Hamas Defeats Fatah In Student Polls

By Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank

Tuesday, 29 November (Al-Jazeera) - The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has defeated Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party in student elections at the largest university in West Bank.

A final vote count showed that Hamas had won 40 of the 81 seats making up the student general assembly of al-Najah University in Nablus.

Fatah won 34 seats while the Democratic and Popular Fronts for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and (PFLP) won two seats each in Tuesday's vote.

The Palestinian Democratic Initiative, led by former presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouthi, received one seat.

Supporters of the Islamic Jihad organisation won two seats.

In last year's elections, Fatah won 38 seats as against Hamas' 36.

Disenchantment
Journalist Sedqi Mousa attributed the success of Hamas to the "weakness and incompetence of the Fatah-led student council".

"Last year many students were moved by the death of Yasser Arafat and cast their votes in favour of Fatah. Moreover, the Islamic student bloc has been able to convince new students of the authenticity and veracity of the Islamic line."

After the announcement of the election results, hundreds of Islamist students and Hamas supporters marched to downtown Nablus shouting "God is great" and "Jerusalem in our eyes".

Others shouted "forward to parliament," referring to Hamas' decision to take part in the Palestinian parliamentary polls, scheduled for 25 January.

Al-Najah is the largest university in the West Bank, with as many as 14,000 students.

Many observers consider student elections in the occupied territories as a barometer reflecting the political currents in the Palestinian street.

Seorang Lagi Lelaki Ditembak

NARATHIWAT 28 Nov. - Seorang lelaki Muslim mati terbunuh dalam siri terbaru pembunuhan di selatan Thailand berdekatan sempadan Malaysia, hari ini.

Uma Ahma, 30, ditembak tiga kali oleh seorang lelaki bersenjata yang mengekori mangsa dan isterinya yang dalam perjalanan pulang ke rumah mereka di Rue So, di sini.

Pasangan tersebut baru saja pulang dari melawat saudara mereka sebelum lelaki terbabit ditembak di hadapan rumahnya. - AFP

Bush Rancang Bom Al-Jazeera

LONDON: Presiden George W Bush merancang mengebom stesen penyiaran al-Jazeera, lapor akhbar Britain, Daily Mirror semalam yang memetik memo Downing Street yang tertera perkataan ‘Sulit.’

Transkrip perbualan di antara Bush dan Perdana Menteri Britain, Tony Blair, setebal lima muka surat itu mendedahkan Blair bercakap mengenai pelan Bush mengenakan tindakan ketenteraan ke atas stesen itu di Qatar, kata sumber tidak dinamakan kepada akhbar yang menentang Perang Iraq.

Transkrip percakapan kedua-dua pemimpin ketika Blair melawat Washington pada 16 April lalu menunjukkan Bush mahu menyerang ibu pejabat stesen itu di Doha.

Blair didakwa bimbang serangan seumpama itu akan mencetuskan serangan balas.

Akhbar Daily Mirror memetik pegawai Britain tidak dinamakan sebagai berkata, ancaman Bush ‘sekadar jenaka, bukan sesuatu serius.’

Perspektif al-Jazeera mengenai serangan ke atas Iraq mengundang kritikan daripada Washington sejak pencerobohan terhadap negara itu pada Mac 2003.

Ia juga menyiarkan mesej daripada Osama bin Laden dan pembunuh tebusan Barat yang dipenggal kepala oleh kumpulan penentang di Iraq selain rakaman anggota tentera pakatan penceroboh yang mati serta penduduk awam yang maut dalam pertempuran.

Sumber memberitahu Daily Mirror: “Memo itu satu tamparan hebat kepada Bush. Dia bersungguh-sungguh mahu mengebom al-Jazeera di Qatar dan di tempat lain. Blair pula menjawab, ia akan menyebabkan masalah besar.

“Tidak ragu-ragu lagi Bush mahu melakukannya dan tidak ragu lagi Blair tidak mahu dia melakukannya.”

Satu lagi sumber lain berkata: “Bush amat serius, begitu juga Blair. Ia sesungguhnya amat jelas berbanding bahasa yang digunakan kedua-duanya.”

Akhbar berkenaan menyebut, memo berkenaan tiba pada Mei 2004 di pejabat ahli perundangan Britain ketika itu, Tony Clarke, yang juga anggota Parti Buruh pimpinan Blair.

Seorang kakitangan kerajaan, David Keogh, 49, dituduh menurut Akta Rahsia Rasmi kerana menyerahkannya kepada bekas penyelidik Clarke, Leo O’Connor, 42.

Kedua-duanya diikat jamin untuk muncul di Mahkamah Majistret Bow Street di tengah London, minggu depan. – AFP

Bukan Masjid Al-Aqsa Sahaja!

Sudah lali dengan umat Palestin di bunuh, sudah lali dengan statistik kematian umat Palestin, sudah lali dengan teriakan dan tangisan kanak2 yang terputus tangan akibat bedilan rejim Zionis. Sekarang masjid Palestin menjadi kandang binatang ternakan. Tidak cukup lagi, penerbit filem lucah bernafsu menjadikan masjid Palestin lokasi pengambaran. Kenapa marah ? Kenapa emosi ? Maszlee Malek melaporkan ...

Jika anda menyangkakan hanya masjid al-Aqsa yang ingin dirobohkan oleh rejim Zionis demi membina kuil (Haykal) mereka, anda tersilap. Jika anda menyangkakan juga bahawa rejim Zionis tidak akan melakukannya, anda sekali lagi telah melakukan kesilapan yang amat besar. Mengapa?

Hakikat sejarah yang tidak dapat dinafikan mengenai rejim Zionis ialah, semenjak tahun 1948 lagi, Zionis telah menghancurkan ratusan masjid dan gereja yang berada di atas bumi Palestin.

Usaha mereka untuk memusnahkan Masjid al-Aqsa hanyalah sebahagian daripada usaha berterusan yang telah mereka lakukan semenjak bertahun-tahun lamanya di dalam meniti agenda untuk menghilangkan langsung identiti Islam dan Arab dari muka bumi Palestin, terutamanya dari muka bumi Baitul Maqdis, ataupun yang lebih dikenali sebagai al-Quds.

Hal tersebut telah ditegaskan di dalam laporan Al-Aqsa Foundation, sebuah yayasan yang bergerak untuk memantau dan menjaga tempat-tempat suci umat Islam di Palestin dan di Baitul Maqdis secara khusus.

Laporan al-Aqsa Foundation

Laporan yang disediakan oleh Al-Aqsa Foundation itu telah menyebutkan bahawa tempat-tempat suci umat Islam dan Kristian telah banyak yang dimusnahkan di bawah pendudukan Rejim Zionis yang ingin memusnahkan identiti bangsa Palestin, samada yang berbentuk Islam mahupun Kristian. Pada tahun 1948 sahaja, Rejim Zionis telah menghancurkan lebih daripada 200 buah masjid di seluruh Palestin.

