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Showing posts from February 28, 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 h

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 wer

Somalia: Foreign vessels dump Somali fishermen at the coast Mogadishu Wednesday 03 March 2010 SMC

Source: somaliaweyn 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 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 b

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 cast

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.  

31 Killed In Serial Bomb Attacks In Iraq

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Source: RTT News by RTT Staff Writer For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com 3/3/2010 5:20 AM ET AFP/Getty Images Iraqi 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.  This is the eighth i

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 bu

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 policeme

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

Attacks kill 6 NATO troops around Afghanistan

Source: AP on Google By NOOR KHAN (AP) – 16 hours ago 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 bombi

More ‘bombs’ unearthed at W Mambalam blast site

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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 dama

Somali militants 'block UN food aid'

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Source: BBC NEws 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 agricultura

Iraqi Christians protest over killings

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Source: BBC News 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".

Extradition for Basque separatist De Juana Chaos

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Source: BBC NEWS 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 &quo

Algeria police chief shot dead at force headquarters

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Source: BBC NEWS 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 stateme

Afghanistan attacks kill four Nato soldiers

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Source: BBC NEWS The early part of the year traditionally sees fewer Nato casualties Nato says four of its troops have been killed in three attacks in Afghanistan. Two Nato soldiers were killed in western Afghanistan, while another died in a small-arms attack in the south. A fourth was killed in a suicide car bomb attack near the southern city of Kandahar, which targeted a Nato convoy and also killed four civilians. The Taliban said it had carried out the attack near Kandahar's airport, an important base for Nato forces battling militants across southern Afghanistan. The deaths came a day after a roadside bomb killed 11 civilians in neighbouring Helmand province, where Nato and Afghan forces are waging a major offensive against Taliban fighters. Nato has not released the nationalities of the soldiers killed, leaving that responsibility to their home nations. Offensive planned Monday's deaths take the number of Nato troops killed in

Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri to issue terrorism fatwa

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Source: BBC NEWS By Dominic Casciani BBC News Hearts and minds: Communities divided over how to tackle extremists An influential Muslim scholar is to issue in London a global ruling against terrorism and suicide bombing. Dr Tahir ul-Qadri, from Pakistan, says his 600-page judgement, known as a fatwa, completely dismantles al-Qaeda's violent ideology. The scholar describes al-Qaeda as an "old evil with a new name" which has not been sufficiently challenged. The scholar's movement is growing in the UK and has attracted the interest of policymakers and security chiefs. In his religious ruling, Dr Qadri says that Islam forbids the massacre of innocent citizen

Naxal Killed in Encounter in Karkala

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Source: Daiji world Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala Karkala, Mar 1 : Naxal was killed during an encounter with personnel of Anti Naxal Force (ANF) in the dense forest of Mairody, which is 5 kms deep into the wilderness from Mutluppady, near here, on Monday March 1. The heavily armed personnel of ATF were combing the dense forest in the surrounding areas of Mutluppady, for more than a week, and were they closely monitoring the movements of a group of 10–12 Naxals including 3 women.  Deceased Naxal Vasantha It is thought that Naxal leader Vikram Gowda was accompanying the group in the jungle when a jeep carrying ATF personnel arrived in the vicinity.  The sound of the vehicle’s engine alerted the Naxals causing them to flee. Then the ATF personnel surrounded the Naxals and an encounter ensured in which a Naxal was killed on the spot on Monday evening while others managed to escape.  The deceased has been identified as Vasantha.  ATF personnel Rajesh was admitted

Missile 'kills Lashkar-e-Jhangvi leader' in Pakistan

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Source: BBC NEWS The head of Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was killed by a US drone air strike in North Waziristan on 24 February, the BBC has learned. Qari Mohammad Zafar is believed to have led the Sunni Muslim extremist group, which has close links with al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, since 2007. Mufti Abuzar Khanjari had now replaced Zafar, militants told BBC Urdu. Zafar was wanted by US and Pakistani authorities over the March 2006 attack on the US consulate in Karachi. The US had offered a $5m (£3.3m) reward for information leading to his arrest or capture. Qari Mohammad Zafar is believed to have been living in South Waziristan where he is said to have been closely involved with Qari Husain - allegedly the Taliban's chief trainer of suicide bombers. He took over as head of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi after several of its top leaders were arrested in 2007. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was banned in 2001 for its role in fanning sectarian viol

Another Amnesty official questions its links with jihadi group

Source: The Hindu Pressure on Amnesty International to snap its links with a reactionary Muslim group increased on Sunday after another of its senior officials accused it of not doing enough to dissociate itself from the group’s pro-jihadi views. Amnesty’s Asia-Pacific director Sam Zarifi echoed concerns raised by former colleague Gita Sahgal that Amnesty was risking its reputation by making common cause with Cageprisoners, formed by Moazzam Begg, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, to highlight the plight of terror suspects in American custody. Ms. Sahgal was suspended as head of Amnesty’s gender unit after she went public with her disquiet over its backing for Mr. Begg, whom she described as Britain’s “most famous supporter of Taliban.” Mr. Zarifi was reported as saying in an internal memo that Amnesty had failed to distinguish between the rights of Guantanamo Bay prisoners and the validity of Mr. Begg’s jihadi leanings. “We should be clear that some of Amnesty’s campaigning…did not

