Britain won't allow radical cleric back in
The government said Friday that it would bar the London-based Syrian cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed from ever returning to Britain, which had granted him political asylum and which had been his home for the last 20 or so years.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/terror.php

Heathrow struggles to recover as strike eases
British Airways has resumed flights from Heathrow Airport following an unofficial strike.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/heathrow.php

Letter from the Philippines: Long afterward, war still wears on Filipinos
For a people wounded by Japan like no other in Southeast Asia, Filipinos are now very friendly toward Japan.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/phils.php

Italy'sriver of cocaine puts nation onthealert
Acknowledging that cocaine use has surged, Italian authorities said they were treating the findings as a wake-up call.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/cocaine.php

U.S. minorities are becoming the majority
The United States as a whole is moving in the direction of its two most populous states, California and Texas, where members of racial and ethnic minorities account for more than half the population.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/census.php

North Korea to release prisoners
The move appeared partly intended to improve the international image of the totalitarian regime.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/korea.php

Sunnis join to oppose Shiite call for region
Angered by Shiite calls for a federal region, Sunni clerics urged followers Friday to vote against the constitution if it contains measures they believe would divide the country.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/iraq.php

Palestinians get a rare chance to celebrate
In a land of poverty, violence and dashed dreams of statehood, Palestinians are revving up for the rarest of events in the Gaza Strip: a celebration.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/mideast.php

Life at the front: GIs savor the good life
First Lieutenant Taysha Deaton of the Louisiana National Guard went to war anticipating a gritty yearlong deployment of sand, heat and duress, but ended up spending nights in a king-size bed beneath imported sheets and a down comforter.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/soldiers.php

Chinese banker convicted
One of the best-known bankers in China was convicted Friday of embezzlement and given a suspended death sentence, state media reported, highlighting efforts in China to crack down on corruption amid a series of banking scandals.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/business/boc.php

Democracy alone can't defeat terrorism
Washington should realize that democracy is not an antidote to terrorism.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/edgause.php

In defense of common sense
In science, when the evidence is tentative, we should not be
embarrassed to call on common sense for guidance.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/opinion/edhorgan.php

It's time China and Japan started to get along
With relations between China and Japan at a crossroads, returning the
bilateral relationship to a positive trajectory is the greatest challenge.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/opinion/edyuan.php

New kind of criminal is prowling the Web
Law enforcement authorities and computer security specialists warn that new breeds of white-collar criminals are on the prowl.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/07/business/thugs.php

Jakarta trial to begin in murder of activist
A Garuda Indonesia airline pilot is scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in the slaying of Indonesia's best-known human rights activist.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/08/news/indo.php

Old Europe, new ideas: A look at what works
Amid the current pessimism about Europe, a number of things appear to work rather well.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/09/news/works.php

Between Rock and a hard place, hope rises
No historical slights are ever forgotten in Europe, but few flourish quite as robustly as the one between Gibraltar and its formidable neighbor, Spain.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/10/news/gibraltar.php

A dreamer: Was he the 'fifth man' who left bomb in park?
Of all the men suspected of taking part in the attempted bombings July 21, Wahbi Mohamed seems the most unlikely, according to people who know him.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/04/news/suspect.php

Iran confirms plan to resume uranium conversion
Iran also said it was unconcerned about referral of its nuclear case to the U.N. for possible sanctions.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/07/afr...eb.0807iran.php

Terrorism pushes roots into the northern Sinai
While the sands of the Sinai have long been home to smugglers, the area had never been known as a breeding ground for extremists, according to many Egyptian experts and officials.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/07/news/egypt.php

Blair's New Authoritarianism

Terror and Democracy

By Tariq Ali

In the face of terror attacks Anglo-Saxon politicians mouth the same rhetoric. One sentence in particular--shrouded in layers of untruth--is constantly repeated: 'We shall not permit these attacks to change our way of life.' It is a multi-purpose mantra. The first aim is to convince the public that the terrorists are crazed Muslims who are bombing modernity/democracy/freedom/ 'our values', etc.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9748.htm

http://snipurl.com/gwts

Roy Hattersley : End this chorus of intolerance :

It is uncivilised to demand that Muslims abandon their way of life
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,...1547594,00.html

http://snipurl.com/gwui

Israeli soldier jailed for killing peace activist:

An Israeli sergeant was jailed for eight years yesterday for the manslaughter of Tom Hurndall, a British peace activist, ending the impunity enjoyed by Israeli soldiers who kill civilians in combat.
http://snipurl.com/gwuk



Settler-funding a billion dollar question:

Israel's illegal effort since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war to fill the West Bank and Gaza Strip with Jews has grown from the scattered actions of zealous squatters into a network of 142 settlements that house nearly 240,000 people.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/714...642D2A7986E.htm

http://snipurl.com/gwum



Interview of President Bush by Israeli Television:

Mr. President, how imminently is the Iranian threat? A: The United States and Israel are united in our objective to make sure that Iran does not have a weapon.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9750.htm

http://snipurl.com/gwun

U.S. report warns of China sub threat:

Little noticed by the public, a just-released Pentagon report to Congress carries a strong warning that China's rapidly expanding and improving submarine fleet poses a mounting military threat to the United States.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationw...nationworld-hed

http://snipurl.com/gwur



Pakistan tests cruise missile:

With a range of more than 300 miles and able to evade Indian radar by hugging the ground, the Hatf VII Babur missile is designed to match India's BrahMos missile, tested in 2001.
http://snipurl.com/gwus



The Guardian profile: Tim Berners-Lee :

Sir Tim, named last year as the greatest living Briton, is rightly heralded as the godfather of the web. It was he who, as a physicist working in Switzerland, turned the internet from a disparate collection of academic and military computer systems into an international network.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1547428,00.html

http://snipurl.com/gwuu

France strongly condemns assassination of Sri Lankan FM Xinhua
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Saturday that France strongly condemned the assassination of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, calling for the country's peace process to go on.
Foreign Minister in Sri Lanka Is Assassinated New York Times
Peace fears as Sri Lanka mourns BBC News
CNN International - Bloomberg - EiTB - Rediff - all 1,728 related »

Hamas chiefs insist fight goes on BBC News
Founders and leaders of Hamas have made a rare public appearance together to assert the Palestinian militant group's right to continue its armed campaign. They spoke in Gaza only two days before Israel is due to start pulling settlers and troops out of the territory. The group has largely kept to a truce with Israel called in February by the Palestinian Authority's president.
Hamas vows continued resistance after Gaza pullout Reuters
Erekat urges revival of peace talks after Gaza withdrawal Xinhua
Los Angeles Times - National Post - البوابة - MSNBC - all 938 related »

Heathrow: Most sacked employees Indians Rediff
Asians, mostly Indians, were among the majority of 800 workers sacked by a catering firm at Heathrow airport, which triggered a wildcat strike by British Airways ground staff, disrupting flights and leaving thousands of people stranded. Hundreds of ground staff walked out on Thursday in support of workers fired by US company Gate Gourmet, BA's in-flight meal supplier. Tara Shah, 39, and her husband Kiran worked at the catering firm. She was one of those sacked over megaphone. Kiran was off for the day so he was sacked through a letter. "Many couples have been sacked," she told reporters. "We don't know what we are going to do. We have four children and a mortgage to pay. The way we have been treated is shocking." Tara Shah said the company appeared to have miscalculated the scale of the opposition. "We are very strong and we are angry. This gives me hope." Another sacked employee Sabajit Sidhu, a mother of two from Slough, said managers underestimated the resilience of their workers and the ties that unite airport workers of all races, ages, religions and both sexes. "I work for Gate Gourmet but some of my relatives are baggage handlers," she said. "I am very proud of the fight we are showing. They treated us terribly. "We were held in the canteen for hours and then they just pushed us out of the building. I worked there for six years. I think they have made a big mistake," said Sidhu. Harinder Atwal, 45, joined the company a decade ago. The mother of three was a senior shop steward and said relations between staff and senior managers seemed to deteriorate 18 months ago. "They wanted to reduce our pay. The drivers would go from £8 an hour to £6.35 and overtime would go to a flat rate. They wanted five days' sick pay instead of 25. Six or seven months ago they said they needed 675 redundancies but then they sought to bring in the seasonal staff. "The new managers are from Germany and they want us to work in a way they are accustomed to. The managers used to understand their workforce but not anymore," said Atwal. The outcome of the dispute will have implications not just for the running of the airport, but also for many of the largely Asian neighbourhoods that surround it. Heathrow draws on the Asian communities of Southall, Slough, Hounslow, Hayes, Ealing and Brentford in the recruitment of its 70,000 workforce. Women and men from those areas work as baggage handlers, security, cleaning staff and immigration staff at the airport. But they are also heavily employed by ancillary industries. Owing to the strike, British Airways was now facing a £30 million legal battle with passengers over its refusal to pay cash compensation for cancelling 600 flights in the past two days, reports said. Under the European passenger rights regulation, which came into force in February, passengers are entitled to cash payments of up to £400 if their flight is cancelled with less than two weeks' notice. Bitish Airways resumed flights to and from Heathrow Airport when the walkout by its ground crew ended on Friday. But the airline said it would take several days to fully restore its service. A BA spokeswoman said seventy thousand BA passengers were stranded on Friday.
Airline works to clear backlog after crippling Heathrow strike Wired News
BA works to clear backlog after crippling strike Reuters.uk
Guardian Unlimited - New York Times - Manchester Evening News - Bloomberg - all 2,112 related »

