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Showing posts from December 24, 2017

‘Hurtful’ romantic film dramatising Bataclan terror attack put on hold

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French state TV has postponed the broadcast of a romantic film about a fictional couple who fall in love against the backdrop of the terrorist attack on the  Bataclan concert hall  in Paris, after a petition demanded the “hurtful” project be dropped.  The TV film, Ce soir-là (That Night), finished filming last week. But after the widow of a Bataclan victim gathered more than 38,000 signatures for an online petition, France’s main public TV channel,  France 2 , said the project had been put on hold while producers consulted survivors’ groups. On 13 November 2015, 130 people were killed in  coordinated terrorist attacks  in Paris and the suburb of St-Denis. Armed men entered the Bataclan concert hall during a gig by Eagles of Death Metal, killing 90 people and injuring scores of others over two hours. The film had been billed as “a great love story” between a woman living behind the Bataclan and a passerby who both help people fleeing the gunmen. When survivors later ask to meet

From fighting 'Islamic State' to rotting in Iraqi jail

Foreign fighters against "Islamic State" have been subjected to heavy mistreatment in Iraqi Kurdish prisons. Karlos Zurutuza and Ferran Barber spoke with western volunteers, and recounted months spent in jail. On a blank sheet of paper, Marcos sketches the plan of the Kurdish prison where he spent 95 days in captivity. "Just picture more than a hundred people inside a 65-square-meter [700 square foot] cell! We had to lie on our sides against each other to sleep, or even remain seated," the 47-year-old Spaniard told DW from his home in Rabanales, a village in northwestern Spain. Marcos, whose codename was "Dr. Delil," was one of three Spaniards imprisoned last August in the Irbil General Security Directorate, a huge compound in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan (KRG). He had served as a paramedic in the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a Yazidi armed group set up to protect this minority against radical Islamists, namely the "Islamic State" (I

US Airstrikes in Somalia Increasing Pressure on al-Shabab

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The United States military says its  support for the Federal Government of Somalia is making an impact  in a year in which the Trump administration increased attacks against al-Shabab militants. In 2017, the U.S. conducted at least 34 strike operations against al-Shabab and a militant splinter group supporting the Islamic State, according observers of U.S. military activities against al-Shabab. Last year there were 14 strikes. Thirty-one of the strikes targeted al-Shabab while the other three targeted pro-Islamic State militants in northeastern Puntland region. Since U.S. President Donald Trump eased combat rules in March and declared parts of Somalia a “war zone,” strike operations conducted by the U.S. have killed more than 155 militants, according to a press statement given by the Africa command.  Striking at al-Shabab At least 100 of those were killed November 21 in a single attack on a training camp near Leb-Adde Mountains in Bay region. In addition, in at least three st

UN Gathers Horror Stories from Rohingya Women Fleeing Myanmar

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Rohingya women who say they fled mistreatment by the military in Myanmar have told tales of horror that leading human rights groups have documented. Now, living in massive refugee camps and settlements near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, victims must deal with past traumas and face new risks. Rejina is a grandmother who didn't want her last name used. She said she has felt empty inside since losing contact with her 15-year-old granddaughter, following the army's first wave of so-called clearance operations targeting the teenager's village of Khadi Bil in Myanmar's Maungdaw township. The military action in October 2016 followed deadly insurgent attacks on border guard posts in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state. "I heard that the military came and entered the house and grabbed her and stole her property," said Rejina, 65, now living in the Kutipalong camp in Bangladesh. "They checked the house and grabbed whatever they wanted. If they found any

Religious Scholars Urge Afghan Taliban to Sever Ties With Terror Groups

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Afghan religious leaders Wednesday called on the Afghan Taliban to sever ties with terror groups and join the Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process. The High Peace Council (HPC), a government-funded body tasked with bringing insurgents to negotiations, invited more than 700 religious scholars from all 34 provinces of Afghanistan for a two-day conference in the capital, Kabul, to discuss peace efforts to help end the country's 16-year bloody insurgency. "Taliban should remove all those elements from their ranks and files that have ties with international terrorism and have no respect for Islamic and Afghan values," read a joint declaration released at the end of the conference. Attaullah Faizani, a religious scholar who attended the conference, said the Taliban must cease violence. "Taliban must respect the aspirations of the Afghan people and join the Afghan-owned and intra-Afghan peace talks," Faizani said. "Whatever their demands are must

