American kidnapped in Pakistan: Police

Police and security officials gather outside the residence of an American citizen, whom the U.S. embassy declined to identify, after he was kidnapped in Lahore August 13, 2011

An American aid expert has been kidnapped at gunpoint in the Pakistani city of Lahore after gunmen stormed his residence and overpowered security guards.The US Embassy on Saturday identified the victim as Warren Weinstein. News agencies reported Weinstein to be Pakistan country director for a development contractor that works with the American government.According to Pakistani police, between eight and 10 assailants broke into Weinstein's house in an upscale neighborhood after persuading the guards to open the gate by saying they wanted to give them food - an act of sharing common during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.The American, believed to be in his 60s, had returned to Lahore the previous night from Islamabad, the Associated Press reported.The website of the company, where Weinstein worked, described him as an "expert in international development with 25 years of experience", who holds a PhD in international law and economics from Columbia University, and has worked in fields including governance and microfinance."The American citizen had been living in Lahore for the last four to five years and was associated with consultancy business," Shahzada Saleem, senior local police official, told the AFP news agency.

Saleem said police sealed all entry and exit points to ensure that he was not smuggled out of Lahore, considered one of Pakistan's safest cities.No one has so far claimed responsibility for the abduction. US Embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez confirmed the kidnap and told AFP: "We are working with Pakistani authorities on this issue."Police declined to speculate on the motive behind the abduction.Kidnappers have frequently target foreigners in Pakistan, although it is rare for assailants to stage such a raid on a victim's home.The abduction comes with Pakistani-US relations in dire straits over US drone strikes against fighters in tribal areas, which Pakistan officially complains violate its sovereignty.Diplomatic ties were also set back by Pakistan's detention of a CIA contractor in March who killed two Pakistanis in Lahore and the covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2.The Pakistani Taliban claim to be holding a Swiss man and woman kidnapped earlier this summer as they were traveling through a remote southwestern region.

Syria demonstrators rally despite crackdown

Tanks occupy the centre of Hama in a government offensive aimed at quelling the uprising

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets around Syria, after activists said troops had killed at least 45 civilians in a tank assault to occupy the centre of Hama.
From the capital, Damascus, to Deraa in the south and Deir ez-Zoor in the east - demonstrators began rallying after noon prayers on the first Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan - billed by activists as the day "God is with us".
Other protests were being held in Qamishli in the north and Homs in the centre, activists said, as President Bashar al-Assad sought to crush a five-month-old uprising against his rule, leaving the city of Hama under siege for the sixth day.
Armed men in plain clothes were randomly shooting people in the city's streets, forcing families to bury their loved ones in gardens at home for fear of venturing out to cemeteries, a Hama resident said on Thursday.
Phones, internet and electricity have been cut or severely hampered for days.
The resident, who spoke by phone on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, told the AP news agency that people are being forced to ration food to get by during Ramadan.
"People are being slaughtered like sheep while walking in the street," the resident said.
"I saw with my own eyes one young boy on a motorcycle who was carrying vegetables being run over by a tank."
He said he left Hama briefly through side roads to smuggle in food supplies.
The resident said around 250 people have been killed since Sunday.
The claims could not be independently verified as Syria is not allowing journalists into the country to cover the uprising.
Hozan Ibrahim, of the Local Co-ordination Committees which tracks the crackdown on protesters, said up to 30 people may have been killed in Hama on Wednesday based on reports from fleeing residents. But neither of those numbers could be immediately verified.
Families have resorted to burying their loved ones in home gardens or roadside pits "because we fear that if we go to the cemetery, we will end up buried along with them", the resident said.
Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said up to 1,000 families have fled Hama in the past two days, most of them to the village of Mashtal Hilu and al-Salamieh.
"The people of Hama want freedom, dignity, equality," Gaetan Vannay, a journalist with Radio Television Suisse, told Al Jazeera just three days after escaping from Hama.
"They want to get ride of Assad and his regime. But it will cost a lot of lives."
 US Sectary said

The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said the Syrian government has killed more than 2,000 people in its attempts to crush the protests against it and has lost all legitimacy.

She told a press conference that the US was extending sanctions, including against a prominent businessman and MP it said had close ties to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad and his brother, and believed that and moves such as a statement from the UN security council on Wednesday condemning the regime could turn the screw.

"We are working around the clock to try to gather up as much international support for strong actions against the Syrian regime as possible. I come from the school that actions speak louder than words," she told reporters on Thursday.

Clinton said it was time for the international community to match its rhetorical outrage "with actions that will send a very clear message to the Assad regime, the insiders there, that there's a price to pay for this kind of abuse and attacks on their own people".

The move by the US Treasury marks the fourth round of US sanctions against Syria aimed at pressuring Assad's government to ease its bloody crackdown against unarmed protesters. Activists said government troops killed at least 45 civilians on Thursday in a tank assault to occupy the centre of Hama.

