Obama and Romney compete for Jewish voters

On a trip to Israel, Mitt Romney is trying to win over a tiny sliver of a small -- but powerful -- section of the American electorate. President Barack Obama is doing the same at home.But while Romney's trip is unlikely to change the broader presidential campaign against Obama, he's hoping to close the gap among Jewish voters. For all the wooing of American Jews in presidential campaigns, those who say Israel's fate drives their vote make up 6 percent of a reliably Democratic bloc. The tiny numbers are overlaid with an outsize influence. Campaign donations from Jews or Jewish and pro-Israel groups account for as much as 60 percent of Democratic money, and groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee can bring strong pressure on candidates. "This is going to be a close election. We are in a tight, tight race," said Democratic pollster Jim Gerstein. "But this race will not swing on the Jewish vote." The notion of being an American Jew has changed over the years. Jews have married outside their faith and ethnic enclaves have given way to integrated cities. In the process, Israel has faded as a driving issue in their homes and seems to have faded as a flashpoint in politics. "They're disconnected from their ancestral roots," Hank Sheinkopf, a New York-based consultant, said of Jewish voters. "People are becoming less observant so they're less tied to Israel, less tied to their faith, less tied to their history." In turn, Jewish voters look at the election through secular lenses. Although the campaign rhetoric skews toward them when the candidates talk about Israel, assuming that Jews vote based on U.S. policy toward Israel is a losing proposition. Romney also needs to show his commitment to Israel because the reliably Republican evangelical Christian vote also holds candidates to account on that topic. "Jewish Americans, like most Americans, have come to assume that mainstream politicians and elected officials will stand strongly with Israel so there's oftentimes no urgency that is reflected in the polling," said Robert Wexler, a former Democratic congressman from Florida whose district was heavily Jewish. "Even partisan people who cherish the American-Israeli relationship cringe when Israel is used as a political football," said Wexler, who was a co-chairman of Obama's 2008 campaign and now leads the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace. That hasn't stopped Romney. "I think, by and large, you can just look at the things the president has done and do the opposite," Romney said earlier this year when asked about Israel. Obama has riled his critics, including Romney, by urging the Israelis and the Palestinians to make good on their promises to bring peace to the troubled Middle East. Specifically, Obama publicly has chastised Israel for continuing to build housing settlements in disputed areas and has pressured both sides to begin a new round of peace talks based on the land borders established after the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict.That has raised the ire of groups such as AIPAC, which feel he's been disloyal to Israel. Obama's strained relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- a longtime Romney friend -- hasn't helped that perception.The current administration has distanced itself from Israel and visibly warmed to the Palestinian cause," Romney told AIPAC's annual conference earlier this year, where Obama also spoke. Previous presidents have sided with Israel on all points, at least in public. "This is the most hostile president since the state of Israel was created," Romney supporter and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said recently. "He's demonstrated that hostility right from the beginning of his administration." Such language is designed to whittle away at the Democrats' long-held advantages and nip away at the 78 percent support Obama enjoyed among Jews on Election Day 2008. The Gallup polling organization reported Friday that Obama's standing stood at 68 percent among Jews, while 25 percent favored Romney. "They elected him with historic numbers but they have to look at how President Obama has handled the whole situation," said Rich Beeson, Romney's political director. "Voters can say, `I've not made a mistake, but he has not lived up to what he promised and it's OK to (vote for someone else).' Every vote that we can peel off from Barack Obama helps." That approach fuels the on-the-ground effort to continue Jewish voters' slide away from the Democratic fold. Romney allies at the Republican Jewish Coalition are planning a $6.5 million campaign to help GOP candidates, and Romney himself is looking to reach into Jewish communities in Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and Nevada. But the Jewish vote won't make a difference in this election. Exit polls show Jewish voters typically make up 2 percent to 4 percent of the electorate nationwide. In 2008, they were 2 percent of voters nationwide and Republican Sen. John McCain won just 21 percent of them. In 2004, George W. Bush fared a bit better, winning 25 percent of the vote, the largest share of the Jewish vote any Republican has earned since 1988. But that's not to say they don't have clout. "Jews are less important as voters than they are as activists and contributors. Jews provide pretty close to half of the money available to Democratic candidates," said Benjamin Ginsburg, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University. And it's not as though Israel alone will even decide Jewish voters' preference. A survey earlier this year by the American Jewish Committee found only 6 percent of American Jews listed U.S.-Israel relations as their top priority. The economy was the top concern, at 29 percent, followed by health care, at 20 percent. "When it comes to determining votes in the American Jewish community, it is not a safe assumption that Jews are single-issue constituency that cares only about Israel," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a pro-Israeli group that promotes a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through diplomacy instead of military action. "Jews are just like all other Americans. They're fully integrated in the United States. They are concerned about their jobs, their kids' education and just like all other voters, the voting patterns and approval ratings move in the context of the larger race," Ben-Ami said.

Turkey sets up secret anti-Assad rebel base with Saudi Arabia and Qatar - reports

http://www.rt.com

Turkey is directing the rebel fight against Bashar Assad, after setting up a secret base on its border with Syria, with help from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. It devises tactics and supplies weapons for the uprising, according to Reuters sources. It is unclear how long the base, described as the “nerve center” of the anti-Assad campaign has existed, and its location is given only as Adana, a city some 100 kilometers away from the border. Adana is home to Incirlik, a huge air base run jointly by Turkey and the United States, though it is not clear whether it was used for this operation. "Three governments are supplying weapons: Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia," said the source, reportedly based in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The source claims the base was set up at the request of Saudi deputy foreign minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Saud during his visit to Turkey, which was open to the idea. Turkey then took control of operations once the base was established. “It's the Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main coordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom." Disunited and badly trained when the uprising against President Assad began 18 months ago, recently Syrian rebels have had a string of successes against the supposedly better-trained and better-equipped regular soldiers. They have held down large parts of the country and advanced on the capital Damascus earlier in July. An audacious suicide attack last week took out four of the most senior security officials in the Assad circle. These successes may have been made possible by the steady flow of arms from the Adana location, most of which appear to have been purchased illegally to cover the sponsors’ trails. "All weaponry is Russian. The obvious reason is that the Syrian rebels are trained to use Russian weapons, also because the Americans don't want their hands on it. All weapons are from the black market,” claims the source, which says arms are also obtained by looting loyalist weapons stores. Ankara has enjoyed a difficult diplomatic relationship with Assad, whose family has been in charge in Syria for 40 years, and so immediately backed the uprising. At the same time, Ankara has staunchly denied arming the rebels. It has also condemned the suicide attack on ministers as an act of terrorism. Meanwhile, the small but wealthy state of Qatar has already played a key part in helping topple the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya last year, and was widely suspected of being involved in the Syrian civil war. Although the three countries involved have long been accused of arming the rebels, this is the first time specific information has emerged about a concrete center of operations. Turkey has also stepped up the war-mongering rhetoric against Syria, threatening to strike across the border. Ankara says it is alarmed by what it calls Kurdish terrorists who have established a foothold in northern Syria with a view to declaring autonomy. Dr. Ali Mohamad, editor-in-chief of the Syria Tribune blog, believes Turkey and the Gulf States are acting far beyond international law. “Saudi Arabia and Turkey seem to like the idea of the Middle East being controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, which they can control easily,” he told RT. “Thinking that this is their battle, it seems, gives them the privilege – that’s what they think. Nothing allows them to do so. This is against international law… And the question is, are they going to get away with this?”

Which way will the Philippines choose?

