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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Baloch separatists claim Islamabad terror attack; 24 killed
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
15 22:02 Besoeker [6]
Afghanistan
MPs Demand Investigations into Poll Riggings
[Tolo News] Legislators said on Wednesday that many people were prevented from voting in the elections because of ballot shortages and that the Independent Election Commission (IEC) must answer as to why this happened.

"They must be summoned to parliament and explain why they had taken such decisions that led to challenges during elections," Member of Parliament from Zabul province, Hamidullah Tokhi, said.

Alongside this challenge, MPs praised the security forces for their duties during Election Day and urged that parliament must honor them because they were the reason that people came out to vote.

"The parliament administrative board will undertake necessary measures to invite Minister of Interior, Minister of Defense and NDS chief to the house so that we can honor the endeavors of the Afghan cops during elections," parliament speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said.

Head of Parliamentary Commission for Internal Security Mir Dad Khan Nejrabi says honoring the security forces should be stalled because there needs to be clarification on what extent security forces engaged in riggings. After investigating this case, then it would be proper to appreciate their duties.

"In some areas security forces have filled ballot boxes," Nejrabi said. "We must investigate this first before honoring their services. And we must not hurry the investigation process either."

Ghazni MP, Arifullah Rahmani, agrees with Nejrabi stating that the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) must investigate these cases of fraud.

"The ECC must seriously investigate into the cases of frauds," Rahmani said.

In response to allegations, chairman of the IEC of Afghanistan Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani said violations reported during the election process involved local powerbrokers, as well as government and IEC employees.

"We must acknowledge and address where fraud and violations took place," Nuristani said. "People must not distort results with premature speculations."

The ECC states that candidates held over 320 events around the country during campaign season. And deny that they have withheld any information from the public, saying that officials were unable to prevent fraud on Election Day.
Posted by: Fred || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Germany Outlaws 'Hizbullah Fundraising Group'
[AnNahar] German authorities banned a group Tuesday accused of raising millions for Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
and staged raids across the country against its members.

The interior ministry said it had outlawed the "Waisenkinderprojekt Libanon" (Orphan Children Project Leb) with immediate effect.

"The name of the group masks its actual purpose," ministry state secretary Emily Haber said in a statement.

She said the organization, based in the western city of Essen, had raised 3.3 million euros ($4.6 million) in donations between 2007 and 2013 for the Lebanese Shahid Foundation, an "integral" part of Hizbullah.

The ministry said the funds were used to recruit fighters "to combat Israel, also with terrorist measures" and compensate the families of jacket wallahs.

"Organizations that directly or indirectly from German soil oppose the state of Israel's right to exist may not seek freedom of association protection," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in the statement.

He said the group's goals violated Germany's constitution.

Around 160 coppers searched premises across six states and confiscated cash, computers and 120 boxes of files.

Two bank accounts with a total of around 104,000 euros were frozen but no arrests were made.

The ministry said it had kept Waisenkinderprojekt Libanon, which has about 80 members, under surveillance since 2009.

Authorities say there are around 1,000 Hizbullah supporters living in Germany.

The European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
in July last year listed Hizbullah's military wing as a "terrorist organization."
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


India-Pakistan
PPP to 'strongly' oppose anti-terror law in Senate
[DAWN] Pakistain peoples Party -- the largest party in Senate has decided to oppose the Protection of Pakistain Ordinance (PPO) in the upcoming session of the upper house of Parliament scheduled to begin from April 14.

The bill was passed late on Monday amid protests from members of parliament and condemnation from international rights groups such as Amnesia Amnesty International. The law grants sweeping powers of arrest and detention to Pakistain's already powerful security forces.

"The Pakistain Protection Ordinance is not meant to protect the country against Death Eaters rather it is a license to security agencies to continue kidnapping people and dumping bodies," said Senator Farhatullah Babar in a formal statement issued on Wednesday.

"It is a devise to remove the inconvenience felt by law enforcers from being questioned by courts or Parliament in cases of enforced disappearances which will be strongly opposed in the Senate," he added.

