Clinton: more than 2,000 dead in Syrian crackdown

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday accused the Syrian government of killing more than 2,000 of its own citizens during its ongoing brutal crackdown against opposition protesters as the Obama administration moved to further isolate President Bashar Assad and his inner circle.
The administration is unhappy with Assad's

actions in trying to quell the five-month-old uprising.

"We think, to date, the government is responsible for the deaths of more than 2,000 people of all ages," Clinton said, repeating the administration's position that "Assad has lost his legitimacy to govern the Syrian people."
She said the U.S. would "continue to support the Syrians themselves in their efforts to begin a peaceful and orderly transition to democracy" and renewed calls for the international community to unify behind steps to isolate Assad and his regime.
Clinton's comments, made at a news conference with visiting Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, came just hours after White House press secretary Jay Carney said Assad is "on his way out" and the administration hit a prominent pro-regime businessman and his firm with sanctions.
"The actions that he has taken ... are reprehensible and appalling," Carney told reporters. "And we believe that country will be better off without him."
Earlier, the Treasury Department announced that it had slapped sanctions on Assad family confidante Muhammad Hamsho and his firm, Hamsho International Group, that freeze any assets they may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from doing business with them.
The penalties did not target Syria's energy sector, something administration officials had repeatedly suggested was coming. Officials said those sanctions, which are expected to hit state-owned and state-affiliated oil and gas companies that are a leading revenue source for the government, are still in the works and could be unveiled in coming days.
Treasury Undersecretary David S. Cohen said Hamsho, who is also a member of Syria's parliament, had become wealthy through his connections to Assad and his brother, Mahir, and other members of the regime who have ordered the crackdown on the five-month-old uprising.
"Muhammad Hamsho earned his fortune through his connections to regime insiders, and during the current unrest, he has cast his lot with Bashar al-Asad, Mahir al-Asad and others responsible for the Syrian government's violence and intimidation against the Syrian people," Cohen said. "The sanctions we are applying today to Hamsho and his company are the direct consequence of his actions."
Hamsho's holding company has about 20 subsidiaries ranging from construction, civil engineering, telecommunications and hotels to carpets sales, horse trading and ice cream production.
In a statement, Treasury took several other shots at Hamsho, saying his commercial success was due to his regime connections "rather than his business acumen" and that he had "paid large sums of money to secure his seat" in parliament.
In May, the administration imposed sanctions on Assad and several senior Syrian officials to protest the deadly violence being used to quell demonstrations. But calls for additional steps have been growing since Sunday when the regime ordered troops into the restive city of Hama, where they have shelled buildings and shot indiscriminately at residents.
Rights groups say more than 100 people have been killed since the siege of Hama started on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The European Union imposed additional sanctions on Syria this week and on Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council condemned the violence. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers have been demanding that the administration broaden its approach by slapping penalties on more regime members and target the energy sector.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Thursday's announcement should not be seen as a one-time-only action and that further steps are coming.
"We're looking at ways to increase both political and financial pressure on Assad, and look at ways to put a squeeze on them, on his regime if you will, to constrain their revenue and to make it harder for them to carry out these kind of assaults," he told reporters. "What's important is that we continue to build the pressure."
Toner also said U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford was leaving on Thursday to return to Damascus. Ford had been in Washington since Sunday for consultations and to testify before Congress. Some lawmakers had urged the administration to recall Ford permanently as a further show of displeasure with the Assad regime. Italy this week recalled its ambassador and urged others to do the same. But Toner said the administration believes Ford should return.
"It's very important for him to get back on the ground where he can go back to his vital work to outreach to the Syrian opposition, as well as continue to press our concerns with the Syrian government," he said.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: ''HAPPY BIRTHDAY''!!!!

President Obama turns 50 ....HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT OBAMA FROM PUKHTUNKHWA TIMES!!!!

Free finally of the debt limit crisis, President Obama celebrated his 50th birthday with friends and raised campaign money in Chicago. Bill Plante reports on the president's mid-century blowout.

Saudi Women.....No 'Spring'

In the midst of the Arab awakening, women fighting oppression—in Saudi or any other Muslim nation—is doomed to fade away into a dark night.
Earlier this year, the world watched with bated breath as Egyptian women took to the streets alongside men to protest Mubarak’s rule and demand democracy. Cynically, men encouraged women’s participation—only to betray them once Mubarak was removed. Merely a few months later, Egypt—formerly the more modern among Muslim nations—has regressed into gender apartheid the like of which the country has not been seen in decades, and “modesty squads” roam neighborhoods in search of errant women whose appearance or behavior defy the Extreme Islam’s dictates.
Does anyone believe that Saudi women will fare better in their quest for the right to drive? In 2010, the Global Gender Gap Report ranked Saudi Arabia 129th out of 134 countries for gender parity (down from spot #114 in 2006.) Islamic patriarchal system has kept Saudi women not just from driving, but from traveling, working and even signing medical forms without the permission of a male guardian—any male relative, even their own minor child.
Gender apartheid is the basis for the entire Muslim social structure. The Arabic word “fitna” means both civil disorder and beautiful woman. In his 2004 article, “Female Desire and Islamic Trauma,” Islam scholar Daniel Pipes explains:
“The entire Muslim social structure… goes to great lengths to separate the sexes and reduce contact between them. This explains such customs as the covering of women's faces and the separation of women's residential quarters, or the harem. Many other institutions serve to reduce female power over men, such as her need for a male's permission to travel, work, marry, or divorce. Revealingly, a traditional Muslim wedding took place between two men – the groom and the bride's guardian.” The reason, Dr. Pipes explains, is rooted by the view that a woman’s sexual desire is so great, that believers are obsessed with the dangers posed by her presence. “So strong are her [sexual] needs …she represents the forces of unreason and disorder. …She must be contained, for her unbridled sexuality poses a direct danger to the social order.”
For that reason, in 2002, in Saudi Arabia, religious policemen prevented fourteen-year-old schoolgirls from leaving a burning school building because they were not wearing their headscarves and abayahs. Fifteen girls died.
The Quran was written long before automobiles were invented. Therefore, it did not specifically prohibit women from driving. It did not even forbid women from riding horses or camels. And in a society obsessed with the modesty of women’s dress, cars actually hide women better than any other methods of transportation. Saudi Arabia’s leaders’ explanation that women driving is unsafe and leads to sexual impropriety is entirely false, as women are routinely pinched and groped through the chadors when walking in the streets, and are often sexually harassed by taxi drivers—or even raped by their own chauffeurs.
On the other hand, driving women around has created a source of income for many Saudi men: there are hundreds of thousands of chauffeurs in Saudi Arabia. Removing the religious fatwa against women driving would deeply affect an entire profession.
Phyllis Chesler has written extensively that subjugating women is behind the brutal misogynistic Islamic practices such as female genital mutilation, stoning and immolation of women, beatings, forced marriages, child marriages and polygamy. Now that Muslim feminists are taking to the streets in protest for the right to drive, they are beaten by mobs, yet have no legal protection even in cases of barbaric assault or rape. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, commented at FoxNews.com "… [Saudi] women's rights activists have very little [legal] protection for their physical well-being …This is the problem in a corrupt society…. Republics of fear oppress and repress their citizens by allowing criminals to do the dirty work of the government. It allows the government to keep [its] hands free."
Saudi Arabia is the only country that prohibits women from driving. But viewing the protesting women in context of the men’s dread of female power to cause civil disorder, it is clear that breaking any taboo carries the unthinkable threat of women seeking rights for representation in government, in marriage and divorce, or in property ownership.
In the midst of the Arab awakening, women fighting oppression—in Saudi or any other Muslim nation—is doomed to fade away into a dark night, because the power to relinquish control lies in the hands of their oppressors: men, government, and Islamic religious leadership.

Stocks Plunge on Fears of Global Turmoil

What began as a relatively weak day in the stock markets ended in the worst rout in more than two years, as investors dumped stocks amid anxiety that both Europe and the United States were failing to fix deepening economic problems.

With a steep decline of around 5 percent in the United States on Thursday, stocks have now fallen nearly 11 percent in two weeks, culminating in a frantic sell-off as investors sought safer investments — including Treasury bonds, which some had been avoiding during the debate over extending the nation’s debt ceiling.

