Posted: Thursday, July 31, 2008 9:48 AM
Filed Under: Cairo, Egypt
By Charlene Gubash, NBC News Producer
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/31/1236952.aspx
CAIRO, Egypt – A relative newcomer to Arab TV, the Turkish soap opera "Noor" has helped narrow the gender gap between men and women across the Middle East.
Women see the lead female character – the independent, aspiring fashion designer Noor -- as a role model. Meantime, her husband on the show -- the blue-eyed former model and athlete Mohannad -- has become the region’s first pin-up boy.
The nightly soap opera has mainly female viewers glued to their TV sets not only because Mohannad is a cuter version of Justin Timberlake, but because he offers something many lack in their lives: romance, tenderness and a supportive partner to his independent wife. Mohannad has become the standard against which many Arab men are being judged, much to their chagrin.
Too much to live up to
According to Arab newspapers, marriages in Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia have dissolved because wives insisted on putting Mohannad's picture on their mobile phone display, or on their bedroom wall. In Bahrain, a woman allegedly begged her husband to have plastic surgery to look like the actor. Another recent divorcee allegedly told her husband "I want to sleep with Mohannad one night and then die."
In Saudi Arabia, where about one in seven people tunes in each night, men circulated the rumor that Kivanc Tatlitug, the actor who plays Mohannad, is gay, which left female viewers distraught until the rumor was dispelled.
Saudi society abounds with Mohannad jokes such as this one: A Saudi woman was touring Turkey with her husband and son when her husband went missing. As she described him to the police, her son shouted, "But that's not what Daddy looks like." "Be quiet," she whispers, "They might just give me Mohannad."
"Mohannad" and "Noor" are now the hottest babies' names in Saudi – even though the religious establishment has condemned the show. A top Saudi cleric forbade viewers from watching the "malicious" soap operas that "corrupt and spread vice" and has also declared that any TV station airing them is against God. This has put Saudi-owned Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC), which airs the show three times a day, at loggerheads with Saudi religious leaders.
Saudi clerics may have an uphill battle: The Turkish serial has so wooed Saudis with its scenic backdrops of the Bosporus, and green, clean vistas of Istanbul that Turkish tourism officials say it has caused Saudi tourism to the country to more than double.
The series has not only made Saudi women aware of the failings of their partners, but the advantages engendered by a more liberal, tolerant Islamic society such as Turkey.
"It is eye opening for Saudi women. They haven't seen such a sensitive, passionate, giving personality," explained Dr. Fawzaya Abu Khalid, a writer and women's activist based in Riyadh.
For many women, the show has opened a whole new world and a lot of men aren’t happy about it. "Men feel threatened. It is the first time women have a role model for male beauty and passion and can compare him with their husbands," said Abu Khalid. "It is the first time they found out their husbands are not nice, that they are not being treated the way they should be, and that there is an option outside."
Glued to TV across the region
Filled with scheming relatives, corny romantic scenes, melodramatic acting and amateurish effects, the sequence bombed in its native Turkey, but found new life among Arab women of all ages from Riyadh to the West Bank, when MBC began airing a dubbed Arabic version four months ago.
Reem, a young Saudi businesswoman who prefers to use her first name only, was introduced to the show by her nieces, ages seven and eight. Reem explained the show’s allure. "Romance is not here, living in a dry desert. Saudi women are missing something in their lives, in the treatment in the family, the wife with her husband and the husband with his wife. What I see from my female customers is that they are attracted by the love and romance and the way the man is treating the woman."
And in east Jerusalem, every night at 10 p.m., the streets are suddenly empty – everyone is glued to the TV watching "Noor" there, too.
Bakiza, the matriarch of a large household in Jerusalem’s Old City, surrounds herself every night with her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. They each take something different from the show. "I admire the story of Mohannad and Noor because of what it shows about how a family should be," said Bakiza. "The grandfather, Fikhry, is the one who takes care of the whole family, decides everything, and solves all the problems. Everyone respects him."
Malouk, a 15-year-old niece of Bakiza, has her own reason for watching the show. "I can only watch it because of Mohannad. He is handsome, romantic, and takes care of his wife. In fact, he is better than his wife."
The popularity of the series goes beyond the family room. It is also a business success story in the local communities. Restaurants, coffee shops, and clothing stores, proudly display posters of the couple in their windows to attract business. In Ramallah, nargila cafes (where water pipes are smoked), have their TV sets tuned for the channel of the series, to keep the customers there.
Even small children are onto the show and are making purchases based on the series’ merchandising. Haitham al-Halak, 45, a grocer in the Old City, says, "I was surprised how children from 6 to 15 years old, are buying from me only the potato chips with their pictures on it!" said Haitham al-Halak, 45, a grocer in the Jerusalem’s Old City.
A positive role model for women
To some young women, the aspiring fashion designer Noor, provides a positive female role model and encourages them to raise the bar not only on future spouses but on themselves.
In Cairo, Na'ama Hegazy, a single 25-year-old, watches "Noor" three times a day and says it has influenced the way she sees her future.
"I want a romantic [man] who treats me like how Mohannad treats his wife. Every day he brings her flowers and tells her romantic words," said Hegazy. "The life will be very good when a husband treats his wife [like that]."
But Hegazy also wants to emulate Noor who is a both a good wife and mother, and a self-reliant professional. "When she has troubles with Mohannad, she wants to him to leave her alone. She wants to work and doesn't want anything from him. This means any woman who falls out with her husband can work and depend on herself."
NBC News’ Lawahez Jabari contributed to this report from Jerusalem.
28 July 2008
Female suicide bombers kill 57, wound dozens
Attackers target Shiite pilgrimate in Baghdad, Kurdish rally in Kirkuk
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25880699/
Associated Press
updated 11:19 a.m. ET, Mon., July. 28, 2008
BAGHDAD - Suicide bombers struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300, police said.
Three female suicide bombers blew their explosive vests in the middle of pilgrims in Baghdad, moments after a roadside bomb attack, killing at least 32 people and wounding 102, Iraqi officials said.
In the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk, 25 people were killed and 185 wounded when a blast tore through a crowd of Kurds protesting a draft provincial elections law, officials said.
Local police said remains recovered from the scene showed the attacker was a woman. The U.S. military confirmed a suicide bombing but said there was no indication the attacker was a woman.
Blow to confidence
The bombings were a devastating blow to the Iraqi public's growing confidence of recent security gains that have seen violence in Iraq drop to its lowest levels in more than four years.
A senior U.S. military official blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for the attacks in Baghdad. The attacks come ahead of U.S. and Iraqi military operations in early August aimed at routing out insurgents from rural hideouts in northern Iraq and solidify recent security gains in urban areas.
"At about 8 a.m. three female suicide bombers detonated themselves among pilgrims heading to Kazimiyah," the main Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said in a statement posted on his Web site.
The pilgrims are marking the death of an eighth-century saint. The attacks took place in the mainly Shiite Karradah district, which is several miles away from the destination of the pilgrimage in Kazimiyah in northern Baghdad. Most of the dead were women and children, police and health officials said.
"I heard women and children crying and shouting and I saw burned women as dead bodies lied in pools of blood on the street," Mustapha Abdullah, a 32-year-old man who was injured in the stomach and legs, said from the hospital where he was being treated.
It was the deadliest attack in Baghdad since June 17, when a truck bombing killed 63 people in Hurriyah, a neighborhood that saw some of the worst Shiite-Sunni slaughter in 2006.
Power-sharing tension
In Kirkuk, the suicide bomber targeted Kurdish demonstrators who were protesting a provincial elections measure blocked in parliament because of disagreement over a power-sharing formula in the disputed city of Kirkuk, an oil-rich area.
Maj. Gen. Jamal Tahir, a Kirkuk police spokesman, said police found a car bomb nearby and detonated it safely.
After the suicide explosion, dozens of angry Kurds opened fire on the offices of a Turkomen political party, which opposes Kurdish claims on Kirkuk.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said no one was hurt in the attack and that the party offices were placed under police protection.
Suicide bombings are increasingly carried out by women, who are more easily able to hide explosives under their all-encompassing black Islamic robes, or abayas, and often are not searched at checkpoints.
Women searching women
But security forces have deployed about 200 women this week to search female pilgrims near Kazimiyah, where the Shiite saint Imam Moussa al-Kadhim is buried in a golden domed shrine.
Since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, who was a Sunni, Shiite political parties have encouraged huge turnouts at religious festivals to display the majority sect's power in Iraq. Sunni religious extremists have often targeted the gatherings to foment sectarian war, but that has not stopped the Shiites.
In 2005, at least 1,000 people also were killed in a bridge stampede caused by rumors of a suicide bomber in Baghdad during the Kazimiyah pilgrimage.
Elsewhere, a roadside bomb attack on Monday killed four civilians near Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, police said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25880699/
Associated Press
updated 11:19 a.m. ET, Mon., July. 28, 2008
BAGHDAD - Suicide bombers struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300, police said.
Three female suicide bombers blew their explosive vests in the middle of pilgrims in Baghdad, moments after a roadside bomb attack, killing at least 32 people and wounding 102, Iraqi officials said.
