[BBC] Former Israeli PM and president Shimon Peres has died aged 93.
He suffered a stroke two weeks ago and his condition improved before a sudden deterioration on Tuesday.
Mr Peres, who was one of the last of a generation of Israeli politicians present at the new nation's birth in 1948, served twice as the country's prime minister and once as president.
He won the Nobel Peace prize in 1994 for his role negotiating peace accords with the Palestinians a year earlier.
He once said the Palestinians were Israel's "closest neighbours" and might become its "closest friends".
#3
He was the first foreign dignitary I protected back in 1998. A true gentleman. Sat across the table from him at lunch and we talked like friends for an hour.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
09/28/2016 8:52 Comments ||
Top||
#4
If he hadn't offered so much up for a real peace, Israelis might still believe the Paleos could be legitimate partners for peace
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/28/2016 9:12 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Father of the Israeli Nuclear bomb
Posted by: John Frum ||
09/28/2016 19:39 Comments ||
Top||
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A splinter group of the Taliban led by Mullah Rasool welcomed the signing of a draft peace agreement between the Afghan government and Hezb-e-Islami led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... Sources close to Hezb-e-Islami have said Mullah Rasool has endorsed the party’s stance and signing of the draft peace agreement with the Afghan government.
The sources further added that the endorsement by Mullah Rasool faction of the Taliban is based on the stance of Hezb-e-Islami to work for the withdrawal of the foreign forces from the country.
The Mullah Rasool has also called on other krazed killer groups including the main Taliban group to adopt a similar stance as Hezb-e-Islami and work for the liberty of the country, the sources added.
The endorsement by Mullah Rasool group comes as the Taliban slammed Hekmatyar for signing of the draft peace agreement, calling his move as ’a major crime’.
"Not only will he face the wrath of Allah for leaving jihad, but he has committed a major crime," the group said in an article published in its website.
Hezb-e-Islami is the first krazed killer group to sign a draft peace agreement with the Afghan government following a call made by the government to join grinding of the peace processor in a bid to end the ongoing violence through reconciliation process.
The Taliban group however rejected the plea and announced its spring offensive in April this year forcing the Afghan government to give up peace efforts and respond to Taliban’s insurgency with military option.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
h/t Instapundit
The bipartisan vote came despite lobbying from Obama to uphold his veto. Obama said he objects to the bill because it could damage U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and could undermine America's own sovereign immunity against lawsuits.
The Senate voted 97-1 to override Obama's veto, and the only no vote was from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
The legislation now heads to the House, where lawmakers are expected to vote as early as Wednesday afternoon. If the House follows, it would be the first time Congress has overridden one of his vetoes. ?????????????
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/28/2016 16:38 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Augusto Pinochet was no longer head of state when he was prosecuted.
That doesn't matter. This was violation of Chilean sovereignty.
Most EUropean countries have global "human rights" laws that allow them violate other countries sovereignty. I know that because, at one time or another, all of them threatened IDF personnel.
#6
And what about Slobodan Milosovic? And, as far as relations with the Soddies, What kind of a relationship is it if they can bomb us with impunity?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/28/2016 17:45 Comments ||
Top||
#7
It'd be really funny if Q'daffy's heirs sued Obama.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/28/2016 17:51 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Or if Saddam's heirs sued Bush. And then there's Assad... Lawyer up, folks.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/28/2016 17:53 Comments ||
Top||
#9
"That doesn't matter."
Of course it does. Sovereign immunity doesn't apply to former heads of state (like Pinochet, Milosevic etc.)
"What kind of a relationship is it if they can bomb us with impunity?"
You are right but the response is not a civil lawsuit, but war.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/28/2016 17:53 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Of course it does. Sovereign immunity doesn't apply to former heads of state (like Pinochet, Milosevic etc.)
So claiming that official of other country is subject to your courts --- meaning your laws supercede theirs --- is not violation of that country sovereignty? Where did you EUropeans got this idea? Who the Hell told you you're morally superior to a dog?
#14
The ICC may be located in The Hague, but it's not a European Court. It's a creation of the United Nation and only states which ratified membership have legal obligations towards the ICC.
The United States has none.
Individuals can only be prosecuted for crimes that are listed in the Statute: currently genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Saudi Arabia is a non-signatory state. If it were a signatory state victims of 9/11 could go to the ICC to have Saudi citizens responsible for 9/11 prosecuted (if Saudi Arabia fails to do so). The ICC can't prosecute states though, only individuals.
