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The wars are started, ended, replicated, animated like nutrition and medicine for tree and an anemic. It is also necessary for businessman as well as a religious person like the need of actress for mask and cosmetic. Child was crying, another one dying, third one injured, some others are playing wars’ games to experience the new wars as well as the archaic, the rest are bearing rocks to damage the psychic, and promising revenge saying, “When we become youth and strong like the Rocky Mountains and the bridge that damages the titanic’’, we will liberate our homeland from Zionistic and other idiotic. We swear not only at the Lord of Greek and Celtic, that will succeed in our epic, we underline that and we make it italic, that my home land Palestine will be the sweetest lyric, we are proud to protect our homeland with our souls, bones, bloods, minds and valves, the aortic. Our homeland is not located in Arctic, do not moan if we tell you that it is our magnetic, when we are in refuge or in displacing jungles, we composite its symphonic. However, our enemy is panic, manic, lunatic and spastic, He uses all artilleries such as rackets, tanks, and chemical gases like arsenic, acidic, sulfuric phosphoric and atomic. As usual he denies the truth by his rhetoric and workaholic, his peace is strategic, tactic, supersonic and mastic, killing children, women and the public, this is a little of his cryptically comic. He is a romantic, when he uses the automatic guns to kill the rustic under or over the attic. Then he celebrates the genocide by saying that “ It is not my crimes, yet it is the crimes of the Germanic’’, He is saying that he is holy and the only one, who was selected by the Lord of Semitic, and accuses who opposes him of anti-Semitism, this is his lyric, which is called "Supercalifragalistic”. Does the Lord really create all things and treat them equally without any topic?, is He a realistic, specific and scientific?, or just satiric, and dislikes red, gentile and the carbonic? During the endless wars and embargos, our bodies and spirits have become septic, kids, old people were killed by the specific, the one who kills too the medic, pediatric and diplomatic. When you ask the soliders about the wars they answer cryingly, and saying that their leader ordered them to go for a short romantic picnic, In order to eat the organic, and to obtain a treasure before coming the red cow, the volcanic . Of course the leaders are moronic and phobic, they ordered the soliders to use the claustrophobic gas to kill the missionary teams with offsprings and to protect the archnophobic, Aimng to have every thing static, Yet the statistic shows that every thing is still dynamic. The UN and and UNSC are fantastic, it does not care for nations hyperbolic, nothing on it equally metric. The wars for them are a delightful thing; excursion and declaration on terrorism, the plastic and elastic. The Arab League is in zic, ric, nic and wic. and leaves childreen in anemic. Religious teams care only about previous and up coming prophets and messengers, they only mimic, They have conspired against civilizations since and before the Egyptytian era until the Americans, which wears the tunic. The scandals are found not only in the religion of Catholic, all of them support the slavery, abuse, oppresion and multi-syllabic, and they recommend to have the one, who is a sophomoric, because she has honey, vitamin and citric. That is a little of what they are doing. It does not seem idealistic or economic or ideologic. The Holy land must be a platonic, this is the logic, despite that they take the peace in the form of phonic The peace also should be a photonic. Pull yourself together and stop the war and