Lebih dahsyat lagi, Rejim Zionis telah menderafkan undang-undang khusus untuk menghalalkan usaha perampasan tanah-tanah wakaf milik umat Islam oleh mereka. Lebih daripada itu, sepertimana yang disebutkan di dalam laporan Al-Aqsa Foundation berkaitan perkara tersebut, mereka telah mendedahkankan bagaimana rejim Zionis telah merobohkan 18 bangunan masjid dan kemudiannya dibina sinagog (kuil Yahudi) di atas tapak masjid-masjid tersebut.

Di dalam perkembangan yang lain pula, 16 masjid lainnya telah diubah suai menjadi kandang peternakan lembu, kelab-kelab malam, pusat pelacuran dan restoran. “Masjid-masjid di Queseria, Ashkelon dan Eid Hud yang berada di dalam tanah Palestin yang dijajah (Israel) telah diubah menjadi kelab malam-kelab malam,” menurut laporan itu lagi.

Perobohan di atas nama undang-undang

Dua masjid di Safd dan Akka diubah menjadi kandang penternakan lembu, manakala 41 masjid yang lain pula telah ditutup, dan yang paling menjijikan, pihak berkuasa rejim Zionis juga telah memberi keizinan kepada penerbit-penerbit filem lucah untuk melakukan penggambaran aksi-aksi seks di salah sebuah masjid yang telah disita oleh mereka (Zionis) di daerah Safd. Selain mencemarkan tempat-tempat ibadah umat Islam, rejim Zionis juga merampas tanah-tanah wakaf milik umat Islam dengan dalih bahwa tanah-tanah itu sudah lama tidak berpenghuni.

Dengan menggunakan undang-undang kepemilikan tanah tahun 1950 yang mengatakan bahawa kerajaan Zionis berhak merampas pemilikan rakyat Palestin yang terbiar, pihak rejim telah merampas banyak tanah-tanah wakaf milik rakyat Palestin. Undang-undang yang zalim ini sengaja diluluskan oleh Knesset rejim Zionis untuk memungkinkan mereka merampas tanah-tanah milik rakyat Palestin di Al-Quds dan wilayah lainnya.

Laporan itu juga menyatakan, para ekstrimis Yahudi terus melakukan kerosakan terhadap tempat-tempat suci milik umat Islam di depan mata pemerintah Rejim Zionis, tanpa ada sebarang tindakan dikenakan ke atas mereka. Menurut laporan tersebut : “Para ektrimis Yahudi telah mengubah masjid menjadi sinagog (kuil Yahudi) dengan berbagai alasan, seperti yang terjadi pada masjid di daerah Tabariya.” Sehingga kini, usaha menghancurkan masjid-masjid oleh rejim Zionis masih berlaku dan tiada sebarang tindakan diambil oleh umat Islam dari serata dunia. Usaha-usaha tersebut samada dilakukan oleh pihak kerajaan rejim Zionis secara rasmi ataupun melalui usaha kumpulan-kumpulan ekstrimis.

Sebagai contohnya, baru-baru ini, pemerintah Rejim Zionis mengisytiharkan rancangan mereka untuk merobohkan sebuah masjid yang berada di dalam daerah Baitul Maqdis, yang sudah berdiri sejak 20 tahun lalu. Demi untuk merobohkan masjid tersebut, mereka telah mengemukakan alasan-alasan yang tidak munasabah dan tidak kukuh.

Pada hakikatnya, usaha merobohkan masjid tersebut dilakukan adalah sebagai sebahagian daripada strategi mereka ke arah menghapuskan identiti Islam dan Arab dari kota itu dan juga sebahagian daripada usaha mereka untuk mengyahudikan Baitul Maqdis yang mereka panggil sebagai "Urshalem".

Masjid yang telah dirobohkan itu dikenali sebagai Badr, dan telah dibina semenjak tahun 1986 dan diltekkan di bawah pengurusan jabatan waqaf umat Islam di dalam kawasan bumi Palestin yang dijajah (Israel). Jabatan Waqaf bertanggungjawab menjaga dan memantau tanah-tanah waqaf dan juga tempat-tempat suci umat Islam di dalam daerah Al-Quds. Malangnya, apabila pihak rejim telah meluluskan pelan perobohan masjid Badr, jabatan Waqaf itu tidak pula dirujuk, malah jabatan tersebut juga tidak boleh melakukan apa-apa tindakan apabila usaha perobohan itu dilakukan.

Laporan media Yahudi

Fakta berkaitan usaha merobohkan masjid-masjid milik umat Islam ini bukan hanya didedahkan oleh umat Islam sahaja, malah media-media Yahudi pun turut melaporkannya. Jika kita hanya melaporkan fakta-fakta ini dari sumber umat Islam sahaja, barangkalai ada yang akan mengatakan ianya bias dan juga kemungkinan berlaku penambahan dan penyelwengan fakta. Berikut ini dipaparkan pula laporan yang telah diambil dari laporan media-media Yahudi di dalam bumi Palestin yang dijajah (Israel)...

Sebagai contohnya: Akhbar "Israel Haaretz" pada 16 September 2005 telah mendedahkan fakta yang disembunyikan oleh kerajaan rejim Zionis mengenai nasib 34 masjid yang telah diubah menjadi sinagog Yahudi dan muzium selaras dengan fakta yang telah didedahkan oleh al-Aqsa Foundation. Mereka telah melakukan kajian yang lebih terperinci dengan mendedahkan bagaimana sebahagian masjid yang lain pula telah ditukarkan menjadi tempat tinggal keluarga Yahudi ekstrimis dan juga kadang kuda dan kandang lembu milik orang Yahudi.

Di dalam laporan yang sama juga didedahkan bagaimana dua masjid yang lain pula telah diubah menjadi kafe dan sebuah masjid yang lain pula ditukarkan menjadi rumah pelacuran. Haaretz juga melaporkan tentang 39 masjid lain telah ditinggalkan terbiar kerana tidak boleh dimasuki oleh warga Palestin kerana dihalang oleh pihak berkuasa rejim Zionis.

Maklumat yang dirahsiakan

Di dalam laporan yang lain pula, seorang wartawan Israel, Miron Rabobort mengatakan bahwa beliau telah berhasil mendapatkan maklumat dari kerajaan rejim Zionis dari sumber-sumber rasmi mengenai masjid-masjid tersebut, namun semua usahanya itu tidak mencapai klimaksnya apabila semua maklumat dan pengurusan masjid-masjid tersebut telah dipindahkan ke pihak yang lebih tinggi. Hasilnya, laporan tersebut tergantung, di samping sikap pihak berkuasa yang enggan bekerjasama dan menyifatkan segala maklumat berkaitan sebagai "terlampau sulit".

Maklumat mengenai pemusnahan masjid-masjid tersebut dulunya berada di bawah pengurusan Jabatan keagamaan Israel itu kemudiannya telah dipindahkan ke sebuah jabatan khas di bawah administrasi Perdana Menteri secara langsung. Ketika Rabobort mengajukan pertanyaan kepada setiausaha jabatan berkenaan, mereka mengatakan bahawa perdana menteri dikatakan bahwa tanggung jawab sepenuhnya ke atas tempat-tempat suci tersebut.

