[Dawn] The commander of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... forces in Afghanistan said on Friday that a deadly attack on a hotel on the outskirts of Kabul bore the signature of the Taliban-linked Haqqani group which he said continued to operate from Pakistain.
Elite Afghan police backed by NATO forces ended a 12-hour siege at the popular hotel, leaving at least 20 dead after Taliban gunnies stormed the lakeside building, bursting into a party and seizing dozens of hostages.
"Afghan National Security Forces and coalition military sources acknowledge that this attack bears the signature of the Haqqani network, which continues to target and kill innocent Afghans and blatantly violate Afghan illusory sovereignty from the safety of Pakistain," General John Allen said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
In other news: The mountain pine beetle (MPB) Dendroctonus ponderosae is known inhabit forests.
The US Embassy has warned of an imminent terror threat in the coastal town of Mombasa. All US government personnel have been ordered to evacuate Mombasa. All travel to Kenya is suspended until July 1.
[Al Ahram] The Sudanese government has come under fire from the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) for its crackdown on peaceful protesters over the last week.
"There should be dialogue with the opposition and respect for the human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... of its citizens to express themselves and protest without harassment," a statement from the rights group said on Thursday.
"We have seen the Sudanese authorities conduct mass arrests and use force to disperse peaceful protests. If the government continues in this way, there will be a catastrophe ... as happened in other Arab Spring revolutions."
Sudan has been rocked by five days of protests against a possible rise in fuel prices, with some demonstrators demanding the fall of the regime. Police and security forces have used tear gas and batons to disperse the protests.
The network also asked for the lifting of what it called a "media siege" on the protests, as well as for increased pressure on the Khartoum government to respect human rights.
"The Sudanese intifada cannot be another revolution that is buried in silence," ANHRI added.
An AFP news hound was incarcerated Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! for 12 hours on Wednesday while covering protests in the Sudanese capital.
On Thursday morning, Egyptian journalist Salma El-Wardany was incarcerated Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! , along with blogger Maha El-Senussi, while reporting on protests at the University of Khartoum.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
(Sh.M.Network)-- A family member of a South African couple who were freed from Somali pirates denied Thursday that ransom had been paid, contradicting an earlier statement by another relative.
Somali authorities said a joint raid by security forces and the army had led to the freeing of the couple from "Al-Qaeda-affiliated" beturbanned goons.South Africa said Italiawas also heavily involved in the operation.
Nora Wright, the sister of one of the hostages, Bruno Pelizzari, said $500,000 in ransom had been agreed with the pirates two weeks ago, but that she was unaware of any money having been paid to secure their release.
"An amount was agreed to and everything happened very fast," said Wright, who said she is one of the three signatory to the bank account set up by the family to raise the ransom. "I can't confirm whether ransom was paid."
Two signatures are required for any funds to be released, and Wright said she and a second signatory had not signed off on any payments. The third signatory has departed forRome.
"I have not signed for any amount to be paid," Wright told AFP.
Pelizzari and his partner Debbie Calitz were sailing in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya in 2010 when their yacht was hijacked by 12 pirates who set course for Somalia and took the couple ashore at Baraawe.
"I am happy that they actually managed to rescue them without anything (being) paid. I don't believe that they should be paid for stealing people from their families," she added.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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(Sh.M.Network)- Technical committees from Somaliland and Somalia who met on Thursday in Chevening House inKent, on the outskirts ofLondon,UK capital, have agreed to an 8-point plan including future talks.
The talks which went for two intense days at Chevening House, both parties concluded with positive outcome, mainly to establish a framework for future substantive talks between Somali and Somaliland presidents Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and .
Both sides have sent a team of five members who ratified to an 8-point plan during their first face-to-face dialogue in 21 years with observers from the hosting and co-hosting European Union,Norwayand the British government.
Here's a summary of Chevening Declaration:
Agreed that the talks would take place between two sides -- the TFG (or its replacement) and Somaliland, in accordance with paragraph 6 of the London Conference Communiqué and paragraph 10 of the Istanbul II Conference Communiqué;
Noted the need to adopt a common approach to avoid anything that would undermine the continuation of the talks as defined above;
Committed to the continuation of the talks and called on the two presidents to meet to review progress as soon as possible;
Called on the international community to continue to facilitate the talks, including providing the two sides with external experts on legal, economic and security matters;
Agreed to share experience on working more effectively with the international community on the use of development and humanitarian assistance for the people of both sides and called for the international community to increase that assistance;
Agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, extremism and serious crimes;
Agreed to cooperate in the fight against piracy at sea and on land, maritime crime, illegal fishing and toxic dumping; and
Reiterated their support for ending the Transition in Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Egypt's electoral body is set to announce Ahmed Shafiq as the country's new president on Sunday evening, several government sources claimed.
Western diplomats in Cairo also said they have heard similar predictions from Cabinet members over the last three days.
A source in the current government said that Shafiq will be declared victor with 50.7 per cent of the vote, in an outcome that is likely to be strongly disputed by the Moslem Brüderbund's candidate, Mohamed Mursi.
Mursi's campaign has previously shrugged off Shafiq's claims of a victory, insisting they have compiled strong evidence to the contrary.
Sources at the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) would not confirm to Ahram Online the claims of a Shafiq win.
It is unclear if it is simply another salvo in the ongoing campaign agains the Moslem Brüderbund.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The Moslem Brüderbund is to announce concessions it will make to more liberal activists for the sake of unity to overcome the "crisis," at 2:30 on Friday, youth activist Ahmed Imam informed Ahram Online.
