KABUL -- Afghan officials have seized millions of dollars worth of armored vehicles and weapons from private security firms in recent weeks, a move that has exacerbated concerns about the government's plan to replace the hired guns that protect convoys and installations with an unprepared state-run guard force.
The government has disbanded 57 security companies. Of the 46 that remain, 23 are Afghan-owned and 23 are foreign firms with operations in Afghanistan. The companies provide security to clients ranging from tiny aid organizations to large construction and shipping companies.
For years, diplomatic missions and private security firms have complained that importing armored vehicles and weapons into Afghanistan is virtually impossible without paying bribes.
"What they are trying to do is unbelievable," said Doug Brooks, president of the International Stability Operations Association, an advocacy group that represents security firms in conflict zones. "I think, in private, the recognition is universal, even among people in the Afghan government: All of them privately say this is not going to work the way it's intended."
The Obama administration is considering transferring to Afghan custody a senior Taliban official suspected of major human rights abuses as part of a long-shot bid to improve the prospects of a peace deal in Afghanistan, Reuters has learned.
The potential hand-over of Mohammed Fazl, a 'high-risk detainee' held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison since early 2002, has set off alarms on Capitol Hill and among some U.S. intelligence officials.
As a senior commander of the Taliban army, Fazl is alleged to be responsible for the killing of thousands of Afghanistan's minority Shi'ite Muslims between 1998 and 2001.
According to U.S. military documents made public by WikiLeaks, he was also on the scene of a Nov. 2001 prison riot that killed CIA operative Johnny Micheal Spann, the first American who died in combat in the Afghan war. There is no evidence, however, that Fazl played any direct role in Spann's death.
Senior U.S. officials have said their 10-month-long effort to set up substantive negotiations between the weak government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Taliban has reached a make-or-break moment. Reuters reported earlier this month that they are proposing an exchange of "confidence-building measures," including the transfer of five detainees from Guantanamo and the establishment of a Taliban office outside of Afghanistan.
Now Reuters has learned from U.S. government sources the identity of one of the five detainees in question.
The detainees, the officials emphasized, would not be set free, but remain in some sort of further custody. It is unclear precisely what conditions they would be held under.
In response to inquiries by Reuters, a senior administration official said that the release of Fazl and four other Taliban members had been requested by the Afghan government and Taliban representatives as far back as 2005.
#2
Getting peace for this or any Taliban prisoner release is about as probable as the Trunks getting serious cuts in government spending from the Donks in exchange for tax increases.
Memo to State Department of "Interminable Negotiations with Crackpot Muslim Regimes": Muslims do not think it is wrong to lie to an infidel. Also please note by their definition, you are an infidel. They will keeping lying until you give them what they want and then they tear up the paper. Please refer to the meeting minutes of the Camp David accord between President Clinton, Barak (NO not THAT one, THAT one over there!!) and Yasser Arafat.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
12/30/2011 9:37 Comments ||
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A group of businesses providing money transfers between Minnesota and Somalia suspended services Thursday, saying it was forced into the move after a US bank shut down what the group called a vital lifeline to the war-torn African country.
Somalia has appealed the decision by Sunrise Community Banks to end the remittances program from Minnesota, the state that is home to the largest Somali-American community in the United States. US-based Somalis send about $100 million back home each year, according to the US Treasury.
Most of which goes to the Widows Ammunition Fund. Because the Somali widows always need more ammo.
[Telegraph.UK] Rev. Ayo Oritsejafor, president of a prominent Christian organization, expressed concern over the "apparent inability" of the Nigerian government to provide security after Christmas Day bombings and subsequent religiously motivated attacks, in which at least 40 people died and scores more were maimed.
"The consensus is that the Christian community nationwide will be left with no other option than to respond appropriately if there are any further attacks on our members, churches and property," Oritsejafor said ahead of a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... on Wednesday. The purpose of terrorism such as Boko Haram practices is to split society into "us" and "them" and then to set the two side to killing each other. The only way to stop it is to track down the men behind it, meaning the holy men, money men, and politicians in charge but walled off behind their capos and consiglieri...
Oritsejafor, whose Christian Association of Nigeria, or CAN, represents various denominations in the country's predominantly Mohammedan north, also criticised President Jonathan's government for failing to make any "high profile arrest" despite claims that it has knowledge about the perpetrators. The government's response is not commensurate, the reverend argued, with what he deemed, "a declaration of war on Christians and Nigeria."
Amid mounting criticism of the government's ability to combat Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. Currently wearing a false nose and moustache and answering to Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad, or Big Louie... , President Jonathan called together his national security advisors for talks on stemming violence blamed on Islamists that has led to concerns of reprisals from Christians. The approaching anniversary of last year's New Year's Eve attack on a beer garden sparked fears that revelers this year could be targeted.
President Jonathan, a Christian from the south who won a re-election bid last April, has come under intense scrutiny for his government's handling of the bombings and for his ability to assuage fears that Boko Haram may be plotting additional attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Targeted strikes against not the mosques but rather the homes of Imans who preach violence againsts the Christians is a good place to start.
Posted by: Paul D ||
12/30/2011 7:41 Comments ||
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#3
Muslims really don't care for it much at all when Christians fight back, because Christians have a habit of winning such fights. Ex: South Sudan.
A big part of this is that Muslims much prefer to butcher women and children and the defenseless, which is characteristic of cowards. In a fair fight, however, Allan "turns their bowels into water."
