World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #4.

Tehran & Damascus Move to Lebanon Lebanon-born Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Author of the recent book Future Jihad, he was also one of the architects of 2004’s United Nations resolution 1559, which called for the disarming of Hezbollah. NRO editor Kathryn Lopez recently talked to Phares about what’s going on in the Mideast, what happened to the Cedar Revolution, and this war we’re all in.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “Future Jihad”? Are we seeing it in the Mideast now?

Walid Phares: “Future Jihad,” which has already begun, refers to a new and potent form of Islamic terrorism, characterized by a Khumeinist-Baathist axis. These are the two trees of jihadism, so to speak — the Salafism and Wahabism embodied in al Qaeda and the sort of jihadism led by Iran and also including Syria, Hezbollah, and their allies in Lebanon.

The alliance has not been in entire agreement as to strategy. The al Qaeda branch began its “Future Jihad” in the 1990s; its efforts culminated on 9/11 and have continued explosively since then. The international “Salafists” aimed at the U.S. in the past decade in order to strengthen their jihads on various battlefields (Chechnya, India, Sudan, Algeria, Indonesia, Palestine, etc.). “Weaken the resolve of America,” their ideologues said, “and the jihadists would overwhelm all the regional battlefields.”

As I argue in Future Jihad, bin Laden and his colleagues miscalculated on the timing of the massive attack against the U.S. in 2001. While they wounded America, they didn’t kill its will to fight (as was the case, for instance, in the Madrid 3/11 attacks). I have heard many jihadi cadres online, and have seen al Jazeera commentators on television, offering hints of criticism about the timing. They were blaming al Qaeda for shooting its imagined “silver bullet” before insuring a strategic follow up. But bin Laden and Zawahiri believe 9/11 served them well, and has put a global mobilization into motion. Perhaps it has, but the U.S. counter strategy in the Middle East, chaotic as the region currently appears, has unleashed counter jihadi forces. The jury is still out as to the time factor: when these forces will begin to weaken the jihadists depends on our perseverance and the public understanding of the whole conflict.

The other “tree” of jihadism, with its roots in Iran, withheld fire after 9/11. They were content to watch the Salafists fight it out with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention within the West, as terror cells were hunted down. Ahmedinejad, Assad, and Nasrallah were analyzing how far the US would go, and how far the Sunnis and Salafis would go as well.

The fall of the Taliban and of the Baath in Iraq, however, changed Iran and Syria’s patient plans. The political changes in the neighborhood, regardless of their immediate instability, were strongly felt in Tehran and Damascus (but unfortunately not in the U.S., judging from the political debate here), and pushed the Khumeinists and the Syrian Baathists to enter the dance, but carefully. Assad opened his borders to the jihadists in an attempt to crumble the U.S. role in Iraq, while Iran articulated al Sadr’s ideology for Iraq’s Shiia majority.

A U.S.-led response came swiftly in 2004 with the voting of UNSCR 1559, smashing Syria’s role in Lebanon and forcing Assad to withdraw his troops by April 2005. In response, the “axis” prepared for a counter attack on the Lebanese battlefield by assassinating a number of the Cedar Revolution leaders, including MP Jebran Tueni. In short, the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah and the kidnappings of soldiers were the tip of an offensive aimed at drawing attention away from Iran’s nuclear weapons programs and Syria’s assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Hezbollah was awaiting its moment for revenge against the Cedar Revolution too.

What we see now is 1) a Syro-Iranian sponsored offensive aimed at all democracies in the region and fought in Lebanon; 2) Israel’s counter offensive (which it seems to have prepared earlier); and 3) an attempt by Hezbollah to take over or crumble the Lebanese government.

