Cuba's Castro addresses parliament

Castro spoke on the threat of nuclear war and a
subsequent change in the world order [EPA]


Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/20108715838881948.html


Fidel Castro, the former president of Cuba, has addressed the national assembly for the first time since stepping down as leader.

The ailing Castro, who remains head of the Communist Party, last made an official government appearance four years ago, before falling seriously ill and having to hand over the presidency to his brother Raul Castro.

In his address on Saturday, Fidel Castro, 83, talked of the threat of a nuclear holocaust and an end to the current world social order.

Castro has been warning that the world is on the brink of nuclear war for some time, stating the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, is planning to attack rivals Iran and North Korea.

World order

"When the president [Barack Obama] would give the order ... it would be tantamount to ordering the instant death not only of hundreds of millions of people including an inestimable number of residents of the United States as well, but also the crew member of all of the United States navel craft in the seas heading towards Iran," Castro said.

"Simultaneously with this, the conflagration would break out in the Middle East and Eurasia."

Castro said that the current world order "cannot last and will inevitably collapse".

He asserted that foreign exchange reserves, which have created wealth by taxing hard working publics, would also fall apart.

But he warned that were nuclear war to break out that change would be hastened.

"If war were to break out, the current world order would disappear abruptly and the price would be much greater," he said.

Al Jazeera's Latin America editor Lucia Newman said: "He looked certainly a lot better than he has in a long time and that was one of the points that he was trying to make - that although he has been out of the public eye he is still in the picture.

"It was a message to the Cuban people and the world that he should be listened to. And he was talking directly to the president of the United States."

'Long live Fidel!'

Wearing his trademark olive green military uniform, Castro had entered the chamber to cheers of "Fidel, Fidel, Fidel", and "Long live Fidel! Long live Raul!".

Castro had an assistant with him when entering the assembly, but stood independently at the podium.

He spoke for 11 minutes - a relatively short time considering his typical lengthy speeches - and Raul Castro was also present in parliament.


It is the first time the pair have been seen together in the same room since the change of power.

Castro emerged from private seclusion earlier this week, meeting with a Communist youth group among other public appearances.

He has not been able to appear publically since undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July 2006. He renounced the presidency in 2008.

Cuba has been a one-party Communist state since 1959 when Castro ousted Fulgencio Batista, a dictator supported by the US.

Sanctions prelude to dollar's extinction

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137880§ionid=351020101


Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insists that the anti-Iran sanctions will serve as a stepping stone to eradicate domination of (US) dollar in the world.

President Ahmadinejad also reiterated that those countries that have followed the US lead in the sanctions efforts have denied themselves any role in Iran's economy, IRNA reported Sunday.

In an address to an event commemorating the international week of mosques, the president expounded on measures to encounter Western sanctions on Iran and emphasized that we will used the sanctions as an opportunity to expand the country's domestic manufacturing and globalizing Iranian commodities and products.

The Iranian president described the US-led sanctions as an oppressive effort and a sort of a psychological warfare in order to force the Iranian nation to compromise on their principles, adding that "this nation will never compromise on its independence, integrity, principles, demanding justice and opposing oppression."

President Ahmadinejad also reiterated that the time of those behind the anti-Iran sanctions is coming to a closure as they have further discredited themselves by adopting such measures.

BP spill to take 'decades' to recover

Vast quantities of crude remain hidden below
the waves of the Gulf of Mexico, posing a danger
to fish and other marine life.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137878§ionid=3510203


As BP's "static kill" procedure finally plugs its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well, experts have warned that it could take decades for any signs of recovery.

BP finished the heavy pumping of cement into the ruptured well, temporarily halting the leak, but a "bottom kill" procedure is to follow next month in order to kill the spill permanently.

Although this signals an end to the worst oil spill in history, BP's chief operating officer, Doug Suttles, says, "we are far from finished," AFP reported on Sunday.

Though the massive slick has mostly dissolved or dispersed, vast quantities of crude remain hidden below the waves, posing a danger to fish and other marine life, which once supported a multibillion-dollar commercial and recreational fishing industry, the report said.

Hundreds of miles of Louisiana's fragile coastal wetlands remain covered in blankets of oil and each new tide blankets the once-golden coasts of Florida in tar balls.

Although experts claim the oil appears to be biodegrading rapidly, Jim Cowan, a professor in Louisiana State University's department of oceanography and coastal sciences says, "this whole notion that that stuff is weathering away is really questionable."

"What dispersed oil does is eventually dissolve into sea water and the ultimate fate of that is ultimately undetermined," AFP quoted Cowan as saying.

BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April, killing 11 workers. It took the oil giant 106 days to seal the ruptured well.

Some 4.9 million barrels of oil have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since then, with only 800,000 barrels captured, leaving BP with a tarnished reputation and a loss of billions of dollars.

Iran artilleries get anti-aircraft systems

Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137877§ionid=351020101


A senior Iranian commander says the country's armed forces are boosting their surface-to-air firepower with the introduction of new anti-aircraft missile systems.

Iran's “artillery units will soon receive new anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems” to enhance the country's defense capabilities, Fars news agency reported the commander of the anti-aircraft post of the Khatamolanbia Headquarters, Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani, as saying on Sunday.

The military chief said that the Khatamolanbia anti-aircraft post is “rapidly upgrading its defense systems in every way.”

He also noted that the country's artilleries have already deployed another anti-aircraft missile, named Mersad (Ambush), as operational.

Mersad medium-range missile system is the first domestically-built air defense system, which is said to be more powerful than the US-made Hawk missile.

It features cutting-edge technology that makes it able to destroy modern aircrafts at low and medium altitudes, Iran military officials say.

Mersad is also equipped with sophisticated radar signal processing technology, an advanced launcher, and contains exclusive electronic equipment for guidance and target acquisition.

It could be linked to other anti-aircraft batteries, providing the ability to combat electronic warfare.

Iran began mass-production of the missile earlier this year in order to deliver a sizeable number to the country's armed forces by year's end.

Iran rejects negotiating under threat

Hossein Sheikholeslam, Advisor to Iran's Majlis Speaker
on international affairs.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137876§ionid=351020101


An aid to Iran's parliament (Majlis) speaker has reiterated Iran's refusal to negotiate with the West under dual approaches of imposing sanctions and then pushing for talks.

