BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq said on Wednesday it was determined to "cleanse" its northern city of Mosul of al Qaeda fighters but its U.S. backers said a planned operation might not deal the decisive blow that Baghdad wanted.
Al Qaeda, the Sunni Islamist militants blamed for most large-scale attacks in Iraq, and other insurgents regrouped in the north after being squeezed out of their former strongholds in western Anbar province and from around Baghdad last year. Tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are taking part in operations in Iraq's northern provinces, part of a wider offensive that was launched early this month.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called the Mosul mission a "decisive" final push against al Qaeda but Major-General Mark Hertling, commander of U.S. troops in northern Iraq, cautioned on Tuesday against describing the joint operation in such terms. Asked if there was disagreement between the allies, Iraqi Defence Ministry spokesman Major-General Mohammed al-Askari softened the language used by Maliki. "The goal is not only to cleanse the city but the goal after the cleansing is how to maintain all its districts and streets as secured areas clean for all citizens," he told reporters. "The goal is not to achieve success only but ... to keep this success."
Attacks across Iraq have fallen 60 percent since last June, when 30,000 extra U.S. troops became fully deployed, but northern Iraq remains the biggest security headache. Several deadly attacks have hit Mosul in the past week. Five U.S. soldiers were killed in the city on Monday by a roadside bomb in a coordinated ambush. The push in Mosul was announced after a huge blast in a building the U.S. military said had been used by al Qaeda to store weapons and explosives killed up to 50 people. Hertling said al Qaeda could regroup elsewhere if ousted from Mosul. U.S. military spokesman Major-General Kevin Bergner said there was no intention to play down the mission's importance.
"The decisiveness of this operation is something that will become more clear over time," he told reporters. The "decisiveness" of the Iraqi leadership to take on al Qaeda in Mosul was what mattered most, he said. "We share the significance of how it's been described. This is an important fight and one we are all going to have to collectively commit to, and we are."
In other operations, the U.S. military said it had killed four suspected militants and detained 18 others in raids against al Qaeda networks in the central Iraqi province of Diyala. Ethnically and religiously mixed Diyala had been the major security worry for U.S. and Iraqi forces in recent months until attacks began to increase in and around Mosul. Askari described recent operations in Diyala as "around 70 percent" successful, with 57 militants killed and 87 detained.
In other violence, a cameraman for a Shi'ite satellite television channel became the first journalist to be killed this year in Iraq, which media watchdog groups say is the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. The al-Furat channel, run by the powerful Shi'ite party the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, said Aala Abdul-Kareem, 29, and his driver died in a roadside bomb attack near Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad. Two of his colleagues were wounded. Last year, 65 journalists and media assistants were killed in Iraq, according to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.
By Michael Holden, Additional reporting by Aseel Kami in Baghdad; editing by Robert Woodward
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
"Israel missed a chance to learn from the most influential musicians of the decade"
"Israel missed a chance to learn from the most influential musicians of the decade, and the Beatles missed an opportunity to reach out to one of the most passionate audiences in the world," Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor said in a letter addressed to Sir Paul McCartney.
Ban wants U.N. sanctions for using child soldiers
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the Security Council in a report issued on Tuesday to impose sanctions on armies and groups that make use of child soldiers in at least a dozen countries.
Recruitment of children in armed conflicts was happening mainly in African and Asian countries, ranging from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda to Myanmar and Sri Lanka, he said in the report. Those responsible were rebel groups but included government forces in countries like Chad, Somalia and Sudan, Ban said. Some were guilty of killing and sexually abusing children. The Security Council should consider penalizing those responsible by banning arms and military aid and slapping travel and financial restrictions on leaders, Ban said.
Violations against children in conflict should be referred to the International Criminal Court, or ICC, based in The Hague.
The U.N. children's fund UNICEF estimated last year there were some 250,000 child soldiers worldwide. Other experts say information is so hazy that the numbers are impossible to determine. Ban's report said several precedents had been set over the past year for ending impunity for crimes against children. These included ICC charges against Congolese factional leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for conscription of children. The court also issued arrest warrants for five senior members of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army on charges including using children in combat. But governments "must also promptly commence appropriate national prosecutions for grave crimes against children," Ban said. He also urged the Security Council to tackle the controversial issue of cluster bombs, calling for a "binding instrument that prohibits the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians." Cluster munitions contain bomblets that can saturate vast areas of land. Used in conflicts from Vietnam to Iraq, they have been blamed for killing and maiming thousands of civilians. Norway has led an effort to craft a treaty banning the weapons. Campaigning groups say nearly 100 countries support a ban, but munitions-producing nations the United States, China and Russia -- all with vetoes in the Security Council -- are resisting.
By Patrick Worsnip Editing by Chris Wilson
Well..That should apply to Hamas and militants in the region that use teenagers as suiciders with bomb belts, while themselves are hiding and brainwashing their children with that everything childish is ended and they are born to be "fire bombs" as well! shouldn´t it?
Recruitment of children in armed conflicts was happening mainly in African and Asian countries, ranging from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda to Myanmar and Sri Lanka, he said in the report. Those responsible were rebel groups but included government forces in countries like Chad, Somalia and Sudan, Ban said. Some were guilty of killing and sexually abusing children. The Security Council should consider penalizing those responsible by banning arms and military aid and slapping travel and financial restrictions on leaders, Ban said.
Violations against children in conflict should be referred to the International Criminal Court, or ICC, based in The Hague.
The U.N. children's fund UNICEF estimated last year there were some 250,000 child soldiers worldwide. Other experts say information is so hazy that the numbers are impossible to determine. Ban's report said several precedents had been set over the past year for ending impunity for crimes against children. These included ICC charges against Congolese factional leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for conscription of children. The court also issued arrest warrants for five senior members of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army on charges including using children in combat. But governments "must also promptly commence appropriate national prosecutions for grave crimes against children," Ban said. He also urged the Security Council to tackle the controversial issue of cluster bombs, calling for a "binding instrument that prohibits the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians." Cluster munitions contain bomblets that can saturate vast areas of land. Used in conflicts from Vietnam to Iraq, they have been blamed for killing and maiming thousands of civilians. Norway has led an effort to craft a treaty banning the weapons. Campaigning groups say nearly 100 countries support a ban, but munitions-producing nations the United States, China and Russia -- all with vetoes in the Security Council -- are resisting.
By Patrick Worsnip Editing by Chris Wilson
Well..That should apply to Hamas and militants in the region that use teenagers as suiciders with bomb belts, while themselves are hiding and brainwashing their children with that everything childish is ended and they are born to be "fire bombs" as well! shouldn´t it?
GUANGZHOU, China
(Reuters) - Millions of Chinese shivered through power cuts and water shortages on Wednesday and millions more were stranded by snow ahead of what for some is the only holiday of the year. Migrant workers in the booming southern province of Guangdong, standing under a foggy sky and bitterly cold rain, have been urged to abandon plans to go home for Chinese New Year, when families travel vast distances to reunite.
There was a sea of people in and around the main railway station in the provincial capital, Guangzhou, huddled under umbrellas and appearing resigned to their fate. For millions of migrant workers, leaving their families to work in China's fast-developing cities for little pay, the Chinese New Year holiday, also known as the Spring Festival, is the only chance to see their loved ones all year. "I couldn't buy a ticket before, but I hope with all the people returning their tickets, someone will sell me one now," said Ding Ming, eager to return to his home town in Chongqing, 30 hours away by train, to see his wife and 10-yer-old child. "If I don't get one, or can't go back, then it's not ideal. That's just the way it is." About 50 people have died, including 25 on Tuesday in a bus crash on an icy mountain road, and Premier Wen Jiabao apologized to stranded passengers ahead of the holiday, which starts next Wednesday.
An electrician died of a heart attack on the top of a 21-metre electricity pylon, while another died after falling from a broken power pole, State Grid sources told Xinhua news agency. The news came just a day after Wen visited the family of three electricians who died on Saturday when cleaning the ice from a transmission tower. The snow and sleet blanketing much of central, eastern and southern China have crippled thousands of trucks and trains loaded with coal, food and passengers in the most severe winter weather for some parts in half a century. The havoc was expected to last at least three more days, forecasters said, and the Health Ministry warned of the outbreak of diseases and poisoning from car exhausts as passengers try to keep warm. The People's Liberation Army had distributed 419,000 quilts and 219,000 cotton-padded coats to people stuck in traffic.
"Dealing with this snow disaster is even more complicated than tackling the floods of 1998 or other natural disasters we have faced," relief official Wang Zhenyao told state television. "We can mobilize millions of troops to fight floods, but at the moment we can't even fly anyone in to offer relief." Blocked roads and railways have choked coal shipments, magnifying energy shortages that have caused power brownouts in 17 of China's 31 provinces and province-status cities. Vegetable, tea, grains and fruit crops have been destroyed. Efforts to clear snow-clogged roads have been hampered by shortages of chemical solvents, with producers in the snow-free north unable to send shipments south. Many areas, unused to heavy snow, simply do not have the equipment to deal with it. In Guangdong, many power plants had just two days of coal left, the official Guangzhou Daily said, and authorities were shipping in emergency supplies on a fleet of 125 cargo ships.
More than 5 million people in the central and southern provinces of Hubei, Guizhou and Jiangxi have had water supplies reduced or cut off, and parts of Guizhou have spent two weeks without power, Xinhua said. Wen used a megaphone to tell passengers stuck at Changsha station in southern China on Tuesday that he was sorry. On Wednesday, he visited Guangzhou to offer comforting words. "You have suffered a lot from the inconvenience," Wen told the crowd with a bullhorn as families stood around, some playing cards, some trying to entertain their children and others eating the melon seeds and clemantines popular at this time of year. Analysts said the brutal weather was a short-term blow to the economy and would stoke inflation that already has the government worried. It hit an 11-year high of 4.8 percent last year. The National Development and Reform Commission, which steers pricing policy, said the price of cabbage and other staple vegetables has jumped by over 50 percent in snow-struck areas, and in some places rises have been much higher.
By John Ruwitch, Additional reporting by Lu Jianxin in Shanghai and Guo Shipeng, Ben Blanchard and Chris Buckley in Beijing; Writing by Nick Macfie
There was a sea of people in and around the main railway station in the provincial capital, Guangzhou, huddled under umbrellas and appearing resigned to their fate. For millions of migrant workers, leaving their families to work in China's fast-developing cities for little pay, the Chinese New Year holiday, also known as the Spring Festival, is the only chance to see their loved ones all year. "I couldn't buy a ticket before, but I hope with all the people returning their tickets, someone will sell me one now," said Ding Ming, eager to return to his home town in Chongqing, 30 hours away by train, to see his wife and 10-yer-old child. "If I don't get one, or can't go back, then it's not ideal. That's just the way it is." About 50 people have died, including 25 on Tuesday in a bus crash on an icy mountain road, and Premier Wen Jiabao apologized to stranded passengers ahead of the holiday, which starts next Wednesday.
An electrician died of a heart attack on the top of a 21-metre electricity pylon, while another died after falling from a broken power pole, State Grid sources told Xinhua news agency. The news came just a day after Wen visited the family of three electricians who died on Saturday when cleaning the ice from a transmission tower. The snow and sleet blanketing much of central, eastern and southern China have crippled thousands of trucks and trains loaded with coal, food and passengers in the most severe winter weather for some parts in half a century. The havoc was expected to last at least three more days, forecasters said, and the Health Ministry warned of the outbreak of diseases and poisoning from car exhausts as passengers try to keep warm. The People's Liberation Army had distributed 419,000 quilts and 219,000 cotton-padded coats to people stuck in traffic.
"Dealing with this snow disaster is even more complicated than tackling the floods of 1998 or other natural disasters we have faced," relief official Wang Zhenyao told state television. "We can mobilize millions of troops to fight floods, but at the moment we can't even fly anyone in to offer relief." Blocked roads and railways have choked coal shipments, magnifying energy shortages that have caused power brownouts in 17 of China's 31 provinces and province-status cities. Vegetable, tea, grains and fruit crops have been destroyed. Efforts to clear snow-clogged roads have been hampered by shortages of chemical solvents, with producers in the snow-free north unable to send shipments south. Many areas, unused to heavy snow, simply do not have the equipment to deal with it. In Guangdong, many power plants had just two days of coal left, the official Guangzhou Daily said, and authorities were shipping in emergency supplies on a fleet of 125 cargo ships.
More than 5 million people in the central and southern provinces of Hubei, Guizhou and Jiangxi have had water supplies reduced or cut off, and parts of Guizhou have spent two weeks without power, Xinhua said. Wen used a megaphone to tell passengers stuck at Changsha station in southern China on Tuesday that he was sorry. On Wednesday, he visited Guangzhou to offer comforting words. "You have suffered a lot from the inconvenience," Wen told the crowd with a bullhorn as families stood around, some playing cards, some trying to entertain their children and others eating the melon seeds and clemantines popular at this time of year. Analysts said the brutal weather was a short-term blow to the economy and would stoke inflation that already has the government worried. It hit an 11-year high of 4.8 percent last year. The National Development and Reform Commission, which steers pricing policy, said the price of cabbage and other staple vegetables has jumped by over 50 percent in snow-struck areas, and in some places rises have been much higher.
By John Ruwitch, Additional reporting by Lu Jianxin in Shanghai and Guo Shipeng, Ben Blanchard and Chris Buckley in Beijing; Writing by Nick Macfie
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Egyptian leaders will hold talks in Cairo on Wednesday with Abbas as well as Hamas leaders
Israel won't resist Abbas control at Egypt crossing. (Reuters) - Israel will not stand in the way of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas taking control of Gaza's breached border with Egypt as part of a deal to sideline Hamas Islamists who rule the enclave, officials said on Tuesday. But it is unclear how Abbas, the Fatah leader, would be able to assert control over the crossing with Egypt. Tensions along Gaza's frontier with Egypt flared anew on Tuesday when Egyptian forces tried to prevent Palestinian vehicles from driving into Egypt. Hamas gunmen intervened, firing into the air to clear the way for cars to pass. They threatened to blast new holes in the border if Egyptian forces refused to back down.
Abbas won U.S., European and Arab backing on Monday for taking control of Gaza's only border crossing with Egypt at Rafah, but he has faced resistance from Israel. "If all of them want it, we will not be the ones that will undermine it. So it will happen," an Israeli official familiar with the deliberations said. "Given that we see Abbas as the legitimate force. The official stressed, however, that Israel had not agreed to give Abbas control over Gaza's border crossings with Israel, citing security concerns. "Crossing into Israel, that is a different issue altogether," the official said.