The addendum to the Constitutional Declaration announced by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), granting it immunity, making it the sole authority over the military and giving it the right to interfere in the drafting of Egypt's new constitution, is described by many as a "military coup."
Revolutionary figures have already been actively working to push for an immediate transition to civilian rule, and now the Moslem Brüderbund, seeing itself being pushed out of power by the military and the High Constitutional Court which ruled against the Brotherhood-dominated parliament, are taking bolder steps to unite with revolutionary forces.
Several political figures have proposed specific compromises the Brotherhood would need to cede in order for them to align with them. As a consequence, several meeting were held on Thursday between Mursi, political figures and several of the revolutionary youth in hopes of finding an agreement.
Eight demands were proposed to Mursi, including:
1- Releasing all political prisoners immediately upon Mursi's election as president
2- Cancelling the judicial law allowing the military to arrest civilians
3- Guaranteeing that the constituent assembly tasked with drafting Egypt's new constitution will be equally representative of non-Islamists so that it reflects a national consensus. This may be done by rejecting the military junta's addendum to the Constitutional Declaration, which makes the SCAF the body allowed to reform the constituent assembly. Another way is to maintain the current assembly, but replacing several of the Islamist figures and using the assembly's right to expand the assembly by ten more members, who can then also be chosen from the civil parties.
4- Giving political organizations and movements legal recognition
5- Reshuffling the governors in consultation with the political movements
6- Forming a cabinet that is representative of all the political factions and in which the Brotherhood do not have a majority and in which the prime minister is not an Islamist
7- Adopting a plan to purge major institutions of ex-regime members
8- Forming a group to manage the current crisis period to be composed of several of those who have attended the discussions
Imam also confirmed that Mursi, former presidential candidate Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh and a representative of the Hamdeen Sabbahi camp will be forming a presidential council.
ElBaradei, however, did not want to be part of the presidential council and proposed to act as a mediator between the "crisis managing" group that will be formed by those attending yesterday's meetings and the SCAF.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
one-time "concessions" that would be revoked at first opportunity
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2012 12:13 Comments ||
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[Al Ahram] Sources close to the ruling military council and the Brotherhood confirmed to Ahram Online that both sides are intensely negotiating a compromise agreement to end the standoff
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Methinks the Generals-n-Admirals are going to regret helping to overthrow Mubarak - IMO they thought they could easily control the Muslim Brotherhood + aligned, but are learning such is NOT the case.
[An Nahar] The Islamist krazed killer group Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... could be responsible for crimes against humanity in Nigeria, the U.N. said on Friday.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights is "extremely concerned" by the recent attacks on churches in Kaduna province and "tit-for-tat" reprisals by Christians which since June 17 have left more than 100 people dead, said Rupert Colville, front man for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) told news hounds.
Boko Haram has said it was behind the attacks.
"Members of Boko Haram ... if judged to have committed widespread or systematic attacks against a civilian population -- including on grounds such as religion or ethnicity -- are likely to be found guilty of crimes against humanity," said Colville.
"Deliberate acts leading to population 'cleansing' on grounds of religion or ethnicity could also amount to a crime against humanity," he said.
The group is also blamed for bomb and gun attacks, mainly in Nigeria's northeast, that have claimed more than 1,000 lives since mid-2009.
The sect's attacks have grown increasingly sophisticated and have spread from the group's base in the northeast across the wider north and down to the capital Abuja, in the centre of the country.
It grabbed credit for a suicide kaboom of U.N. headquarters in Abuja in August that killed at least 25 people and a suicide kaboom on the Abuja office of one of the country's most prominent newspapers.
Its deadliest attack yet occurred in the northern city of Kano in January, when at least 185 people died in coordinated bombings and shootings.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Boko Haram
#1
Someone's made a grave mistake...only the USA and Israel commit crimes against humanity.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
06/23/2012 23:04 Comments ||
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Soldiers training to fight in Afghanistan have been sacked in an apparent breach of rules laid down by the Ministry of Defence, it can be disclosed.
An officer speaking on behalf of the sacked men said: "With the pensions issue and now this you can imagine their thoughts after 15 years loyal service where they've regularly risked their lives."
Two highly experienced company commanders from the 2nd Bn The Yorkshire Regiment have been made compulsorily redundant despite their battalion being at 48 hours readiness to deploy to Afghanistan.
The officers will be sent to the front line in the knowledge that they "will not know where next month's income is coming from," colleagues have said.
The men are part of the Theatre Reserve Battalion based in Cyprus that is trained to fight in Afghanistan at a moment's notice. Every battalion that has been the TRB has deployed elements on every tour since the Helmand campaign began in 2006.
But their compulsory redundancy appears to flout the pledge made by defence chiefs and politicians that "no one who is currently preparing to join operations, already deployed on operations or in recovery from operations will be made redundant".
The officers have also suffered the financial blow, first disclosed by The Daily Telegraph earlier this week that means they will lose out on a pension worth up £300,000 by being sacked just months short of their 16 year qualifying period.
Soldiers also now face having to wait an extra five years to get a pension with plans to move the immediate pensionable age to 45.
#2
Treat them like mercenaries long enough and they'll act like mercenaries. Instead of fighting when the time comes, they can be bought as well. Northumberland could sit and watch as much as fight.
