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Showing posts from December 9, 2012

Self-immolation among Afghan women rises

Washington: An alarming number of Afghan women are setting themselves on fire in a desperate attempt to escape abuse, torture and domestic violence, human rights officials have said. While some want to die, others simply hope their faces and bodies are so badly disfigured that their worth will plummet, and families and husbands who view them as commodities won’t care enough to beat them any longer.  Many even resort to self-immolation the night before they’re forced into a marriage, hoping the wedding will be called off, the New York Daily News reports. According to the report, nearly as many are forced to lie about it when or if they’re brought to a hospital. “I was in the kitchen cooking meat in a pressure cooker. Suddenly it exploded,” 16-year-old Taranna told ABC’s "20/20”, white bandages covering her burnt skin from head to toe. Doctors who reviewed Taranna claimed that the teen wasn’t burned by a gas explosion, but by flame, likely, self-inflicted. In approx

Pak Hindu girl admitted to hospital 10 days after being raped

Islamabad: A six-year-old Hindu girl who was allegedly raped in Pakistan's southern Sindh province has been admitted to a hospital in Karachi about 10 days after she was molested, according to media reports today. The girl, a student of Class 1, was playing near her home in Ghulam Nabi Shah area of Umerkot district when Hashim Magiro, the owner of a gambling den, allegedly kidnapped and raped her on December 3. Some unconfirmed reports said the girl was gang-raped. She was brought to Karachi on Wednesday and admitted to the Lyari General Hospital. Several civil society groups visited the girl in hospital and expressed solidarity with her family. "We talked to the family of the girl and offered them legal aid," said Rushksana Siddiqui of War Against Rape. The girl's relatives said she was first taken to Umerkot district hospital, where there was no doctor on duty.  Then she was taken to Mirpurkhas, located 76 km from Umerkot, but the staff at the hospi

Yemen gives 93 soldiers jail terms for attack on base

(Reuters) - A Yemeni military court sentenced 93 members of the Republican Guard to prison terms of up to seven years for an attack on a military complex in August, the Defense Ministry said on Saturday. The sentences, which were more lenient than expected, followed increased tensions between factions loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose son commands the Republican Guard, and the interim government led by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. On Tuesday, Brigadier General Ahmed Saleh refused orders to hand over long-range missiles to the Defense Ministry, raising fears of showdown that threatens a fragile transition agreed in February. The United States and Yemen's Gulf neighbors fear political instability in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state will allow a branch of al Qaeda based there to strike at top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping lanes. The Republican Guard, the best-equipped of Yemen's military units, is seen as impor

Russia's Counterterrorism Committee Lists Achievements

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A ndrei Przhezdomsky, the special representative of Russia's Counterterrorism Committee (NAK), listed the committee's achievements at a press conference on December 14. Przhezdomsky claimed some 360 "militants' were killed so far this year, "99 percent of them in the North Caucasus," but he recalled that there had been terrorist attacks in Tatarstan during the year. He said the number of victims of terrorism in 2012 decreased to 58 from 128 in 2011. Przhezdomsky said 466 "improvised explosive devices, some of which were already functional" were seized, including 21 suicide bomber belts. The NAK representative attributed part of the committee's success to a system of three elements -- "the prevention of terrorist attacks, the arrest of suspected terrorists, and minimizing the damage from acts of terror." Przhezdomsky also credited better coordination between authorities and law enforcement agencies for the advances

Two dead after shooting at Las Vegas hotel: Police

Las Vegas: A man shot and fatally wounded a woman, then killed himself at the Excalibur hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip, sending frightened patrons fleeing. Las Vegas Police Lt Ray Steiber said the shootings happened at about 8:30 pm last night near the high-rise hotel's front entrance.  Steiber said the man shot the woman, who was a vendor at the hotel's concierge desk, and then turned the gun on himself. The man was found dead at the scene. The woman was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Neither the gunman nor the victim was identified. However, Steiber said the woman worked as a vendor at the concierge desk, where tourists can get show tickets and restaurant reservations. He said the relationship between the shooter and the victim wasn't immediately clear. The shooting happened as the hotel's registration desk was busy on a Friday night with the National Finals Rodeo and other events in town. Steiber sai