History of dissent
Hama, a city of 800,000 with a history of dissent, had fallen largely out of government control since June as residents turned on the government and blockaded the streets against encroaching tanks.
But Syrian security forces backed by tanks and snipers launched a ferocious military offensive that left corpses in streets on Sunday and sent residents fleeing for their lives, according to accounts.
In 1982, Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, ordered the military to quell an uprising by Syrian members of the Muslim Brotherhood movement there, killing between 10,000 and 25,000 people, rights groups say.
Assad has sought to deal with the revolt against his family's 40-year-dynasty through deadly force, but has also acknowledged the need for reform.
He issued two legislative decrees on Thursday that will allow the formation of political parties alongside the Baath Party and enable newly formed parties to run for parliament and local councils.
Both draft bills were endorsed by cabinet last month, and were key demands of the opposition movement.
But opposition figures now dismiss the moves as manoeuvring tactics and insist they want regime change.
Russian advice
Even longstanding allies of Syria are becoming wary of uncritically backing Assad. Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, has called the situation in Syria "dramatic" and expressed "enormous concern" over the deadly violence in the country.
"Unfortunately, people die there in large numbers. This arouses enormous concern from us," he said in an interview given to Russian media in the southern resort Sochi on Thursday.
Assad needs to "carry out urgent reforms, come to terms with the opposition, restore peace and create a modern state", Medvedev said, as quoted by the Interfax news agency.
"If he cannot do this, a sad fate awaits him, and in the end we will have to take some decision. We are watching the way the situation develops. As it changes, some of our perspectives also change."
Medvedev's remarks followed a foreign ministry statement on Monday strongly criticising the Syrian government's crackdown on demonstrations in a sign of a possible shift in Russia's rigid position.
Russia supported the Security Council statement on Wednesday which condemned "the widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities".
However, it did not support stronger action rebuffing efforts by Western powers to agree on a resolution over fears that it might pave the way for another military intervention like the one against Muammar Gaddafi's rule in Libya.
Germany will ask the UN to send a special envoy to Syria to increase pressure on Damascus over its crackdown on civilian protesters, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Thursday, a move aimed at adding weight to the Security Council's statement.
"Together with our partners, I will urge the UN to name a special envoy for Syria who will start work immediately, carrying the international community's clear message to Damascus and adding authority to the demands of the Security Council," Westerwelle said in a statement.
For its part, the US government warned on Thursday that Assad had placed Syria and the Middle East on a "dangerous path".
President Barack Obama's spokesman, Jay Carney, said Syria would be a "better place" without Assad and said people in Syria and around the world were making plans for a future without him.

Ramadan begin muslims kerala

The Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of the fasting period of Ramadan and the first day of the following month, after another new moon has been sighted. The Eid falls after 29 or 30 days of fasting, as per the lunar sighting. Eid ul-Fitr means the Festival of Breaking the Fast; a special celebration is made.Food is donated to the poor ,everyone puts on their best, usually new, clothes, and communal prayers are held in the early morning, followed by feasting and visiting relatives and friends. The prayer is two rakaahs only, and it is optional (sunat) prayer as opposed to the compulsory five daily prayers.

 Muslims in Kerala will observe the month-long Ramadan fasting from today, renouncing food and water during the day. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 to 30 days.It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating and drinking during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God.

The most prominent event of this month is fasting. Every day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat Sahur, the pre-dawn meal, then they perform the fajr prayer. They have to stop eating and drinking before the call for prayer starts until the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib. Muslims may continue to eat and drink after the sun has set until the next morning’s fajr prayer call. Then the process starts all over.Ramadan is a time of reflecting and worshipping God. Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Sexual thoughts and activities during fasting hours are also forbidden.The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. It also allows Muslims to practice self-discipline, self-control ,sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and charity. However, a certain level of self-control can be lost by those who suffer from eating disorders.

End to Street Protests of Yemen's Ailing President Calls

SANAA, Yemen –  Yemen's ailing President Ali Abdullah Saleh called Sunday for an end to months of street protests seeking his ouster and urged dialogue during the holy month of Ramadan to end the crisis.

Saleh's statement, published on the state news agency, was deliv has been receiving treatment for serious burns and other wounds he suffered in a June 2 attack on the presidential compound.

Yemen is reered from his hospital bed in Saudi Arabia, where heeling from nearly six months of protests by activists calling for Saleh to put an end to his 33 years in power. The crisis has sparked armed conflict between Saleh's forces and heavily armed tribesmen who have turned against him, further destabilizing the already fragile and impoverished country. And there are fears that Yemen's al-Qaida offshoot will gain from the turmoil and have a freer hand in plotting attacks on the West.

With Ramadan starting on Monday, Saleh appealed to the spirit of the month of reconciliation and piety and urged his opponents to embrace yet another round of dialogue.

"In this religious occasion, we assert our call for all political forces on the scene to take up dialogue as the only exit and the best means to resolve crises and disputes, and differences," he said. "There is no alternative to dialogue, stemming from national principles and the constitution."

Organizers of the street protests have refused earlier offers of dialogue. Mainstream opposition political parties have taken part only to see Saleh back out of a deal at the last minute on several occasions.

Nonetheless, in Sunday's Ramadan message, Saleh said the deal, mediated by Gulf Arab nations, should still be the basis for talks. It calls for him to transfer power within a month of signing a deal in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Saleh sounded a defiant tone, saying change will not come under fire.

"The change everyone is seeking won't come through violence, spreading hate and envy, the mentality of coups and conspiracies, liquidation of opponents or sowing seeds of sedition," he said.

"Let's move on. ... Yemen won't get out of this crisis amid tension, holding ground in protests in the streets of the capital, which is uncivilized."

During his lengthy absence, Saleh has managed to hold on to power thanks to his powerful son Ahmed, who commands the Republican Guard.

But security in the south of the country has rapidly deteriorated. Islamist militants, some linked to al-Qaida, have overrun entire towns in the south.

Also on Sunday, tribesmen and armed residents drove the fighters from one of those towns.

Jihad Hafeez, a resident of the town of Lawder, said the militants fled Sunday to the neighboring province of Shabwa, a hotbed of Islamic militants, after two days of fierce fighting. Casualty figures were not available.