GAROWE, Somalia -- The president of Somalias Puntland government Abdirahman Mohamed Farole has warned of consequences in the Somaliland separatist administrations pursuit for oil exploration in Sool and Sanaag regions, Garowe Online reports.
President Farole said that dialogue process in Istanbul between Somali Federal Government and Somaliland can succeed through consultation among all of Somalia.
We welcome Somaliland to rejoin Somalia, to negotiate, to agree who is wrong and who is right. But who has the authority? Somaliland is seeking international recognition, firstly from Somalis. Who can give it? We dont understand this rainbow alliance between Mogadishu and Hargeisa that skips Garowe, said President Farole, adding: Mogadishu should not look for power it does not have and Hargeisa should not waste its time seeking recognition from Mogadishu.
President Farole said Somalilands separatist administration should stay within its area until a federal and united Somalia is restored.
Somaliland is creating conflict in the region. Somaliland cannot give land to foreign companies to explore oil when the land does not belong to Somaliland, said President Farole.
The president said that Puntland needs peace and good neighborliness but warned of consequences in Somalilands pursuit of oil exploration in Sool and Sanaag region.
The UN Monitoring Group report released July 2013 noted concern about regional stability over oil exploration programs in northern Somalia managed by Puntland and Somaliland.
Somaliland administration gave exploration rights in parts of Sool and Sanaag to Norwegian oil company DNO and Turkish oil company Genel. Local communities in Sool and Sanaag share kinship and political ties with Puntland, while Somaliland claims the regions based on defunct colonial-era boundaries.
Puntland and Somaliland have fought sporadic battles since 2002 over control of territory with the epicenter of the conflict at Las Anod, capital of Sool region.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/04/2013 00:00 ||
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Hat tip - the Blogfodder
It is no longer cool to have a beard.
Islamist president Mohamed Morsi is out. His opponents, a military-backed interim government of secularists, are in. And if you've got a beard -- that most conspicuous symbol of Islamism in post-Arab Spring Egypt -- you're likely to get taunted on the metro, harassed in the souk and possibly even assaulted, according to conservative Muslims
"The treatment has changed for the worse," said Osama Ibrahim, an imam at a Cairo mosque that caters to hard-line Islamists. Here's a thought, Mr. Imam - quit "catering" to islamonazis. Hey, hey, hey! That's his meal ticket you're threatening!
[L]ocal men stopped the couple's car and barred them from entering a marketplace, Ibrahim said, because of the way they were dressed.
"You have to understand: The minibuses don't even stop for me anymore," he said. As Instapundit says, "Heh."
Posted by: Barbara ||
08/04/2013 10:59 ||
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#1
I put this in Non-WOT, but didn't we used to have a "WOT background" category?
Fixed -- AoS at 1100 CT
Posted by: Barbara ||
08/04/2013 11:11 Comments ||
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#2
because of the way they were dressed.
Idiot or deliberately obtuse?
This kinda crap always twists my knickers. Your dress is NOT the cause of the treatment it is what your choice in dress says about your probable character/morals/attitudes/actions that cause the treatment you receive.
#3
And if you've got a beard -- that most conspicuous symbol of Islamism in post-Arab Spring Egypt -- you're likely to get taunted on the metro, harassed in the souk and possibly even assaulted
#4
a beard -- that most conspicuous symbol of Islamism in post-Arab Spring Egypt
Oh no, that would be the prayer bump, which always makes me worry about the cumulative effect of small brain concussions. And a Turkish-German businessman has the answer to that: orthopedic prayer rugs.
At first sight, the rug looks like other prayer mats, but it is designed with special cushioning for under the knees, feet and forehead, said Adnan Pirisan, 50, who himself suffered from painful joints.
Apart from saying the padding is a special kind of foam that "doesn't get damaged", he declined during a telephone interview with Agence France Presse to reveal its composition. "Production secret," he said.
In his first interview since the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi last month, Egypt's commanding general sharply criticized the U.S. response, accusing the Obama administration of disregarding the Egyptian popular will and of providing insufficient support amid threats of a civil war.
