Eritrea has labelled UN sanctions imposed on Wednesday as shameful, and denied allegations that it arms Islamist militants in Somalia. Eritrea's UK ambassador Tesfamichael Gerahtu told the BBC that the sanctions were illegal and would only worsen the problems in the Horn of Africa.
Speaking of shameful ...
The Security Council imposed an arms embargo, travel bans and asset freezes on top Eritrean officials. Somalia's beleaguered UN-backed government welcomed the sanctions.
But Mr Tesfamichael said the accusations made by the country's critics were inconsistent.
"Originally it was said we had soldiers and then later came military support and now all of a sudden after certain discussions and opposition they started to talk about political, military and logistical support," he told the BBC's World Today programme. "Now we are 100% sure that we have never, never, never supplied military equipment or otherwise to the extremists in Somalia."
Eritrea's neighbouring countries and regional blocs including the African Union had been lobbying for sanctions for most of the year. The resolution demands that the country stops "arming, training and equipping armed groups and their members, including al-Shabab, that aim to destabilise the region".
As a result of the Security Council vote, Eritrea becomes the first new country to be subjected to UN sanctions since they were imposed on Iran in 2006.
That's worked well ...
The US said it had sought talks with Eritrea for months, but the country had failed to act on its promises.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2009 00:00 ||
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A good thing the Saudi nukes are kept safely in Pakistan, where they were developed, so I've heard, on the Saudi dime.
Yemeni lawmaker Yahya al-Houthi says Saudi Arabian warplanes are engaged in the relentless bombardment of civilian positions in Yemen's war-torn north.
In an interview with Press TV on Friday, the Yemeni lawmaker accused the Saudi army of using internationally banned weapons in its attacks on villages in the northern province of Sa'ada, regretting the high civilian toll from the raids.
If Riyadh had nuclear weapons, it would have used them against the Houthi fighters, the lawmaker charged.
Yemen's beleaguered north, bordering the Saudi kingdom, has been the scene of a massive military operation by the Saudi-Yemeni forces, since the Sana'a government stepped up its offensive again the Shia fighters in August.
The central government in Yemen says the Houthis are trying to force the return of clerical rule in the country.
Houthi fighters, however, reject the allegations, accusing the Sunni-dominated Riyadh and Sana'a governments of joining forces to uproot the Shia faith in the territory, and of hiring terrorist elements to reach this goal.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia says it will stop its bombing campaign if the Houthis leave the border area, which the Houthis maintain they will do only after Riyadh has stopped aiding the Yemeni army.
This is while the US has been launching airstrikes on the southeastern parts of the impoverished Arab nation in the past two weeks as part of a military pact it signed with Yemen.
Washington is reportedly providing Sana'a with firepower and intelligence in addition to some 70 million dollars worth of military aid Pentagon has poured into Yemen this year.
The White House on Friday once again reiterated President Barack Obama's support for the ongoing military operations across Yemen.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2009 00:14 ||
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Willy Pete still ain't banned by anybody who matters, Yahya. Stop getting your legal opinions from AlterNet.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
12/26/2009 14:58 Comments ||
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SEOUL, Dec. 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea may detonate a third nuclear device and provoke border clashes in the future that could escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula, a report by a state-run think tank said Friday.
Whatever would we do without think tanks ...
In a report on possible developments in 2010, the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) warned Pyongyang may test another nuclear device to show the world that it has no plans to give up its atomic weapons program.
"Such a step could highlight that North Korea is a nuclear power," the report said. It added that North Korea might even launch an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching U.S. territories in the Pacific and the western coast of North America.
The communist country tested its first nuclear weapon in October 2006 and another more powerful device on May 25. The explosion that took place earlier in the year is estimated to have had a yield five times that of the 2006 device.
"The recent explosion has been estimated to have had a 4-kiloton yield, indicating that the North has made headway in developing an operational nuclear weapon," the latest findings said.
KIDA said that if the international community starts to accept the North as a nuclear power, this can cause public opinion in South Korea to move toward building up its own nuclear deterrent capabilities.
A happy thought for the Chinese. Perhaps even the Japanese will reconsider their own lack of nuclear weapons ...
In addition, the institute said the North may try to incite military clashes along the inter-Korean border. It said if the North were to invade islands in the Yellow Sea just south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), it could trigger a strong response by South Korea. Such developments may cause the dismantlement of the armistice regime signed after the Korea War (1950-1953) and weaken the NLL that has been the de facto sea border between the two countries.
It would be called 'war' ...
There has been a total three clashes along the NLL so far, with the latest taking place on Nov. 10.
KIDA, meanwhile said that although clashes along the 248-kilometer demilitarized zone could take place, such events will probably be short firefights between troops, while air-to-air combat is not likely due to the North's weak Air Force assets.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2009 00:00 ||
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If China can give out A-bomb blueprints, I guess the US can lose track of Pershing II blueprints. Perhaps on a USB drive left plugged in. The Seoul-Beijing express lands in 4 minutes.
