Iraq agrees to move Iran exiles; rockets hit camp (AP)

BAGHDAD ? The United Nations and the Iraqi government agreed to relocate several thousand Iranian exiles living in a camp in northeastern Iraq, potentially averting a showdown with its residents. The dissidents, who have not said whether they would agree to move, reported a rocket attack on the camp.

The People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, one-time allies of Saddam Hussein in a common fight against Iran, said Katyusha rockets struck near housing units inside the camp on Sunday night, but did not report any casualties.

A representative of the camp's residents said Monday they were still waiting to see the agreement before commenting on whether they would decide to relocate or not.

"We hope that it would officially include the minimum assurances so that it would be acceptable to Ashraf residents," said Shahin Gobadi. "Ashraf residents have repeatedly emphasized that they would in no way accept forcible relocation."

Since Saddam's overthrow, Iraq's new leaders have improved relations with Iran and have sought to shut down the camp, home to 3,400 residents and located in barren terrain northeast of Baghdad about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Iranian border. The U.N. reported that at least 34 people were killed in a raid by Iraqi government forces in April.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq announced an agreement Sunday night that establishes a process to move the residents of Camp Ashraf to a temporary location. It did not give a timeline for the move or specify the new location.

A statement from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the residents would be moved to Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military base near the Baghdad International Airport.

At Camp Liberty, the U.N.'s refugee agency will interview the residents to determine their eligibility to get refugee status, before they can eventually be resettled in third countries, Clinton said.

"We are encouraged by the Iraqi government's willingness to commit to this plan, and expect it to fulfill all its responsibilities," she said in the statement. "To be successful, this resettlement must also have the full support of the camp's residents, and we urge them to work with the U.N. to implement this relocation."

The People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran first moved to Camp Ashraf during the regime of Saddam, who saw the group as a convenient ally against Tehran. The group is committed to the overthrow of the Iranian regime.

The group carried out a series of bombings and assassinations against Iran's clerical regime in the 1980s and fought alongside Saddam's forces in the Iran-Iraq war. But the group says it renounced violence in 2001. U.S. soldiers disarmed them during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been determined to close down the camp by the end of December. His government considers the camp as an affront to Iraq's sovereignty.

Last week, an Iraqi government spokesman said the government was working out a solution to the situation at Camp Ashraf with the U.N. and would allow the camp to stay open into January as residents are being relocated. At the time, representatives of the residents suggested they would be willing to move, as long as their security was provided for.

Under the agreement outlined by the U.N., the international organization will monitor the relocation process and then a team from the U.N.'s refugee agency will be deployed at the new location to process the refugee claims.

Officials from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will also visit regularly, the State Department said.

The Iraqi government will be responsible for the exiles' safety during that time, and will have a liaison officer from the Ministry of Human Rights involved in the relocation, the U.N. said.

"I would like to highlight that the government is exclusively responsible for the safety and security of the residents both during their transfer and in the new location until they leave the country," said Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Iraq.

The Iraqi government's vow to close Camp Ashraf had raised concerns that forcibly removing its residents would result in violence.

The People's Mujahedeen has been branded a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, a designation now under review by the State Department. It has been removed from similar blacklists in Europe.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111226/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_camp_ashraf

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Sony release of S-LCD shares to Samsung to benefit Taiwan panel makers, says paper

EDN, December 27; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES?[Tuesday 27 December 2011]

The decision of Samsung Electronics to acquire all of Sony's shares in S-LCD, the two company's flat panel joint venture, will benefit Taiwan-based flat panel makers Chimei Innolux (CMI) and AU Optronics (AUO), the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) quoted David Hsieh, vice president of the Greater China Market at DisplaySearch, as indicating.

After liquidating its shares in S-LCD, Sony may shift more orders for LCD panels to CMI and AUO from its previous primary supplier Samsung, the paper quoted Hsieh as saying.

Hsieh also noted that Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), an OEM TV partner for Sony, has helped deliver CMI's TV panels to Sony for approval, and if approved, Foxconn will be able to optimize the production capacity of its entire group.

