Titles:

• Eurozone Crisis Could Cause Collapse of Global Banking System, Warns Citigroup's Willem Buiter
• America's Child Death Shame
• US Army to Fly ‘Suicide' Drones
• Think 10 Times Before Moving into Pakistan: Army Chief Warns US

Eurozone crisis could cause collapse of global banking system, warns Citigroup's Willem Buiter:

The world banking system could collapse if eurozone leaders fail to curb the region's sovereign debt crisis, according to Citigroup's chief economist Willem Buiter. "If things get out of hand in the euro area, no bank in the financial integrated world will stand," he told a parliamentary committee. Mr Buiter, a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, said the recapitalisation of banks and other systemically important institutions should be a priority in the region. "If they don't, we are setting ourselves up for a financial crisis following the sovereign crisis," he said, giving evidence at a session of the House of Lords EU Economic and Financial Affairs Sub-Committee on the eurozone crisis. Mr Buiter said he was not hopeful that "a grand plan, a grand design, [or] even a big bazooka for that matter" would emerge from the European leaders summit in Brussels on Sunday, or at the G20 summit in Cannes on November 3 and 4. "There will be some progress, but very limited," he said. "It's going to take months, probably well in 2012, before we have clarity about how Spain and Italy will be ring-fenced, guaranteed funding, how the banks will be recapitalised and how much of them will end up being majority state owned - I expect a significant number of them."

The super rich a scaremongering again. They want to ensure that governments and the European people do not oppose the measure they are suggesting to ensure that their wealth is protected at the expense of all others. There foremost priority is to limit the debt crisis to a few countries and prevent a contagion, which will bring the whole system down and destroy their wealth.

America's child death shame:

Sixty-six children under the age of 15 die from physical abuse or neglect every week in the industrialised world. Twenty-seven of those die in the US - the highest number of any other country. Every five hours a child dies from abuse or neglect in the US. The latest government figures show an estimated 1,770 children were killed as a result of maltreatment in 2009. A recent congressional report concludes the real number could be nearer 2,500. In fact, America has the worst child abuse record in the industrialised world. Scale of the abuse is mindboggling. Even when populations are taken into account, Unicef research from 2001 places the US equal bottom with Mexico on child deaths from maltreatment.

Islam has forbidden the neglect of children and has made it obligatory for parents to provide food, clothing, shelter and to meet the various other requirements of their children. The messenger (s.a.w) of Allah said, "It is enough sin for a person that he ignores those whom he is responsible for." [Abu Dawood]. Thus, within the Islamic framework children are regarded as a blessing and the family is viewed as playing a pivotal role in the stability of society.

US Army to fly ‘suicide' drones:

A miniature suicide drone designed to quietly hover in the sky before dive-bombing and slamming into a human target will soon be part of the US Army's arsenal, officials say. Dubbed the "Switchblade," the robotic aircraft represents the latest attempt by the United States to refine how it takes out suspected militants. Weighing less than two kilos, the drone is small enough to fit into a soldier's backpack and is launched from a tube, with wings quickly folding out as it soars into the air, according to manufacturer AeroVironment. Powered by a small electric motor, the Switchblade transmits video in real time from overhead, allowing a soldier to identify an enemy, the company said in a press release last month.

At last, the US government has confirmed that suicide bombing even though it is carried out by machines is a valid tactic in military warfare.

France begins withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan:

France is set to pull out nearly 200 troops from Afghanistan in a few hours, kickstarting withdrawals announced three months ago by Paris. Another 200 soldiers are due to return home before Christmas as part of Nato's plan to end combat mission by 2014. France has some 4,000 troops in Afghanistan and 75 of its soldiers have died in the country since 2001.Several countries, including, the US, the UK, Canada and Belgium, have also announced plans to withdraw troops. Some US and Canadian troops have already headed home, handing over responsibilities for security to Afghan forces.The US plans to withdraw 33,000 soldiers by the end of 2012.Most French soldiers are deployed in the district of Surobi and in the neighbouring province of Kapisa. "We are carrying out a proportional withdrawal," French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet told France Inter radio ahead of Wednesday's withdrawal.