Al Houthis radicalised after Saleh death: Lavrov

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Russia had long been seen as an ally of Al Houthis and Saleh Saeed Al Batati, Correspondent Image Credit: AFP Al Mukalla: The Iran-backed Al Houthis has become a radicalised movement after killing Yemen’s ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Russia believes only a political solution can end the crisis in Yemen, Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov said. Lavrov told RT on Monday that Al Houthi’s assassination of Saleh had made things worse in Yemen, and Russia has always advised militants to engage in talks with their opponents. “The assassination of Ali Abdullah Saleh, of course, has made this situation much more difficult and now Al Houthis have [become more] radicalised,” Lavrov said. Russia has long been seen as an ally of Al Houthis and Saleh, and sent a medical team in October to treat Saleh from wounds he suffered during an assassination attempt in 2011. Russia and Iran have kept a diplomatic presence inside Al Houthi-held Sana’a despite regular criticism from

Tibetan film-maker flees China, arrives in United States

The film, "Leaving Fear Behind", features a series of interviews with Tibetans who talk about how they still love their exiled spiritual leader and thought the 2008 Beijing Olympics would do little to improve their lives. A Tibetan film-maker jailed in China for making a film about the Olympics and Tibet has arrived in the United States after escaping from China, an activist group that campaigned for his release said. Dhondup Wangchen was jailed for six years in late 2009 in the western province of Qinghai after he made a documentary in which ordinary Tibetans praised the Dalai Lama and complained about how their culture had been trampled upon. The film, “Leaving Fear Behind”, features a series of interviews with Tibetans who talk about how they still love their exiled spiritual leader and thought the 2008 Beijing Olympics would do little to improve their lives. The film was shown in secret to a small group of foreign reporters in Beijing during the Olympics. In a st

US-led coalition confirms killing 16 civilians in Iraq, Syria

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This photo taken on September 5, 2017, shows smoke billowing out following a US-led coalition airstrike in the western al-Daraiya neighborhood of the embattled northern Syrian city of Raqqah. (Photo by AFP) The US-led coalition has acknowledged the deaths of sixteen more civilians in its airstrikes against what it called Daesh positions in Iraq and Syria. The coalition released the figure in a Thursday statement, claiming that the civilian deaths were unintentional. The statement claimed that the total number of civilians it has killed in both countries has reached 817 since it began airstrikes there more than three years ago. "To date, based on the information available, (the coalition) assesses at least 817 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes" since the beginning of the campaign in August 2014, the statement said. The reported estimate of civilian deaths comes as independent monitors have time and again challenged US-led coalition repo

Saudi military aircraft hit civilian areas in Yemen’s Sa’ada, kill 4

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Saudi military aircraft have pounded residential areas in Yemen’s northwestern province of Sa’ada, killing four civilians and injuring a number of others. According to Yemen’s al-Masirah television network, Saudi warplanes targeted the Ghamar district of the Arab country's mountainous province of Sa’ada early on Friday. One woman and a child were among those killed, the report added. Saudi raids have been met with a strong response from Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah fighters and allied forces. On Thursday, Yemeni armed forces targeted the positions of Saudi-backed mercenaries in the Arab country’s western coasts, killing or injuring around 50 militants and destroying their military vehicles. Dozens of Saudi-sponsored militants were also captured during the retaliatory operation. The latest Saudi airstrikes came only hours after a high-ranking UN official slammed the Saudi-led coalition for massacring more than a hundred civilians, including 54 at a crowded market and 14 m

Turkey detains 29 suspected Islamic State militants ahead of New Year

Turkey has suffered a series of deadly attacks blamed on IS militants, including a New Year's attack at an Istanbul nightclub by a gunman that killed 39 people. Turkey’s state-run news agency says police in the capital Ankara have detained 29 suspected Islamic State group militants, some of whom were allegedly preparing to carry out attacks during New Year celebrations. Anadolu Agency says the suspects, including foreign nationals, were detained in simultaneous raids early Friday. Anadolu says police had warrants to detain 17 other suspects. The agency says one of the suspects jumped out of a balcony to try and avoid arrest but was soon caught. Turkey has suffered a series of deadly attacks blamed on IS militants, including a New Year’s attack at an Istanbul nightclub by a gunman that killed 39 people. The country is stepping up security measures ahead of the celebrations. Authorities have cancelled several large-scale New Year’s Eve street parties in Istanbul. Source: 

