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Showing posts from August 2, 2015

Cali police dismantles gang accused of 100 homicides

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Police in Cali have arrested 23 alleged members of a local gang that is accused of being behind more than 100 homicides throughout Colombia’s third largest city.  The gang called reportedly was a major affiliate of the Los Rastrojos drug cartel which operates from the Valle del Cauca province of which Cali is the capital. According to local newspaper El Pais, the gang operated from the west of the city, and had approximately 80 members at the beginning of this year. The gang reportedly oversaw the distribution of arms in the city and ordered contract killings with smaller street gangs controlling approximately one third of the city, mainly in the east. Among those arrested on Thursday was “El Calvo,” the leader of the gang who reportedly responded directly to one of the Rastrojos’ chiefs, “Boliqueso.” Following the surrender and arrest of the Rastrojos’ founders in 2012, the seconds-in-command of the organization decides to set up an affiliate structure, dividing territory

Suspected pirates attack military base in Nigeria's southern delta, kill five

YENAGOA, Nigeria, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Suspected pirates travelling by speedboat killed four soldiers and a policeman and stole weapons in a raid on a military base in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta region, the police and armed forces said on Saturday. The gunmen attacked the mixed military and police Joint Task Force (JTF) base at Nembe in Bayelsa state at around 11.30 p.m. (2230 GMT) on Friday, police spokesman Asinim Butswat said. The delta region is home to most of the oil and gas reserves in Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude producer and also its biggest economy. "Four speedboats loaded with unknown gunmen, suspected to be sea pirates, attacked the JTF base at Nembe waterfront... killing four soldiers and one policeman," said Butswat. The suspected pirates took weapons from the base, he said. He said a combined military and police team was searching local creeks to find the attackers. Defence spokesman Colonel Rabe Abubakar said "suspected oil bunkerers"

Ex-Neo Nazi: Right-wing extremists ‘on the verge of doing something horrible’ over same-sex marriage

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former neo-Nazi and white supremacist   warned website The Trace   that he foresees extreme acts of violence in the nation’s future over the Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in all fifty states. In a candid interview, ex-skinhead Arno Michaelis told The Trace about how he joined the White Power movement at the age of 16 when he joined a Milwaukee gang and became the lead singer of a punk/metal band called Centurion. He and his friends set about arming themselves when they moved their headquarters into a largely Latino area. “Guns are a staple, a central element” of white supremacist culture, Michaelis said. “There’s this idea that there’s a huge noble cause you have to fight for, and if you don’t win, all is lost,” he said. “For white supremacists, it’s genocide against white people. If you’re targeted in genocide, you better arm yourself and form some kind of resistance.” “The idea is to start a race war. The thinking is: The world is so messed up, there’

Reclaim Australia: Neo-Nazis harnessing movement

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The Australian Freedom Party’s Nick Folkes. ‘We don’t want anything to do with Squadron 88.’ Picture: John Feder   Source:   News Corp Australia One of the most notorious neo-Nazi websites in the US is being used to recruit people to attend Reclaim Australia rallies. Australian-based groups are using The Daily Stormer, a white supremacist website that takes its name from the Nazi propaganda newspaper,   Der Sturmer . An investigation by   The Weekend Australian   into Reclaim Australia has found neo-Nazi groups, including Squadron 88, are attempt­ing to infiltrate the movement. Squadron 88, based in Sydney’s inner west, takes its name from H, the eighth letter of the alphabet, as shorthand for “Heil Hitler”. On July 17, four neo-Nazis from Squadron 88 boarded a bus of activis­ts travelling from Sydney to Melbourne for a Reclaim Australia rally. Two were forced off the bus by organisers along the way, while two made it to Melbourne. Last month Squadron 88 distribut­ed an

Police: Man with Neo-Nazi tattoos charged in East Austin stabbings

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AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin police said multiple people were stabbed after a brawl that spawned from heckling at an East Austin venue. Austin Police Department received the call at 8:45 p.m. for a disturbance at Trailer Space Record Shop located at 1401 Rosewood Ave. Jimmy Baylor Police said the incident started when Jimmy Baylor, 23, entered the venue and began listening to the music being played. Police said he took off his shirt, displaying the Neo-Nazi swastika tattoos on the front of his chest, and joined in a mosh pit. APD said, at some point, political views were discussed and a fight began. The fight moved outside the venue where, police said, the suspect pulled a knife and stabbed five or six people of varied races. All victims were taken to UMC Brackenridge with non-life threatening injuries. Baylor was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault, with additional charges of Aggravated Assault pending. APD said they are not investigating the stabbings as a hate cri

Emails reveal collaboration between Urabeños and FARC

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Emails released by authorities on Wednesday reportededly revealed that neo-paramilitary group Los Urabeños and FARC rebels have been partnering to traffic drugs and stockpile weapons. In one of the undated emails, a FARC guerrilla with the nom de guerre “Ruben Manteco” writes to alias “Pastor Alape,” one of the FARC’s chief commanders and representatives in Havana for peace talks between the group and the Colombian government. The message refers to a gift offered to the FARC by “Otoniel,” the boss of the Urabeños. According to the email correspondence, Otoniel sent $170,000 (500 million pesos) as a gesture with which to provide the FARC confidence in his reliability. Alape subsequently instructs Ruben Manteco to receive the gift, adding that Manteco should focus on negotiations for the supply of arms and ammunition once confidence in the partnership is established. Another email chain between the two parties demonstrates a desire for collaboration in the smuggling of drugs

