Transition is Underway in Afghanistan: Obama

Daily
Vol No 01, Issue 151, Wednesday May 29, 2013 – Jawza 08, 1392
EU Foreign Ministers
Extend EUPOL Mission
in Afghanistan
Page 2
Samantha Stosur
Beats Kimiko
Date-Krumm at
French Open
Page 3
Fight Without NATO
Page 4
The Deepening
Dilemma Over Syria
Page 5
India Promises
Supporting Afghanistan
In All Sectors
Page 6
White House
Security Adviser
Calls for Deeper
China Military Ties
Page 7
Transition is
Underway in
Afghanistan:
Obama
55.85
71.72
54.65
70.52
www.theafghanistanexpress.com
WASHINGTON - Expressing satisfaction over the security transition, US President
Barack Obama on Sunday said, next year would mark the final Memorial Day for
the country in Afghanistan. “Today, a transition is underway in Afghanistan, and
our troops are coming home. Fewer Americans are making the ultimate sacrifice
in Afghanistan, and that’s progress for which we are profoundly grateful. And this
time next year, we will mark the final Memorial Day of our war in Afghanistan,”
Obama said in his address to the nation on the occasion of Memorial Day.
“And so, as I said last week, America stands at a crossroads. But even as we turn
the page on a decade of conflict, even as we look forward, let us never forget, as
we gather here today, that our nation is still at war,” he said. In his address, Obama
referred to a letter he received from a Naval officer, a reservist who had just
returned from a deployment to Afghanistan. “And he wrote me, “I’m concerned
that our work in Afghanistan is fading from memory.”...
(see page 2)
Bishkek Summit
Discusses Post-2014 Afghanistan
Afghan Forces Need Air Support
from Foreign Troops: Senators
KABUL - Defence ministers
from the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO)
discussed in Bishkek, the
capital of Kyrgyzstan, “the
possible catastrophe that
could happen in Afghanistan
after withdrawal of the
NATO-led forces,” reports
said on Tuesday. Asia-Plus
– Russian news website
Russkaya Planeta (Russian
Planet) reported that the
Monday’s meeting discussed military threat, intensification of drug trafficking
and illegal migration.
Speaking at the meeting, Kyrgyz defense minister and current CSTO chairman,
Taalaybek Omuraliyev, said he would seek to raise the...
(see page 2)
KABUL - A number of Afghan
Senators on Tuesday said that
terror activities by the Taliban
have increased due to lack of
air support from the foreign
and Afghan security forces. The
Afghan Senators have asked
President Karzai to let the
foreign forces provide full air
support to the Afghan security
forces during operations.
The Senators believe that
Afghan security forces need to
seriously think about building a strong air force with the assistance of the foreign
forces. This will stop the increase of terror activities in all parts of Afghanistan.
The Senators criticized the decision of stopping air attacks by the foreign forces
in the country. "Taliban activities have increased...
(see page 2)
Protesting Students
Want Suspended Lecturers Reinstated
KABUL (PAN): Nearly 1,000 Kabul
University students on Tuesday
protested against the removal of the
social science department head and
a lecturer by the Ministry of Higher
Education. The students gathered in
front of the Kabul University around
9am and then began their march
toward the parliament building,
where they asked the higher
education ministry to reverse its
decision. They warned of continued
protests if their demand was not
considered. The student rally comes a day after lawmakers and ministers visited dozens
of students of the same faculty observing a hunger strike since last week.
The ethnic Hazara students ended their eight-day hunger strike after their demands
including the removal of the social science faculty head,...
(see page 2)
Regional
Pakistan Anti-Graft
Agency Head Sacked,
Slowing Accountability
Islamabad - Pakistan's Supreme Court
sacked the head of the state-run anticorruption agency on Tuesday because
of his faulty selection, officials said, a
move likely to slow down an already
shoddy accountability process. The
leader of the opposition filed a petition
against Fasih Bokhari's appointment as
chairman of the National Accountability
Bureau (NAB) in October 2011, saying
he had not been consulted as required by
law.
The Supreme Court ruled that Bokhari's
selection was in violation of the constitution. "The chairman is not happy with
the Supreme Court's decision, but he has
accepted it and is going home," a NAB
official said, requesting anonymity. The
sacking may slow down the accountability process, given that a new government
that emerged from a May 11 election
will have to be sworn in and fresh consultations held between the government
and the opposition before a new NAB
chairman can be appointed.
"As per the law, NAB cannot take decisions on any pending cases unless
the chairman signs off on them," said
Ahmed Safdar, a bureau spokesperson.
"For all practical purposes then, we can't
move forward on any cases until we have
a new head, which will take some time."
The agency is investigating several
high-profile cases, including charges
against former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on suspicion of receiving
kickbacks in power projects and three
accusations of graft against Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif. Both men deny
any wrongdoing. (Reuters)
CSTO Opposes Military
Solution to Iran's Nuclear Issue
Bishkek - Members states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
said here Monday that it is unacceptable
to solve the Iranian nuclear program by
military means. In a joint statement issued after their meeting in Bishkek, CSTO
foreign ministers expressed concern over
the growing tensions around Iran, saying
it is unacceptable to use military means to
solve the nuclear issue.
CSTO members warned that developments on the confrontational scenario not
only threatens the general instability in the
Middle East and North Africa, but may
also produce unpredictable consequences
for the international community. They
called for the most responsible approach
and restraint, and the implementation of
the relevant resolutions of the UN Security
Council on Iran.
The statement also expressed opposition
to the imposition of unilateral sanctions
against Iran that go beyond the relevant
UN Security Council resolutions, calling
them counterproductive. The Collective
Security Treaty Organization, an intergovernmental military alliance, currently
consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. The
CSTO employs a "rotating presidency"
system in which the country leading the
CSTO alternates every year. Kyrgyzstan
currently has the CSTO presidency.
(Xinhua)
WHO Suspends Polio Drive in
Pakistani City after Shooting
Islamabad - The World Health Organisation suspended its polio eradication campaign in a Pakistani city on Tuesday after
two young workers were shot as they administered drops, the latest attack aimed
at the U.N.-backed operation. The victims
of the shooting in the violence-plagued
northwestern city of Peshawar were aged
18 and 20. Police said both had died, but
medical sources said one had died and one
was seriously wounded.
No group claimed responsibility for the
attack, though many Islamists, including Taliban militants, have long opposed
the campaign, convinced that the antipolio drive is a Western plot to sterilize
Muslims. The United Nations in Pakistan
pulled all staff involved in the campaign
off the streets last December. Immunization continued in some areas without U.N.
support although many workers refused to
go out.
"They were administering polio drops
when they were attacked," police officer
Siraj Ahmed said. WHO spokesperson
Maryam Younas said the organisation was
temporarily suspending its polio vaccination drive in Peshawar. "Operations will
remain suspended in Peshawar until the
security situation returns to normal," she
said.
The latest violence has raised fresh questions over stability in the South Asian nation. Critics say the attacks on the health
workers are a prime example of the government's failure to formulate a decisive
policy on tackling militancy, despite pressure from key ally the United States, the
source of billions of dollars in aid. Polio
crippled thousands of people every year
in rich nations until the 1950s. As a result
of vaccination, it is now only endemic in
three countries - Nigeria, Afghanistan and
Pakistan. (Reuters)
Iranian Presidential Candidate
Says to Enhance Iran's Ties
with World
Tehran - The Iranian presidential candidate said on Tuesday that he will seek to
enhance Iran's relations with the world, in
case of wining the upcoming presidential
election, slated for June 14. It is important for Iran to have better relations with
its neighboring countries as well as those
countries which are not neighbors, AliAkbar Velayati told Xinhua.
"One of the most important priorities in
my foreign policy, if I could be the president of this country, is the improvement
of all relations with the entire world," said
Velayati, the former Iranian foreign minister. "If it is so, I can say that, this sanction
and embargo against Iran would be weakened," said Velayati. Velayati noted that
enhancing relations with other countries,
" specifically those who are the members
of P5+1 group" is his " basic policy" as
far as Iran's foreign affairs are concerned.
'P5+1 group' includes five permanent
members of the UN Security Council plus
Germany. Earlier in the day, Velayati also
said that it would be possible to fix the
Islamic republic's economic problems by
reforming the country's foreign policy,
Press TV reported. "The issue of foreign affairs and the domestic economy
are closely tied," he was quoted by Press
TV as saying.Iran's Guardian Council of
Constitution has announced the names
of eight eligible candidates for the presidential election slated for June 14. On
Tuesday, Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa
Mohammad-Najjar announced that nearly
50.5 million Iranians are eligible to vote
in the upcoming presidential election, according to Press TV.According to the Iranian minister, there will be 130,000 ballot
boxes for the Iranians inside the country
to vote and 285 polling stations will be
available abroad for Iranian expatriates to
take part in the election. (Xinhua)
The Afghanistan Express
Vol No 01, Issue 151, Wednesday May 29, 2013 –
Jawza 08, 1392
National
EU Foreign Ministers
Extend EUPOL Mission
in Afghanistan
KABUL - European Union foreign ministers Monday
extended the European Police Mission in Afghanistan
(EUPOL) until 31 December 2014, the date set for the
withdrawal of NATO combat troops in the country.
According to a statement released by EU, a budget of
€ 108 million was allocated for the operation, from
June 1 until the end of 2014, the mission for “create, under Afghan ownership, permanent and efficient
police force.”
Eupol is operating under the supervision of Swedish
police commissioner Karl Ake Roghi and is based in
capital Kabul with 350 Europeans, including many
experienced officers and 200 local staff. It started its
operation in Afghanistan in 2007, and is mainly focusing on civilian capacity building and boosting cooperation between Afghan national police with the judiciary systems. Around 23 European Union countries
including Croatia and Canada which are not members
of of EU have deployed their citizens to operate in
Eupol. EU foreign ministers gave assurances Monday
that the EU “will continue to support Afghanistan’s
development in the coming years, including the rule
of law.” In the meantime Afghan officials urged to
extend Eupol mission in Afghanistan beyond 2014,
considering the capabilities of Afghan national police
and increased Taliban attacks. (Khaama press)
sponsibility in a text message from spokesman Qari
Yousuf Ahmadi.
"An infiltrated Taliban killed 12 policemen including
a commander. He brought a police vehicle, weapons and ammunition to Taliban," Ahmadi said. The
militants routinely exaggerate casualty numbers and
often provide misleading i nformation about their attacks. They have stepped up attacks in recent weeks
after a traditional winter lull in fighting.
Nine government soldiers were killed during separate attacks around the country on Tuesday, including five in the remote northeast province of Badakhshan and two in Kandahar. In other attacks, at least
three policemen were killed by a roadside bomb,
also in Kandahar, and another bomb killed four
bodyguards of the head of a private communication
company in the central province of Parwan. Concern
is mounting over how the 352,000 members of Afghanistan's security forces will cope after most foreign NATO-led combat troops leave by the end of
next year. (Reuters)
WFP to Deliver Saudi-Gifted
Dates to Poor Afghans
KABUL - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Monday handed over 85 metric tonnes of dried dates to
Word Food Programme (WFP) officials in Kabul to
be given in donation to poor Afghan families during
the month of Ramadan. A WFP press release said the
dates were received at a ceremony attended by Mohammad Al Haqbani, Senior Officer of International
Relations at the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, and Louis Imbleau, WFP Representative and Country Director for Afghanistan.
“WFP is our strongest partner, and we trust them,”
said Al Haqbani. “Whenever we give WFP food to
be distributed to needy people around the world, it’s
as if we are distributing it ourselves.” The dates are
already pre-positioned in WFP’s Kabul and Kandahar warehouses and will soon be distributed to over
35,000 students in Kabul, Panjshir and Kandahar
provinces, the press release said.
