[Al Ahram] Minister Sherif Fathy said a number of times in the press conference that Egypt does not refute the assumption that all scenarios are possible Minister comes to obvious conclusion as fanatical death cult murders another planeload of people gong about lawful and mostly harmless business.
EgyptAir MS804 plane wreckage found
7:00pm Egypt's aviation ministry said a letter it received from the country's foreign ministry says that Greek authorities have found “floating objects” that are part of the plane wreckage.
Pieces of plastic as well as lifejackets have also been found near the island of Karpathos, the ministry added in a statement.
"Family members of passengers and crew have been already informed and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected," EgyptAir said.
"The Egyptian Investigation Team in co-operation with the Greek counterpart are still searching for other remains of the missing plane."
Morley Safer, a longtime reporter for CBS' 60 Minutes, has died, the network confirmed Thursday. Safer, 84, died at his home in Manhattan. He was longest-serving correspondent at CBS News. Funeral arrangements are private, CBS said, adding that memorial service will be announced at a later date.
#1
If you love your work that much then go ahead and work yourself to death. If you can't think of anything better to do then stay in harness until you croak. Otherwise, retire as early as you can.
#2
Bank passbook interest, certificates of deposit, affordable healthcare, real estate investment, retirement pensions, family vacations to Yellowstone; these are all antiquated concepts. Morley Safer epitomized the 'new normal' and preferred gov't model.
[NEWS.SKY] A Greek frigate searching for an EgyptAir jet which disappeared mid-flight from Gay Paree to Cairo has discovered two large floating objects in the Mediterranean.
Greek defence officials told Rooters pieces of white and red plastic were spotted close to an area where a transponder signal was emitted earlier.
The discovery came as Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said the plane was more likely to have been brought down by a "terror attack" than a technical fault,
A search is under way for the jet which disappeared with 56 passengers and 10 crew on board - including one British national.
The fate of the plane is not yet known and officials have said it is too early to rule out any possibility, including terrorism, but all those on board are now feared to have died.
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... said "unfortunately the information we have ... confirms to us the plane came down and is lost", suggesting it crashed near the southern Greek island of Karpathos where the search is focused.
At the same time, Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said the aircraft was in Egyptian airspace and flying at 37,000ft when it made "sudden swerves" and plunged to 15,000ft.
He said it swerved "90 degrees left and then 360 degrees to the right" before vanishing.
Authorities are examining CCTV footage at Charles de Gaulle Airport - and investigating an account from the captain of a merchant ship who reported seeing a "flame in the sky" some 130 nautical miles south of Karpathos.
Mr Fathy said there were no known security issues with the passengers who boarded the jet, but further checks were being made.
Additional reporting and lots of photos from the Daily Mail UK.
Our Egyptian news source, Al Ahram has live updates here.
[IBT] One of Nato's most senior retired generals has warned that the West risks a nuclear war with Russia within a year if it does not boost its defences in the Baltic states amid increasing tension between Moscow and the alliance.
General Sir Richard Shirreff, who served as Nato's deputy supreme allied commander in Europe until 2014, said that the West should act to avert a "potential catastrophe" should Moscow target Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
He told the BBC Radio 4 programme Today on Wednesday (18 May): "The chilling fact is that because Russia hardwires nuclear thinking and capability to every aspect of their defence capability, this would be nuclear war.
"We need to judge President [Vladimir] Putin by his deeds not his words," he added. "He has invaded Georgia, he has invaded the Crimea, he has invaded Ukraine. He has used force and got away with it."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/19/2016 10:37
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#3
"He has invaded Georgia, he has invaded the Crimea, he has invaded Ukraine
Savage scorched earth nuclear conflicts, all of them. The thing missing from these fevered pieces is why exactly would the Rooshuns invade the Baltics. Crimea, I understand. Estonia, not so much.
#4
Putin thinks that if there are Russians living in a country like Latvia it's an excuse for him to extend Russia's borders. I could understand the Crimea because that's been Russian for centuries. I could understand Ukraine because Russians and Ukrainians are helplessly intertwined. Latvia not so much. Putin needs know where the limits are and a NATO tank division or thirty might be required.
#5
Some might ask:
Where was NATO when "He has invaded Georgia, he has invaded the Crimea, he has invaded Ukraine. He has used force and got away with it."
[Daily Caller] "Will he have some appeal to working-class Dems in Levittown or Bristol? Sure," said Ed Rendell, the former Pennsylvania governor and Philadelphia mayor, in a story by the mustachioed Dave Weigel in The Washington Post. "For every one he’ll lose 1½ , two Republican women. Trump’s comments like ’You can’t be a 10 if you’re flat-chested,’ that’ll come back to haunt him. There are probably more ugly women in America than attractive women. People take that stuff personally."
Rendell is a surrogate for Hillary Clinton, although in April he warned her to "tone down the rhetoric" against Bernie Sanders, whose hair could stand to be combed. Rendell’s advice is rich, considering what he told WaPo. Hey Ed, book a different airline.
#1
WAAAAY back when, a little publication called Playboy ran an issue called Women in Uniform with females from the services. The GOs were not impressed. There was disciplinary actions with Article 15s, reprimands, and a discharge IIRC, except the one from the Marine Corps. When the Commandant was asked why no action, he replied to the effect that it was an isolated incident and didn't expect a repeat, saying that he was glad that there wasn't a publication named Ugly.
[Tampa Bay Times] You could say that it all depends on how you define "lie." Or, perhaps, that it's hell to have a public record.
Either way, Hillary Clinton's vast resume of, shall we say, inconsistencies, is the dog that caught the car and won't let go. A viral video collection of her comments on various subjects through the years is bestirring Republican hearts.
To those who'd rather vote for a reality show host than a Clinton, the video merely confirms what they've believed all along. For independents and even Democrats, it's a reminder of how often Clinton has morphed into a fresh incarnation as required by the political moment.
#1
B, nobody who is a Hillary supporter cares. She could promise to kill ten third graders a week for her entire term in office and they'd still vote for her. They have no morals in voting beyond supporting whomever will help them out financially the most.
People like that aren't voting for president like you or I do. We are trying to hire someone to do the very few things government should do, do them well, protect our rights, have a military strong enough to deal with foreign threats, and secure our borders.
People who are voting for Hillary are voting for a mercenary who will defend their government paycheck, or will give indulgences from the regulatory leviathan in exchange for campaign donations.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
05/19/2016 7:58
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[EW] When CBS ordered six new shows last week, fans on Twitter pointed out the one thing they all had in common: The top-billed actor in each was white and male.
Soon observers began to accuse the broadcaster of not doing enough to cast women and actors of color at a time when the rest of the industry was making strides in that direction.
On Wednesday, CBS unveiled its fall schedule to reporters and network executives were asked about the network's "male-centered" lineup.
"We are the network that has Madam Secretary and Two Broke Girls and Mom - we have lots of female leads, we have a great balance," said CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller. "Actually our new series are more diverse this year than last year. When Doubt premieres, I'm happy to say it's the first broadcast series to feature a transgender series regular played by a transgender actor. I think that's phenomenal. We are definitely moving in the right direction."
#2
However the next 'Dodd-Frank' bill from Congress will require networks to field special interest programming that will not appeal to significant audiences to draw sponsors. I recommend the Trunks go along with the legislation in the hope that it will do to the networks what the first iteration in the mortgage world did to the general economy.
#3
However the next 'Dodd-Frank' bill from Congress will require networks to field special interest programming that will not appeal to significant audiences to draw sponsors.
Does this mean 'Lassie' re-runs will reappear in Atlanta area programming ?
#5
BTW, Lassie was the first featured transgender on TV.
All the dogs portraying Lassie have been male. A female collie was hired to play the lead in Lassie Come Home, but when an opportunity came to film "Lassie" negotiating some rapids, the female reportedly would have nothing to do with the rushing water. Rudd Weatherwax's collie "Pal" was substituted, and not only stole the stunt but won the role. Weatherwax continued to use male collies in the role for a good reason: both sexes shed in the summer (when most movies and television shows traditionally film most of their episodes), an event called "blowing coat," but since the male has thicker fur, he wouldn't look so scrawny during filming. Also, fans tend to think of Lassie as a "big heroic dog." Female collies are usually 10-15 pounds lighter than their male counterparts, therefore a male dog playing Lassie would look more impressive. Female collies were not ignored because they are any less intelligent; in fact, some of Lassie's stunt doubles have been females. - cite
[Huffpoo] Donald Trump on Wednesday fulfilled his promise to release his list of potential Supreme Court nominees -- a group he has vowed would consist of conservative jurists with "great intellects."
The most notable names among his picks are Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett and U.S. Circuit Judges Diane Sykes and William Pryor, all of whom are well respected in Republican circles.
Trump’s inclusion of Willett, a libertarian legal star who has a dedicated Twitter following, is particularly curious given the judge’s prior swipes at the businessman on social media.
On Friday, Willett led the Texas Supreme Court in an unanimous ruling that the state’s crumbling school infrastructure meets "minimum constitutional requirements" despite grave budget shortfalls. Last summer, a senior editor at libertarian publication Reason praised Willett for authoring "a full-throated defense of economic liberty" in a state licensing case.
#8
IIRC, no presidential candidate has ever signaled a future nomination the way Trump just did. Perhaps the opportunity has never arisen, but this is still an interesting strategic move.
#9
The list is hoping to reassure Republicans, but what will it do to the 30% of Bernie voters considering voting for Trump if Hillary wins the Dem Primary?
...Asked to what extent they define themselves as Zionists, with 10 being the most and one the least, about half (51 percent) of the poll’s respondents gave themselves a nine or 10 and 39% ranked themselves from five to eight. Only 11% of Israeli Jews gave themselves a score of one to four. And Zionism IS racism!
[NPR] A handful of scientists around the United States are trying to do something that some people find disturbing: make embryos that are part human, part animal.
The researchers hope these embryos, known as chimeras, could eventually help save the lives of people with a wide range of diseases.
One way would be to use chimera embryos to create better animal models to study how human diseases happen and how they progress.
Perhaps the boldest hope is to create farm animals that have human organs that could be transplanted into terminally ill patients.
But some scientists and bioethicists worry the creation of these interspecies embryos crosses the line. "You're getting into unsettling ground that I think is damaging to our sense of humanity," says Stuart Newman, a professor of cell biology and anatomy at the New York Medical College.
The experiments are so sensitive that the National Institutes of Health has imposed a moratorium on funding them while officials explore the ethical issues they raise.
Nevertheless, a small number of researchers are pursuing the work with private funding. They hope the results will persuade the NIH to lift the moratorium.
"We're not trying to make a chimera just because we want to see some kind of monstrous creature," says Pablo Ross, a reproductive biologist at the University of California, Davis. "We're doing this for a biomedical purpose."
#1
Paging Dr. Moreau to the white courtesy phone.....
The novel deals with a number of philosophical themes, including pain and cruelty, moral responsibility, human identity, and human interference with nature.
