Saudi Beheads Two Men for Rape

Saudi Beheads Two Men for Rape

AFP, Oct 19, 2011,

RIYADH: Two Saudi men, sentenced to death for rape, were beheaded by the sword on Tuesday in southwestern Saudi Arabia, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the kingdom's official news agency.

Fuhayd Musaffar Qahtani and Fuhayd Saidan Qahtani, were found guilty of breaking and entering, theft and rape, said the statement, carried by SPA.

The executions bring the total number of beheadings in Saudi Arabia to at least 64 since January.

Last week, the UN human rights office expressed concern over the rate of executions in this ultra-conservative kingdom, and called for an immediate halt to the practise.

The UN statement came after the kingdom beheaded 10 men -- eight Bangladeshis and two Saudis -- on the same day.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under the oil-rich Gulf state's strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Saudi-beheads-two-men-for-rape/articleshow/10416783.cms

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Kyrgyzstan official notes rise in religious radicalism ahead of elections

Oct19, 2011

Bishkek, 18 October: "A heightened radicalization of society is being noted ahead of the election in Kyrgyzstan," the head of the State Religious Affairs Commission's analytical department, Tabyldy Orozaliyev, has told a news conference today.

He said that recent reports on detentions by security forces of citizens for distributing religious literature are evidence of this. "The religious situation has got very tense. Security officers have carried out special operations in Arashan, Dzhalal-Abad and Kara-Su districts this year and continue to detain radical people," Tabyldy Orozaliyev said.

"There is a possibility of sabotage. However, the situation is stable today, but I cannot say that everything is calm in our home," he stressed.

Tabyldy Orozaliyev noted that clergy appealed to worshippers not to interfere in the election process and campaigning. "It is prohibited to gather and campaign at prayer houses, mosques and churches ahead! of the election. All religious organizations have responded," he added.

Text of report by privately-owned Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg website

Source: 24.kg website, Bishkek, in Russian 0519 gmt 18 Oct 11

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Truck with Obama's teleprompter stolen

PTI, Oct 20, 2011,

WASHINGTON: In a security breach, a truck containing US president Barack Obama's teleprompter and podium was stolen from a Virginia hotel parking and recovered later.

The truck was parked at the Virginia Center Commons Courtyard Marriott in Richmond on Monday ahead of a presidential event.

In addition to the teleprompter , $200,000 worth of audio equipment and presidential seals mounted on Obama's podium were inside the stolen vehicle.

The truck was recovered later on Monday at a Holiday Inn Express near the Richmond airport, NBC Television reported.

"A government vehicle was stolen and has been recovered . No classified or sensitive information was in the vehicle," defence department spokesman George Little said.

"We take incidents such very seriously, and a formal investigation is continuing in coordination with relevant law enforcement agencies ," the defence department said in a statement.

Officials have not said if any other items were missing from the van.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Truck-with-Obamas-teleprompter-stolen/articleshow/10423094.cms

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U.S. Denies Iran Claims That Saudi Plot Defendant Belongs to Exile Group

By SCOTT SHANE

October 19, 2011

“We note that these reports originate solely with Iranian state media sources, which have a documented history of fabricating news stories,” said Rhonda H. Shore, a State Department spokeswoman.

American officials said they are sure that the man, Gholam Shakuri, is an officer of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, as asserted in the criminal complaint unveiled last week by the Justice Department.

Mr. Shakuri is charged, along with an Iranian-American former used-car dealer, Mansour J. Arbabsiar, with plotting to hire a Mexican drug cartel to kill the Saudi ambassador for $1.5 million. American officials say $100,000 for the plot was transferred from a bank account associated with the Quds Force. Mr. Arbabsiar is in American custody, but Mr. Shakuri’s whereabouts are not known.

The Iranian news reports said that Interpol, the international law enforcement agency, had discovered that Mr. Shakuri was “a key member” of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen Khalq. Also known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the group is regarded by Iran as a terrorist organization and has a history of sabotage and assassination aimed at overthrowing the Islamic government of Iran.

The group claims to have renounced violence. It is classified by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization, but it is lobbying to be removed from that list, as Britain and the European Union have already done with their similar lists.

An Interpol spokeswoman declined to comment. But an American official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Interpol had discovered no link to the opposition group, calling the Iranian news report “pure fiction.”

The first report of the supposed Mujahedeen Khalq connection of Mr. Shakuri, by Iran’s Mehr News Agency on Tuesday, included what was supposedly his passport number, saying that the passport was issued in Washington. American officials said that Mr. Shakuri is not a United States citizen and does not have an American passport. They said the reference might be to an Iranian passport issued by the Iranian Interest Section at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington.

A breakaway faction from the Mujahedeen Khalq was incorporated into Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps when it was established in 1980, so it is conceivable that some current members of the guard were affiliated with the opposition group more than three decades ago.

Experts on Iran have said that the alleged assassination plot seemed uncharacteristically sloppy for the Quds Force, and American officials suggested that Iran is now putting out disinformation to exploit skepticism about the plot. But they say that intercepted phone calls, bank transfers and other evidence tie the plot directly to Quds Force officials.

