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Showing posts from June 19, 2011

Meeting a Somali pirate in Hargeisa prison

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Source: BBC NEWS By Mary Harper BBC News, Somaliland When Somalian pirates are caught there is often nowhere to try them, as Somalia itself has little effective central government. But some have been tried and jailed in the breakaway territory of Somaliland. "You cannot go and see the pirates," said the commander of the prison. "They are far too dangerous. And anyway, they are fed up with journalists who, they say, treat this prison as if it was a pirate museum.

A warm stay in India for rescued Pak sailors

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Source: IBN LIVE Click to play video Mumbai: The Indian sailors of the MV Suez were welcomed home on Friday after 10 months in pirate captivity, even as Pakistani hostages of Somali pirates, who were rescued by the Indian Navy finally get diplomatic clearance to return home. They've been stuck in India for three months. While Indian hostages of MV Suez were helped by Pakistani NGOs, a Mumbai police station and NGOs in the city have been facilitating a warm stay for some Pakistani hostages of Somali pirates. The men who have now been in India for three months have finally got diplomatic clearance to return to their country. Three months ago, the Pakistani sailors-turned hostages were rescued when the Indian navy captured their Somali abductors. But they could not be returned home immediately, and have since been treated as guests at a Mumbai police station. The Pakistani authorities have now come with all the documents to take them back. The men say

26/11 trial in Pak adjourned till July 9

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Source: IBNLIVE Islamabad: The trial of LeT's Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six other Pakistanis charged with involvement in Mumbai attacks was on Saturday adjourned for a fortnight as no new judge had been appointed for the anti-terrorism court hearing the case following the transfer of Justice Rana Nisar Ahmed. Ahmed, who had been hearing the case since he was appointed judge of Rawalpindi's anti-terrorist court no. III in November 2010, was transferred shortly after the last hearing on June 11. No new judge has been appointed for the court, sources said. The case was placed before a duty judge on Saturday, who adjourned it till July 9, the sources said. The development came just a day after Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who was in Pakistan for talks with her counterpart Salman Bashir, said she had highlighted India's concerns about a "satisfactory closure" of the Mumbai attacks trial in Pakistan to enable the two countries "to move on wit

Qadhafi’s days are numbered, claim officials

Source: Gulf today LONDON: International officials and Libya’s opposition have drawn up detailed plans to rebuild the North African nation’s economy and society following the removal of Muammar Qadhafi, British diplomats said on Friday. The Wall Street Journal quoted a senior US national security official as saying American intelligence shows Qadhafi “doesn’t feel safe anymore” in the capital. However, officials told the paper they did not see the move as imminent and did not believe Qadhafi would leave Libya. Fighter spokesman Mahmud Shamam told French daily Le Figaro they were in indirect contact with the regime and may be prepared to allow Qadhafi to stay in the country, but that he and his family must agree to leave power. A senior British diplomat, who demanded anonymity to discuss the work, said that a team of officials from the UK, United States, Italy, Turkey, Denmark and other nations has spent several weeks in eastern Libya discussing scenarios with opposition l

60 Afghans dead in hospital bombing

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Source: The gulf today PULI ALAM (Afghanistan): A huge car bombing at a hospital killed 60 and wounded 120 in Afghanistan on Saturday, days after US President Barack Obama said 10,000 US forces would leave the country this year. The Taliban denied it was behind the attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying: "We condemn this attack on a hospital... whoever has done this wants to defame the Taliban." The brazen suicide attack in Logar province, just south of the capital Kabul, killed women and children and was described as "unprecedented" in the history of the near-decade-long Afghan war by officials. "As a result of this heartbreaking incident, 60 of our countrymen including children, women, youths and men...have been martyred and 120 others in

Car bomb kills 3 security personnel in Yemen

Source: Gulf today SANAA: A car bomb believed to have been set off be a suicide attacker killed three Yemeni security personnel in the southern city of Aden, the government said, as residents grew fearful of a possible attempt by militants to seize control of the strategic port city. The government quickly said it suspected Al Qaeda was behind the bombing on Friday in Aden's free-trade zone, which went off after anti-government demonstrators in the city and across the nation again held large weekend rallies in their four-month campaign to oust Yemen's autocratic leader of nearly 33 years. Regime opponents have accused the government of exaggerating the Al Qaeda threat to try to hang on to Western support, and local investigators in Aden said it was too early to tell what caused Friday's blast. The months of political turmoil have raised fears, perhaps most acutely in the US, that Yemen's Al Qaeda franchise will seize the opportunity and carve out more room to

