Leave our skies: Gaddafi daughter to NATO
Suicide bomber kills 5 NATO troops, 4 Afghan soldiers
34 killed at Iranian exiles camp in Iraq: UN
4 Taliban killed, two ANA soldiers injured
Pakistan still smuggling nuclear goods from U.S.”
Islamists attack Jordanian police with swords, wounding 51,
US groups nurtured Mideast protests
Tunisians call for Ben Ali's extradition
Afghan suicide blast kills Kandahar police chief
EU rebukes Pakistan for going slow against Taliban
Libya in stalemate, but Gaddafi will go: Obama
Yemen's Saleh calls for talks as protests escalate
Obama, Sarkozy, Cameron jointly ask Gaddafi to quit
Pakistan still smuggling nuclear goods from U.S.”
Saleh defiant, leaders serve him ultimatum to quit
Thousands protest in key Syrian city
Mubarak could face execution: Top judge
Iran: Bahrain unrest could destabilize entire region
Islamists kill Italian kidnapped in Gaza: Hamas
Fighting rages in Misrata, Gadhafi told to leave
‘Lebanon's Hariri wanted Brotherhood to replace Assad in Syria’
Western allies considering Libyan regime change, says France
One more dies as response to Minsk bombing remains uncertain
Taliban free aspiring Afghan policemen, official says
How Gamal brought down the whole Mubarak house
Mubarak's arrest appeases protesters, for now
Rocket salvo hits Misrata, 'allies' say Gaddafi must go
NATO missiles strike Al-Aziziyah - Libyan TV
NATO and UK hopeful on Libya strike aircraft
Musharraf to hold public meet on Sunday
Government rockets rain on Libyan city
Iran sees no need for emergency OPEC action
Gaddafi forces kill seven in Yafran
US admits CIA spy network in Pakistan
Clinton defends Taliban talks
Iran building concrete fence on Pak border
Kashmir should assume centre stage in Pak-India talks: Geelani
Obama kicks off re-election bid, says he has to 'finish job'
“US never told govt don’t build Iran pipeline
Russian copters for Afghanistan
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/leave-our-skies--gaddafi-daughter-to-nato/d/4468
Leave our skies: Gaddafi daughter to NATO
April 16, 2011
From her father’s compound, struck by US bombs exactly 25 years ago, Muammar Gaddafi’s daughter sent a defiant message early Friday, “Libya was not defeated by airstrikes then and won’t be defeated now,” she told a cheering crowd.
The daughter, Aisha, pumped her right fist as she led the audience in late-night chants from the second-floor balcony of the badly damaged Bab Aziziyah compound, targeted by US warplanes in 1986. “Leave our skies with your bombs,’’ she said, referring to NATO airstrikes that had struck Tripoli just hours earlier.
Libya’s secret service was held responsible for the April 5, 1986 bombing of a Berlin disco that killed two US servicemen. Ten days later, US warplanes struck targets in Benghazi and Tripoli, including Gaddafi’s Bab Aziziyah compound. Gaddafi never repaired Bab Aziziyah, instead turning it into a museum.“Let me go back to the past when I was a child, when I was nine years old, in this house,’’ Aisha Gaddafi said. “A rain of missiles and bombs. They tried to kill me. They killed dozens of children in Libya.’’ “Now, after 25 years, the same missiles, the same bombs, rain on our children’s heads,’’ she said. “We are a people that cannot be defeated,’’ she added.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/leave-our-skies-gaddafi-daughter-to-nato/776953/
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Suicide bomber kills 5 NATO troops, 4 Afghan soldiers
April 16, 2011
A suicide bomber disguised in an Afghan army uniform on Saturday detonated a vest packed with explosives at the entrance to a base in eastern Afghanistan, killing five coalition and four Afghan soldiers, officials said.
The explosion also injured four Afghan soldiers and four translators, according to Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Azimi said the attacker approached on foot and detonated his explosives at about 7.30 am at the base entrance.
''The attacker had the Afghan security force uniform on and that gave him the opportunity to reach the entrance to the base and carry out the attack,'' Azimi said.
NATO declined to release further information on the service members killed pending notification of their next of kin.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/suicide-bomber-kills-5-nato-troops-4-afghan-soldiers/777050/
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34 killed at Iranian exiles camp in Iraq: UN
April 16, 2011
United NationsAt least 34 people, including several women, were killed and dozens wounded at an Iranian exiles' camp raided by the Iraqi military last week, the United Nations said Thursday.
A top US official called the Iraqi assault on Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, a "massacre" and demanded a thorough government investigation.
