Foreign News

Aid Worker killed in Pakistan

British aid worker Khalil Dale, who was kidnapped in Pakistan in January of this year has been found dead, the Foreign Office have confirmed.

His body was discovered in an orchard in Quetta with a note saying he had been killed by the Taliban, local police said.

Mr Dale who worked for the Red Cross‘ International Committee (ICRC), was kidnapped in Quetta, south-west Pakistan.

Responding to his murder Red Cross have described the health programme workers killing as “barbaric”.

It is understood the militants holding him had asked for a ransom which could not be paid. The Foreign Secretary has described his murder as “senseless and cruel”.

Mr Dale worked for the ICRC and the British Red Cross for many years, carrying out assignments in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. He had been abducted by unidentified armed men while on his way home from work in Quetta. It is now feared that most international aid agencies will move further foreign staff out of Quetta as they will now be concerned for their staff’s safety.

The ICRC commenting on the aid worker’s work that he was “a trusted and very experienced Red Cross staff member who significantly contributed to the humanitarian cause.”

Related articles

• Cameron condemns ‘merciless’ beheading of British doctor, Khalil Dale – The Independent (independent.co.uk)
• Body of British aid worker found in Pakistan (itv.com)
• UK Aid Worker Found Beheaded In Pakistan (news.sky.com)

Taliban Raid on Kabul

The Taliban in Afghanistan launched explosions today, firing rockets and gunfire throughout Kabul which targeted Western embassies in the city; the NATO force headquarters, and parliament building.

Attacks also took place In the eastern city of Jalalabad, as the Taliban militants attacked a foreign force base near a school, there were also reports of a blast near the airport.

The attack is one of the most serious within the capital since the U.S.-backed Afghan forces removed the Taliban from power in 2001 and highlights how the Taliban are still able to strike heavily guarded diplomatic areas after more than 10 years of war.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who has staged a long campaign against the Taliban, had hoped to see the departure of most foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. This new fighting will be a setback to these hopes.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid speaking to the Reuters news agency said “These attacks are the beginning of the spring offensive and we had planned them for months,” adding that the this was revenge for the actions of American troops in Afghanistan – including the burning of Korans at a NATO base and the massacre of 17 civilians by a U.S. soldier. It is feared there will probably be more such attacks.

Fighting was still raging after nightfall, more than five hours after the Taliban first struck. Buildings targeted included the German and British embassies and the headquarters of the NATO-led force. . Black smoke was seen rising from the embassies while rocket-propelled grenades whizzed overhead. Heavy gunfire could be heard from many directions as Afghan security forces tried to repel Taliban fighters.

There has been some opposition to the Taliban’s recent attacks including from several Afghan members of parliament who joined the Afghan security forces in repelling attackers from a roof near the parliament.

Some of the Taliban fighters were seen dressed in women’s full-length burqas in an attempt to conceal their identities.

The Ministry of Interior said 19 insurgents, including suicide bombers, died in the encounters across the country and two were captured. Fourteen police officers and nine civilians were wounded.

Todays attacks come a month before a NATO summit on the transition to Afghan security control.

Related articles

• Taliban Attacks on NATO in Afghanistan: LIVE (atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com)
• Gunfire, explosions rock Afghan capital (abc.net.au)
• Taliban claims responsibility for several attacks in Kabul (itv.com)

UN votes to send monitors in Syria

Today the UN Secuity Council has issued a statemet to send military obesevers into Syria to monitor the current ceasfire, and Russia and China joined the other 13 security council members in voting in favour of resolution. The secuity council has issued the following statement today

