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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

World Blood Donor Day: Thanking those who save lives

By Ayesha Mehmood

June 14, 2010

"Every second, someone in the world needs blood.

And every step of the way, you have been there to fulfill that need.

Your generosity has been the hope and courage for thousands of those patients who suffer from Thalassemia. Thanks to your support, those with Thalassemia now continue to lead complete and full lives. All barriers have been brought down, and continue to be brought down, and many Thalassemic patients go on to do extraordinary things!

It is no doubt that blood is the vital need of all human beings. And this is most true for thalassemic patients.

Thank you for saving the lives of countless people. Thank you for being their hope. Thank you for being an abundant fountain of courage and support."

The above was a thank you card, sent to our regular blood donors to mark World Blood Donor Day. A little background:

World Blood Donor Day builds on the success of World Health Day 2000 which was devoted to the theme "Blood Saves Lives. Safe Blood Starts With Me". The enthusiasm and energy with which this day was celebrated indicated that there would be a positive response to an opportunity to give thanks to the millions of people who give the precious gift of life. It also builds on International Blood Donor Day organised annually by the International Federation of Blood Donor Organisations since 1995. – Courtesy: www.wbdd.org

Since 2005, June 14 is celebrated as World Blood Donor Day all over the world to thank millions of blood donors who have taken out time and donated blood for the needy. Being a Thalassemia patient, I know how important blood is for us. Getting blood after every 15 days is only possible because of the massive blood donors.

Blood is needed by many people around the world every second. This can be a mother giving birth, an accident victim, a boy with dengue fever or a father facing open heart surgery. And saving their lives wouldn't be possible without blood donors.  This saying certainly stands true: "You don't have to be batman to save lives!"

On behalf of the Thalessemia community, I would like to thank the people who have saved lives and plan to save them in the future. It is because of you we thalassemics have a healthy life!

Your blood saved my life, thank you!

Ayesha Mehmood is the official spokesperson of FAiTh (Fight Against Thalassemia). She actively blogs athttp://www.ayesha.thalassemia.com.pk/ and tweets @blessedAyesha

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Thursday, June 10, 2010

A reason to believe - by Shahzad Roy


January 28th, 2008

Source: Dawn

Op-Ed by Shahzad Roy


When I was 10 years old, I saw on the nine o'clock news on PTV a woman with a dupatta draped round her head saying, "Pakistan tareekh kay aik naazuk mor say guzar raha hai." Then I turned 20 and again saw a woman, this time not wearing a dupatta on her head, saying with eloquence on the nine o'clock news, "Pakistan tareekh kay aik naazuk mor say guzar raha hai".

Déjà vu… why? I tried to analyse the situation to find out how come Pakistan is still stuck at the naazuk mor even after the passage of many long years. I reached the conclusion that 50 per cent of our knowledge lies in asking the right question. Government functionaries, intelligentsia, armed forces, critics, human rights activists and, for that matter, all stakeholders ask questions. But they end up slinging mud at each other, for the simple reason that the questions they ask are never right in the first place.

The question usually asked is: "Why is the state of health and education in Pakistan in such dire straits?" The complacent response is: "At least we have some schools and a few hospitals. Something is better than nothing."

After pondering over the state of education and health in our country, I realised that the "something is better than nothing" view cannot apply to education and health. Just imagine, would so many youth have agreed to become suicide bombers if proper education had been provided to them by the state? If they had been only taught to ask the right questions and had inter-faith dialogue at the institutions they attended, they would have thought thrice before embarking on mindless missions and most definitely have refused to be used as a pawn in the hands of others.

When it comes to healthcare, a lukewarm (something) effort — by a doctor of questionable credentials (something), to cure a patient by giving him a substandard (something) medicine or injection — has a high probability of killing the patient rather than curing him.

Quality education is every citizen's right and its responsibility lies with the state. A paradigm shift is required in the mindset of state authorities, the people and the education system to save our future generations from destruction. The first step towards this shift would be changing the textbooks.