United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay yesterday called for an independent inquiry on the alleged death of the 34 people.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=181827
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4 Taliban killed, two ANA soldiers injured
April 16, 2011
GHAZNI (AIP): Seven Taliban were killed and two soldiers of Afghan National Army (ANA) wounded during separate clashes in Sarkh district of Logar province, ISAF and Afghan official said Friday. Taliban, however, confirmed that they lost four fighters in Sarkh district yesterday. A clash took place between Taliban and ANA soldiers in Bangram Bazaar of Sarkh district yesterday in which three Taliban were killed and another detained, Din Muhammad Darwish, spokesman of Logar governor, told Afghan Islamic Press. He said two ANA soldiers were also wounded in the gun battle. There was no word by Taliban about the Bangram clash but their spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AIP that they attacked a dismounted patrol of foreign forces in Arkan area of the same district, killing eight and wounding seven foreign troops. He conceded that four Taliban were killed and three slightly wounded in the clash. ISAF confirmed attacked on their patrol and told AIP that ISAF troops returned fire in which four attackers were killed. It said there was no damage to ISAF troops.
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=an&nid=861
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Pakistan still smuggling nuclear goods from U.S.”
April 16, 2011
Washington: A top Washington think tank has argued that recent examples of nuclear industry goods being smuggled from the United States to Pakistan highlight the need for closer monitoring and raise questions about how an ostensible “ally” of the U.S. could be involved in this illicit trade.
Speaking to The Hindu David Albright, President and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said the “U.S. government and the nuclear industry need to be working closer together” if such smuggling rings were to be detected.
Reflecting upon an ISIS paper that examined the case of Pakistani Nadeem Akhtar, Mr. Albright said, “The U.S. government should simply ask Pakistan to stop this trade, if they want to be our allies,” adding that the recent cases in which smuggling rings were caught they ultimately lead back to supply orders originating in Pakistan.
Akhtar's case made news last month when U.S. prosecutors charged him with “running a smuggling operation that shipped materials and equipment to the agencies operating Pakistan's nuclear program,” according to media reports.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/16/stories/2011041662841700.htm
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Islamists attack Jordanian police with swords, wounding 51
April 16, 2011
Musa Hattar
AMMAN: Islamist protesters armed with swords, daggers and bats attacked police in the Jordanian city of Zarqa Friday, wounding 51 of them, the country’s police chief said. Lt. Gen.
Hussein Majali told a news conference that “51 policemen, including senior officers, were stabbed with knives, beaten with bats or hit with sharp tools, while 32 other policemen were treated for tear gas inhalation.”
He said “eight civilians were also hurt when police fired tear gas and tried to stop Islamist Salafist demonstrators from attacking shoppers in Zarqa,” adding that 17 protesters were arrested and that police are searching for more people.
“It was clear that the demonstrators had plans to clash with police. They carried swords and daggers and were provocative, seeking to drag police into a bloody confrontation.”
Earlier, police spokesman Lt. Col. Mohammad Khatib told AFP six officers stabbed in the clashes were “in serious condition.”
He said police “had to fire tear gas after a group of Islamist Salafists attacked some citizens … accusing them of being atheists.”
Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Apr/16/Islamists-attack-Jordanian-police-with-swords-wounding-51-pro-democracy-rallies-continue.ashx#axzz1JfWYIDUT
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US groups nurtured Mideast protests
April 16, 2011
WASHINGTON: Even as the US poured billions of dollars into foreign military programs and anti-terrorism campaigns, a small core of American government-financed organizations were promoting democracy in authoritarian Arab states.
The money spent on these programs was minute compared with efforts led by the Pentagon.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-groups-nurtured-Mideast-protests/articleshow/7996525.cms
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Tunisians call for Ben Ali's extradition
April 16, 2011
TUNIS: About 300 Tunisians on Friday staged a demonstration outside the Saudi embassy, calling for the extradition of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Xinhua reported.
Protesters hurled shoes at an effigy of the former president and held a mock trial sentencing him to death, according to the official TAP news agency.
Ben Ali was granted asylum in Saudi Arabia after he fled from his country Jan 14, following protests against his 23-year rule.
Friday's protest came days after Tunisian justice minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi announced that the authorities had prepared 18 charges, ranging from voluntary manslaughter to drug trafficking, against Ben Ali.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Tunisians-call-for-Ben-Alis-extradition/articleshow/7997535.cms
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Afghan suicide blast kills Kandahar police chief
April 16, 2011
KANDAHAR: The police chief in the key southern Afghan province of Kandahar was killed by a Taliban suicide bomber Friday along with two of his bodyguards, officials said.
The killings at the police headquarters in Kandahar city are a serious blow to security in the province, seen as the birthplace of the Taliban and a pivotal battleground in the near ten-year war against the Islamist militants.
They are the latest in a wave of attacks against the 120,000-strong Afghan police, who are due to take on more responsibility for security ahead of the planned withdrawal of foreign combat troops in 2014.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14190
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EU rebukes Pakistan for going slow against Taliban
April 16, 2011
BRUSSELS: The European Parliament has rebuked Pakistan for the slow progress in the fight against Taliban militancy in the country and directed the European Commission to appropriate financial aid to Islamabad based on its sincere efforts to eradicate terrorist groups.
The European Parliament issued two declarations on Friday reprimanding Pakistan about the dangers posed by the Taliban and calling for urgent measures for the security of the European Union (EU).
Noting that Pakistani militants are a major threat to Europe and the world, it instructed the Commission to "re-evaluate the size and objectives of its financial aid, depending on the sincere efforts of the Pakistani government to eradicate terrorist groups".
