(Naharnet) - Sacked South Sudanese members of the Sudanese military pelted motorists and police with stones and blocked traffic on Wednesday to protest delays in their severance pay, witnesses said.
About 100 protesters gathered on Africa Road, a major artery in the Sudanese capital, shouting "We want our rights!"
Witnesses said the demonstrators were seeking compensation and marched to the multi-lane thoroughfare from a nearby office of the Sudan Armed Forces.
Stones thrown by the demonstrators shattered windows of some passing cars, an Agence La Belle France Presse news hound witnessed.
Riot police wielding batons dispersed the protesters, and there were no apparent arrests or injuries.
The Khartoum government fired ethnic southern members of its civil service last year prior to the July separation of South Sudan, which voted overwhelmingly for independence after decades of conflict with the north that left some two million people dead.
Up to 700,000 ethnic southerners are estimated to remain in Sudan ahead of an April deadline for them to either go south or normalize their status with the Khartoum authorities.
On Sunday, Khartoum and Juba agreed to cooperate in the transfer of ethnic southerners to the new nation, the official SUNA news agency said.
Khartoum's Social Welfare Minister, Amira al-Fadel Mohamed, signed a memorandum of understanding on the issue with South Sudan's Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Joseph Lual Achwel, SUNA said, adding the agreement covers road, air and river transport.
Despite the deal, the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. have said it is logistically impossible for all southerners in Sudan to either move south or obtain official status in the north before the April 8 deadline.
Hazam al-Thahb, Yemeni tribal chief from the southeastern Yemeni town of Rada, which was briefly taken over by al-Qaeda militants, killed his younger brother, Tariq al-Thahb, a high-profile leader in AQAP.
Hazam broke on Wednesday evening into a mosque, where his brother and some of al-Qaeda militants were living, and killed his Tariq and some of his followers, tribal dignitary from the area told Yemen Post on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
"He has killed his younger brother after he repeatedly warned him not to align himself with the islamists, however his brother was obstinate and did not pay heed to his warnings and advice. That's why he had to kill him before he is killed by the authorities, said the tribal dignitary.
"Al-Qaeda militants have quickly avenged their leader loss as they have launched some attacks on Hazam's, the older brother and tribal chief, house, shelling it with Rocket Propellant Grenades and mortars,"
Furthermore, the younger brother followers (al-Qaeda militants) have also planted some mines around the brother home, leaving Hazam and a number of his guards killed on Thursday morning, the local tribal source added.
Tribal Yemeni customs and traditions make it obligatory for a brother to stand by his brother even if he was on the wrong, and that it's very shameful not to avenge your brother murder regardless of what he was killed for.
Realizing one day his brother Tariq would be killed by either Yemeni government or by US drone, Hazam tried to make his brother disassociate himself with al-Qaeda. When Tariq refused to listen to his elder and wiser brother, Hazem preferred to kill his brother by his own in order not to have to take revenge against any one involved in his murder, according to tribal sources close to al-Thahb.
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat -- The latest session of the trial of the 85-member terrorist cell accused of being responsible for the 2003 Riyadh Compound Bombings took place in Riyadh on Tuesday. The Special Criminal Court in Riyadh, which specializes in overseeing terrorism and national security cases, heard the confessions of 6 defendants who are accused of being members of the Al Qaeda organization and traveling to Afghanistan, in addition to possessing arms and explosives and attempting to murder security officers.
One of the defendants in the Riyadh Compound Bombing trial denied the charges made against him by the Saudi Public Prosecutor, including allegations that he had met with known terrorist figures in Afghanistan. The defendant also claimed that there was no truth to the allegations that he was in possession of false passports and a large amount of money when arrested. He also claimed that he had not been arrested, but had rather handed himself over to the authorities. This is contrary to the Saudi Public Prosecution's allegations that the defendant was given up by his father.
In addition to this, the six defendants explained that they had travelled to Afghanistan after being inspired by religious fatwas issued by Saudi clerics.
This trial is part of the trial of the Turki al-Dandani terrorist cell which was responsible for the 2003 Riyadh Compound Bombings, resulting in 35 people being killed, and 160 injured. The defendants being tried on Tuesday were defendants' number 8, 12, 16, 17, 28 and 36 of the al-Dandani cell.
