Two Women Raped By 11 Men including Politician Sons in India.

19.02.2012

Two girls were raped by 11 boys in India. Among those Men including Politician Sons.

Al-Qaida links with South East Asia fraying

19.02.2012

Jakarta

A top Indonesian terrorist suspect captured in the Pakistani town where Osama bin Laden was later killed insists he was unaware of the al-Qaida leader's presence there, according to the video of his interrogation obtained by The Associated Press.

Alleged bomb maker Umar Patek also describes his frustration in re-establishing militant ties in his quest to go to Afghanistan. He had to make his own arrangements to fly to Pakistan and then waited there for months before a years-old militant contact finally got back to him.

His remarks, if true, would further bolster evidence that Southeast Asia's Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist movement, responsible for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, is now largely cut off from its long-standing al-Qaida sponsorship.

India’s Kingfisher is in Trouble

19.02.2012

Airlines has stopped its flights in several cities.

JAPAN'S ( Baby Making Festival )PENIS AND VAGINA FESTIVALS

Komaki

It's springtime in Japan and that means Penis festivals and vagina festivals.

It may sound like a gag, but these folk rites date back at least 1,500 years, into Japan's agricultural past. They're held annually to ensure a good harvest and promote baby-making.

Ukranians Protest Naked At Indian Embassy

19.02.2012

Kiev
The Ukrainian feminist group Femen'infamous women naked this time, the Ukrainian women treated like a prostitute on the grounds that the potential for India toprotest against the locker.
According to the RIA Novosti agency,Femen member of the four women out ofthe balcony of the Embassy in Kievyesterday, India's locker.
Ukrainian women in India between the ages of 15-40 to bring the heavy visa requirementsfeminists who protested, "not Ukrayla brothel", "Delhi, close their brothels" and marched in with banners.

A gay couples Longest continuous kiss sets world record

19.02.2012

What's the most precious gift on St. Valentine's Day? Giving him/her world's longest continuous kiss!

A gay couple from Thailand kissed each other for 50 hours 25 minutes and 1 seconds in RoyalGarden Plaza Pattaya, setting a new Guinness World Record and bringing home two diamond rings,100,000Baht($3240) cash prize and gift voucher from Anantara Phuket that a real together worth up to 200,000 Baht ($6481).

The previous record of 46 hours 24 minutes and 9 seconds was set by another Thai couplelast year, who broke their own record together with the gay couple and became the first runner-up this year.

The gay couple, 31-year-old Nontawat Jaroengasornsin and 29-year-old ThanakornSittiamthong, who are from central Thailand's Chachoengsao province, have been living together for three years. This is their second time participating in the kiss competition. Last year, in Thailand's first longest continuous kiss competition, they made it to 22 hours 9 minutes and 17 seconds.

What a World :)

In Politics : Best Friends Become Enemies - Sasikala's husband Natarajan arrested

19.02.2012

Chennai

The husband of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa's former confidante Sasikala was arrested here on Saturday on a land grab charge here, police said.

According to police, M. Natarajan was arrested here on a complaint lodged by Ramalingam of Thanjavur, 325 km from Chennai. A police team from Thanjavur arrested Natarajan and took him there.

As per the complaint, some men -- allegedly at the instigation of Natarajan -- occupied land measuring around 10,000 sq ft in Thanjavur belonging to Ramalingam and threatened him when he had asked them to vacate the land.

Early this month, police had arrested Divakaran, the brother of Sasikala, for allegedly demolishing a house of Kasturi in Tiruvarur. Police has also arrested Ravanan, another relative of Sasikala, in a cheating case.

In a dramatic move last December, Jayalalithaa had thrown Sasikala out of her house. Jayalalithaa also thrown out Sasikala and others close to her from the AIADMK.

Jayalalithaa has maintained silence about the reason for her decision.

Most young mothers in the US are unmarried ?

19.02.2012

More than half of births to American women under the age of 30 occur outside of marriage. 

In all age groups, births outside of marriage have become steadily more common. In 2009, 41 percent of American women were unmarried when they had children, the Times said.

Experts think that the poor economy has made marriage a much less attractive option for women, even women who have children. They note that wealthy people are much more likely to marry. 

The Times went to Lorain, Ohio, where 63 percent of all births to women under 30 are outside of marriage. The industrial town has been especially hurt by the faltering economy, making young men more likely to be unemployed or in trouble with the law.

“A baby makes a woman grow up, but not a man,” one young Lorain mother told . “I can’t imagine ever depending on a man. I don’t trust them.”

It's not just mothers that are avoiding marriage. In December, a report showed that the percentage of married adults in the United States fell to 51 percent, an record low.

Wanted man flees in Malaysian police vehicle

19.02.2012

Melaka

Police here are looking for a wanted man who fled in a police multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) from its Alor Gajah traffic police station.

