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Showing posts from July 29, 2012

Does Cybercrime Really Cost $1 Trillion?

Peter Maass, Megha Rajagopalan, | Aug. 1, 2012 10:32 a.m. Gen. Keith Alexander is the director of the National Security Agency and oversees U.S. Cyber Command, which means he leads the government’s effort to protect America from cyberattacks. Due to the secretive nature of his job, he maintains a relatively low profile, so when he does speak, people listen closely. On July 9, Alexander addressed a crowded room at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and though he started with a few jokes — his mother said he had a face for radio, behind every general is a stunned father-in-law — he soon got down to business. Alexander warned that cyberattacks are causing "the greatest transfer of wealth in history," and he cited statistics from, among other sources, Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc., which both sell software to protect computers from hackers. Crediting Symantec, he said the theft of intellectual property costs American companies $250 billion a year. He also

Mali is fast becoming the Afghanistan of Africa

- Tehran Times The Republic of Mali is fast becoming the Afghanistan of Africa. The reference is being applied with growing enthusiasm by Western media. The tragic reality is that Mali, with massive size and relatively sparse population -- 1,240,000 km² and a population of nearly 15.5 million -- was, until a few months ago, paraded as a model of stability and fledgling democracy in West Africa. What happened to make Mali a hotbed for terrorism, militancy, ethnic cleansing and a potentially destructive war that could destabilize the whole region?" Northern Mali promises to be the graveyard of scores of innocent people if African countries don’t collectively challenge Western influence in the region. The Republic of Mali is fast becoming the Afghanistan of Africa. The reference is being applied with growing enthusiasm by Western media. The tragic reality is that Mali, with massive size and relatively sparse population -- 1,240,000 km² and a population of nearly 15.5 milli

As Islamists Gain, Mali's Tradition Under Threat

August 1, 2012 Hard-line Islamists in northern Mali stoned a reportedly unmarried couple to death for adultery last Sunday. Analysts worry this is growing evidence of the rebel fighters' avowed intention to impose strict Islamic law in the vast territory under their control. Another version of the story put about by an al-Qaida-linked militant group is that the couple was married but engaging in extramarital affairs. The Shariah killings in the remote desert town of Aguelhok have drawn outrage and condemnation. The human rights group Amnesty International called them "gruesome and horrific." The desecration of the tombs of Sufi Muslim saints by Islamist fighters in the fabled city of Timbuktu has also been condemned. The destruction has come to symbolize the twin crises in Mali. In a matter of weeks, this once apparently stable Sahara Desert nation imploded with a rebellion in the north, followed by a coup in the south. A Rebellion Rises Nomadic Tuareg secessi

Yemen security forces retake interior ministry

(AFP) – 6 hours ago SANAA, Yemen — Yemen's security forces have regained control of the interior ministry, a top official announced on Wednesday, a day after fighting in the complex killed 15 people. "Forces from the central security services intervened to secure the ministry following orders by Interior Minister Abdelqader Qahtan," the force commander, General Fadl al-Qawsi said, according to Saba state news agency. He denied earlier claims that members of his force had backed the assailants against ministry guards. A police official told AFP on Tuesday that the assailants were gunmen backed by members of the central security services loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh. But officials said on Wednesday the attackers were police officers who were demanding unpaid salaries and promised bonuses, a claim the ministry rejects. The Supreme Security Committee blamed the assault on "a group of inciters among the ranks of the police force aiming to under

Al-Qaida attacks Yemen town, 4 troops killed

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press – 10 minutes ago SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Al-Qaida gunmen shot dead four soldiers Wednesday in one of the militants' former south Yemen strongholds, officials said, as the local governor declared that the country's ill-equipped police force is incapable of filling the security void left by months of clashes. The militants staged a bold pre-dawn attack on a security building in Jaar, one of several cities in the south that they captured in 2011 while taking advantage of a popular uprising in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula nation. Witnesses said men stormed the building with automatic rifles. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The army recaptured Jaar in June after a two month offensive backed by U.S. advisers, but many militants fled to nearby mountains and continue to launch attacks there and elsewhere in Abyan province. Wednesday's attack came as the Defense Ministry announced it was redeploying t

