Germany attacks UK ahead of the G20 meeting
This week, German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck launched an outspoken attack on the City of London, saying the financial lobby is 'doing its best' to block the introduction of stricter financial market regulations. 'There is clearly a lobby in London that wants to defend its competitive advantage tooth and nail,' Steinbrueck told Germany's Stern magazine. He singled out Britain's approach to hedge funds, claiming the UK is fighting tougher regulations because it is worried about suffering from an exodus of talent. He said the financial sector accounted for 15% of the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) in contrast to just 6% in Germany. Steinbrueck last year poured scorn on Gordon Brown's bank and business bailout plans. His attack came as the European Commission unveiled detailed proposals to create new pan-European authorities with the authority to oversee and intervene in national financial markets. There are concerns in the UK that these plans could give the Commission too much influence over Treasury interventions in the banking system.

Is Turkey part of Obama's regional missile defense programme?
Less than two weeks before Turkey is likely to host new international talks about the Iranian nuclear programme, Ankara's stated interest in buying four missile defence batteries has raised a big question: why does the country think it needs a missile shield? "We will procure four batteries," Gen Metin Gurak, the spokesman of the general staff in Ankara, said during a regular media briefing on Friday. "The missiles are not directed against any country in particular. They are mobile and can be used on every front."Gen Gurak said the system would cost around US$1billion (Dh3.67bn), much less than the sum of around $8bn that had been reported by the Turkish press earlier. The general said the higher number had been included in a notification sent by the US government to Congress and had referred to 13 batteries, not four. He said a decision on the tender for the system of four batteries would be made by October 13. Two US companies, including Raytheon, the maker of the Patriot system, as well as a company from China and one from Russia have put in bids. There is also speculation that Turkey, the only Nato country bordering Iran, could be playing a key role in a new US missile defence strategy after the cancellation of planned missile deployments in Eastern Europe. Turkey's territory lies within range of Iranian short and medium-range missiles. "We have updated our intelligence assessment of Iran's missile programmes, which emphasises the threat posed by Iran's short and medium-range missiles, which are capable of reaching Europe," the US President Barack Obama said last Thursday.

McChrystal paints a grim picture of America in Afghanistan
The Afghan war will be lost unless more troops are sent to pursue a radically revised strategy, the top U.S. and NATO commander said in a confidential assessment that offers stark choices for President Barack Obama. In the assessment, sent to Washington last month and leaked on Monday, Army General Stanley McChrystal said failure to reverse "insurgent momentum" in the near term risked an outcome where "defeating the insurgency is no longer possible." A copy of the 66-page assessment was obtained by The Washington Post and published on its website with some parts removed at the request of the government for security reasons."Resources will not win this war, but under-resourcing could lose it," McChrystal wrote. "Failure to provide adequate resources also risks a longer conflict, greater casualties, higher overall costs and ultimately, a critical loss of political support. Any of these risks, in turn, are likely to result in mission failure." McChrystal, who commands more than 100,000 Western troops, two-thirds of them American, has drafted a separate request spelling out how many more he needs but has not sent it to the Pentagon, which says it is considering how he should submit it. In his assessment, McChrystal painted a grim picture of the war so far, saying "the overall situation is deteriorating" and calling for a "revolutionary" shift putting more emphasis on protecting Afghans than on killing insurgents. "Our objective must be the population," he wrote. "The objective is the will of the people, our conventional warfare culture is part of the problem. The Afghans must ultimately defeat the insurgency."

Zardari's empty begging bowl
President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday called upon the US to fast track reimbursement of outstanding Coalition Support Fund of $1.6billion and early realization of the Tokyo pledges to ensure economic stability of Pakistan. The President said this while talking to the US President Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, who called on him here Tuesday afternoon and discussed a wide range of issues concerning the two countries. The President also asked for the passage of the Biden-Lugar Bill, which is constantly being thrown in Pakistan's face as reflecting the commitment of the US to Pakistan but which still remains to be passed by Congress. The case of the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) Bill is suffering the same fate. But despite this humiliation, Zardari is pressing ahead with the first summit of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. Like a true beggar, Zardari will plead for money with promises of spilling more Muslim blood. The event will be chaired jointly by President Asif Ali Zardari, and crusaders US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

China prepare to flex its military might
China on Wednesday promised military watchers a real show in the National Day parade on October 1, with a host of new equipment to be rolled out, most of which has never before been seen in public. "The equipment we will unveil is 100 percent China-made and close to 90 percent will be paraded for the first time," Gao Jianguo, spokesman for the office of the National Day Military Parade Joint Command, told reporters. China will stage a huge military parade and pageant in Beijing on October 1 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the communist People's Republic. Gao said new equipment unveiled to the public would include nuclear, conventional and cruise missiles, as well as fighter jets, radar systems and surface-to-air missiles -- without offering any specifics. "We will unveil some new weapons during this parade and this is the concrete reflection of China's economic and technological development and progress in the military field," he said. China's military spending rose 15.3 percent in 2009 to 69 billion dollars, according to a budget submitted to parliament in March, the latest in a string of double-digit increases. Earlier a defence ministry spokesman in Beijing rejected US Defence Secretary Robert Gates' comments that US naval carriers and air bases in the Pacific faced new threats from China's modernisation. The US National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said that China's military modernisation programme posed a threat and that China's involvement in cyber technology had become aggressive.

