The US president appears to have ruled out shrinking the war in Afghanistan to a smaller, counterterrorism effort, but gave no clear signal on whether he would send more troops to fight in the eight-year-old war. Barack Obama met Republican and Democratic leaders of key war oversight and appropriations committees at the White House on Tuesday, part of an extensive review of the war effort in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The politicians praised Obama for his candour and interest in listening, but emerged from the 90-minute closed-door meeting much as they entered: Republicans pushing Obama to follow his military commanders' advice to boost troop numbers and Democrats saying he should not be rushed. The president himself did no show his hand on either the 40,000 more soldiers his commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, wants, or a smaller build-up, officials said. Extreme options dropped But Obama did try to "dispense with the more extreme options on either side of the debate", as one administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, put it. The president made clear he would not build up US forces into the hundreds of thousands, just as he ruled out reducing the campaign to a counterterrorism effort, with a large scale withdrawal and an emphasis on special operations forces focused on the region bordering Pakistan, senior aides said. A recent report by McChrystal, the head of US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, said the military mission risked failure unless more US troops were sent. McChrystal is understood to be seeking between 30,000 and 40,000 more troops to be deployed, but some Obama administration officials have expressed concerns that too large a US military presence runs the risk of alienating the Afghan population.
Obama, who has already added 21,000 troops to the campaign this year, raising the total to 68,000 US troops, is under growing pressure from the US public and his political opponents over the war, which marks its eighth year on Wednesday. Nearly 900 US soldiers have died in the war which was launched after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US after Afghanistan's Taliban rulers were accused of sheltering al-Qaeda fighters and leaders. And the number of fatalities this year - more than 230 - is already the highest in a year so far. The White House said prior to Tuesday's meeting that Obama considered it "tremendously important" to listen to congress about the war but would not base his decision on the mood on Capitol Hill or waning public support for the war. "The president is going to make a decision - popular or unpopular - based on what he thinks is in the best interests of the country," Robert Gibbs, his press secretary, said. The president gave no timetable for a decision on troop numbers, which prompted a sharp exchange with John McCain, his Republican opponent in last year's election, according to officials at Tuesday's meeting. Bipartisan backing Obama told the legislators he would show urgency but also be deliberate and decide on troop numbers only after settling on the strategy ahead. Harry Reid, the Democratic senate majority leader, said Democrats and Republicans told Obama during the meeting that they would rally behind him whatever decision he made."The one thing that I think was interesting is that everyone, Democrats and Republicans, said, 'Whatever decision you make, we'll support it,' basically," Reid said. But Mitch McConnell, the senior Republican in the senate, put it differently. "I think Republicans will be able to make the decisions for themselves," he said. However, he said that a significant number of Republicans would back Obama's next move if he listened to his military commanders. John Boehner, the House Republican leader, said he recognised that Obama had "a tough decision, and he wants ample time to make a good decision". "Frankly, I support that, but we need to remember that every day that goes by, the troops that we do have there are in greater danger," Boehner said. Mike Soraghan, a congressional correspondent for The Hill newspaper, told Al Jazeera that US politicians were beginning to "go to their corners and stake out positions" on Afghanistan. "A lot of Democrats are coming out against this plan by McChrystal ... they are expressing strong doubts about it. [But] Republicans are very much supporting the idea of escalating the war," he said. "If [Obama] is going to order 40,000 more troops, he will probably need Republican votes to sustain that. It would probably come down to a vote on funding [for the war] next year." |
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Obama rules out smaller Afghan war
New ring detected around Saturn
  The outer E-ring on Saturn extends about 240,000km into space A colossal new ring has been identified around Saturn. The dusty hoop extends some 13 million km (8 million miles) from the planet, about 50 times further out into space than its more familiar rings. Scientists tell the journal Nature that the tenuous ring is probably made up of debris kicked off Saturn's moon Phoebe by small impacts. They think this dust then migrates towards the planet where it is picked up by another Saturnian moon, Iapetus.