Just by building schools, training the teachers, increasing administrative controls, the issue of providing an education that makes a 'thinking' individual, will not be addressed. A student must learn from the textbook how to learn, change and inquire freely rather than becoming a "lakeer ka faqeer". If we want our future generations to ask the right questions then a culture of discussion, interaction, proactive thinking and asking questions needs to be encouraged.

It's high time that a quantum leap was taken in the education and health sectors. Nothing is as powerful as the idea itself, whose time has come.

The problems of education and healthcare are just the tip of the iceberg. Multiple interventions are required to turn the country around. To name a few: The state's failure to provide timely justice (more than 70,000 under-trial prisoners are languishing in Pakistani jails), housing, power, employment, communication, clean drinking water (without which 250,000 children die annually) has created problems that should prompt the rulers to declare an emergency.

Whenever these questions are raised or talked about, most of us say, "Oh bhai! This is Pakistan." My answer to this cliché is, where you live should not determine whether you live happily or live poorly and die.The difference between a developed or developing — rather declining — country is that people in the former are given a 'reason to believe' by the state and the media, that they are working to achieve and maintain a decent living. Whereas in the latter case, the state and the media fail to create this 'reason to believe' for the citizens. In the absence of this 'reason to believe', citizens lose a sense of direction and move and act aimlessly. The absence of this also leads to lack of thinking, questioning and movement by the citizens.

Only having a 'reason to believe' sets the ball rolling — slowly, but in the right direction. It is not strange when extraordinary people do extraordinary things. But when they have a 'reason to believe', even ordinary people start doing extraordinary things. That is precisely the moment when a group of people start turning into a great nation.

The writer, a pop singer, is president of Zindagi Trust, an organisation working for child welfare and education.

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Monday, June 7, 2010

Israel as a Strategic Liability?

By Anthony H. Cordesman

JUN 2, 2010

America's ties to Israel are not based primarily on U.S. strategic interests. At the best of times, an Israeli government that pursues the path to peace provides some intelligence, some minor advances in military technology, and a potential source of stabilizing military power that could help Arab states like Jordan. Even then, however, any actual Israeli military intervention in an Arab state could prove as destabilizing as beneficial. The fact is that the real motives behind America's commitment to Israel are moral and ethical. They are a reaction to the horrors of the Holocaust, to the entire history of Western anti-Semitism, and to the United States' failure to help German and European Jews during the period before it entered World War II. They are a product of the fact that Israel is a democracy that shares virtually all of the same values as the United States.

The U.S. commitment to Israel is not one that will be abandoned. The United States has made this repeatedly clear since it first recognized Israel as a state, and it has steadily strengthened the scale of its commitments since 1967. The United States has provided Israel with massive amounts of economic aid and still provides enough military assistance to preserve Israel's military superiority over its neighbors. The United States has made it clear that any U.S. support for Arab-Israeli peace efforts must be based on options that preserve Israel's security, and its recent announcements that it will consider "extended regional deterrence" are code words for a U.S. commitment that could guard Israel, as well as its neighbors, against an Iranian nuclear threat.

At the same time, the depth of America's moral commitment does not justify or excuse actions by an Israeli government that unnecessarily make Israel a strategic liability when it should remain an asset. It does not mean that the United States should extend support to an Israeli government when that government fails to credibly pursue peace with its neighbors. It does not mean that the United States has the slightest interest in supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, or that the United States should take a hard-line position on Jerusalem that would effectively make it a Jewish rather than a mixed city. It does not mean that the United States should be passive when Israel makes a series of major strategic blunders--such as persisting in the strategic bombing of Lebanon during the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, escalating its attack on Gaza long after it had achieved its key objectives, embarrassing the U.S. president by announcing the expansion of Israeli building programs in east Jerusalem at a critical moment in U.S. efforts to put Israeli-Palestinian peace talks back on track, or sending commandos to seize a Turkish ship in a horribly mismanaged effort to halt the "peace flotilla" going to Gaza.

It is time Israel realized that it has obligations to the United States, as well as the United States to Israel, and that it become far more careful about the extent to which it test the limits of U.S. patience and exploits the support of American Jews. This does not mean taking a single action that undercuts Israeli security, but it does mean realizing that Israel should show enough discretion to reflect the fact that it is a tertiary U.S. strategic interest in a complex and demanding world.

