Security forces in a breakaway northern Somali republic arrested two Westerners on Saturday thought to be surveyors working for a Canadian mining company, government officials said.
Somaliland's Defence Minister Abdillahi Ali Ebrahim said the two men had entered the country illegally and had been detained in Las Qorey district, Eastern Sanag region, with four Somalis. "I will not be revealing the identity or nationality of the two Caucasians at present," Ebrahim told reporters. "I will only say that they were travelling in a car and are believed to have been surveying minerals in the area."
The four Somalis were all from neighbouring Puntland, he said, all six men were being taken to the Sanag capital Erigabo.
Government sources said the two Westerners were believed to be employees of a Canadian company hoping to conduct a seismic survey in the area, which is rich in zinc and other minerals. They did not elaborate.
Vancouver-based Africa Oil Corp is carrying out a survey in Puntland. Company officials could not immediately be reached.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2008 04:10 ||
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#1
Kufrs come to rape our ... zinc.
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2008 7:28 Comments ||
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#2
And in other news, freshly caught Western Caucasians on the menu.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2008 14:18 Comments ||
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#4
The biggest problem between Somaliland and Puntland is that neither one can agree on the border between them : both claim areas that extend a few miles inside the other's claim. So the Canadians may have well been acting in good faith, surveying minerals for the Puntland government, and simply got caught up in a border dispute.
(SomaliNet) Calling for fresh peace talks on Darfur, Sudan's president told the U.N. Security Council that a dispute between the northern government and former southern rebels over an oil-rich border region could be settled next week.
The Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir's upbeat news Thursday about a possible agreement on the Abyei region was in stark contrast to his adamant refusal to cooperate with the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, who alleges the Sudanese government is involved in crimes against humanity.
Accused of crimes against humanity, and they refuse to cooperate. How about that ...
Reports say Al-Bashir also insisted the humanitarian situation in Darfur "is witnessing clear improvement," which dismayed some council members who had just visited a camp in North Darfur where violence has forced food rations to be cut in half.
The president met with the council after holding talks on Abyei with delegations from the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, the south's main party, and the ruling National Congress Party in the north. Al-Bashir said the top unresolved issue is Abyei but he told the council that it would "soon be settled through ongoing consultations between the two partners."
And if that doesn't work, he'll kill the southerners just like he did before ...
A 2005 peace agreement ended two decades of fighting between north and south that left an estimated 2 million people dead. The agreement established a unity government but key issues were unresolved including the north-south boundary and the future of Abyei, just north of the disputed border.
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06/08/2008 01:03 ||
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SYDNEY- Australia will join international efforts in Sudan's Darfur by sending a small military team to join a United Nation's mission in the conflict zone, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Sunday. The nine Australian Defence Force logisticians will be part of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) which aims to help restore peace and stability in the region, he said.
"Darfur has been a continuing tragedy and the Australian government has a responsibility to act and this contribution demonstrates our commitment to the UN and restoring peace and stability in Darfur," Rudd said.
Rudd said the team, which must still be approved by the Sudanese government, was small because the Sudanese government had reservations about large contributions from western countries. "So they've asked us for help and what I've said was we'll provide what we can through the Australian Defence Force. It's a modest contribution," he told Network Ten. "We've operated within the constraints of the host government, but we've got to act and help in a practical way," he told Network Ten.
Rudd said the military assistance would be backed up by five million dollars (4.8 million US) in humanitarian aid.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2008 00:33 ||
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SANAA, Yemen -- The boom of explosions swept across the high-walled compounds and minarets of this ancient Arab capital before dawn one day last week, as Shiite rebels battled for control of a mountain overlooking the city and its airport. Government warplanes backed by artillery rebuffed the rebels, the latest skirmish in a largely hidden sectarian conflict that has drawn increasing attention from Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, Shiite Iran and Sunni extremists eager for a fight.
"I believe this war is a proxy war," Yemeni lawmaker Ahmed Saif Hashed said in Sanaa, where civilians of the same Shiite sect as the rebels say they are facing increasing detentions, beatings and surveillance.
The rebellion is being mounted by Yemen's Hashemite Shiites, who ruled the country for more than a 1,000 years until an alliance of Shiite and Sunni military officers deposed them in 1962. Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, belongs to the country's larger Shiite community, known as the Zaidis.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2008 01:40 ||
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BOGOTA, COLOMBIA -- A Venezuelan national guard sergeant will face "the full weight of national law" after being arrested in a remote border area, allegedly on his way to deliver 40,000 rounds of ammunition to Colombia's largest rebel group, this country's foreign minister said Saturday. Sgt. Manuel Agudo Escalona, was arrested Friday with another Venezuelan and two Colombians in the eastern jungle state of Vichada with ammunition for AK-47 rifles destined for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the government said.
