Karzai sacks key ally of the West
By AFP
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has sacked five provincial governors, including a key Western ally in one of the most turbulent battlegrounds of the south, officials said Thursday.

Government insiders said the move was part of efforts to reform and fight corruption, but the dismissal of Mohammad Gulab Mangal in Helmand province could ruffle British and US allies who considered him an important ally against the Taliban.

US using Pakistan TV ads to quell anger

WASHINGTON: The United States has bought time on Pakistani television stations to run a series of adverts in a bid to stem Muslim protests at an amateur anti-Islam film, a US official said Wednesday.

The State Department has spent some $70,000 dollars to air the ad in Urdu across seven Pakistani TV channels in a bid to disassociate the US government from the inflammatory film, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

"After the video came out there was concern in lots of bodies politic, including in Pakistan, whether this represented the views of the US government," Nuland told journalists.

"So in order to ensure we reached the largest number of Pakistanis, some 90 million as I understand in this case with these spots, it was the judgment that this was the best way to do it."

Indian Gov moves to block anti-prophet cartoons

NEW DELHI: The government is likely to firewall the objectionable cartoons of Prophet Mohammad, published by a French weekly, that have sparked fears of a backlash from Muslims across the world. The law enforcement agencies have already approached the department of information technology to block the caricatures uploaded on Google.

Though a formal request for blacking out the cartoons is yet to be made, the Pune police have, acting on complaints and newspaper reports on the "offensive" caricatures, reportedly approached the Centre to have them blocked in India. The Pune police fears the cartoons, which come close on the heels of the controversial anti-Islam film could spark off communal tension.

U.S. official: Afghanistan surge over as last of extra troops leave country

From Mike Mount, CNN

updated 9:42 PM EDT, Thu September 20, 2012

The last of U.S. surge troops sent to Afghanistan in 2009 have left Afghanistan. About 68,000 American troops remain.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Last of 30,000 extra troops sent in late 2009 have left Afghanistan, an official says
• About 68,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan
• Obama has pledged to have most all coalition troops out by 2014

Washington (CNN) -- Nearly three years after it began, the surge of U.S. troops to Afghanistan is over.

In December 2009, on President Barack Obama's order, an additional 30,000 troops headed to the war-torn country hoping to stabilize it and quash what was then widely viewed as a Taliban resurgence despite just more than eight years of war.

Indian workers strike against foreign retail giants

Indian workers strike against foreign retail giants

Shopkeepers and labourers shut down markets and factories in several Indian cities Thursday as part of a 24-hour strike to protest against government reforms that will allow foreign retail giants such as Tesco, Walmart and Carrefour to open in India.

Shopkeepers, traders and labourers blocked railway lines and closed markets across India on Thursday in a nationwide day of protest against reforms allowing in foreign supermarkets such as Walmart.
Opposition parties and trade unions called the strike after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week announced a raft of reforms designed to revive India's slowing economy, a move that has sparked a furious backlash.
Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai were among cities most affected by the 24-hour stoppage, with the majority of shops, factories, schools and offices shut down for the day.
Protests were held across India with effigies of Singh burnt by demonstrators in Bangalore, while strikers blocked some national highways and major rail routes.
"I am closed for today like most people," said Gautham Bhalla outside his small hardware shop in south Delhi's normally bustling Bhogal market.
"This strike has my total support -- we will lose business if these big stores come."
But the response appeared mixed in the capital with many shops remaining open. Mumbai, the country's financial capital, was also largely unaffected after local political parties declined to support the strike.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram vowed that the liberalisation programme would continue and he criticised the shutdown.
"We will continue working for the greater good of the economy," he told reporters in Delhi. "In a democracy you have (the) right to protest but it is ironic that the way you are protesting is bad for the economy."
Many small business owners and workers in India fear that the arrival of large-scale foreign supermarket chains will lead to drastic job losses as supply chains and shopping habits are transformed.

Pakistan to 'reopen Zardari fraud cases' Prime minister Ashraf has agreed in principle to contact Swiss authorities over corruption cases against the president. Last Modified: 18 Sep 2012 13:37 Ashraf's predecessor, Yusuf Raza Gilani, was declared in contempt of court in June over the same issue [EPA] Raja Pervez Ashraf, Pakistan's prime minister, has indicated he might be willing to re-open corruption cases against president Asif Ali Zardari, who has been accused of money laundering using Swiss bank accounts.