Clarke uses 'personal power' to ban Bakri from UK Guardian Unlimited
The radical Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed was banned yesterday from setting foot in Britain again under a "personal power" exercised by the home secretary, Charles Clarke. Last night the man nicknamed "the Tottenham Ayatollah" was at liberty in Beirut after being released from a day of questioning by the Lebanese authorities.
UK Bars Return of Muslim Cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed Bloomberg
Bakri declared 'a free man' in Lebanon Daily Star - Lebanon
Times Online - EiTB - Reuters Canada - Scotsman - all 917 related »

New HIV Strategy Shows Promise CBS News
A new treatment strategy has shown promise in helping to transform HIV into a curable infection. Preliminary research published this week in The Lancet medical journal outlines how scientists used an anti-convulsant drug to awaken dormant HIV hiding in the body, temporarily invisible but dangerous. HIV infection is incurable because current drugs only work when the virus is multiplying. The virus only multiplies when it is in an active cell. However, HIV sometimes infects dormant cells, and when it does so it becomes dormant itself. While the virus poses no threat in its resting state, the problem is that the sleeping cells sporadically wake up, reactivating the virus, causing it to multiply. Patients must continue to take the medications for life so that they can fight the virus coming out of the reawakened cells. Only if every last infected dormant cell is wiped out — or the virus purged from all of these cells — can patients be free of medication and be cured, experts say. Figuring out how to clear this reservoir of latent infection, or whether that's even possible, is one of the hottest areas of AIDS research. Over the last few years, a handful of other drugs have been shown to decrease the size of the dormant HIV pool, but they were subsequently abandoned as impractical because their effect was either too weak or the side effects too toxic. The latest drug, valproic acid, shows more promise, said Dr. Warner Greene, director of the Gladstone Institute for Virology and Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco. "It's a first baby step, showing that maybe the use of (this type of drug) — far more likely in combination with one or two other agents — might be a viable approach for tackling this latency problem," said Greene, who was not involved with the research but is conducting similar studies. "The idea, if we could ever do it, is to purge every latently infected cell. Treat patients for probably two or three years, they'd be able to come off their antiretroviral therapy and they'd be virus free," he said. The study, led by Dr. David Margolis at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, tested the ability of valproic acid to reduce the number of infected dormant cells. Four patients on standard therapy were given the pills to take twice daily for three months. The size of this pool of infected dormant cells decreased by 75 percent in three out of the four patients, the study found. "This finding, though not definitive, suggests that new approaches will allow the cure of HIV in the future," Margolis said. "This is a baby step, but it's a significant conceptual move forward." Margolis said he believes the drug reactivates the virus inside the dormant cell, either waking up the cell with it, or killing it. Dr. Jean-Pierre Routy, a professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, who also studies the dormant HIV issue, said that Margolis' results were an impressive first try. "It's enormous for just three months treatment to have such an effect," he said, adding that the findings merit urgent further study. "I think it's very exciting news." However, some other experts were less optimistic. "It's extremely unlikely that this approach would work," said Dr. Robert Siliciano, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University who was one of the scientists who discovered the dormant infection problem in the mid 1990s. "It assumes something about the mechanism which we don't know is true. The mechanism may involve other issues that are not affected by this drug." "It didn't get all the cells. That's probably because it's not really targeting the right mechanism for latency," Siliciano said. "It's got to be a 99.9999 percent reduction to be useful. When you stop the drugs the virus explodes back so quickly, even if you had one latently infected cell left, in a matter of days you would be back to where you started from." Siliciano said he also doubts the valproic acid approach will solve the problem because it's likely that HIV lies dormant in other types of cells that scientists have not discovered yet and tackling those reservoirs may require a completely different approach. "It's a little bit premature to be talking about a cure for HIV," he said.
New HIV Therapy Clears Out Hidden Virus Forbes
AIDS Cure Possible, Study Suggests FOX News
Aidsmap - Independent - Voice of America - BBC News - all 250 related »

West Nile on the move Provo Daily Herald
A week after mosquitoes in Goshen and Genola tested positive for West Nile virus, three horses have contracted the disease. Tests have also confirmed that the virus has spread to mosquitoes in Payson, said Lance Madigan of the Utah County Health Department. In addition, a state lab confirmed late Thursday that two so-called sentinel chickens, set out by the county and tested weekly as indicators of the disease, also tested positive for West Nile. The county keeps five flocks of sentinel chickens around the county, and it was not immediately clear where the two infected chickens came from. The infected horses were likely euthanized, though their fate could not be confirmed, Madigan said. The horses lived in the Goshen/Genola area. The names of the owners were not released. With the disease on the move, human cases are likely to follow, said Joseph Miner, director of the Utah County Health Department, in a statement. "Our experience has shown that once West Nile enters an area, it can spread rapidly," Miner said, noting that no human cases of West Nile have been found in Utah County to date. "The best way for our citizens to protect themselves and their families is to avoid mosquito bites. "There is no reason to panic. Using mosquito repellents with DEET is the simplest, most effective way to protect yourself. This is especially important from dusk to dawn, as the mosquitoes that transmit the disease primarily bite during evening hours until morning." Protecting horses is not so simple. County officials on Thursday did not call for horse owners to get their horses vaccinated because the vaccines are likely ineffective this late in the year. "I don't want to say it's too late, but if they haven't vaccinated their horses by now, it's almost too late," Madigan said. State officials advised horse owners to vaccinate in April. More than 100,000 doses of the vaccine were sold in Utah last year, while only five horses contracted West Nile virus -- a success compared to 35 cases the year before, said Utah State Veterinarian Mike Marshall at the time. There are, however, an estimated 400,000 horses in Utah, he said. Every unvaccinated horse is at risk. Horses that have never been vaccinated should have been given one shot in April with a follow-up dose this month, he said. Horses that were vaccinated last year needed only one dose in April. Half of all horses that contract the virus die, he said. Nearly all of those that live are forever "mentally damaged -- not what you want to trust your daughter on, so getting the vaccine is pretty cheap," he said. Vaccine shots are available from veterinarians, he said. Shots cost about $20. Bob Mower, mosquito abatement director for Utah County, asked farmers on Thursday to help county officials identify low-lying areas where water collects on their property. "Get rid of standing water," said Mower in a statement. "This is where mosquitoes live and breed. Last week we had an inspector come back with a dipper overflowing with mosquito larvae. Most of our farmers and ranchers know where water collects, and we are asking for that information to be passed onto the Mosquito Abatement Division. If we can find these locations and treat them, that can go a long way to controlling the adult mosquito population." Most people who are infected with West Nile virus do not show any symptoms, said county officials in a statement. About one in every five have flu-like symptoms with fever, muscle aches, and possibly a rash. While those individuals recover, the illness can be prolonged. About one in 150 develop more severe illness affecting the brain and spinal cord. They may have headache, paralysis, and stiff neck, and may suffer long-lasting or permanent disability and even death. The risk of severe illness increases with age, but all age groups are at risk of illness.
For information about West Nile virus, call the Utah County Health Departments Mosquito Abatement offices at 851-7637. Caleb Warnock can be reached at 756-7669 ext. 19 or cwarnock@heraldextra.com.
Six more dead birds had West Nile San Diego Union Tribune
Additional human case of West Nile Virus identified Tampa Bay's 10
San Jose Mercury News - Detroit Free Press - Chicago Tribune - Rapid City Journal - all 100 related »

Kadirgamar's assassination shatters Lankan peace Hindu Business Line
WITH the brutal assassination of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Mr Lakshman Kadirgamar, on Friday night in Colombo, the fragile peace process has been shattered.
Will Sri Lanka's peace process totter? BBC News
Top Sri Lanka minister shot dead, Tigers blamed Malaysia Star
Xinhua - Bloomberg - CNN International - Aljazeera.com - all 1,817 related »

