Lebanon sets up fund to equip army | Reuters - 1 views
India re-imposes curfew in Kashmir after deaths | Reuters - 0 views
Foreign Policy In Focus | Underlying Causes of Insecurity in Afghanistan - 1 views
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There is the increase focus on training the Afghan army and policy, but then we are also hearing talks of sending more U.S. soldiers. This shows that we are not meeting the goal of training Afghans.
I could have vetoed UK military action in Iraq, Jack Straw tells inquiry | Politics | g... - 1 views
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"My decision to support military action in respect of Iraq was the most difficult decision I have ever faced in my life," he wrote. "I was also fully aware that my support for military action was critical. If I had refused that, the UK's participation in the military action would not, in practice, have been possible. There almost certainly would have been no majority either in cabinet or in the Commons."He went on to say he had made a choice to support Blair, adding: "I have never backed away from it, and I do not intend to do so, and fully accept the responsibilities which flow from that. I believed at the time, and I still believe, that we made the best judgments we could have done in the circumstances."
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During his oral evidence to the inquiry, Straw said the "psyche" of decision-makers had been influenced by past conflicts. "The lesson of Suez was to stay close to the Americans, and the lesson of the Falklands was to take note of the intelligence," he said
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Straw said one of his aims before the invasion was to get the George Bush administration to "go down the UN route. A key part of our approach was to ... try to get to a point where the US objective was not regime change but the disarmament of Iraq," he added.
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BBC News - British men named as assassins shocked by claims - 1 views
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Israel-based UK citizens whose names were on passports an alleged hit squad used insist they had nothing to do with killing a Hamas commander in Dubai.
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Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Army Radio: "There is no reason to think that it was the Israeli Mossad, and not some other intelligence service or country up to some mischief." Israel had a "policy of ambiguity" on intelligence matters, he added.
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Use the diplomatic version of 'Follow the money' and you pretty much conclude that it's Israel which has the most to benefit. And Israel has been known to do things like this before. But in the world of realpolitik, all governmental allies of Israel (including Britain) will simply wink and look the other way. The statement: "If the Israeli government was party to behaviour of this kind it would be a serious violation of trust between nations," is merely for public consumption.
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UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it believed the passports used were fraudulent and had begun an investigation.
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BBC News - Iceland repayment talks collapse - 1 views
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Talks on how Iceland will repay more than 3.8bn euros (£3.3bn) of debt it owes to the UK and the Netherlands have broken down without agreement.
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The collapse of the Iceland-based Icesave online bank in October 2008 hit savers in both countries. The UK and Dutch governments are seeking repayments from Iceland after they compensated savers themselves.
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Iceland plans to hold a referendum on the Icesave repayment on 6 March, but the government is hopeful it can reach a different deal ahead of that. Opinion polls suggest that a majority of Icelandic voters would reject the repayment plan. The dispute has delayed International Monetary Fund help for Iceland, which Reykjavik needs to shore up its stricken economy.
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Why the U.N. sanctions on Iran will be ineffective -- By Christopher R. Wall | Foreign ... - 1 views
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the resolution that will likely be passed this week is better than nothing. There should be no illusion, however, that it will stop Iran's drive toward nuclear weapons. U.N. sanctions will need to be a lot tougher to have an impact on the Islamic Republic, if it is not already too late for them to have any impact at all.
No wrongdoing in Israeli raid on Gaza ship: report | Reuters - 1 views
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"The inquiry found that on the one hand there were no wrongdoings and no negligences in any fundamental areas during a complicated and complex operation," Giora Eiland, a retired Israeli general who headed the military inquiry said on Monday."But on the other hand there were mistakes that were made in decisions, including some taken at relatively high levels, which meant that the result was not as had been initially anticipated," Eiland told reporters at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, where he released his report into the incident.
Israeli attack on Iran would start long war: report | Reuters - 1 views
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"An Israeli attack on Iran would be the start of a protracted conflict that would be unlikely to prevent the eventual acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran and might even encourage it,"
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"Long-range strike aircraft acquired from the United States, combined with an improved fleet of tanker aircraft, the deployment of long-range drones and the probable availability of support facilities in northeast Iraq and Azerbaijan, all increase Israel's potential for action against Iran,"
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Any Israeli strike would be focused not only on destroying nuclear and missile targets but would also hit factories and research centers and even university laboratories to damage Iranian expertise, the report said.This would cause many civilian casualties, it added.
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BBC News - Saudi Arabia's shadowy connection - 1 views
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with major technical and forensic input from various countries, the Saudis have emerged as one of the most effective counter-terrorism agencies in the world. Their critics say this has come at the expense of human rights and that suspects are often rounded up and incarcerated on the flimsiest of pretexts.
