All tall claims of the Punjab government have failed to control dengue fever in the provincial capital of Punjab as the new case of dengue has been reported.
As per media reports, the new case of dengue at the outset of spring has also exposed the measures taken, if any, by the Punjab government.
Seven-year-old Maryam Lahore has been confirmed with dengue virus. When the resident of Gulshan Ravi was taken to a local hospital for treatment, the doctors diagnosed that she is suffering from dengue fever. However, her condition is improving.
Doctors informed that she would be discharged from hospital within a couple of days.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Nawaz paying lip service
nation.com
PPP Parliamentary Leader in PA Shaukat M Basra on Wednesday said the PPP government was taking practical steps for recovery of the missing persons, whereas Nawaz Sharif was paying only lip service. In a press statement, he questioned: “Why was Mr Nawaz Sharif reluctant to declare his long march for the recovery of missing persons?” Balochistan was awaited his announcement, he said.
PPP Parliamentary Leader in PA Shaukat M Basra on Wednesday said the PPP government was taking practical steps for recovery of the missing persons, whereas Nawaz Sharif was paying only lip service. In a press statement, he questioned: “Why was Mr Nawaz Sharif reluctant to declare his long march for the recovery of missing persons?” Balochistan was awaited his announcement, he said.
Nawaz Sharif: 3 references, several inquiries against Sharifs pending with NAB
www.nation.com
Some three corruption references and almost half a dozen inquiries were pending with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Accountability Courts against former Premier and PML-N President Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his other family members, but the same could not be reopened as the Division Bench of Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench had barred the NAB to proceed against Sharif family.
Officials in the National Accountability Bureau informed The Nation that the Division Bench of Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench consisting of Justice Ijazul Hasan and Justice Wahid Khan, an appellate forum of Accountability Courts, had barred the Accountability Courts to proceed against Mian Nawaz Sharif and other family members in these three cases in October last year. The preemptive move was made in the Division Bench of LHC Rawalpindi after the incumbent Chairman NAB Admiral (Retd) Fasih Bokhari was appointed despite the objection on his appointment was made through a letter written to President Asif Ali Zardari by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Ch. Nisar Ali Khan.
Sources in the PML-N informed that they had secured stay order against reopening of these cases from the Appellate Court only to prevent the PPP-led coalition government to use these cases for arm twisting of the PML-N leadership though NAB.
So an application for early hearing of their petition, pending with the court for past several months, was initiated and the very next day of moving of the application by Akram Sheikh Advocate stay against the opening of these cases was secured from the Division Bench of LHC Rawalpindi.
All the three cases-Hudaybia Paper Mills,Ittefaq Foundries and Assets reference---were framed against Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family members after dislodging of his elected government in 1999 and during year 2000 and initially all the three cases had been fixed for trial at Accountability Court Attock where Mian Nawaz Sharif and his brother Mian Shahbaz Sharif were kept after the dislodging of their government. All these cases were adjourned sine die under some clandestine deal when Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family was exiled to Saudi Arabia.
These cases were reopened in year 2007 when the Supreme Court allowed Mian Nawaz Sharif to return back to Pakistan but once again he was sent back to Saudi Arabia moments after he landed here at Islamabad Airport.
The request for the reopening of these cases was again made in year 2010 when the then Prosecutor General NAB Dr Danishwar Malik had moved an application seeking reopening of these cases on the plea that as the accused in these cases had returned back to the country so the cases against them should be reopened. But the matter once again went into limbo when the Accountability Court Rawalpindi No. 1 judge directed the Prosecutor General to furnish the request for reopening of these cased duly signed by Chairman NAB but as the slot of Chairman NAB was vacant and once again the court had adjourned these cases sine die. In State vs Hudaybia Paper Mills (Pvt) Ltd-nine members of the Sharif family were accused of committing a corruption of Rs 642.743 million.
As per NAB allegations the accused had secured loan against the Hudaybia Paper Mills and later used this money to pay off the loans of other companies owned by the Sharif family. Mian Muhammad Sharif, Mian Nawaz Sharif, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Mian Abbas Sharif, Hussain Nawaz, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Mrs Shamim Akhtar (Mother to Nawaz Sharif), Mrs Sabiha Abbas, Mrs Maryam Safdar and former Federal Minister Ishaq Dar were the accused in this reference.
In State Vs Ittefaq Foundries etc, Mian Nawaz Sharif, his brother Mian Abbas Sharif and Kamal Qureshi were charged with the willful default of Rs 1.06 billion.
The main allegation against the accused in this case was that M/s Ittefaq Foundries Ltd obtained cash finance from National Bank. As per NAB allegations, the company willfully defaulted to pay back the amount in 1994. In State vs Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif etc is about the Raiwind assets.
Main allegation in this reference is that the accused had acquired vast tracts of land on which a number of palatial houses and mansions were constructed with less resources, which appeared to be grossly disproportionate to their known sources of income. As per NAB allegations, there involved an amount Rs 247.352 million that is under question. Apart from Mian Nawaz Sharif, his mother was also an accused in this case.
There are six investigations against Sharif pending before the NAB following Chairman NAB's order. These pending investigations included; case of illegal appointments in the FIA against Mian Nawaz Sharif; misuse of authority by Nawaz Sharif as ex-Chief Minister Punjab in the construction of road from Raiwind to Sharif family house causing loss of Rs 125 million; Sharif Trust case against Nawaz Sharif/Sharif Trust involving allegation of money laundering, misappropriation of trust funds and acquisition of benami assets in the name of Sharif Trust; London properties case against Nawaz Sharif and others regarding owning of Aven Field properties in London; Illegal appointments in PIA allegedly by Mian Nawaz Sharif, and corruption in the allotment of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) plots involving ex-CM Nawaz Sharif, ex-DG LDA Brig (Retd) Manzoor Malik, ex-Director Estate and Shahid Rafi.
Two pending inquiries against Sharifs in the NAB included a complaint of allotment of LDA plots and another complaint about alleged misappropriation of government property by allotting 12 plots to Mian Attaullah instead of one in Gulshan Ravi Scheme ,thereby, causing loss of Rs 20 million to the State.
It is pertinent to mention here that Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and other accused in plane hijacking and helicopter case were acquitted.
Some three corruption references and almost half a dozen inquiries were pending with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Accountability Courts against former Premier and PML-N President Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his other family members, but the same could not be reopened as the Division Bench of Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench had barred the NAB to proceed against Sharif family.
Officials in the National Accountability Bureau informed The Nation that the Division Bench of Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench consisting of Justice Ijazul Hasan and Justice Wahid Khan, an appellate forum of Accountability Courts, had barred the Accountability Courts to proceed against Mian Nawaz Sharif and other family members in these three cases in October last year. The preemptive move was made in the Division Bench of LHC Rawalpindi after the incumbent Chairman NAB Admiral (Retd) Fasih Bokhari was appointed despite the objection on his appointment was made through a letter written to President Asif Ali Zardari by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Ch. Nisar Ali Khan.
Sources in the PML-N informed that they had secured stay order against reopening of these cases from the Appellate Court only to prevent the PPP-led coalition government to use these cases for arm twisting of the PML-N leadership though NAB.
So an application for early hearing of their petition, pending with the court for past several months, was initiated and the very next day of moving of the application by Akram Sheikh Advocate stay against the opening of these cases was secured from the Division Bench of LHC Rawalpindi.
All the three cases-Hudaybia Paper Mills,Ittefaq Foundries and Assets reference---were framed against Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family members after dislodging of his elected government in 1999 and during year 2000 and initially all the three cases had been fixed for trial at Accountability Court Attock where Mian Nawaz Sharif and his brother Mian Shahbaz Sharif were kept after the dislodging of their government. All these cases were adjourned sine die under some clandestine deal when Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family was exiled to Saudi Arabia.
These cases were reopened in year 2007 when the Supreme Court allowed Mian Nawaz Sharif to return back to Pakistan but once again he was sent back to Saudi Arabia moments after he landed here at Islamabad Airport.
The request for the reopening of these cases was again made in year 2010 when the then Prosecutor General NAB Dr Danishwar Malik had moved an application seeking reopening of these cases on the plea that as the accused in these cases had returned back to the country so the cases against them should be reopened. But the matter once again went into limbo when the Accountability Court Rawalpindi No. 1 judge directed the Prosecutor General to furnish the request for reopening of these cased duly signed by Chairman NAB but as the slot of Chairman NAB was vacant and once again the court had adjourned these cases sine die. In State vs Hudaybia Paper Mills (Pvt) Ltd-nine members of the Sharif family were accused of committing a corruption of Rs 642.743 million.
As per NAB allegations the accused had secured loan against the Hudaybia Paper Mills and later used this money to pay off the loans of other companies owned by the Sharif family. Mian Muhammad Sharif, Mian Nawaz Sharif, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Mian Abbas Sharif, Hussain Nawaz, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Mrs Shamim Akhtar (Mother to Nawaz Sharif), Mrs Sabiha Abbas, Mrs Maryam Safdar and former Federal Minister Ishaq Dar were the accused in this reference.
In State Vs Ittefaq Foundries etc, Mian Nawaz Sharif, his brother Mian Abbas Sharif and Kamal Qureshi were charged with the willful default of Rs 1.06 billion.
The main allegation against the accused in this case was that M/s Ittefaq Foundries Ltd obtained cash finance from National Bank. As per NAB allegations, the company willfully defaulted to pay back the amount in 1994. In State vs Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif etc is about the Raiwind assets.
Main allegation in this reference is that the accused had acquired vast tracts of land on which a number of palatial houses and mansions were constructed with less resources, which appeared to be grossly disproportionate to their known sources of income. As per NAB allegations, there involved an amount Rs 247.352 million that is under question. Apart from Mian Nawaz Sharif, his mother was also an accused in this case.
There are six investigations against Sharif pending before the NAB following Chairman NAB's order. These pending investigations included; case of illegal appointments in the FIA against Mian Nawaz Sharif; misuse of authority by Nawaz Sharif as ex-Chief Minister Punjab in the construction of road from Raiwind to Sharif family house causing loss of Rs 125 million; Sharif Trust case against Nawaz Sharif/Sharif Trust involving allegation of money laundering, misappropriation of trust funds and acquisition of benami assets in the name of Sharif Trust; London properties case against Nawaz Sharif and others regarding owning of Aven Field properties in London; Illegal appointments in PIA allegedly by Mian Nawaz Sharif, and corruption in the allotment of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) plots involving ex-CM Nawaz Sharif, ex-DG LDA Brig (Retd) Manzoor Malik, ex-Director Estate and Shahid Rafi.
Two pending inquiries against Sharifs in the NAB included a complaint of allotment of LDA plots and another complaint about alleged misappropriation of government property by allotting 12 plots to Mian Attaullah instead of one in Gulshan Ravi Scheme ,thereby, causing loss of Rs 20 million to the State.
It is pertinent to mention here that Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and other accused in plane hijacking and helicopter case were acquitted.
Pakistan vows to support, not lead Afghan peace drive
tribune.com
Pakistan will give its full support to any clear effort by the Afghan government to achieve a political settlement with the Taliban but does not want to lead a peace process that would impose a solution, Hina Rabbani Khar said on Wednesday.
Khar said Afghans were tired of attempts by other countries to take charge of their affairs and, for the good of future bilateral ties, Pakistan should not be seen to be interfering too closely.
“We will support any (peace efforts) that are Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-driven. This is our first and last pre-requisite,” Khar said in a speech at Chatham House, an international relations think tank in London.
“But we will not lead. We cannot lead. We will only follow what our Afghan brothers and sisters decide is the course of action they will adopt,” she said.
Khar added that as long as that condition was met, Pakistan would not block any effort by any nation to assist the Afghan government in achieving a political settlement to end war in Afghanistan.
In a statement on Tuesday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai asked Pakistan “to support and facilitate our direct negotiation efforts as part of the peace process”.
“Pakistan’s support to the peace process will be crucial to its success, as well as a significant contribution to the security and stability of Afghanistan and the entire region,” Karzai said.
Pakistan has consistently said it wanted peace in Afghanistan, but Afghans have long been suspicious of Pakistan’s intentions because of historical ties between Pakistani intelligence and insurgent groups such as the Afghan Taliban.
The Afghan Taliban announced last month it would open a political office in Qatar, suggesting it may be willing to use that as a tool in future negotiations.
Karzai has said he agreed with the idea of opening a Taliban office in Qatar.
After a period of greater strain than usual, relations between Kabul and Islamabad have improved.
Khar said Afghans had to decide for themselves what was the best course of action to achieve peace in their country. Peace was in Pakistan’s national interest but there should be only “one centre of gravity” in the effort to attain it and that should be an Afghan-led process, she said.
Pakistan will give its full support to any clear effort by the Afghan government to achieve a political settlement with the Taliban but does not want to lead a peace process that would impose a solution, Hina Rabbani Khar said on Wednesday.
Khar said Afghans were tired of attempts by other countries to take charge of their affairs and, for the good of future bilateral ties, Pakistan should not be seen to be interfering too closely.
“We will support any (peace efforts) that are Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-driven. This is our first and last pre-requisite,” Khar said in a speech at Chatham House, an international relations think tank in London.
“But we will not lead. We cannot lead. We will only follow what our Afghan brothers and sisters decide is the course of action they will adopt,” she said.
Khar added that as long as that condition was met, Pakistan would not block any effort by any nation to assist the Afghan government in achieving a political settlement to end war in Afghanistan.
In a statement on Tuesday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai asked Pakistan “to support and facilitate our direct negotiation efforts as part of the peace process”.
“Pakistan’s support to the peace process will be crucial to its success, as well as a significant contribution to the security and stability of Afghanistan and the entire region,” Karzai said.
Pakistan has consistently said it wanted peace in Afghanistan, but Afghans have long been suspicious of Pakistan’s intentions because of historical ties between Pakistani intelligence and insurgent groups such as the Afghan Taliban.
The Afghan Taliban announced last month it would open a political office in Qatar, suggesting it may be willing to use that as a tool in future negotiations.
Karzai has said he agreed with the idea of opening a Taliban office in Qatar.
After a period of greater strain than usual, relations between Kabul and Islamabad have improved.
