The Pakistani army on Friday rejected a U.S. investigation that concluded mistakes on both sides led to American airstrikes last month that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and severely damaged the already strained relationship between the two countries.

The response indicates the report will do little to ease tensions, a worrying development for the U.S. because Pakistan's cooperation is critical for the Afghan war. The Pakistani army has said its troops did nothing wrong and claimed the attack was a deliberate act of aggression.

Pakistan has retaliated by closing its Afghan border to supplies meant for NATO troops in Afghanistan and kicking the U.S. out of a base used by American drones. NATO officials have said the closure of the supply route has not affected operations so far, but it would eventually if not reversed.

The army "does not agree with the findings of the US/NATO inquiry as being reported in the media," the force said in a short statement sent to reporters shortly after midnight Friday. "The inquiry report is short on facts."

The army will provide a detailed response after officials receive the report, it said. Pakistan refused to cooperate in the investigation.

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source article: chron.com
source images: files.wordpress.com

With an outpouring of grief, the people of the Czech Republic mourned the playwright, dissident and former President Vaclav Havel at a Mass attended by world leaders here on Friday, celebrating his life and honoring his contribution to the end of Communist rule in Eastern Europe.

Inside St. Vitus Cathedral, part of the sprawling Prague Castle that overlooks the city and the Vltava River, hundreds of mourners in dark overcoats listened to music by the composer Dvorak, a strong scent of incense hanging in the air. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright joined the funeral service.

Outside thousands of ordinary Czechs gathered in the December chill under large videoscreens and loudspeakers.

Martina Utikalova’s eyes welled up as she described why she chose to bid farewell in person to Mr. Havel, a leader whose international standing sometimes outshone his domestic image.

“He was a light, is a light and will be a light for many of us,” said Ms. Utikalova, a 47-year-old midwife from the town of Kladno. She wore a bright red heart-shaped pendant over her blue scarf, a signature symbol of the president. An air-raid siren and the ringing of church bells signaled the moment at noon when Mr. Havel’s memory was honored across this country of 10 million.

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source article: nytimes.com
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An Arab League mission is due in Syria today to prepare for monitoring of the accord Syria signed this week to end nine months of violence, as Al Arabiya reported that the crackdown on protests continued yesterday with 70 people killed.

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source article: businessweek.com
source image: schoolworkhelper.net

 

Volence erupted across Baghdad early on Thursday, as a series of explosions killed 41 people and wounded 151, according to security officials. The attacks were the most significant since United States troops withdrew and a political crisis unfolded.  The explosions rocked many areas around the city and the BBC said the authorities had identified 13 targets.

The apparently coordinated attacks came a day after Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq threatened to abandon an American-backed power-sharing government created a year ago.
It was the worst violence to strike the capital since rifts opened between Mr. Maliki, a Shiite, and his Sunni rivals.

The prime minister’s words at a televised news conference on Wednesday threw a fragile democracy into further turmoil just days after the departure of American troops and potentially tarnishing what has been cast as a major foreign policy achievement for President Obama.

In a nearly 90-minute news conference broadcast on tape-delay on Wednesday, Mr. Maliki pushed back on all fronts in the crisis, threatening to release investigatory files that he claimed implicated his opponents in terrorism.

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source aricle: nytimes.com
source image: nytimes.com

 
In Portugal's second city, Porto, crowds throng the main shopping streets, accompanied by the smell of roasting chestnuts and the twinkle of festive lights. Bacalhau, the dried, salted codfish traditionally eaten on Christmas Day, hangs in store windows framed by hand-painted wall tiles. Tourists wander past clutching maps and cameras.


But in Matosinhos, the fishing community that adjoins Porto, residents say the impression that all is well is far from the truth. Portugal's working families are feeling the impact of austerity measures imposed following a 78 billion euro ($104 billion) international bailout in May.

The country's austerity experience may signal what lies ahead for other European neighbors if the debt crisis that has shaken global markets is not resolved.

The government says the measures are needed to restore economic stability and will pave the way for Portugal's recovery. Meanwhile, among the Portuguese people, it is still unclear if the measures will put the country back on track and if the nation will continue to accept them.

Butcher Joaquim Barbosa, whose business has been in the family for more than half a century, says his trade today is a third less than it was a decade ago -- and as the latest cuts bite, his business is going downhill even faster.

"This is the worst year we've had -- and I expect next year will be even worse," he said.

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Source: cnn.com

Syria will execute anyone who participates in terrorist acts or distributes weapons, state television announced Tuesday, in the latest escalation against an uprising the United Nations estimates has claimed about 5,000 lives since March.


The announcement comes as two opposition groups claimed that more than 100 people were killed Monday, which would be the single deadliest known day of the protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that dozens of Syrian army defectors were gunned down as they tried to flee their posts in Idlib.

"On Monday there were 60 to 70 army deserters killed while they were trying to run away from their military positions," said the London-based group's Rami Abdel Rahman.

He said another 40 civilians were killed the same day "across Syria during house-to-house raids, arrests, and clashes between army defectors and the Syrian army."

"Monday may have been a day with the highest death toll in Syria, between 100 and 110 killed in total," he said.

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Source: cnn.com