18 killed in US-led airstrike in Afghanistan’s Paktika

At least 18 people have been killed when US-led foreign forces carried out an airstrike in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Paktika.

Mukhlis Afghan, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said on Saturday that the airstrike targeted a convoy of Taliban militants in Gayan District, located approximately 175 kilometers (108 miles) southeast of the capital, Kabul, late on Friday.

He added that at least 18 militants were slain and three pickup trucks destroyed in the assault.

The Taliban have made no comments on the incident so far.

The US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan have recently increased their air raids against civilian areas.

On December 29, at least four Taliban militants, among them a commander identified as Syed Izam, were killed in a US assassination drone strike in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nuristan.

A Taliban commander and five other members of the militant group were killed late on December 27, when a US drone struck an area in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

The United States carries out targeted killings through drone strikes in several Muslim countries such as Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia.

Washington claims the targets of the drone attacks are militants, but local officials and witnesses maintain that civilians have been the main victims of the attacks over the past few years.

People and officials in Afghanistan have protested over the civilian casualties on numerous occasions, but the US drone attacks continue unabated.

The United Nations and several human rights organizations have identified the United States as the world’s number one user of “targeted killings,” largely due to its drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

MP/HSN/SS

Rugby round-up: Stockton earn local bragging rights; Redcar and Acklam pick up victories

IT was a happy start to 2015 for Teesside trio Stockton, Redcar and Acklam as they shook off their post-Christmas blues and got back to winning ways in the league.

After three straight defeats in Durham and North One, fifth-placed Stockton made the short trip to Blackwell Meadows to face Darlington in a crunch derby duel.

Stockton were well on top in the early stages and Darlington put themselves under further pressure on seven minutes when one of their front row was binned for taking out Stockton skipper Steve Taylor in a lineout.

On 13 minutes Stockton scored their opening try when flanker Joe Green burst through the home defence, before passing to full-back Jonny Horner who scored under the posts.

Approaching half-time Stockton were reduced to 14 when Martin Dixon was carded for a high tackle, but despite this the visitors increased their lead when Jeremy Good slotted over another penalty.

A late Darlington try left the score at 13-12 in Stockton’s favour at the break, but a second half brace from Jack Aldus and a late score from winger Danny Phin wrapped up the points.

The promotion race in Durham and North Two continues to heat up with second-placed Redcar earning a narrow 15-14 win at Hartlepool.

That means it’s five consecutive wins under new coach Richie Young, ahead of next weekend’s crunch clash with promotion-chasing Acklam at Mackinlay Park.

Acklam remained hot on Redcar’s heels on Saturday following a 65-5 demolition of Seaton Carew at Talbot Park.

Dominant in attack, Acklam racked up 48 unanswered points before the break, and that trend continued after the break with Dean Roberts ending with four tries and Paul Roberts adding a brace.

In National Three North it was a tough start to the New Year for Billingham, who were beaten 41-20 at high-flying Sheffield Tigers.

Meanwhile Boro’s promotion push took another dent in Yorkshire One, following a 17-17 stalemate with Hullensians.

How we could be heading for the £1 a litre fuel pump as oil prices fall

Plummeting petrol prices could give a boost to the North’s rural families and firms, business leaders say.

As oil prices continue to tumble and a supermarket price war helps lower the cost at the pumps still further, experts are predicting the cost of a litre of fuel could soon drop below £1.

“Falling prices are going to help families and businesses as it reduces overheads,” said Ted Salmon, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses in the North East.

“A lot of small businesses use small vans and their own cars, and falling prices have knocked I think it’s £30 off the price of a tank of fuel - so every few visits to the pumps you’re effectively getting a free fill up.

“It will take a bit of pressure off and help businesses cash flow - it will help to keep money in businesses - and it will certainly help rural businesses who have to travel, and who’s customers have to travel.

“It could also help tourism come Easter time, with more people likely to drive to visit places.

