Translate

Search This Blog

Friday, February 24, 2012

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime will not fall and Iran stands beside it


This was said by top foreign policy adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday. "The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the Syrian government and will oppose those who act against Syria," Ali Akbar Velayati said in remarks reported by the Fars news agency. "The attempt to topple the Syrian government will not become reality and the front line of confrontation with the Zionist regime (Israel) will not disappear," he said. Velayati said Syria -- Iran s principal ally in the Middle East -- would resist what was deemed to be foreign interference by the United States to bring down Assad s regime. "With the help of the Arabs... America has targeted the most sensitive area of the resistance axis, not knowing that Iran, Iraq and Hezbollah are firmly standing by Syria," he said. He added that veto-wielding UN Security Council permanent members China and Russia were backing the Damascus regime. Velayati said, however, that Iran was urging Syria to adopt reforms as it confronts an uprising that erupted in March last year. "There are problems in Syria and with its governing methods," he acknowledged. "Iran has repeatedly advised Syria to implement needed reforms and they have carried out that task reasonably," he said. Human rights groups say the violence in Syria has now killed more than 7,600 people.

Pakistan bounce back, win Ist T20 against England


With the win, Pakistan earned themselves some solace after whitewash of ODI series by England. England won the toss and decided to bowl in their first T20 encounter. Pakistan, defending their target of 145, restricted English side to 136-6. Shoaib Mailk earlier scored the highest 39 for his side. Off-spinner Graeme Swann took 3-13 as England kept Pakistan down to 144-6 in the first of three Twenty20 internationals at Dubai Stadium on Thursday. Swann rocked the middle-order with a burst of three wickets off eight balls to derail Pakistan after skipper Stuart Broad elected to field after winning the toss. England, the reigning Twenty20 world champions, started the match on a high note after sweeping Pakistan 4-0 in the one-day series and once again pegged their opponents back through some disciplined bowling and fielding. Pakistan made a flying start with debutant Awais Zia hitting a four and six during his 12-ball 18 but Pakistan lost four wickets in the space of eight runs as Asad Shafiq (19) fell run out, Mohammad Hafeez (23), Shahid Afridi (seven) and Umar Akmal (nought) followed each other, with Swann taking the last three. It was left to captain Misbah-ul Haq (26 not out) and Shoaib Malik (39) to put on 71 for the sixth wicket to take Pakistan to a respectable total. Malik hit four boundaries and six off 33 balls before he fell to a superb catch by Jonny Bairstow off Jade Dernbach off the last ball of the innings. Misbah gave Malik good support during his run-a-ball innings, hitting one four and a six. Pakistan brought in Zia and allrounder Hammad Azam while Ravi Bopara and Swann returned for England after missing the fourth one-dayer due to fitness problems.

Obama apologises over Quran burnings at Bagram


Obama said the incident was not intentional and pledged a full investigation, a statement from the president s office said. "I wish to express my deep regret for the reported incident," Obama wrote in the letter presented to Karzai by US ambassador Ryan Crocker. "I extend to you and the Afghan people my sincere apologies." "The error was inadvertent; I assure you that we will take the appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, to include holding accountable those responsible," the letter said. An Afghan soldier joined protests on Thursday against the burning of copies of the holy book at a NATO base and shot dead two foreign troops, western military sources said. The killings came hours after the Taliban urged Afghans to target foreign military bases and kill Westerners in retaliation for the burning of the Quran at Bagram airfield on Tuesday. Eleven people have died in demonstrations across the country since then and 17 people have been wounded. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of several cities, chanting "Death to America!" and smashing cars, buildings and shops. In a demonstration in eastern Nangarhar province on Thursday, an Afghan soldier turned his gun on NATO soldiers, local officials and western military sources said. A provincial spokesman said the soldier then escaped. NATO confirmed a man in Afghan army uniform killed two of its troops in the east, but declined to say if the shooting was connected to the protests. The Quran burnings at the vast Bagram base north of Kabul, which the United States has said were unintentional, could make it even more difficult for U.S.-led NATO forces to win the hearts and minds of Afghans and bring the Taliban to the negotiating table ahead of the withdrawal of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