"You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won't forget that," said an indignant Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, speaking of the U.S. government. "Now you want to continue turning your backs on Egyptians?" If you'd been paying attention, General, you'd have seen that's how Champ treats his friends.
In Cairo's Defense Ministry on Thursday, he provided his most detailed explanation yet of why he decided to oust Morsi, the nation's first thugocratically democratically elected president. Sissi also expressed deep disappointment that the United States has not been more eager to embrace his rationale.
Sissi's comments are a measure of just how thoroughly the Obama administration has alienated both sides in a profoundly polarized and unsettled Egypt, all while trying to remain neutral. Morsi's supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood regularly accuse the United States of acquiescing to a military coup. I'm pretty sure that disturbs the sleep of The One, since the Brotherhood liked to defecate on the U.S.
Sissi spoke on the same day that Secretary of State John F. Kerry made the administration's most supportive comments to date, saying that Egypt's army was "restoring democracy." Careful, Jahwn, there's still room under the bus!
U.S. officials have cautioned Sissi and other generals to show restraint in their dealings with protesters, at least 140 of whom have been killed in clashes with security forces. Baby ducks and innocent fluffy bunnies, right, WaPo?
The Obama administration has also encouraged the military to reconcile with the Muslim Brotherhood. That prospect appears distant, with authorities promising a fresh crackdown on Islamist protests and Morsi continuing to be detained in an undisclosed location, unable to communicate with even his family.
Egypt's commanding general suggested that if the United States wants to avoid further bloodshed in Egypt, it should persuade the Muslim Brotherhood to back down from the Cairo sit-ins it has maintained since July 3. That'd be a strong move, which makes it unlikely.
"The U.S. administration has a lot of leverage and influence with the Muslim Brotherhood, and I'd really like the U.S. administration to use this leverage with them to resolve the conflict," Sissi said.
One of Morsi's first major acts in office was to sweep away an older generation of military leaders and appoint Sissi to command the country's armed forces. Many observers speculated that Morsi had selected Sissi because he was more sympathetic to the Brotherhood, which had been oppressed by generations of military-backed leaders.
But in the interview, Sissi was unsparing in his criticism of the group, saying that Brotherhood members are more devoted to their Islamist beliefs than they are to Egypt. Now there's a revelation!
"The idea that gathers them together is not nationalism, it's not patriotism, it is not a sense of a country," he said. Sissi said he had done all he could during the president's year in office to help him succeed. Morsi, he said, had repeatedly failed to heed the general's advice.
Meanwhile, the economy was badly deteriorating, and law and order had begun to break down. Millions of Egyptians took to the streets on June 30, the anniversary of Morsi's inauguration, to demand the end of his rule.
"I expected if we didn't intervene, it would have turned into a civil war," he said. "The most important achievement in my life is to overcome this circumstance, [to ensure] that we live peacefully, to go on with our road map and to be able to conduct the coming elections without shedding one drop of Egyptian blood," he said, before adding, "When the people love you, this is the most important thing for me."
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/04/2013 09:06 ||
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#1
"Sissi: The dilemma between the former president and the people originated from [the Muslim Brotherhoods] concept of the state, the ideology that they adopted for building a country, which is based on restoring the Islamic religious empire."
As usual, the actual interview is more interesting than the Post's interpretations and editorializing.
[AnNahar] Tunisia's army pressed ahead Saturday with operations against Islamists in a remote mountain range after a bushwhack on its troops heightened a crisis sparked by a political liquidation.
The authorities kept a tight lid on the overland and helicopter raids launched Friday in the Mount Chaambi area near the border with Algeria where Islamist forces of Evil including veterans of a revolt in northern Mali are suspected to be hiding out.
Eight Tunisian soldiers were found in the area on Monday with their throats cut after being ambushed by bully boys.
The interior ministry, meanwhile, said a "religious Death Eater" was killed and another maimed in two separate incidents while handling explosives.
And police said a suspect package was found in Tunis warning security forces to withdraw from Mount Chaambi.
The coalition government led by moderate Islamic movement Ennahda has acknowledged that the country faces a growing threat of terrorism, although it has yet to issue a call for the public to remain vigilant.
