Thursday, 28 June 2012

Quit smoking with a shot? New vaccine might cure addiction

                      Scientists think they are on the right track to treating nicotine addiction

Scientists are saying they could be closer to curing cigarette addiction than ever before: researchers at a New York lab have developed a vaccine that they think curbs the need for a fix and so far their tests are being considered a success.
Research is still in its early stages at a Weill Cornell Medical College lab, but so far scientists think they are on the right track to treating nicotine addiction. If their tests continue to return positive results, the doctors behind the development say they might be able to eliminate addiction, and all with just a simple vaccine.
By injecting humans with a harmless virus that modifies liver cells, scientists are able to change the body’s chemistry so that it is tricked into generating a steady stream of nicotine antibodies. From there, nicotine fixes could be nixed immediately as the antibodies seek to steer the body away from wanting another drag of a cigarette.
“The antibody is like a little Pac-Man floating around in the blood, and it grabs onto the nicotine and prevents it from reaching the brain, so there’s no reward,” Dr. Ronald Crystal, chairman of Genetic Medicine at Weill Cornell, says in a statement.
"As far as we can see, the best way to treat chronic nicotine addiction from smoking is to have these Pac-Man-like antibodies on patrol, clearing the blood as needed before nicotine can have any biological effect," Dr. Crystal adds.
So far scientists have tested the vaccination on only mice, but researchers believe that the results are putting them on the right track to someday save humans from their addictions.
“With a single administration of the vaccine, we converted the liver to make the antibody, and it lasts for the life of the mouse,” Dr. Crystal continues. "While we have only tested mice to date, we are very hopeful that this kind of vaccine strategy can finally help the millions of smokers who have tried to stop, exhausting all the methods on the market today, but find their nicotine addiction to be strong enough to overcome these current approaches," he adds in a report published in the Science Translational Medicine journal.
Around one-out-of-five Americans currently smoke regularly, despite diseases linked with cigarettes being tied to one-out-of-five of each casualty in the country.

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Russia halts plans to supply S-300 missile system to Syria - reports

                             S-300 missile system (RIA Novosti/Mikhail Fomichev)
Russia’s main weapons producer has allegedly suspended its contract with Syria to supply S-300 long-range missile systems. Russia’s ‘Vedomosti’ daily published the report, citing unnamed sources within the military-industrial complex.

The very fact of the contract’s existence was not known until it was revealed in an annual report made only last week and published online by the makers of the S-300 systems, Almaz-Antey.
The report states that the company’s largest contracts are with Algeria (which is paying $39 million for a long-range missile defense system), and Syria, which signed a contract for the same system for $105 million.
The report also says that deliveries on the Syrian contract are expected to be made between 2012 and 2013. But ‘Vedomosti’ claims two separate sources, who chose to remain anonymous, have said deliveries have been put on the back-burner “after a direct order from above.”
It’s unclear whether these reports are true, but many are already speculating on the potential reasons for such a step. Some have suggested that Moscow has decided to placate Washington and Tel Aviv, drawing parallels between this situation and the one back in 2010, when Russia cancelled its contract for the same missile system with Iran.
However, the circumstances in 2010 were rather different. If Russia had fulfilled its contractual obligations back then, it would have been violating an international embargo. But no such embargo currently affects contracts between Russia and Syria.
Others have suggested that Damascus may be strapped for cash, and simply cannot afford the S-300 complex. This claim is also open to speculation as military cooperation between the two states is basically founded on the fact that Russia forgave Syria its $10 billion debt in return for future arms contracts.
No officials have yet commented on the matter, so it will be some time before light is shed on the situation. But President Vladimir Putin had previously said the arms that Russia delivers cannot be used in civil conflicts, and Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, stated the supplies were merely defensive weapons sold in contracts signed long ago.
“We are sending no battleships to Syria. We have been saying publicly that we have been implementing contracts under which we have to supply arms to Syria. These armaments are entirely defensive and they mostly consist of air defense systems, which cannot be used against the population and can only be used to respond to outside aggression,” Lavrov told RT.