Sparking the drop was an unsuccessful effort by the European Central Bank to reassure the markets, which instead ended up spooking investors. The bank intervened with a show of support to buy bonds of some smaller countries, but not Italy and Spain, whose mounting troubles have come into the spotlight. This was taken as a sign that the recent rescue packages put in place by Europe could soon be overwhelmed by the huge debt burdens in those two countries.

Investors were further unnerved by a candid remark by José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, who seemed to confirm fears about the sense of political paralysis. Rather than play down the problems, as European officials have done since the debt crisis began last year, he said, “Markets remain to be convinced that we are taking the appropriate steps to resolve the crisis.”

With investors in the United States already focusing anew on fragile economic growth and high unemployment, waves of selling of stocks began in Europe and continued throughout the day in the United States. Analysts said the market still might have further to fall, as investors reassess the dimming economic prospects. In the short run, attention will be focused on critical unemployment numbers for July to be released on Friday morning. And some in the markets are already questioning whether the Federal Reserve has done enough to mend the economy and whether it could soon take further steps to stimulate growth.

On Thursday, more than 14 billion shares changed hands, the heaviest selling in more than a year. In addition to being unnerved by weaker economic data reported in recent days, investors appeared to lose their optimism about the strength of corporate profits that had driven increases in the stock market in the first half of this year.

At the close, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 60.27 points, or 4.78 percent, to 1,200.07. The Dow Jones industrial average was off 512.76 points, or 4.31 percent, to 11,383.68, and the Nasdaq was down 136.68, or 5.08 percent, to 2,556.39.

The S.& P. 500 has now fallen 10.7 percent from 1,345 on July 22, underlining the new negative investment sentiment about the economy and about Europe.

“We are now in correction mode,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at Standard & Poor’s. “We could have another couple of weeks to go before it bottoms.”

The last time the market was in a correction was last summer, when it fell 16 percent before recovering.

Analysts said credit markets were still healthy and the United States was now stronger than just a few years ago so that a repeat of the financial crisis was unlikely.

“There is a huge difference — during the financial crisis the banking sector broke down. Right now it’s a crisis of confidence based on weak economies but the banking sector is not broken,” said Reena Aggarwal, professor of finance at Georgetown University.

Washington’s reaction to the market’s tumble was muted. The Treasury Department said it did not plan to issue any statements or provide officials to comment.

“Markets go up and down,” said the White House spokesman, Jay Carney. “We obviously are monitoring the situation in Europe closely.”

As the prospects for economic growth dimmed, several commodities, including oil, silver and palladium, fell by more than 5 percent, perhaps producing some good news for consumers.

With oil prices dropping below $87 a barrel, wiping out the rise caused by unrest in the Middle East and North Africa earlier in the year, drivers can expect sharply lower gasoline prices just in time for the Labor Day weekend and back-to-school shopping.

Agricultural crops and most industrial metals fell somewhat less drastically, with copper falling 1.9 percent, aluminum by 1.7 percent, corn by 1.9 percent, wheat by 3.4 percent and soybeans by 1.8 percent.

Taken together, the drops should mean lower input costs for manufacturers and give the Federal Reserve more policy options should the economy continue to slow.

A closely-watched survey of American investor attitudes provided by the American Association of Individual investors on Thursday showed the biggest increase in bearish sentiment for five years in the latest week. As investors fled assets like stocks, they piled into the perceived safety of United States Treasuries where 10-year interest rates fell to 2.64 percent, recording the biggest one day fall since March 2009.

Yields on one-month United States notes actually fell into negative territory before closing at zero.

Besides piling into treasuries, institutional investors are also seeking out the safety of cold, hard cash, pouring billions into commercial bank accounts backed up by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Investors had also been buying Swiss francs and Japanese yen. But earlier this week, Switzerland unexpectedly cut interest rates in an effort to weaken the franc. Japan on Thursday also intervened to weaken its currency, raising the specter that more nations could take similar steps to try to protect their economies.

Around the world, markets from Brazil to Turkey were battered.

In Britain, stocks closed down 3.43 percent. In Germany, the DAX index dropped 3.4 percent. In France, the CAC 40 closed down 3.9 percent.

“It really is Europe today,” said Barry Knapp, head of United States equity strategy at Barclays Capital. “The market feels that European leaders are on step behind, and they are.”

Asian markets quickly followed suit in trading lower. In morning trading on Friday, the Nikkei 225 in Japan was down 3.5 percent to 9,316.93 while the S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia fell 3.6 percent to 4,120.50.

With some warning signs that weaker European banks are struggling to fund themselves, the central bank moved to help weaker banks by expanding its lending to institutions in the euro zone. Bank stocks nevertheless fell sharply in Europe.

In the United States, as the stock market fell, it broke through important support levels, triggering further selling by traders as they rushed to reduce their exposure to plummeting prices. That included computerized program traders, one analyst said.

Karachi: elusive peace

EDITORIAL:DAILY TIMES

Last month, almost 300 people lost their lives in Karachi due to a turf war between rival political parties. There were hopes that during the holy month of Ramzan, violence may abate. Unfortunately, the bloodthirsty armed gangs of rival political factions have no regard for human life or any sacred month. President Zardari held three back to back meetings on Wednesday in order to resolve the Karachi situation. “We believe in taking along all political forces on the issues of national importance, and will continue to do so in future as well. We have to resolve this issue ourselves and at the earliest, keeping in view the importance of this city and its role in the economy of the country,” said the president. On the one hand the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is trying to resolve the situation but on the other we see Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain’s provocative statements. Mr Hussain said that since the government has failed to stop the ongoing violence, the army and Rangers should come forward to protect the lives of innocent people. “What should the Muhajirs do now? Should they go back [to India]? If a 1992-like operation is started again, will the Indian leaders provide accommodation to 50 million Muhajirs of Pakistan?” asked the MQM chief. He had also asked the citizens of Karachi to store one month’s rations. On Thursday, the MQM chief realised his folly and apologised to the people of Sindh for his remarks and appealed to the people of Karachi to remain calm. The Awami National Party (ANP) has also been asking for a military operation. Interior Minister Rehman Malik ruled out a military operation. “Action will focus on those involved in targeted killings and terrorists. This fight will continue till normalcy is restored in the cosmopolitan city,” Mr Malik stated.

It is extremely sad to see that all political parties in Karachi have been playing politics instead of doing anything concrete to bring back normalcy to the metropolis. The issue at hand is that of turf wars and control of the city’s administrative apparatus. The PPP made a coalition government with the MQM and the ANP in order to keep all political forces on board. But the MQM’s ‘quit/rejoin/quit/rejoin’ mantra has exasperated its coalition partners. The MQM is loathe to lose its political power in the city. Even though the MQM claims to be an inclusive party, it is guilty of dividing people along ethnic lines. This is not to say that the MQM alone is responsible for everything that goes wrong in Karachi but a large chunk of the blame still lies at its doorstep. The PPP’s manoeuvres of restoring the commissionerate system and unleashing Zulfiqar Mirza backfired. MQM-Haqiqi’s re-entry in this violence-ridden city made matters worse. The city of lights is now full of darkness and gloom, all because of the highhandedness of the political parties.

What is needed right now is requisite political will to resolve the situation and end the violence once and for all. A military operation is no solution and will only add to the woes of the people of Karachi. The police needs to be strengthened in order to curb violence. If the armed gangs have the patronage of any political party, action must be taken against the perpetrators and their mentors. Karachi has seen more than its share of violence over the decades. It is time to stop this madness and take strict action against all culprits disturbing the peace of the city. *

US rules out strategic talks with Pakistan

US State Department has said they have contact with Pakistan but no possibility of strategic talks. The issue of US envoys’ movement in Pakistan would be settled properly and reciprocity is an option to deal with such matters. US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said US envoy Mark Grassman’s tri-partite dialogues and discussion with Pak and Afghan leadership proved positive. Pakistan and the US have agreed to work jointly on important issues, he said.
He repeated that there was no gap of communication between the two countries but as far strategic dialogues are concerned, there was no possibility.
The United States has earlier warned the Pakistani government that its diplomats in the US could be hit with travel restrictions similar to those recently imposed on American diplomats in Pakistan unless Pakistan lifts its restrictions.
The State Department said the US and Pakistan were working to end the spat, the latest irritant in already strained ties, and it was confident the dispute would be resolved quickly.
But US officials said Pakistan had been told the Obama administration would consider reciprocal steps to retaliate for the restrictions set down last month by Pakistan s foreign ministry if they are not rescinded.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner declined to comment on the warning but said "reciprocity is always a consideration" when dealing with such matters.
"We are working cooperatively with the government of Pakistan to resolve the issue," Toner told reporters. "We ve met with Pakistani officials on this matter both in Washington and in Islamabad, and we believe it can be resolved. The issue is the right of our diplomats to freely travel."

