UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. humanitarian chief issued a desperate appeal Thursday for hundreds of millions of dollars to help 2.4 million Pakistanis who have fled the war against Taliban militants, warning that the U.N. can only sustain its current aid efforts for one month.

Last Friday, the United Nations revised an earlier appeal and urged donors to contribute $543 million to help the displaced Pakistanis through the end of December.

U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said so far only $118 million have come in just 21 percent of the amount and “not remotely sufficient.” He noted that the total includes $17 million from the U.N.’s emergency fund.

“We need to scale up this effort very significantly, in line with the scale and the speed of the displacement,” Holmes said. “We cannot sustain the effort we are making at the moment for more than a month without some new and significant resources being contributed by the donors.”

He said the most immediate needs are funds for food, shelter, cooking utensils, water and sanitation facilities and health services.

Holmes spoke to reporters after meeting with representatives from between 80 and 90 countries to appeal for help. He was joined by Pakistan’s U.N. ambassador.

The United Nations hopes that donors will contribute 60-70percent of the $543 million “within a few weeks,” Holmes said.

More than 1.9 million Pakistanis have fled the recent conflict centered on the northwestern Swat Valley in recent weeks, joining more than 500,000 others who have left their homes since last summer, Holmes said.

While about 90 percent of the 2.4 million people who have been displaced are living with family members or in rented accommodation, he said 220,000 are now in 26 camps south of the battle zone 12 of which the U.N. opened in the last few weeks.

Holmes said the U.N. is concerned that the number of Pakistanis fleeing the fighting is increasing and could rise further if fighting worsens in Waziristan.

May 25 marks an epic in the history of Lebanon. Nine years ago on May 25, the flag of victory of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Resistance Movement was hoisted in Lebanon and southern Lebanon was liberated from the occupation of the Usurper State of Israel after 22 years. At that time, the Zionist regime’s army, under the command of Zionist regime’s premier Ehud Barak, unilaterally and hastily pulled out of southern Lebanon and voluntarily admitted to Israel’s failure in Lebanon and in confrontation with Lebanon’s Hezbollah Resistance Movement.
Many pundits believe that the humiliating withdrawal of the Zionist regime from Lebanon’s soil after two decades goes to show the inability and frustration of the Zionist entity’s war machine in confrontation with Lebanese combatants and Hezbollah Resistance Movement. In fact, Hezbollah had turned southern Lebanon into a quagmire for the Zionists. The Zionist regime, for the first time, occupied southern Lebanon in 1978. Meanwhile, the international community reacted to this occupation. The issuance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 at that year was due to the Zionist regime’s expansionist policies and forced the Zionists to leave Lebanon’s soil. However, the Usurper State of Israel hatched new conspiracies and stationed a mercenary army, still maintaining its domination on southern Lebanon. Thereafter, in 1982, the Zionist regime’s army launched a wide-scale assault on southern Lebanon, deploying its forces in that region.
The resistance movement announced its existence for the first time in 1982 as the only option and approach for confronting the Usurper State of Israel. During the occupation of Lebanon, United Nations’ muted reaction to Zionist regime’s crimes showed this fact to the Lebanese people that the only way to push Israel’s army from their homeland is anti-Zionist resistance.
The outcome of combats of Lebanese resistance movement after pushing Israel out of Lebanon’s territory in the year 2000, took shape in the victory of Lebanon against the Zionist regime in the 33-Day Lebanon War.
The presence of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Movement in the military and political scenes has turned Lebanon into a powerful country.
Under these circumstances, and on the 9th anniversary of victory of Lebanon’s resistance movement against the Zionist regime’s army, Lebanon prepares itself for the imminent victory of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Movement in that country’s legislative election.

ISLAMABAD: Security forces stormed into the main town in the Swat valley and fought street battles Saturday in a bid to capture the capital of the northwest district from militant control, the military said.

The director general of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Athar Abbas told a news conference that parts of Mingora had already been cleared and that 17 militants, including an important commander of Matta Usman, were killed during the most recent fighting of Pakistan’s northwest offensive. He said another important commander; Khursheed Qasai has been arrested from Watta Kali area.

The ground assault on Mingora, a city with an estimated population of around 300,000 — of whom many have fled — marks the most crucial part of the military’s blistering offensive against militants in the scenic valley.

Mingora has effectively been under militant control for weeks and — as the administrative and business hub of the entire district — its capture is essential for the military to be able to declare ultimate victory in Swat.

“Today the most important phase of operation Rah-e-Rast, the clearance of Mingora, has commenced,” Abbas said.

“In the last 24 hours, security forces have entered Mingora; 17 miscreants-terrorists, including important miscreant commander were killed,” he said.

The military reported intense exchanges of fire and said one would-be suicide bomber was shot dead and that another “suicide vehicle” rigged with explosives had been destroyed.

