Five men have been identified by the US as linked to the September 2012 attack on a diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, though they remain at large as the FBI seeks to gather sufficient evidence for a civilian trial.
According to the Associated Press, the five individuals thought to be responsible for the attack, in which four were killed including US Ambassador Christopher Stevens, could be taken into custody by the US military, though sufficient proof seems lacking to try them in court.
The suspects are thought to be members of Ansar al-Shariah, a Libyan militia group whose fighters were seen near the US diplomatic facility in Benghazi just prior to the assault.
At least some of the suspects have been in contact with previously identified regional Jihadists, including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
A senior Obama administration official has told the AP that the FBI identified several individuals that may either have information, or may have been directly involved in the attack. However, per that official, a unilateral military mission to extract the suspects without Libyas cooperation is thought to be potentially damaging to relations.
Photos for three of the five suspects have been released by the FBI in the hopes that the public may provide information, images evidently obtained by security cameras at the US diplomatic post at the time of the attack. Delays due to the security situation meant that the agency took three weeks to obtain the camera and their data, and relay them to American officials in Tripoli.
#1
Following intense pressure from father, little Thomas somehow manages to find his missing report card in a sock drawer. His mum is dismayed however, as the marks were all failing.
#2
could be taken into custody by the US military, though sufficient proof seems lacking to try them in court.
If they could be taken into custody then they could certainly have 'unfortunate accidents' - Libya is a dangerous place, with unexploded ordnance around, Third World health care, infrastructure that makes the Tappan Zee Bridge look solid and well-maintained....
#3
This regime has an odd definition of law. They can spy on reporters and use the IRS as an intimidation tool and they think they can (or should) try foreign nationals in a civilian court for waging war in a foreign country.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
05/22/2013 12:24 Comments ||
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#5
Alan C, as you undoubtedly know, it is not about the actual law, but the optics of law, the distinction being that its really about being SEEN to follow whatever law makes them able to do what they want. The actual rule of law would require them to be obedient to it, and that is not what imperial hubris is willing to do. For these people, its always the optics, not the truth.
TUNIS A Tunisian attention whore feminist who had scandalised her country by posting topless photos of herself online has been arrested after sneaking into Tunisias city disguised in a veil, then trying to get undressed during a protest, officials said.
On Sunday, Amina Tyler -- a 19-year-old member of the Ukrainian feminist group FEMEN, which uses nudity in its protests -- passed through heavy security and checkpoints to enter Kairouan city, where police were preventing Islamists from holding an annual conference. There she unveiled her bleach blonde hair and cutoff jeans, scrawled FEMEN on the wall of a cemetery near the citys main mosque, and attempted to take off her clothes, her lawyer Radhia Nasraoui quoted police as saying.
Bet that unwound some turbans...
The protest enraged local residents who converged on her, forcing police to take her into protective custody. In a video of the incident shown on the Tunisian news website Nawaat, Tunisians are yelling get out at her as police usher her into a waiting van.
She is dishonoring us. We will protect our town, but a dirty girl like her shouldnt come among us, one resident screams at the camera.
The Interior Ministry said Tyler may be charged with conducting provocative acts when she appears in court on Tuesday. It is an act of provocation and it is against the morals and traditions of Tunisian society, which is a Muslim society, an Interior spokesman said.
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[An Nahar] Radical Salafist group Ansar al-Sharia ...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends... , which Tunisian authorities have branded a terrorist organization, has called for a protest in the city of Kairouan on Friday against the arrest of its front man.
"Call to all Moslems to a protest in support of Ansar al-Sharia's front man Seifeddine Rais, in front of the headquarters of ruling Islamist party Ennahda near Bab Jalladine" in Kairouan, the group said on its Facebook page.
Rais was locked away I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! on Sunday in the city south of Tunis where the Salafist group was to have held a congress the same day that was banned by the authorities.
The interior ministry has not stated the reason for the front man's arrest, carried out at dawn as he was jogging in Kairouan.
