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Showing posts from April 29, 2012

French nuclear scientist gets five-year terror sentence

AP - A French court has sentenced an Algerian-born nuclear physicist to five years in prison for his role in plotting terrorism with al-Qaida’s north African wing. Adlene Hicheur, a former researcher at Switzerland’s CERN laboratory, was convicted of “criminal association with a view to plotting terrorist attacks.” Hicheur, who has been behind bars since he was arrested in October 2009, could have received up to 10 years in prison. The 35-year-old scientist and his defenders say he was a victim of allegedly overzealous French anti-terrorism laws and that he explored ideas on jihadist websites but never took any concrete step toward terrorism. Speaking after the judgment, Hicheur’s lawyer called the verdict “scandalous.” Lawyer Patrick Baudouin said because of sentence reduction measures such as time off for good behavior, “he should be out rather quickly.” The case centered on about 35 emails between Hicheur and an alleged contact with Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb named

No money exchanged hands for Menon's release: Raman Singh

New Delhi: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has clarified that no money exchanged hands to free Sukma Collector Alex Paul Menon. Speaking to IBN18 Editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai on India@9, he said that time has come for unified policy to deal with Naxals across states. Here is an excerpt from the interview: Rajdeep Sardesai: There are reports that on the Alex Paul Menon abduction, a backroom deal was struck with the Maoists, to ensure the Collector's freedom including a possible ransom being paid. Was there any kind of backroom deal, Raman Singhji? Raman Singh: See, whatever policy, whatever decision was taken, our negotiators have sat through continuous talks for three to four days to come to it. I was told the decision, as I was not present during the negotiations. There is no possibility that a back hand deal took place regarding this issue, because the negotiations took place openly. What I have and will do today, I will be questioned about it 10 years from n

Colombia unsure FARC took French reporter

- FRANCE 24 AFP - Colombian authorities are unsure that leftist FARC guerrillas took a French reporter hostage, President Juan Manuel Santos said, nearly a week since Romeo Langlois went missing. "I'm not sure whether they have him or not... There are signs, but I cannot be sure that the FARC have him," Santos told reporters in the northern town of Maria La Baja, on Friday. "If the FARC are intelligent and have half a brain, they would release him immediately, because it is getting more expensive for them to keep him." Langlois went missing after a firefight on Saturday between security forces and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in the south of the country. A 35-year-old reporter for global television network France 24 who had been accompanying soldiers who destroyed five cocaine production labs in the area, he is believed to have suffered a bullet wound to his left arm. The military has halted operations in the area where Langlois was kid

RAAD and continuity IRA linkages, confusions

“RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry…” With Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) claiming responsibility for recent shootings and threats in anarchic Londonderry, in the Belfast Telegraph Eamonn McCann provides some clarity on the vigilante group’s background. News reports which have lumped RAAD in with the Real IRA or Continuity IRA are wide of the mark and a source of confusion. RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry. It made its ‘debut’ in April the following year, admitting responsibility detonating a pipe bomb at a house in the city. In its first ‘authorised’ interview, in the Derry Journal in August 2009, the group explained that, “There is absolutely no political agenda within our organisation”. Confirming the group’s provenance in the Provisional IRA, the representative claimed that “rank-and-file members” of Sinn Fein were “fully supportive” of it activities. Wi

Father Finds Body of Missing Policeman Son in Peru Jungles

Latin American Herald Tribune - LIMA – The father of policeman Cesar Vilca, missing for 20 days after his unit came under attack by suspected guerrillas, found his son’s dead body in the jungles of southern Peru, local media reported. Dionisio Vilca arrived Wednesday night in the remote town of Kiteni, Cuzco region, carrying the corpse of his son. He had begun his search in the Alto Lagunas area after saying authorities had halted their efforts. According to Canal N television, the man was accompanied only by two guides and was not wearing any special protective gear. Vilca returned from his search around 9:00 p.m. and walked into the military command headquarters set up in Kiteni to speak with National Police Gen. Salvador Iglesias, head of that force’s special operations division. According to the online edition of the La Republica daily, Vilca told the general how he found his son’s body, which was being kept at a clinic in Kiteni. Vilca had complained that the military a

