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Showing posts from April 4, 2010

Yemen tribe warns against harming cleric on US wants dead 6 hours 41 mins ago

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Source: Yahoo A powerful tribe in Yemen threatened violence on Saturday against anyone trying to harm a radical US-born Muslim cleric whom Washington has reportedly placed on its hit list. Skip related content Related photos / videos Members of the Yemeni counter-terrorism force Enlarge photo The heavily armed Al-Awaliq tribe, active in the Abyan and Shabwa regions that are key Al-Qaeda strongholds in Yemen, warned against any attempt against Anwar al-Awlaqi, a Yemen-based US citizen with suspected Al-Qaeda ties. In an official statement published after a meeting of tribal leaders, the tribe said it would "not remain with arms crossed if a hair of Anwar al-Awlaqi is touched, or if anyone plots or spies against him." "Whoever risks denouncing our son (Awlaqi) will be the target of Al-Awaliq weapons," the statement said, and warned "anyone against cooperating with the Americans" in the capture or killing of the cleri

6 people killed in separate attacks in Iraq Saturday, April 10, 2010 10:02 AM

Source: Istockanalyst BAGHDAD, Apr. 10, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Six people were killed and seven others wounded in separate attacks in northern and western Iraq on Saturday, the police said. Two policemen and one Iraqi soldier were killed by a roadside bomb explosion near a joint police and Iraqi army force while conducting a patrol in Qiyara area, some 60 km south of Mosul, the capital city of Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, local police told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. In another attack, a roadside bomb explosion struck an Iraqi army patrol in the Hamam al-Alil area, some 25 km south of Mosul, killing a soldier and a child who was close to the blast site, the source said. Meanwhile, two soldiers were wounded in a small arms fire attack against their patrol in western Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad, the source added. Nineveh province, including its capital Mosul, remains one of Iraq's most volatile areas despite major security crackdowns by U. S.

Bomb blast near Iran jail wounds 14

Source: Arabnews By REUTERS Published: Apr 10, 2010 18:42 Updated: Apr 10, 2010 18:42 TEHRAN: A bomb blast outside a prison in the southwest Iranian city of Ilam wounded 14 people on Saturday, but there were no deaths, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported. "Moments ago a bomb was detonated in front of the central prison of the city of Ilam," Fars said. "The explosion, which took place during a visitation period, led to the injury of a number of individuals," it said. Medical official Kourosh Saki said 14 people received medical care but were later allowed to leave hospital. "There were no deaths in the aftermath of the explosion," he told Fars. Fars did not give any details on who might have been responsible for the blast nor what the motive might have been. Ilam, which is also the name of the province, is a mountainous region borde

Russia's Arctic Ambitions

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Source: The marknews Recent comments by Lawrence Cannon suggest that Canada is underestimating the Russian threat. Robert R. Amsterdam Lawyer; Founding Partner, Amsterdam & Peroff. he reputation of being the world's boy scout seeking the approval of others for its moral conduct, it also has a sense of healthy chauvinism when it comes to defending its sovereignty. However, Russia’s push to claim an enormous slice of the Arctic region over the past few years has put these two national personalities to the test. It is disheartening to see that Canada’s current reaction to Russia's string of provocations, from flag planting to dropping paratroopers into the disputed territory, has been reckless non-nonchalance. In comments made last week and quoted in the Globe

US upbeat about anti-terror data accord with EU

Source: AP By DEVLIN BARRETT and CIARAN GILES (AP) – 13 hours ago MADRID — U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday he is confident an accord will be reached shortly with the European Union to relaunch a Bush-era data-sharing program the U.S. considers key to anti-terror investigations. Holder said he and other U.S. officials would listen to the EU allies' concerns about the accord's effect on civil liberties during a one-day EU-U.S. ministerial meeting in Madrid on Friday focusing on counterterrorism cooperation. "One of our goals during these meetings will be to outline the extensive privacy safeguards that we have put in place to govern the TFTP, Holder told reporters in Madrid, referring to the Terrorist Financing Tracking Program. "I'm actually confident that in a relatively short period of time the program will be up." Word of a potential accord came as the U.S. attorney general confirmed at a news conference that Spain had agreed to take in

