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Showing posts from April 21, 2013

Russia detains 140 suspected Islamic extremists

Moscow: Russian police and security agents detained 140 people at a mosque in Moscow on Saturday on suspicion of involvement with Islamic extremism. A statement from the Federal Security Agency reported by Russian news agencies said among those detained were 30 citizens of unspecified foreign countries. The detentions come a week after the two suspects in the fatal Boston Marathon bombings were identified as Russian-born ethnic Chechens who sympathised with Islamic extremists. There were no immediate reports of charges being filed. The reports cited the agency as saying the mosque previously has been visited by people who had been involved in preparing or carrying out terrorist attacks. A Chechen separatist insurgency that began in the 1990s increasingly took on a fundamentalist Muslim character and spread to neighbouring Russian Caucasus regions, including Dagestan, where Boston bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and their family lived for a period before emigr

The Greater Danger: Military-Trained Right-Wing Extremists

Prior to the Boston bombing, a series of high-profile attacks prompted concern about Islamist extremists within the U.S. armed forces. It's not unfounded, but it downplays a bigger threat. A memorial honoring the six victims of a shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The shooter was Wade Michael Page, a white supremacist and U.S. Army veteran. (John Gress/Reuters) Before last week's bombing attack in Boston, there was a growing anxiety in the United States not only about homegrown violent Islamic extremism, but -- especially after Nidal Hasan killed 13 fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, and then further after Eric Harroun was accused of fighting alongside a terrorist group in Syria last month -- about the specific and particularly frightening prospect of such extremism developing among members or trainees of the U.S. military. It's an understandable anxiety, and it may again be vindicated. But there's meanwhile a more worrying danger: that right-wing extremi

Gunmen kill 10 Iraqi security forces in 2 attacks

BAGHDAD (AP) — Gunmen killed 10 people in Iraq, including five soldiers near the main Sunni protest camp west of Baghdad, the latest in a wave of violence that has raised fears the country faces a new round of sectarian bloodshed. The attack on the army intelligence soldiers in the former insurgent stronghold of Ramadi drew a quick response from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose Shiite-led government has been the target of rising Sunni anger over perceived mistreatment. The attackers stopped a vehicle carrying the soldiers near the protest camp, prompting a gunbattle that left the five soldiers dead and two of the attackers wounded, police officials said. Al-Maliki vowed his government would not keep silent regarding the killing of the soldiers. Iraqi officials have repeatedly claimed that insurgent groups, such as al-Qaida in Iraq and supporters of former Iraqi leader Saddam regime have infiltrated Sunni demonstrations. "I call upon the peaceful protesters to exp

South Sudanese rebels 'surrender'

Last updated 26-Apr-2013 8:55 PM IST The former rebels have been given a presidential pardon Some 3,000 fighters from one of South Sudan's biggest rebels groups, the SSLA, have handed in their weapons, officials say. The former rebels crossed the border from Sudan in about 100 trucks, a local official told Reuters news agency. Sudan has always denied accusations that it backs numerous rebel groups in the South. Relations between the two Sudans have improved recently, leading to a resumption in oil production. The South took most of the former country's oil when it seceded in 2011 but the export pipelines all go north into Sudan. "The [South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA)] militia that have been in the north have surrendered. All of them have come," Unity state government spokesman Joseph Arop Malual told Reuters. The oil-rich Unity state lies on the border with Sudan. South Sudan Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told the BBC's Focus on

Rough justice and Taliban amputations in Afghanistan

Last updated 7 hours ago By Humayun Hadid & Johannes Dell BBC News Stonings, amputations and executions were a common sight in this Kabul stadium during the rule of the Taliban Two cases of forced amputations in Afghanistan's Herat province have served as a grim reminder of Taliban-style justice almost 12 years since the movement was ousted from power. Just over a month ago, Fayz Mohammad and his neighbour Zarin were two ordinary young Afghan men. They held down good jobs as drivers for a local transport company and were happy to be able to feed their families. Now both are in hospital in Herat, recovering from an ordeal which has left them traumatised and worried for their future. In mid-March, 25-year-old Fayz and his younger colleague were enjoying time off duty in their home village in Rabat Sangi district while their trucks were being loaded. On the second night of their stay, Taliban fighters arrived at 03:00 in the morning and abducted them. The men