#3
A suggestion for the British government: it should explicitly announce that it is no longer a world power and cannot be responsible for affairs that occur outside of its immediate geographical location.
After all, that's what they're doing with all these moves to cut their Defence spending, cut personnel, and so on. And what they are doing to these offices now is downright dishonorable.
It's all brought about by the simple fact that the British government (and by extension the people) no longer can bear the burden of involvement in world affairs as a world power.
So stop. Step away from the world leadership role. Announce an intention to be a regional power only with a regional military. Confine one's diplomacy outside Europe to purely consultative and observational statements.
Become New Zealand. Or Ireland. Become a prosperous, middle-weight nation that tends to mind its own affairs. Contribute to UN peacekeeping forces. And otherwise stay quiet.
That's the path you're on anyway, Britain. Why not make it explicit?
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/23/2012 10:11 Comments ||
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For a map, click here.
If this is true, it is a huge screw up by Obama's DEA and Mexico's attorney general. Some of the information used in this story was provided by Borderland Beat reporter Chivis Martinez.
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A man detained by Mexican naval infantry units in Zapopan, Jalisco Wednesday was not Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar AKA El Gordo, the son of Sinaloa drug cartel boss Joaquin Guzman Loera AKA El Chapo, but a hapless used car dealer from Guadalajara caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, according to various Spanish and English language news reports.
The counternarcotics operation took place in Jardines de la Patria colony where the misidentified detainee, now identified as Felix Beltran Leon, a used car dealer by trade with family in Los Angeles California was arrested.
According to a statement, Mexican marines found two rifles, two handguns, four grenades and USD $135,000 (MX $1,867,454.96) and MX $295,000 (USD $21,325.81) in cash. Kevin Daniel Beltran Rios, 19, was also detained at the scene and identified in a Secretaria de Marina (SEMAR) news release as a Sinaloa cartel operative.
An attorney for the family sent out several emails Friday to various Mexican media outlets and released an oral statement on MVS Radio saying the detainee was not Guzman Salazar.
The attorney, Jesus Alfredo Guzman, had scheduled a news conference for 1100 hrs CDT Friday in Guadalajara, but to date the media event has not taken place.
A juicio de amparo suit has already been filed in Mexican federal court challenging the extradition of Beltran Leon to the United States. Under Mexican jurisprudence, amparo suits must be adjudicated before prosecutors can move forward on any criminal case, even in a high profile extradition such as the putative Alfredo Guzman Salazar detention.
Juicio de amparo suits are appeals meant to slow down legal procedures, and to ensure an individual's rights under the law.
Despite the amparo suit Felix Beltran Leon will likely serve prison time for possession of guns and cash.
The errors likely committed in this case are of epic proportions. Loera Guzman himself was detained by Mexican authorities in 1993 but escaped in 2001. That means that the Mexican Subprocuraduría de Investigación Especializada en Delincuencia Organizada (SIEDO), the organized crime unit of the Procuraduria General de la Republica or attorney general probably had a DNA profile on Loera Guzman. A report could have easily been prepared in advance of the marine operation that could have compared DNA profiles taken immediately following the raid.
Word on the narco blogs is that the operation was a DEA operation from the very start, which if true means the raid and subsequent news of the capture was from its basis a political operation by an American administration in deep political trouble at home trying to score cheap points by using a foreign counternarcotics operation.
For example, the administration of US president Barak Obama has been milking the 2011 assassination of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden for months using questionable leaks to trusted news outlets such as the New York Times.
The US DEA has played politics with Mexican politics and politicians in the past. A good example is the 1998 Pulitzer Prize winning series of articles in the New York Times which smeared, among others, then Sonora governor Fabio Beltrones as having connections with organized crime. Nearly every source in that series was unnamed or was from the DEA itself. None of the rumors and allegations against now Senator Beltrones has ever been proved.
Most dismaying to all concerned with legal reforms about to be imposed on Mexico is Marisela Morales, Mexico's current PGR who took over that post two years ago. Her elevation to the top legal job in Mexico has been praised by US news outlets such as the Los Angeles Times as exemplary of how far Mexico has come in jurisprudence. SIEDO was Morales' job prior to becoming attorney general.
Far more revealing is the current US administration that is under intense pressure because of its refusal to provide Congress with documents pertaining to the failed gun running monitoring operation dubbed "Fast and Furious". That operation has allegedly cost the lives of 300 Mexican citizens and three US Federal agents from weapons illegally purchased in the US and permitted to cross the border into Mexico.
It is hard to imagine the DEA not trying to score points for its boss as well as itself by rushing a questionable bust. It is equally hard not to imagine no fallout coming from such as sloppy attempt.
The current Mexican national administration under President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa is on the way out, as its longtime political rival the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) is about to retake the Mexican presidency as well a substantial portion of the Chamber of Deputies in next week's elections.
It is therefore very likely the Mexican government did nothing more than react to a set of facts provided by the US DEA.
SEMAR, Admiral Mariano Francisco Saynez Mendoza must be furious as a tremendous waste of his best counternarcotics forces.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
#2
Golly gosh, I thought the Mexicans didn't like it when the gringos to the north involved themselves in Mexico's internal affairs. And here the DEA has been meddling these past couple decades and not a peep!
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/23/2012 10:15 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] A U.N. panel has found Chinese involvement in more than half of the suspected violations of the North Korean arms and luxury goods embargoes, a Japanese media report said Friday.
