[An Nahar] The NATO-led military force in Afghanistan will no longer publish statistics on Taliban insurgent attacks, the coalition announced Tuesday, a week after admitting some of its records were incorrect.
Officials have expressed regret that a reported seven percent decrease in "enemy-initiated attacks" in 2012 was wrong and said that attacks were roughly the same as 2011.
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Jamie Graybeal denied that the error, which cast doubts on NATO claims of progress in the war, had forced the change of policy.
"Because the (Afghan army and police) are now conducting an increasing number of successful unilateral operations, often beyond the view of ISAF, we have determined that our databases will become increasingly inaccurate," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
I suppose we could have two reporting categories. Oh what the hell, we'll just discontinue the entire reporting regime instead, and maybe they'll all just go away.
Faced with a spike in sexual violence against female protesters, Egyptian women are overcoming stigma and recounting painful testimonies to force silent authorities and a reticent society to confront "sexual terrorism."
The victims of the attacks have been talking openly about their ordeals, insisting they will not be intimidated by a campaign they believe is aimed at shunning them from public life.
"We are not victims, we are revolutionaries. What happened to us has made us stronger and we will continue" to take to the streets, said activist Aida al-Kashef.
Harassment of women is by no means new on Egypt's streets, where they were often the target of verbal abuse and sometimes groping.
But since the revolution that toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the problem has snowballed, with women now being regularly attacked by mobs of men in and around Tahrir Square.
The attackers have stripped women of their clothes with knives, sexually assaulted them and penetrated them with their fingers.
Yasmine al-Baramawy, who was assaulted in November, highlighted the degree of violence when during a talk show she held up the ripped trousers she wore the day she was attacked.
"They gathered around me and started ripping my clothes off with knives," Baramawy told AFP.
She was then dragged several hundred metres (yards), while being touched and groped, until residents of neighbouring area saved her from the crowd.
"I didn't feel sad or feel that my pride had been damaged. I felt angry, and I want justice," Baramawy said.
Outraged Egyptians came together to form groups such as Operation Anti Sexual Harassment and Tahrir Bodyguard that bring together volunteers to intervene to stop the attacks in Tahrir Square where police are largely absent.
The groups also offer medical and psychological support to the victims
#1
So is this just boys from good families exhibiting high spirits or is it desperate peons from the slums with no hope of ever being able to afford a bride price getting the only satisfaction available to them?
#2
Arm the ladies, give them real training, let them sort it all out. Seems a lot of ammo sitting around fed agencies here that could be provided as 'foreign aid' that might actually do some good.
#3
So is this just boys from good families exhibiting high spirits or is it desperate peons from the slums with no hope of ever being able to afford a bride price getting the only satisfaction available to them?
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/06/2013 11:52 Comments ||
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#10
"Is that a spike in your sexual violence, or are you just happy to see me?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2013 15:22 Comments ||
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#11
During the early days of the anti Mubarak movement, many people blamed the Mubarak police and said they were hiring thugs to do this (as in the Lara Logan incident). But Mubarak is long gone and Morsi has been in power since July 2012 and the sexual assaults continue.
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/06/2013 19:04 Comments ||
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#12
Why doesn't some Islamist recruit a few good women to suicide bomb these perverts? I bet you could get a lot of them with just a few.
Oh wait it just occurred to me that perhaps those Islamists, who recruit suicide bombers are those perverts.
[MAGHAREBIA] The Libyan army on Monday (March 4th) took over security at the Mellitah oil and gas complex, Libya Herald reported. The complex stopped operations and workers were evacuated Saturday following deadly festivities between the Zintan and Zwara militias.
The plant, located 60km west of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , is jointly operated by the National Oil Corporation and Italia's Eni.
"The site has been secured by the army last night. But the gas supply has not yet resumed," Abdelfattah Sharkan, the president of the board of directors at the Mellitah Oil & Gas Company, said Monday. Sharkan said he hoped production would resume "in the next two days".
According to Zuwara Congressman Nouri Abu Sahmein, "These festivities broke out after three Zintan brigade members attacked a checkpoint in Sabratha. One of them was maimed and taken to Zuwara for treatment. After that, one of them assaulted the person who helped them in Zuwara."
He noted that locals in the area, both Arabs and Amazighs, tried to find a solution to the problem at the gas complex.
He also said that he contacted Prime Minister Ali Zidan, intelligence chief Salem al-Hasi, General National Congress (GNC) head Mohamed Magarief, as well as Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry for Security Affairs Omar al-Khadhraoui to contain the situation.
Mellitah Oil & Gas Company evacuated a number of foreign workers for fear of renewed festivities. Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, Buford bit the snake and Eloise began speaking in tongues... others staged a sit-in demanding security in society.
"The strange thing is that these gangs have problems with the complex management although they receive large amounts of money for guarding it," Ezem, a resident of Zuwara, said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the sea battle, the fleet limped into Bremerhaven, the wreck of the Blutwurstkoenig in tow... he expressed his surprise over the failure of state to control rogue militias made up of former revolutionaries.