Robobort juga berjaya mendapatkan maklumat mengenai dua buah masjid di daerah tengah Baitul Maqdis yang telah diubah menjadi sinagog. Beliau juga telah berjaya mendapatkan maklumat mengenai dua masjid di dua tempat yang berlainan di dalam kota Tel Aviv yang menerima nasib yang hampir sama. Salah sebuah masjid tersebut telah dugunakan sebagai kelab malam pemuda-pemuda Yahudi. Masjid yang kedua pula telah ditukarkan sebagai sinagog. Maklumat mengnai kedua-dua masjid ini tidak terdapat di dalam laporan yang ditulis Ha'aretz mahupun laporan al-Aqsa Foundation.

Nas Tsunami

Seorang wartawan alternatif Yahudi, Afner Kahanof juga telah menemukan maklumat yang lebih menarik atau dahsyat di sebuah tempat yang bernama Nas Tsunami. Ianya adalah sebuah kampung yang didiami oleh rakyat Palestin sehingga perang tahun 1948 dan merupakan sebuah kawasan yang padat dengan penduduk sepertimana yang telah dinyatakan di dalam laman web rasmi Dewan Bandaraya Nas Tsunami sekarang ini.

Menurut Kahanof, Nas Tsunami dahulunya merupakan sebuah kampung Arab yang didirikan pada tahun 30-an. Lebih kurang seribu orang warga Arab (Palestin) telah menetap di sana dan mereka telah membina sebuah masjid yang besar untuk kegunaan penduduk kampung itu semenjak tahun 1934 lagi. Menurut Kahanof, masjid tersebut kini telah ditukarkan menjadi sinagog bagi pengikut gerakan Shas setelah penduduk Arab semuanya telah dibunuh dan diusir keluar dari kampung tersebut.

Kahanof telah menemuramah salah seorang warga veteran Yahudi Nas Tunami yang telah menjelaskan hal ini dengan mengatakan: “Pada 15 Mei 1948, penduduk Yahudi dari kampung Ta'awunia berkumpul di Nas Tsunami dan mengepung masjid yang telah ditinggalkan oleh warga Arab yang telah dibunuh dan diusir keluar dari kampung tersebut untuk dirobohkan sebagai tanda kemenangan kaum Yahudi ke atas kampung itu.

Penduduk Nas Tsunami telah berteraburan meninggalkan kampung halaman mereka akibat diusir oleh para pengganas Yahudi dan meninggalkan harta benda mereka demi menyelamatkan nyawa. Kami (warga Yahudi) telah mengepung masjid sebagai kemuncak usaha kami menawan kampung itu. Sebahagian daripada anggota briged Balmakh (sayap ketenteraan pertubuhan pengganas Yahudi yang bernama Hagana) menaiki menara masjid, mengikatnya dengan tali dan kemudian menariknya sehingga roboh ke tanah".

Menurut Kahanof, Orang ini mengatakan bahawa beliau merasa amat malu atas apa yang dilihatnya, namun beliau tidak dapat melakukan apa-apa dan hanya mengikuti kehendak majoriti penduduk Yahudi sehingga hari ini.

Kahanof juga telah melaporkan mengenai keadaan di Tel Aviv dan al-Quds, menurtnya : "Barang siapa yang berjalan di jalan lama di antara Tel Aviv dan al Quds (Baitul Maqdis) akan dapat melihat bangunan “al Qibab” yang terletak di tepi jalan berdekatan dengan gerbang masuk ke dalam kawasan yang menghadap ke kawasan perindustrian di Cholon".

Bangunan "al-Qibab" itu pada asalnya merupakan masjid yang telah dirobohkan untuk pembinaan jalanraya itu yang pada akhirnya hanya meninggalkan kubahnya sahaja. Amat menyentuh perasaan apabila sesiapa melalui kawasan tersebut dengan menyaksikan bangunan kubah separuh tiang itu terpacak di sebelah bahu jalan dengan bahagian masjid yang besarnya bagaikan ditelan tanah.

Berdekatan dengan bangunan tersebut terdapat sebuah bangunan lain yang agak terlindung. Menurut laman web rasmi Dewan Bandaraya Ezor, seperti yang dilaporkan juga oleh laman web rasmi "Yazor Palestin" di internet (laman web yang memuatkan perihal sejarah Palestin pra-1948), bangunan ini pada asalnya merupakan sebuah masjid yang telah dibangunkan pada abad ke-12. Masjid itu kemudiannya telah dirampas oleh orang-orang Yahudi dan ditukarkan menjadi sinagog Yahudi usai perang 1948 dan telah ditukarkan namanya menjadi “pintu-pintu Zion”. Pada hari ini, bangunan tersebut merupakan sinagog yang dikenali oleh ramai dengan nama tersebut (pintu-pintu Zion) dan ramai yang tidak mengetahui bahawa ianya merupakan masjid sebelum ditukar menjadi sinagog.

Kahanof juga mengatakan bahawa tembok-tembok bangunan itu telah diubah suai dengan ukiran atau bentuk bangunan-bangunan lama yang terdapat di Baitul Maqdis. Kahanof juga telah mengemukakan laporan mengenai masjid di kampung Kafer Shaleem yang telah ditukar menjadi bangunan terbiar dan tempat berkumpulnya pemuda-pemuda Yahudi melakukan aktiviti yang tidak sihat. Terdapat inisiatif dari beberapa individu Islam untuk memulihkan bangunan tersebut menjadi masjid semula, sayangnya ia hanya menemukan kegagalan.

Masjid-masjid yang dihancurkan ini hanyalah sebahagian daripada usaha Rejim Zionis di bumi Baitul Maqdis untuk menghancurkan masjid-masjid lain. Matlamat mereka yang utama, seperti yang telah disebutkan pada permulaan artikel ini, adalah untuk merobohkan masjid Al-Aqsa, yang merupakan tempat suci ketiga umat Islam setelah masjid Haram di Mekkah dan masjid Nabawi di Madinah.

Para arkeologis dari Palestin dan Jordan melahirkan kekhuatiran mereka terhadap kekuatan asas binaan masjid Al-Aqsa dewasa ini yang semakin rapuh akibat penggalian berterusan yang dilakukan oleh Rejim Zionis. Akibat penggalian itu, masjid Al-Aqsa berada di dalam keadaan yang amat bahaya dan terdedah untuk roboh jika terjadinya gempa ataupun sebarang gegaran yang kuat. Sememangnya inilah yang diinginkan oleh pihak rejim di sebalik penggalian terowong-terowong yang telah menjangkaui 488 meter sehingga tahun 2001. Mereka beralasan bahawa penggalian itu bertujuan untuk mencari kesan-kesan kuil (haykal) Yahudi yang telah dibina oleh Sulaiman A.S. suatu waktu dahulu.

Hakikatnya, bukanlah kuil lama yang mereka cari, tetapi ianya merupakan langkah pertama untuk mereka membina kuil yang baru di tapak tersebut. Ramai dari kalngan ahli arkeologi dan juga ahli sejarah yang bukan pro-Zionis telah menafikan kewujudan kuil yang mereka dakwa tersebut.

