The European Union is expected next week to authorise the immediate dispatch of a military force to eastern Chad to deter attacks on refugees from Darfur, but humanitarian workers are concerned it will be led or dominated by France.
In a strange way I understand their concerns.
Although the Chadian crisis is less severe than the one in Darfur across the border, the 3,000-person force will have a more robust mandate and better equipment, including aircraft and attack helicopters, than the largely African force that is about to deploy in Sudan's western region under combined African Union and UN command and control. The EU will conduct air patrols, including those carried out at night, to spot groups assembling for attacks on civilians.
Funny how the EU was able to ante up to protect a French client state.
The French offered to provide around half the force and acts as lead nation when the numbers of internally displaced people began to rise dramatically last year.
Perhaps they can mobilize the Fighting 515th Belgian Heavy Barbershop Battalion.
France already has a powerful military presence in its former colony and helped to protect the country's long-ruling President Idriss Déby from a coup in April last year. Rebel forces who operate near the Sudanese border reached the capital, Ndjamena, but were pushed back in fighting which left around 300 dead.
"The important thing for the EU force is that it has to be perceived as neutral and impartial," Thomas Merkelbach, the head of the local delegation of the Red Thingy Cross said yesterday. "Its troops should come from a variety of nations and not have one dominant country. It could become a problem if it is perceived as a French force."
Why? The French have been there for decades, and everyone knows which side they're on. Oh.
While the EU force will be better equipped and trained than the AU/UN hybrid force for Darfur, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, originally wanted it to be a UN force with 11,000 troops. "It's encouraging that the president of Chad has agreed to this force", Mr Ban told reporters after arriving in the capital yesterday for a one-day visit to meet Mr Déby. But in a report to the security council last month, Mr Ban explained that Mr Déby insisted on having an EU rather than a UN force.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
A functionally French force, ordered over by President Sarkozy? The results could be interesting.
The U.N. chief and the Sudanese president announced plans Thursday for a conference next month on ending the conflict in Darfur, but the main rebel factions split over taking part in the peace effort spearheaded by the U.N. and the African Union.
A joint communique after the leaders' meeting said the United Nations and the African Union, which have led efforts to get the splintered rebel movements into peace talks with Sudan's government, would issue the invitations to talks set to begin Oct. 27 in Libya. One rebel faction already responded positively to news of the peace conference, but the leader of the largest movement rejected the proposal.
Before that development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emerged from his meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with an upbeat tone. "We have taken a big step toward our shared goal of bringing peace to Darfur and looking forward to the long-term development of Sudan," Ban said at a news conference. "We are at a new beginning. Let us seize this moment together."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Sudan has developed unmanned surveillance planes, is developing missiles, and is now "self-sufficient" in conventional weapons, a Sudanese state news agency reported. The rare public announcement on Sudan's military capability gave no details on how far missile development had progressed or where the surveillance drones might be used.
International commentators were sceptical about the scope of its statements, and no one was available for comment from the Ministry of Defence on Wednesday. "Sudan's defence minister has revealed that his country has successfully developed unmanned surveillance planes," the state-run Sudanese Media Centre said in a report on Tuesday. "The minister of defence, Lt-Gen Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, told reporters that Sudan is now self sufficient in conventional weapons and is also in the process of developing missiles."
There are a couple glitches, like the rubber bands that hold the batteries on the model planes keep breaking, but we're this close to fixing that ....
Danged little Cox 0.09 engines ...
Hussein was quoted as telling journalists that Sudan had received imports of military technology from Russia, Belarus, Korea, Iran, China, Indonesia and Malaysia and had signed deals with China and Russia to modernise its air force. "We are the number three country in Africa as far as manufacturing military equipment after Egypt and South Africa," Hussein was quoted as saying.
International commentators said Sudan might be trying to send a message to the organisers of the promised 26,000-strong U.N. and African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur that Khartoum was capable of monitoring their movements.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
That's .049 engines. Flown many.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/08/2007 15:04 Comments ||
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(SomaliNet) Somalis Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Geddi, who yesterday paid unscheduled visit to Djibouti, secretly held talks with one of the key founders of the defeated Islamic Courts Union, according to the London based Arabic Sharqal awsat newspaper on Friday.
The paper said it found that the PMs instant trip to Djibouti came when he had received a letter from Abukar Omar Addane, a well-known rich man who was among the key co-founders of the ousted Islamic movement, demanding face-to-face meeting in Djibouti under the auspices of the Djiboutian president Ismael Omar Gelle to resolve the outstanding problems.
Premier Geddi was accompanied by his minister of foreign affairs Hussein Elabe Fahiye to persuade Haji Abukar, the former Islamist financial supporter to come back to Mogadishu to participate the second round of the national reconciliation congress in which its first round ended in the capital last week without tangible result.
After the Djibouti meeting, Mr. Elabe will depart to the Italian capital of Roma to attend a conference due to be held there by the international contact group on Somalia affairs on Monday. The paper said the Somalia government will expect the Roma conference to produce effective outcome and it will demand the session to hasten the deployment of the African peacekeeping troops that already pledged.
During the meeting, Mr. Elabe would put pressure on the international community to provide the needed fund for the peacekeepers designed to be deployed in Somalia to help the transitional government restore peace and stability in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- Algeria's Minister of Interior Nureddin Yazid Zarhouni blamed Friday the suicide bomb attack in the northern town of Batna on "external parties". Angered by Algeria's regaining of its international prestige, external parties with ulterior motives sought to use terrorist acts in order to damage the interests, and mar the image, of Algeria, the minister said in a press conference here.
Algeria asserted itself on the international arena especially in the economic and political fields, which might have aroused ire of some capitals, he said, without identifying the capitals. A suicide attacker wearing an explosive belt blew himself amidst a crowd of people who were waiting to welcome President Abdul-Aziz Bouteflika to Batna town, some 530 k.m. east Algiers,. The attack left 19 dead and 107 injured.
