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Showing posts from July 19, 2015

Islamic State Groups Growing North Caucasus Contingent NotJust Chechens'

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All that is known about Islamic State militant Abu Usama Daghestani is how and when he died and what he looked like just before. Even basic details -- his real name, where he came from in Daghestan, his age -- are all unknown. On June 13,  Abu Usama blew himself up  near the barracks of Iraqi security forces in Baiji, one of a deadly team of seven IS suicide bombers. His real identity is a mystery. But Abu Usama is one of several North Caucasian militants -- exact figures are unknown -- to have been killed in Baiji recently. He is also one of a growing number of IS militants from the North Caucasus republics of Daghestan, Ingushetia, and Karachai-Cherkessia. Though Russian-speaking militants in Syria and Iraq are usually lumped together as "Chechens," IS's increasingly powerful North Caucasian contingent is becoming more and more diverse. The rise in the number of North Caucasians fighting alongside IS comes at the militant group's North Caucasian fa

In the Philippines: Thousands attend funeral of New Peoples Armycommander

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On July 10, ten thousand Filipinos came to pay their last respects and tribute to their beloved Leoncio Pitao, also known as Commander Parago of the New Peoples Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Leonico Pitao On June 28, Ka (Comrade) Parago was assassinated by the U.S-backed Philippine government’s military while he was being treated for an illness. Vanessa Limpag (Ka Kyle), a young medic who was providing treatment, was also gunned down. Both were unarmed. Mourners poured in from the various communities of the Davao region and the surrounding provinces of Surigao and Agusan in Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. Families came with their young children to see the legendary people’s hero for the last time. Ka Parago, often referred to as “tatay” (father) by the masses of people, was a veteran of over 37 years in the struggle for national liberation and socialism, starting with the fight against the U.S-backed Marcos dictatorship up to and

Palparan, 8 others to be indicted for kidnap of sibling farmers

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday (July 24) ordered the indictment of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and eight others for the 2006 kidnapping and illegal detention of brothers Reynaldo and Raymond Manalo in Bulacan. The brothers, both of them farmers, were kidnapped in February 2006 in San Ildefonso, Bulacan for being suspected members of the communist New People's Army (NPA). After managing to escape their captors in 2007, they claimed that they had been tortured. According to the Ombudsman, the concerted acts of the perpetrators showed that they agreed to commit the felony and decided to pursue it. Palparan, whom human rights activists call "The Butcher," was accused of ordering the arrest of the two. Palparan himself was arrested last year by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for the kidnapping of two University of the Philippines students — Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan — who remain missing. He and h

Kyiv LGBT Hand-Holding Experiment Ends In Neo-Nazi Attack

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MOSCOW -- A video experiment in which a gay couple strolled around Kyiv hand-in-hand to gauge homophobic sentiment went largely without incident until the pair was surrounded by a gang of young men who "pepper-sprayed" and attacked them in broad daylight. Published on YouTube on July 22, the video initially shows two men, Zoryan Kis and Tymur Levchuk, attracting little more than the occasional stare as they walk around the Ukrainian capital. Zoryan Kis says nobody had said anything to him and his partner until they were suddenly attacked But toward the end of the clip, one of them sits on the other's lap on a bench on Khreschatyk, the central street in Kyiv where protesters camped out during the Euromaidan unrest in 2013-14. They are then approached and surrounded by a gang of around 10 young men -- described by Kis as "neo-fascist or extreme-right men" -- who he says first engaged them in conversation to avoid drawing the attention of the pol

Fight against leftist extremists: The megaphones remain mute

It is easy to overlook the megaphones affixed to poles all over this small town. Ubiquitous leftovers from last night’s  shaadi  or  satsang , you would think. But this lot once had a loftier purpose. They brought to life every morning ‘Sukma Ta Mata’ (STM), literally ‘Sukma’s Talk’. It was an innovative narrowcasting project that the district administration devised in March 2012 to reach out to locals in Gondi and Halbi, the two most widely spoken indigenous languages in Chhattisgarh’s south. With Hindi still limited in its extent here, the outreach in local languages quickly gained popularity.  Every day, between 7.00 a.m. and 8.00 a.m., non-Hindi speaking locals clustered around these 60-odd poles at different public venues to listen to pre-recorded programmes that familiarised them with the government’s development schemes. Not just that, the project also became an output for the musical talent of locals and a platform for them to discuss cultural and social matters in their langua

