Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei talks with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting in Tehran, Nov. 6, which was also attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. (Mehr Photo)

TEHRAN, Nov. 6--Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Monday the bonding of the determination of independent countries will increase their power and the impact of their will.
In a meeting with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in Tehran on Monday, the leader noted that these bonds meet the national interests of these countries, IRNA reported.
“Islamic Republic of Iran and Belarus have many commonalities for expansion of ties. Iran is also ready to cooperate with Belarus in the economic and trade fields,“ he said.
Reiterating the need for broad-based collaboration with Belarus, Ayatollah Khamenei enumerated the prerequisites for the resistance of independent countries against big powers as enhanced relations and cooperation among these countries.
“The reason some apparently independent countries cannot withstand the arrogant powers is lack of this bonding of the wills of the officials of these countries and lack of support of their own people,“ the leader said.
In a meeting with Lukashenko on Monday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran and Belarus are strongly determined to further expand bilateral ties.
Ahmadinejad told his Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko that Tehran is firm about using all potentials in different fields to upgrade cooperation with Minsk, IRNA reported.
Expressing hope that Lukashenko’s Tehran visit would open a new chapter in bilateral ties, Ahmadinejad said, “We would like to see mutual cooperation expand rapidly in technological, scientific and economic fields.“
He said Tehran is ready to transfer expertise to Belarus and benefit from the country’s potential in return.
“Tehran-Minsk ties can serve as a good model of regional and bilateral ties,“ he said.
The Iranian president hoped the two sides would sign documents for cooperation in energy, oil, industry, education, technology, trade and defense sectors at the end of the Belarus delegation’s visit to Tehran.
Thanking Lukashenko for his “courageous and strong“ stances on global and international issues, especially those in support of the Iranian nation’s interests in nuclear field, Ahmadinejad said Iran is interested in independence and progress of Belarus and supports the country’s progress.
Lukashenko said, for his part, that his country can serve as a good friend and partner for Iran.
He expressed hope that his visit can prepare a good ground for drawing a long-term strategy for expansion of bilateral relations.
Lukashenko further said his country is ready to invest in Iran’s oil exploration sector, while inviting President Ahmadinejad to pay an official visit to Belarus.
The Iranian president welcomed the invitation.

GAZA CITY, Occupied Palestine, Nov. 6--Moderate President Mahmoud Abbas and negotiators from Hamas have reached agreement in principle on forming a government of independent experts, but still need to wrap up important details, a Hamas cabinet minister said on Monday.
According to AP, the platform of the new government would be intentionally vague, especially on the issue of recognizing Israel.
It is not clear whether that would be acceptable to the international community, which has called on the Palestinian government to recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept past agreements with Israel.
Abbas headed to the Gaza Strip on Monday afternoon for further talks with Hamas, Palestinian officials said, a possible signal that the two sides were nearing agreement on forming a new government.
Under the emerging plan, the Hamas cabinet and prime minister would step down and be replaced by a team of experts, in hopes that this will end a crippling international aid boycott, imposed when Hamas came to power in March.
At one stage, Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas had reached an agreement, but Hamas then withdrew its support, balking at key points in the government platform, including an implicit recognition of Israel.
Haniyeh said he expected to meet Abbas on Monday night to discuss efforts to form a unity government.
“The government must lift the siege and suffering of the Palestinians,“ Haniyeh said.
The new compromise proposal would enable Hamas to appoint eight ministers and Abbas’ Fatah would choose four, with the remainder of the portfolios awarded to smaller parties.
The new prime minister would be chosen by Hamas, and a key sticking point is over how close he should be to the ruling party.
Hamas has chosen a candidate to take over as prime minister from one of its leaders, but the party declined to identify the proposed replacement.
“Palestine is bigger than all of us,“ Haniyeh told a meeting of his cabinet in what sounded like a farewell speech. “It is very easy for us to move to another position in the interests (of our people).“
The latest round of talks moved ahead despite a weeklong Israeli offensive in northern Gaza border.
More than 50 Palestinians have been killed in a series of Israeli air strikes and shellings since last week.

Daniel Ortega

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Nov. 6--Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist revolutionary and US Cold War enemy, headed toward a dramatic return to power in Nicaragua’s presidential election, early results showed on Monday.
With returns in from almost 15 percent of polling stations in Sunday’s election, the 60-year-old Ortega had just above the 40 percent mark that would seal a first-round win and give him back the presidency 16 years after he was voted out at the end of a brutal civil war against US-backed Contra rebels, Reuters reported.
If confirmed, it would be an embarrassing blow to the United States, which fears the leftist would join an anti-US bloc in Latin America and had warned of a cut in aid and investment to Nicaragua under an Ortega government.
Thousands of Ortega’s Sandinista supporters set off fireworks through the night and raced through the streets waving black-and-red party flags.
Conservative rival Eduardo Montealegre, who was Washington’s favored candidate, trailed with 33.3 percent, although he insisted his party’s numbers showed he won enough votes to force a runoff next month.
US officials in Nicaragua said they found irregularities in voting on Sunday and refused to back the election until the returns were in and problems of polling stations opening late and closing early were investigated.
Roberto Rivas, head of Nicaragua’s top electoral body, insisted it was a clean, transparent election.
It was Ortega’s third comeback attempt since 1990, when his revolutionary Sandinista government was toppled by voters weary of a deep economic crisis and the war against Contra rebels trained and financed by the United States.
Ortega led the revolution that toppled US-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979 and then allied Nicaragua with the Soviet Union as much of Central America became a Cold War battleground.
Although he has toned down his leftist rhetoric since the 1980s, Washington worries Ortega will team up with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro in challenging US interests in Latin America.
Since Ortega was voted out of office, Nicaragua has had three pro-US governments that stabilized the economy but were hit by corruption scandals and divisions and failed to do much for Nicaragua’s poor.

BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov. 6--NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Monday intensified calls for the European Union to take on a greater role in Afghanistan by boosting reconstruction and police training in support of the alliance’s military operation.
“NATO is doing a lot but we are neither a relief organization nor a reconstruction agency,“ de Hoop Scheffer said, AP reported.
NATO, which commands a force of more than 30,000 troops seeking to bring security to Afghanistan, has long pushed the EU, the United Nations and other organizations to back it up with more civilian aid operations.
“The fledgling Afghan national police should be taken on by the European Union as an important project,“ de Hoop Scheffer told a security conference organized by a Brussels think tank.
De Hoop Scheffer appealed to the 19 nations that are members of NATO and the EU to ensure that both organizations are fully committed to the effort in Afghanistan.
“In Afghanistan, there is no military answer,“ de Hoop Scheffer told the audience of diplomats, journalists and defense experts.
Germany, Italy and some other European nations already are running training programs for the Afghan police, but NATO officials have complained they are not doing enough.

TEHRAN, Nov. 6--Head of Iranian Space Agency, Ahmad Talebzadeh, said on Monday the US is doing its best to prevent Iran from gaining access to state-of-the-art technologies in different fields.
Speaking at the opening ceremony for launching the International Space Week in Iran, Talebzadeh referred to a recent contract signed between the White House and Harvard University for cooperation in the field of information gathering about Iran’s space programs, ISNA reported.
Talebzadeh noted that under the circumstances, Iran has no alternative but to be cautious about disseminating information about Iran’s space activities.
“For the same reason, Iran’s space programs are kept as secret,“ he said.
The official pointed out that according to statistics released by the United Nations between 2000 and 2004, $577 billion have been invested in space technology by different countries.
“This investment equals the total amount of investments in agriculture, textile and car manufacturing industries. It shows that such a huge investment has economic and technical justification,“ he said.
Talebzadeh noted that there are presently 3,500 satellites in space and each costs $1 billion per year.
“Pakistan has two space satellites, Saudi Arabia six, Turkey four, UAE two, Israel eight, Egypt two and Arabsat has six satellites,“ he said.
He pointed out that Iranian Space Agency was established two years ago and it enjoys the support of Supreme Space Council.
The Strategic Document of Iran’s Space Activities approved by the cabinet includes activities of communications, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and education sectors.
This 10-year program has been adopted under the supervision of telecommunications, defense and foreign ministers, as well as the IRIB chief.
“The secretariat of Supreme Space Council is operating in four groups, namely satellite communications, geographical satellite systems, space law and national interests, and applications of space technology in managing natural disasters,“ he said.
The official further said programs of Iran’s Space Agency are aimed at meeting the needs of the country and generating technical know-how.
He pointed out that the organization has programs for the design, manufacture, launching and maintenance of satellites.
“The scope of research in space sciences is relatively more comprehensive than in other sciences. Hence, international cooperation is essential for conducting space explorations,“ he said.
Talebzadeh pointed out that current research is aimed at revealing space belongs to whom and what are Iran’s national interests in space.

TEHRAN, Nov. 6--An official said on Monday the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization is opposed to the construction of a railroad next to the Naqsh-e Rostam archeological site.
Mohammad Hassan Talebian, director of Parseh Research Foundation, also told ISNA that railroad officials recently announced a plan to build the railroad in front of Naqsh-e Rostam.
“This is while according to the law, if a railroad is to pass through an archeological site, the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization should be provided with the map of the railroad,“ he said.
Talebian further said the railroad officials should wait for the view of the cultural heritage organization.
“If railway officials fail to provide the organization with a map soon, they will be creating problems for themselves,“ he added.
An Iranian archeologist, Alireza Asgari, said on Monday damaging the cultural site of Naqsh-e Rostam, which dates back to 2,000 BC, negatively impacts and delays its registration by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Asgari told Cultural Heritage News Agency that Parseh Research Foundation is making efforts to have Naqsh-e Rostam enlisted by the UNESCO.
Naqsh-e Rostam (Engraving of Rostam) is an archaeological site located about 3 km northwest of Persepolis in Fars province. The place is so named because of the Sassanid carvings below the tombs, which were thought to represent the Persian mythical hero Rostam.
Naqsh-e Rostam contains seven tombs belonging to Achaemenid kings. One of those inscriptions says the tomb belongs to Darius I.
There are also seven gigantic rock carvings below the tombs, which belong to the Sassanid kings.