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Maravot News of the World 10:58 AM - San Francisco Wednesday, July 14, 2010 (last post)

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News Headlines & Trends

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MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) May 30 - A US drone attack has killed at least 18 suspected militants in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, local authorities said on Sunday. All the 18 militants were killed on Sunday in the Orakzai tribal region. On Saturday, two soldiers were killed in the area after their vehicle hit a roadside bomb, the authorities said. Violence surged in the country in 2009, with Taliban militants staging regular attacks on provincial government officials, police and civilians and planting roadside devices as part of their fight against US and NATO troops. Over 600 militants, including several influential Taliban commanders, were killed in drone airstrikes in the country's restive tribal belt in 2009. [>en.rian.ru]

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05.30.10 Taliban in turmoil over leadership issue: report

NEW YORK, May 30 - As they await a major onslaught from the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, the Taliban are reported to be in turmoil with dissensions breaking out among the top ranks. As Mullah Omar, the group's living symbol and spiritual leader, stays safely hidden from Americans, big infighting has riven the top ranks on who will emerge as the working head in place of apprehended Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar to run Taliban's day-to-day affairs. The man at the centre of the storm, Newsweek magazine reported, was Mullah Gul Agha Akhund, who is an in-law and long time confident of Mullah Omar. Akhund is brandishing a handwritten letter from Mullah Omar to claim to be the new second-in-command of the Afghan Taliban.

But his claim is being hotly contested by top military commanders of the outfit. The magazine in its latest issue quoted Zabiullah, one of the group's top commanders and spokesman, as saying that Taliban's other top ranking leaders including its military chief Abdul Qayum Zakir were openly challenging Akhund's claim. The top commanders are accusing Akhund of being close to Pakistan's ISI and saying that he is the pick of the agency not Mullah Omar's choice. Newsweek said deputy leader of Taliban's Peshawar Shura recently told mourners at a funeral that Baradar's designated successor was a top commander named Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor and Gul Agha. The Things have come to such a head that, Newsweek said, pressure was building up on Mullah Omar to "speak up and settle" the leadership question before matters get any worse. [More>>indianexpress.com]

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05.30.10 US plans 'for worst' in gulf, seeing risk in leak strategy

May 30 - After the failure of an effort to seal off a well spewing oil one mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico, a top Obama administration environmental official said the government is “prepared for the worst” in case new attempts do not succeed in fully containing the gusher until relief wells are finished sometime in August. The chance that some oil will continue to leak for months was underscored by the managing director of BP, Robert Dudley, who described plans to put in place a second version of a containment dome, a strategy that failed earlier this month. Mr. Dudley, speaking on ABC's “This Week” program, said lessons from that attempt had given the company's engineers valuable lessons that would be applied to the new dome. But he added that even if it worked, some oil would seep out until the relief wells provided an “end point” by cutting off the flow beneath the seabed. [More>>nytimes.com]

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05.30.10 10 million face famine in West Africa

May 30 - At this time of year, the Gadabeji Reserve should be a refuge for the nomadic tribes who travel across a moonscape on the edge of the Sahara to graze their cattle. But the grass is meagre after a drought killed off last year's crops. Now the cattle are too weak to stand and too skinny to sell, leaving the poor without any way to buy grain to feed their families.The threat of famine is again stalking the Sahel, a band of semi-arid land stretching across Africa south of the Sahara. Its countries constitute a virtual list of the worst famines in recent decades: Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia. The UN World Food Programme is warning that some 10 million people face hunger over the next three months before the harvest in September — if it comes. Thomas Yanga, WFP's regional director for West Africa, said: "People have lost crops, livestock, and the ability to cope on their own, and the levels of malnutrition among women and children have already risen to very high levels." [More>>independent.co.uk]

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05.30.10 Mexican pirates attack Texas fishermen on Falcon Lake, which straddles border

ZAPATA, Texas, May 30 - Falcon Lake is famous for its monster bass and for the maniacal obsession of the fishermen who come from all over Texas — and the world — to stalk them. Now this remote reservoir that straddles the international boundary is known for something else: pirates. In the past month, crews of outlaws in a small armada of banged-up skiffs and high-powered bass boats launched from the Mexican shore have ambushed bass anglers from the Texas side innocently casting their plastic worms over favorite spots. The buccaneers have struck in Mexican waters but within sight of the Texas shore.

Dressed in black, the pirates brandish automatic weapons, carry radio cellphones and board the anglers' boats. They demand weapons or drugs from their captives, but finding neither, seem satisfied with taking $400 or $500 as booty, according to law enforcement officials and victims' accounts. There is a saying about not messing with Texas, and the idea that criminals are preying on American anglers is raising already-high temperatures along the southwest border. Answering calls for help, President Obama last week ordered 1,200 National Guard troops to the region. The pirates claim to be "federales," or police, but instead are brigands — with the letter "Z" tattooed on their necks and arms — from the notorious drug cartel Los Zetas. The Zetas are on a rampage of killing and extortion along the Mexican border as they fight gun and grenade battles against the military and the rival Gulf Cartel. [More>>washingtonpost.com]

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05.30.10 Students ditch the books in favor of new iPad technology

May 30 - Schools are moving to get rid of textbooks and replace them with hi-tech devices such as the new iPad. Several state and private schools have started testing the iPad amid concerns that students' bags are being overloaded with books. The launch of Apple's new product on Friday caused huge excitement with thousands of iPads bought over the weekend. But Melbourne's Brighton Grammar has had one for two months as part of a research project on e-learning. The school's community education director, John Phillips, said yesterday that the long-term goal was to phase out textbooks. "With the one device we've replaced textbooks, we've replaced the student diary, we've replaced the need for a graphics calculator," he said. Mr. Phillips said that a Melbourne IT firm and senior students were working on education applications to deliver course material through the iPad. [More>>news.com.au; See related story,

Maravot News 1.18.10 article 01.12.10 S. Korea: E-textbooks due next year : January 12 - Students at primary and secondary schools will begin using electronic textbooks along with paper ones next year, which will ease the burden of carrying heavy thick books, the Education Ministry said yesterday. The ministry will also expand the use of "government-recognized" textbooks, which will allow students to use other books — containing up-to-date information — as their textbooks. It announced a set of measures to enhance current textbooks, which have been denounced for containing out-of-date information and being too condensed and concise in content...

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05.28.10 Suicide assault on Lahore mosques leaves 70 dead, 90 injured

May 28 - At least 70 people were killed and over 90 injured after gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed two mosques in Pakistan's second-biggest city. Squads of militants stormed into prayer halls firing guns, throwing grenades and taking hostages in the deadliest attack on Lahore - increasingly hit by Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked violence Officials quoted by Sky News said the death toll could climb to 80. In the first of two coordinated attacks, four unknown gunmen ran into a mosque in the heavily congested Garhi Shahu area of the city and threw hand grenades, according to eye witnesses. Chaotic live TV footage showed a gunman brandishing a semi-automatic weapon on the minaret tower of the mosque, with destroyed motorcycles lying on nearby streets. An earlier report from Pakistani broadcaster Geo TV said that between 1500 and 2000 people worshiping inside the mosque were taken hostage.

