[An Nahar] Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. will travel Thursday to the capital of war-torn South Sudan to push peace efforts in a regional summit, the official SUNA news agency said on Monday.
The invitation came from Æthiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, chairman of the seven-member Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc mediating the South Sudanese conflict.
Bashir "will head Sudan's delegation at the IGAD summit," SUNA reported.
"The summit will discuss the crisis in South Sudan."
It will be Bashir's second peace mission to the southern capital Juba since fighting began in mid-December.
Britannia last week commended the "balanced role" Khartoum has played in support of the IGAD-led talks.
Thousands have been killed and half a million civilians have been forced to flee because of the fighting between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels allied with his sacked deputy Riek Machar.
African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Monday flew to Juba to meet Kiir in a bid to help broker a peace deal.
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GAROWE, Somalia -- Following a three-day bilateral talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul, Federal Government of Somalia and Somalilands separatist administration Sunday agreed to condemn the heinous acts carried out in the northwestern region by the long standing military government, Garowe Online reports.
So both sides are against past military dictatorship. How 'bout present military dictatorship?
Among the three points of agreement signed by the delegations representing the two parties are also, the formation of a roadmap for the dialogue process and Mogadishu-based federal government and Somaliland to meet once in every three months in Turkey.
Speaking on a government-run radio, Radio Mogadishu the Somali Federal Government national security minister Abdikarin Hussein Guled said: We agreed to meet in every three months, that a confidence be created and it is clear that the epicenter of the discussions are Somalias unity and our brothers [Somaliland] to be returned to the federal government arena.
The bilateral agreement was jointly singed by Gulled and Somalilands Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamed Bihi Yonis with Turkish ambassador to Somalia Kani Torun present.
According to the points placed in the deal, a Turkey-based committee that would have representatives from Mogadishu government and Somaliland will be announced within 45 days in an effort to smoothen the dialogue process.
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01/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[Egypt Independent] Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said the ministry has prepared to celebrate the police day and the anniversary of 25 January, in coordination with the armed forces, warning the Moslem Brüderbund from committing any acts of violence during the celebrations, as they would be "confronted with the utmost force."
"The ministry is ready to secure the celebrations, and the attempts of Brotherhood to bring about violence are monitored," The minister added. "We have developed a security plan to secure the country in coordination with the armed forces."
Ibrahim also stressed that prisons and cop shoppes have been provided with a heavy arsenal, not only automatic weapons, and orders have been given to all officers to fire live ammunition in case of any attempts to storm any prison or cop shoppe.
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[An Nahar] The EU said Monday it fully supported the Geneva II Syria peace conference to begin this week as "a first step" towards a solution which must include a genuine political transition.
Geneva "should be the first step in a process that will lead to a political solution" to the bloody conflict, EU foreign ministers said in a statement.
"The EU reiterates that the only solution to the conflict is a genuine political transition," they said, recalling that Geneva I in 2012 called for the formation of a new government but did not mention Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... by name.
Assad's future is a key issue in the conflict and the president has told Agence La Belle France Presse in an exclusive interview he would likely seek a new term and that he would not share power with the opposition.
"I see no reason why I shouldn't stand," Assad said of presidential elections in June. "In short, we can say that the chances for my candidacy are significant."
Assad also insisted the peace talks beginning in Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... from Wednesday should focus on "the war against terrorism," dismissing the rebels as groups backed by outside powers.
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[MAGHAREBIA] Since Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... st views now spread in record time, thanks to social media and online forums, many Moroccans say it is time to take a stand against religious extremism.
Political, art and civil society figures face online criticism for calling for modern approaches to Islam. They say people need to be able to discuss hot-button issues such as inheritance, polygamy and the marriage of minors without fear of being lambasted by bad boys.
"The waves of takfir ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... ism are battering Moroccans more and more," parliamentarian Khadija Rouissi of the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) told Mediaz.ma on January 12th. "Takfirism inevitably leads to murder," the MP added.
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[NIGERIANBULLETIN] Air Vice Marshal, Adesola Amosu, on Monday in Abuja took over as the new Chief of Air Staff with a promise to put machinery in place to curtail the menace of insurgency in the North East.
Speaking at the handing/taking over ceremony, Amosu expressed his determination to build on the successes and achievements of his predecessors with a view to moving the Nigeria Airforce (NAF) to greater height.
"Effort would be put in place to curtail the menace of insurgency in the North East with a view to restore peace in the region.
"We shall not relent in our efforts to bring an end to the activities of the turbans in the North East."
He urged commanders to explore possibilities of having dialogue with the men in the field to ensure effective fight against terrorism in the region.
"We will strive to continue with the good work done by my predecessors to ensure that the NAF reaches an enviable height," he said, adding that no stone will be left `untouched' in the course of discharging his duty of ensuring effective service delivery in the NAF.
