Education is the most powerful weapon

Radical Islamists have long recognized what we now need to learn: the Arab and Muslim world needs education above all

Paul Salem
Wednesday 28 October 2009

Report after report from the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and the Arab League emphasize that the education deficit in the Arab world is among the main causes of its underdevelopment. With 5% of the world's population and the bulk of the world's oil and gas, the Arab world nonetheless lags behind most of the rest of the world, and suffers from what can best be termed "educational poverty." Without dramatic improvement at all educational levels, unemployment, illiteracy, and income inequality will continue to worsen, and the region will remain a danger to itself and its neighbors.

Even before the current economic recession, unemployment in the Arab world was estimated at 14% – the world's highest average outside sub-Saharan Africa. Among young people and recent graduates, the figure is more than double.

The Arab world also has the highest population growth rate in the world, with almost 40% of its population now below the age of 15. According to some estimates, the Arab world accounts for one-quarter of the world's unemployment among the 15-24 age group. Just to keep up with the inflow of young people into the labor market, Arab economies will have to generate 100 million new jobs over the next 10 years, which will be impossible if education remains impoverished.

Enrollment ratios in the Arab world have improved over the past decade, but Arab countries still have one of the lowest average net enrollment ratios in the developing world. About one-fifth of eligible children, more than seven million, are not in school, and 60% of these are girls. The average years of schooling for Arabs is less than half that for the East Asian countries. Not surprisingly, despite progress in recent decades, illiteracy remains at around 30% on average, and in some Arab countries reaches 50% and 60%.

The quality of Arab education is also an obstacle. Today's job market demands skills based on problem-solving, critical thinking, modern languages, and technology, but Arab educational systems generally remain traditional, rote-based, and authoritarian.

Research throughout the world shows that education is a key prerequisite for sustainable growth. The East Asian tigers invested heavily in education, and it paid off in terms of a capable and modern workforce. By contrast, development in the Arab world, driven largely by oil revenues, has left the population under-educated and economically marginalized.

Education is also important in the Arab context because of its special status in Islam, which, like Judaism and Christianity, is a religion of the book. The Gospel of St John says, "In the Beginning was the Word"; the first word that was revealed to the prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel was "Read … " Among the prophet's sayings is, "It is the duty of every Muslim man and woman to seek learning."

Moreover, Islam does not have a priesthood, just scholars. The Arab golden ages, in 11th-century Baghdad and 14th-century Andalusia, are revered as periods of great learning. Schools and universities received large-scale support, and students and scholars traveled from city to city in pursuit of knowledge. After these golden ages, education fell into decline.

By the 1970's and 1980's, the Arab world's post-independence states had made great improvements in their education sector. But they did not have the resources to keep up with their own growing populations. The dramatic levels of investment of the 1950s and 1960s tapered off, with the result that too many children are now either outside the school system or are receiving a low-quality education that leaves them without basic literacy and numeracy skills. And there are still too many disparities based on gender, location, wealth, disability, and other markers of marginalization.

What the west has most, and what the Arab world most needs, is education. It requires more schools and fewer guns; more universities and fewer aircraft carriers. The American University of Beirut, founded in 1866, has arguably done more to transform the Middle East in positive ways than any other comparable institution, yet it receives only $3m in annual aid from the United States, which spends billions on armies and weaponry in the region.

Indeed, the cost of a single month of western military spending in Iraq or Afghanistan would be enough to triple total aid for education in the Middle East. The cost of two cruise missiles would build a school, the cost of a Eurofighter a small university.

Education can also have a fundamental effect on forming values. Radical Islamists recognized this long ago and plowed their resources into schools. Saudi Arabia recognized it in the 1970's as it sought to expand its influence, and over the years the kingdom has funded thousands of schools and colleges that teach its stringent brand of Wahhabi Islam.

In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the radical vision is conveyed to the young in religious schools known as madrasas. Indeed, "Taliban" means "students." The struggle for the future of the Arab and Muslim worlds that is being fought now will be won or lost not on the battlefield, but in the classroom.