In what appeared to be a new line of counterattack on Wednesday, Iran’s top judicial official, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, authorized an investigation into what he called “crimes perpetrated by the U.S. administraition against Iranian and Muslim nations,” the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. It also quoted him as saying that the assassination-plot accusations “are based on the old hostile American-Zionist attempt to sow discord among Muslims.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/world/middleeast/obama-administration-denies-iran-claims-that-saudi-plot-defendant-gholam-shakuri-belongs-to-exile-group.html?ref=world

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Don't mess with N-power Pak, Gen Kayani warns US

Omer Farooq Khan & Chidanand Rajghatta ,

Oct 20, 2011,

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has warned Washington to "think 10 times" before launching any unilateral offensive in the restive North Waziristan tribal region even as an angry and frustrated US is lining up its artillery on the Afghan border facing Pakistan.

The Obama administration is also initiating fresh diplomatic efforts to persuade Pakistan to reel back its "self-destructive" policy of seeking strategic depth through terrorism before more aggressive military action. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton is heading for Islamabad this weekend in a trip that is officially secret but is being discussed animatedly in diplomatic circles because it is said to represent last-ditch US efforts to address Pakistani concerns and change its mindset.

A growing number of US analysts, including Bruce Riedel who led a review of the Af-Pak policy for the Obama administration, are urging Washington to adopt a "hostile", if not punitive, stand against a recalcitrant ally if it does not reverse its sponsorship of terrorism.

But in a defiant riposte on Tuesday, Kayani told Pakistani lawmakers at a rare briefing that the country would go for a military action in North Waziristan-home to the Haqqani group that his army is said to sponsor-keeping in view the situation and capabilities, not under any pressure. "If somebody convinces me that military action in North Waziristan will resolve all the problems, I am ready to go for it tomorrow," he told members of the Parliament's standing committees on defence at the army's General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Amid reports that the US was massing troops on the Af-Pak border across North Waziristan, Kayani insisted that the problem lay within Afghanistan and "we have made it clear that some principles governed relations between states and nobody would be allowed to cross the red line". A member of the senate who participated in the meeting said Kayani had been asked to comment on the possibility of a US strike inside Pakistan and how he would respond to any such action. "Gen Kayani did not say what would be Pakistan's response in such an eventuality, but reminded that Pakistan was a nuclear power and must not be compared with Iraq and Afghanistan," the legislator, requesting anonymity, said. "Kayani added that the Americans will have to think 10 times before going for this."

The relevance of Pakistan being a nuclear power was not immediately clear in this situation. The country risks being decimated if it as much as rolls out its nuclear weapons against US troops in Afghanistan. In the past, some Pakistani generals and analysts have suggested India would be its target if Pakistan is attacked from any quarters.

In Washington, there has been growing frustration that on the one hand Pakistan concedes it has no control over the situation in North Waziristan and on the other hand it refuses to act, and also prevents the US from taking action.

However, the Obama administration now appears to be turning on the heat militarily too even as Clinton arrives in Islamabad, most likely on the October 21, according to sources. Government officials based in the border area of Ghulam Khan in North Waziristan said that US forces had established their military camp in a 10 km area and brought gunship helicopters, tanks and long-range artillery guns to the border area three days ago.

The abrupt deployment of the US forces near the border had raised tension in the tribal region. In the US, the American media has been boiling with reports of firing and attacks aimed at US troops in Afghanistan by Pakistan-based terrorists acting with support from the Pakistani military.

Hours before Kayani's statement, Afghan defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak had said that the Afghan security forces and their Nato allies have launched operation "Knife Edge" along the Pak-Afghan border. Quoting anonymous Afghan official, AFP reported that the operation was against the Haqqani network. There has also been a spurt in drone strikes aimed at the Haqqani group.

Acknowledging that the US was pressing Pakistan for military offensive in North Waziristan, Kayani said that the ongoing build-up of Afghan and Nato troops along the Pak-Afghan border is a tactical move to intensify that pressure. But he doggedly insisted that Pakistan could not act against its own interests.

In Washington, many influential analysts are coming around to the view that Pakistan is a lost case as long as the army is in control of the country. "We must recognize that the two countries' strategic interests are in conflict, not harmony, and will remain that way as long as Pakistan's army controls Pakistan's strategic policies," Riedel said in a commentary this week.

"The generals who run Pakistan have not abandoned their obsession with challenging India. They tolerate terrorists at home, seek a Taliban victory in Afghanistan and are building the world's fastest-growing nuclear arsenal," he said.

Advocating a "policy of containment, which would mean a more hostile relationship," Riedel said it should be a "focused hostility, aimed not at hurting Pakistan's people but at holding its army and intelligence branches accountable." This should include putting any Pakistani intelligence official involved in terrorist activities under sanctions, wanted lists, and on occasion even "track him down."

