Today's Top Islamic News (DAILY)

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British ruling party may face bankruptcy
Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:27:48 GMT

Gordon Brown has not yet set a date for the upcoming election, although it must be held by June.
The funding crisis that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's party faces could threaten its campaign in the upcoming elections, a new report says.

David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary from the Labor party, said the party was going into the election at a greater financial disadvantage than any time since 1983, when the Labor party suffered a landslide defeat.

"We are trying to be careful so we don't end up bankrupt after the election if this all goes pear-shaped," Blunkett told The Times newspaper.

He added that Labor lacks the big money and charisma that sustained it during the past years.

David Cameron, leader of the opposition Conservatives, is tipped by opinion polls to oust Brown, who risks becoming one of Britain's shortest-serving premiers of recent times.

Blunkett, chair of Labor's election development board, said Labor had a reserved fund of eight million pounds, mainly from trade unions.

This is while, the rival Tories were expected to collect about 25 million pounds for the campaign, the newspaper said.

Labor's popularity has been undermined by a deep recession, an increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan and a scandal over politicians' expenses.

MVZ/SC/DT

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US court upholds life sentence for Moussaoui
Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:25:07 GMT

Zacarias Moussaoui
A US federal court has upheld the sentence of life imprisonment given to Zacarias Moussaoui, who is accused of collusion with Al-Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks.

The Richmond-based three-judge panel rejected Moussaoui's pleas for leniency on Monday and sustained the earlier conviction of life behind bars for the French citizen of Moroccan origin.

Moussaoui, who is currently serving his sentence at a supermax security federal detention center in Colorado, has reportedly admitted to charges of conspiring with Al-Qaeda militants to crash hijacked jetliners into US government and financial buildings on September 11, 2001.

Pundits say Moussaoui's trial will facilitate the US administration's efforts to fill the legal loopholes that prevent the country's judicial system from prosecuting terror suspects.

However, his lawyers have criticized the court, saying it robbed their client of his constitutional rights.

GHN/HGL

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Gunman kills guard in Las Vegas court
Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:15:43 GMT

An AP photo of police investigating a shootout at the Lloyd D. George federal courthouse building in Las Vegas
A gunman has killed a court security officer and injured a deputy US marshal in a courthouse in Las Vegas before being shot dead by police.

The unidentified gunmen entered the lobby of the courthouse on Monday and went on a shooting spree, spraying bullets into the entrance hall of the federal court.

The 65-year-old guard, Stanley W. Cooper, died on the spot, and the unnamed deputy marshal was rushed to a medical center where he is said to be in serious condition.

"At this point, we believe it was a lone gunman, a criminal act, not a terrorist act,” FBI agent Joseph Dickey said.

“We do not know the motive for the shooting at this time,” The New York Times quoted US Marshals spokesperson Jeff Carter as saying.

“The investigation into the shooting is still under way,” Carter added.

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Obama's Nukes pledge goes aground in Pentagon
Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:31:32 GMT

President Obama's plans to reduce US nuclear arms run aground amid tense debate with officials in the Pentagon and other agencies scowling at the president's pledge.

The loggerheads come nine months after Obama's speech in Prague last April, in which he promised that the US would take substantial steps to lead the way to "a nuclear-free world."

The strong resistance against phasing out nuclear weapons poses a serious threat to one of Obama's most important foreign policy initiatives, that is, reducing the role of such weapons in foreign policy.

The administration is engaged in a heated internal debate over a top-secret policy blueprint known as the Nuclear Posture Review, the Los Angeles Times reported.

While defense officials have pushed back against the proposed cutback on the number of weapons and the narrowing of their mission, the White House has voiced disagreement with the early Pentagon-led drafts of the blueprint.

White House officials have ordered that the document must reflect Obama's preference for sweeping “change,” the daily cited US officials and other informed sources who described the sensitive and secret discussions on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon, on the other hand, insists on continued US "deterrence" — an objective Obama has said he agrees with — while other senior officials have pointed out concerns that the president and his administration may be going too far.

The US claims to maintain an estimated 9,400 nuclear weapons, about 1,000 fewer than in 2002.

But Obama, who has already been awarded the Nobel Peace prize in part because of his pledge to reduce the nuclear threat, is stuck in reducing the arsenal.

"This is the first test of Obama's nuclear commitments," said former US Ambassador Nancy E. Soderberg, who also held senior foreign policy positions in former US President Bill Clinton's administration. "They can't afford to fall short at the outset."