"The law will be applied when a person fails to respect the law," was all the ministry's front man Mohamed Ali Aroui would say, contacted by Agence La Belle France Presse for comment.
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[An Nahar] Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term, who will probably die in office of old age... has been transferred to a new facility in Gay Paree to continue his recovery after treatment in a French military hospital, La Belle France's defense ministry said Tuesday.
Bouteflika, 76, was flown to the Val de Grace hospital in Gay Paree three weeks ago following a mini-stroke and speculation has been rife about the state of his health.
In a statement, the French defense ministry confirmed that the Algerian leader had been hospitalized at his request at Val de Grace on April 27.
"Mr. Bouteflika is today leaving Val de Grace for another facility in order to continue his convalescence," the statement said, without providing further details.
Algerian authorities broke official silence on Bouteflika's health on Monday, confirming he was recovering in Gay Paree after a mini-stroke and saying his life was "never in danger".
The secrecy surrounding his treatment in La Belle France led many in Algeria to speculate about the health of the president, who has ruled Algeria since 1999.
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[An Nahar] Nigeria on Tuesday relaxed the curfew in Maiduguri, stronghold of the 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... Islamist krazed killer sect, three days after it was imposed, an Agence La Belle France Presse journalist in the city said.
City residents were able to go outside their homes during the day after the army issued a statement late Monday easing the curfew from 7 am (0600 GMT) until 5 pm (1600 GMT).
Nigeria's military on Saturday imposed a 24-hour curfew in parts of the northeastern city as soldiers pressed on with a campaign against Boko Haram Islamists that has sent people fleeing from their homes.
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[An Nahar] Thousands gathered in Yemen's main southern city of Aden on Tuesday to call for renewed independence for the south 23 years after it united with the north.
Waving the flag of the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and portraits of exiled southern leader Ali Salem al-Baid, the protesters gathered at a square in the Khor Maksar district of Aden, Agence La Belle France Presse reported.
"We have vowed that Sanaa will no longer rule us. Get out," they chanted.
"Independence is our goal," read their banners.
After north and south united in 1990, southern leaders led a short-lived breakaway in 1994 that sparked a civil war that culminated in an occupation by northern troops.
The protesters on Tuesday were responding to calls by Baid to commemorate mark the breakaway which he declared on May 21, 1994.
Baid, who now lives in Leb, is still campaigning for southern independence despite the participation of the Southern Movement alliance of separatists and federalists, in a national dialogue that began in Sanaa on March 18.
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Up to 600 Afghan interpreters who worked alongside British troops are to be given the right to live in the UK, government sources have confirmed.
The plan marks a climbdown from ministers who had decided they should not get the same UK resettlement rights as interpreters in the Iraq conflict.
Afghan interpreters who worked on the front line for a year or more will initially be offered a five-year visa.
The move covers about half of Afghan interpreters who helped the UK.
A Downing Street source said the proposals would give interpreters a choice - "the opportunity to go on working in Afghanistan, learning new skills and to go on rebuilding their country or to come and make a new start in Britain".
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the coalition previously appeared to be split on the issue.
Liberal Democrats, including former Royal Marine Lord Ashdown, had called for a resettlement package.
Others feared a blanket right to come to the UK could be taken as a sign of a lack of faith in Afghanistan's future after Western forces left, o
Two Saudi princes on Tuesday sought to extricate themselves from a London legal battle with a Jordanian businessman who accuses them of laundering money for Hezbollah, an allegation their lawyer called "fanciful".
Prince Mishal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, a brother of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, and his son Prince Abdulaziz bin Mishal, had previously argued they had sovereign immunity from suit but the courts rejected that stance.
They also tried to keep details of the case secret on the grounds that making the allegations public would damage Saudi relations with Britain and the United States, which considers Hezbollah a terrorist organisation, but that failed in the Court of Appeal last week.