Mohd Nazri Drahman , 35, from Kemaman in Terengganu, had appeared at the station last Tuesday to lodge a police report after being involved in an accident at about 10pm.

However, police realised that he was wanted for a drug case. He attempted to run away but was overpowered by police personnel.

However, after he was put in the MPV's back seat to be sent to the police station, the man quickly moved to the front seat, locked the doors and fled.

Can Singapore’s Workers' Party ride out the Yaw scandal?

19.02.2012

Singapore

Suddenly, after being seen as the most disciplined opposition party since the last general election (GE), the Workers' Party (WP) had a bit of a climbdown last week.

After steadfastly refusing to explain itself, the party sacked its Hougang MP Yaw Shin Leong for not accounting to the WP leadership amid mounting allegations of extramarital affairs, including with a married WP member.

The prurient interest may be on Mr Yaw's sexual shenanigans but the political implications rest squarely on the party leadership's - especially WP chief Low Thia Khiang's - handling of the saga.

First, the sacking, coming after weeks of silence by the WP and Mr Yaw over his alleged extramarital affairs, still leaves many questions unanswered even as the party's top ranks held a half-hour press conference and issued two statements to explain their actions.

Gul, Prince Faisal discuss moves to expand cooperation

19.02.2012

Ankara

Turkish President Abdullah Gul received chairman of Jadwa Investment Company Prince Faisal bin Salman as well as members of the company’s board of directors in Ankara and discussed prospects of expanding cooperation and increasing Saudi investments in Turkey.

The meeting, which was attended by the president’s advisers as well as a number of major Turkish investors and businessmen, also discussed the facilities and incentives to be enjoyed by Saudi investors.

Gul emphasized the importance of Gulf investment in his country and disclosed Ankara’s plan to develop its foreign investment law. “The Turkish government is currently working on privatizing a large number of public projects. It will open new and secured investment opportunities,” he said.

In a statement on the occasion, Prince Faisal said: “We were very happy to meet the Turkish president. Our visit reflects the strong brotherly relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which is based on our historic ties and our political, economic, social and investment cooperation.”

All options on table if Iran goes nuclear: Panetta

19.02.2012

Washington

In escalating war of words, US defence secretary Leon Panetta has warned Iran that "all options" are on the table if Tehran blocks the Straits of Hormuz or if it goes nuclear.
"We've made very clear that Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon. We will not tolerate an Iran that has a nuclear weapon," Panetta said.

"We've made clear that we will not tolerate an Iran that tries to block the Straits of Hormuz. A fifth of the oil of the world goes through those straits. They're international waters. We're not going to allow them to block that," he warned, terming these as red lines.
"If they cross one of those lines, then we have all options on the table - we, the United States, have all options on the table. But, as the Prime Minister of Israel himself said, that ought to be the last option, not the first," the defence secretary said.
The United States, he said, doesn't want an Iran that basically spreads violence around the world, which supports terrorism, that conducts acts of violence.
"They planned an attack here against ambassadors of other countries here in the United States," he said.
"So we're not going to tolerate that, and we've made that clear. And as a result, the international community has come together. We have implemented strong diplomatic sanctions, we have implemented very strong economic sanctions, and we're continuing to do that - sanctions that are in many ways crippling Iran, crippling their economy, isolating them from the rest of the world, and having an impact on Iran," he said.
Panetta said that the basic message to Iran is that it has to change its behaviour.

US lives in Fear Everyday - Bomb suspect arrested near U.S. Capitol

19.02.2012

A 29-year-old Moroccan man was arrested Friday in an FBI sting operation near the U.S. Capitol while planning to detonate what police said he thought were live explosives.

Iran poised for big nuke jump

19.02.2012

Iran is poised to greatly expand uranium enrichment at a fortified underground bunker to a point that would boost how quickly it could make nuclear warheads, diplomats tell The Associated Press.

They said Tehran has put finishing touches for the installation of thousands of new-generation centrifuges at the cavernous facility - machines that can produce enriched uranium much more quickly and efficiently than its present machines.

While saying that the electrical circuitry, piping and supporting equipment for the new centrifuges was now in place, the diplomats emphasized that Tehran had not started installing the new machines at its Fordo facility and could not say whether it was planning to.

Still, the senior diplomats - who asked for anonymity because their information was privileged - suggested that Tehran would have little reason to prepare the ground for the better centrifuges unless it planned to operate them. They spoke in recent interviews - the last one Saturday.

The reported work at Fordo appeared to reflect Iran's determination to forge ahead with nuclear activity that could be used to make atomic arms despite rapidly escalating international sanctions and the latent threat of an Israeli military strike on its nuclear facilities.

Fordo could be used to make fissile warhead material even without such an upgrade, the diplomats said.

They said that although older than Iran's new generation machines, the centrifuges now operating there can be reconfigured within days to make such material because they already are enriching to 20 percent - a level that can be boosted quickly to weapons-grade quality.

