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Taliban commanders among insurgents arrested in Afghanistan
Six insurgents, among them two Taliban commanders, have been captured in eastern Afghanistan, the military said Friday.
A man named Besmullah was also captured, said a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force. He served as a deputy to the former Taliban spokesman, Abdul Hay Motmaen, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan.
International forces in Afghanistan have been aggressively pursuing insurgents and have captured several senior leaders in recent months.
The arrests Thursday in Ghazni came a day after the military said it had captured several insurgents who were planning to attack an international aid conference that took place this week in Kabul. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was among those who attended.
Obama signs sweeping Wall Street overhaul into law
Wall Street
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President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law the most comprehensive financial regulatory overhaul since the Great Depression and vowed there will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts for Wall Street.
"Because of this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes," Obama said at a signing ceremony for the legislation approved by the U.S. Congress last week.
The bill targets the kind of Wall Street risk-taking that helped to trigger a global financial meltdown and also aims to strengthen consumer protections.
Obama, who has drawn fire from Americans for bank bailouts that began under Republican President George W. Bush and continued by Obama, said the legislation's provisions make clear that no firm is protected because it is deemed "too big to fail" like AIG during the financial meltdown.
"There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Period," he said. "If a large financial institution should ever fail, this reform gives us the ability to wind it down without endangering the broader economy."
Obama spoke to an audience of about 400 people in the Ronald Reagan Building close to the White House that included Wall Street bankers, people hurt by the 2007-2009 financial crisis and lawmakers.
The Senate last week gave final approval to far-reaching legislation sought by the Obama administration to tighten rules on Wall Street and across the financial industry in an effort to avoid a repeat of the financial crisis.
With Republicans poised to make gains in the November congressional elections, Obama's Democrats are eager to show voters that they have taken steps to tame an industry that dragged the economy into its deepest recession in 70 years.
But it remains unclear whether Obama can gain much traction from the legislative victory, with Americans still anxious about a 9.5 percent jobless rate and ballooning deficits.
The American Bankers Association expressed disappointment with the legislation, saying it "contains a tsunami of new rules and restrictions for traditional banks that had nothing to do with causing the financial crisis in the first place," said ABA President Edward Yingling.
Israeli attack on Iran would start long war - report
An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would start a long war and probably not prevent Iran from eventually acquiring nuclear weapons, a think-tank said on Thursday.
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Oxford Research Group, which promotes non-violent solutions to conflict, said military action should be ruled out as a response to Iran's possible nuclear weapons ambitions.
"An Israeli attack on Iran would be the start of a protracted conflict that would be unlikely to prevent the eventual acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran and might even encourage it," it said in a report.
It would also lead to instability and unpredictable security consequences for the region and the wider world, it added.
The United Nations Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran last month over a nuclear programme the West suspects is aimed at developing atomic weapons in secret. Iran says it wants nuclear energy for peaceful uses only.
The report, by Paul Rogers, professor of peace studies at the University of Bradford, said U.S. military action against Iran appeared unlikely but Israel's capabilities had increased.
"Long-range strike aircraft acquired from the United States, combined with an improved fleet of tanker aircraft, the deployment of long-range drones and the probable availability of support facilities in northeast Iraq and Azerbaijan, all increase Israel's potential for action against Iran," it said.
Israeli leaders usually speak only of leaving all options on the table, although Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said in May that Israel had the capability to hit Iran.
Israel is widely believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal. The Jewish state neither confirms nor denies this.
THREE TO SEVEN YEARS
The Oxford report estimated it might take three to seven years for Iran to develop a small arsenal of nuclear weapons if it decided to do so. It said there was no firm evidence such a decision had been taken by the Islamic Republic.
Any Israeli strike would be focussed not only on destroying nuclear and missile targets but would also hit factories and research centres and even university laboratories to damage Iranian expertise, the report said.
This would cause many civilian casualties, it added.
Military action would include the direct bombing of targets in Tehran and probably include attempts to kill technocrats who managed Iran's nuclear and missile programmes, the report said.
Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri alleged on Wednesday that had been abducted in Saudi Arabia and flown to the United States. Washington denies kidnapping him. Iran's Foreign Ministry said Amiri was on his way back home.