The Hezbollah allegation is likely to raise concern in Saudi Arabia, because Hezbollah is backed by foe Iran, and Hezbollah fighters are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria while Saudi Arabia is a major backer of rebel forces.
John Wardell, a lawyer for the princes, told the High Court on Tuesday that Faisal Almhairat, an estranged business partner of Prince Abdulaziz, had fabricated "incredible tales" that were "fanciful", and argued that his clients should not be parties to the case at all.
He said Global Torch - the British Virgin Island company the younger prince is said to control - and not the princes should be the party at the trial when it comes to court in January.
The South Korean government has concluded that the six missiles North Korea launched into the sea between Saturday and Monday aimed to test new bigger multiple rocket launchers.
The missiles flew about 150 km, but their maximum range is estimated to be 180-200 km, a South Korean government official said Tuesday. Until now the North was believed to have three kinds of multiple rocket launchers -- 107 mm, 122 mm, and 240 mm with a maximum range of less than 65 km.
But the new launchers could threaten South Korean military headquarters at Gyeryongdae in South Chungcheong Province and U.S. bases in Pyeongtaek and Osan, both in Gyeonggi Province, as well as the entire Seoul region.
It's almost as if it were planned...
With six to 12 launch tubes, mobile rocket launchers can fire more projectiles -- eight or nine rockets in 10 minutes -- than missile launch vehicles. The launchers are difficult to detect until they start firing.
The test launches could be construed as provocative, although they "do not necessarily violate North Korea's international obligations," Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters Monday.
North Korea's existence violates its international obligations. But the great and the good aren't bothered, so do stop fussing, dear Reader.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
Whew! Since we seem to have skillfully avoided total annihilation at their hands, I guess we can relax about the little stuff.
A federal judge has denied the motions of a North Bergen man and Elmwood Park man who argued that their sentencing for a terrorism-related crime on the same day as the Boston Marathon was unfair.
The ruling signed today by District Court Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise will let stand the 22-year-sentence he meted out to Mohamed Alessa, 23, of North Bergen and 20-year-sentence received by codefendant Carlos Almonte, 27.
After the April 15 sentencings, defense attorneys sought a new sentencing, arguing that the prosecution's knowledge of the bombing allowed them to alter their presentation to focus on the vulnerability of targets in the New York area, rather then on the defendants themselves, according to Debovoise's opinion.
In the motion filed April 29, they also argued Debevoise learned of the bombing prior to sentencing the pair that day, but that the defense was not aware of the bombing prior to the sentencing.
The judge said that the defense attorneys' recollection of the hearing was faulty. Two assistant US attorneys gave presentations and the one focusing on the vulnerability of targets went first and it was before word of the Boston bombings reached the court, the opinion says.
Debevoise notes that the prosecutor then invited the second prosecutor to "talk about the individual characteristics of the defendants."
The judge also noted that the sentencing process involved thousands of pages of documents reviewed over a long period of time and his 43-page statement of the reasons for the sentences was compiled long before the bombings.
The judge said there was a potential for terrorist attacks by the defendants in the United States and as such, there was no reason the prosecution would not have referred to potential targets while arguing for 30-year sentences, the opinion said.
[Ynet] Gulf state's emir tells Doha Forum Mideast revolutions put Israel 'in direct confrontation with Arab people, not only their rulers'
That certainly is one way of looking at things...Not remotely related to external reality, but internally valid, at least.
Qatar's emir, who has thrown his state's riches behind Arab uprisings, said on Monday that the emergence of 'people power' had put Arabs in direct confrontation with Israel and made a resolution of the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict more pressing.
"We heard in the past that reform (in the Arab world) must wait until a peaceful settlement with Israel is achieved, but everybody should realize that such belief is now unfounded after the Arab Spring revolts," Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani told a conference in the Qatari capital.
"The reason is that the Arab Spring has today put Israel in direct confrontation with the Arab people, not only with their rulers. These people will no longer accept that negotiations are the goal in themselves."