Their comments appeared to represent the first time anyone had quantified the time it would take to reconfigure the Fordo centrifuges into machines making weapons-grade material.

In contrast, Iran's older enrichment site at Natanz is producing uranium at 3.4 percent, a level normally used to power reactors. While that too could be turned into weapons-grade uranium, reassembling from low to weapons-grade production is complex, and retooling the thousands of centrifuges at Natanz would likely take weeks.

The diplomats' recent comments came as International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are scheduled to visit Tehran on Sunday. Their trip - the second this month - is another attempt to break more than three years of Iranian stonewalling about allegations that Tehran has - or is - secretly working on nuclear weapons that would be armed with uranium enriched to 90 percent or more.

Diplomats accredited to the IAEA expect little from that visit. They told the AP that - as before - Iran was refusing to allow the agency experts to visit Parchin, the suspected site of explosives testing for a nuclear weapon and had turned down other key requests made by the experts.

Iranian officials deny nuclear weapons aspirations, saying the claims are based on bogus intelligence from the U.S. and Israel.

But IAEA chief Yukiya Amano has said there are increasing indications of such activity. His concerns were outlined in 13-page summary late last year listing clandestine activities that either can be used in civilian or military nuclear programs, or "are specific to nuclear weapons."

Among these were indications that Iran has conducted high explosives testing and detonator development to set off a nuclear charge, as well as computer modeling of a core of a nuclear warhead. The report also cited preparatory work for a nuclear weapons test and development of a nuclear payload for Iran's Shahab 3 intermediate range missile - a weapon that could reach Israel.

Iran says it is enriching only to make nuclear fuel. But because enrichment can also create fissile warhead material, the U.N. Security Council has imposed sanctions on Tehran in a failed attempt to force it to stop.

More recently, the U.S., the European Union and other Western allies have either tightened up their own sanctions or rapidly put new penalties in place striking at the heart of Iran's oil exports lifeline and its financial system.

The most recent squeeze on Iran was announced Friday, when SWIFT, a financial clearinghouse used by virtually every country and major corporation in the world, agreed to shut out the Islamic Republic from its network.

Diplomats say the choke-holds are being applied in part to persuade Israel to hold off on potential military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities - among them Fordo, a main Israeli concern because it is dug deep into a mountain and could be impervious to the most powerful bunker busting bombs.

Diplomats told the AP earlier this month that Iran had added two new series or cascades of old-generation IR-1 centrifuges to its Fordo operation, meaning 348 centrifuges were now operating in four cascades.

Olli Heinonen, who retired last year as the IAEA's chief Iran inspector, recently estimated that these machines, and two other cascades at Natanz can produce around 15 kilograms (more than 30 pounds) of 20-percent enriched uranium a month, using Iran's tons of low-enriched uranium as feedstock.

The low and higher enriched uranium now being produced "provides the basic material needed to produce four to five nuclear weapons," Heinonen said.

But he suggested "an altogether different scenario" - a much quicker pace of enrichment to levels easily turned into weapons-capable uranium if Iran starts using newer, more powerful centrifuges at Fordo. That, said the diplomats, is exactly what Iran appears to be on the verge of doing by finishing preparatory work recently for new centrifuge installations.

Just three days ago Iran's semiofficial Fars agency reported that a "new generation" of Iranian centrifuges had gone into operation at Natanz, in central Iran.

A diplomat accredited to the IAEA, which monitors Iran's known nuclear programs, said the "new generation" of centrifuges appeared to be referring to about 65 IR-4 machines that were recently set up at an experimental site at Natanz.

Fordo, which can house 3,000 centrifuges, was confidentially revealed to the IAEA by Iran in 2009, just days before the U.S. and Britain jointly announced its existence.

Iran announced last year that it would move its 20-percent uranium production to Fordo from Natanz and sharply boost capacity. It started making higher grade material two years ago saying it needed it to fuel a research reactor.

But the U.S. and others question the rationale, pointing out that Iran rejected offers of foreign fuel supplies for that reactor and is making more of the higher-enriched material than that small reactor needs.

Yemeni General Election

19.02.2012

Sanaa

Yemen will choose a new president in four days, but the winner of the election is already known.

Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the only candidate in Tuesday's election, is the vice-president of outgoing leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Despite the upcoming poll, anti-government protesters are not yet convinced that there will be genuine change in their country. There is an overwhelming sentiment among protesters that their revolution has been stolen by the political elite and tribal leaders.

Singapore is No More Clean City.

19.02.2012

Singapore

Among Dirtiest Areas across Singapore that included shopping centres, entertainment outlets and backlanes in Serangoon, Jalan Besar, Geylang, Beach Road, South Bridge Road, Yishun, Sembawang, Woodlands and Bukit Timah.

113 Arrested in Island-wide police crackdown on Unlawful Activities

19.02.2012

Singapore

Police arrested 113 persons for their suspected involvement in unlawful activities after an overnight operation that lasted till Saturday morning.

