Somali pirates release Malaysian ship with 11 crew

NAIROBI (AFP) – Somali pirates have freed a Malaysian tugboat and its 11 Indonesian sailors after a ransom was paid to end the second longest hostage saga off the coast of Somalia, a maritime watchdog said Monday.

The TB Masindra 7 and its attached Indonesian barge ADM1 had been operating under a contract from French oil giant Total when it was seized eight months ago on December 16, said Kenya-based Ecoterra International.

"The Malaysian tugboat TB Masindra 7 with its attached Indonesian barge ADM1 is free," the non-governmental organization said in a statement.

The crew of 11 was "all right, given the circumstances", said the statement, adding that "a ransom was paid".

The tugboat and barge had been on their way back to Malaysia from Mukallah in Yemen when the vessels were boarded by pirates.

Andrew Mwangura, of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Program, said the crew were "safe and sound" after their ordeal and their ship was "now steaming out to safe waters."

He gave no details of the amount of the ransom.

The boat had been moved between pirate hideouts but had been lately held in off Hobyo village in northern Somalia, Mwangura explained.

Small villages dotting the coast of Somalia's self-declared state of Puntland are the pirates' main bases.

Ecoterra said a lack of cooperation between the Malaysian and Indonesian ship owners meant the case dragged on for months.

"Over long stretches the crew felt completely abandoned. One engine of the tugboat was damaged during the first night of the sea-jacking and provisionally repaired. Vessel, barge and crew therefore are approaching the nearest harbor for repairs and bunker," it said.

The eight-month hostage saga is the second longest ship seizure by the Somali criminal gangs. A Nigerian tugboat and its 11 crew were held for 10 months before their release in June.

Some 200 sailors and at least 12 ships are still being held in the region.

Somali pirates attacked more than 130 merchant ships last year, a rise of more than 200 percent over 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Rough seas and international navy patrols have curbed pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean in recent weeks but experts have warned that the end of the monsoon season could see a fresh flurry of hijackings over the next few weeks.

More than 30 ships from 16 nations, including NATO members and the European Union, are patrolling the waters off the Somali coast to try to ensure safe passage for ships heading to and from the Suez Canal.

On July 12, pirates seized a dhow with an Indian crew of 11 and used it to launch a failed attack on a super-tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

The pirates have previously captured the Saudi-owned supertanker Sirius Star and held it and its cargo of two million barrels of crude oil for two months from November 2008.

Gangs armed with rifles, rocket-launchers and grappling hooks attack their prey by launching small and nimble skiffs from larger ships, generally small cargoes or fishing vessels they have previously hijacked.

NATO chief: More UN, EU help needed in Afghanistan

By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer

BRUSSELS – NATO needs more international help from the United Nations and European Union to secure and rebuild Afghanistan, the alliance's new civilian chief said Monday.

"NATO will do its part but it cannot do it alone, this needs to be an international effort, both military and civilian," said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister who took office earlier in the day as NATO's new secretary-general.

Fogh Rasmussen said his top priorities would be guiding the war in Afghanistan to a successful conclusion, repairing ties with Russia that were further strained by last year's Russo-Georgian war, and expanding NATO's partnership with moderate nations in North Africa and the Middle East.

NATO has about 64,000 soldiers in Afghanistan — half of them Americans — where they are struggling to contain an escalating Taliban insurgency. More than 20,000 new U.S. troops are being deployed, but European allies have been reluctant to increase their contributions to the international force.

Fogh Rasmussen is the latest addition to the new team of civilian and military leaders to lead the war effort. They include U.S. Adm. James Stavridis as NATO's commander, U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal as NATO chief in Afghanistan, and Richard Holbrooke, as the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Fogh Rasmussen's predecessor Jaap de Hoop Scheffer — who stepped down on Thursday — repeatedly warned that the war in Afghanistan represents a crucial test of the power and relevance of the 60-year-old alliance.

