The Obama administration increased U.S. support for Libya's new leadership as Secretary of State Clinton made an unannounced visit to Tripoli on Tuesday and pledged millions of dollars in new assistance.
American officials said the new aid Clinton is bringing amounts to about $11 million and will boost Washington's contribution since the uprising began in February to roughly $135 million.
Clinton met with Mahmoud Jibril, who has taken over as Libya's prime minister, and interim leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil. Heading into the meeting, Clinton said, "Now the hard part begins."
As part of the new assistance, the U.S. will relaunch several educational programs, including Fulbright scholarships and English language training, and help finance an archeological project to survey eastern Libya. Also, Clinton will declare the importance of good governance, inclusion, democratisation and not attacking Israel diversifying Libya's economy.
Officials said Clinton would also raise the case of the Lockerbie bombing with Libyan officials.
Most of the new money will go toward locating and destroying thousands of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles that are now unaccounted for. The State Department already has sent 14 weapons experts to Libya and is seeking other countries to contribute to the effort.
The new U.S. contribution of some $10 million means the U.S. will have spent $40 million on the effort alone since the former rebels began making major military progress.
The dollar amount of the medical portion of the new assistance is not yet known but will go to a multipronged program to assist former rebel troops badly injured in the fighting. There have been about 15,000 injured during the conflict so far. About 1,500 are now amputees and require specialised care not now available in Libya.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The two sons of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... held $340 million in now frozen assets in Swiss bank accounts, deputy justice minister Assem al-Gohari said today.
The lion's share -- $300 million -- was held by Mubarak's elder son Alaa, a businessman who kept out of politics, said Mr Gohari, who heads the Illicit Gains Authority.
The balance was held by his younger son Gamal, a leading former ruling party politician who had widely been seen as his father's heir apparent.
Both sons are in jug in a Cairo prison as they stand trial on an array of charges, including corruption.
The assets of Mubarak's two sons make up the great majority of the $460 million in Egyptian funds frozen by the Swiss government since the veteran strongman's overthrow in February, the official MENA news agency quoted Gohari as saying.
Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... vowed last Wednesday to expedite the return of funds once held by members of the Mubarak regime and that of ousted Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Switzerland is the seventh financial centre in the world.
''It is the first in terms of restitution of funds stolen by dictators," said the foreign ministry's head of the international public law department Valentin, Zellweger, quoted by the ATS news agency.
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10/18/2011 00:00 ||
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They could have not let him deposit it there in the first place, but I suppose the Swiss are only this conscientious about deposed dictators.
[Tripoli Post] On Saturday, NTC fighters reportedly broke into a locked part of Tripoli's central hospital and discovered the remains of 17 people, including a baby, in what staff said was a secret morgue for the former Libyan leader's opponents, Rooters has reported.
Officials told Rooters they suspect most of the bodies were the victims of executions that followed an attempted coup against the now runaway former Libyan leader in 1984. But some doctors fear they will never know for sure as the bodies are already in a very advanced state of decomposition and come with no personal belongings or documents.
Doctors at the hospital said that the part that was broken into had a separate entrance to the rest of the building and staff were banned from even speaking to the men who carted bodies in and out.
"One of the worst people, the man in charge of Abu Salim , controlled around 30-40 cabinets there. We were never informed about the bodies and we never learned who the guards were," Nouri Al Habab, who works at the main hospital morgue, told Rooters.
Several of them appeared to have been shot, with what looked like bullet holes in the skulls, and some had been there so long, they had almost mummified yet the morgue was kept scrupulously clean and polished.
In its report, Rooters went on to say that a Tripoli pharmacist who was at the morgue but does not work at the hospital, and who did not want to be named, is leading a group trying to identify the bodies of 167 other people killed in one neighbourhood during the battle for Tripoli in August.
The pharmacist said that mobile phones play an important role in identifying bodies and finding missing people, because Al Qadaffy ...a proud Arab institution for 42 years... 's soldiers often stole them from people they killed or transferred the balance to their own numbers.
Officials claim that many phones confiscated from soldiers after the conflict also contained footage, filmed by members of Al Qadaffy forces, of people being killed. The recordings will be used as evidence against captured loyalists and could help in the search for buried dead.
The 167 bodies found after the fighting in Tripoli were later buried. Notices pinned to the wall of the main morgue list numbers corresponding to their graves, and where possible, a photograph and any other information linked to the body.