The bomb was of limited explosive power despite the big numbers of casualties, the minister disclosed. It is a home-made improvised charge and its chemical components are available on the market, he adding, pledging to go ahead with the anti-terrorism campaign in line with Bouteflika instructions.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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A member of the SAS killed in what is understood to have been a special forces mission in Iraq has been named as Sergeant Eddie Collins. RIP
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Sgt Collins, of the Parachute Regiment, was killed in the early hours of Wednesday while carrying out "routine operations in support of coalition activity". It is believed he died in central Iraq as part of the special forces operation and was a member of the Hereford-based SAS.
But an MoD spokesman would confirm only that the death did not take place in southern Iraq, which has been under British control and where the majority of British troops are based. The spokesman would not comment further for "operational reasons".
In a statement, the MoD said Sgt Collins's family had been informed. It was also confirmed that he died in action. The statement said: "It is with deep sadness that the MoD must confirm the death of a soldier in Iraq.
"A member of the Parachute Regiment sustained fatal injuries in the early hours of Wednesday, September 5, whilst conducting routine operations in support of ongoing coalition activity in Iraq."
The Sun reported that Sgt Collins was killed during an operation to capture an insurgent leader in Baghdad. His death brings the death toll of UK military personnel in Iraq to 169. Of those, the number to have been killed in action now stands at 133.
(Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has invited nuclear experts from the United States, China and Russia to survey its nuclear facilities, the chief U.S. nuclear negotiator said here Friday. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said the team of experts will go to the country Tuesday for an initial four-day survey tour.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said here Friday that his country would be willing to consider formally ending the Korean War if the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) ends its nuclear weapons program. Bush made the statements after a meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings.
The two leaders are in Sydney for series of APEC meetings which will culminate in the leaders meeting on Saturday and Sunday. Bush stressed that the ending of the Korean War would depend on DPRK's leader Kim Jong-il. After the talks, the two leaders gave briefings to reporters when Roh asked Bush to be more "clearer" on his position on an official end to the Korean War.
Bush said "I can't make it any more clear... We look forward to the day when we can end the Korean War. That will happen when Kim Jong-il verifiably gets rid of his weapons programs and his weapons." The Koran Peninsula has been technically left in a state of war since the Korean War ended with a truce in 1953. A formal peace treaty has never been signed.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Legally, this might not be a good idea. I'm not certain but being in a technical state of war might make some military considerations easier to implement. I wonder how the commander of US forces in Korea reacted to this idea.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
09/08/2007 10:42 Comments ||
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#2
[Short pause]
There, we've considered it. Now close that damned plant, you malevolent dwarf.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
09/08/2007 13:13 Comments ||
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#3
No peace until Kim stands trial for crimes against humanity.
#4
Legally, the US CANNOT end the state of war with the NorKors by itself -- only the UN can. What the US can do as Supreme Allied Commander (UN) is recommend that the Security Council negotiate a peace treaty with the North Koreans. That is how the truce was negotiated -- through representatives approved by the Security Council; of course, at that point, they the negotiators were all US commanders.
Hattip Drudge - which means lots of people will see it.
After thwarting what might have become a "massive" attack on American installations, German authorities will review ways to fight homegrown terrorists, including a proposal to allow Internet spying on all German converts to Islam.
Germans were shocked to learn that two of the alleged bombers [just arrested] were native-born and had common German names, Fritz and Daniel. Fritz came from an upper middle class background, and German media reported that he converted to Islam about 10 years ago. His mother was a doctor, his father owned a successful business, and he's married and attends a technical college in Ulm.
"Daniel", who like Fritz hasn't been further identified, was known for angering his neighbors in Saarbruecken by praying loudly every three hours, but little else is know about him or "Adem", the Turkish-born third suspect.
Guenther Beckstein, the interior minister in the German state of Bavaria and a conservative leader of the southern wing of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party, has called for a new law authorizing online surveillance of Islamic converts. "Germans converting to Islam should be watched because they tend to show particular fanaticism in order to prove worthy of their new religion," he said Thursday. The number is growing, according to the German Islam archive. In the last decade, only about 300 Germans each year converted to Islam. But in 2005, the number rose to 1,000, and it jumped to 4,000 in 2006.
Terrorism experts believe the frequency of attacks in Europe is increasing. Magnus Ranstorp, Chief Scientist for the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defense College, said that while security forces don't release information on all thwarted attacks, there are known to have been at least 40 and perhaps has many as 50 since Sept. 11, 2001. "This is what we can expect for the future: The attack plots are going to come fast and furious," he said. "And, as is clear in both these attacks, they're operating in new vistas. Terrorism in Europe is a part of life now." Actually, terrorism has been a waxing and waning part of European life since the eruption of the violent anarchists in the 19th century. Islamic jihadism has grafted nicely onto that tradition.
We can thank the French revolution, Robespierre, 1848 and Karl Marx.
#1
His mother was a doctor, his father owned a successful business, and he's married and attends a technical college in Ulm
IIRC, wasn't he on state welfare? Or was it just the other two Islamo-losers?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/08/2007 15:50 Comments ||
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#2
His mother was a doctor, his father owned a successful business, and he's married and attends a technical college in Ulm
Why is it that the world never remembered the name of Achmed Gambolali de von Ausfern-harem- schlitter- crasscrenbon- halal- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- minaret- von- knacker- thrasher- pomegranate - goat-banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty-mit-der-camels- winkletinkle- grandlich- grumbleseether- spelterwasser- kucinich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- klinton- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm?
Yes. But as a married adult student with no job, presumably he was deemed in need of support. If you were his parents would you pay for his housing and living expenses?
Three suspected Islamist militants who were planning to attack American targets in Germany had orders to act by September 15 and knew police were hot on their trail before their arrest, a magazine said on Saturday.
The plan was foiled on Tuesday when police arrested two German converts to Islam and a Turk in the biggest German police investigation in the last 30 years.
