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British Commander: War in Afghanistan Cannot be Won.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported.
It quoted Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith as saying in an interview that if the Taliban were willing to talk, then that might be "precisely the sort of progress" needed to end the insurgency.
"We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army," he said.
He said his forces had "taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008" but that troops may well leave Afghanistan with there still being a low level of insurgency.
But Afghanistan's Defense Minister expressed his disappointment on Sunday at the commander's statements, maintaining the insurgency had to be defeated.
"I think this is the personal opinion of that commander," Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters.
"The main objective of the Afghan government and the whole international community is that we have to defeat this war of terror and be successful," he said.
Wardak said success also depended on how British forces were approaching the problems they faced in Helmand but did not say whether their current strategy was the right one.
Asked if the commander's comments came as a disappointment, Wardak said: "Yes, it is disappointing, for sure."
Britain has around 8,000 troops based in Afghanistan, most of them in the volatile southern province of Helmand, where they face daily battles with a growing insurgency.
NO NEGOTIATIONS WITH "INVADERS"
NATO commanders and diplomats have been saying for some time that the Taliban insurgency cannot be defeated by military means alone and that negotiations with the militants will ultimately be needed to bring an end to the conflict.
"If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this," Carleton-Smith said. "That shouldn't make people uncomfortable."
But a spokesman for the Taliban said on Sunday there would be no negotiations with foreigners and repeated calls made by Taliban commanders for the unconditional withdrawal of the more than 70,000 international troops from Afghanistan.
"They should know that Taliban will never hold talks with the invaders," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told the Pakistan-based Afghan news agency, AIP.
"What we had said in the past, we also say once again, that foreign forces should leave without any condition," he said.
Violence in Afghanistan has increased to its worst level since 2001, when U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the ruling Taliban following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said last week he had asked the king of Saudi Arabia to mediate in talks with the insurgents and called on Taliban leader Mullah Omar to return to his homeland and to make peace. LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times report... more -
Timeline: Banking crisis key events, 2007-present, how it led to this.
The transformed the global financial landscape, bankrupting established names and prompting unprecedented interventions by governments and central banks to save others from collapse as they buckle under the weight of "toxic debts." This timeline charts the key moments in that process.
Feb. 7, 2007: HSBC announces losses linked to U.S. subprime mortgages
May 17: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said growing number of mortgage defaults will not seriously harm the U.S. economy.
June: Two Bear Stearns-run hedge funds with large holdings of subprime mortgages run into large losses and are forced to dump assets. The trouble spreads to major Wall Street firms such as Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs which had loaned the firms money.
Aug.: French bank BNP Paribas freezes withdrawals in three investment funds.
Sept.: Crisis-hit UK bank Northern Rock admits financial difficulties as it asks Bank of England for assistance. Share prices fall as customers queue up to withdraw their money.
Oct. 1: Swiss bank UBS announces losses liked to U.S. subprime mortgages
Oct. 5: Investment bank Merrill Lynch reports losses of $5.5 billion
Oct. 15: Cititgroup announces $6.5 billion third quarter losses
Oct. 24: Merrill Lynch announces losses to be over $8 billion
Jan., 2008: Swiss bank UBS announces fourth quarter losses at $14 billion.
Jan. 11: Bank of America pays $4 billion for Countryside Financial.
Jan. 15: Citigroup reports $18.1 billion loss in fourth quarter
Jan. 17: Merrill Lynch reports $11.5 billion loss in fourth quarter. Washington Mutual posts losses
Feb. 13: U.K. bank Northern Rock is nationalized.
March: UK hedge fund Peloton Partners and U.S. fund Carlyle Capital fail
March 16: Bear Stearns, the U.S.'s fifth largest investment bank collapses and is taken over by JP Morgan.
April 1: German Deutsche Bank credit losses of $3.9 billion in first quarter.
April 13: U.S. bank Wachovia Corp. reports big loss for quarter.