Clinton is expected to read out the riot act along these lines if the visit comes through. There is still some doubt about it with Pakistan seeking written assurances about "rules of engagement" and other concessions before it considers a policy shift.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Dont-mess-with-N-power-Pak-Gen-Kayani-warns-US/articleshow/10420920.cms

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China backs Pak bid for non-permanent UNSC seat

19 OCTOBER 2011  PTI

Backing Pakistan's bid to contest for a non-permanent berth in the UN Security Council, China today said it wants Islamabad to play a bigger role in maintaining international peace and security.

China attaches great importance to Pakistan's request for a seat on the UN Security Council, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a media briefing here.

Beijing supports Pakistan playing a bigger part in maintaining international peace and security, Jiang said, noting that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners.

Pakistan had voiced its desire to have a seat on the UN Security Council at the 66th General Assembly session in New York in September.

Last year, China welcomed India's election as a non-permanent UNSC member, but it is yet to declare its stand on New Delhi's campaign to become a permanent member as part of a larger reform process of the United Nations.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/top-story/14372-china-backs-pak-bid-for-non-permanent-unsc-seat.html

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Roadside bombs kill two NATO soldiers in Afghanistan

October 20, 2011

KABUL/HERAT: A roadside bomb killed two NATO service members on Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan, the alliance said, in a day of violence that left a total of seven Afghan army and NATO personnel dead. The US-led coalition did not provide additional details, but the deaths raise to 471 the number of NATO troops killed so far this year in the country. The deaths come as Afghan and international forces are stepping up their fight against Taliban and al Qaeda-linked insurgents in the east of the country, with a focus along Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. That area is rife with insurgent activity and the top NATO commander in the country said the alliance had recently launched an operation in the east targeting the feared Haqqani network, a group that operates from within Pakistan. Earlier in the day, a roadside mine exploded as four Afghan army soldiers and an officer were passing by on the way back to their base in the Pashtun Zarghun district of the western Afghan province of Herat, said Mohyaddin Noori, the spokesman for the province’s governor. Noori said the five were ferrying food back to the base at about 10am when the mine exploded. agencies

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\20\story_20-10-2011_pg7_7

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Six terrorists killed in Kurram Agency

October 20, 2011

PARACHINAR: At least six terrorists were killed and two hideouts destroyed when security forces shelled them on Wednesday. According to details, security forces early on Wednesday morning engaged the suspected hideouts of extremists in the Spearkot area of Kurram Agency with heavy artillery fire. During the shelling, two hideouts were destroyed and six insurgents were killed on the spot. The official sources said that the terrorists killed belonged to the Mullah Toofan Group of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The area targeted by security forces is occupied by extremists belonging to the Mullah Toofan Group and has been shelled several times during recent months.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\20\story_20-10-2011_pg7_8

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28 kilogrammes bomb found from private hospital

Oct. 20, 11

KARACHI: A bomb weighing 28 kilogrammes was recovered near a car at joint parking area of a bank and a private hospital near Jauhar Chowrangi in Gulistan-e-Jauhar here on Wednesday.

Police said a cleaner found the suspicious car and a bag and informed the administration. The police and relevant administrations rushed to the scene and called the experts of Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) who diffused the bomb.

The law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have so far been unable to make any headway in the probe. However, they were trying to interrogate the owner of the red colour sports car.

Police was not in position to define the motive and nature of the bomb recovered from the car. However, they said the explosion could have been more disastrous if it was not diffused on time.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\20\story_20-10-2011_pg12_1

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Turkey detains Qaeda suspects

Oct. 20, 11

ANKARA: News reports said Turkish police have detained 12 people suspected of recruiting militants for the al Qaeda terror network. The Dogan news agency said the 12 were detained in simultaneous police raids in seven cities across Turkey. The state-run Anatolia news agency said police had detained suspected al Qaeda members but gave no other detail. Dogan said the detained included an Egyptian and an Uzbek and believed to have been recruiting militants to fight in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were being questioned by anti-terrorism police in Istanbul. Police in Istanbul would not comment. In August, police arrested 14 suspected al Qaeda militants accused of planning to attack the US Embassy in the capital Ankara. ap

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\20\story_20-10-2011_pg7_10

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Turkish Forces in ‘Hot Pursuit’ After Attack

By SEBNEM ARSU

October 19, 2011

ISTANBUL — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that the Turkish military was in "hot pursuit" of attackers near his country's border with Iraq after one of the deadliest insurgent strikes in years on soldiers inside Turkey.

Mr. Erdogan spoke at a news conference in Ankara, where senior government officials had gathered for an emergency meeting after the attack. "As of now, wide-reaching operations, including hot pursuit operations, are continuing in the region within the framework of international law," he said. “We will combat terror on one front and, on another front, we will continue our path to destroy the grounds that terror manipulates."

NTV, a private television network, said Turkish ground forces chasing the attackers entered northern Iraq, where the Kurdish Worker’s Party, a militant separatist group known as the P.K.K., is based. The group has long battled the Turkish government for autonomy in the predominantly Kurdish southeast.

Local media also reported Turkish air deployments and artillery fire in the mountainous border area.