"The ordinance violates the fundamental rights and is a declaration of war against our international obligations under various UN conventions signed by Pakistain like the convention against torture and the convention for the protection of civil and political rights," the PPP spokesperson said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel Launches New Observation Satellite Into Orbit
[Ynet] Satellite "Ofek 10" will orbit the globe every 90 minutes, halving response time to possible Iranian attack.

Israel's Ministry of Defense and Israel Aerospace Industries launched the advanced, radar based, observation satellite "Ofek 10" into space Wednesday evening from the Palmahim air force base.

The satellite's cameras are capable of maintaining all their capabilities during any type of weather and also during the night, and thus serve Israel's security systems.

It is confirmed that after the first few minutes of flight "Ofek 10" was in good working condition. If and when the satellite begins its orbit around the planet, it will undergo a series of detailed tests to check its functionality and performance level.

The newest of Israel's satellites will complete a full orbit around the globe every 90 minutes and when "Ofek 10" reaches the airspace above Israel it will send back all the imagery it captured.

The addition of "Ofek 10" to Israel's satellite arsenal, will compliment the "Ofek 9", which is already in orbit. In this way, one of the advanced satellites will pass over Israel every 45 minutes, thus limiting the time gaps during which security officials can't access visual information from its targets, in particular Iran.

If, for example, Iran attempts to hide military movements like mounting missiles on their launchers, Israeli satellites will now be able to see and confirm the move twice as fast.

Ynet readers reported seeing the satellite launch with a long light-tail and a loud boom that lasted some roughly 30 seconds.

"Ofek 10" was launched on a military rocket that was made of two main rocket motors, each of which weighs 13 tons, alongside dozens of pyrotechnic systems. Developers of the engines included scientists, technology engineers and production personnel from industry's Givon factory.

"Ofek 10" is considered to be relatively small in comparison to other observation satellites, and so it will circle the globe at a slightly lower height, just outside the Earth's atmosphere.

The State of Israel was the seventh country in the world to buy the full ability to launch and operate satellites in space and as of today Israel is one of only 12 countries with this ability alongside: The United States, Russia, China, La Belle France, Italia, Britannia, India, South Korea, Japan, Ukraine, and Iran.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Mum on the rays that sterilize Muslim males.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/10/2014 0:41 Comments || Top||

#2  The State of Israel was the seventh country in the world to buy the full ability to launch and operate satellites in space

Ok, bought from who.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 04/10/2014 0:50 Comments || Top||

#3  North Korea?
Posted by: Raj || 04/10/2014 1:18 Comments || Top||

#4 
Posted by: seuogas || 04/10/2014 6:48 Comments || Top||

#5  If you can put a satellite into orbit, you can deliver a payload about any place on the planet. Just saying.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/10/2014 8:25 Comments || Top||

#6  Your not suppose to mention the sterilization ray dammit!
Posted by: Halibertion Sterilization Ray Division || 04/10/2014 14:26 Comments || Top||

#7  It's home built Jim, the Joooos are good with stuff like that, that's why they make such fine Orthodontists
Posted by: Shipman || 04/10/2014 15:35 Comments || Top||

#8  Like they'll be able to distinguish between the sterilization ray and the one that makes them attracted to goats.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 04/10/2014 23:37 Comments || Top||


Hamas to PA: End Cooperation With Israel
[Ynet] After Netanyahu orders all cooperations with PA to be cut in first in string of expected sanctions against the Paleostinains for the current stalemate in peace talks, Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, urges return to armed resistance.
"You can't fire them, they quit!"
Hamas said on Wednesday West Bank Paleostinians should "give full rein" to armed resistance against the Israel, and called on the Paleostinian Authority to end its security cooperation with Israel, Ma'an reported.

The moves came hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered government officials and offices to stop cooperation with Paleostinian officials as part of a round of sanctions on the PA as peace talks between the two sides stalled in recent days.

Hamas front man Fawzi Barhoun told Maan that Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
should take advantage of Netanyahu's move and return the favor by ending all aspects of security coordination with Israel.

Abbas should let resistance "deter the Israeli occupation and defend our people, our land, and our holy places," Barhoun said in a statement.

One Israeli official called Netanyahu's order a response to "the Paleostinians' grave violation of their commitments in the framework of the peace talks" - an apparent reference to their signing of 15 international conventions last week.