May 12: HSBC writes off $3.2 billion in the first quarter linked to exposure to the U.S. subprime market.
July 22: WaMu reports $3.3 billion loss for second quarter.
Aug. 31: German Commerzbank AG takes over Dresdner Kleinwort investment bank.
Sept 7: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac effectively nationalized by the U.S. Treasury which places them into "conservatorship."
Sept. 9: Lehman Brothers shares plummet to lowest level on Wall Street in more than a decade.
Sept 14: Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy. Stock markets plummet; Central banks inject billions of dollars into money markets. Bank of America agrees to buy Merrill Lynch.
Sept. 16: AIG Corp, the world's biggest insurer bailed out by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Morgan Stanley and Wachovia enter merger talks.
Sept. 17: Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) merges with UK bank Lloyds TSB in an emergency rescue plan representing one-third of the UK's savings and mortgage market.
Sept. 18: Fed and other central banks inject billions into global markets to help ease the crunch.
Sept. 22: Japan's Nomura Holdings buys Lehman's Asian operations for up to $525 million.
Sept. 25: WaMu sold to JP Morgan.
Sept. 27: HSBC announces 1,100 job cuts worldwide.
Sept. 29: UK's Bradford & Bingley nationalized. Spanish banking giant Santander to buy deposits for $38.2 billion. U.S. House of Representatives rejects a $700 billion plan to bail out the U.S. financial system. German bank Hypo Real Estate is bailed out by a consortium of banks. Citigroup, the world's largest bank, buys Wachovia. Irish government moves to safeguard all bonds, debts and deposits for two years in six banks and building societies. Belgian insurance giant Fortis is bailed out by the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Iceland's third largest bank Glitnir nationalized.
Sept 30: Belgian bank Dexia bailed out by France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Swiss bank UBS expected to annouce losses before Oct. 2 shareholder meeting. The transformed the global financial landscape, bankrupting established names and prompting unprecedented interventions by governments... more -
EU must act like U.S. on credit crisis - IMF
Europe must show it can respond like the United States in the "trial by fire" of the global financial crisis, says International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
European leaders are meeting in Paris on Saturday to discuss their approach to the global financial crisis.
Strauss-Kahn said that the financial situation was an unprecedented test for the countries that use Europe's common currency, The Associated Press reported.
The IMF boss said the crisis was worrying and that his organization would lower its economic growth forecasts.
Strauus-Khan commented after meeting Saturday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss Europe's response.
Sarkozy also planned to meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Also expected to attend was Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker who heads the Eurogroup, comprising the finance ministers of the 15 countries using the euro.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet were also expected at the summit.
Sarkozy said the economic crisis required a global response, while Brown said that no strong bank should be allowed to fail for lack of solvency.
He also mooted setting up a $21 billion European fund to help small businesses through the economic downturn.
Europe has been hit with bankruptcies and stock declines since the crisis unfolded in the United States last month.
Europe has welcomed the approval in the U.S. Congress of a $700 billion financial industry bailout. However, most of the leaders at the summit are against a similar Europe-wide bailout.
Sarkozy has denied France was backing the creation of a special fund to rescue any crisis-hit European banks despite the French finance minister floating the idea.
The European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged Thursday, but it and the Bank of England are under increasing pressure to cut rates quickly in the face of declining economic activity and an increase in unemployment. Europe must show it can respond like the United States in the "trial by fire" of the global financial crisis, says Internati... more -
Places closer to Russia's capital, than Palin's home
Sarah Palin thinks Russia is so close to her home, it gives her foreign policy experience. And Tina Fey said on SNL imitating Palin "I can see Russia from my house!" This is a funny map which puts it into perspective.
Check out the great map! Sarah Palin thinks Russia is so close to her home, it gives her foreign policy experience. And Tina Fey said on SNL imitating Palin &#... more -
Russian navy ships head to maneuvers in Venezuela
MOSCOW - A Russian navy squadron set off for Venezuela Monday, an official said, in a deployment of Russian military power to the Western Hemisphere unprecedented since the Cold War.