[An Nahar] The Bahraini authorities announced on Thursday that five coppers accused over the death by torture of two detainees, linked to anti-regime protests earlier this year, would face trial next month.
Public Prosecutor Nawaf Abdullah Hamza was quoted by the official Bahrain News Agency as saying that after examining allegations by the interior ministry of cases of torture and ill treatment, his office had decided to refer one case to the criminal court.
Five coppers have been implicated in the case, he said, adding that "two are accused of having beaten to death two of the detainees, and the three others are accused of failing to report the case."
He said the trial would start on January 11.
The Shiite-led mass demonstrations which rocked the Sunni-ruled kingdom of Bahrain earlier this year were violently crushed by government forces using live ammunition and heavy-handed tactics.
A special commission appointed to probe the crackdown on the month-long anti-government protests that erupted in March published a report last month denouncing the "excessive and unjustified use of force" by the authorities.
The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry said 35 people were killed in the unrest, including five security personnel, and five detainees who were tortured to death while in jug. Hundreds were also injured.
Earlier on Wednesday, the government announced a policy of "zero tolerance" towards any abuse of political detainees, in line with the recommendations of the probe.
Bahrain has come under pressure from close ally the United States to bring to trial those allegedly responsible for human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... violations.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] U.S. officials suspect that Yemen fed them false intelligence for a 2010 strike against al-Qaeda suspects that killed a local leader locked in a dispute with the president's family, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Lot of that going around in this administration.
The disclosure of such an incident would complicate relations between the two allies at a time when Yemeni President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... is seeking to visit the United States amid months of popular protests demanding his ouster.
The May 25, 2010 U.S. missile strike, launched on intelligence supplied by the Yemeni government, killed Jabir Shabwani, 31, deputy governor of the central Mareb province, whose long-standing relations with Saleh's family had soured.
"We think we got played," the Journal quoted an official as saying, adding that other officials do not believe there was a Yemeni plan to kill Shabwani.
Saleh has been a key ally in the covert U.S. war on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a group increasingly seen as a threat to the United States comparable to the global network's core leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistain.
Saleh has also faced months of massive protests demanding the end of his 33-year reign accompanied by growing unrest that further threatens stability in the impoverished and largely tribal country.
Earlier this month Saleh requested permission to visit the United States, setting up a dilemma for U.S. President Barack We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us Obama, who has relied on the Yemeni leader as an anti-Qaeda ally but has also voiced support for the pro-democracy revolts sweeping the Arab world.
The Journal said some U.S. officials doubt the military was intentionally misled in the 2010 strike but said it raised troubling questions about the reliance on Yemeni security forces for intelligence.
The Journal quoted Yemeni officials as denying that they had any knowledge that Shabwani was at the site of the air strike.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The United States said Thursday it had sent a "strong message" to the Gulf region, as tensions rise with Iran, by signing a $29.4 billion deal to provide F-15 fighter jets to Soddy Arabia.
The deal, which was signed over the weekend, will supply 84 new Boeing F-15SA aircraft and modernize 70 existing planes and include munitions, spare parts, training and maintenance contracts, U.S. officials said.
It sends "a strong message to countries in the region that the United States is committed to stability in the Gulf and broader Middle East," said senior State Department official Andrew Shapiro.
"It will enhance Soddy Arabia's ability to deter and defend against external threats to its illusory sovereignty," he told news hounds.
The deal, announced formally on Thursday in Hawaii as President Barack Because I won Obama vacationed in his native state, was first unveiled in October 2010 as part of a $60 billion U.S. arms sale to Soddy Arabia.
In Honolulu, White House deputy front man Josh Earnest said the deal would support more than 50,000 American jobs at a time of high unemployment and provide a $3.5 billion annual boost to the U.S. economy.
"This agreement reinforces the strong and enduring relationship between the United States and Soddy Arabia, and demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a strong Saudi defense capability as a key component to regional security," Earnest said.
The delivery of the package would unfold over 15 to 20 years and also includes Black Hawk and Apache attack helicopters, defense officials said.
Thursday's announcement came with tensions between Iran and the United States and its Gulf allies on the rise over Tehran's nuclear drive.
Iran has rejected a warning that the U.S. military will not tolerate any attempt by Tehran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz to tankers in a move that would threaten deep disruption to global oil supplies.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Does the deal includes 15 pilots and 150 ground crew?
#3
Hopefully there's drop-dead circuitry to take 'em out if we end up with another F-14s-in-the-hands-of-the-Iranian-mullahs situation.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
12/30/2011 8:32 Comments ||
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#4
Does the deal includes 15 pilots and 150 ground crew?
Don't think so re the pilots, but based on my admittedly long-ago (1980's) experience as a tech at a defense plant, bet the ranch on it re the ground crew. Saudis will fly the damn things all day long (how well they'll fly 'em is another question) since their pilots are commissioned officers who are drawn from the higher levels of Saudi Arab society. OTOH, the Soddies regard maintenance and repair of even sophisticated weapons systems as akin to "manual labor," fit only for lowly unclean foreigners.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
12/30/2011 13:18 Comments ||
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#5
AMEN, TW.
OBTW: I'm "really Likin'" my latest handle! THX!