Another official said Israeli cabinet members, directors-general of government ministries and other senior bureaucrats would no longer be allowed to meet their counterparts in the Paleostinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank.

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads Israel's negotiating team in the troubled US-brokered grinding of the peace processor, and defense and security officials could continue to engage with the Paleostinians, the officials said.

Paleostinian Labor Minister Ahmad Majdalani, however, downplayed the significance of this decision, noting that "90% of our daily business is dealing with the Israeli military."

"In fact, there are no meetings between Israeli and Paleostinian ministers, apart from finance ministers," Majdalani told AFP.

"This decision undermines all international efforts ... to revive the negotiations, to proceed with a constructive solution to the challenges facing the grinding of the peace processor," said PA front man Ehab Bseiso.

Israeli and Paleostinian officials cooperate on civilian issues such as the environment, water and energy, but Bseiso said this usually does not entail face-to-face meetings.

The PA's main concern focuses on possible economic curbs.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  What cooperation?
Posted by: Barbara || 04/10/2014 13:23 Comments || Top||


Naftali Bennett: Begin Annexation Of Settlement Blocs
[Ynet] Bayit Yehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett demanded Prime Minister Netanyahu begin exercise Israeli illusory sovereignty on major settlement blocs in the West Bank in response to recent unilateral moves by the Paleostinians.

In a letter to Netanyahu, Bennett requested "to have a session as soon as possible on an alternative plan (Plan B) to begin the process of applying Israeli illusory sovereignty on areas in Judea and Samaria that are under Israeli control."
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Arab League: Stalemate in Peace Talks is All Israels Fault
[Arutz Sheva] It's not about peace, or even talking. It's about blame.
Posted by: Fred || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority


Hamas calls for end to PA security coordination with Israel
[MAANNEWS.NET] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, said on Wednesday that Paleostinians in the West Bank should "give full rein" to resistance against the Israeli occupation and end security cooperation with Israel.

The moves comes hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered government officials to stop cooperation with Paleostinian officials as part of a round of sanctions on the PA as peace negotiations between the two sides stalled in recent days.

Hamas front man Fawzi Barhoun said PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
should take advantage of Netanyahu's decision and end all aspects of security coordination with Israel.

Abbas should let resistance "deter the Israeli occupation and defend our people, our land, and our holy places," Barhoun said in a statement.

He said Abbas should end negotiations and recruit regional and international opposition to the occupation.

The failure of the the peace talks so far proves that Hamas was correct in its view that negotiations with Israel only have a negative impact on the Paleostinian people, the statement said.

Barhoun also urged Arab countries to support regional and international divestment from Israel.

Netanyahu's decision to cut coordination with Paleostinian officials comes in response to the PLO's decision to apply to join 15 international conventions.

Paleostinian officials say the decision to apply to the international conventions was in direct response to Israel's failure to release a fourth and final round of veteran prisoners as agreed.
Posted by: Fred || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Arab League says it will continue support for PA in negotiations
That's nice. Of course there are no longer any negotiations, but y'all keep on supporting the non-existent, just as you always have done.
[MAANNEWS.NET] The Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
has decided to support the Paleostinian Authority in continuing negotiations until the end of April as was previously agreed upon, amid a crisis in ongoing peace talks between Israel and the Paleostine Liberation Organization.

In a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on Wednesday the vaporous Arab League called on US 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...
to exert pressure on Israel to fulfill its commitments before the end of peace talks.

Paleostinian Authority foreign minister Riyadh al-Malki said in a presser after the meeting that the Arab leaders had also agreed to provide financial support for the PA in case Israel goes through with threats it has made in the last week to unleash sanctions on the Paleostinians if they do not extend the talks deadline of April 29.
Posted by: Fred || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  Always first at the trough of the UN and always last in the Arab League.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/10/2014 15:42 Comments || Top||


Fatah leader: Israeli sanctions will lead to collapse of PA
[Ma'an] Fatah central committee member Azzam al-Ahmad warned on Wednesday that Israeli sanctions will lead to the dismantling of the Paleostinian Authority.
Consequences. Always a surprise for these people.
Al-Ahmad told Ma'an that the PA will not announce its dismantling outright, but stressed that Israeli actions will "lead to its collapse."
Bummer, dude.
Al-Ahmad's comments come amid a near breakdown in peace talks between Israel and the Paleostine Liberation Organization, after Israel refused to release a group of Paleostinian prisoners as previously agreed upon if the Paleostinians refused to extend talk beyond the deadline at the end of April.