The discovery would appear to resolve a longstanding mystery in planetary science: why the walnut-shaped Iapetus has a two-tone complexion, with one side of the moon significantly darker than the other. "It has essentially a head-on collision. The particles smack Iapetus like bugs on a windshield," said Anne Verbiscer from the University of Virginia, US. Observations of the material coating the dark face of Iapetus indicate it has a similar composition to the surface material on Phoebe. The scale of the new ring feature is astonishing. Nothing like it has been seen elsewhere in the Solar System. The more easily visible outlier in Saturn's famous bands of ice and dust is its E-ring, which encompasses the orbit of the moon Enceladus. This circles the planet at a distance of just 240,000km. The newly identified torus is not only much broader and further out, it is also tilted at an angle of 27 degrees to the plane on which the more traditional rings sit.
This in itself strongly links the ring's origin to Phoebe, which also takes a highly inclined path around Saturn. Scientists suspected the ring might be present and had the perfect tool in the Spitzer space telescope to confirm it. The US space agency observatory is well suited to picking up the infrared signal expected from cold grains of dust about 10 microns (millionths of a metre) in size. The ring would probably have a range of particle sizes - some bigger than this, and some smaller - and modelling indicates the pressure of sunlight would push the smallest of these grains towards the orbit of Iapetus, which is circling Saturn at a distance of 3.5 million km. "The particles are very, very tiny, so the ring is very, very tenuous; and actually if you were standing in the ring itself, you wouldn't even know it," Dr Verbiscer told BBC News. "In a cubic km of space, there are all of 10-20 particles." Indeed, so feeble is the ring that scientists have calculated that if all the material were gathered up it would fill a crater on Phoebe no more than a kilometre across. The moon is heavily pockmarked. It is clear that throughout its history, Phoebe has been hit many, many times by objects. Some will also have been orbiting Saturn; others will have come from deep space. | ||||
The particles smack Iapetus like bugs on a windshield 
UN council to discuss Gaza report
Members of the UN Security Council will meet to discuss Libya's request for an emergency session on a report that claimed war crimes were committed by Israel during last year's offensive on Gaza. Le Luong Minh, Vietnam's ambassador who holds the council presidency this month, said that he had scheduled closed-door talks for Wednesday after receiving a request from Libya, the only Arab member on the 15-nation council. Libya circulated a letter on Tuesday on behalf of the UN Arab group urgently seeking "an emergency meeting" of the council to consider the Goldstone report, Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy ambassador, said. The UN Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, Switzerland, postponed a vote last Friday on a resolution that would have condemned Israel's failure to co-operate with its investigation into the December-January war. Israel launched a major offensive on the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip in December 2008, saying it wanted to stop rockets fired by Hamas into its territory. At least 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died during the three-week war. Libyan initiative Ahmed Gebreel, a Libyan spokesman, said his country had requested the meeting "because of the seriousness of the report and because we think it's too long to wait until March". Palestinians, including Fatah, the party of President Mahmoud Abbas, have strongly criticised the Goldstone vote postponement, holding him responsible for the decision. But following Libya's request, the Palestinian Observer Mission at the UN expressed "full support" for the move. "We are welcoming Libya's step that they have asked the Security Council to meet to discuss the Goldstone report," Abbas told the AFP news agency in a telephone conversation from Rome, the Italian capital. "Libya's step is supporting the Palestinian people's rights." Palestine TV, the official television channel of the Palestinian Authority (PA), reported that Abbas would send Riyadh al-Malki, the Palestinian foreign minister, to New York to assist in the Libyan bid to have the council address the report. The Security Council session, however, may not be enough to limit the political damage suffered by Abbas, and by extension Fatah. Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said that the controversy surrounding the Goldstone report could affect the Palestinian reconciliation deal which Egypt has said will be signed later this month. "All the Palestinian factions, including Hamas, are angry at the [Palestinian] Authority after what happened with the Goldstone report and this could affect the arrangements for the [reconciliation] dialogue," he said on Wednesday. "According to Egyptian arrangements up to now, the delegations are due to go to Cairo ... and Egypt is to fix the date of the signing of the deal." Telltale videotape The diplomatic and political developments came a day after a Palestinian news agency, Shahab, reported that PA representatives at a meeting in the US initially rejected Israel's request not to endorse the Goldstone report. But, then, Brigadier Eli Avraham, an Israeli