[Shabelle] after the quick announcement of two self-declared presidents at the port city of Kismayu, the federals internal affairs and security ministry has today announced that they do not recognize the two as representatives of the region.
Internal affairs and security minister Abdi Karin Hussein guled who held a media briefing in the capital said that what happened yesterday at Kismayu might ignite war between the residents of Juba regions as the two have declared illegally to be representatives of the region without precautions. The minister added that he feared for the residents of Kismayu and his government will take a swift action against the militia men.
The minister added that the government warned the groups 4 months ago and the consequences of the self-declared presidency might be faced.
He added that Alshabab might take full advantage of the situation and rejuvenate its powers.
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05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Shabelle] fear is in the air as two different politicians declare themselves as the presidents of Juba land region.
The atmosphere has changed gradually as different troops are facing against each other and the residents of the port city of Kismayu have started evacuating their residency.
The self claimed presidents consist of Colonel Bare Adan Shire (Bare Hirale) and Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Ahmed Madobe).
AMISOM troops from Kenya are in the city seemed to be confused about the situation as they clearly failed to establish their relationship with the federal Government.
The politicians from, the region have warned a possible war to erupt as some of them are not convinced with the way things are going in the region.
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05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] A recent call in Tunisia to repeal the Anti-Terrorism Law drew a barrage of comments ranging from supporters to opponents.
Human Rights Minister Samir Dilou raised the contentious issue on Monday (May 13th) when he said his ministry was preparing an amendment to the 2003 counter-terror statute.
"A commission has been working for months to revise the Anti-Terrorism Law so as to ensure good handling and dealing with issues of a special nature, and to ensure respect for human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. and compliance with international conventions ratified by Tunisia and guaranteeing fair trial," the minister said.
Dilou stressed, "The current law is still in force when referring detainees to the public prosecutor although this is unconstitutional and does not respond to the conditions of a fair trial."
Dilou's position gained support from the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LTDH), which issued a statement on Monday rejecting the current law "because it affects the foundations of a fair trial from its roots and completely violates human rights".
"This law will be used as an excuse to settle political scores and to conduct trials of opinions and intentions," the league said.
Amna Guellali, the director of Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... Tunisia, told Magharebia that the act "includes definitions of terrorism and incitement to terrorism that are too loose such as intimidating a person or a group of people, influencing state policy, disturbing public order, undermining persons or properties, and damaging infrastructure".
"Pursuant to this law, a march by truckers that causes the closure of a motorway can be considered an act of terrorism," she said. "In addition, the definition of terrorism contained in this law does not mention the intention to resort to lethal methods of violence, creating danger for the population, or the intention of hostage-taking."
Guellali called also for a more precise definition of the concepts of "incitement to terrorism" and "belonging to a terrorist organization".
Political analyst Noureddine Mbarki told Magharebia that calls to activate the anti-terror law were justified by "the emergence of the terrorist threat as a fact and the absence of any constitutive law that can serve as a substitute".
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05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Many residents of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula believe that the kidnapping of seven Egyptian security personnel near the city of Al-Arish on Thursday was "retaliation" by Bedouin rustics for heavy-handed security policies adopted by the interior ministry.
On Thursday morning, seven Egyptian security personnel -- from both the army and police -- were kidnapped by an unknown group in North Sinai while en route to Cairo.
It is not the first time since Egypt's 25 January Revolution that confrontations have taken place between security forces and rustics.
Many Sinai residents seek to Dire Revenge™ themselves on security forces after years of heavy-handed security policies under Mubarak-era interior minister Habib El-Adly, who many accuse of failing to respect human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... and tribal traditions.
Mohamed El-Asati, who hails from Sinai's Aleiqat tribe, told Ahram Online that interior ministry policies had left a painful legacy among local rustics, especially during the current rule of Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund.
"The security apparatus did not respect tribal traditions or customs," he said. "We have always been regarded as shepherds, narcos or spies for Israel. So after the revolution, you will find psychological reasons for their desire for vengeance. "
He added that there was not a single family in Sinai that did not have at least one son imprisoned, tossed in the calaboose Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! or on the run from authorities.