This is one of the rare occasions Obama is right. It sets a precedent that may really hurt the U.S. in the future.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/28/2016 19:58 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Groovy, even. And a 'sense of the public'. These rat bastards would never dare do this unless the alternative was unbearable.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
09/28/2016 22:45 Comments ||
Top||
#17
EC, I hear you, understand, and do not care. It is DUE. You make rational arguments though. Me, I am at the point of turning the entire region to over-lapping glassy circles.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
09/28/2016 22:51 Comments ||
Top||
#18
Oh, Germany can have whatever oil is left, we will shortly need it no more.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
09/28/2016 22:53 Comments ||
Top||
MUSCAT: A court in Oman on Monday ordered the permanent closure of a newspaper which had reported on alleged corruption within the judiciary, and jailed three of its journalists on charges that included undermining the prestige of the state.
Witnesses at the court said Ibrahim Al-Mamari, editor-in-chief of the privately owned Azamn newspaper, and his deputy and managing editor Youssef Al-Balushi, were jailed for three years and fined 3,000 rials ($7,800) each. A third journalist was jailed for a year. Azamn had extensively covered a series of corruption cases in 2014 in which several company executives were convicted.
Omani authorities suspended the newspaper in August for a month after detaining the three journalists. In a statement which did not mention Azamn by name, they said it had exceeded the limits of free speech and “drifted into ... harming one of the pillars of the state, the judiciary.”
The Muscat Court of First Instance found Mamari and Balushi guilty on four charges, including undermining the prestige of the state, disturbing public order, misusing the Internet, and publishing details of a personal status case.
It also convicted Balushi of slander and of publishing a report in violation of a ban imposed by the Information Ministry on any reporting related to Mamari’s arrest.
The third journalist, Zaher Al-Abri, was sentenced to one year in jail and fined 1,000 rials.
The court set a bail of 50,000 rials for Mamari and Balushi in case they decided to appeal the rulings, while Abri’s bail was set at 5,000 rials.
Five years ago a court ordered the newspaper closed down for one month and Mamari and a reporter were given five-month suspended jail sentences for insulting the justice minister and other officials.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al Jarallah has confirmed his country’s willingness to receive delegations from all Yemeni sides in the future if and when peace talks are agreed on.
Jarrallah also spoke against allegations made by Iranian FARS news agency that Kuwait was differing with Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... on the situation in Yemen, saying the Kuwait has not shifted its stance and solidly supports neighboring Riyadh.
As Kuwait celebrated the 26th anniversary of its liberation earlier this year, all of us remember the sacrifices offered by Saudi Arabia since the first day of the liberation war," Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Hamed al-Sabah said on Monday.
Three months of UN-brokered talks - which were hosted in Kuwait - failed to make headway, with the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... militias and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government both holding firm to their positions.
Following the 2011 uprising against Yemen’s then-President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... , several events occurred that led to the country’s political turmoil. As factions fought for control of Yemen, the power vacuum led Houthi militias to take advantage of instability and rising fuel prices to oust Hadi’s government in Sept. 2014.
Hadi and his cabinet fled to Saudi Arabia, which led an Arab coalition against the Houthis in March 2015. After 18 months of fighting, the Houthis and their allies control most of the north - including the capital Sanaa - while forces loyal to Hadi and the popular resistance control the south.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Houthis
[IN.REUTERS] A decision to slash ministerial pay by a fifth reflects Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's resolve to nudge its citizens into tolerating a fall in living standards at a time of low oil prices.
Along with reductions unveiled on Monday that will affect all public sector workers, the cuts also flag to financial markets before a debut sovereign bond issue that the oil exporter is committed to budget discipline.
The measures appear largely to formalise savings introduced ad hoc in parts of the state apparatus since last year, but their announcement on state media, which gave an official start date of Oct 1., is not without political risk.
In a country that has no elections and where political legitimacy rests partly on distribution of oil revenue, the ability of citizens to adapt to reforms aimed at reducing oil dependence and improving self-reliance is crucial for stability.
Some Saudis appeared prepared to accept austerity following the signal that ministers would share the pain.
"Most of my colleagues are furious, but I see it as normal at such times," said Fahad, 27, a post office worker, who said his monthly take-home pay, including benefits, would fall to 4,800 riyals ($1,280) from 6,000. "The country has given us a lot in the past and it is our duty to show solidarity now."
