Overnight News Digest is a daily series posting at approximately midnight Eastern. We have a staff of various editors, including rotating guest spots, and we are led by the irreplaceable Neon Vincent. We give a tip of our hats to Magnifico, our founder and long-term leader, and ek hornbeck, our former leader.
Meteor Blades's Green Diary Rescue & Open Thread front page diary often links to that evening's OND.
A spin around the world tonight with a layover in Salt Lake City, and some eco and human rights articles.
THE WAR ZONE
Afghanistan
US wins minds, Afghan hearts are lost
The big Afghanistan debate in Washington is not over whether more troops are needed, but just who they should be: Americans or Afghans - "us" or "them". Having just spent time in Afghanistan seeing how things stand, I wouldn't bet on "them".
Frankly, I wouldn't bet on "us" either. In eight years, American troops have worn out their welcome. Their very presence now incites opposition, but that's another story. It's "them" - the Afghans - I want to talk about.
Afghans are Afghans. They have their own history, their own culture, their own habitual ways of thinking and behaving, all complicated by a modern experience of decades of war, displacement, abject poverty, and incessant meddling by foreign governments near and far - of which the United States has been the most powerful and persistent. Afghans do not think or act like Americans. Yet Americans in power refuse to grasp that inconvenient point.
In the heat of this summer, I went out to the training fields near Kabul where Afghan army recruits are put through their paces, and it was quickly evident just what's getting lost in translation. Our trainers, soldiers from the Illinois National Guard, were masterful. Professional and highly skilled, they were dedicated to carrying out their mission - and doing the job well. They were also big, strong, camouflaged, combat-booted, supersized American men, their bodies swollen by flack jackets and lashed with knives, handguns, and god only knows what else. Any American could be proud of their commitment to tough duty.
Prisoner Abuse Continues at Bagram Prison in Afghanistan
US President Barack Obama has spoken out against CIA prisoner abuse and wants to close Guantanamo. But he tolerates the existence of Bagram military prison in Afghanistan, where more than 600 people are being held without charge. The facility makes Guantanamo look like a "nice hotel," in the words of one military prosecutor.
The day that Raymond Azar was taken by force to Bagram was a quiet day in Kabul. There were no attacks and the sun was shining.
Azar, who is originally from Lebanon, is the manager of a construction company. He was on his way to Camp Eggers, the American military base near the presidential palace, when 10 armed FBI agents suddenly surrounded him.
The men, all wearing bulletproof vests, put him in handcuffs, tied him up and pushed him into an SUV. Two hours later, they unloaded Azar at the Bagram military prison 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Kabul.
Pakistan
'No guarantee that Pak will not use US tech against India'
India’s worst fear in the ongoing US-led war on terror along the Pak-Afghan border is Pakistan accessing and using American technology
and aid to augment its conventional military strength against this country, but does the Obama administration’s new "Af-Pak strategy" address this concern?
According to Bruce Riedel, the former CIA official whom President Barack Obama had entrusted with the responsibility of giving shape to his Afghanistan strategy, there is no foolproof guarantee against Pakistan transferring US technology to its advantage against India.
Kashmir police use tear gas to break up Eid protests
Riot police in the summer capital Srinagar fired volleys of tear gas shells at Muslim demonstrators chanting 'We want freedom' and 'Allah is greater', an AFP correspondent saw.
The crowd tried to march to the residence of hardline Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, who is under house arrest.
They retaliated against the police with stone pelting and over 25 people, including four policemen, were injured in ensuing clashes, a police officer said, refusing to be named.
Several thousand Muslims, including women and children, gathered to offer Eid prayers inside a ground near the 'martyrs graveyard' in Srinagar where many of those killed in the 20-year-old insurgency against Indian rule in the Muslim-majority region are buried.
Iraq
Apparently, Iraq is no longer important in world news. Not a story to be seen in any newspaper I looked at (14?) around the world.
Other
Islamists in Pakistan Recruit Entire Families from Europe
The German government is trying to secure the release of a group of suspected German Islamists who were arrested by Pakistani authorities while making their way to a jihadist colony in the Waziristan region along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Entire families from Germany are moving to the region to join the jihad.
The young speaker, who calls himself "Abu Adam," praises the stay in the mountains -- almost as if he were shooting an ad for a family holiday camp. "Doesn't it appeal to you? We warmly invite you to join us!" Abu Adam says, raising his index finger. He lists all the things this earthly paradise has to offer: hospitals, doctors, pharmacies as well as a daycare center and school -- all, of course, "a long way from the front." After all, they don't want the children to be woken up by the roar of guns.