Khar said Afghans had to decide for themselves what was the best course of action to achieve peace in their country. Peace was in Pakistan’s national interest but there should be only “one centre of gravity” in the effort to attain it and that should be an Afghan-led process, she said.
Al Jazeera's Bahrain documentary wins award
The journalists behind the Al Jazeera English documentary Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark have won the 63rd annual George Polk Award in Journalism.
Ranked among the US' most coveted journalism honours, the George Polk Awards - named after an American journalist who was killed covering the civil war in Greece in 1948 - have been administered by Long Island University since 1949.
A committee of jurors recognised Al Jazeera's May Welsh and Hassan Mahfood for producing a film that "gives a voice to the protesters for democratic rights and presents a harrowing, on-the-ground view of their brutal suppression".Previous winners of the awards include Seymour Hersh, Ted Koppel and Christiane Amanpour.
It is the second accolade won by the film, which was awarded the UK Foreign Press Association Award for Best Documentary in November 2011.The documentary, which was first broadcast on Al Jazeera English on August 4, 2011, follows the unraveling of the Bahraini uprising from the initial days at Pearl Roundabout to the chaotic scenes of injured protesters overwhelming the Salmaniya Medical Complex.
The film was shot entirely by Welsh with her field producer, Mahfood, over the course of a three-month period from February to April 2011.
Of the award, Welsh said: "Shouting in the Dark provides a visceral insight into a country that was often overlooked during a time of great upheaval in the Arab world. The bravery and spirit depicted in the film continues to touch the hearts of people across the globe. This award is a proud achievement for Al Jazeera, and recognition of the courage shown by the people I met whilst filming in Bahrain."
As the crackdown in Bahrain deepened, Al Jazeera was the only international news provider to remain in the country.
"We are delighted to have won such a prestigious and coveted award," said Al Anstey, the managing director of Al Jazeera English.
"This recognition comes on the back of a series of high-profile award wins for the channel, and is a testament to Al Jazeera's commitment to put honest, eye-witness reporting at the heart of the global news agenda. We look forward to continue providing award-winning coverage to our growing audiences in the US and across the world."
As Olympics Near, Saudi Women Remain on the Sidelines
www.hrw.org/www.rhrealitycheck.org
Denial of Women’s and Girls’ Rights to Sport in Saudi Arabia
International Olympic Committee to Saudi Arabia: Where Are the Women?
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to put the screws on Saudi Arabia, one of just three countries that has yet to field any women for the Olympic games. The other two countries, Brunei and Qatar, have either vowed to send women to London this summer or are struggling to send anyone to the Olympics. Saudi Arabia has no excuse, HRW says, and by not pushing them to field women the IOC is violating its own principles on gender equality. A researcher for HRW called women’s participation in sports a “wedge issue” for other women’s rights – a hefty claim in a country where women lack even the ability to drive and vote in most elections.
This report documents discrimination by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education in denying girls physical education in state schools, as well as discriminatory practices by the General Presidency for Youth Welfare, a youth and sports ministry, in licensing women’s gyms and supporting only all-male sports clubs. The National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia also has no programs for women athletes and has not fielded women in past Olympic Games.
In its interviews with Saudi women and international sporting officials, the report found that Saudi government restrictions put athletics beyond the reach of almost all women. There is no government sports infrastructure for women, with all designated buildings, sport clubs, courses, expert trainers, and referees limited exclusively to men. The ban on women’s private, for-fee sports clubs has forced women to restrict themselves to fitness gyms that rarely feature swimming pools, a running track, or playing fields for team sports. Membership fees there are beyond the means of many ordinary Saudi women and girls. Official sporting bodies hold no competitive sports for Saudi women athletes in the kingdom and do not support Saudi sportswomen in regional or international competitions.
Denial of Women’s and Girls’ Rights to Sport in Saudi Arabia
International Olympic Committee to Saudi Arabia: Where Are the Women?
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to put the screws on Saudi Arabia, one of just three countries that has yet to field any women for the Olympic games. The other two countries, Brunei and Qatar, have either vowed to send women to London this summer or are struggling to send anyone to the Olympics. Saudi Arabia has no excuse, HRW says, and by not pushing them to field women the IOC is violating its own principles on gender equality. A researcher for HRW called women’s participation in sports a “wedge issue” for other women’s rights – a hefty claim in a country where women lack even the ability to drive and vote in most elections.
This report documents discrimination by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education in denying girls physical education in state schools, as well as discriminatory practices by the General Presidency for Youth Welfare, a youth and sports ministry, in licensing women’s gyms and supporting only all-male sports clubs. The National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia also has no programs for women athletes and has not fielded women in past Olympic Games.
In its interviews with Saudi women and international sporting officials, the report found that Saudi government restrictions put athletics beyond the reach of almost all women. There is no government sports infrastructure for women, with all designated buildings, sport clubs, courses, expert trainers, and referees limited exclusively to men. The ban on women’s private, for-fee sports clubs has forced women to restrict themselves to fitness gyms that rarely feature swimming pools, a running track, or playing fields for team sports. Membership fees there are beyond the means of many ordinary Saudi women and girls. Official sporting bodies hold no competitive sports for Saudi women athletes in the kingdom and do not support Saudi sportswomen in regional or international competitions.
Russia backs Red Cross call for daily Syria truce
Russia on Wednesday expressed "serious concern" about the humanitarian situation in Syria and said it backed an International Committee of the Red Cross call for a daily two-hour truce that could provide help to civilians.
"We are seriously concerned by incoming reports about the difficult humanitarian situation in Syria," said Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.
"We actively support the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross" to establish a truce, Lukashevich told a weekly press briefing.
"It is presumed that this pause will be used to provide humanitarian assistance to the nation's population."
The ICRC has been in talks with Syrian authorities and rebels to try to agree a temporary halt to the fighting so it can get access to the worst affected areas.
Lukashevich said Russia had submitted to the UN Security Council a proposal for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to send a special envoy to Damascus to negotiate the provision of humanitarian assistance to those who need it most.
Russia has emerged as President Bashar al-Assad's closest international ally and its support for a truce puts pressure on the regime to open the border to foreign supplies.
But Russia has refused to single out Assad for criticism and on Wednesday again called on both his forces and the armed opposition to end the violence.
"We once again urge all Syrian sides to end the violence. This concerns both the official authorities and the opposition, which must disassociate itself from extremists," Lukashevich said.
Zardari admitted to Dubai hospital
Reportedly, President Zardari has been admitted in a Dubai hospital for medical checkup.According to reports, President Asif Ali Zardari is hospitalized in Dubai Hospital for medical checkup on Wednesday, Dunya News reported.
However, president’s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar has denied the reports and said that the president is in good health and is at home.
LAHORE: Dengue returns, new case reported
All the towering claims of the government have fallen flat as dengue has returned.
The new case of dengue at the outset of spring has also exposed the measures taken, if any, by the Punjab government.
Seven-year-old Maryam Lahore has been confirmed with dengue virus. When the resident of Gulshan Ravi was taken to a local hospital for treatment, the doctors diagnosed that she is suffering from dengue fever. However, her condition is improving.
According to doctors, she would be discharged from hospital within a couple of days.
Barhamdagh Bugti supports Balochistan bill
Senior leader Balochistan Republican Party (BRP) and grandson of slain Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Nawabzada Brahamdagh Bugti has said that he supports the US Congress resolution on Balochistan self-determination.
In a telephonic chat with media persons from Switzerland here on Wednesday, Barhamdagh Bugti said that attacks were being carried out and bodies were being dumped in the province for two years. He said that forces were conducting operation in the province for the past six years but no betterment in law and order situation could be attained.
He clarified that Balochistan issue could not be resolved through so-called development packages aimed at gaining political mileage.
Barhamdagh said the elements responsible for atrocities in Balochistan are now talking about the All Parties' Conference. He said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has now realized the plight of Balochis. He claimed that by raising Balochistan issue, Nawaz wants to save his political interests.
The BRP leader said that situation in Balochistan was not hidden from any one but nobody paid attention towards the deteriorating situation of the province.
Peshawar's Schools
''This is the actual situation,thanks to media.almost all politicians are really against education although they inagurate some institutions just to show their beautiful [ugly]faces in media.l donot know any pakistani politician whos children are uneducated,let alone educated in PAKISTAN GOVT SCHOOLS.lf people are educated then they study the party manifesto[prepared by paid INTELECTUALS] and people will be able to expose politicians.So politians got benefited by IGNORANCE IS BLESSING.''
mohammad parvez
Khushal Khan Khattak's 323rd death anniversary
Popular Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak was remembered at a function held at the Nishtar Hall on Monday night to mark his 323rd death anniversary.
Noted singers Fayyaz Khesh-gi, Bakhtiar Khattak, Musarrat Mohmand, Musharraf Bangash and Afghan singer Naghma enthralled the audience by singing Khushal Khattak’s poetry. Young artistes performed on the songs by Haroon Bacha, Qamro Jana and other singers.
A short documentary made on the life and struggle of Khushal Khan Khattak was also shown. The documentary, written by noted poet Yar Muhammad Maghmoom and voiced by Bakhtiar Khattak, reflected the heroic struggle of Khushal Khan Khattak. The great Pashto poet tried to awaken and unite the Pakhtun nation through his poetry against their Mughal enemies.
A live music performance followed the documentary, which received applause from the audience at the jam-packed hall. The hall was decorated with banners and posters inscribed with the poetry of Khushal Khattak.
Almost all the singers sang one piece from Khushal’s poetry. Some singers also sang the poetic pieces of famous poet Ghani Khan. Poha Khparawonki Jirga and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cultural Department had jointly arranged the function. Earlier, a mushaira and Quran Khwani were also held in Akora Khattak in connection with his death anniversary.
Born in Akora Khattak in Nowshera district, Khushal Khan’s ancestors had migrated from Teri in Karak. His great grandfather was the chief of the Khattak tribe. After the death of his father Malik Shahbaz Khan Khattak, he became the tribe’s head at the age of 27.
Khushal Khan’s life can be divided into two important parts. Most of his life he was engaged in the service of the Mughal King but during his old age he was preoccupied with the idea of the unification of the Pakhtuns. He was an intelligent and bold person since childhood. He fought the first war at the age of 13 along with his father. He was also a scholar, thinker, philosopher and boisterous poet. His forefathers were officers in the service of the Mughal Empire.
After the death of his father, the Mughal emperor Shahjehan appointed him as the tribal chief at the age of 27 in 1641. When Shahjehan died, Aurangzeb arrested Khattak and put him behind bars in the Gwalior Fort.
After release, he rebelled against the Mughals and later launched resistance against them. He also contacted other Pakhtun tribes like Mohmand, Afridi and Yousafzai and with the support of his people started offering resistance to the Mughals. During his imprisonment, the Yousafzai tribe with which he had fought wars gave shelter to his family.
Noted singers Fayyaz Khesh-gi, Bakhtiar Khattak, Musarrat Mohmand, Musharraf Bangash and Afghan singer Naghma enthralled the audience by singing Khushal Khattak’s poetry. Young artistes performed on the songs by Haroon Bacha, Qamro Jana and other singers.
A short documentary made on the life and struggle of Khushal Khan Khattak was also shown. The documentary, written by noted poet Yar Muhammad Maghmoom and voiced by Bakhtiar Khattak, reflected the heroic struggle of Khushal Khan Khattak. The great Pashto poet tried to awaken and unite the Pakhtun nation through his poetry against their Mughal enemies.
A live music performance followed the documentary, which received applause from the audience at the jam-packed hall. The hall was decorated with banners and posters inscribed with the poetry of Khushal Khattak.
Almost all the singers sang one piece from Khushal’s poetry. Some singers also sang the poetic pieces of famous poet Ghani Khan. Poha Khparawonki Jirga and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cultural Department had jointly arranged the function. Earlier, a mushaira and Quran Khwani were also held in Akora Khattak in connection with his death anniversary.
Born in Akora Khattak in Nowshera district, Khushal Khan’s ancestors had migrated from Teri in Karak. His great grandfather was the chief of the Khattak tribe. After the death of his father Malik Shahbaz Khan Khattak, he became the tribe’s head at the age of 27.
Khushal Khan’s life can be divided into two important parts. Most of his life he was engaged in the service of the Mughal King but during his old age he was preoccupied with the idea of the unification of the Pakhtuns. He was an intelligent and bold person since childhood. He fought the first war at the age of 13 along with his father. He was also a scholar, thinker, philosopher and boisterous poet. His forefathers were officers in the service of the Mughal Empire.
After the death of his father, the Mughal emperor Shahjehan appointed him as the tribal chief at the age of 27 in 1641. When Shahjehan died, Aurangzeb arrested Khattak and put him behind bars in the Gwalior Fort.
After release, he rebelled against the Mughals and later launched resistance against them. He also contacted other Pakhtun tribes like Mohmand, Afridi and Yousafzai and with the support of his people started offering resistance to the Mughals. During his imprisonment, the Yousafzai tribe with which he had fought wars gave shelter to his family.
At White House, B.B. King and Mick Jagger, among others, to play the blues
WASHINGTON POST
It didn’t smell like skunked beer or cigarette ash. The chandeliers weren’t replaced with neon. But Buddy Guy was there, conjuring ghosts from his cream-finish Stratocaster for a crowd of more than 200. Had the White House ever felt more like a roadhouse?
Guy, B.B. King, Mick Jagger and Jeff Beck were among the blues-rock royals assembled to perform at 1600 Pennsylvania on Tuesday night — an evening that ended with a singing performance from President Obama himself.
It was the latest (also: the loudest, wildest, most dynamic, most exciting) in a series of semi-regular concerts hosted by first lady Michelle Obama celebrating the American songbook.
Previous performances in the series have saluted the music of the civil rights era, Motown and Broadway, as well as jazz, country (twice), classical and Latin music. Now, to mark Black History Month, the Obamas honored the blues, arguably the most influential of any American musical genre.
“This music speaks to something universal,” the president said before introducing King. “No one goes through life without both joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. The blues gets all of that.”
Jagger appeared to summon the genre’s cumulative energy when he came strutting into the East Room. Clad in a black leather coat, dark pants and cherry-red cross-trainers, the Rolling Stones frontman peacocked across the stage and punched the air, that mysterious electricity still crackling through his 68-year-old limbs. He is a man without an off switch, or even a dimmer, and he gave the White House performance by which all other White House performances shall now be judged.