The full statement is available on the UN Website

E3+3 Talks on Iran

The major E3+3 countries of the world (including the UK, US, China, France, Germany and Russia) will be meeting today in Instanbul with the Iranian Government once again to discuss and have an offer of an  assurance over any proposed nuclear programme that Iran may be conducting. This follows a meeting of the E3+3 at the UN General Assembly in September 2009. At that meeting Iran’s nuclear programme was found a matter of concern to the E3+3 countries as they said in their statement – those talks basically wanted to see Iran to implement all measures required by the IAEA and the UN Security Council and to build confidence that a exclusively peaceful nature nuclear programme was only being developed.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website has issued the following statement : “We welcome the fact that the Iranian government is ready to re-engage with the United Kingdom and other members of the international community on its nuclear programme.  These talks present a genuine opportunity to move things forward. The Iranian government has written to us to say it wants these talks to cover its nuclear programme.  The talks will be a demonstration of whether or not the Iranian government is really ready to do that”

The Oxford Research Group have said on their website about the risk of a conflict appearing greater than ever due to events in Iran and the arab world since the last meeting took place.ORG say’s in a statement about the talks that a negotiations between Iran and the member states of the E3+3 have proved elusive due to ‘a lack of political will, demonization, deep distrust and misunderstanding on all sides.’  They warn that if these talks fail, there could be the prospect of a military attack on Iran -  which they have previously published a  series of reports since 2006. Israeli itself is also poised to take action should Iran be planning such a programme (as discussed in their Global Security Briefing ‘The Potential for Israeli Military Action against Iran’s Nuclear Facilities’)

Below is the Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt discussing his hopes for negotiations with the Iranian Government during the E3+3 talks today.

Related articles

• Key Iranian nuclear talks resume – BBC News (bbc.co.uk)
• Iran Begins Nuclear Talks With Six Nations – New York Times (nytimes.com)
• Talks begin with Iran over nuclear programme (independent.co.uk)

UN urges Syria over voluntary ceasefire

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaking in Geneva said that presently this is a critical point for Syria, and the world is watching with skepticism due to previous promises being broken by the government of Syria. He has said that Syria’s words on a ceasefire should be will be matched by their deeds, but that UN military action to get Syria would not be an option. Obviously Syria’s adherence to the ceasefire is therefore voluntary.

Many including the Arab-envoy Kofi Annan are concerned that Syria may not comply with all the points in the peace plan set down by the UN. Under these terms the six- point peace plan agreed to by Syria, all violence and fighting was to stop on today.

Mr Ban Ki-Moon said today: “Joint special envoy Kofi Annan and I and many world leaders have made it quite clear that any militarization or any military operation is not an option. It will only complicate and worsen the situation and thus arming opposition forces is not desirable.”

Today’s ceasefire followed Kofi Annan receiving a letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria informing him of the Syrian Governments decision “to cease all military fighting throughout Syrian territory as of 6 a.m. Damascus time 12 April” but it also said it wanted to keep the right to respond to any attacks carried out by terrorist groups or civilians against “government forces or public and private property.”

Related articles

• UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan won’t allow for conditions on the Syria cease-fire, and still sees hope for something happening. (shortformblog.com)
• Kofi Annan goes to Iran to bolster support for Syrian conflict (haleybehre.wordpress.com)
• Syria says it will respect Kofi Annan’s ceasefire plan – The Guardian (guardian.co.uk)
• Syria vows to adhere to deadline set by U.N. (timesleader.com)

UN gets Syrian Assurance

Kofi Annan, The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, has said he has received assurances from Damascus that it will respect the ceasefire plan he has previously proposed.

Mr Annan who has been visiting Iran said there could be “improved conditions on the ground” by Thursday morning. However the Syrian government had previously failed to withdraw troops and weaponry from large population centres as it had agreed. So far at least 100 people have been reported dead. Three people were killed on Wednesday after violent shelling in the city of Homs and the Deraa province.

Mr Annan told reporters in Tehran that he had received “further clarifications” from the government of President Bashar al-Assad on how it intended to suspend hostilities, and respect his six-point peace plan.

Mr Annan said “We have been in touch with them and have had positive answers from them and have also approached governments with influence to ensure that all parties respect the ceasefire”

Viacom versus Youtube again!