China, Russia discuss military cooperation

The chief of the Chinese army's General Staff Chen Bingde discussed military cooperation with Russian Defense Minister Anatoli Serdyukov on Thursday.

During their talks, Chen, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), said bilateral military relations were in good shape and there had been dramatic progress in recent years.

China stood ready to work with Russia to further advance their military ties, which would help promote the China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership and was conducive to peace and stability in the region and the world, Chen said.

Serdyukov lauded the relationship between the two countries and the two militaries.

The two sides also conducted an in-depth exchange of views on contacts and cooperation between defense departments and the two militaries and reached broad consensus.

Chen arrived here Wednesday for an official good-will visit.

Russia is the first leg of his three-nation tour, which will also take him to Ukraine and Israel.

China, Russia discuss military cooperation

Balochistan is of importance to US: Munter

US Ambassador Cameron Munter said Pakistan and specially Balochistan is of importance to them and US would continue to work for strengthening democracy in the country, Geo News reported.

He was talking to media after a meeting with Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mohammad Aslam Bhootani here today. Munter noted that we US would always be there whenever needed.

'People of Balochiatan are very hospitable and I have always receive respect by them.' He told journalists that US would cooperate in Balochistan's water and energy projects.

In meeting with Speaker Aslam Bhootani, they discussed matters of mutual interests.

Barack Obama: Happy 50th birthday, Mr President

No let-up in Karachi violence

There has been more violence in the Pakistani city of Karachi, where at least 42 people have been killed since Monday.

Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister warned on Tuesday of stern action against those involved in the latest round of violence in the country's commercial capital, blaming "criminals and militants" for the unrest.

The Pakistani interior minister said at least 18 of the killings targeted political activists, and that the government had prepared a plan to tackle the deteriorating law and order situation in the city.

"We will take every possible action to restore peace in Karachi," he said, adding that results of the government's action will be visible soon.

Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Karachi, said: "As this violence is still going on, people aren't listening."

The latest round of violence has been attributed to a fight for political influence in the city between Karachi's main parties, Tyab said.

The embattled city, where police say about 200 people were killed in last month alone, is home to Pakistan's main port, stock exchange and central bank. It has not seen a month as deadly as July in almost 20 years.

Local media put the toll even higher, with the Dawn newspaper reporting that 318 people were killed during the month.

Burnt vehicles

After violence erupted last month, hundreds of extra police and paramilitary troops were deployed in Orangi, Karachi's largest and one of its poorest slums.

More than 100 people were killed during three days of violence in the slum at that time.

The Rangers, an internal security force, took control of the area, but violence has since spread to other parts of the city of more than 18 million.

Calls for peace by the government and other political parties have also failed.

On Monday, at least 90 vehicles were set ablaze in different parts of the city.

In one incident, at least 80 motorcycles were burnt when dozens of people stormed a textile factory late on Monday and set fire to the vehicles parked outside the industrial unit.

Political 'turf war'

Over the years, criminal gangs have been used by political parties in a city-wide war for influence in Karachi, which contributes about two-third of Pakistan's tax revenue.

On Monday, the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) attributed much of the violence to these political parties, though it also said that criminal elements were "exploit[ing] the breakdown of law and order".

"While gangs of land-grabbers and mafias have tried to exploit the breakdown of law and order, they do not appear to be the main directors of the horrible game of death and destruction; that distinction belongs to more powerful political groups and it is they who hold the key to peace," it said.

Tyab said that the battles between smaller and local groups happen as a result of a politically motivated "turf war".

"What we understand is that the political parties in Pakistan have been exploiting the divisions that exist in this city ... and often they will turn to the underworld, the criminals, to carry out their dirty work," he said.

The HRCP had previously said that 1,138 people were killed in Karachi in the first six months of 2011, of whom 490 were victims of political, ethnic and sectarian violence.

Source: Al Jazeera

President Bashar al-Assad decrees Syria reform

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has issued a decree authorising a multi-party political system, state media reported Thursday, a day after the U.N. Security Council condemned the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters.
The decree issued by Assad may have the power to bring to an end decades of single-party rule by the Baath Party in Syria, although it remains unclear how the new law will be implemented.
The draft law was earlier passed by Syrian lawmakers, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported, and grants citizens the right to establish political parties with the aim of contributing to political life "through peaceful and democratic means."
However, the Syrian opposition has argued the decrees are simply for show and will not bring about real change.Assad's move comes as reports of violence continue to prompt international outrage. Security forces killed four people after evening prayers on Wednesday, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, one in the southwestern town of Nawa, in Daraa province, one in the central city of Palmyra, and two in Damascus.
The observatory said communications remained cut off Thursday in the western city of Hama, a center of discontent and bastion of anti-government protest. The group is concerned that many civilians may have died, as the military remains in the city.
The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday issued a presidential statement condemning the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters and calling for an immediate end to violence by all parties.

"The Security Council condemns the widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities," the eight-paragraph statement says.
It calls for "all sides to act with utmost restraint, and to refrain from reprisals, including attacks against state institutions."
The statement says those responsible for the violence should be held accountable but offers no suggestion that foreign intervention is being considered.
"The Security Council reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Syria," it says.
"It stresses that the only solution to the current crisis in Syria is through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process, with the aim of effectively addressing the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the population which will allow the full exercise of fundamental freedoms for its entire population, including that of expression and peaceful assembly."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is to update the council on the situation in Syria within a week, welcomed the statement.
"The world has watched the deteriorating situation in Syria with the most profound concern, but the events of the past few days have been brutally shocking," he told reporters.
"Once again, I call on President (Bashar al-) Assad and the Syrian authorities to immediately cease all violence against their people, to fully respect human rights and implement reforms that they have already announced."
He urged Damascus to comply with the Security Council's demand that international humanitarian organizations be granted unimpeded access to affected areas. "Those responsible should be held to account," he said.
He praised the 15-nation Security Council for speaking out "with one voice and condemning all this violence and asking them to take necessary measures" after long discussions on the matter.
But Lebanon's ambassador, Caroline Ziade, said her country, which is Syria's neighbor, dissociated itself from the statement. However, Lebanon chose not to block the measure, as it could have done.
Resolutions usually carry with them some sort of action. Presidential statements are simply unanimous on-the-record positions.
Though a resolution would have been more significant than the presidential statement, U.S. diplomats said they were glad the United Nations had taken a stance.
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice called the statement "long overdue." She added that she hoped Damascus will "be chastened by the strength and the unity of the condemnation."
The statement came on the third consecutive day of talks in New York to address the crisis, which a White House spokesman called "grotesque and appalling."
Witnesses said Wednesday that security forces were brazenly advancing into the heart of Hama.
Hama, which has seen massive demonstrations by anti-government protesters in Friday demonstrations, was the site of the 1982 bloody crackdown by the Alawite-dominated government against a Muslim Brotherhood uprising.
The city is under siege by security forces amid a military offensive, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and witnesses say communications have been closed down amid the military push.
Rami Abdul-Rahman of the observatory told CNN Thursday that 1,000 families had fled west to surrounding villages and 500 families eastwards, leaving a city where violence has persisted for days.
His group monitors the unrest in Syria through many contacts on the ground, and his sources have reported hearing explosions and seeing plumes of smoke. "There are great concerns of a massacre in the city," he said Wednesday.
"The human situation is very bad," said a witness from an opposition movement who said he was in the center of Hama and asked not to be named for security reasons.
Corpses were seen on the ground after tanks occupied parts of central Hama amid heavy shelling, said a resident who fled the city.
Dozens more people have been killed in Hama and other Syrian cities in recent days, rights groups have said.
Residents said the city is running short on food. Power and water are scarce and residents said they fear a humanitarian crisis. Across Hama, intermittent gunfire and shelling rang out, helicopters whirled overhead and government snipers took positions, making it difficult for people to venture out, residents said.
Security forces also launched a series of raids and detentions in the Khaldiyeh neighborhood of Homs, another western city, and dozens of people have been detained in the area, the scene of marches by anti-government protesters.
Syria's parliament plans to meet Sunday to discuss "issues related to the homeland and citizens' interests," SANA reported Wednesday.
CNN is unable to independently confirm death tolls or events in Syria, which has restricted access to the country by international journalists, including CNN's.
Since mid-March, anti-government protesters have taken to the streets across the whole country to demand reforms from or an end to the al-Assad's regime.
The death toll in Syria since its uprising began in mid-March has reached 2,003, the observatory's Abdul-Rahman said. The dead include 1,629 civilians and 374 Syrian security forces.
The figure doesn't include tolls from the Wednesday unrest in the city of Hama, where it is difficult confirming information because of the ongoing military offensive there.
Activists blame the deaths of demonstrators on security forces, but the government has consistently attributed the violence to "armed groups."