Arrest made after huge web attack

Last updated 26-Apr-2013 9:11 PM IST Spamhaus runs lists that log sources of junk mail and other malicious messages Spanish police have arrested a Dutchman suspected of being behind one of the biggest ever web attacks. The 35 year-old-man was detained in Barcelona following a request from the Dutch public prosecutor. The attack bombarded the websites of anti-junk mail outfit Spamhaus with huge amounts of data in an attempt to knock them offline. It also slowed data flows over closely linked networks and led to a massive police investigation. The man arrested is believed to be Sven Kamphuis, the owner and manager of Dutch hosting firm Cyberbunker that has been implicated in the attack. "Spamhaus is delighted at the news that an individual has been arrested and is grateful to the Dutch police for the resources they have made available and the way they have worked with us," said a Spamhaus spokesman. He added: "Spamhaus remains concerned about the way networ

Armed drones operating from Britain

Last updated 5 minutes ago The 10 Reaper aircraft are all based in Afghanistan, to support UK and coalition forces Armed drone aircraft have been operated remotely from Britain for the first time, the Ministry of Defence has said. It said Reaper drones had flown missions controlled from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, where campaign groups are expected to protest against the practice later. The MoD said it respected people's rights to protest peacefully. The drones are mainly used for surveillance, but could use weapons if commanded to by their pilots in the UK. The MoD has defended its use of drones in Afghanistan, which it says have saved the lives of countless military personnel and civilians. The 10 Reaper aircraft are all based in Afghanistan to support UK and coalition forces and can carry 500lb bombs and Hellfire missiles for strikes on insurgents. They are piloted remotely, but launched and landed with human help at Kandahar airbase. BBC defence correspondent

Bomb blasts kill at least 20 in Iraq's capital

Reuters | Updated: April 27, 2013 01:13 IST Baghdad: Bomb blasts in Baghdad killed at least 20 more people on Friday at the end of a week of bloodshed that prompted a United Nations envoy to warn Iraq was "at a crossroads". More than 160 people have been killed since Tuesday, when troops stormed a Sunni protest camp near Kirkuk, triggering clashes that quickly spread to other Sunni areas in western and northern provinces. Although well below the heights of 2006-7, this week's violence was the most widespread since US troops pulled out of Iraq in December 2011. Militant attacks have increased this year as Iraq's fragile ethnic and sectarian balance comes under growing strain from the civil war in neighbouring Syria. In and around Baghdad, eight people including a soldier were killed in a series of bomb blasts outside mostly Sunni mosques. Later on Friday, a car bomb killed seven in a busy shopping area in the south of the city. In the capital's Shi'i

Bomb blast near Pakistan party office kills six

Agence France-Presse | Updated: April 27, 2013 00:41 IST Karachi: A car bomb exploded outside a political party's election office in Pakistan's commercial hub Karachi late on Friday killing six people, officials said. The latest violence comes ahead of historic polls next month. The bomb went off close to the election office of a candidate for the Pashtun-dominated Awami National Party in the city's western neighbourhood of Mominabad, local police officer Mohammad Khan said. It was an improvised explosive device planted in a Suzuki car, police spokesman Imran Shaukat said. "Six people have died and more than a dozen are wounded," senior police officer Aslam Pechuho told AFP. The blast was heard several kilometres away and damaged nearby shops and houses, witnesses said. "The target was the election office of the ANP whose candidate Bashir Jan was to address a corner meeting" in the impoverished area which is home to many ethnic Pashtuns, p

Raman's strategic analysis: ANOTHER CLASH IN XINJIANG: TWO MORE DEAD

B.RAMAN Two Uighurs working for the Ministry of Public Security in the Hotan area of the Xinjiang province of China are reported to have been killed on April 26,2013, when the local Uighurs in the village of Yengi Awat protested against fellow Uighurs forcibly being used by the Han Police to make a physical search of Uighur women suspected of being separatists. 2. Radio Free Asia, funded by the US State Department, which, inter alia reports on the state of the non-Han minorities in China, has quoted Dilxat Raxit, Sweden-based spokesman for the World Uighur Congress, as stating that the Hotan deaths followed clashes between local Muslim Uighurs and local people hired to "maintain stability" and watch over the neighborhood. 3. He said in an interview to the radio: "We are still trying to establish the actual cause of the clashes, but one issue is that China has recently stepped up security patrols in the Hotan area. They have sent large numbers of uniformed person

