[AnNahar] The FBI on Tuesday offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of people who point lasers into airplane cockpits, saying there has been a "disturbing" increase in the incidents.
Since 2005, when federal authorities began tracking such crimes, instances of handheld lasers being directed into the cockpits of airborne planes has increased more than ten-fold, U.S. authorities said.
Officials said misuse of the laser pointer can be dangerous for pilots and their crews.
"A laser pointed at a plane's cockpit could blind a pilot," said Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos.
"We are asking anyone who knows anything about the recent spate of incidents to pick up the phone and call the FBI for the safety of all who fly."
The latest known incident occurred May 23, 2014, when a pilot for Shuttle America pilot said someone shone a laser into his cockpit as the aircraft approached LaGuardia Airport.
"The Shuttle America's cockpit was illuminated four times by a powerful green laser at 5,000 feet," an FBI statement said.
"The beam originated from a residential area approximately eight miles (13 kilometers) south of LaGuardia," the FBI statement said.
#1
Clear Multi WaveTM
Clear Multi WaveTM Eyewear. Optimal laser safety eye protection for multiple wavelengths in one product. Features high visible light transmission. If you work with several lasers, or need enhanced visibilty, this is the product for you.
[Ynet] BRUSSELS - The US military said Wednesday that about 1,800 of the nearly 10,000 U.S. troops the U.S. plans to leave in Afghanistan at the end of the year would be conducting counterterror operations, providing that specific breakout for the first time.
The military said other nations may also be willing to provide counterterror forces, although no final decisions have been made.
Why on earth would other countries want to be the last men to fight for President Obama's sacrosanct?
As security forces in Kenya continue to round up and detain thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, most of them Somali, an agreement between the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Kenyan and Somali governments on the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees is coming under strain.
In late May, the Somali government pulled out of a meeting with UNHCR and the Kenyan government to formally launch a Tripartite Commission and discuss implementation of the Tripartite Agreement. The Agreement, signed in November 2013, outlines the procedures for the gradual and voluntary return of Somali refugees from Kenya, which is currently hosting around 423,000 Somalis holding refugee status.
The scheduled 27 May meeting was to be first of the Tripartite Commission and was expected to produce agreements on a number of joint actions, including the launch of a pilot phase of a voluntary returns programme that has been on hold for several months. The cancellation of the meeting stalls the dialogue on voluntary returns to Somalia where internal security is currently challenged due to a joint military offensive against the al-Shabaab insurgency by the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somali National Armed Forces (SNAF) in south-central Somalia. Recent estimates point to around 73,000 people being displaced due to the military offensive, including to some of the areas identified for voluntary refugee returns as part of the pilot phase.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Kenyan police were last night investigating claims that a white woman seen trying to cross into Somalia could have been Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of a July 7 bomber and now the world's most wanted woman.
A foreign woman reportedly paid for two Kenyan policemen to escort her in a rented four-wheel-drive from the island resort of Lamu to the border, where she attempted to pass through Kenyan immigration and into Somalia.
Police sources denied that the woman matched any description of Lewthwaite, on the run since 2011 when she fled Kenya after police uncovered a terror cell she allegedly ran in the coastal city of Mombasa.
"The documents she used to try to cross the border do not match Samantha," Leonard Omollo, the Lamu county police commander told Kenyan media.
Anti-terror police sources in Nairobi, the capital, said that there was no indication that the white woman spotted in the vicinity of the border in April was Lewthwaite.
"She is long-gone, in Somalia, perhaps, or Tanzania, we don't know, but we do know that even she would not be stupid enough to return to Kenya then hire police officers to try to help her escape again into Somalia," one said.
There was no explanation, however, of who the woman could have been. She was reported to have claimed to work for an aid agency, but almost all international charities have declared the area off limits. She was said to have "vanished" after border guards and immigration officials refused her entry into Somalia.
Just like an aid worker...
She had said she had a package that she needed to deliver to Kenyan troops stationed in southern Somalia as part of international armies battling al-Shabaab.
"What's in the package, lady?"
"A gift for the brave soldiers of Kenya."
"Why is it making a ticking sound?"
"It's, um, um, a clock. That's right. A clock."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
[AnNahar] Conflicting comments by Sudanese officials over whether a Christian woman sentenced to hang for apostasy will be freed reflect confusion within the Islamist government, hit by international outrage over the verdict, analysts say.
Khartoum is torn between hardline Islamists, who demand the execution of the 27-year-old mother of two, who just gave birth to a daughter in prison, and foreign pressure to free her, Sudanese analyst Khaled al-Tijani al-Nur says.
Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, who was born to a Mohammedan father, was sentenced to death on May 15 under the Islamic sharia law that has been in place since 1983, and which outlaws conversions under pain of death.
Ishag was raised an Orthodox Christian, her mother's religion, married a Christian man originally from South Sudan and already had a 20-month-old son before she gave birth last week.
She denied ever committing apostasy.
Her judge showed no mercy, also sentencing her to 100 lashes for adultery, as marriage between a Mohammedan woman and a non-Mohammedan man is considered adulterous under Sudan's interpretation of sharia law.
- Diplomatic mine field -
On Saturday, Abdullah al-Azraq, a foreign ministry undersecretary, told Agence La Belle France Presse and other media during a visit to London that Ishag would be "freed within days in line with legal procedure that will be taken by the judiciary and the ministry of justice."
But the following day, Sudan's foreign ministry denied that she would be freed soon. It said quotes attributed to Azraq had been taken out of context and that Ishag's release depended on whether a court accepted an appeal request by her defense team.
Nur attributes the about-turn to the "confusion" that typifies the government's policies and reflects the country's diplomatic strategy.
"At the foreign ministry, they operate as if they were in a mine field... where kabooms lead to a change of mind," Nur said.
"Some religious bully boy groups are exerting pressure on the government in the case of Meriam Ishag."
But when foreign pressure started to grow, the government wanted to resolve the problem by freeing the woman, he added.
A government source supported his interpretation of what happened.
"Some in the government had decided to resolve the matter after the strong international reactions. But the leaks to the media (of this initiative) showed that the government interferes in the decisions of the judiciary," said the source, who requested anonymity.
"The ministry then wanted to stop it (under pressure from) internal forces who were angered" by the announcement of Ishag's imminent release.
A former Sudanese diplomat, Rachid Abu Shama, said these contradictions were explained by "the state's political confusion, which results in these equally confused declarations, to the point where some officials pronounce on a subject they are not responsible for."
"The foreign ministry undersecretary was abroad for health treatment," when he said that Ishag would be freed, "which the judiciary had not decided on."
- Awaiting appeal -
After the foreign ministry officials' comments, Ishag's husband, Daniel Wani, told AFP he did not believe she would be freed.
"No one has contacted me and I don't think it will happen. We have submitted an appeal but they have not looked at it yet, so how is it that they will release her," asked Wani, a U.S. citizen.
Ishag's lawyer Mohannad Mustapha also expressed doubts she would be released or that charges against her would be dropped.
"The only party who can do that is the appeals court but I am not sure that they have the full case file," he said on Saturday.
The court had given Ishag three days to "recant" her Christian faith, but she refused to do so.
Her case sparked international condemnation, with British Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... denouncing the "barbaric" sentence.
Amnesia Amnesty International said Ishag was raised an Orthodox Christian by her mother because her Mohammedan father was absent, and called the sentence "abhorrent."
Sudan has paid heavily for the policies of its Islamist regime. In power since 1989, it has suffered diplomatic and economic isolation since the late 1990s when the United States imposed sanctions in retaliation for Khartoum offering refuge to bully boy Islamists.
Clearly not heavily enough, if the government is still "confused" about its response.
Al-Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who is no longer with us, and won't be again... was based in the country from 1991 to 1996.
[AnNahar] The United States said Wednesday it looks forward to working with the government of Egyptian president-elect Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, while urging him to carry out human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... reforms.
President Barack Obama If you like your coverage you can keep it... will speak with the former army chief in the coming days, the White House said in a statement.
Washington looked forward to working with Sisi "to advance our strategic partnership and the many interests shared by the United States and Egypt," it said.
Sisi took a sweeping 96.9 percent of the vote in an election held nearly a year after he toppled president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... , whose Islamist allies boycotted the polls.
The United States firmly refrained from calling the change of government a coup. That assessment would have forced it under U.S. law to stop providing Egypt with billions in annual aid.
In the statement, the White House said observers found the elections were held in accordance with Egyptian law.
But it also expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... about what it called the "restrictive political environment" in which the vote took place and urged Sisi's new government to step up rights reforms.
"We have consistently expressed our concerns about limits on freedom of peaceful assembly, association, and expression and call upon the government to ensure these freedoms as well as due process rights for all Egyptians," it said.
The statement added: "We urge the President-elect and the government to adopt the reforms that are needed to govern with accountability and transparency, ensure justice for every individual, and demonstrate a commitment to the protection of the universal rights of all Egyptians."
As Egypt looks ahead to parliamentary elections later this year, Washington urged the country to consider ways to improve how future elections are held.
"True democracy is built on a foundation of rule of law, civil liberties, and open political discourse," the statement said.