He added: "Our region will not see peace unless we see a resolution to the Paleostinian issue."
Sheikh Hamad's call for the establishment of a Paleostinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital was broadly in line with a long-standing Saudi plan.
"Israel must not lose this important opportunity to seek peace. Israel must withdraw to the '67 borders, with an independent state established with Jerusalem as its capital," Sheikh Hamad told the Doha Forum, attended by a number of leaders including Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh.
He made no mention, however, of the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... 's acceptance last month that Israelis and Paleostinians may have to swap land in any peace deal, to allow Jewish settlements in occupied territory to become part of Israel.
That step has been praised by US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... , due in the region this week in a drive to revive peace talks that have been frozen since 2010.
Qatar, a major Gulf gas producer and ally of the United States, has used its wealth to back pro-democracy protests that have toppled four Arab heads of state since 2011, and to support the mainstream Islamist groups that have been catapulted to power.
"We are not trying to show off our achievements in Qatar, but what we did was something important," Sheikh Hamad said.
Qatar has made no secret of the fact that it is arming Syria's rebels, although rebels and officials familiar with the uprising say it has tightened the flow, in concert with the CIA, to keep the weapons out of the hands of Islamist fighters linked to al-Qaeda.
Sheikh Hamad slammed what he called the world's failure to "make the Syrian regime listen to reason", adding: "The international community can no longer stand still as we watch the Syrian crisis unfold."
Yet despite its vigorous defense of people power across the Arab world, Qatar has yet to empower its own 1.9 million people in the same way.
It has no elected parliament or organized political opposition and restricts freedom of expression, leading to widespread self-censorship among local media.
In November, a Qatari court tossed in the clink Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! a poet for life on charges of criticizing the emir and inciting revolt.
In his speech, the emir called for more dialogue and the establishment of institutions that support gradual democratic reforms, but sidestepped questions related to possible elections in his country.
"The current situation is a critical one for the Arab world. People are now calling for broad reforms, mainly participation in public life. We need to listen to what others have to say to establish dialogue, rather than foster violence," he said.
"The concept of democracy means much more than casting ballots. We need to instill change gradually through reform and dialogue. Change that takes place too quickly and that does not take into account the complex fabric of societies is dangerous."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/22/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Because it proves there are stable regimes Israel can negotiate with?
Iraqi civil aviation authorities forced a cargo plane belonging to Iran's Caspian Airlines to land at Baghdad International Airport, the Iraqi Transport Ministry said in a statement on Monday, Aswat al-Iraq reported.
The plane was searched by security forces at the airport, but nothing illegal was found and the plane was allowed to continue its flight, the statement added.
You wonder if this was all set up since certain Iraqi government officials are mighty cozy with their Iranian cousins...
Tehran has repeatedly criticized Iraqi officials over the inspection of Iranian planes carrying humanitarian aid to crisis-hit Syria. It says the inspections - which have invariably failed to find any illegal cargo - are carried out under political pressure from other countries.
True enough but we're going to force you to move arms to Pencilneck in some more indirect way...
"This measure is not negligible or justifiable, and we have voiced our protest against this approach and consider it a violation of international law and conventions," former Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on April 23.
He added that Iraqi officials had been previously warned against insisting on the inspection of Iranian airplanes.
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[An Nahar] Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a shakeup of senior security officers on Tuesday after a spate of unrest that has killed more than 380 people so far this month, an official said.
Maliki, "after consultation with security officials, issues orders ... for changes in the operations commands and commanders of divisions," the bigwig told Agence La Belle France Presse on condition of anonymity.
One of those changes was to sack Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Hashem, the head of the Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... Operations Command, which is responsible for security in the capital, the official said.
The shakeup comes a day after Maliki said he would change the country's security strategy as well as top personnel.
"We are about to make changes in the high and middle positions of those responsible for security, and the security strategy," Maliki said on Monday.
