Iraq attacks, including car bombs, kill 26

At least 26 people were killed in car bombs and other attacks across Iraq on Thursday.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Five car bombs north of Baghdad killed 19 people Thursday, while attacks elsewhere in Iraq left seven more dead, officials said, the latest casualties in a nationwide spike in unrest.

The attacks, which wounded dozens, come as Iraq witnesses its worst violence since 2008, a surge in bloodshed that has killed more than 5,400 people this year despite authorities having carried out a swathe of operations and implemented tightened security measures.

They struck as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visits Washington to press for military equipment and greater cooperation with the United States in fighting militants.

In Thursday s deadliest attack, twin car bombs in a residential area in Tuz Khurmatu, a disputed town north of Baghdad, killed seven people and wounded 42 others.

Three of the dead were from the same family.

As emergency responders rushed to the scene of the attack, a third bomb went off, but did not cause any casualties, Mayor Shallal Abdul told AFP.

"The two car bombs went off simultaneously, and bear the fingerprints of Al Qaeda," a police major, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

Tuz Khurmatu is a majority Kurdish town which lies in a disputed area of northern Iraq, where both Iraq s autonomous Kurdish region and the central government in Baghdad vie for power.

It is frequently hit by deadly attacks.

Two more near-simultaneous car bombs went off in Khales, a restive town north of Baghdad, as a police patrol was passing, killing five people, including a policeman, officials said.

The attack, which struck in area filled with car dealerships, also wounded 15 others, including four policemen.

Another car bomb in Muqdadiyah, north of Baghdad, killed four people.

Police meanwhile found the bodies of three blindfolded women bearing multiple gunshot wounds to the head, execution-style, at an empty plot in a Shiite-majority neighbourhood in northeast Baghdad.

A police officer and a medical official said initial investigations showed the women were shot earlier on Thursday.

Summary executions were commonplace at the height of the Sunni-Shiite conflict in 2006-2007, when many thousands died.

Also on Thursday, gunmen killed a soldier and wounded two others in an attack targeting their patrol in the northern city of Mosul, while a roadside bomb targeting an army patrol northwest of the city left a soldier dead and two others wounded, officials said.

And two separate gun attacks and a roadside bombing north of the capital killed five people, including an anti-Qaeda militiaman, police and doctors said.

From late 2006 onwards, Sunni tribal militias, known as the Sahwa, turned against their co-religionists in Al Qaeda and sided with the US military, helping to turn the tide of Iraq s bloody insurgency.

But Sunni militants view the Sahwa as traitors and frequently target them.

Attacks so far in October have killed more than 730 people, according to an AFP tally.

The government has come under criticism for not doing more to address grievances in the Sunni Arab community over alleged ill treatment at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities.

Palestinian killed in Israeli forces attack

An army spokeswoman could not immediately confirm the incident.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli forces killed a Palestinian during the night in a village close to the West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian medics and security officials said Thursday.

Ahmad Tazazaa, 22, died as Israeli armed forces made arrests at Kabatya, south of Jenin.

The Palestinian officials said Israeli troops entered the village during the night to make arrests but were pelted with stones by residents.

They then opened fire, hitting Tazazaa in the chest. Four people were arrested.

An army spokeswoman could not immediately confirm the incident.

According to Israeli public radio, which announced that a young Palestinian was killed in Kabatya, the village is a stronghold of the Islamic Jihad militant group.

Thousands of Indonesian workers go on strike

Unions are calling for hefty pay hikes as the cost of living skyrockets due to surging inflation.

JAKARTA (AFP) - Tens of thousands of workers went on strike across Indonesia Thursday, in the latest industrial action to hit Southeast Asia s top economy as its citizens seek a greater share of the spoils from stellar growth.

Unions are calling for hefty pay hikes as the cost of living skyrockets due to surging inflation, which has been driven up in recent months due to an unpopular fuel price hike.

Factories producing everything from clothes to electronics, often for international companies, stopped operations as workers across the archipelago of more than 17,000 islands downed tools.

Union leaders said that 1.5 million people took part in the strike on the main island of Java alone. Their figures are usually higher than those given by the police, which said early reports indicated 60,000 had taken part in the capital and surrounding districts.

In the manufacturing hub of Bekasi just outside Jakarta, large groups of workers sat in groups outside factories, brandishing banners that read: "Hike our wages by 50 percent".

"Life here in Bekasi is very expensive," said Muhammed Muhklas, 26, who works at a factory producing pharmaceuticals.

"We have to pay for housing, for food, and two million rupiah (a salary of around $175) a month doesn t cover our everyday needs," he said.

Security was tight with more than 1,500 police on duty in Bekasi and some 17,000 mobilised in Jakarta.

"All factories in Java s industrial hubs have stopped," said Said Iqbal, chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union, adding that the strike would affect 20 of the nation s 34 provinces.

With inflation hitting 8.4 percent year-on-year in September, Iqbal said ordinary people were deeply concerned over the rising cost of living.