Why 'Greater Israel' Never Came to Be New York Times
FOR those who long considered it folly to settle a handful of Jews among hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the decision to remove them starting this week seems an acceptance of the obvious. What possible future could the settlers have had? How could their presence have done the state of Israel any good? But for those, like Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who created and nurtured the settlements, the move to dismantle them is something very different. It is an admission not of error but of failure. Their cherished goal - the resettlement of the full biblical land of Israel by contemporary Jews - is not to be. The reason: not enough of them came. "We have had to come to terms with certain unanticipated realities," acknowledged Arye Mekel, Israeli consul general in New York. "Ideologically, we are disappointed. A pure Zionist must be disappointed because Zionism meant the Jews of the world would take their baggage and move to Israel. Most did not." David Kimche, who was director general of Israel's foreign ministry in the 1980's, noted: "The old Zionist nationalists' anthem was a state on 'the two banks of the River Jordan.' When that became impractical, we talked about 'greater Israel,' from the Jordan to the sea. But people now realize that this, too, is something we won't be able to achieve." The failure has two main sources. First, contrary to the expectations of the early Zionists, as Ambassador Mekel noted, most of the world's Jews have not joined their brethren to live in Israel. Of the world's 13 million to 14 million Jews, a minority - 5.26 million - make their home in Israel, and immigration has largely dried up. Last year, a record low 21,000 Jews immigrated to Israel. Of course, Israel is a remarkably successful state, a democracy with a high standard of living and many proud accomplishments. Yet the misery that Zionists expected Jews elsewhere to suffer has not materialized. More than half a century after the establishment of the Jewish state, more Jews live in the United States than in Israel. The second explanation for the shift in settlement policy is that the Palestinian population has grown far more rapidly - and Palestinians have proved far more willing to fight - than many on the Israeli right had anticipated. On Thursday, the newspaper Haaretz reported that the proportion of Jews in the combined population of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza had dropped below 50 percent for the first time. This means, many Israelis argue, that unless they yield territory, they will have to choose a Jewish state or a democratic one; they will not be able to have both. While all acknowledge that Jewish immigration never achieved anticipated levels and that the Palestinian population has ballooned, the question of the role played by Palestinian violence in Mr. Sharon's decision to disengage is hotly contested. Some argue that the two Palestinian intifadas, or uprisings, from 1987 to 1993 and from 2000 to the present, drove Israel out. Others say that Israel's increasingly effective counterterror measures - the building of a barrier, killings of terror leaders and military reoccupation of selective Palestinian cities - broke the back of the insurgents, allowing Israel the sense of strength to walk away. In fact, both factors seem likely to have played a role. "Of course terror has a role in the disengagement," said Michael Oren, a senior fellow at the Shalem Institute, a conservative Jerusalem research group. "It convinced us that Gaza was not worth holding onto and awakened us to the demographic danger. It took two intifadas for a majority of Israelis to decide that Gaza is not worth it." A senior Israeli official who spent years closely associated with Likud leaders, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, said that Israelis long had little respect for Palestinians as fighters, but that had changed. "The fact that hundreds of them are willing to blow themselves up is significant," he said. "We didn't give them any credit before. In spite of our being the strongest military power in the Middle East, we lost 1,200 people over the last four years. It finally sank in to Sharon and the rest of the leadership that these people were not giving up." Some came to a similar conclusion much earlier. The Israeli left has been calling for a withdrawal from Gaza for years, and even many on the right believed settlement there to be futile and counterproductive. Mr. Kimche, the former foreign ministry official, recalled that when Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir of the conservative Likud party was running against Yitzhak Rabin of Labor in the early 1990's, several Shamir advisers told him: "Unless you withdraw from Gaza, you're going to lose these elections." He did not withdraw; he lost. Mr. Rabin himself said that he decided to negotiate a withdrawal with the Palestinians when he realized how unpopular military service in Gaza had become. "He said privately - I heard him say it - that military reservists don't want to serve in the occupied territories and while they are not formally refusing they are finding excuses to stay away," Yoel Esteron, managing editor of Yediot Aharonot, recalled. "That put a real burden on the army and it meant we couldn't stay there forever." With Gaza soon no longer in their hands, Israelis will face a much more complex set of decisions regarding the occupied West Bank. Settlements in distant corners of the West Bank are also being dismantled in the coming weeks, but no one knows how much more land Mr. Sharon and his successors will be willing to yield. What is clear, however, is that the internal Israeli logic of what is taking place this week - a scaling back of ambition in the face of reality - could lead to traumatic withdrawals of larger numbers of people on the West Bank. As Mr. Sharon said in an interview with Yediot published on Friday, when asked about other isolated settlements, "Not everything will remain."
Gaza withdrawal to happen at midnight CNN
Further pullouts possible National Post
News24 - Jerusalem Post - Chicago Tribune - San Francisco Chronicle - all 1,227 related »

Fearing backlash, Pentagon moves to block new Abu Ghraib photos:

The Pentagon has moved forcefully to block the release of new video evidence of prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, arguing it would help recruit new Islamist insurgents and endanger American lives.
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=65237

http://snipurl.com/gxa6



Video: Mosaic: World News Reports from Middle East TV For 08/12/05:

The nation's only uncensored compilation of daily television news reports from more than 15 countries in the Middle East. QuickTime Video.
http://snipurl.com/gxa8



London bombings: the truth emerges :

An investigation into the four suicide bombers from the first attacks and the people alleged to be behind the July 21 plot has found no evidence of any al-Qa'ida "mastermind" or senior organiser.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article305547.ece

http://snipurl.com/gxaa



What al-Qaida Really Wants:

al-Qaida's strategy for the next two decades. It is both frightening and absurd, a lunatic plan conceived by fanatics who live in their own world, but who continually manage to break into the real world with their brutal acts of violence.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9753.htm

http://snipurl.com/gxab



Taliban behead four spies in Afghanistan:

Taliban militants beheaded four people, including a policeman, for allegedly spying for the US-led military
http://pakistantimes.net/2005/08/13/top17.htm#1907

http://snipurl.com/gxac



Two U.S. soldiers killed in explosions in Afghanistan:

A U.S. soldier was killed in an explosion on Thursday in Afghanistan, while an Army paratrooper died from wounds received in another explosion earlier in the week.
http://story.irishsun.com/p.x/ct/9/id/88b3...11cd3571b4f088/

http://snipurl.com/gxad

The Sunday Times - Britain



August 14, 2005

No 10 refuses to reveal Iraq war e-mails
DAVID CRACKNELL, POLITICAL EDITOR
Read the Downing Street Memo



DOWNING STREET is refusing to release e-mails from a senior official relating to the attorney-general’s legal advice in the run-up to the Iraq war, raising suspicions that No 10 intervened at a crucial time.
It has admitted that an aide reporting to Tony Blair sent confidential e-mails relating to the advice just days before Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general, issued a summary version of his legal advice which stated unequivocally that the war was legal.



His original advice, issued 10 days earlier on March 7, 2003 warned that a decision to go to war could be challenged in the international courts.

Until now the government has maintained that Goldsmith was left to get on with his work during this crucial 10-day period without political interference from Downing Street.

Last week, however, Downing Street admitted to The Sunday Times that during that period Baroness Morgan, until recently Blair’s director of government relations, sent e-mails “relating” to the legal advice. It is not clear to whom they were directed.

No 10 says that it will not release the e-mails because they relate to the “formulation of government policy”, which could suggest they reflect the arguments going on about the legal flaws in the case for war.

Senior government sources suspect that the e-mails contain a summary of the arguments that No 10 was privately making to Goldsmith that, contrary to his original advice, war was justified because Saddam Hussein was in breach of United Nations resolutions.

It has been reported that Morgan and another key Blair ally, Lord Falconer, the lord chancellor, held a meeting with Goldsmith on March 13 to discuss his opinion. Goldsmith has rejected the idea that pressure was put on him.

No 10 made the admission about the Morgan e-mails after a request under the Freedom of Information Act. However, Downing Street is refusing to release the e-mails, claiming it is not in the public interest.

Opposition MPs are likely to claim the reluctant release of the March 7 legal advice as a precedent that should lead to the Morgan e-mails being published. They want to know whether the documents were given to the official inquiries held into the Iraq war and its aftermath, including those of Lord Hutton and Lord Butler.

A senior source at the Department for Constitutional Affairs, which Falconer heads, said colleagues had been been “s***ing” themselves that the Morgan e-mails would be released after No 10 went against precedent and released Goldsmith’s full legal advice during the election.

No 10 has twice stalled since the first request by The Sunday Times three months ago. The Sunday Times is now appealing to the information commissioner.

The Sunday Times - Britain

August 14, 2005

US warns of new attacks on London
DAVID LEPPARD

AMERICAN intelligence chiefs have warned that Al-Qaeda terrorists are plotting to drive hijacked fuel tankers into petrol stations in an effort to cause mass casualties in London and US cities in the next few weeks.

The leaked warning, contained in a bulletin issued by the US Department for Homeland Security last week, says the attacks aim to create catastrophic damage at about the time of the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

The warning came as it emerged that the British Department for Transport had for the first time issued guidelines ordering a tightening of security around the UK road tanker fleet.

The US warning has been circulated among law enforcement agencies and fuel transport agencies. Although a preamble states that “no other intelligence exists to corroborate this specific threat”, the intelligence report is highly specific.

It says: “Al-Qaeda leaders plan to employ various types of fuel trucks as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED) in an effort to cause mass casualties in the US (and London), prior to September 19. Attacks are planned specifically for New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It is unclear whether the attacks will occur simultaneously or be spread over a period of time. The stated goal is the collapse of the US economy.”

The document goes on to suggest that the proposed methods will involve suicide drivers: “Some of the vehicles used will be hijacked. The type of vehicle may be anything from gasoline tanker trucks to trucks hauling oxygen and gas cylinders. Water trucks filled with gasoline or other highly combustible material may also be used. The detonation of the vehicles will be carried out by driving them into gas stations or ramming explosive-laden vehicles into the trucks carrying the fuel.”

The intelligence report says that the terrorist cells thought to be planning the attack will “execute the plan upon receipt of an order”. It goes on to speculate that the videotape released last week by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda’s deputy leader, may have been meant as “the activation signal to the cells”. In the video al-Zawahiri warned that attacks would continue in Britain until it pulled out of Iraq.