Russia's military trade with Syria

Attention has been focused on military ties between Russia and Syria for some time, ever since international media claimed Russia was supplying helicopters to Bashar al-Assad’s regime. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at first even lashed out at Russia, but later backtracked and was forced to admit that the shipment that had got the West’s blood boiling merely consisted of some old helicopters sent back to Russia for repairs.
Although the Russian Ministry of Defense does not disclose the total value of the arms supplied to Syria, outside estimates exist. The US Congress says Russia has outstanding contracts to supply arms for $3.5 billion, while the Swedish think-tank SIPRI puts the figure at between $5 and $6 billion.
Among the widely reported shipments are two K-300 Bastion coastal defense batteries, equipped with supersonic Yakhont missiles. Two anti-aircraft systems, BUK-M2 and PANTSYR-S1, have also been purchased by Syria, though it is unclear if the orders have been fulfilled.
A $550 million contract for 36 Yak-130 planes was signed between the countries earlier this year. While nominally a sophisticated training jet, it can also serve as a light combat aircraft. Russia has also promised to deliver 24 modernized Mig-29 destroyers. It is assumed that neither of these contracts has been fulfilled.

Arabs awakening - so is Al-Qaeda



An undated handout photo released on May 23, 2012 shows Abdelmalek Droukdel, aka Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, a leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), with his fighters in Azawad, an unrecognized state in northern Mali (AFP Photo/Al-Andalus)

  The head of UK intelligence, Jonathan Evans, says the turmoil that followed the Arab Spring allowed extremists to gain a foothold in the Arab world. Middle East peace activist, Franklin Lamb, believes that this warning is not groundless. The head of the MI5 Security Service, Jonathan Evans, has highlighted Yemen, Libya and Egypt as being among the countries that most concern the agency. Up to 200 young extremists from the UK, aged between 18 and 30, are thought to have joined forces with heavily armed terror groups in these countries. Evans says Al-Qaeda militants are training radical Western youths for potential attacks on Britain. “Today parts of the Arab world have once more become a permissive environment for Al-Qaeda,” Evans said on Monday according to Reuters. “A small number of British would-be jihadis are also making their way to Arab countries to seek training and opportunities for militant activity, as they do in Somalia and Yemen. Some will return to the UK and pose a threat here.” RT spoke to Middle East peace activist, Dr. Franklin Lamb, to get his views on the subject. RT: Western countries supported what they called a move towards democracy in the Arab countries. But now, according to Britain's top spy, some of these states could be turning into terrorist training grounds. Is this exactly what London and its allies were bargaining for? Franklin Lamb: Taking the case of Libya, where there was a rush to enter and to topple the regime, I think that was a classic mistake. I spent four months there, got to know a number of different factions, and it was clear Al-Qaeda was there. In some cases they were training the same militia that the British were training and the Americans and the French were training. So, when there’s an opportunity, Al-Qaeda is going to be there and they took it, and now they are increasing their ranks. Three months ago, a CIA analyst told the Congress that there were 300 maximum Al-Qaeda in Syria. Now they estimate there are 3,100. They are coming in from Jordan, they are coming in from the Gulf Co-operation Council countries, they are coming in from Lebanon and Turkey. So because NATO got this thing going in Libya, there was this opportunity – and Al-Qaeda will respond to an opportunity – that’s what we are seeing now. But there maybe a little panic by the intelligence in the UK about them coming and attacking the Olympics – who knows what evidence they have of that – but there’s no question, even here in Libya Al-Qaeda is growing and is active, and they are well-trained. RT: What pushes people inside Western countries to get radicalized and join militant movements? There have been a few high-profile people recently who could fit that category. FL: I think that there’s a lot more that we don’t know about who haven’t made it public. You mentioned earlier terrorist training camps. Well, of course that’s one point of view: are they terrorists or are they liberators? They have a strong program and strong ideology. But my point is why they even exist. Either for dignity and to overthrow some dictators, but when you’ve got an operation like NATO slaughtering civilians in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, of course it’s going to activate them and give them the opportunity. As you know, Al-Qaeda’s leadership has urged people to go to Syria and get training, and to go to southern Turkey and also in Libya. Libya’s become a major training center, and I saw that as a fact. And I went meeting with some of the rebel militia against Gaddafi. They used to say “One Al-Qaeda member is worth 10 of us. We admit that. And they are worth six of Mutassim [Gaddafi’s] special forces.” They are very well disciplined. Rather than lecture people, they go out there and show them how to do something. And they are very effective. So I think that the threat is real, their numbers are growing, their competence is well known, and I do think there’s a problem. RT: Islamists have come to power in Egypt. The country was one of those named by Britain's security service chief as at risk from turning into Al-Qaeda training grounds. But how much should the West be concerned with the direction Egypt is taking? FL: Frankly, no, not particularly. I think what we see in Egypt is, believe it or not, a government that represents the majority of the population. I think, for the first time in Egypt’s history it was a democratic election. I respect the word of people. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Egypt and there are concerns about the Brotherhood. Do they keep their word, for example? Mohamed Morsi seems to be very sophisticated – as the Brotherhood has been – at playing the political game. So I think there’s going to be some consequences that the West doesn’t like. I think we are frankly going to see the end of the Camp David agreement. I don’t think that the Israelis, who are now complaining that they can’t even rent an office for their embassy, are going to have much luck in the future – not just because of the Brotherhood, but because those values are greater, and deeper, and broader than the Brotherhood. They represent the Egyptian people. Camp David was [Egypt’s President] El-Sadat. It was a private contract between the Americans and the Mubarak family and their associates, and the Israelis. That doesn’t reflect the view of one Muslim or one Arab that I know, or anybody of good will who wants peace in the Middle East. So I think we are seeing a fundamental change, but I wouldn’t put it on Al-Qaeda. I think the Arabs are awakening. They are standing up. Islam is rising, and we see that here in the Middle East, we see that in Lebanon. The Americans are diminishing, the Iranians are increasing. You see that all over in every aspect – from who is buying the real estate, who is organizing the next campaign, who is doing the training, who is supplying the arms. It’s a new era. It’s the era of resistance that we are entering, and things are going to be different.

