Presenter, Female #1
Our al-Jazeera correspondent in Mogadishu reported that 35 people, including 8 parliament members, were killed in an attack launched by elements of Shabab al-Mujahideen on a hotel in Mogadishu. The Somali government said that its forces took control of the hotel, and arrested an armed man who participated in the attack.

Presenter, Male #1
Meanwhile, clashes continue between government troops, supported by African forces, and militants from Shabab al-Mujahideen. Shabab al-Mujahideen, which is supported by the Islamic Party, announced that it will ignite an Armageddon with the government and the African forces.

Presenter, Female #1
Our correspondent Jami’a Nour reports from Mogadishu.

Reporter, Male #1
Mogadishu residents were not able to enjoy a little peace in the holy month for long when artilleries struck what was left of their houses and markets. The preliminary outcome of the confrontations between the government forces, supported by African peacekeeping troops, and the opposition forces of the Islamic Party was severe.

Guest, Female #1
This is my daughter, she was selling tea at the entrance of the port when a bomb fell on her and wounded large parts of her body. We don’t know what to do.

Reporter, Male #1
The clashes that pervaded in Mogadishu’s northern and southern fronts paralyzed life there. This is Bakkara market after all the customers were evacuated. The local shops are closed, and citizens prefer to stay at home in fear of the heavy artillery shelling on the market and its surroundings.

Guest, Male #1
Our shops are closed because of the battles. They showered us with bullets and artillery shells. We say to the African forces, this is the Bakkara market, not a battleground. We demand that you stop shelling the markets and areas other than the battlegrounds.

Reporter, Male #1
The confrontations, which were started by Shabab al-Mujahideen against the government and the African forces, seem to be the most violent and intense in recent times. Each side claims victory in the battles, but it is difficult to predict the outcome, or who will win in the end. But what is certain so far, is that massive losses will occur, not only harming the two fighting sides, but also the citizens. So, the Shabab al-Mujahideen wants this new battle to be an Armageddon with the transitional government. And the government wants it to be the end of the Party. A long road lies ahead before the two sides. Jami’a Nour, al-Jazeera, Mogadishu.

Presenter, Male #1
We stay with Jami’a Nour from Mogadishu.

Presenter, Female #1
Jami’a, we want to know how this is developing. Have the battles and the attack on the hotel in Mogadishu ended?

Reporter, Male #1
In fact, the battles have not yet ended. From time to time, we can hear gunfire exchange between the two sides on the fronts. The battles began yesterday evening. But the heavy artillery shelling on the city has been eased, in comparison to this morning. The most important incident now is that elements of Shabab al-Mujahideen stormed Hotel Muna near the presidential palace, which accommodates a number of Somali parliament representatives and officials in the transitional government, in addition to many Somalis who returned from overseas. There are contradictory stories and reports on what actually happened in this hotel. The government, through Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Rahman Ibi, says that about 33 people in the hotel were killed, including 6 Somali parliament representatives, 5 government officials, a soldier, in addition to 21 civilians staying at the hotel. But Shabab al-Mujahideen has a different story. The organization’s spokesman, Sheikh Ali Mahmoud Raji, held a press conference saying that their fighters killed 60 to 70 people in the hotel. He said that this number was reported to him by someone inside the hotel carrying out the operation. He said that all those killed in the attack were either Somali parliament members or officials in the transitional government, or men whom al-Mujahideen believed to be from military intelligence or spies for foreign powers. It is hard to know which story is true, but it is certain that the operation that was carried out in the center of the government-controlled territory, near the presidential palace, has truly confused the transitional government and placed it on high alert, at a time when it is preoccupied with the confrontations on the fronts.

Presenter, Female #1
Following a meeting that joined the two, the day before yesterday, in the house of the head of the State of Law coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, talks over the formation of the government resumed between al-Maliki and the head of the Iraqi National Alliance, Ammar al-Hakim. A leader in the State of Law coalition, Adnan al-Saraj, described the meeting between al-Maliki and al-Hakim as positive, indicating that the two sides are getting close to choosing a National Alliance candidate for prime minister. Al-Saraj said that the agreement resulted in removing the barriers on the State of Law candidate, Nouri al-Maliki. The head of the Iraqiya list, Iyad Allawi, said that his coalition is committed to the post of prime minister seeing that it was the largest winner in the latest elections. He described it as a constitutional right, adding that the interference of the Constitutional Court in the matter is wrong.