After Paleostinian leaders announced that they would accede to 15 international conventions, Israel announced that it would impose sanctions as it considers the move an attempt to seek international recognition and potential intervention by Paleostinians.

"The United States and Israel are jointly responsible for the collapse of the PA and its consequences," al-Ahmad said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority


Southeast Asia
MILF forms Bangsamoro political party
Fresh from signing an agreement with the Philippine government to end a decades-long insurgency, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Tuesday announced it had formed its own political party to run in the future Bangsamoro autonomous region in Mindanao.

Their party will be called the United Bangsamoro Justice Party and will field candidates in the regional elections, according to MILF political affairs chief Ghadzali Jaafar.

Jaafar said that the party was formed weeks ago and has chapters now in major areas included in the proposed Bangsamoro entity. He said, "We have already named chairs in Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao and other areas."

Chief MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said the MILF would welcome any candidate as long as "he or she is for the good of the Bangsamoro."
Posted by: ryuge || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Some headlines just write themselves. MILF Bangsamoro
Posted by: OldSpook || 04/10/2014 3:19 Comments || Top||

#2  MILF Party!

Sounds like a title to some really bad Po$n.
Posted by: Halibertion Sterilization Ray Division || 04/10/2014 14:28 Comments || Top||


Australian Ship Detects New Signals as Plane Hunt Narrows
[An Nahar] Two fresh signals have been picked up in the search for missing Malaysian flight MH370, raising hopes Wednesday that wreckage will be found within days even as black box batteries start to expire.

Australian ship Ocean Shield detected the signals Tuesday to match a pair of transmissions picked up over the weekend that have been analyzed as consistent with signals from the plane's flight data recorder, the head of the search said.

"Ocean Shield has been able to reacquire the signals on two more occasions, late yesterday afternoon and later last night," said Angus Houston, head of the Joint Agency Coordination Center.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If it wasn’t such a tragic event we could all freely laugh with great gusto
at the mainstream media regarding the disappearance
of Malaysian flight 370. Every single source, substantiated or not, has been
taken as a great revelation.
It was and continues to be a sad circus of events.


Of those following the serious clues left available there is only one
question to ask. Why does no one mention the Indian Oceans
most advanced and secure air base, the stationary Aircraft Carrier located
south of the southern tip of India called Diego Garcia?

Not a peep. Not even an indication of a US managed military installation
that monitors everything in this war region.
In fact the best old metaphor regarding the lack of reference to this
location is “The Silence Is Deafening.”

So here it is. As CNN, Fox, MSNBC, CBC, BBC, CTV and all the rest are
prepared to spout off theories without any solid
confirmation, here is one from a source who wishes to remain unidentified
from Northwest BC Canada.
This individual comes from a three decade long background of exposing the
secrets the military forces would rather have
remained secret. He has recently revealed what happened to flight 370. ‘Film
at Eleven’.

Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah prepared and practised with his home flight
simulator and had determined the maximum speed and
angle of descent the Boeing 777 could withstand.

As soon as the flight reached the extent of the Malaysian radar capability,
when he knew they would no longer expect to see his
radar signal, he wished the ground crews good night. He then turned off one
tracking device, waited to see if anyone responded
or raised alarm for 15 minutes, then turned off all communication devices.
He locked the cabin door to prevent anyone from
entering after asking his co-pilot to get him a drink or check on a system
outside of the cockpit.

The Captain then immediately turned the plane southwest into a known flight
path and climbed to over 40,000 ft,. the maximum
structural capability of the Boeing 777. He put on the pilot supplied air
mask and kept the plane at over 40,000 ft until he was
certain all the passengers and crew, including his co-pilot, were
asphyxiated.

From his flight simulator experimentation he had already determined the
precise coordinates where he would initiate his next action.
To bring the plane down at the maximum speed and maximum angle of descent to
make a direct hit on the fuel storage tanks at
Diego Garcia.

