[Al Arabiya Latest] Police punched and kicked international activists during scuffles in the Egyptian capital on Thursday which left one person with broken ribs, protest organizers said. "Members of the Gaza Freedom March are being forcibly detained in hotels around (Cairo) as well as violently forced into pens in Tahrir Square by Egyptian police and additional security forces," a statement from the organizers said.
Scuffles erupted between the police and the protesters which saw "women being kicked, beaten to the ground and dragged into pens, at least one confirmed account of broken ribs and many left bloody," they said.
Witnesses at the protest outside the Cairo Museum told AFP that police punched several activists in the face.
At least 200 international activists had gathered in central Cairo on Thursday as part of a series of week-long demonstrations to protest at Egypt's refusal to let the 1,300 members of the Gaza Freedom March into the Gaza Strip.
"We are barricaded in our hotel. There is a police cordon and six riot police vans outside the hotel entrance and we were told we couldn't leave," one of the organizers, Portuguese Ziyaad Lunat, told AFP.
On Wednesday 86 international activists were allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt after intervention by First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, but organizers say they went as individuals and not in the name of the Gaza Freedom March.
"Some of them have family in Gaza so they went, but the Gaza Freedom March rejected the offer to let only a few in," Lunat said, adding that those left behind in Cairo were still trying to get into the impoverished enclave.
Israel and Egypt have sealed the Gaza Strip off from all but vital humanitarian aid since the Islamist Hamas group took control there in June 2007.
On December 27, 2008, Israel launched a massive military offensive on Gaza which killed 1,400 Palestinians. Thirteen Israelis were also killed during the 22-day conflict.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
[P]olice punched and kicked international activists during scuffles in the Egyptian capital
#3
Those who will not learn history, are doomed to repeat it.
Also
Did you, as a moonbat, think you had special "Rights" away from America?
I see you thought so.
Do you still think you're "Special"?
Learning can be hard at times, the dumber you are, the more it hurts.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/01/2010 11:56 Comments ||
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#4
In the supposedly enlightened west, lefties regard it as the media-given right to hurl rocks, bottles, bricks, and feces at any police who dare to interfere with their mob intimidation tactics.
In Egypt, these things are regarded as anti-social violence and are dealt with accordingly.
Ironic isn't it?
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the religious leaders to unmask the real face of the force that uses Islam to confuse people with a view to preserving their political interests. The evil force is distorting the real message of Islam, which is a religion of peace, she added.
She was addressing the National Convention of Imams trained on Human Resource in 2009 at the city's Osmani Memorial Auditorium.
The premier also requested the religious leaders to wage a social movement against corruption except against her own political party, militancy and drug addiction to build a prosperous and peaceful society.
She also urged the Imams to help the government protect women from repression, eliminate early marriage, dowry and poverty alleviation, preserve the country's environment, achieve cent-percent literacy rate and ensure quality health services for all.
Hasina said the defeated force of 1971 liberation war always tries to misguide people with propaganda against Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Awami League.
But those who came to power using the name of Islam had withdrawn those revolutionary laws enacted by the Father of Nation. They also gave license for wine manufacturing, she added. She observed that drug addiction and corruption are social diseases.
The Imams can make people aware of corruption and the dire consequences of drug addiction, Hasina also said.
About militancy, the prime minister urged the Imams to remain alert so that none could create chaos or any kind of violence in the name of Islam.
Killing is considered as one of the most heinous acts in Islam and suicide is also completely prohibited in Islam. Then, how an Islamic person can launch suicide bomb attacks on others and kill people? she posed a question.
Bangladesh is considered a model country with communal and religious harmony. Imams can play a significant role in keeping the harmony and peace unharmed in the future, she said.
The prime minister also laid emphasis on including texts of all religions in the school curricula for balanced education of the children.
Expressing her government's strong commitment to ensure peaceful co-existence of people of all religions in the country, Hasina said Islam teaches that people of different faiths should perform their respective rituals with full freedom.
She said the government would take measures for expediting the Imam-Muazzin Welfare Trust under which the Imams and Muazzins are being given interest-free loans and donations. The prime minister distributed certificates among the best Imams for their outstanding performances in the training programmes and contribution to social cause.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/01/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The evil force is distorting the real message of Islam, which is a religion of peace
#2
Killing is considered as one of the most heinous acts in Islam and suicide is also completely prohibited in Islam. Then, how an Islamic person can launch suicide bomb attacks on others and kill people? she posed a question.