The US court of appeal has agreed the decision to allow media giant Viacom to have another court hearing in their lawsuit against Google over it’s viral company Youtube over copyright infringement – accusing Youtube of  “massive intentional infringement”.

This action follows a previous court case In 2010, where a lower court dismissed Viacom’s $1bn (£630m) case against Google. The court of appeals said the dismissal was based on a mistake, as a jury could have reasonably found that YouTube knew of specific copyright infringements.

Viacom owns  MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. Viacom had claimed that “tens of thousands of videos” based on its copyrighted works had been posted on YouTube, and that both YouTube and its owner Google had known about it but had done nothing about it.

Google and YouTube had argued that they were entitled to “safe harbour” protection under digital copyright law because they had insufficient notice of particular alleged offences.

Related articles

• Viacom’s $1B YouTube lawsuit revived (mercurynews.com)
• Paramount to rent movies via YouTube, Google Play (news.cnet.com)

Chile passes anti-homophobia law

Chile’s Congress passed an anti-discrimination law Wednesday following the killing of a gay man whose attackers beat him and carved swastikas into his body.

The House of Deputies approved the law in a close 58-56 vote, seven years after it was first proposed. The Senate passed the law in November. Some passages remain to be finalized in a commission of senators and House lawmakers.

President Sebastian Pinera had urged lawmakers to accelerate approval of the law after 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio died March 27. Zamudio’s death came more than three weeks after he was attacked, and his case set off a national debate about hate crimes in Chile.

Source : Huffington Post

Related articles

• Chile Passes Gay Discrimination Protections Following Daniel Zamudio’s Death (towleroad.com)
• Chile’s Congress Passes Anti-Discrimination Law (abcnews.go.com)
• Neo-Nazi killing of gay man moves Chile toward law (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

EU Imposes Oil Sanctions

In an attempt to deflect Tehran‘s nuclear development program the European Union has today joined the United States in a new round of measures and imposed sanctions on Iran‘s oil imports to Europe. It however has not imposed a complete ban on oil imports.

In response to this a Iranian politician responded by renewing a threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, which is a oil export route vital to the global economy, and another said Tehran will cut off it’s crude shipments to the EU immediately which would greatly affect ailing European economies such as Greece, Italy, which depend heavily on Iranian oil.

All this follows after a U.S. aircraft carrier, accompanied by French and British warships, made a symbolically loaded voyage into the Gulf, defying Iranian hostility,

The expected EU sanctions are likely to prove angering to Iran in an already tense region.

It is believed by some political analysts and observers, that Iran, which denies accusations that it is seeking nuclear weapons could be in a position to make them next year.  Israel has also warned it could use force to prevent that Iran from any such development program

This row over Tehran’s plans is an increasingly pressing for world leaders, not least U.S. President Barack Obama as he is campaigning for a re-election in November. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has voiced skepticism about the chances of Iran being persuaded by non-military tactics, called the EU sanctions a “step in the right direction” but said Iran was still developing atomic weapons.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said of the new sanctions: “I want the pressure of these sanctions to result in negotiations … I want to see Iran come back to the table and either pick up all the ideas that we left on the table … last year … or to come forward with its own ideas.”

Iran has said lately that it is willing to hold talks with Western powers, though there have been mixed signals on whether conditions imposed by either side make new negotiations likely.

Related articles

• EU Iran sanctions: Ministers adopt Iran oil imports ban (direcmood.wordpress.com)
• EU bans Iranian oil, Tehran responds with threats (business.financialpost.com)
• Iran ‘definitely’ closing Strait of Hormuz over EU oil embargo (thecommunicatorwv.wordpress.com)
• Tehran responds with threats EU bans on its oil (sayou.wordpress.com)

Concordia Cruise Ship – The Modern “Titanic”

Unlike the Titanic,  the huge cruise ship Costa Concordia, didn’t strike an iceberg; instead it truck rocks near the coast of the small island of Giglio Porto. People are now wondering about the size of these new types of ocean liners – the Costa Concordia had 4000 passengers on board – are they too big to deal with in terms of an emergency situation emerging?