Phares: Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the Cedar Revolution was failed. The masses in Lebanon responded courageously in March 2005 by putting 1.5 million people on the streets of Beirut. They did it without “no-fly-zones,” expeditionary forces, or any weapons at all, for that matter, and against the power of three regimes, Iran, Syria, and pro-Syrian Lebanon, in addition to Hezbollah terror. The “revolution” was for a time astoundingly successful; since then it has been horribly failed, and first of all by Lebanon’s politicians themselves. One of their leaders, General Michel Aoun, shifted his allegiances to Syria and signed a document with Hezbollah. Other politicians from the “March 14 Movement” then stopped the demonstrations, leaving them with the support of God knows what. They failed in removing the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and brought back a pro-Syrian politician to serve as a speaker of the house, Nabih Berri. Meanwhile, even as they were elected by the faithful Cedar Revolution masses, they engaged in a round table dialogue with Hezbollah, a clear trap set by Hassan Nasrallah: “Let’s talk about the future,” he said — with the implication, of course, that they forget about the Cedar Revolution and the militia’s disarming. While political leaders sat for months, enjoying the photo ops with Hassan Nasrallah, he was preparing his counter offensive, which he unleashed just a few days before the Security Council would discuss the future of Iran’s nuclear programs.

The Lebanese government of Prime Minister Seniora also abandoned the Cedar Revolution. His cabinet neither disarmed Hezbollah nor called on the U.N. to help in implementing UNSCR 1559. This omission is baffling. The government was given so much support by the international community and, more importantly, overwhelming popular support inside Lebanon: 80 percent of the people were hoping the Cedar Revolution-backed government would be the one to resume the liberation of the country. Now Hezbollah has an upper hand and the government is on the defensive.

The U.S. and its allies can be accused of certain shortcomings as well. While the speeches by the U.S. president, congressional leaders from both parties, Tony Blair, and Jacques Chirac were right on target regarding Lebanon, and while the U.S. and its counterparts on the Security Council were diligent in their follow up on the Hariri assassination and on implementing UNSCR 1559, there was no policy or plan to support the popular movement in Lebanon. Incredibly, while billions were spent on the war of ideas in the region, Lebanese NGOs that wanted to resume the struggle of the Cedar Revolution and fighting alone for this purpose were not taken seriously at various levels. Policy planners thought they were dealing with the “Cedar Revolution” when they were meeting Lebanon’s government and Lebanese politicians. The difference between the high level speeches on Lebanon and the laissez-faire approach from lower levels is amazing. Simply put, there was no policy on supporting the Cedar Revolution against the three regimes opposing it and the $400 million received by Hezbollah from Iran.

The Cedar Revolution was basically betrayed by its own politicians and is now essentially without a head. Nevertheless, as long as the international support remains, the Revolution will find its way and will face the dangers. The one and a half million ordinary citizens who braved all the dangers didn’t change their minds about Hezbollah’s terror. The resistance and counter-attack was to be expected. Unfortunately, thus far Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah have outmaneuvered the West and are at the throats of the Cedar Revolution. The international community must revise its plans, and, if it is strongly backed by the U.S. and its allies, including France, the situation can be salvaged. The good seeds are still inside the country.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060928/ts_nm/chikungunya_dc;_ylt=AtlnFcsGSBGKrmqVsxYJZh9g.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA4b3FrcXQ0BHNlYwMxNjkz

Travelers to Africa, Asia returning with new virus

By Matthew Bigg Thu Sep 28, 7:23 PM ET

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Travelers to parts of Africa and Asia are returning with a new mosquito-borne virus and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Thursday it could become entrenched in new areas.
ADVERTISEMENT

Some people returning to Europe, the United States, Canada, Martinique and French Guyana reported cases of Chikungunya fever (CHIKV) in 2006 and large outbreaks have been reported in Indian Ocean islands and in India, according to the report.

The virus first emerged in Tanzania in 1953 and, though no deaths have been recorded, it can cause a debilitating illness whose symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, muscle and joint pain and rash. No specific drug therapy or vaccine exists to treat it.

"Some risk exists that CHIKV might be introduced into previously nonendemic areas by travelers with viremia, leading to local transmission of the virus," the report said.

It singled out tropical or subtropical areas of the U.S. including the Gulf Coast, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands as particularly at risk.

"Suspected cases should be reported promptly to local and state public health officials and to
CDC," it said, adding that in the week after the virus had been detected it was essential that patients be screened from contact with mosquitoes.

"Clinicians should be alert for additional cases among travelers and public health officials should be alert to evidence of local transmission ... through infection of local mosquitoes by a person with viremia," the CDC report said.

continued...................