"It was the Libyans who liberated their country, and the credit in that doesn't go for a certain region over another or a certain tribe over another," he said. "This reminds me of Sirte and Kadhadfa tribe at the time of Qadaffy."
Maha al-Sabry, a public sector employee, said "the state must seize control of government and oil facilities and projects".
"We've had enough chaos from these security and military brigades," al-Sabry added. "We want to build a strong army and an effective police force."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The United States wants the rival parties in Bahrain's political crisis to hold talks on resolving the two-year deadlock in their country, U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... said on Tuesday.
"Progress has been made" in Bahrain, he told news hounds in Doha, the last leg of a regional tour. "What I did was encouraging ... dialogue (to continue) and to reach a resolution."
Kerry met Bahraini Foreign Minister Khaled al-Khalifa in Riyadh on Monday.
"He assured me that they are going to continue in good faith and obviously all of us encourage that and look forward to see positive results," said the secretary of state.
A new round of talks between the Shiite-led opposition and the government began last month in Bahrain.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram]Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has rejected efforts by holy mans and tribal chiefs to broker a truce with Al-Qaeda, insisting that the faceless myrmidons must lay down their arms, an official said Tuesday.
"The president wants members of Al-Qaeda to surrender their arms, announce their repentance and renounce their bad boy ideas," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), considered the jihadist network's most dangerous franchise, announced on several Islamist websites that the truce efforts had failed.
The mediators, who launched the initiative in January, had already revealed in a statement on 5 February that their efforts had run into trouble.
They said Hadi had refused to sign up to a truce proposal which had been accepted by AQAP chief Nasser al-Wahishi.
The collapse of the mediation bid came as a suspected Al-Qaeda jacket wallah rammed a boom-mobile into a building in the southern Yemeni city of Loder, killing 12 pro-government militiamen.
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03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The government has decided to take action against leaders of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... for the recent violence, Home Minister MK Alamgir said on Tuesday.
Leaders of the central committees and local units of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its ally Jamaat would have to take all responsibilities for lives and properties lost in violence between Thursday and Monday, Alamgir said.
Presenting a statement at parliament, he said the action would be taken against the BNP-Jamaat leaders under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009.
The minister said 67 people -- seven coppers, some common people and "criminals" of Jamaat -- have been killed in the violence.
He claimed the law and order is under the control of the government.
Alamgir said so far 235 cases have been filed with different cop shoppes and 1,500 people have been locked away Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! during the mayhem.
The offences -- killing, attack, capture and kidnap -- carry upto death penalty under the anti-terrorism law.
Aiming to destroy unity, harmony, security and illusory sovereignty of the country, forcing the government or any other people to do something or to refrain from doing something through creating panic among the people or any section of people would the considered as terrorism according to the law.
A person could be sentenced to jail for any terms between three years and 20 years for providing funds or any other support or inspiring others to provide the same for terrorism activities.
Any conspiracy to carry out offences under the act will earn upto life term imprisonment.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The High Court may decide about legitimacy of Jamaat-e Islami as it is expected to settle soon a four-year-old petition filed over legality of the party's registration.
Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain yesterday formed an HC bench comprised of Justice M Moazzam Husain and Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque to dispose of the petition.
The chief justice constituted the bench as the petitioners' counsel Barrister Tania Amir on February 18 submitted an application to his office to that end.
The petition will now come up in the cause list of the bench, which would fix a date for hearing the matter, Tania Amir told The Daily Star yesterday.
Following the writ petition, the HC in January 2009 asked the government, the Election Commission and Jamaat to explain why the party's registration with the EC should not be declared illegal.
Sources in the HC said neither the EC nor Jamaat has replied to the rule so far.
Tania Amir yesterday said if the HC endorsed the petition through hearing, activities of Jamaat would be severely limited and the party would not be allowed to contest an election. Besides, Jamaat would not be entitled to get police protection for conducting any meeting and enforcing hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... , she added.
She said the demand of the time was to ban Jamaat as a terrorist outfit which the government could do under the Anti-Terrorist Act, 2009 by following legal procedures.
Section 18 of the Act says, "For the purpose of this Act the government shall have the power to prohibit by order or incorporating in schedule, any organization or reasonable basis of involvement in terrorist activities."
Jamaat has recently undertaken a series of terrorist acts in a systematic manner including burning the national flag, attacks on the Shaheed Minar and journalists and violent activities in front of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, Tania observed.
Jamaat's lawyer Tajul Islam said they would make a reply to the rule over legality of the party's registration before the HC during hearing.
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03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[News24] Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday the cancer afflicting Hugo Chavez was an "attack" by enemies among a barrage of conspiracies against him throughout his 14-year rule.
Maduro, in a live address to the nation, added that Venezuela was preparing "special measures" to counter an upsurge in plotting against the government during Chavez's battle against cancer.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
"14 years" > Uhl please - silly boy, Hugo + Beret were "attacked" many many years before, even before Milwaukee + "Michelle's Brigade".
