Posts

Showing posts from March 6, 2016

AFP stands by no-ransom policy amid ultimatum for Samal captives

Image
Kidnap victims of  Abu Sayyaf  in Samal, Davao del Norte in September 2015. (Photo courtesy of PIO EASTMINCOM) The military is standing by the government’s no ransom policy amid the one-month ultimatum issued by Islamic extremists holding three foreigners and a Filipina seized from an island resort in Samal, Davao del Norte in September last year. “We support the no ransom policy of the government,” stressed Col. Noel Detoyato, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief. “We will just continue with our focused military operations based on available information to support the police operations,” added Detoyato, even as he emphasized that “the safety of the hostages is a primary concern during combat operations.” Detoyato issued the statement after suspected Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members issued a one month ultimatum to the government and families of the two Canadians, a Norwegian man, and one Filipina to meet their demands or they would execute the

Can peace talks actually save Syrian lives?

Image
Residents and activists hold a giant a pre-Baath Syrian flag, now used by the Syrian opposition, during an anti-regime protest in the rubble of destroyed buildings in the neighborhood of Jobar, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on March 3, 2016. (AFP/Amer Almohibany) Over a week into the designated start of a cessation of hostilities in Syria, the results on the ground are mixed. Of supreme importance, however, is that the tempo of the Assad regime’s mass homicide (supported and supplemented by Russia) has slowed, particularly in densely populated urban areas. The number of desperately needy Syrians getting humanitarian aid is slowly increasing, as a Syrian bureaucracy bound to the Assad family moves with glacial speed to permit United Nations deliveries. Reports of regime and Russian offensive violations accumulate, but the exclusion of the Nusra Front from the cessation of hostilities gives them the permission slip they need to shoot – even if they abus

UN accuses South Sudan forces of rape and killing

South Sudan's government operated a "scorched earth policy" of deliberate rape, pillage and killing of civilians during the civil war in 2015, a report published on Friday by the United Nations human rights office said. "The report contains harrowing accounts of civilians suspected of supporting the opposition, including children and the disabled, killed by being burned alive, suffocated in containers, shot, hanged from trees or cut to pieces," the United Nations human rights office said in a statement. The prevalence of rape "suggests its use in the conflict has become an acceptable practice by (government) SPLA soldiers and affiliated armed militias," the report said. Groups allied to the government were allowed to rape women in lieu of wages, it said. Between April and September 2015, the United Nations investigation recorded more than 1,300 reports of rapes in South Sudan's Unity State alone. In one incident soldiers argued over whet

Abu Sayyaf, Philippines-based terrorist group threatens to kill fourhostages

Source http://m.firstpost.com/world/abu-sayyaf-philippines-based-terrorist-group-threatens-to-kill-four-hostages-2669624.html Manila:  The Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf terrorist group threatened to kill four hostages within a month if an unspecified ransom amount is not paid to it, the media reported on Friday. In the video posted on Facebook, the hostages appear on their knees before a group of heavily armed men, EFE news reported. John Ridsdel and Robert Hall (Canadians), Kjartan Sekkingsta and Filipina Marites Flor who is Hall's partner were kidnapped last September from a hotel complex in Samal Island. "I am a Canadian citizen being held by the Abu Sayyaf Group for ransom, the amount is, I do not know what it is. But the Canadian government has got to get us out of here fast," said Robert Hall in the video, the authenticity of which is yet to be confirmed by the authorities. "Follow the negotiation, try to meet their demands within 30 days or we are

Pakistan Taseer: Sister of freed governor's son describes her joy

Image
Taseer sister The sister of one of Pakistan's most famous hostages, who emerged from his five-year ordeal this week, has told the BBC of her relief. Sara Taseer said she had not yet spoken to her brother Shahbaz and did not know the details of his release. But, she added, it had brought to a close a "very stressful" time and she was "elated" her brother was free. He was seized after his father, Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was murdered for opposing blasphemy laws. Salman Taseer was shot dead by Mumtaz Qadri, a police guard in his security detail. It is the first time a member of the Taseer family has spoken to a media organisation since Shahbaz was released. ISPR Shahbaz Taseer was released just a few days ago The circumstances of his release  are still unclear.  Ms Taseer could not confirm whether a ransom had been paid. She said she had personally never been asked for a ransom but some in her family had. She added that certain conditio