On the political front, a compromise still eluded opponents and supporters of the government in their efforts to defuse a crisis triggered by the July 25 liquidation of opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi that has been blamed on jihadists.
Opposition parties have called on the government to step down but failed to draw up a united stand on policy.
Ennahda insists on its legitimacy to govern based on the last elections in October 2011.
Both sides in the political stand-off staged daily demonstrations over the past week, with Ennahda sending out calls for a mass solidarity rally in the capital's Kasbah Square from 9 pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday.
The government's critics say it has failed to rein in radical Islamists, who have grown in influence and stand accused of a wave of attacks since the 2011 uprising which toppled long-time president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Since Brahmi's death -- the second political slaying after leftist leader Chokri Belaid was bumped off in February -- around 60 politicians have pulled out of the National Constituent Assembly that is drawing up Tunisia's long-delayed new constitution.
Tunisian authorities have pointed to links between the Chaambi bully boys, the assassins of Brahmi and Belaid and Tunisia's main Salafist organization Ansar al-Sharia ...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends... , which denies the accusation.
[AnNahar] Egypt's army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has lashed out at the United States, urging Washington to do more to pressure the Moslem Brüderbund to end its rallies.
In a rare interview with the Washington Post, the commander -- who led the military coup that ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi one month ago -- warned of police action to disperse such protests.
The United States provides $1.5 billion in mostly military aid to Cairo every year, but al-Sisi effectively accused President Barack Obama Why can't I just eat my waffle?... 's administration of averting its gaze from Egypt.
"You left the Egyptians, you turned your back on the Egyptians and they won't forget that. Now you want to continue turning your backs on Egyptians?" Sisi said, according to excerpts of the Thursday interview published on Saturday.
"The U.S. administration has a lot (of) leverage and influence with the Moslem Brüderbund and I'd really like the U.S. administration to use this leverage with them to resolve the conflict," he said.
When asked whether security forces would forcibly disperse the Brotherhood's protest camps, Sisi said the task would not fall to the army.
"Whoever will clean these squares or resolve these sit-ins will not be the military. There is a civil police and they are assigned to these duties," he said.
"On the 26th of (July), more than 30 million people went out onto the streets to give me support. These people are waiting for me to do something."
More than 250 people have been killed since Morsi's overthrow, as festivities have broken out around two massive protest camps set up by his supporters.
The United States has been trying to head off a further escalation as Egypt's interim government has warned the protesters to disperse or face consequences.
Sisi has meanwhile emerged as a hero among Morsi opponents, his face now staring down from the front pages of newspapers and street posters.
When asked whether he would seek the presidency, Sisi gave an enigmatic response.
"I want to say that the most important achievement in my life is to overcome this circumstance, (to ensure) that we live peacefully, to go on with our road map and to be able to conduct the coming elections without shedding one drop of Egyptian blood," he said.
When pressed on the question, he replied: "You just can't believe that there are people who don't aspire for authority."
"It's the hopes of the people that is ours. And when the people love you - this is the most important thing for me," he said.
The army intervened amid massive protests against Morsi, the country's first democratically elected leader, who won elections held a year after the 2011 overthrow of Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... , a former air force commander who ruled Egypt for three decades.
Sisi defended the decision to topple Morsi.
"I expected if we didn't intervene, it would have turned into a civil war. Four months before he left, I told Morsi the same thing," he told the Post.
"What I want you to know and I want the American reader also to know is that this is a free people who rebelled against an unjust political rule, and this free people needs your support."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/04/2013 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... , the Egyptian-born head of the bad boy al-Qaeda organization, accused the United States of "plotting" Morsi's overthrow with the Egyptian military and the country's Christian minority.
"Crusaders and secularists and the Americanized army have converged ... with Gulf money and American plotting to topple Mohammed Morsi's government," he said in a 15-minute audio recording posted on bad boy Islamist forums.
In his first comments since the July 3 coup, Zawahiri also attacked Morsi's secular opposition and Coptic Christians, who he said wanted a secessionist state in Egypt, and called for a mass movement to install Islamic law.
"I give this piece of advice to whoever supported Morsi and I tell them first we have to admit that legitimacy doesn't lie in elections and democracy but it lies in Sharia," Zawahri said.