CARACASShortly before announcing that Hugo Chávez died, Venezuela's government resorted to one of the late president's favorite ploys to try to unite his supporters: allege a conspiracy by the U.S. to destabilize the country.
The last time we had a CIA that could do that was when Reagan was president...
Vice President Nicolás Maduro kicked out two U.S. military attachés for allegedly plotting against Venezuela and even suggested that Washington may have been behind Mr. Chávez's cancer.
"Behind all of [the plots] are the enemies of the fatherland," Mr. Maduro said on state television, flanked by the entire cabinet, state governors and Venezuela's military commanders.
Mr. Maduro said that the U.S. Embassy's Air Force attaché, Col. David Delmonaco, and another unnamed U.S. military official had approached members of the Venezuelan military and tried to recruit them into plans to "destabilize" the oil-rich South American nation. Mr. Maduro didn't offer further details on the alleged plot.
The Obama administration, which has been hoping for closer relations with Venezuela following years of antagonism from Mr. Chávez,
...though there's no reason to want such warmer relations and no prospect of having them short of a counter-revolution...
rejected the allegations.
"We completely reject the Venezuelan government's claim that the United States is involved in any type of conspiracy to destabilize the Venezuelan government. We reject the specific allegations against members of our Embassy," said State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell.
"An assertion that the United States was somehow involved in causing President Chávez's illness is absurd, and we definitively reject it," said Mr. Ventrell.
U.S. officials said it was likely that a number of Venezuelan diplomats would be asked to leave the U.S. in the coming days.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
If we ARE NOT destablilizing, we aren't doing our job.
Geez, can the CIA or someone get off their butt and get this mess fixed?
I mean it is one thing to be Sean Penn's buddy it is another to pillage a country for $2 Billion and funnel money to every crackpot narcoterrorist in the Western Hemisphere...not to mention the toxic hate of the US by Chavez and his offering avenues to attack us to the Iranians et al.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/06/2013 10:40 Comments ||
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#2
Theatre for the locals. An external threat is necessary (real or imaginary - doesn't matter) to keep the locals in line.
Criminal Justice International Associates (CJIA), a risk assessment and global analysis firm in Miami, estimated in a recent report that the Chávez Frías family in Venezuela has amassed a fortune similar to that of the Castro brothers in Cuba.
According to Jerry Brewer, president of CJIA, the personal fortune of the Castro brothers has been estimated at a combined value of around $2 billion.
The Chávez Frías family in Venezuela has amassed a fortune of a similar scale since the arrival of Chávez to the presidency in 1999, said Brewer in an analysis published in their website.
Brewer said that Cuba is receiving about $5 billion per year from the Venezuelan treasury and in oil shipments and other resources.
We believe that organized bolivarian criminal groups within the Chávez administration have subtracted around $100 billion out of the nearly $1 trillion in oil income made by PDVSA since 1999.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
damn,he did do a lot of coke didn't he.
Posted by: chris ||
03/06/2013 0:17 Comments ||
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#3
The Chavez family better hope that whoever comes on board follows the Castro blueprint and keeps the purloined wealth in the family. Surely with all that oil there should be enough to go around amongst the nomenclature.
[An Nahar] The United States and China on Tuesday called on the U.N. Security Council to sanction North Korean diplomats and "illicit" cash transfers to step up pressure on Pyongyang's nuclear program.
But the isolated North fueled tensions, threatening to scrap an armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War and warning that it could launch "strong" counter-measures against what it called U.S. hostility.
U.S. ambassador Susan Rice circulated the text of a sanctions resolution to the other 14 members of the Security Council on Tuesday. Diplomats said a vote could be held on Thursday.
The proposed measures would "take the U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea to the next level, breaking new ground and imposing significant new legal obligations," Rice told news hounds after the closed council meeting.
"For the first time ever, this resolution targets the illicit activities of North Korean diplomatic personnel, North Korean banking relationships, illicit transfers of bulk cash and new travel restrictions."
She said that if passed, the measures "will significantly impede North Korea's ability to develop further its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs."
The United States and China have been negotiating the measures since the North staged its third nuclear test on February 12.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The DPRK's job is to destroy itself fighting + using up the ROK Army, USFK, + Japan?, etc. so that PLA Armies remain fresh AMAP when they intervene.
A DPRK state collapse for any reason only means "post-US" wannabe China is that much closer in distance to Taiwan, Diaoyus/Senkakus, Ryukyus/Okinawa, + China's desired unchallenged or unopposed strategic access into WESTPAC.
AGain, IMO China is prepping for a mil conflict agz Japan [sequester-affected US?] but right now ITS BUSY SETTING UP MANY OR ALL OF THE LEGAL, DIPLOMATIC, + HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS, I.E. "DENIABILITY", ETC. WHERE CHINA WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE AMAP ALAP FOR SAIDSAME MIL CONFLICT, espec as per Initiation + Casualties + any post-Conflict changes in East Asian or International Order.