“This is a wonderful gesture by the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia,” said Imbleau. “As the holy month of
Ramadan approaches, Muslim families around the
world are preparing for its rich traditions. Thousands
of needy children and families will benefit from this
contribution.” (PAN)
Major Operation against
Insurgents Sought in Panjwai
KANDAHAR - Nearly 1000 heavily armed militants,
including Pakistanis, have been attacking police and
members of public uprising groups in various areas
of the Panjwai district in southern Helmand province, an official said on Tuesday. So far a dozen insurgents have been killed and five others detained
during clashes with police after the rebels launched
a series of attacks against them in the Zangabad area,
Panjwai administrative head, Hajji Fazal Mohammad
Ishaqzai, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Two policemen were also wounded during the clashes, he said, claiming increase in insurgent activities
after religious schools in Pakistan were closed for
summer vacations. Ishaqzai said the insurgent attacks
were planned by the Taliban Quetta Shura that had ordered religious schools in Pakistan closed for suicide
attacks in Afghanistan.
He said insurgents were attacking security forces and
public uprising members in Talokan, Moshan and
Sperwan and Zangabad areas. He said 150 families
in the Sperwan area had left their homes after the
Taliban warned them to do so. The Panjwai district
chief urged the central government to launch a massive military operation against the insurgents. (PAN)
A Tonne of Drugs,
Alcoholic Beverages Torched
SHIBERGHAN - Nearly a tonne of seized drugs and
alcoholic beverages were destroyed in northern Jawzjan province, where poppy cultivation has been zero
over the past decade, police said on Tuesday. The narcotics and the banned drinks which had been confiscated during a series of operations were set alight on
Tuesday in Shiberghan, the provincial capital, police
chief Brig. Gen. Abdul Aziz Ghairat told Pajhwok Afghan News.
He said 92 people had been arrested in connection
with the stuff that included 676 kilograms of opium,
21 kg of opium paste, 857 grams of heroin, 55 kilograms of hashish, 1118 kilograms of alcoholic beverages and 1152 small packets of beer. Anti-drug officials say there has been zero poppy cultivation in
Jawzjan since 2003 and the drugs burnt had been
smuggled to the province from outside. A month ago,
about four tonnes of drugs were seized from smugglers arrested during various operations in Takhar and
Baghlan provinces. (PAN)
5 AWCC Guards Killed in Kabul
Bomb Attack
KABUL - The Afghan Wireless Communication
Company (AWCC) chairman survived a roadside
bomb explosion that killed his five bodyguards in the
Qarah Bagh district of central Kabul province, police
said on Tuesday. Amin Ramin, the AWCC chairman,
was travelling in the Mashino area late on Monday
night when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb, killing
his five guards and injuring three others, Brig. Gen.
Abdur Rahman Sarjang, the police chief of neighbouring Parwan province. Ramin survived, he said.
Parwan public health director Mohammad Qasim
Sayedi said AWCC guards wounded in the blast
were first taken to the civil hospital in Parwan, but
Transition is Underway...
And he went on to ask that we do more to keep
this conflict “alive and focused in the hearts and
minds of our own people.” And he’s right,” he said.
“As we gather here today, at this very moment,
more than 60,000 of our fellow Americans still
serve far from home in Afghanistan. They’re still
going out on patrol, still living in spartan forward
operating bases, still risking their lives to carry
out their mission. And when they give their lives,
they are still being laid to rest in cemeteries in the
quiet corners across our country, including here
in Arlington,” he said. Meanwhile, in a message,
the Afghan Ambassador to the US, Eklil Hakimi,
expressed his sincere appreciation to the American
and International service men and women who
have contributed to the security and development
of Afghanistan over the last decade. “The American
and Afghan people have sacrificed much in pursuit
of our mutual interests, and the world is safer for it.
Thanks to Afghanistan's strong partnership with the
United States, real and lasting progress has occurred,
and the Afghan people are ready to continue to build
upon those achievements,” he said. “Once again,
on behalf of the Afghan people, I thank men and
women of the United Stated Armed Services for
their contribution and sacrifice. Afghanistan will
continue to support you as a strategic partner and
ally,” Hakimi said. (PAN)
Bishkek Summit...
Afghan Police Defectors
Return to Fold, Kill Seven Colleagues
KABUL - Two Afghan police officers who had recently rejoined the force after defecting to the Taliban, shot dead seven of their sleeping colleagues on
Tuesday, a police chief said. The killings came during a particularly bloody 24 hours for Afghan forces,
with another 16 soldiers, police and bodyguards
killed in different attacks, underscoring concern
about government forces as foreign troops prepare
to leave.
Kandahar Afghan National Police chief Abdul Raziq
said the two police officers had defected to the Taliban months ago but returned several days ago asking
to rejoin. They were accepted back. "As soon as the
policemen fell asleep, the pair grabbed weapons and
opened fire, killing all seven," Raziq said.
The attack occurred in the early hours in the Arghistan district of the southern province of Kandahar. A hunt was on to find the pair, Raziq said, adding
that he suspected they have again joined the Taliban.
The Taliban, fighting to expel Western forces and
establish Islamist rule in Afghanistan, claimed re-
2
later shifted to the Sardar Mohammad Daud hospital
in Kabul. In a similar incident, a civilian was killed
on Monday afternoon in Gulran district of western
Herat province, the governor’s spokesman Moheeuddin Noori said.
The blast targeted the vehicle of Gulran district chief,
Mujib Rahman Obaidi, but he escaped unhurt, he
said. Khalid, an eyewitness, said a police officer was
killed in the incident. Later an angry mob attacked
the vehicle of Obaidi and set it on fire. Obaid confirmed his vehicle was torched by residents, but rejected a police officer had been killed in the incident.
(PAN)
CSTO's military potential ahead of the NATO
pullout from Afghanistan. Defense ministers from
CSTO member nations signed agreements on joint
combat training and a list of military weapons
required by the group. Also on Monday, a meeting
of the committee of national security secretaries was
also held in Bishkek and its participants discussed
issues of regional concern, including cybercime.
They also discussed the fight against extremism.
The informal CSTO summit in Bishkek was also
attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who
said he expected urgent issues, such as Afghanistan
to be discussed at the gathering. Kyrgyzstan's
presidential office announced earlier on Tuesday
that the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, and Tajikistan will discuss the situation in
Afghanistan as US-led international forces prepare
to withdraw in 2014. Meanwhile, Russian experts
noted that the current situation in Afghanistan is
not easy “Americans do not have certain plans on
securing the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan
and they do not know what will happen after that,”
Vladimir Zharikhin, the deputy director of the
Russian Institute of CIS Countries, was quoted as
saying by Russkaya Planeta. According to him, after
the withdrawal of NATO-led troops, the situation
in Afghanistan will be chaotic and this will affect,
first of all, the Central Asian nations bordering on
Afghanistan. (PAN)
Afghan Forces Need...
in the Badghis and Faryab provinces. The Afghan
security forces want to launch air operations but due
to lack of proper infrastructure within the air force,
they aren't able to do it. According to the President's
order, Afghan security forces cannot seek help from
the foreign forces," Senate House Secretary, Sayed
Farokh Shah Jinab said."Afghan security forces
needs air support but President Karzai has stopped
it. This support should resume as soon as possible,"
Senator Hidayatullah Rihaee said. Meanwhile, some
of the Senators accused Pakistan of infiltration,
saying that Pakistan is planning to worsen the
security situation of Afghanistan. According to
the Senators, conducting the elections peacefully
and in a transparent manner is next to impossible
if the security situation is not improved."Pakistan
directly intervenes into the internal matters of
Afghanistan and tries to keep its influence and make
the country insecure. A solution must be found out
for this problem," Senator Gul Ahmad Azami said.
Afghan Senators added that the Government has
failed to develop a mechanism providing security
and stability to the citizens of the country. It is
very important that the Government takes a strong
stand against Taliban and other opposition groups.
(Tolonews)
Protesting Students...
Abdullah Farooq, and lecturer Faisal Amin, were
endorsed. The hunger strikers said they were subjected
to harassment and prejudicial grading by university
staff. They also called for the replacement of outdated
teaching materials, a new library, and reliable Internet
connections.
Higher education minister Obaidullah Obaid suspended
the faculty's dean and the lecturer in response to the
protesters' demands. But a parliamentary commission
said a day after it had reviewed university documents
and found the students' claims of unfair grading were
false. The hunger strike was called off after Obaid, Dr.
Rangin Dadfar Spanta, advisor to president on national
security, Naimatullah Shahrani, another presidential
advisor held talks with the protesting students. The
officials brought with them documents showing the
two lecturers had been suspended.To condemn the
suspension orders, more than one thousand students
staged a protest, asking the higher education ministry
to cancel the orders with immediate effect, saying
the decision was not acceptable to them and the two
lecturers should continue their job.“The president
has issued the orders to please some groups around
him and he took the decision under pressure from
these groups and he should reverse his decision,” a
protesting student, Mursal, said.The students chanted
slogans like “we want justice” and “we are against
discrimination” and the “new presidential decision is
unacceptable.”Later, nearly 100 lecturers joined the
protesters, saying they were against all sorts of racism,
linguistic and sectarian differences on the campus.“We
want educational justice in Afghanistan. We support
education free of any kind of racism and differences
about languages and sects and we are against
interference in educational affairs from outside,” one
of the female lectures, Aneesa Mahmud Omar, said.
The lecturers asked the parliament to respond to
their demands, otherwise they would continue their
protests and would boycott attending classes.Some
lawmakers who visited the protesting students and
lecturers promised to convoy their demands to the
president.The suspended social sciences faculty dean,
Farooq, rejected all allegations against him as part of
a conspiracy against some lecturers.“We, the lecturers
of Kabul University, call for damage suit against
people who accused us of immoral behavior and
discrimination,” he said. The embattled professor said
those involved in leveling false accusations against
lecturers should be expelled from the university and
those who provoked students for the protest should
be punished. Another removed lecturer, Amin, who
the protesting students accused of moral corruption,
said he would defend himself against the allegations,
saying his removal was a one-sided decision.
3
Vol No 01, Issue 151, Wednesday May 29, 2013 –
Jawza 08, 1392
Hope
India
Qualifies
for 2022
FIFA
World Cup:
Samantha
Stosur Beats
Kimiko
Date-Krumm
at French
Open
Tendulkar
Cricket great Sachin Tendulkar Tuesday said he hoped the Indian football
team would qualify for the 2022 FIFA
World Cup to be held in Qatar.
Tendulkar gave an inspirational speech
at the presentation ceremony of the final of the Coca-Cola Cup, a national
under-15 sub-junior football tournament, which Meghalaya won 1-0
against Odisha at the Father Agnel
School ground here.
"I know in 2022 there is something really big happening for Indian football.
I hope India qualifies for that World
Cup. That is something that should be
your target and your senior players will
guide you. Just follow their steps and
chase your dreams," Tendulkar told the
young footballers during the presentation.
The Mumbaikar said the key to being
successful in sports was to follow one's
dream and be passionate about it.
"A simple advice I can give you is be
passionate about the sport. Fall madly
in love with the sport and that will allow you to work harder. Have dreams
and chase them. Dreams will come
true," said the batting legend.
Tendulkar, who Sunday retired from
the Indian Premier League (IPL) after
the Mumbai Indians victory, thanked
the fans for supporting him throughout
his career.
"I was madly in love with cricket. I am
still madly in love with cricket. Also the
support and love I have received from
all the people has been my strength. It
has allowed me to move out and give
my best. The right platform was set for
me to go out and perform. A big thank
you to all the people who have supported me for the last 23 years," he said.