In the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk, 25 people were killed and 185 wounded when a blast tore through a crowd of Kurds protesting a draft provincial elections law, officials said.
Local police said remains recovered from the scene showed the attacker was a woman. The U.S. military confirmed a suicide bombing but said there was no indication the attacker was a woman.
Blow to confidence
The bombings were a devastating blow to the Iraqi public's growing confidence of recent security gains that have seen violence in Iraq drop to its lowest levels in more than four years.
A senior U.S. military official blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for the attacks in Baghdad. The attacks come ahead of U.S. and Iraqi military operations in early August aimed at routing out insurgents from rural hideouts in northern Iraq and solidify recent security gains in urban areas.
"At about 8 a.m. three female suicide bombers detonated themselves among pilgrims heading to Kazimiyah," the main Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said in a statement posted on his Web site.
The pilgrims are marking the death of an eighth-century saint. The attacks took place in the mainly Shiite Karradah district, which is several miles away from the destination of the pilgrimage in Kazimiyah in northern Baghdad. Most of the dead were women and children, police and health officials said.
"I heard women and children crying and shouting and I saw burned women as dead bodies lied in pools of blood on the street," Mustapha Abdullah, a 32-year-old man who was injured in the stomach and legs, said from the hospital where he was being treated.
It was the deadliest attack in Baghdad since June 17, when a truck bombing killed 63 people in Hurriyah, a neighborhood that saw some of the worst Shiite-Sunni slaughter in 2006.
Power-sharing tension
In Kirkuk, the suicide bomber targeted Kurdish demonstrators who were protesting a provincial elections measure blocked in parliament because of disagreement over a power-sharing formula in the disputed city of Kirkuk, an oil-rich area.
Maj. Gen. Jamal Tahir, a Kirkuk police spokesman, said police found a car bomb nearby and detonated it safely.
After the suicide explosion, dozens of angry Kurds opened fire on the offices of a Turkomen political party, which opposes Kurdish claims on Kirkuk.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said no one was hurt in the attack and that the party offices were placed under police protection.
Suicide bombings are increasingly carried out by women, who are more easily able to hide explosives under their all-encompassing black Islamic robes, or abayas, and often are not searched at checkpoints.
Women searching women
But security forces have deployed about 200 women this week to search female pilgrims near Kazimiyah, where the Shiite saint Imam Moussa al-Kadhim is buried in a golden domed shrine.
Since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, who was a Sunni, Shiite political parties have encouraged huge turnouts at religious festivals to display the majority sect's power in Iraq. Sunni religious extremists have often targeted the gatherings to foment sectarian war, but that has not stopped the Shiites.
In 2005, at least 1,000 people also were killed in a bridge stampede caused by rumors of a suicide bomber in Baghdad during the Kazimiyah pilgrimage.
Elsewhere, a roadside bomb attack on Monday killed four civilians near Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, police said.
26 July 2008
Saving Pompeii From the Ravages of Time and Tourists
July 26, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/arts/design/26ruin.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
POMPEII, Italy — Citing threats to public security and to the site itself, the Italian government has for the first time declared a yearlong state of emergency for the ancient city of Pompeii.
Nearly 2,000 years after Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii under pumice and steaming volcanic ash, some 2.6 million tourists tramp annually through this archaeological site, which is on Unesco’s World Heritage list.
Frescoes in the ancient Roman city, one of Italy’s most popular attractions, fade under the blistering sun or are chipped at by souvenir hunters. Mosaics endure the brunt of tens of thousands of shuffling thongs and sneakers. Teetering columns and walls are propped up by wooden and steel scaffolding. Rusty padlocks deny access to recently restored houses, and custodians seem to be few and far between.
This month the government drafted a retired lawman, Renato Profili, the former prefect of Naples, to map out a strategy to combat neglect and degradation at the site. Mr. Profili has been given special powers for one year so he can bypass the Italian bureaucracy and speedily bolster security and stop the disintegration.
The hope is that many houses and villas now closed to the public and exposed to looting and vandalism will soon be opened and protected.
“Pompeii is a calling card of Italy for foreigners, and it’s important that their impression be positive,” said Italy’s culture minister, Sandro Bondi. He directed Mr. Profili to crack down on “blatant abuses” like unlicensed tour guides and the souvenir vendors who aggressively approach tourists.
Mr. Bondi also said that Mr. Profili would explore “new forms of innovative management” in which private sponsors might be recruited to finance improvements.
Government red tape is blamed for some of the inefficiencies at Pompeii. “If I have to fix a broken wall,” said Pietro Giovanni Guzzo, the superintendent of the ruins, “I first have to put out a tender for an architect to evaluate the damage.
“Then I have to put out a tender for a company to fix the wall. Then I have to see if I have enough money in my budget to pay for the repair, and then finally the work begins.
“If he can bypass all that, it would be very positive.”
“Is there an emergency? I don’t know, I’ve always been very clear about the problems at Pompeii,” Mr. Guzzo added. “The situation here is so immense that ordinary means haven’t been able to control it.”
The 109-acre ruins, about an eighth the size of Central Park (50 more acres or so are underground), are severely understaffed. Workers are prone to wildcat strikes that can leave visitors standing outside locked gates. Local criminal organizations must constantly be kept at bay when bids are solicited for maintenance work or for operating public concessions at the site.
Still, Mr. Guzzo said he had made some progress since he assumed his post in 1995. Visitors now have access to 35 percent of the ruins, compared with 14 percent when he first arrived. He admitted, however, that this improvement was “a drop in the bucket.”
Some experts say Mr. Profili will not have an easy time of it. “I truly hope that he’s able to do everything he wants to, but at Pompeii no one wants to change anything,” said Luigi Crimaco, an archaeologist.
Mr. Crimaco should know. For about two and a half years ending in 2006, he was part of a three-man team responsible for managing Pompeii. He said he had often been hamstrung by restrictive laws leaving him little leeway to address problems.
“The preservation of cultural heritage means ensuring that they survive forever,” Mr. Crimaco said. “To protect Pompeii, it’s necessary to invest and bring in people and outside capital able to inject vitality into the ancient city.”
Ticket-sale proceeds and financing from the European Union and local governments have not met Pompeii’s bottomless financial needs. “Modern cities are constantly plagued by unforeseen expenses,” said Giuseppe Proietti, the culture ministry’s secretary general. “Just put that in the context of an enormous ancient site exposed to the elements.”
That chronic shortfall has brought suggestions that investors should operate Pompeii. The ruins should “be put in a condition where people can best appreciate their beauty, because that’s money to the area,” said Antonio Irlando, an architect and the president of a local conservation group that meticulously monitors Pompeii’s cracking walls, falling stones, abandoned work sites and flaking intonaco, the thin layer of plaster on which a fresco is painted. “This is an area with high unemployment and that shouldn’t be the case, because it has an immense patrimony.”
Claudio Velardi, culture and tourism chief for the Campania region, which includes Pompeii, has suggested an “American style” sponsorship of the site, in which a business would reap image benefits if not a tangible financial return.
But around the globe there is always considerable unease with the notion of the privatization of cultural heritage. “Pompeii is a government responsibility; it’s a World Heritage site, and they don’t want it to become too much of a Disneyland,” said Steven J. R. Ellis of the University of Cincinnati, a director of a research project at Porta Stabia, one of Pompeii’s ancient gates.
“The concern is that private investment will swing interests into making money at Pompeii rather than its cultural upkeep and the assurance that funds are given over to conservation,” Dr. Ellis said.
Despite the deterioration and the bad publicity, the ruins still inspire awe.
“It’s wonderful,” said Maria Nappi, a tourist from Connecticut who was visiting with her family. She said the site gave her a “wonderful sense of life back then, and their art and love of beauty.”
As for the crumbling state of the ruins, she said it “was just Mother Nature taking over,” adding, “It doesn’t matter if it’s here, or France, or the United States.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/arts/design/26ruin.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
POMPEII, Italy — Citing threats to public security and to the site itself, the Italian government has for the first time declared a yearlong state of emergency for the ancient city of Pompeii.
Nearly 2,000 years after Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii under pumice and steaming volcanic ash, some 2.6 million tourists tramp annually through this archaeological site, which is on Unesco’s World Heritage list.
Frescoes in the ancient Roman city, one of Italy’s most popular attractions, fade under the blistering sun or are chipped at by souvenir hunters. Mosaics endure the brunt of tens of thousands of shuffling thongs and sneakers. Teetering columns and walls are propped up by wooden and steel scaffolding. Rusty padlocks deny access to recently restored houses, and custodians seem to be few and far between.
This month the government drafted a retired lawman, Renato Profili, the former prefect of Naples, to map out a strategy to combat neglect and degradation at the site. Mr. Profili has been given special powers for one year so he can bypass the Italian bureaucracy and speedily bolster security and stop the disintegration.
The hope is that many houses and villas now closed to the public and exposed to looting and vandalism will soon be opened and protected.
“Pompeii is a calling card of Italy for foreigners, and it’s important that their impression be positive,” said Italy’s culture minister, Sandro Bondi. He directed Mr. Profili to crack down on “blatant abuses” like unlicensed tour guides and the souvenir vendors who aggressively approach tourists.