Iran's responses to an Israeli attack could include withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and immediate action to produce nuclear weapons to deter further attacks, the report said.
They could also include missile attacks on Israel, closing the Strait of Hormuz to push up oil prices and paramilitary or missile attacks on Western oil facilities in the Gulf.
After a first strike, Israel might have to carry out regular air strikes to stop Iran developing atom bombs and medium-range missiles, the report said. "Iranian responses would also be long-term, ushering in a lengthy war with global as well as regional implications," Rogers said.
Other options open to the West were to redouble efforts to get a diplomatic settlement or accept that Iran may eventually acquire a nuclear capability and use that as the start of a process of balanced regional de-nuclearisation, the report said.
Anna Chapman has British passport revoked
Whitehall confirms she had been given a letter revoking British citizenship and invalidating her passport
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The British passport of Anna Chapman, the woman accused of spying for Russia in the US, has been revoked it emerged today.
The 28-year-old was recently expelled from the US in a spy swap deal between the two countries but although Chapman was flown to Moscow last week there was speculation that she could travel to the UK in the future.
Chapman gained British citizenship from her marriage to Alex Chapman, 30, from Bournemouth. The two met at a party in 2002 and were married for four years. Chapman, the daughter of a Russian diplomat, also lived and worked in the financial sector in London for several years. Her former husband has said he was suspicious she was being "conditioned" by Russian agents during the marriage.
Although her American lawyer said that Chapman, also known as Anya Kushchenko, would like to return to the UK, a Whitehall source said she had been given a letter revoking British citizenship and invalidating her passport.
It was also revealed home secretary Theresa May, who has the power to revoke dual nationalities if they are "conducive to the public good", had been urgently considering the case last week.
Chapman was one of 10 Russian spies who had been operating out of the US for several years. The 10 had adopted false names and apparently led ordinary lives until their arrests, acting as sleeper agents.
While undercover, the spies were said to have sent information back to Russia using such devices as invisible ink and code words. US prosecutors said the agents were ordered by Russia to infiltrate policymakers and gather information.
The swap was the biggest Russia-US spy swap since the Cold War. The 10 were exchanged for four Western agents at Vienna airport on 9 July after pleading guilty to conspiracy and acting as unregistered agents of a foreign country in the US.
Earlier today Russia was reported to be interrogating the 10 agents at a secret facility.
Taupo volcano would dwarf Iceland eruption
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Beneath the waters of Lake Taupo lies one of the world's biggest volcanoes and scientists say an eruption would be one of the most life threatening events New Zealand has ever faced.
They say an eruption involving New Zealand's largest lake would dwarf the trouble caused by the 1995 Ruapehu eruption and lahar flows since then.
"Taupo on a global scale is a very large volcano. The crater is somewhere in the order of 15 and 20 kilometres in diameter, so it's right up there in the top ten globally for size," said volcanologist Brad Scott.
Other experts think it could even eclipse the worldwide disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano three months ago.
"We know that the North Island would be pretty heavily damaged and everything would be affected, basically starting with the airplanes," said volcanologist Nico Fournier.
But scientists say that there will be plenty of warning signs before the big bang including more frequent earthquakes, hot springs around Taupo drying up and the lake could start bubbling.
Fournier says scientists are always on alert, monitoring the lake 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"We know the volcano is still doing things, but it's not yet fully understood. It's something we're actually doing research on at the moment to see if it really is the volcano acting up a bit," Fournier said.The Taupo volcanic zone is one of the most active in the world. There are 12 active volcnoes and at least 30 geothermal hot spots that stretch from Mount Ruapehu to White Island.
"We have people living on or playing on those volcanoes almost every day, like the skifields at Ruapehu and the tourism at White Island, so we definitely pay a lot of attention to those in the short term. But we treat the Taupos equally the same," says Scott.
Peter Lechner from the Civil Aviation Authority says in the event of Taupo erupting, shutting airports is dependent on the degree of the volcanic fallout.
"The eruptions we've seen so far not a big problem, if we had a massive eruption out of Taupo, I don't think aviation would be operating much at all," he said.
Phil Parker from the Civil defence says New Zealand is not well prepared to deal with an eruption.
