குரான் எரிப்பு : ஆப்கானியர்கள் 6 பேர் சுட்டு கொலை!

காபூல் : ஆப்கானிஸ்தானில் உள்ள நேட்டோவின் படை தளத்தில் முஸ்லீம்களின் புனித நூலாகிய குரான் எரிக்கப்பட்ட செய்தி வெளியானதை தொடர்ந்து, ஆப்கானிஸ்தானில் மக்கள் போராட்டம் இரண்டாம் நாளாக தொடர்கிறது. இன்று நடந்த போராட்டத்தில் நடந்த துப்பாக்கி சூட்டில் குறைந்தது 6 நபர்கள் கொல்லப்பட்டதோடு பலர் காயமடைந்துள்ளனர்.

குவைத் தேர்தல்:இஸ்லாமியவாதிகள் தலைமையிலான எதிர்கட்சியினருக்கு வெற்றி!!

4 Feb 2012

குவைத் சிற்றி:குவைத் பாராளுமன்ற தேர்தலில் இஸ்லாமியவாதிகளின் தலைமையிலான எதிர் கட்சியினர் மகத்தான வெற்றியை ஈட்டியுள்ளனர். மொத்தம் 50 இடங்களில் 23 இடங்களை கைப்பற்றிய இஸ்லாமியவாதிகள் தலைமையிலான எதிர்கட்சியினர் மொத்தம் 34 இடங்களை கைப்பற்றியுள்ளனர். முந்தைய பாராளுமன்றத்தில் 4 பெண்கள் இடம் பெற்றிருந்தனர். ஆனால், இம்முறை ஒருவர் கூட வெற்றி பெறவில்லை.

இஸ்ரேலை எதிர்ப்பவர்களுக்கு ஈரான் உதவும் – காம்ன

டெஹ்ரான்:உலகின் புற்றுநோயான இஸ்ரேலை எதிர்க்கும் எந்த நாடுகளுக்கும், போராட்டங்களுக்கும் ஈரானின் உதவி கிடைக்கும் என ஈரானின் ஆன்மீக உயர்தலைவர் ஆயத்துல்லாஹ் அலி காம்னஈ தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

1979-ஆம் ஆண்டு ஈரானில் நடந்த இஸ்லாமிய புரட்சியின் நினைவு தினத்தில் நடந்த நிகழ்ச்சியில் கலந்துகொண்டு உரை நிகழ்த்தினார்.

Syria faces US pressure to stop crackdown

The US has renewed calls on Syria to halt its crackdown on anti-government protests.

Damascus says its forces are pursuing rebels through the countryside around Jisr al-Shughour, after consolidating control over the northern town.

Witnesses say troops are pursuing a "scorched earth" strategy in the area, destroying houses and crops.

The government insists it is tackling armed groups which it says have been targeting security forces.

Condemning the crackdown, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "President [Bashar al-]Assad needs to engage in political dialogue. A transition needs to take place. If President Assad does not lead that transition, then he should step aside," he told reporters.

"What happened there over the weekend and what continues to occur is absolutely revolting, and we condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms," State Department spokesman Mark Toner also said.

Refugees and activists still inside Syria said troops and tanks were cutting off and attacking villages to the east and north of Jisr al-Shughour, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.

They are also reported to be heading towards the town of Maarat al-Numan, to the south-east, where the state media had reported attacks on government buildings and security headquarters in recent days.

As demonstrations against the regime continue to break out, often at night, in many parts of the country, activists report that several parts of the coastal city of Latakia have been sealed off by troops, reports the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.

Soldiers are also reported to have been deployed at Deir az-Zor, in the east, and in some suburbs of Damascus, where protests continue.

Infighting

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

There is now a split within the army and you have a group who are trying to protect the civilians”

Syrian refugee

On Sunday, troops were confronted by other soldiers trying to defend people in Jisr al-Shughour, according to Syrian refugees who have crossed into Turkey.

Elements from one tank division had even taken up positions by bridges leading into the town in a bid to defend it, they said.

"There is now a split within the army and you have a group who are trying to protect the civilians," one refugee told the AFP news agency.

The government says it has been trying to restore order after 120 security personnel were killed in Jisr al-Shughour last week.

Residents say they died after a mutiny and fighting between security forces.

Syria has prevented foreign journalists, including those from the BBC, from entering the country, making it difficult to independently verify reports from there.

'Miserable' conditions

Hundreds of Syrians have been massing on the border with Turkey, preparing to cross over if the army advances.

Turkey has already taken in thousands of refugees.

The BBC's Jonathan Head on the Turkish-Syrian border says these people have been badly frightened and do not want to return home until the Assad regime falls.

They have been in the border area for several days without proper shelter or food, he adds.

In central Syria, people have told BBC Arabic that a protest has taken off in the city of Hama and is heading to the government headquarters in the city.

About 2,000 people are participating in the march, organised by lawyers' and engineers' associations.

This is the first such protest called for by the professional groups since the beginning of the protests in Syria.

And according to sources close to the Arab League, some member states have introduced a draft resolution to suspend Syria's participation in meetings of the group's council, in protest at the crackdown.