According to surveillance details published in Der Spiegel magazine, the men had been given a two-week deadline for their planned strikes in a late August call from northern Pakistan that was monitored by German police.
According to surveillance details published in Der Spiegel magazine, the men had been given a two-week deadline for their planned strikes in a late August call from northern Pakistan that was monitored by German police.
In another detail to emerge on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutors Office in Karlsruhe confirmed a Focus magazine report that the suspects had obtained three small used vans in France and brought them to Germany. The suspected militants, identified by German media as Fritz Gelowicz, Daniel Martin Schneider and Adem Yilmaz, had material to make bombs with power equal to 550 kilograms of TNT and were believed to be planning simultaneous car bombs across Germany. Officials have said all three had trained in militant camps in Pakistan before forming a domestic cell of the "Islamic Jihad Union" -- a little known al Qaeda-affiliated Sunni Muslim group with roots in Uzbekistan.
According to Der Spiegel, two of the militants mentioned "a disco filled with American sluts" along with airports, nightclubs or a U.S. military base as targets during a July 20 conversation that was bugged by police.
AWARE OF POLICE
The three suspects were aware they were under close police observation, Der Spiegel said. At one point, one of the suspects got out of a car at a traffic light, calmly walked back to an unmarked police vehicle behind him and slashed its tyres.
The arrests were the culmination of an investigation that began a year ago, when U.S. officials alerted German authorities to e-mails intercepted from Pakistan. U.S. President George W. Bush was closely following the case, the magazine reported. He asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel about it in June during a G8 summit in Heiligendamm.
The police launched the raid on Tuesday after two local traffic police officers unaware of the investigation stopped two of the suspects in a routine traffic control because their car had its headlights on full beam. "Oh, they're on the federal police list," said one of the officers after running the names through a police computer in comments that were overheard by the suspects and federal police who had bugged the car.
Authorities have said there are at least 10 people under investigation, including the three. A spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutors Office said the three suspects have remained silent in interrogations so far.
News of the arrest has shaken Germany, which has not suffered a major attack at home. Germany refused to take part in the U.S.-led Iraq war but has some 3,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan and has been on high alert for attacks. Die Welt newspaper on Saturday quoted security sources in Germany saying there might be as many as 49 suspects. "We're not out of danger," Joerg Ziercke, president of the federal police office, told the newspaper.
Neither the federal police office nor federal prosecutors have commented on the details of the arrest or the probe.
This article starring:
ADEM YILMAZ
al-Qaeda in Europe
Chancellor Angela Merkel
DANIEL MARTIN SCHNEIDER
al-Qaeda in Europe
FRITZ GELOWICZ
al-Qaeda in Europe
Joerg Ziercke, president of the federal police office
#2
There's a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall
And the bells in the steeple too
And up in the nursery an absurd little bird
Is popping out to say "cuckoo"
Regretfully they tell us
But firmly they compel us
To say goodbye to you
#7
Captain Renault: What in heaven's name brought you to this decision Casablanca?
Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the voters waters.
Captain Renault: The voters waters? What voters waters? We're in the friggin RED belt desert.
Rick: I was misinformed.
#9
The fact that the seats of Senators Hagel and Warner will be up for grabs makes it even more critical that a tolerable outcome is reached vis a vis Iraq.
The alternative is the ascendance of the left wing of the Democratic Party for a number of years, a prospect almost too dreary to contemplate.
#10
in neither state is it certain there will be a party change. Warner (D) has a good shot in VA, but so does the GOP, IIUC. In Hagel's case, he was already polling below a GOP challenger, Jon Bruning. Good riddance to both "mavericks", who put media-love ahead of party on Iraq
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/08/2007 17:26 Comments ||
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#11
Greetings, Frank G.
Yes, to answer your question a couple days ago; still in Estonia. Living large as the American proconsul in the area.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/08/2007 18:05 Comments ||
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#13
And in Nebraska, there's at least a chance that Bob Kerrey would return as the D - far and away one of the best Ds around, on national security matters (all relative, don't jump all over me). Warner was never a Hagel/McCain/et al media strumpet, really more of an establishment regular who I think has lost some steam in his later days.
I'd have preferred to see Hagel bumped in the primary, but gone is gone.
Now, as Nimble mentioned, perhaps Senator Farrakhan Graham can be removed from the picture.
All this represents improvement, but my estimation of the cowardice and mediocrity of the entire GOP won't change much. And it's only a long-shot that the return of a Bob Kerrey would embolden the few decent Ds (Bayh, et al) to rediscover their spines and brains. Smart money still says we survive the jihadi morons and the statist losers and prosper, but at much greater cost and with far less honor than if common sense prevailed.
#14
Verlaine - agreed that Warner, previously a bulwark, changed this last year - so I'd deal with the reality and move on. Graham has been strong on Iraq IIRC, but a pissant on judges and immigration. Bob Kerrey can be tied to Norman ChiCom backing Hsu directly at the NY New School (co-board members due to Hsu's contributions), that's gonna hurt
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/08/2007 19:40 Comments ||
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#15
#10 Frank: "Warner (D) has a good shot in VA, but so does the GOP, IIUC."
Provided the GOP runs someone electable, such as Eric Cantor, and provided they keep reminding the voters that Warner lied like a rug concealed the truth about projected state income in order to get the General Assembly to raise taxes. (The gubernatorial budget director now has to testify before the House Appropriations Committee under oath - and for damned good reason.)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/08/2007 20:34 Comments ||
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#16
And as far as Hagel goes: Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, Chuckie - you don't need any more brain damage.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/08/2007 20:35 Comments ||
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#17
Bruning will probably take it, but remember that even Kerrey would be to the right of Chuck on the war.
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates initially wanted to release more information about a B-52 mission that mistakenly carried nuclear weapons across the U.S. but was talked out of it by uniformed officers, a military source said Thursday. The source, who is close to the Air Forces ongoing investigation, said that when the Air Force briefed Gates last Friday, the secretarys reaction was to urge release of as much information as possible to allay public concern.