At the time of the novel's publication in 1896, there was growing discussion in Europe regarding degeneration and animals
The "coincidence" of the beginnings of the modern Eugenics movement and the modern Progressive political movement and the publication of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" was not a coincidence, but part of a general philosophical movement/atmosphere that at heart was anti-individual and pro-collective.
The similarity to the current state of society is more than a trifle concerning.
How soon before people start desiring animal characteristics for their children? Say a girl-cat mix or a boy-bull (for the father who wants a football star son...)
[WASHINGTONTIMES] Greeting customers as "Mr." or "Mrs." could be costly for New York City businesses under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Blatant violation of the First Amendment. It will never stand.
The Gotham mayor’s Commission on Human Rights says businesses that fail to address customers by their preferred gender pronouns are in violation of the law and could be subject to penalties.
The Commission issued a "legal enforcement guidance" for the New York City Human Rights Law, which apparently "requires employers and converted entities to use an individual’s preferred name, pronoun and title (e.g., Ms./Mrs.) regardless of the individual’s sex assigned at birth, anatomy, gender, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on the individual’s identification."
The guidance also notes that some people prefer non-gender-binary pronouns, including "they/them/theirs or ze/hir." I've spoken the English language almost since infancy. I happen to know there ain't no such words. English is one of the languages that has masculine and feminine forms, has had them since proto-Indo European. Perhaps we should change language groups to please the sensitive?
It lists several examples of violations that could result in fines, including the "Intentional and repeated refusal to use an individual’s preferred name, pronoun or title."
"For example, repeatedly calling a transgender woman ’him’ or ’Mr.’ after she has made clear which pronouns and title she uses," the guidance says.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2016
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#1
The Pronoun Police. Pathetic. If only this was in The Onion.
#3
I have an idea - we could require NYC residents to print a name tag and preferred gender pronoun on their lapels before they walk into a business. Say, on a bright yellow star so it sticks out and nobody misses it...
#6
"assigned" at birth? How about proven at birth. That Y chromosome isn't changeable, no matter how you want to argue with it. Cold hard fact. "Assigning" it "Female" is about as realistic "assigning" the status of alive to a stone.
#9
"'Hey 'mister sister' welcome to Starbucks. I noticed you had a penis when you lifted your skirt and squated on the sidewalk on 5th avenue. How would you like me to refer to you?"
"First Lady would be fine, And I'll have a tall medium roast with a double shot of stupidity"
#10
"'Hey 'mister sister' welcome to Starbucks. I noticed you had a penis when you lifted your skirt and squated on the sidewalk on 5th avenue. How would you like me to refer to you?"
[BBC] Superbugs will kill someone every three seconds by 2050 unless the world acts now, a hugely influential report says. Well, I'm certainly panicked. I'll give them all my money now.
The global review sets out a plan for preventing medicine "being cast back into the dark ages" that requires billions of dollars of investment. It also calls for a revolution in the way antibiotics are used and a massive campaign to educate people.
The report has received a mixed response with some concerned that it does not go far enough. No, it never does for these people, does it...
The battle against infections that are resistant to drugs is one the world is losing rapidly and has been described as "as big a risk as terrorism".
The problem is that we are simply not developing enough new antibiotics and we are wasting the ones we have.
Since the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance started in mid-2014, more than one million people have died from such infections. And in that time doctors also discovered bacteria that can shrug off the drug of last resort - colistin - leading to warnings that the world was teetering on the cusp of a "post-antibiotic era".
The review says the situation will get only worse with 10 million people predicted to die every year from resistant infections by 2050.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2016
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#1
Before there were modern pharmaceuticals, were people dying every three seconds from 'bugs'? Modern medicine didn't evolve till about 200 years ago, how did the species survive till then?
#2
That was before the global village, P2K. Superbugs were burning themselves out.
On the other hand, IT IS time to stop jerking off in immunology research.
[GMA News] Russia and the Philippines are expected to begin military and anti-terror cooperation under the administration of incoming Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, the Russian ambassador indicated to reporters. Duterte met Ambassador Igor Khovaev on Wednesday.
Khovaev said, "It is time to promote our military cooperation.... We have a great potential for cooperation in the field, in the struggle against terrorism and other challenges and threats to security and sustainable development."
Khovaev said terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf and Daesh were discussed during his meeting with Duterte. He said, "Both Russia and the Philippines suffered a lot from terrorists. Terrorists are a common threat to all of us. It is not possible to eradicate, to eliminate terrorism alone. All of us should combine our efforts. And we discussed the subject in this way. We have a full mutual understanding in this respect. Russia of course has a lot more experience in this field."
"We are open to share our experience. We are open to share our information. We are open for close partnership in this field," Khovaev added.
[AlAhram] The Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group, on the defensive and under heavy pressure in Iraq, has struck back with bloody attacks in Baghdad, where persistent gaps in security increase the city's exposure.
In doing so, IS group can portray itself as still being on the offensive, draw attention away from the setbacks it has suffered, and obtain media attention unrelated to losses.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/19/2016
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[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: The Pakistain Ulema Council (PUC) has decided that holy mans affiliated with it will dedicate their sermons at Ramazan mosque gatherings to "changing the mindset".
The decision was finalised by the council’s central leadership on Tuesday. On the first Friday of Ramazan, holy mans at over 2,000 mosques affiliated with PUC will give sermons on the rights of women.
"This is one of the most serious issues ‐ we Learned Elders of Islam have opposed the objectionable women protection law, passed by the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... Assembly, but we do not spare time imparting knowledge about the rights of women in Islam," PUC chairman Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Ashrafi said after the meeting.
He said people listen to sermons during Ramazan, but most of these speeches are monotonous.
"There is a need to change the mindset of the public and that does not specify in reference to ISIS or TTP only but this also includes social behaviour as well," Mr Ashrafi said. "We want to spread the idea that all the mosques should focus on changing the mindset of citizens against social ills, and this should be part of lectures and discussions, especially among participants of Aiteqaf."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2016
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Chief Executive Officer 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... has said he is ready to have meal together with the notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... in one table in a bid to help serve the national interests of the country.
The remark by Abdullah comes as the Afghan government is expecting to finalize a peace deal with Hezb-e-Islami led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
In an interview with BBC, Abdullah said any step that would reduce tensions would be welcomed, emphasizing that the people of Afghanistan would welcome if negotiations between Hezb-e-Islami and Afghan High Peace Council yielded positive results.
Abdullah further added that the situation has changed as he had the support of the party under the leadership of Arghandiwal.
He was responding to a question regarding concerns about Hekmatyar’s return however he said "The issue that Hekmatyar had more problems with certain people and less with some others, perhaps your gesture is towards the era of Islamic government, then the Taliban era and resistance against Taliban and then the 15 years that passed and the elections that followed where I had the support of Hezb-e-Islami under the leadership of Arghandiwal."
Abdullah said he did not have the opportunity to jointly have meal with Hekmatyar when he joined the Islamic Theocratic Republic government of Afghanistan but emphasized it would be not be bad if he has the opportunity to do it.
He also added that the personal interests cannot create barriers when the issue of national interest comes forward, insisting that a peace deal with Hezb-e-Islami will not have a major affect to completely change the situation in the country.
However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... he said he is hopeful that the other groups will learn from him and join peace talks with the Afghan government.
Hekmatyar is considered is a notorious warlord for his involvement in the devastating civil war and insurgency following activities following the fall of the Taliban group.
Earlier, the group was insisting on full withdrawal of the foreign forces from the country to participate in peace talks, a similar demand put forward by the Taliban group for peace talks.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2016
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#1
"Try the sushi. It's imported from Russia"
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/19/2016 11:21
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(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Wednesday, a source in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced, that six members of al-Hashed al-Shaabi were either killed or wounded in a bomb blast targeted their patrol in southern Baghdad.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A bomb exploded, at noon today, targeting a patrol of al-Hashed al-Shaabi while passing in al-Yusufiya vicinity in southern Baghdad, killing one of its members and wounding five others, as well as causing material damage to the vehicle.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “A security force rushed to the area and transferred the wounded to Mahmudiyah Hospital to receive treatment and the dead body to the forensic medicine department, while a raid was carried out to search for the perpetrators of the bombing.”
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Wednesday, a source in the Ministry of Interior announced, that five policemen were either killed or wounded in a bomb blast in southern Baghdad.
The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “This evening, a bomb exploded on a police patrol while passing in Arab Jabour area in southern Baghdad, resulting in the killing of two people and wounding of three others.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “A security force rushed to the area and evacuated the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead bodies to the forensic medicine department, while cordoned off the area of the incident and barred approaching it.”
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A security source said on Wednesday, that 16 elements belonging to the army had been either killed or injured in a bomb blast that took place in al-Latifiya south of Baghdad.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “This evening, a booby-trapped house exploded in the area of al-Latifiya while an army force was carrying out an inspection [operation] in the area, resulting in the death of one officer and five soldiers, in addition to wounding 10 others.”
The source also added, “A security force blockaded the area of the incident and transferred the injured to a nearby hospital and the dead bodies to the forensic medicine authority.”
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Kurdistan Democratic Party in Nineveh Province revealed on Tuesday, that five members of the so-called ISIS were killed in an artillery shelling launched by the Peshmerga forces in northern Mosul (405 km north of Baghdad).
Kurdistan Democratic Party spokesman in Nineveh, Saeed Mamousini, said in a press statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The artillery of Peshmerga forces shelled a gathering of ISIS in Barima village in Bashiqah vicinity (22 km north of Mosul).”
Mamousini added, “The shelling resulted in the killing of five ISIS members, as well as destructing a military vehicle.”
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – An informed source in Nineveh Province announced on Wednesday, that the so-called ISIS abducted 35 women in central Mosul.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “ISIS kidnapped 35 women from the center of Mosul to force them into Jihad marriage (Jihad el-Nikah) and present them to ISIS Mujahedeen followers.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “ISIS members herded the women to an unknown destination.”
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Kurdistan Democratic Party in Nineveh Province revealed on Thursday, that a mass grave containing bodies of 99 ISIS members was found west of Mosul (405 km north of Baghdad).
Kurdistan Democratic Party spokesman in Nineveh Saeed Mamousini said in a press statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “We found a mass grave belonging to ISIS terrorist members, who were killed in the aerial bombardments that were carried out by coalition aircraft and confrontations with the Peshmerga forces.”
Mamousini added, “The cemetery is located in the district of Baaj (100 km west of Mosul), containing the bodies of 99 members of ISIS.”
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Nineveh Province announced on Wednesday, that 22 ISIS fighters were killed in an air strike conducted by the international coalition aviation on ISIS headquarters northeast of Mosul (405 km north of Baghdad).
The Patriotic Union spokesman in Mosul, Ghyath Alsurja, said in a press statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The international coalition was able to bomb ISIS headquarters in the village of Tiskhrab in Bashiqah vicinity (22 km north east of the city),” noting that, “The bombing resulted in the killing of seven members of ISIS.”