Tendulkar praised the organisers of the
tournament and said more grassroot
initiatives such as this were the need of
the hour for Indian sports.
"I keenly look forward to many of the
youngsters seizing this opportunity
and showcasing their talent and skills.
Emerging sports persons in the country
require similar grassroot initiatives and
competitive platforms to unlock and
realise their true potential," he added.
IHC Stops Zaka Ashraf from
Working as PCB Chairman
Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday stopped Zaka Ashraf from working as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)
Chairman and has issued notices to
the concerned parties seeking a reply
within a week, Geo News reported.
IHC Justice Shaukat Siddiqui was
hearing a petition filed by the Army
cricket team’s former coach, Major
(retired) Ahmad Nadeem Suddle. The
petitioner has pleaded, that the election of Zaka Ashraf as PCB chairman
was malafide and the Board constituted for election was illegal because
it had no representation from Punjab.
The petitioner, therefore, prayed that
fresh election of PCB chairman be ordered and all former cricketers should
Cavani Coy on
Chelsea and City Bid Talk
Edinson Cavani insists he is focused on playing for Napoli, amid the latest round of speculation linking him
with Manchester City and Chelsea.
Cavani, 26, is widely believed to be set for a big-money
transfer away from Serie A this summer, with the likes
of Real Madrid, Chelsea and City reportedly interested.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has revealed his
club have opened talks with City over the signing of the
striker, while the player's father has said his son's future
could lie in Spain.
However, Cavani has since stated that he is not paying
attention to any of the transfer talk, and that he is happy
in Italy.
"Real Madrid, Chelsea and [Manchester] City are interested in me? I just think about Napoli," he told Ovacion
Digital. "If an important offer were to come in, I will
talk with president De Laurentiis.
"I'm fine in Italy, I have grown as a man there and as a
player with the Serie A experience."
be allowed to participate in this fresh
election.
Secretary Sports, Pakistan sports
Board, Ministry of Inter Provincial
Coordination and PCB chairman have
been made respondents in the petition.
you cannot replicate the same conditions on the range as you can on a links
course, especially with a scorecard in
your pocket and a hugely important
title on the line. "The Aberdeen Asset
Management Scottish Open ticks all
of those boxes. We have a great venue
at Castle Stuart which provides a good
test of links golf that demands all of the
shots you need to compete at any Open
Championship venue.
"We will also have a very strong field
so the level of competition is extremely
high. If you can get into contention on
Sunday at the Scottish Open then you
are going to take a lot of confidence
into the next week."
Florentino Perez claims Real Madrid have no intention
of selling Manchester United target Cristiano Ronaldo
in the summer. The Spanish giants' president revealed
the La Liga side are preparing a lucrative deal to keep
the Portuguese international at Santiago Bernabeu, as
they are planning to build the future team around him.
"I do not know if he has an offer from PSG. He told
me last summer that he was sad and I told him that we
would do everything possible for him to be happy. He
had a bad moment but it is over now. Since then, his
behaviour has been spectacular - Cristiano has been an
example and has not had problems with anyone," Perez explained. "He is the best in the world; we want to
build the future Madrid around
him. I would like him to be the
best-paid player in the world,"
he said.
Earlier, reports suggested the
Premier League champions are
keen on re-signing Ronaldo in
the summer. The 28-year-old
completed a £80m move to Real
in the summer of 2009 and has
two years left on his current deal
with the Spanish outfit.
However, given Perez's latest
remarks, it is unlikely that United will bring their former star
player to Old Tarfford.
Meanwhile, Real president also
revealed the club were close to
signing Neymar three years ago.
However, the Brazilian international agreed to join their league
rivals Barcelona earlier this
month. Perez claims should the
Spanish capital club would have
Tiger
Woods
to
Return to Turkey
for European Event
Tiger Woods is returning to Turkey in November to
play a European Tour event, this time over 72 holes
of stroke play.
Organizers of the Turkish Airlines Open said Monday the No. 1 player in the world will be part of the
77-man field during the Nov. 7-10 tournament at the
Maxx Royal course. Woods played in Turkey last
year when it was an unofficial event of medal-match
play. He lost in the semifinals to Justin Rose, who
went on to win.
The Turkish event will be the third of four straight
tournaments culminating with the European Tour finale in Dubai. It will have a $7 million purse.
Chubby Chandler of International Sports Management, who is promoting the tournament, said it was
important to have Woods at the stop.
"We almost based the date around which week he
could play, and this week suited the European Tour
and Tiger Woods," Chandler told PA Sport in London. Many of the other "names in the field will not
be familiar to Turkish fans, but Tiger Woods is. To
have the world No. 1 there, it always makes it special if a European Tour player can win with Tiger
in the field."
It will be the second European Tour event Woods
plays. He missed the cut in Abu Dhabi to start the
European Tour season. The Turkish Airlines Open
is held the same week as the McGladrey Classic
at Sea Island on the PGA Tour, which Woods has
never played.
Turkish officials hope that having Woods at the
tournament will boost Turkey's bid to host the 2020
Olympics.
Kobayashi Tests
Ferrari F1 Car
Cavani enjoyed a stunning 2012-13 season, hitting 36
goals in all competitions for his club.
approached Santos to sign their star player; they would
have ended up spending big to land him. "Three years
ago there was a possibility of signing (Neymar) and we
wanted to take advantage of it, but then (Santos) did not
let him leave and he signed a new contract. He seems
a magnificent player to me and I would have signed
him if the conditions would not have altered the club's
'ecosystem'," Real president said. "We had to negotiate
with the club, the father, an investment fund that had
40% of the rights. For us it would have cost more than
€150 million. I do not know how much Barca paid,"
Perez concluded.
F1 refugee Kamui Kobayashi received the first perk
of his GT relationship with Ferrari, when he got to
sample one of the Scuderia's F1 cars at Fiorano on
Monday (27 May).
The Japanese ace, who lost his place in the top flight
when Sauber opted for the all-new line-up of Nico
Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez for 2013, got
his hands on the F10 with which Ferrari competed
in the world championship three years ago, and it
didn't take long for him to get to grips with the car
in what was a preparatory test for his appearance in
the Moscow City Racing event over the weekend
of 21 July.
“The first feeling was one of great happiness,” Kobayashi commented after the short run, “I raced
against this car and knew how quick it was, so it
was very important to get some experience of it.
“Last year's race in Brazil was the last time I drove
an F1 car and, now I am racing in the WEC in a 458
GT, the impressions are completely different. But
it wasn't hard to re-adapt because, in the past, I've
driven all sorts of cars and I'm used to change.
“It will be very nice to drive an F1 car again at this
event in Moscow and for me it will be a double debut: the first time at the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car in
an event and my first visit to the city.”
Pirro Gets Second
Ducati Outing
Qatar 2022 Appoints Two Stadium
Operations Consultants
Play Gets Started at
Roland Garros After Rain
Play finally got underway at the French
Open after light rain delayed the start
of first-round action today with impatient spectators blocked from the
Roland Garros courts on yet another
gloomy Parisian day.
The sun made a brief appearance on
Monday as all matches went to completion, but the expected return of rain
forced organisers to delay the start of
play by more than one hour, with no tie
starting before 1330 local time today.
Rain is forecast during the afternoon,
with the temperature expected to barely reach 16 degrees Celsius.
Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, the 13th
seed, opened proceedings on Court
Philippe Chatrier against Belarussian
Olga Govortsova with world number
one Novak Djokovic scheduled next
against Belgium's David Goffin.
Samantha Stosur, the 2010
French Open runner-up, waited
2 and a half hours to play because of rain, then quickly won
her opening match at Roland
Garros.
The Australian swept the first
nine games and drubbed 42-yearold Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-0,
6-2.
The match was delayed at
the start on a 55-degree afternoon, and when the rain finally
stopped, Stosur was ready. Playing on cozy Court 1, nicknamed
the bullring, Stosur dominated
with her strong serve and pinpoint groundstrokes, repeatedly
skipping shots just inside the
lines.
Stosur's best showing at Roland Garros was three years
ago, when she lost in the final to
Francesca Schiavone. She won
the U.S. Open in 2011, but this
year has been hampered by a
right calf injury and has yet to
reach a semifinal.
Real Madrid President
Speaks on Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United Rumours
Harrington Makes
Castle Stuart Return
Two-time Open champion Padraig
Harrington will again bring his considerable experience in links golf to
Castle Stuart when the Aberdeen Asset
Management Scottish Open takes place
on July 11-14.
Harrington took part in the last two
editions of the tournament - finishing
tied 14th in 2011 and tied 16th in 2012
- and believes the event is the perfect
preparation for the Open Championship, which starts at Muirfield the following week.
"There is no substitute for competitive
play on a links course to prepare for
The Open," said Harrington.
"You can practise all day long, but
Sport
The Afghanistan Express
Spectators get a total refund if less an
hour is played, while 50 per cent of
ticket costs are reimbursed if play lasts
between one and two hours.
No reimbursement is made if at least
two hours of tennis are played.
The Roland Garros centre court will be
covered by a retractable roof by 2018.
The Australian Open and Wimbledon
both have a sliding roof over its main
showcourt.
The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, the organisers of
the 2022 Fifa World Cup, have appointed Amsterdam
Arena and global sports and media giant IMG as the
stadium operations consultants for the tournament.
The agencies will assist on the development of business
cases for all competition venues, including stadiums,
stadium precincts and training sites.
According to an official press release, this
will entail performing ‘technical reviews
for all competition venues at each individual design stage, assessing operational
aspects related to the 2022 Fifa World Cup
Qatar, including, catering and commercial
strategies; venue operations pre-tournament, during the tournament and posttournament; safety and security; pitch and
building maintenance; access zones; precinct functionality and operations; technology integration; overlay elements analysis
confirming tournament functionality and
sustainability.’
Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general for
the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, said:
“We are looking forward to working together closely with these two extremely
professional partners, who between them
have invaluable experience in stadium
operation in some of the most significant
sporting sites across the globe.”
Iain Barnett, vice president of IMG’s Stadium Group,
added: “IMG is honoured to have been selected to support the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee on its ambition for an amazing World Cup. We are delighted that
the perspective of stadium operators has been integrated at such an early stage of the development process
which is vital not only for successful delivery of the
tournament but also a sustainable legacy.”
Michele Pirro will get his second MotoGP wildcard
outing on Ducati's development bike this weekend
at Mugello.The factory rider made the first of three
such outings at Jerez in early May, where he finished 11th overall. He then stood in for the injured
Ben Spies in Ducati's satellite Pramac squad at Le
Mans, finishing just behind reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo in eighth.Pirro, whose final wildcard appearance will come at Misano in September,
said he hoped to move closer to the sharp end of the
field even if gathering data remains his priority.
"First of all, I'm very happy to be making my second
wildcard ride, and I'd like to thank Ducati for this
opportunity," Pirro said."At Le Mans I did my best
to adapt to the standard GP13, which I find quite
different from the development version that I'll be
going back to this weekend. "Mugello is close to
Ducati's offices, and we've done a lot of testing
there, so I'm ready for the race. "I hope to be able to
gather some good data for the team and to be closer
to the top guys with my lap times. It would be to
show that we're working in the right way with the
bike." Ducati appeared to make a step forward at Le
Mans, although both riders stressed that conditions
had played to the team's strengths.
Andrea Dovizioso started on the front row, led for
eight laps and eventually finished fourth, with teammate Nicky Hayden immediately down the road in
fifth.
The Afghanistan Express
Editorial
Opinion
The

A
bdul Malik and his fellow Afghan soldiers were
driving across the arid and volatile south when their
armoured personnel carrier struck a roadside bomb.
