Pakistani Taliban Recruiting Via Facebook
Age Islam News Bureau
7 Dec 2012
Pakistan
• Pakistani Taliban recruiting via Facebook
• Pak president to visit Britain to meet Malala Yousafzai
• Wali-Ur-Rehman A New Pakistani Taliban Chief Emerging
• Pak MPs to propose for apology to Dhaka
• Pakistan’s largest city rocked by wave of violence
• Pak relations with US is that of client and master: Imran Khan
• Quality prose rendition, speeches kick off international Urdu moot
• Social media debate: ‘Internet helps parties with limited resources reach out’
• Pak free to make Bhutto probe public
North America
• Episcopalians church under fire for hosting Muslim convention
• US Marine pleads to taking $150K in bribes in Iraq
• US virtual Iranian embassy received 2 mn page hits
• US set to extend waivers on Iran oil sanctions
• US general named to head Afghan pullout
• US senior deputy special representative for Af-Pak visits Pakistan
• US, Russia back mediation on Syria, Hillary Clinton says
India
• Mumbai serial blasts, which killed nearly 300, result of Pak envy: Home Minister
• 'Time for India, Pak to stop blame game': Pakistan senate chairman
• Babri mosque demolition was assault on Constitution: Noted social activist
• “Top Army, police officials involved in human rights abuse in Kashmir”: rights activists’ group
• Shahi Imam of Delhi for speedy trial, not withdrawal of cases against terror accused
• Fast-track hearing in Babri case: SC
• Demolition of Babri Masjid will not be forgotten say PFI
• Communal clashes pay in Ayodhya
• Assamese Muslim Youths Detained for Asking about Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya
• Maldives should control quarters harming bilateral ties: India on GMR row
• Pak, Gambia pip India in child care ranking
• Yasin Malik arrested during JKLF march against sentencing in separatist violence
• Sushilkumar Shinde to look at Afzal Guru's mercy petition
• Pakistan targets Indian post, violates ceasefire again
Mideast Asia
• Emboldened Hamas leader to visit Gaza for first time in 45 years
• Inspecting Iran's Parchin site would be 'useful': IAEA
• Iran must ensure an effective investigation into blogger’s death in custody
• Iran vows to sue U.S. over “drone incursion”
• Abbas still partner for peace after UN bid'
• Not Palestinians, nor Iranians, robbers 'ground' Israeli F-16s
Arab World
• Saudi Grand Mufti: Judges must be impartial
• Wider Chaos Feared as Syrian Rebels Clash with Kurds
• Ban Ki-moon urges Iraq, Kuwait to seize ‘historic’ chance
• Snipers kill 11 Lebanese in Syria-linked clashes
• More than 42,000 dead in Syria conflict: watchdog
• Debit cards come to the aid of Syrian refugees in Turkey
• Egypt demonstrators reject Morsi call for dialogue
• Tension mounts in Egypt as army barricades presidential palace
• Egyptian army issues ultimatum to protesters after deadly clashes in Cairo
• Egypt’s president offers nothing to defuse political crisis after 6 die in clashes
• Saudi Minister: Advanced technology can tackle climate change challenges
• Forbes highlights King Abdullah’s global influence
• Rebels Declare Damascus Airport a ‘Fair Target,’ Reports Say
Europe
• Rise in proportion of young Muslims in UK jail
• UN sanctions Al-Qaeda-linked Mali militants
• Britain to press EU partners to amend Syria arms embargo
• UN calls for access to Myanmar conflict displaced
• Russia plans 'brainstorming' meeting with U.S. on Syria
• U.N. Envoy Is Seeking a Deal to Oust Assad from Syria
• Bosnian gets 18-year jail for US Embassy attack
• UN chief calls for Security Council unity on Syria
South Asia
• Nato shares blame for 'insecurity' in Afghan: Karzai
• Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal issues notice to The Economist
• GMR-Maldives row: Where the dispute lies
Southeast Asia
• Tech-savvy Indonesians seize online business opportunities
Africa
• Sudan troops attacked despite peace deal: Darfur rebel chief
• South Sudan Drops Kidnap Charges against U.S. Citizen
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Pakistani Taliban Recruiting Via Facebook
---------
Pakistan
Pakistani Taliban recruiting via Facebook
Dec 7, 2012
PESHAWAR: The Pakistani Taliban has set up a page on Facebook to recruit enthusiasts to write for a quarterly magazine and to edit video, a spokesman confirmed Friday.
The Umar Media TTP page, which has more than 270 likes, appears to have been created in September and have just a handful of messages written in English.
“Umar Media is proud to announce online jobs opportunities (sic),” says the first post on the networking website, written on October 25.
“Job description (sic) is video editing, translations, sharing, uploading, downloading and collection of required data,” it says, giving an email address and asking readers to “plz. spread it. This fb. Account may be deleted.”
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan confirmed to AFP by telephone on Friday that the faction was “temporarily” using the page “to fulfil its requirements” before launching its own website.
US-based organisation SITE Intelligence Group says the TTP uses Facebook as “a recruitment centre”.
“Through its official media arm, Umar Media, the TTP has taken to Facebook to recruit contributors for their media work and the group’s forthcoming publication ‘Ayah-E-Khilafat’ (Sign of the Caliphate),” it said in a statement.
The TTP Facebook page describes the publication as its “official quarterly magazine” and asks writers to submit articles “on (a) topic of your choice”, or on jihadi current affairs, history, Islamic movements or the plight of Muslims.
http://dawn.com/2012/12/07/pakistani-taliban-recruiting-via-facebook/
----------
Pak president to visit Britain to meet Malala Yousafzai
Dec 07 2012
Islamabad: President Asif Ali Zardari will visit Britain this week to meet Pakistani teenage rights activist Malala Yousafzai, who is being treated at a UK hospital after being shot in the head by Taliban militants.
