[Tolo News] The Afghan Ministry of Education is planning to renovate old schools and construct about 22,000 new schools in the country within ten years.
How many for girls?
Officials in the Ministry of Education said more than 4,000 schools were renovated and constructed during the last few years and the fund was paid from the development budget of the ministry, some organisations, provincial reconstruction teams and donor countries.
In 2002, there were 3,000 schools all over the country, and some 20,000 teachers were busy instructing students, but now the figure has increased to 12,000 schools and we have more than 175,000 teachers too, said education officials.
Some six thousand of these 12,000 schools have no buildings, said officials.
"Today we have more than 7 million students in the country, they are taught in 12,600 schools by 175,000 teachers," said the spokesperson for the ministry.
The reports on the renovation and construction of schools come as there are growing complaints about the way the already-built schools are constructed.
Based on the statistics by the Education Ministry, the number of students will be doubled from 7 million to 14 million in the next ten years, and providing more education facilities requires more space.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] A Somali accused of piracy on Tuesday told the court that he was grateful to the Spanish navy for rescuing him when his boat capsized at sea.
But Mr Jama Abdikadir said he was, however, surprised when these "good people" handed him over to the Kenyan authorities for prosecution.
Mr Abdikadir told the court that he was a human trafficker not a pirate. Awww, well, why didn't ya say so?
When asked by state counsel Mr Jacob Ondari if he knew trafficking was an international crime, he said he was not aware. I...did not know that.
"I am not a criminal nor a pirate," said Mr Abdikadir, who with Awil Mohamed, Abdiweli Bare, Shariff Osman, Abdirahman Ahmed, Mohamed Hersi and Noor Hussein are alleged to have attacked the MV Nepheli on May 6 last year. Next time, let the sharks "rescue" him.
Senior resident magistrate Mr James Omburah adjourned the case to September 21.
In another court, the defence hearing for seven suspected pirates had to be adjourned as their lawyer was not feeling well.
Mombasa chief magistrate Ms Rosemelle Mutoka heard that lawyer Mr Donald Muyundo had fallen sick and could not attend the hearing of the case.
Ms Mutoka fixed the case for hearing on September 1 and 2.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Once the Somalis go into the Kenyan prison system the door slams shut on them and god knows what happens to them in there.
the international community has spent millions upon millions sending warships to guard the Gulf of Aden, and trucking captured alleged pirates to Mombassa for trial.
In the courts the EU have paid for water coolers and donated money as the pirate trials are clogging up the justice system with about 100 suspects standing trial at one point last year.
Some fear magistrates will feel pressure to convict out of a sense of obligation to the EU Naval Force who are the prosecutors as a result of the donations.
It is a complete farce.
If even half the money spent on sending warships to the region were diverted instead to the Government of Puntland under Dr Farole, the piracy issue would vanish.
He has a functioning justice system and has locked up hundreds of pirates from his territory - but he lacks funds.
His entire state budget was $15 million last year. All the UN Aid money goes to the largely useless Somali federal government known as the Transitional Federal Government, whose 500+ members sit in Nairobi sipping lattes and organising their passports to places like Australia where they will claim asylum status for themselves and their families.
Dr Farole seems to have done an amazing job with the very scant resources he has. Why not divert a bit of that wasted aid money from the TFG direct to Puntland and see what happens.
It will save millions of dollars, and hundreds of Somalis from clogging up the Kenyan justice system.
Where, incidentally, once they hit the candy-coloured jails in Kenya, they are beaten up, often sick, are far from home. Some of them may not be guilty and some may be underage. Sometimes dentists are called to try to work out whether they are children or not.
And Kenyan prison guards .... corrupt. Rumours abound that they run crime rings using prisoners to steal then locking them back up in jail. If they are caught they are then said to have been 'dangerous escapees'.
[Maghrebia] A Mauritanian appellate court on Tuesday (August 10th) will hear the case of a Malian sentenced last month to 12 years in prison for kidnapping 3 Spanish aid workers. Omar Sid'Ahmed Ould Hamma (aka Omar Sahraoui) was the ringleader of the armed group responsible for ambushing a humanitarian convoy on the Nouakchott-Nouadhibou road last November. One man received a 1-year suspended sentence and four defendants were acquitted in the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
It sounds like Spain will pay to ransom its citizens, but it won't pay to keep the legal screws tightened against the kidnappers.