It expressed concern about Taliban sympathizers infiltrating into Pakistani military, intelligence and other security establishments.
Concerns were growing following the murder of Punjab provincial governor Salman Taseer by one of his bodyguards in January this year.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/EU-rebukes-Pakistan-for-going-slow-against-Taliban/articleshow/7997409.cms
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Libya in stalemate, but Gaddafi will go: Obama
16 April 2011
US President Barack Obama acknowledged on Friday there was a “stalemate” on the ground in Libya, but said he still expected the three-week-old air campaign to succeed in ousting Muammar Gaddafi eventually.
Obama and the leaders of France and Britain earlier on Friday published a joint newspaper article pledging to continue the military campaign until Gaddafi leaves power, effectively making regime change the officially-stated aim of their air war.
More than a hundred government rockets crashed into Misrata on Friday, a second day of heavy bombardment of the city, the lone major bastion of the rebels in the western part of Libya. Rebels said government forces had reached the city’s centre.
“I didn’t expect that in three weeks, suddenly as a consequence of an air campaign, that Gaddafi would necessarily be gone,” Obama said in an interview with the Associated Press.
He said the mission had succeeded in stopping large-scale civilian casualties, especially in the rebel-held city of Benghazi, and would eventually succeed in ousting Gaddafi.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/April/international_April721.xml§ion=international
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Yemen's Saleh calls for talks as protests escalate
April 16, 2011
Opponents of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped up a campaign to force him out yesterday, but Saleh was defiant as he addressed thousands of supporters and called on the opposition to join talks.
"We call on the opposition to consult their consciences and come to dialogue and reach an agreement for security and stability of the country," Saleh said.
"These crowds are a clear message to those inside and outside the country ... on constitutional legitimacy."
Saleh was capitalising on the opposition's rejection of a Gulf Arab offer to mediate talks in Riyadh on a transfer of power in the Arabian peninsula state, fearing a trick to keep Saleh in office for any time up to the end of his term in 2013.
Saleh spoke as hundreds of thousands protested against him in Sanaa, Aden and Taiz, tribesmen attacked a power plant and clerics and tribal leaders who were once his allies issued a statement saying he must go now.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=181795
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Obama, Sarkozy, Cameron jointly ask Gaddafi to quit
April 16, 2011
US President Barack Obama, his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron have joined hands in asserting they would continue military action in Libya until its leader Muammar Gaddafi quits.
The world will be guilty of an “unconscionable betrayal” if the Libyan leader is left in place, putting the fate of citizens, who have held out against the leader, “in the hands of a merciless militia intent on revenge,” the trio wrote in a joint article published in Times.
“Colonel Gaddafi must go and go for good” before the rebuilding of Libya can begin, they said, rejecting demands for an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated exit for the Libyan leader.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/331939/Obama-Sarkozy-Cameron-jointly-ask-Gaddafi-to-quit.html
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Pakistan still smuggling nuclear goods from U.S.”
April 16, 2011
Washington: A top Washington think tank has argued that recent examples of nuclear industry goods being smuggled from the United States to Pakistan highlight the need for closer monitoring and raise questions about how an ostensible “ally” of the U.S. could be involved in this illicit trade.
Speaking to The Hindu David Albright, President and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said the “U.S. government and the nuclear industry need to be working closer together” if such smuggling rings were to be detected.
Reflecting upon an ISIS paper that examined the case of Pakistani Nadeem Akhtar, Mr. Albright said, “The U.S. government should simply ask Pakistan to stop this trade, if they want to be our allies,” adding that the recent cases in which smuggling rings were caught they ultimately lead back to supply orders originating in Pakistan.
Akhtar's case made news last month when U.S. prosecutors charged him with “running a smuggling operation that shipped materials and equipment to the agencies operating Pakistan's nuclear program,” according to media reports.
Akhtar (45) was said to have operated an export firm in Maryland, which obtained items such as radiation-detection devices, calibration equipment and nuclear-grade resins from a company based in North Dakota and passed them on to “agencies that are on a U.S. Commerce Department blacklist.” The orders made to the U.S. company dated back to 2005 and 2006.
Specifically the two Pakistani entities that received goods through Akhtar's alleged illicit procurement operation were the Chashma nuclear power plant and the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission. ISIS reported that in 2006 and 2008 Akhtar purchased equipment from a Massachusetts company used to control electrical circuits in nuclear power and fuel reprocessing plants and shipped them to the Chashma plant.
Dual-use goods
According to ISIS, among the tactics that Akhtar allegedly used to obtain the dual-use goods were “using a U.S. company to buy goods from another U.S. company on his behalf, using a contractor of a U.S. company to buy goods, doing business with a U.S. company that knowingly or accidentally violated the U.S. ban on nuclear dual-use exports to Pakistan, and even lying to a Commerce Department official when asked about an end-user.”