The 6 defendants being tried, out of 85 defendants who are being tried as part of the al-Dandani terror cell, were granted additional time by the presiding judge to read their replies and confessions. The 6 defendants are facing a total of 117 charges.
The Saud Public Prosecutor, responding to some of the defendants denials, stressed the evidence of their guilt, as well as the defendants own confessions.
As for the defendants' claims that these confessions were taken under duress, the prosecutor called on the defendants to provide evidence to back up their claims.
Asharq Al-Awsat published information in 2010 that the Riyadh Compound Bombings had sought to replicate the 9/11 attacks in terms of coordinating the timings of the attack, and targeting more than one target.
A Saudi Human Rights Commission representative, in addition to local media, was present at the hearing on Tuesday.
In a previous Riyadh Compound Bombings trial last year, Defendant number 1 -- of 85 -- pled guilty to all charges against him. The defendant, a senior militant, described Osama Bin Laden as a martyr and wished his successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, success. The defendant said that he expected to be given the death penalty.
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Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat -- The latest session of the trial of the 85-member terrorist cell accused of being responsible for the 2003 Riyadh Compound Bombings took place in Riyadh on Tuesday. The Special Criminal Court in Riyadh, which specializes in overseeing terrorism and national security cases, heard the confessions of 6 defendants who are accused of being members of the Al Qaeda organization and traveling to Afghanistan, in addition to possessing arms and explosives and attempting to murder security officers.
One of the defendants in the Riyadh Compound Bombing trial denied the charges made against him by the Saudi Public Prosecutor, including allegations that he had met with known terrorist figures in Afghanistan. The defendant also claimed that there was no truth to the allegations that he was in possession of false passports and a large amount of money when incarcerated. He also claimed that he had not been incarcerated, but had rather handed himself over to the authorities. This is contrary to the Saudi Public Prosecution's allegations that the defendant was given up by his father.
In addition to this, the six defendants explained that they had travelled to Afghanistan after being inspired by religious fatwas issued by Saudi holy mans.
This trial is part of the trial of the Turki al-Dandani terrorist cell which was responsible for the 2003 Riyadh Compound Bombings, resulting in 35 people being killed, and 160 injured. The defendants being tried on Tuesday were defendants' number 8, 12, 16, 17, 28 and 36 of the al-Dandani cell.
The 6 defendants being tried, out of 85 defendants who are being tried as part of the al-Dandani terror cell, were granted additional time by the presiding judge to read their replies and confessions. The 6 defendants are facing a total of 117 charges.
The Saud Public Prosecutor, responding to some of the defendants denials, stressed the evidence of their guilt, as well as the defendants own confessions.
As for the defendants' claims that these confessions were taken under duress, the prosecutor called on the defendants to provide evidence to back up their claims.
Asharq Al-Awsat published information in 2010 that the Riyadh Compound Bombings had sought to replicate the 9/11 attacks in terms of coordinating the timings of the attack, and targeting more than one target.
A Saudi Human Rights Commission representative, in addition to local media, was present at the hearing on Tuesday.
In a previous Riyadh Compound Bombings trial last year, Defendant number 1 -- of 85 -- pled guilty to all charges against him. The defendant, a senior bad boy, described the late Osama bin Laden ... who is currently taking a long nap in the dirt... urm... water... as a martyr and wished his successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... , success. The defendant said that he expected to be given the death penalty.
This article starring:
Riyadh Compound Bombings
Turki al-Dandani
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#1
Please note Saudi the problem is within Saudi society/teaching not from outside.
Who is the most religious intolerant country in the world?
#3
In addition to this, the six defendants explained that they had travelled to Afghanistan after being inspired by religious fatwas issued by Saudi clerics.
SANAA Outgoing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has ordered his pictures to be replaced by those of his vice president, who is due to take his place later this month, state news agency Saba reported Wednesday.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has ordered all authorities and institutions public and private, across the country, to take down his pictures from public squares, streets, buildings and offices and raise those of Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, Saba reported.
