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Church bombing north of Egypt's capital kills 26
Today's Headlines
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Army airborne unit avoids ax, assigned from Alaska to Afghanistan
[RT] An airborne brigade combat team stationed at a base near Anchorage, Alaska was scheduled to be deactivated. Instead, some 1,500 soldiers will be sent to Afghanistan as part of a regular troop rotation, the US Army has announced.

Soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) will be sent to Afghanistan later this year as part of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. The "Spartan Brigade" is the only US Army Airborne unit in the Pacific, currently stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, outside of Anchorage, Alaska.

The deployment does not signal an increase in troop levels, Army spokeswoman Maria Njoku told Stars and Stripes on Friday. The number of US forces in Afghanistan is currently capped at 8,400.
Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
Somali security minister sacks district Police boss
[SHABELLENEWS] The new Minister of Internal security for the Somalia’s Federal Government Mohamed Abukar Islow (Dualle) has fired the Police commissioner of Hamarweyne district over incompetence.

The sudden dismissal came after the minister has paid an expected visit to the Police station in Hamarweyne on Friday evening and failed to spot the Police boss at his office.

The security minister of Somalia has appointed an interim officer for the post.

The new leaders of the Federal government are making efforts aimed to improve the overall security of the country’s capital, and deal with the sporadic attacks from Al shabaab.

Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


New Ugandan combat forces arrives in Somalia
[SHABELLENEWS] The Ugandan contingent serving under the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has deployed a new battle group to support ongoing peace and security operations in the country.

The newly deployed troops under Battle Group XXI, replaces Battle Group XVIII which has completed the mandatory one-year tour of duty.

The group arrived in Mogadishu Saturday morning and will secure key installations in Somalia which include the Mogadishu Sea Port, the Federal Parliament, Presidential Palace, Mogadishu Airport, and the AMISOM Base camp in Halane.

The new battle group will also occupy and secure AMISOM forward bases in the liberated areas of Leego, Arbiska, Afgoye as well as Jazeera, all located in the Lower Shabelle region.

Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Arabia
5K detained in Houthi run prisons in Yemen
The reported numbers continue to grow by an order of magnitude each month.
When reality can be changed at any moment by Allah's unconstrained whim, why bother actually counting?
Aden – A large number of Yemenis live in dangerous humanitarian and psychological situations in light of the increasing violating acts Houthi and Saleh militias have been committing since the beginning of the war which passed its second year in several cities in Yemen.

Thousands of civilians have been subjected to arbitrary arrests and detentions, some of which – over time – have become cases of enforced disappearance in isolation from the outside world, which further complicated the psychological situation and the suffering of the families of those abducted.

Many people were released, others spoke about their sufferings and what Houthi militias requested from their parents in return of their release, while some others are still out of their parent’s reach in unknown places.

Meanwhile, thousands of civilians were subjected to similar acts of kidnapping and enforced disappearance, according to statistics issued by local humanitarian organizations.

Local Yemeni reports revealed that Houthi and Saleh militias have committed 4,841 arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances in 2016.

A report issued by Yemeni Coalition to Monitor Human Rights Violations (YCMHRV) stated that field monitoring teams recorded around 5,092 documented violations with 4,882 are of arbitrary detentions and 210 of enforced disappearances.

This is the total number of violations of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the International Human Rights Law, which the YCMHRV could document.

The violations documented in the report are distributed among provinces in Yemen.

According to the indicators and statistical data, Sana’a which is under the control of Houthi-Saleh militia topped the list at (693) violations. Baidha province, which witnesses armed conflicts between Houthi-Saleh militia and the armed forces of the legitimate internationally recognized Yemeni government backed by the popular resistance, was second at (655) violations followed by Ibb province that is under the control of Houthi-Saleh militia at (539) violations.

Then Hodeida, which is under the control of Houthi-Saleh militia, located in Sahal Tihama whose people are extremely poor at (506) violations.

Spokeswoman of the National Human Rights Committee in Yemen Ishraq al-Maqtari said that the committee was keen from the beginning of its work in January 2016 to reach all victims in Yemen, those whose civil, political, economic and social rights were violated, especially their right to live with dignity and wellness.