Hossein Sheikholeslam, advisor to the Majlis speaker on international affairs, rejected in an interview with Fars news agency the so-called 'carrot and stick' approach employed by the West to gain an upper hand in negotiations as unproductive and based on uneven terms, adding that such tactics are commonly employed by oppressive powers.

Sheikholeslam emphasized that in passing the anti-Iran resolution 1929, the UN Security Council acted contrary to the UN charter's principle of enhancing global security.

He explained that the resolution allows countries to inspect Iranian ships merely based on perceived suspicions and doubts and creating such an environment against Iran does not bring about a safer world.

Sheikholeslam described the sanctions approved by the European Union against Iran as "potentially dangerous" but added that Europe is yet to enforce such sanctions.

He also noted that the US-sponsored anti-Iran sanctions came right after Iran, Turkey and Brazil issued a trilateral declaration in which Iran agreed to a nuclear fuel swap through Turkey, removing the major Western hurdle in advancing talks on Iran's nuclear program.

The Iranian official added that Western sanctions against Iranian banks have already been enforced but with little impact since those countries participating in the US-backed sanctions never had any effective banking relations with the Islamic Republic.

The US-sponsored sanctions resolution was passed last June after intense efforts and international lobbying by the Obama administration to win votes in the UN Security Council. After the passage of the resolutions, however, the US and its European allies began to press for additional unilateral sanctions against Iran, targeting its shipping, banking and oil industries.

Pakistan flood casualties mount

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137872§ionid=351020401


More heavy rains in Pakistan are hampering efforts to deliver aid to over 15 million people affected by the country's devastating floods.

Nearly 40 people were killed and several others injured in the most recent deluge caused by torrential rains in parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The monsoon rains, which began on July 27, caused floods and damage in different parts of the province, rendering many communities inaccessible due to destroyed roads and collapsed bridges.

As the number of people affected by the flooding exceeds 15 million, Pakistan's Federal Flood Commission has warned that the Indus River was overflowing its banks in the south.

The floodwaters flowing from northwestern Pakistan have already destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes.

The two weeks of flooding have, so far, claimed over 1,600 lives. Meanwhile, in neighboring Indian-controlled Kashmir, floods have killed over 130 people.

Authorities expect the death toll to rise as hundreds are missing and rescue workers are unable to reach affected areas.

US plans another Kyrgyzstan base

Members of the US military and US aircraft are seen at the
Manas military base in Bishkek airport in Kyrgyzstan.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137866&sectionid=3510203


The US is planning to construct a USD 10 million military base in the southern city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan, where more than 300 people died in deadly clashes in June.

The US Defense Department says the base, called Osh Polygon, will feature a range of facilities and weapons training services, including a secure garrison compound with officers' quarters and barracks for enlisted personnel, range facilities, crew-served weapons and explosive ordnance, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.

US officials raised the issue of the base under ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev for training Kyrgyz troops for alleged counter-terrorism operations.

According to US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake, Kyrgyzstan is still highly unstable as tensions continue to rise between Kyrgyz government soldiers and the Uzbek minorities living in the southern part of the country.

In a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Blake expressed concern about the security along the southern border as some militants from Afghanistan might try "to come up through that border," the Washington Post quoted Blake as saying.

According to Blake, keeping the other US base in Manas near the capital Bishkek is a national priority for Washington, as it serves as the entry and exit points for US troops in Afghanistan.

The United States has paid USD 45 million to the Kyrgyz government this year and USD 13 million in fees for use of the Manas base, according to the Bishkek embassy website.

Osh was the site of a bloody uprising in June against the new Kyrgyz government, which reportedly claimed more than 300 lives. The unrest had reportedly forced more than 300,000 people across the border into Uzbekistan.

The inter-ethnic violence was the worst to hit the country in years.

Foreign mercs must leave, Karzai says

Afghan President Hamid Karzai


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137840§ionid=351020403


Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on the United States and its allies to stop supporting private security companies, saying the activities of these firms aggravate the country's problems.

Karzai made the remarks in Kabul on Saturday during a visit to the Afghan Civil Service Institute, which is training thousands of civil servants in the capital and across the nation to bolster the capacity of the Afghan government, AP reported.

“To help strengthen the Afghan government, the US and NATO should eliminate private security companies,” Karzai said, adding that their presence is "intolerable" since they have created a security structure that undermines the police and the army.

"Afghan or foreign companies, there are some 30,000 to 40,000 people in these security companies," he noted.

"They have created security problems for us, whoever is working in these private security companies, they are not working for the benefit of Afghan national interests… If they really want to be at the service of Afghans, they should join the Afghan National Police," Karzai added.

"Very urgently and seriously we want... the foreigners to stop creating private security companies," the Afghan president said, adding, "we cannot tolerate these companies, which are like a parallel structure with our forces. We cannot have police, army and — at the same time — another force as private security companies."

Kabul has confirmed the presence of 52 foreign private security companies in Afghanistan, including the notorious US security firm Xe Services LLC — formerly known as Blackwater.

Private security guards are operating in the country with absolutely no supervision by the Afghan government.

Karzai had earlier accused foreign security contractors of operating like militias, saying that the firms are only worsening the security situation in Afghanistan.

Most of the security contractors are believed to have close ties with Afghan warlords and have been accused of being partly responsible for the rise in civilian casualties in the country.

In the June 4 edition of The Wall Street Journal, it was reported that Xe's most recent government contract tasked the group with protecting CIA bases in Afghanistan.

The report was confirmed at the end of June by Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta during a TV interview, the newspaper wrote.

Blackwater/Xe mercs were hated by the Iraqis during their time in that country because they were able to kill many civilians with impunity.

Over the past few months, public opinion has been turning against the war in the United States and other countries, and thus US President Barack Obama's upbeat assessments about progress in the Afghan war will probably not go down well at home or abroad.

The death toll for US service members stationed in Afghanistan reached 66 for the month of July 2010, making it the deadliest month for US troops deployed in the Central Asian nation since the conflict began in October 2001.

Lebanese flotilla to sail to Gaza

A Gaza-bound aid flotilla will set sail from Lebanon


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137742§ionid=351020203


Following new border conflict between Israel and Lebanon, an all-women aid ship will set sail for the Gaza Strip this weekend to deliver aid to the coastal region.

