[Mail and Globe] Sudan said on Monday it had referred Chad to the United Nations Security Council, accusing its neighbour of launching an air raid inside Sudanese territory.
Sudan's army said two Chadian planes attacked a region inside the west Darfur district on Thursday -- the fourth raid Khartoum says Ndjamena has carried out in Sudan in two months.
Chad has so far not responded to the accusation, but has in the past insisted it has the right to strike Chadian rebels it says are based inside Sudan.
Relations between the two countries have become entangled in Sudan's festering Darfur conflict, and each country has accused the other of supporting insurgents inside its borders. In May, Sudan accused Chad of launching three bombing raids on its territory, while Chad accused Sudan of sending rebel forces over its border.
"We brought [the air attack] to the attention of the Security Council. It is now up to the Security Council to react," Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ali al-Sadig told Reuters on Monday. "We have confirmed the attack took place. The only other thing we are sure of is Chad is not interested in a settlement. They have declined all reconciliation attempts, whether from us or other countries, including Libya and Qatar."
Al-Sadig said there had been no further attacks since the reported raid close to the settlement of Um Dukhn on Thursday. "According to military information, everything is quiet in the area. There has been no escalation of events."
He denied Chadian rebels were inside Sudan, saying the Chad air force might have acted on "bad intelligence".
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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Detective Branch (DB) personnel suspect detained Laskar-e-Taiyeba leader Indian national Mufti Obaidullah's possible links to the grenades supplied by Moulana Tajuddin for using in August 21 attacks at Awami League rally.
The DB officials also suspect Obaidullah knew about Ramna Batamul blast and Udichi blast in Jessore.
According to sources, Laskar-e-Taiyeba had supplied the grenades through Bangladesh Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji) leader Moulana Tajuddin, brother of detained former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, as he is closely linked to the Pakistan based militant organisation.
According to sources, Laskar-e-Taiyeba had supplied the grenades through Bangladesh Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji) leader Moulana Tajuddin, brother of detained former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, as he is closely linked to the Pakistan based militant organisation.
After the August 21 grenade attack, Tajuddin went into hiding and now he is believed to have been staying in South Africa. However, his brother Pintu remains detained in connection with the AL rally blast.
Deputy Commissioner Monirul Islam of DB-South told The Daily Star that they are quizzing Obaidullah about all the attacks, including AL rally on August 21, Ramna Batamul and Udichi blasts, and Huji's links to the attacks.
He said Obaidullah is denying his involvement in all the attacks in Bangladesh and claiming himself an 'ideological leader' of Laskar-e-Taiyeba.
"But he keeps mum when we ask him about the relationship between Huji and Laskar-e-Taiyeba," the DC-DB said adding, "He is a strong-hearted militant leader and therefore it is hard to extract information from him about his financial support and his network."
Monirul Islam, however, said Mufti Obaidullah had close relationship with Huji leaders Moulana Tajuddin, Mufti Hannan, Mufti Abdur Rouf and Moulana Abdus Salam.
Sources said intelligence personnel are conducting drives at different Huji dens to nab the Laskar-e-Taiyeba leaders as leaders of both the organisations are ideologically the same and they have close links to each other.
DB Inspector Ruhul Amin, investigation officer of the case filed against Mufti Obaidullah, told The Daily Star that they, along with Obaidullah, conducted drives at different places of Savar, Gazipur, Keraniganj and other areas adjacent to the capital.
He also said several teams are conducting drives to nab the accomplices of Obaidullah.
Mufti Obaidullah had been serving as a teacher of a madrasas in Shibchar of Madaripur district using his fake identity. Earlier he was a teacher of four other madrasas in Moulavibazar, Munshiganj, Jessore and Dhaka.
Now he is being quizzed under the Taskforce Intelligence cell after being taken on seven days' remand.
Our Madaripur correspondent reports: Shibchar police are verifying the identities of the teachers of different madrasas to find out whether Obaidullah has any other associates there.
Officer-in-Charge Abdul Jalil of the police station said they are looking into whether any other madrasa teachers are linked to the Laskar-e-Taiyeba.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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Hat tip to: www.nefafoundation.org
synopsis: Jihad to the death declared on China and all it's people.
One page of BS and then the following:
"And we say: do not claim that there isn't a supporter or a rescuer for the Muslim Turkistni people, as Allah is their rescuer and supporter and He is alive and never dies, when they [Turkistanis] call upon Him, He answers; when they seek His rescue, He rescues them, and He is capable of destroying the unjust Chinese in a one-second time, if He willed."