[spooky, as I posted the link for this, Paul Harvey came on with the news and this was his lead story...

Paul says 3 pipe bombs have been found in a Livermore, Calif. Public Park......granny]

http://www.google.com/search?q=nd+pipe+bombs&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US

Now i see the first word did not type, so this in error search is still interesting.

http://news.google.com/news?q=nd%20pipe%20bombs&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn

http://news.google.com/news?client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape%3Aen-US&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&tab=wn&q=found+pipe+bombs&btnG=Search+News

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/15632992.htm

Posted on Thu, Sep. 28, 2006

Livermore police warn that more bombs could be found

By Roman Gokhman
MEDIANEWS

LIVERMORE - The discovery of four pipe bombs in five days have police asking residents to be on the lookout for more explosive devices, authorities said this afternoon.

The first bomb was found in a light industrial area near the Livermore airport on Sept. 22 while three more were found Wednesday night in a public park.

"If you find one, do not touch it and call 911 right away," Capt. Mark Weiss said.

At a press conference this afternnoon, authorities said a Livermore public works employee found the first bomb at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 22 on the 1400 block of Rutan Road and called police. Members of the Alameda County Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit used a water cannon to blow up the device, which was 12 inches long and about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

It was made of basic PVC pipe and contained liquid acid and aluminum foil. If the acid had made contact with the foil, the chemical reaction would have caused an explosion, Weiss said.

"It was intended to hurt somebody," he said.

The second discovery was made Wednesday at 6:37 p.m. at Livermore's Robertson Park, by a man walking his dogs. The dogs ran into some weeds on a small hill near the north end of the park and the man found the bombs laying near a tree.

Bomb disposal crews detonated the explosives with a blasting cap. Weiss said the explosion "took out a large chunk of the tree'' and "lit up the hillside.''

All three used PVC pipe and were six to eight inches long and about an inch in diameter. A small hole was drilled into each one but the fuse that normally goes into the holes was not found, so they could not be ignited.

The bombs were large "enough to cause some significant injury," Weiss said.

He said police did not have any leads and did not know if the two discoveries are connected.

Police will examine the materials used to make the bombs to determine who bought them, but that is a very costly and time-consuming process, authorities said. The department will work the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The department usually sees one or two such cases a year, he said. In most of the cases, children are involved.

Weiss said there's no evidence to indicate the two discoveries are related, but that people should be observant until an arrest is made.

"Residents need to be cognizant of their surroundings," Weiss said.

_

© 2006 ContraCostaTimes.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.mercurynews.com

http://www.google.com/search?q=2+Columbian+militants+plead+guilty&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US

The above is for an article on the muslim name and Columbian name that pled guilty yesterday, in Florida, I can't find a report that does not require registration to read.

the below, tells the on-going loss to the muslims:

28/09/06 - News section

Radical Muslim who made death threats against Pope escapes prosecution

A furious row has erupted after it emerged that a notorious preacher will not be prosecuted for issuing a death threat to Pope Benedict over his remarks about Islam.

During an organised demonstration, Muslim radical Anjem Choudary said that anyone who insulted Prophet Mohammed would be 'subject to capital punishment'.

He made his remarks in a TV interview while protesting at the rally.

The protest took place outside the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral at the height of the furore over the Pope's quoting of a 14th century emperor who said the Prophet brought 'things only evil and inhuman'.

Police received about 25 complaints about the protest which left members of the central London Cathedral's congregation 'upset' and 'intimidated'.

But Scotland Yard has concluded that 'no substantive offences' were committed on September 17.

The force has also decided that lawyer Choudary's comments, which actually came in a media interview rather, did not constitute an offence.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair told the Metropolitan Police Authority his officers were trying to 'hold the line of free speech' in an 'angry time'.

"The Met can only police the law as it stands," he said.

"No substantive offences were discovered during that demonstration.

"The remarks by one person that were widely printed in the media did not take place at the demonstration."

David Davies, Tory MP for Monmouth, who demanded action against Choudary, said: "My reaction is that it is quite disgraceful that Sir Ian Blair is not taking action over this.

"It sends out a message to Muslim extremists across the world that we, as a country, do not have the moral courage to stand up to them.