Posted by: American Delight ||
08/11/2010 16:42 Comments ||
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On August 10, 2010, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a 15-minute audio recording from Sa'id Al-Shihri, aka Abu Sufyan Al-Azdi, the Saudi deputy commander of AQAP, who is also a former Guantanamo detainee. In the recording, Al-Shihri says that the organization has received communications from supporters of Al-Qaeda in the Saudi armed forces, who asked whether they should remain in their positions, or whether they should leave to join up with AQAP in Yemen. Al-Shihri tells them that they should remain in the Saudi armed forces and take advantage of their positions to further infiltrate the armed forces, carry out assassinations against the government, the royal family, and Westerners living in the country, and to provide logistical assistance to the mujahideen.
Al-Shihri told the Saudi servicemen that a great responsibility was on their shoulders, since they had the obligation to depose the apostate rule of the Saud family in the heartland of Islam. He also placed his instructions in the context of regional developments, saying that a war was expected between the U.S., Israel, and their apostate Arab allies on the one hand, and Iran on the other, with the goal of the former being the building of the Temple in Jerusalem and the establishment of Greater Israel, and the goal of the latter being to take over the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Shihri said that the mujahideen's stance on this coming war was clear, and that they would absolutely not be the lackeys of the apostate rulers in the face of the external threat.
#2
AQ seems to be running their usual playbook- escalating too far and too fast.
I have no doubts that the Saudi Royals are capable of a huge amount of blowback against this nonsense. The question is- will they realize that AQ is the symptom of the real problem?
Bonus Question: has AQAP absorbed the earlier incarnation of Al Quaeda In The Land Of The Two Mosques? Granted that some of these groupings are more imaginary than real...
#3
RELATED > DAILY TIMES.PK = [AQAP aka AQIY] SAUDI AL QAEDA LEADER URGES KILLING OF CHRISTIANS, + "Un-Islamic/Un-believer" Muslim Saudi Royals + KSA Govt-Critters whose local efforts help the Crusader-Zionist US-Allies.
* SAME > NEWS KERALA = [AQIY]AL QAEDA THREATENS TO TOPPLE SAUDI GOVT.
Sheikh Mekhlef bin Dahham al-Shammari, a writer/blogger, human rights activist and social reformer, is in jail. Why? For "annoying others." He has not yet been formally charged.
Al-Shammari has often written about poverty and unemployment in the kingdom, accusing the government of ignoring these problems because it is obsessed with public morality and keeping men and women apart. He has also highlighted the government's failure to promote tourism, and its discrimination against the Shiite minority. Although a Sunni, he was critical of the influential Saudi preacher Mohammed al-Arifi for referring to one of Iran's most respected Shiite clerics, Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, as an "obscene atheist."
In an article published in April of last year, "My Dear Christian", al-Shammari contrasted the work of an American Christian who was killed while helping to protect Palestinian Muslim children with the conditions imposed by Saudi Muslim charities that require its recipients exhibit proper Islamic conduct.
Al-Shammari has been arrested several times in recent years, in part because of his defense of Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority. He told Human Rights Watch that prosecutors used his articles to accuse him of spreading discord among Muslims. His articles criticizing the conservative interpretations of Islam promoted by Saudi officials led to his arrest on May 15, after which he was released on bail. His latest arrest took place on June 15 in Jubail. He was transferred to Damman prison at the start of this month.
Al-Shammari is not the first blogger jailed for seemingly arbitrary reasons in Saudi Arabia. For example, Fouad al Farhan, a blogger known for advocating political reforms, was arrested in 2007 in Jeddah. His arrest was reported by other Arab bloggers, and the Saudi authorities also confirmed he was being held in solitary confinement for "interrogation." No official charges were ever cited or laid. He was released from prison on April 26, 2008. Al Farhan, who is in this thirties, was one of the first Saudi bloggers to dispense with a pseudonym on his site. He was also the first cyber-dissident to be jailed in the country -- but he's far from the last.
#2
Anyone else miss the Religious-Policeman? http://muttawa.blogspot.com/
I often wonder what happened to him. He stopped blogging about four years ago supposedly to write a book on the magic in the kingdom, but I sometimes think he has met the same fate, or worse, as al-Shammari.
[Bangla Daily Star] Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam'aat Bangladesh yesterday urged the government to take active steps to rehabilitate the ousted Ahmadiyyas in Tangail, guarantee their security so that they can perform daily activities safely.
Ten Ahmadiyyas were injured on Sunday when a group of enraged villagers attacked them at Chandtara village of Ghatail upazila when they were raising a mosque.
A section of religious extremists led by a local Jamaat-e-Islami leader are behind the assault, claimed the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam'aat leaders at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity. They also demanded exemplary punishment for the miscreants.
"Several incidents of harassment and assaults on Ahmadiyyas during the past three years are the sign of cruelty and brutality which is unprecedented," said Meer Mobasher Ali, Naib National Ameer of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam'aat Bangladesh.