Posted by: Slomp Oppressor of the Faeries1490 ||
12/30/2011 23:05 Comments ||
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Qatar has offered Jordan a package of benefits in exchange for Amman agreeing to host Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, in its territory, Channel 2 reported on Thursday.
According to the report, Qatar would award the Jordanians with natural gas and money if it agreed to shelter Hamas.
The report came amid rumors that Hamas was looking to exit its current home in exile, Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... , amid instability stemming form the uprising against Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... .
[Bangla Daily Star] Leading figures of the ruling Awami League-led grand alliance yesterday vowed to try the war criminals at any cost and alleged that the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... were trying to foil the trial by creating anarchy in the country.
They made the promise at a mass rally organised to demand a quick trial of the wartime collaborators of the Pakistain occupation force and to resist BNP-Jamaat's "move to protect those war criminals".
At the gathering, the first of its kind since the formation of the alliance three years ago, AL Presidium Member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury called upon leaders and activists of the allied parties to launch a door-to-door hunt to catch the collaborators.
Leaders, workers and supporters present at the rally swore an oath administrated by Sajeda, who is also deputy leader of the House and coordinator of her party-led 14-party coalition now in a grand alliance along with Jatiya Party.
"We are taking an oath to the effect that the way in which we defeated the Pakistain occupation force after forging unity regardless of religion, race and colour under the directive of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and gained independence, is the same way in which we will safeguard our freedom.
"And we will try the war criminals who committed genocide, rape and crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. We will root out militancy and fundamentalism from the country, and establish democracy under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu, and build a developed Sonar Bangla as dreamt by Bangabandhu."
Announcing torch processions to be organised in districts and upazilas across the country on January 7 and 11, she said, "As part of the programmes, we also will salute those who were tortured during the war of independence."
Later yesterday, commenting on Sajeda's directive, Akbar Ali Khan, former adviser to a caretaker government, said "Once the people are left to take the law into their own hands, there are chances of anarchy breaking out."
He, however, said the people can contribute to the trial process by providing information and evidence of crimes against humanity to the Sherlocks.
The crucial rally was arranged in front of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, blocking the busy Matsya Bhaban-Shahbagh road, although Suhrawardy Udyan had earlier been fixed as the venue.
The huge gathering caused a gridlock in the area and other parts of the capital for hours, causing immense suffering to people.
Tens of thousands of leaders, workers and supporters of the grand alliance joined the rally, which began at 2:30pm. The road from Katabon intersection to Matsya Bhaban turned into a human sea.
Addressing the rally, various leaders of the grand alliance leaders said nothing could stop the trial which is the core demand of the nation. The people will be agitating on the streets until the last collaborator is brought to book.
AL leader Amir Hossain Amu said the people of Bangladesh, who by responding to the call of Bangabandhu had fought against the Pakistain occupation force in 1971 for independence, would be united again on the issue of the war crimes trial.
He alleged that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... had become the spokesperson of communal and anti-liberation forces by siding with them.
Tofail Ahmed, another party veteran, alleged that BNP-Jamaat had resorted to kabooms and vandalism to thwart the war crimes trial. "But no power in the world can foil the trial once it has got underway on this soil."
Suranjit Sengupta, advisory council member of the party and minister for railways, said the nation would never allow the opposition to foil the war crimes trial.
AL Presidium Member and agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury, however, assured the crowd that BNP-Jamaat would not be able to hinder the trial through kabooms or any other kind of violence.
Mahbubul Alam Hanif, AL's acting general secretary, said the whole nation was now in favour of the trial.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Witness Mofizuddin Poshari yesterday told the International Crimes Tribunal that Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... along with other collaborators tortured him in a collaborators' camp at Parerhaat of Pirojpur in 1971.
The collaborators broke his finger, injured his legs, pelvis, and slammed him on the cement floor which left him with bloody lips and broken teeth, Mofizuddin said.
Mofizuddin Poshari, 72, gave his deposition to the three-member tribunal led by its Chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq. He is the seventh of the 68 prosecution witnesses scheduled to testify in a case against Sayeedi regarding crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War of 1971.
He also narrated how Pak soldiers shot Ibrahim Kutti on the Parerhaat Bridge after consulting with Sayeedi. Mofiz's cousin, sixth prosecution witness Manik Poshari, had also narrated to the tribunal how Mofiz and Kutti were captured and how Kutti was killed.
"I heard a gunshot and Kutti screaming out 'maa' [mother] behind me. I looked back and saw that they had shot Kutti," he told the tribunal, "I was shivering in fear.
"I looked back again and saw the Pak soldiers kicking Kutti's body towards the canal."
Sayeedi's counsels began cross-examining Mofiz yesterday. They will resume the cross-examination on Sunday.
Earlier, the tribunal started the day's proceedings at 10:41am with the absence of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, who was at the hospital for his scheduled physiotherapy for back pains.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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A Mexican drug trafficker awaiting trial in a Chicago federal court claims that the notorious Sinaloa cartel received weapons from "Operation Fast and Furious" under an alleged immunity agreement that the U.S. government made with cartel leaders, in exchange for information on rival gangs.
The defendant in a trafficking case before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Vicente Jesus Zambada-Niebla, also claims the immunity deal allowed the criminal cartel to "continue to smuggle tons of illicit drugs" into the United States.
He wants the U.S. government to provide documents relating to the botched gun running sting operation along the southwest border, arguing that it would benefit his defense.