"Sharia is not electing Morsi president of a republic, a president of a secular and nationalistic state," he added.
"What has happened is the greatest evidence that taking democracy as a path to Islamic rule has failed," Zawahri said.
[BBC.CO.UK] The British embassy in Yemen is to shut temporarily and several other embassies have been told to be vigilant after the US issued a terrorism warning. The embassy in Sana'a will be closed on Sunday and Monday, as will the embassies of La Belle France and Germany.
The US reportedly intercepted al-Qaeda messages and will shut at least 21 embassies and consulates on Sunday.
Interpol issued a separate global security alert, citing jail breaks linked to al-Qaeda in nine countries. The international policing organization said "hundreds of terrorists" had been freed during breakouts in countries including Iraq, Libya and Pakistain in the past month.
Interpol said al-Qaeda was suspected of "involvement in several of the breakouts" and asked its 190 member states to help "determine whether any of these recent events are co-ordinated or linked".
The British embassy in Yemen had already been operating with a reduced staff "due to increased security concerns".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/04/2013 00:00 ||
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Teams from İstanbul Police Department raided premises of the neo-nationalist Turkey Youth Union (TGB) early on Saturday ahead of what is to be the final hearing of the Ergenekon attempted coup d'état trial on Aug. 5 Today`s Zaman reported.
Somebody is a little nervous...
The TGB, which is the youth branch of the Workers' Party (İP) at a previous hearing of the case broke through police barriers erected at the complex that houses the court building and prison at Silivri, earlier called on their supporters to be present again at the courthouse for what is to be the trial's last day on Aug. 5.
Ergenekon is alleged to be a clandestine network of individuals nested within the state hierarchy that was ultimately aimed at overthrowing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and some of whose members are currently on trial for multiple counts of murder and causing public disorder.
Police teams are searching the TGB İstanbul branch building as well as houses of some of its administrators, reports said.
İstanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu said on Friday that no audience will be allowed in the courtroom during the next session of the Ergenekon trial on Monday to avoid clashes. Stating that such a decision was taken due to security measures, Governor Mutlu told reporters that only the defendants, lawyers, members of Parliament and journalists will be given access to the courtroom in Silivri district of İstanbul. The decision is made by the court, Mutlu added.
Stating that any gathering outside the courtroom in Silivri will be considered an unlawful demonstration, Mutlu urged people to obey the call not to gather at the court building.
"We want the due process to end in peace," Mutlu pointed out, saying that they are taking security measures against potential protesters from outside of İstanbul.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/04/2013 00:00 ||
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They had to. There weren't any left of the old lot, who are somehow all on trial for something or other.
[AnNahar] Turkey's top military council on Saturday appointed new commanders in what observers said was further evidence that the government now controlled the once all-powerful army.
The Supreme Military Council chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided on the forced retirement of gendarmerie force commander General Bekir Kalyoncu, who had been expected to become land forces commander.
Local media reported that Erdogan blocked the promotion because Kalyoncu's name often cropped up in the trial of alleged coup plotters.
Kalyoncu's exit is considered the latest blow to Turkey's beleaguered officer corps who are the target of a series of probes launched in recent years into past military interventions and coup plots.
General Hulusi Akar was promoted to the helm of the land forces and is expected to replace current chief of staff General Necdet Ozel in 2015.
Vice-Admiral Bulent Bostanoglu was appointed as the chief of the navy and Lieutenant General Akin Ozturk as the head of the air force.
Since coming to power in 2002, Erdogan's government has reined in the powerful military, once the self-appointed guardians of the secular state who carried out four coups over half a century.
In September, more than 300 hundred active and retired army officers, including three former generals, received prison sentences of up to 20 years over a 2003 military exercise alleged to have been an undercover coup plot.
And a Turkish court is due to deliver its verdict on Monday in a separate trial of 275 people including a former army chief accused of plotting to overthrow Erdogan's government.
Guess he won't be return to his former profession... Look for a really well organized prison break once the last one has been sentenced.
