Source: India Today
The government may have pulled out all stops to combat the Maoist menace in the country.
But a section of rebels in Chhattisgarh has more pressing matters in hand than survival.
With International Women's Day around the corner, Maoists in the Bastar region of the state have called for week- long "celebrations" to advocate women's rights.
Rebel leaders have asked their cadre and villagers to observe the "festival" for a week starting March 8 - which also happens to be Women's Day.
Maoists have put up several posters and banners in the area, exhorting people to respect the fairer sex and their rights. In fact, many police personnel said the posters were " quite appealing"and " look exactly as if commissioned by a women's rights group". The banners - put up on trees, bushes and open fields - were first seen by villagers, who then informed the police.
Posters were also put up in Bijapur, a part of Bastar district.
The call by the self- styled champions of women's rights has left the state police astonished.
Inspector- general (IG) of Bastar T. J. Longkumer said, " I have never seen such an appeal from the Naxalites, who believe only in violence and bloodshed."" The Maoists in the region have in the past called for bandhs on many occasions, but it was usually to highlight their demands and ideology or to commemorate their ' martyrs', rather than social welfare. Never before have they clamoured for equal rights and respect for women,"he said.
Avinash Mohanty, Bijapur's superintendent of police, agreed with Longkumer. " Violence was the only ' issue' which Maoists believed in in the past.
But suddenly, they have started talking about equal rights for women, speaking out against female foeticide and dowry, and supporting impartiality for women in wealth and land distribution."Mohanty said in the banners, the rebels also voiced their opposition to " improper and offensive"portrayal of women on television and in the media.
However, the police are taking the Maoists' newfound zeal to fight for women's rights with a pinch of salt.
Longkumer said this may be a new tactic being employed by the guerrillas to win over Bastar's tribal population.
"I think the Maoists are trying to counter our highly successful Jan Jagran Abhiyaan (mass awareness campaign). We started the ongoing campaign with an aim to win popular support for Operation Green Hunt, which was launched by the police to root out Left- wing extremists,"the IG said.
Though the police said they had " no problem"with the rebels propagating t heir concern for women, they were still wary.
But as the saying goes, old habits die hard. The ultras used the occasion to praise some of their women "martyrs who died fighting the establishment". In the same breath, they also blamed the commandos of security forces for raping women.
The rebels also denounced the controversial anti- Naxalite movement 'salwa judum', which is said to have lost momentum in south Bastar.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Maoists abduct headmaster, seek villagers’ release
Source: indian express
The fate of Ranjit Duley, the headmaster of a Sarenga school who was abducted by Maoists on Friday, hangs in the balance with Maoist leader Kishenji pressing for the release of six villagers as a trade off. The district administration has not yet decided what to do.
On Friday afternoon, Ranjit was in his office at Shibram Satpathy school when two gunmen barged into the compound and fired in the air. As other teachers fled, Ranjit confronted them. Witnesses said two men pointed guns at him and asked him to come along. Sidhu Soren of the Maoist-backed Gana Militia has owned up to the abduction and demanded the release of six villagers arrested following the death of Rabi Lochan Mitra, officer-in-charge of Sarenga police station, in a gunbattle.
“The situation is critical and we are doing whatever we can. Our investigation is on,” said Bankura SP Bishal Garg. Police sources said special task force teams were conducting raids in various areas of Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore. Police believe Ranjit is being held in some jungle area in the Jhargram-Lalgarh belt. “We are trying to collect all information and are trying to get him released unharmed,” Chief secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty said.
The family members of the schoolteacher, meanwhile, appealed to Kishenji for Ranjit’s release. Significantly, Ranjit’s younger brother Ramkrishna was murdered by Maoists last August. The family was a CPM supporter till that point.
“They killed my father-in-law a year ago. Now they have abducted his brother. Why can’t we live in peace. I beg Kishenji for his life,” said Tararani, a relative. “We have appealed to the administration to release the villagers.”
The fate of Ranjit Duley, the headmaster of a Sarenga school who was abducted by Maoists on Friday, hangs in the balance with Maoist leader Kishenji pressing for the release of six villagers as a trade off. The district administration has not yet decided what to do.
On Friday afternoon, Ranjit was in his office at Shibram Satpathy school when two gunmen barged into the compound and fired in the air. As other teachers fled, Ranjit confronted them. Witnesses said two men pointed guns at him and asked him to come along. Sidhu Soren of the Maoist-backed Gana Militia has owned up to the abduction and demanded the release of six villagers arrested following the death of Rabi Lochan Mitra, officer-in-charge of Sarenga police station, in a gunbattle.
“The situation is critical and we are doing whatever we can. Our investigation is on,” said Bankura SP Bishal Garg. Police sources said special task force teams were conducting raids in various areas of Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore. Police believe Ranjit is being held in some jungle area in the Jhargram-Lalgarh belt. “We are trying to collect all information and are trying to get him released unharmed,” Chief secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty said.
The family members of the schoolteacher, meanwhile, appealed to Kishenji for Ranjit’s release. Significantly, Ranjit’s younger brother Ramkrishna was murdered by Maoists last August. The family was a CPM supporter till that point.
“They killed my father-in-law a year ago. Now they have abducted his brother. Why can’t we live in peace. I beg Kishenji for his life,” said Tararani, a relative. “We have appealed to the administration to release the villagers.”
Bengal: Time running out for Bankura teacher NDTV Correspondent, Saturday March 6, 2010, Jhargram
Source: NDTV
Time is running out for the Bankura school teacher kidnapped by Maoists in Bengal. The Maoists have issued a 48-hour ultimatum. They want the release of six men arrested for the murder of a police officer in Bankura on February 24. If they aren't freed, then the school teacher they say will be executed. The deadline expires on Sunday.
Maoists kidnapped Ranjit Duley on Friday. His brother Ramkrishna was shot dead by Maoists in August last year. Now, the family is distraught at the possibility of a second tragedy striking them.
"I was out when the incident occurred. When I came back, I heard what had happened. My father went to work at the school and never came back. At around 1 pm, 2 people came and started calling out for my father. They then took him away on a motorcycle. The other teachers were told that he would return in half-an-hour," says Golak Duley, son of the kidnapped teacher.
Around 9 pm on Friday, Kishenji phoned reporters to confirm the kidnap and issue an ultimatum - free six Bankura villagers from police custody in exchange of Ranjit or else... But the administration is showing no signs of working on a swap.
"We have received no conditions. And the administration can't run by cutting deals. We have not received any demands. This is no way," says AM Chakraborty, Chief Secretary, West Bengal.
In October, Maoists had kidnapped the OC of Sankrail police station in West Midnapore and freed him after 14 villagers arrested for Maoist connections were released from jail.
The Maoists deadline expires around 9 pm on Sunday. So far, no signs of the police releasing the six men, as the Maoists have demanded. The Duley family's hopes for Ranjit's return are sinking.
Time is running out for the Bankura school teacher kidnapped by Maoists in Bengal. The Maoists have issued a 48-hour ultimatum. They want the release of six men arrested for the murder of a police officer in Bankura on February 24. If they aren't freed, then the school teacher they say will be executed. The deadline expires on Sunday.
Maoists kidnapped Ranjit Duley on Friday. His brother Ramkrishna was shot dead by Maoists in August last year. Now, the family is distraught at the possibility of a second tragedy striking them.
"I was out when the incident occurred. When I came back, I heard what had happened. My father went to work at the school and never came back. At around 1 pm, 2 people came and started calling out for my father. They then took him away on a motorcycle. The other teachers were told that he would return in half-an-hour," says Golak Duley, son of the kidnapped teacher.
Around 9 pm on Friday, Kishenji phoned reporters to confirm the kidnap and issue an ultimatum - free six Bankura villagers from police custody in exchange of Ranjit or else... But the administration is showing no signs of working on a swap.
"We have received no conditions. And the administration can't run by cutting deals. We have not received any demands. This is no way," says AM Chakraborty, Chief Secretary, West Bengal.
In October, Maoists had kidnapped the OC of Sankrail police station in West Midnapore and freed him after 14 villagers arrested for Maoist connections were released from jail.
The Maoists deadline expires around 9 pm on Sunday. So far, no signs of the police releasing the six men, as the Maoists have demanded. The Duley family's hopes for Ranjit's return are sinking.
Somalia: Ransom paid to pirates will lure extra pirates
Source: somaliweyn
Mogadishu Friday 05 March 2010 SMC
“The activities of the Somali pirates against the foreign vessels and the foreigners touring in the sea are something very embarrassing, and can achieve zero credibility for the Somali citizens both locally and international, and I am urging those pirates who are holding the foreign vessels, crew and as well as the Chandlers to immediately release them without any condition” said President Shariff of Somalia.
Despite the presence of hundreds of EU anti pirates mission force in the Somali waters the number of Somali pirates is day-by-day rapidly increasing added president Shariff.
The President has urged the international community to wholeheartedly support the Somali government institutions, in order to overwhelm the Somali pirates.
“The solution is not deploying hundreds of war ships on the surface of the Somali waters, but to boost the institutions of the Somali government” added President Shariif.
In his press conference the Somali President has added that the fabulous ransom paid to the Somali pirates is danger to the stability of the country.
“The huge amount of money paid to Somali pirates will redouble the insecurity in Somalia, and will additionally motivate many youngsters to turn their intention towards piracy” added President Shariff.
Eventually the President has said that a wide range of plan is needed to establish jobs for the thousands of the young idle Somalis allover the country, and advised parents to closely monitor the activities of their children.
 | Somaliweyn- Mohammed Omar Hussein The President of the war torn country Somalia his Excellency President Sheikh Shariff Ahmed has on Thursday held a press conference the Somali Presidential Palace in Mogadishu. In the Press conference the president has at length talked about the issue of the Somali pirates in Somalia. |
Despite the presence of hundreds of EU anti pirates mission force in the Somali waters the number of Somali pirates is day-by-day rapidly increasing added president Shariff.
The President has urged the international community to wholeheartedly support the Somali government institutions, in order to overwhelm the Somali pirates.
“The solution is not deploying hundreds of war ships on the surface of the Somali waters, but to boost the institutions of the Somali government” added President Shariif.
In his press conference the Somali President has added that the fabulous ransom paid to the Somali pirates is danger to the stability of the country.
“The huge amount of money paid to Somali pirates will redouble the insecurity in Somalia, and will additionally motivate many youngsters to turn their intention towards piracy” added President Shariff.
Eventually the President has said that a wide range of plan is needed to establish jobs for the thousands of the young idle Somalis allover the country, and advised parents to closely monitor the activities of their children.
Balancing powers in the Malacca Strait
Source: reuters
Mar 7, 2010 03:31 EST 
Singapore’s warning of a terrorist threat in the Malacca Straits has again highighted the issue of who is in charge of security in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have stepped up sea patrols in the strait after Singapore’s navy said on Thursday it had received indications a terrorist group was planning attacks on oil tankers.
A Police Coast Guard vessel patrols shipping lanes near freight ships off the coast of Singapore March 4, 2010. ( REUTERS/Vivek Prakash)
The 900-km long (550 miles) Malacca Strait, linking Europe and the Middle East with the Asia-Pacific, carries about 40 percent of the world’s trade. More than 50,000 merchant ships ply the waterway every year.
About 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of Middle East crude passed through the strait and to Japan last year. Middle East crude accounts for 90 percent of Japan’s total imports. Up to 80 percent of China’s crude imports are delivered via the narrow and congested waterway.
So China and Japan have a stake in keeping the Malacca Strait secure, as does India which has a blue water navy patrolling in the Andaman Sea at the western end of the strait.
The strait is a vital sea lane for the U.S. Navy, which sent warships to Taiwan via the Malacca Strait at a time of heightened tensions between China and Taiwan in 1996.
Although the three littoral states — Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore — have asserted their sole right to maintain security in the Malacca Strait, Australia, India, Japan, the United States and China have all offered military assistance at various times.
The Malacca Strait has been infested with pirates for centuries, but since the 9/11 suicide airliner attacks the security focus has switched to terrorism. The ability of Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia to ensure security in a waterway of such geopolitical importance has been complicated by their own competing territorial claims and rivalries. All three countries, for instance, have had territorial disputes over islands and waters that have wound up in court or in naval confrontations.
Worries about territorial sovereignty have made hot pursuit in the strait problematic. The three countries conduct joint patrols under the Malacca Straits Coordinated Patrol established in July 2004. But joint patrols are not the same as combined patrols and have proven difficult to coordinate.
Crew member uses pair of binoculars as he watches for
pirates from USNS Walter S. Diehl in Malacca Strait off Malaysia
on May 14, 2008 (Reuters/Vivek Prakash)
A 2005 initiative, “The Eyes in the Sky Program” involving joint aerial surveillance with Thailand also restricts air patrols from going within threee miles of each other’s borders. The same lack of trust has hampered intelligence sharing.
The United States, after pronouncing Southeast Asia a “second front in the war on terrorism” in 2002, tried to increase its naval presence in the region. Malaysia and Indonesia swiftly shot down that idea. Two years later, Washington proposed the Regional Maritime Security Initiative, which would have involved joint patrols — including putting U.S. special forces on high-speed boats. Again Indoensia and Malaysia vetoed the presence of foreign forces in
the strait and a diluted version of the idea was adopted instead.
Southeast Asian countries are, if anything, even more suspicious of a Chinese military presence in the region. One of the rationales for keeping security confined to the littoral states is to keep the strait from becoming a big power flashpoint. Indeed, the response to piracy and terrorism in the Malacca Strait can illuminate how the big power dynamics are playing out in the region. The Regional Maritime Security Initiative, for instance, also had in mind interdicting WMD cargo (think North Korea nuclear and missile materiel).