As a result of these activities and also falsifying shipping documents and illegally routing goods to Pakistan via another Dubai-based company, Akhtar was said to be facing trial and up to five years in prison for conspiracy to commit export violations, 20 years for unlawfully exporting U.S. goods, and 20 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering, .
Mr. Albright told The Hindu, said the U.S. probably did not expect Pakistan to extradite the procurement agents implicated, yet given that the orders originated from the nuclear plants in Pakistan, official involvement in the smuggling ring was likely.
Mr. Albright said the recent events had echoes of the Asher Karni case of 2004, in which Karni, a Hungarian-born Israeli citizen was charged by U.S. authorities for involvement in the A.Q. Khan network of nuclear smugglers associated with the clandestine nuclear policy of Pakistan.
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/16/stories/2011041662841700.htm
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Saleh defiant, leaders serve him ultimatum to quit
April 16, 2011
Embattled Yemenese President Ali Abdullah Saleh stood defiant refusing to step down as country’s influential tribals and religious leaders served him an ultimatum to “quit immediately” while pro-democracy activists launched a civil disobedience campaign in Yemen.
Defiant Saleh has meanwhile called on the Opposition to join talks.
“We call on the Opposition to consult their consciences and come to dialogue and reach an agreement for security and stability of the country,” he said in an address to thousands of his supporters on Friday.
“These crowds are a clear message to those inside and outside the country ... On constitutional legitimacy.”
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/331938/Saleh-defiant-leaders-serve-him-ultimatum-to-quit.html
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Thousands protest in key Syrian city
April 16, 2011
Around 3,000 people marched on Friday demanding the freedom of Daraa, the epicentre of protests which have rocked Syria since March 15, a rights activist said.
“Between 2,500 and 3,000 people showed up at Al-Saraya area in the centre of the city, chanting slogans in favour of freedom and against the hostile regime,” said the activist on condition of anonymity.
He said protesters in the southern city of Daraa chanted “Death rather than humiliation!” Other protesters are “going to come from nearby villages,” he said as security forces did not intervene.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/331933/Thousands-protest-in-key-Syrian-city.html
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Mubarak could face execution: Top judge
April 16, 2011
Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak may be hanged or jailed for life if found guilty of ordering the killing of pro-democracy protesters, as he was shifted to a military hospital pending a transfer to prison, state media said. Zakaria Shalash, head of the Cairo’s Appeal’s Court was quoted by official al-Ahram newspaper as saying that Mubarak may face execution after a trial, if he is found guilty of ordering killings of protesters during the January popular uprising.
An estimated 800 people were reported killed in pro-democracy protest, that shook Egypt for more than a fortnight.
The judge said, that such a trial could be last upto a year.
His comments come as Egypt’s prosecutor general Abdel Meguid Mahmoud ordered the transfer of ailing Mubarak from a civil to a military hospital, until his health allows him to be transferred to prison. “Mubarak would be provided with health care he needs and security measures suitable for temporary prisoner,” Mahmoud said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/331936/Mubarak-could-face-execution-Top-judge.html
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Iran: Bahrain unrest could destabilize entire region
April 16, 2011
TEHRAN: Iran has called on the U.N. Security Council to protect opposition activists in Bahrain, where, it said, unrest and suppression could destabilize the entire region, the official IRNA news agency said Friday.
Tehran has been outspoken in its criticism of the Bahraini Sunni Muslim ruling family’s suppression of protests by members of the Shiite majority.
Bahrain’s Gulf Arab allies – some of which sent troops to the island state to bolster regime forces – have accused the Islamic Republic of interference.
In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called for “a serious and immediate action by the Security Council over suppressing people’s demands in Bahrain using military force.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran cannot stay indifferent toward events in Bahrain and their consequences, because the situation could be uncontrollable if the current situation goes on,” Salehi wrote. “Such consequences would destabilize the Persian Gulf region and of course its aftermath would affect the world.”
Bahrain has launched a security crackdown after its police forces quelled weeks of pro-democracy protests which it accuses Iran of fomenting. The opposition says hundreds have been arrested and four have died in police custody over the last two weeks.
The crisis has accentuated tensions between non-Arab Iran and its Arab neighbors across the Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia.
Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Apr/16/Iran-Bahrain-unrest-could-destabilize-entire-region-UN-must-protect-opposition-activists.ashx#axzz1JfWYIDUT
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Islamists kill Italian kidnapped in Gaza: Hamas
April 16, 2011
A Salafist group of radical Islamists killed an Italian activist after kidnapping him in Gaza, a Hamas security official said today.
"The Italian was killed by suffocation and his body was found in a street of the city of Gaza," a spokesman for the Islamist movement which controls the Gaza Strip told AFP.
Two suspected kidnappers were arrested and security officials are looking for accomplices.
Foreign aid workers in the enclave earlier named the man as Vittorio Arrigoni and said he was an activist with a pro-Palestinian group called the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), who was also working as a journalist and writer.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/islamists-kill-italian-kidnapped-in-gaza-hamas/776612/
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Fighting rages in Misrata, Gadhafi told to leave
April 16, 2011
Imed Lamloum
TRIPOLI: Fighting raged in the besieged rebel-held Libyan city of Misrata Friday and Moammar Gadhafi’s hometown was reportedly hit by NATO, as world leaders said the Libyan leader had to go.