Israel's government should act on the understanding that the long-term nature of the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship will depend on Israel clearly and actively seeking peace with the Palestinians—the kind of peace that is in Israel's own strategic interests. Israelis should understand that the United States opposes expansion and retention of its settlements and its efforts to push Palestinians out of greater Jerusalem. Israeli governments should plan Israeli military actions that make it clear that Israel will use force only to the level actually required, that carefully consider humanitarian issues from the start, and that have a clear post-combat plan of action to limit the political and strategic impact of its use of force. And Israel should not conduct a high-risk attack on Iran in the face of the clear U.S. "red light" from both the Bush and Obama administrations. Israel should be sensitive to the fact that its actions directly affect U.S. strategic interests in the Arab and Muslim worlds, and it must be as sensitive to U.S. strategic concerns as the United States is to those of Israel.

The United States does not need unnecessary problems in one of the most troubled parts of the world, particularly when Israeli actions take a form that does not serve Israel's own strategic interests. This Israeli government in particular needs to realize that as strong as U.S.-Israel ties may be, it is time to return to the kind of strategic realism exemplified by leaders like Yitzhak Rabin. No aspect of what happened this week off the coast of Gaza can be blamed on Israeli commandos or the Israel Defense Forces. Israel's prime minister and defense minister had full warning about the situation, and they knew the flotilla was deliberately designed as a political provocation to capture the attention of the world's media in the most negative way possible. They personally are responsible for what happened, and they need to show far more care and pragmatism in the future.

Anthony H. Cordesman holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Commentaries are produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).

© 2010 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. All rights reserved.

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18 Common Phrases to Avoid in Conversation

Some things should never be saidlike these phrases. Here, what to say instead.

By Kristyn Kusek Lewis

What Not to Say About Someone's Appearance

Don't say: "You look tired." 
Why:
 It implies she doesn't look good. 
Instead say:
 "Is everything OK?" We often blurt the "tired" comment when we get the sense that the other person feels out of sorts. So just ask. 

Don't say: "Wow, you've lost a ton of weight!" 
Why:
 To a newly trim person, it might give the impression that she used to look unattractive. 
Instead say:
 "You look fantastic." And leave it at that. If you're curious about how she got so svelte, add, "What's your secret?"

Don't say: "You look good for your age." 
Why:
 Anything with a caveat like this is rude. It's saying, "You look great
compared with other old people. It's amazing you have all your own teeth."
Instead say:
 "You look great." 

Don't say: "I could never wear that." 
Why:
 It can be misunderstood as a criticism. ("I could never wear that because it's so ugly.") 
Instead say:
 "You look so good in skinny jeans." If you slip, say something like "I could never wear that…because I wasn't blessed with your long legs." 

Expert:
 
Clinton Kelly, cohost of the TLC show, What Not to Wear.

What Not to Say in the Workplace

Don't say: "That's not my job." 
Why: If your superior asks you to do something, it is your job. 
Instead say: "I'm not sure that should be my priority right now." Then have a conversation with your boss about your responsibilities. 

Don't say: "This might sound stupid, but…" 
Why: Never undermine your ideas by prefacing your remarks with wishy-washy language. 
Instead say: What's on your mind. It reinforces your credibility to present your ideas with confidence. 

Don't say: "I don't have time to talk to you."
Why: It's plain rude, in person or on the phone. 
Instead say: "I'm just finishing something up right now. Can I come by when I'm done?" Graciously explain why you can't talk now, and suggest catching up at an appointed time later. Let phone calls go to voice mail until you can give callers your undivided attention. 

Expert: 
Suzanne Bates, president and chief executive officer of Bates Communications, an executive-training firm in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and author of Speak Like a CEO (McGraw-Hill).

What Not to Say During a Job Interview

Don't say: "My current boss is horrendous." 
Why: It's unprofessional. Your interviewer might wonder when you'd start bad-mouthingher. For all you know, she and your current boss are old pals. 
Instead say: "I'm ready for a new challenge" or a similarly positive remark. 