Mr. Bondi also said that Mr. Profili would explore “new forms of innovative management” in which private sponsors might be recruited to finance improvements.
Government red tape is blamed for some of the inefficiencies at Pompeii. “If I have to fix a broken wall,” said Pietro Giovanni Guzzo, the superintendent of the ruins, “I first have to put out a tender for an architect to evaluate the damage.
“Then I have to put out a tender for a company to fix the wall. Then I have to see if I have enough money in my budget to pay for the repair, and then finally the work begins.
“If he can bypass all that, it would be very positive.”
“Is there an emergency? I don’t know, I’ve always been very clear about the problems at Pompeii,” Mr. Guzzo added. “The situation here is so immense that ordinary means haven’t been able to control it.”
The 109-acre ruins, about an eighth the size of Central Park (50 more acres or so are underground), are severely understaffed. Workers are prone to wildcat strikes that can leave visitors standing outside locked gates. Local criminal organizations must constantly be kept at bay when bids are solicited for maintenance work or for operating public concessions at the site.
Still, Mr. Guzzo said he had made some progress since he assumed his post in 1995. Visitors now have access to 35 percent of the ruins, compared with 14 percent when he first arrived. He admitted, however, that this improvement was “a drop in the bucket.”
Some experts say Mr. Profili will not have an easy time of it. “I truly hope that he’s able to do everything he wants to, but at Pompeii no one wants to change anything,” said Luigi Crimaco, an archaeologist.
Mr. Crimaco should know. For about two and a half years ending in 2006, he was part of a three-man team responsible for managing Pompeii. He said he had often been hamstrung by restrictive laws leaving him little leeway to address problems.
“The preservation of cultural heritage means ensuring that they survive forever,” Mr. Crimaco said. “To protect Pompeii, it’s necessary to invest and bring in people and outside capital able to inject vitality into the ancient city.”
Ticket-sale proceeds and financing from the European Union and local governments have not met Pompeii’s bottomless financial needs. “Modern cities are constantly plagued by unforeseen expenses,” said Giuseppe Proietti, the culture ministry’s secretary general. “Just put that in the context of an enormous ancient site exposed to the elements.”
That chronic shortfall has brought suggestions that investors should operate Pompeii. The ruins should “be put in a condition where people can best appreciate their beauty, because that’s money to the area,” said Antonio Irlando, an architect and the president of a local conservation group that meticulously monitors Pompeii’s cracking walls, falling stones, abandoned work sites and flaking intonaco, the thin layer of plaster on which a fresco is painted. “This is an area with high unemployment and that shouldn’t be the case, because it has an immense patrimony.”
Claudio Velardi, culture and tourism chief for the Campania region, which includes Pompeii, has suggested an “American style” sponsorship of the site, in which a business would reap image benefits if not a tangible financial return.
But around the globe there is always considerable unease with the notion of the privatization of cultural heritage. “Pompeii is a government responsibility; it’s a World Heritage site, and they don’t want it to become too much of a Disneyland,” said Steven J. R. Ellis of the University of Cincinnati, a director of a research project at Porta Stabia, one of Pompeii’s ancient gates.
“The concern is that private investment will swing interests into making money at Pompeii rather than its cultural upkeep and the assurance that funds are given over to conservation,” Dr. Ellis said.
Despite the deterioration and the bad publicity, the ruins still inspire awe.
“It’s wonderful,” said Maria Nappi, a tourist from Connecticut who was visiting with her family. She said the site gave her a “wonderful sense of life back then, and their art and love of beauty.”
As for the crumbling state of the ruins, she said it “was just Mother Nature taking over,” adding, “It doesn’t matter if it’s here, or France, or the United States.”
15 July 2008
Getting tourists to Afghanistan's 'Grand Canyon'
By Alastair Leithead,
BBC News, Band-e Amir
2008/07/15 08:57:47 GMT
It takes eight bone-shaking hours on a dirt track road to reach Afghanistan's first national park from the capital, but the beauty and serenity is worth crossing the world for.
Imagine the Grand Canyon flooded with deep sapphire lakes, bluer than the cloudless sky, with sheer golden cliffs plunging into turquoise shallows.
High above the Band-e Amir valley in Bamiyan province the Hindu Kush mountains glow an almost-pink, framing the beautiful long pools that overflow into gushing waterfalls.
It's a paradise, an oasis, in central Afghanistan - a bubble of security and peace in a country which is more used to war and instability.
'Better security'
Some tourists do make the tortuous journey and on Fridays the pedalo man with his brightly coloured swan-shaped boats usually has a very busy day.
Unfortunately the aid is always going to the more difficult areas where there are problems and conflict
Governor Habiba Serobi
Afghans travel out to Band-e Amir for picnics, a favourite family pastime at weekends and take a refreshing dip. The boats are a good way of seeing the sights for $8 an hour.
"Any improvements would help attract more visitors here," said Ismael Alaa, poring over the book where he notes down which boats have been hired.
"But particularly, we need better roads to bring in people and supplies - and better security, even though it's not bad here."
There are a few accommodation tents and trinket stores plonked near the car park - just a few tables set up to serve the tourist trade.
One or two places will even slaughter a lamb for lunch if they think the group is big enough to make it worth their while.
Attaqulla cooked our kebabs on a narrow metal barbecue, but his full time job is with the local department of tourism.
He explained the attraction of the new national park: "It's not an artificial lake, it's natural and really deep.
"Because of the way it's been formed, almost like it's been blocked at one end, people look at it as a miracle and come from all over the country to see it.
"But local people from Bamiyan believe the third caliph of Islam came here once, so they treat it as a religious site and come to pray at the shrine."
Standing high on the edge of the canyon the views are truly breathtaking, but the one thing missing is people.
There are very few visitors to the area, not least because of the roads, but also because of the deteriorating security situation in the surrounding provinces.
It's one of the most peaceful parts of Afghanistan, but the Governor, Habiba Serobi, the only female governor in the country, believes if more money isn't put into the area then the situation could worsen.
'Destroyed'
"Unfortunately the aid is always going to the more difficult areas where there are problems and conflict - that's where the international community puts more money," she said.
"They don't care about Bamiyan if it is safe and secure, but the danger is people will be angry and disappointed with the central government and the international community.
"So in the future the distance between the government and the people will be bigger and it will be a cause of problems."
There is a small military presence of troops from New Zealand in the province and there are some developments - a new town hall has just been finished and work has started on building new roads in the city.
But there is a lot of poverty and near to the mountain where the famous Buddhas once stood before they were destroyed by the Taleban in 2001, families are living in caves.
This beautiful and peaceful part of a violent country has huge potential to make Afghanistan a lot of money, but only when the majority of foreign visitors here aren't carrying guns and fighting an insurgency.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7506146.stm
Published: 2008/07/15 08:57:47 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
BBC News, Band-e Amir
2008/07/15 08:57:47 GMT
It takes eight bone-shaking hours on a dirt track road to reach Afghanistan's first national park from the capital, but the beauty and serenity is worth crossing the world for.
Imagine the Grand Canyon flooded with deep sapphire lakes, bluer than the cloudless sky, with sheer golden cliffs plunging into turquoise shallows.
High above the Band-e Amir valley in Bamiyan province the Hindu Kush mountains glow an almost-pink, framing the beautiful long pools that overflow into gushing waterfalls.
It's a paradise, an oasis, in central Afghanistan - a bubble of security and peace in a country which is more used to war and instability.
'Better security'
Some tourists do make the tortuous journey and on Fridays the pedalo man with his brightly coloured swan-shaped boats usually has a very busy day.
Unfortunately the aid is always going to the more difficult areas where there are problems and conflict
Governor Habiba Serobi
Afghans travel out to Band-e Amir for picnics, a favourite family pastime at weekends and take a refreshing dip. The boats are a good way of seeing the sights for $8 an hour.
"Any improvements would help attract more visitors here," said Ismael Alaa, poring over the book where he notes down which boats have been hired.
"But particularly, we need better roads to bring in people and supplies - and better security, even though it's not bad here."
There are a few accommodation tents and trinket stores plonked near the car park - just a few tables set up to serve the tourist trade.
One or two places will even slaughter a lamb for lunch if they think the group is big enough to make it worth their while.
Attaqulla cooked our kebabs on a narrow metal barbecue, but his full time job is with the local department of tourism.
He explained the attraction of the new national park: "It's not an artificial lake, it's natural and really deep.
"Because of the way it's been formed, almost like it's been blocked at one end, people look at it as a miracle and come from all over the country to see it.
"But local people from Bamiyan believe the third caliph of Islam came here once, so they treat it as a religious site and come to pray at the shrine."
Standing high on the edge of the canyon the views are truly breathtaking, but the one thing missing is people.
There are very few visitors to the area, not least because of the roads, but also because of the deteriorating security situation in the surrounding provinces.
It's one of the most peaceful parts of Afghanistan, but the Governor, Habiba Serobi, the only female governor in the country, believes if more money isn't put into the area then the situation could worsen.