"They are likely to become more and more outspoken because it is apparent that we do not have the courage to stand up to them."

Rachel Whittaker, a Tory member of the MPA, had earlier described in the meeting how members of the congregation 'felt intimidated' and 'were upset' by the protest.

Others even felt 'threatened' she said, describing the demonstration as: "An appalling misuse of the freedom of speech".

However, Sir Ian said: "The Cathedral authorities expressed complete satisfaction with the police operation.

"We are living in an angry time. It is the job of the Metropolitan Police to hold the line of free speech and it is a difficult line to hold.

"But in this particular case I am satisfied there were no offences committed by anybody.' However Sir Ian's comments have sparked further confusion.

A spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service said that its lawyers were still reviewing TV footage from the day of the demo - leaving the door open for a prosecution.

About 100 Muslim demonstrators took part in the protest . Slogans on display included 'Pope go to hell' and 'May Allah Curse The Pope'.

In the wake of the protest, Scotland Yard's Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, announced that officers would look to see if any criminal offences had been committed.

Scotland Yard officers also carried out an investigation after a demonstration outside the Danish embassy earlier this year over the controversial Muslim cartoons.

On that occasion, Choudary was fined £500 for failing to give police proper notice before the protest march in February. Other participants are awaiting trial.

Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=407498&in_page_id=1770
©2006 Associated New Media

29/09/06 - News section

Hitman shoots teenagers at McDonald's in broad daylight

Two teenagers have been shot in a McDonald's restaurant.

A man walked up to a queue in the crowded fast-food eatery yesterday, pulled out a handgun and shot the boys. Children screamed as the man opened fire without warning at tea-time in Brixton, south London.

The teenagers are in a stable condition in hospital, police said.

The attacker, described as a 6ft 1in black man, then fled, leaving the teenagers lying injured on the floor.

Police today appealed for witnesses and information about the shooting at 5.30pm in the McDonald's at the junction of Brixton Road and Coldharbour Lane.

Officers from Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime in the black community, were at the scene.

Detective Constable Luis Martinez said: "The venue was very busy at the time of the shooting and those present, including families with young children, were shocked and terrified by this violent attack.

"We have only a brief description of the gunman at present but if anyone saw the incident or the suspect making off, we need to hear from you."

Police said the suspect ran down Rushcroft Road and into Saltoun Road, heading towards Railton Road.

It is unclear whether the teenagers, both believed to be 17 years old, were customers at the restaurant. But a McDonald's spokeswoman said the youths had "not been queueing" at the till at the time of the incident.

Amanda Pierce said: "Officers have reviewed the CCTV footage and confirmed that the two victims had been popping in and out of the restaurant."

Witnesses today described the scenes of horror inside the restaurant. One said he thought a bomb had exploded as dozens of people, including schoolchildren and women carrying babies, ran screaming from the fast-food outlet.

The 33-year-old Streatham resident - a Lambeth Council employee - said, moments earlier, he heard at least one loud bang as he stood in the street outside, but thought little of it.

He said: "I was crossing the road from Brixton Library towards McDonald's and the first thing I heard was a bang which I thought was nothing. "After a few seconds, I saw everybody rushing out of McDonald's screaming, some of them carrying small children, just in all directions. Some were turning left, some right, some crossing the road, just clearing the building.

The man added that he had worked in Brixton High Street for 10 years and the McDonald's restaurant is a popular after-school hang out for youngsters from at least three secondary schools.

He said he was aware of increased violence on at least three estates in the Brixton area in recent weeks.

He added that schoolchildren can be seen openly wearing gang symbols, including coloured headbands, in Brixton.

Steve Martin, a community leader who liaises between police and the black community, said he did not believe the incident was gang-related. He said: "I know a lot of people and I would have heard about it. I think the gunman knew the teenagers."

Mr Martin was five minutes from Brixton Road when the shooting took place. "I thought I might be able to help so I went over there," he said. "There weren't enough police at first, it was chaos. It was such a busy road, and traffic was being diverted so it was gridlock. Crowds started to gather on one side of the road. There were a lot of schoolchildren around, it was that time of day."

