Translate

Search This Blog

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

9,000 death in Syria

United Nations said on Tuesday more than 9,000 civilians have been killed in Syria. "Credible estimates put the total death toll since the beginning of the uprising one year ago to more than 9,000," Robert Serry, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the 15-nation Security Council. The previous U.N. estimate was that more than 8,000 civilians had been killed.

Benfica v Chelsea, the probable formation

After eliminating Napoli, Roberto Di Matteo Chelsea will try to mortgage the semi-finals of the Champions League. at 20.45, Londoners descend upon the field of Benfica in a match marked by the prediction valid for the first leg of the quarterfinals. The Italian coach will rely usual Didier Drogba, author of a great performance against the Neapolitans at stamford Bridge. Here the likely formations: Benfica (4-3-1-2): Artur; Maxi Pereira, Luisao, Garay, Emerson, Gaitan, Javi Garcia, Witsel; Aimar, Rodrigo Cardoso. Coach: Jesus. Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech, Bosingwa, David Luiz, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Meireles, Lampard, Sturridge, Drogba, Mata. Coach: Di Matteo.

landmine blast in India

Indian Maoists killed 15 policemen on Tuesday in a landmine blast. The blast took place in the centre of the country, an official said, marking the deadliest attack by the left-wing rebels since June 2010. The strike, which occurred in Maharashtra state, is the latest incident in the low-intensity conflict that pits the insurgents against local and national authorities in the forests and villages of central and eastern India. "Fifteen CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) are dead. The attack happened around 11.30 am (0600 GMT) when the bus carrying them struck an IED (improvised explosive device)," CRPF spokesman B.C. Khanduri told AFP. "The injured are now being taken to hospital. We don t have an exact estimate for the number of injured yet." The attack occurred in Gadchiroli district, about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the state capital Mumbai and close to the state border with Chhattisgarh, a hotbed of Maoist activity. The head of anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh, Ramniwas, who uses one name, told AFP that 12 were dead and 25 were injured -- the latest victims in a decades-long conflict that has costs tens of thousands of lives. The attack comes in the same month that Maoists took two Italians and a local Indian lawmaker hostage in two separate incidents in the eastern state of Orissa, one of several areas where Maoists control much of the countryside. Before the kidnappings -- the first to target foreigners -- the Maoists had been on a tactical retreat, according to analysts, but Tuesday s strike will reinforce suggestions that the rebels are swinging back into action. One of the Italians was released on Sunday, and the following day Indian government officials resumed talks with representatives of the rebels, who had issued a series of demands for the Europeans  release. The guerrillas, who say they are fighting for the rights of tribal people and landless farmers, have a powerful influence over large areas of central and eastern India, collecting funds through extortion and protection rackets. The Maoist insurgency, which began in 1967, has been described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the country s biggest internal security threat and has been targeted since 2009 in a government offensive known as "Operation Greenhunt." But the often poorly-trained police have faced a series of strikes as they attempt to fend off the rebels. In January, a landmine attack in eastern India killed at least 12 policemen and injured three others who were trapped by the Maoists in their vehicle in a forested area of Jharkhand state, according to authorities. In June 2010, the rebels killed 26 police officers in an ambush in Chhattisgarh, two months after an assault in the same state that left 76 policemen dead.

Syria accepted 6-point peace plan

The Syrian government has accepted 6-point peace plan endorsed by UNSC, former UN official said. The government in Damascus has agreed to accept UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's six-point plan on ending the bloodshed in Syria, the former UN chief s spokesman said Tuesday. "The Syrian government has written to the Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan accepting his six-point plan, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council," spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said in a statement. "Mr Annan views this as an important initial step that could bring an end to the violence and the bloodshed, provide aid to the suffering, and create an environment conducive to a political dialogue that would fulfil the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people," he said. Annan has written to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad asking Damascus to "put its commitments into immediate effect". Annan s plan calls for a UN-supervised halt to fighting, with the government pulling troops and heavy weapons out of protest cities, a daily two-hour humanitarian ceasefire and access to all areas affected by the fighting. He also urged the release of people detained over the past year of the uprising against Assad s regime in which monitors say more than 9,100 people have been killed. "Mr Annan has stressed that implementation will be key, not only for the Syrian people, who are caught in the middle of this tragedy, but also for the region and the international community as a whole," Fawzi said. 