Merkel apologises for failure on neo-Nazi murders


She sought forgiveness over the 10 murders of mostly immigrants blamed on a seven-year killing spree by a neo-Nazi gang. Merkel led a memorial ceremony for the eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman believed to have been killed between 2000 and 2007 by the neo-Nazi cell which managed to operate under the radar for 11 years. Addressing about 1,200 people at Berlin s concert hall, Merkel solemnly read out the names and family details of the 10 people who she said were victims of "cold-blooded murder". She said the killings were "a disgrace for our country" and vowed to do everything possible to shed light on the murders and bring those responsible and their supporters to justice. Shortly afterwards, at noon, businesses, schools, public transport and media observed a minute s silence after employers and trade union organisations called for a halt to remember the victims. Authorities have faced criticism over how the small far-right group could operate with impunity for 11 years and the government has admitted gross errors by the security services. Merkel apologised for the fact that, in some cases, relatives of the victims were themselves suspected of involvement in the crimes. "Some relatives were themselves for years wrongly under suspicion. That is particularly tormenting. For that I ask you for forgiveness," Merkel, dressed in black, said. "How bad it must be, to be at the mercy for years of false suspicions, instead of being able to mourn," she added. The memorial began with students carrying 12 candles to the front of the hall to music by Johann Sebastian Bach. The candles were for each of those killed, plus one for other victims of extremist violence and one representing hope for the future. After Merkel s address, 25-year-old Semiya Simsek, the daughter of the first victim, Enver Simsek, who left Turkey to run a flower business in Germany and was killed in September 2000, spoke. "For 11 years we couldn t say that we were victims," she said adding that members of her family had been suspected of involvement in the killing and her father also suspected of being a drug-dealer. Former president Christian Wulff was due to address the commemoration but was replaced by Merkel after he resigned as head of state last week in the face of a corruption probe. Members of the Turkish parliament s human rights committee as well as diplomats, German federal and state lawmakers and action groups fighting xenophobic violence were among the 1,200 guests. Music by Turkish composer Cemal Resit Rey also featured in the ceremony, as well as a specially-arranged medley of "Fragile" by Sting and John Lennon s "Imagine". The neo-Nazi gang calling itself the National Socialist Underground only came to light in November when two members were found dead in an apparent suicide pact and a 36-year-old woman turned herself in. The extremist cell is also believed to have mounted two bomb attacks in the western city of Cologne in 2001 and 2004 with a total of 23 wounded in addition to a series of armed bank hold-ups. The German justice ministry said last month it had already started paying between 5,000 and 10,000 euros ($6,500 and $13,100) in compensation to victims of the far-right cell. A draft law has also been approved for the creation of a national registry of right-wing extremists with information collected by police and intelligence officials at the federal and state levels. A number of suspects have been detained in connection with the case. Some three million Turks or Germans of Turkish origin are settled among Germany s 82-million-strong population, representing its largest ethnic minority. 

“Ready to get back to business” with Pakistan (spy chiefs met secretly)


Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told her Pakistani counterpart on Thursday. Clinton’s luncheon with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was among the few high-level contacts between the two countries since the November deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a cross-border U.S. air raid from Afghanistan. Both are in London for an international conference on Somalia. The frozen relationship has slowly begun to thaw, including in a secret meeting early this month between CIA Director David H. Petraeus and Pakistan’s intelligence chief, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, that focused on counterterrorism cooperation and ongoing U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan, said a Washington Post report. Pakistan has said it wants to reset its relations with the United States but will not be ready to do so formally until a special parliamentary committee delivers the results of a study of the matter. “We respect parliament’s right to ... take time to do this in a sensible way, but we had to get ready to get back into business with Pakistan” on bilateral counterterrorism issues including Afghanistan, a senior State Department official said Clinton told Khar. The official said Clinton also told Khar that the administration wanted to resume high-level visits to Pakistan by aid officials and Marc Grossman, the top diplomatic envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Congress has indicated it may not approve significant aid for Pakistan this year amid ongoing concerns about its granting of safe havens to the Taliban and other insurgent groups, as well as about its support for Afghanistan peace talks. In a toughly-worded speech Wednesday to Chatham House, a London think tank, Khar said that “contrary to clever word play and cheap headlines, Pakistan’s position could not be more clear.”