representative, played a videotape showing a meeting between Abbas and Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister during the Gaza war, in which Tzipi Livni, Israel's former foreign minister, was also present. The tape showed Abbas trying to convince Barak to continue the offensive, according to Shahab.Avraham also played an audiotape of a telephone call between Dov Weissglass, a senior Israeli official, and al-Tayyib Abdul Rahim, secretary-general of the Palestinian president's office. In the conversation, Abdul Rahim noted that circumstances were suitable for entry of the Israeli army into Jabalya and al-Shatea refugee camps, and said that the fall of these two camps would end Hamas's rule in Gaza Strip, Shahab said. Weissglass then told Abdul Rahim that such an army operation would lead to the deaths of thousands of civilians, but, according to Shahab, Abdul Rahim said: "They have all elected Hamas, so they are the ones who have chosen their fate, not us." The Israeli delegation warned the PA representatives that it would present the recorded material to the UN and news organisations, forcing the Palestinians to accede to Israel's demand to delay the vote on the Goldstone report, Shahab said. The Palestinian news agency's report on alleged Israeli arm-twisting appeared on the same day that a senior Qatari foreign ministry official said the Palestinians missed a rare chance by delaying the UNHRC vote. Sheikh Khaled bin Jassem al-Thani, head of ministry's human rights department, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the Palestinian representative to the council had requested a delay until the next meeting in March. "The Palestinian decision was based on their wishes ... and member states could not take unilateral measures contrary to the wishes of the Palestinian Authority," he said. "There were many countries that supported [the report and a vote] ... it could have been adopted, but I think that an opportunity was missed and it may not come back." |
Kenya clans 'rearm for 2012 poll'
.jpg) Tens of thousands were left homeless after the last election Rival ethnic groups in Kenya who fought after the 2007 election are rearming in readiness for violence at the 2012 poll, a BBC investigation has found. It is feared villagers in Rift Valley province are moving from traditional weapons such as spears to machine guns. Government officials insist they are tackling the influx of illegal arms. But they have been widely criticised for failing to punish the ringleaders of violence after the 2007 election, in which 1,300 people died. A power-sharing government was formed in early 2008 to quell the violence. It has been under international pressure to investigate the killings ever since, but its failure to organise a local tribunal has forced the International Criminal Court to step in to prosecute suspects. Ethnic arms race The BBC's Network Africa programme discovered arms dealers selling sophisticated weaponry in the Rift Valley - an area hard-hit by ethnic violence in early 2008.One arms dealer told the programme supply was high and prices were low at the moment. "Right now we have AK47 rifles for sale but there are times when we also sell G3s [rifles]," he said. "In a month we sell more than 100 rifles." Members of the Kalenjin community and their rivals, the Kikuyu - the country's dominant ethnic group - both said they were arming to protect themselves. "We bought the guns because we hear the Kikuyu have also bought guns," said a Kalenjin man who declined to be named. "Before we were using bows and arrows to fight the enemy but changed to guns following the post-election experience because we realised, compared to guns, the arrows were child's play." A member of the Kikuyu community said he was not willing to "wait until 2012 to be killed". "We have to arm ourselves. I did not acquire this gun to commit offences," he said. 'Time-bomb' For weeks after the 2007 election the two communities fought in bloody clashes. The Kalenjins were convinced their candidate, Raila Odinga, had been cheated of victory by President Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu. After weeks of bloodshed, the two men formed a power-sharing government with the president keeping his job and Mr Odinga being brought in as prime minister. But the UN has warned that a similar flare-up could occur after the 2012 vote unless Kenya strengthens its institutions and the perpetrators of the 2007 violence are punished. Kipkorir Ngetich, of the Eldoret human rights group expressed similar fears and said his research backed the BBC's findings - that the communities are rearming. "We are appealing to the government to investigate the matter because it is a time-bomb that will soon explode," he said. Kenya's deputy minister for internal security, Orwa Ojode, said he was aware of the problem and had ordered the police to clamp down on the sales. "We will definitely apprehend those who are behind the sale of illegal arms," he said. He blamed the country's porous borders and its proximity to unstable states like Somalia for the influx of guns. | |
Palestine Supports Libya’s Demand to Convene Security Council on Goldstone Report
NEW YORK, October 7, 2009 (WAFA)- The Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to UN affirmed its full support for the Libyan request to the UN security council to convene an emergency meeting to consider the report of the UN fact finding mission on Gaza Conflict (Goldstone Report).