This is the first crackdown this year, and is part of the police's efforts to keep the streets clear of crime.

The island-wide operation was coordinated by the Criminal Investigation Department and involved police officers from all the six police land divisions.

Arrests were made in various locations across Singapore that included shopping centres, entertainment outlets and backlanes in Geylang, Beach Road, South Bridge Road, Orchard, Yishun, Sembawang and Woodlands.

Israel calls for tougher Iran sanctions

19.02.2012

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Saturday a nuclear-armed Iran would trigger an arms race in the Middle East and nations should impose "crippling" sanctions on Tehran to force it to give up its atomic program.

"A nuclear Iran is a threat to the whole world, not just to Israel ... Other major powers in the Middle East will have to try to reach nuclear capability, probably Saudi Arabia, probably Turkey, probably even Egypt," Barak told reporters in Tokyo.

"We have to accelerate the pace of imposing sanctions and make them crippling and consequential to such an extent that the leadership ... will be compelled to sit down and ... ask themselves 'are we ready to pay the price of isolation from most, if not all, of the world?'" he said.

Barak said despite Western sanctions inflicting increasing damage on Iran's oil-based economy he had not seen any sign that Tehran was ready to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Courageous Woman In A Man's World

19.02.2012

The first ever female deputy speaker in the Afghan parliament, Fawzia Koofi, talks to Colin Brazier about her hopes for the future of her country and the ever present threat of being murdered by the Taliban.

The possibility of an Israeli pre-emptive strike against Iran’s Nuclear Programme

19.02.2012

Israel has made it clear that it will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon that would threaten the Jewish State. What is still unclear is just how long it is prepared to wait.

Israeli and western intelligence suggests that Iran is already approaching the point of "invulnerability" where a military strike on its nuclear facilities would be ineffective.

Key elements of the programme – including uranium enrichment – have been moved to the underground facility near Qom where even a bunker busting bomb may not harm them. Israel knows it needs to be seen to be giving sanctions time to work but it also cannot afford to delay too long.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned that the any military action against Iran would have "enormous downsides".

22 cardinals join club to elect pope's successor

18.02.2012

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday brought 22 new Catholic churchmen into the elite club of cardinals who will elect his successor, in a greatly simplified ceremony that took account of evidence the 84-year-old pontiff is slowing down.

Benedict presided over a ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica to formally create the 22 cardinals, who include the archbishops of New York, Prague, Hong Kong and Toronto as well as the heads of several Vatican offices.

Preparations for the ceremony have been clouded by embarrassing leaks of internal documents alleging financial mismanagement in Vatican affairs, and reports in the Italian media of political jockeying among church officials who, sensing an increasingly weak pontiff, are already preparing for a conclave.

None of that was on display Saturday, however, amid the pomp of the consistory that brought to 125 the number of cardinals under age 80 who are thus eligible to vote in a papal election.

That said, each of the new cardinals did make a solemn pledge to keep church secrets upon accepting their new title, ring and three-pointed red hat, or biretta, from the pope.

Reciting the cardinals' traditional oath of loyalty, each one pledged to remain faithful to the church and to "not to make known to anyone matters entrusted to me in confidence, the disclosure of which could bring damage or dishonor to Holy Church."

KARASIA – Truly Asia

18.02.2012

South Korean girl' group Kara performs during their solo concert KARASIA in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday.

U.S. drones reportedly monitoring Syria; China wants Syrian sovereignty respected

18.02.2012

“A good number” of unmanned U.S. military drones are operating in the skies over Syria, monitoring the President Basir al-Assad’s military’s crackdown against the opposition, U.S. defense officials tell NBC News.
According to the unnamed officials, the drone surveillance is not in preparations for a future military operation in Syria. Rather, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is hoping to use the visual evidence and intercepts of Syrian government and military communications in an effort to “make the case for a widespread international response.”
Unlike in Libya and the regime of former dictator Muammar Qaddafi, there has been no widespread international support for military intervention in Syria. 

Despite debate among White House, State Department and Pentagon officials about possible humanitarian missions, officials fear that those missions could not be carried out without jeopardizing those involved and would almost certainly draw the U.S. into a military role in Syria.
On Friday, Syrian government forces, disregarding U.N. condemnation, renewed their bombardment of the opposition stronghold of Homs as a Chinese minister arrived for talks with embattled President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday.
Demonstrations against Assad were reported by activists in cities across Syria, including the capital Damascus and the commercial hub Aleppo, after Friday Muslim prayers despite the threat of violence from security forces.