Collateral Murder: U.S. Soldiers Killing Civilians in Cold Blood

Source: Zero anthropolgy At the same time that we read of another recent cover up by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, involving the murder of pregnant women (and then mutilating their bodies with knives to remove the bullets), Wikileaks releases this shocking video of a U.S. massacre in Iraq from July 2007. Listen to the pleasure which the killers take in doing their “job”, the rash decisions, the lack of “precision” of which the criminals boast so often, the headlong rush and expressed urge to start killing as quickly as possible (rather than taking time to prevent unnecessary civilian casualties). The result? Dead journalists and wounded girls. The second, extended version of the video, shows hellfire missiles being fired at civilians, for example one who is unarmed and merely walking in the street. There is no evidence of any precautions taken not to kill civilians, as required by international law. These are not the actions of a mere minority: this is a repeated pattern of indiscr

No meaningful dialogue with Pakistan unless terror checked: India

Source: DNA INDIA Beijing: India today told China that a substantive Indo-Pak dialogue would not be possible unless "proper atmosphere" is created by Pakistan by dismantling the terror infrastructure in that country. Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao who briefed the media on foreign minister S M Krishna's talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jeichi said the Indian side did not raise the issue of close ties between China and Pakistan. However, Krishna has conveyed India's concerns over terrorism emanating from Pakistan soil and recent incidents of terror against Indian assets in Afghanistan. Pakistan should create a proper atmosphere for sustained talks, China was told. "Unless proper atmosphere is created by dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism it will be difficult to resume substantive dialogue with Pakistan," Rao said. She said China welcomed the recent meeting of foreign secretary level talks between India and Pakistan. "They are briefe

Dhaka talks tough on terror; will Reopen all transit routes with India

Source: Assam times Bangladesh has reiterated it would not allow its soil to be used for any terrorist activity against India and has promised to reopen all transit routes for maximum connectivity between the two neighbours. This was stated by Bangladesh High Commissioner in India, Mr Tariq Ahmed Karim, during his talk ‘India-Bangladesh Relations: Beyond Barriers” organized by the Centre for Development and Peace Studies, a Guwahati-based think tank, here last night. Mr Karim, in an unusually candid address, admitted there has been avoidable ‘barriers’ that has been keeping relations between the two populous neighbours tense for large part of the past forty years since Bangladesh attained its independence. “Now, things have changed and the Prime Ministers of the two nations, Dr Manmohan Singh and Sheikh Hasina, have already given us the work order to boost ties and consolidate on the prevailing congenial atmosphere,” High Commissioner Karim, who has been handpicked by

Robbers bomb two ATMs

Source: kormorant ATM bombers made off with a large, but undisclosed, amount of money following an armed robbery and the bombing of two Automatic Teller Machines at the Mountain Lake Shopping Centre in Broederstroom in the early hours of yesterday morning. The gang of bombers first held up staff members at the filling station and blew up the ATM there just after 01:00 before they moved on to the ATM located in the centre and bombed it. Faruk Omar (22), the supervisor on duty at the Pecanwood Total Filling Station at the time of the bombing, told Kormorant that he and the cashier were inside the 24 hour shop while three petrol attendants were in the petrol attendants’ room. He explained that he was packing shelves when a man with an R5 rifle approached him, pointed the R5 at him and told him to lie on the ground. “When I did not lie on the ground one of the men hit me and I lay down. They then told me to give them everything. I

Guest column: Obama's nuclear security budget should match his rhetoric

Source: desmoinesregister In his historic Prague speech of April 2009, President Barack Obama stepped up to the greatest challenge facing the U.S. commander in chief: the threat posed by nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism. He pledged both to pursue "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons" and to lead an international effort to "secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world within four years." This latter effort is an essential step to improve our national security on an urgent basis and to establish a safe context for deep reductions in arsenals and eventual complete elimination of nuclear weapons. More than 20,000 nuclear weapons, 95 percent of which are in U.S. and Russian stockpiles, and thousands of tons of fissile material are scattered across the globe and pose a serious threat to our health and safety. We know that terrorist groups have been attempting to acquire the materials needed to construct either nuclear weapons or &q

Suicide-bomber blows herself up in Ingushetia

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Source: RUVR Apr 9, 2010 14:55 Moscow Time © Vesti.Ru, www.vesti.ru A woman suicide-bomber has blown herself up in the Ingush village of Ekazhevo. An official of Ingushetia’s Interior Ministry has told the RIA-Novosti news agency that she had first tried to gun down the chief of the Nazran Regional Department of Internal Affairs, but missed and hit another officer. After that the kamikaze terrorist blew herself up. According to the official, no one was hurt by the blast.     

