Russia, China cooperate on new currency proposals: Kremlin

Moscow (ANTARA News) - Russia and China are coordinating proposals on a new global currency that could replace the US dollar as a reserve currency to prevent a repeat of the global economic crisis, the Kremlin said on Monday.

"We have received proposals from our colleagues in China, detailed proposals," President Dmitry Medvedev's top economic adviser Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted by AFP as saying. "Our positions are very similar.

"We have similar positions on the development of the international financial architecture," he told reporters.

Ahead of the Group of 20 summit in London later this week, the Kremlin has published a raft of proposals to overhaul the global economic order, including plans for a supra-national currency that could replace the US dollar.

China has come forward with similar ideas.

US President Barack Obama has said he does not see why the dollar should be replaced and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the summit would have more immediate issues to discuss.

"So far, not everybody is ready for that," acknowledged Dvorkovich. "We will insist on that at all levels."

Medvedev has said the international community should have a say when the world's richest countries make decisions with global implications, as in the US financial crisis, sparked by the collapse of the market for subprime or higher risk mortgages.

Moscow also understood however, that many countries were not ready to undertake additional "political obligations," said Dvorkovich, expressing hope that major economies would at least be open to consultations on the subject.

Dvorkovich said he hoped Russia and other major developing economies would also get an equal say and the attention they deserve during the G20 meeting.

"We are hoping that our voice will be heard but I would like to stress that we do not have a desire to pit our voice against that of our partners," he said, referring to developing economies Brazil, India and China who join Russia in what is known collectively as 'BRIC.'

"There will be no separate joint (BRIC) communique, nor should there be," Dvorkovich said. "This is the summit of the leaders of the G20 countries."

Critics have suggested China and the United States, whose economies are closely intertwined, would likely steal the show by promoting their own agenda and turning the G20 forum into a 'G2' summit.

Dvorkovich said the US and China would have ample time to discuss bilateral issues on the summit's sidelines

Separately, Dvorkovich said Medvedev would meet Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on April 1, just before the summit. Medvedev was also scheduled to meet US President Barack Obama, China's Hu Jintao and Britain's Brown that day.

Dubai launches Islamic commodity hedge fund index

LONDON (Reuters) - The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority governmental agency and asset manager Shariah Capital launched an index tracking the performance of Islamic hedge funds investing in commodities on Wednesday.

The Dubai Shariah Hedge Fund Index is the first to monitor the performance of hedge funds that comply with Islamic law, or sharia, and aims to provide a benchmark for investors, DMCC and Sharia Capital said in a statement.

The index performance will be calculated and reported by Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO).

The index is based on four hedge funds, part of the DSAM Kauthar Commodity Fund and investing in gold, energy, natural resources and mining. Each fund has received start capital of $50 million (33 million pounds) from the DMCC.

The funds are the constituents of the Sharia compliant Al Safi Trust, which selects sharia-compliant hedge fund managers, and was set up last year by the investment banking division of Barclays Bank (BARC.L) and Sharia Capital.

Sharia forbids strategies typically used by hedge funds, such as short selling, because this involves selling something the investor does not own. Short sellers borrow shares and sell them hoping to buy them back at a lower price.

Al Safi hedge funds operate through so-called arboon contracts sanctioned by a team of Islamic scholars.

Through an arboon, a hedge fund pays a deposit in advance of the transaction and holds an option for a specific length of time to either go through with the purchase of a stock or cancel.

If it goes through with the purchase, the hedge fund pays the rest of the price, but the deposit is retained by the seller, in this case the broker, if the fund walks out.

(Reporting by Cecilia Valente, Editing by Dan Lalor)

Source : Reuters

Worldwide protests denounce Israel

Angry protests against Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip have continued throughout the world, with two of the largest demonstrations taking place in London and in Sakhnin in northern Israel.

Other large demonstrations were staged in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, Lebanon, Turkey and the West Bank.

Protesters in Kabul pumped their fists into the air and shouted slogans against Israel and the United States, while in Srinagar activists burned an effigy of Ehud Olmert, Israel's outgoing prime minister.

In Ramallah in the West Bank, Palestinians seeking national unity marched through streets and there were clashes with Israeli riot police.

Israel protests

In the northern Israeli town of Sakhnin up to 150,000 Israeli-Palestinians have protested against Israel's offensive.
Crowds waving Palestinian flags and brandishing pro-Palestinian placards chanted "Gaza will not surrender to the tanks and bulldozers!" and "Don't fear, Gaza, we are with you!"

Thousands of police were deployed on the outskirts of the town and across northern Israel following a number of violent protests against the Gaza operation in recent days.

Following a minute's silence, Mazem Ghanaim, Sakhnin's mayor, called for an immediate halt to the Gaza offensive.

Ghanaim said: "The Israeli occupation forces is conducting crimes in Gaza before the eyes of the international community. We call for an immediate stop to the Gaza offensive."

He also said Gaza fighters should halt their rocket fire against southern Israel.

Mohammed Barakeh, an Israeli-Palestinian politician, said the Sakhnin demonstration was "our answer to the Israeli threats against the Palestinian people in Gaza".

"We are determined to stand alongside our brothers in Gaza to stop the bloodshed and massacre," he said.

Mubarak 'coward'

Israeli-Palestinians have staged several big demonstrations since Israeli warplanes launched air assaults on Gaza.

Some protesters in Sakhnin called Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president, a "coward" and accused him of "collaborating with the Americans".

In Europe, demonstrators have taken place across Britain with the biggest rally in London.