The visit, scheduled to begin tomorrow, is an"unprecedented gesture" by Zardari because the President does not have any diplomatic engagements in Britain other than meeting Malala, officials of the Foreign Office were quoted assaying by The Express Tribune.
Zardari, who will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, will meet Malala after an official visit to Iran, officials said. In several recent speeches, Zardari has referred to Malala as a symbol of Pakistan's resistance against the Taliban's attempts to enforce its mindset and agenda behind the facade of religion.
Malala and her two classmates were injured in an attack by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in the former militant stronghold of Swat on October 9.
The 14-year-old became the symbol of resistance against the Taliban by writing a blog when the region was controlled by militants in 2007. As the Taliban forcibly shut down girls' school, Malala began speaking out for access to education for girls. The Taliban said she was targeted for espousing secularism and Western ideals.
Since the attempt on her life, Malala has received messages of support from across the world and some have suggested that she should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
However, religious hardliners and radical elements in Pakistan have claimed she was part of a US conspiracy to push Pakistan to launch a fresh military campaign against militants in the tribal areas.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-president-zardari-to-visit-britain-to-meet-malala-yousafzai/1041799/
---------
Wali-Ur-Rehman A New Pakistani Taliban Chief Emerging
December 7, 2012
WANA: The Pakistani Taliban, one of the world’s most feared militant groups, are preparing for a leadership change that could mean less violence against the state but more attacks against US-led forces in Afghanistan, Pakistani military sources said.
Hakimullah Mehsud, a ruthless commander who has led the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the last three years, has lost operational control of the movement and the trust of his fighters, said a senior Pakistan army official based in the South Waziristan tribal region, the group’s stronghold.
The organisation’s more moderate deputy leader, Wali-ur-Rehman, 40, is poised to succeed Mehsud, whose extreme violence has alienated enough of his fighters to significantly weaken him, the military sources told Reuters.
“Rehman is fast emerging as a consensus candidate to formally replace Hakimullah,” said the army official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. “Now we may see the brutal commander replaced by a more pragmatic one for whom reconciliation with the Pakistani government has become a priority.”
The TTP, known as the Pakistani Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of militants in 2007.
Its main aim is to topple the US-backed government in Pakistan and impose its austere brand of Islam across the country of 185 million people, although it has also carried out attacks in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The militants intensified their battle against the Pakistani state after an army raid on Islamabad’s Red Mosque in 2007, which had been seized by allies of the group.
Mehsud, believed to be in his mid-30s, took over the Pakistani Taliban in August 2009. He rose to prominence in 2010 when US prosecutors charged him with involvement in an attack that killed seven CIA employees at a US base in Afghanistan.
His profile was raised further when he appeared in a farewell video with the Jordanian suicide bomber who killed the employees.
Reuters interviewed several senior Pakistan military officials as well as tribal elders and locals during a three-day trip with the army in South Waziristan last week, getting rare access to an area that has been a virtual no-go zone for journalists since an army offensive was launched in October 2009.
Three senior military officials said informers in the Pakistani Taliban told them Mehsud was no longer steering the group.
Pakistani Taliban commanders did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the possible leadership change.
US officials said that while Rehman was Mehsud’s natural successor, they cautioned about expecting an imminent transition. Mehsud’s standing in the Pakistani Taliban might have weakened, but he still had followers, they said.
Washington has offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to the capture of either Mehsud or Rehman.
One Pakistan military official, who has served in South Waziristan for more than two years, said his Pakistani Taliban contacts first alerted him to Mehsud’s waning power six months ago, when constant pressure from the Pakistan military, US drone strikes and poor health had hurt his ability to lead.
“Representing the moderate point of view, there is a probability that under Rehman, TTP will dial down its fight against the Pakistani state, unlike Hakimullah who believes in wanton destruction here,” said the military official based in the South Waziristani capital of Wana.
The official said this might lead to more attacks across the border in Afghanistan because Rehman has been pushing for the group’s fighters to turn their guns on Western forces.
Other factions within the Pakistani Taliban such as the Nazir group in South Waziristan and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction in North Waziristan have struck peace deals with the Pakistani military while focusing attacks on Western and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.
A change in the Pakistan Taliban’s focus would complicate Western efforts to stabilise Afghanistan before most Nato troops leave by the end of 2014, said Riaz Mohammad Khan, a Pakistani diplomat who has held several posts dealing with Afghanistan.
The United States is already fighting the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, which is based along the unruly frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan and which is perhaps Washington’s deadliest foe in Afghanistan.
The last thing US-led Nato troops need is a new, formidable enemy in the approach to 2014.
Such a shift in emphasis, however, could reduce the number of suicide bombings that have plagued Pakistan in recent years, scaring off investment needed to prop up an economy that has barely managed to grow since 2007.
At each other’s throats
The Pakistani Taliban, who are close to al Qaeda, remain resilient despite a series of military offensives. They took part in a number of high-profile operations, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the attempted assassination of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai in October, who had campaigned for girls’ education.
The Pakistani Taliban were also blamed for the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad which killed more than 50 people.
Under Mehsud, the organisation formed complex alliances with other militant groups spread across Pakistan.
But it has long been strained by internal rivalries over strategy. Mehsud has pushed the war with the Pakistani state, while others such as Rehman want the battle to be against US and allied forces in Afghanistan.
