On this day in history: April 26th
1805 United States Marines captured Derne, Tripoli under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon.
1865 Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln's assassin, in Virginia.
1933 The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established.
1937 Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
1956 First container ship left Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas.
1986 A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), creating the world's worst nuclear disaster.
Three suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gates of a government compound in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing five policemen, an official said.
The bombers struck at the governor's compound in Kandahar, said Ahmad Wali Karzai, head of the provincial council and the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The three bombers were able to get past a first security checkpoint in the governor's compound, and one bomber detonated explosives he was wearing at a second checkpoint, the Associated Press (AP) quoted him as saying. "The two other bombers moved deeper into the compound before the police fired on them and their explosives detonated," he said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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An Italian cruise ship used guns and a firehose to beat off an attack by pirates off the east African coast, the vessel's captain said Sunday. Pirates also freed a Yemeni-owned tanker, the Sea Princess II, Sunday, a Kenyan maritime official that monitors growing piracy off Somalia told Reuters.
Commander Ciro Pinto of the MSC Melody, which has a capacity of 1,500 passengers and crew, said his ship was slightly damaged by firing from the pirates. The ship came under attack when it was 200 miles (320 km) north of the Seychelles and 600 miles (960 km) off the Somali coast. "They started firing like crazy at the ship," he told Italian television Skytg24.
Pinto said pistols were handed out to security staff and they opened fire on the pirates when they tried to clamber up the sides of the ship. "They tried to put up a ladder with hooks. They were climbing up, so we reacted. We started firing. When they saw us firing -- we even sprayed them with water with the firehose -- they gave up and went off," Pinto said.
The sea gang followed the Melody for another 20 minutes, firing at it all the while, Pinto said. "The passengers meanwhile were inside the cabin. There are no injuries. Only two people with scrapes," the captain said. "Someone slipped, fell. Just a few light scrapes."
"Having weapons on a passenger or merchant ship is dangerous. They should have used other means to shake off the pirates."
Although the ship's action may have saved the Melody from capture, the Kenyan maritime official said it only endangered the lives of passengers. "Having weapons on a passenger or merchant ship is dangerous. They should have used other means to shake off the pirates, like a loud acoustic device," said Andrew Mwangura of the Mombasa-based East African Sea Farers Assistance Program. He was referring to a device that can produce a deafening sound to deter pirates when directed towards their vessel. "Only military ships should have weapons on board."
This article starring:
Andrew Mwangura
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 09:41 ||
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#1
Can I nominate Mwangura for "Idiot of the Day"?
#6
phil_b - how 'bout cruise ships providing skeet shooting facilities for passengers. Of course if someone accidently confused boarding pirates and skeet targets ...
#7
"Having weapons on a passenger or merchant ship is dangerous. They should have used other means to shake off the pirates, like a loud acoustic device," said Andrew Mwangura of the Mombasa-based East African Sea Farers Assistance Program.
...and life member of the Police Chiefs Fraternal Order whose position on private ownership of firearms matches the Program's.
#8
When they saw us firing they gave up and went off
Oh, you mean they gave up when the situation became hazardous? You mean the whole reason they've been pirates in the first place are that we've been being huge pussies who refuse to defend ourselves?
#12
Still, from a purely spectator point of view, it would have been awesomely cool if the Somali pirates had taken a cruise ship with 1,500 passengers. There would have been much excitement and it would have probably been a breaking point, hopefully resulting in raids on pirate bases.
#13
Ok, the cruise ship's security personnel were Israelis, hired specifically to provide security to the cruise ship. I'm surprised there aren't some dead pirates, but maybe they were just trying to scare them off, not kill them. Also note that the pistols were handed out ONLY after the ship had come under attack, and were probably turned in when the danger was over. I can see a HUGE business for security personnel going aboard ships at Suez, getting off in the Seychelles or Maldives, then getting picked up in the Seychelles or Maldives for the trip back to Suez. As long as the security personnel aren't Arabs, it'll work.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/26/2009 13:56 Comments ||
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#14
The ship came under attack when it was 200 miles (320 km) north of the Seychelles and 600 miles (960 km) off the Somali coast.