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[Ynet] Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon confirmed the extension of Paleostinian fishing space off the coast of the Gazoo Strip to six nautical miles. This followed the reduction of fishing territory to three miles after the firing of rockets at Israel's southern communities two months ago.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Brigadier General Eitan Dangot briefed Paleostinian Authority officials on the decision.
Actions have consequences in the world of the sane...
#1
Parts R Parts brand paleofish set to take off. 8th Century Aquaculture using 21st Century Plastic Explosive Harvesting bound to please the most dainty palette.
[Ynet] Home front minister says war is not question of 'if' but 'when' as he launches exercise intended to prepare civilians to its event
"There is no longer a question whether missiles will be launched at Israel's major population centers, only when it would happen," Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan said Tuesday ahead of a nationwide drill.
The civil war raging in Syria and ominous Israeli promises to prevent advanced weapons from landing in the hands of terrorist organizations are only part of the background for the annual national emergency exercise set to be held next week.
The drill, held jointly by the IDF Home Front Command and emergency services, aims to prepare the Israeli population for the undesired event of thousands of missiles and rockets hitting population centers and strategic installations across the country, including unconventional weapons from Syria, Leb and the Gazoo Strip. The simulation will commence Sunday morning with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing a week of national emergency.
From Monday until Wednesday the drill will focus on civilian population, in particular practicing speedy retreat to protected spaces. This will be a high-tech drill, as participation will be checked online with the assistance of the Education Ministry, which devised a form asking students whether they and their parents indeed entered sheltered areas.
Additionally, this will be first time the entire early warning system will be put to a test as, besides sirens, civilians will receive alerts via different media including mobile devices, social networks and television broadcasts.
Erdan also said that "in terms of gaps in protection, we prefer to invest in protecting our citizens from conventional threats before investing in shielding the population from nonconventional weaponry. The Iron Dome (missile defense system) will not be ready to cope -- as we have seen in the Pillar of Defense operation -- with the scope and size of such missiles."
Head of the Home Front Command Major-General Eyal Eisenberg also spoke of war as a near certainty, saying "We'll be required to deal with a large volume of rocket fire. Our opponents hold long-range missiles with large warheads and carrying capacity of hundreds of pounds.
"There is no doubt Israel's home front has never dealt with such a scenario, and we will have to show extraordinary fortitude. These are not easy times, but Israel possesses a far greater destructive capacity compared to our enemies, so I would suggest our neighbors weigh the odds once more before they warm up the engines," said the commander.
[Ynet] Research institute says some Mideast organizations receiving grants from Washington 'demonize Israel, promote BDS campaigns targeting Israel'
But our beloved, honourable president simply adores Israel -- all the newspapers reported it so during his recent visit. It must have been rogue underlings again.
A report presented to members of Congress on Tuesday by Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor shows that US Government funding of several political NGOs in the Paleostinian Authority and Israel contradicts US policy, has a negative impact on the grinding of the peace processor, and lacks the independent oversight necessary to prevent abuses.
"Some of the NGO grantees conduct activities that sharply contradict program objectives and policies," said Professor Gerald M. Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor.
Bug... or feature?
"The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), for instance, funded by the US Government, in turn funds political advocacy NGOs that demonize Israel and promote BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns targeting Israel. This activity is entirely inconsistent with official US policy."
The reports mentions that one such organization is MIFTAH ($178,740 in 2007-2012), a Paleostinian NGO involved in anti-Israel campaigns and anti-Semitism, including repetition of the infamous blood libel and allegations of "the slaughter of Paleostinian children," according to Steinberg.
Another group, "Windows," received $750,000 in a three-year grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). It is described by the Agency as "a tool for Israeli and Paleostinian participants to learn about each other." But according to NGO Monitor, Windows' Youth Media Program adopts a "Paleostinian narrative of the conflict including highly offensive comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany."