(People's Daily Online)

On the issue of South China Sea, there are only three ways for the Philippines to choose. First, rethink profoundly and resume friendly relations with China. In other words, the Philippines should strictly observe the principles of Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and promote the strategic cooperative relations for peace and development with China. After the tensions over Huangyan Island, the Philippines has done a self-examination that the government should focus on the domestic economic development and deal with tensions over Huangyan Islands properly. The Chinese side consistently upholds that before the dispute of South China Sea is resolved some nations concerned should actively discuss how to develop the related sea areas with each other while putting controversies aside, which is in line with common interests of the nations involved. If the Philippines chooses this way, it will embrace a bright future. Second, stir up new conflicts on purpose and lead the Sino-Philippine relations to a dead end. They include sending fishing boats, administrative ships and even naval vessels and airplanes to intrude into Huangyan Island and adjacent territorial waters and air space, illegal exploration and bidding of oil and gas in Chinese waters, harassment and arrest of Chinese fishermen who operate under normal conditions, promotion of the so-called "sovereign consolidation" on the islands illegally occupied by the Philippines, as well as " ASEANize" and "internationalize" the issue of South China Sea which means siding with the U.S. against China. However, this way will be narrower and darker. Of course, it cannot be excluded that the Philippines will tend to continue the third way. It hopes to maintain the relationship with China in attempt to benefit from China's rapid economic development while nibbling China's territorial sovereignty and ocean interests in the South China Sea. Specifically speaking, the Philippines intends to not only seek economic and trading advantages from China but also gain security guarantee from America. Importance to the Sino-Philippine relations is merely attached verbally. On the surface the Philippines is willing to resolve the disputes through peaceful means while it sabotages the relations in secret. In this way, the Philippines will play so many petty tricks as to create troubles for itself. Which way will the Philippines choose after all?

S. China Sea issue, where is Philippines’ restraint?

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said in his state of the union address on July 23 that the Philippines had shown “restraint” during the Huangyan Island stand-off in the South China Sea. It is ridiculous to say that Manila has shown “restraint.” Look what the Philippines has done. It has built a kindergarten on China’s Zhongye Island without the permission of the Chinese government, bid out oil and gas exploration areas in China’s territorial waters, sent warships to harass Chinese fishermen in the Huangyan Island waters, held joint military drills with the United States involving the exercise of retaking petroleum drilling platform, threatened to invite U.S. reconnaissance aircraft to patrol disputed areas in the South China Sea, and tried to take advantage of the South China Sea issue to “kidnap” the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The South China Sea would have been much more peaceful if without the successive little tricks of the Philippines. Restraint is one of the main principles established in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed between China and the ASEAN 10 years ago. According to Article V of the declaration, the parties undertake to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would not complicate or escalate disputes nor affect peace and stability including, among others, refraining from inhabiting currently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays, and other features, and to handle their differences in a constructive manner. Restraint requires the concerted efforts of both sides. The situation will worsen if one side exercises restraint, while the other refuses or pretends to do so. None of the Philippines’ dirty little tricks will change the fact that Huangyan Island belongs to China. As tensions have eased over the Huangyan Island dispute, China hopes the Philippines will take more actions that will help further ease the tense situation and promote the healthy development of China-Philippines relations. This serves the fundamental interests of both countries and their people, and will help promote peace in the Asia-Pacific region.

Russian FM warns of looming tragedy in Syria

PRESS TV

Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov warns of “looming tragedy” in Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo, accusing the West and some Arab states of urging armed battle. The Syrian government says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving factor behind the unrest and deadly violence while the opposition accuses the security forces of being behind the killings. Damascus also says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai demands handover, not demolition, of NATO bases

President Hamid Karzai and Afghan lawmakers called on the NATO coalition this week to stop demolishing Western military bases, saying that the facilities could be converted to schools, clinics and government offices. As NATO troops continue their withdrawal from Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition officials have begun to identify and dismantle bases that the Afghan army lacks the capacity to inherit or that are no longer operationally significant. Dozens more of the facilities, which range from one-room checkpoints to large operating bases, could be bulldozed over the next two years. Karzai has asked his defense minister, Abdul Rahim Wardak, to “take all necessary measures to stop the demolition of bases by NATO and make their handover possible,” according to presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi. Afghan officials in Kabul said they have been shut out of the process and have been forced to watch as some of the country’s most modern and best-fortified buildings are torn apart for no apparent reason. “They have spent lots of money for constructing the bases, and now they are spending more money for their destruction,” said Shukria Barakzai, a lawmaker. “We can use these bases for clinics, schools and for other administrative purposes.” NATO officials say that Afghan government officials do have an opportunity to claim bases before they are demolished but that they often do not act in time. NATO and U.S. forces engage “directly and regularly with the Afghan Ministry of Finance-led Base Closure Commission, who ultimately determines the disposition of bases,” said Lt. Col. Sarah Goodson, a spokeswoman for NATO forces. “On those occasions where the Afghan government does not desire a base which ISAF [the International Security Assistance Force] is leaving, the base is demilitarized and the ground is returned to its original state and appearance.” In June, the Reston-based firm Serco was awarded a three-year, $57 million contract to plan and document the dismantling of bases across Afghanistan. The company played a similar role in Iraq, where dozens of bases were shuttered rather than transferred to Iraqi control. To do the job, Serco will deploy teams that specialize in closing military installations. “It makes no sense to spend money to destroy a facility that you have spent money to build in the first place,” said Daud Kalakani, another lawmaker. Although the Afghan army is about 200,000-strong, U.S. officials say it lacks the logistical capacity to inherit the hundreds of bases that pepper Afghanistan, including many in isolated mountain ranges. Rather than spread the Afghan security forces too thin, U.S. and NATO officials are proposing a large-scale consolidation of bases. Some large installations are being downsized. And many will be dismantled — a process that can take weeks.

Peshawar University in dire financial straits

Financial woes of the University of Peshawar have enormously increased with officials blaming them on establishment of new government universities in the province and provision of small funding from the Higher Education Commission. A senior official told Dawn on Friday that the university, which was considered mother of all institutions in the province, faced a shortage of Rs864 million. “The university has lost 70 per cent of its revenue since new universities have emerged,” he said, adding that the current shortfall would increase if provincial government didn’t approve special grant of Rs500 million. Sources said the university was receiving maintenance grant from HEC, which released 50 per cent of the total grant committed in fiscal year 2011-12 adversely affecting financial health of the institutions. They said creation of new universities had resulted in squeezing scope and revenue of the UoP, which was established after creation of Pakistan but its jurisdiction had been confined to Peshawar district. They said the university was generating sufficient revenue through its affiliated colleges and other institutions. “Now, these colleges have been affiliated with the new universities. Some big institutions like Khyber Medical College, Frontier College for Women and Islamia College have been upgraded to universities affecting the university’s revenue,” a source said. Over the last decade, the government has established 17 new universities in the province. However, these universities, too, face serious financial and trained manpower problems. In certain cases, campuses have been converted into full-fledged universities. An official said recently, an associate professor had been appointed vice chancellor of the newly-established university in the province. He said in many universities, lecturers had been appointed heads of departments and faculties due to unavailability of qualified professors in the respective disciplines. Increase in the staff’s salary in line with the government announcement has burdened the university over two years. The government had announced 50 per cent increase in 2010-11 and then 15 per cent additional raise in 2011-12 and 20 per cent increase in the current fiscal year which overstretched budgetary deficit of the UoP. “The government takes credit for increase in salary but doesn’t compensate universities,” an official said, adding that the university was not in position to meet the gap by increasing tuition and other fees. “Being one of the oldest universities in the country, the UoP has around 14,000 students in morning and evening shifts,” an official said. He said the university was bearing the burden of a few constituent colleges and schools by its own resources. He added that these constituent bodies and affiliated colleges were a major source of the university’s income. The official said the university annually paid Rs100 million salary to staff and spent Rs10 million on electric supply, while its daily expenditure ran into millions of rupees. “The management has installed 30 power generators in faculties and hostels and each generator costs Rs8,000 a day,” he said. When contacted, UoP director (finance) Iftikhar Hussain said the management was taking certain austerity measures to narrow the gap between income and expenditure. “The university needs the provincial government’s help to pull itself out of financial crisis,” he said. The director said to cut its expenditure, the university had suggested a ban on purchase of new vehicles, renovation work, unnecessary expenditure and appointments.

Pakistan nominates SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for HIV and AIDS

Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has approved the nomination of Ms. Sharmeen Obaid- Chinoy, Journalist and Documentarion as principal nominee and Mr. Aisam Ul Haq, Tennis player, as alternate nominee, from Pakistan which would be conveyed to South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Secretariat for appointment of one of them as SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for HIV and AIDS, local media reported Friday. The approval was granted by the Prime Minister on a summary moved by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the PM office said. The SAARC Secretariat has invited one or two nominations from each member state for appointment as SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for HIV and AIDS. The practice of honorary appointment of SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for HIV and AIDS has been in place since 2008 as part of the work plan for the SAARC regional strategy on HIV/AIDS. The SAARC Council of Ministers confers this honorary title upon leading well-known figures in the region. It may be added that Ms. Shabana Azmi, an Indian actress and social activist, and Mr. Sanath Teran Jayasuriya, Sri Lankan cricketer, have served as SAARC Goodwill Ambassadors for HIV and AIDS for the period 2008 to 2010. Ms. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, is a Journalist and Documentarian and the winner of Oscar Award as well as SAARC Film Festival 2012 for her documentary "Saving Face". Mr. Aisam Ul Haq, is a Tennis player and National Goodwill Ambassador of United Nations Development Programme as well as Youth Ambassador of Pakistan Red Crescent Society.

