[Tolo News] A poll by the International Transparency published on Thursday found Afghanistan among the most corrupt countries in the world
Some 56 percent of people interviewed in the opinion poll said their country had become more corrupt.
The poll found political parties as the most corrupt institutions in the world. Around 50 percent of people believed their government was unable to resolve the problem. The other 50 percent are in on the take ...
One in four of those who participated in the poll said they had paid a bribe in the past year. Describing police as the most common bribe recipient, the report said 29 percent of bribes went to the police.
The poll was conducted based on interviews with 91,000 people in 86 countries of the world.
But the Afghan High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption (HOOAC) called the poll inaccurate. Head of the HOOAC, Mohammad Yasin Osmani said a commission comprised of Afghans and foreigners has been formed in all government institutions to investigate corruption.
Mr Osmani said: "Corruption in Afghanistan is often related to contracts that are handled by internaional community."
The Transparency poll is published as Afghanistan Integrity Watch yesterday told TOLOnews that there has been a 21 percent increase in the Afghan government's budget transparency, raising hope that corruption would reduce.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
More corrupt than Venezuela or Zimbabwe where you just don't take bribes, you steal other people's property and then 'redistribute' it to your cronies and family?
[Tolo News] Director of Human Rights for UNAMA said on Thursday in Kabul that Afghan government has failed to protect women's rights Picked right up on that, didn't she?
Georgette Gagnon, Director of Human Rights for United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) highlighted the necessity of women's role in Afghan government talks with anti-government groups.
She said she will discuss with the Afghan government over the implementation of the Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women.
A report carried out by the UN mission based on 150 individual and group interviews in 29 provinces in Afghanistan found violence against women in varying degrees across the country and among all ethnic groups.
The report said a lack of tendency of enforcement officials in applying the elimination of violence against women and unawareness of some local officials of the law have lead to an increase in the violence against women and girls.
The report points out to some customs that have been twisted with Islamic laws and it also said about the need for their avoidance.
More than half of girls who get married in Afghanistan are under 15 and most of marriages take place as a practice to settle disputes, it said.
"We were quoted a popular saying in many communities which is, if you hit a girl with your hat and she doesn't fall over, it's time to marry her," Georgette Gagnon said while addressing news hounds at a conference.
An increase in violence against women and girls has forced them to flee their husband's homes and face honour killings, the report said.
The UNAMA adds that many cases of violence against women are not addressed by the Afghan judiciary organisations as it is considered interference in people's private affairs.
Georgette Gagnon said: "We have to be clear, this law is for the government to implement it. It has nothing to do with the international troops or the international community. International donors can support women's groups and the government in implementing the law but it is the government's job to apply this law."
Withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan that will begin by next year has led to widespread concerns especially about women's rights in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission views the issue from a different dimension.
Deputy for Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission, Fahim Hakim said: "to protect women's rights, systems should be reinforced, new laws should be ratified and we hope the Afghan government will work in a serious and committed manner."
The collapse of Taliban regime, during which women and girls held no rights, was believed to be the end of challenges facing Afghan women, but Afghan women even today are faced with a lot of challenges.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Uganda pushed for tougher UN sanctions against Eritrea and its leader, President Isaias Afewerki, for supplying weapons to Somalia in 2007.
In the leaked US diplomatic cables, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni also criticised former Transitional Federal Government President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed for non-inclusivity and slow pace of building a national army.
Eritrea's actions combined with the behaviour of President Yusuf were seen as contributing to the insecurity in war-torn Somalia.
In the leaked cable dated September 2007, President Museveni was quoted in a dispatch from the US embassy in Kampala pushing for tough action against Eritrea and pressure on TFG leader Yusuf to be more inclusive and announce a timeline for the transition to democracy.
"Museveni said President Isaias was preoccupied with trying to unseat (Ethiopian Prime Minister) Meles (Zenawi).
"That was all Isaias talked about, yet Museveni observed that Meles did not appear to be in any less control of Ethiopia despite Isaias, actions," Ambassador Steven Browning wrote.