Singapore did not say what terrorist group was behind the threat to oil tankers in the strait. Security experts say the al Qaeda network has long had video footage of Malaysian police patrols. The Indonesian militant group, Jemaah Islamiah, once had strong connections to the group. The head of an Indoensian anti-terrorism task force has suggested Indoensian militants have re-established an al Qaeda connection.
The United States, China, Japan and India will continue to seek influence over Malacca Strait security — for anti-terrorism, geopolitical and commerical interests — even as China, for one, looks for alternative routes for its burgeoning energy needs.
Mar 7, 2010 03:31 EST
Singapore’s warning of a terrorist threat in the Malacca Straits has again highighted the issue of who is in charge of security in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have stepped up sea patrols in the strait after Singapore’s navy said on Thursday it had received indications a terrorist group was planning attacks on oil tankers.
A Police Coast Guard vessel patrols shipping lanes near freight ships off the coast of Singapore March 4, 2010. ( REUTERS/Vivek Prakash)
The 900-km long (550 miles) Malacca Strait, linking Europe and the Middle East with the Asia-Pacific, carries about 40 percent of the world’s trade. More than 50,000 merchant ships ply the waterway every year.
About 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of Middle East crude passed through the strait and to Japan last year. Middle East crude accounts for 90 percent of Japan’s total imports. Up to 80 percent of China’s crude imports are delivered via the narrow and congested waterway.
So China and Japan have a stake in keeping the Malacca Strait secure, as does India which has a blue water navy patrolling in the Andaman Sea at the western end of the strait.
The strait is a vital sea lane for the U.S. Navy, which sent warships to Taiwan via the Malacca Strait at a time of heightened tensions between China and Taiwan in 1996.
Although the three littoral states — Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore — have asserted their sole right to maintain security in the Malacca Strait, Australia, India, Japan, the United States and China have all offered military assistance at various times.
The Malacca Strait has been infested with pirates for centuries, but since the 9/11 suicide airliner attacks the security focus has switched to terrorism. The ability of Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia to ensure security in a waterway of such geopolitical importance has been complicated by their own competing territorial claims and rivalries. All three countries, for instance, have had territorial disputes over islands and waters that have wound up in court or in naval confrontations.
Worries about territorial sovereignty have made hot pursuit in the strait problematic. The three countries conduct joint patrols under the Malacca Straits Coordinated Patrol established in July 2004. But joint patrols are not the same as combined patrols and have proven difficult to coordinate.
Crew member uses pair of binoculars as he watches for
pirates from USNS Walter S. Diehl in Malacca Strait off Malaysia
on May 14, 2008 (Reuters/Vivek Prakash)
A 2005 initiative, “The Eyes in the Sky Program” involving joint aerial surveillance with Thailand also restricts air patrols from going within threee miles of each other’s borders. The same lack of trust has hampered intelligence sharing.
The United States, after pronouncing Southeast Asia a “second front in the war on terrorism” in 2002, tried to increase its naval presence in the region. Malaysia and Indonesia swiftly shot down that idea. Two years later, Washington proposed the Regional Maritime Security Initiative, which would have involved joint patrols — including putting U.S. special forces on high-speed boats. Again Indoensia and Malaysia vetoed the presence of foreign forces in
the strait and a diluted version of the idea was adopted instead.
Southeast Asian countries are, if anything, even more suspicious of a Chinese military presence in the region. One of the rationales for keeping security confined to the littoral states is to keep the strait from becoming a big power flashpoint. Indeed, the response to piracy and terrorism in the Malacca Strait can illuminate how the big power dynamics are playing out in the region. The Regional Maritime Security Initiative, for instance, also had in mind interdicting WMD cargo (think North Korea nuclear and missile materiel).
Singapore did not say what terrorist group was behind the threat to oil tankers in the strait. Security experts say the al Qaeda network has long had video footage of Malaysian police patrols. The Indonesian militant group, Jemaah Islamiah, once had strong connections to the group. The head of an Indoensian anti-terrorism task force has suggested Indoensian militants have re-established an al Qaeda connection.
The United States, China, Japan and India will continue to seek influence over Malacca Strait security — for anti-terrorism, geopolitical and commerical interests — even as China, for one, looks for alternative routes for its burgeoning energy needs.
Not all at sea BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Source: The nation
By BUNN NAGARA
Stopping terrorists at sea requires similar action on land, with better international coordination and active and passive measures.
THE source of the information remains murky, especially given the specifics of the supposed intelligence: terrorists were planning an attack on oil tankers in Singapore waters from the Straits of Malacca.
According to one source, Japanese authorities had passed the information to the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which then relayed it to “relevant authorities in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia”.
But another source said Indonesian military intelligence learned about it from captured Acehnese rebels detained in various raids on their hideouts over the past fortnight.
There may yet be more versions of how that story originated. Nonetheless, whatever its origins or veracity, it had spread in recent days from government agencies to private shippers around the region.
At stake are possible losses of cargo, shipping vessels and human life.
There is also the question of rising insurance premiums, and harm to the image and reputation of the Straits of Malacca as an important international waterway.
Nearly 300 ships on average ply the straits each day, transporting a third of world trade and half the world’s oil. Serious threats to shipping in the straits can only strengthen the prospect of alternative routes, like Thailand’s sporadic calls for a Kra Isthmus canal and Indonesia’s occasional efforts to develop the Sunda or Lombok straits.
Some 80% of China’s oil imports and 90% of Japan’s reportedly come through the Malacca Straits. Singapore as the world’s leading container port and refuelling hub also depends heavily on the continued health and safety of the straits.
And yet the Straits of Malacca poses problems of its own: crowded, narrow and shallow, it can be a chokepoint as much as a navigational course. Still, piracy has been suppressed and terrorism never a problem.
Assaults on ships can take one of three forms. The most common has been hijacking for theft of ship or cargo, or both, which would be piracy and not terrorism.
An outright act of terrorism would then be either a strike to destroy a fuel-filled tanker, or hijacking a tanker to turn it into a giant floating petrol bomb.
The first is difficult to achieve for any known terrorist group in the region, and the second is difficult for any terrorist group anywhere because of a tanker’s safety design features.
To counter any attack, security agencies in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia in particular need to develop their level of routine cooperation and exchange as standard operating procedure. That has already begun in recent days.
However reliable or otherwise the information may be is another matter. This occasion should be an opportunity to develop closer working relationships between the navies, police and coast guard agencies of the countries concerned.
But what is the known threat so far? Even the identity of the supposed terrorist group is unspecified, but if there is any truth in the warning, then initial indications suggest the most likely group is the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
However, JI is ill-equipped to undertake a task as complicated as attacking a large moving vessel at sea with high open decks. It is very different from detonating a bomb by remote control in a stationary land-based target.
Nonetheless, whoever is involved or implicated, constant patrols and adequate on-board security should suffice to deter and neutralise any attempted attacks.
Singapore authorities during the week have also warned of possible attacks on other large vessels, but it is just as well for smaller vessels also to be forewarned.
It took Somali pirates years of experience in attacking, boarding and hijacking smaller ships before recently “graduating” to a few oil tankers. For terrorist groups in South-East Asia with no experience of attacking any ships, it does not require complacency to be sceptical of a successful attack on an oil tanker.
During the week, the IMB explained that terrorists would need the element of surprise to succeed. Large, heavy and slow-moving tankers offer little surprise as a floating bomb, while their few crew members make for minimal hostages and casualties.
Without lapsing into complacency, the existing security agencies of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have the capacity and competency to face down any terrorist threat to shipping in the straits. Years of successful action against piracy has helped, although piracy and terrorism are separate challenges to security.
Beyond capacity and competency, however, regional state agencies need to develop the third crucial “c”: coordination. Still with no experience of working as one offshore security body, separate national agencies can do with better coordination without undue duplication, wastage, lapses or blind spots.
With the personnel and equipment already at hand, more can be done to develop peak readiness round-the-clock with optimal response among the different agencies of the different countries.
And besides responses, the agencies also need to exercise constant anticipation of attacks.
A common problem with disparate national agencies concerns territorial jurisdiction and possible encroachment on national territory.
With close coordination and prior approval in hot pursuit of suspect vessels, maritime boundaries should pose no problem for law enforcement.
The quantitative presence of the various national security agencies in the Malacca Straits is more than sufficient.
Their qualitative presence however can be improved, by way of better information gathering, data interface and intelligence-sharing between the different agencies and governments.
Uniform procedures among Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian authorities at least would also help. These relate to procedures for interdicting suspect vessels and the processing of detained suspects.
Passive security measures like on-board sentry duty are important and will continue. But just as important are active security measures like intercepting suspect radio messages and detective work to root out terrorist networks regionwide.
Just as all ships need to be forewarned, not just tankers and other large vessels, effective maritime security must be more than offshore.
Since seabound terrorists need land operations to complement or support their activities by way of vital supplies and escape routes, so must law enforcement deploy land resources and assets to stop them.
By BUNN NAGARA
Stopping terrorists at sea requires similar action on land, with better international coordination and active and passive measures.
THE source of the information remains murky, especially given the specifics of the supposed intelligence: terrorists were planning an attack on oil tankers in Singapore waters from the Straits of Malacca.
According to one source, Japanese authorities had passed the information to the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which then relayed it to “relevant authorities in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia”.
But another source said Indonesian military intelligence learned about it from captured Acehnese rebels detained in various raids on their hideouts over the past fortnight.
There may yet be more versions of how that story originated. Nonetheless, whatever its origins or veracity, it had spread in recent days from government agencies to private shippers around the region.
At stake are possible losses of cargo, shipping vessels and human life.
There is also the question of rising insurance premiums, and harm to the image and reputation of the Straits of Malacca as an important international waterway.
Nearly 300 ships on average ply the straits each day, transporting a third of world trade and half the world’s oil. Serious threats to shipping in the straits can only strengthen the prospect of alternative routes, like Thailand’s sporadic calls for a Kra Isthmus canal and Indonesia’s occasional efforts to develop the Sunda or Lombok straits.
Some 80% of China’s oil imports and 90% of Japan’s reportedly come through the Malacca Straits. Singapore as the world’s leading container port and refuelling hub also depends heavily on the continued health and safety of the straits.
And yet the Straits of Malacca poses problems of its own: crowded, narrow and shallow, it can be a chokepoint as much as a navigational course. Still, piracy has been suppressed and terrorism never a problem.
Assaults on ships can take one of three forms. The most common has been hijacking for theft of ship or cargo, or both, which would be piracy and not terrorism.
An outright act of terrorism would then be either a strike to destroy a fuel-filled tanker, or hijacking a tanker to turn it into a giant floating petrol bomb.
The first is difficult to achieve for any known terrorist group in the region, and the second is difficult for any terrorist group anywhere because of a tanker’s safety design features.
To counter any attack, security agencies in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia in particular need to develop their level of routine cooperation and exchange as standard operating procedure. That has already begun in recent days.
However reliable or otherwise the information may be is another matter. This occasion should be an opportunity to develop closer working relationships between the navies, police and coast guard agencies of the countries concerned.
But what is the known threat so far? Even the identity of the supposed terrorist group is unspecified, but if there is any truth in the warning, then initial indications suggest the most likely group is the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
However, JI is ill-equipped to undertake a task as complicated as attacking a large moving vessel at sea with high open decks. It is very different from detonating a bomb by remote control in a stationary land-based target.
Nonetheless, whoever is involved or implicated, constant patrols and adequate on-board security should suffice to deter and neutralise any attempted attacks.
Singapore authorities during the week have also warned of possible attacks on other large vessels, but it is just as well for smaller vessels also to be forewarned.
It took Somali pirates years of experience in attacking, boarding and hijacking smaller ships before recently “graduating” to a few oil tankers. For terrorist groups in South-East Asia with no experience of attacking any ships, it does not require complacency to be sceptical of a successful attack on an oil tanker.
During the week, the IMB explained that terrorists would need the element of surprise to succeed. Large, heavy and slow-moving tankers offer little surprise as a floating bomb, while their few crew members make for minimal hostages and casualties.
Without lapsing into complacency, the existing security agencies of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have the capacity and competency to face down any terrorist threat to shipping in the straits. Years of successful action against piracy has helped, although piracy and terrorism are separate challenges to security.
Beyond capacity and competency, however, regional state agencies need to develop the third crucial “c”: coordination. Still with no experience of working as one offshore security body, separate national agencies can do with better coordination without undue duplication, wastage, lapses or blind spots.
With the personnel and equipment already at hand, more can be done to develop peak readiness round-the-clock with optimal response among the different agencies of the different countries.
And besides responses, the agencies also need to exercise constant anticipation of attacks.
A common problem with disparate national agencies concerns territorial jurisdiction and possible encroachment on national territory.
With close coordination and prior approval in hot pursuit of suspect vessels, maritime boundaries should pose no problem for law enforcement.
The quantitative presence of the various national security agencies in the Malacca Straits is more than sufficient.
Their qualitative presence however can be improved, by way of better information gathering, data interface and intelligence-sharing between the different agencies and governments.
Uniform procedures among Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian authorities at least would also help. These relate to procedures for interdicting suspect vessels and the processing of detained suspects.
Passive security measures like on-board sentry duty are important and will continue. But just as important are active security measures like intercepting suspect radio messages and detective work to root out terrorist networks regionwide.
Just as all ships need to be forewarned, not just tankers and other large vessels, effective maritime security must be more than offshore.
Since seabound terrorists need land operations to complement or support their activities by way of vital supplies and escape routes, so must law enforcement deploy land resources and assets to stop them.
