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Showing posts from April 10, 2011

Explosion hits police station in northeast Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - An explosion hit a police station in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri just as presidential elections were beginning on Saturday, the second blast in the past 24 hours, residents said. The blast happened at a police station in the Lami Sula district of Maiduguri, which lies in the remote state of Borno near Nigeria's borders with Chad, Cameroon and Niger. "People are so scared. Some have started abandoning the polling stations," said one resident who asked not to be named. A blast tore through the local office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) late last night, although nobody was injured, officials said. There were also sporadic bursts of gunfire overnight. There have been a spate of killings of politicians, police officers and religious leaders in Borno in recent months. The violence has been blamed on radical Islamist sect Boko Haram but has become increasingly political in t

From Kashmir to Kenya — lingering legacy of the Raj

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source: the hindu AFP THEIR FIGHT: The picture shows some of the Kenyan nationals, outside the High Court in central London in early April, who are seeking justice for the brutality they claim they suffered at the hands of the British during the 1950s Mau Mau uprising. They hope their cases will secure a statement of regret over Britain’s role in the Kenya Emergency, and a victims’ welfare fund. Documentary proof of the ‘evil nature' of the British empire and of atrocities committed in its name has been unearthed. The past few weeks have not been good for apologists of the British raj. First, there was that mea culpa of sorts by British Prime Minister David Cameron over Kashmir that upset many on the Right. Answering a question on a visit to Pakistan about what Britain could do to help resolve the Kashmir dispute, he said: “I don't want to try to insert Britain in some leading role where, as with so many of the world's problems, we are responsible for the is

Burkina Faso traders riot over lootings

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Merchants set fire to ruling party's headquarters after officials fail to stop soldiers ransacking their shops. Last Modified: 16 Apr 2011 14:38 Smoke could be seen in Ouagadougou after rioters set fire to the ruling party's headquarters [AFP] Hundreds of traders in Burkina Faso have taken to the streets of Ouagadougou, setting fire to the headquarters of the country's ruling party in protest after mutinous soldiers looted their shops. Merchants  on Saturday ransacked the National Assembly, the trade ministry and other public buildings in the capital, according to a witness quoted by the Reuters news agency. "We are angry against the soldiers who have looted our stores, and also against the government that is doing nothing to stop the looting," Abdoulaye, a mobile phone trader who declined to give his second name, said.   "Among us are people who have lost everything ... and do not even know yet whether they will be reimbursed. We&#

Militants kill 13 soldiers east of Algiers: security source

ALGIERS | Sat Apr 16, 2011 11:44am EDT (Reuters) - Islamist militants killed 13 Algerian soldiers in the country's northern Kabylie region, the deadliest attack in months, a security source told Reuters on Saturday. The ambush was located between Azazga and Yakouren, east of the city of Tizi Ouzou, an area considered a stronghold of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. "The attack was Friday at around 19:15," the security source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. Al Qaeda's north African wing, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), has claimed responsibility for a string of bombings and attacks in the OPEC member country in recent years. The group is the remnants of a much bigger insurgency that waged civil war in Algeria in the 1990s in which an estimated 200,000 people were killed. The violence has largely subsided after the government offered successive amnesties to encourage

Police hurt in Islamist Jordan riot

Read more: smh AMMAN: Islamist protesters armed with swords, daggers and bats have attacked police in the Jordanian city of Zarqa, wounding 51 of them, and 32 other police suffered from tear-gas inhalation. Lieutenant General Hussein Majali told a news conference: ''It was clear that the demonstrators had plans to clash with police. They carried swords and daggers and were provocative, seeking to drag police into a bloody confrontation.'' Members of the Salafist Islamist movement have been demonstrating over the past few weeks to demand the release of 90 prisoners, including Abu Mohammed al-Maqdessi, the one-time mentor of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda leader killed in Iraq. Zarqawi, who came from Zarqa, in northern Jordan, was killed in an air strike in 2006. The Salafists have also called for the release of Mohammad Shalabi, better known as Abu Sayyaf, who was c

Yemeni women protest over Saleh criticism

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Source: al jazeera Thousands reject president's view that it is un-Islamic for women to join men in demonstrations against his rule. Last Modified: 16 Apr 2011 17:06 About 5,000 women demonstrated against the president in the industrial city of Taiz, south of the capital [Reuters] Thousands of women have protested in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, and other cities against remarks by Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president, that it is un-Islamic for women to join men in the demonstrations against his rule. The women, many clad in black dress with full face veils, said their role in protests was religiously sound and called on the president to step down in line with nearly three months of demonstrations demanding his resignation. "It se

Suicide attack on NATO and Afghan troops kills 9

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A bomber dressed as an Afghan soldier detonates an explosive vest at a base in eastern Afghanistan in one of the deadliest attacks on coalition forces in recent days. The Taliban claims responsibility. Wounded Afghans lie on beds at the main hospital in Jalalabad after they were injured in an suicide bombing attack. ( STR, AFP/Getty Images / April 16 , 2011 ) By Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Somali pirates release ship; hold back Indian crew

