There is no good in much of their secret conferences save (in) whosoever enjoineth charity and fairness and peace-making among the people and whoso doeth that, seeking the good pleasure of God, We shall bestow on him a vast reward.
(Al-Nisa, 4:114).
WELCOME :: MAIN MENU MOVED TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG
October 29, 2010 - In Afghanistan, there has been a test of wills in recent weeks between President Hamid Karzai and the international community. At issue is whether private security firms should be allowed to continue working in the country.
For nearly five years, Karzai has criticized the use of private security companies in Afghanistan and said they should be banned. These private firms help guard development and reconstruction projects around the country.
There are more than 50 registered private security firms that employ anywhere from 40,000 to 50,000 international and local guards. There are at least 50 additional firms that are unregistered, which the government wants to disband immediately.
PressTVGlobalNews | October 26, 2010 - US Contractors in Afghanistan
As the US military presence is continued in Afghanistan, the private security firms are repeatedly accused of corruption and even plotting to lay bombs across the country to upset the shaky situation in the war-hit country. President Karzai has openly charged the contractors with conspiring in terrorist operations in Afghanistan.
In this edition of Press TV's News Analysis, Kaveh Taghvai asks his guests if the contractors are into terrorism. Let's watch and see what Kaveh's guests, Jim Brann, Gareth Porter and Saeed Khamoush, have to say to answer this question.
theGlobalReport | October 28, 2010 - The Associated Press reports that the head of Russia's federal drug control agency is complaining that the United States has failed to dismantle heroin-processing laboratories in Afghanistan despite specific information he has given American officials about the facilities.
AlJazeeraEnglish | October 29, 2010 -A branch of al-Qaeda is claiming to have formed a new army in the south of Yemen.
But the military is denying claims that the group is extending its reach. Government forces have stepped up efforts against fighters in Shabwa province, the scene of frequent clashes in recent months.
Several men on the government's most-wanted list have been arrested in the last week.
Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra reports from the city of Aden.
Top 5 arms exporters: who feels secure? Weapons piling up, enough to blow up Earth many times over rather than defend it.
The United States of America remains the largest exporter of conventional weapons in the world, according to the latest study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The U.S account for 30% of global arms sales, or about $7 billion per year, for the period 2005-2009, SIPRI statement says. From 2005 to 2009, the U.S. sold one-third of its arm exports to South Korea (15%), Israel (13%) and the United Arab Emirates (11%). The top U.S. military equipments included JDAM guided bombs and RGM-84L Harpoon-2 anti-ship missiles, delivered to South Korea, in 2008.
RussiaToday|October 27, 2010 - Police have clashed with Arab protesters in northern Israel ahead of a scheduled march by an ultra-nationalist Jewish group. Demonstrators had positioned themselves along the planned route of the march. But approaching police were mistaken for the marchers, and pelted with rocks. The crowd was dispersed with tear gas and stun grenades.
- To justify drones attacks on Pakistan! - Death sentence without trial is murder!
Al-Qaida's Recent Threats in Europe Underscore its New Strategy.
There have been 1000s of drones attack before this, make this vids more like a propaganda, an after-thought to legitimized what, (even) Americans had concluded as illegal before!
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has accused private security firms of fuelling war in his country, while reiterating his commitment to ban them by the end of the year.
"These private security firms have caused insecurity and they've caused infringement of people's rights," he said on Monday, despite pressure from the US-led alliance on him to back down.
He added that the companies "cause the deaths of Afghan children, and they cause blasts and terrorism".
A top Turkish official says in the U.S. that Turkish firms are 'free to make their own decisions' about complying with sanctions aimed at cutting off trade with Iran over its nuclear program.
Reporting from Washington —
Turkey has rebuffed a U.S. effort to persuade it to scale back its trade ties with Iran despite a persistent U.S. lobbying campaign this week in Washington and Ankara.
Ali Babacan, a Turkish deputy prime minister, told reporters in Washington on Wednesday that Turkish companies remained "free to make their own decisions" about whether to comply with U.S. and European sanctions aimed at cutting off trade with Iran.
Violence and Reports of Fighters Joining al-Qaeda Makes Stability of Iraq Uncertain:
VOAvideo | October 24, 2010 - Experts on Iraq say citizens there are frustrated, as Iraqi leaders continue to struggle with forming a government. U.S media reports say some of that frustration is causing hundreds of well-armed Iraqi fighters, allied with US troops, to quit or even join the insurgency.
Is this a propaganda for world's public consumption? A justification to stay longer in Iraq?
Press TV-Middle East Today | October 23, 2010 - Iraq remains in a cycle of uncertainty as its incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is on a regional tour to gather support for his bid for premiership. Maliki's tour included a visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran where the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khameneie, called on political factions in Iraq to reach a consensus on forming a new government. Maliki's main rival for premiership, Eiad Alawi, is also trying to garner support.
The questions raised by Mariam Saleh in this edition of Press TV's Middle East Today:
Have the Iraqis questions been solved and finalized behind closed doors between regional powers or are there other complications in the way of reaching consensus?