But the Air Force balked, citing long-standing policy of not discussing publicly the movement of nuclear weapons. We dont want terrorists to understand the process of how we deal with these weapons, the military source told The Examiner. The source asked not to be identified because of the topics sensitivity.
The internal debate shows how security practices for handling nuclear weapons remain basically the same today as they were during the Cold War.
Asked whether Gates had wanted to release more information, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told The Examiner: As you know, it is long-standing policy of the Defense Department not to publicly discuss nuclear weapons matters. That said, the secretary was informed about this incident, was clearly concerned and is receiving daily updates from the Air Force on their review of this matter.
Gates has made candor one of the hallmarks of his Pentagon leadership. He has openly opposed, for example, those who advocate bombing Iran to destroy its nuclear program. He also has not hidden his unhappiness with the militarys slow approach to sending heavily armored MRAP vehicles to Iraq to protect soldiers and Marines.
On the nuclear issue, however, he acceded to Pentagon tradition that representatives should not confirm any information that could aid a rival power or terrorists.
The Air Force has announced an investigation into the Aug. 30 B-52 bomber flight, which was first disclosed by the Military Times newspaper. The bomber carried six nuclear-tipped air-launched cruise missiles, instead of the planned inert warheads, from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. The military source told The Examiner that the investigation must answer why the ground crew mistakenly selected and loaded the six live warheads.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters Wednesday that Gates was initially notified by Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff. Secretary Gates has been assured by General Moseley that the munitions were part of a routine transfer between the two bases and at all times they were in the custody and control of Air Force personnel, and at no time was the public in danger, Morrell said.
#2
Barksdale. Louisiana. I heard this was Bush's plan to finish off New Orleans... permanetly. A going away present for Rove. Biggest secret plan since the Wellstone assassination...
#3
#2 Barksdale. Louisiana. I heard this was Bush's plan to finish off New Orleans... permanetly. A going away present for Rove. Biggest secret plan since the Wellstone assassination...
One of your better ones! I'm still laughing.. I read it earlier and had to come back, just to read it again!
#4
I'm still waiting to hear that the warheads are back in Minot! Short of that, I will still say the transfer was no accident, but a 'message' sent to Iran that 'prepping continues'!
#5
Bust a big cap on N.O., blame it on Iran, and then finish off Iran.
Posted by: MC Karl Rove OG ||
09/08/2007 11:18 Comments ||
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#6
Hey Rove, give us N'Awlins Rantburgers a little notice so we can get out, OK? Hmmm. My insurance covers floods and hurricanes, but I bet it doesn't cover nuclear holocausts - maybe you can figure out an alternative 'treatment' for this place.
Bajaur Agency grand jirga leaders Malik Abdul Aziz and Senator Maulana Abdul Rashid on Friday rejected reports that foreign militants were present in the area.
Aryan pure we is, here in Bajaur! Ask anybody! Anybody 'cept that guy over yonder in the shadows, y'unnerstand!
The two jirga members told a press conference that an accumulative fine of Rs 2,000,000 had been imposed on people harbouring foreign militants, besides burning their houses. They said the agency people were peace loving and law abiding citizens and would never support foreign militants.
The jirga informed the Bajaur political administration and scouts about its negotiations with the local Taliban. It said the Taliban had agreed to end their patrolling in the area. Political Agent Shafeerullah Khan told the press conference that checkposts had been set up to ensure law and order rather than targeting the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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The government has set up a Provincial Government Task Force (PGTF) meant to protect Chinese citizens in NWFP, Daily Times learnt on Friday. Sources in the Home and Tribal Affairs Department told Daily Times that the task force was formed on the Interior Ministrys directions.
They said the government had increased the number of security personnel and had taken extra security measures in the province. The Interior Ministrys instructions are being strictly followed and the security arrangements are also reviewed periodically, they added. The officials said the government had also tightened security for the Chinese nationals working on the Malakand-III project. They said that security of foreign nationals was being given prime consideration following the recent attacks on foreigners, which had tarnished the countrys image.
According to the sources, all intelligence agencies, police, Frontier Corps and Frontier Constabulary have personnel inducted in the task force, which is being headed by the special home secretary.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Intelligence agencies have warned the Interior Ministry that three suicide bombers have entered Islamabad to target the capitals two busiest commercial centres, Jinnah Super and Super Market, in the next few days, sources told Daily Times on Friday.
The sources said that the suicide bombers were linked to tribal militant Baitullah Mehsud, who is in the headlines these days for holding 240 troops including seven officers hostage in South Waziristan. They added that the Islamabad police had deployed special squads in and around Jinnah Super and Super Market following the warning.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Rawalpindis cantonment area close to the General Headquarters (GHQ) on September 5, killing over 25 persons.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I do not even find it sad that Pakistan's people require bombings in their most crowded marketplaces to finally realize the wages of their collective sins. Were homicide bombing confined strictly to Muslim-on-Muslim violence I would almost have to commend Yusuf Qaradawi for sanctifying it. Only when a death fatwa is issued for Qaradawi will we know that Islam finally has come to its senses. I would not bet a plugged nickel that Islam even makes it that far.
HT to Captain Ed - had to dig long and hard through an AP gloom-n-doom special to find this nugget
Al-Mutlaq's Sunni party, the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, announced it was ending its parliamentary boycott so it can participate in the debate over stalled benchmark legislation demanded by Washington, including a draft law on sharing Iraq's oil riches. The party has only 11 of the 275 seats and its return has limited effect.
A law aimed at returning thousands of members of Saddam Hussein's ousted Baath Party to government appeared to be the closest to being ready.