Top Maoist commander killed in Jharkhand

RANCHI: A top Maoist commander Sylvester Minz, carrying a cash reward of Rs 15 lakh on his head, was killed early Saturday morning in an encounter with security forces at Dipatoli village under Chainpur police station in Gumla district, 100km from here, police claimed. A key aide of Sylvester however was nabbed in the battleground after his boss was killed. Police recovered the AK-47 Sylvester reportedly carried along with one 315 rifle at the spot. Police spokesperson and ADG (operations) S N Pradhan confirmed the development. Pradhan claimed Sylvester was secretary of Bihar Jharkhand North Chhatisgarh special area committee of the CPI Maoist. "Sylvester and his team had come to the village to rest last night. The police got the wind of their arrival and a quick response team was formed to raid the location. A gunbattle ensued when the forces surrounded Dipatoli village and asked the Maoists to surrender," CRPF IG Jharkhand sector Rakesh Kumar Mishra said. The police are how

Human rights fears as Tunisia votes in terror laws

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Tunisia has voted in favour of the country’s new anti-terror laws after two attacks against tourists left the economy facing ruin. There are fears the legislation could endanger the north African nation’s freedoms, which have been many years in the making. Of all the countries that went through uprisings during the 2011 Arab Spring, Tunisia was the only one to emerge with a functioning democracy. But in the wake of the terror attacks against tourists the new government has put stability and security over personal freedoms, campaigners have warned. A statement by a coalition of ten Tunisian civil society groups Source http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/africa/article4508437.ece

Kenya hotbed of culture not terror: President Kenyatta

NAIROBI: President Uhuru Kenyatta today described Kenya as a "hotbed of vibrant culture" in a swipe at broadcaster CNN, which cause anger here after it said US President Barack Obama was visiting a "hotbed of terror".  The report sparked widespread criticism with Kenyans mocking the report on social media, many posting images of the east African nation's famous tourist sites, with hashtag #SomeoneTellCNN trending on Twitter worldwide.  The Kenyan government also said CNN should apologise for what it claimed was "a pattern of anti-Kenya propaganda" by the news channel.  "Kenya is a hotbed of vibrant culture, spectacular natural beauty, and infinite possibility," Kenyatta said, in a speech at a business summit in Nairobi, standing alongside Obama.  Kenya has been hit by a series of suicide attacks, massacres and bombings by the Somali-led and al-Qaida-affiliated Shebab insurgents.  Two years ago a Shebab assault on the Westgate shopping mall in

Suspected Islamists kill 21 in Borno, Nigeria

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Image for representational purposes only.   AFP At least 21 people were killed in a new attack by suspected Islamists in a village in northeastern  Borno state, causing many to flee, residents said on Saturday. "The terrorists stormed Maikadiri around 9:00 am and opened fire on hapless citizens," said resident Simon Templer. "They laid siege in daylight because there are no soldiers or police nearby," said another resident, Markus Ali, adding: "We counted 21 corpses." The attackers "killed, destroyed and then fled," Ali said. A police officer in the Borno state capital Maiduguri confirmed the attack while requesting anonymity. Templer added, "My aged mother is currently in the bush.Most of our people have fled and many houses and shops have been burnt." Maikadari is in southern Borno near the vast Sambisa forest, a longstanding hideout of the Islamist group Boko Haram. The Nigerian army has led a series of raids against them in recent m

At least 55 killed as Saudi-led warplanes hit Yemen's Taiz: Saba

SANAA (Reuters) - A Saudi-led airstrike on Yemen's Taiz killed at least 55 people and left tens injured, Houthi-controlled news agency Saba said on Saturday. A coalition of Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia, has been bombarding Iran-allied Houthi forces in Yemen since late March in a bid to reinstate President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has fled to Riyadh. The Saba agency quoted a local source in Taiz as saying that the bombing targeted the Mokha area inhabited mostly by engineers and workers of a power station and some displaced families. The number of casualties is expected to rise as rescue services are still working in the area and several of those injured and transferred to nearby hospitals are in serious condition, the source said. The frontlines of Yemen's war shifted to the favor of the Gulf Arab coalition earlier this month when in coordination with forces loyal to Hadi they managed to drive the Houthis out of the southern port city of Aden and much of the surrounding

Saudis land in Aden with equipment to re-open airport - Arabiya TV

 | Reuters ADEN  Two Saudi aircraft landed at Aden on Friday bringing equipment needed to re-open the city's airport four months after the Yemeni civil war shut it down, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported. Aden International Airport was recaptured on July 14 by Gulf Arab-backed Yemeni forces as they drove Iranian-allied Houthi forces out of the southern port city and much of the surrounding areas. Houthi fighters allied with army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh captured Aden in March and April at the outset of the country's four-month-old war, dealing a blow to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, an ally of Saudi Arabia and the United States. Hadi and his aides fled to Riyadh as Houthi forces, who had seized the capital in September, closed in on Aden. In the wake of Aden's recapture, his ministers are slowly returning there. If the airport resumes regular operations using the equipment carried by the plane that landed on Friday, then the city is expected t

