EU to tighten Syria economic sanctions

 

The European Union has reached an agreement in principle to tighten economic sanctions against Syria at the end of February to further cut funding for the regime, diplomats said Friday.

 

EU government representatives endorsed three new measures on Thursday, including an assets freeze against the central bank, a ban on Syrian phosphate exports and a prohibition on trading gold and gems, the diplomats said.

 

The 27-nation bloc accounts for 40 percent of Syrian phosphate exports.

 

The EU is aiming to give the final go-ahead for the sanctions at a meeting of foreign ministers on February 27.

 

Germany has also proposed a ban on commercial flights between Syria and Europe but such a measure “has little chance of being adopted,” a European diplomat said.

 

A flight ban could cause problems for the evacuation of EU citizens if the violence in Syria deteriorates.

 

More Syrians may also be added to a list of people facing an EU travel ban and assets freeze. Nearly 150 people and entities are under EU sanctions.

 

The EU has already imposed oil and arms embargos against Syria in response to a crackdown that has left more than 6,000 people dead, according to rights groups.
 

Paris airports downplay early impact of strike

 

The Paris airports authority says carriers like Air France have so far limited the damage from a strike by aviation industry workers, by canceling or rescheduling roughly 100 flights in advance.

 

Airports authority ADP says early signs were the strike led by labor unions representing pilots, cabin and ground crews and others didn t draw a large walkout.

 

ADP said French flag carrier Air France mostly managed any fallout by rebooking travelers as the strike was announced last week. However, it said low-cost carrier easyJet was forced into canceling five flights Monday.

 

Air France was planning a statement later Monday.

 

Unions called the strike through to Thursday to protest a bill in Parliament that would require air transport workers to give 48 hours notice before striking.
 

Heavy snowfall paralyses Murree

 

During last 24 hours widespread rain/snow occurred over KPK, Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir and isolated rain occurred in Balochistan.

 

Met officials said that during last 24 hours lowest temperature was recorded in Parachinar -10C, Gupis -07C, Hunza & Kalam -06C, Skardu & Murree -03C.

 

Snowfall recorded during last 24 hours was, Murree 07inch, Kalam 03 inch and Skaradu 01 inch.

 

Rainfall during last twenty fours was Malamjabba 30mm Darudyta 25mm Dir24mm Lowe dir 19mm Kakul 15mm Rawallkot Kalam and Balakot 13mm each chitral 11mm nmirkhani 10mm Rawalpindi 09 Islamabad and Mianwali 06mm each

 

Entry of heavy traffic has been stopped in Murree while all flights have been suspended in Sakardu.

 

Snowfall season has been continuing since last 2 days due to which many main roads have blocked in upper parts of the country.

 

After heavy snowfall Chaman’s road contact with whole country has been disconnected. Snowfall is also continuing in upper areas of Azad Kashmir.
 

Egypt flays travel ban on US NGO workers

 

The authorities slapped a travel ban on several US citizens working for non-governmental organisations, preventing them from leaving the country, officials said on Thursday.

 

“We understand that a number of Americans working for NGOs, including the IRI, have been barred from travelling,” US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy and Human Rights Michael Posner said in Cairo.

 

The IRI is the International Republican Institute, whose Egypt director Sam LaHood — the son of US Secretary for Transportation Ray LaHood — was among those banned from travel, an Egyptian airport official said.

 

The ban was issued following “the orders of the prosecutor general,” the official told AFP.

 

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said she believed “four or five” Americans had been prevented from taking flights from the airport, although she added their passports had not been confiscated.

 

Nuland told reporters she understood that the ban will last as long as it takes for the Egyptian authorities to complete a judicial process.

 

“We are urging the government of Egypt to lift these restrictions immediately and allow folks to come home as soon as possible. And we are hopeful that this issue will be resolved in merest days,” Nuland said.

 

The move comes amid a crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs.

 

It is likely to further strain relations between Egypt and the United States after prosecutors last month stormed the offices of groups including IRI as part of a probe into allegations of illegal funding from abroad.

 

Nuland said the authorities have yet to return computers and other confiscated material, which she added are also subject to the ongoing judicial process.