In civilized countries, this is considered an act of war.
Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo said at a news conference Saturday that he had made contact with counterparts in Venezuela to "verify the identity of the group and who could be implicated. . . . There will be an investigation coordinated by both ministries."
As of Saturday evening, Venezuela had made no official comment on the arrests.
The arms case is a potential source of additional tension between the two countries, led by ideologically opposed presidents. Colombia, whose president is a conservative strongly backed by the United States, has charged that leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has given "systematic and intentional help" to the FARC as it carried out attacks on Colombia from Venezuelan territory, calling that support a "crime against humanity."
In March, electronic files found in the laptops of a slain FARC commander included messages that the Colombian government says indicated that Venezuela promised to supply the rebels with arms and a haven as well as political and logistical support. The content of the messages has not been corroborated, and Chavez later told Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at a meeting in Brazil that he has not given "the tiniest bullet" to the rebels.
Another Hugo lie exposed ...
Citing unidentified sources, Colombian news reports said the munitions recovered Friday had been stolen from a military barracks in the Venezuelan city of Valencia, but a spokesman for the Colombian special prosecutor, Mario Iguaron, said Saturday that he could not verify the reports.
The four suspects were brought to Bogota on Saturday for questioning. Araujo said the four would suffer "the full weight of Colombian law."
Iguaron's office said the capture was made possible by the arrest Thursday of a FARC operative, Hernando Gamboa Sanchez, believed to be the chief of security for a top-ranking rebel commander.
Known now as Hernando the Weasel ...
Racked by civil conflict for more than four decades, Colombia is a hub for arms trafficking. Leftist rebels, right-wing militias and drug traffickers acquire weapons here, often in exchange for the cocaine that they process and traffic. In one raid last month, the Colombian National Police seized 293 AK-47s near the Venezuelan border that were allegedly destined for the Black Eagles, an emerging Colombian paramilitary gang.
In another seizure three days later, the Colombian army in Cali found 607 Chinese rifles that allegedly were intended to be delivered to a drug gang called the Rastrojos. In April, Colombian forces uncovered a FARC arsenal near the Ecuadorean border that included 8,000 land mines and 2 tons of bomb-making materials.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2008 01:16 ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2008 04:10 ||
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#1
Maybe the British Members could take the lead on this. After all, British officials have already demonstrated how highly refined is their deference to Muslim sensitivity in such matters as the display of the Cross of St. George.
It was two years ago yesterday that 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, a 1996 Kalani High School graduate, declared publicly that he would not deploy to Iraq with his Stryker brigade combat team. Today, Watada is still in the Army working at a desk job at Fort Lewis, Wash., while his case is tied up in federal court.
Ken Kagan, Watada's attorney, told the Star-Bulletin that federal judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma will probably take up the matter early this fall. In November, Settle ruled that no court-martial will be held for Watada pending the outcome of his claim that it would violate his Fifth Amendment rights by trying him twice for the same charges.
Watada, who contends the war is illegal, is charged with missing his unit's deployment to Iraq on June 22, 2006, and with conduct unbecoming an officer for denouncing President Bush and the war. If convicted, he could be sentenced to six years in prison and be dishonorably discharged. Since then, his unit fought in Iraq for 18 months and returned in October
Kagan said he expects the case to eventually go before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals where it may take up to three years before a decision is rendered. "Our experience has shown us that 9th Circuit matters consume somewhere between 18 months to three years," Kagan said. "I don't know of any reason they would put it on some fast track."
Watada's first court-martial ended in a mistrial in February 2007. Settle wrote that the military judge likely abused his discretion in declaring the mistrial. Watada's term of service in the military ended December 2006, but the legal proceedings have prevented his discharge.
#1
I think I've got this math down. 1 year for this federal judge, then up to 3 years for the 9th Circuit, then back to court martial to get another 6 years.
#2
Give him a dishonorable and boot him. Keeping him in means he stays on the payroll. Giving him a desk job while he stays in and collects pay and benefits dishonors his comrades who went and fought.
