Mid-East governments sign Red Sea-to-Dead Sea water deal

Mid-East governments sign

Red Sea-to-Dead Sea water deal

The surface of the Dead Sea is falling by about a metre a year

Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have signed a water sharing pact aimed at one day replenishing the rapidly drying Dead Sea.

The agreement will build a pipeline to carry brine from a desalination plant at the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, while providing drinking water to the region.

The Dead Sea is dropping by as much as 1m (3.3ft) a year as the River Jordan is depleted for use in irrigation.

But critics fear the plan's impact on the Dead Sea's fragile ecosystem.

Such a project has been under discussion for years.

With peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians apparently stagnating, it offers the prospect of successful co-operation at a time of political difficulty, says the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem.

The agreement was signed on Monday at the headquarters of the World Bank in Washington DC. The project is expected to cost $250m-$400m (£152m-£244m).

Call for study

The Dead Sea is so rich in salt and other minerals that humans float naturally on the surface. The area around the sea has an established tourism and health industry because of the water's unique properties.

But the Dead Sea is losing water rapidly, with some fearing the Dead Sea could dry up entirely by 2050.

The scheme will pipe water from the Gulf of Aqaba off the Red Sea through a desalination plant in Jordan, sending brine to the southern-most edge of the Dead Sea.

The brine will be used to test the impact of Red Sea water being transported to the Dead Sea, according to World Bank officials.

It will involve the construction of a desalination plant in Jordan, projected to yield 80 million-100 million cu m of water annually. A water transfer deal will also see Israel supply water to Jordan and the Palestinian territories.

The project will also yield hydroelectric power for use in the desalination process.

Environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth Middle East has called for an environmental study of how the brine from the desalination plant should be treated before the project begins in earnest, arguing it is unclear how brine from the Red Sea water will affect the Dead Sea's ecosystem.

The agreement was signed by Israeli Energy Minister Silvan Shalom, Shaddad Attili, head of the Palestinian water authority, and Hazim el-Naser, head of the Jordanian water ministry.

Türkçesi : 

Orta Doğu Hükümetleri Kızıldeniz ve Ölü Deniz arasında su anlaşması imzaladılar

Ölü Deniz'in yüzeyi yıl yaklaşık bir metre düşüyor

         İsrail, Ürdün ve Filistin Otoritesi  hızlı kuruyan Ölü Deniz’in yeniden doldurmayı amaçlayan bir su paylaşımı anlaşması imzaladılar.Ölü Deniz her yıl yaklaşık 1 metre azalıyor, çünkü Ürdün Nehri sulamak yapılması için  onu boşaltmaktadır.Fakat Eleştirmenler Ölü Denizin kırılgan olan ekosistemindeki bitki örtüsünün etkilenmesinden endişe edilmektedir.Bunun gibi bir proje yıllardır tartışılmaktadır.

Kudüs'te BBC'nin Kevin Connolly  “İsrail ve Filistinliler arasında durağan barış görüşmeleriyle, politik zorluğun olduğu şu zamanda bu projenin başarılı bir işbirliği umudu sunmaktadır” dedi.

Antlaşma Pazartesi günü Dünya Bankasının Merkezi Washington’da imzalandı.Proje Maliyetiinin 250-400 milyon dolara mal olacağını tahmin ediliyor.

Çalışmaya  çağrı

Ölü Deniz çok zengin tuza sahip ve diğer mineraller doğal olarak yüzeyinde bulundurmaktadır.Denizin etrafındaki bu alana suyun eşsiz özellikleri nedeniyle turizm ve sağlık endüstrisi kurulacak.

Fakat Ölü Deniz çok hızlı bir şekilde su kaybediyor, bazı tahminlere göre 2050 yılında Ölü Deniz tamamen kuruyacak.

Plan, deniz suyunu Ölü Denizin en güney kesimlerine kadar ulaştırılacaktır. Buna göre tuzlu su Ürdün’de tuzdan arındırılıp Akabe Körfezinden Ölü Denize doğru boru hattından sevkedilecek.

Dünya Bankası yetkililerine göre tuzlu suyun Kızıl Deniz’den Ölü Deniz’e transferin etkileri test edilecek.