Alsurja added, “The international coalition aviation managed to bombard ISIS headquarters in Bashiqah District northeast of Mosul,” indicating that, “15 ISIS fighters were killed in the bombardment.”
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A military source said on Wednesday, that the Peshmerga forces foiled an ISIS attack on the area of Kesk, killing 10 ISIS elements, west of Mosul.
The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, Peshmerga forces repelled an attack by ISIS militants on a site for the Peshmerga in the area of Kesk west of Mosul,” noting that, “ISIS used mortar shells and suicide bombers during the attack.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “These forces were able to kill around 10 [ISIS] militants including suicide bombers,” pointing out that, “The coalition’s aircraft contributed to the support of the Peshmerga forces.”
Posted by: badanov ||
05/19/2016
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[CNN] Misrata, Libya. It is a tiny, remote aircraft hangar, carved in the Sicilian rock decades ago, but now home to a new and vital front for the United States against ISIS.
U.S. Special Forces and surveillance flights are operating on the ground and over Libya as the West moves to boost security operations in the country to bolster Libya's increasingly desperate fight against ISIS.
Surveillance flights over the country's 2,000-kilometer (1,240-mile) coast have been in operation from the remote Sicilian island of Pantelleria for over a year, and Special Forces have recently increased their presence on the ground. Witnesses and Libyan officials told CNN they are in evidence near the city of Misrata, with an estimated dozen soldiers operating out of a base near the city.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
05/19/2016
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#1
"Sicilian rock"?? I wonder if siliceous (rock with a large portion of silica) is meant?
#2
Nice, but I think they are referring to the island of Pantelleria, a Sicilian island in the Strait of Sicily. I ran out of time, but I am guessing that due to its location and size it was used in WWII as an airbase, using the island's natural formation to create hangers for protection against enemy attacks, being fairly close to British Malta and in the historic invasion routes between Sicily/(Now Libya) and the East/West Mediterranean.
I had not heard of it, not that I am an expert of the region, but wiki says fresh water is an issue on an otherwise fertile soil (volcanic) so I wonder if the island was always just a gimmie during wars or if a lack of a decent harbor reduced its military importance until the age of the airplane.
Pantelleria looks to be about 200 miles from Misrata, and quite close to Tripoli.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A Chechen murderous Moslem identified as Omar Chechen was killed along with five others during the festivities in north of Afghanistan.
According to the security sources, the Chechen murderous Moslem was killed in Bghlan-e-Markazi district of northern Baghlan province.
The sources further added that five others including a commander of the turbans identified as Qari Zahir were also killed during the festivities and 8 others were maimed.
The anti-government armed murderous Moslem groups including the Taliban snuffies have not commented regarding the report so far.
The security situation in northern Baghlan province has been sharply deteriorating during the recent months which follow by a large a military operation launched to clear areas of Dand-e-Ghori and Dand-e-Shahabuddin near Pul-e-Khumri city earlier this year.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced Tuesday at least 31 turbans were killed in separate air and ground operations of the Afghan cops in Surkh Kotal and Baghlan-e-Markazi district.
According to reports, heavy festivities continue between the Afghan forces and the murderous Moslem in Surkh Kotal after the turbans launched a major attack on security posts late on Saturday night.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2016
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[DAWN] LARKANA: Larkana police on Tuesday recovered a 12-year-old girl (a student of class-V) who was found chained and detained in a room of her house.
The police carried out the raid after receiving information that parents of Shazia Chandio had chained her and confined to the room for her refusal to marry a 40-year-old man.
According to the headmistress of the Govt Primary School, Wapda Scarp Colony, Nayab Sarkash Sindhi, she visited Shazia’s home to inquire about her long absence after her class teacher, who lived next door, informed her that she had heard Shazia crying foul on Monday night. Ms Sindhi said Shazia’s parents admitted that they were punishing her for defying them over the marriage proposal.
She said she warned the couple against meting out such a treatment to their daughter and also posted her plight along with her picture on social media.
In the meantime, police also received the information and DSP Yar Mohammed along with his team raided the house at Mirokhan Chown to recover the girl. The girl’s mother was detained but father managed to escape.
SSP Kamran Nawaz Panjotha told Dawn that initial investigation suggested that the couple had promised to accept Karim Bukhsh Chandio’s proposal for their daughter against a payment of Rs100,000 and had already received Rs70,000 in advance. He said Ms Shazia and her mother Ms Sakina were kept at the women cop shoppe and would be produced in court on Wednesday.
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[FRANCE24] Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday he was prepared to escalate a state of emergency imposed this week after opposition-led protests in the capital and other cities.
Maduro told supporters he would give the order -- which implies suspending laws and rights to maintain public order -- if "violent" anti-government acts occurred.
In that event, "I will not hesitate if necessary to make such a decree to fight for the peace and security of this country," he said.
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#1
My advice is keep your booger hook off of the boom stick.
[FRANCE24] Thirty-two fighters loyal to Libya's unity government were killed in clashes with Islamic State group jihadists and a car bombing Wednesday near the IS stronghold of Sirte, the military said.
"The toll of today's martyrs reached 32, and 50 others were wounded," the operations room set up by the new Government of National Unity (GNA) said on its Facebook page and Twitter account late Wednesday, updating an earlier toll of 18 dead.
Of the earlier toll, seven died in a car bomb attack in Buairat el-Hassun, 60 kilometres (35 miles) west of Sirte and the others were killed in an IS foray in Abu Grein, further west, that the GNA recaptured on Tuesday.
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] At least 80 regime troops have been killed and 170 more maimed in the ongoing offensive on Khan al-Sheeh town on the western outskirts of Damascus, activists said.
Local Coordinations committees said regime forces are planning to overrun Khan al-Sheeh, the key Western Ghouta suburb,taking advantage fro the Russian aerial support and allied militias.
Rebel factions have inflicted humiliating defeats on regime forces, according to activists since 250 troops have been killed and maimed.
Activist Diaa' Assoud said regime helicopters had dropped about 50 crude barrel bombs on Khan al-Sheeh in the past two days as Russia's warplanes carried out 6 raids on Wednesday.
7 civilians, including two children, were killed on Tuesday when regime forces opened fired on minibus in Khan al-Sheeh town.
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Dozen of families held captive by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the neighborhood of Sheikh Maksoud in Aleppo city have been freed due to swap deal with Division 16 who released 16 SDF militants in return, the rebel group said on Wednesday.
A footage posted on social media by the Division 16 said tens of civilians including women and children, have been freed in the exchange deal.
The freed militants were fighting under banner of Jaish al-Thuwar, key unit in the Kurdish-led alliance.
On Monday, a similar deal took place between SDF and Ahrar la-Sham movement in the Kurdish-dominated neighborhood of Sheikh Maksoud.
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Syrian regime forces backed by Shiite militias have extended their attack on Jabal al-Akrad in Latakia province for the fifth day, breaching a partial ceasefire deal announced last week, activists said.
Regime forces are pressing hard to take al-Hadadeh village as rebel factions show unprecedented stubborn and solidarity.
Abu al-Laith, rebel commander said "despite Russian aerial backup, regime army has failed to take al-Hadadeh town." Rebels are united and solid, added.
Activist Abdul Rahman al-Lathqani said regime troops backed by aerial bombing had made slow advance near al-Hadada village on Sunday.
The aerial bombing has also targeted villages of Kabbana, Tuffahiya, Ein Hor in Jabal al-Akrad, and villages of Job Torous and Klaz in Jabal Turkmen.
Washington and Moscow agreed on fragile ceasefire deal in Damascus and Latakia on April 30 after the collapse of 'Cessation of Hostilities' deal that w ent into effect on February 27.
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Hey, I know I believe that...
ANKARA- Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) revealed on Wednesday that many Iranians have volunteered to fight in Syria in support of al-Assad regime, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Shi’ite-dominated Iran is Assad’s main regional ally and has provided him with military and economic support, especially with his conflict with ISIS and the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.
Although no numbers were given, however “General Ramezan Sharif said young Iranians from different ethnicities have volunteered to go to Syria in support of the Syrian government.
Tehran said last month that military commandos had also been dispatched to Syria as advisers, suggesting it was using its regular army as well as forces from the IRGC, while it denies today having any conventional armed forces there.
Nevertheless, Iran’s army chief later said those personnel were volunteers working under IRGC supervision, and that the regular army was not directly involved.
Noting that, serious losses were sustained in the past few months including several high-ranking members of the IRGC. Iranian media have reported the death of over 100 members of the IRGC and its affiliated volunteer, the Basij militia, in Syria.
The United States, Saudi Arabia and some other Western and Gulf states plus Turkey back rebels fighting to remove Assad, who has military support from Russia and Iran.
“Syria is the golden ring of resistance front,” Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Iran’s Student News Agency ISNA.
“If Assad and the Syrian people fail in their fight against Takfiri (hardline Sunni Islamist) groups…, their next target will be (Shi’ite-led) Iraq, followed by Iran,” he said.
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#3
This is the same bunch that were allowed to kill hundreds of us in Southern Iraq...without sanction...yea, they were even rewarded by our WH with a favorable treaty. I hope thousands of the IRGC meet the same fate in a desert far from home.
#6
“If Assad and the Syrian people fail in their fight against Takfiri (hardline Sunni Islamist) groups…, their next target will be (Shi’ite-led) Iraq, followed by Iran,” he said.
So I should worry about that? Unless the statement is a line planted by Champ - then I'd worry!
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05/19/2016 14:11
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#7
Buh-bye. Have a nice death.
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/19/2016 18:07
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[ARA News] ERBIL – Militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Wednesday shot down an American drone in northern Iraq, the group claimed in a statement.
“In al-Ayadiyah town of Tal Afar district, our fighters downed an American drone this morning,” ISIS military leadership in Tal Afar said in a statement published by the pro-ISIS Amaq agency on Wednesday evening.
Local sources in Tal Afar told ARA News that the Ayadiyah town was exposed to fierce airstrikes on Wednesday midnight.
“After ISIS militants hit a drone for the US-led coalition in Ayadiyah, the coalition responded with a series of heavy airstrikes hitting ISIS strongholds with more than 30 rockets,” head of the Nineveh media centre Raafat al-Zarari told ARA News.
Oh dear. Just when the mighty Lions of Islam were celebrating their victory, too.
The source reported that the coalition’s strikes on Tal Afar in western Nineveh province on Wednesday were targeting an ISIS-led brigade headed by Sufian Ahmed Yousef.
“Yousef is the commander of ISIS operations in Tal Afar district. The coalition had received information about his movements and he was expected to hold a meeting with other ISIS leaders in Ayadiyah on Wednesday. However, his death is not confirmed yet,” Zarari told ARA News on the phone.
The coalition’s warplanes also targeted al-Ashiq town in Tal Afar with several airstrikes, bombing an ISIS weapon’s storage centre, local sources reported.