The cable arose out of a meeting between the president and former US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer on September 5 in Kampala.
Somalia has been at war with itself since dictator Siad Barre was overthrown in early 1990s.
Uganda takes keen interest in Somalia and currently, together with Burundi, it contributes troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) as peacekeepers.
Restore security
President Museveni believed that Eritrea's actions in Somalia undermined regional and international efforts to restore security.
President Museveni thus proposed to Ms Frazer that President Afewerki "needed to be talked to by the members of the UN Security Council who carry a big stick."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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U.S. intelligence agencies are working to track down an alarming report from inside North Korea revealing that the communist regime is secretly developing underwater nuclear torpedoes and mines.
According to a newsletter run by dissident North Koreans, the report states that North Korea's government has a special group of researchers at the National Defense Technology Institute that is "developing underwater weapons using nuclear warheads." The report was published Dec. 3 by the Korean-language newsletter NK Chisigan Yondae, or NK Intellectual Solidarity.
The U.S. Navy once had nuclear torpedoes and mines, as did the Soviet navy, and China's military also has discussed the use of nuclear torpedoes in its military writings as recently as 2006.
The nuclear torpedo and mine program aimed at compensating for Pyongyang's high-technology gap with U.S. and South Korean firepower by using its nuclear arsenal, and North Korean sources told the newsletter that researchers in the country are concerned about the arms program.
The report quotes a government official in North Pyongan province, on the northeast border with China: "In March 2009, Institute 108 under Guidance Bureau 131 (General Bureau of Atomic Energy) launched a nuclear torpedo and mine research."
The official noted that "nuclear mines are technologically at a stage of completion, and the plan [is] to finish [developing] nuclear torpedoes by 2012."
The weapons research is being conducted by specialists from Institute 108, the facility involved in nuclear technology development. Others in the program belong to the Kusong Electronic Warfare Institute, along with other experts in torpedo and mine warfare.
The source was quoted as saying North Korea believes nuclear torpedos and mines will be capable of neutralizing South Korean and Japanese naval bases and U.S. aircraft carriers. The weapons also will provide a deterrent against U.S. military intervention in a second Korean conflict.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The NOKORS reportedly have UW SPECOPS Midget Subs thats as fast + can maneuver like a FIGHTER PLANE???
* ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > IRAN HAS 15,000 SUICIDE BOATS.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries on Wednesday agreed to overhaul a response plan for localized provocations by North Korea so as to stress U.S. military support for operations led by Seoul. The previous plan had focused only on the South Korean role.
Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said, "South Korea is a sovereign nation that has every right to protect its people in order to effectively carry out that responsibility." It also has the "right to choose the method with which they respond," he added.
And it's about time they chose one ...
He and his South Korean counterpart Gen. Han Min-koo assessed the situation in the North together at an emergency bilateral meeting at JCS headquarters in South Korea, the JCS said.
The two militaries will reportedly divide roles between them, with the South Korean military in charge of striking back at the sources of attack in the North and the U.S. military offering support like intelligence gathering.
Mullen told reporters any country has the right to self-defense, and if any more provocation should occur, the response will be prompt and immediate. To a question about air strikes, he said, "To answer [the] question as to whether or not I asked South Korea to take air options off the table, I did not."
Mullen suggested the U.S. will seek joint military exercises among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan to deal with North Korean provocations.
He dismissed repeated Chinese calls for the resumption of six-party nuclear talks. "We first need an appropriate basis for the resumption of [six-party] talks. There is none so long as North Korea persists in its illegal and ill-advised and dangerous behavior," he said.
Mullen called on China to take on greater responsibility, because "the Chinese have enormous influence over the North, influence that no other nation on earth enjoys."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Again, KIMMIE recognizes that iff CHINA doesn't take over the DPRK in WAR or NATIONAL COLLAPSE, it will do so economically in LT via the SINO-DPRK FTA SETTING UP MOSTLY CHIN-DOMINATED FREEPORTS IN NORTH KOREA.