Amosu, who hails from Lagos State, was admitted into the Nigerian Defence Academy as a member of the 25th Regular Course on Jan. 3, 1979.
He was commissioned pilot officer on July 3, 1981 and was promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal on July 3, 2010.
Until his appointment as the 19th CAS on Jan. 16, Amosu was the Air Officer Commanding Tactical Air Command Makurdi.
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[PREMIUMTIMESNG] Over 9,000 Arabic students have been unable to graduate from various Nigerian institutions due to 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... insurgency that has caused numerous deaths and loss of property in Borno State.
This was made known by Mohammed Al-Bulaturee, the Chairman of the Governing Council of Nigeria Arabic Village, NAV.
"Most of the 9000 students that have finished their academic programmes but could not get their certificates issued is because they were unable to do the acculturation programme at the Arabic Village.
"This implies that about 9000 trained teachers who are supposed to be in our primary and secondary schools are not there; thereby making Islamic studies and Arabic lessons in such schools to suffer," he said.
In the past two years, due to the heightened Boko Haram insurgency around the NAV, the Arabic students have been unable to attend the mandatory acculturation programme prescribed for students of colleges of education studying Arabic in Nigerian institutions.
"It is part of an academic pre-requisite for all students of Arabic languages in any higher institution of learning to attend a mandatory acculturation exercise at the Arabic village, Ngala; for one year in the case of university undergraduates, and a semester for students of colleges of education, before they are awarded their desired certificate", Mr. Al-Bulaturee explained.
Just like the Nigerian French Village in Badagry established by the Federal Government in 1992 for students of French, the NAV is the only school offering the acculturation programme for students of Arabic in Nigeria's tertiary institutions. It is located in Ngala, a part of Nigeria where Arabic is predominantly spoken.
Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, the new Chairman of the Governing Board of the school, Mr. Al-Bulaturee, said insecurity has been the major challenge of the institution.
Mr. Al-Bulaturee disclosed that he recently led the members of the Governing Council of NAV to the Federal Ministry of Education where the institution's security challenges were discussed.
"The Minister of Education, Honorable Nyesom Wike, had most gladly promised to swiftly provide perimeter fence and electricity for the school. And most importantly, he has shown personal commitment to resolving the challenges confronting us.
"And to God be the glory, there is a lot of improvement this year. We are trying to encourage thae students to come so that they would pass through the programme and get their certificates", said the Governing Council chairman.
"We have also visited the Minister of Finance, Dr. Lawan Ngama; the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Garbai El-Kanemi; and Governor Kashim Shettima. All of them have shown interest towards assisting the school to deliver its mandate," he said.
Established in 1992, the institution, which is based in Gamboru-Ngala, a border town between Nigeria and Cameroon, is meant to serve as a professional training ground for students of Arabic, Islamic studies and allied programmes in Nigeria's higher institutions.
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[Yemen Post] The Rashad Union, Yemen's only Salafi political faction has now accused the Houthis, Shia group politically represented by Ansar Allah, of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Both politico-religious factions were untila earlier this month enthralled in a bitter battle for control in Dammaj, a village located in the northern province of Sa'ada, near the Saudi border.
Back in late October 2013, the Houthis, led by Abdel Malek al-Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is "God is Great, Death to America", Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews" ... launched a series of violent attack against Salafi forces of Evil in Dammaj, arguing that the group was plotting for all Shia Yemeni Moslems' demise as to better assert their own dogma onto Yemen highlands. The Houthis alleged the Salafis had been using their Dammaj religious centre of Dar al-Hadith as a training camp for wannabe Jihadists ahead of a regional take over. It is important to note that the Salafis have always rejected such claims.
As the truce imposed by President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi has held so far, frustrated Salafi forces of Evil have moved their fight against the Houthis to the media, seeking to exert their Dire Revenge™ and rally the public to their cause.
As per the terms of President Hadi truce agreement, all Salafis were ordered to leave Dammaj, a clause the Rashad Union has denounced as unjust, uncalled for and borderline sectarian.
Determined not to allow the Houthis to revel in their success, the Salafis have called on the authorities to hold Abdel-Malek al-Houthi accountable for the crimes committed by his men.
In a statement, the Rashad Union party urged the government to "Bring Houthi leaders and faceless myrmidons to justice over the crimes against humanity they committed against Dammaj people." In the statement, the Rashad Union denounced the force displacement of its followers and students in religion.
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[Dhaka Tribune] Accusing the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... of violent acts like killing, arson and vandalism, Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. yesterday warned that none involved in these heinous crimes would be spared.