The latest recruitment video from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is a half-hour in length and is addressed to our "beloved" brothers and sisters back in Germany. The video is presented by, among others, Mounir Chouka, alias "Abu Adam," who grew up in the western German city of Bonn.
The video shows shacks erected against a backdrop of lush greenery and craggy rock formations. Women wearing blue burqas are seen surrounded by their children. One small girl is holding an artillery gun.
Welcome to the wild world of Waziristan, the region along the Afghan-Pakistani border controlled by Pashtun tribes, al-Qaida and other splinter groups which has become a regular target of US drones and their remote-controlled missiles.
AROUND THE WORLD
Signs of strife at home for Chinese
PRESIDENT Hu Jintao has launched a push to bolster China's world standing, leaving behind rare signs of strife within the Communist Party over the appointment of his successor.
Mr Hu will step up China's attempt to influence global political, economic and climate policies as he makes a string of visits to UN summits and the G20 this week, holding talks with US President Barack Obama and meeting Japan's new Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, for the first time.
China, the de facto leader of the developing world, is pushing for rich countries to take a greater share of the financial burden of climate change.
"It's the first time for a Chinese leader to attend so many summit meetings in one visit since China resumed its status in the United Nations in 1971," said Liu Zhenmin, deputy ambassador for China at theUN.
Stop bullying us Australia, says Fiji PM Frank Bainimarama
FIJI'S controversial military leader Frank Bainimarama says he knows what Australia is up to and he isn't impressed.
The self-appointed prime minister has hit out at the Rudd government's latest attempt to curb his rule by calling for the United Nations to stop hiring his peacekeepers.
The move is designed to put the squeeze on Bainimarama and his military government, which has been in power since a December 2006 coup and has frustrated world powers by refusing to move quickly towards elections and democracy.
Cutting its peacekeeping role would strike at the heart of the regime, which has garnered much of its financial strength and domestic influence from UN employment of its powerful troop base.
But the leader says he's "sick of being bullied'' by Australia.
Sacked for taking maternity leave
Women are being sacked for taking maternity leave, and told to quit if they can't juggle family and the work roster, the Fair Work Ombudsman's office has found.
The Ombudsman was given the power to investigate discrimination for the first time in July and is already receiving 30 complaints a week, and investigating 40 serious cases.
The Ombudsman's chief counsel, Natalie James, said she was concerned at the number of women losing their jobs for taking maternity leave.
''Some employers are attempting to avoid their obligations to women when they return to work after the birth of a child,'' she told a conference.
India Closer to First Green Party
A PROMINENT Indian environmentalist is a step closer to establishing India's first dedicated environmental party.
In a country that tends to put development and growth needs before environmental considerations, Subhas Dutta is known for championing a succession of green causes, including saving a renowned green space in Kolkata and forcing authorities to ban 60,000 old cars from the West Bengal city.
''Green activism in India is localised and scattered in the form of pressure groups in different parts of the country,'' Mr Dutta said. ''There is no united green movement.''
In a country where almost a third of the billion-strong population live below the poverty line, environmental issues can be a tough sell. Recycling and other household measures to combat climate change are largely an anathema. The Indian Government has been sceptical about Western nations' exhortations on climate change.
Saeed under 'house arrest', was Pak army's iftar guest
Two FIRs against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and "restrictions" on his movements may not be more than eyewash. The 26/11
mastermind remains a valuable "asset" for Pakistan's military establishment and was an esteemed guest at an iftar hosted by the army's 10th corps.
The JuD boss, who is also the head of the terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, is understood to have been present at the iftar held on September 12. The 10th corps is headquartered in Rawalpindi and is seen to be responsible for the Kashmir sector with a role in pushing infiltrators across the Line of Control into J&K. The LeT is a major recruiter of jihadis sent into J&K.
Official sources said the reports about Saeed's presence at the iftar only indicated how far the Pakistani authorities were from taking action against the man whom India has accused of planning the attacks on Mumbai.
The JuD chief is seen to be virtually a part of the military-ISI set up and his views can even count in army postings in the sectors that face J&K.
India seemingly wants this man in Cuba, and there is constant tension between these two countries that have so much in common.