IMO, in Kimmie's mind, "DA TIME IS NOW", NOT LATER, to save North Korea for North Koreans = Koreans.
(KUNA) -- North Korean hereditary supremo Kim Jong-il and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo ... "and Bingguo was his name-o!" ... on Thursday reached consensus on bilateral relations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula after candid and in-depth talks, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Dai arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, Xinhua said, without elaborating on details of the consensus.
Not delivering a message, just confirming strategy and tactics ...
Dai's meeting marked the first time that Kim has met a senior foreign official since the North's artillery attack on a South Korean island, on November 23, that killed four people.
The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said that the two sides discussed issues of mutual concern and efforts to boost friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
Dai also conveyed greetings from Chinese President Hu Jintao to Kim, and the North's leader expressed thanks and asked him to convey his regards to Hu before having a talk with Dai "in a warm and friendly atmosphere," it said.
China, North Korea's closest ally, has been under increasing pressure to do more to curb the North's military aggression in the wake of the artillery attack on the South Korean island.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] China's foreign ministry has said that military threats could not resolve continuing tensions on the Korean peninsula.
The statement by Jiang Yu, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, comes after Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, criticised China on Thursday for enabling its ally North Korea's "reckless behaviour".
Jiang Yu told news conference that she questioned what Mullen had done for "peace and stability in the region," calling his remarks on China's support for North Korea an "accusation".
Essentially telling Bambi to put up or shut up, and we know what the response will be ...
'Enormous influence'
On Wednesday, the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, accused China of ducking its responsibility to keep Pyongyang in line, as he announced more joint military exercises with South Korea.
"The Chinese have enormous influence over the North, influence that no other nation on earth enjoys. And yet, despite a shared interest in reducing tensions, they appear unwilling to use it," Mullen said.
"Even tacit approval of Pyongyang's brazenness leaves all their neighbours asking what will be next," he added before heading for Japan for talks on defence cooperation.
James Steinberg, the US deputy secretary of state will lead a high-level delegation to Beijing next week to consult on developments on the Korean peninsula. Steinberg this week attempted to downplay differences with China, speaking of the "critical role" Beijing can play in the situation and saying it was in the interests of both the US and China to work together.
So that they'll keep buying our bonds ...
The day before, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill... and her counterparts from South Korea and Japan had held talks in Washington which ended with a call for China to do more.
The US is expected to "speak to China to tell North Korea in more clear language not to make provocations", Kim Sung-Hwan, the South Korean foreign minister told news hounds, upon his return from the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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#4
ADM. MULLEN = has repor also stated that the US WILL GET OR STAND IN THE WAY OF ANY ROK MIL RESPONSE = COUNTER-ATTACK TO ANY NEW DPRK INCIDENTS.
* OTOH, compare Chin wid RUSSIA, PEOPLES DAILY FORUM > RUSSIA SAYS US AIR FORCE UNIT IN POLAND HARMS OTHER'S [Regional] SECURITY. Russian response in light of Wiki revelations as per covert NATO Plan to mil defend the Baltic States + Poland from post-Soviet/Cold War Russia.
** SAME SOUTH KOREANS GUESS AT THE NORTH'S NEXT TARGET, i.e. will the DPRK next attack the ROK in the
* YELLOW SEA
* INTER-KOREAN DMZ
* TERRSTRIKE, espec vee DPRK SPECOP COMMANDOS.
* NEW DPRK NUCBOMB, MISSLE TEST(S).
-----------------
ALso from PEOPLES DAILY FORUM > JAPAN'S NEW GUIDELINES CALL FOR STRONGER ISLAND DEFENSE.
SW JAPAN + OKINAWA PERFECTURE includ Senkakus + Nanshas. Budget Cuts in JGSDF Tanks to be counterbalanced in Tokyo by increases in SDF NAVAL, AIR POWER ASSETS + LR SECURITY MISSIONS OER KEY ISLANDS.