Pakistan interior minister 'should lose seat' Supreme Court says Rehman Malik should lose senate seat for falsifying papers in ruling that also disqualifies four MPs. Last Modified: 20 Sep 2012 13:03 The constitution bars elected politicians from holding citizenship of any country other than Pakistan [AFP] Pakistan's Supreme Court has said Rehman Malik, the interior minister and a senior member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), should lose his senate seat for making a false statement in election papers.

Nationwide strike hits parts of India

Indian arrival of chains such as Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco is expected to herald a consumer revolution [Reuters]

Schools, shops and government offices were shut in some Indian states as protesters blocked road and rail traffic as part of a one-day nationwide strike against sweeping economic reforms announced by the government last week. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), joined by smaller parties from both the political left and right, had called for the strike on Thursday to protest against a 14 per cent hike in diesel prices, which are heavily subsidised. The strike also was to protest a government decision that opens the door to foreign supermarket chains to invest in India. The measures, part of a package of big-bang economic reforms aimed at boosting a sharply slowing economy, have triggered a political firestorm.

West Bengal party quits India government

Direct foreign investment into the country's domestic airline industry has been agreed by the government [Al Jazeera]

A key regional party in India's ruling coalition has withdrawn its support for the government in protest over a series of economic reforms revealed last week. The decision by the Trinamool Congress party from the state of West Bengal, leaves the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh weakened and dependent on outside support to pass legislation.

Pakistan blocks YouTube over anti-Islam video

Raja Pervez Ashraf, Pakistan's prime minister, has ordered YouTube to be blocked after the site "refused to heed to the advice of the government of Pakistan to remove blasphemous film from its site", a statement from his office said.

Attempts to access YouTube on Monday met with a message saying the website had been classed as containing "indecent material" and was blocked on the orders of the Pakistan Telecom Authority.

Authorities in Bangladesh have also blocked the video-sharing site indefinitely to prevent citizens from watching the video that mocks the Prophet and Islam.

Protests against the anti-Islam video continued on Monday, several of them violent, in various countries across the Muslim world.

French paper cartoons spark protest in Iran

Students chant 'Death to France'after satirical weekly newspaper publishes cartoons caricaturing Prophet Muhammad.

---

Dozens of Iranian students and clerics gathered outside the French embassy in Tehran to protest against the publication of caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad by a French satirical weekly.
Protesters chanted "Death to France" and "Down with the US" and burnt the flags of the United States and Israel on Thursday, in a demonstration that lasted two hours.

The protest followed a week of protests and riots by Muslims in many countries who were angered by an anti-Islam video produced in the United States.

Afghan president appoints 10 new governors Move that saw one US-backed governor fired is meant to improve governance and clamp down on corruption. Last Modified: 20 Sep 2012 21:38 Hamid Karzai dropped 10 governors in the reshuffle, the second in his graft-ridden administration [AFP] Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has reshuffled top leadership in one quarter of the country's 38 provinces, firing a US-backed governor and other local leaders.

18 September 2012 Last updated at 14:56 ET

Trinamool Congress quits India coalition over reform plan

Ms Banerjee called the new retail policy a 'disaster' for India's poor.

 

A key regional party has pulled out of India's ruling coalition over its plan to open the retail sector to global supermarket chains and other reforms.

The Trinamool Congress party of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that its six ministers would resign from the coalition on Friday.

Ms Banerjee, who is also angry at fuel price rises, said her 19 MPs would not back the coalition in parliament.

Correspondents say the government's parliamentary majority is not at risk.

"My party's six ministers have decided to resign. It is time to fight the battle alone," said Ms Banerjee after a meeting of Trinamool leaders in Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal state.

The BBC's Amitabha Bhattasali in the city says that Ms Banerjee's move was made in part because her bedrock support in West Bengal - the lower middle classes - is furious about the possibility of foreign investment taking away much-needed jobs.