Fox News Channel sources reported that there were no hostages left after police, including elite commando officers, claimed to have taken control of the area following a gun battle. "We have recovered 40 to 50 dead bodies, only from Garhi Shahu (mosque)," Sajjad Bhutta, the top city administrative official in Lahore, told AFP. An unconfirmed amount of people were killed in a second attack at a mosque in the suburb of Model Town. Police told Sky News they cleared the area and arrested one suspected militant. Two militants were wounded and one was killed at one of the mosques, Fox News Channel reported. Both mosques are used by members of the Ahmadi religious minority group, denounced in the past for being non-Muslim and routinely criticized for their involvement in the Pakistani military. The Pakistani Taliban group Tehrik e Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to Geo TV. [More>>news.com.au; See other details, timesofindia.indiatimes.com; for background see: 

Maravot News article 5.25.10 Grant death for blasphemy: Islamists to UN. and for misunderstandings of terrorist ideology from the Koran, Maravot News article "The Allah Controversy"

Related story:

timesofindia.indiatimes.com, May 28, "Obama rids terror lexicon of 'Islamic radicalism' ": WASHINGTON: Expunging terms such as "Islamic extremism" and "Muslim fundamentalism" from US government lexicon, the Obama administration on Thursday rolled out a new national security doctrine that looks beyond American military might to address contentious issues and calls for accepting and managing the rise of emerging powers such as China and India.

The 52-page document, President Barack Obama's first National Security Strategy outline, is starkly different from his predecessor George Bush's outlook in eschewing a unilateralist approach. Instead, it emphasizes the value of global cooperation, developing wider security partnerships and helping other nations defend themselves...Bush's 2006 strategy, coming at the height of the Iraq War and the insurgency in Afghanistan, explicitly stated that "the struggle against militant Islamic radicalism is the great ideological conflict of the early years of the 21st century".

But Obama takes a different approach to preserving US primacy, arguing that an America "hardened by war" and "disciplined by a devastating economic crisis" cannot sustain extended fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan, while fulfilling other commitments at home and abroad. One of the implementers of Obama's policy of not viewing Muslim nations through the lens of terror is Pradeep Ramamurthy, a National Security Council staffer who runs the administration's Global Engagement Directorate...

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05.28.10 Assad: Iran supports Syria-Israel peace talks

May 28 - Syrian president tells US television that Syria would not stop support of Hamas, Hezbollah until Israel stops occupation. Iran was supportive of Syria's indirect peace talks with Israel, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in a interview to US television on Thursday, saying that Damascus would not cut its support of Hamas and Hezbollah as long as Israeli aggression and the occupation persist. Speaking to Charlie Rose's PBS show, Assad said that Iran had both privately and publicly voiced support of Syria's informal talks with Israel, adding that "I feel that they said it inwards, they say publicly we support you. They said it twice during negotiations informally."

Assad also referred to Syria support of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, saying that his country's backing of those organizations represents political support of the Palestinian cause."First of all, our support is political because Hamas is a Palestinian organization," the Syrian president said, adding that the "Palestinians have occupied land. They have the right to have their own state," saying that the Palestinians "have the right to have their own land back after '67, something they haven't had yet. The same for Hezbollah. The Israeli airplanes are violating the air space of Lebanon on daily basis every few hours, not every day, every few hours, Assad said, adding that the Lebanese group had a "right to defend their country." Talking to Chalie Rose Thursday, Assad dismissed reports claiming that Syria had provided Hezbollah with long-range Scud missiles, saying that they amounted to an "anecdotal story by Israeli." [More>>haaretz.com; See related story,

jpost.com, May 28, 2010, " ; Hezbollah missile base in Syria' " : Satellite photos show that Hezbollah terrorists have been living in armed bases stocked with surface-to-surface missiles in Syria, The Times of London reported Friday. The photos show the Hezbollah members moving freely at a base in the Syrian city of Adra, near Damascus. The Syrian government has denied that the bases are being used by Hezbollah, claiming they are for Syrian military use only. In the beginning of April , Kuwait's Al-Rai newspaper reported that Syria had transferred Scud ballistic missiles to Hezbollah. Israel subsequently issued a stern warning that it would consider attacking both Syrian and Lebanese targets in response to a Scud attack on its territory. Last month, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein warned that Hezbollah had acquired Scud missiles and improved its missile capabilities...

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05.28.10 US drone strike kills 11 in SWA

WANA. Pakistan, May 28 - At least 11 militants were killed, and three injured in a missile strike carried out by a US unmanned plane in South Waziristan Agency Friday. According to sources, the pilotless spy plane targeted the suspected militant hideouts located in Nezai Narai area along [the] Afghan border, in which 11 militants were killed. Following the attack, [the] US drone plane continue[d] to hover over the targeted area. [>thenews.com.pk]

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05.28.10 80 militants killed in Orakzai blitz

HANGU, Pakistan, May 28 - At least 80 militants were killed and 60 others wounded on Friday after security forces backed by jet fighters carried out a massive operation in Orakzai Agency. According to sources, jet planes pounded militant hideouts located in different parts of Orakzi Agency, killing 80 militants and injuring several others. Eight militant hideouts were also destroyed in the bombings. In addition, security forces also bombed and destroyed 15 explosive-laden vehicle and 15 mules that were in the use of militants. After aerial bombardment, troops regained control of many areas. [>thenews.com.pk]

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05.28.10 Hamas faces rising anger after bulldozing Gaza homes

RAFAH (AFP) May 28 - Huddled in a tent near the mound of rubble that used to be his home, Eissa al-Sidudi says out loud what many Gazans would only mutter in private: Hamas has gone too far. On May 16 Hamas police dragged his wife and eight children out of their squat cement house and pummelled him with wooden batons as bulldozers razed the building along with nearly 20 other homes. "They didn't come here as a government, they came as an enemy power," he said, surrounded by several nodding neighbors who are also camping out at the site, an outcrop of sand dunes on the edge of the town. "Whoever destroys my house is my enemy," he said. Hamas authorities said they demolished the homes under a court order because they were illegally built on government land.