There's no such information, as yet, on the 17 bodies discovered in the secret room.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, a single surviver held tightly to the smashed prow... NTC fighters in Sirte also uncovered the remains of more than two dozen men face down in the dirt and with their hands bound behind them, with their blood-spattered backs riddled by bullet holes. The corpses were discovered last week.
According to fighters the men were recent victims of supporters of runaway Libyan Muammar Al Qadaffy, and they were executed by loyalist forces in a paroxysm of Dire Revenge™ and fury as the NTC fighters advanced into the city
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[Yemen Post] Under much criticism from the international community and increasing pressure for him to resign from the presidency, President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... fought back this Sunday as he accused foreign diplomats of allowing the Opposition to "misled them".
According to the autocrat, the Opposition and more specifically defected General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and sheikh Sadeeq al-Ahmar, his two main nemesis, would have staged much of the so-called "bloodshed" in order to defame the regime and antagonize the international community to better seize power from the legitimate and constitutional leader of Yemen.
This new verbal attack on the Opposition came as several European countries and the United States of America are said to demand a U.N Security Council's resolution against Saleh, demanding him to sign and implement the GCC brokered proposal, as well as immediately stop all hostilities against the protesters.
Under this agreement Saleh and his close aides and family would still enjoy legal immunity from legal prosecution.
Over the past few days, many protesters and foreign journalists have witnessed government snipers shooting down unarmed peaceful protesters as they were marching in the city of Taiz and Sana'a. On some instances the attacks were recorded onto video devices, proofs of the government's infractions towards its people's human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... Further on in his address, president Saleh slammed foreign diplomats for their support of the Opposition: They "move from one opposition to the other, collect information and consider the information they get from the opposition as they if they are the victim whom they should support."
He also called the Opposition "insane".
As Saleh was delivering this rant against the Opposition, his men were using RPGs and 50 caliber guns against Yemeni citizens, regardless of their age or gender.
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Turkey's foreign minister held his first publically acknowledged meeting with Syrian opposition leaders, urging them to use peaceful means despite the biggest offensive yet in the city of Homs by Assad's forces. Ahmed Davutoglu's discussion with the opposition Syrian National Council Monday night, followed a threat by Syria to deal sternly with any country which recognizes the council.
Davutoglu told the council "the Syrian opposition ... should employ peaceful and legitimate means to express their just demands and in a peaceful manner work to maintain the unity of the opposition and for a democratic transformation."
Lebanese analyst Hilal Khashan said, "The meeting is the first step toward Turkey recognizing the National Council, they are not very worried about the regime's reaction because the relationship is already ruptured."
Turkey has allowed Assad's opponents to meet in Turkish cities since the protests started in March and has also given sanctuary to the most senior Syrian military to defect.
The creation of the council has been welcomed by Western countries. However, unlike the transitional council set up by Libyan rebels, Western governments have not offered the SNC formal recognition, fearing a civil war that could destabilize the region.
Iran is "ready to examine" information the United States says supports accusations Tehran plotted to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Monday. Good idea. First deny, then offer to look at the evidence.
"We are ready to examine with deliberation any issue, even if it was fabricated. We have asked America to provide us with information of this scenario," Salehi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
Iran has sent a letter to US authorities via the Swiss embassy in Tehran asking for information about an Iranian-American in US custody accused of being at the centre of the alleged plot. It also demanded consular access to the suspect.
Iranian officials and leaders have fiercely denied No, no! Certainly not! any involvement in the alleged plot, calling it an attempt by Washington to divert attention from domestic economic woes and foreign policy failures in the Middle East.
The denials have become louder as the United States has made moves to rally other nations to a bid to further isolate Iran, which is already subject to severe economic sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Sunday that "any inappropriate action -- whether political or security-related -- will meet with the Iranian people's decisive response."
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[Dawn] The National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) has revealed that al-Qaeda has been planning to abduct Pakistain People's Party's Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari from Bloody Karachi, DawnNews reported on Monday. Bilawal's the heir apparent to the throne of Pakistain unless the Nawaz fambly manages to displace the Bhuttos. My guess would be that this is part of that process.
Intelligence agencies sent a report to the interior ministry stating that al-Qaeda was planning to abduct Mr Bhutto-Zardari and that other officials could also be targeted by the organization, sources said.
After receiving the report, the NCMC informed the provincial interior department, Inspector-General Police Sindh and Director-General Sindh Rangers of the plot and recommended strict measures to ensure the security of the PPP chairman.