Jailed FARC rebels call for amnesty in Colombia

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Bogota (AFP) - Any peace deal to end Colombia's five-decade guerrilla war must include an amnesty for imprisoned FARC rebels, two of them told AFP in a rare interview from jail The issue is one of the most delicate at peace talks in Cuba between President Juan Manuel Santos's government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The talks, which opened in November 2012, are seen as the best chance yet to end a war that has killed more than 200,000 people and uprooted six million. But to succeed, they will have to find a way to balance the desire for justice with the need to move on from a messy conflict in which human rights groups say atrocities have been committed on all sides. "Everyone -- first and foremost the Colombian government's forces -- has made mistakes," said Luis Marulanda, 44, who was captured in 2001 when the Marxist rebels raided a police station. "If the armed forces aren't going to be punished, we can't be pun

Foreigners rescued as Mali hotel siege leaves seven dead

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Bamako (AFP) - Five foreigners have been evacuated and a "number" of hostages freed after they were trapped by gunmen in a hotel standoff with soldiers in central Mali that left at least seven people dead, military sources said early Saturday. "We can not say that everything is finished, but a number of hostages" were freed by Malian forces deployed around the Hotel Byblos in Sevare, a source told AFP. Another military source said Malian Special Forces had rescued the hostages, including five foreigners "who were evacuated to Bamako". The source was unable to specify their nationalities. The attackers had stormed the hotel, frequented by foreign visitors and troops, at around 7:00 am (0700 GMT) Friday, according to the government. Malian forces cordoned off the area but their efforts against the gunmen were made "sensitive" by the presence of hostages, a military source said Friday. It was not clear how many people were still being hel

IS Audio Vows More Attacks Following Saudi Mosque Bombing

CAIRO — The Islamic State group has released an audio recording purporting to feature the suicide bomber who killed 15 people at a police compound mosque in Saudi Arabia. The audio, along with a photo of the suicide bomber identified as Abu Sinan al-Najdi, was posted late Friday on IS-affiliated Twitter accounts. The speaker on the recording vowed more attacks, saying Saudi rulers and troops "will not enjoy peace" for taking part in the U.S.-led coalition battling IS in Iraq and Syria. He urged other militants to carry out suicide bombings, saying explosive belts are more effective than firearms. The attack in Abha on Thursday was one of the deadliest against Saudi Arabia's security personnel in years. Most of the victims were members and recruits of the kingdom's special forces Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/08/08/world/middleeast/ap-ml-saudi-arabia.html?_r=0

Man Detained in Delhi Allegedly Wanted Job as Islamic State Spokesperson

A 48-year-old former journalist from Mumbai has been detained from outside the Iraq Embassy in Delhi, where he had allegedly gone to request that his curriculum vitae or CV be forwarded to the terror group Islamic State for the post of its spokesperson. The Iraq embassy called the police, who detained the man, Zubair Khan, and are now questioning him. Mr Khan came to Delhi three days ago and had also visited the Press Council of India office to ask them for a certificate that would help him gain employment as the IS spokesperson, the police said. The Delhi Police said Mr Khan seemed to be mentally disturbed, but have alerted the Intelligence Bureau and other agencies, including Mumbai's anti-terror squad about his requests.  The Mumbai Police have been looking for Zubair Khan after he allegedly said in a Facebook post that he would give up his Indian citizenship and the join the Islamic State. A Facebook user reported the post. Zubair's brother Fakruddin Khan has alleged

Considerable progress made in degrading Islamic State, claims White House

 In the last one year, the US and its allies have made considerable progress in degrading the capabilities of the Islamic State (IS) terror group that has gained control over a large territory in Libya, Syria and Iraq, the White House said on Friday. But as President  Barack Obama has said, this campaign will take time, and there will be setbacks along the way, but the US and its coalition partners have made progress and will ultimately prevail, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. Earnest said this on the occasion of one year anniversary of the commencement of airstrikes in  Iraq  against IS targets. "You will recall one year ago today, that IS had advanced unimpeded across Iraq. Fallujah and other parts of Anbar had already fallen earlier in the year. Mosul had fallen, Tikrit had fallen, Kirkuk had fallen. IS was advancing rapidly on Erbil and Baghdad, where US government personnel were located. And IS forces were laying siege to Sinjar Mountain, threatening

One service member killed in attack on Kabul base: NATO

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Afghans and foreigners inspect the site of an attack after an overnight battle outside a base in Kabul, Afghanistan   Reuters A NATO official says one international service member was killed in an attack on a military base in the Afghan capital. The nationality of the victim has not been released. NATO spokesman Col Brian Tribus said that the attack on Camp Integrity, on Kabul's outskirts, left two insurgents dead. He says the yesterday's attack involved at least two insurgents. Other details were not immediately released. The attack on the camp followed within hours of a suicide attack on a police academy in  Kabul  that killed 20 people and wounded at least 24. Earlier on Friday, a truck bomb in a residential area of Kabul killed 15 people and wounded more than 200. No one has claimed responsibility for any of the attacks. Related read:  Multiple bombings rock Kabul; 42 dead, several hundreds injured Source  http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-one-service-member-killed-in-at