But the image of Israeli bulldozers toppling homes in the occupied territories has been seared into the Palestinian conscience, and the move came amid rising discontent with Hamas's rule over the impoverished territory. A tax hike imposed in recent weeks on a wide variety of goods, including cigarettes, has infuriated Gazans living under strict border closures imposed by Israel and Egypt following the Islamist group's June 2007 takeover. And a poll last month by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre (JMCC) found that more than 40 percent of Gazans would back the secular Fatah movement if elections were held today, compared to just 16 percent for Hamas. [More>>khaleejtimes.com]

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05.28.10 Man gets woman's cancer from kidney transplant

NEW YORK (AP) May 28 - Donor didn't know she had cancer; transplant surgeon said man's chances of getting cancer were slim. The scenario was unique, as far as doctors could tell: A man had gotten a transplanted kidney from a woman who had uterine cancer and didn't know it. Vincent Liew decided to keep the kidney after his transplant surgeon concluded there was only a slim chance he could be sickened by the feminine cancer - advice that gambled with Liew's life and lost, a lawyer for his widow told jurors Thursday in what experts say may be the only known case of uterine cancer being transmitted by transplant. Jurors began deliberating the case against NYU Langone Medical Center Thursday afternoon and were to return on Friday. Langone should be held responsible "for taking a huge risk with Vincent Liew's life" by not urging him to have the kidney removed at once, Daniel Buttafuoco said during closing arguments in the medical-malpractice case, which is refreshing longstanding questions about organ transplant risks and rewards. [More>>cbsnews.com]

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05.28.10 Obama visits threatened Louisiana beach

NEW ORLEANS (AP) May 28 - Intent on showing firm command of the deepening Gulf Coast crisis, President Barack Obama flew to Louisiana Friday and personally inspected a beach jeopardized by America’s largest-ever oil spill...Obama called reporters traveling with him to the water’s edge to point out some pebble-sized tar balls. [Full story>>msnbc.msn.com]

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05.27.10 Lehman Brothers estate sues JPMorgan Chase

NEW YORK (AP) May 27 - The estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. claims that JPMorgan Chase & Co. helped drive Lehman into bankruptcy by forcing it to give up billions of dollars in cash reserves that it otherwise could have used to stay afloat. The Lehman estate alleges in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that JPMorgan forced the now-failed bank to put up collateral that sapped Lehman of cash that, at the least, would have enabled it to wind down operations in an orderly process. Lehman filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, helping spark one of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. It was the largest bankruptcy filing in US history. JPMorgan spokesman Joe Evangelisti said, "the lawsuit is ill-conceived and meritless." JPMorgan will defend itself against the claims, he added. [More>>washingtonpost.com]

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05.27.10 BP used cheaper casing on oil well to save money, Congress papers show

May 27 - The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that precipitated the vast Gulf of Mexico oil spill came after the well was capped with a relatively cheap type of casing, BP papers have revealed. The decision to use the riskier method to finish its Macondo well was taken partly on cost grounds, according to the document. In the days before the blast, the oil giant selected a casing that provided only a single layer of protection to prevent gas from leaking into the well, according the details obtained by The New York Times from a Congressional investigator. Workers on the rig and from BP have said that gas bubbled into the well and was a key factor in causing the April 20 blowout, which killed 11 people.

BP described the approach to finishing the well as the "best economic case" in the document, which has appeared following Congressional hearings into the cause of the accident. News of the decision emerged as Douglas H. Brown, chief mechanic on the Deepwater Horizon rig, testified yesterday that a disagreement took place on the rig between one of the six BP engineers overseeing the operation and employees of Transocean, the owner of the rig, just a few hours before the blast took place. Mr. Brown told the hearing that the “skirmish” followed BP's decision to withdraw heavy drilling mud from the well that was helping to control pressure inside it and to replace it with lighter saltwater before the well was capped with a final dollop of cement. [More>>timesonline.co.uk]

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05.27.10 Obama defends oil spill response, cites mistakes

May 27 - President Obama today said that the unprecedented oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been his administration's highest priority since the day the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20. "The day the rig collapsed... I had my team in the Oval Office in the first day," Mr. Obama said. "This has been our highest priority since this crises occurred." The administration has come under fire for appearing to let oil company BP take the lead in the clean up and containment efforts as millions of gallons of oil pour into the Gulf. The president himself has been criticized for not giving enough attention to the issue; tomorrow will be just his second trip to the affected region since the rig explosion.

In his first press conference since the disaster began, the president today acknowledged the government's shortcomings in its response; however, he insisted his administration is doing everything possible to address the ongoing crisis. "From the moment this disaster began, the federal government has been in charge of the response effort," he said, maintaining that "BP is responsible for this disaster." BP is operating at the federal government's direction, Mr. Obama said, but the oil company must carry out the containment efforts because its technology is superior to the government's. [More>>cbsnews.com]

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05.27.10 2nd Iceland volcano issues ominous warning

LONDON, May 27 - Scientists say a more powerful Katla volcano is 'close to failure.' A second, much larger volcano in Iceland is showing signs that it may be about to erupt, scientists have warned. Since the start of the Eyjafjallajökull eruption, which caused cancellations of thousands of flights in Europe because of a giant ash cloud, there has been much speculation about neighboring Katia. An initial research paper by the University College of London Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction said: "Analysis of the seismic energy released around Katla over the last decade or so is interpreted as providing evidence of a rising ... intrusive magma body on the western flank of the volcano."... Icelandic President Ólafur Grímsson has warned governments around Europe that a significant eruption at the volcano is close. "We [Iceland] have prepared ... it is high time for European governments and airline authorities all over Europe and the world to start planning for the eventual Katla eruption," he said. [Full story>>msnbc.msn.com]

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05.27.10 Protests across France against higher pension

PARIS (Reuters) May 27 - Tens of thousands of workers took to the streets in cities across France on Thursday to protest against government plans to raise the minimum retirement age of 60 as part of a reform of the costly pension system. Trade union leaders said the marches were the first step in a long struggle to defend the retirement age, a trademark reform of the late Socialist President Francois Mitterrand, against the current government which says it has no alternative. Transport was working almost normally and between 10 and 20 percent of public service workers went on strike in schools, the post office and France Telecom. A poll for the Le Parisien daily said 62 percent of those responding were ready to demonstrate. One of the earliest marches, in Marseille, drew a larger turnout than a previous protest day in March. Unions estimated the crowd at 80,000 while police gave a figure of 12,000. [More>>thestar.com.my]

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05.27.10 Afghans probe reports Pakistani militant leader killed

ASADABAD, Pakistan, May 27 - Afghan authorities were Thursday investigating reports that a Pakistani militant commander was killed while fighting in eastern Afghanistan, police said. Border police units in Nuristan province reported that Maulana Fazlullah, a hardline Taliban cleric who masterminded a two-year uprising in Pakistan's Swat valley, was among seven militants killed in fighting earlier this week. "Our units have reported that Fazlullah has been killed. We don't yet know if it's true or not. We're investigating this right now," senior police official General Mohammad Zaman told [a] foreign news agency. His men killed seven militants in fierce clashes in the troubled Bargi Matal district, he said. The bodies were recovered by the police, he said, adding: "We're investigating to find out if Maulana's body is among those seven." [>thenews.com.pk]

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05.27.10 Feds issue terror watch for the Texas / Mexico border

May 27 - The Department of Homeland Security is alerting Texas authorities to be on the lookout for a suspected member of the Somalia-based Al Shabaab terrorist group who might be attempting to travel to the US through Mexico, a security expert who has seen the memo tells FOXNews.com. The warning follows an indictment unsealed this month in Texas federal court that accuses a Somali man in Texas of running a "large-scale smuggling enterprise" responsible for bringing hundreds of Somalis from Brazil through South America and eventually across the Mexican border. Many of the illegal immigrants, who court records say were given fake IDs, are alleged to have ties to other now-defunct Somalian terror organizations that have merged with active organizations like Al Shabaab, al-Barakat and Al-Ittihad Al-Islami.