"People may need to self evacuate because we don't have the personnel to evacuate everybody. We rely heavily on people doing it themselves," he says.
Taupo erupts every 900 years on average, and the last big bang was 1700 years ago. Scientists say it's not a matter of if, but when.
How World Cup victory stirred Spain's forgotten patriotism
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It will be an image burned forever into Spain's national consciousness: the sight of captain Iker Casillas in tears after La Roja banished decades of World Cup failure by winning their first title on Sunday night.
At a time when the Spanish economy is in crisis, with the highest unemployment rates in Europe, the country needed a good news story.
Spanish flags were flown from balconies across the country as millions took to the streets in joyous, anarchic scenes. In South Africa, players such as Carles Puyol and Andres Iniesta kissed their badges, newly minted with a single star above their left breasts to honor their achievements.
Even before the final, patriotism coursed through the team. "We dedicate this victory to Spain," gushed Xavi, Barcelona's playmaker, after the semifinal win against Germany.
The next day El Pais declared: "Not since the Spanish civil war have there been so many flags in the streets." Such has been the ubiquity of Spain's flag it has been dubbed "The Red Effect" in honor of the national team's exploits.
On the face of it, such nationalistic, flag-waving sentiments are to be expected in the aftermath of a World Cup win. But in Spain -- a country where unique regional identities from the Catalans to the Basques to the Galicians have in the past taken precedence -- outpourings of national pride have been controversial and, paradoxically, divisive.
The flag is seen by many, especially the Catalans and the Basques, as a totem to the Franco era. Even the country's national anthem has been shorn of its lyrics, so not to reopen the old wounds left behind from the 1936-39 Spanish civil war and General Franco's subsequent dictatorship.
In fact, Spain's football failure has been put down to the tensions between regional and national loyalties, suggesting that not everyone was pulling in the same direction.
There is even a Catalan national football team, coached by the iconic Dutchman and former Barcelona star Johan Cruyff. Last December they beat Argentina 4-2 in a friendly with a team that featured Xavi, Puyol, Gerard Pique and Joan Capdevila, all of whom started on Sunday night.
Will Smith's Last Pharaoh
By Aladdin Elaasar
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Will Smith's Last Pharaoh vs. Egypt's History by Hollywood
By Aladdin Elaasar
There are plenty of historical materials and true stories from Egypt, ancient and modern. Egyptian history is so full of drama, action and adventure, more than what screenwriters can even imagine. Take for example the true story of the Last Pharaoh of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak. If you want to know the true story of the Last Pharaoh of Egypt, you'd better pay attention to what's going on in Egypt these days and in the near future. It will make a lot of headlines.
Egypt will witness a steamy summer this year as the political scene is heating up. The 83 years old President Mubarak of Egypt seems to be in his final days with serious health concerns and no heir apparent. Mohamed ElBaradei, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has retuned to his native home country of Egypt after 30 years and plans to run for President of Egypt next year. Will he make It? Or will Egypt's Last Pharaoh, Hosni Mubarak cling to power for six more years or at least try to make his son Gamal the next King/President of Egypt?
Is There An Organized Al-Quaeda Presence in West Africa
By Far the Answer Remains No - Not Yet - TTimes Africa Editorial
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West Africa has a strong Sunni tolerant form of Islam, particularly in the
Sahel, the southern fringes of the Sahara desert stretching across from
Chad, northern edge of Nigeria, Mali, to Senegal.Talibanic clerics from
Pakistan and Wahhabist missionaries from Saudi Arabia, elements from the Al-
Quaeda form in Algeria have all tried to gain a foothold in West Africa,
enticing muslims with all sorts of doctrines, materials and money; however
every intelligent reports have consistently showed a very poor to nil
progress on the part of the extremist. The lone anemic attempt of Umar
AbdulMutallab at perpertuating an attack on Delta Airlines flight into
Detroit, is not only evidence of continued security alert in the West but
also evidence that the radical efforts in West Africa have largely been
unsuccessful. By far and large the extremist have failed in West Africa,
with their ideologies rejected by the vast majority of West African
Muslims.