NAB references: reissues summons to Sharifs

An accountability court in Rawalpindi resumed hearing of a petition filed against Sharif family by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for reopening three corruption references against them. The three references include the alleged corruption cases of Hudaibia paper mills, Ittefaq Foundry and Raiwind farm. Counsel of the Sharif Brothers‚ Akram Sheikh objected to the NAB applications saying the references cannot be reopened as long as the stay order given by the Lahore High Court is in place. On this, Prosecutor General NAB argued that in 2001 the references were adjourned for an indefinite period because the Sharifs were in exile, adding that it is NAB s discretion to submit application for reopening of the cases. Later, the accountablity court reissued summons notices to PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and their families. The court directed the counsel of the Sharif brothers to submit the reply of his clients on the next hearing. Hearing of the case has been adjourned till September 15.

Judges should know their bounds

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar on Friday expressed concern over the remarks made by the Supreme Court judges about the parliament. While addressing the Senate session, Babar said that the ruling of the National Assembly speaker had been overturned and the dignity of the parliament was continuously being hurt. He said that the SC registrar had been summoned by the Public Accounts Committee but he had been avoiding appearance. Babar said the judiciary should also uphold the parliament in the same manner as the parliament holds the judiciary. He further said that the judiciary should exercise restraint by keeping in view its jurisdiction.

12 million Pakistanis infected with hepatitis

With a national prevalence of 4.9% for hepatitis C and 2.4% for hepatitis B, Pakistan is currently facing an epidemic of

viral hepatitis. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 12 million Pakistanis are infected with hepatitis, the major causes for the spread of which include frequent use of therapeutic injections, re-use of syringes, inappropriate sterilisation practices and poor hospital waste management.

In Pakistan, many patients have lost their lives at the hands of quacks, who are known for mismanagement of hepatitis. “Pakistan needs to institute strictest possible laws to end quackery so that unwary patients don’t end up losing their lives. Mismanagement of hepatitis B and C can lead to liver cancer. It is, therefore critical that only qualified specialists be consulted for treatment,” Dr. Tashfeen Adam, head of the department of gastroenterology at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) stated on the eve of World Hepatitis Day here on Friday. He said, there has been a 25% increase in the number of hepatitis patients reporting this year, as compared to last year, and attributed the same to rising public awareness.

Sharing relevant data, PIMS spokesman Dr. Waseem Khwaja disclosed that between 350 to 400 patients suffering from various digestive diseases are treated in the Out-Patient Department of gastroenterology at PIMS every day. Sixty percent of these patients are diagnosed with hepatitis, and 2% new cases are diagnosed while screening of surgical cases. Moreover, 2,300 patients have been admitted and treated for complications of hepatitis like bleeding, drowsiness, infections and coma, since January 1, 2012, and five percent of the hospital’s emergency is occupied by patients suffering from complications of hepatitis. Dr. Waseem said, 3,500 patients of hepatitis C are receiving free interferon therapy from Zakat and Pakistan Baitul-Mal funds at PIMS. Two types of free interferon injections are being provided to hepatitis C patients. The executive director of PIMS Dr. Mehmood Jamal also stressed the need for patients to consult qualified doctors for treatment of hepatitis. Research by WHO shows that hepatitis can be acute or chronic, and may result in serious complications or even death.

Viral hepatitis affects 1 in every 12 people worldwide. It affects those close to them too. Around 500 million people worldwide are chronically infected with two types of blood-borne hepatitis: hepatitis B and C. Approximately 1 million people die each year from related complications, most commonly from liver diseases including liver cancer. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 17 million people are living today with hepatitis C infection, and approximately 4.3 million people are infected with hepatitis B infection every year. The key message of World Hepatitis Day is that hepatitis is preventable. Everyone can get this disease, yet it rarely affects those who consciously guard against it. Hepatitis is caused by a group of viruses that infect the liver through either consumption of contaminated food and water or exposure to unsafe blood and infected body fluids. Everyone has a role to confront hepatitis. At the community and individual level, certain behavioural practices increase the risk of these infections substantially, for example reuse of razor blades and injection syringes by traditional healers and tattooists and harmful behaviours such as sharing needles and drug abuse. Provision of safe food and water would greatly prevent hepatitis A and E. Within health facilities, screening of blood and blood products, safe injection practices and clean dental work can significantly reduce the risk of infection from hepatitis B and C. On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr. Ala Alwan has urged policy-makers, civil society, and health professionals to combine efforts to confront this silent epidemic. In a message, Dr. Alwan has drawn attention to the fact that the chronic nature of hepatitis B and C infection calls for strong focus on screening, care and treatment. “With early detection and appropriate management, it is possible to change the quality of life of millions of people who are living with this disease,” he has stressed.

Pakistan: Hepatitis — ‘It’s closer than you think’

www.statesman.com

Under the World Hepatitis Day theme “It’s closer than you think”, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is urging governments to strengthen efforts to fight viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that kills about 1 million people every year. In addition, an estimated 500 million people experience chronic illness from their infection with hepatitis; it is a major cause of liver cancer and liver cirrhosis. “The vast majority of people infected with hepatitis are unaware, undiagnosed and untreated,” says Dr Sylvie Briand of WHO’s Pandemic and Epidemic Disease Department. “Only by increasing awareness of the different forms of hepatitis, and how they can be prevented and treated, can we take the first step towards full control of the disease and save thousands of lives.” Types of hepatitis There are five hepatitis viruses defined by types – type A, B, C, D and E. Types B and C are of significant concern since a high proportion of people infected with these viruses may not experience symptoms at the early stage of the disease, and only become aware of their infection when they are chronically ill. This can sometimes be decades after infection. In addition, these two viruses are the leading cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer, accounting for almost 80% of all liver cancer cases. People can get hepatitis from either infected bodily fluids or contaminated food and water depending on the type of hepatitis. * Types B, C and D are contracted through the blood of an infected person (e.g. through unsafe injections or unscreened blood transfusions) and in the case of hepatitis B and C, also through unprotected sex. * Type D only infects persons who are already infected with type B. * Types A and E are typically transmitted via contaminated water or food and closely associated with poor sanitation and poor personal hygiene (e.g. unwashed hands). Effective vaccines are available for all the virus types, except C. Given the scale of the epidemic - with 1 in 12 people infected - and recent advances in prevention and treatment, the World Health Assembly in 2010 designated 28 July as World Hepatitis Day. The Day serves to promote greater understanding of hepatitis as a global public health problem and to stimulate the strengthening of preventive and control measures against infection in countries throughout the world. New framework In preparation for this year’s World Hepatitis Day, WHO is launching a new global framework to tackle the disease. The Prevention and control of viral hepatitis infection: Framework for global action describes four areas of work to prevent and treat hepatitis infection. Raising awareness, together with promoting partnerships and mobilizing resources constitute the first of the four priorities in WHO’s new framework. The others are: transforming scientific evidence into policy and action; preventing transmission; and screening, care and treatment. WHO will work with its Member States and partners on all four priority areas of the framework to help expand access to prevention, care and treatment programmes to people who need it. The framework will guide the development of regional and country-specific strategies to combat hepatitis.