"We will receive it today or tomorrow and then it will be put forward in parliament for discussion this week," deputy parliament speaker Khaled al-Attiyah told The Associated Press by telephone.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/08/2007 15:33 ||
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At least 70 people have been wounded in clashes between Hamas security forces and Fatah supporters. The Hamas men, armed with rifles and clubs, beat Fatah supporters trying to hold street prayers to protest the Islamic group's rule in Gaza, witnesses said. Hamas men also assaulted at least seven journalists and detained five. You know, I used to be against Gaza withdrawal---should have known to trust Arik.
In comments made a day after reports circulated claiming several IAF planes had entered Syrian airspace, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. -Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said that the winner and loser of a future war would have to be made apparent. "In any future conflict forced upon the state of Israel, there will be a need to ensure that it is known who lost and who won."
Ashkenazi made his comments during a meeting held with high-ranking reserve officers on Friday and made no connection between his statement and the latest fears surrounding a war with Syria. Earlier Friday, in the first reaction from an Israeli official to Wednesday night's alleged IAF foray over Syria, Science, Culture and Sports Minister Ghaleb Majadle said that IAF planes enter Syrian airspace on a daily basis, adding that he did not believe the latest alleged incident would spark off a war. Majadle told the Nazareth-based A-Sinara newspaper that while he had no specific information about the latest alleged operation, it was likely that "the planes either entered Syrian airspace to take photographs or in error."
Meanwhile, Arab countries continued denouncing the yet-unconfirmed IAF flight over Syria as unprovoked. The Arab League announced that the alleged over flight of IAF planes in Syrian airspace was intolerable, Army Radio reported. Arab League chief Amr Moussa said that "the unbearable move" revealed negative Israeli intentions for the upcoming Middle East peace conference.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that Israel's so-called aerial violations overnight Wednesday added to the regional tension. Earlier Friday, Syria accused Israel of jeopardizing the chances of success in the upcoming US-sponsored Middle East meeting.
Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja'afari told Al-Jazeera that the alleged IAF operation came only a few hours after Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo had published a message of support for the meeting and had called for Syria to be invited.
Also, a Syrian government newspaper warned that the country "possesses the means to respond ... so that it will deter Israel against proceeding with such unpredictable adventures." Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem after the alleged over flight to offer support and condemn Israel's actions, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported Friday.
In Washington, the US State Department had no specific comment on the incident, citing the lack of details about what happened. "I'd leave it up to the parties to describe what happened. We'll leave it to them to try and sort this out," deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
"In any future conflict forced upon the state of Israel, there will be a need to ensure that it is known who lost and who won."
#3
"In any future conflict forced upon the state of Israel, there will be a need to ensure that it is known who lost and who won."
It sounds like Israel is finally waking up to propaganda's important role in Arab indoctrination. If the next conflict does not include one very dead Nasrallah, then they'd damn well better make sure the sucker has nothing to brag about.
"Like the Israeli terror was leashed on Syria two days ago, it will reach each and every Muslim country if we remain in this situation," Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch, said Friday, referring to the flyover that Syria alleged on Thursday IAF jets undertook the night before.
The "situation" Salah was talking about in the "Aksa in Danger" convention in the Arab town Umm el-Fahm included references to most issues troubling Muslims in the greater Middle East: "Iraq is slaughtered in live transmission, Sudan cut in half in live transmission, Afghanistan disappears - and now Palestine is the victim of an evil scheme transmitted live. This is the time to test your leadership and its legitimacy," he called to Muslim leaders worldwide.
Salah dedicated much of his speech for calling on the warring Palestinian factions to reunite. "I turn to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and to the Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, and swear you in Allah's name, in the name of the masses present here, in the name of our children and elders and in the name of the shaheeds - to renew the Palestinian dialogue. I call on you to establish a Palestinian unity government and to keep to the Mecca agreement [a Saudi-mediated unity agreement signed in Mecca in March]. Jerusalem and Al Aksa call you, do not let down their call," he told attendants.
Haniyeh, of Hamas, has been officially removed from duty as Palestinian prime minister by PA chairman Abbas, of Fatah, shortly after Hamas's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June.
Salah was recently accused of incitement, when he called on Palestinians to initiate a "third intifadah" to stop Israeli renovation works near the Temple Mount that he claimed were hurting the Aksa mosque. On Friday he again issued a direct threat at Israel. "Jerusalem and the Aksa Mosque have experienced occupation by various peoples in the past and lived through this occupation. I tell the Israelis: You and your occupation will disappear, Jerusalem and the Aksa Mosque will remain forever."
According to organizers, approximately sixty thousand people arrived to attend the convention. But Israeli police made an estimate that no more than 10,000 people came to the event. This was the 12th time the convention took place. Shauki Hatib, chairman of the Israeli Arab Monitoring Committee, who usually attends, was missing this year, but MK Abbas Zakhur (UAL), head of the Islamic Movement's southern branch, made his first appearance in the convention. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa gave a speech transmitted by video conference.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"Like the Israeli terror was leashed on Syria two days ago,"
So the brave Lions of Islam™ consider a flyover by a recon jet to be "terror?"
#2
So the brave Lions of Islam consider a flyover by a recon jet to be "terror?"
Well there are a lot of terrified officers in Syrian Staff, right now---they really thought that they can just buy an impregnable air defence. And, I wonder, what MM think right now.
#3
Sheikh Raed Salah: 'Israel and its occupation will disappear'
Israel would do well to make Sheikh Salah "disappear". Preferrably in a fine mist of blood and bone fragments before a large crowd.
Like the Israeli terror was leashed on Syria two days ago
This would be laughable save for the fact that Israel's military prowess should be a source of terror for incompetent Muslim psychos. Regardless of Judaism's rich contributions to world history, just Israel's mere presence as a constant thumb in the eye for surrounding Arab nations makes it priceless.
In less than a century and out of barren desert land, Israel has brought forth agriculture, democracy, freedom, military might plus a culture of knowledge and technical excellence. All of these are things that Muslim majority nations fail at miserably. Israel's mere existence serves as a standing rebuke to Islam. May Israel stand for another thousand years.