At a time when America is contemplating an attack on Pakistan, America's ally has decided to withdraw some of its troops. The Dutch have already withdrawn their troops and it is clear that the European contingent of NATO countries is not supporting America's war on terror. So what is preventing Pakistan's leadership from saying NO to America's war on terror and severing all ties?

Think 10 times before moving into Pakistan: Army chief warns US:

Amid escalating tensions, Pakistan's all powerful army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, has warned the US not to launch any military offensive into his country's tribal region. Asking the US to "think 10 times" before moving into North Waziristan region from Afghanistan, Kayani reminded the Americans that Pakistan was a nuclear power and should not be compared with Iraq or Afghanistan. The army chief, who has been smarting since US commandos intruded into Pakistan and killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town in May, was addressing members of parliament's defence committee on Tuesday. But Kayani did not specify what Pakistan would do if American troops, now massed on the Afghan side of the border, did move into North Waziristan hunting for the militant Haqqani network. US officials are linking the Haqqani group with Pakistani's intelligence agencies and say it has stepped up attacks on American interests in Afghanistan, with some tacit Pakistani backing. Xinhua quoted a participant as saying that the general rejected US allegations that Pakistan was using the Taliban-linked Haqqani network for waging a proxy war in Afghanistan. Pakistan, Kayani insisted, was a part of a solution to the Afghan tangle, not the problem. The US is livid with the Pakistani establishment for not taking strong action against the Haqqani group. The Americans say Pakistan, which remains obsessed with India's growing clout in Afghanistan, is trying to keep alive the Haqqani network so that it plays a role in any Kabul dispensation once the US army pulls out. Kayani said he had told the Americans that Pakistan would go for military action in the region if the situation demanded but not under any pressure. "If somebody convinces me that military action in North Waziristan will resolve all problems, I am ready to go for it tomorrow," he said.

Has not the time for warning passed? If Kayani is sincere then he should immediately cut the supply linesto NATO forces, expel the US diplomatic and military staff, and actively buttress Pakistan's ability to repel any attack. This includes mobilising nuclear weapons and making them active. Actions speak louder than words, and the time for action is here and now.

On the eve of Saturday 10/09/2011 CE the Zanzibar Isles were afflicted with an unparalleled historic calamity that spread grief, tears and pain into every house with the capsizing of the MV Spice Islander in the Nungwi area. This is the worst and most severe accident to have afflicted Muslims of these islands as the passengers are estimated to have reached 3,000

The secret agencies of Pakistan make another failed attempt to link the world's largest political party, Hizb ut Tahrir, with militancy and terrorism. Hizb ut Tahrir denies the report published in two Urdu newspapers according to which police arrested a member of Hizb ut Tahrir from a protest held outside the Parliament House and recovered uniforms of the security services from his possession.  The concocted story was released by a previously unheard of news agency

Titles:

• Euro debt crisis could destabilise world economy, says Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
• President Obama Leaves "All Options" Open In Response To Iran
• Kazakhstan tightens law against Islamic prayers
• Report: NATO wins in Afghanistan exaggerated

Details:

Euro debt crisis could destabilise world economy, says Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday warned that Europe's debt crisis could be "a destabilising factor" for the world as a whole in a speech to parliament in which he rejected calls to resign. "The economic crisis will improve only when Europe can show that it can take a decisive step towards political unity, towards coordinating economic policy, defence policy, foreign policy," Berlusconi told centre-right lawmakers. "As long as we remain a large economic body with a small political head, the economic crisis risks continuing with no solution and with the added danger that Europe becomes a destabilising factor for the world economy," he said. "The heart of the European banking system is being attacked by speculation. The markets are volatile... which undermines the stability of the euro," he said. He also cautioned against further political uncertainty in Italy, saying that his government was the best guarantor of stability in tough economic times. Berlusconi said the euro was weakened from its inception by the fact that there is no mechanism for coordinating budget policies or issuing common European bonds.

