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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Britain shuts Iran embassy in London


The step came after the UK mission was attacked by protesters angry at fresh sanctions against the Islamic republic s nuclear programme. Foreign Secretary William Hague also accused the Iranian government of tacit support for Tuesday s attack, although he said London would not be cutting off diplomatic ties altogether. The incursions and Britain s response dramatically heighten tensions between the West and Iran over Tehran s nuclear programme, which it insists is for civilian rather than military purposes. In a speech to parliament, Hague said he had ordered all Iranian embassy staff to leave Britain within 48 hours and closed the mission in London. He said all Britain-based staff had also been evacuated from the embassy in Iran and the mission had been shut with immediate effect. "If any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil they cannot expect to have a functioning embassy here," Hague said. Prime Minister David Cameron had earlier promised "very tough action" following Tuesday s violent scenes when protesters rampaged for hours through Britain s two diplomatic compounds in Tehran. They tore down the Union Jack, smashed windows, trashed embassy offices, set documents alight, and briefly blocked the movements of six diplomats. Iranian police, who initially appeared to do little to prevent the violence, eventually forced the protesters to leave after firing tear gas and clashing with them. Hague expressed scepticism at what he called the "belated" response by the Iranian authorities. "The idea that the Iranian authorities could not have protected our embassy or that this assault could have taken place without some degree of regime consent is fanciful," he told the House of Commons. Despite the embassy closures, the foreign secretary said diplomatic ties would continue with Iran, albeit at a much reduced level. "This does not amount to the severing of diplomatic relations in their entirety. It is action that reduces our relations with Iran to the lowest level consistent with the maintenance of diplomatic relations," Hague said. The protests in Tehran had been called to express anger over Britain s announcement last week that it was halting all transactions with Iran s financial system, including its central bank. Iranian officials this week retaliated by passing a law to expel the British ambassador within days as diplomatic ties were downgraded. Other countries took action in response to Tuesday s attacks. Norway announced the temporary closure of its embassy, although its staff remained in Tehran, and other European missions were evaluating the security situation. Germany, France and Sweden summoned the Iranian envoys to their countries on Wednesday to protest against the incursion, while Italy said it was doing likewise and was thinking about closing its Tehran embassy. The UN Security Council, the United States, the European Union, France, Germany and even Iran s ally Russia had all condemned the attacks as unacceptable. In Tehran, Iran s foreign ministry expressed "regret" over the incident, and deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan was quoted by IRNA state news agency as saying a number of protesters had been arrested and others were being sought. But parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani defended the protesters, saying they had been "angered by the British government s behaviour" and "decades of domineering moves by the British in Iran." The UN condemnation was "hasty," he told lawmakers, according to state television. The head of parliament s security and foreign policy committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said other countries should not be concerned, insisting Iran "respects" all treaties protecting foreign diplomats and embassies. Britain s sanctions against Iran s financial system were announced last week in conjunction with similar measures by the US and Canada following a report by the UN watchdog which crystallised fears about Tehran s nuclear programme. EU foreign ministers were set to unveil further sanctions at a meeting Thursday. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Paris was looking for a common EU position to apply "maximum pressure", telling L Express weekly that his country wanted a freeze on Iranian central bank assets and an embargo on Iranian oil. Although protests against Western embassies are frequent in Tehran, the storming of the British embassy was by far the worst since 1979, when Islamic students broke into the US embassy, taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. That act resulted in the breaking of all diplomatic ties between the United States and Iran.

40,000 troops to leave Afghanistan by end of 2012


Drawdown plans announced by the U.S. and more than a dozen other nations will shrink the foreign military footprint in Afghanistan by 40,000 troops at the close of next year, leaving Afghan forces increasingly on the frontlines of the decade-long war.The United States is pulling out the most 33,000 by the end of 2012. That s one-third of 101,000 American troops who were in Afghanistan in June the peak of U.S. military presence in the war, according to figures provided by the Pentagon. Others in the 49-nation coalition have announced withdrawal plans too, even as they insist they are not rushing to leave. Many nations have vowed to keep troops in Afghanistan to continue training the Afghan police and army in the years to come. And many have pledged to keep sending aid to the impoverished country after the international combat mission ends in 2014. Still, the exit is making Afghans nervous. They fear their nation could plunge into civil war once the foreign forces go home. Their confidence in the Afghan security forces has risen, but they don t share the U.S.-led coalition s stated belief that the Afghan soldiers and policemen will be ready to secure the entire nation in three years. Others worry the Afghan economy will collapse if foreigners leave and donors get stingy with aid. Foreign forces began leaving Afghanistan this year. About 14,000 foreign troops will withdraw by the end of December, according to an Associated Press review of more than a dozen nations  drawdown plans. The United States is pulling out 10,000 service members this year; Canada withdrew 2,850 combat forces this summer; France and Britain will each send about 400 home; Poland is recalling 200; and Denmark and Slovenia are pulling out about 120 combined. Troop cutbacks will be deeper next year when an estimated 26,000 more will leave. That figure includes 23,000 Americans; 950 Germans; 600 more French; 500 additional Britons; 400 Poles; 290 Belgians; 156 Spaniards; and 100 Swedes. Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, told the AP that the number of Marines in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan will drop "markedly" in 2012, and the role of those who stay will shift from countering the insurgency to training and advising Afghan security forces. Amos declined to discuss the number of Marines expected to leave in 2012. There are now about 19,400 Marines in Helmand, and that is scheduled to fall to about 18,500 by the end of this year. "Am I OK with that? The answer is  yes, " Amos said. "We can t stay in Afghanistan forever." "Will it work? I don t know. But I know we ll do our part." Additional troop cuts or accelerated withdrawals are possible. Many other countries, including Hungary, Finland and Italy, are finalizing their withdrawal schedules. Presidential elections in Europe and the European debt crisis also could speed up pullout plans. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said this week that Australia s training mission could be completed before the 2014 target date. Back in June, then-U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that when the Obama administration begins pulling troops from Afghanistan, the U.S. will resist a rush to the exists, "and we expect the same from our allies." Gates said it was critically important that a plan for winding down NATO s combat role by the end of 2014 did not squander gains made against the Taliban that were won at great cost in lives and money. "The more U.S. forces draw down, the more it gives the green light for our international partners to also head for the exits," said Jeffrey Dressler, a senior research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington. "There is a cyclical effect here that is hard to temper once it gets going." U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings Jr. said the cutbacks that have been announced will not affect the coalition s ability to fight the insurgency. "We are getting more Afghans into the field and we are transferring more responsibility to them in many areas," Cummings said, adding that many leaders of the Taliban, al-Qaida and the Haqqani militant networks have been captured or killed. Afghan security forces started taking the lead in seven areas in July. They soon will assume responsibility for many more regions as part of a gradual process that will put Afghans in charge of security across the nation by the end of 2014. Some countries are lobbying to start transition as soon as possible in areas where they have their troops deployed  so they can go home, said a senior NATO official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss transition. The official insisted that those desires were not driving decisions on where Afghan troops are taking the lead. But the official said that because they want to leave, a number of troop-contributing nations faced with declining public support at home have started working harder to get their areas ready to hand off to Afghan forces. "The big question (after 2014) is if the Afghan security forces can take on an externally based insurgency with support from the Pakistani security establishment and all that entails," Dressler said. "I think they will have a real challenge on their hands if the U.S. and NATO countries do not address Pakistani sponsorship of these groups."