Pakistan's High food inflation

The Frontier Post
Food inflation in Pakistan is picking up as food prices up by over 17.58 per cent in July making eatables dearer for consumers, heaping more economic misery on the people.This is the highest food inflation in South Asia region; rather the world, and is because of frequent increase in the prices of petroleum goods and electricity tariff in addition to the government’s failure in checking the spiral in the prices of all essential commodities. This happened before and during the holy month of Ramadan and at the same time, the government itself added to the economic misery of the hapless teeming millions. First the sharp rise of petroleum products and now a repressive hike in electricity tariff by Rs1.04 a unit which comes to around 20 per cent of fuel cost being incurred by WAPDA’s nine distribution companies and consumers will have to bear additional cost during the current billing month. The National Electricity Regulatory Authority allowed the increase on all generations including hydropower resources whose production cost is about 17 paisa a unit. The latest Federal Bureau of Statistics report says the current exorbitant food inflation is driven by oil prices, the headline inflation, based on consumer price index, rose by 13.77 per cent in July alone with an overall impact of 17.58 per cent since the beginning of the new fiscal year. This means that food inflation went up by about another 4 per cent only in the first three days of August; this is atrocious and speaks volumes of the country’s inept economic managers who have time and again said they want the inflation to come down to a single digit level. The government has projected an inflation target of 12 per cent for the current fiscal year which seems to be missed because of rising food and fuel prices. A major factor in the hyper inflation in the country is the failure of provincial governments to ensure an improved supply of food to small towns and villages. Likewise, provinces have not so far established committees to review food prices. In the past such committees were headed by chief ministers under a law which still exists on statute books only to be ignored. Now that the devolution plan has seen the transfer of the subjects for provinces to govern, it now appears that they were and still not prepared to take up the responsibility. One glaring example of the lack of preparedness is that except for Sindh, no other province has demonstrated the ability and will to collect taxes and add to provincial revenues. On the other hand, the central bank has decreased its discount rate to 13.5 per cent from 14 per cent assuming that headline inflation would not exceed 12pc and second, government would restrict its domestic borrowings for financing fiscal deficit. But contrary to this, the non-food and non-energy core inflation entered a double digit to 10.7 per cent in July from 10.3 per cent last year making it harder for the central bank to further bring down the interest rate in the next monetary policy review.The surge in food prices could possibly lead to social unrest in case government did not take corrective measures to arrest the perpetual rise in prices.

Strengthening the federation

EDITORIAL:Daily Times
According to reports, the government “is considering making an announcement for a separate Seraiki province by the end of this month” or on August 14th. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has made this move in order to truncate the influence of its archrival, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Not to be outdone by the PPP, Mian Nawaz Sharif has also formed a party committee related to the demand for new provinces. While this may be a political gimmick for the two mainstream political parties, the truth is that the idea of more provinces in Pakistan is indeed a good one. The PML-N has ‘threatened’ to ask for the division of Sindh along the lines of the Seraiki province but instead of threatening the government with such veiled remarks, they should think about the ground realities and how the creation of further provinces will help strengthen the federation.

Most politicians think that the idea of a Seraiki province is good for administrative purposes while missing the complete picture. There is an ethnic and linguistic issue at hand as well. Administratively, it makes perfect sense for a Seraiki province given the grievances of southern Punjab because of ‘Takht Lahore’. It is a longstanding complaint of south Punjab that the Lahore-based Punjab government does not do justice to their region. The formation of a Seraiki province will inevitably lead to a demand for more provinces. Already there is a movement for the restoration of the Bahawalpur state. The division of Punjab makes perfect sense. When one province houses over 60 percent of the country’s total population, there is an inevitable imbalance in the federation and the division of its resources because of this. It is because of the Punjab-dominated ruling elite that the other three provinces have not been able to get their just rights for decades.

The argument for more provinces on linguistic, ethnic and administrative lines is something that should be given a chance. Small provinces should be made due to the argument against Punjab’s domination. When people’s complaints and demands are met, Pakistan will be strengthened. When the name of NWFP was changed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there was a demand for a Hazara province. Instead of quashing such demands, the government should hold a referendum in areas where we see such movements. If the people want new provinces, they should get them. It is in the realm of real democracy. Soliciting opinion has always strengthened democracy instead of undermining it. Our politicians should not be afraid of this process. There will be hurdles in the way of making new provinces but that should not deter them from making decisions that will, in the long run, help Pakistan.

That said, the demand for a Seraiki province should not be turned into a political ping pong game. This is not a zero-sum game either. Constitutional amendments will have to be made when the federation carves out new provinces. By adopting a tit-for-tat policy vis-à-vis Sindh, the PML-N is trying to make a mockery of an issue that is very serious and requires sober reflection and discussion. In the past, Pakistan negated the linguistic and ethnic realities when One Unit was promulgated. We should not make the same mistake again by denying the people of Pakistan their just rights.

Budweiser updates packaging graphics with new "bowtie" design

Budweiser,

the iconic global beer brand, has unveiled a new design, seen in its can and secondary packaging, that will roll out of U.S. breweries and into the hands of American beer drinkers this summer, before debuting in markets around the world later this year.


The new can design is Budweiser's 12th since Anheuser-Busch began offering its flagship brand in cans in 1936. The focal point of the design is Budweiser's iconic bowtie, complemented by the time-honored Budweiser creed and Anheuser-Busch medallion.


"Budweiser's success is rooted in aspects of the beer that will never change—a crisp, refreshing taste, an unwavering commitment to quality and the enormous pride we take in each batch," says Rob McCarthy, vp, Budweiser. "Our refreshed packaging design gives Budweiser an updated look, which dramatizes the iconic Budweiser bowtie and incorporates the brand hallmarks that loyal Budweiser drinkers will recognize and appreciate."


Budweiser's new "bowtie" can and secondary packaging designs will be the global standard as the brand continues to expand internationally.


"This new visual identity is one of many steps in our quest to reinforce Budweiser's role as a true global beer brand. Together with our unifying global creative idea, the new global packaging look and feel will reinforce Budweiser's bond with consumers around the world," says Frank Abenante, vp, brands, AB InBev.


Using the same design principles as the newly designed can, the redesigned secondary packaging will be used for all package configurations and emphasizes the Budweiser creed, which highlights the beer's unique Beechwood Aging process and 135-year long commitment to quality. The packaging will also feature a quick-response (QR) code that will better enable Budweiser to regularly communicate with consumers.

Obama celebrates 50th birthday

President Barack Obama celebrates his 50th birthday on Thursday just days after reaching a deal with Republicans to avert a calamitous government default.

While the mood around the White House hasn't exactly been festive since the deal was reached - Obama didn't get much of what he wanted - there will be plenty of celebration for the milestone.