#3
I say give him the DD and boot him. Don't let him stay in uniform. Drop it. The soldiers in his unit, by their valiant action in Iraq during the Surge, proved the worthlessness of his stand.
Since his position in the unit is known, someone should write a story about the deployment of the guy who had to go in his place. That needs to be done.
#7
Gents,
The BCD and DD can ONLY be given at court martial if previously authorized by the convening authority and there is a military judge vice only a panel. The BCD is a federal misdemeanor and DD a federal felony. OTH is an admin separation result. No court martial = no punitive (BCD or DD) discharge.
NEW DELHI: On death row for the last three years, India's most controversial convict, Mohammed Afzal, wants a speedy conclusion to his ordeal and says Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani would act swiftly in deciding his plight one way or the other while the present government is dilly-dallying his death sentence.
"I don't think the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government can ever reach a decision. The Congress party has two mouths and is playing a double game," said Afzal, convicted for the December 2001 Indian Parliament attack in an exclusive interview in Tihar prison's Jail No 3.
"I really wish L K Advani becomes India's next Prime Minister as he is the only one who can take a decision and hang me. At least my pain and daily suffering would ease then," said Afzal, who has been in solitary confinement in the capital's high security Tihar Jail.
Incidentally, Advani has criticised the delay in carrying out the death sentence.
"I fail to understand the delay. They have increased my security. But what needs to be done immediately is to carry out the court's orders," Advani had remarked in November 2006.
In this rare interview, Afzal's first since he was convicted by the Supreme Court in 2004 that was subsequently upheld a year later, he says the death sentence had made him delusional. He, too, has filed a mercy petition - along with 40 others - that is pending before the President.
"Life has become hell in the jail. I requested the government to take an immediate decision over my sentence just two months ago. I don't wish to be part of the living dead," said Afzal, whose moods swung frequently between being stoic and being defiant.
"I have also requested that till the time they (government) take a decision, they shift me to a Kashmir jail," said Afzal, who now sports a long black beard.
Dressed in a spotless white kurta-pyjama and a sports cap to hide his shaven head, Afzal, who is in his mid-30s, said he sympathised with Sarabjit Singh, an Indian lodged in Pakistan prison for nearly two decades, but said no parallel could be drawn between the two of them.
"Please don't compare me with Sarabjit. The issues are separate. My sympathies are with him, but my fight is for the Kashmir conflict. Now, I am not even seeking any clemency and have no objection to the government deciding my fate."
Last month Home Minister Shivraj Patil's controversial statement saying those demanding Afzal's hanging could not seek reprieve for Sarabjit Singh drew considerable publicity.
"If you are asking for Afzal Guru's hanging, then how can you ask for pardon for Sarabjit Singh?" Patil had asked.
Sarabjit Singh has been held guilty for bombings in Lahore and Multan in 1990 that left 14 people dead. He was to be executed April 30. However, the intervention of the Indian government led to the execution being postponed by Pakistan.
Afzal, also known as Afzal Guru, was convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on India's Parliament that killed six security personnel and one civilian.
"I long for my eight-year-old son, Ghalib. In jail, it is not possible to meet them easily as intelligence officials unnecessarily harass my family and wife, Tabassum, when they come here," he remarked.
In jail, Afzal is reading a book called India wins freedom by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad that details events of the country's independence movement.
There is pressure to issue clemency to Afzal from political groups in Kashmir, who believe hanging Afzal would have negative effects on the peace process in Kashmir. Human rights activists too have demanded a reprieve, as they believe that the trial was flawed.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/08/2008 08:46 ||
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#1
L K Advani would act swiftly in deciding his plight one way or the other
Be careful what you wish for Afzal... Advani is not one to hesitate before signing a death warrant...
Posted by: john frum ||
06/08/2008 8:51 Comments ||
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#2
Maybe because of special circumstances, they should hang him wrapped in the skin of a pig.
President Pervez Musharraf said Saturday that he would not resign despite increasing pressure from Pakistans ruling coalition to do so.
Mr. Musharraf spoke at a news conference in which he dismissed recent media reports that he was preparing to give up his post and go into exile. The president also complained Saturday about the proposal by the Pakistan Peoples Party, the main political party in the government, for sweeping constitutional changes intended to limit his authority. He suggested that such changes, if they were approved by Parliament, might leave him in an untenable position. He said he did not want to become a useless vegetable, wire services reported. Parliament is supreme, Mr. Musharraf said. Whatever the Parliament decides, I will accept it. He added, If I see that I dont have any role to play, then it is better to play golf.