Posted by: ed ||
12/26/2009 6:33 Comments ||
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These KIDAs should have held the article till April 1.
ISLAMABAD -- Now Americans can land only on Benazir Bhutto Shaheed International Airport, Islamabad, as Government has banned other airports of the country for them.
A reliable source informed TheNation that unusual activities of Americans in Pakistan have forced the Government to take this decision and the arrest of five US nationals from Sargodha also played a key role in it.
Intelligence agencies have been reporting about increasing anger and agony against Americans among the general public, as the US nationals don't abide by the laws. On many occasions, US nationals publicly didn't abide the law of the state, as four times in Lahore and six times in Islamabad they were stopped on various police checkpoints and illegal weapons were recovered from them, but still they were allowed to move freely. This raised many questions about the integrity of Pakistan, and political parties, civil society and media were openly protesting against this discrimination.
Again five arrested Americans during interrogations have revealed important information that is against Pakistan's integrity and this was the main reason of this decision, the source disclosed.
Now Americans can land only on Benazir Bhutto Shaheed International Airport, Islamabad, and they will have to complete the whole immigration process and only ten they would be allowed to stay here.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2009 11:06 ||
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we need to return the favor.
Only at some expensive field with tons of security may Pakiwakis land or take off.
Lahore, December 26: Holding former President General Pervez Musharraf responsible for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhuttos assassination, Pakistans High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hassan has said that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud could not have proceeded with plans of assassinating Bhutto without Musharrafs nod.
A private television channel reported Hassan, as saying that if Benazir would have been alive, trouble for Musharraf would have doubled.
Had Benazir been alive, Musharraf would have been facing legal action for murdering former Balochistan governor Nawab Akbar Bugti, and removing the chief justice of Pakistan, The Daily Times quoted Hassan, as saying.
Hassan said Musharraf had offered a much bigger amnesty under the National Reconciliation Ordinance to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif
Posted by: john frum ||
12/26/2009 09:31 ||
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That was the speculation here at the time of the assassination. Curious lack of security at that rally, especially for someone who was car bombed just a short while before.
Posted by: ed ||
12/26/2009 11:24 Comments ||
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Curious lack of security at that rally, especially for someone who was car bombed just a short while before.
"they were all Jooos and were told to stay home from work that day"
/9-11 troofer
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/26/2009 12:06 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Ajmal Kasab, under-trial in the Mumbai terror attacks, again denied all charges framed against him saying his signature was taken on a blank paper.
He told the 26/11 trial judge M L Tahiliyani in Mumbai that his signature was taken on a blank sheet of paper by police with regard to his confessional statement.
"The confession recorded by magistrate was not read out to me and it does not contain the truth," he said.
He told the special Mumbai court that he did not arrive in Mumbai on a fishing trawler Kuber but by the Samjhauta Express.
He also denied that he had talked to Abu Hamza on a satellite phone. "If I had talked to him, then my voice would have been recorded," he said.
When asked about Abu Ismail, Kasab said, "who is he, I do not know...I was not with him."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2009 00:14 ||
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#1
I guess the magic of video hasn't filtered into Pakistan yet.
Posted by: ed ||
12/26/2009 6:27 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD: Consultations and contacts at the top political level are underway for a purposeful meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif which the PPP hopes would help defuse tensions in the wake of the SC verdict on the NRO.
ANP leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour called on Nawaz in Raiwand on Friday a meeting that, according to ANP sources, was part of the process to finalise a constitutional amendments package as soon as possible, in line with the PML-Ns demand.
In the context of a possible Nawaz-Zardari meeting, another important development surfaced on Friday: JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman met Shahbaz Sharif in a bid to dilute the PPP-PML-N friction, according to sources. Some JUI-F leaders believe their party chief delivered a message by Zardari to Shahbaz. In addition, the prime minister assured the PML-N on Friday the government would soon repeal constitutional amendments introduced by dictators.
PML-N central leaders are also meeting today (Saturday) with the possibility of talks on a meeting between Nawaz and Zardari.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2009 00:00 ||
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British Lawmaker George Galloway has criticized Egypt over denying the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy to enter the Gaza Strip.
The humanitarian convoy to the Gaza Strip has become stuck in Jordan as Egypt is reportedly denying the convoy's passage through its territory.
"It's a strange Christmas for us. We are stuck in Aqaba. 500 people, 210 vehicles, hundreds of tons of aid which is desperately needed in Gaza," Galloway said in an interview with Press TV on Friday.
"Our Jordanian friends are doing their best to keep us warm and to feed us," he added.
The British anti-war activist also called it a very complex situation.