#4
In fairness, Zenster, a good part of the northern half of the country was swamp, so the Israelis did have some water resources available to enable all that democracy and culture and such. ;-)
(Xinhua) -- Factions of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Friday called on the Palestinians to go for a general strike on Sunday to protest Hamas' use of violence to disperse prayers in Gaza. Earlier in the day, about 30 Palestinians, including five local cameramen, were wounded in clash with Hamas executive force in several regions of the Gaza Strip after the weekly Friday prayers.
The official Palestinian television based in Ramallah showed images of Hamas executive force members severely beating Fatah supporters, and detaining them by force from the streets. The forces also detained senior PLO and Fatah movement's leaders as they tried to pray in a public square in western Gaza City together with hundreds of supporters. They were freed after being held for five hours into one of the executive force detention centers.
President Mahmoud Abbas told a news conference in the West Bankcity of Ramallah that "after what happened in Gaza, there will be no dialogue with the coup leaders." He conditioned the renewal of the dialogue with Hamas movement, saying "there will be no dialogue until Hamas leaders regret their coup in Gaza and retreat what they did."
Hamas, listed by Europe and the United States as a terrorist organization, took over the Gaza Strip in mid June after its militants defeated Abbas' security forces and his Fatah movement's militants. "Gaza has plunged into a very dark and tragic situation. I promise that it won't continue like this, they (Hamas leaders and the executive forces) had dug their graves by their own hands," Abbas told reporters.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Because it wouldn't be fair to limit the Qassam launches to just Gaza. Sheesh.
(Xinhua) -- Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramonhas proposed Palestinian officials that Israel would withdraw from most of the West Bank territories as part of a peace deal, local media reported on Friday. Ramon is offering the Palestinians an Israeli withdrawal from nearly all of the West Bank, including the Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem, as part of a final peace deal, according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
Ramon met caretaker Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and other senior officials in an effort to put together a joint Israeli-Palestinian declaration of principles that will be presented in November at a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference, said the report. According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the border between Israel and the future Palestinian state will roughly follow the route of the separation fence leaving major Israeli settlement blocs and between 3 and 8 percent of the West Bank in Israel's hands.
In return, Israel will cede the same amount of land inside Israel to the Palestinians to make up for the annexed territory --possibly including a land corridor between the West Bank and Gaza. The agreement will also require both sides to immediately implement stage A of the Middle East road map: The Palestinian will disarm all armed groups in their territory, while Israel will withdraw its forces from the Palestinian towns and evacuate all illegal outposts. The agreement will propose that east Jerusalem will be divided among the two states and holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City will be under the control of the various religions and no national flags will be flown.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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A Syrian government newspaper accused the US on Saturday of encouraging Israel's reported violation of Syrian airspace by remaining silent on the issue.
"This new Israeli hostile operation was carried out in coordination between Washington and Tel Aviv," the Tishrin newspaper said in a front-page editorial. US silence can only be interpreted as an "overt and scandalous encouragement of Israel," it said. Forgot the Harms & bunker busters that USG sells to IAF, Ahmad.
#2
Trespassers will be violated.
Surivors will be prosecuted.
- sign posted by my grandfather in his older years, at the start of the unpaved drive up the mountain to the house he renovated himself. (It's been decades since he died but I do miss that man ...)
#6
If Israel really wanted some fun, they should get a drone aircraft with the same signature as one of their fighters, then let the Syrians use one of their expensive Russian SAMs to shoot it down.
Have the drone aircraft built with Iranian parts and covered in Farsi script.
It would be worth it for the humor alone. Plus they could get some real data from the Russian SAM at the same time.
#8
Moose, that's definitely worth an earmark/production contract, but don't expect Murtha and Co. to put that ahead of an earmark for a campaign-contribution for a non-existent Navy Pump....
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/08/2007 19:34 Comments ||
Top||
#9
"accused the US on Saturday of encouraging Israel's reported violation of Syrian airspace by remaining silent on the issue"
They'd prefer that we speak up and remove all doubt that we encourage Israel to f*** with Syria (just for the fun of it)?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/08/2007 20:38 Comments ||
Top||
British forces in southern Iraq have been fighting a "proxy war" against Iran, the commander of the troops who withdrew from Basra Palace has said. While the Army has frequently accused Iran of stirring violence across southern Iraq by arming Shia militias, no officer has been as blunt as Lt Col Patrick Sanders, commander of 4th Battalion The Rifles.
He told the BBC that 5,500 British soldiers still based at Basra Airport could return to the city if called upon by Iraq's newly trained security forces. This may happen if Iraq's army needs help against Basra's Shia militias who Britain accuses Iran of arming and training. "We are engaged, or we have been engaged, effectively in a proxy war with Iran and if that resumes then they (Iraq's security forces) will need us to help," Lt Col Sanders said.
He added that Basra was benefiting from a "lull in violence" and his troops had carried out a smooth and bloodless withdrawal from the palace in the city's centre. This took place in cooperation with Iraq's British-trained forces and after talks with the Shia militias. "There was a lot of potential for some quite serious violence and attacks on us. I'm delighted that it passed off without incident," Lt Col Sanders said.
Of all the armed groups faced by British forces in southern Iraq, the Jaish al-Mahdi, or Army of the Mahdi, led by the radical cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, was judged to be the most dangerous.
But Lt Col Sanders said it was "complete nonsense" to suggest that his troops had been defeated. "The militias, and the Jaish al-Mahdi in particular, have thrown just about everything they have got at us. They have been unable to engage us in open fighting. We have been able to patrol around the city at will, on foot and in vehicles, any place or time of our choosing," he said. "It's been dangerous, and the level of violence that we have been engaged in and the casualties we have suffered are testament to that. But the notion that this is a defeat is nonsense."
British forces still hold overall responsibility for security in Basra province. But their primary task is now "overwatch", not combat. They will stand ready to assist local security forces, continue training Iraqi soldiers and protect the essential supply route linking American forces in the centre of the country with their depots in Kuwait.