The Kremlin recently has moved to intensify contacts with Venezuela, Cuba and other Latin American nations amid increasingly strained relations with Washington after last month's war between Russia and Georgia. During the Cold War, Latin America became an ideological battleground between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said the nuclear-powered Peter the Great cruiser accompanied by three other ships sailed from the Northern Fleet's base of Severomorsk on Monday. The ships will cover about 15,000 nautical miles to conduct joint maneuvers with the Venezuelan navy, he told The Associated Press.
The deployment follows a weeklong visit to Venezuela by a pair of Russian strategic bombers and comes as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez — an unbridled critic of U.S. foreign policy who has close ties with Moscow — plans to visit Moscow this week. It will be Chavez's second trip to Russia in about two months. MOSCOW - A Russian navy squadron set off for Venezuela Monday, an official said, in a deployment of Russian military power to the West... more -
DHS Report Says Leave Laptops At Home
The federal agency said anyone who brings their computer or cell phone out of the country is risking privacy and data security violations.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security appears to be of two minds about the security of information on portable devices.
On the one hand, it defends border searches of laptops as necessary to limit the movements of terrorists, to deter child pornography, and to enforce U.S. laws.
On the other hand, it has warned business and government travelers not to carry laptops or other electronic devices when traveling abroad, as a way to prevent "unauthorized access and theft of data by criminal and foreign government elements."
In a document titled "Foreign Travel Threat Assessment: Electronic Communications Vulnerabilities," published by the DHS's critical infrastructure threat analysis division and recently posted to Wikileaks, DHS urges business leaders and U.S. officials to "leave [electronic devices] at home" when traveling.
"Foreign governments routinely target the computers and other electronic devices and media carried by U.S. corporate and government personnel traveling abroad to gather economic, military, and political information," the document warns. "Theft of sensitive information can occur in a foreign country at any point between a traveler's arrival and departure and can continue after returning home without the victim being aware."
Recognizing that for some it may be impossible to travel without a laptop and phone, DHS recommends buying a single-use cell phone locally, carrying a designated "travel" laptop with a minimum of information on it, and using temporary Internet e-mail accounts that are not associated with a corporate or government entity.
"Even with these strategies, however, travelers should assume that all communications are monitored," the DHS Threat Assessment says.
In other words, expect no privacy or data security anywhere.
Oh, P.S. THE SKY IS FALLING!!!! The federal agency said anyone who brings their computer or cell phone out of the country is risking privacy and data security violati... more -
Spain To Pay Jobless Immigrants To Leave
Spain will pay jobless immigrants to go home under a decree approved Friday, more dramatic evidence of how a once-booming economy has quickly gone bust.
Labor Minister Celestino Corbacho said the Cabinet had fast-tracked the measure to take effect in about a month. Its approval by Parliament is expected.
The plan targets tens of thousands of non-EU citizens who have been laid off in Spain and are entitled to various unemployment benefits, based on length of employment. The plan, however, offers them 40 percent of their full entitlement once they renounce their work and residency permits, and the remaining 60 percent once they get home.
The program is strictly voluntary, and applies to people from 19 non-EU countries with which Spain has signed bilateral agreements to pay people's social security benefits that are accrued one another's country.
People who sign up for it must agree not to come back to Spain for three years, but can come back after that and recover their work and residency permits.
The government has been grappling with growing unemployment in an economy now flirting with recession after more than a decade of solid growth. Spanish unemployment is now an EU-high of 10.7 percent, according to the bloc's statistical agency Eurostat.
The meltdown stems mainly from a collapse in the construction industry, which apart from being the main engine of growth has also been a key employment source for low-skill workers from Latin America, North Africa and Eastern Europe.
These immigrants are being hit by building companies' layoffs, and are the ones the government now wants to pay to go home until things get better in Spain.
"We are trying to facilitate the return of those workers who, having contributed to the growth of this country, decide to go back to their own," Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega told a news conference. She gave no further details.