JAMAAT-I-ISLAMI FOR DIVIDING BALOCHISTAN INTO 5 UNITS

Balochs and other nationalists had been demanding national provinces on the basis of language, ethnicity and culture since the inception of Pakistan. They resented the administrative provinces saying that the national entities are senselessly divided only for the advantage of the British colonialists who misruled the region for over a century. Balochs fought 200 small and big battles against the Royal British Army over 100 years of colonial rule for their national rights and opposed the colonial set up in Balochistan. More than a million Balochs lost their lives in wars against the Britons. The present Baloch struggle is the continuity of that struggle and it’s not for jobs and packages, nor it is a problem of law and order as the Government leaders and public servants try to mislead the people in general. When Britons occupied Balochistan, they divided Balochistan into five parts—first given to Iran, second to Afghanistan, third to Punjab, fourth to Sindh and fifth is present-day Balochistan in which annexed Afghan territories are also included in order to defend the imperial designs of Britons. Baloch nationalists demanded unified Balochistan within the framework of Pakistan by merging Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Jacobabad and its surrounding Balochistan settlement and merger of annexed Afghan territories, all non-Baloch areas, with Waziristan or FATA. Now the local Jamaat leader had come out with a novel idea instead of uniting divided Baloch territories, he wanted to deprive the Baloch of the provincial status of Balochistan as a bigger province. He demanded that there should five administrative units. He mischievously included Quetta into the unit along with the annexed territory of Afghanistan as if Quetta was also part of Afghanistan. Balochs had never claimed the annexed Afghan territory and considered it a part of the Pakhtun land thus it should be merged with Waziristan or FATA till a final decision they join a common Pakhtun Province within the framework of Pakistan. The Baloch capital of Quetta had never been a disputed territory and it is part of the Baloch mainland and there should be no confusion about it, at least for those claiming to be politicians and leading the major parties in this province. He took the plea that law and order situation is not good and thus Balochistan should be divided and major chunk of the unit, including Baloch Capital of Quetta, should go to his brother Pakhtun administrative unit. By and large, almost all the Ulema and religious scholars are first Pakhtun defending their petty Pakhtuns interests first and later they are Muslims. At least Pakistani politics proved this as the Pakthun Ulema had never defended the legitimate rights of the Balochs or other national groups for political reasons. They found pretexts to oppose the Baloch interests, including a single and grand Baloch province within the framework of Pakistan. Now we ask the Jamaat-i-Islami Amir that it is the policy of the party to deny provincial status to Balochistan and convert into simple five administrative units? We hope that it is not the policy of the party to deny Balochs the status of Province on any pretext and the Party still support the concept of federation with all Federating units enjoying equal rights. Pakistani State is a voluntary Federation of historic provinces consisting of Bengal, Punjab, Sindh, KPK and Balochistan. There are distinct nationalities and linguist groups are residing on their own territories for thousands of years. Pakistan was formed as a voluntary federation in which all the national groups are living together. The Jmaat-i-Islami had never supported the concept of One Unit, the involuntary sub-federation of West Pakistan, and joined the democratic forces in restoring the historic provinces of Pakistan. We hope that the Central Jamaat leader will clarify the party position before the country go to general elections where nationalists can make it a big issue considering it a deliberate move on the part of the establishment to oppose Balochistan as a single Baloch province.

Pakistan: Judiciary has become controversial

Daily Times

Judiciary has become controversial because it is legislating through its verdicts, said speakers at a discussion on ‘Who is Sovereign?’ The South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) organised the event on Friday. LUMS faculty member Dr Muhammad Waseem and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary Information Shafqat Mehmood were the key speakers on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Waseem said the Supreme Court was doing ‘judicialisation of democracy’ as the un-elected institution ‘judiciary’ was trying to penetrate into politics by setting aside the legislature. He said the people were sovereign because they showed their will through elected representatives. He said the discussion was going on in many countries that who was sovereign. “In the UK, the politicians discussed that parliament was sovereign while in the US, the constitution was being discussed as sovereign. In Pakistan, the critics quoted the example of the US that the constitution was sovereign but originally the people’s will was sovereign,” he added. “The judiciary is legislating by giving verdicts,” he said, adding that the judiciary thought that the constitution was its last refuge so the former was using the latter as an instrument to undermine parliament. He said even the politicians have weakened the basic structure of democracy and the parliament which wanted to bring change in the society because they always looked towards the un-elected institutions like the army and the judiciary during crisis. He said the institutional imbalance had expanded in Pakistan and the independence of judiciary was made personal rather than institutional. In Pakistan, Mehmood said, every institution thought that it was sovereign but this concept or thinking was altogether wrong because they had limitations. He said some undemocratic institutions were trying to overpower the democratic institutions. He said every institution should work within its parameters.

Exile deal debate: PML-N leaders shy of face-off on television, says Memon

The Express Tribune

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said on Friday that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leaders are reluctant to appear on TV talk shows when there is a chance that the debate will cover the exile deal struck by the Sharifs with Pervez Musharraf. Talking to reporters in his office, Memon said that the leaders of PML-N have told TV anchors over the phone that they would not attend any programme where Sharjeel Memon is present, because he always shows up with copies of the deal signed by Nawaz Sharif. The PML-N was at first not even willing to accept that there ever was a plea bargain. But, now when the copies of the deal are being shown to the PML-N leaders, they are reluctant to face the fact that “their captain chose to desert the ship instead of facing trials and persecutions” like other party workers.

U.S. And Pakistan Tense Talk in Conference

Tensions flared between the United States and Pakistan on Friday, as two top officials traded accusations of doing too little to combat Taliban sanctuaries in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The tart exchange between the officials, Douglas E. Lute, President Obama’s top adviser on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, took place during a conference in this bucolic mountain setting. Under questioning from Steve Kroft of “60 Minutes,” Ms. Rehman, speaking on videoconference from Washington, said that Pakistani Taliban fighters, who have taken refuge in two remote provinces in eastern Afghanistan, were increasingly carrying out rocket attacks and cross-border raids against Pakistan. “These are critical masses of people that come in; this is not just potshots,” Ms. Rehman said. She said that on 52 different occasions in the last eight months Pakistan had provided to American and NATO commanders in Afghanistan the locations from which the militants were attacking, to no avail. Immediately, Mr. Lute, a retired three-star Army general and deputy national security adviser who rarely speaks in public, fired back. “There’s no comparison of the Pakistani Taliban’s relatively recent, small-in-scale presence inside Afghanistan to the decades-long experience and relationship between elements of the Pakistani government and the Afghan Taliban,” he said. “To compare these is simply unfair.” Pakistani officials have long faced criticism from Americans and Afghans for what they say is their failure to stop militant assaults originating from safe havens in Pakistan, often with the complicity of Pakistan’s main spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate. But in the past several months, Pakistani officials have started accusing American and allied officials of the same problem coming from Afghanistan. Just last month, Afghan-based Taliban militants crossed into Pakistan to kill at least 13 Pakistani soldiers, beheading some of them, the military said. A senior Pakistani military official said at the time that more than 100 Taliban militants armed with heavy weapons had crossed the border in the attack. After the raid, the militants retreated back into Afghanistan. Pakistani Taliban fighters fled into Afghanistan starting in the summer of 2009 after a major assault by the Pakistani military on the Swat Valley in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Many have taken refuge in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nuristan Provinces, areas where they have strengthened their presence as American forces have withdrawn. Pakistani officials say that two senior Taliban commanders — Maulana Fazlullah from Swat and Faqir Muhammad from Bajaur — are taking refuge there while their fighters plan attacks in Pakistan. “We’re feeling a little bit of blowback from ISAF redeployments along the border,” Ms. Rehman said, referring to the NATO command in Afghanistan. The barbed exchange came during a wide-ranging 90-minute panel discussion in the Aspen Security Forum at the Aspen Institute here. The New York Times is a media sponsor of the four-day conference. At the beginning of the session, it seemed that Mr. Lute and Ms. Rehman were intent on building upon the recently agreed deal to reopen NATO supply lines into Afghanistan. Ms. Rehman said that the two countries had experienced “an extraordinarily difficult period” after an American airstrike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at an outpost near the Afghan border last November, but that they were still staunch allies. Mr. Lute said the countries shared the vital interests of defeating Al Qaeda and stabilizing Afghanistan. But the bonhomie did not last long. Ms. Rehman also criticized the Central Intelligence Agency’s drone strikes in Pakistan, saying they had reached the point of “diminishing returns” while also whipping up anti-American sentiment in the country. “This adds to the pool of recruits we’re fighting against,” she said.