"The interior ministry wants to return to its old ways," said El-Asati. "But this is unacceptable after the revolution. The Bedouin have already paid a heavy price for the return of the land [the Sinai Peninsula] in the October 1973 War."
"We also paid a heavy price in terms of our security and dignity in the Mubarak era. And after the revolution, we will not allow the interior ministry's old brutal policies to return during the era of Moslem Brüderbund rule," he added.
Ministry equipment and armoured vehicles have also provoked local residents, especially given Sinai residents' bad economic conditions, according to Sinai-based activist Ashraf El-Hanfy.
"The ministry's iron fist is back again in Sinai, just like the days before the revolution. It's even worse under the new rule, which means the revolution did not accomplish its mission in Sinai," El-Hanfy said.
"There is no real security now in Sinai, but only oppression," he added. "This is the main reason for today's kidnappings."
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[Al Ahram] Tunisia's hardline Salafist movement 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... vowed on Thursday to go ahead with its annual congress at the weekend in defiance of a government ban on the controversial gathering.
"We are not asking permission from the government to preach the word of God and we warn against any police intervention to prevent the congress from taking place," the group's front man Seifeddine Rais told a news conference in Tunis.
"The government will be responsible for any drop of blood spilt," he said, adding that more than 40,000 people were expected at the planned meeting on Sunday in the historic central city of Kairouan.
The government had banned the gathering because organisers did not get permission from the authorities as required by law, Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of ruling Islamist party Ennahda, said Wednesday.
"The authorities must apply the law without distinction. We support the firmness of the government in applying the law for all," said Ghannouchi, who also condemned the use of violence in the name of Islam.
The interior ministry requires that political parties and associations obtain permission for all public activity.
Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou, an independent in the ruling coalition, said last week he would bring to justice "anyone inciting to murder or hatred... or who pitches tents for preaching in," in a clear reference to the radical Islamists.
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05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] President Moncef Marzouki called on leaders of Tunisia's radical Salafist movement on Thursday to reject armed violence, saying during a meeting of "national dialogue" that the nation faced a terrorist threat.
"I am waiting for a clear condemnation of terrorism from the Salafist sheikhs in Tunisia," he said, adding that the state was "determined to act against the dangers and to use all the military and security means at its disposal."
"Everyone knows that Tunisia is now confronted by a terrorist threat from areas of instability both near and far," Marzouki added, calling on Tunisians "to close ranks in the face of religious fanaticism."
The president criticized in particular the Salafists ...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them... ' control of mosques, their acts of violence and the practice of replacing the national flag with the black Salafist flag, a practice that has shocked many in Tunisia.
Yet Marzouki said the Salafist movement, which advocates an ultra-conservative brand of Sunni Islam, was a part of Tunisia's social fabric and urged his countrymen to coexist, whether they were "modernists, Islamists or Salafists."
Since the January 2011 revolution that overthrew president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisian security has been severely challenged by the rise of bad boy Islamists, who are blamed for a wave of violence across the country.
Marzouki was heckled during his speech when he expressed his opposition to the sight of female students wearing the niqab while sitting exams, alluding to the ban on the full face veil in some universities.
The "national dialogue" was organized by Tunisia's main labor union, the UGTT, and gathered around 100 political parties, NGOs and employer organizations.
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Nigeria must protect the rights of civilians and avoid any "heavy-handed" response as it moves against Salafist tough guys to enforce a state of emergency, a top US official said Wednesday.
"We call on Nigerian officials to ensure that Nigeria's security forces protect civilians in any security response in a way that respects human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... and the rule of law," State Department front man Patrick Ventrell said.
He also urged Nigerian authorities to investigate festivities between soldiers and Islamist gunnies last month in the town of Baga on Lake Chad in which about 200 people were killed to ensure "those responsible are held accountable."
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05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Dear US,
As per your warning regarding protecting the rights of civilians -- we kind of thought that is what we are doing.