Tens of thousands of protesters including singer Annie Lennox, human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger and Ken Livingstone, the city's former mayor, marched through the capital.
Marchers on the event organised by the Stop the War Coalition were to leave old shoes for Gordon Brown, the country's prime minister, at his Downing Street residence, in the spirit of an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush, the US president.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Alexei Sayle, a British writer and entertainer, said: "I think we should withdraw our ambassador from Tel Aviv, we should call an immediate halt to European Union-Israel trade negotiations, we should start looking at a boycott of Israeli products and a boycott of Israel's financial services."

Protests were also held in Manchester, in northwest England, and in Glasgow in Scotland.

The march caps a week of demonstrations in London, including a rally outside Egypt's embassy on Friday, urging Cairo to open its crossing with Gaza to allow refugees through.

'Killer Israel'

Hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinian activists and schoolchildren protested in front of the United Nations building in Beirut.

One protester said he hoped the Lebanon-Israel borders would be opened so that he could go to fight alongside Palestinians.

Murad, a Palestinian refugee, said: "We want to at least be able to go and fight. We want Sayyed Hassan [Nasrallah, the Hezbollah secretary-general] to do anything to open the borders so we can go and fight and, God willing, we will be victorious."

In Ankara, Turkey's capital, about 5,000 people shouted "killer Israel" during an anti-Israeli rally as anger mounted in a country traditionally considered an ally of Israel.

The demonstration is the second largest in Turkey in as many days.

The protesters, who turned out in freezing weather, shouted "resist and win freedom" in support of Hamas.

Many waved Palestinian flags and wore headbands with Arabic scripts.

The fighting has troubled Turkey's efforts to help broker peace between Israel and its Arab opponents, forcing Turkey to suspend its mediation between Israel and Syria and leading to resignations by some of Turkey's politicians from a Turkish-Israeli friendship group.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Ahmadinejad: Jesus would stand with oppressed

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's upcoming Christmas message will say Jesus would be a defender of the oppressed if he were alive today.

"Jesus the Son of Mary is the standard-bearer of justice, of love for our fellow human beings, of the fight against tyranny, discrimination and injustice," Ahmadinejad will say, according to a preliminary text of remarks he is planning to deliver in a message to be broadcast Thursday -- Christmas Day -- on British TV.

The fiery Iranian leader, who has angered Western countries with his sharp comments on Israel, nuclear power, and the role of the United States in the world, will be delivering the Alternative Christmas Message on Britain's Channel 4.

The network, which calls the event a "traditional alternative to The Queen's Christmas Day broadcast," issued the preliminary text.

The thrust of his words and the overall message contained religiously inclusive rhetoric, such as his congratulating "the followers of Abrahamic faiths, especially the followers of Jesus Christ, and the people of Britain." And his words conjured a hopeful future.

But some of his remarks reflected Ahmadinejad's trademark bluntness.

"If Christ was on earth today undoubtedly he would stand with the people in opposition to bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers," the text says.

"If Christ was on earth today undoubtedly he would hoist the banner of justice and love for humanity to oppose warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over.

"If Christ was on earth today undoubtedly he would fight against the tyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and political systems, as he did in his lifetime."

The alternative address tradition, which began in 1993, has included remarks from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, an injured Afghan war veteran, a survivor of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and Marge from the television show "The Simpsons."

The network notes that "relations between Iran and the West" will play "a central role in world affairs" in the coming year. The address -- which won't be broadcast opposite the queen's message -- will be preceded by a "short introduction" that will put the leader's "appearance in context."

"As the leader of one of the most powerful states in the Middle East, President Ahmadinejad's views are enormously influential. As we approach a critical time in international relations, we are offering our viewers an insight into an alternative world view," said Dorothy Byrne, head of news and current affairs.

"Channel 4 has devoted more airtime to examining Iran than any other broadcaster and this message continues a long tradition of offering a different perspective on the world around us."

Source : CNN

The competition was organized by Islam Channel

Britain's Muslims have voted East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre as their Super Model Mosque for 2008.

The competition was organized by Islam Channel as one of the sub events that were presented during the Global Peace and Unity Event (GPU) at the London Excel Arena on 26th November.

The final was contested by East London Mosque, London Muslim Centre, and the Islamic Cultural Centre in Regents Park for the prize of a £50,000 consultation. East London Mosque won the competition with a massive vote of support from the public.

East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre got to the final after facing Sparkbrook Islamic Centre, Birmingham, in the semi-final.

A New Section to Be Built

Ayub Khan, the secretary of the East London Mosque, commented, "This is a great honor for our mosque and centre. Over the years, we have worked tirelessly to build a centre with facilities and services that everyone can use regardless of age, ethnicity or religion. The prize will go towards a centre of excellence for Muslim women and girls. For a long time, we have been looking to address that need and the prize will immensely help."

The mosque is in the planning stages of building a new section which will house dedicated services for women as well as new prayer space for all.

He went on saying, "The management committee and the staff of the mosque would like to congratulate Regents Park Mosque on getting to the final, Islam Channel on holding such a great initiative, and also thanks to all those who voted for us and have supported us."

One of the Imams of the Ka`bah, Sheikh Adel Salem Al Sheikh, led the congregational evening prayer last night at the East London Mosque.

Over 2000 people came to the mosque to pray behind the sheikh and hear him give a short talk after the prayer.

In his speech Sheikh Al Sheikh described the characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) and encouraged the congregation to follow his example.

His visit ended with a tour of the mosque and centre.