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Hina has nothing new to
offer: Fatima Bhutto
Top Taliban commander killed in US drone attack
Harvard toppled from top of worldwide rankings
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Sarah Palin puts family first, won’t Washington, October 6 "After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for the President of the United States," Palin said in a letter posted on her website. "My family comes first and, obviously, Todd (her husband) and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision," she wrote to her supporters. Palin's announcement ends months of uncertainty over the 47-year-old Republican leader's political plans. She had fanned speculation that she was considering a bid for the presidency when she announced a summer bus tour with stops in early-voting US states. Palin is the second Republican candidate hopeful who gave up the candidacy in two days. On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie formally announced that he would not run for Republican presidential nomination in 2012, letting down many who have been so far unsatisfied with the Republican field in the US general elections. Ex-Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Texas governor Rick Perry lead the Republican pack to challenge Barack Obama for the White House in 2012. But she made it clear that in the coming weeks, she would "co-ordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House". "I believe that at this time, I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office — from the nation's governors to congressional seats and the presidency," she said. Palin told her supporters that she could help the Republican cause more by working to elect others. "In the coming weeks, I will help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House," she said. Palin did not endorse any of the existing presidential contenders, but ruled out running as a third-party candidate. Palin burst on to the national political scene in 2008 as the vice-presidential candidate on the White House ticket of Senator John McCain. After losing the 2008 election, she returned to Alaska, and then stepped down as governor halfway through her first term. However, she has been a champion of the conservative Tea Party movement and is one of the most recognisable faces in the US politics. Meanwhile, Rick Perry said he respects Palin's decision. "Sarah Palin is a good friend, a great American and a true patriot. I respect her decision and know she will continue to be a strong voice for conservative values and needed change in Washington," he said. A Washington Post-ABC News poll indicated on Tuesday that two-thirds of Republicans say they do not want Palin to seek the party's nomination. — PTI
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Swedish poet Transtromer wins Literature Nobel Stockholm, October 6 The Swedish Academy said it recognised the 80-year-old poet "because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access
to reality". Transtromer has been a perennial favourite for the 10 million kronor ($ 1.5 million) award, and in the recent years Swedish journalists have waited outside his apartment in Stockholm on the day the literature prize was announced. His works have been translated into more than 50 languages and influenced poets around the globe, particularly in North America. Earlier this year, , Transtromer's Swedish publishing house Bonniers published a collection of his works between 1954 and 2004 to celebrate the poet's 80th birthday. Born in Stockholm in 1931, Transtromer started writing poetry while studying at the Sodra Latin school in Stockholm. He received a degree in psychology from Stockholm University and later divided his time between poetry and his work as a psychologist. — AP
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Hina has nothing new to offer: Fatima Bhutto Islamabad, October 6 Khar may be young and a woman but she has nothing new to offer, said the 29-year-old granddaughter of former premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. "Gender is never a substitute for ethics or justice. I don't care whether she is young or old, or a woman. I want to know what she is saying," she said. "What is sad about the political culture of Pakistan is that we don't talk about ideas, we just talk about people. And what she is saying seems to be exactly the same thing that people have been saying before for the past 30 years," Bhutto told Deutsche Welle in an interview. "What I want to know, is how can an independent country like Pakistan have a foreign policy that makes us subservient to almost every country we deal with. That to me is outrageous. How do you have a nuclear country, a rich country whose policy is based around begging for aid?" Bhutto said, making someone like 34-year-old Khar Foreign Minister sends a message, especially to young people, "that the only way into politics in Pakistan is through families - and for a country of 180 million people that’s a really rotten thing to tell them". Hina Rabbani Khar became Pakistan's youngest and first woman Foreign Minister in July. She is the daughter of veteran politician Malik Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar and the niece of former governor Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar. When told that Khar, much like herself, was part of the small elite that ruled Pakistan, Bhutto quipped: "I think there is a problem with the dynastic culture of my country. Until democratic institutions are strengthened and run freely, something like dynasty just subverts the democratic process. I don't think this will change in my lifetime. I think it needs generations to fix and a commitment to democratic ideas." — PTI