In 2008, the US government designated Al Shabaab a terrorist organization. Al Shabaab has said its priority is to impose Sharia, or Islamic law, on Somalia; the group has aligned itself with al-Qaeda and has made statements about its intent to harm the United States. In recent years, American Somalis have been recruited by Al Shabaab to travel to Somalia, where they are often radicalized by more extremist or operational anti-American terror groups, which Al Shabaab supports. The recruiters coming through the Mexican border are the ones who could be the most dangerous, according to law enforcement officials. Security experts tell FOXNews.com that the influx of hundreds of Somalis over the US border who allegedly have ties to suspected terror cells is evidence of a porous and unsecured border being exploited by groups intent on wrecking deadly havoc on American soil. [More>>foxnews.com]

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05.27.10 Report: Mexican drug lord killed in shootout

May 27 - The alleged leader of the Beltran Leyva drug trafficking organization was killed in a shootout with federal forces in northern Mexico, state media reported. Pedro Roberto Velazquez Amador, alias "La Pina," was killed in a shootout Wednesday morning, hours after a military convoy patrolling the San Pedro area in Monterrey was attacked by gunmen. Velazquez was killed in the subsequent shootout, state-run Notimex news agency reported. Pictures from a local newspaper showed the body of a man believed to be in his 30s and said to be Velazquez, lying in a puddle of water with a firearm in his hand. Velazquez is the alleged leader of the Beltran Leyva cartel in San Pedro, according to the National Defense Secretary of Mexico. [More>>cnn.com]

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05.27.10 Jihadists challenge Hamas western approach

GAZA, May 27 - Analysts warn they will not simply go away. Bandleader Jamal Al-Bayouk said he and his musicians would not risk performing in the southern Gaza Strip any more after extremists threatened to kill them at a wedding party. They had just finished performing east of Khan Younis when armed militants burst in, set fire to $40,000 worth of instruments and fired shots between the legs of band members...He said several other singers and members of bands had been beaten up by Qaeda style jihadists who disapprove of their music and added that in his opinion there could be further attacks as summer begins and people hold weddings and parties.

"I am afraid and I am not optimistic but I will continue because there are 20 families depending on my profession," Bayouk said. The threat comes from Salafi jihadists whose agenda of global holy war against the West is against the nationalist goals of Gaza's rulers Hamas, an Islamist movement which denies seeking to create a theocracy in the enclave...Last Sunday, masked gunmen vandalized a U.N.-run summer camp for children after Islamist militants accused the United Nations of promoting immorality among Gaza's Muslim youth. [Full story>>alarabiya.net]

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05.27.10 USAF jet breaks record for hypersonic flight

WASHINGTON (AP) May 27 - An experimental aircraft has set a record for hypersonic flight, flying more than 3 minutes at Mach 6 — six times the speed of sound. The X-51A Waverider was released from a B-52 Stratofortress off the southern California coast Wednesday morning, the Air Force reported on its website. Its scramjet engine accelerated the vehicle to Mach 6, and it flew autonomously for 200 seconds before losing acceleration. At that point the test was terminated. The Air Force said the previous record for a hypersonic scramjet burn was 12 seconds. "We are ecstatic to have accomplished many of the X-51A test points during its first hypersonic mission," said Charlie Brink, an X-51A program manager with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. [More>>cbsnews.com]

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05.26.10 'Political stupidity' : Democrat James Carville slams Obama's response to BP oil spill

May 26 - Democratic strategist said White House should've acted quickly:' We're about to die down here.'The White House is seemingly making an increased show of pressuring BP, but President Obama is facing political heat from within his own party for what some say has been a lackluster response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The "political stupidity is unbelievable," Democratic strategist James Carville said on "Good Morning America" today. "The president doesn't get down here in the middle of this. ... I have no idea of why they didn't seize this thing. I have no idea of why their attitude was so hands off here."

On Thursday, Obama will announce new measures the federal government will take to try to prevent any future BP oil spills, administration officials said. And on Friday, the president will visit the Gulf coast, his second trip to the region since the environmental disaster happened last month. But Carville said the Obama administration's response to the BP oil spill has been "lackadaisical," and that rather than place the blame on the previous administration, it should've done more to deal with BP and "inept bureaucrats," which would've in turn helped boost Obama's approval ratings. [More>>abcnews.go.com ; See related stories,

foxnews.com, May 26, "BP reveals 'fundamental mistake' on oil well" : Oil giant BP PLC told congressional investigators that a decision to continue work on an oil well in the Gulf of Mexico after a test warned that something was wrong may have been a "fundamental mistake," according to a memo released by two lawmakers Tuesday. The document describes a wide array of mistakes in the fateful final hours aboard the Deepwater Horizon — but the main revelation is that BP now says there was a clear warning sign of a "very large abnormality" in the well, but work proceeded anyway. The rig exploded about two hours later...

timesonline.co.uk, May 26, "Lloyd's syndicates launch legal action over BP insurance claim" : BP's attempts to limit the financial damage from the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico suffered a blow yesterday when almost half the syndicates in the Lloyd's of London insurance market launched a legal action against the company. The syndicates are attempting to block efforts by the oil giant to claim on cover held by the rig operator Transocean. BP, which had no external insurance in place for the accident, is trying to claim up to $700 million through a policy held by Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig that BP has blamed for the April 20 blast.

A spokesman for BP said: "We believe we may be entitled to coverage for the incident under Transocean's insurance." But in legal documents filed in a Houston court, 38 separate Lloyd's underwriting syndicates plus a string of other international insurers affected by the disaster, rejected BP's claim. They have asked a US judge to declare the group has “no additional-insured obligation to BP” for the clean-up or for any damages resulting from the spill. The Lloyd's syndicates claim that BP's contract to lease the rig from Transocean specifies that its insurers would only be held responsible for damage to the rig itself — not for pollution caused by a leak from it...

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05.26.10 Anger as Ground Zero 'mega' mosque backed

May 26 - A "mega" mosque could soon be built near Ground Zero in New York City after controversial plans were backed by a community board. A vote, during an unruly meeting on Tuesday, passed 29-to-1 in favour of the proposals. Ground Zero, in the city borough of Manhattan, is the site of one of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that left thousands dead. Board member Rob Townley said: "The mosque is a seed of peace. We believe that this is significant step in the Muslim community to counteract the hate and fanaticism in the minority of the community." But the vote sparked uproar, with protesters jeering: "You're building over a Christian cemetery," and waving banners saying: "Show respect for 3,000," referring to 9/11 victims.