"BNP-Jamaat faceless myrmidons brutally killed numerous Awami League, Jubo League ... the youth wing of the Bangla Awami League... and Chhatra League ... the student wing of the Bangla Awami League ... leaders and activists across the country and looted and torched their houses in the last few months. They also destroyed roads and felled trees," she said.
"None involved in the atrocities will be spared and stern action will be taken against all culprits," she added.
Hasina, also the Awami League President, was addressing a public rally at Satkhira Government High School Grounds here this afternoon.
The meeting was addressed by, among others, by Health Minister Mohammad Nasim, Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon, State Minister for Home Asaduzzman Khan Kamal, former minister Dipu Moni and local MPs including Mostafa Lutfullah.
The prime minister arrived to open 11 development projects and distribute cheques among the family members of the victims of violence that has been going on since February 28, 2013.
Hasina called upon the BNP chairperson not to disrupt peace and said she would have to pay the price for "the mistake" she committed by boycotting the January 5 polls.
"The BNP did not join the polls as its ally Jamaat-e-Islami was barred from participating in the election by a High Court order," she said, adding the court had declared the Jamaat to be a bad boy organization.
"They not only boycotted the polls, they also unleashed violent acts to resist the election," she said.
The Awami League chief said BNP-Jamaat faceless myrmidons made the life of the people of Satkhira miserable. "Ordinary peace-loving people could not lead a peaceful life due to the terrorist acts of the BNP- Jamaat, including killing, arson, felling trees, uprooting rail lines and cutting roads," she said.
They created such a situation that economic activities came to a standstill and it was very difficult to run schools. "But due to our timely steps for containing terrorism and militancy, peace was restored and people could cast their votes," she said.
Hasina congratulated the people for playing a courageous role and casting vote in the January 5 poll.
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[Ynet] Group of teens left to join jihadi groups in Syria, La Belle France interior minister says, suggesting that many expected to join
La Belle France's interior minister says about a dozen French adolescents have left for Syria to join jihadi groups or are trying to go, a phenomenon that is accelerating.
Manuel Valls said Sunday on iTele TV that since the end of 2013, there's been an uptick in French youth heading to Syria to join jihadi organizations.
Valls said French intelligence services have identified six adolescents who are trying to get to Syria. He noted the war to oust Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... has attracted more Westerners, from Europe and elsewhere, than other battlegrounds like Afghanistan ever did.
Valls said about 250 French are fighting in Syria, 150 have shown they want to, 99 are in transit and 76 have returned. He says there have been 21 French deaths in Syria.
Jihadi organizations in Syria have been recruiting young fighters from across the Arab world at an increasing pace as the fighting takes a toll on the rebel ranks.
From La Belle France to Yemen to Gazoo, Moslem men in their late teens
and early twenties have answered the call of rebel leaders and made their way to mountains and cities of Syria.
The rebel groups have turned to Facebook and other social media networks, posting videos and campaign slogans to attract potential jihadis.
American, British, and French authorities have expressed alarm at the trend and are concerned that the young jihadis will return home radicalized.
#1
American, British, and French authorities have expressed alarm at the trend and are concerned that the young jihadis will return home radicalized. Posted by trailing wife
As Besoeker stated, why are they allowed to return home?
These three administrations were cats in the cream not too long ago to sell weapons to Team Free Syria et al, that would mean a certain degree of legal recognition of said group. I would think that conducting military operations for a foreign entity without explicit permission from the prime country would allow an argument for a loss of citizenship or at least a thorough delousing.
[DAWN] The National Institute of Health Islamabad on Sunday tested four children, belonging to North Wazoo Agency, positive for polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... , officials said.
Pakistain had recorded 91 polio cases in the year 2013 including 65 cases from Federally Administered Tribal Areas, 10 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... nine from Sindh and seven from Punjab and became the highest infected country in the world ahead of Nigeria and Afghanistan, the other two polio-endemic countries.
"North Waziristan Agency, which topped the nationwide tally with 35 polio cases last year, has again started to show signs of the ban imposed by Taliban on vaccination in June 2012 in the face of four new cases from the area," officials said.
According to them, the vaccinators in the militancy-riddled Khyber Agency didn't reach the children from where 20 cases were reported last year.
Officials said that the virus was in circulation in the areas and non-vaccination of children for the last 19 months could prove disastrous for those un-immunised children, who stood exposed to the vaccine- preventable childhood disease.
"We fear explosive polio outbreak this year because 160,000 children remain unvaccinated due to the restrictions imposed by Taliban," they said. Taliban prevented vaccinators from administration of oral polio vaccine arguing those were tactics of the US to spy on her enemies.
Taliban said that the US engaged Dr Shakil Afridi to trace the late Osama bin Laden ... who doesn't live anywhere anymore... in the garb of fake vaccination campaign, officials said.