"And you ought to know that this Muslim people has men who will avenge them, and soon the knights of Allah will ambush you, Allah-willing, so await as we are with you awaiting."
"And, we tell the Chinese people: however much you increase your injustice, oppression, and murder of our Muslim brothers, and develop your methods of torture, and become creative in torturing our brothers, do not [ever] believe you will enslave them, and the proud people of Turkistan will have men and women rise, and will [be] in all of their country and will make you [Chinese] taste [the] bitterness, as the spare-time for the bomb that has been engineered against
you, has finished."
"O Mujahideen heroes; O young men of East Turkistan, rise in the name of Allah to protect your Muslim people, and kill the Communist Chinese people wherever you find them, and take them into account, and attack them from every single angle. As, Allah, raised and glorified, said: 'and, Allah will support those [who] support His cause.'"
"And, I call upon our Turkistani brothers to come back to their religion and hold the [Holy] Book of Allah and the Sunna of His prophet, Allah's peace and prayer upon him, and to repent from the deviational beliefs, confusing thoughts, and every word and deed that goes against our Haneef faith. And, come seek the mercy of Allah, do not seek help except from Him, and get closer to Him by carrying out the obligations you could, and leave-back the prohibitions however much Satan artistically beautifies them, and make all your effort to glorify the religion of Allah."
"Remember the words of Allah: 'Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: 'We believe,' and will not be tested.'"
"We ask Allah to torture all of our enemies, and especially the Chinese people, with a slaying of His, or with our hands, and to keep us steadfast on what he loves and graces in Jihad for His cause, and to take revenge from His enemies, Amen."
"And lastly I say, the Prophet [Muhammad], Allah's prayer and peace upon him; [as] he is the most honest and believed, said that there is no wall between Allah and the prayer of an unjustly treated person, so may we all direct [ourselves] to Allah the [glorious] Listener and Watcher and may we pray for Him, and may we press Him [in Prayer] night and day to give us relief from the narrowness we are in, and to be kind on us with solidity in our land so we can establish the Sharia of Allah in His land, and release His [obedient] servants from the injustice and oppression of [the] Kuffar."
"In conclusion, we ask Allah to forgive our brothers and sisters who were killed in this massacre, and to have them in the widest of His heavens, He is the Most capable."
Can you imagine what it would be like to be Allah and have to listen to this overheated nonsense, not only all day but in the wee hours of the morning too? Man, I'd be sending plagues and pestilence and afflictions of boils on their sorry asses 'till they just STFU.
#2
SteveS - bloviation is not a Muslim monopoly. There's Al Sharpton for the Christians. And Al Gore for the Church of Global Warming. Just for starters.
#3
As, Allah, raised and glorified, ...
Interesting choice of words. Sounds rather Christian. I say "Military Commander: Saif-Allah" is a thief. Cut off his hand!
#5
Dear Brave Lions of Islam, you may want to reconsider taking on the Chinese. They aren't as likely to care about your tender little feelings as us Westerners, and I am sure they have no hesitation in killing you in ways that would make you ineligible to collect your 72 raisins of clarity that you never ever dreamed of. Just sayin'.
#8
the proud people of Turkistan will have men and women rise, and will [be] in all of their country and will make you [Chinese] taste [the] bitterness, as the spare-time for the bomb that has been engineered against you, has finished."
With NK cozying up to Burma, the Chinese had better rethink their position in dealing with Kimmie.
#9
My guess is we'll see a lot of refugees fleeing West and a lot of Minerets toppled before this is done. The Chinese are careful how things look to the world at large but there are few cameras in Xinjian and Tibet so they can generally do whatever they want and the peasant-soldiers of the Red Army are gonna have fewer problems beating up on Muslim Turkomen who declared Holy War on them then they would upon their own Chinese students.
#10
The Uighur-Han conflict is primarily ethnic, not religious. This must be outsiders trying to meddle. They'll get their asses handed to them, Chinese don't screw around when it comes to people who look like they don't belong.
#11
I've ordered 2 extra boxcar-loads, #7 Sgt. Mom. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/21/2009 18:08 Comments ||
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#12
China also has HUI MUSLIMS + lessor Minority sub-groups, not just the Uighurs.