However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... with about two thirds of working Saudis employed by the state, scepticism surfaced on social media. "The beginning of the end!" tweeted a writer using the name Nashat Haider. "Not a rise in efficiency, it's a rise in poverty" wrote Alsheikhah Madawi.
The ruling Al Saud family has often hesitated to enact reforms that may stir unrest among Saudis, but with oil prices stubbornly low, it is now pushing changes to revitalise the private sector, slim the state, and get more Saudis into work.
A lack of taxes, a big public sector, subsidised fuel and abundant government spending are benefits that officials have long cautioned are unaffordable, yet are seen as a right by many citizens because of the kingdom's high oil output.
But energy prices have plummeted since mid-2014, causing steep declines in income and putting economic growth at risk.
It was unclear how far the steps will trim a budget deficit that reached a record $98 billion last year.
In any case the wage cuts for ministers and others "of ministerial rank", while unlikely to win big savings by themselves, appear specifically aimed at deflecting public anger by targetting those at the apex of society, economists said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
#1
Dear Saudi Arabia - please start dumping your Treasury bills & bonds now, ok?
In the land of the Switzers, as elsewhere in Dar al Harb, public sentiment is hardening.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... 's lower house of parliament narrowly backed a ban on face veils on Tuesday, echoing moves by neighboring La Belle France and other European nations to tighten controls in the wake of Islamist bully boy attacks.
The plan by right-wing politician Walter Wobmann - who led a successful campaign to outlaw new minarets in 2009 - still has to pass through the upper house and the government before it becomes law.
But it joins a list of measures championed by populist and right-wing movements that have polarised the Alpine nation, and drawn some criticism from abroad, including most recently a referendum ordering curbs on immigration from the EU.
Wobmann, from the anti-immigration Swiss People's Party, has said the veil ban will preserve Swiss culture and curb radical Islam. He is also pushing for a referendum on the issue.
His party, the most powerful in Swiss parliament after winning about 30 percent of seats in a 2015 election, pushed the measure through with help from politicians from the center-right.
It may have a tougher time passing the upper house, where parties that opposed the ban, including the Social Democrats, have a stronger presence.
A poll in August found that 71 percent of Swiss favour a nationwide burqa ban along the lines of one that went into effect in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino this year, covering locals and visitors alike.
About 5 percent of Swiss residents are Moslem and very few wear the face-covering niqab or burqa.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists
[REUTERS] German police are stepping up protection of Moslem institutions in Dresden after two improvised bombs went kaboom! in the eastern city on Monday evening, one at a mosque and one at an international conference centre.
No one was hurt by the blasts although the imam of the mosque was inside the building with his wife and sons.
"Even if we so far have no claim of responsibility, we must go on the basis that the motive was xenophobic," Horst Kretzschmar, president of Dresden police, said in a statement.
He said police believed there was a link to celebrations planned for the coming weekend in the city to mark the anniversary of German reunification on Oct. 3, 1990.
Kretzschmar said three mosques, a Moslem social centre and a prayer room would be given protection immediately.
Soon after the mosque kaboom, Dresden's International Congress Center was also damaged by a home-made device and the bar of a nearby hotel was evacuated.
Mehmet Demirbas, founder of the mosque that was hit, said the Moslem community had been expecting some kind of attack for a long time.
"Glass panes have been broken in the past, or graffiti on the wall. But this is the first time something like this happens. Hopefully it will be the last time and we carry on happily living in Dresden," he said.
Dresden was the cradle of the anti-Islam PEGIDA grassroots movement whose weekly rallies attracted around 20,000 supporters at the height of its popularity at the start of 2015.
The influx of about 1 million migrants colonists, mostly Moslems, to Germany last year has increased social tensions, especially in eastern Germany where there have been some high-profile attacks on refugee shelters.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the mosque attack was "all the more scandalous" because it happened on the eve of the 10th annual meeting of the dialogue forum the German Islam Conference.
Saxony state saw far-right hate crimes targeting shelters for asylum seekers rise to 106 in 2015, with another 50 recorded in the first half of this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists
#1
"Even if we so far have no claim of responsibility, we must go on the basis that the motive was xenophobic,"
But when a terrorist attack occurs in Europe, politicians fall all over themselves to say Islam had nothing to do with it. Nice application of 'logic' there.