Must respect Syrian sovereignty

Chinese vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun arrived in Damascus after the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution telling the increasingly isolated president to halt the crackdown and surrender power.
After holding talks with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Meqdad late on Friday, Zhai said the international community must respect Syria’s sovereignty.
“We exchanged views on ways to strengthen our cooperation in the face of this difficult period in Syria,” said Zhai, whose government has twice joined Moscow in blocking U.N. Security Council condemnation of the Damascus regime’s deadly crackdown on an 11-month uprising.
“The sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Syria must be respected by all sides and by the international community,” the official Syrian Arab News Agency quoted him as saying.
“China hopes that national dialogue and reforms will move forward in Syria,” he added.
On Thursday, before heading to Damascus, Zhai said Beijing opposed armed intervention and forced “regime change” in Syria.
China and Russia have faced a barrage of criticism for blocking action by the UN Security Council, including from Arab nations with which Beijing normally has good ties.
“We urge the Syrian government and all of its political parties to immediately and fully end all acts of violence and quickly restore stability and normal social order,” said Zhai.
“China condemns all acts of violence against innocent civilians” and “does not approve of armed intervention or forcing so-called “regime change”,” he was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.
Foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters Zhai would “exchange views with the Syrian government and parties concerned in Syria on the current... situation to push for a peaceful and proper resolution of the... crisis.”

Malaysian Group Demands Action Over Dubious Voters

18.02.2012

Kuala Lumpur

A Malaysian electoral reform group on Friday urged Prime Minister Najib Razak to clean up the electoral roll after an audit indicated possibly large numbers of dubious voter registrations.
Bersih 2.0 issued a statement calling the revelations "shocking" and said the questionable voter records could tip the balance in a coming election widely expected to be close and hard-fought.
"Bersih 2.0 strongly urges (Najib) to clean up the electoral roll," ahead of general elections widely expected to be held within months, a statement by the group said.
Bersih 2.0 said the audit found a "sudden increase" of up to 35 percent in the number of registered voters in some districts.
The audit also found 820 cases in which more than 100 voters were registered at the same address, and 1,259 locations with 51-100 people registered, said Anthony Loke, a member of a parliamentary panel on electoral reform.
The audit was conducted by a company tasked by the panel with vetting the electoral roll.
However, Loke, a member of the opposition, said the panel had asked the auditor for clarification, noting that some of the "questionable" sites could be military bases or other locations where large numbers of people reside at a single address.
Bersih 2.0 has spearheaded a push for reform of an electoral system that critics say is rife with abuse aimed at favouring the long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.
In July, it brought tens of thousands onto the streets for a clean-elections rally that was forcibly broken up by police. "Bersih" means "clean" in Malay.
Facing a backlash over the harsh government response, Najib established the parliamentary panel in October to explore protesters' demands.
Speculation is growing that Najib will call elections within months, and the polls could prove pivotal after 2008 elections saw historic opposition gains.
Bersih said large numbers of bogus voters "could have a major impact on the election results."
"These developments are unacceptable and both the Election Commission and the Parliamentary Select Committee for Electoral Reform should immediately address these concerns," it said.
An official with the Election Commission could not immediately comment.

US Balochistan bill intervention in internal matters: Firdous Awan

18.02.2012

Islamabad

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan termed the US resolution on Balochistan an intervention in Pakistan’s internal matters and said the government of Pakistan condemned the bill tabled in the US Congress, Geo News reported Saturday.
Awan said that the government would safeguard Pakistan’s sovereignty and would protest against the bill at all forums.
Answering a question regarding Nato supply resumption, the minister told that the parliament would decide about the restoration of supplies to Nato forces in Afghanistan. However, the containers carrying academic books for Afghan children were allowed to move through Pakistan.
‘The suggestions of Parliamentary Committee on National Security regarding the reforms in the relationship between Pakistan and US will be completely implemented,’ Awan added.
The minister declined to comment over the contempt case against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and said that the issue will not be discussed until Supreme Court’s verdict.
Dr Awan said that President Asif Ali Zardari enjoys complete immunity and that the trial of the martyrs’ graves will not be allowed.
The minister said that tax reforms would be introduced in the 2012-13 budget and it would emphasize mainly on the problems of the poor people.

Brazil Carnival 2012

18.02.2012

Awesome party in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Iran warships enter the Mediterranean: Iran’s Navy Commander

18.02.2012

Tehran

Iranian warships entered the Mediterranean Sea after crossing the Suez Canal on Saturday in a move aimed at showing Iran’s “might” to regional countries, navy commander Admiral Habibollah Sayari said.

“The strategic navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has passed through the Suez Canal for the second time since the (1979) Islamic Revolution,” Sayari said in remarks quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

He did not say how many vessels had crossed the canal, or what missions they were planning to carry out in the Mediterranean, but said the flotilla had previously docked in the Saudi port city of Jeddah.

‘Use Al-Qaeda Temporarily in Syria’- US

18.02.2012

The US and Al-Qaeda are using each other to topple President Assad, believes Camille Otrakji, editor of online magazine Syria Comment.

US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has said Al-Qaeda is working alongside Syria’s armed opposition, while Washington considers extending support to the rebels. Otrakji told RT that both sides think they are using the other, hoping to control them later.