Heavy gunfire and shelling could be heard in Misrata, with sustained exchanges near the center before nightfall, an AFP photographer reported.
Loud explosions which had been heard since the morning were spaced closer together.
Rebel checkpoints were seen around a now-abandoned residential area where nests of loyalist snipers were suspected to be active.
The rebels said Gadhafi forces were firing shells and mortar rounds two kilometers away from the main road, Tripoli Street.
Several insurgents claimed Gadhafi’s forces were using cluster bombs, which are banned under international law in civilian-populated zones. AFP could not verify their claims.
Misrata came under heavy attack Thursday by Gadhafi’s forces, who fired dozens of Grad missiles and tank shells that killed at least 13 people and wounded 50, a rebel spokesman said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Apr/16/Fighting-rages-in-Misrata-Gadhafi-told-to-leave.ashx#axzz1JfWYIDUT
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‘Lebanon's Hariri wanted Brotherhood to replace Assad in Syria’
April 16, 2011
WikiLeaks cables unveiled by a Lebanese daily on Friday revealed that outgoing premier Saad Hariri wanted Syria isolated and its leader replaced with the Muslim Brotherhood and exiled former officials.
The release of the cables by WikiLeaks' Arabic-language partner Al-Akhbar comes days after Damascus accused a member of Hariri's Saudi-backed Sunni Future Movement of arming and funding anti-regime protests in Syria that broke out mid-March.
In the cable filed by the US embassy in Lebanon on August 24, 2006 - 10 days after the end of Iranian - and Syrian-backed Hezbollah's devastating war with Israel - Hariri urged the international community to isolate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Hariri also warned US officials of trouble in Lebanon should the international community fail to isolate Assad through sanctions.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lebanons-hariri-wanted-brotherhood-to-replace-assad-in-syria/776668/
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Western allies considering Libyan regime change, says France
April 16, 2011
The United States, Britain and France are considering options beyond the current U.N. resolution authorizing action to protect Libyan civilians and are now seeking regime change, France's defense minister said Friday.
Speaking after the leaders of the main Western allies declared that it would be "unthinkable" for Moammar Gadhafi to remain in power, Minister Gerard Longuet admitted that this went beyond the terms of the current U.N. mandate.
Asked on LCI television whether, in pushing for Gadhafi's overthrow, the coalition risked "moving beyond the U.N. resolution," Longuet said: "Resolution 1973? Certainly. It does not address the future of Gadhafi.”
"But I think that when three great powers say the same thing, it's important for the United Nations, and perhaps one day the Security Council will make another resolution," he said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron penned a joint op-ed warning that military action would not halt until Gadhafi falls.
A Libyan future including Gadhafi is "unthinkable" and would represent an "unconscionable betrayal" by the rest of the world, the leaders of Britain, France and the United States said in their piece.
The three leaders vowed they would "not rest until the U.N. ... resolutions have been implemented."
"It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government," they said
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=western-allies-thinking-beyond-un-libya-resolution-france-2011-04-15
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One more dies as response to Minsk bombing remains uncertain
April 16, 2011
With a 13th person now confirmed dead in a metro bombing in Minsk on Monday, some experts now fear the event might provide an opportunity for Belarus’ authoritarian to crack down on the already-small opposition.
“A string of unexplained explosions – that have just become more serious – may create fear and a sense of insecurity that could be exploited by [President Alexander] Lukashenko,” said Lilit Gevorgyan, an analyst at IHS global insight, a global information company focused on providing analysis to businesses.
The Belarusian Health Ministry recently confirmed that a 47-year-old man died from injuries, raising the death toll in the attack to 13. Some 161 people remained hospitalized Friday following the bombing, which tore through the busiest station in the capital.
Authorities have announced five arrests. Lukashenko ordered prosecutors to interrogate opposition activists over the bombing, sparking fears that he is using the attack as a pretext to crush the remnants of political pluralism, the Associated Press reported. The prosecutor general has also threatened to "bring order" to the Internet, the last outpost of free speech in Belarus.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=one-more-dies-as-response-to-minsk-bombing-remains-uncertain-2011-04-15
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Taliban free aspiring Afghan policemen, official says
April 16, 2011
Forty Afghan would-be policemen who were kidnapped by the Taliban last month were freed unharmed Friday, officials said.
The men were abducted in the troubled eastern province of Kunar, which borders Pakistan, while traveling back from neighboring Nuristan, where they had unsuccessfully sought work with the Afghan Local Police, or ALP.
ALP is a government initiative strongly backed by the West to create community police forces separate from the uniformed police to guard villages against insurgents in remote parts of rural Afghanistan.
“The 40 cops who were kidnapped before have been freed,” Jamaluddin Badr, the provincial governor of Nuristan, told Agence France-Presse.
“Our eastern shura [local council] agreed to free them after assurances by local elders that they will not work for the police,” said a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.