Egyptian leaders will hold talks in Cairo on Wednesday with Abbas as well as Hamas leaders. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it would run out of canned meat to distribute to impoverished Gazans as early as Wednesday due to the Israeli restrictions. The European Union said on Monday it would consider sending its border monitors back to the Rafah crossing, provided Israel, Egypt and Abbas all agreed. Cairo likewise endorsed Abbas's proposal to deploy his own forces at the Rafah crossing, prompting Hamas to decry what it called an "Israeli-led international conspiracy" which would exclude the group from controlling the border. Both Hamas leaders and Abbas are expected in Cairo on Wednesday
Abbas won U.S., European and Arab backing on Monday for taking control of Gaza's only border crossing with Egypt at Rafah, but he has faced resistance from Israel. "If all of them want it, we will not be the ones that will undermine it. So it will happen," an Israeli official familiar with the deliberations said. "Given that we see Abbas as the legitimate force. The official stressed, however, that Israel had not agreed to give Abbas control over Gaza's border crossings with Israel, citing security concerns. "Crossing into Israel, that is a different issue altogether," the official said.
Egyptian leaders will hold talks in Cairo on Wednesday with Abbas as well as Hamas leaders. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it would run out of canned meat to distribute to impoverished Gazans as early as Wednesday due to the Israeli restrictions. The European Union said on Monday it would consider sending its border monitors back to the Rafah crossing, provided Israel, Egypt and Abbas all agreed. Cairo likewise endorsed Abbas's proposal to deploy his own forces at the Rafah crossing, prompting Hamas to decry what it called an "Israeli-led international conspiracy" which would exclude the group from controlling the border. Both Hamas leaders and Abbas are expected in Cairo on Wednesday
Monday, January 28, 2008
Resuming its monitoring mission in Rafah
EU weighs sending monitors back to Gaza border. In a statement on Monday, EU foreign ministers said the bloc was "ready to consider resuming its monitoring mission in Rafah" provided Abbas, Egypt and Israel all approve.
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas won European and Arab backing on Monday for taking control of Gaza's breached border with Egypt. Both Hamas leaders and Abbas are expected in Cairo on Wednesday
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas won European and Arab backing on Monday for taking control of Gaza's breached border with Egypt. Both Hamas leaders and Abbas are expected in Cairo on Wednesday
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Egypt would take steps to control its border with the Gaza Strip
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Sunday Egypt would take steps to control its border with the Gaza Strip as soon as possible. A Foreign Ministry statement provided no further details and ministry officials were not available for comment. Egypt tried without success to seal the border with the coastal strip after militants blew holes in the boundary wall last week. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Egypt had agreed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's plan to assume control of Gaza's crossing with Egypt, excluding Hamas Islamists who rule the territory. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Aboul Gheit and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday discussed Abbas's suggestion "which was approved internationally at the Paris donors conference in December. "Egypt called the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June a "coup against legitimacy" and called on all Palestinians to rally around Abbas.
Source: Reuters
Source: Reuters
Iraq and Pakistan
Baghdad-(Reuters) - Iraqi tanks and helicopters are being sent to the northern city of Mosul and troop reinforcements should arrive later on Sunday for a big offensive against al Qaeda militants, Iraqi security officials said.Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday that Iraqi forces were preparing for a "decisive" offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq to push the Sunni Islamist militants out of their last major urban stronghold.U.S. military officials on Sunday said their own operations around Iraq's third largest city were continuing."As it stands ... we are executing day-to-day operations in support of Operation Phantom Phoenix," said Major Gary Dangerfield, spokesman for the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment in Mosul, referring to a nationwide offensive launched this month."We are not in a position to validate the prime minister's future plans."U.S. military commanders say al Qaeda, blamed for most serious bombings in Iraq, has regrouped in northern provinces after being squeezed out of the western province of Anbar and from around Baghdad during security crackdowns last year.Military spokesman Rear Admiral Greg Smith said al Qaeda had used two 15-year-old boys to carry out suicide bombings in the past week, one in Mosul and the other in Tikrit."We're not sure if one of these children even knew he was being used to deliver a bomb," Smith said."These attacks were perpetrated at a funeral, a solemn religious ceremony, and at a school, a place that should be a safe haven for the young," Smith told a news conference.Major-General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, commander of military operations in Nineveh province, said additional Iraqi troops would arrive in Mosul later on Sunday from Baghdad, with more expected in the days after that. He gave no details of numbers.
KOHAT,(Reuters) - Pakistani troops, backed by helicopter gunships, are battling pro-Taliban militants to recapture a key road tunnel leading to the volatile tribal belt on the Afghan border, the military said on Sunday.ADVERTISEMENTMilitants captured the Japanese-built tunnel on the main road link between Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province, and the tribal belt during fighting near Darra Adam Kheil tribal region on Saturday.The clashes erupted on Friday after militants seized four trucks carrying ammunition and other supplies for the troops. Around 45 militants and two soldiers have been killed in the clashes.The military said troops had captured some heights in the nearby areas and were trying to wrest control of the tunnel."The militants are still in control of the tunnel and surrounding heights," military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said."The operation is underway to recapture the tunnel and clear the area of militants. Helicopters are also being used in the operation."Residents said army helicopter gunships were pounding militants positions in the hills.Known as haven for smugglers, the small dusty town of Darra Adam Kheil until recently had been relatively free of the militant violence.But the militants intensified their activities in the town in recent months with attacks on music shops, and an intelligence agent was killed there last year.In South Waziristan, the military said troops had launched a mop up operation after driving out militants from several areas.Around 150 militants and more than 20 government soldiers have been killed in South Waziristan in week-long clashes with Mehsud fighters.
KOHAT,(Reuters) - Pakistani troops, backed by helicopter gunships, are battling pro-Taliban militants to recapture a key road tunnel leading to the volatile tribal belt on the Afghan border, the military said on Sunday.ADVERTISEMENTMilitants captured the Japanese-built tunnel on the main road link between Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province, and the tribal belt during fighting near Darra Adam Kheil tribal region on Saturday.The clashes erupted on Friday after militants seized four trucks carrying ammunition and other supplies for the troops. Around 45 militants and two soldiers have been killed in the clashes.The military said troops had captured some heights in the nearby areas and were trying to wrest control of the tunnel."The militants are still in control of the tunnel and surrounding heights," military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said."The operation is underway to recapture the tunnel and clear the area of militants. Helicopters are also being used in the operation."Residents said army helicopter gunships were pounding militants positions in the hills.Known as haven for smugglers, the small dusty town of Darra Adam Kheil until recently had been relatively free of the militant violence.But the militants intensified their activities in the town in recent months with attacks on music shops, and an intelligence agent was killed there last year.In South Waziristan, the military said troops had launched a mop up operation after driving out militants from several areas.Around 150 militants and more than 20 government soldiers have been killed in South Waziristan in week-long clashes with Mehsud fighters.
Congratulations to the Nrj award: Best international album of the year..
"Britney has an angel looking out for her."
Well..It´s those that are there when things goes bad and that don't take advantage of it as well that counts.. Party for the Super Bowl next weekend? Yes but stay sober, don´t break your diurnal rhythm and don´t empty your energy! Go home in time and always take care of your diurnal rhythm which have become more important now than when you where younger and it will always be that .
And don´t take home some paps. It´s taking energy and you need that for other more important things..And you have good neighbours and we don´t want to hear them complaining. You have other people to spend time with..And you will find ways to talk to your parents..It´s not just one person in a family that have a crises it´s affects the whole family and your parents went as scared as you were. And scared parents do not always act rational..Neither you or them..or any one else..It will be better when things have calm down..
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Cross-border confrontations
RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Egyptian riot police and armored vehicles restricted Gaza motorists to a small border area of Egypt on Saturday, in the second attempt in two days to restore control over the chaotic frontier breached by Hamas militants. At least 38 members of the Egyptian security forces have been hospitalized, some in critical condition, because of cross-border confrontations, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said. The minister complained of "provocations" at the border, a thinly veiled reprimand of Hamas, and said that while Egypt is ready to ease the suffering of Gazans, this should not endanger Egyptian lives.
And Russia will go to history..
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has received nearly all of the initial nuclear fuel it needs for a power plant in the southern port of Bushehr with the arrival of a seventh shipment from Russia on Saturday, state media reported.
As the country that gave nuclear to another regime that stands and screams hysterical about how the "world powers" soon have come to a end after their invented global-Islamic-Suicide-religion" since 1979.
As the country that gave nuclear to another regime that stands and screams hysterical about how the "world powers" soon have come to a end after their invented global-Islamic-Suicide-religion" since 1979.
Egyptian forces began placing barbed wire and chain-link fences
On Friday, Egyptian forces began placing barbed wire and chain-link fences to stop more people crossing. But Hamas militants, cheered on by crowds of Gazans, used a bulldozer to flatten sections of the chain and concrete fence.
U.S. and Iraqi troops have launched a series of offensives in northern provinces this year
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces have begun a "decisive" final offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq to push the Sunni Islamist militants out of their last major stronghold in the north, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday.
He said Iraqi soldiers and police were being sent to Mosul, where a massive blast blamed on al Qaeda killed 40 people and wounded 220 on Wednesday, and an operations room had been set up in the city, 390 km north of Baghdad. U.S. military commanders say al Qaeda, blamed for most big bombings in Iraq, has regrouped in the northern provinces after being squeezed out of western Anbar province and from around Baghdad during security crackdowns last year.
They describe Mosul, capital of Nineveh province, as al Qaeda's last major urban stronghold in Iraq. "We have set up an operations room in Nineveh to complete the final battle with al Qaeda along with guerrillas and members of the previous regime," Maliki said, referring to other Sunni militants the Shi'ite-led government says remain loyal to former leader Saddam Hussein. "Today our forces started moving to Mosul. What we are planning in Nineveh will be decisive," he said during a ceremony for victims of violence in the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala in southern Iraq, broadcast on state television.
Maliki gave no details of the number of Iraqi troops involved or the scale of the operation. Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari did not have details but said it had been launched at Maliki's request. "Security is very weak there and the security forces need to be reinforced," Askari said. Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Abdul-Kareem Khalaf said the Mosul push would include 3,000 extra police. Iraqi security officials in the city said no reinforcements had arrived yet. U.S. and Iraqi troops have launched a series of offensives in northern provinces this year targeting al Qaeda in Iraq. The U.S. military calls the group, which commanders say is largely foreign-led, the biggest threat to Iraq's security. The military said this week that al Qaeda militants killed 3,870 civilians and wounded almost 18,000 in 4,500 attacks last year. "We defeated al Qaeda, now there is just Nineveh province where they escaped to, and Kirkuk," Maliki said, referring to another northern city.
During his trip to Kerbala, Maliki met Sheikh Abdul Mehdi al-Karbalai, a representative of Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Karbalai was lightly wounded in a bomb attack in the city late on Thursday. Maliki called the bombing a "criminal act."
"Now we have a real army. The days when the militants could do anything in front of our armed forces are gone," Maliki said. U.S. commanders in northern Iraq said Wednesday's massive blast, which left a crater the size of a multi-storey building, was in an unoccupied building they said was used by al Qaeda to store weapons and tons of explosives. On Thursday, the Nineveh province police director was killed by a suicide bomber as he toured the site of the original blast.
By Aws Qusay and Wisam Mohammed, Writing by Paul Tait; editing by Matthew Tostevin
He said Iraqi soldiers and police were being sent to Mosul, where a massive blast blamed on al Qaeda killed 40 people and wounded 220 on Wednesday, and an operations room had been set up in the city, 390 km north of Baghdad. U.S. military commanders say al Qaeda, blamed for most big bombings in Iraq, has regrouped in the northern provinces after being squeezed out of western Anbar province and from around Baghdad during security crackdowns last year.
They describe Mosul, capital of Nineveh province, as al Qaeda's last major urban stronghold in Iraq. "We have set up an operations room in Nineveh to complete the final battle with al Qaeda along with guerrillas and members of the previous regime," Maliki said, referring to other Sunni militants the Shi'ite-led government says remain loyal to former leader Saddam Hussein. "Today our forces started moving to Mosul. What we are planning in Nineveh will be decisive," he said during a ceremony for victims of violence in the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala in southern Iraq, broadcast on state television.
Maliki gave no details of the number of Iraqi troops involved or the scale of the operation. Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari did not have details but said it had been launched at Maliki's request. "Security is very weak there and the security forces need to be reinforced," Askari said. Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Abdul-Kareem Khalaf said the Mosul push would include 3,000 extra police. Iraqi security officials in the city said no reinforcements had arrived yet. U.S. and Iraqi troops have launched a series of offensives in northern provinces this year targeting al Qaeda in Iraq. The U.S. military calls the group, which commanders say is largely foreign-led, the biggest threat to Iraq's security. The military said this week that al Qaeda militants killed 3,870 civilians and wounded almost 18,000 in 4,500 attacks last year. "We defeated al Qaeda, now there is just Nineveh province where they escaped to, and Kirkuk," Maliki said, referring to another northern city.
During his trip to Kerbala, Maliki met Sheikh Abdul Mehdi al-Karbalai, a representative of Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Karbalai was lightly wounded in a bomb attack in the city late on Thursday. Maliki called the bombing a "criminal act."
"Now we have a real army. The days when the militants could do anything in front of our armed forces are gone," Maliki said. U.S. commanders in northern Iraq said Wednesday's massive blast, which left a crater the size of a multi-storey building, was in an unoccupied building they said was used by al Qaeda to store weapons and tons of explosives. On Thursday, the Nineveh province police director was killed by a suicide bomber as he toured the site of the original blast.
By Aws Qusay and Wisam Mohammed, Writing by Paul Tait; editing by Matthew Tostevin
A roadside bomb targeted the convoy with the representative of Ayatollah Ali Sistani
The funeral ceremony for two bodyguards of Abdul Mahdi Al-Karbalai, representative of Ayatollah Ali Sistani, in Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. The two bodyguards where killed late Thursday, when a roadside bomb targeted the convoy with the representative of Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Karbala.
Friday, January 25, 2008
A car bomb killed a police intelligence officer involved in the investigation of assassinations in Lebanon
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb killed a police intelligence officer involved in the investigation of assassinations in Lebanon, in an attack in a Christian suburb of Beirut on Friday. Police chief Brigadier-General Ashraf Rifi named the officer targeted in the blast while on his way to work as Captain Wisam Eid. A bodyguard and two other people were also killed. Thirty-eight people were wounded.