Islam is the dominant religion in Turkmenistan (89% of the population); the 9% of the population that adheres to the Eastern Orthodox Church are ethnic Russians; the remaining 2% religion is reported as non-religious.(wiki)
The Importance of Turkmenistan:
Dispatch STRATFORvideo | October 21, 2010 - Analyst Eugene Chausovsky looks at the geopolitics behind Turkmenistan's importance to players beyond its Central Asian neighbors.
RussiaToday | October 19, 2010 - Israel is facing criticism over a bill that requires non-Jewish citizens to swear allegiance to the state. The government says the Loyalty Oath is a necessary step for peace, but Arabs are refusing to pledge themselves to a country they say is snatching their holy land. RT's Paula Slier reports.
Riz Khan - AlJazeeraEnglish | October 13, 2010 - Efforts to find a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem have been littered with failures. So is it time to consider the one-state alternative?
AlJazeeraEnglish | October 09, 2010 - Is the US strategy in Afghanistan still on track? Is Pakistan obliged to shoulder a burden too heavy, or is it dragging its feet in the "war on terror"?
Afghan Catch-22: 'No way out of war with honor for US'
RussiaToday | October 07, 2010 - It may be the 9th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, but the long and bloody years of conflict have come with little reward. While the US might claim it's not only fighting against the Taliban, but also fighting for democracy and freedom, Afghans have seen little sign of success in any of those. Author and journalist Ann Jones shared her thoughts on the decade-old war.
War Gone Viral: Web leaks, pranks plague on US Afghan campaign:
RussiaToday | October 07, 2010 - The war in Afghanistan today enters its 10th year, with little sign of an end. Extra American troops may now be in place, but public support for the campaign is slipping rapidly, with about two-thousand NATO troops killed in the conflict. It's a critical time for the U.S.-led campaign, as it struggles to turn around the fight against the Taliban, ahead of the expected withdrawal of international forces next year. Afghan officials continue to back the coalition's efforts, but even they admit that after all this time there's still no tangible result. And, as RT's Paula Slier reports, the online antics of American soldiers are hardly helping matters.
Nato's vulnerable convoys:
AlJazeeraEnglish | June 09, 2010 - Zafar Jaspal, a security analyst in Pakistan, spoke to Al Jazeera in the wake of a deadly attack on a Nato convoy near Islamabad that was transporting supplies across the border into Afghanistan.
At least six drivers were killed in the raid of June 8, with a group of men armed with guns and grenades striking in the middle of night and torching more than 50 lorries, in the process destroying millions of dollars worth of fuel, food and other supplies.
Attacks on Nato convoys are not unusual in Pakistan, but what has got security forces worried this time is that the attack took place on the outskirts of the federal capital.
Over 50 tankers burn in new twin strikes in Pakistan.
Gunmen have set fire to at least 55 fuel tankers and killed a driver in two separate attacks on NATO convoys taking supplies to coalition forces in Afghanistan. The strikes in southwestern Pakistan are the latest in the string of attacks since the country closed a key border crossing point almost a week ago after a NATO helicopter attack in the border area, which killed three Pakistani troops. The closure of Torkham crossing has left hundreds of trucks stranded alongside the country's highways.
US veterans concerned over war trauma:
Al Jazeera's Josh Rushing reports | October 07, 2010 - Thursday, October 7 was the ninth anniversary of the beginning of the US war in Afghanistan.
Marking the event at the US Capitol building in Washington DC, a small group of military veterans have launched a campaign to end the practice of sending traumatised troops back into the battlefield.
Antiwar groups beware : Don't let America bring in their "white-house democracy" to Turkey - via tomahawks launched from the Mediterranean or hellfires from those drones.
VOAvideo | October 06, 2010 - On the fifth anniversary of Turkey's original negotiations to become a member of the European Union, there are newfound concerns that the country may be drifting away from the West. In addition, as Derek Henkle reports, some just-released numbers also show a marked decline in popularity for both the United States and President Barack Obama.
Militants in Pakistan have destroyed 27 tankers which were carrying fuel for Nato troops in Afghanistan.
The Taliban in Pakistan said it was behind the assault on a depot near Islamabad which left three people dead.
Pakistan has stopped Nato convoys crossing the Khyber Pass in response to a Nato air strike last week in which three Pakistani soldiers were killed.
Nato said on Monday it regretted the deaths but called for the crossing to be reopened.
Later on Monday, a US drone strike killed at least five militants in the town of Mir Ali in the troubled north-western Pakistani region of North Waziristan region, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
Pakistan Halts NATO Supplies (Vid 1) & Pakistani militants attack NATO supply trucks (Vid 2)
NTDTV | October 01, 2010 - Tensions are mounting on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. An important route that NATO forces take to get supplies to Afghanistan is cut off... after a NATO airstrike left three soldiers dead.
Trouble on the border. A vital supply route through Pakistan for NATO forces in Afghanistan is blocked after Pakistani authorities say a cross-border NATO airstrike killed three Pakistani soldiers.