Lt Col Sanders said their base at Basra Airport was not nearly as vulnerable as their old positions in the Palace. "Basra is quiet and stable at the moment and it augurs well for the future. The militias are talking to each other and they are talking to the Iraqi security force leadership. That is all encouraging," he said.
Lt Col Sanders's troops are due to leave Iraq in late November and early December. He said they would be replaced, indicating that Britain's military presence will continue into 2008.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
We are fighting Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. And in Afghanistan we are fighting Iran and Pakistan.
#6
If the British forces really are going to interdict the border, having left the field so the Iraqi Army can do the serious work needed to civilize Basra, good for them.
MOSCOW, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Russian sources say the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which Russia is building in Iran, will not be ready until fall 2008. "It will be possible to install the entire complex of equipment at the Bushehr (nuclear power plant) no earlier than autumn 2008," a Russian nuclear expert told Itar-Tass. "The delay is caused by the unsettled problems of financing of the construction work by the Iranian customer. These problems emerged in March and remain unsettled to this day."
Russia's Federal Agency for Nuclear Power said Thursday no strict deadlines had been set for the commissioning of the plant, RIA Novosti reported Friday. "Part of the equipment intended for the Bushehr construction has not been delivered, and final assembly of the NPP, according to most optimistic forecasts, will be completed no earlier than the fall of 2008," a Russian source said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
IRAN NUKE PLANT TO BE FINISHED ANNIHILATED IN FALL SUMMER '08
Democratic Gathering leader MP Walid Jumblatt voiced concern about Nabih Berri's initiative, stressing that the Speaker's insistence to elect a new President for Lebanon by a two-third quorum would "cripple" the Parliament. "He (Berri) is trying to force on me a two-third (quorum), a matter that does not exist in article 49 (of the constitution) and to take away my right ( as stated) in article 79 which calls on the Parliament to convene 10 days ahead of the expiry of the President's term (of office) and use a simple majority vote," Jumblatt said Thursday on Kalam el-Nas talk show on LBC TV which is hosted by Marcel Ghanem
Jumblatt explained that, "in politics," Berri's offer means that he is seeking to strip the Parliament of its ability to function. This is exactly the same as when he tried to win a veto power in the government by attempting to secure a blocking minority which has failed, Jumblatt added "He is trying, through personal interpretations of presidential elections, to curtail my legal rights and bring us a consensus president," Jumblatt said. " We should agree on what?"
"Can we tell the people that we accepted a compromise at the expense of sovereignty, freedom and justice?" Jumblatt asked. "And then get a President who could accept a Syrian tutelage or stab (U.N. Security Council) Resolutions from 1559 to 1701?" he wondered.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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Lebanese newspaper An Nahar has reported that French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner is expected next Thursday in Lebanon to follow up on the French initiative aimed at resolving the crises in Lebanon. Kouchner is expected to meet the key opposition and pro- government politicians starting with Prime minister Fouad Siniora and Speaker Nabih Berri.
France has taken the lead in trying to resolve the crisis, gathering all the parties for a conference near Paris in July and sending Cousseran to the region for consultations with the key players. Kouchner has visited Lebanon twice this year but failed to end the political deadlock but obviously he is not giving up.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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One of the worlds most respected Deobandi scholars believes that aggressive military jihad should be waged by Muslims to establish the supremacy of Islam worldwide.
Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani argues that Muslims should live peacefully in countries such as Britain, where they have the freedom to practise Islam, only until they gain enough power to engage in battle.
His views explode the myth that the creed of offensive, expansionist jihad represents a distortion of traditional Islamic thinking.
Mr Usmani, 64, sat for 20 years as a Sharia judge in Pakistans Supreme Court. He is an adviser to several global financial institutions and a regular visitor to Britain. Polite and softly spoken, he revealed to The Times a detailed knowledge of world events and his words, for the most part, were balanced and considered.
He agreed that it was wrong to suggest that the entire nonMuslim world was intent on destroying Islam. Yet this is a man who, in his published work, argues the case for Muslims to wage an expansionist war against nonMuslim lands.
Mr Usmanis justification for aggressive military jihad as a means of establishing global Islamic supremacy is revealed at the climax of his book, Islam and Modernism. The work is a polemic against Islamic modernists who seek to convert the entire Koran into a poetic and metaphorical book because, he says, they have been bewitched by Western culture and ideology.
The final chapter delivers a rebuke to those who believe that only defensive jihad (fighting to defend a Muslim land that is under attack or occupation) is permissible in Islam. He refutes the suggestion that jihad is unlawful against a nonMuslim state that freely permits the preaching of Islam.
For Mr Usmani, the question is whether aggressive battle is by itself commendable or not. If it is, why should the Muslims stop simply because territorial expansion in these days is regarded as bad? And if it is not commendable, but deplorable, why did Islam not stop it in the past?
He answers his own question thus: Even in those days . . . aggressive jihads were waged . . . because it was truly commendable for establishing the grandeur of the religion of Allah.
These words are not the product of a radical extremist. They come from the pen of one of the most acclaimed scholars in the Deobandi tradition.
Mr Usmani told The Times that Islam and Modernism was an English translation of his original Urdu book, which at times gives a connotation different from the original.
Posted by: john frum ||
09/08/2007 21:39 ||
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#1
These words are not the product of a radical extremist. They come from the pen of one of the most acclaimed scholars in the Deobandi tradition.