killing, the angelic, in each and every house and clinic, end the chaotic, be realistic, and do not laugh at me, when I tell you that Palestine, the holy land is an intrinsic. Yet, it seems that you are sophomoric, and you do not listen to generic, you only play your own music, and you stroke the ferric, to dance like on metallic like alcoholic. While underground cities and tunnels protect your illegal immigrants and settlers; mine are useful to protect our nation from your aggression; and for transferring food and garlic. I know that is for you not an aromatic, Because you are traumatic and eccentric.
أظهرت الأحداث الأخيرة خلال الحرب التي أعلنها الرئيس اليمني علي عبدالله صالح في صعدة بحجة القضاء على جماعة أنصار الحوثي ، بأن هناك انقسامات كبيرة بين قادة الجيش اليمني بسبب أهداف الحرب وأسلحة الحوثيين والزج بطيارين عراقيين للقيام بعملية القصف العشوائي إتباعا لسياسة الأرض المحروقة التي يتبعها صالح لاستئصال الحوثيين حسب زعمه ، والذين وصفهم بـ" السرطان " ، فقد كشفت مصادر عسكرية في صنعاء لـ" عدن برس " أن الحوثيون يسيطرون على عدة مواقع هامه في الملاحيط وحرف سفيان وقد وقعت اشتباكات عنيفة في الملاحيط خلال اليومين الماضيين ، نافيا بذلك ادعاءات الحكومة اليمنية التي قالت قبل أيام بأنها على وشك ان تدك أخر أوكار الحوثيون . اذ تفيد المعلومات بأن الانقسام كشفته عملية سحب العميد ثابت جواس القائد الجنوبي قواته والعودة بمن تبقى منها الى معسكره في باجل ، اذ شعر جواس أن هناك من في القيادة العسكرية من يريد الدفع بالجنوبيين الى المحرقة ، في الوقت يفر الجنود والضباط الشماليين من ساحة المعركة او يستسلمون لأنصار الحوثي ، وكشفت المصادر لـ" عدن برس " بأن العميد جواس كان قد تلقى أوامر بمهاجمة مواقع للحوثيين ، وان المساندة سيجدها أمامه ، إلا ان جواس وعند الهجوم فوجئ بعناصر الحوثي وليس وبقوة المساندة التي وعد بها ، مما أدى إلى فقدانه لعدد من جنوده المهاجمين ، وقد شعر جواس بالغدر من قبل كبار القادة الشماليين له ، وبعدها غادر الملاحيط وسحب من تبقى معه من جنود الى معسكره في باجل. كما أن كتيبة جنوبية قد تم محاصرتها من جبهة بين صعدة وبين حرف سفيان خلال اليومين الماضيين، وبعد استغاثة الى وزارة الدفاع والى اللواء 119 الذي يقوده فيصل رجب لم يتم الاستجابة إليها فقد وقعت في أسر الحوثيين الذين استقبلهم عبدالملك الحوثي ، وحسب مصادر خاصة لـ" عدن برس " فقد قال الحوثي : " يجب ضيافتهم 4 أيام وبعدها نرجعهم إلى معسكرهم بعد تعهدهم بعدم محاربتنا، فهم جنوبيين وليس بيننا وبينهم شيء " ، وكان هذا دليل على الطريقة التي يعامل فيها الرئيس اليمني الجنوبيين في الجيش في جعلهم وقودا لمحرقة لا لهم فيها ناقة او جمل . ووصفت المصادر زيارة الرئيس اليمني لبعض جبهات القتال جاءت لرفع معنويات الجيش المنهارة بسبب الانقسامات الكبيرة بين قادته حول أهداف الحرب ، بعد هروب كبير للجنود من ساحات المعركة او استسلامهم للحوثيين ، ودللت المصادر اعتماد الرئيس اليمني على الاستخدام المفرط لسلاح الجو الذي يشارك فيه طيارين عراقيين من بقايا الجيش العراقي السابق ، لإخفاء التقهقر البري للجنود ، كما يعزز ذلك عملية التجييش لرجال القبائل والزج بهم تحت شعارات وطنية لتغطية هذا الفشل العسكري . وقالت المصادر أن الطيارين العراقيين يقصفون بعشوائية وارتكبوا جرائم ضد المدنيين ، كما أنهم لا يعرفون الخريطة الجغرافية للمناطق في اليمن ، حيث قال المصدر بأن طيارا عراقيا ضربا منطقة في محافظة شبوة الجنوبية تحمل نفس الاسم الذي تحمله منطقة في محافظة صعدة وهي مسرح العمليات العسكرية . وقالت المصادر أن هذا التورط لبقايا الجيش العراقي السابق في الحرب الدائرة في صعدة دفع بنواب في البرلماني العراقي الى الضغط على حكومة بلادهم والى المطالبة باستعادة العراقيين الموجودين في صنعاء من كبار الضباط العسكريين وقيادات في حزب البعث العراقي السابق ، وقالوا أن تورط بقايا جيش صدام في حرب داخلية في اليمن يسيء الى العراق والشعب العراقي الذي يرتكبون باسمه جرائم حرب نيابة عن نظام الرئيس اليمني علي عبدالله صالح . وتأتي هذه التطورات بعد أعلن الحوثيين إحكام سيطرتهم على (موقع ذو صيفان) في (مديرية سفيان بمحافظة عمران) وتم أسر 80 جندي والاستيلاء على كل ما في الموقع من معدات ومؤن عسكرية . ويقول الحوثييون أن الطيران قصف اليوم ولليوم الثاني على التوالي ورغم التحذيرات