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Showing posts from May 26, 2019

Scotland initiates fresh bid for independent statehood

Scotland's pro-independence government on Wednesday tabled legislation that would pave the way for a second referendum on Scottish independence (Representational Image)  |  Photo Credit: Getty Images Glasgow: Scotland's pro-independence government on Wednesday tabled legislation that would pave the way for a second referendum on Scottish independence. The Referendums (Scotland) Bill was launched by Constitutional Relations Secretary, Mike Russell, of the governing Scottish National Party (SNP), at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Al Jazeera reported. The new legislation, which does not suggest a date for any poll, comes just days after the SNP's celebrated sweeping victory in recently held European Parliament elections. Results showed that the SNP party topped the polls in 30 out of 32 Scottish council areas and gained three out of six seats allocated to Scotland as part of the United Kingdom's (UK) designated 73 members

Cyber Security : New Zealand Treasury Website Hacked on Eve of Budget, Crucial Data Stolen

Wellington: Ahead of its much speculated "well-being budget" scheduled on Thursday, hackers stole crucial information from New Zealand's Treasury website. Someone made more than 2,000 unauthorised attempts that appeared to be directed at Budget-related information, nzherald.co.nz reported on Wednesday, adding that Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf confirmed the hack. While it was not clear whether the hack had come from within New Zealand or outside, Makhlouf said that would form part of the police investigation. According to a report in the BBC, New Zealand's main opposition party, which leaked details of the budget two days ahead of schedule on Tuesday, has denied hacking into the government's computer systems. The National Party said it got the information legitimately. National Party leader Simon Bridges accused Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's government of conducting a "witch-hunt" to cover up its embarra

US blocks over $46 million in funds of terrorist groups: Report

WASHINGTON: The US blocked more than $46 million in funds of designated terrorist groups, including Pakistan-based outfits, until the last year as part of its crackdown on foreign terrorist organisations and individuals, according to an annual report. The report released by the US Department of Treasury states the US blocked nearly $400,000 in funds of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and $1,725 of the Jaish-e Mohammed. The Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is the leading US Government agency responsible for implementing sanctions against the assets of international terrorist organisations and terrorism-supporting countries. The federal body implements these sanctions as part of its general mission to administer and enforce economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals. According to the report, till 2018, the US blocked more than $46.1 million in funds of designated terrorist groups and indi

Fundamentalism: Pakistan Seals 7 Schools in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for Inciting Mass Hysteria Against Polio Drive

Peshawar: Seven private schools in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province have been sealed for inciting mass hysteria against the polio drive and discouraging parents from cooperating with vaccination teams. Pakistan is one of the three countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio is still endemic. Attempts to eradicate the crippling disease have been seriously hampered by deadly targeting of vaccination teams in recent years by militants, who oppose the drives, claiming the polio drops cause infertility. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial government found the management of these schools guilty of spreading hate against polio vaccination, Babar Bin Atta, Prime Minister Imran Khan's Focal Person on Polio Eradication Programme, said in a tweet on Wednesday. The schools were responsible for "inciting innocent parents to violence resulting in attacks on polio teams and mass hysteria," he said. On April 22,

Taliban Co-Founder Emerges As Group's New Face In Russia Peace Talks

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Abdul Ghani Baradar addressed a room full of Afghan power brokers. When members of the Taliban and Afghan politicians met Tuesday in the Russian capital for talks aimed at ending the war in their country, one face in particular stood out: Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban and the head of its political office, who spoke publicly for the first time about the need for a peace deal. Baradar's comments showed that the insurgency's leadership was willing to advance peace talks and signaled that efforts to end the protracted US-led war in Afghanistan could be gaining momentum despite continued deadly attacks by the Taliban across the country. "The Islamic Emirate is firmly committed to peace, but the first step is to remove obstacles and end the occupation of Afghanistan," Baradar said, referring to the Taliban by the group's preferred name. The Taliban has repeatedly called for the full withdrawal of US forces before any peace settlement

Myanmar military accused of ‘war crimes’ in Rakhine

Rights group Amnesty International has accused Myanmar’s military of committing “war crimes” against an ethnic Buddhist group in Rakhine State, after worldwide condemnation of the army for committing horrific atrocities against local Muslims there. The UK-based Amnesty announced on Wednesday it was in possession of “new evidence” indicating that Myanmar’s military was “committing war crimes and other human rights violations” against the ethnic rebels, citing extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances. Myanmar’s armed forces have reportedly deployed thousands of troops and heavy artillery across northern Rakhine, where so-called Arakan Army (AA) militants are battling the army in a bid to win more autonomy for the state’s ethnic Buddhists. Rakhine was also the scene of a brutal crackdown and carnage by the country’s military against the Rohingya Muslim community between 2017 and 20

Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia cooperate in counter-terrorism matters

May 29, 2019: President Duterte won another election, even if he was not on the ballot. The final results of the May 13 national elections are in and, as expected pro- Duterte candidates replaced a lot of anti-Duterte legislators. Pro-Duterte politicians now have majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Many Duterte critics are gone. Duterte continues to have high opinion poll ratings because he promised economic growth and less crime. He has delivered on both counts and is also making visible progress in reducing corruption. President Duterte was elected in 2016 because his previous experience as a big city mayor showed that he might actually be able to carry out his campaign promises to reduce corruption and drug-related crime nationwide. According to recent polls, Duterte still has the highest approval and trust ratings of any Filipino president, especially

Syria’s resolve to free entire land sends warning to US forces: Analyst

Political commentator Jason Unruhe says Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Ja’afari has sent a warning to the American forces illegally deployed to Syria by stressing the Damascus government’s resolve to rid the entire country of terrorists and foreign forces. The senior diplomat told a UN Security Council session on Tuesday that “Syria will liberate all its territory from terrorism and from any illegitimate foreign presence in the country.” Source: https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/05/29/597199/Idlib-territorial-integrity-Syria-foreign-forces

Iraq repatriates 188 children of Turkish Daesh terrorists

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Iraq has handed over nearly 200 Turkish children, whose parents are being held over membership in the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and other militant outfits, to Turkey to fly home. Abdul Sattar al-Biraqdar, spokesman for Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, said the handover took place at Baghdad International Airport on Wednesday, and representatives of the Iraqi judiciary, Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Turkish embassy and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) were present until the children got on a plane that would take them home. “The Central Investigations Court, which is responsible for the terrorism file and foreign suspects, has handed the Turkish side 188 children left behind by Daesh terrorists in Iraq,” Biraqdar added. The high-ranking Iraqi judiciary official further noted that the figure included a small percentage of adults, who were convicted of illegally crossing the borde

Terror funds: Zakir Naik's trust, personal accounts got dubious donations from unknown 'well wishers': ED

NEW DELHI: Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik received crores of funds in his and his trusts' bank accounts from unidentified "well wishers" over the years for his speeches that spread "hatred and incited Muslim youths" to take up terrorism , an ED probe has found. The Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), Mumbai-based charity trust promoted and controlled by Naik, "allegedly received funds in the form of donations and zakat (a form of alms giving in Islam) from domestic as well as overseas donors from countries like the United Arab Emirates , Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Malaysia among others," the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said. According to the ED probe report accessed by the PTI, the IRF maintained various bank accounts in which funds from the donors were being deposited and they were controlled by Zakir Abdul Karim Naik, the 53-year-old Islamic evangelist's full name. "These bank accounts are held wi

Reckoning with the Shining Path and its Legacy in Peru

On the evening of May 17, 1980, five masked men entered the village clerk’s office in Chuschi, Peru, tied up the clerk, and set fire to a stack of paper ballots intended for the next day’s election. Peru was about to vote in its first presidential contest after 12 years of military rule. But nearly four decades later, the country is still reckoning with what began the evening before: a bloody attempt at revolution by the Shining Path, a Maoist rebel group that would terrorize Peru for the next decade and into the 1990s. The conflict left some 70,000 people dead at the hands of Shining Path terrorists and the police fighting against them. Today, the supporters and family of Alberto Fujimori, the imprisoned former president often credited with ending the conflict, continue to shape politics despite his conviction for crimes against humanity. Leftist parties, meanwhile, struggle to break through in a population scarred by the Shining Path’s barbarism. The publication of

Army hits NPA recruitment of minors in Surigao Sur: Left wing Extremism

SURIGAO CITY — The Army’s 36th Infantry Battalion (36IB) said it has validated yet again the continued recruitment of minors by communist rebels, in violation of Philippine laws. In a statement released Thursday, 36IB said it managed to confirm the recruitment of a minor following an encounter in Carmen, Surigao del Sur, on May 19 that killed four New People’s Army (NPA) combatants. Of the casualties, the 36IB said, was 18-year old Dylan Ghem Padilla Jimenez, whose mother told military authorities that her son fled their home in Carrascal, Surigao del Sur, after he was recruited by the rebels when he was 17. 1Lt. Jonald Romorosa, 36IB civil-military operations officer, said the troops found Jimenez wounded and rushed him to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician. By recruiting Jimenez when was still a minor, the 36IB said the NPA was liable for violating Republic Act 9851, or “an act defining and penalizing crimes against internati

