Presenter, Female #1
39 people, including 15 Pakistani soldiers were killed in two bombings that targeted two military vehicles in an area that accommodates the military in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

Presenter, Male #1
One bombing took place in the R.A. Bazaar residential area in a neighborhood that houses a number of institutions and offices. A police officer said that at least 80 people, including a number of soldiers, were wounded in the two bombings. Joining us from Islamabad is the chief of our Al-Jazeera bureau, Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan.

Presenter, Female #1
Ahmed, what do the two bombings targeting the army in Lahore suggest?

Reporter, Male #1
Yes, according to Pakistani security sources, these two bombings caused the death of 45 people, including 18 Pakistani soldiers. Of course, the two suicide attackers targeted two military vehicles with explosive devices in the middle of Pakistan’s cultural capital Lahore, the capital city of Punjab province. The two bombings, inside or near the two military vehicles, led to large-scale losses, especially in the populated area. Of course, first of all, all of these signals indicate that the Pakistani army failed to stop these attacks which were initiated in the Pakistani tribal areas. Second, it’s been proven more than once that all the military operations launched by the Pakistani army in the tribal areas of Pakistan have not managed to deter the militants from carrying out these attacks, especially in the middle of Pakistan, in Panjab province, which is considered to be the major military base for the Pakistani army and security institutions.Third, targeting Panjab region, and Lahore in particular, sends out a strong message to the Pakistani army that it cannot move forward in its war against the militants. Forth, many political observers and analysts here see it as a message from the Taliban fighters to the Pakistani army to hold a specific kind of dialogue in order to stop the military operations that are targeting Taliban militants in the Pakistani tribal regions. As you know, Pakistani tribal regions are considered by Americans to be the starting point for al-Qaeda and the Taliban’s activities against US troops in Eastern Afghanistan. The US administration instigated the execution of these attacks or military operations in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Also, operations were carried out targeting the Pakistani army and security a week ago, or more specifically, the headquarters of the Pakistani Federal Investigation, the Pakistani FBI, in Lahore; this is where high-ranking al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders captured in Pakistan are being interrogated. Many think that these operations aim to send a clear message to the Pakistani army. The militants are indicating that their future targets will not be tribal areas in Pakistan or the northwestern region of Peshawar, but that their operations will start to target Panjab. Many political observers think that this hurts the Pakistani army and the military institutions that control the democracy, the politics and the security in Pakistan. And finally, some believe that these operations compel the ruling Pakistani army and military institutions to consider a different method, other than military operations, to deal with the Pakistani Taliban in the tribal areas.

Presenter, Female #1
Al-Jazeera's bureau chief in Islamabad, Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, thank you very much.

Presenter, Male #1
Mufti Saeed Ahmad Jalalpuri, a prominent Sunni religious scholar, along with three others, was killed near Khatami Nabi Mosque in Karachi.

Presenter, Female #1
Police said that Saeed was preaching at the mosque, and was about to drive home, when an unidentified gunman on a motorcycle attacked and shot him.

Russia has lambasted the US and NATO for their inaction in fighting drug trafficking in Afghanistan. The Russian envoy to NATO says the increase in drug smuggling threatens Russia’s national security. Dmitry Rogozin called the issue an ‘undeclared war’ against Russia; he also highlighted the lack of cohesion within NATO.

Presenter, Female #1
The president of the Iraqi List, Ayad Allawi, told al-Arabiya channel that wide-scale violations took place during the Iraqi elections. He criticized the Independent High Electoral Commission for announcing the results in intervals, instead of announcing the final results at once.

Guest, Male #1
I think that it is too early to accuse the electoral commission of fraud but, absolutely, wide-scale violations took place. I will mention three violations: the first one is the chaos that took place during the elections that were held outside of Iraq. The second violation is the irregularities in the so-called special voting session. The third violation is due to the many problems related to name assignment, data entry and so on. This caused problems. In addition to all of these, the electoral commission has been announcing partial results every half hour. Every half hour, they say this party won 10% and that party won 15%. They should not announce the results in installments. Instead, they should announce the final results of the elections at once.

Presenter, Female #1
Ayad Allawi held the government partially responsible for delaying the release of the complete results. He explained that the UN’s intervention is now necessary.