The Koran
44 matches.
The Cow
[2.49] And when We delivered you from Firon's people, who subjected you to severe torment, killing your sons and sparing your women, and in this there was a great trial from your Lord.
[2.54] And when Musa said to his people: O my people! you have surely been unjust to yourselves by taking the calf (for a god), therefore turn to your Creator (penitently), so kill your people, that is best for you with your Creator: so He turned to you (mercifully), for surely He is the Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful.
[2.61] And when you said: O Musa! we cannot bear with one food, therefore pray Lord on our behalf to bring forth for us out of what the earth grows, of its herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions. He said: Will you exchange that which is better for that which is worse? Enter a city, so you will have what you ask for. And abasement and humiliation were brought down upon them, and they became deserving of Allah's wrath; this was so because they disbelieved in the communications of Allah and killed the prophets unjustly; this was so because they disobeyed and exceeded the limits.
[2.72] And when you killed a man, then you disagreed with respect to that, and Allah was to bring forth that which you were going to hide.
[2.91] And when it is said to them, Believe in what Allah has revealed, they say: We believe in that which was revealed to us; and they deny what is besides that, while it is the truth verifying that which they have. Say: Why then did you kill Allah's Prophets before if you were indeed believers?
[2.191] And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers.
The Family of Imran
[3.144] And Muhammad is no more than an apostle; the apostles have already passed away before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels!s, he will by no means do harm to Allah in the least and Allah will reward the grateful.
[3.168] Those who said of their brethren whilst they (themselves) held back: Had they obeyed us, they would not have been killed. Say: Then avert death from yourselves if you speak the truth.
[3.169] And reckon not those who are killed in Allah's way as dead; nay, they are alive (and) are provided sustenance from their Lord;
[3.181] Allah has certainly heard the saying of those who said: Surely Allah is poor and we are rich. I will record what they say, and their killing the prophets unjustly, and I will say: Taste the chastisement of burning.
[3.183] (Those are they) who said: Surely Allah has enjoined us that we should not believe in any apostle until he brings us an offering which the fire consumes. Say: Indeed, there came to you apostles before me with clear arguments and with that which you demand; why then did you kill them if you are truthful?
The Women
[4.29] O you who believe! do not devour your property among yourselves falsely, except that it be trading by your mutual consent; and do not kill your people; surely Allah is Merciful to you.
[4.89] They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah's way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper.
[4.91] You will find others who desire that they should be safe from you and secure from their own people; as often as they are sent back to the mischief they get thrown into it headlong; therefore if they do not withdraw from you, and (do not) offer you peace and restrain their hands, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and against these We have given.you a clear authority.
[4.92] And it does not behoove a believer to kill a believer except by mistake, and whoever kills a believer by mistake, he should free a believing slave, and blood-money should be paid to his people unless they remit it as alms; but if he be from a tribe hostile to you and he is a believer, the freeing of a believing slave (suffices), and if he is from a tribe between whom and you there is a convenant, the blood-money should be paid to his people along with the freeing of a believing slave; but he who cannot find (a slave) should fast for two months successively: a penance from Allah, and Allah is Knowing, Wise.
[4.93] And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is hell; he shall abide in it, and Allah will send His wrath on him and curse him and prepare for him a painful chastisement.
[4.155] Therefore, for their breaking their covenant and their disbelief in the communications of Allah and their killing the prophets wrongfully and their saying: Our hearts are covered; nay! Allah set a seal upon them owing to their unbelief, so they shall not believe except a few.
[4.157] And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the apostle of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure.
The Dinner Table
[5.3] Forbidden to you is that which dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that on which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked, and the strangled (animal) and that beaten to death, and that killed by a fall and that killed by being smitten with the horn, and that which wild beasts have eaten, except what you slaughter, and what is sacrificed on stones set up (for idols) and that you divide by the arrows; that is a transgression. This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me. This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion; but whoever is compelled by hunger, not inclining willfully to sin, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
[5.95] O you who believe! do not kill game while you are on pilgrimage, and whoever among you shall kill it intentionally, the compensation (of it) is the like of what he killed, from the cattle, as two just persons among you shall judge, as an offering to be brought to the Kaaba or the expiation (of it) is the feeding of the poor or the equivalent of it in fasting, that he may taste the unwholesome result of his deed; Allah has pardoned what is gone by; and whoever returns (to it), Allah will inflict retribution on him; and Allah is Mighty, Lord of Retribution.
