US endorses Taliban headquarters in Qatar

The United States has endorsed plans for the Taliban to open political headquarters in the Gulf state of Qatar by the end of the year, British newspaper The Times reported on Monday. The move is designed to allow the West to begin formal peace talks with the Taliban, Western diplomats told the paper. The office of the self-styled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan would be the first internationally recognised representation for the Taliban since it was ousted from power by the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Western diplomats told The Times it was hoped that opening a Taliban office in Qatar would push forward the prospect of talks intended to reconcile insurgents with the Afghan government and bring an end to the decade-long war.

Washington is believed to have insisted that the office be located “outside Pakistan s sphere of influence”, the report said.

“It will be an address where they have a political office,” one Western diplomatic source, who was not named, told The Times. “It will not be an embassy or a consulate but a residence where they can be treated like a political party.”

 

The diplomat stressed that the Taliban would not be allowed to use the office in the Qatari capital, Doha, to raise funds.

The Times reported that the Taliban was seeking assurances that its representatives would be free from the threat of harassment or arrest. Britain, which has the second largest contingent of troops in Afghanistan, declined to say whether it supported the creation of a Taliban office in Qatar. “This is a matter for the United States,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

The US ambassador to Kabul said last week that the Taliban must feel “more pain” from increased military pressure before progress can be made in peace talks.

“The Taliban needs to feel more pain before you get to a real readiness to reconcile,” Ryan Crocker said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Rehman keeps cool in response to fiery Zulfiqar Mirza

He said some people got upset owing to the operation in Pak Colony and Layari. He said he was fighting a war against terrorists and had never talked to any target killers. He denied all the charges that Zulfiqar Mirza leveled against.

Talking about Zulfiqar Mirza he said he was an emotional person and he considered his as his brother. Only president and PM can judge his performance, added Rehman Malik. Action will be taken in all the areas indiscriminately.

There was a possibility of annoyance on the part of some PPP leaders. The operation in Karachi will continue until the restoration of peace in Karachi. He admitted some people in the party did not want operation in Layari.

Turkey warns of continued Jerusalem settlement

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has issued a warning to the Israeli government of the repercussions of its continued settlement activity in occupied Jerusalem, saying that settlement construction “aims at changing the demographics of this sacred city”.

In a press release issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, it strongly condemned Tel Aviv s continued settlement policies in East Jerusalem highlighting the Israeli government s contradictory stance on the issue of peace. “On the one hand, Israel has decided to construct 900 settlement units in Har Homa in East Jerusalem, while on the other, it calls on the Palestinian side to return to the peace negotiations table”.

The press release called on the Israeli government to listen to the calls of the international community to halt “illegal settlement activity” in East Jerusalem, and all attempts to change the demographics of the city. It warned that the settlement policy undermines trust and weakens the peace efforts between the parties of the conflict.

Swift action’ needed for peace: Jordan

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Wednesday urged “swift action” to help push forward the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, warning against wasting more time, a palace statement said.

“Efforts for having serious and effective peace talks should continue, based on a two-state solution, which is the only way to achieve regional stability and security,” the statement quoted the king as telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the telephone.

“The deadlocked peace process threatens the entire region.”

The king, whose country signed a 1994 peace treaty with Israel, said “practical steps are needed to remove obstacles facing the peace process,” the statement said.

Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the first for nearly two years, began in Washington on September 2 but quickly stalled when a 10-month Israeli settlements

Olivia Wilde, Maria Bello bring Hollywood to Haiti

LOS ANGELES: After the devastating earthquake rocked Haiti earlier this year, food and medical aid poured into the island country, but in the months that followed a pair of Hollywood actresses and their friends had another idea. They wanted to build a movie theater.

It may seem like a far-fetched notion, but since it opened in September, the Sun City Picture House has become a place that generates smiles on the faces of children and adults. It also has been used as a community center and school, and it helped spawned two similar buildings in different camps.

Maria Bello, who starred Adam Sandler comedy “Grown Ups,” and “Tron” actress Olivia Wilde, have documented the efforts of the group of people that brought the theater to life in a new, short documentary they expect to screen at festivals throughout the upcoming year.

“The thing that”s needed most in Haiti right now, besides the immediate relief efforts, is joy. And that”s what this movie is about,” Bello said.

The movie, “Sun City Picture House,” focuses on Haitian aid worker Raphael Louigene — whose dream was to build a movie theater — and the two American aid workers who helped him realize that dream by constructing it in just four days: Bryn Mooser from Artists for Peace and Justice, and Dave Darg, who works for Operation Blessing.

Darg directed the documentary. Mooser produced, and they hired a student from Haiti”s only film school, Cine Institute, to shoot it.

Bello, 43, and Wilde, 26, both advisory board members of Artists for Peace and Justice, had volunteered in Haiti before January”s earthquake, and even then, theaters were in short supply. Wilde remembers one night standing with “40 or so Haitians as we projected ”Home Alone” onto a sheet slung over a wall, creating an impromptu late-night outdoor theater smack in the middle of the slums known as Cite Soleil, or Sun City.”