The report says that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the alleged masterminds of the September 11 attacks, has told US interrogators that he had developed plans for targeting petrol stations. This was “due to their apparent vulnerability and the potential destructive force of a fuel-driven explosion”, it says.

The use of petrol tankers as mobile bombs has been a well-tested Al-Qaeda tactic in the Middle East. Terrorists in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have all used large fuel tankers against military and civilian targets.

A fuel tanker attack on the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996 killed 19 US servicemen. Four weeks ago terrorists exploded a fuel tanker in a busy market town 25 miles south of Baghdad killing nearly 100.

Although the specific threat of a tanker attack on London is thought to be new, Scotland Yard and MI5 have long feared that Al-Qaeda would try vehicle attacks on key targets in the capital.

Last year police disrupted an alleged plot to bomb a “soft target” — thought to be a Soho nightclub — with a truck bomb. More than half a ton of fertiliser, which can be used to make explosives, was recovered in a raid in north London.

Security sources say that fears about the use of fuel tankers has led to them being closely monitored when they enter the City of London.

Concrete security barriers have been placed in other key locations across the capital to stop vehicles packed with explosives reaching buildings such as parliament.

The Americans have previously been fearful that terrorists might use commercial vehicles for bomb attacks and warn that delivery vans could gain easy access to high-value economic targets. The FBI has also said that terrorists could use limousines packed with explosives to get near VIP targets.

The British Department for Transport issued new guidance on July 1 to prevent fuel tankers being hijacked and used as weapons. The security measures require carriers to be properly identified and transit sites to be made secure. All relevant staff are to be given security training. The measures apply to all dangerous goods transported by road or rail.



In California and Australia the authorities are introducing remote-controlled shut-down devices to stop any fuel tanker if it is hijacked. In Singapore the government has just begun putting tracking devices on petrol tankers to monitor their movements. Details of the latest intelligence warning were leaked to the American media last week, but no mention was made of the threat to London. The bulletin said the “stated goal is the collapse of the American economy”.

The disclosure of the warning has led to a disagreement among officials about the seriousness of the threat. Senior officials in Washington who were briefed on it last week said it was described as specific enough to warrant attention.

The FBI cautioned that the source of the information was not necessarily reliable. They said that the specific threat of a tanker attack to mark the anniversary of September 11 could not be verified.

This weekend British officials said they were unwilling to make any detailed comment on the warning. One government official said he knew of no specific intelligence warning of a fuel tanker attack in Britain: “It’s obviously a particular type of Al-Qaeda modus operandi used. But it hasn’t been used in Europe before.”


As The Sunday Times revealed last week, MI5 has provisionally found the July 7 and July 21 bombings were not linked and found no evidence of a single mastermind. It points to “self-starter” units inspired rather than directed by Al-Qaeda.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20...33874_2,00.html

The Sunday Times - Britain
August 14, 2005

Leaked US intelligence document warning of terrorist attacks on London and America using fuel tankers

Advisory General
New York State Office of Homeland Security
Message
Green

August 11, 2005

This communication from the New York State Office of Homeland Security is Sensitive. The New York State Office of Homeland Security in conjunction with the Upstate New York Regional Intelligence Center,
issues the following advisory to the Oil, Gas, and Transportation sectors:

George Pataki
Governor
James Kallstrom
Advisor on
Counter-Terrorism

The United States Intelligence Community has repeatedly advised of threat streams suggesting al Qaeda and affiliated groups have considered using a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) in a US-based attack.

There are numerous historical and current threat streams to suggest the terrorist use of tanker fuel trucks, among other vehicle types, to facilitate a major explosion targeting critical infrastructure and designed to create mass casualties or economic destruction.

Senior al Qaeda operational planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, captured in Pakistan in March 2003, has told interrogators that he had developed terrorist plots targeting gas stations due to their apparent vulnerability and the potential destructive force of a fuel-driven explosion. Terrorists in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have effectively used large fuel trucks as VBIEDs against military and civilian coalition targets.

The following tear line information, provided by the Intelligence Community, identifies a possible threat to the United States involving the use of fuel tankers as Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices. This tear line has been widely disseminated throughout law enforcement channels, generating numerous inquiries regarding the imminent nature of the threat.

Although this report makes an attack appear imminent, no other intelligence exists to corroborate this specific threat stream. This scenario represents just one of many possible methods of attack known to be considered by terrorist organizations.

Begin tear line:

1. (FOUO) Al Qaeda leaders plan to employ various types of fuel trucks as vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED) in an effort to cause mass casualties in the US (and London), prior to 19 September. Attacks are planned specifically for New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It is unclear whether the attacks will occur simultaneously or be spread over a period of time. The stated goal is the collapse of the US economy.

2. (FOUO) Some of the vehicles used will be hijacked. The type of vehicle may be anything from gasoline tanker trucks to trucks hauling oxygen and gas cylinders. Water trucks filled with gasoline or other highly combustible material may also be used. The detonation of the vehicles will be carried out by driving them into gas stations or ramming explosive-laden vehicles into the trucks carrying the fuel.

Page 1

Fuel Laden VBIED

3. (FOUO) The attackers will be members of small Al Qaeda cells which are spread throughout the US. The cell responsible for the specific attack will execute the plan upon receipt of an order.

4. (FOUO) It is possible that the tape recently released on television by Zawahiri was meant as the activation signal to the cells and not so much as an indictment to Bush or Blair.

End tear line:

In light of a potential VBIED threat in the US, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has disseminated bulletins incorporating the advantages for terrorists in using large, official looking vehicles, and suggested measures for owners and operators of facilities where large vehicles are housed.

Excerpts of FBI Bulletin #166, dated May 10, 2005 are included below:

VEHICLES AS VBIEDS

On January 12, 2005, DHS and the FBI published Joint Bulletin 162, titled "Terrorist Tactics: Analysis of the Surveillance Notes Concerning Certain U.S. Financial Buildings." This bulletin provides information on VBIED attacks using a limousine, to which security personnel provide some degree of deference, or in a service/delivery vehicle, because they do not attract unwanted attention. Exploding a device in an underground parking lot, VIP area, or near the main entrance or a support column were the main attack options offered in the notes. Terrorists have shown creativity in their VBIED platforms, ranging from tanker trucks (Khobar Towers in 1996) to rental trucks (World Trade Center in 1993). A delivery vehicle acquired through a legitimate source could provide the following advantages when deployed as a VBIED:

Heavy/large payload capacity.

Vehicle interior and contents are not visible.

Vehicle, due to its size, could ram security barriers.

Access to high value symbolic or economic targets.

Can fit in parking garages (based on the size of the vehicle).

Easy licensing procedures (based on the size and purpose of the vehicle).

Delivery vehicles can typically remain stationary for extended periods without drawing suspicion.

Public perception as a recognized entity (recognized company delivery van).

Rigging vehicle for VBIED use in privacy (e.g. at night, in a private garage after hours).

Page 2

Fuel Laden VBIED

POTENTIAL SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES

The Office of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the Upstate New York Regional Intelligence Center, encourages owners and operators of fuel depots, truck companies and gas stations to report any of the following activities to the UNYRIC Counter Terrorism Center at 1-866-SAFE-NYS.

Individuals videotaping or photographing premises for no apparent reason.

Suspicious individuals apparently surveilling delivery of fuel from tanker-trucks.

Inquiries regarding the frequency of fuel deliveries to your business.

Any information regarding the loss, theft or attempted theft of any tanks, vehicles, or driver's license credentials or licenses used in the transportation of bulk fuel to your station.

Theft of fuel or unexplained loss from your business inventory or tractor-trailer-tanker.

Customer requests to purchase unusual amounts of fuel, not typical of most transactions, or an unusual method of payment.

Unusual inquiries from strangers concerning how to store bulk fuel or handle it on premises.

SUGGESTED PROTECTIVE MEASURES

The following are the recommended general protective measures that apply to facilities with both controlled and uncontrolled access, and specific protective measures recommended for soft targets with controlled access.

General Protective Measures for Controlled and Uncontrolled Access:

Security personnel and private citizens should be advised to remain vigilant in ensuring that large vehicles of any kind in the vicinity of critical infrastructure facilities are viewed as a security risk until proven otherwise.

Ensure all personnel are provided periodic security briefings regarding present and emerging threats.

Specific Protective Measures for Soft Targets with Controlled Access:

Be alert to the necessity for thoroughly checking large vehicles of any kind attempting to gain access to controlled critical infrastructure facilities.

Review existing vehicle bombing prevention procedures to incorporate thwarting the use of a moving vehicle bomb, and consider adjusting buffer zones further from potential targets.

Page 3

Fuel Laden VBIED

Adjusting buffer zones further from potential targets.

Periodically rearrange exterior vehicle barriers, traffic cones and road blocks to alter traffic patterns near facilities.

Limit the number of access points and strictly enforce access control procedures.

Approach all illegally parked vehicles in and around facilities, question drivers and direct them to move immediately; if the owner cannot be identified, have vehicle towed by law enforcement.

Provide vehicle inspection training to security personnel, and institute a robust vehicle inspection program to include checking the undercarriage of vehicles, under the hood and in the trunk.

Deploy explosive detection devices and explosive detection canine teams.

