Presenter, Female #1
The Iraqi parliament called on the ministers and security leaders to conduct an investigation, within the next 48 hours, into the series of bombings that blasted Baghdad today. 127 people were killed and 450 others wounded in the bombing.

Reporter, Male #1
5 bombings took place simultaneously and shook the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The series of bombings began in the neighborhood of al-Dora, when a suicide attacker targeted a police station located near a school. A number of students in the school were killed and wounded. According to security sources, the suicide bomber carried C4 in his car, a highly explosive material. After that, 4 explosions took place in various neighborhoods in the middle of the capital, Baghdad. Security sources said that a booby-trapped vehicle targeted a US patrol station near the headquarters of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which led to heavy damages to the building and a number of deaths and injuries. On one of the roads leading to the Ministry of Interior, a parked car exploded killing and injuring a large number of people. Another bombing targeted the temporary headquarters of the Ministry of Finance located in Risafi square. The ministry moved to this location after its original building was destroyed in August’s bloody attacks in Baghdad. This bombing killed and wounded numerous employees of the ministry and led to massive damages to the building. Another attack targeted a complex of courthouses, containing a number of government buildings. An art institute is located near the complex in the district of Mansour. The attack left dozens killed and injured. Besides the loss of life, the bombings also cut off the major roads in the capital. Meanwhile, US helicopters have been patrolling heavily in the sky of Baghdad. The serial bombings took place right after the electoral law passed, refreshing the memory of the bloody Wednesday bombing. This is a bloody message that the operators of the attacks wanted to send to the Iraqi people and government. Tony Mazarani, Al Arabiya.

Presenter, Female #1
The Iraqi president Jalal Talabani announced that the parliamentary elections will take place on March 6, 2009. Talabani considered preparing and passing the electoral law proof that Iraq has overcome a major hurdle by reaching a consensus.

Guest, Male #1
Even though a majority of political groups lack parliamentary experience in an open and democratic atmosphere, the experience of preparing and passing the electoral law has proved that we have come a long way by reaching a consensus, by reconciliating and respecting other’s opinions. In addition, we are moving towards communication through national dialogues and understanding, instead of bickering and resorting to violence.

Presenter, Female #1
The Palestinian Liberation Organization considered the EU’s position of making Jerusalem the capital of the two states a step forward. The Foreign Ministers of EU countries stated earlier that Jerusalem should be the capital of both countries, Israel and a future Palestine, through negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. The Foreign Ministers agreed that in order to achieve real peace, an agreement should be reached through negotiations to determine the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of the two states.

Presenter, Female #1
In a meeting today in Brussels, Foreign Ministers of EU countries demanded that negotiations start regarding the status of Jerusalem. The meeting discussed the draft proposal submitted by the Swedish government to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestine state.

Presenter, Male #1
Reuters quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Foreign Ministers have agreed that in order to achieve real peace, Jerusalem should be the future capital of the two states.

Reporter, Male #1
Europe is not showing any development in its decade-old stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. But it finds itself forced to either re-consider diplomatic measures or put words into action. This comes after European citizens, who has once closed their eyes to the Middle East, have reopened them only to see the images of killings, settlements and the collapse of homes one after the other. Images that unveiled the behavior of the occupying country, one that is supported by the West in general against the wronged people, whose dream of freedom and self-determination is being smashed. The draft resolution by Sweden proposes that East Jerusalem be the capital of the future Palestine state. EU foreign ministers discussed the proposal over two days of meetings, during which a range of positions were heard. Some of them supported the release of an official statement of the resolution, which is of course in compliance with international resolutions and laws. Others tried to lower the requirements of the prisoner swap deal with Israel. Israel discussed the meeting of EU foreign ministers diplomatically, but waged a media campaign in which it attempted to compare dividing Jerusalem to dividing Berlin after World War II. According to international news agencies, Israel secretly and openly warned that taking a position like this will endanger the peace process and exclude European countries from mediating a resolution to the conflict. On the Arab side, Palestinian diplomatic activities pursued the international recognition of the Palestinian border on the occupied territories since 1967, no other official Arab reaction supported or is paralleled the European move. It appeared that no one was concerned about Europe settling on its position, either because they were busy with regional, sectarian or factional conflicts, which matter most to them, or at least because some of them were completely oblivious to what was happening; while still others don’t want this conflict to end.

Presenter, Female #1
A number of lawyers in London announced the foundation of an organization to capture those who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. This came during a seminar on the legal approaches to capture Israelis overseas.

Presenter, Male #1
Britain has attempted numerous times in the past to arrest Israeli officials accused of committing war crimes against the Palestinians.

Presenter, Female #1
Our correspondent in London Nahani Bishr followed the announcement by this organization.

Reporter, Male #1
This seminar is not limited to discussing the legal aspects for trying Israeli officials overseas as it was announced in the beginning. The organizers surprised the attendants by announcing the establishment of clear- conscience organization. The organization includes British lawyers who had a prominent role in war crimes cases raised against Israeli officials in London. These lawyers are expanding the work range of the organization to include other crimes such as torture.

