Month: November 2009

Washington, November 09: Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has urged the United States to withdraw all its military forces from Afghanistan.

Gorbachev told CNN in an interview on Sunday that “withdrawal from Afghanistan should be the goal.”

The Soviet Union’s last leader also advised US President Barack Obama against sending additional troops to Afghanistan. “I think that what’s needed is not additional forces.”

He made the remarks as Washington mulls sending as many as 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

Tehran, November 09: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has held meetings with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul.

Ahmadinejad arrived in Istanbul on Sunday to attend the 25th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

The Iranian president first met with Erdogan and then met with Gul.

Ahmadinejad and the two Turkish leaders reportedly discussed important regional and bilateral issues.

The three-day COMCEC meeting opened on Sunday.

Jerusalem, November 09: Following years of persistent threats by Israel to attack Iran, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister rejects speculations that the warnings are just a bluff, insisting they are very real.

Nearly three weeks after three consecutive days of nuclear negotiations between officials from Iran, the United States, Russia and France, Israel’s deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon accused the Tehran government of stalling tactics.

Speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Ayalon accused Iran of not being sincere in its negotiation with the P5+1 over its uranium enrichment program.

Kinshasa, November 09: Security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have arrested several people blamed for killing dozens and displacing thousands more in last month’s tribal conflict.

A government spokesman said the arrests were made in Dongo in the country’s northwest on Saturday.

“About 100 young people carrying guns and knives have been detained and disarmed,” the AFP news agency quoted him as saying on Sunday.

Police sources say they faced resistance while making arrests, but no one was hurt.

Gaza, November 09: A report published on Saturday showed that 32 Palestinian children have been killed while working in smuggling tunnels under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in past three years.

The report, conducted by the Palestinian National Society for Democracy and Law, said 32 children were killed since Israel imposed a blockade on the coastal enclave in mid-2006 and restricted entry of goods to little more than food and medicine.

West Bank, November 09: Thousands of Palestinians turned out in the West Bank on Sunday to urge Mahmoud Abbas to run again for the presidency following his announcement that he did not want a second term in the job.

Waving flags, Abbas supporters greeted the president as he conducted a rare tour of towns in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, part of the territories where the Palestinians aim to establish a state.

“Mahmoud Abbas, don’t step down! You are the foundation,” chanted the crowd. The Fatah movement, which Abbas heads, had called for participation in the show of support.

Berlin, November 09: The head of a UN investigation that accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza, Richard Goldstone, has said he is disappointed there has been such a “lukewarm” reaction to his findings in the United States.

The report by Goldstone, a South African jurist, lambasted both sides in the December-January war, which killed up to 1,387 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, but was harsher toward Israel.

Kabul, November 09: Afghan President Hamid Karzai, under fire from his international partners to clean up his administration, insisted Sunday there’s no place for corrupt officials within his government.

US President Barack Obama and other international leaders have urged Karzai to crack down on corruption after he won Afghanistan’s fraud-marred election by default. Karzai was proclaimed the winner last week after his main challenger pulled out of a runoff, saying he did not expect a fair vote.

Abu Dhabi, November 09: US Homeland Security officials are working with groups around United States to head off any possible anti-Muslim backlash following the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas, the agency’s chief said Sunday.

The comments by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also appeared part of efforts to reassure the Arab world that US authorities were taking measures to quell anti-Islam sentiments after last week’s rampage by an American-born Muslim serving as US Army psychiatrist.

Makkah, November 09: Eleven checkpoints equipped with state of the art technology have been set up near all entrances to Makkah to root out pilgrims attempting to enter the holy city illegally.

“We have stationed qualified staff at all air, land and sea entry points to welcome pilgrims and facilitate their entry to Makkah and Madinah,” commander of the Haj security forces for passports Col. Ayied bin Taghaleeb Al-Harbi told Arab News.

Jeddah, November 09: The operation of a monorail system during the Haj next year would facilitate the transport of millions of pilgrims between the holy sites of Makkah, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah.

Habeeb Zain Al-Abidine, deputy minister of municipal and rural affairs, said the monorails would transport 500,000 pilgrims between the holy sites within six to eight hours.

“This will help withdraw at least 30,000 small and large buses from the Haj service,” said Zain .Al-Abidene while addressing a seminar on civil engineering projects for Haj.