Malik found himself outside the vehicle, dazed but aware of
his three comrades nearby. One had a serious head wound.
Help came quickly: U.S. helicopters swooped in and took
them to the Afghan military hospital in Kandahar, the largest
in the region. Malik lost his leg below the knee. Without the
quick rescue, he would likely have lost his life. His three buddies all died.
"I could see his brains on the ground near me," Malik said.
As part of preparations for the final withdrawal of international
combat troops by the end of 2014, Afghanistan's security forces are being pressed into service — alone. This year's fighting
season is the first in 12 years of war that Afghan troops are
responsible for security in 90 per cent of the country.
But the Afghans are still heavily dependent on international
air support to ferry the wounded to hospitals and for gunships
to defend troops who are isolated and under attack.
With NATO and the U.S. military providing only advice and
assistance on request, the Afghans' battlefield performance
this year will decide how much equipment and training they
still need.
After 2014 the U.S. is expected to leave behind a residual
force of 8,000 to 10,000 troops, mostly as mentors and trainers. NATO is being asked to contribute several thousand as
well, but so far only Germany has promised 800 troops.
Some in the U.S. military see a steep learning curve ahead for
the 350,000 Afghan service personnel.
In eastern Nangarhar province where the U.S. 1st Brigade
Combat Team, 101st Airborne division, is advising the Afghan National Army, Lt. Col. Matthew Stader said Afghan
troops need advisory teams for intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance operations. They lack the drones used heavily by U.S. forces. Still, Stader said Afghan troops are doing their own patrols, clearing routes and removing roadside
bombs. "I think they are doing well, but it just looks different
than the Americans," said Stader, of Annapolis, Maryland.
Afghan forces can resupply themselves with food and fuel and
water but are still struggling with planning, logistics, equipment maintenance and contracting, Stader said, adding that
the brigade he is currently mentoring in eastern Afghanistan
needs at least another year of advising before it will be able to
operate independently. "For years we've created Afghan helplessness, so we as advisers have to reset that," he said, referring
A
to the years that NATO and the U.S. took the lead in fighting
and logistics, relegating their Afghan allies to a support role.
Yet Afghans are optimistic.
Sitting behind his oversized desk in a fortress-like compound
surrounded by reinforced concrete blast walls and protected
by four separate security gates, Gen. Abdul Raziq, southern
Kandahar province's police chief, has one of Afghanistan's
most dangerous jobs. Even so, he says he is looking forward to
the withdrawal of international forces. "NATO's leaving is a
positive thing because now we have our land and our authority
back," he said, reflecting the sensitive and often complicated
relationship between Afghan troops and their coalition partners. With frustrating regularity President Hamid Karzai has
outraged the U.S. military by referring to international troops
as occupiers or suggesting they were colluding with the Taliban
in order to justify staying longer in the country
Relations between Afghan security forces and international
troops have been equally tumultuous. The number of attacks
by Afghan police and soldiers opening fire on foreign soldiers
has sharply increased. Fearful that one of their own will do
the same, Afghan commanders have banned foreign trainers
from Afghan firing ranges where live bullets are used in target
practice.
But Raziq says his confidence comes from a better cut of
recruit entering the police and army, government-imposed
controls that have taken absolute power — which they often
abused — out of the hands of the security forces, and what
he says is waning support for the Taliban movement among
Afghans, particularly majority ethnic Pashtuns.
In the last five years Afghanistan's premier police training
academy in the Afghan capital has restarted its four-year
training program for officers. Courses like human rights and
ethics have been introduced into the curriculum. New police
recruits now have to have some education, unlike in the past
when most were illiterate. "Before 2007, 2008, our structure
was incomplete. Police had no controls. They could do anything. They thought they had unlimited power," Raziq said.
"But now there are constraints, restrictions. They have only
the power to arrest. The education level of recruits is also improving. In 2010 they were much better than in 2007, and in
2013 they are even better."
Raziq also said the Taliban are a different type of enemy today, relying heavily on roadside bombs and suicide attackers,
rather than the less deadly rocket launchers and short range
missiles. For the Afghan troops the battlefield has been a
harsh taskmaster so far this year. As of May 15, according
to statistics compiled by The Associated Press, 441 security
forces have died violently. That's more than twice the number
of security personnel killed during the same period last year.
Hundreds more have been wounded, losing limbs to bombs
and suffering debilitating injuries.
By contrast the number of U.S. and other foreign troops killed
in action between Jan. 1 and May 15 this year has dropped
dramatically to 58, compared with 153 in the same period last
year "Since the new year we have had too many casualties,"
says Gen. Said Asim, commander at the Afghan military
hospital in southern Kandahar. Asim said his 400-bed hospital treats all casualties of war, including civilians and even
suspected Taliban.
He stopped at a room just off the emergency ward where
19-year-old Hamidullah, a suspected Taliban fighter, was
handcuffed to the steel frame of his bed. Shot in the abdomen,
arms and legs, Hamidullah, who like many Afghans uses only
one name, said he was in his fields in Girisk district of volatile
Helmand province when a battle started between Taliban and
a joint force of Afghan and American soldiers. "I don't know
who shot me. There was firing all around," he said. When the
shooting stopped, his uncle brought him to Kandahar's main
Mirwais Hospital. He was transferred first to the U.S.-led
coalition hospital and later to the Afghan military hospital.
Hamidullah played with his wisp of facial hair as he told of
how his family has collected letters from district officials vouching for his identity as a farmer and not a Taliban fighter. "So
far no one has questioned me. I don't know who was fighting
but we have one compound of foreigners near our farm," he
said showing a 15-centimetre (6-inch) scar that ran the length
of his abdomen where Afghan doctors at the military hospital
had removed the bullet.
Raziq, the police chief, said talking to the Taliban is the only
way to end the war. "We have to talk to the Taliban. They are
our people and many feel they have no choice because once
you have raised your gun it is difficult to lay it back down and
so they keep fighting," he said. But some soldiers in the military hospital were confused by the concept of fighting while
talking. "I am a little disheartened at why we are talking and
still fighting," said Malik, the soldier who lost his leg. "We
should not be engaging with each other like that."
Kathy Gannon is AP Special Regional Correspondent for
Afghanistan and Pakistan and can be followed on www.twitter.com/kathygannon
A Charge Sheet

One
of my friends told this story so I would like to tell
it in his words using first person pronoun, “I used
to go to office in taxi. As my salary was limited, so I used to
take the public taxi or van of my route just like thousands of
the citizens of Kabul. Anyhow, this public taxi was mostly
not a good experience as there used to be many problems.
First, one had to wait for a taxi and usually it lasted from 5
minutes to half hour. Secondly, two passengers were made
seated on the front seat beside the driver. Like all the passengers, I felt very uncomfortable to sit in front so I used to
look for an empty seat in the rear. Sitting in rear was also not
a good experience as the drivers used to make three persons
sit and it was again a bit uncomfortable. But the most uncomfortable was when I used to arrive office in a public transport
and many a times, I felt that some of my colleagues used to
give out a faint smile as if they were making fun of all these.
Having a look at all these, I longed to buy a car or be able to
hire a private taxi to drive me to the office.
I continued my journey to and from the office in such circumstances. After some time, I got promotion and with this came
a considerable rise in my salary as well. Now I was included
among one of the officers and this public taxi did not suit my
status or designation in office. I saw that all my colleagues
either used their own cars or hired a private taxi to come and
leave the office. Every passing day made me feel that now
my status and designation demanded some kind of change in
my routine as well. So I checked my budget and with all the
sacrifices in some of my other expenses, I was able to spare
money for a private taxi. So every day, I used to come out of
the house, hired a taxi and arrived in office and did the same
in the evening. It instantly relieved me of the psychological
distress that I was using a public taxi and my colleague might
note and laugh at me. At the same time, it was comfortable
to sit all alone in the rear seat and enjoy the spacious seats.
However, the problem did not end here. When I used to
........
By: Mahmood Hassan Quraishi
travel by a public taxi or van, I used to sit among common
people, knew about their condition and felt their difficulties.
Every day, I used to come along with a new experience and
discovered something new about my fellow travelers. Most of
the times I used to be grateful and felt contented on my condition when I noticed that my circumstances were far better
than a lot many people.
I also felt sorry that I was on a right path and just the fear of
baseless criticism of others had made me quit the path and I
had not trusted my own good deeds and beliefs.
Then started another problem. It is the rule that when one
hires a taxi, the driver cannot make sit any other passenger in
the cab. But every day, the drivers used to start crying about
inflation, rise in gas prices and this and that and requested
me to make sit some passengers so that he should earn some
more and earn the bread for his family.
In the beginning, I used to ignore this but gradual persuasion
made me change my mind a bit. I put three conditions to
them; they could make a person sit in the taxi if they should
lessen the fare of passengers from my fare or they should take
half fare of passenger and half should be lessened from my
fare or if the conditions were not acceptable, they should take
a passenger absolutely free but it was very strange and sad
to discover that they always wanted each and everything to
themselves and never accepted any of the conditions. They
wanted they should make more passengers sit in the taxi and
should take all the fare for themselves. This was absolutely
unfair for me and I never allowed it and as a result, I was
never much liked by the taxi drivers.
There happened many strange and interesting observations
in this regard. Once I bought a can of Dew for myself and
also one for the taxi driver. Seeing that I was a man of his
choice, he asked my permission to make sit some passengers.
I was in good mood that day and so I permitted him to make
sit two passengers, one in front and one in the rear seat. Af-
........
Disclaimer:
Ahmad Yama, Isar
[email protected] All views expressed in opinions and other articles are solely
Shamsullah Shams
+93(0)797599998/+93(0)797599993
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of
Khwaja Masoom
+93(0) 788888206
the Afghanistan Express daily.
Zaki Daryabi
The Afghanistan Express only accepts responsibility of the
editorials.
Abdul Ahad Bahrami
The Afghanistan Express invites interested reporters and opinion
Khaliq Ebrahimi
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writers to contribute in writing and preparing reports for the
Hadi Daryabi, Samim and Samiullah +93(0) 786374759
Afghanistan Express.
Contact us: [email protected]
Chairman:
Editor-in-Chief:
News Advisor:
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Editor:
News Editor:
Design:




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

Print:
Address:
 Setara-e-Talash Printing Press 0796600009
 Lab-e Jar Square, Khair Khana Maina, KBL, Afghanistan
........
By: Kathy Gannon
This year's fighting season is testing ground for Afghan security forces without NATO help.
ccording to the reports, Iranian authorities have deported 1,500 Afghan youth
immigrants to pressurize their families to
leave the country. Herat immigration officials have
said that the children deported from Iran are aged
between 10 and 18 and many of them get separated
from their families that are living in Iran. Afghan
officials say that presently over two million Afghan
immigrants are living in Iran while only half of them
have documents.
During the last decade, forced deportation of Afghan refugees from Iran has been an unsolved issue between Iran and Afghanistan and the Iranian
authorities have periodically carried out mass deportation of Afghan immigrants. The deportations
have been considered as serious violation of human
rights and the unprotected immigrants. There are
agreements between governments of Afghanistan
and Iran as well as the United Nations to prevent
forced deportation of the refugees and help them
voluntarily return and resettle in Afghanistan.
But Iran is not always abiding by the agreements as
it has repeatedly attempted to deport the Afghan
refugees in the country in mass. Though the pace of
forced deportations of Afghan refugees has slowed
down in recent years, but still many Afghans are
deported or even get tortured or killed by Iranian
police and border guards. The plight of Afghan
refugees continues in Iran as there are reports about
more and more cases of violence and deportation of
the refugees by Iran’s police and border forces.