Eid, 31, worked for an intelligence unit widely viewed as close to anti-Syrian ruling coalition leader Saad al-Hariri and which was frequently criticized by the Syrian-backed opposition. "Eid had a role in all the files linked to terrorist bombings," Rifi told reporters at the scene. The assassination was the latest in a wave of bombings and political killings in Lebanon over the past three years. The turmoil caused by the killings has fuelled the country's worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
The police intelligence unit has been closely involved in the U.N.-led investigation into the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, and in a crackdown on al Qaeda-inspired militants. Interior Minister Hassan al-Sabaa said Eid, who was a communications engineer, had been targeted before. He took up his post after a roadside bomb wounded his predecessor, Samir Shehadeh, in 2006. Security sources said Eid was responsible for tracking mobile telephone communications made by attackers in previous assassinations and of Islamist militant cells. The car packed with at least 50 kg of explosives was parked on the side of a road near an overpass in the suburb of Hazmiyeh. It was detonated by remote control as Eid's car drove by, security sources said.
Eid, 31, worked for an intelligence unit widely viewed as close to anti-Syrian ruling coalition leader Saad al-Hariri and which was frequently criticized by the Syrian-backed opposition. "Eid had a role in all the files linked to terrorist bombings," Rifi told reporters at the scene. The assassination was the latest in a wave of bombings and political killings in Lebanon over the past three years. The turmoil caused by the killings has fuelled the country's worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
The police intelligence unit has been closely involved in the U.N.-led investigation into the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, and in a crackdown on al Qaeda-inspired militants. Interior Minister Hassan al-Sabaa said Eid, who was a communications engineer, had been targeted before. He took up his post after a roadside bomb wounded his predecessor, Samir Shehadeh, in 2006. Security sources said Eid was responsible for tracking mobile telephone communications made by attackers in previous assassinations and of Islamist militant cells. The car packed with at least 50 kg of explosives was parked on the side of a road near an overpass in the suburb of Hazmiyeh. It was detonated by remote control as Eid's car drove by, security sources said.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Gaza
RAFAH, Egypt - Egypt began trying to control the masses of Palestinians flooding in from the Gaza Strip Thursday, stopping some from moving deeper into Egypt. But authorities did not attempt to reseal the breached border with the Palestinian territory. Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said Israel wants to relinquish all responsibility for Gaza, including the supply of electricity and water, now that Gaza's southern border with Egypt has been opened. Egypt immediately rejected the idea.
On the Egyptian side of the border, helmeted riot police with dogs used batons to beat the hoods of Egyptian cars and trucks offering rides to Palestinians seeking to buy goods in towns out of walking range. Dozens of Egyptian guards pushed their way through the crowds but did nothing to halt the thousands of Palestinians moving over the wreckage of a metal wall brought down when Palestinian gunmen blasted it with explosives a day earlier. U.S. and Arab officials said Wednesday that Egypt had assured the United States it would soon reseal the border.
An Arab diplomat said Egypt told the U.S. it expected the Palestinians' exodus from Gaza to end by midday Thursday. But a senior U.S. official said Egypt has not been precise about when it will stop the flow. The crush of people at the border appeared to intensify at midday, with Gazans saying they feared the Egyptian authorities would soon close the crossing. "Everyone is rushing into Egypt before they seal it off," said Mohammed Abu Amra, a Palestinian man walking with crutches. He slipped and fell as he passed into Egypt.
Meanwhile, Israel floated the idea of cutting Gaza off entirely. "We need to understand that when Gaza is open to the other side we lose responsibility for it," Vilnai said, according to his office. "So we want to disconnect from it." "We want to stop supplying electricity to them, stop supplying them with water and medicine, so that it would come from another place," Vilnai said. Israel will continue to be responsible for the flow of such supplies into the Gaza Strip until an alternative is found, the office quoted him as saying.
A top Egyptian official responded by saying Egypt's border with Gaza will go back to normal, and strongly rejected Israel's suggestion that it might relinquish all responsibility for troubled Gaza. "This is a wrong assumption," said Hossam Zaki, the official spokesman for Egypt's foreign ministry. "The current situation is only an exception and for temporary reasons," Zaki said. "The border will go back to normal." Zaki said Egypt had not been formally approached by Israel about any such proposal. Israel said earlier that it would not send emergency shipments of fuel on Thursday, as it had initially promised earlier in the week.
The fuel is needed to run Gaza City's power plant. The plant had shut down after Israel imposed a complete closure on Gaza last week, in response to rocket attacks. The Palestinian Energy Authority said the Gaza plant would have to shut down again by Sunday, unless shipments are renewed. When Israel initially imposed a complete blockade last week, tacitly backed by Egypt, international aid groups voiced concern about an impending humanitarian crisis.
Israel is still trying to get clarification from Egypt on if and when it plans to close the border, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue. In downtown Rafah, Palestinians could be seen buying cows, camels and horses and leading them back through the passage into Gaza. Men loaded with electronics equipment struggled to step through the broken opening. Egyptian drivers idled their pickup trucks just inside Egyptian territory, charging incoming Palestinians $3.60 for a ride into downtown Rafah and neighboring El Arish. Others carted cement bags, motorcycles, generators, gasoline cans and canned food toward Gaza to be unloaded and handed over the border. Several Egyptian armored vehicles towed cars away from a lot on the Egyptian side of the border, attaching ropes to empty pickups and dragging them hundreds of yards away. Egyptian police were also deployed on main shopping thoroughfares and in alleyways in Rafah, but they did not attempt to force Palestinians to leave the city.
The border breach has been a boon to Hamas, the militant group whose hold on Gaza was made more difficult by border closures. Hamas government spokesman Taher Nunu suggested Thursday that Hamas would seek a role in a future on the Gaza-Egypt border. "An open border like this has no logic," he said. "We are studying the mechanism of having an official crossing point." It appears unlikely Egypt will acquiesce. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been under intense public pressure at home in recent days to alleviate the suffering of Gazans under blockade. However, Egypt would likely be reluctant to have an open border with a territory ruled by Islamic militants. Hamas called on its bitter rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, to help come up with new arrangements for Gaza's crossings.
Meanwhile, trucks and donkey carts pulled up to the Egyptian side, where goods were unloaded, carried across to the Gazan side and put in waiting trucks. Gaza businessman Abu Omar Shurafa received a shipment of 100 tons of cement, seizing an opportunity to stock up before the border closes again.
"Everyone is exerting all efforts to stock the reserves for six to seven months. We have to find a way to continue living," he said. Still, he was also hopeful that this could be the beginning of a new arrangement. "A solution has to be like this," he said, referring to the flow of goods from Egypt. The opening of the border began before dawn Wednesday, when masked gunmen used 17 explosive charges to tear down the border wall — erected in 2001 by Israel when it controlled Gaza. After news of the breach spread, people across Gaza boarded buses and piled into rickety pickup trucks heading for Egypt. It was a rare chance to escape Gaza's isolation. By nightfall Wednesday, more than 1,000 Gazans had reached El-Arish, about 37 miles south of Rafah, walking the streets and shopping in stores that stayed open late. Egyptian security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to talk to the media, said that Palestinians were not being allowed to travel further south than El-Arish.
By OMAR SINAN and SARAH EL DEEB, AP
On the Egyptian side of the border, helmeted riot police with dogs used batons to beat the hoods of Egyptian cars and trucks offering rides to Palestinians seeking to buy goods in towns out of walking range. Dozens of Egyptian guards pushed their way through the crowds but did nothing to halt the thousands of Palestinians moving over the wreckage of a metal wall brought down when Palestinian gunmen blasted it with explosives a day earlier. U.S. and Arab officials said Wednesday that Egypt had assured the United States it would soon reseal the border.
An Arab diplomat said Egypt told the U.S. it expected the Palestinians' exodus from Gaza to end by midday Thursday. But a senior U.S. official said Egypt has not been precise about when it will stop the flow. The crush of people at the border appeared to intensify at midday, with Gazans saying they feared the Egyptian authorities would soon close the crossing. "Everyone is rushing into Egypt before they seal it off," said Mohammed Abu Amra, a Palestinian man walking with crutches. He slipped and fell as he passed into Egypt.
Meanwhile, Israel floated the idea of cutting Gaza off entirely. "We need to understand that when Gaza is open to the other side we lose responsibility for it," Vilnai said, according to his office. "So we want to disconnect from it." "We want to stop supplying electricity to them, stop supplying them with water and medicine, so that it would come from another place," Vilnai said. Israel will continue to be responsible for the flow of such supplies into the Gaza Strip until an alternative is found, the office quoted him as saying.
A top Egyptian official responded by saying Egypt's border with Gaza will go back to normal, and strongly rejected Israel's suggestion that it might relinquish all responsibility for troubled Gaza. "This is a wrong assumption," said Hossam Zaki, the official spokesman for Egypt's foreign ministry. "The current situation is only an exception and for temporary reasons," Zaki said. "The border will go back to normal." Zaki said Egypt had not been formally approached by Israel about any such proposal. Israel said earlier that it would not send emergency shipments of fuel on Thursday, as it had initially promised earlier in the week.
The fuel is needed to run Gaza City's power plant. The plant had shut down after Israel imposed a complete closure on Gaza last week, in response to rocket attacks. The Palestinian Energy Authority said the Gaza plant would have to shut down again by Sunday, unless shipments are renewed. When Israel initially imposed a complete blockade last week, tacitly backed by Egypt, international aid groups voiced concern about an impending humanitarian crisis.
Israel is still trying to get clarification from Egypt on if and when it plans to close the border, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue. In downtown Rafah, Palestinians could be seen buying cows, camels and horses and leading them back through the passage into Gaza. Men loaded with electronics equipment struggled to step through the broken opening. Egyptian drivers idled their pickup trucks just inside Egyptian territory, charging incoming Palestinians $3.60 for a ride into downtown Rafah and neighboring El Arish. Others carted cement bags, motorcycles, generators, gasoline cans and canned food toward Gaza to be unloaded and handed over the border. Several Egyptian armored vehicles towed cars away from a lot on the Egyptian side of the border, attaching ropes to empty pickups and dragging them hundreds of yards away. Egyptian police were also deployed on main shopping thoroughfares and in alleyways in Rafah, but they did not attempt to force Palestinians to leave the city.
The border breach has been a boon to Hamas, the militant group whose hold on Gaza was made more difficult by border closures. Hamas government spokesman Taher Nunu suggested Thursday that Hamas would seek a role in a future on the Gaza-Egypt border. "An open border like this has no logic," he said. "We are studying the mechanism of having an official crossing point." It appears unlikely Egypt will acquiesce. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been under intense public pressure at home in recent days to alleviate the suffering of Gazans under blockade. However, Egypt would likely be reluctant to have an open border with a territory ruled by Islamic militants. Hamas called on its bitter rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, to help come up with new arrangements for Gaza's crossings.
Meanwhile, trucks and donkey carts pulled up to the Egyptian side, where goods were unloaded, carried across to the Gazan side and put in waiting trucks. Gaza businessman Abu Omar Shurafa received a shipment of 100 tons of cement, seizing an opportunity to stock up before the border closes again.
"Everyone is exerting all efforts to stock the reserves for six to seven months. We have to find a way to continue living," he said. Still, he was also hopeful that this could be the beginning of a new arrangement. "A solution has to be like this," he said, referring to the flow of goods from Egypt. The opening of the border began before dawn Wednesday, when masked gunmen used 17 explosive charges to tear down the border wall — erected in 2001 by Israel when it controlled Gaza. After news of the breach spread, people across Gaza boarded buses and piled into rickety pickup trucks heading for Egypt. It was a rare chance to escape Gaza's isolation. By nightfall Wednesday, more than 1,000 Gazans had reached El-Arish, about 37 miles south of Rafah, walking the streets and shopping in stores that stayed open late. Egyptian security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to talk to the media, said that Palestinians were not being allowed to travel further south than El-Arish.
By OMAR SINAN and SARAH EL DEEB, AP
"Israel was not exempt from responsibility"
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel wants to cut its links with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip after militants blasted open the territory's border with Egypt in defiance of an Israeli blockade, Israel's deputy defence minister said on Thursday.
Israel, which occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967, pulled troops and settlers out in 2005 but still controls its northern and eastern borders, airspace and coastal waters, and has imposed a blockade it says is meant to counter militant rocket fire. Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai said Israel wanted to wash its hands of Gaza altogether by handing over the supply of electricity, water and medicine to others. An Israeli security official said Egypt should take over responsibility.
"We need to understand that when Gaza is open to the other side we lose responsibility for it. So we want to disconnect from it," Vilnai said. A spokesman for Hamas, which seized control of Gaza after routing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah forces in June, said Israel was not exempt from responsibility "since the Gaza Strip is still an occupied land."
An aide to Abbas said the Israeli idea could be aimed at permanently severing Gaza from the occupied West Bank, the other territory Palestinians seek for an eventual state. Militants set off bombs on Wednesday destroying Gaza's southern border wall in the town of Rafah, where Egyptian forces are posted, and allowing tens of thousands of Palestinians to pour through to stock up on goods in short supply.
Israel tightened its cordon around the Gaza Strip this week, briefly stopping fuel supplies to the territory's only power station and blocking aid shipments as part of a campaign it said was meant to prevent cross-border rocket attacks. The Jewish state drew censure from the European Union and international agencies, which described the move as "collective punishment" for Gaza's 1.5 million residents. An Israeli security official said Israel wanted Egypt to supply Gaza's utilities and act as a base for aid organizations serving the territory, adding the government was working on proposals to shift responsibility to Cairo. "De facto, the Palestinians in Gaza are increasingly depending on Egypt for their needs. And that's what we want," the official told Reuters. Egypt controlled Gaza until the 1967 war.
A senior aide to Abbas, who is pursuing a peace deal with Israel and is under pressure to rein in militants, said he was "not happy" his Islamist rivals could now easily enter Egypt. Hamas and other militant groups have been using a network of underground tunnels to smuggle weapons and explosives into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. But another Abbas aide described Israel's proposal for total disengagement from Gaza as "an old plan aimed at severing Gaza from the whole Palestinian body," a reference to the occupied West Bank.
Abbas is trying to negotiate an agreement with Israel to create a Palestinian state in the West Bank -- where he holds sway -- and Gaza, with Arab East Jerusalem as its capital. Hamas's control of the coastal enclave poses a major obstacle for the U.S.-backed peace drive. Western-backed Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has suggested Abbas's Palestinian Authority control Gaza's main crossings -- a proposal the United States has said must first be cleared with Israel, which has so far rebuffed the idea.
By Adam Entous Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Wafa Amr and Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah; Writing by Rebecca Harrison
Israel, which occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967, pulled troops and settlers out in 2005 but still controls its northern and eastern borders, airspace and coastal waters, and has imposed a blockade it says is meant to counter militant rocket fire. Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai said Israel wanted to wash its hands of Gaza altogether by handing over the supply of electricity, water and medicine to others. An Israeli security official said Egypt should take over responsibility.