Categories: Displays LCD panel

Tags: Foxconn panel S-LCD Samsung Sony Taiwan

Companies: Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry)

Source: http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20111227PB200.html

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Muslim sect claims Nigeria church attacks; 25 dead (AP)

LAGOS, Nigeria ? An explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near Nigeria's capital Sunday, killing at least 25 people, officials said. A radical Muslim sect claimed the attack and another bombing near a church in the restive city of Jos, as explosions also struck the nation's northeast.

The Christmas Day attacks show the growing national ambition of the sect known as Boko Haram, which is responsible for at least 491 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count. The assaults come a year after a series of Christmas Eve bombings in Jos claimed by the militants left at least 32 dead and 74 wounded.

The first explosion on Sunday struck St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, a town in Niger state close to the capital, Abuja, authorities said. Rescue workers recovered at least 25 bodies from the church and officials continued to tally those wounded in various hospitals, said Slaku Luguard, a coordinator with Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency.

His agency already has acknowledged it didn't have enough ambulances immediately on hand to help the wounded. Luguard also said an angry crowd that gathered at the blast site hampered rescue efforts as they refused to allow workers inside.

"We're trying to calm the situation," Luguard said. "There are some angry people around trying to cause problems."

In Jos, a second explosion struck near a Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, government spokesman Pam Ayuba said. Ayuba said gunmen later opened fire on police guarding the area, killing one police officer. Two other locally made explosives were found in a nearby building and disarmed, he said.

"The military are here on ground and have taken control over the entire place," Ayuba said.

The city of Jos is located on the dividing line between Nigeria's predominantly Christian south and Muslim north. Thousands have died in communal clashes there over the last decade.

After the bombings, a Boko Haram spokesman using the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa claimed responsibility for the attacks in an interview with The Daily Trust, the newspaper of record across Nigeria's Muslim north. The sect has used the newspaper in the past to communicate with public.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria's capital of Abuja had issued a warning Friday to citizens to be "particularly vigilant" around churches, large crowds and areas where foreigners congregate.

Several days of fighting in and around the northeastern city of Damaturu between the sect and security forces already had killed at least 61 people, authorities said.

On Sunday, local police commissioner Tanko Lawan said two explosions had struck Damaturu, including a suicide car bombing. Lawan said that blast happened around noon, targeting the headquarters of Nigeria's secret police in the area. There was no immediate information about casualties, he said.

In the last year, Boko Haram has carried out increasingly bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a Nov. 4 attack on Damaturu, Yobe state's capital, that killed more than 100 people. The group also claimed the Aug. 24 suicide car bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Nigeria's capital that killed 24 people and wounded 116 others.

The sect came to national prominence in 2009, when its members rioted and burned police stations near its base of Maiduguri, a dusty northeastern city on the cusp of the Sahara Desert. Nigeria's military violently put down the attack, crushing the sect's mosque into shards as its leader was arrested and died in police custody. About 700 people died during the violence.

While initially targeting enemies via hit-and-run assassinations from the back of motorbikes after the 2009 riot, violence by Boko Haram now has a new sophistication and apparent planning that includes high-profile attacks with greater casualties.

Boko Haram has splintered into three factions, with one wing increasingly willing to kill as it maintains contact with terror groups in North Africa and Somalia, diplomats and security sources say.

Sect members are scattered throughout northern Nigeria and nearby Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

___

Associated Press writer Bashir Adigun in Abuja, Nigeria contributed to this report. Jon Gambrell reported from Lagos, Nigeria and can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111225/ap_on_re_af/af_nigeria_violence

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Stocks rally runs out of steam after ECB loans (AP)

PARIS ? Stock markets in Europe and the U.S. fell Wednesday after the European Central Bank loaned a record amount to the continent's banks in an effort to bolster Europe's stressed financial system.

