ANTI-JEWISH STATEMENT RAISE CONCERN ON HONDURAS
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – A Jewish civil rights organization is expressing alarm over conspiracy theories claiming Jews and Israel aided the ouster of the Honduran president and attempts to dislodge him from his refuge in the Brazilian Embassy.
Source: AP
- The U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League cited statements made by ousted President Manuel Zelaya as well as the news director of a radio station that was closed by the interim government in Honduras and by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, among others.
- Most of the comments repeat widely circulated rumors that Israeli soldiers — or in some versions, mercenaries — worked with the troops backing interim President Roberto Micheletti, allegedly supplying some form of tear gas used at the embassy and providing other assistance.
- The interim government, which came to power after the military arrested Zelaya and flew him to exile in Costa Rico on June 28, has denied receiving any Israeli help or using any tear gas at the embassy. Journalists who have covered the political crisis say they have not seen any sign of Israeli involvement.
- The Jewish group also criticized Chavez for claiming at the United Nations that Israel is the only country to recognize the coup-installed government, something Micheletti's administration has denied.
ATTACK ON REMOTE AFGHAN OUTPOSTS KILLS 8 U.S TROOPS
KABUL – Militant fighters streaming from a village and a mosque attacked a pair of remote outposts near the Pakistan border, killing eight American soldiers and as many as seven Afghan forces in one of the fiercest gunbattles of the troubled eight-year war.
Source: AP
- The Taliban claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack for coalition forces since a similar raid in July 2008 killed nine American soldiers in the same mountainous region known as a haven for al-Qaida militants. The U.S. has already said it plans to leave the remote area to focus on Afghan population centers.
- Fighting began around dawn Saturday and lasted several hours, said Jamaludin Badar, governor of Nuristan province. Badar said the two outposts were on a hill — one near the top and one at the foot of the slope — flanked by the village on one side and the mosque on the other.
- Nearly 300 militant fighters flooded the lower, Afghan outpost then swept around it to reach the American station on higher ground from both directions, said Mohammad Qasim Jangulbagh, the provincial police chief. The U.S. military statement said the Americans and Afghans repelled the attack by tribal fighters and "inflicted heavy enemy casualties."
- Jangulbagh said that the gunbattle was punctuated by U.S. airstrikes and that 15 Afghan police were captured by the Taliban, including the local police chief and his deputy. Afghan forces were sent as reinforcements, but Jangulbagh said all communications to the district, Kamdesh, were severed and he had no way of knowing how they were faring Sunday.
WOMEN SUES OVER PUBLICATION OF PHOTO WITHOUT WEARING A NIQAB
Dubai: A winner of a government academic excellence award is suing three of the award's executives for publishing a photograph of her not wearing a niqab (face cover) without her consent.
Source:Gulfnews
- The Emirati winner, who wears a niqab, claimed in the civil lawsuit she lodged before the Dubai Civil Court that the executives published the photo in the award's magazine and broadcast it on television without her knowledge and consent.
- "When I applied for the award, I submitted, along with the application, my personal photo with a hijab but without a niqab. It was conditional to do so for applicants. The organisers claimed they needed that picture to match with my identification papers [in case of winning] and not for publishing or printing. During the award's distribution ceremony, I was shocked when I discovered the photo had been published in the award's magazine.
She lodged her lawsuit against the magazine's chairman and editor and the award's executive who collects the contenders' applications.
She has not claimed any particular compensatory amount of money. She asked the court to assess the damages she had supposedly incurred and to order the defendants to compensate her for publishing her photo with her face uncovered.
She argued in her lawsuit that when she knew she had won, she did not attend the special winners' photo session because she refused to have her photo taken and printed anywhere.
MUDSLIDE DISASTER HAS KILLED AT LEAST 21 IN SICILY
ROME – Rescue workers dug for a second day Saturday through piles of mud and debris as they searched for about 30 missing people from a mudslide disaster that has killed at least 21 in Sicily.
- Premier Silvio Berlusconi said he feared the death toll from Italy's worst mudslides in a decade could rise to 50. The Italian premier is expected to survey the area by helicopter on Sunday, his office said.