Osama bin Laden's death put al-Qaeda in irreversible decline

- Telegraph In its annual Country Reports on Terrorism, the State Department described 2011 as a “landmark year”, with the deaths of Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, the group’s deputy leader and Anwar al-Awlaki, a senior figure of its affiliate in Yemen, among other high-profile casualties. It warned however that affiliates in Yemen and West Africa pose a growing threat to the West. “As al-Qaeda’s core has gotten weaker, we have seen the rise of affiliated groups around the world. Among these al-Qaeda affiliates, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) represents a particularly serious threat,” it said. “At year’s end, AQAP had taken control of territory in southern Yemen and was exploiting unrest in that country to advance plots against regional and Western interests.” Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, also said the Arab Spring had also undermined al-Qaeda’s ideology. “We saw millions of citizens throughout the Middle East advance peaceful pu

The Andean Tigers: Will Colombia and Peru Land on their Feet?

? By Robert Valencia In business journalism, “tiger” is synonymous with the astonishing growth a handful of Asian countries from the 1960s through most of the 1990s. Last Thursday, a report by the Wall Street Journal titled “The New Tigers” labeled Latin America’s two rising stars, Colombia and Peru, the world’s next economic big cats. The two countries, however, are taking different paths to realizing their undeniable potential. While Colombia has vowed to invest $100 billion in infrastructure, Peru—so far, at least—is jeopardizing their growth with increasing social inequality and deteriorating infrastructure. If these countries don’t take full advantage of their resource-led booms now, they could easily lose all their gains if commodities prices ever fall. The Wall Street Journal praised Colombia and Peru’s mixture of growing middle classes, low public debt, dynamic economic expansion, and a large youth population. The report goes on to highlight both countries’ strong credit ra

Top Naxal leader arrested

- The Times of India CHANDRAPUR: A joint team of anti-Naxal cell and C-60 squad, on Monday, arrested Chandrapur in-charge of CPI (Maoist) Pramod Godghate (30). A hardcore Naxalite, Godghate, is wanted for committing many offences. Godhate was arrested from the court premises adjacent to district collectorate. Assistant police inspector Kaushal Tijare who received information about Godhate's movements notified the Anti-Naxal Cell and C-60 team. They then in a joint operation arrested Godghate who had come to surrender before the court. "Pramod Godghate had risen rapidly from the lower rungs to become a top Naxal leader in the last few years. He was the second-in-command of Maroti Kurwatkar in the Chandrapur area committee. After Kurwatkar's arrest it is suspected that he must have taken over as the leader of the Chandrapur area committee. Official records show that he is also a member of the Western Maharashtra area committee," said superintendent of police, Raji

No to royals and radicals alike

Few political parties in Nepal can claim to be the real representatives of the people on account of their past failed performances. India, on its part, has lost the plot through a series of diplomatic gaffes Democracy in Nepal stood up on its own two feet for the first time in 1990. However, the gains of inclusive politics gathered since then have been frittered away in recent times, largely by the media. Journalists and political analysts in Nepal have wrongly highlighted the 2006 peace accord between the Maoists and the Government of Nepal as the lynchpin of that country’s democratic transition process, but this has been at the cost of undermining the historic triumph of the 1990s struggle. Even under the monarchy between 1990 and 2001, Nepal’s democratic progress was much more significant. After that, the period between the royal massacre of 2001 and the signing of the peace accord in 2006 was blurred with undefined actions of both the monarchy and political parties. Since 200

