UN drops Taliban names from sanctions list

Fourteen former Afghan Taliban leaders have been removed from an international blacklist by the UN Security Council.

President Hamid Karzai's government had asked the UN sanctions committee to drop the names from the list.

They include four members of the High Peace Council set up last year to pave the way for talks with the Taliban.

 

The Security Council said the delisting of the names sent out a strong signal of support for the Afghan government's reconciliation efforts.

The sanctions were imposed in 1999, when the Taliban were in power, and were expanded after the 9/11 attacks on the US.

"The international community recognises efforts made by members of the High Peace Council to work toward peace, stability and reconciliation," Germany's UN ambassador Peter Wittig, who chairs the sanctions committee, said in a statement.

"All Afghans are encouraged to join these efforts. The message is clear: Engaging for peace pays off," he said.

But according to the Associated Press news agency, the Afghan government had wanted 50 names dropped from the blacklist.

It had provided extensive documentation to show they had reintegrated into society, but the committee refused to remove them from the list, the agency says.

Following Friday's decision, 123 names remain on the Taliban sanctions list that imposes travel bans and asset freezes.

Analysts say the US and N.A.T.O. acknowledge that they cannot withdraw successfully from Afghanistan, or effect a transition to Afghan forces by 2014, without an end to the war and some kind of political settlement between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

US President Barack Obama has said 10,000 US troops will pull out this year, with another 23,000 leaving by the end of September 2012.

Civilian and military casualties are at levels not seen for a decade in Afghanistan - last year more than 2,400 civilians died.

 

Source : BBC News

Ohio Imam Defrauds Taxpayers of $2 Million

A federal grand jury indicted two men on food stamp fraud and other felony charges in connection to alleged illegal trafficking activities at several Dayton businesses that resulted in police raiding those stores in May.

The indictments — unsealed last week by the U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio — show charges were filed against Mohammed Zaid, who owns A&M Meats at 1609 Gilsey Ave., and Mohammed Qaqa, an employee at Food City, 1829 Germantown St.

Food City, A&M Meats and two Dayton View businesses Five Pillars Market and Cup of Dreams — were raided two months ago by local, state and federal authorities following a 19-month undercover investigation.

 

Some employees and management at the four businesses allegedly bought and sold Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, or food stamp cards, while a few also sold guns and illegal drugs to confidential police informants, according to affidavits in support of search warrants unsealed after the raids.

Al-Idu Al-Gaheem, the owner of Cup of Dreams and Five Pillars Market and a local imam, allegedly received more than $2.5 million in food stamp reimbursements from the federal government, between $890,000 and nearly $2 million of which was from “unexplained” food stamp charges, according to an IRS agent’s affidavit in support of seizing Al-Gaheem’s bank account.

Between May 2010 and May of this year, Zaid is accused of purchasing 13 food stamp cards containing about $5,970 worth of food benefits from a confidential police informant, according to the indictment. Zaid allegedly paid for the cards with $2,479 in cash and a 9 mm pistol.

Zaid faces 12 counts of unauthorized use, transfer, acquisition, alteration or possession of benefits and five counts of wire fraud, according to court documents.

During a 13-month period, Qaqa, 29, is accused of selling 11 handguns to a confidential police informant while he worked at Food City. Qaqa allegedly sold the guns in exchange for $1,220 in cash and $390 worth of food stamps, according to the indictment.

Qaqa is also accused of buying seven food stamp cards, worth about $3,160, in exchange for $1,265 and three pistols. He faces 11 counts of dealing in firearms without a license, seven counts of unauthorized use or possession of benefits and two counts of wire fraud.

As a result of the undercover operation, the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Investigative Unit filed 14 administrative citations against Food City for illegal use of EBT cards, receiving stolen property and trafficking in EBT.

The Ohio Liquor Control Commission will determine whether to punish the business, which can include fines and revocation of the business’ alcohol permit, said Matt Mullins, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Liquor Control.

No charges have been filed yet against Al-Gaheem and other employees at his businesses. Fred Alverson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, could not be reached for comment.

