2 Anggota Hizbullah Mengaku Jadi Mata-mata CIA

Pemimpin kelompok Hizbullah Hassan Nasrallah mengungkapkan, dua anggota kelompoknya telah mengaku bekerja sebagai mata-mata untuk badan intelijen Amerika Serikat, CIA.

Nasrallah menolak menyebutkan identitas kedua orang tersebut. Namun dikatakannya, saat ini ada pula orang ketiga yang sedang diselidiki karena diduga menjadi mata-mata untuk CIA.

"Hasil penyelidikan kami telah menemukan bahwa perwira-perwira intelijen (CIA) telah merekrut dua anggota kami secara terpisah, yang tidak akan kami sebutkan namanya guna menghormati privasi keluarga mereka," kata Nasrallah.

"Yang pertama mengaku dia direkrut lima bulan lalu... sementara yang kedua mengaku dia telah direkrut sebelum itu," tutur Nasrallah seperti dilansir kantor berita AFP, Sabtu (25/6/2011).

Menurutnya, kedua anggota Hizbullah itu direkrut oleh agen-agen CIA yang menyamar sebagai diplomat-diplomat di kedutaan AS di Beirut, Libanon. Nasrallah pun menyebut kedutaan AS di Beirut sebagai "sarang mata-mata".

Namun seorang jurubicara kedutaan AS di Beirut menyatakan tuduhan Nasrallah tersebut tidak mempunyai dasar. "Ini merupakan tuduhan-tuduhan kosong Hizbullah yang berkali-kali telah kami dengar," ujar jurubicara itu.

Nasrallah juga mengatakan, pihaknya tengah menyelidiki apakah seorang anggota Hizbullah lainnya juga telah direkrut oleh CIA, Mossad (badan intelijen Israel) atau badan intelijen sebuah negara Eropa. | detiknews

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50,000 flee storm in Philippines

Some 50,000 people were in evacuation centres in the Philippines on Friday after fleeing their homes following days of torrential rains caused by Tropical Storm Meari, officials said.

More than 3,200 people fled their homes overnight in the capital Manila alone as the storm added to seasonal monsoon rains, bringing massive flooding to city streets, the civil defence agency said.

The swift evacuation of Manila residents as the waters rose overnight prevented any deaths, said Benito Ramos, executive director of the official National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

"It is a good thing we pre-positioned rubber boats. Thankfully, people reacted well. When we told them to evacuate, they evacuated," Ramos said.

However 11 people were still missing in or near the less-developed Bicol peninsula southeast of Manila that bore the brunt of Meari as it brushed past the eastern side of this country, the council added.

The missing included 10 fishermen who ventured out to sea from the island of Catanduanes before Meari struck and a woman swept away by flash flooding in another part of Bicol, a council said.

The rains, which have been falling for most of the week, intensified on Thursday, forcing people to flee their homes, fearing floods and landslides.

Most schools in and around Manila cancelled classes on Friday due to the flooding with debris blocking many streets, authorities said.

Science Department Undersecretary Graciano Yumul said that rain would further intensify over the main island of Luzon where Manila is located, even though the storm was moving away from the Philippines towards Taiwan.

The government weather station reported that Meari had strengthened as it moved northwest towards Taiwan, with gusts of 100 kilometres (60 miles) per hour.

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Obama says pulling 33,000 troops out of Afghanistan

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he will withdraw 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by year`s end and a total of 33,000 by the summer of 2012.

In a nationally televised speech outlining a shift in U.S. policy after a decade of war, Obama said that after the initial reduction, more troops will be pulled out of Afghanistan at a steady pace as Afghans take over their own security by 2014.

"America, it is time to focus on nation-building here at home," he said.

Obama said the United States is able to remove troops as al Qaeda is under more pressure than at any time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that precipitated the war.

He said the United States will join initiatives aimed at reconciling the Afghan people, including the Taliban, as the Afghan government and security forces are strengthened.

"This is the beginning -- but not the end -- of our effort to wind down this war," Obama said, saying huge challenges remain there.

