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Runoff election in Afghanistan due to ballot fraud

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:50:26 +0000

A second vote will be conducted in Afghanistan presidential election after an investigation revealed widespread ballot fraud.

“The Electoral Complaints Commission invalidated nearly two-thirds of the ballot boxes investigated because of fraud, mostly on behalf of Mr. Karzai, the incumbent, who had polled about 55% in August’s elections before the recount. The Independent Election Commission, a separate Afghan body that conducted the polls, must certify the result, which may take two more days according to members of the commission. But Mr. Karzai’s falling below 50% was confirmed by an ECC official and a senior U.N. official,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

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Top UN official admits Afghan vote fraud ‘widespread’

admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:28:48 +0000

[thestar.com]– The embattled head of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan on Sunday denied allegations by his former American deputy that he chose to ignore evidence of fraud in August’s disputed elections and acted in a biased manner that favoured President Hamid Karzai.

UN special envoy Kai Eide described the Aug. 20 election in Afghanistan as “marred by so many problems, not least, as you know, widespread fraud.” But he said neither he nor the mission acted inappropriately during the process.

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Germany sets up no-fly zone over Oktoberfest in wake of terror threats

admin — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:12:31 +0000

German authorities have banned air traffic in the skies above Munich’s Oktoberfest in response to the spate of terror threats in recent days.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann announced a no-fly zone over the Oktoberfest festival area on Saturday, Sept. 26. The airspace restriction came at the request of the federal Interior Ministry.

Munich’s Theresienwiese beer garden is spread over 77 acres (31 hectares), where 6 million people join in the 16-day celebration every year.

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Japan not to simply extend refueling mission in Jan.: Hatoyama

admin — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:51:52 +0000

[Kyodo News]– Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Friday he has no intention of simply extending the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations after the law authorizing it expires in January and that his government is looking to help the Afghan people in a way that can satisfy both them and the United States.

”I would like to carry out support steps (for Afghanistan) that are most desired,” Hatoyama said during a press conference in Pittsburgh, where he took part in a Group of 20 financial summit, adding that such humanitarian support as farming assistance and vocational training could be possible.

On the issue of relocating some U.S. forces in Japan, Hatoyama said, ”I understand that no minute can be wasted when we think about sentiment in Okinawa.”

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‘The husband can abuse you as if you are his own being, like humans are God’s beings’

admin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:12:13 +0000

The coppery taste of blood leaking from a cheek that has just been slammed into the lower shelf of teeth. The sensation of scalp suctioning to your skull as you are dragged through the house by a fistful of dark hair. The suffocating seconds the lungs spend stunned after a deft punch in the stomach.

The regularities of domestic violence are familiar to many Afghans.

Nearly half the married women who sat for in-depth, on-camera interviews in Kandahar as part of The Globe and Mail’s Behind the Veil project volunteered that they are victims of domestic beatings – an epidemic in Afghanistan, where 82 per cent of violence against women is committed by family members, according to the United Nations.

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Britain welcomes French raid on Calais migrant camp

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:14:48 +0000

French riot police raze a camp housing mainly Afghan immigrants as part of an agreement with Britain to step up efforts against illegal migrants. The camp was used as a base for risky attempts to reach Britain.

Britain’s Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the action taken in Calais would “disrupt illegal immigration and people-trafficking routes.” French police cleared and then bulldozed the makeshift forest camp – known as the “Jungle” – near the northern city of Calais on Tuesday morning.

“I welcome the swift and decisive steps that the French government has taken today to close the “Jungle” in Calais,” Johnson said.

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Germany on edge after fourth consecutive al-Qaeda bomb attack warning

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:35:48 +0000

Germany was on edge yesterday after a fourth consecutive al-Qaeda video warned of an imminent bomb attack in Germany unless the Government withdrew its troops from Afghanistan.

The threats were aimed at German voters ahead of next Sunday’s general election and were being taken seriously by the security authorities.

Armed police are being deployed around railway stations, airports and Jewish institutions. The 660 orderlies at Munich’s Oktoberfest beer festival — the world’s biggest open air drinking party and a possible target — have been briefed to check the baggage of suspicious revellers. The Oktoberfest, which celebrates beer and alcohol consumption, would presumably not have many believing Muslims in the crowd.

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Karzai has wide lead in unofficial vote tally, but fraud allegations could change that

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:51:21 +0000

Concerns about the legitimacy of Afghanistan’s August 20 presidential elections have heightened following repeated allegations of ballot fraud. The latest results remain unofficial pending further investigation.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has won 54.6 percent of the vote in August 20th’s elections, according to preliminary results released on Wednesday. But about one fourth of the total ballots cast could eventually be declared invalid.

The Independent Election Commission said that it will not release official results until those claims of fraud have been investigated.

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Mikhail Evstafiev

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Up to 100,000 have fled Khyber district, UN says

admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:55:23 +0000

Between 56,000 and 100,000 people have fled their homes since Pakistani troops launched a new anti-Taliban offensive in the tribal Khyber district, UN and Pakistani officials estimated on Monday.

The military, backed by artillery and helicopter gunships, launched the offensive on Sept. 1 after a suicide bomber killed 22 policemen in Khyber, which lies on the main supply route for Western troops in Afghanistan.

“Over 100,000 people have arrived in Peshawar since the military mounted an offensive,” said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister in North West Frontier Province. “We intend to set up a camp for them. We have asked the federal government to provide us assistance to cope with the situation.”

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Sporadic attacks kill 26 as Afghans vote

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:57:31 +0000

Taliban ambushes, rocket attacks and blasts killed 26 civilians and security forces as Afghan voted on Thursday in elections that were declared a security success with less violence than expected.

A series of insurgent attacks killed nine civilians, nine policemen and eight soldiers, government ministers told a news conference in what Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said was a total of 135 incidents.

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Mullah Dadullah