Sri Lanka to lead campaign against sea pirates: Bogollagama Fri, 2010-03-05 13:07 — editor
Source: Asian tribune
Sri Lanka which has defeated terrorism on the Sri Lankan soil, is now getting ready to lead a campaign against the sea pirates at the regional level and later it will take to worldwide, pledged by Foreign Affairs Minister Rohitha Bogollagama speaking to the Asian Tribune. The Minister said that his Ministry took all the diplomatic measurers to get release the three Sri Lankans who were on board of the Panama-flagged but UAE owned Ro-Ro cargo ship.
The Sri Lankans including the captain of a cargo ship were held by Somali authorities at a Port in Berbera since September 2009. The roll-on-roll-off vessel MV Leila consists of 14 seafarers, of whom seven are from India, three from Sri Lanka, two from Pakistan and another two from Somalia.
Minister Bogollagama said that diplomatic missions of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have also been involved in getting the release of their citizens and arrangements have already been made for their safe return.
As the captain of the ship being a Sri Lankan, he has to officially hand over the ship officially to a new captain, according to the international rules and regulations. “That is the only delay and they will be in Sri Lanka soon”, the Foreign Affairs Minister added.
Meanwhile, another ship, the 'Al Nisar Al Saudi' was also hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on Monday with 14-member crew including 13 Sri Lankans and one Greek. The tanker was on its way from Japan to Jeddah when it was hijacked.
Speaking over the incident, Minister Bogollagama said that Sri Lankan Consular General's office in Jeddah had already been instructed to hold discussions with the relevant shipping company and furnish the ministry with a report in that regard.
He also said that the Ministry will take all the measurers to get them released soon.
- Asian Tribune -
By Anjana Jayashan in Colombo
Colombo, 05 March (Asiantribune.com):
Foreign Affairs Minister Rohitha Bogollagama
The Sri Lankans including the captain of a cargo ship were held by Somali authorities at a Port in Berbera since September 2009. The roll-on-roll-off vessel MV Leila consists of 14 seafarers, of whom seven are from India, three from Sri Lanka, two from Pakistan and another two from Somalia.
Minister Bogollagama said that diplomatic missions of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have also been involved in getting the release of their citizens and arrangements have already been made for their safe return.
As the captain of the ship being a Sri Lankan, he has to officially hand over the ship officially to a new captain, according to the international rules and regulations. “That is the only delay and they will be in Sri Lanka soon”, the Foreign Affairs Minister added.
Meanwhile, another ship, the 'Al Nisar Al Saudi' was also hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on Monday with 14-member crew including 13 Sri Lankans and one Greek. The tanker was on its way from Japan to Jeddah when it was hijacked.
Speaking over the incident, Minister Bogollagama said that Sri Lankan Consular General's office in Jeddah had already been instructed to hold discussions with the relevant shipping company and furnish the ministry with a report in that regard.
He also said that the Ministry will take all the measurers to get them released soon.
- Asian Tribune -
Gadgets galore as Somali pirates spur booming sector
Source: AFP
By Jean-Marc Mojon (AFP) – 1 hour ago NAIROBI — Somali pirates raked in an estimated 60 million dollars in 2009 but the Indian Ocean's ransom hunters have also spurred a much larger industry of ship protection devices.
As the 36,000 ships that bottleneck into the Gulf of Aden each year try to dodge marauding pirates and keep a lid on insurance premiums, an astonishing array of inventions has cropped up on the flourishing market.
With obstacles remaining to the deployment of onboard security personnel, a myriad of hoses, nets, lasers, radars -- from million-dollar high-tech systems to gadgets straight out of a Harry Potter wizard shop -- have been developed.
"Some of this will, I think, find a place in the market because it answers the need for companies to do something, short of arming crews or bringing armed security onboard," said security expert Jake Allen.
"Never mind that many of these inventions don't work or are easily defeated by pirates," added Allen, a senior risk advisor with US-based The NoLu Group and the author of an ebook entitled "Security Contracting".
With very few companies willing to incur the extra cost of opting for the safer route around the Cape of Good Hope, some shipping firms will be under increasing legal pressure to take basic security precautions.
So it's gadgets galore at scores of specialised security fairs across the world, where start-ups run by navy veterans all offer the ultimate pirate-proof invention with a fancy acronym.
One company peddles the Anti-Pirate Water Cannon System and another markets "non-lethal slippery (or anti-traction) foam" as the trick that will frustrate pirates even after they successfully board their prey.
A British company markets a net to snare the pirates' propellers for 450 dollars (330 euros) per metre without shipping.
Other solutions include evolutions of age-old hidden-spikes-and-hot-oil defensive tactics, such as 9,000-volt electrical wiring or a "hot water curtain" to defend the deck from grapnel-wielding sea-jackers.
There are various cheap DIY ways of "rigging" a ship with nets, traps, barbed wire and dummy security guards.
Maritime security forums on the Internet are awash with suggestions for outlandish contraptions such as glue cannons, robot anti-pirate boats and 50-dollar star-pointing green lasers that cause "reversible eye damage".
More seriously considered -- and costly -- solutions developed by Europe's largest defence company BAE include dazzle guns that incapacitate assailants 1,000 yards (metres) away and a state-of-the art early warning radar system.
However there is a dearth of recorded occurrences during which any of these devices were successfully used against Somali pirates.
One exception is the long range acoustic device (LRAD), a crowd-control sonic blaster that can be used to convey messages or emit unpleasant "deterrent tones". It was also used at the Pittsburgh G-20 meeting last year.
The legality of many of these "less lethal" weapons is also contested and Hans Tino Hansen, managing director of Denmark-based Risk Intelligence, argued that the perceived market for such systems may be higher than the real one.
"From our customer base, we can see that systems that have dual functionality are preferred to security only systems -- this could be remote controlled thermal imaging systems or real water canons," he said.
"In the ever-growing range of non-lethal weapons on offer, some are much less effective than the blurb tries to convey and can even be dangerous when they are operated," said Olivier Halloui, operations manager at French-based maritime safety firm Surtymar.
"The end goal of protection measures is to delay the pirates' boarding and commandeering of the ship. Simple and cheap set-ups can turn out to be effective if a suspicious boat is spotted early," he explained.
The naval missions patrolling Somali waters regularly remind seafarers that ships respecting recommended corridors and best management practices laid out by the industry rarely get attacked.
By Jean-Marc Mojon (AFP) – 1 hour ago NAIROBI — Somali pirates raked in an estimated 60 million dollars in 2009 but the Indian Ocean's ransom hunters have also spurred a much larger industry of ship protection devices.
As the 36,000 ships that bottleneck into the Gulf of Aden each year try to dodge marauding pirates and keep a lid on insurance premiums, an astonishing array of inventions has cropped up on the flourishing market.
With obstacles remaining to the deployment of onboard security personnel, a myriad of hoses, nets, lasers, radars -- from million-dollar high-tech systems to gadgets straight out of a Harry Potter wizard shop -- have been developed.
"Some of this will, I think, find a place in the market because it answers the need for companies to do something, short of arming crews or bringing armed security onboard," said security expert Jake Allen.
"Never mind that many of these inventions don't work or are easily defeated by pirates," added Allen, a senior risk advisor with US-based The NoLu Group and the author of an ebook entitled "Security Contracting".
With very few companies willing to incur the extra cost of opting for the safer route around the Cape of Good Hope, some shipping firms will be under increasing legal pressure to take basic security precautions.
So it's gadgets galore at scores of specialised security fairs across the world, where start-ups run by navy veterans all offer the ultimate pirate-proof invention with a fancy acronym.
One company peddles the Anti-Pirate Water Cannon System and another markets "non-lethal slippery (or anti-traction) foam" as the trick that will frustrate pirates even after they successfully board their prey.
A British company markets a net to snare the pirates' propellers for 450 dollars (330 euros) per metre without shipping.
Other solutions include evolutions of age-old hidden-spikes-and-hot-oil defensive tactics, such as 9,000-volt electrical wiring or a "hot water curtain" to defend the deck from grapnel-wielding sea-jackers.
There are various cheap DIY ways of "rigging" a ship with nets, traps, barbed wire and dummy security guards.
Maritime security forums on the Internet are awash with suggestions for outlandish contraptions such as glue cannons, robot anti-pirate boats and 50-dollar star-pointing green lasers that cause "reversible eye damage".
More seriously considered -- and costly -- solutions developed by Europe's largest defence company BAE include dazzle guns that incapacitate assailants 1,000 yards (metres) away and a state-of-the art early warning radar system.
However there is a dearth of recorded occurrences during which any of these devices were successfully used against Somali pirates.
One exception is the long range acoustic device (LRAD), a crowd-control sonic blaster that can be used to convey messages or emit unpleasant "deterrent tones". It was also used at the Pittsburgh G-20 meeting last year.
The legality of many of these "less lethal" weapons is also contested and Hans Tino Hansen, managing director of Denmark-based Risk Intelligence, argued that the perceived market for such systems may be higher than the real one.
"From our customer base, we can see that systems that have dual functionality are preferred to security only systems -- this could be remote controlled thermal imaging systems or real water canons," he said.
"In the ever-growing range of non-lethal weapons on offer, some are much less effective than the blurb tries to convey and can even be dangerous when they are operated," said Olivier Halloui, operations manager at French-based maritime safety firm Surtymar.
"The end goal of protection measures is to delay the pirates' boarding and commandeering of the ship. Simple and cheap set-ups can turn out to be effective if a suspicious boat is spotted early," he explained.
The naval missions patrolling Somali waters regularly remind seafarers that ships respecting recommended corridors and best management practices laid out by the industry rarely get attacked.
Turkish navy captures seven pirates off Somalia
Source: AFP
(AFP) – 21 hours ago ANKARA — A Turkish frigate intercepted a skiff in the Gulf of Aden and captured seven alleged pirates on Saturday on suspicion that they were preparing for attacks, the Turkish military said.
The Gemlik, operating with NATO forces in the region, spotted the skiff at around 3:00 a.m. (0100 GMT), about 55 miles from the shore in a transit corridor commercial vessels are encouraged to use for safe passage.
The Turkish frigate stopped the boat, detained those on board and seized an assault rifle, along with equipment used in piracy operations, the general staff said in a statement on its Internet site.
A photograph posted on the army's web site showed a Turkish soldier aboard the skiff and the pirates holding their hands up in surrender.
Somalia's sea bandits hijacked 68 ships in 2009 and raked in an estimated 60 million dollars (44 million euros) in ransom money
(AFP) – 21 hours ago ANKARA — A Turkish frigate intercepted a skiff in the Gulf of Aden and captured seven alleged pirates on Saturday on suspicion that they were preparing for attacks, the Turkish military said.
The Gemlik, operating with NATO forces in the region, spotted the skiff at around 3:00 a.m. (0100 GMT), about 55 miles from the shore in a transit corridor commercial vessels are encouraged to use for safe passage.
The Turkish frigate stopped the boat, detained those on board and seized an assault rifle, along with equipment used in piracy operations, the general staff said in a statement on its Internet site.
A photograph posted on the army's web site showed a Turkish soldier aboard the skiff and the pirates holding their hands up in surrender.
Somalia's sea bandits hijacked 68 ships in 2009 and raked in an estimated 60 million dollars (44 million euros) in ransom money
5 Filipino seamen left with sea pirates—DFA
Source: Global nation inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—There are only five Filipino seafarers remaining in captivity on two vessels, the lowest number of Filipino hostages in custody of Somali pirates in recent times, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
A DFA statement on Saturday describes two seamen as crew members of the Thai Union 3 while three as working aboard the MV St. James Park.
Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said that his office has been coordinating closely with the ships’ principal local manning agencies for the early and safe release of the remaining seamen.
Thai Union 3 was hijacked on October 29, 2009, in the Indian Ocean, 370 kilometers north of Seychelles. There are 23 Russians aboard, all are residents of Kaliningrad, plus two Filipinos and two Ghanaians.
St. James Park, a United Kingdom-flagged ship, was pirated on December 29, 2009 while transiting the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor (IRTC) through the Gulf of Aden. It has a crew of 26, among them three Filipinos, three Russians, a Georgian), two Romanians, five Bulgarians, two Ukrainians, a Polish, six Indians, and three Turkish. There are no U.K. citizens onboard.
The International Maritime Bureau, Lloyd's Register and Ecoterra International have reported that about 20, 000 ships yearly pass through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden.
Coalition warships constantly patrol the IRTC shipping lanes, watching for signs of pirates and listening for warning calls from vessels concerned about any approaching boat.
All ships transiting the IRTC have been advised to follow a set of best practices issued by the International Maritime Organization. These measures are designed to inform merchant vessels of proven tactics to help prevent unauthorized boardings. Best practices include proactive lookouts, the use of deck lighting, netting, razor wire, electrical fencing, fire hoses, and surveillance and detection equipment.
The IMO said the adoption of these tactics by ships, plus evasive maneuvering, has been intended to delay the pirates in order to allow military vessels or helicopters time to successfully intervene.
Although the total number of attacks in the Gulf of Aden in 2009 remained almost the same as in 2008 (101 and 102 respectively), the percentage of successful attacks fell from 65 percent to 17 percent, the IMO said in its report.
On average, five out of every six attacks were repelled in 2009, against two out of every six in 2008.
Meanwhile, Conejos said the 17 Filipino seafarers aboard the Taiwanese-flagged FV Win Far 161, which was released from captivity off the coast of Somalia on February 11, have been set to arrive in Manila on Sunday from Kaoshung, Taiwan.
The new arrivals will be welcomed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport by representatives from the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and their manning agency.
The fishing vessel was hijacked on April 6, 2009 off the coast of Seychelles by Somali pirates. It was the longest held vessel with Filipino crew.