“Rehman has even held secret negotiations with the Pakistani government in the past but Hakimullah always stood in his way, wanting to carry on fighting the Pakistani military,” a second Wana-based military official said.
The two were at each other’s throats earlier this year and hostilities were close to open warfare, Taliban sources said.
“Differences within the ranks have only gotten worse, not better, rendering the TTP a much weaker force today than a few years ago,” the second military official said.
A source close to the Taliban told Reuters there had been months of internal talks on the Pakistani Taliban’s decreasing support among locals and fighters in tribal areas where the group has assassinated many pro-government elders.
“The Taliban know they are fighting a public relations war, and under someone like Hakimullah, they will only lose it,” added the source who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
It isn’t clear whether Mehsud will hand over the leadership to Rehman without a fight.
A power struggle could split the group, making it more difficult to recruit young fighters and also disrupt the safe havens in Pakistan used by Afghan militants.
According to accepted practice, a leadership council, or shura, will ultimately decide whether to formally replace Mehsud with Rehman.
Intelligence officials said Mehsud had not commanded any recent operations, including an Aug 16 attack on the Minhas Airbase in Pakistan and a suicide attack on a street market in May that killed 24 people.
Military sources said Rehman planned the April 15 jail break in Bannu in Pakistan that freed 384 prisoners, including an estimated 200 Taliban members and an al Qaeda-linked militant who had attempted to assassinate former president Pervez Musharraf.
Fall from grace
Intelligence officials in the area said Mehsud’s brutality had turned his own subordinates against him, while the more measured Rehman had emerged as the group’s primary military strategist.
“If a leader doesn’t behave like a leader, he loses support. For the longest time now, Hakimullah has done the dirty work while Wali-ur-Rehman is the thinker. Taliban fighters recognise this,” said the first Pakistani military source.
A local elder described Mehsud as “short-tempered and trigger-happy”.
“(Mehsud) used to work 24 hours a day, tirelessly. But he would also put a gun to anyone’s head and kill them for his cause,” said a local shopkeeper who has family members involved in the Pakistan Taliban.
Mehsud gained his reputation fighting with the Afghan Taliban against US and allied forces in Helmand province in Afghanistan. He was later given command of Taliban factions in the Bajaur, Orakzai, Khyber and Kurram regions.
He took over the Pakistani Taliban after a weeks-long succession battle with Rehman following the death of Baitullah Mehsud in a drone strike. The two Mehsuds were not related.
http://dawn.com/2012/12/06/a-new-pakistani-taliban-chief-emerging/
---------
Pak MPs to propose for apology to Dhaka
December 7, 2012
A number of Pakistani lawmakers including from the ruling party are set to seek a parliamentary resolution apologising to Bangladesh for the 1971 atrocities by its troops, famous Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir has said.
"At least 12 members of the Pakistan parliament assured me of tabling a proposal to apologise to Bangladesh officially," Hamid, executive editor of popular Pakistani television channel Geo TV, told the news agency in an email interview.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=260226
--------
Pakistan’s largest city rocked by wave of violence
December 7, 2012
KARACHI: Bodies are piling up in Pakistan’s largest city as it suffers one of its most violent years in history, and concern is growing that the chaos is giving greater cover for the Taliban to operate and undermining the country’s economic epicenter.
Karachi, a sprawling port city on the Arabian Sea, has long been beset by religious, sectarian and ethnic strife. Here armed wings of political parties battle for control of the city, Sunnis and Shias die in tit-for-tat sectarian killings, and Taliban gunmen attack banks and kill police officers. With an election due next year, the violence could easily worsen.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/07/pakistans-largest-city-rocked-by-wave-of-violence/
---------
Pak relations with US is that of client and master: Imran Khan
Dec 06 2012
Singapore : Describing his country's relations with the US as that of a client and a master, Pakistan's cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan today said there was a need to transform the ties to that of mutual friendship.
"We want to be friends with the US but the current client-master relationship must end," Khan, chairman of Pakistan Tahreek e-Insaf party said here.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-relations-with-us-is-that-of-client-and-master-imran-khan/1041397/
---------
Quality prose rendition, speeches kick off international Urdu moot
December 7, 2012
KARACHI: The 5th International Urdu Conference began with thought-provoking speeches on Urdu literature in India and Pakistan and admirable prose rendition by Zia Mohyeddin in the Arts Council Karachi auditorium on Thursday.
Two keynote speeches were made at the inaugural session of the four-day moot. Indian scholar Prof Shamim Hanafi spoke on Urdu literature in India.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/07/quality-prose-rendition-speeches-kick-off-international-urdu-moot/
---------
Social media debate: ‘Internet helps parties with limited resources reach out’
December 7, 2012
LAHORE: Politicians discussed the issues of privacy, online abuse, exploitation and political mileage gained through the Internet at the Lahore University of Management and Sciences (LUMS) on Thursday.
Held under the LUMS Initiative on Internet and Society, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members deliberated on the topic: Internet and Technology’s Role and Scope in Democracy and Politics. The talk was moderated by LUMS Vice Chancellor Dr Adil Najam. The speakers were PTI Central Secretary Information Shafqat Mahmood and PML-N MNA Khurram Dastagir.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/476281/social-media-debate-internet-helps-parties-with-limited-resources-reach-out/
---------
Pak free to make Bhutto probe public
December 07, 2012
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has ruled that the government does not need permission from any authority to make public the findings of the probe into the Benazir Bhutto assassination case or judicial proceedings against those accused.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Pakistan/Pak-free-to-make-Bhutto-probe-public/Article1-969506.aspx
---------
North America
Episcopalians church under fire for hosting Muslim convention
By By Megan Sweas
December 7, 2012
PASADENA, Calif. — Leaders of a flagship progressive Episcopal church are defending themselves against charges of sympathy for terrorists in their decision to host the annual Muslim Public Affairs Council convention.