Institute/increase security patrols varying in size, timing and routes.

Increase perimeter lighting and maintain/remove vegetation in and around perimeters.

Encourage personnel to be alert and to immediately report any situation that appears to constitute a threat or suspicious activity.

Guard force turnover and personnel authentication procedures.

Implement random security guard shift changes.

Deploy visible security cameras and motion sensors - review security camera footage daily to detect possible indicators of pre-operational surveillance.

As always, observance of suspicious individuals and activities, or any threats received should immediately be reported to the Upstate New York Regional Intelligence Center, Counter Terrorism Center, at 1866-SAFE-NYS.

Please treat this and all other communications from the Office of Homeland Security as SENSITIVE

Greece crash: No survivors News24
Larnaca - Helios Airways of Cyprus said it was "unclear" what caused the crash of its airliner in Greece on Sunday with 121 people on board, its first comment on the tragedy. "It is unclear why the aircraft crashed at this stage," the airline said in a statement, adding: "There are no reports of survivors." Helios flight 522 crashed on a flight to Athens and then Prague on Sunday at 12:20 (09:20 GMT), it said.
Cypriot passenger jet crashes northeast of Athens Athens News Agency
121 Killed in Cypriot Airliner Crash WJRT
ABC Online - Reuters.uk - Canada.com - CNN - all 663 related »

Security Tightens for Gaza Withdrawal Guardian Unlimited
Israeli police set up roadblocks across southern Israel and cut off bus service to the 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip on Sunday as authorities made final preparations to begin withdrawing from the Palestinian territory within hours. The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, held off the deployment of its own troops on the outskirts of the settlements to guard against violence by militants during the pullout. A spokesman said Israel's government asked for the delay after five Israeli soldiers were wounded in a friendly fire incident early Sunday. Israeli soldiers planned to seal off the Gaza settlements at midnight (5 p.m. EDT), marking the start of the withdrawal, the first time Israel will pull out of land Palestinians want for a future state. Two days later, soldiers will begin forcibly removing any settlers still there. As of Sunday, thousands of residents - reinforced by an estimated 4,000 people from outside Gaza - remained in the settlements, vowing to resist eviction. Other pullout foes threatened to stage huge rallies and run the roadblocks to create chaos in hopes of torpedoing the withdrawal. Police spokesman Avi Zelba said authorities set up a cordon of roadblocks in southern Israel on Sunday to prevent opponents from interfering with the pullout. Only residents of southern Israel and those with a legitimate reason for being there will be allowed to cross, police said. Vice Premier Shimon Peres gave a pep talk to troops stationed near the Gaza border, telling them their coming task was crucial to protecting Israel's democracy. "The settlements must be evacuated. They cannot stay here,'' he told reporters. "I understand that there are feelings. I have sympathy (for the settlers), but they cannot replace a national choice.'' Settlers made last-minute preparations of their own. They planned to block entrances to their communities early Monday to prevent soldiers from delivering eviction notices. Their leaders also advised on ways to attack the morale of soldiers carrying out the evictions, the Yediot Ahronot daily reported. Settlers were told to give children's drawings to the troops and to take pictures of the soldiers, telling them history will remember them for their crimes, Yediot said. The army closed the checkpoint into the Gush Katif cluster of settlements in southern Gaza to everyone but residents weeks ago, but thousands of protesters still managed to infiltrate. The army said Sunday as many as 4,000 pullout opponents might be inside the settlements. Settlers said the figure was much higher. "I think that's a sign that a lot of soldiers are also protesting in their way by letting people come in,'' said Anita Tucker, a resident of the Netzer Hazani settlement. Brig. Gen. Dan Harel, the military commander in charge of the pullout, said the infiltrators would have no impact. "They won't prevent us from carrying out the disengagement at the time, moment and way that we see fit,'' he told Army Radio. Hundreds of settlers gathered at the Gush Katif cemetery singing traditional prayers of redemption as part of a ceremony commemorating the Tisha B'Av holy day marking the destruction of the Jewish Temples. The cemetery's 49 graves are to be moved as part of the pullout. "Go to the holy patriarchs, the holy matriarchs, tell them, `We want to stay here,''' Rabbi Yosef Elnikaveh said, symbolically addressing the dead. "Tell them you don't want anyone to touch you. Tell them you don't want them to open your graves, that you want your graves to remain and be opened only upon the resurrection of the dead.'' Police had expected large crowds at the Western Wall, the Jewish holy site in Jerusalem, as a sign of protest during the Tisha B'Av fast day. However, the crowds were smaller than feared, possibly because of the August heat. Israel's Islamic Movement called on Muslims to gather at the adjacent Haram a Sharif, the disputed holy site claimed by both Muslims and Jews, to protect it. Thousands of police were sent to the area to prevent violence between Arabs and Jews, police said. About 55,000 Israeli soldiers and police were expected to take part in the pullout from the 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four others in the northern West Bank. Some of the troops will remove the settlers from their homes, others will prevent Jewish protesters from interfering and still others will guard against attacks by Palestinian militants trying to create the impression they are driving the Israelis out. Israeli and Palestinian officials opened a joint operations center on the Gaza border to help them respond rapidly to any violence, a spokesman for the Palestinian Interior Ministry, Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, said. Israel promised to retaliate harshly if fired on during the pullout. About 7,500 Palestinian soldiers were supposed to fan out on the outskirts of the Gaza settlements Sunday to deter attacks by militants. But Israeli security officials called for a delay after five Israeli soldiers were wounded in a friendly fire incident early Sunday, Abu Khoussa said in a statement. The soldiers were wounded - one of them seriously - after Palestinian gunmen shot at Kfar Darom, an isolated settlement bordering the Palestinian town of Deir el-Balah. Troops arrived at one of the buildings used by the gunmen as an Israeli tank shot a shell at it, wounding the five soldiers, the army said.
After Gaza disengagement, then what? Speculation intensifies San Francisco Chronicle
A Peace Matrix At Hand Washington Post
البوابة - Miami Herald - USA Today - Houston Chronicle - all 1,781 related »

Lange's impact on NZ and world BBC News
The former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange, who has died aged 63, introduced an aggressively anti-nuclear stance and bold modernising of socialist politics to the world stage.
David Lange, Prime Minister Who Made NZ Nuclear Free, Dies Bloomberg
Tributes flow for former NZ PM Lange The Age (subscription)
Sydney Morning Herald (subscription) - New Zealand Herald - Rediff - Guardian Unlimited - all 154 related »

Youths set to celebrate faith with new pope Chicago Tribune
Nayhelly Ochoa, 15, started saving money for the big trip last year, when John Paul II still was pope. With a group of nearly 200 young Catholics from St.
Traditional Piety Rare Among German Youth Deutsche Welle
Journey of faith: Denver youth to see pope Denver Post
Newsday - Reuters South Africa - Houston Chronicle - Ireland Online - all 161 related »

German chancellor launches election campaign USA Today
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opened his campaign Saturday for next month's national election seeking to rejuvenate his beleaguered center-left party by taking a swipe at US military aggressiveness and the verbal gaffes of a conservative opposition leader. The ruling Social Democrats are behind in opinion polls going into the Sept. 18 vote due to widespread unhappiness over tightening of the social welfare system, but Schroeder hopes to turn the party's fortunes around as he did in winning a comeback victory in the 2002 election. With his party trailing in the months before that election, Schroeder won new support by ratcheting up his criticisms of the looming U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and donning high galoshes to visit flooded cities in the depressed east. He revisited the first theme Saturday, saying Germany's "friends" in Europe and the United States must maintain a strong position while negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program. "But take the military options off of the table; we have seen that they're not suitable," Schroeder said, apparently alluding to President Bush's statement on Israeli TV on Friday that "all options are on the table" in the confrontation with Iran. (Related story: Bush issues stern warning to Iran) The chancellor also turned his attention to turmoil within the opposition, attacking Christian Democrat leader Angela Merkel, who hopes to replace him, and her ally Edmund Stoiber, head of a Bavarian sister party who questioned the intelligence of voters in eastern Germany. "The strong-arm tactics and tastelessness of Mr. Stoiber and the leadership shortcomings of Ms. Merkel are not tailored to bringing this country together," Schroeder said at an outdoor rally in his hometown of Hanover. In starting her campaign Wednesday, Merkel found herself immediately on the defensive seeking to control the damage caused by Stoiber's remarks the same day. Stoiber, the governor of Bavaria, said at a rally that he didn't want the former communist east to swing the Sept. 18 election — a reference to the voters in six eastern states who helped return Schroeder to office in 2002 when Stoiber was the conservatives' candidate for chancellor. "Unfortunately, we don't have such intelligent citizens everywhere as we do in Bavaria," said Stoiber, whose prosperous state is home to many people unhappy over the time and money spent on the east since reunification. Merkel, an east German herself, reacted harshly, saying that insulting voters was "the last thing we need" and calling for politicians to avoid reopening the country's lingering east-west divide. Schroeder, a skilled campaigner, hopes his party also will get a boost from his personal popularity, where he has an edge over Merkel. In a poll released Saturday, 46% of the 1,000 voters surveyed backed Schroeder as chancellor while 37% supported Merkel. The Emnid agency did not specify the poll's margin of error, but it is generally around five percentage points for surveys of that size. The poll, conducted for N24 television over the two days before Stoiber's comment, said 41% of voters backed the Christian Democrats and 28% supported Schroeder's Social Democrats. The newly formed Left Party got 12% backing, while Schroeder's coalition partner, the Greens, and the Christian Democrats' most likely coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democrats, each had 8%.
"We Can't Realistically Hope to Win" Deutsche Welle
Schroeder plays the Iran card BBC News
Guardian Unlimited - Reuters AlertNet - Tehran Times - CNN International - all 159 related »

