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Sunday, June 13, 2010

U.N. Sanctions Help Iran

The U.N. essentially acquiesced to a nuclear Middle East, says Massoud Parsi, by approving sanctions against Iran that were watered down by Russia and China to the point of being meaningless. "Iran has lived with similar sanctions for more than three decades and with none of the country’s key economic sectors targeted by the new sanctions — and many provisions in the new resolution voluntary rather than mandatory — there is no reason to believe that Iran will face any serious hardship now...The UN, it appears, does not desire a nuclear-free Middle East. After the Iraq and Afghanistan debacles, such actions by the UN Security Council only serve to further delegitimise the UN and to undermine its charter."

Kyrgyzstan erupts into ethnic war


Kyrgyzstan was tonight in the grip of a bloody ethnic war after rioting that erupted four days ago in the southern city of Osh spread rapidly to other areas, with gun battles raging between Kyrgyz and Uzbek youths. The country's interim government granted its security forces shoot-to-kill powers and promised to send a volunteer force to the region. But the violence continued, taking the death toll since Thursday night to more than 100. At least 1,100 have been wounded in what are the country's worst ethnic clashes for 20 years. Mobs of Kyrgyz men were yesterday burning Uzbek villages slaughtering residents and storming police stations, witnesses said. Thousands of terrified ethnic Uzbeks flooded to the nearby border with Uzbekistan after their homes were destroyed. Witnesses reported that women and children were gunned down as they tried to escape. Kyrgyzstan opened its crossing with Uzbekistan, but many refugees appeared to be stuck.

World powers urge shift

THREE years after Israel and Egypt imposed an embargo on this tormented Palestinian strip, shutting down its economy, a consensus has emerged that the attempt to drive the hardline Islamist party, Hamas, from power has failed. In the days since an Israeli naval raid on an aid flotilla trying to break the siege turned deadly, that consensus has taken on added urgency, with world powers - anti-Hamas Palestinians in Gaza and some senior Israeli officials - advocating a shift.
Since taking power in June 2007, Hamas has taken control not only of security, education and the justice system but also the economy, by regulating and taxing an extensive smuggling tunnel system from Egypt. In the process, the traditional and largely pro-Western business community has been sidelined. 'We need to build a legitimate private sector in Gaza as a strong counterweight to extremism,' former British premier Tony Blair, who serves as the international community's liaison to the Palestinians, said in an interview. 'To end up with a Gaza that is dependent on tunnels and foreign aid is not a good idea.' 

Musharraf to 'formally' announce launch of his new party in July


Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf is planning to formally announce the launch of his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), by the end of next month from London where he is currently living on an 'unannounced exile.' According to sources close to Musharraf, the former general believes that there is a possibility of 'snap polls' in Pakistan this year, through which he plans to reenter the country's political by-lanes. Insiders also revealed that Musharraf is also planning to meet 'like-minded' leaders from both the PML-Q and the PML-F in Abu Dhabi and London in the coming few days. "Musharraf is expected to visit Abu Dhabi in the third week of the July to meet his loyalists. During his stay he plans to invite PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain for a meeting," The Nation quoted sources, as saying. Earlier this week, the APML had launched an 'official' recruitment drive in Karachi to garner public support. Rashid Qureshi, one of Musharraf's closest aides and his spokesperson, had told reporters that the newly floated party had received a great response from the people of Pakistan. Responding to a question regarding Musharraf's comeback, Qureshi said: "He (Musharraf) would return soon and would fix the date for his return himself." Several cases are pending against Musharraf in courts across Pakistan, and the UN enquiry commission's report also held his regime responsible for the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007, but Qureshi denied all charges, saying the former general would return to Pakistan only to serve the people of the country.