In a court pleading filed last July, Zambada-Niebla made the claims about an immunity deal.
"Mr. Zambada-Niebla believes that the documentation that he requests will confirm that the weapons received by Sinaloa Cartel members and its leaders in Operation 'Fast & Furious' were provided under the agreement entered into between the United States government and [a Mexican lawyer] on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel that is the subject of his defense ...," it said.
"Mr. Zambada-Niebla believes that the documentation will also provide evidence showing that the United States government has a policy and pattern of providing benefits, including immunity, to cartel leaders, including the Sinaloa Cartel and their members, who are willing to provide information against rival drug cartels."
The defendant argued that he is protected from federal prosecution for trafficking drugs into the U.S. between 2004 and 2009 under an alleged immunity deal struck between the U.S. government and Sinaloa leaders.
According to court documents, Zambada-Niebla claims that the immunity deal provided the cartel's leadership with "carte blanche to continue to smuggle tons of illicit drugs into Chicago and the rest of the United States" in exchange for information on rival drug cartels.
U.S. prosecutors deny the existence of such an immunity deal between the U.S. government and the cartel.
Nevertheless, the U.S. government last September filed a motion to invoke the Classified Information Procedures Act, which is aimed at assuring that national security information stemming from criminal cases -- such as details associated with CIA operations -- are not leaked to the public during court proceedings.
#1
Since he's on trial in Chicago, this should only be as difficult as trying a Mafia Don who has decided to testify against all the other Mafia bosses in the US.
#3
This joker testifies against the cartel, and Sinaloa will have shooters willing to take him out gratis, just to be in good graces with El Jefe. And the entire block around the courthouse.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/30/2011 11:16 Comments ||
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#4
You forget this is in Chicago. Most of the $20m will have to go to Rahm Emanuel.
Melson was transferred to a lower-level job at the Department of Justice on Aug. 30. Jones, the U.S. attorney in Minnesota, was appointed by Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. as the new acting director.
At Holder's request, the Justice Department's inspector general began investigating Fast and Furious in February, a month after the controversial operation in the ATF's Phoenix field office came to light.
Jones expects the inspector general's report early next year. He said he will immediately refer it to the ATF's Office of Professional Responsibility for recommendations on job terminations or suspensions. "We sure will" be making some quick personnel decisions, he said.
[Dawn] Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Näwaz Shärif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. on Thursday said that the government would take decision regarding NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... supply in light of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.
Defence Committee of the Cabinet had decided to stop the NATO supply following the attack on Pak checkpost on Pak-Afghan border, the minister informed media after addressing a ceremony.
The ceremony was held to pay tributes to security personnel who embraced martyrdom and suffered disabilities in war against terrorism.
"We have left the matter to the Parliamentary committee, which is led by Senator Raza Rabbani, and the government will implement its recommendations, whatever these will be," the minister said.
Malik said, as a result of the unmatched sacrifices rendered by our Army, Frontier Corps, Frontier Constabulary and Police in war against terror and the faceless myrmidons have been defeated in Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... and Malakand divisions.
Replying to a question, the minister said he would visit the police-pickets set up at different roads of the capital and assured all the unnecessary check-posts would be removed to ensure smooth flow of traffic.
Justifying the police-pickets at the federal capital, Rehman Malik said law enforcement agencies were alerted on daily basis and security is tightened accordingly to avoid any untoward incident.
Commenting on the G-11 firing incident in which an Assistant Sub-Inspector was killed, he said an inquiry has been ordered to probe the episode.
However, death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... the minister was of the view that it could be a result of any personal enmity.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
By most accounts the Pakis seem to be th econ worse for it, espec since Russia didn't shut the US-NATO out of their overland route vee CAR.
[Dawn] Chairman Parliamentary Committee on Kashmire Maulana Fazlur-Rehman on Thursday said that Pakistain will continue to extend its moral, political and diplomatic support to people of Kashmire.
He said this while chairing the committee meeting here at Parliament House.
Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and other Senior Officers of Foreign Office updated the committee on the issue.
The committee was briefed about the discussions at the recent meeting with India. CBMS like trade across the line of control as well as movement of the Kashmiris between the borders was also discussed.
The committee was also informed that the nuclear pact between the two countries have been extended for five years.
The Kashmire Committee advised the Foreign Office to keep the Kashmire issue at the forefront. "It is the core issue and Pakistain can't afford to put it at the backburner."
"Kashmiri have rendered unforgettable sacrifices and we should not do anything which damages the Kashmire cause."
Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... directed the Foreign Office to speak firmly, with confidence on Kashmire.
He said the whole nation is behind the Foreign Office on the issue.
"We may have differences on other issues, but we are all united on three issues friendship with China, nuclear assets and Kashmire," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
This can not end well!
Posted by: Water Modem ||
12/30/2011 0:09 Comments ||
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#2
Fazl,Kashmiris want independence not to be a part of Pakistan and secondly the Chinese are infidels so how can you be friends with them?
Posted by: Paul D ||
12/30/2011 7:49 Comments ||
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#3
secondly the Chinese are infidels so how can you be friends with them?
The more correct term (and validated by history)would be "allies of convenience".
[Dawn] India has rejected Pakistain's proposal to move heavy artillery and mortars away from the Line of Control in disputed Kashmire claiming frequent ceasefire violations and asked Islamabad to come clear on its nuclear policy, including command and control over nuclear assets, Press Trust of India PTI reported on Thursday quoting unnamed sources.