Between a feral rendition of “I Can’t Turn You Loose” and the Stones’ disco-blues gem “Miss You,” Jagger vamped through “Commit a Crime” alongside Beck, dedicating the performance to the late Chicago blues great Hubert Sumlin.
Sumlin was one of the genre’s many pioneers who died in the past year — among the others were Pinetop Perkins, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Big Jack Johnson and, most recently, Etta James. Nodding to their forebears, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes offered a somber, stately rendition of James’s “I’d Rather Go Blind.”
Other moments in the program seemed to place the future of blues in the able hands of Gary Clark Jr., the 28-year-old Texas guitar ace who was given more time onstage than any other performer. He made the most of it, delivering a heavy, heartfelt “In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)” before pivoting into a lithe “Catfish Blues.”
Also on the junior side of the spectrum was New Orleans phenom Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, 26. Earlier Tuesday at the White House, Andrews — along with guitarist Keb Mo and singer Shemekia Copeland — spoke at an educational seminar hosted by the first lady. More than 100 students from 24 schools across the country listened attentively as Grammy Museum director Robert Santelli traced the blues’ migration from the deep South into the bloodstream of contemporary rock-and-roll. Then, after a question-and-answer session, Mo, Copeland and Andrews broke into song, the students stomping their dress shoes on the State Dining Room hardwood.
That couldn’t compete with the ruckus that Andrews brought in the East Room that night, guiding the crowd through a rowdy call-and-response during “St. James Infirmary” — with even the first couple getting in the act.
But it wouldn’t be the only singing that President Obama did Tuesday night. As the evening’s performers finished off “Sweet Home Chicago,” Guy summoned the president to the stage. “I heard you singing Al Green,” he said, referring to Obama’s recent crooning at the Apollo Theater. “You done started something, and you gotta keep it up now!”
For a moment, the president appeared reluctant — who could follow Mick? — but he grabbed the microphone to trade a few lines with King: “Come on, baby don’t you want to go, [back to that same old place], sweet home Chicago.”
It didn’t smell like skunked beer or cigarette ash. The chandeliers weren’t replaced with neon. But Buddy Guy was there, conjuring ghosts from his cream-finish Stratocaster for a crowd of more than 200. Had the White House ever felt more like a roadhouse?
Guy, B.B. King, Mick Jagger and Jeff Beck were among the blues-rock royals assembled to perform at 1600 Pennsylvania on Tuesday night — an evening that ended with a singing performance from President Obama himself.
It was the latest (also: the loudest, wildest, most dynamic, most exciting) in a series of semi-regular concerts hosted by first lady Michelle Obama celebrating the American songbook.
Previous performances in the series have saluted the music of the civil rights era, Motown and Broadway, as well as jazz, country (twice), classical and Latin music. Now, to mark Black History Month, the Obamas honored the blues, arguably the most influential of any American musical genre.
“This music speaks to something universal,” the president said before introducing King. “No one goes through life without both joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. The blues gets all of that.”
Jagger appeared to summon the genre’s cumulative energy when he came strutting into the East Room. Clad in a black leather coat, dark pants and cherry-red cross-trainers, the Rolling Stones frontman peacocked across the stage and punched the air, that mysterious electricity still crackling through his 68-year-old limbs. He is a man without an off switch, or even a dimmer, and he gave the White House performance by which all other White House performances shall now be judged.
Between a feral rendition of “I Can’t Turn You Loose” and the Stones’ disco-blues gem “Miss You,” Jagger vamped through “Commit a Crime” alongside Beck, dedicating the performance to the late Chicago blues great Hubert Sumlin.
Sumlin was one of the genre’s many pioneers who died in the past year — among the others were Pinetop Perkins, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Big Jack Johnson and, most recently, Etta James. Nodding to their forebears, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes offered a somber, stately rendition of James’s “I’d Rather Go Blind.”
Other moments in the program seemed to place the future of blues in the able hands of Gary Clark Jr., the 28-year-old Texas guitar ace who was given more time onstage than any other performer. He made the most of it, delivering a heavy, heartfelt “In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)” before pivoting into a lithe “Catfish Blues.”
Also on the junior side of the spectrum was New Orleans phenom Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, 26. Earlier Tuesday at the White House, Andrews — along with guitarist Keb Mo and singer Shemekia Copeland — spoke at an educational seminar hosted by the first lady. More than 100 students from 24 schools across the country listened attentively as Grammy Museum director Robert Santelli traced the blues’ migration from the deep South into the bloodstream of contemporary rock-and-roll. Then, after a question-and-answer session, Mo, Copeland and Andrews broke into song, the students stomping their dress shoes on the State Dining Room hardwood.
That couldn’t compete with the ruckus that Andrews brought in the East Room that night, guiding the crowd through a rowdy call-and-response during “St. James Infirmary” — with even the first couple getting in the act.
But it wouldn’t be the only singing that President Obama did Tuesday night. As the evening’s performers finished off “Sweet Home Chicago,” Guy summoned the president to the stage. “I heard you singing Al Green,” he said, referring to Obama’s recent crooning at the Apollo Theater. “You done started something, and you gotta keep it up now!”
For a moment, the president appeared reluctant — who could follow Mick? — but he grabbed the microphone to trade a few lines with King: “Come on, baby don’t you want to go, [back to that same old place], sweet home Chicago.”
First Lady surprises White House visitors
17 Feb 2012www.telegraph.co.uk
First Lady Michelle Obama and family dog Bo surprise visitors during a White House tour.
First Lady Michelle Obama and family dog Bo surprise visitors during a White House tour.
Barack Obama sings duet with BB King at White House blues concert
US President Barack Obama is coerced in to singing a fews lines from 'Sweet Home Chicago' during the White House blues festival.The President delighted guests at the White House with another impromptu singing performance.
This time it was a duet with Blues legend BB King at the 'In Performace at the White House' event.It took some effort from King's fellow musician Buddy Guy to persuade President Obama to partake in a reprisal of 'Sweet Home Chicago' but he was soon singing a few bars from the classic hit about his home city.
It is not the first time crowds have been treated to his presidential vocals. In January Obama serenaded a packed auditorium during a New York fund-raising event
Afghanistan Face Challenges in Improving Social Justice, AIHRC Says
tolonews.com
The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said that social justice in Afghanistan needs to be protected and improved.Nearly 36 per cent of Afghans are now living under the poverty line and 40 per cent of Afghans are unemployed.
"We have failed to eradicate poverty and create jobs in the country," Mohammad Musa Mahmodi, executive director of the AIHRC, said.
Some human rights activists believe that corrupt government officials, unemployment, poverty, lack of development, economic problems and insecurity are challenges that need to be overcome to improve social justice in Afghanistan.
The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said that social justice in Afghanistan needs to be protected and improved.Nearly 36 per cent of Afghans are now living under the poverty line and 40 per cent of Afghans are unemployed.
"We have failed to eradicate poverty and create jobs in the country," Mohammad Musa Mahmodi, executive director of the AIHRC, said.
Some human rights activists believe that corrupt government officials, unemployment, poverty, lack of development, economic problems and insecurity are challenges that need to be overcome to improve social justice in Afghanistan.
Veena Malik signs a film for Rs 1 lakh!
She may be known for creating ripples with her publicity stunts but not many of us know the real story of Veena Malik.
Veena Malik, who has earned herself the title of being the latest 'drama queen' in town, is actually one of the lowest paid actresses in town.
Veena, who took to fame post her stint in the reality show Bigg Boss, is desperate to sustain the limelight. Since getting big projects is not an easy affair, it is learnt that the actress has lowered her price and is signing films for as low as Rs 1 Lakh.
Confirming this, our source says, "This might sound strange but the fact is that Veena Malik is one of the lowest paid actresses in town. Apart from her publicity stunts, the actress has no substantial work to talk about and now she has become the darling of every small time producer. It was surprising to know that the actress recently signed a film for just Rs 1 Lakh only."
Copies of Daily Express, Tribune torched in Quetta
The Express Tribune
Unidentified persons set newspaper bundles of Daily Century Express and The Express Tribune on fire in Quetta on Tuesday morning.
The hawkers could not distribute the newspapers across the province because of the incidents that took place in the newspaper market and on Saryab Road.
According to the distributors, a group of armed men reached the market near Quetta Press Club (QPC) and snatched the piles. “The men sprinkled petrol on them and set them on fire,” one of them explained. Similarly, a group of assailants intercepted the hawkers on Saryab Road, grabbed their bundles and set them on fire.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, All Pakistan Newspaper Society, Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), Awami National Party (ANP) and journalists condemned the incident, and termed it an attack on media freedom.
The transmission of Express News has remained suspended in the city for a few days and has yet to resume. Police have been deployed to its office after receiving threats from unidentified perpetrators. The province is the most dangerous place for journalists as around 20 were killed last year.
Unidentified persons set newspaper bundles of Daily Century Express and The Express Tribune on fire in Quetta on Tuesday morning.
The hawkers could not distribute the newspapers across the province because of the incidents that took place in the newspaper market and on Saryab Road.
According to the distributors, a group of armed men reached the market near Quetta Press Club (QPC) and snatched the piles. “The men sprinkled petrol on them and set them on fire,” one of them explained. Similarly, a group of assailants intercepted the hawkers on Saryab Road, grabbed their bundles and set them on fire.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, All Pakistan Newspaper Society, Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), Awami National Party (ANP) and journalists condemned the incident, and termed it an attack on media freedom.
The transmission of Express News has remained suspended in the city for a few days and has yet to resume. Police have been deployed to its office after receiving threats from unidentified perpetrators. The province is the most dangerous place for journalists as around 20 were killed last year.
Benazir Bhutto: 27 terrorist groups involved in BB’s murder
Frontier Post
No less than 27 different terrorists groups had joined under the umbrella of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to assassinate Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Federal Minister for Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik told members of Sindh Assembly on Tuesday.The briefing was arranged after a resolution was put forward by MPA Ghulam Mujaddad Isran and unanimously adopted by the House seeking details about the status of investigations and the actual culprits as well as facts that led to assassination of the twice elected prime minister of the country.Malik said the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has come forward with fool proof evidence and undeniable proofs against perpetrators of the crime adding that forensic details of the crime have been collected that can stand any counter assessment at any court.He said eight people have been nominated in the case, including former president Pervez Musharraf, former CPO Syed Saud Aziz, Khurram Shehzad Haider (the latter two are presently on bail) besides five TTP activists who are behind the bars.“Both Pervez Musharraf and militants based in FATA considered Benazir Bhutto a threat for themselves as she was a strong proponent of democracy and democratic values,” he said. He said TTP had been attempting Mohtarma’s assassination since long with Osama bin Laden as the major financier and his linkage as well as that of TTP activists, including those who were at one point or other students at Madrassa- e- Haqqania (Akora Khattak), has been well established.The interior Minister said that former president and General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf will be immediately arrested, once he returns to the country, for intentionally or unintentionally conniving with the killers of Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. The Minister for Interior Affairs, extensively assisted by the team of investigators comprising members of joint investigation team (JIT), said a challan has been presented against the former president and he has already been declared proclaimed offender by the court, with all his property and bank accounts in the country attached with the court.“He has been challaned for deliberately denying VVIP security to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto while it was provided to two other ex- prime ministers,” he said. Khalid Qureishi, Head of JIT informed the MPAs that failure to provide adequate security commensurate to threat to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, despite repeated requests, assisted the terrorists to carry-out suicidal attacks.“Number of notices have been served to the former president and we will get him as soon as returns to the country,” said federal minister for interior affairs. The basis of the fact that he too considered Benazir Bhutto a threat was the fact that he had told her not to come back before elections and that her security was based on her relationship with the then government. Former president has also been accused to have ordered a press conference immediately after the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto through which wrong information was communicated.The briefing that spanned for more than four hours also included presentations by other members of the JIT team.
No less than 27 different terrorists groups had joined under the umbrella of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to assassinate Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Federal Minister for Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik told members of Sindh Assembly on Tuesday.The briefing was arranged after a resolution was put forward by MPA Ghulam Mujaddad Isran and unanimously adopted by the House seeking details about the status of investigations and the actual culprits as well as facts that led to assassination of the twice elected prime minister of the country.Malik said the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has come forward with fool proof evidence and undeniable proofs against perpetrators of the crime adding that forensic details of the crime have been collected that can stand any counter assessment at any court.He said eight people have been nominated in the case, including former president Pervez Musharraf, former CPO Syed Saud Aziz, Khurram Shehzad Haider (the latter two are presently on bail) besides five TTP activists who are behind the bars.“Both Pervez Musharraf and militants based in FATA considered Benazir Bhutto a threat for themselves as she was a strong proponent of democracy and democratic values,” he said. He said TTP had been attempting Mohtarma’s assassination since long with Osama bin Laden as the major financier and his linkage as well as that of TTP activists, including those who were at one point or other students at Madrassa- e- Haqqania (Akora Khattak), has been well established.The interior Minister said that former president and General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf will be immediately arrested, once he returns to the country, for intentionally or unintentionally conniving with the killers of Mohtarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. The Minister for Interior Affairs, extensively assisted by the team of investigators comprising members of joint investigation team (JIT), said a challan has been presented against the former president and he has already been declared proclaimed offender by the court, with all his property and bank accounts in the country attached with the court.“He has been challaned for deliberately denying VVIP security to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto while it was provided to two other ex- prime ministers,” he said. Khalid Qureishi, Head of JIT informed the MPAs that failure to provide adequate security commensurate to threat to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, despite repeated requests, assisted the terrorists to carry-out suicidal attacks.“Number of notices have been served to the former president and we will get him as soon as returns to the country,” said federal minister for interior affairs. The basis of the fact that he too considered Benazir Bhutto a threat was the fact that he had told her not to come back before elections and that her security was based on her relationship with the then government. Former president has also been accused to have ordered a press conference immediately after the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto through which wrong information was communicated.The briefing that spanned for more than four hours also included presentations by other members of the JIT team.