IOW, CHINA IS SETTING UP THE POST-CONFLICT "FUTURE/AFTERMATH".
Once everything is done or complete, THEN IT WILL STRIKE!
A human-rights organization that won a judgment against North Korea over a 40-year-old terrorist attack will subpoena Dennis Rodman about his business dealings with the Stalinist nation.
Lawyers trying to enforce the judgment want to compel the wacky former NBA star, also known as "The Worm," to testify about his recent tour to North Korea with members of the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series.
"Our interest is that North Korea is a major judgment debtor," said attorney Robert Tolchin. "The fact they're doing business with an American citizen is troubling."
Descendants of victims slaughtered in the 1972 Lod Airport massacre in Israel secured a $378 million judgment in 2010 from a federal court against North Korea. The Lod Airport Massacre was a horrific terrorist attack perpetrated by the Japanese Red Army and the Palestine Liberation Organization and paid for by North Korea.
A Rodman spokesman could not be reached for comment.
[Dawn] The Sindh government has decided to take action against banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organizations operating under new names in the province.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held at the Chief Minister's House on Monday to review the overall law and order situation in the context of the Abbas Town tragedy.
The meeting was jointly presided over by Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship. They ordered the law-enforcement agencies to start snap checking at various places, including shopping centres, trade and business spots.
They also said that wanted persons belonging to banned outfits should be dealt with under the law.
Participants of the meeting observed that faceless myrmidons wanted to disturb the peace of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and create a situation of uncertainty and havoc.
The law-enforcment agencies were told to take a prompt action against faceless myrmidons and keep a watchful eye on all entry points as well as inter-provincial borders.
The meeting decided to impose a ban on pillion-riding in the city. However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... women, children, elderly men and journalists would be exempted from the ban.
The police were told to take action against land grabbers and vacate state land from their illegal occupation.
Some 1,716 madressahs with more than 20,000 students were operating in Karachi alone, and the CM asked the authorities concerned to have a meeting with the administrator of the Wifaq-ul-Madaris.
Rangers Director-General Maj-Gen Rizwan Akhtar, Sindh police chief Fayyaz Leghari, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Waseem Ahmad and others were also present.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, Harrigan had lost the feeling in his legs from the cold. I told 'em they'd never take me alive, he thought. I was right!... the CM also chaired a meeting late on Sunday night to take stock of the situation following the Abbas Town blast.
He formed a six-member committee to probe the terror attack that claimed the lives of over 45 persons.
The committee, headed by Additional IG Ghulam Shabbir Sheikh, has been tasked to submit its report within three days.
The meeting decided to pay compensation to the heirs of the dead and maimed besides extending financial support for rebuilding the destroyed flats and shops.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf took serious notice of the kaboom and directed him to take immediate action against those involved in the killing of innocent people.
He directed the police, Rangers and other law-enforcement agencies to crush terrorists, adding that those involved in the incident should be nabbed at the earliest.
The CM said that the government was making every effort to restore peace and protect life and property of the people.
He said that the law-enforcement agencies had to improve their performance and increase patrolling in residential and business centres, as the criminals could only be nabbed under a well-planned strategy.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Pakistain's military on Tuesday rejected a report published in a US newspaper on recent drone strikes in northwestern Pakistain, calling it a "distortion of facts" and an attempt at weakening the country's stand against drone strikes.
Commenting on the report published in the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... on Tuesday, a front man for the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said "such an accusation is a distortion of the facts and seems to be aimed at diluting Pakistain's stance on drone strikes."
Local and international media had reported two suspected US drone strikes in the North and South Wazoo tribal regions in early February.
According to Dawn reports, the first strike on Feb 6 targeted a suspected compound in North Waziristan agency killing three unidentified people. The second strike on Feb 8 carried out on the border of the North and South Waziristan tribal regions was reported to have targeted a compound owned by a local Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) commander.
Intelligence officials said the Feb 8 attack killed eight turbans, including two Al Qaeda men. The rest, sources said, were local TTP fighters.
However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... the report published by the New York Times today quoted unnamed US intelligence officials as denying the US carried out the attacks and instead accused Pak forces of carrying out the strikes.
Rejecting the report, the ISPR front man denied Pakistain's security forces having carried out any operation, including air strikes, in the area on dates mentioned in the news report.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The Senate on Tuesday passed with majority the Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill 2013 which would enable law enforcement agencies to take effective action against financiers of terrorism in Pakistain.
Law Minister Farooq H Naek presented the bill, which was opposed by Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -- Fazl (JUI-F) leader Senator Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi who sought deferment of the bill so that some necessary amendments could be made for making it more effective.
However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... JUI-F leaders staged a walkout when the bill was voted upon and was passed.
The bill amends the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. It now needs to be signed by President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... to become an act.
The bill empowers government authorities to take action against elements involved in financing terrorism in Pakistain. It also allows for confiscation of property owned by financiers of terrorist elements.