"We need to understand that when Gaza is open to the other side we lose responsibility for it. So we want to disconnect from it," Vilnai said. A spokesman for Hamas, which seized control of Gaza after routing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah forces in June, said Israel was not exempt from responsibility "since the Gaza Strip is still an occupied land."
An aide to Abbas said the Israeli idea could be aimed at permanently severing Gaza from the occupied West Bank, the other territory Palestinians seek for an eventual state. Militants set off bombs on Wednesday destroying Gaza's southern border wall in the town of Rafah, where Egyptian forces are posted, and allowing tens of thousands of Palestinians to pour through to stock up on goods in short supply.
Israel tightened its cordon around the Gaza Strip this week, briefly stopping fuel supplies to the territory's only power station and blocking aid shipments as part of a campaign it said was meant to prevent cross-border rocket attacks. The Jewish state drew censure from the European Union and international agencies, which described the move as "collective punishment" for Gaza's 1.5 million residents. An Israeli security official said Israel wanted Egypt to supply Gaza's utilities and act as a base for aid organizations serving the territory, adding the government was working on proposals to shift responsibility to Cairo. "De facto, the Palestinians in Gaza are increasingly depending on Egypt for their needs. And that's what we want," the official told Reuters. Egypt controlled Gaza until the 1967 war.
A senior aide to Abbas, who is pursuing a peace deal with Israel and is under pressure to rein in militants, said he was "not happy" his Islamist rivals could now easily enter Egypt. Hamas and other militant groups have been using a network of underground tunnels to smuggle weapons and explosives into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. But another Abbas aide described Israel's proposal for total disengagement from Gaza as "an old plan aimed at severing Gaza from the whole Palestinian body," a reference to the occupied West Bank.
Abbas is trying to negotiate an agreement with Israel to create a Palestinian state in the West Bank -- where he holds sway -- and Gaza, with Arab East Jerusalem as its capital. Hamas's control of the coastal enclave poses a major obstacle for the U.S.-backed peace drive. Western-backed Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has suggested Abbas's Palestinian Authority control Gaza's main crossings -- a proposal the United States has said must first be cleared with Israel, which has so far rebuffed the idea.
By Adam Entous Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Wafa Amr and Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah; Writing by Rebecca Harrison
The Turkish terror state and it´s al Qaeda cells
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - One police officer and one militant were killed in a clash during raids on suspected al Qaeda cells in southeastern Turkey, police sources said on Thursday. Four police officers were also wounded in the raids that targeted houses belonging to the radical Islamist group in the city of Gaziantep at around 2 a.m. (0000 GMT), the sources said.
They said the clash erupted after police calls for the militants to surrender were met by gunfire. State-run Anatolian news agency said two people linked to the group were killed while 18 people were detained during the raids. It said there was a large explosion in the city as the operation continued. No details were immediately available on the blast.
Security cordons had been set up around the targeted areas, where armored vehicles and ambulances were stationed. Police found a large number of weapons and documents, linking the suspects to the Islamic radical group, according to the Web site of broadcaster CNN Turk. Turkish police have carried out a series of operations across the country against people suspected of links to al Qaeda in recent months. In 2003 the group claimed responsibility for suicide bomb attacks against the British consulate, two synagogues and an HSBC bank in Istanbul, which killed more than 60 people.
Writing by Daren Butler and Thomas Grove, editing by Sami Aboudi
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed and 132 wounded when a building used by militants to store weapons and tonnes of explosives blew up in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday, senior security officials said. Iraqi officials said women and children were among the victims from the blast, which also tore through nearby homes. Heavy equipment had been brought in to dig for survivors. "There are still people trapped inside the blast site and under rubble," Major-General Mark Hertling, commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, told Reuters by telephone. He said Iraqi soldiers had detonated a roadside bomb they had found, which triggered a "massive secondary" explosion in the building. Explosive experts at the scene estimated 15 tonnes of ordnance had been hidden in the building, Hertling said.
Gunmen ambushed the Mosul police chief Thursday as he was touring the site of a blast that killed at least 18 civilians and wounded nearly 150, then hit his convoy with a roadside bomb as it fled the scene, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb struck a police patrol Thursday in Baghdad, killing two officers and wounding five other people.
They said the clash erupted after police calls for the militants to surrender were met by gunfire. State-run Anatolian news agency said two people linked to the group were killed while 18 people were detained during the raids. It said there was a large explosion in the city as the operation continued. No details were immediately available on the blast.
Security cordons had been set up around the targeted areas, where armored vehicles and ambulances were stationed. Police found a large number of weapons and documents, linking the suspects to the Islamic radical group, according to the Web site of broadcaster CNN Turk. Turkish police have carried out a series of operations across the country against people suspected of links to al Qaeda in recent months. In 2003 the group claimed responsibility for suicide bomb attacks against the British consulate, two synagogues and an HSBC bank in Istanbul, which killed more than 60 people.
Writing by Daren Butler and Thomas Grove, editing by Sami Aboudi
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed and 132 wounded when a building used by militants to store weapons and tonnes of explosives blew up in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday, senior security officials said. Iraqi officials said women and children were among the victims from the blast, which also tore through nearby homes. Heavy equipment had been brought in to dig for survivors. "There are still people trapped inside the blast site and under rubble," Major-General Mark Hertling, commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, told Reuters by telephone. He said Iraqi soldiers had detonated a roadside bomb they had found, which triggered a "massive secondary" explosion in the building. Explosive experts at the scene estimated 15 tonnes of ordnance had been hidden in the building, Hertling said.
Gunmen ambushed the Mosul police chief Thursday as he was touring the site of a blast that killed at least 18 civilians and wounded nearly 150, then hit his convoy with a roadside bomb as it fled the scene, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb struck a police patrol Thursday in Baghdad, killing two officers and wounding five other people.
"The government should declare a ceasefire immediately."
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani forces have cleared militant strongholds from three areas in the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border and 40 militants and eight soldiers have been killed in the fighting, the military said on Thursday. The army is sending reinforcements and using tanks in the area after a week of fighting with militants loyal to a Taliban commander the government said was behind the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last month. Security forces had carried out operations in three parts of South Waziristan, the military said on Thursday.
"These areas have been cleared of militant strongholds and hideouts," the military said in a statement. "Forty miscreants have been killed in the last 24 hours and 30 miscreants have been apprehended while many injured," the military said. Eight soldiers had been killed and 32 wounded, it said. The fighting is in strongholds of militant commander Baitullah Mehsud, who the United States has also said was behind Bhutto's assassination in a gun and bomb attack in Rawalpindi on December 27. Mehsud has been blamed for a string of attacks in a suicide bomb campaign that intensified after commandos stormed a radical mosque complex in Islamabad last July. On Wednesday last week, his men attacked and captured another fort in Waziristan. Security forces have been battling al Qaeda-linked militants in South Waziristan for several years. The mountainous region, occupied by conservative, independent-minded Pashtun tribesmen, has never come under the full authority of any government.
Militants in South and North Waziristan also attack U.S.- and NATO-led foreign forces and Afghan government troops across the border in Afghanistan. As the fighting intensified in South Waziristan this week, a top U.S. military commander visited Pakistan for talks with its army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani. Admiral William Fallon, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command, discussed the security situation with Kayani at his headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. Officials declined to elaborate. Fallon told reporters in Florida last week that Pakistan was increasingly willing to fight Islamist militants and accept U.S. help, without saying what kind of support. But he added that he believed Pakistani leaders wanted a "more robust" effort by U.S. forces to train and advise their forces in counter-insurgency efforts. The United States has already announced plans to step up training of Pakistan's Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force recruited from tribal lands. Residents of South Waziristan said they heard heavy fighting through the night in the vicinity of three villages, Spinkai Raghazai, Tanga and Khaisoor, in a Mehsud area. The fighting subsided just before dawn, a resident said. In neighboring North Waziristan, where militants are also active, about 2,500 tribesmen in the town of Mir Ali protested against the military's attacks in South Waziristan.
"These operations are unjustified and are only meant to appease America and Britain," a Muslim cleric, Mehmood-ul-Hassan, told the protesters. "The government should declare a ceasefire immediately. This can't be resolved through force but only through talks," he said.
By Robert Birsel , Additional reporting by Hafiz Wazir and Haji Mujtaba
"These areas have been cleared of militant strongholds and hideouts," the military said in a statement. "Forty miscreants have been killed in the last 24 hours and 30 miscreants have been apprehended while many injured," the military said. Eight soldiers had been killed and 32 wounded, it said. The fighting is in strongholds of militant commander Baitullah Mehsud, who the United States has also said was behind Bhutto's assassination in a gun and bomb attack in Rawalpindi on December 27. Mehsud has been blamed for a string of attacks in a suicide bomb campaign that intensified after commandos stormed a radical mosque complex in Islamabad last July. On Wednesday last week, his men attacked and captured another fort in Waziristan. Security forces have been battling al Qaeda-linked militants in South Waziristan for several years. The mountainous region, occupied by conservative, independent-minded Pashtun tribesmen, has never come under the full authority of any government.
Militants in South and North Waziristan also attack U.S.- and NATO-led foreign forces and Afghan government troops across the border in Afghanistan. As the fighting intensified in South Waziristan this week, a top U.S. military commander visited Pakistan for talks with its army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani. Admiral William Fallon, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command, discussed the security situation with Kayani at his headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. Officials declined to elaborate. Fallon told reporters in Florida last week that Pakistan was increasingly willing to fight Islamist militants and accept U.S. help, without saying what kind of support. But he added that he believed Pakistani leaders wanted a "more robust" effort by U.S. forces to train and advise their forces in counter-insurgency efforts. The United States has already announced plans to step up training of Pakistan's Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force recruited from tribal lands. Residents of South Waziristan said they heard heavy fighting through the night in the vicinity of three villages, Spinkai Raghazai, Tanga and Khaisoor, in a Mehsud area. The fighting subsided just before dawn, a resident said. In neighboring North Waziristan, where militants are also active, about 2,500 tribesmen in the town of Mir Ali protested against the military's attacks in South Waziristan.
"These operations are unjustified and are only meant to appease America and Britain," a Muslim cleric, Mehmood-ul-Hassan, told the protesters. "The government should declare a ceasefire immediately. This can't be resolved through force but only through talks," he said.
By Robert Birsel , Additional reporting by Hafiz Wazir and Haji Mujtaba
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Something your damn nuclear and weapons can do NOTHING about!
AMMAN, Jordan - The lone de-icing machine at Jordan's busy international airport worked frantically Tuesday to clear planes for takeoff after a freak snowstorm blanketed this desert country during a severe cold snap that has the region shivering. Meteorologists are calling it the worst cold front since 1964, attributing it to a high pressure zone in northern Europe that is forcing chilly air into the Middle East. Lows dropped into the 30s Tuesday in Amman and the capital of neighboring Syria, Damascus. In the Egyptian capital, where buildings are designed for blazing summers, the mercury dipped to 46. "It's definitely much colder than ever before," said Mohammed Ahmed, a shivering delivery driver who had to pilot his moped through Cairo's rain-slicked streets. "I'm drinking a lot of coffee and espresso to keep warm and alert because the roads are crazy." Damascus received its first snow of the winter, delaying flights at Damascus International Airport and snarling traffic throughout the city. Temperatures in Baghdad were even colder, dipping below freezing Tuesday morning. It's an increasingly common occurrence this month in a city whose January temperatures average 55. Snow even fell briefly for the first time in living memory in Baghdad on Jan. 11. The cold has Baghdad residents huddling around their kerosene heaters, even as worries mount about fuel shortages that could add to the battered populace's worries.
By DALE GAVLAK, AP
Turn off the air conditioning in stables and keep your horses and animals warm!
By DALE GAVLAK, AP
Turn off the air conditioning in stables and keep your horses and animals warm!
Suiciders and Gunmen in a steady flow..
BAGHDAD - Gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi army checkpoint in central Baghdad Wednesday, killing eight soldiers and wounding two, police said.
The drive-by shooting occurred about 11 a.m. in the Bab al-Mudham district, a commercial area on the eastern side of the Tigris River in central Baghdad. Two other soldiers were wounded, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information. The attack in the heart of Baghdad provided a deadly example of the stark challenges facing the Iraqi forces as they work to take over their own security so U.S.-led troops can eventually go home. It was the latest in a series of bombings, shootings and mortar attacks as militants seek to undermine recent security gains.
Iraqi politicians and the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have been criticized for failing to take advantage of recent security gains to make progress on key U.S.-backed reforms believed necessary to stem support for the Sunni-led insurgency. With the help of improving Iraqi troops and Awakening Councils — mostly Sunni tribal groups that have turned against al-Qaida in Iraq — the U.S. military says it has gained command of many key areas across central Iraq. But it is far more difficult to prevent isolated suicide strikes against less-protected targets.
On Tuesday, a suicide bomber pushing an electric heater atop a cart packed with hidden explosives attacked a high school north of Baghdad. One 25-year-old male bystander was killed and 21 people were wounded, including 12 students and eight teachers, according to a doctor at Baqouba General Hospital who declined to be identified because he was afraid of being targeted by militants.
The drive-by shooting occurred about 11 a.m. in the Bab al-Mudham district, a commercial area on the eastern side of the Tigris River in central Baghdad. Two other soldiers were wounded, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information. The attack in the heart of Baghdad provided a deadly example of the stark challenges facing the Iraqi forces as they work to take over their own security so U.S.-led troops can eventually go home. It was the latest in a series of bombings, shootings and mortar attacks as militants seek to undermine recent security gains.
Iraqi politicians and the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have been criticized for failing to take advantage of recent security gains to make progress on key U.S.-backed reforms believed necessary to stem support for the Sunni-led insurgency. With the help of improving Iraqi troops and Awakening Councils — mostly Sunni tribal groups that have turned against al-Qaida in Iraq — the U.S. military says it has gained command of many key areas across central Iraq. But it is far more difficult to prevent isolated suicide strikes against less-protected targets.
On Tuesday, a suicide bomber pushing an electric heater atop a cart packed with hidden explosives attacked a high school north of Baghdad. One 25-year-old male bystander was killed and 21 people were wounded, including 12 students and eight teachers, according to a doctor at Baqouba General Hospital who declined to be identified because he was afraid of being targeted by militants.
And the regime in Iran claims the have "won" something in Iraq..
BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber pushing an electric heater atop a cart packed with hidden explosives attacked a high school north of Baghdad on Tuesday, leaving students and teachers bloodied and bewildered as insurgents appeared to be expanding their list of targets.
Icy weather is causing big political trouble for Iran's hard-line president, who is under attack for mismanaging the economy as the country runs perilously low on gas for heat.
While Hamas waiting for "little Red Baghdad"..And Bin Laden is not able to stop the movement..Just because..
