[AnNahar] Afghanistan's election will go to a run-off vote between former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani, results on Thursday confirmed, as the country enters a new era without NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... combat troops.
Continued on Page 49
#1
PJ Media has the results here, and notes that hardline Islamists got 10% of the vote.
Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf is a Wahhabist Islamist warlord. Qotbuddin Helal is a high-ranking member of the Taliban-allied insurgent group Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan.
Together, they just managed to clear 10 percent. Voter turnout was 50 percent higher than 2009, and long lines at polling stations defied Taliban threats.
Abdullah Abdullah, a doctor and former foreign minister, will face Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, a former chancellor of Kabul University and finance minister who is married to a Lebanese Christian, in the June 14 runoff.
Australian warship HMAS Darwin has made another multimillion-dollar drug bust. This time it was more than 400 kilograms of heroin from a smuggling vessel off the coast of Somalia. The haul has an estimated street value of $132 million.
It follows an even bigger bust of more than a tonne of heroin found in a smuggling vessel off the coast of Kenya in April.
Darwin’s captain Commander Terry Morrison said the seizure removed a major source of funding for terrorist and criminal networks, including al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Al-Shabaab.
A boarding party from Darwin discovered the 449 kilograms of heroin hidden in 20 bags aboard a motorised dhow vessel 40 nautical miles off the Somali coast on Tuesday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/16/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
*cough* personal use *cough*
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/16/2014 15:39 Comments ||
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[Ynet] Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the general who ousted an elected Islamist president and is set to become Egypt's next head of state, called on the United States to help fight jihadi terrorism to avoid the creation of new Afghanistans in the Middle East.
Asked what message he has for US President Barack Obama I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go... , Sisi said: "We are fighting a war against terrorism."
"The Egyptian army is undertaking major operations in the Sinai so it is not transformed into a base for terrorism that will threaten its neighbours and make Egypt unstable. If Egypt is unstable then the entire region is unstable," said Sisi. "We need American support to fight terrorism, we need American equipment to use to combat terrorism."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/16/2014 00:00 ||
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According to a Nigerian website, in 2013 the United States threatened Nigeria with suspension of military assistance following suppression of Boko Haram after an attack by the Muslim jihadist group on a military outpost outside the city of Baga. US Ambassador to Nigeria, Terrence P. McCulley reportedly called a meeting with Soros-funded Human Rights Watch and other members of the “human rights community in Nigeria.”
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain ||
05/16/2014 12:57 ||
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#1
That's ridiculous! Why would our government support a African Muslim jihadist grou...
Oh, never mind.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/16/2014 13:32 Comments ||
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#2
[The Nigerian government] likely felt that ObamaÂ’s belated support was more a product of diplomatic CYA than actually caring about the fate of kidnapped Nigerian children.
Boko Haram threated to kill he US AMBO to Nigeria back in Feb 2012. Soon after, the US State Dept became uneasy with the Nigerian assault on Boko Haram. The election was coming.
#10
AlanC.... Rhed question I assume. The threat came in an election year. I have forwarded a copy of the article. I hope the mods will post it tomorrow.
#11
Besoeker, I'm not recognizing the article you mean. Would you be kind enough to resubmit it? I'm sorry -- today's been a bit more challenging than I expected.
#14
Any bets on Boko Haram turning out to be one of the militant groups that the geniuses had decided to co-opt with a view to "controlling" things? Posted by ed in texas
#16
Huh. The system thinks we already have it, Besoeker, but I can't find it. We have to assume I was inadvertently creative. But now it's cued up for tomorrow, so we're good to go. Thank you for your patience.
[AnNahar] Relatives of more than 200 schoolgirls held hostage by 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... on Thursday called for their unconditional release, after Nigeria's government ruled out a prisoner swap with the Death Eaters.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau indicated in a video this week that he could release the 223 girls now held for more than a month in exchange for bully boy fighters in jug in Nigerian jails.
But Britannia's Africa minister Mark Simmonds said after meeting President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... on Wednesday that the head of state was adamant there "will be no negotiation that involves a swap".
Ayuba Chibok, whose niece is among the hostages, said the girls' detention was taking its toll on parents and families in their remote town from where the teenagers were kidnapped on April 14.