Protests against President Assad, who succeeded his father Hafez in 2000, began in mid-March.

Human rights groups say at least 1,300 people have been killed in the crackdown

US Defence Secretary Gates blames EU for Turkey '

Robert Gates said Turkey was being denied an "organic" link to the West

Turkey's growing hostility to Israel may have been partly caused by its effective rejection by the European Union, the US defence secretary says.

Robert Gates said Turkey may have been "pushed by some in Europe" away from the EU and into closer partnerships with states like Iran.

Turkey has been put on the path to EU membership, but countries like France and Germany are openly opposed.

Turkey and Israel's once-close alliance has come under severe strain.

Their relations were already deteriorating before Israeli troops stormed a ship carrying aid to Gaza last month, killing nine Turks.

'Matter of concern'

Turkey's President, Abdullah Gul, said relations between the two countries would "never be the same", while Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc accused Israel of "piracy" and "barbarism and oppression".

Continue reading the main storywith Iran, firmly opposing sanctions over its nuclear programme.

"The deterioration in the relationship between Turkey and Israel over the past year-or-so is a matter of concern," Mr Gates said during a visit to London.

"I think the two had a pretty constructive relationship and one that contributed to stability in the region, and I hope that, over time, that kind of constructive relationship can be re-established," he added.

"I personally think that if there is anything to the notion that Turkey is, if you will, moving eastward, it is, in my view, in no small part because it was pushed, and pushed by some in Europe refusing to give Turkey the kind of organic link to the West that Turkey sought."

"I think we have to think long and hard about why these developments in Turkey [occurred] and what we might be able to do to counter them."

Migration fear

The issue of whether Turkey should join the EU strongly divides European governments.

It started formal membership talks in 2005, but has only been allowed to open 12 of the 35 chapters that candidate countries must complete.

Some, like Britain, firmly believe Turkey should be encouraged to modernise and westernise, and that welcoming a big Muslim country would strengthen Muslim moderates. The US has also supported this view.

But other countries, like Germany and France, fear Turkey could destabilise the EU, not least with mass migration, and think it should be offered no more than a "privileged partnership".

Iraqi merger forms new Shia bloc, the National Alliance

Outgoing Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's coaltion is joining the National Alliance

Iraq's two main Shia groups, which performed strongly in recent elections, have merged to form the biggest alliance in the new parliament.

The bloc, to be called the National Alliance, brings together the prime minister's coalition with other Shia factions, including followers of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr.

It will be just short of an absolute majority in parliament but well ahead of the rival secular-Sunni bloc.

The new parliament opens on Monday.

After weeks of negotiations, the two Shia coalitions announced they were forming one bloc, and said they had notified the acting speaker of parliament.

Constitution unclear

The new alliance is made up of outgoing Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's State of Law coalition - which came runner-up in the March election - and the third-placed Iraqi National Alliance, along with other Shia factions.

Together, they will command just four seats short of an absolute majority, well ahead of the 91 seats held by Iyad Allawi's secular-Sunni bloc, although it came out first in the elections, with a narrow two-seat lead.

Karim Yaqoubi, an INA member, said the Kurdish Alliance would join the new Shia grouping to give them a majority.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says that both the Shia and secular-Sunni blocs will now be claiming the right to be asked to form a government. The constitution is unclear on the issue.

In any case, our correspondent says, the Shia bloc has not yet decided who it wants to nominate as prime minister. So the betting is that the first session of parliament will be declared open, and suspended indefinitely until a power-sharing deal is hammered out.

Palestinians Warn: Jerusalem Settlements Will End Peace Talks

The Palestinians said Tuesday that Israeli plans to build 1,600 new settler homes in occupied Jerusalem would "hinder" US-led indirect peace talks.

"This is a dangerous decision and will hinder the negotiations," Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. "We consider the decision to build in east Jerusalem to be a judgment that the American efforts have failed before the indirect negotiations have even begun," he added.

Israel's announcement of the new project came as US Vice President Joe Biden was in the region to encourage both sides to revive direct negotiations after the Palestinians grudgingly agreed to indirect talks.
¬

Influential cleric issues fatwa against terrorism

An influential Pakistani cleric issued a 600-page fatwa on March 2, described as an "absolute" condemnation of terrorism without "any excuses or pretexts." Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri declared that terrorists and suicide bombers were unbelievers and that "terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it, or any kind of excuses or ifs or buts."

While domestic politics in Muslim countries, the presence of foreign troops and the impact of Western foreign policies remain primary drivers in radicalization, a major, comprehensive fatwa like this -- along with less-sweeping fatwas issued by other religious authorities -- does constitute a major challenge to the legitimacy of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

Qadri's fatwa is an exhaustive, systematic theological and legal study of the Islamic tradition's teachings on the use of force and armed resistance to support an absolute condemnation of any form of terrorism for any cause. Its significance will be felt in Pakistan, where Qadri over several decades has become a prominent scholar and religious leader as well as a religious media star. It will also have an impact in the West young Muslims in Britain, Scandinavia and Canada, many of whom are of Pakistani backgrounds.