الدولية من المجازر التي يرتكبونها (الحيرة وسفيان والمدينة)، وضرب الطيران (مناطق تهامة وغافرة غارب المسلم والملاحيط ) وتقصف طائرات الميج بقنابل متفجرة وقنابل سامة . كما انسحب الجيش من (مواقع الفرش ومحديدة والمفراخ والعروس)، في (مديرية سحار بمحافظة صعدة) بعد حصار لفترة طويلة، وبعدما أتت لجنة الوساطة للتفاوض من أجل إخراجهم. ورأت مصادر عسكرية في صنعاء أثناء حديثها لـ" عدن برس " بأن الموقف العسكري ضعيف ، وأن الرئيس صالح متناقض في تصريحاته ، ففي الوقت الذي يقول الرئيس اليمني أنه أقترب من دك أخر معاقل من وصفهم بـ " الشرذمة " من الحوثيين ، فأنه يعرض أمس عليهم مجددا الهدنة والشروط الستة التي كانوا قد رفضوها لتمسكهم بمبادرة الدوحة العام الماضي التي وقعها عن النظام اليمني كل من مستشار الرئيس صالح الدكتور عبدالكريم الارياني والعميد علي محسن الأحمر قائد الفرقة الاولى مدرع . وهذا التناقض يكشف حقيقة الاهتزاز والانهيار الذي يواجهه الجيش اليمني الذي أوقعه الرئيس في حروب ستة في صعدة هي للحفاظ على مقاليد حكمه لليمن والتي تجاوزت العقد الثالث ، وقد أستخدم صالح كل أساليب الكذب والخداع لجيرانه من أجل ابتزازهم ماليا وادعاءه انه يخوض حربا نيابة عنهم من اجل وقف المد الشيعي الذي تغذيه ايران ، فقد عين صالح منذ فترة ليست بطويلة تاجر السلاح اليمني المشهور فارس مناع شقيق محافظ محافظة صعدة حسين مناع ، عينه كوسيط بين السلطة والحوثيين ، ويرى مراقبين أن تعيين مناع وهو تاجر سلاح هدفه التعرف عن قرب على الحوثيين ، وأنه هو من قام بشراء الأسلحة الإيرانية عبر سماسرة في منطقة الشرق الأوسط ، وقام مناع بإدخالها وتخزينها في أماكن مختلفة في كهوف الجبال بصعدة ، حتى يأتي اليوم الذي يعلن فيه الرئيس اليمني نجاح الفيلم عن حصول الحوثيين على أسلحة من إيران ، ويعرضها كدليل لابتزاز جيرانه ماديا كما فعل صدام حسين في ابتزاز الكويت في حربه مع ايران ، ولتبرير استخدامه المفرط للقوة لأمريكا والغرب سياسيا . وتستغرب المصادر في تقبل دول الجوار لكل الأكاذيب التي يمررها رئيس النظام اليمني علي عبدالله صالح الذي يرتبط بعلاقات قوية مع ايران ، ففي الوقت الذي يتهم الحوثيين بأنهم ينفذون مهمة لايران ، فأن التساؤلات كثيرة ومن مراقبين غربيين عن المهمة التي يلعبها صالح نفسه في المنطقة لصالح إيران وضد جيرانه ، وأرجعت ذلك الى الزيارة التي قام بها رئيس البرلمان الإيراني علي لاريجاني الذي قدم هدايا للرئيس صالح أثناء زيارته لصنعاء في شهر مايو الماضي ( كما هو ظاهر في الصورة صالح يتسلم أجود أنواع السجاد الإيراني المعروف عالميا ) والتي وافق فيها صالح على قبول قوات إيرانية بحرية لمراقبة القرصنة ، هذا المعلن من الاتفاق ، اما المخفي من الإعلان فقد يكون هو سيناريو الحرب هذه التي يريد صالح ابتزاز جيرانه بعد أن غسلت قطر يدها من الوساطة التي كانت قد توصلت من خلالها الى اتفاق بين الحوثيين ونظام صالح ، وهو ما كشف عن أسباب انسحاب قطر من الوساطة عندما قال الشيخ حميد الاحمر في لقاء أجرته معه قناة الجزيرة مؤخرا ، بأن قطر رفضت دفع مبلغ 500 مليون دولار للرئيس اليمني مقابل تنفيذ الاتفاق لاعادة اعمار صعدة ووقف الحرب فيها . ويبقى مما ذكر سلفا أنها حرب عبثية يمارسها النظام الحاكم في صنعاء لجلب الدمار لبلاده ، والزج بالجنوبيين بها للتخلص منهم ومن ما تبقى من القيادات الميدانية الجنوبية مثل العميد ركن جواس والعميد ركن فيصل رجب والعميد ركن جهاد علي عنتر والعميد ركن عمر علي العيسي قائد اللواء 103 والعميد ركن أحمد عاطف من يافع قائد اللواء العاشر في الحرس الجمهوري الذي زجوا به في الحرب قبل أسبوع ، فستبقى هذه حرب رجل واحد عبث بكل مقدرات اليمن ، ويرتكب جرائم إبادة بحق الآلاف من أبرياء صعدة كمدنيين والآلاف من الأبرياء العسكريين الذين يزج بهم إلى حرب طاحنة مقابل حفنة دولارات يريد الحصول عليها من ابتزازه لأطراف إقليمية ودولية ، كما أنها حرب طاحنة أدخلته مأزقا جديدا ، يضاف إلى المأزق الذي يعيشه اليوم في الجنوب والذي يصر أبناءه اليوم أكثر من أي وقت مضى ، بأن الحل الوحيد هو فك ارتباط سلميا مثلما كانت الوحدة طواعية وسلمية أيضا ، فصالح يدرك أن الجنوب ليس صعدة ، وأن منطق القوة لن يكون حلا مقبولا لا إقليميا ولا دوليا في الجنوب ، وأعتقد هذا ما نقله له السيناتور الأمريكي جون ماكين ومبعوث الأمم المتحدة الأخضر الإبراهيمي أيضا .