The ship, named the "Mariam" in honor of the Virgin Mary, will carry a group of nuns from the US along with female doctors and lawyers.

"They are nuns, doctors, lawyers, journalists, Christians and Muslims," Mona, one of the participants, told the British newspaper, the Guardian.

The mission comes after Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gabriela Shalev, issued a warning that Tel Aviv would use "all necessary measures" to stop the vessel.

Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007. The women decided to break the siege to bring food and other supplies to the people of the region.

The coordinator of the voyage, Samar al-Haj, said the boat has been stocked with medical instruments and medicine for the Palestinians.

On May 31, Israeli commandos attacked a Gaza-bound aid convoy in international waters, killing nine Turkish activists and injuring dozens others.

The new humanitarian mission comes in the wake of a clash between Israeli forces and the Lebanese Army earlier this week.

The fighting began after an Israeli patrol unit breached a border fence and moved into the village of Adeissah in southern Lebanon, prompting light fire from the country's soldiers, the Lebanese Army said in a statement.

Confrontation subsequently erupted with the Israeli forces using machineguns and tank shells on Army bases and local residences, it noted.

Three Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and a senior Israeli officer died during the exchange of fire, the worst of its kind since the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese conflict.

US unemployment on the rise again

US economic recovery on a downturn as unemployment
claims rose in July



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137631§ionid=3510203


The US Labor Department has reported another rise in new claims for unemployment for the preceding week, underlining a persistently weak labor market.

The new figures, released Thursday is reflective of a slow growth in the American labor market, posing a challenge to the fragile economic recovery from its greatest downturn since the Great Depression.

Initial demand for US unemployment benefits rose 19,000 to 479,000, compared to market speculation of a drop to 455,000.

”While these numbers are volatile, we haven't really made progress in the labor market and that's kind of troubling when you think about the broader economic recovery,” said Andrew Gledhill, an economist at Moody's Economy.com.

"For the recovery to turn into a self-sustaining expansion, we need people to have wage income coming in and until that happens, we are still in a tenuous position," Gledhill added, quoted by Reuters.

The US government's monthly employment report, due on Friday, is expected to show that nonfarm payrolls fell 65,000 in July after waning 125,000 in June.

Private-sector payrolls are expected to rise a mere 90,000 and the unemployment rate is anticipated to rise to 9.6 percent from last month's 9.5 percent.

This month's economic figures will likely spell trouble for President Barack Obama's Democratic Party allies who face mid-term elections in November and risk losing their majority and control in the US Congress.

Obama's popularity has suffered a great deal as a result of the slow economic recovery in the US as well as a number of other issues, such as his inadequate response to BP's oil spill disaster and the failure to deliver on his repeated pledges of 'change' that helped him win the presidential election in 2008

Obama's economic advisor to step down‎

US President Barack Obama's top economic advisor
Christina Romer is to ‎step down next month



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137650§ionid=3510213


Christina Romer, considered to be one of US President Barack Obama's top economic advisers, is set to step down next month, the White House says.

Romer, who chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisors, said in a statement Thursday that she would step down from her post to return to being a professor in California, Reuters reported.

She helped oversee the Obama administration's response to the economic crisis and supported the use of stimulus programs to pull the US economy out of recession, the White House said Thursday.

Obama said in the White House statement that Romer had "provided extraordinary service to me and our country during a time of economic crisis and recovery."

"While Christy's family commitments require that she return home, I'm gratified that she will continue to offer her insights and advice as a member of my Economic Recovery Advisory Board," Obama said.

Romer is the second person to leave Obama's economic team this summer. Peter Orszag, former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, left last month citing personal reasons.

Drought-hit Russia bans grain exports

Crops burn near Voronezh, 300 miles south of Moscow,
after weeks of searing heat and no rain, file photo



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137646§ionid=351020602


Record drought in Russia has prompted the country's prime minister to place a temporary ban on grain exports until the end of the year.

"In connection with the unusually high temperatures and the drought, I consider it right to impose a temporary ban on the export from Russia of grain and other products produced from grain," Vladimir Putin told a government meeting on Thursday.

The ban comes as wildfires and drought across western and central Russia have destroyed 10 million hectares of crop.

The world's third largest wheat exporter has reportedly lowered its annual 90 million tons of forecast to a range of 70 to 75 million tons this year.

From August 15 until December 31 exports of wheat, corn, barley, rye, and other grain products will be halted, the prime minister's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

The Kremlin also seeks to ask fellow members of a tripartite customs union -- Belarus and Kazakhstan -- to make a similar move.

The Economic Development Ministry has been instructed to submit a proposal to the relevant commission, a governmental press release said.

The announcement has sent wheat prices soaring on US exchanges and caused double-digit gains in Europe.

Pakistani exodus as floods spread

Floodwaters have washed through villages in Punjab
and are now threatening Sindh [Kamal Hyder]


Source: Press TV
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/2010863585788454.html


Authorities in Pakistan have evacuated at least 500,000 people from at-risk areas in the south as the worst floods in living memory threatened the country's farming heartland.

The number of people affected across the country has risen to more than four million after rivers swept through villages, washed away roads and destroyed crops.

With the death toll already numbering at least 1,500 people, authorities in the densely populated southern province of Sindh warned that major floods were expected this weekend in fertile agricultural areas along the swollen Indus river.

"We are seeing a number of preparations being made across Sindh province," Al Jazeera's Imran Khan reported from the southern coastal city Karachi.

"So far 500,000 people have been evacuated. Nearly 250,000 homes have been destroyed across the provinces bordering Sindh.

"The floods are coming further south. Nobody knows whether the floodwaters will reach Karachi, but severe flood warnings have been issued."


Villagers flee

Further north in Punjab province, Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder said people were streaming out of flooded villages, wading barefoot through water, cramming belongings onto donkey carts and into cars under heavy rain.

"This morning when people woke up they found the water encroaching upon their land and they decided to move out.

"They are complaining that they had no warning from the authorities to evacuate so that they could save their valuables and get out in time."

Officials warned that dams could burst as heavy rains continued to lash the Punjab town of Kot Addu, transforming the area into a giant lake.

"All these villages are dangerous now. We are evacuating the population. Important installations are in danger," Manzoor Sarwar, the chief of police for Muzaffargarh district, said.