Users leery of Iran's plan to 'purify' cyberspace

Iran is rapidly bolstering its already extensive cyber censorship defences to combat what it calls a "soft war" being waged by the West. In the past month, an institute affiliated with Iran's ministry of communications and information technology called on domestic companies to help "purify" the internet, which it said has been polluted with "immoral sites". The institute tactfully left out more pressing reasons why building a cyber-fortress is a top priority for Iran's leaders: they fear internet espionage and virus attacks from abroad and want to stifle opposition outlets at home. "We have identified and confronted 650 websites that have been set up to battle our regime," Hamid Shahriari, a conservative cleric who is a member of a recently established council to censor the internet, said in March. "Thirty-nine of them are by opposition groups and our enemies, and the rest promote western culture and worshipping Satan, and sto

Shooting in Al Ain, two dead

AL AIN // Two Omani men were shot and killed in Al Ain this afternoon near a police station in a residential area. The men were found dead in a vehicle with a Qatar number plate, according to the director of Al Ain Police, Brigadier Hamad Ajlan Al-Amimi, who released a statement just after 5pm. The statement said the shootings took place after a collision between two cars and that their investigation was continuing. The killers were still on the loose, the statement said, and it was not yet clear how many suspects were involved. The incident took place in the Al Jimi area of the city, very near to Al Jimi Police Station. Police are continuing to search for the other people involved and said more details would be released soon. News of the killing quickly spread on Twitter. Ahmad Saleh said: “Al-Ain isnt safe any more, shooting, killing, and crime scene ... guys be careful”. newsdesk@thenational.ae Source http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/shooting-in-al-ain-two-dead

Palace says Philippines able to relax tension in Panatag Shoal

The Philippines was able to deescalate the tension in Scarborough Shoal contrary to some criticisms saying militarizing the disputed territory will be disadvantageous to the Philippines, a Palace spokesman said on Thursday. In a press conference in Malacanang, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said recent government actions in handling the stand-off with China have relaxed the tension between the two countries. Lacierda said it is wrong to assume that the Philippines will end up losing the shoal stressing that this is the reason why the Philippine government is elevating the issue to the International Tribunal. “We have definitely deescalated the tensions in the Panatag Shoal. Paano po mawawala sa atin? Klarong-klaro kaya natin inaakyat sa International Tribunal because we believe that the way out from this situation is to have a declaration mechanism as provided by international laws,” he said. Insisting the country’s sovereign rights over the Panatag Shoal, Lacierda said

MILF vice chair for military affairs dies of heart attack

The vice chairman for military affairs of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Aleem Azis Mimbantas died of a heart attack Thursday night, May 3, 2012, a ranking official of the Front's central committee confirmed. MILF vice-chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar confirmed the death of Mimbantas who succumbed to stroke at around 10:25 p.m. in a hospital, reportedly in Butig, Lanao del Sur. Jaafar said the MILF central commmittee, led by Al Haj Murad, will be issung a statement later about the death. “The Central Committee is issuing an official declaration in writing. As of now, it is enough that I am confirming to you (the death of Mimbantas)," he said. Mimbantas' last known public appearance was on May 1, 2012 when the new president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Dr. Akihiko Tanaka, visited the Front’s main Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. It will be recalled after the death in July 2003 of Salamat Hashim, the founder

Kurdish militants: the wild card on the border

The drive through town had become something of an obstacle course. On some streets, young boys, stones in hand, squared off against policemen, each group waiting for the other to make the first move. In other parts of the city, chunks of broken pavement, remnants of recent clashes, rendered any attempt at passage impossible. It was the evening of March 20 and Nusaybin - a town in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated south-east - was still on edge. Earlier in the day, riot police had fired tear gas and water cannons on men and women marching back from a rally to celebrate Newroz, the Kurdish New Year. Similar scenes were to play out across the region throughout the week, after Turkish authorities decided to ban Newroz celebrations held on any day other than March 21. At the offices of Mar-Has, the final stop on our ride through Nusaybin, the focus - rather than on the festering conflict between Turkey and its Kurds - was on events in Syria. Nusaybin lies within earshot of the border and

Another bid to surrender sovereignty?

