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Showing posts from July 17, 2011

Knesset votes down proposal to probe funding of leftist NGOs

Source: hartez Following a stormy debate, the Knesset voted yesterday against a contentious proposal to investigate funding sources for human rights organizations in Israel. A majority of 57 MKs voted against the two bills, proposed by Yisrael Beiteinu MK Faina Kirshenbaum and Likud MK Danny Danon; 28 voted in favor of the proposal to set up two parliamentary inquiry panels to investigate NGOs. The vote followed a fierce Knesset debate in which 53 Knesset members asked to take the podium. Kirshenbaum, who sponsored the first bill, opened the debate. "We all feel there's a problem, so I proposed setting up a parliamentary investigation committee. I want to look into it," she said. "You are the problem," MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz ) shouted at her. "When we understand what the problem is," Kirshenbaum continued, "we'll find the right way to solve it. What are you afraid of? Me? Of transparency?" Horowitz blasted Kirshenbaum,

Rendered jobless, Chhattisgarh SPOs to be made cops

Source: deccanherald Special police officers (SPOs) in Chhattisgarh are relieved by the state's decision to allow them to join the regular police force, days after the Supreme Court ordered that these tribal youths roped in to tackle Maoists be disarmed for committing gross human rights violations. The SPOs, who were afraid of being targeted after being stripped of their arms, are jubilant that the government Friday cleared the decks for their appointment as constables. "Thank god, my arms will be returned, I am happy, very happy by the approach of the government to back us," remarked Mahendra Sakni, an SPO since early 2006, at the Kotwali police station in Bijapur, about 450 km from the state capital Raipur. On July 5, the Supreme Court pulled up the government for perpetuating gross violations of human rights and said the practice of using tribals as SPOs in the fight against Maoists must stop immediately. The court said the use of ill-trained and unqualified trib

19 killed in Karachi violence

Source: Deccanherald At least 19 people have been killed in violent clashes between activists of MQM and its breakaway faction in Pakistan's financial hub over the past two days. Police and rescue officials said that since yesterday 19 people have been killed in gunbattle between rival groups in the Malir Khokrapar area and Landhi. Two people were killed this morning near the Mai Kolachi crossing and Urdu nagar in Clifton area, a police official said. The Interior Minister for the Sindh province Manzoor Wasan said the government had taken measures to control the situation and arrest the culprits. Speaking to the media later, Wasan said yesterday's violence was a "culmination of old hostilities" and the President Asif Ali Zardari has asked for indiscriminate action against "criminal elements". The violence is said to be a result of a clashes between armed activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and its breakaway faction the Mohajir Qaumi Movemen

2 Indian army officers killed in Siachen fire in Indian-controlled Kashmir

Source: peopledaily Two Indian army officers were burned to death and two other troopers were injured when their shelter located in Siachen glacier caught fire late Thursday night, officials said Friday. Siachen Glacier, which is located 6300 meters above sea level, is considered as the highest battlefield in the world. "Two officers were killed and two soldiers suffered burnt injuries after their shelter on Siachen caught fire Thursday night, " said Lt. Col. J. S. Brar, Indian army spokesperson in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. The shelter according to reports located 19,000-feet on Siachen glacier was made of fiberglass. The cause of fire was not immediately known. "An inquiry has been ordered to ascertain reasons behind fire," Brar said. The officers, both Lieutenants, died when the fibreglass bunker they were staying in caught fire late on Thursday night, the Press Trust of India quoted military sources as saying. Four soldiers, who

Repeated dictatorship damaged Kashmir cause: Sultan

Source: news international FORMER Prime Minister of Azad Jammu Kashmir and PPP leader Barrister Sultan Mehmood said repeated dictatorships in Pakistan caused dents in the peaceful settlement of Kashmir issue. He also asserted that not Afghanistan but Kashmir is the real matter pertaining to the region. “There has been multiple reasons in the delay of the settlement of Kashmir issue but one of the major reason behind it was the dictatorial regimes of Pakistan, which caused enormous damage to the issue,” said Barrister Sultan Mehmood in an exclusive interview with The News. Sultan Mehmood is also one of the hot contestants for the slot of prime ministership of AJK to be elected on June 26 said the four pronged policy of Gen Pervez Musharraf was also unsuccessful and didn’t catch the interest of Kashmiris.   Moreover, he added that relying on foreign powers and UN also proved another factor for the non settlement of the problems and added that silence of major nations over violence i

Three militants killed in Kashmir encounter

Source: deccan herald Srinagar, July 23 (PTI) Three militants were killed in a fierce encounter with security forces in north Kashmir's Kupwara district today. The gun battle broke out after troops of 21 Rashtriya Rifles and police launched a cordon and search operation in Bagh-e-Hakhar in Handwara, 90 kms from here, in Kupwara, official sources said.In the ensuing exchange of fire, three militants have been killed.The operation was still in progress when reports last came in.