The Mission said it will work diligently with Arab group and all other groups inside and outside the Security Council to insure that this important meeting is convened to address this extremely serious issue, in line with Council’s Charter responsibility to deal with such critical matters of international peace and security and in line with the recommendations made in Goldstone Report.
Obama 'not cutting' Afghan troops
US President Barack Obama has said his review of Afghan strategy will not look at pulling out or cutting troop levels. Mr Obama told key members of Congress that he would decide on a course of action with a sense of urgency - but that not everyone would be pleased. But a source said he did not pledge to increase troop numbers as his top general in Afghanistan wants. The meeting came on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the start of the US-led Afghan military operation. It was launched to oust the Taliban from Afghanistan following the 11 September attacks on the US. 'Rigorous and deliberate' About 30 senior congressional figures - Democrats and Republicans - had been invited to the meeting with the US leader.Divisions are emerging between some Democrats concerned by the prospect of deploying more US forces to Afghanistan and some Republicans urging the Obama administration to follow the advice of top generals and increase troop levels. President Obama told the group that his assessment would be "rigorous and deliberate" and that he would continue to work with Congress in the best interests of US and international security. According to one White House source, he told the meeting that he would not shrink the number of troops in Afghanistan or opt for a strategy of merely targeting al-Qaeda leaders. But he would not be drawn on sending additional troops - which his top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, requested last week. Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that there had been some agreement but also some "diversity of opinion" during the talks. Former Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain urged Mr Obama to take heed of the advice given by generals on the ground. A US official, quoted by Reuters news agency, said of the meeting: "He... made it clear that his decision won't make everybody in the room or the nation happy, but underscored his commitment to work on a collaborative basis." Afghan strategy The BBC's Mark Mardell, in Washington, says there appears to be a frustration that the review of strategy has some times been portrayed in black and white terms of a massive increase or reduction of troop numbers.
Dr Anthony Cordesman, an adviser to General McChrystal, told the BBC the decision was much more complex than was being portrayed. "It is a very big decision and it involves a great deal more than simply troop levels. "There's a decision as to what strategy to pursue, how committed to stay in Afghanistan, how to deal with Nato and Isaf [International Assistance Security Force] allies, how to reshape the aid programme - and how to deal with the future of the Afghan government. "So this is much more than simply a military strategy decision." 'Serious' By the end of 2009 there will be a total of 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan, based on current deployment plans. President Obama has said the strategy in Afghanistan must be agreed before a decision can be made on troop numbers. Gen McChrystal had described the situation in Afghanistan as "serious" and is believed to have requested up to 40,000 additional troops. He is believed to want the focus of the strategy to fall on protecting the Afghan people and carrying the fight to the Taliban. Future US strategy will be discussed in a series of Obama administration meetings this week. On Wednesday President Obama is holding his third of five meetings with his National Security Council, as well as field commanders and regional ambassadors. | |||
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
U.S. story on Iran nuke facility doesn't add up
The story line that dominated media coverage of the second Iranian uranium enrichment facility last week was the official assertion that U.S. intelligence had caught Iran trying to conceal a "secret" nuclear facility.
But an analysis of the transcript of that briefing by senior administration officials that was the sole basis for the news stories and other evidence reveals damaging admissions, conflicts with the facts and unanswered questions that undermine its credibility.