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After a decade of war, Afghans mull Taliban return Kabul, October 6 "The only way to finish the fight against the Taliban is to bring them to power and get foreigners out," Muttawakil said in an interview at his Kabul home, perched on a mock tiger-skin sofa and dressed in a traditional white shalwar kameez baggy tunic and trousers. Besides, he adds, corruption, insecurity and immorality have flourished since U.S.-backed troops ousted the group from Kabul, and their return would end much of that. Other Afghans are not as enthusiastic about the reappearance in government of a group they remember as cruel and oppressive rulers. But as foreign troops start to head home with the war far from over, it is a future many are planning for. "When the U.S. leave, in one week, the Taliban will return. I believe 100 percent they will take back power, whether the Afghan people want them or not," said Khalid Ahmad, who sells women's clothes adorned with glitter and embroidery. If they return, they'll reintroduce their Islamic laws, they'll do the same as they did before. If that happens, I won't leave, but I doubt I will be able to have a business like this." During their 1996-2001 rule the Taliban implemented heavily oppressive policies, including shutting women out from most work and study and restricting their movements. They publicly executed adulterers, brought back physical punishments including amputation, and the Pashtun-dominated movement discriminated against Afghans from other ethnic groups. Their austere interpretation of Islam also alienated Afghans who were not affected by their harsher rules. They banned television, some sports and most music, arrested men without beards, and beat those who didn't attend prayers. Back by gun or treaty The U.S. and other Western and regional powers have insisted their commitment to Afghanistan will last beyond the December 31, 2014, deadline agreed by NATO and Afghan President Hamid Karzai for getting foreign combat troops out. Top U.S. officials including the ambassador in Kabul say months of tentative moves to talk to the Taliban about a political end to a decade-long war will progress only if the military pressure on the group is sustained or increased. "The Taliban needs to be further weakened to the point where they will come to the table prepared to accept the conditions we have set jointly with the Afghans," Ambassador Ryan Crocker told Reuters in a recent interview. But many Afghans see efforts to reach out to the Taliban, by both Karzai and the West, as a sign that cash and commitment for the war are waning. Confidence in the Afghan police and army, riven by corruption, drug use and illiteracy, is not high. So there is a growing sense that the Taliban are likely to be back, either through force or through a settlement more advantageous to the group than to departing Western powers. "I'm worried the Taliban will return. If the foreign forces leave us halfway along this journey all the gains will be dramatically lost," said 24 year-old shop owner Abbas. But for others weary of violence after three decades of fighting, the return of the insurgent group would be preferable to another descent into full-blown civil war. And although foreign troops were initially welcomed as liberators across swathes of anti-Taliban Afghanistan, their presence has brought many deaths, and the billions of dollars channeled into the country funded corruption as much as change. More than 11,000 civilians are believed to have died in the war, and thousands more were injured. Although insurgents caused about 80 percent of civilian deaths this year, the foreign forces are seen by some as the root cause of the suffering. "The rise in immoral activities, suicide bombings, and all our misery is because of American presence in Afghanistan," said Abdul Nazir, an imam at a Kabul mosque. He agrees with Muttawakil that if they leave, the violence will end. "I know that Taliban also kill innocent people and want to enforce strict sharia law, but they are still Muslims and better than the infidels here. The Taliban are successful because many Muslims see them as sole guardians of Islamic values." A changing Taliban? The Taliban themselves have also been changed by a decade of guerilla warfare inside their country, and technological and political changes globally, though they still espouse an austere brand of Islam and want it enforced in Afghanistan. There have been hints in statements and from former Taliban officials that they may have softened their stance on issues like education and private enterprise. Some analysts say they are seeking to position themselves as a pan-Afghan movement capable of running a civilian government, rather than a Pashtun-dominated militant group.— Reuters
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October 7 is the tenth anniversary of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan, launched after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, that helped oust the Taliban government. But a decade and many billions of dollars later Afghanistan is still desperately poor and battling a worsening insurgency. Here is a timeline of the main events over the last ten years: Oct. 7, 2001- United States attacks Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, host to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. Nov. 13- Anti-Taliban Northern Alliance forces enter Kabul. Dec. 5- Afghan groups sign deal in Bonn on interim government headed by ethnic Pashtun tribal leader Hamid Karzai. June 11, 2002- Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, opens and later elects Hamid Karzai as president of interim government. He is sworn in as president for 18 months on June 19. Oct. 9, 2004- Presidential election. Karzai declared winner and sworn in on Dec. 7. Jan. 31, 2006- Afghanistan