[AnNahar] Yemeni forces and Shiite Houthis reached a ceasefire deal Wednesday to end festivities in the northern province of Amran following mediation backed by U.N. envoy Jamal Benomar.
The agreement was made between government officials and representatives of Ansarullah rebels "to end violence" in Amran, the office of Benomar said.
State news agency Saba said the ceasefire agreement took effect at midday (0900 GMT).
It stipulated an end to military reinforcements from both sides, deployment of impartial military monitors, and the opening of the main road to the capital Sanaa, the agency said.
Benomar held "intensive consultations" with representatives of military leaders as well as Ansarullah, his office said in a statement.
He urged all sides to abide by all the points of the agreement "to reinstate security and stability in the region," after dozens were killed in the festivities that flared at the end of May.
Government warplanes this week raided positions of the rebels who seized a strategic point that controls the road to Sanaa.
Huthis are suspected of trying to expand their sphere of influence as Yemen is split into six regions, pushing out from their mountain strongholds in the far north to areas closer to Sanaa.
The rebels complained Yemen would be divided into rich and poor regions under a federalization plan agreed in February following national talks as part of a political transition.
Huthis have been fighting the central government for years, complaining of marginalization under ex-president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... , who was ousted in a 2012 uprising.
In February, they seized areas of Amran province in fighting with tribes that killed more than 150 people.
[Ynet] French report claims that shooting suspect Mehdi Nemmouche wasn't on 'List S' as authorities maintain; suspect passed through several countries un-hindered.
An error by French authorities may have been the reason that measures weren't taken to preemptively arrest 29-year-old Mehdi Nemmouche and prevent last week's shooting attack at a Jewish Museum in Brussels, reported La Belle France's Le Nouvel Observateur Tuesday.
Whoops! Perhaps this is why the lad wants to be tried by the French instead of the Belgians...
Nemmouche is the chief suspect in the shooting that killed at least three people including an Israeli couple from Tel Aviv. Upon his arrest he was found with a video in which a voice said the film was made because a camera meant to broadcast the killings live failed to function.
#1
European governments "are quite well positioned to thwart larger plots involving several people," Hegghammer said. "They're not able to stop all the smaller, simpler attacks like the one in Brussels, with one person and a gun."
Fezzik: I just figured why you give me so much trouble. Smashes man in black against a rock, he groans.
Man In Black: Why's that, do you think?
Fezzik: Well, I haven't fought just one person for so long. Been specializing in groups. Battling gangs for local charities, that kind of thing. Smashes into another rock.
Man In Black: Why should that make such a... Fezzik backs the Man in Black into a boulder, knocking his breath out. Difference?
Fezzik: Slowing down. Well, you see, you use different moves when you're fighting half a dozen people than when you only have to be worried... about ... one.
[AnNahar] Mehdi Nemmouche, the French Islamist tossed in the slammer Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! on suspicion of a triple murder at the Brussels Jewish Museum, is to contest being handed over by La Belle France to Belgium, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Nemmouche, 29, was arrested in Marseille on Friday. He wants to stand trial in La Belle France and will fight a European arrest warrant issued by the Belgian authorities, the lawyer, Apolin Pepiezep told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Nemmouche's decision to contest the warrant could delay by several weeks his return to Belgium, where authorities wish to question him in connection with a shooting last week which left three people dead and another man in a critical condition with no prospect of recovery.
A first hearing on the arrest warrant has been scheduled for Thursday at an appeal court in Versailles, in the Gay Paree suburbs.
"We want him to be judged in La Belle France, first of all because he is French and he is in La Belle France," Pepiezep said, emphasizing that some of the charges Nemmouche faces, such as the illegal carrying of arms, have been brought by the French authorities.
Nemmouche was arrested in possession of a Kalashnikov and a pistol similar to the weapons used in the museum killings. He was also found to be carrying a camera on which he appeared to have filmed himself admitting responsibility for the attack, according to police sources.
"My client and I weighed up the pros and cons and agreed to oppose the request," the lawyer added. "We prefer that his case should be handled under French jurisdiction and we will argue that before the appeal court tomorrow."
The lawyer said he would not rule out an appeal in the event that Thursday's hearing results in the court supporting his client's transfer to Belgium.
Under European procedures -- which are designed to be much quicker than a full extradition process -- the suspect will have three days to appeal and the higher court will then have 40 days to issue a ruling on whether the handover can go ahead.