Recently, there have been reports that more than
eighty Afghan workers who attempted to cross to
Iran’s borders had been missing after they came
under fire from Iranian border guards. From about
300 who attempted to cross Iran’s border only 200
returned back safe and an uncertain number of them
were wounded or even killed. The reports sparked
protests against Iran in the western city of Herat.
Despite pledges by Afghan officials for probing the
reports, the issue remained uninvestigated.
As now there are reports about forced deportation of under-aged Afghans, the Foreign Affairs
Ministry and other relevant agencies should act
to clarify the issue and negotiate with the Iranian
authorities to end the sufferings of the Afghan refugees. Deporting children by Iran is against human
rights norms and the international laws which Iran
is obliged to abide by. Despite having signed the international convention for protecting children, Iran
has continued violating rights of Afghan immigrant
children in the country.
Afghanistan needs to pursue a coherent supportive
policy for the Afghan refugees around the world
particularly in neighboring Iran and Pakistan. Neglecting the harrowing situation of Afghan refugees
in other countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Syria,
Greece, and Malaysia-Indonesia will only make the
situation even worse.
Afghan refugees have suffered unabatedly during
past years and, of course, there would no end to
their suffering in near future. As the citizens of
Afghanistan, the refugees and asylum seekers are
exposed to dangers and violation of their rights in
the routes to their target countries. Such a protective policy by the government of Afghanistan would
help protect the rights of Afghan immigrants in
neighboring and other countries.
.theafghanistanexpress.com
4
Fight Without NATO
Harrowing
Situation of
Afghan
Refugees
Daily
Vol No 01, Issue 151, Wednesday May 29, 2013 –
Jawza 08, 1392
........
ter he had made seated the two passengers, he gave out a
silly smile and asked for permission to make sit one more
passenger in front and said with a strange smile, “Sir, it has
nothing to do with you, they are habitual of sitting two in the
front”. Not knowing what to say, I nodded my head and soon
one more passenger was in the front seat. When he saw the
ice melting, he gave me another silly smile and said, “Sir,
you seem to be a good person, would you kindly permit me
to make sit one more person in the rear. Hope that it won’t
disturb you a lot”. To this I said, “Ok, you may take as many
passengers as you like and I am stepping down your taxi”. As
I said this, he at once apologized and moved the taxi forward.
Another day, a taxi driver started complaining of his poor
economic conditions and things alike and asked my permission to take some more passengers in the taxi. Remembering
the bitter experiences of past, I at once rejected his request
and said that if he wanted to take passengers, he should take
them and I would take another taxi. To this, the polite and
humble man at once changed his tone and started shouting,
“You have not bought my taxi. If you cannot sit with other
humans, you should better step down my taxi”. To this I said
‘fine’ and stepped down and started waiting on the roadside
for another taxi. The taxi driver started yelling that, “Look
at this gentleman; he thinks that he can buy my taxi in 150
Afghanis and he is very arrogant and inconsiderate”. It was
not necessary to give any answer to this stupid person but
when I sat in another taxi, the person was still shouting and
talking against me”.
My friend also shared some more of his experiences which I
would share with you some other day but above statement is
a charge sheet to show how we have forgotten our etiquettes,
norms and acceptable behaviors and our greed has receded
all our feelings and virtues.
Mahmood Hassan Quraishi is a permanent writer of the Afghanistan Express Daily.
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5
Vol No 01, Issue 151, Wednesday May 29, 2013 –
Jawza 08, 1392
The Deepening
Dilemma over Syria
The Afghanistan Express
Given growing western doubts
about intervention, the Russian
roadblock at the UN may actually
suit US and the EU strategy.
By: Gideon Rachman
As
the world edges towards a peace conference
on Syria, three ideas about the West’s role in
the conflict are widely accepted. First, that
the longer the conflict goes on, the greater the chances of
direct or indirect western military intervention. Second,
that there is a deep and bitter division between the US
and Russia that is making progress much harder. Third,
that the Syrian civil war is dominating western thinking
on the Middle East.
Few people publicly dispute these propositions. And yet
they are all distinctly questionable. To start with, there actually is no single “western” view on Syria. As the bitter
debate on whether to lift the European Union (EU) arms
embargo reveals, European countries are deeply divided.
France and Britain want to be able to supply weapons to
the rebels. Germany remains very sceptical. There are
also divisions within countries. In the US, John Kerry,
the Secretary of State, is an activist who wants to arm the
rebels. President Barack Obama remains opposed. On
both sides of the Atlantic, the intelligence and security
establishments tend to take a more cautious line than the
politicians and diplomats.
In recent months, and despite the mounting death toll, the
debate has swung in the direction of the non-interventionists. That is partly because the view of the nature of the
conflict has subtly changed. As one EU minister puts it:
“We thought we were dealing with democratic protests
that would topple Bashar Al Assad very quickly. In fact,
it’s a civil war and Al Assad has substantial internal support.” What is more, while there is genuine horror at the
actions of the Syrian regime, there is also deep wariness
of the strength of jihadists in the opposition. “The longer
this thing goes on,” says one senior British official, “the
harder it is to pick sides.”
Such a view, of course, is not official UK policy. On the
contrary, David Cameron’s government continues to push
to arm the more moderate rebels. The interventionists
argue that, unless the West supports the “right” people,
jihadists are even more likely to take control of the Syrian
opposition.
Yet, faith in the West’s ability to pick democratic winners
among rebel forces has been weakened by the continuing
deterioration of the situation in Libya. Although Libya
has been chalked up as a successful western intervention, the aftermath has not been pretty. Large parts of the
country are lawless. And in the cities, says one western
official, “the jihadists are holding a gun to the head of
the democrats”. The pro-interventionists counter that a
failure to mount a humanitarian intervention in Syria will
stoke the anti-western sentiment that fuels terrorism. But
counter-terrorism officials are more cynical, arguing that
any western intervention in Syria, whatever the motive,
is liable to encourage terrorist “blowback” into the West’s
own societies.
This growing fear of the rise of violent Islamism across
the Middle East means the divisions between the Russian and US positions are now less stark. The high point
of western indignation probably came in February 2012,
when Hillary Clinton, the then US secretary of state,
called Russia’s position on Syria “despicable”. Even
now, US and EU officials find plenty to dislike about
Moscow’s support for the Al Assad regime, ascribing it
to paranoia about western intentions or to the Kremlin’s
desire to keep a naval base in the region. Yet, behind the
scenes, there is also recognition that Russian warnings
about jihadism have merit. “The Russians kept telling us
we were naive,” says one western minister, “and maybe
we were.”
It was Russia’s failure to veto a UN resolution on Libya
that opened the door to western military intervention
against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. The Russians have
now made it clear that they will block any similar resolutions over Syria. However, given growing western doubts
about intervention, Russian roadblock at the UN may
actually suit the US and the EU.
There is a third reason for western inaction on Syria:
Iran. Anxiety about its progress towards a nuclear bomb
is rising once again. Some of those who argue that the
US and its allies may ultimately have to attack Iranian
nuclear facilities are warning against military involvement
in Syria — which, they argue, will be the wrong conflict.
“Syria would be a war of choice, but Iran would be a war
of necessity,” says one western official.
Again, the arguments are hardly straightforward. There
is a counter-argument that civil war in Syria is a more significant threat to regional stability than an Iranian bomb
that does not yet exist. And even some of those who take
the Iranian threat very seriously argue that the best way
to deal a blow to the regime in Tehran is to topple its
regional ally — the Al Assad regime in Damascus.
Amid all these cold calculations, the growing death toll
in Syria can slide out of view. Why start a war with Iran
rather than try to stop one in Syria? That partly depends
on what you think is most important. For those western
officials who ultimately take a classical “realist” view of
foreign policy — and Obama may be among them — the
first duty of foreign policy is to protect your own state
and citizens against threats to their security. That means
worries about jihadists in Syria or about the Iranian bomb
continue to rank higher than the desire to topple the Al
Assad regime.
Gideon Rachman is a gulfnews contributor.
Abkhazia,
the Comfortable Conflict Zone
By: Thomas de Waal
A
curious word comes to my mind, entering a
conflict zone: tidy. Abkhazia looks tidy. The
journey from the River Inguri to Sukhumi (as
most of the world still calls the city, the Abkhaz insist
on their traditional name Sukhum) follows a newly repaired road and takes little more than an hour. Construction is going on all over town. Shops are open and
there are advertising hoardings on the street. Russian
tourists stroll along the embankment enjoying the bright
spring weather.
The neatness is relative, of course. The streets are still
much too quiet. The major landmark in the center of
the city remains the ruined hulk of the Soviet-era parliament building, destroyed in the final round of fighting
between Georgians and Abkhaz in the war of 1992-3.
But the clean look reflects a political reality. People in
Abkhazia feel comfortable with their current situation.
In August 2008, following the five-day war with
Georgia over South Ossetia, Moscow recognized as
independent Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which had
broken away from Tbilisi’s rule in 1992-93. Russian
recognition launched Abkhazia on a new trajectory,
solving one set of problems while generating new ones.
Chiefly, it relieved at a stroke the greatest anxiety of the
Abkhaz—their feeling of insecurity about re-conquest
by Tbilisi. As a result, the issue of what Georgia thinks
or wants has perceptibly receded into the background,
and the Abkhaz political scene is more parochial, focused on internal issues.
This more inward-looking Abkhazia, especially since
the 2011 election of President Alexander Ankvab,
also pushes back against Western countries that have
traditionally supported Tbilisi. The Abkhaz government has threatened to stop access to foreign diplomats
accredited in Tbilisi, on the ground that this implies
recognition of Georgian sovereignty over Abkhazia.
Some diplomats from home capitals are still allowed
in—but diplomatic traffic into Abkhazia has slowed
to a trickle. Some Europeans have proposed projects
in Abkhazia under the EU’s strategy of “engagement
without recognition,” but their proposals were rejected
on the ground that they were offering merely a fraction
of what Abkhazia gets from Russia.
One European diplomat described this approach as
“self-isolation.” But as we sat on the Sukhum sea-front
drinking coffee, Abkhazia’s de facto foreign minister,
Vyacheslav Chirikba, robustly rejected the tag. “How
can you call a country which had more than seven million visitors last year isolated?” asked Chirikba. He
said a steady stream of Russians and others were crossing Abkhazia’s northern border all the time to take
advantage of Black Sea tourist resorts. “And we are
not ‘occupied’ either,” he added. “Where are the occupiers? I don’t see any,” he added, jokingly looking
under the café table. In fact, the only Russian soldiers I
saw in three days in Abkhazia were at the border crossing. Whatever Russian control there is over Abkhazia
is administered with a light hand.
But no one can dispute Russia’s economic dominance.
The International Crisis Group reported recently that
a quarter of the budget comes from direct Russian
transfers, and that’s separate from a massive Russianfunded infrastructure program for roads, schools, government buildings and agriculture. Also, Russia pays
the pensions of Abkhazia’s retired. The economy remains unhealthy, thanks in part to the government’s big
Ottoman-style bureaucracy, much larger than a political entity of around 250,000 people can afford. “It’s
hard being ‘on the needle,’” said Stanislav Lakoba,
secretary of the national security council in Abkhazia,
referring to the republic’s almost total dependence on
Russian economic subsidies.
Lakoba, a widely respected historian, has had several
run-ins with Russian parliamentarians determined to
whitewash Russia’s nineteenth century oppression of
the Abkhaz. Still, Lakoba is not keen on engaging with
Europe via Georgia, although he says he would have
welcomed it a few years ago. “That train has left,” he
says. Since Abkhazia is cut off from mainstream international politics, its internal discourse centers on
issues the outside world barely recognizes. There is a
fierce debate about whether Abkhaz passports should
be extended to ethnic Georgian residents in Gali region
in southeast Abkhazia. And I heard discussions about
whether it would be beneficial for Georgia to recognize
Abkhaz independence, or whether the emphasis should
be on third countries doing so.