IOW, be it CHIN'S SCO-CSTO STRATEGIC PARTNER + BFF RUSSIA OR US-N-REGIONAL-ALIIES, CHINA'S BARRIERS IN THE "FIRST ISLAND CHAIN" KEEP GETTING BIGGER + DEEPER, ETC. AGZ CHINA.
versies
* MARIANAS VARIETY/TOPIX > OKINAWA DELEGATION WANTS ALL 12K MARINES OUT, from Futenma MCAS + Okinawa proper starting in 2012.
Okis don't care iff all 12,000 go to Guam; or else 8000-plus from same go to Guam + 4000 go to Tinian - the Oki Delegation repor will urge TOKYYU/TOKIO TO PAY THE FULL COSTS OF SAME IFF THE US GOVT. CAN AGREE???
The USDOD can certainly put a lot of things on Tinian, the CNMI Govt will have a new source of revenue + jobs + LT "justification" to build a connecting bridge between Saipan + Tinian, which in turn SSSSSSSHHHHHHHH......CCCCCCCCCCC has other LT implications for 1990's PROPOSED GUAM-ROTA MONORAIL.
Shall I bring up [again] IWO JIMA = BONIN/VOLCANO ISLANDS + JAPAN-OKINAWA-IWO-MARIANAS MONORAIL + "CHUNNEL" PROJECTS, ETC.
But I digress ...
* WAFF > WIKILEAKS: NEXT CHINA LEADERS WILL BE FOR PEACE. Next CPC Plenum = Year 2012.
(KUNA) -- The Council of Europe, the premier European body that monitors democracy and human rights, ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... said Thursday that it is organizing December 16-17 a conference on ways to prevent terrorism.
Turkey is certainly a right place for that. One way they could curb terrorism would be to end Turkey's unnatural friendship with Iran.
The conference is to be held in Istanbul and it will deal with "the tools for prevention" of terrorism and "the juridical instruments and their implementation" in this regard.
A statement from the Council, which is based in Strasbourg, Eastern La Belle France and has 47 members, indicated that Turkey was chosen as host country for the forthcoming event because it currently presides the Council of Ministers of the European Body.
The statement said that national and international experts will be invited "to propose ideas to participants to improve the prevention of terrorism," particularly by examining the changing nature of the phenomenon.
An examination will also be carried out of "incitements and recruitment" in the area of terrorism. Ways to tackle the financing of terrorism will also be discussed, the statement added.
About 150 experts from member States, as well as official observers from the Council of Europe and other international organizations, are expected to attend the Istanbul gathering, which will be opened by Council Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland and Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay.
They have to make up for the loss of Israeli tourist spending somehow.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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Republicans effectively ended the Democrats' last chance to overturn the military's ban on gay troops Thursday in a procedural vote that likely puts the issue beyond Congress' reach for the foreseeable future.
The 57-40 tally left Democrats three votes shy of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster and begin debate on the defense policy bill. Instead, the Senate won't pass a defense bill for the first time in decades -- which Democrats said jeopardizes troops' pay raises, as well as leaving the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in place.
Democrats were racing to act before the end of the year, when the GOP -- which is generally opposed to overturning the policy -- takes control of the House and ends the chances for action.
The vote was along party lines except for two switchers moderate Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, who supported the measure, and Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, who voted no.
President Obama said he was "extremely disappointed" with the Senate's action and urged senators to revisit the issue before its late year "lame duck" session ends
"As commander in chief, I have pledged to repeal this discriminatory law, " the president said. "A great majority of the American people agree. This law weakens our national security, diminishes our military readiness and violates fundamental American principles of fairness, integrity and equality.
#1
What is nice about votes like this is that it exposes the true RINOs : Collins needs to be primaried and defeated the next time that seat comes up for election.
#2
Of course, if they just repeal DADT,we would go back to the way it was before - gays could not serve in the military, sodomy is an offense under the UCMJ, and you can ask a person if he's gay and then throw him out if he says yes.