The Ameer said Tangail District Commissioner assured the community that action will be taken against the miscreants.
"But nothing was done and the miscreants returned at night and looted construction materials, food items and personal belongings of the Ahmadiyyas. Now the victims are starving," he said.
Meer Mobasher Ali also requested the government to ensure their full citizen rights and remove the obstacles in erecting the mosque at Chandtara of Tangail.
According to the local police, on Sunday the mob also vandalised several houses and two poultry firms owned by the Ahmadiyya community.
The villagers earlier foiled another move to construct the mosque on June 17.
Local Muslims under the banner of 'Imam Parishad' also held procession and rally in the village against 40 Ahmadiyya families and also declared to resist the construction of the mosque at any cost.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Of course, almost none of those bloggers actually speak Arabic or know much of the intricacies of Islam and sharia law, all of which Robert does. Nor are they particularly interested in the ideas involved. Sharia may be one of the most misogynistic and homophobic legal systems ever invented, it may be at its essence antithetical to the separation of church and state and to everything we stand for, proselytizing the world while specifically subjugating all other religious groups and individuals who do not convert
The writer says Spencer speaks Arabic and many who support the mosque probably do not. He says people like Bloomberg most likely do not understand sharia law. Our State Department has people who speak Arabic and support the building of the mosque.
Our State Department seems to support the idea of building this mosque; otherwise why would they be footing the bill to send the iman throughout the mideast? These people must understand the insidious and destructive nature of sharia law. Is this just naive stupidity or part of the left's agenda? Both?
The Hindu community has called for deployment of Army in the flood-affected areas of Sindh to safeguard the lives of thousands of Hindus allegedly being looted by the locals.Our families are being targeted at gun-point by the locals of their localities. About 95 shops and 50 houses have been ransacked and looted by the miscreants,
Posted by: john frum ||
08/11/2010 10:51 ||
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#1
One of the victims in the recent plane crash near Islamabad had his coffin stamped 'kafir'.
I rather doubt the Pak Army is in the business of protecting Hindus from Muslim mobs
Posted by: john frum ||
08/11/2010 10:59 Comments ||
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#2
Does rather seem to be a call to have the fox guard the henhouse ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/11/2010 11:37 Comments ||
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#3
I'm torn. I have direct experience working with Pakistani troops in Pakistan (way back when) and I found them hard working and professional, and all in all pretty decent people. I can think of worse troops to depend upon. That said, I don't know how the situation would play out in the here and now.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
08/11/2010 12:16 Comments ||
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#4
IIRC DAILY TIMES.PK > UN: PAKISTAN FLOODS WORSE THAN TSUNAMI, HAITI CRISES.
versus
* RENSE > WASHINTON TIMES > HOTTER BURNING SUN WARMING THE PLANET.
UK Royal Meteriological SOciety Pert BILL BURROWS > argues there are "ENOUGH HAPPENING ON THE SOLAR FRONT TO MERIT FURTHER RESEARCH. PERHAPS WE ARE DEVOTING TOO MANY RESOURCES TO [forcibly?]CONTROLLING/CHANGING HUMAN EFFECTS WIDOUT BEING SURE THAT WE ARE THE MAIN CONTRIBUTOR [CAUSE, as per Earth-specific Global Warming = Climate Change]".
Again, STEPHEN HAWKING + claims that Humanity faces GW = CLIMATE CHANGE-induced THREAT OF EXTINCTION widin 200 Years = come Year 2200, which in turn infers that Humanity has broadly until Year 2100 plus-minus to dev RELIABLE + CHEAP SPACE TRAVEL TECHNOLOGIES FOR PURPOSES OF MASS COLONIZATION, TRAVEL, + EVEN SURVIVAL = ESCAPE FROM A HOTTER SUN???
NOT counting KAMALEN + COMET APOPHIS + now ANTI-BP/GULF OF MEXICO "2182" Space Rocks.
[Dawn] Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Taliban faction on Tuesday urged the government to reject American aid for people affected by the nation's worst floods in 80 years.
"The government should not accept American aid and if it happens, we can give 20 million dollars to them as aid for the flood victims," Azam Tariq, a spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told AFP by telephone.
The most devastating floods in Pakistan's living memory have affected up to 13.8 million people and killed an estimated 1,600 prompting the UN to prepare an appeal for several hundred million dollars for immediate relief.
"We will ourselves distribute relief under leadership of our chief Hakimullah Mehsud among the people if the government assures us that none of our members will be arrested," Tariq said.
"We condemn American and other foreign aid and believe that it will lead to subjugation. Our jihad against America will continue."
Washington has provided 35 million dollars in aid, including 436,000 halal meals and 12 pre-fabricated bridges.The White House said that US helicopters have helped to save more than 1,000 lives in Pakistan.