Guest, Male # 1 (Iyad Allawi, Iraqi Prime Minister)
The Iraqiya list is committed to its democratic right; its constitutional right is clear. The Iraqiya list has that right since it was the largest winner.

Reporter, Male # 2
To what extent is the Constitutional Court affecting this crisis?

Guest, Male # 1 (Iyad Allawi, Iraqi Prime Minister)
This interference is wrong and unclear. It has no basis or justification. In addition, it is not supported by the law. It is absolutely not within the court’s jurisdiction to look into this matter.

Presenter, Female #1
Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry undersecretary, Khaled al-Jarallah, said that his country has the right to express concerns over the Bushehr nuclear plant due to its proximity to Kuwait. Al-Jarallah clarified that his country’s patriot missile deal with the US comes within a network to protect Kuwait and other security arrangements.

Guest, Male # 3 (Khaled al-Jarallah, Kuwait Foreign Ministry undersecretary)
Is it within a network to protect Kuwait and other security arrangements that were agreed upon.Kuwait has the right to be concerned. Bushehr is close to Kuwait and in turn, any leaks that can happen due to natural causes can cause concern and, in truth, can cause fear over future impacts.

Presenter, Female #1
Pakistan continues to grapple with the unprecedented heavy floods that struck many cities and villages in the south more than one month ago. Meanwhile, at least 12 people, including Taliban militants, were killed in a US raid in the Waziristan region, in the northwestern parts of the country. Waziristan witnessed three blasts yesterday that killed 36 people.

Reporter, Male #1
These days, Pakistan’s misfortunes don’t come one at a time. From the unprecedented heavy floods, which have been sweeping across southern Pakistan for weeks, to local bombings and US raids in the northwestern parts of the country yesterday. In the end, the citizens are the victims. The Pakistani army and local organizations, assisted by a number of countries and international relief organizations, have been trying to rescue and help the people affected by the disaster. The floods have displaced 17 million people.

Guest, Male #1 (Ahmed Warsam, director of UN High Commission for Refugees’ bureau in Peshawar)
The UN High Commission for Refugees is determined to reach 80 thousand displaced families in the next two weeks. So far, we have managed to reach 10 thousand. But we are hoping to increase this number soon.

Reporter, Male #1
Devastating scenes in Pakistan have prompted the International Monetary Fund to promise to review the Pakistani budget and discuss its loan program after the floods inundated its infrastructure. The Pakistani embassy in London called for more help from the world, which made the Pakistani government accept help even from its main rival, India. New Delhi granted Pakistan 5 million dollars. Pakistani intelligence said that the US raids also killed a fairly large number of people, including 9 Taliban militants, and at least 6 civilians in the northern region of Waziristan. Yesterday, Waziristan also witnessed 3 separate blasts, killing scores and wounding many. The worst blast was a suicide attack on a mosque in Waziristan, killing more than 20 people, including Maulana Noor Muhammad, an anti-Taliban former parliament representative. The current humanitarian situation in Pakistan, which is described as the worst catastrophe in a century, prompted the government to request an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund. The United Nations said that providing 70% of the supplies needed by the flood-effected people is not enough to support the millions of other victims in this disaster- stricken country. Pakistan needs an estimated 15 billion dollars to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed by the floods.

Presenter, Female #1
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund began its meeting with the Pakistani government in Washington to discuss ways to help Islamabad deal with the impact of the aggravating economic crisis caused by the floods. It is presumed that the meeting will focus on the latest short-term loan payment of 1.6 billion dollars. Pakistan has now requested an emergency loan to fight the current flood disaster. In an interview with the BBC, Dr. Mohamed Fanish, former executive director of the World Currency Fund, explains some more effective alternative ways to help Pakistan.

Guest, Male #2 (Dr. Mohamed Fanish, former executive director, World Currency Foundation)
The subject of the meeting now is to first evaluate what happened after this catastrophe.
Then, there are two possibilities. First is to restructure the existing program. The alternative, which I think is more logical at this moment, under these circumstances…to quote the Pakistan office at the UN in that we are “facing an unusual circumstance”, the logical thing would be to get a new loan and more financial resources under conditions that conform with the current situation. In my opinion, it should be at least about 7 to 8 billion dollars.