As he initiated this direct course of action the American Military had not
been concerned with the radar blip of this flight at 40,000
plus feet. They monitor vessels and flights which appear to be a threat or
are invading their space. However they were suddenly
brought to complete attention as their warning systems set off alarms.
The base at Diego Garcia attempted to make radio contact and immediately
dispatched interceptors. Knowing full well this was an
imminent threat, having no time to debate the issue and recognizing the
aircraft was operating in what was basically ‘stealth’ mode,
uncommunicative, the plane was shot out of the sky.

Becoming aware of which flight it was with the political and potential
military repercussions, the US military ordered a complete
lock down on all communications regarding the event and began dispatching
crews to locate and pick up all the debris.

When the rest of the world became aware the flight was missing the US Navy
offered all their resource to help them look for it in
the South China Sea, then the Gulf of Thailand, Bay of Bengal and the Strait
of Malacca. This kept the worlds attention focused
away from the location they were cleaning up.

US 7th Fleet Commander William Marks told CNN “We wait for the Malaysians to
tell us where to search and we go there.”

This is the most telling statement of all. Since when does the US take
directions from Malaysia unless they are simply providing
the rope to let them hang themselves.

The most powerful radar systems in the region are at Diego Garcia. A perfect
target for such an attack, one the USA stopped and
one they simply cannot reveal to the world due to the nationality of the
passengers on board. They will continue to assist in the search
while doing everything to ensure no one even mentions Diego Garcia in the
mainstream media.
Posted by: Spemp Glinter4922 || 04/10/2014 0:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Curiously enough, Gateway Pundit had a story about the Pentagon blocking travel leave to Diego Garcia. Never been there myself, but DG never seemed like a tourist destination.
Posted by: SteveS || 04/10/2014 0:33 Comments || Top||

#3  Yet more conspiracy insinuation shit, go fuck off.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 04/10/2014 2:07 Comments || Top||

#4  Indian Ocean's pretty big. There's 3000 miles or so between Diego Garcia and Perth.

I know all the misinformation specialists are pushing Diego Garcia in a multitude of scenarios for their usual disinformation reasons, I wonder what they're covering for.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 04/10/2014 2:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Any normal, knowledgeable Rantburger know if the black box(es?) would even be transmitting at this point?
Posted by: Barbara || 04/10/2014 13:27 Comments || Top||

#6  It's claimed 30 days then it's up to the batteries.

It's been 30 days...
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/10/2014 13:32 Comments || Top||

#7  I would wonder if 30 days is the 'minimum' time the batteries would last and not a set 'expiration date'.

Or perhaps 30 days until the transmission power starts to seriously degrade...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/10/2014 14:23 Comments || Top||

#8  Tractor beams got 'em almost certainly an no one is saying anything. I blame Massey Ferguson.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/10/2014 15:50 Comments || Top||

#9  I heard/read that the 30 day number was in ideal conditions. Colder and deeper water deteriorates the box faster. IIRC
Posted by: mossomo || 04/10/2014 16:53 Comments || Top||

#10  The French found the black box for AF 447 almost three years after the crash. However, it was not pinging. Not sure how they found it in 20,000' of ocean. Found some surface debris within a week. AF 447 link
Posted by: Bobby || 04/10/2014 18:22 Comments || Top||

#11  I still think they are holed up in the Burma jungle with the opium warlords.
Posted by: 3dc || 04/10/2014 20:56 Comments || Top||

#12  3dc: Have you been checking out Duncan Steel's website?
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 04/10/2014 21:35 Comments || Top||


Deputy PM visits southern Thailand after bombings
Posted by: ryuge || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanese Reports: Iran Cuts Hezbollah's Budget
[Ynet] Hezbollah is in financial crisis after Iran reportedly decided to cut back on the Shi'ite organization's budget, sources in Leb said.

According to Asharq Alawsat, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to fund the organization, but President Hassan Rouhani has stopped the flow of funds to Hezbollah following the "restructuring" of the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  "See? A Kerry Foreign Policy Success™!"
Posted by: Frank G || 04/10/2014 14:34 Comments || Top||


Fresh round of chemical attack investigations
[Beirut Daily Star: Region] The United States and Turkey have said they are following up on renewed accusations that the Syrian regime continues to use chemical weapons against civilians.