All Saints Church has received dozens of emails accusing it of condoning terrorism for hosting MPAC’s 12th annual convention on Dec. 15, the first held in a Christian church.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/episcopalians-under-fire-for-hosting-muslim-convention/2012/12/06/cf66919a-3fed-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_story.html
---------
US Marine pleads to taking $150K in bribes in Iraq
Dec 07 2012
San Diego: Federal prosecutors in San Diego say a U.S. Marine has pleaded guilty to accepting $150,000 in bribes from contractors while stationed in Iraq.
The US attorney's office says 36-year-old Staff Sgt. Gilbert Mendez pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to defraud the United States.
Mendez worked as a contracting officer at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, in 2006 and 2007.
Prosecutors say he abused the position, accepting at least $150,000 in bribes from three foreign-owned companies that subsequently received contracts worth millions of dollars.
The statement did not name the companies or say whether they would also face charges. The US attorney's office did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
Mendez is scheduled for sentencing March 1 and faces a maximum of 20 years in custody.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-marine-pleads-to-taking--150k-in-bribes-in-iraq/1041772/
---------
US virtual Iranian embassy received 2 mn page hits
Dec 07 2012
Washington : The virtual US Embassy Tehran has received almost two million page hits from Iranians since its launch, the State Department said on the occasion of its first anniversary.
As part of its effort to directly reach out to the Iranians, the United States last year launched a virtual embassy as it does not have a diplomatic presence in Iran.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-virtual-iranian-embassy-received-2-mn-page-hits/1041787/
---------
US set to extend waivers on Iran oil sanctions
Dec 7, 2012
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is set to extend waivers of US sanctions it has granted to major Asian petroleum consumers, including China, India and South Korea, for reducing their imports of Iranian oil, officials said.
Two officials said an announcement of the six-month extensions was expected from the State Department today. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly preview the step.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-set-to-extend-waivers-on-Iran-oil-sanctions/articleshow/17520229.cms
---------
US general named to head Afghan pullout
December 07, 2012
President Barack Obama has tapped the general who oversaw the final troop withdrawal in Iraq to direct the end of the US combat role in Afghanistan. Gen Lloyd Austin III, currently vice chief of staff of the Army, would become the next top US commander for the Middle East if the Senate confirms his nomination. Austin would be the first African-American general to lead US Central Command.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/NorthAmerica/US-general-named-to-head-Afghan-pullout/Article1-969530.aspx
---------
US senior deputy special representative for Af-Pak visits Pakistan
December 7, 2012
ISLAMABAD: US Senior Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan David Pearce held meetings in Islamabad today with Pakistani officials to continue discussions regarding how the United States and Pakistan can work together to identify their shared interests and act on them jointly.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/07/us-senior-deputy-special-representative-for-af-pak-visits-pakistan/
--------
US, Russia back mediation on Syria, Hillary Clinton says
Dec 7, 2012
BELFAST, Northern Ireland: US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton says the United States and Russia have agreed to support mediation efforts with all parties in Syria to bring about a political transition.
But she says Syrian President Bashar Assad must leave power to secure a democratic future for the Arab country.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/US-Russia-back-mediation-on-Syria-Hillary-Clinton-says/articleshow/17522213.cms?
---------
India
Mumbai serial blasts, which killed nearly 300, result of Pak envy: Home Minister Shinde
Dec 7, 2012
NEW DELHI: In a veiled attack on Pakistan, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday said the 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai were the result of a neighbour's envy to India's economic progress and vowed to bring back all terrorists, including Dawood Ibrahim, to face trial here.
He also said that the neighbour is still trying to weaken country's economy by pumping fake Indian currency notes.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/1993-Mumbai-serial-blasts-result-of-Pak-envy-Shinde/articleshow/17519203.cms
---------
'Time for India, Pak to stop blame game': Pakistan senate chairman
Dec 7, 2012
NEW DELHI: Pakistan senate chairman Syed Hussain Bokhari said here on Thursday that there was a wrong notion in India that relations with the neighbouring country improve only when a dictator is in power there.
Bukhari is leading a delegation of seven Pakistani senators—three of them Hindus—to India at the invitation of vice president Hamid Ansari on a goodwill visit aimed to "create better understanding" of each other.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Time-for-India-Pak-to-stop-blame-game/articleshow/17514484.cms
---------
Babri mosque demolition was assault on Constitution: Noted social activist
Dec 06 2012
New Delhi: Noted social activist Aruna Roy today termed the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition as an assault on reason and rationality of the Constitution.
"One of my worst days as the citizen of India was when the Masjid was brought down. It was an assault on reason, assault on the rationality of the Constitution," Roy said at the launch of the book, 'Ham Sab Ayodhya', which captures the life and times of that era.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/babri-mosque-demolition-was-assault-on-constitution-aruna-roy/1041447/
---------
“Top Army, police officials involved in human rights abuse in Kashmir”: rights activists’ group
AHMED ALI FAYYAZ
December 7, 2012
A human rights activists’ group, International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian Administered Kashmir (IPTK), along with Srinagar-based Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), claimed on Thursday that hundreds of Army and police officers involved in gross human rights abuse have not been prosecuted in Jammu and Kashmir. The report alleges that three brigadiers of Indian Army, besides nine colonels, three lieutenant colonels, 78 majors and 25 captains, and 37 senior officials of federal Paramilitary forces were perpetrators of various crimes and human rights violations in the state.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/top-army-police-officials-involved-in-human-rights-abuse-in-kashmir/article4171847.ece
---------
Shahi Imam of Delhi for speedy trial, not withdrawal of cases against terror accused
Dec 07 2012
Lucknow: Unlike most other Muslim leaders, Syed Ahmad Bukhari, Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, is against the Akhilesh Yadav government withdrawing criminal cases against the accused in terror cases. Instead, he wants speedy trial in all these cases, if necessary by setting up fast track courts, where the accused can prove their innocence.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bukhari-for-speedy-trial-not-withdrawal-of-cases-against-terror-accused/1041699/
---------
Fast-track hearing in Babri case: SC
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
December 06, 2012
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked a Rae Bareily court to conduct expeditious hearing of the criminal proceedings related to the Babri Masjid demolition case.