The committee has been keen to monitor and document all cases of illegal arrest and enforced disappearance, which are considered violations for the IHL, national law articles and international law principles.
Posted by: badanov || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  A large number of Yemenis live in dangerous humanitarian and psychological situations

in the prisons, too
Posted by: Frank G || 04/09/2017 8:50 Comments || Top||


Yemenis reopens port after wresting it from Houthis
JEDDAH: The government of Yemen announced that work is underway to reopen Al-Mokha port on the country’s Red Sea coast, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.

Yemen’s Deputy Minister of Transport Nasser Sharif told his country’s news agency, “The ministry is working to take the necessary measures to conduct work in the ports of Al-Hodeidah and Al-Mokha" after their liberation from Houthis and that it is assessing procedures to “transfer the presidency of the Red Sea Ports to Al-Mokha after the government's approval.”

Sharif said the port of Al-Hodeidah has been stopped, noting that it has become an outlet for smuggling of weapons and money, which the militia are benefiting from by controlling the port’s trade activities.

The restoration of the port of Al-Hodeidah by the Yemeni government and their coalition partners will be a major blow to the Houthis who use the port as a channel to transport weapons and as well as disrupt maritime navigation.

Posted by: badanov || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


China-Japan-Koreas
North Korea says US missile strikes on Syria are ‘unforgiveable’
I don't recall PDT asking for forgiveness...
[ALMASDARNEWS] North Korea said on Saturday that the U.S. missile strikes against a Syrian airfield on Friday were "an unforgivable act of aggression" that showed its decision to develop nuclear weapons was "the right choice a million times over."

North Korea continually states that its nuclear weapon aspirations is for deterrent reasons against US aggression, as Syria has experienced.

The United States launched missile attacks against the Shayrat Airbase in rural Homs after an alleged chemical weapons attack in Idlib countryside by supposedly the Syrian government. The United States has not put forward any evidence that the Syrian government perpetrated a chemical weapon attack.
Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Tahweee, your Rotundaty.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 04/09/2017 11:46 Comments || Top||

#2  The capture of the Pueblo was pretty unforgivable. Just saying.
Posted by: 3dc || 04/09/2017 13:58 Comments || Top||

#3  What will you think of our missile attack on you?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/09/2017 14:37 Comments || Top||


#5  Did you say something, short round?
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/09/2017 20:19 Comments || Top||

#6  Unforgivable. That's what they are . . . .
Posted by: gorb || 04/09/2017 23:11 Comments || Top||


Europe
France expels Swiss grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder
[IsraelTimes] Islamist preacher Hani Ramadan, brother of intellectual Tariq Ramadan, tossed in the calaboose as part of bid to stem ’radicalization,’ authorities say.

La Belle France on Saturday expelled controversial Swiss Islamist preacher Hani Ramadan who posed "a serious threat to public order," the interior ministry said.

Ramadan, whose brother is the intellectual Tariq Ramadan and whose grandfather founded Egypt’s radical Moslem Brüderbund, was placed in durance vile
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
in Colmar, eastern La Belle France, while attending a conference.

He was "known in the past to have adopted behavior and made remarks which pose a serious threat on French soil," the ministry said in a statement.

"The interior ministry and the forces of law and order are fully mobilized and will continue to fight ceaselessly against extremism and radicalization," Interior Minister Matthias Fekl said in the statement.

In 2002 Hani Ramadan was sacked from his teaching post in Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
after writing an article in French newspaper Le Monde in support of the stoning of adulterers and suggesting that AIDS was a divine punishment.

Six years later he won 345,000 Swiss francs compensation over the sacking.

Ramadan’s brother Tariq is banned from entering the United States.
The times, they are a-changing:
In France, bracing for possible Le Pen 'nightmare'

[Yahoo] What if Marine Le Pen wins in May?

Two weeks before the French cast their first presidential ballots, the spectre of victory for the far-right leader who promises to crack down on immigration and outlaw gay marriage sends shivers down many a spine.

Pollsters say the anti-EU firebrand
...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments...
can count on the unwavering support of about one in four voters to get her past the first round of voting on April 23.

Although they also say the National Front (FN) leader cannot win in the decisive May 7 runoff whoever she faces, a great many pundits were wrong about Brexit and Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
after failing to feel the populist pulse.

And with one in three voters still undecided at this late stage, pollsters would be wise to hedge their bets.