Senior members of Obama's staff will toast the president in the Blue Room of the White House on Thursday afternoon. At night, he'll celebrate with family and friends, including some coming in from his hometown of Chicago, then cap the festivities with a weekend trip to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.

For the sake of his re-election campaign, the celebrations started a bit early for the president. He headlined birthday-themed fundraisers in Chicago on Wednesday night to rake in money for his campaign and spoke via video conference to supporters holding their own presidential birthday events around the US.

With the cloud of uncertainty that surrounded the debt debate now lifted, Obama had a wide smile on his face for much of the night. He got another birthday serenade from musicians Jennifer Hudson, Herbie Hancock and the band OK Go, along with the crowd of about 2 400 gathered at Chicago's historic Aragon Ballroom.

At a small dinner for high-dollar donors later in the night, Obama said there would be one very important present waiting for him in back in Washington on Thursday. His oldest daughter, Malia, was coming home from camp to celebrate his father's birthday.

Obama was born on August 4 1961, near the end of the baby boom years of 1946-64. He's the third US president who belongs to the baby boom generation, a population of more than 76 million. Bill Clinton was the first, followed by George W Bush.

Nawaz Sharif a “pioneer of corruption” in country’s politics.

Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly, Raja Riaz on Tuesday alleged that PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif could be called a “pioneer of corruption” in country’s politics.
While addressing a news conference at Punjab Assembly cafeteria, Raja said that it would not be wrong to say that Mian Nawaz Sharif was the “most corrupt politician” in the country.
He was accompanied by PPP’s Deputy Parliamentary Leader, Shaukat Mahmood Basra, MPA, Makhdoom Muhammad Irtaza and Zekria Butt.
The opposition leader said that Nawaz Sharif, who started his political carrier in 1980’s along with dictator Zia and corruption, had now become the richest man in country. He wondered how Mian brothers, who initially belonged to a middle class family, became billionaires in a short span of time.
Raja said that Mian Nawaz Sharif should feel ashamed and seek apology from President Asif Ali Zardari after court’s verdict in SGS Cotecna case.
“Some times he (Nawaz Sharif) provokes bureaucracy against the government, and at times he plays judicial card. But PPP will thwart all conspiracies against democracy and democratic institutions”, he remarked, advising Sharifs, whom he called “Moulvis”, to go to some Mosque in Jeddah and give sermons there.
He said it should be a matter of great concern for Sharif brothers that 35 of their legislators did not attend last meeting of the Parliamentary party held at Islamabad.

Sixteen Pakistanis working as slaves in Afghanistan set free

The Afghan government handed over 16 Pakistanis to Pakistani officials after getting them released from private jails in Afghanistan.

The Pakistanis had been smuggled to Afghanistan by human traffickers who sold them as slave labourers.

A human rights activist and chairman of Ansar Burney Welfare Trust, Ansar Burney, told a press conference here on Wednesday that the 16 Pakistanis were smuggled from Qambar area of Sindh and later they were sold to a private party which kept them in its private jails where the victims worked as slaves.

The Inspector General of Frontier Corps, Maj-Gen Obaidullah Khan Khuttak, also attended the press conference.

Mr Burney said that he had established contacts with the Afghan authorities with the help of FC officials and after negotiations the Afghan government agreed to get all 16 Pakistanis released.

Mr Burney said that hundreds of Pakistanis who went to Afghanistan as labourers had been made slaves and were living in miserable conditions in private jails. He said the Frontier Corps had established contracts with Afghan officials and talks were under way for their release as well.

He said that media should take up the issue and expose the people involved in human trafficking.

Fata to have political parties

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani indicated in the National Assembly on Wednesday that the government would extend the Political Parties Act to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) to allow formation of political parties in the troubled region.

But he would not specify the time when this would happen, when responding to a grievance of a government-allied independent lawmaker from the area about two identical presidential regulations enforced in Fata and what is known as Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) to regulate operations of armed forces there in aid of civil power.

Munir Khan Orakzai had threatened a walkout by the parliamentary group he leads to protest against what he called government’s failure to consult the group before the two regulations were enforced by the end of June.

The prime minister said the regulations were necessitated by continuing terrorist attacks on schools and law-enforcement agencies and invited the group for a meeting with him with an assurance that the government would “look into whatever amendments they suggest”.

“We have also discussed extending the Political Parties Act to Fata,” he said apparently referring to some deliberations held within the government and told the Fata parliamentarians that they would be taken into confidence about that also.

Formation of political parties have never been allowed in the tribal areas from where 12 members of the 342-seat National Assembly and eight members of the 100-seat Senate are elected as independents who can align with any political party
without formally joining it.

Extension of the Political Parties Act to Fata was part of PPP-promised reforms for the region, including repeal of the British-era Frontier Crimes Regulation under which the region is administered by bureaucrats known as political agents, who enjoy some arbitrary powers free from judicial or parliamentary oversight.

The act can be extended to the region by only a presidential order rather than a new act parliament.

Mubarak’s Judgment Day

U.S. is refocused on covert strikes in Pakistan

Los Angeles Times

The U.S. is "doubling down" on its strategy of covert targeted missile strikes in Pakistan in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death, believing that Al Qaeda is susceptible to a decisive blow, a senior Obama administration official said Friday.

"I think there are three to five senior leaders that, if they're removed from the battlefield, would jeopardize Al Qaeda's capacity to regenerate," said Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, who oversees Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy at the National Security Council. He declined to name them, other than Ayman Zawahiri, who succeeded Bin Laden as Al Qaeda's leader last month.

"We've got to take advantage of the fact that, when Bin Laden died, Al Qaeda was in uncharted waters," Lute said. "This is a period of turbulence. …You need to go for the knockout punch."

Lute's comments were an unusually explicit statement of the thinking behind the administration's increased reliance on drones and other forms of remote attacks against Al Qaeda. He avoided specifically referring to drone strikes, which are not officially acknowledged by the government, and instead talked of covert programs in Pakistan. But his meaning was clear.

In a candid assessment, Lute also said the administration had not envisioned that senior Pakistani officials would be much more embarrassed by the U.S. raid to kill Bin Laden in their country without their knowledge than by his presence there.

"We underestimated somewhat the humiliation factor generated by the raid itself," he said.

Lute's remarks in a panel discussion at the Aspen Security Forum came after he was asked to respond to comments Thursday by retired Adm. Dennis C. Blair, who was forced to resign last year as director of national intelligence. Blair, who left after Obama sided with the CIA in a series of policy disputes between that agency and Blair's office, said drone strikes have become counterproductive because they are provoking public outrage in Pakistan and potentially creating new enemies.

Blair said the U.S. should offer Pakistan the chance to "put two hands on the trigger" as a partner in the program — and therefore should only carry out strikes the Pakistanis approve. As it stands, he said, the attacks are undertaken without consultation with Pakistan's government, despite occasional past cooperation.

Blair also argued against the U.S. conducting unilateral drone strikes in Yemen and Somalia. "We're treating the countries just as places where we go and attack," he said.

Blair's comments marked the first time a former Obama administration official had publicly criticized a key tenet of the president's national security strategy.

His views on drone attacks were repudiated by other former senior government officials attending the Aspen conference, including former Rep. Jane Harman of Venice, a Democrat who chaired the Homeland Security intelligence subcommittee.

"Drone attacks … are a crucial tool in our counter-terrorism arsenal, and I support them," she said.

The disagreement is part of a broader debate over the efficacy of relatively low-cost drone strikes versus the far more expensive, long-term use of troops to wage a sustained counter-terrorism campaign. The administration has moved to draw down U.S. troop strength in the region, believing that the costs are unsustainable.

Blair argued that the key to defeating Al Qaeda was for the Pakistani military to mount a sustained counterinsurgency to clear and hold the Afghanistan border areas where the group's leaders have taken refuge.

Lute, reflecting the administration's view, noted that Pakistan's military has a presence in those areas but, despite billions of dollars in U.S. aid, its army has shown neither the willingness nor the capacity to root out militants.

Asked about the current threat posed by Al Qaeda, Lute echoed comments made here Thursday by Michael E. Leiter, who recently departed as head of the government's National Counterterrorism Center.