Asked if the mission in Afghanistan represented a "make or break," situation for NATO, Fogh Rasmussen replied: "It will not be a break, it will be a make (because) a lot is at stake for the Afghan people, for the international community, and also for NATO."

"Obviously, NATO is the strongest military alliance but to win the peace ... NATO must expand ability to work together with European Union, the United Nations, even NGOs," Fogh Rasmussen said at a media conference at NATO headquarters.

Alliance leaders picked Fogh Rasmussen during their summit in April. The Dane was a controversial choice because he infuriated many Muslims following the 2005 publication in Denmark of 12 cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

As prime minister, Fogh Rasmussen distanced himself from the cartoons but resisted calls to apologize for them, citing freedom of speech and saying his government could not be held responsible for the actions of Denmark's media.

Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that the 14,000-strong NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo would be reduced or entirely phased out over the next several years. Relations with Serbia have normalized since the brief war in 1999, and the force is expected to be cut by up to 10,000 soldiers over the next year.

But he ruled out suggestions that the drawdown could make more European soldiers available for service in Afghanistan.

He said the alliance also wanted to develop "a true strategic partnership with Russia."

"There is clearly scope to work together on counterterrorism, Afghanistan, counter-proliferation, anti-piracy, and many other areas."

Ties between NATO and Moscow have improved significantly since they were frozen after the war in Georgia, but Russia still objects to NATO's plans to eventually bring Ukraine and Georgia into the alliance.

Fogh Rasmussen said NATO — which has backed Georgia since the conflict — would continue to insist that Russia respect the territorial sovereignty of its neighbors. "But we cannot let those areas of disagreement poison the entire relationship," he said.

He emphasized that the alliance must develop the ability to deploy a permanent naval flotilla to the pirate-infested waters off Somalia's coastline to protect international shipping from further attacks.

"I want to see NATO having a standing anti-piracy role, with the capabilities, legal arrangements and force generation to see it happen."

He said that Madeline Albright, the former U.S. secretary of state, had been named to lead a panel of eminent individuals who will draft NATO's new strategic concept — basically the alliance's mission statement.

The draft is to be submitted to the leaders of NATO's 28 member nations at their next summit in Lisbon, Portugal, next year.

Iran leader approves Ahmadinejad presidency: TV

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran's supreme leader formally approved the second term presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday after a disputed election that leading reformists say was rigged to ensure the incumbent's victory.

"The official ceremony was held and Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) approved Mr. Ahmadinejad's presidency," the Arabic language al-Alam state television said.

Khamenei has endorsed the June 12 election result and demanded an end to protests during which at least 20 people were killed.

Moderate defeated candidates Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi say the next government will be illegitimate. Iranian officials deny any fraud in the election, in which the hardline Ahmadinejad was declared to have won 63 percent of 40 million votes cast, against 34 percent for Mousavi.

Ahmadinejad will be sworn in by parliament on Wednesday.

He then has two weeks to submit his cabinet list to the mostly conservative parliament, which may object if he names only members of his inner circle.

China seals off town after plague kills two

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has sealed off a remote far-western town of 10,000 people after two people died of pneumonic plague, state media said Monday, but the World Health Organization said such outbreaks were nothing new.

Another 10 people had contracted the disease in the ethnically Tibetan region of the sparsely populated province of Qinghai, Xinhua news agency said.

The town of Ziketan and the surrounding region had been closed off, the Health Ministry said.

China experiences periodic outbreaks of plague, which is typically spread by rodents and fleas, is airborne and can spread easily between people.

But the WHO said it was not unduly concerned.

"This is not new," said Beijing-based WHO spokeswoman Vivian Tan. "There have been sporadic cases reported over the years. We're not surprised that it's come up. We're in constant contact with the authorities to make sure things are under control."

She also said the fact that the outbreak had occurred in a remote part of the country "should help to mitigate" the impact.

An official at the Qinghai government's health department said authorities were confident of keeping the outbreak under control.

"There's no possibility of it spreading," said the official, who only provided his family name, Li. "We have already closed off the infected area. We are currently treating those who are sick."