'Destroyed'
"Unfortunately the aid is always going to the more difficult areas where there are problems and conflict - that's where the international community puts more money," she said.
"They don't care about Bamiyan if it is safe and secure, but the danger is people will be angry and disappointed with the central government and the international community.
"So in the future the distance between the government and the people will be bigger and it will be a cause of problems."
There is a small military presence of troops from New Zealand in the province and there are some developments - a new town hall has just been finished and work has started on building new roads in the city.
But there is a lot of poverty and near to the mountain where the famous Buddhas once stood before they were destroyed by the Taleban in 2001, families are living in caves.
This beautiful and peaceful part of a violent country has huge potential to make Afghanistan a lot of money, but only when the majority of foreign visitors here aren't carrying guns and fighting an insurgency.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7506146.stm
Published: 2008/07/15 08:57:47 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
First Guantanamo video released
Go to link at the bottom of the page to see the video...
2008/07/15 13:16:05 GMT
The video was filmed secretly through an air duct
A videotape of a detainee being questioned at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay has been released for the first time.
It shows 16-year-old Omar Khadr being asked by Canadian officials in 2003 about events leading up to his capture by US forces, Canadian media have said.
The Canadian citizen is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.
He is seen in a distressed state and complaining about the medical care.
The footage was made public by Mr Khadr's lawyers following a Supreme Court ruling in May that the Canadian authorities had to hand over key evidence against him to allow a full defence of the charges he is facing.
'Help me'
Mr Khadr, the only Westerner still held at the jail, was 15 when he was captured by US forces during a gun battle at a suspected al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.
During the 10-minute video of his questioning in Guantanamo a year later, he can be seen crying, his face buried in his hands, and pulling at his hair. He can be heard repeatedly chanting: "Help me."
I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth
Dennis Edney
Lawyer for Omar Khadr
At one point he lifts his orange shirt to show the foreign ministry official and agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) wounds on his back and stomach which he says he sustained in Afghanistan.
"I'm not a doctor, but I think you're getting good medical care," one of the officials responds.
Khadr says: "No I'm not. You're not here... I lost my eyes. I lost my feet. Everything!" in reference to how his vision and physical health were affected.
"No, you still have your eyes and your feet are still at the end of your legs, you know," a man says.
Sobbing uncontrollably, Mr Khadr tells the officials several times: "You don't care about me."
In an accompanying classified document describing the interrogation, Mr Khadr also says he was tortured while being held at the US military detention centre at Bagram air base in Afghanistan.
One of Mr Khadr's lawyers, Dennis Edney, said they hoped the video would cause an outcry in Canada and pressure Prime Minister Stephen Harper to demand the US not prosecute their client.
"I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth," Mr Edney told the Toronto Star.
"Canadians should demand to know why they've been lied to."
Mr Harper reiterated last week that he would not interfere in Mr Khadr's military tribunal, due to begin at Guantanamo on 8 October.
Mr Khadr, now 21, faces multiple terrorism-related charges, the most serious of which is murder. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7507216.stm
Published: 2008/07/15 13:16:05 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
2008/07/15 13:16:05 GMT
The video was filmed secretly through an air duct
A videotape of a detainee being questioned at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay has been released for the first time.
It shows 16-year-old Omar Khadr being asked by Canadian officials in 2003 about events leading up to his capture by US forces, Canadian media have said.
The Canadian citizen is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.
He is seen in a distressed state and complaining about the medical care.
The footage was made public by Mr Khadr's lawyers following a Supreme Court ruling in May that the Canadian authorities had to hand over key evidence against him to allow a full defence of the charges he is facing.
'Help me'
Mr Khadr, the only Westerner still held at the jail, was 15 when he was captured by US forces during a gun battle at a suspected al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.
During the 10-minute video of his questioning in Guantanamo a year later, he can be seen crying, his face buried in his hands, and pulling at his hair. He can be heard repeatedly chanting: "Help me."
I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth
Dennis Edney
Lawyer for Omar Khadr
At one point he lifts his orange shirt to show the foreign ministry official and agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) wounds on his back and stomach which he says he sustained in Afghanistan.
"I'm not a doctor, but I think you're getting good medical care," one of the officials responds.
Khadr says: "No I'm not. You're not here... I lost my eyes. I lost my feet. Everything!" in reference to how his vision and physical health were affected.
"No, you still have your eyes and your feet are still at the end of your legs, you know," a man says.
Sobbing uncontrollably, Mr Khadr tells the officials several times: "You don't care about me."
In an accompanying classified document describing the interrogation, Mr Khadr also says he was tortured while being held at the US military detention centre at Bagram air base in Afghanistan.
One of Mr Khadr's lawyers, Dennis Edney, said they hoped the video would cause an outcry in Canada and pressure Prime Minister Stephen Harper to demand the US not prosecute their client.
"I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth," Mr Edney told the Toronto Star.
"Canadians should demand to know why they've been lied to."
Mr Harper reiterated last week that he would not interfere in Mr Khadr's military tribunal, due to begin at Guantanamo on 8 October.
Mr Khadr, now 21, faces multiple terrorism-related charges, the most serious of which is murder. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7507216.stm
Published: 2008/07/15 13:16:05 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
14 July 2008
Sudanese president charged with genocide
Ilhamdi'allah!!! Something may finally happen!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/07/14/darfur.charges/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
(CNN) -- The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has filed genocide charges against Sudan's president for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday urged a three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to prevent the deaths of about 2.5 million people forced from their homes in the war-torn region of Darfur and who are still under attack from government-backed Janjaweed militia.
The five charges against al-Bashir include masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in the war-torn region with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation.
In an exclusive interview with CNN's Nic Robertson in the Dutch city of The Hague, the prosecutor said he had a responsibility to bring charges against al-Bashir.
"The (U.N.) Security Council referred the case to me and requested me to investigate," Moreno-Ocampo said. Read a transcript of the interview
"After three years I have strong evidence that al-Bashir is committing a genocide. I cannot be blackmailed, I cannot yield. Silence never helped the victims. Silence helped the perpetrators. The prosecutor should not be silent."
The judges must now decide whether to issue the warrant, and it is widely expected that they will; the judges have approved all 11 of Moreno-Ocampo's previous submissions to the court.
If issued, the warrant would make al-Bashir the first sitting president to be indicted by the ICC for genocide. Watch as ICC prosecutor targets al-Bashir »
In his request, Moreno-Ocampo says there are reasonable grounds to believe that al-Bashir bears criminal responsibility for five counts of genocide, two counts of crimes against humanity, and two counts of war crimes.
The alleged crimes stem from a brutal counter-insurgency campaign the Sudanese government conducted after rebels began an uprising in Sudan's western Darfur region in 2003. The United States and much of the world has already characterized the campaign as genocide.
The authorities armed and cooperated with Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur, killing, torturing and raping residents there, according to the United Nations, western governments and human rights organizations. The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels draw strength.
About 300,000 people have died in Darfur, the United Nations estimates, and 2.5 million have been forced from their homes. Watch a tour of Darfur's deserted Northern Corridor »
Moreno-Ocampo says al-Bashir targeted three ethnic groups living in the region -- including the Fur group, for whom Darfur is named -- solely on account of their ethnicity.
Al-Bashir bears responsibility, Moreno-Ocampo says, because he sat at the apex of the government.
"For such crimes to be committed over a period of five years and throughout Darfur, al-Bashir had to mobilize and keep mobilized the whole state apparatus; he had to control and direct perpetrators; and he had to rely on a genocidal plan," Moreno-Ocampo wrote as background for arrest warrant request.
Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations has already condemned the charges. Watch how some are concerned by the move
"It is a criminal move that should be resisted by all," Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad said Friday amid reports that the charges were imminent. "We will resist it by all possible legal means."
Mohamad accused Moreno-Ocampo of "playing with fire."
In Khartoum, a crowd of about 2,000 people greeted al-Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 coup, when he arrived for an emergency meeting of his Cabinet Sunday to discuss the charges.
When he saw the crowd, al-Bashir climbed onto a pickup truck and pumped his fist in the air, whipping the group into a frenzy.
Some held signs saying, "You are joking... Ocamp-who?" and "Death to America."
A high-ranking ambassador at the presidential palace called the possible prosecution stupid and malicious, and warned that the Sudanese people would see it as proof of a larger conspiracy against the country. Watch why Sudan's leader has support in China »
In 2005, the Security Council cleared the way for possible war crimes prosecutions related to Darfur by the ICC, a permanent tribunal set up to handle prosecutions related to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court is based on a treaty signed by 106 nations -- excluding Sudan.
In addition to Sudan, ICC prosecutors are investigating offenses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and the Central African Republic.
The attacks in Darfur over the past five years have followed a common pattern, Moreno-Ocampo's evidence says.
Members of Sudan's armed forces, often acting together with the militias and under al-Bashir's command, singled out villages and towns inhabited by tribal groups. Troops and militia members shot and killed civilians, and sometimes the Sudanese air force was called in to bomb villages and towns in support of the ground forces, the prosecutor's evidence says.
Residents who fled were often chased and attacked or left to fend for themselves in the wilderness, the evidence says.