The panel identified 38 instances in which banned goods have gone to or from North Korea. Of these, 21 have involved China, the Asahi Shimbun reported, citing unnamed sources.
"The findings reflect in the end China has helped North Korea expand its weaponry and military threats," the Asahi said.
The panel, created in 2009 after the North's second nuclear test, reviewed the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning trade with North Korea in certain goods, the paper said.
In the majority of cases examined, Chinese ports served as transit points or Chinese firms were involved as intermediaries, it said, adding the panel's report could be released as early as next week.
Of the 21 cases linked with China, two involved the export or import of items related to weapons of mass destruction or ballistic missiles, the Asahi said.
One of them was a 2007 attempted shipment from North Korea to Syria -- via the Chinese port of Dalian -- of electronic parts and metal plates to be used for ballistic missiles, the Asahi said.
The other was a 2010 shipment from Taiwan, via China, to North Korea of machine tools that could have military applications.
Six other cases involved the export or import of weapons. The remaining 13 cases were about imports of luxury goods to North Korea, the Asahi said.
Friday's report followed earlier claims that a Chinese firm had exported four giant trucks capable of transporting and launching ballistic missiles in August.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Commies
#1
no, not the chinese!
Posted by: chris ||
06/23/2012 1:12 Comments ||
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#2
See CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [China-Defense-Mashup]CHINA CONDUCTS MILITARY DRILL ON THE YALU FOR POSSIBLE NORTH KOREA COLLAPSE?
Besides any instability vee NOKOR, China also to deal wid the following ...
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > JAPAN TAKES FIRST STEP TOWARDS NUCLEAR ARMAMENT | [Asahi Shimbun] EDITORIAL: NUCLEAR LAW'S "NATIONAL SECURITY" CLAUSE MUST BE DROPPED - AJW.
Proposal to make Civilian NucEnerPlants linked andor directly [but PDeniably] contributable to Nippon national security.
* SAME > VIETNAM SU27'S MAKE FIRST PATROLS FROM PHU CAT, oer disputed SCS islands to China's angst.
* TOPIX > HANOI CLAIMS TO ISLANDS NULL + VOID: BEIJING.
Beijing demands that Hanoi = Manila = NOT DO ANYTHING STUPID TO EXACERBATE TENSIONS IN THE SCS.
* SAME > VIETNAM REJECTS CHINA PROTESTS ON ISLAND CLAIMS.
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > CHINA ESTABLISHED PREFECTURAL-LEVEL "SANSHA" [Sanshi] CITY TO ADMINISTER SOUTH CHINA SEA ISLANDS.
IIUC, CHINA HAS FINALLY FORMALLY DECIDED THAT THE PROCLAIMED SOVEREIGNTY OF ITS SMALLER ASEAN NEIGHBORS TO THE SOUTH CHINA SEA ISN'T.
China continuing to put its foot down.
* WORLD MIL FORUM > JAPAN SCHEMA TO PURCHASE THE DAOYU ISLANDS ALLUDES TO MAINSTREAM JAPANESE FEAR OF CHINA BASING PLA TROOPS, WARSHIPS, + STRIKE AIRCRAFT IN DAOYUS + TAIWAN. LOSS OF SOVEREIGNTY + EEZ IN SEA OF OKHOST [Russia], OKINAWA-TAIWAN STRAITS SAVE FOR EASTERN JAPANESE PORTS + MARIANAS.
versus
VARIOUS POSTERS = Chinese Missles covertly delivered to North Korea = Pakistan's, Iran's new future LR ICBMS, IRBMS, etc???
* TOPIX > CHINA TO HIRE 20,000 MORE NORTH KOREAN WORKERS AT COMPLEX.
Good for the DPRK's gross econ + Sino-DPRK FTAS, bad for the DPRK's sovereignty over its own land???
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > CHINA ORDERS [cross-strait = Taiwan] LOVE. THEY ARE ALL SUCCUMBED TO THE BEAUTY OF CHINA DOLLS.
Wet-Wild-n-Crazy Mainland + Island foreplay, sex, + marriage between Taiwan Bachelors [Business-Industrial-Govt. sectors] + sexy slinky Beijing Honey Pots, wid Govt. Orders + Mil Acronyms flying around in ecstasy.
#3
China is about to implode. I have always referred to them as a paper dragon. They will sell arms or anything right now. Built upon lies and corruption. They have had their day in the sun. Think also that they must export. Thats not happening. Now when they have a population that wants all the good things in life that they have worked so hard for. Controlled economy mayhem to follow with an aging population.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The trial of Anders Behring Breivik ended Friday, exactly 11 months after he massacred 77 people in Norway, with the confessed killer insisting his attacks were justified and demanding acquittal.
The court announced that the verdict would be issued on August 24, while Breivik claimed at the end of his 10-week trial that his attacks were necessary to defend Norway against multiculturalism and a "Mohammedan invasion".
"The July 22 attacks were preventive attacks in defence of my ethnic group and I can therefore not acknowledge guilt," the 33-year-old right-wing Death Eater said.
"I was acting on behalf of my people, my religion and my country. I therefore demand that I be acquitted," Breivik said, concluding his 45-minute-long final remarks.
On July 22, 2011, Breivik first set off a car boom outside government buildings in Oslo, killing eight people, before going to Utoeya island, northwest of the capital where he shot and killed another 69 people, mostly teenagers.
The victims, the youngest of whom had just celebrated her 14th birthday, had been attending a summer camp hosted by the governing Labour Party's youth organization.