Search begins for missing Indonesian plane

By IRWAN FIRDAUS, Associated Press Writer

JAKARTA – Search planes hunted Monday for an aircraft carrying 16 people that is believed to have crashed in eastern Indonesia.

Four planes were flying close to the route that the Twin Otter was taking before it lost contact with flight controllers Sunday over the remote Papua region, said Air Force Col. Suwandi Mihardja.

No trace of the small plane has been found, he said.

The missing plane was on a 50-minute journey from Sentani, a major airport in Papua, to the town of Oksibil.

Indonesia, a nation of more than 18,000 islands, has seen a string of air crashes in recent years.

In 2007, the European Union banned all Indonesian carriers from landing in the bloc. It recently lifted the ban on four of the airlines, including Garuda, the country's flag carrier, saying standards had improved.

Much of Papua is covered with impenetrable jungles and mountains. In the past, crashed planes there have never been found.

Iran's Ahmadinejad to be endorsed for 2nd term

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's Supreme Leader is to formally endorse Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president, a step leading up to his inauguration in parliament.

But the country's opposition and moderates — including former president Hashemi Rafsanjani — say they'll boycott Monday's ceremony in defiance of an election they decry as fraudulent.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's endorsement ahead of Ahmadinejad's inauguration on Wednesday comes amid growing criticism of Iran's cleric-led system.

Authorities have ruthlessly suppressed opposition protests, jailing hundreds of protesters and putting more than 100 on trial on charges of plotting to topple the regime.

The opposition maintains Ahmadinejad stole the June 12 vote from opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi through massive fraud.

Pakistan police lodge charges against cleric

By ASIF SHAHZAD, Associated Press Writer

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani authorities lodged a criminal case Sunday against a cleric who helped negotiate a failed peace deal with the Swat Valley Taliban, suggesting the government is determined not to negotiate again with the militants.

Sufi Muhammad, father-in-law of Swat's notorious Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah, is accused of aiding terrorism, sedition and conspiring against the government, Swat police Chief Sajid Mohmand said. The charges carry a minimum penalty of life imprisonment and a maximum of death.

The case suggests Pakistan is moving away from its past willingness to negotiate with militants, but could also be a way to pressure Muhammad to reveal any information he has about the location of the Swat Valley Taliban's leaders, who have evaded capture despite a three-month military offensive.

Pakistani troops still skirmish with militants in the valley although the offensive is winding down. Some 2 million people fled Swat and the wider region in the early weeks of the offensive, but hundreds of thousands have been returned over the past two weeks.

The cleric helped negotiate a peace deal in February that imposed Islamic law in the valley, which the U.S. had warned could turn the region into a safe haven for insurgents. The pact collapsed in mid-April after Taliban militants infiltrated a district south of Swat, and the military launched its offensive.

Mohmand, the police chief, said seven of Muhammad's aides, including two killed in a clash between militants and the army, were also named in the case.

Muhammad, who was arrested last Sunday near the northwestern city of Peshawar, must appear before a court within 15 days to be formally charged, Mohmand said, but noted there are still no functioning courts in Swat. Mohmand said authorities would seek a legal opinion to determine whether the case could be moved to Peshawar if no Swat court is up and running in time.

The charges stem from comments Muhammad made during an April speech in which he condemned democracy and elections and said Pakistan's constitution was un-Islamic.

"It is tantamount to threatening the sovereignty of Pakistan," Mohmand said.

The speech revolted many people in Pakistan, leaving even some hard-line Islamist political party leaders silent, and it was considered to be an important factor in shifting public opinion against the Taliban.

The Swat police chief said authorities were confident they had enough evidence to prove the charges against Muhammad.

"We have recordings of all of his speeches where he had instigated masses against the government of Pakistan and its institutions," Mohmand told The Associated Press, adding that investigators would continue gathering evidence, particularly about the cleric's support for the militants during the peace process.