Bu proje yıllık 80000000-100000000  m3 su vermesi öngörülen Ürdün’de bir arıtma tesisi inşaatı da kapsamaktadır.Bu su antlaşması İsrail, Ürdün ve Filistin topraklarına su sağlamayı da göz önüne almaktadır. Proje ayrıca tuzdan arındırma işleminde kullanılmak üzere hidroelektrik verecektir.

Dünya Ortadoğu Çevre savunma grubu bu Kızıldeniz tuzlu suyunun Ölü Deniz'in ekosistemini nasıl etkileyeceği belirsiz olduğunu savunmaktadır.

Bu antlaşma İsrail Enerji Bakanı Silvan Shalom, Filistin Su İdaresi Başkanı Shaddad Attilli ve Ürdün Su işleri Bakanlığı başkanı  Hazim el-Naser tarafından imzalandı.

Kaynakça: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25308701

Exclusive: Foreign doctors raise alarm over Syrian birth defects

Exclusive: Foreign doctors raise alarm over Syrian birth defects

The newly appointed International President of Médecins Sans Frontières has described the number of birth deformities as 'shocking'

Doctors working inside Syria are witnessing a “shocking” number of babies being born with severe deformities - a result of the collapse of the war-torn country's healthcare system.

The cases of Anencephaly - a condition which causes babies to be born without a major portion of the brain, skull and scalp - have been documented in the north of the country, an area in which antenatal care has virtually ceased to exist.

             In most cases the baby dies immediately after birth, or is stillborn. The large number of cases witnessed in northern Syria is thought have been caused a lack of availability of folic acid - a supplement available to pregnant women across the world that helps prevent the condition.

The deformities and many other horrific injuries sustained as a result of the war were witnessed by Joanne Liu, the newly appointed International President of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), who left Syria last week after spending ten days working in a field hospital in the country.

Dr Liu took up her role as head of the organisation in October, and last month travelled to Syria to get first-hand experience of the conditions in which her staff worked. Due to the sensitivity of her mission, only the international staff working alongside her in the hospital knew of her position as head of the charity.

           Working out of field hospital just kilometres from the frontline, Dr Liu witnessed high numbers of severe injuries to civilians and medical conditions symptomatic of a non-existent healthcare system.

In less than two weeks, she saw three babies with Anencephaly - two of which were alive when they were born, but later died. The third baby wall stillborn.

“We saw so many cases of babies born with malformations, and cases of Anencephaly. Some babies were born without heads,” she told The Independent. “I was trained as a paediatrician and have never seen anything this severe in my 20 years in practise.”

Médecins Sans Frontières is one of only a handful of aid agencies working in northern Syria - many are now staying away because of the perilous conditions and the risk of kidnap from extremist groups. The charity runs six field hospitals across the country, treating predominantly civilians who have been caught up in the fighting.

         At the hospital, a former apartment building that has been transformed into a medical facility, Dr Liu treated pregnant women and children who were injured in airstrikes - further proof that the Syrian government is indiscriminately targeting civilian areas as it battles with rebels fighting to remove him from power.  

          “On one day we received two pregnant women. One had a shrapnel wound to the thorax. She was six months pregnant and when she came in she couldn't breathe. She had dangerously low oxygen levels in her blood. We treated her and she pulled through, but the next day her baby died,” Dr Liu said.

“Another pregnant lady came in 3 minutes later. She was screaming bloody murder. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her until I finally saw a hole the size of a tennis ball in her ankle. The foot had to be amputated but fortunately her baby survived.”

“They were just going to the market. They were bystanders in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she added.

           On one particularly bloody day during her stay, Dr Liu received a number of children suffering from severe burns - victims of a barrel bomb that was dropped on a nearby school by the Syrian airforce.

“They were suffering from severe burns - some of them covered by more than 40 per cent. We did our best to stabilise them but when the injuries are that severe we have to transfer them to a bigger facility. On this occasion on of the children died on the way,” Dr Liu said.

MSF has previously warned that the targeting of medical facilities has brought the country's healthcare system to the point of “collapse.”

          In October, a UN rapporteur reported that “32 of the country's 88 public hospitals have closed because of the ongoing conflict, and government and pro-government forces have arbitrarily detained, tortured, and killed hundreds of health workers and patients.” But some estimate that the situation is much worse.