Earlier, 18 Filipino seafarers aboard Greek-owned, Panama-flagged MV Navios Apollon were released from captivity in Somalia on February 28 (Philippine time). The ship’s owner is currently arranging the crew’s repatriation to the Philippines.
A DFA statement on Saturday describes two seamen as crew members of the Thai Union 3 while three as working aboard the MV St. James Park.
Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said that his office has been coordinating closely with the ships’ principal local manning agencies for the early and safe release of the remaining seamen.
Thai Union 3 was hijacked on October 29, 2009, in the Indian Ocean, 370 kilometers north of Seychelles. There are 23 Russians aboard, all are residents of Kaliningrad, plus two Filipinos and two Ghanaians.
St. James Park, a United Kingdom-flagged ship, was pirated on December 29, 2009 while transiting the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor (IRTC) through the Gulf of Aden. It has a crew of 26, among them three Filipinos, three Russians, a Georgian), two Romanians, five Bulgarians, two Ukrainians, a Polish, six Indians, and three Turkish. There are no U.K. citizens onboard.
The International Maritime Bureau, Lloyd's Register and Ecoterra International have reported that about 20, 000 ships yearly pass through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden.
Coalition warships constantly patrol the IRTC shipping lanes, watching for signs of pirates and listening for warning calls from vessels concerned about any approaching boat.
All ships transiting the IRTC have been advised to follow a set of best practices issued by the International Maritime Organization. These measures are designed to inform merchant vessels of proven tactics to help prevent unauthorized boardings. Best practices include proactive lookouts, the use of deck lighting, netting, razor wire, electrical fencing, fire hoses, and surveillance and detection equipment.
The IMO said the adoption of these tactics by ships, plus evasive maneuvering, has been intended to delay the pirates in order to allow military vessels or helicopters time to successfully intervene.
Although the total number of attacks in the Gulf of Aden in 2009 remained almost the same as in 2008 (101 and 102 respectively), the percentage of successful attacks fell from 65 percent to 17 percent, the IMO said in its report.
On average, five out of every six attacks were repelled in 2009, against two out of every six in 2008.
Meanwhile, Conejos said the 17 Filipino seafarers aboard the Taiwanese-flagged FV Win Far 161, which was released from captivity off the coast of Somalia on February 11, have been set to arrive in Manila on Sunday from Kaoshung, Taiwan.
The new arrivals will be welcomed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport by representatives from the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and their manning agency.
The fishing vessel was hijacked on April 6, 2009 off the coast of Seychelles by Somali pirates. It was the longest held vessel with Filipino crew.
Earlier, 18 Filipino seafarers aboard Greek-owned, Panama-flagged MV Navios Apollon were released from captivity in Somalia on February 28 (Philippine time). The ship’s owner is currently arranging the crew’s repatriation to the Philippines.
Philippine marines kill 7 suspected militants
Source: Blog tarang
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine marines have killed at least seven al-Qaida-linked militants in an attack on a coastal hide-out, but they failed to capture a Malaysian terror suspect long wanted by Washington.
Regional military commander Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrerro says Malaysian militant Zulkifli bin Hir may have escaped with other Abu Sayyaf gunmen when marines on board rubber boats launched the attack on Laminusa Island off southern Sulu province Sunday. The Malaysian is also known as Marwan.
Guerrero says Abu Sayyaf commander Abu Benhur also managed to escape during the attack.
He says Marines recovered 15 firearms abandoned by the militants. One Marine was wounded in the battle.
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine marines have killed at least seven al-Qaida-linked militants in an attack on a coastal hide-out, but they failed to capture a Malaysian terror suspect long wanted by Washington.
Regional military commander Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrerro says Malaysian militant Zulkifli bin Hir may have escaped with other Abu Sayyaf gunmen when marines on board rubber boats launched the attack on Laminusa Island off southern Sulu province Sunday. The Malaysian is also known as Marwan.
Guerrero says Abu Sayyaf commander Abu Benhur also managed to escape during the attack.
He says Marines recovered 15 firearms abandoned by the militants. One Marine was wounded in the battle.
Iranian tour bus attacked in Najaf
Source: Tehran times
March 7, 2010
Tehran Times Political Desk
March 7, 2010
)
Tehran Times Political Desk
NAFAF/TEHRAN -- A car bomb exploded near the bus of a group of Iranian pilgrims in the holy city of Najaf on Saturday morning, killing at least one Iranian national and injuring 37 others.
Although the Mehr News Agency reported that only one person had been killed in the Iraqi city, Reuters, Press TV, and a number of other news outlets reported that four Iranians had been killed.
The explosion tore through an Iranian tour bus parked at a garage near the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (AS).
Seventeen Iraqis were also injured in the incident.
Most of the injured pilgrims transferred to hospitals only suffered minor injuries and were treated quickly and discharged.
However, three Iranian nationals required surgery at Al-Hakeem hospital in Najaf.
The blast came a day before Iraq’s parliamentary election.
On Friday, the Al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist group threatened to ruin the election process and to kill anyone who votes.
Iran denounces terrorist attack as crime against humanity
On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast condemned the terrorist attack as a crime against humanity.
The Foreign Ministry also announced that the tour bus that was attacked was not part of an officially approved tour arranged by Iran’s Haj and Pilgrimage Organization.
The explosion tore through an Iranian tour bus parked at a garage near the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (AS).
Seventeen Iraqis were also injured in the incident.
Most of the injured pilgrims transferred to hospitals only suffered minor injuries and were treated quickly and discharged.
However, three Iranian nationals required surgery at Al-Hakeem hospital in Najaf.
The blast came a day before Iraq’s parliamentary election.
On Friday, the Al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist group threatened to ruin the election process and to kill anyone who votes.
Iran denounces terrorist attack as crime against humanity
On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast condemned the terrorist attack as a crime against humanity.
The Foreign Ministry also announced that the tour bus that was attacked was not part of an officially approved tour arranged by Iran’s Haj and Pilgrimage Organization.
Ingushetia rebel killed in raid by Russian troops
Source: BBC NEWS
Mr Tikhomirov was accused of involvement in the bombing of a train last year that killed 26 people.
He was also linked to an assassination attempt on President Yevkurov.
FSB head Alexander Bortnikov told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in televised comments: "Material evidence was found on the scene of the special operation directly connected to the train blast organised by this group of bandits in November last year."
The November 2009 bomb attack was on the Nevksy Express between Moscow and Petersburg.
A North Caucasus Islamist group, the "Causasian Mujahadeen", said it carried it out on the orders of its leader Doku Umarov.
Mr Tikhomirov had never personally admitted involvement, and Mr Bortnikov's comments were the first time he had been directly linked, Reuters reported.
Mr Tikhomirov did admit involvement in a suicide bomb attack at police headquarters in the republic's capital, Nazran, which killed 20 policemen in August 2009.
Mr Yevkurov almost died in a suicide bomb attack in June last year, that Russian police suspected was organised by Mr Tikhomirov.
 |
A leading Islamist rebel in Ingushetia has been killed during a raid by Russian troops, Russia's Federal Security Service has said.
The death of Alexander Tikhomirov, also called Said Buryatsky, and seven rebels this week was confirmed by Ingushetia President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. Mr Tikhomirov was accused of involvement in the bombing of a train last year that killed 26 people.
He was also linked to an assassination attempt on President Yevkurov.
FSB head Alexander Bortnikov told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in televised comments: "Material evidence was found on the scene of the special operation directly connected to the train blast organised by this group of bandits in November last year."
The November 2009 bomb attack was on the Nevksy Express between Moscow and Petersburg.
A North Caucasus Islamist group, the "Causasian Mujahadeen", said it carried it out on the orders of its leader Doku Umarov.
Mr Tikhomirov had never personally admitted involvement, and Mr Bortnikov's comments were the first time he had been directly linked, Reuters reported.
Mr Tikhomirov did admit involvement in a suicide bomb attack at police headquarters in the republic's capital, Nazran, which killed 20 policemen in August 2009.
Mr Yevkurov almost died in a suicide bomb attack in June last year, that Russian police suspected was organised by Mr Tikhomirov.
Two more British soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Source: Mirror
By Ben Griffiths 7/03/2010
Two more British soldiers have been killed in 24 hours in Afghanistan.
A Trooper from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles was shot in a firefight with insurgents yesterday near Sangin in Helmand Province.
His death comes a day after another Rifleman was killed in a bomb blast on a foot patrol in the town - bringing last week's death toll for the regiment to four and 37 since the start of 2009. Neither incident was part of Operation Moshtarak.
Yesterday's death takes to 270 the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001.
Meanwhile, a military policewoman was by her husband's bedside yesterday after he was badly injured in Afghanistan in the major allied offensive, Operation Moshtarak. Guardsman Davie McClellan, 25, and Vicky Callard's wedding six months ago made headlines as they were both to be deployed to the war zone.
Guardsman McClellan was injured as he tried to protect fellow Glaswegian Lance Sergeant David Walker when they came under fire.
L/Sgt Walker later died and his comrade suffered serious wounds to his chest and arm, and a bullet bruised his heart.
He was flown back to Birmingham for treatment at Selly Oak Hospital where his wife Corporal Callard, 23, was by his bedside.
She was due to be deployed to Afghanistan later this month. Vicky's father David said: "She'll stay with her husband as long as it takes, but it looks like being a long, long road to recovery."
GORD HAILS 'BIG SUCCESS'
Gordon Brown yesterday hailed Operation Moshtarak as "one of the great success stories of the campaign in Afghanistan". Addressing troops in Lashkar Gah, the PM praised the "huge advances" against the Taliban in central Helmand, where 4,000 British soldiers are involved in the assault on their strongholds.
He thanked them for their "courage, professionalism and dedication" since the operation began three weeks ago. "This is an important moment, when our forces have gone in and the Taliban have run away."
The PM is in Helmand with the Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, to assess the results of the operation for himself. He was told only pockets of resistance remained, and work is under way to train hundreds more Afghan police and reopen schools and health clinics.
By Ben Griffiths 7/03/2010
Two more British soldiers have been killed in 24 hours in Afghanistan.
A Trooper from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles was shot in a firefight with insurgents yesterday near Sangin in Helmand Province.
His death comes a day after another Rifleman was killed in a bomb blast on a foot patrol in the town - bringing last week's death toll for the regiment to four and 37 since the start of 2009. Neither incident was part of Operation Moshtarak.
Yesterday's death takes to 270 the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001.
Meanwhile, a military policewoman was by her husband's bedside yesterday after he was badly injured in Afghanistan in the major allied offensive, Operation Moshtarak. Guardsman Davie McClellan, 25, and Vicky Callard's wedding six months ago made headlines as they were both to be deployed to the war zone.
Guardsman McClellan was injured as he tried to protect fellow Glaswegian Lance Sergeant David Walker when they came under fire.
L/Sgt Walker later died and his comrade suffered serious wounds to his chest and arm, and a bullet bruised his heart.
He was flown back to Birmingham for treatment at Selly Oak Hospital where his wife Corporal Callard, 23, was by his bedside.
She was due to be deployed to Afghanistan later this month. Vicky's father David said: "She'll stay with her husband as long as it takes, but it looks like being a long, long road to recovery."
GORD HAILS 'BIG SUCCESS'
Gordon Brown yesterday hailed Operation Moshtarak as "one of the great success stories of the campaign in Afghanistan". Addressing troops in Lashkar Gah, the PM praised the "huge advances" against the Taliban in central Helmand, where 4,000 British soldiers are involved in the assault on their strongholds.
He thanked them for their "courage, professionalism and dedication" since the operation began three weeks ago. "This is an important moment, when our forces have gone in and the Taliban have run away."
The PM is in Helmand with the Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, to assess the results of the operation for himself. He was told only pockets of resistance remained, and work is under way to train hundreds more Afghan police and reopen schools and health clinics.
Iraq parliamentary election hit by insurgent attacks
Source: BBC News
The border with Iran has been closed, thousands of troops deployed, and vehicle movement has been banned.
PM Nouri Maliki called on voters to turn out in large numbers, saying that participation would boost democracy.
The election is taking place against a backdrop of much-reduced violence, with casualty figures among civilians, Iraqi forces and US troops significantly lower than in recent years.
But hundreds of people are still being killed each month, corruption is high and the provision of basic services such as electricity is still sporadic.
In one attack, 12 people were killed and eight injured when an explosion destroyed a residential building in northern Baghdad, officials said, shortly after another blast in the city killed five others.
Seven died in other attacks across the country, but no polling stations are reported to have been hit.
Sporadic mortar fire could be heard across the capital after polls opened at 0400 GMT, two bomb blasts were reported near a polling station in Fallujah, and there were also reports of mortar rounds being fired in Salahuddin province.
Islamic militants had pledged to disrupt the voting process with attacks - a group affiliated to al-Qaeda distributed leaflets in Baghdad warning people not to go to the polls.
A vast operation, involving more than half-a-million members of Iraq's combined security forces, has been put in place to try to prevent attackers from disrupting the election.
Most of the mortars were fired from Baghdad's predominantly Sunni districts, said the city's security spokesman, Maj Gen Qassim al-Moussawi.
"We are in a state of combat," he said. "We are operating in a battlefield and our warriors are expecting the worst."
But despite the hail of attacks, he said a car ban aimed at stopping car bombs had been lifted after four hours of voting, Reuters reported. Curbs on buses and lorries remained in force.
'Important choice'
Some 19 million Iraqis are eligible to elect 325 members of parliament, and polls will close at 1400 GMT unless voting hours are extended.
Mr Maliki told the BBC that the violence should not deter voters from turning out.
"What happened will push voters to take part in the election," he said.
"Most of those attacks are designed to psychologically terrorise the voters and prevent them from going to the polls.
"But it is well-known that Iraqis when they are challenged by terror, challenge it back."