Manuel Bessler, the head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Pakistan, warned that the country was now facing "a major catastrophe".

"Altogether, more than four million people are in one way or another affected," he said.

Survivors has lashed out at authorities for failing to come to their rescue and provide better relief.

Particular scorn has been heaped on Asif Ali Zardari, the deeply unpopular president, for pressing ahead with a visit to Europe at the height of the disaster.


However, Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Pakistani prime minister, said "relief items in sufficient quantity" have been provided.


About 30,000 Pakistani soldiers are helping to rebuild bridges, deliver food and set up relief camps in the northwest, which was hit first by the disaster.


Foreign countries and the United Nations have donated millions of dollars, and US army helicopters are assisting with evacuating stranded villagers and delivering aid.


As Zardari prepared for talks on Friday in London with Prime Minister David Cameron, British charities grouped as the Disasters Emergency Committee launched an urgent appeal on TV and radio for donations.

Iran, India to counter 'Taliban threat'

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali Fathollahi (R)
meets with India's Foreign Minister S M Krishna



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137632§ionid=351020101


Top Iranian and Indian officials have agreed to "counter the threat of Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan" and boost their economic and energy ties.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali Fathollahi met with Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao in New Delhi where the two sides discussed a range of issues from cooperation in establishing regional security to expanding bilateral ties.

"Ways to stem the influence of the Taliban in Afghanistan and its backers in Pakistan figured prominently in the discussions," Sify News quoted informed sources as saying on Thursday.

The sources added that Tehran and India agreed "to stay in close touch over Afghanistan to safeguard their interests in the wake of the Taliban reintegration process."

Last month, Iranian and Indian officials also reached consensus on pressing forward with the India-aided Iranian Chabahar port to ease New Delhi's access to both Afghanistan and Central Asia.

"They also decided to firm up a regional approach that will include closer cooperation with Russia in averting a Taliban takeover that some fear may happen after US troops begin to withdraw from that country," the report said.

India sees Iranian cooperation crucial to preventing Taliban militants from gaining control of Afghanistan.

Iran's IRNA news agency also reported on Fathollahi talks with India's Foreign Minister S M Krishnaon on a wide range of bilateral issues, including energy and economic ties.

UK premier rapped over Iran gaffe

British Prime Minister David Cameron


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137628§ionid=351021806


British Prime Minister David Cameron is under fire in the UK for making a false statement regarding Iran's nuclear program during a visit to Turkey.

The Tory leader came under criticism after he said Ankara could be an important influence in helping solve problems "like the Middle East peace process and the fact that Iran has got a nuclear weapon."

Labour former Europe minister Chris Bryant scuffed at the premier saying, "He is increasingly getting a reputation for being a foreign policy klutz, with two right feet, both of them firmly planted in his mouth," AFP reported.

"This is less of a hiccup, more of a dangerous habit," Bryant added.

Cameron's comments come while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly verified the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

Downing Street rejected the criticism against the premier, claiming, "It is perfectly clear that he is talking about the pursuit of a nuclear weapon."

The West accuses Iran of pursuing a covert military nuclear program. Tehran, however, denies the allegations, saying that an IAEA member and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology.

Irish body plans second Gaza flotilla

The Irish Ship to Gaza Committee plans to sail in
a second Freedom Flotilla to Gaza


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137604&sectionid=351020202


The Irish Ship to Gaza Committee has announced plans to buy a ship to sail in a second Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.

The committee, which comprises a number of Irish anti-war and pro-Palestinian organizations, intends to dispatch a convoy to the impoverished Palestinian territory in October, the Belfast Telegraph reported.

A first Freedom Flotilla to Gaza was intercepted and boarded by Israeli army troops three months ago while sailing in the international waters off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli troops indiscriminately killed nine peace activists on board a Turkish aid ship and wounded several others in an attack that drew international condemnation.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire was among those on board one of the vessels attempting to deliver medicines and other supplies to Palestinian people in Gaza.

At a meeting in Istanbul three weeks ago, organizers agreed to create a second Freedom Flotilla, this time with 12 to 15 ships.

Pakistan floods trigger mass exodus

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/2010847584729225.html


Thousands of people in Pakistan's Punjab province are fleeing their homes as the worst floods in the country's history threaten more areas in the south.

Floodwaters have submerged numerous villages and begun to pour into major urban centres like the city of Kot Addu in Punjab.

UN and Pakistani officials say 3.2 million people are affected by the floods along the Indus River, and that at least 1,500 people have died in the past week.

"We have been able to see a mass exodus of people in south Punjab and the water is still rising", Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder said on Wednesday.

Hurried evacuation

"People are evacuating in a hurry, complaining that they have not received any help from the government," he said.

At least 47 people had been killed in Punjab, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority said.

Nearly 1,000 villages have been affected and some 15,000 houses destroyed in the province, according to the UN.

The rush of muddy water over river banks in Punjab threatened to destroy vast stretches of crops that make the province Pakistan's breadbasket.

The army used boats and helicopters to move stranded villagers in the area to higher ground.

Water levels were so high in large tracts of Kot Addu and the nearby area of Layyah in the south of the province, that only tree tops and uppermost floors of some buildings were visible.

A military spokesman told reporters that at least 30,000 people have been rescued from flood-hit zones in Kot Addu and nearby areas over the previous 72 hours.

He warned that more flooding was expected as weather forecasts predicted more rains in the next few days.

"People must co-operate with us, and they must leave those areas where floods are going to hit," he said.

This year's monsoon season has prompted the worst flooding in Pakistan in living memory.

The northwestern region of the country was the worst hit, until flood waters flowed downstream to inundate large areas in the south.

Food crisis

The UN is scrambling to provide food and other assistance to millions of people affected in the water-soaked nation, which was already struggling with violence and a poor economy.

It has warned of serious food shortages following the loss of farm produce in the floods. The World Food Program has estimated that 1.8 million people will need to be fed over the next month.

"People [in the flood areas] are literal fighting to get food aid”, Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from the capital, Islamabad, said.

Rescue workers have struggled to deliver aid because of washed-out bridges and roads and downed communication lines.

Several foreign countries have stepped in to help, including the United States, which announced on Tuesday that it was sending six large military helicopters from Afghanistan to help with the relief effort.

But many flood victims have complained that aid is not reaching them fast enough or at all.