Qadri is a Barelvi Muslim scholar (Barelvi and Deobandis, who claim to follow a more pristine version of Islam, are the two major Sunni Muslim groups or schools of thought in the Indian subcontinent). The Barelvi are estimated to be the largest Muslim group in Pakistan, India and Great Britain. Qadri, noted for his liberal and tolerant views, promotes greater unity among Muslims and inter and intra faith dialogue, reaching out to other theological schools like the Deobandi and to Shiah Muslims and Pakistani Christians. He emphasizes religious, social, and cultural teachings of Islam.

Trained both in traditional madrasas and at Punjab University where in 1972 he earned an MA and PhD in Islamic Studies, Qadri appeals to a broad audience of traditionalists and those that appreciate his integration of traditional Islamic sciences with modern disciplines. Qadri's career took off in the mid-1980s with a popular national television program Fahm-e-Quran (Understanding the Qur'an), speaking in down to earth popular idioms and using analogies from everyday life.

Qadri is among a handful of prominent popular preachers in Pakistan (as elsewhere in the Muslim world) whose primary medium for propagating their messages is the electronic technology (cassettes, videos, CDs, DVDs, and television channels). Qadri's media career has been unprecedented in the modern religious history of Pakistan. Founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran International, based in Lahore, an Islamic movement with centers in 90 countries, its publication house carries thousands of Qadri's CDs and DVDs Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic and English, delivered in Pakistan, India, the Middle East, Europe, the United States, and Canada.

Qadri already has an established track record in his denunciation of terrorism in the name of Islam. One of the few religious leaders in Pakistan who unequivocally condemned the September 11 terrorist attacks, Qadri has challenged the Islamic legitimacy of those who approved the use of violence for religious or political ends. He has condemned al-Qaeda and the Taliban, denouncing al-Qaeda a "lethal threat to Islam and Muslims," whose actions are antithetical to Islam's message of peace.

In a December 5, 2009 press conference, drawing extensively on Islamic texts, Qadri declared: "Islam does not permit, under any circumstances, the massacre of innocent citizens, terrorist explosions and suicide bombings" which according to Islamic law are unacceptable violations of human rights and constitute kufr, (unbelief). At the same time, Qadri has also been a strong critic of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.

-- John L. Esposito is University Professor and Founding Director of the Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He is co-author of Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think, and author of the newly released book The Future of Islam (2010).

Iraq’s election results will confirm, but not bestow power

Polls have closed in Iraq as I start to write this column early Sunday morning, Pacific Time in the U.S. As many as 10 million Iraqis are estimated to have cast their vote, showing their indomitable character – threats and all, adding to the vote of yet another 600,000 expatriates and refugees abroad, as well as the nation’s military, which had already done so this past week amid turmoil orchestrated by Iraq’s branch of Al Qaeda.

As usual, we in the West have assigned the cheap adjective “crucial” to this election – as we have done with so many other elections in the past two decades, trying to define democracy in an electoral fashion that may not identify the realities of other cultures, or of very different situations. It seems that every election has been crucial to America, always in the name of democracy, so why should this one in Iraq be different this timeAll too often, the West (U.S. and the European Union as principal proponents), with at least the tacit support of the United Nations, has taken the approach that elections are the true primordial soup of democracy, to be held at the earliest possible date no matter how fair or adequate in their makeup.

It happened soon after the dismemberment of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia during the 1990’s, in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Balkans. And it followed in South Africa, and other fronts where America had its economic or political hands in the dough, whether in the Caucasus-Ukraine (2004), Lebanon (2005); or were part of the military war-games: Iraq and Afghanistan (2004-5).

And just as often, many of the characters involved in those elections turned out to be the same old autocratic rulers now dressed in democratic vestments, their faces painted as if white mimes. The same old cast of characters… good old commissars, tribal leaders, and other power-laden chieftains, their names appearing in the ballot box after a democratic whitewashing of sorts had been done to accommodate the apostles of the new political religion… said to be democracy; which presumably stands for government of the people, or at least it does in its literal translation from its Greek roots.

Only in a clear-cut case where power critically and indisputably can change hands, do elections indeed bestow legitimate power. But the only case we can think as applicable comes in the 1994 elections in South Africa after universal suffrage was finally imposed. A non-white population exceeded the white population by a multiple of 7 to 1! That allowed the African National Congress (ANC) and its leader, Nelson Mandela, to take over every facet of government with an actual 62.5% of the total vote. However, it must be pointed out that the election was a formality sealing an accord that had been for a decade in the making… after several prior decades of unrest and war.

Any comparison of Iraq’s sectarianism (Shia, Sunni and Kurds) to the racial divide in South Africa would be totally foolish, even if the Shia is the population-dominant group. A religious majority in this case is somewhat softened by the fact that secularization had already made great inroads under Saddam Hussein, and now appears to be given the blessing of many prominent Shia leaders, such as the Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali al-Sistani, leader of the Marjaiya. Not that al-Sistani favors secularization, but rather that he prefers not to have religion involved in the political process. And that augurs well for sane coalition-making where more Sunnis get involved… and the post-Saddam Hussein period of vengeance by the Shia is declared once and for all ended, done-with, over. That would leave Iraq with only one major barrier for the final nation-building stage: a fair accommodation with the Kurds, and their aspirations for complete independence.