Anti-Taliban Commander Killed

Fahim-ud-Din’s body has been found on the outskirts of Peshawar along with three of his associates.



The bullet-riddled bodies of an anti-Taliban militia commander and three of his associates were dumped in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday, police said.
 
The bodies of Fahim-ud-Din, 50, chief of a 1,500-strong vigilante force in Bazidkhel on the outskirts of Peshawar, and three of his associates were found in a Toyota Land Cruiser on the city’s ring road. “We found the bodies around 7:00 a.m. Four of them had been shot at close range,” said Asif Iqbal, a senior police official.
 
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. According to police, relatives had not heard from Din since Tuesday when he went to Islamabad for work.
 
Police said Din had survived at least three suicide bombings and several roadside bomb attacks blamed on the Taliban and warlord Mangal Bagh, the leader of the Lashkar-e-Islam militia from the adjoining Khyber tribal district.
 
On June 12, two of Din’s bodyguards were killed in a suicide attack that targeted his vehicle. Din survived because he had not been in the car.
 
Pakistan is on the frontline of the U.S.-led war on Al Qaeda. Since July 2007, a Taliban-led insurgency has been fighting against the U.S.-allied government. In the last five years, attacks blamed on Islamist bombers have killed more than 5,000 people according to estimates. Pakistan says 35,000 of its people have been killed as a result of terrorism in the country since the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Pakistan releases 311 Indian prisoners

KARACHI: Pakistan has released 311 Indian fishermen including 21 juvenile prisoners lodged in Karachi jails Wednesday, Geo News reported.



According to District Malir jail sources, 311 prisoners out of 315 have been released. Three prisoners are still serving the sentence while one is not in good health that is why they were not released today.

The 21 juvenile prisoners were lodged in Youthful Offenders’ School adjacent to Karachi Central Jail while others were kept in District Jail Malir.

After the release of 311 prisoners, the number of Indian prisoners in Malir jail would be 127, official jail sources said on Monday.

The Indian prisoners were released at 8:00am today and sent to Wagha border from where they would be handed over to Indian authorities.

Sindh law minister Ayaz Soomro had also announced recently at a function at Youthful Offenders’ School that Indian prisoners including Juveniles would be sent back home. He had expected that India would reciprocate and release Pakistani fishermen.