Steinberg said, "Obviously, USAID and NED do not endorse such views,
Obviously.
but the funding is indicative of the lack of supervision and transparency in such grants. Self-reporting, without independent evaluation on such complex issues, violates the principles of good governance."
Of course. That's why it's done that way.
NGO Monitor urged US officials to conduct "detailed, professional and independent evaluations of NGO activity before grant allocation, during implementation, and at the conclusion of the grant cycle."
Put the IRS on it -- that's what they do best,
NGO Monitor said it recently received an assurance from US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro that "we have put in place greater policy oversight of grant-making decisions over the past few years."
Done and dusted. Anyone for tea? I've got a lovely one just sent over from China. Picked only from the very tips of the branches by certified virgin maidens, they say.
#1
But our beloved, honourable president simply adores Israel -- all the newspapers reported it so during his recent visit. It must have been rogue underlings again.
They were receiving funds under Bush as well. Face it TW, official Washington is anti Israel---they just bow to popular demand (just like in Economics).
#3
official Washington = entrenched State Department bureaucracy. Then again, the same bunch hasn't demonstrated much in the way of Pro-American interests rather than to subordinate that also to the internationalist interests of the ruling class.
[Yet] Austria may pull its peacekeeping troops from the Golan Heights, its defence minister warned on Tuesday.
Vienna's warning was aimed at Britannia and other allies which want to help Syrian rebels by lifting an EU arms embargo - doing so, minister Gerald Klug told Rooters, would rob Austrian troops of their neutrality. He stopped short of saying an end to the EU arms ban would automatically prompt the departure of the 380 Austrian soldiers. But their withdrawal after four decades keeping the peace would leave a huge hole in the already troubled, 1,000-strong UN force.
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05/22/2013 00:22 ||
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[REUTERS] Iranian authorities barred two potentially powerful and disruptive candidates from running in next month's presidential election on Tuesday, ensuring a contest largely among hardliners loyal to the holy manal supreme leader.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ... the fourth President of Iran. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts until he was eased out in 2011 He continues, for the moment, as Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council. In 2005 he ran for a third term as president, ultimately losing to rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was in Khamenei's graces back then. In 1980 Rafsanjani survived an assassination attempt, during which he was seriously injured. He has been described as a centrist and a pragmatic conservative without all that much reason. He is currently being eased out of any position of actual influence or power and may be dead by the end of 2012... , a veteran companion of the Islamic Theocratic Republic's founder, a former president and thought potentially sympathetic to reform, was denied a place on the ballot by the Guardian Council of holy mans and jurists, state media said.
So too was Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a close aide to outgoing president Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, whose hardline followers have jockeyed with those of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Both rejections may generate angry responses and Mashaie for one said he would appeal, while urging supporters to stay calm.
Most of the remaining eight men on the ballot for the first round on June 14 are seen as loyalists to Khamenei, who seems determined to avoid a repeat of the popular unrest that followed Ahmadinejad's re-election in 2009 - especially at a time when Iran is engaged in bitter economic, diplomatic and military confrontations with the West, Israel and its Arab neighbors.
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[An Nahar] The United States said Tuesday it does not differentiate between Hizbullah's armed and political wings as it again urged Europe to blacklist the group, a decision diplomats indicated could be imminent.
But differentiating between Sinn Fein and the IRA was okay, though.
A formal request to brand the party as a terrorist group was filed by Britannia and is to be discussed at closed-door talks June 4 of a committee overseeing the EU list of people and groups subject to its asset freezing regime, European diplomats said.
The decision would require unanimity from all 27 European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... states.
In an email, State Department front man Patrick Ventrell told Agence La Belle France Presse the U.S. was "increasingly concerned about Hizbullah's activities on a number of fronts -- including its stepped up terrorist campaign around the world, and their critical and ongoing support" for the Bashir al-Assad regime.
"Countering these activities has been, and will remain, one of our highest priorities," Ventrell said.