The Cattle
[6.137] And thus their associates have made fair seeming to most of the polytheists the killing of their children, that they may cause them to perish and obscure for them their religion; and if Allah had pleased, they would not have done it, therefore leave them and that which they forge.
[6.140] They are lost indeed who kill their children foolishly without knowledge, and forbid.what Allah has given to them forging a lie against Allah; they have indeed gone astray, and they are not the followers of the right course.
[6.151] Say: Come I will recite what your Lord has forbidden to you-- (remember) that you do not associate anything with Him and show kindness to your parents, and do not slay your children for (fear of) poverty-- We provide for you and for them-- and do not draw nigh to indecencies, those of them which are apparent and those which are concealed, and do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except for the requirements of justice; this He has enjoined you with that you may understand.
The Elevated Places
[7.141] And when We delivered you from Firon's people who subJected you to severe torment, killing your sons and sparing your women, and in this there was a great trial from your Lord.
The Children of Israel
[17.31] And do not kill your children for fear of poverty; We give them sustenance and yourselves (too); surely to kill them is a great wrong.
[17.33] And do not kill any one whom Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause, and whoever is slain unjustly, We have indeed given to his heir authority, so let him not exceed the just limits in slaying; surely he is aided.
The Cave
[18.6] Then maybe you will kill yourself with grief, sorrowing after them, if they do not believe in this announcement.
Ta Ha
[20.40] When your sister went and said: Shall I direct you to one who will take charge of him? So We brought you back to your mother, that her eye might be cooled and she should not grieve and you killed a man, then We delivered you from the grief, and We tried you with (a severe) trying. Then you stayed for years among the people of Madyan; then you came hither as ordained, O Musa.
The Poets
[26.3] Perhaps you will kill yourself with grief because they do not believe.
The Ant
[27.21] 1 will most certainly punish him with a severe punishment, or kill him, or he shall bring to me a clear plea.
The Narratives
[28.15] And he went into the city at a time of unvigilance on the part of its people, so he found therein two men fighting, one being of his party and the other of his foes, and he who was of his party cried out to him for help against him who was of his enemies, so Musa struck him with his fist and killed him. He said: This is on account of the Shaitan's doing; surely he is an enemy, openly leading astray.
[28.19] So when he desired to seize him who was an enemy to them both, he said: O Musa! do you intend to kill me as you killed a person yesterday? You desire nothing but that you should be a tyrant in the land, and you do not desire to be of those who act aright.
[28.33] He said: My Lord! surely I killed one of them, so I fear lest they should slay me;
The Clans
[33.26] And He drove down those of the followers of the Book who backed them from their fortresses and He cast awe into their hearts; some you killed and you took captive another part.
The Examined One
[60.12] O Prophet! when believing women come to you giving you a pledge that they will not associate aught with Allah, and will not steal, and will not commit fornication, and will not kill their children, and will not bring a calumny which they have forged of themselves, and will not disobey you in what is good, accept their pledge, and ask forgiveness for them from Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
The Folded Up
[81.9] For what sin she was killed,
The case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused in the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner, has reinvigorated a debate about whether British universities are being used as breeding grounds for radical Islam.
For three years, Abdulmutallab made the short journey from his apartment in central London to an 11-story brown brick building at University College London (UCL), where he was enrolled as a mechanical engineering student. Before him, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was convicted in connection with the 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, attended the London School of Economics. British citizens Asif Mohammed Hanif and Omar Khan Sharif were enrolled at King's College London before launching a suicide attack in Tel Aviv in 2003.
While those cases -- and others -- hardly suggest that extremists have infiltrated Britain's campuses, experts say there is evidence that Muslims who adopt radical ideologies frequently do so during their formative years in college.
Abdulmutallab, now 23, was president of UCL's Islamic society. And according to Anthony Glees, a professor of security and intelligence studies at the University of Buckingham, he is the fourth president of a university Islamic society to be linked to terrorism-related offenses in recent years. One of the former presidents, Waheed Zaman, is being retried for his alleged connection with a plot to bomb transatlantic airliners in 2006.