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Russian president emphasizes Iran`s right to nuclear energy

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev once again reiterated on Iran`s right to nuclear energy for civilian purposes.

President Medvedev made the remark in a joint press conference with the visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao in Moscow on Thursday.

The Russian president also underscored on the necessity for resolving Iran`s nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations.

Russia and China, two member-states of the Group 5+1 unlike US and its western allies support Iran`s nuclear rights and have called for settling Iran`s nuclear issue through dialogue.

Moscow and Beijing have recently begun fresh diplomatic efforts aimed at resumption of talks between Iran and Group 5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany).

Commenting on North Korea`s nuclear program, President Medvedev said that there are currently no obstacles in the way of resuming six-party talks.

In another part of his press conference, Medvedev said that Moscow and Beijing are determined to increase the volume of their trade transactions to 150 billion dollars by 2015 and to 200 billion dollars by 2020.

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RI, China hold joint anti-terrorism exercise

Indonesian and Chinese special military forces began a joint anti-terrorism exercise here on Monday.

"The first military exercise so far will not only give a strategic effect on the region but internationally," China`s Jinan Military Command chief of staff Lt. Gen. Zhao Zonggi said.

Speaking at the opening of the joint exercise code-named "Sharp Knife 2011" he said the exercise was a concrete step in the strategic partnership that had been agreed by the two countries especially in the field of defense.

"The exercise is the follow up of the agreement between the two heads of state," he said.

He said he hoped the joint exercise, which is the first held by the Indonesian and Chinese militaries especially in anti-terrorism, could become a strategic milestone for the two countries` better and increasing relations and cooperation in the future "especially in dealing with terrorism that has become an international threat."

He said through the exercise the two sides could learn from each other and exchange experiences and knowledge as well as capability in technical as well as tactical terms.

The chief of the army`s special forces, Maj. Gen. Lodewijk Freidrich Paulus, meanwhile said the cooperation between the two countries` special forces had been pioneered since 2006 through consultation forums.

"Cooperation with a number of countries gives benefit to the two sides including with China that has grown fast in all fields including in the field of defense," he said.

Lodewijk said changes in strategic environment at regional as well as global levels had to be closely monitored, anticipated and responded quickly and correctly.

"Therefore through this exercise, swift and correct response could be created for the two countries to deal with developing threats, factual as well as potential," he said.

Lodewijk said through the exercise the two sides could fill each other`s gaps and develop the potentials they have to meet their needs for dealing with any threat.

The exercise will be carried out at the army`s special force Kopassus training center in Batujajar until June 19.

The exercises to be carried out include sniping, reaction 1 to 4 shooting, tire house raid, close-range combat techniques, method of entry, hostage-releasing tactics and techniques, static and free fall parachute jumping and a terrorism case study.

The exercise is aimed at increasing the capability and skills of Kopassus and People`s Liberation Army`s (PLA) personnel in special operations.

It is also aimed at improving the two parties` capability in anticipating terrorist threats.

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Senior Gaddafi aide wounded in NATO strike-rebel

A Libyan rebel military spokesman said a senior aide to leader Muammar Gaddafi was wounded on Saturday in a NATO air strike on a city near Tripoli and was being treated in hospital.

There was no immediate confirmation that NATO air strikes had taken place near the capital on Saturday evening, or that any Gaddafi aide had been wounded.

However, several explosions were heard in Tripoli itself throughout the afternoon, as late as 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), suggesting NATO was ramping up attacks after a quiet morning.

Spokesman Ahmed Bani said the aide, who he named as El-Khouwildy el-Ahmeildy, was a member of Gaddafi`s Council of the Leaders of the Revolution and that his daughter was married to one of Gaddafi`s sons.

Bani, who defected from Gaddafi, said the raid took place at about 1900 GMT on Saturday.

"El-Khouwildy el-Ahmeildy has been hit in a NATO air strike on a city close to Tripoli, and he is now being treated in a hospital," Bani told Reuters by phone from Benghazi.

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