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Sunday, April 5, 2009

Barbarity in Swat

A 17-year-old girl being publicly flogged by Taliban in Swat

She is not the first victim of the Taliban’s barbarity nor is she likely to be the last. But the grainy footage of a 17-year-old girl being publicly flogged in Swat has brought home for many the reality of the living hell that is today’s Pakistan. Pinned to the ground and encircled by onlookers, the screaming girl was lashed at least 30 times. Her ‘crime’, according to the Swat Taliban, was to be seen with a man who was not her husband. The identity of her companion is wholly immaterial.The point at issue is this: what gives the Taliban the right or authority to act as judge, jury and executioner? And this is the answer: their authority stems from the decisions taken by successive administrations, including the government now in power, who chose to cede the writ of the state by striking deals with mass murderers. The state has failed the people of Pakistan and stands guilty by association.The turning point came in September 2006 with the signing of the Waziristan deal by the Musharraf regime. The state abandoned the people and gave the militants space to regroup, rearm and administer ‘justice’ as they pleased. It should be clear by now that the desired results can never be achieved by negotiating with people who abhor our core values and wish to gain total control over Pakistan.A complete rethink is in order if we wish to keep at bay forces that will never allow a nuclear state to fall into the hands of the Taliban. A spokesman for the Swat Taliban said the girl who was flogged was shown ‘leniency’. If that is the militants’ concept of compassion, those who argue that there is no such thing as the ‘moderate’ Taliban may have been right all along.Today we repeat the need to develop a political and social consensus on the issue of militancy. Though in a small minority, there is no shortage of apologists who are either blind to reality or sympathise with the Taliban. An NWFP minister belonging to the ostensibly secular ANP was at pains to stress that the flogging took place before the peace deal was struck in Swat.The timing, sir, is of no consequence whatsoever. What is clear is that the Taliban will never change their ways until they are compelled to do so. Some religious groups have condemned the incident, but the head of the Jamaat-i-Islami repeatedly evaded the issue in an interview with a television channel. He asked what is “so special” about the girl’s flogging that it deserves so much hue and cry, conflating the incident with the completely unrelated issue of US drone attacks.Top government leaders have been strong in their condemnation but statements alone will not suffice. The Taliban are not answerable to anyone. But the elected government has some serious explaining to do.

Abbas makes surprise visit to Baghdad

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Iraq Sunday on the first visit by a Palestinian leader since the US-led invasion of 2003. He is due to meet with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas arrived in Iraq on Sunday on the first visit by a Palestinian leader since the US-led invasion of 2003, state television said.Abbas was expected to hold talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on boosting ties.It is Abbas's first official visit to the country and comes six years after US forces toppled dictator Saddam Hussein and as the war-torn nation attempts to rebuild itself and consolidate its fledgling democracy.Abbas was lined up for a visit to Iraq late last month but the trip was called off without any official explanation.Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader, was one of the few Arab leaders to have supported Saddam during his 1990 invasion of Kuwait.Before the 2003 war, about 34,000 Palestinians lived in Iraq, where they enjoyed a privileged status under Saddam.After Saddam's fall, however, the Palestinians found their fortunes turned upside down and became victims of numerous attacks, especially at the hands of Shiite militias.The Palestinian leader is scheduled to visit Moscow next week for talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

North Korea space launch 'fails'

North Korea failed in its attempt to get a satellite into space after a rocket launch early on Sunday, US and South Korean officials say.Two stages of the rocket and its payload landed in the Pacific Ocean, a US military statement said.Hours earlier North Korea claimed the satellite had successfully been put into orbit and was transmitting data.The US, Japan and South Korea condemned the launch which they suspect was a cover for a long-range missile test.US President Barack Obama urged Pyongyang to "refrain from further provocative actions"."North Korea broke the rules once more by testing a rocket that could be used for a long-range missile," Mr Obama told a crowd in the Czech capital, Prague.In a statement on its website, the US Northern Command said North Korea launched a three-stage Taepodong-2 missile at 0230GMT."Stage one of the missile fell into the Sea of Japan/East Sea. The remaining stages along with the payload itself landed in the Pacific Ocean.""No object entered orbit and no debris fell on Japan."US military authorities "assessed the space launch vehicle as not a threat to North America or Hawaii and took no action in response to this launch," the statement added.Earlier, state media in North Korea said satellite 'Kwangmyongsong-2' had been placed in orbit.The satellite was transmitting data and the "Song of General Kim Il-sung" and "Song of General Kim Jong-il" - references to the late founder of North Korea and his son, the current leader - the report claimed.In a previous satellite launch attempt in 1998, North Korea said it was sending up a device that would orbit the world transmitting revolutionary melodies.It claimed this was also successful but the launch is believed to have been a failure as no trace of the satellite was ever found.