Afghan president issues decree to curb corruption

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is under pressure from the international community to do more to battle corruption, has issued an ambitious list of government reforms that orders his ministries, prosecutors and judiciary to fight bribery, nepotism and cronyism. Karzai's 23-page decree also instructs officials to clear the attorney general's office and the courts of languishing corruption-related cases and do more than talk about bringing crooked figures to justice. Donor nations have long expressed concern about corruption within the Afghan government and $16 billion in aid pledged this month at a Tokyo conference is tied to a new monitoring process to assure that the money is not diverted by corrupt officials or mismanaged. Karzai has blamed international contracting procedures for some of the problem. In the decree, Karzai also repeated his request that high-ranking government officials or their relatives do not get rebuilding contracts. He also demanded that ministries and other governmental departments write up a flurry of progress reports on a myriad of issues — including efforts to resolve traffic problems in the dusty, congested Afghan capital, Kabul. The decree, issued late Thursday, is similar to an executive order, but is ambiguous about what happens to those who don't comply. It also does not spell out who will pay for the government cleansing that Karzai proposed. Political analyst Jawid Kohistani said he did not think the decree would stave off corruption in the government. "Karzai is acting late on corruption," he said Friday. "We have anti-corruption laws, but it is very difficult to remove corruption. It is hard to just remove corruption by a decree. He should start to remove corruption from inside the palace. "I'm not confident that this decree will bring good results because those people who are involved in corruption are high-ranking officials in the government. They have control of the economy and they also are grabbing the land. The low-ranking employees of the government — they are only getting small bribes." Afghanistan, with a history of war and international interference and support, has long been plagued by corruption. It has come in 180th out of 183 countries on Transparency International's corruption index, which scored countries based on perceived levels of public sector corruption. Only North Korea and Somalia were deemed to be more corrupt. Karzai, who has about two years left in office, has repeatedly promised to clean up corruption in his administration without much result. On June 21, he called a special session of the parliament to speak out against corruption — just ahead of the donors' conference in Tokyo, where the international community complained about corruption within his administration. "You should cooperate with me on these reforms. You have accused me of making deals. Yes, I have done so, but I had reasons. And now I am changing this. I am bringing reform from the inside," Karzai told the Afghan lawmakers in June. It was unclear what he had meant by "deals," although the president is frequently accused of letting allies keep powerful posts despite allegations that surround them. Highly placed government officials have been investigated but seldom prosecuted. Some of the graft investigations have come close to the president himself, implicating either family members in government posts or close Karzai associates. While Karzai expressed gratitude for the Tokyo pledges, he said his government was not solely to blame. He said the contracting process for development projects, which have poured billions of dollars into his war-torn country's fragile economy, have led to influence-buying. The anti-corruption decree also says: —Government officials are not to appoint relatives or friends to positions within the administration, or try to influence those who are making the appointments. —The Afghan Supreme Court is to finalize in the next six months all cases regarding corruption, land grabbing and targeted killings suspected of being conducted for political reasons. —Promotions and appointments within the Afghan army and police are to be reported to the president's office in an apparent effort to curb nepotism and cronyism. —All inactive courts are to be fully operating within nine months in all 34 provinces and their more than 300 districts. In rural areas, lack of government presence has lead citizens to turn to Taliban courts, which swiftly resolve disputes but undermine the government's influence. —The Finance Ministry is to send a report to the president in a month, detailing the outstanding loan money and property the government is trying to reclaim from the troubled Kabul Bank. The bank, which nearly collapsed in 2010 because of mismanagement and more than $800 million in questionable loans, became a symbol of the country's deep-rooted corruption. —Two public campaigns are to be developed — one to reduce violence against women and the other to promote national unity in Afghanistan, which has a patchwork of various tribes and ethnicities with a history of conflict. The withdrawal of most foreign forces by the end of 2014 has spawned fears of a civil war.

Gujranwala: girl burnt over marriage issue

A man Friday burnt her sixteen-year-old sister over a marriage issue against the will of her family. According to media reports, Beenish refused to marry against her will and that was unacceptable to her family. The incident occurred in Guru Nakakpura area. The girl was taken to Civil Hospital where doctors said that 70% of her body was burnt. On the other hand, uncle of the girl said that she tried self-immolation and not burnt by brother or anyone else.

Pakistan 'global leader' in visa, passport forgery: British envoy

Dubbing Pakistan as a "global leader" in visa and passport forgery, Britain's envoy here has said that visa fraud is a deep-rooted industry in this country. About 4,000 people were caught last year while trying to acquire British passports using fake documents, the UK's high commissioner to Pakistan, Adam Thomson, said. Pakistan was a "global leader" vis-a-vis fake passports and visas, he told reporters at the National Press Club on Thursday. Thomson said it was unfortunate that Pakistan had been rated a world leader in visa fraud. "Unfortunately, you people are world leaders in visa scam. Forgery is a strong industry here," he was quoted as saying in media reports. Thomson expressed satisfaction with Pakistan government's visa issuing system but added that no passport or visa system in the world could claim to be absolutely perfect. "There may be occasional slippages," he said. Referring to the British tabloid The Sun's expose of passport forgery in Pakistan, the envoy said, "I am no one to determine the truth of the British tabloid's story regarding passport forgery in Pakistan." However, he said British authorities have no evidence of anyone travelling to Britain on a fake passport as part of Pakistan's Olympic squad. "Getting accreditation is a lengthy process that requires months of scrutiny. It is almost impossible to become a part of contingent nearer to the start of Games," he said. The Sun has claimed that it uncovered a Lahore-based ring that could issue passports and documents that would allow terrorists to slip into Britain as support staff for the Pakistani Olympic team. The Pakistan government has dismissed The Sun's report and said it intends to file a lawsuit against the tabloid.

Bangladesh looks to the Blue Green Revolution for food security

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au

Bangladesh hopes to achieve self-sufficiency in food production by 2050 and alleviate poverty, with an ambitious scheme called the Blue-Green Revolution. The population is projected to grow from 164-million to 220-million in just under four decades, with the demand for food expected to soar. Bangladesh has been ranked "highly-vulnerable" to climate change. It now hopes to produce more food from the same area of land, without a huge environmental impact. Agricultural expert Professor Dr Nesar Ahmed says the benefits of the Blue-Green Revolution are many.

Presenter: Sen Lam

Speaker: Professor Dr Nesar Ahmed, Bangladesh Agriculture University and the University of Stirliing, Scotland

DR AHMED: You know that Bangladesh population is currently 164 million, and by 2050 the population will increase to 222-million. So by that time, our agricultural land will reduce and the population will increase and Bangladesh will face alot of pressure. So in that case, if we ensure food security, we must go for rice-fish farming. We have ten million hectares of rice fields, in addition, we have two-point-83 million hectares of seasonal rice fields, where water stays for a couple of months. If we use this water body for the next decade, if we convert 2.83 million hectares of rice fields to rice-fish farming and also prawn farming, Bangladesh would get around one million tonnes of fish, 1.5-million tonnes of additional rice and Bangladesh would earn around ten billion US dollars per annum. That would accelerate our economic growth. So if we adopt this farming system, Bangladesh would be a poverty-free and food secure country within a decade. As we have 700 rivers and tributaries criss-cross the country and we have fertile land, around 10-million hectares of land, suitable for rice-fish farming, and we have found that as Bangladeshi people eat rice and fish, both, and when they culture fish in their rice fields, that means they're getting their staple food, rice and fish. Also, coastal areas, a few advanced farmers culture prawns with fish in their rice fields. LAM: And of course, the prawns, one presumes, would bring extra income, because they can sell the prawns? DR AHMED: Yes, rice and fish for staple foods and household consumption and local markets, but when they culture prawn, that's a high value product for the international market, as almost all Bangladeshi prawns are exported to the USA and Europe, so culture of prawn may bring enormous earnings and bring benefits to poor fish farmers. LAM: Food security of course has long been a challenge for Bangladesh, so is this Blue-Green Revolution happening, catching on, in rural communities as we speak, or has it been slow in taking off? DR AHMED: Actually, Blue Green Revolution has not yet been widely cultured in Bangladesh, but a few number of small farmers have been adopting rice-fish farming. As Bangladesh is a small country, and our population is around 164 million. LAM: What are the obstacles, what's stopping Bangladesh from adopting it full-scale? DR AHMED: Our main problem is water management. There're floods and drought. So there's too much water during the monsoon when fish escape, and the farmers are not interested in rice-fish farming, and the drought also is one of the major constraints for fish culture in rice fields, as they can't go for rice-fish farming, if there's no water. Actually, the northern part of Bangladesh is a drought-prone area. LAM: So in terms of water management, how is Bangladesh coping? DR AHMED: I think it's possible to cope very easily. If a flood happens, we can use a net around the ponds or rice fields, so the fish cannot escape. Or we can also build hard dykes so we can conserve rain water or flood water, that is also one of the coping strategies of climate change. And in case of drought, we can provide irrigation facilities. Our challenge is irrigation facilities require electricity supply or power, and Bangladesh has been a little behind in this opportunity. So we intend to introduce 'micro irrigation' facilities. You know Bangladesh invented micro-credit. This year, it's 'micro-irrigation'. So if we introduce 'micro irrigation' in our system, we can easily go for integrated rice fish farming. If we need huge irrigation, we need huge power - that is not possible because our government's first priority is industrial development, even though the government is keen to develop our agriculture sector. So in that case, we use our rain water, flood water and side by side, small-scale irrigation facilities - that would help and be of enormous benefit to our food production. Sometimes, the farmers' association or a community-based irrigation management would work very accurately. We have good contact with farmers, it's a two-way process - sometimes farmers come to us, and if we discover a new findings, we'll introduce them to the farmers. So it's a two-way process. As our research is mainly associated with agriculture, the farmer is always our friend. LAM: And one of the consequences of the green revolution is 'chemical agriculture' which can be destructive. Is this issue being addressed? DR AHMED: Oh, yes, the green revolution is actually not so green, because it means high-yielding varieties of rice monoculture, that is not sustainable. And it requires huge amounts of fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides that have negative impact on society, environment and bio-diversity. Similarly, the Blue revolution also a negative impact, as it too requires huge fertilisers and chemicals. So that's why we suggest rice-fish farming, to help the integrated management of rice and fish, reduce fertiliser use, insecticide use, pesticide use and bring alot of environmental benefits. Topics:

