Monday, December 19, 2011

Syria finally agrees to Arab observer mission

7:29 AM McGhori

CAIRO: Syria finally gave its agreement on Monday to an Arab observer mission to monitor a deal to end nine months of bloodshed, ending weeks of prevarication that had prompted the Arab League to adopt sanctions. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Maqdad and Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helli inked the document at League headquarters in Cairo, an AFP correspondent reported. Speaking at a news conference in Damascus, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said that Syria had only signed up to the deal after making sure it did not infringe its sovereignty. He said the deal was an initial period of one month, renewable with the agreement of both sides. “Signing the protocol is the start of cooperation with...
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Three more protesters killed in Cairo clashes

3:39 AM McGhori

CAIRO: Egypt’s Health Ministry says at least three more protesters have been killed in clashes with army soldiers in central Cairo, bringing the four-day death toll to at least 14. A doctor at a field hospital in Cairo’s Tahrir Square puts the toll from Monday’s violence at six. Ahmed Saad says all of them were killed by gunshots. The discrepancy could not be immediately reconciled. The clashes have been raging since Friday in and around Tahrir, which served as the epicenter of the popular uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak in February. The heavy handed crackdown on protesters demanding the ruling military council to step down and hand power to a civilian government is unprecedented. The ruling generals described the...
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Indian cabinet clears costly food subsidy bill

2:21 AM McGhori

NEW DELHI: The Indian cabinet has approved a landmark bill to provide subsidised food to hundreds of millions of people — a populist but hugely costly project that critics say will strain treasury finances. The Food Security Bill — greenlighted late Sunday — would provide monthly supplies of cheap rice, wheat and millet to 64 per cent of India’s 1.2 billion population — or around 770 million people. The legislation, which must still be approved by parliament, will increase the government’s annual food subsidy bill by nearly 280 billion rupees to 950 billion rupees. Further substantial funds will be needed to ramp up grain production to meet the subsidy requirement. Food Minister K.V. Thomas said the bill would be presented...
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Nato says it will continue Afghan night raids

2:19 AM McGhori

KABUL: Nato says nighttime raids that target suspected insurgents will continue, despite repeated protests by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Nato spokesman Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson said Monday that Afghan special forces, however, take part in nearly all night raids and their participation is increasing. The kill-and-capture raids have become a flashpoint for anger over foreign meddling in Afghanistan and whether detention operations will be run by the Afghans or Americans. Karzai has demanded that foreign troops stop entering Afghan homes. Coalition officials counter that the raids remain the safest form of operation to take out insurgent leaders. Jacobson says they account for less than 1 per cent of civilian casualties,...
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Suicide bombers hit Afghan market

2:17 AM McGhori

KANDAHAR: Twin suicide bombers on a motorcycle struck an Afghan market in the southern province of Nimroz on Monday, killing themselves but causing no other casualties, officials said. The interior ministry said the attackers with “suicide-loaded vests” blew up their motorcycle at around 8:50 am (0420 GMT) in the Haji Zahid market of Dilaram district, but that “fortunately nobody was killed or injured”. Government and police officials said there was a nearby police post, but that the target was unclear. “The attack took place near the Haji Sharif roundabout and a police checkpost was also nearby,” Nimroz police chief Abdul Jabar Pordili told AFP. A spokesman for the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, but gave...
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