Presenter, Female #1
A new chapter in the tension between Morocco and Spain ended with the Spanish interior minister’s visit to Rabat. His meeting with his Moroccan counterpart was amicable, according to an official in Rabat. The meeting, which paves the way for the Spanish king’s visit to Morocco, mainly aims to solve the dispute that recently arose due to the Spanish police’s violation of the rights of Moroccan citizens. The incidents took place in the crossing points of the two occupied cities of Ceuta and Mellila. From Rabat, this report by our correspondent Jalal el-Makhfili.

Reporter, Male # 1
Spain sent its interior minister to meet his Moroccan counterpart. This was a security, not a political, meeting. Observers had not expected such a meeting between the ministers of the two countries. For the most part, the meeting will discuss technicalities, seeing that it gathered Rabat’s and Madrid’s interior ministers to discuss the Spanish police’s violations of the rights of Moroccan citizens on crossing points of occupied Ceuta and Mellila. In principle, it will discuss the fight against drug-smuggling and terrorism, in addition to organized crime and illegal immigration.

Guest, Male # 2 (Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, Spain's Interior Minister)
To sum up, there have been some incidents, which have been overcome. From these incidents, we concluded the need to cooperate on the security level, and improve it though a number of mechanisms, which were agreed upon and are included in our joint statement.

Reporter, Male # 1
Among these mechanisms are the creation of a joint police to monitor the borders between the two countries, semi-annual meetings between experts and annual meetings between ministers. The case of releasing the Spanish hostages to aid Moroccan intelligence was covered in the visit and overtook the political implications of reports that Spanish police assaulted Moroccan citizens on the crossing points of occupied Ceuta and Mellila.

Guest, Male # 3 (Nabil Darwish, expert on Moroccan-Spanish relations)
The Spaniards wanted the visit to discuss the technicalities, rather than politics. They did not want to give the incidents that took place a political aspect. On the other hand, Morocco wanted to use these incidents to indicate that there are political differences between Morocco and Spain, and link them to Spain’s presence in Ceuta and Mellila.

Reporter, Male # 1
Crises between Rabat and Madrid often begin on a large scale, surrounded by political implications, but end with meetings in which compliments are exchanged and cooperation agreements renewed, usually based on what is imposed by their economy and geography. As long as the security, immigration and occupied territory files are stuck between Rabat and Madrid. The successive crises between the two countries will not end. At the end of the day, Rabat and Madrid’s mutual and shared interests are what eased the severity of these crises. Jalal el-Makhfili, Dubai TV, Rabat.

Major General Yoav Galant, tipped by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to be the next IDF chief of staff, is moving swiftly to try and repair the damage caused by the forged public relations document that bares his name. Major General Yoav Galant is focusing on moving past the scandal that has rocked the army for the past few weeks.

Presenter, Female #1
Some Arab and Islamic countries are actively engaging in direct or secret trade relations with the Zionist entity, in violation of the Arab embargo of Israel. The volume of trade is reportedly measured at billions of dollars. While some Arab states continue to impose tougher restrictions on Arab businesses operating in the 1948 occupied territories, they are favorably showing unparalleled leniency toward Israeli companies.

Reporter, Male #1
The Zionist entity’s Central Bureau of Statistics has estimated the volume of Israel’s secret and public trade with some Arab and Islamic states to be in the billions of dollars. In contrast, the value of inter-Arab trade stands at 25 billion dollars, nearly 10% of the Arab world’s external trade. Based on figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Export Institute in the Zionist entity, the Research Center of the Palestinian Association for Reconstruction has issued a report on trade cooperation between Israel and the Arab world. In the report, the research center said that 2008 had witnessed unprecedented trade activities, including the import and export of goods, between Israel and some Arab and Islamic countries. The list of countries engaging in trade exchange with Israel, whether direct, indirect, one-way or two-way, includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Bahrain, Tunisia, Lebanon, Turkey, Mauritania, Indonesia, Malaysia, and others. The report added that Israeli products are being publicly sold in some Arab markets, in violation of the Arab embargo on Israel. Some of the imported Israeli goods are relabeled to conceal their points of origin and rerouted, via third-country intermediaries, to some Arab countries, which Israel considers ‘hostile nations’ and bans trade relations with them. Among the countries, Cyprus is home to the largest point of import and export with Israel. The Zionist entity exports advanced technology, industries, and farm crops such as vegetables, fruits, and citrus to the Arab world. In exchange, it imports from the Arab world oil, and natural gas, as primary products. The Zionist entity reportedly sells goods to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, via third-country intermediaries. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Morocco directly buy Zionist goods, after changing their “Made in Israel” labels. Also, Egypt directly and openly buys Israeli products despite the millions of Egyptians and Arabs who boycott these goods. According to various websites, Jordan is home to many Israeli-owned factories; most of the goods are being relabeled to “Made in Jordan.” The goods are then exported to Arab and Islamic markets, sometimes to the knowledge of the imported companies and other times through deceptive and misleading practices. It seems that the embargo weapon has shifted from the Arab world to the Zionist entity, which has started to threaten to use it every time a need arises, such as the case with Turkey. A campaign was launched in the Zionist entity to boycott Turkish goods and tourism due to the latter’s position against Zionist practices and due to its supportive stance on the Palestinian plight.