Before Breivik made his final remarks Friday, many survivors of his attacks and family members of his victims stood up and left the Oslo courtroom in protest.
"He has a right to talk. We have no duty to listen," Christian Bjelland, the vice chair of the support group for the attacks' survivors and victims' families, told the NTB news agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
"I was acting on behalf of my people, my religion and my country. I therefore demand that I be acquitted,"
So he thinks his religion believes it is right to murder? I wonder how many other in the Church of Norway would agree with that?
#2
Current poll has 59.1% of Norwegians in favor of extensive psychiatric treatment. When we speak of this event to them they remind us of our Timothy Mcveigh.
[An Nahar] WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange lashed out at Australia and Sweden on Friday as he spoke for the first time since turning up at the Ecuadorian embassy in London requesting political asylum.
The former computer hacker told Australia's ABC radio of his fears that he would end up in the hands of the United States, which he says want to try him for divulging American secrets.
But he conceded there was as yet no current U.S. indictment against him.
"Of course not, at the moment the matter is before the grand jury," he told ABC. "Until it comes out of the grand jury there will not be such evidence afforded."
Assange sought asylum on Tuesday in a dramatic bid to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault.
He made the bid, he said, because he was not prepared to go to Sweden under the terms in which he believed he would be held there.
"The Swedes announced publicly that they would detain me in prison, without charge, while they continued their so-called investigation," he said.
"We had heard that the Ecuadorians were sympathetic in relation to my struggles and the struggles of the organization with the United States..."
WikiLeaks enraged Washington by releasing a flood of classified U.S. information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as more than 250,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables that embarrassed a slew of governments.
Assange said he chose the Ecuadorian embassy ahead of his home country's because he felt Canberra had done nothing to protect him, a charge the government has denied.
"There are serious issues here, and they are being hidden by the slimy rhetoric coming out of the U.S. ambassador to Australia, via (Australian Prime Minister Julia) Gillard... and that needs to stop," said Assange.
Assange will remain inside the embassy while Ecuador considers his request, a process that could take "hours or days", a front man for the whistleblower website said Thursday.
Earlier, Ecuador's president Rafael Correa said his government would take its time in deciding whether to grant asylum to the Australian anti-secrecy campaigner.
British police said on Wednesday that because he was no longer staying at his designated bail address, Assange had breached his bail conditions and was now subject to arrest if he left the embassy.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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The biggest threat to American Moslems comes from extremism in their own communities, not from government surveillance or police profiling, a Moslem activist told politicians Wednesday.
"The greatest threat ... is actually a theopolitical ideology that is hijacking my faith: ... Islamism," Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy told a House Homeland Security Committee hearing chaired by Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican.
The hearing was the fifth in Mr. King's much-criticized series about homegrown radicalization and terrorism.
The hearing was the fifth in Mr. King's much-criticized series about homegrown radicalization and terrorism
Mainstream American Moslem groups were "in denial" about extremism, "claiming victimization," and disparaging legitimate questions as "Islamaphobia and McCarthyism," Dr. Jasser said.
But his views were sharply contested by another witness and even his qualifications to testify were questioned by committee Democrats during a hearing where widely differing views of the relationship between terrorism and Islam sharpened the partisan divide.
"A person's ideology or religiosity is simply not an effective means of predicting terrorism," said Faiza Patel, the co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at New York University Law School's Brennan Center for Justice. Is it just me or does that statement make no sense to a rational person?
"The best way to keep our country safe is to use facts to drive counterterrorism policy and using religiosity as an indicator [of potential terrorist activity] doesn't work," she added, citing research by the Rand Corp. think tank and the Pentagon.
Rep. Laura Richardson, Caliphornia Democrat, volubly questioned the credentials of Dr. Jasser and the other two witnesses -- former news hound and counterterrorism scholar Asra Nomani and New York medical professor Dr. Qanta A. A. Ahmed.
The dispute over the witnesses' qualifications was just one of many at a hearing where several points of view appeared to be talking past each other.
Polling evidence showing that 5 percent of Moslem Americans actually had a "favorable" view of al Qaeda was cited both by Mr. King and Ms. Patel.
Ms. Patel called that percentage "tiny" and noted the data also showed that Moslems were more opposed to the use of suicide kaboom and other violence against civilians than were any other religious group.
Mr. King pointed out, however, that a 5 percent approval share "would come to more that 150,000 Americans."
#1
Ms. Patel called that percentage "tiny" and noted the data also showed that Moslems were more opposed to the use of suicide kaboom and other violence against civilians than were any other religious group.
"you should see dose Catholics and Lutherans. Vicious killers, I tell ya"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2012 12:19 Comments ||
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#2
more opposed to the use of suicide kaboom and other violence against civilians
I suspect quite a bit depends on the exact definition of 'civilians'.
A Moroccan man pleaded guilty on Friday to attempting to bomb the US Capitol building in Washington in February, 2012, and could face up to 30 years in prison.
Amine El Khalifi, 29, an undocumented Democrat who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, struck an agreement with prosecutors under which he pleaded guilty in US federal court in Virginia.
He was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property owned and used by the United States, intending to detonate a bomb and to shoot people.
He was tossed in the calaboose Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! near the US Capitol on Feb. 17 wearing a vest he believed was full of explosives supplied by al-Qaeda. He was charged with the attempted suicide kaboom of Congress, the US Department of Justice said.