Iran's notification to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the second enrichment facility in a letter on Sep. 21 was buried deep in most of the news stories and explained as a response to being detected by U.S. intelligence. In reporting the story in that way, journalists were relying entirely on the testimony of "senior administration officials" who briefed them at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh Friday.
U.S. intelligence had "learned that the Iranians learned that the secrecy of the facility was compromised", one of the officials said, according to the White House transcript. The Iranians had informed the IAEA, he asserted, because "they came to believe that the value of the facility as a secret facility was no longer valid..."
Later in the briefing, however, the official said "we believe", rather than "we learned", in referring to that claim, indicating that it is only an inference rather than being based on hard intelligence.
The official refused to explain how U.S. analysts had arrived at that conclusion, but an analysis by the defence intelligence consulting firm IHS Jane's of a satellite photo of the site taken last Saturday said there is a surface-to-air missile system located at the site.
Since surface-to-air missiles protect many Iranian military sites, however, their presence at the Qom site doesn't necessarily mean that Iran believed that Washington had just discovered the enrichment plant.
The official said the administration had organized an intelligence briefing on the facility for the IAEA during the summer on the assumption that the Iranians might "choose to disclose the facility themselves". But he offered no explanation for the fact that there had been no briefing given to the IAEA or anyone else until September 24 - three days after the Iranians disclosed the existence of the facility.
A major question surrounding the official story is why the Barack Obama administration had not done anything – and apparently had no plans to do anything - with its intelligence on the Iranian facility at Qom prior to the Iranian letter to the IAEA. When asked whether the administration had intended to keep the information in its intelligence briefing secret even after the meeting with the Iranians on Oct. 1, the senior official answered obliquely but revealingly, "I think it's impossible to turn back the clock and say what might have been otherwise."
In effect, the answer was no, there had been no plan for briefing the IAEA or anyone.
News media played up the statement by the senior administration official that U.S. intelligence had been "aware of this facility for years".
But what was not reported was that he meant only that the U.S. was aware of a possible nuclear site, not one whose function was known.
The official in question acknowledged the analysts had not been able to identify it as an enrichment facility for a long time. In the "very early stage of construction," said the official, "a facility like this could have multiple uses." Intelligence analysts had to "wait until the facility had reached the stage of construction where it was undeniably intended for use as a centrifuge facility," he explained.
The fact that the administration had made no move to brief the IAEA or other governments on the site before Iran revealed its existence suggests that site had not yet reached that stage where the evidence was unambiguous.
A former U.S. official who has seen the summary of the administration's intelligence used to brief foreign governments told me he doubts the intelligence community had hard evidence that the Qom site was an enrichment plant. "I think they didn't have the goods on them," he said.
Also misleading was the official briefing's characterization of the intelligence assessment on the purpose of the enrichment plant. The briefing concluded that the Qom facility must be for production of weapons-grade enriched uranium, because it will accommodate only 3,000 centrifuges, which would be too few to provide fuel for a nuclear power plant.
According to the former U.S. official who has read the briefing paper on the intelligence assessment, however, the paper says explicitly that the Qom facility is "a possible military facility". That language indicates that intelligence analysts have suggested that the facility may be for making low-enriched rather than for high-enriched, bomb-grade uranium.
It also implies that the senior administration official briefing the press was deliberately portraying the new enrichment facility in more menacing terms than the actual intelligence assessment.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's offer the day after the denunciation of the site by U.S. , British and French leaders to allow IAEA monitoring of the plant will make it far more difficult to argue that it was meant to serve military purposes.
The circumstantial evidence suggests that Iran never intended to keep the Qom facility secret from the IAEA but was waiting to make it public at a moment that served its political-diplomatic objectives.
The Iranian government is well aware of U.S. capabilities for monitoring from satellite photographs any site in Iran that exhibits certain characteristics.
Iran obviously wanted to make the existence of the Qom site public before construction on the site would clearly indicate an enrichment purpose. But it gave the IAEA no details in its initial announcement, evidently hoping to find out whether and how much the United States already knew about it.