- Rivers of mud unleashed by heavy rains flooded parts of Messina, a city in eastern Sicily, on Friday, sweeping away cars and collapsing buildings. Hundreds were left homeless and about 80 injured.
- With the rain letting up and sun forecast in coming days, the head of the Civil Protection Department expressed cautious hope the worst was over. "The situation is difficult and complex, but it is under control," Guido Bertolaso told reporters from Messina.
- However, some roads were still impassable and the terrain unstable from the rain that fell in the past days. Bertolaso said that some roads had "crumbled."
- Rescue teams were digging with bulldozers, shovels and bare hands through the mud. Some rescuers were aided by sniffer dogs as they searched for survivors. Firefighters were clearing away the mud from major roads.
- Officials said the number of missing was believed to be around 30 but was hard to determine. About four missing people were found to have been away from the area at the time of the disaster, said Luca Spoletini of the Civil Protection Department.
- One village remained isolated and only reachable by air, Spoletini said, while rescue teams managed to create a roadway to another small town that had been inaccessible. He said that while the lives of people in the villages were not believed to be in danger, there were concerns for their health and hygiene.
AFGHAN POLICEMAN OPEN FIRE ON U.S TROOPS, KILLING 2
KABUL – An Afghan policeman on patrol with U.S. soldiers opened fire on the Americans, killing two of them before fleeing, officials said Saturday, raising questions about discipline in the ranks of the Afghan forces and possible infiltration by insurgents.
Source: AP
- Training and operating jointly with Afghan police and soldiers is key to the U.S. strategy of dealing with the spreading Taliban-led insurgency and, ultimately, allowing international forces to leave Afghanistan. But Afghan forces have periodically turned their guns on international soldiers.
- The U.S. military said two American troops were killed by "an individual wearing an ANP (Afghan National Police) uniform" in Wardak province on Friday. Shahidullah Shahid, a spokesman for the Wardak provincial governor, said the policeman fired on the Americans while they were patrolling together Friday night, killing two and injuring two.
- Halim Fidai, governor of Wardak, said two people who recommended the alleged assailant for his job were in custody for questioning. Fidai also said a joint team of American and Afghan officials was investigating the attack, interviewing both the American soldiers and the Afghans who had been on the patrol to learn what happened and how the gunman escaped.
QUAKE WIPE OUT 4 VILLAGES IN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
PADANG, Indonesia – At least four Indonesian villages were obliterated by earthquake-triggered landslides that buried as many as 644 people including a wedding party under mountains of mud and debris, officials said Saturday.
- The full extent of Wednesday's 7.6-magnitude earthquake was becoming apparent three days later as aid workers and government officials reached remote villages in the hills along Sumatra island's western coast.
- If all 644 are confirmed dead (as is likely )the death toll in the disaster would jump to more than 1,300. The government's death toll currently is 715, with most casualties reported from the region's biggest city, Padang, where aid efforts are currently focused.
- More than 3,000 people were listed as missing before the news about the obliterated villages emerged.
- The United Nations said in a report that more than 1.1 million people live in the 10 quake-hit districts. It said 10,000 houses collapsed, 19 public facilities were badly damaged, 50 schools destroyed and more than 80 mosques severely damaged.
NO TEARS NO GOOD BYE CHICAGO, YOU LOST BID TO HOST THE 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Gasps and tears greeted the announcement on Friday that Chicago had lost its bid to host the 2016 Summer Games, as the city went from favorite to also-ran in the multibillion-dollar Olympics sweepstakes.
- "This was Chicago's shot at coming out as a world-class city so it's deflating," said Kevin O'Hara, 48, who runs a financial trading firm in Chicago.
- Chicago was the first city eliminated in the first round of voting by the International Olympic Committee, with rivals Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo still standing.
- "I wanted to be part of what I thought would be history. It just goes to show that Chicago is still the Second City, or perhaps the fourth city after today," said Kevin Gross, 37, an attorney who had joined a crowd packed into a downtown plaza, making reference to the city's nickname "The Second City."
- Chicago, a city of 3 million people, had been a favorite on several wagering Web sites ahead of the International Olympic Committee's decision in Copenhagen.