In July, the government said it believed some 10,000 jobless non-EU citizens - out of a total of 165,000 recorded as of that month - would go along with the plan. Spain will pay jobless immigrants to go home under a decree approved Friday, more dramatic evidence of how a once-booming economy has ... more -
Russia warns of new Iron Curtain
President Dmitri Medvedev has accused the West of trying to push Russia behind a new "Iron Curtain".
"This is not our path. For us there is no sense going back to the past," the Russian leader said in Moscow.
He also blamed Nato for provoking last month's fighting between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia.
His comments come a day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Russia was becoming increasingly aggressive abroad.
In a strongly-worded speech, Ms Rice said Moscow was on a "one-way path to isolation and irrelevance".
Diplomatic relations between the US and its European allies, on one side, and Russia on the other, have been strained by the Georgian conflict.
Lambasting Nato
"We are in effect being pushed down a path that is founded not on fully-fledged, civilised partnership with other countries, but on autonomous development, behind thick walls, behind an Iron Curtain," President Medvedev said.
He said that Moscow would not allow this to happen, adding that he did not want disputes with the West.
Mr Medvedev also said that Nato's role in the Georgian conflict proved that the military bloc was unable to provide security in Europe.
"What has Nato done, what has it guaranteed? It only provoked the conflict. That's all," he said.
The fighting began on 7 August when Georgia tried to retake its breakaway region of South Ossetia by force after a series of lower-level clashes.
Russia launched a counter-attack and the Georgian troops were ejected from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia - another Georgia's rebel region - several days later.
The Kremlin later recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. So far, Nicaragua is the only other country to have done so. President Dmitri Medvedev has accused the West of trying to push Russia behind a new "Iron Curtain". ... more -
IMF approves loan to help Georgia
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a loan for Georgia, amounting to $750m (£418m).
It is aimed at rebuilding the country's currency reserves and boosting confidence in its economy following last month's conflict with Russia.
Analysts say the money could offset any difficulty Georgia might have in selling products abroad or in attracting foreign investment.
The approval came as Nato chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was visiting Tbilisi.
He called for Georgia's "accelerated" integration with Nato and condemned Russia's conduct in the conflict.
But Mr de Hoop Scheffer - speaking at the first meeting of the Nato-Georgia Commission - did not say when Georgia might join the alliance.
EU aid
A third of the IMF loan will be released immediately, with the rest to come in stages over the next 18 months.
David Owen, a senior IMF adviser, told reporters that the funding was above normal limits for the fund, because of the "exceptional pressures" facing Georgia.
He added that Georgia's growth prospects had been hit by the Russian incursion, but that the economy was well placed to recover quickly.
Also on Monday, the EU announced 500m euros (£397m, $712m) to help Georgia's recovery.
European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the aid would go to assisting internally displaced people, post-conflict rehabilitation, and towards new infrastructure.
In Brussels, EU foreign ministers were set to clear the way for at least 200 ceasefire monitors to deploy to buffer zones around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, ahead of an expected Russian troop withdrawal by 10 October.
It is unclear whether the monitors will actually be allowed to enter the breakaway regions, which are full of Russian troops.
In August Russia launched a counter-attack and the Georgian troops were ejected from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a loan for Georgia, amounting to $750m (£418m). ... more -
Immense Social gap between Moscow and the rest of Russia
Sociologists say the gap between the lifestyle, opinions and outlooks of Muscovites and residents of smaller towns is becoming larger and larger. There are hardly any people in Moscow who suffer from a shortage of money for food. The situation is completely different in smaller towns. The smaller a town, the more hungry people it may have. Sociologists say the gap between the lifestyle, opinions and outlooks of Muscovites and residents of smaller towns is becoming larger ... more
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Life in a Refugee Camp
Sydney shock: a refugee camp at Olympic Park!
Mock refugee camp out to raise awareness of the refugee experience.