Presenter, Female #1
Kuwait is hosting Christians who came from southern Turkey, Iraq and Palestine in the early 20th century. These Christians have integrated into Kuwait’s Muslim society, but they still face some obstacles. Our correspondent in Kuwait Walid al-Muamin has more details.

Reporter, Male #1
Some may not believe that these rituals are being performed in a Gulf country. Christians of various nationalities live here in Kuwait. But what is even more surprising is that Kuwaiti Christians, with a population that does not exceed 300, spanning over several generations, enjoy full citizenship rights. They perform their religious rituals with absolute freedom, or so some of them say. In this sense, they are not different from any other citizens, even in their occupational ranks, which include high-ranking positions such as diplomats, in addition to security and military positions.

Guest, Male #1 (Jamal al-Niaman, Kuwaiti Christian)
There is no difference at all. We have a national policy; nothing can be used to discriminate between Kuwaiti Christians and non-Christian Kuwaitis, not the passport, nor the nationality, or anything else.

Reporter, Male #1
Here in this church, I met with Pastor Emmanuel Benjamin Gharib, a Kuwaiti Christian, who concurrently wears traditional Kuwaiti clothes and pastor’s clothing. He is the only evangelical pastor in the Gulf region. He says that the obstacles that the Kuwait Christians face are “few”, but some extremists try to oppress those who disagree with them by reducing their religious freedom and rights, including the right to build new churches, especially when there are many Christians with very few churches.

Guest, Male #2 (Emmanuel Benjamin Gharib, Kuwaiti pastor)
We respect these sects, their existence and their convictions. And of course we don’t agree with them, we believe that the country of Kuwait gathers us all together with our different faiths and views. And we always call for love and peace.

Reporter, Male #1
In this context, Kuwaiti writer Ahmed al-Fahd said that the government, under pressure from religious sects, has not granted citizenships to any non-Muslim since the 1980s, even if they have greatly contributed to the country. He added that the Christians in Kuwait, Kuwaitis or non-Kuwaitis, are deprived of other rights.

Guest, Male #3 (Ahmed al-Fahd, writer and journalist)
They are forbidden from other things, such as building a new church in Kuwait. It is an issue of jurisprudence. Is it allowable to build a church in Kuwait, which is part of the Arab peninsula, or is it not? This is the issue that preoccupies them.

Reporter, Male #1
And the chairman of the Kuwaiti Human Rights Association, lawyer Ali al-Baghli says that Islamic fundamentalist sects and some conservatives are trying to “steal the social and religious legacy that Kuwait is built upon, which is represented by the integration of religions and customs in one country that is governed by the Constitution and law.”

Guest, Male #4 (Ali al-Baghli, Chairman of Kuwaiti Human Rights Association)
It has been in existence since before these fundamentalist groups had their agenda.
Their words have no effect.

Reporter, Male #1
Kuwaiti Christians are demanding to have representatives in parliament through a quota.
Within the Christian community, having some rights at the moment may be enough and acceptable for some of them. But the deprivation of other rights, such as parliamentary representation, may force many of them to change their convictions in the future. Walid al-Muamin, BBC, Kuwait.


** Mosaic News is produced by Jamal Dajani. Contact: mosaicnews{at}linktv{dot}org