Al Qaeda has been wounded but not yet defeated, he said, adding that "we're not ready to declare victory."

Leiter had said Al Qaeda's leaders in Pakistan were "on the ropes" but that the organization remained capable of attacks, and "Pakistan remains a huge problem" because it allows Al Qaeda and affiliated groups to find haven in its tribal areas along the Afghan border.

India’s prime minister tainted by corruption

http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Like an honest man surrounded by thieves, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is finding that his own reputation for personal integrity is proving hard to maintain.

India’s Parliament has been in uproar this week as the opposition demands that Singh answer accusations that he deliberately turned a blind eye to rampant corruption within his cabinet and party.The damage to his reputation is significant and is only going to get worse, political analysts say.

“It doesn’t suggest he had his hand in the till,” said columnist and broadcaster Karan Thapar. “But it is either negligence, a lack of vigilance, or he was aware and deliberately turned his eye in the other direction — which is perilously close to complicity.”

The main charge is that Singh was in the know when then-Telecommunications Minister A. Raja gave away valuable telecom licenses for dirt-cheap prices in 2008, cheating the exchequer of up to $40 billion.

Singh even wrote to Raja at one point asking him to adopt a fairer system of allocating the licenses. After his advice was brushed aside by the now-jailed minister, Singh asked to be kept “at arm’s length” from the process.

The prime minister’s office says Singh was merely keeping his distance because he did not want to be seen as favoring any particular company, while Congress party spokesman Manish Tewari says Singh was guilty of nothing more than trusting a colleague.

Others say the prime minister just needs to explain himself better. Sanjaya Baru, Singh’s former media adviser, blames “incompetence” in the communications team at the prime minister’s office since Baru left.

But there is no denying that Singh’s image has been dented.

The prime minister is also accused of ignoring warnings from his ministers about rampant corruption in the run-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, for which games organizer and former Congress stalwart Suresh Kalmadi has been jailed.

Abroad, Singh’s reputation soars above most of the world’s political leaders, for his humility, integrity and intellect. President Obama calls him a good friend and says “the whole world listens” when Singh talks. Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and an Egyptian presidential challenger, once described him as “the model of what a political leader should be.”

But at home, cartoonists show Singh drowning in a sea of corruption. Forbes magazine may have ranked Singh the 18th-most-powerful person in the world, but political analysts in India wonder whether he controls even his own cabinet.

“He has let himself down, and he has let the people of India down,” said historian Ramachandra Guha. “He appears weak and indecisive . . . and he is seen as lacking authority to implement his own decisions.”

Critics say Singh, who holds an unelected position in the upper house of Parliament, lacks political credibility within his party by virtue of never having won a constituency seat in India. But the soft-spoken, almost timid economist-turned-politician also lacks the deftness to survive in the rough and tumble of Indian politics, commentators say, and the ability to forge alliances within his rowdy coalition and with the opposition.

He was also dealt a poor hand right from the start, when he was nominated as prime minister in 2004 because Congress leader Sonia Gandhi did not want the role — a convenient frontman for a party that remains deeply divided and corrupt.

Then, after elections in 2009, Singh appeared to have had little role in the formation of his cabinet, as coalition allies demanded — and received — particular ministries in return for their support.

“They chose portfolios where everybody knew you could make money, where discretion was involved and massive investment was taking place,” said Bharat Bhushan, editor of the Mail Today newspaper. “The PM was never his own master.”

Singh will always have a place in history as the finance minister who ushered in sweeping reforms in 1991 that unleashed the Indian economy’s potential and set the stage for two decades of growth.

But that record has arguably also been tarnished in the past year as the government drags its feet over a second round of economic reforms the country still desperately needs, as the economy slows and inflation runs rampant.

For now, Singh, 78 years old and the survivor of two heart bypass operations, is likely to continue as India’s leader until elections in 2014, partly because he has no serious challengers from within the Congress party, analysts say. But as one leading magazine proclaimed in a recent cover story on Singh, the latest allegations may represent “The End of an Aura.”

GOOD MOVE:Tajikistan bans minors from entering mosques

Tajikistan's authoritarian leader has approved a law barring minors from praying in mosques as his secular government seeks to minimize the rising influence of Islam in the Central Asian nation.
President Emomali Rakhmon signed the bill Wednesday despite vocal resistance from rights activists and the opposition Islamic Revival Party.
The law also requires people under the age of 18 to study in secular schools thus barring thousands of students from attending mosque schools seen by authorities as a breeding ground of Islamism.
The impoverished and predominantly Sunni Muslim nation shares a long and porous border with Afghanistan.
The country was ravaged in the 1990s by a civil war between government forces and a loose alliance of Islamists and democrats.

China says US fails to defuse 'debt bomb'

China warned Wednesday that tortured efforts to raise the US limit on borrowing had failed to defuse Washington's "debt bomb", and signalled it would further diversify its holdings away from the dollar.
After months of bitter negotiations with his Republican rivals, US President Barack Obama finally signed an emergency bill on Tuesday that averted what would have been a disastrous debt default for the world's biggest economy.
But in a blistering commentary, China's official Xinhua news agency ridiculed the US political process and warned that the deal had done nothing to change the country's addiction to borrowing.
"The months-long tug of war between Democrats and Republicans... failed to defuse Washington's debt bomb for good, only delaying an immediate detonation by making the fuse an inch longer," the commentary said.
It described the negotiations between the Republicans and Democrats as a "madcap farce of brinkmanship", and lectured US politicians to take more responsible measures to fix their country's economic problems.
In the first official reaction from a Chinese government body, China's central bank delivered a more measured statement and welcomed the deal.
But it nevertheless said it would continue to diversify its foreign currency investments.
"China's foreign exchange reserves will continue following the principle of diversified investment, enhancing risk management and minimising the negative impact of volatility in global financial markets," People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in a statement.
"Large fluctuations and uncertainty in the US treasury bond market will affect the stability of international monetary and financial systems, which will hurt the global economic recovery."
Also on Wednesday, the Chinese ratings agency Dagong downgraded the United States for the second time since November, with a continuing negative outlook.
China, sitting on the world's biggest foreign exchange reserves of around $3.20 trillion as of the end of June, is the largest holder of US Treasury bonds and has previously expressed concerns over its investments.
China Investment Corp, set up in 2007 to invest a chunk of the country's hefty foreign-exchange stockpile, has been trying to diversify since the global financial crisis struck in 2008.
The $400-billion sovereign wealth fund has been increasing its already substantial holdings in European bonds to get better returns and prop up debt-laden euro-zone countries, which are major buyers of Chinese exports.
Exact figures on the size of China's euro holdings are hard to find, but analysts estimate its stockpile is relatively small, with most holdings in large countries such as Germany and France
However, analysts said China had no choice but to continue buying US debt in significant amounts for the time being.
"I'm sure they are looking into diversification but it's only going to be at the margins," IHS Global Insight analyst Alistair Thornton told AFP.
"In reality it is very hard for China to diversify away from buying US debt without fundamentally changing its whole economic model... no other market is as liquid as the US debt market."
Yin Zhentao, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Science, also said China had few other avenues.
"China's central bank has to mop up liquidity and the US Treasuries are the most important option," Yin told AFP.
Dagong, which has links to the government, said in a statement it had downgraded the United States' local and foreign currency credit rating from A+ to A, with a negative outlook.
Raising the US debt ceiling will "further deepen" the country's economic woes," said Dagong, adding that the "interest and safety" of creditors was not guaranteed.
Dagong has little financial muscle outside of China but has made a name for itself by accusing its three Western rivals -- Moody's, Fitch and Standard & Poor's -- of causing the financial crisis by not properly disclosing risk.
The big three agencies have consistently awarded Washington their highest possible ratings -- allowing the United States to take on more debt at lower cost, which China has blamed for fuelling inflationary pressures.
Dagong's chairman, Guan Jianzhong, is a paid adviser to China's government, but insists his agency is fully independent.

Obama to attend 9/11 anniversary events

The White House says President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will attend events in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington in September to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pa.
Spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that Obama will pay tribute to those who were lost. He also will honor those who responded on Sept. 11, 2001, and who have served in harm's way in the decade since then.
Vice President Joe Biden will help dedicate a memorial at Shanksville to the passengers of Flight 93 on Sept. 10. That United Airlines flight crashed in a southwestern Pennsylvania field after passengers confronted their terrorist hijackers.