The Taliban frequently targets Afghans who work for the country’s security forces.
In the latest attack, three policemen were killed Thursday when three suicide bombers attacked a police training center in the eastern province of Paktia.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=taliban-free-aspiring-afghan-policemen-official-says-2011-04-15
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How Gamal brought down the whole Mubarak house
April 16, 2011
Although the January 25 Revolution forced Hosni Mubarak – Egypt's 82-year-old president – to resign on 11 February, many were still suspicious that he could launch a counter-revolution. These suspicions, however, died when Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud ordered in the early hours of 13 April that Gamal and his brother Alaa be remanded into custody for 15 days pending investigations into allegations of rampant corruption. Mubarak's two sons were taken to south Cairo's Tora Prison to join a host of heavyweights from of the defunct regime.
Alaa and Gamal Mubarak arrived in white uniforms and handcuffs at Tora Prison at 6am, after being questioned at an investigations office in South Sinai.
The two brothers face accusations related to financial corruption. In particular, however, Gamal faces the explosive accusation of inciting police forces and thugs to open fire and attack pro-democracy protesters at Tahrir Square on 28 January (the Friday of Rage) and on 2 February (the Battle of the Camel).
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/9988/Egypt/Politics-/How-Gamal-brought-down-the-whole-Mubarak-house.aspx
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Mubarak's arrest appeases protesters, for now
April 16, 2011
The arrest and detainment of Mubarak and his sons seems to have appeased many of the country's revolutionaries with only around 300 protesters making it to Tahrir Square today.
The sight of the relatively empty square this week stands in stark contrast with the image of millions of protesters filling its every inch last week. However, it seems that the decision by the prosecutor-general to arrest Mubarak and his sons, a long-time demand of the revolution, has had an impact.
Some of the protesters who made it to the square today are calling for a speedy trial for Mubarak, who was given a 15 day jail sentence last Tuesday. A huge banner calls for him to be handed the death sentence for killing the protesters during the 18 days of protests leading up to his ouster. Another has an image of Safwat El Sherif, former secretary-general of the NDP, behind bars in celebration of his imprisonment in Tora Prison, south of Cairo. Other protesters in the square repeat the old line of solidarity between the people and the army.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/1/64/10095/Egypt/Politics-/Mubaraks-arrest-appeases-protesters,-for-now.aspx
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Rocket salvo hits Misrata, 'allies' say Gaddafi must go
April 16, 2011
A fresh hail of government rockets crashed into Misrata on Friday after Western 'allies' denounced a "medieval siege" of the city and vowed to keep bombing Muammar Gaddafi's forces until he stepped down.
A local doctor told Al Jazeera at least eight people died and seven others were wounded in the second day of intense bombardment of Misrata, a lone rebel bastion in western Libya.
Residents told the television network at least 120 rockets hit the city, where hundreds of civilians are reported to have died in a six-week siege.
NATO is split over providing more planes for the mission in Libya.
"It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government," the leaders of Britain, France and the United States said in a joint newspaper article on Friday.
Their clear intention to achieve regime change in Libya goes well beyond the terms of a United Nations resolution authorising air strikes to protect civilians.
Gaddafi's daughter Aisha told a rally in Tripoli that demanding his departure was an insult.
In a strongly worded article published on both sides of the Atlantic, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama said leaving Gaddafi in power would be an "unconscionable betrayal."
"So long as Gaddafi is in power, NATO and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds," they said.
The statement seemed intended to both paper over cracks in the Atlantic alliance and increase resolve to stick with the air campaign despite increasing differences.
France and Britain, the NATO hawks on Libya, have led the air campaign but are growing impatient with lack of commitment and provision of ground strike aircraft from other members.
The leaders said in their article that Gaddafi could play no role in a genuine transition to democracy. "For that transition to succeed, Colonel Gaddafi must go, and go for good."
Aisha Gaddafi told a rally in Tripoli marking the 25th anniversary of American bombing of Gaddafi's compound there: "Talk about Gaddafi stepping down is an insult to all Libyans because Gaddafi is not in Libya, but in the hearts of all Libyans."
On the fluid eastern front in Libya's two-month civil war, rebels said Gaddafi forces advancing from the oil port of Brega had opened fire on the western edge of the insurgent-held town of Ajdabiyah on Friday, killing one of their fighters.
Fighter Mansour Rachid said Gaddafi's forces were spread out in the desert and hard to locate.
France and Britain want to extend air strikes to the government's logistics and decision-making centres, rather than arming rebels, French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said.
Asked if it was time to send weapons to the rebels, Longuet said: "This is the reason France and Britain want to show our determination, including with strikes on military decision centres in Libya or on logistics depots which today are being spared."
The article by the three Western allies appeared at a time when diplomatic efforts have failed to paper over divisions between NATO allies about how intensively they should prosecute the three-week-old air war, amid increasing stalemate on the ground.
Britain and France complain that other NATO allies have not provided enough fire power to take out Gaddafi's armour and allow the rebels in control of the east to sweep him from power.