Icy weather is causing big political trouble for Iran's hard-line president, who is under attack for mismanaging the economy as the country runs perilously low on gas for heat.
While Hamas waiting for "little Red Baghdad"..And Bin Laden is not able to stop the movement..Just because..
Hundreds of Hamas supporters briefly broke through the Gaza-Egypt border
Hundreds of Hamas supporters briefly broke through the Gaza-Egypt border and clashed with Egyptian riot police who fired in the air, injuring 70 people on both sides. The protesters hurled insults at Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, calling him a coward. Hours later, masked Palestinian gunmen detonated explosives early Wednesday next to the wall at the Gaza-Egypt border, causing several holes in the barrier, witnesses said. Dozens of residents waited to cross in Egypt as Hamas forces gathered on the scene. On the other side, Egypt deployed troops to block any infiltration attempts from Gaza. They shined spotlights on to the gaps, but it didn't appear as if anyone had immediately crossed.
Egyptians troops accompanied them to buy food and then allowed them to return to the Gaza Strip," he added. Egyptian riot police officers line up during a demonstration of Palestinian Hamas supporters at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Mubarak also criticized Hamas for continuing to fire missiles into Israel, saying that it was not helping the situation. He said that he had been in contact with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and helped convince him to resume fuel shipments into Gaza
Egyptians troops accompanied them to buy food and then allowed them to return to the Gaza Strip," he added. Egyptian riot police officers line up during a demonstration of Palestinian Hamas supporters at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Mubarak also criticized Hamas for continuing to fire missiles into Israel, saying that it was not helping the situation. He said that he had been in contact with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and helped convince him to resume fuel shipments into Gaza
Que?
How come the ex-bodyguard didn´t open his mouth before he was fired if there were children that was in some danger or being taking care of in a bad way? How come some court or other social services didn´t acted before some ex-bodyguard got fired and decided to say something if it was so bad for the children? Or was it just because some former partner that have child support got himself a attorney some one started to use media and every thing they can come up with?
And as we all can see it´s paparazzis that are a traffic danger and how they blinds people with their camera flashes!
Is this what Mr Kaplan have build his case on? From some one driving without a licence to after she had visit his office and 3 hours after that was so upset she didn´t want to leave the children. And after making sure the media was all over the place and exploited the whole situation using that as a reason and excuse to claim being authorized to judge others mentally health?
Add to that that she's constantly under the microscope, and not just being evaluated, but being trashed in media as Mr Kaplan use which is damaging for the children "in the interests of the children"! And using the fact that people who have divorce/custody issues do have some degree of post-traumatic stress, to claim being authorized to judge others mental status on a person that not is able to see her children! What kind of judge is this? You can be really sure we will look into and follow this!
So what´s the real problem in your "party town"?
Is this some kind of joke? We guess you have a lot of cases and children to take care of then! It´s like a big media-justice business then..
And as we all can see it´s paparazzis that are a traffic danger and how they blinds people with their camera flashes!
Is this what Mr Kaplan have build his case on? From some one driving without a licence to after she had visit his office and 3 hours after that was so upset she didn´t want to leave the children. And after making sure the media was all over the place and exploited the whole situation using that as a reason and excuse to claim being authorized to judge others mentally health?
Add to that that she's constantly under the microscope, and not just being evaluated, but being trashed in media as Mr Kaplan use which is damaging for the children "in the interests of the children"! And using the fact that people who have divorce/custody issues do have some degree of post-traumatic stress, to claim being authorized to judge others mental status on a person that not is able to see her children! What kind of judge is this? You can be really sure we will look into and follow this!
So what´s the real problem in your "party town"?
Is this some kind of joke? We guess you have a lot of cases and children to take care of then! It´s like a big media-justice business then..
We can´t find the balance in this..
BERLIN (Reuters) - World powers agreed on Tuesday on the outlines of a new sanctions resolution against Iran, but diplomats said the draft did not contain the punitive economic measures that Washington had been pushing for.
It´s like two parents that can´t get along, one says YES and the other NO and the children plays them out against each other..In fact..
It´s like two parents that can´t get along, one says YES and the other NO and the children plays them out against each other..In fact..
We do not like you Mr Kaplan..And you´re on thin ice!
And the way you put yourself in the spotlight with talking to media about "your case"! With such actions it´s obvious that you are more into winning something for your own gains and cause, than the interests of the children, since we all know how haunted this person is by media, which have affect on her which Mr Kaplan use in every way he can and which also in the end have affect on the children!
You do very much to contribute to the media-circus and with your interests to put yourself in the media spotlight you are very much putting this children there! We condemn such methods that are not ethical and unlawful! And we do wonder what hers lawyers do.. as even Cedars don´t want to have anything to do with Mr Kaplan! Did any of you believed we would just stand by and watch you milking some gold calf for 18 years?
Mr Kaplan do not use media in the interests of the children! He contribute to let them be explored in media for his own gains! Nothing else! There is nothing "in the interest of the children" with such action! You´re acting like a scum-bag and it´s unlawful! You putting fire on the media circus as you know it affects the one you having your "little personal war" against at the expense of the children! And that´s makes you a very unsympathetic person! Persona- non Grata! You´re not "riding" this train - we are dragging you! And in the opposite of you we trust Cedars professional appraisal very much! No wonder they don´t want to have anything to do with you!
And we can understand perfectly well why not a former partner of a former partner that is paying him child support, while he´s paying child support to his former partner and which both claims they can take care of themselves while the one that pays can not, shouldn´t met you alone!
You do very much to contribute to the media-circus and with your interests to put yourself in the media spotlight you are very much putting this children there! We condemn such methods that are not ethical and unlawful! And we do wonder what hers lawyers do.. as even Cedars don´t want to have anything to do with Mr Kaplan! Did any of you believed we would just stand by and watch you milking some gold calf for 18 years?
Mr Kaplan do not use media in the interests of the children! He contribute to let them be explored in media for his own gains! Nothing else! There is nothing "in the interest of the children" with such action! You´re acting like a scum-bag and it´s unlawful! You putting fire on the media circus as you know it affects the one you having your "little personal war" against at the expense of the children! And that´s makes you a very unsympathetic person! Persona- non Grata! You´re not "riding" this train - we are dragging you! And in the opposite of you we trust Cedars professional appraisal very much! No wonder they don´t want to have anything to do with you!
And we can understand perfectly well why not a former partner of a former partner that is paying him child support, while he´s paying child support to his former partner and which both claims they can take care of themselves while the one that pays can not, shouldn´t met you alone!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Israel agreed to allow some fuel, medicine and food
GAZA (Reuters) - Israel agreed to allow some fuel, medicine and food into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Tuesday, at least temporarily easing a blockade that has plunged much of the territory into darkness and sparked international protests. Monday's decision by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak means the European Union will be allowed to deliver a week's supply of industrial fuel to Gaza's main power plant, which shut down on Sunday. The EU, which funds fuel shipments to the plant, confirmed the delivery would take place on Tuesday. Barak said Israel would not ease pressure on militants. "We will do everything to make them understand we will do anything to restore quiet," he said.
Ammar Awad/Reuters
Monday, January 21, 2008
BRUSSELS, BAGHDAD, GAZA CITY, BEIRUT, TBILISI
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will seek support from the European Union and NATO on Monday at the start of a four-country trip to Europe "There will be free and transparent elections," he pledged at the meeting in a Brussels hotel. Pakistan villagers said army helicopter gunships launched strikes on Sunday in an area regarded as a stronghold of a Taliban commander linked with the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military worried Sunday about "mixed messages" from Iran, listing a dramatic drop in Iranian-made weapons reaching Iraq but no reduction in the training and financing of Shiite militants.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gaza City was plunged into darkness Sunday after Israel blocked the shipment of fuel that powers its only electrical plant in retaliation for persistent rocket attacks by Gaza militants. Defense officials, however, dismissed Palestinian claims of a complete blackout in Gaza, saying that 70 percent of the electricity Israel supplied to Gaza was still flowing into the Palestinian territory. "The claim that there is a complete blackout in Gaza is a spin," an official said, adding that the Palestinians had had enough fuel for the electrical plant to last at least a week before Barak's decision to shut down the crossings on Thursday night. "We will not allow a humanitarian crisis to develop there," a senior defense official said.
Olmert said. "It is clear that in the final analysis an agreement needs to reflect the will of the people. The Knesset today reflects the will of the people. There is a decisive majority in this Knesset for a diplomatic process. So we'll see what will be - what kind of agreement we will get to. I believe that the decisive majority of Israelis, and a majority in the Knesset, will be able to support an agreement that I will be able to sign."
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's presidential election has been postponed from Monday to February 11, the parliament speaker said on Sunday, announcing the 13th delay of a vote blocked by the country's political crisis.
TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia and Russia pledged to repair their tattered relationship on Sunday after Mikhail Saakashvili was sworn in as Georgian president, the first concrete sign of an improvement.
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military worried Sunday about "mixed messages" from Iran, listing a dramatic drop in Iranian-made weapons reaching Iraq but no reduction in the training and financing of Shiite militants.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gaza City was plunged into darkness Sunday after Israel blocked the shipment of fuel that powers its only electrical plant in retaliation for persistent rocket attacks by Gaza militants. Defense officials, however, dismissed Palestinian claims of a complete blackout in Gaza, saying that 70 percent of the electricity Israel supplied to Gaza was still flowing into the Palestinian territory. "The claim that there is a complete blackout in Gaza is a spin," an official said, adding that the Palestinians had had enough fuel for the electrical plant to last at least a week before Barak's decision to shut down the crossings on Thursday night. "We will not allow a humanitarian crisis to develop there," a senior defense official said.
Olmert said. "It is clear that in the final analysis an agreement needs to reflect the will of the people. The Knesset today reflects the will of the people. There is a decisive majority in this Knesset for a diplomatic process. So we'll see what will be - what kind of agreement we will get to. I believe that the decisive majority of Israelis, and a majority in the Knesset, will be able to support an agreement that I will be able to sign."
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's presidential election has been postponed from Monday to February 11, the parliament speaker said on Sunday, announcing the 13th delay of a vote blocked by the country's political crisis.
TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia and Russia pledged to repair their tattered relationship on Sunday after Mikhail Saakashvili was sworn in as Georgian president, the first concrete sign of an improvement.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Egypt needs wheat, Pakistan needs wheat and Iraqis needs fuel
BAGHDAD - In the depths of a strangely cold winter in the Middle East, Iraqis complain that the lights are not on, the kerosene heaters are without fuel and the water doesn't flow — and they blame the government. "Where's the kerosene and the water?" asked Amjad Kazim, a 56-year-old Shiite who lives in eastern Baghdad. "We hear a lot of promises but we see nothing." Little kerosene is available on the state-run market at the subsidized price of $0.52 a gallon. But the fuel can be found on the black market, where it goes for more than $3.79 a gallon. Overnight temperatures since the first of the year have routinely fallen below freezing when normally they only dip into the upper 30s Fahrenheit.
An average household needs at least 1.32 gallons a day to stay warm, which translates into a monthly expense of $150, or half what an average Iraqi earns. "I have had no electricity for a week, and I cannot afford to buy it from neighborhood generators," said Hamdiyah Subeih, a 42-year-old homemaker from Baghdad's Shiite Baladiyat district. "I would rather live in Saddam Hussein's hell than the paradise of these new leaders." Even during the shortages of last summer's heat, most Iraqi's were counting on electricity for air conditioners, fans and refrigeration about half the day. Now it's off for days at a stretch in many areas and on only a few hours daily on average, residents say.
"My children are so happy when the power comes back on they dance," said Marwan Ouni, a 34-year-old college teacher from Tikrit. "For me, the nonstop power cuts have made my life tedious. It's depressing." That's the view from below, despite a considerable reduction in violence across the country. The view among those who hold power here is growing equally bilious. Stinging criticism late last week from Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of parliament's largest Shiite bloc, was a stark break with the past. And a threat by Muqtada al-Sadr, the maverick Shiite cleric who once supported al-Maliki, not to renew an expiring six-month cease-fire he imposed on his feared militia could upend recent security progress.
In admonishing tones, al-Hakim called on the government and parliament not to be "entirely focused on political rivalries at the expense of the everyday problems faced by Iraqis." He also demanded that lawmakers quickly adopt key legislation divvying up the country's oil wealth and setting the rules for provincial elections to be held later this year.
He spoke of administrative and financial corruption, saying Iraqis were now forced to pay bribes to get business done with ministries and government agencies. "It makes one's heart bleed ... it's a violation of man's freedom and dignity," he told tens of thousands of supporters in Baghdad on Friday. Al-Hakim's harsh words carry considerable weight because his party, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, is al-Maliki's most important backer after al-Sadr pulled ministers loyal to him from the Cabinet last year and took his 30 lawmakers out of the Shiite bloc.
Al-Hakim's focus on the daily hardships of most Iraqis finds a ready audience among those struggling to keep warm through one of the coldest winters in years — it snowed across Baghdad for the first time in living memory on Jan. 11. And al-Sadr's huge following among more radical Shiites could close the pincer on al-Maliki.
By HAMZA HENDAWI, AP
An average household needs at least 1.32 gallons a day to stay warm, which translates into a monthly expense of $150, or half what an average Iraqi earns. "I have had no electricity for a week, and I cannot afford to buy it from neighborhood generators," said Hamdiyah Subeih, a 42-year-old homemaker from Baghdad's Shiite Baladiyat district. "I would rather live in Saddam Hussein's hell than the paradise of these new leaders." Even during the shortages of last summer's heat, most Iraqi's were counting on electricity for air conditioners, fans and refrigeration about half the day. Now it's off for days at a stretch in many areas and on only a few hours daily on average, residents say.
"My children are so happy when the power comes back on they dance," said Marwan Ouni, a 34-year-old college teacher from Tikrit. "For me, the nonstop power cuts have made my life tedious. It's depressing." That's the view from below, despite a considerable reduction in violence across the country. The view among those who hold power here is growing equally bilious. Stinging criticism late last week from Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of parliament's largest Shiite bloc, was a stark break with the past. And a threat by Muqtada al-Sadr, the maverick Shiite cleric who once supported al-Maliki, not to renew an expiring six-month cease-fire he imposed on his feared militia could upend recent security progress.
In admonishing tones, al-Hakim called on the government and parliament not to be "entirely focused on political rivalries at the expense of the everyday problems faced by Iraqis." He also demanded that lawmakers quickly adopt key legislation divvying up the country's oil wealth and setting the rules for provincial elections to be held later this year.