President Obama Leaves "All Options" Open In Response To Iran

Obama told the press this week that he had "laid out a very specific set of facts." Obama said, "what we know is that an individual of Iranian-American descent was involved in a plot to assassinate the ambassador to the United States from Saudi Arabia. We also know that he had direct links, was paid by and directed by individuals in the Iranian government. Now those facts are there for all to see." Obama also said that as the U.S. formulates a response to Iran, that the U.S. does not "take any options off the table." However, the initial response would be a legal and diplomatic one-starting with a prosecution of those individuals involved in the plot and pressing forward with additional sanctions on elements of Iran's government. The Treasury Department has already moved to restrict the finances of organizations and firms linked to the Iranian government. "What you're gonna see is folks throughout the Middle East region questioning their ability to work effectively with Iran," the president predicted. Reports have surfaced that the president was initially briefed on the threat in June and a months-long investigation resulted in arrests this week.

Kazakhstan tightens law against Islamic prayers

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a tough religion law Thursday including a ban on prayer rooms in state buildings, aimed at stamping out Islamist militancy but criticized by Kazakhstan's top Muslim cleric and the West. Nazarbayev, 71, has ruled Kazakhstan for more than 20 years as a secularist autocrat. Until this year, the 70 percent Muslim country largely avoided the Islamist violence seen in other central Asian ex-Soviet states like Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. "The new law ... more clearly defines the rights and duties of religious organizations and outlines the role of the state in strengthening the religious tolerance of our society," Nazarbayev said Thursday during a visit to Shymkent, near the border with Uzbekistan where radical Islam is on the rise. "Peace and harmony in our multiethnic home are Kazakhstan's most valuable patrimony," he said. The comments were reported on his official website. The law, swiftly approved by the compliant legislature, has caused heated debate. Article 7 bans prayer rooms in all state institutions. Kazakhstan's Supreme Mufti, Absattar Derbisali, said this could anger pious Muslims and spur extremism. Among recent measures to fight Islamist militancy, Kazakhstan temporarily blocked access to a number of foreign Internet sites in August after a court ruled they were propagating terrorism and inciting religious hatred.

Report: NATO wins in Afghanistan exaggerated

The US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan may be exaggerating successes of raids designed to kill or capture insurgent leaders, a flagship strategy in the 10-year war, a report warned Thursday. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) hails the raids as one of the most effective tactics against the insurgency, but the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) says data from December 2009 to September 2011 is inconsistent. "The lack of transparency is particularly apparent in the case of the insurgent ?leaders? that were reportedly being killed and captured; there is no way to properly evaluate these claims," said the AAN report on its website. Two days ago, the military said the number of Taliban attacks had declined for the first time and that the Taliban has failed in recent months to seize back territory lost in US-led offensives in the south. Basing its data on 3,771 press releases announcing the deaths of at least 3,873 people and the detentions of another 7,146, AAN said ISAF often interchanges the terms "facilitator" and "leader" without explaining why. It also said statistics in press releases did not tally with more grandiose figures released separately by ISAF to media outlets. Although it was unclear to what extent this was intentional, "it should make policy-makers and analysts evaluating ISAF?s progress think twice about accepting these body-count figures without more serious scrutiny," AAN said. On September 3, an ISAF release said security forces had captured or killed more than 40 Al-Qaeda insurgents in eastern Afghanistan this year. But a tally of previous releases add up to 22 killed and 10 captured, many of which, AAN points out, are simply noted as having had "suspected ties". AAN concedes that the press releases themselves do not represent a complete figure, given that there may have been unreported operations, and more deaths and detentions per incident than counted.

Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia pose threat to US: Panetta

Addressing the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday, US Secretary for Defence Leon Panetta said that terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia pose a threat to the United States. At a hearing on the future of national defence and the US military 10 years after 9/11, the focus of the discussion centred largely on defence budget cuts. The hearing was disrupted in the first 15 minutes by anti-war protestors, who raised slogans against the war, and were escorted out by the police. Secretary of Defence Panetta said that their focus was that Afghanistan should not become a safe haven for al Qaeda again. He added that if the United States left Afghanistan in a hurry, and Afghanistan became a base for al Qaeda, the world would question the US. Members of the committee questioned Secretary Panetta as to why the US was spending billions in wars when the US was facing a fiscal deficit and an economic crisis at home. Rep Chellie Pingree questioned why the United States was spending $120 billion a year on the wars.