Wow - is this as far off the coast as any attack has been to date? The next step may simply be to come ashore as a raiding party in some unsuspecting port - it will be interesting if that is called an "invasion" or simply a "Somali voluntary coast guard land action".
#15
The ship came under attack when it was 200 miles (320 km) north of the Seychelles and 600 miles (960 km) off the Somali coast.
This is far from the Somali coast but the piracy map someone posted weveral weeks ago showed incidents I have never heard reported off both coasts of South America, the western side of Africa, Indonesia, and even the Mediterranean, if I remember correctly. I consider pirates terrorists and these should alert us to burgeoning hot spots.
#16
Pirates aren't terrorists, because they don't have any ideology other than "money money money". Terrorists use violence against civilians as a way to remove governments.
#18
A sub-editor at the Australian Daily Telegraph, Tim Blair's paper, was on the ship.
When my comment there gets out of moderation, you'll see that I was expressing the faint hope that the crew returned fire. I didn't know they had. Awesomely awesome. I still would have preferred they use grape shot, though.
Pirates attacked a German cargo ship flying under a Maltese flag and captured its 17 crew members overnight in the Gulf of Aden, officials said on Saturday.
"A cereal carrier has been seized overnight (Friday to Saturday) in the eastern part of the Gulf of Aden," said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme. "It seems that the crew members are unhurt," he added.
The Maltese-flagged vessel, Patriot, was owned by a Germany company and was attacked 150 nautical miles from the Yemeni port of Al-Mukalla, a US Navy spokesman Lieutenant Nathan Christensen told AFP from Bahrain. The nationality of the crew was not known. Meanwhile, Somali pirates have released a Greek ship they captured a couple of months ago after receiving a $1.9 million ransom, one pirate told Reuters on Saturday. "My friends have released the Greek ship after $1.9 million ransom was paid," said Hussein, a pirate. He could not give the name of the ship.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] North Korea said Saturday it started reprocessing spent fuel rods to make weapons-grade plutonium, in an apparent response to a United Nations decision to punish it for a controversial rocket launch. "The reprocessing of spent fuel rods from the pilot atomic power plant began as declared in the Foreign Ministry statement dated April 14," a foreign ministry spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency.
"This will contribute to bolstering the nuclear deterrence for self-defense in every way to cope with the increasing military threats from the hostile forces."
North Korea on April 14 announced it would quit six-nation nuclear disarmament talks and restart its atomic weapons program in protest at the U.N.'s statement condemning the launch.
Pyongyang says it put a satellite into orbit but the United States and its allies say it conducted a disguised long-range ballistic missile test.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm suprised it took them this long. I expected them to start this the day after bambi took office.
I guess his refusal to even watch their long range missile test convinced them they don't need to follow through - Bambi will always give them whatever they want no matter what they do.
One wonders of Bambi's girls are as spoiled as he's going to make all the terrorists states....
#2
Well, one thing he didn't give them or their Chinese sponsors was a look at our BMD radars in operation during their launch. Small cold comfort, but it's something.
#3
With all the bullshit they've thrown up, I doubt they ever stopped in the first place.
Just moved to a hidden location, probably already prepared and hidden, and kept going.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/26/2009 15:15 Comments ||
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#4
WORLD MIL FORUM [GOOGLE Chinglish translation]> IIUC CHINA CANNOT ALLOW NORTH KOREA TO POSSESS WMDS TO THREATEN CHINA, FOSTER LOCAL SEPARATISM WITH XINJIANG UIGHURS.