The rebels have begged for more air strikes to avert what they say is a potential massacre in Misrata.
NATO planes bombed targets in Tripoli on Thursday, where state television showed footage of a defiant Gaddafi cruising through the streets in a green safari jacket and sunglasses, pumping his fists and waving from an open-top vehicle.
The attack on Misrata on Friday followed intense fire from Russian made Grad rocket launchers into a residential district on Thursday when rebels said 23 people died, mostly women and children. They said more than 200 missiles fell in the port.
"They shelled this area because the port is Misrata's only window to the outside world," a rebel spokesman using the name Ghassan said by telephone.
"The destruction there was huge. I was there and saw for myself," he said, adding that the port had been shut. Thousands of foreign migrants are stranded in desperate conditions in the open in the port.
Aid organisations warn of a humanitarian disaster.
In their article, the US, British and French leaders said Misrata was "enduring a medieval siege as Gaddafi tries to strangle its population into submission".
At a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Berlin, several alliance members rebuffed calls from France and Britain to contribute more to the air attacks.
Al-Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman Al-Zawahri, has urged Muslims in a video message to fight NATO forces in Libya, according to the SITE monitoring group.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/2/8/10082/World/Region/Rocket-salvo-hits-Misrata,-allies-say-Gaddafi-must.aspx
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NATO missiles strike Al-Aziziyah - Libyan TV
April 16, 2011
NATO warplanes launched air strikes on the Libyan town of Al-Aziziyah for the second straight day on Friday, state-run Libyan television reported.
"Al-Aziziyah city was subjected a little while ago to crusader colonial aggression and bombarded for a second consecutive day," the Al Jamahiriya channel said.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/10097/World/Region/NATO-missiles-strike-AlAziziyah--Libyan-TV.aspx
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NATO and UK hopeful on Libya strike aircraft
15 April 2011
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Britain voiced optimism on Friday that NATO allies would supply more combat planes for the Libyan mission, but Italy ruled out ordering its planes to open fire.
Britain and France are urging other NATO allies to provide more planes capable of hitting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s ground forces after Washington cut back its role in the operation and passed command on to NATO on March 31.
The leaders of France, Britain and the United States published a jointly-written newspaper article on Friday vowing to keep up their military campaign until Gaddafi leaves power. Some countries, such as Russia, say that goes beyond the terms of a U.N. Security Council resolution authorising the campaign.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/April/international_April703.xml§ion=international
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Musharraf to hold public meet on Sunday
16 April 2011
London, Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf will address supporters of his newly-formed APML through a video conference in Lahore on Sunday.
While announcing about the video address, All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) leader Fawad Chaudhry Friday told The News reporters that the April 17 public meeting would prove to be a new beginning in the political history of Pakistan. He said Musharraf would make direct contact with the oppressed masses.
On the possibility of Musharraf’s return, Chaudhry said, although he was very excited about Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/April/international_April725.xml§ion=international
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Government rockets rain on Libyan city
April 16, 2011
TRIPOLI: More than a hundred government rockets crashed into Misrata on Friday after Western allies denounced a "medieval siege" of the city and vowed to keep bombing Muammar Qaddafi's forces until he stepped down.
A local doctor told Al Jazeera at least eight people died and seven others were wounded in the second day of intense bombardment of Misrata, a lone opposition bastion in western Libya. An Amnesty International researcher in the city said several people were killed as they queued for bread on Thursday.
Residents told Al Jazeera at least 120 rockets had hit the city, where hundreds of civilians are reported to have died in a six-week siege.
The attack followed intense fire from Russian-made Grad rocket launchers into a residential district on Thursday when the opposition said 23 people died, mostly women and children. They said more than 200 missiles fell in the port.
The leaders of Britain, France and the United States said in a joint newspaper article that they would press on with their three-week-old air campaign until Qaddafi left power. "It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government."
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article361798.ece
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Iran sees no need for emergency OPEC action
April 16, 2011
TEHRAN: Iran’s oil minister says rising crude prices do not signal the sector is in an “extraordinary situation” and there is no need for an emergency OPEC meeting.
According to the IRNA news agency, Masoud Mirkazemi said the “market has decided the price of crude based on supply and demand.”
He spoke at an oil expo in Tehran.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/economy/article361821.ece
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Gaddafi forces kill seven in Yafran
April 16, 2011
CAIRO: Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi killed seven rebel fighters and wounded 11 in attacks on the town of Yafran in western Libya on Friday, a rebel spokesman told an Arab television.
The spokesman read out the names of the dead rebels on the Qatar-based satellite channel. Yafran is part of the Western Mountains region, an area inhabited by Berbers who are ethnically distinct from most Libyans.
Meanwhile, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim denied cluster bombs had been used in Misrata.
"I challenge them to prove it," he told reporters in the capital Tripoli.
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14213
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US admits CIA spy network in Pakistan
April 16, 2011
WASHINGTON: Central Investigation Agency (CIA) has established its spy network in Pakistan besides, there is no need of any assistance from Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to carry out drone strikes in the tribal areas, US newspaper quoted an official as saying.
