Headlines:

• $130 Billion a Year Wasted on Poor Quality Education: UN

• Egypt Army Backs Sisi as Presidential Candidate

• Vladimir Putin Tells Brussels to Stay Out of Ukraine's Political Crisis

• Obama Threatens to Veto New Sanctions Against Iran

Details:

$130 Billion a Year Wasted on Poor Quality Education: UN

A quarter of a billion children worldwide are failing to learn basic reading and maths skills in an education crisis that costs governments $129 billion annually, the UN's cultural agency warned in a report Wednesday. Inadequate teaching across the world has left a legacy of illiteracy more widespread than previously thought, UNESCO said in its annual monitoring report. It said one in four young people in poor countries was unable to read a sentence, with the figure rising to 40 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations defines "youth" as people aged between 15 and 24, although UNESCO's definition varies across regions. "What's the point in an education if children emerge after years in school without the skills they need?" said Pauline Rose, the director of the nearly 500-page Education for All Global Monitoring Report. In a third of countries analysed, fewer than three-quarters of existing primary school teachers were trained to national standards, while 120 million primary age children across the world had little or no experience of school, the UNESCO report found. "The cost of 250 million children not learning the basics is equivalent to $129 billion, or 10 per cent of global spending on primary education," the report said. Thirty-seven countries monitored by the report are losing at least half the amount they spend on primary education because children are not learning, UNESCO said. In developed countries including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, immigrant children lag behind their peers, performing far worse on minimum learning targets. Indigenous groups in Australia and New Zealand face similar problems, it said. The report called for global education policies to focus not only on enrolment rates but also on equal access and better teaching. "Access is not the only crisis - poor quality is holding back learning even for those who make it to school," UNESCO director general Irina Bokova wrote in the report's foreword. She said it was clear that the educational targets set in 2000 by the UN's Millennium Developments Goals would not be reached. [Dawn News]
As long as Western capitalism dominates the globe, children around the world will become more illiterate, and loft goals such as those set by the UN's Millennium Developments Goals will never be achieved.

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Egypt Army Backs Sisi as Presidential Candidate

Egypt's top military body has given its approval for armed forces chief Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to run for the presidency. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) said: "The people's trust in Sisi is a call that must be heeded as the free choice of the people." Security sources say he will resign and announce his candidacy within days. Field Marshal Sisi led the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi in July, following mass protests against him. An election must take place by mid-April. Correspondents say Field Marshal Sisi would be likely to win, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people backed his candidacy at a rally in Cairo, after the field marshal said he wanted to gauge "public demand". At the same time, almost 50 people were killed in clashes between security forces and protesters demanding Mr Morsi's reinstatement. Referring to the field marshal, the alliance led by Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday that the opposition protests showed "the people want the execution of the murderer" and not to "appoint the murderer as president". On Monday, the SCAF held an hours-long meeting to discuss "the demands of the people" for Field Marshal Sisi's candidacy. During the meeting, interim President Adly Mansour announced that he had promoted him from general to the army's top rank, reportedly as a final honour before he stands down. The state news agency Mena later reported that the SCAF had unanimously "endorsed" Field Marshal Sisi to run for president. The state-run al-Ahram newspaper also said his chief-of-staff, General Sedky Sobhy, had been chosen to replace him as head of the armed forces. A senior military official told the AFP news agency that the field marshal would step down and announce his run within days. He wanted to "unite the people, restore security and Egypt's international standing", the official added. [Source: BBC]

So there you have it, Mubarak's regime has been reconstructed and those who bled for the revolution find themselves where they were 3 years ago. In truth Mubarak's regime never went away only the faces changed with the arrival and ouster of Morsi and now Sisi is poised to take power. The Nasserites have always held power and faithfully served the interests of America and the Jewish state. Sisi will do likewise despite his anti-American rhetoric.

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Vladimir Putin Tells Brussels to Stay Out of Ukraine's Political Crisis

President Vladmir Putin warned Europe to keep its hands off Ukraine on Tuesday, as Brussels sent its top foreign policy envoy to Kiev to try to mediate in the 10-week stand-off between President Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition on the streets. Russia's intervention in Brussels followed Yanukovych's biggest concession to the opposition, the sacking of his hardline prime minister and government and a promise to repeal draconian laws criminalising protest and freedom of speech. Putin met EU leaders for the first time since November's clash between the Kremlin and Europe over the future of Ukraine triggered the crisis in Kiev. Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, took part in the meetings with Putin in Brussels then travelled to Kiev to try to mediate between the opposing sides. "The more intermediaries there are, the more problems there are," Putin said. "I am not sure Ukraine needs intermediaries." He pointedly noted that European leaders would complain if Russia sent envoys to mediate in the Greek crisis of the past four years. "I can only imagine what the reaction would be if in the heat of the crisis in Greece or Cyprus, our foreign minister came to an anti-European rally and began urging people to do something. This would not be good," Putin said. "I'm sure the Ukrainian people will sort this out and Russia is not going to interfere." The president of the European council, Herman Van Rompuy, insisted Lady Ashton would seek to reconcile the two sides in Kiev on the basis of "democratic rules" and aim to prevent an escalation of violence. [Source: The Guardian]

Ukraine is caught up in tussle between the EU and the US on the one hand, and Russia on the other. Both parties want to colonize Ukraine and sap the country's rich resources for their own benefit. The Ukrainian people will never find any peace or solace in siding with either of the two vultures. It is unfortunate that the Muslim world at present cannot show an alternative to the colonialist vision espoused by EU, US and Russia. But as soon as the Caliphate is established, the Ukrainian people will have a real alternative in finding peace and prosperity as opposed to becoming cattle fodder for the EU, US or Russia.

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Obama Threatens to Veto New Sanctions Against Iran

Any new economic sanctions that Congress tries to impose against Iran during international negotiations to limit the Islamic republic's nuclear program will be vetoed, President Barack Obama warned lawmakers on Tuesday, even as he acknowledged the ongoing talks are difficult and may not succeed. It was the sharpest part of a State of the Union speech that overall was skimpy on details for his foreign policy agenda for the year. "If Iran's leaders do seize the chance, then Iran could take an important step to rejoin the community of nations, and we will have resolved one of the leading security challenges of our time without the risks of war," Obama said. The president said he's "cleared-eyed" about longstanding mistrust between Iran and six world powers that are working to prevent Tehran from enriching enough uranium to build nuclear weapons. He also credited the U.S. for what he described as leading the way toward an interim agreement that has all but frozen Iran's nuclear program for the first time in a decade. "But let me be clear: If this Congress sends me a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto it," Obama said. "For the sake of our national security, we must give diplomacy a chance to succeed."Iran long has maintained that its nuclear program is only for medical and peaceful energy programs. But after years of negotiating, Iran agreed in November to slow its uranium enrichment program to a level that is far below what would be necessary to make a nuclear bomb. It also agreed to increased international inspections to give world leaders confidence that it is not trying to build weapons in secret. In exchange, the U.S. and five other nations - Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China - agreed to ease an estimated $7 billion worth of international sanctions against Iran's crippled economy for a six-month period while negotiators try to broker a final settlement. Obama also said he "will be the first to call for more sanctions" if Iran reneges on the deal. [Source: ABC News]

Once again the American president comes to the defence of his deal with Iran, and this time the warning is aimed at his fellow country-men. Obama's warning salvo aimed at Congress underscores the importance America attaches to normalising relations with Iran and using Tehran to look after its interests in Iraq and the Levant.