This was conveyed to Pak officials by India during talks on nuclear and conventional confidence building measures on December 26-27, 2011 in Islamabad after gap of four years.
India cannot look at such proposals till the situation on the LoC improves, PTI report said. During talks India conveyed to Pakistain on need to demonstrate in practical measure restraint and responsibility in nuclear field and urged it facilitate talks on Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.
Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna is slated to visit Pakistain to review progress of talks and both sides are keen to have meetings between Home Secretaries, Water Resources Secretaries, Defence Secretaries and Foreign Secretaries before the visit.
On nuclear CBMs, India made it clear to Pakistain that views on nuclear doctrines could be exchanged only when official documents enunciating the policies are available in the public domain, PTI report said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Baloch nationalist leader Attaullah Mengal while discussing the issues of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province with leadership of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... said that the only solution to save Balochistan is to bring the culprits involved in the killing of innocent Baloch to justice, adding that the entire nation recognizes the killers.
In a meeting with representatives of the party including JI Sindh chief Asadullah Bhutto, JI Bloody Karachi chief Muhammad Hussain Mehanti and others, Attaullah Mengal said that killing of innocent Baloch by agencies is a serious crime, adding that the resulting situation cannot be controlled by any politician of Pakistain.
On this occasion, Asadullah Bhutto said that East Pakistain got separated due to similar circumstances, adding that the entire country is concerned on Balochistan situation.
He said that all issues are resolved through dialogue but our government only knows the use of force to tackle the problems. He said that the point of no return could be avoided if our leaders pay serious attention to the Balochistan issue.
The JI Sindh chief said that his party has always criticized the abuse of power in the province, adding that the party would raise its voice against the injustice.
He said that Balochistan is the only province of Pakistain where anti-country slogans are being heard. He warned that if the issue was not taken seriously irreparable damage would be done to the national security.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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MISSAN / Aswat al-Iraq: 600 Iraqi Tribal Chieftains in southern Iraq's Missan Province have expressed support for the security forces in their province, after the withdrawal of the American forces from the province, according to a statement by the Director of Tribes in Missan on Thursday.
"600 Tribal Chieftains in Missan Province have announced today (Thursday) their support for the Iraqi police, army and Internal Security Forces, in a broad security conference held in Amara, the center of Missan Province," Colonel Hassan Abdl-Naby, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, pointing out that "the conference was attended by the Chairman of Missan's Council, Abdul-Hussein al-Saedy, the Province's Council Members and Parliament Members, along with the Director-General of Missan Pollice, Lt-Brigadier, Ali al-Hashimy."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Gazoo's Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, premier Ismail Haniya held talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. Thursday on his first official regional tour since the Islamists' 2007 power seizure in the Paleostinian enclave.
Haniya, who arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday, was joined in the meeting by other high-ranking Hamas leaders -- the first time they had met as a group with Bashir, whose country has close ties with Hamas.
The Paleostinian group has long maintained a base in Sudan, where its exiled chief Khaled Meshaal is a frequent visitor.
Meshaal joined the hour-long talks with Bashir, as did key Hamas figures Mahmoud Zahar, a former foreign minister, and Moussa Abu Marzouk.
"From the Arabs and Islamic countries we want finance and political support to confirm that Jerusalem is the capital of the Paleostinian state," Haniya told news hounds after the meeting.
He also came to Khartoum for the Al-Quds Forum, an annual gathering which focuses on Jerusalem, the eastern sector of which was occupied by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war and annexed shortly afterwards.
Around 200,000 Paleostinians live in east Jerusalem, which they want as the capital of their future state.
Meshaal told news hounds that his delegation briefed Bashir on reconciliation efforts with the Paleostine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Since 2007, the Paleostinian territories have been politically divided into two separate territories, with the Fatah of Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... largely ruling the West Bank and Hamas governing Gazoo.
In May, following years of bitter rivalry, the two factions signed a reconciliation deal.
Last week, Abbas met Meshaal in Cairo and the two agreed on a process that would pave the way for Hamas to join a reformed PLO, now dominated by Fatah, and for long-delayed Paleostinian elections.
Haniya left Gazoo on Sunday and visited Cairo before flying to Sudan.
Sources in his office said the main purpose of the trip was to seek "help and aid" for the reconstruction of Gazoo, which was devastated by a massive 22-day Israeli offensive which began three years ago.
His tour was also to include Qatar, Turkey, Tunisia and Bahrain.
Haniya entered Egypt through the Rafah crossing, which has remained largely closed since June 2006 when Israel imposed a blockade on Gazoo after Death Eaters snatched soldier Gilad Shalit, who was freed two months ago under a prisoner swap deal.
The blockade was tightened a year later when the Hamas seized control of the territory, ousting forces loyal to the Western-backed Paleostinian Authority.
Cairo officially reopened Rafah crossing with Gazoo in May, more than three months after Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... stepped down.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Sudan would be an appropriate place of Hamas big shots to live. They can be protected by their fellow genocidalists.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
12/30/2011 13:34 Comments ||
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#2
Sudan would be an appropriate place of Hamas big shots to live
Yes - it is within F-15 range and posesses an abysmal air defense system (for now) has a most delightful climate and wonderful beaches.
Amid a verbal row with the United States over blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route, Iran proclaimed on Friday that it will start testing long range missiles in the Persian Gulf.