Chaplain Viviana Hernandez said the victims' families "would be wounded by erecting a mega mosque so close to the place where their loved ones were massacred. Even though they may have altruistic reasons, the real terrorists will see it as a win on their side," he added. While those opposing the project said they were not anti-Muslim, they argued that building a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero was a step too far. The project involves an arts centre, swimming pool and child care facilities, as well as a worship space, the mosque's backers said...Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who heads an organization behind the project, said he understood the pain surrounding 9/11, but insisted there was nothing to fear from the plans. [Full story>>news.sky.com]

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05.26.10 'Palestinians are hijacked by Iran'

May 26 - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas came out against Iran on Wednesday, calling his people "hijacked, at the hands of the Iranians. The decision-making power is not in our hands," he told Egyptian television station Nile TV, possibly referring to Hamas's refusal to reconcile with Fatah at Teheran's behest. "The Palestinian people's unity... is not in our hands." Hamas announced on Monday that it would boycott the Palestinian municipal elections, saying the elections were being held under the supervision of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's "unconstitutional government." On Tuesday, PA security forces arrested dozens of Hamas men in the West Bank in response to the boycott. Abbas went on to say that the Second Intifada was "one of the biggest mistakes of our lives. [Former PA chief Yasser] Arafat did not want the Second Intifada to spread, but he was unable to stop it."

On the recently launched proximity talks, the PA president asserted that "peace could be achieved in a week" if Israel would actively pursue it. However, he charged, Israel is not "serious" in respect to negotiations. "While the Arabs do not want war with Israel, Israel does not want negotiations," he said. When asked about the Palestinian boycott on products made in West Bank settlements, Abbas clarified that he was not protesting against Israel. "I am not boycotting Israel or its products, I am boycotting settlement goods, as these products are being manufactured on our land." [>jpost.com]

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05.26.10 Rahm Emanuel invites Netanyahu to discuss shared 'security interests' with Obama

May 26 - White House chief of staff gives prime minister official invitation to Washington during Jerusalem trip. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington for talks with the US President Obama on regional peace and security. "On behalf of the President I am happy to extend an invitation to come and visit President Obama in the White House for a working meeting to discuss our shared security interests, as well as our close cooperation in achieving peace between Israel and its neighbors," Emanuel told Netanyahu at the prime minister's Jerusalem office. Emanuel's reference to "security interests" will be widely interpreted as an allusion to Iran, which the allies accuse of using a civilian nuclear program to mask designs on a bomb — a charge the Iranians deny.

In the run-up to the planned meeting between Netanyahu and Obama, Jewish leaders scrambled to set up meetings with members of senior US officials and congressional leaders on America's position on both Israel and Iran. Israeli sources said that Obama's snap decision to invite Netanyahu to Washington was an attempt to obliterate the memory of the two leaders' previous White House meeting in March, when the press was barred and the White House did not even release a joint photo of the two leaders. This treatment — so different from the warm and well-publicized meetings Obama had held with various Arab leaders who visited Washington — was viewed by many as a deliberate snub. [More>>haaretz.com]

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05.26.10 Israeli warplanes hit Gaza targets, 15 wounded

GAZA, May 26 - Hamas training camp targeted by Israeli airstrikes. Fifteen people were wounded in overnight Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian hospital officials said early Wednesday. The airstrikes came after the Israeli military reported that Palestinian fighters on Tuesday had blown up a donkey cart filled with dynamite near the concrete wall that separates Gaza from Israel and fired several mortar rounds into Israel. No Israelis were injured. Officials at the hospital in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza say 15 people, mostly civilians, were injured when Israeli warplanes targeted a Hamas training camp in the area. An Israeli defense spokesman confirmed the raids. Palestinian sources say Israeli F-16's carried out another airstrike against the inoperative Yasser Arafat International Airport in Rafah. No injuries were reported in this attack. [More>>alarabiya.net]

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05.26.10 Explosion rocks Afghan city

May 26 - A large explosion has rocked the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, injuring two people and destroying several vehicles in front of a building used by NATO forces. "It was a car bomb," Mohammed Shah Farouqi, a city police official, said on Wednesday. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. Shafiq Afzali, the Kandahar police chief, said that the blast was in a parking lot used by Afghans visiting Camp Nathan Smith — a base that houses hundreds of US and Canadian soldiers and government employees. [More>>aljazeera.net]

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05.26.10 Russian lawmaker warns US, NATO on failure to tackle Afghan drugs

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) May 26 - Russia should close the cargo transit for the United States and NATO to Afghanistan until they start destroying poppy plantations there, a Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday. "NATO and the United States are not interested in combating drug trafficking in Afghanistan," said Semyon Bagdasarov, a member of the State Duma International Affairs Committee. Moscow has criticized US-led forces in Afghanistan for failing to eradicate heroin production and warned over the weekend that drug trafficking was endangering Russia's national security. Russia says production of heroin in Afghanistan has increased almost tenfold since the US-led invasion to oust the Taliban began in 2001.

Bagdasarov, a member of the pro-Kremlin A Just Russia party faction, said drug traffickers had penetrated "all structures of Afghan society, as well as the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan." He said the United States and NATO as a whole should be given an ultimatum: Either they destroy poppy plantations in Afghanistan "or we will raise the question of halting the transit and banning our airlines from participating in tenders for cargo transit." He stressed there was no more effective method of combating illicit drugs than destroying them where they grow, that is at the beginning of the drug traffic chain. [More>>en.rian.ru]

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05.26.10 Kremlin tells Iran to stop 'political demagoguery'

MOSCOW (Reuters) May 26 - The Kremlin's chief foreign policy adviser on Wednesday told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to refrain from "political demagoguery" after Tehran admonished Russia for supporting new sanctions. The public clash came after Ahmadinejad chided Russia for bowing to US pressure over new sanctions against Tehran and bluntly warned Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev to be more cautious. But Medvedev's top foreign policy advisor, Sergei Prikhodko, dismissed the criticism, saying Russia was neither pro-American nor pro-Iranian and that Moscow's policy was governed by the national interest. "No one has ever managed to preserve one's authority with political demagoguery. I am convinced, the thousand-year history of Iran itself is evidence of this," Prikhodko said in a statement. [More>>thestar.com.my]

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05.26.10 Space shuttle Atlantis lands for final time

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida, May 26 - After logging more than 120 million miles, shuttle safely back on earth following space station mission. Space shuttle Atlantis returned from orbit for the last time Wednesday, closing out a 25-year flying career and safely bringing back six astronauts who boosted the International Space Station's power and size. The smooth landing was indicative of the entire 12-day mission — NASA's third-to-last shuttle flight. "That was pretty sweet," Mission Control radioed after Atlantis glided through a clear morning sky and rolled down the runway. "That was a suiting end to an incredible mission." [More>>cbsnews.com]

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05.26.10 Madagascan bird declared extinct

LONDON, May 26 - The Alaotra Grebe, a small diving bird native to Madagascar has been officially classified extinct, according to a leading bird conservation organization. BirdLife International reported that the species, once found on Lake Alaotra, the largest lake in Madagascar, declined rapidly due to carnivorous fish being introduced to the lake and the use of nylon gill nets by local fishermen. "No hope now remains for this species. It is another example of how human actions can have unforeseen consequences," Dr. Leon Bennun, BirdLife International's director of science, policy and information said in a statement. Invasive alien species are causing extinctions around the globe, Bennun says, and are one of the major threats not just to birds but to other wildlife.