India Blooms News Service Mumbai, Apr 16 (IBNS) Somali pirates have released a Panama-flagged ship after months of captivity though they refused to let free seven out of the 15-member Indian crew. The pirates had freed MT Asphalt Venture on Friday after it was hijacked 100 nautical miles southeast of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania in September last year. Owners of the ship-Mumbai-based OMCI Ship Management-on Saturday told seven Indians are still being kept as hostages by the pirates. "Despite concluding a dialogue with the pirates for the full release of 15 crew and vessel and payment of the ransom, the vessel has been released but the Master has reported that 6 officers and 1 rating were taken off the tanker and were made to accompany the pirates," said OMCI Ship Management in a statement. According to reports, one of the pirates Hassan Farah said the Indian members are still being held captive by them who want to bargain for the release of co-pirat

Ivory Coast: Corpses and weapons collected

Source: timeslive Apr 15, 2011 10:28 AM | By Sapa-AP Teams of Red Cross workers shoveled charred corpses into bags in Ivory Coast’s main city Thursday while U.N. peacekeepers gathered weapons hidden in basements, throwing them into dump trucks for disposal. More than a week of heavy fighting turned a city once known as the Paris of West Africa into one of deprivation, fear and death. The urban warfare culminated in the arrest on Monday of strongman Laurent Gbagbo. Now President Alassane Ouattara’s first order of business is to get Abidjan functioning again. Now that fighting has all but stopped and even the most hardcore Gbagbo supporters have given up after having seen TV images of the former president in custody, the people of Abidjan have begun to leave their homes for the first time in over two weeks. Orange taxis zigzag between the bullet-riddled wrecks of tanks and the charred carcasses of their occupants left after days of bloody battles. “We need to secur

Saleh must go now : Yemen religious, tribal leaders

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DUBAI | Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:40am EDT (Reuters) - Yemeni religious scholars and tribal leaders said they would support the demands of the youth revolution and called on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down immediately. In a statement issued late on Thursday in the capital Sanaa, they said the peaceful demands of protestors should be met and urged "the immediate stepping down of the President of the Republic and the dismissal of all his relatives from the military and security apparatus of the state." (Reporting by Martina Fuchs; Editing by Jon Boyle )

Indonesia 'suicide bomber' wounds 28 in mosque blast

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    Indonesian police are active against terror groups which they allege are inspired by Abu Bakar Ba'asyir Continue reading the main story A suspected suicide bomber has attacked a mosque in Indonesia, killing himself and wounding 28 people. Nearly half of the wounded are police officers, as the attack happened during Friday prayers at a mosque in a police compound in Cirebon, West Java. It is the first suspected suicide attack in the country in two years but follows a recent spate of letter bombs. A majority of Indonesians are Muslims but the state is secular. Witnesses said the man was sitting among worshippers when he set off the explosives. "He was praying. From the third row, suddenly there was a blast. I was at the last row," one witness named Anton was quoted as saying by Detik news website. "We suspect it was a suicide bombing," Indonesian police spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam said. "The police have been the most active in f

Thousands of dolphins block Somali pirates

Source: business ghana News Date: 15th April 2011 Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday. The Chinese merchant ships escorted by a China's fleet sailed on the Gulf of Aden when they met some suspected pirate ships. Thousands of dolphins suddenly leaped out of water between pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the China's. The suspected pirates ships stopped and then turned away. The pirates could only lament their littleness before the vast number of dolphins. The spectacular scene continued for a while. China initiated its three-ship escort task force on Dec. 26 last year after the United Nations Security Council called on countries to patrol gulf and waters off Somalia, one of the world's busiest marine routes, where surging piracy endangered intercontinental s

Ship attacks hit record

Read more: theprovince Pirates attacked a record number of ships in the first quarter, taking 344 sailors hostage and killing seven, the International Maritime Bureau reports. A total of 142 attacks were reported worldwide, the most for the period since monitoring began in 1991, the Londonbased IMB said. Attacks off Somalia jumped to 97 from 35 a year earlier, with 15 vessels seized out of a global total of 18, the IMB said. Somali pirates were holding 596 crew members and 28 ships captive on March 31, the IMB said. © Copyright (c) The Province

Israel will no longer be Egypt's 'pampered ally', experts say

Source: Gulf news Key changes are now expected in relationship with Cairo after Mubarak's ouster Cairo: With long-standing president Hosni Mubarak — a key ally of Israel and the US — now ousted, Egypt will most likely be forthright in dealing with Tel Aviv, according to political analysis. Days after being selected for a foreign ministry post, Dr Nabeel Al Arabi, a veteran diplomat, expressed Egypt's willingness to open "a new page" in relations with Israel's sworn enemy — Iran. Since Mubarak's ouster last February, Cairo has seen a string of visits by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other officials from the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas. Cairo has signalled its keenness to continue with efforts for a reconciliation between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Abbas' Fatah faction. These efforts were unsuccessfully spearheaded by Mubarak's chief of intelligence service Omar Sulai