The attacks, it says, undermined the ability of the targeted groups to survive in Darfur. The destruction of their homes scattered entire communities, and the pervasive rape and sexual violence against girls and women -- who are often targeted when they are out collecting firewood or water -- has torn families apart. Watch how UNICEF is trying to prevent rape in Darfur
"They are raping women, raping girls, raping in groups -- raping to destroy the communities," Moreno-Ocampo told CNN. "Rape is a tool in the genocide -- the most important tool today."
The chief U.N. humanitarian coordinator, John Holmes, said Friday that aid workers were already preparing for the effects of an arrest warrant against al-Bashir, making sure staff members are safe.
Moreno-Ocampo said any attacks on peacekeepers would be another reason to bring al-Bashir to justice.
The ICC has already indicted two men for Darfur crimes -- Ahmad Harun, Sudan's former minister of the interior who is now in charge of humanitarian affairs for the Sudanese government and militia leader Ali Kushayb -- but neither has been brought to justice.
Once the ICC indicts someone, authorities in that person's native country -- or the country in which the indicted person is located -- have the power to detain the indicted person for trial at the Hague.
Kushayb and Harun both remain in Sudan where they enjoy the protection of al-Bashir, Moreno-Ocampo said. Since they have not been arrested, the prosecutor says, it is unlikely al-Bashir will be -- and he says it will probably take a U.N. Security Council resolution for al-Bashir to be brought to justice.
Senior Sudanese government leaders have previously told CNN that reports of atrocities in Darfur are exaggerated.
"Yes, there has been a war and some people have died, but it's not like what has been reflected in the media," Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid said last month.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/07/14/darfur.charges/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
(CNN) -- The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has filed genocide charges against Sudan's president for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday urged a three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to prevent the deaths of about 2.5 million people forced from their homes in the war-torn region of Darfur and who are still under attack from government-backed Janjaweed militia.
The five charges against al-Bashir include masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in the war-torn region with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation.
In an exclusive interview with CNN's Nic Robertson in the Dutch city of The Hague, the prosecutor said he had a responsibility to bring charges against al-Bashir.
"The (U.N.) Security Council referred the case to me and requested me to investigate," Moreno-Ocampo said. Read a transcript of the interview
"After three years I have strong evidence that al-Bashir is committing a genocide. I cannot be blackmailed, I cannot yield. Silence never helped the victims. Silence helped the perpetrators. The prosecutor should not be silent."
The judges must now decide whether to issue the warrant, and it is widely expected that they will; the judges have approved all 11 of Moreno-Ocampo's previous submissions to the court.
If issued, the warrant would make al-Bashir the first sitting president to be indicted by the ICC for genocide. Watch as ICC prosecutor targets al-Bashir »
In his request, Moreno-Ocampo says there are reasonable grounds to believe that al-Bashir bears criminal responsibility for five counts of genocide, two counts of crimes against humanity, and two counts of war crimes.
The alleged crimes stem from a brutal counter-insurgency campaign the Sudanese government conducted after rebels began an uprising in Sudan's western Darfur region in 2003. The United States and much of the world has already characterized the campaign as genocide.
The authorities armed and cooperated with Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur, killing, torturing and raping residents there, according to the United Nations, western governments and human rights organizations. The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels draw strength.
About 300,000 people have died in Darfur, the United Nations estimates, and 2.5 million have been forced from their homes. Watch a tour of Darfur's deserted Northern Corridor »
Moreno-Ocampo says al-Bashir targeted three ethnic groups living in the region -- including the Fur group, for whom Darfur is named -- solely on account of their ethnicity.
Al-Bashir bears responsibility, Moreno-Ocampo says, because he sat at the apex of the government.
"For such crimes to be committed over a period of five years and throughout Darfur, al-Bashir had to mobilize and keep mobilized the whole state apparatus; he had to control and direct perpetrators; and he had to rely on a genocidal plan," Moreno-Ocampo wrote as background for arrest warrant request.
Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations has already condemned the charges. Watch how some are concerned by the move
"It is a criminal move that should be resisted by all," Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad said Friday amid reports that the charges were imminent. "We will resist it by all possible legal means."
Mohamad accused Moreno-Ocampo of "playing with fire."
In Khartoum, a crowd of about 2,000 people greeted al-Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 coup, when he arrived for an emergency meeting of his Cabinet Sunday to discuss the charges.
When he saw the crowd, al-Bashir climbed onto a pickup truck and pumped his fist in the air, whipping the group into a frenzy.
Some held signs saying, "You are joking... Ocamp-who?" and "Death to America."
A high-ranking ambassador at the presidential palace called the possible prosecution stupid and malicious, and warned that the Sudanese people would see it as proof of a larger conspiracy against the country. Watch why Sudan's leader has support in China »
In 2005, the Security Council cleared the way for possible war crimes prosecutions related to Darfur by the ICC, a permanent tribunal set up to handle prosecutions related to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court is based on a treaty signed by 106 nations -- excluding Sudan.
In addition to Sudan, ICC prosecutors are investigating offenses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and the Central African Republic.
The attacks in Darfur over the past five years have followed a common pattern, Moreno-Ocampo's evidence says.
Members of Sudan's armed forces, often acting together with the militias and under al-Bashir's command, singled out villages and towns inhabited by tribal groups. Troops and militia members shot and killed civilians, and sometimes the Sudanese air force was called in to bomb villages and towns in support of the ground forces, the prosecutor's evidence says.
Residents who fled were often chased and attacked or left to fend for themselves in the wilderness, the evidence says.
The attacks, it says, undermined the ability of the targeted groups to survive in Darfur. The destruction of their homes scattered entire communities, and the pervasive rape and sexual violence against girls and women -- who are often targeted when they are out collecting firewood or water -- has torn families apart. Watch how UNICEF is trying to prevent rape in Darfur
"They are raping women, raping girls, raping in groups -- raping to destroy the communities," Moreno-Ocampo told CNN. "Rape is a tool in the genocide -- the most important tool today."
The chief U.N. humanitarian coordinator, John Holmes, said Friday that aid workers were already preparing for the effects of an arrest warrant against al-Bashir, making sure staff members are safe.
Moreno-Ocampo said any attacks on peacekeepers would be another reason to bring al-Bashir to justice.
The ICC has already indicted two men for Darfur crimes -- Ahmad Harun, Sudan's former minister of the interior who is now in charge of humanitarian affairs for the Sudanese government and militia leader Ali Kushayb -- but neither has been brought to justice.
Once the ICC indicts someone, authorities in that person's native country -- or the country in which the indicted person is located -- have the power to detain the indicted person for trial at the Hague.
Kushayb and Harun both remain in Sudan where they enjoy the protection of al-Bashir, Moreno-Ocampo said. Since they have not been arrested, the prosecutor says, it is unlikely al-Bashir will be -- and he says it will probably take a U.N. Security Council resolution for al-Bashir to be brought to justice.
Senior Sudanese government leaders have previously told CNN that reports of atrocities in Darfur are exaggerated.
"Yes, there has been a war and some people have died, but it's not like what has been reflected in the media," Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid said last month.
12 July 2008
Gay Old Time in Sharia Land
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07072007/gossip/pagesix/gay_old_time_in_sharia_land_pagesix_.htm
July 7, 2007 -- THE ayatollahs may not slap him with a fatwah as they did Salman Rushdie, but fundamentalist clerics are bound to be enraged at Michael Luongo over "Gay Travels in the Muslim World" (Harrington Park Press), his book celebrating homosexuality in the Middle East. Luongo who compiled chapters by 17 writers covering Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Bangladesh, Turkey and Saudi Arabia had the foreword written by Afdhere Jama, the founder of Huriyah, "the world's first magazine for queer Muslims," who, he claims, number 150 million.
"There is something intoxicatingly beautiful about an Arab man who paints his eyes with kohl," Jama states in the book.
Luongo writes about his quest to find some man-on-man action in Afghanistan. "I was painfully curious what a gay party would be like in Kabul, but at the same time, I wondered if I were being led into a trap. I wanted a scoop, but I didn't want to be a gay Daniel Pearl," he writes.
Ushered into a "special room for men," Luongo said he found they "were not men who sip cosmos and discuss 'Queer Eye,' there was no doubt about their masculinity."
He then has fantasies of being "passed around as a party favor at an Afghan orgy" before spending the night "caressing and holding hands" with a Muslim man who would now and then say, 'I wish you were a girl,' which I found oddly disconcerting, and made me wonder if all we were doing was displacement for affections he could not express otherwise."
The author adds: "The truth about many young Afghan men is that although they've lived through hardship, treat guns like fashion accessories, and murdered for their country to free it from the Taliban, strict Islamic rule means that they have never seen a woman naked."
He wonders whether strict Muslim laws restricting interaction between men and women make gay sex more prevalent there than in the West. "Is it that they were opportunistic, being with one another if they could not have a woman?" he wonders.
"My time in Kabul was perhaps the most oddly romantic time I had ever had with other men from being wooed with flowers to stories of wartime bravery."
Luongo told Page Six he's ready to take the heat. "In August and September I will have some events for the book - likely fatwah-inducing, a la Salman Rushdie," he said.