People in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s riverine areas lurching from one crisis to another
Dawn.Com
An unchecked reconstruction of houses along river embankments in the flood-prone areas has been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with no official agency moving to act in the public interest, experts say.
Officials of international relief organisations involved in providing assistance to the provincial government in rehabilitating the flood affected population told Dawn that the problem was common in almost all those areas where a large number of houses and localities along watercourses were destroyed by rising river levels in 2010.
“New houses, in place of those destroyed in the 2010 floods, are being reconstructed in the riverine areas of Charsadda, Nowshera, Swat, and Peshawar with no one taking note of the anomaly,” said the coordinator of a European funded housing project meant for rehabilitating the flood affected communities.
More than 265,000 households in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been found eligible for receiving housing subsidy, being extended under Citizen Disaster Compensation Program (CDCP), after suffering losses to their houses because of the 2010 floods, according to an official source.
The disbursement of CDCP funds has triggered reconstruction activities in many parts of the flood-affected districts in the province with many affected families rehabilitating their old structures in riverine areas, raising concerns among housing experts of non-governmental organisations.
The issue, said a Peshawar-based official of a UN agency, said the issue had been brought to the provincial government’s notice, but no one had acted so far to correct the situation, avoiding catastrophes in future.
A relevant official of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, when approached, said the Authority was not directly involved in the reconstruction drive. The PDMA, he added, was working hard to pay housing subsidy to the affected families.
He, however, said those who had been raising the issue they should pinpoint the areas where this reconstruction in the danger zones was taking place.
“It is a complex issue as building codes are non existent and not many people (among the constructors) are bothering about building seismic resilient structures or attaching importance to laying stronger beams and columns while constructing houses,” said the official.
Some 50,000 houses were destroyed in Charsadda district and as many in Nowshera district in 2010 where a roaring River Kabul and its tributaries wreaked havoc.
“I don’t think that the reconstruction (of houses) at the same old places is going on at a large scale, it might be the case in some places where residential localities close to riverbanks suffered losses,” said the official.
He, however, said several localities that were inundated by floodwaters were in the flood-prone zones being situated close to watercourses but the government didn’t have the resources to shift the entire localities to safer places.
There does not appear to be a quick fix to the problem, according to international non-governmental organisations’ officials.
The European Agency representative said a vast majority of the affected families could not shift to safer places. “They don’t have the financial resources to buy land at places away from the flood-prone areas for building houses,” said the official. He said billions of rupees being spent by local non-governmental organisations on the reconstruction of houses were at risk of getting washed away in an event of future floods.
“UN and other international agencies that have provided money for the reconstruction are looking into it,” said the official.
The PDMA official said the government’s civic bodies had not paid due attention to check the dangerous practice because land occupancy issues were a major obstacle.
Some hold the view that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government could have taken actions as serious as the government of Punjab took to avoid the reconstruction in the flood-prone zones, particularly, along riverbanks or on dry riverbeds.
The government of Punjab, said the UN official, had barred Wapda and other service delivery agencies from extending their facilities at places declared dangerous after the 2010 floods.
Frequently made administrative changes at the district government level have also been cited as reasons behind the lose grip of the civic bodies, failing to check the reconstruction at unsafe places, according to NGO workers.
The district governments’ employees concerned with disaster management, said a local NGO’s representative, lacked the required training leaving them insensitive to issues with potential to pose future hazards.
Not many of the district coordination officers – administrative heads of district governments – were also sensitive enough to pay attention to the problem of reconstruction in the unsafe places as, added the NGO representative, most of them remained busy with day to day administrative affairs, particularly the security situation in their respective districts.
“This leaves the issues like reconstruction of houses in riverine areas on the back burner,” said the NGO official.
An unchecked reconstruction of houses along river embankments in the flood-prone areas has been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with no official agency moving to act in the public interest, experts say.
Officials of international relief organisations involved in providing assistance to the provincial government in rehabilitating the flood affected population told Dawn that the problem was common in almost all those areas where a large number of houses and localities along watercourses were destroyed by rising river levels in 2010.
“New houses, in place of those destroyed in the 2010 floods, are being reconstructed in the riverine areas of Charsadda, Nowshera, Swat, and Peshawar with no one taking note of the anomaly,” said the coordinator of a European funded housing project meant for rehabilitating the flood affected communities.
More than 265,000 households in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been found eligible for receiving housing subsidy, being extended under Citizen Disaster Compensation Program (CDCP), after suffering losses to their houses because of the 2010 floods, according to an official source.
The disbursement of CDCP funds has triggered reconstruction activities in many parts of the flood-affected districts in the province with many affected families rehabilitating their old structures in riverine areas, raising concerns among housing experts of non-governmental organisations.
The issue, said a Peshawar-based official of a UN agency, said the issue had been brought to the provincial government’s notice, but no one had acted so far to correct the situation, avoiding catastrophes in future.
A relevant official of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, when approached, said the Authority was not directly involved in the reconstruction drive. The PDMA, he added, was working hard to pay housing subsidy to the affected families.
He, however, said those who had been raising the issue they should pinpoint the areas where this reconstruction in the danger zones was taking place.
“It is a complex issue as building codes are non existent and not many people (among the constructors) are bothering about building seismic resilient structures or attaching importance to laying stronger beams and columns while constructing houses,” said the official.
Some 50,000 houses were destroyed in Charsadda district and as many in Nowshera district in 2010 where a roaring River Kabul and its tributaries wreaked havoc.
“I don’t think that the reconstruction (of houses) at the same old places is going on at a large scale, it might be the case in some places where residential localities close to riverbanks suffered losses,” said the official.
He, however, said several localities that were inundated by floodwaters were in the flood-prone zones being situated close to watercourses but the government didn’t have the resources to shift the entire localities to safer places.
There does not appear to be a quick fix to the problem, according to international non-governmental organisations’ officials.
The European Agency representative said a vast majority of the affected families could not shift to safer places. “They don’t have the financial resources to buy land at places away from the flood-prone areas for building houses,” said the official. He said billions of rupees being spent by local non-governmental organisations on the reconstruction of houses were at risk of getting washed away in an event of future floods.
“UN and other international agencies that have provided money for the reconstruction are looking into it,” said the official.
The PDMA official said the government’s civic bodies had not paid due attention to check the dangerous practice because land occupancy issues were a major obstacle.
Some hold the view that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government could have taken actions as serious as the government of Punjab took to avoid the reconstruction in the flood-prone zones, particularly, along riverbanks or on dry riverbeds.
The government of Punjab, said the UN official, had barred Wapda and other service delivery agencies from extending their facilities at places declared dangerous after the 2010 floods.
Frequently made administrative changes at the district government level have also been cited as reasons behind the lose grip of the civic bodies, failing to check the reconstruction at unsafe places, according to NGO workers.
The district governments’ employees concerned with disaster management, said a local NGO’s representative, lacked the required training leaving them insensitive to issues with potential to pose future hazards.
Not many of the district coordination officers – administrative heads of district governments – were also sensitive enough to pay attention to the problem of reconstruction in the unsafe places as, added the NGO representative, most of them remained busy with day to day administrative affairs, particularly the security situation in their respective districts.
“This leaves the issues like reconstruction of houses in riverine areas on the back burner,” said the NGO official.
Pak military's new job: Making iPad copies
indiatimes.com
Inside a high-security air force complex that builds jet fighters and weapons systems, Pakistan's military is working on the latest addition to its sprawling commercial empire: a homegrown version of the iPad.
It's a venture that bundles together Pakistani engineering and Chinese hardware, and shines a light on the military's controversial foothold in the consumer market. Supporters say it will boost the economy as well as a troubled nation's self-esteem .
It all comes together at an air force base in Kamra in northern Pakistan, where avionics engineers - when they are not working on defense projects - assemble the PACPAD 1. "The original is the iPad, the copy is the PACPAD ," said Mohammad Imran , who stocks the product at his small computer and cell phone shop in a mall in Rawalpindi , a city not far from Kamra and the home of the Pakistani army.
The device runs on Android 2.3, an operating system made by Google and given away for free. At around $200, it's less than half the price of Apple or Samsung devices and cheaper than other lowend Chinese tablets on the market, with the bonus of a local , one-year guarantee.
The PAC in the name stands for the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, where it is made. The PAC also makes an e-reader and small laptop.
Such endeavors are still at the pilot stage and represent just a sliver of the military's business portfolio, which encompasses massive land holdings , flour and sugar mills, hotels , travel agents, even a brand of breakfast cereal. The military is powerful, its businesses are rarely subject to civilian scrutiny, and it has staged three coups since Pakistan became a state in 1947. Many Pakistanis find its economic activities corrupting and say it should focus on entirely on defence.
Inside a high-security air force complex that builds jet fighters and weapons systems, Pakistan's military is working on the latest addition to its sprawling commercial empire: a homegrown version of the iPad.
It's a venture that bundles together Pakistani engineering and Chinese hardware, and shines a light on the military's controversial foothold in the consumer market. Supporters say it will boost the economy as well as a troubled nation's self-esteem .
It all comes together at an air force base in Kamra in northern Pakistan, where avionics engineers - when they are not working on defense projects - assemble the PACPAD 1. "The original is the iPad, the copy is the PACPAD ," said Mohammad Imran , who stocks the product at his small computer and cell phone shop in a mall in Rawalpindi , a city not far from Kamra and the home of the Pakistani army.
The device runs on Android 2.3, an operating system made by Google and given away for free. At around $200, it's less than half the price of Apple or Samsung devices and cheaper than other lowend Chinese tablets on the market, with the bonus of a local , one-year guarantee.
The PAC in the name stands for the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, where it is made. The PAC also makes an e-reader and small laptop.
Such endeavors are still at the pilot stage and represent just a sliver of the military's business portfolio, which encompasses massive land holdings , flour and sugar mills, hotels , travel agents, even a brand of breakfast cereal. The military is powerful, its businesses are rarely subject to civilian scrutiny, and it has staged three coups since Pakistan became a state in 1947. Many Pakistanis find its economic activities corrupting and say it should focus on entirely on defence.
Pakistan records 11 polio cases in 2012
centralasiaonline.com
Pakistani medical workers have diagnosed two more children with polio, bringing the number of polio-afflicted children nationwide to 11 this year.The two children are from Khyber Agency and Hyderabad, Sindh, Dr Altaf Bosan, co-ordinator of the Prime Minister’s Polio Eradication Cell, told Central Asia Online February 21.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has four polio cases this year, with two each in Balochistan, Sindh and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and one in Punjab.
Last year, Pakistan led the world with 198 cases. This year, it already leads again with 11 cases so far, followed by Afghanistan (three cases).
Pakistani medical workers have diagnosed two more children with polio, bringing the number of polio-afflicted children nationwide to 11 this year.The two children are from Khyber Agency and Hyderabad, Sindh, Dr Altaf Bosan, co-ordinator of the Prime Minister’s Polio Eradication Cell, told Central Asia Online February 21.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has four polio cases this year, with two each in Balochistan, Sindh and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and one in Punjab.
Last year, Pakistan led the world with 198 cases. This year, it already leads again with 11 cases so far, followed by Afghanistan (three cases).
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Karzai calls Gilani, thanks him for hospitality
tribune.com
Afghan President Hamid Karzai telephoned Prime Minister Yousaf Gilani on Tuesday and thanked him for the hospitality extended during his recent visit to Pakistan.
Karzai informed Gilani about his meetings with the Pakistani political leadership and termed them very encouraging and constructive.
The Afghan president also apprised the Pakistani prime minister about his telephonic conversation with United States (US) President Barack Obama after his return to Kabul.
Karzai underscored Pakistan’s importance for the Afghanistan peace process and reiterated his request for assistance in the reconciliation process.
Gilani assured Karzai that Pakistan would wholeheartedly support an Afghan-owned and an Afghan-led peace process.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai telephoned Prime Minister Yousaf Gilani on Tuesday and thanked him for the hospitality extended during his recent visit to Pakistan.
Karzai informed Gilani about his meetings with the Pakistani political leadership and termed them very encouraging and constructive.
The Afghan president also apprised the Pakistani prime minister about his telephonic conversation with United States (US) President Barack Obama after his return to Kabul.
Karzai underscored Pakistan’s importance for the Afghanistan peace process and reiterated his request for assistance in the reconciliation process.
Gilani assured Karzai that Pakistan would wholeheartedly support an Afghan-owned and an Afghan-led peace process.
Video: Rihanna’s Racy Gown
Rihanna, who turns 24 on Monday, showed off some serious leg over the weekend when she stepped out in a racy floor-length satin gown. Plus, you'll never guess who the "We Found Love" singer has been tweeting! Elsewhere, Taylor Swift and Zac Efron looked ready to star in a remake of "Grease" at the Los Angeles premiere of "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax," while Zooey Deschanel was "adorkable" as usual in a plaid vintage gown at the Writers Guild Awards.
Puerto Rico honors Obama, LBJ visits with statues
Puerto Rican officials marked Presidents Day by unveiling bronze statues of U.S. President Barack Obama and former President Lyndon B. Johnson, pointedly noting that people who live on the island can't vote in the U.S. general election and lack other basic rights.
The two life-size statues are the newest additions to the "Avenue of Heroes," outside the capitol building in the U.S. island territory. The statues honor every sitting president who ever visited Puerto Rico, dating back to Theodore Roosevelt.
Obama became the ninth when he visited in June, said Kenneth McClintock, secretary of state for Puerto Rico.
Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, who represents Puerto Rico in the U.S. Congress but has limited voting powers, said the Obama administration has been helpful to Puerto Rico, including it in economic stimulus funding and health reform, among other initiatives.
But he and other officials who spoke at the ceremony complained about a lack of other basic rights, including representation in the U.S. Senate and the right to vote in the general presidential election.
"The president of the United States is an important figure to Puerto Ricans despite the fact that we aren't able to elect him," said Pierluisi, who favors making the island the 51st U.S. state. "... Puerto Rico and its nearly 4 million American citizens deserve to enjoy all the benefits and responsibilities that our fellow citizens enjoy."
Puerto Ricans can vote in primaries but not the general election though island residents are U.S. citizens.
The new statues of Obama and Johnson are part of a broader $1 million project to improve the Avenue of the Heroes, a broad boulevard along the south side of the neoclassical capitol building.