Huge blast rocks N. Afghanistan, casualties feared: official

Source: CCTV KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, April 9 (Xinhua) -- A roadside bomb exploded in northern Afghanistan's Kunduz province Friday, causing no casualty, a local police official said. Abdul Rahman Haqtash, deputy police chief of Kunduz province, told Xinhua that the bombing was targeted a NATO convoy which was on road near Kunduz city, the provincial capital. The attack caused no military or civilian casualty, said the official. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the incident. Kunduz has been seeing the increase of Taliban militancy recently.

Militant killed, one injured in bomb blast in Manipur

Source: PTI NEWS Imphal, Apr 9 (PTI) An unidentified militant was killed in an encounter with security personnel while a man was injured when ultras hurled a grenade at his house in Manipur today, police said. The militant was killed in an encounter with Asam Rifles personnel of 28th battalion at Waithou Chiru in Thoubal district early morning, they said. One 9mm pistol with some live rounds was recovered from him, the police said. The body has been sent to Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital here for post-mortem, the police said. In another incident, a person was injured when militants hurled a grenade at the residence of one T T Haokip here this afternoon, they added.

Anti-blast bins begin appearing in Prague metro stations over eight years after 9/11

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Source: Radio cz All of the rubbish bins in Prague’s metro stations were removed for security reasons in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States. Now, over eight years later, they are slowly making a comeback, after Prague’s authorities decided to invest in high tech bomb-resistant bins for the city’s underground rail system. After the 9/11 attacks on the US, the rubbish bins that served passengers on the platforms and in the vestibules of Prague’s metro system were all removed. The fear was that they could be used to plant explosives if terrorists ever attacked the Czech capital. Photo: CTK Unsurprisingly the removal of the bins led to increased cleaning costs, and not only in the actual stations themselves; more rubbish also found its way into the tunnels of the city’s underground rail system. A couple of years ago, litter blowing about disrupted tests of a sensor system at Dejvická station aimed at speeding up reaction to a person or animal falling on the t

EU begins Somali training mission

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Source: BBC NEWS Somali recruits inside Mogadishu have been trained with sticks for guns A European Union programme to train 2,000 Somali soldiers with the aim of bolstering the transitional government is getting under way in Uganda. The UN Security Council last year called for international support for organising a new Somali security force. Somalia's government is battling Islamist militants, thought to have been reinforced recently by al-Qaeda. The treasury minister told the BBC the government's limited control allowed foreign militants to enter the country. Somali officials have complained that a long-planned government offensive against Islamist insurgents has been delayed partly because of a lack of training and equipment. African Union forces have already been training Somali soldiers to defend the transitional government, which controls only small parts of the capital, Mogadishu. Defector risks? Col Ricardo Gonzalez Elul, the Spanish comma

Somali pirates hijack Turkish ship

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Source: BBC NEWS Somali pirates have hijacked a Turkish cargo vessel off the coast of Kenya, the EU's naval force has said. The Yasin C is reported to have come under attack some 250 nautical miles (460km) east of its destination, the port of Mombasa. Cdr John Harbour said that the carrier had a crew of 25 people on board, all of whom are believed to be Turkish. "The MV Yasin C was taken around midday, 250 nautical miles off the Kenyan coast," Cdr Harbour said. The pirates have expanded the reach of their attacks, recently seizing a vessel closer to India than Africa. The EU's naval force, which patrols the waters off the coast of east Africa, says it believes its new strategy has pushed the pirate gangs further afield. Somalia has been riven by civil war and unrest since 1991, allowing the pirates relative impunity. Some of the pirates' leaders have amassed fortunes by holding ships for ransom, and the Gulf of Aden has become on