"For me, I want these girls released without any negotiations. Even if Boko Haram wants to request something from the government, let them request something else," he told AFP by telephone from Chibok.
"Let (Shekau) release these girls unconditionally," he added.
The mass abduction -- and Boko Haram claims that the girls would be sold as slaves -- has led to global outrage and galvanized the international community to help Nigeria end the crisis.
U.S. drones and manned surveillance aircraft have been deployed, the Pentagon said, while Britannia was sending a spy plane and a military team to Abuja to work alongside French and Israeli experts.
In parliament, senators were quizzing security and military commanders before voting on a request by Jonathan for a six-month extension to a state of emergency in three northeast states.
Jonathan has called the security situation in the region "daunting" and said he was concerned by the mounting loss of life among civilians.
Boko Haram, which wants to create an Islamic state in Mohammedan-majority northern Nigeria, has been fighting an increasingly deadly insurgency since 2009 which has claimed thousands of lives.
More than 2,000 have been killed this year alone, most of them ordinary people.
Members of the lower House of Representatives were also expected to vote, with a two-thirds majority from members of both chambers required for an extension to be approved.
The state of emergency was first imposed on Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states on May 14 last year and extended in November, as attacks continued, particularly in hard-to-reach rural areas.
Yobe's governor has already rejected extending the special powers. Borno and Adamawa are expected to follow suit.
All three are run by members of the main opposition party eying power at next year's general elections.
Initial gains in forcing Boko Haram out of urban centers appeared to have been lost because of the continued strife, with questions raised about the military's tactics and ability to curb the threat.
Analysts have said conventional means are ineffective against an enemy fighting a guerrilla war while more was needed to boost intelligence and even equip demoralized soldiers on the front line.
On Wednesday, Nigeria's defense front man said troops fired shots as the local commander carried out an inspection in the state capital of Borno, Maiduguri.
The incident followed a Boko Haram ambush which killed four soldiers returning from patrol duties in Chibok. Other reports from the region said 12 were killed.
Foreign powers involved in the rescue effort maintain that they are only providing logistical support to the Nigerians, who are leading the search in the northeast.
Nigeria, which has a sizable army and spends massively on defense, has previously acted alone to try to contain Boko Haram and not requested any special assistance.
President Jonathan's acceptance of foreign help has been interpreted as an admission it cannot go it alone, with concern that a largely localized conflict could spread across the wider region.
French President Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist... is hosting Jonathan and the leaders of Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad at a security summit on the Boko Haram threat in Gay Paree on Saturday.
U.S., British and European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... officials will also attend.
The United States has said none of its troops would be used on the ground.
But former presidential candidate Senator John Maverick McCain ... the Senator-for-Life from Arizona, former presidential candidate and even more former foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution... said Wednesday the Pentagon should consider acting unilaterally and send special forces to rescue the girls.
"We're the best-trained, most professional military in the world, and if we know where these maidens of tender years are, we should go rescue them," he said, questioning Nigeria's military capability.
U.S. military officials said privately, however, that a rescue mission would be fraught with massive risks and dangers and that it currently was not deemed an option.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/16/2014 00:00 ||
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This is labeled "Part II" but it isn't clear that the story adds anything big to what we know. There's a fair bit of detail and "inside rugby" that might make it interesting if you're looking to get up to speed on the story.
#1
Me thinks it is rats fleeing a sinking ship as suddenly media wonks who wouldn't touch Boko Haram with a 20 foot pole are suddenly screaming bloody murder...I guess that means BH has shamed the media into action with their kidnapping.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/16/2014 11:19 Comments ||
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#2
No, it means that mid-term elections are coming around and a certain part of the voter base must be groomed.
[DAWN] KARACHI: With the targeted operation entering its ninth month, the law-enforcement agencies appear to have become more than ever aggressive in chasing suspected criminals and engaging them in deadly 'encounters', clocking up more than 360 killings -- one of the highest figures in the city's shootout history -- in eight months, it emerged on Thursday.
The police themselves paid the price for their action by losing 60 of their men in the line of duty who were mostly targeted when they were on patrol though a few were killed in encounters with hard boys, bandidos, gangsters and other criminals.