Tuesday, 26 June 2012

Women soldiers for border drill at Attari-Wagah


AMRITSAR: Women soldiers of India andPakistan will soon perform the ceremonial beating retreat held every evening at the Attari-Wagah border of the two countries.
Border security forces of the neighbours - India's Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers - agreed to have women platoon commanders for the daily flag-lowering ceremony held simultaneously by the two forces at the Attari-Wagah border.
BSF Inspector-General (Frontier) Aditya Mishra told TOI on Monday that Pakistan has also agreed to women platoon commanders for the beating retreat ceremony.
The platoon commander seeks the permission of the company commander to conduct the parade and then shakes hands with their Pakistani counterpart at zero line.
Initially, Indian women platoon commanders would conduct the drill and Pakistan Rangers followed.
After shaking hands, the platoon commander informs the company commander that flag-lowering ceremony was over and again shakes hand with the Pakistani counterpart as a goodwill gesture.
Though both sides have decide to have female platoon commanders, they are likely to begin conducting the parade after they develop perfect coordination.
Three years ago, for the first time, the BSF posted women at the India-Pakistan border. The women personnel of the BSF guard the force's border outposts and are also posted along the barbed wire fencing at the international border.

Mumbai attacks 'handler' arrested in India



NEW DELHI: Indian police have arrested a key suspect accused of coordinating the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 166 people were killed and more than 300 wounded, the Indian government said on Monday.
Abu Hamza, also known as Zabiuddin, an Indian-born member of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, was detained at Delhiinternational airport on June 21 when he arrived from the Middle East. Hamza was allegedly one of the handlers based in Karachi, who issued instructions by telephone to the 10 gunmen as they stormed two luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a restaurant and a train station in Mumbai.
"The Delhi police has done a magnificent job. I am sure that the investigations will take place and we will wait till the investigations," India's External Affairs Minister SM Krishna told reporters.
Hamza, who has used a string of aliases, had been living in Saudi Arabia in recent years and is now being held in police custody in Delhi, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported. Indian media citing police sources said that Hamza was aged 30 and came from the western state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital.
Pakistani national Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the gunman caught during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, was handed down a death sentence by the Bombay High Court last year.
End.

Tehrik-e-Taliban claim responsibility for attack on Aaj TV


Karachi: The terror group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the firing attack which left 2 people injured including a security guard in Karachi.
In a sadistic statement issued over the phonecall to Aaj News, the TTP spokesperson said, “It is stated that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan accept the attack on Media Channel Aaj TV for the firing attack”. The spokesperson for TTP further said that this was due to the reason that the Jihadi Movement event was not given full coverage and they will continue further attacks if proper coverages are not provided.
The dreadful incident rattled the media industry on Monday when Aaj TV office was targeted by four armed men who opened fire and fled the crime scene. The terrible incident resulted in two employees of the office being injured.
The incident marked another attack on media with several questions raised. The attacks have been condemned by the President and the Primeminister. Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, along with his condemnation, stated that proper measure would be taken to provide protection to media personnel within the country. The PM further ordered the apprehension of the miscreants by the earliest possible time.

Muslim woman barred from school parents' event for wearing veil


                               A Muslim woman walks in east London (Reuters/Stefan Wermuth)
A British Muslim woman was asked to leave a school's parents' night in Manchester for wearing the veil. The college cited "safety" and "security" reasons.

Maroon Rafique was stopped from entering Manchester College by security staff, who told her that for the security of teachers and pupils, there was a ban on any kind of face covering.
Although she offered to sit anywhere in the room where as few people as possible would see her, she was not allowed onto the campus.
“I’m born in this country and British. Why should what I wear offend anyone?” she told the British newspaper the Daily Mail. “I didn’t want to make any fuss. All I wanted was to find out the information to help my son go to university.”
The 40 year-old has worn the face veil, or niqab, for the last seven years.
Rafique eventually had to phone her husband to take her place.
A college spokesman defended the policy. “At all times we need to be able to identify all individuals easily in order to maintain safety and security and therefore we ask that faces are clearly visible while indoors. Our dress code is reviewed through our quality improvement group and we will take this situation into account at the next review.” He added that the school took Rafique's concerns “very seriously.”
A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain told RT that it considers the decision to be authoritarian.
“Wearing the face veil is not obligatory, and is a freedom of choice issue. We understand if teachers are forbidden from wearing it as it can sometimes interfere with communication during the lesson. Children may also have to follow a particular dress code, but for a parent to be stopped doesn’t make sense.”
In March of this year, a Muslim woman was stopped from sitting on a UK jury in a murder trial because the judge ruled her facial expressions could not be seen.
Britain, unlike France, has not yet introduced a nationwide ban on face veils.