US military refuses to apologise over Nato attack


Gen Martin Dempsey, the most senior figure in the US military has refused to apologise for an air strike at the weekend that killed 26 Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistan Army claimed the attack lasted almost two hours, and that it continued even after commanders on the ground contacted Nato to ask what was going on. In a TV interview, Gen Dempsey said he telephoned Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani and “expressed regret”. “They have reason to be furious that they have 24 soldiers dead and that what killed them was the ordinance of a partner,” he said. Asked if there was anything to apologise for, Gen Dempsey said: “absolutely not.” Gen Dempsey also admitted that the US relationship with Pakistan, viewed from the outside is “the worst it’s ever been.” 

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Kuwait ruler accepts cabinet’s en masse resignations


This is the seventh cabinet to step down in five years, over a bitter dispute with parliament, official media said. "Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah issued an order accepting the resignation of the prime minister and cabinet ministers," state-run Kuwait television reported. The emir asked Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, and other ministers to manage urgent issues until a new government is formed, the television said. The resignation came one day ahead of a scheduled questioning in parliament of the prime minister over an alleged corruption scandal involving a number of MPs and on charges of misusing public funds. It also came hours before a planned mass rally later on Monday by the opposition to press demands for the premier s ouster and for the release of 24 opposition activists held for storming parliament on November 6. Parliament speaker Jassem al-Khorafi said he had not been informed of a dissolution of the house but said parliamentary sessions had been called off until a new government is formed. It was not immediately known whether the emir, who has ultimate power in the Gulf state over appointing heads of government, will reappoint Sheikh Nasser to form his eighth cabinet since having taken up the post in February 2006. Opposition MPs, who have been at loggerheads with Sheikh Nasser, a nephew of the emir, over charges he failed to manage the wealthy state, welcomed the resignation. They called for the formation of a transitional government with a new premier before parliament is dissolved. "We are waiting for the appointment of a new prime minister before parliament is dissolved in order to be assured of fair elections," Islamist opposition MP Khaled al-Sultan told reporters outside parliament.  "I hope the emir will please the Kuwaiti people by dissolving parliament... and forming a transitional cabinet to supervise the elections," said another opposition MP, Falah al-Sawwagh. "We are waiting for the next step to dissolve parliament, a quarter of whose members have been referred to the prosecution" over large allegedly illegal deposits in their accounts, MP Daifalla Buramia said. The public prosecutor in September launched an unprecedented probe into the bank accounts of around 15 pro-government MPs accused of accepting bribes totalling $350 million. Opposition MPs have claimed the deposits were bribes by the government to win votes on crucial issues. Some of the MPs accused have denied any wrongdoing. The most tumultuous period in Kuwait s modern history has now seen seven cabinets resign since mid-2006 and parliament dissolved three times, although in 1962 it became the Gulf s first Arab state to adopt a democratic system. Kuwait, which sits on about 10 percent of global crude oil, has amassed more than $300 billion in surpluses over the past decade, but projects and development have been stalled by the political wrangling.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Plan for enforcement of sanctions against Syria


Ministers told the Arab League s economic and social council to draw up measures after Damascus ignored a deadline to let in Arab monitors and take other steps to end the government crackdown on an eight-month uprising against Assad s rule. The council, which met on Saturday, proposed freezing Syrian government assets, halting commercial flights, stopping dealings with Syria s central bank and a travel ban on senior officials. The measures could plunge Syria deeper into economic crisis, although the Arab ministers have said sanctions are not intended to hurt ordinary people. "Today s meeting will focus on two issues. First approving the decisions taken by the economic council yesterday and finding a way to force them on the Syrian regime that does not let the regime find a way to skirt them," a senior League source said. "The most important thing we are seeking is that sanctions make a difference and get implemented," he said, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject. The League for decades avoided action against its 22 members but the pan-Arab body has been galvanized by pressure from Gulf Arabs already angry at Syria s alliance with their regional rival Iran and changes brought about by Arab uprisings. The scale of the bloodshed has also driven Arabs to act. Hundreds of people, including civilians, soldiers and army deserters, have been killed in Syria this month, possibly the bloodiest since the unrest broke out in March inspired by uprisings which overthrew leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The United Nations says more than 3,5000 people have been killed in total. Another League source said the measures could be approved by a majority vote, just like a decision to suspend Syria from the League this month that was approved by 18 members. Yemen and Lebanon opposed that decision. Iraq abstained. Baghdad has already indicated it will not impose sanctions and said other neighbors had similar reservations. "Iraq is a neighbor to Syria and there are interests - there are hundreds of thousands of Iraqis living in Syria and there is trade," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said in Iraq before ministers met. "Lebanon also has the same idea and Jordan too has shown its objection." 