#1
lessee...you have free unfettered travel and commerce amongst the EUCrat nations. Why would there be an issue of extradition? Just say he was freely traveling. With handcuffs and a hood over his head.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/05/2014 9:17 Comments ||
Top||
#2
And a fresh concussion
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/05/2014 9:17 Comments ||
Top||
[Dawn] PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Wednesday said the law-enforcement agencies had traced a network of extortionists operating in the province and that he had ordered a 'result-oriented' crackdown on the outlaws.He was speaking to news hounds after handing over keys of buses to the heads of different educational institutions during a special ceremony here at the Malik Saad Khan Police Lines.
The chief minister said the government was committed to protecting the people's life and property and that the people, especially traders, would soon see improvement in the security situation.
Continued on Page 49
[Dawn] Miranshah ... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... : The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain has claimed the credit for the suicide kaboom in Fateh Jang and attacks on border posts in Bajaur.
TTP front man Shahidullah Shahid told Dawn by phone from an unspecified location that the bombing and the attacks were in retaliation for the killing of its men 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... and attacks on Taliban in other places.
"We will respond to repression in the manner as we did today."
He claimed that the TTP was still interested in peace talks, but the government was never serious and continued to target and torture Taliban fighters.
Also Wednesday, a suicide kaboom on an army vehicle killed five people including two senior army officers near Pakistain's capital Islamabad , officials said.
The attack happened on a main road just outside the town of Fateh Jang 40 kilometers (24 miles) west of Islamabad, local police official Ghulam Majeed told AFP.
Details of how the bomber reached the vehicle are not yet clear.
"Two officers, namely Lieutenant Colonels Zahir Shah and Arshad, and three civilians embraced shahadat (martyrdom) when a security forces vehicle was targeted by a jacket wallah," a security official told AFP.
The bomber was also killed.
More than 4,000 Pak police, paramilitaries or troops have bit the dust to an Islamist insurgency since 2002, but the death of high-ranking officers is rare.
[Dawn] ISLAMABAD: Economic losses suffered by Pakistain due to terrorism continued to pile up as the country lost another Rs701 billion ($6.9bn) during the first nine months (July-March) of 2013-14.
The country has lost Rs8264.4bn ($102.5bn), both in direct and indirect costs of incidents of terrorism, during the past 13 years of its engagement with war on terror, Economic Survey 2013-14 released on Monday said.
It was, however, important to note that the losses during the outgoing fiscal year had declined by 32.9 per cent as compared to last year. Losses during 2013-14 had scaled back to the 2007-08 in terms of dollar value. The declining trend for losses had started in 2011-12 and has continued since then.
Pakistain lost the most in 2010-11 for any single year when its losses due to terrorism were calculated to be Rs2,037bn ($23.77bn).
The impact of terrorism on the economy was measured by a finance ministry-led inter-ministerial committee comprising representatives of ministries of interior, foreign affairs, commerce and inter-provincial coordination.
The Economic Survey said that the "rise of violent extremism and increase in terrorism ... disrupted Pakistain's normal economic and trading activities, which not only resulted in higher costs of business but also created disruptions in the production cycles, resulting in significant delays in meeting the export orders around the globe. As a result, Pak products have gradually lost their market share to their competitors."
This led to slowing down of economic growth, declining tax collection and loss of foreign investment.
The blame for growing extremism and terrorism in Pakistain was put on "instability and conflict" in Afghanistan.
The breakdown of the losses given by the Economic Survey showed that while all other sectors suffered less than previous years, foreign investment took the biggest hit during this period. It is estimated that the country lost foreign investment worth $3,260m during the last year as compared to $210m during the previous year.
Lost foreign investments roughly made up half of the total losses incurred by the country due to terrorism.
Losses in terms of exports ($323m), industrial output ($129.6m), and tax collection ($1,732.4m) reduced significantly over the previous year.
Lower figures quoted for the compensation paid to affectees ($13.97m) and damage to physical infrastructure (437.36m) this year was clear indication that despite some high-profile incidents, damage caused by terrorism decreased.
The Economic Survey said Pakistain "needs enormous resources to enhance productive capacity of the economy by repairing damaged infrastructure and to create a favorable investment climate".
It said the security situation was a "key determinant" of future flow of the investment.
The survey further noted that Pakistain's economy needs an early end to the conflict in Afghanistan.
#1
All too true, it's been ages since the Land of the Pure was on my investment metre. I've invested my pocket lint, bottle caps and Green Stamps in an Argentine broody mare. I go for safety and certain yield given the choice.
[Dawn] PESHAWAR: The ongoing military action in North Wazoo Agency and the Taliban's orders for the local population to flee their homes could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for unvaccinated local children.
"The rustics' migration to nearby Bannu due to the possible military action and the Taliban's resolve to fight back is likely to result in mass exodus," an official told Dawn on Monday.