BirdLife International's report is the latest update to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species for birds and highlights additional cases of the negative impact of invasive species on bird life. The status of Zapata Rail — a blue/brown bird native to Southwest Cuba — was upgraded to "critically endangered" due to the introduction of mongoose and exotic catfish to its marshland habitat. In Asia and Australia, pollution of coastal wetlands is contributing to the falling populations of wading birds like the Great Knot and the Far Eastern Curlew. [More>>cnn.com]

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05.25.10 Risk-averse investors send stocks sliding on debt fears

May 25 - Shares on Wall Street and in Europe skidded Tuesday and the euro resumed its fall as concerns about public sector finances in Europe escalated. In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average declined 194.30 points or 1.9 percent; the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index declined 1.9 percent; and the Nasdaq dropped 1.9 percent. In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro-zone blue chips fell 2.7 percent, led lower by the Spanish bank, Santander, which fell 4.8 percent. The FTSE 100 index in London fell 2.5 percent. Most major markets across Europe were down at least 2 percent, with the main Spanish and Italian indexes down about 4 percent at one point. [More>>nytimes.com]

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05.25.10 BP shareholders hit management board with lawsuit

(Reuters) May 25 - Adding to mounting pressure from the US public and the Obama administration, BP was slapped with a lawsuit from its own shareholders Monday. The plaintiffs claim that the company's safety negligence has already exposed it to $40 billion in losses. Shareholders have sued the board of BP Plc for failing to monitor safety and exposing the company to potentially enormous liability related to the Deepwater spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, according to court documents. A month ago a rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and sending heavy oil into fragile marshlands on the fringes of the Mississippi Delta.

On Saturday, US President Barack Obama blamed the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill on "a breakdown of responsibility" at BP. "The Deepwater disaster will cause financial consequences to BP and the BP subsidiaries, which will be tabulated in the billions of dollars, including liability for damage to property, commercial interests and wildlife," said the complaint. The complaint said the disaster has wiped about $40 billion from BP's market value. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of shareholders by individual investor Robert Freedman and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, which runs Philadelphia's regional public transit and owns BP's American Depository Shares. [More>>france24.com]

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05.25.10 Grant death for blasphemy: Islamists to UN

May 25 - Demanding a permanent ban on Facebook, over two dozen Pakistani religious groups working under the umbrella of the JuD have decided to contact the UN for enacting a global law "against blasphemy of prophets and awarding death penalty to violators." The decision to contact the UN and envoys from Muslims and non-Muslim states was made at a meeting of clerics belonging to the JuD, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, Tanzeem-e-Islami, Markaz-e-Ahlesunnat, Muslim Conference, Jamat-e-Ahlehadis, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Pakistan Ulema Council and International Katham-e-Nabuwat. The meeting, held yesterday at the JuD's headquarters Markaz Alqaadsia in Chawburji, was presided over by JuD chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed.

"The ambassadors of Muslim and non-Muslim states will be told that blasphemy against prophets not only hurts the feelings of one religion but also sows a seed of hatred against the people of other religions," the meeting observed. The UN and envoys will be asked to support the enactment of an international law against blasphemy and the move to award the death penalty to violators, the meeting decided. "Leaders of the ruling as well as of the opposition parties will also be called for their support," the meeting decided. Speaking on the occasion, Saeed asked the Muslim world to unite, introduce its own currency and develop a joint defence system. The Muslim world should also spend the income from oil and other resources on the defence of Muslims, he said. "It is shameful that our rulers and opposition are not playing their due role to register the protest of the nation with the US and other countries over the posting of blasphemous cartoons on (Facebook)," Saeed said and demanded a permanent ban on Facebook. [>indianexpress.com]

Editorial note, "On the Islamist organizations behind the death penalty for blasphemy" : (from wikipedia.org):

♦ Jamaat-e-Islami - ...The Jamaat-e-Islami ^[1] (Urdu: جماعتِ اسلامی, Jamaat-i-Islami, "Islamic Party" Jamaat, JI) is a Muslim religious and political party in Pakistan. It was founded on 26 August 1941 in Lahore by Muslim theologian Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.^[2] and is the oldest religious party in Pakistan.^[2]...The Jamaat maintains close ties with international Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Within Pakistan, the Jamaat leads the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal alliance of religious parties.^[2]. A vanguard party, its members (or arkan) form an elite with "affiliates" (mutaffiq) and then "sympathisers" (hamdard) beneath them.^[2] The Jamaat's objectives are the "Iqamat-e-Deen" or "Nizam-e-Mustafa" - the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. The Jamaat opposes Westernization, ideologies such as capitalism, socialism and secularism, and practices such as bank interest and liberalist social mores.^[3

♦ Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan - The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Urdu: جمیعت علمائے اسلام) (Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI) is a political party in Pakistan. It formed a combined government in national elections 2002 and 2008...Ideologically, JUI is regarded as uncompromisingly rigid, insisting on strict enforcement of traditional Islamic law ^[3]. JUI helped establish thousands of madrasahs in Pakistan, more than any other religious movement, and is reported to have affiliations with the Taliban movement in Afghanistan ^[4]

♦ Tanzeem-e-Islami - The Tanzeem-e-Islami is an Islamic religious organisation based in Lahore, Pakistan. Founded in 1975 by religious scholar Dr. Israr Ahmed, it advocates the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in Pakistan and worldwide...

♦ Jamiat ahle Hadith (Jamat-e-Ahlehadis) - Jamiat Ahle Hadith (JA) (Assembly of followers the way of the prophet) is a religio-political party in Pakistan. It is part of the Islamic fundamentalist Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, that won at the last legislative elections, 20 October 2002 with 11.3 percent of the popular vote. Of the 272 seats in the legislature, the party has 53 elected members serving. It follows the Wahhabis. The party is currently led by Professor Sajid Mir.^[1]...The number of Ahle Hadith madrassa in Pakistan has grown from 134 in 1988 to 310 in 2000. The group has 17 organisations active in Pakistan, "looking after their own seminaries," three of them involved in jihad. The groups are described as "puritans" who "are also called wahhabi" and the majority of whom follow the lead of the ulema of Saudi Arabia.

♦ Katham-e-Nabuwat - This group is against Moslem heresies, particularly: "The followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, which are split into sects: the Qadianis, who openly deny the finality of the prophethood of Mohammad, and the Ahmadis, of Lahore, who recognize Mirza Ghulam Qadiani as being a figurative prophet, the promised Messiah, the reformer and the remodeller sent to mankind since the beginning of the fourteenth century of the Hijrite Calendar. This sect claims that Jesus Christ is the son of Yusuf the carpenter. It, too, rejects all prophets' miracles." (See khatmenubuwwat.org fatwa, 1984)

♦ Hafiz Mohd Saeed - Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (Urdu: حافظ محمد سعید) is the amir of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah,^[2] a nominal charity organization that is widely considered to be a cover organization for militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). India considers him one of its most wanted terrorists because of his alleged ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba and its involvement in attacks against India,^[3] and the United Nations declared Jama'at-ud-Da'wah a terrorist organisation in December 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader.^[1] According to Hafiz Saeed, he has no links with LeT.^[4][5] (See also Maravot News 9.27.09 article 9.21.09 Hafiz Saeed under house arrest: Pakistan media & google search of Maravot News, with many links and stories on Hafiz Saeed.)

