Start of the annual pilgrimage: Hajj

Posted on by

Around 2.5 million or more Muslims from all over the world have headed to Saudi Arabia. Under heightened monitoring by some 20,000 medical staff and more than 100,000 security personnel, the world’s largest annual Islamic pilgrimage Hajj is taking place from November 25 to 29 in western Saudi Arabia in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

A Saudi man, wearing a mask for protection against swine flu, walks past Turkish and Iranian Muslim pilgrims at Jeddah airport upon their arrival in the Saudi Red Sea port city for the annual pilgrimage to nearby Mecca.

Iran ready for talks, needs concrete guarantees for fuel supply

Posted on by

Iran needs to receive concrete guarantees for supplying nuclear fuel for its research reactor in Tehran, a senior national security official said on Tuesday.

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili made the remarks while speaking on the sidelines of a police and security gathering in the Iranian capital.

If necessary guarantees were not given to Iran, the country would have other options,” Jalili said, noting that if some (countries) failed to timely provide necessary fuel for Iran’s research reactor based on Iran’s will, then “this will add to the Iranians’ distrust in them.”

“Providing nuclear fuel for Tehran’s research reactor is not a political issue and has nothing to do with Iran’s talks with the group 5+1 member states,” said the official.

He noted that providing the fuel “is only a business matter and not even a technical or legal issue.”

As for Iran’s position on resumption of nuclear talks with the group 5+1 member states, Jalili said, “Tehran is ready to talk about its proposed package” presented to the Western states during last month’s talks in Vienna, Austria.

Jalili said that Tehran was willing to continue its talks with Western states only “over the subjects discussed in its proposed package.”

Referring to the latest talks between the two sides in Geneva, Jalili said, “The talks were scheduled to be followed up over the issues discussed in Tehran’s proposed package.”

“They (G5+1) have, apparently, faced some discussions among themselves and are not ready now,” Jalili said, adding, “Whenever they are ready to continue talks on Iran’s package of proposals, then we will welcome talking about the common concerns discussed in the package.”

President Ahmadinejad leaves Brazil for Bolivia

Posted on by

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran headed for Bolivia on Tuesday from Brazil on the third leg of his tour to African and Latin American states.

The Iranian president visited Brazil on the second leg of his five-nation tour which had already taken him to Gambia.

He is also to visit Venezuela and Senegal after his visit to Bolivia.

While in Brasilia, the Iranian president met his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as well as a number of Iranian diplomats and nationals residing in the biggest Latin American state.

He also attended a televised interview with Brazil’s state television.

President Ahmadinejad started his five-nation tour since Sunday by a day-long visit to the African state of Gambia.

Long-Awaited British Iraq War Probe Starts Hearings

Posted on by

A long-awaited public inquiry into Britain’s role in the Iraq war held its first hearing Tuesday, six and a half years after Tony Blair controversially led the country in backing the US-led conflict. Inquiry chairman John Chilcot, a former civil servant, said he would not shy away from criticizing the decision-making that led Britain to join the 2003 invasion despite strong opposition at home and abroad.

“What we are committed to, and what I believe the British general public can expect from us, is a guarantee to be thorough, to be impartial, to be objective and fair,” he said in opening remarks. “As I have said before, we are not a court of law nor are we an inquest nor indeed a statutory inquiry; and our processes will reflect that difference,” he added. “No-one is on trial here. We cannot determine guilt or innocence. Only a court can do that. But I make a commitment here that once we get to our final report, we will not shy away from making criticisms… where they are warranted.”

One-time top officials from the foreign and defense ministries will outline Britain’s policy towards Baghdad in the early 2000s as a five-member committee begins investigating what lessons can be learned from the US-led war. An appearance by former Prime Minister Blair, who took Britain into the conflict, is likely to be the highlight of the inquiry, although he and other Labor government figures are not due to give evidence until next year.

ran Not Opposed to Sending Uranium Abroad: Officials

Posted on by

Two top Iranian officials said on Tuesday Tehran does not oppose sending its low-enriched uranium abroad as long there is a simultaneous exchange inside the country of nuclear fuel processed by world powers. Foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast and nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri said simultaneous exchange inside Iran of its 3.5 percent low-enriched uranium with 20 percent pure uranium processed abroad would act as the guarantee required by Tehran.