#2
Mr. Usmani needs a slug and has just joined the list:
1. Osama bin Laden
2. Ayman al-Zawahiri
3. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
4. Ayatolla Kahmeini
5. Mullah Muhammad Omar
6. Abu Bakar Ba'asyir (Bashir)
7. Moqtada Sadr,
8. Abu Hamza al-Masri,
9. Mullah Krekar (AKA: Abu Sayyid Qutb),
10. Khaled Meshal
11. Sheikh Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
12. Ismail Haniya
13. Mohammed Abbas
14. Yusuf al-Qaradawi
15. Tariq Ramadan
16. Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali
17. imam Omar Bakri Mohammed
18. imam Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa
19. imam Sheikh SyeSyed Mubarik Ali Gilani
20. Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal
21. Sheik Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi
22. Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar
23. Prince Sultan Ibn Abd al-Aziz
24. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz
25. Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz
26. Muhammad Taqi Usmani
Yes, it's gone beyond two-dozen and all of you must know how that just rips my heart out.
#3
The work is a polemic against Islamic modernists who seek to convert the entire Koran into a poetic and metaphorical book because, he says, they have been bewitched by Western culture and ideology.
Which, just like the the shouting against apostasy, suggests the Ummah has a real movement to be concerned about beyond our view. Whether or not it will be enough is an open question.
Posted because that's what I thought, too :)
The speech reads/sounds like something cobbled up by a US student.
excerpt:
Several current and former government officials said they believed an American 28-year-old Adam Gadahn may have written at least part of the speech.
Gadahn, who has been charged with treason and supporting terrorism for serving as an al-Qaida propagandist, has appeared in several past al-Qaida-produced videos, lecturing against capitalism and globalization and making insider references to American culture.
"It has Adam Gadahn written all over it," one former senior intelligence official said of bin Laden's tape, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.'
We all know how important global warming is to Adam.
#2
'leftislamism', 'islamofascism', 'islamicism': but I repeat myself.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/08/2007 15:25 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Adam Traitor is the goat ranch hand from Riverside County....not Marin. You're thinking of the other POS, Johnny Walker Lindh, Boy Taliban ... which by the way, Mr's Hsu's lawyer Brosnahan also 'defended.'
#4
The current AP article that is linked above dropped the Adam Gadahn exerpt. The excerpt is included in the latest AP report as linked at the ABC News (abcnews.go.com) website.
#8
Yep, Goat Boy Adam got his olde Mastermind Certificate in the Orange Cty mosque before he made it large in the Bin Laden Follies. Very soon he will meet Himmler and Goebbels for his overdue posthumous Phd. (Didn't Frank G. and the Turbans have a hit song about that?) :)
#9
Islamic Paradise - nothing I'm proud of. My band ("The Turbans") and I split ways over the appropriate behavior around young boys and barnyard animals
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/08/2007 20:04 Comments ||
Top||
#10
I DO like the graphic tho' heh
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/08/2007 20:17 Comments ||
Top||
#11
"The Turbans" would have none of it, eh, Frank? [ducks]
Posted by: lotp ||
09/08/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Scary. But the no-go for non-muslim areas are forming throughout Western Civilization. Muslim leaders do NOT want integration; they want to create segregated sharia areas from where they will be able to intimidate their mortal enemy.
We should not be so fast to include Islamic cultism under the framework of freedom of religion.
#3
I've had my fill to the point where these "no-go" areas are beginning to sound like a good idea. Muslim refusal to integrate and their insistence upon "enclave" habitation fits perfectly with the strategy of fire bombing just those neighborhoods. Soon enough that will Europe's one remaining choice. When it happens, I hope that the fire brigades know well enough to merely contain the blazes until they finish burning. The West kills Islam or Islam kills the West. There are no other options.
The time will come for a for a sort of cultural jujitsu, when all of Islam's revered ways are turned into a thousand death traps for it. If Muslims isolating themselves from regular society is of such a great concern, we had better take best advantage of how they have not successfully infiltrated us.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The U.N. chief and the Sudanese president announced plans Thursday for a conference next month on ending the conflict in Darfur, but the main rebel factions split over taking part in the peace effort spearheaded by the U.N. and the African Union.
A member of the SAS killed in what is understood to have been a special forces mission in Iraq has been named as Sergeant Eddie Collins.
(Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said here Friday that his country would be willing to consider formally ending the Korean War if the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) ends its nuclear weapons program. Bush made the statements after a meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings. 
Three suspected Islamist militants who were planning to attack American targets in Germany had orders to act by September 15 and knew police were hot on their trail before their arrest, a magazine said on Saturday.
Bajaur Agency grand jirga leaders Malik Abdul Aziz and Senator Maulana Abdul Rashid on Friday rejected reports that foreign militants were present in the area.
At least 70 people have been wounded in clashes between Hamas security forces and Fatah supporters. The Hamas men, armed with rifles and clubs, beat Fatah supporters trying to hold street prayers to protest the Islamic group's rule in Gaza, witnesses said. Hamas men also assaulted at least seven journalists and detained five.
(Xinhua) -- Factions of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Friday called on the Palestinians to go for a general strike on Sunday to protest Hamas' use of violence to disperse prayers in Gaza. Earlier in the day, about 30 Palestinians, including five local cameramen, were wounded in clash with Hamas executive force in several regions of the Gaza Strip after the weekly Friday prayers. 
MOSCOW, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Russian sources say the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which Russia is building in Iran, will not be ready until fall 2008. "It will be possible to install the entire complex of equipment at the Bushehr (nuclear power plant) no earlier than autumn 2008," a Russian nuclear expert told Itar-Tass. "The delay is caused by the unsettled problems of financing of the construction work by the Iranian customer. These problems emerged in March and remain unsettled to this day."
Democratic Gathering leader MP Walid Jumblatt voiced concern about Nabih Berri's initiative, stressing that the Speaker's insistence to elect a new President for Lebanon by a two-third quorum would "cripple" the Parliament. "He (Berri) is trying to force on me a two-third (quorum), a matter that does not exist in article 49 (of the constitution) and to take away my right ( as stated) in article 79 which calls on the Parliament to convene 10 days ahead of the expiry of the President's term (of office) and use a simple majority vote," Jumblatt said Thursday on Kalam el-Nas talk show on LBC TV which is hosted by Marcel Ghanem