Officials say 2 police killed in attack outside Cairo church

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian security officials say two policemen have been shot dead in an attack outside a church in a south Cairo suburb. The officials said a gunman opened fire outside a Coptic church before he was shot dead himself. They say the exchange of fire also injured three other people. The officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. Egypt's state-run MENA news agency, citing an unnamed official at the Interior Ministry, said Friday's attack in the Helwan neighborhood was carried out by two assailants; one of them fled the scene and was being chased down. A video circulated onsocial media after the attack apparently shows the dead gunman on the ground. Authorities have closed off the area around the church. Source:  https://in.news.yahoo.com/officials-2-police-killed-attack-outside-cairo-church-103024440.html

Terrorists re-entering Pakistan from western border: Interior minister

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Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Yousaf in Quetta. Photo: Geo News QUETTA: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday that the war against terrorism will continue in the country, explaining further that terrorists who had run away are now re-entering the country from its Western border to launch attacks. Iqbal was speaking to the media after visiting the Bethel Memorial Church where at least nine people were killed and 50 injured in a terrorist attack on December 17.   Iqbal assured the Christian community that the federal and provincial governments stand with them in solidarity. "Every Pakistani should feel safe in the country," he said.   Advising the country's political parties to promote brotherhood and unity, the minister said this is not the time to pull each other’s legs.  "Dharnas will favour the terrorists who want to spread uncertainty in the country," he said, adding that it is our duty to ensure peace

Spain's economy seen growing strongly despite Catalan crisis

MADRID (AP) — Spain's central bank says strong exports are likely to help the economy grow by a quarterly rate of 0.8 percent in the last three months of the year despite the negative effects of the Catalan political crisis. Spain's economy is set to expand by 3.1 percent in 2017, but the government revised its estimate for 2018 from 2.6 percent to 2.3 percent because of uncertainty created by the since-ousted Catalan regional government's push for independence in October. The central bank said Wednesday buoyant exports overall made up for the economic fallout in prosperous Catalonia. Its figures are estimates and official data will be published by the National Statistics Institute next month. Spain emerged from recession in late 2013 and is now one of the European Union's fastest-growing economies. Source:  https://in.news.yahoo.com/spains-economy-seen-growing-strongly-105925644.html

Philippines' island suffers 'massive' human rights abuses, warns UN

A Muslim indigenous community on the Philippine island of Mindanao has suffered widespread human right abuses that could intensify with President Rodrigo Duterte's extension of martial law there, UN-appointed experts said. Duterte has called the island a "flashpoint for trouble" and for atrocities by Islamist and communist rebels. Lawmakers this month overwhelmingly backed his plan to extend martial law there through 2018, which would be the country's longest period of such emergency rule since the 1970's era of strongman Ferdinand Marcos. The militarisation has displaced thousands of the Lumad people and some have been killed, said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, the UN Human Rights Council's special rapporteurs on the rights of indigenous peoples and internally displaced people. "They are suffering massive abuses of their human rights, some of which are potentially irreversible," the pair said in a statement late on Wedn

Special Report: In a hospital ward in Yemen, the collapse of a nation

ADEN (Reuters) - Nahla Arishi, chief paediatrician at the al-Sadaqa hospital in this Yemeni port city, had not seen diphtheria in her 20-year career. Then, late last month, a three-year-old girl with high fever was rushed to Arishi’s ward. Her neck was swollen, and she gasped for air through a lump of tissue in her throat. Eight days later, she died.  Nahla Arishi, a pediatrician, attends to a boy infected with diphtheria at the al-Sadaqa teaching hospital in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen December 18, 2017. Picture taken December 18, 2017. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman Soon after, a 10-month-old boy with similar symptoms died less than 24 hours after arriving at the hospital.      Two five-year-old cousins were admitted; only one survived.      A 45-day-old boy, his neck swollen and bruised, lasted a few hours. His last breath was through an oxygen mask.      One morning in early December, 16-month-old Sameh arrived at the hospital carried by his aunt and delirious with fe

Sniffer dogs, snipers, analysts: Tightest security ever for New Year’s Eve at Times Square

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New York’s Times Square will have bag-inspecting officers and metal detectors and trained dogs to sniff out trace amounts of explosive particles that trail behind someone carrying a bomb. Associated Press, New York Police are promising a bigger security detail than ever before in Times Square for this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration, which will cap off a year that saw a number of deadly attacks on innocent crowds, including a vehicle rampage at the very spot where revelers will ring in 2018. In addition to its usual army of snipers, bag-inspecting officers and metal detectors, the department this year is relying on help from a growing corps of “vapor wake” dogs, which are trained to sniff out trace amounts of explosive particles that trail behind someone carrying a bomb. All 125 parking garages in the vicinity of Times Square will be emptied in advance of the celebration and sealed off, so no one has a chance to sneak in a car bomb, police said. Detectives already hav