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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

46 killed in Karachi violence after politician's murder

Unrest broke out in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi after the murder of a regional legislator, leaving 46 people dead and 120 injured, police said on Tuesday. Lawmaker Raza Haider and his bodyguard were shot to death outside a mosque late Monday. As word spread of the killings, his supporters erected barricades in the street, and cars, restaurants and other businesses were set on fire. Police surgeon Hamid Paryar said that the 46 dead and 120 injured had been moved to various hospitals. Most of the wounded had gunshot wounds. Karachi has a long history of ethnic violence, mainly between the Urdu-speaking population that migrated from India following Pakistan's creation in 1947, and Pashtu-speaking people who hail from the north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Haider was a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which represents the Urdu-speaking population. Its leadership blamed the Awami National Party, a Pashtun-based political organisation, for Haider's murder. Karachi police chief Waseem Ahmad said that 20 people, including a leader of a banned Islamic militant organization, had been arrested. Prime Minister Yousu Raza Gilani condemned the assassination and called upon the leaders of all parties to show maturity and keep their supporters calm to help the process of investigation, state-run newswire APP reported. Authorities deployed paramilitary troops in sensitive areas of Karachi, as businesses and education institutions remained closed and much of the traffic stayed off the streets.

Zardari to do plain talking with Cameron

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will be doing some "plain talking" when he meets British Prime Minister David Cameron and has a mind to "put him straight" over the remark that Islamabad was exporting terror. A senior Pakistani official said that Zardari plans to "put him (Cameron) straight"  when he meets him at a summit at Chequers Friday. Chequers is the official country residence of the British prime minister in Buckinghamshire."David Cameron has been doing some plain talking. Now Zardari will be doing the plain talking. We have to tell him (Cameron) what the reality is, to educate him about what we have suffered, and that if we are not supported at this time, how things will get worse," The Guardian on Tuesday quoted the official as saying. The official said the Pakistani president would tell Cameron to be "more forthright in supporting (Pakistani) democracy and more careful in what he says, especially in countries like India that are very hostile". During his India visit, Cameron July 28 warned Pakistan against exporting terrorism to India, Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world. Cameron said: "We want to see a strong, stable and democratic Pakistan, but we cannot tolerate in any sense export of terrorism, whether to India, Afghanistan or anywhere in the world."

Pakistan Struggles With Floods' Aftermath

Pakistan redeployed thousands of troops for rescue and relief work in remote mountainous villages where at least 1,100 people died in weekend flash floods and landslides, as public anger mounted against the government over its handling of the disaster.On Monday, army helicopters dropped food parcels to thousands of people. While the rain has stopped and the weather has improved, large parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province remain submerged. Relief agencies said the situation could worsen, as rain is forecast for later this week. Troops, who had been fighting Taliban militants, and relief workers struggled to reach people trapped by floodwater as bridges, roads and even entire villages had been swept away. An army spokesman said 28,000 people have been rescued but thousands of others were still stranded with no access to relief supplies. Water supplies have been contaminated by the floods, raising serious concerns about the spread of diarrhea and other diseases. Relief workers said there have been reports of a cholera outbreak in some areas of the Swat Valley. The region, which isn't fully recovered from bloody fighting between the Taliban militants and the army last year, is the worst affected by the disaster.The devastation has hit the region at a time when a weak and unpopular Pakistani government has been struggling to cope with a faltering economy and a war against Taliban militants that has killed thousands of people in the past few years. The government's response to the disaster drew a protest of several hundred people in Peshawar, the regional center, where homeless survivors crammed into temporary shelters. Many people complained that there hasn't been an adequate arrangement of food and medicine. Much of the public anger is directed against President Asif Ali Zardari, who left for a weeklong visit to France and Britain on Sunday, despite calls from the opposition leaders to cancel the trip. Mr. Zardari's trip has provoked intense public criticism. "The president has sent a very bad signal to the people by staying out of the country for almost 10 days, when the country faces such a huge calamity," said Raffat Hussain, a professor at the strategic studies department of Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. "His visit to Britain after Mr. Cameron pointed accusing fingers at Pakistani army and the ISI for exporting terrorism, will further outrage the people." U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron drew fire in Pakistan last week when, during a trip to India, he accused Pakistan of exporting state-sponsored terrorism and of not doing enough to combat terrorism on its soil. On Monday, Pakistan's foreign minister summoned Britain's envoy to Islamabad to seek an explanation for Mr. Cameron's comments. Pakistani newspapers have focused on the cost of accommodating Mr. Zardari during his stay in London. "This money could have been saved for the people affected by the flooding," said The News, an English language national newspaper. The president's supporters deny that the president's trip would affect the government's relief efforts. "The government is doing everything to help the flood victims and the president's absence from the country would not make any difference," said Farahnaz Isphani, a spokeswoman for Mr. Zardari. She said the president's visit to Europe was important for enhancing counterterrorism cooperation with European countries. Some Islamic militant groups have become active in the disaster areas. Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which the U.N. has declared a front for terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has opened several relief camps in the northwest and the part of Punjab province hit by the flood. "We are distributing food and providing medical help among the victims," said Yahya Mujahid, a JuD spokesman. Lashkar-e-Taiba is widely held responsible for the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Zardari meets Sarkozy at start of Europe trip

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris Monday during the first leg of a visit to Europe. A spokesman for the French president said the two leaders discussed the situation in Afghanistan and ways to combat international terrorism. Aid to help Pakistan recover from devastating floods that have claimed more than 1,500 lives and cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy were other subjects on the agenda. The talks came a day before Zardari flies to London on a visit overshadowed by tension over British Prime Minister David Cameron's controversial remarks on Pakistani attitudes to terrorism. Britain's High Commissioner to Pakistan, Adam Thomson, was called to the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad Monday to explain his prime minister's remarks suggesting Islamabad's complicity in terrorism.Cameron said during a visit to Bangalore last week: 'We cannot tolerate in any sense export of terrorism, whether to India, Afghanistan or anywhere in the world.'The blunt words created tension between the two countries, with Pakistani opposition parties demanding President Zardari to call off his visit to Britain. Zardari is expected to meet Cameron Friday.