[Nigerian Tribune] THE national leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Senator Bola Tinubu, has descirbed the imposition of state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states by President Goodluck Jonathan as a deliberate ploy to subvert constitutional democracy in the country.
Tinubu, in statement entitled "Statement on the emergency rule and Nigeria's security challenges" signed by his special adviser, Sunday Dare, said the declaraton of state of emergency on the three northern states clearly revealed that "President Jonathan has finally bared his fangs, confirming what was widely speculated."
He said with the declaration by President Jonathan, "it has become crystal clear, even to the most incurable optimist, that the country is adrift."
The former governor of Lagos State further added that the infamous declaration was a pointer to the 2015 calculation by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which, he said, was meant to fail right from the beginning.
"The body language of the Jonathan-led administration leads any keen watcher of events with unmistakable conclusion of the existence of a surreptitious but barely disguised intention to muzzle the elected governments of these states for what is clearly a display of unpardonable mediocrity and diabolic partisanship geared towards 2015," Tinubu said.
He also chided the Federal Government, saying it had failed to protect the lives and properties of its citizens.
While condemning the declaration, Tinubu said there was nothing new in the new status, since "a state of emergency already exists in the states where military operates."
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05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Wrapping up its closing arguments in the war crimes case against 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... Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, the prosecution yesterday sought capital punishment for the accused.
"Nothing but the death penalty would be appropriate for such a devil [Mojaheed]," Prosecutor Tureen Afroz told the International Crimes Tribunal-2 at the end of the prosecution arguments.
The three-member tribunal led by Justice Obaidul Hassan with members Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Judge Md Shahinur Islam fixed May 22 for hearing the defence's closing arguments.
The prosecution would get their chance to reply if they feel it necessary after the defence's closing arguments.
The tribunal, as per relevant laws, would set a date for delivering a verdict in the case after hearing closing arguments by both the prosecution and the defence.
Mojaheed, a former technocrat minister of the last BNP-led four-party alliance government, was indicted on seven charges, which include murders, genocide and conspiracy to kill intellectuals during the Liberation War in 1971.
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05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Could have simply made slight changes to the spelling. A letter off, here or there. The system would have never caught it.
A complete name change, passports, other documents, and spending money are essential, if you're checking into Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Walter Reed or Bethesda.
Two Minnesota women convicted of conspiring to send money to al-Shabab in Somalia were given prison sentences in federal court Thursday, ending a week of punishments tied to long-running investigations into recruiting and financing for the terrorist group.
Amina Farah Ali, 36, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on 13 terrorism-related counts, and Hawo Mohamed Hassan, 66, received a 10-year term on one terror-related count and two counts of lying to the FBI.
Ali insisted during her 3½-hour hearing in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis that she was only trying to help the poor in her war-torn homeland.
"Everything that I have done, I have done because I was trying to do good," Ali said. "My intention was to alleviate the suffering of people."
But prosecutors have said Ali and Hassan were part of a "deadly pipeline" that sent funds and fighters to al-Shabab. Authorities said they went door-to-door in the name of charity and held religious teleconferences to solicit donations, which they then routed to the fighters.
Defense attorneys painted the women as humanitarians who gave money to orphans and the poor, as well as to a group fighting to rid Somalia of foreign troops. At the time, Ethiopian troops brought into Somalia by its weak U.N.-backed government were viewed by many Somalis as invaders.
Ali's attorney, Dan Scott, told the court Ali learned that she needed to work with those in power if her money was going to reach its destination.
"This was not a choice between good and evil. This was a choice between evils," the lawyer said.
He added: "It's not terrorism. She backed the wrong horse."
Good news Flock Seagull; the way the man golfs, jet sets, and fundraises, he has 7 years left of presidenting.
I'm sure you meant you want the best representation possible, not just auto-accepting. Then again, Obummer as you said, is the Dwayne Bowe of Presidents, so I can only, uhem, hope.
[Al Ahram] Accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was found hiding in a boat days after the blasts, left a handwritten message describing the attack as retribution for US wars in Mohammedan countries, CBS News reported on Thursday. The old "blood of Moslems" thing. Never gets stale, does it?... Oh. It does?