Chhattisgarh pushes ahead with Maoist peace plan

Uttarakhand, Raipur, Aug 1 (IANS) The Chhattisgarh government has finally pushed ahead with its stalled peace agreement with Maoists reached after the abduction of collector Alex Paul Menon, clearing the way for the release of suspected guerrillas from jails, a top official said Wednesday. "As per the directive of the state government, the district administration will not oppose the bail application of the suspected Maoists incarcerated in Raipur Central Jail," Raipur Collector Pardeshi Siddharth Komal told IANS. In pursuance of the Bilaspur High Court order, Komal, on behalf of the government, had Tuesday submitted an affidavit stating that the government had no objection if the court accepted the bail plea of Meena Choudhary, paving the way for the release of the guerrilla on bail. Chaudhary, accused of running the urban network of the Maoists, is in prison since January 2008 for her alleged involvement in Maoist activities in Chhattisgarh. She was arrested four y

Op Rain Storm, 2 Maoist camps razed, 5 rebels held

PTI | 06:08 PM,Aug 01,2012 Garwha (Jharkhand), Aug 1 (PTI) Two Maoist camps were today destroyed by the security forces and five rebels arrested during the three-day 'Rain Storm' against the ultra-left wing guerrillas on Jharkhand-Chhatisgarh borders, a police officer said here. Two dreaded Maoists Vinod Korva and Manoj Korva were among the five arrested during the joint operation by Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh police forces on the borders of Bhandaria in Garhwa district, Garhwa Superintendent of Police Michael S Raj told a news conference here. Madan Khalko, Palas Korva and Kailash were the other three Maoists among the arrested, he said, adding all the five were members of the firing squad led by self-styled area commander Indrajit. In all, twelve landmines, two hand grenades and Maoist literature were recovered from the two camps, which were destroyed during the joint operation carried out between July 27 and 30, he said. Source http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/op

Two Turkish soldiers killed SE Turkey

01/08/2012 | 03:47 Pm | World News ISTANBUL, Aug 1 (KUNA) -- Two Turkish soldiers were killed by a booby trap in the city of Diyarbakir, south-east of the country, Turkish military sources said. Turkish Ihlas News Agency reported a statement issued by the Turkish Presidency saying the two Gendarmerie soldiers, who were taking part in a thorough search operation in a countryside area near the land route between Bingiul province and Diyarbakir, walked over explosives implanted by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The agency added that the explosion came a few days after the clash that broke out in Hakkari province near the Turkish borders with Iraq and Iran, which resulted in the death of two Turkish soldiers and wounded ten others. Moreover, Turkish General Staff announced that the outcome of the military operation, launched in the south-east of the country ten days ago, left 39 activists from PKK dead. The Turkish army began a military operation to track down members of the

Turkey's Syria Policy Backfires

As Syria's crisis deepens, Turkey is greatly concerned about a PKK-controlled Kurdish state in Turkey's immediate neighborhood. Ankara's fear is not a Greater Kurdistan, but a PKK-controlled semi-state, analysts say. Ankara's support for a regime change in Syria has started to backfire, threatening Turkey's own national security, with Syrian Kurdish groups forming a de facto state in the north of Syria. Turkish media reported last week that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), with its alleged Syrian branch the Democratic Union Party (PYD), took control of several provinces on Turkey's border. Several reports published photos of Kurdish flags and posters of the PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan flying from buildings in northern Syria towns. "We will not allow the formation of a terrorist structuring near our border," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Turkish media on Sunday. "We reserve every right.... No matter if it i

22 PKK militants killed in Turkey clashes

TV | DAWN.COM PKK fighters stand near the Qandil mountains near the Iraq-Turkish border. —Reuters ISTANBUL: Twenty-two Kurdish militants were killed during clashes in eastern Turkey over the last three days, CNN Turk television said on its website on Tuesday, adding to Ankara’s concerns over gains by Kurdish groups in neighbouring Syria. Fighting, including bombardment with helicopters and war planes, continued on the outskirts of the town of Semdinli, CNN Turk reported. Two Turkish soldiers were reported killed and 10 others wounded on Sunday during fighting that broke out in Hakkari province, near Turkey’s borders with Iraq and Iran, and hundreds of villagers have fled the fighting. The province is the scene of recurring fighting between Turkish forces and fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a separatist insurgency in the mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984 and which is regarded as a terrorist group by the United States, European Union and Turkey.