Kyrgyz president meets Chinese envoy Xinhua
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyevmet here on Sunday with Lu Yongxiang, a special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao, with both sides pledging to further improve bilateral cooperation. Lu, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, arrived here Saturday to attend Bakiyev's swearing-in ceremony on Sunday. At the meeting, Lu conveyed President Hu Jintao's heartfelt congratulations on Bakiyev's inauguration. The Chinese envoy said that China and Kyrgyzstan have long-standing friendship and that China attaches great importance to its ties with the Central Asia country. Bilateral relations have seen smooth developments and bilateralcooperation in various fields have yielded remarkable results since the two countries established diplomatic ties 13 years ago, Lu noted. Both countries are "good neighbors, good partners and good friends," and their effort to strengthen cooperation on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect conforms to their fundamental interests, Lu continued. China is willing to work with Kyrgyzstan to implement the common understandings reached by President Hu Jintao and PresidentBakiyev during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, in July and continuously push forward bilateral ties, the Chinese official said. Bakiyev, for his part, stressed that China is Kyrgyzstan's friendly neighbor and the people of Kyrgyzstan cherish profound feelings towards the Chinese people. The development of the bilateral ties has shown that China is areliable friend of Kyrgyzstan. Both sides understand each other and have broad prospects for strengthening bilateral cooperation, said the president. "I'd like to reiterate that it's a priority of Kyrgyzstan's foreign policy to develop relations with China," Bakiyev said. Kyrgyzstan is willing to join hands with China to boost bilateral cooperation in various fields, including their cooperation within the SCO, to benefit the peoples of both countries, said Bakiyev. Bakiyev, who won the presidential election in July, was sworn in Sunday as president of Kyrgyzstan. He has served as acting president since massive protests ousted former President Askar Akayev in March.
Kyrgyzstan president sworn in Aljazeera.net
New Kyrgyz president sworn in Reuters.uk
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty - BBC News - Globe and Mail - RIA Novosti - all 75 related »

Pak vows to improve nuke, missile capabilities Sify
Islamabad: Marking its 59th Independence Day, Pakistan on Sunday vowed to improve its nuclear and missile capabilities while asserting that the resolution of the Kashmir issue was "a must for durable peace" in South Asia.
Pakistan leaders issue terror vow BBC News
Musharraf urges Pakistanis to defeat obscurantism Xinhua
IANS - PakistanTimes.net - Daily Times - Pakistan Dawn - all 22 related »

Asia Marks 60th Anniversary of Japan's WWII Surrender Voice of America
Asia on Sunday is beginning to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the surrender of Japan, which brought a close to the Second World War. It was on August 14, 1945, that Japan communicated to the Allied powers that it would surrender. The official announcement from Tokyo came the following day. It was the day after Tokyo sent its surrender notice to the Allies that its own people learned the news. On August 15, 1945, Japan's national radio network boosted the power of its transmitters for an unprecedented broadcast address of the "Voice of the Crane" - the emperor. Until that historic day, ordinary Japanese had never heard their emperor speak. Speaking in archaic court language understood by few of his subjects, Emperor Hirohito told Japan that the tide of battle had not necessarily developed to the nation's advantage. While most Japanese reacted with stunned silence, there was jubilation across Asia as countries quickly realized they were being liberated from a long period of colonialism and militarism. Sixty years on, Japan still seems to have difficulty coming to grips with its defeat. The media focus here every August is on the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with little mention of Japan's aggression and the millions of Asians who died as a result of Japanese occupation. Every year on August 15, some cabinet ministers visit Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, setting off protests by Asian governments, which regard the Shinto religious site as glorifying Japan's militarism. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has hinted he is unlikely to visit the shrine Monday, thus avoiding an untimely diplomatic firestorm during a domestic election campaign. But at least two of his cabinet ministers say they will go, including Environment Minister Yuriko Koike. Ms. Koike says because the 60th anniversary is a significant one, she wants to visit the shrine to pray for the repose of the souls of those who sacrificed their lives for their country and to also pray for world peace. On the Korean peninsula, Monday will be a day of celebration as both North and South Korea mark their 60th anniversary of independence. A delegation from Pyongyang arrived in Seoul on Sunday to join four days of commemorative events. China is also remembering the anniversary in a triumphant mood. Beijing credits the Chinese Communist Party with helping defeat the Japanese. Chinese media report that a newly expanded war memorial will be opened Monday, including a 16,000 square-meter exhibition hall dedicated to China's eight-year-long war against Japanese aggression. Although August 14 and 15th are celebrated as the end of the war, it was not until September 2, 1945, that Japan finally signed surrender documents and all its forces around Asia came under the command of local or Allied authorities.
Avoid shrine, Koizumi told International Herald Tribune
Japan's Dishonesty Korea Times
Bloomberg - Reuters - Chosun Ilbo - Xinhua - all 52 related »

’84 riots Relief Hindustan Times
A PROMISE kept, finally. The government, after assurances in Parliament earlier this week, on Saturday set up two committees to look into the relief and rehabilitation of the 1984 riots victims.
The Moral Code of Indian Democracy International Herald Tribune
'84 riots: 65-yr-old recounts horror tale NDTV.com
Indian Express - IANS - Calcutta Telegraph - Mid-Day Mumbai - all 56 related »

Britain won't let radical cleric back in country Seattle Times
The government, expanding its response to Islamic extremism, banned the return to Britain of a radical cleric whose strident statements provoked public outrage after train and bus bombings last month in London. Home Secretary Charles Clarke announced yesterday that Omar Bakri Mohammed, who has lived in the country for 20 years, is not welcome "on the grounds that his presence is not conducive to the public good." The decision came a day after officials detained 10 foreign nationals with plans to deport them for being a "threat to national security." Bakri, who was born in Syria, traveled last week to Lebanon, where he was detained by authorities Thursday without explanation. In Beirut, the National News Agency said yesterday that a judge ordered his release because he was not wanted on any charges, The Associated Press reported. Bakri has been the subject of angry commentary in Britain. News media quoted him as saying he would not inform police if he knew of plans for a terror attack on the United Kingdom. An associate of Bakri, Anjem Choudary, characterized the government decision as "completely outrageous." "This is completely predictable; it's just the final manifestation of their war on Muslims," Choudary said. "Where are all the values they say they stand for: freedom of speech, freedom of expression, the right of innocence until proven guilty?" Choudary told The Associated Press that the ban would not silence the cleric. "With the Internet and other means, we can still hear from him wherever he is preaching," Choudary said. "I don't think he will stop his activities."

Muslim support
A Muslim group expressed satisfaction at the banning of Bakri, whose organization was singled out by Prime Minister Tony Blair last week in a speech outlining new measures to punish those who promote or incite terrorism. "Most Muslims are happy he's gone," said Asghar Bukhari of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, a London-based group that advocates Muslim involvement in the democratic process rather than the use of violence. "I don't think Muslims ever bought that he was a threat to national security, but he was such a vocal pain in the backside that he increased racial tensions in the country." Blair's proposals have ignited a debate in Britain over how to balance civil liberties and national security. Human-rights activists and opposition politicians say Blair's government is going too far in response to last month's bombings, which killed 56 people, including the four presumed bombers, and injured 700 others. Police said the attacks were carried out by young Muslim men largely from the country's Pakistani and East African communities.

Change in mood
Although Britain has long prided itself on tolerating free speech and accepting immigrants considered undesirable by other countries, Blair said the "mood" was changing in favor of cracking down on others who promote or "glorify" acts of violence. Those rounded up Thursday reportedly included Abu Qatada, a radical cleric who investigators said is tied to the al-Qaida terror network. Clarke said Thursday that a new agreement with Jordan, Qatada's home country, provided assurances that deportees would not be tortured or mistreated, allowing British officials to deport him without violating British human-rights laws. Charles Falconer, Britain's highest-ranking judicial official, said yesterday that the government was considering legislation that would require government officials and the courts to weigh both human-rights and national-security concerns in deportation cases. "We've got to get the right balance," Falconer told BBC Radio 4. "Nobody suggests for one moment that that would remove from the judges any degree of discretion in determining individual cases." Clarke has wide-ranging powers to exclude people from the country if they threaten public order or national security, and 14 people were barred from the country last year. However, it is highly unusual for someone who has lived in Britain for such a long time to be excluded.
Bakri declared 'a free man' in Lebanon Daily Star - Lebanon
Syria denies formally asking Lebanon for radical Muslim cleric Ha'aretz (registration)
Daily Times - Arab News - Scotsman - Independent - all 763 related »

Antiwar sentiment gets champion Christian Science Monitor
Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside Bush's Texas ranch brings focus to a protest movement that's been largely unseen and ineffective.
Doubt on war grows in US Chicago Tribune
Dead soldier's mom brings anti-war protest to Bush Reuters AlertNet
TIME - Boston Globe - The Moderate Voice - Boston Herald - all 1,636 related »
****************************************************************
FEED CAMP CASEY!
FoodNotBombs.net is in motion. They didn't think twice about offering assistance. I like that! Donate here to feed a protestor.