Figures released by the 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... police to share their 'performance' from Sept 5, 2013 to May 5, 2014 showed a total of 1,277 'encounters' leading to the arrest of some 1,000 'heinous crime' suspects and killing of 253 others.
Suspects bumped off by paramilitary Rangers numbered 115.
The suspects were wanted in 'heinous crimes' from murders to 'terrorism acts' and kidnapping for ransom to extortion.
While the police 'performance' has brought down the number of killings on sectarian, ethnic and political grounds to a large extent, it has raised questions about the growing number of deadly encounters drawing criticism from human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... activists.
Zohra Yusuf of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistain told Dawn that such a high figure of killings in 'encounters' acknowledged by the law-enforcement agencies was highly alarming. The killings also confirmed our worst fears over the Karachi operation, she said.
The performance, however, indicates law-enforcement agency's strategy to some extent.
"The situation describes police strategy," said the front man for the Karachi police when asked about the reasons behind an unprecedented surge in deadly encounters which left 253 suspects dead.
"The current leadership of the Karachi and Sindh police has focused more on training and capacity building of the serving coppers, considering the challenges and ongoing targeted operation, which has resulted in better firing skills and much better reaction time of our coppers challenging the criminals."
He said the number of deadly encounters increased because of active policing, consistent surveillance of criminals by the police in respective areas and round-the-clock readiness by the law-enforcement agency while they patrol streets.
"There is no shoot-at-sight order. The number of killings in encounters rose only because criminals face much stronger and quicker reaction from the police party whenever they challenge it. The encounters were also held in the past but a sluggish response from the police party helped suspects to escape unhurt," he added.
With threats ranging from terrorist attacks to deadly shootouts with gangsters, street criminals and hit men associated with political groups looming large, the Karachi police have been passing through the most challenging phase of their history.
The institution has lost some 60 personnel in 2014 alone and 107 since the launch of the targeted operation in Karachi.
"The police contribution and sacrifices can help in explaining their performance. Gone are the days when the police were challenged while conducting snap checking, attacked during raids and suffered losses while maintaining the writ of law only due to lack of training and willingness. Major focus on training of shooting, policing skills and handling day to day policing affairs help our personnel to give better results," added the front man.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: Hackers attacked the website of police in Rawalpindi late on Thursday but no sensitive data has been compromised, an official said.
The website of police in the garrison city, which neighbours the capital Islamabad, was plastered with photographs and videos of Al-Qaeda and Pak Taliban leaders and a message saying "Hacked By Anti Mortadin!@".
It was unclear who the hackers were with no group claiming responsibility for the cyber-attack.
"This site was hacked... a victory for the Taliban," said another post. A Taliban front manwas not immediately available for comment. "I can say no more!" A police official in Rawalpindi confirmed the hacking, telling AFP that no sensitive data had been breached as the website was mostly used for public awareness campaigns.
"It was our official website but it had no data about criminals, it was basically for public awareness," the official said under condition of anonymity.
"The website had no sensitive information. We have started repairing it and blocked further access," the official added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[AnNahar] India authorities banned victory processions and imposed a curfew in a southern city on Thursday in stepped up security on the eve of national election results expected to vault Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi to power.
Hundreds of police and paramilitary forces patrolled Hyderabad city to prevent fresh religious violence, one day after three people were killed when officers fired during festivities between Mohammedans and Sikhs.
Police said a curfew would remain in place in the old quarter of Hyderabad, an IT hub home to giants Google ...contributed $814,540 to the 2008 Obama campaign... and Microsoft ...producers of Windows, Office, and the late Microsoft Bob, contributed $852,167 to the 2008 Obama campaign... , following the festivities on Wednesday that saw mobs destroy homes and other property.
"About 500 police are patrolling the area. The situation is calm and quiet now," local joint police commissioner Y. Gangadhar told AFP.
"Our personnel are talking to the residents and trying to reassure them on their safety and security," he said.
The move comes as India awaits the results on Friday of a mammoth general election in which Modi and his opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are expected to sweep to power over the left-leaning Congress party.