Referendum-like elections will be held in Yemen on Tuesday to approve Hadi, the sole candidate, as a consensus president for a two-year term, as per a Gulf-brokered deal which Saleh signed in November after months of pressure. Under the deal, which came in response to an uprising that began in January 2011, Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for three decades, will hand power to Hadi, a southerner, in return for a promise of immunity from prosecution.
But while most members of the opposition welcome the election, members of the Southern Movement, who say it fails to meet their aspirations for autonomy or southern independence, have been campaigning for a boycott of the poll. The more extreme factions led by Yemen Socialist Partys former leader Ali Salem al-Baidh have openly called for preventing the poll from taking place at all.
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(Naharnet) - Jordan has given assurances to Britannia that Islamist holy man Abu Qatada, once dubbed an aide to the late Osama bin Laden ... who no longer has to waste time and energy breathing... , will get a "fair" trial if London extradites him to the kingdom, a government official said on Wednesday.
"Jordan has reassured British Home Office Minister James Brokenshire that it is committed to protecting the legal rights of Jordanian citizen Abu Qatada," the official told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"If Britannia extradites Abu Qatada to Jordan, he will receive a fair and transparent trial."
Brokenshire was meeting on Wednesday with Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh following talks Tuesday with Legislative Affairs Minister Ayman Odeh to "discuss the possibility of extraditing Abu Qatada," the official added.
The British minister flew to Amman after Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... spoke with Jordan's King Abdullah II last week about finding an "effective solution" to the case.
One of Abu Qatada's brothers told AFP that the Islamist holy man had asked his family "to avoid giving statements in order not to affect the procedures."
Britannia has been trying to extradite Abu Qatada to Jordan for the past six years, claiming he is a serious risk to national security, but its efforts have been thwarted on human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. grounds.
Abu Qatada, 51, was released from a British prison on Monday on extremely tight bail conditions after spending most of the last six years in jail without charge during London's bid to deport him.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg ruled last month that Britannia cannot deport the Jordanian to his homeland because evidence used against him in any trial there may have been obtained through torture.
Abu Qatada, once labeled late al-Qaeda chief bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe by a Spanish judge, was convicted in Jordan in his absence of involvement in terror attacks in 1998.
SEOUL -- Senior diplomats from South Korea and China are scheduled to hold talks later this month to address outstanding issues between the two nations, including North Korean defectors detained in China, a diplomatic source said Thursday.
The talks come as Seoul has urged Beijing not to send back a group of North Koreans detained in China as they hope for South Korean intervention to avoid repatriation to their communist homeland.
During the talks, South Korea will "emphasize again that China should not repatriate North Korean defectors against their will but should handle the issue from a humanitarian standpoint," the source said on condition of anonymity. No date for the planned talks has been fixed but the two sides are finalizing a schedule, according to the source.
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The man fingered by South Korean authorities as being responsible for the torpedo attack against the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan, has been promoted from lieutenant general to general, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported on Wednesday.
In the first high-level military reshuffle conducted by North Korean leader Suet Face Kim Jong-un following the death in December of his father, Kim Jong-il, Gen. Kim Yong-chol, head of the policy department of North Korea's National Defense Commission, was granted the new title.
The department is also known as the General Reconnaissance Bureau, the headquarters of the regime's anti-South Korean operations.
The latest promotions came ahead of the elder Kim's birthday on Thursday. A total of 23 military officials have been promoted, including Kim Jong-gak (62), first deputy director of Army's General Political Bureau.
Kim Yong-chol is suspected of orchestrating all of the major provocations committed against South Korea since 2009, including the July 2009 DDoS computer virus attacks on major South Korean and U.S. government agencies. He is also believed to have dispatched a hit team in November of 2009 to assassinate Hwang Jang-yop, the highest-ranking North Korean to defect to the South, and to have orchestrated the sinking of the Cheonan in March of 2010, which the North denies being responsible for. Kim may also have played a key role in organizing a hacking attack against South Korean lender Nonghyup in April last year.
Government sources said that if the North had sacked -- rather than rewarded -- Kim Yong-chol, it would have been construed as a genuine move to mend ties with the South, as well as a demonstration of the power and reach of its new leader.