Guest, Male #1
To be fair, the electoral commission is not the only responsible party for these violations; the government also is responsible. This makes the UN’s intervention necessary. We talked with the UN representative in Iraq, and we may also ask the US to interfere. We have never seen election results announced in intervals, every single day. This has led to many doubts, inside and outside Iraq. Perhaps, this is why the European Union made a big deal about it. Today, a series of ambassadors came to my office including the Dutch, British, and American Ambassadors and others. They are not comfortable with what is going on.

Presenter, Male #1
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes strongly criticized Israel for linking the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to the siege on Gaza. After visiting the region, Holmes said that the Israeli government’s decision to link the fate of one Israeli soldier to the fate of 1.5 million Palestinians is illogical. It is worth mentioning that Shalit was taken hostage along the border with Gaza. Since then, Israel has repeatedly demanded that he be released. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said that he will not resume indirect peace talks with Israel if it does not reverse its decision to expand settlement construction. Meanwhile, an Israeli organization announced that Israel has a new plan to build 50,000 additional settlement units in Jerusalem.

Reporter, Male #2
There is nothing special here that makes this area stand-out. It’s an empty land, but its value may increase in the near future.

Guest, Male #3
New settlement units will be built here. It is called the Western Har Homa Settlement.

Reporter, Male #2
To understand the importance of this land, one must study the map of Jerusalem. This map, which is an official one from the municipality of Jerusalem according to Ahmad, highlights in orange the new settlements that are planned for construction. This area where we are standing right now is empty space located between two settlements.

Guest, Male #3
The objective of building settlements in this area is to isolate Bethlehem and Beit Sahur from East Jerusalem.

Reporter, Male #2
So this area between the two settlements will be filled with a new settlement, which will isolate Bethlehem from East Jerusalem.

Guest, Male #3
This area will be filled with new settlement units to expand the already existing settlements.

Reporter, Male #2
Will this isolate Jerusalem from the West Bank?

Guest, Male #3
Absolutely! This will isolate Jerusalem from the southern part of the West Bank.

Reporter, Male #2
According to “City of Nations” employee Ahmad, the new settlement units that Israel wants to build here are just one the thousands of settlement units that are planned to be built in East Jerusalem. According to the organization, if these settlements are built, Jerusalem will be jewdified to the point of no return. Yes, Hi. This is Khaled Eiz el-Arab from BBC Arabic. We tried to call the Jerusalem municipality but they refused to talk to us. However, they sent us a letter.

Reporter, Male #2
Regrettably, the report of the “City of Nations” organization has a great deal of imprecise information. The 50 thousand settlement units will be built through-out the city. One third of these units will be allocated to Arabs. The other two thirds will be allocated to Jews, in accordance with the ratio of the two populations in the city. “City of Nations” responded by saying that the projects that were allocated to Arabs were obstructed by the Israeli Interior Ministry which is headed by a minister from the right-wing Shas party. However, the projects that were designated for Jews do not face these kinds of obstacles. They added that the areas in which the Jewish settlement units will be built have a more strategic importance. Khalid Eiz el-Arab, BBC, Jerusalem.

The European Union parliament condemned Israeli plans to build additional housing in the northern part of Jerusalem. The parliamentarians also narrowly passed a resolution backing the findings of the Goldstone Commission into last winter’s Gaza conflict which alleged that Israel and the Palestinians committed war crimes.

Presenter, Male #1
Occupied Jerusalem, and especially the Old Town, has started looking like a military base. Hundreds of police officers and elements of the occupation army are spread around the streets and roads that lead to the Aqsa Mosque. They set up checkpoints at the entrances of the Old Town’s mosques and gates, forbidding worshipers under the age of 45 from attending Friday prayers. Clashes broke out between some worshipers and the occupation forces in the Old Town, leading to a number of injuries. These measures were taken after the confrontations witnessed at the Noble Sanctuary Square last Friday, 4 days before the opening of the largest synagogue, referred to by the Jewish people as “the Small Structure”, and is located just dozens of meters away from the Aqsa Mosque. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has ordered to seal off the West Bank for 48 hours. The occupation army imposed a tight curfew on the entrances and exits of the West Bank since last night, at midnight, saying that they are prone to attacks. The occupation army usually proceeds with the closedown during Jewish holidays. This is considered the first time in 2 years that the curfew is imposed during a non-Jewish occasion.