In some neighbourhoods, mosque loudspeakers are exhorting people to go out and vote, and voters seem to be heeding the calls.
In Azamiyah (northern Baghdad), Walid Abid, 40, cast his vote to the crumple of mortars exploding not far away.
"I am not scared and I am not going to stay put at home," said the father-of-two.
"Until when? We need to change things. If I stay home and not come to vote, Azamiyah will get worse," AP quoted him as saying.
The previous election, in 2005, saw Mr Maliki become prime minister with Shia Muslim parties dominating the legislature.
President Jalal Talabani, seeking another term, was among the first to vote on Sunday in the Kurdish city of Sulamaniyah, and said the election marked both a step, and a test, on Iraq's march to democracy.
In a rare public appearance, radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, speaking in neighbouring Iran, urged Iraqis to vote and to reject violence.
Iraq's last elections were in February 2009, when voters chose local representatives.
Expats crucial?
Sunday's elections are being seen as a crucial test for Iraq's national reconciliation process ahead of a planned US military withdrawal in stages.
US President Barack Obama plans to withdraw combat forces by the middle of this year and all US troops are expected to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
Correspondents say Prime Minister Maliki looks likely to retain power at the head of his Shia-led coalition.
The key will be whether Mr Maliki can bring Iraq's embittered Sunni minority into his government and make them feel they have a stake in Iraq's political future again.
Expatriate votes cast in Jordan and Syria could play a deciding role in a tight election race, counting for around 10 seats.
There was a reportedly high turnout, with estimates suggesting 800,000 people cast ballots.
 Iraqis hope the election will lead to reduced violence |
There has been a bloody start to Iraq's second parliamentary election since the 2003 invasion, with at least 24 people being killed in attacks.
At least two buildings have been destroyed and dozens of mortars fired across Baghdad and elsewhere. The border with Iran has been closed, thousands of troops deployed, and vehicle movement has been banned.
PM Nouri Maliki called on voters to turn out in large numbers, saying that participation would boost democracy.
The election is taking place against a backdrop of much-reduced violence, with casualty figures among civilians, Iraqi forces and US troops significantly lower than in recent years.
 | AT THE SCENE  By John Simpson, BBC News, Baghdad There are fears that violence will mar the polls, but not destroy them or undermine their credibility. Some of the violence is due to extremist Sunnis trying to stop other Sunnis from voting. There have been some 20 mortar strikes across Baghdad throughout the morning, some striking in the Green Zone, but this is what the security forces were expecting. Iraq is one of the most dangerous countries in the world and the pressing problem is not so much the violence as the nature of the democratic process. This is a new democracy and it has not got used to this process yet - it could take months before we get a government here. |
In one attack, 12 people were killed and eight injured when an explosion destroyed a residential building in northern Baghdad, officials said, shortly after another blast in the city killed five others.
Seven died in other attacks across the country, but no polling stations are reported to have been hit.
Sporadic mortar fire could be heard across the capital after polls opened at 0400 GMT, two bomb blasts were reported near a polling station in Fallujah, and there were also reports of mortar rounds being fired in Salahuddin province.
Islamic militants had pledged to disrupt the voting process with attacks - a group affiliated to al-Qaeda distributed leaflets in Baghdad warning people not to go to the polls.
A vast operation, involving more than half-a-million members of Iraq's combined security forces, has been put in place to try to prevent attackers from disrupting the election.
Most of the mortars were fired from Baghdad's predominantly Sunni districts, said the city's security spokesman, Maj Gen Qassim al-Moussawi.
"We are in a state of combat," he said. "We are operating in a battlefield and our warriors are expecting the worst."
But despite the hail of attacks, he said a car ban aimed at stopping car bombs had been lifted after four hours of voting, Reuters reported. Curbs on buses and lorries remained in force.
'Important choice'
Some 19 million Iraqis are eligible to elect 325 members of parliament, and polls will close at 1400 GMT unless voting hours are extended.
| IRAQI GENERAL ELECTION Voting to elect 325-member parliament. About 19 million eligible voters out of 28 million 200,000 security personnel on duty in Baghdad Key issues: Security, services and disqualification of alleged Baathists Previous votes: Jan 2005 (transitional national assembly), Oct 2005 (constitution), Dec 2005 first post-invasion parliament, Feb 2009 (local elections)  |
"What happened will push voters to take part in the election," he said.
"Most of those attacks are designed to psychologically terrorise the voters and prevent them from going to the polls.
"But it is well-known that Iraqis when they are challenged by terror, challenge it back."
In some neighbourhoods, mosque loudspeakers are exhorting people to go out and vote, and voters seem to be heeding the calls.
In Azamiyah (northern Baghdad), Walid Abid, 40, cast his vote to the crumple of mortars exploding not far away.
"I am not scared and I am not going to stay put at home," said the father-of-two.
"Until when? We need to change things. If I stay home and not come to vote, Azamiyah will get worse," AP quoted him as saying.
The previous election, in 2005, saw Mr Maliki become prime minister with Shia Muslim parties dominating the legislature.
President Jalal Talabani, seeking another term, was among the first to vote on Sunday in the Kurdish city of Sulamaniyah, and said the election marked both a step, and a test, on Iraq's march to democracy.
In a rare public appearance, radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, speaking in neighbouring Iran, urged Iraqis to vote and to reject violence.
Iraq's last elections were in February 2009, when voters chose local representatives.
Expats crucial?
Sunday's elections are being seen as a crucial test for Iraq's national reconciliation process ahead of a planned US military withdrawal in stages.
US President Barack Obama plans to withdraw combat forces by the middle of this year and all US troops are expected to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
Correspondents say Prime Minister Maliki looks likely to retain power at the head of his Shia-led coalition.
The key will be whether Mr Maliki can bring Iraq's embittered Sunni minority into his government and make them feel they have a stake in Iraq's political future again.
Expatriate votes cast in Jordan and Syria could play a deciding role in a tight election race, counting for around 10 seats.
There was a reportedly high turnout, with estimates suggesting 800,000 people cast ballots.
Undeterred by attacks, Indians not to return from Afghanistan
Source: Dna India
PTI
Sunday, March 7, 2010 12:53 IST
Kabul: Notwithstanding the terror attacks and threats, Indians posted in Afghanistan and working on various reconstruction projects are unwilling to return home leaving their tasks unfinished.
You may also want to see
* India won't scale down missions in Afghanistan: Shiv Shankar Menon
* Afghan govt convinced about LeT involvement in Kabul attack on Indians
* Robert Gates concerned about Blackwater's conduct: Pentagon
* No Indian embassy staff in Kabul wants to come back: SM Krishna
* Operations of Indian medical mission in Kabul suspended
This is the sense they gave when they interacted with national security adviser Shivshankar Menon here during his two-day visit that concluded yesterday.
Meeting the officials of the Indian embassy, consulates and those engaged in reconstruction projects in Afghanistan was one of the first engagements of Menon when he arrived here to discuss security for about 4,000 Indians in this country in the aftermath of the February 26 attack.
Menon asked them about their impressions about the security situation and how they felt, sources said.
The staffers of the embassy and others engaged in developmental activities pointed to the dangerous situation, but nobody said they wanted to return home, the sources said.
There was no response even when given an offer that if anybody felt scared and wanted to leave Afghanistan, it could be facilitated, the sources said. Menon appreciated their brave spirit of continuing their tasks despite the difficult conditions.
Indians are working on a range of developmental projects which cover areas like infrastructure, power, healthcare, education and social sector. India has committed $1.3 billion in assistance to Afghanistan.
Taliban and other associated terrorist groups, at the behest of their masters in Pakistan, have been making efforts by carrying out attacks and issuing threats to force India to wind up its reconstruction activities and leave Afghanistan.
During his visit, Menon asserted that India would continue to fulfil its developmental commitments towards Afghan people, although there may be some adjustments in the way things are done.
"We have development assistance programme and a cooperation programme which is essentially an effort to work with our Afghan friends and to do the things that they wanted us to do. That will continue," he told reporters before winding up his visit here.
"We might adjust the way in which we do it but it is certain that our commitment to that developmental partnership will continue as it was," Menon said.
On the security aspect, he said Afghan authorities had assured that efforts would be made to strengthen protective measures for the Indians engaged in various reconstruction projects.
PTI
Sunday, March 7, 2010 12:53 IST
Kabul: Notwithstanding the terror attacks and threats, Indians posted in Afghanistan and working on various reconstruction projects are unwilling to return home leaving their tasks unfinished.
You may also want to see
* India won't scale down missions in Afghanistan: Shiv Shankar Menon
* Afghan govt convinced about LeT involvement in Kabul attack on Indians
* Robert Gates concerned about Blackwater's conduct: Pentagon
* No Indian embassy staff in Kabul wants to come back: SM Krishna
* Operations of Indian medical mission in Kabul suspended
This is the sense they gave when they interacted with national security adviser Shivshankar Menon here during his two-day visit that concluded yesterday.
Meeting the officials of the Indian embassy, consulates and those engaged in reconstruction projects in Afghanistan was one of the first engagements of Menon when he arrived here to discuss security for about 4,000 Indians in this country in the aftermath of the February 26 attack.
Menon asked them about their impressions about the security situation and how they felt, sources said.
The staffers of the embassy and others engaged in developmental activities pointed to the dangerous situation, but nobody said they wanted to return home, the sources said.
There was no response even when given an offer that if anybody felt scared and wanted to leave Afghanistan, it could be facilitated, the sources said. Menon appreciated their brave spirit of continuing their tasks despite the difficult conditions.
Indians are working on a range of developmental projects which cover areas like infrastructure, power, healthcare, education and social sector. India has committed $1.3 billion in assistance to Afghanistan.
Taliban and other associated terrorist groups, at the behest of their masters in Pakistan, have been making efforts by carrying out attacks and issuing threats to force India to wind up its reconstruction activities and leave Afghanistan.
During his visit, Menon asserted that India would continue to fulfil its developmental commitments towards Afghan people, although there may be some adjustments in the way things are done.
"We have development assistance programme and a cooperation programme which is essentially an effort to work with our Afghan friends and to do the things that they wanted us to do. That will continue," he told reporters before winding up his visit here.
"We might adjust the way in which we do it but it is certain that our commitment to that developmental partnership will continue as it was," Menon said.
On the security aspect, he said Afghan authorities had assured that efforts would be made to strengthen protective measures for the Indians engaged in various reconstruction projects.
Kabul LeT attack Spreads Terror
The initial investigation into the terror attacks that jolted Kabuls Indian Guest house Friday has brought to light evidences linking Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba to the attacks. At least 16 people, including 9 Indians, were killed Friday in a string of explosions and gunfire in the Commercial Zone of Kabul. Sayed Ansari, a spokesman for Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security said, "We are very close to the exact proof and evidence that the attack on the Indian guest house ... is not the work of the Afghan Taliban but this attack was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba network,". The Afghan intelligence agencys spokesman said Lashkar-e Taiba are dependent on the Pakistani military. He further said, There were four men armed with rifles and suicide vests, one of them was heard speaking Urdu, and that they wore burqas to hide their gear.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Maoists want to overthrow Indian state by 2050: Pillai PTI New Delhi, March 5, 2010
Source: India today
Maoists have plans to overthrow the Indian democracy through their armed struggle and want to control the government by 2050, Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai on Friday said.
Addressing a seminar on "Left Wing Extremism Situation in India", Pillai said the Maoists might be getting the help of some former soldiers in carrying out subversive activities.
"The overthrow of the Indian state is not something they are willing to do tomorrow or the day after. Their strategy, according to a booklet they circulated, is that they are looking for at 2050, some documents say in 2060," he said.
According to Pillai, Naxals were not looking at to overthrow the Indian state in 2012 or 2013, it was a long steady plan and in the past 10 years they slowly build up the movement.
"Now they can bring many sectors of Indian economy into their knees. But they don't want to do it today. They know that if they do that now, the state will come very hard.
They are not fully prepared to face the onslaught of the state machinery. So, they would rather go very slowly," he said.
The Home Secretary said the Maoists were a very highly motivated and well trained force like any armed force of any country and they could be helped by some ex-army personnel.
"They are very highly motivated, highly trained. I am quite certain that there are some, may be some ex-army or some people who have been with them," he said.
Giving reason for this conclusion, Pillai said after launching any attack, the Naxals conduct a post-mortem and analyse the whole operation.
"After every attack, they do a post-mortem and analysis. The analysis is as good as armed forces of any country does," he said.
The Home Secretary said 908 people have lost their lives last year, the highest since 1971, in Naxal violence and it may go up in this year and next year become coming down.
"It is quite like that the violence will go up in 2010 or 2011 before the tide is begin to turn," he said.
According to Pillai, even though the joint anti-Naxal operations were going on, the Naxals have not suffered any significant reverses so far and the government would need seven to eight years to have full control over the areas which were lost to the Maoists.
"The operations have not hit even five per cent of hardcore militants. The real armed cadres are yet to come out," he said, adding unless they feel the heat they will not come for talks and whatever statement they were making about peace were not serious.
Maoists have plans to overthrow the Indian democracy through their armed struggle and want to control the government by 2050, Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai on Friday said.
Addressing a seminar on "Left Wing Extremism Situation in India", Pillai said the Maoists might be getting the help of some former soldiers in carrying out subversive activities.
"The overthrow of the Indian state is not something they are willing to do tomorrow or the day after. Their strategy, according to a booklet they circulated, is that they are looking for at 2050, some documents say in 2060," he said.
According to Pillai, Naxals were not looking at to overthrow the Indian state in 2012 or 2013, it was a long steady plan and in the past 10 years they slowly build up the movement.
