Rights group: NATO must probe allegations it killed Libyan civilians
A leading human rights organization is demanding NATO investigate allegations that it killed 85 Libyan civilians during airstrikes on forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. The demand by Amnesty International on Wednesday followed government accusations days earlier that NATO killed civilians in the western part of the country to help clear the way for rebels advancing on the Gadhafi-controlled city of Zlitan. "NATO continues to stress its commitment to protect civilians. To that effect, it should thoroughly investigate this and all other recent incidents in which civilians were reportedly killed in western Libya as a result of air strikes," Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui of Amnesty International said in a statement. Eighty-five civilians, including 33 children, were killed in airstrikes Monday near the village of Majer, Gadhafi's government said. NATO has said it does not have evidence of civilian casualties.  Libya has been mired in a civil war since shortly after a violent government crackdown in February on mass demonstrations calling for the end of the regime. A NATO-led bombing campaign against Gadhafi's forces began in March after the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution to protect Libyan civilians.

Syria army storms new towns
Syria's army stormed another two towns on Thursday in pursuit of anti-regime protesters, activists said, in defiance of Western calls for action after a "chilling" UN Security Council briefing.Tanks, troop carriers and buses transporting security force members sped soon after dawn into the town of Saraqeb in the northwestern Idlib province bordering Turkey, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said."Shooting was heard soon afterwards in the town, where protests demanding the fall of the regime have been staged every day after the evening (Muslim) prayers," the statement said. Later the rights advocacy group reported that security forces were "raiding homes and carrying out arrests, rounding up more than 100 people, including 35 children." "Army troops are smashing the doors of shops owned by activists in search of them, and they have cut off electricity in the town," a statement said. Further south, in the central province of Homs, columns of tanks entered Qusayr early on Thursday, a rights activist in the town said, reached by telephone."Residents fled into the fields and all communications have been cut with the town," the activist said. The operations came a day after security forces reportedly shot dead 18 people in the Baba Amro neighbourhood of the city of Homs, according to the latest toll provided by the Syrian Observatory.

COAS Kayani says `no` to operation in NWA again to US
Contrary to the peace process gaining momentum in Afghanistan, the US has once again pressed Pakistan to move against militants in North Waziristan. However, sources say Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has responded with an emphatic "no".  The demand to carry out an army operation against militants, especially those in North Waziristan, was renewed by US Ambassador Cameron Munter when he called on General Kayani on Wednesday. Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Athar Abbas, confirmed the meeting to Online. Saying that he was not privy to the meeting, he declined to give any details of what they discussed. In response to a question, the top army spokesman told this agency that the ambassador had requested to meet the COAS.  According to media reports, the army chief did not agree to the US demand to open a consulate in Balochistan. Well-placed sources, however, told Online that the issue was not discussed during the meeting since it was not in the purview of the army to decide on the matter.  When contacted US embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez said the meeting between General Kayani and Ambassador Munter was a private meeting and "we normally do not share details of private meetings with the media."

US to China: Why Do You Need an Aircraft Carrier?
As China's first aircraft carrier takes to the open seas today for its inaugural sea trials, the U.S. government directed a pointed question at the Chinese military: Why would you need a warship like that?  "We would welcome any kind of explanation that China would like to give for needing this kind of equipment," U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters today. "We have had concerns for some time and we've been quite open with them with regard to the lack of transparency from China regarding its power projection and its lack of access and denial of capabilities." Nuland said the State Department is concerned that the Chinese military is not "transparent" enough about its build-up which, in addition to the aircraft carrier, also includes the development of a fifth-generation stealth jet fighter believed to be capable of rivaling America's best.  "We are prepared to be extremely transparent with regard to U.S. military positions and equipment, and we'd like to have a reciprocal relationship with China, and that's what our presidents have said we ought to aspire to," Nuland said. "Transparency in itself is a confidence builder between nations."  Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng told reporters in China last month the ship, that was built from the shell of an old Soviet carrier, is only "for the purposes of technological research, experiments and training."