China defends economic ties with Iran

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137519§ionid=351020102


China has defended its economic ties with Iran after a senior US official called on Beijing to adopt the UN sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program.


According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, Beijing's business relations with Tehran will not harm the interests of other countries.


"China's trade with Iran is a normal business exchange, which will not harm the interests of other countries and the international community," China Daily quoted Jiang as saying on Thursday.


The Chinese official made the remarks in response to comments made by Robert Einhorn, US State Department's special adviser for non-proliferation and arms control, who asked Beijing to observe sanctions against the Islamic Republic.


The US has stepped up pressure on other countries to restrict economic relations with Iran over the country's nuclear energy program, spearheading efforts to approve a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran at the UN Security Council in June.


The United States also called on China to impose further punitive measures against the Islamic Republic, but China has rejected the unilateral US and EU sanctions aimed at Iran's energy sector.


China, the world's second-greatest consumer of oil after the United States, is the premier importer of Iran's oil. Iran exported more than 9 million tons of oil to China in the first half of 2010, putting it behind Saudi Arabia and Angola, according to Chinese customs data.


Iran's Deputy Oil Minister, Hossein Noqrehkar Shirazi, announced on Saturday that China is investing 40 billion dollars in Iran's oil and gas industry.

South Korea launches naval drills

The drills will involve about 4,500 South Korean troops,
more than 20 ships and submarines [AFP]


Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/08/20108514350881673.html


South Korea has begun naval drills off its western coast, aimed at strengthening its ability to counter military provocations from North Korea.


The exercises, held on Thursday, follow a joint military drill with the US last month off South Korea's eastern coast, and are set to run through to Monday.

The drills will include exercises in areas near the disputed western sea border, involving about 4,500 South Korean troops, more than 20 ships and submarines, and about 50 aircraft, according to the joint chiefs of staff.

Both exercises follow the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March that killed 46 sailors.

A five-nation team of investigators concluded in May that a North Korean torpedo sank the 1,200-tonne Cheonan frigate near the Koreas' western maritime border.

North Korea, which denies any involvement in the sinking, warned on Tuesday that
it will "counter the reckless naval firing projected by the group of traitors with strong physical retaliation".

Routine threats

The North had also threatened to respond to the South Korea-US military exercises with "nuclear deterrence'' but South Korean military officials said there has been no sign of unusual North Korean military activity.

North Korea, which sees the drills as a rehearsal for an invasion, routinely issues such threats, especially when the South holds joint military drills with the US.

The US has 28,500 troops in South Korea to protect its longtime ally.

North Korea's military also warned on Tuesday for civilian ships to stay away from the sea border - the scene of deadly skirmishes between the two sides in 1999, 2002 and last year.

The western maritime boundary has long been a flash point between the two Koreas because the North does not recognise the border unilaterally drawn by the United Nations at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The Korean peninsula remains in a technical state of war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

US report undermines BP spill effects

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137512§ionid=3510203


Many scientists and Gulf of Mexico Coastal residents have raised doubt about a US government report suggesting the oil spill disaster is largely contained.

The Obama administration's Wednesday report claimed that most of the estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil leaked into the gulf was either 'accounted for' or effectively gone in a highly diluted form, suggesting that future damage from the oil spill would not be as great as it has been feared, The New York Times reported.

The report was not well received by those directly affected by the spill on the Gulf Coast, where many regarded it as new evidence that the Obama administration was getting ready to abandon them as the Bush administration did after Hurricane Katrina.

Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, confirmed that the relatively small amount of oil remaining on the water's surface does not erase concerns about the long-term impact on marine life.

"I think the common view of most of the scientists inside and outside government is that the effects of this spill will likely linger for decades," said Lubchenco.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said the report should not be used as justification to turn back the federal response.

"Even based on the federal government's own estimates, there are still over 1 million barrels of oil in the Gulf," the governor said in a written statement. "We must remain vigilant about the oil that remains a threat to our coast."

Much of the skepticism about the report was linked to inaccurate federal estimates of the spill's magnitude that had to be repeatedly revised upwards, going from 1,000 barrels a day to between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day.

The release of the report coincided with BP's final efforts to permanently seal the well, which stopped leaking oil July 15 after being sealed with a temporary cap.

Some researchers attacked the report's findings and methodology, calling it premature at best and sloppy at worst. They noted that a plenty of research was still under way to shed light on some of the main scientific issues raised in the report.

“A lot of this is based on modeling and extrapolation and very generous assumptions,” said Samantha Joye, a marine scientist at the University of Georgia who has led some of the most important research on the Deepwater Horizon spill. “If an academic scientist put something like this out there, it would get torpedoed into a billion pieces.”

The Wednesday report claimed that only 26 percent of the oil had come ashore or was still in the water in a form that would break down quickly in the warm waters of the gulf.

That 26 percent, however, is equivalent to more than 53 million gallons of oil, five times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

BP reported that 2,300 barrels of mud forced down the well overnight, in an operation called a "static kill," had pushed the crude back down to its source for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded off Louisiana on April 20. The explosion killed 11 workers and began the spill that sent tar balls washing onto beaches and oil oozing into delicate coastal marshes.

Israel must accept conditions: Erdogan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137499§ionid=351020204


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the relationship with Israel depends on the acceptance of Ankara's conditions.

"Our relationship with Israel is closely linked to our conditions and what we asked of them. The future will be determined in the light of that," the Jordanian newspaper Al-Arab al-Youm quoted him as saying on Wednesday.

"We will not keep silent, and we won't stand idly following an assault on our rights and the breach of international laws," Erdogan told the newspaper in an interview.

Erdogan was referring to Israel's attack on the Gaza-bound Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara.
\
The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the Turkish-flagged M.V. Mavi Marmara and injuring about 50 other people who were part of the team on the six-ship convoy.

The Flotilla was carrying humanitarian assistance for the longsuffering people of Gaza.

"The policy practiced by Israel, especially after the attack on Gaza and the continued policy of settlement and finally the brutal attack on the Freedom Flotilla proved that Israel will not achieve peace and security via its policy of occupation and expansion," he told the paper.

He added that peace in the Middle East will not be achieved "without security and freedom, and life with dignity and humanity for the Palestinian people."