Pakistan's government relied heavily on Muhammad's contacts with the Taliban in the Swat area to achieve the failed peace agreement earlier this year, which imposed Islamic law in the region in exchange for an end to two years of fighting.

Muhammad himself does not control the armed militants in Swat, and it is unclear how much impact his detention will have on the insurgents fighting in the scenic valley.

But he mobilized thousands of volunteers to fight in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion there in 2001. He was jailed in 2002 but was freed last year after renouncing violence.

The Swat Taliban's ability to re-emerge will depend more on its leaders, including Fazlullah. The army says Fazlullah has been wounded, although the Taliban reportedly have denied it. None of the commanders is definitively known to have been captured or killed.

Pakistan Christians shut schools to mourn killings

By ASIF SHAHZAD, Associated Press Writer

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani Christians have closed their schools and colleges across the country for three days starting Monday to mourn and protest the killings of eight of their religious brethren, leaders of the minority community said.

Hundreds of Muslims, apparently spurred by a banned Islamist group, stormed a Christian neighborhood in the eastern city of Gojra on Saturday, burning dozens of houses after reports surfaced that some Christians had desecrated a Quran.

Six Christians died in flames, while two were killed by gunshots. Christian leaders and Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said an initial probe had debunked the Quran defilement rumor.

"We are closing the schools to show our anger and concern," Bishop Sadiq Daniel told The Associated Press, noting the move was a peaceful tactic. "We want the government to bring all perpetrators of the crime to justice."

Paramilitary troops and other security forces were patrolling the city Monday. Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Pakistan's president, said a judicial panel will probe the incident.

Christians and Muslims usually live together peacefully in Pakistan, which is overwhelmingly Muslim.

However, Christians and other minority religious groups are vulnerable to discriminatory laws, including an edict against blasphemy that carries death penalty for derogatory remarks or any other action against Islam, the Quran or the Prophet Muhammad.

Anyone can make an accusation under the law, and it is often used to settle personal scores and rivalries.

The clashes between the Muslims and Christians began Thursday after reports that a copy of the Quran had been defiled. Hundreds of Muslim protesters set fire to several Christians' houses in the first two days, but the violence reached its peak Saturday.

Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti said the attackers belonged to a banned Sunni Muslim extremist group, Sipah-e-Sahaba.

Officials have tried to calm the situation.

"This is not the work of Muslims. A group of extremists have exploited the situation," Sanaullah told a group of Christians after the funeral prayers for the deceased Sunday night. "I also want to appeal to both the communities to remain calm. Please do not become a tool in the hands of some miscreants."

Gojra is in Pakistan's Faisalabad region, which is dotted with hard-line Islamist schools.

Sipah-e-Sahaba also has an offshoot group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, that is linked to the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Jhangvi is believed involved in the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and two failed assassination attempts against former President Pervez Musharraf, as well as scores of other terrorist strikes.

Bomb blast in Afghanistan kills at least 10

By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writers

KABUL – The Taliban killed at least 10 people and critically injured a local police chief in western Afghanistan's main city on Monday with a remote-controlled bomb hidden in a trash can, officials said.

The bomb was set on a crowded street near a fruit market in Herat. It killed 10 civilians and two police, according to Noor Khan Nekzad, a spokesman for the Herat provincial police.

The attack appeared to target the police chief for nearby Injil district who was driving into town, said Raouf Ahmedi, the top police spokesman in western Afghanistan.

He said the district chief, Mohammad Issa, was being transferred to a NATO-run hospital in critical condition.

Ahmedi said only 10 people were killed in the blast, including a woman, a young girl and six men. There was no immediate explanation for the different police counts. At least 30 people were injured in the blast, which blew windows out on a 100-meter (yard) radius, he said.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said the group had targeted the police chief.

The bombing in the comparatively calm Western city of Herat highlighted the volatile situation across the country as Afghanistan braces for presidential and local elections later this month.