"On Saturday morning the Iranian navy will test several of its long-range missiles in the Persian Gulf," navy deputy commander Admiral Mahmoud Moussavi told Fars news agency. These are stealth missiles that travel at Mach 10 and designed to hit stealthy targets. Nobody will know it when we launch them, and nobody will know if the targets have been hit because they will result in a stealth sinking. We'll let you know the results. "Look, see! A hit! Would you like us to show you again?"
The testing of the missiles is part of ongoing navy maneuvers in the Persian Gulf and, according to Moussavi, the main and final phase is preparing the navy for confronting the enemy in a warlike situation.
The maneuver has been overshadowed by a verbal row between Iran and the US over an Iranian threat to close the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, through which 40 per cent of the world's ship-borne crude is passed.
The spark for the row was a Tuesday remark by Iranian Vice President Mohammd-Reza Rahimi that, "if Western countries sanctioned Iranian oil, then Iran would not allow one drop of oil to cross the Strait of Hormuz."
Following his remarks, Iranian navy commander Admiral Habibollah Sayari said, although there was currently no necessity for Iran to close the strait, "it would be as easy as drinking a glass of water."
After the U.S. Navy said it would not accept any Iranian disruption of the free flow of goods through Hormuz, Iran continued the war of words with Revolutionary Guard deputy chief Hossein Salami saying that the U.S. was in no position to tell Iran what to do.
Salami also called the U.S. "an iceberg which is to be melted by the high degree of the Iranian revolution," and "a sparrow in the body of a dinosaur."
Neither President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nor the ministries of defense and foreign affairs have so far commented on the issue.
The only official comments on the matter came last week, before the exchange of words, from Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, who said that closing the Hormuz has never been on Iran's agenda.
However, he added: "if the region would face a warlike situation, then everything would then become warlike."
Say "Aahhhh ...."
Iran's navy chief boasts that closing the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic would be "easier than drinking a glass of water." Hardly, U.S. analysts say.
Iran's navy does not have the size for a sustained physical blockade of the Strait, but does have mine-laying and missile capability to wreak some havoc, analysts said.
"It wouldn't be a cakewalk" for Iran, said Caitlin Talmadge, a George Washington University professor who has written about the Strait of Hormuz. "If Tehran really wanted to cause trouble, it could." Yeah, until all military forces were recalled to defend Tehran.
But the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet is nearby and keeping a close eye on Iran's activities in the Strait. Mine-laying or missile activity would not go undetected and would likely generate a U.S. response.
The Fifth Fleet said on Wednesday that "any disruption will not be tolerated." That came after Iran's navy chief said closing the Strait of Hormuz "is really easy... or as Iranians say, it will be easier than drinking a glass of water." I'm thinking that maybe Nork's "Sea of Fire" guy does a little moonlighting for Iran.
Iran's threat followed European Union foreign ministers' decision to tighten sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program and leave the door open to the possibility of an oil embargo, and moves by the United States to expand sanctions as well. Hopefully it means we're getting their goat.
Iranian saber-rattling about closing the Strait of Hormuz to oil shipping is not new, and the waterway, which is 21 miles (34 km) wide at its narrowest point, has yet to be cut off to traffic. Let's go get it some more.
But the context for this week's threats from Iran is new. The oil exporter appears to be feeling even more threatened by the West over possible oil-related sanctions.
"We're in the game of threats. If you're going to cut them out of the oil market, they have no interest in the flow of oil from the region," Vali Nasr, a Tufts University professor, said.
Iran's message is: "If we are not allowed to play in the game, we have no interest in allowing anybody else to play," said Nasr, a former State Department adviser. How about your buddy Hugo? He got your back?
Iran would not be able to sustain a line of ships to block the Strait because it mainly has smaller boats that do not have the ability to stay in open waters in a coordinated formation for days, analysts said. Somehow, I don't think that's even an option, even to the Iranians.
It could not duplicate the blockade action taken by U.S. naval vessels during the Cuban missile crisis, for example.
Iran can harass oil tankers and western warships with missiles, laying mines and possible suicide attacks with small boats, or try to attack a Gulf export facility, analysts said. But it is not easy to sink an oil supertanker, which is much bigger and more resilient than a warship, analysts said.
Iran has 23 submarines and more than 100 patrol and coastal combat boats.
The Fifth Fleet has more than 20 ships.
Oil tankers can find work-arounds to Iranian activity in the Strait by sending smaller vessels that could travel closer to the Oman coastline. But hostilities can raise the cost of insurance and transportation costs.
Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby said: "Efforts to increase tension in that part of the world are unhelpful and counter-productive. For our part, we are comfortable that we have in the region sufficient capabilities to honor our commitments to our friends and partners, as well as the international community."
"The expectation is that the U.S. military could address any Iranian threat relatively quickly," Suzanne Maloney, an Iran expert at the Brookings Institution, said.
But just making the threats alone can economically benefit Iran through higher oil prices by unnerving oil markets, analysts say.
"Iran saber rattling raises oil prices and that's good for Iran," Talmadge said. If there were an incident in the Strait, the U.S. military could issue a warning that if Iran's ships came out from the coastline it would be considered an act of war, she said.
A key concern is that if Iran does try and destabilize the Strait of Hormuz, that could lead to military confrontation with the United States.