Somalia: Imam Arrested in Italy, Suspected of Planning Rome TerrorAttack

By Maalik Som Italian counter-terrorist police have arrested a 22-year-old Somali imam and asylum-seeker, for planning a terror attack on the city of Rome as well as "intense and vehement proselytism" among migrants for jihad. On Wednesday, police moved swiftly to arrest the man at the "Happy Family" migrant reception center where he was living in Campobasso, in the southern Italian region of Molise, saying they had evidence he intended to leave that very day for Rome where he planned to carry out an attack. Prosecutors also claim they have "clear technical evidence" indicating that the imam, who told others living at the center that he was a member of the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab, was preparing an attack in Rome. He had been denied refugee status and would have had to leave the migrant center soon. Just over two months of intense investigation, including the interception of phone conversations and taped footage from a hidden camera pla

American tourist dead, 11 wounded in Jaffa terror attack

Image
Terrorist runs along Jaffa boardwalk, stabbing passersby as he goes; two policemen shot, seriously wounded near Herod’s Gate at Jerusalem’s Old City; one Haredi man moderately wounded after being stabbed in market in Petah Tikva. Three terror attacks hit the cities of Jaffa, Jerusalem and Petah Tikvah within an hour and a half on Tuesday afternoon and early evening, with one person murdered and 14 wounded. A 29-year-old tourist from the US was murdered and eleven others were wounded in a terror attack at the Jaffa Port area early Tuesday evening. The terrorist, Bashar Masalha, a 22-year-old Palestinian from Qalqilya, was shot to death by police that arrived at the scene. Pool of blood on the Jaffa boardwalk (Photo: AFP) The terrorist arrived at the Jaffa Port on Tuesday evening, where he stabbed several people. He then turned right, running towards the Clocktower Circle, then turned left and continued running hundreds of meters north along the boardwalk towards the Manta

Kenyan teacher eyes $1mn prize Sunday for campaign against extremism

Image
He began giving anti-extremism classes three years ago, shortly after Kenyan troops crossed into neighbouring Somalia to attack gunmen from the Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab/AFP NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 11 – Using chalk and a blackboard, Kenyan teacher Ayub Mohamud writes out a simple lesson in front of the packed classroom: “Islam versus violent extremism.” Mohamud, a teacher in the capital Nairobi’s Eastleigh suburb, teaches business and Islamic studies but also discusses the deradicalisation of students, and is one of 10 teachers from across the world up for a $1 million (Sh101 million) prize this Sunday for his efforts. “We need to make these students understand these ideologies of these extremist groups,” Mohamud told AFP. He began giving anti-extremism classes three years ago, shortly after Kenyan troops crossed into neighbouring Somalia to attack gunmen from the Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab. Kenya later joined the African Union force fighting the Shabaab. In response, Shabaab insurgents carried

Did Omar the Chechen somehow survive America’s airstrikes?

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that Islamic State’s military commander was badly wounded but still alive, appearing to contradict US officials who said he was  likely killed in a US airstrike . The US officials said Tuesday that Abu Omar al-Shishani — the man known as  Omar the Chechen and described by the Pentagon as the group’s “minister of war” — was targeted near the town of al-Shadadi in Syria. Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said Shishani had been badly wounded but not killed and had been moved to Islamic State’s base of operations in Raqqa for treatment. “He did not die,” Abdulrahman said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it gathers its information from all sides in the conflict. Reuters had no way to independently verify the report. Born in 1986 in Georgia, which was then still part of the Soviet Union, the red-bearded Shishani had a reputation as a close military adviser to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who