In what might be a signal that he is ready to compromise more with the coalition government, Mr. Musharraf said that he believes in reconciliation. That is why, he said, he had allowed the return to the country of two former prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December. Mr. Sharif and Mrs. Bhuttos widower, Asif Ali Zardari, of the Pakistan Peoples Party, are leading the coalition that is trying to curtail his power.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2008 04:11 ||
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LAHORE: United States drones violated Pakistans airspace on Saturday morning by sending unmanned spy planes, that were seen flying over the Pak-Afghan border into the area of Miranshah in North Waziristan, Geo News reported. According to the channel the drones flew over Ghulam Khan Lowara, Ditta Khel and Shawal areas of Miranshah, creating panic among locals.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2008 01:20 ||
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Given the present Pakistani government's attitude toward sovereignty in much of the territory in question, is it accurate to refer to this as "Pakistan airspace"?
PESHAWAR: The NWFP government on Saturday freed seven militants following a one-day deadlock with Taliban representatives on the release of militant detainees. Seven of our men were freed today (Saturday) while the remaining are expected to be released in the course of time, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told Daily Times.
He said the government agreed to free six Taliban from Taimargara jail on Friday. The Taliban had, however, wanted the release of all detainees, stalling the issue for a day.
NWFP Environment Minister Wajid Ali Khan, a key member of the government committee holding talks with the Taliban, confirmed the release of the seven men from the Taimargara jail. He said the government would review cases against the remaining Taliban detainees and free those involved in minor crimes.
Official sources said 14 more Taliban prisoners were expected to be released in the next three days. They said around 70 Taliban and their supporters were currently detained in the Taimargara jail.
It's almost as if the Pak government wants to cave totally to the Taliban ...
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will ask the European Union countries to amend laws regarding freedom of expression in order to prevent offensive incidents such as the printing of blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and the production of an anti-Islam film by a Dutch legislator, sources in the Interior Ministry told Daily Times on Saturday.
They said that a six-member high-level delegation comprising officials from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Law would leave Islamabad on Sunday (today) for the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium and explain to the EU leadership the backlash against the blasphemous campaign in the name of freedom of expression. The delegation, headed by an additional secretary of the Interior Ministry, will meet the leaders of the EU countries in a bid to convince them that the recent attack on the Danish Embassy in Pakistan could be a reaction against the blasphemous campaign, sources said.
Anyone in the EU going to explain to the Paks their responsibilites under international law about protecting embassies?
They said that the delegation would also tell the EU that if such acts against Islam are not controlled, more attacks on the EU diplomatic missions abroad could not be ruled out.
"Nice embassies you got there. Be a real shame if anything happened to them ..."
Sources said that the delegation would also hold discussions on inter-religious harmony during its meetings with the EU leaders.
I can't keep track of everything the Sharifs are doing. I do know that they're getting pretty tiresome already. They keep it up and I'm going to start having some sympathy for Perv ...
ISLAMABAD Keeping the spectre of disqualification alive, the Supreme Court has admitted a petition for regular hearing tomorrow challenging the eligibility of Sahbaz Sharif to contest election and issued notices to relevant parties including Sharif to respond.
The court, however, refused to issue an order restraining Mian Shahbaz Sharif from taking oath as chief minister of Punjab. The court observed that it would be unfair to issue the restraining order without hearing Shahbaz Sharif. It decided to serve notices on the federal government, Election Commission, Sharif and returning officer for the PP-48 Bhakkar II constituency from where he has been elected unopposed.
A two-member SC bench comprising Justic Mohammad Moosa K. Leghari and Justice Mohammad Farrukh Mahmud took up a petition of Syed Khurram Shah, a voter, seeking suspension of Election Commission's notification declaring Sharif a successful candidate. The apex court will resume the hearing tomorrow. The Election Commission had declared PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif qualified to contest the by-elections. Shahbaz Sharif was elected unopposed on June 2 after three other candidates withdrew from the contest.
"He (Shahbaz) is not competent to sit and represent the people of his constituency because he is a defaulter and accused of maligning both the judiciary and the armed forces through his statements contrary to provisions of the Constitution and the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1976," Advocate Ahmad Raza Khan Qasuri, legal counsel for the petitioner, told reporters. "We are not burdening the apex court to go into the merit of the case as the main petition is pending before the high court, rather seeking suspension of the ECP notification," Mr Qasuri said.