A grand jury last month also approved charges against Amjad El-Hardan for nine counts of misuse of food stamp benefits and one count of wire fraud.

El-Hardan, who was not named in the affidavits in support of May’s raids, allegedly bought about $2,600 worth of food stamp benefits for about $1,235 from February 2010 to last March, according to the indictment.

 

Source : Dayton Daily News

White House attempt to control news reporting confirmed

Copies of Obama administration e-mails obtained by Judicial Watch have confirmed attempts by the White House to control the media in the United States by manipulating interviews with networks.

Despite public statements that Fox News, which often has reported criticisms of President Obama, was granted the same access as other networks, the e-mails Judicial Watch obtained "provide evidence that FNC was specifically singled out for exclusion."

According to one Oct. 22, 2009, e-mail exchange between Dag Vega, director of broadcast media on the White House staff, to Jenni LeCompte, then-assistant secretary for public affairs in the Treasury Department, Vega informs LeCompte that "…we'd prefer if you skip Fox please."

Find out what Barack Obama likes about the mainstream media, in "A Slobbering Love Affair"

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, explained that the controversy arose when the administration was making "executive pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg available for interviews with selected administration favorites.

Obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request filed on Oct. 28, 2009, the e-mails reveal an entrenched anti-Fox bias, the organization said.

Press reports at the time revealed how Obama's anti-Fox bias actually triggered a backlash from other members of the media, even though they were to be given the access that was to be denied Fox.

The New York Times reported at the time that Fox's competitors "refused to go along with a Treasury Department effort on Thursday [Oct.22, 2009] to exclude Fox"

The Washington bureau chiefs of the five television networks reportedly consulted and decided that if Fox was excluded, none would interview Feinberg. Ultimately, Fox reported, "the administration relented."

Judicial Watch cited the Treasury Department's "official response," which was a "a clear denial" of any plot.

"There was no plot to exclude Fox News, and they had the same interview that their competitors did. Much ado about absolutely nothing," said one government response.

Also, there was a statement from Jake Siewart, counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who said, "Call me today on your Fox-Treasury report. Not true that there was an 'effort to exclude' Fox," Judicial Watch reported.

However, the e-mails, including Vega's, tell another story.

The documents also revealed there was on Oct. 23, 2009, an e-mail exchange between Jennifer Psaki, deputy White House communications director and LeCompte.

Psaki wrote, "I am putting some dead fish in the fox cubby – just cause." And, Judicial Watch said, in an e-mail on the night of Oct. 22, 2009, commenting on a report by Fox News Channel anchor Bret Baier noting the exclusion of the network from the pool, Psaki told Compte and other White House staff members: "…brett baier just did a stupid piece on it – but he is a lunatic."

"We've demonstrated our willingness and ability to exclude Fox News from significant interviews…" boasted deputy White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest in an Oct. 23, 2009, e-mail to LeCompte.

"The Obama administration seems to have lied about its attempt to exclude Fox News Channel from access to an interview with the 'pay czar.' These documents show there is a pervasive anti-Fox bias in the Obama White House," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "The juvenile Mafioso-talk in these e-mails has no place in any White House. For the Obama administration to purposely exclude a major news organization from access to information has troubling First Amendment implications."

WND previously reported that Feinberg, contrary to published reports that he would not be paid, actually got a salary of $120,830 annual salary.

Feinberg served as "special master for TARP executive compensation" to establish executive compensation levels at companies bailed out by the federal government.

When Obama appointed Feinberg in August 2009, media reported the Washington lawyer would perform his duties "pro bono," or without pay.

Judicial Watch said it repeatedly contacted Treasury Press Secretary Mark Paustenbach and Feinberg at both his D.C., law firm and at the Treasury. But neither provided an explanation for the discrepancy.

Paustenbach later contacted WND, however, quoting Feinberg's statement that the salary was returned.

"I got a check every two weeks that I endorsed and turned back to U.S. Treasury every two weeks,"

Feinberg claimed. "And I have to pay taxes on the money I didn't keep – so it actually cost me money to be the special master."