The official said the displaced population would live either in camps or with host community, where oral polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... vaccine could be administered to around 150,000 North Waziristan children, who had long been unvaccinated due to the ban of the Taliban on polio vaccination.
Of the 71 countrywide polio cases reported until now this year, 55 came from Fata, including 46 from North Waziristan Agency, five from South Waziristan Agency and two from Khyber Agency and FR Bannu each.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... and Sindh reported 10 and six polio cases respectively.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa health department, which have long been victim of polio virus from Fata, has a successful experience with regard to vaccination of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Tirah valley in Khyber Agency, according to a relevant official.
The official said around 100,000 children, who fled their homes due to the conflict, were vaccinated in Jalozai camps and in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. "The result of the vaccination was a breakthrough because we eliminated virus from Tirah valley, which hasn't reported any polio case since April 2012. Before that, Tirah was responsible for the transportation of virus to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa," he said.
The official said the department also carried out four weekly immunisation campaign covering fewer than 15 children.
"No case has been reported there. Bara recorded the last P3 case of Asia in April 2102. There's been no polio case from there since," he said.
The official said the children were also vaccinated at 14 transit points established for displaced persons.
"The same strategy can be applied to ensure vaccination of Waziristan children when they reach Bannu, where the situation is similar to Tirah valley," he said.
Polio virus from North Waziristan Agency was traced in four of the total six Bannu cases reported in 2014.
The provincial government insists the children got infection from unvaccinated Fata children and holds the federal government responsible for it.
"The centre is supposed to ensure immunisation in Fata, which it controls directly. We have already made Peshawar polio-free," a local official said.
He said the centre's response to province's requests to administer vaccination to Fata children was confined to verbal assurances as everyone knew the Taliban ban on vaccination imposed in June 2012 continued to be in place.
"After being let down by the Fata situation, our only hope for vaccination of children is their displacement. Mass displacement is a serious human tragedy and causes widespread repercussions for the people fleeing homes due to violence. However, you can observe a lot just by watching... it will be better for the polio eradication programme to immunise children, who haven't been given OPV for 22 months," he said.
The official said Lahore had tested positive for polio virus threatening children from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where water was free from the virus as declared by the World Health Organisation lately.
He said the province, where the virus was confined to two districts only, was also worried about the virus circulating 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... The official said the Sehat Ka Insaf (Health for All) programme run by the health department had eradicated polio virus from Peshawar, which was declared the world polio reservoir by the WHO in January this year.
He, however, said the city was prone to the polio re-emergence due to circulation of the virus in Waziristan and Khyber agencies and other parts of Fata.
[AnNahar] World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim said on Wednesday international support for Jordan and Leb to help them cope with hosting more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees was "disappointing."
"So far the support for Jordan and also Leb... has been frankly disappointing. We need donor countries and all who care about peace and stability in this region to step up...," Kim told a joint news conference in Amman with Jordan's planning minister Ibrahim Seif.
"Jordan is bearing too much of a burden of a really global issue.
"This is a global problem, not just a problem for the countries of the region but for the entire world and we think it is time for other countries to really step up, make good on their promises and support this country."
Leb is home to more than a million refugees, while around 600,000 have fled to Jordan, and Turkey hosts another 700,000.
Syria's civil war has generated the worst refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide of the mid-1990s, with half the population having fled their homes, including nearly three million refugees mainly sheltering in neighboring countries.
Kim, on a regional visit, said on Monday in the Saudi city of Jeddah that the conflict in Syria has cost Leb $7.5 billion (5.5 billion euros).
In December, the U.N. appealed for around $6.5 billion for victims of Syria's war, and $2.3 billion was pledged at a Kuwait donors' conference in January.
But U.N. officials have said their 2014 plan is only 25 percent funded.
"We have to make sure that in the process of accepting so many refugees this country (Jordan) which has been so stable for so long, does not suffer unnecessarily and continues to grow," said Kim.
Earlier, Kim, who met Jordan's King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur, visited the northern seven-square-kilometer (2.8-square-mile) Zaatari refugee camp, home to around 100,000 Syrians.
"I was able to visit the Zaatari refugee camp this morning and it is truly of an enormous scale but it is only a small proportion of the overall number of Syrian refuges who are here," he told news hounds in Amman.
Seif said the World Bank provided Jordan last year with an easy loan of $150 million, and in March approved a $250 million loan to ease strains aggravated by the refugee influx.
"We discussed today (Wednesday) means to get more support from the World Bank for economic and investment projects in Jordan," he said.
"There is a possibility for Jordan to get $700-$800 million to support development projects, as well as $200 million to support the budget in the coming stages," he added without elaborating.
#1
Tut and tut.