According to them, the government is under tremendous global pressure to do away with the ailment as soon as possible but lack of security is hampering the plan to immunise the 900,000 target children in Fata.
"We reach about 70,000 children in every campaign but in the presence of un-immunised children, the virus will remain and can infect children till we administer OPV to all children repeatedly till they grow five year old," officials said.
Three of the four new cases, recorded on Sunday, belong to Mir Ali and one to Miranshah ... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... in the militancy-hit North Waziristan. The victims didn't receive vaccination.
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[DAWN] Leader of the House in Senate, Raja Zafarul Haq Monday rejected all the arguments made by members of the upper house of parliament for disbanding the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII).
Speaking over a motion moved by Senator Farhatullah Babar of Pakistain People's Party (PPP), he said as the legislation was a continuous process, the work of Council of Islamic Ideology will also continue.
"The House may discuss the working and recent pronouncements of the Council of Islamic Ideology," said the motion moved by Babar.
Haq of the treasury benches said it was wrong to say that the task of the council had ended after it submitted its final report on review of laws.
The Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz (PML-N) senator said the Islamic council was imperative for compiling the laws in accordance with the Holy Koran and Sunnah, adding that the government, on the basis of the allegations levelled against CII, cannot shut the institution down.
He said some of the decisions of the council had been published in the newspapers but its report was not presented before the parliament.
Minister of State for Religious Affairs Pir Ameenul Hasnaat said Senator Farhatullah Babar was making non-issue an issue.
He said the CII was formed according to the Constitution of 1973, which was made by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto ...9th PM of Pakistain from 1973 to 1977, and 4th President of Pakistain from 1971 to 1973. He was the founder of the Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP). His eldest daughter, Benazir Bhutto, would also serve as hereditary PM. In a coup led by General Zia-ul-Haq, Bhutto was removed from office and was executed in 1979 for authorizing the murder of a political opponent... , the former prime minister and founder of PPP.
The minister said as long as any bill was not introduced in both the houses of parliament, there should not be discussion over it.
Earlier, initiating the debate, Farhatullah Babar criticized the working and recent pronouncements of the Council of Islamic Ideology regarding DNA test, Blasphemy Law and Women Protection Bill.
He alleged that the CII was representing political parties, adding that the council submitted its final report on review of laws in 1997 and thus completed its task asking the parliament to review ten per cent of laws.
The PPP senator said there was a need to revisit CII whether it should continue working or not. The Federal Shariah Court was there to implement the recommendations of the CII, he added.
Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl (JUI-F) Senator Hafiz Hamidullah said that the CII was a constitutional body and it was its responsibility to make recommendations according to Islam and send it to the parliament.
He said the person who was of the view that there was no need of that institute, should be questioned that why they had not closed that body in their tenure, adding that the JUI-F strongly opposes it.
Regarding the appointments of its members, the politician said that all the members of the body had been appointed by the Pakistain People's Party during the previous government.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM) Senator Col (retd) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi said that no one should do politics in the name of Islam, adding that parliament was the best forum to discuss all issues.
He said Farhatullah Babar was a constitutional man and his motion was according to the constitution.
Senator Prof Sajid Meer said the purpose of the CII was to make recommendations according to Islam. Regarding the political appointments in the CII, the senator added that appointments may be reviewed.
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[DAWN] The peace negotiation mantra, repeated daily by both the federal and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... governments, has not charmed the unforgiving Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain.
TTP does not seem impressed with the peace talks offer as its campaign to kill and devastate civilian targets in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , and elsewhere intensified during the past two weeks.
After the Jan 6 Hangu school suicide kaboom, the nation was rocked by a powerful boom-mobile blast in Karachi on Jan 10. Later, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa experienced two attacks on Jan 13, including one in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. and the other in Shangla. The Death Eaters hit again Peshawar on Jan 16 and the same day Shangla, too, saw an attack. Sunday morning brought the news of an attack on a security forces in Bannu, killing over 20 soldiers and injuring 15 others.
Some might call the latest killing spree a resurgence of attacks after a short lull following the change of command the terrorist outfit experienced as a result of Hakimullah Mehsud's killing in a dronezap.
The resurgence argument, however, does not seem correct. There has never been a short lull. If TTP temporarily stops attacking civilian targets for awhile, it continues attacking police and army. While army reacts to TTP attacks in its own operational preferences, the police and civilians continue to wait for the peace mantra to deliver.
After every TTP attack, leaders of Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz and Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... and their men in the federal and provincial governments, respectively, respond with oft-repeated political statements.
They condemn the killings without criticising the killers. They repeat the negotiation offer without putting a clear roadmap for the treacherous path that the negotiation happens to be.