I'm sure that Obama and the rest understand this. /sarc
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/10/2010 17:47 Comments ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Anti-Taliban lashkars on Thursday threatened to withdraw their support to the government and police if their demands were not met within 10 days.
Adezai anti-Taliban lashkar chief Dilawar Khan told Daily Times on Thursday that chiefs of all the three anti-Taliban lashkars have decided in a joint meeting that they will withdraw support to the police and government if the latter did not fulfil promises made to them within 10 days. Leaders of the anti-Taliban lashkars, which included Dilawar Khan from Adezai, Fahimur Rehman from Bazid Khel and Fazal Amin from Taila Band, are ready to announce end of cooperation with the Awami National Party-led provincial government and security forces in the war on terror, Dilawar said. Following the decision, he said, senior coppers'>coppers met the lashkar chiefs and assured full support.
The officials told the chiefs that they are going to arrange their meetings with the provincial chief minister, governor and other top police officials so they could present their demands to them. The lashkar chiefs were asked to cooperate with security forces until 10th of Muharram. Some members of the Adezai lashkar, on condition of anonymity, said that after withdrawal of support to the government, the lashkar will approach the Taliban for a pact. He said the Taliban would be offered safe passage through Adezai in return for assurance that they would not attack Adezai people and villagers.
Dilawar said that the lashkars had courageously confronted the Taliban for the past two years despite great human and material losses. Asked about the reason for withdrawal of support, he said the government and military had extended almost no moral and material support to the lashkars since they were formed in 2008. He said that the government had promised arms, ammunition and food for the militias, which didn't materialise. Neither did the promised compensation package for heirs of the lashkars' members killed in fighting with the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has denied the presence of US troops and the Taliban leadership in Quetta and termed foreign media reports to that effect false and baseless.
"There is no soldier of the American army in Quetta," he said while talking to newsmen after attending the inaugural ceremony of the 5th batch of the Balochistan Institute of Technical Education here on Wednesday.
He also denied the presence of Talibs in the city and said: "There is no justification and need for dronezaps on Quetta."
However, The infamous However... he said, there were students studying in religious institutions who had nothing to do with militancy.
The chief minister reiterated his offer of talks with 'angry Baloch brothers'. "They should come for talks on all issues."
Answering a question about the suicide kaboom on his convoy on Tuesday, the chief minister said those involved in the attack would not be spared.
Earlier addressing the ceremony, Nawab Raisani and Southern Command's chief Lt-Gen Javed Zia said the government and the army would fight extremism jointly to restore peace in Balochistan.
The chief minister thanked the army and its chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani for providing educational and technical training facilities to a large number of youths in Balochistan.
He announced a Rs100 million grant for the BITE and said the army should also launch such projects in other districts of the province.
Lt-Gen Zia said a sense of deprivation existed among the Baloch people, but foreign elements would not be allowed to exploit it.
He said over 4,000 Baloch youths had joined the army and 10,000 more would be given an opportunity next year to join the army, Frontier Corps and Coast Guards.
Zia said the BITE programme would be expanded to Gwadar, Khuzdar, Sibi, Kohlu, Loralai and Zhob. The doors of the army's workshops would remain open for the youths of Balochistan, he added.
He also said the institute had admitted 3,000 students this year and would offer 5,000 admissions next year.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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If only India gave Pakistan everything they wanted without protest, relations would be so much better!
[Dawn] India will have to take further steps to cooperate with Pakistain in order to reach the final outcome of the Mumbai attacks, said Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit on Thursday.
Speaking at the weekly Foreign Office briefing, Abdul Basit said that India needed to do more on its part by responding to Pakistain's requests on the Mumbai trial instead of doubting Islamabad's intentions.
He said that the Indian Home Secretary's remarks on the Mumbai attack trial in Pakistain were misleading and that Pakistain was seriously pursuing the trial.