Critics say the relief effort was slow to get into gear and have heaped scorn on the unpopular President Asif Ali Zardari for pressing ahead with a visit to Europe at the height of the disaster.
Islamic charities, some with suspected links to extremist militants, are believed to have stepped into the breach on the ground, as international relief efforts mobilised.
The TTP, a key architect of a bombing campaign that has killed more than 3,570 people across Pakistan in three years, grabbed the global spotlight after the United States accused the group over a failed car bomb plot in New York in May.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Will they also turn their noses up to Western zakat aid from:
[Dawn] Two key Pakistani television channels were shut in southern Pakistan on Tuesday amid protests by ruling party workers over reports against the country's embattled president, the channels said. "Geo television remains off the air in Karachi and other parts of Sindh province," its managing director, Azhar Abbas, said.
Workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) staged a protest outside its office in Karachi, he said.
A graffiti campaign has also been launched against Geo in Karachi while bundles of the Jang daily and English language The News owned by the same group were snatched and burnt in other cities and towns, he added.
"The cable operators have been threatened, their offices have been attacked, while hawkers have been warned that copies would be torched if they sell our newspapers," he said.
"It is all being done by PPP activists and I am 100 per cent sure the government is behind this campaign," Abbas said. It happened only in Sindh, President Asif Ali Zardari's home province.
The government denied involvement, saying it opposed such attacks.
"This is a conspiracy against our government, this is a media campaign against us," provincial information minister Jamil Soomro told AFP.
"We will offer protection if cable operators asked," he said.
Abbas said he believed the action followed a report Geo broadcast about a protestor who threw a shoe at Zardari during his just ended tour of Britain.
His trip despite devastating floods at home came under intense criticism from the media and opposition leaders.
Abbas said he believed the government was using the shoe-throwing incident as a pretext.
"In fact, it was planning a crackdown since long. They are unhappy because we have been highlighting corruption cases against government leaders," he said.
Mohsin Raza, news director at ARY channel, said cable operators had blacked out his channel because it also reported the incident.
"The cable operators have told us they cannot broadcast our service because of threats from PPP workers," he said. "They are using their party activists against us," he said.
"We are consulting our lawyers to take up the matter to the Supreme Court."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan should face prosecution for war crimes, human rights group Amnesty International said yesterday.
Better late to the party than never, I suppose ...
It accused the Taliban of the "systematic" killing of Afghan civilians, adding that they were becoming "far bolder" in doing so.
Let me guess: it was the photo, spread 'round the world, of the young woman with her nose hacked off that did it ...
The comments came after a United Nations report said the number of civilian casualties in the Afghanistan war rose by a third in the first half of 2010, accusing insurgents of killing seven times more civilians than international troops.
The report attributed the rising number of deaths in part to more frequent and sophisticated homemade bomb attacks and to a 95 percent increase in the number of civilians assassinated by insurgents.
"The Taliban and other insurgents are becoming far bolder in their systematic killing of civilians. Targeting of civilians is a war crime, plain and simple," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific director. "The Afghan people are crying out for justice and have a right to accountability and compensation."
Meanwhile, Amnesty welcomed a reported 30 percent drop in the number of deaths caused by international forces but called for greater accountability.
"Pro-government forces were responsible for at least 223 deaths in six months and NATO still has no coherent way of accounting for casualties," Zarifi said. "Special forces in Afghanistan are still failing to be open about their actions when being called to account over civilian casualties."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Whatever happened to summary execution for irregulars? Obviously no longer policy, even during vietnam. What is the official word on dealing with 'irregulars', spies, saboteurs, or what have you?
#3
I thought the objective was peace and reconciliation with the Taliban, and subsequent power sharing.
Right now Mullah Omar is far more likely to become a cabinet minister in Kabul (maybe, as foreign minister he could pay a visit to the Ground Zero mosque next year) than to be convicted and executed for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
There's just no will in the US or NATO to defeat and punish the Taliban for 9/11 or any other crime.
The official designation may be "ISAF" or "Enduring Freedom", the real mission is surrender.
Posted by: Bill Photle7787 ||
08/11/2010 12:06 Comments ||
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[Geo News] Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif demanded the federal government to hand the foreign aid to the flood-affected provinces, so that rehabilitation work for the affectees could be successfully carried out, Geo News reported Tuesday. Addressing a press conference at Rahim Yar Khan Airport, he said the flash floods wrought indescribable havoc in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, urging the federal government to dole out the aid proportionately. Shahbaz said over 20 million people are hit by the flash floods and for their rehabilitation, work should be kick-started on emergency basis. The Chief Minister said Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) is soon establishing a Fund for the flood-affected people. He said the construction of new dams is indispensable to avoid the potential devastations by the floods in future. He also thanked Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani for extending assistance in relief efforts for the affectees.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Gotta spread the graft around.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
08/11/2010 9:34 Comments ||
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[Associated Press of Pakistan] Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Syed Sumsam Ali Bukhari on Tuesday said the present democratic government believes in free media, freedom of expression, and the reports alleging government had blocked transmission of some television channels are unfounded and baseless.