Man detained after jumping White House fence

A man who jumped the White House fence on Tuesday was apprehended by uniformed Secret Service officers who approached him with guns drawn.

The incident was broadcast live on CNN's "John King USA" program, which was produced from the North Lawn of the White House on Tuesday night.
After the man jumped the fence, armed officers ordered him to lie down and then handcuffed him before taking him into custody. A backpack thrown over the fence and lying on the ground nearby was being checked by security officers, who locked down the area as a precaution.
The incident ended shortly after 9 p.m. ET when authorities issued an all-clear directive at the White House.
There was no immediate information on whether the intruder had represented a security threat.
According to the Secret Service, the detained man is James Dirk Crudup, 41, who is homeless. He will be charged with unlawful entry and contempt of court because he previously had been ordered to stay away from the White House due to past incidents, the agency said.

US, Pakistan, Afghanistan officials hold trilateral meeting

Senior officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States met in Islamabad to discuss the peace-making efforts with the Taliban.
The core group of the three countries was formed in May this year to push the reconciliation process forward in Afghanistan.
The trilateral meeting took place in the backdrop of simmering tensions between Pakistan and the United States. Relations between the two countries were further strained last month when Washington withheld $800 million in military assistance to Pakistan after Islamabad expelled the American military trainers and restricted the movement of CIA operatives in the country.
At a joint news conference, the Afghan deputy foreign minister said lasting peace in his country is not possible without help.
His remarks highlight frustration on part of Kabul over the slow pace of reconciliation process apparently due to tensions between Pakistan and the US.
Pakistan and the US also appear to have differences on the issue of peace-making with the Taliban.
Islamabad insists that it is being deliberately kept out of the process by Washington to undermine its role in Afghanistan.
Analysts believe that the row between Islamabad and Kabul may complicate the matters in Afghanistan.

This was the forth meeting of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US in last three months but the three countries have so far made little progress towards achieving any tangible results.

Israel suffers summer of economic discontent

By Kevin Connolly
BBC News, Jerusalem

It is hot on August afternoons in Tel Aviv and even beneath the shade of the trees that line the elegant Boulevard Rothschild the air is sultry and still. But something is stirring in the summer heat.
A tented village of protest now stretches up the narrow strip of land than runs between the two lines of traffic on the busy street.
There are angry placards denouncing the government and complaining about the price of housing, of student life and of the most basic foods.
The atmosphere is Tahrir Square protests meets Woodstock, meets last-year's-camping holiday in the South of France.
A young man looks up from a group conducting a sing-song led by a bare-chested protestor playing a lyrical folksong on the balalaika.
"Welcome to the Revolution," he shouts.
Corruption claims
Here and there you will find leather sofas or low coffee tables neatly arranged between the rows of tents - the chattering classes have taken to the streets.
And, as we wander around chatting to the demonstrators, a young woman offers me an ice-cream from a box donated by a multi-national food corporation. It seems the revolution is to be sponsored too.
But there is no mistaking the depth of the anger driving the demonstrations. And this is the kind of protest that governments hate.
It is spontaneous - not the work of trade unions' organisers or opposition politicians. And it is not driven by concrete demands for specific concessions, but by a deeper and more generalised sense of discontent.
It is not about the absolute strength of the economy either - Israel's growth and unemployment numbers are pretty good.
The protests really are about how hard life has become for ordinary Israelis - the salt-of-the-earth, backbone of the country working and middle class families who work hard, pay their taxes, and uncomplainingly do their national service in the army.
They want to know how they have ended up in a situation where they have Swiss prices and Greek salaries.
And they are suspicious that corrupt politicians and greedy oligarchs bear a share of the blame.
Cottage cheese crisis
The catalyst for this summer of discontent was a protest that started on Facebook over the price of cottage cheese.
That is not quite as eccentric as it sounds. To Israelis, cottage cheese is not just the gloopy, velvety, earthy, dairy product that you find in the chiller compartments of grocery stores all over the world.
To Israelis it is the cornerstone of the traditional breakfast, the stuff you are weaned on, the food you miss when you're travelling abroad.
So an angry, but largely online, protest movement began as Israelis noticed how much more their cottage cheese cost than its American, French or British equivalents.
Manufacturers and shops were shamed into lowering prices - at least temporarily - and Israel celebrated a small victory for the little guy.
The Israeli celebrity chef, Yisrael Aharoni, who lives in a penthouse apartment overlooking the tent city says cottage cheese has an importance to Israelis that outsiders may find hard to appreciate.
"It is the taste of home," he says, "I don't think there's a home in Israel that doesn't have cottage cheese at breakfast."
And he is not surprised that the issue awakened a deeper feeling of discontent among ordinary Israelis.
He told me: "I am excited about it - I really hope and I do believe that it's going to bring a change. We haven't done it for so long and the excuse was always that our political situation was hard enough, but we can't buy this excuse any more."
Tent cities
The focus then began to shift to the deep-seated problems in Israel's housing market and especially its chronic shortage of affordable starter homes.
The problems are deep-seated and structural. Uniquely among developed nations, most land in Israel is a nationalised asset, owned and controlled by bureaucratic state agencies - a legacy of the leftist, collectivist instincts of Israel's founders.
It may have made sound strategic sense in 1948, but it does not help people who want more houses built now.
And the planning and approvals process too is the stuff of nightmares.
So it is tough for young couples and lots of Israeli families spend a cripplingly high proportion of their salaries on rents or mortgages.
The cottage cheese protesters had shown the way, and so the tent cities were born - the biggest by far being the one in Tel Aviv.
Gideon Levy, a columnist on the influential, liberal newspaper, Ha'aretz, argues that the sudden upsurge of Israeli protest is connected to the Arab spring.
He is aware that some outsiders dismiss the Israeli protest movement on the grounds that where Arab revolutionaries were fighting for freedom of speech and the right to vote, Israel's are fighting for cheaper dairy products.
He prefers to speak of a butterfly effect, transmitting the energy of protest from Tunisia to Egypt to Israel.
"The goals are different and the system is different," he told me. "But the conviction is that crowds can count and that people have a choice. I truly believe that Egypt has given us a lesson."
Growing unease
The Israeli government has looked a little rattled by this sudden sense of malaise - Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu postponed a trip to Europe and a rather hasty-looking package of reforms has been assembled including a promise to build more student housing.
But putting the genie of discontent back in the bottle will not be easy.
Back at tent city, you get the impression that everyone to some extent is having their own revolution; one woman assured me that it was all about the growing difficulty of making a living as a street performance artist.
At one level that makes the protestors weak.
They don't have clearly defined objectives so it will be hard for them to argue that they've won and that their objectives have been achieved at any given moment.
But that creates an even bigger headache for the cabinet. It now faces an uncomfortable summer dealing with the difficulty that all governments dread the most - a vague, but dangerous and spreading sense that all is not well.

Senate’s body seeks briefing on Baluchistan situation

Standing Committee of Senate on Human Rights has expressed its apprehension over the present situation of Baluchistan and called the Secretary Interior, representative of provincial government and IG Frontier Constabulary for detailed briefing in the next meeting of the committee.

The meeting of the committee was held at Parliamentary House here on Tuesday. Chairman of the committee Senator Afrasiyab Khattak presided over the meeting.

Committee has taken serious view on not presenting the report regarding violence against journalist Umer Cheema and instructed government that the report might be submitted in next meeting. SP Islamabad Tahir Alam told the committee that warrant of a suspect Imtiaz were issued in this regard. He said that agencies were not involved in Cheema’s case because their method of conducting operation is quite different and they do not leave any evidences behind the case. The data of all mobile companies is being scrutinized to resolve the case as early as possible.

He said that NADRA is supporting to the culprits, as it did not provide the report regarding fingerprints of the wrongdoers from 2009 to date.

The committee’s chairman Senator Afrasiyab Khattak showed his disappointment over the poor performance of government functionaries by saying it seems that the country would has to call UNO for the protection of the people. Hue said that their regretful functioning has put a big question mark on them.