Sharifs have been consistently refusing to plead their case in courts reconstituted by Musharraf under the Provisional Constitution Order promulgated after he imposed the emergency on November 3 and purged superior courts of 60 judges. Shahbazs refusal to appear before the Supreme Court tomorrow may lead to his ex-parte disqualification by the court.
SLAMABAD The Bush administration has conveyed to political and security leadership of Pakistan that it no longer considers President Pervez Musharraf as indispensable to its interests in the region, but would like his exit to be as smooth as possible, it is reliably learned.
This sharp twist in Washington's thinking, according to knowledgeable sources, stems from a reassessment of the fast changing ground realities on Pakistan's political landscape. The groundswell of popular anger and resentment against Musharraf, voiced through the lawyers and his erstwhile buddies, has become irresistible. It is now evident that Musharraf's position is increasingly becoming untenable and the administration can support him only at the cost of a severe damage to its interest in the region.
Policy planners in the State Department and Pentagon have held this view for quite long since the stunning outcome of the February 18 polls. They were, however, hamstrung by President George W. Bush's stubborn defence of his trusted ally.
"This hurdle has now been removed," says a diplomatic source privy to the fresh signals coming from Washington. It is believed that President Bush, Musharraf's only backer left in Washington, has finally been persuaded to accept the inevitable and be prepared to bid adieu to his beleaguered friend. The administration analysts agree that a qualitative change has already occurred in Pakistan's political landscape in which Musharraf's ability to influence policies and course of events has diminished substantially.
Those who matter in the new dispensation include coalition leadership, with Asif Zardari sitting on top, and the army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani as key factor in decision-making on issues like terrorism. Musharraf is left with no levers to influence either of the two sets of wielders of power in Pakistan. The US president, however, is worried that Musharraf's detractors may humiliate him by dragging him to courts or instituting impeachment process in the Parliament for which requisite numbers are available to the coalition.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2008 00:45 ||
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#1
If the lawyers are all after him maybe he's not all that bad.
Joke - What's the difference between a terrorist and a Pakistani lawyer (psycologist, teacher, general, soldier, intelligence officer, policeman, ice cream vendor, imam, cleric, dentist, etc)?
#2
HMMMMMM, IMO sounds like Dubya wants a one or two "final" search campaigns to capture or kill OSAMA BIN LADEN, ZAWI, MULLAH OMAR, etc. before he leaves office [read - HELP MCCAIN + BUSH LEGACY].
Problem > The OSAMA I remember from the Afghan War believed himself to be expendable as per ISLAM'S = RADICAL ISLAM's FINAL VICTORY IN ITS JIHAD + APOCALYPSE. In addition, even iff US efforts did result in getting Osama, there is still OSAMA's COHORTS WHOM ARE ALSO DEDICATED TO THEIR CAUSE, + ALSO STILL HAVE ISLAMIST IRAN + SADR + NASRALLAH, etal. whom are capable of independent action vv NUCLEARIZATION = STRATEGIC WEAPONIZATION.
Lastly, ona separate note, just as the ISLAMIST OWG JIHAD will fail iff Islam/islamism does not achieve PAR OR SUPERIORITY-DOMIN VERSUS NON-ISLAM [e.g. "Divine" Premises], US-LED/CENTRIC OWG-NWO will fail iff the US is unable to induce other world powers to form said USOWG-NWO. THE ANTI-US LEFTS, SECULARISTS, and GLOBALISTS etc. ARE NOT COLLUDING WID RADICAL ISLAMIST MILITANT GROUPS FOR THE SAKE OF POST COLD WAR, "STATUS QUO" INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATISM - they want EXTRA-NATIONAL, REGIONAL, TRANSREGIONAL, GLOBAL, and even EXTRA-GLOBAL? PAN-GOVT.(S) BUREAUCRACIES, REGULATIONS, + WELFARISM FORMALLY ESTABLISHED.
The Frontier Corps personnel on Saturday seized a UN vehicle near Shella Bagh area in the Qila Abdullah district, foiling an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of flour to Afghanistan. The trailer was being used by the World Food Programme for supplying sugar and edible oil for refugees in Afghanistan.
The FC personnel have recovered 200 tons of flour from a trailer sealed under the WFP invoice, which, officials said, showed edible oil and sugar were being taken to Afghanistan and not flour. No edible oil or sugar was found on the trailer.
