WASHINGTON: Though terror groups continue to strike in their country, a majority of Pakistanis still consider India as a major threat, view America as an enemy and are far less concerned about Taliban and al-Qaida.

While Pakistanis express serious concerns about the US, they have also deep worries about neighbour and long-time rival India than extremist groups within Pakistan, according to the prestigious Pew Research Centre opinion poll carried out inside Pakistan.

Read more ….

Poll: Nearly 6 in 10 Pakistanis view US as enemy — AP
Most Pakistanis see US as an enemy — ABC News (Australia)
59 pc Pakistanis view US as enemy: PEW report — Daily Times
Most Pakistanis View U.S. as Enemy, Want War Over, Survey Finds — Bloomberg Businessweek
Pakistanis See India as Biggest Threat: Survey — Wall Street Journal
Pakistanis see India as greater threat than Taliban, Al-Qaeda: Poll — Sify News
Pakistanis regard India as greatest threat — IBN Live
Majority of Pakistanis less concerned about LeT — Economic Times of India
Poll: Pakistanis less worried about extremists — AP
Pakistanis ‘less wary’ of Taliban — Al Jazeera
Why most Pakistanis label U.S. “enemy” despite alliance — Xinhuanet

After Billions In American Aid, Pakistanis View The U.S. As The Enemy is a post from: Updated News

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined Asia’s biggest security forum in Hanoi today as the U.S. strengthened defense ties across a region where China’s expanding military reach has triggered unease.

Clinton yesterday discussed military cooperation with Vietnam and Defense Secretary Robert Gates restored ties with Indonesia’s special forces after a 12-year gap. A day earlier, the two officials affirmed U.S. support for South Korea in Seoul ahead of joint naval drills that China criticized.

Read more ….

Israel urges Lebanon to block ships for Gaza.

Fresh clashes claim 49 in north Yemen.

Kurd rebels blow up Iran-Turkey gas pipeline.

Clinton criticizes Vietnam on rights.

U.S. friendly Pakistani General’s tenure extended.

U.S. to blcklist more N. Korean entities, individuals in 2 weeks: State Dept.

Over 40 African leaders to attend AU summit in Uganda.

Guards for Somali leader join Islamists.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu to withdraw from public life.

Call for 80 per cent of men in Africa to be circumcised to prevent spread of Aids.

Spy swap Russian wants to leave UK and return home.

So Kosovo is legal. What happens now?

Will ruling on Kosovo entice other regions to declare Independence?

‘Moorish revival’ in southern Spain.

Moscow heatwave breaks 29-year record.

Tropical Storm Bonnie moving toward oil spill.

White House presses Senate G.O.P. on arms treaty.

Colombia, Venezuela trade barbs at OAS meeting.

American-Bred terrorists causing alarm for law enforcement.

U.S. sends two Guantanamo detainees to Spain, Latvia.

US adds Haqqani Network, Taliban leaders to list of designated terrorists.

Websites biggest terror threat, says watchdog.

EU bank stress tests looks at ‘sovereign debt shock’ scenario.

Crunch time for Europe’s banking credibility.

Ultra rich spending less and chasing quality.

World News Briefs — July 23, 2010 is a post from: Updated News

ISLAMABAD — The U.S. will announce Monday hundreds of millions of dollars worth of civilian aid projects for Pakistan, American officials said, in an attempt to demonstrate that Washington has broadened its relationship with the country, away from just anti-terror cooperation to helping the people of Pakistan.

Hillary Clinton, on her way to a key international conference in Afghanistan, will unveil a raft of U.S.-funded development projects Monday. They will cover sectors including water supply, electricity production, agriculture and health, as the U.S. implements its pledge to triple civilian aid to key ally Pakistan. The previous administration of President George W. Bush had focused most aid on Pakistan’s military, which then ruled the country, causing resentment in the country that felt it was being manipulated to further U.S. goals.

Read more ….

My Comment: How do I know that this will be a waste of money …. because we are putting money into a society that still believes behaving like this is the right thing.

On top of trying to influence a culture that is alien to us ( as we are to them) …. aid to Pakistan has a long history of little oversight and plenty of corruption. I can only expect this rotten tradition to continue.

Sigghhhh …. the U.S. is hopelessly confused with what is happening in this region, and borrowing money from China to now give it to Pakistan is a perfect symbol of how confused this policy has become.

I Call This A Complete Waste Of Money is a post from: Updated News

Washington (CNN) — China is expected to make a statement in coming days on the sinking of a South Korean ship by North Korea, according to two senior U.S. government officials.