Previously, the NA had unanimously passed the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2013 on Feb 20, aiming to remove shortcomings in provisions against terrorism-financing.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The gruesome murder of scores of people in a massive kaboom in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... forced the Supreme Court on Monday to observe that the federal and provincial governments had failed to protect the life and property of citizens.
Taking a suo motu ...a legal term, from the Latin. Roughly translated it means I saw what you did, you bastard... notice on the incident, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry summoned a comprehensive reply from Advocate General of Sindh Abdul Fateh Malik and fixed the matter on Wednesday before its Karachi registry where a bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Moslem is hearing a number of cases.
"An appropriate order after hearing all concerned is required to be passed," the chief justice observed while deciding an office note initiated by SC Registrar Dr Faqir Hussain.
This is the second such suo motu notice. On Feb 18 the court had taken notice of the unabated killings of the Hazara Shia community in Quetta.
Citing newspaper reports, the office note carried gory details of the carnage which claimed the lives of 45 people and left 150 others injured in the Shia-dominated neighbourhood of Abbas Town on Sunday. Several women and kiddies were among the dead.
After the bombing, the note said, members of the Shia community erupted into the streets against law-enforcement agencies and the government and demanded the arrest of the killers. Mourners gathered in different areas of the city and set on fire a bus on M.A. Jinnah Road. The situation in many areas is tense.
It was reported, the note said, that law-enforcement personnel and government officials had not reached the venue of the blast in time for rescue and relief work because they were busy in providing security/protocol to high-ups at a private function.
It said that after the two consecutive kabooms in Quetta this equally shocking carnage should serve as an eye-opener. "The incidents in Quetta led to the sacking of the provincial government, with calls also made for replacement of civil administration by the armed forces, to provide security to inhabitants," the note recalled. It said that being a major disaster causing 45 deaths and 150 maimed with enormous loss/destruction of property, it was a serious violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 9, 14, 23 and 24 of the Constitution.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... , Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... amir Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Khan has said recent meetings of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... with US ambassador and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor will spoil the efforts for restoration of peace in the region.
Speaking at a presser at Al-Markaz-e-Islami here on Monday, the JI leader said meeting of JUI amir with the US envoy was violation of the resolutions adopted unanimously in the all parties conference held in Islamabad on Feb 28.
Flanked by JI provincial general secretary Shabir Ahmed Khan, information secretary Israrullah Khan advocate, former MNA Sahibzada Haroon-ur-Rasheed, the JI chief in KP said in the APC it had been decided that the tribal jirga would be further expanded but instead of doing so the JUI amir initiated meetings with governor and foreign envoys on the issue.
"Had the JUI initiated the meetings before the APC the rest of parties will have no objection but after the resolutions such acts are violation of the APC decisions," he said and added now the JUI leader was bound to abide by his commitment and the resolutions otherwise the APC would be a futile exercise.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Terming the recent wave of deadly bombings in Quetta and Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and the assassinations a conspiracy against the country, Majlis-e-Wahdatul Mohammedaneen (MWM) here on Monday warned the authorities that if the terror activities were not checked, they would launch a nationwide protest march towards Islamabad.
"I warn you if such incidents continue taking place, we will organise a nationwide long march to Islamabad," said MWM chief Allama Nasir Abbas.
He was addressing a protest gathering at D. Chowk after a rally against the twin kabooms at Abbas Town, Karachi. Pointing towards the parliament house, he said: "Nobody will be allowed to get there if the citizens are not safe."
He also demanded the suspension of Karachi administration and an army-led operation in that city.
He criticised the federal and the Sindh governments for their failure to apprehend gunnies and produce concrete evidence against them in the courts.
Allama Abbas said gunnies were targeting the Mohammedans and Paks indiscriminately but the authorities were behaving like 'sitting ducks'.
"This is not a sectarian issue," he said in a charged voice. "I repeat this is not a sectarian issue and there is no division on the basis of sects or ethnicity in the country."
He said a large number of Sunnis were also killed in Quetta and Karachi blasts, adding a handful of gunnies were active only because the authorities were not doing their job.
Allama Abbas blamed the intelligence agencies for failing to identify the terror network, their nurseries and intercept their activities.
"And if the situation remained uncontrolled for long, the people of the country would be forced to take up arms and seek justice themselves," he said.
"So far, the people of Pakistain have remained law-abiding citizens."
It was announced that the coming Friday would be observed as the 'day of deaders for the nation'.
All political parties will be asked to join the protest against gunnies who were bent on destroying the fabric of society.
"The victims are everywhere and they belong to all categories, class, race and sects but the killers are the same," said Allama Abbas.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Rolled over from yesterday because it was posted so late.
A Portland man is accused of aiding a terrorist attack on a Pakistani government compound four years ago.
Reaz Qadir Khan, 48, was arrested at his home Tuesday morning on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, according to U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall.
Thirty people were killed and around 300 hurt when suicide bombers hit the headquarters of Pakistan's intelligence service in Lahore on May 27, 2009.