He stated that Pakistain was looking forward to resuming the dialogue process with India so that issues such as the plight of fishermen were addressed efficiently. However, The infamous However... Abdul Basit stated that despite making serious efforts to resume the dialogue between the two nations, Pakistain was not willing to compromise on its national security at any cost.
The front man rejected the claim made by the Indian Foreign Secretary that Kashmire was an integral part of India and said that the issue was awaiting settlement in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] British Prime Minister David Cameron's attempts to mend 'fragile' relations with Pakistain have been dashed after he was snubbed by Pakistain's prime minister, Daily Mail reported on Wednesday.
Mr Cameron wanted to visit Pakistain to try and patch up ties with it after he said during a visit to India the UK could not tolerate the idea that Pakistain was allowed to look 'both ways' and was able to promote the export of terror, whether to India or to Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world.
He had asked to go to Islamabad on his way to Afghanistan. But his attempt to invite himself ended in a firm refusal, as Prime Minister Gilani said he did not want to be tagged onto a visit to Afghanistan, the report said.
Mr Cameron often tries to squeeze several countries into a single foreign visit, as he has to try and deal with the recession and cuts agenda at home. His last trip to the region ended with causing great offence -- first to Pakistain for casting doubt on its commitment to fighting terror and second to Israel for criticising its treatment of Paleostinians.
Cameron calls Zardari
UK Premier Cameron telephoned President Asif Zardari on Wednesday night. The two leaders discussed bilateral matters and the situation in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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MISSAN / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqs Ahrar (Liberal) Sadrist Group, led by Shiite Cleric Ammar al-Hakim, intends to get 7 cabinet posts and the third deputy prime ministers post in the new government, according to the Sadrist Legislature, Mushriq Naji, on Thursday.
Our Ahrar (Liberal) Sadrist bloc is striving to get 7 cabinet posts in the new government, in addition to the post of the Third Deputy Prime Minister, Naji told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Naji noted that the Ministries his bloc would like to get are the ministries of transportation, education, justice, health, housing, electricity, and a ministry of state.
He said that the official announcement of the new cabinet would take place next week, as the formation of the government shall take place before its assigned date, following the settlement of the cabinet posts for the leading ministries, to be occupied by the large blocs, thing that had delayed the formation of the new government.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The new Iraqi government will be formed within the defined constitutional period. There are no obstacles that stand in the way of its formation, the Legislature for the Iraqi National Alliance, Ali al-Allaq said on Thursday.
The forthcoming couple of days may witness the settlement of the remaining differences among the political blocs, Allaq told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, reiterating that the government would be formed with the limited constitutional period, which he did not define.
What enables one to feel satisfied is that there are no longer any obstacles standing in the way of forming the new government, Allaq noted.
There are dialogues and viewpoints among the political blocs that necessitate reaching an understanding that may take few more days, he continued.
The problem has not yet been settled completely, due to the demands of some blocs and their competition to gain some of the cabinet posts, Allaq said, reaffirming that the distribution of the cabinet posts would take place within one deal for all ministries, and not each ministry on its part.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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[Emirates 24/7] Paleostinian president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas Thursday stood firm on his demand for a halt to settlement building before talks with Israel can resume, as US officials scrambled to rescue the collapsing grinding of the peace processor.
"We will not accept negotiations as long as settlements continue," Abbas told news hounds in Cairo after more than an hour of talks with Egyptian geriatric President Hosni Mubarak.
"We have made this clear to the Americans: without a halt to settlements, no negotiations."
The Paleostinian leader said he also wanted to hear explanations from Washington as to why it failed to persuade Israel to freeze settlements in the West Bank and annexed Occupied Jerusalem.
"We want to know what happened exactly between America and Israel," he said, adding he would be meeting Washington's Middle East envoy George Mitchell when he returns to the region next week.
A Paleostinian diplomat said the two would meet on Monday.
Other Paleostinian officials have indicated that indirect talks, along with Mitchell, are likely to be the immediate way forward in Washington's stuttering attempts to secure a peace deal by the end of 2011.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he still favours direct peace talks, despite the dwindling prospects of them resuming any time soon.