Moderates want to extend Abkhaz passports and seek
Georgian recognition of their independence. They see
the twenty thousand Georgians who have taken Abkhaz passports as a sign of the success of the Abkhaz
state-building project—a pursuit of the “standards before status” strategy adopted with Kosovo. Conservatives would deny citizenship to ethnic Georgians and
reject all engagement with Tbilisi. Lakoba argues, for
example, that giving Abkhaz passports to Gali Georgians who may also secretly be holding Georgian passports “explodes” Abkhazia.
Such controversies get no hearing in Georgia. Tbilisi
does not recognize Abkhaz passports as legitimate (although it does sometimes accept them as identification
for everyday transactions across the border). And recognition for Abkhazia is not on the agenda: the very
small number of Georgians who have raised the issue
say it is theoretically feasible only with the return of
more than two hundred thousand internally displaced
persons.
In Tbilisi, Georgia’s sovereignty over Abkhazia and
the right of return of Georgian IDPs are taken as given.
The big issue is whether to amend (not even annul)
the Law on Occupied Territories, whether to allow the
Abkhaz more access to the outside world in the name
of engagement. Georgia now has its most progressive
government team dealing with the two breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. A minister
named Paata Zakareishvili, who has two decades of
experience in working with Abkhaz and Ossetians in
the nongovernmental sector, holds this portfolio.
The previous government, led by Mikheil Saakashvili’s
United National Movement, had re-cast the conflicts
as purely Georgian-Russian disputes, downplaying the
local origins of them in the late 1980s and early 1990s
and the role extreme Georgian nationalism had played
in triggering them.
Despite an “engagement strategy” that read well on
the page, the focus continued to be on calling the two
territories “occupied” and keeping them isolated from
the world. Saakashvili personally vetoed a proposal to
allow three Abkhaz students to study in Brussels.
Since taking office last October, the new government
has worked to reverse such practices. “Saakashvili was
always looking for an opportunity to say no to Abkhaz
and South Ossetians,” said Zakareishvili. “We are
looking for reasons to say yes—while always taking into
account of course the state interest of Georgia.”
The results have been small but significant. Covert
Georgian military units operating on Abkhaz soil
have been disbanded. There is more commercial
traffic across the Inguri, and two new crossing points
were opened last week (although there is a fear that
the border will be tightened ahead of next year’s Sochi
Olympics). The two sides are finally working together
properly on the important issue of the missing, both the
dead from the war and the living who are detained. Yet,
all new initiatives taken by the new government on the
conflicts are criticized by the opposition United National Movement as a capitulation to Russian interests.
Everyone understands that Abkhazia is a protracted
conflict: the irresistible force of Russian protection collides with the immovable object of widespread international recognition that Georgia holds sovereignty over
the republic.
Zakareishvili acknowledges he is in a long-term game.
“Sooner or later they will understand that they need
alternatives in Georgia and Europe,” he told me.
Given this, a game-changing move is needed. The only
possibility I can see is to rebuild the broken railway line
around the Black Sea connecting Sochi, Abkhazia,
western Georgia and Armenia. If the railway were to
be rebuilt, the benefits would be massive to the whole
region. The new Tbilisi government floated the idea
last fall, but it met resistance from Azerbaijan and the
Georgian opposition and received only lukewarm support in Russia and Abkhazia.
It is striking how many people are either resisting or
failing to support a big regional project that could reconnect broken parts of the region. It illustrates how
everyone has grown comfortable with a status quo that
is still producing long-term discomfort to Abkhaz,
Georgians and others.
Thomas de Waal is a senior associate at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace.
America Must
Change Gears
on Iran
By: Dennis Ross
By offering Iran what its leaders
have claimed to want — civil nuclear
power — the US can expose Tehran’s
true intentions to the world, including its own people.
As
the conflict in Syria rivets international attention, Iran’s nuclear programme continues apace. Unfortunately, while the
Iranians install the next generation of centrifuges — machines
that can produce enriched uranium three to four times faster than before —
the ‘P5+1’ negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme have ground once
again to a halt.
While economic pressures impose a cost on Iran, so far they have failed to
alter its nuclear programme. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may acknowledge
that sanctions are “brutal,” but he also seems to feel that Iran has endured
worse. In light of President Barack Obama’s objective of preventing the
Iranians from acquiring nuclear weapons, something has to be given. At
a minimum, Iran’s Supreme Leader must be made to feel that when the
US says the time for diplomacy is running out, its means it — and that the
consequence is likely to be the use of force.
Perhaps because of US hesitation on Syria or America’s withdrawal from
Iraq or its transition out of Afghanistan or talk of the US “pivot” to Asia,
Iranian leaders seem not to believe that America will use force if diplomatic
efforts fail. Obama insists that he means what he says on preventing Iran
from having nuclear weapons and that he will do whatever is necessary.
The Iranian misreading of this determination can put the US on a fast
track to conflict.
If diplomacy is to be given a final chance, the US needs to shift its negotiating strategy away from the confidence-building “step-by-step” approach
— which only deepens Iranian perceptions that they can string America
along until it acquiesces. Instead, the US needs to establish greater clarity
on what it can and cannot live with, regarding Iran’s nuclear programme,
and give further credence to the administration’s statements that time for
diplomacy is running out.
The confidence-building approach, which seeks to reach a limited agreement in a bid to buy time for a wider deal in the future, simply cannot do
that. Even if it were possible now, it is not clear that such a tactic will be
in US interests. A limited deal is based on the notion that capping Iran’s
“medium-enriched” uranium at 20 per cent enrichment will guard against
it being able to upgrade its fuel to weapons-grade enrichment. Yet, if Iran
has a bomb’s worth of uranium enriched to 20 per cent, it will take only 30
to 40 days for it to produce weapons-grade fuel.
With Iran expanding its number of first and second-generation centrifuges,
even if its medium-enriched uranium were capped or shipped out of the
country as part of some international agreement, the Iranians could surge
to weapons-grade almost as fast with their four to five bombs’ worth of lowenriched uranium.
Iran continues to stall negotiations under the cover of not ostensibly crossing a “red line”. The US and its allies must change gears. It may be best
to do so before Iran’s June 14 elections — not because a deal is likely to be
reached before the vote, but because the Iranians will need time to contemplate the meaning of an approach geared more towards a nuclear endgame.
This new approach will involve defining an acceptable civil nuclear capability for Iran — something that the confidence-building approach has
largely avoided. It can mean accepting limited enrichment, but with strict
and verifiable restrictions. This will prevent Iran from being able to break
out and present the world with a nuclear weapons fait accompli.
Practically, there will need to be limits on the number and type of centrifuges, maximum level of enrichment and amount of enriched uranium that
can remain in Iran. Each of these amounts will have to be small. Clearly,
if Iran is prepared to alter its nuclear programme in this fashion, America
should be prepared to lift the harsh economic sanctions. However, the Iranians cannot get the latter unless they do the former.
Apart from taking away Iranian excuses, an endgame approach to the
nuclear issue also has the benefit of creating far greater clarity in Iranian
minds. It would signal that America means what it says — that time is
indeed running out. By offering Iran what its leaders have claimed to want
— civil nuclear power — the US can expose Iran’s true intentions to the
world, including its own people. Were Iranian leaders to turn down the
opportunity to have civil nuclear capability, their real aims of acquiring
nuclear weapons would be revealed. In such circumstances, the US would
be far better positioned to make the case to the international community
that military action is warranted.
Coercive diplomacy succeeds when threats are believed and the gameplaying and manipulation stop. Offering a credible endgame proposal can
convince the Iranians that time is truly running out — and that America
is setting the stage for the use of force if diplomacy fails. The US should
give Iran a clear diplomatic way out — and Iranians should understand the
consequences if they do not take it.
Dennis Ross, a counsellor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy,
was a senior Middle East adviser to President Barack Obama from 2009
to 2011. David Makovsky is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute.
Vol No 01, Issue 151, Wednesday May 29, 2013 –
Jawza 08, 1392
The Afghanistan Express
Sci-Tech
Economy
Rare Apple 1 Computer
Sold for $671,000
A rare working model of the Apple 1,
the tech giant's first desktop computer,
sold for more than $671,000 over the
weekend at an auction in Germany.
The computer, along with a letter from
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to its
original owner, is believed to be one
of only six working Apple 1s and one
of only three on the open market.
The buyer, who chose to remain anon-
ymous, is from the Far East, according to Uwe H. Breker of Auction Team
Breker, which auctioned off a roster of
vintage tech Saturday in Cologne.
The Apple PC was expected to bring at
least $400,000. But Breker said it's no
surprise that it fetched more than 50%
more. In November, his team auctioned a similar model for $640,000.
Sotheby's New York sold one last year
for $375,000. Prices for the rare devices have gone up since Jobs' death
in 2011. In November 2010, Christie's
auctioned an Apple 1 for $212,000.
"It's not only the technology of the
world's first ready-to-use PC," Breker
said in an e-mail to CNN. "It's more
the symbol of the American Dream -the story of two dropouts who had a
superb idea ... and 35 years later their
company is the richest and highestvalued company ever."
Jobs and Steve Wozniak famously created the Apple computer in Jobs' family garage, building the device by hand
and financing the company through
the sale of Wozniak's fancy calculator
and Jobs' VW camper van.
About 200 Apple 1s were built, and
fewer than 50 are believed to exist still
-- most of them not in working order.
Saturday's lot also included the letter
from Jobs to a Fred Hatfield at Computer Data Systems in Columbus,
Ohio. Dated January 18, 1978, the letter offers Hatfield the chance to trade
in his Apple 1, and $400, for an Apple
II. He obviously did not take Jobs up
on the offer.
Samsung Electronics Building
Top Chaebol Energy Consumer
Samsung Electronics’ building in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, consumed
the largest amount of electricity among
buildings owned by conglomerates last
year, Seoul Metropolitan Government
said Sunday.
The city unveiled a list showing the
amount of electricity consumption by
universities, hospitals, hotels, shopping
malls and conglomerates after assessing 100 based in the capital.
Seoul National University topped
the list with a total consumption of
152,664 MWh of electricity, followed
by Lotte Hotel with 116,519 MWh, and
Samsung Medical Center in Seoul with
93,888 MWh.
Hospitals recorded the highest in energy consumption per square meters,
followed by hotels, shopping malls,
conglomerates and universities.
Hotel Shilla topped the list of buildings
with largest energy consumption per
square meter, followed by the Grand
Hyatt Seoul, LG Twin Towers, and
Samsung Medical Center.
Seoul City expressed concern about the
high energy consumption of universities which are entitled to a 22 percent
discount in their energy bills, advising
them to find ways to save energy.
The city authorities plan to request the
large energy consumers to report their
consumption level four times a year.
Currently they are required to report it
once a year. The city also plans to require all buildings that consume 1,000
ton of oil equivalent (TOE) or more to
report their consumption level as well.
Currently buildings that consume 2,000
TOE or more are required to report to
the city authorities.
The health authorities said there are no
vaccines yet against the disease, encouraging the general public to pay extra caution to prevent being bitten when
they do outdoor activities.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Agricul-
ture, Food and Rural Affairs unveiled
anti-infection guidelines. Ticks typically live on a host, and most SFTS
infections identified in China involved
farmers in mountainous areas.
The ministry recommended the general
public to wear long sleeves, not to lie
down or sleep on grass and to take a
shower after returning home from outdoor activities.