It was not immediately clear how many ISIS militants were killed in Wednesday’s strikes.
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#1
Do they have access to manpads or something?
Is it possible we just dropped it there and blasted any observers who came to celebrate their glorious victory over the West?
[AlArabiya] Turkish warplanes hit Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, killing at least ten fighters, security sources said on Wednesday.
The military has been carrying out regular air strikes against positions of the outlawed group in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq, where it has camps near the Turkish border, after the collapse of ceasefire last year.
Meanwhile, four Turkish soldiers were killed and nine others were wounded on Wednesday in an attack on a military convoy blamed on PKK militants, the army said.
The military convoy was travelling on the road between Semdinli and Aktutun in the southeastern Hakkari province when it was hit by the roadside bomb left by the “separatist terror group,” the army said, using its customary phrase for the PKK.
The nine injured soldiers were taken to hospital, four of them in serious condition.
Following the collapse of a two-year ceasefire in summer 2015, Turkey has been waging an offensive against the PKK, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies.
Since then, hundreds of members of the Turkish security forces have been killed in attacks but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed no let up in the operation.
Violence spiked again over the last week, with eight soldiers dying in a single operation against the PKK also in Hakkari province and 16 villages blown up in the province of Diyarbakir after intercepting a truck laden with PKK explosives.
More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984 demanding a homeland for Turkey's biggest minority.
Since then, the group has pared back its demands to focus on cultural rights and a measure of autonomy.
PESHAWAR: A constable was killed and 17 other people injured when two remote-controlled bombs detonated one after another in Peshawar's Mithra area Wednesday morning.
Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Abdul Majid Marwat said the injured include 11 Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) members, Counter-terrorism Department personnel and police and six civilians.
Superintendent Police (SP) Cantonment Kashif Zulfiqar said the first remote-controlled bomb exploded as a police van was passing by, injuring a policeman and pedestrian. As BDS reached the scene, a second remote-controlled bomb detonated.
The injured have been shifted to Lady Reading Hospital, while additional police personnel have been deployed in the area.
Around 4.5 kilograms of explosive material was used in the bombs, SSP Abdul Majid Marwat said.
JUI-F leader gunned down
Haji Alam Shah, a local leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F), was gunned down in Dera Ismail Khan on Monday morning.
Shah was shot dead at his residence in Paroa tehsil in DI Khan, according to local police. Three armed men entered his home and opened fire, killing him on the spot, police said.
Police have registered a First Information Report against unknown persons and started an investigation into the incident.
[IsraelTimes] IDF says alert a false alarm; reports of kabooms were from fighting on Egyptian side of the border
Rocket Sirens blared in several communities adjacent to the southern Gazoo Strip Wednesday evening in what the IDF said was a false alarm.
Residents of the Eshkol region reported at least two kabooms, but the army said they were apparently the reverberations from fighting on the Egyptian side of the border.
There were no rockets fired into Israel, the army said.
The army has reportedly beefed up its troop presence along the Israel-Egypt border in light of the increase in hostilities between the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... and Egyptian forces in the northern Sinai, Channel 10 reported.
(IraqiNews.com) Diyala – A security source in Diyala Province announced on Wednesday, that three civilians, including a woman, were wounded in a tribal dispute northeast of Baqubah.
The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “A tribal clash broke out in one of the nearby residential neighborhoods in Abi Sayda vicinity (35 km northeast of Baqubah), resulting in the wounding of three civilians, including a woman, with different injuries.”
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added, “The security forces cordoned off the area and opened an investigation into the incident.”
(IraqiNews.com) Diyali – On Wednesday, a local official in Diyali Province said about 400 displaced families have returned to their homes in the village of Mansouriya east of Baqubah.
Head of Mansouriya District Council, Ragheb al-Anbaky said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The 400 displaced families represent the third batch that had returned to Mansouriya village (7 km east of Mansuriya vicinity),” adding that, “The return of families was completed in coordination with high security committees.”
“The pace of the return will be doubled in the coming period,” he added.
[DAWN] PESHAWAR: The enraged local people on Tuesday torched the house of a person, who along with other accomplices had allegedly attacked the residence of Awami National Party founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism.... leader Khushdil Khan in the limits of the Badhber cop shoppe.
Police said that the attacker identified as Banus along with his seven other accomplices opened firing on the farmhouse of ANP leader on Monday evening.
Continued on Page 49
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Ahrar al-Sham movement and Nour al-din al-Zenki have both denied any knowledge of 'Jaish al-Shamal', or the North Army, that intended to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) in the North countryside of Aleppo.
The military spokesman of Nour al-Din al-Zanki, captain Abdul Salam Abdul Razzak told Zaman Al Wasl that the aim of those lies about including the name of the movement is to confuse the rebels by creating rumors around them.
Ahrar al-Sham movement has confirmed to Zaman Al Wasl via a phone call with the Abo Yusuf al-Mohajer, the military spokesman, that they have no information about Jaish al-Shamal, and mentioned that the movement only participated with the operation room of Jaish al-Fatah.
Many sources could not deny the formation of a united army in the north of Syria including all the U.S-Supported formations including big formations like Ahrar al-Sham movement and al-Zenki, and that was indicted by sending 400 fighters of Ahrar al-Sham movement to the Northern countryside of Aleppo.
News reports mentioned that American-Turkish agreement have resulted in deciding the formation of an operation room including the U.S-supported formations to help in pushing the Islamic State away from the Turkish southern borders with Syria to protect the Turkish southern towns from ISIS’s attacks which resulted in almost 40 deaths especially in Kilis province.
Many tweets of the Major General Mohib Shalati were surfaced over the internet saying that the intelligence of the great regional countries have pushed the non-terrorist-listed formation to form a military body named Jaish al-Shamal.
He mentioned that the army is going to be in a form of an operation room includes most of big rebel formation and al-Zenli an Ahrar al-Sham are within it.
Nour al-Din al-Zenki was formed in late 2011 by Shaikh Tawfiq Shahabuddin in the Shaikh Salman area north-west of Aleppo. It took part in the initial battles that started the Battle of Aleppo in July 2012 capturing the Salaheddine neighborhood, then they were forced to withdraw to the North countryside. The movement has received financial aid from the United States as part of the CIA’s program to support moderate rebel groups.
Ahrar ash-Sham has almost 10000 to 20000 fighters making it the second single most powerful formation fighting against the Syrian regime after the Free Syrian Army. It was the main organization operating under the umbrella of the Syrian Islamic Front and was a major component of the Islamic Front. It was led by Hassan Aboud until his death in 2014.
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[DAWN] Indian tactics to depict Azad Jammu and Kashmire (AJK) as part of India cannot change the fundamental fact that the state is 'disputed territory', Pakistain's Ambassador to the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... (UN) Dr Maleeha Lodhi said on Wednesday. She was referring to a controversial draft bill seeking to regulate India's geospatial information.
Under the Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, anyone distributing a map that the Indian government deems to be "wrong" could be liable for a billion-rupee fine and jail time.
Voicing Pakistain's "serious concern" over the draft bill, Ambassador Lodhi termed India's claim over AJK as an integral part of its territory "untenable" and hit out at the "travesty of history, morality, international law and facts on the ground".
In her letter, now distributed as an official UN document, the Pak envoy regretted that the international community and the United Nations had failed to take notice of this action on India's part.
Lodhi told APP that AJK was a disputed territory and "numerous UN Security Council resolutions attest to this".
Indian External Affairs Ministry front man Vikas Swarup claimed that the proposed draft bill was "an entirely internal legislative matter of India, since the whole of the state of AJK is an integral part of India".
"Pakistain or any other party has no locus standi in the matter," he added, rejecting what he called "repeated and increasing attempts by Pakistain to impose on the international community matters that it had always been open to address bilaterally".
Lodhi called on the international community to honour its responsibility to the people of AJK and reiterated the need for an "independent and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices".
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan intelligence operatives busted one of the most dangerous kidnapping gangs in western Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... province of Afghanistan.
The National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) said the gang consisted of 16 kidnappers and was led by Ghulam Farooq who is also famous as Abdul Ghafar.
A statement by NDS said the other leader of the gang has been identified as Lal Mohammad who is also famous as Zarif while the third leader of the gang has been identified as Taj Mir.
There's a fourth who self-identifies as Carmen Miranda. Nobody ever mentions him, though.
The statement further added that the gang was actively operating in Herat province in the past 8 months and had kidnapped at least 10 people.
The gang had demanded large ransoms from the families of the hostage for their release, NDS said, adding that three of the hostages have been identified as Abdul Wahab, Abdul Qadir and Nazir Ahmad who were killed by the gang.
NDS also added that the gang had established at least 8 cells in Herat province where they were keeping the hostages on temporary basis.
Kidnap for ransom cases still continue in parts of the country despite the Afghan intelligence nabbed two MAFIA bosses involved in major kidnappings who were later executed by the government.
The two top MAFIA leaders, Habib Istalif and Raees Khudaidad, were executed late in 2014 and early in 2015 after they were placed in durance vile I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! by intelligence operatives.
The NDS operatives released a hostage during an operation conducted in central Wardak province of Afghanistan late in the month of February.
The operation was conducted as the kidnappers were demanding a huge ransom of $1 million from the family of the hostage, forcing the intelligence operatives to intervene and secure his release.
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan government has signed the draft peace agreement with Hezb-e-Islami group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... , Deputy Chief Executive Mohammad Khan said.
He told news hounds that the draft agreement has been signed and will become enforceable once the Hezb-e-Islami party signs it.
Khan further added that the group has agreed to have no links with the anti-government armed bully boy groups, insisting that Hekmatyar’s only demand is to remove his name from the international blacklist.
Welcoming Hezb-e-Islami’s decision to join grinding of the peace processor, Khan said the agreement will have a positive impact on security situation of the country.
According to Khan, the exact location where Hekmatyar is based is not clear so far but insisted that the government welcomes his return to the country.
He also added that Hekmatyar has neither demanded any privileges for joining grinding of the peace processor nor any post in the government.
Khan said the draft agreement was signed by Hezb-e-Islami representatives and Afghan peace council officials in the residence of Pir Syed Ahmad Gilani.
Khan hoped that the international community will help in removing restrictions on Hezb-e-Islami party.
This comes as the United States earlier welcomed political negotiations between the Afghan government and Hezb-e-Islami party led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
"We support an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process for a negotiated resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan," said John Kirby, front man of the US Department of State.
However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... Kirby said the United States will continue to seek reconciliation conditions, including that any reconciled group must end the violence.
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Two Chinese military aircraft intercepted a U.S. military reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea Tuesday.
Defense Department spokesperson Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza said that the U.S. maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft was flying in a "routine patrol" in international airspace on May 17 when "two tactical aircraft from the People's Republic of China" intercepted the U.S. plane.
The two Chinese fighter jets were J-11s and flew approximately 50 feet from the U.S. aircraft, a Navy E-P3.