A discussion on the status of "unbelievers," according to the Koran and Islamic scholars, is at Maravot News 4.09.09 "Koran advocates violence against unbelievers (kuffars) / enemies." A recent work of Maravot News, "The Allah Controversy," addresses the outreach of a large number of Muslim scholars in attempting to reconcile Islam with other faiths.

There is considerable disagreement among Muslim scholars on the justification of killing. See Maravot News 3.31.10 article 03.31.10 Muslim scholars recast jihadists' favorite fatwa : " Prominent Muslim scholars have recast a famous medieval fatwa on jihad, arguing the religious edict radical Islamists often cite to justify killing cannot be used in a globalized world that respects faith and civil rights. A conference in Mardin in southeastern Turkey declared the fatwa by 14th century scholar Ibn Taymiyya rules out militant violence and the medieval Muslim division of the world into a "house of Islam" and "house of unbelief" no longer applies. Osama bin Laden has quoted Ibn Taymiyya's "Mardin fatwa" repeatedly in his calls for Muslims to overthrow the Saudi monarchy and wage jihad against the United States. Referring to that historic document, the weekend conference said: "Anyone who seeks support from this fatwa for killing Muslims or non-Muslims has erred in his interpretation...."

Mel Copeland

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05.25.10 NATO installs surveillance system near Chaman border

CHAMAN, Pakistan, May 25 - NATO forces in Afghanistan have installed a sophisticated surveillance system along the Pak-Afghan border to monitor the movement of insurgents in the area. Equipped with more than half a dozen security cameras, the sprawling three hundred yards tall balloon type satellite tower has been installed at Spin Boldak town and can easily be seen from Chaman town, which lies about a kilometre south of Spin Boldak. An Afghan security official told on the conditions of anonymity that the tower would be instrumental to monitor the border especially during the Nato operation against the Taliban in Kandahar. He added that if needed, more such towers would be installed inside The Afghan territory adjoining Pakistan. [>thenews.com.pk]

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05.25.10 North Korean troops 'prepare for combat'

May 25 - North Korea's armed forces have reportedly been ordered to prepare for combat as tensions mount with the South over the deadly sinking of a warship. The North's leader Kim Jong-Il is thought to have told his military to be braced for war, as Seoul blares out its own propaganda into the neighbouring rival country. As part of psychological warfare operations, South Korea is placing loudspeakers at the border and is also using radio to broadcast messages into the North. South Korea is slashing trade and denying permission for the North's cargo ships to pass through the South's waters. The tensions also spooked global markets, with the FTSE 100 index of leading British companies falling by more than 2%. Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for a torpedo strike that sank the warship Cheonan and killed 46 sailors on March 26. A team of international investigators concluded last week that a torpedo from a North Korean submarine tore the Cheonan apart. [More>>news.sky.com]

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05.25.10 Dozens killed in Jamaican violence

May 25 - Twenty-seven people have been killed and 31 wounded in an assault on a suspected drug lord's compound in the Jamaican capital of Kingston, police said Tuesday. Security forces have been fighting some residents who want to prevent the extradition to the United States of Christopher "Dudus" Coke, who was charged last year in US federal court with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine and with conspiracy to traffic in firearms illegally. Police on Monday launched the assault on Coke's stronghold in downtown Kingston, and police are now battling his supporters there. One Jamaican Defense Force member was among the fatalities; 25 civilians and six defense force members were injured, police said.

Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding has declared a state of emergency in some parts of Kingston. Schools are closed in the capital, and the United States shut its embassy Tuesday, with only essential staff reporting to work. Coke maintains a heroic reputation in the Kingston slums, with some people comparing him to Robin Hood, Jesus and one-time Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar. He has helped the community by handing out food, sending children to school and building medical centers. But drug enforcement officials said he deserves to be classified as one of the world's most dangerous drug lords. [More>>cnn.com]

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05.25.10 Court issues Thaksin terror warrant

BANGKOK, May 25 - The Criminal Court on Tuesday approved the Department of Special Investigation's request for an arrest warrant for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on terrorism charges. The court approved the warrant after examining testimony given by DSI chief Tharit Pengdit, his deputy Pol Col Narat Savetanant and Pol Lt-Col Thawal Mangkhang, the DSI chief investigator, on Monday. The three presented the court with additional documents and clips of Thaksin speaking from abroad via video link to red-shirt rallies. The court examination on Monday was held in camera. No reporters were allowed in the courtroom. Pol Col Narat said after the court approved the warrant that the DSI would find out Thaksin's whereabouts.  After that the Office of the Attorney General would contact the countries concerned to seek Thaksin's extradition. [More>>bangkokpost.com]

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05.25.10 Turkey to Israel: Lift blockade of Gaza

May 25 - Israel warns it would block a fleet of nine ships carrying some 700 international pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian supplies from reaching Gaza. Turkey urged Israel on Tuesday to lift its blockade of Gaza and allow a Turkish-led convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to enter the Hamas-controlled enclave. Israel and Egypt closed Gaza's borders after Hamas took control of the territory in 2007 and refused to forswear violence against the Jewish state. Gaza's 1.5 million people face shortages of water and medicine. An international flotilla carrying some 10,000 tons of medical equipment, housing material and other supplies is expected to reach Israeli waters by Friday, according to a Turkey-based humanitarian aid group leading the effort. Speaking to reporters at a news conference during a UN meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said his government had been in touch with Israel about the aid convoy. [More>>haaretz.com]

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05.25.10 Nine dishes to avoid in chain restaurants

May 25 - Nutrition group highlights high-calorie, fatty menu items found in popular restaurants Across US. Just in time for the unofficial beginning of summer, when Americans pile into cars for Memorial Day weekend road trips, an organization Tuesday announced its annual list of foods in chain restaurants that travelers would be better off passing on US highways. The Center for Science in the Public Interest's "dishonorees" were picked for their high caloric intake and lack of nutrition. Americans are advised to consume about 2,000 calories per day and no more than 20 grams of saturated fat. The organization used those measures to pick the nine dishes as the worst diners could eat in 2010.