"It's a very complex situation. We have on the Turkish level quite a diplomatic activity going on, because the Turkish prime minister personally appeared on live television in Damascus three days ago and asked the Egyptian government to facilitate this convoy; so this is a slap in the face, you can say, to the Turkish government," he further explained.
"We don't yet know exactly what tactics we will follow. That would depend on the diplomatic situation, but one thing we are not going to do is run away. We came all this way to Aqaba."
"We are very sad not yet angry, but we will get angry if the days go by," he noted.
The humanitarian convoy arrived in Jordan on Tuesday and was expected to leave via sea to Egypt.
The convoy left London almost two weeks ago with 80 vehicles. Its size grew with the addition of dozens of vehicles from Turkish charities.
Galloway earlier appealed to Egyptian authorities to facilitate the convoy's passage through its territory. The convoy aims to break Israel's crippling blockade on Gaza.
Lifeline 3, the third international convoy headed to Gaza under the name Viva Palestina, comprises 210 trucks laden with basic food items and medical supplies. 450 activists, including 30 Americans, 150 Turks and a number of Europeans are accompanying the convoy.
The already impoverished Gaza Strip has been under a complete Israeli siege, with full cooperation of Egypt, ever since the Hamas resistance movement, which does not recognize Israel as a sovereign state, won parliamentary elections in a surprise victory in 2007.
Israel's three-week offensive against Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009 which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead, including a large number of civilians, deteriorated the already dire situation.
The Israeli assault led to the destruction of schools, mosques, houses as well as UN compounds, inflicting $ 1.6 billion damage on the Gazan economy.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2009 00:14 ||
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#1
Quit yer bitchin' George. How many Britons would like an all expense paid winter vacation to the Gulf of Aqaba? Especially one that could be extended indefinitely.
Posted by: ed ||
12/26/2009 6:41 Comments ||
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A "humanitarian" convoy with....450 "activists?"
Sounds like awfully heavy support tail. How might we send in the aid but sent the activits back from whence they came? The Gazookians are certainly "activated" enough already. Oh by the way, before anyone leaves, please ensure that all containers and boxes are examined closely for contraband. Weapons, RDX, that sort of thing. If anything improper is found, everyone is charged and jailed and nothing leaves port.
And no one really gives a stale poot for the Gazooks, either.
I would have to say, you have a problem. And , George, a clue, you may be there for quite some time. Maybe you better rent a house to stay in.... for a while.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/26/2009 9:49 Comments ||
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Makes you wonder who is financing the stay in Jordan. Maybe once he becomes obnoxious enough, they will direct the convoy to stay in one of *their* immense Paleo refugee camps, which are just as nasty as Gaza.
Israeli opposition leader and former foreign minister Tzipi Livni mulled an invitation to join the govt, though the premier himself was reportedly doubtful she would accept his offer.
Either way, hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear he intended to poach members of Livnis factious Kadima party, even if the centrist opposition leader opts not to join the government. I would be very happy to see her join, but I have no plans to give up on the attempt to expand the coalition base, YNet News quoted him as saying.
Israeli media said Netanyahu was doubtful Livni would accept the offer which would land her a post as minister without portfolio. In closed forums he clearly hints that if that Livni turns him down, he will work to split the opposition faction, YNet said.
After meeting Netanyahu on Thursday, Livni voiced serious reservations, saying the offer was a ploy by the prime minister. This is a transparent media spin, the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot quoted her as saying.
But with several Kadima members threatening to walk over to the government, Livni has put the issue on the agenda for discussion by her partys leaders.
Netanyahus offer comes at a time when Kadima is torn by internal divisions, while the premier is struggling to maintain stability in his government. He made it clear he had no intention to enter lengthy negotiations but insisted his offer is serious.
I would be very, very glad if Tzipi Livni would agree to join, Yediot Aharonot quoted him as saying. If all of Kadima is in the government, this would strengthen Israels standing internationally and on the Palestinian track.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Osama bin Laden's daughter who has taken refuge at the Saudi mission in Tehran is free to leave Iran once her identity is confirmed, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was Friday quoted as saying.
"A while ago the Saudi embassy here said the one of bin Laden's daughters is in the compound, so the foreign ministry told the embassy that based on international conventions if her identity is confirmed she can leave Iran with passage documents," ISNA quoted Mottaki as telling state television late Thursday. "We were not able to confirm her identity but the embassy says she is the daughter of bin Laden," he added.
Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat newspaper earlier this week quoted Omar bin Laden, the fourth son of the al-Qaeda chief, that one of his siblings, Iman, 17, had recently sought asylum at the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Fuad Qassas, the Saudi charge d'affairs at the kingdom's embassy in Tehran, confirmed Iman was staying there, according to the newspaper, which said she has been seeking permission to leave Iran, so far without success.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2009 00:14 ||
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Iran's central bank has said defaced banknotes are to be made invalid, after the appearance of opposition slogans on money, local media report. They quote bank official Ebrahim Darvishi as saying that people possessing defaced banknotes should exchange them by 8 January.