"Initial reports characterized the incident as unsafe," Baldanza said in a written statement, adding, "Over the past year, DoD has seen improvements in PRC actions, flying in a safe and professional manner."
The incident is under investigation by U.S. Pacific Command.
The U.S. has photos but they are classified.
China has increasingly asserted its territorial claims over most of the South China Sea which is thought to have large oil and gas deposits. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the waters, through which about $5 trillion in trade is shipped every year.
China has said the U.S. is "militarizing" the South China Sea. The U.S. had conducted "freedom of navigation" patrols and sailed within 12-nautical mile territorial limits around disputed islands.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Two top commanders of the anti-government armed bandidosLions of Islam were killed in an Arclight airstrike by the Afghan Air Force (AAF) in eastern Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... The 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces said the Arclight airstrike was carried out in Ghaziabad district.
According to a statement by 201st Silab Corps, the Afghan Air Force (AAF) used A-29 light attacks aircraft in the raid which left at least 17 dead including two commanders of the Lion of Islams.
The statement further added that the commanders killed in the Arclight airstrike have been identified as Hamza and Akbar.
A mortar and rocket launcher along with 3 Ak-47 assault rifles and various other types of explosives belonging to the bandidosLions of Islam were also destroyed in the Arclight airstrike.
The anti-government armed Lion of Islam groups including the Taliban Lions of Islam have not commented regarding the report so far.
The Afghan forces have stepped counter-terrorism operations to suppress the insurgency activities of the Lion of Islam groups as the Lions of Islam are attempting to increase terrorist attacks by launching their spring offensive.
The Afghan forces are vastly utilizing the newly-added state of the art equipment including the A-29 Super Tucano fixed-wing aircraft to suppress the anti-government armed Lion of Islam groups.
The Afghan Air Force A-29 Super Tucano pilots have flown more than 260 sorties since January when they received the first batch of the light attack aircraft from the United States.
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[IsraelTimes] IDF confiscates a ’dragon’ musket in West Bank
Israeli troops tossed in the clink Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! 16 Paleostinian suspects, including two senior Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, members, in raids around the West Bank Tuesday night and seized what appears to be an antique muzzle-loaded blunderbuss from a house in Hebron, the army said.
Photo of the thing can be seen at the link.
Waspi Kabaha and Rafat Nasif were picked up for the affiliation with the Hamas terror organization, while the rest are suspected of so-called popular terrorism, a catch-all term used by the Israel Defense Forces for rock throwing, violent demonstrations and other minor offenses.
Kabaha, a former Hamas minister of prisoners, was arrested from his home in Jenin, according to the Ynet news site. Nasif, a senior member of the organization, has been in and out of Israeli prisons for decades. He was picked up in Nablus.
While on a raid in Hebron, soldiers from the Nahal Infantry Brigade uncovered the vintage flintlock musket and confiscated it. The dragon, which is the technical term for a blunderbuss pistol, was “handed over to security forces,” the army said in a statement. It was not clear if the dragon seized by Nahal soldiers was still in working condition, an IDF spokesperson said.
Blunderbusses, which were used primarily in the 18th century, feature a smooth bore, making them highly inaccurate, and can only be loaded with one round at a time. In order to reload the weapon, a shooter needs to clean the rifle, reload it with gunpowder by hand and then a new cotton-wrapped bullet is pushed down the barrel with a ramrod.m Its slow reloading and inaccuracy forced the blunderbuss out of use by the mid-19th century.
The 16 Paleostinians placed in durance vile Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! overnight came from villages and cities around the West Bank, including Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, Abu Dis, Beit Fajjar, Beit Umar and the Paleostinian village of Tekoa, which is adjacent to a Jewish settlement of the same name.
[IsraelTimes] Police say a man in his 20s is locked away Please don't kill me! after he is spotted at the entrance to Beersheba bus station with a knife in his bag.
The man, from an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev, flees the bus station when security guards try to detain him, and is apprehended after a police chase. The suspect is taken in for questioning by police.
[DAWN] LAHORE: Four suspected gunnies were rubbed out near Gujranwala on Tuesday.
According to a front man for the Counter Terrorism Department, the Gujranwala district police officer received information that seven gunnies belonging to banned Al Qaeda were on their way to Lahore from Sialkot.
He said a police team intercepted the suspects near Aimanabad, asked them to surrender, but they shot up police officials. Policemen returned fire. When the firing stopped, four bandidosbully boyz were found killed by their accomplices and three others managed to escape, he added.
He said police recovered a car, a cycle of violence and 1kg of explosives with ball-bearings, three pistols of 30 bore, one AK-47 rifle, two rockets and four hand-grenades from the scene. The front man said the suspects had planned to attack important government installations.
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[ARA News] QAMISHLO – US-led coalition spokesman Colonel Steve Warren on Wednesday confirmed that a group of 200 Arab fighters is being trained by the US for future operations in Raqqa, the de facto capital of the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.
Recently, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced that the battle for Raqqa would begin soon.
Coalition spokesman Warren refused to confirm if the YPG [Kurdish People’s Protection Units and leading member of SDF] has political motivations to connect the cantons from Kobane until Afrin in northern Syria, but said their focus is to defeat ISIS in Raqqa and Mosul.
“I don’t know what their political motivations are. Our focus is to provide advice and assistance to the Syrian Democratic Forces and to help them get better as they continue to pressure Raqqa,” he said.
A much better decision than training "moderate Muslims" who upon graduation toddle off to their ISIS or Al Nusra units, passing on their new knowledge and new American weapons.
“That’s, you know, recall the secretary of defense several months ago, you know, told us look at the map and see Raqqa and Mosul as the two centers of gravity, the two keys to unlocking all of this,” he added.
The US colonel said that they would keep their focus on both sides.
Moreover, he said that the SDF has just now graduated an additional class of 200 Arab fighters who are going to join the Syrian-Arab Coalition (SAC).
The US has two air strips in Syria northern Kurdish region, one in Kobane and another in Rumen. Moreover, the US forces have a training base where they train Arab fighters of the SAC, and the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
“We call it the SAC. So, the SAC is continuing to gain strength, it’s continuing to grow, and we’ll continue to build up in posture for an eventual move against Raqqa. That’s what our focus is,” Warren said.
SDF spokesman Talal Silo previously told ARA News that so far no SDF forces were trained by the US-coalition.
“Right now there is only coordination with airstrikes and there are some officers that give advices and recommendations,” he said.
“So far, there is no training. The only training is by the SDF themselves and clear for everyone in the SDF camp in a village near al-Hasakah,” the SDF official spokesman told ARA News.
Speaking to ARA News, Nicholas Heras, a Washington-based Middle East researcher at the Centre for a New American Security, said the US wants to build parallel anti-ISIS coalitions to the Syrian Democratic Forces. “That is why [250] US Army Green Berets are being deployed to northeastern Syria,” he said.
“The United States military is utilizing areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria as a beachhead to expand the training and advising of local militia forces against ISIS. It is possible, but unlikely, that training is being done inside of northeastern Syria without the Syrian Democratic Forces being aware of it,” he said.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A commander of the al-Qaeda terrorist network was killed with four others during separate Arclight airstrikes involving unmanned aerial vehicle of the US forces in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the Arclight airstrikes were carried out in southern Zabul and northern Kunduz provinces.
According to a statement by MoD, the al-Qaeda commander killed in the Arclight airstrike has been identified as Mullah Mohammad Ali.
The statement further added that the turbans were involved in major terrorist attacks and atrocities committed against the citizens of the country.
The Arclight airstrike targeting the al-Qaeda comes amid concerns that the terrorist network is attempting to consolidate operations with the other murderous Moslem groups, including the Taliban faceless myrmidons in a bid to expand foothold in the country.
Meanwhile, ...back at the palazzo, Count Guido stepped from behind the suit of armor, rapier in hand. Ciccolini snarled and reached for his own weapon... the Afghan and US forces have stepped up counter-terrorism operations against the terrorist groups in Afghanistan, including the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.
According to reports, the US Air Force dropped 251 bombs and missiles targeting mainly the loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group in Afghanistan during the months of January and February.
On the other hand, the Afghan forces are routinely targeting the terrorist groups in Afghanistan with increased capabilities, specifically with the addition of more combat helicopters and fixed wing light attack planes.
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05/19/2016
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[DAWN] MANSEHRA: A grand jirga having representation of Harban tribe of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... (KP) and Thor tribe of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has agreed to a permanent ceasefire on the disputed land, while the Harban elders also pardoned the blood of their three people killed in 2014.
[ARA News] VIENNA – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov again voiced the Russian position that the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) should be included in the Syrian peace talks in Geneva. Analysts say the Russians want to use the Kurds against Turkey and the United States.
“It is very important that our joint position in the UN Security Council supposes an inclusive charter of the Syrian talks and we don’t have to exclude any parties, including Kurdish parties,” Lavrov said.
“We think it is something that we mustn’t do, and we mustn’t hinder including their party and to give them access to talks in Geneva,” he said in a press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry, and UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, after the meeting of the International Syria Support Group in Vienna.
Moreover, the Russian FM said that the 19 to 90 kilometers border with Turkey still controlled by the Islamic State (ISIS) should be liberated from the radical group.
“And there are two enclaves of Kurds, and from time to time Turkey says that if the Kurds push ISIL [ISIS] out from this border zone it will not put up with that because it is not acceptable for them,” Russian FM Lavrov said.
“In any case, somebody must combat ISIL on that border area because it is fragile. The contraband flow now – it has decreased and there was a flow of supplies, of weapons to the extremists and to flows of militants, and everybody acknowledges that this is not acceptable,” the Russian FM said.
According to Dov Friedman, the director of Middle East Petroleum, Russia is trying to use the exclusion of the PYD from Geneva to drive a wedge between Turkey and the US, that are still allies.
“Certainly, the PYD should be included, but that’s not Lavrov voices support for it. The Russians have again identified and exploited a wedge issue between the U.S. and Turkey over the PYD’s role in a Syrian transition,” expert Friedman told ARA News.
“Turkey routinely thwarts greater cooperation between the Syrian Arab opposition and the PYD, but the U.S. also shoulders considerable blame,” he said, amidst rumours that US officials visited the Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria on Monday to discuss future military operations.
“Its narrow focus on ISIS deemphasizes the broader Syrian conflict and enables other actors to impede progress toward a broader, collaborative opposition working toward a new Syria,” he said.
Speaking to ARA News, Tony Badran, a researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that the Russian government wants to dilute the Syria opposition by supporting the PYD and to diminish the influence of the Saudi- and Turkish-backed groups.
“By adding others whose position toward the Assad regime isn’t as strong, or who are more amenable to reaching a working arrangement with Assad, it looks to turn the position of the Saudi- and Turkish-backed opposition into that of an outlying minority,” he said.
“On the other hand, it serves other, broader Russian purposes vis-a-vis Turkey/NATO and the US. The Russians are looking to shut out Turkey from Syria,” Badran told ARA News.