Persoalan yang timbul kini, di manakah umat Islam di seluruh dunia ketika masjid-masjid ini dirobohkan?, adakah para pemimpin Islam hanya sekadar memerhatikan, dan kemudiannya menyerahkan tanggung jawab mempertahankan masjid-masjid, terutamanya masjid al-Aqsa di bahu rakyat Palestin sahaja?,

bukankah masjid merupakan rumah Allah, malah al-Aqsa merupakan kiblat pertama, masjid ketiga suci dan juga bumi Israk dan Mikraj?, adakah sehingga hancur semua masjid di bumi Palestin, dan juga apabil al-Aqsa telah berubah menjadi kuil Yahudi yang dipanggil sebagai HaMikdash barulah umat Islam hendak tersentak?, jangan banyak dalih lagi, mulakan usaha kita sekarang!!!

*** Sebuah dokumentari berhubung isu ini telah dihasilkan oleh Palestinian Return Centre yang berpusat di UK di bawah tajuk: "Mosques under the face of destruction".

www.tranungkite.net

Masjid al-Aqsa Tunggu Masa Roboh: Mufti

BAITULMAQDIS: Masjid al-Aqsa - tempat suci ketiga Islam selepas Makkah dan Madinah, mula mengalami keretakan serius dan boleh runtuh pada bila-bila masa akibat kegiatan Israel mengorek lubang bawah tanah di kawasan berkenaan sejak 1967.

Mufti al-Aqsa, Sheikh Ikrama Sabri, berkata keretakan paling jelas dilihat pada tembok penanda garis sempadan kawasan Haram al-Sharif, iaitu meliputi banyak tempat di Masjidil Aqsa dan Bandar Lama yang melingkunginya sejak dicerobohi rejim Zionis.

“Kesan retakan besar dapat dilihat pada tembok terbabit kerana kerja mengorek dilakukan rejim Yahudi sejak 1967,” katanya kepada stesen televisyen al-Jazeera, Sheik Ikrama.

Beliau menuduh Israel cuba merosakkan Masjid al-Aqsa dengan menghalang kerja pembaikan bangunan berkenaan.

Katanya, Israel menggunakan peralatan berat bagi mengorek kawasan itu atas alasan mencari bukti kewujudan kuil Yahudi sebelum pembinaan al-Aqsa.

Dalam laporan berasingan, sebuah akhbar Yahudi turut mendedahkan bahawa sebahagian besar tembok atau dinding Masjid al-Aqsa yang dibina pada abad ke-16 di sekeliling Bandar Lama di Baitulmaqdis, akan runtuh jika tidak diperbaiki segera.

Kajian kejuruteraan yang dilakukan Pihak Berkuasa Antikuiti Israel mendedahkan 380 meter atau satu persepuluh daripada tembok masjid itu boleh runtuh pada bila-bila masa.

Sementara itu, Menteri Wakaf dan Hal Ehwal Agama Palestin, Sheikh Yousef Salama dan Ketua Hakim Palestin, Tayseer Al Tamimi menuntut Israel bertanggungjawab atas kerosakan Masjidil Aqsa dan Bandar Lama di Baitulmaqdis. Pusat Akhbar Antarabangsa Palestin (IPC) memetik Sheikh Yousef sebagai berkata, Israel melakukan kerja menggali secara sesuka hati di Baitulmaqdis termasuk di bawah al-Aqsa.

Beliau menggesa Pertubuhan Persidangan Islam (OIC), Jawatankuasa Baitulmaqdis OIC dan negara Islam menekan negara Yahudi itu supaya berhenti merosakkan tempat suci ketiga Islam itu. - Agensi

Bush Tolak Gesaan Tentera AS Di Iraq Ditarik Segera

WASHINGTON 19 Nov. - Gesaan wakil Demokrat supaya tentera Amerika Syarikat (AS) ditarik keluar dengan segera ditolak bulat-bulat oleh Dewan Perwakilan dan Presiden George W. Bush hari ini.

Dalam ucapannya kepada tentera AS dari Pangkalan Udara Osan, Korea Selatan hari ini, Bush berkata: ``Di Washington ada pihak yang mengatakan pengorbanan terlalu besar dan mereka menggesa supaya kita menetapkan tarikh untuk menarik keluar sebelum kita melengkapkan misi.

``Siapa yang terlibat dalam peperangan, mereka yang lebih tahu hal ini,'' katanya.

Selepas menghadiri sesi akhir Forum Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia Pasifik, Bush akan bertolak ke Osan dan kemudian ke Beijing untuk menemui Presiden China, Hu Jintao.

Bush memetik Komander AS di Iraq, Maj. Jen. William Webster yang menyifatkan tindakan menetapkan tarikh untuk penarikan keluar sebagai `resipi untuk malapetaka.'

Dalam pada itu, Dewan Perwakilan AS menolak desakan supaya tentera negara itu di Iraq ditarik dengan segera dengan undi besar, usaha yang digerakkan oleh Republikan yang didakwa bertujuan untuk menggagalkannya perbahasan dengan segera.

Wakil Demokrat mempersendakan tindakan itu sebagai satu lagak.

``Tentera kita telah menjadi musuh. Kita perlu mengubah haluan di Iraq,'' kata John Murtha dari Pennsylvania, yang gesaannya kelmarin mencetuskan perbahasan hangat dan kritikan peribadi berhubung peperangan.

Dewan Perwakilan mengundi 403-3 untuk menolak usul yang tidak terikat itu semalam.

``Kita hendak memastikan bahawa kita menyokong anggota kita yang berjuang di Iraq dan Afghanistan. Kita tidak akan menarik diri,'' kata Speaker Dennis Hastert ketika wakil-wakil Republikan meminta diadakan pengundian membantah Demokrat.

Ia merupakan kali kedua dalam seminggu dasar Bush mengenai peperangan di Iraq mencetuskan perdebatan hangat di Kongres.

Pada Selasa lalu, Dewan Senat menolak permintaan Demokrat supaya Bush menggariskan jadual penarikan keluar tentera dari Iraq. - Agensi

US Senate Responds to Public Concern Over Iraq

By Jim Malone

Washington, 16 November 2005 - Senate concern over Iraq was reflected in bipartisan support for a non-binding resolution put forward by the Republican majority urging Iraqis to shoulder responsibility for their own security next year.

The Republican measure did not set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Opposition Democrats sponsored their own resolution calling on the Bush administration to provide an estimated timetable for withdrawal, but that was defeated.

Still, Democrats are claiming victory for forcing the Senate to deal with the growing public concern over Iraq detailed in a host of recent opinion polls.

Senator Chris Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, spoke on the Don Imus Show on MSNBC television.

"It is an indication of frustration that is felt, not only by Democrats but by Republicans, of how the war is going here," he said.

Traveling in Asia, President Bush said he welcomed the Senate's rejection of a specific timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. He also said his administration would be happy to comply with the bipartisan call for frequent reports on the political and military progress in Iraq.

"That is what Congress expects. They expect us to keep them abreast of a plan that is going to work," Mr. Bush said.