Don't say: "Do you think I'd fit in here?" 
Why: You're the interviewee, not the interviewer. 
Instead say: "What do you enjoy about working here?" By all means ask questions, but prepare ones that demonstrate your genuine interest in the company. 

Don't say: "What are the hours like?" or "What's the vacation policy?" 
Why: You want to be seen as someone who focuses on getting the job done. 
Instead say: "What's the day-to-day like here?" Then, if you've really jumped through every hoop and time off still hasn't been mentioned, say, "Can you tell me about the compensation and benefits package?" 

Expert: 
Mary Mitchell, president of the Mitchell Organization, a corporate-etiquette training firm in Seattle, and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Etiquette (Alpha).

What Not to Say About Pregnancy and Babies

Don't say: "Are you pregnant?" 
Why: You ask, she's not, and you feel totally embarrassed for essentially pointing out that she's overweight. 
Instead say: "Hello" or "Great to see you" or "You look great." Anything besides "Are you pregnant?" or "What's the due date?" will do. Save yourself the humiliation and never ask. 

Don't say: "Do you plan on breast-feeding?"
Why: The issue can be controversial, and she may not want to discuss her decision publicly. 
Instead say: Nothing. Unless you're very close, don't ask. If you slip, make up for the blunder by adding, "And do you feel comfortable telling me?" 

Don't say: "Were your twins natural?" or "It must have been hard for your child's birth parent to give him up." 
Why: You're suggesting that natural conception is better than in vitro fertilization (IVF) or adoption. 
Instead say: To a parent of multiples, try a light "Wow, you have your hands full!" To an adoptive parent, say the same stuff you would to any other parent: "She's adorable!" or "How old is he?" 

Expert
: Kim Hahn, founder and chief executive officer of Conceive magazine.

What Not to Say to a Single (or Newly Single) Person

Don't say: "You were too good for him." 
Why: You are basically saying she has bad taste. And you'll be embarrassed if they ever patch it up. 
Instead say: "His loss!" It gets the same point across without disparaging her judgment. 

Don't say: "I'm glad you got rid of him. I never liked him anyway." 
Why: She'll wonder about your fake adoration for him while they were together. 
Instead say: "I'm confident you'll find someone who will give you exactly what you want." It focuses on what's to come, not on the dud you're glad she's done with. 

Don't say: "How could someone as perfect as you still be single?" 
Why: A statement like this comes off as a backhanded compliment. What she hears is "What's wrong with you?" 
Instead say: "Seeing anyone?" If she's tight-lipped about her love life, move on to other topics. 

Expert: 
Bethany Marshall, Ph.D., a psychotherapist in Beverly Hills and the author of Deal Breakers: When to Work On a Relationship and When to Walk Away (Simon Spotlight Entertainment).

What Not to Say During a Fight with Your Beloved

Don't say: "You always" or "You never" or "You're a [slob, jerk]" or "You're wrong." 
Why: Speaking in absolutes like "you always" and "you're wrong" is playing the blame game, and resorting to name calling makes your partner feel helpless, which puts him on the defensive and makes a bad fight worse. 
Instead say: "I'm upset that you left the dishes in the sink again. What can we do so that this stops happening?" Starting with the pronoun I puts the focus on how you feel, not why he's in the doghouse, and it will make him more receptive to fixing the problem. 

Don't say: "If you really loved me, you would..." 
Why: The more you treat your partner as if he'll never satisfy you, the less satisfied you'll be. Controlling your partner by imploring him to do something isn't a good way to build intimacy. 
Instead say: "I feel taken for granted when you don't help around the house. I would feel better if we could…" The best way to keep a productive fight from becoming a dirty one is to be clear about why you're upset and then offer a solution. 

Expert: 
Terrence Real, a family therapist in Newton, Massachusetts.

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Sunday, June 6, 2010

Turkish Navy to escort next flotilla: PM Erdogan on board

Posted on June 6, 2010 on Ruppee News


ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was considering sailing to the Gaza Strip as part of an aid flotilla backed by the Turkish Navy.