MEMRI > SIMILAR ARTIC = UIGHUR JIHADIS [Islamic Party of TURKESTAN] THREATENS CHINA OVER XINJIANG CLASHES [calls for COMMUNIST CHINESE TO BE KILLED WHENEVER + WHEREVER LATTER ARE FOUND
Also from MEMRI > CONLFICT OVER SPREAD OF SHIA IN EGYPT RESURGES; + ISI GROUP[Islamic State of Iraq]: IT WAS THE JIHAD FIGHTERS IN IRAQ WHOM DEFEATED THE US MILITARY [US army = USDOD] AND MADE IT WITHDRAW. US forced = "impelled" + compelled, to redux and get out of Iraq.
#13
China also has HUI MUSLIMS + lessor Minority sub-groups, not just the Uighurs.
MEMRI > SIMILAR ARTIC = UIGHUR JIHADIS [Islamic Party of TURKESTAN] THREATENS CHINA OVER XINJIANG CLASHES [calls for COMMUNIST CHINESE TO BE KILLED WHENEVER + WHEREVER LATTER ARE FOUND
Also from MEMRI > CONLFICT OVER SPREAD OF SHIA IN EGYPT RESURGES; + ISI GROUP[Islamic State of Iraq]: IT WAS THE JIHAD FIGHTERS IN IRAQ WHOM DEFEATED THE US MILITARY [US army = USDOD] AND MADE IT WITHDRAW. US forced = "impelled" + compelled, to redux and get out of Iraq.
SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea and the United States are unlikely to hold a bilateral meeting at the upcoming ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which Pyongyang's chief diplomat is not expected to attend, Seoul's foreign minister said Monday.
North Korea has notified host Thailand that it will send a vice foreign minister-level official, not its Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun, to the forum set for Thursday in the Thai resort island of Phuket. The decision came as Pyongyang is locked in a tense standoff with the outside world over its missile and nuclear programs.
"It (bilateral contact) won't be easy, unless Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun of the North is coming," Seoul's Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told reporters before leaving for Thailand. Yu said the Thai government and other sources have confirmed to Seoul that the North is sending Park Keun-gwang, a vice foreign minister-level ambassador, to ARF on behalf of the foreign minister.
North Korea has often dispatched its foreign minister to the annual event, which groups 10 ASEAN member countries and 17 other nations. The participants include the U.S., China, Russia, Japan, and the two Koreas who make up the six-way talks on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
The U.S. has said its delegation, led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will attend the ARF.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. is strengthening efforts to cut North Korea off from the international financial system, senior Obama administration officials said on Wednesday. The officials said they are prepared to reengage in discussions with North Korean officials, but they said they are demanding complete denuclearization from the country.
"We're not really interested in halfway measures," one official said.
If that's true, then good for Bambi. It's time to turn the screws on the Norks.
The U.S. along with the United Nations already has enacted sanctions against North Korea, taking steps including freezing the assets of firms suspected of aiding the country in pursuing its nuclear ambitions. U.S. officials now are encouraging countries and businesses to avoid doing business with North Korea, alleging it engages in deceptive practices to shield the true motivations of its transactions.
"It's virtually impossible to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate North Korea business," a senior Obama administration official said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
No, long past time.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/21/2009 13:10 Comments ||
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UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council neared agreement on Wednesday on North Korean firms and individuals to be added to a blacklist for involvement in Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, diplomats said.
Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu told reporters "we are very close" to agreement on the expanded sanctions list. Diplomats said a council committee that has been discussing the issue for a month was on target to meet a weekend deadline for completing its task and could do so as early as Thursday.
As diplomats put the finishing touches on expanding U.N. sanctions, U.S. officials said they had succeeded in increasing international awareness of methods North Korea uses to disguise its trade in illicit weapons as legal business transactions. "North Korea engages in a variety of deceptive financial practices that are intended to obscure the true nature of their transactions," said a senior Obama administration official.
A U.S. team is traveling to key world capitals to warn governments and banks that North Korean practices make it "virtually impossible to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate business," the official said in Washington.
Firms and governments in China, Hong Kong and other places North Korea does business were taking seriously the U.S. warnings about Pyongyang's practice of using front companies and unusually large cash transactions, he added. The official said the goal was to bring scrutiny and thwart suspicious activities, not to hit all North Korean trade. Humanitarian aid would not be affected.
Shut it all down. All of it. Let the Norks starve, and fill the air frequencies that the Norks use to spread propaganda to their own people with the news that it's all Kimmie's fault.
Arms sales are a vital source of foreign currency for destitute North Korea, with a yearly GDP of about $17 billion and a broken economy that produces few other items it can export. The U.S.-based Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis estimates North Korea earns some $1.5 billion a year from missile sales. Other studies said the figure may be in the hundreds of millions of dollars and prior sanctions have cut into exports.
