US and Russia resume nuclear talks

US and Russian negotiators are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to negotiate a treaty aimed at reducing their nuclear weapons arsenals.

The two powers are hoping to find a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expired last December.

"The two sides are committed to concluding negotiations. What is important is that we arrive at a quality agreement," a US spokesman told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday.

Barack Obama, the US president, and Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, agreed last July that the successor treaty must cut deployed nuclear warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 per side from the current 2,200.

The Geneva talks have been closed to the media, but apparent sticking points have included verification and monitoring measures as well as Russia's opposition to US plans for missile defence facilities in eastern Europe.

'Potent message'

They also come as Western powers are pressing Iran and North Korea to curb their nuclear programmes.

Neave Barker, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Moscow said the talks are "a sign the US and Russia have entered a new ear of co-operation".

But he added they were "also a potent message to other nations, Iran included, that may be heading down the road of nuclear proliferation".

A Russian diplomat told Reuters that a draft treaty would be ready "hopefully by early April".

Obama will host a nuclear non-proliferation summit on April 12-13 bringing together representatives from as many as 43 countries to help secure the world's loose nuclear material.

He called last year in Prague for a world without nuclear weapons and has made preventing the spread of atomic weapons a priority.

Russia and the United States currently hold some 95 per cent of the world's nuclear warheads.

US and Russian negotiators recently began negotiating to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which expires this year.

The talks were launched after the first meeting between Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, last month.

Disagreements between the US and Russia also remain over how to deal with Iran's nuclear programme and the US's missile system plans in Europe.

Quake exposes poor Turkish building

Hundreds of people in eastern Turkey have been sheltering in tents after a deadly earthquake left many homeless and exposed the region's poor construction standards.

Recep Akdag, the health minister, said the mud-brick homes typical of Turkey's
impoverished villages "topple down at the slightest of jolts, and those caught beneath die from lack of air".

"It has been this way for a hundred years, and we have to beat this," he said on Tuesday.

At least 51 people were killed in the 6.0 magnitude quake early on Monday in six villages near the town of Kovancilar in Elazig province.

"The number of deaths is related directly to the construction quality," Okan Tuysuz, a geologists from Istanbul University, said.

"Unfortunately, Turkey is a country poorly prepared for earthquakes in terms of building quality."

Aid distributed

Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, has said the government housing agency will build quake-proof homes in the area.

The Red Crescent and the government provided tents and other emergency aid to villagers struggling to cope in freezing temperatures.

Digging through the rubble, they collected any remaining valuables from their collapsed homes.

"It was very cold last night and it was very crowded here, even children, elder people and patients were here," Cigdem Durmaz, a resident who spent the night in a tent, said.

"It was really cold, we were freezing. Thanks to the Turkish State, they provided us with tents, they delivered blankets and food supplies."

Survivors mourned not only dead relatives, but also the loss of large numbers of livestock, their only livelihood.

"Stock breeding is the only thing we rely on, but 70 per cent of our animals are dead," Nurettin Yildirim, the elderman of the Yukari Demirci village, said.

'Wake-up call'

Barnaby Phillips, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Turkey, said while survivors received emergency aid quickly, there are concerns about what will happen in the long run.

"In wider terms for Turkey, I think this is a wake-up call. This is a reminder that Anatolia lies on a series of seismic fault line and that the consequences can be fatal," he said.

The Elazig province lies about 550 kilometres east of the capital, Ankara, and is near
the East Anatolian Fault - one of the two major fault lines that cross Turkey.

The other is the North Anatolian Fault, which runs near Turkey's largest city of Istanbul.

Scientists say it is a likely a huge quake will hit Istanbul in the next 30 years, warning of massive destruction in the city of about 12 million where migration from rural areas has led to widespread illegal construction.

Despite two massive quakes killing 18,000 people in northwest Turkey in 1999, seismologists and civil engineers warn that not enough has been done to protect Istanbul in the event of another strong temblor in the region.