Addressing a press conference here at Press Information Department (PID) he said that transmission of some channels might have been blocked due to confrontation between the two cable operators. The Minister said both the cable operators were issued notices to resolve the issue within no time.
"The government does not believe on imposing curbs on media," he added. However, he urged the media to report the events with responsibility and report both sides of the story.
He said the government and Ministry of Information strongly condemn the incident in which bundles of newspapers were burnt.
The government will take action elements involved in the burning of newspapers copies, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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"I do not think that word means what you think it means..."
[Associated Press of Pakistan] Police and Rangers can pursue their actions fearlessly and without discrimination against criminals and killers as no political pressure will be allowed to effect their professions. This directive was issued at a meeting chaired by Interior Minister Rehman Malik and co-chaired by the Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza at Chief Minister House here Tuesday.
The meeting also decided to immediately move an amendment in the law to raise maximum punishment for possessing illegal arms from three to 10 years.
Babar Khattak, IG Sindh, Arif Ahmad Khan, Home Secretary, Sindh Akhtar Memon, A.I.G. Special Branch, Waseem Ahmed, CCPO, Karachi, Ch.
Ejaz Ahmed, DG Rangers Sindh and representatives of intelligence agencies also attended the meeting.
It was decided that each SHO of the troubled area will activate "Aman Committee" and hold regular meetings. He will list out the name of known criminals, gangsters and land grabbers etc and send the same to the IG Office.
The meeting decided that Intelligence Bureau and ISI will create a special cell with dedicated officers to coordinate with the local police.
Rangers will enhance its intelligence capability within the area of their jurisdiction and after coordination with the fellow agencies and take targeted actions in consultation with the Home Minister.
The meeting issued instructions for initiating strict action against those who display arms and it was decided that criminals and gangsters be identified and action to be taken without any discrimination.
The Minister appreciated the role of police and rangers and action taken against criminals and gangsters in Dalmia and announced awards for police.
The meeting decided to establish a "complaint cell" in the National Crisis Management Cell, Karachi. People were requested to inform the NCMC and Home Secretary, Sindh on telephone Number 021-99203355 and email address ( ncmc_sindhflood2010@hotmail.com) about any information in their neighbourhood about any criminal or gangster or target killer or any suspect.
The people are assured that their names will be disclosed on provision of information.
The meeting resolved that if needed only then the Frontier Constabulary shall be placed at the disposal of the Home Department, Sindh to assist the police.
Rehman Malik also appreciated the role of police and Rangers and Home Minister Sindh for getting the situation normalized. he also appreciated the role of MQM and ANP chiefs for keeping the people silent in these difficult moments.
He also expressed highest thanks to Asfrasiab Khattak and Raza Haroon for their cooperation.
He said that criminals and gangsters have been warned to either
give up their criminal activities to destabilize Karachi by targeting innocent citizens or face strict legal action.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I,
Uh,
Is this good or bad?
How will they function without a parliament?
The Iraqi army will not be ready to take control of the country for another decade and the US must stop its pull out of troops, which is due to begin at the end of this month, Iraq's top army officer has warned.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Council of Ministers agreed on Tuesday on the recommendation of the Foreign Ministry to open two U.S. consulates in Arbil and Basra, according to spokesman of the Iraqi government.
The council decided to approve the recommendation of the Foreign Ministry to open two U.S. consulates in Arbil and Basra, Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Did Foggy Bottom find some 'volunteers' finally to staff them?
The cabinet approved also the central plan of the electronic governing to contribute in the establishment of the material and human capabilities to benefit from the Information Technology and communications in Iraq, the statement added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Israel's defense minister on Tuesday said a Gaza-bound aid flotilla seized in a bloody commando raid was a "planned provocation" and that Israel had expected violence weeks before the operation.
"The flotilla of May 31 was a planned provocation," Ehud Barak said in sworn testimony before an Israeli commission established to examine the legality of the raid and Israel's four-year blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Barak said that during discussions going back to April "the image that emerged... was that the organizations (behind the flotilla) were preparing for armed conflict to embarrass Israel."
Clashes erupted on board one of the ships when naval commandos rappelled onto the deck, with activists attacking the soldiers with knives and clubs and the soldiers opening fire, killing nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists.