Oil tanker set on fire in northern Afghanistan

Pul-e-Khumri: Unknown armed men opened fire on and set ablaze an oil tanker in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province Saturday, reported Xinhua citing the local police. "Unidentified armed men targeted an oil tanker with assault rifle in Dushi district today (Saturday) morning burning the oil tanker," provincial police chief's deputy Sayed Zaman Hussaini told Xinhua. Dushi is 160 km north of Kabul. Without giving more details, he said that investigation is underway. Locals at the site of incident claimed that the tanker was supplying fuel to NATO-led troops when Taliban militants attacked the vehicle and set it afire. Taliban militants have yet to comment. Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/south-asia/oil-tanker-set-on-fire-in-northern-afghanistan_816917.html

German prosecutors link Bonn bomb plot to radical Islamists

Berlin: Germany's federal prosecutor has taken over the investigations into a failed attempt to detonate a powerful bomb at the main railway station in Bonn five days ago as new evidences indicated that radical Islamists may have plotted to carry out a bloodbath in the former German capital. The authorities have sufficient evidence to assume that a bag containing explosives, detonator and a timer, which was found abandoned at a railway platform during the rush hour last Monday, was an "attempted bomb attack by a terrorist organisation carrying the hallmarks of radical Islamists," the federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe said in a statement late yesterday. Investigators also obtained "incriminating evidences" to prove that the person, who left the bag with explosive devices capable of setting off a large explosion, has links with radical Islamic circles, the statement said.  On the basis of the current level of investigation, the authorit

Rocket attacks on Peshawar airport in Pakistan: Report

Edited by Mala Das | Updated: December 15, 2012 22:03 IST Peshawar: There are reports of rocket attacks at the Peshawar airport in Pakistan. Five people have reportedly died while 25 others have been injured in the incident. According to a local TV channel, five rockets hit the Bacha Khan International Airport. They were fired from an unknown location. Meanwhile, heavy exchange of gunfire has been reported from inside the airport which has been dealed. The injured have been shifted to hospitals. The Pakistan Army has also begun search operations around the area. More details are awaited. Source http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/rocket-attacks-on-peshawar-airport-in-pakistan-report-305915

Thousands Stage Anti-US Rallies across Yemen

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TEHRAN (FNA)- Thousands of the Yemeni people rallied in different cities of the country to show their anger at Washington's interference in their country's internal affairs, and called for the expulsion of the US ambassador from Sana'a. The residents of Saa'da city in rallies organized by the Houthi Movement underlined their opposition to the Yemeni regime's agreement with the deployment of the US military forces in Yemen and the massacre of the Yemeni citizens by the US drones. Also, the protestors in Maa'la city in Aden province trampled on the US flag after the Friday prayers ceremonies to protest at Washington's interfering policies against their country. In Sana'a, a large number of Yemeni citizens gathered in Sittin square and other main squares in their city to blast the Yemeni regime for its disloyalty to its vows and un

Philippines says rebels violating typhoon truce

MANILA: The Philippine government on Saturday accused Maoist rebels of violating a self-imposed truce in typhoon-hit areas with attacks on government forces involved in rescue and relief work. The New People's Army (NPA) guerrilla group began a 29-day unilateral ceasefire on December 5 to allow what it said would be unhampered rescue and relief work for victims of Typhoon Bopha that had struck the previous day. However, the government said the rebels had launched three attacks in typhoon-devastated areas within four days of the supposed truce. An NPA raid on a police station in Rizal town on the western island of Palawan on Wednesday left one police officer dead and another wounded, said a Philippine government panel involved in stalled peace talks with the rebels. "We denounce this clear violation of their self-imposed ceasefire," it said in a statement. In a second episode two female children of a soldier who had lost his home in the typhoon were abducted

NPA declares cease-fire in Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Communist rebels have declared a cease-fire in the southern Philippines to allow unhampered relief and rehabilitation in provinces ravaged by a recent typhoon that killed at least 955 people and left more than 800 others missing. In a separate announcement Saturday, the military declared a nationwide Christmas holiday truce with the communist New People's Army from Dec. 16 to Jan. 2, 2013. The Communist Party's southern Mindanao commission says the cease-fire was to take effect from Dec. 5 through Jan. 3. The rebels did not explain the late announcement and gave no word on whether they will also observe a nationwide cease-fire. The 43-year-old Maoist insurgency is one of Asia's longest-running. Peace talks brokered by Norway have stalled following disagreements over rebel demands to release several of their detained leaders.   Source: http://www.philstar.com/nation/2012/12/15/886365/npa-declares-cease-fi