The latest poll by the Cable News Network, USA Today newspaper and the Gallup polling organization found that more than half of those surveyed favor withdrawing U.S. forces within the next year.

Mindful of indications that public support on Iraq continues to erode, Bush administration officials continue to cast the war in Iraq as but one battle in the larger war on terror.

"We must be careful not to give terrorists the false hope that if they can simply hold on long enough, that they can outlast us," said U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The political rhetoric over Iraq and the continuing controversy over the use of prewar intelligence data to justify the invasion have intensified in recent days. President Bush recently accused Democrats of playing politics and hurting the war effort with their allegations.

But even some members of the president's Republican Party worry that the administration has become too sensitive to criticism on its handling of Iraq and the controversy over pre-war intelligence.

"The Bush administration must understand that each American has a right to question our policies in Iraq and elsewhere and should not be demonized and condemned for disagreeing with them," said Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska who may run for president in 2008.

With Mr. Bush's public approval ratings at an all time low, political analysts see the president now embattled on several fronts, not just Iraq. They note high domestic fuel prices, the controversy over the government response to hurricane Katrina and the criminal indictment of former vice presidential aide Lewis Libby in the CIA leak case.

"He [Bush] has still got all sorts of other problems, which feed into the same story line that this is a party in power in the White House and in Congress that is having problems, has been in power too long," said John Fortier, a political expert at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. "t also brings up questions, of course, about the war in Iraq and its wisdom and the deliberations in the White House about that."

Washington-based political analyst Stuart Rothenberg expects President Bush will continue to try and convince the public about the importance of staying in Iraq.

But Mr. Rothenberg told VOA's Encounter program that public opinion polls are making the president's task much harder.

"Part of the question is whether this president can regain his footing by talking about the larger war against terror, again, reminding people that Iraq is part of that," he said. "I think, for the American public over the last year, they have changed their mind and they now see Iraq as an isolated problem and as something that was not necessary whereas a year ago they thought it was part of the larger war. How they see that in another two or three years will determine how well this president is regarded."

Some key lawmakers from both parties now say the next few months will be crucial for the administration, both in terms of developments on the ground in Iraq and in rebuilding public support for the effort at home.

http://www.voanews.com/english/

White Phosphorus Used In Iraq

Washington (ANSA), November 16 - The Pentagon has admitted using white phosphorus in Iraq but denies claims made by an Italian documentary that the spontaneously flammable chemical was used against civilians .

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Venable said on Tuesday that white phosphorus was used as an incendiary weapon against insurgent strongholds during the US military's siege of the Iraqi city of Falluja last year .

"It was not used against civilians," he said .

Washington had earlier denied the use of white phosphorus at all in Falluja, a city just to the west of Baghdad which suffered widespread destruction during the November 2004 offensive .

White phosphorus is a lethal chemical which is capable of burning and melting human skin. The smoke it produces is capable of causing external and internal chemical burns .

An international treaty restricts the use of white phosphorus devices, banning its use against civilian targets .

The US has not signed the treaty. Falluja, The Hidden Massacre, an Italian documentary aired on November 8, accused the US of using white phosphorus against civilians in the city, including women and children, and exploding napalm-like bombs .

The 20-minute documentary, aired on state broadcaster RAI's non-stop news satellite channel Rainews 24, used witness accounts from residents and former American troops, as well as graphic footage and photographs to back its claims .

The allegations were firmly denied by the Pentagon .

But in a separate interview on BBC radio on Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Venable said that the US State Department's recent assertion that white phosphorus had not been used in Falluja was based on "poor information" .

He also said that "white phosphorus is a conventional munition. It is not a chemical weapon. It is not outlawed or illegal." He said the US army used the incendiary munitions "primarily as obscurants, for smokescreens or target marking in some cases." "However it is an incendiary weapon and may be used against enemy combatants," he added .

Critics say the substance falls into the chemical weapons category if deliberately used against people. Up to 300,000 people were driven from Falluja during the US bombardment, which left some 50 American troops and an estimated 1,200 insurgents dead. The civilian death toll is not known .

ITALIAN DOCUMENTARY SAYS CIVILIANS HIT The Rainews 24 documentary was made by Italian journalists Sigfrido Ranucci and Maurizio Torrealta .

Iraqi biologist Mohamad Tareq, who was in Falluja during the bombardment, told the reporters that "a rain of fire fell on the city, the people struck by this multi-coloured substance started to burn. We found people dead with strange wounds, their bodies burned but their clothes intact." Former American marine Jeff Englehart said in the documentary that "I heard the order to be careful because white phosphorus was being used in Falluja... White phosphorus kills indiscriminately... When it makes contact with the skin, then it's absolutely irreversible damage, burning flesh to the bone." Englehart said he saw the burned bodies of women and children in Falluja .

The documentary shows white phosphorus being used in the form of parachute flares for illumination and in the form of incendiary bombs in an attack on a large residential area .

Pentagon spokesman Todd Vician subsequently denied the allegations .

"The US categorically denies the use of chemical weapons at any stage in Iraq," he said .

"People seeking to discredit the US find it useful to invent the false accusation that the US is using weapons of this sort," Vician said .

"Even though we haven't seen this documentary, we have seen similar unfounded accusations in the past," he said .

Allegations that the US used "unusual" weapons in Falluja have been circulating ever since the time of the siege. Three US soldiers who took part in the bombardment told an American military magazine earlier this year that white phosphorus was used to flush insurgents out .

"WP proved to be an effective and versatile munition," they told the March-April edition of Field Artillery .

An embedded reporter, Darrin Mortenson, also said that he saw an American officer direct his men to "fire round after round of high explosives and white phosphorus charges into the city Friday and Saturday, never knowing what the targets were or what damage the resulting explosions caused." The Italian opposition has urged the government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi - which is staunchly pro-US - to condemn the US administration for the use of white phosphorus .

Democratic Left leader Piero Fassino, whose party is the largest in the opposition, has demanded that the government report to parliament on the issue .

Anti-war protesters and members of the opposition have also staged demonstrations in front of the US Embassy in Rome. A similar protest was held in Milan on Tuesday .

But some members of the centre-right governing coalition have criticised the Rainews 24 documentary, implying that its coverage of the issue was biased and unreliable .

An MP with Berluscon's Forza Italia party, Gianstefano Frigerio, said this week that "improvements must be made in the way of tackling such delicate and potentially exploitable issues. Freedom of expression in Italy must not become an excuse for renouncing the responsibility to provide balanced information." Rainews 24 chief editor Roberto Morrione said on Monday that "there are those who accuse Rainews 24 of not being neutral and of having deliberately fuelled anti-American polemics .

I would like to assure them that Rainews 24 has always pursued and will continue to pursue only the search for truth... and full information in complete independence." Meanwhile, the Usigrai union representing RAI journalists complained on Wednesday that the public broadcaster appeared to be "embarrassed" by the worldwide interest in the documentary .