If this interests you, check out the author's website
July 7, 2007 -- THE ayatollahs may not slap him with a fatwah as they did Salman Rushdie, but fundamentalist clerics are bound to be enraged at Michael Luongo over "Gay Travels in the Muslim World" (Harrington Park Press), his book celebrating homosexuality in the Middle East. Luongo who compiled chapters by 17 writers covering Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Bangladesh, Turkey and Saudi Arabia had the foreword written by Afdhere Jama, the founder of Huriyah, "the world's first magazine for queer Muslims," who, he claims, number 150 million.
"There is something intoxicatingly beautiful about an Arab man who paints his eyes with kohl," Jama states in the book.
Luongo writes about his quest to find some man-on-man action in Afghanistan. "I was painfully curious what a gay party would be like in Kabul, but at the same time, I wondered if I were being led into a trap. I wanted a scoop, but I didn't want to be a gay Daniel Pearl," he writes.
Ushered into a "special room for men," Luongo said he found they "were not men who sip cosmos and discuss 'Queer Eye,' there was no doubt about their masculinity."
He then has fantasies of being "passed around as a party favor at an Afghan orgy" before spending the night "caressing and holding hands" with a Muslim man who would now and then say, 'I wish you were a girl,' which I found oddly disconcerting, and made me wonder if all we were doing was displacement for affections he could not express otherwise."
The author adds: "The truth about many young Afghan men is that although they've lived through hardship, treat guns like fashion accessories, and murdered for their country to free it from the Taliban, strict Islamic rule means that they have never seen a woman naked."
He wonders whether strict Muslim laws restricting interaction between men and women make gay sex more prevalent there than in the West. "Is it that they were opportunistic, being with one another if they could not have a woman?" he wonders.
"My time in Kabul was perhaps the most oddly romantic time I had ever had with other men from being wooed with flowers to stories of wartime bravery."
Luongo told Page Six he's ready to take the heat. "In August and September I will have some events for the book - likely fatwah-inducing, a la Salman Rushdie," he said.
If this interests you, check out the author's website
11 July 2008
Afghan official: U.S. strike hit wedding party
47 civilians killed, commission chief says; U.S. says probe still under way
The Associated Press
updated 9:38 a.m. ET, Fri., July. 11, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. military airstrike this week killed 47 civilians traveling to a wedding, the head of an Afghan government commission investigating the incident said Friday.
The airstrike on Sunday in Deh Bala district of Nuristan province also wounded nine civilians, said Burhanullah Shinwari, the deputy chairman of the Senate, who led the delegation.
The U.S. military on Sunday denied that any civilians were killed in the incident. At the time Afghan officials said 27 civilians had been killed.
On Friday, U.S. coalition spokesman 1st Lt. Nathan Perry said that "any loss of innocent life is tragic."
"I assure you that civilians are never targeted, and that our forces go to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties," he said. "This incident regarding the air strike on July 6th is still under investigation by coalition forces."
Shinwari said that 39 of those killed in the airstrike were women and children, including the bride.
Dispatched by Karzai
The group was targeted twice on Sunday, as they walked along with the bride from her village toward the groom's house in another village, Shinwari said.
The nine-man commission was dispatched by President Hamid Karzai to investigate the incident on Tuesday. They returned to Kabul on Thursday. The commission included officials from the Ministry of Defense, the country's intelligence agency and parliament.
Shinwari said the group gathered information from eyewitnesses and victim's relatives.
All those killed in Deh Bala incident were buried in one cemetery near the village where the attack happened, Shinwari said.
"They were all civilians, with no links to al-Qaida or the Taliban," Shinwari said.
The members of the commission gave $2,000 for every person killed and $1,000 for those wounded, he said.
The issue of civilian casualties has caused friction between the Afghan government and U.S. and NATO troops, and has weakened the standing of the Western-backed Karzai in the eyes of the population.
More than 2,100 people — mostly militants — have been killed in insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan this year. More than 8,000 people died in attacks last year, according to the U.N., the most since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25635571/
The Associated Press
updated 9:38 a.m. ET, Fri., July. 11, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. military airstrike this week killed 47 civilians traveling to a wedding, the head of an Afghan government commission investigating the incident said Friday.
The airstrike on Sunday in Deh Bala district of Nuristan province also wounded nine civilians, said Burhanullah Shinwari, the deputy chairman of the Senate, who led the delegation.
The U.S. military on Sunday denied that any civilians were killed in the incident. At the time Afghan officials said 27 civilians had been killed.
On Friday, U.S. coalition spokesman 1st Lt. Nathan Perry said that "any loss of innocent life is tragic."
"I assure you that civilians are never targeted, and that our forces go to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties," he said. "This incident regarding the air strike on July 6th is still under investigation by coalition forces."
Shinwari said that 39 of those killed in the airstrike were women and children, including the bride.
Dispatched by Karzai
The group was targeted twice on Sunday, as they walked along with the bride from her village toward the groom's house in another village, Shinwari said.
The nine-man commission was dispatched by President Hamid Karzai to investigate the incident on Tuesday. They returned to Kabul on Thursday. The commission included officials from the Ministry of Defense, the country's intelligence agency and parliament.
Shinwari said the group gathered information from eyewitnesses and victim's relatives.
All those killed in Deh Bala incident were buried in one cemetery near the village where the attack happened, Shinwari said.
"They were all civilians, with no links to al-Qaida or the Taliban," Shinwari said.
The members of the commission gave $2,000 for every person killed and $1,000 for those wounded, he said.
The issue of civilian casualties has caused friction between the Afghan government and U.S. and NATO troops, and has weakened the standing of the Western-backed Karzai in the eyes of the population.
More than 2,100 people — mostly militants — have been killed in insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan this year. More than 8,000 people died in attacks last year, according to the U.N., the most since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25635571/
10 July 2008
Report: 4 suspects held in U.S. consulate attack
3 police, 3 assailants killed in Istanbul shootout; al-Qaida link probed
The Associated Press
updated 8:35 a.m. ET, Thurs., July. 10, 2008
ISTANBUL, Turkey - Four suspects have been detained in connection with the attack on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, a Turkey news agency reported Thursday.
The Dogan news agency quoted Interior Minister Besir Atalay as saying that four were in custody. The attack Wednesday resulted in the deaths of three policemen and three assailants.
One of the assailants escaped in a getaway car. It was not immediately clear if he was among the four detained Thursday.
Meantime, investigators are trying to determine whether of one of the gunmen in the attack was linked to al-Qaida terrorists.
Erkan Kargin, one of the three attackers killed by police, had traveled to Afghanistan, said a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Police have said they suspect the armed men were linked to al-Qaida even though the assault did not match the terror group's usual hallmarks, such as coordinated attacks by suicide bombers that cause mass casualties.
"They chose one of the best protected buildings in Turkey, not because they wanted to blow it up, but because they knew it would attract world attention," said Ihsan Bal, head of terrorism studies at Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization.
All Turkish assailants
The bearded gunmen emerged from a car and shot a traffic officer dead, then swarmed the guard quarters at the entrance to the consulate, where two policemen were killed, according to security video. Officers fired back, killing three of the assailants — all Turks — as bystanders fled for cover.
Turkish authorities have been increasingly targeting suspected Islamic militants since al-Qaida-linked suicide bombers killed 58 people in 2003 by targeting two synagogues, the British consulate and a British bank in Istanbul.
Turkey also has been cracking down on both ultranationalists who have attacked Christians and on Kurdish rebels, two groups it deems a threat to the country's security.
"There is nothing more sensational than attacking the U.S. consulate for an Islamic militant," said Emin Demirel, a Turkish terrorism expert and author of "Al-Qaida Elements in Turkey." "However, this attack certainly lacks the sophisticated hallmarks of al-Qaida."
The U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Turkey's foreign ministry said security around all American diplomatic missions in Turkey had been increased.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25618927/
The Associated Press
updated 8:35 a.m. ET, Thurs., July. 10, 2008
ISTANBUL, Turkey - Four suspects have been detained in connection with the attack on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, a Turkey news agency reported Thursday.
The Dogan news agency quoted Interior Minister Besir Atalay as saying that four were in custody. The attack Wednesday resulted in the deaths of three policemen and three assailants.
One of the assailants escaped in a getaway car. It was not immediately clear if he was among the four detained Thursday.
Meantime, investigators are trying to determine whether of one of the gunmen in the attack was linked to al-Qaida terrorists.
Erkan Kargin, one of the three attackers killed by police, had traveled to Afghanistan, said a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Police have said they suspect the armed men were linked to al-Qaida even though the assault did not match the terror group's usual hallmarks, such as coordinated attacks by suicide bombers that cause mass casualties.
"They chose one of the best protected buildings in Turkey, not because they wanted to blow it up, but because they knew it would attract world attention," said Ihsan Bal, head of terrorism studies at Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization.
All Turkish assailants
The bearded gunmen emerged from a car and shot a traffic officer dead, then swarmed the guard quarters at the entrance to the consulate, where two policemen were killed, according to security video. Officers fired back, killing three of the assailants — all Turks — as bystanders fled for cover.