The CBS News report, citing anonymous sources, said that Tsarnaev used a pen to write the message on an interior wall of the boat, where police found him bleeding from gunshot wounds four days after the 15 April bombing.
The note summed up with the idea that "when you attack one Mohammedan, you attack all Mohammedans," CBS News reported.
CBS News did not make clear how its sources knew the information and Rooters was not immediately able to confirm the report.
A spokeswoman for the FBI in Boston, Katherine Gulotta, declined to confirm or deny the report.
The CBS News report said Tsarnaev, 19, described his older brother and fellow suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who died in a gunbattle with police, as "a martyr."
"Basically, the note says ... the bombings were retribution for the US crimes against Mohammedans in places like Iraq and Afghanistan and that the victims of the Boston bombing were 'collateral damage,' the same way innocent victims have been collateral damage in US wars around the world," said CBS News news hound John Miller, who is a former front man for the FBI.
The bombings at the finish line of the world-famous marathon killed three people and injured 264 others. The FBI identified the ethnic Chechen brothers as suspects from video and pictures at the scene.
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05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
...and yet these 'alleged crimes' were almost always committed against their terrorist heros. who hide behind women and children to escape capture for their dastardly deeds.
#2
The FBI identified the ethnic Chechen brothers as suspects from video and pictures at the scene.
Probably not difficult to identify potential suspects when you already have a short-list of local terrorist suspects and tips from Russian intelligence and other knowns.
Jobless, but free spending, ethnic Chechen, Mooslim Military age males (MAMs), one of whom was involved in foreign travel to a renegade terrorist state and contacts with known jihadists. A radical, nutcase, shoplifting mom and new Islamic convert wife. A former CIA Chief of Station marries into the family, then divorces after 3 years. Who could have possibly assembled all the pieces ?
#3
yet, his motives remain a enigma wrapped in a mystery to our media
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05/17/2013 8:54 Comments ||
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#4
You know Frank, no one will ever convince me that potential counterterrorism source(s) with this type of placement and access were not being accessed or recruited as ether witting or unwitting sources.
I refuse to believe our intelligence services are that BROKE !
All that effort to tap the AP phones and they didn't fix this...
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department failed to provide the names of some terrorists in the witness protection program to the center that maintains the government's watch list used to keep dangerous people off airline flights, the department's inspector general said in a report Thursday.
As a result of the department's failure to properly share information, some in the witness protection program who were on the "no-fly" list were allowed to travel on commercial flights, the federal watchdog said.
Brilliant, folks, just brilliant. Of course if the DoJ had really been on the job they would have taken all the Tea Party names from the IRS and added THEM to the no-fly list, so I suppose we should be grateful...
"It was possible for known or suspected terrorists to fly on commercial airplanes in or over the United States and evade one of the government's primary means of identifying and tracking terrorists' movements and actions," the report said.
To help protect witnesses from the people and organizations against whom they testify, the U.S. Marshals Service provides cooperating witnesses with new names and identities.
"We found that the department was not authorizing the disclosure to the Terrorist Screening Center of the new identities provided to known or suspects terrorists" in the federal Witness Security Program, known officially as WitSec.
What good is a new identity if you can't use it?
In response, the Justice Department said it has developed a highly restrictive travel policy that prohibits program participants with no-fly status from traveling on commercial flights.
Enforced by those competent, hyper-vigilant folks at the TSA, natch...
The department said the number of former known or suspected terrorists ever admitted into the witness protection program was a fraction of 1 percent of those in the program.
The department said that to date, the FBI has not identified a national security threat tied to the participation of terrorism-linked witnesses in the program.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
A couple of simple questions to ponder:
(1) Any US Marshall and WitSec activity involved in Benghazi survivors ?
(2) Were all Benghazi survivors US Citizens ?
The department said that to date, the FBI has not identified a national security threat tied to the participation of terrorism-linked witnesses in the program.
[Al Ahram] Pakistain Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... won enough seats in Saturday's parliamentary election that he won't need to form a coalition with other major parties to push through badly needed reforms, final figures showed on Thursday.