BJP leaders including LK Advani are facing trial, even as the charges of criminal conspiracy have been dropped against them. CBI is before the SC challenging the Allahabad HC order upholding trial court's verdict dropping the conspiracy charges.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Fast-track-hearing-in-Babri-case-SC/Article1-969460.aspx
---------
Demolition of Babri Masjid will not be forgotten say PFI
December 7, 2012
Even 20 years after the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992, a milestone in the violent communal history of the country, successive Union government, including those governed by the Congress, have shown “no will” to reconstruct the masjid, Popular Front of India (PFI) said here on Thursday.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/demolition-of-babri-masjid-will-not-be-forgotten-say-pfi/article4173988.ece
---------
Communal clashes pay in Ayodhya
By Piyush Srivastava in Lucknow
December 7, 2012
COMMUNAL violence pays. Secular forces may find it disheartening, but this is one lesson sectarian Muslims and parochial Hindus seem to have learnt in the 20 years since Babri Mosque’s demolition on December 6, 1992.
A large number of shopkeepers have exaggerated the losses they suffered in communal clashes during Durga Puja in October this year — in the hope of getting hefty compensation from the state government.
Full report at: Mail Today
---------
Assamese Muslim Youths Detained for Asking about Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya
ASSAM YOUTHS DETAINED IN ‘TENSE’TOWN
By Piyush Srivastava in Lucknow
December 7, 2012
TWO youths from Assam were detained near the disputed site in Ayodhya on the eve of the 20th anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition. Mohammad Farrokh and Sadiq were spotted on Wednesday evening inquiring about the Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid site, following which they were taken into custody, police sources said.
Full report at: Mail Today
---------
Maldives should control quarters harming bilateral ties: India on GMR row
Dec 7, 2012
NEW DELHI: Amid a diplomatic row over cancellation of the GMR contract, India on Friday asked Maldives to control any quarters which may be trying to harm bilateral relations saying the issue should not put a "question mark" on the ties between the two sides.
"If they have to take a decision in interest of their society and country and if that decision is taken properly as per laws there, what objections can anyone have there. We would want that whatever is the decision, it should not put any question marks on our friendly relations," external affairs minister Salman Khurshid told reporters.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maldives-should-control-quarters-harming-bilateral-ties-India-on-GMR-row/articleshow/17520258.cms
---------
Pak, Gambia pip India in child care ranking
By Himanshi Dhawan
Dec 7, 2012
NEW DELHI: In a damning indictment of India's commitment to maternal and child care, a report ranks the nation as 31st among 51 countries when it comes to infant feeding practices, exclusive breastfeeding, baby-friendly hospitals and policies, maternity protection and community outreach. Worse, India has not only been beaten hollow by countries like China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka but also Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Saudi Arabia.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pak-Gambia-pip-India-in-child-care-ranking/articleshow/17513865.cms
---------
Yasin Malik arrested during JKLF march against sentencing in separatist violence
December 7, 2012
Srinagar: Police arrested Muhammad Yasin Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front following post-prayer protests in uptown Maisuma locality of summer capital Srinagar on Friday. Malik was leading dozens of supporters after the Friday prayers during a JKLF march to city centre Lal Chowk from the adjacent Maisuma locality.
Full report at:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/srinagar-yasin-malik-arrested-during-jklf-march-against-sentencing-in-separatist-violence/309308-3-245.html
---------
Sushilkumar Shinde to look at Afzal Guru's mercy petition
Dec 07 2012
New Delhi : Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today said he will have a look at the mercy petition of Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru only after the Winter Session of Parliament.
He said the file related to the mercy petition of Guru, returned by President Pranab Mukherjee for review by him, was still with the Home Ministry.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sushilkumar-shinde-to-look-at-afzal-gurus-mercy-petition/1041844/
---------
Pakistan targets Indian post, violates ceasefire again
Dec 7, 2012
JAMMU: In yet another ceasefire violation, Pakistan Rangers on Friday fired at an Indian post along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Pakistan Rangers opened small arms firing on Ballard Border out Post along International Border (IB) in Samba sector around 1130 hours", a senior BSF officer told PTI.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pakistan-targets-Indian-post-violates-ceasefire-again/articleshow/17519356.cms
-------
Mideast Asia
Emboldened Hamas leader to visit Gaza for first time in 45 years
Dec 7, 2012
GAZA: Hamas's exiled leader will step onto Palestinian land for the first time in 45 years on Friday for a "victory rally" in the Gaza Strip, displaying his newfound confidence after last month's conflict with Israel.