China's stance on Syria crisis can withstand test of history
People's Daily
China voted against a proposed Syria resolution at the United Nations General Assembly after saying "no" to the same proposal at the UN Security Council previously.
Some noted that if the resolution passed at the Security Council on Feb. 4, Syria would not experience the same conflict escalation as today.
However, such an argument is based on the assumption that as soon as the UN Security Council resolution passed the resolution, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would start power transfer according to the resolution and political talks would be launched immediately. This is what the Assad regime resolutely rejects.
The Assad regime should hand over power within two weeks according to the timetable under the Arab League framework. Assuming that the Security Council resolution was passed, there is a possibility that the Assad regime would move forward at any cost after being pushed to the corner. The conflict in Syria would surely be worse than the present.
The visit of Zhai Jun, China's Deputy Foreign Minister and special envoy of Chinese government to Syria, is another diplomatic attempt of China to promote political dialogue on Syria. The messages sent by Zhai during his trip can be summarized by five key words: concern, stopping violence, dialogue, cooperation and Charter.
First, the Chinese government has expressed its serious concern to all parties concerned in Syria. China is deeply worried about the fact that continuous conflict escalation and civilian casualties are undermining regional peace, and believes that such a situation must be changed immediately.
Second, China urges all parties concerned in Syria to stop violent behaviors at once. China has condemned all kinds of violence against civilians on many occasions, including the Syrian government that controls the country's armed forces, and the rebels who seek to overthrow the government through violence, in particular, the political forces that plotted bombings in government agencies. Only when all parties abandon violence, can civilian be actually reduced.
Third, China advocates the immediate launch of "inclusive political dialogue with no preconditions attached," which is the key to ensure the start of Syrian political process. "Political dialogue with no preconditions attached" means that everything is possible as long as all parties concerned reach an agreement.China urges the Assad regime to listen to people's reasonable appeals such as demands for change and development, but China has no position on who comes into power in Syria and will fully respect Syrian people's decision on their own political system. "Inclusiveness" means that all political forces should participate in the dialogue. Only by allowing every political group to participate, can political dialogue truly reflect the political reality in Syria and only by doing this, can an agreement be achievable.
Fourth, China hopes that all parties concerned in Syria to cooperate with Arab countries and the Arab League and to solve problems through political and peaceful approaches within the Arab League framework. Using the veto right at the UN Security Council and voting against the Syria resolution do not indicate that China is denying the Arab League's diplomatic efforts. Instead, China supports the Arab world's proposals such as stopping violence immediately, protecting civilians, providing humanitarian aid and avoiding outside military interference. China only opposes the contents in the Arab League's scheme that may be used by the West as the excuse to start a war.
Finally, China advocates to strictly following principles of the Charter of the United Nations and norms governing international relations. China is against the so-called "regime change" through armed intervention in any country, and believes sanctions do not help proper solutions of related issues. According to the Charter of the United Nations, the Security Council does not have the function of discussing internal affairs of its members, and has no right to decide which power force in any country should come into power or step down. Principles in the Charter such as members' sovereignty and noninterference in internal affairs are foundations for small and medium-sized countries to establish themselves in the whole word. If such rules are broken, the international community will have no peace at all.
China's stance is completely based on the fundamental interests of Arab countries and people. Such a stance is able to withstand the test of history. If Western countries continue to give the same support to Syrian rebels, a large-scale civil war may finally break out, which will likely incur outside military intervention. If this happens, history will give the answer to the question - who should be responsible for the situation?
China voted against a proposed Syria resolution at the United Nations General Assembly after saying "no" to the same proposal at the UN Security Council previously.
Some noted that if the resolution passed at the Security Council on Feb. 4, Syria would not experience the same conflict escalation as today.
However, such an argument is based on the assumption that as soon as the UN Security Council resolution passed the resolution, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would start power transfer according to the resolution and political talks would be launched immediately. This is what the Assad regime resolutely rejects.
The Assad regime should hand over power within two weeks according to the timetable under the Arab League framework. Assuming that the Security Council resolution was passed, there is a possibility that the Assad regime would move forward at any cost after being pushed to the corner. The conflict in Syria would surely be worse than the present.
The visit of Zhai Jun, China's Deputy Foreign Minister and special envoy of Chinese government to Syria, is another diplomatic attempt of China to promote political dialogue on Syria. The messages sent by Zhai during his trip can be summarized by five key words: concern, stopping violence, dialogue, cooperation and Charter.
First, the Chinese government has expressed its serious concern to all parties concerned in Syria. China is deeply worried about the fact that continuous conflict escalation and civilian casualties are undermining regional peace, and believes that such a situation must be changed immediately.
Second, China urges all parties concerned in Syria to stop violent behaviors at once. China has condemned all kinds of violence against civilians on many occasions, including the Syrian government that controls the country's armed forces, and the rebels who seek to overthrow the government through violence, in particular, the political forces that plotted bombings in government agencies. Only when all parties abandon violence, can civilian be actually reduced.
Third, China advocates the immediate launch of "inclusive political dialogue with no preconditions attached," which is the key to ensure the start of Syrian political process. "Political dialogue with no preconditions attached" means that everything is possible as long as all parties concerned reach an agreement.China urges the Assad regime to listen to people's reasonable appeals such as demands for change and development, but China has no position on who comes into power in Syria and will fully respect Syrian people's decision on their own political system. "Inclusiveness" means that all political forces should participate in the dialogue. Only by allowing every political group to participate, can political dialogue truly reflect the political reality in Syria and only by doing this, can an agreement be achievable.
Fourth, China hopes that all parties concerned in Syria to cooperate with Arab countries and the Arab League and to solve problems through political and peaceful approaches within the Arab League framework. Using the veto right at the UN Security Council and voting against the Syria resolution do not indicate that China is denying the Arab League's diplomatic efforts. Instead, China supports the Arab world's proposals such as stopping violence immediately, protecting civilians, providing humanitarian aid and avoiding outside military interference. China only opposes the contents in the Arab League's scheme that may be used by the West as the excuse to start a war.
Finally, China advocates to strictly following principles of the Charter of the United Nations and norms governing international relations. China is against the so-called "regime change" through armed intervention in any country, and believes sanctions do not help proper solutions of related issues. According to the Charter of the United Nations, the Security Council does not have the function of discussing internal affairs of its members, and has no right to decide which power force in any country should come into power or step down. Principles in the Charter such as members' sovereignty and noninterference in internal affairs are foundations for small and medium-sized countries to establish themselves in the whole word. If such rules are broken, the international community will have no peace at all.
China's stance is completely based on the fundamental interests of Arab countries and people. Such a stance is able to withstand the test of history. If Western countries continue to give the same support to Syrian rebels, a large-scale civil war may finally break out, which will likely incur outside military intervention. If this happens, history will give the answer to the question - who should be responsible for the situation?
World observing Mother Language Day
Bangladesh News
Nations across the world are observing the International Mother Language Day on Tuesday.This year the theme of the day is "Mother tongue instruction and inclusive education".
International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of Unesco in 1999 in a bid to recognise Feb 21 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), highlights the importance of mother tongue from the angle of the right to education and encourage each member state to promote instruction and education in mother tongue.
In a statement of the UN cultural wing director-general Irina Bokova quoted Nelson Mandela as saying, "if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart".Irina said, "Languages are who we are; by protecting them, we protect ourselves."
Unesco has dedicated the day to multilingualism for inclusive education."Use of the mother tongue at school is a powerful remedy against illiteracy," Irina said in the statement.
Unesco and the US Department of Public Information are set to present a special screening of "Languages Lost and Found: Speaking & Whistling the Mamma Tongue" at the UN headquarters in New York.
Bangladesh observes the day as Martyrs Day to commemorate the deaths of Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and a few other brave sons of the soil killed in a police firing on this day in 1952 when students moved out in a procession from the Dhaka University campus, breaching Section 144, demanding recognition of Bangla as a state language of the then Pakistan.
The protest sparked on Feb 21, 1952 culminated into the long-drawn struggle that eventually created independent Bangladesh in 1971.
The Pakistan government was untimely compelled to incorporate an article in the constitution on Feb 29 in 1956 that declared "the state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali".
Nations across the world are observing the International Mother Language Day on Tuesday.This year the theme of the day is "Mother tongue instruction and inclusive education".
International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of Unesco in 1999 in a bid to recognise Feb 21 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), highlights the importance of mother tongue from the angle of the right to education and encourage each member state to promote instruction and education in mother tongue.
In a statement of the UN cultural wing director-general Irina Bokova quoted Nelson Mandela as saying, "if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart".Irina said, "Languages are who we are; by protecting them, we protect ourselves."
Unesco has dedicated the day to multilingualism for inclusive education."Use of the mother tongue at school is a powerful remedy against illiteracy," Irina said in the statement.
Unesco and the US Department of Public Information are set to present a special screening of "Languages Lost and Found: Speaking & Whistling the Mamma Tongue" at the UN headquarters in New York.
Bangladesh observes the day as Martyrs Day to commemorate the deaths of Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and a few other brave sons of the soil killed in a police firing on this day in 1952 when students moved out in a procession from the Dhaka University campus, breaching Section 144, demanding recognition of Bangla as a state language of the then Pakistan.
The protest sparked on Feb 21, 1952 culminated into the long-drawn struggle that eventually created independent Bangladesh in 1971.
The Pakistan government was untimely compelled to incorporate an article in the constitution on Feb 29 in 1956 that declared "the state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali".
Putin campaigns on Russian military buildup
www.theglobeandmail.com
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
inspected one of Russia’s new stealth fighter jets on Monday and said Russia needs a stronger military to protect it against foreign attempts to stoke conflict around its borders.
Less than two weeks before a March 4 presidential election in which he hopes for a resounding win, Mr. Putin visited Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a snow-swept city in Russia’s Far East where military and civilian plane maker Sukhoi is a big employer.
He prefaced his trip with a newspaper article intended to burnish his image as a strong leader, saying Russia would spend 23-trillion rubles ($768-billion) over a decade to modernize the former Cold War superpower’s armed forces.
“New regional and local wars are being sparked before our very eyes,” Mr. Putin wrote in the article published on the front page of Russia’s official gazette, Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
“There are attempts to provoke such conflicts in the immediate vicinity of the borders of Russia and our allies,” he added in the article.
Mr. Putin, who is expected to win the election, gave no details of specific threats, but said Russia needed to develop weapons that were better than those of any potential enemy and called for making Russia’s armed forces more professional and versatile.
Russia has criticized the NATO mission in Libya, saying it overstepped the mandate it was given by the United Nations Security Council and helped rebels oust Colonel Moammar Gadhafi last year, and it has stood behind Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, one of Moscow’s few allies in the Middle East.
In the latest of his articles published on the key policies of his presidential campaign, Mr. Putin made no specific mention of Libya or Syria. But he wrote that recent events showed the diminished stature of international law.
Russia, he said, must rely on a powerful military to make sure its position is understood. “Under these conditions Russia cannot depend solely on diplomatic or economic methods of resolving conflict,” he wrote. “Before us stands the mission of developing our military potential in the framework of a strategy of containment and remaining sufficiently armed.”
Russia’s once-mighty armed forces underwent a decade of spending cuts after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, although Mr. Putin tried to slow the decline when he served as president from 2000 to 2008. The military now has about one million personnel.
With his calls to increase Russia’s might and spend state cash to improve military technology, he can count on strong support from the defence industry.
Dressed in a black coat on a visit that mixed elements of governance and campaigning, Mr. Putin looked down into the cockpit of a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter. He also examined a T-50, which Russia designed to rival the U.S. F-22 stealth fighter.
Mr. Putin, 59, has presented himself as the guarantor of stability and accused foreign powers of helping the organizers of the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule. But many are concerned with rampant corruption and political stagnation, and he suggested one approach is to bring in the private sector to help boost competition in the defence industry.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, a rare meeting between Russia’s president and opposition leaders produced talk of political reform on Monday, but no sign of concessions strong enough to halt protests posing a challenge to Mr. Putin’s ambition to return to the Kremlin.
President Dmitry Medvedev hosted protest organizers and leaders of unregistered parties at his residence outside Moscow in the first known direct high-level contact between the opposition and the Kremlin since the protests began in December.
“Our political system is far from ideal, and the majority of those present here criticize it, sometimes quite harshly,” Mr. Medvedev said in televized comments at the meeting.
“You know that for the last four years I have been changing certain parts of our political system,” he added. “At the moment, in my view, the time has come to do this more actively.”
Mr. Medvedev said he welcomed suggestions on how electoral reform legislation he has submitted to parliament since the protests began, including easier registration for parties and a return to elections of regional leaders, could be improved.
The meeting signalled an awareness of the challenge that Mr. Putin faces from the protests that have erupted three times since a Dec. 4 parliamentary election, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets to vent anger over suspected fraud in his party’s favour.
But no concrete plans for that or any other political reform beyond the changes already promised emerged from the meeting. Mr. Putin has ignored most of the protesters’ demands – including a rerun of the parliamentary election – and mocked them by likening the dissenters to apes and comparing the white ribbons worn by them to condoms.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
inspected one of Russia’s new stealth fighter jets on Monday and said Russia needs a stronger military to protect it against foreign attempts to stoke conflict around its borders.
Less than two weeks before a March 4 presidential election in which he hopes for a resounding win, Mr. Putin visited Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a snow-swept city in Russia’s Far East where military and civilian plane maker Sukhoi is a big employer.
He prefaced his trip with a newspaper article intended to burnish his image as a strong leader, saying Russia would spend 23-trillion rubles ($768-billion) over a decade to modernize the former Cold War superpower’s armed forces.
“New regional and local wars are being sparked before our very eyes,” Mr. Putin wrote in the article published on the front page of Russia’s official gazette, Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
“There are attempts to provoke such conflicts in the immediate vicinity of the borders of Russia and our allies,” he added in the article.
Mr. Putin, who is expected to win the election, gave no details of specific threats, but said Russia needed to develop weapons that were better than those of any potential enemy and called for making Russia’s armed forces more professional and versatile.
Russia has criticized the NATO mission in Libya, saying it overstepped the mandate it was given by the United Nations Security Council and helped rebels oust Colonel Moammar Gadhafi last year, and it has stood behind Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, one of Moscow’s few allies in the Middle East.