"The United States does not distinguish between Hizbullah's political/military/terrorist wings," he noted, adding U.S. information indicates "Hizbullah's numerous branches and subsidiaries share common funding, personnel, and leadership, all of which support the group's violent actions."
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[An Nahar] Al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... parliamentary bloc urged the three presidents on Tuesday to act quickly and draw an end to "Hizbullah's crimes in Syria," considering that the party is implementing the instructions of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
"We call on President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... , Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... to act quickly to stop Hizubllah's involvement in killing Syrians in (the Syrian border town of) al-Qusayr," the politicians said in a released statement after the bloc's weekly meeting at the Center House.
It added: "Hizbullah's involvement in Syria's war is a crime and the party is implementing the instructions of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard."
Addressing Hizbullah's fighters, al-Mustaqbal bloc asked: "What are you doing in al-Qusayr? Did the battle against the enemy relocate to Syria? Why involving Leb in conflicts through inciting sedition? Why are they putting the Lebanese in a confrontation against the Arab world and the Syrian people?"
"We urge the civil society and institutions and the Lebanese youth to raise their voices and demand the return of the fighters alive from al-Qusayr."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed on Tuesday that at least 31 Hizbullah fighters have been killed since Sunday in battles in Syria, as well as 68 rebel fighters.
Al-Arabiya satellite news channel had reported that around 20 Hizbullah fighters and 62 others maimed in battles in Qusayr were submitted to hospitals in Beirut.
Hizbullah's al-Manar broadcasted images showing hundreds of people attending funerals for five members killed "carrying out their jihadist duty."
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[An Nahar] The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... stands poised to put the military wing of Hizbullah on its list of terrorist organizations after a formal request to blacklist the group was filed by a member state Monday, diplomats said.
The request from Britannia formally launches a process to blacklist the group, a move that has long been requested by Israel and which will be discussed in early June, several EU diplomats told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"We hope to have an agreement by the end of June," one of the diplomats said, adding that EU experts would meet in a special committee to discuss the request early June.
Both Israel and the United States have pressured the 27-member bloc to follow their example and designate Hizbullah as a terrorist group but the issue remained sensitive and divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... , with Britannia openly in favor while La Belle France and Italia were believed reluctant.
Informed French sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Sunday that La Belle France, which has been the most influential opponent of the move, has lately seen a change in stance and could approve the measure given that Hizbullah members are fighting alongside Syrian regime troops against the rebels.
They told al-Hayat that the French leadership favors putting some Hizbullah leaders on the terror list and not the entire military wing of the party.
During a visit in March, Israeli President Shimon Peres urged the EU to brand Hizbullah as terrorists, arguing that the movement's intervention in Syria against rebels opposed to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... was enabling the group to spread its reach.
"If you do not take measures against Hizbullah, then they may think that they are permitted" to do what they like, he said after a meeting with European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso.
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05/22/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Syrian opposition representatives have demanded international guarantees that Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... step down in any peace deal, former opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib said on Tuesday, as Russia and the United States step up efforts to organize a peace conference.
The demand was one of eight points set out in a roadmap agreed by delegates to a two-day Syrian National Consultation meeting in Madrid, Khatib said on his Facebook page.
Delegates also stipulated that "involvement in any political process on Syria depends on the army's withdrawal to its barracks, on the release of all detainees, and on humanitarian assistance being allowed in to all areas of the country without exception".
It also said the National Coalition -- which Khatib has abandoned -- would be "the legitimate representative" of Syrian opposition forces in any political negotiations.
"Bashir al-Assad and his security regime are not a part of any transitional phase, and they have no role in Syria's future," the document said, adding that there need to be "international guarantees" for his departure.
It also said Syria would be led by a transitional government "until the foundations are laid for a new political system based on democracy, pluralism, justice, equality and the rule of law".
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05/22/2013 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.
[An Nahar] Algerian President Abdelaziz 
Mahmoud 
Najib Miqati
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