“For example, the Islamists and Al-Qaeda think, 'We can have an alliance with the Americans or with any secular opposition forces, but later we will be in power,' and the Americans think they can use Al-Qaeda temporarily, if they have to, to get rid of the Syrian regime, and they will somehow manage to get rid of them. So, unfortunately they are apparently working together.”

The journalist added that it is important to understand how decision-making takes place in Washington D.C.

“Some people really do not care about what will happen in Syria after. For example, there are factions that just want to punish the Syrian regime – I’ve heard this from someone in Washington – for their help in 1982, when Hezbollah attacked US troops in Lebanon.”

And others, Otrakji said, are optimistic, thinking that there will be elections and that Syria is secular enough that Al-Qaeda factions or other Islamists will not win.

“So, they just want to be hopeful for now, all they want to focus on now is to get rid of the regime – then, they think, they will manage somehow.”

And journalist and peace activist Don Debar said the US have already become some allies with Al-Qaeda in Libya.

“First of all, the US is bedfellows with Al-Qaeda in Libya already. Secondly, if you look at the history of al-Qaeda, actually they are a successive group to the allies the US had in Afghanistan when it was fighting the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and early 1980s.”

Debar also remembered a recent comment by Al-Qaeda that they were backing the Syrian rebels, which he said is “the same group the US is not only backing, but has been arming and training.”

“So it’s not whether it will happen or not – it’s really been happening,” the activist concluded.

US Fighter Jets Intercept Drug-Carrying Cessna Near President’s Air Force One

18.02.2012

As Air Force One sat on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport this morning, the North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to intercept a small private plane that had invaded the airspace.

The disturbance occurred just minutes before President Obama was scheduled to depart for San Francisco. His plane ultimately took off at 11:40 a.m. PT without incident.

The jets intercepted the general aviation plane – a Cessna 182 – just before 11:30 a.m. PT, according to a statement from NORAD.  It was soon forced to land at Long Beach Airport in California and met by local law enforcement officials and the U.S. Secret Service, agency spokesman Brian Leary.

Israel Accusation were Wrong: Thai officials say Tuesday blast 'not linked to terrorism, Hezbollah’

18.02.2012

Thailand Deputy Prime Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapha, who is in charge of security affairs, told the House of Representatives yesterday that the explosions had been caused by bombs that were intended to kill individuals, not a large group of people.

He said the men involved in the explosions were not from Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based. However, he said, he was still waiting for verification as to whether the men were indeed Iranian nationals.

"The components of the bombs are not of the same type as the ones made by Hezbollah," said Yuthasak, who was previously defense minister.

Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul also said yesterday that the men behind the blasts had no links to Hezbollah as "they are not of the same nationality".

He also dismissed any connection between the blasts in Bangkok and the attacks earlier this week in India and Georgia, which were allegedly meant to target Israeli diplomats. However, magnets were found in the bombs used in Bangkok, which were similar to the ones used in the other two countries.

Police to question cleric over sex abuse

18.02.2012

Jakarta

The Jakarta Police will summon Hasan bin Ja’afar Assegaf, a influential cleric who is accused of sexually abusing one of his boy students.

“We must watch our every step carefully. Right now, we have questioned 11 victims and plan to examine their psychological state and determine the validity of their reports,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He said that once the police felt that they had solid evidence, they would summon Hasan for questioning.

“If he is indeed the perpetrator then he will face hard time. Thus, give us room to complete the preliminary examinations first,” he said. The victims filed reports to the Jakarta Police last December. Besides filing a report to the police, the victims also filed reports to the Indonesian Children Protection Commission.

Following the report, the KPAI summoned Hasan Assegaf on Feb.13 but he didn’t show up. The case began when Hasan sent a letter to his fellow religious teacher because she had not allowed her students to join in Hasan’s group. Instead of answering the letter, the other teacher told the public that Hasan had sexually abused his students.

Singapore: 1,700 non-Asean students awarded scholarships each year

18.02.2012

Around 800 pre-tertiary and 900 undergraduate students from non-Asean countries are awarded scholarships to study here each year, with these scholarships covering tuition and accommodation.

These study awards cost $14,000 for pre-tertiary students and between $18,000 and $25,000 for undergraduates.

The figures were disclosed by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education Sim Ann in Parliament on Friday in response to a question from Non-Constituency MP Yee Jenn Jong.

Bin Laden wanted to marry 'truly Islamic' Whitney Houston: Report

18.02.2012

Among the many admirers of pop legend and actor Whitney Houston, there was a fan who thought that she was “truly Islamic” but had been brainwashed by the American culture. He was none other than former al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

According to Daily Mail, Sudanese author Kola Boof – admittedly a “sex slave” of bin Laden – revealed in her autobiography that the al Qaeda chief once pronounced his love for Houston and said that he thought that the singer was “the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.”

Boof said that bin Laden wanted to marry Houston and had also once plotted to murder her husband Bobby Brown.