President Zardari resolves to eliminate all types of discriminatory practices‚ abuses against women

RADIO PAKISTAN

The President said guided by the vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto‚ a number of legislative measures have already been taken to protect women President Asif Ali Zardari

has reaffirmed the resolve to eliminate all types of discriminatory practices and abuses against women. He was addressing a ceremony in Islamabad on Friday marking the end of 'One Million Signatures' campaign launched last year to stop violence against women. The President pointed out that discrimination against women is deeply routed in the social‚ political‚ economic and legal spheres of the society. Women issues are not limited to Pakistan but other countries in the region are also facing similar issues. Enumerating the present government's initiatives for women empowerment‚ he said highest priority has been accorded to addressing the issue of discriminatory laws against women. He said guided by the vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto‚ a number of legislative measures have already been taken to protect women. These include Adoption of the Protection against harassment of women at workplace Act 2010‚ Criminal Law (Amendment) Act‚ Acid Control and Acid Crime Act and Prevention of Anti Women Practices Act. The National Commission for Human Rights Act 2012 has also been enacted to monitor the overall human rights situation. He said that Women in Distress and Detention Fund Act 2011 has been promulgated to provide financial and legal assistance to the deserving women. Besides‚ 26 Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Centers for women have been established in various districts to provide immediate relief to female victims of violence. President Zardari said that one million women are receiving direct assistance under the government flagship Benazir Income Support Program. He said that the National Commission on the Status of Women has been strengthened to monitor the violation of women's rights. He said a proposal is also under consideration to give more representation to the women in the judiciary. Speaking on the occasion‚ Country Director of UN Women Pakistan Alice H. Shackelford lauded the legislative measures taken by the Pakistani government for the protection of rights of women. She emphasized the need for collective efforts to bring a positive change in the society. On the occasion‚ the President also signed the 'One Million Signatures' campaign‚ becoming the one millionth signatory to the campaign.

Why does violence continue to plague Assam?

Saudi forces open fire on demonstrators in Qatif : several injured

Saudi forces have opened fire on demonstrators in Qatif in the country's Eastern Province, leaving several protesters injured. Similar demonstrations have also been held in Riyadh and the holy city of Medina over the past few weeks. Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in Saudi Arabia, mainly in the Qatif region and Awamiyah in Eastern Province, calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, pokes fun at Mitt Romney

Romney's Olympics gaffe hands gift to Obama

Republican candidate backtracks on warning of 'disconcerting' signs for Games after rebukes by British PM and London mayor Mitt Romney leaves 10 Downing Street after meeting David Cameron. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images Mitt Romney handed Barack Obama a potential gift for the US presidential election campaign when the presumptive Republican nominee blundered on his first diplomatic outing by questioning whether London was capable of staging a successful Olympic Games. In a move that astonished Downing Street, hours before it laid on a special reception for Romney at No 10, he told NBC there were "disconcerting" signs about the preparations for the Games. One senior Whitehall source said: "What a total shocker. We are speechless." David Cameron wasted no time in rebuking Romney hours after his remarks were broadcast. On a visit to the Olympic Park, the prime minister said: "We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities in the world. Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere." Cameron's remarks were intended to be a light-hearted jibe at Romney, who used his famous management skills honed at Bain Capital to rescue the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Boris Johnson, the London mayor, joined in the jibes at a celebration to greet the Olympic torch in Hyde Park. "I hear there's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we're ready," Johnson yelled from the stage to a cheering crowd. "He wants to know whether we're ready. Are we ready? Are we ready? Yes, we are." Loading the player... Boris Johnson pokes fun at Mitt Romney Link to this video Romney rowed back after a 45-minute meeting in Downing Street where the prime minister expressed his unease about his remarks. "I am very delighted with the prospects of a highly successful Olympic Games. What I have seen shows imagination and forethought and a lot of organisation and [I] expect the Games to be highly successful," he said. When asked about the preparations for the Olympics in an interview on Wednesday night with the NBC anchor Brian Williams, Romney said: "There are a few things that were disconcerting, the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging. Because there are three parts that makes Games successful. "Number one, of course, are the athletes. That's what overwhelmingly the Games are about. Number two are the volunteers. And they'll have great volunteers here. But number three are the people of the country. Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment? And that's something which we only find out once the Games actually begin."n Washington, Democrats pounced on the comments. Harry Reid, the majority leader in the Senate, said they were an embarassment for the US. "It's not good for us as a country – it's not good for him – but as a country to have somebody that's nominated by one of the principal parties to go over and insult everybody," Reid told the Huffington Post. Romney's campaign team set up a conference call with US reporters in an attempt to limit the damage from the faltering UK visit. The campaign fielded Lousiana governor Bobby Jindal and Virginia governor Bob McDonnell in Romney's defence. "We're not worried about overseas headlines. We're worried about voters back here in America," Jindal said in comments reported by Talking Points Memo. The Olympics blunder came on top of what had been an inauspicious start to Romney's week-long overseas trip, designed in part to establish his foreign policy credentials with voters back home. His camp was forced to repudiate comments by an un-named adviser who told the Daily Telegraph that Barack Obama, the first black US president, had mishandled Anglo-American ties and that Romney better understood the "Anglo-Saxon heritage" between the two countries. On Thursday, Romney also took the unusual step of acknowledging that he had met the head of MI6, Britain's secretive foreign intelligence agency, when asked about his discussions with British officials about Syria. Such conversations are not normally discussed publicly by government leaders. "I can only say that I appreciated the insights and the perspectives of the leaders of the government here and opposition here as well as the head of MI6 as we discussed Syria and hoped for a more peaceful future for that country," he said. Romney also met Ed Miliband, the leader of the oppositon Labour party. Miliband took questions from two reporters from what he called "my side", but Romney would not take questions from US journalists. At one point, Romney called Miliband "Mr Leader", which prompted suggestions he had forgotten Miliband's name.There were also meetings with foreign secretary William Hague, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and former PM Tony Blair. Romney later went on to a fundraiser at the Mandarin hotel in London, at which he repeated his promise to restore a bust of Winston Churchill to the Oval Office in the White House if he is elected. Obama replaced the bust with one of Abraham Lincoln after his election, in what was interpreted in the British media as a snub to the transatlantic relationship. His campaign team claimed the event took $2m in donations, but there were reports earlier that ticket prices had been lowered, and that some people had been offered free passes.