Medecins Sans Frontieres reconstructs a refugee camp providing a dramatic insight into the experiences of the 42 million people throughout the world that have been forced to flee their homes and loved ones as a result of armed conflict.
Over the past five days almost 1000 people have taken tours, or just had a lunchtime wander through the camp, which has been created with the same temporary shelters and facilities used in refugee camps across the world.
Visitors are taken through the different aspects of the refugee camp experience, from construction, the allocation of scarce food and water resources and hygiene, to the medical conditions experienced by Medecins Sans Frontieres staff.
"If you ever see an adult suffering from severe dehydration as a result of cholera, you'll see how devastating relatively simple diseases can be," Dr Marquardt said.
"The first day I arrived in Liberia we had a group of men come in with cholera and we had to quickly set up treatment for them. It was certainly a baptism of fire."
Those visiting the camp have very different reactions, the field officers say - from shock at the rough nature of the accommodation and horror at the cramped medical treatment areas, to amazement at the ability of the workers to do so much with so little. Sydney shock: a refugee camp at Olympic Park! Mock refugee camp out to raise awareness of the refugee experience. ... more -
Condi Rice: Palin Is a Governor of Some State in the United States...
Rice's tepid endorsement of Palin's experience...
Here’s forgotten Bush Administration tool Condoleezza Rice weighing in on McCain’s goofy pick for veep, Alaskan anger-bear and baby farmer Sarah Palin.
What Condi’s doing here is what elitists call “damning with faint praise.” And that’s only natural for a well-educated academic fancy-pants piano-playing culture vulture like our Condi. What does she know about the real world of snowbilly trash and teen-aged baby mamas? Only a mean, dumb white-trash gal with a community-college degree in sportscasting understands the real challenges of this world.
Tip of the hat to Wonkette! Rice's tepid endorsement of Palin's experience... ... more -
OPEC to cut oil production, tackling falling oil prices
OPEC ministers headed for Vienna on Monday to wrestle with the issue of falling oil prices, with analysts expecting them to agree to trim output to help keep crude above $100 a barrel.
The question facing OPEC, which is to hold a meeting Tuesday, is when, not if, to cut its oil production target as crude prices slide in the face of weakening global economic growth, analysts say.
Most observers expect the 13 nation cartel to agree to reduce its output informally before waiting until later, possibly at a scheduled gathering in Dec, to alter its official output target.
The informal cut will be achieved by members, mainly Saudi Arabia, agreeing to cut their excess production above their OPEC quota, which would remove oil from the market but not amount to a formal change in policy.
"Anyone that is overdoing their quota should respect it," Libya's OPEC representative, National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman Shukri Ghanem, told AFP by telephone on Sunday. "The market is more than oversupplied it seems."
Under fierce pressure from the U.S, Saudi Arabia agreed in May and June to increase production to help calm the runaway crude market which reached a pinnacle on July 11, when crude struck $147 a barrel in New York.
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude producer, is estimated to be producing about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) above its quota.
The stakes are entirely different to the last time OPEC members met in March, when crude prices had broken through $100 a barrel and were on a steep upwards trajectory.
This time, oil prices are on the way down and approaching $100 a barrel - a level many members, above all the traditional price hawks of Iran and Venezuela, are keen to protect.
Economic conditions, which determine oil demand, have worsened considerably, with many European economies facing recession, the US struggling & fears growing about the emerging economies of Asia.
OPEC producers have to balance their desire for revenues from high oil prices against the danger that high prices could choke off feeble economic growth.
Analyst John Hall, who runs his own oil consultancy expects a cut in production via a crackdown on overproduction by Saudi Arabia.
"I think they'll hold up at where it is & reinforce targets. That'll bring the output number down," he told AFP.
He estimated that OPEC was pumping about a million bpd more than its output target of 29.67 million bpd, which includes new members Angola & Ecuador but excludes Iraq.
Ecuador's oil minister, whose nation is the smallest OPEC producer, said on Sunday an oil price of $110-120 per barrel was "reasonable" but he suggested OPEC should keep its output steady.