 

Posner said the United States was “gravely concerned that organisations like IRI and like NDI (the National Democratic Institute) and Freedom House which have long worked in this country and around the world, are not able to operate as they do in many places in the world.”
 

US: Blizzard Warning, More Than 1400 Flights Cancelled

The US National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for parts of New York, New Jersey and other states along the east coast of the United States as a major winter storm bears down on the area on Sunday.

American media reported that more than 1400 flights have been cancelled due to the treacherous weather conditions and heavy snow. The US National Weather Service has warned for more heavier snowfall in the coming 12 hours thus advising the people to stay inside their homes.

A band of frigid weather was snaking up the East Coast on Sunday, promising blizzards and a foot of snow for New York City and New England, while several states made emergency declarations as the storm caused crashes on slick roads.

Heavy snow and blizzards in parts of North Carolina were making driving conditions difficult, and there were dozens of traffic accidents.

US Did Not Want CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry Restored

ISLAMABAD, News Trends: Former US ambassador Anne W Patterson had strongly opposed the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry during a January 2008 meeting with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who told the US ambassador that without restoring of the chief justice, other judges’ restoration would be meaningless.

According to a US embassy cable, the then US ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, called on Nawaz Sharif on January 31, 2008 and while discussing different issues, Nawaz Sharif opined that without restoration of the independent judiciary, neither the rule of law could be maintained nor the law and order situation would get better.

Ambassador Patterson said that some of the deposed judges could be restored but Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry could not be restored. On this, Nawaz Sharif told the US ambassador in categorical words that without restoring Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, no other judges could be restored and any such restoration would be meaningless.

The most shocking part of the WikiLeaks cable’s revelation is that on this categorical statement of Nawaz Sharif, Ambassador Patterson stuck to the US stand and disagreed with Nawaz Sharif. She told the PML-N chief that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will not be restored and some high court judges will be restored.

The exact wording of the WikiLeaks cable is as under, “5 (C) … The PML-N’s goal in government would be to reinstate the deposed judiciary and restore the law and order situation. Without restoring the judiciary, Nawaz argued, you cannot restore law and order and rule of law.

6. (C) Ambassador said we continued to support an independent judiciary and wanted to work with the new government on this issue. It was simply too difficult to tackle before elections. We believed there should be a way to restore some of the deposed judges, but not the former Chief Justice. Nawaz insisted that without restoring the Chief Justice, there was no point to filling other slots on the bench. Ambassador disagreed, noting that many of the provincial judges could be restored for the benefit of Pakistan’s judiciary.”

The cable, classified ‘By Anne W. Patterson’, stated:

1. (C) Summary. During a meeting with Ambassador January 31, Nawaz Sharif confirmed he was ready to work with the Pakistan People’s Party in a post-election coalition government and described this union as “the best thing that could happen in Pakistan.” He dismissed reports of threats to his life as attempts by the government to dissuade him from campaigning. Noting that emotions remain high in Sindh, he predicted violence if the election was seen as being rigged for Musharraf’s party. As proof of his pro-Americanism, Nawaz reminded Ambassador that he had overruled his Chief of Staff to deploy Pakistani forces with the U.S. coalition in the first Gulf War. Nawaz remained firm in his belief that all of the deposed judiciary must be reinstated. End Summary.

2. (C) Ambassador and Polcouns met former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif January 31 for an hour during Nawaz’s recent visit to Islamabad. PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also attended the meeting. Nawaz met with EU ambassadors the same day and urged them to take pre-emptive action to prevent rigging in the upcoming election.

3. (C) Ambassador noted the reports about threats to Nawaz’s security and said we were pleased to have briefed his staff on measures that could be taken to enhance his safety. Nawaz responded that the GOP has said he is “number one on the hit list” of the militants, but he is not convinced. Citing the belief that an IED planted on the road he was to travel to a rally in Peshawar lacked a detonator, Nawaz insisted he had received information from credible sources that the device was planted by security services to go off hours after the rally. This was another attempt at government intimidation to convince him not to campaign. Ambassador cautioned him to remain vigilant, as it was clear that militant extremists wanted to disrupt the election.