He spoke of administrative and financial corruption, saying Iraqis were now forced to pay bribes to get business done with ministries and government agencies. "It makes one's heart bleed ... it's a violation of man's freedom and dignity," he told tens of thousands of supporters in Baghdad on Friday. Al-Hakim's harsh words carry considerable weight because his party, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, is al-Maliki's most important backer after al-Sadr pulled ministers loyal to him from the Cabinet last year and took his 30 lawmakers out of the Shiite bloc.
Al-Hakim's focus on the daily hardships of most Iraqis finds a ready audience among those struggling to keep warm through one of the coldest winters in years — it snowed across Baghdad for the first time in living memory on Jan. 11. And al-Sadr's huge following among more radical Shiites could close the pincer on al-Maliki.
By HAMZA HENDAWI, AP
It´s simple!
Moscow is currently at odds with the West over U.S. plans to develop a missile defense shield it fears could make it vulnerable to U.S. missile attack. It also resists Western moves that could lead soon to the breakaway of the Kosovo region of Russian ally Serbia.
Russia with your nuclear plants on one of the worlds biggest earthquake zones in the Islamic-Suicide country that don´t practise it themselves! While West says no, Russia says yes..Bring us more defend missiles!
Must we do all the thinking here?
Russia with your nuclear plants on one of the worlds biggest earthquake zones in the Islamic-Suicide country that don´t practise it themselves! While West says no, Russia says yes..Bring us more defend missiles!
Must we do all the thinking here?
Coming from a destabilized Somalia to a destabilized Yemen and ending up in refugee camps in Lebanon if not being fed to the sharks!
SAN`A, Yemen - The bodies of nearly 50 Africans trying to immigrate washed up on Yemen's shores Saturday after their boat capsized in the treacherous waters of the Gulf of Aden. The 35 survivors told authorities in Yemen that at least 135 people, all Somalis and Ethiopians, were crammed into the rickety boat, indicating that dozens more may have lost their lives. The search continued for more bodies along the beaches of Yemen's Abyan province, said an official on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the press.
Hundreds of Africans die every year trying to reach Yemen, many of whom drown or are killed by pirates and smugglers in the dangerous waters separating Somalia and the Arabian peninsula. The Africans that have survived the journey register with the U.N. refugee agency and stay in refugee camps in Yemen, while others take jobs in the cities as laborers for less than a $1 a day. The wave of refugees to the poorest country in the Arab world shows no sign of abating as violence continues to rock Somalia, despite Ethiopia's December 2006 intervention in the country to support the internationally recognized government. In 2007, Yemeni authorities said about 5,000 illegal Ethiopian and Somali migrants arrived in Yemen, while nearly 400 died along the way. Out of 88,000 registered refugees in Yemen, about 84,000 are Somali, according to the UNHCR.
By AHMED AL-HAJ, AP
"Lambs" fighting wolves!
Hundreds of Africans die every year trying to reach Yemen, many of whom drown or are killed by pirates and smugglers in the dangerous waters separating Somalia and the Arabian peninsula. The Africans that have survived the journey register with the U.N. refugee agency and stay in refugee camps in Yemen, while others take jobs in the cities as laborers for less than a $1 a day. The wave of refugees to the poorest country in the Arab world shows no sign of abating as violence continues to rock Somalia, despite Ethiopia's December 2006 intervention in the country to support the internationally recognized government. In 2007, Yemeni authorities said about 5,000 illegal Ethiopian and Somali migrants arrived in Yemen, while nearly 400 died along the way. Out of 88,000 registered refugees in Yemen, about 84,000 are Somali, according to the UNHCR.
By AHMED AL-HAJ, AP
"Lambs" fighting wolves!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Averting a big disaster
KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistani police said on Saturday they had averted a disaster with the arrest of five militants planning to attack Shi'ite Muslim processions with cyanide and suicide bombs.
The arrests late on Friday in the southern city of Karachi came as minority Shi'ite Muslims across Pakistan gathered for religious commemorations that have in recent years drawn attacks from Sunni Muslim militants. "Their arrest has averted a big disaster ... but the threat of suicide attacks is still there," provincial police chief Azhar Ali Farooqi told a news conference.
The five militants, one of whom was preparing to become a suicide bomber, belonged to different Sunni Muslim militant groups and were picked up in raids in different parts of the city, Farooqi said. "They planned to carry out suicide and grenade attacks on processions," he said. Police seized 6 kg (13.2 lb) of explosives for use in suicide jackets, 2 kg (4.4 lb) ball bearings, one kg (2.2 lb) of nails, detonators, three hand grenades and two pistols. Police also seized 500 grams (17 oz) of cyanide that Farooqi said was going to be used to poison drinks handed out to people taking part in the Shi'ite processions.
Sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'ite sects flares every year during the Muslim month of Moharram, which marks a period of mourning for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad. Killed in a battle in AD 680 in Kerbala, a city in modern day Iraq, Imam Hussein is revered by Shi'ites, who make up about 15 percent of Pakistan's 160 million people.
Security forces are on high alert for violence this weekend when many Shi'ites beat themselves into a frenzy of grief during processions. Ordinary Pakistanis and police say sectarianism is being used as a cover by shadowy groups intent on creating chaos. Separately, security forces have arrested a suspected teenaged suicide bomber, Ismail Khan, in the northwestern city of Dera. Security officials said he was on his way to Karachi to attack Shi'ite processions. But senior security officials denied a report that the 15-year-old boy had confessed to being part of a five-member team that attacked and killed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on December 27. Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the report was a rumor.
By Imtiaz Shah, Additional reporting by Augustine Anthony; Editing by Robert Birsel and Bill Tarrant
The arrests late on Friday in the southern city of Karachi came as minority Shi'ite Muslims across Pakistan gathered for religious commemorations that have in recent years drawn attacks from Sunni Muslim militants. "Their arrest has averted a big disaster ... but the threat of suicide attacks is still there," provincial police chief Azhar Ali Farooqi told a news conference.
The five militants, one of whom was preparing to become a suicide bomber, belonged to different Sunni Muslim militant groups and were picked up in raids in different parts of the city, Farooqi said. "They planned to carry out suicide and grenade attacks on processions," he said. Police seized 6 kg (13.2 lb) of explosives for use in suicide jackets, 2 kg (4.4 lb) ball bearings, one kg (2.2 lb) of nails, detonators, three hand grenades and two pistols. Police also seized 500 grams (17 oz) of cyanide that Farooqi said was going to be used to poison drinks handed out to people taking part in the Shi'ite processions.
Sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'ite sects flares every year during the Muslim month of Moharram, which marks a period of mourning for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad. Killed in a battle in AD 680 in Kerbala, a city in modern day Iraq, Imam Hussein is revered by Shi'ites, who make up about 15 percent of Pakistan's 160 million people.
Security forces are on high alert for violence this weekend when many Shi'ites beat themselves into a frenzy of grief during processions. Ordinary Pakistanis and police say sectarianism is being used as a cover by shadowy groups intent on creating chaos. Separately, security forces have arrested a suspected teenaged suicide bomber, Ismail Khan, in the northwestern city of Dera. Security officials said he was on his way to Karachi to attack Shi'ite processions. But senior security officials denied a report that the 15-year-old boy had confessed to being part of a five-member team that attacked and killed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on December 27. Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the report was a rumor.
By Imtiaz Shah, Additional reporting by Augustine Anthony; Editing by Robert Birsel and Bill Tarrant
So Turkey..How about those talks with the Kurdish government?
We mean...Turkey is quite good on talking every where else..Rather talk active in fact...Talking about human rights records..
"We deny any involvement or considering any bomb plot in mosques against any Palestinian figure"
GAZA (Reuters) - A senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip on Saturday accused rival Fatah of plotting to assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as he prayed and said the would-be suicide bomber had been arrested and had confessed. "There was a plan by a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt to assassinate Haniyeh as he prayed in the mosque. He was arrested and confessed," Saeed Seyam, who oversees Hamas government security forces in Gaza and is a former interior minister in the Hamas government, told reporters. A Fatah spokesman dismissed Sayam's allegations. "We deny any involvement or considering any bomb plot in mosques against any Palestinian figure, whether it be Haniyeh or anybody else," Fahmi al-Zareer said. "Fatah will never use this method of killing and assassination," he added. He accused Hamas of previously killing opponents in mosques in Gaza.
"The international fold."...Well...Yeah...right...
CAIRO, Egypt - The promise of a new French base in the United Arab Emirates is the latest sign that Arab Gulf countries are expanding their commercial and military contacts to bolster security without appearing too dependent on the United States.
"Iran's insertion in its region as a positive actor, provided it respects international law." "While staying open to dialogue. "A sign to other states that if they too stopped seeking nuclear weapons and supporting "terrorism," they would be welcomed into the international fold."
Yes that would be good but as we can see there is no will to follow international laws or being a part of the international fold! And dialogues just buys time! Words without actions is worthless! And one can talk and talk and talk, while nothing changes on the ground! So no...There is no positive influences from Iran into the region. It´s just listen to Hamas and Nasrallah and we hear perfectly well what intentions and influences so many paying the price for exist in the region! It´s nothing but pointing fingers in a invented "religion" and use others as tools for own gains! Nothing else!
"Iran's insertion in its region as a positive actor, provided it respects international law." "While staying open to dialogue. "A sign to other states that if they too stopped seeking nuclear weapons and supporting "terrorism," they would be welcomed into the international fold."
Yes that would be good but as we can see there is no will to follow international laws or being a part of the international fold! And dialogues just buys time! Words without actions is worthless! And one can talk and talk and talk, while nothing changes on the ground! So no...There is no positive influences from Iran into the region. It´s just listen to Hamas and Nasrallah and we hear perfectly well what intentions and influences so many paying the price for exist in the region! It´s nothing but pointing fingers in a invented "religion" and use others as tools for own gains! Nothing else!
What kind of man..
What kind of man doesn´t cover his women in the escalator? What is he? He better watch out you know..
You are just a bunch of idiots! Ain´t you?
"We have no plans to attack anyone, but we consider it necessary for all our partners in the world community to clearly understand ... that to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and its allies, military forces will be used, including preventively, including with the use of nuclear weapons," Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky said.
How come Russia feels threatened now..suddenly?
And the end of the super powers are soon to come as the Iranian President use to say..and claim Iran will be a super power at the same time..
How come Russia feels threatened now..suddenly?
And the end of the super powers are soon to come as the Iranian President use to say..and claim Iran will be a super power at the same time..
Palestinian Authority denounced Israel's ongoing military strikes in the Gaza Strip
Palestinian Authority on Friday denounced Israel's ongoing military strikes in the Gaza Strip as "brutal," but also accused Gaza's Hamas rulers of trying to destroy the Palestinian dream of statehood.
"In these days, we can only condemn gravely what happens in our cherished Gaza, this brutal attack on this cherished part of our land, every hour, which targets women, children and elderly," Abbas during Christmas celebrations of Armenian Christians in Bethlehem. Abbas also reiterated his demand that Hamas relinquish control of Gaza, saying that since it took over the area last June, the Islamic group has "destroyed and tries to destroy our dreams, future and national aspirations."
The Gaza blockade and the bombing of the government ministry are part of an Israeli attempt to halt a surge of rocket fire on Israeli border towns. On Friday, 16 rockets hit southern Israel, including one that damaged a daycare center. Children were inside the building at the time, but no one was hurt. An Israeli warplane bombed the empty building, flattening one wing, killing a woman at a wedding party next door and wounding at least 46 civilians, some of them children playing soccer in the street. The blast blew out windows in neighboring high-rises, left hundreds without electricity and water and terrified residents.
"In these days, we can only condemn gravely what happens in our cherished Gaza, this brutal attack on this cherished part of our land, every hour, which targets women, children and elderly," Abbas during Christmas celebrations of Armenian Christians in Bethlehem. Abbas also reiterated his demand that Hamas relinquish control of Gaza, saying that since it took over the area last June, the Islamic group has "destroyed and tries to destroy our dreams, future and national aspirations."
The Gaza blockade and the bombing of the government ministry are part of an Israeli attempt to halt a surge of rocket fire on Israeli border towns. On Friday, 16 rockets hit southern Israel, including one that damaged a daycare center. Children were inside the building at the time, but no one was hurt. An Israeli warplane bombed the empty building, flattening one wing, killing a woman at a wedding party next door and wounding at least 46 civilians, some of them children playing soccer in the street. The blast blew out windows in neighboring high-rises, left hundreds without electricity and water and terrified residents.
Spain
Spanish police on Saturday arrested 14 people suspected of links with Islamic terrorism, the Interior Ministry said. Civil Guard officers made the arrests in Barcelona as part of raids planned with the National Intelligence Center, the Spanish equivalent of the CIA. Several homes were searched and authorities do not rule out more arrests, the ministry said in a statement.
ISLAMABAD
(Reuters) - Pakistani forces captured 40 militants in South Waziristan region on the Afghan border, a military spokesman said on Saturday, a day after up to 90 militants were killed in two battles.
Fighting has intensified in recent days between government forces and al Qaeda-linked militants led by a commander the government and the U.S. CIA say was behind the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last month. "Last night, during the operation at Chaghmalai, we captured 40 miscreants ... the complete Chaghmalai area is cleared of militants," said military spokesman major-General Athar Abbas. Militants ambushed a convoy in the Chaghmalai area of South Waziristan on Friday and 20 to 30 of them were killed when security forces fought back, Abbas said, citing estimates reported by observation posts. The military later found the bodies of 10 militants, he said.
In another incident on Friday, government forces attacked a large number of militants who had gathered to attack a fort at Ladha, also in South Waziristan, killing 50 to 60 of them, Abbas said. Intense fire continued through the night at Ladha, he said. Residents of the area said aircraft bombed militants on Saturday. Another 10 militants, including commanders, were captured along with arms and ammunition during a search on Friday in the Tank area of North West Frontier Province, near the border of South Waziristan, the military said. A wave of violence including a barrage of suicide bombs in recent months has raised fears about stability in nuclear-armed Pakistan, which is a major ally of the United States in its campaign against terrorism. The assassination of two-time prime minister Bhutto in a gun and bomb attack as she was leaving an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27 compounded the worry about Pakistan's prospects.
The government said al Qaeda-linked militant leader Baitullah Mehsud, who is based in South Waziristan, was behind Bhutto's killing. CIA Director Michael Hayden, in an interview with the Washington Post published on Friday, also blamed Mehsud for Bhutto's murder. The government says the militants are intent on destabilizing the country. A spokesman for Mehsud, who earlier denied the commander was behind Bhutto's killing, was not immediately available for comment on the latest clashes. Security forces have been battling al Qaeda-linked militants in South Waziristan for several years. The mountainous region, occupied by conservative, independent-minded Pashtun tribesmen, has never come under the full authority of any government. Militants flocked to Waziristan and other areas on the Afghan border in the 1980s to support U.S.- and Saudi Arabian-backed Afghan guerrillas fighting Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Many al Qaeda and Taliban members took refuge on the Pakistani side of the border after U.S.-led troops ousted the Taliban government in Afghanistan weeks after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Hundreds of militants overran a paramilitary fort in another part of South Waziristan on Wednesday. Government forces were still searching for 18 paramilitary soldiers who went missing during that attack, Abbas said.