To our electoral democratic simplicity – a two-party system fueled by the very same corporate interests – 6,200 candidates from 86 political groups vying for just 325 parliamentary seats seems rather overwhelming, but given what Iraqis have endured, and continue enduring, they may be able to pull this one out successfully. It may take a while before coalitions and middle-eastern political barter bring us solid reasons to hope for a model Iraq that will yield both economic and socio-political power in the region. To me, nonetheless, the probability for success has tripled since the elections in 2005.

It’s beginning to look as if Obama can keep his promise to bring home (… and not just redeploy them to Afghanistan) half of the troops remaining in Iraq – about 45,000 – by August this year, with the other half scheduled to depart that country by the end of 2011. Of course, this plan is contingent on a continuing secure environment for the multinational firms which have successfully bid for Iraq’s oil, plus other firms that might contemplate establishing business operations in that nation. So far so good!

For Iraq’s average citizen, however, his is not a political dream but one involving a down to earth hope that turns to reality: the return to those pre-invasion days when you could depend on having an adequate amount of electricity and water as you lived through the day… even if such simple commodities came under the auspices of a dictator.

Mossad comes to America

Death squads by invitation The principle propaganda mouthpiece of the Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (PMAJO), the Daily Alert (DA), has come out in full support for Israel’s practice of extra-judicial, extra-territorial assassination. In the face of world-wide governmental condemnation (except from the Zionist-occupied White House and U.S. Congress), the PMAJO slavishly backs any brutal murder committed by the Israeli secret police anywhere in the world and at anytime. The recent assassination of Hamas leader, Mahmoud Mabhouh, in Dubai is a case in point. The PMAJO has defended all of Mossad’s criminal actions leading up to the murder, including extensive identity theft and the stealing or falsification of passports and official documents from several European countries, presumably allied to the Zionist state. Among the Mossad agents who entered Dubai to kill Mabhouh, twelve agents used stolen or forged British passports, three Australian, three French, one German and six Irish. These agents assumed the identity of European citizens in order to commit murder in a sovereign nation. Once again the PMAJO demonstrate that its first loyalty is to the Israeli secret police, even when they violate the sovereignty of major U.S. allies. No doubt the PMAJO would readily support the Israeli Mossad, even if it were shown to have used U.S. documents to assassinate Mabhouh. In fact, two of the 26 Israeli assassins, carrying fake Irish and fake British passports, are known to have entered the United States after the killing and may still be here. The position adopted by the Daily Alert and the PMAJO in defense of Israel’s international terrorist act followed several lines of attack, which will be discussed below. These include: (1) blaming the victim, (2) claiming that extra-judicial, extra territorial murders are legal, (3) minimizing the murder of ‘one’ individual, (4) deflecting attention from the Zionists by blaming ‘other Arab’s, (5) favorably comparing Mossad assassinations to U.S. killings in Afghanistan, (6) trivializing and relativizing world condemnation, (7) citing “self-defense”, (8) praising the high tech ‘operational details’ of the assassination and (9) discrediting the Dubai police investigators rather than the Israeli perpetrators. Abridged articles, cited in the Daily Alert, have appeared in the op-ed pages of several U.S., UK, Canadian and Israeli newspapers, as well as in rightwing magazines like Forbes and Commentary. The mainline Zionist propaganda technique is to avoid any discussion of Israel’s egregious crimes against sovereignty, due process, international law and the personal security of individuals. In doing so, the Daily Alert adopts the propaganda techniques common to all totalitarian regimes practicing state terrorism. (1) Blaming the victim On February 22, the Daily Alert (DA) headlined two articles, which were entitled: “Killed Hamas Official betrayed by Associates says Dubai Police Chief” and “Hamas: Assassinated Operative put Himself at Risk”. The DA forgot to mention that Israeli secret police had been tracking their prey for over a month (having failed to assassinate him on six previous attempts) and that the Dubai Police Chief was not blaming Hamas officials but was in the process of accumulating evidence, witness statements, videos and documents proving the Israeli identities of the assassins. Needless to say, if we were to accept the American Zionists’ argument that any leading opponent of Israel, who travels without an army of bodyguards, is “putting himself at risk”, then we must acknowledge that ours is a lawless world where Israeli hit squads are free to commit murder anywhere, any time. (2) Extra-judicial, extra territorial murder is “legal” (At least if the killers are Mossad) The February 22 and February 24 issues of the DA include two articles arguing that Israel’s practice of extra-judicial, extra-territorial murder is legal. One article is entitled, “The Legality of Killing of Hamas Mahmoud al Mabhoud” and the other, “The Proportionate Killing of Mahmoud al Mabhoud”. These avoid any reference to international law, which emphatically rejects cross-border, state-sponsored murders. Legality, for the PMAJO, is whatever the Israel’s secret police apparatus deems expedient in pursuit of its goal of eliminating leaders who oppose its colonial occupation and expropriation of Palestinian lands. If Israel’s extra-judicial, extra-territorial