Also it’s Captain Francesco Schettino is currently detained facing charges of manslaughter,  although he has denied any wrongdoing. He has not yet been formally charged, but prosecutors asked local judges to continue with his detention.

There is concern that the ship’s captain left the vessel before all the passengers had been safely rescued

A recording of a conversation allegedly between the captain and a port official – recorded shortly after the crash  of the rocks – which suggests Capt Schettino left the ship before all its passengers had escaped. In the recording, the captain appears to refuse to go back on to the ship to co-ordinate the rescue effort.

Rare Books and Maps Burn

A fire broke out in Cairo’s Institute d’Egypte on Saturday as a result of a mis-fired Molotov cocktail launched by a protester in Egypt’s latest round of violence. The Institute d’Egypte was a research center founded by Napoleon Bonaparte during the French invasion in the 18th century, and housed many of Egypt’s oldest and most important documents.

The fire raged for 12 hours before subsiding, leaving little more than cinders behind for volunteers to salvage. Firefighters flooded the building with water in attempts to put the fire out, which added to the overall damage. The most devastating loss is a handwritten 24-volume document known as the Description l’Egypte, a multi-generational document which began during the French occupation.

The Hindustan Times reports: “The Description of Egypt is likely burned beyond repair. Its home, the two-story historic institute near Tahrir Square, is now in danger of collapsing after the roof caved in.”

“The violence erupted in Cairo Friday, when military forces guarding the Cabinet building, near the institute, cracked down on a 3-week-old sit-in to demand the country’s ruling generals hand power to a civilian authority. At least 14 people have been killed.”

“The burning of such a rich building means a large part of Egyptian history has ended,” the director of the institute, Mohammed al-Sharbouni, told state television over the weekend. The building was managed by a local non-governmental organization.

Al-Sharbouni said most of the contents were destroyed in the fire that raged for more than 12 hours on Saturday. Firefighters flooded the building with water, adding to the damage.

During the clashes a day earlier, parts of the parliament and a transportation authority office caught fire, but those blazes were put out quickly.

The violence erupted in Cairo Friday, when military forces guarding the Cabinet building, near the institute, cracked down on a 3-week-old sit-in to demand the country’s ruling generals hand power to a civilian authority.

Read more: Hindustan Times

Sir David Normington

The Commissioner for Public Appointments, Sir David Normington, today published his formal response to the consultation on his review of regulation of Ministerial appointments to public bodies and the final version of his new Code of Practice that will govern appointments to public bodies from April 2012.

Sir David said:

“I am today announcing a fundamental reform of the regulatory system for Ministerial appointments to public bodies. I have stripped away over 100 pages of detailed process and rules and focused the whole system on the principles of merit, fairness and openness in public appointments. In simple terms, I want to see a single-minded focus from Ministers and Government Departments on getting the very best people into public roles, appointed from strong and diverse fields of candidates, free of political patronage and cronyism.

“Today’s announcement follows 4 months of consultation on my original proposals. I received over 80 written responses, ranging from brief endorsements of my overall direction of travel to detailed comments on my proposals and the questions set out in the consultation document. During the consultation period I also held further discussions with many of those who have an interest in public appointments and have also benefited from the inquiry conducted by the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee. I am very grateful to all those who took the time to respond.

“Overall, the response to my proposals has been very positive indeed. There is clear and unambiguous support from the majority of respondents for my package of reforms: the simpler principles-based Code; more proportionate independent assurance; a reformed compliance and audit process; and improved reporting and transparency of practice.

“I have, therefore, decided to implement the essential elements of the new system as proposed in my consultation document but with some important changes of detail and emphasis, reflecting the comments I have received. The changes will come into effect from 1 April 2012.

EU Body Scanner Legislation

Brussels, 14 November 2011 -The European Commission has adopted today a proposal for an European Union legal framework on security scanners. This legislation allows airports and Member States that wish to use security scanners for the screening of passengers to do so under strict operational and technical conditions.