Like many university organizations, Islamic student societies fill an important social role for students, said Usama Hasan, a former Islamic society president at three British universities and now a university lecturer. But he said that they can also foment fundamentalist ideas and can be aided by guest speakers who "are very narrow-minded and extreme."
Hasan said that Islamic societies have scratched off many of the most radical Islamic preachers from their speaking rosters. The voice of Anwar al-Aulaqi, for example, the Yemen-based cleric who has come under scrutiny in the Christmas Day plot, is banned from Britain. Even so, he can still be heard frequently on some British campuses via video link during conferences and other events. "It's worrying," Hasan said. "He is charismatic, and some students listen to him."
Abdulmutallab graduated with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and business finance in June 2008. Less than a year later, he sought a second visa to study in Britain -- a course in "life coaching," according to British media reports -- but was turned down for applying to a nonexistent institution. During his time at UCL, he organized a conference called "War on Terror Week" at the university. One event at the conference was billed as "a lecture on the Islamic position with respect to jihad and other issues."
It remains unclear when Abdulmutallab underwent an ideological transformation. He was far from being described as a firebrand radical, and his former teachers, classmates and acquaintances in London have expressed surprise about the allegations against him.
Some Britons have used Abdulmutallab's case to call for universities to take a closer look at their student bodies.
UCL, the first university in Britain to be founded solely on a secular basis, is known for its liberalism and championing of free speech. But in the past week, some people have urged that the school's Islamic society be closed. Grant, UCL's provost, said such a step is unnecessary.
"To shut it down, that implies the society is a hotbed of radicalization," he said. "It isn't. It's a student society, and as far as I am concerned we have a responsibility to the community not to interfere with freedom of speech."
Grant said he is not sure what, if anything, UCL could have done differently in its handling of Abdulmutallab. "At the moment, we see no evidence to suggest any wider involvement of radicalization," he said. The university will conduct an internal investigation if necessary, he said, "but first you need something to inquire into."
South Korea should seek "peaceful nuclear sovereignty," Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyung-hwan suggested Wednesday, emancipating itself from tight U.S. limits on what it can and cannot do in the field.
Choi was speaking at a meeting hosted by Grand National Party lawmakers who are close to President Lee Myung-bak at the National Assembly after the United Arab Emirates signed a landmark order for a nuclear power plant with a Korean-led consortium. The minister accompanied Lee on a visit to the UAE to give the deal the final push last week.
"Korea's current know-how of nuclear processes is incomplete, and that should improve in the future," Choi said. He agreed that control of raw materials and reprocessing provisions in the Korea-U.S. Atomic Energy Agreement are "excessive."
The country could assert its sovereignty by reclaiming the right to reprocess spent fuel rods, which is restricted by the bilateral agreement. The other two areas are mining and enrichment of uranium, and making and use of nuclear fuel.
By describing the limits as "excessive," the minister drew attention to the gravity of the problem since the country is not permitted to recycle nuclear waste, even though the W47 trillion (US$1=W1,165) contract with the UAE signals global confidence in South Koreas ability to handle the task.
There were already calls in June to revise the nuclear energy agreement, at the time prompted by North Korea's nuclear arms development, but the government has until now kept out of the issue. The power plant contract appears to have boosted efforts to seek a revision of the agreement, which expires in 2014.
Concluded in the 1970s, the agreement reflects U.S. worries over nuclear arms proliferation in prohibiting Seoul from reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, since weapons-grade plutonium is a by-product of reprocessing.
But a government official said the provision makes no sense since Seoul sees the reprocessing purely from an industrial point of view and has no plans for nuclear armament. "We've tried to win recognition for our pure approach to peaceful use of nuclear power over the last 20-odd years and we feel the time has come for the international community to recognize these efforts."
Currently, more than 10,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel from 20 nuclear power plants in Gori, Wolseong, Yeonggwang and Uljin is stored at secure facilities. But they will be full by about 2016, leaving Korea little option but to reprocess it. Reprocessing would allow the country to recycle 94.4 percent of the waste as an energy source, reducing nuclear waste to a negligible 5.6 percent. "For Korea, the issue of reprocessing is an urgent economic matter," the official said.