PML-N/PPP: “the best thing that could happen”

4. (C) In response to Ambassador’s question about whether PML-N could work with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in a possible coalition government, Nawaz recounted how he had immediately gone to the hospital when he heard Benazir Bhutto had been shot, and he had made a special effort to pay a condolence call on Asif Zardari in Larkana. Ambassador said that Zardari had noted his appreciation for this gesture of support. A PML-N/PPP alliance would be “the best thing that could happen to Pakistan,” if it materialised, said Nawaz. The PML-N had reached out to the PPP, and time would tell what alliances could be built. They could also work together in the provincial government of Sindh or the Punjab. He predicted that the PPP could win enough seats to rule in Sindh with or without the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

5. (C) Nawaz expected both PPP and PML-N would do well at the polls if the elections were free and fair; he dismissed the Pakistan Muslim League party, saying that Pervaiz Elahi would get few, if any votes. Claiming he had no vendetta against President Musharraf, Nawaz said the PML-N had also reached out to the Pakistan Muslim League and they in turn had contacted PML-N (Ref A). (Note: He then launched into a long description of his mistreatment after Musharraf overthrew Nawaz in 1999). The PML-N’s goal in government would be to reinstate the deposed judiciary and restore the law and order situation. Without restoring the judiciary, Nawaz argued, you cannot restore law and order and rule of law.

6. (C) Ambassador said we continued to support an independent judiciary and wanted to work with the new government on this issue. It was simply too difficult to tackle before elections. We believed there should be a way to restore some of the deposed judges, but not the former Chief Justice. Nawaz insisted that without restoring the Chief Justice, there was no point to filling other slots on the bench. Ambassador disagreed, noting that many of the provincial judges could be restored for the benefit of Pakistan’s judiciary.

7. (C) Despite the decreased level of campaigning due to security concerns, Nawaz and Khan both said that voter emotions were higher than they have ever seen. Sindh, in particular, remains very tense, and could erupt if the election outcome is perceived as being rigged. Nawaz noted that civil society and student groups were politicised in ways they have not been before. The PML-N did not want violence, but it might be impossible to control the people if they felt they had been wronged. Nawaz expressed concern that extremists could take advantage of and exacerbate tensions. He warned that what he described as negatively perceived U.S. support for Musharraf could create a backlash of anti-Americanism, if the public perceives that the government rigged the elections. “We could be sitting on a volcano, and the next four-five weeks will be critical for the region and for Pak-American relations.”

8. (C) The best thing America has done recently, said Nawaz, was to have General Kayani named as Chief of Army Staff. This appointment is helping Army morale and raising the level of public respect for the Army. Noting that Musharraf met the UK equivalent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Khan said the U.S. and the UK need to stop treating Musharraf as if he still ran the military. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Fallon would have met with Musharraf if the President had not been travelling, asserted Khan. Ambassador replied that we had excellent relations with the Pakistani military and meet them all the time at various levels.

We are Pro-American

9. (C) Nawaz and Khan both repeatedly said that the PML-N was pro-American. Nawaz recounted his decision to override his Chief of Army Staff and deploy Pakistani troops to Saudi Arabia in support of the U.S. coalition in the first Gulf War. Meanwhile, Khan noted, the PPP and its leaders were organising street demonstrations against Pakistan joining with the U.S. coalition. Now, Nawaz said, he was hurt that the U.S. did not remember. Nawaz said he understood that 9/11 had changed things, but urged that the U.S. apply some balance to the relationship. In the past, the U.S. was known as the power that rejected dictatorships; that fought for independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. Why, he asked, did we continue to support a man who fired the Supreme Court, abrogated the Constitution, and arrested civil society activists?

10. (C) Comment: The fact that a former Prime Minister believes the U.S. could control the appointment of Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff speaks volumes about the myth of American influence here. Based on our understanding of the current situation, we believe Nawaz can and should take the threats to his life seriously. It comes as no surprise that Nawaz exaggerated his party’s election prospects; his willingness to deal with the PPP is, however, a good sign he is ready to cooperate on government formation.