US clinic denies Muslim doctor right to wear hijab

A medical clinic in Dallas, Texas has sparked controversy after saying a Muslim doctor applying for a job cannot wear her headscarf if hired.

Dr. Hena Zaki of Plano, Texas said Friday that she was shocked to find a no-hat policy at the CareNow clinic extended to her hijab.

"He interrupted the interview and said he didn't want me 'to take this the wrong way,'" Zaki said. "Like an FYI."

The 29-year-old doctor has called for an apology and a change in CareNow's policy.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has criticized the no-hijab policy, calling it "a blatant violation" of federal law.

"It's obvious it's a blatant violation," said the council's civil rights manager, Khadija Athman. "It's a very straightforward case of religious accommodation. I cannot see any undue hardship on the part of the employer to accommodate to wear a head scarf."

CareNow Chairman Tim Miller, however, has refused to apologize, saying in a statement that there is nothing wrong with the policy, which, according to him, 'does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin'.

Yemeni president accused of 'genocide'

A Yemeni parliamentarian has accused the government of 'genocide' in regard to deliberate attacks on civilians and refugee camps in the northern parts of the country.

Exiled Houthi lawmaker Yahya al-Houthi – who is the brother of the Shia fighters' leader, Abdul-Malek – holds President Ali Abdullah Saleh responsible for the army attacks on refugee camps, where thousands of civilians took shelter from an all-out offensive against the fighters.

"The Yemeni government accuses us (Houthi fighters) of targeting the refugees," Yahya al-Houthi told Press TV from Berlin.

This is while, the government is the one "targeting the civilians in the refugee camps and the villages," he added.

Al-Houthi said that the refugee camps are being targeted by the military planes. According to him, in a recent attack in Al-Nazir province, the military planes left at least 23 civilians dead and 15 others injured.

The fighters had earlier said that targeting civilians would only strengthen the people's solidarity and would encourage them to resist tyranny.

The fighters, led by Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, have been engaged in fierce fighting with the government, since the army launched 'Operation Scorched Earth' on August 11.

The government accuses fighters of seeking to restore a religious leadership in the northern areas that was overthrown in 1962.

The Houthis, however, say they only seek more autonomy, a halt in the alleged Saudi-backed efforts to cause regional insecurity and to impose Wahabism in the region as well as an end to discrimination against their people.

Detroit Muslims hold memorial for slain Imam

Muslims in the city of Detroit are preparing for the funeral of a prayers leader killed during an alleged shootout with federal agents.

A service for Luqman Ameen Abdullah, Imam of the Masjid Al-Haqq, has been set for Saturday morning at the Muslim Center in Detroit during which speakers will discuss pursuing "peace and reconciliation."

Abdullah was killed by the FBI on Wednesday in Detroit during raids in which a number of individuals were arrested on charges unrelated to terrorism.

According to a criminal complaint, the Imam had been accused of citing stories from the Quran and the life of the prophet Muhammad to justify "stealing, robbing and other illegal acts, as long as they profit Islam."

The FBI accused him of being "the radical leader of a Sunni Islam group in Detroit who expressed hatred for government and endorsed violence."

The claims have been dismissed as "utterly preposterous" by Abdullah's mosque.

The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT), a coalition of major national Islamic organizations, has called for an independent investigation into the killing.

The coalition has also called on the FBI to refrain from linking the raids or the allegations against the suspects to the Muslim faith.

"Unless the FBI has evidence linking the criminal allegations to the religious affiliation of the suspects, we ask that federal authorities stop injecting religion into this case," it said in a statement.

"The unjustified linkage of this case to the faith Islam," the coalition added, "will only serve to promote an increase in existing anti-Muslim stereotyping and bias in our society."

Yemeni jails 2 journalists for criticizing leader

SAN’A, Yemen - A Yemeni court convicted two journalists of slandering the president and sentenced them to prison after they criticized the country’s leader as despotic.