The incident sparked an international outcry and severely strained relations with Israel's once-close Muslim ally Turkey. It also led Israel to ease its four-year closure of the territory, allowing in all purely civilian goods.
Barak said various alternatives were discussed in the weeks leading up to the raid and that he and other senior officials had considered the possibility that the activists would attack the troops when they landed.
"We regret any loss of life," the minister said. "But we would have lost more lives if we had behaved differently."
He also defended Israel's naval blockade and border restrictions on Gaza, which in the years leading up to the raid sealed the territory off from all but basic goods and humanitarian aid.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"We regret any loss of life," the minister said. "But we would have lost more Israeli lives if we had behaved differently."
next time, come in hard and knock some heads if anybody moves. Disable the ship, tow it to Egypt and let them smack the 'tards around a little
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/11/2010 11:30 Comments ||
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Uh-huh...
[Straits Times] INDONESIAN police said on Tuesday top radical Islamist preacher Abu Bakar Bashir could face the death penalty over his alleged role in terror plots with Al-Qaeda-linked militants. Bashir, who was arrested on Monday, is accused of funding and training extremists who were planning a wave of attacks in Jakarta.
'Our investigators found evidence that Abu Bakar Bashir had been actively involved in terror plots and activities including the training,' National police spokesman Edward Aritonang said.
Police have arrested 102 terror suspects, of whom 66 were detained, in a series of raids nationwide since discovering the training facility in Aceh, northern Sumatra island.
Mr Aritonang said they found that several Islamic groups from regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) to Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) had also chosen Bashir as the leader for a new terror cell dubbed 'Al-Qaeda in Aceh'.
The cell had planned a series of attacks, including using car bombs, on at least two embassies, several international hotels and the police headquarters in the capital. And there lies the reason for his arrest. If he had stuck to training terrorist for the export market, they'd have ignored him. When it looks like he's going to boom the homeland, that's when he becomes expendable.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] INDONESIA'S President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday asked police and the military to beef up security following the detention of radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir this week and capture of several Islamic militants.
Detachment 88, the police anti-terror unit, has captured more than 100 suspects and confiscated ammunition, weapons, and explosives following the discovery in February of a militants' training camp in the jungle in Aceh province.
Police said in May they had uncovered a plot by militants to assassinate the president and other government officials at the August 17 independence day ceremony. The militants had planned a series of attacks on government officials and foreigners as part of a coup to turn Indonesia into a syariah state.
On Monday, police detained firebrand Islamic cleric Bashir, saying he had links to the Aceh militants group. Several other men were detained at the weekend in western Java, and police found explosives at a house used by some of them.
'I heard that this is not the first time that there is a threat (to attack) when we are celebrating our independence, Mr Yudhoyono told his ministers.
'I hope the threat will not discourage us from celebrating...but the police, with the help of the military, must increase security because our principle is we must not be defeated by crime.'
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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Barack Obamas national security adviser, Gen James Jones, has indicated the President may be prepared to meet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if the regime resumed negotiations over its nuclear programme.
In todays Press conference Lebanaons Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah, displayed a video of an Israeli drone video transmission Hezbollah managed to hack in 1996. Before 1997, the Resistance managed to capture the transmission of an MK drone and we managed to access this transmission which enabled us of capturing the images transmitted by the drone as the enemys operation room was receiving them. Nasrallah said. According to him a drone video feed Hezbollah hacked in 1997 has helped Hezbollah fighters to set up an ambush for Israeli commandos team who where in their way to conduct military operations in southern Lebanon.
In the press conference Hezbollah accused Israel of being behind the murder of the former Lebanese Prime Minster Rafiq Al Hariri. He was assassinated in Lebanon in February, 14, 2005. In his speech Nasrallah said that a lebanese Israeli spay has been blackmailing Hariri to think that Hezbollah was plotting to kill him.
#1
Because we know we can trust Hezbollah's claims implicitly.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/11/2010 10:16 Comments ||
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The Russians were behind this. A few years ago, they sent some ELINT experts to Syria and Lebanon to help them intercept Israeli data streams with advanced equipment.
At first, it allowed them to wipe out hundreds of Israeli collaborators and spy networks, resulting in the death of dozens of agents.
[Iran Press TV Latest] A senior Iranian official, Ali Akbar Velayati, has rejected a media report in which he is quoted as welcoming nuclear talks with the US, his office says.
Velayati, the foreign policy advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, criticized AFP for "altering" remarks made at a press briefing at the Iranian Embassy in Damascus on Monday, IRNA reported on Tuesday.
"While we do not have any faith in the American government... Iran is ready for talks on its nuclear program," the French agency quoted Velayati as saying.