"I don't think there is a possibility of a cut to OPEC production levels in our opinion," he said as he arrived in Vienna. "The production levels are adequate."
On Monday, ministers from Algeria, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar and Venezuela are set to arrive and begin informal talks ahead of the policy meeting late on Tuesday.
The arrival time of Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi, the de facto leader of the group who is yet to comment on the meeting, is unknown.
The Washington-based energy consultancy PFC Energy believes support is growing for an outright cut to OPECs target despite the unpopularity of such a move in consumer countries where transport and heating costs are rising.
"The focus of debate among OPEC ministers gathering ... in Vienna will not be whether there is a need to cut crude oil production, but rather when," it said in a report.
If not on Tuesday, then a cut would be announced in December at the next OPEC meeting.
"Though Riyadh will not be bullied into agreeing to a production cut, the near consensus within the group that some reduction in volumes is needed ... raises the distinct possibility that the final communique in Vienna will announce an output reduction," PFC continued.
OPEC meets regularly to set its production policy, with each member assigned a quota or production target. OPEC ministers headed for Vienna on Monday to wrestle with the issue of falling oil prices, with analysts expecting them to agree to t... more -
Police want Israeli PM Indicted
BREAKING: Reports say Israeli police are recommending indictments against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a string of corruption cases.
The reports said police want to indict Olmert in affairs that include receiving tens of thousands of dollars from a U.S. businessman and double-billing Jewish groups for trips abroad.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said no official announcement has been made. Sunday's police recommendation would have only limited effect. The decision about whether to indict Olmert rests with the attorney general, Meni Mazuz. BREAKING: Reports say Israeli police are recommending indictments against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a string of corruption cases. ... more -
Russian news compares RNC to a police state
Russia Today analyzes the situation between protesters and police in what they are calling a “police state”. During McCain’s speech Russia was a talking point in which he blamed Russia for re-assembling it's old empire.
Ralph Nader is also covered by this interesting outside perspective of the RNC Convention and the police brutality that took place. Russia Today analyzes the situation between protesters and police in what they are calling a “police state”. During McCain’s speech Ru... more -
Reported US attack pushes Afghanistan war into Pakistan
The war in Afghanistan spilled over into Pakistani territory for the first time today when heavily armed commandoes, believed to be US special forces, landed by helicopter and attacked three houses in a village close to a known Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold.
The early morning attack on Jala Khel killed between seven and 20 people, according to a range of reports from the remote Angoor Adda region of South Waziristan. The village is situated less than a mile from the Afghanistan border.
Local residents were quoted as saying most of the dead were civilians and included women and children. It was not known whether any Taliban or al-Qaida militants or western forces were among the dead.
Major-General Athar Abbas, a spokesman for the Pakistan army, said Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) had carried out the raid. "Two helicopters of Isaf landed very early in the morning and conducted a raid on a compound there. As per our report, seven civilians were killed in this raid."
But a Nato spokesman denied involvement. "There has been no Nato or Isaf involvement crossing the border into Pakistan," the Nato spokesman James Appathurai said.
There were unconfirmed reports that the incursion was carried out by US special forces, which are not under Isaf command and can operate independently. A US military spokesman at the Bagram base near Kabul did not deny an attack had occurred but declined to comment.
Official Pakistani condemnation swiftly followed the attack amid growing concern that the Nato-led war against the Taliban in Afghanistan could spread to Pakistan, sparking a region-wide conflagration.
Owais Ahmed Ghanisaid, the governor of North-West Frontier province, which adjoins South Waziristan, said 20 people had died and called for retaliation by the Pakistani army. "This is a direct assault on the sovereignty of Pakistan, and the people of Pakistan expect that the armed forces ... would rise to defend the sovereignty of the country and give a befitting reply," he said.
The foreign ministry in Islamabad said the incursion was "a gross violation of Pakistan's territory" and a "grave provocation" that had resulted in "immense" loss of civilian life.