PATTERSON

Agencies add: Other leaked US embassy documents revealed that the US government was advised to keep reports of human rights violations by the Pakistan Army under wraps by Anne Patterson, who also suggested that focus should be on assistance to Islamabad, which was a close ally on the war against terrorism.

“A growing body of evidence is lending credence to allegations of human rights abuses by Pakistan security forces during domestic operations against terrorists in Malakand Division and Fata,” she wrote in a diplomatic dispatch on September 7, 2009.

“While it is oftentimes difficult to attribute with accuracy any responsibility for such abuses, reporting from a variety of sources suggests that Frontier Corps and regular Pakistan Army units involved in direct combat with terrorists….,” the US cable said.

“The crux of the problem appears to centre on the treatment of terrorists detained in battlefield operations and focused on the extra-judicial killing of some detainees. The detainees involved were in the custody of Frontier Corps or Pakistan Army units,” it said.

Another leaked cable reveals that US Senator John Kerry asked Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to present before India Pakistan’s plan of action for fighting terrorism if it was “really serious” in resuming Indo-Pak dialogue, but the premier expressed concern that the public would not support the idea.

Details of the meeting between Senator Kerry and PM Gilani on February 16 were communicated in a confidential cable from the US embassy in Islamabad.

During the meeting, Kerry said in light of the February 13 bombings in Pune, politicians in India were focused on counter-terrorism.

“And as such he suggested that Pakistan present the Indian government with its plan to tackle terrorism,” the cable said.

Kerry told Gilani that this would be a clear “confidence builder” that would make India more willing to move forward in talks about Kashmir and water disputes.

He emphasised that the future of India, Pakistan and the US depended on their governments’ willingness to “challenge old suspicions” and work together and suggested that Pakistan and India sign a non-aggression pact.

British troops were “not up” to the task of securing Afghanistan’s troubled Helmand province and the local governor pleaded for US reinforcements, American diplomats said in a new batch of cables released by WikiLeaks.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai also thought security in the province had deteriorated after British troops were stationed there in 2006, the cables obtained by the website and reported in The Guardian newspaper on Friday said.

“We and Karzai agree the British are not up to the task of securing Helmand,” US diplomats from the Kabul embassy said in a 2008 cable published by the Guardian.

The Helmand governor, Gulab Mangal, told a US team led by Vice President Joe Biden in January 2009 that American forces were urgently needed as British security in Sangin district did not even extend to the main bazaar.

“I do not have anything against them (the British) but they must leave their bases and engage with the people,” Mangal said, according to a cable sent from the US embassy in Kabul.

The head of Nato forces in Afghanistan in 2007-2008 also criticised the British strategy, the newspaper said.

“He was particularly dismayed by the British effort. They had made a mess of things in Helmand, their tactics were wrong, and the deal that London cut on Musa Qala (town) had failed,” Commander Dan McNeil, was quoted by US diplomats as saying.

McNeil was referring to a ceasefire agreement with the Taliban that allowed the British to pull troops out of the besieged town of Musa Qala in 2006.

President Karzai was quoted as telling US officials that the arrival of British troops in the southern province in 2006 had coincided with a deterioration of the situation there.

The leaked cables further revealed that Karzai’s own inner circle considers him weak and sometimes unscrupulous.

Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal described Karzai as an “extremely weak man” who did not listen to facts, one cable dated February this year said, and former Interior Minister Hanif Atmar claimed Karzai did not understand US policy in the region.

Zakhilwal said Karzai’s inner circle had agreed to “collaborate to influence Karzai when they see him going astray”, and support each other if they faced the president’s anger for raising sensitive issues.

US envoy Eikenberry detailed poor leadership and America-bashing from Karzai, said he was “paranoid and weak” and accused him of failing to grasp the “most rudimentary principles of state-building”, which is key to the US mission.

“His deep seated insecurity as a leader combine to make any admission of fault unlikely, in turn confounding our best efforts to find in Karzai a responsible partner,” Eikenberry wrote in a July 2009 cable detailed by The New York Times.

According to the leaked cables, the US spy planes flew reconnaissance flights over Lebanon from a British air base in Cyprus in a counter-terrorist surveillance operation requested by Lebanese officials.