Yemen’s Press and Printing Material Court sentenced Munir al-Mawri to two years in prison and banned him from writing for life after describing President Ali Abdullah Saleh as “a weapon of mass destruction” in a November article in al-Masdar newspaper.

The paper’s editor Samir Jubran was sentenced to one year in jail for allowing the article to be published.

“The sentence is harsh and it is a reflection of the court’s violation of legal procedures,” said Jubran.

Human rights groups have accused Yemen of attempts to stifle the opposition. Journalists commenting negatively on the country’s wars with southern separatists and northern Shiite rebels have been arrested and imprisoned.

In a statement released Saturday the Cairo-based Arab Network for Human Rights Information accused Saleh’s government of “repeated attacks on freedom of expression.”

“ANHRI expressed deep concern for the continued detention of several Yemeni journalists and activists and requested the Yemeni government to respect freedoms and rights,” the statement said.

Are we all militants, ask Kashmir's pre-paid mobile subscribers

Saturday 31st October, 2009 (IANS)

Jammu/A wave of anger has swept through Jammu and Kashmir with the central government deciding to ban pre-paid mobile connections in the state from Sunday due to security concerns. Most angry are youths.

Even as the Kashmir government has promised to take up the issue with the centre, the 'walk and talk' generation in the state is furious that it has been clubbed with terrorists who misused pre-paid connections.

'Are we militants?' Shahid Khan, a student, asked in anger and frustration. 'Are millions of pre-paid connection subscribers terrorists?' he asked.

The decision to snap this service has resulted in total chaos among subscribers.

'It is strange that I should be punished because someone somewhere could be misusing the facility. This is unfortunate and condemnable,' said Muzaffar Ahmad, 23, a college student in Srinagar.

There are around 3.8 million pre-paid connections in the state. Most of them are from Airtel (one million), and new companies have come into the state, like Tata Indicom, Idea, Air Cel, Reliance. They have made huge investments, and they too are angry.

'This is a bad move,' an official of a leading mobile service provider told IANS.

Most people, especially youth who have to deal with limited pocket money and prefer pre-paid connections, are very angry. 'Until now we knew our limitations, how much to talk, if we go in for post-paid connections, that limit would be hard to know,' said Sunita Sharma, a young working woman.

What surprises them is that the move comes right after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the state promising more opportunities.

Khurshid Ahmed, 28, a student of Kashmir University, said: 'On the one hand the government says we must become information savvy and use the latest technology to keep pace with competitors from other universities and now the same government is pushing us back by at least a decade.'

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, during his visit to Kashmir, had hinted at banning pre-paid connections.

The security concerns are rooted in the fact that the security forces were finding it difficult to trace the militants, who were passing on instructions to their cadres through mobile phones and also changing their SIM cards at will. Invariably, police found a number of SIM cards of various companies with the militants killed or captured during gunbattles.

'Pre-paid mobile connections had multiplied our challenges, and we were facing tough times in tracking the terror-guiding hands because they were having the power of mobile phones in their hands, besides guns,' a senior police official said. But he refused to comment on the home ministry's blanket ban on the prepaid SIM cards.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has termed the move as 'unfortunate' and sought the prime minister's intervention. 'Pre-paid services should be restored,' she said in a statement.

The decision has also not gone down well with hundreds of Kashmiris engaged in the business of selling pre-paid cell phone connections here.

'We take sufficient documents to establish the identity of the subscriber before issuing the pre-paid SIM card and now since morning I have closed down my shop for fear that frustrated subscribers might manhandle me,' said a cell phone SIM dealer in Srinagar who did not want to be named.

Asked Ramesh Chander, a businessman: 'If this is happening to mobile service providers, what sort of a message is being conveyed to industrialists and prospective investors across the country? That Kashmir is a state where terrorism is as high as before the services were launched in the state in 2003?'

Yemen sentences 8 more Shias to death

A Yemeni court has given the death sentence to eight more Shia fighters, for resisting a government offensive north of the country's capital last year.