Europe And The Arab Spring That Never Sprung – OpEd

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By Anis Bajrektarevic By correlating hydrocarbons with the present political and socio-economic landscape, scholar Larry Diamond revealed that there are currently 22 states in the world which earn over 60% of their respective GDP from oil (and gas), and are ruled by non-democratic, authoritarian regimes. All of them are characterized by disparity, steep socio-economic cleavages, sharp political inequalities and lasting exclusions, not to mention poor human rights records. These represent nearly half of the countries considered by the Freedom House’s annual reports as ‘not free’– the very same that are predominantly held accountable by the Western media for domestic and regional insurgences, intl. armed conflicts, famines as well as for harboring and financing terrorists. As for the fact that 9 of the 11 top crude exporters are usually labeled as dictatorships, Prof. Diamond calls this a ‘democratic recession.’ This all points to the fact that there is not a single e

‘Mass grave’ in SL town unearths human remains of over 60 people

London: Human remains in what appears to be a mass grave that was unearthed last month in the Sri Lankan town of Matale could be "the site of a crime", forensic investigators have said. The remains of nearly 60 people have been excavated at the site. There are allegations that the bodies are those of Sinhalese guerrillas who fought a bloody left-wing insurgency more than 20 years ago. But other theories hold that the people died in non-political contexts, the BBC reports.  According to the report, the skulls and partial skeletons were discovered late last month by workers building a facility at a hospital in Matale. Forensic medical specialist Ajith Jayasena said that 58 sets of remains have been found so far, some full and some partial. He said that more may still be discovered, the report said. Jayasena said the grave appeared to be the site of a "crime" as it was not a regular place of burial. "We have to find out whether they are male

Italy under Mussolini is revealed through the accounts of ordinary people

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  Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in Rome, 1940 F ascist Voices: An Intimate History of Mussolini’s Italy , by Christopher Duggan, Bodley Head, RRP£25, 528 pages   High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/10f78f5c-42f4-11e2-a3d2-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz2F87lSP25 For all his demagoguery, Mussolini was widely admired in prewar Britain. Newspapers (notably Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail) carried flattering photographs of the dictator; Mussolini was on good terms with King George V, moreover, who in 1923 publicly congratulated him on his “wise leadership”. Parts of the British establishment initially saw a potential ally in Mussolini and a bulwark against Hitler’s Germany. The “virile” alternative of Fascism in the 1920s appeale

FM: Fight against terrorism - priority for Turkey

The fight against terrorism is a priority for the country, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said during his visit to Abu Dhabi, Anadolu News Agency said on Friday. Speaking at a conference on the fight against terrorism, the Foreign Minister said that Turkey has struggling with terrorism for many years. "Turkey will fight terrorism in the country and globally as it has been doing", Davutoglu said. As a result of military operations held against militants belonging to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party, Turkish security forces have neutralized 716 militants. 496 terrorists have been killed, 21 injured, 44 arrested and 155 surrendered themselves to the authorities during the first ten months of 2012. During this period, Turkish security forces have held six large and 19 local operations against militants. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state has been on-going for more than 25 years and has

Not standing by

Re: "Jog their memory," Letter, Dec. 12. Black September carried out the Munich attacks in 1972, and it is debated if they took their orders from Fatah or if they were simply a splinter group. When the Air France flight was hijacked in 1976, it was the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command, not the PLO, that carried out the attack. It is questionable if Yasser Arafat had any control over this. Also, West German communist terrorists were on board the flight. The EU was successful when in 1977, Lufthansa Flight 181 was hijacked and ended up in Somalia. The PFLP and the West German left-wing terrorist group, Red Army Faction, worked together to try to release some of the RAF's members in prison. When the British Special Air Service and the West German counterterrorism group, GSG9, rescued the hostages from the PFLP hijacked plane, the German businessman Hanns-Martin-Schleyer was killed in response. The EU has had its fair share of