Sources moreover said that a high-level meeting at the provincial interior department on October 14 had alerted the police and had also decided to launch searches to apprehend al-Qaeda members.
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[Dawn] Minister for Interior, Rehman Malik Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Näwaz Shärif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. on Monday said the abductors have kept Shahbaz Taseer near adjoining areas of Pakistain-Afghanistan border ...also known as Pashtunistan, home of ignorance, poverty, and automatic weapons... and he is alive. ... though it's doubtful he's well...
"As per intelligence information, the kidnappers have kept the son of late Governor Salman Taseer in Pak-Afghan border areas, but I want to tell the terrorist that their coward action cannot weaken the government's commitment against extremism and terrorism," he said. ... no matter how hard it is on the unfortunate Shahbaz...
Shahbaz Taseer was kidnapped from Lahore few months ago when he was proceeding to his office.
The Minister was talking to mediamen at a ceremony organized here by workers of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) at its Headquarters.
Replying to a question, Rehman Malik said VIPs in the government were facing threats from the banned outfit, Tehrik-e- Taliban Pakistain (TTP) and al Qaeda.
There was an information about two weeks back that both the banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organizations had also planned to abduct Chairman of Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
"All necessary steps are being adopted to foil their nefarious designs," he added.
The minister appreciated Islamabad Police, which under the leadership of Inspector General, Bani Amin have averted many terrorist threats in Capital.
Answering another query, the Minister clarified that he has nothing to do with Black Water, a US based private security agency.
Earlier, addressing a ceremony, he read out a notification that services of all contract employees of NADRA in different categories have been regularized.
He also announced a housing scheme for more than 14,000 employees of the organization under which 50 per cent finances would be provided by NADRA as advance while the remaining would be arranged through banks.
The advance amount would be deducted from the employee's salaries.
The Minister highlighted manifesto of PPP which is to ensure employment for unemployed people.
He said President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... faced jails to fight for the rights of people.
"Provision of employment is our priority and PPP government will continue its policy to facilitate people," he added.
He also appreciated performance of NADRA and said this organization had achieved a lot since its inception.
Chairman NADRA, Ali Arshad also spoke on the occasion.
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[Dawn] Jordan's King Abdullah II designated a well known international judge as his prime minister Monday, a royal palace statement said, replacing a premier who ran afoul of reformers.
Awn al-Khasawneh, 61, succeeds Marouf al-Bakhit, 64, who resigned earlier in the day after a majority of 70 out of 120 parliamentarians called for his ouster.
Al-Bakhit was widely perceived as dragging his feet on a political reform package. He was also accused of corruption during his earlier 2005-2007 tenure as prime minister.
He was the deputy chief of the Hague-based International Court of Justice. He also served as a chief adviser to Abdullah's late father, King Hussein.
Al-Khasawneh has a reputation as a clean politician as well as a noted legal expert.
His designation is expected to reinforce King Abdullah II's stated intentions of instituting reforms.
There have been small but persistent weekly demonstrations in Amman for months by protesters demanding economic and political reforms. The king has expressed support, but little has been done.
Al-Khasawneh is set to form his Cabinet ahead of a 3-day special meeting of the World Economic Forum, which opens in Jordan on Friday.
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The international affairs deputy of the Islamic Coalition Party, Hamid Reza Taraqqi, has declared that the Islamic Awakening movement has changed the mind of American and European people, and made them aware of the real roots of economic and political crises in the west.
He referred to the Occupy Wall Street movement and said that in the wake of developments in the Middle East, people in the US realized that the worlds economic problems originate from injustices done by economic cartels and big corporations.
He said when Western nations saw how the Islamic awakening rid nations in the Middle East of their tyrant governments, they, too, decided to uproot the main cause of their problems and troubles.
Taraqqi also highlighted the role of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in disclosing the nature of Western governments and their dependence on Zionism and big corporations.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Obama administration increased U.S. support for Libya's new leadership as Secretary of State Clinton made an unannounced visit to Tripoli on Tuesday and pledged millions of dollars in new assistance. 
[Dawn] The National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) has revealed that al-Qaeda has been planning to abduct Pakistain People's Party's Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari from 
[Dawn] Minister for Interior, 
Asif Ali 
The international affairs deputy of the Islamic Coalition Party, Hamid Reza Taraqqi, has declared that the Islamic Awakening movement has changed the mind of American and European people, and made them aware of the real roots of economic and political crises in the west. 