The fighters were arrested during month-long clashes at Bani Husheish, 30 km (19 miles) north of Sanaa last year. Saturday's trial was the sixth of its kind for Yemenis involved in last year's fighting.

The court found the men guilty of "forming an armed gang aimed at implementing a criminal plot" as well as "causing the killing and wounding of many soldiers and policemen", AFP reported.

The court also sentenced 12 others to prison terms ranging from one to 12 years. Two others, brought to trial were found innocent.

The latest trial brought the number of Yemeni fighters on death row to 34, as the government continues its all-out military campaign in the North. About 100 others are awaiting trial.

The military offensive against the Shia fighters, launched on August 11, has so far left hundreds of people, mostly civilians, dead. It has also displaced tens of thousands of civilians, forcing them to live in refugee camps.

While the Shia fighters, also known as 'Houthis', say they are defending themselves against social, economic, political and religious oppression, the government accuses them of seeking to restore a religious leadership which ended in a republican coup in 1962.

Jakarta rules out Indonesian solution to Australia refugee problems

Jakarta - Indonesia said Friday that it did want to be a processing centre for asylum seekers trying to reach a third country and that its willingness to take 78 Australia-bound Sri Lankan boat people was a one-off humanitarian move. The Indonesian government has promised Australia to take the Sri Lankans rescued 12 days ago by an Australian customs boat in international waters in an agreement dubbed "the Indonesian solution" by the Australian media.

But the asylum seekers are refusing to disembark from the Oceanic Viking, which is moored off Indonesia's Bintan Island near Singapore.

They want the customs ship to sail to Australia, and some are on hunger strike to try to force Canberra's hand.

"We have never wanted our territory to become a place for the processing of refugees for placement in a third country," Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said at a news conference.

"We have never entertained such an idea," he said.

Both Indonesia and Australia have promised not to resort to force to end the standoff with the Sri Lankans.

Faizasyah said the ship would be allowed to moor off Bintan until November 6 in light of an Australian request but insisted that it was up to the Australians to decide what to do with the Sri Lankans.

He warned that Indonesia would not accept any future requests to take boat people detained by Australian authorities.

"This is a unique case," he said. "Such a thing will not be repeated."

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd held talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on October 20 in Jakarta, during which Jakarta agreed to Canberra's request to take the boat people.

Faizasyah said there was no such a thing as "the Indonesian solution."

"We are questioning the use of the term because we are not comfortable with it," the spokesman said.

The recent surge in arrivals - more than 30 boats have arrived this year compared with seven for the whole of 2008 - is proving a test for Rudd's 2-year-old Labor government, which has promised a softer approach to arrivals of undocumented migrants than the previous conservative government under John Howard.

Most asylum seekers arrive on small boats from Indonesia, where they have paid people smugglers to arrange their passage, but the latest boats have come directly from Sri Lanka, where the Tamil minority said they fear persecution from the Sinhalese majority.

A Tamil refugee advocate who claimed to have spoken by mobile phone to people aboard the Oceanic Viking told Australian broadcaster ABC that they fear being forcibly removed from the vessel.

Malaysian man charged with murdering Indonesian maid

Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian court on Friday charged a man with the murder of his Indonesian maid, who died after allegedly being abused. The magistrate's court in the central Klang district charged 35-year-old A. Murugan with murdering Mautik Hani, 36, at his home, the official Bernama news agency said.

Mautik, who comes from Surabaya, was rescued on October 19 after being locked in a toilet for two days. She was rushed to a hospital with wounds and bruises on her face and body.

Mautik died Monday, three days after slipping into a coma.

Murugan did not record a plea, and the judge fixed Tuesday for further mention of the case.

Police said Mautik, who was believed to have been working for two months, did not have any valid travel documents when she was found.

Malaysia is home to 320,000 maids, of which about 85 per cent are from Indonesia.

Yemeni refugees killed in UN-run camp

A number of displaced Yemenis in a UN-run camp have died after being caught in a crossfire between clashing sides in the north of the country.