Velayati's office criticized the French news agency in a Tuesday statement, saying, "The report stating that we are ready for talks with the US over (Iran's) nuclear program is hereby rejected."
The statement added that a complete transcript of Velayti's remarks would be made available.
"We do not trust in the American government since its has behaved in a contradictory manner, making anti-Iran decisions in the US Security Council and passing national laws against Iran."
"Despite all of this, Iran has never rejected talks, and this is not limited to America and Iran's decision to hold any negotiations with other country's such as P5+1 member states -- the US, Russia, France, Britain, China, plus Germany -- and the Vienna group -- the US, Russia, France, and the IAEA -- will be carried out while considering the Islamic Republic's rights."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi says the United States is keeping the "war option" open to justify its huge military budget.
Maj. Gen. Firouzabadi on Tuesday downplayed remarks made by his American counterpart Admiral Mike Mullen last month, claiming he was prepared to give the green light for an attack on Iran if he was convinced it would keep Tehran from building "bombs."
"If American politicians do not keep the war option on the table, how will they be able to garner the 1,000-billion-dollar budget that Mr. Mullen is seeking to spend for military operations?" the Iranian General asked.
He went on to say that Mullen needed to use such an excuse in order to "ustify Congress and the American nation" to fund a massive military budget at a time when the "inancial crisis has broken the backs of Americans."
Maj. Gen. Firouzabadi said Iran's Armed Forces are capable of countering any attack, warning that another war, particularly one with Iran, would "completely finish off" Washington.
"However, the US is not in a position [to launch a fresh war]. It can neither spare heavy expenses nor can it tolerate a war with heroic Iranian Basijis."
The remarks came hours after Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) equipped its naval fleet with 12 Zolfaghar class torpedo-launcher speedboats.
Over the weekend, the Iranian Navy also increased the number of its stealth mini submarines to 11.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
TOPIX > WAR AGZ IRAN A METHOD OF PROMOTING GLOBALISM. "Economic" Globalism to PCorrectly evol or turn into Political Globalism + OWG-NWO???
* ALso on TOPIX > RUSSIA WILL NOT FULFILL ITS CSTO ALLIED OBLIGATIONS IN CASE OF WAR IN KARABAKH [Armenia-Azerbaijan oer Nagorno-Karabakh]. Pert believes Moscow's desire to inetrprete any Clash or War as being between AZERBAIJAN + KARABAKH, NOT AZERBAIJAN VERSUS ARMENIA, IS MOSCOW'S WAY OF INDIR OR PDENIABLY SAYING IT WILL MIL DEFEND ARMENIA FROM AZERBAIJAN???
* WMF > THE "CHEONAN" IS THE USS "GEORGE WASHINGTON" AIRCRAFT CARRIER? SCENARIO: USS "GEORGE WASHINGTON" SUNK IN MISTAKEN CPLA BOMBING/ATTACK DURNG US-ROK YELLOW SEA DRILL. BEIJING EXPRESSES DEEP REGRET OER INCIDENT + "ERROR" BUT CLAIMS THE "GW" WAS SPECIFICALLY SUNK NOT BY ITS ERRANT MISSLE OR MIL STRIKE BUT BY A MYSTERIOUS INTERNAL EXPLOSION ABOARD THE "GW" AS DETERMINED BY DAMAGED SHIP PARTS RETRIEVED FROM THE SEA BOTTOM. NO NEED FOR BEIJING + CPLA TO OFFICIALLY APOLOGIZE FOR THE LOSS OF THE CARRIER???
[Dawn] Iran is to stop all trade and oil exports in dollars and euros in retaliation against Western sanctions over its nuclear programme, a top official was quoted as saying Tuesday.
"We are going to remove dollar and euro from our foreign currency basket and replace them with (Iranian) rial and all other currencies of the countries which accept to cooperate with us," leading economic daily Doniye e-Ektesad quoted First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as saying.
"These currencies are filthy and we will no longer sell our oil in dollar and euro," Rahimi told a meeting of education officials.
He did not say when that would go into effect, or how Iran was going to implement that decision as the second largest exporter in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in an energy market dominated by the dollar.
Rahimi also said that Iran would limit its purchases from the European Union, which amounted to 11.4 billion euros or 27 per cent of the Iranian imports in 2009, according to official EU statistics.
He said this would mainly affect Iran's food imports such as wheat and soybeans from Europe.
Rahimi said that "sophisticated equipment," currently imported, will also be manufactured locally "by the Iranian youths, but it needs time."Following a fourth round of UN Security Council sanctions against, the United States and the European Union expanded their own punitive measures against Iran in July over suspicions that Tehran's nuclear programme is masking a weapons drive. Iran denies these charges.