China publishes white paper on Xinjiang, saying national unity, stability are "lifeblood" for development
The Chinese government Monday published a white paper on the development and progress in northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, stressing national unification, ethnic unity, social stability are the "lifeblood" for the region's development and progress.
The paper, released by the State Council Information Office, reviewed the profound changes that have taken place in the past 60 years in Xinjiang, which accounts for about one sixth of the country's land territory.
It also slammed the "East Turkistan" forces for seriously disrupting Xinjiang's development and progress by trumpeting separatism and plotting and organizing a number of bloody incidents of terror and violence.
Beijing starts A/H1N1 flu vaccinations
The national capital Beijing took the lead in the country to start A/H1N1 flu vaccination program Monday, the municipal health authorities announced.
Students due to take part in the National Day celebrations on Oct. 1 are the first to be immunized, a municipal health bureau official said.
The health bureau has deployed 500 medical staff in 49 teams to carry out vaccinations in colleges, middle and primary schools in the city, he said.
The vaccination is funded by the municipal government and is free. Citizens can decide for themselves if they want the vaccination, he said.
China in Laos: Counting the cost of progress
At Kunming's long-distance bus station, a sleeper bus crammed with Chinese laborers edges toward the exit, en-route to the Laotian capital of Vientiane. Despite the prospect of an uncomfortable 40-hour journey ahead, this group of wiry, chain-smoking men is buoyed by the expectation of a reasonable salary and a chance to take China's economic miracle southward. "Laos is poor and dirty," says one. "But we have many friends there already. We can make money and help make Laos more like China."
The resource-rich Golden Triangle area of northern Laos, Thailand and Myanmar is no stranger to Chinese influence. Just as the Chin Haw - Han and Hui Chinese from Yunnan province - first arrived in Laos in the 19th century looking to get fat off the land, so a new wave of migrants from Yunnan and further afield is now making a beeline for the same region, looking to take advantage of opportunities thrown up by modern China's long and powerful economic arm.
China's role in the development of northern Laos has become increasingly marked in recent years. A cooperation agreement signed in 1997 signaled a break from the hostility of the 1980s, when Laos allied with China's then adversary Vietnam. By 2007, China was responsible for nearly 40% of investment projects in Laos, and, according to the Laotian government, Chinese direct investment totaled over US$1.1 billion by the end of August that year.
Nigeria warns of further unrest from Islamist sect
Members of a radical Islamist sect that staged an uprising in northern Nigeria in which at least 800 people died are preparing further attacks, a top security official said on Monday.
Kano State prisons chief Lawan Abubakar said the Boko Haram sect are regrouping to attack prisons in Kano city holding 58 suspected sect members.
The 58 are facing treason charges after a recent crackdown on the group, which sparked the bloody uprising in several northern states in July.
"From security reports at our disposal, the Boko Haram sect is regrouping in Kano and members of the sect are hatching a grand plan to attack prisons in the state to free their colleagues arrested during the violence," Abubakar told reporters.
Airlines vow to halve carbon emissions by 2050
The aviation industry will tomorrow make a dramatic pledge to slash carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2050 in a move that will force up air fares and spark a green technology race among aircraft manufacturers.
The British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, will unveil an agreement between airlines, airports and aircraft companies to cut emissions to 50% below 2005 levels by 2050. In a bid to seize the initiative from environmental groups clamouring for higher taxes on the industry, the plan will be presented to world leaders at the United Nations forum on climate change in New York.
Airlines have been accused of dragging their heels over climate change, but the strategic shift reflects industry concerns that it could be ambushed at the global warming summit in Copenhagen in December if it does not address its growing emissions.
Extra $1bn for healthcare in world's 72 poorest nations
Gordon Brown will this week announce an extra $1bn to pay for more vaccines and immunisation for children in the developing world and boost healthcare systems.
The money – nearly half of which will come from the UK – will be channelled through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi), which already funds major programmes to protect children from diseases including measles, meningitis, pneumonia and diphtheria. But in a move away from its original remit, Gavi will distribute the money not only to support vaccination but also to improve health systems in the 72 poorest countries in the world.
Countries will apply to Gavi for the funds to help them carry out national plans to train more medics and clinic staff and improve their clinics' buildings and equipment. The cash will be available to help governments improve drug supplies, so that essential medicines reach people in remote areas as well as major cities, and pay for drugs they need but cannot afford.
Obama wants China and Germany to spend more and US less debt addict
The summit will be held in the former steelmaking centre of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, marking the third time in less than a year that leaders of countries accounting for about 85% of the world economy will have met to coordinate their responses to the crisis.