Watching their faces in the light from a projector was an important moment for Wilde. “That”s when I understood the need for an Artist for Peace and Justice Film Project,” she said.

The Sun City theater project came to fruition when, during their earthquake relief work, Louigene shared his dream of building a theater, and Darg and Mooser said they would help.

After the quake, the pair were working full-time in Haiti on standard relief efforts, building homes and schools and bringing in medical, water, clothing and other supplies to what became known as “tent cities.”

Bello and Wilde were making regular trips to pitch in, and they all realized it was time to take their efforts beyond the basics to a different level.

“The next logical step was rebuilding some of the society and some of the culture,” said Mooser. “It became apparent right away that it was important to give Haitian kids something to do — especially as we saw increasing violence, rape and all the alcohol and drug use going on. These tent cities are pitch black at night and can become dangerous places.”

Artists for Peace and Justice paid for the construction and villagers helped with the building.

On the fourth day, the theater”s grand opening, Bello provided the inaugural movie, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” the 2008 film in which she starred.

“We had 200 kids that night with little bags of popcorn and juice,” Bello recalled. “Their parents stood in the back, watching them have some joy for the first time.”

In the months since it opened, the Sun City Picture House has impacted the 5000-plus community beyond just showing films, Darg said. “It”s also become a community center for the whole camp. They use it for school and meetings. They”ve taken ownership of it and keep it looking beautiful and clean.”

Wilde puts it this way: “The Sun City Picture House has created a space for stories, rather than fear and hunger.”

Darg and Mooser have built two similar structures in other communities, and they are now planning to build more.

Arab League calls off talks between Palestinians and Israelis

Arab states called off Middle East talks between Palestinians and Israelis on Wednesday, saying negotiations could not resume until the United States offers a serious proposal to advance the peace process.

The committee sees that the negotiation efforts are useless and decided not to resume any negotiations, and its resumption will be conditioned on receiving a serious offer that puts an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as part of the peace-process, the Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa said at a news conference in Cairo. US backed direct Middle East peace talks between both parties hit a snag when Palestinians pulled out after Israel refused to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The freeze ended on 26th September and the parties had held three rounds of talks. On Monday the US admitted it has failed to bring about an Israeli settlement freeze, indicating direct talks had ended and proximity talks, which began in May, had resumed.

PM Reaches Afghnaistan on 2-day official visit

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has reached Afghanistan on a two-day official visit, trendpk.Com reported on Saturday.

The prime minister would meet with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, Vice-President Muhammad Karim Khalili, Speaker Younas Qanoni, Chairman High Council for Peace Burhan-ul-Din Rabbani and Afghan traders during his visit. The prime minister would also inaugurate Pakistan Embassy Complex in Kabul. The purpose of the visit of the prime minister is to ameliorate the existing bilateral relations between the two countries. The prime minister would take Hamid Karzai in to confidence on matters of common interest.

Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt for peace talks

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Egyptian and Arab League officials on Saturday to discuss the stalled direct peace talks with Israel, Egypt’s official MENA news agency reported.

Abbas, who arrived in Cairo on Saturday, talked with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman about the latest situation of the peace process, the report said.

The talks also involved the Arab countries’ future moves in the event of Israel’s continued intransigence and failure of endeavors to produce a settlement freeze, it said. Abbas would meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday. In early October, the Palestinians halted the US-sponsored direct talks with Israel, four weeks after it resumed in Washington. The decision was made after Israel refused to extend a ten-month moratorium over settlement building that ended on Sept. 26. There were recently new hopes of the peace talks as US President Barack Obama has reportedly offered Israel a package of incentive in exchange for Israel’s settlement freezing.

Pakistan went out of way for peace’ with India: President Zardari

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s president has said India failed to respond positively to peace overtures from Islamabad, after US President Barack Obama urged both countries to resolve their differences.

Pakistan’s civilian government “went out of the way in our peace overtures towards India,” President Asif Ali Zardari told a South Asia media conference in Islamabad, according to a statement from his spokesman late Sunday.

“It would have been most helpful if our initiatives had been welcomed and responded to in a positive manner.”

Zardari acknowledged that the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which killed 166 people and were blamed on Pakistan militants, “undermined efforts for peace”.

But he said: “Pakistan is cooperating in unearthing and bringing to justice the perpetrators of militant acts.”

On the second day of a visit to India, Obama ventured into the

Pakistan went out of way for peace’ with India: President Zardari

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s president has said India failed to respond positively to peace overtures from Islamabad, after US President Barack Obama urged both countries to resolve their differences.

Pakistan’s civilian government “went out of the way in our peace overtures towards India,” President Asif Ali Zardari told a South Asia media conference in Islamabad, according to a statement from his spokesman late Sunday.

“It would have been most helpful if our initiatives had been welcomed and responded to in a positive manner.”

Zardari acknowledged that the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which killed 166 people and were blamed on Pakistan militants, “undermined efforts for peace”.

But he said: “Pakistan is cooperating in unearthing and bringing to justice the perpetrators of militant acts.”

On the second day of a visit to India, Obama ventured into the

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