There’s definitely more than meets the eye in the sudden interest of the Aquino administration in forging a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front at the height of the escalating dispute between the Philippines and China over the Scarborough Shoals in the West Philippine Sea. Manila Standard’s Jojo Robles was on the right track in raising suspicion over the recent developments in the Mindanao front vis-à-vis the Scarborough Dispute although it’s hard to believe his source’s speculation that the United States was in a conspiracy with China to escalate the shoal dispute to prod the Philippine government to enter into a pact with the MILF that would include the establishment of an autonomous Muslim Mindanao region in exchange for an assurance of military assistance from the Americans in the event China becomes more aggressive militarily in the disputed area. I don’t think China is involved in the alleged conspiracy, but it is easy to believe that the US was happy over

Two killed as gunmen attack prison, police station

BY NDAHI MARAMA, Maiduguri TWO Nigerian Prison warders were yesterday killed when gunmen attacked a Police station and a nearby prison in north eastern town of Kumshe, Bama Local Government Area of Borno State. Spokesman of the Police in Borno State, ASP Samuel Tizhe confirmed the incident from Maiduguri the capital city. He said the “gunmen first attacked a Police station in Banki town but were repelled by the Police” Tizhe added that, “five hours later, the gunmen went and attacked a nearby Prison in the town, killing two Prison warders and setting free all the inmates,” Tizhe said on phone from Maiduguri. The spokesman revealed that the Police have “so far arrested 23 persons in connection with the attacks”. He pointed out that the security agencies are doing everything possible to ensure the protection of lives and property of the citizenry, even as he advised members of the public to cooperate with the police, particularly in giving information about the hideout of cr

Army chief wants talks with rebel priest

Mr. Bautista, who met with Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon at the capitol on Wednesday, said the Philippine Army wants to invite Mr. Fernandez to sit down and discuss problems and issues. Despite the continued atrocities of the NPA rebels, he said they were "winning the peace" in Negros and Panay. "More people have realized that more than four decades of armed conflict is enough. It’s about time we have to really give peace a chance," he said. He said violence and armed struggle is not the solution, but working together in the true spirit of bayanihan is. The governor, for his part, hoped other rebels will respond to his invitation to leave the rebel movement and help his administration fight poverty. The provincial government has provided livelihood assistance to almost 50 rebel returnees. "We will continue to support the rebel returnees in their livelihood," he said. Last March, 15 rebel returnees including two couples from Cauayan to

Anonymous vow to take down Russian websites ahead of Putin inauguration

May 4, 2012 - 21:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Internet activists from the hacking group Anonymous vowed on Friday, May 4 to attack Russian government websites ahead of the May 7 inauguration of president-elect Vladimir Putin, RIA Novosti reported. “The first target is the website of the Russian government, which was formed through deception and fraud,” intoned a heavily-distorted voice on a YouTube clip featuring images of this winter’s mass anti-Putin protests. “Join us! All it takes is a few simple actions to bring this rotten and corrupt system to its logical end.” The Anonymous group has gained worldwide notoriety for its hacking activities, which have reportedly included shutting down the websites of the U.S. Department of Justice and the F.B.I. The loose alliance of hackers has also been accused of tapping into the phone lines of Scotland Yard and hack attacks against MasterCard, Visa, and Sony, as well as the governments of the U.S., U.K., Turkey, Australia, Iran and New Zealand

139 burn victims reported in Yerevan blast

May 4, 2012 - 22:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Emergency Situations Ministry delivered updated info on the injuries toll in Republic Square blast, with 139 burn victims reported. According to info provided, 30 people were taken to Yerevan’s Radiotherapy Center, 20 to Heratsi hospital, 20 to Ambulance Service hospital, 20 to Nairi medical center, 20 to Armenia medical center, 9 to Clinical Hospital No 1, 7 to Muratsan medical center. 2 kids were taken to Surb Astvatsatsin maternity hospital. As PanARMENIAN.Net reporter was informed earlier, the burn victims are out of danger. The blast, caused by the explosion of helium balloons, occurred during the concert organized on the sidelines of Republican Party of Armenia electoral campaign. Source http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/106082/