Continues The war in Afghanistan spilled over into Pakistani territory for the first time today when heavily armed commandoes, believed to be US... more -
The coming transatlantic crisis
Russia's resurgence as a world power and America's decline mean that US and European interests are on a collision course
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Russia may cut oil flow to West
Fears are mounting that Russia may restrict oil deliveries to Western Europe over coming days, in response to the threat of EU sanctions and NATO naval actions in the Black Sea.
Any such move would be a dramatic escalation of the Georgia crisis and play havoc with the oil markets.
Reports have begun to circulate in Moscow that Russian oil companies are under orders from the Kremlin to prepare for a supply cut to Germany and Poland through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline. It is believed that executives from lead-producer LUKoil have been put on weekend alert.
"They have been told to be ready to cut off supplies as soon as Monday," claimed a high-level business source, speaking to The Daily Telegraph. Any move would be timed to coincide with an emergency EU summit in Brussels, where possible sanctions against Russia are on the agenda.
Any evidence that the Kremlin is planning to use the oil weapon to intimidate the West could inflame global energy markets. US crude prices jumped to $119 a barrel yesterday on reports of hurricane warnings in the Gulf of Mexico, before falling back slightly.
Global supplies remain tight despite the economic downturn engulfing North America, Europe and Japan. A supply cut at this delicate juncture could drive crude prices much higher, possibly to record levels of $150 or even $200 a barrel.
With US and European credit spreads already trading at levels of extreme stress, a fresh oil spike would rock financial markets. The Kremlin is undoubtedly aware that it exercises extraordinary leverage, if it strikes right now.
Such action would be seen as economic warfare but Russia has been infuriated by Nato meddling in its "backyard" and threats of punitive measures by the EU. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday accused EU diplomats of a "sick imagination".
Armed with $580bn of foreign reserves (the world's third largest), Russia appears willing to risk its reputation as a reliable actor on the international stage in order to pursue geo-strategic ambitions.
"We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a Cold War," said President Dmitry Medvedev. . . .
(Go to link for the rest of the article)
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Dmitry Medvedev hasn't been President for that long even. I have a bad feeling about this. What do you think of this? A Cold War really? I don't think it will end up like that, but the EU has an issue on their hands here. Fears are mounting that Russia may restrict oil deliveries to Western Europe over coming days, in response to the threat of EU sanctio... more -
North Korea threatens to restore nuclear facilities
North Korea said on Tuesday that it had stopped disabling its main nuclear complex, and threatened to restore facilities there that the North has used to produce plutonium fuel for nuclear weapons. The threat came a day after U.S. officials acknowledged that their talks with North Korea on how to verify its report on past nuclear activities had failed to make progress.
For months, U.S. experts together with North Korean engineers, had been disabling key facilities at Yongbyon in a move that at least temporarily shut down the North's only known source of plutonium. If the North rebuilds the facilities, it would nullify a key foreign policy achievement for President George W. Bush. North Korea said on Tuesday that it had stopped disabling its main nuclear complex, and threatened to restore facilities there that th... more -
US to deliver aid to tense Georgian port of Poti
In a direct challenge to Russia, the United States announced Tuesday it intends to deliver humanitarian aid to the beleaguered Georgian port city of Poti, which Russian troops still control through checkpoints on the city's outskirts.
The aid will be delivered Wednesday by ship, a U.S. embassy spokesman said.
"The heightened activity of NATO ships in the Black Sea perplexes us," Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said in Moscow.
"We can confirm that US ship-borne humanitarian aid will be delivered to Poti tomorrow," Guice said.
In Moscow, the deputy head of the Russian military's general staff lashed out at the U.S. naval operation.
"We are worried" about aid the way aid is delivered on warships, Nogoviysyn said. "This is devilish."
"This aid could be bought at any flea market," he added. In a direct challenge to Russia, the United States announced Tuesday it intends to deliver humanitarian aid to the beleaguered Georgia... more
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