‘Israel to help India against Pakistan’

An Israeli website suggests that Tel Aviv might help India carry out covert operations inside Pakistan in retaliation for the Mumbai attacks.

India has asked for Israeli assistance in cross-border attacks against “Islamist terrorists” inside Pakistan, reported Debka which is believed to have ties with intelligence and military sources.

‘US raids to Pakistan and Syria last minute shame for Bush’

Raids on Pakistan and Syria have further damaged US standing in the final days of the Bush administration, says an Iranian official.

An aide to Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hamid Molana, said Sunday that cross-boarder attacks on Syria and Pakistan is in no way improving Washington’s image in the world.
“The Bush administration is deeply mistaken if it thinks that raiding countries can bring last minute glory to the Republican Party,” asserted Molana. He said that Washington’s unilateral air strikes on Syria and Pakistan are ‘Bush administration charades’ aimed at diverting attention from the perpetuating economic crisis

Fight against terrorism a long struggle

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari said fight against terrorism is a long struggle with complex challenges requiring a multi?pronged approach combining political, military and development tracks. In an interview with a foreign newspaper Saudi Gazette, he said, “Our view is recognized by our partners. The forum of Friends of Democratic Pakistan is a response of the international community to support Pakistan in meeting these formidable challenges.” In order to effectively fight terrorism, he said, a special joint meeting of parliament was convened recently, which adopted unanimously a 14?point resolution on the issue bringing the nation together. “We have also made it clear that incursions inside Pakistani territory by foreign forces is not acceptable. It only undermines the fight against militancy,” he added.

President Zardari to visit Saudi Arabia to boost trade, investment

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari will leave for Saudi Arabia Tuesday for holding wide ranging talks with Saudi leadership aimed at expanding trade and economic ties and seeking Saudi support in helping the country confront its financial challenges. President Zardari’s visit to Saudi Arabia is taking place at a time when Pakistan is in the midst of a serious economic crisis. He will try to seek Saudi Arabia’a assistance for the deferred oil facility to help the country deal with the balance of payments crisis. The President will visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from November 4, his first since assuming his office on September 9. He earlier accompanied Prime Minster Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani in June early this year.

U.S. missile strikes kills 30 in Pakistan

In Islamabad, Pakistan, at least 30 people were killed in suspected U.S. missile strikes in northwest Pakistan, according to military officials this Friday. The first strike performed by drones was carried out near the village of Mirali, North Waziristan, killing several people including al Qaeda operative Abu Kasha.

The India-Pakistan-Afghanistan Puzzle

India has restored full diplomatic relations, and has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development. But Pakistan views India’s growing influence in Afghanistan as a threat to its own interests in the region. Experts fear for Afghanistan’s stability as India and Pakistan compete for influence in the war-torn country.

Human rights & peace in the middle east – Arabism & radical Islam discrimination on the “other”

Human rights & peace in the middle east – Arabism & Islam discrimination on the “other”
[Analysis] Peace will prevail when economic, social and cultural rights are granted to all … The Middle East… conflicts…  For example:

* the Israel and [so called] “Occupied Territories” (Palestine) issue

* the conflict between Hamas and the Fatah; the Iraq conflict

* the conflict in Afghanistan

* conflicts within Saudi Arabia

* the security concerns, especially the nuclear threat, that Ahmadinajad’s Iran poses

NO Arab university among the top 400 in the world

The failure of Arab universities to make it to the Best 400 list is indeed a source of frustration for a region that pins big hopes on the potential contributions of higher education to national development. A glimmer of hope amid the university gloom

The publication of the THES-QS World University Rankings for 2008 brings unhappy news for aspiring institutions of higher education in many regions, including the Arab world. According to the rankings, not one Arab university is among the top 400 in the world. The THES-QS report comes on the heels of the Academic Ranking of World Universities compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Institute of Higher Education, which offers an equally dismal assessment of Arab universities against global benchmarks.

UN wants world nuclear disarmament

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged nuclear powers to dismantle their atomic arsenals in line with the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“Nuclear weapons produce horrific, indiscriminate effects. Even when not used, they pose great risks,” said Ban in a Friday conference at the East-West Institute. “Accidents could happen any time. The manufacture of nuclear weapons can harm public health and the environment,” he added. Nuclear-armed states, which include the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China, have yet to fulfill their NPT obligations and abolish their warhead arsenals.

Taliban condition to split from Al-Qaeda

As leaked by Saudi newspaper Al-Watan:
Former Taliban foreign minister Ahmad Mutawakkil told the newspaper that the only condition for Taliban to end its cooperation with Al-Qaeda is the withdrawal of the foreign forces from Afghanistan and to be replaced by Islamic forces. According to Islammemo, this western call for talks with Taliban is a plot to: – Attempt to buy time. – Calm the situation and reduce Taliban’s fast and powerful attacks. – Create a split among the movement as it happened in Somalia. Conclusion:
- NATO forces are in a difficult situation.
- The American military equation has failed.