[AnNahar] The global police agency Interpol on Saturday said it suspected al-Qaeda was involved in recent jailbreaks across nine countries, including Iraq, Libya and Pakistain.
Interpol said in a statement that the jailbreaks "led to the escape of hundreds of forces of Evil and other criminals" in the past month alone and issued a security alert.
It has also asked its 190 member countries to help "determine whether any of these recent events are coordinated and linked" and to immediately convey any intelligence which could help prevent another attack.
The Interpol alert comes the day after the United States issued a worldwide travel warning and ordered that its embassies across the Islamic world be temporarily closed due to unspecified plans by al-Qaeda to strike U.S. interests in the Middle East or North Africa in August.
Germany and Britannia have also announced that their embassies in Yemen would be closed on Sunday and Monday for security reasons.
Interpol, based in the central eastern city of La Belle France, noted that August is the anniversary of attacks in India, Russia and Indonesia.
This week also marks the 15th anniversary of the U.S. embassy bombings in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, that killed more than 200 mostly African citizens and injured thousands.
[NY Times] Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, vowed Saturday to work with the outside world to lift the "oppressive sanctions" crippling the Iranian economy, as he received the official backing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a ceremony marking the start of his presidential term.
In an acknowledgment of the growing toll that international economic restrictions connected to Iran's nuclear program are having on the population, both Mr. Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei made the economy a major theme of their remarks.
"People called for change and improvement in their living standards, they want to live better," Mr. Rouhani said.
But he and the ayatollah offered somewhat different solutions. Whereas Mr. Rouhani said that interactions with the world, meaning talks with Europe and potentially the United States, were a way out of the crisis, Ayatollah Khamenei, who as supreme leader has final word on all important issues, expressed pessimism that such overtures would yield fruit. "Some of our enemies do not speak with our language of wisdom," he said, urging self-sufficiency.
As Mr. Rouhani takes his public oath of office on Sunday, Iran's growing economic crisis sits atop his agenda. Sanctions have slashed oil exports and limited Iran's ability to transfer money from abroad. The shortage has been aggravated by the profligate spending that is a legacy of the departing government of Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad.
During most of Mr. Ahmadinejad's two terms, Iran enjoyed an oil windfall, with a flow of dollars and euros that fueled huge imports on goods ranging from ice cream to Porsches.
But now Mr. Rouhani's aides describe Iran's economic situation as the worst in decades. Many blame what they call Mr. Ahmadinejad's erratic economic policies, punctuated by slashed subsidies and unbridled inflation.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
despite the fact that Rouhani is a lacky for the Mullocracy, on economic matters I would actually trust Rouhani before I would trust Obama
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/04/2013 0:10 Comments ||
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But now Mr. Rouhani's aides describe Iran's economic situation as the worst in decades. Many blame what they call Mr. Ahmadinejad's erratic economic policies, punctuated by slashed subsidies and unbridled inflation.
Blaming the last guy still appears to be a common theme.
#4
"People called for change and improvement in their living standards, they want to live better" would be a tad more accurate.
Mr. Rouhani doesn't have much time to produce. Despite the talk decrying Mr. Ahmadinejad's "profligate spending", I suspect there will be a boost in subsidies, some "helicoptering", plus another round of overtures to China.
[Ynet] Al Arabiya has reported the Russia has begun to pull back the number of its citizens stationed in Syria.
A senior Russian official is quoted by the network as claiming that only a few dozens remain. According the report, the decision was taken in response to the intensification of the ongoing conflict in the country.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/04/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
For a moment I thought that said Seattle.
Then I realized Seattle didn't need Russia's help for that.
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.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
"You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won't forget that," said an indignant Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, speaking of the U.S. government. "Now you want to continue turning your backs on Egyptians?" 
[AnNahar] Tunisia's army pressed ahead Saturday with operations against Islamists in a remote mountain range after a 
Zawahiri
Since coming to power in 2002, Erdogan's government has reined in the powerful military, once the self-appointed guardians of the secular state who carried out four coups over half a century.
[AnNahar] The global police agency Interpol on Saturday said it suspected al-Qaeda was involved in recent jailbreaks across nine countries, including Iraq, Libya and Pakistain.
