Pakistani soldiers storm mosque
Smoke rose above the Red Mosque after troops began their operation
Troops in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, have stormed a controversial mosque after talks with hardline Islamists inside broke down.
The army says about 50 militants and eight soldiers have been killed.

"It is a final push to clear the place of armed militants," said military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad.

Students at the mosque and its attached religious schools have been defying the authorities for months in their campaign for Sharia law in the capital.

Australia 'has Iraq oil interest'

Australia has about 1,500 military personnel in the Gulf
Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has admitted that securing oil supplies is a key factor behind the presence of Australian troops in Iraq.
He said maintaining "resource security" in the Middle East was a priority.

But PM John Howard has played down the comments, saying it was "stretching it a bit" to conclude that Australia's Iraq involvement was motivated by oil.

Stathis comment: Thanks God, we found someone to say the truth.

Torture 'still common in Turkey'

Amnesty International noted a fall in the incidence of torture in police custody
Widespread use of torture is continuing in Turkey despite the government's "zero tolerance" policy, says human rights group Amnesty International.
Stathis comment: So what? To the point that the western community believes that the Turkish model of democracy is the "ideal" for every eastern country, tortures will dominate and poison the turkish society. Sorry..

ब्रिंग थेम होम, ओर वेट तो कोम्प्लेते थे पेंटिंग?

http://www.militarycity.com/valor/honor.html

Vanunu sentenced to new jail term

An Israeli court has sent former nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu back to jail for six months for breaking the conditions of his parole.
Vanunu was released in 2004 after an 18-year sentence for disclosing Israeli nuclear secrets, but he faced curbs including speaking to foreign media.

Stathis comments: no comment.

French Prime Minister announced plans to modernise France's institutions of government.

In his first major policy address since taking office in May, Mr Fillon proposed strengthening parliament and reforming the voting system.

Mr Fillon, 53, also pledged to slash unemployment by the end of the government's five-year term in 2012.

He told parliament the new EU treaty agreed in June would go before MPs for consideration in 2008.

In a referendum in 2005, French voters, along with the Dutch, rejected the draft EU constitution, which the treaty aims to replace.

"France needs Europe to protect its interests and expand and Europe needed France to restart itself," Mr Fillon told MPs.

Large swathes of the government's reform plans had already been revealed almost two weeks ago by President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking to MPs from his UMP party.

Stathis comment: Could you immagine, after two decades, Sarkozy to be a great leader, something like Mitteran / Kohl? Where are the left side leaders?

Will Turkey srike Iraq?

Who cares; they did worst things in the past. But the Kurdish problem is not based in northern Iraq, it is based in Turkey, and that is what needs to be addressed.
Despite strong U.S. opposition, Turkey keeps threatening to attack the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is based in the mountains of northern Iraq.

The PKK has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule in south-eastern Turkey since 1984. It has strong support, with many Kurds in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey dreaming of an independent state.

Stathis comment: Which country prohibits the use of the native language of one of its minority? Which country panishs authors who use some latin letters in their texts? Turkey. (the reason is, the Kurdish lanuage esprecially the names, use those letters). Bravissimo Europe!