Russian bomb blasts raise concerns for 2014 Winter Olympics

04 may 2012 (16:34) - Sports Two automobiles exploded outside of a police station in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, wounding a number of pedestrians. Several casualties have been reported as a result of the blasts, which authorities are calling a suicide attack by Islamic insurgents. Russian forces have attempted to quell the insurgency in North Caucasus in preparation for the Winter Olympics in 2014, which will take place near the city of Sochi. Millions of international athletes and tourists will travel to Russia for the event. President Vladimir Putin has been trying to end the rebellion for more than a dozen years. Police officers and civilians are often the victims of militant aggression in Dagestan, but bombing incidents are infrequent. Dagestan has been relatively stable for several weeks, reporting few incidents of Islamic attacks, though these car explosions were the deadliest in months. The first blast went off at about 10:10 p.m. on Thursday night, according to

Twin blasts kills 13, injure 100 in Russia's North Caucasus

May 4, 2012 - 16:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The death toll in Thursday, May 3 evening's twin blasts in Dagestani capital of Makhachkala in Russia's North Caucasus has hit 13 people, with about 100 injured, a source in the Republic of Dagestan's law enforcement services said, according to RIA Novosti. Eighty-three people were hospitalized, while 26 received medical treatment on site. The thirteen dead include seven police officers, two firefighters and two local residents. According to preliminary information, a suicide bomber died when he blew up his car after it was stopped for a security check at a police post on the outskirts of the city. “The explosive technicians say the first car, a Mitsubishi, had a 30 kg TNT equivalent bomb in it,” said the National Antiterror Committee’s Nikolai Sintsov. The bomb was so powerful that it was hard to tell what kind of car was involved, he said. At approximately 10.45 pm local time, or about half an hour after the first blast

Jessore BNP leader killed in blast

Fri, May 4th, 2012 10:08 pm BdST Jessore, May 04 (bdnews24.com) — A BNP leader in Jessore has been killed in a bomb attack on Friday. Abhaynagar police station officer in-charge Ahsan Habib said the deceased, identified as Rafiqul Islam, 45, came under attack in front of the Bengal Textile Mill at around 8:30pm. He was organising secretary of the Abhoinagar upazila unit of BNP. Rafiqul was returning home from Nawapara Bazar when he was attacked by unidentified miscreants, police said. He died on the spot. His body was taken to Jessore Sadar hospital for autopsy. BNP activists brought out processions and held rallies protesting the killing, said BNP upazila unit president Matiur Rahman Farazi Source bdnews24.com/corr/eh/2147h

Sudan vows to fight until South troops withdraw

KHARTOUM/JUBA Sudan has stopped fighting inside South Sudan in line with a UN resolution, but will continue battling Southern troops who remain on northern territory, the foreign ministry said on Friday. “We are not now conducting hostilities inside South Sudan but on our territory we will not halt the fighting until South Sudan’s troops withdraw,” ministry spokesman Al-Obeid Meruh said. Sudan’s army spokesman said South Sudan has not stopped hostilities in line with a UN resolution because it continues to “occupy” points along the disputed border. “From our side the government is committed to the UN Security Council resolution by stopping hostilities,” Sawarmi Khaled Saad said. Sudan and South Sudan said they would cease hostilities to honour a UN deadline that passed on Friday after weeks of bitter border clashes that sparked fears of full scale conflict. Rival forces remained in a tense standoff across their contested border, but both Khartoum and Juba have pledged to see

Bajaur Agency bomb attack kills 20

KHAR: A suicide attack targeting security forces on Friday killed at least twenty people including four policemen and wounded over 42 in Tehsil Khar of Bajaur Agency, our sources reported. The target of the attack was tribal police in Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal district. According to sources, Levies Force were conducting routine checking at Khar Bazaar when a suicide bomber blew himself that killed eight persons initially. Later the toll rose to 20 while 42 others were injured who were shifted to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital. A senior official confirmed that it was a suicide attack and four tribal policemen were killed in the blast. The bomber was on foot and detonated his explosive vest when he reached a police check post, sources added. Witnesses told the bomber was aged between 14 and 18 years. Security forces cordoned off the area and imposed curfew soon after the blast. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The attack came two days after Pakistan we