ALso on WMF > IIUC CHINA LAUNCHES QUIET AGRICULTURE/FOOD PRODUCTION OFFENSIVE AGZ KAZAKHISTAN AND RUSSIA. RUSSIA ALLOWS CHIN FARMERS [including Dependents = Families] TO WORK AND GROW FOOD [e.g. SOYBEANS] ON 20MILYUHN HECTARES [not ACRES] OF ARABLE RUSSIAN LANDS IN CENTRAL ASIA. RUSSIA FEARS ABANDONMENT OF ARABLE RUSS LANDS TO CHIN FARMERS WILL CREATE TENSIONS WITH RUSSIAN CITIZENS, GIVE CHINA CAUSE TO CLAIM RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA.
SO-o-o-o, IOW, RUSS indir fears loss of CENTRAL ASIAN RUSS DOMAINS to either FOOD-CENTRIC CHINA, or to NUKULAAR-CENTRIC RADICAL ISLAM???
[Iran Press TV Latest] A Delta Airlines passenger jet en route to Tel Aviv from New York had to make and emergency stop when an Israeli man attempts to hijack the plane. The way I heard it, he tried to get into the cockpit.
About an hour after the plane took off from New York City, the Israeli man tried to storm the cockpit of the Boeing 767, which was carrying more than 200 passengers. Several passengers and crewmembers took the man down and held him until the plane made an emergency landing at Boston's Logan International Airport. The planes passengers were interviewed by authorities and the plane's luggage was checked. All routine.
Boston Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigations said a search of the plane did not reveal anything suspicious. The Aviation Herald reported that Logan officials said it appeared the situation was not terrorist-related and that the man likely suffered an anxiety attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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"...it appeared the situation was not terrorist-related and that the man likely suffered an anxiety attack."
He probably saw a monster tearing up the wing.
Posted by: Bill Shatner ||
04/26/2009 1:03 Comments ||
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Several passengers and crewmembers took the man down and held him until the plane made an emergency landing
A pack, not a herd. Take note, would-be jihadis. We don't require our military to harden potential civilian targets... although it sure is nice to have it handy!
300 suicide bombers are on their way to Islamabad, Pakistan and plan to attack the capital and certain local officials of foreign embassies there, Interior Ministry sources said.
The suicide bombers also plan to attack Rawalpindi and Lahore and are being led by five top Taliban commanders who are close aides of Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the country's unified Taliban movement, according to the sources.
The commanders have left North Waziristan for Islamabad and would supervise the terrorist operations planned by Baitullah Mehsud in these cities, the sources added.
Pakistan's Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah confirmed the report, saying that security measures had been adopted to thwart such threats. The law enforcement agencies have planned counter strategies to deal with the situation, the secretary said.
Kamal Shah added that the Northern Areas Scouts (NAS), a paramilitary force under the Army command, would reach Islamabad within a couple of days to help the civil administration in maintaining peace in the capital.
The sources said an intelligence agency provided information to the government regarding the Taliban activities, alleging that simultaneous suicide bombings followed by sniper attacks could occur.
The five Taliban commanders are identified by intelligence agencies as Shikaari, Inayatullah, Walid, Mujahid and Abdali, Interior Ministry sources said. They said all the terrorist commanders were close aides of Baitullah Mehsud.
A security officer said the Taliban commanders had left North Waziristan on April 11 for Islamabad, along with an explosives-laden Toyota Corolla. But the law-enforcement agencies were totally unaware whether they had reached their destination or postponed their operation, the officer said.
Quoting the intelligence report, the source said about 300 terrorist shooters and suicide bombers would reach Islamabad, along with the five commanders.
To counter serious threats to Islamabad, the federal government has called troops of the NAS to assist the civil administration to protect prominent personalities as well as sensitive installations of the capital city, the Interior Ministry sources said.
'At least 20 companies of the NAS are required to deal with the possible untoward situation,' the source said.
#3
If the Taliban actually do this then...wow, bye-bye goes negotiations. Bye-bye does the Taliban too, they'll have no cover anymore after that.