The PML-N led federal government mixes its condemnation with rhetoric to take on the bad guys with full force. The PTI-led provincial government links the killing of innocent people in terrorist attacks to Pakistain's role in the war on terrorism.
Whether it is the war on terrorism or Pakistain's own war, the hard and blatant fact is: innocent Paks, civilians, coppers and army personnel are dying. The other fact is: the government -- federal and the province -- has not even come up with a strategy to put this insane killing spree to an end. People are being reduced to corpses. Human flesh is scattered every other day as a result of mindless barbarity.
In response, the prime minister, one day, asks Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... to hold talks with Taliban. On another occasion, he asks Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... , Samiul Haq, and Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... , rather whoever, to lead and talk with TTP.
As a rejoinder, Imran Khan shifts the responsibility of negotiating with Taliban to the federal government. On its part, the army leadership says the Death Eaters would be dealt with an iron hand. Simultaneously, it says to support the peace path.
Is there anybody to tell the PML-N and PTI: Guys listen, what do you want? If you want to talk, go ahead. What stops you? Your complaints about drones ruining peace prospects do not form people's problem. It is your problem and you have to find a way out of it after having been elected to power. Stop this nonsensical human killing spree. Stop blaming each other. Implement your election manifestos. You want another all parties conference? Go and hold it? Do whatever you want to do, but do something, please! More than six months after the new government(s) came in the leadership has yet to resolve whether peace is the only option.
Washington is working on its troops' drawdown from Afghanistan and fine tuning plans for its stay in the post-drawdown Afghanistan. Kabul is trying to extract favours from the US against lending support to its drawdown plans. Afghan Taliban are eying at making a comeback following the drawdown. TTP says it would continue its activities even if the US leaves the region.
Negotiations move forward by first developing trust among the parties to talks. And trust does not happen overnight. It might take years to make others to listen to you. But during this period the 'others' just can't be let loose to continue their killing spree, get strengthened through fearsome activities.
The PML-N and PTI have to put their heads together or work independently to fulfill their election campaign promises: Peace in Pakistain, without which economic progress would be a far cry.
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[An Nahar] The United States has received messages from members of the Syrian regime who "want a way out" of the current brutal fighting, a senior U.S. official said Monday.
"There are elements inside the regime itself, among its supporters, that are anxious to find a peaceful solution, and we've gotten plenty of messages from people inside, they want a way out," the State Department official told news hounds on a conference call.
He was speaking ahead of planned peace talks aimed at bringing together the Syrian regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... and the opposition for the first time.
The talks were in disarray Monday after the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... invited Assad ally Iran to join the peace conference opening Wednesday in the Swiss city of Montreux, and Assad ruled out handing power to the opposition.
The U.S. official said he hoped the talks would provide "an impetus to finding a way forward whereby Syrians understand that the issue is not the entire state of Syria, the issue is a ruling family, rapacious, incredibly brutal."
That would make it make it "possible with persistence to drive that point home and isolate a brutal, warring family."
He refused to go into details about who had contacted Washington for fear of putting people's lives at risk, saying " they would be killed, it's a very brutal regime."
But he said the United States was "regularly getting messages."
He stressed that the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Assad belongs, was taking some of the heaviest casualties.
"Frequently at funerals for Alawite soldiers that are killed ...there are not infrequent demonstrations against the regime. So that in some cases the regime has actually delayed transferring bodies home because they don't want to trigger political unrest in the regime's own heartland," the State Department official said.
The official said this created an opportunity for the political opposition to present a way out.
"I think they will get a lot of resonance inside Damascus," the official said.
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[An Nahar] Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... described the Special Tribunal for Leb as "politicized," saying that it's only a tool to pressure Hizbullah.
"Nine years have passed since the beginning of this trial. Has justice been served? Every accusation was made for political reasons," he said on Sunday in an exclusive interview with Agence La Belle France Presse, days after the Special Tribunal for Leb began hearing evidence in the 2005 killing of Rafik Hariri.
"We have not seen any tangible proof put forward against the parties involved in the case," added Assad, whose regime came under suspicion in the killing, along with Hizbullah.
"The real question should be: why the timing? Why now? This court was set up nine years ago," he added.
"I believe that the whole thing is politicized and is intended to put pressure Hizbullah in Leb in the same way that it aimed at putting pressure on Syria in the beginning, immediately after Hariri's liquidation," he said.
The Special Tribunal for Leb has accused five Hizbullah members of involvement in the 2005 liquidation of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.
The party has dismissed the court as a U.S.-Israeli scheme and vowed to never cooperate with it.
The STL opened last week in a suburb outside The Hague nine years after the huge Beirut blast that killed Hariri.
The STL is unique in international justice as it was set up to try the perpetrators of a terrorist attack and because it can try the suspects in absentia.