“Iran is not opposed to sending uranium abroad, but is considering how to do that,” Mehmanparast told a news conference. He said Tehran wanted a “100 percent guarantee” that it would receive the fuel required for its research reactor and “one of the guarantees is a simultaneous exchange of fuel inside the country.”

Mehmanparast underscored that, saying Iran wanted such a guarantee because “the countries we are dealing with do not have good records in our public opinion.” “They have not lived up to their expectations and it has kind of created mistrust.”

Bagheri too said the simultaneous exchange of uranium would be the best guarantee to resolve the current impasse. “They (world powers) said that our 1,200 kilograms of 3.5 percent enriched uranium should be transported for further enrichment to 20 percent level by Russia and then to be converted into fuel by France for the Tehran reactor,” said Bagheri who is also the deputy secretary of Iran’s powerful Supreme National Security Council.

“Iran has no problem in transporting its 3.5 percent LEU, but needs a 100 percent guarantee it will get the fuel for the Tehran reactor and one of the guarantees is the simultaneous exchange of fuel inside Iranian territory,” he told hardline newspaper, Kayhan.

For his part, chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalali stressed that the Islamic republic wanted “concrete guarantees it would get the fuel for the Tehran reactor.” “If there is no concrete guarantee, we have other options,” he told state-owned Arabic language Al-Alam television, indicating Iran that could enrich its LEU to 20 percent or buy it abroad.

66 Years Have Passed… Lebanese Still Waiting True Independence!

Posted on by

On Sunday, Lebanese celebrated their annual Independence Day…

A grand military parade was held to mark the 66th anniversary of the country’s independence. Six Hawker Hunter jets took part in the parade, performing low-level acrobatics. Columns of soldiers and officers, military tanks, armored personnel carriers and missile launchers have paraded through Shafiq Wazzan Ave. Then, President Michel Sleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri took part in the nearly two-hour festivities.

This is, in brief, how Lebanon officially celebrated the 66th Independence Day: the President, the Speaker and the Prime Minister standing, smiling and receiving “congratulations.”

Sixty-six years have passed on the Independence… Yet, nothing has changed and the same “slogans” are heard every year, raising lots of “question marks” about the “true independence.”

Sixty-six years of ‘independence’ have passed, and Lebanese seem to be always awaiting the non-achieved ‘true independence’…

Indeed, what independence is that when a part of the Lebanese territory is still under occupation? What independence is the independence that doesn’t prevent occupation and even more doesn’t put an end to the Israeli continuous threats? How do Lebanese celebrate ‘independence’ when they pledge to ‘liberate’ their occupied territories by all possible means at the time some Lebanese are still ‘seeking’ to prevent the ‘legitimization’ of the principle of Resistance?

How do Lebanese celebrate 66 years of ‘independence’ while acknowledging their ‘failure’ in administering their own affairs? How do they celebrate independence at the time they admit they’re unable to resolve any internal crisis without the world’s interference? Did they forget how they lived without a Head of State for months just because they were ‘divided’? Did they forget how they failed to organize “dialogue” and waited for French, Qatari, Saudi and Syrian initiatives to resolve their internal crises?

What independence is that when external powers are insisting on interfering and meddling in every Lebanese detail? What independence is that when the external powers are “promising” to intensify visits to Lebanon during the few coming months? What independence is that when Lebanese are acknowledging they still need international initiative to solve a Lebanese government and still betting on external reconciliations to produce a policy statement?

These are legitimate questions that should be raised on the Independence Day in Lebanon, especially that when annexed to other days of Resistance, Liberation and Victory…

But one question remains obligatory… When would True Independence happen?

Ahmadinejad Says U.S., Israel Lack 'Courage' to Attack

Posted on by

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that the threat of a U.S. or Israeli military strike against Iran was no longer an issue because “they don’t have the courage” to attack Iran.

“The age of military attacks is over, now we’ve reached the time for dialogue and understanding. Weapons and threats are a thing of the past,” the Iranian president said at a joint press conference with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, closing his one-day visit.