Troops had been slowly tightening their encirclement of the city for days and Abbas said that militant supplies had been cut off.

Secretary General of Lebanon’s legendry anti-terrorist Movement, Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, on the 61st anniversary of the occupation of Palestine by the Zionists, said that the Zionist regime is a cancer and the cause of all wars and crises in the Middle East, while emphasizing all Arab and Muslim countries’ support for the Palestinian people. On the catastrophic occupation anniversary, known among the Palestinians as the Day of Nakba (The Catastrophe Day), Nasrallah emphasized that such a criminal regime can never be recognized as a legitimate government. On the forthcoming military maneuvers of the Zionist regime, he said the Zionist regime has decided to strengthen its warmongering policies as per admitted by the regime’s war minister who had said the games were steps towards war. The Hezbollah Secretary General warned against a new war by Israel in the region, calling on all people and Lebanese officials to be on high alert vis-à-vis the plots hatched by the Zionist illegal regime. Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah reiterated that despite the entire plots hatched by the enemies, the brave Palestinian nation will resist, as ever before, under the most intolerable conditions, continuing its victorious Intifadha movement under such conditions that everyone expected them to surrender. He added, the objective behind the establishment of such a regime at the heart of the Islamic countries was sowing the seeds of wars and crises in the region, while shedding light on the usurper regime’s merciless massacres of the defenseless and innocent people in the region. Nasrallah underlined that the Resistance is in its high level of readiness to thwart the Zionist threats, a matter understood well by the Zionists. The Zionist regime has always put in jeopardy the security and stability of the region while moving in line with its warmongering nature. The regime wanted in fact to impose its will on the regional countries by creating a general panic through its brutalities in practice along with its military show-offs. In line with the same policies, the Hezbollah Secretary General said, the Zionists have resorted to any kind of inhuman measure to make the Palestinians to surrender and yield to their wills. However, with a quick contemplation over the Resistance status and conditions, one could easily understand that the people in Palestine and Lebanon are fully aware of the Zionist plots, while keeping the Resistance bastion highly impenetrable coupled with military and spiritual capabilities. By the way, considering the Zionists’ defeats in the 33-day war against Lebanon in summer of 2006 and the recent 22-day attack on Gaza, Israeli usurper state will get to nowhere but mere failure.

Pakistan and Iran will finalize the $7.4 billion gas pipeline project in a few days, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Talking to IRNA, Managing Director of Pakistan Inter-State Gas System and special envoy on IPI project, Hasan Nawab said that a high-level delegation led by Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain is scheduled to visit Iran on May 22 to hold talks on gas pipeline project with Iranian officials.
He said that the delegation will be staying in Tehran for three days and will give final touches to the IPI agreement.
“The obstacles in the project have been removed and we want to finalize the project in this visit”, he said. “Every thing is settled only the final document has to be signed”, Hasan Nawab added.
He said that Pakistan is very keen on the project as it will open more avenues of peace between Iran and Pakistan.

KARACHI: The Special Investigation Unit (SIU), Karachi, has foiled plans for major terrorist activities in the city by capturing six militants belonging to al-Qaeda and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from an inn in Sohrab Goth, sources said on Friday.

During a raid on a tip-off, five suicide bombing jackets, more than 10 kilogrammes of C-4 explosive material, several guns, a large quantity of ammunition and electronic items were also recovered, the sources added.

There were reports that after the military operation in Swat, Buner and Dir, the militants, belonging to al-Qaeda and the TTP, came to Karachi to disturb the peaceful environment of the city by launching suicide attacks on Ulema, Imambargahs, important installations and killing personnel belonging to the Karachi Police and intelligence agencies.

The sources said Capital City Police Officer Waseem Ahmed, taking note of the presence of militants in the city, directed SSP Raja Omer Khattab of the SIU Karachi to dismantle the network of terrorists.

Intelligence sources said during the investigation, SSP Khattab was tipped off that the militants were present at an inn near a petrol pump situated near New Sabzi Mandi, Sohrab Goth. The police raided the area and after a brief encounter arrested Abu Huzefa, Hafiz Saeed, Haris and others.

The militants were shifted to an unknown location for interrogation. During the course of investigation, it was uncovered that the militants belonged to al-Qaeda and the TTP and had received training in Afghanistan to carry out bombings and other terrorist acts.

The intelligence sources said after the military operation in Swat and elsewhere, the militants, belonging to various outfits, came to Karachi from South Waziristan, Swat, Miranshah and Buner. They were directed to generate funds for organisations fighting in the tribal areas by robbing banks, moneychangers, jewellery markets and kidnapping millionaire businessmen for ransom.

They added the police found a list of Ulema who were on their hit list. The militants had gathered information about the Ulema and their addresses. The police also found a list of police officers who were to be their targets — SSP Mohammad Farooq Awan, SSP Raja Omar Khattab, SSP Khurram Waris, SSP Mohammad Fayyaz Khan, DSP Chaudhry Amir Hameed, DSP Chaudhry Safdar and others.