The specific timing of the Iranian letter, however, appears to be related to the upcoming talks between Iran and the P5+1 - China, France, Britain, Russia, the United States and Germany - and an emerging Iranian strategy of smaller back-up nuclear facilities that would assure continuity if Natanz were attacked.
The Iranian announcement of that decision on September 14 coincided with a statement by the head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, warning against preemptive strikes against the country's nuclear facilities.
The day after the United States, Britain and France denounced the Qom facility as part of a deception, Salehi said, "Considering the threats, our organization decided to do what is necessary to preserve and continue our nuclear activities. So we decided to build new installations which will guarantee the continuation of our nuclear activities which will never stop at any cost."
As satellite photos of the site show, the enrichment facility at Qom is being built into the side of a mountain, making it less vulnerable to destruction, even with the latest bunker-busting U.S. bombs.
The pro-administration newspaper Kayhan quoted an "informed official" as saying that Iran had told the IAEA in 2004 that it had to do something about the threat of attack on its nuclear facilities "repeatedly posed by the western countries".
The government newspaper called the existence of the second uranium enrichment plan "a winning card" that would increase Iran's bargaining power in the talks. That presumably referred to neutralizing the ultimate coercive threat against Iran by the United States.
-- Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist with Inter-Press Service specialising in US national security policy. The paperback edition of his latest book, "Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam", was published in 2006. This article appeared in CounterPunch.org.Fresh flood threat to Krishna, Guntur
IN ALL ITS FURY: A swollen Krishna is a few feet away from the railway track downstream of the Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada on Monday. According to irrigation authorities, this is the heaviest flood in the river in more than 106 years. —
HYDERABAD/BANGALORE: The threat of floods looms large over thousands of people in Krishna and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh as 10.5 lakh cusecs water was being released from the Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada on Monday. The death toll in the heavy rains in several northern districts of Karnataka increased to 194 with 25 unidentified bodies found in several places.
Already, several island villages in the Krishna estuary have been inundated, while many more in the Diviseema region, which was devastated by a cyclone in 1977, are rapidly getting submerged. As many as 30 villages upstream of the barrage are marooned since the structure is unable to discharge the massive inflows it is receiving from the Nagarjunasagar.
The river embankments will be breached and Vijayawada itself may suffer further damage if the outflow touches the 11 lakh cusec-mark but Chief Minister K. Rosaiah ruled this out as water was being released with meticulous planning and the quantum would come down to 9 lakh cusecs by Tuesday morning.
Over two lakh people have already been rendered homeless by the fresh floods.
Traffic on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad National Highway 9 has been diverted as several stretches are lying under water. Railway authorities are anxiously watching the water level downstream of the Prakasam Barrage since the Krishna is nearly touching the rail bridge connecting Vijayawada to Chennai. Nandyal town in Kurnool district continues to be cut off. The death toll in the floods, ravaging the State since October 1, now stands at 52.
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, accompanied by Mr. Rosaiah, made an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas in Kurnool and Mahabubnagar. Mr. Rosaiah earlier sent a status report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stating that the preliminary estimate of the flood loss was Rs. 12,225 crore, including Rs. 10,000-crore damage to dams, roads, power infrastructure and communication. He urged the Centre to treat the disaster as a ‘national calamity of rare severity’ and release Rs. 6,000 crore as immediate assistance.
The Chief Minister thanked the Karnataka government for closing the crest gates of the Almatti reservoir and ensuring staggered releases from Narayanpur, both across the Krishna, to avoid heavy inflow into the Srisailam reservoir.
Reports reaching Bangalore indicated that while the water level in the Krishna and its tributaries, including the Tungabhadra, had substantially receded since Sunday, the State government is watching the situation closely following some reports that more rain could be expected.
Over 3.55 lakh people have been accommodated in 1,200 relief camps and provided with food, clothing and medicines.
Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and Revenue Minister G. Karunakara Reddy have been overseeing relief operations in the worst-affected districts over the last few days.