It is time chilren to take the staples out of your wallet and give like like there's no tomorrow. Call your Senator today and ask, no demand action on this pressing humanitarian need. 5 cents a gallon is nothing compared to the 248 million suffering Syrian babies. Act now.
[AnNahar] The Israeli government on Thursday ordered officials to move forward with plans for another 1,800 settler homes, just hours after issuing tenders for 1,500 housing units, an official said.
"The political echelon has ordered the Civil Administration to advance 1,800 new (housing) units," the Israeli official told Agence La Belle France Presse on condition of anonymity, referring to a defense ministry unit responsible for all West Bank planning issues.
The order relates to construction in 10 separate settlements across the West Bank, all of which are at different stages of the planning process.
Israeli media reports said the plans had been frozen by the government some three months ago.
The announcement came just hours after Israel's housing ministry published tenders for the construction of nearly 1,500 new homes, 400 of them in annexed east Jerusalem and the rest in the West Bank.
Israel said the move was in direct response to the establishment of a new Paleostinian unity government, backed by the Islamist Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, movement which calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.
Walla news website said the order to unfreeze the plans was given by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today ordered that the construction of 1,800 additional housing units beyond the Green Line be advanced on order to continue the work of the Civil Administrations higher planning committee," it said.
"Netanyahu ordered to advance plans that he had ordered frozen some three months ago."
Netanyahu's office refused to comment on the report, but a government official defended the earlier publication of the tenders, saying all construction would take place in areas Israel wants to keep in any peace agreement.
"This construction is in areas that will remain part of Israel in any peace agreement, meaning Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem and large settlement blocs," he told AFP.
[Ynet] Paleostinian PM calls on international community to urge Israel to allow holding Paleostinian elections in East Jerusalem; in Gazoo, Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, hands control of two government ministries to members of new gov't.
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... said on Wednesday the United States would work with the new Paleostinian unity government "as is appropriate" but would be monitoring its commitment to continued cooperation with Israel.
Continued on Page 49
#2
Perhaps we could make them a starter kit. Maybe a Paleostein County, with a courthouse, a tax collector, animal control, a library and a small clinic. And try to grow it.
#6
I have long been of the opinion that successfully playing SimCity should be a requirement for anyone running for public office. One of the first things you learn is how easy it is to borrow enough money to make sure you are thoroughly and completely boned forever. Right, Detroit?
So, the usual Iranian vapourware, or something that can actually detect at a distance between the length of two football fields and twice the circumference of the Earth?
#5
The woodpecker Duga 3 could detect that a plane was at a particular latitude over the South Pole from its position near Chernobyl but had no clue as to it's longitude. You needed more of them to even triangulate.
How do I know? Long after the chief designer/project head of the Woodpecker defected he was a co-worker and close friend. He told me himself. He never admitted to it but I suspect the Chernobyl reactors were the three built for the Woodpecker.
I asked how they did the phased array and shuddered at his answer "carefully cut lengths of co-axial cable to each element".
Good luck maintaining that look-alike Iran!
But boss I swear I wasn't more than a cm off cutting that cable - oh they change length with the temperature?
#8
Buzz Tehran and then go supersonic. When they complain about the sonic boom breaking windows we can claim "Wasn't us... you would have seen us from long range...".
[AnNahar] Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... has been re-elected in a landslide, officials said Wednesday, capturing a third seven-year term in the middle of a bloody 3-year-old uprising against his rule that has devastated the country.
Syria's parliament speaker, Jihad Laham, announced the final results from Tuesday's election, saying Assad garnered 10,319,723 votes, or 88.7 percent. Laham said Assad's two challengers, Hassan al-Nouri and Maher Hajjar, won 4.3 percent and 3.2 percent respectively. The Supreme Constitutional Court put turnout at 73.42 percent.
After the results were released, Damascus erupted into a thunderous, rolling clap of celebratory gunfire that appeared to include heavy weaponry. On the streets of the capital, men cheered and whistled. Some broke into the familiar pro-Assad chant: "With our souls, with our blood, we sacrifice for you, Bashar!"
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, "at least three people were killed and dozens more maimed as a result of celebratory gunfire shot by Assad supporters" in Damascus.
Assad's victory was always a foregone conclusion, despite the presence of other candidates on the ballot for the first time in decades. Voting was held only in government-controlled areas, excluding huge tracks of northern and eastern Syria that are in rebel hands. The opposition and its Western allies, including the United States, have denounced the election as a farce.
The win boosts Assad's support base, and provides further evidence that he has no intention of relinquishing power.
For the first time in decades, there were multiple candidates on the ballot. In previous presidential elections, Assad and before him his father, Hafez Assad, were elected in single candidate referendums in which voters cast yes-no ballots.