Ongoing Turkey-Iran Clash Threatens Regional Stability – OpEd

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The current clash between Turkey and Iran has promoted instability in the region as both use historical and political claims in Iraq as a means to wield influence. The pursuit of these claims and the policies it has generated have affected political and social stability in Iraq as each of these foreign states has resorted to using proxies to confront each other. The same dynamic can be observed in Syria. Damascus places great value on its strategic relationship with Iran, and Syria has long been complicit in implementing Iranian strategies in the region, albeit sometimes with its own objectives in mind. This is most noticeable in the great influence Syria exerts on Lebanon, which is in large part a function of its relationship with Hezbollah. Today, Iran defends Assad and supports Armenian parties that harbor animosity toward Turkey. Iran also supports some Alawite forces inside Turkey. Iran – Turkey Relations Unsurprisingly, then, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayy

The German Erosion

Dilemmas of the Last Triple-A Eurozone Economies Until recently, the Eurozone crisis was cushioned by the strong performance of the German economy. But those days are fading. During the past four years, The UK has suffered a double dip. France is flirting with recession. Italy’s EUR 2 trillion debt forced a technocratic regime to take over in fall 2011. Spain is drifting toward a new bailout with employment exceeding 25% and youth unemployment more than 50%. Until recently, Germany fared much better in relative terms than other core economies in Europe. However, the slowdown of economic activity in the second half of 2012 will be morphing into recessionary conditions in early 2013. Export-led model, dependent on the US and China As its export-led growth is eroding, Germany is hoping to rely on private consumption, but the latter cannot compensate for the slowdown in export growth. German resilience is based on the Mittelstand companies, many small- and medium-

Maoist outfit punishes five Jharkhand youth

Lohardaga: A Maoist outfit, Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TPC), has punished five youth in a ‘Kangaroo Court’ in Jharkhand. The left-wing extremists detained the youth with two pistols as they were travelling on their motorcycles and nabbed them as they considered their movement suspicious. In the last few years, the rebels have stepped up their efforts against the government as well as the locals, after various locals complained that Maoist activities such as killings and abductions increased considerably in the area.  The head of Maoist outfit, Gopal, said that the Kangaroo court awarded punishment to the five youth. “Around 4 pm, while we were walking on the roads, they came on bikes and we detained them. While frisking them, we found two revolvers in their bags. Therefore, we tried them in the Kangaroo court and punished them,” Gopal said. The members of the Maoist outfit thrashed them with an aim to earn sympathy of the locals. Hundreds of people have been

Immigration: 'If someone asks, I’m British, end of story’

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As Ed Miliband apologises for Labour’s failure to stop segregation among immigrant communities, we look at two vastly different approaches to integration in east London  In the Eighties, journalists used to write about a south London road that formed the border between two very different councils. One side was the then hard-Left Lambeth, with hopeless public services and the capital’s highest local tax bills. The identical houses opposite were in Thatcherite Wandsworth, with highly efficient public services and at one point no local taxes at all. That sort of divide is much less sharp than it was. The political spectrum has narrowed. Thanks to New Labour and gentrification, Lambeth and many other formerly extreme Left‑wing councils have sharply raised their game. But in the east of London, beside the Olympic Park, runs a new dividing line between two local authorities – neighbouring councils with completely different approaches to what ma

Hebron group: 3rd intifada has begun

Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron have distributed a video declaring the establishment of the "National Union Battalions," which according to them will be jointly headed by members of Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front or the Liberation of Palestine as a means of consolidating the struggle against Israel. In its announcement, the group stressed that while it supports the UN's recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state, it will fight to recover "all of Palestine – from the sea to the river." The video message, which the Palestinians claim was taped on Friday, the group's members say "This is the beginning of a third Palestinian intifada, which is erupting from the heart of Hebron and will spread to all of Palestine." In the clip, the group's representatives directly threaten Israel, saying that if it continues to arrest Palestinians in the West Bank, they will kidnap soldiers. Video: http://youtu.b

Around 1.06 lakh people 'missing after war in Sri Lanka'

Author of a book on the internal conflict in Sri Lanka involving its armed forces and rebel LTTE today said around 1.06 lakh persons were missing in LTTE-controlled areas after the war and the Sri Lankan government should explain this. Having worked as a BBC correspondent in Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2004, Frances Harrison said she had accessed World Bank population data in this regard to substantiate her claim. "The number may not include (LTTE) detainees or those who had left the country but the government has to explain (the dip in the population in Tamil-dominated areas)", she told reporters here today. Harrison said she had accessed the World Bank data on population of Mullaitheevu, Kilinochi, Vavuniya and Mannaar in the island nation, which she said, revealed that 1.06 lakh persons were "missing" after the war. Author of the book "Still Counting the Dead," which is set to be released in Tamil soon, said it was based on tales of survivors includi