The officials briefed reporters Wednesday while returning from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to Asia.

An official South Korean report has accused the communist North of firing a torpedo at the warship Cheonan, killing 46 sailors.

Read more ….

Obama invites Netanyahu, Abbas to White House.

Aid ships head to Gaza despite Israeli objections.

Iran calls on Russia, US to accept nuclear deal.

Iraqi election results closer to being certified.

Nasrallah threatens ships going to Israel in future war.

Brazen Baghdad gold heist leaves trail of dead.

Israeli air strikes on Gaza Strip wound 15 Palestinians.

Kremlin tells Iran to stop “political demagoguery”.

South Korea loses track of North’s subs.

North Korea cutting all ties with South Korea. Will North Korea’s saber rattling lead to war?

Tanker, carrier collide off Singapore; lanes unaffected.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court OKs release of militant linked to Mumbai attacks.

Nepal leaders still at odds as crisis looms.

Thai Parliament angrily debates protest response.

UN agrees to gradual pullout of UN peacekeeping force from Chad by end of year.

Ethiopia opposition leader calls for new vote.

Short of evidence, witnesses, Dutch prosecutors face tough case against 5 Somali pirates.

Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, a proponent of change, may one day lead Libya.

Obama commits US to helping hunt for LRA leader Joseph Kony.

Britain’s nuclear arsenal is 225 warheads, reveals William Hague.

Vienna has world’s best quality of life: survey.

Girl becomes 6th victim of blast in south Russia’s Stavropol.

Russia’s new foreign policy puts business first.

Poland welcomes US soldiers, Patriot missiles.

Italy announces austerity measures.

It’s Georgian Independence Day – but how many more will there be?

‘They’re ready to die for him’: At least 60 dead in Jamaican slum standoff as police storm den of druglord wanted by U.S..

Former dictator’s party ahead in Suriname election.

Troops to the Mexican border: Obama to send 1,200.

BP yet to make call on latest bid to stop Gulf oil.

Feds issue terror watch for the Texas/Mexico border.

Exclusive: FBI details surge in death threats against lawmakers.

New Afghan prison marks change in Obama strategy.

U.S. offered crucial evidence in Pakistani meeting on Times Square plot.

Stocks have late-day reversal, Dow ends under 10K.

Regulators push for global rule on bank capital.

Moody’s reiterates U.S. spending risks credit rating.

Geithner in Europe crisis talks.

U.S., Europe fall out of step on global financial reform.

World News Briefs — May 26, 2010 (Evening Edition) is a post from: Updated News

SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea threatened Wednesday to shut a border crossing and open fire on loudspeakers if South Korea makes good on its vow to blare out propaganda across the frontier in revenge for the sinking of a warship.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to Seoul to show Washington’s “rock-solid” support for its ally amid the rising tensions, and said the world had a duty to respond to the North’s torpedo attack.

Read more ….

North Korea Cuts Some Links with the South — Voice of America
North Korea Threatens to Cut Last Link With South — New York Times/Reuters
North Korea Cuts All Ties With South — New York Times
North Korea severs all ties with South Korea — Washington Post
S.Korea to punish N.Korea despite threats – Voice of America
S.Korea to punish N.Korea despite threats — Yahoo News/AFP
U.S. Pledges to Help South Korea in Bid for U.N. Action — New York Times
Clinton calls for ‘strong but measured’ response to Korea crisis — BBC
Clinton Says World Must Respond to Sinking of S. Korean Warship — Voice of America
Clinton: World Must Act on SKorean Ship Sinking — New York Times/AP
Hillary Clinton calls for reprisals against North Korea — Times Online
Hillary Clinton in China: a juggling act over North Korea, Iran – Christian Science Monitor

North Korea hostility toward the South puts China in a spot — Christian Science Monitor
Clinton urges China co-operation over North Korea – BBC
Regional summit to test China’s Wen over North Korea — Reuters
Fault lines emerge in China’s support for its old ally — Sydney Morning Herald
China May Shield North Korea as Lee, U.S. Seek Action on Ship — Bloomberg Businessweek

War in the Korean Peninsula: Thinking the Unthinkable — Bill Powell, Time Magazine

Tensions Continue On The Korean Peninsula is a post from: Updated News

From Ralph Peters, New York Post:

The world changed this week and we yawned. Our government and media utterly failed to grasp the meaning of the Iran-Brazil-Turkey nuke deal.

Undercutting the sanctions-lite bargain Secretary of State Hillary Clinton thinks she has with Russia and China was the least of it.