For Full Report :

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/world/europe/dozens-dead-in-attacks-on-turkish-forces.html?_r=1&hp

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The middle-class terrorists: More than 60pc of suspects are well educated and from comfortable backgrounds, says secret M15 file

Oct19, 2011

By Abul Taher

Two-thirds of British terror  suspects are from middle-class backgrounds and those who become suicide bombers are often highly educated, a classified MI5 document reveals.

The paper, marked ‘Secret: UK Eyes Only’, also debunks the myths that terrorists and suicide bombers are ‘loners’ and ‘psychopaths’.

Instead, the security service says that 90 per cent of them can be  categorised as ‘sociable’ and have a high number of friends.

Act of terror: The double-decker bus which was destroyed by a terrorist bomb in London on July 7, 2005

The 200-page document, titled Radicalisation Of Muslims In The United Kingdom – A Developed Understanding, was found by a Mail on Sunday reporter in the abandoned residence of the British ambassador in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

For Full Report :

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049646/The-middle-class-terrorists-More-60pc-suspects-educated-comfortable-backgrounds-says-secret-M15-file.html#ixzz1bEFj5GhD

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Battle under way to crush last Gaddafi holdout

Oct 19, 2011

Anti-Gaddafi fighters launched a fresh assault on Wednesday against the ousted strongman's remaining holdouts, now pinned into a small corner of his hometown Sirte

Fighting was concentrated in the outer streets of Sirte's Number Two neighbourhood, with both Gaddadi loyalists as well as his opponents were trading heavy gunfire and bombarding each other with mortar shells, an AFP correspondent said.

Ali al-Rikabi, field commander of the National Transitional Council (NTC), Libya's new rulers, said fighting was raging in "four or five streets of the neighbourhood." "It is intense and we have exchanges of gunfire," he said, as the AFP reporter saw wounded NTC fighters being hurried out towards a field hospital.

For Full Report :

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/2/0/24551/World/0/Battle-under-way-to-crush-last-Gaddafi-holdout.aspx

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Court disposes of petition of blasphemy case against Mirza

October 20, 2011

KARACHI: A local court on Wednesday disposed of an application seeking registration of blasphemy case against former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza.

The court has said that it was not its jurisdiction to proceed or issue any order on the application.

The court has said in its remarks that the applicant should approach the concerned court. Ex-provincial minister and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Rauf Siddiqi has approached the Additional District and Session Judge Karachi (Central) Muhammad Azeem and submitted an application before him. Siddiqi stated in the application that the former home minister in a press conference few days back voiced a statement that falls under the category of blasphemy.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\20\story_20-10-2011_pg12_6

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Punjab govt to pull country out of vortex: Shahbaz

October 20, 2011

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif has said that his government has jumped in the field to steer the country out of the vortex it is in and opined that Nawaz Sharif was the only leader who could put the country on the road to progress and prosperity by bringing it out of the crises.

He said that the rally of October 28 was not a political programme but was an attempt to save Pakistan and transform it in accordance with the ideals of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal. He said that Zardari and his “cronies” were looting the country and “Ali Baba and 40 thieves” had also joined them for their vested interests and plundering. He said that the time had come to purge the country of hypocrisy and corruption and make it an Islamic welfare state by following the Islamic teachings.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\20\story_20-10-2011_pg13_1

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Pro-Assad Rally Shows Syrian Government Can Still Command Support

By NADA BAKRI

October 19, 2011

The show of support for Mr. Assad in Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city and a mainstay of support for his leadership, came as the Syrian National Council, a leading opposition group, said it might seek foreign intervention to stop the government’s brutal crackdown on activists and protesters.

“It might include creating a buffer zone, it might include creating a no-fly zone,” said Najib Ghadbian, a representative of the council, at a news conference in Tripoli, Libya.

The United Nations authorized the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya in May by NATO forces, whose airstrikes helped rebel fighters topple the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

For Full Report :

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/world/middleeast/assad-supporters-hold-rally-in-aleppo-syria.html?ref=world

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New offensive hits Haqqani militants

Oct 19, 2011,

KABUL: The US-led coalition has launched a new offensive against one of Afghanistan's most virulent militant networks and plans to ramp up operations next year along the eastern border with Pakistan before the American troop drawdown gathers steam, the top commander said Wednesday.

Marine Gen John Allen told AP that the ``high-intensity, sensitive'' operation that began just a few days ago targets the Haqqani group, a Pakistan-based militant network that attacks Afghan and coalition forces. The US has been urging the Pakistanis incessantly to clamp down on Haqqani fighters, who have ties to both the Taliban and al-Qaida and have been blamed for most of the high-profile attacks in the heart of the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Allen would not discuss details of the operation, saying only: ``Every now and again, one of these organizations that has been able to manifest itself on this side of the border is going to have to get some special attention, and that's what's happening now.''

In a wide-ranging interview, Allen also told the AP that the process of handing off security to Afghan forces was going to move faster than initially planned. Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants the Afghan army and police to be in the lead in protecting and defending the nation by the end of 2014.