Critics fear that a BJP victory, with Modi as prime minister, could stoke tensions across the officially secular but Hindu-majority country between religious communities.
Election commission officials banned victory processions in India's holiest Hindu city of Varanasi and throughout the electorally critical northern state of Uttar Pradesh after results are announced.
India has a long history of religious violence including in Muzaffarnagar district of the state last September between Mohammedans and Hindus that left some 50 people dead and forced thousands to flee their homes.
The state's chief election official, Umesh Sinha, said Thursday the decision was "ultimately aimed at maintaining law and order in the state".
Sinha said the decision was not targeting individuals, amid local media reports that Modi was planning a massive street parade for supporters on Saturday if he won the seat of Varanasi.
Modi has been locked in a high-profile battle in the sacred city with anti-corruption hero Arvind Kejriwal from the new Aam Aadmi (Common Man) that has drawn tens of thousands to rallies.
Modi's decision to stand in Varanasi was rich in religious symbolism and seen as reinforcing his Hindu nationalist credentials during the five-week election in which he steered clear of hardline rhetoric.
Modi has struggled to shake off perceptions of prejudice against India's 150 million Mohammedans following religious riots in Gujarat ...where rioting seems to be a traditional passtime... in 2002 when he was chief minister.
The violence left some 1,000 people, mostly Mohammedans, dead and allegations that he did too little to control the unrest. A Supreme Court investigation found no case against him and he denies wrongdoing.
According to local media, Wednesday's festivities in Hyderabad erupted after a group allegedly torched a flag raised at a Sikh temple.
Mobs armed with swords and sticks then stormed a Mohammedan-majority area of the city, prompting retaliatory violence, the Times of India said.
[DAWN] KARACHI: While media reports originating in the Pakistain-Iran border area near Jivani in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... say Noor Mohammad, alias Baba Ladla, has been bumped off, most sources in Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... believe otherwise, while police, too, are waiting for an intimation from the home department to confirm that he was the one killed by the border guards.
Baba Ladla was killed with his two Iranian friends when the border guards tried to stop them and fired at them after they refused to surrender, leaving all the three dead, according to news reports circulated on TV channels and in newspapers a day ago.But sources in Lyari deny the news.
A former activist of the Pakistain Peoples Party was among the first ones to watch the news on a TV channel. "But there was no official confirmation," he said while speaking to Dawn over the phone. "The police are consistently denying the report whereas our people near Jivani, Balochistan, are giving us mixed reports as well." A local newspaper in Lyari is the main source of information at this time. Read by police officials, gangsters and residents alike, the lead of the newspaper claimed that its correspondent spoke to Baba and that he was still around the Pak-Iran border near Jivani. "
The reason everybody thought one of the three men was Baba was because he was residing in Gwadar 15 days earlier," said a news hound working with the newspaper. Most gang lords of Lyari are on the run considering the gang rivalry in the area as well as the ongoing operation led by the Rangers. Even as people are still sceptical about the news of Baba's death, they can't help thinking about the implications if the information is confirmed. Mohammad Sulaiman Baloch, a schoolteacher from Saifi Lane, where a six-month-long shootout recently ended after a ceasefire between the warring gangs, said: "Most people will be relieved if the news of his death is correct."
Explaining, he said shopkeepers and traders paid extortion to a number of splinter groups. "Since most of these gang lords are not in town, any goon and small time criminal may seek extortion. Extortion amount, which was to be given to two people earlier, is now distributed among six groups," he said. Also, it was easier to speak to an elder or head of a gang and ask for some "relief, or consideration". But now even that is out of the question as these 'new gangsters' are also armed and pose a serious threat as they are not controlled by anyone. "In such a situation, the ongoing operation by the law-enforcement agencies is the only saving grace for us. Because of it, such groups are also in hiding," he adds.
If one of the gang leaders is killed, there will be only one controlling authority. "Uzair is politically connected and more resourceful than Baba Ladla," says Haji Ramzan, a teashop owner in Lea Market. "And as was clear in the last general elections, the PPP has no choice but to tag along with these gangs they had created and patronised." As for the news of Baba's death, a resident, Abdul Wahab, said: "There's a rumour circulating every other day. It creates fear for a while followed up by people saying two completely different things and then it dissipates."