 

Source : WorldNetDaily

'They worked together and died together': Mother's tribute to shot soldier and his dog who died of a broken heart

A hero soldier who was shot dead whilst serving in Afghanistan was soon joined by his loyal search dog, who died of a seizure just hours later, an inquest heard.

Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, 26, was shot by insurgents in the Nahr-el-Sarraj district of Helmand Province while navigating a team of soldiers through an area thought to be littered with bombs.

An inquest heard the brave serviceman died instantly after being struck in the face by a bullet, believed to be from a machine gun, with beloved springer spaniel Theo by his side.

The inseparable pair, who had routed out an Army record 14 caches of bombs and weapons together - saving countless lives - were described as 'made for each other.'

But just hours after his seeing his beloved master shot dead, 22-month-old Theo began to fit and died.

Speaking after her son's inquest, L/Cpl Tasker's mum Jane said she had taken comfort from the fact that the pair had worked together and died together. She said: 'When I heard Theo had died as well as Liam I took comfort from that thought.

'They had worked together and died together. Liam went to help save lives but paid the ultimate price.

'He was a larger than life character and touched everybody he met in some special way.'

L/Cpl Tasker, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, was deployed to Afghanistan in September 2010 as an arms and explosives search dog handler in the 1st Military Working Dog Regiment of the Royal Army Vetinary Corps.

The soldier had been attached with the 1st Battalion Irish guards to help patrol the Shingazi area of Nahr-el-Sarraj in Helmand Province - known as the 'shark's fin'.

He was brought in to help scout out bombs - after several troops had been killed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the area.

 

Best friends: Lance Corporal Tasker and his trusted army search dog Theo show their incredible bond during a training session in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan

Major Ian Turner, from 2 Company the Irish Guards, giving evidence at the inquest, said: 'We were enormously grateful when he came.

'The strikes were affecting the moral of the company and we were losing our faith to identify the IEDs in the ground.

'As soon as he came he lifted the spirits of everyone. His brigadier phoned me and said they were sending the best they had to offer.

'They were extremely brave and enthusiastic for the task and gave us the opportunity to be more aggressive.'

The inquest was told that L/Cpl Tasker was moving with a team of soldiers in Shingazi at 8.30am on March 1 when he was fatally shot.

The Irish Guards had launched the patrol through the dangerous area to try and set up a 'Shura' or meeting with local Afghans and US troops.

L/Cpl Tasker and Theo were recruited to help guide them through the area - notoriously scattered with IEDs - and safely to their meeting point.

Theo had already sniffed out a suspicious plastic bag, with a black wire leading out of it not long into the mission.

 

Tasker's coffin carried after his funeral service at Tayport Parish Church, in Tayport, Scotland in March earlier this year

The group were edging around the bomb threat when the insurgents struck. L\Cpl Tasker's comrades reported a rapid 10 second burst of machine gun fire from just 350-metres away.

Captain Charles Allman-Brown, from the Irish Guards, was leading L/Cpl Tasker's team during the patrol.

He said: 'They opened fire and I heard Guardsman Barbour (corr) screaming and shouting 'man down' and 'medic'.

'I put a bit more fire into the enemy then moved towards Liam. I tried to help and saw the wound above his mouth.

'There was no signs of life. The lead was in the way so I cut Theo loose. Theo was attached to Liam when the incident occurred.

I had been detached and was affectively loose. He was running about and was all over the place. Liam was our priority.'

Corporal Tasker was taken to a waiting vehicle where he was rushed to meet a US medical helicopter and taken to Camp Bastian.

He was declared dead at 10.30am that morning. Theo was brought back to the Irish Guard's Kharnikah (corr) base, but began to fit.

Lance Corporal Tasker's fiancee Leah Walters, left, cries on the shoulder of his sister Laura Tasker during the repatriation ceremony

Captain Allman-Brown said: 'Theo was fine during the afternoon, then they called for a helicopter that night. Theo was fitting.'

Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner David Ridley asked: 'And he passed away back at Camp Bastian?'

Captain Allman-Brown replied: 'That was my understanding.'