The February 14, 2005 seafront blast killed 22 people as well as Damascus opponent Hariri and maimed 226, leading to the establishment by the U.N. Security Council of the STL in 2007.
Prosecutors will aim to prove the accused men's involvement through tracking their alleged use of mobile phones before, during and after the attack.
Suspects belong to Syria- and Iran-backed Hizbullah
Although the attack was initially blamed on pro-Syrian Lebanese generals, the court in 2011 issued arrest warrants against Mustafa Badreddine, 52, Salim Ayyash, 50, Hussein Oneissi, 39, and Assad Sabra, 37, all members of the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Shiite movement Hizbullah.
A fifth suspect, Hassan Habib Merhi, 48, was indicted last year and his case may yet be joined to the current trial.
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[An Nahar] Salafist holy man Sheikh Salem al-Rafehi accused on Monday the Arab Democratic Party of being behind the latest round of festivities in the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... .
He added after a meeting of Moslem scholars in light of the new round of unrest: "The state is protecting Ali and Rifaat Eid ...secretary general of the Leb Arab Democratic Party, a Pencilneck regime front organization... and allowing them to launch attacks in the city."
Ali Eid is the head of the Arab Democratic Party and his son Rifaat is the party's politburo chief.
Moreover, Rafehi accused Hizbullah of backing the party and its actions in the city.
"Hizbullah is exploiting the state's agencies in order to protect the Jabal Mohsen gang," he declared.
"We demand that 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... intervene in order to halt the unjust practices against Sunnis," he stressed.
"The allies of the Syrian regime want to portray the residents of Tripoli as bully boyz and krazed killers," he continued.
"The residents targeted in the fighting are exercising their right to defend themselves after the state's lax approach in maintaining calm," Rafehi noted.
"How is it that criminals behind lesser crimes are tossed in the calaboose Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! and those behind major ones, whose identities are known, are allowed to roam free?" he wondered.
"The people consequently sense that the state is not protecting them," he lamented.
He mad his remarks in reference to charges against Ali Eid over his links to the August 2013 twin bombings that targeted the al-Taqwa and al-Salam Sunni mosques in Tripoli.
Eid has refused to adhere to summons for questioning in the case, citing health reasons.
He is suspected of smuggling to Syria Ahmed Merhi, who is the suspected driver of the explosive-laden vehicle that blew up near al-Taqwa mosque.
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[An Nahar] Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. announced on Monday his total rejection to the people-army-resistance equation, stressing also that he will never abandon his allies.
"The people-army-resistance equation is completely rejected, full stop," Hariri said in an interview on Future TV.
Hariri explained his controversial decision to take part in a cabinet with Hizbullah ministers.
"If I though about this matter from an emotional perspective only, I would not hold dialogue with other factions in the country in the future," he said.
"My duty calls for using logic. I have said there are many disagreements with the March 8 forces ... the opposition to the Mar. 14th movement, consisting of Hizbullah and its allies, so-called in commemoration of their Mar. 8th, 2006 demonstration of strength in Beirut ... , especially with Hizbullah."
Hariri continued: "Our problem with the other camp is their insistence on the 9-9-6 cabinet lineup, as well as on other conditions. We told them before that we are ready to give them the government they want but that they have to withdraw from Syria. We told them to form a neutral cabinet for people's sake."
"We are against giving them the one third number of ministers with the veto power, and we support rotation of ministries and the Baabda Declaration, not the people-army-resistance equation," he added.
The former premier stressed that he insists on this stance.
"And if they say they do not want to reconsider their conditions regarding the ministerial statement, we will not change ours as well," he stated.
Despite the disagreement with some March 14 parties regarding taking part in the cabinet, Hariri assured that he will stand by his allies "till death."
"We are still communicating with our allies, whether with the Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... or with other parties. We explained our point of view to them and I hope (LF leader) Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... would rethink his stance on participating in the cabinet."
He assured, however, that he will stand by Geagea regardless of the decision the LF leader takes.
"We will never leave his side," Hariri said.
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[An Nahar] U.S. officials Monday scoffed at the notion that the regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... could organize free and fair elections in which he could run next year.
In an exclusive interview with Agence La Belle France Presse on Sunday, Assad said there was a "significant chance" he will seek a new seven-year term in the presidential elections due to be held in June.
If there is "public opinion in favor of my candidacy, I will not hesitate for a second to run for election," Assad said, speaking to AFP in his presidential palace.
"In short, we can say that the chances for my candidacy are significant."
But top U.S. officials, on a conference call with news hounds, dismissed the idea as "ludicrous," issuing a scathing denunciation of Assad who has waged a brutal war on an uprising which erupted in March 2011.