Presenter, Male #1
Participants at the conference on freedom of the press in Syria have condemned a resolution by the US Congress, which calls for a ban on satellite channels that oppose the occupation. The conference strongly condemned certain Arab governments, which took measures to restrict the rights of al-Aqsa, al-Manar and al-Alam channels. The conference, which was sponsored by the Arab Writers Union in Syria, urged the international media and intellectual groups to rise against this latest crackdown on freedom of the press.

Reporter, Male #2
The theme of the dialogue forum held in Syria was: “Media of the Resistance United against the Resolution of the US Congress.” The participants examined the serious implications of the US resolution and the key role Israel played in its inscription. The major victory achieved by Arab satellite channels, including al-Aqsa, al-Manar and al-Alam, has embarrassed the Israeli entity and exposed its war crimes in Lebanon and Gaza.

Guest, Male #3
The idea of launching a star war on certain Arab satellite channels, which is an extension of a political or military war, was rooted in Israel. This has become clear in the aftermath of the heinous Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli aggression on Gaza has stirred anger among the international community, including some US allies and friends of the Zionists.

Reporter, Male #2
The conference described the decision of certain Arab and Islamic governments, which succumbed to the pressures faced by the “Media of the Resistance”, as “irresponsible.” The conference also urged the international media and intellectual groups to support the satellite channels that are facing censorship. It also called on the Arab Ministers of Information not to succumb to US pressures.

Guest, Male #4
There’s a channel named al-Alam, which was taken off the air by certain Arab satellite networks. What did we do about it? No action was taken. We only heard talks and more talks. What did the civil society do about it? What did the officials, who make decisions related to the media, do about it? Did they hold protests, similar to those held around the world to defend free speech and freedom of expression?

Reporter, Male #2
The forum, which was organized by the Regional Office of al-Aqsa Channel in Damascus, was attended by the Arab Writers Union in Syria, as well as a large crowd of media personnel. Mohammed al-Khuder, al-Alam, Damascus.

Presenter, Male #1
In Morocco, the Paris-based Permanence of Moroccan Judaism Association has organized a conference, under the theme “Judeo-Muslim Peaceful Coexistence,” in the city of Marrakech. The participants stressed the importance of reviving Jewish heritage in Morocco. A number of political and civil organizations held a protest against it, placing it in the context of “suspicious conferences that lobby for Arab-Zionist normalization.”

Presenter, Male #1
An exhibit was held in Doha to display traditional Moroccan artifacts. We leave you with Muhammad Ben Halema and Abdalah Jeed.

Reporter, Male #1
In Doha, traditional artifact lovers are trying to implement a vision aimed at innovating the style of their craft by 2015, but without compromising the primary elements or the authenticity of the final product. The exhibit here is not commercially motivated; rather, it is aimed at leaving the visitor with a beautiful impression of Moroccan artifacts.

Guest, Woman #1
The Dar al-Saneh Institution is participating in the activities that were held to commemorate Doha as the Arab Capital of Culture. We contributed with different artifacts as a way to introduce people to the original Moroccan folk art.

Reporter, Male #1
Some of the exhibit’s visitors were fans of traditional folk art, while others come to explore opportunities to import Moroccan aircrafts. They are hoping to introduce Moroccan traditional artifacts to the Gulf market.

Guest, Man #3
The exhibit is very unique; may God bless it. It is crowded, and it displays a lot of artifacts that are worth seeing. Anyone who wants to know more about Moroccan artifacts would have a much better idea by visiting this exhibit.

Guest, Male # 3
We specifically came to this exhibit to explore Moroccan artifacts and folklore. We have started the process of opening a commercial store to sell Moroccan products.

Reporter, Male #1
The exhibit is also aimed at introducing people to Morocco and hopefully bringing tourists from the Gulf to Morocco.

Guest, Man #4
This is a good occasion to introduce people in Qatar to tourism in Morocco. God willing, this exhibit will be followed with tourism exhibits. For example, we can have one week to display Moroccan cooking, and then hold exhibits about Moroccan tourist attractions.

Reporter, Male #1
The Moroccan craftsmen focus on making artifacts threatened of becoming obsolete. They are adding a new spirit to these traditional artifacts and making them even more beautiful.

Guest, Man # 5
People like these artifacts because everything is hand-made. There is a lot of diversity, and God willing they will visit Morocco because we have great deals on these artifacts. Thank God.

Reporter, Male #1
The exhibit also included entertainment with the presence of folk music bands, such as the prominent Ebedat Rma group which performed Moroccan music and dance.