In statements read to the court, L/Cpl Tasker's comrade's heaped praise on the fearless dog handler and his faithful companion.

Major Caroline Emmett, Officer Commanding 104 Military Working Dog Squadron, said: 'He and his dog Theo were made for each other.

'He and his dog had more operational finds than any individual team has had in Afghanistan to date and he saved many lives as a result of this.'

Coroner David Ridley recorded a verdict of unlawful killing. He said: 'Everyone had a huge amount of respect for Liam and his partner Theo.

'You (Irish Guards) were going through a tragic time in relation to IEDs and the arrival of Theo and Liam brought comfort and confidence to you doing a tremendously difficult job of being on patrol.'
 

 

Corporal Liam Tasker's parents Ian Tasker and Jane Duffy outside the inquest, paid tribute to their son and his companion Theo

Speaking after the coroner's verdict, L/Cpl Tasker's parents, Jane Duffy and Ian Tasker, said they were extremely proud of their boy and his relationship with Theo.

They said the inquest had given them closure. L/Cpl Tasker was also survived by his brother Ian, and his two sisters Laura and Nicola.

Dad Ian said: 'Liam used to come out with stories about Theo, (who) would sleep at the bottom of his bed, but he would wait until he thought Liam was asleep and then get in beside him.'

Mum Jane added: 'The last letter he wrote to us said 'you have to walk many miles while chasing your dreams.'

Theo's ashes were presented to members of Lance Corporal Tasker's family after his sombre repatriation through the streets of Wootton Bassett in March.

Speaking after his death, L/Cpl Tasker's girlfriend Leah Walters, who did not attend the inquest, said: 'I am the proudest girlfriend there could ever be and there will be an Liam Tasker-sized hole in my life forever.

'Sleep well my darling, my soul mate, my best friend.'

Sgt Major Adrian Davies, from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, said L/Cpl Tasker and Liam's 14 hauls of weapons in just five months was still a record.

Speaking after the inquest, he said: 'They had known each other for about seven-and-a-half months and their relationship was extremely strong.

'We are not vets so we cannot say if Theo died of a broken heart, but he died of a seizure hours after L/Cpl Tasker died.'

Source : Daily Mail UK

At Least "17" Reportedly Dead After Explosions Rock Mumbai Markets

Three separate explosions tore through a business district in India’s Mumbai Wednesday, leaving at least 17 people dead and 141 injured, authorities said. Less than an hour after the series of blasts, its Home Ministry confirmed a terrorist attack and placed the entire city on high alert.

Although no group claimed responsibility, the explosions hit locations where a terror siege nearly three years ago killed 166 people. Wednesday also coincided with the birthday of the lone surviving gunman of the 2008 attack.
 

Arup Patnaik, a top police officer, said the attackers used improvised explosive devices in the attack, hidden in an umbrella in the Jhaveri Bazaar jewelry market and kept in a car in the business district of Opera House.

Indian officials say they believe the responsibility of Wednesday's attack rests with the Indian Mujahideen, a group that works closely with Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is the group suspected to be behind the 2008 attack. All three blasts happened from 6:50 p.m. to 7 p.m., when all the neighborhoods would have been packed with office workers and commuters.

The blasts hit the crowded Dadar neighborhood at rush hour, the famed jewelry market Jhaveri Bazaar and the busy business district of Opera House, an official at the city's Police Control Room said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of office policy.

The explosions happened around 7 p.m., when all the neighborhoods would have been packed with office workers and commuters.

Authorities say an early indicator of a terror strike was the close timing of the string of explosions. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton condemned the attack in a statement and said the U.S. is monitoring the situation.

The 2008 attack, which targeted two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a busy train station, was blamed on Pakistan-based militant groups. The attacks escalated tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals and prompted them to suspend peace talks.

Pakistan's government expressed distress on the loss of lives and injuries soon after Wednesday's blasts were reported.

Mumbai has been on edge since then. In December, authorities deployed extra police on city streets after receiving intelligence that a Pakistan-based militant group was planning an attack over New Year's weekend. Police conducted house-to-house searches in some neighborhoods for four men who authorities believe entered the city to carry out a terrorist attack, and computer-aided photographs of the four suspects were released.