Posted by: Charles ||
04/26/2009 19:32 Comments ||
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charles i still don't think the taliban would disappear because the pakis don't won't them too. They never really did anything after Benazir Bhutto got assasinated and no matter how many family members or ppl get whipped murdered or how many liberties the taliban take away from regular ppl they seem scared too confront them.
KATHMANDU: India remains unconvinced that there is good reason for Nepals Maoist government to sack the army chief just four months before he is due to retire and feels any move to tamper with the armys chain of command will send out a negative signal.
This is the message that Indian ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood Sunday conveyed to Nepals Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda after returning from New Delhi, where he had consultations with Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Secretary Shivashankar Menon and senior security officials.
However, the indications are that the Prachanda government is not ready to listen to the voice of caution. A section of Maoist lawmakers are threatening to pull out of the coalition if beleaguered Nepal Army chief Gen Rookmangud Katawal is not dismissed and the prime minister Sunday also met the head of state and the army, President Ram Baran Yadav, to convey his partys decision.
While Katawals term ends in August, the hurry to sack him apparently stems from the Maoist desire to appoint as his successor the second senior-most general, Lt-Gen Kul Bahadur Khadka. While Katawal staunchly opposed the Maoist bid to induct its over 19,000 Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) fighters into the Nepal Army (NA), saying they would have to meet international recruitment criteria, Khadka is whispered to be more flexible.
However, Khadka himself has barely two months service left before he is due to retire and the government needs to remove Katawal to pave the way for their favourite before that.
But a setback came from the Maoists ally in the coalition government, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML). The Maoists need UML support to win their battle against the army chief. However, the UML, whose leaders have become sharply divided on the issue, Sunday decided to skirt a verdict and instead, asked for the opposition Nepali Congress (NC) party to be also consulted.
With the NC opposing the Maoist move to fire Katawal and continuing to disrupt parliament since last week in protest, the sword will now continue to hang over the army and its chief and throw a pall of uncertainty on the fate of the peace process.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/26/2009 12:05 ||
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#1
Sounds like they're negotiating the start date for a civil war.
Taliban moving west/sout west, Paks seem to be attempting to surround Swat, haven't heard much more
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan launched an operation against militants Sunday in a district covered by a government-backed peace deal, threatening the survival of a pact that raised U.S. concerns about the nuclear-armed nation's willingness to confront the insurgents.
A top government official insisted the deal remained "intact" and denied American pressure prompted the offensive, while another warned that the Taliban in a valley that was the focus of the deal must disarm or "face action."
A military statement said the offensive in Lower Dir had already killed "scores" of militants, including a commander, and left at least one paramilitary soldier dead. It said the operation was launched at the request of the provincial government and local residents, but did not give details of exactly what it entailed or how many troops were involved. Yeah no details
Television footage from the district showed at least two helicopter gunships heading toward the mountains. Troops guarded a road blocked with paramilitary trucks, while some families sat nearby. Another family headed away in a vehicle full of luggage.
The Dir region neighbors Afghanistan and the beleaguered Swat Valley. The government agreed to impose Islamic law in Swat and the surrounding districts that make up Malakand Division if the Taliban there would end their violent campaign in the one-time tourist haven.
In recent days, Taliban forces from Swat began entering Buner, a neighboring district which lies just 60 miles from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Officials said most of the insurgents pulled out of Buner on Friday amid reports of possible military action, and threats that the government would scrap the deal.
The decision to attack militant hideouts in Lower Dir was something of a surprise, though reports of a rising militant presence there and in Upper Dir have been growing.
Losing either district of Dir to militants would be a significant not only for Pakistan but also for the U.S. because a part of the region borders Afghanistan, where the U.S. is sending thousands more troops to shore up the faltering war effort.
The Dir region lies above Bajur, a tribal area where the military staged another offensive. Many of the militants now in Dir may have come from Bajur.
It was unclear if Swat militants were in Dir, though they have been reported in nearby districts other than Buner. The Swat Taliban spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Farhatullah Babar, spokesman for Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, insisted that a military offensive did not render the peace agreement moot.