The government has sought to present this vote as a democratic solution to Syria's three-year conflict, although a win for Assad is certain to prolong the war. Much of northern and eastern Syria is in rebel hands, and those in the armed opposition show no signs of relenting in their fight to oust Assad.
The war, which activists say has killed more than 160,000 people, has left the international community deeply divided, with the U.S. and its allies backing the revolt against Assad, who enjoys the support of Russia and Iran.
That division persisted in perceptions of Tuesday's vote.
In Beirut, 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... sharply criticized the Syrian election, calling it "a great big zero." He said it can't be considered fair "because you can't have an election where millions of your people don't even have an ability to vote."
"Nothing has changed from the day before the election and the day after. Nothing," Kerry said during a one-day visit to the Lebanese capital. "The conflict is the same, the terror is the same, the killing is the same."
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... joined the U.S. in condemning the election, saying in a statement that "it cannot be considered as a genuinely democratic vote."
In Damascus, meanwhile, a delegation led by the government's chief international supporters said Syria's first multi-candidate presidential election in over four decades was transparent and free, and would pave the way for "stability and national agreement."
The delegation of officials from more than 30 countries, including politicians and dignitaries from Iran, Russia and Venezuela, toured polling stations on Tuesday. In a final statement read Wednesday by Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of the Iranian parliament's Committee on National Security, the delegation blamed the U.S. and its allies for "crimes committed against the Syrian people."
Also:
National News Agency: Lebanese Army troops are carrying out raids in Jabal Mohsen to arrest shooters who opened fire in celebration of Bashar Assad's presidential win.
Celebratory gunfire erupted in Jabal Mohsen over Assad's presidential win.
National News Agency: Celebratory gunfire erupted in Syrian towns neighboring Akkar and gunshots reached a number of Lebanese border towns and villages.
Al-Jadeed: Gunshots were fired in the air and convoys took to the streets of Baalbek and Hermel in celebration of Bashar Assad's presidential win.
LBCI: Gunfire erupted in some of Beirut's suburbs and central Bekaa towns in celebration of Assad's win.
#1
Despite what others said, I felt that Assad could get the numbers. As it turns out clearly Assad has election problems look at Kim Jong-un, he got 100%.
[AnNahar] The United States on Wednesday welcomed Iran's recent efforts to alleviate concerns about its nuclear program, but urged it to increase the pace of cooperation.
A recent report by the U.N. atomic watchdog IAEA found Iran was sticking to its agreements with the agency and implementing all newly agreed measures, even addressing matters related to bomb-making for the first time in six years.
"You can't see steps taking place and say it's not sufficient, those are good steps," the U.S. delegate to the IAEA, Ambassador Joseph Macmanus, told journalists Wednesday on the sidelines of an IAEA board of governors meeting.
"This is a long stairway to climb and each step is progress."
Addressing member states earlier, Macmanus however highlighted that Iran's engagement was "long overdue," according to a copy of his address.
"It is only a first step," he said of Iran's compliance with recent agreements, urging "accelerated progress" and "full cooperation" on other issues, including the scaling-down of uranium enrichment and sharing of information on weapons-related issues.
Western powers fear Iran may be seeking a nuclear bomb under the cover of its civilian program, but Tehran insists its intentions are solely peaceful.
Talks between Iran and six world powers are aiming for a potentially historic nuclear deal by July 20 -- a deadline that commentators have increasingly said will not be reached.
Macmanus however insisted that the parties were sticking to their ambitious goal.
"That's what we're still focused on," he said.
The last so-called P5+1 rounds of talks in mid-May -- between the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany on one side, and Iran on the other -- ended with no apparent progress on a deal.
A next round is planned for June 16-20 in Vienna.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
World wide village --- and every village needs a village idiot.
#1
I am sure that pencil-neck would love to end the war. However, pencil-neck is on the receiving end so unless he bows out and decides to setup a medical practice in Iran it is all meaningless.
Posted by: Jogum Slish5614 ||
06/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
This strikes me as an extremely stupid idea. Hizzy is already stretched thin and running up Leb liabilities. This is idiotic. The Juices would love a fine concentration within artillery range.
The threat to the U.S. from global jihadist groups has escalated in the past three years, with the number of groups increasing by more than 50% and the estimated number of militants doubling, according to a report to be released on Thursday.
The report by the Rand Corp. think tank, which used public data to take a kind of global census of al Qaeda and related groups, will say the civil war in Syria has been the largest driver of the growth of jihadist activity. Syria is the location that has seen the greatest growth in number of groups and numbers of militants, which now make up more than half of the number of al Qaeda-sympathizing jihadists world-wide.