Russia threatens to strike at Nato missile defence bases

Russia has threatened Nato with military strikes in Poland and Romania if a missile defence radar and interceptors are deployed in Eastern Europe. General Nikolai Makarov, Russia's most senior military commander, warned Nato that if it proceeded with an American missile defence system, force would be used against it. "A decision to use destructive force pre-emptively will be taken if the situation worsens," he said. General Makarov has threatened to target Nato bases hosting an anti-missile system designed by the US to protect European allies against attack from states such as Iran. He said that Russia would counter Nato deployment by stationing short-range Iskander missiles in the Russian Kaliningrad enclave near Poland, creating the worst military tensions since the Cold War. "The deployment of new strike weapons in Russia's south and northwest - including Iskander systems in Kaliningrad - is one of our possible options for destroying the system'

Soldier kills colleague, commits suicide in Sri Lanka

In a third instance in under a year, a Sri Lankan soldier on duty turned the gun on his colleague on Friday morning, before killing himself. According to the Army, the incident took place at the check point adjacent to the Naga Deepa Vihara, the historic Buddhist Shrine near Jaffna town at 7 am. The soldier shot his colleague manning the post, before committing suicide. “There was an argument between the two over duty,” said the Jaffna Security Forces Commander Mahinda Hathurusinghe told The Hindu, when asked about the incident. In March this year, three soldiers returning back after a routine patrol last night were found dead. Later it was confirmed that there was an argument and one soldier killed the two others before shooting himself. Last December, a soldier shot dead his company commander before he was overpowered in Jaffna. That was the first instance of a soldier turning against his own people after the end of the war with the Tamil Tigers in May 2009. The Army had taken

Activists dispute America-China version on dissident lawyer Chen's deal

A brewing diplomatic crisis that threatened to derail crucial talks between China and the U.S. this week appeared to be averted on Wednesday after Chinese activist and lawyer Chen Guangcheng left the American embassy in Beijing following a six-day stand-off with Chinese authorities. Mr. Chen agreed to leave the embassy following assurances from Chinese officials that the safety of his family would be guaranteed, said U.S. officials, though the terms of his release were immediately questioned by several Chinese activists who said the visually challenged rights campaigner had been threatened by authorities and forced to accept their conditions. American officials, including Ambassador to China Gary Locke, accompanied Mr. Chen to Beijing's Chaoyang hospital on Wednesday afternoon for medical treatment, hours after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived here for Thursday's Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Mr. Chen's case had in recent days threatened to overshadow th

UK demands Argentina apologise for Falklands ad

Britain demanded an apology from Argentina on Friday, accusing it of exploiting the upcoming Olympic Games for political purposes by broadcasting a "tasteless and insulting" TV advert that reasserted its claim to the disputed Falkland Islands. The offending advert shows an Argentine hockey player training in the Falklands - the contested archipelago in the South Atlantic which the two countries fought over in 1982 - and exercising on the steps of a war memorial to British soldiers. The 90-second ad was made to coincide with the runup to the Olympic Games in London this summer and ends with the voice-over: "to compete on English soil, we are training on Argentine soil." British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond called for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to examine the advert, strongly condemning its broadcast. "It's tasteless, it's provocative and very insulting to the many British soldiers, sailors and airmen who gave their lives protectin

Amid the ruins in Homs, Syrian rebel anger burns

Burnt houses, collapsed buildings and rubble line streets strewn with broken glass and spent shells in Homs' devastated neighborhoods, for months the front line in the revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On a 10-minute drive through Baba Amr district on Thursday, as journalists accompanied United Nations truce observers, two elderly women were the only people to be seen. Buildings along the main street and nearby alleys were destroyed in the bombardment by the army. Homs, Syria's third largest city, is an important industrial centre straddling the main north-south highway, near the border with Lebanon. The city and surrounding province have borne the heaviest loss of life in the 14-month-old uprising against Assad and tens of thousands of people have been displaced. In Inshaat neighbourhood a woman said she had returned to the area last week with her family because they could not rely indefinitely on others to look after them. "What else can we do? Th