Predictions of a "nightmare" Le Pen presidency abound in bookstores and the media.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


Juncker’s party calls for EU-wide ban on Muslim veil
[RT] The EU Parliament’s biggest group, the European People’s Party, has expressed support for a Europe-wide ban of the Moslem veil citing both cultural and security concerns.

"The EPP calls for... A ban on full-face veils (i.e. the burqa or niqab) in public places, both for reasons of security and because seeing one another’s faces is an integral part of human interaction in Europe," the EPP’s resolution stated, as cited by The Independent.

The party, which currently holds 216 seats of the 751-member European Parliament, has adopted such a measure as official policy under a resolution entitled, "For a cohesive society: Countering Islamic extremism."

The EPP adopted the measure at its congress in Malta this week.

"We want a total ban of face covering in the EU" said Manfred Weber, the group’s leader in the European Parliament, as cited by the The Express. Weber is a member of Angela Merkel
...current chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom...
’s CDU/CSU alliance in Germany with whom the EPP is affiliated.

Other provisions contained include "the avoidance of concentrating thousands of third-country nationals in any one location" and "mandatory integration requirements" for welfare recipients.

While the resolution is nonbinding, an EPP spokesperson called for an EU-level discussion on the matter but admitted that it doesn’t align with current EU policy objectives, reports The Independent.

The EPP boasts both President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban as members.

The issue of Moslem veils is being hotly debated elsewhere in Europe, with La Belle France passing a contentious ban on Moslem face coverings in 2010, while several areas of Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
have adopted similar measures.
Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


India-Pakistan
CTD police spot two ‘facilitators’ of Sehwan blast
[DAWN] KARACHI: Nearly two months after the deadly blast at the shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, the Counter-Terrorism Department of police on Friday claimed to have made headway in its investigation by spotting two more suspects related to the attack.

To review the progress of the suicide kaboom case, the director general of Pakistain Rangers, Sindh, chaired a joint meeting of the law-enforcement agencies which chalked out a strategy to bring the findings before the public. The meeting, which was held at the Rangers’ headquarters, also reviewed the overall security situation.

Sharing details of the ’important progress’ in the investigation, additional inspector general of police Dr Sanaullah Abbasi, who heads the CTD in Sindh, told the media at his office that two controllers of the suicide kaboom had visited the Qalandar’s shrine in Sehwan just a day before the blast and took several photographs of the place.

The CTD chief said the two controllers of the suicide kaboom, which claimed the life of around 80 devotees on Feb 16, had finally been spotted in footage obtained with the help of 38 cameras installed at the shrine. The suspected jacket wallah and the two controllers could be seen conducting reconnaissance during their one-hour stay at the shrine on Feb 15, the additional IG said.

The controllers also took several photos of the suspected bomber, perhaps in an attempt to hide their intention to photograph different portions of the shrine, the officer said. However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by...
their activity indicated that all the three suspects who had entered the shrine separately knew each other or were linked, it emerged during the investigation.

Sharing contents of the videos, the CTD chief said one of the controllers was seen wearing blue shalwar kameez while the other controller was clad in black shalwar kameez. The purported suicide bomber was also wearing blue-coloured clothes, he added.

Prior to carrying out suicide kaboom, the bomber tried to enter the premises of the Sufi shrine through two other doors but he could not succeed.

Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat ul-Ahrar


Iraq
Maliki bitches about US missile strike against Syria
[Iraq News] The US missile attack on a military base of Syrian regime suggests that Washington "uses force" to deal with the leaders in the Middle East, said Iraqi VP Nouri al-Maliki.
Maliki has turned into a greater Iranian toe sucker than al-Sadr.
On his Facebook account, former Iraqi premier published a media statement on Saturday, decrying US’ missile attack against the Shayrat airfield.

Earlier Muwafaq al- Rubai’i, a politician from Maliki’s Shi’ite State of Law Coalition, described the US assault as "a violation of Syria’s illusory sovereignty."

Also Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari questioned the possibility of using chemical weapons by Bashir al-Assad’s regime.

Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  S/B "All-Malarkey" ?
Posted by: Galactic Coordinator Flurong2248 || 04/09/2017 10:40 Comments || Top||

#2  It did take out 1/2 of Syria's Sukhoi fighter planes of that model and hardly hurt folks on the ground. I think that is a fairly benign making of a strong point of order.
Posted by: 3dc || 04/09/2017 14:03 Comments || Top||


Tater calls on Bashar Assad to step down
[Iraq News] Sadr Movement leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, on Saturday issued a statement whereby he called on the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to resign and on the US administration to stop “exaggerating” its positions and decisions.