The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday began representing a man accused of setting off bombs in New York and New Jersey and injuring more than 30 people. After judges in both states denied attempts by public defenders to represent Ahmed Khan Rahami, a lawyer for the organization's New Jersey chapter entered a notice of appearance in his case in federal court in Newark on Monday.
I have no problem with this. Every indicted person in America has the right to a competent defense in court. As they say in Texas: try him fair and then hang him fair.
Rahami has been hospitalized since he was caught following a shootout with police in Linden last week. He has not made an initial court appearance.
Prosecutors said in a filing last week that he had been incapacitated and intubated since undergoing surgery for his wounds.
As we've said here in the past, pray for sepsis...
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office did not have an updated condition available on Monday.
Rahami's family spoke with his doctors on Monday for the first time after numerous requests since the ACLU got involved, said Udi Ofer, the New Jersey chapter's executive director. Ofer didn't disclose Rahami's condition, but ACLU attorney Alexander Shalom said law enforcement officials have informed the ACLU he remains unconscious.
Federal judges last week denied requests by public defenders to be appointed to represent Rahami, agreeing with prosecutors' arguments that he had not officially been arrested by federal authorities.
That sounds a little ... fishy. I want Federal prosecutors do things by the book. I'm tired of watching the DoJ go off the reservation.
Shalom said in a filing that Rahami's father and wife requested the ACLU represent him until he is appointed a federal public defender or other lawyer.
Ofer said denying Rahami's right to a lawyer "violates the Constitution and needlessly sacrifices civil liberties in the name of national security."
"It is outrageous that Mr. Rahami has been in custody for a week yet has been denied the right to have an attorney visit him to confirm his condition and protect his constitutional rights," Ofer said.
Rahami, an Afghan-born U.S. citizen, has been accused of detonating a pipe bomb in a New Jersey shore town and a pressure cooker bomb in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood on Sept. 17. No one was injured in the Jersey blast, and 31 people were injured in the New York blast. A second pressure cooker bomb didn't explode.
Rahami was charged by federal prosecutors in both states and faces state charges in New Jersey in connection with the shootout. The charges against Rahami include federal terror crimes and state charges of attempting to murder police officers.
So he was charged? In that case he gets a lawyer...
According to nj.com a few days ago, he was still unconscious, intubated and sedated in critical condition while recovering from gunshots and subsequent surgery. He faces federal and state charges, so he will need a number of lawyers after they figure out who has priority -- but he can't agree to representation or assist in his defence until he wakes up.
Described is a brawl in which he suddenly attacked his sister and mother, and it took the whole family to hold him down. Is this normal Afghan behaviour?
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
He was just turning his life around, attending cooking classes...
[DAWN] Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif ..Pak chief of army staff, meaning he pulls the strings on the Nawaz Sharif puppet to make it dance and sing and not do much at all.... has said India is not willing to address historical disputes like Kashmire that have directly fanned misunderstanding and fed into persistent regional culture of conflict.
Gen Raheel stated this while addressing a conference of armed forces chiefs being held in Germany under the auspices of the US Centcom. He highlighted the ongoing atrocities being committed by Indian armed forces in held Kashmire, regional security environment, common challenges and the way forward for the participating countries.
According to a blurb issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations here on Monday, besides the host, US Centcom Commander Gen Joseph Votel, the army chiefs of Pakistain, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are participating in the conference.
They expressed their desire to improve multilateral military cooperation among their countries in order to coherently meet the emerging security challenges and jointly defeat the menace of terrorism.
In his address, Gen Raheel said the porous western border and existence of some exploitable spaces, inadequate border management allowing forces of Evil movement, lack of synergy, coordination and institutionalised mechanism of intelligence sharing still remained challenges. Those challenges, he added, were being exploited through confrontational and subversive approaches by hostile intelligence agencies like RAW ... India's Research and Analysis Wing, Pakistain's equivalent of the Boogie Man... that spilled blood of innocent people through indirect strategy.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Yea, and Israel is unwilling to resolve the Palestinian issue. And Eastern Europeans say "nuts" to refugees.
[DAWN] Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... president Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti on Sunday said Bugti rustics were fully prepared to fight against India in the hills of the Kashmire valley.
"Bugti rustics would fight against Indian troops ahead of Pakistain Army," said the grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti.