Another community leader, who refused to be named, said the gunman shot one teenager in the stomach first, and his friend then went over to help him.

He said: "It was at this point that the gunman shot the second boy in the arm."

Police said they were still investigating the shooting and would reveal more information at a press conference. Detectives from Operation Trident, which investigates black gun crime, were at the scene on Thursday night and appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Two police vans and 10 uniformed officers manned the cordon on the corner of Acre Lane and Brixton Road last night, as forensic officers searched for evidence in the restaurant.

Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=407624&in_page_id=1770
©2006 Associated New Media

29/09/06 - News section

Teen who torched £2m of buses didn't want to ruin trainers by stamping out flame

A teenage arsonist was named today after he torched 12 London buses and left a scene of devastation that looked like the aftermath of 'a bombing attack on Baghdad'. Adam Sarghini refused to stamp out the flames because he did not want to ruin his new trainers.

At least 50 firefighters battled for several hours to put out the fire at a west London bus depot, which sent plumes of smoke across the capital and caused £2million damage.

Residents were evacuated from their homes and "hundreds of lives"were put in danger.

Meanwhile the 15-year-old stood and watched the conflagration from the safety of a nearby footbridge, where he was later arrested.

Sarghini, who has a very low IQ, was spared a jail term but instead placed under a supervision order. The judge took the unusual step of lifting a court order banning the publication of the boy's identity, saying it was in the public interest that he should be named.

The Inner London Crown Court heard how Sarghini had been out with friends late on 21 January and had broken into a bus at the depot in Great Western Road, Paddington, where he fell asleep.

When he woke up the next morning, he smoked a cigarette and started a small fire on one of the seats, which soon spread.

In a police interview, the teenager admitted he could have stamped the fire out at that point but said he did not want to damage his new trainers.

At the time, there were a number of people in the depot and he decided to flee.

Sarghini then watched as the blaze spread through 12 buses, the court heard. Ten of them were destroyed and two were badly damaged. Tens of thousands of pounds of CCTV equipment and ticket machinery were also destroyed. Huge amounts of revenue were also lost as the buses remained out of action.

Roads including the A40 had to be closed as plumes of smoke made it impossible for motorists to see. Nearby houses had to be evacuated and Westbourne Park Tube station was also shut down.

People nearby heard a series of explosions caused by the fuel tanks catching fire. Some feared a terror attack was taking place.

The blaze was so intense that the glass-fibre bodies of the buses were welded to the ground by the heat. It took weeks to remove much of the debris and some of it still remains attached to the road surface.

Judge Recorder Edward Garnier QC said scenes at the depot following the fire "would not have looked out of place in a bombing attack on Baghdad".

But he told the schoolboy he had spared him a three-year jail term because of the "very special circumstances" of the case.

"You have caused damage on a huge scale. You have caused enormous disruption to the public, to those who work for the bus company and to those who use the buses, and you put hundreds at risk of injury or death," he said.

"It is a miracle no one was killed or seriously injured. There will rightly have been a public expectation that you should face a considerable period of custody.

"But I have taken into account your very low IQ and the fact that you have already served the equivalent of a 16-month custodial sentence in relation to this matter. I also take into account that this was a reckless rather than a deliberate act."

The judge also praised four "heroic" bus drivers who attempted to drive boiling hot buses full of fuel out of the depot in order to give firefighters better access to the scene.

Sarghini, from Ladbroke Grove, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court to a two-and-a-half year supervision order after earlier admitting one count of arson.

He was cleared by a jury of three counts of arson in relation to three mopeds found burnt out in Maida Vale on 11 January.

Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=407629&in_page_id=1770
©2006 Associated New Media

[I guess this is real life]

29/09/06 - News section

Blackmail judge is 'internet predator' who seduced women online'

The judge at the centre of a love triangle blackmail case is an 'internet predator' who seduced a divorcee on a dating site then callously dumped her, it's been claimed.

Renate Butler, 60, told how she met judge Mohammed Khan on the Udate website and the pair shared romantic dates in London and Surrey and had sex at his £500,000 North London flat.