US official to confirm that a plan for striking Iran


"Never interfere with an enemy while he's in the process of suicide." This is a quote widely attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, and it is also the advice Israeli analyst Guy Bechor gives to Israeli leaders. It appears to be more or less the approach of the United States and its allies with respect to Iran at the moment. Whether they have read the situation right, and for how long it will work, is another matter. In the past few days, the rhetoric has heated up a bit. On Sunday, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen became the most recent and perhaps highest-ranking US official to confirm that a plan for striking Iran exists. He stressed that in his opinion, a strike was "a bad idea", but added that the risk of Iran going nuclear was "unacceptable", and refused to comment which would be worse. Predictably, Iran went ballistic. "If the Americans make the slightest mistake, the security of the region will be endangered. Security in the Persian Gulf should be for all or none," threatened the deputy head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Yadollah Javani. "Tehran will burn down Tel Aviv" in response to any attack, said Mohammed Khazaee, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations. A similarly worrying message echoed in an earlier statement by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: "The specter of real peace in the region is disappearing and the possibility of war is increasing. "Meanwhile, a Hamas military commander was killed on Friday night in a retaliatory strike for a missile that fell on the Israeli city of Ashkelon, and the Islamic Jihad militia threatened to resume suicide terror attacks on Israel from the West Bank. (Hamas is seen by many as an Iranian proxy, and Debka reported on Sunday that Iran recently sent "$250 million to Hamas for the creation of a new Palestinian Popular Army in the Gaza Strip".Despite all this, we have yet to see a full-scale appeal by the Barack Obama administration to the international community to support a strike - something that, judging by Obama's behavior so far, we have every right to expect before such an action. Some analysts, moreover, remain skeptical as to whether a strike will happen at all. Steve Clemons for the Huffington Post writes:
Despite the confidence, even eagerness, of the US Air Force to bomb Iran's nuclear program capacity, the other military services are not so sanguine and fear that the logistics demands for such a military action and its followup would undermine other major operations. In other words, adding another major obligation to America's military roster could literally break the back of the US military, erode morale, and result in eventual, massive shifts in American domestic support for the US military machine which had become increasingly costly and less able to generate the security deliverables expected.
At the very least, it would make sense for Obama to give sanctions a little more time before he approves any military action. The US president put so much effort into having the UN Security Council pass them that, if he is seen to undermine them, this could weaken his international standing considerably. 

Gmail might get a new look

A new version of Gmail used by Google employees has been leaked through a Google Chrome OS bug report. Google employees get to try all the good/not-so-good/bad/excellent stuff before it hits the market. A routine testing for its apps and one of the first stages of the testing period lies with the google employees. The leaked screenshot suggests many changes in the existing Gmail. It was first reported by blog Google Operating System that also carried the screenshot.Most of them are design and navigation changes but makes a good change. One change that will catch the eye is the three separate text link at the top of the left sidebar, “Mail”, “Contacts” and “Tasks.” Though these are already present in the existing version, but are grouped together in this one. The “Compose Mail” link is no more text link but a button making it stand out from other menus. Another change is introduction of drop-down menus, perhaps making the page interface uncluttered and clean. For instance like ‘select’ text link with options like all, none, unread, starred and so on are clubbed under a drop-down menu. Also, managing different google accounts looks easy with another drop-down menu next to the email account detail, on the top right corner of the page. Something Google has promised its users. The icing on the cake or as we think it is, the “Call phone” button available in the chat window. This is the part of their on-going plan to integrate Google voice with Gmail. But one thing to remember, these changes are mere prototypes, what actually is rolled out to people can be a completely different design. Whatever we could break down from the leaked screenshot is up here for you to read and see. Changes are refreshing; a lot of integration and an attempt to create a clean interface are on the cards.

UAE says BlackBerry ban will affect visitors too

The United Arab Emirates' looming crackdown on BlackBerry services will extend to foreign visitors using roaming, putting the government's concerns over the smart phones in direct conflict its ambitions to be a business and tourism haven. The Emirates' telecoms regulator said Monday that travelers to the city-state of Dubai and the important oil industry center of Abu Dhabi will -- like the 500,000 local subscribers -- will have to do without BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web services starting in October. Emirati authorities say the ban is based on security concerns because BlackBerry data is automatically shipped to company computers abroad, where it is stored and difficult for local authorities to monitor for illegal activity or abuse. Critics of the crackdown say it is also a way for the country's conservative government to further control content they deem politically or morally objectionable. About 100,000 travelers pass through Dubai's airport every day, making it the busiest in the Middle East. The new restrictions could leave time-pressed business travelers hurrying through, many of them changing planes for other destinations, without access to their e-mail or the Web.