murder of an adversary in Dubai is legal, why not assassinate opponents in the U.S., Canada, England or any other country where they might travel, live, work or write? What if the critics and opponents of Israel decided that it was now “legal” to murder Israel’s supporters wherever they lived citing the Daily Alert’s definition of legality? We would then find ourselves in a lawless world of “legal” murder and totalitarian cross-border surveillance. (3) Minimizing the murder The Feb 22, 24, and 25 issues of the Daily Alert deflect attention from the Mossad murder by making comparison to the hundreds of Afghan civilians killed by U.S. drone attacks. The claim is that “targeting individuals” is less a crime than mass killings. The problem with this argument is that for decades Mossad has “targeted” scores of opponents overseas and killed thousands of Palestinians in the occupied territories (where they work with the domestic secret police, Shin Bet, and the military, IOF). Moreover, this argument linking Israel’s extra judicial assassinations with U.S. colonial killing of Afghans is hardly a defense of either. By implicating the U.S. in its defense of state terror, Israel is holding up the worst aspects of American imperialism as a standard for its own political behavior. One state’s crimes are no justification for another’s. (4) Blaming the Arabs: Deflecting attention from Israel The DA Feb. 22 article entitled “The Assassination Heard Around the World” insinuates that the murder was a “result of a Hamas power struggle” or by one of “many Arab groups who loathes the Islamist Hamas”. In other words, all the forged or stolen European passports of Israeli dual citizens, and the Dubai security videos of Mossad operatives in various costumes, not to mention the jubilant affirmation by top Israeli leaders of the killing, was in reality ‘Arab tricks’. This crude propaganda ploy by the most prominent Jewish American organization reveals their own descent into a fantasy land of self-delusion, possible only in the closed world of U.S. Zionist politics. (5) Technical proficiency The DA published several articles praising the technical details of the Mossad assassination in Dubai, an aspect of the operation, with which few Israel security experts would agree. The Feb. 24 DA article entitled, “Assassination Shows Skillful Planning” chastises Israel’s critics for not recognizing the high quality of the “operational aspects” of the killings and recommends its “lessons for all intelligence services around the world”. Like sociopaths and serial killers, U.S. Zionists openly promote Israeli death squad techniques to all fellow state terrorists. In the DA, professional techniques of assassination are far more important than universal moral repugnance of political murders. (6) Discrediting the investigators while defending the perpetrators The DA on Feb. 25 cited a long and tendentious attack on the Dubai police, published inForbes Magazine, which ridiculed their meticulous investigations uncovering Mossad’s roles in the murder. In this article, the Dubai authorities were condemned for uncovering Israeli involvement while not investigating the source of the murder victims’ … Iraqi passport! Instead of encouraging the Dubai police pursuit of justice, the Daily Alert published a long diatribe implicating Dubai in the attacks of 9/11/2001, its continued trade with Iran, its ‘involvement’ in international terrorism etc. There was no mention of Dubai’s relatively friendly position to Israel and Israelis prior to Mossad’s blatant violation of its sovereignty. Conclusion The American Zionist propaganda campaign in defense of Israeli state terror and, specifically, Mossad’s murder of a Hamas leader in Dubai, relies on lies, evasions and specious legal arguments. This “defense” violates all precepts of a civilized society as well as the most recent American federal laws prohibiting all forms of support for international terrorism. The PMAJO can pursue its defense of Mossad’s acts of international terrorism with impunity in the U.S. because of its power over the U.S. Congress, the Obama White House and the American mass media. This ensures that only its version of events, its definition of legality and its lies will be heard by legislators, echoed by Zionist activists and embellished by its solemn defenders in academic and journalistic circles. To counter the American Zionist defense of Israel’s practice of extra-territorial, extra-judicial executions by the Mossad, we need American writers and academics to step forward. It is time to expose their flimsy arguments, bold-face lies and audacious immorality. It is time to speak out against their impunity, before another Israeli secret police murder takes place, possibly inside the USA itself and with the shameless complicity of Zionist accomplices. The authorities in Dubai have found clear evidence that the Mossad assassination team received support from European Zionists. The hotels, air tickets and expenses were paid with credit cards issued in the U.S. Two of the killers may be in the U.S. now. Will a time come when American Zionists, who are unconditional public defenders of Mossad killings, cross the line between propaganda for the deed to become accomplices of the deed? The robust American Zionist defense of Mossad’s overseas assassinations does not augur well for the security of Americans in the face of Israel’s willing U.S. accomplices. -- James Petras is a Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York. He is the author of 64 books published in 29 languages. Source: Middle East Online

மஸ்ஜிதுல் அக்ஸாவில் மீண்டும் இஸ்ரேலிய ராணுவத்தின் அட்டூழியம்

ஜெருசலம்:மஸ்ஜிதுல் அக்ஸாவில் மீண்டும் இஸ்ரேலிய ராணுவம் அத்துமீறி நுழைந்தது மோதலுக்கு காரணமானது.

இஸ்ரேலிய ராணுவத்தை துரத்த ஃபலஸ்தீனிய முஸ்லிம்கள் கல்வீச்சில் ஈடுபட்டதைத் தொடர்ந்து இஸ்ரேலிய ராணுவம் ரப்பர் புல்லட்டால் சுட்டதில் 30 பேருக்கு காயம் ஏற்பட்டது.