Deaths in Colombian armed conflict increased in 2011: US

A new U.S. report showed an increase in violent deaths due to Colombia’s armed conflict in 2011 and highlighted a rise in the number of rebel attacks against security forces. The annual “Country Reports on Terrorism,” released Tuesday by the U.S. State Department said FARC attacks against security forces had increased substantially during 2011, while noting that the number of left-wing guerrillas killed, captured or demobilized had fallen compared to 2010. The report also highlighted government successes against the guerrillas, like the killing of the FARC’s main leader Alfonso Cano in November 2011. “Nevertheless, the FARC and ELN continued to pose a serious threat to Col[o]mbia’s security,” the report said, claiming the two rebels groups were responsible for “the majority of terrorist attacks within the Western Hemisphere in 2011.” According to the State Department, the U.S.-backed security offensive against FARC and ELN guerrillas, known as Plan Colombia, had decreased the s

US keeps Cuba on its terror black list

(AFP) – 23 hours ago WASHINGTON — The United States kept Cuba on a black list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism for the 30th year running, the State Department said in an annual report. Cuba angrily denounced the action as another US attempt to justify its 50-year-old trade embargo on the communist-ruled island. "Cuba's foreign ministry energetically rejects that such a sensitive issue as terrorism be used for petty political purposes and demands that the government of the United States stop lying," it said in a statement. The Americas' only one-party communist regime is one of four countries perennially on the black list -- along with Iran, Sudan and Syria -- a distinction that comes with stiff trade sanctions, including blocks from receiving financial assistance from the US. The report accused Cuba of harboring members of illegal armed groups, including Basque separatist group ETA and Colombian leftist militants FARC, as well as fugitives wanted in U

FARC Boss Reappears on Film, Disproving Reports of Death

High-ranking FARC commander alias "Fabian Ramirez," who was thought to have died in a bombing raid in 2010, has reappeared with an interview in which he claims to want peace with the Colombian government. Caracol published an interview with the rebel boss carried out by independent journalist Karl Penhaul (see video of extracts below). In the interview, Fabian Ramirez, whose real name is Jose Benito Cabrera, claims that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) want to end the war. He says that lower ranking soldiers also want it to end, but that the government and the military leadership have economic interests in carrying on with the “war business.” We must end the war ... But the government is not so interested in that. They blame the guerrilla, they blame other things. He said that there should be a peace deal without conditions imposed by the government: They shouldn’t just say “Hand over your arms and stop attacking the security forces,” it’s not like

Somalia’s Puntland says 53 terror and piracy suspects arrested

GALKAYO, Somalia 31 July 2012 (Garowe Online) - Government forces have arrested 53 persons suspected of links to terrorism and piracy crimes in Puntland State of Somalia, according to a statement from Puntland Ministry of Security, Garowe Online reports. The Ministry’s press release stated that the operation is “part of an extensive security campaign” and that the suspects arrested included Al Shabaab terror group members, piracy financiers, and suspected associates of notorious pirate kingpin Isse Yuluh, wanted by Puntland authorities. The statement indicated that Puntland’s government has “intensified security operations since the 11 July 2012 kidnapping of three Kenyan aid workers near Galkayo,” Puntland’s second largest city located at the state’s boundary with erstwhile chaotic regions in south-central Somalia. “Puntland police are conducting thorough investigations regarding these cases,” concluded the press statement issued by Puntland Ministry of Security. Government o