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Pakistan answer to US! vacate Shamsi Airbase within 15 days


The Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) in its emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Saturday evening reiterated the resolve of the Pakistani people and Armed Forces to safeguard the country’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity at all costs.The meeting held here at the Prime Minister House was attended by Federal Ministers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Services Chiefs and members of the DCC. In accordance with the resolution of the Joint Session of the Parliament of May 14, 2011, the DCC decided to close with immediate effect the NATO/ISAF logistics supply lines. The DCC also decided to ask the United States (US) to vacate the Shamsi Airbase within 15 days. The DCC decided that the Government will revisit and undertake a complete review of all programmes, activities and cooperative arrangements with US/NATO/ISAF, including diplomatic, political, military and intelligence, according to a statement issued from the Prime Minister House after the DCC meeting. The DCC strongly condemned the attack by NATO/ISAF aircraft on Pakistani border posts in the Mohmand Agency which has resulted in the loss of precious lives of officers and men of Pakistan Army and injuries to several. The DCC expressed heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the families of brave soldiers who fought valiantly and embraced Shahadat, and also prayed for the early recovery of injured. The Prime Minister will take the Parliament into confidence on the whole range of measures regarding matters relating to Pakistan’s future cooperation with US/NATO/ISAF, in the near future. The DCC noted that strong protests had been lodged with the United States and at NATO Headquarters in Brussels conveying in the strongest possible terms Pakistan’s condemnation of these attacks, which constituted breach of sovereignty, were violative of international law and had gravely dented the fundamental basis of Pakistan’s cooperation with NATO/ISAF against militancy and terror. The DCC noted that NATO/ISAF attacks were also violative of their mandate which was confined to Afghanistan. Pakistan had clearly conveyed to US/NATO/ISAF its red lines which constituted an integral element of Pakistan’s cooperation that was based on a partnership approach. The attack on Pakistan Army border posts is totally unacceptable and warrants an effective national response, the DCC added.

Air strikes by NATO helicopters on Pakistan


NATO helicopters struck three posts in Pakistan s Mohmand tribal region, bordering Afghanistan, late Friday night and killed 28 soldiers and injured 15 others, sources as said. Foreign Officer Spokesperson, Tehmina Janjua, said that Pakistan is considering blocked of supplies to NATO forces in neighbouring Afghanistan after the incident. Local media has reported that Pakistani authorities have already suspended supplies. The spokesperson was quoted by local TV channels as describing the NATO strikes as  attack on Pakistan s sovereignty . She confirmed that Pakistan has formally lodged protest with the U.S. State Department in Washington. Local TV channels reported that Pakistani diplomats in Washington conveyed a formal protest to the U.S. officials and demanded immediate inquiry. The spokesperson said Pakistan has also started its own investigation and is collecting details of the incident, which has sparked widespread condemnation in the country. "We will review several options after investigations are completed," she said. "Suspension of NATO supplies could be one of the options," she added. Barrister Masood Kausar, Governor of north-western Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province, who is also in-charge of tribal affairs, condemned the NATO strike and said Pakistan will raise the issue at different forms. In a statement he warned that Pakistan could take counter action if NATO carries out attacks on Pakistani posts. Sources said that NATO helicopters entered Pakistani airspace in Mohmand tribal region from fghanistan and fired at least three border posts, killing 28 soldiers and injuring 15 others. All posts were also destroyed. The strike was widely condemned by Pakistani political leaders and called for halt to NATO supplies. Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned and termed the strike as  open terrorism . They called for immediate inquiry into the incident. The US commander in Afghanistan on Saturday promised a full investigation after Pakistan said a NATO air strike killed at least 23 soldiers, sending his condolences over any troops who may have died. "This incident has my highest personal attention and my commitment to thoroughly investigate it to determine the facts," said General John Allen, commander of NATO s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). "My most sincere and personal heartfelt condolences go out to the families and loved ones of any members of Pakistan security forces who may have been killed or injured," he added in a statement. In the six months since US commandos killed Osama bin Laden near the Pakistani capital Islamabad without prior warning, Pakistani and US and Afghan officials have traded increasing complaints about cross-border attacks. ISAF said Saturday it remained "committed to improving security relations" with Pakistan, including the coordination of operations along the border -- in many places unmarked -- "in our united fight against terrorism". US ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, also express regret and reiterated promises of an investigation. "I regret the loss of life of any Pakistani servicemen and pledge that the United States will work closely with Pakistan to investigate this incident," he said in a short statement released by the American embassy. In September 2010, Pakistan shut the main land route for NATO supplies at Torkham for 11 days after accusing NATO of killing three Pakistani troops in another attack in its northwest. The border was reopened after the United States formally apologised.

Mexico suffers worst drought in 70 years


The parched crops and arid fields are some of the signs of the worst drought to hit Mexico in 70 years. Farmers say the lack of rain is threatening the country s corn and bean supplies. Lorenzo Contreras, the mayor of Ocampo in the northern state of Durango, said "We are going through the worst (drought) in recent years. A far as agriculture, we have crops covering 13,900 hectares and at about 9,000 are affected. In regards to the agrarian industry of the municipality, we have 30,000 heads of cattle and up to now we have reports of 1,200 heads of cattle dead." Carcases litter the ground and waters have receded in once full reservoirs. The drought is affecting almost 70 percent of the country.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Now Saudi Arabia!


The popular uprising against the Saudi Arabian ruling family continues with protests afoot in at least four Saudi cities and villages in the east of the kingdom. Thousands of people on Thursday took to the streets of Eastern Province, shouting slogans against the Al Saud ruling family, Press TV reported. The protesters also called for the execution of the soldiers who killed protesters in the oil-rich east region. Activists said more demonstrations were held in several towns and cities including Qatif and Awamiya, where protesters expressed their anger at the ruling Al Saud family.  Saudi security forces have attacked the protesters in the past several days, killing at least five people.  The protesters say they are being targeted for demanding more freedom and social equality. In the strictly conservative Arab monarchy, protests and political gatherings of any kind are prohibited. The snipers were filmed taking positions at a water tower in the city of Qatif in the country's Eastern Province. At least five people have been killed by the regime forces over the past several days. The protesters shouted slogans against the ruling family and called for the execution of the soldiers, who have shed blood in the east of the country. The demonstrations are being held despite the ultraconservative Saudi regime's known intolerance of dissent. In March, the Saudi Interior Ministry called all public gatherings 'illegal,' authorizing regime forces “to take all measures needed” against the people defying the ban.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Taliban ambush on NATO Convoy


At least 10 Afghan security guards were killed Thursday when Taliban militants ambushed a logistics convoy destined for US-led NATO forces in western Afghanistan, a local official said. The guards were securing the convoy when they came under attack in Bakwa district of Farah province, on the main highway connecting the west to the volatile south, said Naqibullah Farahi, a spokesman for the provincial governor. "Ten security guards have been killed and seven others injured in the Taliban ambush," Farahi said, adding that the militants also torched nine trucks carrying the supplies for foreign troops. A spokesman for Afghan police in the west of the country, Abdul Rauf Ahmadi, said police were immediately deployed to the area to hunt down the attackers. Taliban frequently attack convoys supplying NATO troops, in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan, as part of their 10-year insurgency against the western-backed Kabul government since US troops toppled their regime in 2001. There are around 140,000 US-led NATO forces in war-torn Afghanistan with foreign combat troops scheduled to withdraw by the end of 2014.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Probe reveals blood bath of West Pakistanis in Bangladesh