But Fat Boy Kim Jong-un has shown that he has no such intentions. Ryu Dong-ryeol, a researcher at the Police Science Institute, said, "Provocations against the South led by Kim Yong-chol could become more intense this year, especially as general and presidential elections are on the calendar [in South Korea]."
Kim Jong-gak, who was promoted to vice marshal in the latest reshuffle, is close to the reclusive nation's new leader. He is in charge of monitoring all North Korean military officers and played a key role in helping his new boss solidify his grip on power over the military. Kim was one of seven officials who escorted Kim Jong-il's funeral hearse last year. He also read a eulogy to the dead leader on behalf of the military.
Meanwhile, the North Korean regime on Tuesday decided to bestow on Kim Jong-il the title of "Generalissimo" for his feats, which apparently include elevating the country's status to that of a nuclear power, and building and putting into orbit a satellite. Until now, only Kim Il-sung, the late founder of North Korea, held the title, which was bestowed upon him two days before his 80th birthday in 1992.
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North Korea has apparently ordered people studying or working abroad to return home by Thursday to mark the birthday of dead leader Kim Jong-il. The Daily NK, a website specializing in news about the isolated country, on Tuesday said the regime told North Koreans in China to come back.
The Daily NK quoted a North Korean working in Shenyang, China as saying, "Some North Koreans including students in China have already headed home. Those who can't afford to go back plan at least to send gifts or flowers."
According to the worker, the North is now ordering people home because fewer people than expected came back to attend Kims funeral late last year. The regime is apparently giving North Koreans abroad one more chance to demonstrate their allegiance, promising to waive any punishment for failing to come back for Kims funeral and pledging not to confiscate their belongings.
But experts believe the North is trying to collect cash from expatriates. The North Korean worker in Shenyang told the Daily NK, "Because it isn't clear whether the order came from the Worker's Party or from Kim Jong-un, high-ranking officials in Pyongyang may be trying to pad their pockets by recalling students and workers living overseas."
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#1
You'd be an Idiot to return.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/16/2012 0:14 Comments ||
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#2
Is this aimed at defectors, or North Korean expatriate workers? (Such a thing does exist) It doesn't say.
North Korea and China finally reached an agreement at the end of last year to jointly develop the Rajin-Sonbong special economic zone in the far northeastern edge of the isolated country, it emerged on Wednesday. The zone is seven times larger than the Kaesong Industrial Complex (65.7 sq.km), the site of inter-Korean economic cooperation.
The agreement entitles China to develop three new piers and grants it the right to use them for 50 years. According to the source in China's Jilin Province, the deal was inked in the second half of last year. China will reportedly invest US$3 billion to build infrastructure there such as railroads, power plants and other facilities by 2020.
"It is uncertain just how much Chinese companies will be interested in the special economic zone at this moment due to the poor infrastructure there," said Yoon Seung-hyun, a professor at China's Yanbian University. "However, once construction begins following an influx of Chinese investment, investors from Hong Kong will probably head there in search of cheap labor."
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
Build a pier, that you CAN use (Sometines) sounds like a stupid idea.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/16/2012 2:16 Comments ||
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#5
Find Genghis Kahns tomb first. I'm sure there's some artifact there for the Chinese Communists to conquer the world with. Oh wait, Indiana Jones V plot revealed!
Posted by: Charles ||
02/16/2012 19:41 Comments ||
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#6
CHINA DAILY FORUM > VIETNAM PROTESTS CHINA'S EAST SEA FISHING BAN, from China'S East Sea aka Gulf of Tonkin/Sea of Vietnam, to the disputed Paracel Islands [ China = Xishas].
China asserting its "sovereignty rights" as per its declared East-South China Sea EEZ + "Continental Shelf" DIplomacy.
* TELEGRAPH.UK > US MUST RESPECT CHINA'S INTERESTS, XI JINPING WARNS IN WASHINGTON SPEECH.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > $110.0 YUAN [US$17.50] FOR A GLASS OF MILK IN CHINA [Hainan Island trourist restaurant].
* SAME > CHINA BUYS UP SAUDI, RUSSIAN OIL TO SQUEEZE IRAN, i.e. influence Sino-Iranian negotiations for discounted = cheaper Iran oil.