China, US settle row over blind dissident Chen

Beijing: China and the US on Friday appeared to have found a way out of a messy diplomatic row, with Beijing agreeing to let a blind Chinese dissident at the centre of the crisis to leave the country and Washington assuring all assistance to give him asylum. The Chinese government, which earlier demanded an apology from the US for allowing human rights activist c Guangcheng to take shelter in its embassy gave in today and said that he could apply to obtain necessary travel documents to go abroad. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a press release that Chen may apply to study abroad according to China's laws. Answering a host of questions, Liu later told a media briefing that Chen could get a passport. His "criminal record" of the past may not come in the way as he has already served sentence in a previous case, he said. The blind activist, who is convalescing in a hospital here appealed to US leaders yesterday for political asylum for him and his fam

China, US settle row over blind dissident Chen

Beijing: China and the US on Friday appeared to have found a way out of a messy diplomatic row, with Beijing agreeing to let a blind Chinese dissident at the centre of the crisis to leave the country and Washington assuring all assistance to give him asylum. The Chinese government, which earlier demanded an apology from the US for allowing human rights activist c Guangcheng to take shelter in its embassy gave in today and said that he could apply to obtain necessary travel documents to go abroad. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a press release that Chen may apply to study abroad according to China's laws. Answering a host of questions, Liu later told a media briefing that Chen could get a passport. His "criminal record" of the past may not come in the way as he has already served sentence in a previous case, he said. The blind activist, who is convalescing in a hospital here appealed to US leaders yesterday for political asylum for him and his fam

India developing cyber defense program

New Delhi: India is developing a cyber defense program aimed at protecting vital sectors like defense, railways and power, a top military scientist has said. "The Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing an indigenous technology to ensure networking systems are safe and secure. It has completed 50 percent of the project to protect cyber network in the country from malware and hackers," DRDO Director KD Nayak was quoted by the local media as saying at a two-day seminar in the southern city of Bangalore. The top scientist said that the remaining 50 percent of the project will be completed soon. Source http://zeenews.india.com/news/net-news/india-developing-cyber-defense-program_773219.html

Myanmar: ‘31 dead in new clashes with Kachin’

Yangon: A state-run newspaper in Myanmar on Thursday said recent battles between government troops and Kachin ethnic rebels had killed 31 people, as the ongoing fighting threatens the country's reform and reconciliation process. The New Light of Myanmar reported 11 clashes in the last week of April, including what it said was an attack by rebels of the Kachin Independence Army on a government border guard base. It accused the rebel group of trying to seize the base "to save face for its declining military prestige." It said 29 of the 31 dead were Kachin rebels, while government forces suffered two dead and 15 wounded. A separate report said that the Kachin had blown up parts of three bridges on Wednesday and Thursday. Spokesmen for the Kachin were not immediately available to comment on the reports, which also claimed that their guerrillas had forced 345 villagers to serve as porters. The 8,000-strong Kachin militia is one of several minority ethnic rebel armies

Solar storms threaten high-tech civilisation

The upper atmosphere suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree under infra-red radiation at the beginning of March. A violent solar storm was to blame, spewing out a huge cloud of charged solar particles that swept past the earth at high speed. This solar storm heated up the upper atmosphere with a huge blast of energy of 26 billion kilowatt hours, according to NASA. This was sufficient energy to power the homes of a city like New York for two years. “This was the biggest dose of heat we've received from a solar storm since 2005,” according to solar researcher Martin Mlynczak of Nasa's Langley Research Centre. “It was a big event and shows how solar activity can directly affect our planet.” Luckily in this case the effects were primarily spectacular polar lights, but these geomagnetic storms generated by the interaction between the electrically-charged solar particles and the earth's own magnetic field could have more serious consequences. They are able to overload elect