Turkish authorities have been increasingly targeting suspected Islamic militants since al-Qaida-linked suicide bombers killed 58 people in 2003 by targeting two synagogues, the British consulate and a British bank in Istanbul.
Turkey also has been cracking down on both ultranationalists who have attacked Christians and on Kurdish rebels, two groups it deems a threat to the country's security.
"There is nothing more sensational than attacking the U.S. consulate for an Islamic militant," said Emin Demirel, a Turkish terrorism expert and author of "Al-Qaida Elements in Turkey." "However, this attack certainly lacks the sophisticated hallmarks of al-Qaida."
The U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Turkey's foreign ministry said security around all American diplomatic missions in Turkey had been increased.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25618927/
Report: Iran test-fires more missiles
Rice warns Tehran that U.S. will not renege on pledge to protect Israel
MSNBC News Services
updated 6:21 a.m. ET, Thurs., July. 10, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran test-fired more long-range missiles overnight in a second round of exercises meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack by the United States or Israel, Iranian state television reported Thursday.
The weapons have “special capabilities” and included missiles launched from naval ships in the Persian Gulf, along with torpedoes and surface-to-surface missiles, the broadcast said. It did not elaborate.
A brief video clip showed two missiles being fired simultaneously in the darkness.
‘We will defend American interests’
The launches come hours after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that Washington will not back down in the face of threats against Israel.
“We are sending a message to Iran that we will defend American interests and the interests of our allies,” Rice said Thursday in Georgia at the close of a three-day Eastern European trip.
“We take very, very strongly our obligation to help our allies defend themselves and no one should be confused about that,” Rice said after meeting Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Among the missiles Iran said it tested Wednesday was a new version of the Shahab-3, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead.
That would put Israel, Turkey, the Arabian peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan all within striking distance.
Wednesday’s missile tests were conducted at the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about 40 percent of the world’s oil passes. Iran has threatened to shut down traffic in the strait if attacked.
Iranian state TV and radio said that Thursday's missile tests took place during the night into Thursday.
“Deep in the Persian Gulf waters, the launch of different types of ground-to-sea, surface-to-surface, sea-to-air and the powerful launch of the Hout missile successfully took place,” state radio said without giving further details of the missiles.
Iranian satellite channel Press TV said Hout was a torpedo.
Oil prices jumped on news of Wednesday’s tests, rising $1.44 to $137.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25617591/
MSNBC News Services
updated 6:21 a.m. ET, Thurs., July. 10, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran test-fired more long-range missiles overnight in a second round of exercises meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack by the United States or Israel, Iranian state television reported Thursday.
The weapons have “special capabilities” and included missiles launched from naval ships in the Persian Gulf, along with torpedoes and surface-to-surface missiles, the broadcast said. It did not elaborate.
A brief video clip showed two missiles being fired simultaneously in the darkness.
‘We will defend American interests’
The launches come hours after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that Washington will not back down in the face of threats against Israel.
“We are sending a message to Iran that we will defend American interests and the interests of our allies,” Rice said Thursday in Georgia at the close of a three-day Eastern European trip.
“We take very, very strongly our obligation to help our allies defend themselves and no one should be confused about that,” Rice said after meeting Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Among the missiles Iran said it tested Wednesday was a new version of the Shahab-3, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead.
That would put Israel, Turkey, the Arabian peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan all within striking distance.
Wednesday’s missile tests were conducted at the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about 40 percent of the world’s oil passes. Iran has threatened to shut down traffic in the strait if attacked.
Iranian state TV and radio said that Thursday's missile tests took place during the night into Thursday.
“Deep in the Persian Gulf waters, the launch of different types of ground-to-sea, surface-to-surface, sea-to-air and the powerful launch of the Hout missile successfully took place,” state radio said without giving further details of the missiles.
Iranian satellite channel Press TV said Hout was a torpedo.
Oil prices jumped on news of Wednesday’s tests, rising $1.44 to $137.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25617591/
09 July 2008
Turkey consulate attack 'terrorism,' says U.S. envoy
Story Highlights
NEW: U.S. ambassador says shootout was 'obvious act of terrorism'
Turkey: Armed men have opened fire from a vehicle outside the U.S. consulate
CNN-Turk reports that at least six people were killed in the gun battle
People in the heavily fortified building were not hurt
ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- The shootout outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul which left six people dead was an "obvious act of terrorism," the U.S. ambassador to Turkey says.
Speaking to reporters in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Ross Wilson said he had asked Turkey to implement additional security measures after gunmen Wednesday pulled up in a car and opened fire at a police security checkpoint at the consulate entrance.
"I'm not in a position to speculate on who this is or why they have carried out this action," Wilson said. "But any time there is an attack on diplomatic establishment... (it) is more or less by definition is an act of terrorism."
"Our countries will stand together to confront this as we have confronted some other problems in the past," he added. Watch emergency staff helping victim »
Three police officers and three assailants were killed in the shootout near the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, the city's governor said.
Two other police officers were wounded in the attack. A U.S. consulate official said no American citizens or employees were hurt. Are you there? Send photos, videos
Gunmen pulled up in a white car and opened fire at a police security checkpoint at the outer entrance of the consulate, Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler told reporters at the scene. Watch shootout victims being taken to hospital »
Police fired back, resulting in a three- to five-minute gun battle, Ivan Watson, a journalist with National Public Radio reporting from the scene, told CNN.
Guler said the dead included three police officers and three assailants. Authorities did not immediately know whether the attackers were affiliated with any organization, he said. Watch footage from the scene »
People waiting to obtain visas inside the heavily fortified building were not hurt. The outer entrance is more than 30m (100ft) from the main building which sits atop a hilltop.
At least three bodies remained on the ground as ambulances pulled up and police cordoned off the area with yellow tape and waved off onlookers.
The most recent attack on a foreign mission in Turkey was in November 2003 when a string of bombings in Istanbul targeted the British consulate, along with two synagogues and a British-owned bank. The blasts killed more than 70 people, including the British consul general, and wounded hundreds.
Turkey is a secular country that is predominantly Muslim. There has been a lot of tension in the country between secularist and traditional Muslims, and the state has been battling Kurdish separatists for many years.
CNN's Ben Blake and Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/09/turkey.usconsulate/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
NEW: U.S. ambassador says shootout was 'obvious act of terrorism'
Turkey: Armed men have opened fire from a vehicle outside the U.S. consulate
CNN-Turk reports that at least six people were killed in the gun battle
People in the heavily fortified building were not hurt
ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- The shootout outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul which left six people dead was an "obvious act of terrorism," the U.S. ambassador to Turkey says.
Speaking to reporters in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Ross Wilson said he had asked Turkey to implement additional security measures after gunmen Wednesday pulled up in a car and opened fire at a police security checkpoint at the consulate entrance.
"I'm not in a position to speculate on who this is or why they have carried out this action," Wilson said. "But any time there is an attack on diplomatic establishment... (it) is more or less by definition is an act of terrorism."
"Our countries will stand together to confront this as we have confronted some other problems in the past," he added. Watch emergency staff helping victim »
Three police officers and three assailants were killed in the shootout near the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, the city's governor said.
Two other police officers were wounded in the attack. A U.S. consulate official said no American citizens or employees were hurt. Are you there? Send photos, videos
Gunmen pulled up in a white car and opened fire at a police security checkpoint at the outer entrance of the consulate, Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler told reporters at the scene. Watch shootout victims being taken to hospital »
Police fired back, resulting in a three- to five-minute gun battle, Ivan Watson, a journalist with National Public Radio reporting from the scene, told CNN.
Guler said the dead included three police officers and three assailants. Authorities did not immediately know whether the attackers were affiliated with any organization, he said. Watch footage from the scene »
People waiting to obtain visas inside the heavily fortified building were not hurt. The outer entrance is more than 30m (100ft) from the main building which sits atop a hilltop.
At least three bodies remained on the ground as ambulances pulled up and police cordoned off the area with yellow tape and waved off onlookers.
The most recent attack on a foreign mission in Turkey was in November 2003 when a string of bombings in Istanbul targeted the British consulate, along with two synagogues and a British-owned bank. The blasts killed more than 70 people, including the British consul general, and wounded hundreds.
Turkey is a secular country that is predominantly Muslim. There has been a lot of tension in the country between secularist and traditional Muslims, and the state has been battling Kurdish separatists for many years.
CNN's Ben Blake and Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/09/turkey.usconsulate/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
08 July 2008
Iran: Attack us and U.S. interests will 'burn'
BREAKING NEWS
updated 55 minutes ago
U.S., Czech Republic sign missile agreement
Countries agree defense shield will be based in the former Soviet territory
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The United States and the Czech Republic have signed an initial agreement to begin basing part of a U.S. missile shield in the former Soviet territory.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday in Prague that the shield is a good deal for the Czech Republic and for Poland, where the United States hopes to place another part of the system, though Warsaw hasn't yet agreed.
Rice said the next American president will have to decide whether and how to go forward with the missile defense system, but she made the case that the threat from Iran is growing and it is hard to imagine any administration giving up an effective deterrent.