America needs you, CIA chief tells Arabs

In a historic visit to Dearborn Detroit, CIA Director Leon Panetta reached out to metro Detroiters with roots in the Middle East at a Ramadan dinner aimed at engaging Arab Americans. "The reason I'm here ... is very simple: Your country needs you," he told a crowd of about 150 Arab Americans and Chaldeans on Wednesday at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center. "It needs your ingenuity; it needs your wisdom; it needs the skills of your communities to help protect the way of life that all of us hold dear." Panetta's speech was believed to be the first time a CIA head has held a public Ramadan dinner, said CIA official George Little. And it comes at a time when the CIA finds itself involved in conflicts across the Muslim world. "I am particularly honored to be with you on this night, which I understand is the Night of Power, which holds such deep spiritual meaning for all Muslims," Panetta said. In order for the CIA to get better, "we have to reflect the face of this nation, we have to reflect the face of the world," he said. "Our goal is to substantially increase diversity."

UK Police Chiefs brace for riots between Muslims and English fascists

This week UK police chiefs up and down the country warned to brace them- selves for a winter of race riots. UK police forces have been put on alert amid growing concerns about violent clashes between Muslims and far-Right thugs.  Trouble has already occurred in several UK cities where the English Defense League(EDL) has protested against the Islamisation of the UK. The EDL is an umbrella organisation which attracts far-Right activists, neo-Nazis and football hooligans with a shared hatred of "Islamic extremism". EDL has set up divisions in Luton, north London,  Bristol, Portsmouth, Southampton, Derby, Cardiff and across the West Midlands. Four national police units, including experts on soccer hooliganism and  terrorism, are investigating the group. John Denham, the secretary of state for communities and local government, warned that there were strong parallels between the group, which is planning protests in Muslim neighbour- hoods, and Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, who sparked fighting when they marched through Jewish areas of London's East End in the Thirties. Mr Denham said: "If you look at their [EDL]demonstrations they've organised, it is clear that it's a tactic designed to provoke and to get a response and hopefully create violence."

Belgium bans the wearing of hijjab

Schools in the Belgian Dutch-speaking region of Flanders have banned the wearing of the Muslim headscarf. After a decision by the region's school board, around a fifth of schools say they will implement the ban immediately - others have up to a year to follow. Two schools are already enforcing the ban. Head teacher Chris Weyers explained: "96 percent of the pupils were Muslims. And it was a great pressure on the students who weren't Muslims, or that were Muslims but did not wear the scarf, and so our pupils weren't free anymore." While some girls have complied with the ban - removing their scarves while in school - Muslim groups have strongly condemned the move. Angry pupils have staged protests outside the school and one girl has filed a complaint with the Belgian Council of State to contest the ban. While protests are expected to continue, Belgium is not the first to ban the scarf. France, Germany and the UK have various types of bans in place that forbid the wearing of hijjab and the niqab.

Petraeus: Taliban have grown stronger

General David Petraeus, the overall commander of troops in Afghanistan, has painted a bleak picture of the security situation admitting that the Taliban has "without question" increased its strength in the country. Gen Petraeus said the current security situation in the country was equivalent to the most violent period in Iraq said during a speech in London this week."The Taliban without question have expanded their strength and influence" in certain districts of Afghanistan," he told a select audience of military, security services and political figures at the Policy Exchange think tank. In many districts there was the feeling of a "downward spiral present" in terms of progress. The Taliban were funding their campaign not only by the drugs trade and crime but also with "donations from outsiders". Petraeus remarks coincide with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledge of withdrawing at least 500 of the country's 3,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan "in the next few weeks". The move is bound to further strengthen the Taleban.

Zardari government paid 3bn dollars to wage war against Islam

The United States has provided more than $3bn in aid to Pakistan since President Zardari came to power a year ago, its ambassador in Islamabad says. Anne W Patterson said the money was given in "combined security, economic and development assistance". "The US government will continue to deliver assistance to Pakistan through a variety of long-standing vectors as required by American law to ensure transparency and accountability, and is not depriving the Pakistani government any degree of direct funding as a result of a lack of confidence or trust," the US ambassador said. Meanwhile according to ‘US Arms Sales to Pakistan' report, the major arms purchase agreement by Pakistan signed in 2006, was in excess of $3.5 billion, ranking Pakistan first among all arms clients of the US during that calendar year. So it is pretty evident where the money paid to the Zardari government will end up.