Boko Haram 'was paid hostage ransom'

Last updated 60 minutes ago The French family was kidnapped in February and freed last week Islamist militant group Boko Haram was paid more than $3m (£2m) before releasing a French family of seven, a Nigerian government report says. The confidential report, seen by Reuters news agency, does not say who paid the money. Both France and Cameroon deny paying a ransom while Nigeria has not commented on the issue. The French family, including four children, were captured in Cameroon in February and freed last week. The were handed over to the Cameroon authorities last Thursday. The Nigerian report also says that Cameroon freed some Boko Haram detainees as part of the deal, according to Reuters. If confirmed, transfer of such a significant amount of money given to Boko Haram could serve to strengthen the firepower of the group, the BBC's Will Ross in Lagos reports. Over the past week, violence in northern Nigeria has escalated as suspected members of Boko Haram have tar

3 Tibetans die in self-immolation protests

BEIJING: Two Buddhist monks and a Tibetan woman died after setting themselves on fire in southwestern China on Thursday as self-immolation protests against Chinese rule in the restive Himalayan region, resumed after a brief lull. The protests coincide with the visit of French President Francois Hollande and European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to Beijing. Two Tibetan monks aged 20 and 23 set themselves on fire at the Kirti monastery in Aba county in Sichuan province, according to US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Britain-based rights group Free Tibet. Several monks from the same monastery have attempted self-immolation earlier. The Radio report identified the two monks as Lobsang Dawa and Konchog Woeser. It also said a 23-year-old Tibetan woman in Rangtang county in the same prefecture also died after setting herself to fire. The Radio did not reveal the identity of the woman. Over 110 Tibetans have committed self-immolation since 2009, with most dyin

Germany apologizes to UN for neo-Nazi murders

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Photo taken on April 12, 2013 shows journalists visiting the courtroom of the Regional Court of Munich, southern Germany, where the delayed trial against the sole survivor of the far-right militants NSU and four other alleged neo-Nazi accomplices will start on May 6, 2013. AFP photo Germany has apologized at the United Nations for mistakes made while investigating the neo-Nazi murders days before the trial of the sole survivor of the group. The NSU murders were “without doubt the worst human rights contraventions in Germany in the last decades,” Markus Löning, human rights ombudsman to the German government, told the U.N. Committee on Human Rights in Geneva on April 25. “I want to repeat this apology explicitly in this forum,” Löning said. “Prosecution authorities failed to identify the motives and therefore did not catch the murderers,” Deutsche Welle quoted him as saying. Th

Pakistan shooting attacks kill 10

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Ten people including three policemen have been killed in three separate shooting attacks in Pakistan. On Thursday, three people, including a police constable, were killed and two others injured in incidents of gun violence in the southwestern province of Balochistan. In another event, Pakistani police and armed militants clashed in Karak district of the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Two police officers and two attackers died in the incident. In a third incident, unknown gunmen killed three people in different areas of the southern port city of Karachi in Sindh Province. Police said at least eight militants were arrested. Since late 2009, there has been a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan. Pakistan will hold elections on May 11 for 272 general seats of the National Assembly and a total of 577 seats in the four provincial assemblies. The office of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) party in Karachi was rocked when a bomb detonated outside the buildi

Ace Of Base's Ulf Ekberg Addresses Neo Nazi Allegations

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Ace of Base co-founder Ulf Ekberg has addressed allegations his former band had neo-Nazi ties. Ekberg spoke after a Noisey Vice report surfaced highlighting his membership of the band Commit Suicide, years before he propelled Ace of Base to stardom with such fluffy pop hits such as All That She Wants and The Sign. Among the lyrics Commit Suicide sang (originally in Swedish, this is Noisey's translation): "Men in white hoods march down the road, we enjoy ourselves when we're sawing off n-----s’ heads/ Immigrant, we hate you! Out, out, out, out! Nordic people, wake up now! Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot!" Ace of Base's Ulf Ekberg has addressed allegations his former band had neo-Nazi ties Noisey points to a 1998 compilation called Uffe Was A Nazi, which features Ekberg on the cover giving a Nazi salute and a selection of his performances with Commit Suicide. The album, which was limited to 1,000 copies, also includes songs titled Do Not Touch Ou