For Full Report :

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/New-offensive-hits-Haqqani-militants/articleshow/10420094.cms

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U.S. and Afghan Troops Battle to Control Key Route

By ALISSA J. RUBIN and SHARIFULLAH SAHAK

October 19, 2011

Civilians in the area, as well as American and Afghan soldiers, described an exceptionally intense fight, which was still going on, in which long-range bombers have flown in from as far away as the Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar, the southern Afghan province of Kandahar and Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, the Afghan capital.

The Americans have also fired long-range rockets from more than 100 miles away as the troops have struggled to oust large numbers of insurgents who month after month have attacked convoys on the road and dominated much of this corner of Kunar Province.

“We had too many F16s and F15s to count, almost continuous coverage,” said Capt. Ron Hopkins, 27, the fire support officer of the Second Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, who was in the command center for the fight.

As parts of the operation were still winding up, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Kabul to meet with President Hamid Karzai and other senior figures in the Afghan government to discuss long-term American-Afghan relations and reconciliation with the Taliban, among other subjects.

Kunar, perhaps more than any other area of the country’s northeast, has posed serious problems for American troops, just as it did for the Russians when they occupied the country.

For Full Report :

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/world/asia/united-states-army-troops-battle-to-control-key-afghan-route.html?_r=1&hp

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Videos show militants’ reach in Pak northwest

Oct 20 2011,

Dera Ismail Khan:

If US policy makers need proof of how little control Pakistan has over its strategic border region with Afghanistan, all they need to do is watch videos available on YouTube of militants believed to be terrorising the streets of North Warizistan.

Armed men in black with balaclavas freely roam the streets of one of the biggest towns in North Waziristan, where the US wants Pakistan’s military to launch an offensive against militant groups. There are no signs of security forces as the men belonging to a militant hit squad created to hunt suspected US spies throw a man into a station wagon and pin him down.

Nervous bystanders keep their distance. Another man looks horrified as militants haul him off a pick up truck. Both are shown in another video being blown up by explosives placed at their feet. The US has been piling pressure on Pakistan to go after militants in North Waziristan — many of whom attack Western forces in Afghanistan — since American special forces killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town in May.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/videos-show-militants-reach-in-pak-northwest/862485/

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26 Turkish soldiers killed in Kurdish attacks

Oct 19, 2011,

ISTANBUL: Kurdish rebels killed 26 soldiers on Wednesday in simultaneous attacks in southeast Turkey, marking one of the deadliest days for the army in the 27-year battle against the separatists.

The Turkish military retaliated with air strikes and by sending in troops into neighbouring Iraq where the rebels are based while the prime minister cancelled a foreign trip.

The attacks by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels on the Turkish troops occurred in eight locations in Cukurca and Yuksekova in Hakkari province near the Iraqi border, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, local security sources said.

The toll is the heaviest for the army since 1993, when the PKK killed 33 unarmed soldiers in Bingol province, in southeast Turkey. It could rise as at least one of the injured soldiers sustained life-threatening wounds, local health officials said.

Sources on both sides of the conflict confirmed that Turkey had responded to the attacks on the ground and in the air.

For Full Report :

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/26-Turkish-soldiers-killed-in-Kurdish-attacks/articleshow/10414892.cms

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Syrian army kills 8 dissidents in Lebanon

Oct 19, 2011

The source, speaking to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity, said the two sides fought using automatic machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in the Lebanese border town of Masharee al-Qaa.

Syrian army troops chased the dissidents, consisting of two officers and six soldiers, into the town, where they fought for around an hour, the source said.

He said the Syrian army killed all eight dissidents before pulling back around 1:00 p.m.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Oct-19/151682-syrian-army-kills-8-dissidents-in-lebanon.ashx#axzz1b8W0tY32

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Bomb kills five Afghan soldiers: governor

Oct 19, 2011

HERAT, Afghanistan: Five Afghan soldiers were killed in a Taliban-style bomb attack in the western province of Herat on Wednesday, a district official said.

The troops were killed when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) – the type of home-made bombs widely used in attacks by Taliban and other insurgents.

The attack took place in the Pashtun Zarghun district.

“One officer and four soldiers were killed in the blast. It was a roadside bomb attack,” the district’s governor, Ghulam Nabi Azizi, told AFP.

He could not say who was responsible but similar attacks have been blamed on Taliban.

The Afghan military does not release the overall toll of fatalities among its troops, who are set to assume responsibility for security across the country by the end of 2014 when all foreign soldiers are due to depart.

A US-led training mission is working to train Afghan forces, which have grown rapidly from around 190,000 personnel in late 2009 to 306,000 this year.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/19/bomb-kills-five-afghan-soldiers-governor.html

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Twenty-four Turkish soldiers killed in clash with PKK

Oct 19, 2011

The attacks by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants on Turkish troops occurred in several locations in Cukurca and Yuksekova in Hakkari province near the Iraqi border, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, it said.

The toll is the heaviest for the army since 1993, when the PKK killed 33 unarmed soldiers in Bingol province, in southeast Turkey.