North Korea's annual legitimate trade is estimated at about $3.8 billion, with China being its largest partner with exchanges of about $2.8 billion a year. Previous U.N. sanctions have not dented trade. Beijing has been reluctant to cut trade, a lifeline to its impoverished neighbor, fearing it could cause a collapse of the North's government and lead to chaos on its border.
And because it likes its poodle. To get China to cut off trade and assistance you have to prod the Norks to do things China doesn't like.
This week's blacklisting is expected to go further by specifying individuals and goods to be subject to sanctions, as well as additional companies. The measure would prohibit companies and nations from doing business with the named firms and require them to freeze assets and impose travel bans on the individuals.
The steps described by the U.S. official were in addition to the U.N. measures and targeted counterfeiting, narcotics trafficking and other North Korean activities in addition to illicit weapons proliferation, officials said. "There's a broad consensus, including by China, that this is the right way to go and I don't think the Chinese would take this stuff lightly," said a second U.S. official.
The official said there was a growing international consensus that tightening sanctions on North Korean entities is "the best chance we have to influence their calculations."
"We're confident of an outcome which will be commensurate with DPRK (North Korea) actions and will be effective and will significantly improve the (sanctions) regime," said one Western diplomat.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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#4
ION TOPIX > OSCE CO-CHAIR [Minsk group] SEES RISK OF WAR/CLASH IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH.
Bot oh boy, first CHIN's GLOBE-TROTTING "GIANT DUSTCLOUD [size of FRANCE], now this.
You just knew FRANCE was involved somewhere, somehow!
* SAME > TURKEY: PRO-DEMOCRACY FORCES FIGHTING FOR THEIR EXISTENCE [ includ CAPITALISM + FREE MARKETS]; + IS MYANMAR GOING NUCLEAR WITH NORTH KOREA'S HELP?: + [ADP Party Leader]AZERBAIJAN WAS PREPARING FOR WAR WITH ARMENIA SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH GEORGIA???
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea's No. 2 leader, Kim Yong Nam, returned to Pyongyang on Monday after taking part in a summit of non-aligned countries in Egypt, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. When Kim, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's parliament, made a stopover in Beijing en route to Pyongyang, he did not appear to have met with Chinese leadership.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Mumbai police have reformed several would-be extremists through a hearts-and-minds campaign that has emerged as part of its anti-terrorism strategy in the aftermath of several deadly attacks, according to a report Monday.
The English-language tabloid Mumbai Mirror said that the city's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has put would-be extremists at the center of its non-combat anti-terrorism strategy.
Instead of arresting and incarcerating them, which can simply increase resentment and a sense of injustice, ATS uses them for intelligence gathering and gets their help reforming others.
"We have in place an elaborate process where we try to make them understand the futility of their supposed religious war and wean them away from their jihadi mentality," ATS chief K. P. Raghuvanshi told the newspaper.
"A reformed jihadi will not only stop others from becoming terrorists, but is also a good source of intelligence. It is part of our non-combat strategy to counter terrorism," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] The NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain Monday declared that the government employees having connection with miscreants would be dismissed from service besides confiscating properties of the miscreants.
"The NWFP cabinet has taken a principal decision to dismiss all those government employees who would be found involved in miscreants activities," Mian Iftikhar Hussain said while spelling out salient features of 14th special cabinet meeting held here with Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti in the chair here.
Regarding the procedure of dismissing the employees, he said the Secretary Law and Secretary Establishment will submit report within two weeks in this connection. Similarly, he said the cabinet has directed the Chief Secretary to submit report regarding the procedure of confiscating land and properties of the miscreants.
The cabinet reviewed various decision regarding implementation of the last cabinet's meeting. The IGP NWFP Malik Naveed and Home Secretary briefed the cabinet about the overall security situation in restive areas of the province and law and order situation. The In-charge ERU and provincial DG PARSA informed the cabinet about IDPs repatriation programme and their rehabilitation plan.
The cabinet expressed satisfaction over the operation of law enforcing agencies in restive areas of the province and agreed that network of terrorists in these restive areas have almost been broken and the militants and anti-state elements are in the run.
"In some restive areas, some miscreants are present in very small groups and with passage of time these would also be eliminated," he added.
The cabinet highly appreciated the sacrifices of NWFP police and directed the NWFP Information Department to present workable suggestions and recommendation after consultations with Police Department's officials to highlight their performance in true manner.