Member States have been trialling or testing security scanners¹, since a terrorist attempted on 25 December 2009 to blow up a plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit with plastic explosives he had hidden in his underwear. Until now the use of security scanners has been done under a patchwork of different national operational procedures and standards and in a limited way. As a common EU-wide framework, the new legislation legally allows Member States and airports to replace current security systems with security scanners. It also ensures the uniform application of security rules at all airports and provides strict and mandatory safeguards to ensure compliance with fundamental rights and the protection of health.

Member States and airports do not have an obligation to deploy security scanners, but if they decide to use them, they will have to comply with the operational conditions and performance standards set at European level.

Source: Europa

Italian President to hold talks

Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano is presently holding  discussions with senior politicians to find a successor and interim government after PM Silvio Berlusconi resigned yesterday.

Italy’s government is hoped to be in place before the world’s financial markets re-open on Monday. Mr Berlusconi left office among boos from members of the public and is still expected to face further scrutiny over his broken  election promises to sell off his company assets avoiding  conflicts of interest m corruption and infamous sex parties that brought shame on his far-right government and condemnation from his party’s  opposition and the  Catholic Church.

Berlusconi Leaves as Prime Minister

Silvio Berlusconi was Italy’s longest-serving post-war prime minister – and is still one Italy’s richest men. The man known as ‘the knight’, due to receiving the prestigious Italian Order of Merit  for Labour decoration in 1997;  the businessman and AC Milan chairman served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011.

In total Mr Berlusconi spent 10 years in office and has vowed to return following the austerity packages. Mr Berlusconi is an opponent of the austerity measures required to bring Italy back from financial collapse

Mr Berlusconi had a ‘different’ approach to political diplomacy,  as the now famous ‘snub’ footage of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and other delegates who awaited is arrival at the 2009 Nato Summit demonstate – he chose to keep her waiting while taking a mobile phone call.

Mr Napolitano is holding 17 meetings throughout Sunday with the last set for 5pm today and Italy’s new Prime Minister is expected to be the Ex-EU commissioner  Mario Monti , who will face a tough time implementing the new austerity measures to bring Italy into financial stability.  Last week it’s borrowing levels rose record levels as the country has been struggling among other hard hit Eurozone countries such as Spain and Greece.

Bahrain’s Anti-Regime Attacked

In Bahrain, regime forces have once again attacked the house of Sheikh Ali Salman, the leader of the opposition al-Wefaq party. Saudi-backed regime forces also fired tear gas canisters at his car parked near his home.

Bahrain was once again the scene of nationwide anti-regime protest rally on Thursday.

The demonstration left scores of peaceful protesters injured after regime forces used rubber bullets to quell the rally.  Since mid-February, thousands of anti-regime protesters have been staging regular demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain.

Scores of people have been killed, some of them while in custody, and hundreds more detained since the uprising began.

Meanwhile today there have been peaceful protests against the regime Al-Dair area.

Embassies in Egypt on Alert

Hours after protesters stormed the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, Egypt has vowed to protect all of its embassies and evacuate diplomats working within them .

Months after its new Government has taken power,  the interim military government said protesters involved in the attack on the Israeli Embassy would be on alert after the attack, so far three people have died as security forces fought rioters in Cairo.

Anti-Israeli feeling rose after violence on the Gaza border last month. Five Egyptian policemen were killed as Israeli forces pursued Palestinian militants. The clashes at the Israeli embassy, which went on through Friday night, have shocked people both in Egypt and abroad.

A report on Russian News confirms the most recent information at time of writing:
 

September 11 – 10th Anniversary Terrorist Threat

Recent intelligence obtained on Wednesday, and it is believed to have originated from the tribal areas of Pakistan, advised the United States of a plan to set off car or truck bombs in Washington or New York around the time of the 9/11 anniversary. Information about the attacks came from NBC this week.

