March 23rd, 2012 by Oman Views

Sexy photo in hacked Assad emails causes comment

LONDON (Reuters) – A provocative photograph of a near-naked young woman appears among e-mails apparently sent to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and hacked by opposition activists who shared them with Western media.

On Saturday, London’s Daily Telegraph published an edited version of the photograph, which has been seen by Reuters among the original e-mails. It speculated on the state of his 11-year marriage to British-born Asma al-Assad, who has stood by her husband during a year of protests that come close to civil war.

The cache of some 3,000 e-mails dated for about nine months until early February has not been repudiated by the Assads or the small circle of aides and contacts who sent them since details were first published by Britain’s Guardian on Thursday.

There is no way to be certain, however, that all the content is genuine, nor to be sure that Assad’s enemies, at home and abroad, are not seeking to use material to their advantage.

E-mails seen by Reuters indicate a generally affectionate and light-hearted tone between Syria’s first couple and among the mostly English-speaking advisers sending messages to these private e-mail accounts. Some comments sent by female aides to the president gush with admiration: “miss uuu” writes one.

“So cute,” says another young woman when sending the 46-year-old Assad a photograph showing him in his younger days.

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By Alastair Macdonald | Reuters

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March 23rd, 2012 by Oman Views

More aid needed to avoid Palestinian cuts: IMF

The International Monetary Fund urged donor countries Saturday to honor their promises to the Palestinian Authority, whose economy is entering a “difficult phase” and could further deteriorate.

The Palestinian economy is experiencing a serious drop in liquid assets that has worsened since last year due to a reduction in aid from Western and Gulf countries, as well as trade and movement restrictions imposed by Israel, an IMF report said.

The report, prepared for a meeting of donor countries in Brussels next week, estimated a financing gap of about $500 million.

It said only $800 million of donor aid was disbursed to finance the 2011 recurrent budget, compared to $1 billion anticipated. And development budgetary aid stood at just $169 million, compared to a budgeted $500 million.

“These shortfalls, in addition to lower-than-expected tax revenue in the context of a slowdown in economic growth, led to the accumulation of $0.5 billion in domestic payment arrears to the private sector and to the public pension fund,” the report said.

It pointed to an increase in domestic bank borrowing by some $140 million, which raised government debt to the banking system to $1.1 billion, or 11 percent of GDP.

And while the 2012 draft budget plans to reduce the recurrent deficit by three percentage points of GDP, “there remains a substantial financing gap, projected at $0.5 billion,” the IMF warned.

“There is little scope to cover that gap through further arrears accumulation to the private sector or borrowing from commercial banks, given the existing large stock of debt to businesses and banks.”

It said there was a “high risk” that the gap would trigger cuts in wages, social transfers and other essential spending. The IMF called for “concerted efforts” from the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli government and donor countries to bridge the financing gap.

“It will be very difficult for the PA to cover the 2012 financing gap through austerity alone, without the prompt pledging and disbursement of additional aid,” the report added.

AFP

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March 23rd, 2012 by Oman Views

Bahrain to retry 20 medics in uprising case

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) – Twenty Bahraini medical professionals convicted on uprising-linked charges and sentenced to prison terms face retrial in civilian courts, a lawyer said Thursday.

Lawyer Jalila al-Sayed said a judge revoked last week’s decision to proceed with only five cases and refer the other 15 doctors and nurses to a medical disciplinary board. All were convicted of anti-state crimes during last year’s unrest.

Even so, Bahraini authorities insisted the prosecutors will pursue charges only against five of the 20 health professionals. The discrepancy could not immediately be clarified.

The 20 doctors and nurses treated wounded protesters during the Gulf kingdom’s uprising. Last year a special security court, set up during eight weeks of emergency rule in the Gulf kingdom, sentenced them to five to 15 years in prison.

That court has been disbanded. Al-Sayed said the judge did not mention dropping charges against 15 medics during Thursday’s proceedings in a civilian court.

The next hearing has been set for March 20. The case has drawn stiff criticism from human rights groups.

Also Thursday, clashes between security forces and opposition supporters flared across the tiny but strategically important Gulf island that is the home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Riot police fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets at protesters, who were marking the first anniversary of the deployment of a Saudi-led military force in Bahrain.

Some protesters threw firebombs at the riot police. There were no reports of injuries.

The troops from the Sunni-ruled neighboring states were sent to Bahrain to help the Sunni monarchy quell dissent among the island nation’s majority Shiites.

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