The ECB loaned a massive euro489 billion ($639 billion) to 523 banks for an exceptionally long period of three years in an effort to steady a financial system under pressure from the eurozone debt crisis. It was the biggest ECB infusion of credit into the banking system in the euro's 13 year history, surpassing the euro442 billion in one-year loans from June, 2009, when the financial system was struggling after the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.

"It seems the sheer amount of money demanded by banks has shocked investors," said Simon Furlong, a trader at Spreadex.

Following early gains, stocks in Europe fell. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 0.6 percent at 5,389.74 while Germany's DAX fell 1 percent to 5,791.53. The CAC-40 in France ended 0.8 percent lower at 3,030.47. The euro similarly gave up early gains, and was trading 0.6 percent lower at $1.3038.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.5 percent at 12,041 while the broader S&P 500 index fell 0.6 percent to 1,234. The S&P was led lower by Oracle Corp., which fell almost 11 percent after the business software maker said it struggled to close deals. The results seemed to reinforce worries that businesses and the government may cut back technology spending.

Most attention centered on the ECB's action, which is intended to make sure that banks have enough ready cash to operate and keep on loaning to businesses so that a credit crunch does not choke off economic growth. Many economists think the eurozone may be headed for at least a mild recession in coming months.

The credit infusion only treats one of the symptoms of the debt crisis. It does not remove the reasons banks remain wary of lending to each other ? especially, their thin levels of capital reserves against potential losses. And it doesn't cut the large levels of debt carried by governments.

European officials have said banks need to raise euro115 billion ($150 billion) in new capital ? but finding that money is not an easy task in the current environment of fear. Investors are leery of putting more money into banks. It would be politically unpopular for governments to do it, and their finances are stressed as well.

"While today's ECB action does ease some of the bank funding difficulties, it cannot address the sovereign debt crisis which is the root of those funding issues," said Vassili Serebriakov, an analyst at Wells Fargo Bank.

Asian markets rose earlier despite ongoing concerns over a possible power struggle in North Korea following the death of Kim Jong Il. Seoul's main index led the advance, ending 3.1 percent higher on the day at 1,848.41.

Tokyo's main index gained 1.5 percent to 8,459.98 points while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.6 percent to 18,368.6. However, China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended down 1.1 percent at 2,181.15.

Meanwhile, oil rose moved closer to $98 a barrel Wednesday after a report showed U.S. crude supplies fell more than expected, a sign demand may be improving. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was up $1 to $98.24 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

___

AP Business Writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this article.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111221/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

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Top Agitator Posts of 2011 (Theagitator)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/176316967?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Legal problems delay kickbacks document

/

By GRAHAM DUNBAR

updated 9:32 a.m. ET Dec. 6, 2011

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - FIFA postponed publication of a Swiss court document naming soccer officials who took millions of dollars in kickbacks from World Cup broadcast deals.

FIFA said "legal measures taken" by a party involved in the 10-year-old ISL scandal prevented it from releasing the court papers on Dec. 17.

"These measures request another thorough legal analysis, which will postpone the envisaged publication of the ISL file," FIFA said in a statement.

FIFA did not identify which third party has stalled the process.

The BBC has reported that the document implicates former FIFA President Joao Havelange and Ricardo Teixeira, the 2014 World Cup organizing committee president.

On Monday, Havelange's resignation as an IOC member was confirmed days before the Olympic body was likely to suspend the 95-year-old Brazilian, who led FIFA for 24 years until Blatter succeeded him as president in 1998.

The IOC's leadership was expected to act on an ethics commission inquiry into alleged payments made by the ISL marketing agency before its 2001 collapse with debts of $300 million.

Dealing with the ISL case became a signature test of Blatter's promised willingness to reform FIFA and world soccer after a slew of scandals involving bribery, vote-rigging and ticket scams.

Blatter promised in October to publish the document after his executive committee, including Teixeira, meets Dec. 16-17 in Tokyo.

"It was my strong will to make the ISL file fully transparent at this meeting," Blatter said in a statement. "I have now been advised that as a result of the objection of a third party to such transparency it will take more time to overcome the respective legal hurdles.