According to Boof’s account, the “strongly racist” bin Laden was willing to “break his colour rule” and make Houston one of his wives and wanted to gift Houston a mansion that he owned in a suburb of the capital city of Sudan, Khartoum.

The author quoted bin Laden as saying, “How beautiful she is, what a nice smile she has, how truly Islamic she is but is just brainwashed by American culture and her husband—Bobby Brown.”

Boof also revealed that she had come across Houston’s pictures in bin Laden’s briefcase and said that there came a point when she was “sick of hearing Houston’s name.”

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: 'West to be blamed for all problems'

18.02.2012

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday slammed the West for foisting problems on the region through interventionist policies, and made a strong pitch for issues to be "solved regionally" at a trilateral summit with Pakistan and Afghanistan. During a joint news conference with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts, Hamid Karzai, and Asif Ali Zardari, Ahmadinejad said the problems in the region had been thrust from outside. "All problems are coming from outside. In order to promote their goals and ambitions... they don't want to allow our nations to develop," Ahmadinejad said in a clear pointer to the West, without naming any country.

He contended that problems were being foisted on the countries of the region by external powers but did not identify these powers.

"We should stand together to advance and realise our goals... We believe that problems of the region must be solved regionally," said Ahmadinejad, who is locked in a confrontation with the West over its nuclear programme.

*Shocking News* Why Iran may not be behind the attacks...

18.02.2012

I don't think Iran or Hezbollah is behind the series of attacks that have targeted Israeli citizens and establishments in the last one week. I just don't think that contention fits the pieces of the puzzle.

The attack on the Israeli Embassy vehicle carrying the Israeli Defence Attache's wife in New Delhi and the failed attacks in Georgia and Thailand happened in February, 2012. In November of this very year, US President Barack Obama, riddled by Republican criticism of his plans to cut US defence budget and to heavily tax the rich (in case he gets elected), would seek a second term at White House. Now that I have given out the starting point and the end of this conspiracy theory thread, let me turn to filling the blanks left between.

First, Iranian intelligence would never choose India as a venue to launch such attacks. It is the only significant country, barring Russia and China, to not recognise US-imposed sanctions. Its trade volume with India is significant enough for Iran. Though New Delhi has said it would not like to have another nuclear power in close geographical proximity, it has always been wary of the US practice of including Tehran (while Pakistan gets the benefit of doubt) in the list of terror states.

Doing such a thing in India would push India to adopt a more hardline stance and bring it closer to Washington. And that would compromise India's non-aligned stance in combating the rising Chinese maritime power in the Indian Ocean region. It does not suit Iran, neither does it suit Russia or China. I wonder who it suits most then.

Now let me come to the second point. Those, who track international affairs in some detail, would be aware of a meeting between Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Barack Obama that took place in Washington on January 30 of this year. What many may have missed is the Georgian President's meeting with CIA Director David H Petraeus on February 4 before he was airlifted out of Pentagon to the US naval training base of Annapolis where he had a programme to attend.

Now which visiting head of state, barring may be that of Pakistan, have met the CIA chief? Pakistan, one can understand. They are a frontline state in US operations against terror and CIA drone strikes repeatedly take their relationships to newer levels of low.

But Georgia? Apart from the 1,000 Georgian soldiers serving in ISAF forces in Afghanistan, it has no distant relation with the war on terror. "I don't rule out that to retain the [presidential] chair Saakashvili may join a military campaign against Iran, which would become a catastrophe for our country," said former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze soon after the bomb was found under the Israeli Embassy car.

Readers would also do well to learn that Georgia, with a population of just 4.7 million people, is the third largest recipient of US foreign aid.

And suddenly my mind goes back to the Russia-Georgia War of 2008. Israel supplied UAVs, night-vision equipment, anti-aircraft equipment, ammunition and electronic systems as well as advanced tactical training to Georgians. Many of around 1000 American soldiers, who were present in Georgia for a military exercise when the war broke out, stayed back, apart from 127 regular US military trainers.

Russian military had claimed to have recovered a clutch of American and Israeli identity cards and passports from captured men and vacated positions after putting an end to Georgian military adventure under five days. The Americans and Israelis have invariably denied these allegations.

Third, important Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders connected to Tehran's nuclear programme have periodically been eliminated in bomb attacks. In the last such attack, two men on a motorbike attached a magnetic bomb to Natanz fuel enrichment plant deputy director Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan's Peugeot 405 in January this year. As compared to him, the Israeli target in New Delhi comes across as a definitive low-value one. Also, seasoned intelligence agencies seldom draw up copy-cat response plans.

Also, the Iranian people arrested by Thai police don't come across as handpicked Iranian intelligence operatives or hardened Hezbollah men.

An Israeli soldier who participated in the Israel-Hezbollah War in 2006 told the New York Times' Steven Erlanger and Richard A Oppel Jr that Hezbollah fighers were "nothing like Hamas or the Palestinians. They are trained and highly qualified. All of us were kind of surprised."

