The Bedouin vs Israel's bulldozers
As Jewish settlers move into the desert to make it 'bloom', an ancient way of life is under threat. In Alsra, Catrina Stewart speaks to Arab families on the fault line
At the top of an unmarked track leading into the small village of Alsra, in the Negev desert, somebody has placed a triangular road sign barring the entry of bulldozers. They will come, nevertheless, for every family in this village has been served with a demolition order by the Israeli authorities.
By Ruth Sherlock, Antakya, Turkey
By Benjamin Bidder in Moscow
Diego Urbina, a 26-year-old Italian with Colombian roots, and five other human guinea pigs will climb out of their mock Russian spaceship on Friday in Moscow. When they do -- rather pale after almost one and a half years without sunlight -- one of the longest isolation experiments in the world will be over. Urbina and his colleagues have simulated a mission to Mars and back. Cut off from the outside world, the crew received radio messages from ground control. Sometimes the messages arrived after a 20-minute delay, just as if their spaceship were floating through space, millions of miles away.
The relatives of the deposed dictator and of his feared wife -- who fled to Saudi Arabia -- had appealed after being sentenced to jail terms ranging from four months to six years this summer.
Leila Trabelsi will serve six years and Ben Ali's favourite son-in-law Sakhr as-Materi will serve four.
Imed Trabelsi, the nephew of the ex-first lady, had his two-year sentence confirmed. His cousin Moez Trabelsi will serve six years.
A lawyer for the relatives called the appeal verdict "disappointing".
Irom Sharmila's mother has a simple dream: sitting down to a meal with her daughter.
Irom hasn't willingly ingested food or water for 11 years, in protest of a law granting legal immunity to the armed forces for human rights abuses. As the anniversary of her hunger strike nears, her mother imagines what might be.
"I'm still waiting for her to come home," said Shakhi Devi, 78, holding an album of her daughter's photos. She rarely visits the 39-year-old, the world's longest-serving hunger striker, because it's too painful.
As Jewish settlers move into the desert to make it 'bloom', an ancient way of life is under threat. In Alsra, Catrina Stewart speaks to Arab families on the fault line
At the top of an unmarked track leading into the small village of Alsra, in the Negev desert, somebody has placed a triangular road sign barring the entry of bulldozers. They will come, nevertheless, for every family in this village has been served with a demolition order by the Israeli authorities.
The indigenous Bedouin Arabs have eked out an existence in the desert for generations, but despite being citizens of Israel, their communities do not exist officially. Alsra, and others like it, does not appear on any official map; does not connect to any roads, and does not receive basic services from the state, such as electricity or sewage treatment.
'15,000 strong' army gathers to take on Syria
An insurgent army which claims to be up to 15,000 strong is being coordinated from Turkey to take on President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, which risks plunging the region into open warfare.
By Ruth Sherlock, Antakya, Turkey
The national "Syrian Free Army" aims to be the "military wing of the Syrian people's opposition to the regime", its leader told The Daily Telegraph from a heavily guarded camp in eastern Turkey.
Confirmation of an armed force operating with the covert approval of the Turkish authorities follows evidence that attacks inside Syria are causing high levels of casualties in the security forces. It also shows the anger of Recep Tayipp Erdogan, the Turkish premier, with Mr Assad, a former ally whose failed promises of reform have caused a deep rift.
Cosmic Research
A Trip to Mars -- Without Leaving Russia
By Benjamin Bidder in Moscow
Diego Urbina, a 26-year-old Italian with Colombian roots, and five other human guinea pigs will climb out of their mock Russian spaceship on Friday in Moscow. When they do -- rather pale after almost one and a half years without sunlight -- one of the longest isolation experiments in the world will be over. Urbina and his colleagues have simulated a mission to Mars and back. Cut off from the outside world, the crew received radio messages from ground control. Sometimes the messages arrived after a 20-minute delay, just as if their spaceship were floating through space, millions of miles away.
Ben Ali jail sentences upheld in Tunis appeals court
TUNIS, TUNISIA - Nov 04 2011 10:14
The relatives of the deposed dictator and of his feared wife -- who fled to Saudi Arabia -- had appealed after being sentenced to jail terms ranging from four months to six years this summer.
Leila Trabelsi will serve six years and Ben Ali's favourite son-in-law Sakhr as-Materi will serve four.
Imed Trabelsi, the nephew of the ex-first lady, had his two-year sentence confirmed. His cousin Moez Trabelsi will serve six years.
A lawyer for the relatives called the appeal verdict "disappointing".
COLUMN ONE
In India, love tests world's longest hunger strike
Irom Sharmila vows to keep up her fast, now in its 11th year, to protest a law granting legal immunity to India's armed forces. But Irom, who has a suitor, also dreams of a normal life, and love.
November 4, 2011
Irom hasn't willingly ingested food or water for 11 years, in protest of a law granting legal immunity to the armed forces for human rights abuses. As the anniversary of her hunger strike nears, her mother imagines what might be.
"I'm still waiting for her to come home," said Shakhi Devi, 78, holding an album of her daughter's photos. She rarely visits the 39-year-old, the world's longest-serving hunger striker, because it's too painful.
| Greek PM faces crucial confidence vote |
George Papandreou struggles to hold on to power, as opposition calls on him to resign ahead of parliamentary vote.
Last Modified: 04 Nov 2011 02:16
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George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, faces a crucial confidence vote after his plan for a referendum on an EU bailout for Greece was widely criticised by his own party.
Even if his Socialist government survives Friday's parliamentary vote, Papandreou's days as Greek leader looked numbered after Antonis Samaras, a Greek opposition leader, called on the prime minister to resign and repeated a call for early elections.
Samaras made the demand on Thursday during a parliamentary meeting to vote on whether to accept the EU package that contains deeply unpopular spending cuts.
Samaras made the demand on Thursday during a parliamentary meeting to vote on whether to accept the EU package that contains deeply unpopular spending cuts.
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