Officials said Khan conspired with one of the bombers, identified as Ali Jaleel, providing communication and arranging financing in the years leading up to the attack.
The indictment unsealed Tuesday said that Khan provided Jaleel with advice to help him in his efforts to travel undetected from the Maldives to commit violent jihad and used coded language when communicating with Jaleel to avoid detection. It also said that Khan provided financial assistance so Jaleel could attend a training camp to prepare for the deadly attack.
Jaleel died while participating in the suicide attack. According to the indictment, Khan also allegedly provided financial support and advice to Jaleel's family after he died.
A Portland man accused of helping a suicide bomber in a deadly 2009 attack in Pakistan is a wastewater operator for Portland's Environmental Services bureau.
Linc Mann, the agency's spokesman declined to give any more details about Reaz Qadir Khan, saying "we're just learning about this."
Khan has worked for Portland since at least 2007, according to City Council notes, which show that in January of that year he was on the Wastewater Treatment Plant Safety Committee. He earned $63,702 in the 2012 fiscal year.
[Times of Israel] Al-Qaeda operatives fighting the Syrian regime have been watching and studying IDF patrols along the border with Israel, from only meters away on the other side of the fence.
Members of the al-Furqan group -- affiliated with the global al-Qaeda organization which has acted in Yemen and Iraq -- were filmed close to Israel's border, out in the open, in footage screened by Israel's Channel 10 on Tuesday night.
In a number of videos uploaded to the internet, the fighters can also be seen holding various munitions, including old anti-tank rockets and heavy machine guns.
Sources in the IDF believe the gunnies affiliated with these and other terror groups are currently preoccupied with fighting Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... 's regime, and that if they plan on turning their focus on Israel they won't do so before they have more control in Syria, the TV report said. Plainly, though, it added, the decades of relative quiet for Israel on its border with Syria are coming to an end, and a year from now, Israel might have to brace itself to thwart cross-border attacks.
The latest reports confirm a Times of Israel story last week which said Assad's forces have largely left the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. The footage screened on Tuesday included film taken in the Quneitra area of the Golan, the TV report said.
Though the ongoing fighting in Syria is not directed at Israel, the IDF and Israeli security officials are keeping a close watch on the situation in the neighboring country, preparing for any development, the report said, adding that some in the IDF are suggesting that Israel seek to reach out to some of the more moderate Syrian rebel groups with an eye on the post-Assad future.
In recent months, stray shots and mortar shells have fallen on the Israeli side of the border several times, including in two incidents last week, and the fence was rebuilt and drastically improved.
Well, she may have bored the Internet to tears, but Lady Gaga hasn't lost her touch when it comes to riling up notoriously violent Islamic fundamentalist groups. Last year Mother Monster had to cancel her June 3 concert in Indonesia, when Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) threatened to send 30,000 of its members to prevent her from entering the country's capital. This according to the Hollywood Reporter, who explain that a lawsuit has now arisen from the incident.
The Lady's concert promoters Live Nation LGTours, Mermaid Touring, and the Atom Factory are suing insurance provider Lloyds of London for failing to make good on a pricey "Terrorism Policy," which should entitle her people to the "ascertained net loss" for gigs forfeited due to "the sole and direct result of Terrorism and/or Sabotage or Threat." They're asking for at least $75,000 to cover the loss, plus punitive damages for breach of contract and the like.
Why is all of this coming up now? Well, there's a good chance it's related to Gaga calling off the remaining dates of her Born This Way Ball due to doctor's orders (she's currently recovering from hip surgery) with $25 million in ticket sales to refund, her camp would be wise to quickly collect on any outstanding debts. It's not easy being the Queen of the Universe. No word yet as to how the mannequin and merkin industries plan to recover from their related loss.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/06/2013 7:54 Comments ||
Top||
#2
She really had a chance to prove herself bold, but cancelled her concert as said, showing herself to really be just an attention getter. Beyonce and Gwen "just a girl" Stephanie as well.
Yet there are students who dared the Muslim Brotherhood to beat them by performing a single silly dance, just because up theirs'.
Philippine Muslims who invaded Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah last month are ready to fight to the death ...hokay, if you insist...
after withstanding an aerial and ground assault, the clan's leader said today.
Jamalul Kiram, who asserts he's the sultan of Sulu, called for direct talks with Philippine President Benigno Aquino to end a four-week incursion aimed at reclaiming territory it lost more than 100 years ago. Malaysian forces continued searching for about 180 of Kiram's supporters after an attack yesterday that followed clashes that killed more than 30 people.
"I want to talk to the president directly so he would understand, not to his bad, heartless emissaries," Kiram told DzMM radio today from Manila, adding that his brother Agbimuddin Kiram, who is leading the fight on the ground, is alive. "He's ready to die. I won't ask him to come home." In that case why not make it easy for the Malaysians and send them your brother's GPS coordinates...