Television reports said the army had initiated an air-supported operation against the militants in response and the head of the general staff and some commanders had gone to For Full Report :

http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/19/twenty-four-turkish-soldiers-killed-in-clash-with-pkk.html

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At least six militants killed in Kurram

Oct 19, 2011

The casualties occurred when security forces destroyed at least two suspected insurgent hideouts in central Kurram’s Asteergate area.

Access to the tribal region is restricted and reports are difficult to independently verify.

Pakistan’s army has been fighting militants in the tribal region, parts of which have been cleared of militants.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/19/at-least-six-militants-killed-in-kurram.html

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From anti-Semite to Zionist

By Kasim Hafeez,

October 7, 2011

In 2003, Pakistan's then President Pervez Musharaff sought to re-examine his country's relationship, or lack thereof, with Israel. He asked: "Do we have to be more Palestinian than the Palestinians themselves?"

With their new "Liberation" campaign, it seems that the Union Of Jewish Students has decided to answer that question with a resounding "yes".

Rather than being a brave move forwards for UJS, it is a hollow and cynical campaign that smacks of extreme cowardice.

The reality is that there is real anti-Israel and antisemitic feeling on British university campuses. How do I know this? Because until recently I was antisemitic and anti-Israel. Until recently, I was the one doing the hating.

For Full Report :

http://www.thejc.com/node/56021

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Focus on Afghanistan, not Pakistan, army chief tells US

Oct19, 2011

Pakistan's army chief told Parliament's defence committee the United States should focus on stabilising Afghanistan instead of pushing Pakistan to attack militant groups in a crucial border region, a committee member told Reuters on Wednesday.

Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani's comments could deepen tensions in the US-Pakistan relationship, an alliance critical to efforts to stabilise Afghanistan before the end of 2014 when Nato combat troops are due home.

Kayani said Pakistan alone would decide if and when to launch a full-scale offensive in North Waziristan, which Western intelligence agencies say is a sanctuary for militants who cross the border to attack US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan.

For Full Report :

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/759011.aspx

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India has ‘constructive’ role in Afghanistan: US

Oct19, 2011

Brushing aside Pakistan’s reservations, the US has said it views India’s role in Afghanistan as “constructive” and wants all the three nations to pull in the same direction for the war-torn country’s stability.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner asserted that the situation in South Asia was not a “zero-sum game”.

“We need good, solid, constructive relations between all the countries of that region, all of them pulling in the same direction so that all countries can reap the economic benefits that good, sound relations will yield.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/14187-india-has-constructive-role-in-afghanistan-us.html

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Terrorists operating from Balochistan prisons: Malik

Oct 19, 2011

QUETTA: Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Tuesday intelligence reports had revealed that terrorists in Balochistan were operating from prisons in the province.

Speaking to the media in Quetta, Malik said mobile phones had been recovered after a late night raid had been conducted and other suspicious activities had also been noted.

He said banned militant organisations in Punjab were also in contact with convicts in jails.

The interior minister said that he had directed Inspector General of Police Balochistan and the Deputy Inspector General to make sure all prisons in the province were searched properly.

He said that convicted terrorists and those involved in major incidents would be isolated so that their communication could be cut off.

Malik said he had met members of the Shia and Sunni sect for condolences, and said that both sects had expressed their desire  to live together in peace.

He said a peace conference, sponsored by National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), will be held in November.

“We are trying to get Imam-e-Kaaba, other dignitaries and Islamic scholars to visit the conference,” said Malik.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/277290/terrorists-operating-from-balochistan-prisons-malik/?print=true

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US must think '10 times' before unilateral action in Pakistan: Kayani

Oct 19, 2011,

Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani's comments could deepen a crisis in relations between the United States and Pakistan, whose alliance is critical to efforts to stabilise Afghanistan before the end of 2014, when NATO combat troops are due home.

Kayani said Pakistan alone would decide if and when to launch a full-scale offensive in North Waziristan, which Western intelligence agencies say is a sanctuary for militants who cross the border to attack US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.

He also said the United States would have to think "10 times" before taking any unilateral action there. Pakistan is not like Iraq or Afghanistan, the parliamentarian quoted Kayani as saying, suggesting that any North Waziristan operation would be very risky.

The MP spoke on condition of anonymity. "The problem lies in Afghanistan, not Pakistan," the parliamentarian quoted Kayani as telling the committee in a national security briefing at army headquarters.

The United States, the source of billions of dollars in aid, has urged Pakistan over the years to go after militant groups in North Waziristan, a rugged mountainous region where militants have forged ties with powerful tribes.

For Full Report :

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/US-must-think-10-times-before-unilateral-action-in-Pakistan-Kayani/articleshow/10412927.cms?prtpage=1

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Assad forces fight deserters in south, central Syria

Oct 19, 2011

Syrian troops fight army defectors near a southern town, following the killing of at least three protesters demonstrating against the arrest of a popular cleric, residents and activists say

In the latest desertions in Syria among conscripts opposed to a military crackdown against months of pro-democracy protests, at least 20 soldiers left their outposts around the town of Hirak, 80 km (50 miles) south of Damascus and clashed with President Bashar al-Assad's forces, residents and activists said on Wednesday.