Lebanese newspaper al Mustaqbal quoted security sources as saying that Mr Erdogan was pondering the move in order to break the barrier imposed against Gaza by Israel.

It said that "as part of the open conflict between Turkey and Israel following the massacre against the 'freedom sail' to Gaza and the protest sparked in the world, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is considering going to Gaza himself in order to break the blockade imposed on the Strip."

The sources said Erdogan raised the option in discussions with associates.

The report added that the Turkish leader also told the U.S. that he planned to ask his navy to escort another aid flotilla – but officials in Washington asked him to delay the plan in order to look into the matter.

The move followed strong criticism of Israel by Erdogan after Israeli armed forces killed several people on board an aid flotilla Monday, sparking widespread international condemnation.

When the possibility of Erdogan joining a flotilla was posed to Mark Regev, the spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, he said such a move was not a "realistic scenario" and dismissed it outright.

"Some of these reports must be taken with a grain of salt … I am not sure that is a realistic scenario," he told Sky News.

"I prefer that we sort these things out peacefully. Nobody wants any saber-rattling. It does not do any good," said Regev.

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Thursday, June 3, 2010

Pakistani military is currently carrying out massive operation in Gwader District of Baluchistan

 

1 Jun 2010

Occupied Baluchistan: Various sources from district Gwader and Dasht areas of Baluchistan reported that Pakistani armed forces have launched a massive military operation with the hardcore conventional forces, backed by Jet fighters, helicopters, tanks and armoured vehicles. Forces from Turbat , Mand and Gwader Camps have been dispatched to carry out the gory operation in Seyaji Mountains. New check posts have been set up on all outlet passage ways to strangle the local population, for not co operating with forces in Derwaar, Katrenz, SuntSer , Metsing and TeranDiska.

According to the Radio Gwank report "the Pakistani armed forces have put all oil selling shops of border traders on fire in an attempt to punish the local traders collectively. The helpless unarmed people were forced to run for long distances, when asked, why this punishment? The army retorted that all Baluch are atheists, they should be killed and the killing of Baluch is purely a jihad in Islam".

On the other hand the BNM official website has also carried out similar reports of a grand military operation in Makuran region and stated that heaving number of armed forces, tanks and long range artillery are being deployed in several areas of Gwader district. According to BNM statement the Pakistani rulers after the brutal military operation in Kohlu and Dera Bugti, are now planning to carried out similar atrocities in Gawader region of Baluchistan. The statement further read that the party with its coalition parties in BNF will soon start collective protest campaign against the operation in makuran belt.

There are some unconfirmed report of clashes between Baluch freedom fighters and Pakistani security forces but no casualties have been reported so far. According to daily Tawar Newspaper Doda Baluch of BLF (Baluch Liberation Front) has informed News agencies that Pakistan military did bomb some mountainous regions and Baluch freedom fighters resisted back, however, no casualties have been reported and all Baluch freedom fighters reach back to their hideouts safe and sound.

Meanwhile a large number of Baluch women and children protest against the Pakistani military's excesses in the region. Talking to radio Gwank Baluch women alleged that the occupation forces tried to arrest Baluch women and the Baluch youth who resisted the arrest of Baluch women, have been severely tortured and some even apprehended and taken away. The protesters said "we do not want anything from Pakistan, we just want our freedom and we want to be left alone".

Members of BSO-azaad have also held a protest demonstration in front of Pasni press club against the behaviour of Pakistani security forces and the preparations of what seems to be a huge military operation in the mountains and cities of Makuran region.

The Baluch protester urged that International Community and International Human Rights Organisations to take notice of the atrocities of Pakistani military against Baluch people and put pressure on Pakistan to stop the ongoing military operations in Baluchistan.

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UN resolution “unacceptable”, says Israeli foreign minister

The Perverse Inhumanity of Fascist/Zionist Ideas


 

A UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel for its navy raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip, was "unacceptable and did not advance peace and stability in the Middle East, " Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday.