Some 101,000 NATO and U.S. troops are deployed to secure the country. This includes a record 62,000 U.S. troops, more than double the number a year ago but still half their strength in Iraq. President Barack Obama has increased the U.S. focus on Afghanistan as the Pentagon begins pulling troops out of Iraq.

Nine troops have been killed in fighting or bombings this month, including three Americans on Sunday and three on Saturday, along with two Canadians and one French.

July was the deadliest month for international troops since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban government for sheltering al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, with 74 foreign troops, including 43 Americans, killed.

Roadside bombs have become the militants' weapon of choice in Afghanistan, and the number of such attacks has spiked this year.

U.S. troops say militants are now using bombs with little or no metal in them, making them even harder to detect. The Taliban are also planting multiple bombs on top of one another and planting several bombs in one small area.

U.S. commanders have long predicted a spike in violence in Afghanistan this summer, the country's traditional fighting season, and Taliban militants have promised to disrupt the country's Aug. 20 presidential vote.

As blockade bites deep, more Gaza children must work

Rami Almeghari writing from the occupied Gaza Strip

July 31, 2009

Zaher and Jihad are two boys living in Gaza. Every day they get up early and rush to Gaza City's streets so that they might find something to sell to those walking or driving by. Their fathers have been unemployed since the the intifada -- the uprising against Israeli occupation -- began in 2000 and they, along with thousands of others, were no longer allowed to work inside Israel. Conditions worsened after Israel imposed a siege on the territory in June 2007. The boys work in order to help their families.

Zaher, 17, from Gaza City's al-Tuffah neighborhood explains that, "I get up at 6am every day, then I go to a local farmer, where I pick up mint leaves. I carry the leaves and start my working day as you see me now." He buys small bunches of mint leaves for one shekel ($0.25). Working sunset to sunrise, Zaher earns about 90 shekels a day.

Zaher added, "I am forced to sell these leaves here. Otherwise my family cannot live. There are 10 members in my family, including me, my brothers and parents. No one helps us as my father has been without work for the past nine years. The only assistance we get is some food rations provided by UNRWA [the UN Agency for Palestine refugees] from time to time as well as some help from a generous relative."

While running among the cars in the street, Zaher explains that not everyone is supportive or generous. Stating that, "Sometimes some people, especially young ones in luxurious cars, mock us. I recall that one day while I was trying to sell mint to some young men in a car, they took the leaves from me and then drove away fast as the light turned green. When they stopped they gave me the leaves and said sarcastically 'who told you we want these leaves?'"

Standing on another corner at the al-Saraya crossing, Jihad al-Jael sells small packs of chewing gum. Jihad, 14, and his 15-year-old brother walk to the crossing every morning from the Gaza City neighborhood of al-Mujama al-Islami, which is about three kilometers away.

Jihad explains that, "I have five sisters and five brothers as my father has been without work for the past nine years. Under these harsh conditions me and my brother are forced to come here in the heart of Gaza City, in order to earn a living for hungry stomachs."

Jihad's father is not only unemployed but is also ailing. The family does not have another source of income other than the occasional food rations they receive from UNRWA.

Sadly, Jihad and Zaher are not alone. Children can be seen on Gaza City's other street corners, selling in front of stores or to passing cars. Other children sell tea, coffee or tissues at the Jundi al-Majhoul public garden in the al-Rimal district. All of them work to help their families.

Although the Palestinian Child Law of 2004 forbids children under age 15 from working, the phenomenon has become more prevalent among that age group and younger due to the harsh economic conditions in Gaza. In June, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) published a report stating that the closure of Gaza has pushed the unemployment rate to 44 percent and caused a dramatic rise in poverty. Currently, more than 70 percent of Gaza's population lives in poverty, with an income of less than $250 a month for a family of seven to nine.

A crippling Israeli blockade has hampered public life in Gaza, with 95 percent of local industries being forced to shut down, due to lack of essential raw materials and shortage of machineries. According to the ICRC, only 2,662 truckloads of goods entered Gaza from Israel in May. This represented a decrease of almost 80 percent from the 11,392 truckloads Israel allowed in during April 2007, before Hamas took over the territory amidst factional fighting with the US-supported Fatah party of West Bank Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Israel imposed a siege on Gaza after Hamas' takeover.