He said the government would fulfill its pledge to establish Islamic courts in Malakand, a long-standing demand of local residents exhausted by the inefficient regular judicial system -- and a grievance exploited by the Taliban. Still, Babar added, the government would not tolerate militants' spread.
"The peace deal is intact -- the government has not revoked the peace deal," Babar said. "At the same time the government is determined to root out the militants hell-bent on destroying the law and order situation."
Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik, the country's top civilian security official, had harsher words, even speaking of the deal in past tense when saying the Swat militants had to disarm.
"Enough is enough," Malik said. "There is no option for them except to lay down their arms, because the government is serious now to flush them out."
The Pakistani military's ability or willingness to take on the Taliban has been questioned by some top U.S. officials in recent days, even as they ponder giving Pakistan billions more in military and other aid.
#1
they always seem too throw in some comment like " the faltering war efort" in regards too afghanistan, hell it's not our country being taken over why not worry about the paki nukes or the weak ass president they have instead of taking a shot at the US? Just go ahead and pull our troops out of the region stop AID and make the asshats glow.
PESHAWAR: Taliban militants in Buner district shaved the heads and moustaches of four Pakistani men as punishment for listening to music, one of the men said Sunday. Although Taliban and local officials said the fighters retreated from Buner by Saturday, local members of the movement remain. Residents said many fighters were still present in the hilly outskirts of the district.
In one incident late Saturday, Taliban hardliners shaved the heads and moustaches of four men for listening to music, a young man from Buner told AFP by telephone, requesting not to be identified.
'I was with three other friends in my car, listening to music when armed Taliban stopped us and, after smashing cassettes and the cassette player, they shaved half our heads and moustaches,' he said. 'The Taliban also beat us and asked us not to listen to music ever again,' said the terrified man.
Local police said they had no information about the incident.
And they won't either, if they know what's good for them ...
The victim said neither he nor his friends lodged a complaint with police, as this would have been dangerous 'useless.' 'It might have annoyed the Taliban further and I fear for my life,' the man said.
Residents in Mingora, the main town in Swat, said Taliban posters had been put up in streets and markets ordering women not to go shopping. The posters had appeared after the Taliban's controversial agreement with the government to enforce Islamic law in the region. 'We will take action against women who go out shopping in the markets and any shopkeeper seen dealing with women shoppers will be dealt with severely,' read the poster from the Swat branch of Tehrik-i-Taliban.
'The peace agreement does not mean that obscenity should be re-born,' it added.
Extremist Taliban consider it 'obscene' for women to leave their homes, and ban females from venturing out in public without an immediate male relative -- namely a father, brother, son or husband.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/26/2009 10:03 ||
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#1
I recall vaguely reading a very old arabic tale that all the women had long sharp daggers, if invasion happened, when the men tried to rape the "Conquered", they never woke up.
Sounds good to me.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/26/2009 15:04 Comments ||
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Police on Saturday arrested Maulana Abdullah -- a close aide of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud -- from Alikhel area of Sargodha, a private TV channel reported. According to the channel, the police, on information provided by Abdullah, arrested five more suspects, including four Afghan nationals.
This article starring:
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
Baitullah Mehsud
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
Maulana Abdullah
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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Taliban from Swat who overran Buner have left the area but not before creating a local Taliban force to keep control. Wow. That sure was quick. Took 'em less than a week to raise an army, train it, and equip it.
This represents a new tactic for the surging militancy in Pakistan, ABC News warned on Saturday. A core group of Taliban can thus travel and spread their influence while placing areas they have already 'conquered' under the command of local recruits. The Taliban did not stay long in Buner, but they left behind enough recruiters to train a homegrown corps of new fighters, the report said. In less than a week.
"I do not know the exact number of my men who left the area but they all boarded in 15 vehicles to return to Swat," Muslim Khan, the Taliban spokesman, told AFP, presenting the 'withdrawal' as a goodwill gesture. Leaving an army in your wake was a goodwill gesture, too?