A statement issued by the minister's office said Lieberman also told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in a telephone conversation, that the "hypocrisy and double standards of the international community concerning Israel" should be "regretted", DPA reported.

Monday's pre-dawn raid by the Israeli navy commandos on the six-ship flotilla, which carried pro-Palestinian activists and tonnes of aid for blockaded Gaza , led to violent clashes on board one of the ships which left nine activists dead.

Lieberman told Moon that while the international community remained silent during the past month when "500 people were killed in various incidents in Thailand, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and India," Israel "was condemned for taking a clear defensive action."

He said the Israeli troops who battled the activists on board the ship had the "basic right" to defend themselves against a group wielding iron bars, clubs and knives

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Desperate Indian farmers now growing opium poppies

As in Afghanistan, in northern India opium has become such a lucrative cash crop that many local farmers rely on poppy cultivation, seeing it as the only way to survive.

The trend comes from neighbouring Nepal where parallels with Afghanistan are already frightening: corruption, lack of investment and poverty, with poppy fields completing the picture.

The Indian police regularly discover fields of opium poppies growing in the northern state of Bihar on the India-Nepal border where the illegal crop is giving the administration a headache. The state shares a long border with Nepal, one of the largest markets for opium. No wonder, then, that this area is popular with opium cultivators due to the lack of security and awareness among the local people.

Police official Ram Kumar noted that "People are growing this [poppy] by fooling the local farmers. They are told they are growing sunflowers, but it turns out to be poppy."

The lure of money stops residents from asking too many questions. With a severe lack of rainfall every year, the drought-resistant opium poppy is a profitable crop.

Opium farming is prohibited in India, but the farmers say they have no other choice.

"What else can we grow? When our normal crops are failing, and we have to feed our families, we have no other option," complains farmer Mahesh Parhit.

An opium plant grows in just three months, and one kilogram of opium generates at least $US 700 for the opium growers, which are good wages to local farmers and labourers. The police could destroy one poppy field, but that does not solve the larger problem.

"Instead of destroying this crop, the officials should provide us with jobs. There is no other way for us to survive," insists farmer Sona Lal.

For the Indian police this may seem to be a simple law and order problem, but for the villagers it is a matter of their livelihoods. As long as poppy cultivation remains profitable, the poppy crop will be growing on the India-Nepal border. No matter how many times the police destroy the lucrative crop, the fields will once again be full of poppies.

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Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Israel Cites India, Pakistan Violence In Defense Of Flotilla Attack

Israeli Spokesmen Continue To Defend "Right" To Use Deadly Force On Peaceful Protestors In International Waters

Yamini Kaul – AHN News Contributor

Tel Aviv, Israel (AHN) – Apparently upset over global criticism for its attack on an aid flotilla in Gaza, Israel took an unusual step on Wednesday and trained its diplomatic guns on India and Pakistan.

Israel said that while the world continually "ignored" violent incidents happening in countries such as India and Pakistan, it was being criticized for its "unmistakably defensive actions."

Citing incidents from the past one month, Israel said that almost 500 people were killed in violence in countries like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand and Iraq. According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, "While the international community remained silent and passive, and generally ignored the occurrences, Israel is being condemned for unmistakably defensive actions."

Israel's comments have brought about a new turn in its relationship with India.

Israel's outburst against India could be attributed to a statement by India's external affairs minister, S.M. Krishna, in which he said India "deplored the tragic loss of life and the reports of killings and injuries to people on the boats carrying supplies to Gaza." India condemned the Israeli action with strong words such as "there can be no justification for such indiscriminate use of force, which we condemn."

At least nine Palestinian activists were killed when Israeli soldiers intercepted their boat, which was headed toward the Gaza strip on Monday.

The Israeli foreign ministry told the United Nations in a written statement that the attack on the aid flotilla was about the "basic right of Israeli soldiers to defend themselves against an attack by a gang of thugs and terror supporters…"

In an emergency session, the U.N. Security Council demanded a probe into the deadly commando raid. Israel refused to accept the U.N. resolution and said that such a proposal would not help peace and stability in the Middle East.

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