Asian Americans should participate in US political affairs

Asian Americans took a huge step in participating in political affairs. According to the World Journal, about 30 Asian Americans ran for the U.S. Congress in 2012, setting a historical record. The figure was 10 in 2010 and eight in 2008. Judy May Chu, a Chinese-American member of the U.S. House of Representatives, said that the congressional election of 2012 will probably be a milestone for the Asian Americans. "It is an important step taken by us," Chu said in an interview with CNN. Two Asian American-based constituency for House of Representatives and one Asian American-based constituency for Senate were added in the redistricting plan announced in New York State on March 12, 2012, which is regard as a huge victory for Asia Americans in U.S. politics. Although some failed in the primary congressional election, there are three Asian Americans who won the success in New York, Tennessee and Florida and respectively became the first Asian-American candidates of congress in their own states. The article titled "Asian Americans participating in political affairs" is published by The Walt Street Journal on July 6, which says that there was not a congressman of Asian origin in past 12 years while the success of Chinese American Grace Meng in the sixth constituency in Democratic primary for House of Representatives opened a new page for New York's political history. Chu said in a program that the newly emerged Asian-American representatives in the U.S. mainstream society will help change the public's traditional impression on the Asian Americans and their participation in the leadership of the United States will enhance the political voices of Asian Americans. The exaggerated strength of Asian Americans Many media regarded the record number of Asian-American political participators as an embodiment of their increasing strength. A survey report of U.S. Pew Research Center described the Asian Americans as "successful, well-off and highly educated". Some media said that the Asian-American electors and electoral districts become increasingly mature and powerful in recent years. Grace Meng is the best example. Although economic situation, consciousness of political participation and political status are improved, some groups of Asian origin believe that their strength is exaggerated and the Western media were also suspected of misleading the public. There is still a long way for the Asian Americans to go There is still a long way for the Asian Americans, in the real sense, to participate in the political affairs, attract the attention of electoral camps and make their own voices heard. Actually, the lack of Asian-American managerial personnel also occurs in the fields of education, science and technology and business. In terms of political participation, the voting enthusiasm of Asian Americans from registration to poll is less than the groups of Latin-American origin. Therefore, the Asian Americans still need to make great efforts to enhance their potential and influence in the U.S. elections and safeguard their own interests by using political elections.

Pak military playing ‘double-game’ in Bara

By Richard Leiby

Haleem Gul and his family shelter under U.N. tarps in the ceaseless sun and wonder when it will be over: The militancy in their tribal homeland, the occupation by Pakistani troops, the numbing days in the refugee camp. “My greatest wish is to go home,” said Gul, a taciturn, 35-year-old shop clerk. Having waited for more than two years now, he gestured skyward with his hands and said he can only entrust his future to Allah. Gul’s return to the scenic, mountainous Khyber tribal area that borders Afghanistan also depends a great deal on the Pakistani military — which has made little headway in three years against a relatively small concentration of Taliban-allied insurgents, raising questions about the security forces’ capacity and will to defeat them. While the United States and NATO draw down combat troops in Afghanistan, Pakistan is still battling a fierce Taliban and al-Qaeda-allied rebellion that arose in part due to its alliance with the United States after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In recent years the Pakistan army has launched several successful operations to clear militant groups from other northwestern regions, and resettled millions of people displaced because of the fighting. But the opposite is the case in Khyber agency: Because of the continued instability, more than 350,000 people from the Bara district, a longtime commercial hub, have fled to Peshawar, the closest relatively safe metropolis. Sixty-one thousand refugees — including Gul, his wife and young daughter — now occupy the UNHCR’s Jalozai camp, southeast of Peshawar. Officials say food supplies there are running short. In Bara, where fighting has leveled homes, shuttered hospitals and businesses and impoverished those who remained, the Pakistani Taliban influence is growing, some residents said. This is particularly worrisome because convoys carrying NATO supplies to Afghanistan wind slowly through the surrounding areas, vulnerable to attack. Gunmen on Tuesday killed a truck driver in the first such attack since Pakistan ended its NATO-routes blockade three weeks ago; the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. The hard-core militant ranks are believed to number about 500. Estimates of troop strength on the Pakistani side — mainly the paramilitary Frontier Corps, commanded by Pakistani army officers — top 5,000, but neither figure could be independently confirmed. “Not a single village has been cleared by security forces,” said Abdul Wahid Afridi, a leader in the secular Awami National Party who is based in Khyber. “The militancy could be collapsed. All the people are asking why can’t the army eliminate them? Why not, after three years?” To Haseebullah Khan, 37, another refugee from Bara, the answer is simple. “They don’t want to do it,” he said. “This is beyond our thinking.” Pakistani military officials did not respond to e-mailed questions. Foreign journalists are barred from Khyber agency and Pakistan’s seven other semiautonomous tribal areas, so it was not possible to corroborate the refugees’ statements. Some military analysts describe what’s going on in Bara as part of a long-standing “double game” in which Pakistan’s military establishment protects certain Taliban groups as a way to ensure influence in a future Afghan government after U.S. combat troops depart. “It cannot burn bridges,” said Ayesha Siddiqa, a columnist and author of a book on the Pakistani military. “From Washington this looks like a double game. From Islamabad’s perspective, this looks like a desire to build a constructive shield around itself when the U.S. draws down and Pakistan will deal with the consequences.” Ejaz Haider, another writer and analyst, said the military operations in Bara have been small-bore and less effective than the major offensives elsewhere. The security situation also is complicated by a terrain that favors the militants, who can shift quickly from one area to another. Haider disputed the notion that the military — which has lost nearly 3,500 troops fighting against the Pakistani Taliban and other radical Islamists — would back its enemies. “I don’t believe there is any official policy at any level that is supporting groups that are killing soldiers,” he said. At Jalozai, the largest of the three UNHCR camps left in Pakistan, the Bara refugee influx hit an alarming high of 10,000 a day in mid-March. It has since ebbed, but Save the Children, UNICEF, and the U.N.’s World Food Program have put out urgent appeals for donations. The World Food Program recently had to reduce three of its camp rations — high-energy biscuits, yellow split peas and a nutritional supplement — by half, officials said. Further cuts may have to be implemented. “We are basically running out of food,” Robin Lodge, a WFP spokesman, said as U.N. officials gave a tour one day this month to European diplomats, hoping to drum up financial support. It was 115 degrees — especially dangerous for people from cooler, mountainous climes like Bara’s. In the flat expanse of the camp, medical workers paid special attention to pregnant women — 189 of them live in the latest sections of Jalozai to open. In another tent, mothers cradled newborns. Children in the camp are regularly screened for malnutrition, but there is not enough money to monitor that majority of refugees who live elsewhere in the Peshawar area. Back in their tribal districts, some besieged residents have turned to drug smuggling, kidnapping or joining the Pakistani Taliban for income. The insurgents pay about $100 a month — triple what a man can earn at hard labor, said a tribal leader who spoke anonymously for fear of reprisals. “And for joining the militants he gets great respect,” the tribesman said. “The militancy is not under control,” he added. “And day by day things are going to get worse.” Pakistani military and government officials deny the persistent U.S. argument that Pakistan tolerates and even promotes attacks by some militants to ensure a proxy role in the Afghanistan endgame. “Let me assure you that Pakistan does not support any terrorists,” the country’s newly installed prime minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf, told reporters during a visit with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul last week. “It is not in our interest and we cannot afford it.” When U.S. officials raise such accusations, Islamabad points out that Pakistan has sacrificed considerable blood and treasure, including 25,000 civilian deaths. It cites the displacement of 3.5 million citizens as part of the cost of carrying out military operations. Refugees Haleem Gul, his wife, Ishrat Bibi, and their 9-year-old daughter, Hina, are part of the collateral damage. Their loss can be seen in a picture the father painted and hung on one of the tarps that serve as walls for their hovel. It looks at first like a cheering reminder of their home in the scenic, green reaches of Bara, an urn filled with red flowers. But it bears this inscription underneath: “Disappointment is the other name for death.”

Punjab govt footing bill for PML-N social media revamp

Published in The Express Tribune

The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has hired two advertisement agencies for publicising and promoting its activities, party sources told The Express Tribune. The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s social media politics team after recommendations by the PML-N senior leadership and the Punjab government’s information technology-related officials, they added. The meeting, chaired by party president Nawaz Sharif, took place at his Raiwind residence. Punjab Board of Information Technology (PBIT) Chairman Umar Saif gave a presentation to the participants, discussing the PML-N’s current presence on social media and the appeal of the party’s manifesto for the youth. PML-N constituted its team of social media experts to counter the web presence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). According to some party officials, however, the team was hired by the Punjab government but has been utilised solely for PML-N objectives. A well placed source in the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade said that two floors of the board’s offices at Arfa Karim Tower were currently occupied by the PML-N’s social media teams, who had been working day and night to accomplish the party’s social media goals. He confirmed that the workers were hired by the Punjab government under PBIT, along with various other departments like the Punjab Sports Board. The Punjab government set up a five-member committee last year to spruce up its image with a social media campaign. This team however, is apparently being utilised to promote PML-N’s social media presence.