Former FARC Guerrillas Competing in Australia Back in Colombia

Bogota, May 27 (Prensa Latina) The team of five ex-combatants of the Revolutionary Common Alternative Force (FARC), which competed in the World Rafting Championship in Australia with the message Rowing for Peace, returned to this capital Monday. The Revolutionary Common Alternative Force (FARC) is the Colombian political party founded in August 2017 by former -combatants of the guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), after the signing of the peace agreements between the government of Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC in 2016. This was highlighted in its Twitter account by the UN Mission for the Verification for Compliance with the Peace Agreement in Colombia. Duberney Moreno, captain of the team, composed of five ex-guerrillas of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP), and three residents of the community of Miravalle, department of Caquetá, said on his arrival in Bogota that for him, peace 'is to be ab

High-ranking PKK terrorist neutralized in southeastern Turkey

Turkish security forces in the southeastern province of Siirt neutralized two PKK terrorists, including one on the country's most-wanted list, in counterterrorism operations, the Interior Ministry confirmed in a statement Tuesday. Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured. The terrorists were neutralized in operations operations in the rural areas of the Çınarlısu neighborhood in the Tillo district, the statement said. The orange-listed terrorist was identified as Naif Meral, who went by the code-name "Ferman Gabar." He had a TL 600,000 ($98,731) bounty on his head. The Interior Ministry's wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red marking the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and gray, depending on the degree of their crimes. Turkey has neutralized 420 high-level terrorists, including 1

HRW: Abuses in Egypt's Sinai amount to war crimes

Egyptian security forces have committed widespread abuses against civilians in restive northern Sinai Peninsula , some of which amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) said on Tuesday, urging other nations to halt military assistance. In a 134-page report titled If You Are Afraid for Your Lives, Leave Sinai!, the group said it documented arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial killings, forced evictions, and possibly unlawful air and ground attacks against civilians. "Some of these abuses, part of an ongoing campaign against members of the local ISIS affiliate, the Wilayat Sina' [Sinai Province group], amount to war crimes," the report said. ISIS is an alternative acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group ( ISIL ). Egyptian officials had no immediate comment. HRW compiled the report over two years interviewing more than 50 residents of the Sinai Peninsula, in northeast Egypt , where independen

“To know in first person what it feels like to be oppressed”: ‘Canción sin nombre’ by Melina León in Cannes

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The moment a woman gives birth is the most vulnerable she will ever feel in life. And in the midst of her labor pains, the overwhelming feelings of bringing a new human being into her world of uncertain future, Georgina, a young woman from the Andes, becomes the victim of the worst kind of crime inflicted on a mother. Her baby is stolen and trafficked into illegal adoption. Georgina (the gorgeous Pamela Mendoza, who gives a haunting performance in the film) has moved to the desert outskirts of Lima in Peru to escape the violence of the Shining Path and the military fighting each other during the 1980’s political crisis gripping the country. But Georgina’s story could be the story of a woman in an African country or even in Venezuela, at the moment. As a woman, she is at best ignored and dismissed when she tries to file a claim that her child has gone missing. As an indigenous woman, she could be criminalized for her lack of papers. Fact is, those who perpetrated the

Turkey ‘begins operation against Kurdish militants in Iraq’

Turkey says it has launched a military operation against Kurdish militants in a mountainous area of northern Iraq. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said that the campaign, dubbed “Operation Claw,” kicked off in Iraq’s Hakurk region at 8 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) on Monday. Over the past hours, artillery fire and airstrikes have targeted shelters and ammunition depots belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the statement said, adding that the bombardment had been followed by the deployment of Turkish commando brigades, T-129 ATAK helicopters, and drones. “This operation aims to demolish the caves and shelters that are being used by terrorist groups and to eliminate terrorists,” it said. “The operation, with the support of our attack helicopters, is continuing as planned.” The Defense Ministry also published photos showing shells fired by howitzers and soldiers on ridges as well as foo

Jharkhand: 15 security personnel injured in attack by Maoists / Left wing extremists

