AIPAC pushing for new Iran sanctions bill?

Influential Israeli lobby group in the US, AIPAC is to push for a newly crafted resolution designed to choke off Iranian gas imports. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which is scheduled to hold its annual conference next week, said the introduction of a new bill against Iran's gasoline trade on Tuesday is no coincidence. "It's no coincidence that the bills, which are strongly backed by AIPAC, are "dropping" into Congress for consideration this week, having 6,000 conference-goers press for their passage next Tuesday is bound to give them a turbo boost," the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) said on Monday. The agency, which serves Jewish newspapers and media around the world, said on Sunday that "thousands of AIPAC lobbyists" would "tumble out of buses to make sure" the bill passes. One week after American lawmakers in the US House of Representatives introduced the 'Iran Diplomatic Enhancement Act', a bipartisan slate of US senators on Tuesday tabled a similar bill, seeking to put an end to Iran's low-level nuclear activities by targeting the country's gasoline trade. The bill, which is slated to be introduced by Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) -- an uber-Israel supporter -- advocates the imposition of tough sanctions against countries that sell refined petroleum, including gasoline, to Iran. The conference, which will see Israel's ceremonial president, Shimon Peres representing Tel Aviv, excludes those opposed to such measures against Iran. “Policy theorists in Washington who reject isolating Iran as counterproductive are absent from the conference schedule," the report added. Branded as “ the most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel" by the New York Times, AIPAC has been criticized for its “distorted American foreign policy in favor of Israel.” AIPAC is a "de facto agent for a foreign government", whose "success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda, and to punish those who challenge it," University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt from the Harvard University argue in their book: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. Former President Jimmy Carter has also accused AIPAC of putting enormous pressure on politicians running for office who do not share AIPAC's goals. In 1992, the group's then president David Steiner was forced to resign after he was recorded boasting about his political influence in obtaining aid for Israel. Steiner claimed to be "negotiating" with the incoming Clinton administration over who Clinton would appoint as Secretary of State and Director of the National Security Agency AIPAC members have also been linked to espionage cases, involving their role in gathering and disclosing classified national security information to Israel. In 2005, AIPAC policy director Steven Rosen and AIPAC senior Iran analyst Keith Weissman were indicted for passing along secret US documents to Israel in violation of the 1917 Espionage Act.

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Explosion kills UK soldier in Afghanistan

The British Defense Ministry has announced that one of its soldiers has been killed in a bomb explosion in southern Afghanistan. The ministry isssued a statement on Tuesday saying that the soldier was killed while patrolling along with members of the Afghan army near Forward Operating Base Keenan in Helmand. "It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defense must confirm that a British soldier from 1st Battalion Welsh Guards has been killed," the statement said as quoted by AFP. "Despite the very best efforts of his colleagues around him, he was killed instantly as a result of an explosion, the cause of which is being investigated," it added. Tuesday's incident increased the death toll of British soldiers in the war-torn country to 153 since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

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Trio acquitted of London 7/7 charges

A British jury has cleared three men of charges of conspiring with four suicide bombers who killed 52 people in London's 2005 suicide bombings. Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem, and Mohammed Shakil were acquitted of the most serious offenses at the Kingston Crown Court Tuesday, but two of them were found guilty for lesser charges. The carefully collected evidence against them was largely circumstantial, and could not finally persuade the British jurors of their alleged guilt. Four bombers and 52 commuters died in the attacks on July 7, 2005 when bombers set off bombs they carried in sacks on three subway trains and a double-decker bus. Ali and Shakil will be jailed Wednesday for a second charge of "conspiring to attend a terror training camp". Ali, 25, Shakil, 32, and Saleem, 28, who had been accused of collaborating with the suicide bombers, were the only people ever charged for the deadly bombings, and their acquittals mean that no one has been legally held accountable for the attacks. In a statement, Saleem accused police and prosecutors of charging him based on "guilt by association". "I am indebted to these 12 courageous individuals who have now cleared my name and allowed me the opportunity of seeing my children grow up," he said in the statement. This is the latest blow to British authorities who have been forced to release Muslims after arresting them on terrorism charges amid much publicity, only to be forced to release them - often quietly - for lack of evidence. The latest manifestation of what many describe as 'Islamophobia' was the much publicized arrest of eleven Muslim students in Manchester on April 8. Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed the arrests for foiling a “major terrorist plot”. Nevertheless, all the detainees - mostly students from Pakistan - were released within days without charge. The perceived offense caused Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to refuse to attend a joint press conference with Gordon Brown, and Pakistani High Commissioner to London Wajid Shamsul Hasan has said "[British authorities] owe an apology not only to these boys but also to the government of Pakistan." He has also called for compensation for the detainees who were wrongly arrested.

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GOP: Obama killed bipartisanship

US Republicans turn out in force to protest at what they denounce as the Democratic president's betrayal of his pledge of honoring their advice. On Wednesday, the Grand Old Party's heavyweights wrote to President Barack Obama bemoaning 'a sad lack of bipartisanship' exemplified by the commander-in-chief's insistence on bringing to account of the former officials responsible for torture of 'terrorism suspects', FOXNews reported on Friday. "This lack of bipartisanship has been a major detriment to your stated desire to change the way that Washington works," the GOP leaders said. "We believe that if Washington can put aside petty politics and unite for the good of the American people, we can accomplish great things." Pinning the blame on the congressmen from the other side of the isle, they claimed "Democratic leaders in Congress have so far ignored your call for a new era of bipartisanship in Washington." "However, the next 100 days can be different," they concluded before cataloguing the issues they wanted to draw the president's attention to. Obama's economic policies have likewise been lashed out at for inappropriate in the Republican mentality. "The stimulus bill was supposed to be about jobs, jobs and jobs, and it turned into spending, spending and more spending," CNN quoted House Minority Leader and Ohio Republican John Boehner as saying.

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New flu kills 68 in Mexico, reaches US

The outbreak of a new flu virus which has killed sixty eight people in Mexico has now reached the US, infecting at least eight Americans. Top US health officials in the State of California have announced that at least eight Americans have been infected by the new strain of the 'largely mysterious' swine flu and the number is expected to rise. Schools and educational centers in the Capital Mexico City were closed and hospitals were put on alert earlier on Thursday with the Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova telling reporters "We're dealing with a new flu virus that constitutes a respiratory epidemic that so far is controllable." Health authorities in the United States have warned of a fast-catching viral syndrome capable of delivering mortal blows to the sufferers. Gil Chavez, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the California Department of Public Health, said on Friday, "We are watching this very closely. It's largely a mystery. It's very unusual whenever you have as many as even six cases (of swine flu), that's very, very rare." "There's evidence of possible human-to-human transmission going on, so the more we look the more we are likely to find," Reuters quoted him as saying. "This is something we believe we identified early and have responded to very aggressively and we are taking every step necessary to solve the mystery," he went on to say. California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger also recommended his fellow citizens to take "common-sense" and refrain from unnecessary physical contacts with dubious cases- - a precautionary measure also promoted in the Latin American State of Mexico. In addition, Schwarzenegger asked for more federal flu experts from the US Centers for Disease Control. California has, moreover, launched a Joint Emergency Operations Center with Mexican officials in a concerted effort to contain the lethal infection from developing into a full-blown epidemic. The World Health Organization has ruled out the need to shut Mexico's borders despite over 1,000 cases of registered patients. The highly contagious disease follows earlier symptoms of harsh respiratory symptoms before killing its victim.

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