ஜும் ஆவிற்கு பிறகு மஸ்ஜிதில் தங்கியிருந்தவர்களை துரத்துவதற்கு இஸ்ரேலிய ராணுவம் மஸ்ஜிது வளாகத்திற்குள் அத்துமீறி நுழைந்தது. புண்ணிய இடங்களை ஆக்கிரமித்துள்ள இஸ்ரேலுக்கு எதிராக கண்டனப் போராட்டங்களை நடத்த தயாரானவர்களை விரட்டுவதற்காக இஸ்ரேலிய ராணுவம் தாக்குதலை நடத்தியுள்ளது. இஸ்ரேலிய ராணுவத்தின் அக்கிரமத்தை தடுக்கமுயன்றவர்கள் மீதுதான் துப்பாக்கிச்சூடு நடத்தப்பட்டது. மோதலைத்தொடர்ந்து கிழக்கு ஜெருசலத்தில் ஊரடங்கு உத்தரவு பிறப்பிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. தொழுகைக்கு வருபவர்களுக்கு கட்டுப்பாடு விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

கடந்த ஒருவாரத்திற்கிடையில் இரண்டாவது தடவையாக இஸ்ரேலிய ராணுவம் அல் அக்ஸா மஸ்ஜிதிற்குள் அத்துமீறி நுழைந்து தாக்குதலை நடத்தியுள்ளது. மஸ்ஜிதுல் அக்ஸா மிக புண்ணியமாக்கப்பட்ட மூன்று மஸ்ஜிதுகளில் ஒன்றும், முஸ்லிம்களின் முதல் கிப்லாவுமாகும்.
செய்தி:தேஜஸ் மலையாள நாளிதழ்

ஹமாஸ் தலைவர் கொலை: இஸ்ரேலியர்களுக்கு தொடர்பில்லை என்று நிரூபித்தால் பதவி விலகத்தயார்: துபாய் போலீஸ் தலைவர் சவால்

துபாய்:துபாயில் உள்ள ஒரு ஹோட்டலில் வைத்து கடந்த ஜனவரி 20ஆம் தேதிக் கொல்லப்பட்ட ஹமாஸ் தலைவர்களில் ஒருவரான மப்ஹூஹ் அல் மஹ்மூதின் கொலையில் இஸ்ரேலியர்களுக்கு தொடர்பில்லை என்பதை நிரூபித்தால் தான் தனது வேலையை ராஜினாமா செய்வேன் என துபாய் போலீஸ் தலைவர் தாஹி கல்ஃபான் தமீமி தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

குற்றவாளிகள் என்று சந்தேகப்பட்டவர்களின் டி.என்.ஏ சோதனைக்கு இஸ்ரேல் தயாராக வேண்டும் என அவர் கோரிக்கை விடுத்தார்.

கொலையாளிகளின் டி.என்.ஏ சம்பவம் நடந்த இடத்திலிருந்து சேகரிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது. இத்துடன் ஒப்பிட்டுப் பார்ப்பதற்கான பரிசோதனைக்குத்தான் இஸ்ரேலிடம் கோரப்பட்டுள்ளது. வேறு எதிலும் பொய் சொல்லலாம், ஆனால் டி.என்.ஏ பரிசோதனையில் அது சாத்தியமில்லை என அவர் தெரிவித்தார்.

"டி.என்.ஏ மாதிரிகள் எங்களிடம் உள்ளது. ஒவ்வொருவராக கைதுச் செய்யப்படும்பொழுது டி.என்.ஏ மாதிரிகளுடன் நாங்கள் ஒப்பிட்டுப்பார்ப்போம்" எனவும் அவர் தெரிவித்தார்.

"கொலையில் தொடர்புடைய 26 பேரில் பெரும்பாலோருக்கான விரல் ரேகைகள் கிடைத்துள்ளது. இவற்றையெல்லாம் ஒப்பிட்டுப் பார்க்க இஸ்ரேலிடம் கோரிக்கை விடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இப்பரிசோதனையில் குற்றஞ் சாட்டப்பட்டவர்களுக்கும் டி.என்.ஏ மாதிரிகளுக்கு தொடர்பில்லை எனில் எனது பதவியை ராஜினாமா செய்வேன்" என தமீமி கூறியுள்ளார்.

இதற்கிடையில் ஹமாஸ் தலைவர் மப்ஹூஹ் கொல்லப்பட்டதைத் தொடர்ந்து ஏற்பட்ட வியாபார நஷ்டத்திற்காக ஹோட்டல் அதிகாரிகள் இஸ்ரேலுக்கு எதிராக சட்ட நடவடிக்கைக்கு தயாராகி வருகிறார்கள். மப்ஹூஹ் கொலையில் மொஸாதின் பங்கு பற்றிய குற்றச்சாட்டிற்கு இஸ்ரேல் இதுவரை மறுப்பு தெரிவிக்கவில்லை என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

செய்தி:

Iran Starts Mass Production of Advanced Unmanned Bombers

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran on Monday inaugurated the production line of two home-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with bombing and reconnaissance capabilities.