The leaked documents, which did not specify what the 2008 flights were monitoring, revealed Britain feared that if the imagery from the flights was used by the Lebanese army to capture and mistreat suspects, Britain could be seen as complicit.

Brazil repeatedly rebuffed insistent US calls to take detainees held at the notorious Guantanamo prison facility, leaked US cables revealed.

The whistle-blowing website published information from three cables sent from the US embassy in Brasilia.

The first two, which were extracts only from confidential missives, dated from May and October in 2005 and the last, full cable, designated unclassified, was from October 2009.

Each spoke of US efforts since 2003 to get the Brazilian government to take in detainees from the US prison facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — each time met with a negative response.

Another leaked document stated that a top Mexican official said the government was in danger of losing control of parts of the country to powerful drug cartels.

In a cable in October 2009, then Deputy Interior Minister Geronimo Gutierrez expressed “a real concern with losing certain regions (of Mexico).”

He added that drug violence is damaging Mexico’s international reputation, hurting foreign investment, and leading to a sense of “government impotence,” the cable said.

Leaked cable also revealed that Egypt lobbied last year to delay southern Sudan’s secession vote for four to six years because it feared the new state could fail and the division could imperil its share of Nile waters.

The cable outlined Cairo’s warnings that a southern vote for independence in 2011 could have “fatal implications,” including destabilising the Horn of Africa, causing an influx of migrants to Egypt, and hurting Suez Canal revenues.

CAA bans Russian planes flying from Pak. airports

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has imposed a ban on all flights of Russian planes from Pakistan’s airports on Tuesday. The decision was made as a result of the Russian cargo plane crash near Dalmia, Karachi late Saturday night.

CAA sources told the media that instructions regarding the ban imposed on the flights of Russian planes have been sent to the administration of all main airports. All Russian planes will remain grounded at airports until new orders are issued. The staff of these planes is allowed to stay in Pakistan, if it wants.



According to international aviation rules, no plane will be stopped from landing in Pakistan, but take-off can be banned. Trend Pk

Deadly Typhoon Megi heads for China

BEIJING: Flights were disrupted, ferry services cut and at least 160,000 people have been evacuated as Typhoon Megi, one of the strongest storms to hit the region in years, headed Friday for southern China.

Megi — which killed at least 36 people when it ripped across the Philippines and has left 20 Chinese nationals missing in Taiwan — was expected to make landfall either late Friday or early Saturday in Fujian province.

So far authorities in Fujian have evacuated more than 150,000 people from low-lying areas, while 10,000 others have been moved to safer ground in Guangdong.

The State Oceanic Administration issued a yellow storm surge warning, saying waters could exceed the danger levels. Tens of thousands of fishing boats in Fujian and neighbouring Guangdong province were ordered back to port.

“The storm surge could be so devastating that

North Waziristan drone attack kills 7 extremists

3 drone attacks in a row in North Waziristan in an hour have killed at least 7 extremists.Drones aimed at a house in Boya area of North Waziristan at 9pm on Friday night and fired two missiles on it which resulted in complete demolition of the house killing 4 extremists inside. After the attack the accomplices of those killed cordoned off the area and started collecting the debris. Meanwhile another drone fired a missile in Data Khel area of which left 3 extremists dead. The drones continued their flights for a longtime resulting in widespread fears in the area. It was 8th drone attack in North Waziristan during the last one week.

North Waziristan: Drone attack leaves 5 dead

US drone attack has left 5 more people dead in North Waziristan.
On the other hand, British TV has claimed that the alleged master-mind of planned attacks in Europe has been killed by the drone attack in South Waziristan on September 8, 2010.
Today the drone attacked a house in Darpa Khel Sarae near Miranshah and fired two missiles which demolished the house completely leaving 5 people dead. The drones carried on their flights on the area after the attack. A British TV has claimed that the drone attack of September 8 killed Abdul Jabbar and his three accomplices who belonged to a group named as Islamic Army of Great Britain. It is learnt that this group was planning Mumbai-type attacks in France, Germany and England.

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