UN calls for the dollar to be replaced

The dollar should be replaced with a global currency, the United Nations has said, proposing the biggest overhaul of the world's monetary system since the Second World War. In a radical report, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said the system of currencies and capital rules which binds the world economy is not working properly, and was largely responsible for the financial and economic crises. It added that the present system, under which the dollar acts as the world's reserve currency , should be subject to a wholesale reconsideration. Although a number of countries, including China and Russia , have suggested replacing the dollar as the world's reserve currency, the UNCTAD report is the first time a major multinational institution has posited such a suggestion. In essence, the report calls for a new Bretton Woods-style system of managed international exchange rates, meaning central banks would be forced to intervene and either support or push down their currencies depending on how the rest of the world economy is behaving.

British Government losing public support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Most people are against the decision to send British troops to Afghanistan, according to a survey published this week. More than half of those questioned said that the Army should never have been deployed to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. The latest gauge of public opinion will cause alarm in the Government, which has been trying in recent months to clarify the objectives of the mission in Helmand, codenamed Operation Herrick. However, 53 per cent of the 2,000 people questioned for the survey, conducted by ICM Research on behalf of the National Army Museum, rejected the Government's reasoning for the mission in Helmand . When asked whether 9,000 troops should have been sent on Operation Herrick, only 6 per cent "strongly agreed". Another 19 per cent "agreed", giving a combined vote of support of one quarter of the survey participants.

Another 15 per cent were unable to make up their minds either way, indicating that the Government still has a long way to go to convince members of the public that the mission in Afghanistan is justified. Even greater disaffection was shown towards the British military campaign in Iraq , which was finally brought to an end in July after six years.

Sixty per cent voiced opposition to Britain 's military involvement in Iraq . Only 20 per cent agreed that it had been right to send troops to Basra .

America aims to boost its presence in Iraq through private contractors

Despite President Barack Obama's pledge to withdraw US troops from Iraq , the US is planning to award contracts to protect US installations at a cost to taxpayers that could near $1 billion. In fact, the Multi-National Force-Iraq just awarded $485 million in contracts just last week, while Congress enjoyed its summer recess. Five firms will handle private security deals to provide security for US bases. It's a neat rhetorical loophole that will allow US officials to say that the country has withdrawn from Iraq , while its contractors remain. "Under a similar contract with five security contractors that began in September 2007, the MNF-I spent $253 million through March 2009, with needs growing over that 18-month period," the Washington Post's Walter Pincus wrote in Wednesday editions. "That contract, which was to run three years, had a spending limit of $450 million. The Pentagon's "quarterly report on contracting showed a 19 percent increase from the three previous months in the number of security guards in Iraq hired by the Defense Department. The Central Command attributed the increase, from 10,743 at the end of March to 13,232 at the end of June, mainly to "an increased need for PSCs [private security companies] to provide security as the military begins to draw down forces."

Pakistan: Pentagon under pressure to prove it can stay the course in the region

The Pentagon has come under increasing pressure to explain its role in Afghanistan and warned that it would be a disaster if the US abandoned Pakistan and Afghanistan now. ‘If indeed we were to turn our backs on Afghanistan again, and in the process essentially turn our backs on Pakistan again, that it would be a road to disaster,' Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told a briefing here. ‘We have to show our friends and allies, whether it be Pakistan or any of the other central Asian nations, that we are committed to them, that we are their friends and allies. And we are not going to turn our backs as we have in the past.' The Pentagon official, also conceded that US military commanders needed to show real progress in Afghanistan over the next 18 months if they expected the American public to continue backing the war. Mr Morrell noted that US Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates had acknowledged recently a degree of understandable ‘war weariness' among the American people. ‘We've been at war now for eight years. It's been long and difficult and costly in lives and treasure,' Mr Morrell said. ‘We have to be able to show the American people that all this effort, all these resources, are not in vain - that we are indeed making headway.'

Indian President:  Central Asia tensions threaten world

Growing religious and ethnic tension in ex-Soviet Central Asia poses one of the most significant threats to world peace and stability, Indian President Pratibha Patil said on Monday. During a visit to Tajikistan 's capital Dushanbe , Patil sounded the alarm over the deteriorating security situation in the region, which experts say is driven by instability in war-wracked Afghanistan . "The spread of intolerance and hatred throughout the region threatens the entire world and is a dangerous phenomenon following the end of the Cold War," she told reporters here, according to comments released by her press service. "I call on the leaders of the governments of Central Asia to arrange for the destruction of terrorism in all its forms," she said. A string of incidents, from a suicide bombing in Uzbekistan in May to gunbattles with suspected militants in Tajikistan this summer, have heightened fears that the predominantly Muslim region may be sliding out of control. Tensions have been high along the poorly-delineated border between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan since the suicide bombing, with Tashkent unilaterally building up its defences along the border. For its part, Kyrgyzstan has deployed troops to shore up its border with Tajikistan , which shares a broad and poorly-guarded border with Afghanistan .