Suspects accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces in Bangladesh s war of independence are now on trial, but claims of appalling crimes are also tarnishing the "heroes" of that bloody struggle. Migrant families who moved to what was then East Pakistan after the subcontinent was partitioned in 1947 say they were targeted as outsiders during the 1971 fight to become the independent nation of Bangladesh. Thrown out of their homes and often murdered during the country s bloody birth, they believe their suffering at the hands of native Bengalis has been forgotten as Bangladesh focuses instead on alleged collaborators with Pakistan. The day after Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan on December 16, 1971, Sairun Nesa survived a massacre in which 15 of her family -- including her husband, son and daughter -- were killed by "freedom fighters". As one of tens of thousands of Urdu-speaking Muslims who had migrated to East Pakistan, Nesa said she and her family were rejected by those fighting to establish independent Bangladesh. "We were stripped naked at gun-point. Bangladeshi fighters herded us onto the bank of a river. Then they slaughtered us one after another with machetes and knives," she said. "With a knife one of them gouged out my right eye and stabbed me several times in the chest," she said, adding that she was left for dead in a pile of bodies in Goalonda, a small town west of Dhaka. Bangladesh s government says up to three million people were killed and hundreds of thousands of women raped during the savage nine-month battle for independence. This week a special court began its first trial with Delawar Hossain Sayedee, a senior official of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party, charged with genocide against native Bengalis as he fought to prevent independence. But the separate attacks carried out by Bengalis against Nesa and other "Biharis" -- the migrants who had left India for East Pakistan -- remain a hidden crime, experts say. Even well-documented killings of Biharis have never been investigated, much less brought to trial. "Everyone talks about the killings of Bengalis (by the Pakistani army) in 1971. But none dares to mention the pogroms that were carried out against Biharis," said Ezaz Ahmed Siddiqui, a prominent Bihari community leader. "We estimate that hundreds of thousands of Biharis were killed. In (northwestern) Santahar town alone, several thousand were killed in a matter of days," Siddiqui told AFP. After the war, Biharis were not granted citizenship rights in newly independent Bangladesh, lost their property and social status, and were forced to live in refugee camps under UN protection -- where many remain to this day. For decades, Bangladeshi historians and authors have downplayed the Bihari killings, casting them as isolated instances of mob violence. "We agree some Urdu-speaking people were killed in isolated riot-like incidents," Mofidul Hoque, a trustee of Bangladesh s Liberation War Museum, said. "But it was not a systematic or state-sponsored genocide like what the Pakistani soldiers did to Bengalis," he said. A new wave of academics is trying to shed light on the killings, with Oxford University researcher Sarmila Bose s 2011 book, "Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War", leading the way. Bose argues that Bangladesh authorities are in a "state of denial" about the murder of Biharis. "The nature and scale of atrocities committed by the  nationalist  side had been edited out of the dominant narrative," she wrote after her book was heavily criticised in Bangladesh. Ishrat Ferdousi, who recently finished a book on the 1971 atrocities, said attacks on Biharis could be seen as "genocide". "I saw at least a hundred Bihari children had been killed, their bodies were floating in the Rupsha river. Some (Bengalis) even boarded boats with machetes to hunt for any Biharis who had survived," he told AFP. Sairun Nesa survived after being plucked from the pile of bodies on the banks of the Padma River by a saviour who nursed her back to health. Eventually, she married him, changed her name and has tried to forget the past -- but the frail sexagenarian is still haunted by her memories, telling AFP she was "terrified even to talk" about what happened. For Bihari leader Siddiqui, official acknowledgement of the atrocities is as important as the trial of alleged collaborators if Bangladesh is to come to terms with its birth. "All we want is recognition of the crimes. We don t want any trial. An admission would start a healing process," he said.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Pakistani Taliban declare nationwide cease-fire


The Pakistani Taliban has declared a cease-fire to encourage nascent peace talks with the government, a senior commanders said, a move that appears to show the deadly group’s willingness to strike a deal with state. The commander said the cease-fire has been in effect for the past month and was valid throughout the country. ”We are not attacking the Pakistan army and government installations because of the peace process,” he said late Monday. The commander is close to Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not the official spokesman of the insurgent network. His statement adds credence to recent announcements by anonymous Taliban and intelligence officials that government intermediaries recently met Taliban commanders to talk about a possible peace deal. The government has not officially commented, and on Tuesday the Pakistani army denied it was involved in any talks. The Pakistan Taliban, an umbrella grouping of militants allied with al-Qaida and based in the northwest close to the Afghan border, has been behind many of the scores of bloody suicide attacks around Pakistan over the last 4 1/2 years. At least 35,000 people have been killed in the bloodshed. The United States wants Pakistan to keep the pressure on insurgents and would likely be concerned about any effort to strike a deal. Many of its fiercest foes in Afghanistan, as well as al-Qaida operatives from around the world, live alongside the Pakistan Taliban in North Waziristan. Much remains unclear about the nature of the talks and their potential. Both the army and the militants have engaged in misinformation before. Some reports have said any deal would only cover one region in the northwest, South Waziristan, but could be extended. The Pakistan Taliban is believed to be divided. Many of its leaders and foot soldiers have been killed in US drone attacks and Pakistani army offensives over the last few years. Some faction and allied groups are still committed to war against the state, and there been several insurgent attacks over the last month.