Islamists kill Italian kidnapped in Gaza: Hamas

 Source: Indian Express A Salafist group of radical Islamists killed an Italian activist after kidnapping him in Gaza, a Hamas security official said today. "The Italian was killed by suffocation and his body was found in a street of the city of Gaza," a spokesman for the Islamist movement which controls the Gaza Strip told AFP. Two suspected kidnappers were arrested and security officials are looking for accomplices. Foreign aid workers in the enclave earlier named the man as Vittorio Arrigoni and said he was an activist with a pro-Palestinian group called the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), who was also working as a journalist and writer. In a video posted on YouTube, the Salafist group said it had taken him hostage in order to secure the release of an unspecified number of their members who had been arrested by the security forces in the Gaza Strip. It said it would execute him if their demands were not met by 5:00 pm (local time) on today. "

Apply a religious freedom test before arming Libyans

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Britain should determine who it supports in the 'new world order' by demanding guarantees of freedom from religious persecution Jenny Taylor guardian.co.uk , Wednesday 13 April 2011 10.00 BST Article history An odd thing happened at the Frontline Club the other night. In a discussion about the "new world order" following the Arab uprisings , and the vexed question of whom to support as traditional allegiances shift and break, a woman at the back of the audience suddenly spoke up: "What about a religious freedom test? What better criterion could there be by which to gauge rebel intent in

Roadside bombs kill 3 south of Baghdad

HAMID AHMED, Associated Press Published 05:15 a.m., Thursday, April 14, 2011 Read more: ctpost BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say roadside bombs have killed three people at a market south of Baghdad. A police official says two policemen were among the dead in the morning blasts Thursday in Mahmoudiya, a town about 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of Baghdad. He says nine people also were wounded in explosions, set off by a pair of roadside bombs. The casualties were confirmed by a hospital official. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The bombs exploded only minutes apart. Officials say the second blast went off as police rushed to the scene. Violence across Iraq has dropped dramatically over the last three years but deadly attacks still happen nearly every day. Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Roadside-bombs-kill-3-south-of-Baghdad-1336523.php#ixzz1JZvUO9rf

Iran Building Fence at Pakistan Border

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source: uskowi on Iran Border Area with Pakistan on Iranian Baluchistan Iran's Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi today told reporters in Tehran that the country is rapidly constructing a fence on its border with Pakistan. “Fences and barriers along the border with Pakistan is being carried out in the impenetrable mountainous terrain with precision and quality,” Gen. Vahidi said [IRNA, 14 April.] The Iranian militant group Jundallah is believed to use the border area separating the Iranian and Pakistani Baluchistan to carry out its operations inside Iran. File Photo: IRNA

Syria: Rampant Torture of Protesters

Syria: Rampant Torture of Protesters Activists and Journalists Also Arrested and Mistreated (New York) - Syrian security and intelligence services have arbitrarily detained hundreds of protesters across the country, subjecting them to torture and ill-treatment, since anti-government demonstrations began in mid-March 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. The security and intelligence services, commonly referred to as mukhabarat, have also arrested lawyers, activists, and journalists who endorsed or promoted the protests, Human Rights Watch said. Syrian authorities should immediately stop the use of torture and free arbitrarily detained demonstrators, activists, and journalists, Human Rights Watch said. The government of President Bashar al-Asad should order prompt and impartial investigations into serious abuses against detainees and ensure all those responsible are brought to justice. "There can be no real reforms in Syria while secur

Al Qaeda Deputy Surfaces in Rare Online Video

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Osama Bin Laden Deputy and Egyptian Native Ayman al-Zawahiri Praises Mubarak's Fall, Calls on Arab Armies to Intervene in Libya By MATTHEW COLE and LEE FERRAN April 14, 2011  In a new, rare video message from al Qaeda's number two terrorist commander, Ayman al-Zawahiri calls on Arab armies to intervene in Libya to help eject dictator Moammar Gadhafi before "Western aid... turns into invasions." ABC News Al Qaeda?s second in command, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, released a new video message. More Photos The hour-plus long video posted online is the first since Egypt's successful revolution and features the Osama bin Laden deputy in a white robe with the barrel of an assault rifle visible at his side. In addition to discussing the bloody fighting in Libya, al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian native, celebrates the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and says that the continuation of the North African nat

Afghan tribal elder killed in suicide bombing

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Source: LA TIMES Elder Malik Zareen was 'struggling for peace,' Afghan President Hamid Karzai says, condemning the attack in Kunar province, which killed a dozen people, including five children Malik Zareen, a leading tribal elder, was among those killed by a suicide bombing in Kunar province. ( Afzal Shah, EPA ) Related