“And while all of that might not mean extra jobs for the region, it could make the North’s businesses more resilient and help preserve the jobs we already have.”

World oil prices continue to plunge with some analysts predicting the cost of a barrel of crude could fall as low as $35 - down from $105 in July.

That has seen the average cost of a litre of petrol drop from an average of 131.6p to 112.6p a litre now that oil is $57 a barrel.

But leading supermarkets are pushing the price down further, with Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco all announcing this week that they were knocking a further 2p off a litre.

And that means that the cheapest fuel to be found on the North’s forecourts - at least on Friday - were are the grocery giant’s outlets.

The cheapest unleaded on Tyneside could be found at Asda’s Blyth and Sainsbury’s Sunderland stores, at 107.9p a litre. While on Teesside Morrisons Middlesbrough store, on Ormesby Road in Berwick Hills, and Tesco’s Dixon Bank and Ingleby Barwick filling stations were close behind at 108.9p.

For diesel the Asda’s in Thornaby, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Peterlee, Darlington, Blyth, Ashington and Spennymoor, plus Morrisons in Hartlepool, and Sainsbury’s in Sunderland all offered a litre for 114.7p.

However, information from PetrolPrices.co.uk shows it pays to shop around, with unleaded up to 8p a litre more expensive, and diesel up to 10p extra depending on the service station.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “What’s currently happening at the pumps with falling fuel prices is something many motorists will not remember seeing before.

“Talk of prices going up like a rocket and falling like a feather could not be further from the truth as retailers have been quick to pass on savings at the forecourt.

“The cost of going to visit family and friends will be the cheapest it’s been for nearly five years, but the prospect of petrol going below £1 a litre is incredible, particularly when prices at the beginning of 2014 seemed to be heading ever upwards.

“It is, however, important to realise that the oil and fuel market can always change due to a number factors, including the strength of the pound against the dollar and the global production of oil. If the current oversupply situation remains then it will clearly be good news for motorists and businesses that rely on the road network. With the United Arab Emirates energy minister saying OPEC will not cut production even if oil falls as low as $40 a barrel, we have every reason to think petrol at under £1 is a very real prospect.

“It’s also important to remember that while the cost of fuel itself has fallen, it currently only represents around a third of the overall pump price with the lion share being made up of fuel duty and VAT.

“At £1 a litre duty would be 57.95p and VAT 16.67p, leaving the cost of the oil and retailers’ margin at 25.38p – meaning tax would be three quarters of the forecourt price.”

Nearly 500 Hindus convert to Buddhism in Bihar

Patna : Nearly 500 Hindus, including women and children, converted to Buddhism Saturday in half a dozen villages in Bihar’s Gaya district, officials said.

All those converted to Buddhism are resident of Khanjahapur, Usri, Bara, Joda Masjid, Kukra, Beldari, Bansibigha and Tapsi villages under Manpur block in Gaya, about 100 km from here, said a district police official.

“The conversion took place at a Buddhist temple in Khanjahapur village,” said the official.

Basant Mahto, a member of Bodh Gaya-based Mahatma Budh Gayan Ashram, played an important role in the event.

Sitabia Devi, Sona Devi, and Barti Devi, who were among the more than 100 women who converted to Buddhism, said that they have changed their religion for a more peaceful and prosperous life.

This was the second major incident of conversion of Hindus after 42 poor Mahadalits families converted to Christianity in a village near Bodh Gaya on Dec 25

Israeli authorities force Palestinian to demolish his own home

The Municipality of Jerusalem has forced a Palestinian to demolish his own home in Sour Baher neighbourhood in the occupied city, Qudsnet has reported. The Israeli-run authority claimed that the house was built without an official permit.

According to Qudsnet, the house was owned by Jerusalemite Ismail Al-Masri, who confirmed that the Israeli occupation authorities served the demolition order on him a week ago. The two-storey house was built 5 years ago, he added.