Fifteen security personnel were injured after suspected Maoists detonated an improvised explosive device buried under a dirt track in Kuchai block in Jharkhand’s Seraikela Kharsawan district on Tuesday morning, PTI reported. After the blast, the suspects opened fire at the personnel. Inspector General of Police Ashish Batra said two of the injured are in a serious condition, PTI reported. The security personnel were on a special anti-Maoist operation when the incident took place. They were airlifted to Ranchi for treatment, ANI reported. The area where the attack occurred has been cordoned off and a search operation has been initiated to search for the suspects who fled the site. Meanwhile, Director General of Police DK Pandey said the Maoists planted the device to hinder the election process, ANI reported. “A joint operation by Central Reserve Police Force’s Cobra unit, Jharkhand Jaguar and Jharkhand Police is being conducted to clear the area,” Pandey said. Sour

Saudi Arabia Shoots Downs Attack Drone from Yemen Targetting Jizan Airport: Reports

Namche: Nepal's reluctance to limit the number of permits it issues to scale Mount Everest has contributed to dangerous overcrowding, with inexperienced climbers impeding others and causing deadly delays, seasoned mountaineers said. During the short period this season when the weather was clear enough to attempt the summit, climbers were crammed crampon-to-crampon above South Col's sharp-edged ridge, all clipped onto a single line of rope, trudging toward the top of the world and risking death as each minute ticked by. "There were more people on Everest than there should be," said Kul Bahadur Gurung, general secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, an umbrella group of all expedition operators in Nepal. Eleven people have died this season, the highest number since 2015. Most are believed to have suffered from altitude sickness, which is caused by low amounts of oxygen at high elevation and can cause headaches, vomiting, shortness of brea

Sri Lanka is 99% secure, Sirisena assures diplomats

Sri Lanka is “99%” secure, President Maithripala Sirisena told select Colombo-based diplomats on Monday, and urged countries to lift the travel ban imposed following the Easter attacks. “He [Mr. Sirisena] thanked the international community for the cooperation and assistance provided to Sri Lanka at this time of need and urged them to continue to provide economic assistance and lift the travel advisories issued to tourists,” according to a statement issued by his office. Mr. Sirisena, who met Ambassadors and High Commissioners of the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, United States, Germany, Australia and the European Union (EU) at his official residence, said that most of the terrorists and suspects linked to the bombings had been arrested and a huge quantity of explosives and weapons had been seized. The appeal comes days after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held a similar discussion with Colombo-based mission heads. Tourism is a major contributor to Sri

Syrian government forces intensify bombing, civilian deaths rise

The Syrian government offensive is reaching deeper into Idlib and Hama. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are intensifying military efforts to take Syria's last major rebel stronghold. The violence is forcing hundreds of thousands to head north towards Turkey in search of safety. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/syrian-government-forces-intensify-bombing-civilian-deaths-rise-190528124436652.html

Hameed Lelhari steps into terrorist Zakir Musa's shoes, becomes head of Al-Qaeda affiliated group

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Hameed Lelhari (in the photo) has stepped into Zakir Musa's shoes  Srinagar:  Terrorism in Kashmir Valley now has a new name. Al-Qaeda-affiliated group Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind has appointed Hameed Lelhari as its head following the death of its chief Zakir Musa in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district early on May 24. According to reports, Lalhari was the deputy when Musa ran the affairs of the terror group in the Valley. He is one of the 10 initial members of Musa's team, which has been nearly decimated by the security forces. Musa's gang had 10 members, eight of whom are now dead with only Lalhari and one other militant remaining.  Musa, who took the reigns of the terror group after Burhan Wani's encounter in 2017, was killed after a joint team of Army’s 42 RR, SOG and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in Tral village after receiving intelligence input abou

Myanmar: New evidence reveals Rohingya armed group massacred scores in Rakhine State

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A Rohingya armed group brandishing guns and swords is responsible for at least one, and potentially a second, massacre of up to 99 Hindu women, men, and children as well as additional unlawful killings and abductions of Hindu villagers in August 2017, Amnesty International revealed today after carrying out a detailed investigation inside Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Based on dozens of interviews conducted there and across the border in Bangladesh, as well as photographic evidence analyzed by forensic pathologists, the organization revealed how Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) fighters sowed fear among Hindus and other ethnic communities with these brutal attacks. “Our latest investigation on the ground sheds much-needed light on the largely under-reported human rights abuses by ARSA during northern Rakhine State’s unspeakably dark recent history,” said Tirana Hassan, Crisis Response Director at Amnesty International. Our latest investigation on the