"This is a guy who has used Scud rockets. This is a guy who's used chemical weapons on several occasions, killing literally thousands of people. This is a guy who has surrounded cities and starved them," said one senior State Department official, asking not to be named.
"If you look at the Homs opposition revolution Facebook page yesterday, you will see pictures of bodies of people who have allegedly starved. It looks like people who have come out of concentration camps in World War II, these emaciated bodies," he said.
"This is a man who is using this kind of force to stay in power."
The official said that during the decades since 1970 that the Assad family has ruled Syria "they have never had a free and fair election in the country."
Assad was elected in a referendum following the death of his father, Hafez, in 2000 and won another seven-year term in 2007.
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#1
Lest we forget: HITLER won election in a mostly free election.
[An Nahar] Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... warned on Monday that his liquidation would have major repercussions on the March 14 forces and Lebanese policies in general.
He told al-Arabiya television: "Preparations to assassinate me are ongoing."
He confirmed media reports that spoke of drones flying over his Maarab residence, saying: "The espionage planes are part of a policy of intimidation against the March 14 camp."
He stressed however that such methods will not intimidate him "as they will not succeed in assassinating me."
"They will try to assassinate me again seeing as such a development will have major repercussions on the March 14 forces," Geagea noted.
On the surveillance planes, he said that he had first noticed it some 15 days ago, adding that security personnel at Maarab noted that the sound generated by the plane differed from normal planes and its course also differed from regular ones.
The mysterious plane flew over Maarab on January 8 at around 12:30 am, he revealed.
The plane flew over the residence for a few minutes, but the suspicious activity prompted the state security forces at the facility to contact the Army Command to inform it of the development, said the LF chief.
After the necessary investigations, the Army Command failed to determine the nature of the plane.
A similar incident took place on January 14, but the plane hovered over Maarab for about two hours between 5:30 and 7:30 pm at a relatively low altitude, Geagea stated.
He consequently directly contacted Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji.
Qahwaji said that the plane "was definitely not a Lebanese one."
"And I personally believe that they were not Israeli surveillance drones as they usually fly over the South and the Bekaa, not over this specific region," Geagea added.
"Military experts informed me that it was unlikely that the plane was Israeli because the drones do not usually hover over a region for a long period of time," he continued.
Qahwaji pledged to Geagea that he will follow up on this issue.
"I believe that the army will be able to determine the identity of this plane the next time it flies over Maarab," he remarked.
Geagea suspected that the mysterious plane is linked to telephone threats that have been made against numerous March 14 officials.
Geagea escaped an liquidation attempt by snipers as he was taking a walk in the garden of his Maarab residence in April 2012.
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[An Nahar] Syria's Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... said there is a "significant" chance he will seek a new term and ruled out sharing power with the opposition seeking his ouster, in an exclusive interview with Agence La Belle France Presse before the Geneva II peace talks.
Speaking on Sunday at his presidential palace in Damascus, Assad said he expected Syria's war to grind on.
And he called for the talks scheduled to begin on Wednesday in Montreux in Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... to focus on what he termed his "war against terrorism".
"I see no reason why I shouldn't stand," he said of presidential elections in June.
If there is "public opinion in favor of my candidacy, I will not hesitate for a second to run for election".
"In short, we can say that the chances for my candidacy are significant."
Assad appeared at ease, wearing a navy blue suit and smiling regularly throughout the 45-minute interview.
He answered the first three questions on camera, and an AFP photographer was able to take pictures.
He spoke from the plush surroundings of the Palace of the People on a Damascus hillside, but said he neither lives nor works in the building, finding it too large, preferring his office or home.
Assad, 48, came to power in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez, who ruled for nearly 30 years.
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They're sure eager to follow Champ on this one. As we say in Chicago, they must smell the meat a'cooking...
The European Union suspended a range of sanctions against Iran on Monday after Tehran began implementing a deal to curb its nuclear programme, the EU said.
As part of the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action agreed by Iran and the E3/EU+3, which enters into force today, the council today suspended certain EU restrictive measures against Iran for a period of six months, a statement said.
The suspension was agreed by foreign ministers meeting in Brussels for regular monthly talks after they received word from the UNs nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, that Tehran had stuck to its side of a November deal to cut back its nuclear programme.
The new measures notably include the suspension of a 2012 ban on insuring and transporting Iranian crude oil that caused a more than 50 per cent drop in Tehrans oil exports. European insurers up until then had accounted for 90 per cent of coverage for deliveries of Iranian oil anywhere in the world.
The EU also will suspend bans on trade in gold, precious metals and petrochemical products while increasing a ceiling on financial transfers not related to remaining sanctions.