Mr. Yeddyurappa and Ms. Sonia Gandhi made a quick aerial survey of Bellary, Raichur and Bijapur districts. Mr. Yeddyurappa submitted a memorandum to the AICC president and requested her to persuade the Union government to declare the situation a “national calamity.” “An interim relief of Rs. 10,000 crore is sought from the Union government for relief and restoration of damaged infrastructure in the affected areas.”
Over 1,300 flood-hit people rescued
An Indian Air Force helicopter drops relief packets for flood victims at a village in Mahaboobnagar district in Andhra Pradesh on Monday.
NEW DELHI: Engaged in rescue and relief operations in flood-hit Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the armed forces have, so far, rescued about 1,336 people, including a family of four stranded without food on a tree for a few days.
The tri-services personnel have been working round-the-clock to save marooned people and provide them with food, a Defence Ministry release said here on Monday.
The Army deployed 14 columns in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh along with life jackets, boats and medical teams.
Following an improvement in the flood situation in Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, three columns of Army personnel were de-requisitioned from Monday.
Food airdroppedThe Air Force pressed into service 29 aircraft and helicopters, including seven Chetaks and 10 MI-8. These aircraft carried out 255 sorties and dropped huge quantity of food packets.
On Monday, the IAF said it carried out a dramatic rescue operation at Vamipenta village in Nandyal district of Andhra Pradesh.
Using a helicopter, they saved a family of four, including a four-year-old girl and five-year-old boy. The family had been stranded on a tree branch since flood waters entered their area. The entire village had been evacuated earlier but for these four and a dog.
An IAF spokesperson said since the helicopter could not send the cable of winch through the tree, it dangled it close to the tree and swung it for the family head to latch on to the cable. He was to send them one by one. The emaciated persons were given medical help.
Divers deployedThe Navy also deployed 15 teams of its divers and experts to rescue marooned people. Of these, five teams are at Vijayawada; three each at Mahabubnagar and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh; two each at Karwar and Gadag districts in Karnataka. These teams have rescued more than 500 people, the release said.
குத்துச்சண்டையில் ஹிஜாப் - IBA
குத்துச்சண்டையில் உலக சாம்பியன் பட்டம் வழங்கும் சர்வதேச குத்துச்சண்டை கழகம் (International Boxing Association) 2012 ஒலிம்பிக்கில் இஸ்லாமிய பெண்கள் ஹிஜாபுடன் கலந்துகொள்வதற்கு அனுமதிக்கப்படுவார்கள் என்று கூறியுள்ளது.இஸ்லாம் ஹிஜாபை கட்டாயமாக கடைப்பிடிக்கக்கூடிய ஒன்றாக கருதுகின்றது. மாறாக ஹிஜாப் தங்கள் மதத்தை வெளிப்படுத்துவதற்காக சேர்க்கப்பட்டது அல்ல.
கடந்த ஜனவரி அமெரிக்க உயர்நிலைப்பள்ளி நட்சத்திர ஓட்டக்காரர் ஹிஜாப் அணிந்ததற்காக அவருடைய பகுதியில் நடந்த போட்டியில் பங்கெடுக்க அனுமதிக்கப்பட வில்லை.
ஹிஜாப் அணிந்ததற்காக கனடா நாட்டைச்சேர்ந்த 11 வயது சிறுமி தேசிய ஜூடோ விளையாட்டு பந்தயத்திலிருந்து தூக்கி எறியப்பட்டார்.
2007 மார்ச்சில் சர்வதேச கால்பந்து கழகம் International Football Association Board (IFAB) கால்பந்து விளையாட்டுகளில் ஹிஜாபை தடை செய்தது.
இன்று
ஆப்கானிஸ்தானில் ஹிஜாப் அணிந்து விளையாடப் போகும் மங்கையர் குழு ஒன்று 2012 ஒலிம்பிக் போட்டிக்காக தங்களை தயார் படுத்திக்கொண்டு வருகின்றது.
இவர்கள் ஆப்கானின் ஒலிம்பிக் மைதானத்தில் இந்த குத்துச்சண்டை போட்டிக்காக கடும் பயிற்சி எடுத்து வருகின்றனர்.