In the latest of his articles published on the key policies of his presidential campaign, Mr. Putin made no specific mention of Libya or Syria. But he wrote that recent events showed the diminished stature of international law.
Russia, he said, must rely on a powerful military to make sure its position is understood. “Under these conditions Russia cannot depend solely on diplomatic or economic methods of resolving conflict,” he wrote. “Before us stands the mission of developing our military potential in the framework of a strategy of containment and remaining sufficiently armed.”
Russia’s once-mighty armed forces underwent a decade of spending cuts after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, although Mr. Putin tried to slow the decline when he served as president from 2000 to 2008. The military now has about one million personnel.
With his calls to increase Russia’s might and spend state cash to improve military technology, he can count on strong support from the defence industry.
Dressed in a black coat on a visit that mixed elements of governance and campaigning, Mr. Putin looked down into the cockpit of a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter. He also examined a T-50, which Russia designed to rival the U.S. F-22 stealth fighter.
Mr. Putin, 59, has presented himself as the guarantor of stability and accused foreign powers of helping the organizers of the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule. But many are concerned with rampant corruption and political stagnation, and he suggested one approach is to bring in the private sector to help boost competition in the defence industry.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, a rare meeting between Russia’s president and opposition leaders produced talk of political reform on Monday, but no sign of concessions strong enough to halt protests posing a challenge to Mr. Putin’s ambition to return to the Kremlin.
President Dmitry Medvedev hosted protest organizers and leaders of unregistered parties at his residence outside Moscow in the first known direct high-level contact between the opposition and the Kremlin since the protests began in December.
“Our political system is far from ideal, and the majority of those present here criticize it, sometimes quite harshly,” Mr. Medvedev said in televized comments at the meeting.
“You know that for the last four years I have been changing certain parts of our political system,” he added. “At the moment, in my view, the time has come to do this more actively.”
Mr. Medvedev said he welcomed suggestions on how electoral reform legislation he has submitted to parliament since the protests began, including easier registration for parties and a return to elections of regional leaders, could be improved.
The meeting signalled an awareness of the challenge that Mr. Putin faces from the protests that have erupted three times since a Dec. 4 parliamentary election, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets to vent anger over suspected fraud in his party’s favour.
But no concrete plans for that or any other political reform beyond the changes already promised emerged from the meeting. Mr. Putin has ignored most of the protesters’ demands – including a rerun of the parliamentary election – and mocked them by likening the dissenters to apes and comparing the white ribbons worn by them to condoms.
U.S.A.: Immigration and the Campaign
Editorial:
The Republican presidential candidates have not made immigration a focus of their campaigns. But, as they head toward a debate on Wednesday in Arizona, ground zero for anti-immigrant hostility, it is a good time to ask them hard questions about immigration. The odds are bad that they will have sensible answers.
These candidates have abandoned decades of Republican moderation on immigration, disowning views once held by Ronald Reagan, both Presidents Bush and Congressional Republicans — like Mel Martinez, Sam Brownback, Lindsey Graham and John McCain — who once led a sizable coalition for bipartisan reform but have since either left the Senate or their principles behind.
Mitt Romney has moved farthest to the fringe. His scheme for fixing immigration is mass expulsion: a fantasy of ridding the country of 11 million unauthorized immigrants by making their lives unbearable. The key to his harsh vision is “self-deportation,” the deceptively bland-sounding policy that he introduced at a debate. It accepts that arresting and expelling so many millions would be impossible — like deporting the State of Ohio. But it replaces that delusion with another: That people can be made miserable enough to leave on their own.
Mr. Romney lifted this scheme from a campaign adviser, Kris Kobach, the mastermind of a host of crackdowns that seek to leave unauthorized immigrants not just unable to work, but unable to drive, rent or heat a home, afraid to take children to school or the doctor. In states where “self-deportation” is official policy, the results have been deplorable. In Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County sweeps neighborhoods making mass arrests, and people are afraid to leave home. In Alabama, farm and construction workers have fled by the thousands; tornado victims are afraid to go to a shelter.
These laws hijack the federal government’s responsibility for immigration and have caused a civil-rights emergency. But Mr. Romney’s response has been to condemn the Obama Justice Department for fighting them in court.
Newt Gingrich is slightly less extreme than Mr. Romney. He rightly scoffs that “self-deportation” is a pandering fantasy, and he supports legalizing a few grandmothers and students who join the military, though, like Mr. Romney, he would deny them any chance to become Americans. He, too, staunchly defends rogue states against federal civil-rights enforcement. And, speaking of fantasies, Mr. Gingrich has pledged to complete a double-wall border fence by the end of next year.
Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have been less explicit in their immigration prescriptions, though Mr. Paul has voiced a libertarian’s doubts about a border fence and acknowledged that Hispanics are being made “scapegoats.” He and Mr. Santorum, like the others, support an immediate border lockdown, oppose the Dream Act and want the government to enforce English as an official language.
Poll after poll has shown that the American public supports moderate reform. Many conservatives do, too. In Utah, the Mormon Church has joined a broad coalition of business, civic and religious organizations in endorsing humane immigration measures, free of shrill hostility. In Kansas, Mr. Kobach’s home state, businesses are trying to draft a plan to be more welcoming to immigrant workers. But the Republican presidential hopefuls are busy pandering to the far-right voters that dominate the primaries.
President Obama has hardly been inspiring on this issue. He has pushed deportations to record levels while failing to reform immigration more humanely. But he, at least, understands that the right immigration solution is one that doesn’t reward illegality but channels immigrant energy and aspirations to fruitful ends. It is the hard-won compromise that combines tougher border and workplace controls with a legalization path and a well-designed future flow of workers to meet our economy’s needs.
That’s a plan that Mitt Romney, a few Mitt Romneys ago, once admired. It’s the one he deplores now.
The Republican presidential candidates have not made immigration a focus of their campaigns. But, as they head toward a debate on Wednesday in Arizona, ground zero for anti-immigrant hostility, it is a good time to ask them hard questions about immigration. The odds are bad that they will have sensible answers.
These candidates have abandoned decades of Republican moderation on immigration, disowning views once held by Ronald Reagan, both Presidents Bush and Congressional Republicans — like Mel Martinez, Sam Brownback, Lindsey Graham and John McCain — who once led a sizable coalition for bipartisan reform but have since either left the Senate or their principles behind.
Mitt Romney has moved farthest to the fringe. His scheme for fixing immigration is mass expulsion: a fantasy of ridding the country of 11 million unauthorized immigrants by making their lives unbearable. The key to his harsh vision is “self-deportation,” the deceptively bland-sounding policy that he introduced at a debate. It accepts that arresting and expelling so many millions would be impossible — like deporting the State of Ohio. But it replaces that delusion with another: That people can be made miserable enough to leave on their own.
Mr. Romney lifted this scheme from a campaign adviser, Kris Kobach, the mastermind of a host of crackdowns that seek to leave unauthorized immigrants not just unable to work, but unable to drive, rent or heat a home, afraid to take children to school or the doctor. In states where “self-deportation” is official policy, the results have been deplorable. In Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County sweeps neighborhoods making mass arrests, and people are afraid to leave home. In Alabama, farm and construction workers have fled by the thousands; tornado victims are afraid to go to a shelter.
These laws hijack the federal government’s responsibility for immigration and have caused a civil-rights emergency. But Mr. Romney’s response has been to condemn the Obama Justice Department for fighting them in court.
Newt Gingrich is slightly less extreme than Mr. Romney. He rightly scoffs that “self-deportation” is a pandering fantasy, and he supports legalizing a few grandmothers and students who join the military, though, like Mr. Romney, he would deny them any chance to become Americans. He, too, staunchly defends rogue states against federal civil-rights enforcement. And, speaking of fantasies, Mr. Gingrich has pledged to complete a double-wall border fence by the end of next year.
Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have been less explicit in their immigration prescriptions, though Mr. Paul has voiced a libertarian’s doubts about a border fence and acknowledged that Hispanics are being made “scapegoats.” He and Mr. Santorum, like the others, support an immediate border lockdown, oppose the Dream Act and want the government to enforce English as an official language.
Poll after poll has shown that the American public supports moderate reform. Many conservatives do, too. In Utah, the Mormon Church has joined a broad coalition of business, civic and religious organizations in endorsing humane immigration measures, free of shrill hostility. In Kansas, Mr. Kobach’s home state, businesses are trying to draft a plan to be more welcoming to immigrant workers. But the Republican presidential hopefuls are busy pandering to the far-right voters that dominate the primaries.
President Obama has hardly been inspiring on this issue. He has pushed deportations to record levels while failing to reform immigration more humanely. But he, at least, understands that the right immigration solution is one that doesn’t reward illegality but channels immigrant energy and aspirations to fruitful ends. It is the hard-won compromise that combines tougher border and workplace controls with a legalization path and a well-designed future flow of workers to meet our economy’s needs.
That’s a plan that Mitt Romney, a few Mitt Romneys ago, once admired. It’s the one he deplores now.
Obama takes tougher stance on higher education
cbsnews.com
Access to college has been the driving force in federal higher education policy for decades. But the Obama administration is pushing a fundamental agenda shift that aggressively brings a new question into the debate: What are people getting for their money?
Students with loans are graduating on average with more than $25,000 in debt. The federal government pours $140 billion annually into federal grants and loans. Unemployment remains high, yet there are projected shortages in many industries with some high-tech companies already complaining about a lack of highly trained workers.
Meanwhile, literacy among college students has declined in the last decade, according to a commission convened during the George W. Bush administration that said American higher education has become "increasingly risk-averse, at times self-satisfied, and unduly expensive." About 40 percent of college students at four-year schools aren't graduating, and in two-year programs, only about 40 percent of students graduate or transfer, according to the policy and analysis group College Measures.
College drop-outs are expensive, and not just for the individual. About a fifth of full-time students who enroll at a community college do not return for a second year, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually, according to an analysis released last fall by the American Institutes for Research.
There's been a growing debate over whether post-secondary schools should be more transparent about the cost of an education and the success of graduates. President Barack Obama has weighed in with a strong "yes."
During his State of the Union address, Obama put the higher education on notice: "If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down," he said. "Higher education can't be a luxury— it's an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford."
He wants to slightly reduce federal aid for schools that don't control tuition costs and shift it to those that do. He also has proposed an $8 billion program to train community college students for high-growth industries that would provide financial incentives to programs that ensured their trainees find work. Both proposals need congressional approval.
At the same time, the administration is developing both a "scorecard" for use in comparing school statistics such as graduation rates as well as a "shopping sheet" students would receive from schools they applied to with estimates of how much debt they might graduate with and estimated future payments on student loans.
American's higher education system has long been the backbone of much of the nation's success, and there's no doubt that a college degree is valuable. It's now projected that students with a bachelor's degree will earn a million more dollars over their lifetime than students with only a high school diploma, Education Secretary Arne Duncan says.
But Obama's statement to Congress jolted the higher education establishment, which believes that college isn't just to create foot soldiers for industry and that the use of measured outcomes would hurt the humanities, meaning fewer students will turn to Shakespeare and instead study engineering, said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. The community has already been reeling over an earlier administration decision to require career college programs — many of which are at for-profit institutions — to better prepare students for "gainful employment" or risk losing federal aid.
"It's the notion that the ...federal government will begin to say we want to know what we're paying for and we want to make sure that people don't pay for education programs that take them nowhere, especially if the program is supposed to get them a job, we want it to get them a job, Carnevale said.
Some fear that Obama might want to apply the "gainful employment" standards to traditional four-year degree programs. Robert Moran, director of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, said reporting requires time and resources, and it's even more difficult to gauge the success of a graduate with an English degree than someone with a very specific career certificate.
Duncan said in an interview he doesn't see a big need to go in that direction now, although he does think it's important to track factors such as graduation rates and tuition costs. He said he tracked his graduates while serving as chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools and noticed that some universities were graduating them at rates of 75 percent or more, while others were graduating them at a small fraction of that.
"Colleges aren't too dissimilar to high schools. Some have done a great job building cultures around completion and obtainment and some haven't," Duncan said.
Historically, policy conversations have centered on getting students into college. Duncan said graduating is just as important.
"To be real clear, I think that's been the problem with federal policy in the past is 100 percent has been focused on the front end on inputs, that's clearly important, but that's the starting point. That gets you in the game. The goal isn't to get to the game, the goal is to get to the finish line," Duncan said.
Obama isn't the first president to encourage dialogue on making higher education more affordable and accountable. In addition to convening a commission to study higher education in America, Bush's administration issued grants to states to link transcript data with other records to better track the success of graduates from public institutions. The Obama administration has continued the program.
But Obama is taking the conversation to another level. That doesn't mean, however, he's abandoning the issue of accessibility. His administration has expanded the availability of Pell grants, supported a tax credit for tuition costs and is attempting to make it easier for some graduates to pay back loans.
Experts say some of the challenges in higher education result from too many students entering the doors without basic math and English skills. There's also the question of how to measure how effective colleges are and whether tuition increases are appropriate — especially for public institutions facing dramatic budget cuts.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the former president of Mayland Community College, said the issues raised by Obama are being addressed at the state and local level, where she said they should be handled, and that many schools are coming up with innovative ways to cut costs and to find ways to work with local industry. As an example, she recalled developing, while a community college president, a course in supervisory training after local industry sought it.
"All of these things the president talks about can be done at the local and state level, and are being done at the local and state level," Foxx said. "It isn't the role of government to guarantee somebody a good job after they graduate from college or community college."
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., takes a different view.
"Right now, the information about the potential of various careers, the track records of colleges and the like is essentially strewn all over the countryside," said Wyden, who authored a bill on making college costs more transparent.
He added, "I think students and their parents are now saying in addition to accessibility, we want to wring the maximum value out of every dollar we're spending on education."
College Measures: http://collegemeasures.org/
American Institutes for Research: http://www.air.org/
Education Department: http://www.ed.gov/
American Association of State Colleges and Universities: http://www.aascu.org/
Rep. Virginia Foxx: http://foxx.house.gov/
Sen. Ron Wyden: http://wyden.senate.gov/
Access to college has been the driving force in federal higher education policy for decades. But the Obama administration is pushing a fundamental agenda shift that aggressively brings a new question into the debate: What are people getting for their money?