Turkey war planes bomb seven Kurdish militant targets in North Iraq

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Representational Image   Reuters Turkish war planes overnight hit seven targets of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and also pressed on with strikes against Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria, the Turkish prime minister's office said on Saturday. "Strikes were carried out on targets of the  Daesh  (IS) terror group in Syria and the PKK terror group in northern Iraq," it said in a statement, saying shelters and warehouses containing PKK weapons were hit in the northern Iraq operation. It listed seven locations in northern Iraq where the strikes had been carried out, including Mount Kandil where the PKK's military leadership is based. In addition to the air raids, Turkish ground forces also carried out artillery strikes against IS in Syria and the PKK in northern Iraq, the statement said. Prime Minister  Ahmet Davutoglu convened a meeting of top ministers and security officials early on Saturday at around 2:00 am (local time) in Ankara to d

Female Pirates: Not a Myth

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The history of piracy is full of clichés. Thanks to classics like  Treasure Island  and blockbusters like  Pirates of the Caribbean , the word “pirate” still conjures the image of a rugged British man with an eye patch, a parrot and a horrid accent. Yet the world’s most successful buccaneer might have been Chinese — and a woman. Ching Shih — also known as Cheng I Sao — instilled fear in the hearts of merchants across the China Sea in the early 19th century. During her relatively short run as a pirate lord — only about a decade — this ruthless and cunning woman went from being a prostitute to commanding the famous “Red Flag Fleet” and sending hundreds of thousands of men into battle. She was a prostitute in one of Canton’s floating brothels when pirates captured her at age 26. To her surprise, she was asked to marry one of them, Cheng Ch’i, who belonged to a long and famous dynasty of sea thieves. From then onwards, they were partners in bed and business. With her help, Cheng Ch’i manag

Militants asks Kashmiri girls to observe purdah or face consequences

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Image for representational purpose only  Girls beware! Next time you will be seen without purdah (veil), you may have to face the wrath of  militants in south Kashmir. Handwritten posters of  Hizbul Mujahidin  have surfaced in Pulwama town of South Kashmir cautioning the management of schools against not observing purdah by the girl students. Militants have also set a 24 hours deadline for the  beauty parlours  to shut their businesses or be ready to face the consequences. Written in Urdu on the letter head of Hizbul with a stamp, the threat posters have also warned people against immorality like drug abuse and alcoholism. "We appeal to the management of the schools to ask the girls to observe purdah in Pulwama. We are also giving 24 hours ultimatum to all the beauty parlours to shut their shops. Failing which they shall be responsible for dangerous consequences," reads the English translation of the Hizbul threat posters. Hizbul militants have also asked the youth to stay aw

Can the Middle East tackle Islamist militancy?

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Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi offers a personal view on the difficulties presented by trying to tackle Islamist extremism in the Middle East. If you watch Saudi television, as I sometimes do, you will quickly realise that Saudi Arabia is tragicomically caught in the huge gap between the image it tries to project and the reality it pretends does not exist. Last Saturday was such a moment. After the announcement that the interior ministry had  broken up terror cells  linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) and arrested some 400 suspects, Saudi commentators took to the airwaves. They praised the police for thwarting planned terrorists attacks and, crucially, noted the young age of the suspects, most of whom were Saudis.  They talked about how Saudi society could steer those stray, lost souls back to the path of true Islam and away from extremism. Advertisement The irony couldn't have escaped anyone who knows Saudi Arabia well. How could this ultra-conservative monarchy fight ext

Turkey expands bombing raids to PKK targets in Iraq

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Turkish fighter jets have bombed military positions of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in neighbouring Iraq. The air raids came just hours after Turkish planes pounded Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) positions in Syria on Friday morning, marking a significant shift in Ankara's position on how to deal with armed groups in Syria and Iraq. "Strikes were carried out on targets of the Daesh [ISIL] terror group in Syria and the PKK terror group in northern Iraq," the prime minister's office said in a statement, adding that shelters and warehouses containing PKK weapons were hit in the northern Iraq operation. The planes took off from their base in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir to carry out the strikes against ISIL and the PKK and all returned safely to base early on Saturday, the official Anatolia news agency reported. PKK spokesman Bakhtiar Dogan said the strikes targeted mountain positions in the north of Dohuk province, which is part of the s