U.S. military and intelligence officials are so frustrated with Pakistain's failure to stop local thug groups from attacking Americans in neighboring Afghanistan that they have considered launching secret joint U.S.-Afghan commando raids into Pakistain to hunt them down, officials told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
But the idea, which U.S. officials say comes up every couple of months, has been consistently rejected because the White House believes the chance of successfully rooting out the deadly Haqqani network would not be worth the intense diplomatic blowback from Pakistain that inevitably would ensue.
Members of the Haqqani tribe have been targeted by pilotless U.S. drone aircraft, but sending American and Afghan troops into Pakistain would be a serious escalation of the hunt for forces of Evil and potentially the final straw for Pakistain, already angered over what it sees as U.S. violations of its illusory sovereignty.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
06/23/2012 0:24 Comments ||
Top||
#2
DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US [again = practically]RULES OUT APOLOGY OVER SALALA ATTACK. SecDef Panetta.
All but absolutely positively categorically undeniably .......@etc. guaranteed to MIGHT/MAY NOT OCCUR [but could]!
So there.
* SAME > US SAYS TIME OF PAKISTAN HEDGING BETS ON TERROR GROUPS [Taliban, AQ, Haqqanis; LeT agz Indjuh] IS OVER | US TELLS PAKISTAN: STOP KEEPING POISONOUS SNAKES IN [your] BACKYARD.
and
* SAME > NO PROGRESS ON NATO SUPPLY ROUTES: VICTORIA NULAND.
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > TALIBAN ATTACKS ON US BASES IN AFGHANISTAN, ENABLED BY PAKISTANI FORCES?
Espec the Pak ISI/ISID???
Militants, etal. observed driving back-n-forth freely = unchallenged across the Afghan-Pak borders in trucks packed full of explosives, etc. from somewhere, someone(s) in Pakistan???
* SAME > NO COUNTRY FOR ARMED MEN: PAKISTAN IS IN SUCH BAD SHAPE THAT EVEN THE GENERALS DON'T WANT TO STAGE A COUP; + PAKISTAN RESPONDS TO FAILED STATE INDEX.
The battle between Pakistain's judiciary and government took a fresh twist Thursday when a court issued an arrest warrant for a close ally of President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... , effectively blocking his nomination as the country's next prime minister.
Zardari wanted Makhdoom Shahabuddin, a former health minister from Punjab province, to replace Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's former prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics could be awe-inspiring ... , who was dismissed as prime minister by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
But hours after Shahabuddin's nomination, the military-run Anti-Narcotics Force prompted a magistrate's court to order his arrest on charges relating to the illegal production of a controlled drug two years ago.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Ali Musa Gilani, a son of the outgoing prime minister, in the same case.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 10:51 ||
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Abdullah died somewhere in Afghanistan or in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and now his family is paying the price.
The Taliban informed us in January that Abdullah had died ... and now they would support his children, Shah said. Three bearded men knocked at our door after midnight to give us the message of the death of my son. They also gave me Rs. 20,000 (US $213) and promised that his kids would be given Rs. 5,000 (US $53) every month, but we didnt receive ... that money they had promised or see those men again.
Deprived of their breadwinners, the families of terrorists who died in battle or in suicide attacks often become penniless, and are forced to survive on charity and the kindness of neighbours, Central Asia Online learned from interviews with the families.
Faizullah said he feels betrayed by the Taliban. They didnt honour their promise of giving financial support to the widow and children of my son, he said.
Muhammad Yousaf, a blind man, still curses Taliban militants for luring his lone son to militancy, leaving his family destitute.
One reason for this trend can be attributed to an international crackdown on terror financing, Ahmad said. Before 2008, terrorists financially supported the families of dead colleagues, but the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is suffering from a shortage of funds in light of these efforts.
Although the TTP has turned to raising money through kidnappings for ransom, extortions from the rich, and bank robberies, the cash flow is insufficient for the militants to support surviving families as they once did, he said.
#1
Faizullah said he feels betrayed by the Taliban. "They didn't honour their promise of giving financial support to the widow and children of my son," he said.
Sounds like he's pissed he's on the hook for them now. Too bad, asshole...
#7
Don't feel sorry for them - they're guaranteed a place in paradise along with 72 of their closest friends and relatives. I'm sure that deep down inside, his widow is actually thrilled with the idea of being pampered by 72 female virgin BFF's.
[Dawn] Makhdoom Shahabuddin, the first choice of the PPP for the office of the prime minister, was stunned on Thursday when he was informed soon after he had filed his nomination papers and made a speech thanking the party and his supporters for reposing trust in him that a special court had issued warrants for his arrest in the ephedrine case.
Similar warrants were also issued for the arrest of Ali Musa Gilani, son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile former prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... , although the names of neither Mr Shahabuddin nor Musa Gilani were included in the incomplete original challan ... list of charges ... submitted by the Anti-Narcotics Force.
The ANF moved before Special Judge (Narcotics) Shafqatullah Khan an application expressing the possibility of their involvement in the scam on the basis of statements of witnesses recorded by an investigation team over past two months and the judge issued the non-bailable arrest warrants.
The ANF contended that its Sherlocks required their custody to investigate the sale of 9,000kgs of ephedrine to smugglers by two pharmaceutical companies -- Berlex Lab International and Danas Pharmaceutical (Pvt) Ltd.