The sources said that WFP authorities had been approached in Islamabad to expose the elements involved in the illegal business. The sources said the illegal trade was exposed when a 22-wheel trailer that was on its way to Kandahar via Chaman border overturned at the Khojak Pass and the flour bags fell out. Sources said that the driver and other people travelling with him escaped after the accident.
It was learnt that the flour had been purchased from a flour mill in Quetta.
The WFP officials, when contacted by the FC authorities in Islamabad, said they did not know anything about flour smuggling and denied that the WFP was involved in the affair. They said the foodstuff was loaded in Karachi under the supervision of WFP officials, adding that the UN agency legally supplied wheat to Afghanistan and not flour.
According to the sources, initial investigation showed that the driver and some WFP staff might be involved in the illegal practice because opening and re-sealing the container was not a difficult task. The container can be re-sealed in Quetta after loading it with flour, they said. The matter has been referred to the provincial food department, the sources told Dawn, adding that owner of the flour mill would be interrogated.
The officials were also trying to know where the edible oil and sugar mentioned in the WFP invoice had gone. The sources said the government had decided to let the FC personnel randomly check WFP trailers carrying supplies to Afghanistan.
Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz is said to have given his consent to consider the request made by both Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Asif Ali Zardari regarding the smooth oil supply on affordable prices enabling Pakistan to lessen the negative impacts of the rising oil prices in the international market.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari made this request to King Abdullah in their meeting here on Saturday.
However, sources said, the details of such arrangements have not been made public by the two sides. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, having the additional portfolio of petroleum ministry, would also hold another round of talks with his Saudi counterpart before returning home on Sunday.
The clear indication of the king to consider the request for cooperation in oil sector in particular and trade, commerce and agriculture in general, would help the new political government to ease some pressure on the common man during the forthcoming budget as this meeting between the two sides has given a new confidence to visiting Prime Minister Gilani and Zardari to return home with some thing substantial in their hands.
Till the filing of this report, the petroleum ministers of both the countries were still busy in working out the modalities and formalities of oil facility to Pakistan after an hour-long meeting between Gilani, Zardari and King Abdullah ended.
After the consent from King Abdullah, the concerned ministers and official channels will further work out the details of the oil supply and such arrangements may not be made public by the two sides as was done in 1998 after Pakistan went nuclear.
Meanwhile, after his meeting with the Saudi King, Prime Minister Gilani himself briefed media men and said he was quite satisfied with the outcome of the meeting as King Abdullah took Pakistan as his second home and was eager to offer the help Pakistan needed at this time.
Despite many questions, Gilani did not give the inside details of the meeting and said he could only say that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was busy with his Saudi counterpart in settling the details of the oil facility. Gilani said Pakistan had sought cooperation in oil, trade and agriculture sectors and the Saudi king had promised to consider the requests.
Gilani admitted that King Abdullah had also discussed the current political situation in Pakistan in his capacity as the well-wisher of the country. When asked whether King Abdullah had raised the issue of General Pervez Musharraf who was under pressure to quit, Gilani replied that King Abdullah did not talk about any specific person but the overall situation in Pakistan was discussed in the meeting.
He said King Abdullah, like every Pakistani, wanted stability in the country as he thought that any damage to Pakistan was not in the interest of the Saudis who love the country.
Gilani also said Saudi Arabia had always been supporting Pakistan in difficult times and their relations were just like two brothers. He said he along with Asif Zardari paid rich tributes to the support of the king to Pakistan in its hour of need. He said that they recognised the fact that the world was passing through difficult times because of food and oil crises and agreed to help each other.
He said during the meeting both the sides agreed to enhance cooperation in four sectors i.e. oil, trade, commerce and agriculture. He said Pakistan was giving Rs 14 billion subsidy on oil and that was why a request was made to the Saudi king to cooperate in the oil sector.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/08/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
And then Pakistan turned over some nukes to the Saudis for the Saudis to put on their Chinese supplied ICBMS.
#2
Well the Saudis did pay for the Pak's nuke program.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/08/2008 7:27 Comments ||
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#3
Actually, this is just a normal adjustment to help pay the Pakis for the 2 divisions of troops that are in Saudi Arabia already. Technically, the Pakis are individuals who got contracts to be security in Saudi Arabia; realistically, all of the Pakis working there have been vetted by Paki intelligence and trained by the Pakistani Army before they left to make the big money in SA.
June 6, 2008: With things quieting down in Iraq (U.S. casualties hit an all-time low in May, 2008), South Africa has regained its position as the most violent country on the planet, with a murder rate of 65 per 100,000 population.