The two hi-tech drones named 'Ra'd' (Thunder) and 'Nazir' (Harbinger) are capable of conducting long-range reconnaissance, patrolling, assault and bombing missions with high precision.

Ra'd which is a UAV of choice for assault and bombing missions has the capability to destroy the specified targets with high pinpoint precision.

Experts believe that once the UAV enters the scene of aerial missions, it would enhance the reconnaissance, patrolling and defensive power of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Armed Force.

Iran has recently made good progress in the air industry and has succeeded in gaining the technical know-how for producing stealth aircraft and drones.

Iran successfully tested a home-made radar-evading UAV with bombing capabilities in June. Also in 2008, the country's Defense Industries launched production lines of two well-known home-made fighter jets, namely Saeqeh (Thunderbolt) and Azarakhsh (Lightening) .

Last March, Iran started construction of a plant in the northern province of Mazandaran to mass produce Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

Hamed Saeedi, Managing Director of Farnas Aerospace Company in charge of the project, said that his company has been dealing with designing and manufacturing UAVs and reconnaissance and pilot training drones for the last 9 years.

"We plan to manufacture UAVs, including unmanned choppers and drones, at this site" he said, referring to the plant in Mazandaran province.

Regarding specifications of the UAVs to be produced by the plant, Saeedi noted, "Drones will be of the tactical type, with a short range of 400 to 500 meters flying altitude which cannot be detected by radio waves as they will be stealth aircraft."

He singled out detection and control of contraband trafficking on land and in the sea and assistance in firefighting operations, specially in the woods as among other advantages of the UAVs to be manufactured in the plant.

Iranian army officials had announced in June that they have successfully tested a home-made radar-evading Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with bombing capabilities.

"This airplane is a model drone built on a one-seventh scale for the defense ministry," Commander of the Iranian Army Air Force General Hassan Shah Safi announced in June, adding that the UAV bomber would be produced in actual size and would join the Iranian Air Force fleet in the near future.

He explained that the UAV has been designed and manufactured for reconnaissance and bombing missions, specially considering its radar-evading advantage.

Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran, to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.

Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.

farsnews

DM: Iran Ready to Transfer Military Tools, Technology to Regional States

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi on Monday announced the country's preparedness to transfer its defensive capabilities to the regional countries.

"We have declared to all regional countries that we are ready to provide them with Iran's defense capabilities, " Vahidi said on the sidelines of a ceremony to unveil a number of Iranian Air Industries' achievements.

He pointed to Iran's progress in defense fields, and reiterated that all Iranian productions are manufactured domestically and that the rate of growth in the production of Iranian defensive tools and equipments is even higher than that of some developed countries.

Meantime, the minister stressed that Iran's military products are made to defend the country and serve as part of the Islamic Republic's doctrine of deterrence.

Iran has recently made good progress in the production of military tools and weapons, specially in the air industry. The country's defense industries announced just days ago that they had succeeded in gaining the technical know-how for producing stealth aircraft and drones.

In the latest event, Iran inaugurated the production line of two home-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with bombing and reconnaissance capabilities just today.

The two hi-tech drones named 'Ra'd' (Thunder) and 'Nazir' (Harbinger) are capable of conducting long-range reconnaissance, patrolling, assault and bombing missions with high precision.

Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran, to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.

Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.

farsnews

Syria's president in Saudi for talks with king

Damascus and Riyadh step up efforts to build Arab unity (File)

RIYADH (Agencies)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad headed to Riyadh on Wednesday for talks with King Abdullah in the Saudi capital, where earlier China endorsed efforts to create an independent Palestinian state.

The king greeted Assad at Riyadh airport and the two headed to Abdullah's private desert farm Janadiriyah outside the capital where the monarch was to host a dinner, the official SPA news agency said.

The visit comes amid stepped-up efforts by Riyadh to build Arab unity around the Palestinians ahead of a possible resumption of peace talks with Israel. It has also been seeking to isolate Iran, which is a key ally of Syria, over its controversial nuclear programme. Damascus-Riyadh ties were severely strained for years, notably over Syria's role in Lebanon and its support for Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, before a thaw marked by landmark Damascus trip by Abdullah in October.

China backs Palestine " China will continue its support for the Palestinian effort to establish an independent state " Chinese foreign minister Meanwhile also in Saudi on Wednesday, China endorsed efforts to create an independent Palestinian state as Saudi Arabia hardened its accusations that Israel is preventing a settlement of the Middle East conflict. "China will continue its support for the Palestinian effort to establish an independent state," Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on a visit to Riyadh. Yang said at a news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal that China supports the principles of a two-state solution under the Saudi-driven Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders and with Jerusalem as its capital. Saud, meanwhile, stepped up the rhetoric over Israel's refusal to freeze the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and begin talks with the Palestinians. "This is the longest conflict in modern times," Saud said. "The reason why this conflict is long is the refusal by Israel of all the attempts to end this conflict. Arab countries have done their job with the Arab Peace Initiative, which gives Israel security, and gives the Arab countries the restoration of their lands. "But peace should be established by two sides, not just one side. If one side does not want peace, peace will not be achieved," he said. The comments came as both the United States and Saudis have increased efforts to push the Palestinians and Israelis into final-status peace talks that would result in an independent Palestinian state.