Egyptians converge on Tahrir Square for 4th day


Egyptians responding to a call for a mass rally began flowing onto Cairo s central Tahrir Square Tuesday as protests demanding the country s military rulers to step down entered a fourth day despite a crackdown by police that has killed at least 29 people. Activists are hoping to increase the number of protesters in the square which was the epicenter of the revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak in mid-February with a demonstration to bolster popular support for a "second revolution." Violence also continued, with black-clad security forces backed by military troops firing volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets to block protesters, who responded by hurling stones and fire bombs. The two sides have been engaged in intense clashes since the unrest began on Saturday. Egypt s state-TV reported that three people were killed overnight in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, east of Cairo, raising the overall death toll from the protests to 29. Hundreds of protesters arrived early Tuesday to join several thousand who have been camping on Tahrir Square, sleeping in tents or on the grass rolled up in blankets despite efforts by police to clear the area. The crowds hoisted a giant Egyptian flag and chanted slogans demanding the generals immediately step down in favor of a presidential civilian council. One man held a sign reading "ministry of thuggery" with photos of Mubarak, the senior military ruler, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and others. A few hundred young men nearby chanted "say it, don t fear, the council must go" and "the people want to execute the field marshal." The rally, dubbed "Egypt s Salvation," came a day after the civilian Cabinet of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf submitted its resignation to the military council, a move that had been widely expected given the government s perceived inefficiency and its almost complete subordination to the generals. The ruling military council gave no word if the offer had been accepted, but regardless, it failed to satisfy the protesters. "That was a game, like playing the joker in a game of cards. We want the military council to resign," said 60-year-old protester Mustafa Mursi, who wore a pair of goggles on his forehead with a gas mask and a laminated picture of his slain son around his neck. Mursi, who has been at the square since the latest protests began on Saturday, said that his son Mohammed was shot in head on Jan. 28 during clashes with security forces in the earlier uprising. "I ll stay until military rule ends and there is civilian rule," he said. The clashes came few days before the country s first parliamentary elections since Mubarak was forced to step down. Fears were high that the turmoil would disrupt elections due to begin on Nov. 28. Amnesty International harshly criticized the military rulers in a new report, saying they have "completely failed to live up their promises to Egyptians to improve human rights." The London-based group documented steps by the military that have fallen short of increasing human rights and in some cases have made matters worse than under Mubarak. "The euphoria of the uprising has been replaced by fears that one repressive rule has simply been replaced with another," according to the report, issued early Tuesday. The report called for repeal of the Mubarak-era "emergency laws," expanded to cover "thuggery" and criticizing the military. It said the army has placed arbitrary restrictions on media and other outlets. Egyptian security forces have continued to use torture against demonstrators, the report said, and some 12,000 civilians have been tried in military trials, which it called "unfair." A military spokesman, meanwhile, told The Associated Press that the military has set up barbed wire and barricades around the security headquarters to prevent protesters from storming the building. "We are only here to protect the interior ministry," he said. The spokesman, who asked not to be identified because he wasn t authorized to release the information, also said army officers and soldiers had been forbidden to enter Tahrir Square. The unrest had immediate impact of Egypt s benchmark stock index which plunged for a third day. The EGX30 index fell by over 3 percent within minutes of the market s opening on Tuesday, building on the previous day s 4 percent decline.

Ambassador Haqqani 'removed', put in the dock


Haqqani, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States, was questioned by the top civil and military leadership at the President House. President Zardari, PM Gilani, COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI DG Gen Shujaa Pasha attended the grilling session that lasted for hours. Sources said Haqqani was questioned about every aspect of the memo scandal. The questions asked were prepared by the military top brass at a high-level meeting yesterday, sources said. Addressing the media after the questioning at the President House, Hussain Haqqani said that he has tendered his resignation as he doesn’t want to be a stumbling block to the continuation of democracy in the country. Sources said that his resignation has been accepted. However, official account in this regard is yet to come. The relevant companies would be contacted regarding Blackberry and computer record of Haqqani as part of inquiry against him, sources said. "The Prime Minister asked Pakistan Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani to submit his resignation," Gilani s spokesman said in a statement, adding that the government had ordered a "detailed investigation" into the issue. Haqqani has offered to resign over the row, but has denied any involvement with the document. The spokesman said, "all concerned would be afforded sufficient and fair opportunity to present their views and the investigation shall be carried out fairly, objectively and without bias". "As a result of controversy generated by the alleged memo which had been drafted, formulated and further admitted to have been received by authority in the US, it has become necessary in national interest to formally arrive at the actual and true facts". The alleged memo was revealed last month by American businessman Mansoor Ijaz. In an opinion piece in the UK s Financial Times on October 10, Ijaz wrote that a "senior Pakistani diplomat" telephoned him in May soon after bin Laden s death, urging him to deliver a message to the White House bypassing Pakistan s military and intelligence chiefs. "The president feared a military takeover was imminent" and "needed an American fist on his army chief s desk to end any misguided notions of a coup -- and fast," he wrote. He said a memo was delivered to Mullen on May 10, offering that a "new national security team" would end relations between Pakistani intelligence and Afghan militants, namely the Taliban and its Haqqani faction. Meanwhile, Haqqani called for a transparent inquiry into the controversy to strengthen the hands of elected Pakistani leadership. "A transparent inquiry will strengthen the hands of elected leaders whom I strived to strengthen," he said in a message sent to reporters in Islamabad on Tuesday. He said,"to me, Pakistan and Pakistan s democracy are far more important than any artificially created crisis over an insignificant memo written by a self-centred businessman." "I have served Pakistan to the best of my ability and will continue to do so."

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

24 dead in 3 days of Cairo anti-military protests


The clashes come in the third straight day of violence that has killed at least 24 people and has turned into the most sustained challenge yet to the rule of Egypt s military. Throughout the day, young activists demanding the military hand over power to a civilian government skirmished with black-clad police, hurling stones and firebombs and throwing back the tear gas canisters being fired by police into the square, which was the epicenter of the protest movement that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February. The night before saw an escalation of the fighting as police launched a heavy assault that tried and failed to clear protesters from the square. In a show of the ferocity of the assault, the death toll leaped from Sunday evening until Monday morning. A constant stream of injured protesters bloodied from rubber bullets or overcome by gas were brought into makeshift clinics set out on sidewalks around the square where volunteer doctors scrambled from patient to patient. The eruption of violence, which began Saturday, reflects the frustration and confusion that has mired Egypt s revolution since Mubarak fell and the military stepped in to take power. It comes only a week before Egypt is to begin the first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections, which many have hoped would be a significant landmark in a transition to democracy. Instead, the vote has been overshadowed by mounting anger at the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which will continue to hold power even after the vote. Activists accuse the generals of acting increasingly in the same autocratic way as Mubarak s regime and fear that they will dominate the coming government, just as they have the current interim one they appointed months ago.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Syrian President: vows no exit as Arab deadline expires