The occupation municipality in Jerusalem denies as a matter of policy Palestinian citizens the right to build new homes and expand or renovate existing buildings. Palestinians are usually given the option of demolishing their own home or paying the Israelis to do it for them

Israeli settlers uproot 6,000 olive saplings near Ramallah

Israeli settlers uprooted thousands of olive saplings east of the town of Turmus’ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, yesterday.

Turmus’ayya deputy mayor Lafi Eid told the Safa news agency: “The settlers uprooted thousands of olive saplings in the area of Sidr and Alzarat to the east of the town, on the opposite side of the Adei Ad settlement.”

Nearly 6,000 trees were uprooted while dozens of old trees in the area were destroyed, Eid said.

He pointed out that the people in the town planted nearly 11,000 olive saplings last year through a project funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, settlers uprooted hundreds of the saplings after the project ended.

America stabs its Arab allies in the back

The US-Arab alliance is one of the strangest and most interesting in the world, perhaps even in history. It is certainly the most one-sided, whereby America takes everything from its Arab allies and gives them nothing in return. The US attitude is disrespectful, untactful and inflexible. Washington gives Arab governments nothing to work with and nothing to give to their people, not even a fig leaf for appearances’ sake.

The most recent example of this disrespect by the US was its open contempt for its Arab allies when it voted against the draft UN Security Council resolution to end the Israeli occupation of part of the occupied Palestinian territories. This resolution is based on what is known as “international legitimacy” despite the fact that the Palestinians went to the Security Council stripped of all their historical rights. However, this did not help them or gain the acceptance of Washington, which seems to disregard the Palestinians in particular and the Arabs in general.

The US-Arab alliance is farcical, a tragi-comedy full of contradictions. The Arab governments put 99 per cent of their cards in the hands of the US, which in turn gives 100 per cent of its cards to Israel. The Arab governments thus put more or less all of their cards in Israeli hands.

More tragic and disturbing is the fact that the Arab governments, including Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, are desperate for US approval, so they give the Obama administration what it wants in the hope that the president will be kind enough to give them something in return. Unfortunately for them, the White House has never given them anything of significance, no matter how small. Is there a stranger bunch of allies? Of course not. However, if this one-sided alliance protects Arab governments from being overthrown and gives them “preventative shots” against democracy without having any side effects, then they believe that the price is worth it, even if that means conceding all of Palestine from the river to the sea.

It is sad that the Palestinian people are fighting their struggle alone, persevering alone and, in some instances, triumphing alone. They are also crying alone, bleeding alone and suffering under siege alone. Their “closest brothers”, meanwhile, are contributing to their suffering, displacement and murder; Gaza provides perhaps the greatest evidence of this.

America only sees Israel in the region; Israel’s security and interests are paramount. Israel is America’s only trusted strategic ally, while the others are nothing more than followers who must accept whatever crumbs are thrown their way.

The resolution submitted by Abbas’s government reflects the Arabs’ miserable situation. It lacked the minimum of Palestinian demands, all of which are provided for in existing international resolutions. This irked the Palestinian left-wing, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Palestine Communist Party and the Palestinian National Initiative; it was also rejected by the Islamic movements, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The draft was “moderate”, as stated by Abbas and the Arab governments, and met all of Israel’s demands except for ending its occupation of some parts of the West Bank. Despite this, Israel rejected the resolution, as did the US administration and Australia; Britain’s rejection was expressed in its silence, alongside Nigeria and Rwanda, all of whom were influenced by pro-Israel and American lobbyists.

The question left to ask the Arab governments allied with the US is simple: what’s next? What will you do now that America, Israel’s guardian and protector, has basically announced that it is opposed to ending the occupation? What are you going to do after the veto was used against giving the Palestinians some of their own land back despite Abbas’s concession of Palestinian air, sea, land and security?

The truth is that the Arab governments will not demand anything from their American ally and the Palestinians will have to bear life in the refugee camps for

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