Karachi closed by terrorist group MQM

Karachi, Pakistan  remained tense after killing of MQM’s (Pakistan biggest terrorist group & part of present government) sector member in PIB Colony.  After the killing, MQM workers start  torched vehicles more than 50, 2 killed, Aerial firing, schools and petrol pumps also remained closed after spiraling violence in Karachi.& the traffic also suspended in most of the city.

Syria plan seeks Beijing's support


International envoy Kofi Annan will meet China s premier on Tuesday as he seeks Beijing's support for his proposal to end violence in strife-torn Syria, after winning Moscow s full backing. Annan, the United Nations and Arab League envoy on Syria, will hold talks with Premier Wen Jiabao on the plan, which calls for a UN-supervised halt to fighting and pushes for a transition to a more representative political system. China -- along with Russia -- drew international criticism earlier this year for blocking a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria s protracted and deadly crackdown on protests. But it has repeatedly called for an end to violence in Syria, and earlier this month backed a UN statement urging President Bashar al-Assad to work toward ceasing hostilities. Beijing has also unveiled its own six-point plan, calling for an immediate end to the conflict -- which monitors say has left more than 9,000 dead since March 2011 -- and for dialogue between Assad s regime and the opposition. Analysts say that while China agrees to political dialogue to help resolve the crisis, it opposes foreign military intervention or any attempt at regime change after Western efforts helped depose Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi. The support of China and Russia is crucial for Annan's plan to move forward, since both are veto-wielding permanent members of the powerful UN Security Council. China's foreign ministry said Monday that Beijing supported Annan s efforts to mediate the crisis, but it was unclear whether this meant full support for the envoy s plan or broad backing for his attempts. "China values and supports the mediation efforts of Mr. Annan and hopes this visit will allow in-depth discussions on a political resolution of the Syrian issue," spokesman Hong Lei said. He added China hopes for a "fair, peaceful and proper solution". Analysts say Beijing may look carefully at Annan s plans for a Syrian-led democratic transition before giving a resounding go-ahead. But they add that Annan s job has been made easier after Russia -- which like China is a Syria ally -- expressed full support for the envoy, who visited Moscow on Sunday. During Annan s trip, Medvedev warned Syria that the international envoy represented the last chance for avoiding a civil war. "China may see a window here... to jump in and exert more visible support for the Kofi Annan visit and the UN initiative," said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a politics professor at the Hong Kong Baptist University. Annan s plan calls for the government to pull troops and heavy weapons out of protest cities, a daily two-hour humanitarian pause to hostilities and access to all areas affected by the fighting. It also calls for the release of people detained in the uprising. However, it imposes no deadline for Assad to carry out these demands, nor does it call for his resignation.