Obama calls for nuclear-free world

Barack Obama has promised that the US will do all it takes to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.In a major speech on Sunday in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, the US president said Washington would take "concrete steps" to reduce its nuclear arsenal and encourage other nations to do the same.He said countries needed to co-operate and have patience to achieve a nuclear-free world."Today the cold war has disappeared but thousands of those weapons have not," Obama said in front of thousands of Czechs at a square in front of the Prague Castle."More nations have acquired these weapons, tests continue ... the knowledge to build these weapons has spread."If we say to ourselves that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable we are saying that the use of nuclear weapons is inevitable."Obama said the US will seek ratification of the comprehensive test ban treaty on nuclear weapons.Obama also proposed a nuclear energy bank that nations could access to meet their requirements. The banks in turn would prevent them from using other nuclear materials that could potentially be used to make bombs.

Nuclear weapon stocks

 There are an estimated 24,000 nuclear weapons in the world

 Russia owns 13,000 of the world stocks

 The US has around 10,000

 France, China and the UK also have stocks

 Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons but are not members of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty

 Israel is believed to have nuclear weapons but refuses to discuss its capabilities

He said that nations should have access to nuclear power for peaceful reasons to combat climate change and to allow people a way out of poverty.Obama also said that the US would host a summit to discuss the "locking down" of loose nuclear materials, before the end of the year.In reference to North Korea and Iran, he said that nations who break the rules of nuclear proliferation must be punished.He said that if Iran continued with its nuclear programme, which many suspect is for weaponry rather than Tehran's stated goal of nuclear energy, the US would build a proposed missile defence shield in Eastern Europe.'If the Iranian threat is eliminated we will have stronger basis for security and the driving force for missile defence construction in Europe will be removed," he said.Obama's speech came hours after North Korea launched a satellite into orbit on a rocket that has the capacity to carry nuclear warheads long-range.Rob Reynolds, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Prague, said: "He's going to try to lead by example ... and rally international support for renewed anti-nuclear weapons steps."More concretely he is going to, and has already begun engaging the Russians to restart nuclear arms reduction and limitation talks with a view towards having a treaty on that subject completed before the end of the year."

Deadly blast in Pakistani mosque

At least 30 people have been killed and 150 others injured after a bomb exploded inside a Shia mosque, 60km south of the Pakistani capital Islamabad, officials say.Sunday's blast in the city of Chakwal  came a day after eight paramilitary soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Islamabad.Rescue authorities are still searching through the wreckage where the explosion occurred during a religious congregation. Said security officials suspected a suicide bomber behind the blast.He said the mosque was packed with people at the time of the explosion.

North Korea Launches Rocket, Defying World Pressure

SEOUL, South Korea  North Korea fired a rocket over Japan on Sunday, defying Washington, Tokyo and others who suspect the launch was cover for a test of its long-range missile technology. President Barack Obama warned the move would further isolate the communist nation.Liftoff took place at 11:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean and U.S. governments said. The multistage rocket hurtled toward the Pacific, reaching Japanese airspace within seven minutes, but no debris appeared to hit its territory, officials in Tokyo said.A senior defense official told FOX News the missile "never posed a threat" and "defensive measures were not needed."Four hours after the launch, North Korea declared it a success. An experimental communications satellite reached outer space in just over nine minutes and is orbiting, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch from Pyongyang."The satellite is transmitting the melodies 'Song of Gen. Kim Il Sung' and 'Song of Gen. Kim Jong Il' as well as measurement data back to Earth," it said, referring to the country's late founder and his son, its current leader.U.S. defense officials, however, told FOX News "nothing went into orbit" and any space launch of a satellite was therefore unsuccessful. The officials also said two stages of the missile fell into the Pacific.
suicide bombing in a religious centre for minority Shia Muslims in
 central Pakistan Chakwalon Sunday