MRS/SC/DT

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More Americans favor marijuana legalization
Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:53:19 GMT

Around 100 million Americans smoke marijuana.
More Americans think the use of Marijuana should be legalized amid efforts by the US lawmakers across many states to decriminalize the medical use of the substance.

A recent Gallup poll indicates that more than 4 in ever 10 Americans — around 44 percent #0151; maintain that marijuana should be legalized. The figure is up from 36 percent in 2005 and 31 percent in 2000.

"The war on drugs has failed and we feel marijuana should be taxed and regulated like alcohol, so it will be a much safer process," Kurt Gardinier from Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), which is lobbying lawmakers to make marijuana legal in the US, told Press TV's Rhonda Pence.

The MPP says around 100 million Americans smoke marijuana and 15 million smoke it on a monthly basis.

The US Federal law prohibits using Marijuana, but under the administration of President Barack Obama, steps have been taken to ease the use of medical marijuana.

Considering the growing interest in the medical benefits of marijuana (cannabis), many studies have reported the compound to be effective in treating appetite loss, glaucoma, nausea and vomiting, pain and weight loss. Its active chemicals are also reported to be effective in reducing the size of various types of tumors particularly prostate malignancies.

Opponents of medical marijuana, however, stress on the short- and long-term side effects of the compound including memory and learning problems, distorted perceptions, trouble thinking, loss of coordination and increased heart rate. Similar to smokers, marijuana users are at a greater risk of developing respiratory problems such as coughing, wheezing and lung infections.

Some lawmakers say marijuana could be sold in state liquor stores and customers who buy it could be taxed.

Analysts say marijuana could bring in a sum of 7-to-25 billion dollars to state and federal treasuries.

However, opponents maintain that there are strong reasons for the drug not to be legalized.

Ron Brooks, president of the National Narcotics Officers' Associations' Coalition says while we have already families collapsed by the use of addictive substances like tobacco and alcohol due to chronic diseases or abuse, "Why would we legalize another powerful, addicting and controlling drug?"

RB/PKH/MMN

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Train blown up in Ingushetia
Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:19:03 GMT

An explosion has ripped through a cargo train in the Russian republic of Ingushetia.

The blast occurred in Ingushetia's biggest city of Nazran late on Monday, RIA Novosti reported.

"According to preliminary reports, there are no fatalities or injuries," the state-run news agency quoted an unnamed Interior Ministry spokesman as saying.

The freight train was reportedly empty at the time.

No more information was provided on the incident.

Russia's North Caucasus has been blighted by years of violence pitting pro-independence militant groups against local governments and the central government of Russia.

GHN/HGL

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Kouchner buys 'time' to free French hostages
Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:19:03 GMT

A French soldier of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLT) stands watch over the Alah Say road in Kapisa Province on January 4, 2010.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says Paris is still trying to establish contact with the captors of the two French journalists and three assistants kidnapped in Afghanistan.

Kouchner told RTL Radio 2 on Monday that the process to free the French nationals could take time, as Taliban militants have denied any role in the December 30 abduction of the journalists.

"We are trying to establish contact…But I am saying very clearly, we have none…For the time being, there has been no claim of responsibility," he said.

"When there will be negotiations — and there are none — they will probably be drawn out," Kouchner added.

The journalists employed by the France 3 television channel were seized 10 kilometers (six miles) from a French military base in the eastern province of Kapisa. The group also included the journalists' translator and his two brothers, one of whom was the driver.

The journalists were reportedly covering a story about the construction of a road in the region.

They were snatched after meeting a "contact" in the restive district of Surobi who has arranged a meeting with some locals in the north, according to AFP.

AFP also reported that France 3 had sent a news executive to Kabul to lobby for their release.

Financially rewarding for both criminal organizations and militants, kidnapping has developed into a common trade in war-torn Afghanistan over the years, as the country struggles to restore a sense of peace and stability.

The routine abduction usually lasts no longer than several days and hostages are released unharmed after a deal is made.

Sources involved in efforts to release the journalists believe the two are still alive.

ZHD/HGH/MMN

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In Mexico, violence kills 29 people
Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:02:41 GMT

Drug-related violence in Mexico has claimed the lives of 29 people, including two state police officers and six women, officials say.

The deputy prosecutor's office of Chihuahua State said on Monday that two state police were killed as they left an auto body-shop.

Meanwhile, 13 other people were killed in separate attacks in the deadliest Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, AFP reported.

A female activist who had led protests against alleged rights abuses perpetrated by police and military deployed to fight organized crime was among the victims.