"We have withdrawn from Buner to show our commitment to make the peace deal a success," Khan said referring to an agreement to enforce Islamic law in exchange for an end to fighting in Swat. He did not disclose how many local Taliban remained in Buner.
The Pakistani government had hoped the Swat deal would placate the Taliban, but the Taliban ignored the stipulation that they disarm. Which means it's not a deal, it's a capitulation. Called that one pretty early in the game, didn't we?
"They won't lay down their arms so quickly," said Syed Javed Shah, the Malakand commissioner. "They have developed enmities with residents whose relatives were killed," he told Reuters. Javed, told AP that all the Taliban had crossed the mountain passes into Swat. "They have all gone back. No one is left in Buner."
This article starring:
Muslim Khan
TTP
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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Fazl Karim Khattak replaced Syed Muhammad Javed as Malakand division commissioner on Saturday, a private TV channel reported. The channel quoted its sources as saying that the reason behind Javed's replacement was his alleged ties with the Taliban. Military officials had expressed concerns over his relations with Taliban commander Maulvi Faqeer, the channel said. ANP Senator Haji Adeel denied the report and told another TV channel Khattak had left for a three-month training course.
This article starring:
Fazl Karim Khattak
Maulvi Faqeer
TTP
Senator Haji Adeel
Syed Muhammad Javed
TTP
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Tension prevailed across Karachi today after the killing of a political activist yesterday. At least persons including three brothers were injured in firing incidents in different areas. According to police, incidents of aerial firing were reported from North Nazimabad, Pahar Ganj, Qasba colony, Banaras and Metroville. A vehicle was torched in Qasba colony. Four people including three brothers sustained bullet injuries in two different incidents in Karachi on Saturday. Three brothers, Sardar Alam, Aziz-u-Rahman and Saeed Alam were injured when some armed men opened fire on them at Banaras colony area. The injured were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed hospital. In another incident, one Gul Muhammad was injured in firing at Ahsan Abad near Sohrab Goth and was shifted to hospital.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Markets have reopened and business activity started to resume in Buner as situation improves following Taliban pull out from the area. The routine activities of everyday life are gradually resuming in Buner after the recent withdrawal of Swat Taliban. Crowds of people are now seen in trade centres while hustle bustle of markets is returning fast. However, courts continue to remain closed, resulting in delay of hundreds of pending cases. According to some sources, 10 per cent of the Taliban present earlier in the area are still there while the local Taliban of Buner have been seen patrolling some parts of the area. Meanwhile, a public meeting will be held in Buner's college ground which will be attended by local elders and leaders of political and religious organizations. The meeting will devise a strategy for improving the overall law and order of the district.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Police claimed foiling a terrorism plot having seized 475-kilogram explosive materials from a vehicle and rounded up two militants under the jurisdiction of Chotta Lahore police station in Swabi tehsil late on Saturday, Geo news reported. According to police sources, the vehicle having number 'RIT-8645' was bound to Swabi from Lahore when it was halted and searched out on motorway. The arrested persons, hailing from Mardan, were later identified as Hamid Ali and Imran while the further interrogations are underway, sources added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] At least 12 children were killed on Saturday when they mistook a bomb for a toy in northwest Pakistan, officials said. "The children had found the bomb outside a girls' primary school in Luqman Banda village of Lower Dir town," local police official Said Zaman told AFP.
The children killed included seven boys and five girls ranging between five and 13 years old and seven of them belonged to the same family said Zaman, who visited the site of the blast in the remote mountainous village.
" The children had found the bomb outside a girls' primary school in Luqman Banda village of Lower Dir town "
Local police official Said Zaman
Zaman said the bomb resembled a football and the children found it near their school as they were returning to their homes. "The children started playing with the bomb and all of a sudden it exploded."