Solar storms threaten high-tech civilisation

The upper atmosphere suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree under infra-red radiation at the beginning of March. A violent solar storm was to blame, spewing out a huge cloud of charged solar particles that swept past the earth at high speed. This solar storm heated up the upper atmosphere with a huge blast of energy of 26 billion kilowatt hours, according to NASA. This was sufficient energy to power the homes of a city like New York for two years. “This was the biggest dose of heat we've received from a solar storm since 2005,” according to solar researcher Martin Mlynczak of Nasa's Langley Research Centre. “It was a big event and shows how solar activity can directly affect our planet.” Luckily in this case the effects were primarily spectacular polar lights, but these geomagnetic storms generated by the interaction between the electrically-charged solar particles and the earth's own magnetic field could have more serious consequences. They are able to overload elect

Maoists find tri-junction a safe haven

Kerala State Organising Committee becomes active with special conference Suspected infiltration of Communist Party of India (Maoist) activists into Kerala began sometime back in the wake of major operations such as Green Hunt by the Central Reserve Police Force against naxalites in the Dandakaranya area falling in the States of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. A few regions including Gudalur, Wayanad, Nilambur, Kodaikanal, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada are now said to be part of a tri-junction province of the CPI (Maoist). The zone, it is understood, has become a safe haven for fleeing naxalites and their full-fledged activity, particularly the districts of Karnataka bordering Kerala. Sources in various intelligence wings told The Hindu on Monday that the recovery of Maoist literature in Malayalam from Belthangany in March this year during a raid by the Karnataka Police has strengthened the belief that CPI (Maoist) cadres are active in the State. The seized literature has

NC, CPM-UML to join national unity govt in Nepal

Kathmandu: A day after Nepal's Maoists-led Cabinet resigned en masse to pave the way for formation of a national unity government, main opposition Nepali Congress on Friday said that it will be part of the next dispensation, which will be formed in a day or two, along with the CPN-UML. The number of ministers to be incorporated and the Cabinet portfolio will be decided through discussion and mutual coordination, Nepali Congress Vice President Ramchandra Poudyal said. "We have proposed a smaller Cabinet with 9-10 ministers with the representatives from four major political forces and other fringe parties," he said. His comments came a day after top leaders of UCPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Joint Democratic Madhesi Front signed a five-point deal, asking all incumbent ministers to quit en masse so that a national unity government could be formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to promulgate the Constitution by May 27 deadline. The

Don't swap, even if hostage is CM, says Raman Singh

NEW DELHI: Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh has pitched for a 'no swap for hostages' policy, saying that no Maoist should be released even if the hostage is a chief minister. "My own view is that Maoists should not be released in exchange for hostages...not even if the chief minister is kidnapped," Singh, who is in the national capital to attend the chief ministers' meet on NCTC to be held on Saturday, told reporters. According to reports, Singh has already conveyed to the Chhattisgarh governor that no swap deal should be brokered if he is taken hostage by Maoists. Singh also ruled out suspension of operations against Maoists, saying that it was not possible as there was no specific proposal from them offering to abjure violence. "Had they talked of a complete ceasefire and no cases of violence, we could have talked about suspending all operations," he said. Singh also made it a point to highlight the paradox of Maoists fighting against the s

The Last Words of Osama bin Laden: Seized Letters Go Online

(WASHINGTON) — In letters from his last hideout, Osama bin Laden fretted about dysfunction in his terrorist network and crumbling trust from Muslims he wished to incite against their government and the West. A selection of documents seized in last year's raid on bin Laden's Pakistan house was posted online Thursday by the U.S. Army's Combating Terrorism Center. The documents show dark days for al-Qaeda and its hunkered-down leader after years of attacks by the United States and what bin Laden saw as bumbling within his own organization and its terrorist allies. "I plan to release a statement that we are starting a new phase to correct (the mistakes) we made," bin Laden wrote in 2010. "In doing so, we shall reclaim, God willing, the trust of a large segment of those who lost their trust in the jihadis." Until the end, bin Laden remained focused on attacking Americans and coming up with plots, however improbable, to kill U.S. leaders. He wished especi