It also advised citizens to use antibacterial, disinfectant sprays if they
suspect they have been bitten by a tick.
MDR-E888 in 1995, MDR-CD1700 in
1996, and the MDR-CD2000 in 2000 -but those headphones never attained the
stature of the MDR-R10. No, it's never
just one thing that makes the great ones
great, it's the whole design.
That's all well and good, but I had yet
to hear a MDR-R10 for myself to see if
it's really all that special. I finally got a
chance when Red Wine Audio's Vinnie
Rossi borrowed a set to show at a recent
NY Head-Fi meet. The headphones were
plugged into a Red Wine headphone
amp, of course, and when I played a
few tunes I was shocked by the sound.
The MDR-R10's effortless, unforced,
yet still highly detailed and clear sound
was world class. They're closed-back
headphones, but the wide-open soundstaging was exceptional -- no wonder
these long out of production headphones
developed cult status. The sound is more
lifelike and natural than any other headphone I know, so music sounds realistic
in ways that hi-fis rarely do. The MDRR10 is a big and bulky design, but they
seemed nicely balanced and comfy for
the 20 minutes I listened to them. So
the question is raised: If Sony was
clever enough to design a world-class,
uber-audiophile headphone back in the
day, why can't they do it again? Or make
something almost as good and sell it for
a lot less? I really don't have a clue, but
the MDR-R10 may have really been the
Holy Grail, at least as far as dynamic
headphones go. Stax electrostatic headphones may be more transparent and
clear, but they don't have the body and
soul of the MDR-R10.
US Weapons Designs
Hacked by Chinese, Report Claims
US officials and defense firms have
concluded that Chinese hackers have
breached networks containing designs
of many advanced US weapons systems, the Washington Post reported
Tuesday.
The Post, citing a confidential report
prepared for the Pentagon, said the
breaches were part of a broad Chinese
campaign of espionage against US
defense contractors and government
agencies.
The newspaper said the Defense Science Board, a senior advisory group
with government and civilian experts,
said the systems breached included the
designs for two dozen major weapons
systems critical to US missile defenses
and combat aircraft and ships.
The Pentagon advisory report stopped
short of accusing the Chinese of stealing the designs, but the conclusions
help explain the ramped-up US warnings to the Chinese government.
India Promises Supporting
Afghanistan In All Sectors
Kabul - Afghanistan by maintaining
close diplomatic and commerce relations with the India succeeded to further expand these bilateral ties with that
country in all social, economic and political grounds and with consideration
of the Afghan government efforts Indians played effective role on all spheres
of life on Afghanistan which constitute
reconstruction process, education educational scholarships to Afghan university students, capacity building process
of Afghan government employees and
India also provided a financial amount
of $ nearly two billion in aid to Afghanistan to support the war-battered
country in renovation process and these
generosities and humanitarian endeavors approves Indians longstanding cooperation to Afghanistan. Considering
historic and brotherly relation between
the two civilized nations, the Indian
president Parnab Mukherjee officially
invited president Karzai to visit New
Delhi where both leaders besides analyzing regional and global issues also
discussed wide-ranging issues pertaining matters of mutual interests and
recent developments in the region.
During the two day tour, president Karzai while meeting with the Indian authorities emphasized on greater Indian
cooperation in security sector in Afghanistan and fortunately the Indians
strongly promised to help Afghanistan
in all fields as per requirements.
Commenting on president Karzai`s
India tour, deputy presidential spokesman Adila Raz said expansion of bilateral relations and Indian supports to
security fields particularly training and
equipment of Afghan security forces
were the main themes of discussions
between the two leaders. Meanwhile,
a number of lawmakers have inter-
preted president Karzai`s visit to India
from different dimensions and believe
the tour beside having its beneficial
impacts on Afghanistan also emerge
some misconceptions in neighboring
Pakistan as time has proved that Pakistan was never prepared to see both
Afghanistan and India forging close
relations and the presidential tour could
persuade Pakistanis to undertake some
provocative moves and expand meddling into our internal affairs.
If we analyze president Karzai`s trip to
India from political, economic and cultural aspects, it could have productive
impacts on development of the country
as Indian stakeholders have assured
their full cooperation to Afghanistan.
Talking on Afghanistan-India relations,
economic experts Ustad Masood announced Indian presence in the region
in favor of Afghanistan and said that
since long our traders were exporting
their commodities to Indian markets
and in recent years Indian government
have provided educational scholar-
ships to thousands of Afghan students
including renovation of Andhra Gandhi
children hospital in Kabul that facilitate
Afghans in heath sector.
Indian was the first nation with whom
Afghanistan signed strategic cooperation partnership agreement and since
start of Afghanistan`s new political
chapter in international politics in 2001
Indians raised millions of dollars financial expenditures to Afghanistan to support the country in implementing its development project and it also supported
thousands of Afghan students to pursue
their higher studies at the Indian institutions. President Karzai urges on Indian
military cooperation to Afghanistan at a
time after in his recent remarks Indian
foreign minister Salman Khurshid had
warned that his country never tolerate
extended interferences into internal
affairs of Afghanistan as insecurity in
Afghanistan seriously threaten Indian
interests and emphasized that India
wouldn’t remain indifference with regard to Afghan affair. (BNA)
Indian Prime Minister Hails Japan's
Economic Contribution to his Country
Sony MDR-R10:
The World's Best Headphone?
I've heard most of the world's best headphones, but somehow missed the Sony
MDR-R10. Only 2,000 were made. Production started in 1989, and at $2,500
a pair, it was the most expensive headphone in the world. The headphone
cognoscenti scooped them all up years
ago, and right now MDR-R10s rarely
come up for sale. When they do, they
usually go for more than $6,000!
The MDR-R10's 50mm "Bio-Cellulose
Dome Diaphragms" are credited with
producing the headphones' superclear
treble and oh-so supple bass. The headphone also sported real lambskin-covered ear pads, and the large sculpted ear
cups are made from aged wood from
Zelkova trees. Sony did make a few
other headphones with Bio Cellulose
drivers -- the MDR-CD3000, 1991,
6
The Post said the conclusions were in
a previously undisclosed section of a
confidential report prepared by the Defense Science Board.
It said the breaches gave China access to advanced technology and could
weaken the US military advantage in
the event of a conflict.
A public version of the report disclosed
in January said the United States is illprepared in the case of a full-scale cyberwar.
The Post said it obtained a confidential
version of the report with a list of the
designs hacked including the advanced
Patriot missile system; an Army system
for shooting down ballistic missiles;
and the Navy's Aegis ballistic-missile
defense system.
Also breached, according the daily
were designs for combat aircraft and
ships, including the F/A-18 fighter jet,
the V-22 Osprey, the Black Hawk helicopter and the Navy's new Littoral
Combat Ship.
Another program on the list is the massive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, according to the Post, which had been subject
to a previous computer intrusion.
If the report is accurate, "it means the
US military is less effective and the
Chinese military is more effective,"
said James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"It tilts the balance."
Lewis said it was not clear when these
breaches took place, but noted that
"people did wake up to this issue in the
last couple of years and made it harder."
But he said that "between 1999 and
2009 it was an open door for Chinese
(cyber) espionage."
According to The Post, the systems
whose designs were breached included
those built by major defense contractors including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman.
Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan
Singh is continuing his trip to Japan for
talks to reinforce bilateral ties between
the two Asian economic giants. Singh
addressed business leaders at a luncheon
in Tokyo on Tuesday, expressing gratitude towards Japan for its assistance. He
hailed Japan’s contribution to India’s
economic development, calling it his
country’s largest bilateral donor.
Japan has been a major player in the
modernization of Indian industry after
New Delhi launched economic reforms
in the early 90s. Commenting over the
ongoing India-Japan Energy Dialogue,
Singh said that it would help to overcome challenges in the energy sector.
There have been reports that India is
considering buying two amphibious aircraft from Japan during this visit, which
would make it the first military hardware purchase by India from Japan.
Singh’s visit to Tokyo was scheduled
last year but was postponed after Japan announced a snap general election.
Singh is also expected to meet the Japanese Emperor and Empress, who are
scheduled to visit India for the first time
later this year.
Report Underlines
Asia-Pacific as Center for Power Rivalry
An annual report from a Chinese military think tank has highlighted the
Asia-Pacific region as a "new global
center" for geopolitical, economic and
military competition.
"The Strategic Review 2012," which
was released Tuesday, was divided into
eight chapters covering the Asia-Pacific
strategic situation, Sino-U.S. relations,
Asia-Pacific Maritime Security and the
situation on the Korean Peninsula.
The report was drafted as "the U.S.
has accelerated eastward shift of its
strategic focus, the spillover effects of
China's development has become more
prominent... and big powers have intensified their gaming for the regional
dominance," according to the preface
to the English-language edition of the
report.
The report noted that the Asia-Pacific
region has become "the new global
geopolitical, economic and military
center, an area boasting the greatest
potential, fastest development, buoyant
vitality and richest opportunities."
"Amidst the strategic competition
among the big powers, the fierce oce-
anic competition and frequent regional
conflicts, the complexity, sensitivity
and uncertainty of China's security environment loom large," the Englishlanguage edition of the report said,
adding that the dramatic changes in the
Asia-Pacific region offer both opportunities and challenges for China.
Published by the Center for National
Defense Policy under the Academy of
Military Sciences of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the annual report was released in both Chinese- and
English-language editions. (Xinhua)
Pakistan's New Government
Plans $5 bln Debt Issue to Switch Lights on
Pakistan's new government plans to
sell $5 billion in treasury bills to pay
off a chain of debt choking the country's power sector and its economy and
boost electricity output by a quarter all within its first 100 days in power.
The incoming administration of Prime
Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif has identified widespread blackouts that last up
to 20 hours a day in some areas as its
top political and economic challenge.
The deepening power shortages have
sparked violent protests and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in a country
already beset by high unemployment, a
failing economy, widespread poverty,
sectarian bloodshed and a Taliban insurgency.
Several key members of the incoming
government's energy team interviewed
by Reuters over the past few days said
that out of a long list of challenges
ranging from lack of investment to
electricity theft, plugging a 500 billion
rupee ($5.08 billion) financing hole
was the most pressing task.
Sources in the new administration
said these funds would be raised
through sales of 3-month, 6-month and
12-month treasury bills.
By breaking a vicious cycle of withheld payments running through the entire power-generation chain from end
consumers to electricity distributors,
power plants to refiners who can't import enough oil because of unpaid fuel
bills, the team hopes to bring immediate relief.
"In the first three months of our government, we plan to add 2,000-3,000
megawatts to the national grid and at
least 16,000 megawatts in the medium
term," said Khawaja Asif, who is due
to take the energy portfolio in Sharif's
cabinet that will be sworn in on June 5.
Pakistan's power sector now generates
about 8,000 MW, with needs estimated
at 15,000.
A "100-day roadmap" for the energy
sector, due to be unveiled by Sharif on
June 5, and made available to Reuters,
also calls for an overhaul of a decadesold system of subsidies that is considered one of the root causes of the crisis.
"It makes no sense that you subsidise
electricity at the same rate for the person who drives a Mercedes and the poor
guy who rides a bicycle to work," said
Asif, who briefly served as minister
for petroleum and natural resources in
2008 and headed a privatisation body in
a previous Sharif cabinet in the 1990s.
"People who can pay more for power
will pay more. That will be the hallmark
of our government's energy policy."
That, alongside a promised push to
tackle electricity theft and a growing
mountain of unpaid electricity bills,
can set the new government on a collision course with the country's rich and
influential elite.
While hooking up a cable to overhead
electricity wires is the common man's
way of getting power without paying
for it, well-connected businessmen,
politicians and even government departments simply refuse to pay their
bills.