He said it was unclear whether it was a "deliberate act of terrorism" or an accident, as the region is littered with unexploded ordnance abandoned by mujahideen fighters during their 1980s war against Soviet troops in neighboring Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I am sure it was a 'deliberate act of terrorism'; it was found outside a girls' primary school, a common target of the Pakistani fundamentalist Islamists.
A trained dog nabbed a terrorist on Sunday in the town of Tapuach after the man managed to evade security personnel. The dog found the suspect hiding near a local synagogue.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- A Palestinian health official says a man has been killed in an accident while working in one of the smuggling tunnels under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Health official Moawia Hassanein says a 22-year-old man was electrocuted by cables he had rigged for light and power in the tunnel.
"Insulators? Who needs insulators? They're just a Zionist invent [zap]"
Saturday's death brought to 12 the number of people killed in Gaza tunneling accidents this year.
Gazans use tunnels to smuggle in goods kept out of the strip by Israel's and Egypt's blockade of its borders. Militants also use them to bring in weapons.
Especially weapons ...
Many tunnels were badly damaged in Israeli bombing raids in an attempt to halt the arms smuggling. Egypt also tries to destroy tunnel entrances on its side of the border.
Tamil Tiger rebels declared a unilateral cease-fire on Sunday as a top U.N. official pressed Sri Lankan leaders to let aid into the northeastern war zone where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped.
The rebels asked the international community to pressure the government into halting its campaign, saying the "humanitarian crisis can only be overcome by the declaration of an immediate cease-fire."
The rebels, who have voluntarily halted their fight before, said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press that they would immediately stop fighting.
The United Nations and others have been pushing for a truce to allow civilians to escape, as reports have grown of starvation and casualties among those trapped by the fighting.
Sri Lanka's Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa rejected the call, however, saying the rebels were "running" from government forces. In recent months, troops have pushed deep into the Tamil Tigers' strongholds in the north, surrounding the beleaguered rebels and vowing to end the quarter-century war.
In a sign, the rebels are feeling the pressure of army's monthslong offensive, 23 insurgents surrendered on Sunday.
Dressed as civilians, they turned themselves over to the advancing troops, said Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, the military spokesman.
Last week, two prominent rebels - the group's former media spokesman, Velayutham Dayanithi, whose nom de guerre is Daya Master, and an interpreter for group's political wing, known only as George - surrendered.
The rebels, listed as a terrorist group by many Western nations, have been fighting since 1983 for an ethnic Tamil state in the north and east after decades of marginalization by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. After more than three years of intense fighting, the military stands on the verge of crushing the group.
Fighting, meanwhile, continued Sunday in the ever-shrinking war zone, with sea battles and infantry clashes.
Navy patrol boats destroyed three rebel boats, killing at least 12 insurgents early Sunday, said navy spokesman Cmdr. Mahesh Karunaratne. He said that the guerrillas were preparing to attack army troops on the coast.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 09:56 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Thousands of civilians are crossing into government-controlled area from the no-fire zone (NFZ) occupied by the LTTE rebels in Sir Lanka. Which'd imply the Tigers aren't strong enough to stop them anymore...
By Saturday, over 110,000 civilians had crossed over into the government territory in the north since the 'final stage' of clashes started in April 20. Another 70,000 civilians who had crossed prior to April 20 have been accommodated in temporary camps in the districts of Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna. The government is preparing temporary shelters for refugees as The United Nations sent its top humanitarian official to Sri Lanka on Saturday to secure the well being of up to 50,000 civilians trapped in fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels.
The United Nation's Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, arrived in Colombo late Saturday. The White House also called for an immediate ceasefire in the region while the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations made a strong statement calling for peace in the island's north. I hope Colombo's still ignoring that claptrap.
The United Nations believes up to 50,000 non-combatants are still trapped in the tiny sliver of jungle where the Sri Lankan military has surrounded the remnants of the once powerful Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) army.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
If these numbers were anything close to accurate everyone would have starved to death by now.
n Iranian ship was destroyed off the coast of Sudan while transporting weapons to Gaza, according to the Egyptian daily Al-Usbua. The paper named Israel and the United States as likely suspects in the attack.