German magazine raises fears over country 'once again embracing' Hitler's evil beliefs

After decades of trying to shake off the shadow of Hitler, a German news magazine has sparked speculation that the country might probably be embracing the Fuehrer’s evil beliefs once again. Der Spiegel, Germany’s biggest news magazine, says the heady days of partying epitomised when Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006 are long gone. “The reality is that there is hardly anything that interests the Germans as much about themselves as their relationship to the Hitler era,” the Daily Mail quoted the magazine, as stating. According to the paper, in a lengthy essay, the journal says: “This year, amid fresh debates over xenophobia, many are left wondering if the ugly German is back.” “When the Greeks or the Spaniards protest against the supposed dictatorship of the Germans in euro policy, some of their posters depict Nazi motifs,” it said. “When we look back at the media reports of 2012, there is much about this year that hints at the country’s Nazi past. And there doesn’t seem to

India announces $1 million to Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state

Nay Pi Taw (Myanmar), Dec 14 (IANS) India Friday announced assistance of $1 million towards relief in Myanmar's Rakhine state which was rocked by widespread ethnic clashes leaving thousands displaced. The aid was announced by Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid who is visiting Myanmar on his first bilateral trip abroad. Khurshid, who arrived here earlier in the day, called on President Thein Sein. India is also to set up a consulate at Sittwe, capital of Rakhine state, situated on the western coast. India is involved in developing the $120-million Sittwe deep water port, which is set to become functional by June 2013. The port will allow cargo vessels from India's landlocked Mizoram state to navigate the Kaladan river and connect them to Myanmar and southeast Asia. Rakhine witnessed clashes between the Rakhine and Rohingya communities, leaving around 35,000 people displaced last month. The total number of displaced since June stands at 110,000 Khurshid

Tibet scholars and youth write letters of concern to Xi Jinping

- www.phayul.com DHARAMSHALA, December 12: An authoritative group of Tibet experts submitted a letter to China’s president in waiting, Xi Jinping, expressing their “deep concern” about the state of the Tibetan language in China occupied Tibet. Renowned Tibetologists, including Prof. Robert Barnett, Prof. Elliot Sperling, Samten Karmay, and Tsering Shakya, among many others, noted that Tibetan language is “seemingly marginalised and devalued” in Tibet at a time when it is “increasingly being taught and studied” in universities around the world. “As specialists in the areas of Tibetan language, culture and religion, we would like to share with you, through this letter, our own concerns about the various measures that jeopardise the continuing viability of this civilisation, a civilisation that is one of the treasures of humanity and for which the Chinese government has clearly stated its responsibility,” the experts said. “We would like to remind you that in China the Tibetan lan

Hamas Gains Allure in Gaza, but Money Is a Problem

GAZA CITY — Hamas has been riding high of late, after its professed victory in the recent conflict with Israel and the overthrow last year of Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, an avowed enemy. Nevertheless, it is facing serious financial troubles stemming from the revolt in Syria and its expanding military ambitions, and its increasing demands on the impoverished population of Gaza are stirring resentments. In response, and with an anxious eye to the Arab Spring revolts, some Gaza residents say, it has eased up slightly in its religious restrictions on people’s lives. The government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria had been a stalwart ally and a conduit for Iranian money, weapons and military expertise. But the Assads are members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism, and are fighting mostly Sunni rebels, forcing Hamas, which is Sunni, to choose sides. It decided to shut its political bureau in Damascus in March and send its political chairman, Khaled Meshal, shuttling b

Man slashes 22 children near China school

BEIJING -- A man with a knife slashed 22 children and one adult outside an elementary school in Henan province Friday morning, China's worst such incident in more than a year. The attack was reminiscent of a spate of knife attacks on schoolchildren that took place across China in 2010. In most cases, the attackers were unemployed middle-aged men, leading to speculation that the assaults stemmed from economic and social discontent. Friday's attack occurred at about 7:40 a.m. as children were arriving outside the gate of Chenpeng Village’s Wanquan Elementary School. The suspect, Min Yingjun, 36, allegedly slashed an elderly woman as well as the children. Local propaganda officials said later that Min had a psychological illness. Pictures uploaded to the Internet by bystanders show family members carrying young children with bandages on their heads. The local reports state that four seriously wounded children were transferred to other hospitals for intensive care. The scen