SP-City Nazeer Shah also explains that there has been no confirmation of the incident. "We get intimation from the home department about incidents occurring near the Pak-Iran border as that area is beyond our jurisdiction. At present everyone is speculating. We had information that during the operation most of these gangsters had taken refuge either around the Pak-Iran border near Mund, Turbat or around Jivani, Gwadar. Now, whether he has been killed or not will depend on what we hear from officials in the home department." Acting inspector general of Sindh Ghulam Haider Jamali, however, said the police department had sent photographs and profile of Baba Ladla to the Balochistan IG to seek confirmation of the report.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] The UN envoy in Iraq is expressing shock that deliberate flooding from a dam in Fallujah is being used as an instrument of terror against the Iraqi people.
The poor darlings, with their delicate sensibilities and prodigious appetites, are so easily distressed...
Envoy Nickolay Mladenov visited the city of Abu-Ghraib west of Storied Baghdad and downstream from the dam on Wednesday and spoke out against intentional flooding that has displaced over 12,000 families and submerged hundreds of houses and at least four schools.
UN front man Stephane Dujarric said Mladenov called on the government, Iraqi security forces, local authorities and tribal leaders to work jointly and quickly to restore legitimate control over the Euphrates River. He did not say who caused the flooding.
[Ynet] An Israeli citizen has been placed in durance vile Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! on federal charges in the US that he conspired to illegally ship military parts from the United States to Iran, government prosecutors announced Thursday.
Eliyahu Cohen, 63, of Bnei Brak, Israel, was arrested Monday in his native country on charges of violating arms export laws and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The US is seeking his extradition.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] US defense chief: No facts to substantiate report; Ya'alon: As IDF chief I wasn't allowed to spy on US, as defense chief I don't allow it.
Now that's an interesting turn of events. Did someone perhaps get a bit overexcited?
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said on Thursday he was unaware of any truth to a media report that Israel has been spying on the United States.
Asked during a presser in Tel Aviv about a Newsweek magazine story quoting unnamed US officials as saying Israel was conducting major spying operations against the United States, Hagel said: "I have heard of that report. I'm not aware of any facts that would substantiate the report."
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, who responded to the espionage question in English, said: "As former head of (IDF) intelligence, I wasn't allowed to spy in the United States whatsoever. And as defense minister I don't allow to spy in the United States whatsoever."
Israeli officials had reacted furiously to the Newsweek story, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman calling it a "malicious calumny".
Ya'alon, who has this year criticized US foreign policymaking, and Hagel both affirmed the strong bond between Israel and the United States, and Hagel noted the record levels of US aid to Israel.
The emerging deal with Iran over its nuclear program is not likely to satisfy members of Congress
...Nor Israel, either...
who seek to end Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Though the sides remain far apart on several issues, the Obama administration may allow an Iranian nuclear program that retains the capability to produce a weapon.
"The Iranians will have some kind of (uranium) enrichment capacity" at the end of negotiations, said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who has advised the administration on Iran sanctions.
It is not clear whether such an agreement would satisfy Israel or U.S. senators from both parties,
See?
who have signed onto a bill that would increase economic sanctions on Iran unless it agrees to much greater limitations.
The talks are being coordinated by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. Her spokesman, Michael Mann,
This is another one, not the Hockey stick man.
said that parties were "getting down to the nitty-gritty." The talks will continue until Friday. An interim agreement reached in November set a target date of July 20 for a deal.
#1
OWG Globalist Co-Superpowerism = HOWEVER IMPERFECT, SEVEN NUCLEAR CO-SUPERPOWERS[More?] IN SEVEN GLOBAL FEDERAL UNIONS ON SEVEN KNOWN CONTINENTS.
Lest we fergit, ASSAD/SYRIA CRISIS = SHIA IRAN HELPS DEFEAT OR DESTROY THE SUNNI QAEDA BOYZ + ALIGNED IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ERGO IRAN KEEPS ITS NUCPROGS.