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > CHINA DEFENCE BUDGET SET TO DOUBLE BY 2015 [2011-2015], i.e. Regionally more than 2X that of all ASEAN States + Japan according to Jane's US-based IHS Global Research Group.
BEIJING - China's far western Xinjiang region has launched a campaign to stamp out rising religious extremism, state media said on Wednesday, after several violent attacks blamed on separatist Islamic fundamentalists.
Xinjiang is home to the mainly Mohammedan Turkic-speaking Uighur people, many of whom chafe at Chinese government controls on their culture and religion.
Provincial authorities aim via "public lectures" throughout Xinjiang to "rally mass support for the government's religious policies and to discourage illegal religious activities," the official Xinhua news agency reported.
#3
If they did, they probably already used it. The Chinese share the "reactive" model, of "oppress gradually, react as needed to resistance". The trouble is that this technique has some flaws.
And these flaws are a lot worse when both sides are using the technique. In this case, it is also the way Islam functions.
An Iraqi-born cleric pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of making death threats against politicians and encouraging suicide bombings.
Prosecutors said Mullah Krekar, a 55-year-old Islamist who came to Norway as a refugee in 1991, faces several years in prison if found guilty by Oslo District Court.
Since his arrival, Krekar has made frequent trips to Iraq where in 2001 he founded the Kurdish Ansar al-Islam, a group suspected of organizing suicide bombings against coalition forces in Iraq, and listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and other nations.
In 2005, a Norwegian court declared Krekar a national security threat and ordered him deported, but later postponed the move because of concerns he could face execution or torture in Iraq.
In June 2010, Krekar said at a news conference organized by the foreign press club in Oslo that if he were deported to Iraq and killed, Norwegian officials would "pay with their lives," according to a transcript included in the indictment presented in court.
"If I die it will be the beginning of killings," he said, according to the transcript.
Prosecutor Marit Bakkevig said Krekar had violated Norwegian terror laws by "threatening to commit murder for the purpose of creating fear in the society," which carries a maximum 12-year sentence. "The statements appear as persistent threats," she told the court.
Krekar is also charged with trying to force a reversal of the deportation order by threatening officials, or obstructing the government from performing its duties, with a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
In addition, he has allegedly threatened several people on various websites, including three Kurds living in Norway, the prosecution said.
ANKARA - A former head of Turkey's armed forces is to go on trial after judges agreed on Wednesday there were sufficient grounds to prosecute him on charges of attempting to overthrow the government.
The trial of General Ilker Basbug, military chief of staff from 2008 to 2010, is one of a series of prosecutions and judicial inquiries that have engulfed the former secular establishment, but have also now touched on figures close to the government, suggesting a power struggle within the state.
Basbug, held in a high-security prison, is the most senior officer among hundreds of secularists charged with conspiring to topple Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government because of its roots in political Islam.
A U.S. embassy employee was released after being held for questioning in Pakistain on Tuesday when airport security officials discovered bullets in his luggage, police said.
The American was about to fly from the northwestern city of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar to the capital Islamabad when he was taken into police custody, said Tahir Ayub, a senior police superintendent.
He was released after four hours when officials from the U.S. consulate in Peshawar produced documents to show the man worked at the consulate.
"He's been released to the consulate," a U.S. official in Islamabad said. "He's at the consulate now."
The American is an embassy employee usually based in Islamabad but was temporarily assigned to the Peshawar consulate, the official said.
Police officers had earlier said they would hold the man until his identity had been verified by the foreign office in Islamabad and a U.S. official in the capital had said the embassy was looking into the details of the reports.
"He has diplomatic status," the official said. "We're in contact with Pak authorities on the details on the case."
Ayub said a pistol and 12 magazine rounds had been recovered from the man's luggage, while another police officer said security officials had only found bullets.
#1
Last year, my dad let me borrow a bag of his because I had too much stuff.
After arriving in China and unpacking, I found two .38 special cartridges. I would have been totally fucked had they been discovered in America. I'm talking federal crime, arrested, boom. Even if the judge accepted my story as true, which it was, I would have still been looking at serious penalties.