The militants had also gathered information about addresses and vehicles of officers belonging to the Sindh Police and intelligence agencies, as they had made a crackdown against their organisations in the past. Senior police officials will hold a press conference in a few days to announce details obtained during the investigation.

J.A.P accounced with great sorrow the sad demise of Father of Moulana Ali Murtaza Zaidi. Namaz-e-Janaza will be held after juma prayers at Masjid Khair-ul-Amal Ancholi F.B. Area # 20 after Namaz-e-Zoharain. J.A.P

ATHENS: Greek police fired tear gas Thursday at hundreds of Muslim immigrants in Athens protesting reports that an officer had torn up Holy Qura’n during an identity check the day before.

Around 1,500 demonstrators marched through the working class district of Kypseli towards the Omonia Square in the city centre, where there were scuffles with officers and tear gas was fired, said police.

Some demonstrators also threw dustbins and stones at the police station in Kypseli district, injuring one officer and damaging a car. Officers fired tear gas to break up the crowd.

Demonstrators said that on Wednesday, as police officers stopped four Syrian immigrants to check their papers, one of the officers had torn up Holy Qura’n and stamped on it.

But after word spread of the alleged incident, the local Muslim immigrant community, mainly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, organised Thursday’s protest.

Immigrants rights groups have called another protest for Friday. Police said they had opened an investigation into the affair

BEIRUT: Vice President Joe Biden, the most senior U.S. official to visit Lebanon in 26 years, met President Michel Suleiman on Friday, 16 days before an election that may shift power away from a Western-backed coalition.

Lebanese vote on June 7 in a poll that pits an alliance including Hezbollah.

Hezbollah criticised Biden’s visit, which followed one by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in April, as meddling in Lebanon, and denounced U.S. support for its arch-foe Israel.

“The high American interest in Lebanon raises strong suspicion as to the real reason behind it, especially since it has become a clear and detailed intervention in Lebanese affairs,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

Biden, who visited Serbia and Kosovo earlier this week, was also due to meet Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri before joining Defence Minister Eliasal-Murr for an announcement on U.S. military aid to Lebanon.

PESHAWAR: A car bomb exploded on Cinema Road in Khyber Bazaar area of Peshawar, killing 10 people and injuring dozens others, police said on Friday.

The dead and injured were rushed to the city’s hospitals where emergency was declared.

The hospitals’ administration confirmed that more than 50 injured were brought to the hospital, some of them in very critical condition.

According to the CCPO Peshawar, more than 75 people sustained injuries in the blast.

The cinema building nearby shops were badly damaged in the blast. Several cars and other vehicles parked on the road were also damaged.

The blast was very loud and was heard in many parts of the provincial capital.

Severe flooding over the last month brought on by torrential rains has killed 45 people across northern Brazil and forced some 378,000 others to evacuate their homes, mainly to emergency shelters, officials said Tuesday.

The National Civil Defense Secretariat said deaths have occurred in eight out of the 11 states severely affected by the flooding, including Ceara with 15 deaths, 10 in Maranhao and seven in Bahia in the perennially drought-stricken northeast; and eight deaths in the northern state of Amazonas.

Over one million people in some 407 municipalities have been affected, including several areas placed under a state of emergency, with flooding on roadways leaving many towns and cities cut off from the outside world.

An initial government estimate put the damage at nearly 500 million dollars.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has visited inundated areas and met with flood victims and local authorities.

Indian stocks have surged after the Congress party won a surprisingly decisive victory in national elections.

The benchmark Sensex index jumped 17%, or 1,306 points, to 14,272, forcing the Bombay Stock Exchange to shut down for the day.

Trading had already been halted earlier, after investors pushed stocks above their daily maximum limit.

The Congress victory gives the party a strong mandate to continue reforms that have spurred Indian economic growth.

‘Big bang’

The broader Nifty index, traded on the National Stock Exchange, also rose 17%, over 500 points, to 4,308. Trading was also halted earlier and the stock exchange was closed down.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee jumped over 2% to 48.32 a dollar, its biggest gain since 1998.

“This was the big bang event that investors were looking for,” said Hitesh Agrawal, head of research with Angel Broking. “We expect the government to have greater flexibility to boost economic reform and growth from here on.”

The Congress-led alliance is projected to win 260 seats, with rivals the BJP on 157. This confounded projections of a close election.

The communist parties, who had blocked reforms in insurance, pension funds and the selling off of state-owned companies, lost more than half their parliamentary seats.

Shares in some of India’s largest companies also climbed. Reliance gained 37% and ICICI Bank jumped 25.3%, while carmaker Tata gained 40% and IT firm Infosys rose 9.8%.

The Sensex had climbed 26% already this year before the Congress Party victory was declared over the weekend.