"I saw the bodies of three protesters in the morgue. An exchange of rifle and machinegun fire is going on now between deserters and the army just west of Hirak," said one of the residents, who gave his name as Mohammad.

The fighting came as an armoured offensive against mostly old districts in the central city of Homs entered a third day. The city has been the scene of regular anti-government protests.

At least 32 people have been killed in the last 48 hours in Sunni districts of the city of one million people, where armed inhabitants and defectors battled government forces, residents said.

For Full Report :

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/2/0/24537/World/0/Assad-forces-fight-deserters-in-south,-central-Syr.aspx

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Syria state media lashes out at Arab League

Oct 19, 2011

An official Syrian daily lashed out at the Arab League Wednesday, accusing it of serving the interests of the United States and Israel after the organisation urged Damascus to open up to dialogue

"It is no longer surprising to see the Arab League, which is supposed to be concerned with joint Arab action, turn into an instrument of injustice aimed at destabilising Syria," said the daily Ath-Thawra.

The daily said the 22-member Arab League was "hostage to powers following the agenda of aggressors like the United States, Israel and their European allies."

At an urgent session in Cairo on October 16, the Arab League called for "national dialogue" between Syria's government and the opposition in the Egyptian capital by the end of the month.

For Full Report :

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/2/0/24543/World/0/Syria-state-media-lashes-out-at-Arab-League.aspx

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Daughter says Afghanistan’s Rabbani sought suicide ban

Oct 19, 2011

SHARJAH/QUETTA/KABUL: Days before he died when a Taliban militant detonated a bomb hidden in his turban, Burhanuddin Rabbani was trying to persuade Islamic scholars to issue a religious edict banning suicide bombings.

The former president’s daughter, 29, said in an interview that her father died shortly after he spoke at a conference on “Islamic Awakening” in Tehran.

“Right before he was assassinated, he talked about the suicide bombing issue,” Fatima Rabbani, who had watched a replay of her father’s speech on television, told Reuters. “He called on all Islamic scholars in the conference to release a fatwa. You know: in Islam killing yourself is forbidden.”

Several Taliban officials were present at the two-day event which brought together some 600 Islamic scholars. Rabbani did not sit with them at the same table.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2011/Oct-19/151625-daughter-says-afghanistans-rabbani-sought-suicide-ban.ashx#axzz1b8W0tY32

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Ready to take part in war against Pakistan if needed: Hazare

Oct19, 2011

Indian social activist Anna Hazare says that he is ready to take part in war against Pakistan if needed.

Hazare made the statement in a recent blog post on his website. He said that he had participated in the 1965 war between Pakistan and India, and had survived while his fellow soldiers had been killed.

He said:

Even today you can see the marks on my forehead left behind by Pakistan’s bullet.

The statement comes after Hazare had accepted an invitation by a two-member Pakistani delegation to visit Pakistan after his “India yatra”.

Hazare gave his consent while he was in his native village Ralegan Siddhi. He was visited by former Supreme Court judge Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid and eminent peace activist Karamat Ali.

For Full Report :

http://tribune.com.pk/story/277240/ready-to-take-part-in-war-against-pakistan-if-needed-hazare/?print=true

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First 200 French soldiers to leave Afghanistan

Oct 19, 2011

A first group of 200 French soldiers was due to leave Afghanistan on Wednesday as part of an early troop withdrawal announced in July by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

A further 200 French soldiers are due to return home before Christmas, with another 600 leaving in 2012, ahead of a full drawdown of NATO's combat mission scheduled in 2014.

France has some 4,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan, mostly in the district of Surobi and in the neighbouring province of Kapisa, part of the NATO-led force of 130,000 foreign troops, two-thirds of whom are Americans.

The departures are in line with a transition process that began in seven areas in July, meant to hand responsibility for security across the country to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014.

For Full Report :

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/2/0/24523/World/0/First--French-soldiers-to-leave-Afghanistan-.aspx

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On the Day After, Moving Ahead and Looking Back

By STEPHEN FARRELL

A Veteran Islamist Imagines a Democratic FutureOct 19, 2011

KHAN YUNIS, Gaza Strip — He was only one of the 477 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in exchange for a single captive Israeli soldier. But as the welcoming celebrations wound down after the swap, many men came to a refugee camp here to pay him their highest respects.

It was a far greater display of lethal military force, more akin to Libya than Gaza, than what passed for Hamas’s arsenal when Mr. Sinwar co-founded the Islamist organization’s security branch nearly a quarter-century ago. His job, which included punishing “morality” offenders and killing collaborators with Israel, earned him four life sentences in Israeli prison for attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm through sabotage.

Mr. Sinwar’s status as a prison leader was apparent within hours of his release on Tuesday; he was invited to give a speech on behalf of the prisoners from a specially built stage in Gaza City. A large poster there depicted fighters of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, blowing up tanks and carrying away Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was released in the prisoner exchange, who was captured during a 2006 raid.