Al-Shabab militants raid UN base in Somalia

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Source: BBC NEWS Islamist fighters control much of southern Somalia A hardline Islamist Somali militant group has taken over a United Nations compound in the south of the country. The fighters from the al-Shabab group, which is linked to al-Qaeda, disarmed guards at the base in Wajid near Baidoa, a BBC reporter says. However, the World Food Programme insists that the base was empty and the move would not affect its operations. In February al-Shabab ordered the WFP to leave the country, saying Somalis should buy food from local farmers. Aid agencies say that up to half the population needs food aid. Al-Shabab controls much of southern Somalia, while the UN-backed government is only in charge of a small part of the capital, Mogadishu.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq group claims embassy bombings

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Source: BBC NEWS The three explosions were all near diplomatic missions A militant group linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq has said it was behind Sunday's triple bombings in Baghdad which killed 40 people near foreign embassies. Islamic State of Iraq said in a statement posted on the internet that it had attacked the Iranian, German, and Egyptian missions. It said embassies and organisations working with Iraq's government would top its target list. But it denied involvement in six blasts killing 35 in Shia areas on Tuesday. The statement regarding Tuesday's attacks, which hit residential buildings, was posted on the internet separately, the monitoring group SITE said. At least 200 people died in Sunday's attacks, which shattered a period of relative calm after last month's parliamentary elections. 'Themed' bombings The first two bombs went off within about a minute of one another, in Mansour - a fairly smart suburb on the western sid

South Africa police defend World Cup security plans

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Source: BBC NEWS The Cape Town Stadium is one of 10 venues under close watch in South Africa By Dan Roan BBC sports news correspondent South African police have insisted their World Cup security plans are adequate despite threats made ahead of England's match against the USA. An Algeria-based cell, claiming to be a branch of terrorist group al-Qaeda, said it will strike on 12 June on the day of the Group C match in Rustenberg. An online article refers to an "explosion causing hundreds of deaths". But police chief Vishnu Naidoo said: "We have not identified any specific threats in reference to this article." He added: "The credibility of the repor

Living in the Shadow of Insecurity

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Source: prajatantra  Just when the people had begun to think that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs was seriously engaged in dealing with the naxal threat, the small sense of satisfaction was shattered on 6th April 2010 by the killing of as many as 76 professional men of the CRPF by the Maoists-naxals in Dantewada in the State of Chhattisgarh, one of the many hotbeds of naxal activities. The relatively easy manner in which the moving forces were trapped, ambushed and killed like sitting ducks shocked the nation and even the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. Less than two months before, on 15th Feb. 2010 over 25 policemen were killed in an attack on their camp by Maoists in West Bengal. This worst-yet attack on the security forces by the Maoists has once again shown the Government in poor light. The Dance of the Demons on 26th Nov. 2008 in Mumbai proved beyond doubt that the Government at that time was utterly incompetent to perform its normal function of ensuring the safety

Diplomat in bomb scare was headed to meet jailed terrorist

Source: Timesfreespace By MATTHEW LEE and P. SOLOMON BANDA Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON — A Qatari diplomat was on his way to an official visit with an imprisoned al-Qaida sleeper agent when he touched off a bomb scare by slipping into an airline bathroom for a smoke, officials said Thursday as the diplomat prepared to leave the U.S. The diplomat, Mohammed Al-Madadi, was going to pay a consular visit to the prisoner, said Alison Bradley, a public relations executive hired to speak for the Qatari Embassy, and a State Department official. The prisoner, Ali Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar, is serving eight years after pleading guilty last year to conspiring to support terrorism. Al-Marri was arrested after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, accused of being a sleeper agent researching poisonous gasses and plotting a cyberattack. Consular officials frequently visit foreigners held in the United States to make sure they are being treated well. Bradley said Qatari diplomats hav

Clinton helps Islamic terror supporter enter U.S.

Source: Examiner Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed an order allowing a radical Islamic man with terrorist ties to tour cities in the United States in spite of a six-year ban, according to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police's Terrorism Committee. Secretary Clinton consented to have Tariq Ramadan, an extremist Muslim who supports Islamic terrorism, visit New York City -- the city attacked by 19 Islamic terrorists on September 11, 2001 -- to begin a U.S. tour that includes New Jersey, Chicago, Detroit and Washington. The prominent European Muslim scholar openly supports Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, has worked for Iran and donates money to terrorist causes, according to public-interest group Judicial Watch. In 2009, a university in The Netherlands terminated Ramadan as a result of his extremism and for his work for the Islamic Republic of Iran, currently pursuing nuclear weapons and financing terrorism worldwide. According to The In