Israelis shoot dead armed woman

Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian woman who fired on a police base in southern Israel, officials say, in the second fatal clash within hoursNo Israelis were reported hurt in the incident, near the town of Beersheba.The woman's death came hours after two Palestinian militants were shot and killed by Israeli troops as they approached Gaza's border with Israel.Palestinian emergency service workers said they had recovered two bodies from the scene and taken them to hospital.One of the militants was reportedly a member of Islamic Jihad while the other belonged to a renegade militant group.Both Israel and the main Palestinian militant group in Gaza, Hamas, declared unilateral truces following Israel's three-week Gaza offensive on 17 January that killed 13 Israelis and more than 1,100 Palestinians.That invasion was meant to stop rocket attacks from the coastal enclave on nearby Israeli communities.But dozens of rocket strikes and other attacks from Gaza have been reported since then, apparently involving smaller militant groups.Israel has responded with air strikes.

Danish PM to be new head of Nato

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish prime minister, has been chosen to be the next secretary-general of Nato.Turkey had objected to Rasmussen replacing Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the current leader whose term runs out at the end of July, criticising his handling of a row over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, published in Denmark in 2005.Rasmussen said he was "honoured" by the appointment and that it was a historic day for him and for Denmark."I'll do my utmost to live up to the confidence shown to me by my colleagues," he told a press conference in the French city of Strasbourg, hosting the Nato summit marking the military alliance's 60th anniversary.

He did ! Gunman in Binghamton, N.Y., Immigration Center Massacre Was 'Coward'

Binghamton, N.Y., authorities called the gunman who shot 13 people dead at an immigration center a "coward" who planned to fight police but later changed his mind and committed suicide.Police Chief Joseph Zikuski identified the shooter as 41-year-old Jiverly Wong and said he had voluntarily changed his last name to Voong."He arrived wearing body armor," the chief told a news conference Saturday. "At one point in his thinking process, he was going to take on police or at least stop them from stopping him. He must have been a coward. We speculate that when he heard the sirens, he decided to take his own life."Zikuski said Wong was depressed about his poor English-speaking skills, which he believed he was being teased about, and his recent unemployment.People "degraded and disrespected" the gunman over his inability to speak English well, Zikuski said on NBC's "Today" show."He was terminated from his job at a place called Shop-Vac, and he was very upset about that also," Zikuski told reporters at the press conference.Wong could not find work and complained that his unemployment benefit checks were only $200 a week, said Hue Huynh, a Binghamton grocery store proprietor whose husband worked with him years ago.Wong had driven a truck in California before recently returning to Binghamton, only to lose a job there, Huynh said."He's upset he don't have a job here. He come back and want to work," she said. Her husband tried to cheer him by telling him he was still young and there was plenty of time to find work, but he complained about his "bad luck," she said.Wong was unmarried and lived with his mother, father and sister, the chief said. He had been taking classes until last month at the center where he committed the massacre, called the American Civic Association.

FBI rejects Taliban US attack claim (Fool Baitullah Mehsud "foolish claimed")

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has dismissed claims made by the Pakistan Taliban that it was responsible for an attack in the state of New York in which a gunman killed 13 people. F00l Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, had claimed in a phone that he had ordered the shooting in which a man, believed to be a Vietnamese immigrant, opened fire at an immigration centre.Mehsud had said the attack was a direct response to the drone attacks carried out by US forces on Pakistani tribal areas and a second attacker had managed to escape.But Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman, said on Saturday: "Based on the evidence, we can firmly discount that claim."