Syrian President Bashar al-Assad defiantly vowed to fight and die if needed as an Arab League deadline for his government to stop its lethal crackdown on protesters expired with 20 more people killed. Upping the pressure on Syria, the Arab League on Sunday announced it had rejected amendments proposed by Damascus to its proposal to send a 500-strong delegation to monitor the violence in Syria. And Turkish President Abdullah Gul said there was “no place for authoritarian regimes” in the Mediterranean region. Among the dead on the weekend were four intelligence agents killed as gunmen raked their car with gunfire and two mutinous soldiers who died in clashes with regular troops in the central town of Shayzar, rights campaigners said. The latest bloodletting added to the more than 3,500 killed since mid-March, and came despite the Saturday’s midnight (2200 GMT) deadline which had been set by the Arab League for Assad to end the crackdown or face sanctions. With rebel troops inflicting mounting losses on the regular army, Turkey and the United States have both raised the spectre of civil war as Russia called for restraint. But in an interview with London s Sunday Times, conducted before the Arab League deadline lapsed, Assad said he was “definitely” prepared to fight and die for Syria if faced with foreign intervention. “This goes without saying and is an absolute,” he said. The president said he felt sorrow for each drop of Syrian blood spilt but insisted Damascus must go after armed rebel gangs and enforce law and order. “The conflict will continue and the pressure to subjugate Syria will continue,” he said. “I assure you that Syria will not bow down and that it will continue to resist the pressure being imposed on it.” Assad accused the Arab League of creating a pretext for Western military intervention, which he said would trigger an "earthquake" across the Middle East. Russia has staunchly resisted any attempt to invoke international involvement in the crisis, fearing it could clear the way for a Libya-style military campaign under a UN mandate.

Bangladesh asks Pakistan to apologise for war


Bangladesh’s foreign affairs minister has urged Pakistan to formally apologise for alleged atrocities committed during an independence war in 1971. The ministry said Dipu Moni made the demand Sunday in a meeting with Pakistan’s new envoy to Bangladesh. Aided by India, Bangladesh won its independence from Pakistan in 1971 after a nine-month war. Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed an estimated 3 million people, raped about 200,000 women and forced millions to flee their homes. Pakistan has disputed the allegations.

The G show (Day 10)


Friday, November 18, 2011

Arabs give Syria three days to halt 'bloody repression'



The Arab world called Wednesday for urgent action to protect Syrian civilians from an eight-month protest crackdown, giving President Bashar al-Assad three days to halt the "bloody repression." That came as a raid by army defectors on a military base highlighted the scale of the challenge to Assad at home, prompting the United States to warn that violence by the opposition is playing into his regime s hands. Despite Syrian promises to the contrary, the embassies of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates in Damascus were attacked by pro-Assad crowds on Wednesday. With the foreign ministers in Rabat saying their patience had run out, the Arab League gave the Assad regime three days to halt violence or face economic sanctions, Qatar s prime minister said. The 22-member League is "giving the Syrian government three days to stop the bloody repression" of its civilian population, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani told a news conference after a meeting of member states in Rabat. "But if Damascus does not agree to cooperate with the League, sanctions will be adopted against Syria," he said, adding that the Arab states had "almost reached the end of the line" with Damascus. "I don t want to speak about last chances so (the regime) doesn t think it is being given an ultimatum but we are almost at the end of the line," he said. "The Syrian government must agree to Arab League decisions and stop the blood bath in Syria," he said. "We do not interfere in Syria s internal affairs... but the blood bath must be stopped." Syria was suspended by the League at the weekend, and refused to turn up at the meeting, which was also attended by Turkey, its northern neighbour. In a statement after what was labelled the Turkish-Arab cooperation forum, ministers declared they were "against all foreign intervention" but said it was time for urgent measures.

Groups say cluster bombs remain in 69 nations


The London-based Cluster Munition Coalition s tally of these destructive explosive weapons came as diplomats gathered in Geneva to debate plans for phasing them out. The coalition says 12 nations have destroyed part of their stockpiles, leaving at least 610,263 cluster bombs. Casualties involving their use have been reported in 29 countries. The weapons pose a particular risk to civilians because they indiscriminately scatter smaller "bomblets," some as small as flashlight batteries, packed tightly into hollowed out bombs, artillery shells or missiles that can be dropped from planes or launched from the ground. Some 61 nations so far have adopted the law, which took effect in August 2010. The law prohibits using, making or stockpiling most traditional cluster munitions, sets strict deadlines for destroying them and clearing contaminated land, and obliges nations to support survivors and affected communities. Certain types of the weapons are still permitted if their designs include fewer than 10 submunitions and the ability to self-destruct. But the majority of nations that haven t adopted it still possess the bulk of the cluster munitions. That includes the U.S., which insists the bombs are a valid weapon of war when used properly. China, Russia, India and Pakistan also reject the law. A single container targeting airfields or tanks typically scatters hundreds of the mini-explosives over an area the size of a football field. The U.S. has used the weapon in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soviet and Russian troops also used them in Angola, Afghanistan and Chechnya, where the leftover duds continue to inflict casualties, particularly on children. They most recently were used in April in Libya, when forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi fired MAT-120 mortar projectiles containing submunitions into the opposition-held city of Misrata, the coalition said in its annual report Wednesday. It said Spain in June confirmed providing Libya with 1,055 cluster munitions in 2006 and 2008, before Spain joined the convention banning them. The coalition said Thailand fired cluster munitions into Cambodia during border clashes in February, and both sides used them in the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia. The campaign against the weapons picked up steam after Israel s monthlong war against Hezbollah in 2006, when it scattered up to 4 million of the munitions across Lebanon. The U.S., meanwhile, is pushing for another cluster arms agreement. Harold Koh, a U.S. State Department legal adviser, said from Washington on Wednesday the U.S. proposal to outlaw cluster munitions produced before 1980 would entice the world s nations holding up to nine-tenths of all cluster munitions to join in the effort. He said it would immediately prohibit about a third of the U.S. stash of more than 6 million such weapons. "And we think that this is a very significant humanitarian impact and should be supported," Koh said. However, Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the U.S. plan could set "an unfortunate precedent in international humanitarian law" by allowing use of cluster munitions made since 1980, including those with no safety features, until 2026 or longer. Steve Goose of Human Rights Watch said the new agreement sought by the Obama administration amounted to backsliding. "We find this outrageous," he told reporters. The United States under the Bush administration had promised that by the end of 2018 it would no longer use cluster munitions that result in more than 1 percent unexploded ordnance a tougher measure than the current proposal. Usually 10 to 15 percent but in some cases up to 80 percent of the devices fail to explode immediately.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