If true, the government's use of such weapons would be a violation of its agreement with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and the Chemical Weapons Convention, both of which it signed last September.

The OPCW deal came as part of a U.S.- and Russian-brokered package in which the government of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
agreed to give up its entire chemical weapons arsenal. The move followed Western threats of military action against the regime after the Aug. 21 Ghouta chemical attack that killed hundreds -- blamed on the regime by the opposition and its allies, and on the rebels by the regime.

Over the past few months, members of the Syrian opposition, including the main umbrella group the Syrian National Coalition, have accused the regime of using chemical weapons, mainly in the suburbs of Damascus, in areas such as Jobar and Harasta.

"There have been at least four such attacks in recent months, involving high doses of chlorine and pesticides," said Sinan Hatehet, director of the Coalition's media office.

He added that although the attacks only killed around 15 people, the chemicals were primarily being used as a psychological weapon.
Posted by: Fred || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


U.N. Chief Decries Death of Dutch Priest in Syria
[AnNahar] U.N. Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
condemned the shooting death Monday of a well-known Dutch priest in Syria as an "inhumane act of violence."

Frans van der Lugt, 75, who gained renown for his insistence on staying in Syria's besieged city of Homs, was rubbed out there by a masked gunman.

Ban's front man Stephane Dujarric said the U.N. chief "demands that warring parties and their supporters ensure that civilians are protected, regardless of their religion, community or ethnic affiliation."

The motive for the priest's murder was unclear, but Syria's main opposition bloc and Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
's regime traded blame for the killing.

"Both the Syrian government and gangs have the legal obligation and moral responsibility to do so," the statement from Ban's office added.

"They must do everything to avoid and prevent violence against civilians, including indiscriminate shelling and air attacks on civilian areas."

Ban was also "horrified" by apparent executions in the town of Kassab, his front man said.

"While the United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
is unable to confirm the validity of these reported atrocities, gross human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
violations undeniably continue and residents of entire villages such as Kassab have been forced to flee," the statement added.

"Government forces continue to indiscriminately destroy whole neighborhoods, burying entire families beneath the rubble of their homes."

The U.N. chief is "extremely concerned that groups listed as terrorist organizations by the United Nations Security Council continue to brutalize the civilian population," the statement added.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Iran's Supreme Leader: Nuclear talks should continue, but without concessions
[Ynet] 'All should know that negotiations will not stop or slow down any of Iran's activities in nuclear research and development,' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/10/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  It's tough to hold talks without concessions.
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 04/10/2014 21:34 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't know - the Palieos, the North Koreans, and others have been doing the talking-without-concessions dance for decades now.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/10/2014 23:39 Comments || Top||



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1al-Nusra
1Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant
1Taliban

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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2014-04-10
  Baloch separatists claim Islamabad terror attack; 24 killed
Wed 2014-04-09
  Netanyahu instructs government ministries to cease cooperation with Palestinians
Tue 2014-04-08
  Rebels claim gains in Aleppo and Qunaitra
Mon 2014-04-07
  Army Begins Removing Hizbullah Checkpoints in Baalbek, al-Hermel
Sun 2014-04-06
  Iraq forces kill more than 40 militants near Baghdad
Sat 2014-04-05
  German AP Photographer Shot Dead in Afghanistan
Fri 2014-04-04
  10 Insurgents Killed in Logar
Thu 2014-04-03
  20 Dead as 'Qaida' Attacks Yemen Army Headquarters
Wed 2014-04-02
  BREAKING: Reports of a Shooting on Fort Hood
Tue 2014-04-01
  Bomb explodes on man assembling it in Nairobi
Mon 2014-03-31
  20 Boko Haram detainees killed in failed jailbreak attempt in Abuja
Sun 2014-03-30
  Taliban Attacks Afghan Election Headquarters
Sat 2014-03-29
  Six Die in Indian Kashmir Militant Strike
Fri 2014-03-28
  'Dangerous Terrorist' Sami al-Atrash Killed in Army Raid in Arsal
Thu 2014-03-27
  Phillipines, MILF sign historic peace agreement


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