"According to sketchy information from Saada, a rocket or a mortar round landed in the camp, killing and wounding the IDPs, women and children among them," the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a Friday statement.

The incident took place in the UNHCR-managed al-Sam camp on the outskirts of the northern provincial capital of Saada, which currently provides shelter for around 500 people.

The agency did not have figures on those killed and injured by the attack, but warned of the deteriorating security situation in the beleaguered area.

"UNHCR is shocked and saddened by the latest reports of the loss of life and indiscriminate targeting of Yemeni civilians forced to flee their homes," it added.

The impoverished Arab nation has seen some 150,000 people displaced or affected by the conflict between the army and Houthi fighters since 2004, when the opposition took arms against the central government to end repression and discrimination against the Shia minority.

An estimated 55,000 Yemenis have fled in the latest spate of fighting which broke out after the Sana'a government's August military offensive launched to quell the Houthis in the north.

The Shia movement has accused the Yemeni army of employing al-Qaeda mercenaries along with foreign fighters to confront the Houthi opposition.

They say the Sunni-dominated government in neighboring Saudi Arabia has been collaborating with Sana'a by sending military aid and jetfighters to bombard Houthi positions.

Indonesian airport authorities urged to improve service for hajj pilgrims

October 27, 2009

Indonesian Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi urged authorities of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to improve service for hajj pilgrims, detikcom online news reported here on Tuesday.

"Make everything better in the future. Every hajj terminal and relaxing rooms for hajj pilgrims should be proper," he said on inspection of preparation at the Terminal 3 in handling hajj pilgrims.

According to the minister, the Terminal 3 should be better than neighboring countries.

"It should be better than small country like Singapore. We are not a poor country. We have money but it is not managed properly," he said.

The minister observed the transportation preparation for hajj pilgrims who will depart for Mecca.

The hajj pilgrims started to leave Indonesia last Friday. Of total 207,000 of hajj pilgrims, as many as 114,094 were carried by Garuda Indonesia aircraft, while the rest were carried by Saudi Arabian Airlines ones.

Indonesia to launch satellite for disaster mitigation

October 27, 2009

The Indonesia Aeronautics and Space Agency (LAPAN) prepared to launch a satellite in 2011, spokesperson of the LAPAN Elly Kuntjahyowati said here Tuesday.

The satellite is aimed to address communication problem in post-disaster phase and to provide a picture of the affected areas quickly, which can be used in the assessment of the natural disaster.

The plan came out as Indonesia, which sits on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called the Pacific Ring of Fire, has suffered from a series of major quakes recently.

Quakes measuring 7.3 and 7.6 on the Richter's scale killed more than 1,000 people and destroyed many buildings in West Java and West Sumatra recently. The country had experienced difficulties in communication after a 7.6 magnitude quake struck West Sumatra and destroyed telecommunication infrastructure.

The satellite will cover the whole of Indonesia's territory, the spokesperson said. "The satellite can support communication in an emergency situation," she told Xinhua over phone.

Head of Space Technology of LAPAN Heru Robertus said that the satellite did not use a permanent devise on earth. It only used mobile equipment. "So there is no possibility of communication being cut down because of the destruction of the infrastructure on land," he said.

The spokesperson added that the satellite could also take real-time picture of the disaster areas, so people can make a fast assessment on the severity of the natural disaster.

She said that the satellite would be launched with rocket belonging to the Indian Space Research Organization. A launching contract had been signed, said Kuntjahyowati.

India to bar prepaid phones in Jammu and Kashmir

NEW DELHI, Oct 30 — To address serious security concerns, India today decided to ban pre-paid mobile phone connections in Jammu and Kashmir from November 1, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI)’s report.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided that no fresh pre-paid mobile connections should be issued and existing pre-paid SIM cards should not be renewed in the state after November 1. The move will affect nearly 3.8 million pre-paid mobile phone subscribers in the state, PTI said.