Canada and Australia followed suit after the US and EU sanctions, which target Iran's economy and banking system, banning investment and transfer of technology to its vital oil and gas sectors.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
You fudgesticks can do all your business in ZimBoBwe dollars from now on.
[Ma'an] Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Monday that Israel attempted to convince the late Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri that the Shiite movement was plotting his assassination.
Nasrallah said Israel began the scheme on 13 September 1993, adding that Hezbollah had located a Lebanese spy for Israel in 1996 who compiled information on the Shiite movement, and had access to Hariri's convoy.
"We now discover that Israel has a large number of spies working in several institutions in Lebanon," Nasrallah said, referring to recent wave of arrests of suspected collaborators, largely in Lebanon's telecommunications industry.
He added that Israel sought "any opportunity" to attack Lebanon.
On Sunday, Hezobllah spokesman Ibrahim Mousawi told Ma'an that Nasrallah would evidence implicating Israel in Hariri's assassination, which he described as "comprehensive, revealing conclusive information."
The news conference follows mounting political tension in Lebanon after reports suggesting that the UN tribunal set-up to investigate the 2005 car bombing which killed Hariri, would implicate Hezbollah in the hit.
As a result, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Saudi Arabian King Abdullah met in July with Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman in an effort to diffuse the mounting political tension over possible indictments over the assassination.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[Arutz Sheva] A senior Hizbullah terrorist organization member and member of the Lebanese parliament called on the Beirut government to forget about obtaining "conditional" American military aid instead turn to Iran, Syria, Russia and China.
Nawwaf Moussawi, a senior Hizbullah leader and member of the Lebanese parliament, suggested the LAF look to Syria, Iran and countries like Russia and China for weapons and training. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to make his first official visit to Lebanon, at the end of the Ramadan month of daily fasting, his foreign minister announced Sunday.
The U.S. Congress has blocked the previously authorized $100 million in military aid for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) following last week's attack on the IDF in Israeli territory. One senior reserve officer was killed by a Lebanese soldier, and one junior officer was seriously wounded. Three Lebanese soldiers and a journalist were killed in return fire by the IDF.
The political arm of Hizbullah has been accusing Israel of looking for an excuse to attack Lebanon, and it has used the alleged threat as an excuse to beef up its own military forces. The main reason behind the American holdup of aid to Lebanon is increasing evidence that Hizbullah and the Lebanese Army are working hand-in-hand.
"All calculations from now on will be built upon the notion that the Lebanese Army is ready to engage in confrontation, backed by the embrace of the Lebanese people and the support of the Resistance [Hizbullah]," legislator Mohammed Raad said on Sunday.
Hizbullah has increased its power in the Lebanese government and now holds the ability in the Cabinet to veto major legislation. Its alliance with pro-Syrian parties has allowed Syria to exercise more influence over Lebanon without the presence of more than 15,000 soldiers that Syrian President Bashar Assad withdrew five years ago.
Assad needs closer ties with Hizbullah to re-impose tighter control over Lebanon, Beirut Daily Star opinion editor Michael Young wrote in the Wall Street Journal Monday. He said that Assad has to "show that Damascus, not Tehran, rules again in Beirut" and that the Syrian president needs Hizbullah to replace the Syrian intelligence agents and Syrian soldiers that had been deployed in Lebanon.
Young also explained that Assad is trying to sell his return to Lebanon by casting the "illusion" that he will reduce Hizbullah's power. However, Young added, "The Syrian leader will not disarm Hezbollah, nor will he break with Iran, because that would deny him the ability to exploit regional rivalries."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2010 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.
On August 10, 2010, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a 15-minute audio recording from Sa'id Al-Shihri, aka Abu Sufyan Al-Azdi, the Saudi deputy commander of AQAP, who is also a former Guantanamo detainee. In the recording, Al-Shihri says that the organization has received communications from supporters of Al-Qaeda in the Saudi armed forces, who asked whether they should remain in their positions, or whether they should leave to join up with AQAP in Yemen. Al-Shihri tells them that they should remain in the Saudi armed forces and take advantage of their positions to further infiltrate the armed forces, carry out assassinations against the government, the royal family, and Westerners living in the country, and to provide logistical assistance to the mujahideen.
Sheikh Mekhlef bin Dahham al-Shammari, a writer/blogger, human rights activist and social reformer, is in jail. Why? For "annoying others." He has not yet been formally charged.
[Dawn] Two key Pakistani television channels were shut in southern Pakistan on Tuesday amid protests by ruling party workers over reports against the country's embattled president, the channels said. "Geo television remains off the air in Karachi and other parts of Sindh province," its managing director, Azhar Abbas, said.