Confronting Extremism

This post, Abdullah Al-Saud's first time writing for a U.S. audience as Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United States, is appearing on the Huffington Post's contributor platform in conjunction with a news story examining the Saudi Arabian government's effort to respond to growing criticism in the U.S. Read the accompanying story  here . Extremism, especially violent extremism, is a scourge on the planet. Those who promote extremist ideologies or sponsor acts of violence in the name of Islam cannot be condoned or supported by anyone of true faith. In Saudi Arabia, extremists have attempted to hijack our religion, have murdered many of our people and used terrorism to intimidate our nation. There are two things that Saudi Arabia and its people hold most dear, and will never allow to be threatened - our faith and our security. Saudi Arabia has been falsely accused by some commentators of promoting extremism. Don't they realize that extremists are as much or more

Threats As Bangladesh Mulls Scrapping Islam As State Religion

DHAKA, BANGLADESH:   Hardliners in Bangladesh today threatened largescale protests if a court moves to scrap Islam as the official state religion. Bangladesh is officially secular, but Islam has been the state religion for almost three decades. More than 90 per cent of the population is Muslim, with Hindus and Buddhists the main minorities. The High Court is considering a petition by secularists who say Islam's status as the state religion conflicts with Bangladesh's secular charter and discriminates against non-Muslims. Furious hardliners this week urged the court to dismiss the petition at a hearing on March 27, threatening largescale protests if it moves to scrap Islam's special status. "Any move to scrap Islam's status will undermine and defame the religion," Mufti Mohammad Faezullah, secretary general of Islamist political party Islamic Oikya Jote (IOJ) said. "Obviously the Islamic parties, general people and the clerics will resist the move by h

Pentagon Says Captured ISIS Chemical Weapons Chief In February

WASHINGTON:   The Pentagon said on Thursday it captured the ISISs chemical weapons chief in Iraq during an operation in February. The capture of Sulayman Dawud al-Bakkar, also known as Abu Dawud, "removed a key ISIS leader from the battlefield," the Pentagon said in a statement, referring to the militant group by an acronym. He was transferred to Iraqi government custody earlier on Thursday, it said. The Pentagon said it learned details about ISIS's chemical weapon facilities and production, as well as the people involved, from Dawud. The information resulted in several air strikes by a US-led coalition against ISIS, it added. Source:  http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pentagon-says-captured-isis-chemical-weapons-chief-in-february-1285980

In US Gun Control, Not All Laws Are Equal: Study

PARIS, FRANCEA:   Gun deaths in the United States can be slashed by over 90 per cent through universal application of laws requiring background checks of buyers and easy tracing of every bullet fired, researchers said on Thursday. Conducting a background check on every single gun buyer could more than halve the national gun death rate from 10.35 to 4.46 per 100,000 people, said a paper in The Lancet medical journal. Background checks for all ammunition purchases would cut the rate to 1.99 per 100,000 people, and "firearm identification" to 1.18 per 100,000. Firearm identification requirements oblige manufacturers to store images of the unique markings that every gun makes on the bullets it fires, for cartridges at crime scenes to be easily traced to the gun that fired them, and hence its owner. "Federal implementation of all three laws could reduce national overall gun deaths to 0.16 per 100,000," said a press statement by The Lancet -- a drop of over 90 percent

The Government Is Secretly Huddling With Companies to Fight Extremism Online

A coalition of civil rights groups wants to be included in the meetings to keep the feds in check. Last month, an array of American tech companies, media organizations, PR firms, and other groups met with government officials behind closed doors at the Justice Department. They had come to talk about ISIS propaganda online. In what the government dubbed the “Madison Valleywood Project,” the participants were briefed by White House officials before huddling for hours to come up with ways to counter the Islamic State’s digital messaging efforts. The secret meeting was the latest move in the government’s increasingly urgent campaign to head off terrorist support and calls to action online. In order to limit the reach of Islamic State messaging, the feds are teaming up with the tech companies that control the platforms where the propaganda appears. But some groups are troubled by the secret nature of this public-private collaboration. On Tuesday, a coalition of privacy and civil-