The incoming government's response
is to pick competent managers to run
power distribution companies and give
them revenue and other performance
targets.
"The priority is to appoint profes-
sional management in power distribution companies, and sack political appointees and cronies of the previous
government," said Suleman Shahbaz,
Nawaz Sharif's nephew who runs the
party's economic think-tank.
The sector has long been plagued by
waste and allegations of endemic corruption with public funds lavished on
poorly-run state power firms while
more efficient independent power producers were starving for cash.
"It is mind-boggling that there was so
much low-hanging fruit that the previous government didn't even bother
to pick," said Miftah Ismail, who coauthored the incoming administration's
energy policy, referring to missed opportunities.
The 100-day plan is meant to buy the
government time to focus on medium- and long-term solutions, such as
modernisation of power generators, investment in new capacity, encouraging
sugar mills to use biofuels to produce
electricity and finally, to reduce the nation's reliance on expensive imported
oil.
"We have to move from oil to coal,
hydro and gas-based power generation to bring down costs," said Ismail.
"There is no other way."
With an estimated nationwide electricity shortfall of more than 60 percent exacerbating a balance of payments crisis,
Asif says the new government is well
aware of its responsibility.
"How we tackle the energy crisis will
not just determine the political life of
this government but also life itself of
this country," he said. "Failure is not an
option." (Reuters)
7
INTERNATIONAL
Vol No 01, Issue 151, Wednesday May 29, 2013 –
Jawza 08, 1392
White House Security Adviser Calls
for Deeper China Military Ties
Washington - The United States called for
deeper military ties with China on Tuesday, including working closer together in
areas like peacekeeping, fighting piracy
and disaster relief, despite growing tensions between the two on a range of security issues. White House National Security
Adviser Tom Donilon made the remarks
at a meeting with senior Chinese military
leader Fan Changlong, two weeks ahead
of a summit between the U.S. and Chinese
presidents in California.
"An essential part of building a new model
for relations between great powers is ensuring we have a healthy, stable and reliable military to military relationship,"
Donilon told Fan at the Chinese Defence
Ministry, in brief comments before reporters. He added the two countries should
work to face "non-traditional security
challenges" including peacekeeping, di-
saster relief and countering piracy.
Fan, the vice chair of China's powerful
Central Military Commission, called for
a "new type of major power relations".
Neither Donilon nor Fan mentioned the
numerous sensitive areas Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack
Obama are expected to discuss in June, including tensions on the Korean peninsula
and a string of cyber attacks the United
States has linked to China.
Donilon met Xi on Monday, during which
Xi said Sino-U.S. relations were at "an
important stage connecting the past and
the future", according to China's official
Xinhua news agency. Neither side has
given details about what will be discussed
at the summit, set for June 7-8 at a sprawling California estate called Sunnylands,
which lies southeast of Palm Springs.
(Reuters)
Russia Says End of EU Arms
Ban is Blow to Syria Peace
Moscow - Russia said on Tuesday the European
Union's failure to renew an arms embargo on
Syria would undermine the chances for peace
talks that Moscow and Washington are trying
to organize. "This does direct damage to the
prospects for convening the international conference," Russian news agency Itar-Tass quoted
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying of the EU move, which will allow EU nations to supply arms to Syrian rebels.
EU governments failed to bridge their differences on Monday, but decided to allow a ban
on arming the opposition to Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad's government to expire. Britain
and France, which opposed renewing the embargo, have made clear they will not deliver arms
"at this stage", but EU officials said the commitment effectively expires on August 1.
Russia and the United States announced on May
7 that they would try to bring Assad's government and its opponents to a conference to seek
an end to the 26-month-old conflict in which
more than 80,000 people have been killed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry met again in Paris
late on Monday to discuss the proposed conference but did not announce any specific plans.
(Reuters)
South Korea Shuts More
Nuclear Reactors over Fake
Certificates
Seoul - South Korea said on Tuesday it was
suspending the operations of two nuclear
power reactors and extended a shutdown of
a third to replace cables that were supplied
using fake certificates, threatening power
shortages in Asia's fourth-biggest economy.
The government warned there could be
"unprecedented" electricity shortages and
rolling blackouts this summer due to the
nuclear shutdowns. South Korea previously
halted the operations of some of its 23 reactors last November after a scandal emerged
over parts being supplied using fake documents.
The Asian country is heavily dependent on oil, gas
and coal imports, but usually gets about a third of
its electricity from nuclear
power generation. "This is
a separate case from the
last investigation," said
Kim Kyun-seop, president
& CEO of Korea Hydro
and Nuclear Power Co
Ltd, which runs nuclear reactors in South Korea and
is owned by state-run utility Korea Electric Power
Corp.
ACROSS
1. Muscle contraction
6. A promiscuous
woman
10. Wan
14. Dining room furniture
15. Prong
16.
Weightlifters
pump this
The new case relates to forged documents
on cables worth 6 billion won ($5.35 million) provided in 2008, Kim and energy
ministry officials said, declining to identify
the cable producers. The reactors, which
each have a capacity of 1,000 megawatts
(MW), would remain closed for about four
months, the government said.
Of the three reactors, two are in Kori, about
320 km southeast of the capital Seoul, and
one is in Wolsong, about 280 km from
Seoul, the Nuclear Safety and Security
Commission said. (Reuters)
17. Lubricated
18. Assistant
19. Electrical or
crossword
20. Prognostication
22. Hearing organs
23. Metric unit of
area
24. Got up
26. Not airtight
30. Heathen
32. Eagle's nest
33. Communications device
37. Letters, etc.
38. Affirm
39. Poems
40. Mournful
42. Extraterrestrial
43. Flatboat
44. Charisma
45. Wrinkled fruit
47. Father
48. Views
49. Acculturate
56. Pause
57. Protective ditch
58. Laser printer
powder
59. Skin disease
60. Send forth
61. Go in
62. Ale
63. Start over
64. Considers
DOWN
10. Cubbyhole
11. Tapestry
1. Cease
12. France's lon2. Twosome
gest river
3. Competent
13. Terminates
4. Sleigh
21. Weep
5. Intercede
25. Hip-hop
6. Condition
26. Humid
7. 53 in Roman nu- 27. Genuine
merals
28. Diva's solo
8. Annul
29. Tactic for ob9. Adolescent
structing legisla-
Half of EU Members
'Oppose China Solar
Tariffs'
Brussels - The UK and Germany are among at least 14 European
Union members opposed to punitive tariffs on Chinese solar panel
imports, according to diplomats. The revelation, made on Monday,
shows a split among the EU bloc's 27 members. The European Commission - the EU's executive arm - argues that Chinese firms are unfairly undercutting rivals.
It claimed China was pressuring members to oppose the duties, a
day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted in favour of a
negotiated agreement. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said
such pressure was a "waste of time" on the part of the Chinese authorities. "They [the Chinese] are not going to impress me by putting
pressure on member states," he told the European Parliament's trade
committee.
France and Italy are among those in favour of the duties, while Germany, the UK and the Netherlands are in the opposite camp, according to Reuters, citing diplomats. One source, who asked not to be
named, told the AFP agency that 17 member states "have come out in
opposition". "In view of this considerable opposition, it is clear that
the European Commission must step up efforts to find a negotiated
solution," the person said. (BBC)
Austria Says
Peacekeepers to Stay
On Golan for Now
North Korea 'to Allow
Kaesong Managers Back'
Pyongyang - Pyongyang has said it is willing to allow South Korean businessmen
to visit the jointly-run Kaesong zone. In a
statement carried by state media, North Korea said it was prepared to discuss with the
businessmen how normal operations could
be resumed. But South Korea expressed
worry about its citizens' safety and asked
that government-level talks be held.
Operations at the joint industrial complex
have been suspended since the North withdrew its workers in April. North Korea's
Committee for the Peaceful Reunification
of Korea (CPRK), responsible for ties with
South Korea, said it would guarantee the
The Afghanistan Express
businessmen's safety. "We have given permission for the visit and can even discuss
the shipment of products at the industrial
complex," Yonhap news agency quoted the
committee as saying.
South Korea "may send with them members" of the governing body that oversees
the complex, the committee added. But a
spokesman for South Korea's Unification
Ministry, which handles relations with the
North, said what was needed at this stage
was talks between both governments,
which Seoul has been requesting.
Some 123 South Korean companies have
factories inside the Kaesong Industrial
Complex,
which
lies just across
the border inside
North Korea. The
firms employ some
53,000 North Koreans and the zone is
a key revenue earner for the North.
But
Pyongyang
withdrew its workers two months
ago as North-South
tensions escalated
following Pyongyang's third nuclear
test in February.
(BBC)
tion
30. Annoy
31. Wings
33. Branchlet
34. Norse god
35. Require
36. Feudal worker
38. Pennant
41. Indian bread
42. Scrutinized
44. Water barrier
Yesterday’s Puzzle Solution
45. Tranquility
46. French for
"Queen"
47. Repeat
48. Q-Tip
50. A few
51. Told
52. Solitary
53. Initial wager
54. Abound
55. Makes a mistake

Vienna - Austria retracted a threat to pull 380 peacekeepers from the
U.N. buffer zone between Syria and Israel, saying on Tuesday that
only Britain and France - not the whole European Union - were ready
to arm Syrian rebels. Vienna had led efforts to extend an EU arms
embargo on Syria, arguing that sending more weapons to the region
would only fan the fighting, dash hopes for a peace deal and make
Austrian peacekeeping troops potential targets for retribution.
Attempts to renew the arms ban on Syria failed on Monday, leaving
Britain and France free to supply weapons to rebels fighting President
Bashar al-Assad from August. Austrian Foreign Minister Michael
Spindelegger said it had been crucial to avoid an EU policy U-turn
that for the first time would allow arms shipments to one side in a
conflict.
"There is no EU authorization for arms deliveries, and this is
absolutely decisive. No one can say that we as Europeans wanted
the opposition to get arms deliveries from member states," he told
reporters after a cabinet meeting, noting any countries that sent arms
would do so on their own initiative.
This relieved pressure on Vienna to withdraw its soldiers from the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, where they make up the bulk of a
U.N. mission monitoring an Israeli-Syrian ceasefire. Their exit after
four decades keeping the peace since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war
would leave a huge hole in the already troubled 1,000-strong United
Nations force separating the armies of two countries still formally
at war.
"We don't have the urgent situation of having to pull out tomorrow,"
Spindelegger said, adding that Austria would continue to review
security conditions with the United Nations. He said U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon "is completely on our side and says we don't
need more weapons in Syria". (Reuters)
Abandoned Chinese
Baby Rescued From
Toilet Pipe
Beijing - Firefighters in
eastern China have rescued an
abandoned newborn baby boy
lodged in a sewage pipe directly
beneath a toilet commode,
state television reported, in
a case which has sparked
anger on social media sites.
There are frequent reports in
Chinese media of babies being
abandoned, often shortly after
birth, a problem attributed variously to young mothers unaware they
were pregnant, the birth of an unwanted girl in a society which puts
greater value on boys or China's strict family planning rules.
In the latest case the infant was found in the sewage pipe in a
residential building in Jinhua in the wealthy coastal province of
Zhejiang on Saturday afternoon after residents reported the sound of
a baby crying, state television said late on Monday. Firefighters had
to remove the pipe and take it to a nearby hospital, where doctors
carefully cut around it to rescue the baby boy inside, the report said.
The child is in a stable condition and the police are looking for his
parents, state television added. The case has been widely discussed
on China's Twitter-like service Sina Weibo due to the graphic nature
of the footage, with calls for the parents to be severely punished.
"The parents who did this have hearts even filthier than that sewage
pipe," wrote one user. (Reuters)
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