Hurricane Bill lost some strength as it bore down on Nova Scotia on Saturday, prompting the U.S. National Hurricane Center to downgrade the storm to a Category 1 hurricane. The storm's maximum sustained winds had weakened to 140 km/h, with higher gusts. Bill's hurricane-strength winds extend out 140 kilometres from its centre. At 9 p.m. AT, Bill was about 696 kilometres south-southeast of Yarmouth, N.S. The U.S. forecasting centre said further weakening is expected for Sunday as the storm moves over cooler waters. The storm will likely cut a swath as large as 750 kilometres wide, officials at the Canadian Hurricane Centre said Saturday afternoon. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the Atlantic coastal regions of Nova Scotia, from Shelburne County to Guysborough County. Other counties in Nova Scotia were under rainfall warnings. A tropical storm warning means that sustained winds of 65 km/h are expected in those regions within the next day and implies the threat of local flooding from heavy rainfall. Guysborough County and regions of southern Cape Breton have been placed under a hurricane watch, meaning that a hurricane poses a possible threat to those areas within the next 36 hours. But officials are still taking a wait-and-see approach before forecasting specifics of when, where and how Bill might hit. "At this point, it's still not possible to give the specifics that everybody wants," said Peter Bowyer, the Canadian Hurricane Centre's program manager. "That's the nature of this business." Moving north-northeast at about 37 km/h, the storm is expected to pass south of mainland Nova Scotia on Sunday morning, move by Cape Breton Island late Sunday afternoon or evening and blow over southeastern Newfoundland late Sunday or early Monday. Buckets of rain Coastal areas of Nova Scotia can expect winds of 90 km/h, while the southeast coast of Newfoundland should prepare for winds exceeding 120 km/h, the centre said. Bowyer said the hardest-hit spots could see winds between 150 and 180 km/h, as well as buckets of rain. "All indications now are that we're probably looking at a rain event for those that get the hardest-hit rainfall amounts on the order of 100 to 150 millimetres. That could, depending on the track, be anywhere from southern New Brunswick all the way over to Newfoundland," he said. For people out at sea Sunday, he added, it's going to be "a very harsh environment." The first effects of Bill are expected to be felt along Nova Scotia's Atlantic coast on Saturday. Canadian forecasters warned that a storm surge of up to one metre, coupled with heavy surf along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland due to large waves of five to 10 metres, could erode shorelines, damage docks and produce dangerous rip currents. Spectators were urged to keep well back from the shoreline due to rapidly advancing waves. The coast could be a very dangerous place, Bowyer warned. "In the past, when we've talked about these kind of waves, it's almost been like a fatal attraction to people to say, 'Let's get the kids in the car and go to the coast and see the big waves.' And we don't want anybody to be doing that," he said. Emergency officials said it's a good time to take storm-season precautions, such as preparing an emergency kit with food, water and essential medications for 72 hours. To guard against flooding, municipal workers will begin sandbagging areas of Halifax at midnight Saturday night, city officials say. And the province planned to shut all provincial parks at 5 p.m. Saturday in preparation for the storm. Ramona Jennex, Nova Scotia's minister responsible for emergency preparedness, said key people would be on hand during the weekend to ensure plans are in place to deal with the storm. Getting ready New Brunswick has just come off a warm and sunny streak and has showers in the forecast for Friday and