The Islamist group's leader, Khaled Meshaal, who has not visited the Palestinian Territories since leaving the West Bank at age 11, emerged emboldened from the eight day conflict which ended in a truce he negotiated under Egypt's auspices. He has since spoken of reaching out to other Palestinian factions.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Emboldened-Hamas-leader-to-visit-Gaza-for-first-time-in-45-years/articleshow/17516970.cms
---------
Inspecting Iran's Parchin site would be 'useful': IAEA
December 7, 2012
WASHINGTON: UN nuclear inspections at a military complex near Tehran would be “very useful” despite extensive earth-moving work there by Iranian authorities, the head of the UN atomic agency said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has accused Iranian authorities of undermining its effort to probe suspected nuclear weapons research at the Parchin facility by carrying out possible clean-up operations.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/476471/inspecting-irans-parchin-site-would-be-useful-iaea/
----------
Iran must ensure an effective investigation into blogger’s death in custody
December 7, 2012
Amnesty International is calling on the Iranian authorities to act decisively to end the continuing confusion surrounding the cause of the death in custody of blogger, Sattar Beheshti and to establish the truth of what happened.
The Supreme Leader must ensure that a thorough and impartial investigation is carried out into this and all other deaths in custody. These should be conducted in a manner that complies with international standards for such investigations.
Full report at:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/070/2012/en/7d5b62aa-b9ed-49cc-a58c-5e9c9ba93c86/mde130702012en.html
---------
Iran vows to sue U.S. over “drone incursion”
XINHUA
December 7, 2012
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi has said his country will take legal action against the U.S. at international courts over its “drone incursion” into the Islamic republic’s airspace in the Persian Gulf, Press TV reported.
On Tuesday, local reports said the naval force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) downed the U.S. drone in Iran’s waters. Iran’s state TV also released footage of the captured drone.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iran-vows-to-sue-us-over-drone-incursion/article4171721.ece
---------
Abbas still partner for peace after UN bid'
December 06, 2012
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is still a "serious partner" for peace despite his successful bid for UN non-state membership, Israeli President Shimon Peres told AFP in an exclusive interview on Thursday. "I tried to influence him not to do it right now. I told him: look it's not the proper time to do it," Peres said. "But I still believe he's a serious partner and a serious man and I have respect for him."
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/RestOfAsia/Abbas-still-partner-for-peace-after-UN-bid/Article1-969297.aspx
---------
Not Palestinians, nor Iranians, robbers 'ground' Israeli F-16s
Dec 06 2012
Jerusalem : Robbers made off with several F-16 fighter engines worth millions of dollars from an airbase in central Israel, with the military suspecting that the thieves had "inside help".
Israel's Walla website quoted airforce officials as saying that preliminary investigations had indicated that the robbers carried out the heist of the US-made front line fighter engines over the past few days.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/not-palestinians-nor-iranians-robbers-ground-israeli-f16s/1041406/
---------
Arab World
Saudi Grand Mufti: Judges must be impartial
7 December 2012
The Grand Mufti and Chairman of the Board of Scholars, Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, demanded that judges avoid any differences in their judgments. He said that people should be judged as the same, with no prejudice or bias according to poverty or affluence.
During a meeting with the heads of departments of administrative appeal in Riyadh, he emphasized that the Shariah (Islamic law) contains solution to all issues without any contradiction. Judges should be familiar with all that has been written by Shariah scholars when issuing judgments, he said.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/grand-mufti-judges-must-be-impartial
--------
Wider Chaos Feared as Syrian Rebels Clash With Kurds
By TIM ARANGO
December 7, 2012
CEYLANPINAR, Turkey — In plain view of the patrons at an outdoor cafe here in this border town, the convoy of gun trucks waving the flag of the Syrian rebels whizzed through the Syrian village of Ras al-Ain. They had not come to fight their primary enemy, the soldiers of Bashar al-Assad’s government. They had rushed in to battle the ethnic Kurds.
The confrontation spoke not only to the violence that has enveloped Syria, but also to what awaits if the government falls. The fear — already materializing in these hills — is that Syria’s ethnic groups will take up arms against one another in a bloody, post-Assad contest for power.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/world/middleeast/wider-chaos-feared-as-syrian-
--------
Ban Ki-moon urges Iraq, Kuwait to seize ‘historic’ chance
7 December 2012
BAGHDAD: UN chief Ban Ki-moon held talks in Baghdad yesterday calling for Iraq and Kuwait to seize a “historic opportunity” to fully normalize ties two decades after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of the emirate.
“I believe that a historic opportunity is at hand to fully normalize relations between the two states,” Ban said at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki.
“It is time for both countries to put the past behind and usher in a new era of cooperation,” said the secretary general, who also met with Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/ban-urges-iraq-kuwait-seize-%E2%80%98historic%E2%80%99-chance
--------
More than 42,000 dead in Syria conflict: watchdog
December 06, 2012
At least 42,000 people have been killed in violence since an uprising broke out against the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in March last year, a monitoring group said on Thursday.
"At least 29,455 civilians have been killed, as have 1,426 troops who defected to the opposition and 10,551 soldiers," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/RestOfAsia/More-than-42-000-dead-in-Syria-conflict-watchdog/Article1-969410.aspx
--------
Snipers kill 11 Lebanese in Syria-linked clashes
As Tripoli is rocked by sectarian violence linked to the uprising in Syria, 11 Lebanese people are killed by snipers during three days of violence in a clear spill over of the conflict in the neighbouring country
Dec 7, 2012
Snipers have shot dead 11 people, including a 13-year-old boy, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli during three days of violence linked to the conflict in neighbouring Syria, a security official said on Thursday.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/59969/World/Region/Snipers-kill--Lebanese-in-Syrialinked-clashes.aspx
----------
Debit cards come to the aid of Syrian refugees in Turkey
Dec 7, 2012
ONCUPINAR, TURKEY: Syrian refugees wait in line for food at a Turkish refugee camp -- not crowding around an aid truck but queuing at an ordinary supermarket to pay for goods using electronic debit cards.