Could have been the Latvians. Or the Ruritanians ...
The ship was to dock in Sudan, where the weapons would have been unloaded and transported by land to the northern Sinai Peninsula. From there, they would be smuggled into Gaza to be used by Hamas.
The ship was destroyed by missiles fired from an unidentified second vessel, Sudanese sources said. The crew was killed in the attack, and the cargo was destroyed, they said.
Don't you just hate when that happens?
The sources said Iran had attempted to hush up the incident.
One month ago, the U.S. station CBS reported that Israeli planes had carried out an attack in Sudan in January, demolishing a convoy bringing weapons from Iran to Hamas. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in either strike.
[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Lebanese authorities arrested three men early Saturday for allegedly being part of a spying ring for Israel, security officials said, in the latest episode in the long-running espionage war between the two countries.
Agents grabbed the three - two Lebanese and a Palestinian - from their homes in southern Lebanon during a raid early Saturday, security officials said. Authorities are searching for a fourth suspect, the officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The Israeli government could not be reached for comment.
The arrests were based on information extracted from a retired Lebanese general arrested earlier this week, also for allegedly spying for Israel. The general, his wife and his nephew, who is a government security agent, were charged this week with espionage.
According to military prosecutor Saqr Saqr, the three arrested Saturday were providing information to Israel about Lebanese and Syrian military and civilian installations.
The retired general had worked for the General Security Department at the Interior Ministry, the same office that employed his nephew. He told interrogators he had worked for Israel for more than 10 years and regularly met with his Israeli contacts at European destinations. The former officer allegedly used his business after retiring - an office that brings foreign workers to Lebanon - as cover for his intelligence work, security officials have said.
Preliminary charges are based on interrogation by intelligence agents before a suspect is turned over to the military prosecutor's office. Such charges are necessary so authorities can hold suspects while they are questioned by an investigating magistrate.
Final charges can be made later based on the investigation. But the process can take months, and years can pass before a case goes to trial. Those convicted of spying for Israel can be sentenced to death.
Lebanon considers itself at war with Israel and bans its citizens from having any contact with the Jewish state. Lebanese authorities have made a series of arrests in recent months that appear to be part of a stepped-up campaign against those suspected of gathering information on Hizbullah operatives for Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/26/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Three suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gates of a government compound in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing five policemen, an official said.
An Italian cruise ship used guns and a firehose to beat off an attack by pirates off the east African coast, the vessel's captain said Sunday. Pirates also freed a Yemeni-owned tanker, the Sea Princess II, Sunday, a Kenyan maritime official that monitors growing piracy off Somalia told Reuters.
Pirates attacked a German cargo ship flying under a Maltese flag and captured its 17 crew members overnight in the Gulf of Aden, officials said on Saturday.
[Al Arabiya Latest] North Korea said Saturday it started reprocessing spent fuel rods to make weapons-grade plutonium, in an apparent response to a United Nations decision to punish it for a controversial rocket launch. "The reprocessing of spent fuel rods from the pilot atomic power plant began as declared in the Foreign Ministry statement dated April 14," a foreign ministry spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency.
Taliban from Swat who overran Buner have left the area but not before creating a local Taliban force to keep control. 
[Al Arabiya Latest] At least 12 children were killed on Saturday when they mistook a bomb for a toy in northwest Pakistan, officials said. "The children had found the bomb outside a girls' primary school in Luqman Banda village of Lower Dir town," local police official Said Zaman told AFP.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- A Palestinian health official says a man has been killed in an accident while working in one of the smuggling tunnels under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
n Iranian ship was destroyed off the coast of Sudan while transporting weapons to Gaza, according to the Egyptian daily Al-Usbua. The paper named Israel and the United States as likely suspects in the attack.