Monday, 25 June 2012

Seven Pakistani soldiers 'beheaded': Military

The military said 11 soldiers had also gone missing, "out of whom seven soldiers have been reportedly killed and then beheaded". PHOTO: REUTERS/ FILE

PESHAWAR: Pakistan said Monday that seven soldiers were beheaded by militants who infiltrated from Afghanistan, lashing out at Kabul over cross-border attacks.
The protests come with Pakistan under growing US pressure to act against al Qaeda-linked safe havens on its own soil and the anti-terror Islamabad-Washington alliance at its lowest ebb since the 9/11 attacks.
Pakistan already reported that six soldiers were killed in gunbattles with militants Sunday who crossed from Afghanistan into the northwestern district of Upper Dir, a key border transit route that neighbours the Swat valley where Pakistan defeated a local Taliban insurgency in 2009.
Intelligence officials blamed the attack on loyalists of Pakistani cleric Maulana Fazlullah, who fled to Afghanistan after losing control of Swat to the army.
But on Monday, the military said 11 soldiers had also gone missing, “out of whom seven soldiers have been reportedly killed and then beheaded”.
The bodies have not been found, but intelligence intercepts indicated that they had been killed, a senior military official told AFP in the northwest.
The army said more than 100 militants “from a safe haven across the border” attacked troops on patrol. It claimed to have killed 14 militants.
Pakistan said two rockets and sniper fire were also fired into Lower Dir on Monday.
The army “has strongly protested with their counterparts across the border for not taking action against miscreants present in safe haven in Afghanistan,” a military official said.
Pakistan’s new prime minister on Monday also condemned the attacks and said he would discuss the matter with President Hamid Karzai.
“Pakistan has strongly protested with Afghanistan on the cross-border attacks and I will also take up this issue with Karzai,” Raja Pervez Ashraf told reporters in Karachi.
His office, however, did not elaborate on when such a conversation might take place.
Pakistani troops have been bogged down for years fighting local Taliban but have resisted US pressure to carry out a sweeping offensive against Afghan Taliban fighters in its North Waziristan tribal area.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Islamabad earlier this month that Washington was running out of patience over terror safe havens.
Islamabad imposed a blockade, now in its seventh month, on overland NATO supplies into Afghanistan since US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghan border on November 26.
Pakistan was the Taliban’s chief backer when the militia was in power, and is accused by both Kabul and Washington of continuing to play a double game in supporting the insurgency despite its official US alliance.
Pakistanis have sought to deflect some of pressure, by saying the country has suffered more than any other from terrorism, and accuse Kabul and Washington of trying to find a scapegoat for the 10-year war in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have long blamed each other for Taliban violence plaguing both sides of their porous, mountainous border.
Pakistan says rebels have regrouped in eastern Afghanistan. Afghan and US officials want Pakistan to eliminate Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked havens used to launch attacks in Afghanistan.

Militants kills 6 Pakistan troops near Afghanistan





Afghan militants on Sunday attacked a military convoy in Upper Dir, killing six Pakistani soldiers and wounding several others, reported private TV channels, quoting their sources.
Afghan militants ambushed the Pakistani convoy in Upper Dir, near Afghan border, killing at least six soldiers, while several others were also reported missing after the attack.
The sources further said that the security forces retaliated and killed 11 Afghan militants.
Meanwhile, Advisor to PM on Interior Rehman Malik has lodged a protest with Afghan government, maintaining that the authorities in Kabul were not taking any steps to stop the cross-border attacks into Pakistan. He ordered Interior Secretary to contact his Afghan counterpart on this issue.
It is to be mentioned here that militants from Afghanistan have attacked several times on the checkposts of Upper Dir.
The surge in cross-border attacks came amid tensions with the United States over Nato route closure. There were reports in the media that the US military and intelligence officials are so frustrated with Pakistan’s failure to stop local militant groups from attacking Americans in Afghanistan that they have considered launching secret joint US-Afghan commando raids into Pakistan.
But the idea, which US officials say comes up every couple of months, has been consistently rejected because the White House believes the chance of successfully rooting out the deadly Haqqani network would not be worth the intense diplomatic blowback from Pakistan that inevitably would ensue.