Maoists ‘looking to expand’ in North Chhattisgarh

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Source: the hindu PTI File photo of Maoists's attacks on a paramilitary vehicle in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh in June, 2011 Recent attacks lend credibility to the insurgents' claims of expanding influence On Wednesday, suspected cadres of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) detonated a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and killed four Congress party workers as Chhattisgarh State Congress president Nand Kumar Patel's road convoy whizzed past. Police officers said that Maoist cadres subsequently surrounded a trailing vehicle in the convoy and injected the wounded with pain-killers when the guerrillas realised that they had attacked civilians as opposed to a police convoy. “By then they had already killed four people,” said the Assistant Director General (ADG) of Police, Ram Niwas. Sources confirm The incident occurred about 170 km from State Capital Raipur and adds to a growing body of evidence that the guerrilla army is seeking

I am not biased towards Maoist leaders: Daha

Source: myrepublica KATHMANDU, July 23: Chairman of Unified CPN (Maoist) Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he wasn’t biased towards any Maoist leader. Speaking at a special interaction organized by Progressive Civil Society in the Capital on Saturday, he said that he won’t show prejudice towards anybody despite a feeling of being squeezed and victimized inside his party. “I don’t have any biased feelings towards Vice Chairmen trio Mohan Baidya ‘Kiran’, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and Narayan Kaji Shrestha as well as General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’. We all are united for peace and constitution,” he said. The person who manages to handle stormy and agitating opinions and debates raised inside the party can only be the pure leader and those who can’t take up this will be automatically sidelined, he said. Saying that the Maoist leaders were committed to complete the responsibility for which they fought, he said the Maoist party will not split, rather it will be transformed to conclu

Maoists kill brother of a former Maoist in Chhattisgarh

Source: dailyindian Dantewada (Chhattisgarh), July 23(ANI): A group of about four Maoists killed Laxman Markam, the brother of a former Maoist, in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Friday. Sameer Tiwari, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Bhansi Police Station, said that the police are investigating the case by questioning the family members of the victim Laxman Markam. "We have questioned the family and they told us that about three to four Maoists came in casual clothes and brought with them weapons such as SLR (Self-Loading Rifle) and pistols. They killed the victim using pistol. 6-7 rounds were fired at him, out of which one misfired. We are investigating the matter and finding out who was involved in the killing," Tiwari said. According to reports, armed Maoists reached the residence of Munna Markam, elder brother of Laxman, in Ganjinar village and asked about his brother's whereabouts. Munna escaped from the site and informed the police about the incident.

Patrimonio faces tough challenge

Source: visayandailystar Col. Francisco Patrimonio, newly-designated commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade, is expected to face a tough challenge in his new assignment, as he has been  tasked to clear Negros Oriental of armed rebels by the end of the year. Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, commanding general of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, admitted that they are now concentrating their internal peace and security campaign efforts in Negros Oriental. “Since Patrimonio has stayed long in the island, we want him to lead the (302nd Infantry) Brigade to sustain the momentum against the NPA,” Bautista said. They are targeting to shift their focus to Negros Occidental next year, he added. Col. Manuel Luis Ochotorena, predecessor of Patrimonio, earlier said he expects the imminent collapse of the revolutionary movement in Negros Oriental, and what is needed is only a major and decisive gunbattle with the armed communist rebel group. Military records show that that New People’s Army,

Suspected rebel leader released

Source: Sunstar THE government peace panel announced Friday that a suspected rebel leader has been released as a "confidence building measure" in negotiations with communist insurgents. According to a press statement from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp), charges against Jovencio Balweg have been dismissed. Balweg, believed to be a ranking leader of the New People's Army (NPA) in Abra, was accused of being behind the death of his brother, Conrado Balweg, a rebel priest. Balweg, arrested in May 2010, was ordered released by Judge Corpus Alzate of the Bangued, Abra Regional Trial Court, Opapp said. Alexander Padilla, chairman of the government peace panel with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), said Balweg's release was "indeed welcome" and that it sets the stage for continued negotiations. The release of NDF consultants protected under the Joint