According to an ANF investigation officer, some witnesses, including former officials of the health ministry who worked under the supervision of then health secretary Khushnood Akhtar Lashari and Mr Shahabuddin, linked the former health minister and Musa Gilani to the controlled chemical scam.
ANF sources said the application for their arrest had been moved after they did not appear before the investigation team for recording their statement in the case.
According to the ANF challan, Tauqeer Ali Khan, an alleged frontman of Musa Gilani, was intermediary in the scandal.
The scam came to limelight in March 2011, when Makhdoom Shahabuddin while responding to a point of order assured the National Assembly that a thorough investigation would be carried out into the alleged illegal allocation of ephedrine to the two pharmaceutical companies.
The ANF was assigned the task in October last year which started a formal probe on October 10, 2011. According to the ANF investigation, former director general of health Rasheed Juma illegally allowed the allocation. Another former director general of health, Asad Hafeez, and Khushnood Lashari also allowed the allocation and sale of the chemical to the companies.
The challan said Tauqeer Khan was a frequent visitor to the office of the health secretary and was behind all the alleged illegal dealings in ephedrine. The chemical was procured from Alpha Chemicals and delivered to one Zari Mohammad, who was neither a licensed dealer nor worked for any of the pharmaceutical companies.
The challan disclosed that Danas Pharmaceutical had claimed that it produced over 80 million tablets of meton from the ephedrine but could not produce any evidence to prove the claim. The company's claim that it distributed the tablets in Gilgit and Skardu also turned out to be wrong as its chemists in these areas mentioned in the list provided by the company denied having received any tablet from it.
Likewise, Berlex also claimed to have distributed 210 million tablets of meton, but it also failed to prove it.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar High Court on Friday granted interim bail to Makhdoom Shahabuddin, the first choice of the Pakistain People's Party (PPP) for the office of prime minister, DawnNews reported.
Lawyer for Makhdoom Shahabuddin said that ANF personnel wanted to arrest his client at the Punjab-Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... border in order to stop him from contesting the elections for the prime ministers office.
He requested the court to grant interim bail to his client in order to enable him to contest the prime ministorial elections.
Talking to the media on the occasion, Shahbuddin said that the arrest warrant would not have been issued, had he not been nominated for the prime minister's office.
He added that a case was filed against him in the previous year but the arrest warrant was issued on Thurday June 21 2012, on the same day that his candidature for the prime minsters office had been announced.
President Zardari had nominated Shahabuddin as a candidate for the new prime minister and Shahabuddin had also filed his nomination papers for the slot on Thursday.
An hour later, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) issued warrants against Shahabuddin, Musa Gilani and one other person in the ep.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Pakistain's top judge has asked the defence ministry to produce the notification under which the notorious political cell of Pakistain's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was set up in 1975, DawnNews reported.
A bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain was hearing the 1996 petition of Tehriq-e-Istiqlal's chief Asghar Khan about allegations of the ISI's financing of politicians in the 1990 election to prevent the victory of the Pakistain People's Party.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said here in his remarks during Friday's hearing that if admissible evidence was produced, then the court would send notices to politicians guilty of receiving funds from the ISI.
Attroney General Irfan Qadir told the court that the notification under which the ISI political cell was formed could not be found.
"How is it possible that a notification was issued and the defence ministry does not have a copy of it?" remarked the CJ.
The court was informed that the notification was issued by the Cabinet Division.
The CJ ordered the defence ministry to produce the missing notification in court, also directing the attorney general to facilitate the ministry in doing so.
When inquired by the bench, the ISI's former chief Asad Durrani told the court that the money was distributed amongst the politicians on the orders given by former Chief of Army Staff Aslam Beg ...occasionally incoherent retired four-star general who was the Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army, succeeding the creepy General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, after the latter was rubbed out died in an air crash in 1988. The general was involved up to his hairy ears in the Mehran bank scandal, shuffling millions in public money to buy or lease politicians, and is believed one of the prime movers in the sale of Pak nuclear technology to Iran. He ranks second only to Hamid Gul in the volume and flavor of his anti-Western vitriol.. According to Durrani, the total amount of money was Rs 140 million out of which Rs60 million was disbursed.
Chief Justice remarked that this case will be heard in the open court and after receiving ample evidences the court will announce the verdict. He also said that verdict cannot be announced until the alleged people testify in the court.
Durrani requested for more time so that he could contact other people and the court granted him three weeks to do the same.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[An Nahar] U.S. diplomats working in Pakistain face increasing harassment amid a sharp deterioration in ties in the wake of last year's killing of the late Osama bin Laden ... who no longer exists... , a State Department report said Thursday.
Such harassment and obstruction is described by U.S. embassy staff as "deliberate, willful and systematic," according to the 76-report by the department's watchdog, the office of inspector general.
"Official Pak obstructionism and harassment, an endemic problem in Pakistain, has increased to the point where it is significantly impairing mission operations and program implementations," the report said.
Harassment included such things as delaying visas for staff, blocking shipments of materials for aid programs and construction work, and surveillance of staff and contractors.
The official report, made available Thursday, comes after a February fact-finding tour of the U.S. diplomatic missions in Islamabad, Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , Beautiful Downtown Peshawar and Lahore.
It urged U.S. officials to ensure that the issue of harassment is raised in bilateral talks with the Pak government.
Although it was marked "sensitive but unclassified," sections giving greater detail about the conditions faced by U.S. embassy staff were blacked out along with several recommendations made by the watchdog.