Erdogan has also demanded that Israel apologize for the attack on the Freedom Flotilla, calling it an inhuman act. "Simply we can call it as an act of piracy and a raid," he said.

However, Israel has still not apologized.

US tells Seoul to close Iranian bank

A Bank Mellat branch in Tehran



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137496§ionid=351020102


South Korea is under US pressure to close Iran's Bank Mellat branch in Seoul, as Washington is pursuing plans to put more pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.

The US pressure has put Seoul in the difficult situation of having to choose between 10 billion dollars of annual bilateral trade with Tehran and its alliance with the United States at a time of rising tension with North Korea.

South Korean officials told the Financial Times on Wednesday that they had no leeway to attack Bank Mellat because they had not detected any wrongdoing at the Seoul branch, which was opened in 2001.

Dan Glaser, the US Treasury deputy assistant secretary on terrorism financing and financial crimes, has visited South Korea to persuade Seoul to close the bank's branch.

“We come to places like South Korea, which is an absolutely vital center in the international financial system, to ensure that those types of actions occur throughout the international financial system,” Glaser told reporters in Seoul.

South Korea's Finance Ministry could not say whether it would change its policies.

"We are at a loss," said Lee Hu-myung, a chief of the foreign currency policy division. "We need to discuss the matter with all the relevant ministries."

While the US possesses and has used nuclear weapons in the past, Washington, in a politically-motivated move, is pushing for more sanctions against Iran, which does not possess nuclear weapons nor does it seek to develop such weapons.

Turkey summons US diplomat

US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137452§ionid=351020204


Turkey has summoned a top US diplomat to protest against Washington's interference in a UN mandate probing Israel's deadly attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

A Turkish diplomat said on Wednesday that Doug Silliman, the deputy chief of the mission at the US Embassy in Ankara, was called to the Foreign Ministry on Monday "for a reprimand" following comments by the US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice about the fact-finding mission.

Shortly after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that a four-member committee would begin investigating the deadly attack in which nine civilian activists were killed by Israeli commandos, Rice said that the UN inquiry was "not a substitute" for national investigations being carried out by Israel and Turkey.

Her remarks, which were considered as an attempt to determine the commission's purpose, gave rise to complaints in Turkey.

"The United States is viewing the commission from a narrow perspective. (Rice's) statement was one that seemed to give the impression the US was determining the commission's work," a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Ankara also criticized Washington for viewing the mission as a device to repair Turkish-Israeli ties, which plunged into an all-time low following the May 31 raid on a Turkish-flagged aid ship in international waters.

"The raid is an issue between the international community and Israel, and not between Turkey and Israel. There were people from 30 different countries on those ships. This commission is tasked with investigating the incident. Its duty is not to absolve Israel or improve Turkish-Israeli ties," the diplomat said.

Ankara has repeatedly said that it will only restore relations with Tel Aviv after Israel apologizes over the raid, pay compensation for the victims and lift the Gaza blockade.



Turkey summons, US diplomat, Freedom Flotilla, Gaza siege, Israel Palestine, Israel US, Israeli crimes against humanity, Israeli war crimes, middle east, relations, Turkey US, World United News

Iran, Venezuela to form joint oil firm

Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noghrekar Shirazi



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137326§ionid=351020102


A top Iranian oil official speaks of a fresh round of talks between Iran and Venezuela, saying the two sides have agreed to set up a joint oil shipping company.

Upcoming Tehran-Caracas talks will focus on the establishment of a joint oil shipping company as agreed in a memorandum of understanding the two countries signed last year, Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noghrekar Shirazi told Mehr News Agency on Tuesday.

"We intend to purchase a few oil tankers to pave the way for the establishment of this shipping company", he underscored.

Iran's deputy oil minister said the joint venture will help boost mutual cooperation in upstream and downstream oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

The company will also export Venezuela's crude oil as well as oil products to Asian and European countries.

Meantime, another Iranian oil official said Iran currently has the largest fleet of oil tankers in the Middle East which is the fourth largest in the world.

Hassan Ahmadian said the Venezuelan National Oil Company and Iran's Petropars are in talks at the moment, discussing development of oil fields.

Meantime, Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noghrekar Shirazi also touched upon oil cooperation with Iran's neighbors.

"Negotiations are underway to draw a road map on oil and gas cooperation with regional countries" he said.

He highlighted Iran welcomes promotion of cooperation with regional nations, adding ground is now prepared for foreign investment as well as multilateral partnership in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

US imposes more Iran sanctions

The Iranian leadership insists the sanctions
will have no effect on the country [AFP]



Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/2010844718458181.html

The US government has imposed sanctions on 21 Iranian government firms, increasing international pressure over the country's disputed nuclear program.

Accusing Tehran of trying to dodge sanctions by setting up opaque trading companies, the US treasury department on Tuesday also named a host of banking, mining and other companies - spread throughout Europe and Japan -as government-backed.

"As its isolation from the international financial and commercial systems increases, the government of Iran will continue efforts to evade sanctions," Stuart Levey, the treasury undersecretary, said.

Those moves, he said, included "using government-owned entities around the world that are not easily identifiable as Iranian to facilitate transactions in support of their illicit activities".

The treasury also announced sanctions against individuals and groups to target "the government of Iran's support for terrorism and terrorist organizations," that include Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Taliban.

'Taliban support'

Senior members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard were among those named, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Hossein Musavi - a commander who, the treasury said, had "provided financial and material support to the Taliban".

It also accused the Revolutionary Guard of running aid operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon as cover for intelligence operations as well as funding armed groups.

The 21 firms included two Belarus-based banks, two Germany-based investment firms, and mining and engineering companies in Japan, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy and Iran.

US citizens and businesses will now be barred from doing business with the proscribed companies.

It is the latest in a series of US moves aimed at increasing pressure on Iran, which Western governments say is trying to build a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the charge and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Japan to slap extra sanctions on Iran

Okada says Tokyo will use the US and EU sanctions as a
reference when drafting its own set of anti-Iran sanctions



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137307§ionid=351020101


Japan plans to impose additional sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, following similar moves by the US, the EU and some other states.

Japan voted in favor of a June 9 UN Security Council resolution to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran.

Following the UN measures, the United States, the European Union, Australia and Canada imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran, which mainly target the country's oil and gas industry.

The Cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan approved on Tuesday a set of additional sanctions, including a freeze on the assets of 40 organizations and one individual, the official Kyodo news agency reported.