See also...
• Sex case judge paid £180,000 while off sick for 18 months
• I knew about affair with cleaner, says wife of judge
• Homemade sex videos, cocaine, X-rated emails, adultery, a love triangle...and 'hot chilli stuff'
• Judge named and shamed in unprecedented court action
• GALLERY: Driza's crowd pulling outfits

But in July he vanished after a weekend together and never got in contact again.

Last night the sales rep from Horley, Surrey, said: "He is a user and predator of women. Things were going well at first and I thought he was charming and a gentleman.

"But then I suddenly stopped hearing from him. I thought he was extremely ignorant to have done it the way he did it. It wasn't the way to do it, it should have been face to face.

"On the dating website he described himself as kind and caring but by the end of our relationship I found him to be anything but."

Meanwhile Judge Khan said last night that he had made a 'fundamental error of judgement' by employing Roselane Driza.

He told The Daily Telegraph: "I deeply, deeply regret the very fundamental error of judgment that I made with Driza, believing her when she said she was legal and not realising she was such a devious women.

"My biggest regret is that I befriended Driza. I never realised she was illegal. I kept saying 'Show me your papers'. I would like to think I am a man of conscience. I have made my share of mistakes but I do not go around being horrible to people."

It was revealed yesterday that Khan - who is facing the sack over the 'sex, lies and videotape' blackmail case - is receiving full close to £200,000 to date. The female immigration judge, who was his lover, has been on sick leave for 18 months and is also understood to have been paid as much as £180,000 during that time. She earns £117,680 a year.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), which employs them, confirmed both would continue receiving their substantial salaries during a disciplinary investigation into the embarrassing fact that they were employing an illegal immigrant as their cleaner.

MPs described the situation as "sheer hypocrisy". Judge Khan was named and shamed by an Old Bailey judge, in an unprecedented legal move, when the blackmail case ended on Wednesday.

The female judge - seen apparently snorting cocaine while romping with Judge Khan in a homemade sex video - retained her anonymity because she was the victim of blackmail.

Roselane Driza, 37, had threatened to expose the video, and another of him in bed with a mystery blonde, unless she was given £20,000.

Yesterday, after the cleaner was found guilty of blackmail, father-of-two Judge Khan's estranged wife said she knew he had been sleeping with her. Amtul Khan, a social worker who lives in Birmingham, said: "The court revelations are no surprise to me.

Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=407610&in_page_id=1770
©2006 Associated New Media

27/09/06 - Health section

Heart attacks prompt alert over ibuprofen

Common painkillers such as ibuprofen are at the centre of a major health alert today.

The drugs are under investigation by European regulators after being linked with an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke.

Millions of people regularly take such drugs, technically known as non-selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories and including ibuprofen, commonly marketed as Nurofen.

Experts say only those who are prescribed high doses for conditions such as arthritis are at risk.

A recent version of the drug, Vioxx, was taken off the market in 2004 after it was linked with hundreds of US heart attacks.

New research suggesting there could be a similar risk in older versions has prompted the review of the whole class of drugs.

The European Medicines Agency will decide next month whether doctors need new guidance over long-term use of the drugs.

Meanwhile it recommends patients use the smallest dose as briefly as possible.

The new data, culled from 140,000 patients, suggested some of the drugs doubled heart attack risk.

Questions were also raised over the safety of taking high doses of ibuprofen for long periods.

It was suggested that for every 1,000 people taking the drugs, three people a year would suffer a related heart attack.

Patients who are already taking aspirin to prevent heart attacks and stroke are being told not to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as well unless absolutely necessary.

An Arthritis Research Campaign spokeswoman said: "What we need to know is whether the benefit of these drugs outweigh the risks."

Under investigation are diclofenac, etodolac, ibuprofen, indomethacin, ketoprofen, ketorolac, meloxicam, nabumetone, naproxen, nimesulide and piroxicam.

Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=407298&in_page_id=1774
©2006 Associated New Media

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2007854.cms

Broken pipe in loo grounds AI planeAdd to Clippings
[ 20 Sep, 2006 0056hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates

NEW DELHI: The Maharaja of Indian skies seems to have the knack of flirting with security lapses.

After ending up with egg on its face in the case of pilferage on-board PM's flight, Air India is now staring at another potential security lapse with a passenger on its Toronto-India flight discovering a broken piece of pipe inside a "sanitised" aircraft toilet.