Deaths in Colombian armed conflict increased in 2011: US

A new U.S. report showed an increase in violent deaths due to Colombia’s armed conflict in 2011 and highlighted a rise in the number of rebel attacks against security forces. The annual “Country Reports on Terrorism,” released Tuesday by the U.S. State Department said FARC attacks against security forces had increased substantially during 2011, while noting that the number of left-wing guerrillas killed, captured or demobilized had fallen compared to 2010. The report also highlighted government successes against the guerrillas, like the killing of the FARC’s main leader Alfonso Cano in November 2011. “Nevertheless, the FARC and ELN continued to pose a serious threat to Col[o]mbia’s security,” the report said, claiming the two rebels groups were responsible for “the majority of terrorist attacks within the Western Hemisphere in 2011.” According to the State Department, the U.S.-backed security offensive against FARC and ELN guerrillas, known as Plan Colombia, had decreased the s

Iran accuses Gulf States of supporting Somali piracy

The state-run Fars News Agency quoted General Mohammad Nazzeri, of Iran’s navy as claiming, “the pirates of the Gulf of Aden are simple fishers but their sponsors and main leaders are Sheikhs of the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. They provide the Somalis with money, weapons and equipment.” The claim seemed strange to Jay Bahadur, author of the book The Pirates of Somalia, who said, “what reason would these littoral Arab states have for sabotaging shipping going through their backyard?” While the three accused states might not have serious interests in combating piracy, they may host elements that collude with the Somali pirates, those familiar with Somali piracy said. “’Supporting’ is probably too strong a word. Connections and involvement by citizens of those countries? Yes,” said Peter Eichstaedt, a journalist who has lived and worked in east Africa. “I spoke with pirates and former pirates, and others have documented this as well, who say that Dubai acts as a h

MV Albedo: Pakistani hostages released by Somali pirates

August 01, 2012 - Updated 2210 PKT KARACHI: The Pakistani crew of MV Albedo, a pirated Malaysian-flagged container ship, held hostage by Somali pirates have been reportedly released, Geo News learnt. According to sources, all the seven Pakistani seamen have been pulled through to safety. Of all 22 hostages, seven each are from Pakistan and Bangladesh, six from Sri Lanka, and one each from India and Iran. One Indian sailor has already died since the vessel was captured in November 2010. Source http://www.geo.tv/GeoDetail.aspx?ID=61595

Cops set up fake Neo-Nazi biker gang to catch white supremacists

Cops set up fake Neo-Nazi biker gang to catch white supremacists training for a RACE WAR who 'offered $1,000 bounty for murder of a black man' Authorities say undercover operation toppled two domestic terrorist groups Five-year investigation involved setting up Aryan Nations-linked motorcycle gang called 1st SS Kavallerie Brigade Motorcycle Division Agents installed covert cameras in gang's clubhouse to record illegal activity Second white-supremacist group known as American Front also taken down Members were training in rural Florida for hoped-for race war and used murdered black man's grave as urinal By Damien Gayle PUBLISHED: 10:38 GMT, 31 July 2012 | UPDATED: 13:44 GMT, 31 July 2012 Brian Klose, alleged leader of the 1st SS Kavallerie Brigade Motorcycle Division, the gang set up and then taken down by undercover agents Police set up a neo-Nazi motorcycle gang to snare white supremacists and racist bikers, including one who allegedly offered a $1,000 r

The many faces of neo-Nazism

31st July In 2000, the neo-Nazi terrorist group National Socialist Underground (NSU) shot dead Enver Simsek, a florist with Turkish background, in Nuremberg. It was the beginning of an unprecedented series of murders that ended in 2007 with the death of police officer Michele Kiesewetter in Heilbronn. But it was not until November 2011 that it emerged - almost by accident - who was behind the crimes: Beate Zschäpe, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt, three admitted racists who made videos boasting of their cold-blooded executions. German politicians and public are asking how this band of terrorists could disappear from the secret service's surveillance in 1998, and then kill ten people and remain undiscovered for 13 years. The complete failure of the security forces has shocked Germans. The revelations caused the resignation of Heinz Fromm, the long-standing president of the federal intelligence agency, the Verfassungsschutz (Office for the Protection of the Constitution). He is to