Sajy al-Mughanni, communication officer for the UN children's agency (UNICEF) in Gaza, blamed Israel's 25-month siege for the growing poverty as well as the increasing number of working children in the region. He explained that, "We do have a high level of unemployment in Gaza. In terms of child labor, we don't have specific numbers. But we do use our teams to go out in the field, to do an assessment and try to intervene with the families. I can confirm to you that the phenomenon of child labor is growing. The increase of this phenomenon can be mainly attributed to the Israeli blockade."

Al-Mughanni added that, "We are coordinating with all UN agencies to provide food aid or health care to many families, in an attempt to provide relief and prevent further spread of the child labor phenomenon. However, this is not solving the problem drastically. So if we want to realize an end to such a phenomenon, the Israeli blockade should come to an end and Palestinians in Gaza should go back to their normal life, prior to the imposition of the siege."

MOH: Gaza warehouses out of supplies, "medical disaster" at hand

August 1, 2009

Gaza – Ma’an – Ministry of Health warehouses are running out of 80 different kinds of cancer, psychiatric and post-operative medications and 125 different kinds of medical supplies relating to thalassemia and dialysis treatments.

Already limited supplies have meant mediations get reserved for the most severe cases, which is "putting the lives of at least 349 patients at risk," head of the planning department in the Ministry of Health Ashraf Abu Mahadi said.

The general administration of the ministry blamed the siege and Israeli border officials for preventing supplies, most of which are on order or waiting in storage containers outside the Strip, from getting to patients.

Senior official in the ministry Yousef Al-Mudalal warned of a health catastrophe that might claim the lives of hundreds of patients if meds are not brought in to Gaza soon. He urged human rights organizations to immediately intervene and pressure Israel to let medications into Gaza to prevent a "medical disaster."

Earlier this week the World Health Organization released a report saying limited access to medical supplies in Gaza was creating a health crisis. The document focused on unusable medical equipment due to lack of spare parts and the resulting poor quality of care available to patients.

It also estimated that 500 tons of donated medical supplies will go unused because they are not needed or do not meet Health Ministry standards, while hundreds of thousands of dollars in other supplies are overstocked and unnecessary.
"The main issue here about the blockade is that it undermines the supply system as a whole," head of WHO's office in Gaza Mahmoud Daher said.

Yemeni official: Gitmo inmate died of asphyxiation

By MIKE MELIA, Associated Press Writer

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A Guantanamo detainee whose death has been blamed on suicide apparently died of asphyxiation, a Yemeni official said Saturday.

The preliminary conclusion, which suggests the prisoner strangled himself, offers the first details about the death of Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al Hanashi, who was found unresponsive inside a psychiatric ward.

The disclosure also raises questions about how a prisoner could have choked himself to death inside the closely watched ward.

"The Yemeni government is still awaiting the autopsy report and the investigation report, but for the time being we are sticking with the scenario the U.S. government has stated," Mohammed Albasha, a spokesman for the embassy in Washington, told The Associated Press. He said the apparent cause of death was revealed to Yemeni officials by the U.S. government.

U.S. officials have said publicly only that the death was an apparent suicide. A prison spokesman, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brook DeWalt, said Friday he could not comment on details of the death and officials did not respond to e-mailed requests for comment on Saturday.

Attorney David Remes, who represents another detainee in Guantanamo's Behavioral Health Unit, said it is "unbelievable" that an inmate could strangle himself with wide-angle video cameras watching from the ceilings of their cells around the clock.

"The men in the psych ward are considered suicide risks," Remes said. "Where were his watchers while all this supposedly happened?"

It was the fifth apparent suicide at the detention center that opened at the Navy base in southeast Cuba in 2002.

Jamil Dakwar, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, said his group wants independent investigators to look into detainee deaths. "We have called for transparency and accountability, and now that Obama is in office, we are expecting more," he said.