#MortAuxGay ('Death To Gays') Hashtag Trends On Twitter After France Legalizes Gay Marriage

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Anti-same sex marriage activists of the anti-gay marriage movement 'la Manif pour Tous' protest during a demonstration, a few hours after the French Parliament adopted gay marriage law at the Assemblee Nationale on April 23, 2013 in Paris, France. The bill was approved by a vote in Parliament of 331 to 225. (Photo by Antoine Antoniol/Getty Images) As lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocates across France celebrated the country's decision to legalize gay marriage Tuesday , a homophobic backlash found an outlet on social media platforms. Beginning in the evening, the hashtags #MortAuxGay ("death to gays") and #ilfauttuerleshomosexuels ("we must kill all gays") began showing up on Twitter. According to a Twitter Trending Topics page, #MortAuxGay was a trending term in France on Tuesday. AmericaBlog also took a screenshot of Twitter's trending terms list . As the term gained notoriety, many French users took to

7 killed in shootout in NE Nigeria

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At least seven people have been killed in an exchange of fire between Nigerian military forces and unknown gunmen in the country’s northeast. The shootout occurred Wednesday night after the gunmen attacked security bases in the town of Gashua in Yobe state, said Lieutenant Eli Lazarus, the spokesman for the Nigerian military's Joint Task Force, in a statement on Thursday. Lazarus added that some of the gunmen “escaped in two vehicles with injuries, while others are believed to still be in the town.” On March 23, gunmen killed 25 people in attacks against a prison, a police station, and a bank in the eastern town of Ganye. Although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, authorities usually put the blame on Boko Haram for such attacks. The group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009. Human rights groups report that violent actions by the group since 2009 have claimed more

Should we encourage neo-Nazi, arsonist murderers?

‘Ask an ethicist’ Greetings members of the Oregon State University community. My name is Thomas McElhinny , and with the help of my cohorts in the applied ethics master’s program here at OSU, I would like to help address any ethical conundrums, concerns and challenges we might face. Discussing ethical concerns, and morality more generally, are often volatile conversations. Questions concerning what it might mean to live a “good” life, how to act when values conflict and how to cultivate ethical habits are long standing and important avenues of inquiry. Every week I intend to offer my perspective on situations sourced from the OSU community, and perhaps punctuate by answering emails with original content I find important, interesting and nutritive. Speaking of emails: I need your help. Do you have an interesting ethical question or situation in your life? Email me at: AskAnEthicistOSU@gmail.com. It can be anything from a concern about lifestyle choices, conflicts wi

‘Anonymous’ hacks Spain parliament’s website: Report

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The ‘Anonymous’ hacking group says it has taken down the website of Spain’s parliament as Spanish people assembled in the capital, Madrid, for an anti-government demonstration. Sources in the parliament told the Spanish daily El Mundo that the cyber attack jammed the servers at the parliament and caused its website to become inaccessible to the public, Russia Today reported on Thursday. Spanish police arrested four people suspected of preparing incendiary devices only hours before the mass protest in Madrid. Officials said the four were preparing to burn down a bank. On Thursday, thousands of protesters gathered outside the parliament a day before the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was to unveil its latest package of economic reforms. Official figures by Spain’s National Statistics Institute show that the total number of unemployed people in Spain has passed the six million mark, reaching to 6.2 million. According to reports, some 1,400 policemen

Omar Hammami, American Jihadi In Somalia, Tweets On Kill Attempt By Al Shabab Assassin

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In this Wednesday, May 11, 2011 file photo, American-born Islamist militant Omar Hammami, 27, also known as Abu Mansur al-Amriki, addresses a press conference of the militant group al-Shabab at a farm in southern Mogadishu's Afgoye district in Somalia. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File) NAIROBI, Kenya — A most-wanted American jihadi in Somalia said Friday that the leader of Islamic extremist rebels in Somali was starting a civil war, just hours after an assassination attempt left the Alabama native with a neck wound. Omar Hammami posted on Twitter about what he labeled an assassination attempt late Thursday as he was sitting in a tea shop. He posted four pictures, one of which shows his face with blood on his neck and a dark blood-stained t-shirt. Hammami, one of the two most notorious Americans in overseas jihadi groups, moved from Alabama to Somalia and joined al-Shabab in about 2006. He fought alongside the al-Qaida-linked group for years while g

Serb President Tomislav Nikolic 'sorry' for Srebrenica massacre

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Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has personally apologised for the first time for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8000 Muslims, but stopped short of calling it genocide. Source: AFP   SERBIA'S nationalist President Tomislav Nikolic has personally apologised for the first time for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8000 Muslims, but stopped short of calling it genocide. "I kneel and ask for forgiveness for Serbia for the crime committed in Srebrenica," Mr Nikolic said of the slaughter, the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II. Srebrenica "is a synonym for a grave crime committed by some of my people," Mr Nikolic said in an interview aired on Bosnian national television, parts of which were earlier released on YouTube. "From the deepth of my heart I apologise, I regret... I apologise for the crimes committed by any individual in the name of our state and our people," he said

'Like 1930s Germany': Greek Far Right Gains Ground

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Nowhere else in Europe are neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists profiting as greatly from the financial crisis as in Athens. As they terrorize the country with violence, the police stand back and prosecutors are powerless.   The Municipal Theater in Piraeus, Greece, was bathed in an eerie light, with yellow floodlights and red torches combining to illuminate the theater's neoclassical façade, which now served as the backdrop for a macabre spectacle: At least 1,000 neo-Nazis and their supporters had turned out for a march, and red flags bearing a large, black swastika-like symbol flew from the building's front steps. ANZEIGE The right-wing extremist party Chrysi Avgi, or Golden Dawn, convened this demonstration on a Thursday in February to protest an arson attack on its local party office -- and to make another display of its strength. Ringed by a group of brawny toughs, party leader Nikos Michaloliakos, 55, bellowed: "No one can stop

Hackers cause panic with 'Obama injured' AP tweet

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Hackers spooked markets Tuesday after breaking into the Associated Press's Twitter account and falsely reporting President Barack Obama had been injured after two blasts at the White House. A brief alert on the news agency's @AP account read: "Breaking: Two explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured." Almost immediately the wire service posted via its corporate communications feed that its @AP Twitter account had been hacked, before promptly suspending the service. "Advisory: @AP Twitter account has been hacked. Tweet about an attack at the White House is false. We will advise more as soon as possible," @AP_CorpComm posted. AP spokesman Paul Colford later said the wire service had disabled other Twitter accounts following the attack and was working with the micro-blogging site to investigate the breach. The FBI also said it was investigating the incident. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the president was unharmed.

Indonesian anti-terrorism training centre to help stop trafficking in asylum-seekers

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Foreign Minister Bob Carr is attending talks in Bali on halting people-smuggling. Source: AP AN Australian-sponsored law enforcement centre in Indonesia has been co-opted into the regional campaign against people-smuggling and human trafficking. Established 10 years ago by Australia and Indonesia, principally as a counter-terrorism police training facility, the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation will now train regional forces to counter people-smugglers and traffickers. The move was announced today by Foreign Minister Bob Carr at the Bali Process regional ministerial meeting on people-smuggling and human trafficking. “Tapping into the expertise of JCLEC will assist Bali Process members to strengthen efforts in the region to address both people-smuggling and trafficking in persons,” Senator Carr told the meeting. “Providing our policymakers and practitioners with the tools for criminalisin

Brazil's Heart of Darkness: Notorious Rebel-Killer May Finally Face Justice

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Like a character out of the film "Apocalypse Now," Colonel Sebastião de Moura allegedly hunted, tortured and killed rebels without remorse during Brazil's military dictatorship. Now, almost 40 years later, he is likely to face charges.   The Curió is at home where the Amazon rainforest begins to thin out and becomes slightly less impenetrable. It has a black back, its feathers are the color of hazelnuts and its call varies from light and bell-like to somber and plaintive. Rainforest residents like to catch the bird because, in captivity, the Curió reacts aggressively when confronted with one of its own kind in a cage. The bird is known for fighting until it drops, which makes it the perfect candidate for betting operations. Its name means "friend of mankind" in the local language. It's certainly an odd bird. The man who is nicknamed after the bird also has a loose tongue. And everyone who knows him agrees that he is ruthless and brutal. B