"This does not change my stance at all. I remain fully committed to publishing the files as soon as possible."

Blatter's promise of publication was initially met with skepticism by veteran FIFA watchers. However, Blatter and FIFA officials insisted in recent weeks that the 41-page German-language document from the Zug court would be translated into English, French and Spanish and then published.

The document details a settlement announced in June 2010 whereby senior soccer officials admitted taking kickbacks and repaid $6.1 million. The officials repaid the money on condition that their identities remained anonymous.

Blatter has said he was cleared of any wrongdoing in all aspects of the ISL case. Still, the court document could give details of his awareness of kickbacks being paid at a time when commercial bribery was not a crime in Switzerland.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Galaxy wins Beck's possible finale

David Beckham lifted a trophy in what could be his final game for the Los Angeles Galaxy, an exhibition victory over Australian A-League team Melbourne Victory on penalty shots Tuesday.

Pierre-Philippe Marcou-Josep Lag / AFP - Getty Images

Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi nominated

Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez will be up against Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo for the FIFA world player of the year award.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45566970/ns/sports-soccer/

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Russian independent election watchdog found guilty (AP)

MOSCOW ? Russia's political parties enjoy "free and equal competition" ahead of this weekend's parliamentary election, President Dmitry Medvedev insisted Friday, even as voters complained of record violations by the Kremlin party and the only independent election monitoring group faces prosecution.

Seven Kremlin-approved parties have been allowed to field candidates this year, while the most vocal opposition groups have been denied registration and barred from campaigning.

In a televised address, Medvedev made an apparent call to vote for the dominant United Russia party and warned that a parliament made up of diverse political camps would be incapable of working for the good of the country.

"Will it be a lawmakers' corps torn by irreconcilable conflicts, incapable of making a decision ? something that has, unfortunately, happened in our history?" he asked. "Or will we get a capable legislative body dominated by responsible politicians, who can help improve our people's living standards in practice, who will be guided in their actions by the interests of voters and national interests?"

United Russia dominates the nation's political life and has received overwhelmingly favorable coverage during the recent campaign, mostly from Kremlin-controlled national television. But the party is increasingly disliked, accused of supporting a corrupt bureaucracy and often called "the party of crooks and thieves."

Golos, a respected independent watchdog, compiles complaints of election law violations across the country and posts them on online. It has recorded more than 4,700 complaints, most involving United Russia.

But Golos has come under growing pressure since Sunday, when Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused Western governments of trying to influence the election through their funding of Russian non-governmental organizations. Golos, whose name means "vote," is supported by grants from the United States and Europe.

Golos directors were called to court Friday to answer accusations that the organization has violated election law.

Prosecutors opened a case Thursday, claiming they had found indications that Golos was "abusing the freedom of the press by falsifying publicly important data, and spreading rumors under the disguise of reliable facts in an attempt to blacken the party and some of its members." The prosecutors' documents do not name the party.

Independent pollster Levada Center predicted last week that United Russia would receive 53 percent of the vote. While still a majority, this would deprive the party of the two-thirds majority that has allowed it to amend the constitution.

Levada said its survey indicated that the Communist Party's share of the vote would rise to 20 percent from less than 12 percent in 2007, as well as showing an uptick for the two other parties in parliament: the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party and Just Russia, a party established with Kremlin support to lure votes from the Communists.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_elections

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Video: Frank gives his ?Hardball? exit interview

U.S. to world: Dude, where's my vacation?

There?s good news and bad news on the American vacation front courtesy of a just-released survey from Expedia.com. Released on Wednesday, the Vacation Deprivation Study revealed that U.S. workers let two days of vacation go unused this year, down from three days last year.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45499436#45499436

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Your Android Phone Is Secretly Recording Everything You Do (Updated) [Video]

If you have any decently modern Android phone, everything you do is being recorded by hidden software lurking inside. It even circumvents web encryption and grabs everything—including your passwords and Google queries. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/N3eCXUAUb3s/your-android-phone-is-secretly-recording-everything-you-do

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Wolfgang Puck says Starbucks coffee is 'terrible'

Getty Images

Wolfgang Puck isn't evidently a fan of Starbucks coffee.