The move comes despite opposition by some Japanese officials, who have voiced concern that additional sanctions could hamper trade relations with Iran, a key supplier of oil to Japan.

Iran has stressed that sanctions have no impact on its economy, saying they will only hurt those countries, which have taken such measures against Tehran.

The organizations to be banned include First East Export Bank, an affiliate of Iran's state-owned Bank Mellat, and enterprises linked to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), the report said.

The government will also ban in principle Iranian investment in Japanese firms involved in nuclear technology development.

Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Tokyo would use the US and EU sanctions as a reference when drafting its own set of sanctions against Iran.

“We have to take concerted action with the United States and European Union. Sanctions cannot be lifted as long as Iran ignores UN Security Council resolutions and continues its uranium enrichment to 20 percent purity,” Okada said.

Iran in May agreed to send its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for fuel for the Tehran research reactor.

The decision, however, was cold-shouldered by the West, with the US drafting a resolution, which was approved by the UN Security Council in June.

White House rebuffs Iran call for talks

US President Barack Obama (L) and Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad




Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137362§ionid=351020101


The White House has rejected a call from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for face-to-face talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama.

"We have always said that we'd be willing to sit down and discuss Iran's illicit nuclear program, if Iran is serious about doing that," AFP quoted White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs as saying on Tuesday.

"To date, that seriousness has not been there," he added.

Gibbs, however, held the door open to US-Iran talks as the State Department saw signs that Iran may now be seeking a dialogue with Tehran under the pressure of "new sanctions."

Also, US State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley said, "Iran may now be seeking a dialogue with Washington because it is feeling the bite of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, the United States, European Union and others."

"The cost of doing business for Iran is going up," Crowley said.

His comments come as Tehran has repeatedly declared that it will not relinquish the legitimate nuclear rights of the Iranian nation under Western pressure.

"We're encouraged by what we're seeing... We sense that there may well be a willingness on the part of Iran to enter into the kind of dialogue that we have long sought," he added.

"We are willing to meet Iran any time any place within the P5-plus-1," he concluded, referring to the US, Britain, Russia, France, China and Germany.

On Monday, Ahmadinejad criticized Obama for missing "historic opportunities" to repair the broken relations with Iran and expressed readiness to meet him for face-to-face talks based on justice and mutual respect.

In an address to a gathering of Iranian expatriates in Tehran, Ahmadinejad said that he is ready to hold talks with Obama at the end of September, when he plans to go to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.

"We are ready to sit down with Mr. Obama face-to-face and put the global issues on the table, and see whose solutions are better. We think this is a better approach," Ahmadinejad said.

The Iranian president went on to say that he is ready to hold talks with President Obama "in front of the media" at the end of September, when he plans to go to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, Mehr News Agency reported.

Stone exposes US policy on Americas

Oliver Stone and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137357§ionid=351020706


Famous US film director, Oliver Stone, has criticized the US stance towards South American states, including Venezuela and Bolivia.

In an interview with The Christian Science Monitor, Stone was asked: "US diplomacy and the American media have reacted with general hostility to the empowerment of the poor and indigenous in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and, to some extent, in Brazil. Why is that?"

"I suppose it comes from the old imperial impulse of the US toward Latin America going back to the Monroe Doctrine, Teddy Roosevelt, the protection of American business interests, and support for military dictators throughout the cold war," he said.

"The US remains hostile to anyone on the left coming to power in their backyard, anyone who thinks the resources of a country belong to its people," Stone added.

He also noted that for the first time in modern history much of South America is beyond US control, with the notable exception of Colombia.

UK PM warns of permanent cuts

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron takes questions
at a 'PM Direct' event at the Institution of Engineering
and Technology in Birmingham



Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137379§ionid=351021806


UK Prime Minister David Cameron has warned taxpayers that public sector cuts will be permanent.

In a question and answer session with an audience in Birmingham, Cameron dashed hopes of restoring public sector funding levels once the budget deficit has been addressed.

The prime minister told the audience that cuts imposed by his government should be sustainable.

"We are going to have to change the way we work," he said. "How can we do things differently and better to give value for money?"

"Every family knows that as a business you cannot go on living beyond your means indefinitely. You have to make sure that revenue and spending come into balance. At the end of this parliament we will be paying £17bn in interest just on the interest on debt, (which) is more than we spend on schools."

"There is a moral responsibility," he added. "I don't think we should be racking up our debts for our children to pay. We need to be fair to future generations, and this generation should deal with its own problems."

On a question about social housing provision, the prime minister said that he believes council houses should no longer be granted "for life".

He noted that the tenants should be given fixed-term deals in the future so they can be moved on if their circumstances change.

The prime minister, however, conceded that attempts to reform the system would cause a "big argument".

Pakistan warns of further floods

The UN has estimated that 1.8 million people
will need food aid in the coming weeks [AFP]




Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/20108318527819679.html

Pakistan has issued new flood warnings, as heavy rains are expected to inflict more misery on areas where at least 1,500 people have already been killed and 980,000 more have lost their homes.


The latest downpour on Tuesday threatened to overwhelm a dam in the country's northwest, while the waters surged through dozens of villages in Punjab, the most populous province.

Nadeem Ahmad, chairman of Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, estimated that roughly three million people were now affected by floods in the country - 1.5 million in the northwest and the same number in Punjab.


An emergency cabinet meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday to estimate the damages, expected to run into millions of dollars, and expedite the relief effort.

The rush of water spilling from rivers in Punjab has threatened to destroy vast areas of crops, prompting the United Nations to warn that an estimated 1.8 million people might need food aid in the coming weeks.


'We have nothing'


Water levels were so high in large tracts of the Kot Addu area and parts of the south of the province that only treetops and uppermost floors of some buildings were visible.


"We just ran away with our children, leaving behind everything,'' Fateh Mohammad, who was caught by surprise when water breached a protection bank in Kot Addu, said.

"All our possessions are drowned in the water. We have nothing."

People sought refuge on rooftops and tried to bring their livestock up as far as possible.

In the northwest, rising water levels at Warsak Dam, the country's third biggest, prompted disaster officials to ask residents in the northern outskirts of Peshawar city to leave their homes.