Libya struggles to contain tribal conflicts | Reuters - 1 views
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Long-standing rivalries, divided communities and plentiful weapons are convulsing Libya as the interim government struggles to impose its authority and secure peace among the country's ethnic groups.Violence in the Saharan south and in western Libya have shown how volatile the country remains six months after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, who had long played off one tribe or clan against the other to weaken their power.
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Gaddafi was always quick to end any ethnic clashes in the desert region and in 2009 he put down a tribal rebellion with helicopter gunships. But Libya's new rulers are weak and often out-gunned by the militias they are trying to control.
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For Obama's Iran Plan, Talk and Some Toughness - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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The Obama administration may take a tough line with Tehran in coming months even as it signals a willingness to move toward direct talks with Iranian officials, according to President Obama’s aides and outside experts who have consulted with the government about Iran. While Mr. Obama is expected to soften the Bush administration’s line against talking to Iran, the aides said, he may also seek to toughen sanctions.
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Mr. Obama told the Arabic-language television station Al Arabiya last week that “if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.” He has also spoken recently of the need to treat Iran with “mutual respect.”
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Dennis B. Ross, the longtime Middle East peace negotiator who is expected to be named to a senior post handling Iran, has long argued that the United States must persuade America’s European allies to increase economic pressure against Iran.
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Personalized Ads Pack Bigger Punch - eMarketer - 0 views
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US ad viewers want to be targeted, but privacy concerns linger.
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According to ChoiceStream, 41% of US Internet users surveyed said they paid more attention to advertising that was personalized. And nearly the same proportion of respondents (39%) said they were more willing to click on such personalized ads.
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Forty-five percent of Internet users surveyed in a 2008 Harris Interactive study said they were uncomfortable with Website policies that allow behavioral targeting. Some 57% of respondents in a TNS Global and TRUSTe poll indicated they were worried about advertisers using their browsing history to serve them relevant ads.
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BBC NEWS | Technology | Privacy fears over Google tracker - 0 views
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Google has announced a new feature that allows users to share their locations among a chosen network of friends. The "opt-in" Latitude service uses data from mobile phone masts, GPS, or wi-fi hardware to update a user's location automatically. Users can also manually set their advertised location anywhere they like, or turn the broadcast off altogether.
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privacy watchdog Privacy International argues that there are opportunities for abuse of the system for those who may not know that their phone is broadcasting its location. Privacy International director Simon Davies gives the example of employers who might give phones to employees with Latitude enabled.
BBC NEWS | UK | Online networking 'harms health' - 0 views
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People's health could be harmed by social networking sites because they reduce levels of face-to-face contact, an expert claims.
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A lack of "real" social networking, involving personal interaction, may have biological effects, he suggests. He also says that evidence suggests that a lack of face-to-face networking could alter the way genes work, upset immune responses, hormone levels, the function of arteries, and influence mental performance. This, he claims, could increase the risk of health problems as serious as cancer, strokes, heart disease, and dementia.
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Dr Sigman maintains that social networking sites have played a significant role in making people become more isolated.
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Clinton urges Nato to bring Russia back in from the cold | World news | guardian.co.uk - 0 views
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The Obama administration moved today to resume high-level relations with Moscow when Hillary Clinton led a western push to revive contacts between Russia and Nato.Making her European debut as secretary of state, Clinton told a meeting of Nato foreign ministers that Washington wanted "a fresh start" in relations with Moscow.
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"I don't think you punish Russia by stopping conversation with them," she said, adding that there could be benefits to the better relationship. "We not only can but must co-operate with Russia."
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The meeting in Brussels agreed to reinstate the work of the Nato-Russia council, a consultative body that was frozen last year in protest at Moscow's invasion and partition of Georgia.
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BBC NEWS | Americas | Nato woos Russia on Afghanistan - 0 views
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Nato has agreed to resume high-level contacts with Russia, working with what US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called a "greater unity of purpose".
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Russia welcomed the move, six months after Nato froze contacts over the conflict between Russia and Georgia. Mrs Clinton stressed Afghanistan, which she called "Nato's biggest military challenge", was a mutual concern. She has raised the idea of a conference on the issue, with the participation of "all stakeholders", including Iran.
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"We can and must find ways to work constructively with Russia where we share areas of common interest, including helping the people of Afghanistan," said Mrs Clinton.
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Obama Ponders Outreach to Elements of Taliban - NYTimes.com - 0 views
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Mr. Obama pointed to the success in peeling Iraqi insurgents away from more hard-core elements of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, a strategy that many credit as much as the increase of American forces with turning the war around in the last two years. “There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region,
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Asked if the United States was winning in Afghanistan, a war he effectively adopted as his own last month by ordering an additional 17,000 troops sent there, Mr. Obama replied flatly, “No.”
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Mr. Obama said on the campaign trail last year that the possibility of breaking away some elements of the Taliban “should be explored,
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