Guest, Male #1
If we let the legislation become a historic fact, the sad truth is that what happened in Germany during World War II will repeat itself. Therefore we as lawyers, even as individuals, should work together to stop the Israelis from bullying the Palestinians.

Reporter, Male #1
Representatives from human rights organizations and former ministers in the British government also attended the seminar which was organized by the Middle East Monitor Center. It appears that the legal approach to capturing war criminals began to take a different route, through the efforts of the organizers who have consistent funds to maintain their work. The latest attempt by some lawyers to arrest Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak in London while he was attending the annual conference of the Workers’ Party several months ago failed and resulted in political tumult.

Guest, Male #2
The British government or other governments might try to change the laws to prevent trying war crimes. This actually happened in Belgium and maybe it will happen in Spain. There are talks about the possibility of changing the laws in Britain. It’s best to be careful when bringing charges against high political officials, and it’s preferable to start with lower-ranked officials.

Reporter, Male #2
The level of tumult that the British public experienced during the war on Gaza has increased the number of discussion about the war crimes against the Palestinians. Nahani Bishr, Aljazeera.

The Swedish proposal to recognize Jerusalem as the capital for both Israel and Palestine is an important first step because it would internationally recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. When peace is accomplished between the Palestinians and the Israelis, the advantage would be to have an undivided open city with, in which Jewish worshipers can pray at Temple Mount without the presence of the police.

Presenter, Female #1
The residents of refugee camps in Lebanon requested that the Palestinian president meet their humanitarian demands, ranging from civil rights to daily needs such as ending cuts in water and electricity. Omar Harqus has the report.

Reporter, Male #1
A picture of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is hanging at the entrance of the Burg al-Barajina camp. Next to it is a picture of the current Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, or Abu Mazen. These are the widest streets in the camp. After them, the streets turn into narrow alleys that fit only one person. The water pipes are intermingled with electricity wires, painting a miniature picture of the reality of Palestinian conditions in refugee camps in Lebanon. These difficult conditions have prompted the refugees to demand their president to protect their civil rights to insure a decent living.

Guest, Male #1
He should help us in the matter of registrations, for example, we’re not able to register our apartments.

Guest, Female #1
All we demand is fresh water. We only have salt water. This is the greatest risk to my son. It’s terrible to give salt water to a child.

Guest, Male #2
The improvement of living conditions and the care for Palestinian health is crucial.

Guest, Female #2
We want improvements of the roads, the water, and the electricity.

Reporter, Male #1
The camp lacks infrastructure and healthcare institutions. The only hospital inside the camp has a serious shortage of equipment.

Guest, Male #3
Every time it rains, our home gets inundated.

Guest, Female #3
The hospital needs support.

Guest, Male #4
We can’t even work as engineers or doormen.

Guest, Male #5
Our engineers and doctors can’t even establish an office to work in. We are deprived of a lot of things in this country.

Reporter, Male #1
The Palestinians in the camps hope that Abu Mazen will visit them. They are demanding many things, but they might only receive basic help in a camp that has become over-crowded, just like other Palestinian camps. All of this is in the hope of establishing a nation.

Presenter, Male #1
The UN Secretary General’s envoy to the region, Terje Roed-Larsen, arrived in Israel and met with a number of officials. The meetings were focused on the case of the village of Al-Ghajar. Israeli media quoted political sources saying that Israel has adopted the draft resolution proposed by UNIFIL forces. In which, the Israeli occupation forces will withdraw from the southern parts of the village, and UNIFIL forces will replace them. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered Hezbollah to be the real Lebanese army, replacing the official Lebanese army as the concrete force armed to the teeth, so to speak. He thinks that the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have merged into each other, and that they will both be held responsible for any aggression against Israel. Netanyahu said that UN resolution 1701, which was issued after the second Lebanese war, may have completely failed. In front of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Netanyahu showed his readiness to resume negotiations with Syria without any pre-conditions. He said that he prefers them to be conducted without any mediators. He made it clear that if the Syrian side insisted on having indirect negotiations, that he would prefer France to play the mediator’s role.

Iran's security forces have temporarily shut down Tehran University gate after hundreds of students staged protests at the technical faculty. The students protested, on Student Day, the illegal presence of non-students at the university's campus. There were reports of brief clashes between groups of students with opposing political views. A key protester was arrested while trying to pass the university gate while wearing women's clothes and hijab and he has reportedly played a key role in anti-government protests.

Presenter, Woman # 1
A new round of questioning of the Kuwaiti government took place, in a closed session.
Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al Muhammad agreed to be questioned after a request by a parliament member was made, on the ground of financial irregularities taking place in the prime minister’s office. In addition, the government is accused of misleading Parliament and the people. Parliament speaker Jassem Al Kharafi, agreed to make the session private because of a government request, despite the position of some parliament members to keep it public. Sheikh Nasser Muhammad Al Sabah will be questioned today; it will be his first time since he took office in 2006. Deputy prime minister and defense minister as well as the Ministers of Interior and Labor will also be questioned. Joining us over the phone our is reporter Ahamd Al Elanese, why did the Prime minister agree to be questioned for the first time? What does this mean?