But Maloney said both Iran and U.S. President Barack Obama's administration would be cautious about escalating tensions too much.
"I don't think Iran wants to go to war," she said. But there are parties in Iran's leadership that would welcome higher conflict because it plays to their base, she said.
Iran needs the Strait as much as any other oil producer because its economy is highly dependent on it, Talmadge said.
"But they don't really have a lot of cards to play, they're very isolated internationally and in the region, so this is the one that they tend to pull out when they are desperate," she said.
Historically, "they are the boy who cried wolf, or the country who cried Hormuz. They've made this threat before and it hasn't materialized," Talmadge said.
About 2 million barrels of oil products are exported daily through the narrow channel separating Oman and Iran which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
"They routinely threaten to close it, and there hasn't been a period in history in which they've actually done that," Maloney said.
China urged peace and stability on Thursday after Tehran threatened to punish the proposed Western sanctions, but declined to make any other comment about the crisis.
"China hopes that peace and stability can be maintained in the strait," ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a briefing in answer to a question about escalating tensions.
#6
Its not like EGYPT = Suez Canal during the Arab-Israeli Conflict/Struggle of the last century, as the Sinai Peninsula was long recognized internationally as being part of Egypt, even by Israel.
IRAN has no such luck = historicity wid the Gulf - TOO LONG LEAD TIME + TOO MANY CLAIMANTS.
IFF ANYTHING, ITS CLAIM PROPERLY GOES TO ANKARA = TURKEY = OLD OTTOMAN EMPIRE, NOT TEHRAN.
Iff RISING IRAN wants de facto control, it likely will have to wage war for it.
Iran claimed to have taken surveillance footage of a US aircraft carrier near the Strait of Hormuz as both countries raised the stakes in their standoff over the key oil route. Probably by an RC aircraft the size of a large bird flying on an erratic course at slow speed. Big whoop. How big is the bomb it can drop?
"We will not relinquish our strategic moves if Iran's vital interests are undermined by any means," General Hossein Salami told Press TV. That's fine. Your secrets will be safe under all those piles of rubble.
This afternoon, the US also announced it was selling more than 80 F-15 strike aircraft to Saudi Arabia, an American ally and Iran's main rival for military dominance in the Middle East. Without specifically naming Iran, the State Department said the sale was intended as "a strong message to countries in the region that the United States is committed to stability in the Gulf and broader Middle East." I wonder how many Iranian F-5s an F-15 could take out before it ran out of fuel or missiles and had to return to base to get more. I hope they have extra pilots so they can work in shifts.
Barry Pavel, Director of the Brent Scowcroft Centre on International Security at the Atlantic Council, said that Iran's navy was potentially capable of closing the Strait but would be unlikely to do so because of the country's dependence on revenues from oil exports. "It would have to be a very extreme situation for Iran to basically shut down its own economy," he said. And, as a bonus, invite every affected Western power to come pummel their a$$ all at the same time. Smart. Got any dams, ports, navies, airforce or army bases, armies, mobile phone systems, bridges, petroleum storage facilities, refineries, grain silos, bunkers, nuclear facilities, heavy manufacturing facilities, wells hiding 12th Imams, electric/water/gas distribution systems, sewer systems, government campuses, and TV/radio stations that need recycling?Make sure your hospitals have lots of extra diesel on hand to run the generators or donate to the futile efforts of the Republican Guard as necessary.
The Iranian threat to close the narrow shipping lane was made after the EU, backed by the US, announced it was tightening sanctions on Iran for pressing ahead with its nuclear programme. Europe buys around 20 per cent of all Iranian oil exports and a full embargo would cause serious damage to Iran's economy. Not to mention its infrastructure.
Damascus official says Maher Assad 'has absconded' Syria and his whereabouts are unknown
Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... 's brother Maher Assad may be missing, several Arab media outlets reported on Thursday that the younger Assad has not been seen in quite some time.
Damascus ...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations... MP Khaled Daher was quoted as saying that Maher Assad had "absconded Syria."
"Whether he is injured and is being treated away from the limelight, or Bashir al-Assad is keeping him away from the military operations -- we don't know," he told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa.
Lieutenant Colonel Maher Assad heads the Syrian Army's Fourth Division, which oversees security for Damascus and includes the elite Republican Guard.
He is considered to be a ruthless military commander and one of the most feared people in the Syrian government.
Maher Assad's division is leading the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters across Syria. The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... believed over 5,000 people have been killed by the Damascus regime since mid-March.
Russian researchers say crippling computer virus unleashed on Iran in 2010 has at least four 'cousins'
Be afraid, O Mullahs. Be very, very afraid. Look -- squirrel!!
The Stuxnet virus that last year damaged Iran's nuclear program was likely one of at least five cyber weapons developed on a single platform whose roots trace back to 2007, according to new research from Russian computer security firm Kaspersky Lab.
Security experts widely believe that the United States and Israel were behind Stuxnet, though the two nations have officially declined to comment on the matter.
A Pentagon front man on Wednesday declined comment on Kaspersky's research, which did not address who was behind Stuxnet.
Stuxnet has already been linked to another virus, the Duqu data-stealing trojan, but Kaspersky's research suggests the cyber weapons program that targeted Iran may be far more sophisticated than previously known.
Kaspersky's director of global research & analysis, Costin Raiu, told Rooters on Wednesday that his team has gathered evidence that shows the same platform that was used to build Stuxnet and Duqu was also used to create at least three other pieces of malware.