We’re so obsessed with the single (albeit important) issue of terrorism that we’re missing profound global realignments and the rise of grave new threats.

Read more ….

My Comment: Most of the time I am in disagreement with Ralph Peters, but his assertion that both Turkey and Brazil have a desire for nuclear weapons tech and know how is a valid one. Both countries strongly believe that they have a legitimate claim to be a nuclear power, and have made very little if any secret to pursue this course. There are some who believe that this is a positive development, that Iran’s nuclear stockpile will be decreased …. but I have no reason to believe that this will happen. Iran has been consistently insincere on the nuclear issue for as long as I can remember, and both Brazil and Turkey are pursuing an agenda that fits into their own nuclear ambitions.

Ralph Peters assertion that strategic relationships and alliances are now radically changing is also a valid one. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall I have never seen such a realignment of countries and relationships, and what is worrisome is that in these changes it appears that U.S. allies feel abandoned and ignored by Washington. England, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Israel, India …. the list is long and many but what unifies them right now is that they have trouble understanding what President Obama and Washington are thinking.

This sense of uncertainty is being picked up by our enemies, and worse …. they are capitalizing on it. North Korea torpedoed a South Korean warship because they knew that nothing was going to happen. China consistently flouts demands to deregulate their currency …. because they know that nothing will happen. Venezuela supports terror groups like FARC and the ETA because they know that nothing will happen. Iran continues to expand and develop their enrichment program because …. well hell …. they know that nothing is going to happen.

Throw into this mix nuclear proliferation and nuclear weapons for all …. we are definitely going down a dangerous path. Can Washington put a stop to this slide …. I doubt it. Their priorities are continuing trillion dollar deficits, expanding entitlement programs, and withdrawing from the international scene …. and everyone around the world knows this with the exception of most of the American electorate.

Nukes Gone Wild: The Future Just Got Uglier — A Commentary is a post from: Updated News

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced a series of initiatives designed to boost America’s relations with entrepreneurs in countries with large Muslim populations. Clinton’s remarks came at the end of a two-day summit on entrepreneurship.

Secretary Clinton announced the new programs she says are designed to help entrepreneurs in mostly-Muslim countries and eventually expand worldwide.

“I am pleased to announce the launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Programs’ first pilot program, in Egypt, coordinated by a team of entrepreneurs in residence from USAID. We will soon launch our second program in Indonesia and we plan to expand to a dozen countries within the next two years,” she said.

The new initiatives are intended to expand the availability of capital so entrepreneurs will have access to credit to enable them to put their ideas to work.

Clinton also announced new partnerships between business schools in the United States and educational institutions worldwide to share knowledge and expand business education.

Another program will link U.S. mentors with aspiring entrepreneurs to provide expertise on issues such as securing financing or writing a business plan.

“Now these initiatives comprise a first wave of programs to promote global entrepreneurship, but they reflect the Obama administration’s commitment to a new approach to development, one based on investment, not aid, on supporting local leadership and ideas rather than imposing our own,” said Clinton.

Clinton’s announcements came on the final day of a conference that brought to Washington more than 250 entrepreneurs from 50 countries with large Muslim populations.

Rashad Hussain, the Obama administration’s special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, says nearly a year after the president’s speech to the Muslim world last June in Cairo, the U.S. is making significant efforts to address issues of mutual concern.

“We see a world in which the United States continues to be committed to leaving Iraq and Afghanistan, is continued (dedicated) to finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that we would have the seeds planted for various programs in the areas of entrepreneurship, such as we see here,” said Hussein.

One of the entrepreneurs at the conference is Tri Mumpuni, who has put together small financing programs and economic incentives to bring electricity to 60 rural villages scattered throughout Indonesia.

“We know that electricity is the backbone of economic development. We would like to start with giving electricity because from the electricity people can be directed to many different [aspects] of the welfare and improvement of their life,” said Tri Mumpuni.

The U.S. also announced a new program at the summit to assist women in technology fields who will have the opportunity to come to the United States for internships and professional development.

One of the best known entrepreneurs at the summit was Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who founded the Grameen Bank and transformed the lives of millions of poor women in Bangladesh through micro-credit (small loans).

“Today we have over eight million borrowers, 97 percent of them are women. And they own the bank. We made the rule right from the beginning that the bank will be owned by the borrowers. So it is a bank that not only serves the poor women, it is also a bank which is owned by the poor women. They sit on the board, they make the decisions,” said Yunus.

While the entrepreneurship summit is officially over, dozens of private groups will hold sessions for the delegates over the next few days to bring together venture capitalists, development bankers and other business experts to promote the partnership between the U.S. and the Muslim world. A follow-up summit is scheduled to take place next year in Turkey.

