Saturday 08 January 2005, 10:19 Makka Time, 7:19 GMT
Mustafa Barghuthi was released today by Israeli police.
He was arrested yesterday in front of the al-Aqsa mosque, while he was trying to enter in time for the evening prayers.
He was previously prevented by the police from campaigning in that area of the city.
His rival in the presidential election, Mahmud Abbas, is expected to easily win.
The conflict regarding the city of Jerusalem is one of the most important issues between Israel and Palestine.
The eastern area of this city was annexed by Israel in 1967, and is now considered an occupied territory by international law. Palestinians from East Jerusalem want this to be their capital in the future.
On Sunday, the presidential election day, more than 5000 Palestinians will be allowed by Israel to vote.
Il Romanaccio at 1:10 PM
Friday 07 January 2005, 20:29 Makka Time, 17:29 GMT
In the Abu Ghraib neighbourhood west of Baghdad, four Iraqi guardsmen were killed by a bomb today, Al-Jazeera reported.
In Samarra, north of Baghdad, another two guards and a civillian were killed in battles against armed groups.
In Mosul, US and Iraqi forces raided the Saad Bin Maath mosque after Friday prayers. They were searching for the Imam but they didn't find him.
In the Samilat district in Abu Ghraib, a US military vehicle was damaged due to a bomb placed by the fighters on Friday, Al-Jazeera said.
In the Zaidan area in Abu Ghraib, a house used by the Americans as a military base came under mortar fire yesterday.
Witnesses said that some US soldiers were hit during the attack.
Il Romanaccio at 12:54 PM
Friday 07 January 2005, 11:24 Makka Time, 8:24 GMT
Florence Aubenas, a journalist for the French newspaper "Liberation", disappeared on Thursday along with her Iraqi interpreter Husain Hanun al-Saadi.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier in an interview from LCI tv station said:
"We don't know what this is, we are worried because we have no news, but we don't know for sure. So as I'm speaking, there are several hypotheses and I don't know which is the correct hypothesis."
France and Iraq are now coordinating the search for the missing journalists.
Another two French reporters were being held captive by a group called "Islamic Army of Iraq".
They were released on December 21, 2004 due to the French political opposition to the US-led war in Iraq.
Il Romanaccio at 12:26 PM
Friday 07 January 2005, 8:41 Makka Time, 5:41 GMT
The official number of US troops killed on Thursday is nine and a US Marine was killed Friday in al-Anbar (western Iraq), as reported in a military statement:
"A marine assigned to First Marine Expeditionary Force was killed in action Thursday, 6 January, while conducting security and stability operations in the al-Anbar province."
Another US Marine was killed in al-Anbar and seven US soldiers in Baghdad after a roadside bomb exploded against a Bradley fighting vehicle, earlier on Thursday.
Il Romanaccio at 12:15 PM
Friday, 7 January, 2005, 10:32 GMT
During his last day of campaigning, Moustafa Barghouti, a candidate for the Palestinian presidential election scheduled on January 9, was arrested by Israeli police in East Jerusalem.
He was trying to enter the al-Aqsa mosque in time for Friday prayers.
Apparently he was arrested and driven off by three Israeli policemen.
Due to clashes with Israeli police, he had previously been detained and prevented from political activity in East Jerusalem.
This area of Jerusalem is known also as "Arab East Jerusalem", given the fact that its inhabitants are Palestinian and they hope that this will be the future capital of their state.
According to international law, this zone is an "occupied territory".
Il Romanaccio at 11:52 AM
Wednesday 05 January 2005, 18:06 Makka Time, 15:06 GMT
Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said that "The government is committed to running the elections on schedule" and "We will not allow violence and terrorists to stop the political process... We know some Iraqis fear voting but we have to overcome those fears."
But the last 24 hours have been more drammatic than ever in Iraq:
At least 48 people (including civillians) died in ambushes and car bombs attacks.