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By msnbc.com staff

First McDonald?s, then Dunkin? Donuts. Now Starbucks has to feel the wrath of celebrity chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck, who calls the coffee giant?s brew ?terrible.?

Perhaps not coincidentally, Puck did so during a Houston press junket to promote his own line of bottled iced coffee. He told Culturemap Houston his company had been working ?about a year-and-a-half to get the flavors right.? Then he accused Starbucks of a Jedi mind trick.

"Starbucks, what they make, if you open a bottle and smell it, what did they do to the coffee?" Puck said. "They created a taste in the memory for people, which is interesting, so that people really think it's good coffee ? But it's terrible coffee!?

Thanks to Eater for pointing it out.

{"contentId":"9094032","totalVotes":"37242"}

Who makes the best coffee?

Related: Coffee snobs take it to a whole new level.

?

Me	? 28.8% (10,739 votes)
Dunkin' Donuts	? 21.1% (7,852 votes)
Starbucks	? 17.7% (6,609 votes)
The little place near my house	? 14% (5,218 votes)
Some other chain	? 8.8% (3,279 votes)
McDonald's	? 7.5% (2,811 votes)
The local truck stop	? 2% (734 votes)

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Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/29/9094032-wolfgang-puck-call-out-starbucks-for-terrible-coffee

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New Exhibits Will Open Next Year At Graceland In Memphis

Elvis Presley Enterprises says three new exhibits will open next year at Graceland in Memphis to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the entertainer’s death. The first exhibit looks at the 1972 documentary “Elvis on Tour,” which chronicles a multi-city concert tour. The exhibit, which opens Jan. 5, will include jewelry and clothing worn by Elvis [...]

Source: http://www.celebritymound.com/new-exhibits-will-open-next-year-at-graceland-in-memphis/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-exhibits-will-open-next-year-at-graceland-in-memphis

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Electromagnetic catapult launches fighter jet

Navy test pilot Lt. Chris Tabert takes off in F-35C test aircraft CF-3 Nov. 18, the first launch of the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter from the Navy's new electromagnetic aircraft launch system, set to install on future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).

By John Roach

An electromagnetic catapult successfully launched a fighter jet in a demonstration of two futuristic technologies, the U.S. Navy announced Monday.

The electromagnetic aircraft launch system, as the electromagnetic catapult is formally known, is being developed to replace the steam catapults that have launched fighter jets off Navy carriers for more than 50 years.

---

EMALS uses electric currents to generate magnetic fields that propel an aircraft down a launch track.?

?

The system, according to the Navy, is an improvement over of steam catapults, which are unable to generate the power needed to launch heavier and faster next generation fighter jets. ?The catapult also causes less wear and tear on aircraft and is easier to maintain.?

In addition to the F-35C, which is a carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter?scheduled for carrier trials in 2013, the EMALS team has launched a T-45 Goshawk, an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, a C-2A Greyhound and several F/A-18 aircraft with and without stores over the past 12 months, the Navy reported.

EMALS will be deployed on the Navy's futuristic aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, which is currently under construction and slated for completion in 2015.

The F-35C and EMALS still face funding and technological hurdles in their development, notes the website DoD Buzz, but the successful launch Nov. 18 is did demonstrate the future of aviation.

Updated 9:00 am PT on 11/30 with more details on the test launch aircraft.

More on Navy technology:

---

John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

?

Kids' play has moved to tablets and PCs. In this new age, toy makers and researchers alike are sorting out the benefits ? and detriments ? of playful educational interaction in virtual space.

Source: http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/29/9096656-electromagnetic-catapult-launches-fighter-jet

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Indonesia's 'Golden Gate Bridge' collapses; 3 dead

JAKARTA, Indonesia?? A busy bridge collapsed Saturday in central Indonesia, killing at least three people and injuring many more as a bus, cars and motorcycles crashed into the river below, police and witnesses said.