The cabinet directed the elected MPAs and parliamentarians to visit the residences of martyred police officials and expressed sympathies with their heirs for encouragement and moral boost up.
The Minister said that cabinet has given approval of Rs.5,00,000 head money on each militant commanders including Hafizaullah Khan, Qari Shahid, Dr Wazir Miftahuddin and Abdus Salam.
He said that 40,000 displaced families have returned back to Swat and Malakand Division till Sunday last while 12,000 more left today for their hometowns. Mian Ifitkhar said that restive Maidan in Lower Dir would be cleared very soon.
Two relief camps of Sheikh Shahzad and Sheikh Yasin in Mardan have been closed down on Monday while Jalala and Mazdoorabad camps would vacant within two to three days, said NWFP Minister for Information Mian Ifitkhar Hussain.
The repatriation of IDPs families living in schools would start from July 22 for which all arrangements have been completed. He said that up till now, over 2,00,000 cash cards have been distributed while ERU has made an elaborate arrangements to send edibles items to 7000 families to Swat including people of Mata.
The NWFP government's spokesman said that normalcy is returning fast to Buner and 85 per cent displaced people have repatriated back to their homes. The remaining 15 percent did not come to their homes so far due to un-provision of smart cards and registration. Soon these problems are solved, they will also return homes, saying these problems exist only in few union councils of Buner due to ongoing search operation and would be solved very soon.
Iftikhar said that joint patrolling of police and FC continued in the restive areas of Buner, saying that a food hub have been established at Sawari for IDPs of Chagarzai Buner while similar hubs is being established at Bacha Kalliy and Jorr.
The Minister said electricity has been fully restored in Buner and 15 exchanges of PTCL have been restored while work on restoration of four is in progress. The problem of low voltage is a big challenge for Wapda in Buner and hoped that it would be solved due to lining of 132 KV transmission line there, he said.
Generators are being provided to hospitals while construction of Rustam-Ambeela road is in progress in addition to provision of air conditioners containers to donor agencies in Buner.
The cabinet also decided to enhance the capacity building of the administration and police of Buner district, he said.
The cabinet expressed satisfaction over performance of administration Hangu. The cabinet was informed that a representative Jirga has been formed that was agreed on most of points for peace in the district. The cabinet stressed the need of devising a comprehensive strategy to collect arms from different grounds in restive areas of Hangu.
The cabinet was told that foreign engineers have stopped work on construction of Lowari Tunnel project due to security concerns and have desired deployment of army personnel for providing security to them.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain Monday declared that the government employees having connection with miscreants would be dismissed from service besides confiscating properties of the miscreants.
Too bad that won't affect government employees at the national level. If it did, the entire ISI would be out of business. Not to mention about half of the Army, and ALL of its senior officers.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/21/2009 19:33 Comments ||
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[The News (Pak)] Ajmal Kasab's surprising move on Monday to plead guilty to all charges before an Indian court would help the Pakistani authorities expedite the trial of his arrested handlers, who are being tried at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, including chief operational commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LT) Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
Some well-placed Interior Ministry sources in Islamabad said while requesting anonymity that Ajmal Kasab's confession has dashed all hopes of the under trial LT militants in Pakistan who had been in high spirits following the May 6, 2009 statement of Kasab in a Mumbai court, pleading not guilty. The Mumbai court had recorded him as saying on May 6: "I do not plead guilty" after the charges, which run to 50 pages, were read out by Justice ML Tahiliyani. He further retracted an earlier confessional statement, claiming it was extracted by torture.
The Interior Ministry sources say Kasab's confession and his decision to give details of the Mumbai conspiracy would make it easy for Pakistani authorities to nail down the five under trial LT militants who are being held at the Adiala Jail in the garrison town of Rawalpindi. Kasab's confession came two days after the Special Investigation Group (SIG) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had submitted on July 18 an updated supplementary charge sheet in court against five persons suspected of involvement in the Mumbai attacks.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak)] Pakistan on Monday dismissed Ajmal Amir Kasab's confession as an attempt to save his skin. Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar told an Indian TV channel on Monday that Kasab could be taking names to save "his skin".
"Just naming does not qualify that they are involved or not involved. There has to be evidence -- he could be saying this to save his skin," he said. The minister said Pakistan would not spare any terrorist and prosecute suspects it had arrested for the Mumbai attacks. There cannot be any credibility of the statement of a person who has changed his statements a couple of times, he said while referring to Kasab's flip-flop in the court.