The battle on Borneo Island erupted weeks before elections in both countries, with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak facing a late-April deadline to dissolve parliament as his ruling coalition seeks to maintain a 55-year grip on power. It also comes as Aquino aims to conclude a peace deal with a Muslim separatist group that Najib is helping to broker.
Malaysian police officers and soldiers expanded their search to other parts of Sabah's eastern coastline, police inspector-general Ismail Omar said in a televised briefing today. Security forces shot dead one insurgent in an exchange of fire, he said, adding that no Malaysian police or soldiers were killed in yesterday's operation.
#4
#3 - Historicity aside, I would say that the PHIL has shown it is unable to remove China from the SCS or its Spratly claims despite US backing + attempts at UN Arbitration, hence the Sabah incident involving pro-Manila/PHIL Muslim Filipinos. This, however, could easily backfire on Manila + Regional stability vee the newbie foreign MilTerr Groups now set up or firmly established on Mindanao, e.g. AL-QAEDA LINKED ABU SAYAFF + OTHER.
------------
LATEST ...
* TOPIX > [ABS-CBN] PALACE [Manila = PHIL Govt.] BRACES/PLAN FOR RETURN OF 500,000 PINOYS FROM SABAH. Refugees + those the Malay Govt is likely to formally deport back to the PHIL once the Sabah crisis ends.
OTOH, some locals are repor now calling for a self-determination plebisccite for Sabah, which KL doesn't appear too ethusiastic about.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > MUSLIMS CONDEMN SELL-OUT TO MALAYSIA.
* SAME > [Philippine Star] INDONESIA EVACUATES WORKERS FROM SABAH.
* SAME > [Same] P-NOY [PHIL President Aquino] URGED TO FLY TO MALAYSIA, NEGOTIATE FOR SABAH.
* SAME > [Interakyson.com] NO MALAYSIAN RESPONSE TO [Phil] "MAXIMUM TOLERANCE" PLEA [for RSA + Sultan] - DFA.
VERSUS
* SAME > [Manila Bulletin] MALAYSIAN FORCES BOMBED. SABAH AIRSTRIKES HIT WRONG TARGET [friendly fire], KIRAMS'S ARMY SPARED.
OOOOOOOPPPPPPPSSSIES.
* TOPIX > [Channel News Asia] VETERAN PHILIPPINE FIGHTERS HEAD TO SABAH:MNLF.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > MALAYSIA HUNTING MISSING FILIPINO GUNMEN AS MORE FIGHTERS FROM MINDANAO ARRIVE | [AFP] MORE SULU REBELS ARRIVED IN SABAH AFTER FULL-SCALE MILITARY ASSAULT BY MALAYSIA FAILS TO END STANDOFF.
A day after his death, Hugo Chavez is already being touted as a martyr and a messiah by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who equated the now deceased Venezuelan leader to Jesus and Shiite Islams 12th imam Wednesday, saying, I have no doubt that he will return, along with the righteous Jesus and the perfect human.
Ahmadinejad also reiterated claims made by Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro that Chavez died of a suspect illness but didnt go as far as Maduro had in equating Chavezs death to that of late Palestinian Liberation Organization Chairman Yassir Arafat, who some believe died by poisoning at the hands of Israel.
A cabinet meeting chaired by the president declared Wednesday a day of mourning in Iran, the state television website said.
During Chavezs tenure Venezuela became increasingly close with the Islamic Republic with Chavez making 13 visits to Iran between 1999 and his death on Tuesday. Ahmadinejad has made six visits to Venezuela since 2005.
The UK is to provide armoured vehicles and body armour to opposition forces in Syria "to help save lives", Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.
So that's where the tanks for the 7th Armored Brigade are going!
It will offer millions of pounds in "non-lethal" equipment, including search and rescue, communications, and disease-prevention materials.
Mr Hague said it was a "necessary, proportionate and lawful" response to "extreme human suffering".
But some MPs said they feared being drawn into a military intervention.
Up to 70,000 people have been killed and a million refugees have fled since the crisis began two years ago.
The latest UN figures show that two million have been internally displaced, while 400,000 have fled abroad since the start of the year, with the largest number seeking shelter in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.
[An Nahar] Six world powers holding talks with Iran on its nuclear program said Tuesday at a meeting of the U.N. atomic agency that they were "deeply concerned" by Tehran's recent atomic upgrades.
"(We) are deeply concerned that Iran continues to undertake certain nuclear activities contrary to multiple UNSC (U.N. Security Council) Resolutions," Britannia's ambassador to the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency said in a joint statement delivered to the Vienna meeting.
These include "recent steps to install more advanced centrifuges, continued installation of additional centrifuges at Fordo and Natanz, production of enriched uranium, and construction of the IR-40 reactor at Arak," Susan le Jeune d'Allegeershecque said, according to the text of her remarks.
The statement to a meeting of the 35-nation IAEA board of governors was on behalf of the United States, China, Russia, Britannia, La Belle France and Germany, known as the P5+1.
The statement also said that the six countries "seek tangible results" from talks with Iran -- which resumed last week in Kazakhstan and which it said were "useful" -- "at an early stage."