Guest, Man # 1
This means a great deal for the Kuwaitis. The government and ministers were afraid of being questioned by the parliament. The Kuwaiti people are frustrated. The government has always been worried about this kind of questioning. Now, the prime minister will be questioned and he is a prominent figure within the ruling family. The prime minister agreed to be questioned. He said that he will explain and disclose everything he knows. Now the first session of questioning has ended. They are now taking a break, they will hold a second session afterwards and the prime minister will answer the questions.

Presenter, Woman # 1
For the second time in a row, the Dubai Stock market index decreased by more than 6%, while Abu Dhabi’s stock market index fell by more than 3%. These plunges come after announcements were made about the possibility of selling some of World Dubai’s assets in order to meet international obligations.

Reporter, Man # 1
The stock Market in the Emirate of Dubai is still shaking from the earthquake that started when World Dubai requested last month that its $59 billion debt be rescheduled. For the second time in a row, Dubai's benchmark DFM Index went down more than 6%, ending the day at 1600 point. The stock price of the Qyadi construction company in Dubai lost about 10% of its value, which is the maximum-allowed limit per day. This decrease in the stock market was not limited to Dubai, Abu Dhabi’s stock market also decreased by 3%, ending the day at 2500 points.

Guest, Man #
As you see, all the stocks are in the red. The DFM Index went down 106 points. What else can happen? The people’s money is gone.

Reporter, Man # 1
Other Stock markets in the Gulf were also affected by the performance of Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s stock markets. The Saudi and Qatari stock markets were also affected. The Saudi Stock market decreased by 2.3 %, and the Qatari Stock market decreased by 2%. The decrease in Dubai’s and Abu Dhabi’s stock markets came despite announcements about the possibility of selling some government owned World Dubai assets to meet its international obligations. Two of Dubai World’s property developers: the Nakheel and Limitless will be restructured and their debt rescheduled.

Guest, Man # 3
There is no reason for the sharp decrease that started in the morning when the stock market opened. They say that Dubai World is the reason behind the sharp decreases, but I do not think it is the real reason. It seems that some people want the market to go down and they are seeing that it does.

Reporter, Man # 1
Financial experts reiterate that psychological factors drive the market, and that they are partially behind this drop. Naseem Ramadan BBC.

Presenter, Male #1
The Egyptian Stock Exchange launched today the first annual conference of the Union of Arab Stock Exchanges in Cairo, with the participation of several heads of Arab financial markets and investment banks. On the sidelines of the conference, the Secretary General of the Union of the Arab Stock Exchanges, Dr. Fadi Khalaf, said that the global financial crisis has hit hard all international stock exchanges, including the Arab financial market. Khalaf called for closing financial loopholes and allowing the private sector to act as the auditor of accounts, in order to restore investors’ confidence in the Arab financial market.

Reporter, Female #1
The effects of the global financial meltdown and the Dubai crisis cast their shadow over the first annual conference of the Union of Arab Stock Exchanges underway in Cairo. According to financial experts, the international market has already seen the worst of the financial crisis, saying that 2010 will be a year of financial stability and 2011 a year for an economic relaunch.

Guest, Male #2
All economic indicators and world financial indexes are showing that we have started the process of overcoming this crisis. The Dubai crisis is nothing more than an aftershock to the larger global financial crisis. The effects will be limited to the region.

Reporter, Female #1
On the first day of the Arab stock exchange forum, the participants explored the financial opportunities and challenges facing the various Arab stock markets. According to economists, the Arab financial markets have witnessed, between 1994 and 2006, an unprecedented economic growth rates, with an estimated net worth of nearly 827 billion dollars in 2006. In 2008, the estimated net worth of Arab markets declined to nearly 736 billion dollars. The economists added that the Arab market will likely witness an economic boom over the next five years, which may help attract international investors to the region.

Guest, Male #4
We are seeking to boost cooperation between the Union of Arab Stock Exchanges on one side and the Union of International Stock Exchanges on the other. We must employ the right economic tools to prevent a repeat of the global financial crisis. We expect the Mideast region to witness a promising economic trend over the next few years, filled with investment opportunities, due to the availability of financial liquidity in the region.

Reporter, Female #1
Among the issues discussed in the Cairo forum are: The deployment of information technology infrastructure in the Arab financial markets, as well as combating the negative effects of outside stock trading.

Guest, Male #3
The process of stock trading must be performed in a way that is smooth, quick, open, and transparent. Therefore, no trading should take place outside the stock market. The trading becomes very risky if it takes place outside the stock market, and often leads to losses.

Reporter, Female #1
This report was brought to you by Lamia’ Wafi, Nile TV.