"Afghanistan" Great Game

Tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan fell victims to the carnage of the early 1990s. The shattered shell of Kabul s Darul Aman palace bears witness to Afghanistan s years of brutal civil war, a history many Afghans fear will be renewed when foreign troops leave in 2014. Designed by French and German architects in the 1920s as part of a new government quarter, the building s lion-headed buttresses are broken, its colonnades pockmarked by bullets, the metal sheets of its roof crumpled. Like tens of thousands of people in the capital, the palace fell victim to the carnage of the early 1990s as rival mujahideen groups fought for power following the fall of a Soviet-backed regime after Moscow withdrew its troops. With the end of the NATO mission looming in turn, analysts warn that without a sustainable peace deal, Afghanistan could disintegrate into yet another virulent civil war. Some Afghans are similarly pessimistic. "Every time I look at this building I m too upset, I can t say anything," said Mohammed Gul, 52, who sells drinks and snacks -- along with the occasional toy gun -- from a stall by the palace. "If this country became good everybody could live in peace. After the Americans go there will be too much fighting," he said. "Again the wars, again the fighting." He had no confidence in the ability of Kabul s security forces to maintain peace. "The Afghan police, the army, if there is an explosion or a suicide attack they can t do anything." The central premise of Washington s strategy is to leave behind a nation stable enough to secure itself and thwart an Al-Qaeda renaissance, supported by only a small US presence, subject to agreeing a strategic pact with Kabul. It is proving a difficult road, with a series of major setbacks this year -- a video showing Americans urinating on Taliban corpses, copies of the Koran being burnt on a US military base and a rampage by a US soldier that left 17 civilians dead -- plunging the countries  relationship to new lows. After the massacre, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for international troops to be withdrawn from villages -- the frontlines of NATO s anti-Taliban war -- and an accelerated handover of security. The US commander on the ground, General John Allen, told Congress last week that he thought a future 230,000-strong Afghan force, scaled down from a planned 352,000, was "the right target given what we think will be the potential enemy scenario for 2017". But a security consultant with 10 years  experience in the country said of the Afghan army and police: "When you see them operating on the ground, their capabilities are pretty dire to be honest." Even in two years  time, he said on condition of anonymity: "It s pretty unlikely they are going to be able to take care of security operations." In a report released Monday, the International Crisis Group think tank said "desperate and dangerous moves" by Karzai s government to bring the Taliban and other insurgent leaders to negotiations were unlikely to lead to lasting peace. The Taliban say they have suspended putative moves towards talks following the US soldier s shootings in Kandahar, and some fear the insurgents are biding their time until NATO leaves. "The negotiating agenda has been dominated by Washington s desire to obtain a decent interval between the planned US troop drawdown and the possibility of another bloody chapter in the conflict," said the ICG report. US embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall denied this, saying the US would "continue our strategy of defeating Al-Qaeda and strengthening the Afghan state so that terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda can never find a home there again". The pact -- still subject to thorny negotiations -- would "provide a long-term framework for our bilateral cooperation in the areas of security, economic and social development, and institution building", he added. Across the road from the palace, a new parliament building has only recently started construction after years of delays, symbolising Afghanistan s slow struggle to achieve any semblance of democratic stability. Standing by the ruins of the palace -- whose name can mean "home of Amanullah", the king who built it, or "abode of safety" -- 30-year-old doctor Cena Durrani is exactly the kind of young professional that Afghanistan needs. But he said he would look to leave when foreign forces do: "I am full of hopelessness. "If the Americans leave Afghanistan we will be like in 1990 and 1991," he added, referring to the very worst of the country s civil war. "If I were the president of Afghanistan I would contract with them to stay for 1,000 years."

Kofi Annan's 6-point plan for Syria

Syria has responded afresh to UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan on his six-point proposals. Syria has responded to the proposals that are meant for ending the crisis in the country, the former UN chief s spokesman said Monday. "The Syrian government has formally responded to the Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan s 6-point plan, as endorsed by the UN Security Council," he said in a statement. "Mr. Annan is studying it and will respond very shortly." The special envoy also sought the release of people detained over the past year of the uprising against Assad in which monitors say more than 9,100 people have been killed. Syrian authorities had already given a first round of response to his proposals in mid-March, but the special envoy had sought more information from Damascus. The latest response came after a team dispatched by Annan to Syria returned after three days of discussions with Syrian authorities. Annan, who secured backing from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for his mediation efforts in their meeting Sunday, is due to visit Beijing Tuesday to brief leaders about his proposals. In Moscow, Annan said only Syrians could determine President Bashar Assad's fate and called for the rival sides to negotiate an end to the conflict.