On the occasion the committee also took review on the violation of human rights in the jails of the country. The chairman asked the members to monitor the situation in jails in their respective provinces and inform the committee about the problems faced by the prisoner s as well as jail officials.

Karachi situation a big question mark over govt performance

Deteriorating law and order situation and increase in target killings in Karachi is a big question mark on the performance of both Federal and Sindh provincial government.
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The people who are destroying peace of Karachi are the enemies of Pakistan. This was stated by President Pakistan Muslim League and Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Senator Salim Saifullah Khan in a press release issued from PML Central Secretariat here on Tuesday.

He said that target killing in Karachi has destroyed its peace and the government has lifted the people of Karachi over the blessing of target killers. He has urged upon the government to call upon all parties conference over Karachi situation and prepare comprehensive strategy to combat target killings.

He said that Karachi is hub of economic activity and big industrial city of Pakistan and deteriorating law and order situation has badly affected business activities in Karachi. The President PML while showing concern has said that target killings in Karachi has engulfed the lives of more than 800 innocent people from January 2011 till date.

He said the government has completely failed to control law and order situation in the country and the people of Karachi are caught by fear due to target killings and the government has become a silent spectator over situation of Karachi. He has said that Pakistan is passing through its critical phase and if the rulers and politicians like us would not learn from their mistakes, the future of Pakistan would become endanger.

He demanded from MQM, PPP and ANP to quit blame game and take all measures to bring normalcy and peace to Karachi.

9 girls rescued from India's red light district

Obama signs debt bill into law

Treasury won an immediate reprieve of $400 billion in new borrowing authority Tuesday, as the Senate gave final approval to a hotly contested debt and deficit-reduction agreement hammered out with the White House Sunday night.

The bipartisan 74-26 roll call followed a 269-161 vote in the House Monday evening and the bill was quickly signed by President Barack Obama, ending an unprecedented, hard-edged political struggle that pushed the nation to the brink of default.



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Pakistan's quick response to charges by China that militants involved in attacks in Xinjiang had trained on its soil

Pakistan's quick response to charges by China that militants involved in attacks in Xinjiang had trained on its soil shows the importance of its ties with Beijing, but it could be a mistake for Islamabad if it relies too much on China.

Pakistan immediately dispatched Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, director general of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, to Beijing after Islamic militants mounted a weekend attack that left 11 people dead in the western region of Xinjiang, according to media reports.

While the ISI declined to confirm the trip, Western diplomats and Pakistani analysts agreed that the attacks would likely be at the top of any agenda.

"We cannot allow Pakistani territory to be used for any activities against any neighbour, especially a close ally like China," said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute.

"There are strong ties between Pakistan and China, and we are cooperating closely on this issue."

Pasha's speedy trip was a clear sign of Pakistan's priorities.

The United States rarely gets that level of cooperation when it presses Pakistan on militants operating in its border regions. American officials for years said al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, killed in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in May, was hiding in the country.

Pakistan often responded with demands for specific, actionable intelligence before it would consider investigating.

Islamabad makes no secret of its preference for China over the United States as a military patron, calling Beijing an "all-weather" ally in contrast to Washington's supposedly fickle friendship.

The Pakistani foreign ministry issued a statement on Monday extending "full support" to China.

China is a major investor in predominantly Muslim Pakistan in areas such as telecommunications, ports and infrastructure. The countries are linked by a Chinese-built road pushed through Pakistan's northern mountains.

Trade with Pakistan is worth almost $9 billion a year for Pakistan, and China is its top arms supplier.

But all that matters only up to a point.

"Pakistan wants to play its own game by creating a front against the United States," said Hasan Askari-Rizvi, an independent political analyst.

"That will not happen. ... Now China has the same complaint which the United States has with Pakistan."

Barry Sautman, a professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said that China, like the United States, wanted Pakistan to help it control Islamist militancy. But it is frustrated by the chaotic nature of Pakistani governance, and its inability to control militants or militant-friendly elements in its security agencies.

"I would think the Chinese government would want to have its military and security apparatus liaise with Pakistani authorities to come up with a common plan, but the U.S. found that very difficult to do," he said. "And I am sure China will find it difficult as well."

Furthermore, Pakistan's usefulness to China is only in South Asia, where it competes with India. But China has global ambitions; it is unlikely to sacrifice them for an ally that has proved a headache to the United States, which has its own deep relationship with China.

"Being seen to take a provocative stand alongside Pakistan comes at a substantial cost, but provides little strategic benefit," Urmila Venugopalan, an independent analyst and former Asia editor at Jane's Intelligence Review, wrote last month in Foreign Policy.

China, he wrote, does not want to push India deeper into the American orbit.

"An escalation in Chinese aid to Pakistan would surely antagonise India, creating a new point of friction in the triangular relationship between Beijing, New Delhi, and Washington."

China has also shown no sign that it is willing to shoulder some of the financial burden of propping up Pakistan that the United States has so far been willing to bear.

In 2008, when Pakistan was suffering a balance of payments crisis and sought China's support to avoid turning to the International Monetary Fund and its restrictive terms on a $7.5 billion loan, China provided only $500 million.

China may share concerns over Pakistan's stability, Venugopalan writes, "but it has preferred to let Americans bear the costs of improving the country's security".

Pakistan's attempts to play China off the United States will ultimately backfire, analysts say. Although important, Pakistan is not the most important issue for Beijing and Washington.

"It is our misunderstanding if we think that we will team up with China if we are pressed by the United States," Rizvi said. "China and the United States have their own relations and they cannot compromise them for the sake of Pakistan."

Afghan minister: Peace depends on Pakistan

Afghanistan's deputy foreign minister says Kabul has yet to contact the insurgent leaders it needs to for meaningful peace talks to begin.
Jawed Ludin also said Monday the success of the peace process would depend on Pakistan persuading Taliban leaders to come to the negotiating table.
His comments hint at the challenges facing the U.S.-supported reconciliation drive.
After fighting the Taliban for 10 years in Afghanistan, the United States now wants to cut a deal with them to enable it to leave the country.
The Taliban publicly insist they have no interest in negotiating peace so long as foreign troops occupy Afghanistan.

Fight against terrorism

A preliminary probe found that the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) was behind the explosion at the weekend that left six civilians dead and 15 others wounded in Kashgar, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
The leaders of the group learned terrorist techniques in ETIM camps in Pakistan before they penetrated into Xinjiang.
The explosion again sends the message that terrorism is still a threat and that we must remain vigilant. Combating terrorism should be high on the agenda of our governments, especially those in border areas. It is also wrong and misleading to interpret the violent incidents in Xinjiang, including a recent attack on a police station in Hotan, as ethnic conflicts.
People from different ethnic groups have been coexisting peacefully in the region for many years. The social stability and the lives of local residents would not have been so brutally disrupted were it not for the terrorist acts of the ETIM, an international terrorist organization which is said to be the "most violent and dangerous" among the "East Turkistan" separatist forces.
In May a spokesman for the National Counter-terrorism Office of China said that while the region is generally stable, the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism have been colluding with "East Turkistan" terrorist forces both in and out of China in recent years.
Social turmoil and public panic are exactly what the ETIM wants to achieve in Xinjiang. However, very few residents, no matter what ethnic group they are from, want their peaceful lives disrupted by explosions, riots and attacks against innocent people. Most are well aware that the more terrorist attacks there are, the more ordinary people will suffer.
It is definitely right that no leniency should be shown to separatist activities and extremist forces. The government should make every effort to crack down on groups that employ terror tactics as a means to materialize their ambition of splitting a country or fanning extremist sentiments.
Such terrorist acts not only endanger people's lives, they also undermine social stability and have a detrimental effect on economic development and social progress, which in turn take their toll on residents' living standards and the quality of their lives.
At an emergency meeting convened immediately after the Kashgar attack on Sunday, Zhang Chunxian, Party secretary of Xinjiang region, called for a crackdown on terrorist attacks and extremist forces.
At the same time, measures should be taken to strengthen unity of different ethnic groups and greater efforts be made to inject vitality into the local economy so that living standards will be substantially improved for all residents.