These talks saw the P5+1 sweeten an offer made to Iran last year, scaling back some of their demands and offering more relief from sanctions that last year began to hurt the Iranian economy.
Technical experts from both sides are meant to begin thrashing out the details on March 17-18 in Istanbul before chief negotiators return to Almaty on April 5-6.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
You know that NORK has NO power to blast nukes, they're borrowing them, why act surprised.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/06/2013 15:27 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Iran rejected Tuesday claims by the Gulf Cooperation Council that it is interfering in the grouping's internal affairs, insisting that Tehran stays away from domestic issues of other countries.
"Iran's intervention in Bahrain's affairs is a claim contrary to reality and it is made in order to escape from the real problems and will bear no results," Iranian foreign ministry front man Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly presser.
"We have not, are not, will not interfere in the domestic issues of any country."
Bahrain, one of the six Arab monarchies making up the GCC, at the weekend urged the council to stand united against Iran's "interference".
The GCC "looks forward towards better relations with Iran, but unfortunately the latter continues to interfere in their internal affairs," said Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled al-Khalifa.
"It is important for our countries to stand united against such interference" from the Shiite Islamic republic across the Gulf, Sunni-ruled Bahrain's top diplomat said.
Bahrain in February accused Iran of having formed a "terrorist cell" to foster violence in the kingdom.
The claim was the latest in a series of accusations against Iran that it backs activists demanding a greater say for the Shiite majority in Bahrain's politics.
Mehmanparast said Bahrain should listen to its own people.
He urged Bahrain "to seek correct solutions for its problems -- which is listening to the legitimate demands of their own people instead of taking military and security action."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The joint command of the rebel Free Syrian Army on Tuesday accused Hizbullah of "preparing to send between 4,000-5,000 fighters to Syria via Homs over the next few days."
"On Sunday evening, Hizbullah trained its members in the Western Bekaa area near the Lebanese town of Mashghara, in preparation for sending a new batch of fighters to Syria," the joint command said in a statement.
The FSA accused the Lebanese party of "setting up monitoring positions and deployment centers, some of them near the eight Syrian border towns occupied by the party, with the aim of providing protection and controlling the international highway connecting Damascus ...The capital of Iran's Syrian satrapy... , Homs and the (Syrian) coast."
The rebel group charged that "over the past three months, Hizbullah staged operations of sectarian cleansing in several border towns, especially Jousiyyeh, while dozens of houses were torched and thousands of residents were expelled."
The joint command warned that "the future of the neighborly and brotherly relations with Leb is in danger and all options will be on the table if the blatant aggression against Syrian territory and citizens does not stop."
The FSA stressed that "today, the problem is with the Lebanese state, not only with Hizbullah, and it has gone beyond that to become an Arab, regional and international issues."
"We will deal with it within this framework," the statement added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Hizbullah staged operations of sectarian cleansing in several border towns, especially Jousiyyeh, while dozens of houses were torched and thousands of residents were expelled.
Sounds like Hesb'allah is carving out territory for itself.
WASHINGTON The United States on Monday praised the holding of elections for a council to run rebel-held areas of Syrias Aleppo province, as well as the new opposition leaders first visit to the country.
Ahmed Moaz Al Khatibs decision to visit the largely rebel-held northern province was a really courageous choice, State Department deputy acting spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. We commend him for his courage and his dedication to connect with Syrians who continue to suffer from the regimes violence on a daily basis.
Khatib, head of the Syrian National Coalition, slipped into the country on Sunday as elections were being held for the Aleppo provincial council. The vote was being held in the Turkish town of Gaziantep for security reasons, but the future body will be based inside Syria. We view this as a positive sign of the oppositions commitment to free and democratic procedures even though campaigning and elections werent possible inside of Syria because of the pervasive insecurity, Ventrell added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/06/2013 00:00 ||
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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.
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.
[An Nahar] The United States wants the rival parties in Bahrain's political crisis to hold talks on resolving the two-year deadlock in their country, U.S. Secretary of State 
[Al Ahram]Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has rejected efforts by 
[News24] Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday the cancer afflicting Hugo Chavez was an "attack" by enemies among a barrage of conspiracies against him throughout his 14-year rule.
Criminal Justice International Associates (CJIA), a risk assessment and global analysis firm in Miami, estimated in a recent report that the Chávez Frías family in Venezuela has amassed a fortune similar to that of the Castro brothers in Cuba.
North Korea
[Dawn] The Sindh government has decided to take action against 
They ordered the law-enforcement agencies to start snap checking at various places, including shopping centres, trade and business spots.
President Asif Ali 
Wazoo
[Dawn] The gruesome murder of scores of people in a massive 
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
The UK is to provide armoured vehicles and body armour to opposition forces in Syria "to help save lives", Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.
[An Nahar] The joint command of the rebel Free Syrian Army on Tuesday accused Hizbullah of "preparing to send between 4,000-5,000 fighters to Syria via Homs over the next few days."