According to the US official, CIA has established its spy network in tribal areas during the last two years.
A summit of spymasters this week eased tensions but failed to resolve issues over US drones and espionage that have imperiled the vital relationship between the CIA and ISI, a US official told a news agency.
The US spy agency is willing to expand consultations with Pakistan over drone operations, US officials told after CIA Director Leon Panetta hosted Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14212
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Clinton defends Taliban talks
April 16, 2011
BERLIN: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday voiced understanding for talks with the Taliban as she mourned late diplomat Richard Holbrooke, an avid proponent of reconciliation in Afghanistan.
At a memorial service, Clinton credited Holbrooke with setting the troubled US relationships with Pakistan and Afghanistan on the right track as special envoy to the countries.
“Those who found negotiations with the Taliban distasteful got a very powerful response from Richard - diplomacy would be easy if we only had to talk to our friends,” Clinton said at the American Academy in Berlin.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\04\16\story_16-4-2011_pg1_5
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Iran building concrete fence on Pak border
April 16, 2011
Tehran - Iran is building a concrete fence all along its 700-km long border with Pakistan to stop cross-border movements of terrorists, according to the country’s defence minister.
The three feet thick and 10 feet high fence, built with concrete and fortified by steel rods, will span the impenetrable mountainous terrain in south eastern Iran, Brig Gen Ahmad Vahidi told IRNA news agency.
“The fence is to prevent villains from crossing into the Islamic republic,” the General said. The fence would start from Taftan area to Mand in the Baloch majority Sistan province, which borders Pakistan’s Balochistan province, the report said.
Full report at:
http://dailymailnews.com/0411/16/FrontPage/index.php?id=5
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Kashmir should assume centre stage in Pak-India talks: Geelani
April 16, 2011
SRINAGAR (IHK): In occupied Kashmir veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader Syed Ali Geelani has said that the Kashmir dispute should assume centre stage in Pak-India dialogue process and the true leadership of Kashmiris should be included in the talks, reports KMS.
Syed Ali Geelani, who remained under house arrest for the third day on Thursday, was talking to a delegation of Kashmiri intellectuals and human rights activists at his residence in Hyderpora. They included Dr Javed Iqbal, Z G Muhammad, Professor Anwar Ashai, Abdul Majeed Zargar, Khurram Pervez and Muhammad Shafi Reshi.
The veteran Hurriyet leader said that the Kashmir dispute was the main impediment in the cordial relations between Pakistan and India. He added that durable peace in the region was impossible without an amicable settlement of the dispute.
Full report at:
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?238314
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Obama kicks off re-election bid, says he has to 'finish job'
April 16, 2011
CHICAGO: US President Barack Obama said on Thursday a Republican debt-reduction plan would create "a nation of potholes" as he used the first events of his 2012 re-election bid to strike a sharp contrast with his opponents.
Seeking to reignite the energy of supporters that propelled his candidacy in 2008, Obama said "extraordinary progress" has been made during his two years in the White House but much work remains. He called on supporters to help him finish the job.
Obama used Washington's budget battles as a backdrop at three fund-raising events estimated to raise $2 million for his campaign from a hometown crowd that included many key figures in his rise to power.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Obama-kicks-off-re-election-bid-says-he-has-to-finish-job/articleshow/7996467.cms
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“US never told govt don’t build Iran pipeline”
April 16, 2011
The United States government has never told the Indian government directly that it does not want the Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline to be built. “They have said it isn’t a good thing in public,” said high level sources. “But never to us directly – possibly because they know the answer they would get.” India is still interested in the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, said the sources. The barriers to its creation lie in the region rather than Washington.
One, said the sources, “if we are to invest $ 6 billion in a pipeline and then attach $ 30 billion of industry to one end of it, we have to be very sure about supply.”
Among the proposals has been that Iran be allowed to invest heavily in the industry so it has a stake on both ends. New Delhi would be happier seeing it as an extension of a larger national gas grid – “which should come up in a few years” – so there are other alternatives in case of a supply disruption.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/restofasia/US-never-told-govt-don-t-build-Iran-pipeline/Article1-685921.aspx
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Russian copters for Afghanistan
April 16, 2011
MOSCOW: Russia has finalised a deal with NATO to supply two dozen combat helicopters to Afghanistan and train local pilots.
Russia and NATO will set up a trust fund for the supply and maintenance of Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters, said a top Russian diplomat.
“We have carried out a large amount of preparatory work to assess Afghanistan's need in helicopters, their maintenance and personnel training,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Itar-Tass news agency on Friday.
“Some NATO countries have announced readiness to make national contributions to the fund.”
Earlier reports said Russia would sell 21 helicopters for the Afghan military at a cost of $367.5 million and supply three more aircraft gratis. The U.S. agreed to foot the bill after Moscow turned down a NATO request to supply the helicopters for free.
Once the new aircraft are delivered, the Afghan army will have close to 100 Russian-built helicopters.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/16/stories/2011041662751700.htm
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/leave-our-skies--gaddafi-daughter-to-nato/d/4468