By Robert Birsel
Fighting has intensified in recent days between government forces and al Qaeda-linked militants led by a commander the government and the U.S. CIA say was behind the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last month. "Last night, during the operation at Chaghmalai, we captured 40 miscreants ... the complete Chaghmalai area is cleared of militants," said military spokesman major-General Athar Abbas. Militants ambushed a convoy in the Chaghmalai area of South Waziristan on Friday and 20 to 30 of them were killed when security forces fought back, Abbas said, citing estimates reported by observation posts. The military later found the bodies of 10 militants, he said.
In another incident on Friday, government forces attacked a large number of militants who had gathered to attack a fort at Ladha, also in South Waziristan, killing 50 to 60 of them, Abbas said. Intense fire continued through the night at Ladha, he said. Residents of the area said aircraft bombed militants on Saturday. Another 10 militants, including commanders, were captured along with arms and ammunition during a search on Friday in the Tank area of North West Frontier Province, near the border of South Waziristan, the military said. A wave of violence including a barrage of suicide bombs in recent months has raised fears about stability in nuclear-armed Pakistan, which is a major ally of the United States in its campaign against terrorism. The assassination of two-time prime minister Bhutto in a gun and bomb attack as she was leaving an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27 compounded the worry about Pakistan's prospects.
The government said al Qaeda-linked militant leader Baitullah Mehsud, who is based in South Waziristan, was behind Bhutto's killing. CIA Director Michael Hayden, in an interview with the Washington Post published on Friday, also blamed Mehsud for Bhutto's murder. The government says the militants are intent on destabilizing the country. A spokesman for Mehsud, who earlier denied the commander was behind Bhutto's killing, was not immediately available for comment on the latest clashes. Security forces have been battling al Qaeda-linked militants in South Waziristan for several years. The mountainous region, occupied by conservative, independent-minded Pashtun tribesmen, has never come under the full authority of any government. Militants flocked to Waziristan and other areas on the Afghan border in the 1980s to support U.S.- and Saudi Arabian-backed Afghan guerrillas fighting Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Many al Qaeda and Taliban members took refuge on the Pakistani side of the border after U.S.-led troops ousted the Taliban government in Afghanistan weeks after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Hundreds of militants overran a paramilitary fort in another part of South Waziristan on Wednesday. Government forces were still searching for 18 paramilitary soldiers who went missing during that attack, Abbas said.
By Robert Birsel
UNITED NATIONS
- The U.N. Security Council on Friday strongly condemned this week's car bomb blast in Beirut that targeted a U.S. Embassy vehicle, calling it a "terrorist attack" and demanding that those responsible be brought to justice.
A statement adopted by the council pledged support for Lebanese government efforts to find those responsible for the attack on a north Beirut highway Tuesday that killed three passers-by and wounded 26 others. Diplomats said the statement was delayed because of differences over the wording, but Libya's U.N. Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi, the current council president, said the timing should not diminish the importance of the council's united condemnation of the bombing.
A statement adopted by the council pledged support for Lebanese government efforts to find those responsible for the attack on a north Beirut highway Tuesday that killed three passers-by and wounded 26 others. Diplomats said the statement was delayed because of differences over the wording, but Libya's U.N. Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi, the current council president, said the timing should not diminish the importance of the council's united condemnation of the bombing.
The International Committee of the Red Cross called on Israel and the Palestinians to respect international law and stop harming civilians
Israel sealed all border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Friday, cutting the flow of vital supplies in an attempt to pressure Hamas to halt the rocket fire. But the attacks continued, with 16 rockets falling in southern Israel, including one that damaged a day care center in the town of Sderot. Children were inside the building at the time, but no one was hurt, the prime minister's office said. Violence has grown since Tuesday, when an Israeli ground and air offensive against rocket squads claimed the lives of 19 Palestinians, including the militant son of a prominent Hamas leader. By Friday night, the Gaza death toll stood at 34, including at least 10 civilians.
In northern Gaza, an Israel airstrike on Friday killed one member of a rocket launch squad and a civilian bystander, Hamas said. The air force also attacked a base of Hamas security forces in central Gaza, but it was not in use and there were no casualties. Since Tuesday, Hamas has joined other militant groups lobbing crude rockets and mortar shells across the border, and by nightfall Friday over 160 projectiles had fallen, according to the Israeli military. They caused no serious injuries.
Military analyst Yoav Limor, speaking on Israel's Channel One television, said the Israelis had expected a violent response to Tuesday's killing of the son of Hamas strongman, Mahmoud Zahar. But when rockets rained down on southern Israel for a fourth day Friday, the Israeli military sent the radical Islamic movement a message. "It's to signal Hamas that this is what we can do and it will hurt you," Limor said, adding that Israel sought to avoid a large-scale ground offensive against the rocket launchers.
The International Committee of the Red Cross called on Israel and the Palestinians to respect international law and stop harming civilians.
Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror said crossings into Gaza were not opened Friday, preventing the scheduled passage of about 20 truckloads of food. The crossings, which normally work only a half-day on Fridays and are routinely closed Saturdays, may not open Sunday if rocket fire continues, he said. He said Gazans had sufficient stocks of food so that no one would go hungry, adding that about 9,000 cows were allowed into the strip in the past two months.
"There is a government decision that there will not be a humanitarian crisis in Gaza," Dror said.
John Ging, the Gaza-based head of UNRWA, the U.N. agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, said the most immediate concern was the halt in delivery of fuel, of which there are no stockpiles. For weeks Gaza has been subjected to blackouts of up to 12 hours a day, and aid workers said the situation would turn critical if the closure lasted into next week.
Hamas warned of suicide attacks in Israel if it did not end the sanctions and military operations.
In northern Gaza, an Israel airstrike on Friday killed one member of a rocket launch squad and a civilian bystander, Hamas said. The air force also attacked a base of Hamas security forces in central Gaza, but it was not in use and there were no casualties. Since Tuesday, Hamas has joined other militant groups lobbing crude rockets and mortar shells across the border, and by nightfall Friday over 160 projectiles had fallen, according to the Israeli military. They caused no serious injuries.
Military analyst Yoav Limor, speaking on Israel's Channel One television, said the Israelis had expected a violent response to Tuesday's killing of the son of Hamas strongman, Mahmoud Zahar. But when rockets rained down on southern Israel for a fourth day Friday, the Israeli military sent the radical Islamic movement a message. "It's to signal Hamas that this is what we can do and it will hurt you," Limor said, adding that Israel sought to avoid a large-scale ground offensive against the rocket launchers.
The International Committee of the Red Cross called on Israel and the Palestinians to respect international law and stop harming civilians.
Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror said crossings into Gaza were not opened Friday, preventing the scheduled passage of about 20 truckloads of food. The crossings, which normally work only a half-day on Fridays and are routinely closed Saturdays, may not open Sunday if rocket fire continues, he said. He said Gazans had sufficient stocks of food so that no one would go hungry, adding that about 9,000 cows were allowed into the strip in the past two months.
"There is a government decision that there will not be a humanitarian crisis in Gaza," Dror said.
John Ging, the Gaza-based head of UNRWA, the U.N. agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, said the most immediate concern was the halt in delivery of fuel, of which there are no stockpiles. For weeks Gaza has been subjected to blackouts of up to 12 hours a day, and aid workers said the situation would turn critical if the closure lasted into next week.
Hamas warned of suicide attacks in Israel if it did not end the sanctions and military operations.
"We are pleased to have her on board."
"She's really sweet and down to earth and fun to be around."
Yes...We thought so..Thank you..
Yes...We thought so..Thank you..
And now we have reach Basra..And it´s tragic..really..
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi soldiers and police fought running battles with gunmen from a Shi'ite cult in two southern cities on Friday in which dozens of people were killed and nearly 100 wounded, officials said. Police said the head of the so-called "Soldiers of Heaven" cult in Basra had been killed in the fighting, which is reminiscent of clashes between the obscure group and Iraqi and U.S. forces a year ago. Those battles near the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf left hundreds dead, mainly members of the cult.
The latest clashes are the biggest test yet for Iraq's army and police in the south since Britain finished handing back responsibility for security in the oil rich region last month. Major-General Abdul Jalil Khalaf, the Basra provincial police chief, told Reuters that dozens of people had been killed in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, where gunmen staged a series of hit-and-run raids using heavy machine guns. Khalaf did not give a precise number of those killed during several hours of fighting, but he said it included the head of the "Soldiers of Heaven" in the city. Fifteen people including a police major-general and two colonels were killed in the city of Nassiriya, officials said. Hospital officials said 82 people had been wounded. Witnesses said gunmen from the "Soldiers of Heaven" attacked four police stations in the city. "The area in Basra where the clashes took place is under the control of the Iraqi security forces except for a few streets," said Khalaf, who earlier said Iraqi military helicopters had been called in to hunt for gunmen. Police in Basra and Nassiriya said fighters from the "Soldiers of Heaven" cult, once led by a man who claimed to be the mahdi, an Islamic messiah-like figure, had opened fire on security forces in both cities. The fighting comes as observations for the Ashura festival, one of the holiest events in the Shi'ite Muslim religious calendar, approach their peak across southern Iraq on Saturday. The focus of the event is in Kerbala, where the provincial governor said 2.5 million people had gathered.
A Reuters cameraman in Basra said he saw about 30 gunmen dressed in black carrying machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Some of them were driving at least two vehicles seized from police, he said. A curfew was imposed in Nassiriya, 375 km (235 miles) southeast of Baghdad, after fighting sparked panic. "I was coming back from the market when clashes erupted. I was shot in my leg. There were masked gunmen shooting at police," Abdullah Khalif, 32, said from his hospital bed. Police said the gunmen in both cities were supporters of Ahmed Hassani al-Yemeni, who took over after the cult's previous leader was killed in battles with security forces a year ago. Those clashes near Najaf turned out to be one of the largest battles since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Hundreds were killed then, mostly members of the "Soldiers of Heaven." A dozen Iraqi security forces were killed while a U.S. attack helicopter was shot down, killing its two crew. The government said at the time the "Soldiers of Heaven" had planned to kill top Shi'ite clerics. A man who said he was from the movement told Reuters in Basra that their fighters had decided to attack security forces on Friday because of persecution he said the cult had suffered. He also said they believed the mahdi would appear on Friday. The previous leader, who used the name Mahdi bin Ali bin Ali bin Abi Taleb, had claimed to be the mahdi. Religious pilgrims have been gathering in Kerbala all week for Ashura, which commemorates the death in battle of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, near the city 1,300 years ago. Imam Hussein's death in 680 entrenched the schism between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims over who they recognized as the successors of Mohammed.
Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Writing by Dean Yates and Paul Tait; Editing by Giles Elgood
"Machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers."...We suspect they are just as mislead and used as so many others..And sure the prophet Mohammed left more after him than which was going to be his successor..
The latest clashes are the biggest test yet for Iraq's army and police in the south since Britain finished handing back responsibility for security in the oil rich region last month. Major-General Abdul Jalil Khalaf, the Basra provincial police chief, told Reuters that dozens of people had been killed in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, where gunmen staged a series of hit-and-run raids using heavy machine guns. Khalaf did not give a precise number of those killed during several hours of fighting, but he said it included the head of the "Soldiers of Heaven" in the city. Fifteen people including a police major-general and two colonels were killed in the city of Nassiriya, officials said. Hospital officials said 82 people had been wounded. Witnesses said gunmen from the "Soldiers of Heaven" attacked four police stations in the city. "The area in Basra where the clashes took place is under the control of the Iraqi security forces except for a few streets," said Khalaf, who earlier said Iraqi military helicopters had been called in to hunt for gunmen. Police in Basra and Nassiriya said fighters from the "Soldiers of Heaven" cult, once led by a man who claimed to be the mahdi, an Islamic messiah-like figure, had opened fire on security forces in both cities. The fighting comes as observations for the Ashura festival, one of the holiest events in the Shi'ite Muslim religious calendar, approach their peak across southern Iraq on Saturday. The focus of the event is in Kerbala, where the provincial governor said 2.5 million people had gathered.
A Reuters cameraman in Basra said he saw about 30 gunmen dressed in black carrying machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Some of them were driving at least two vehicles seized from police, he said. A curfew was imposed in Nassiriya, 375 km (235 miles) southeast of Baghdad, after fighting sparked panic. "I was coming back from the market when clashes erupted. I was shot in my leg. There were masked gunmen shooting at police," Abdullah Khalif, 32, said from his hospital bed. Police said the gunmen in both cities were supporters of Ahmed Hassani al-Yemeni, who took over after the cult's previous leader was killed in battles with security forces a year ago. Those clashes near Najaf turned out to be one of the largest battles since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Hundreds were killed then, mostly members of the "Soldiers of Heaven." A dozen Iraqi security forces were killed while a U.S. attack helicopter was shot down, killing its two crew. The government said at the time the "Soldiers of Heaven" had planned to kill top Shi'ite clerics. A man who said he was from the movement told Reuters in Basra that their fighters had decided to attack security forces on Friday because of persecution he said the cult had suffered. He also said they believed the mahdi would appear on Friday. The previous leader, who used the name Mahdi bin Ali bin Ali bin Abi Taleb, had claimed to be the mahdi. Religious pilgrims have been gathering in Kerbala all week for Ashura, which commemorates the death in battle of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, near the city 1,300 years ago. Imam Hussein's death in 680 entrenched the schism between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims over who they recognized as the successors of Mohammed.
Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Writing by Dean Yates and Paul Tait; Editing by Giles Elgood
"Machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers."...We suspect they are just as mislead and used as so many others..And sure the prophet Mohammed left more after him than which was going to be his successor..
Life is more than "strategic thinking"..
In fact..Much more than that..And we have a responsibility toward coming generations. We do not own this planet. We do not own time-we are just borrowing it to hand over to coming generations! We will fade away and others taking over and we will be judged after what we leaving after us! To bad Hamas don´t realize that in their brainwashed-qat-shewing -leaf or some drugs using from the Bedouins or what heck is wrong with them as we can see they don´t leave anything than disaster after them! We know something is terrible wrong with them- It´s just listen to them and look at their actions!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Paparazzi a danger in traffic to others
Jessica Alba couldn't escape from paparazzi yesterday -- she was locked in at two red lights and swarmed by photographs! Which warned her driver it´s illegal to drive against red..While they took photos..Psychopaths..