The main militant threat in the Sahara is still al Qaeda's North African
wing of Algeria's. U.S. military officials have said in the past that the
group is active in Mali and used Mauritania and Niger, and parts of the
Nigeria's northern border. There activities however amount to nothing more
than to host mobile training camps, often believed to be little more than a
few jeeps congregating around desert oasis and watering holes teaching
converts how to use satellite phones and explosives. Nigeria arrested a
group of Islamists with suspected links to al Qaeda in 2007 and some
Western diplomats have expressed concern that these elements could become
wide spread. That concern has not materialised in any shape or organized
fashion and there is no evidence that such form of organized radical islam
or its effects have much potentials in becoming established in Northern
Nigerian as well as other parts of West Africa.
The caution however is to keep up the intelligence, combat corruption in
governments in the region that causes mass poverty. The best solution is
proactive engagement by the West. Act now by supporting the moderate
elements early, alleviate poverty, help fight corruption among political
leaders, keep up intelligence and military activties to monitor the region.
All been said, the answer to the question of orgnized radical Islam in West
Africa to date remains - NO -; there has been no conclusive evidence of an
al Qaeda presence in Nigeria or any significant al Qaeda presence in West
Africa. How ever, this is the time to act and prevent such radicalization
of the region. A few logistical assistance today, may save a full blown
Iraq style invasion tomorrow with all the billions of dollars in lives and
cost.
TTimes Editorial Team - Len Blasso Editor, Ron Jones, Richard Mermane, Dan E. Austin M.D, Expert on African and Nigerian Affairs, Sanin Adnan IT Consultant and Ermias Zwede. Contact us at editor@ttimesmail.com
TTimes welcome Interview opportunities and commentaries on this, please contact us at editor@transatlantictimes.com, send you commentaries, request for interviews, send your articles on subject. TTimes Africa staffs are also avaiable for interview on this subject.
British Court Dismiss Case Against A Hotelier For Abusing Muslim Guest
Hotelier Ask Guest if She Was a Terrorist Because She Wore a Hijab
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A British court cleared Christian husband-and-wife hoteliers of verbally abusing a Muslim guest at their hotel because of her faith and asking her if she was a terrorist because she wore a hijab. The Liver Pool couple who owned the hotel, were charged for verbally abusing and harrassing the muslim women, who wore the muslim attire that provoked the verbal exchange. Tazi the muslim woman claimed she was harrashed and assaulted by the Liverpool couple for her muslim faith.
In the two-day trial Benjamin and Sharon Vogelenzang were accused of launching a tirade against 60-year-old Ericka Tazi at their hotel - the Bounty House hotel in Aintree, Liverpool. The exchange took place, on the day of Tazi departure when she wore hijab and Benjamin Vogelenzang asked her if she was a murderer and a terrorist. The couple denied assaulting Tazi with religiously aggravating words, and claimed that Tazi told them that Jesus was a minor prophet and that the Bible was untrue. A judge dismissed the case yesterday. Tazi had stayed at the Bounty House a month while attending a course in Liver Pool.
The World Most Hostile City - Mogadishu
A Generation of War With No Just Cause, A Lawless Society
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Corpses covered with sheets were being prepared for burial and the air was heavy with incense burned to cover the stench of death. A mortar bomb had landed in the compound, pots and pans stained with blood were still scattered around the retirement home in the Somali capital the day before, killing nine people and injuring 23. Scenes like this are a daily reality in Mogadishu, a city ravaged by almost 20 years of war and abandoned by half its population. Here, civilians bear the brunt of a war that has caused thousands of deaths and displaced 1.5 million people in the past three years alone, with no end in site. A generation of war children now 18 years and older, with no other knowledge of life and no hope of finding peace. The war is elusive, so is any possible solution. There is no simple just cause to sttract the attention of any peace mission, its just a culture and a lawless society of war.
Once full the colonial Italian architecture dating from its years as the capital of Italian Somaliland, the city centre of Mogadishu is now rubbish with destroyed buildings. This morning, two militias allied with the TFG are clashing for control of the port, civilians are caught in the crossfire. You must call your friends before venturing out and keep your cell phone with you to receive updates on clashes. That's the only way to survive living in this hell on earth called Somaliland.
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