The statement from the chief of JWP comes at a time when Indian rhetoric against Pakistain has reached a fever pitch following the attack on an Indian army camp in India-held Kashmire, with the valley going through a period of great turmoil.
Shahzain said Indian forces are involved in atrocities against the defenceless and voiceless Kashmiris, and added that the "sacrifices of the Kashmiris will not go unnoticed".
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies
#1
Foster Brooks Granpaw Bugti must be rolling over in his grave over this Pak tool whore
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/28/2016 9:14 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"What use do I have for a god that needs me to fight for him - Grandpa Bugti on jihad.
Posted by: John Frum ||
09/28/2016 19:47 Comments ||
Top||
[DAWN] Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj PrunefaceAziz ...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in good jihadis and bad jihadis as a matter of national policy... on Tuesday told the Senate that revocation of the Indus Waters Treaty by India "can be taken as an act of war" against Pakistain. "I suppose you realize this means war!"
"The Indus Waters Treaty is quoted as perhaps the most successful water treaty ever conducted between the two countries. Its revocation can be taken as an act of war or a hostile act against Pakistain," Aziz told politicians.
"If India tries to interrupt water flow into Pakistain, it will not only violate the Indus Water Treaty, but also set a regional state practice under which international law can be serve as a precedent. It will provide China, for example, a justification to consider of suspension of waters of the Brahmaputra river," he said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday decided to suspend Indus Water Commission talks until "Pakistain-sponsored terror" in India ends, according to Indian media reports.
Aziz's statements come amidst reports that India plans to accelerate building of new hydro-power plants along three rivers that flow into Pakistain. Modi told officials on Monday that India should use more of the rivers' resources, Rooters reported, quoting sources familiar with the plans.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] Pakistain on Tuesday promptly rejected Indian allegations of its involvement in the Uri army base attack, soon after Indian authorities said they had shared "evidence" with Pakistain High Commissioner to New Delhi Abdul Basit.
Pakistain envoy Abdul Basit told Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar that India is trying to divert the world’s attention from atrocities being committed by Indian forces in India-held Kashmire (IHK) by blaming the Uri attack on Pakistain.
If India is sincere in carrying out an investigation of the Uri attack then it should not run away from it. India should allow independent Sherlocks to carry out an investigation into the attack, Basit told Jaishankar.
The Indian foreign secretary summoned Basit to hand over the evidence, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.
Jaishankar alleged that local villagers apprehended two Muzaffarabad-based 'guides' that India claims facilitated the Uri army base attackers.
Swarup tweeted details of the guides, identifying them as Faizal Hussain Awan, 20, son of Gul Akbar and a resident of Potha Jahangir, Muzaffarabad, and Yasin Khurshid, 19, son of Muhammad Khurshid and a resident of Khiliana Kalan, Muzaffarabad.
"Preliminary interrogation reveals identity of one of the slain Uri attackers as Hafiz Ahmed, son of Feroz and a resident of Dharbang Muzaffarabad," he alleged.
"Details of the handlers were also obtained," Swarup alleged. The Indian foreign ministry front man identified the alleged handlers as Mohammad Kabir Awan and Basharat.
"The foreign secretary terms continuing cross-border terrorist attacks from Pakistain against India as unacceptable," Swarup said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies
[DAWN] India has decided to pull out of the upcoming Saarc summit in Islamabad, said the official spokesperson for the India's Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) Vikas Swarup in a tweet on Tuesday.
The announcement comes amid growing tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following the attack on an Indian army base in held Kashmire.
"India has conveyed to the current Saarc Chair in Nepal that increasing cross-border turbans attacks in the region and increasing interference in the internal matters of member states by one country has created an environment that is not conducive to the successful holding of the Saarc summit," said the statement released from the Indian foreign ministry.
The statement added that India, under the prevailing circumstances, is unable to participate in the proposed summit in Islamabad.
India also claims in the statement that it remains steadfast in its commitment for regional cooperation.
Pakistain had offered dialogue to India for the resolution of the Kashmire issue, but the offer was rejected.
"Regional cooperation and terror don't go together," said Swarup.
The 19th Saarc summit is due to be held in November this year.
Pakistain had formally extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Pakistain-hosted 19th Saarc summit.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Iraqi Shiite militias of harakat al- Nujaba has via a video surface on the internet shown its leader Akram al-Kaabi in his trip to Aleppo via the airport, and his visit to his members fighting by al-Assad.