Iran’s leader got a welcoming bear hug from the Brazilian president, who urged Western nations to drop threats of punishment over the Iranian nuclear program and instead negotiate a fair solution.

Fielding a question on whether he feared an attack from Israel or the U.S., Ahmadinejad said a military strike was no longer a possibility.

That’s clear “even for mentally challenged people,” he said with a smile, AFP reported.

Besides, he added, “those you mention [Israel and the U.S.] don’t have the courage to attack Iran. They’re not even thinking about it.”

The Iranian and Brazilian presidents didn’t say whether they discussed Iranian military exercises that started Sunday, adding to Mideast tensions and driving oil prices higher as an Iranian air force commander boasted Iran could deter any military strike by Israel.

Ahmadinejad didn’t utter the word Israel during his comments, but said Iran wants a Middle East with “prosperity, progress and security for all nations.” In the past, he has called for the destruction of Israel, which has voiced concern about Iran’s push in Latin America.

Silva, who also called for diplomacy to push for peace in the Middle East and ease tensions between Iran, the U.S. and other nations, again defended Iran’s right to have a peaceful nuclear program.

Commenting after talking privately for three hours Monday with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — the first Iranian leader to visit Brazil since pro-U.S. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi came in 1965 — Silva also said Iran should negotiate with the West to find a “just and balanced” solution to concerns over its nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad made no promises and defiantly said Iran would try to improve its uranium-enrichment technology if it can’t buy enriched uranium abroad.

“If the people ask us to produce ourselves, we should do it, and the opportunity we tried to create for the other side will be lost,” said Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly denied allegations by Washington and its European allies that Iran is trying to build atomic weapons. Iran insists its program is aimed only at generating electricity with nuclear reactors.

Last week, Iran said it would not send its enriched uranium for further processing in other nations, effectively rejecting a proposal by U.N. officials to allay worries the Iranians are developing atomic weapons. The fuel rods that would have been produced abroad under the plan can power reactors, but cannot be readily turned into weapons-grade material.

Ahmadinejad’s visit with Silva was condemned by U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. He said Silva made a “serious error” in meeting with the Iranian leader.

The session was significant because Silva is a center-leftist viewed by Washington as a counterweight to more strident leftists in South America, such as the leaders of Bolivia and Venezuela who have been firm supporters of Iran.

Ahmadinejad planned to head to Bolivia on Tuesday. In addition to having a private lunch with Bolivian President Evo Morales, he was scheduled to inaugurate a hospital and, via video conference, open two milk-processing plants that Iran donated to the poor country.

Iran has also donated equipment for a state-run TV station, sold Bolivia 700 tractors made in Venezuela and provided financing for two state-run cement plants. In addition, Iran approved a $280 million low-interest loan for Bolivia that Morales can use as he sees fit, Iran’s diplomatic representative, Masoud Edrisi, told The Associated Press in July.

Commenting on the fate of three American hikers detained in Iran, Ahmadinejad said it is up to the judicial system to determine whether they will be released or punished, although he said he hoped any punishment would not be severe.

The Americans were detained after they crossed an unmarked border into Iran while hiking in northern Iraq in July. The U.S. says the three were innocent tourists on an adventure hike and accidentally crossed into Iran.

“We are not happy with them making this big mistake. They are now in the hands of our judiciary,” Ahmadinejad told reporters. “A judge will decide about their situation. We hope the sanction will not be too heavy.”

Relatives of the hikers appealed to Iranian authorities to show compassion.

“We don’t understand why this case remains unresolved with no sign of progress,” said the statement from the families of Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd. “We very much hope the authorities will show compassion, as the president said, and release our loved ones. It’s been too long.”

Jobs

Posted on by

Dear All

The Government of Pakistan has announced National Internship Program funded by Asian Development Bank for the Unemployed student of Pakistan. So far very low number of applications have been received i.e. 527 with in Pakistan. The target is to have 10,000 application at least to utilize this fund OTHERWISE This FUND WILL BE LESS UTILIZED & WILL BE REVERSED BACK TO THE DONOR.