Sharif's Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 124 of a total 272 seats, with its nearest rival, the Pakistain People's Party (PPP), winning 31, in the country's first democratic handing over of power since independence in 1947.
To achieve the required majority of 137, he need only secure support from a handful of like-minded independents.
The outgoing PPP-led coalition, formed after the previous election in 2008, faced continued threats of defections when it confronted unpopular decisions, part of the reason for its lack of success.
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.... , the party led by former cricketer Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... , took 27 seats, making it Pakistain's third-largest party. It held just one in the last election.
The new government will have its hands full with problems ranging from chronic power shortages, a near-failed economy, a Taliban insurgency and building relations with the United States and arch rival India.
"Top-most amongst these challenges include external support to avert a balance-of-payments crisis, carrying out difficult structural reforms, and balancing diplomatic relations with the US," Moody's Investors Service said.
"The new government will inherit the effects of overall policy inertia. And it is uncertain as to whether it will use its power to adopt policies that will help shore up a weakening external payments position and reforms that would boost economic growth," Moody's said.
"It is worth noting that the previous civilian government which served out its full term had been unable to come to grips with these same challenges."
There will be recounts or re-polling in 11 constituencies where there were "law and order" concerns, accusations of vote rigging or, in two seats, deaths of candidates, the Election Commission said, adding that the polls had been the most successful in the country's history.
Khan, recovering in hospital after a fall from a fork-lift taking to him an election campaign podium, has given the commission three days to investigate vote rigging, failing which his party would launch protests across the country, media said.
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05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[BETA.DAWN] After failing to form a government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , 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's (JUI-F) avenues for entering a coalition government in the centre and Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... assembly, opened up after a formal invitation from Pakistain Mohammedan League - Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday, DawnNews reported.
Shahbaz held a meeting with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman during which the issues related to formation of a government were discussed whereas the PML-N also extended a formal invitation to the JUI-F to form a coalition government in the National Assembly and Balochistan's provincial assembly.
Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Shahbaz said that the challenges faced by the country needed to be addressed jointly.
He further said that the PML-F was their ally in Sindh whereas party chief Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... wanted to take all political parties on-board to tackle the issues of terrorism, corruption and the energy crises in Pakistain.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl said that a meeting of the party's central Majlis-e-Amla was called for today during which the decision to join a coalition government would be taken after consultation.
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[BETA.DAWN] Sarabjit Singh's lawyer Awais Sheikh and his son, who were kidnapped Thursday morning in Lahore's Burki road, were found after their abductors left them in Punjab's Sheikhupura area, DawnNews reported.
Earlier, Sheikh and his 29-year old son were intercepted by unknown gunmen soon after they left their residence. They were whisked away in a red double cabin pick-up truck, according to family sources.
The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Lahore Jawad Ahmad Dogar had also confirmed their kidnapping, adding that an investigative team had been constituted for their recovery.
A convicted Indian spy on death row, Sarabjit Singh was attacked on April 26 by two inmates Amir Tanba and Mudasir, in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail when he left his barracks for a stroll.
He suffered severe injuries in the head when the prisoners assaulted him with bricks and other blunt weapons whereby he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Lahore's Jinnah Hospital.
Singh succumbed to his injuries on May 1.
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05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The government has formally declared a conflict zone 29 villages in Parachamkani area of Kurram Agency ...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora... , where, officials say, security forces are gearing up for action against Death Eaters.
An official source in Fata Secretariat told Dawn on Wednesday that the office of the Fata secretary (law and order) had notified 29 villages of Parachamkani as a conflict zone on May 13 and that notification had been issued to all authorities concerned.Administratively Parachamkani is located in central subdivision of Kurram Agency, where the army and paramilitary forces backed by Pakistain Air Force had launched a coordinated operation against local and foreign Death Eaters.
Parts of central Kurram have been cleared from Death Eaters.
Parachamkani situated across Tora Bora, which witnessed relentless bombing in 2001, is the tail end of the mountainous central subdivision from eastern side adjacent to upper subdivision. The area has very rugged and tough terrain.