“The way to do this, they’ve been very explicit, is to line up the border with the YPG [Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units]. Beyond the Syrian theater, this would mean gaining leverage against Turkey, and having an asset controlling the southern frontier of NATO (where the Russians are now directly present),” he added.
According to Badran, the Russians want to use the YPG as an instrument to push the US toward an open military and diplomatic cooperation with Russia, on Russian terms.
“[They want] to draw the US into a de facto partnership with the [Assad] regime, as the Russians look to include the PYD into an arrangement with the regime through the diplomatic process. So, any US cooperation with the Russians or the YPG would effectively, if not formally, lend recognition to the regime, and to the political arrangement that Russia brokered there,” he told ARA News.
However, Timur Akhmetov, an independent Russian analyst on the Middle East, believes that Russia wants to ensure that PYD keeps neutral in the conflict.
“If the PYD is neutral it can be used both against opposition and Turkey. Also Lavrov’s statement should demonstrate to the PYD that Russia is somehow supporting the Kurdish cause, but again Russia is playing a double game with PYD, “ he said.
“I don’t think Russia is sincere about Kurdish rights,” Akhmetov told ARA News. “Their main goal for now is to secure the regime, pacify the opposition and then to get to the Kurds.”
#1
"Russia is trying to use the exclusion of the PYD from Geneva to drive a wedge between Turkey and the US, that are still allies." In reality, in driving a "wedge" Russia is doing the US a favor (depending on who wins the next US election).
[THESTREETJOURNAL.ORG] The Nigerian Army has said that troops of 7 Division have on Tuesday cleared 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... bandidosmurderous Moslems out of their Njimia camp within Sambisa forest.
A statement signed by Col. Sani Usman, Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Wednesday, said while advancing earlier in the morning on the same day, the troops also cleared Boko Haram terrorist’s camps at Alafa, where they encountered heavy resistance from Boko Haram bandidosmurderous Moslems and killed 15 of them.
He said: "The troops continued their advance through Alafa Main, Alafa Extension and Alafa Yaga-yaga, where they cleared remnants of the Boko Haram bandidosmurderous Moslems hibernating there before arriving at their main objective, Njimia.
"Apart from destroying the camps, the troops rescued 41 hostages who were mostly women and kiddies. The troops also recovered 2 Dane Guns, several vehicles, cycle of violences and bicycles belonging to the terrorists.
"One significant aspect of this feat today was the combination of ground forces assault, Nigerian Air Force Jets provision for combat air support and monitoring of the operation directly by the Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu on board Air Force reconnaissance aircraft.
"It is gratifying to note that no casualty was recorded by own troops through the conduct of this operatio.
"On Tuesday 17th May 2016, troops of 1 Brigade Nigerian Army operating under the auspices of Operation MESA in Zamfara State, raided suspected cattle rustlers and armed bandidos camp at Yan Mangu forest, near Dandindin village, Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
"The troops also tossed in the calaboose ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... 2 bandidos and recovered 1 AK-47 rifle, 1 AK-47 rifle magazine loaded with 7 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunitions, 3 locally made guns and 1 cycle of violence.
"The two suspects were arrested while attempting to flee from the camps.
"Nevertheless, the troops have destroyed all the bandidos’ camps in the forest and are further dominating the general area and other flash points with raids and patrols", it added.
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05/19/2016
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#1
If it weren't for the women and kiddies they could just use bug poison on them and set an example for the rest of Boko Haram to fear. I wonder how many of the kidnapped school girls they will find.
[DAWN] At least 72 people were killed and more than 140 maimed by three bombings in Baghdad on Tuesday, police and medical sources said, extending the deadliest spate of attacks in the Iraqi capital so far this year.
The Death EaterIslamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) group claimed one suicide kaboom which killed 38 people and maimed over 70 in a marketplace in the northern, mainly Shia district of al-Shaab.
A boom-mobile in nearby Sadr City left at least 28 dead and 57 maimed, and another car blew up in the mixed Shia-Sunni neighbourhood of al-Rasheed, south of the capital, killing six and wounding 21, the sources said.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the arrest of the security official in charge of al-Shaab’s security after the attack, his office said in a statement, without giving a reason for the detention.
Attacks claimed by IS in and around the city last week killed more than 100 people, the highest corpse count in so few days so far this year, sparking anger and street protests over the government’s failure to ensure security.
Security had improved in Baghdad in recent years as sectarian tensions waned and the city’s perimeter was fortified. IS, which controls parts of north and west Iraq, has not tried to take the capital but carries out increasingly regular suicide kabooms there, hitting Shia areas and government targets.
With the latest corpse counts, fears are growing that Baghdad could relapse into the bloodletting of a decade ago when sectarian-motivated suicide kabooms killed scores of people every week.
This has cranked up pressure on Abadi who is struggling to solve a political crisis or risk losing control of parts of Baghdad to IS Death Eaters. Away from the capital, Iraq’s military is waging a counter-offensive against the group.
Abadi has said the crisis, sparked by his attempt to reshuffle the cabinet in an anti-corruption bid, is hampering the fight against IS and creating space for more krazed killer attacks on the civilian population.
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Security forces of the Syrian regime have arrested dozens of young people in the city of Latakia, to taking them to mandatory recruitment in the Syrian army, which forced many people to stay indoors, amid a state of prevailing terror in the city.
Mohammed al-Sahili, correspondent of Media Network of Latakia reported that dozens of on-foot patrols, or the so-called flyer-barriers have wondered in streets of the city and arrested all males aged between 18 and 35 years, the number of detainees exceeded 100 in Tuesday since morning till evening.
Al-Sahili added: "the city was in a state of panic because people who arrested were either queuing at bakeries or wondering in the market or sitting at cafes.
Moreover, the fixed barriers forced young people to get off the buses and taxis and arrested them.
Al-Sahili detailed that even those who have evidence postponing the service for university study or a copy of the family book showing that the person was an only-child did not work. All arrested young men were sent to the recruitment centers to be taken to the mandatory military service or a backup.
Well informed sources reported to Zaman Al that some detainees were released after paying bribes to officers in the Recruitment centers or according to recommendation from senior army officers.
Sources confirmed that advices were given to young men who were released to leave the country to avoid repeating the same experience with them their detention.
Zaher, one of detainee young men mentioned that his father was able to pay one million Syrian pound to release him, he swore that he would leave the country in any way.
A state of panic has occupied parents whom sons had not returned home. One of them Abo Amjad, from Salaiba neighbourhood, who started worrying because his only son had not returned from University. “I do not want to lose my only son in fighting with the Syrian regime, if he came back, I would hide him at home” said in panic.
The sound of Om Maher’s cry was heard from outside the house saying: “bring me my son, he is ill, he cannot fight.”
The Syrian regime had started similar campaign to collect youth for mandatory recruitment in different areas like jableh.
Experts explained that there a continuous depletion of the manpower of the National Syrian Army over the period of 5 years, resulted in significant reduction in soldiers number. For example, according to Abo Ayham, the field commander for a military formation in the countryside of Latakia confirmed that dozens of soldiers were killed within 5 days of the battle of al-Hadada, and the same happens in different fronts, which gives an indicator to the amount of loss in manpower of the National army.
“Arresting and mandatorily recruiting youth is expected, otherwise how would the regime compensate for all those losses in soldiers, we advise youth to hid at home or to come to the liberated areas to help them in departing the country.
A recent report from the U.S ministry of defense revealed that almost 100 thousand members of the National Syrian Army were killed since the beginning of the Syrian revolution.
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[Jpost] Sea-based version of Iron Dome to soon be operational on missile ships; Navy preparing attack plans against Hezbollah radar-guided missiles that place Israeli ports in range.
The Israel Navy is in the midst of intensive preparations to deal with a growing rocket and missile threats posed by Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Hezbollah, a senior IDF officer revealed on Wednesday.
Preparations include the installation of Rafael's C-Dome system, which is a sea-based version of the Iron Dome anti-rocket battery, on missile ships. A successful trial of the C-Dome occurred in February, the source said, when the C-Dome shot down three barrages of simulated Grad rockets ...Soviet-developed 122-mm rockets, usually launched from trucks. Newer versions are reported to have a range of up to 30 km.... fired by the IDF at a navy ship.
The source said the system on board the ship shot down all incoming threats.
C-Dome will enable the navy to protect offshore gas drilling rigs against Hamas rocket attacks, using a relatively inexpensive interceptor missile to deal with such projectiles.
At the same time, the navy is preparing to deal with the more significant threat of long-range, radar-guided Hezbollah missiles, which include the infamous Yakhont supersonic missile.
To that end, the navy is planning on making the IAI-made Barak 8 anti-missile system, which intercept such missiles, fully operational by the end of 2017. The Barak 1 system, which has been operational for years, already protects ships against such threats.
The source described a changing enemy that has placed strategic Israeli targets within range of its missiles. Hezbollah can deploy mobile missile launchers on the Lebanese or even the Syrian coastline, and use them to target any strategic Israeli site.
Hezbollah has an array of surface-to-sea missiles,with ranges of up to 300 kilometers, that can be used to strike gas drilling rigs and navy ships. The same missiles can also be used as surface-to-surface missiles to attack the Israeli ports of Haifa and Ashdod.
The inter-branch approach has become key to the navy's concept of attaining "sea superiority," the source said. He said the navy had set up a new new fire control center, dedicated to acquiring enemy targets and allocating their coordinates to the air force, the IDF Northern Command, and navy ships.
The navy's ships are being fitted with a growing number of sea-to-surface missiles, reflecting the changing nature of their missions.
Additionally, the navy has installed new sonar detection sensors in northern Israel, designed to sound an alert in case of a Hezbollah attack involving commando divers seeking land on an Israeli beach.
According to the source, the navy is also integrating itself in Ground Forces combat functions. Reporters were shown on Wednesday two previously unknown vessels, dubbed 'Manta,' which are designed to ferry logistics for ground units in combat arenas.
Speaking on board one such craft, Navy Chief V-Adm. Ram Rothberg said, "We are expanding our operational capability well beyond the borders of the sea. We can take part in ground combat, and we have a sea superiority concept that calls for accurately striking the enemy."
[AlArabiya] Libyan military forces said on Tuesday they recaptured one of the main checkpoints south of the city of Misrata from ISIS, reversing some of the gains the militant group made earlier this month.
Seven members of the armed forces were killed and 19 were wounded, including three who died in a mine explosion as they took control of the checkpoint of Abu Grain, Misrata hospital spokesman Aziz Issa said.
ISIS fighters had overrun the Abu Grain checkpoint, town and several nearby villages after carrying out coordinated suicide bomb attacks on May 5.
Abu Grain is about 140 km west of ISIS’ Libyan stronghold of Sirte, on the main road leading south from the port city of Misrata.
The military has yet to take full control of the area, however.
“There are skirmishes from time to time against the militants,” said Mohamed al-Gasri, a spokesman for an operation room set up by Libya’s UN-backed unity government. “We will keep making progress to clean Abu Grain town of those militants”.
