1. Ahmadinejad to inaugurate 2nd Iran-Turkmenistan pipeline Wednesday
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is on a visit to Ashgabat is due to inaugurate the second gas pipeline between the two countries to transfer Turkmenistan’s gas supplies to Iran….The pipeline which passes through Dauletabad-Sarakhs-Khangiran will facilitate the hike in Turkmenistan’s gas exports to Iran up to 20 bln c/m annually, the statement added….Iran and Turkmenistan also plan to expand their gas cooperation to other areas of activity, including energy swap and transit. The Iranian and Turkmen oil ministers in October discussed ways to use Iran’s transit route for Turkmen gas deliveries to Europe.
2. Qatar’s national bank to invest in Iranian oilfield
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) announced that Qatar’s National Bank (QNB) is due to invest 400 mln euros in Iran’s Esfandiar oilfield in the Persian Gulf….Esfandiar and Forouzan oilfields are shared by both Iran and Saudi Arabia and have so far been mainly exploited by the Saudis.
3. ex spy chief says Iran govt about to collapse — parrots Israeli talking points how about that?
A former high-ranking intelligence official in Iran has called for his country to form better relations with the United States and Israel and says the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is on the verge of collapse. In an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post Sunday, Mohammad Reza Madhi, a former officer in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence service, described Mr Ahmadinejad as ”crazy” and unfit to lead his country.
”He has already destroyed international relationships with many countries and made them enemies of Iran,” said Mr Madhi, who was forced to flee Iran in 2008 after being jailed for 73 years on what he described as ”trivial” charges. ”This has cost the Iranian people so much. His ideas are dangerous.”…”Israel’s internal problems are its own affairs, not ours. We shouldn’t get involved. It shouldn’t concern us. My view is that Israel has the right to exist. We should recognise it.”
4. Ahmadinejad: collapse of imperialism imminent
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the world powers against military adventurism in the Middle-East and reiterated that imperialism will disappear soon….Reminding that foreign military presence in a number of regional countries has fueled insecurity in the region, the Iranian president expressed the hope that plots to destabilize the region would soon end.
5. after Livni, Israeli army delegation cancels trip to UK for fear of arrest
Israel has canceled the departure of a military delegation to Britain last week after British authorities could not vouch that Israeli occupation army’s officers would not be arrested. The delegation was slated to include four to five officers invited to the UK by the British army.
…The incident is viewed with great severity by Israeli government officials.
Meanwhile, British Attorney General Baroness Patricia Janet Scotland is currently visiting the Zionist entity and is expected to meet with Justice Minister Yaakov Ne’eman and elements from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Israeli side is slated to stress that it expects a change in British legislation that would prevent any arrests. The issue of changing UK law to prevent the arrest of Israeli officials and officers was expected to loom large in Lady Scotland’s meetings with fore ign ministry officials.
Israeli elements are also expected to assert that British-Israeli relations are in danger of being cynically exploited by Palestinian elements. The Israelis also noted incidents that could jeopardize relations, for example the academic and commercial boycott of Israel.
6. Israeli digging triggers landslide in Occupied Jerusalem
In an earlier statement the foundation cautioned that the network of tunnels, being dug by the Israeli occupation around and under Al-Aqsa Mosque under the pretext of archeological excavations, could topple the holy Mosque and the nearby homes.
…The foundation appealed to the Arab and Muslim nations to step in immediately to save the endangered Mosque.
Residence of Wade IL Hilo, in Silwan reported that they were surprised Saturday evening when a large collapse occurred in the main street to a depth of four meters and a length of three meters. According to residents loud noise was heard at six in the evening yesterday, an explosion rocked nearby homes, and were surprised that the cause of the explosion was due to the collapse of the main street in Wade Il Hilo near the Muslim child kindergarten, and also close to a mosque named Ein Silwan which is only twenty meters away from Al-Aqsa Mosque in a tunnel four meters deep and a length of three meters.
7. tensions rise over water
Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz today warned that unless the hike in the water tariffs was implemented, a NIS 1 billion across-the-board budget cut would be necessary. He told the Knesset State Control Committee that without a water tariff hike, he would be forced to choose between two alternatives:
1. An across-the-board budget cut, or
2. Delaying water projects, including construction of desalination plants.
Steinitz said that the second alternative was liable to cause Israel’s water situation to deteriorate to the conditions on Cyprus. “Raising the price of water isn’t easy, but it’s essential for fixing the water economy so we don’t end up like Cyprus, where taps are dry.”