"We get the strong feeling that too many people in RAI are almost embarrassed by the international resonance... The BBC, which is often held up as a model in Italy, considered the report important news... but most RAI news programmes gave it scant attention or ignored it altogether," it said .

http://ansa.it/

Tentera AS Terus Buru Pejuang Iraq

BAGHDAD: Tentera Amerika semalam mengesahkan 50 pemberontak dibunuh manakala 15 rakyat Iraq terkorban termasuk sembilan askar negara itu dalam tiga serangan pemberontak di timur, utara Baghdad dan Zon Hijau semalam.

Jurucakap polis, Kapten Haider Ibrahim berkata serangan di timur disasarkan ke atas kumpulan polis yang bersarapan di sebuah restoran.

Katanya, dua pegawai polis terkorban manakala empat lagi cedera.

Sehingga semalam, tentera Amerika dan pasukan Iraq masih meneruskan operasi di sempadan Syria sekalipun pemimpin Sunnah Arab mendesak ia dihentikan untuk menggalakkan lebih ramai jumlah pengundi pada pilihan raya bulan depan.

Dalam serangan di Kirkuk pula, sembilan polis terbunuh manakala sembilan cedera apabila sebuah bom meletup di jalan di bandar minyak itu.

Jurucakap polis, Kolonel Burhan Habib mengesahkan angka berkenaan kepada AFP. Kejadian itu berlaku tidak sampai sejam selepas empat polis terkorban di timur Baghdad.

Tentera Amerika mengesahkan dua anggota Marin terkorban dan sekurang-kurangnya tujuh cedera dalam pertempuran di Obeidi, kata wartawan New York Times.

Serangan di Zon Hijau pula membabitkan letupan ke atas kereta di pintu utama dikawal ketat. Dua warga Afrika Selatan maut manakala tiga lagi cedera.

Mangsa bekerja dengan unit keselamatan Jabatan Negara Amerika dan kontraktor AS, DynCorp International, kata Kedutaan Amerika.

Serangan di Obeidi adalah tindak balas terbaru dikatakan dilakukan al-Qaeda ke atas bandar berhampiran Sungai Furat.

“Kira-kira 50 tentera pemberontak berjaya dibunuh dalam pertempuran,” kata kenyataan Amerika. Kebanyakan tentera pemberontak mati dalam sekurang-kurangnya lima serangan udara Amerika. – AFP/AP

Israel Disyaki Dalang Serangan Bom Di Jordan

AMMAN: Serangan bom ke atas ke atas tiga hotel mewah Barat di Jordan Rabu lalu yang mengakibatkan sekurang-kurangnya 57 orang terbunuh didakwa dilakukan ejen perisik Israel yang mahu membunuh ketua perisikan Palestin.

Serangan yang digembar-gembur dilakukan oleh kumpulan Musab al-Zarqawi yang identitinya masih samar dan dikatakan mempunyai kaitan dengan al-Qaeda itu, turut mengakibatkan lebih 100 terbunuh.

Akhbar Amerika Syarikat, Los Angeles Times baru-baru ini melaporkan, sebelum letupan berlaku, badan perisikan Israel, Mossad, mengeluarkan amaran kepada Zionis supaya meninggalkan Jordan.

Akhbar itu memetik bekas pegawai kanan antikeganasan Israel, Amos N Guiro sebagai berkata, sumber di Israel memaklumkan kepada beliau mengenai arahan supaya semua rakyat Israel meninggalkan lokasi sasaran.

Dalam serangan berkenaan, Ketua Perisikan Tentera Israel, Mejar Jeneral Bashir Nafeh dan Jihad Fattouh, adik kepada Speaker Parlimen Palestin, terbunuh ketika dalam perjalanan pulang ke Palestin dari Mesir, kata pegawai kanan Palestin, Saeb Erekat.

Bagaimanapun, kebanyakan pelancong Barat yang dikatakan menjadi sasaran serangan kumpulan pejuang Iraq itu, terselamat dalam letupan itu.

Akhbar Yahudi di Israel, Haaretz, turut melaporkan, semua rakyat Israel di Hotel Radisson dipindahkan sebelum serangan berlaku dan diiringi pulang ke Israel atas alasan ancaman keselamatan khusus.

Haaretz turut memetik kenyataan Guiro yang kini menjadi Ketua Institut Undang-Undang dan Dasar Keselamatan, Universiti Case Western Reserve, Cleveland sebagai berkata, kebiasaannya apabila Mossad mensasarkan seseorang, mereka akan memberi amaran awal kepada Yahudi supaya keluar dari lokasi sasaran.

Bagaimanapun, LA Times melaporkan, Haaretz kemudian menarik balik laporan ini tetapi Times bertegas mempertahankan laporannya dengan menyatakan Guiora mendapat maklumat bebas mengenai perkara itu. – Agensi

Semalam, agensi berita arus perdana dunia menyiarkan soal siasat ke atas rakyat Iraq Sajida Mubarak al-Rishawi, 35, yang mengakui beliau bersama suaminya serta beberapa yang lain melakukan serangan ke atas Jordan dalam operasi kumpulan pejuang Iraq di bawah pimpinan Zarqawi. – Agensi

Control of Quake Relief Is Gamble for Pakistan Army and Chief

By DAVID ROHDE and SOMINI SENGUPTA

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 13 - In a country with such a long tradition of military rule, it is hardly surprising to see the Pakistani Army dominate every aspect of earthquake relief, from evacuating the wounded and distributing desperately sought-after tents to erecting camps for the displaced.

But with that kind of reach comes considerable risk for the army, the country's most powerful institution, and the head of state, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. If relief is not distributed efficiently or fairly - or at least perceived to be - General Musharraf's government will feel the heat.

Already, some of his most vociferous critics have positioned themselves to compete with the army's relief machinery. The militant Islamist political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, is feeding, housing and clothing survivors.

Two things make General Musharraf's handling of the quake particularly delicate. First, the army was perceived to be slow in its initial response when the earthquake struck Oct. 8. Second, the people of Kashmir are the most gravely affected. This disputed province remains the central source of competition and conflict between Pakistan and its nuclear rival, neighboring India.

That made all the more resonant the bitterness expressed by Razia Begum, as she shivered in the darkness recently in Bagh, a flattened town in Kashmir. One of her daughters was dead; seven surviving children were losing weight; her only shelter, nearly three weeks after the quake leveled her home, was a patchwork tent of plastic sheets and cloth.

Ms. Begum, a wizened woman of 45, was not in an isolated village in the hills, but in Bagh, a heavily militarized town reachable by road since the day after the quake.

Three military camps are within two miles of her former home. Ms. Begum accused the soldiers in those camps of hoarding tents and other aid. "They give it to people who they know," she said, as her neighbors nodded in agreement. "They don't give anything to us."

The Pakistani Army's traditional state of distrust with India seems not to have been buried under the quake's rubble. Neither India nor Pakistan appears ready to put bitterness behind it. Under pressure from Kashmiris, they did agree to open the disputed de facto Kashmir frontier - for relief - but so far they have barred Kashmiris from stepping across the line.

It is still premature to say whether the Pakistani Army's handling of earthquake relief will be judged a success or a failure. In some parts of the quake zone, survivors simmer with anger at the army. In others, they are forgiving. Still elsewhere, soldiers and citizens face off in desperation and trauma.