NATO to reduce joint Afghan operations

NATO to reduce joint Afghan operations

Move comes as number of international troops killed by Afghans in the uniforms of police and army this year reaches 51. Last Modified: 17 Sep 2012 21:53

The directive to scale back partnership with Afghan forces was issued on Sunday [GALLO/GETTY]

NATO has said it has scaled back operations with members of the Afghan National Security Forces in an attempt to lower the risk of so-called insider attacks. A total of 51 international troops have been killed by Afghans in the uniforms of the nation's police and military forces so far this year. Until recently, elements of NATO companies numbering roughly 100 soldiers routinely conducted operations like patrolling or manning an outpost with Afghan soldiers. NATO said such operations are no longer routine and require the approval of the regional commander.

Blasts kills at least 8 at Pakistan market

Blast kills at least 8 at Pakistan market

Have Afghan forces been infiltrated?

Have Afghan forces been infiltrated?

With Afghan 'insider' attacks on NATO soldiers on the rise, we discuss whether the killings are part of a strategy. Last Modified: 13 Aug 2012 10:54

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/08/201281214456378276.html

Three US marines were shot dead by an Afghan worker at an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) base in Southern Afghanistan. And another three US marines from a Special Forces unit had been killed earlier in the day in the same area by a uniformed Afghan police officer. NATO refers to these incidents as "green on blue" attacks - indicating they are carried out by Afghan police and soldiers or individuals wearing the uniforms. The same police personnel and soldiers trained by and supposedly working hand in hand with ISAF.

Indian police conduct raids on coal companies

Indian police conduct raids on coal companies

Search targets premises of five firms that won mining bids in scandal that reportedly caused $33bn loss to exchequer. Last Modified: 04 Sep 2012 15:33

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/09/2012949333288784.html

India's police investigating five coal companies have raided premises across the country over the alleged misallocation of lucrative mining rights. State auditors recently said India lost $33bn selling coalfields cheaply between 2006 and 2009. Government officials and company employees are also under investigation. Dharini Mishra, spokeswoman for the Central Bureau of Investigation, said that 30 premises had been visited as detectives examined whether coal companies were guilty of cheating in a scandal that has rocked Manmohan Singh's federal government. "We have registered an FIR (First Information Report) after conducting raids in 10 cities," Mishra told AFP news agency, adding that coal company offices in New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata had been targeted. An FIR is a written report detailing an alleged crime, prompting an investigation. Mishra declined to name the companies involved.

Kabul declares crackdown over insider attacks

Kabul declares crackdown over insider attacks

Officials say hundreds held or sacked over suspected links to Taliban amid sharp rise in NATO-led force fatalities. Last Modified: 06 Sep 2012 03:24

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/09/201295194054238683.html

Afghan authorities say they have cracked down on hundreds of soldiers believed to have links to the Taliban in a bid to crush the rise of alleged insider attacks. The announcement was made on Wednesday after Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO chief, expressed his concerns to President Hamid Karzai over the recent increase in the so-called green-on-blue attacks. At least 45 NATO-led soldiers have been killed by Afghan security personnel this year - an increase from 35 killings from last year. According to a NATO spokeswoman, Rasmussen outlined measures taken by NATO-led forces to stop the insider attacks and urged Karzai to join the efforts, The measures include strengthening vetting procedures, better counterintelligence and giving troops cultural awareness training. Zahir Azimi, an Afghan defence ministry spokesman, said in Kabul that Karzai had ordered Afghan forces to devise ways to stop insider attacks. "Hundreds were sacked or detained after showing links with insurgents. In some cases we had evidence against them, in others we were simply suspicious," he said. "Using an army uniform against foreign forces is a serious point of concern not only for the defence ministry but for the whole Afghan government." Details unclear

China and India agree to boost military ties

Central & South Asia

China and India agree to boost military ties

Move to improve "strategic" co-operation comes with rare visit by Chinese defence minister to New Delhi. Last Modified: 04 Sep 2012 09:33

Liang's visit to India, the first by a Chinese defence minister in eight years, signals improved ties [Reuters]

China and India have agreed to on strategic and military co-operation during a rare visit to New Delhi by Chinese defence minister Liang Guanglie. The move, which marks the warming of relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, came as Liang met AK Antony, India's defence minister, in the Indian capital New Delhi on Tuesday. The last time a Chinese defence minister visited India was in 2004.