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1070

New surge in Al Qaeda’s internal electronic and human traffic

DEBKAfile Special Report

August 13, 2005, 12:51 PM (GMT+02:00)


DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources register a volume and heightened sense of anticipation in al Qaeda’s internal communications, signals, publications and Websites - mostly in code - that recall its electronic traffic in the months leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The sense of a big anti-American event in the making for September-October is marked. Self-congratulatory accounts of the London and Sharm al Sheikh July bombings abound, along with extravagant claims of victories against American forces in Iraq.

For the first time since 2001, teams of new recruits are being shunted between countries, according to coded instructions passing around the internal sites.

Our sources interpret these instructions as indicating that al Qaeda was able to raise sufficient fresh operational strength in its recent recruitment drive to carry out strikes in several target arenas. According to the information reaching DEBKAfile, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, for instance, proposed rotating the veteran operatives in Iraq, there for more than six to eight months, in favor of fresh men.

This surge of activity, electronic and human, seems to signpost an al Qaeda offensive in the works, and will no doubt raise terror threat levels in US, European and Middle East cities in the coming weeks.

Reading the signs, an FBI terrorism task force in Los Angeles issued a warning Wednesday, Aug 10: “Al Qaeda leaders plan to employ various types of fuel trucks as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices in an effort to cause mass casualties in the US prior to the 19th of September.” The attacks are planned specifically for New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, either simultaneously or spread out. The attackers are described in the FBI advisory as “members of small al Qaeda cells which are spread out through the US.”

This information is uncorroborated, said a Homeland Security Department spokesman, but continues to be evaluated by the intelligence community.

DEBKAfile also learns of a general threat to America to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

In Turkey, an al Qaeda plot to pack Zodiac speedboats with explosives and ram five Israeli cruise ships with more than 4,000 tourists aboard when they were docked last weekend at the Mediterranean port of Alanya. Had they succeeded, the catastrophe would have been on the mega scale. The terror alert is still in force in parts of Turkey because out of two large suicide teams, only two terrorists have been caught with large quantities of explosives. Each of those teams is believed to number 5-8 suicide killers, and most are still at large.

There is also information about similar al Qaeda teams on the loose in London, Rome, Cairo, Damascus, Amman, Riyadh and Sinai, as well as Turkey - but nothing specific on American cities. The London transport bombings and the 2003 Madrid rail attacks have however taught security agencies to be prepared at all times for the unexpected.

In any event, the quality of intelligence regarded al Qaeda in the hands of anti-terror agencies in the West has clearly not improved much since 9/11. Therefore, internal electronic traffic must be treated as a serious guide to the Islamic organization’s intentions. Above all, its tone and volume must be carefully evaluated by experts, because much of its content is coded and inaccessible to outsiders.

The shape of Asia, 60 years after the war
Japanese prisoners of war bowed their heads on Guam in 1945 after hearing of Emperor Hirohito's unconditional surrender. The 60th anniversary of Japan's defeat in what is known here as the Great Asian War marks as well the waning of a century of Japanese economic dominance of Asia.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/vj-lede.php


60 years after its defeat, Japan still struggles with responsibility
To outsiders, the question of Japanese war responsibility might appear a no-brainer. In Japan, however, the issue has never been a simple one.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/VJ-Japan.php


Plane crash in Greece kills all 121 on board
A Cypriot airliner plowed into a hill north of Athens on Sunday, killing all 121 people onboard in the worst airline disaster in Greek history, officials said.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/crash.php


Iran vows not to yield as Western leaders split
Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, introduced a new conservative cabinet Sunday as the country warned it would not give in to pressure from the West over its nuclear program.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/iran.php


Indonesia and Aceh prepare for peace
Indonesia's government and rebels from the province of Aceh are set to end a long conflict with the signing of a peace treaty in Helsinki on Monday.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/aceh.php


Thousands hold out in Gaza against evacuation
Thousands of Jewish settlers defied an Israeli government order to leave the Gaza Strip by Sunday, and Israel's security forces were poised to evacuate the settlers and their supporters.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/mideast.php


Iraqi leaders struggling to finish constitution
Two lawmakers raised the possibility that Monday's deadline may have to be extended.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/Iraq.php


12 Tamils arrested in murder of Sri Lanka foreign minister
Sri Lankan officials warned that the killing was a major setback to the fragile peace process and cast doubt on the insistence by Tamil rebels that they were not behind the attack.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/lanka.php


Medical workers on 9/11, in their own words
In details large and small, the accounts of the medical personnel provide vivid and alarming recollections.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/wtc.php


Most flights at Heathrow are restored, airline says
About 95 percent of flights were operating normally, a spokeswoman said, and the 600 passengers who were still stranded at hotels near Heathrow Airport had all been rebooked on new flights.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/news/heathrow.php


Frank Rich: Someone tell the president the war is over
The battle to keep the Iraq war afloat with the American public is lost.
http://www.iht.com/protected/articles/2005...news/edrich.php


Meanwhile: Up-or-down: nominations and global warming
The hot modifier on Congressional and White House lips: up-or-down.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/opinion/edsafire.php


America should ditch its tyrant friends
In the age of terrorism, America cannot afford more disillusioned victims of ''friendly'' dictators.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/14/opinion/edwitte.php


New kind of criminal is prowling the Web
Law enforcement authorities and computer security specialists warn that new breeds of white-collar criminals are on the prowl.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/07/business/thugs.php


Jakarta trial to begin in murder of activist
A Garuda Indonesia airline pilot is scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in the slaying of Indonesia's best-known human rights activist.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/08/news/indo.php


Old Europe, new ideas: A look at what works
Amid the current pessimism about Europe, a number of things appear to work rather well.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/09/news/works.php


Between Rock and a hard place, hope rises
No historical slights are ever forgotten in Europe, but few flourish quite as robustly as the one between Gibraltar and its formidable neighbor, Spain.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/10/news/gibraltar.php


After Heathrow's strike, chaos and fatigue
Exasperated British Airways passengers left stranded by an unofficial strike desperately searched for news about when they might get out of Britain.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/13/eur...eb.heathrow.php


North Korea to release prisoners
The move appeared partly intended to improve the international image of the totalitarian regime.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/korea.php

Sunnis join to oppose Shiite call for region
Angered by Shiite calls for a federal region, Sunni clerics urged followers Friday to vote against the constitution if it contains measures they believe would divide the country.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/12/news/iraq.php

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0815/p07s01-woeu.html

In troubled Balkans, nostalgia rises for Yugoslavia

By Beth Kampschror | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

SUBOTICA, SERBIA-MONTENEGRO – Blasko Gabric is a Balkan dreamer who has set about building a new Yugoslavia - Yugoland - here on the northern edge of Serbia. While his mini-Adriatic Sea is still only a waterless hole, and his Mount Triglav is but a pile of dirt, he hopes his 3-1/2-hectare theme park will prove popular with an older generation nostalgic for the defunct nation.
"It's for everyone who loved or appreciated how Yugoslavia was," says Mr. Gabric, 68, a former printer in Canada and erstwhile politician in Serbia.

Vexed by a parliamentary vote in 2003 that scrapped the name Yugoslavia and replaced it with Serbia and Montenegro, Gabric hoisted the Yugoslav flag, marked trails on his property with signs like "Road of the Yugoslav Great Ones," and declared Yugoland.

Since the park opened two years ago, more than 3,000 people have paid $3 each to become "citizens" of Yugoland. Feelings of "Yugonostalgia" are on the rise, as three of the five countries that spun off the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia struggle with the aftermath of ethnic warfare, collapsed economies, and international isolation.

Comparisons between today and the era of Yugoslav dictator Josip Broz Tito are made especially frequently in Bosnia, which suffered some 150,000 dead and saw half the country become refugees in its 1992-1995 war of independence from Yugoslavia.

Pensions plummeted

Retirees receiving monthly pensions of $94 today remember the kingly $1,200 pensions given out by Tito. Today's average monthly wage is just a few hundred dollars; nearly half the country is out of work.

"I was an electrician, and we had a lot of money. Now, where am I?" mourns Fikret, a 50-something man hunched over an afternoon drink at the Tito Society's club in downtown Sarajevo. The club's couch, chairs, and stained carpet have seen better days; dozens of Tito portraits hang on the red-painted walls.

The older men gathered at the club speak for many people throughout this fractious region when they say they long for the days of unfettered travel on their old Yugoslav passports. They resent having to now stand in long lines for visas to travel to Western countries.

"It was the best passport in the world," says club owner Omer Pipic. "When I went to America, I went as a human being, not as a refugee or a social case. We used to go to Austria to have a coffee! Now that was total freedom of movement."