U.S. launches help for female Muslim entrepreneurs is a post from: Updated News

Clinton, Gates Say New U.S. Policy Puts Other Countries “On Notice” to Avoid Nuclear Path Taken by Iran, North Korea

(CBS) The Obama administration’s nuclear posture review may have removed some of the intentional ambiguity from U.S. nuclear policy, but it does not leave the country any less safe, President Obama’s top national security advisers said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

In fact, they said, it gives a clear warning to other state actors that the U.S. will not ignore any growing threats.

Read more ….

My Comment: U.S. nuclear strategy has always operated from a position of contradiction, veiled threats and dire warnings …. the new policy goes out of its way to reverse almost 65 years of policy to one that better defines the conditions that nuclear weapons will be used.

After hearing the outcry from the critics …. it appears that Sec. of State Hillary Clinton (and I can only guess this has been sanctioned by the White House) is now trying her best to put this intentional ambiguity back into U.S. nuclear policy.

All Bets Are Off If US Under Biological Attack, Warns Hillary Clinton is a post from: Updated News

WARSAW, Poland – Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who died Saturday in a plane crash in Russia, was a one-time anti-communist activist who teamed up with his twin brother to take his country in a nationalist, conservative direction.

Read more ….

Netanyahu ducks U.S. nuclear summit, fearing censure. Canceled Netanyahu trip spotlights Israel nukes.

Iran unveils ‘faster’ uranium centrifuges.

Iraq bombs kill child, four police and soldiers.

Kyrgyzstan buries its dead, U.S. halts troop flights.

Pakistan airstrike, gunfight kill 48 militants.

Obama sends letter to Karzai, reaffirming U.S.-Afghanistan cooperation.

More than 130 injured as Thai forces crackdown.

Sudan gears up for election day.

US Navy holds 6 suspected pirates after battle.

SAfrican president blasts outspoken youth leader.

Medvedev blasts U.S. couple for sending adopted child back to Russia.

Pope Benedict willing to meet with more abuse victims, Vatican says.

UK General election 2010 live blog: day five.

Brazil death toll rises, more survivors unlikely.

Hillary Clinton scorns ‘entrenched’ Cuba.

Last hope gone: 4 W.Va. coal miners found dead.

Al-Qaeda vows to bomb World Cup.

Federal judge orders release of Guantanamo Bay detainee.

Fort Hood suspect moved to jail.

Mukasey supports decision to kill cleric in Yemen.

Wal-Mart bets on reduction in prices.

Foreclosures hit rich and famous.

Commerce Department: China dumped cheap steel in U.S.

World News Briefs — April 10, 2010 is a post from: Updated News

MOSCOW — Russians on Tuesday held impromptu memorial services at two subway stations in Moscow where suicide bombers conducted brazen attacks that killed 39 people and stirred fears of a revival of terrorism in the country’s population centers.

The entire subway system in Moscow was open for the morning rush, but it was less crowded than usual as some nervous commuters delayed trips to work or stayed home altogether. At the landmark stations that were bombed, people deposited candles and flowers to honor those who died.

Read more ….

In Iraq, candidates seek an edge with post-election maneuvers.

CIA: Iran capable of producing nukes.

Hamas seizes $270,000 in frozen funds from bank.

Afghanistan: Nato to launch Kandahar assault in June.

Diver dies at South Korean warship rescue site.

Pakistani court keeps curbs on nuclear scientist.

Myanmar Opposition Party’s vote boycott angers some.

Pirates hijack Panamanian ship off Yemen. Somali pirates hijack eight ships in three days.

Sudan opposition mulls poll boycott.

New LRA attacks leave 26 dead in C.Africa: military.

Death toll from Moscow blasts rises to 39

Russia faces continuing problems in the Northern Caucasus.

Geneva atom smasher sets collision record.

Berlusconi scores political victory in local vote.

FBI launches raids on Christian militia group which is ‘preparing for battle against an Anti-Christ’.

Obama signs health care reconciliation bill.

Hillary Clinton criticises Canada over Arctic talks.

Ventura County probe leads to arrest of alleged Mexican drug kingpin.

Bin Laden is ‘healthy, giving the orders’ says terror suspect.

Nuclear ambitions, terrorism focus at G8 meet.

The growing threat from female suicide bombers.

Pssst: Wall Street is hiring again.

World stocks gain as US economic outlook brightens.

Can a former KGB agent save London’s Independent?

World News Briefs — March 30, 2010 is a post from: Updated News