The information indicated that three people would travel to the U.S. from Pakistan to carry out an attack, they said. However, the information included very little else in the way of specifics — in terms of timing or target.

Law enforcement officials were being alerted to be on the lookout for three men “of Middle Eastern descent” and potentially traveling in a van, they said. While the information had some specificity and the source has been credible in the past, it’s uncorroborated, officials warned.

New Yorks mayor Michael Bloomberg has said that the commemorations will go ahead as planned but under heightened police presence due to the warnings of a threat.

German Cow is Free at Last!

Yvonne the cow that escaped from a farm in Bavaria in May has been caught and thankfully the cow that stole the hearts of the German people in her fight for animal liberation is now at Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary where activists originally paid €600 to prevent her slaughter.

Although initially there was a €10,000 reward placed on her capture where she managed three months on the run before a farmer reported seeing her on his land.

Konrad Gutmann, 46, claimed the €10,000 reward by the German tabloid Bild – after seeing what he thought was a lonely animal wandering towars his land to befriend his cows.”It was just luck really. I was out taking a tour of my electric fence with my daughter Melanie at about 6pm when I saw Yvonne on the other side staring at the young cows. “. In  an interview with the Daily Mail he describes how after initially “She was very nervous,’   he herded her to his field.

The animal sanctuary that now owns Yvonne confirmed that the cow had been moved to her new home. She has been identified by the tag on her ear to being the missing cow.

Ayatollah : Dont let west ‘confiscate’ Arab spring”

20:57 31/08/2011
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s top leader warned the Arab world Wednesday not to allow Western powers and Israel to “confiscate” the region’s pro-reform uprisings, in comments that appear to reflect the Islamic republic’s unease about their standing in a profoundly altered Middle East.

Iran has tried to walk two paths since the pro-democracy rebellions began in February – lauding the popular revolts as modern-day heirs to Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, while maintaining relentless pressure on opposition groups at home.

But Iran is at risk of serious political setbacks. Iran’s main Mideast ally, Syria’s Bashar Assad, is under growing international pressure for his fierce crackdown on anti-government protests.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a speech broadcast on Iran’s state TV to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, reflected the added worries that the West and its allies could gain ground in the Arab Spring.

“Muslim nations in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen or other countries need vigilance today. They should not allow enemies confiscate the victories they’ve achieved,” Khamenei said. “They should not forget that those who have come to the scene in Libya (U.S. and NATO) today and consider themselves owners of the uprising are the same people who used to sit and drink with those who once suppressed the Libyan nation.”

Iran’s supreme leader, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, urged Libyans not to allow the U.S. and its allies to dominate their country.

On Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said his country secretly provided humanitarian supplies to Libya’s rebel National Transitional Council. Salehi said Iran had sent four medicine and food shipments to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

“Today they (U.S. and its allies) seek to take advantage of the situation. Nations must be vigilant and wakeful,” said Ayatollah Ali-Khamenei.

But he made no mention of Syria, where Assad’s regime is struggling to contain opposition forces.

Source: Huffington Post

ACTIVIST AND MOTHER ARRESTED

IRANIAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND MOTHER ARRESTED
Kouhyar Goudarzi, a member of the Committee for Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), was arrested on 31 July 2011 in Tehran, Iran, by plainclothes individuals believed to be from the Ministry of Intelligence. His mother, Parvin Mokhtareh, was arrested the next day. They are at risk of torture or other ill treatment.
Kouhyar Goudarzi was arrested at the home of a friend, together with the host and a friend. Neighbors reported seeing the three men taken away by plainclothes individuals believed to be from the Ministry of Intelligence. Since his arrest, members of Kouhyar Goudarzi’s family and his lawyer, Mina Jaffari, have inquired as to his whereabouts and have neither been given information on his whereabouts, nor confirmation of his arrest. Amnesty International fears he may be currently held in solitary confinement at Evin Prison in Tehran

Source : Amnesty USA