Capt. Syafii Nafsikin said search and rescue teams rushed to the scene.

The death toll could climb, he said, adding that many people were believed to be injured.

The bridge linking the towns of Tenggarong and Samarinda in East Kalimantan province was clogged with traffic when the accident occurred, Syaiful, a witness, told local TV station TVOne.

'Screaming'
He said he saw at least one bus and a dozen motorcycles plunge into the Mahakam river and survivors swimming to the shore in panic. Several cars were mangled.

"Everyone was screaming," said Syaiful, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

It wasn't immediately clear why the 10-year-old bridge collapsed.

The Indonesia Today website reported about 100 people were taken to hospital.

It carried a photograph that showed how a section of the large suspension bridge had fallen into the water.

The website said that the 0.6-mile bridge was known locally as "Kalimantan's Golden Gate Bridge."

Indonesia Today reported the bridge was built between 1995 and 2001 by state-owned construction firm PT Hutama Karya.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45443847/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

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?No more? help in terror war

ISLAMABAD Pakistan government has ordered a review of all arrangements with the United States and NATO, including diplomatic, political, military and intelligence activities, following a deadly cross-border strike on Pakistani checkposts.
An extraordinary meeting of Defence Committee of Cabinet (DCC) held Saturday night at Prime Minister's House decided to immediately close the NATO/ISAF logistics supply lines and asked the US to vacate the Shamsi air base within fortnight.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and attended by federal ministers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Services Chiefs and members of the committee. It upheld the closure of the Afghan border to NATO supply trucks, implemented earlier Saturday, and demanded that the United States vacate the remote desert air base, which is reportedly used as a hub for covert CIA drone strikes on Pakistan's border areas with Afghanistan.
"(In accordance with the resolution of the Joint Session of the Parliament of 14 May 2011) the DCC decided that the government will revisit and undertake a complete review of all programmes, activities and cooperative arrangements with US/NATO/ISAF, including diplomatic, political, military and intelligence," said the prime minister's office. "The DCC decided to close with immediate effect the NATO/ISAF logistics supply lines. The DCC also decided to ask the US to vacate the Shamsi air base within 15 days."
Also on Saturday, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani conveyed to the Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on 'hotline' that Pakistan Army stops its cooperation with the US-led NATO and its allied forces in protest over this incident, according to intelligence sources. Reportedly, the Pak-US intelligence information exchange saw a complete halt hours after the attack.
In June also, Pakistan told the US to leave Shamsi base, as Islamabad sought to limit US activities after a clandestine American raid killed Osama bin Laden on May 2 near the capital Islamabad. The US embassy has previously said there were no US military personnel at Shamsi. CNN reported in April that US military personnel had left the base.
Washington has not publicly acknowledged operations at the base, but images said to be of US Predator drones at Shamsi have been published by Google Earth in the past. The airstrip is in Balochistan province. Pakistan had reportedly given the US military logistical support at several bases after joining the US-led war on terror in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The DCC in its meeting also reiterated the resolve of the Pakistani people and armed forces to safeguard Pakistan's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity at all costs, noting that the political and military leadership of the country was on same page to come up with strong message to the US and NATO on this sheer violation of country's sovereignty.
It was further decided in the meeting that the prime minister would take the parliament into confidence on the whole range of measures regarding matters relating to Pakistan's future cooperation with US/NATO/ISAF, in the near future.
The committee strongly condemned the attack by NATO/ISAF aircrafts on Pakistani border posts, which resulted in the loss of precious lives of officers and men of Pakistan Army and injuries to several. It expressed heartfelt sympathies and condolences to families of the brave soldiers who fought valiantly and embraced Shahadat, and also prayed for the early recovery of those injured.