You are requested to inform your friends, colleagues, family members, neighbors who are eligible to the internship criteria. Below is the extract of the Advertisement Published in Dawn with extended on 13 November 2009 page # 13.

If you have done masters or completed 16 years education and you are 25 or less than 25 years of age Yet Unemployed. You have chance to join Prime Minister National Internship Program and get Rs.10,000 per month for 01 year. 

Eligibility Criteria

1. Masters in any segment OR 16 years of education

2. Age Less then or upto 25 Years.

3. Yet Unemployed

Submit your application to along with your documents to following addresses

Islamabad

Ministry of Youth Affairs

Prime Minister secretariat

Islamabad. 

www.nip.gov. pk 

Balochistan

O&M/NIP cell, 

Block 03, First Floor, 

Room # 5

S&GAD at Civil Secretariat

Quetta – Balochistan

http://www.balochistan. gov.pk

OR send to respective DCO of your respective district

OR drop your CV online visit website http://www.nip.gov. pk

THE LAST DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION IS 20 NOVEMBER This E-mail is confidential. It may also be legally privileged. If you are not the addressee you may not copy, forward, disclose or use any part of it. If you have received this message in error, please delete it and all copies from your system and notify the sender immediately by return E-mail. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be timely, secure, error or virus-free. MCB Bank does not accept liability for any errors or omissions.

Israel hits Gaza with air strikes after rockets fired

Posted on by

GAZA CITY: Three Palestinians were wounded early on Tuesday as Israel carried out three air strikes on Hamas-run Gaza in response to rocket fire from the enclave, witnesses, medics and the army said.

Two of the raids struck smuggling tunnels on the border between Gaza and Egypt and one hit east of Gaza City, witnesses and medics said. The three wounded were caught in the tunnels’ strikes, medics said.

An army spokesman said the air strikes were carried out in response to two rockets that were fired from the territory late on Monday, without causing injuries or damage.

He said the strike near Gaza City targeted a ‘weapons manufacturing facility.’

It marked the latest violence along Gaza’s border, which has been mostly quiet since a war that Israel launched on Hamas in Gaza on December 27 in response to rocket fire ended with mutual ceasefires on January 18.

The ceasefires have largely held despite violations by both sides.

Since Israel and Egypt sealed Gaza off to all but basic goods following Hamas’s seizure of the territory in June 2007, a vast trade in goods through hundreds of tunnels has developed along the border.

More than 130 Palestinians have died in cave-ins or been killed by Israeli operations targeting the network since the Hamas takeover of Gaza, medics say.

Curfew imposed in Bajaur after clashes

Posted on by

KHAR: Pakistan on Tuesday imposed a curfew in a key tribal district after deadly clashes with the Taliban amid rising violence away from the battlefield of a major army assault, officials said.

Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in Khar, the main town of the Bajaur district in Pakistan’s tribal belt on the Afghan border after clashes.

‘The crossfire continued for three hours. Six militants were killed in retaliatory fire,’ Adalat Khan, a local government official, told AFP.

‘Two civilians were also killed and four, including two women, wounded when a mortar shell landed inside a house,’ Khan added.

Armed with rockets and heavy weapons, Taliban militants also attacked the Bajaur headquarters of the local tribal police, he said.

‘Some 50 Taliban launched the attack. Troops retaliated, killing six militants,’ said a security official based in Khar, adding that two soldiers were wounded.

An intelligence official in the area confirmed the incident and said house to house searches had been launched after the clashes.

‘Some electricity poles, a petrol pump and three shops were also damaged,’ he added.

Khan said authorities were making an assessment of the losses and that markets, banks, schools and offices were closed.

Militants have recently stepped up attacks on security forces and government installations in Bajaur, one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts considered a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked extremists.

The violence has surged since Pakistan launched a major offensive in the Taliban bastion of South Waziristan on October 17. Officials say the aim is to distract the army’s attention from South Waziristan.

The continued unrest comes despite a six-month operation in Bajaur, which the army declared a success in February.

Obama meets war cabinet for final decision: officials

Posted on by

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has huddled with his war cabinet for what officials indicated could be the final time before he decides whether to dispatch tens of thousands more US troops to Afghanistan.