Sunday, 24 June 2012

Israeli strike on Iran would lead to end of Zionist regime, Tehran general warnsDeputy chief of staff says Islamic republic has high capabilities



A high-ranking Iranian general warned Saturday that any attempt by Israel to take military action against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program would cause an “imminent end” to the Jewish state.
“The Islamic Revolution enjoys high capability, and if the Zionist regime wants to take an action against us, it will cause its imminent end,” said Major General Mostafa Izadi, the country’s deputy chief of staff. Izadi was speaking to the state-run Fars News Agency, which published his interview Saturday.
Talks between Tehran and six Western powers to curb Iran’s nuclear program ended last week, after several rounds and little headway. Western and Israeli officials have said they prefer diplomacy and sanctions to military action, but would leave all options, including a military strike, on the table.
Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful, a claim which Israel and most Western countries, including the US, challenge.
Israeli officials have urged the world to take action against the Islamic Republic, which it says would pose an existential threat to the Jewish State if allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
In the interview, Izadi added that Iran could outmatch Israel militarily and otherwise.
“In addition to military capabilities, we also have many other capabilities and possibilities which are way beyond the Zionist regime’s abilities and capabilities,” he said.
Iranian officials have issued several such threats in the past, including last month, when the second in command of the  Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that Tehran could hit anywhere in the Middle East.

Saturday, 23 June 2012

New Bahrain crackdown: Opposition leaders wounded (VIDEO, PHOTOS)


Riot police in Bahrain dispersed protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets as disorder in the country’s capital Manana continued. The opposition claims its leaders have been wounded in the clashes.
The Opposition Al Wefaq organization claims its secretary-general Sheik Ali Salman was shot in the shoulder and back with rubber bullets during demonstrations in Manama. Another opposition leader, Hassan al-Marzooq, was shot and wounded in the chest.
The Bahraini Interior Ministry has yet to comment on the incident, but promised to prevent the Al Wefaq from organizing a protest in the Sehla suburb district of the capital Manana.
The ministry claims the rallies are obstructing traffic. The ministry further says Al Wefaq has already been licensed to conduct a number of protests this year.
“Security forces have been careful in dealing professionally with political leaders but this time was different. It seems a gradual crackdown is going on," senior Al Wefaq party member Matar Matar told Reuters. "They are closing the small margin for freedom of expression.”
There have been reports of a heavy police presence in the suburb. Protesters were reportedly throwing Molotov cocktails at police, who responded with teargas grenades and rubber bullets.
The uprising in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which hosts America’s Fifth Fleet, has been ongoing for 16 months. The country’s Shia majority is rallying against the Western-backed Sunni monarchy to get broader political rights and participate more actively in the governing of their country.
The ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa family has made some concessions to the Shia protesters. The parliament's powers of scrutiny over ministers and budgets have been extended, although the key demands for full legislative powers and elected governments was turned down.
The government accuses Al Wefaq supporters of following a sectarian Shiite agenda. The opposition party insists the Bahraini leadership is making excuses to avoid giving up its privileges.

 Bahraini riot policemen take a position as Shiite protesters throw stones during an anti-government protest in the village of Musalla, West of Manama on June 22, 2012 (AFP Photo / Mohammed Al-Shaikh)
 A Bahraini Shiite medic removes small pellets from a wounded Bahraini Shiite demonstrator inside a house in Sitra village, south of Manama, on June 21, 2012 (AFP Photo / Mohammed Al-Shaikh)
 A Bahraini Shiite Muslim demonstrator shows his injured hand as he waits for treatment by Bahraini Shiite medics at a house in Sitra village, south of Manama, on June 21, 2012 (AFP Photo / Mohammed Al-Shaikh)
 A Bahraini Shiite protester throws a stone towards the riot police during an anti-government demonstration in the village of Musalla, West of Manama on June 22, 2012 (AFP Photo / Mohammed Al-Shaikh)

Friday, 22 June 2012

Russian-Built Frigate Arrives in India

 INS Teg is the first of three modified Krivak III classguided missile frigates being built under a $1.6 billion deal
 signed in 2006.



