Killing of adviser another blow to Afghan leader

Rahim Faiez, Associated Press, Kabul, Afghanista | Mon, 07/18/2011 10:53 AM

Gunmen strapped with explosives killed a close adviser to President Hamid Karzai and a member of parliament on Sunday in another insurgent strike against the Afghan leader's inner circle.

Jan Mohammed Khan was an adviser to Karzai on tribal issues and was close to the president, a fellow Pashtun.

His killing, which the Taliban claimed responsibility for, came less than a week after the assassination of Ahmed Wali Karzai, the president's half brother and one of the most powerful men in southern Afghanistan.

Two men wearing suicide bomb vests and armed with guns attacked Khan's home in the westrn Kabul district of Karti Char, said Defense Ministry official Gen. Zahir Wardak. Khan, who was governor of the Pashtun-dominated Uruzgan province in the south from 2002 until March 2006, was shot along with Uruzgan lawmaker Mohammed Ashim Watanwal, the official said.

Police said they killed one of the atackers before he could detonate his explosives, while the other one blew himself up shortly after dawn after barricading himself in the house for much of the night and exchanging fire with police. A member of the police's anti-terrorism unit was also killed, authorities said.

The assassination came as inernational military forces handed over security for Bamiyan province to Afghan security forces, part of a transition process in which seven areas are to be handed over to Karzai's government this month. It also came one day before Gen. David Petraeus, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, hands over responsiblity for the military campaign in Afghanistan to his replacement, Lt. Gen. John Allen.

It was unclear how influential Khan was with Karzai, but he was thought to wield considerable influence in Uruzgan.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of the insurgent group.

Mujahid said the Taliban killed Khan because he was assisting coalition forces in carrying out night raids against Afghans. The controversial raids carried out by NATO forces have been highly effective in capturing or killing hundreds of Taliban fighters and midlevel commanders. Karzai has complain the raids anger many Afghans who are mistakenly targeted.

"He was cooperating and helping the American forces," Mujahid said in an emailed statement.

The Taliban had also claimed responsibility for Tuesday's killing of Karzai's half brother, who was shot dead by a close associate. Wali Karzai's deth left the president without an influential ally to balance the interests of the southern region's tribal and political leaders, drug runners, insurgents and militias.

Sunday's violence marred the handover of control of a peaceful province in the center of the country to Afghan police, another step in a transition that will allow foreign troops to withdraw in full by the end of 2014.

Bamiyan province is one of seven areas going to Afghan security control this month in a first round of the transition. Another, Panjshir province in the east, began being transferred earlier this month. Both places have seen little to no fighting since the overthrow of the Taliban nearly 10 years ago and barely had any coalition troop presence.

The transition to Afghan control will allow international military forces to slowly start withdrawing from Afghanistan until all combat troops are gone in just over three years.

Bamiyan only had a small foreign troop contingent from New Zealand. Bamiyan and Panjshir are the only two provinces that will be handed over in their entirety during this month's transition phase.

Other areas to be handed over are the provincial capitals of Lashkar Gah in southern Afghanistan, Herat in the west, Mazer-e-Sharif in the north and Mehterlam in the east. Afghan forces will also take control of all of Kabul province except for the restive Surobi district.

In other violence Sunday, Afghan and NATO troops fought an overnight gunbattle with Taliban insurgents and called in an airstrike on the building where the fighters were holed up. At least 13 Taliban were killed.

Also Sunday, NATO said three of its service members died. One was killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan and two were killed by a similar device in the south. It did not release their nationalities or any further details. The deaths bring the total number of coalition forces killed this month to 34.

Tunisia probes foreign assets of deposed leader

Hadeel Al-Shalchi, The Associated Press, Tunis, Tunisia | Wed, 01/19/2011 9:10 PM | World

A Tunisian prosecutor opened an investigation Wednesday into the overseas assets of the ousted president and his deeply resented family, as Tunisian authorities worked to restore order amid street protests against remnants of the former regime.

The move came as hundreds of protesters led a peaceful - if noisy - rally in central Tunis, demanding that former allies of deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali stop clinging to power.

Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday after 23 years in power, and a caretaker government run by his longtime prime minister is now struggling to calm tensions. The fragile state of the government highlights Tunisians' questions about who is in control of this moderate Muslim nation on the Mediterranean Sea, popular among European tourists and seen as an ally in the West's fight against terrorism.

The official TAP news agency says the prosecutor's office moved to investigate bank accounts, real estate and other assets held by Ben Ali, his wife Leila Trabelsi and other relatives. His relatives - especially his wife's family - were seen as corrupt and dominated many businesses in the nation.

Meanwhile, the Swiss president said Wednesday that her country's federal council agreed to freeze any assets in Switzerland belonging to Ben Ali, to help work up a possible criminal case over alleged stolen funds.

In Berlin, a German official said the European Union was working on a joint position or concrete proposals on Tunisia, which could include a decision on how to handle Ben Ali's assets in Europe.

Tunisia's interim government, already hobbled by defections, was expected to hold its first Cabinet meeting Wednesday afternoon. It also eased back the hours of a curfew initiated in the final days of Ben Ali's rule - ended after a deadly revolt swept up the streets nationwide.