It was difficult to distinguish genuine defaced notes from fakes, he added.
If we had a CIA worth anything at all they'd be pumping out mass quantities of these defaced banknotes, and then denying it all ...
Messages in support of the opposition have been appearing on banknotes since June's disputed presidential election.
"Banknotes on which there are writings or are stamped or have any additional signs will be invalid," Iran's Jam-e Jam newspaper quoted Mr Darvishi as saying on Thursday.
The bank official also called on the public and shop owners not accept such notes from 8 January.
Since June's election, slogans such as "Death to the dictator" have appeared on many Iranian banknotes. Opposition supporters have also sprayed anti-government graffiti on walls in the capital Tehran and other cities.
Many transactions are carried out in cash in Iran, which is under international banking sanctions and where major credit cards cannot be used.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2009 00:00 ||
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pumping out mass quantities of these defaced banknotes
Posted by: ed ||
12/26/2009 6:47 Comments ||
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Speaking of Bank notes that have been defaced, has anyone seen a bank note with Geitner's signature? I want to start defacing them with my TAX CHEAT stamp, but I haven't seen one. Wonder why?
#3
Hey Nimble, I have one too, but it, like yours, remains unused. Maybe TUS knows whats gonna happen once his signature begins appearing in general circulation....?
Iran confirmed Thursday that a daughter of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has turned up at the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, but said it does not know how she entered the country.
A Saudi newspaper reported Wednesday that Bin Laden's 17-year-old daughter, Eman, went to the embassy after eluding guards in Iran who have held her, her sister and four brothers under house arrest for eight years.
It has long been believed that Iran has held in custody a number of bin Laden's children since they fled Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion of that country in 2001 -- most notably Saad and Hamza bin Laden, who are thought to have held positions in al-Qaida.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on a TV talk show Thursday that Iran had no idea Eman was in the country until it heard from the embassy that she was there.
Mottaki said if Iranian authorities are able to confirm her identity she would be free to leave Iran.
"Some time ago, the Embassy of Saudi Arabia informed us that one of the daughters of Bin Laden is in the embassy," Mottaki said. "We don't know how this person went to the embassy or how she entered the country."
Mottaki made no mention of the other Bin Laden children and he was not asked on the TV program whether Iran was holding them.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/26/2009 00:00 ||
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TEHRAN, Dec 25, 2009 - A senior hardline cleric Friday urged Iranians not to misuse Ashura ceremonies this weekend to create disunity, amid police warnings of a crackdown on illegal gatherings during the solemn Shiite event.
Our mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein should not make the enemies of Islam pleased since Imam Hussein is ... the symbol of unity, so the ceremonies should not be used as platform for disunity, said Ahmad Khatami, addressing a Friday prayer service at Tehran University broadcast live on state radio.
Hardliner Khatami, one of a small group of clerics who deliver the main weekly Friday prayers in Tehran, was appointed by Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is also member of the Assembly of Experts, which selects the supreme leader and supervises his activities.
The 10-day Ashura ceremonies, which climax on Sunday, commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, one of Shiite Islams most revered figures, at the hands of the armies of the Sunni caliph Yazid in 680 AD. The ceremonies are marked in Shiite majority countries such as Iran and Iraq by processions in which mainly young men flagellate their bare backs with chains, as well as by mass gatherings of devotees chanting the praises of Imam Hussein. The rituals gather momentum on Saturday and culminate on Sunday in crowded mourning ceremonies at mosques and in public places.
Deputy police chief General Ahmad Reza Radan said on Wednesday that his forces will crack down on any illegal gatherings during Ashura if they crossed the red lines, without specifying what constituted the red lines.
Opponents of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads controversial June re-election have recently used a series of major public events supported by the authorities to mount protests.
On Monday, hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of the holy city of Qom for the funeral of dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, chanting anti-government slogans and effectively turning the ceremony into an opposition rally, websites said.
Since then Tehran has clamped down on memorial services for the cleric, leading to clashes and arrests when mourners attempted to meet at a mosque for a service in the city of Isfahan on Wednesday, opposition websites reported.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/26/2009 00:00 ||
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Ahhh! Show us the everlasting mehadi peace or what not by having no one killed for rat crumbs.
Did it ever cross your mind that Islam walks contrary to God young man? Who is your Deen?
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.
SEOUL, Dec. 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea may detonate a third nuclear device and provoke border clashes in the future that could escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula, a report by a state-run think tank said Friday.
ISLAMABAD: Consultations and contacts at the top political level are underway for a purposeful meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif which the PPP hopes would help defuse tensions in the wake of the SC verdict on the NRO. 