The moral bankruptcy of Amnesty International

Source: by Robin Simcox The UK branch of Amnesty International – the organisation that once referred to Guantanamo Bay as ‘the gulag of our times’ – degraded itself even further this weekend. It has been a source of increasing controversy here in the UK that Amnesty is currently closely aligning itself with former Guantanamo inmate Moazzem Begg and his Cage Prisoners organisation, and yesterday The Times reported the following: “A SENIOR official at Amnesty International has accused the charity of putting the human rights of Al-Qaeda terror suspects above those of their victims. Gita Sahgal, head of the gender unit at Amnesty’s international secretariat, believes that collaborating with Moazzam Begg, a former British inmate at Guantanamo Bay, “fundamentally damages” the organisation’s reputation. In an email sent to Amnesty’s top bosses, she suggests the charity has mistakenly allied itself with Begg and his “jihadi” group, Cageprison

February 9, 2010 How Amnesty chose the wrong poster-boy Collaboration with Moazzam Begg, an extremist who has supported jihadi movements, looks like a serious mistake

Source: Times online If you were a prisoner of conscience, a dissident, hounded by the authorities, imprisoned without proper process, shut up, shut in and shut down, then an organisation such as Amnesty International might be your one breath of air. Those Amnesty postcards, which seem like flinging a dart from a mountainside, may keep someone from despair. So the news that there is trouble at Amnesty is not welcome, except to tyrants. And yet it is hard not to see these ructions as being Amnesty’s own fault. The problem came to prominence at the weekend when The Sunday Times reported that one of Amnesty’s senior officers, Gita Sahgal, had circulated a memorandum extremely critical of the organisation’s collaboration with a group called Cageprisoners. Cageprisoners’ most famous figure is the former Guantánamo inmate Moazzam Begg, a man whose three years’ incarceration without trial has helped, for many liberals, to turn him into a kind of Muslim Mandela — an embodiment of the wrongl

February 7, 2010 Amnesty International is ‘damaged’ by Taliban link

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Source: Time online An official at the human rights charity deplores its work with a ‘jihadist’ Richard Kerbaj  SENIOR official at Amnesty International has accused the charity of putting the human rights of Al-Qaeda terror suspects above those of their victims. Gita Sahgal, head of the gender unit at Amnesty’s international secretariat, believes that collaborating with Moazzam Begg, a former British inmate at Guantanamo Bay, “fundamentally damages” the organisation’s reputation. In an email sent to Amnesty’s top bosses, she suggests the charity has mistakenly allied itself with Begg and his “jihadi” group, Cageprisoners, out of fear of being branded racist and Islamophobic. Sahgal describes Begg as “Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban”. He has championed the rights of jailed Al-Qaeda members and hate preachers, including Anwar al-Awlaki, the alleged spiritual mentor of the Christmas Day Detroit plane bomber. Related Links Gaza

Gita Sahgal talks about human wrongs Sumit Chakraberty / DNA Sunday, February 21, 2010 1:53 IST

Source: DNA India Last week, Gita Sahgal, head of Amnesty International’s gender unit, was suspended after objecting to the human rights organisation sharing a platform with Moazzem Begg, former Guantanamo detainee and “Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban”. The questions that arise are: While championing the rights of prisoners accused of terror, can the rights of victims of the Taliban, especially women, be compromised? Are those not threatened by rights groups appearing to give legitimacy and respectability to self-avowed Taliban-backers? In an exclusive interview with DNA, Gita Sahgal explains the importance of human rights organisations maintaining an objective distance from people who advocate global jihad. Moazzem Begg was released from Guantanamo Bay, without being charged with any terrorist-related offence. So what’s wrong with Amnesty involving him in its campaign against human rights violations in prison? Amnesty International could have involved him in meetin

Two killed in car bombing in western Iraq Sunday, February 28, 2010 5:11 AM

Source: I stock analyst Iraq, Feb. 28, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Two people were killed and three others injured in a car bomb explosion near a convoy of vehicles carrying out election campaign in a town in western Iraqi province of Anbar on Sunday, a provincial police source said. The blast targeted the elections campaign of Ashur al-Karbouli, a Sunni candidate for the al-Iraqia List, in the town of Khadiyah, some 80 km west of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Karbouli, who is also a member of Anbar provincial council, was not at the convoy when the attack occurred, the source said. The Iraqia List is a mixed Sunni and Shiite secular bloc, headed by the former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. The bloc is scheduled to run in the country's crucial parliamentary election slated for March 7. Anbar province has increasingly seen deadly attacks in recent months, although it has been relatively calm in the past few years after Sunni tribes and anti-U.S.

Home-made horror Feb 28, 2010 12:00 AM | By - © The Times, London

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Source: Times live It is not uncommon to see US and British soldiers vomit from fear before they go on patrol in Iraq or Afghanistan. The chances are high that they will be killed - or maimed for life - by an IED. The innocuous abbreviation refers to the improvised explosive devices which can be assembled by villagers in their back yards and detonated by remote control. In the past three years, writes Christina Lamb, the Pentagon has spent $15.5-billion on research to combat the insurgents' weapon of choice Current Font Size: FALLEN COMRADES: US soldiers kneel during a memorial ceremony in Afghanistan for Captain Daniel Whitten and Private First Class Zachary Lovejoy, who were killed by a home-made bomb while on patrol this month Picture: REUTERS In 2003 there were 81 recorded IED incidents in Afghanistan. Last year there were 8159 he soldier breathes loud and fast as he lays a timed charge on an explosive in a Baghdad street. "I want these