The government planned to start renegotiating the agreement with the U.S. this year, but it seems the U.S. is not ready. A government source said U.S. government agencies "are very busy preparing for a nuclear security summit in April at the initiative of U.S. President Barack Obama, and because of this, the U.S. has not even decided who'll lead the U.S. delegation to negotiations" with Seoul.
There are fears that Washington is stalling. But a senior government official said there is no great hurry. "We're supposed to revise the bilateral nuclear energy agreement by 2014, and as long as the two countries are conducting working-level talks, we think we can start full-fledged negotiations in the first half of next year."
Just renounce the treaty. What's Bambi going to do to you? He's already proven himself to be an empty suit. He can't push the Israelis around, he can't lean on Europe, and the Russians are making him look silly.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/01/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Actually, I don't think The Once needs any help from the Russians to look silly. He does it all by himself.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/01/2010 10:23 Comments ||
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Breaking so I'm linking to a blog
Danish Police just shot a somali man a man who was trying
to attack Kurt Westergaard in Denmark. This was the cartoonist
who drew the cartoon of mohammed with a bomb in his turban. This is on bbc
tv right now, of course they won't show the actual cartoons they are
talking about.
No word on the religion of the attacker.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/01/2010 19:47 ||
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#1
oh, and HT to Insty
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/01/2010 19:49 Comments ||
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#2
Unfortunately, not dead.
The officers shot the man in the right leg and left hand. He was hospitalized, but was not seriously injured, police said.
Danish police last night shot and wounded a 27-year-old man trying to enter the home of Kurt Westergaard, whose controversial cartoons of Islams prophet sparked riots across the Muslim world five years ago .
Police confirmed an incident at the house in Viby, near the city of Aarhus. Danish media expressed fears that it might have been an attempt on the life of the cartoonist.
Ten police cars attended the scene and the road was blocked. Police said that the intruder was armed with an axe and a knife. Bomb disposal experts were said to be searching the house for an explosive device.
The intruder, said to be of Somali origin, was taken to a hospital in the city under police custody and was being operated on, police said. :
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/01/2010 20:52 Comments ||
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Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday he will ask Boston's lawyers to see whether the city can block Yemeni tankers from delivering liquefied natural gas into Boston Harbor, calling such deliveries "wrong.''
"We're in extraordinary times that call for extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of our city,'' the mayor said in an interview. "They cannot be coming into a harbor like Boston, where there is less than 50 feet between the tankers and residential areas.''
#3
You know, this guy should have thought about the dangers of allowing yemenis to bring large field-expedient FAE's into his harbor _BEFORE_ they decided drilling here was wrong and stupid and made that decision stick for the last twenty years.
#4
Deliveries are wrong? Fine. Stop the deliveries and shut off the Natural Gas. There are consequences of the action. Maybe someone will learn in Boston.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/01/2010 13:34 Comments ||
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#5
Why do they need to import LNG? IIRC isn't there an overland pipeline in W. Mass?
Posted by: regular joe ||
01/01/2010 15:41 Comments ||
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#6
No.
There have been LNG tankers arriving in Boston now for at least a decade. Maybe two. At worst, it'll be brought in in non-Yemeni hulls.
The Nigerian suspected of trying to bring down a U.S. airliner with explosives might have used Arabic studies as a pretext for entering Yemen before disappearing for months, perhaps into one of the lawless country's al-Qaida strongholds, fellow students and teachers said.
Interviews with staff and students at the Institute for the Arabic Language this week have revealed that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was frequently absent from classes and spent at most one month at the school in Yemen's capital, San'a, starting in late August before vanishing. Authorities say he didn't leave the country until December and that his whereabouts during that period remains a mystery.
Adding to the notion that his studies were a ruse, one teacher at the institute said the young man stood out because he already spoke Arabic with a considerable degree of fluency.
"I noticed he understood the language very quickly and he was eloquent and convincing in his speech," Ahmed Moajjib said.
U.S. investigators have said the 23-year-old Abdulmutallab told them he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. He is accused of trying to detonate an explosive device hidden on his body as a Northwest Airlines flight carrying 289 people approached Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam on Christmas Day.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
May I respectfully suggest "he" be renamed the Pantybomber, mostly due to the heat generated by the incendiary. That has to leave a mark! or erase one.
Posted by: Steven ||
01/01/2010 0:33 Comments ||
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#2
Gives a whole new meaning to "thermal underwear".