Saturday. Peter Coade, a CBC meteorologist, said people should not confuse that weather pattern with the big storm that is expected to hit the region on Sunday. "We must not think, 'Hey that wasn't too bad a storm,' because you're not going to feel it until after daybreak Sunday," Coade said. "You'll see the rain before daybreak Sunday but the wind picking up during the day." Coade said areas in southeastern New Brunswick, such as Shediac and Bouctouche, could have some soil erosion with a combination of wind and high tide on Sunday afternoon. New Brunswick's Emergency Measures Organization issued a warning Friday afternoon indicating it was still difficult to forecast how big the storm would be when it hits the province. "However, given Bill's size, significant rainfall and strong winds can be expected, especially in the southern half of the province, with the southeast corner most likely to see the strongest weather," the statement said. Many people are heeding the call to be ready. Based on Friday's forecast, Exxon Mobil has decided to evacuate workers from its offshore platform near Sable Island, off Nova Scotia's south coast. In Sydney, David Isaac secured his commercial fishing boat and gear. "One thing about a hurricane is you have to be prepared and ready — get all your stuff out of your yard, make sure everyone's secure," said Isaac. At the Charlottetown Yacht Club — one of the places in P.E.I. hardest hit by Hurricane Juan in 2003 — few sailors were taking chances. Rick Martijn bought his first boat just five weeks ago, and he said there was never any doubt that he'd pull it from the water. "I was down here right after Juan blew over, and the destruction was incredible," Martijn said. "You've got to respect the wind and the waves. If you're a sailor, you'll very much appreciate that." Grocery stores were expecting a hectic day Saturday and were stocking up on bottled water. But getting warnings out to everyone who needs them is presenting special challenges on the Island, because it is the height of tourist season. "Visitors may not be as interested in following the local media, as they are some distance from home," said Aaron Campbell, director of the P.E.I. Office of Public Safety. "So we're looking at various methods of getting this information out in whatever fashion is going to get to the most people." Campbell's office is trying to get weather warning information to tourists, via tourist information centres and campgrounds. www.cbc.ca.
وكالات: تم فتح حساب برقم(3) في جميع البنوك اليمنية لاستقبال التبرعات للنازحين جراء قصف الطائرات والمواجهات في قرى واسوق ومزارع صعدة وحرف سفيان. الا أن حقيقتة لنهب واستنزاف المواطنيين والتجار واشراكهم في جرئم الحرب.
صـاحـب السـعـادة المبـجـّل بــان كـي مـون, امين عام الأمم المتحدة ,,,تحية إنسانية شعراء وكــتـّاب أوتــاوا المهـتمين بحقوق الإنسـان يوجهون رسالتهم الي معاليكم ويناشدوكم بإسـم الانسانية جمعا ويطالبونكم بالعمل المستمر من أجل ايقاف الحرب الأهلية في اليمن وتقديم المساعدات وبذل الجهود من أجل عالم خال من الحروب, من أجل الحرية والأخاء والمساواه, من أجل حياة كريمة للإنسانية جمعاء ومن أجل الحفاظ على مصلحة الشعب اليمني والحفاظ على الوحدة والديمقراطية وحقوق الإنسان, من أجل اطفال لاذنب لهم بالماضي والحاضر وسيدفعون كرها ثمن الحرب. والأمـل بكم منـوط في المسؤولية التي تتحملـونهـا في المنظـمة الدولية. شعراء وكــتـّاب أوتــاوا المهـتمين بحقوق الإنسـان الدكتور إم . تي. المنصوري أوتــاوا-كندا 18 أغسطس 2009م https://poetsofottawa.ning.com/ : صورة مع التحية ل منظمة الأمم المتحدة للتربية والعلوم والثقافة-الـيونسكو منظمة الأمم المتحدة للطفولة – اليونيسف محكمة العدل الدولية منظمة الصحة العالمية جامعة الدول العربية منظمة الصحة العالمية, وهيئات ومنظمات حقوقية أخرى