'More than 100' Tamil Tigers killed in military offensive

At least 100 Tamil Tigers were killed in a major military offensive, according to Sri Lankan authorities. The navy's special boat squadron sank one vessel belonging to the LTTE while two others were destroyed by ground troops.Sri Lankan security forces destroyed three Tamil Tiger boats on Saturday and killed at least 18 guerrillas trying to escape a major military ground offensive, defence officials said.Tiger rebels are battling to resist an military assault that has pushed them into a 20-square-kilometre (eight-square-mile) patch of land in the northeast coastal district of Mullaittivu.The navy's special boat squadron sank one vessel belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) while two others were destroyed by ground troops when they tried to beach, a military spokesman said.The military believed that at least 11 rebels were killed by the navy while another seven perished when the army directed ground fire at Tiger boats that were trying to get to shore, he said.The defence ministry said two sailors were wounded and three naval craft slightly damaged during the confrontation.The guerrillas were believed to be leaving a narrow strip of land that is still under their control when the battle erupted.Sri Lankan troops captured a key village from the Tigers on Friday after heavy fighting that left at least 44 guerrillas dead while another 13 rebels were killed elsewhere, the military said.The United Nations and foreign aid organisations say as many as 150,000 civilians may be trapped in the combat zone, although the Sri Lankan government insists the figure is less than half that.

Afghan 'smuggling bid' youths die

More than 50 Afghans, mainly children and youths, have been found dead after suffocating inside a shipping container in southwestern Pakistan in an apparent human smuggling attempt.More than 100 illegal immigrants were discovered inside the container, which had been locked from the outside, 20km from the border town of Quetta on Saturday.Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's Pakistan correspondent, said the immigrants were first discovered after local residents at a lorry stop heard sounds coming from the container.Most of the dead were reported to be teenage Afghans and at least five were small children.The stench from the container suggested some of the immigrants may have been dead for days, Rasool Bakhsh, a police spokesman, said.

Blast hits police checkpoint in Islamabad

A suicide blast near a police checkpoint in Islamabad killed at least six soldiers, according to Pakistani authorities. The attack comes days after gunmen stormed a police academy in the Pakistani city of Lahore.A suicide bomber killed up to six people at a police camp in Pakistan's capital late Saturday, the second such attack in Islamabad in less than two weeks, police said."It was 7:38-7:39pm (1438 GMT) when a suicide bomber entered from the back of the camp and exploded himself. This is Frontier Constabulary camp number seven," said Binia Amin, operations police chief in the capital.The Frontier Constabulary, part of Pakistan's paramilitary force, deploy outside diplomatic missions and protect VIP homes.The camp was in an upmarket residential district close to some of the capital's most prestigious addresses."Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel retaliated as the bomber exploded himself," Amin added."Five Frontier Constabulary men were injured in the attack," he said.Asked about the death toll, Amin said five to six Frontier Constabulary personnel were killed.Another police official said earlier that six people, almost all of them paramilitary personnel, were killed in an apparent suicide blast."We have arrested a suspect from the site and he is currently being interrogated," police senior superintendent Tahir Alam told reporters.He refused to comment when asked if police had recovered any arms or weapons from the suspect.Volunteers carried out wounded men on stretchers. An AFP photographer said he saw at least six people wounded after the attack.

Clashes mar Nato allies' summit

Running battles have erupted and a hotel has been set ablaze after thousands of protesters clashed with police near the Nato summit being held in Strasbourg.Riot police used water cannons and teargas after about 10,000 people turned out for demonstrations in the French city on Saturday.A group of about 1,000 "particularly violent" rioters, some black-clad and masked, led the clashes, lobbing petrol bombs, burning tires, smashing windows and ransacking shops on the second day of the summit, police said.Protestors were being contained around the Europe Bridge to prevent them spreading through the city, a statement from the regional prefecture said.

Abducted UNHCR official John Solecki released

Kidnapped UNHCR John Solecki

QUETTA A spokesman for the Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF) Saturday evening said that the group released UNHCR Balochistan Chief John Solecki.In a phone call to a private news agency, the spokesman who identified himself as Shehek Baloch said that Solecki has been released in Khadi Kucha area of district Mastung.Prime Minister's Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik confirmed the release of the kidnapped official. He said that Solecki was in government custody and was being given medical treatment.

Breaking NeWs

Abducted UNHCR official John Solecki released