He, however, added that if a crime is committed in any country then that country has a right to act as per the law of the land. The minister termed it inappropriate to take action against those named by Kasab and based in Pakistan saying that one cannot crack down on groups on the basis of confessions by a person behind bars.
Replying to a question whether Kasab's admission will help Pakistan in its probe, the minister said the Interior Ministry is dealing with the issue and it will get in touch with India to get as much information as possible and get hold of all the people involved in the criminal activity in Mumbai.
Kasab on Monday stunned a Mumbai court when he confessed to his role in the terror attacks. He named Abu Hamza, Abu Jindal, Abu Qahafa and Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi as his Pakistani handlers.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Kasab has no drill holes in his kneecaps, still has all his fingers (unbroken), and no cigarette burns on his scrotum, so I say his confession does have credibility.
Pre-deployment training prepares Soldiers for a wide range of missions they may encounter. Flying a blimp is typically not one of them. Or at least it wasn't for Soldiers here, until a new surveillance blimp took its place in the skies above FOB Warrior.
The blimp began operating June 28, and is part of a growing number of these blimps currently being used across Iraq.
This equipment takes a special group of Soldiers operating day and night to keep it in the air and out of harm's way.
"If the blimp starts losing helium, or if it needs to be patched, we take it down, find the hole and fix it," said Spc. Jennifer Cumbie, a Miami native and a multi-channel transmission system operator with the 1st Calvary Division.
The Soldiers are also on the lookout for bad weather and heavy winds, which can affect the stability of the blimp.
"In the communications world, Soldiers who operate their systems are in control of troubleshooting and can easily identify where a problem can, or has occurred," said 2nd Lt. Valerie LoSchiavo, the officer in charge of the blimp team and a platoon leader with 1st Cav. "But this mission holds challenges and variables that are difficult to predict or determine."
And the unpredictability of this weather has made the job challenging.
"It has been a learning experience," said Spc. Marshall Austin, a Wilkesborow, N.C., native and a shift leader with the blimp team.
"We all learned an entirely new system," said LoSchiavo. "But the team has adapted to the task with ease. They have done an outstanding job.
"When they found out about it they were excited to do something new," she said. "It gave us something to focus on and put our energy into."
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley confirmed Monday that a new housing development in east Jerusalem had been a topic of conversation last week during a meeting between senior US diplomats and Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren.
Crowley said US opposition to construction in east Jerusalem and settlements in the West Bank had not changed. Obama's war on the real enemy of USA
#1
The Israelis make everything worse by futzing around and not making decisive actions. Had 42 years ago, they gone in and taken over eastern Jerusalem entirely, and razed the al-Asqa mosque, Jerusalem would no longer be an issue at all.
On top of that, they should have evacuated every Arab and Muslim from their country. They could have been living in Egypt and Jordan all these years, and once the war was over, if the Paleos had cut up rough against the Egyptians or the Jordanians, they would have been butchered by their Muslim "brothers."
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Islamic Hamas movement has announced its preconditions for the Palestinian Authority (PA) elections scheduled for January 2010. "Condition Number 1: We win."
In a press statement on Monday, Sami Abu Zuhri, the movement's Spokesman in Gaza, said that one of the conditions for holding the elections in the Palestinian territories on time, is to hold "in parallel" elections of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Xinhua reported. The PNC is the Palestinian parliament-in-exile, made up of more than 600 members from both the Palestinian territories and other Palestinians living around the world. "Condition Number 2: Everybody makes bail!"
"Releasing 800 Hamas prisoners in prisons of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is also a condition for holding the elections in January next year," said Sami Abu Zuhri, who also called for forming "elections court and a new central elections committee." "Condition Number 3: We got no consequences for anything we do!"
The lifting of the two-year-long Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the Gaza Strip, the reconstruction of the damage caused by the Israeli attacks on the enclave and the release of Hamas ministers and lawmakers in Israeli jails since 2006 were the additional Hamas conditions.
Hamas made its offer as Egyptian-brokered negotiations between the movement and Fatah seem to be making little progress. The two sides have discussed forming a transitional government until election time in 2010, but serious differences over the security arrangements and electoral systems continue to divide the factions.
This article starring:
SAMI ABU ZUHRI
Hamas
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] INDONESIAN police are not ruling out the possibility that more than two suicide bombers were involved in the twin strikes on two luxury hotels, JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, last Friday that left nine people dead and more than 50 others injured.
Police are still trying to identify four of the bodies recovered from the two hotels, deputy police spokesman, Brigadier-General Sulistyo Ishak, told a press conference on Monday.