Some hours after the Hilla's attack, in the town of Baquba (north of Baghdad), another suicide car bomber killed six people at a checkpoint defended by the National Guard and US forces.
In the same area during the night, three US contractors died in a gun battle.
A member of the Electoral Commission Staff, Khalifa Hussein, was killed along with his driver in an ambush carried out by the rebels yesterday.
In Mosul, the sunni politician Omar Mahmoud Abdallah was shot dead.
In Samarra, another roadside bomb killed six Iraqi National Guardsmen patrolling the area.
Other rebels ambushed and gunned down four US contractors, in the same city.
According to the police, another contractor was assassinated in the sorroundings of Balad and
an interpreter for the US was killed near Tuz.
The Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported that there are at least 150.000 Iraqis ready to vote in Great Britain and another 250.000 in Syria, added to the 230.000 in the United States. Elsewhere, there should be a total of 1 milion people to vote for the creation of a Transitional National Assembly on January 30.
Iraqi President Ghazi Al Yawar, the government's senior Sunni official, is doubtful about having elections by the end of this month, in contrast with the Prime Minister Allawi.
Il Romanaccio at 10:01 AM
Wednesday 05 January 2005, 12:48 Makka Time, 9:48 GMT
Talafar (north of Mosul), another American soldier was killed today when a US patrol came under fire.
Armed fighters were attacking the US forces with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at about 2 p.m. (1100 GMT).
This is the deadliest day ever for the US troops since the bombing at a mess tent in Mosul on December 21 of last year, which killed 22 people.
Five US servicemen also died in three different attacks.
In central Ramadi city, an Iraqi man died during a gun battle involving a group of fighters armed with machine guns and grenades, against the US forces.
US snipers are now monitoring the city from rooftop positions taken up today.
Il Romanaccio at 12:45 PM
Wednesday 05 January 2005, 12:48 Makka Time, 9:48 GMT
Four Iraqi civilians were wounded today after US Helicopters bombed Arbil.
As reported by Al-Jazeera's correspondent in Iraq's Kurdistan, Ahmad al-Zawiti,
the bombing damaged some nearby buildings and cars, along with Salah al-Din University.
The strike was two-hours long, according to officials, and was meant to reply to the insurgents after a US helicopter came under fire in the same area, witnesses said.
Il Romanaccio at 12:34 PM
Wednesday 05 January 2005, 14:49 Makka Time, 11:49 GMT
22 people were killed today after a car bomb attack against the Iraqi Police Academy in the Babil district in Hilla, south of Baghdad.
The attack took place during a graduation ceremony for a batch of new police officers.
Hadi Hatif, the police spokesmen, said that a Kamikaze drove into the compound and came under fire from police just before the car exploded.
Some civillian buildings and cars were damaged as well.
Il Romanaccio at 12:11 PM
JAN 04 2005 17:32 Greenwich Time
Abu Musab al Zarqawi has claimed the assassination of Ali Radi al Haidari, Baghdad's governor.
This message appearead on an internet site along with the video of the killing.
Even the attack against the green zone today was orchestrated by Al-Quaeda. Meanwhile, a local Middle Eastern tv station, was reporting Al-Zarquawi's arrest by the US military forces.
Recently this evening, the Pentagon firmly denied the capture of the Jordanian terrorist.
Il Romanaccio at 2:04 AM
List of online newspapers:
Iraq:
http://www.iraqdaily.com
Iran:
http://www.iran-daily.com
Afghanistan:
http://afghanistannews.net
Turkey:
http://turkeypost.com
Israel:
http://www.jpost.com
Pakistan:
http://www.paktoday.com
Lebanon:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
Il Romanaccio at 12:57 AM
Monday 03 January 2005, 22:57 Makka Time, 19:57 GMT
As reported by the Brigadier Yusuf al-Mulla, "The military intelligence service is questioning some soldiers, following information concerning their intention to carry out an attack on friendly forces."