"If needed, forced evacuation will be started,'' Adnan Khan, a spokesman for the provincial Disaster Management Authority, said on Tuesday.

Aid workers from Save the Children in the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa warned that there was a serious risk that violence could break out as food supplies dwindle.

The charity said there had already been skirmishes when food supplies reached Nowshera, one of the hardest-hit districts.

"Families are stranded and desperate for food. There are 40,000 children in the region, many of whom are already going hungry," Matt Wingate, an emergency response leader for the charity, said.

"When aid does get to them the atmosphere can be very tense."

Medical aid

Other relief agencies such as the World Health Organisation were rushing in medical kits to affected areas to deal with diarrhoea.


"When we're talking about kits, we're not talking about small boxes," Al Jazeera's Sohail Rahman, reporting from the Swat Valley, said.

"We're talking about a team of people , like a mini clinic, that can be taken to a town or a village."

He said aid agencies had been facing severe challenges in reaching certain areas, with roads and bridges destroyed, but that repair works on the main road between Islamabad and the northwest had now been completed.

"The highway between Islamabad and Peshawar is now open. That will help the aid efforts, at least getting heavy trucks laden with help from the international community into the provincial capital from where it can be distributed."

A big quantity of aid was destroyed when a UN warehouse in Nowshera was flooded.

The floods have triggered heavy criticism of the government over its response to the disaster.

Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president whose government is already unpopular over widespread allegations of corruption, was criticised for pressing on with a visit to Europe while his country was plagued by disaster.

"Zardari should visit the flood-hit areas and take steps for the welfare of the stranded people instead of taking joy rides to France and the UK," Sher Khan, a villager in Majuky Faqirabad, said.

Many residents who lost their homes and livelihood also complained that they had not received any advance warning that raging waters were heading their way.

But Major General Athar Abbas of the Pakistani army told Al Jazeera that criticism over the state's action was "misplaced".

"There is a deficiency [of aid] because of the magnitude of the calamity," he said.

"We are trying our best, taking into account our limited resources to reach out to a maximum amount of people in a maximum of areas.

"Yes, there are certain areas which were left out. However, so far the rescue operation has been completed and we have gone into a major relief operation, providing provisions to the relief camps as well as medical assistance."

The military said more than 54,000 people had been rescued from flood-hit areas and moved to safer places, with 40 helicopters and 450 army boats mobilised as part of the rescue effort.

UN urges Israel-Lebanon restraint

Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah fighters will respond in the event of any future Israeli aggression [AFP]




Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/08/20108444254792751.html


The United Nations has called on Israel and Lebanon to exercise "maximum restraint" after troops from both sides engaged in a deadly clash along the tense border on Tuesday.

"Our immediate priority at this time is to restore calm in the area," Neeraj Singh, a spokesman for UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, said.

"UNIFIL peacekeepers are in the area and are trying to ascertain the circumstances of the incident and any possible casualties," Singh said.

Tuesday's border clash left at least two Lebanese soldiers and one Israeli soldier dead. A Lebanese journalist was also killed.

The incident exacerbated tensions on the already tense border.

Tension in the region has been mounting in recent months following reports that the Lebanese group Hezbollah was stockpiling weapons in preparation for a new war.

Hezbollah warning

Following the border skirmish, Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, warned Israel against any future aggression.

"We told our militants to hold back, not to do anything," Nasrallah said in a speech on Tuesday that was transmitted by video link to thousands of supporters massed in Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs.

"From now on, if the army is attacked in any area where the resistance [Hezbollah] has a presence or a say, we will not stand by idly. We will cut off the Israeli hand that reaches out to [attack] the Lebanese army," he said.

The clashes erupted after Israeli soldiers reportedly attempted to uproot a tree near the villages of Adaisseh and Kuferkilla on the Lebanese side of the border.

"The Israelis fired four rockets that fell near a Lebanese army position in the village of Adaisseh and the Lebanese army fired back," a Lebanese security official in the area said.

Israeli troops returned to the area on Wednesday in order to complete their interrupted task, and finally uprooted the tree, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

Saad al-Hariri, the Lebanese prime minister, called Tuesday's raid a "violation of Lebanese sovereignty and demands".

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from the border, said that the streets in the area were empty following the exchange of fire.


"The border has been closed amid the tensions, but observers and analysts, and some representatives of UNIFIL believe this will remain an isolated incident," our correspondent said.

Michel Sleiman, the Lebanese president meanwhile, issued his own statement denouncing the clash as a violation of UN resolution 1701. That resolution ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, and called for both Israel and Lebanon to respect the Blue Line, the UN-administered border between the two countries.

Sleiman also called on the Lebanese army to "confront any Israeli aggression, whatever the sacrifices".

'Misunderstanding'

General Gadi Eisenkot, the head of Israel's northern command, predicted the clashes were a "one-time event".

Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister, said Israel "holds the Lebanese government responsible" for the incident, and asked the Israeli envoy to the UN to file a complaint.

Israeli security sources said that Israeli army engineers came under fire from Lebanese soldiers while working along the frontier and the troops shot back.

Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said "the overall picture that seems to be emerging from Israeli television reports is that the whole incident seems to have started over some misunderstanding".

"There was some kind of Israeli incursion perceived ... to have crossed over into Lebanese territory" which precipitated the exchange of fire, Rowland said.

Israeli TV has reported that Hezbollah was not involved in the skirmish.

Syria condemns 'Israeli aggression'

Smoke rises above buildings in Adissyeh during clashes
between Lebanese and Israeli troops.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137315§ionid=351020206


The Syrian government has condemned the Israeli attack against the Lebanese troops, in which at least three Lebanese soldiers and a top Israeli army officer were killed.

President Bashar al-Assad made a telephone call to Lebanese President Michel Sleiman on Tuesday, Syria's SANA news agency reported.

Assad expressed "Syria's support for Lebanon against the heinous aggression launched by Israel on Lebanon," according to SANA.

Assad considered "that this aggression proves once more that Israel has always been seeking to destabilize security and stability in Lebanon and the region," said the news agency.

Lebanese officials said that the violence broke out near the southern Lebanese village of Adissyeh after Israeli troops entered Lebanon's territory.

A number of other Lebanese and Israeli soldiers were also wounded in the fighting.

A Lebanese journalist from al-Akhbar newspaper was also killed in the fighting, a Press TV correspondent reported.