Trouble began in Parachamkani area when bomb went kaboom! in election rally of 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 candidate from NA-38, Muneer Khan Orakzai in Sewak village on May 5. The blast killed 26 people and injured dozens.
Election has been postponed in the area. Security forces bomb suspected locations triggering mass displacement.
Residents said the security forces' convoys had entered the area and strategic hilltops in Spin Ghar (white mountain).
According to the notification, the area has been declared a conflict zone and local authorities have directed residents to vacate houses. Heavy deployment of army and paramilitary forces is underway in the area.
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[Dawn] From the looks of it, 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.... is making a mess of it. A party that has come galloping to stake claim to the top elected slot in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , is found wanting on choosing a leader to lead it. And this is not a good beginning to begin with.
The internal squabbling between two groups, ostensibly between the old guard and the new, is puzzling. Pervez Khattak, the MPA-elect from Nowshera, and a so-called new entrant to PTI, was the first to launch his efforts to put together a coalition government and contacted heads of political parties and bunch of newly-elected independent members.
In come Mr Asad Qaisar, the MPA-elect from Swabi and the so-called old-guard, who together with a couple of other MPAs-elect launched his own efforts, contacting politicians and members.
If this was not enough, the two sides issued conflicting statements, discrediting each other and attributing those statements to the party chairman, Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... . Who has the authority and the mandate to negotiate with the political parties on PTI's behalf and who has given the mandate to do so is not known.
Not contended with this, someone within the PTI tried to pull a fast one, by "leaking" to the electronic media Asad Qaisar's name as its nominee for KP's chief minister. Later, a new spin was added to the puzzle: Khattak, it was said, was the parliamentary leader while Qaisar was the chief minister-in-waiting.
As this jockeying became a joke, talk of a new third person began to do the rounds in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. -- the former PML era-minister for food and former district nazim ...small time big shot, the chief elected official of a local government in Pakistan, such as a district, tehsil, union council, or village council... , Haripur, Yousaf Ayub as Imran's possible choice for the chief minister. By his own admission, he is not part of the "lobbying game" and that he would abide by the party's decision, whoever it chooses to lodge at the Chief Minister House in KP.
But even this did not put a stop to the rumour-feeding PTI mill which seems to be working overtime to churn one spin after another. The apparent jockeying for power between the party's central secretary general and his provincial president became to vicious that some within the party ventured out to suggest who was had Khan's pat on the back and who it was the cricketer-turned politician had no love lost for, in order to make the likely candidate for the chief minister obvious.
It became so confusing that political parties locked in negotiations with the PTI began to wonder whether their interlocutors from the major player in KP had the real mandate to speak to them and if that was the case, who was this other guy pretending to speaking to them on Khan's behalf.
So much did the issue muddled up that some of the newly-elected members began to start day-dreaming, desire taking the better of discipline. What is wrong with having a chief minister from Peshawar?" a bewildered newly-elected member from Peshawar asked. "Peshawar has given ten of the eleven provincial seats and four national seats to PTI. Don't you think Peshawar deserves to be given the rewarded for the remarkable feat?" one of them asked.
But if this was not enough, the dole-outs to junior coalition partners and the choice of portfolios promised to them also became the bone of contention. Did the package-deal have Khan's support? There will be two senior ministers and one minister each from 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... and the Qaumi Watan Party, party leaders in Peshawar said.
But JI leader Prof Munawwar Hassan, who met with a recuperating Khan at Shaukat Khanum Hospital, announced afterwards that there would be three ministers each from JI and the QWP. JI, one PTI leader said, would get the finance, in addition to the all-too-important education. What has been agreed to the QWP, is not known, other than that in addition to berth in the cabinet, Sherpao's party would also get the slot of the deputy speaker, provincial assembly. Knowing Sherpao's political acumen, one could safely assume, he would not really settle for anything less important too.
What will be the PTI left with is not known. But as one official asked, if the PTI is genuinely representative of the youth, why would it give the future of our youth and the upcoming generation to a junior partner.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] 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... (JUI-F) has given up efforts to form coalition government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... and nominated former chief minister Akram Khan Durrani its parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly.
