, on January 24, leaving Banaz to her fate at the hands of her uncle's associates, the jury was told. There was a flurry of telephone calls between the brothers that morning and the night before. Further telephone evidence showed the plotters were all kept informed as to when it was safe to approach the house. Banaz's decomposed body was discovered in Handsworth, Birmingham, three months later. A catalogue of missed opportunities The key question for the police disciplinary inquiry into the death of Banaz Mahmod will be the actions of officers on New Year's Eve 2005. On that day Ms Mahmod told PC Angela Cornes how her father had plied her with alcohol and tried to kill her. PC Cornes dismissed her as being manipulative and melodramatic. She failed to record the murder allegation and instead, together with her inspector, considered charging Ms Mahmod for a broken window that she smashed to escape. Ms Mahmod had repeatedly reported her family were planning to kill her. On December 4 she went to Mitcham station to report her uncle's threats and threatening telephone calls. A week later, on December 12, she handed in a list of names she suspected of being involved in a plot. The last contact she had with police was on January 23 2006, when she told of further threats on her life and an attempt to kill her boyfriend the previous night. Police should have known that an older sister, Bekhal, had been placed in foster care due to fears for her safety. Ms Mahmod said she wanted the threats recorded, in case anything happened to her. She told police she did not want any action taken. She refused an alarm and, the day before she died, she also refused offers of a refuge. But the investigation will examine whether, while respecting her wishes, police did enough to reassure, to help, and ultimately, to protect her guardian.co.uk

UN was pummelled into submission, says outgoing Middle East special envoy · Negotiators 'lost impartiality' says report · Palestinians also criticised over violence Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem and Ian Williams in New York Wednesday June 13, 2007 The Guardian American support for Israel has hindered international efforts to broker a peace deal in the Middle East, according to a hard-hitting confidential report from the outgoing UN Middle East envoy. Alvaro de Soto, who stepped down last month after 25 years at the UN, has exposed the American pressure that he argues has damaged the impartiality of the UN's peace making efforts. In Mr de Soto's "End of Mission Report", which the Guardian has obtained, he delivers a devastating criticism of both Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the international community. The Quartet of Middle East negotiators - the UN, the US, the EU and Russia - has often failed to hold Israel to its obligations under the Road Map, the current framework for peace talks, he argues. Over the past two years, the Quartet has gradually lost its impartiality. "The fact is that even-handedness has been pummelled into submission in an unprecedented way since the beginning of 2007," he writes. He blames overwhelming influence exerted by the US and an "ensuing tendency toward self-censorship" within the UN when it comes to criticism of Israel. "At almost every juncture a premium is put on good relations with the US and improving the UN's relationship with Israel. I have no problem with either goal but I do have a problem with self-delusion," he writes. "Forgetting our ability to influence the Palestinian scene in the hope that it keeps open doors to Israel is to trade our Ace for a Joker." Mr de Soto reveals that after Hamas won elections last year it wanted to form a broad coalition government with its more moderate rivals, including Fatah, run by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. But the US discouraged other Palestinian politicians from joining. "We were told that the US was against any 'blurring' of the line dividing Hamas from those Palestinian political forces committed to the two-state solution," . Mr de Soto writes. It was a year before a coalition government was finally formed. The US also supported the Israeli decision to freeze Palestinian tax revenues. "The Quartet has been prevented from pronouncing on this because the US, as its representatives have intimated to us, does not wish Israel to transfer these funds to the PA [Palestinian Authority]," he writes. "There is a seeming reflex, in any given situation where the UN is to take a position, to ask first how Israel or Washington will react rather than what is the right position to take." Mr de Soto opposed the international boycott placed on the Palestinian government after Hamas won elections last year. He argued that it was wrong to use pressure and isolation alone, and proposed retaining dialogue with Hamas. He wanted tougher criticism of Israel as well, but came up against a "heavy barrage" from US officials. The effect of the boycott was to seriously damage the Palestinian economy and promote radicalism. It also lifted pressure from Israel. "With all focus on the failings of Hamas, the Israeli settlement enterprise and barrier construction has continued unabated," he writes. The US, he argues, was clearly pushing for a confrontation between Fatah and Hamas but Washington misjudged Mr Abbas, who he argues had wanted to co-opt rather than defeat Hamas. Fighting between Fatah and Hamas has intensified in recent months. He quotes an unnamed US official as saying earlier this year: "I like this violence ... It means that other Palestinians are resisting Hamas." Since December at least 600 Palestinians have been killed in factional battles. The report criticises the Palestinians for their violence, and Israel for extending its settlements and barrier in the West Bank. But he also argues that Israeli policies have encouraged continued Palestinian militancy. "I wonder if the Israeli authorities realise that, season after season, they are reaping what they sow, and are systematically pushing along the violence/repression cycle to the point where it is self-propelling," he writes. Mr de Soto speaks of his frustration in the job, not least that he was refused permission to meet the Hamas and Syrian governments in Damascus. "At best I have been the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process in name only, and since the election of Hamas, I have been the secretary-general's personal representative to the Palestinian Authority for about 10 minutes in two phone calls and one handshake," he writes. He stepped down in May at the end of his two-year contract and left the UN. The "tipping-point" for his departure came after the new UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said future meetings with a Palestinian prime minister would depend on the actions of his government. Michele Montas, spokesperson for Mr Ban, said: "It is deeply regrettable that this report has been leaked. The whole point of an end-of-mission report is for our envoys and special representatives to be as candid as possible ... the views in the report should not be considered official UN policy." http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2101630,00.html