TAP said that "in the wake of an improvement in the security situation in the country," a new curfew would take effect from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. - from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. previously.

At the Tunis protest Wednesday, protesters sang nationalist songs and held up signs with "RCD Out!" - referring to Ben Ali's former ruling party - as they rallied on central Avenue Bourguiba. White-and-blue police vans lined the route.

"We want the old government out - and we want them away from anything that has to do with the government," said Hafed al Maki, 50, who works at the country's largest insurance company. He said he and colleagues staged a strike and overthrew their manager Tuesday.

He said he would not wait for the 60-day time limit for new presidential elections "because that is enough time for the old cronies to set their roots in and start their old ways again, thieving and taking our resources. No way that's happening again."

Some protesters carried a coffin-like black box with the letters RCD painted in white, and banged the side of the coffin as they walked up and down. Others chanted, or sang.

The atmosphere was boisterous but not as combative as other protests in recent days - or as in the deadly protests leading up to Ben Ali's downfall, in which police fired at protesters hurling stones and setting buildings ablaze.

The interim government under Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi was already weakened after four ministers resigned Tuesday - within 24 hours after being appointed to the unprecedented multiparty Cabinet.

An airport official said the Tunisian foreign minister, Kamal Merjan, left the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheik on Wednesday before the start of an Arab League summit, without giving any reason.

The unrest has also rattled Tunisia's economy, which has seen impressive growth in recent years. Moody's Investor Service downgraded Tunisia's government bond ratings Wednesday, citing "significant uncertainties" surrounding Tunisia's economic and political future.

Moody's cut the rating by one notch, to "Baa3" from "Baa2," and also downgraded its outlook to negative from stable. Th new rating is one notch above "junk bond" status.

Labor unions, students and members of the Ennahdha Islamist party - which Ben Ali banned in 1992 and cracked down upon for years - have been among those protesting since his ouster.

A new unity government announced Monday was mostly made up of old gard politicians. A day later, at least four opposition ministers quit, aligning themselves with demonstrators who insist democratic change is impossible with former Ben Ali supporters still in power.

Ghannouchi and interim president Fouad Mebazaa, the former speaker of the lower house of parliament, quit the ruling RCD party Tuesday in an attempt to distance themselves from Ben Ali. The party itself kicked out Ben Ali, its founder, national TV reported.

The protests began in December, after an educated but unemployed 26-year-old man set himself on fire when police confiscated the fruit and vegetables he was selling without a permit. The move hit a nerve among frustrated jobless youths and prompted protests around the nation. Officials say 78 protesters and civilians died in the protests that swpt Ben Ali from power - many killed by police bullets.

Ben Ali was often criticized for a heavy-handed repression against his opponents, curbing civil liberties and running a police state - though he was praised for developing tourism and allying with the U.S. against terrorism.

Bowing to protesters' emands in recent days, Ghannouchi has pledged to free political prisoners, lift restrictions on the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights and create state panels to investigate bribery and abuses during the upheaval.

Palestinian leader wants US backing in UN proposal

Associated Press, Jerusalem | Fri, 12/31/2010 4:13 PM | World

The Palestinian president said a new attempt by the Palestinians to get the United Nations to condemn Israeli settlements was specifically designed to win U.S. support.

As part of a new emphasis on winning international support for their cause, the Palestinians have drafted a proposal and are lobbying for a Security Council resolution that would declare West Bank settlements illegal and an "obstacle to peace."

The U.S. has said it doesn't support the move, but it remains unclear if it will veto the measure or abstain should the draft come to a vote. Israel says it is an attempt by the Palestinians to avoid negotiations.

Speaking on Thursday to Palestinian expatriates and Arab ambassadors in Brazilia, Brazil, President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian draft used language similar to that used by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has criticized settlements.

"We drafted it using the same words that Secretary Clinton is using and so we don't see why the U.S. would veto it," Abbas said.

Brazil, along with several other South American countries, recently recognized the yet-nonexistent state of Palestine.

With peace talks at an impasse, the Palestinians are increasingly trying to win international recognition of their state, which they hope will put bring more pressure to bear on Israel.

Yenny elected as PKB leader

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 12/27/2010 1:03 PM | National

Yenny Wahid has been elected as the leader of the National Awakening Party (PKB) for the 2010-2015 term.

Yenny was appointed by acclamation during the party’s third national congress. The congress also appointed Kiai Ahmad Syahid as the party’s chief patron.

Congress chief executive Imron Rosyadi Hamid said Yenny was elected after 29 of 33 regional boards across Indonesia chose her to lead the party formed by her late father, Abdurahman “Gus Dur” Wahid.

Receiving less votes, former South Kalimantan deputy governor Rosehan was nominated for the position by the South Kalimantan board, while two other boards abstained.

Meanwhile, besides Kiai Ahmad Syahid, other candidates including Tuan Guru Turmudzi, Kiai Dadang and Gus Yusuf Kudlori also emerged in the election.

However, the majority voted for Kiai Ahmad Syahid, Imron said.