East Africa: Piracy - Seafarers' Death Toll Hits 62 in Four Years

Source: All Africa Somali pirates have continued to hijack, torture, intimidate & murder seafarers raising the death toll to 62 seafarers who have died in the past four years as a direct result of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. The deaths occurred through deliberate murder by pirates, suicide during the period of captivity, death from malnutrition and disease, death by drowning, or heart failure just after the hijacking. This shocking figure has prompted the shipping industry's Save Our Seafarers (SOS) campaign to give even greater emphasis to its worldwide call for government action to tackle the issue. Meanwhile, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which monitors piracy worldwide through its Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC )has warned that the twice-yearly monsoon seasons in the Indian Ocean no longer appear to be a deterrent to Somali pirate activity. But noted that the Monsoon continue to affect the seasonal pattern of piracy and locati

India appreciates Pak's role in sailors' return

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Source: IBNLIVE New Delhi: India on Friday appreciated Pakistan's help in ensuring safe return of Indian sailors who were help captive by Somali pirates aboard MV Suez. "We are relieved that their ordeal has ended and they would soon be safely back with their families," External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said. "We appreciate the timely help extended to them and sailors of other countries, by the Pakistani navy," he said in a statement. http://draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4710918329874533842#editor The 22-member crew of MV Suez including six Indians were brought to Karachi on Thursday. The Indian sailors reached New Delhi on Friday. At the same time, the Minister noted that 500 other sailors from across the world are still in captivity of pirates and pressed for coordinated efforts by countries to fight the scourge of piracy. "The scourge of piracy requires a well coordinated response by all entities, especially navies of more th

Indian sailors of MV Suez reach Delhi

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Source: IBN LIVE Click to play video New Delhi: After 10 months of captivity by Somali pirates, six Indian sailors of MV Suez reached the Delhi Airport on Friday. They were welcomed by their families and friends who praised and thanked Pakistani Human Rights activist Ansar Burney, who arranged for the ransom money to get the sailors released. The children of some sailors welcomed their fathers with cards that had 'Welcome Home Papa' written on them, at the Delhi airport as emotions ran through after the sailors reunited with their families. The pirates released the crew of the Egyptian-owned ship, comprising six Indians, four Pakistanis, 11 Egyptians and one Sri Lankan after ransom of $ 2 million was paid to them. On Thursday, unprecedented emotional scenes played out in Karachi after the ship carrying 22 crew members of MV Suez reached the Karachi dock. Ravinder Singh, a relieved sailor, recalled the ordeal during captivity. "I was tied wi

MV Iceberg sailors' families still waiting

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Source: Ibn Live Click to play video Mumbai: While families of the six MV Suez sailors celebrated on Friday on their return, 39 other families have been waiting for news of their loved ones, who are still in captivity of Somali pirates. Two families watching the homecoming of sailors from the MV Suez hoped such a happy day dawns for them too. Iceberg sailor Dhiraj's mother Kanti Devi Tiwari said, "We are very happy these sailors returned home. They are like our children too. I hope we will get help to bring back our son." Kanti Devi and her husband Purushottam Tiwari have been waiting for good news about their son Dhiraj captured by Somali pirates from the MV Iceberg 1 in March 2010. They pray that a messiah will save their son too. Dhiraj's father Purushottam Tiwari said, "Pakistan has done so much for the sailors. It's so sad that in India, not a single politician or trustee has come forward to help us." The visuals of s

Is the inter-Korean conflict going cyber?

Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar Source: TMCNET June 24--South Korea has one of the most advanced IT infrastructures on the planet, offering the world's cheapest access to the fastest internet connection anywhere. Approximately 95 per cent of its near 50 million citizens surf the web -- a statistic virtually unmatched by any other country. Despite being so technologically advanced, however, the country continues to suffer from ongoing cyberattacks, which authorities say are from North Korea. Seoul has identified the assaults as part of the North's plans to strategically nurture its cyberwarfare unit, and responded with pledges to bolster its own cyberdefence programme by doubling its number of hackers. It is also establishing 24-hour cybersecurity centres under the auspices of key government agencies such as the unification ministry and the central bank. South Korean authorities and experts, alongside defectors from the North say the country's communist neighbour may be taking its w