So it is kind of funny that the same armed group (whose members damaged more than 50 Merkava tanks and forced the fabled Israeli Defence Forces to withdraw without any decisive outcome) or their mentor nation could depute such men for an overseas terror attack who would lob explosives at trees to lose their own limbs in the ricochet.

But could it be that the Iranians the Thai authorities are looking for are dissenters against the Iranian regime who have been hurriedly pressed into service as the entire grand plan needs to reach fruition well before the end of the year?

One thing has happened for sure over the last one week. The global eye on terror has suddenly shifted its focus from the Salafist-Wahabi Sunni Islamist groups (that includes al-Qaeda, al-Shabab, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamaat Ud Dawa and countless more strewn across the Arab world and Pakistan) to Shia Iran. The Indian government has done well, till now, to not agree to this newly manufactured consent.

I started this post by saying Iran may not be behind these attacks. I will not end by saying who may be. But Iran's arch-enemy Israel, most probably, had nothing to do with them as well.

Robber gets five years, 1,500 lashes

18.02.2012

Riyadh

A Saudi youth was sentenced to five years imprisonment and 1,500 lashes for armed robbery in the capital, the Riyadh police announced here Friday.

The general court in Riyadh delivered the judgement.

The police arrested the convict on a complaint made by an expatriate worker in the Aziziyah district of Riyadh.

According to the plaintiff, the incident occurred when he was traveling in a limousine. The plaintiff was stopped by the criminal and was robbed of his purse and mobile phone.

Subsequently, the thief demanded the car keys from the limousine driver. When the diver refused, the robber stabbed the driver and fled the scene.

The victims — the plaintiff and the cab driver — immediately contacted Aziziyah police, which in turn, apprehended the thief following radio message given to all the checkpoints in the city.

The police said that they were able to track the culprit since the details given by the plaintiff were accurate.

The police advised the public to inform police immediately of such incidents and also requested the public to exercise more care while dealing with strangers.

Mosque sermons denounce Assad - Assad Must Go

18.02.2012

Riyadh

Jumma sermons at mosques here called for an end to the bloodbath in Syria, where innocent people are being killed mercilessly.

Imams at Jumma mosques in the capital described the current situation in Syria as serious, which would affect the Muslim Ummah in general and Syrian Muslims in particular.

Imam Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Omar at the Al-Hajiri Jumma Mosque in Malaz invoked the blessings of Allah to restore peace to this country and punish all those who were responsible for the massacre.

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, called Monday for drastic measures to end the bloodbath in Syria and welcomed Tunisia’s plan to host a conference of Syria’s friends on Feb. 24.

On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly passed by an overwhelming margin a nonbinding resolution endorsing the Arab League plan for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. The vote was 137 in favor and 12 against, with 17 abstentions.

"Today, the UN General Assembly sent a clear message to the people of Syria: the world is with you," said US Ambassador Susan E. Rice in a statement. "Bashar Assad has never been more isolated. A rapid transition to democracy in Syria has garnered the resounding support of the international community. Change must now come."

Syria tried to block the nonbinding vote and severely criticized its sponsors, which included the Arab League. The league suspended Syria's participation in the pan-Arab body in November 2011 because of the unrestrained crackdown.

On Friday, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif Al-Zayyani lauded the passing of the Arab League-sponsored draft resolution on Syria. Calling the move historic, Al-Zayyani pointed out that passing of the resolution with a thumping majority, is tantamount to world rejection of flagrant violations against the fraternal Syrian people.

“ Voting of 137 UN member countries to pass the draft resolution is a real boost to devout endeavor exerted by AL to stop the bloodbath in Syria and to realize the legitimate Syrian people's aspirations and anticipations,” he concluded.

Top 10 cheapest cities in the world

18.02.2012

Asian and Middle Eastern cities dominate the list of the world's ten cheapest cities, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's bi-annual cost of living report.

It's an interesting result, especially considering that half of the world's ten most expensive cities are also in the Asia Pacific region — Tokyo and Singapore, for example.

The Middle Eastern cities are partly affected by price controls and currencies being pegged to the US dollar, the EIU suggests, while Asian cities — primarily those in India and Pakistan — remain a bastion of cheap labor and land, a draw for visitors and investors (despite security risks).

The numbers in the list below represent the cities' respective world cost of living indices, calculated in relation to New York's, set at 100.

To put things in perspective, the highest index in the EIU's report is 170, for Zurich, which now ranks as the world's most expensive city.

1.   Muscat, Oman: 63

2.   Dhaka, Bangladesh: 61

3.   Algiers, Algeria: 59

4.   Kathmandu, Nepal: 58

5.   Panama City, Panama: 58

6.   Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: 57

7.   New Delhi, India: 56

8.   Tehran, Iran: 54

9.   Mumbai, India: 52

10. Karachi, Pakistan: 46