Addressing a joint presser here on Wednesday, JUI-F provincial chief Maulana Amanullah and senior vice-president Attaur Rehman, said that MPA-elect Maulana Lutfur Rehman, younger brother of 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 ... , would be the party's deputy parliamentary leader.
These decisions were announced after a meeting of the provincial executive council, which was presided over by Maulana Amanullah. They said that parliamentary party meeting would be held 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. on May 29. Both MNAs and MPAs-elect would attend the meeting and the party would chalk out its future line of action.
The JUI-F, which won 13 seats in the provincial assembly, was trying to form coalition government in the province comprising Pakistain Mohammedan League-Nawaz, Quami Watan Party, 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... and independents.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Awami National Party (ANP) Chief Asfandyar Wali Thursday accepted the election results and said his party was defeated in the May 11 polls because its mandate was snatched through terrorist activities.
He said the party has decided to sit on opposition benches both in National and provincial assemblies.
Addressing a presser, Asfandyar Wali Khan said that the decision to sit on the opposition benches had been taken by the party's central working committee.
A meeting in this regard was held in Islamabad earlier on Thursday.
The ANP chief said the party would make efforts to regain its mandate, which had been snatched through terrorist activities. The ANP workers and leaders were restricted to their homes and not allowed to freely participate in the election campaign, he added.
Asfandyar said that a party could not perform in such a situation when it was not provided with a level playing field.
The outlawed Pak Taliban had targeted the ANP, along with Pakistain People's Party and 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... , in the run up to the recently held elections for having secular views. Election rallies of few other political parties also came under attack by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) myrmidons.
"We thought CEC Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim would adjudicate the electoral contest....but the real referee was Hakimullah Mehsud," the ANP chief said in disgust.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's announcement on Thursday that he intends to go ahead as planned with his Gaza visit next month, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington continues to oppose any engagement with Hamas.
Speaking at a press briefing, Psaki said Hamas is a "foreign terrorist organization which remains a destabilizing force in Gaza and the region."
The most feared and effective rebel group battling President Bashar Assad, the Islamist Nusra Front, is being eclipsed by a more radical jihadi force whose aims go far beyond overthrowing the Syrian leader.
Al-Qaida's Iraq-based wing, which nurtured Nusra in the early stages of the rebellion against Assad, has moved in and sidelined the organization, Nusra sources and other rebels say.
Al-Qaida in Iraq includes thousands of foreign fighters whose ultimate goal is not toppling Assad but the anti-Western jihad of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri - a shift which could extend Syria's conflict well beyond any political accord between Assad and his foes. The fighting has already cost 90,000 lives.
The break-up of an important part of Syria's opposition, already splintered into hundreds of armed groups, worsens the dilemma faced by the West as it debates whether intervention to support the rebels will result in arms being placed in the hands of hostile Islamist militants. And if the West were to intervene, it may now be under pressure to attack al-Qaida opposition forces rather than Assad.
"Nusra is now two Nusras. One that is pursuing al-Qaida's agenda of a greater Islamic nation, and another that is Syrian with a national agenda to help us fight Assad," said a senior rebel commander in Syria who has close ties to the Nusra Front.
In a move considered aggressive by US and European officials, Russia has sent at least 12 warships including a sea-going tug to patrol waters near its naval base in Tartous, Syria.
The deployment appears to be a warning to Israeli and Western officials against military intervention in Syria's bloody civil war. Russia's increased presence in the region -- which began raising eyebrows in the US three months ago -- represents one of its largest sustained naval deployments since the Cold War, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
"It's a show of force. It's muscle flexing," a top US official told the Journal.
Russian news sources reported earlier Thursday that five warships had entered the Mediterranean Sea to bolster the country's new regional task force. The vessels were scheduled to dock in Limassol, Cyprus.