Winners ranged from the simple-sounding bacon cheeseburger (920 calories, 30 grams of saturated fat) at Five Guys burger joints to California Pizza Kitchen's Tostada Pizza with Grilled Steak (1,680 calories, 32 grams of saturated fat), which the center describes as "like eating a Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pepperoni Pizza topped with six Taco Bell Crunchy beef Tacos." ...At Bob Evans Restaurants, the Cinnamon Cream Stacked & Stuffed Hotcakes weighs in at 1,380 calories and 34 grams of saturated fat, and that's not counting syrup, which adds 200 more calories to each four tablespoons consumed. [Full story>>cbsnews.com]

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05.25.10 Hubble telescope catches planet eaten by star

BEIJING (Xinhuanet) May 25 - The Hubble space telescope has observed a planet in the Milky Way galaxy being devoured by its parent star, media reports said Tuesday. The doomed planet, dubbed WASP-12b, is to be found about 600 light-years away in the winter constellation Auriga, and is the hottest known planet in the galaxy with a surface temperature at around 1,500 degrees Celsius, researchers said. The planet is so close to its parent star that it can make the orbit around the star in slightly more than 24 hours, and is being stretched into the shape of an ellipse by enormous tidal forces. Previously, scientists had concluded in theory that planets can get absorbed by stars when they get too near to each other. However, it is the first time the phenomenon has been observed so clearly. Researchers made the observation by using a new instrument called the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph that was installed on Hubble last year. [>xinhuanet.com]

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05.23.10 Oil mars more than 50 miles of Louisiana shore

NEW ORLEANS (AP) May 23 - Officials Fear Aggressive Cleanup of Oil-Soaked Marshlands May Be Impossible. The gooey oil washing into the maze of marshes along the Gulf Coast could prove impossible to remove, leaving a toxic stew lethal to fish and wildlife, government officials and independent scientists said. Officials are considering some drastic and risky solutions: They could set the wetlands on fire or flood areas in hopes of floating out the oil. But they warn an aggressive cleanup could ruin the marshes and do more harm than good. The only viable option for many impacted areas is to do nothing and let nature break down the spill. More than 50 miles of Louisiana's delicate shoreline already have been soiled by the massive slick unleashed after BP's Deepwater Horizon burned and sank last month. Officials fear oil eventually could invade wetlands and beaches from Texas to Florida. Louisiana is expected to be hit hardest. On Saturday, a major pelican rookery was awash in oil off Louisiana's coast. Hundreds of birds nest on the island, and an Associated Press photographer saw some birds and their eggs stained with the ooze. Nests were perched in mangroves directly above patches of crude. [More>>cbsnews.com]

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05.23.10 Edible powder to contain oil spill

BEIJING, May 23 - Now that thick amounts of oil have washed up in areas surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. Hundreds of researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs are pitching their ideas for cleaning up the massive spill. Bob Ozer, a Turkish born, German educated engineer, claims to have a solution to the oil spill problem. Ozer's product is a food additive by-product that is non-hazardous, non-flammable and edible. He maintains that when his product is added to the oil-tainted water, it encapsulates the oil which can later be separated from the additive and can then be recycled...Since the spill occurred in late April, Ozer says he has devoted more than 15 thousand dollars and countless hours trying to market the benefits of his compound to BP and government officials. He also claims his product has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. [Full story>>xinhuanet.com]

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05.23.10 Fixing US oil spill is "no feat," say Iranians

TEHRAN (Reuters) May 23 - Plugging the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is no great challenge compared to what Iran has dealt with in the past, an official at Iran's drilling company said on Sunday. A long-standing adversary of the United States, oil producer Iran has offered to help fight the spill — a gesture unlikely to be taken up by Washington which is pushing for new UN sanctions against Tehran's nuclear programme. Two US cabinet members were to visit the Gulf Coast on Sunday, underscoring serious concerns over what some believe may be the worst oil spill in the United States.

Mehran Alinejad, the head of special drilling operations at the National Iranian Drilling Co., said Iran had successfully dealt with huge oil leaks in the past, particularly when rigs were bombed during a war with Iraq in the 1980s. "Iranian technical teams have had major achievements in oil well capping compared with which the Gulf of Mexico oil rig is no feat," he told IRNA news agency. Alinejad repeated Iran's offer of help. "There is at any rate an ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico whose negative consequences include everyone. That is why if we receive a suitable response from the officials of that country we can examine the issue and contribute to its resolution." [>thestar.com.my]

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05.23.10 Taliban earns 1,600 pound bounty for each NATO soldier killed

WASHINGTON, May 23 - Taliban rebels are reportedly earning a bounty of up to 1,660 pounds for each NATO soldier they kill. According to insurgent commanders, the money comes from protection rackets, taxes imposed on opium farmers, donors in the Gulf states who channel money through Dubai and from the senior Taliban leadership in Pakistan. They said the bounty had more than doubled since the beginning of last year. "We can't lie to our commanders: they can check to see if there was a fight in that area. We get money if we capture equipment too. A gun can fetch 690 pounds," The Times Online quoted a commander from Khost province, as saying. "It's a lot of money for us. We don't care if we kill foreigners: their blood allows us to feed our families and the more we kill, the more we weaken them. Of course we are going to celebrate this," another commander added. So far 213 NATO soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year, including 41 British troops, bringing the potential rewards for the Taliban to 350,000 pounds. [>indianexpress.com]

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05.23.10 US cleric urges Muslims to kill American troops

DUBAI, May 23 - Awlaki urges to step up attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan. A US-born militant cleric has urged Muslims to kill US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and vowed to step up attacks against the US military, according to a videotape released on Sunday. Anwar al-Awlaki, wanted dead or alive by US authorities, is a leading figure linked to al-Qaeda's Yemen-based wing. He is believed to be on the run in the impoverished Gulf Arab state. "Muslims should object to what's going on either verbally or by physical action," Awlaki said in the 45-minute interview posted on an Islamist website. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the recording. Awlaki praised the actions of US Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan who shot dead 13 people at Fort Hood, a Texas army base, in November. "Nidal was my student ... I'm proud of Nidal Hasan and this was a heroic act," he said, adding: "Who can object to what he did? He killed soldiers on their way to Iraq and Afghanistan." [More>>alarabiya.net]

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05.23.10 Troops kill 50 militants in Orakzai

ORAKZAI AGENCY, Pakistan, May 23 - At least 50 militant were killed and dozens other wounded in fresh aerial strikes here on Sunday. According to sources, helicopter gunships and jet planes pounded militant dens in Upper Orakzai areas of Khadizai and Mamozai, killing 50 fighters and injuring 20 others. As a result of the shelling, a training facility and six hideouts being used by Taliban militants were destroyed. So far more than 900 militants were killed in Orakzai operation started by security forces some two months back. In addition, more than 100 hideouts used by militants were also destroyed in the offensive. [>thenews.com.pk]

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05.23.10 Syria calls for West to reconsider its approaches on Middle East as region has changed

May 23 - Syria has called for the West to reconsider its approaches on the Middle East as the region has changed, Syrian Arab News Agency reported citing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "The West must understand that the region has changed and that the language, policy and approach used by the countries in the past in regards to the region are no longer acceptable, as is a silence towards Israel's violations and its attempts to spark wars and conflicts," Syrian president said during his meeting with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Damascus on Sunday. "It is also no longer acceptable to keep silent over Israel's violations and its sowing the seeds of sedition in the region," he continued.

"If the West wants security and stability in our region, it must start playing an active role to rein in Israel and curb its extremist and dangerous tendencies on the region's security and stability." The sides also discussed Iranian nuclear issue with Syrian president stressing the importance of the agreement signed between Iran, Brazil and Turkey. He added that the deal became evidence that the accurate approach leads to positive consequences. Last week Israel strongly criticized Russia's plans to supply arms to Syria, saying the move would not help efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. [More>>en.rian.ru]