Many young people of the former Yugoslavia - who weren't even born when Tito died in 1980 - would agree. But their approach to Yugonostalgia is more ironic, whether it's enjoying socialist-era kitsch or the cult of Tito. Sarajevo's Tito Bar, for example, has been the place to be seen in that part of town since it opened two years ago. "Of course, freedom to travel or higher living standards can be taken as some of the many reasons why people today feel Yugonostalgic," notes former Sarajevo University sociology professor Dzemal Sokolovic. But "one should differ between Yugoslav-hood and the Yugoslav state. [Though] the state of Yugoslavia was destroyed by nationalists, 'Yugoslav-hood' has never been destroyed."

Back at Yugoland, Gabric is optimistic that his park will expand and become a cash cow, despite a reporter's observation that the only people here on two consecutive summer weekdays were a few of Gabric's pals lounging in the picnic area. Another 17 hectares of land, he says, and he'll have enough to create a sports and recreation center that could rival Disneyland as a lucrative tourist destination.

Some visitors aren't impressed. Four foreign students taking summer language classes at the university in nearby Novi Sad give Yugoland a thumbs down. "There's nothing there - just a ditch and a hill," says one. Another noted that the park trail named after Gabric was called a boulevard, while Tito himself warranted only an alley.

'It was a perfect country'

Yugoland may not yet be wowing the tourists, but the idea behind it remains alive and well in at least some corners of the former Yugoslavia.

Dragan Dobricki, a Serb policeman in nearby Palic, points to his two friends watching television in a local cafe.

"What did Yugoslavia mean to me? That man there is my best friend, and he's a Croat. That man there is my other best friend and he's Hungarian," Mr. Dobricki says. "It was a perfect country. But Tito didn't plan his succession, and he's to blame."

Former Members of the Taliban Turn Their Backs on Insurgency

By N.C. Aizenman

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A cartoon flickered on a television set in Abdul Samad Khaksar's living room as he took a drag from a cigarette and considered the merits of Afghanistan's former Taliban government.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewSpecialReports....E20050815a.html


Persecution of Kosovo Christians Said to Reveal Larger Threat
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
August 15, 2005

(CNSNews.com) - International intervention to halt the persecution of Christians in Kosovo is a "complete failure," according to a former diplomat and other political analysts who briefed Capitol Hill staff late last week, pointing to the destruction of 150 churches and the simultaneous construction of 200 mosques.

Cybercast News Service obtained video of the burning and desecrating of the churches by ethnic Albanians, most of them Muslim. See Video

The new mosques are funded by "Wahhabist nations," the diplomats said, raising the specter of radical Islam incubating on the doorstep of Europe in a province rife with illegal arms and narcotics trafficking.

The religious persecution is also part of a political strategy of violence, which if rewarded in the granting of independence to Kosovo, could trigger similar violent secessionist movements throughout neighboring states and countries, they warned.

Unfolding events in Kosovo have already sent shock waves to as far away as China, which has now expressed concern to the U.S. over possible copycat attempts at secession in its predominantly Muslim Xinjiang Province.

Kosovo, an international protectorate administered by the United Nations, is part of Serbia and Montenegro, but the legal authority of the region is the U.N. Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

The province is considered one of the jewels of Christian heritage, having served as the "Vatican" of Christian Orthodoxy from the 12th century onward.

Serbs, who are predominantly Orthodox Christians, constitute a minority, as do Turks, Roma (gypsies) and Muslim Slavs. Eighty-eight percent of Kosovo's population is made up of Muslim Albanians.

The attacks and ongoing persecution are seen by some as the purposeful targeting of the very symbols of Christian European civilization.

Between 1999 and 2004 approximately150 churches, monasteries, seminaries, and bishop residences were attacked by ethnic Albanian mobs. Many of the churches contained priceless Byzantine frescoes and other religious artifacts dating as far back as the 13th century. Many of the sites were reduced to rubble.

In a Capitol Hill press conference Aug. 11, former U.S. Ambassador Thomas Patrick Melady called for a heightened international presence in Kosovo and the continuation of that presence for another 12 years. Melady, former ambassador to the Vatican, Uganda and Burundi, is senior diplomat in residence at the Institute of World Politics. The Capitol Hill briefing was sponsored by the Institute on Religion and Public Policy.

Melady cautioned politicians against rushing into decisions regarding Kosovo's status. Final status talks are expected this fall with Albania pushing for an independent Kosovo.

"Undersecretary of State [R. Nicholas] Burns was recently in Kosovo and he is drafting a policy paper for [President Bush]," said Melady. "Sometime between now and November, we'll hear the decision" on how the Bush administration will handle the independence movement in Kosovo.

Those attending the Aug. 11 press conference, and a follow-up congressional briefing on Aug. 12, expressed disappointment over the lack of media coverage of the church destruction. "I've been quite disappointed," Melady told Cybercast News Service, "It wasn't a major headline story."

He compared the destruction to Kristallnacht, or "the Night of Broken Glass" -- the Nazi-sponsored violent persecution against German Jews launched on Nov. 9, 1938. Gangs of Nazi youth fanned out into Jewish neighborhoods vandalizing and burning Jewish property and businesses, including 101 synagogues.

The official Nazi government response at the time was that such outbreaks were spontaneous, not organized. In the Kosovo situation, analysts are also expressing doubt over a similar line touted by the government.

Referring to the destruction of 34 churches in March of last year Melady said, "Thanks to a few amateur films that were made when the protests broke out, we can see how things unfolded. At all the scenes someone would climb to the top and tear down the cross, then stomp on it. Then they would set fire to the church."

During the Aug. 12 congressional staff briefing, Melady's research assistant, Ivan Djurovski, showed footage of the destruction of St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Podujevo.

The 17-minute video obtained by Cybercast News Service shows crowds of men ranging in age from about 15 to 50, calmly and methodically fanning out around the church after marching through town. After setting the church on fire, one of the vandals enters the bell tower to ring the church bell, which draws cheers from the crowd. Men scale the roof of the church to tear down three crosses, resulting in more cheers. Cybercast News Service edited the 17 minute video down to approximately two-and-a-half minutes.

The video also shows the presence of a Kosovo Force tank and soldiers. The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO-led international contingent responsible for establishing and maintaining security in the province. French and German forces later said their mandate was to protect lives, not property. However, according to Djurovski, "Italian and American KFOR soldiers risked their lives to not only save people at monasteries, but to also protect the sites.

"In these villages the church is the physical and spiritual center of the town," said Djurovski. "This is the center of hope for the people. This is where they go to learn about their faith. Where can they go now?"

Melady, who recently visited the area, said that sisters and monks at the historic monastery in Pec could not go outdoors to fetch water without military escort, for fear of being shot by snipers.

Some 200,000 Serbs have fled from Kosovo and those remaining are encircled in military-ringed enclaves. "It's not a normal life. There's no freedom of movement due to fear," said Melady. Djurovski added that many are not able to obtain needed medicine and there are no high schools or universities in the enclaves, resulting in a "brain drain." Those who have assets have sold them and fled, while most of the poor remain.

More than 18,000 legal complaints have accused Albanians with confiscating church and private property and building on the property, according to Djurovski. Whether church property remains as such or is handed over to the government remains a serious concern, he added.

Melody R. Divine - judiciary counsel and foreign policy advisor to Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz), who attended the briefing - said, "Albanians have also overtaken entire areas where Roma lived.

"Congressional interest and involvement will be key in ensuring that the international community places a high premium on the protection and integration of the minority communities within Kosovo and the preservation of the remaining cultural sites, "Divine said.

Defense analyst Frederick Peterson said the media around the globe are ignoring the issue of Saudi Arabian and other sources flooding the economically depressed region with money to pay for new mosques as the churches are being destroyed.

"With money comes influence," Peterson told Cybercast News Service. "They are building a substantial ideological and brick and mortar infrastructure there." Peterson is a defense and counter-terrorism analyst with the Institute for Security Studies at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. He also serves as military policy advisor to Joseph K. Grieboski, president of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy.

Peterson and Djurovski both said many of the new mosques funded by Saudi and Iranian funds are currently empty, but reflect plans to indoctrinate residents with the radical Wahhabist form of Islam. The new mosques carry plaques acknowledging funding from Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, said Grieboski.

"This is a very grave threat," said Peterson. "With final status changing from Serbian Orthodox hegemony into at very best a gray line, the dividing line between the Christian and Islamic world moves closer to the European Union, and we're at great risk of tolerating what should not be tolerated in order to buy some peace in our time."

In the war against an expanding radical Islam, Peterson said, "We have three choices: convert, submit or die. But there's a fourth choice and that's to fight.

"What is going on in Kosovo today is the future of Europe tomorrow," he added.

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?Stor...14-084342-3746r

Pakistan to continue nuclear program

Sharon: I had hoped to hold onto Netzarim forever Ha'aretz (registration)
But PM says pullout is essential for Israel, vows 'harshest response ever' to Palestinian attacks. Addressing the nation in a televised speech Monday evening, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the dispute over the disengagement has caused deep scars in Israeli society. He said that Israel could not expect to hold on to Gaza forever and that the unilateral pullout is Israel's answer to the current reality. "It is no secret that I, like many others, believed and hoped that we would be able to hold onto Netzarim and Kfar Darom forever," Sharon said. "The changing reality in the country, the region, and the world required a different assessment and a change in [my] position." The evacuation of settlers from Gaza that the withdrawal was vital despite the pain it caused, he s