In an official statement, Sadr urges both the US and Russia to stop their interventions in Syria while he also called on Assad to step down from power for the sake of Syria and to avoid further conflicts and “dominance of terrorists.”

Regarding the US missile offensive on Friday morning against Shayrat Airbase of Homs, Syria, Sadr thought “the US president should not exaggerate his reckless statements, positions and decisions.”

He accused the US President Donald Trump of having double standards by “bombing defenseless civilians in Mosul while denouncing the chemical bombardment of civilians in Syria.”

Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Now when is IRB going to come out with a statement? I waiting for that one.
Posted by: Steven || 04/09/2017 3:33 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Tens of thousands protest in Gaza against PA salary cuts
Reality bites.
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian Authority employees in coastal enclave call for Abbas to sack his government, as anger builds over pay reduction.
Things are tough all over Gaza:
Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, which hired more than 40,000 people to fill the gaps left by the absence of the Paleostinian Authority workers, also struggles to pay its employees.

After repeated efforts to reconcile with Fatah failed, Hamas is increasingly relying on hefty taxes on imports, utility fees and customs to pay its employees just half of their regular salaries.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  Obama got a $60 Mil advance on his Hagiography Autobiography - ask him for financial help
Posted by: Frank G || 04/09/2017 8:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Fascinating that Joe Mohammed in the PA will protest pay cuts, but celebrate murdered children.

They all approve what Hamas and the PA do -- there are no innocent Palestinians older than five.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 04/09/2017 21:20 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Turkey arrests 2 rebel officers for refusing to raise Turkish flag in northern Aleppo
*Snicker* Respect has to be earnt, guys.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Turkish Army enjugged
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
two Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) officers in the northern Aleppo town of ’Azaz on Saturday, local activits reported via social media.

General Sabri al-Awad and Colonel ’Abdullah Zeno were apprehended by the Turkish Army for refusing to raise the Turkish flag over their security base in ’Azaz.

The two FSA officers were also charged with refusing to promote Turkish-sponsored officers in their rebel group; this was due to the fact most of these men had little-to-no military experience.

The Turkish Army initially transported the two FSA officers to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
for further questioning; however, they were later transferred to a prison in ’Azaz.
Posted by: Fred || 04/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  "Aleppo? What is Aleppo?"
Posted by: Frank G || 04/09/2017 9:51 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
24[untagged]
9Islamic State
5Govt of Syria
4Taliban
3al-Shabaab (AQ)
3Moslem Colonists
2Houthis
2Commies
2al-Nusra
2Jamaat ul-Ahrar
1al-Qaeda
1Haqqani Network
1al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
1Sublime Porte
1Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Govt of Iran
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Palestinian Authority
1Govt of Iraq
1Govt of Pakistan

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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
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Fred
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2017-04-09
  Church bombing north of Egypt's capital kills 26
Sat 2017-04-08
  Iranian brigadier general killed by jihadist militants in northern Hama
Fri 2017-04-07
  U.S. launches cruise missiles against Assad's forces
Thu 2017-04-06
  Al-Qaeda assassinates prominent Free Syrian Army commander in Idlib
Wed 2017-04-05
  Global outcry over suspected Syria chemical attack
Tue 2017-04-04
  ISIS raid in Yemen leaves scores of Houthi troops dead on the battlefield
Mon 2017-04-03
  Reports of an explosion(3) in a metro station in central #StPetersburg, #Russia
Sun 2017-04-02
  IS second-in-command killed in airstrike: Iraqi State TV
Sat 2017-04-01
  South Carolina man charged with trying to join Islamic State
Fri 2017-03-31
  Mortars hit near Somali Presidential Palace, 2 hurt
Thu 2017-03-30
  503 militants surrender in Homs
Wed 2017-03-29
  Taliban commanders among 21 killed in Helmand airstrikes: MoD
Tue 2017-03-28
  33 ISIS troops die in Nangarhar airstrike
Mon 2017-03-27
  Leading member of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis killed in North Sinai raid: Egyptian army
Sun 2017-03-26
  Police clash with anti-Christian mob in southern Egypt

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