The DCC noted that strong protests had been lodged with the US and at NATO Headquarters in Brussels conveying in the strongest possible terms Pakistan's condemnation of these attacks, which constituted breach of sovereignty, were violative of international law and had gravely dented the fundamental basis of Pakistan's cooperation with NATO/ISAF against militancy and terror.
The DCC noted that NATO/ISAF attacks were also violative of their mandate, which was confined to Afghanistan. Pakistan had clearly conveyed to US/NATO/ISAF its red lines, which constituted an integral element of Pakistan's cooperation that was based on a partnership approach. The attack on Pakistan Army border posts is totally unacceptable and warrants an effective national response, the DCC added.
Earlier in the day, the NATO supplies were suspended in reaction of the attack.
The local political administration of Khyber Agency stopped the NATO trucks and fuel tankers bound for Afghanistan at Takhtabaig checkpost neat Jamrud town hours after the raid, official sources informed.
The NATO supply vehicles were also stopped at Torkham border and custom officials stopped clearing them, official sources said. As a result hundreds of NATO supply vehicles got stuck on Pak-Afghan road from Jamrud to Torkham. The border crossing at Chaman in Balochistan was also closed, Frontier Corps officials said. Sources said around 150 to 200 Nato trucks have been sent back to Karachi and Quetta after their entry into Afghanistan was blocked by the Pakistani authorities.
Some officials in political administration of Mohmand told on condition of anonymity that supply was cut till further order on the directions of high ups from Islamabad and scores of trailers and tankers carrying NATO assignments were sent back to Peshawar. But other officials said the supplies had been stopped for security reasons. Political Agent Mohmand Agency Amjad Ali Khan said the entry and exit points of the Mohmand Agency are sealed in order to avoid any untoward incident. He said that security agencies, paramilitary forces and tribesmen were trying to bring the security situation under 'control' on account of protests launched by some ethnic tribes against the NATO attack.
The sub-tribes of Mehsud and Wazir clans including Burki, Manzai, Utmanzai, Marwat, Wali Khel and Ahmad Zai as well as Orazkai, Shinwari, Afridi and Mohmand tribes staged protests in Ghalanai the headquarters of Mohmand Agency. Influential tribal chieftain Malik Subaidar Safi led these protests. Talking to The Nation, Safi demanded of Nato and the US an unconditional apology, financial compensation for the killed and injured Pakistani soldiers, payment for damages done to the military checkposts and the US assurances that they would never launch this kind of rampage again.
Strongly condemning the NATO attack, Mohmand Political Agent Amjad Ali Khan said that this would have far-reaching consequences. "This is suicidal for Pak-US cooperation. Our support is what they (US, NATO) need. If we back off, it would lead them to disaster," he told this scribe.
Secretary Law and Order in Fata Captain (r) Tariq Hayat Khan said Nato supplies would not be resumed unless the elements responsible for Friday's "cruel attack are taken to task". "This kind of misadventure is simply unacceptable. Blockade of Nato supplies would be disastrous for them but they have to bear the brunt for what they did," he said by phone from Peshawar.
Pakistan is a vital land route for 49 percent of NATO's supplies to its troops in Afghanistan, a NATO spokesman said. Last year also the supply was suspended for ten days in response to NATO attack at Pak forces? positions in Kurram Agency in which two soldiers were killed.
The United States has long suspected Pakistan of continuing to secretly supporting Taliban militant groups in a bid to secure influence in Afghanistan after most NATO troops leave in 2014. Saturday's incident will give Pakistan the argument that NATO is now attacking it directly.
"I think we should go to the UN Security Council against this," said retired Brigadier Mahmood Shah, former chief of security in the tribal areas. "So far, Pakistan is being blamed for all that is happening in Afghanistan, and Pakistan's point of view has not been shown in the international media."
He called the attack unprovoked and said Pakistan should respond by shooting down NATO aircraft and keeping the supply lines closed. "Those who say that Pakistan cannot afford a war with the US and NATO, I think we should realise that US and NATO also cannot afford a war with Pakistan."
Other analysts, including Rustam Shah Mohmand, a former ambassador to Afghanistan, said Pakistan would protest and close the supply lines for some time, but that ultimately ?things will get back to normal?.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/today-headlines/~3/pAO70CSBGI8/No-more-help-in-terror-war

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