Fourteen others were killed in other parts of Chihuahua state, which lies on key drug routes for trafficking into the United States.

More than 15,000 people in Mexico are believed to have been violently killed by drug cartel hits since 2006.

The Mexican government has deployed thousands of soldiers to the region, however, this has failed to bring the violence under control.

AGB/SC/DT

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Venezuela 'better at anti-narcotics without US'
Sun, 03 Jan 2010 08:49:17 GMT

Venezuela says its anti-narcotics effort has improved since it ended cooperation with the US with an increase in drug confiscations throughout 2009.

Drug confiscations rose by 11 percent from 2008 as the Latin American nation reported 60 tonnes of drugs captured for the 2009 year.

"The figure makes Venezuela one of the most effective countries in this respect," ABN news agency said on Saturday.

Cocaine and marijuana accounted for nearly all of Venezuela's drug confiscations in 2009, according to the drug office's latest statistical breakdown.

Between January 1 and December 24 of 2009, cocaine accounted for 27.5 tonnes (45.9 percent) of the drugs captured, while marijuana was 32.2 tonnes (53.8 percent).

In 2008, the cocaine haul was 33.6 tonnes (61.5 percent) of the total, and marijuana 20.7 tonnes (37.9 percent).

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stopped cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Agency in 2005.

Chavez maintains consumption in the US and Europe is the main factor driving the illegal drug trade.

Venezuela's National Drugs Office head Nestor Reverol said the higher levels of drugs' confiscation and destruction since then "shows the US government had a policy of obstruction, to prevent the reduction of this social ill."

AGB/SC/DT

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RIYADH: Air travelers from 14 countries, including Saudi Arabia, will be subjected to extra body pat-downs and advanced screening of baggage before boarding airliners bound for the United States. The procedures, announced by the US Transport Security Administration (TSA), came into effect Monday following the attempted bombing on Christmas Day of a US-bound aircraft by a Nigerian who, US officials believe, was trained by Al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Full details of the new security procedures will be published on the US Embassy website, said an embassy spokesman in Riyadh. The new security arrangement will ensure that all passengers traveling to and from the 14 countries will be patted down and their carry-on luggage searched. They may undergo advanced explosives detection or imaging scans.

Passengers traveling from or through nations listed as “state sponsors of terrorism” — Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria — as well as Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen will face the heightened screening. All of those, except Cuba, are Muslim-majority countries.

The new security check system came in for criticism from Saudi travel and tourism industry leaders. Nasser Al-Tayyar, chief of the Al-Tayyar Travel Group, said: “I don’t support the new security check system. It will reduce air traffic between the US and Saudi Arabia. The new measures will create more difficulties for travelers to and from the Kingdom.”

According to a report, passengers not flying through the 14 nations on their way to the US will no longer automatically face the full range of intensified security that was imposed after the attempted bombing of the Christmas Day flight.

According to the new security measure, pilots will have more discretionary power to insist that passengers not travel with pillows or blankets on their laps during some flights and to limit movement in the cabin during those flights.

The TSA said that it had issued security directives to all US and international airlines operating flights to the US. The directive also increases the use of enhanced screening technologies and mandates threat-based and random screening of passengers on US-bound international flights.

Nigeria criticized the new security measures. Information Minister Dora Akunyili said Nigeria did not have a history of terrorism and such a move could not be justified. “It is unfair to discriminate against over 150 million people because of the behavior of one person,” said the minister.

Many carriers in Europe and Canada complained of widespread delays and other passenger inconveniences. But airlines flying from the Kingdom and Gulf states said they would not be able to assess the full impact of the new rules for a few days.

In Britain, a major international transport hub, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation said he was still trying to decipher the practical implications of the new US rules. Germany increased security at all airports following the failed Christmas Day attack, but authorities said Monday no further measures have been taken since.

In Switzerland, authorities were studying the new US security measures, but so far the old controls were still in place. In Spain, US-bound passengers from countries on the new watch list were not being singled out for body frisks, according to a security official.

Pakistan’s national airline said it intensified security checks for US-bound passengers beginning Jan. 1, even though there are no direct flights to the US from Pakistan.

“It is beyond my imagination what more they could do,” said Nadim Umer, 40, a Karachi-based linen merchant who said he was strip-searched when he arrived in New York last June. “Those who are dying to go to America at any cost can put up with all this inhuman behavior, but I cannot.”

There were 25 million visitors to the United States in 2008 from Europe and Asia, according to IATA figures.

— With input from Barbara Ferguson in Washington