A new stealth frigate built for the Indian navy by Russia arrived in the port of Mumbai on Friday, a diplomat said.
The ceremony for the arrival of INS Teg involved senior Indian navy officers as well as Russian officials and diplomats, said a spokesman for the Russian consulate in Mumbai.
INS Teg is the first of three modified Krivak III class (also known as Talwar class) guided missile frigates being built at the Yantar Shipyard under a $1.6 billion deal signed in 2006.
The other two vessels will follow in about a year, a Yantar spokesman said in April.
The 3,970-ton frigate incorporates stealth technologies and is armed with eight 290-km BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.
The Indian navy already has three Russian-built Talwar class frigates.

Armed Forces of Malta launches Facebook, website


The Armed Forces of Malta launched its official website and a Facebook page yesterday in a bid to bring the army and its work closer to the public.
During an event held at the Officers’ Mess at the Luqa Barracks, AFM Commander Brigadier Martin G. Xuereb described the launch of the website as a milestone and said that together with the Facebook page, it will serve as a means for the AFM to pass on its message in a faster and more efficient manner.
Lieutenant Keith Caruana – who recently took over from Major Ivan M. Consiglio as the officer in charge of the AFM’s public information cell, gave an overview of the website, saying it is “the image of the AFM in 2012.”
Among other things it features news, events, podcasts and videos, a photo gallery, and a great deal of interesting information about the force structure, the type of equipment that is used, the AFM’s history and its assets, as well as useful information for anyone interested in joining the force.
The website can be accessed at www.afm.gov.mt and the Facebook page can be found by typing ‘Armed Forces of Malta (AFM)’ in the Facebook search bar.

Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Agencies told to produce Balochistan’s ‘missing’ in next hearing


The Supreme Court of Pakistan. — Photo by AFP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top judges have declared that law enforcement authorities were involved in enforced disappearances in Balochistan, ordering agencies to produce the remaining ‘missing persons’ in the next hearing, DawnNews reported.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Jawad S. Khwaja, was hearing the petition filed by the Balochistan Bar Association on the law and order situation in Pakistan’s largest province.
In its short order on Wednesday,  the SC said that disappearances should be immediately stopped and action be taken against the culprits involved.
Moreover, the court also ordered the agencies to act on the SC’s directives and produce the remaining ‘missing persons’ in court during the next hearing. Individuals involved in anti-state activities should be formally arrested, added the court’s orders.
The SC also ordered the administration to draft a policy for compensating families of the victims of enforced disappearances and human rights violations in Balochistan.
Moreover, the bench handed the responsibility of ensuring that the court’s orders are implemented to the Defence Secretary, Nargis Sethi, who was asked to appear before the court today.
Earlier, Attorney General Irfan Qadir presented to the bench the report of a high-powered commission on Balochistan.
According to the report, cases of 43 missing persons were with the commission.
The report moreover stated that 118 people were missing out of which names of 29 persons had been added twice.
The report also said that bodies of nine missing persons had been recovered whereas 16 of the missing had been recovered alive.
It also said that about 17 people, there were only allegations of them having been missing. The report moreover said that there were a number of elements who were trying to benefit from the situation in Balochistan.
A joint probe team was also constituted to recover the missing however no developments could take place on that front, it said.
The court objected to the formation of the high-powered commission upon which the attorney general said that the commission was constituted by the federal government on the directives of the Supreme Court and that its report had been prepared by IG Punjab.
“How could someone who was not posted in Balochistan prepare a report on it?” Justice Khawaja remarked.
Moreover, Chief Justice Iftikhar remarked: “Balochistan police could not enter the cantonment areas without a permit…who would cooperate with a probe commission with no powers?”
The hearing was subsequently adjourned until July 9, 2012 to be held at the Supreme Court’s Quetta registry.