The Ministry has asked the Department of Telecommunications to take appropriate action in the matter for implementation of the decision.

The step comes in the wake of reports that proper verification is not being done while providing such pre-paid mobile connections by the service providers/vendors, a Home Ministry spokesperson said. In some cases, a single person had been issued with a multiple number of connections.

The fake documents/identity numbers are also reportedly being used by the vendors particularly, in the case of pre-paid connections.

“This situation had given rise to serious security concerns. Hence, the decision,” he said.

During his visit to the state last fortnight Home Minister P Chidambaram had said the government has been making efforts to persuade pre-paid subscribers to switch to post-paid connections due to security issues.

In Jammu and Kashmir, Airtel has nearly 1.9 million subscribers followed by BSNL having 12 lakh and Aircel having 700, 000.

Moderate earthquake jolts India-controlled Kashmir

A moderate earthquake shook India-controlled Kashmir and its adjoining areas Thursday night, forcing people to run out of their houses, said local officials Friday.

According to the Disaster Management officials in Srinagar, the summer capital of India-controlled Kashmir, the earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale occurred at 11:14 p.m. local time.

"The tremors continued for 25 seconds, creating panic," said Mubashir Hussain, a Srinagar resident.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region, at 36.5 degrees north latitude and 71.2 degrees east longitude, said an official at Disaster Management office in Srinagar.

So far, no loss of life or property has been reported from any part of the region, he said.

A strong earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale jolted major India-controlled Kashmir on Oct. 23.

Geologists say India-controlled Kashmir is located in a zone of high seismic activity.

Srinagar falls in Seismic Zone-V and other parts of India-controlled Kashmir in Seismic Zone IV.

A high intensity earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale with its epicenter in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir shook the region on Oct. 8, 2005 causing large-scale destruction, killing 80,000 people.

Indonesia urges Malaysia to bring violent employers to justice

Indonesian government urged Malaysia to undertake legal proceedings against violent employers who abused and tortured Indonesian maids to death, Indonesian foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said here on Friday.

"In terms of political pressure, Indonesia has reminded several times to the Malaysian government on the need to bring violent employers to justice so as to give deterrent impact for Malaysian employers and ending the violence against Indonesian workers in Malaysia," Teuku said in a press briefing in the ministry's premises.

A 39-year-old Indonesian maid, namely Munti, was abused, tortured and beaten to death by her employer in Selangor state, Malaysia on Oct. 26 after being treated in a local hospital. Earlier reports said that many Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia suffered from inappropriate treatment from their employers, ending up in permanent physical defect or even death.

Teuku said that providing protection for Indonesia's migrant workers was one of the targets set during the first 100 days of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's second term government.

He said that the efforts to provide protection for Indonesian migrant workers would initially be conducted in frame of cooperation among ASEAN countries.

Indonesia willing to boost assistance in Afghanistan

JAKARTA, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia wanted to step up its roles in assisting the government of Afghanistan, which had been hit by a civil war, in addressing its problems, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said here Wednesday.

The minister said that Indonesia needed to find out what kind of assistance to be given in the country post war, and to harmonize the aids with the international assistance.

Marty made the statement after accompanying Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono meeting with Indonesian ambassador to Afghanistan Erman Hidayat at the State Palace, hearing report of the latest situation in Afghanistan.

"During the meeting it is stressed Indonesia attention on the country (Afghanistan) and it is as part of Indonesia's effort in promoting peace," he told a press conference.

"The international attention on the country is not small, we want to see first what is needed by the government of Afghanistan," said Marty.

The Indonesia government has experienced in addressing conflicts such as with the rebel in Aceh province and Timor-Leste through a reconciliation.

Besides, the minister said that Indonesia had also capability in increasing human resources capacity.

"We want to harmonize our assistance with the international aids, and we also want to adjust it with our capability," said Marty.