Under the experimental project launched by the UN World Food Programme and the Turkish Red Crescent, thousands of refugees who have fled the conflict raging in their homeland now receive cards charged with aid credits rather than boxes of basic supplies.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Debit-cards-come-to-the-aid-of-Syrian-refugees-in-Turkey/articleshow/17516231.cms
---------
Egypt demonstrators reject Morsi call for dialogue
Dec 7, 2012
CAIRO: Demonstrators rejected a call from Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi for a national dialogue after deadly clashes around his palace, demanding the "downfall of the regime" - the chant that brought down Hosni Mubarak.
Morsi said in a televised speech late on Thursday that plans were on track for a referendum on a new constitution on Dec. 15 despite clashes that killed seven people. He proposed a meeting on Saturday with political leaders, "revolutionary youth" and legal figures to discuss the way forward after that.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Egypt-demonstrators-reject-Morsi-call-for-dialogue/articleshow/17514662.cms
---------
Tension mounts in Egypt as army barricades presidential palace
Dec 6, 2012
CAIRO: Egyptian troops pushed protesters back from the presidential palace on Thursday to keep them at bay, after the deadliest violence between allies and foes of Mohamed Morsi since the president's election.
Soldiers, backed by tanks, set up a barbed wire perimeter roughly 150 metres (yards) from the palace, after ordering the rival protesters to pull back.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Tension-mounts-in-Egypt-as-army-barricades-presidential-palace/articleshow/17510490.cms
---------
Egyptian army issues ultimatum to protesters after deadly clashes in Cairo
Dec 6, 2012
CAIRO: Egypt's Republican Guard ordered rival demonstrators to leave the area around the presidential palace in Cairo on Thursday after fierce overnight clashes that killed seven people.
Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Morsi withdrew, but the opposition promised more protests there.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Egyptian-army-issues-ultimatum-to-protesters-after-deadly-clashes-in-Cairo/articleshow/17508312.cms
---------
Egypt’s president offers nothing to defuse political crisis after 6 die in clashes
December 7, 2012
CAIRO — An angry Mohammed Morsi refused Thursday to call off a referendum on a disputed constitution that has sparked Egypt’s worst political crisis in two years, drawing chants of “topple the regime!” from protesters who waved their shoes in contempt.
The Egyptian president’s uncompromising stand came a night after thousands of his supporters and opponents fought pitched battles outside his Cairo palace, leaving at least six dead and 700 injured.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egypts-president-offers-nothing-to-
---------
Saudi Minister: Advanced technology can tackle climate change challenges
7 December 2012
Saudi Arabia has outlined its many efforts in addressing the challenge of climate change at the ongoing UN conference in the Qatari capital Doha.
“We have been talking about the urgent need to address climate change for many years. And now the sustainable development model that we have followed since 1992 gives us a real opportunity to tackle this challenge,” said Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/al-naimi-advanced-technology-can-tackle-climate-change-challenges
--------
Forbes highlights King Abdullah’s global influence
7 December 2012
JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is the most powerful person in the Arab and Muslim world, according to the 2012 ranking of the World’s Most Powerful People by Forbes magazine.
He also ranks seventh among the top 10 most powerful people in the world, according to Forbes’ latest list.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/forbes-highlights-king-abdullah%E2%80%99s-global-influence
--------
Rebels Declare Damascus Airport a ‘Fair Target,’ Reports Say
By ANNE BARNARD and ALAN COWELL
December 7, 2012
BEIRUT, Lebanon — As fighting raged in the Damascus suburbs and gunfire could be heard from the city center, rebels seeking the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad were reported on Friday to have declared the capital’s main airport a “fair target,” warning travelers that they used it at their peril.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/08/world/middleeast/syria-conflict-
--------
Europe
Rise in proportion of young Muslims in UK jail
December 7, 2012
The proportion of young offenders in England and Wales describing themselves as Muslim has risen.
One in five males in young offender institutions (YOIs) identified themselves as Muslim in 2011/12, compared with 16% in 2010/11.
The director of the Prison Reform Trust, Juliet Lyon, said it was "a big increase" but the reasons were unclear.
The proportion of youths in custody from black and minority ethnic communities also rose from 39% to 42%.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20639699
------------
UN sanctions Al-Qaeda-linked Mali militants
7 December 2012
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council ordered sanctions against an Al-Qaeda linked militant group in a new sign of the tougher line being taken with militants who have taken over much of the Mali.
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) was added to the UN’s list of Al-Qaeda groups and individuals hit with a global assets freeze and travel ban.
The move comes as the UN Security Council debates authorizing an international military operation in Mali against the militants.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/un-sanctions-al-qaeda-linked-mali-militants
------------
Britain to press EU partners to amend Syria arms embargo
Dec 6, 2012
LONDON: Britain will press its European partners next week to amend the arms embargo on Syria to allow them to provide weapons to rebels fighting the regime, Europe minister David Lidington said on Thursday.
"Having successfully amended the EU arms embargo (and sanctions package) by setting a three-month renewal period, we will make fresh arguments in support of amending the arms embargo ahead of the March 2013 deadline in a way that offers sufficient flexibility to increase practical support to the Syrian opposition," Lidington said in a written statement to parliament.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Britain-to-press-EU-partners-to-amend-Syria-arms-embargo/articleshow/17511195.cms
---------
UN calls for access to Myanmar conflict displaced
December 7, 2012
YANGON: The UN’s humanitarian chief has called on Myanmar to stop blocking aid to thousands of people displaced by conflict with northern ethnic rebels, raising concerns over welfare as winter draws in.