"Many workers who could not afford their rents have had to move out of their homes and live under bridges and in sewers. They are eating instant noodles instead of rice."

Workers say they have been hard hit by the government s decision in June to hike petrol prices by 44 percent and diesel by 22 percent, a move aimed at reducing subsidies that were gobbling up the state budget.

Workers are demanding "just a decent pay raise to compensate for inflation", said Iqbal, adding: "We labourers have contributed so much to the economy, why are we trampled upon?"

Strikes and protests by Indonesian workers have been on the rise as they demand higher wages at a time the economy is booming, clocking up average annual growth of above six percent in recent years.

Industrial action typical heats up in October and November as local governments decide on minimum wages for the following year in their areas.

Workers in Jakarta this year received a 44 percent increase in minimum salaries to 2.2 million rupiah ($200) a month, and others across the country have also receive sizeable raises.

Jakarta is due to decide on its new minimum wage between November 1 and 20, according to Iqbal, who said unions were calling for it to be hiked to 3.7 million rupiah.

However employers have expressed concerns that big salary hikes are denting profits and could lead foreign investors to take their business to neighbouring Asian countries.

The government has also raised concerns about soaring wages, particularly at a time when growth is slowing, and there has been recent economic turbulence due to fears that the US may reduce its stimulus programme.

Nevertheless, Indonesian factory workers remain some of the lowest-paid in Asia, often earning less than their counterparts in China or India.

Israeli city divided by religion after close vote

But the protests go far beyond the alleged election fraud.

BEIT SHEMESH, Israel (AP) After a contentious mayoral election between secular and ultra-Orthodox rivals, this deeply divided city has become a flashpoint for a religious struggle that is threatening to tear Israel apart.

Claiming the election was stolen, secular and moderately religious residents of Beit Shemesh are arranging large demonstrations against the ultra-Orthodox mayor, demanding a new vote and even suggesting the city be split in two.

But the protests go far beyond the alleged election fraud. They cut at the very nature of Israel as it tries to maintain its character as both a Jewish state and a pluralistic democracy.

"I really feel like they (the ultra-Orthodox) are trying to conquer our city. It s not  live and let live.  They are pushing us out," said Etti Amos, 56, who has lived in Beit Shemesh since her family emigrated from Morocco when she was a child. She said her three children have left town because they saw no future.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up about 10 percent of Israel s population. Maintaining a strict lifestyle that revolves around prayer, most live in ultra-Orthodox dominated towns or in insular neighborhoods in larger cities like Jerusalem.

While generally keeping to themselves, they often face resentment from the general public for shirking compulsory military service while receiving taxpayer stipends to pursue religious studies. They have also caused controversy by trying to force their conservative lifestyle on others.

Beit Shemesh, a city of about 100,000 west of Jerusalem, is split almost equally between the ultra-Orthodox and the others

a vibrant mixture of secular, modern Orthodox, Russian and American immigrants and Jews of Middle Eastern descent who all coexist peacefully. Frictions have increased as neighborhoods have begun to overlap.

Residents also say that the ultra-Orthodox mayor has neglected their needs, reneging on promises to build a sports stadium, a cultural center and a library, while funneling resources and construction projects almost exclusively to his own community.

"If the current planning policies continue to be as they have, there will be no need for an election in 2018 because the ultra-Orthodox will already be a clear majority," said Daniel Goldman, a modern Orthodox religious activist. "There is a constant undercurrent of tension and the more the ultra-Orthodox grow, the more influence they wield in City Hall, the more we feel uncomfortable."

Last week s municipal election highlighted the divisions. Secular challenger Eli Cohen said the campaign should have focused on the mismanagement by incumbent Mayor Moshe Abutbul. Instead, it became about religion.

Official results show voters lined up almost entirely along religious affiliation. Ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods voted overwhelmingly for Abutbul, while other areas supported Cohen, with a little more than 900 votes separating them.

Dozens of witnesses have alleged fraud, including ballots that were damaged and disqualified, and residents with questionable identification trying to vote more than once.
About 2,000 people demonstrated late Tuesday, calling for a new election.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said eight people have been charged with voter fraud after being found with 200 fake ID cards.

Abutbul rejects the accusations and says he won fairly. He boasts of paving roads and building malls and restaurants that cater to secular residents and says he will continue to serve everyone equally.

"Even if they need to have a revote at one or two ballot boxes, the results will stay the same," he told The Associated Press. "The city will stay the same city. There is room for everyone. ... I build for everyone. Those who will try to distort my image will face stiff resistance."

He said those who questioned the election were "making it such that good people will not come to the city."
With their high birth rates, the ultra-Orthodox are the largest growing segment of Israeli society. Many see Beit Shemesh as a battle that could signal trends in the country.

In its most extreme neighborhoods, the ultra-Orthodox have erected signs calling for the separation of sexes on the sidewalks, dispatched "modesty patrols" to enforce a chaste female appearance, and hurled stones at offenders and outsiders.

Other signs exhort women to dress in closed-necked, long-sleeved blouses and long skirts, and announce that computers and Internet connections are prohibited.