Aide to top cleric warns that Tel Aviv, American ships will also be targeted
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25580681/
Reuters
updated 5:37 a.m. ET, Tues., July. 8, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran will hit Tel Aviv, U.S. shipping in the Gulf and American interests around the world if it is attacked over its disputed nuclear activities, an aide to Iran's Supreme Leader was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
"The first bullet fired by America at Iran will be followed by Iran burning down its vital interests around the globe," the students news agency ISNA quoted Ali Shirazi as saying in a speech to Revolutionary Guards.
"The Zionist regime is pressuring White House officials to attack Iran. If they commit such a stupidity, Tel Aviv and U.S. shipping in the Persian Gulf will be Iran's first targets and they will be burned," Shirazi was quoted as saying.
Shirazi, a mid-level cleric, is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative to the Revolutionary Guards.
'Jihad and martyrdom'
"The Iranian nation will never accept bullying. The Iranian nation is a nation of believers which believes in jihad and martyrdom. No army in the world can confront it," he added.
In Jerusalem, Arye Mekel, Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman, declined to comment on Shirazi's remarks.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed power, has vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb.
The United States says it wants to resolve the dispute by diplomacy but has not ruled out military action.
Iran says its nuclear activities are only to produce energy for civil use, not to make bombs.
Meanwhile, Iran started war games on Monday and its president rejected a demand by major powers that it stop enriching uranium as "illegitimate".
Missile units of the elite Revolutionary Guards' naval and air forces began war games, Iranian news agencies said, hours after the U.S. Navy said it had begun exercises in the Gulf.
Speculation about an attack on the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter over its nuclear program rose after a report last month said Israel had practiced such a strike. Fears of military confrontation helped send world oil prices to record highs.
Covert weapons program?
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday his country would not stop enriching uranium, work which Tehran says is aimed at generating power but which the West fears may be part of a covert nuclear weapons program.
It was Ahmadinejad's first comment on the dispute since Iran delivered its response on Friday to a package of incentives offered by world powers seeking to curb its nuclear activities. Details of the response were not made public.
"They offer to hold talks but at the same time they threaten us and say we should accept their illegitimate demand to halt (enrichment work)," Ahmadinejad told reporters in Malaysia, where he was attending a summit of eight developing countries.
"They want us to abandon our right (to nuclear technology)," the president said.
'New environment'
By contrast, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki spoke during the weekend of a "new environment" for diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program.
The United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany demand that Iran suspend its enrichment work before formal talks can start on their revised package of incentives, which includes help to develop a civilian nuclear program.
Tehran has repeatedly refused to stop producing enriched uranium, which can be used as fuel for power plants, or, if refined much more, can provide material for nuclear weapons.
The offer of trade and other incentives proposed by the world powers was presented last month by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
Iran has put forward its own bundle of proposals aimed at resolving the dispute and has said it was encouraged by common points between the two separate packages.
So far the Iranian government's formal response to the latest offer has not been made public and there have been mixed signals in statements by its senior officials.
updated 55 minutes ago
U.S., Czech Republic sign missile agreement
Countries agree defense shield will be based in the former Soviet territory
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The United States and the Czech Republic have signed an initial agreement to begin basing part of a U.S. missile shield in the former Soviet territory.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday in Prague that the shield is a good deal for the Czech Republic and for Poland, where the United States hopes to place another part of the system, though Warsaw hasn't yet agreed.
Rice said the next American president will have to decide whether and how to go forward with the missile defense system, but she made the case that the threat from Iran is growing and it is hard to imagine any administration giving up an effective deterrent.
Aide to top cleric warns that Tel Aviv, American ships will also be targeted
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25580681/
Reuters
updated 5:37 a.m. ET, Tues., July. 8, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran will hit Tel Aviv, U.S. shipping in the Gulf and American interests around the world if it is attacked over its disputed nuclear activities, an aide to Iran's Supreme Leader was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
"The first bullet fired by America at Iran will be followed by Iran burning down its vital interests around the globe," the students news agency ISNA quoted Ali Shirazi as saying in a speech to Revolutionary Guards.
"The Zionist regime is pressuring White House officials to attack Iran. If they commit such a stupidity, Tel Aviv and U.S. shipping in the Persian Gulf will be Iran's first targets and they will be burned," Shirazi was quoted as saying.
Shirazi, a mid-level cleric, is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative to the Revolutionary Guards.
'Jihad and martyrdom'
"The Iranian nation will never accept bullying. The Iranian nation is a nation of believers which believes in jihad and martyrdom. No army in the world can confront it," he added.
In Jerusalem, Arye Mekel, Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman, declined to comment on Shirazi's remarks.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed power, has vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb.
The United States says it wants to resolve the dispute by diplomacy but has not ruled out military action.
Iran says its nuclear activities are only to produce energy for civil use, not to make bombs.
Meanwhile, Iran started war games on Monday and its president rejected a demand by major powers that it stop enriching uranium as "illegitimate".
Missile units of the elite Revolutionary Guards' naval and air forces began war games, Iranian news agencies said, hours after the U.S. Navy said it had begun exercises in the Gulf.
Speculation about an attack on the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter over its nuclear program rose after a report last month said Israel had practiced such a strike. Fears of military confrontation helped send world oil prices to record highs.
Covert weapons program?
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday his country would not stop enriching uranium, work which Tehran says is aimed at generating power but which the West fears may be part of a covert nuclear weapons program.
It was Ahmadinejad's first comment on the dispute since Iran delivered its response on Friday to a package of incentives offered by world powers seeking to curb its nuclear activities. Details of the response were not made public.
"They offer to hold talks but at the same time they threaten us and say we should accept their illegitimate demand to halt (enrichment work)," Ahmadinejad told reporters in Malaysia, where he was attending a summit of eight developing countries.
"They want us to abandon our right (to nuclear technology)," the president said.
'New environment'
By contrast, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki spoke during the weekend of a "new environment" for diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program.
The United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany demand that Iran suspend its enrichment work before formal talks can start on their revised package of incentives, which includes help to develop a civilian nuclear program.
Tehran has repeatedly refused to stop producing enriched uranium, which can be used as fuel for power plants, or, if refined much more, can provide material for nuclear weapons.
The offer of trade and other incentives proposed by the world powers was presented last month by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
Iran has put forward its own bundle of proposals aimed at resolving the dispute and has said it was encouraged by common points between the two separate packages.
So far the Iranian government's formal response to the latest offer has not been made public and there have been mixed signals in statements by its senior officials.
05 July 2008
How Soap is Made in Aleppo
This is a really interesting website!! Part of it is in English and the rest is in German. Learn how soap is made in Syria :o)
http://www.historische-aleppo-seife.de/engl_story.html
http://www.historische-aleppo-seife.de/engl_story.html
02 July 2008
Palestinian Bulldozer Driver Goes on Jerusalem Rampage
http://voanews.com/english/2008-07-02-voa7.cfm
By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
02 July 2008
At least three people were killed and about forty others injured - many severely when a Palestinian bulldozer driver went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem early Wednesday afternoon. VOA's Jim Teeple reports the bulldozer driver was killed by police who are describing the incident as a terrorist attack.
Witnesses reported a scene of chaos and panic as the bulldozer plowed through cars, knocked over a bus and damaged buildings on a busy downtown street near the city's main bus station.
The driver of the bulldozer was shot by police. They say no motive is known in what police are describing as a terrorist attack.
"The employee of a contractor company working on the street here in Jerusalem directed his bulldozer in the direction of civilian vehicles - a bus and cars that are on the street all the time yelling Allah al-akbar, apparent to us based on things we have experienced in the past,' said Daniel Seaman, a spokesman for the Israeli government. "This is undeniably a terrorist attack."
Police say the attacker was a Palestinian who lived in East Jerusalem who held Jerusalem identity papers. Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have access to Jewish West Jerusalem and carry out nearly all construction work in the city.
In March, another Palestinian from East Jerusalem attacked a Jewish seminary not far from where today's incident took place, killing eight students.
By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
02 July 2008
At least three people were killed and about forty others injured - many severely when a Palestinian bulldozer driver went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem early Wednesday afternoon. VOA's Jim Teeple reports the bulldozer driver was killed by police who are describing the incident as a terrorist attack.
Witnesses reported a scene of chaos and panic as the bulldozer plowed through cars, knocked over a bus and damaged buildings on a busy downtown street near the city's main bus station.
The driver of the bulldozer was shot by police. They say no motive is known in what police are describing as a terrorist attack.
"The employee of a contractor company working on the street here in Jerusalem directed his bulldozer in the direction of civilian vehicles - a bus and cars that are on the street all the time yelling Allah al-akbar, apparent to us based on things we have experienced in the past,' said Daniel Seaman, a spokesman for the Israeli government. "This is undeniably a terrorist attack."
Police say the attacker was a Palestinian who lived in East Jerusalem who held Jerusalem identity papers. Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have access to Jewish West Jerusalem and carry out nearly all construction work in the city.
In March, another Palestinian from East Jerusalem attacked a Jewish seminary not far from where today's incident took place, killing eight students.
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