Kuwaiti intelligence discovered that high ranking officers were inlvoved in this plot against the United States. "Some of the soldiers were released after it was found out they were not involved. Others are still under interrogation," said al-Mulla.
The US goverment advised its citizens in Kuwait to be alert as a result of this talk of probable attacks from insurgent groups around the Arab Gulf.
Il Romanaccio at 5:15 PM
The US military reported another death in the province of Al-Anbar, which includes the cities of Falluja and Ramadi.
US forces started a major assault on these territories in November of last year.
A total of 1049 US soldiers and Pentagon personnel have been killed in action in Iraq since the beginning of the war in March of 2004.
Including non-Iraqi civillians, the toll is now about 1334.
Later during the day, Al-Jazeera registered a Turkish oil container burnt by unidentified insurgents in Mosul.
Appareantly a truck or car was driven into the oil container. It is uncertain whether the driver is alive or dead.
Il Romanaccio at 5:06 PM
Tuesday 04 January 2005, 12:22 Makka Time, 9:22 GMT
Thirteen people have been killed and at least twenty-eight wounded after a truck bomb exploded close to the fortified complex in Baghdad's green zone, as reported by Iraqi Journalist Ziyad al-Samaray, who said that there had been a very loud explosion in the capital at 8:50 a.m.
He also specified that the truck bomb was meant to hit the Iraqi special forces headquarters in Al-Qadisiya (a neighbourhood in Baghdad).
Iraqi police and US forces were cordoning the area when ambulances arrived.
Some houses nearby were damaged as well.
Il Romanaccio at 4:56 PM
Tuesday 04 January 2005, 12:22 Makka Time, 9:22 GMT
Another attempt against the US-formed interim government has been carried out by the independent fighter groups in Iraq.
According to police and medical sources, Ali al-Haidri was killed today by the insurgents in a lengthy exhange of fire between the machine gun-armed fighters and Iraqi and US forces.
Other details are not yet available.
Ali al-Haidri was the most senior Iraqi official to face death after the assassination of the head of the Governing Council, in May of last year.
Il Romanaccio at 4:43 PM
Sunday 02 January 2005, 20:55 Makka Time, 17:55 GMT
The PLO chairman Mahmud Abbas's declaration was intended to stop the Palestinian resistance movements from firing homemade rockets towards Israel: "It is true that there are some issues regarding rockets, which are useless, but in return there is a grave, a very grave Israeli escalation."
But he found a negative response from Hamas, who declared:"Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has refused to halt attacks on Israeli targets, saying they are defending Palestinian victims from Israeli occupation policies".
A leader of the Hamas movement in the West Bank, Hasan Yusuf, speaking to Al-Jazeera from Ram Allah said:
"I don't think that Abu Mazin [Abbas] has taken note of the continuing Israeli killings against the Palestinian people."
"The real cause behind the aggression is not the Palestinian resistance, but the Israeli occupation."
"We should not portray a different picture to the world, and reinforce what they report by saying that the resistance is the aggressor," he also added.
Il Romanaccio at 6:43 PM
Monday 03 January 2005, 10:25 Makka Time, 7:25 GMT
Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Ghait speaking on Egyptian radio on Monday : "The aim Egypt is working for is to restore confidence and calm so that the Palestinian people in all of the Gaza Strip can take part in a legitimate election process under international supervision" and "That can be achieved only by complete Israeli withdrawal from the areas Israeli forces have occupied since 28 September 2000 (the eve of the intifada)."
He also said that the presence of Israeli forces in the Gaza strip was a "provocation".
Il Romanaccio at 6:31 PM
Monday 03 January 2005, 16:25 Makka Time, 13:25 GMT :
Insurgents against the new government killed at least nineteen members of the Iraqi National Guard today.
The first attack was directed at the headquarters of Allawi's al Wifaq-Party (Iraqi National Accord).
Iraqi journalist Ziyad al-Samarrai said to Al-Jazeera that this time, a Kamikaze had attempted to break the police's defense by driving a car bomb through the checkpoints of the Headquarters.