            Commenting on the unusual nature of her assignment, Dr Liu said: “If I am going to send my staff there, I should be able to go there and see first-hand what they are up against.”

MSF is calling for the international community to work towards allowing aid agencies to access areas where fighting is taking place.

“When UN chemical weapons inspectors need to be transported through conflict zones they can make it happen. Why can't we do the same for humanitarian aid?”

Türkçesi  : http://www.kokludegisim.net/index.php?kd=haberoku&id=8701

Kaynakça: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/exclusive-foreign-doctors-raise-alarm-over-syrian-birth-defects-8981073.html

David Cameron becomes first British PM to telephone an Iranian president in over 10 years with call to Hassan Rouhani

David Cameron becomes first British PM to telephone an Iranian president in over 10 years with call to Hassan Rouhani

David Cameron has become the first British Prime Minister to call an Iranian president in more than a decade.

The Prime Minister spoke to Hassan Rouhani by telephone on Tuesday afternoon where they discussed bilateral relations between Britain and Iran. “The Prime Minister underlined the necessity of Iran comprehensively addressing the concerns of the international community about their nuclear programme, including the need for greater transparency,” a Downing Street spokesman said.

Türkçesi:

David Cameron, Hasan Ruhani ile telefonda konuşarak,  on yıldan fazla bir zamandır İran Başbakanı’yla konuşan ilk İngiltere Başbakanı oldu.

Başbakan Salı öğlenden sonra Hasan Ruhhani ile telefonla konuştu.Telefonda İran ve İngiltere  arasındaki ikili ilişkiler tartışıldı.

Bir İngiliz hükümeti sözcüsü :“İngiltere Başbakanı İran’dan, nükleer programı ile ilgili uluslararası toplumun kaygılarını yönelik kapsamlı bir şekilde hitap etmesinin gerekliliğinin altını çizdi” dedi.

Kaynakça: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-becomes-first-british-pm-to-telephone-an-iranian-president-in-over-10-years-with-call-to-hassan-rouhani-8950486.html

Syria: Government and opposition agree to peace talks

MONDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2013

Syria's warring government and opposition are to meet for the first time in an attempt to halt the fighting that has killed more than 100,000 people.
   Previous attempts to bring the two sides together have failed, mainly because of disputes over who should represent the Syrian opposition and government, Syrian president Bashar Assad's future role in the country, and whether Iran, Saudi Arabia and other regional powers should be at the table.

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the government and opposition to help the conference succeed by taking steps to stop the violence, provide access for desperately needed humanitarian aid, release detainees, and help hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people return to their homes.

He said a key goal of the conference, which starts in Geneva in January, would be the establishment of a transitional government with powers over military and security.

    The UN did not specify who will be representing Syria's opposition at the talks, but British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, will participate. The group has limited control over the myriad rebel groups fighting Assad's forces.

    Iran, a staunch supporter of Assad, has given him significant financial support and is believed to have sent military advisers, trained pro-government militiamen and directed one of its proxies, Lebanon's Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group, to fight alongside his troops.

The UN's goal is based on the roadmap for a Syrian political transition adopted by the US, Russia and other major powers at a conference on Syria in June 2012 in Geneva, in which the warring sides were not invited.

It envisioned the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers agreed to by both sides, and ending with elections. But there has been no agreement on how to implement it.

One of the biggest sticking points has been the future role of Assad.

Earlier this month, the Syrian National coalition agreed to attend peace talks if a number of conditions were met, including humanitarian corridors to give relief agencies access to besieged areas and the release of detainees, particularly women.

But the group stressed that Assad could have no role in the transitional period. The coalition dropped an earlier demand that he step down ahead of talks.

    Syrian government officials have insisted Assad would not step down and may even run for another term in presidential elections scheduled for mid-2014.

    Recent battlefield victories have shifted the momentum of Syria's conflict in Assad's favour.

    Russia has been the key sponsor and ally of his government, blocking UN Security Council resolutions that would slap it with sanctions, and continuing to provide it with weapons.