TEHERAN - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Tehran, official news agency IRNA reported early Sunday. He is to meet later Sunday morning with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to discuss the latest developments in Iraq, including an agreement between Iraq and the United States to be finalized next month.
Under the not yet concluded agreement, the US is seeking not only approval to maintain military bases in Iraq but also the right to conduct military operations from those bases against other countries without consultation with the Baghdad government. Iran has already protested the planned agreement, and Maliki is expected to reassure Tehran than Iran would not be harmed by the agreement.
Maliki is expected to reiterate the Iraqi government's wish to resume Iran-US talks over Iraq's security, which both sides have halted. Tehran has indicated that there would be no further talks with the current US administration.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2008 00:47 ||
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They squander their days watching TV and surfing the Web instead of studying, but it's not for lack of discipline: Gaza students accepted at foreign universities are stuck at home because Israel and Egypt won't let them leave the blockaded territory.
The students' plight made headlines last week when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice interceded with Israel on behalf of seven students with prestigious Fulbright scholarships awarded by the U.S. government. But hundreds without such powerful allies will likely lose their shot at a good education, given Gaza's sparse offerings.
The blockade, imposed after Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza a year ago, is meant to bring down the Islamic militants and inspire Gazans to opt for a more moderate leadership.
But critics say the closure, backed by the international community, is accomplishing the opposite.
Hamas has become more entrenched and Gazans are growing more angry at the West as isolation worsens the strip's poverty, say the critics, who include both Israelis and Palestinians. They add that Gaza is also being robbed of future leaders the trapped students because they can't get the necessary training.
"I feel that I'm lost," said Ahmed Nasrallah, who studied computer programming in London, but has been stuck in Gaza since a summer visit home last year. "I am a victim of a battle that I am not part of."
The uproar over the Fulbright students touched only on a small part of what human rights groups consider collective punishment of Gaza's population. "This is not about seven students, it's about hundreds of students, 1.5 million people and the future of Gaza," said Sari Bashi, head of the Israeli human rights group Gisha, which is taking the government to court over the travel ban.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2008 04:11 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Piss on Ms Rice's misplaced benevolence. Let them stew in their ignorance than train to become better killers. The first Palestinian I knowingly met was in my martial arts team at university. He told me he was studying chem engineering so he could return and kill Jews. Learning how to break arms and necks was just part of the curriculum. Probably became a bomb maker.
Of course I told him I was a Jew. Next sparring session, like an underhanded muslim he initiated full contact when we were supposed to pull our punches. He got 2 in before I proceeded to wail into him.
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2008 7:53 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I have met Paleo students in Greece, Maryland, and here in California. They fell into two categories: 1) Never want to return to the middle east and 2) Go back Kill Jews. Mever met one that wanted to go back and build a better life for their people through peacful means. If there is one out there I would love to meet them.
#3
If I cared more I'd tell them where to find sympathy in the dictionary. As it is, I really couldn't care less. Let them all stay in Gaza until Egypt takes it back.
Oh, Egypt doesn't want them? Sucks to be Gazan, then. I guess they'll be waiting a while longer. Maybe sometime in that wait they'll realize that this type of treatment is what happens when your area's largest exports are a)suicide bombers and b)hate.
It's not likely, though. It's been 40+ years and they still don't have a clue.
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
06/08/2008 18:27 Comments ||
Top||
Iran demanded action from the U.N. Security Council about an Israeli threat to attack its nuclear sites if it continues uranium enrichment, according to a letter released on Saturday by Iranian U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee.
Israeli Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz was quoted on Friday in an Israeli newspaper saying that an attack on Iran looks "unavoidable" given the apparent failure of sanctions to deny Tehran technology with bomb-making potential. "Such a dangerous threat against a sovereign state and a member of the United Nations constitutes a manifest violation of international law and contravenes the most fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and, thus, requires a resolute and clear response on the part of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council," Khazaee's letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, dated June 6, said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2008 04:11 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
"Such a dangerous threat against a sovereign state and a member of the United Nations constitutes a manifest violation of international law and contravenes the most fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and, thus, requires a resolute and clear response on the part of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council,"
Funny. Those were my *exact* words when Iran threatened to destroy Israel the other day.