US army shrinking to levels never seen before


The Navy would drop to the smallest number of ships since 1915 and the Air Force would be the smallest ever, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in warning Congress of the dire implications of deeper defense cuts. The Pentagon chief on Monday offered a litany of drastic steps triggered by the automatic, across-the-board cuts if Congress  supercommittee fails to come up with a $1.2 trillion deficit-cutting plan by Nov. 23. If the panel stumbles, the Pentagon faces some $500 billion in reductions in projected spending over 10 years on top of the $450 billion already under way. "Devastating for the department," Panetta wrote in a letter to Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Senate Armed Services Committee s top Republican, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a panel member. The two lawmakers had written the Pentagon chief earlier this month seeking specifics. Panetta s letter came on the eve of his appearance before the committee. The Pentagon chief and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will face the panel Tuesday to answer questions about the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by year s end. Lawmakers are expected to press them about the defense budget and the handling of service members  remains at the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base. Several Republicans on the panel were angered by President Barack Obama s announcement last month that the remaining U.S. forces, nearly 40,000, would be leaving Iraq, consistent with the agreement reached by Obama s predecessor, Republican President George W. Bush, and the Baghdad government. U.S. officials have signaled that they may move 4,000 of the troops to Kuwait. "This decision will be viewed as a strategic victory for our enemies in the Middle East, especially the Iranian regime, which has worked relentlessly to ensure a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq," McCain said on the day of Obama s announcement. The war, which has lasted more than eight years, left 4,400 American military dead and more than 32,000 wounded. In his budget letter, Panetta said the automatic cuts would add up to a 23 percent reduction in the first year alone 2013. After a decade, "we would have the smallest ground force since 1940, the smallest number of ships since 1915, and the smallest Air Force in its history," the Pentagon chief said. Panetta, who has used apocalyptic terms such as "doomsday,"   hollow force" and "paper tiger" to describe the cuts, said the military would have to rethink its strategy. "We would have to formulate a new security strategy that accepted substantial risk of not meeting our defense needs. A sequestration budget is not one that I could recommend," said Panetta, a former California congressman and one-time head of the House Budget Committee. At least two of the potential cuts outlined by Panetta would strike at the heart of U.S. defense strategy. One is the elimination of missile defense in Europe. The Obama administration s commitment to building a network of radars and interceptors to defend all of Europe against a potential missile strike from Iran is central to U.S. efforts to update NATO defense priorities, improve defense cooperation with Russia and deter Iran. The other eliminating one of three "legs" of the U.S. nuclear arsenal would force a historic shift in nuclear planning. Panetta said he would be forced to eliminate intercontinental ballistic missiles, the globe-circling missiles based in underground silos. These currently consist of 450 Minuteman III missiles based in the north-central U.S. The other two legs of the nuclear arsenal are submarine-launched ballistic missiles and air-launched missiles and bombs. He offered a list of weapons programs that would be cut back, delayed or terminated, such as the Joint Strike Fighter, the next-generation ballistic missile submarine and new Army helicopters. Delaying or terminating surveillance drone programs would stifle a critical new technology that has allowed the U.S. to better track and eliminate terrorists in countries where American troops are not present. Recent examples include the strike that killed al-Qaida-linked cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen and the surveillance that led to the death of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Drones are also the weapon of choice for the CIA as it hunts and kills insurgents in Pakistan who routinely target U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan. Panetta s comments add pressure to the supercommittee a little more than a week before its deadline, as panel Republicans and Democrats struggle to fulfill their mandate. The Pentagon letter also stirs the recent talk in Congress about trying to nullify the automatic cuts, a step McCain and Graham have discussed. Obama said last week that he wouldn t accept any legislation that tries to undo the automatic cuts. In a statement, McCain and Graham said the automatic cuts "would set off a swift decline of the United States as the world s leading military power. This is not an outcome that we can live with, and it is certainly not one that we should impose on ourselves. The sequester is a threat to the national security interests of the United States, and it should not be allowed to occur."

Qureshi demands early polls, spills Raymond secrets


He said that President Zardari pressurised him to give Raymond Davis diplomatic exemption. While talking to the media at the Multan Airport, he said that it was not time to secure the government or personal interest; rather it was need of hour to save the country. He said that ruling class was devoid of knowledge and wisdom and insight required to face challenges faced by the country. Time is out of joint; we should arrange for new election rather than wasting our time in trifle and cheap kind of political tactics, he said. The former foreign minister said that he had no care for ministries; the cabinet’s oath-taking ceremony was delayed for 45 minutes. President Zardari piled colossal and tremendous pressure on him after the incident of Raymond Davis, adding that he had resigned at President House after this shameful incident. The people who are propagating against me, actually they are doing so on the tips of others, he said. He said that he would announce his next political strategy on November 27. While commenting on ex-president Ziaul Haq, he said that he has not been with Ziaul Haq; although Zia took oath from Yousaf Raza Gilani in the Majlis-e-Shura and assigned him Railway Ministry. While replying a quarry, he said that he has good and ideal links and relations with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and would be sound and stable with the passage of time. 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Syria & Arab League spark