Saddam planned escape

AMMAN, JORDAN (AFP) - DEPOSED Iraqi president Saddam Hussein planned to escape from his US-run prison in 2006 with the help of loyalists, including former bodyguards, according to a book written by one of his lawyers.

'Saddam's plan to escape prison was supposed to take place in the summer of 2006, with the backing of the Iraqi resistance and a special force of bodyguards,' Khalil al-Dulaimi wrote in Saddam Hussein Out of US Prison: What Happened.

'Under the plan, the Iraqi fighters were given orders to attack Baghdad's Green Zone and the headquarters of the US Marines at the capital's airport, before raiding his jail' at Camp Cropper near the airport, according to a copy of the 480-page book obtained by AFP this week.

'He planned to flee to Anbar province in western Iraq to make a quick plan to unify Iraqi resistance groups and carry out an offensive on Baghdad,' Amman-based Dulaimi, himself an Iraqi, said in the book.

Mr Dulaimi said the plan was dropped 'after a shooting incident outside (Saddam's) detention centre, which led to fortifying the facility and boosting security measures.'

Six months later, Saddam was dead. He was hanged in December after being convicted of crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Shiite civilians following an assassination attempt against him in 1982.

Indonesia anti-graft officials arrested in criminal probe

Jakarta - Indonesian police on Thursday arrested two deputy chairmen of the country's powerful anti-corruption body in a politically-charged criminal investigation. Police charged Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto, two of the four deputy chiefs of the Corruption Eradication Commission, with abuse of power and extortion in investigating a corruption case involving a businessman.

"Today we are putting the two suspects in custody," National Police Deputy Chief Detective Dikdik Mulyana Arif told a news conference.

The two could face six years in jail if found guilty.

Police took action after the commission's chairman, Antasari Azhar, allegedly told investigators that his deputies accepted bribes from a businessman who is a suspect in a corruption case.

Azhar has been in police detention since May for his alleged involvement in a murder case.

Anti-graft activists said the probe against Hamzah and Riyanto was part of a systematic effort by forces within the police and the Attorney General's Office to undermine the commission following a series of successful prosecutions against high-profile figures.

Local media have in the past week published transcripts of alleged taped conversations between senior state prosecutors, police officers and the brother of the businessman subject to the commission's probe in which they discussed a plot to frame the two commissioners.

The commission's acting chairman, Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean, has told reporters his office was in possession of a tape that could prove that there was a conspiracy to put Hamzah and Riyanto behind bars.

One of the alleged plotters spoke of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's support for attempts to remove the two commissioners.

Yudhoyono, who was sworn in for a second term in office on October 20, has ordered a full investigation and his adviser called reference to the president's support as "a lie."

National Police chief Genenral Bambang Hendarso Danuri and Attorney General Hendarman Supandji have cast doubts on the authenticity of the transcripts.

The anti-corruption commission was created in 2003 to tackle endemic graft with the power to arrest and prosecute suspects.

30 injured as bus falls into gorge

Srinagar, Oct 29 (PTI) At least 30 persons were injured when a bus skidded off the road and fell into a 20-feet gorge in Kupwara district of North Kashmir today, official sources said.

Nine of the injured were admitted to a hospital in critical condition.

The accident took place at Pahldaj-Ramhal, 90 kms from here, when the driver of the Handwara-bound private bus lost control over the vehicle.

Rescue parties immediately swung into action and shifted the injured to hospital, the sources said.

Separatists find nothing new in PM's offer of talks

Srinagar, Oct 29 (PTI) Separatists in Jammu and Kashmir today said there is nothing new in the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's latest offer of talks.

"There is no need to react to the latest statement of the Indian Prime Minister. There is nothing new in the offer of talks," Ayaz Akbar, spokesman of the hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani told PTI.

"Our stand is crystal clear. We want India to accept the disputed nature of Kashmir, withdraw its troops, release political prisoners and then initiate talks aimed at implementing the UN resolutions guaranteeing right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir," he said.

Moderate faction of Hurriyat headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq is also divided on the issue of talks with New Delhi.