UK police say Wikileaks founder faces arrest

Media gather outside the Ecuadorean embassyin London where Assange has sought political asylum [EPA]



Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblower site WikiLeaks who is seeking political asylum in Ecuador's embassy in London, faces arrest if he emerges for breaching bail terms imposed while he battles attempts to extradite him to Sweden, British police say.
A dozen supporters bearing placards declaring "Free Assange" gathered outside the five-storey red-brick building in the upmarket district of Knightsbridge where Assange sought refuge on Tuesday, causing Britain a legal and diplomatic headache.
Assange's 11th-hour decision to seek refuge in the embassy was more reminiscent of Cold War-era episodes seen in
authoritarian countries than of the British legal process.
"He has breached one of his bail conditions which was to be at his bail address between 10pm and 8am every day ... He is subject to arrest under the Bail Act," a spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police said.
Swedish prosecutors want to question Assange about allegations of sexual assault made by two women, which he denies.
The justice ministry in Stockholm said on Wednesday it expected Britain to extradite Assange, but authorities in London said he was beyond the police's reach in the Ecuadorean embassy.
Assange's fears
Ecuador said Assange had accused his native Australia of abandoning him and expressed fears that if sent to Sweden, he would be extradited onwards to the US where he believes he could face criminal charges punishable by death.
Assange's website, WikiLeaks, angered the US administration in 2010 by publishing secret US diplomatic cables.
"I genuinely believe, and I know him well, that he fears for his life," said Vaughan Smith, founder of a now defunct TV news agency, who hosted Assange at his country mansion for 13 months after Assange was freed on bail in December 2010.
"He fears that if he goes to Sweden he'll be sent to America and you only have to look at the treatment of Bradley Manning by the Americans to fell that he's right to be fearful," Smith told the BBC.
Manning, the US intelligence analyst accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of government files to Wikileaks, faces a court-martial in September at which he could be jailed for life.
Authorities in Quito, who had briefly offered Assange residency at the height of the WikiLeaks furore in November 2010 before backing off, are considering his asylum request.
Ecuador connection
It was not clear whether Assange's decision to appeal to Ecuador was connected to a recent interview he conducted with Rafael Correa, the South American country's leftist president, on Russia Today, a Kremlin-sponsored English-language TV channel.
"Cheer up. Welcome to the club of the persecuted," Correa told Assange at the end of the interview, which was conducted by video-link between Britain and Ecuador and posted on YouTube by Russia Today TV channel on May 22.
The two men appeared to hit it off during the 25-minute interview, exchanging flattering comments and laughing at each other's jokes.
Assange expressed sympathy with Correa's battle against his country's media - viewed by Human Rights Watch as a serious threat to free speech - and praised him for getting more done for his country than President Barack Obama was achieving for the Us.
In London, a crowd of television crews and reporters were stationed in front of the Ecuadorean embassy but there was no sighting of Assange, whose distinctive white-blond hair has helped make him instantly recognisable around the world.
Neither US nor Swedish authorities have charged Assange with anything.
Avenues exhausted
Swedish prosecutors want to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women, former WikiLeaks volunteers, in 2010.
Assange says he had consensual sex with the women.
The former computer hacker, whose unpredictable behaviour and love of the limelight has cost him the support of many
former friends and colleagues, lost a long-running legal battle last week to avoid extradition from Britain to Sweden.
Having exhausted all possible avenues offered by the British courts, Assange's only option to keep fighting would have been an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
However, his flight to the Ecuadorean embassy complicates his situation.
"He has breached one of his bail conditions which was to be at his bail address between 10pm and 8am every day ... He is subject to arrest under the Bail Act," a spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police said.

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

the Julian Assange show.With Imran Khan

Gilani’s family moves to London: Sources


Islamabad: The family of erstwhile Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has moved to European city of London, credible sources say.
Sources told  Tuesday that family members of Yousaf Gilani started moving to United Kingdom two days ago in anticipation of his disqualification by the country’s Supreme Court.
Married to Fauzia Gilani, Yousaf Raza Gilani has four sons and one daughter.
Two of Gilani’s sons, Ali Musa Gilani and Abdul Qadir Gilani, have been accused of being allegedly involved in mega corruption scandals recently taken up by the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court of Pakistan today issued a short order, declaring Yousaf Raza Gilani ineligible as Prime Minister of Pakistan and member of National Assembly.
On April 26, the apex court convicted the then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani over contempt charges for refusing to ask Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.