Rebels yet to decide on jail guards' fate

Source: Sun star THE New People's Army (NPA) is yet to decide within three days whether to release the four Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) officials its members abducted in Bukidnon province, a jail officer said. Clint Russel Tangeres, BJMP assistant regional director, said the fate of four BJMP officials will be known after three days based on the message they received from the NPA. "Hulaton pa daw ang tulo ka adlaw kon buhian o dili ang mga personnel kay naghimo og kaugalingong investigation ang mga members sa NPA," Tangeres said in an interview over Magnum radio. On Thursday, about 200 heavily armed communist insurgents seized Inspector Erico Llamasarez, 26, jail warden of Ozamiz City Jail; Inspector Murphy B. Tudyog, 27, of the Lumbia City Jail in Cagayan de Oro; SJO2 Rogelio Begontes; and JO1 Rolando D. Bajuyo Jr. along Sitio Rawari, Malo-os in Kitaotao, Bukidnon. The BJMP officials were on their way to Davao City on board a BJMP
Source: HT Communism may be losing support across the world and in India, but Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara is still holding the fort in Shimla. From the picture of Che Guevara hanging on the rusty wall of the state headquarters of the Communist Party-Marxist at Bawa Building, Shimla, to the streets, where students carry banners bearing his images, the popularity of the legendary rebel has grown immensely of late. The celebrated figure is no longer confined to the precincts of the CPM headquarters. With elections to the Student Central Associations of colleges and universities drawing near, the demand for T-shirts bearing images of guerrilla warrior Ernesto (Che) Guevara has gone up dramatically. To cash in on his popularity, the Left-oriented Student Federation of India has placed an order for Che Guevara T-shirts. The demand for badges bearing the beret-sporting Che has grown. "We have placed orders for 10,000 posters and badges," SFI state secretary

Massive Bomb Blast in Oslo, Shooting Spree Follows - 87 Dead

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Norway - photo by flickr.com Up to 87 people have died in Oslo after a powerful bomb blast in its Government sector and a shooting spree on the nearby Utoya island. According to Norway's police officials, on Friday 22 July 2011, a 32-year-old Norwegian male has been arrested following the twin attacks in Oslo. Al-Qaida No More, Right-Wing Links Suspected Although the attacks are still hours fresh and many so-called terrorism analysts and experts have initially evoked the possibility of links to Al-Qaida, religious extremist groups and anything that may include the word 'Islam'; it appears that the arrested individual is linked to Norwegian right-wing extremist groups. Similar to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the powerful bomb in Oslo is reported to have been positioned to obliterate government buildings. It is currently unknown whether the arrested white Norwegian man has previous government or military background. Utoya Island Shootings A

Norwegian Krone Extends Decline Against Dollar After Oslo Bomb Explosion

The Norwegian krone slumped versus most of 16 major peers tracked by Bloomberg after an explosion rocked central Oslo, shattering windows at the Prime Minister’s office and injuring several people. A bomb caused the blast, a police officer told Bloomberg near the scene. Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is safe, spokesman Oeivind Oestang said by phone. “We still don’t know much about this bomb, how many have been injured and so forth, but the knee-jerk reaction in the market is to sell the Norwegian krone,” said John Hydeskov , chief analyst at Danske Bank A/S in London . “It shouldn’t have a huge foreign-exchange effect.” The krone fell 1 percent to 5.4534 per dollar and was at 5.4103 to the greenback at 4:33 p.m. in London, snapping three days of gains. It weakened 0.4 percent to 7.8179 per euro before strengthening 0.2 percent to 7.7713 to the euro. To contact the reporter on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.

Norway attack: Likely suspected groups

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LONDON | Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:52pm EDT ( Reuters ) - A massive bomb shattered Norway's main government building in Oslo on Friday, killing two people, police were quoted as saying by local news agency NTB. There was no claim of responsibility, though NATO member Norway has been the target of threats, if not bombs, before, notably over its involvement in conflicts in Afghanistan and Libya. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was safe, NTB said. Here are details of some of the Islamist militant groups with a record of links to plots in Europe. * AL QAEDA: -- Al Qaeda is seen as the militant group that poses the more serious international threat because it is has highly experienced bombmakers and a long-established transnational networks of financial, logistical and ideological support. -- Though the militant group was weakened after the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, it has survived by deepening it

Yemen tribes say they stop militant convoy in south

( Reuters) - Tribal forces working with the Yemeni army halted on Friday a convoy of militants heading to the southern town of Zinjibar where government troops are fighting to dislodge Islamists, a tribal source said. One militant was killed and around 10 arrested, the source said, when the tribesmen intercepted the convoy at Moudiya in Abyan province on Yemen's southern coast. Islamists control many areas in Abyan, prompting fears in the West and neighboring Saudi Arabia that al Qaeda's Yemen wing is exploiting a security vacuum during months of anti-government protests and while President Ali Abdullah Saleh is convalescing in Riyadh after an assassination attempt. The source said tribes had secured the road from Shabwa province to Shaqra in Abyan, a main highway leading to Zinjibar. A local official in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan, said clashes continued there between the army and militants. The army had retaken control of a sports stadium outside

