DAMASCUS: Inside the tent, the trappings of a modern election campaign were on display - jingles playing, flags waving, confetti coating the floor and posters of President Bashar al-Assad hanging near the stage.
Outside, however, Syria's realities were evident. Government security men manhandled anyone trying to come in and blocked reporters from covering the rally - one of several held across the country recently - funded by one of Syria's most powerful oligarchs. The sparse crowd hinted at growing popular fear of the future, and apathy about Syrian politics.
Only a year ago, Assad faced so many troubles that some Syrians began questioning his political survival.
His troops had been forced out of Lebanon, his government faced allegations of collusion in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri of Lebanon, and the Bush administration had imposed sanctions that affected everything from the fleet of Boeings in Syria's national airline to medical equipment used in hospitals. Waning oil reserves hinted at economic collapse and the European Union delayed signing a much-needed trade agreement.
But as he prepares to be overwhelmingly "re-elected" on Sunday to a second seven-year term, Assad seems very much in control, with his rivals isolated, his critics ...   more »

IAEA Head Mohamed ElBaradei: Iran is building knowledge, situation is deteriorating. We are unable to inspect Iranian facilities
Yaakov Lappin
LUXEMBOURG - The international community and Iran are "heading towards confrontation" over Tehran's nuclear program, Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned Thursday morning. 
Defiance  
Iran will resist 'any threat,' defense minister says / Reuters  
Mostafa Mohammad Najjar warns West in comments coinciding with US naval show of force off Islamic republic's coast    
ElBaradei was speaking at a two-day conference in Luxembourg aimed at "preventing nuclear catastrophe," organized by Russian Jewish Congress Chairman Viatcheslav Kantor.  
"Its very difficult to say how close a country is to nuclear weapons," ElBaradei said during a press conference. "Iran is expanding its knowledge and capacity. It now has over 1000 centrifuges. I have expressed concern over this because the Agency is unable to conduct a robust and full inspection," he added.  
"My current priority is to carry out a comprehensive inspection," ElBaradei said, adding that he estimated Iran was "three to eight years" from being capable of producing nuclear weapons.  
The IAEA chief has come under criticism in recent days for suggesting that ...   more »

By Hal Lindsey
After two consecutive weeks of incessant pounding of Israeli cities by Palestinian missile attacks – more than 150 in one six-day period – Israeli Defense Forces are back on the offensive. The IDF stepped up air attacks in the Gaza Strip, and promised to target the Hamas leadership in an effort to stem the wave of attacks on its cities.
National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer defended the action. He told Israel Radio, "I don't distinguish between those who carry out the attacks and those who give the orders. I say we have to put them all in the crosshairs." Thousands of Hamas supporters took to the streets of Gaza City vowing revenge one day after an Israeli air strike on the home of Hamas politician Khalil al-Hayya.
Seven members of Hayya's family were killed in the strike, though al-Hayya himself escaped. The Palestinian press made much of the fact that al-Hayya's family was killed, but no one seemed to begrudge the fact that al-Hayya went underground beforehand, leaving his family in harm's way while he protected himself.
At the funeral service, Palestinian Prime Minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, said, "We will keep to the same path ...   more »

May 26, 2007 1:33 p.m. EST
Christopher Rizo - AHN Staff Writer
Beijing, China (AHN) - A man has contracted the deadly H5N1 bird flu in China, officials announced Saturday. His case brings the total number of human infections with avian flu reported in China to 25 since 2003.
The unidentified 19-year-old man is a soldier in the Chinese military and is being treated at the People's Liberation Army hospital.
The man reportedly developed symptoms of bird flu: fever, cough and pneumonia on May 9 and was hospitalized on May 14. Xinhua, China's official news agency, reports that laboratory tests on Wednesday confirmed he was infected with bird flu virus strain H5N1.
China has reported 25 human cases of bird flu since 2003 and 15 of those people have died, the government news agency says.
H5N1 bird flu had infected 307 people, including 186 who died, in 12 mainly Asian and African nations as of May 24, according to World Health Organization statistics.
Original Source
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Cargo of abandoned vessel destined for restaurants
Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Endangered, hunted, smuggled and now abandoned, 5,000 of the world's rarest animals have been found drifting in a deserted boat near the coast of China.
The pangolins, Asian giant turtles and lizards were crushed inside crates on a rickety wooden vessel that had lost engine power off Qingzhou island in the southern province of Guangdong. Most were alive, though the cargo also contained 21 bear paws wrapped in newspaper.
According to conservation groups, the haul was discovered on one of the world's most lucrative and destructive smuggling routes: from the threatened jungles of south-east Asia to the restaurant tables of southern China.
The animals were found when local fishermen noticed a strange smell emanating from the vessel, which did not have any registration plates, on Tuesday, the Guangzhou Daily reported.
When coastguard officials boarded the 25-metre craft, it was reportedly deserted and stripped of identification papers. They found more than 200 crates full of animals, many so dehydrated in the tropical sun that they were close to death.
The animals - which weighed 13 tonnes - were taken to port, doused with water and sent to an animal welfare ...   more »

When Saudi authorities discovered a man working in Mecca was a Christian, they immediately arrested him, highlighting the desert kingdom's law barring non-Muslims from the Islamic holy city.
The Saudi regime's Expatriates Monitoring Committee used a new high-tech finger-print system to identify Nirosh Kamanda of Sri Lanka as a Christian, reported Arab News, the government-approved English-language paper.
"The Grand Mosque and the holy city are forbidden to non-Muslims," said Col. Suhail Matrafi, head of the department in charge of Expatriates Affairs in Mecca. "The new fingerprints system is very helpful and will help us a lot to discover the identity of a lot of criminals and overstayers." Highway sign warns non-Muslims not to stray on wrong path
Kamanda came to the Saudi city of Dammam to work as a truck driver and left his sponsor to sell goods near Mecca's Grand Mosque, Arab News reported. The sponsor reportedly denied he knew where Kamanda was working.
"He fled six months after coming to the kingdom," the sponsor said. "I have no idea how he reached Mecca."
Arab News said that after Kamanda's identity became known, he admitted he was a Christian and had come to Mecca to earn money.
"I heard ...   more »

WASHINGTON – While Americans are still recovering from a scandal over poison pet foods imported from China, FDA inspectors report tainted food imports intended for American humans are being rejected with increasing frequency because they are filthy, are contaminated with pesticides and tainted with carcinogens, bacteria and banned drugs.
Last month, like most months, China topped the list of countries whose products were refused by the FDA – and that list includes many countries, including Mexico and Canada, who export far more food products to the U.S. than China.
Some 257 refusals of Chinese products were recorded in April. By comparison, only 140 were from Mexico and only 23 from Canada.
Refused by the FDA in April because they were "filthy":
salted bean curd cubes in brine with chili and sesame oil
dried apple
dried peach
dried pear
dried round bean curd
dried mushroom
olives
frozen bay scallops
frozen Pacific cod
sardines
frozen seafood mix
fermented bean curd
Among the foods rejected because they were contaminated with pesticides:
frozen eel
ginseng
frozen red raspberry crumble
mushrooms
Frozen catfish was stopped because it was laced with banned antibiotics. Scallops and sardines were turned away because they were coated with putrefying ...   more »