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Generation Faithful – Hezbollah Seeks to Marshal the Piety of the Young – Series – NYTimes.com
Generation Faithful – Hezbollah Seeks to Marshal the Piety of the Young – Series – NYTimes.com: “Hezbollah Seeks to Marshal the Piety of the Young
Bryan Denton for The New York Times
Graduating Hezbollah Mahdi Scouts saluted at ‘Scout City’ in Lebanon’s Beka’a valley.
Iran Said to Have Nuclear Fuel for One Weapon – NYTimes.com
Iran Said to Have Nuclear Fuel for One Weapon – NYTimes.com: “Iran Said to Have Nuclear Fuel for One Weapon
By WILLIAM J.
Muslim world nervous about Barack Obama’s pro-Israeli chief of staff – Telegraph
Muslim world nervous about Barack Obama’s pro-Israeli chief of staff – Telegraph: “Arab world nervous about Barack Obama’s pro-Israeli chief of staff
The Arab world has voiced concerns about Barack Obama appointing an Israeli as his chief of staff.
By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem
Last Updated: 10:27PM GMT 13 Nov 2008
Rahm Emanuel – Profile: Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s new enforcer
Mr Emanuel’s appointment as White House chief of staff prompted initial dismay among some in the Arab world Photo: AP
The notoriously pugnacious Rahm ‘Rahmbo’ Emanuel, a 48-year-old congressman from Chicago, makes no secret of his support for Israel.
He holds both an American and an Israeli passport, spent regular summer holidays in Tel Aviv and joined the Israeli army reserve during the first Gulf War in the early 1990s.
But while the appointment prompted initial dismay among some in the Arab world, governments in the Middle East are being cautious before passing judgement.
They are waiting to see whether Mr Emanuel’s strong Jewish credentials might not be crucial persuading Israel to accept the two-state solution backed in principle by President-elect Obama and the Arab League.
When Mr Emanuel’s appointment was announced, commentators across the Muslim world voiced their concerns.
He was denounced as” read on….
Taliban rejects Karzai’s offer
Mullah Omar, the elusive leader of the anti-government Taliban, appears to have rejected an offer from Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, of protection in exchange for peace talks. A Taliban spokesman rejected on Monday the offer of safe passage and reiterated that foreign troops had to leave before negotiations could start. “As long as foreign occupiers remain in Afghanistan, we aren’t ready for talks because they hold the power and talks won’t bear fruit,” Mullah Brother, the purported deputy leader of the Taliban, told the Reuters news agency by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location. “We are safe in Afghanistan and we have no need for Hamid Karzai’s offer of safety”. Brother said the Taliban jihad, or holy war, will continue. The Taliban has ruled out any talks as long as foreign troops remain in Afghanistan. Karzai said on Sunday that condition was “unacceptable”. War-weary electorate Karzai also hopes to win a presidential election next year and wants to be seen by a war-weary electorate as making every effort to bring peace, analysts say. At least 70,000 foreign troops, around half of them American, are struggling against the Taliban, whose influence and attacks are spreading in the south, east and west.
Barack Obama, the US president-elect, has suggested that he is open to holding talks with more moderate Taliban leaders to explore whether the Iraq strategy would work in Afghanistan. A tentative first step towards talks was taken in September when a group of pro-government Afghan officials and former Taliban officials met in Saudi Arabia for discussions on how to end the conflict. But the Taliban derided those talks and repeated their demand that foreign troops leave Afghanistan. However, Afghan government officials have said they expected another round of talks to be held. On the ground, there has been no let-up in violence. |
Government near to collapse, says Somalia leader | World news | The Guardian
Government near to collapse, says Somalia leader | World news | The Guardian: “Government near to collapse, says Somalia leader
Islamist fighters from the al-Shabab movement taking part in a military drill at a camp in the northern outskirts of Mogadishu
President Abdullahi Yusuf of Somalia has admitted that his government is on the verge of collapse and that Islamist groups now control most of the country.
In a speech to Somali MPs gathered in the Kenyan capital Nairobi at the weekend, Yusuf said that the government only had a presence in the capital Mogadishu and in Baidoa, ‘and people are being killed there every day. Islamists have taken over everywhere else.’
His frank admission confirms what is known but seldom publicly acknowledged by those with a stake in Somalia’s future, from Ethiopia, whose continued occupation unites the different Islamist groups against a common enemy, to the UN and western countries, which have backed the warlord-heavy government for years.
The latest bout of infighting – Yusuf and his prime minister, Nur Has”
Read on….
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