The June 1 death is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The agency has taken two years or longer to release findings in the four previous suicide cases, all reported hangings, due to what NCIS spokesman Ed Buice describes as the complexity of conducting a thorough investigation inside the top-security facility.

Saleh, 31, allegedly fought alongside the Taliban and had been held without charge at Guantanamo for seven years.

Accounts from his fellow inmates, provided through attorneys, describe Saleh as a sociable, influential man inside the prison who often negotiated with senior military officers for improved conditions. When he was moved to the psychiatric ward five months before his death, some concluded that he was being punished.

One detainee, Yasin Qasem Muhammad Ismail, said Saleh had angered the military by supporting an increase in a long-running hunger strike that swelled to include 45 inmates.

"When the protests occurred, they moved him to the psych ward even though there was nothing wrong," inmate Yasin Qasem Muhammad Ismail told Remes during a meeting inside the prison. "They viewed him as a troublemaker."

By the time of his death, Saleh was weakened by his own hunger strike. He weighed less than 100 pounds (45 kilograms), down from 124 pounds (56 kilograms) when he arrived in February 2002, and he relied on crutches because of unknown problems with his legs, according to an account from Adnan Latif, another detainee in the psychiatric ward.

On the night he died, Saleh took medicine to help him sleep and did not respond when a soldier checked on him an hour later, according to Latif's account. Medics tried to revive him in his cell before taking him to a hospital. A while later, they returned and said Saleh had died.

Chinese police arrest another 319 in Xinjiang probe

BEIJING (AFP) – Police in the northwest Chinese region of Xinjiang have arrested hundreds of people in connection with disturbances that left at least 197 people dead, state media reported Sunday.

Citing a police announcement in Urumqi, the regional capital that was the epicenter of the unrest on July 5, the Xinhua news agency said 319 people had been detained.

Police have previously confirmed the detentions of over 1,600 people, according to earlier state media reports.

Urumqi Public Security Bureau said the detentions came "after information was received from the public or obtained through the police investigation," Xinhua said.

The arrests were made "in Urumqi or in other parts of Xinjiang," the statement said, adding "suspects would face charges in connection with the riot that left 197 people dead," according to Xinhua.

On Thursday, Urumqi police issued photographs of 15 suspects still at large and promised leniency for those who turned themselves in. Those who did not would be "punished severely", the police said.

Uighurs say the unrest was touched off when Urumqi security forces responded violently to peaceful protests over a brawl at a factory in southern China. State media said the factory clash left two Uighurs dead.

The government says Uighurs, most of whom are Muslim, went on a rampage in Urumqi against members of China's dominant Han ethnic group.

China doctor reveals 100 rules for would-be spacemen

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – No scars, no history of serious illness in the last three generations of your family, and no tooth cavities.

These are amongst the 100 health requirements for would-be astronauts vying to be part of China's next space team, the Yangtse Evening Paper reported on Saturday.

The selection process, which the paper said is for the second batch of Chinese astronauts, will disqualify those who have runny noses, ringworm, drug allergies or bad breath.

"The bad smell would affect their fellow colleagues in a narrow space," said Shi Bing Bing, an official with the 454th hospital of People's Liberation Army air force based in Nanjing, one of the six astronaut health screening hospitals.

Aside from the physical requirements of the job, the candidate must also possess a pleasant and adaptable disposition, the paper said.

"These astronauts could be regarded as super human beings," Shi said.

China sent its first man to walk in space in September last year. Zhai Zhigang, the son of a snack-seller, unveiled a small Chinese flag in space, helped by colleague Liu Boming, who also briefly popped his head out of the capsule.

The space walk was a step toward China's longer-term goal of assembling a space lab and then a larger space station.

Algerian army kills at least 18 suspected terrorists

Algeria/Paris (Earth Times - dpa) - At least 18 suspected terrorists were killed during Algerian army operations in the eastern part of the country, Algerian media reported Sunday. The dead were believed to belong to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the reports said.