"Now they can bring many sectors of Indian economy into their knees. But they don't want to do it today. They know that if they do that now, the state will come very hard.
They are not fully prepared to face the onslaught of the state machinery. So, they would rather go very slowly," he said.
The Home Secretary said the Maoists were a very highly motivated and well trained force like any armed force of any country and they could be helped by some ex-army personnel.
"They are very highly motivated, highly trained. I am quite certain that there are some, may be some ex-army or some people who have been with them," he said.
Giving reason for this conclusion, Pillai said after launching any attack, the Naxals conduct a post-mortem and analyse the whole operation.
"After every attack, they do a post-mortem and analysis. The analysis is as good as armed forces of any country does," he said.
The Home Secretary said 908 people have lost their lives last year, the highest since 1971, in Naxal violence and it may go up in this year and next year become coming down.
"It is quite like that the violence will go up in 2010 or 2011 before the tide is begin to turn," he said.
According to Pillai, even though the joint anti-Naxal operations were going on, the Naxals have not suffered any significant reverses so far and the government would need seven to eight years to have full control over the areas which were lost to the Maoists.
"The operations have not hit even five per cent of hardcore militants. The real armed cadres are yet to come out," he said, adding unless they feel the heat they will not come for talks and whatever statement they were making about peace were not serious.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Nigerian Supersport cameraman escapes ransom demand still awaited
Source: the rich mark sentinnel
Wednesday, March 03, 2010 [ Reads:357 / Comments:0 / 4029 ]
One of the three members of the Supersport television crew abducted in the Niger Delta on Monday has reportedly escaped his captors and fled to safety in the port of Lagos, Nigeria.
An official from the M-Net channel has confirmed that Alexander Effiong, a Nigerian cameraman, took a big risk and 'ran away from them and he is now back to us in Lagos'.
Felix Awogu, M-Net Supersport general manager in Nigeria, declined to give details of Effiong's escape but said he is optimistic that both South African television production engineer Nick Greyling and Nigerian sports commentator Bowie Attamah would also be released soon.
In confirmation thereof he said that acting president of Nigeria Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Imo state police command and other ministers are all involved in efforts to secure their release.
Awogu also confirmed that he had spoken to the two captives who were "fine" and that they are currently in discussions with the kidnappers but thus far no ransom for their release had been submitted.
The three SuperSport journalists, one South African and two Nigerians, were kidnapped by gunmen in the oil-rich Niger Delta who ambushed the bus carrying them to the airport in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, which neighbours the oil hub of Rivers State. The crew were apparently returning from covering a football match in the nearby city of Enugu, 150 kilometres (94 miles) away.
According to a report from iAfrica the "attackers ordered out more than 20 people inside the bus and took away the three and the bus." This would suggest that the three were targeted for kidnapping and ransom.
Attacks against journalists aren't uncommon in Nigeria, a country where corruption pervades government and business. A political reporter and editor for a Nigerian newspaper was killed by gunmen at his home in September and beatings happen during elections and police actions. However, an attack on sports journalists remains something unique in a country where soccer reigns supreme.
On Tuesday state police spokesman Linus Nwaiwu told AFP that police in the state said they were investigating the kidnapping.
"Investigations into the case have commenced. Our detectives are on the ground and after these investigations I believe in the next few days you will have a different story," he added.
M-Net Multichoice Africa spokeswoman Caroline Creasy in Johannesburg said that the channel had entrusted the matter to a specialist security company in Nigeria to handle while working closely with the government. SuperSport, a channel of M-Net, are the South Africa-based television sports network which distributes its programmes via satellite throughout Africa.
The Niger Delta is currently the scene of ongoing conflict which has its origins in the early 1990s over tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited. Competition for oil wealth has also fueled violence between innumerable ethnic groups, causing the militarisation of nearly the entire region by ethnic militia groups as well as Nigerian military and police forces.
Kidnapping in southern Nigeria had fallen since July 2009, following a lull in the wake of a government amnesty which led to thousands of militants laying down their arms. This was however rudely interrupted in January when three British oil workers were kidnapped and later freed after their ransom was paid.
Militants fighting the government for what they claim to be a fairer share of Nigeria's oil wealth use kidnapping for ransom as a means of raising funds.
Ransom demands in Nigeria range from several hundred thousand dollars to millions depending on the wealth and status of the hostage, although kidnappers will often accept lower sums.
In 2008 armed oil rebels in the Niger Delta released unharmed two South African workers taken hostage by sea pirates. More than 500 people were kidnapped in the first six months of 2009, of whom 10 were killed, according to official statistics. Most of those kidnapped were foreign oil workers.
Nigeria is the second largest economy in Africa and it's fastest growing yet despite £60 billion in annual revenue from oil the vast majority of its people still live in poverty.
An official from the M-Net channel has confirmed that Alexander Effiong, a Nigerian cameraman, took a big risk and 'ran away from them and he is now back to us in Lagos'.
Felix Awogu, M-Net Supersport general manager in Nigeria, declined to give details of Effiong's escape but said he is optimistic that both South African television production engineer Nick Greyling and Nigerian sports commentator Bowie Attamah would also be released soon.
In confirmation thereof he said that acting president of Nigeria Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Imo state police command and other ministers are all involved in efforts to secure their release.
Awogu also confirmed that he had spoken to the two captives who were "fine" and that they are currently in discussions with the kidnappers but thus far no ransom for their release had been submitted.
The three SuperSport journalists, one South African and two Nigerians, were kidnapped by gunmen in the oil-rich Niger Delta who ambushed the bus carrying them to the airport in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, which neighbours the oil hub of Rivers State. The crew were apparently returning from covering a football match in the nearby city of Enugu, 150 kilometres (94 miles) away.
According to a report from iAfrica the "attackers ordered out more than 20 people inside the bus and took away the three and the bus." This would suggest that the three were targeted for kidnapping and ransom.
Attacks against journalists aren't uncommon in Nigeria, a country where corruption pervades government and business. A political reporter and editor for a Nigerian newspaper was killed by gunmen at his home in September and beatings happen during elections and police actions. However, an attack on sports journalists remains something unique in a country where soccer reigns supreme.
On Tuesday state police spokesman Linus Nwaiwu told AFP that police in the state said they were investigating the kidnapping.
"Investigations into the case have commenced. Our detectives are on the ground and after these investigations I believe in the next few days you will have a different story," he added.
M-Net Multichoice Africa spokeswoman Caroline Creasy in Johannesburg said that the channel had entrusted the matter to a specialist security company in Nigeria to handle while working closely with the government. SuperSport, a channel of M-Net, are the South Africa-based television sports network which distributes its programmes via satellite throughout Africa.
The Niger Delta is currently the scene of ongoing conflict which has its origins in the early 1990s over tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited. Competition for oil wealth has also fueled violence between innumerable ethnic groups, causing the militarisation of nearly the entire region by ethnic militia groups as well as Nigerian military and police forces.
Kidnapping in southern Nigeria had fallen since July 2009, following a lull in the wake of a government amnesty which led to thousands of militants laying down their arms. This was however rudely interrupted in January when three British oil workers were kidnapped and later freed after their ransom was paid.
Militants fighting the government for what they claim to be a fairer share of Nigeria's oil wealth use kidnapping for ransom as a means of raising funds.
Ransom demands in Nigeria range from several hundred thousand dollars to millions depending on the wealth and status of the hostage, although kidnappers will often accept lower sums.
In 2008 armed oil rebels in the Niger Delta released unharmed two South African workers taken hostage by sea pirates. More than 500 people were kidnapped in the first six months of 2009, of whom 10 were killed, according to official statistics. Most of those kidnapped were foreign oil workers.
Nigeria is the second largest economy in Africa and it's fastest growing yet despite £60 billion in annual revenue from oil the vast majority of its people still live in poverty.
Somalia: Foreign vessels dump Somali fishermen at the coast Mogadishu Wednesday 03 March 2010 SMC
Source: somaliaweyn
exactly the Somalis were dumped says that there wee 22 Somalis who were unload at the coast.
“In fact some of these men were identified by the local residents and they termed them as local fishermen and not pirates, some of them their bodies had bruises, and seemed to have been tortured” said Mahad Ali a resident in Fah location where these people were dumped speaking to Somaliweyn Website.
One of the victims who spoke to Somaliweyn Website in a low unclear voice said that they had their boats in the sea trapping fish, but unfortunately they were mistaken us pirates, and the entire of their fishing materials including their boats 5 of their boats were burnt in front of thief faces.
The district commissioner of Adado district in Galgadud region in central Somalia honorable Abdi Elmi has as well verified that those victimized people were not pirates, but ordinary fishermen.
| Somaliweyn- Mohammed Omar Hussein The foreign vessels on the surface of the Somali waters have overnight dumped at least 22 men which are believed to be all ordinary local fishermen along the coast of Haradere at Mudug region in central Somalia. Reports which Somaliweyn Website has received from the immediate location of Fah where |
“In fact some of these men were identified by the local residents and they termed them as local fishermen and not pirates, some of them their bodies had bruises, and seemed to have been tortured” said Mahad Ali a resident in Fah location where these people were dumped speaking to Somaliweyn Website.
One of the victims who spoke to Somaliweyn Website in a low unclear voice said that they had their boats in the sea trapping fish, but unfortunately they were mistaken us pirates, and the entire of their fishing materials including their boats 5 of their boats were burnt in front of thief faces.
The district commissioner of Adado district in Galgadud region in central Somalia honorable Abdi Elmi has as well verified that those victimized people were not pirates, but ordinary fishermen.
Somali pirates hijack Saudi ship in Gulf of Aden
Source: the sundaily
MOGADISHU (March 3, 2010): Somali pirates hijacked a Saudi-owned ship with 14 crew in the Gulf of Aden this week, a Kenyan maritime official said on Wednesday. Pirates said they had also seized a fishing vessel. Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said the 5,136 deadweight tonne al Nisr al Saudi was seized on Monday and was now off the Somali coast. Pirates also told Reuters they had captured a fishing vessel in the Indian Ocean, but no further details were immediately available. Mwangura said the Saudi tanker was on its way from Japan to Jeddah with one Greek and 13 Sri Lankan crew. Emboldened by rising ransom payments, Somali pirates have stepped up attacks in recent months, making tens of millions of dollars by seizing vessels in the Indian Ocean and the busy Gulf of Aden shipping lanes. The armed pirate gangs operate far out to sea and have managed to dodge naval warships deployed to combat their activities by casting their nets as far south as the Seychelles. Foreign navies have been deployed off the Gulf of Aden since the start of 2009 and have operated convoys, as well as setting up a transit corridors through the most dangerous waters. But their forces have been stretched over the vast expanses of water, including the Indian Ocean, leaving merchant vessels vulnerable. -- Reuters |
Series of Bomb Blasts in Southern Thailand 2010-03-02 11:44
Source: NTDTV
In Thailand, suspected militants set off small bombs in the town of Narathiwat on Tuesday, wounding two people.
According to police, five of the seven bombs exploded and the other two were defused.
Four bombs were planted near cash machine booths and were detonated by digital watches. Another bomb went off near a salon.
There was major destruction at a savings bank, but minor damage on the other bomb sites.
Nearly 4,000 people have been killed in six years of unrest blamed on separatist insurgents in the region bordering Malaysia.
The violence has ranged from drive-by shootings to bombings and beheading. It often targets Buddhists and Muslims associated with the Thai state, such as police, soldiers, government officials and teachers.
According to police, five of the seven bombs exploded and the other two were defused.
Four bombs were planted near cash machine booths and were detonated by digital watches. Another bomb went off near a salon.
There was major destruction at a savings bank, but minor damage on the other bomb sites.
Nearly 4,000 people have been killed in six years of unrest blamed on separatist insurgents in the region bordering Malaysia.
The violence has ranged from drive-by shootings to bombings and beheading. It often targets Buddhists and Muslims associated with the Thai state, such as police, soldiers, government officials and teachers.
31 Killed In Serial Bomb Attacks In Iraq
3/3/2010 5:20 AM ET
This is the eighth incident of coordinated terrorist attacks in the country since last August.
Iraq is poised for historic parliamentary elections Sunday. The successful and peaceful completion of the polls is crucial to strengthening Iraqi democracy and US plans for an early pullout by September.
Baquba, about 60 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, is the capital of Diyala province, bordering Iran. The province witnessed frequent attacks against Iranian pilgrims visiting Iraq, and of an uneasy standoff between Kurdish militias in the north of the province and Iraq's government forces.
Despite a fall in violence in Iraq since last year, a number of recent blasts have raised fears that sustained violence is returning to the country, aimed at destabilizing the government.
The incidents prompted the authorities to impose curfew in the province and close main roads at the entrances to big towns to try to prevent more attacks.
 AFP/Getty ImagesIraqi police commandos inspect destruction at the site of a suicide bombing in the restive city of Baquba, northeast of Baghdad on March 3, 2010 |
(RTTNews) - Thirty-one people were killed and 40 injured in a series of bomb blasts in the east-central Iraqi city of Baquba Wednesday.
With just four days left for the country's crucial parliamentary elections, rising violence adds to tension if the political process could be successfully conducted.
Two car bombs exploded within minutes near a police checkpoint and the headquarters of the Diyala provincial government at around 09:30 a.m. local time.
In a pre-meditated attack, a suicide-bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body outside the city's main hospital as ambulances arrived carrying the casualties from the previous blasts, reports quoting police said.
With just four days left for the country's crucial parliamentary elections, rising violence adds to tension if the political process could be successfully conducted.
Two car bombs exploded within minutes near a police checkpoint and the headquarters of the Diyala provincial government at around 09:30 a.m. local time.
In a pre-meditated attack, a suicide-bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body outside the city's main hospital as ambulances arrived carrying the casualties from the previous blasts, reports quoting police said.