'We are not ruling out the possibility that there could be more than two perpetrators of the bombings. They might be among the four unidentified bodies,' he said. 'Investigations are on-going.'
Two of the bodies were decapitated, making it difficult to verify their identities, although police are certain they belong to the suicide bombers.
On Monday, police released the names of the five victims identified so far. They were Mr Timothy Mackay, a New Zealander; Mr Andrew Craig Senger, Mr John Rupert Garth McEvoy and Mr John Nathan Verity, all of whom were Australians; and Indonesian chef Evert Mokodomvis, 33.
Mr Mackay, 61, was chief executive of PT Holcim Indonesia, a cement firm; Mr Verity, 39, a business consultant; Mr Senger, 36, an Australian Embassy trade officer; and Mr McEvoy, 40, the commercial manager of PT Thiess Contractors.
Two Dutch citizens, said to be guests at the Ritz-Carlton, were also reported to be missing, and a Foreign ministry spokesman in The Hague disclosed on Monday that it was already in touch with Indonesian police about the matter.
Gen Sulistyo said investigators had yet to conclude that the terror group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) was involved in Friday's attacks, even though an unexploded device found in a room in the Marriott - believed to be the control room for the terrorists - was similar to the ones used by the JI in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people and a cache of bombs found at an Islamic boarding school in Cilacap, Central Java, two weeks ago.
'From the way the bomb was constructed and the type used, they bore similarities with the ones we found in Cilacap and Bali,' he said.
Police believe the unexploded bomb showed 'strong indications' Noordin Mohammed Top, a 40-year-old member of the Al-Qaeda-backed JI network, or terrorist cells linked to him were involved in Friday's attacks. The police have so far identified one of the attackers only as 'N', without giving further details.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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Hezbollah Secretary-General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah renews calls for the Lebanese nation to embrace resistance as the only way to counter Israeli threats.
In a Monday address to Lebanese officials in Beirut, Nasrallah criticized Israel for its ongoing military maneuvers and for holding hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians in jail.
"They are speaking of a war that will eradicate the resistance from the Lebanese territories," Nasrallah said, calling on the nation to embrace the culture of resistance.
Nasrallah accused Israeli leaders of greed and seeking to usurp Lebanese lands, saying that under such circumstances negotiations would be futile.
He went on to warn Iraqi leaders against what he called an American plot for fueling sectarian strife in the country, urging Iraq's political and religious figures to take preventative measures against such attempts.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
How about resisting becoming a full-blown colony of Iran and its running dog Hezbollah?
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned senior officials on Monday not to help Tehran's enemies after two former presidents expressed defiant opposition to the result of June's disputed presidential poll.
Clashes erupted between police and reformist protesters for the first time in weeks in Tehran on Friday after former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani declared the Islamic Republic in crisis and said there were doubts about the election result. That statement was a clear challenge to the authority of Khamenei, Iran's most powerful figure whose endorsement of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide victory was meant to be the final word on the fairness of the June 12 poll.
Reformist former president, Muhammad Khatami, on Monday weighed in, calling for a referendum on the legitimacy of the government and defeated reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi called for the release of hundreds arrested in widespread June street protests against the election result.
"Elites should know that any talk, action or analysis that helps (the enemy) is a move against the nation. We should be very careful," Khamenei said in a speech to Iranian officials in a clear reference to recent statements questioning the poll. "People regard with hate anyone, in any position, who wants to move society towards insecurity," Khamenei said. "There are things that should not be said. If we say them, we have moved against the nation. This is now a test for the elites and failing in this test ... means falling down." Mousavi said it was wrong to accuse those detained after the protests to plots by foreign powers. It was unclear whether he made the comment in response to Khamenei's remarks.
Referendum: "The only way out of the current situation is to hold a referendum," websites on Monday quoted Khatami as saying. "People should be asked whether they are happy with the current situation ... If the vast majority of people are happy with the current situation, we will accept it as well." The election dispute has further strained ties between Iran and the West, already at odds over Tehran's nuclear programme, with Western powers criticising the crackdown. Iran's government accused them of plotting the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. At least 20 people died in the violence before riot police and Islamic militiamen suppressed the daily June protests and, rights groups say, arrested hundreds of people, including senior pro-reform politicians, journalists, activists and lawyers.