About 6,000 soldiers have been engaged in operations in the area for the past week, reacting to an attack in which four security officials were wounded.

Army officials have reported finding multiple stockpiles of hidden weapons, which troops destroyed.

Afghan Resistance Statement

Announcement by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan regarding the American process of elections to mislead the Afghans
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

09.08.1430 Hjr / 31.07.2009

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate

With the expansion and escalation of the Islamic Jihad which has been dealing crushing blows at the non-believers, now the Americans and their allies have come around that all their efforts would bear no fruit in this country and their various strategies, which are aimed at subjugating the Afghans, are now facing failure.

To cover up this defeat; to save their selves and deceive the people, the Americans have devised and launched various plans and conspiracies. One of them being the election an American process for which all western media is working to boost up. They have injected economic inputs into this project in addition to other military efforts in the shape of the operation of nearly 10,000 American and British troops in Helmand.

These are immovable evidences on hand. How the Afghans would come to accept it as an Afghan process while it is being carried out by a direct support of the Americans both from the point of financing and propaganda dissemination. This process is devised by America, funded and monitored by her. The Americans maintain its security. So how one can call it an Afghan process when the invaders need at least 10,000 soldiers in one province for its implementation.

Four years ago when Karzai assumed power as a result of self-same process what did he do to materialize the aspirations of the Afghans? During the reign of this so-called president, the Americans did all in their power against the Afghans but what he did to prevent these atrocities? The merciless bombardment of civilians, lack of security, immorality, spread of foreign culture, increase in the number of foreign troops, collective killings of defenceless prisoners in Pulle-Charkhi prison all these are the products of this dark reign.

In the economic field, as a symbol of their service to the country, the Afghans were forced to sell their dear children for food items and many countrymen were compelled to eat grass. This time the same game is played anew. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believes that this American drama is a failure like other military and political efforts of America. Therefore, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan announces the following points in order to neutralize this process.

Based on their Islamic and Afghani obligations, the Afghans should boycott the upcoming election process of deception and fraud. They should choose the way of the strongholds of Jihad instead of the path of polling stations in order to obtain a true independence. They should snatch their rights from the usurpers through Jihad and resistance. Participation in the election is tantamount to making friendship and rendering help with the invading Americans. It grants their invasion legitimacy. Allah, the Almighty (SwT) says about friendship with non-believers:

"O you who believe! Take not the Jews and Christians as friends (helpers, protectors) They are but friends to one another. And if any amongst you takes them as friends, then surely he is one of them. Verily Allah guides not those people who are wrongdoers." 51-Al-Maida.

In another verse, Allah (SwT) the Almighty says:

"Give to the hypocrites the tidings that there is for them a painful torment. Those who take disbelievers for friends (helpers, protectors) instead of believers, do they seek honor, power and glory, Then to Allah belongs all honor, power and glory." 138- Al-nissa.

The so-called elected government takes pride in the friendship of the invaders and acknowledges getting their assistance and feel prideful for that. They are accomplices of the invading masters in all atrocities and crimes perpetrated against our oppressed and miserable people.

They are continuing to carry out the atrocities. If any one participates in the election, it will be tantamount to helping a wrongdoer in his wrongdoing and mischief making. The Holy prophet (peace be upon him) says about a man who helps a wrongdoer in his wrongdoing: "Whoever helps a wrongdoer in his wrongdoing, he will be brought on the Day of Resurrection while on his forehead, it will written: disappointed of the mercy of Allah." Narrated by Al-delme.

In another saying of the Holy prophet (peace be upon him) narrated by Abdullah ibn Masoud (may Allah be pleased with him) it is said: "Whoever helps a wrongdoer in his wrongdoing, Allah will dominate (the wrongdoer) over him."

Mujahideen should take every measure to impede this squalid process. They should launch operations against the enemy centers, should prevent people from participating in the election and close all main and secondary roads for governmental and private transportation one day prior to the election and inform the people accordingly.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan