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Showing posts from October 20, 2013

Kurds rout Syria jihadists on Iraq border: Activists

London: The former flatmate and chauffeur of late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile appeared in court on Saturday charged with a series of sexual assaults against young girls, including rape. Ray Teret, 72, is charged with 32 offences involving 15 different victims who accuse him of sexual abuse between 1962 and 1996, mainly in and around Manchester, northwest England.  The former pirate radio DJ was released on conditional bail pending another hearing next month. He did not enter a plea.  Police have said the accusations are not linked to the posthumous national inquiry into historic allegations of abuse by Savile, who died in 2011 aged 84.  Detectives in that separate operation believe Savile was one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders. Teret has been charged with 15 counts of rape of a female under 16, one count of rape and a further count of attempted rape of a female under 16.  He also faces six counts of indecent assault of a female under 16, three counts of indecent assault of

Afghan soldier opens fire on Nato partners

An Afghan soldier on Saturday opened fire on his Nato partners in Kabul, wounding a Nato soldier in the latest in a series of "insider" attacks on alliance forces, officials said.  Attacks in which Afghan forces turned their guns on their international partners have killed scores of Nato-led troops, breeding mistrust and undermining efforts to train local forces before Nato combat troops withdraw next year. "An Afghan army soldier opened fire on Nato troops in Kabul, wounding a Nato soldier on his leg," defence ministry spokesman general Zahir Azimi told AFP. "The attacker was killed when Nato soldiers returned fire, the incident is under investigation," he said, adding that it happened inside a base. A Nato spokesman in Kabul confirmed the incident but would not provide more details. The bulk of around 87,000 US-led Nato troops who are stationed in Afghanistan as part of the war on terror campaign are scheduled to withdraw in 2014. Source  http://www.hind

Iran hangs 16 rebels 'in reprisal for border deaths'

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26 October 2013   Last updated at  10:27 GMT The BBC's James Reynolds says it is not clear what connection the hanged rebels had with the group that ambushed the border guards Sixteen rebels have been hanged in Iran in retaliation for the deaths of at least 14 border guards in an ambush, say Iranian news agencies. The rebels were "linked to groups hostile to the regime", the attorney general of Sistan-Baluchistan province was quoted as saying. They were hanged in prison in Zahedan, north-east of Saravan, where the border deaths took place overnight. It is not clear what link, if any, those hanged had to the border attack. One report suggests they may already have been tried and convicted, but their executions brought forward following the ambush. Friday night's attack in a mountainous region outside Saravan, on the south-eastern border with Pakistan, was blamed by Saravan's member of parliament, Hedayatollah Mirmoradzehi, on "anti-revolution guerrillas".

Bomb blast kills two Pakistani soldiers

Two  Pakistan i soldiers were killed on Saturday in a blast that was targeting Shiite pilgrims heading to Iran. "Five coaches carrying (Shiite) pilgrims and heading for Taftan border to cross into Iran were apparently the target of the blast," Shafqat Shalwani, assistant commissioner of the southwestern district of Mastung, told Anadolu Agency. Taftan is a bordering town, some 350 km away from Quetta on  Pakistan i-Iranian borders that also serves as a crossing point into either country. "The bomb was planted in a car parked in the way of the pilgrims' convoy," he said. As security personnel began to check the car, the bomb went off, killing two soldiers. Mastund has had a history of attacks on Shiite pilgrims during the past few years. Some 19 Shiites were killed in a blast almost at the same place in March. Pilgrims belonged to the Hazara community, which are mainly Shiites and have been target of sectarian violence in Quetta and Baluchistan Province in past y

3 killed, 14 wounded in bomb blast south Baghdad

BAGHDAD/ Aswat al-Iraq: Three civilians were killed and fourteen more wounded in a bomb explosion near a public café in Mada'in area, south of Baghdad. Security sources told Aswat al-Iraq that the bomb exploded this evening which resulted in material losses in nearby buildings. The sources added that these figures are the first toll and expected more victims to be announced. Precautionary measures were taken, but no other details were given. Source http://en.aswataliraq.info/(S(qqm5qt45ivn4dj450h1lxf55))/Default.aspx?page=article_page&c=slideshow&id=154519

Extremism in the Defense of Liberty Is No Virtue

One of the most famous political quotes of the last half-century comes to us courtesy of Barry Goldwater, who in his 1964 GOP acceptance speech   said , “Let me remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me also remind you that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” This quote has been on my mind of late, having been cited in a recent  New York Times  book review , in a  National Affairs  essay  by Jonathan Rauch, and by my colleague Yuval Levin during a recent Heritage Foundation  panel discussion  he and I participated in. Levin said that many times in practical politics extremism in defense of liberty “is a vice. It is a very great vice. It is our vice.” That strikes me as quite right, and it’s important for conservatives to understand why it is right. Before making my case, it’s important to acknowledge that we can all envision circumstances in which extreme measures can be justified. But they are rare, particularly in a republic like ours,

Norway’s Somali community rattled by reports of young members joining jihadist groups

OSLO, Norway — Somali immigrants in Norway fear that violent extremism is taking root in the community after reports of young Somali-Norwegians traveling abroad to join jihadist groups. One of the gunmen in the Nairobi, Kenya, mall attack that killed 67 people last month has been identified as Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, a 23-year-old Norwegian citizen who returned to his native Somalia in 2010. Norway’s Somali community was still coming to terms with that news when it was struck by another startling development: Two teenage sisters — 16 and 19 — had left their family in Norway to join the civil war in Syria. “It is very shocking,” said Mohamed Husein Gaas, a Somali-born East Africa expert at the Fafo research foundation in Oslo. “No one thought two young girls would travel to a place where they don’t have any connection.” It’s not clear how exactly the sisters from suburban Oslo, who have not been named, planned to participate in the Syrian war. But they told their family they wanted to tak

What does the face of US's modern extremism look like?

The shutdown came to be seen as the climax of the Tea Party, a movement that sprang from the far right of the Republican Party. A sizable chunk of the Republican House majority is aligned with the movement. “Extremist Republicans in the House of Representatives are attempting to torpedo the Senate’s bipartisan progress”, said Democratic majority leader Harry Reid on the floor of the Senate. Earlier this week, Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson even compared the Tea Party to the Ku Klux Klan – a far right white supremacist group. It made us think: who are the real extremists in America? We did what we always do – we went to the experts. We asked them: what is extremism? “There is not a good definition, it’s the truth.” That is  Mark Potok , a Senior Fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC. “The problem with the term “extremism” is that of course it relates to where the political center happens to be at a particular historical moment.” He does have a working definition of ext

Left-wing extremism has killed 14,869 people since 1980

NEW DELHI: Left-wing extremism, which afflicts several states, has killed a whopping 14,689 people, including 11,742 civilians and 2,947 security personnel, since 1980. However, the 4,638 fatal casualties on the Naxalites' side were just one-third of the killings carried out by them over the last three decades. The silver lining, however, is that the trends of Naxal violence are showing a steady decline in killings since 2010. As many as 198 civilians were done to death by Maoists in 2013 (until September 30), far lower than the 300 civilian killings during 2012. Even the security personnel were better off in 2013, recording 88 fatal casualties as compared to 114 in 2012. The number of Naxalites neutralized too fell from 74 last year to 52 until end of this September. Maximum security personnel (317) were killed in 2009, while 2010, with 720 civilian killings, was the worst year for civilians. Naxalites bore the brunt of counter-killings by the security forces in 1998, losing 296 c

Military Training Document: Anti-Christian SPLC a Trusted Source to Define 'Extremism'

For months, the Obama-Hagel Pentagon has promised that reports of military trainers teaching troops that traditional Christian groups are extremists akin to terrorists were isolated incidents by rogue instructors. Now, an official Army document contains evidence to the contrary. Fox News's Todd Starnes reported Wednesday on a Ft. Hood briefing where reportedly soldiers were told that evangelical Christians and Tea Party supporters are a threat to the United States and are "tearing the nation apart." Soldiers were reportedly told that they could be charged with committing a military crime if they supported or donated to such organizations. Ft. Hood denies these allegations, but a separate source claiming to have been present during the briefing asserts the original account is true. Ironically, in the place where an Islamic radical—Maj. Nidal Hassan—committed an act of terrorism that murdered 14 Americans, including the unborn child of one of the female victims, a presentat

Fight against terrorism in Sahel not over- President Ouattara

Saturday 26th October, 2013 Printable Version Dakar (Senegal), Oct 25, GNA - Mr Alassane Ouatarra, Ivorian President and Chairman of Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS), on Friday called on countries in the sub-region not to relent in the fight against terrorism. He said the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region is not over. Speaking at the opening of an extraordinary meeting of the ECOWAS in Dakar, Senegal, President Ouattara called on West African nations to "remain at the side of the Malian people". He appealed to the United Nations to support the ECOWAS in the fight against terrorism and insecurity in the Sahel. The summit is being attended by Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, with the focus of the leaders of the 15-nation West African bloc on moving the region towards a common market and a single currency by 2020. President Ouattara and ECOWAS Commission President Kadre Ouedraogo used the opening ceremony to draw attention to threats pos

Resurgent Regional Terrorism: A Sinister Threat

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The global significance and relevance of Al Qaeda has been questioned since the death of Osama bin Laden. Former director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic  Analysis Program Emile Nakhleh argues that “Al Qaeda central” has numerous regional affiliates across Africa and  the Middle East  of which the world should be wary. Governments  around the world  have been lulled by the diminishing significance and reach of Al Qaeda central, especially since the death of  Osama bin Laden  and the capturing and killing of numerous senior Al Qaeda leaders. The threat from regional terrorist organizations connected to Al Qaeda, however, has grown significantly. A terrorist crescent is casting its shadow across Africa and the Middle East, from Syria to Bahrain. This is due in large part to autocratic rule across the region, the repression of human rights, the suppression of political activity, and the promotion of sectarianism. Ignoring this threat would be detrimental to regional and global secu

Russia toughens anti-terrorism law ahead of Olympics

By Alexei Anishchuk and Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW  |  Fri Oct 25, 2013 4:09pm EDT (Reuters) - Russia's parliament passed a bill on Friday imposing prison terms of up to six years on Russians who take part in conflicts abroad, as the government tries to head off potential security threats ahead of the Winter Olympic  Games  in Sochi. Militants waging an Islamist insurgency in southern Russia's North Caucasus region sympathize with the international jihadists trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. National security officials estimate that up to 400 people have left Russian territory to fight in Syria  and analysts warn they pose a serious threat when they return. President Vladimir Putin submitted the amendments to the existing anti-terrorism law in September. Under the amended law, relatives of those committing acts of terrorism will be held financially liable for the damage. It also sets prison terms of up to 20 years for setting up a terrorist organization and

Iranian border guards killed in clash with 'bandits' near Pakistan border

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An Iranian border guard keeps watch: authorities are investigating whether the attackers were drug smugglers or armed opposition groups. Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images About 20 Iranian border guards have been killed in clashes with "armed bandits" on the southeastern frontier with Pakistan, Iranian media have reported. The clashes took place on Friday night in a mountainous region outside the town of Saravan in the south-east Sistan-Baluchistan province, the Irna state news agency reported. The Mehr news agency said "bandits" attacked a border post. An Iranian prosecutor also announced that authorities had executed 16 "terrorists" in the same province on Saturday in retaliation for the killings. Mohammad Marzieh, the public prosecutor of provincial capital Zahedan, told the Iranian students' news agency (Isna): "These individuals were executed this Saturday morning in response to the terrorist action of last evening at Saravan and the ma

Syria says al-Qaida linked group's leader killed

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Free Syrian Army fighters in the north-western Latakia province where Abu Mohammad al-Golani is reported to have been killed. Photograph: Reuters Syrian state media reported the death of the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida linked group fighting the regime of president Bashar al-Assad. Unverified reports said Abu Mohammad al-Golani had been killed in the Latakia area. If confirmed, his death would be a severe blow to one of the two main jihadi-type formations on the rebel side of the Syrian conflict and a further boost to the government's morale after recent political and military successes. Pro-Syrian media in Lebanon also reported the news. But social media quoted another Nusra leader, Abu Ilyas, as insisting that Golani was alive. Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) first announced its existence in early 2012, and it has claimed responsibility for many suicide bombings. It is thought to have 7,000 fighters and is considered one of the better equipped, trained and financed of the many an

'Counter-terrorism' measures now apply to all: human rights group

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Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie and Premier Campbell Newman  Photo: Glenn Hunt Human rights advocates are concerned they are witnessing “the drift of laws and policies once only applied to counter terrorism” creep into the public sphere. The director of International Advocacy of the Melbourne-based Human Rights Law Centre, Ben Schokman, said a raft of legislation passed by the government in recent months, from its juvenile justice stance to last week's bikie and sex offender legislation raised questions. But it was the anti-association laws and the mandatory sentences attached to the Vicious Lawless Associate Disestablishment legislation which has raised the most eyebrows. Mr Schokman said targeting particular groups within society was a “dangerous trend”. “It breaches a fundamental principle of a separation of powers and it's the executive which is stepping on the role which fundamentally should be played by courts and that is determining the appropriate sentence for people to

Interpol official: Armed citizens may be the best way to deter terrorism

In the aftermath of the terrible terrorist attack at the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya, during which 67 people were killed,   INTERPOL   Secretary Ronald Noble   is openly pondering the question of whether armed citizens are the best way to deter terrorism : In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Noble said there are really only two choices for protecting open societies from attacks like the one on Westgate mall where so-called “soft targets” are hit: either create secure perimeters around the locations or allow civilians to carry their own guns to protect themselves. “Societies have to think about how they’re going to approach the problem,” Noble said. “One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that. Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you’re going to have to pass through extraordinary security.” […] In the interview with ABC News, Noble was more blunt and directed his comments to his home country. “Ask