Source : Fox News

Christians should learn how to be a 'minority' from Muslims, Bishop says

Christians should learn from Muslims how to exist as a “minority” culture in British cities that are increasingly dominated by immigrant communities, a Church of England bishop has said.

 

The Rt Rev Nick Baines, the Bishop of Bradford

The Rt Rev Nick Baines, the Bishop of Bradford, said some parishes in his diocese were 95% Muslim but that this should not be seen as “a problem”.

“This is a fantastic opportunity,” he told the General Synod, the Church of England’s national assembly, in York.

“It is a challenge, yes, but it’s an opportunity to rethink what it means to be a Christian community. We often ask Muslims to learn what it is to be a Muslim as a minority culture.

“Maybe we could benefit from learning some of the same lessons in some of our cities.”

His comments came as Church leaders at the assembly were warned that Britain's increasingly diverse society could undermine the position of the Church of England as the “established” faith of the nation. 

In some communities, Anglicans have become “beleaguered” because Christians are so outnumbered by members of other faiths, according to a report presented to the Synod yesterday.

However, synod members recognised that the Church needed to adapt to Britain’s increasingly diverse society and backed moves to recruit more ethnic minority candidates to leaderships positions such as bishops.

They voted overwhelmingly in favour of a plan to tackle the Church’s “pale, male and stale” image by using methods that have been described as “favouritism” and “positive discrimination”.

The move came after a report by the Venerable Daniel Kajumba, Archdeacon of Reigate, showed only 1.1% of bishops, archdeacons and cathedral deans posts are filled by ethnic minority candidates.

The four ethnic minority clergy in these roles are Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, the Rt Rev David Hamid, Suffragan Bishop of Europe, The Very Rev Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester Cathedral, and himself in his post as Archdeacon of Reigate, he said.

This was in spite of congregations of up to 90% ethnic minorities in inner cities, and a growing proportion of ethnic minority worshippers in rural and suburban areas. 

Source : The Telegraph

Canada opposes Palestinian bid for UN recognition of statehood

Canada is rejecting a Palestinian effort to win recognition at the United Nations as an independent state.

The move is not surprising given that the Harper government has forcefully highlighted its loyalty to Israel and the United States. Both oppose the Palestinian initiative.

The Palestinian Authority, which controls most of the West Bank, launched a campaign last month that will see it pursue a vote on statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September — an effort borne out of its frustration over a peace process that is stalled.

The top Palestinian diplomat in Canada says her official delegation will still push hard for the support of Ottawa.

"On the conflict, we would like to see the Canadian government taking a neutral stand, supporting the creation of the state of Palestine, supporting the recognition of Palestine as a full member state in the UN in September," Linda Sobeh Ali, head of the Palestinian delegation, told The Canadian Press.

Sobeh Ali also said her delegation is pushing Canada to recognize Israel's pre-1967 borders — something Prime Minister Stephen Harper forcefully opposed, and managed to block from being part of the final communique of G8 leaders at their recent May summit in France.

"Our government's long-standing position has not changed. The only solution to this conflict is one negotiated between and agreed to by the two parties," said Chris Day, the spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.

"One of the states must be a Jewish state and recognized as such, while the Palestinian state is to be a non-militarized one."

The Palestinians are trying to win the requisite two-thirds support in the assembly — 128 votes among the 192 member countries — before the matter is considered by the Security Council. They have reportedly won the support of more than 100 countries.

Harper's stand at the G8 pitted him against U.S. President Barack Obama, who only a week earlier said in a major speech that the pre-1967 border should be a starting point for the resumption of stalled peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.

But Washington last week reiterated its opposition to the Palestinian push for UN recognition of its statehood.

A State Department spokeswoman said the Palestinian move would not be helpful to getting the parties back to the bargaining table.

Canada echoes that view.

"We will monitor developments at the UN and respond appropriately," said Day. "As G8 leaders declared at Deauville, unilateral action is ultimately unhelpful."