The unity government arrived in Tripoli in late March. Western states hope it will replace two rival administrations that have competed for power in Libya since 2014 and unite the armed brigades that supported them to take on ISIS.
The new government has moved to establish itself in western Libya with the backing of brigades from Misrata, which gained power due to its central role in the uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi in 2011
The new government’s operations room says it is preparing an offensive to recapture Sirte, which has been controlled by ISIS since last year.
The unity government, however, has so far struggled to win formal backing from factions in eastern Libya, where military forces also say they are preparing for an offensive against Sirte.
ISIS controls a strip of coast about 250 km (155 miles) long around Sirte but it has struggled to hold ground elsewhere in the country.
Posted by: badanov ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Dozens including civilians were maimed and killed by festivities between regime forces and Kurdish security forces, the Asayish, on Wednesday in the city of Hasaka over dispute who will guard 9 grade exams center, according to a Kurdish activist in Hasaka.
Activist Abed al-Ali said festivities have erupted between Asayish and regime forces in the central market in Hasaka city between al-Qamishli Street to the west, al-Khabour Street to the east, and Filistin Street in the south where the Kurdish Asayish is stationed in Marshou Square.
Al-Ali told Zaman al-Wasl, the festivities erupted when the Kurdish militia attempted to enter the exams center in al-Mwahada Syriac School which is guarded by regime forces near Filistin Street in the center of the city. Al-Ali pointed out that the lieutenant in charge of the center banned them from entering which led to a dispute between the two parties. The dispute turned into festivities in which one personnel from al-Hajaneh forces was killed and several injured from both forces.
A state of paranoia and panic hit the students who were performing biology exam in the centers near to the festivities area. They were locked into schools between 9 and 10 a.m. Several civilians were maimed and transported to hospitals, al-Ali added.
Asayish militia said on its official Facebook page that, "the regime mercenaries are shooting heavy fire in the central market in Hasaka city and they are spreading panic between locals and civilians." Without adding anymore details.
Similar festivities took place on 20 April between Asayish and National Defense Forces militia in the center of Qamishli city north of Hasaka which killed 17 personnel related to Kurdish militias subordinate to People’s Protection Units (PYD) and 20 personnel from regime and NDF forces.
In addition, the April festivities killed 17 civilians during the fight. The festivities ended in the fourth day by a truce and exchange of captives.
Regime, YPG and Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... control Hasaka province. PYD controls the biggest area while regime controls security points and military divisions in the surrounding of Hasaka and Qamishli cities. On the other hand, Isis controls Markada town in the farthest south of the province.
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[AnNahar] The first schoolgirl kidnapped 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... in Chibok, northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... , more than two years ago has been found, the military and activists said Wednesday, raising hopes for the release of 218 others still being held.
Amina Ali was discovered on Tuesday in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno state by civilian vigilantes assisting the military and brought back to her home town of Mbalala, near Chibok.
"She met her parents, who recognized their daughter before she was taken to the military base in Damboa," Ayuba Alamson Chibok, a community leader in Chibok, told AFP. "Her father's name is Ali and the girl's name is Amina. I know the family very well because I have worked with them, being a front man for the families of the Chibok girls."
Yakubu Nkeki, head of the Abducted Chibok Girls Parents' group, also confirmed her name and said she was 17 when she was kidnapped.
He added: "She's the daughter of my neighbor... They brought her to my house."
- Forest enclave -
The men said the teenager appeared to have given birth while in captivity while Tsambido Hosea Abana, a Chibok community leader in the capital, Abuja, from the BringBackOurGirls pressure group, said she had told family there were other kidnapped girls in the forest, but "six were already dead."
The Sambisa Forest has long been known to contain Boko Haram camps. Other kidnapped women rescued from the former game reserve over the last year have reported seeing some of the Chibok girls.
Army front man Colonel Sani Usman confirmed the girl's rescue, although he gave a different name -- Falmata Mbalala -- and said she was found by troops in Baale, near Damboa. Manaseh Allan, a Chibok youth leader, said it was not uncommon for children in the town to use different names at home and at school.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, who has said Boko Haram is "technically" defeated, has said success in the campaign would be measured on the return of the Chibok girls and other abductees.
The Times of Israel adds:
Her uncle describes her as pregnant and traumatized but otherwise fine.
Amina Ali Nkeki was found wandering in the forest, uncle Yakubu Nkeki says. He says the 19-year-old -- who was 17 when kidnapped -- was brought to Chibok last night for her identity to be verified and to be reunited with her mother. Her father died while she was held captive, he says.
News reporting is most assuredly the first draft of history.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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An airforce MiG 21 crash landed at Tobruk’s Gamal Abdul El Nasser Air Base killing one of the two people on board, Colonel Mohamed Rabie. According to an official the crash was caused by technical problems.
The MiG-21, Russia's answer to the F-104 "Widowmaker"...
The aircraft was being used on a training flight. The trainee, Captain Abdulgader Ali, survived with minor injuries.
It is the second crash landing at the airbase in a week. On Saturday an air ambulance helicopter flying from Labraq crashed with four people aboard but there was no serious injuries.
[DAWN] PUNJAB appears to be leading the way in putting concepts of women’s protection into actual practice. In February, its provincial assembly had passed the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... Protection of Women Against Violence Act, 2015. In many ways, this is perhaps the most comprehensive legislation on the subject because it also takes into account cultural realities that make women doubly vulnerable in this society and stipulates measures to address them. Then, on Tuesday, the Punjab chief minister directed the province’s top police official to create the post of DIG women protection -- to which a woman will be appointed and which will be under the IGP’s direct command -- and depute women superintendents at the Violence Against Women Centres in order to implement the aforementioned legislation.
It is encouraging that not only has the Punjab government resisted the pressure from religious parties to roll back or modify the Women’s Protection Act, but has seen fit to take follow-up steps fairly quickly. Many a good law on our statute books has been unable to make any impact because of lack of implementation. The domestic violence legislation in Sindh and 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... , passed in 2013 and 2014 respectively, is a case in point. In fact, where setting up implementing mechanisms is concerned, laws pertaining to violence against women or to cultural practices that violate women’s rights are particularly prone to foot-dragging. There is simply not enough enthusiasm within the relevant political circles or the bureaucracy -- both of them overwhelmingly male -- to change a status quo so skewed in their favour. The VAWCs are the linchpin of the Women’s Protection Act, containing under one roof all the facilities required to deal with cases of gender-based violence from initial reporting all the way up to post-trauma rehabilitation. Appointing a senior woman police officer specifically to head them, and giving her the requisite powers to do so effectively, makes eminent sense. Care must be taken, however, that these centres retain their specialised purpose and do not become an extension of women’s cop shoppes.
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Talibs have reportedly captured Surkh Kotal in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan following days of heavy clash.
A local security official confirmed that the Afghan forces retreated from the area after they were under siege for several days.
The official further added that the security personnel under the siege of the Taliban murderous Moslems were rescued from the area.
The Taliban group earlier claimed that several security personnel were killed during the clash with the Taliban Death Eaters.
Heavy festivities in Surkh Kotal erupted late on Saturday night as the security officials claimed that at least 28 Taliban murderous Moslems were killed or maimed.
The area fell to Taliban control despite continuous raids by the Afghan cops to disperse the assailant murderous Moslems.
The Ministry of Defense said Tuesday that 31 hard boyz were killed in the air and ground operations of the Afghan cops in Surkh Kotal and Baghlan Markzai district.
Surkh Kotal is located in the outskirts of Baghlan near province where and the area has been witnessing violence during the past several months.
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[DAWN] Interpol on Tuesday issued a red corner notice (RCN) against bad boy group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and his brother for their alleged involvement in the Pathankot air base attack earlier this year, Times of India reported.
At least 7 Indian troops were killed during an attack on the sprawling 2,000 acre installation in Pathankot. Gunmen besieged the air base for nearly a week before security forces were able to secure the installation.
The Indian National Investigation Agency sought the notice against Azhar, his brother Abdul Rauf, Kashif Jan and Shahid Latif, the suspected handlers of the Pathankot attackers.
Masood Azhar was placed in durance vile You have the right to remain silent... in India in February 1994 but India was forced to release him and two others -- Mushtaq Zargar and Umar Sheikh -- in Dec 1999 in exchange for passengers and crews of an Indian flight that was hijacked by murderous Moslems linked to Harkatul Mujahideen from Kathmandu and forced to land in Kandahar.
Abdul Rauf is believed to have criminal masterminded the hijacking. After his return to Pakistain, Azhar split with Harkatul Mujahideen in 2000 and formed JeM.
Interpol issues an RCN against any accused after it receives all information and evidence against him from the country in which the crime has been committed.
An RCN, however, is not an international arrest warrant and Interpol cannot force Pakistain to arrest Azhar. India had also managed to get an RCN issued against Azhar earlier, but it could not force Pakistain to take any tangible action against him.
Earlier this year, Pakistain Sherlocks probing the Pathankot airbase attack across the border told Indian interlocutors that it had yet to find evidence linking Masood Azhar to the terror attack but India maintains JeM is responsible for the attack.
In April, China blocked India's call to ban Masood Azhar at the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... (UN). The UN banned Jaish in 2001 but India’s efforts to get restrictions imposed on Azhar after the Mumbai attacks did not bear fruit because China did not allow them to be imposed.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Top|| File under: Jaish-e-Mohammad
#1
Earlier this year, Pakistain Sherlocks probing the Pathankot airbase attack across the border told Indian interlocutors that it had yet to find evidence linking Masood Azhar to the terror attack but India maintains JeM is responsible for the attack
"Yeah, we totally asked him about it and he said he had nothing to do with it, so there's that"
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/19/2016 11:26
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan government approved in principle the strategy to fight the enemy moles (secret agents) during a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. According to the Office of the President, the decision was taken following a comprehensive discussion regarding the issue.
The relevant authorities were instructed to implement the strategy in the tactical level after approving the strategy in principle.
The defense and security ministers also presented their reports regarding the security situation of Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... , Uruzgan, Kunduz, Jawzjan, Baghaln, Faryab and Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... s.
The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) personnel were hailed for their bravery, sensitivity, and competence in fight against the enemy forces.
The National Security Council issued necessary instructions to the security institutions to take necessary measures to prevent outbreak of security threats in the country.
The strategy to fight the enemy moles has been approved in principle amid concerns that the enemy forces are attempting to infiltrate among the security forces.
Earlier, the newly-nominated Intelligence Chief, Masoom Stanikzai, vowed to take all necessary measures to fight against the conspiracies of the enemies of the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2016
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Wednesday the commander of al-Jazeera Operations Major General Ali Dabon announced, that the joint security forces managed to retake 15 villages from ISIS grip west of Anbar, while pointed out to the participation of Anbar tribal fighters, army forces and the international coalition aviation in this operation.