"It's become a breeding ground for jihadist activity," said the report's author, Seth Jones, associate director of Rand's International Security and Defense Policy Center.
In the past few months, militants there have shown growing interest in tapping Western resources and mounting attacks outside Syria, he said, noting last week's suicide attack by an American in Syria, in addition to recent arrests of alleged Syrian-trained fighters in France and Spain, as well as one allegedly involved in a deadly shooting last month in Belgium.
The Rand findings also cast doubt on the Obama administration's efforts to end the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan by 2016 and keep Syria at arm's length. A complete withdrawal from Afghanistan, the report said, "could seriously jeopardize U.S. security interests," because of the continuing terrorist presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It also calls for a "more aggressive strategy" in Syria, either clandestinely or working with locals.
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said she couldn't comment on a report that hadn't been released, but referred to President Barack Obama's speech last week where he announced ramped-up partnerships with local allies. In that speech, Mr. Obama also said "U.S. military action cannot be the only--or even primary--component of our leadership in every instance."
The report, prepared for the defense secretary, appears to be the first public census of al Qaeda and related terrorism groups. It focuses exclusively on "Salafi jihadists," which subscribe to al Qaeda's brand of violent jihad.
The number of al Qaeda-sympathizing jihadist groups jumped to 49 from 31 between 2010 and 2013. The number of jihadists has surged similarly. Because it is difficult to get a precise count of jihadist group membership, the report provides ranges. It estimates the total number grew to between 45,510 and 105,510 in 2013, from between 12,945 and 47,810 in 2010.
The biggest increase during that period came in Syria. But there were ample increases in North Africa as well, particularly in Libya.
Egypt is the one key country that has posted a decline since the government's recent crackdown on terrorism, including the arrest last year of the leader of an aspiring al Qaeda affiliate there, Muhammad Jamal Abu Ahmad.
The report categorizes groups by the threat level they pose to the U.S. Those posing a high threat are engaged in active plotting against the U.S. homeland and targets overseas, such as al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen and its core leadership in Pakistan, as well as some other individuals and networks. Those posing a medium threat with active plotting against U.S. interests overseas include al-Shabaab in Somalia, Ansar al-Shaira in Libya, al Qaeda's North African affiliate, and the Muhammad Jamal Network.
The report found that at the moment, though, al Qaeda and its affiliates are largely focused on attacking "near" local enemies instead of "far" Western ones, with 99% of the al Qaeda-related attacks in 2013 targeting "near enemies" in North Africa and the Middle East.
The report supports broad findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that al Qaeda and its affiliates are increasingly decentralized, and the report paints a picture of a diverse set of groups that often disagree on key issues such as the advisability of allowing civilian casualties and whether to attack abroad or within their countries or regions.
WASHINGTON (CBSDC) -- The U.S. Secret Service is seeking software that can identify top influencers and trending sets of social media data, allowing the agency to monitor these streams in real-time - and sift through the sarcasm.
A work order posted online Monday shows that the agency desires analytics software that can watch users in real time, collecting a range of data including "emotions of Internet users to old Twitter messages" across multiple languages.
The Secret Service is also seeking software that can complete very succinct tasks within massive sets of continuously flowing social media data, such as locating users and detecting sarcasm.
"Ability to detect sarcasm and false positives," reads the request. Kay: No, ma'am. We at the [Secret Service] do not have a sense of humor we're aware of.
As an aside, offer a subcontract to use Rantberg as a beta site. Might pay for operations.
#7
Thereby showing that the thing a bureaucrat wants most in the world is to avoid a judgement call.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/05/2014 7:41 Comments ||
Top||
#8
They'll pay some 'connected' software developer millions for that sarcasm detecting program, which will operate by detecting the character string /sarc.
#9
Soon, a government decreed sarcasm font. First it will be developed. Next it will be 'recommended'. Finally Senator Schemer will introduce legislation requiring it.
"The lesson of COINTELPRO is that any government agency that is able to gather information through political surveillance will be tempted to use that information."
#14
Many years ago I had dinner with a on-duty Secret Service agent, in an ER where he was posted during the time a POTUS was in-town. He had quite a sense of humor - on some things. On other things, not so much.
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.
[AnNahar] Conflicting comments by Sudanese officials over whether a Christian woman sentenced to hang for apostasy will be freed reflect confusion within the Islamist government, hit by international outrage over the verdict, analysts say.
David Cameron
Wazoo
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
WASHINGTON (CBSDC) -- The U.S. Secret Service is seeking software that can identify top influencers and trending sets of social media data, allowing the agency to monitor these streams in real-time - and sift through the sarcasm.