This is the eighth incident of coordinated terrorist attacks in the country since last August.
Iraq is poised for historic parliamentary elections Sunday. The successful and peaceful completion of the polls is crucial to strengthening Iraqi democracy and US plans for an early pullout by September.
Baquba, about 60 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, is the capital of Diyala province, bordering Iran. The province witnessed frequent attacks against Iranian pilgrims visiting Iraq, and of an uneasy standoff between Kurdish militias in the north of the province and Iraq's government forces.
Despite a fall in violence in Iraq since last year, a number of recent blasts have raised fears that sustained violence is returning to the country, aimed at destabilizing the government.
The incidents prompted the authorities to impose curfew in the province and close main roads at the entrances to big towns to try to prevent more attacks.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Yemen dynamite blast kills 19 people
Source: Reuters
Tue Mar 2, 2010 7:18am GMT
SANAA (Reuters) - A blast in a suspected dynamite storage depot in the basement of a residential building in Yemen killed up to 19 people as they slept on Tuesday, and reduced their building to rubble, an official said.
"We think it was dynamite," a local official in the southern city of Taiz where the blast took place told Reuters. Al Jazeera had earlier reported the blast took place in a fireworks warehouse.
The official said the pre-dawn explosion caused the collapse of a three-storey building with six residential apartments, and partly destroyed two adjacent homes. At least nine bodies were pulled from the rubble and rescue workers were looking for 10 more believed buried.
Some 15 people also were injured in the blast but survived.
The official said the dynamite was believed to have belonged to a Yemeni businessman and contractor who used explosives in roadbuilding works to flatten hills, but who did not live in the building.
An investigation into the cause of the blast was continuing, but based on initial findings there was no indication it was anything other than an accident, the official said.
Yemen rose to the forefront of Western security concerns after the Yemeni arm of al Qaeda claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in December.
Western governments and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, fear Yemen could become a failed state in which al Qaeda could exploit instability to recruit and train militants to launch attacks in the region and beyond.
In addition to fighting al Qaeda, Yemen is also trying to bring an end to a northern Shi'ite rebellion while also facing simmering separatist sentiment in the south, where tensions have escalated in recent weeks.
(Reporting by Mohamed Sudam in Sanaa and Tamara Walid in Dubai; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Michael Roddy)
Tue Mar 2, 2010 7:18am GMT
SANAA (Reuters) - A blast in a suspected dynamite storage depot in the basement of a residential building in Yemen killed up to 19 people as they slept on Tuesday, and reduced their building to rubble, an official said.
"We think it was dynamite," a local official in the southern city of Taiz where the blast took place told Reuters. Al Jazeera had earlier reported the blast took place in a fireworks warehouse.
The official said the pre-dawn explosion caused the collapse of a three-storey building with six residential apartments, and partly destroyed two adjacent homes. At least nine bodies were pulled from the rubble and rescue workers were looking for 10 more believed buried.
Some 15 people also were injured in the blast but survived.
The official said the dynamite was believed to have belonged to a Yemeni businessman and contractor who used explosives in roadbuilding works to flatten hills, but who did not live in the building.
An investigation into the cause of the blast was continuing, but based on initial findings there was no indication it was anything other than an accident, the official said.
Yemen rose to the forefront of Western security concerns after the Yemeni arm of al Qaeda claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in December.
Western governments and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, fear Yemen could become a failed state in which al Qaeda could exploit instability to recruit and train militants to launch attacks in the region and beyond.
In addition to fighting al Qaeda, Yemen is also trying to bring an end to a northern Shi'ite rebellion while also facing simmering separatist sentiment in the south, where tensions have escalated in recent weeks.
(Reporting by Mohamed Sudam in Sanaa and Tamara Walid in Dubai; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Michael Roddy)
Triple blasts in S. Afghanistan claim 8 lives
Source: English news cn 2010-03-01 22:39:29
by Abdul Haleem
KABUL, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Triple explosions in Afghanistan's troubled southern region claimed eight lives in a single day on Monday amid ongoing operation against Taliban bastion in Marjah district of southern Helmand province.
In the first incident in Taliban birthplace Kandahar province, at least four civilians were killed and another sustained injuries, officials said.
A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of the NATO-led troops in Kandahar, south of Afghanistan, killing four civilians on Monday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
"The attack occurred at 07:30 a.m. local time today on a road in Daman district when a convoy of NATO-led forces was passing, claiming the lives of four innocent citizens and injured another," said the statement.
Hours later, another blast rocked Kandahar city, the capital of Kandahar province, left one civilian dead and injured 16 others including nine policemen.
"A car bomb exploded by terrorists next to a police station in Kandahar city the capital of Kandahar province today afternoon claimed the life of one civilian and wounded 16 others including nine police and seven civilians," the Interior Ministry said in another statement.
Also on Monday, a roadside bomb struck a civilian car in the neighboring Helmand province killing three aboard, spokesman for provincial administration Daud Ahmadi said.
"The gruesome incident occurred in Bulan, a suburban of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah killing three innocent citizens, " Ahmadi told Xinhua.
He blamed Taliban militants for the attack, saying the militants by carrying out subversive activities want to destabilize the province.
Increase of militancy is seen amid ongoing Afghan-NATO joint operation against Taliban bastion in Marjah district of the neighboring Helmand province.
Some 15,000 Afghan and NATO-led troops including 5,000 U.S. Marines kicked off the ever-biggest offensive dubbed Moshtarak or Together on Feb. 13 against Taliban bastion in Marjah to restore government authority there and adjoining areas.
However, Taliban militants relying largely on suicide attacks and roadside bombings have vowed to fight advancing troops tooth and nail.
by Abdul Haleem
KABUL, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Triple explosions in Afghanistan's troubled southern region claimed eight lives in a single day on Monday amid ongoing operation against Taliban bastion in Marjah district of southern Helmand province.
In the first incident in Taliban birthplace Kandahar province, at least four civilians were killed and another sustained injuries, officials said.
A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of the NATO-led troops in Kandahar, south of Afghanistan, killing four civilians on Monday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
"The attack occurred at 07:30 a.m. local time today on a road in Daman district when a convoy of NATO-led forces was passing, claiming the lives of four innocent citizens and injured another," said the statement.
Hours later, another blast rocked Kandahar city, the capital of Kandahar province, left one civilian dead and injured 16 others including nine policemen.
"A car bomb exploded by terrorists next to a police station in Kandahar city the capital of Kandahar province today afternoon claimed the life of one civilian and wounded 16 others including nine police and seven civilians," the Interior Ministry said in another statement.
Also on Monday, a roadside bomb struck a civilian car in the neighboring Helmand province killing three aboard, spokesman for provincial administration Daud Ahmadi said.
"The gruesome incident occurred in Bulan, a suburban of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah killing three innocent citizens, " Ahmadi told Xinhua.
He blamed Taliban militants for the attack, saying the militants by carrying out subversive activities want to destabilize the province.
Increase of militancy is seen amid ongoing Afghan-NATO joint operation against Taliban bastion in Marjah district of the neighboring Helmand province.
Some 15,000 Afghan and NATO-led troops including 5,000 U.S. Marines kicked off the ever-biggest offensive dubbed Moshtarak or Together on Feb. 13 against Taliban bastion in Marjah to restore government authority there and adjoining areas.
However, Taliban militants relying largely on suicide attacks and roadside bombings have vowed to fight advancing troops tooth and nail.
Bomb blast hits military convoy in NW Pakistan
Source: English news cn 2010-03-02 11:45:44
ISLAMABAD, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Several army personnel were injured as a bomb blast hit a military convoy in northwest Pakistan's tribal area on Tuesday, local TV channel reported.
An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded next to the convoy in Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan, leaving several people injured, the private TV Express reported.
Pakistani security forces are conducting search and clearance operations against Taliban militants in the northwest tribal areas bordering Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Several army personnel were injured as a bomb blast hit a military convoy in northwest Pakistan's tribal area on Tuesday, local TV channel reported.
An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded next to the convoy in Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan, leaving several people injured, the private TV Express reported.
Pakistani security forces are conducting search and clearance operations against Taliban militants in the northwest tribal areas bordering Afghanistan
Attacks kill 6 NATO troops around Afghanistan
Source: AP on Google
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Six NATO service members died Monday in separate attacks across Afghanistan, including a suicide car bomb that targeted an international military convey as it crossed a bridge in the Taliban-dominated south, the coalition said.
Nine Afghan civilians also died in four bombings in the south, officials said.
The deaths came as American and Afghan forces worked to consolidate control over the former insurgent stronghold of Marjah in the southern province of Helmand, where allied forces are waging the largest combined offensive of the 8-year-old war.
Monday's suicide attacker waited in a taxi for the NATO convoy to cross the bridge between Kandahar city and the airport, then detonated his explosives, tossing a military vehicle into a ravine, said Inhamullah Khan, an Afghan army official at the site.
A NATO spokesman, Maj. Marcin Walczak, confirmed one service member died in the suicide bombing. He did not provide the nationality or any other details.
Four Afghan civilians died in the bridge attack, the Interior Ministry said. Three of the civilians who died were in a car that had pulled over nearby to wait for the convoy to cross the bridge, which the military regularly sweeps for explosives, Khan said.
In western Afghanistan, two other NATO troops died in a mortar or rocket attack, a military statement said, while another service member was killed by small arms fire in the south. One service member was killed by a roadside bomb in the south and another by rocket or mortar fire in the east. The statements gave no other details.
Another car bomb Monday outside Kandahar city's police headquarters killed a civilian employee and wounded nine police officers and six civilians, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemerai Bashary. Another official had previously said a police officer was among the dead, but Bashary said he was an office worker, not an officer.
Kandahar city is the capital of the province of the same name that is considered the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban. It lies east of Helmand province, where thousands of U.S., NATO and Afghan troops are conducting an offensive to wrest control of the town of Marjah from insurgents.
Marjah has long been controlled by the Taliban, and the assault is seen as the first step in a multi-month offensive that will eventually target insurgent strongholds around Kandahar city.
U.S. and Afghan forces' advances in and around Marjah have been hampered by thousands of buried explosives left behind by the Taliban — roadside bombs that kill civilians as well as military forces.
On Monday, a civilian car hit one of the roadside bombs as it entered the city limits of Lashkar Gah, the major town north of Marjah. The blast killed three people, including a 10-year-old boy, said Dawod Ahmedi, spokesman for the Helmand provincial governor.
Another roadside bomb killed two employees of a construction company who were riding in a company vehicle Monday afternoon on a road north of Lashkar Gah district, an Interior Ministry statement said.
The 2-week-old Marjah offensive, involving thousands of American troops along with Afghan soldiers, is the largest combined assault since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban's hard-line Islamist regime.
It is the first test of NATO's new counterinsurgency strategy since President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 new U.S. troops to Afghanistan late last year.
The allied forces have cleared most of Marjah and are now working to secure the area, though NATO has warned there could be pockets of violence for weeks. Hundreds of Afghan police and civil servants are being brought in with the goal of establishing public services to win the support of the population.
Associated Press writers Noor Khan in Kandahar and Heidi Vogt in Kabul contributed to this report.
Nine Afghan civilians also died in four bombings in the south, officials said.
The deaths came as American and Afghan forces worked to consolidate control over the former insurgent stronghold of Marjah in the southern province of Helmand, where allied forces are waging the largest combined offensive of the 8-year-old war.
Monday's suicide attacker waited in a taxi for the NATO convoy to cross the bridge between Kandahar city and the airport, then detonated his explosives, tossing a military vehicle into a ravine, said Inhamullah Khan, an Afghan army official at the site.
A NATO spokesman, Maj. Marcin Walczak, confirmed one service member died in the suicide bombing. He did not provide the nationality or any other details.
Four Afghan civilians died in the bridge attack, the Interior Ministry said. Three of the civilians who died were in a car that had pulled over nearby to wait for the convoy to cross the bridge, which the military regularly sweeps for explosives, Khan said.
In western Afghanistan, two other NATO troops died in a mortar or rocket attack, a military statement said, while another service member was killed by small arms fire in the south. One service member was killed by a roadside bomb in the south and another by rocket or mortar fire in the east. The statements gave no other details.
Another car bomb Monday outside Kandahar city's police headquarters killed a civilian employee and wounded nine police officers and six civilians, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemerai Bashary. Another official had previously said a police officer was among the dead, but Bashary said he was an office worker, not an officer.
Kandahar city is the capital of the province of the same name that is considered the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban. It lies east of Helmand province, where thousands of U.S., NATO and Afghan troops are conducting an offensive to wrest control of the town of Marjah from insurgents.
Marjah has long been controlled by the Taliban, and the assault is seen as the first step in a multi-month offensive that will eventually target insurgent strongholds around Kandahar city.
U.S. and Afghan forces' advances in and around Marjah have been hampered by thousands of buried explosives left behind by the Taliban — roadside bombs that kill civilians as well as military forces.
On Monday, a civilian car hit one of the roadside bombs as it entered the city limits of Lashkar Gah, the major town north of Marjah. The blast killed three people, including a 10-year-old boy, said Dawod Ahmedi, spokesman for the Helmand provincial governor.
Another roadside bomb killed two employees of a construction company who were riding in a company vehicle Monday afternoon on a road north of Lashkar Gah district, an Interior Ministry statement said.
The 2-week-old Marjah offensive, involving thousands of American troops along with Afghan soldiers, is the largest combined assault since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban's hard-line Islamist regime.
It is the first test of NATO's new counterinsurgency strategy since President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 new U.S. troops to Afghanistan late last year.