The four shutterbugs who were busted Wednesday night at dangerously high speeds and making unsafe lane changes, were released early Thursday on $5,000 bail each. Police identified the men as Roberto Maciel, 31, Leandro Gomes, 30, Filipi Teixeira, 27, and Eduardo Ravalah, 34.
The four shutterbugs who were busted Wednesday night at dangerously high speeds and making unsafe lane changes, were released early Thursday on $5,000 bail each. Police identified the men as Roberto Maciel, 31, Leandro Gomes, 30, Filipi Teixeira, 27, and Eduardo Ravalah, 34.
GAZA (Reuters)
GAZA (Reuters) - Israel bombed the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza and closed border crossings with the strip on Friday, sharply escalating what it called a campaign to halt Palestinian rocket attacks. The four-storey ministry complex in Gaza City was empty at the time but one woman was killed and at least 30 others nearby were wounded in the air strike, medical officials said. "It felt like an earthquake," said Umm Fahmi, a woman who lives across from the blast site. "My house did not only shake, it jumped from its foundations and back down. How could they drop such a bomb in a residential area on top of people's heads?" she said, peering through the dust at the concrete and steel remains of the security complex.
It was the first Israeli bombing of a Palestinian government building since Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in June after routing secular Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas. A second Israeli air strike minutes later damaged Hamas's so-called naval headquarters in the central Gaza Strip. Israel has killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza this week as part of what officials describe as a stepped-up campaign to pressure Hamas to rein in militants who have fired more than 110 rockets into the Jewish state in the last three days alone. An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed the air strikes, calling the targets "Hamas terrorist" positions. "This is part of our response to Qassam rocket fire against Israel," the spokeswoman said. The Interior Ministry oversees Hamas-controlled government forces in Gaza, but not the group's armed wing. The armed wing has claimed responsibility for most rocket salvoes since Tuesday, when Israel killed 18 Palestinians, mostly Hamas militants.
The violence has prompted the Palestinians to caution that peace talks between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, spurred by a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush, were in jeopardy. Earlier on Friday, the Israeli Defence Ministry closed all Israel's border crossings with Gaza and prevented the delivery of a U.N. aid shipment. Only so-called "humanitarian cases" given Defence Minister Ehud Barak's personal approval would be allowed through, the ministry said. "If milk is low in Gaza, the minister will be asked to approve a milk shipment, and it will enter," a Defence Ministry spokesman said. Gaza is home to 1.5 million people, most of whom depend on foreign aid. "Gaza is completely shut down. This will only add to an already dire situation," said Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), whose aid shipment on Friday was blocked. Israel has imposed strict curbs on non-humanitarian supplies to Gaza since Hamas's takeover in June. But many essentials have been getting in, either with Israeli approval or through smuggling, though supplies are limited and prices have risen steeply. In the West Bank city of Nablus on Friday, Israeli troops killed a militant linked to Abbas's Fatah movement.
An Israeli air strike flattened the previous Hamas-run Interior Ministry building during a bombing campaign that followed the abduction of an Israeli soldier by militants in June 2006. Abbas's government has condemned the latest Israeli operations as "a slap in the face" to efforts by Bush to achieve a peace treaty by the end of the year.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi Additional reporting by Avida Landau and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Writing by Adam Entous; editing by Andrew Roch
It was the first Israeli bombing of a Palestinian government building since Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in June after routing secular Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas. A second Israeli air strike minutes later damaged Hamas's so-called naval headquarters in the central Gaza Strip. Israel has killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza this week as part of what officials describe as a stepped-up campaign to pressure Hamas to rein in militants who have fired more than 110 rockets into the Jewish state in the last three days alone. An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed the air strikes, calling the targets "Hamas terrorist" positions. "This is part of our response to Qassam rocket fire against Israel," the spokeswoman said. The Interior Ministry oversees Hamas-controlled government forces in Gaza, but not the group's armed wing. The armed wing has claimed responsibility for most rocket salvoes since Tuesday, when Israel killed 18 Palestinians, mostly Hamas militants.
The violence has prompted the Palestinians to caution that peace talks between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, spurred by a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush, were in jeopardy. Earlier on Friday, the Israeli Defence Ministry closed all Israel's border crossings with Gaza and prevented the delivery of a U.N. aid shipment. Only so-called "humanitarian cases" given Defence Minister Ehud Barak's personal approval would be allowed through, the ministry said. "If milk is low in Gaza, the minister will be asked to approve a milk shipment, and it will enter," a Defence Ministry spokesman said. Gaza is home to 1.5 million people, most of whom depend on foreign aid. "Gaza is completely shut down. This will only add to an already dire situation," said Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), whose aid shipment on Friday was blocked. Israel has imposed strict curbs on non-humanitarian supplies to Gaza since Hamas's takeover in June. But many essentials have been getting in, either with Israeli approval or through smuggling, though supplies are limited and prices have risen steeply. In the West Bank city of Nablus on Friday, Israeli troops killed a militant linked to Abbas's Fatah movement.
An Israeli air strike flattened the previous Hamas-run Interior Ministry building during a bombing campaign that followed the abduction of an Israeli soldier by militants in June 2006. Abbas's government has condemned the latest Israeli operations as "a slap in the face" to efforts by Bush to achieve a peace treaty by the end of the year.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi Additional reporting by Avida Landau and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Writing by Adam Entous; editing by Andrew Roch
Open up the world to Gaza!
JERUSALEM - Israel's defense minister has ordered the temporary closure of all crossings into Gaza, cutting off supplies into the besieged strip in response to a slew of Palestinian rocket barrages at nearby Israeli towns, defense officials said Friday.
Mr ambassador for peace..
CAIRO, Egypt - Omar Osama bin Laden bears a striking resemblance to his notorious father — except for the dreadlocks that dangle halfway down his back. Then there's the black leather biker jacket. The 26-year-old does not renounce his father, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he said there is better way to defend Islam than militancy: Omar wants to be an "ambassador for peace" between Muslims and the West.
Omar — one of bin Laden's 19 children — raised a tabloid storm last year when he married a 52-year-old British woman, Jane Felix-Browne, who took the name Zaina Alsabah. Now the couple say they want to be advocates, planning a 3,000-mile horse race across North Africa to draw attention to the cause of peace.
"It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs — especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Osama — are all terrorists. This is not the truth," Omar told the AP last week at a cafe in a Cairo shopping mall. Of course, many may have a hard time getting their mind around the idea of "bin Laden: peacenik." "Omar thinks he can be a negotiator," said Alsabah, who is trying to bring her husband to Britain. "He's one of the only people who can do this in the world." Omar lived with the al-Qaida leader in Sudan, then moved with him to Afghanistan in 1996. There, Omar says he trained at an al-Qaida camp but in 2000 he decided there must be another way and he left his father, returning to his homeland of Saudi Arabia. "I don't want to be in that situation to just fight. I like to find another way and this other way may be like we do now, talking," he said in English.
He suggested his father did not oppose his leaving — and Alsabah interjected that Omar was courageous in breaking away, but neither elaborated. Although there is no way to confirm the details he describes of his childhood and upbringing, the strong family resemblance and Omar's knowledge of Osama's family life have convinced many of his lineage. "Omar Bin Laden is the son of Osama bin Laden and his first wife, Najwa," a U.S. intelligence official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The official confirmed Omar was raised in Sudan and Afghanistan after his father was forced out of Saudi Arabia. Omar and his wife insist they have not been bothered by Egyptian officials, who said Thursday that the terror leader's son did not pose a threat. "He comes and goes just like any other tourist," said a security official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "He is taking a line that is totally different from him father." Omar said he hasn't seen or been in contact with his father since leaving Afghanistan. "He doesn't have e-mail," Omar said. "He doesn't take a telephone ... if he had something like this, they will find him through satellites."
Omar doesn't criticize his father and says Osama bin Laden is just trying to defend the Islamic world. "My father thinks he will be good for defending the Arab people and stop anyone from hurting the Arab or Muslim people any place in the world," he said, noting that the West didn't have a problem with his father when he was fighting the Russians in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Omar is convinced a truce between the West and al-Qaida is possible.
"My father is asking for a truce but I don't think there is any government that respects him. At the same time they do not respect him, why everywhere in the world, they want to fight him? There is a contradiction," he said. Osama bin Laden, believed to be in hiding in the Pakistan-Afghan border region, offered a truce to Europe in a 2004 audiotape and a conditional truce to the United States in a 2006 message. In November, he called on European nations to pull out of Afghanistan in a message seen by some experts as an effort to reach out to Europe. But in a series of messages since last fall, he also has been calling for Muslims to rally around jihad, or "holy war," encouraging fighters in Iraq in particular to continue their battles with U.S. and Iraqi forces. At least two of Osama bin Laden's sons, Hamza and Saad, are believed to have an active role in al-Qaida — with Hamza believed to be in the Pakistan-Afghan border zone and Saad thought to be in Iran, perhaps in Iranian custody.
But most of the al-Qaida leader's children, like Omar, live as legitimate businessmen. The family as a whole disowned Osama in 1994 when Saudi Arabia stripped him of his citizenship because of his militant activities. The family is wealthy: Osama bin Laden's billionaire father Mohammed, who died in 1967, had more than 50 children and founded the Binladen Group, a construction conglomerate that gets many major building contracts in the kingdom.
Since leaving his father's side, Omar has lived in Saudi Arabia, where he runs a contracting company connected with the Binladen Group, but he spends much of his time in Egypt. It was during a desert horseback ride at the Pyramids of Giza that he met his wife. Their marriage in April made them tabloid fodder, particularly in Britain, where headlines touted the "granny who married Osama bin Laden's son." Alsabah, who has married five times, has five grandchildren. The couple has applied for a visa to Britain. And they are planning their endurance horse race across North Africa, which they hope to start in March. It is in the planning stages — they are seeking approval of governments along the route and need sponsors to help pay for the event and raise money for child victims of war. Omar said they plan to ride 30 miles a day, with periodic weeklong rests in each country.
Teams from around the world will be encouraged to join in what the couple envisions as an equine version of the Paris-Dakar car rally. That rally was canceled this year due to fears over terrorist threats made by al-Qaida-affiliated groups in North Africa. Omar, however, said he isn't worried. "I heard the rally was stopped because of al-Qaida," he said. "I don't think they are going to stop me."
By PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press
Omar — one of bin Laden's 19 children — raised a tabloid storm last year when he married a 52-year-old British woman, Jane Felix-Browne, who took the name Zaina Alsabah. Now the couple say they want to be advocates, planning a 3,000-mile horse race across North Africa to draw attention to the cause of peace.
"It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs — especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Osama — are all terrorists. This is not the truth," Omar told the AP last week at a cafe in a Cairo shopping mall. Of course, many may have a hard time getting their mind around the idea of "bin Laden: peacenik." "Omar thinks he can be a negotiator," said Alsabah, who is trying to bring her husband to Britain. "He's one of the only people who can do this in the world." Omar lived with the al-Qaida leader in Sudan, then moved with him to Afghanistan in 1996. There, Omar says he trained at an al-Qaida camp but in 2000 he decided there must be another way and he left his father, returning to his homeland of Saudi Arabia. "I don't want to be in that situation to just fight. I like to find another way and this other way may be like we do now, talking," he said in English.
He suggested his father did not oppose his leaving — and Alsabah interjected that Omar was courageous in breaking away, but neither elaborated. Although there is no way to confirm the details he describes of his childhood and upbringing, the strong family resemblance and Omar's knowledge of Osama's family life have convinced many of his lineage. "Omar Bin Laden is the son of Osama bin Laden and his first wife, Najwa," a U.S. intelligence official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The official confirmed Omar was raised in Sudan and Afghanistan after his father was forced out of Saudi Arabia. Omar and his wife insist they have not been bothered by Egyptian officials, who said Thursday that the terror leader's son did not pose a threat. "He comes and goes just like any other tourist," said a security official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "He is taking a line that is totally different from him father." Omar said he hasn't seen or been in contact with his father since leaving Afghanistan. "He doesn't have e-mail," Omar said. "He doesn't take a telephone ... if he had something like this, they will find him through satellites."
Omar doesn't criticize his father and says Osama bin Laden is just trying to defend the Islamic world. "My father thinks he will be good for defending the Arab people and stop anyone from hurting the Arab or Muslim people any place in the world," he said, noting that the West didn't have a problem with his father when he was fighting the Russians in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Omar is convinced a truce between the West and al-Qaida is possible.
"My father is asking for a truce but I don't think there is any government that respects him. At the same time they do not respect him, why everywhere in the world, they want to fight him? There is a contradiction," he said. Osama bin Laden, believed to be in hiding in the Pakistan-Afghan border region, offered a truce to Europe in a 2004 audiotape and a conditional truce to the United States in a 2006 message. In November, he called on European nations to pull out of Afghanistan in a message seen by some experts as an effort to reach out to Europe. But in a series of messages since last fall, he also has been calling for Muslims to rally around jihad, or "holy war," encouraging fighters in Iraq in particular to continue their battles with U.S. and Iraqi forces. At least two of Osama bin Laden's sons, Hamza and Saad, are believed to have an active role in al-Qaida — with Hamza believed to be in the Pakistan-Afghan border zone and Saad thought to be in Iran, perhaps in Iranian custody.
But most of the al-Qaida leader's children, like Omar, live as legitimate businessmen. The family as a whole disowned Osama in 1994 when Saudi Arabia stripped him of his citizenship because of his militant activities. The family is wealthy: Osama bin Laden's billionaire father Mohammed, who died in 1967, had more than 50 children and founded the Binladen Group, a construction conglomerate that gets many major building contracts in the kingdom.
Since leaving his father's side, Omar has lived in Saudi Arabia, where he runs a contracting company connected with the Binladen Group, but he spends much of his time in Egypt. It was during a desert horseback ride at the Pyramids of Giza that he met his wife. Their marriage in April made them tabloid fodder, particularly in Britain, where headlines touted the "granny who married Osama bin Laden's son." Alsabah, who has married five times, has five grandchildren. The couple has applied for a visa to Britain. And they are planning their endurance horse race across North Africa, which they hope to start in March. It is in the planning stages — they are seeking approval of governments along the route and need sponsors to help pay for the event and raise money for child victims of war. Omar said they plan to ride 30 miles a day, with periodic weeklong rests in each country.
Teams from around the world will be encouraged to join in what the couple envisions as an equine version of the Paris-Dakar car rally. That rally was canceled this year due to fears over terrorist threats made by al-Qaida-affiliated groups in North Africa. Omar, however, said he isn't worried. "I heard the rally was stopped because of al-Qaida," he said. "I don't think they are going to stop me."
By PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press
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