BEIRUT, Lebanon - French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged strong support for Lebanon's new president and urged feuding factions to engage in dialogue Saturday during a one-day visit to the country. Sarkozy is the first Western head of state to meet President Michel Suleiman since the former army chief was elected as compromise president on May 25. The election was part of an agreement signed in Qatar last month to end an 18-month political crisis that had pushed Lebanon to the brink of civil war.
President Suleiman has a big responsibility to achieve national reconciliation... There has been too much suffering in Lebanon," Sarkozy said.
Suleiman and Sarkozy's convoys drove through streets decorated with the French and Lebanese flags to the suburban presidential palace in Baabda as army helicopters flew overhead. Sarkozy then held a closed meeting with Suleiman before meeting with representatives of the main 14 Lebanese political factions, including delegates of the militant Hezbollah group, at a lunch at the presidential palace.
France, a former colonial power with strong ties to Lebanon, hosted representatives of the 14 groups at a conference last year meant to encourage dialogue between them, but the meeting as one might have expected did not achieve any results. Kouchner had made several trips to Lebanon to try and bring Lebanon's rival leaders together.
Speaking at the presidential palace flanked by Suleiman, Sarkozy later called for a sincere dialogue between the Lebanese on a national defense strategy, which can longer be deferred."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said here on Thursday that the statements of a U.S. presidential candidate who said Irans nuclear activities were threatening were unrealistic.
This evaluation is completely one-sided, unrealistic, unacceptable, and clearly in contrary to the realities of Irans peaceful nuclear activities, Hosseini said in a statement.
In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) 2008 Policy Conference on Wednesday, Barak Obama said there was no greater threat to Israel than Iran. He also accused Iran of supporting violent extremists and pursuing a nuclear capability that could spark a dangerous arms race.
I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Everything, Obama declared.
Hosseini expressed regret over such opportunistic an approach, and said Obamas statements were delusional and influenced by the Zionists. This candidates stances are in contrast to his previous claims that he opposed lobbyism in the United States, he noted.
#2
Hosseini expressed regret over such opportunistic an approach, and said Obamas statements were delusional and influenced by the Zionists. This candidates stances are in contrast to his previous claims
A succession of leading Muslim radicals has condemned the terror groups tactics as its support in Islamic countries falls off dramatically. Is Britain following the pattern?
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2008 04:11 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
ELMER FUDD > MY GWACIOUSNESS...
HMMMMM, methinks somebody is gonna get TASERED iff neither ISLAMIST JIHAD nor US-LED/CENTRIC OWG-NWO succeeds, espec as IMO NOT EVEN RUSSIA-CHINA WANTS POST COLD WAR "STATUS QUO".
REMINDS ME OF WHEN THE US, BRITAIN, GERMANY + IIRC FRANCE? SENT ARMED WARSHIPS TO SAMOA ISLES TO DEFEND THEIR INTERESTS, AND EVERYBODY'S FLEET GOT WIPED OUT BY A KAMIKAZE = TYPHOON [Japan?Godzilla?].
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.
(SomaliNet) Calling for fresh peace talks on Darfur, Sudan's president told the U.N. Security Council that a dispute between the northern government and former southern rebels over an oil-rich border region could be settled next week. 
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA -- A Venezuelan national guard sergeant will face "the full weight of national law" after being arrested in a remote border area, allegedly on his way to deliver 40,000 rounds of ammunition to Colombia's largest rebel group, this country's foreign minister said Saturday. Sgt. Manuel Agudo Escalona, was arrested Friday with another Venezuelan and two Colombians in the eastern jungle state of Vichada with ammunition for AK-47 rifles destined for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the government said. 
President Pervez Musharraf said Saturday that he would not resign despite increasing pressure from Pakistans ruling coalition to do so.
PESHAWAR: The NWFP government on Saturday freed seven militants following a one-day deadlock with Taliban representatives on the release of militant detainees. Seven of our men were freed today (Saturday) while the remaining are expected to be released in the course of time, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told Daily Times.
TEHERAN - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Tehran, official news agency IRNA reported early Sunday. He is to meet later Sunday morning with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to discuss the latest developments in Iraq, including an agreement between Iraq and the United States to be finalized next month.
BEIRUT, Lebanon - French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged strong support for Lebanon's new president and urged feuding factions to engage in dialogue Saturday during a one-day visit to the country. Sarkozy is the first Western head of state to meet President Michel Suleiman since the former army chief was elected as compromise president on May 25. The election was part of an agreement signed in Qatar last month to end an 18-month political crisis that had pushed Lebanon to the brink of civil war.