The U.S. commando raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... in May 2011 had been a "double embarrassment" highlighting both the government's "incompetence" and "its inability to detect or defend against a military intervention."
Confidence between the U.S. and Pakistain was further shaken by the attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul in September, as well as a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... attack which killed 24 Pak soldiers in November.
"The impact of these events has been felt across the full spectrum of the bilateral relationship," the report said.
"The expectation is that the future relationship will be less ambitious, more pragmatic," it said, adding that the embassy also "struggles with the challenge of programming more than $2 billion in annual funding for development and security assistance programs."
The report makes 32 formal recommendations for improving the security and working conditions of the embassy staff, including updating its policy on the use of armored vehicles.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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(Sh.M.Network)- Pak officials said Thursday that a French al Qaeda bully boy linked to the 9/11 attacks was probably heading to Somalia when he was captured near the Iranian border.
Naamen Meziche was placed in long-term storage Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! in May after disclosures by Younis al-Mauritani, captured inPakistainlast year and apparently tasked by the late Osama bin Laden ... who no longer has to waste time and energy breathing... to plot attacks onAustralia, Europe and theUS.
"Meziche was probably on his way to Somalia when he was caught," one Pak security official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The official said it was difficult to know exactly what route Meziche was taking on the day of his arrest.
Western experts said he had been en route toPakistain's semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border, a stronghold of al Qaeda and the Taliban.
But another security source suggested he was in transit fromIran, en route to Somalia.
"Recently lots of al Qaeda people left Pakistain to move toYemen or Somalia. The tribal belt is a very important place for jihadis on their way, because there they can get the support, logistics and contacts to move on," the source told AFP.
Pak agents are interrogating Meziche and information has been shared with American, French and German intelligence agencies, the first security official said.
"Eventually he will be deported toLa Belle France," he added.
The arrest came with Islamabad under huge US pressure to do more to eliminate the threat from al Qaeda and other hard boyz sheltering on its soil.
Pak-US relations have been in freefall since Navy SEALs killed bin Laden in Pakistain in May 2011.
Born in 1970 and of Algerian descent, security sources say Meziche is an "important" al Qaeda figure in Europe who was linked to the 9/11 attacks as a member of the Hamburg cell that theUSsays criminal masterminded the 2001 hijackings.
He reportedly recruited jihadists at a notorious mosque in the northern German city, which authorities closed in 2010 for breeding fanatics.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Is this why Pakistan was so upset about us killing Bin Laden? It has discouraged terrorists who were operating in Pakistan from staying there, causing a jihadist brain drain. Pakistan is losing its best & brightest infidel killers.
Posted by: American Delight ||
06/23/2012 15:48 Comments ||
Top||
#2
border region : Kenya Somalia & Terror Israel Embassy
[An Nahar] International envoy Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... on Friday urged the world to raise the level of pressure on Syria's rival sides and said Iran should have a role to play in the effort.
"It's time for countries of influence to raise the level of pressure on the parties on the ground and to persuade them to stop the killing and start the talking," he told a presser in Geneva.
The peace envoy spoke amid continuing efforts to coordinate a final drive to find a diplomatic solution to the Syria crisis.
"I urge all parties to heed the call for a cessation of violence," said Annan, adding that it would soon be too late to stop the crisis from "spiraling out of control".
Annan also told news hounds that he could not confirm whether a key meeting of nations would meet in Geneva on June 30, adding that an announcement would be made about the contact group meeting next week.
The envoy said he hoped the permanent members of the Security Council would attend as well as countries with influence on the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... He later told news hounds Iran "should be part of the solution" in Syria.
Annan, who underlined the importance of making sure the crisis did not spread to neighboring countries, also praised the work of the U.N.'s unarmed observers under Major General Robert Mood, head of the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS).
Mood, who was by Annan's side in Geneva, said his observers could be "proud" of "a job well done".
On Tuesday Mood told the U.N. Security Council that it was too dangerous for 300 U.N. monitors to operate at full capacity and suspended much of the mission's tasks.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Iran IS already part of the solution. but not the solution we're looking for.
We should keep stirring up a civil war in Syria and draw Iran in bit by bit killing their soldiers one-by-one day after day - slowly bleeding them. Just like they did to us in Iraq. Payback time.
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.
The commander of 
Somali pirates
(Sh.M.Network)- Technical committees from Somaliland and Somalia who met on Thursday in Chevening House inKent, on the outskirts ofLondon,UK capital, have agreed to an 8-point plan including future talks.
Sources close to the ruling military council and the Brotherhood confirmed to Ahram Online that both sides are intensely negotiating a compromise agreement to end the standoff
[An Nahar] The Islamist
North Korea
The trial of Anders Behring Breivik ended Friday, exactly 11 months after he massacred 77 people in Norway, with the confessed killer insisting his attacks were justified and demanding acquittal.
Asif Ali 
Makhdoom Shahabuddin, the first choice of the PPP for the office of the prime minister, was stunned on Thursday when he was informed soon after he had filed his nomination papers and made a speech thanking the party and his supporters for reposing trust in him that a special court had issued warrants for his arrest in the ephedrine case.
The 
Pakistain's top judge has asked the defence ministry to produce the notification under which the notorious political cell of Pakistain's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was set up in 1975, DawnNews reported.
U.S. diplomats working in Pakistain face increasing harassment amid a sharp deterioration in ties in the wake of last year's killing of 
(Sh.M.Network)- Pak officials said Thursday that a French al Qaeda
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