Students with loans are graduating on average with more than $25,000 in debt. The federal government pours $140 billion annually into federal grants and loans. Unemployment remains high, yet there are projected shortages in many industries with some high-tech companies already complaining about a lack of highly trained workers.
Meanwhile, literacy among college students has declined in the last decade, according to a commission convened during the George W. Bush administration that said American higher education has become "increasingly risk-averse, at times self-satisfied, and unduly expensive." About 40 percent of college students at four-year schools aren't graduating, and in two-year programs, only about 40 percent of students graduate or transfer, according to the policy and analysis group College Measures.
College drop-outs are expensive, and not just for the individual. About a fifth of full-time students who enroll at a community college do not return for a second year, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually, according to an analysis released last fall by the American Institutes for Research.
There's been a growing debate over whether post-secondary schools should be more transparent about the cost of an education and the success of graduates. President Barack Obama has weighed in with a strong "yes."
During his State of the Union address, Obama put the higher education on notice: "If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down," he said. "Higher education can't be a luxury— it's an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford."
He wants to slightly reduce federal aid for schools that don't control tuition costs and shift it to those that do. He also has proposed an $8 billion program to train community college students for high-growth industries that would provide financial incentives to programs that ensured their trainees find work. Both proposals need congressional approval.
At the same time, the administration is developing both a "scorecard" for use in comparing school statistics such as graduation rates as well as a "shopping sheet" students would receive from schools they applied to with estimates of how much debt they might graduate with and estimated future payments on student loans.
American's higher education system has long been the backbone of much of the nation's success, and there's no doubt that a college degree is valuable. It's now projected that students with a bachelor's degree will earn a million more dollars over their lifetime than students with only a high school diploma, Education Secretary Arne Duncan says.
But Obama's statement to Congress jolted the higher education establishment, which believes that college isn't just to create foot soldiers for industry and that the use of measured outcomes would hurt the humanities, meaning fewer students will turn to Shakespeare and instead study engineering, said Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. The community has already been reeling over an earlier administration decision to require career college programs — many of which are at for-profit institutions — to better prepare students for "gainful employment" or risk losing federal aid.
"It's the notion that the ...federal government will begin to say we want to know what we're paying for and we want to make sure that people don't pay for education programs that take them nowhere, especially if the program is supposed to get them a job, we want it to get them a job, Carnevale said.
Some fear that Obama might want to apply the "gainful employment" standards to traditional four-year degree programs. Robert Moran, director of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, said reporting requires time and resources, and it's even more difficult to gauge the success of a graduate with an English degree than someone with a very specific career certificate.
Duncan said in an interview he doesn't see a big need to go in that direction now, although he does think it's important to track factors such as graduation rates and tuition costs. He said he tracked his graduates while serving as chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools and noticed that some universities were graduating them at rates of 75 percent or more, while others were graduating them at a small fraction of that.
"Colleges aren't too dissimilar to high schools. Some have done a great job building cultures around completion and obtainment and some haven't," Duncan said.
Historically, policy conversations have centered on getting students into college. Duncan said graduating is just as important.
"To be real clear, I think that's been the problem with federal policy in the past is 100 percent has been focused on the front end on inputs, that's clearly important, but that's the starting point. That gets you in the game. The goal isn't to get to the game, the goal is to get to the finish line," Duncan said.
Obama isn't the first president to encourage dialogue on making higher education more affordable and accountable. In addition to convening a commission to study higher education in America, Bush's administration issued grants to states to link transcript data with other records to better track the success of graduates from public institutions. The Obama administration has continued the program.
But Obama is taking the conversation to another level. That doesn't mean, however, he's abandoning the issue of accessibility. His administration has expanded the availability of Pell grants, supported a tax credit for tuition costs and is attempting to make it easier for some graduates to pay back loans.
Experts say some of the challenges in higher education result from too many students entering the doors without basic math and English skills. There's also the question of how to measure how effective colleges are and whether tuition increases are appropriate — especially for public institutions facing dramatic budget cuts.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the former president of Mayland Community College, said the issues raised by Obama are being addressed at the state and local level, where she said they should be handled, and that many schools are coming up with innovative ways to cut costs and to find ways to work with local industry. As an example, she recalled developing, while a community college president, a course in supervisory training after local industry sought it.
"All of these things the president talks about can be done at the local and state level, and are being done at the local and state level," Foxx said. "It isn't the role of government to guarantee somebody a good job after they graduate from college or community college."
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., takes a different view.
"Right now, the information about the potential of various careers, the track records of colleges and the like is essentially strewn all over the countryside," said Wyden, who authored a bill on making college costs more transparent.
He added, "I think students and their parents are now saying in addition to accessibility, we want to wring the maximum value out of every dollar we're spending on education."
College Measures: http://collegemeasures.org/
American Institutes for Research: http://www.air.org/
Education Department: http://www.ed.gov/
American Association of State Colleges and Universities: http://www.aascu.org/
Rep. Virginia Foxx: http://foxx.house.gov/
Sen. Ron Wyden: http://wyden.senate.gov/
Oil prices spike on Iran export halt. Is $4 gas next?
Oil prices rose Monday after Iran cut exports to Britain and France, raising worries that higher gas prices may follow suit.
Iran's oil ministry said Sunday that it would stop exporting oil to French and British companies. The announcement came just days after Iran threatened to cut supplies to some European Union countries in retaliation for sanctions put in place by the EU and United States.
U.S. crude for April delivery jumped nearly 2% to $105.08 per barrel. Brent crude, Europe's benchmark, rose about 0.5% to $120.18 per barrel.
Prices for Brent haven't been above $120 for more than a year, and that could prove worrisome for U.S. drivers since many U.S. refineries use imported oil to produce gas, especially on the East Coast.
Prices are already up nearly 9% from the start of the year. According to motorist group AAA, the national average price of $3.56 a gallon marks the 13th consecutive increase.
Gas prices may hit $5
The price of unleaded gasoline in the U.S. will likely hit a nationwide average of $4 by this summer, said Dan Dicker, oil trader and author of "Oil's Endless Bid." The last time prices topped $4 was 2008 and Dicker said there's a one in three chance that gas could reach $5 a gallon.
If gas prices do head to those lofty levels, that could put a crimp in the economic recovery as consumers will likely cut down on spending if they have to pay more to fill up their cars.Just last month, higher gas prices were to blame for an uptick in inflation. And it's not just consumers who will suffer. Companies facing higher shipping costs may reel in their hiring plans, slowing job growth and putting a crimp into the overall economic recovery.
"This price juggernaut has taken on a life of its own since the Iran/Israeli threat flinging began and [the] boycott/sanctions war continues to ratchet upwards, and it's been made worse by the big run in stocks since the start of the year," said Dicker.
Capital Economics analyst Julian Jessop said the stock market rebound has contributed at least $5 worth of gains to the price of oil.
Israel has contributed to the market mayhem by openly considering an attack on Tehran's nuclear infrastructure.
Iran exports 2.2 million barrels of oil per day, a sliver of the 89 million barrels that is consumed worldwide on a daily basis. Less than one-fifth of Iran's exports are sent to Europe.
The move by Iran is "essentially an empty gesture, as the UK and France buy hardly any oil," said Jessop in a client note.But it doesn't take much to trigger a fluctuation in prices, and even a bit player like Iran can wreck havoc on international markets.
"The supply is tethered so tightly to demand, that if you do lose even a small percentage of supply, it could have a big effect on the price," said Dicker.
Bahraini Children Reportedly Stabbed & Gassed
By:Tighe Barry
As part of an observer delegation in Bahrain with the peace group Code Pink, I visited the village of Bani Jamrah with local Bahraini human rights activists.
In one of the many horrific cases we heard, a 17-year-old boy Hasan, his friend and his 8-year-old brother left their home to go to the grocery store. As they were entering the store they noticed some other youngsters running. Fearing the police would be following them, they decided to wait in the store. The 8 year old hid behind a refrigerator. The police entered the store with face masks on. They grabbed the older boys, pulling them out of the store and into the street.
Once outside the shop the police began to beat them with their sticks and hit them on the head, shouting obscenities and accusations. The police were accusing them of having been involved with throwing Molotov cocktails, asking over and over “Where are the Molotov cocktails?”
The four policemen, all masked and wearing regulation police uniforms, took turns beating the boys while one was instructed to keep watch to make sure no one was video taping. They seemed to be very concerned that there be no witnesses. Quickly, they forced the boys into the waiting police car. Inside the police vehicle was another youth about 18 who appeared to be “Muhabharat,” or plain-clothes police thugs associated with many dictatorships in the Middle East.
As the car sped off, the boys were told to keep their heads down “or we will kill you.” Soon they arrived at an open lot away from possible onlookers. As the two boys were being pulled from the car, the policeman who seemed to be in the charge shouted, “Make them lie down.” Once they were face down on the ground, the policemen took out their knives and stabbed both boys in the left buttock, leaving a gaping wound. The police thugs continued their “questioning”, using profanity to scare their victims. They threatened the boys that they would go to jail for 45 days for “investigation” and that they would never go back to school or get work.
When the thugs realized that they had no choice but to leave these victims, since they had no knowledge of the Molotovs, they searched them to see what they could steal. They took the boys’ mobile phones and asked them to hand over whatever money they had. When they discovered that the boys only had 500fils (about $1.50US), they kicked one of them in the raw wound, laughing as they left them bleeding.
“Who are these masked police and why would they do such things to children?”, you might ask. The boys said they were Syrian immigrants, part of a mostly foreign police force imported by the government and paid to inflict pain on the local people to dissuade them from protesting for their rights.
I asked if the police checked their hands, or smelled their clothes to detect the presence of petrol, since they were accusing the boys of carrying Molotov cocktails. Hussan, laying uncomfortably on his stomach, still in his bloody pants, answered, “No, they made no investigation. These police don’t investigate, they only accuse and punish. We had no contact with petrol, we are students.”
In the corner of the room was Husan’s aunt, holding a little baby that looked very sickly, the red hue of its skin almost burnt looking and its tiny eyes sore and red. I was straining now in my inquiry, like having to push words out my throat. “How old is your child?”, I asked. “Eight months old”, she replied. I knew about the nightly raids in this community, as I happen to be staying less than 200 meters from there and can see the light show each night as hundreds of teargas canisters are shot into this tight grip of middle class houses.
“How do you stop the teargas from getting in the house and affecting your baby?”, I inquired in a pained voice. I, myself, although not in village, feel the effects of the massive clouds of poison that pour over the entire area at night.
“Well, sir, wet towels, we place them each night under the doors,” she answers, as she lights down on the couch near a large flat screen television. “But, sadly, sir, this does not stop the gas. The baby suffers. I try to cover her face with a cloth but she does not like it and cries at the gas and the cloth at the same.”
“One way to stop the gas is to put plastic over the air conditioning unit,” she continued, “but the policemen always cut off the plastic and the gas seeps back inside quickly.”
They showed me a homemade video of those white-helmeted terrorists, using the very same issued knife that they used to cripple the boys, systematically, methodically removing the plastic that was placed to prevent the venomous gas from entering the house. Once removed, they can now shoot the gas, knowing that it will enter the house and poison all inside, especially the kids.
And so it goes in the Kingdom of Bahrain. So it goes in a world so addicted to oil, money and power that children can be stabbed, kidnapped, tortured, terrorized and gassed with nary a word from the outside world.
Are we, in America, so addicted to oil and beholden to powerful Saudis that we will block our ears to the cries of these Bahraini children? Or will we help them grow up in a world where they can know the joy and security that we all want for ourselves? The choice is ours.
It's time to bar Saudi Arabia from Olympic competition
www.lfpress.com
At the Olympics, race or religion is irrelevant. We’re all just here to do sport.” – Ruqaya Al-Ghasara, devout Muslim and the first female Olympian to compete veiled from head to toe. (2004)
Dick Pound, Canada’s representative on the International Olympic Committee, is absolutely correct when he says that group has made great strides in the equality of women in the games.
Consider the organizers of the ancient Olympics put unmarried women to death for simply attending the event, and when the modern games were founded in 1896 women were barred from competing as it was thought their inclusion would be “impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect.”
So yeah — we’ve come a long way, baby.
With every single Olympic sport now open to female competitors — boxing was the lone holdout and it will be included in the 2012 games — this marathon is practically on its last leg.
So it’s time to disqualify Saudi Arabia from the race.
Last week, an international human-rights group called for the IOC to consider barring Saudi Arabia from the games unless that country opens its team to women, and moves to improve physical education and opportunities for Saudi girls.
Saudi Arabia is one of three countries that fields men, but never women, in the Olympics, and the only country that is prohibited by national law from selecting women for its team.
The call for exclusion is not without precedent or law. In 2000, Afghanistan was barred from the Sydney Olympics, in part because of its treatment of women. Apartheid kept South Africa from the games and the Olympic Charter precludes discrimination.
At first blush, it might seem the fielding of a Saudi women’s beach-volleyball squad would mark only a symbolic victory. However, it would necessarily require funding for a women’s Olympic program, investment in sport for Saudi women and eventually a reversal of the law that forbids sports for girls in Saudi state schools.
At the Olympics, race or religion is irrelevant. We’re all just here to do sport.
Sport is a human right.
Any nation that does not recognize this basic fact does not deserve a spot on an international stage of excellence.
At the Olympics, race or religion is irrelevant. We’re all just here to do sport.” – Ruqaya Al-Ghasara, devout Muslim and the first female Olympian to compete veiled from head to toe. (2004)
Dick Pound, Canada’s representative on the International Olympic Committee, is absolutely correct when he says that group has made great strides in the equality of women in the games.
Consider the organizers of the ancient Olympics put unmarried women to death for simply attending the event, and when the modern games were founded in 1896 women were barred from competing as it was thought their inclusion would be “impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect.”
So yeah — we’ve come a long way, baby.
With every single Olympic sport now open to female competitors — boxing was the lone holdout and it will be included in the 2012 games — this marathon is practically on its last leg.
So it’s time to disqualify Saudi Arabia from the race.