Al-Nujaba TV channel has broadcasted a song prior to al-Kaabi speech which says: "Aleppo is Shiite, and calls for its people"
Al-kaabi explained in his speech that his visit to Aleppo is part of his participation in the war against occupation and suppressive powers supported by the Wahabi and expiatory forces.
Members of the militias welcomed al-Kaabi with songs and poem with sectarian background, lie mentioning they were the soldiers of al-Mahdi.
Al-Kaabi justified the advance of Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... in southern Aleppo by holding a truce and abiding by it, while they withdrew to fight the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... in Khanaser.
Harakat al-Nujaba emerged from the Iraqi paramilitary Asaib Ahl al-Haq in 2013, its leader is Sheikh Akram al-Kaabi, who claimed that after a period of krazed killer inactivity, the Syrian civil war motivated him to form the militia.
Regime forces are backed by Russian air power and Lebanese and Iraqi Shiite militia fighters under supervision by Iranians.
Hashim al-Moussawi, a front man for the Iraqi Shiite militia Harakat al-Nujaba said its fighters would reinforce areas captured from the rebels in southern Aleppo.
Rebel commanders said they are preparing to launch their own battle aimed at breaking the siege of the city.
Aleppo has been divided since 2012 into government and rebel sectors, regime forces have besieged the opposition areas they aim to capture the whole city.
After 5 years of multi-sided war, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and 11 million, half of Syria's pre-war population, have been displaced.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[VOX] If there were any doubt as to just how toxic sectarian politics has become in the Middle East, the latest statement from the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese Shia holy warrior group Hezbollah should clear things right up.
Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of a group that has been fighting Israel for decades, declared on Tuesday that "Wahhabism is more evil than Israel," Leb’s Al Akhbar newspaper reported.
Wahhabism is the ultra-fundamentalist strain of Sunni Islam that Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... ’s government promotes and that strongly influences the ideology of Sunni jihadist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS.
In other words, things have gotten so bad that Hezbollah, Israel’s mortal enemy, now considers Wahhabis -- that is, fellow Moslems -- to be worse than Israel. Bear in mind, this is coming from the same man who has described Israel as "a cancerous entity and the root of all the crises and wars" and pledged that Israel’s destiny "is manifested in our motto: 'Death to Israel.’"
It’s also coming from a man at the helm of a group that has engaged in numerous conflicts with Israel, including a horrifically bloody all-out war in 2006 that resulted in the deaths of around 1,300 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 165 Israelis, 121 of whom were soldiers. Israeli security officials say the group now has the capacity to batter their country with more than 1,000 rockets a day.
But despite how it may seem, Nasrallah’s statement is not, at its base, a conflict about religion. Though there are certainly strong religious disagreements between Sunni and Shia -- and especially between extreme fundamentalist Sunnis and extreme fundamentalist Shia -- the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia has little to do with dogma. It’s actually about something far less exotic: power and influence.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#2
"...the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia has little to do with dogma..."
VOX describes its work as explanatory journalism but on this issue they are woefully ignorant of the sectarian history of the region. Until the 16th century Persia was Sunni but a ruler at the time converted the country to Shia by force. Saudi Arabia is a relatively modern country that was created out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire but which has been predominantly Sunni the whole time (btw, Egypt was mostly Shia until the 13th century when it was converted to Sunnism by the sword).
Posted by: lord garth ||
09/28/2016 4:44 Comments ||
Top||
[Ynet] The US State Department said on Tuesday it was providing nearly $400 million in additional humanitarian funding to help Syrians caught up in the country's civil war, bring total U.S. humanitarian spending for Syria to about $5.9 billion.
So generous we are, to be sure. Was this an initiative by the House of Representatives, as required by the U.S. Constitution, or has President Obama whipped out his pen and his phone again?
Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Anne Richard said the United States has now admitted about 12,500 Syrian refugees in the past year, exceeding the administration's goal of 10,000.
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.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] 
The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday began representing a man accused of setting off bombs in New York and New Jersey and injuring more than 30 people. After judges in both states denied attempts by public defenders to represent Ahmed Khan Rahami, a lawyer for the organization's New Jersey chapter entered a notice of appearance in his case in federal court in Newark on Monday.
[DAWN] Chief of the Army Staff General .jpg)
[DAWN] Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) 
...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in 