- Chicago sent a huge delegation of former Olympic athletes, business leaders and politicians to lobby for the Games, capped by personal appeals by U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on behalf of their hometown.
- Jaws dropped and tears welled up among those watching on giant television screens in the downtown Loop, with people shaking their heads and scattering quickly.
- Workers from a coffee shop handed out packages of dried coffee as early morning blue skies darkened and rain began to fall.
- "I thought we were going to win this," said Chicago-based civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson, adding he was shocked by the rejection.
MALAYSIAN'S UMNO LOSING FAITH IN BARISAN PARTNERS
KUALA LUMPUR,Malaysia — UNITED MALAY NATIONAL ORGANISATION (UMNO)’s patience and confidence with the current power-sharing agreement with its partners in National Front (Barisan Nasional) is wearing thin, judging by sentiments expressed during a closed-door retreat in Janda Baik.
- During this rare three-day gathering of Umno divisions, which ended yesterday, a common refrain heard was that Umno should be less generous in giving up Malay-majority seats to representatives of MCA, MIC, Gerakan and other component parties.
- The general view among division chiefs was that the component parties were much weaker than Umno and would not be able to swing votes from the non-Malays or the Malays.
- In contrast, a strong Umno was better placed to win in Malay-majority seats.
- The Malaysian Insider understands that party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak and senior party officials who attended the retreat — aimed at boosting the morale of grassroots leaders — were non-committal on the request for Umno to be less charitable in seat allocation with BN component parties.
- If they do agree, it would represent a major departure from the power-sharing agreement that has been the hallmark of the BN coalition, and could be the death knell of MCA, MIC, PPP and Gerakan — political parties which have been allowed to field candidates in Malay-majority seats across Peninsular Malaysia.
- Several Umno officials who attended the retreat told The Malaysian Insider that the most important consideration should be to field a candidate who can enhance the possibility of victory at the next general election.
- “If a seat has 55 or 60 per cent Malay voters, it makes sense to field an Umno candidate. In the last election, we gave seats in Perak and Selangor to other parties and they were not able to deliver.
- "These parties still have internal issues and will not be able to deliver the votes from the non-Malays. So it will be better if an Umno candidate is fielded to try and get the maximum possible support from Malay voters,” said an official, who requested anonymity due to the retreat being a closed-door affair.
- During the retreat, officials were also in agreement that Umno’s/BN’s fortunes rested on the ruling party strengthening its standing among Malay voters — a backhanded acknowledgment that it was not pinning much hopes on getting support from non-Malays at the next general election.
- This sentiment is consistent with the growing right-wing tendencies that party officials have exhibited in recent months.
- There was little substantive discussion on how the party can reach out to Chinese and Indians who Umno officials have alienated in recent months.
- Still, the mood during the retreat was one of optimism with Kelantan Umno declaring that it would be able to snare the state from PAS at the next polls. PAS has been helming the state since 1990 but Umno officials from Kelantan believe that the momentum is swinging their way.
- Also confident was Perak’s Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir. Beneficiary of a power grab, he was certain that Umno/BN would be able to hold on to the state.
- Less hopeful about their future prospects were Umno representatives from Penang and Selangor.
ISRAEL RELEASES 19 PALESTINIAN FEMALE DETAINEES
Nineteen female Palestinian detainees have been released from an Israeli prison in return for a videotape of a soldier captured by Gaza fighters in June 2006.
Source: Al Jazeera
- A 20th female prisoner will be released, probably next week, the office of Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has said.
- Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from the occupied West Bank, said those freed on Friday were handed over to the Red Cross after their release from the Hasharon prison.
- Eighteen of the prisoners were released to the West Bank, and the other, Fatima al-Zeeq with her 18-month-old baby, was returned to Gaza.
- "Today is like a huge party," said Nisrin Hamdan, 26, as she waited outside Ofer military camp with several of her children, all wearing T-shirts bearing a picture of their 60-year-old mother, held for assisting a suicide bomber.
- "My mother has been absent for seven years and today we will have her in our home."
- Also among those awaiting their loved ones was Nawal Hossein, 37, an aunt of a 22-year-old prisoner who was serving a 20-month sentence for plotting to become a suicide bomber.
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