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/01/2010 10:25 Comments ||
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[Dawn] US Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W. Patterson announced that the US Government will support $55 million for infrastructure, rehabilitation and construction program in South Waziristan.
In her remarks, she said that the US is committed to support directly the government of Pakistan.
The $55 million earmarked for South Waziristan will be given directly to the FATA Secretariat to rebuild roads, develop water infrastructure, and improve power systems.
The US ambassador says that this support is part of a strategic agreement between the United States and Pakistan.
She also said her government is committed to its support for Pakistan and praised the people of South Waziristan for their grit and detrmination which have helped the military and civilian agencies force militants to retreat.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
IMO, the same amount invested in bombs dropped on Waziristan would've yielded much better results. Well, at least this will make some Swiss happy.
Gordon Brown has called a summit in London to discuss radicalisation in Yemen, after the alleged failed bomb attack on a US plane over Detroit. No 10 said the 28 January event had support from Washington and the European Union, and Mr Brown aimed to attract Saudi Arabia and Gulf states. The prime minister said the meeting would involve key international partners and be held alongside the conference on the future of Afghanistan, due to be held in London on the same day.
He said: "The international community must not deny Yemen the support it needs to tackle extremism. I have said before that Yemen - as both an incubator and potential safe haven for terrorism - presents a regional and global threat."
Mr Brown added that the UK had a £100m commitment to Yemen, making it one of the country's biggest donors, and was providing intelligence support.
Downing Street said the aims of the conference would include identifying Yemen's counter-terrorism needs and discussing ways of tackling radicalisation through aid and reform.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran meanwhile denied a British media report that the abduction of a British computer expert in Iraq in 2007 had been masterminded by the elite Revolutionary Guards, television reported.
"These claims are baseless," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by al-Alam, a state-controlled Arabic language satellite news channel.
"They (claims) emanate from the British anger towards the rallies in which millions of Iranians took part to condemn British interference in (Iran's) internal affairs," he said.
Earlier the Guardian newspaper said Peter Moore was released unharmed on Wednesday after an "unspeakable" kidnap ordeal during which his four British bodyguards died or are feared dead.
The Guardian, quoting sources, reported that the Revolutionary Guard led the operation and took Moore and his bodyguards to Iran within a day of the kidnap.
Britain's Foreign Office said it has "no evidence" to support the reports of an Iranian link.
Relations been Tehran and London have been rocky in recent months.
A U.S. military spokesman earlier said that the leader of the group behind the 2007 kidnap of the British computer expert is among detainees held by the U.S. military being transferred to Iraqi custody.
The confirmation of Qais al-Khazaali's handover to Iraq comes a day after the release of Peter Moore, a 36-year-old IT consultant who was held by Khazaali's League of the Righteous for two and a half years, amid speculation of a deal for Moore's release.
Although it was not immediately clear if Khazaali was still in U.S. custody or not, the BBC reported that he had been handed over "very recently", citing a senior British government official.
"The United States has complied with an Iraqi government request in accordance with the U.S.-Iraqi Security Agreement and the rule of law to transfer AAH (Asaib al-Haq) members, to include Qais al-Khazaali, from U.S. custody to Iraqi custody pursuant to an Iraqi arrest warrant," the U.S. spokesman said.
"This has been occurring over a seven month period."
Asaib al-Haq is the Arabic for League of the Righteous.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2010 00:00 ||
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The Palestinian Authority has confiscated from Arab shopkeepers in its jurisdiction thousands of shekels' worth of snacks which were produced in neighboring Jewish communities.
According to the PA news agency WAFA, PA militia forces and government representatives collected large quantities of the Israeli foodstuffs. The value of the confiscated goods was evaluated at NIS 20,000, the PA reported. Preparing a feast for their "Viva Palestina" chums?
[Al Arabiya Latest] The secular Fatah movement led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday vowed to step up its struggle against the Israeli occupation with demonstrations and diplomacy.
"Our program emphasizes the importance of a two-track approach, with the first being the escalation of the popular struggle to resist occupation," the movement said in a statement.
The group said it would model the struggle on the weekly demonstrations in two West Bank towns, Bilin and Nilin, where residents hurl rocks and protest against the expansion of Israel's controversial separation barrier.