In the most famous case, an 8-year-old girl was assaulted two years ago by extremists who spat on her and called her a whore for walking through their neighborhood in an "immodest" fashion.

The ultra-Orthodox say these are isolated events blown out of proportion by a secular media that seeks to defame them. Most insist they embrace fellow Jews and harbor no ill will. But at the same time, they see a future in which Beit Shemesh will become the biggest ultra-Orthodox city in Israel.

It s a sentiment that has Avi Vakhnin, a 47-year-old merchant who has lived his whole life in Beit Shemesh, saying he feels like he is in "mourning" after the election.

"They ve taken over and got funding from the government to build new buildings while I can t pay for my mortgage," he said. "But we are not going to give up. It s going to be a war."

Indian troops martyr 11 Kashmiris in October

ISLAMABAD: Indian troops in their continued acts of state terrorism, martyred 11 Kashmiris during the last month of October in occupied Kashmir.

According to Kashmir Media Service, 28 Kashmiris were critically injured when Indian police and paramilitary personnel used brute force against peaceful demonstrators in the occupied territory and arrested 39 civilians, mostly youth during the month.

The paramilitary personnel molested two women while one youth was disappeared during the period. Meanwhile, the Indian police placed the Tehreek-e-Hurriyet Jammu and Kashmir leaders, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Ayaz Akbar Mirajuddin Kalwal and Pir Saifullah under house while sealed all the areas of Sopore where the veteran Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani is to address a protest rally after Juma prayers.

Israel targets Syria air base: report

DUBAI:  Israel has hit a Syrian air base in the northern province of Latakia, targeting a shipment of surface-to-surface missiles destined for Lebanon’s Shiite movement Hezbollah, Al-Arabiya television reported Thursday.

A US official confirmed to AFP that “there was an Israeli strike” but gave no detail on the location or the target.

“Historically targets have been missiles transferred to Hezbollah,” allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the official said.

Citing unnamed “exclusive sources” Dubai-based pan-Arab Al-Arabiya said on its website: “Israel was behind a series of explosions that rocked a Syrian air base in the northern Latakia province.”

“The bombing targeted a shipment of surface-to-air missiles (SAM) that was headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon,” the report said.

Israeli media carried similar reports quoting Al-Arabiya, which is Saudi owned.

Israeli government officials contacted by AFP refused to comment on the reports.
Meanwhile, Israeli news website Ynet quoted Lebanon’s MTV, which it said cited unnamed sources in Jerusalem as saying Turkey was behind the Latakia attack, in revenge for the recent shooting down of a Turkish plane in the same area.

But CNN cited an unnamed US administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying Israeli warplanes carried out the attack.

CNN quoted the official as saying the target was missiles and related equipment the Israelis felt might be transferred to Hezbollah.

Al-Arabiya quoted the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying that explosions took place Wednesday near Latakia.

“Several explosions were heard in an air defence base in the Snubar Jableh area,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

All Syria chemical weapons placed under seal: watchdog

DAMASCUS: Syria’s entire declared stock of chemical weapons has been placed under seal, inspectors said Thursday, as international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi wrapped up a visit to muster support for peace talks.

“All stocks of chemical weapons and agents have been placed under seals that are impossible to break,” Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons spokesman Christian Chartier said, adding that the seals were “tamper proof.”

“These are 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents (which can be used to make weapons) and 290 tonnes of chemical weapons,” Chartier told AFP in The Hague.

The OPCW said earlier that Syria’s declared chemical arms production equipment had been completely destroyed.

Inspectors had until Friday to visit all chemical sites and destroy all production and filling equipment in accordance with a timeline laid down by the OPCW and a UN Security Council resolution.

The resolution stating that the arsenal must be destroyed by mid-2014, was agreed by the United States and Russia to avert military strikes on Syria after deadly chemical weapons attacks near Damascus in August.

The West blamed those attacks, which killed hundreds of people, on President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which denied all responsibility, instead blaming the attack on rebels.

Washington said it was “increasingly confident” the chemical arsenal would be eliminated by June 30th of next year.

“Our target dates are ambitious but they are achievable. We have the support of the international community,” Thomas Countryman, a senior State Department official in charge of non-proliferation issues, told US lawmakers.

OPCW head of field operations, Jerry Smith, told the BBC his team had “personally observed all the destruction activities.”

“They are not now in a position to conduct any further production or mixing of chemical weapons.”

Smith said inspectors went to all but two of Syria’s 23 chemical weapons sites, and that the contents of the last two sites — in areas considered too dangerous to visit — had been moved to sites the inspectors did check.

“Therefore we have visited and seen the destruction of all Syria’s declared chemical weapons (production) capability,” he said.

IHS Jane’s Consulting hailed the inspection “milestone” but cautioned that the work was far from over, noting that Syria’s entire existing chemical arsenal is still under regime control.

“This is a very hurried process that has significant and real uncertainty associated with it. Only when the weapons are destroyed or removed from Syria will it be complete,” IHS Jane’s director David Reeths told AFP.