By definition, iff Obama-the-Outstanding-Anti-US-Globalist desires Iran to be such a Co-Superpower, then IRAN MUST HAVE NUCWEAPONS IFF ONLY FOR GLOBALIST CO-SUPERPOWER PARITY, NOT GLOBALIST CO-SUPERPOWER INFERIORITY.
Someone(s) is going to get truly pissed off iff premises + promises are NOT followed or obeyed.
[AnNahar] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and other Gulf governments have lifted an unofficial ban on travel to Leb, boosting prospects for the summer tourism season, tourism minister told Agence La Belle France Presse on Thursday.
"There is an implicit normalization," Michel Pharaon said.
"I'm not putting the words in the mouths of any Saudi officials, but I can tell you that with our meetings, implicitly, yes, if there was a ban, today it is lifted," he said.
"As it was not an official ban, I would say that it's a non-official green light."
Since 2012, Gulf states whose citizens used to flock to Leb during the summer months have warned their nationals to avoid the country because of security concerns.
With a spate of kidnappings, and then increasing spillover from the war in neighboring Syria, tourists increasingly stayed away, devastating Leb's key tourism sector.
Pharaon said there were already signs of improvement, after a nosedive in visitors last year.
"When you look at the visitors to Leb, in 2010 it was 2.3 million, in 2013 we were at 1.3 million.
"But now I would say that they are coming back slowly, the planes are full, hotels are coming up to 60-70 percent, whereas at the same time last year they were at 30-35 percent," he said.
"I would say I'm optimistic, if I have to say what's in my heart. But in Leb, we always have to be cautious, so I'll say I'm cautiously optimistic for this season."
[AnNahar] Britannia has upgraded the status of the London office of the Syrian opposition to a mission, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Thursday, as 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... described the Syrian presidential vote planned for June as an "insult" and a "farce."
The boost to the National Coalition headed by Ahmad Jarba comes 10 days after the United States extended similar recognition to the umbrella group.
After a meeting of the Friends of Syria group in London, Hague said Britannia would provide an extra 30 million ($50 million) in "practical support to help the opposition" against Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites...
"We have also decided to upgrade the status of the National Coalition's representative office here in London to a mission in recognition of the strength of our partnership," Hague said.
The Syrian government's last senior diplomat in London, a charge d'affaires, resigned in July 2012 in protest against the Assad regime's crackdown on protesters. Damascus had previously withdrawn its ambassador to Britannia.
For his part, Kerry said in London: "Together we are agreed in saying that Assad's staged elections are a farce, they are an insult and they are a fraud."
Kerry also said he had seen "raw data" that suggests that chlorine has been used in the Syrian conflict, supporting accusations made by La Belle France against the regime.
"I have seen evidence ... it's not verified yet... hasn't been confirmed," he told news hounds after a meeting of the Friends of Syria group in London.
"But I've seen the raw data that suggests that there may have been, as La Belle France has suggested, a number of instances in which chlorine has been used in the conduct of war.
"If it has, and if it could be proven, then that would be against the agreements of the chemical weapons treaty, against the weapons convention that Syria has signed up to."
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday that the regime is believed to have used chemical weapons, including chlorine, in 14 attacks since October 2013.
Syria signed the Chemical Weapons Convention last year as part of a deal to surrender its chemical weapons arsenal after it was accused of a sarin attack in the suburbs of Damascus.
Possessing chlorine is not a violation of the convention, but the treaty prevents the use of the gas as a weapon.
Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... , the New York-based watchdog, also said this week that the evidence "strongly suggests" Syria's government used chlorine gas on three towns in mid-April.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons watchdog said last month it would look into the attacks and has dispatched a team to carry out investigations on the ground in Syria.
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.
Goodluck Jonathan
John 
[DAWN] KARACHI: With the targeted operation entering its ninth month, the law-enforcement agencies appear to have become more than ever aggressive in chasing suspected criminals and engaging them in deadly 'encounters', clocking up more than 360 killings -- one of the highest figures in the city's shootout history -- in eight months, it emerged on Thursday.
[IsraelTimes] The UN envoy in Iraq is expressing shock that deliberate flooding from a dam in Fallujah is being used as an instrument of terror against the Iraqi people.
[AnNahar] 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