Top officials at the two-hour meeting on Monday night, the ninth gathering of Obama’s national security team to review Afghan strategy since August, included Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The meeting began just before 8:15 pm (0115 GMT Tuesday) and lasted around two hours.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that a decision on troops could be announced as early as next week.

‘It’s not going to happen this week,’ he said. ‘Obviously the first possible time would be some time next week.’ National Public Radio, citing unnamed sources, said that the president plans to make the announcement in an address to the nation on December 1.

An administration official said Monday could ‘possibly’ be the last time Obama will consult his team before making an announcement, though he cautioned ‘that’s not something we can say definitively.’ Attending the war meeting via videoconference were two men very much at odds over the decision: General Stanley McChrystal, commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, and Karl Eikenberry, US ambassador in Kabul.

McChrystal has asked for around 40,000 more US troops, cautioning that the intensifying Taliban insurgency could win out if he does not get the reinforcements within a year.

Currently, there are 68,000 US troops in Afghanistan.

In diplomatic cables leaked earlier this month, Eikenberry — a retired army general who commanded US forces in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2007 — warned against sending more troops until Afghan President Hamid Karzai gets a grip on the rampant corruption in his administration.

While Karzai has earned the opprobrium of the international community since a fraud-tainted election in August highlighted the massive levels of official graft in Afghanistan, his inauguration speech Thursday generally won praise.

He pledged to clean up corruption, eradicate drug production and trafficking, work towards ending a Taliban-led insurgency, and see that Afghan security forces can take over from international forces in five years.

Clinton, attending the inauguration, sought to turn the page and hailed the speech as a ‘new starting point’ for the war-torn country.

But some of America’s allies in the war, now in its ninth year, are no longer willing to wait for the tide to turn: Canada and the Netherlands have announced plans to pull their troops out in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Gates in a speech in Canada Friday said US forces could provide a ‘sustainable’ replacement in the south for the departing Dutch and Canadian troops.

But he called on other allies to step forward, saying the Afghan effort will ‘require more commitment, more sacrifice, and more patience from the community of free nations.’ Those tensions now look set to dominate a December 3-4 meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

But Obama also faces opposition to the dispatch of more troops from members of his own Democratic Party who question the wisdom of deploying additional soldiers.

Polls show the American public is becoming increasingly disillusioned with the war, and some fear a deepening military commitment could dominate his presidency, as Vietnam did Lyndon Johnson’s in the 1960s.

But the military strongly favors a so-called surge, and Obama risks being denounced by Republican critics as weak on national security if he refuses McChrystal’s request.

More than 800 US soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan and the number of casualties is rising. October was the deadliest month for US forces there since 2001 and another four US fatalities were reported Monday. –

Iran shuts newspaper for Baha’i temple photo

Posted on by

TEHRAN: A popular conservative newspaper critical of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been closed down for carrying a photograph of a temple of the banned Baha’i faith, media reported on Tuesday.

At the same time, the publishers of another daily, Khabar, linked to a conservative rival of Ahmadinejad, have decided to stop publication due to unspecified pressure, the Etemad newspaper said.

Etemad quoted deputy Culture Minister Mohammad Ali Ramin as saying both newspapers had violated media laws and had received warnings from the Islamic Republic’s press supervisory board, Reuters reported.

Government opponents may see such action by the authorities as an attempt to muzzle criticism of the hardline president after his disputed re-election in June, which plunged Iran into months of political turmoil.

Earlier in November, the press supervisory body banned the publication of a leading business daily, Sarmayeh, which has been critical of the government’s economic policies.

Hamshahri, which belongs to the Tehran municipality and is Iran’s highest-circulation newspaper, was closed down after it carried a front-page advertisement for tourism travel to India showing a Baha’i temple of worship, media said.

Iran’s Shia Muslim religious establishment considers Baha’i an heretical offshoot of Islam.

Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a pragmatic conservative, is seen as a political rival of Ahmadinejad.

Khabar is seen as close to parliament speaker Ali Larijani, another conservative rival of the president.

Exiled Baha’i leaders allege that hundreds of followers of their faith have been jailed and executed in Iran in the past three decades. The government denies it has detained or executed people for their religion.