"It is very important that the dialogue between us and the Paleostinians continues," Lieberman said in Sofia after talks with his Bulgarian counterpart, Nikolay Mladenov.
"Nothing can replace direct negotiations. We believe in direct negotiations."
Abbas, apparently still leaving the door open, said a final decision on talks with Israel would be taken in consultation with Arab and Paleostinian officials.
"There must be clear references for peace... and we will discuss all that with the follow-up committee, the Paleostinian leadership and after that there will be a decision."
An Arab League official said in Cairo that foreign ministers on the follow-up committee would meet next Thursday, along with Abbas, after he had had a chance to consult with Arab leaders and with Mitchell.
In the past, Abbas has sought the endorsement of the Arab follow-up committee on the question of resuming the US-brokered direct peace talks.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"well that's it then. No peace talks. Happy? Now I've gotta break to sign some permits for mega-residence projects in East Jerusalem. Nice seeing you"
/Bibi
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/10/2010 10:53 Comments ||
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Three weeks before the two-year anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, and amid escalating rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, defense officials warned on Thursday that Israel is preparing for a possible clash with Hamas in the near future.
On Thursday morning, the Israel Air Force bombed three targets in the Gaza Strip that the IDF said were used by terrorists, in response to a mortar barrage the night before that wounded one Israeli.
Four to five shells were fired from Gaza into the Eshkol region late on Wednesday night, injuring a community security officer who was airlifted to Soroka University Hospital in Beersheba.
Defense officials noted that since the beginning of the month, there have been over a dozen mortar and Kassam rocket attacks, more than double in the parallel period last month. In addition, anadvanced anti-tank missile was fired several days ago at an IDF armored vehicle along the Gaza border, causing extensive damage.
None of the vehicles occupants was injured.
Officials said that Hamas was not directly behind the attacks but that it was turning a blind eye to other terrorist groups, some of which worked on behalf of Hamas.
The IDF must be ready to operate in Gaza in a more extensive way than in the past, Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi warned this week.
Hamas is thought to be divided regarding whether it should renew its terrorist attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip. While the organization is believed to still be deterred as a result of Cast Lead, it is assessed to have mostly completed the rehabilitation of its military and has recently obtained long-range missiles, capable of reaching Tel Aviv, as well as advanced antiaircraft missiles.
The political leadership in Gaza, headed by Ismail Haniyeh, is believed to be a restraining factor at the moment, while the Izzadin Kassam military wing, led by Ahmed Jaabri, is said to be calling for a renewal of attacks.
[An Nahar] Minister Butros Harb said liquidations carried out following ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's murder were interlinked but expressed regret that the Lebanese judiciary and international Sherlocks hadn't reached any results in MP Gebran Tueni's liquidation case.
Five years after Tueni's murder, the only answer that Harb got was that efforts are still underway to identify the culprits or the type and source of explosives used in the kaboom, he told An Nahar daily in an interview published Thursday.
Harb is the Tueni family's lawyer.
"Lebanese judges weren't able to move forward with the investigation" because of lack of information, he said, adding he believed that the Lebanese probe won't lead to any result.
However, The infamous However... Harb expressed optimism that the link between all liquidations would help Special Tribunal for Leb Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare take the Tueni case to the court after he issues his indictments in Hariri's case.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
BHARAT RAKSHAK > WIKILEAKS: SAUDIS PROPOSED ALL-ARAB MILITARY INVASION FORCE INVADE LEBANON, agz Hezbollah-dominated Leb Govt. + Iranian influence. Arab Ground Troops backed up by US NAVAL, AIR POWER ONLY.
HMMMM, HMMMMM, yokay, I'll bite, IFF POTUS BAMMER = 2008's "NEW JFK", will the ABOVE = "BAY OF PIGS II" IN THE MIDDLE EAST???