The global economic crisis is exacerbating human rights abuses, Amnesty International has warned. In its annual report, the group said the downturn had distracted attention from abuses and created new problems. Rising prices meant millions were struggling to meet basic needs in Africa and Asia, it said, and protests were being met with repression. Political conflict meant people were suffering in DR Congo, North Korea, Gaza and Darfur, among others, it said. 'Time-bomb' The 400-page report, compiled in 157 countries, said that human rights were being relegated to the back seat in pursuit of global economic recovery. The world's poorest people were bearing the brunt of the economic downturn, Amnesty said, and millions of people were facing insecurity and indignity. Migrant workers in China, indigenous groups in Latin America and those who struggled to meet basic needs in Africa had all been hit hard, it said. Where people had tried to protest, their actions had in many cases been met with repression and violence. The group warned that rising poverty could lead to instability and mass violence. "The underlying global economic crisis is an explosive human rights crisis: a combination of social, economic and political problems has created a time-bomb of human rights abuses," said Amnesty's Secretary General, Irene Khan. The group is launching a new campaign called Demand Dignity aimed at tackling the marginalisation of millions through poverty. World leaders should set an example and invest in human rights as purposefully as they invest in economic growth, Ms Khan said. "Economic recovery will be neither sustainable nor equitable if governments fail to tackle abuses that drive and deepen poverty, or armed conflicts that generate new violations," she said. See below for highlights of the report by region AFRICA Amnesty says the economic crisis has had a direct impact on human rights abuses on the continent. "People came into the streets to protest against the high cost of living," Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty's Africa programme director, told the BBC's Network Africa programme. "The reaction we saw from the authorities was very repressive. For example, in Cameroon about 100 people were killed in February last year." But the bulk of Amnesty's report concentrated on the continent's three main conflict zones: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Sudan. In DR Congo, the focus was on the east where it said civilians had suffered terribly at the hands of government soldiers and rebel groups. The Hutu FDLR movement, for example, was accused of raping women and burning people alive in their homes. Amnesty said it was also the civilians in Somalia who bore the brunt of conflict, with tens of thousands fleeing violence and hundreds killed by ferocious fighting in the capital, Mogadishu. It also highlighted the killing and abduction of journalists and aid workers. In Sudan, Amnesty catalogued a series of abuses including the sentencing to death of members of a rebel group, a clampdown on human rights activists and the expulsion of several aid groups following the issuing of an international arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir. A number of countries, including Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, were criticised for intimidating and imprisoning members of the opposition. And Nigeria came under fire for the forced evictions of thousands of people in the eastern city of Port Harcourt. ASIA Across the region, millions fell further into poverty as the cost of basic necessities rose, Amnesty said. In Burma, the military government rejected international aid in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis and punished those who tried to help victims of the disaster. It continued campaigns against minority groups which involved forced labour, torture and murder, Amnesty said. In North Korea, millions are said to have experienced hunger not seen in a decade and thousands tried to flee, only to be caught and returned to detention, forced labour and torture. In both North Korea and Burma, freedom of expression was non-existent. In China, the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games was marred by a clamp-down on activists and journalists, and the forcible evictions of thousands from their homes, the report said. Ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet continued to suffer from systematic discrimination, witnessing unrest followed by government suppression. Millions of Afghans faced persistent insecurity at the hands of Taliban militants. The Afghan government failed to maintain the rule of law or to provide basic services to many. Girls and women particularly suffered a lack of access to health and education services. In Sri Lanka, the government prevented international aid workers or journalists from reaching the conflict zone to assist or witness the plight of those caught up in fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Israel's military operation in Gaza in December 2008 caused a disproportionate number of civilian casualties, Amnesty said. Its blockade of the territory "exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation, health and sanitation problems, poverty and malnutrition for the 1.5 million residents", according to the report. On the Palestinian side, both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority were accused of repressing dissent and detaining political opponents. The death penalty was used extensively in Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Across the region, women faced discrimination both under the law and in practice, Amnesty said, and many faced violence at the hands of spouses or male relatives. Governments that included Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen are said to have used often sweeping counter-terrorism laws to clamp down on their political opponents and to stifle legitimate criticism. AMERICAS Indigenous communities across Central and South America were disproportionately affected by poverty while their land rights are ignored, Amnesty said. Development projects on indigenous land were often accompanied by harassment and violence. Women and girls faced violence and sexual abuse, particularly in Haiti and Nicaragua. The stigma associated with the abuse condemned many to silence, the report said, while laws in some nations meant that abortion was not available to those who became pregnant as a result of abuse or assault. Gang violence worsened in some nations; in Guatemala and Brazil evidence emerged of police involvement in the killings of suspected criminals, the report found. America continued to employ the death penalty, the report noted, and concern persisted over foreign nationals held at America's Guantanamo Bay detention centre, although the report acknowledged the commitment by US President Barack Obama to close it down. EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Civilians paid a high price for last year's conflict between Russia and Georgia, Amnesty said. Hundreds of people died and 200,000 were displaced. In many cases, civilians' homes and lives were devastated. Many nations continued to deny fair treatment to asylum seekers, with some deporting individuals or groups to countries where they faced the possibility of harm. Roma (gypsies) faced systematic discrimination across the region and were largely excluded from public life in all countries. Freedom of expression remained poor in countries such as Belarus, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other Central Asian nations. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8071347.stm