Last week, an international human-rights group called for the IOC to consider barring Saudi Arabia from the games unless that country opens its team to women, and moves to improve physical education and opportunities for Saudi girls.
Saudi Arabia is one of three countries that fields men, but never women, in the Olympics, and the only country that is prohibited by national law from selecting women for its team.
The call for exclusion is not without precedent or law. In 2000, Afghanistan was barred from the Sydney Olympics, in part because of its treatment of women. Apartheid kept South Africa from the games and the Olympic Charter precludes discrimination.
At first blush, it might seem the fielding of a Saudi women’s beach-volleyball squad would mark only a symbolic victory. However, it would necessarily require funding for a women’s Olympic program, investment in sport for Saudi women and eventually a reversal of the law that forbids sports for girls in Saudi state schools.
At the Olympics, race or religion is irrelevant. We’re all just here to do sport.
Sport is a human right.
Any nation that does not recognize this basic fact does not deserve a spot on an international stage of excellence.
Russia not to attend ‘Friends of Syria’ meeting; Iranian navy ships return from Syria
alarabiya.net
Russia on Tuesday said it will not attend an international conference in Tunis this week aimed at seeking political change in Syria because the meeting only supported the opposition’s cause, as two Iranian naval ships returned from Syria through the Suez Canal.
The meeting was called “for the purpose of supporting one side against another in an internal conflict,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, according to AFP. “We cannot accept the offer to attend this meeting.”
The “Friends of Syria group” will meet for the first time on Friday after being created in a response to a joint veto by Russia and China of a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad for the violence.
The group is backed by members of the European Union as well as some Arab nations and the United States.
Russia’s statement said the meeting would be unable to improve dialogue between Assad’s government and the opposition on ways of ending 11 months of violence that opposition sources say have killed more than 6,000 people.
“The invitations to attend the Tunis meeting were issued to some parts of the opposition, but representatives of the Syrian government were not invited,” the statement said.
“This means that the interests of the majority of the Syrian population, which supports the authorities, will not be represented.”
Meanwhile, Russia said the United Nations should send a special envoy to Syria to help coordinate security issues and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter Tuesday that it’s proposing that the U.N. Security Council ask the U.N. Secretary General to send the envoy, according to The Associated Press.
On Monday Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the world body should help solve humanitarian issues in Syria, after Damascus allowed the Red Cross to bring humanitarian aid to some regions.
Russia and China have vetoed two Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protests that killed 5,400 in 2011 alone, according to the U.N. Hundreds more have been killed since, activist groups say.
Meanwhile, two Iranian naval ships returned from Syria through the Suez Canal on Tuesday, a Suez Canal source said.
The ships entered the canal from the Mediterranean Sea early in the morning, heading south towards the Red Sea, and were expected to leave the canal on Tuesday afternoon, the source said.
The ships had docked at the Syrian port of Tartous, in a show of support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a regional ally of Iran.
Russia on Tuesday said it will not attend an international conference in Tunis this week aimed at seeking political change in Syria because the meeting only supported the opposition’s cause, as two Iranian naval ships returned from Syria through the Suez Canal.
The meeting was called “for the purpose of supporting one side against another in an internal conflict,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, according to AFP. “We cannot accept the offer to attend this meeting.”
The “Friends of Syria group” will meet for the first time on Friday after being created in a response to a joint veto by Russia and China of a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad for the violence.
The group is backed by members of the European Union as well as some Arab nations and the United States.
Russia’s statement said the meeting would be unable to improve dialogue between Assad’s government and the opposition on ways of ending 11 months of violence that opposition sources say have killed more than 6,000 people.
“The invitations to attend the Tunis meeting were issued to some parts of the opposition, but representatives of the Syrian government were not invited,” the statement said.
“This means that the interests of the majority of the Syrian population, which supports the authorities, will not be represented.”
Meanwhile, Russia said the United Nations should send a special envoy to Syria to help coordinate security issues and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter Tuesday that it’s proposing that the U.N. Security Council ask the U.N. Secretary General to send the envoy, according to The Associated Press.
On Monday Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the world body should help solve humanitarian issues in Syria, after Damascus allowed the Red Cross to bring humanitarian aid to some regions.
Russia and China have vetoed two Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protests that killed 5,400 in 2011 alone, according to the U.N. Hundreds more have been killed since, activist groups say.
Meanwhile, two Iranian naval ships returned from Syria through the Suez Canal on Tuesday, a Suez Canal source said.
The ships entered the canal from the Mediterranean Sea early in the morning, heading south towards the Red Sea, and were expected to leave the canal on Tuesday afternoon, the source said.
The ships had docked at the Syrian port of Tartous, in a show of support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a regional ally of Iran.
Bahrain opposition politician acquitted
aljazeera
A Bahraini court has acquitted a prominent opposition leader who was accused of taking part in "unlawful" anti-government protests that rocked the Gulf state for the last year.
The last of three charges against Matar Matar, a former MP and leading member of Al-Wefaq party, a mainly Shia opposition party, were dropped on Monday by a court in Manama, the capital.
Matar had been charged with "undermining public security by assembling with a group of more than five people".
"The last charge against me has been dropped," he said on Monday,Bahrain ordered the release in August of Matar and another Al-Wefaq member, Jawad Fayruz, who were both arrested last May after a crackdown on Shia-led protests in the Sunni-ruled country.
The court had already dropped two of the three charges Matar was being tried for: calling for regime change and spreading rumours linked to pro-democracy protests.
Matar and Fayruz were among 18 Shia MPs who resigned in protest at the government's crackdown on the demonstrations that erupted on February 14, 2011. Fayruz's trial is still continuing.
At least 35 people have been killed in the government's crackdown on protests, according to an independent commission of inquiry into the violence.
A Bahraini court has acquitted a prominent opposition leader who was accused of taking part in "unlawful" anti-government protests that rocked the Gulf state for the last year.
The last of three charges against Matar Matar, a former MP and leading member of Al-Wefaq party, a mainly Shia opposition party, were dropped on Monday by a court in Manama, the capital.
Matar had been charged with "undermining public security by assembling with a group of more than five people".
"The last charge against me has been dropped," he said on Monday,Bahrain ordered the release in August of Matar and another Al-Wefaq member, Jawad Fayruz, who were both arrested last May after a crackdown on Shia-led protests in the Sunni-ruled country.
The court had already dropped two of the three charges Matar was being tried for: calling for regime change and spreading rumours linked to pro-democracy protests.
Matar and Fayruz were among 18 Shia MPs who resigned in protest at the government's crackdown on the demonstrations that erupted on February 14, 2011. Fayruz's trial is still continuing.
At least 35 people have been killed in the government's crackdown on protests, according to an independent commission of inquiry into the violence.
15,000 die each year crossing India's rail tracks
Almost 15,000 people are killed every year crossing India's rail tracks in what a government report has described as an annual "massacre" due to poor safety standards.
Pedestrians guilty of "unlawful trespassing" walk across the tracks at many unofficial crossing points, the report said, adding that about 6,000 of the deaths occur in the congested and frenetic city of Mumbai alone.
"No civilized society can accept such massacre on their railway system", the report said, adding that efforts to improve safety needed to be put on a "war footing" to tackle the death toll.
The fatalities equate to 41 people a day across India on the rail network, which carries 18 million people daily and is still the main form of long-distance travel despite fierce competition from private airlines.
In addition to accidents when crossing the tracks, other causes of deaths include train collisions, falling from open doors and being hit by trackside poles.
Most stretches of rail track in India are unfenced, allowing people to attempt crossings at any point.
The High-Level Safety Review Committee report, released last week, criticised the "reluctance" of Indian railway authorities to accept responsibility for the deaths.
Glowing tributes paid to Khushal Khan Khattak
The News
Glowing tributes were paid to great Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak at a function to mark his 323rd death anniversary.
The Poha Khparonki Jirga, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture Department and Khushal Adabi Jirga had arranged the gathering at the Khushal Hall instead of his mausoleum due to heavy rain. A delegation from Afghanistan, including Habibullah Rafi, Alam Gul Sahar, Perveen Malala and Sadiq Zharak, Naeem Azad and Mumtaz Dilsoz from Balochistan and intellectuals and poets from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated in the event. Quran Khwani was also held. The poets and scholars threw light on Khushal Khattak’s life and literary services.
The speakers said Khushal Khan had laid stress on human dignity, valour and Pakhtun nationalism. They asked the government to declare the mystic poet Abdur Rahman Baba and Khushal Khan Khattak as national poets. Minister for Information and Culture Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that Allama Iqbal had drawn inspiration from the poetry of Khushal Khan Khattak. He said the Khushal Khan Khattak Cell, Khushal Chair at the University of Peshawar and scholarships would be revived.
Glowing tributes were paid to great Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak at a function to mark his 323rd death anniversary.
The Poha Khparonki Jirga, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture Department and Khushal Adabi Jirga had arranged the gathering at the Khushal Hall instead of his mausoleum due to heavy rain. A delegation from Afghanistan, including Habibullah Rafi, Alam Gul Sahar, Perveen Malala and Sadiq Zharak, Naeem Azad and Mumtaz Dilsoz from Balochistan and intellectuals and poets from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated in the event. Quran Khwani was also held. The poets and scholars threw light on Khushal Khattak’s life and literary services.
The speakers said Khushal Khan had laid stress on human dignity, valour and Pakhtun nationalism. They asked the government to declare the mystic poet Abdur Rahman Baba and Khushal Khan Khattak as national poets. Minister for Information and Culture Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that Allama Iqbal had drawn inspiration from the poetry of Khushal Khan Khattak. He said the Khushal Khan Khattak Cell, Khushal Chair at the University of Peshawar and scholarships would be revived.
Balochistan resolution could dent Pakistan-US ties
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar
Monday said Balochistan was Pakistan’s internal matter and the province’s elected representatives would act to resolve its issues and not US congressmen, Geo News reported.
The Foreign Minister was talking to scholars and senior analysts at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) here.
The IISS is a prestigious think tank.
Condemning US resolution on Balochistan, she said such acts of “foolhardy-global-vigilanteism” could only aggravate Pakistan’s already estranged ties with US.
“It would distance the two allies even further”, said Khar.
Regarding ties with India she said keeping the dialogue alive on top of exhibiting mature-sightedness would be the right thing to do for both neighbours.
Going ahead, Khar tied Pakistan’s future with Afghanistan’s vowing unwavering support for peace process in the war-torn country.
Monday said Balochistan was Pakistan’s internal matter and the province’s elected representatives would act to resolve its issues and not US congressmen, Geo News reported.
The Foreign Minister was talking to scholars and senior analysts at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) here.
The IISS is a prestigious think tank.
Condemning US resolution on Balochistan, she said such acts of “foolhardy-global-vigilanteism” could only aggravate Pakistan’s already estranged ties with US.
“It would distance the two allies even further”, said Khar.
Regarding ties with India she said keeping the dialogue alive on top of exhibiting mature-sightedness would be the right thing to do for both neighbours.
Going ahead, Khar tied Pakistan’s future with Afghanistan’s vowing unwavering support for peace process in the war-torn country.
Balochistan violence: 621 deaths in 2011
The Express Tribune
A total of 231 bullet-riddled bodies were found by roadsides in Balochistan in 2011, said a report launched here on Sunday.
Of these, according to Balochistan government’s Home Department estimation, the bodies of 196 missing persons were recovered mostly from Baloch-dominated districts of the province including Quetta, Sibi, Kalat, Mekran, Nasirabad and Zhob, said the report.
Titled “Balochistan’s Maze of Violence” and compiled by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the report states that 621 people died during the course of the year in a show of staggering violence in the province.
According to the report, 281 people were shot in different incidents of target killings and firings, 68 fell prey to two deadly suicide attacks while bomb blasts and landmine explosions obliterated 120 others.
The military, in a statement, said that foreign hands were involved in the volatile region’s brewing violence.
“But we do not have evidence to support this claim. In light of the history of insurgency exploitation in the region, it is quite possible but is still just an assumption,” said CRSS Chief Executive Imtiaz Gul. He added that the security situation in Balochistan continues to aggravate with the passage of time, despite the government’s efforts to curtail the spiral.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates that 6,000 people are still missing. The Balochistan government estimates that 117 people lost their lives in 20 incidents of sectarian violence, 92 of them Shias from Hazara community, who mostly live in and around Quetta city, according to the report.
During 2011, the militants’ relentless skirmishes with security forces resulted in the killing of 218 men belonging to the Frontier Corps, police and Levies. The Baloch Republican Army and Balochistan Liberation front claimed responsibility for most attacks.
The violence continued into 2012 too, with 60 people losing their lives in different incidents of violence in January, said the report.
A total of 231 bullet-riddled bodies were found by roadsides in Balochistan in 2011, said a report launched here on Sunday.
Of these, according to Balochistan government’s Home Department estimation, the bodies of 196 missing persons were recovered mostly from Baloch-dominated districts of the province including Quetta, Sibi, Kalat, Mekran, Nasirabad and Zhob, said the report.
Titled “Balochistan’s Maze of Violence” and compiled by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the report states that 621 people died during the course of the year in a show of staggering violence in the province.
According to the report, 281 people were shot in different incidents of target killings and firings, 68 fell prey to two deadly suicide attacks while bomb blasts and landmine explosions obliterated 120 others.
The military, in a statement, said that foreign hands were involved in the volatile region’s brewing violence.
“But we do not have evidence to support this claim. In light of the history of insurgency exploitation in the region, it is quite possible but is still just an assumption,” said CRSS Chief Executive Imtiaz Gul. He added that the security situation in Balochistan continues to aggravate with the passage of time, despite the government’s efforts to curtail the spiral.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates that 6,000 people are still missing. The Balochistan government estimates that 117 people lost their lives in 20 incidents of sectarian violence, 92 of them Shias from Hazara community, who mostly live in and around Quetta city, according to the report.
During 2011, the militants’ relentless skirmishes with security forces resulted in the killing of 218 men belonging to the Frontier Corps, police and Levies. The Baloch Republican Army and Balochistan Liberation front claimed responsibility for most attacks.
The violence continued into 2012 too, with 60 people losing their lives in different incidents of violence in January, said the report.
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