Somali Militants to Block Aid to Famine-Stricken Areas

Source: VOA Al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia have vowed to keep most international aid workers out of the country despite a worsening famine. This week, the United Nations declared a famine in southern Somalia's Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions and said nearly half of Somalia's population needs urgent aid. On Friday, the World Health Organization said five more regions in southern Somalia are on the brink of famine. But the militant group, al-Shabab, says the U.N. declaration of a famine is simply “propaganda.” Al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage on Thursday accused the U.N. of exaggerating the crisis for political reasons. He said al-Shabab will allow increased aid only from foreign agencies currently working in its strongholds, not from organizations it has banned. But he did not specify which organizations. On Friday, Canada said it would increase by $50 million its humanitarian aid to East Africa. It is not clear if the Canadia

Anonymous, LulzSec vow to hack on

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Nothing law enforcement can do to stop us, groups say in statement following this week's arrests Computerworld - In a defiant statement addressed largely at FBI director Steve Chabinsky, members of the Anonymous and LulzSec hacktivist groups vowed to continue with their hacking campaigns and dared law enforcement to try and stop them. The statement comes just two days after the FBI arrested 14 alleged members of Anonymous in connection with a series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against PayPal last year. The immediate provocation appears to have been some comments made by Chabinsky in a NPR report following the recent arrests. In it, Chabinsky is quoted as saying that chaos on the Internet is unacceptable. "[Even if] hackers can be believed to have social causes, it's entirely unacceptable to break into websites and commit unlawful acts." In their response, posted on Pastebin.com , Anonymous and LulzSec members claimed their h

Al-Qaida communications knocked offline, says expert By John Ribeiro

Source: computerworld IDG News Service - Terror group al-Qaida has been left without a trusted operational channel on the Internet for distributing its media and propaganda, according to a terrorism expert. "I really can't say for certain how or why this happened, other than that it involved apparently separate attacks on both the domain name and data server used by al-Qaida's trusted forum, Al-Shamukh," Evan Kohlmann of Flashpoint Partners said in an e-mail late Wednesday. That kind of coordinated event doesn't typically occur by happenstance, he added. Other jihadi forums left online still allow "the rabble" to communicate with others, but none of them are fully trusted by al-Qaida, said Kohlmann who has spent over a decade tracking al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations. The incident began in earnest about 72 hours ago, he said. Kohlmann reported earlier this week in a message on Twitter that hackers hijacked the primary

IMF data hacking blamed on China-based spies

Read more: smh Investigators probing the recent ransacking of International Monetary Fund computers have concluded the attack was carried out by cyber spies connected to China, according to two people close to the investigation. Computer specialists have spent several weeks piecing together information about the attack, which the IMF disclosed on June 8. Evidence pointing to China includes an analysis of the attack methods, as well as the electronic trail left by hackers as they removed large quantities of documents from the IMF's computers. The multi-staged attack, which used US-based servers as part of their equipment, ended on May 31, people involved in the investigation said. Their conclusion is likely to be a major test for the new IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, who this month appointed Chinese economist Zhu Min as deputy managing director, giving China a much expanded role in the institution.

Mitropoulos speaks out on piracy

(July  21  2011) Source: tankeroperator Despite releasing new interim recommendations and guidance (MSC.1/Circs. 1405 and 1406) on the carriage of armed guards, the IMO’s position remains unchanged. At a press conference this week, IMO secretary general Efthimios Mitropoulos stressed that seafarers should not be armed and the carriage of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) remains a matter for the shipowner to request and the flag state to decide. The request should only come following a thorough risk assessment. In addition, flag states should have a policy in place on whether, or not the use of PCASP will be authorised and, if so, under what conditions. While providing guidance as to under which conditions PCASP can be contracted to prevent ships falling in the hands of pirates, Mitropoulos was at pains to point out that the IMO neither endorses, nor institutionalises the practice, or the carriage of firearms, on board vessels

Amnesty: Saudi terror law 'would strangle protest'

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Source: BBC NEWS   Amnesty says the law would mean even small acts of dissent were branded terrorism   A secret new anti-terror law being drawn up by the Saudi authorities would "strangle peaceful protest", Amnesty International has said. The BBC has been shown a classified copy of the draft law showing a number of measures Amnesty said would severely restrict human rights. These include lengthy detention without trial, restricted legal access and increased use of the death penalty. But a Saudi official said it was directed at terrorists, not dissidents. The Saudi government has so far declined to comment, but the senior official, who did not want to be named, confirmed the existence of the draft law and did not dispute the clauses contained in it. Amnesty International's Middle East press officer James Lynch told the BBC the draft law - a copy of which was leaked to the human rights group - "seeks