The United Nations has been prevented from reaching more than half of the 75,000 people forced from their homes by fighting between the army and minority Kachin insurgents, said Valerie Amos in a statement sent overnight after a visit to the area on Thursday.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2012/12/07/un-calls-for-access-to-myanmar-conflict-displaced/
---------
Russia plans 'brainstorming' meeting with U.S. on Syria
From Saad Abedine, CNN
December 7, 2012
CNN) -- Russian officials said Friday they plan to join their U.S. counterparts for a "brainstorming" meeting on how to end the bloodshed in Syria.
The officials will consult with the international envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, in "the coming days," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
"Russia, U.S. agree that their experts should hold a brainstorming meeting with Brahimi and exchange opinions on Syrian settlement," the Russian Foreign Ministry tweeted on its official account.
Full report at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/07/world/meast/syria-civil-war/
------------
U.N. Envoy Is Seeking a Deal to Oust Assad From Syria
By MICHAEL R. GORDON and ELLEN BARRY
December 7, 2012
DUBLIN — With the support of the United States, the United Nations special envoy on Syria is mounting a diplomatic push for a brokered agreement that would lead to the ouster of the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, and the installation of a transitional government.
The envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, convened an unusual three-way meeting on Thursday night at a Dublin hotel with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/world/middleeast/us-and-russia-to-meet-on-syrian-
------------
Bosnian gets 18-year jail for US Embassy attack
7 December 2012
SARAJEVO: A Bosnian court sentenced yesterday a militant who opened fire at the US Embassy in Sarajevo last year to 18 years in prison.
“Mevlid Jasarevic committed a terrorist act by shooting 105 bullets over 50 minutes towards the American embassy,” judge Branko Peric said. “This court sentences him to 18 years in prison.”
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/bosnian-gets-18-year-jail-us-embassy-attack
------------
UN chief calls for Security Council unity on Syria
Dec 7, 2012
ISLAHIYE (TURKEY): UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon called on the international community and the UN Security Council on Friday to unite and take decisive action to end the conflict in Syria, saying only a political solution could end the violence.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/UN-chief-calls-for-Security-Council-unity-on-Syria/articleshow/17522190.cms
----------
South Asia
Nato shares blame for 'insecurity' in Afghan: Karzai
December 07, 2012
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that Nato and the United States were partially to blame for insecurity in his country and threatened to suspend negotiations on a future role for US forces.
"Part of the insecurity is coming to us from the structures that Nato and America created in Afghanistan," Karzai said in an interview with NBC News, on Thursday.
He also said that allegations of corruption against his government were ill-informed and that the United States was largely responsible for fuelling graft in the impoverished country.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/NorthAmerica/Nato-shares-blame-for-insecurity-in-Afghan-Karzai/Article1-969534.aspx
---------
Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal issues notice to The Economist
Dec 06 2012
Dhaka : A special Bangladeshi tribunal trying 1971 "war criminals" today issued a notice to the London-based 'The Economist' for "interference" in trial process and "privacy" of a judge and asked for an explanation in three weeks.
"This cannot be allowed in anyway," chairman of the three-judge International Crimes Tribunal-1 Justice Nizamul Huq said as the court issued the notice to the weekly newspaper's chief editor Rob Gifford and its South Asia bureau chief Adam Roberts.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bangladeshi-war-crimes-tribunal-issues-notice-to-the-economist/1041394/
---------
GMR-Maldives row: Where the dispute lies
Dec 07 2012,
In June 2010, the Maldives government, the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) and GMR-MAHB Consortium signed a tripartite concession agreement to develop and run the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport at Malé, the capital of the island nation. The process of privatisation of the Malé International Airport was conceptualised and implemented with MACL, being a 100% owned company of the government of Maldives, assuming the role of Grantor while the government remains as the Guarantor.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gmrmaldives-row-where-the-dispute-lies/1041498/
---------
Southeast Asia
Tech-savvy Indonesians seize online business opportunities
By Yenny Herawati for Khabar Southeast Asia in East Java
December 05, 2012
Internet entrepreneurs are helping Indonesia grow its GDP. According to one young online salesman, the opportunities are unlimited.
Some young Indonesians are mining the Internet for business opportunities -- and striking gold.
"I am still in my third year of college, but I am already independent and able to support my family. I found many opportunities through the Internet," David Okto, a 21 year-old entrepreneur, told Khabar Southeast Asia.
Full report at:
http://khabarsoutheastasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2012/12/05/feature-03
----------
Africa
Sudan troops attacked despite peace deal: Darfur rebel chief
7 December 2012
KHARTOUM: The only rebel group to have signed a peace deal with the Sudanese government yesterday accused the army of a deadly attack which authorities then lied about.
“Yesterday, Liberation and Justice Movement forces came under attack from SAF (Sudanese Armed Forces) near El Fasher,” the rebels’ chief Eltigani Seisi said in a statement to reporters.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/sudan-troops-attacked-despite-peace-deal-darfur-rebel-chief
-----------
South Sudan Drops Kidnap Charges Against U.S. Citizen
December 7, 2012
JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan dropped its case against an American citizen who it had held on kidnap charges but whose wife said was a victim of an extortion attempt by security agents, a U.S. official said on Friday.
Elton Mark McCabe was arrested in October, accused of plotting to kidnap an Indian businessman for a $5 million ransom. His Iraqi business partner Mohammed Oglah was also detained.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/12/07/world/africa/07reuters-southsudan-
-----------