* SAME > ROBERT FISK:QATAR'S THE STAR. Major ME Muslim Govts + elements in Washington DC becoming increasing un-nerved by BASE-TOO-FAR-QATAR'S GROWING INFLUENCE AS PER REGIONAL BROKERING + ECON CLOUT; SAUDI-STYLE-RADICAL-WAHABISM-VS-MODERN-COMMERCE-N-DEVELOPMENT for control of QATAR'S ISLAMIC SOUL.
(KUNA) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad Thursday to discuss the tensions in Leb and the moribund Israeli-Paleostinian grinding of the peace processor, which is failing because of Israel's settlement policies and its refusal to heed international calls to stop colonisation of Arab territories.
Sarkozy and Assad met over a working lunch at the Elysee Palace and the Syrian President expressed his strong position on who was responsible for the failure of direct talks between Israel and the Paleostinian Authority.
Leaving the meeting with the French leader, the Syrian President said the situation of impasse was due to Israel and that if the talks don't work it is the fault of Israel and "not the fault of the Americans" who tried to move talks forward.
"We cannot blame the sponsor of the grinding of the peace processor. We must blame the (responsible) parties. Israel is not present in the process," Assad remarked.
He also said that the whole issue should not be focusing on the settlements as it is about "territory and rights" and he said "the territory will be recovered, with settlements or without." Assad said he had also appreciated and he wanted to praise the opposition of Sarkozy concerning Israel's stated intention of holding a referendum on withdrawal from the occupied Arab lands.
"Israel is like a thief who has stolen something and then takes it to the thieves' market to sell it," Assad said, citing an Arabic saying.
He virulently criticized Israel's position in the grinding of the peace processor and refusal to withdraw to 1967 borders. The Israeli stance is "not acceptable, morally or legally," he said.
He urged La Belle France and the European Union to more forcefully take part in the peace negotiations but he said he was pessimistic because Israel is blocking the negotiations, and as long as the Israeli partner does not want peace, there will be no peace in the Middle East.
Assad said that he had discussed the Lebanese situation with his French counterpart and he said many parties were working to avoid any increase in tensions or violence after the soon-expected announcement of the findings of the Special Tribunal on the liquidation five years ago of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
"No party has any interest in having upheaval in Leb," he said.
There are fears that if indictments are issued by the UN tribunal, there could be a backlash among certain Lebanese parties like the Hezbullies resistance who are rumored to be among those cited in the findings.
Assad told journalists that discussions were ongoing between Syria and Soddy Arabia on how to avoid any outbreak of violence and that these talks also included La Belle France, which supported them.
He indicated there was "Franco-Saudi coordination" and "Franco-Syrian coordination" and also "coordination" between the Syria and Soddy Arabia, but he pointed out the Lebanese must solve their own problems.
"The solution, in the end, is Lebanese," he indicated, adding that Syria would help "facilitate" that solution.
Sarkozy has met in the past couple of months here with the bulk of the Lebanese leadership and most recently last week with Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the son of the assassinated former Premier.
The French leader was said to be pressing Assad to do his utmost to avoid any upsurge among Hezbullies factions in Leb. Assad is widely believed to have strong influence on the Lebanese group.
The Syrian leader also said that he wanted to see Iraq find stability through the formation of "a national unity government," although he stressed Syria was not pushing for any party.
He "expressed support for the formation of a government" and he said "Syria was in contact with all parties" in Iraq.
Assad indicated also that the question of Iran and its controversial nuclear programme was not discussed in the talks with Sarkozy.
Upon leaving the Elysee residence of the French President, Assad headed for a meeting with Bernard Accoyer, the Speaker of the French National Assembly, and he is expected to stay in Gay Paree on Friday for a private visit.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2010 00:00 ||
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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.
(KUNA) -- The Council of Europe, the premier European body that monitors democracy and 
[Dawn] British Prime Minister David Cameron's attempts to mend 'fragile' relations with Pakistain have been dashed after he was snubbed by Pakistain's prime minister, Daily Mail reported on Wednesday.