Seven policemen were killed and another twenty-four wounded (one of the dead was an officer).
Iraqi ambulances and helicopters quickly arrived on site.
Even the Iraqi National Guard headquarters in al-Ghazaliya was under mortar attack for over twenty minutes.
Al-Samarray reported that "violent clashes have also erupted in al-Adhamiya area and al-Shaab city."
Meanwhile, a US military armored vehicle was damaged due to the detonation of an explosive device at Al-Mutasim (an area in Samarra city), as reported to Al-Jazeera from various sources.
Later, a group of fighters equipped with machine guns and rocket propelled grenades had a gun battle with the US Forces.
Captain Mitch Zorn also said that the green zone had come under multiple attacks.
Security forces outside Baghdad reported that the situation wasn't better: another six Iraqi National Guardsmen were killed and four wounded in two separate explosions in Tikrit.
Another car bomb has exploded close to the US military base in Balad (north of Baghdad).
In this case six died and eight were wounded among the security forces.
In the same place, twenty-four Iraqi cops were killed yesterday, which means that a total of thirty- eight National Guard members have been killed by the insurgents during the last 24 hours.
Il Romanaccio at 5:30 PM
Sunday 02 January 2005, 17:53 Makka Time, 14:53 GMT
The town of Bait Hanun has been attacked today by an incursion of Israeli forces.
Wail Dahduh an Al-Jazeera, a correspondent in Palestine, reported that early Saturday morning, the Israeli occupation forces raided Bait Hanun.
The operation was an attempt to stop the enemy's fire of mortar and RPG toward Israel, "not completely accomplished, anyway," said the spokesman.
Eleven Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army over the last three days, including a ten year old girl.
Il Romanaccio at 6:38 PM
TEHRAN, Jan. 1--ILNA reported that Air pollution in Theran has been critical since Saturday.
The CCEAP (Commitee for Coordinating Emergency Air Pollution) announced that kindergartens, high school and schools will be closed on Sunday, waiting for changes in the level of air pollution.
Residents of the capital are requested to use pubblic transportation instead of private cars if possible.
Il Romanaccio at 2:34 PM
TEHRAN, Jan. 1-- According to what reported today by Guardians Council Spokesman Gholamhossein Elham, new presidential elections are scheduled for June 17 2005.
Elham said the council has also agreed with the simultaneous organization of byelections, IRNA reported.
Il Romanaccio at 2:29 PM
Herat: early morning a US soldier and an Afghan civilian died after being involved in a gunbattle as the US military spokesman told AFP.
"One US soldier and one Afghan citizen were killed in an exchange of fire in Shindand when US soldiers were searching a compound," Major Mark McCann said.
It is still unclear if they where killed by Talibans or it was about a random factional clash,
"No further details are available at this time," as Maj McCann The US military in a statement said US-led coalition "forces came under fire from an unknown number of enemy forces while conducting a routine search of a compound".
The civilian died immediately and the soldier later of his wounds.
Il Romanaccio at 1:56 PM
US army launches a new attack to the south of BaghdadThe US army started a new attack against areas to the south of Baghdad. It is the third of its kind since months where one armed man was killed and other nine detained. The area which is situated be... (photo: U.S. Marine Corps. ) Arabic News
Il Romanaccio at 1:34 PM
Sixteen Iraqi national guard soldier where killed today at 8 am along with a civilian when they where passing close to the town of Balad, north of Bagdad, as reported by the US spokesman Master Sergeant Robert Powell:
"Sixteen Iraqi national guard soldiers and one Iraqi civilian were killed and six Iraqi national guard soldiers were wounded when anti-Iraqi forces detonated a vehicle borne-improvised explosive device next to a bus at 8 am (0500 GMT),"
Two other national guardsmen died, later, of their wounds.
More than one hundred people where killed since Tuesday, in this guerilla between insurgents and the new government.
-AFP
Il Romanaccio at 1:07 PM