Dabon said in a press statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The liberated villages are located on the strategic road linking between Ain al-Assad air base, Haditha District and the right bank of the Euphrates River,” pointing out that, “These villages include al-Wardiya village, al-Rabey, Ewinat, Swinaj, Abul Ela, al-Braziya, and Juba village near the residential complex west of Anbar.”
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Wednesday the commander of Anbar Operation Major General Ismail al-Mahalawi announced, that the security force destroyed a hideout and a mortar detachment belonging to the so-called ISIS south of Fallujah City east of Ramadi.
Mahalawi said in a press statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “Today, international coalition aviation backed by a force from Anbar Operations managed to bombard a hideout belonging to the terrorists south of Fallujah, resulting in the killing of five ISIS members, as well as destroying the hideout.”
“The international coalition aviation also bombarded a mortar detachment belonging to ISIS near al-Salam intersection south of Fallujah, destructing the detachment and killing its elements,” Mahalawi added.
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Wednesday, Federal Police Command announced, that the security forces managed to liberate four villages in Rutba District west of Ramadi (110 km west of Baghdad) from the ISIS control, while also dismantled 200 explosive devices.
The Federal police Captain Raed Shakir Jawdat said in a press statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A security force from the Federal Police’s 18th brigade was able, at noon today, to liberate the villages of Ownaya, Sowinakh, al-Sawor and Abli in Rutba District (460 km west of Ramadi) from the ISIS control,” noting that, “The liberation battles resulted in the killing of dozens of ISIS members.”
Jawdat added, “The security forces also managed to destroy two vehicles belonging to ISIS, while dismantled 200 explosive devices emplaced by ISIS members,” indicating that, “The security forces were able to impose its full control on Baghdadi–Haditha road.”
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – The commander of Anbar Operations, Maj. Gen. Ismail Mahalawi, announced on Wednesday, that the international coalition aviation had managed to destroy a mortar detachment and kill 2 ISIS members during an aerial bombing east of Ramadi.
Mahalawi said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “The international coalition aviation, in coordination with a force from Anbar Operations, had managed to bombard a mortar detachment belonging to the ISIS in Khalediya Island (23 km east of Ramadi),” noting that, “The [mortar] detachment was shelling the center of Khalediya District,” pointing out that, “The bombing resulted in the destruction of the detachment and killed two of the terrorists.”
Posted by: badanov ||
05/19/2016
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A deadly air strike on a key city in the northern countryside of Homs left 13 people, mostly family members, dead, activists and monitor said Wednesday.
Syrian regime warplanes carried out 5 strikes on al-Rastan city, killing 15 people from the same family.
Activists posted footage on social media showed scattered bodies for women and children.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2016
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) thwarted a twin suicide kaboom plot in capital Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... by arresting one of the would-be jacket wallahs.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said the detained would-be suicide bomber is a 12-year-old boy who was appointed by the Taliban group to carry out the attack.
According to MoI, the boy has been identified as Mohammad Yaqoob son of Sher Mohammad who has confessed that he was trained in Juma Khani training camp in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province.
Yaqoob has also added that the training camp was supervised by TAliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghafoor and was appointed by him to carry out the attack 20 days ago.
He was due to detonate a Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) in a populated area of the city while another suicide bomber was given the task target the crowd after the first kaboom.
MoI said the child managed to flee and was on his way to Kunduz province when he was enjugged Please don't kill me! by the security forces.
This comes as a teenage suicide bomber assigned for a suicide attack by the Taliban group was arrested by the Afghan intelligence operatives from Kabul city last month.
The Afghan children have regularly been recruited by the murderous Moslem groups, the Taliban and the Haqqani network for the terrorist related activities, including suicide attacks.
Madrasas are described as the main recruitment source for the murderous Moslem groups as poor families in Pakistain and Afghanistan send their sons to such madrassas for free education and lodging.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2016
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Top|| File under: Taliban
An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo has disappeared from radar, the Egyptian airline says.
It says there are 59 passengers and 10 crew members on board Flight MS804.
The aircraft was flying at 37,000ft (11,300m) when it went missing over the eastern Mediterranean. An official said the plane lost contact with radar at 02:45 Cairo time (00:45 GMT).
AoS at 1030 ET: moved to 'Africa North' and WoT. Almost certainly a terrorist attack. Fred has a later post with more details. Use this or the later post for comments; mods will put up posts later today if more significant news comes in. Readers who find something on the web should put the link into a comment (use the 'link' button!) and we mods will follow up. Thank you.
See also later article and link to live updates here.
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/19/2016 4:28
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#2
Yes, my guess as well. Off radar at 37k feet, no report of technical difficulty from cockpit. NSA unveils new collection effort. Delays at TSA. I wonder what we've not been told ?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/19/2016 7:42
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Yesterday French Intel reported that "France was the country most threatened by the Islamic State and that IS was currently planning new attacks." This morning Hollande is "keeping an open mind" on the fate of the Egyptair flight. And tonight WH spokesperson Josh Earnest will explain to us that this is a clear indicator that ISIS is weak and losing because they are striking out in desperation...
#6
And tonight WH spokesperson Josh Earnest will explain to us that this is a clear indicator that ISIS is weak and losing because they are striking out in desperation...
Not a great deal of comfort for the 66 who perished or their families.
#7
It looks like there is a higher than usual number of "crew members" (10) on the flight?
Posted by: regular joe ||
05/19/2016 11:28
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#8
And tonight WH spokesperson Josh Earnest will explain to us that this is a clear indicator thatISIS is weak and losing because they are striking out in desperation. a workplace incident occurred, possibly involving someone involved with the justice system. /em> FIFY
#9
Have they said if the flight originated in Paris, or if it had another stop beforehand? Doesn't give me the warm and fuzzy feeling if a major international airport in a country that's had recent issues may have let something slip thru..
Egypt air is unlikely to have great maintenance and they jumped at the idea of a terrorist attack once it came up because that would make it the fault of French security. Also I think most bombers blow up earlier rather than later.
My gut could be totally wrong, sometimes its full of crap. Has anyone taken credit yet?
#11
the plane was in Tunisia, Brussels and East Africa earlier in the week
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/19/2016 15:15
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#12
rjschwartz, it is looking more and more like this is the right category. There seems to be video of a fireball in the sky at the time and vicinity of the downward spiral. I do still have this tidbit in my unconfirmed bracket; without a reference point and comparing the movement to the supposed spiral I can only take the word of the presenter, which is to say I don't, not automatically.
Also was the deal about losing contact quite soon after arriving in Egyptian airspace. That is a bit convenient and has me concerned about a couple different things.
Some wreckage has been found, but that does not help the why, at least not yet.
Identity Of Three People On Board EgyptAir Flight Raises Questions
The presence of three security officers on board the EgyptAir flight MS804, which crashed Thursday night, has a former National Transportation Safety Board investigator speculating what the reason may be.
French transport chief Alain Vidalies told reporters it is “the usual practice” having multiple security officers on a flight. MS804 only had 66 people total on board, including passengers and crew.
However, Greg Feith, a former investigator with the NTSB, told MSNBC, “The only other reason to have security personnel like we do here in the U.S. is if they were transporting some sort of prisoner or someone of interest,” adding, “But most likely this was similar to our federal air marshals flying on this flight.”
[ARA News] SERE KANIYE – Amid the ongoing Syrian war, life conditions have been deteriorating in Rojava, including in the Hasakah province. Prices of basic daily supplies and materials have dramatically increased, making life for civilians more difficult and movement at the markets is never like before.
People who insisted to stay in Syria’s Kurdish region [Rojava] despite the mounting violence are encountering hard living conditions, locals told ARA News.
“The prices are now very high and the roads of transport became very difficult and insecure, that’s why 1kg tomato now costs 450SP, potatoo 400SP and cucumber 400SP. People are poor and the living conditions in the region became unbearable,” says Hikmat, owner of a vegetable store in Sere Kanye city of Hasakah province.
“The main reasons for the increasing prices of food supplies include the scarcity of safe routes to import those goods. In Damascus 1kg tomato is 150SP while here it reaches 450SP. May God help our people,” Hikmat added.
According to economists and observers, the main reason for the increasing prices is the closure of the Semalka crossing on the border between Rojava (Syrian Kurdish region) and Iraqi Kurdistan, beside the mounting expenses of transportation within Syria and the decreasing rates of the Syrian pound in exchange for foreign currencies.
Mustafa Mayim, a citizen of Hasakah, told ARA News that the Syrian pound (Lira) has been dramatically decreasing.
“We need authorities of the region to ease this siege on our people. Somalia crossing should reopen to avoid a humanitarian crisis in Rojava, and the local authorities of the Auto-Administration should rather assist the people instead of imposing more taxes on the scarcely imported goods,” Mayim said. “For instance sugar is nonexistent in our areas at the moment, and once it’s available the price of 1kg exceeds 1000SP.”
It is expected that the [Kurdish-led] Auto-Administration [that governs Rojava] would try to rely on local production. However, the fear remains that the citizens would still suffer the lack of basic supplies and constantly increasing prices at the local markets.
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.
[IBT] One of Nato's most senior retired generals has warned that the West risks a nuclear war with Russia within a year if it does not boost its defences in the Baltic states amid increasing tension between Moscow and the alliance.
[Daily Caller] "Will he have some appeal to working-class Dems in Levittown or Bristol? Sure," said Ed Rendell, the former Pennsylvania governor and Philadelphia mayor, in a story by the mustachioed Dave Weigel in The Washington Post. "For every one he’ll lose 1½ , two Republican women. Trump’s comments like ’You can’t be a 10 if you’re flat-chested,’ that’ll come back to haunt him. There are probably more ugly women in America than attractive women. People take that stuff personally."
[Tampa Bay Times] You could say that it all depends on how you define "lie." Or, perhaps, that it's hell to have a public record.
Man and horse become one! Nyquist bound for Pimlico. 
Kennedy put men on the moon. The Champ put men in the ladies room. 
[GMA News] Russia and the Philippines are expected to begin military and anti-terror cooperation under the administration of incoming Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, the Russian ambassador indicated to reporters. Duterte met Ambassador Igor Khovaev on Wednesday.
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: The Pakistain Ulema Council (PUC) has decided that 
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
[DAWN] LARKANA: Larkana police on Tuesday recovered a 12-year-old girl (a student of class-V) who was found chained and detained in a room of her house.
[FRANCE24] Thirty-two fighters loyal to Libya's unity government were killed in clashes with Islamic State group jihadists and a car bombing Wednesday near the IS stronghold of Sirte, the military said.
[AlArabiya] Turkish warplanes hit Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, killing at least ten fighters, security sources said on Wednesday.
Two Chinese military aircraft intercepted a U.S. military reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea Tuesday.
[AnNahar] The first schoolgirl 
An airforce MiG 21 crash landed at Tobruk’s Gamal Abdul El Nasser Air Base killing one of the two people on board, Colonel Mohamed Rabie. According to an official the crash was caused by technical problems.
[DAWN] Interpol on Tuesday issued a red corner notice (RCN) against
