Three British Muslims were convicted on Sept. 7 of conspiring to kill thousands of civilians by blowing up trans-Atlantic flights in mid-air with liquid explosives disguised as soft drinks. A jury at a London court found Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain guilty of conspiracy to murder by detonating explosives on aircraft. Three others were acquitted. The prosecution said the men planned to smuggle the bomb ingredients aboard jets bound from Britain to North America disguised as “soft drink bottles, batteries and other innocuous items” carried in hand luggage. The plot would have caused a civilian toll from terrorism on an almost unprecedented scale prosecutor Peter Wright told the court. The defendants all denied the charge claiming they planned a stunt to make a political point.
Iranian proposals on N-issue: The Iranian package of proposals to world powers on the nuclear issue have not enthused the West to stop considering sanctions against it. Faced with renewal of Western pressure to swiftly engage in “meaningful” talks on its disputed nuclear programme, Iran said it would hand over a package of proposals on Sept. 10. The proposals made public on that day offer wide-ranging talks with the West but is silent about its nuclear programme, a mixed message that may undercut any push for further UN sanctions on Iran for now. While ruling out any talks about its uranium enrichment programme which the West suspects may be a cover for developing nuclear weapons, in a five-page proposal, it generally spoke of talks on political, security, international and economic issues, expressing its “readiness to embark on comprehensive, all-encompassing and constructive negotiations aimed at acquiring a clear framework for cooperative relationship.”
At a joint Press conference with visiting Venezuela President Hugo Chavez in Teheran on Sept. 7, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad announced that Teheran’s “undeniable” nuclear rights are non-negotiable and nuclear talks with global powers in the future would be narrowed down to “cooperation on peaceful use of atomic energy and non-proliferation”.
President Ahmadinejad’s Cabinet team: However fraudulent the Presidential election may be, the formation of the Iranian Cabinet illustrates that Mahmud Ahmadinejad has reinforced his authority. Despite the fact that three of his nominees were turned down by Parliament, the President has had his way in the appointment of his aides to the critical segments of the Interior Ministry, oil and intelligence. No less sensational, if controversial as well, has been the induction of Ahmad Vahidi – the alleged international terrorist – as Defence Minister, a man wanted by Interpol on charges that he had a hand in the bombing of a Jewish cultural centre in Argentina in 1994. The induction of Marzieh Vahid-Dasterji as the country’s first woman Minister to hold charge of health will rank as a landmark appointment and not merely in terms of gender. He has now nominated another woman, Fatemeh Alia to the post of Education Minister, after his first choice, also a female, failed to win the support of Parliament.
Netanyahu’s secret trip to Moscow: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dropped out of the sight for most of the day on Sept. 11 triggering rumours in Jerusalem that he paid an unpublicized secret visit to Moscow aboard a private jet for urgent talks on Iran. According to various accounts, the Israeli Premier was either pushing the Russians to halt arms sales to Iran or warning of an impending strike against Iranian nuclear facilities or discussing the recent disappearance of a Russian-crewed freighter.
Russian officials have denied that the missing vessel was carrying contraband missiles to Iran. Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov described as “absolutely untrue” reports that the ship had S-300 missiles on board hidden in a cargo of timber.
The vessel, Arctic Sea, a 4000-tonne Maltese-flagged freighter with a Russian crew of 15 disappeared at the end of July after being attacked in the Baltic Sea on the way from Finland to Algeria Two weeks later a Russian warship recaptured the fugitive vessel in a NATO-aided operation near the Cape Verde archipelago. Moscow said it arrested on board eight residents of Estonia and Latvia who had hijacked the ship and demanded a one million pound ransom. The bizarre hijacking prompted speculation that the ship was carrying arms to Iran and was intercepted by Mossad which used proxies to hijack the ship.
Kanat Saudabayev is new Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan
Kanat Saudabayev was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Sept. 4. He will continue to serve as Secretary of State. Saudabayev was previously Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States, the United Kingdom andTurkey. As Minister for Foreign Affairs, Saudabayev takes over responsibility for spearheading Kazakhstan’s preparation for and holding the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2010. President Nazarbayev praised the work of the previous Foreign Minister Marat Tazhin – who has been appointed Assistant to the President and Secretary of the Security Council of Kazakhstan.
Working in Moscow from September 1991 through May 1992 as the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic to the USSR, and then, after the Soviet Union collapsed, to the Russian Federation, Saudabayev was a direct participant in and a witness to many crucial events of that time.
Kairat Umarov appointed Deputy Foreign Minister
Dr. Kairat Umarov was appointed as Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan. on Sept. 9. Previously he was the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to India and Sri Lanka.
During his distinguished tenure in India, relations between Kazakhstan and India intensified in many directions, including nuclear energy, space, IT, pharmaceuticals and thermal power. As a result, the bilateral relations were elevated to the level of strategic partnership following the historic State visit of President Nazarbayev as the Chief Guest on the Republic Day of India in January 2009.