The barriers will therefore need to be extended higher than rocks can be hurled. Such clever people, these Palestinians.
Fatah, which marks the 45th anniversary of the start of its armed struggle on Friday, also vowed to "increase movement on the international level to pursue Israel, to isolate it and to force it to answer to international law."
"We renew our vow to continue the struggle until the end of the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with east Jerusalem as its capital, and a solution to the refugee issue," it said.
Thank you, President Obama.
Fatah went on to say that it "would not spare any effort in restoring Palestinian national unity and returning the Gaza Strip from the hands of those who have taken it hostage," referring to its Hamas rivals.
The two main Palestinian movements have been divided into geographically separated hostile camps since the Islamist Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007.
The secular Fatah was founded by the late iconic leader Yasser Arafat in the 1950s and formally launched its armed struggle against Israel on Jan. 1, 1965.
Arafat entered into peace negotiations with Israel when he signed the 1993 Oslo autonomy accords, but during the 2000 Palestinian uprising Fatah's armed wing, al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, carried out scores of deadly attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] The former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has warned that the US is preparing to launch an attack on Iran with the help of Israel.
"Obama is preparing for a (military) offensive on Iran with the help of his ally, the Israeli regime," IRNA quoted Mohamad as writing on his weblog.
Mahathir said that President Barack Obama, who had received the Nobel Peace Prize, did not fulfill his promises regarding withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan as well as a pledge to close the Guantanamo prison.
Obama "has not even fulfilled one word of his promises," he said.
Mahathir went on to say that the US is expected to launch the war on Iran on the pretext that the Islamic Republic was seeking to build a nuclear bomb.
He said that the US will introduce "forged evidences" showing Iran aims to "start a nuclear war against the world."
Tel Aviv and Washington have never ruled out the possibility of a military strike against Iran, which is accused by the US, Israel and some European countries of aiming to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of its civilian nuclear program.
While categorically denying the allegations, Iran says it has the capability to ward off any attack on the country and has stressed that an Israeli or US strike would meet a 'decisive' response from Tehran.
Iran says its nuclear program is meant to meet the civilian needs of its people and is being pursued within the framework of international atomic agency regulations.
Mahathir also referred to Iraq that came under the occupation of the US and its allies on the pretext that the country has weapons of mass destruction -- a claim which proved to be untrue.
He questioned "whether we could believe that the war against Iran will be because of its potential nuclear strike against the world?"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2010 00:00 ||
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#8
but they don't have spellcheck, do they, Mahmoud?
dumbshit
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/01/2010 14:51 Comments ||
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#9
"Iran Has much sophisticated militry than you guys imagine"
Oh, I've got a great imagination, dumbass. I imagine their military is about as sophisticated and super as YOU are.
Loser.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/01/2010 15:03 Comments ||
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#10
Iran Has much sophisticated militry than you guys imagine
Iran's military fought Iraq's for ten years without accomplishing anything, Lemuel Glotch9729. It took the International Coalition three days to beat Iraq's military and conquer the entire country. Of course, that was in 2003. Now we have Predators and an entire collection of unmanned military toys -- d'you remember the fuss in Iran last year about American spy squirrels, and Iran's inability to shut down the Green opposition's use of the internet?
Iranian authorities accused opposition leaders on Thursday of links to "foreign enemies" and warned they would be shown no mercy unless they changed course. "Again we are warning the opposition leaders to immediately separate their path from the foreign enemies and the anti-revolution groups," the Intelligence Ministry said. "Otherwise they will be confronted with no mercy."
Iranian police fired teargas to disperse a crowd of anti-government protesters who had gathered in central Tehran, an opposition website reported earlier. "Supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi clashed with police in Haft-e-Tir Square and police fired two rounds of teargas to disperse the protesters," the Jaras website said.
Because of a ban on foreign media reporting on illegal demonstrations, the report could not be independently verified.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/01/2010 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.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Police punched and kicked international activists during scuffles in the Egyptian capital on Thursday which left one person with broken ribs, protest organizers said. "Members of the Gaza Freedom March are being forcibly detained in hotels around (Cairo) as well as violently forced into pens in Tahrir Square by Egyptian police and additional security forces," a statement from the organizers said.
The case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused in the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner, has reinvigorated a debate about whether British universities are being used as breeding grounds for radical Islam. 