The Baha’is revere the 19th-century founder of their faith, Baha’ullah, as the latest in a line of prophets who include Mohammad, Moses, Zoraster, Buddha, Krishna and Jesus.

They espouse world peace, and their holiest places and world centre are in what is now Israel, Iran’s arch enemy.

Manmohan says Pakistan must reject terror

Posted on by

WASHINGTON: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the world must press Pakistan to stop supporting terrorists who continue to target India.

Singh, speaking on the eve of an elaborate White House state visit, also urged Pakistan to bring to justice those who planned the Mumbai terror attacks, which left 166 people dead a year ago.

Singh said it was the right decision to resist the ‘inordinate pressure’ he faced to respond to the attack that shocked and angered India.

But Pakistan ‘should be pressurised by the world community to do much more to bring to book all those people who are responsible for this horrible crime,’ Singh said at the Council on Foreign Relations. ‘The trauma of the attack continues to haunt us.’

He urged his neighbor to control the terror groups that he said have moved from the border region with Afghanistan into Pakistan’s heartland.

Failure to do so, Singh said, will result in serious consequences for the stability of both Pakistan and India.

The White House state visit Tuesday for Singh, the first in President Barack Obama’s White House, is meant to show the US administration’s eagerness to win Indian cooperation on counterterror, trade and climate change initiatives.

India, however, has watched with wariness as Obama has lavished attention on rivals Pakistan and China.

In an attempt to ease another source of US-Indian tension, Singh said that Indian and US officials will sign a memorandum Tuesday intended to improve cooperation on energy security, clean energy and climate change. He did not provide details.

Developing and industrialised countries have bickered as they prepare to negotiate a new global climate change treaty, at a December summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, meant to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on carbon dioxide emissions.

Singh said all countries must make an effort to make Copenhagen a success, despite difficult negotiations.

‘We are determined to be part of the solution to the problem,’ he said.

India is willing to work on any solution that does not hurt developing countries’ efforts to lift their populations out of poverty, Singh said

Meeting of Iranian and Brazilian presidents in photos

Posted on by

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who arrived in Brazil on Monday for a one-day visit met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The two presidents’ talks mainly focused on trade cooperation, the need to reform the UN structure, and establishing a fair global trade system.

Over 370 children currently imprisoned by Israel

Posted on by

Riyadh Al Ashqar, head of the media department at the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees in Gaza, stated that Zionist regime is currently holding captive more than 370 child detainees under the age of 18.

The Al Aqsa TV reported that child detainees are sent to courts that prosecute cases of adult detainees an issue which directly violates the International Law.

Dozens of child detainees received harsh sentences by the courts while military judges never dealt with them as minors.

Similar to the case with adult detainees, children in Zionist regime’s detention camps are also fined and subjected to torture and abuse.

Al Ashqar demanded the International Red Cross and human rights groups to intervene and stop the Zionist regime’s violations against underage detainees.

He also called for ensuring that Zionist regime complies with the International Law by stopping the violations against the detainees, especially children and women.

Sayyed Fadlallah hails Hizbullah's 'exploits' against Israel

Posted on by

BEIRUT: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah hailed on Monday Hizbullah’s “military exploits” against Israel during the summer 2006 war.

He added that the party’s performance achieved great victories not only at the Lebanese level but across the Muslim world. Speaking to a delegation of clerics, Fadlallah urged Sunni-Shiite unity, and cautioned the leaders of the two Muslim sects not to succumb to foreign plots to sow discord among them.

Irani Students want Ahmadinejad to expel Saudi envoy

Posted on by

Students protesting Riyadh’s military assault on Yemeni Shias in front the Iranian Foreign Ministry have called for the expulsion of the Saudi ambassador.

Students protesting Riyadh’s military assault on Yemeni Shias in front the Iranian Foreign Ministry have called for the expulsion of the Saudi ambassador.

The university students, who were demonstrating for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, made the demand in a letter addressed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“Tuesday is the anniversary of the (1987) killing of pilgrims, an act of state terrorism carried out by the forces of the oppressive Al Saud government, which is the main base of American Islam in the region,” said the letter.