Hacking group faces its own hackers - and hubris

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By Suzanne Choney Source: MSNBC On Twitter, LulzSec makes fun of a hacker, The Jester, who is against them. The hackers of LulzSec are faced with the wrath of other hackers who are furious with LulzSec's activities — especially Thursday's unleashing of personal information, including email addresses and phone numbers, of Arizona law enforcement, something LulzSec claims credit for. The group portrayed itself as pranksters until this week when it allied itself with Anonymous — best-known for its denial-of-service attacks on Visa and MasterCard, which halted online donations during the WikiLeaks controversy — and then also encouraged others to join it in efforts to "open fire on any government or agency" that "crosses their path." Now, other hackers who stridently disagree with LulzSec's activities are going after the group. One of them, a self-described anti-terrorist hacker known as The Jester, was lampooned by LulzSec Friday on Twitter and in a statemen

Who funded a terrorism plot aimed at Seattle military station?

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Source: My northwest Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif spent $800 to acquire weapons he planned to use in an attack on a military recruiting station in Seattle. (Washington State Dept. of Corrections) zoom listen Listen: US Attorney Jenny Durkan U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan talks to Dori about a terror plot aimed at a military recruiting office in Seattle. A Seattle man accused of plotting to attack a military recruiting station had filed for bankruptcy in May, but Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif was still able to buy weapons. "He stated that the money was being held by someone for him. He was saving up for religious travel," U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan told 97.3 KIRO FM's Dori Monson Show . According to charging documents , on June 16 and 17, Abdul-Latif gave an undercover FBI source $800 to pay for rifles he and Walli Mujahidh, a.k.a. Frederick Domingue planned to use during the attack. Abdul-Latif said he set the money aside for the hajj and that another person was holding it for him. Abdul-

Rebels Arm Tripoli Guerrillas and Cut Resources to Capital

ROGEBAN, Libya — Having consolidated control over almost all of Libya ’s western mountains, rebel leaders here say they are now pursuing a two-pronged strategy to bring down the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi : starving it of resources while covertly arming a growing guerrilla force within Tripoli itself. Though the rebels consolidated their hold on most of the Nafusa mountains only about two weeks ago, officials from the opposition stronghold of Benghazi and the operatives from the underground network in Tripoli were all here on Friday night discussing strategies already under way. The mountain rebels showed a reporter an oil pipeline they had recently cut off to Colonel Qaddafi’s last working refinery, in Zawiya. Now rebels have their sights on Gharyan, a city of about 85,000 that is the last Nafusa mountain town under Colonel Qaddafi’s control. It is widely known as a hotbed of opposition to Colonel Qaddafi and rose up swiftly at the start of the uprising, and if the rebels c

Protest draws largest numbers since start of Syrian uprising, activists say

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By Leila Fadel , Saturday, June 25, 6:21 AM View Photo Gallery —  Tens of thousands of people are taking part in the uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime. CAIRO —Tens of thousands of protesters on Friday rushed into the streets across Syria to renew the call for the immediate end of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, four days after his speech pledging reform and dialogue failed to satisfy government opponents . Assad finds himself further isolated globally as he faces the boldest challenge against his family’s 40-year-rule more than three months after protests began. The European Union this week expanded sanctions — travel bans and asset freezes — against more people connected to the regime, and Turkey called on the Assad government to carry out promised reforms. Activists said that 200,000 people demonstrated in Hama alone, where a 1982 massacre ordered by Assad’s father left about 17,000 people dead. The protests there were unhindered by security forces. But in the suburbs of

Rethinking ‘the long war’ on terrorism

Source: washington post By David Ignatius , Saturday, June 25, 5:02 AM Gen. John Abizaid used the phrase “the long war” to describe America’s battle with Islamic extremism after Sept. 11, 2001. When I first heard him say it in the dark days of 2004, as Iraq was spiraling downward, I had the feeling that it would last for most of our lifetimes. Behind this decades-long battle, Abizaid said, was the political modernization of the Islamic world — the explosive process of change that he likened to the revolutions and anarchic movements that swept across Europe in the 19th century. This is the overarching conflict from which Barack Obama wants to withdraw American troops — not because the turbulence is over but because big American expeditionary forces aren’t the right answer. He suggested this larger shift Wednesday night. After a “difficult decade,” he said, “the tide of war is receding. . . . These long wars will come to a responsible end.” You can fault some of the particulars of Oba