Piracy: No ho, ho, ho here, only agony

Source: Khaleej times 7 April 2010 The attempt at thwarting the Somalia-based freelance pirates from hijacking vessels on the high seas has not been very successful. The poignant gratitude of the released crew of a UAE-bound dhow two days ago underscores the helplessness of the men who go to sea against this menace. The gangs have an eclectic approach to their victims and all vessels ranging from supertankers to dhows are legitimate prey. And prey on them is what they do. So, now that the Combined Task Force 150, a multinational defence group has clearly shown that patrolling the oceans is well nigh impossible is it necessary to take technology a step further? The answer would have to in the affirmative. While there is some global resistance to deploying armed troops on seagoing merchant mariners because that would jeopardise civilian lives in case of combat (as compared to submission and hope of rescue) the consensus on something drastic having to be done seems to

Third Indian vessel freed from Somalian pirates

Source: Sify 2010-04-06 21:50:00 The third of the eight Indian cargo vessels hijacked by Somalian pirates has been freed in a joint American-Omani Navy operation, according to delayed reports reaching here Tuesday. According to the Kutch-based Vahanvatta Association, the cargo vessel Osmani was rescued in the joint operation Monday. Of the eight member crew, one - Sultan Ahmed - is reported to have lost his life when he panicked and jumped into the sea after the naval operation began. MV Osmani was hijacked by the pirates March 28 while on its way from Dubai to Mogadishu. However, it came into the sights of an American navy ship patrolling the seas, which tailed it into Omani waters. Further news is awaited, association sources said Tuesday night.

How the US fights pirates

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Source; SBS They came after midnight, skimming fast across the sea toward their prey. Last week, Somali pirates attacked a ship that turned out to be the USS Nicholas, a United States navy frigate carrying guided missiles. (File: Getty Images) In the dark, the large ship must have seemed an ideal target for these Somali pirates searching the Indian Ocean for potential rich pickings. A tanker? Freighter? Actually, a very bad choice. Last week, Somali pirates attacked a ship that turned out to be the USS Nicholas, a United States navy frigate carrying guided missiles. There would only be one winner. Soon, five pirates were in US custody; one pirate skiff was sunk; a mother ship under tow.  Fighting back against piracy, or at least demonstrating that surrender is not an option, is now part of US anti-pirate policy. “The US Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration have required US-flagged ships

Somali pirates seize S Korean oil tanker 14:07, April 07, 201

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Source: peoples daily Increases the bookmark twitter facebook digg Google Windowslive Delicious buzz friendfeed Linkedin diigo reddit stumbleupon Somali pirates seize S Korean oil tanker Somali pirates seized a South Korean- flagged oil tanker about 1,200 nautical miles to the east of the world's most dangerous waters of Somalia, Yemeni Interior Ministry Monday quoted a communique of the Embassy of South Korea in Sanaa as saying. The ransom-seeking Somali pirates have moved the oil tanker towards the Somali coast, said the ministry in a statement posted on its website. South Korean-operated, Singapore-owned Samho Dream supertanker is seen in this undated handout. South Korea has sent a destroyer to intercept

April 06, 2010 — At least five massive bombs hit apartment buildings across Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 39 people and wounding more than 130 in the latest sign Iraq's fragile security could dissolve in the chaos of the unresolved election. (April 6)

50 dead in Baghdad bombings, raising fears of a return to warfare

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Source; HCNONLINE Onlookers and rescue teams gather at the scene of a bomb blast in Baghdad today. Munther Muhsen grieves over the dead body of his brother Wessam Muhsen, 28, during his funeral in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraq, Monday. Suicide attackers detonated three car bombs in quick succession near foreign embassies in Baghdad on Sunday, killing more than 40 people in coordinated strikes that Iraqi officials said were intended to disrupt efforts to form a new government. Updated: 04.06.10 BAGHDAD— Bombs ripped through apartment buildings and a market in mostly Shiite areas of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 50 people in postelection bloodshed that threatens to rekindle sectarian warfare that nearly destroyed the country three years ago. The attacks appeared to be an attempt by al-Qaida in Iraq or other extremists to exploit a power vacuum during what promises to be lengthy negotiations