Last week the UN General Assembly's human rights committee demanded that Syria's government immediately allow humanitarian aid to reach all areas of the country and stop hampering distribution with "bureaucratic impediments and other obstacles."

AP

Türkçesi:

Suriye: Hükümet ve muhalifler barış görüşmelerine karar verdiler

Suriye: Hükümet ve muhalifler barış görüşmelerine karar verdiler

Suriye’de şavaşan hükümet ve muhalifler 100.000 binden fazla insanın öldüğü savaşı durdurmak için ilk defa buluşacaklar.

 

Daha önceki girişimler iki taraf tarafından başarısız sonuçlandı. Başlıca antlaşmazlıklar : Suriye Hükümetini ve karşıtlarını kimler temsil edeceği, Suriye Başbakanı Beşer Esad’ın ülkede gelecekteki rolu, Iran, Suudi Arabistan ve diğer bölgesel güçlerin masada olup olmacağıdır.

 

Birleşmiş Milletler Sekreteri Ban Ki-Moon ,  hükümeti ve karşıtlarını şiddeti son vermek, vahim derede ihtiyaç duyulan insani yardımlara geçiş sağlamak, tutukluları serberst bırakmak ve 100 binlerce mültecilere ve ülke içinde göçe zorlanan insaların eve dönmesine yardım etmek ve konferansın başarılı geçmesi için her iki tarafı adımlar atmaya teşvik etti.

Ban Ki-Moon , Ocak ayında Genova’da başlayan konferansın temel hedefi, askeri ve güvenlik üzerinde güce sahip geçiş hükümeti kurmak olduğunu söyledi

UN (Birleşmiş milletler) konferasta Suriye muhalifetini kimin temsil edeceğini belirtmedi, fakat İngiltere Dışişleri Bakanı William Hague, ana muhalefet grubu olarak Suriye Ulusal Koalisyonun katılacağını söyledi.

 

Esad’ın sadık destekcisi biri olan İran, Esed’e önemli finansal destek vermektedir ve askeri danışmanlarını , eğitilmiş hükümet yanlısı milislerini ve onun temsilcileriyle ,Lüblan Şii Müslüman Hizbullah grubunu, ordusunu yanında savaşmaya gönderdiğine inanılıyor

Birleşmiş Milletlerin amacı, Haziran 2012’de şavaşan grupların çağrılmadığı Suriye’deki bir konferasta Amerika, Rusya ve diğer güçlü devletlerin Suriye’de siyasi geçiş için benimsenen yol haritasına dayanmaktadır

Tam yetkilere sahip bir geçiş yönetim organı kurulması göz önünde bulundurulduğunda  her iki tarafın anlaşması ve sonunda seçim gerekmektedir.Fakat nasıl uygulanacağı ile ilgili ortada bir antlaşma bulunmamaktadır.

Büyük anlaşmazlık noktalarından biri Esad’ın gelecekteki rolunun ne olacağıdır.

Bir önceki ayda, Suriye Ulusal Koalisyonu yardım ajansları kuşatılmış alanlara erişimi ve tutukluların özellikle kadınların serbest bırakılmasını sağlamak için insani koridorlar dahil olmak üzere bir dizi koşul karşılanırsa barış görüşmelerine katılacaklarını kabul ettiler.

Fakat bu grup Esad’ın geçiş döneminde herhangi bir yetkiye sahip olmayacağını vurguladı.

Suriye hükümet yetkilileri Esad istifa etmeyeceğini ve hatta 2014 ortalarında planlanan cumhurbaşkanlığı seçimlerinde bir dönem için aday olması ısrar etmektedirler.

Yeni savaş zaferleri Esad'ın lehine Suriye'nin çatışma ivme değiştirdi.

Rusya, BM Güvenlik Konseyi kararlarını engelleyerek ve silahlarıyla desteklemeye devam ederek kendi hükümetinin ana sponsoru ve müttefiki olmuştur .

 

Geçen hafta BM Genel Kurulu'nun insan hakları komitesi Suriye hükümetinin derhal insani yardım ülkenin tüm bölgelerine ulaşmak için izin vermesini ve bürokratik engeller ve diğer engellerli kaldırmasını istedi.

Kaynak:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrian-government-and-opposition-agree-to-peace-talks-8963168.html