Secret UN report condemns US for Middle East failures Envoy's damning verdict revealed as violence takes Gaza closer to civil war Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem and Ian Williams in New York Wednesday June 13, 2007 The Guardian The highest ranking UN official in Israel has warned that American pressure has "pummelled into submission" the UN's role as an impartial Middle East negotiator in a damning confidential report. The 53-page "End of Mission Report" by Alvaro de Soto, the UN's Middle East envoy, obtained by the Guardian, presents a devastating account of failed diplomacy and condemns the sweeping boycott of the Palestinian government. It is dated May 5 this year, just before Mr de Soto stepped down. The revelations from inside the UN come after another day of escalating violence in Gaza, when at least 26 Palestinians were killed after Hamas fighters launched a major assault. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the rival Fatah group, warned he was facing an attempted coup. Mr de Soto condemns Israel for setting unachievable preconditions for talks and the Palestinians for their violence. Western-led peace negotiations have become largely irrelevant, he says. Mr de Soto is a Peruvian diplomat who worked for the UN for 25 years in El Salvador, Cyprus and Western Sahara. He says: · The international boycott of the Palestinians, introduced after Hamas won elections last year, was "at best extremely short-sighted" and had "devastating consequences" for the Palestinian people · Israel has adopted an "essentially rejectionist" stance towards the Palestinians · The Quartet of Middle East negotiators - the US, the EU, Russia and the UN - has become a "side-show" ·The Palestinian record of stopping violence against Israel is "patchy at best, reprehensible at worst" Mr de Soto acknowledges in the report that he is its sole author. It was meant only for senior UN officials, and its wording is far more critical than the public pronouncements of UN diplomats. Last night, Mr de Soto, who is in New York, told the Guardian: "It is a confidential document and not intended for publication." In January last year, the Quartet called on the newly elected Hamas government to commit to non-violence, recognise Israel and accept previous agreements. When Hamas refused to sign up to the principles, the international community halted direct funding to the Palestinian government and Israel started to freeze the monthly tax revenues that it had agreed to pass to the Palestinians. Several hundred million dollars remain frozen. Mr de Soto, who had opposed the boycott, said this position "effectively transformed the Quartet from a negotiation-promoting foursome guided by a common document [the road map for peace] into a body that was all-but imposing sanctions on a freely elected government of a people under occupation as well as setting unattainable preconditions for dialogue". The EU said yesterday that there was an imminent risk of civil war if fighting went on, and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urged support for Mr Abbas's efforts "to restore law and order". In the heaviest day of fighting in Gaza for months, Hamas appeared to make its first concerted effort to seize power in Gaza. There was a wave of co-ordinated attacks, which appeared to overwhelm the larger but less effective Fatah force. "Decisiveness will be in the field," said Islam Shahwan, a spokesman for the Hamas military wing. Fatah's central committee called an emergency meeting in Ramallah, in the West Bank, and said it would suspend the activities of its ministers in the government. Fatah would pull out of the government if the fighting failed to stop, it said. For the first time in several weeks, fighting spread to the West Bank when Fatah gunmen attacked a Hamas television studio in Ramallah and kidnapped a Hamas deputy cabinet minister from the city. The day began with a rocket attack on the private house in Gaza of Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister and a Hamas leader. He was in the building but was not hurt. Fighting spread across Gaza City and within hours Hamas fighters issued warnings over loudspeakers calling on all Fatah security forces to pull out of their bases and return home. At about 2pm Hamas gunmen seized control of several small Fatah bases and one large base in northern Gaza, where there were heavy casualties when Hamas fighters fired mortars and rocket-propelled grenades at the compound. Several Fatah officers complained that they had received no orders during the day. Mr Abbas tried calling for a truce, and later Fatah ordered its officers to fight back. guardian.co.uk Read Alvaro de Soto's End of Mission Report