receives pledges of $10.5 billion to help it fight poverty and the drug trade. June 12, 2008- Donors pledge about $20 billion in aid at a Paris conference but say Kabul must do more to fight corruption. July 7- Suicide car bomb hits Indian embassy in Kabul, killing 58 people and wounding 141. Dec. 5- Karzai and new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari pledge to boost cooperation and agree a joint strategy to fight al Qaeda and others along their shared border. Jan. 27, 2009- Thousands of U.S. troops move into two key provinces in eastern Afghanistan as part of strategy of outgoing Bush administration. Feb. 17- New U.S. President Barack Obama orders 17,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan to tackle intensifying insurgency. March 27- Obama announces plans to send a further 4,000 U.S. troops to train Afghan security forces, along with civilian personnel to improve delivery of basic services. March 29- Karzai announces he will stay in office after his term officially ends on May 21 until elections in August. He later says he will run for re-election. Aug. 20- Presidential election. Oct. 19- U.S. election observers Democracy International say a run-off vote is needed because the U.N.-led probe into election fraud has pushed Karzai below 50 percent of the vote. Oct. 20- The Independent Election Commission (IEC) announces Karzai will face Abdullah Abdullah in a second round. Oct. 28- Five foreign U.N. staff are killed when militants attack a guest house used by foreigners. A rocket aimed at the presidential palace hits the Serena hotel. Nov. 1- Abdullah quits the Nov. 7 run-off, saying the IEC and government have not met his demands, including the sacking of top election officials. Karzai is declared president again the next day. Nov. 5- The United Nations says it will evacuate hundreds of its international staff for several weeks due to deteriorating security, a blow for Western efforts to stabilise the country. Nov. 19- Karzai is sworn in, pledging to tackle corruption and calling for a Loya Jirga grand assembly. Dec. 1- President Obama decides to boost U.S. troop numbers by 30,000, bringing the total to 100,000. June 2, 2010 - A jirga gathering of tribal leaders and other notables approves a plan by Karzai to seek a peace deal with moderate elements of the Taliban. July 20, 2010 - Afghan forces should be leading security operations throughout their country by 2014, an international conference says. Nov. 20 - Obama says for the first time his goal is to end the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and to significantly reduce the number of U.S. troops deployed there by then. May 2, 2011 - Osama bin Laden is killed in Abbottabad, 60 km (35 miles) north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. July 12 - Ahmad Wali Karzai, the younger influential half-brother of the president, is assassinated by a trusted guard. Sept. 13 - Five Afghan police and 11 civilians, are killed as insurgents shower Kabul's diplomatic enclave with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire for 20 hours. The United States blamed the attack, the most coordinated militant assault on Kabul since the war began, on the Taliban-linked Haqqani network based on Pakistan's northwest border with Afghanistan. Sept. 20 - A man posing as a Taliban representative meeting former president and chief peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani, the head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, detonates a bomb hidden in his turban and kills him at his Kabul home. — Reuters
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Top Taliban commander killed in US drone attack
Islamabad, October 6 Halimullah was an important leader of the Taliban faction led by Maulvi Nazeer and his death is a "huge loss" for Ahmadzai Wazir militants operating in the South Waziristan Agency, Taliban sources were quoted as saying by The News daily today. The dead commander belonged to the Tujikhel sub-tribe of the Ahmadzai Wazirs and led a group of 300 armed fighters.He reportedly was in the Musa Neeka area near the Afghan border to settle a dispute between local tribesmen when the drone struck on September 30. "He was holding a meeting with some people to resolve a local dispute when he came under the drone attack," a close aide to Halimullah said. — PTI
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Harvard toppled from top of worldwide rankings London, October 6 California Institute of Technology (Caltech) knocked the famous Massachusetts institution from the summit of the Times Higher Education (THE) league table for the first time in eight years, with the US schools claiming 75 of the top 200 places. Next is Britain, which boasts 32 establishments in the top 200, but an overhaul in the way in which the country's universities are funded has raised concerns over its continuing success. Asia's increasing presence in the annual table has stalled, with 30th placed University of Tokyo leading the continent's representation. China's top two universities hold on to their elite status, but no more institutions from the developing powerhouse managed to break into the top 200. THE attributed Caltech's success to "consistent results across the indicators and a steep rise in research funding". Caltech specialises in science and engineering. 365-year-old Harvard, which loses the top spot for the first time since THE began publishing a global university ranking, shares second place with Californian university Stanford. — AFP
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The 2011 Nobel Prize in literature was awarded today to Tomas Transtromer, a Swedish poet whose surrealistic works about the mysteries of the human mind won him acclaim as one of the most important Scandinavian writers since World War II.