The US is proposing a broad new economic framework that it hopes the G20 will adopt, according to a letter by a top White House adviser. Obama said the US economy was recovering, even if unemployment remained high, and now was the time to rebalance the global economy after decades of US over-consumption.
"We can't go back to the era where the Chinese or the Germans or other countries just are selling everything to us, we're taking out a bunch of credit card debt or home equity loans, but we're not selling anything to them" Obama said in an interview with CNN television.
A word from the G20, courtesy of MercoPress.
AROUND THE USA
Utah sees boom in concealed weapon permits
Utah's concealed-weapon permits are a hot seller this year, and more than half of the permittees are from other states.
So far, 57,104 people had paid the $35 fee and applied for a permit to carry a concealed gun, and 56,370 got that permission, according to Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification figures through Aug. 31. That's up sharply from last year's 44,891 applications. During the first five years of this decade, only about 7,000 to 10,000 people applied each year.
"It's been a really crazy year for us in the last year, to say the least," the bureau's Lt. Doug Anderson told lawmakers at a Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee meeting last week.
The bureau expects to process 70,000 applications next year, Anderson said. It has added eight employees this year to deal with the backlog. Currently it takes 58 days to issue each permit.
Finance takes up health reform, Hatch wants changes
All of these ideas are key ways Democrats say they will insure most Americans and try to keep long term costs
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in check, while Republicans see them as proof of unnecessary government intervention.
With Democrats holding 13 of the 23 seats on the committee, these amendments will likely fall short. But in many cases, the goal for Utah's senator is not to mold the bill, but to use the amendments to make a political point.
This may well be the summary of the current Republican congressional strategy.
Fly ash disposal plans change
Developers of a controversial coal-fired power plant in Sevier County now intend to transport and dispose of the proposed facility's fly ash in Carbon County and Tooele County landfills rather than close to home.
"Our thinking is to proceed with construction and transport the waste out of the county" -- once the hotly contested venture clears its last legal hurdles, said Sevier Power Co. executive Bruce Taylor.
Late last week, power company attorney Brian Burnett wrote Sevier County Commissioners, informing them that Sevier Power was withdrawing its request to pursue an 11-acre landfill near Highway 24, about 35 miles from the proposed 270-megawatt Sigurd facility.
Burnett outlined two options for Sevier Power's fly ash disposal: Tooele County's Wasatch Regional Landfill and Carbon County's ECDC landfill.
Both sites are operated by Republic Services, which touts itself as the second largest non-hazardous solid waste management company in the United States.
A new? coal fire plant? Good to know that fly ash is non-hazardous. /snark
Meth mixed in 2-liter bottles makes its way into Iowa
Crackdowns on methamphetamine use in Iowa have typically focused on out-of-state smugglers or on makeshift labs hidden in rural areas.
Now production uses 2-liter soda bottles.
State drug-control authorities say they have detected the first signs that "shake-and-bake" meth is now being produced in Iowa.
This is a dangerous meth-making method that produces small batches of the illegal stimulant in a short period. The technique is an apparent attempt to skirt restrictions on the purchase of the cold and allergy medicines that contain the decongestant pseudoephedrine, a key component of meth.
Authorities worry that shake-and-bake, the use of which has grown in southern states, poses danger not only to users but also to bottle hunters who comb ditches and trash cans for redeemable containers.
The hell with new math, this is the new meth.
Utah hazardous waste incinerator faces penalties
An incinerator that burns hazardous material from Utah and around the West is facing more than $500,000 in penalties for environmental violations.
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality issued 48 violations against Clean Harbors Aragonite LLC in Utah's West Desert for problems in 2007-08.
Ten of the violations had a "major" potential for harm, including several fires at the facility. It is Utah's only large-scale incinerator for hazardous materials.
In a deal scheduled to be formally adopted next month, the DEQ is proposing that the company face $519,697 in penalties. That includes a cash payment of $153,000 and requirements to do several projects meant to benefit the environment and resolve ongoing problems at the site.
The proposal is part of a settlement negotiated between the state and the company.
OTHER
Political Cartoons
Zapiro at the Main and Guardian - new find from South Africa
Sports Headlines
Gary Ablett wins precious Brownlow medal that eluded dad I must share the first line: "GARY Ablett's Brownlow Medal day started with a wardrobe malfunction but there were no hiccups last night in his third bid to win Australian football's greatest prize."