A civil war is sadly nearing in Gaza Fatah suspends role in government Fatah says it is suspending participation in the three-month old unity government until street battles in Gaza end. The announcement on Tuesday night came at the end of one of the bloodiest days of factional fighting in the Gaza Strip. The toll in the past 24 hours reached 27, with scores wounded. Earlier in the day, fighters from the armed wing of Hamas had stormed two compounds belonging to forces loyal to the Palestinian president. The raids came after the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades demanded that all Preventive Security Forces abandon their positions or face attack. Mahmoud Abbas, the president, said that the violence was part of a Hamas-led coup attempt. After the closed-doors meeting, Fatah's central committee said in a statement: "The committee has decided that [Fatah] ministers will no longer participate in the government if the shooting does not stop." Ismail Haniya, the prime minister and Hamas member, said a state of emergency should be declared and that talks between the two factions should resume. In Israel, Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said an international force should be deployed along the Gaza-Egypt border. Abbas's office said in a statement: "All information and events on the ground in Gaza confirm that there is a group in the Hamas movement, including political and military leaders, that are planning to carry out a coup against the Palestinian legitimacy. "The Palestinian presidency is worried about this plot ... which is pushing the homeland into an ugly civil war." Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, said: "For the president to make such a declaration does signal a new chapter in this Hamas-Fatah violence. "The situation does not seem to be reaching a solution, it seems to be heading further and further away from political dialogue." Haniya's home struck A rocket-propelled grenade was fired into the Palestinian prime minister's house on Tuesday morning. Haniya, who is a member of the Hamas movement, was unharmed. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, accused Fatah of firing the rocket in an attempt to assassinate Haniya and vowed punishment "without mercy" of the perpetrators. "Hamas has decided to punish the attackers and the killers and it will not be reluctant to punish them without any mercy." It was the second time since Monday that Haniya had come under attack, a shooting at his office on Monday interrupted a cabinet meeting but caused no casualties. Later, an aide to Haniya said that Hamas's rivals were trying to bring down the unity government which was formed in March. "Certain parties, collaborating with parties hostile to our people, have tried to bring down the government of national unity by force," the official said. Witnesses said that a large security compound in Gaza City was attacked just minutes after the Hamas deadline expired. Heavy gunfire and explosions were heard in the area, but there was no immediate word on casualties. A second headquarters in Jabiliya, in the north of the strip, was also besieged. Hamas-affiliated radio stations said fighters had taken control of security installations in northern and central Gaza, as well as the southern town of Khan Yunis. Earlier, the presidential compound in Gaza City also came under attack with mortar shells, an officer in Abbas's presidential guard said. A gun battle broke out between armed supporters of Hamas and Fatah at a hospital in Khan Yunis. Hamas fighters reportedly controlled the roof of the European Hospital and Fatah-allied fighters took up positions nearby. "[Medical officials] are appealing to gunmen from all sides to steer away from medical services, institutions and ambulances and allow them to do their work," Odeh said. The recent clashes have been particularly brutal with reports of fighters dropping rivals to their deaths from high-rise buildings and bodies being mutilated. Officials of both factions have seen their homes attacked and in many cases set on fire. 'House for a house' Samih al-Madhoun, a senior figure in the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said after his house was attacked: "If they've burnt my house, I have burnt 20 Hamas houses last night." "A house for a house and blood for blood ... I swear to God that I will kill every member of Hamas, be they civilian or military. I will kill them all," he told a Fatah radio station. The factional fighting spread to the West Bank as Saidi Tamimi, deputy transport minister and a Hamas member, was seized by armed men who stormed into his department and forced him into a vehicle, security officials said. Also in Ramallah, presidential guards stormed Hamas-controlled al-Aqsa Television and seized equipment. Three staff were detained, the station said. The raid came after two television employees were abducted and their station set on fire overnight. Palestine TV blamed Hamas for the raid. Fighters also renewed rocket attacks on southern Israel. Three Israelis in the town of Sderot were lightly injured, an Israeli medic said. Israel launched an air strike into the northern Gaza Strip after the Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the attack. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Originally posted by NGONGE: ^^^ They left Totti all on his own too LoL,

^^I hope the hargaisa hospitality will welcome odayga Red Sea. Xanthus did you say you went to Jaamac Qabar?

A bit of a sawaahili reunion up in here maistidhi?

LooooL

What is it with kids these days? I advise them on what course to take for uni only for them to call and say they want to switch cos its 'boring' :rolleyes: Bal ya usheega?

^^Dabshid emailed me the proxy sometime ago laaking me being lazy and inpatient didnt bother with it. I think its time to trawl through my emails and dig it out. ps at least she can say shes been home

For some people a girl not wearing her xijaab or a boy with a funky hairstyle is shameful while for others its not really that bad. I suppose it depends on the family and their strictness. Educating them when young will not always lead to them being model kids/adolescents. Its all in how one handles any given situation when it arises.