In a village in the far-flung Allai Valley in northwest Pakistan nearly three weeks after the quake, a cranky, disheveled man hectored the commanding officer in his village for tents and blankets, only to have a soldier wave a stick in his face and order him to leave. The man was defiant. "Where do you want me to go?" he yelled.

The depth of the United States' support for General Musharraf, who took power in 1999 in a bloodless coup, is also being tested. As a reward for being a vital partner in Mr. Bush's campaign against terrorism, American officials have promised Pakistan $3 billion in aid, rescheduled $3 billion in debt and canceled an additional $1 billion in debt.

Yet since the quake, the United States has offered Pakistan $156 million in aid, including military equipment, deployed 950 soldiers and sent 24 helicopters. After the Indian Ocean tsunami last year the United States sent nearly $1 billion in government aid, 16,000 soldiers, 57 helicopters, 42 other aircraft and 25 ships.

According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Americans have given $13.1 million in private donations. Americans gave 10 times as much for the tsunami - $1.3 billion - and roughly $2 billion for hurricane Katrina. Last week, President Bush convened a panel of American business leaders to raise additional money for earthquake survivors.

The United States, Europe and other wealthy nations have pledged less than 28 percent of the relief money the United Nations requested.

On the ground in the quake zone, there is plenty of gratitude for aid from the United States and other countries that were less than popular among ordinary Pakistanis. But it is General Musharraf's government - not any foreign nation - that the citizenry will hold responsible. "They will blame the government," said Rasul Baksh Rais, a professor at Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan. "The critical link between these people and aid is the government of Pakistan."

General Musharraf has appointed military commanders to control virtually every aspect of the aid effort, ensuring that the army will be seen as responsible.

The army's absences have also been noted. On the morning after the quake, as survivors picked with their bare hands through the rubble of a school for girls in Garhi Habibullah, there were no soldiers in sight and there was no hiding the people's rage. The army base was an hour's drive from the village, so why had the soldiers not come to help, they demanded to know. How many children could have been saved?

Mohammed Akram Khan, the outraged father of a dead boy, cried. If General Musharraf's child lay under the rubble, he said, army helicopters would be overhead immediately. "Whatever Musharraf is saying, whatever the prime minister is saying - they are lies," he said.

But such absences were at times met with more resignation than fury.

In the third week after the quake, a group of men trekked from a marooned village in Neelam Valley to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Army helicopters had dropped sacks of aid, the men said, but they had fallen into ravines. Soldiers had evacuated some of the injured by helicopter but left many others. The men showed not anger, but sympathy. The quake killed at least 450 soldiers.

At another camp, Ghulam Mohiuddin Butt, a civil servant, said of the army, "They have helped us in our hour of need." In two weeks, the snow is expected to come with a vengeance, and relief efforts will be frozen in place. So, too, will Pakistani views of their government's credibility.

David Rohde reported from Islamabad for this article, and Somini Sengupta from New Delhi.

http://www.nytimes.com/

Al-Qaeda Brands British Queen 'enemy of Islam'

LONDON (AFP) - Ayman al-Zawahiri, number two in Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda global terror network, named Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as "one of the severest enemies of Islam" in a video seen by the Sunday Times.

The British weekly newspaper said it had obtained the full 27-minute Al-Qaeda tape which claimed responsibility for the London July 7 suicide bombings that killed 56 people, the four bombers included.

The Sunday Times said MI5, Britain's internal security service, had passed the warning on to Elizabeth's protection team.

Parts of the video were broadcast in September on the Arabic television station Al-Jazeera. A man identified as Mohammad Sidique Khan, speaking in a northern English accent, told viewers that Western atrocities against Muslims drove him to bomb a London Underground train.

Khan, an education assistant and father of one from Dewsbury, near Leeds in northern England, was the suspected ringleader of the July 7 gang.

The video was accompanied by a separate message from Zawahiri, though the two were not seen together or at the same location in the tape.

A senior government department official told the Sunday Times: "MI5 is aware that there are some pieces of the video that have not been aired. They are aware of the bit of al-Zawahiri talking about the Queen and they have notified the relevant authorities."

The full video is circulating on secure jihadist websites used to inflame and recruit terrorists, the newspaper said.

Zawahiri also warns Muslim leaders in Britain who "work for the pleasure of Elizabeth, the head of the Church of England".

He said those who followed her were saying "We are British citizens, subject to Britain's crusader laws, and we are proud of our submission".

In a possible dig at the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) main umbrella group, which had instructed mosques to inform on potential terrorists, he attacked "those who issue fatwas, according to the school of thought of the head of the Church of England".

In the previously unseen footage, Khan, 30, said: "It is very clear, brothers and sisters, that the path of jihad and the desire for martyrdom is embedded in the holy prophet and his beloved companions.

"By preparing ourselves for this kind of work, we are guaranteeing ourselves for this kind of work, we are guaranteeing ourselves for paradise and gaining the pleasure of Allah.

"And by turning our back on this work, we are guaranteeing ourselves humiliation and the anger of Allah. Jihad is an obligation on every single one of us, men and women."

MCB Secretary-General Sir Iqbal Sacranie said the message was a "perverse interpretation of Islam". "The victims of Sidique Khan were innocent people. It's clearly inciteful. It's trying to incite people to commit murder," he told The Sunday Times.

Egypt Opposition Figure Loses Seat

The 40-year-old lawyer was beaten by ruling National Democratic Party candidate Yehya Wahdan in his own Cairo stronghold of Bab al-Shariya, commission secretary-general Intissar Nessim announced on television on Thursday.

Nessim was announcing partial results from the first round of elections that kicked off on Wednesday in 82 constituencies across Egypt.

Nour rose to prominence and attracted international attention after being remanded in custody for six weeks earlier this year over forgery charges he said were trumped up to undermine his political ascension.

In September, Nour had emerged as the strongest of the eight candidates who challenged Mubarak, by mustering 7.6% of the vote against the veteran president's 88.6%.

Since then, his party has been plagued by internal dissent he charged was engineered by the government to weaken his parliamentary campaign, which was also hampered by his forgery trial.

No illusion
Nour, who also lost his father during the campaign, was under no illusion that he would retain his seat.

"I'm sure he will not be re-elected. The regime will resort to its old methods. It's very important for them not to let him have more political legitimacy," his wife and spokeswoman Gamila Ismail had told AFP before the campaign kicked off.

Beyond ousting Nour, Mubarak's National Democratic Party took a strong early lead in the first results from the legislative elections.

Leading NDP figures, including parliament speaker Fathi Sorour and Minister of State People's Assembly Affairs Kamal el-Shazli, held their seats, the election commission said.

The NDP won 13 of the first 14 seats declared on Thursday morning.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which was the largest opposition group in the outgoing parliament and is fielding more than 100 candidates across the country, said it had won three seats in other constituencies but these were not confirmed.

In many of the 164 seats at stake in the first stage, the top two candidates will go into a second round next Tuesday because neither of them won 50% of the vote.

Multiple candidates
Some constituencies had more than 20 candidates, in many cases including former NDP members who failed to obtain the party's nomination and broke with party discipline to challenge the official NDP candidate.