In March, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the naval task force was needed in order to protect Russian interests in the region.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/17/2013 09:45 ||
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Top|| File under:
#4
Excellent point Skid, should have thought of that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/17/2013 11:21 Comments ||
Top||
#5
O and Co has sent a clear message of dithering and weakness to Russia and everyone else. Power vacuums suck. Russia is just trying to fill the void. They are opportunists.
"Get out of my way, opportunity knocks!!"
[/channeling Pappy O'Daniel in O Brother Where Art Thou?]
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/17/2013 11:24 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Park an Aegis cruiser at Cyprus. They won't like that.
[Al Ahram] A prominent Syrian actress and outspoken activist against the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... was tossed in the clink Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! on Thursday, a human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. lawyer said.
"At noon (0900 GMT) today, the security forces detained the free actress May Skaf while she was on her way home in the Mashru Dummar neighbourhood" of Damascus, Anwar al-Bunni reported on Facebook.
"Skaf made a mobile phone call to her son, to tell him her identity card had been taken from her by members of the security forces at a checkpoint," Bunni told AFP.
Her mobile phone has since been switched off, he added.
Skaf's "detention... confirms that the Syrian authorities... are seeking to silence the voices of cultural and political figures, to try and give credence to their narrative that the regime is fighting terrorism", Bunni said.
Since the eruption of the uprising in March 2011, the Assad regime has claimed to be fighting "terrorism" in Syria, while denying the existence of any peaceful movement for change.
The uprising morphed into an armed insurgency after the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown on dissent.
Skaf has consistently spoken out against the regime, frequently posting criticism on her own Facebook page.
In summer 2012, she was detained for three days after taking part in a Damascus protest that became referred to as the "intellectuals' demonstration".
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] A member of Iran's constitutional watchdog group insists that women cannot be presidential candidates, a report said Thursday, effectively killing the largely symbolic bids by about 30 women seeking to run in the June 14 election.
Even before the comments by Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, chances for a woman candidate in Iran's presidential election were considered nearly impossible.
Women also have registered as potential candidates in past presidential elections, but the group that vets hopefuls appears to follow interpretations of the constitution that suggest only a man may hold Iran's highest elected office. Women, however, are cleared to run for Iran's parliament and have served as politicians.
The semiofficial Mehr news agency quotes Yazdi as saying the "law does not approve" of a woman in the presidency and a woman on the ballot is "not allowed."
The Guardian Council, where Yazdi is a member, vets all candidates for the presidency and parliament. A total of 686 people have registered to replace President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, who cannot run for a third mandate because of term limits.
The final list will be announced Tuesday, with only a handful of names expected on the ballot.
While women have greater freedom in Iran than many other countries in the region, particularly Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and neighboring Afghanistan, it is widely believed that the wording of the constitution closes the door on the presidency.
It says the president will be elected from religious-political men, or "rijal," a plural for man in Arabic that is common in Farsi, too.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Need picture of thin gnarly finger on the Big Fucking Button.
[An Nahar] Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon stressed on Thursday that his country will not permit the transfer of weapons" from Syria to Hizbullah."
Yaalon's statement came during talks he held with Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan, who arrived in Israel late on Thursday on a surprise visit to discuss the situation in Syria, an official Israeli source said.
The CIA chief went straight into a meeting in Tel Aviv with Yaalon, the official said.
Private television station Channel 10 said that Yaalon reaffirmed during the talks that Israel "will not permit the transfer of weapons" from Syria to Hizbullah in Leb.
Brennan's trip comes two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon stressed on Thursday that his country will not permit the transfer of weapons" from Syria to Hizbullah.
Interestingly, the quite obvious Israeli policy [commensurate actions] had to be re-stated or "stressed" to a pro-Islamic Brennan.
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.
[Al Ahram] Tunisia's hardline Salafist movement 
Two Minnesota women convicted of conspiring to send money to al-Shabab in Somalia were given prison sentences in federal court Thursday, ending a week of punishments tied to long-running investigations into recruiting and financing for the terrorist group.
Nawaz Sharif
Kurram Agency
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Mahmoud 
The CIA chief went straight into a meeting in Tel Aviv with Yaalon, the official said.