Release: Defeated reformist presidential candidate Mousavi said mass arrests would not solve the dispute. "Let people freely express their protests and ideas," Mousavi was quoted as saying by the reformist Mosharekat website. "Our dear ones in prison have no access to lawyers and are under pressure to make confessions."
Mousavi was critical about linking those detained with plots by foreign countries. "Isn't it an insult to 40 million voters ... linking detainees to foreign countries?," he asked. "Who believes these people, many of them prominent figures, would work with the foreigners and to endanger their country's interests? ... They should be immediately released."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial choice for vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, denied media reports he had quit as a group of reformist clerics called for a referendum over the country's election process.
"Certain Internet sites published a report about Mr. Mashaie's resignation as first vice president in a coordinated action aimed at tarnishing the government," said a statement on his personal website.
"This is a lie, and these rumors have been spread by the enemies... of the government," it said.
On Sunday, state-owned English-language channel Press TV reported that Mashaie, a close aide to Ahmadinejad, had resigned three days after his appointment, which was strongly opposed by hardliners among the newly-re-elected president's own support base.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Senior Lebanese cleric Seyyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah rules out the possibility of a US and Israeli military strike against Iran. "I don't believe there is any aim to take military action against Iran by the United States or Israel because the current stage the world is going through doesn't allow any military action against another country," Reuters quoted the Shia cleric as saying on Monday.
He went on to add that another military action in the Middle East would further destabilize the region. "Any war against Iran will ruin the whole region," he said.
Fadlallah's remarks come while Israel has repeatedly threatened to put an end to Iran's nuclear program, which it describes as a 'threat' to its existence, by resorting to military action.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Delusional Thinking is so rampant in the world today.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/21/2009 8:47 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Yeah, wouldn't want to ruin the ME, given the place is ticking along like a fine Swiss watch, a veritable shining city on a hill, an Eden of peace and tranquility. The whole place needs to be picked up and shaken like a carpet.
Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami proposes a "referendum" on the legitimacy of the government as a means to end the crisis over the recent presidential election.
In a meeting on Sunday with family members of the detainees who protested against the result of the presidential vote, Khatami said what happened after the poll had blemished the "Republican and Islamic nature of the establishment", the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported.
"The only way out of the current situation is to hold a referendum," he said. "If the majority of people accept the situation, we will accept it as well."
Elsewhere in the meeting, his comments echoed those of influential cleric and politician Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who said Friday that officials must move to regain the trust of Iranians whose faith in the establishment was shattered after the poll in June.
Officials and the electoral body, the Guardian Council, have dismissed claims by the opposition that the vote, which gave a landslide victory to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was rigged.
However, Rafsanjani, a two-time former president -- who heads both the top political arbitration body and the clerical body -- criticized the government for its handling of the "crisis", which, he said, had created "doubt" among the people.
He also called for the release of those detained during the post-election developments.
On Sunday, Khatami praised Rafsanjani's speech and said the adoption of his perspective and suggestions were necessary in restoring trust.
"As Rafsanjani said, public trust should be returned to the society ... We announced from the start that there are legal ways to bring back that trust, but our calls were ignored," the former Reformist president said.
"I say again that the only solution is to consider the people's votes and to hold a legal referendum."
Iran's Association of Combatant Clerics on Monday touched on Khatami's call for a referendum and endorsed the suggestion, according to ILNA.
"As millions of Iranians have lost confidence in the electoral process, the Association of Combatant Clerics insists on the organization of a referendum... by independent bodies," the Reformist group said in a statement on its website.
Khatami had called for an independent body, such as the Expediency Council headed by Ayatollah Rafsanjani, to oversee his proposed referendum.
President Ahmadinejad, who has hailed the June 12 poll as the "freest and healthiest" election in the world, says defeated candidates and their supporters should forgo their stance and work alongside his government.
On Monday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of the state, warned the country's "elite" to be vigilant when commenting on the political situation.
Ayatollah Khamenei urged the political elite to avoid any measure that could play into the hands of those deemed as "enemies of the nation".
According to Ayatollah Khamenei, the current developments in Iran are a product of "common political games" pushed by certain political officials who are required to be rational if they want the continued support of the nation.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Islamic Hamas movement has announced its preconditions for the Palestinian Authority (PA) elections scheduled for January 2010. 
[Iran Press TV Latest] Senior Lebanese cleric Seyyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah rules out the possibility of a US and Israeli military strike against Iran. "I don't believe there is any aim to take military action against Iran by the United States or Israel because the current stage the world is going through doesn't allow any military action against another country," Reuters quoted the Shia cleric as saying on Monday. 