After winning in previous elections, such independents have usually rejoined the ruling party.

The voting on Wednesday was in Cairo, the central provinces and two remote areas.

Other parts of the country will vote on 20 November and 1 December, with second-round run-offs six days later.

The final result may not come out until the middle of December.

Monitoring groups and opposition parties reported widespread irregularities, including intimidation, vote-buying and the use of government vehicles to take people to vote en masse.

The Independent Commission for Election Monitoring said the average turnout was 34% but election officers in a hotly contested Cairo constituency said on Wednesday it ranged between 10% and 20% in the various polling stations.

Assault condemned
Meanwhile, the Arab Committee for the Defence of Journalists has condemned an assault on Aljazeera correspondent Ahmad Mansour in Cairo.

Mansour was attacked by two unidentified persons in front of Aljazeera's office in Cairo on Wednesday.

The committee expressed solidarity with Mansour and called on the Egyptian authorities to investigate the incident.

"Assault incidents on journalists in Egypt have continued for years without the perpetrators being brought before courts," the committee added.

Aljazeera & Agencies

Taliban Ambush Leaves 12 Puppet Polices Dead, 2 Arrested

Taliban force on Wednesday launched an ambush on a puppet police convoy in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province which left seven puppet police dead and two missing, an official confirmed Thursday.

"A three-vehicle police convoy was going from Uruzgan to Kandahar, when it reached Shahwali Kot district it came under Taliban attack resultantly, seven police died on the spot in counter attack and exchange of fire," puppet “governor: of Uruzgan Hajji Jan Mohammad told Xinhua.

Two more policemen went missing and apparently had been taken away by the Taliban force, he said.

One of the police vehicles, he added, had escaped from the scene while two others were destroyed in the ambush and fire exchange.

Taliban's spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi accepted responsibility for the successful attack and said Mujahiddeen eliminated 12 puppet policemen in the ambush.

Meanwhile, two Afghan-original Americans who worked as translators for the US military in the troubled Uruzgan province were also arrested by Taliban force and beheaded three days ago.

Southern Afghan provinces of Uruzgan, Kandahar, Zabul and Helmand known as the heartland of Taliban, have been the scene of increasing military activity over the past two years.

The Taliban-led Mujahiddeen force has claimed the lives of over 1,500, including puppet police, afghan collaboration formation and US occupation troops as well as pro-karzay figures and workers since the beginning of this year. - Agencies

http://www.kavkazcenter.com/

Krisis Selatan Thai:Malaysia Didesak Lebih Proaktif

KUALA LUMPUR, 9 Nov (Hrkh) - Malaysia sebagai Pengerusi Pertubuhan Persidangan Islam (OIC) dan Pertubuhan Negara-negara Berkecuali (NAM) diminta meyakinkan dunia untuk memberi tekanan politik kepada Thailand ekoran pergolakan berterusan di selatan negara itu.

Ketua Pemuda PAS, Salahuddin Ayub, berkata sudah sampai masanya Malaysia memaksimumkan peranannya untuk meyakinkan dunia kerana apa yang berlaku di selatan Thai itu sebenarnya bukanlah satu usaha untuk memerangi keganasan, tetapi lebih kepada usaha 'pemisahan etnik' dan pembunuhan beramai-ramai.

"Malaysia perlu meyakinkan dunia antarabangsa bahawa apa yang berlaku di selatan Thai itu lebih kepada keganasan terhadap etnik serta melanggari prinsip hak asasi manusia. Sekiranya Malaysia dapat meyakinkan dunia tentang perkara sebenar, maka mudahlah Thailand dikenakan tekanan politik, " tegas beliau ketika dihubungi Harakahdaily.

Beliau yang juga Ahli Palimen Kubang Kerian juga menegaskan, krisis ini telah berlarutan hampir dua tahun dan Malaysia tidak seharusnya mendiamkan diri tentang kesengsaraan yang dihadapi umat Islam di selatan Thailand itu.

Mengulas lanjut tentang hubungan dua hala antara kedua-dua negara itu, beliau menegaskan itu bukanlah alasan yang baik untuk tidak berbuat apa-apa dalam usaha menangani krisis tersebut.

Katanya, dalam isu ini Thailand juga perlu menghomati pandangan yang dikemukakan oleh mana-mana negara, termasuk Malaysia dalam memastikan keselamatan dan kesejahteraan negara-negara Asean terpelihara.

"Malaysia bukan bertujuan untuk campur tangan berhubung krisis ini, tetapi lebih kepada memelihara dan menjaga kepentingan hak asasi manusia," jelas beliau lagi.

Sehubungan itu, katanya peranan Malaysia yang boleh dimainkan itu lebih ke arah menggunakan hubungan diplomatik dan dari segi pinsip hak asasi bagi menyelesaikan konflik berkenaan. - Anis Nazri

20 Sasaran Awam Thai Diserang

NARATHIWAT 8 Okt. (Utusan Malaysia) - Sekurang-kurangnya tiga orang terbunuh manakala dua lagi cedera dan berpuluh-puluh suspek pemisah Islam ditangkap selepas pemberontak melancarkan serangan ke atas lebih 20 sasaran kerajaan di wilayah Yala, di selatan Thailand sepanjang malam tadi.

Berpuluh-puluh anggota militan melancarkan serangan yang diselaraskan ke atas balai polis, sekatan jalan dan juga sekolah di wilayah Yala, kata ketua polis wilayah itu, Mejar Jeneral Paitoon Choochaiya.

Serangan itu dilancarkan beberapa jam selepas Perdana Menteri Thaksin Shinawatra kembali daripada lawatan singkat ke Narathiwat.

Menurut Paitton, seorang anggota polis dan dua suspek militan terbunuh di Yala.

Terdahulu, menurut pihak berkuasa, lima orang terbunuh di Yala dan seorang lagi di wilayah jiran Pattani.

Bagaimanapun Paitoon menolak spekulasi bahawa serangan itu bertujuan untuk mencabar Thaksin yang melawat Narathiwat untuk menghadiri satu majlis agama Buddha.

Thaksin berkata dalam pertemuannya dengan para pemberita hari ini bahawa kerajaannya akan meneruskan operasi bagi menumpaskan kegiatan puak militan Islam di selatan Thailand.

``Saya berpuas hati dengan pencapaian malam tadi. Ramai anggota militan telah ditangkap. Kami akan meneruskan kerja kami,'' katanya.

Sementara itu, pengarah urusan sebuah syarikat penerbitan akhbar tempatan, Abdullah Mama, 37, mati selepas ditembak lima kali oleh penyerang-penyerang yang mengekorinya dengan sebuah van pikap di bandar Sungai Golok di wilayah Narathiwat lewat semalam, kata polis.

Pembunuhan Abdulloh berlaku seminggu selepas pemilik sebuah akhbar di bandar peranginan Pattaya, 150 kilometer ke timur Bangkok, dibunuh.

Santi Lammaninin, 38, ditembak mati dan mayatnya ditinggalkan dalam kereta BMW miliknya di tepi jalan di luar Pattaya. - AFP