The allied forces have cleared most of Marjah and are now working to secure the area, though NATO has warned there could be pockets of violence for weeks. Hundreds of Afghan police and civil servants are being brought in with the goal of establishing public services to win the support of the population.
Associated Press writers Noor Khan in Kandahar and Heidi Vogt in Kabul contributed to this report.
More ‘bombs’ unearthed at W Mambalam blast site
Source: Newstoday
NT Bureau | Tue, 02 Mar, 2010,02:37 PM |
| . |
Further chances of mishap were averted today at the site of yesterday’s bomb blast in West Mambalam as police seized and confiscated sacks full of unexploded bombs, dummy guns and gun powder (they were kept for use in films) |
| . |
The recovered bombs have been sent to the forensic lab to find the exact cause of last night’s blast. Sources said these bombs would detonate on contact with water and it was illegally stored without obtaining proper license. The adjacent buildings which have developed cracks is expected to be demolished later today. The PWD officials also visited the site to inspect extent of damage to the buildings of the neighbours and find out whether they (buildings) were habitable. Those whose houses suffered damage were accommodated in a marriage hall nearby. It may be recalled that nine persons were injured, including one ‘Bomb’ Ravi and his wife Rathna seriously, as ‘dummy’ bombs kept in their house exploded last night. ‘Bomb’ Ravi was supplier of bombs to Tamil film units regularly. He and his wife are battling for life in the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital. Four of Ravi’s neighbours who suffered injuries were admitted to KMCH. Most of injured were either viewing television or playing in their homes when the explosion occurred. Yogesh, Rajeswari, Balaji, Mahesh, Kamalesh and Srimathi were the children injured due to explosion, police said. Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) M Shakeel Akthar inspected the spot today. A police team headed by Deputy Commissioner Periaiah and Assistant Commissioner Paranthaman are probing the incident. |
Somali militants 'block UN food aid'
Source: BBC NEws
Insurgent group al-Shabaab says the WFP is ruining local farming by forcing Somalis to rely on imports.
But the UN says that without help, Somali farmers cannot supply enough food for those in need.
The camps in Afgoye, just west of the capital, have the largest concentration of refugees in the whole of Somalia.
In January the WFP pulled out of large parts of southern Somalia because of threats from rebel groups.
'Suffering'
Al-Shabaab has said any Somalis who co-operate with the WFP would be treated as contributing to the destruction of the Somali economy.
The militants say agricultural productivity has increased in areas they control, but there is no way to independently verify this claim.
They accuse the WFP of distributing expired food which is a public health hazard and say the agency's work is cover for a political agenda.
The agency's Peter Smerdon told the BBC: "The WFP is extremely concerned about the health of the displaced families who rely on humanitarian assistance reaching them.
"The people in Afgoye last received a general food distribution from WFP in November 2009, so we fear that they are going very hungry.
"We fear they are suffering even more because food assistance cannot reach them, and some of them may be forced to leave Afgoye as conditions in the camp deteriorate."
Somalia has been in turmoil since 1991 when its central government collapsed.
The transitional government, helped by an African Union peacekeeping force, runs only parts of Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia is controlled by al-Shabaab.
 Hundreds of thousands of displaced Somalis rely on food aid from the WFP |
Islamist militants in Somalia are stopping convoys of food reaching more than 360,000 displaced people, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) says.
The agency says trucks travelling from the capital Mogadishu to camps in Afgoye have been stopped by armed men. Insurgent group al-Shabaab says the WFP is ruining local farming by forcing Somalis to rely on imports.
But the UN says that without help, Somali farmers cannot supply enough food for those in need.
The camps in Afgoye, just west of the capital, have the largest concentration of refugees in the whole of Somalia.
In January the WFP pulled out of large parts of southern Somalia because of threats from rebel groups.
'Suffering'
Al-Shabaab has said any Somalis who co-operate with the WFP would be treated as contributing to the destruction of the Somali economy.
The militants say agricultural productivity has increased in areas they control, but there is no way to independently verify this claim.
They accuse the WFP of distributing expired food which is a public health hazard and say the agency's work is cover for a political agenda.
The agency's Peter Smerdon told the BBC: "The WFP is extremely concerned about the health of the displaced families who rely on humanitarian assistance reaching them.
"The people in Afgoye last received a general food distribution from WFP in November 2009, so we fear that they are going very hungry.
"We fear they are suffering even more because food assistance cannot reach them, and some of them may be forced to leave Afgoye as conditions in the camp deteriorate."
Somalia has been in turmoil since 1991 when its central government collapsed.
The transitional government, helped by an African Union peacekeeping force, runs only parts of Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia is controlled by al-Shabaab.
Iraqi Christians protest over killings
Source: BBC News
The killings prompted an appeal by Pope Benedict on Sunday for Iraqi authorities to protect vulnerable religious minorities.
The UN says more than 680 Christian families have fled Mosul since the recent attacks.
Sunday's protests took place in the town of Hamdaniyah, 35km (22 miles) east of Mosul, and also in the capital, Baghdad.
Marchers in Hamdaniyah, many carrying olive branches, were led by priests including the second-most-senior Chaldean bishop, Shlemon Warduni.
"The government has done nothing so far," he said, calling on the US, UN and EU to "defend the rights of Christians in Mosul".
In Baghdad, a smaller number of protesters carried Iraqi flags and shouted "stop the killing of Christians", at the gathering in Ferdus Square.
The BBC's Hugh Sykes, in Baghdad, says Islamic militants associate Christians with what they regard as "crusaders" - the US-led forces that invaded Iraq in 2003.
The recent killings were only the latest in a list of violent attacks on Christians in Iraq.
In 2004, five Christian churches in Baghdad were bombed.
Christians - and Christian priests - have been kidnapped, murdered, and maimed.
Christian businesses - often sellers of alcohol - have also been bombed and burned.
Two years ago, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, was kidnapped and murdered.
Most of Iraq's estimated 700,000 Christians are Chaldeans - Catholics who are autonomous from Rome but recognise the Pope's authority.
In his address on Sunday, the Pope said: "I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities."
The latest murders come ahead of Iraq's parliamentary election on 7 March.
 Iraqi Christians say more needs to be done to protect them |
Hundreds of Iraqi Christians have taken part in protests calling for government action after a spate of killings.
At least eight Christians have been killed in the past two weeks in the volatile northern city of Mosul. The killings prompted an appeal by Pope Benedict on Sunday for Iraqi authorities to protect vulnerable religious minorities.
The UN says more than 680 Christian families have fled Mosul since the recent attacks.
Sunday's protests took place in the town of Hamdaniyah, 35km (22 miles) east of Mosul, and also in the capital, Baghdad.
Marchers in Hamdaniyah, many carrying olive branches, were led by priests including the second-most-senior Chaldean bishop, Shlemon Warduni.
"The government has done nothing so far," he said, calling on the US, UN and EU to "defend the rights of Christians in Mosul".
|  I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities  Pope Benedict XVI |
The BBC's Hugh Sykes, in Baghdad, says Islamic militants associate Christians with what they regard as "crusaders" - the US-led forces that invaded Iraq in 2003.
The recent killings were only the latest in a list of violent attacks on Christians in Iraq.
In 2004, five Christian churches in Baghdad were bombed.
Christians - and Christian priests - have been kidnapped, murdered, and maimed.
Christian businesses - often sellers of alcohol - have also been bombed and burned.
Two years ago, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, was kidnapped and murdered.
Most of Iraq's estimated 700,000 Christians are Chaldeans - Catholics who are autonomous from Rome but recognise the Pope's authority.
In his address on Sunday, the Pope said: "I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities."
The latest murders come ahead of Iraq's parliamentary election on 7 March.
Extradition for Basque separatist De Juana Chaos
Source: BBC NEWS
His lawyers argued further imprisonment would be inhumane and his life was at risk because of fragile mental health.
Judge Burgess said he had confidence in the Spanish justice system because of European Arrest Warrant procedures.
De Juana Chaos, 54, was released from prison in August 2008 after serving more than 21 years in jail for his part in an ETA campaign of murders.
Basque phrase
He is wanted in Spain over the contents of a letter read out at a rally in San Sebastian the day after his release from jail.
The message was allegedly given in his name, with the charge against him heavily dependent on the Basque phrase "aurrera bolie", which translates literally as "kick the ball forward".
He faces the possibility of further imprisonment if convicted of the public justification of terrorist actions which caused humiliation and intensified the grief of victims and their relatives.
De Juana Chaos has been living with his wife in west Belfast on bail while fighting extradition, and has seven days to lodge an appeal to the ruling.
Recorder Tom Burgess told the court on Monday he was satisfied De Juana Chaos's concerns were groundless that Spanish authorities "would seek to put him on trial for any offence other than that which is included in the warrant".
He said if convicted, he did not believe the court would "seek to exceed its sentencing powers of two years".
'Beaten repeatedly'
Lawyers for De Juana Chaos had told the court that during a previous imprisonment, he was beaten repeatedly and subjected to 17 years of solitary confinement.
The alleged assaults and ill-treatment at prisons in mainland Spain and on the Canary Islands between 1987 and 1998 led to symptoms including anxiety and sleep deprivation, they said.
The court was told De Juana Chaos, who had endured previous lengthy hunger strikes, would suffer a serious deterioration in his health and likely death if sent back to jail there.
Judge Burgess said there was no evidence that he would not receive a fair trial, and he could seek bail from the courts in Spain.
He recognised the potential impact if he were to be sent back to jail, especially if put in solitary confinement, but added that if he engaged with the Spanish judicial system, arguments could be advanced for why he should be granted bail.
He said questions about his mental state should be left to the Spanish authorities.
 Jose Ignacio de Juana Chaos has seven days to appeal |
A court in Belfast has ordered the extradition of a Basque separatist convicted of 25 murders in Spain.
The judge rejected Jose Ignacio de Juana Chaos's claim he would not get a fair trial and may face harsher punishment for his political beliefs. His lawyers argued further imprisonment would be inhumane and his life was at risk because of fragile mental health.
Judge Burgess said he had confidence in the Spanish justice system because of European Arrest Warrant procedures.
De Juana Chaos, 54, was released from prison in August 2008 after serving more than 21 years in jail for his part in an ETA campaign of murders.
Basque phrase
He is wanted in Spain over the contents of a letter read out at a rally in San Sebastian the day after his release from jail.
The message was allegedly given in his name, with the charge against him heavily dependent on the Basque phrase "aurrera bolie", which translates literally as "kick the ball forward".
He faces the possibility of further imprisonment if convicted of the public justification of terrorist actions which caused humiliation and intensified the grief of victims and their relatives.
De Juana Chaos has been living with his wife in west Belfast on bail while fighting extradition, and has seven days to lodge an appeal to the ruling.
Recorder Tom Burgess told the court on Monday he was satisfied De Juana Chaos's concerns were groundless that Spanish authorities "would seek to put him on trial for any offence other than that which is included in the warrant".
He said if convicted, he did not believe the court would "seek to exceed its sentencing powers of two years".
'Beaten repeatedly'
Lawyers for De Juana Chaos had told the court that during a previous imprisonment, he was beaten repeatedly and subjected to 17 years of solitary confinement.
The alleged assaults and ill-treatment at prisons in mainland Spain and on the Canary Islands between 1987 and 1998 led to symptoms including anxiety and sleep deprivation, they said.
The court was told De Juana Chaos, who had endured previous lengthy hunger strikes, would suffer a serious deterioration in his health and likely death if sent back to jail there.
Judge Burgess said there was no evidence that he would not receive a fair trial, and he could seek bail from the courts in Spain.
He recognised the potential impact if he were to be sent back to jail, especially if put in solitary confinement, but added that if he engaged with the Spanish judicial system, arguments could be advanced for why he should be granted bail.
He said questions about his mental state should be left to the Spanish authorities.
Algeria police chief shot dead at force headquarters
Source: BBC NEWS
The alleged killer was seized with what the ministry called an attack of madness and shot Col Tounsi before turning the gun on himself.
He was now in hospital with severe injuries, the ministry said.
A judicial inquiry into the circumstances of the shooting has been opened. There has been no indication of a link to Islamist militants, who have periodically attacked government targets.
Col Tounsi was one of Algeria's most powerful security officials and was closely involved in the country's fight against militants, analysts say.
He had devoted himself to serving the nation, a statement from the interior ministry said, and to the modernisation of the national police force which he had been head of for more than 10 years.
Algeria was riven with violence after the 1992 general election, won by an Islamist party, was annulled.
More than 150,000 people died, but an amnesty in 1999 led many rebels to lay down their arms.
Political violence in Algeria has declined since then, but a group calling itself Al-Qaeda in the Land of Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) has continued to carry out attacks.
 Mr Tounsi was closely involved in Algeria's fight against extremists |
The chief of Algeria's national police force, Ali Tounsi, has been shot dead in the capital, Algiers, officials say.
He was killed by a colleague during a regular morning meeting in the police headquarters in front of several witnesses, the interior ministry said. The alleged killer was seized with what the ministry called an attack of madness and shot Col Tounsi before turning the gun on himself.
He was now in hospital with severe injuries, the ministry said.
A judicial inquiry into the circumstances of the shooting has been opened. There has been no indication of a link to Islamist militants, who have periodically attacked government targets.
Col Tounsi was one of Algeria's most powerful security officials and was closely involved in the country's fight against militants, analysts say.
He had devoted himself to serving the nation, a statement from the interior ministry said, and to the modernisation of the national police force which he had been head of for more than 10 years.
Algeria was riven with violence after the 1992 general election, won by an Islamist party, was annulled.
More than 150,000 people died, but an amnesty in 1999 led many rebels to lay down their arms.
Political violence in Algeria has declined since then, but a group calling itself Al-Qaeda in the Land of Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) has continued to carry out attacks.
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