Niqab Ban Breaches Privacy: EU Rights Chief

A ban on face-veil would violate individual privacy rights and alienate Muslim women, the European rights chief has warned, urging politicians to promote understanding of different cultures.

"A general ban on such attires would constitute an ill-advised invasion of individual privacy," Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

Last January, a French parliamentary panel recommended slapping a partial ban on face-veils in public institutions.

Similar debates are also heating up in Italy, Denmark, Netherlands and Germany.

Hammarberg said a ban might breach the European Convention on Human Rights, which allows limitations on human rights only on the grounds of public health, safety or morals.

"Those who have argued for a general ban of the burqa and the niqab have not managed to show that these garments in any way undermine democracy, public safety, order or morals," he insisted.

"The fact that a very small number of women wears such clothing has made proposals in such a direction even less convincing."

The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 to protect human rights and democracy in the continent.

It has 47 members who have signed the European Convention on Human Rights.

Counterproductive

The European rights chief said a ban would be counterproductive rather than helpful for Muslim women.

"Prohibition of the burqa and the niqab would not liberate oppressed women, but might instead lead to their further alienation in European societies," he warned.

"The suggestion to ban the presence of women dressed in the burqa/niqab in public institutions like hospitals or government offices may only result in these women avoiding such places entirely."

Hammarberg said media interviews have shown that the majority of the niqab-clad women have taken the decision by their own volition and would not welcome a ban.

"There may of course be cases where they are under undue pressure - but it is not shown that a ban would be welcomed by these women."

While hijab is an obligatory code of dress for Muslim women, the majority of Muslim scholars agree that a woman is not obliged to wear the face-veil.

Scholars believe it is up to women to decide whether to take on the veil or burqa.

Hammarberg cautioned that subjecting Islam and Muslim-related issues to public debates in many European countries risks playing into the hands of extremists.

"Some of the arguments have been clearly Islamophobic and that has certainly not built bridges or encouraged dialogue."

He insisted that instead of imposing new dress codes on their citizens, European states would be better advised to launch debates on understanding of different cultures.

"Attempts should be made to broaden the discourse to cover essential matters, including how to promote understanding of different religions, cultures and customs."

Azhar Rejects Light Adhan

Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Muslim world, has dismissed a proposal to replace the call for prayers in a planned mosque in France’s second-largest city of Marseille with a beam of light from the minarets, the Egyptian independent daily Al-Doustor reported on Monday, March 8.

"The Adhan is an announcement that the time for prayers has come," explained Sheikh Ali Abdel-Baqi, Secretary General of Al-Azhar’s Academy of Islamic Research.

"This announcement is being done in a certain way that was conducted by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him)."

The main purpose of Adhan is to alert Muslims that the time for prayers has come.

It is called out by a muezzin in the mosque five times a day to summon worshippers for prayers.

But that has become a problem for many Muslim communities living in non-Muslims countries.

This has forced some Muslims to come up with the idea of using light to call for the prayers instead of Adhan.

Muslims planning a grand mosque in France’s second-largest city of Marseille are proposing to beam a purple light from its minarets at the time of prayer.

"The Adhan can be made inside the mosque to avoid any disturbance to non-Muslims," said Abdel-Baqi.

Dialogue

Al-Azhar official advised Muslims to avoid protests over opposition to using adhan to call for prayers.

"They should pursue dialogue with authorities in these countries to convince them about the importance of Adhan."

France is home to nearly seven million Muslims, the biggest Muslim minority in Europe.

The country is also witnessing a heated debate about the wearing of burka in the country, which banned hijab in schools and public places in 2004.

Since the 9/11 attacks, Muslim minorities in the West have been facing hard times in fulfilling their religious duties.

In November, Swiss voters backed an initiative by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party for a blanket ban on the construction of minarets in the country.

In Denmark, plans to build two mosques in the capital Copenhagen to serve the Muslim community are meeting stiff resistance.

Australian Muslims are also meeting opposition to build mosques and schools to serve their community.

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