The students who have gathered in Tehran from all over the country despite the cold weather in the capital plan to continue their sit-in until Wednesday.

One of the organizers of the event told IRNA that the students were there to show their anger at what they believed was a war planned by “Zionist” entities.

“The Zionists have instigated many wars in places like Afghanistan, Iraq and the Gaza Strip to cover their own losses,” student spokesman Esmail Tahmouresi said.

“In the war against Shia Muslims in northern Yemen Saudi Arabia has become the perpetrator of the Zionist’s colonialist plans,” he added.

The conflict in northern Yemen first began in 2004 between Sana’a and Houthi fighters, but relative peace had returned to region until August 11, when the Yemeni army began a major offensive, dubbed Operation Scorched Earth, against the province of Sa’adah.

The government claims that the fighters, who are named after their leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, seek to restore the Shia Zaidi imamate system, which was overthrown in a 1962 coup.

The Houthis, however, say they are defending their people against government marginalization policies which they believe have been adopted under pressure from Saudi-backed Wahhabi extremists, who consider Shias heretics.

Recently, the Saudi Arabian government has aggravated the situation even more by launching its own offensive against northern Yemen based on an allegation that Houthi fighters have killed two of its soldiers on the border.

While Riyadh insists that it is targeting Houthi positions on ‘Saudi territory’, the fighters say Yemeni villages are being targeted with deadly phosphorous bombs, which cause massive injuries among the Shia civilian population.

As Sana’a does not allow independent media into the conflict zone, there are no clear estimates available as to how many people have been killed in the Shia province of Sa’adah since the beginning of the unrest in 2004 or in the recent violence.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), however, estimates that since 2004 up to 175,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Sa’adah to take refuge in overcrowded camps set up by the United Nations.

Saudi Wahhabis launch major attack on Houthi Shias through Hajj Ceremony + UPDATE

Posted on by

Houthi Shias in northern Yemen announced that Saudi forces have launched a major cross-border ground and air attack against them on Monday.

Though Millions of Muslims are performing Hajj rituals, Saudi Wahhabi forces severely attack Yemeni Shias and other innocent civilians in the border of Yemen. The war is going on in spite we are in the month of Zel Hajjah. Zel Hajjah is one of the Harram month, it means any war or violence is forbidden and called Haram during Islamic order.

Houthi Shias in northern Yemen announced that Saudi forces have launched a major cross-border ground and air attack against them on Monday.

“The Saudis began an attack along many fronts on the Yemeni border,” Huthis said in a statement.

The Saudis are using “all types of ground and air weapons,” including tanks, artillery, rocket launchers, Apache helicopters and jet fighters, they said.

Saudi jets bombed villages within the border on Sunday and through the night, following a failed Saudi incursion into the border.

“The (Saudi) air force began bomb and missile attacks on various villages in the Malahidh, Shedah, Hidan and Razah areas” of northwest Yemen, they said in a separate statement.

Saudi aircraft also bombed Saqin near the city of Saada, they said, as well as Saada suburbs and a central security building inside the city. Dahyan had likewise been targeted.

Sunday’s attack was led by “around 50 Hummers” supported by helicopters and fighter jets, before the Saudis were repelled and “the aggressors suffered heavy losses,” the Shiite fighters said.

Yemeni government launched a major attack dubbed “Operation Scorched Earth,” on Houthis on August 11.

Saudi forces joined the Yemeni government on November 4.

Saudi fighter jets regularly bomb Houthi villages using phosphorus bombs.

UPDATE

The Shia Houthi fighters say that Saudi Arabian forces along with Yemeni military have carried out a fresh ground incursion into Yemeni territory using tanks, artillery and aircraft.

The attacks on Tuesday were taking place in the border districts of Malahiz and Shada provinces. In the incursion, the Saudi army had been using all kind of weapons; land, air, tanks, and artillery, they added.

The Houthis have already said they inflicted heavy damage on Saudi troops.

Witnesses from the northern border town of Razah also said that the Saudis had begun an offensive on Monday.

“The Saudi army launched a vast offensive against Houthi positions in the border region,” one witness, who asked not to be identified, said.