Turkey threatens to recall Israel envoy over row

Relations between Israel and Turkey cool amid recent rows between the once allies

ANKARA (Agencies)

Turkey said on Wednesday its ambassador to Israel would be recalled if a row over his treatment was not resolved by Wednesday night, in an apparent rebuff of an apology by Tel Aviv that has chilled relations.

Israel apologized to Turkey on Wednesday for what it called a breach of diplomatic manners that had further cooled what was once an unusually warm relationship between the Jewish state and a Muslim regional power.

" If the problem is not resolved by tonight the ambassador will come to Turkey for consultations " Turkish president After Ankara demanded an apology for his televised dressing down of Turkey's ambassador on Monday, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon issued a statement conceding that his behavior toward Oguz Celikkol had been inappropriate. While Ayalon stopped short of using the word, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the statement as an "apology" and said he was glad that it had been made. But Turkey's President Abdullah Gul, who is scheduled to host Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday, appeared not to see it that way. "If the problem is not resolved by tonight the ambassador will come to Turkey for consultations, " he told reporters during a reception on Wednesday. It was not clear what Gul meant by "resolving the problem." Celikkol was due in Ankara on Thursday to prepare Barak's visit.

"Valley of the wolves" " The prime minister believes that the foreign ministry's protest to the Turkish ambassador was just in its essence but should have been conveyed in an acceptable diplomatic manner " Statement from the office of Israeli PM Netanyahu Israel's ire had been sparked by the broadcast of an episode of the Turkish espionage drama, Valley of the Wolves, which the foreign ministry said depicted "Israel and Jews as baby-snatchers and war criminals." In the episode, a Turkish secret agent storms an Israeli diplomatic mission to rescue a Turkish boy kidnapped by Mossad and then brushes off accusations of war crimes as hypocritical. The row had fuelled tension between the longtime allies that had been steadily rising since Israel's Gaza offensive one year ago drew blunt criticism from Turkey. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon reprimanded ambassador Ahmet Celikkol over the TV series on Monday in a manner media said was meant to humiliate the Turkish envoy. "In the future, I will clarify my position in diplomatically acceptable ways," Ayalon said on Wednesday after Turkey demanded an apology. "My protest against the Turkish attacks against Israel is alive and well. However, it is not my way to disrespect ambassadors, " Ayalon said in a statement.

Deterioration of ties The incidents mirrored the deterioration in ties since Israel's devastating assault on Gaza one year ago, which triggered an outraged response from Erdogan at the time. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Turkey had begun aligning itself with Muslim countries hostile to Israel -- like Iran -- since before the Gaza campaign. "This is cause for concern for Israel," Netanyahu was quoted as saying late on Tuesday by an official in his office. Israel's liberal Haaretz newspaper said that ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman sought to torpedo Barak's attempts to mend ties with Turkey, which in the past has played a key role in mediating Israel's indirect talks with Syria as well as with the Hamas rulers of Gaza. Lieberman's ministry said the drama series threatened "Jewish lives in Turkey" and also rebuffed Erdogan's criticism of a weekend air raid on Gaza, saying that Turkey "is in no position to preach morality to Israel". In an equally harsh response, Muslim-majority Turkey rejected the charges as "excessive statements made on domestic political concerns (which) we vehemently condemn". As a predominantly Muslim nation, albeit with a secular constitution, as well as a NATO military power, Turkey is a key ally for Israel in the Middle East.

Israel jails Islamist over Jerusalem protest

Sheikh Raed Salah is an outspoken cleric from Israel's Arab minority (File) OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Agencies) Raed Salah, an outspoken cleric from Israel's 20-percent Arab minority, was convicted of disorderly conduct and assault after scuffles with police who confronted protesters during engineering work near Islam's third holiest site. Palestinians complained excavations at the site threatened the foundations of al-Aqsa. Israel said the work was intended to shore up the structures against natural erosion. Israel captured Jerusalem's Old City and the rest of Arab East Jerusalem from Jordanian control in 1967. Since then, many Muslims have voiced fears, despite Israeli denials, that Jews may seek to take over the al-Aqsa compound, an area Jews revere as the site of their destroyed Biblical temples. Clashes around al-Aqsa three months ago, during which Saleh was also detained, were the latest of many over the site, which remains at the heart of particularly thorny disputes between Israel and the Palestinians over control of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court sentenced Salah to nine months in jail for the 2007 incident, to begin next month. He received an additional suspended sentence of six months. Salah's lawyer said he would consider an appeal. "The Israeli state, which is occupying al-Aqsa, is trying to distract from its real crime and to satisfy the mood in Israel by convicting the honorable Sheikh Salah," attorney Khaled Zabarqa told Reuters. Salah previously served a two-year jail sentence after being convicted of sending money to needy Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Zabarqa said. Israeli prosecutors said some of the money was to be used by anti-Israel armed groups. alarabiya