Raiu said the platform is comprised of a group of compatible software modules designed to fit together, each with different functions. Its developers can build new cyber weapons by simply adding and removing modules.
"It's like a Lego set. You can assemble the components into anything: a robot or a house or a tank," he said.
Kaspersky named the platform "Tilded" because many of the files in Duqu and Stuxnet have names beginning with the tilde symbol "~" and the letter "d."
'Fairly certain' that malware existed
Researchers with Kaspersky have not found any new types of malware built on the Tilded platform, Raiu said, but they are fairly certain that they exist because shared components of Stuxnet and Duqu appear to be searching for their kin.
When a machine becomes infected with Duqu or Stuxnet, the shared components on the platform search for two unique registry keys on the PC linked to Duqu and Stuxnet that are then used to load the main piece of malware onto the computer, he said.
Kaspersky recently discovered new shared components that search for at least three other unique registry keys, which suggests that the developers of Stuxnet and Duqu also built at least three other pieces of malware using the same platform, he added.
Those modules handle tasks including delivering the malware to a PC, installing it, communicating with its operators, stealing data and replicating itself.
Makers of anti-virus software including Kaspersky, US firm Symantec Corp and Japan's Trend Micro Inc have already incorporated technology into their products to protect computers from getting infected with Stuxnet and Duqu.
Yet it would be relatively easy for the developers of those highly sophisticated viruses to create other weapons that can evade detection by those anti-virus programs by the modules in the Tilded platform, he said.
Kaspersky believes that Tilded traces back to at least 2007 because specific code installed by Duqu was compiled from a device running a Windows operating system on August 31, 2007.
#3
The US power grid is not a major worry, oddly enough, because subsystems use completely different and incompatible software, and interconnectivity is based on just crude transfer of energy. Yet this effectively insulates the entire grid from cyber attack. Only one part can be taken down at a time.
Yes, there are different systems in place. However, it's not hard to identify scenarios in which targetted cyber attacks cause power feedback loops that essentially cascade throughout one of the very large regional networks. Moreover, the power grid doesn't stand alone - it is interdependent with the communications grid. Failures can and would cascade across both networks in the event of an attack.
Those interested in an example could download this article from the journal Nature, which analyzed the vulnerabilities of interdependent networks as demonstrated by the cascading failures that shut down most of Italy's power and communications grids in 2003.
At the time many suspected a terror attack on the grounds that the blackout spread so widely and so quickly. The article linked above shows how networks that are interdependent become much more fragile under certain conditions than they would be if they stood alone. That fragility can result in catastrophic cascades of failure across both networks at once.
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya ...The Islamic Group. Sunni Islamist alignment in Lebanon. The group was founded in 1952 as the Leb branch of the Moslem Brüderbund. Its current leader is Faisal Mawlawi. The party has a military wing known as the al-Fajr Forces. Currently they have 1 seat in the Lebanese Parliament... has denied allegations that the al-Qaeda terrorist network was operating in Leb, but stressed that some Islamic fascistibelieve in the late Osama bin Laden's ... who abandoned all hope when he entered there... thoughts.
The party's politburo chief Omar al-Masri told An Nahar daily published Thursday that the reports about al-Qaeda's presence in Leb "are an old story."
The terrorist network has no base in Leb, al-Masri said, but he stressed that "some Islamic fascistibelieve in bin Laden's ideology" when he was asked about demonstrations in Tripoli and other northern towns where the photos of the slain terrorist leader were raised.
The party official told An Nahar that the U.S. administration had exaggerated the role of al-Qaeda which paved way for Arab regimes to strengthen their grip on power ahead of their collapse by mass demonstrations.
Al-Masri believes that the Syrian regime is using the same technique by claiming that al-Qaeda was behind two deadly bombings that shook Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... last week.
"What they're doing is a farce," he said, stressing that most of the victims were detainees and army dissidents.
The opposition Syrian National Council has said that the Syrian regime had intentionally put them at the scenes of the blasts to reveal to the public the alleged victims of the kabooms through TV footage.
Al-Masri added that Lebanese Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn, who claimed that al-Qaeda Death Eaters were operating in and out of the border town of Arsal, had been framed.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 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.
The Obama administration is considering transferring to Afghan custody a senior Taliban official suspected of major human rights abuses as part of a long-shot bid to improve the prospects of a peace deal in Afghanistan, Reuters has learned.
Goodluck Jonathan
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
Qatar has offered Jordan a package of benefits in exchange for Amman agreeing to host 
[Bangla Daily Star] Leading figures of the ruling Awami League-led grand alliance yesterday vowed to try the war criminals at any cost and alleged that the BNP and 
Khaleda Zia
[Dawn] Interior Minister 
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
[Dawn] Chairman Parliamentary Committee on 
[Dawn] India has rejected Pakistain's proposal to move heavy artillery and mortars away from the Line of Control in disputed 
However, he added: "if the region would face a warlike situation, then everything would then become warlike." 
Iran claimed to have taken surveillance footage of a US aircraft carrier near the Strait of Hormuz as both countries raised the stakes in their standoff over the key oil route. 
Damascus official says Maher Assad 'has absconded' Syria and his whereabouts are unknown
Russian researchers say crippling computer virus unleashed on Iran in 2010 has at least four 'cousins'