Like the United States, the EU has promised to impose no new sanctions in the next six months, the first stage in efforts to find a lasting solution over fears that Iran is developing a nuclear bomb.
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The Organsiation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says it would decide next month which companies would destroy the 500 metric tonnes of chemicals.
I'd prefer the headline, "14 companies bid to destroy Syria", but that's just me...
The global chemical arms watchdog said on Monday it had received 14 tenders from private companies around the world to destroy Syrias chemical arsenal outside of the war-ravaged country.
The Organsiation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said it would decide early next month which companies would destroy the 500 metric tonnes of chemicals, plus the effluent left over from neutralisation of other chemicals to be carried out on a US ship.
Tenders to help destroy Syrias entire arsenal by a tight June 30 deadline came from a wide-range of companies, including Frances Airbus, China National Chemical Corporation, Switzerlands Dottikon and US-based Paragon Waste Solutions.
Germany said earlier this month that it would help destroy waste left over from neutralising Syrias chemicals, and Britain said in December it would destroy 150 tonnes of its industrial grade chemicals.
The OPCW said in November that the treatment and disposal of Syrias chemicals would cost between 35 and 45 million euros ($47-$61 million). The OPCW will announce which company or companies have been selected in early February after technical and commercial evaluation of the bids.
OPCW head Ahmet Uzumcu said earlier this month that a deadline for destroying the deadliest chemicals by March 31 may not be met but said he was confident the entire arsenal would be decommissioned by a June 30 deadline laid out in a UN plan.
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The opposition Syrian National coalition said that it will attend Wednesday's Geneva II peace conference after UN chief Ban Ki-moon withdrew an invitation to Iran to participate in the parley, dpa reported.
That came quickly. Almost as if it was planned that way...
"The coalition confirms that they are going to the Geneva peace talks ... after the UN statement was issued," Walid Sayfour, the coalition's ambassador to London, confirmed to dpa.
Ban angered the Syrian opposition when he sent an invitation late Sunday to Iran to attend the international talks.
The offer came as a shock to the Syrian opposition which issued an immediate ultimatum that it would drop out if Iran attended the peace conference.
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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday withdrew an offer for Iran to attend Syria peace negotiations after Tehran declared it does not support the June 2012 political transition deal that is the basis for the talks, Reuters reported.
Whoa. Blind hog found an acorn...
"Ban continues to urge Iran to join the global consensus behind the Geneva communiqué," Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said. "Given that it has chosen to remain outside that basic understanding, (Ban) has decided that the one-day Montreux gathering will proceed without Iran's participation."
Ban said earlier that Iran's public statement that it did not support the 2012 Geneva deal calling for a transitional government for Syria was "not consistent" with assurances he had been given by Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
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#1
Whoa. Blind hog found an acorn...
Was going to comment Bankey found a pair but you bested me.
Russia has stepped up supplies of military gear to Syria, including armored vehicles, drones and guided bombs, boosting Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... just as rebel infighting has weakened the insurgency against him. Several sources told Rooters that Assad's forces had since December received deliveries of weaponry and other military supplies, including unmanned spy drones known as UAVs, which have been arranged by Russia either directly or via proxies.
Moscow, which is trying to raise its diplomatic and economic influence in the Middle East, has been a major provider of conventional weapons to Syria, giving Assad crucial support during the three-year civil war and blocking wider Western attempts to punish him with sanctions for the use of force against civilians.
The new Russian supplies come at a critically fluid stage of the conflict, with peace talks scheduled for next week in Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... , the factious opposition losing ground, and Western support for the rebellion growing increasingly wary of the role played by foreign bad boys. Syria has even said some countries formally opposed to Assad have begun discussing security cooperation with his government.
"Dozens of Antonov 124s [transport planes] have been bringing in armored vehicles, surveillance equipment, radars, electronic warfare systems, spare parts for helicopters, and various weapons including guided bombs for planes," a Middle East security source said.
"Russian advisers and intelligence experts have been running observation UAVs around the clock to help Syrian forces track rebel positions, analyze their capabilities, and carry out precision artillery and air force strikes against them," said the source, who declined to be identified.
Vyacheslav Davidenko, front man for Russia's arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport, said they could not comment on arms deliveries to Syria. Russia has said it violated no international laws with its military supplies to Syria and does not sell Damascus offensive weapons.
Syrian officials could not be reached for comment.
#1
"Dozens of Antonov 124s [transport planes] have been bringing in armored vehicles, surveillance equipment, radars, electronic warfare systems, spare parts for helicopters, and various weapons including guided bombs for planes," a Middle East security source said.
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.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Wazoo
[DAWN] Leader of the House in Senate, Raja Zafarul Haq Monday rejected all the arguments made by members of the upper house of parliament for disbanding the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII).
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Samir Geagea
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