Sunday’s announcement of a new meeting came just a day after the League announced Syria’s imminent suspension, drawing international praise but sparking mob attacks on foreign embassies in Damascus. “We have decided on a meeting of foreign ministers of the Arab League on November 16 at Rabat (Morocco), on Syria,” Algerian foreign ministry spokesman Amar Belani told AFP. In Rabat, a Moroccan official confirmed the meeting would take place. Belani said that at a meeting in Cairo on November 2, the Arab League’s foreign ministers had decided to give Syria 15 days to implement a peace plan. Saturday’s vote to suspend Syria from the League was not consistent with that earlier decision, he added. Earlier Sunday, Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said the suspension of Syria was “temporary and we will be able to lift it as quickly as possible.”The League’s foreign ministers at a meeting in Cairo on Saturday voted 18-22 to suspend Syria from November 16 over its failure to comply with an agreement to end its crackdown on protests, which the United Nations says has left at 3,500 people dead since mid-March. Syria, Yemen and Lebanon voted against the measure, and Iraq abstained. The foreign ministers recommended the withdrawal of Arab envoys from Damascus and agreed on sanctions, while inviting “all currents in the Syrian opposition” to meet at its Cairo headquarters to map out a transition. It said the suspension would remain in place until President Bashar al-Assad implements the November 2 accord which his government signed, in which Damascus was to release detainees, withdraw the army from urban areas, allow free movement for observers and media, and negotiate with the opposition. The Arab League resolution won widespread praise from the international community, with UN chief Ban Ki-moon hailing the “strong and courageous” move, while the opposition Syrian National Council said the decision was a “step in the right direction.”In a surprise announcement seen as an attempt to head off the suspension, Syrian state television said on Sunday that Damascus had called for an urgent summit of the Arab League “to address the crisis and its negative consequences in the Arab world.”The report came even as Arab League head Nabil al-Arabi was announcing the group would be “studying mechanisms it could implement to protect civilians in Syria.”The League’s decision prompted an outpouring of anger among Assad supporters who surged in their tens of thousands into central Damascus on Sunday to show their support for the president. “The Syrian people are filling the squares of the nation and announce their rejection of the Arab League decision,” state television said, showing more protests in the commercial hub of Aleppo and other cities. Late Saturday, hundreds of angry demonstrators attacked the embassies of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which were among the countries that voted to suspend Syria. The attacks sparked howls of international outrage. Anatolia news agency said thousands of protesters also attacked Turkey’s diplomatic missions in Syria, furious over Ankara’s support for the Arab League decision. In response, Turkey ordered the evacuation of non-essential diplomatic personnel from Syria. France condemned protesters’ attacks on diplomatic missions in Syria and summoned the country’s ambassador. Russia meanwhile said it will continue exporting arms to Syria since no international decision has been made outlawing it. And Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez lashed out at Washington and Europe, insisting they were preparing to topple Assad just like they worked to “assassinate” Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi. Assad’s exiled uncle, Rifaat, meanwhile, proposed Sunday that Arab countries negotiate a deal with Damascus that guarantees the president’s security “to allow him to resign”. “The regime is ready to leave, but it wants guarantees, not only for its members but also that there will not be civil war after its departure,” said the former deputy president. Activists accused Assad’s security forces of killing at least nine people on Sunday in the restive central cities of Homs and Hama, while also reporting that two members of the security forces were killed in an ambush. In the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, a 15-year-old boy was killed when “security forces opened fire to disperse a group of students who tried to join a demonstration,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Deadly accident happened in Pakistan

21 people have been killed in a collision between a bus and a passenger van in southern Pakistan. vehicles were traveling to the city of Karachi from Thatta, 80 miles (130 kilometers) to the east, when the accident happened Sunday. More than a dozen people were injured. The SSP Thatha confirmed that all van passengers have been killed in the accident that occurred when the passenger van and a bus collided on National Highway. The van was going to Karachi from Badin while the bus was going from Karachi to Shah Aqiq. After the accident, a severe traffic jam on the National Highway was witnessed. Pakistan has one of the world's worst records for deadly traffic accidents, blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

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Friday, November 11, 2011

The G show (Day 9)


China: mine accident kills 21, several trapped


Chinese state media said on Thursday that a gas leak at a colliery in southwestern China has killed 21 miners and trapped 22 underground, in the latest disaster to hit the accident-prone industry. The official Xinhua news agency said the accident occurred around 6:30 am local time (2230 GMT) on Thursday at a coal mine in Qujing in Yunnan province. It added that ventilation machines have been installed to drain excessive methane gas out of the shaft, while hundreds of rescuers took turns to go into the pit and conduct the search. The agency, quoting local work safety officials, said the privately-run Sizhuang coal mine, with an annual output capacity of 90,000 tonnes, was operating without a license when the accident occurred. The mine s license was revoked a year ago. China s mines are the deadliest in the world, because of lax safety standards and a rush to feed demand from a robust economy. In 2010, 2,433 people were killed in coal mine accidents in China, although this was an improvement on the toll of 2,631 the previous year.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Occupy Wall Street starts march on Washington


A ragtag, but enthusiastic group of Occupy Wall Street protestors, one of them not even wearing shoes, set off from New York Wednesday on a two-week march to Washington, DC. Monitored at every step by police, two dozen activists filed aboard a ferry leaving Manhattan to cross the River Hudson to New Jersey and begin their ambitious protest march. The marchers hope to arrive in the capital by November 23 in time to protest the meeting of a congressional committee set to decide whether or not to extend tax cuts that the protestors claim help only the very rich. Walking 20 miles a day, they plan to stop in a dozen cities and towns along the way, spreading OWS  anti-capitalist message. "The reason for going down to DC specifically is to make sure the billionaires get taxed," said Mae Fraser, 32, toting a rucksack and jostling through the thick lunch-hour crowds on her way to the ferry. Occupy Wall Street sprang up in New York in September with an encampment in Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street. Since then, protests have spread to a dozen other US cities as mostly youthful activists seek to highlight what they say is gross inequality and unfairness in the US economy. The walk grabbed plenty of media attention, with US network cameras crowding to catch the protestors  departure. Some of the protestors looked like they had more enthusiasm than experience. One man pulled a small suitcase on wheels and a young man set off without shoes, explaining that his feet hurt after an accident and he hadn t managed to find comfortable footwear. "The shoes I made are kind of falling apart," Owen Johnson, 22, said.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Nigeria on alert as US warns of new attacks


Friday's attacks, which killed 150 people, in the city of Damaturu were among the deadliest ever carried out by Boko Haram, an Islamist sect based in the north of Africa s most populous country. The US embassy in Nigeria warned the sect could next strike hotels and other targets in the capital Abuja during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. "Following the recent Boko Haram, aka Nigerian Taliban, attacks in Borno and Yobe State, the US embassy has received information that Boko Haram may plan to attack several locations and hotels in Abuja," the embassy said. Security was stepped up in Abuja, which has been a target of past attacks, including an August 26 suicide bomb at the UN headquarters which claimed 24 lives. Embassy staff were told to avoid the venues and US citizens were urged to exercise "additional caution". As well as normal in-house security checks, police were also deployed to the hotels, while armed soldiers stopped cars driving close to the hotels in the capital and searched their bonnets and trunks. The country s state security services played down the latest threat, arguing that police had been on high alert for three months. "The current threat of attack on the three hotels in Abuja is not news, and for over three months the security services have taken pro-active measures to protect the designated critical facilities and others," the president s security advisor, Andrew Azazi, said in a statement. Some 13,000 policemen and specialist anti-terror squads were nevertheless deployed to mosques and churches and other locations across Abuja on Sunday, police officials said. Worshippers were screened by metal detectors before they entered some churches.