The incident occurred on AI-188, which was headed for Delhi via Amritsar, on Monday night. According to sources, the aircraft with 164 passengers on board, took off on time from Toronto.

After an hour of being air-borne, a passenger discovered a broken pipe inside the toilet and brought it back to the cabin to show it to the crew.

"The pilot was immediately alerted about the incident, who, in turn, checked with the ground staff and decided to return to Toronto as a safety measure." The incident once again highlighted the terror scare in the skies and Air India's security holes.

There have been instances when aircraft toilets have been used to assemble bombs. In 1994, a nitroglycerine bomb was assembled in the toilet of a Philippine Airline flight.

The terrorist disembarked, leaving the bomb to explode. An AI spokesman said the incident was being probed.

"Nothing amiss was found during the check but we have no clue how the broken pipe ended up inside," he said. Bomb disposal squad was deployed to examine the aircraft interiors

[Why?]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2043085.cms

Six farmers commit suicide in VidarbhaAdd to Clippings
[ 29 Sep, 2006 1355hrs ISTPTI ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates

NAGPUR: Six debt-ridden farmers in Vidharbha region of Maharashtra have committed suicide since Thursday, an NGO said on Friday.

With these deaths, the number of suicides by farmers in the region this month has risen to 116, the Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti, working for the cause of farmers in the region, said.

Of the six, two were from Amravati district, one each from Yavatmal, Bhandara, Gadchiroli and Washim, Samiti president Kishore Tiwari said in a press release on Friday.

The farmers were identified as Ramesh Dalpatrao Bhatkar of Kurha village, Gopinath Dongre of Pusada (both in Amravati district), Ravindra Chakbandalwar from Antargaon (Gadchiroli), Ramalal Baghel of Rajegaon (Bhandara), Parasram Rathod Gramrahi (Washim) and Prakash Madavi from Karanji (Yavatmal).

The Samiti said that the figure of 116 was the highest in a single month. Over 900 farmers have committed suicides since June 2005, they added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2038288.cms

MiG-29 crashes near Ambala, pilot safeAdd to Clippings
[ 29 Sep, 2006 0247hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates

NEW DELHI: The remarkable turnaround in IAF's crash record over the last two years received a jolt on Thursday, with a MiG-29 fighter jet crashing near Ambala, in the afternoon.

Fortunately, the pilot, Squadron Leader V Naik, managed to eject safely after the MiG-29 developed some engine problem around 3.20 pm.

Just like Naik, several workers and a tractor driver at Sadhopur village also had a narrow escape when the aircraft fell near them. "No one was hurt.

The MiG-29 had taken off from Adampur airbase for a routine training exercise and was on preparing to land at Ambala when the crash took place.

An inquiry has been ordered to find out the reason behind the incident," said an IAF officer. Incidentally, the last IAF fighter to crash was also a MiG-29, which developed "engine fire" near Jamnagar, in Gujarat, on June 8.

The latest crash comes close after India and Russia signed a deal, just a month ago, under which Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd will make 120 engines for upgradation of MiG-29s.

Though IAF lost two Jaguar jets, one Mi-8 helicopter, four MiG-21 fighters, a Canberra aircraft and a Kiran trainer in crashes, during the 2005-06 fiscal, it still represents a drastic decline from the crash rate witnessed earlier.

From 1971-72 to 2003-04, the consolidated average rate stood at 1.09 accidents per 10,000 hours of flying, roughly translating into the loss of 23 aircraft and the death of 10-14 pilots every year.

IAF has recorded around 700 crashes since 1970, with around 180 pilots and scores of civilians on the ground losing their lives.

But over the last couple of years, by launching a concerted flight safety strategy, it managed to bring down the crash rate to 0.44 accidents per 10,000 hours of flying in 2005-06, the lowest-ever recorded since 1971-72.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/29/europe/web.0929georgia.php

International Herald Tribune
Tensions mount between Russia and Georgia
The Associated Press
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
TBILISI, Georgia Georgia on Friday charged four Russian military officers with spying, while Russian planes evacuated dozens of diplomats and their relatives as the diplomatic dispute worsened between Moscow and the former Soviet republic.

Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said Russia had redeployed troops closer to its border and that the Russia Black Sea fleet was expected to start maneuvers in the next few days.

"I would advise our colleagues to stop saber-rattling," Merabishvili told reporters. "This is unacceptable for a democratic country and we don't understand that."

Georgian police maintained their positions around the Russian military headquarters in Tbilisi, hoping to detain another officer accused of spying.

Russian Ambassador Vyacheslav Kovalenko said Moscow would not hand him over.

The Tbilisi City Court ruled that two of the four detained officers can be held for another two months, a spokesman said. It was to consider the cases of the other two later in the day, Ilya Gergedava told The Associated Press.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld voiced concern about the growing tensions to his counterpart, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who held talks with NATO ministers in Portoroz, Slovenia.

"The thread of those discussions clearly was for there to be calm, and for those tensions to be eased down in a peaceful way," Rumsfeld said at a briefing.

Relations between Moscow and Tbilisi have been increasingly tense since President Mikhail Saakashvili came to power following Georgia's 2003 Rose Revolution and pledged to move the country out of Russia's orbit and more toward the West.

The latest conflict arose after five Russian military officers were detained Wednesday on allegations of spying. The fifth officer was released Friday.

Moscow complained to the United Nations on Thursday and said it was recalling its ambassador and evacuating its diplomats. Ivanov denounced Georgia as a "bandit" state.

Ivanov said the arrests were aimed at pushing Russian troops out of Georgia so the government could seize control of pro-Russian breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abhkazia by force, and he accused unidentified newer NATO members of illegally supplying Georgia with Soviet-made weapons.

"It is absolutely clear to us that clear to us that Georgia has chosen the military path, the forceful path, for resolving the conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia," he said after the NATO meeting.

The commander of Russian military forces in Georgia, Gen. Andrei Popov, said the detentions cast doubt over a plan to withdraw its troops from two bases Russia maintains in Georgia, the Interfax news agency reported. One is to be closed in 2007; the other a year later.

Tbilisi has accused Moscow of backing separatists in the breakaway provinces and making efforts to undermine Saakashvili's government - allegations Russia has denied. The provinces have enjoyed de-facto independence without international recognition since breaking away after bloody wars in the early 1990s.

Tensions in the breakaway provinces have been heightened since the detentions. On Friday, an official in South Ossetia claimed that masked Georgian military or security officers shot out the tires of a car carrying four Russian peacekeepers, a woman and a child the night before, then ordered the men out and beat them.

Irina Gagloyeva, spokeswoman for the South Ossetian government, said one of the peacekeepers sustained a fractured skull, and Ivanov said they were "brutally beaten."

Paata Bedianashvili, spokesman for Georgian peacekeepers in the region, called the allegations "rubbish." He said Georgian police stopped a car containing Russian peacekeepers but merely checked their documents and let them go.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has advised all Russians to refrain from traveling to Georgia, and the embassy in Tbilisi stopped issuing visas to Georgian citizens. Two Russian Emergency Situations Ministry planes evacuated 84 diplomats and their family members from Georgia, said ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov.

Saakashvili denounced such moves as hysteria. "Russian personnel and their families face absolutely no threat here," he said Thursday.

In Moscow, police cordoned off the streets around the Georgian Embassy and allowed a small group of ultra-nationalist activists hold a brief protest before detaining them for holding an unsanctioned demonstration.

Foreign diplomats urged calm between the two countries. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called for "moderation and de-escalation, and that goes for both parties."

However, Deputy Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Matthew J. Bryza said Georgia "has expressed its sovereign view ... that it doesn't want Russian peacekeepers on its territory."

"There is a question of what is prudent, and what is the most effective way of asserting that right in the case of Tbilisi," he said in Berlin, where he was having talks with Germany, Russia, Britain and France over the situation in Abkhazia.

He said Russia and Georgia should decide on ways to either replace or complement the Russian peacekeepers, in order to meet Georgia's desire for more of an international presence in Abkhazia without creating a security vacuum.

"We would argue that the best way is to talk things through ... to avoid escalation, avoid tension wherever possible," he said.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.