Hamza Shahbaz to appear before NAB on July 28

NAB Punjab has issued notices to Sharif family after registration of references against them. Addressing a press conference in Lahore, PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz said that NAB had sent him a notice to appear on July 28. Hamza said he had received the notice himself and he will appear before NAB as he respected all institutions. He added that he will bring all documents with him and would prove before the NAB that his family was not involved in any sort of corruption.

NATO: Afghan militant attacks up 11 percent

http://news.yahoo.com

The U.S.-led coalition says insurgent attacks in Afghanistan during the past three months were up 11 percent, compared to the same period last year. The latest statistics also say that the number of attacks in June was the highest for any month since fighting surged in the summer of 2010. NATO released the figures on Thursday. They indicate a disturbing uptick in attacks at a time when foreign troops are leaving and insurgents are trying to prove they remain a potent force. The coalition offered two possible reasons for the uptick. It says a shortened poppy harvesting season prompted insurgents to start their spring offensive earlier this year. Also, with more Afghan security forces on the ground and taking the lead in more operations, more of them are getting killed.

Pakistan suspends Nato supply route over security

www.statesman.com

Pakistan has temporarily stopped Nato supply trucks crossing its northwestern border into Afghanistan over security concerns due to fears of terror attacks, officials said Thursday. Gunmen on Tuesday attacked a convoy of Nato supply trucks, killing a driver, in the town of Jamrud near the main northwestern city of Peshawar, in the first such attack since Pakistan lifted a seven-month blockade of the border. "Movement of Nato vehicles has been temporarily suspended since Wednesday evening to beef up security," a paramilitary official told AFP. "We have launched a search operation in the hills surrounding Jamrud," the official added. On Wednesday officials at the northwestern Torkham crossing had said traffic was picking up for the first time since the blockade ended, with more than 100 vehicles crossing in recent days. Local administration official Bakhtiar Khan confirmed Thursday the supply route had been suspended due to "security reasons". "Intelligence officials have informed the authority that attacks may occur on Nato vehicles this week and in the light of this a security plan is being chalked out," Khan told AFP. He said the Nato route would "resume very soon", but that until then trucks carrying supplies for the 130,000-strong US-led mission in Afghanistan had been told not to approach the border. "We have been told by authorities to wait here as they are building up security after the firing incident," Amanullah Khan, a Nato truck driver, told AFP in Peshawar. So far, the closure has only affected the Torkham crossing. At the southwestern crossing of Chaman, some 17 trucks were awaiting clearance to enter Afghanistan and 20 other trucks were parked in Quetta, clearing agent Ashraf Khan told AFP. Islamabad closed its land routes to Nato convoys after US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on November 26, but reopened them after Washington said sorry for the deaths. Before the blockade, around 150 trucks crossed into Afghanistan each day at Torkham - the closest border crossing to Kabul - and officials say the flow will rise to up to 300 a day.

Pakistan: National conference

IN theory, it’s a sensible idea: assemble the country’s political leadership for a roundtable conference and get them to focus on the country’s internal and external problems. In Pakistan, however, practice is far removed from theory. So is the MQM’s attempt to reach out to other political parties for a roundtable conference likely to yield anything? In recent years, seemingly every political party has mooted a national conference for one problem or the other. Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani popularised the idea of national conferences — on Balochistan, on power, on solving poli-tical problems — and soon the opposition was doing the same. But as Balochistan continues to burn and power continues to run short, the national conferences and roundtable ideas clearly have not amounted to much so far. However, past failures shouldn’t deter further attempts and already in the MQM’s outreach there is at least the possibility of one positive development: violence in Karachi may dip as the various political players in the city get together on the national stage for a round of consultation and frank discussions. The meeting between MQM and ANP leaders in Islamabad on Tuesday will have come as some relief to the beleaguered citizens of Karachi who must deal with news of killings, bombings, attacks, kidnappings and extortion rackets on a daily basis. Of course, of one meeting peace is not made in a city as complex as Karachi. Nor will a national conference necessarily bring down the organised violence and crime in Karachi immediately. Nevertheless, as long as channels of communication are kept open and expectations build that something positive will happen, there is possibility that a peaceable solution will be found. After all, while it may not seem so at the moment, Karachi is too important a city to be left at the mercy of forces of disorder and violence. Beyond Karachi, the MQM’s outreach to parties from the Jamaat-i-Islami to the PML-Q to the PML-N could be the right tonic for stabilising national politics at a time that the judiciary vs government spat is fuelling all manner of speculation. The MQM’s status as a regional party is a positive in the sense that other major parties, such as the PML-N, may not necessarily feel they are being lured into a public relations’ trap by a national rival. Then again, the MQM’s historically prickly relations with most other political parties could be an impediment to a well-attended and successful roundtable. Still, it’s worth a shot, particularly if the politicians can hammer out a realistic strategy on education or health — the polio crisis, for example — and boost the public’s faith in the democratic process.

INVOLUNTARY REPATRIATION OF AFGHANS SHOULD BEGIN NOW

EDITORIAL:

The hypocritical approach towards the Afghans by the establishment should now end and all of the Afghans should be sent back to their home country, voluntarily or involuntarily. In 1980s, they were valuable political guests we needed to oust the nationalist and radical Government in Kabul as the imperialist world and their agents desired it. Now they are unwanted guests of Pakistani people, if not the State, and considered a serious economic and security burden in the wake of serious political and economic crisis Pakistan is facing. The Afghans contributed a lot in deepening the crisis of survival making it more complicated by siding with the enemies of Pakistan. In a conference in Australia, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, categorically declared that Pakistan would not accept the Afghan refugees after December this year. After December, the international community should establish refugee camps on the Afghan side of the international frontier and keep them there as long as the community wants. There is no place for Afghans on the Pakistani soil and the period of hospitality is over as they became a serious security threat. They are a serious burden and a security risk for Pakistan thus they should be herded out of all major cities of Pakistan, mainly Quetta, Karachi and Lahore, as the Government had already barred Afghans from Peshawar and Islamabad. We hope that the announcement made by the former Prime Minister in Australia is part of the State policy and not the personal views of the former Prime Minister. For this, the Government should make preparation to take all Afghans out of the major population centres, mainly Quetta, Karachi, Lahore, settle them in transit camps close to the Afghan borders till such time they are repatriated to Afghanistan. If they try to leave the camp should be arrested. Pakistan Government had fulfilled all its international commitment by providing them shelter, food, jobs and other services which were denied to the Pakistani citizens, mainly the Baloch people, to this date. There is no violation of international obligations on the part of the Government of Pakistan. Now the International Community should play its role by providing food, shelter and other facilities to Afghans on other side of the international frontiers. It is up to the Afghans they want to go back to their homes or prefer to stay in refugee camps inside Afghanistan. The international community should bear the cost of the refugees, including for their food, shelter and other comforts besides transporting them to Afghanistan from different points in Balochistan and KPK. The UNHCR should stop apply pressure tactics on the Pakistan Government, using power and influence of the super powers, to allow Afghans to stay back or settle permanently in Pakistan as they spent three decades in Pakistan. This argument is not acceptable and if the Government surrenders to the pressure from the international community allowing the Afghans to stay back, the Government will face wrath of the people who were deprived of their means of livelihood on the pretext of humanitarian assistance to the Afghans. The Afghans are economic refugees as they are facing no threat to their life as there is a friendly nationalist Government in Kabul and they are not at war with the Kabul Government. The Afghans are here for economic reasons or the militants misusing the goodwill of the people of Pakistan by using the Pakistani territories in launching attacks on Afghan and other foreign forces for political reasons. The militants should be first to be kicked out from Pakistan so that they should not undermine the security of the people of Pakistan. They use Pakistani territory as a springboard in attacking the US and other foreign forces; providing a risk of retaliatory attacks on Pakistan in which the people of Pakistan will suffer the most. The Afghan militants should not be acceptable at the cost of the innocent people of Pakistan. It is the responsibility of the Government to provide security of life to its own citizens. It should be the politics of the state to defend the people first against all pressure or incentives from foreign powers.