For Full Report :

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/world/middleeast/for-israel-and-palestinians-moving-ahead-and-looking-back.html

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Pakistani song pokes fun at Kasab, netas, goes viral

Oct 20, 2011,

ISLAMABAD: The latest Pakistani song to have gone viral on the internet pokes fun at Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving Mumbai attacker, being treated like a "hero" in his home country and slain governor Salmaan Taseer's assassin being treated like a "nawab".

Over the weekend, Lahore-based band Beyghairat Brigade (The Dishonor Brigade) unveiled its first single " Aloo Anday" - a sad commentary on Pakistani politics and the Pakistani psyche. The song's video starts on an unassuming note with three boys in school uniforms complaining over their mother packing "Aloo Anday" for lunch, but in the following three minutes, the band takes on everyone from Sharif brothers of the PML-N to the "good-looking fundamentalist" Imran Khan.

For Full Report :

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistani-song-pokes-fun-at-Kasab-netas-goes-viral/articleshow/10422600.cms?prtpage=1

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Offensive launched against Haqqanis

Oct 19, 2011

A US soldier takes an injured to the Kandahar Hospital after airlifting him from the Khakriz village in Kandahar province on Monday. Photo: AFP

Afghan security forces and their Nato allies have launched a new push against the al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network along the troubled Pakistani border, senior defence officials said yesterday.

The United States recently accused the Haqqanis of orchestrating a 19-hour siege of the US embassy in Kabul, a September truck bombing on a Nato outpost that wounded 77 Americans and a June attack on Kabul's Inter-Continental hotel.

US commanders say the network, a faction of the Afghan Taliban, is their most potent enemy in eastern Afghanistan and increasingly capable of launching high-profile attacks in Kabul.

Afghan Defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said operation "Knife Edge" was launched two days ago, while a senior defence ministry official said it was "largely against the Haqqani network".

Washington last month dramatically escalated pressure on Pakistan to crackdown on the Haqqani network, with the then military chief Admiral Mike Mullen accusing Pakistani intelligence of involvement in the embassy siege.

The accusations caused damaging diplomatic rifts as the West seeks to end the 10-year war in Afghanistan.

For Full Report :

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/print_news.php?nid=207133

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Turkey troops 'pursue rebels into Iraq after attack'

Oct19, 2011

Turkish troops backed by fighter jets and helicopter gunships are reported to have pursued Kurdish rebels into Iraq.

It follows overnight attacks on military installations in Hakkari province, near the Iraqi border, which killed at least 26 Turkish soldiers.

The attacks are thought to have inflicted the biggest loss on Turkish forces since 1993 and President Abdullah Gul has vowed to avenge them.

In recent months, violence between the army and separatist rebels has mounted.

The attacks come a day after a blast in the south-east Bitlis province killed five police officers and three others; in mid-August nine troops were killed by rebels in Hakkari province.

For Full Report :

http://www.rttnews.com/Content/GeneralNews.aspx?Id=1736876&SM=1

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Hezbollah, Israel war imminent, both sides well prepared

Oct 19, 2011

“Hezbollah is in a state of alert and it anticipates an Israeli attack on Lebanon at any moment,” security sources told the paper, adding that the party was fully prepared for a “second round” with Israel.

According to the Lebanese daily, political sources close to Hezbollah said the party has received a wide range of missiles, including “thousands of rockets, advanced anti aircraft [weapons], long-range missiles as well as land to air and sea missiles.”

Hezbollah now has the capabilities necessary to deter Israel’s air force, even at high altitudes, and also has advanced anti-aircraft missiles. The party has sought to keep this information under wraps in an effort to retain the element of surprise should there be a confrontation with Israel, the paper quoted sources as saying.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Oct-19/151683-hezbollah-israel-war-imminent-both-sides-well-prepared.ashx#axzz1b8W0tY32

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Hezbollah makes first official visit to Moscow

Oct 19, 2011

The three-man delegation, headed by Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad, is scheduled to meet Russian officials for talks on developments in Lebanon and the region, a Hezbollah source told The Daily Star.

The source said discussions will also touch on bilateral ties and issues of common interest.

Both Russia and Hezbollah have opposed Western intervention in Syria as the uprising continues there. Syria’s bloody crackdown on protesters is having repercussions for Hezbollah, eroding the reputation of the Shiite group.

Hezbollah said the visit, was in response to an invitation by Russia’s Parliament.

Raad is accompanied by Hezbollah MPs Hassan Fadlallah and Nawwar Sahli.

As-Safir newspaper said the Hezbollah delegation will reiterate the resistance’s role in protecting Lebanon.

Hezbollah will also raise the issue of ongoing pressure exerted from the West which it says strikes at the resistance with the aim of exerting power in the region and thereby controlling natural resources.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Oct-19/151672-hezbollah-makes-first-official-visit-to-moscow.ashx#axzz1b8W0tY32

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/saudi-beheads-two-men-for-rape/d/5724