God forbid the Chinese side had discovered them. Thanks a lot, Dad.
QUETTA: The Functional Committee of Senate on Human Rights on Wednesday expressed its serious concerns over violation of human rights in Balochistan and suggested laws to curb the powers of intelligence agencies. The committee also expressed its concern over the recovery of mutilated bodies of missing persons, target killings of labourers, doctors, teachers and increasing incidents of kidnapping for ransom in the province.
The committee, which met under Afrasiab Khattak, said laws should be made to curtail the power and influence of security agencies and bring them under the democratic control of parliament.
Because that's what Pakistain needs, more laws on human rights. They can enshrine the new laws right next to the old ones...
Addressing a news conference, Afrasiab Khattak said the committee had met in Quetta to assess the prevailing security situation in the province. Human rights condition is deteriorating here, particularly with the recovery of mutilated bodies of political leaders and increasing incidents of kidnappings, he said.
This act is giving a message that state and its institutions do not consider them [the victims of target killings] their own people. It is common perception here that that secret agencies are involved in enforced disappearances and dumping the mutilated bodies. If it is true, the government should control its institutions since this act is badly damaging the sovereignty of the country.
Khattak said some militant groups are also targeting labourers and teachers. The violence in every shape is wrong and unjustified. Those who are involved in these killings are also not well-wisher of Balochistan, he said.
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(Naharnet) - India will next month test a new long-range nuclear-capable missile which can strike targets more than 5,000 kilometers away, a defense research front man said on Wednesday.
The announcement came three months after India successfully tested its Agni-IV missile, which was previously the longest range missile possessed by the armed forces capable of travelling 3,500 kilometers.
"The trial of Agni-V is planned for March and its individual technologies and sub-systems have been tested and everything is fine," a front man for the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"Agni-V is a highly accurate and state-of-art missile system which can carry nuclear weapons," the official said, declining to disclose the size of the warhead it could carry.
Agni means fire in Sanskrit language.
The DRDO front man said India, which carried out a string of nuclear detonations in 1998, was developing an array of ballistic missiles as a "deterrence" and the move should not be seen as a threat to any country.
"Our strategic missiles are for deterrence and are not country-specific. They are meant to ensure peace," the front man said.
The Agni series is being developed by the DRDO under an Integrated Guided Missile Development Program launched in 1983.
India is among the world's top 10 military spenders. It plans to splurge $50 billion by 2015 to upgrade its million-plus military.
India, which will soon clinch a deal for 126 warplanes that can carry nuclear-tipped bombs, has fought three wars with historical rival Pakistain since their independence in 1947.
It also fought a brief but bloody conflict with uneasy neighbor China in 1962 over their border dispute, which remains unresolved despite several rounds of high-level negotiations.
Yoshihiko Noda tells defense minister that military action would be dangerous and could escalate standoff between Iran, West.
Not to mention cutting off Japan's oil supply.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda warned Defense Minister Ehud Barak against attacking Iran in a meeting held in Tokyo Wednesday.
Barak visited Japan following a week-long tour of Asia, including stops in Singapore and Thailand.
During the meeting, Noda told Barak that military action would be dangerous and could escalate the stand-off between Iran and the West, a Japanese news agency reported.
Silly man! Japan is in the Far East, Israel is in the Middle East. Do they not teach geography in Japan anymore?
Barak asked Noda to step up Japan's efforts to reduce oil imports from Iran.
"Iran ordered the execution over the past few days of a series of terrorist attacks that again demonstrate the danger this regime poses to global stability," Barak said.
Barak will remain in Japan until Sunday. The consequences of unilateral attack are still fresh in the minds of many older Japanese. They probably mean it as a friendly caution, although the tone is somewhat condescending. I reckon we should just take it for what it's worth.
#6
90% of Japanese oil and gas flows out of the gulf. A disruption, even of a couple days would be very difficult on them.
Can't say I really blame their tactic here either. However, if Obama was using "Smart Diplomacy", he could arrange for the oil and gas to come from other sources, including the US for our allies so disruptions would be minimal before attacking.
#7
A disruption, even of a couple days would be very difficult on them
Yes. Based on personal observation andother sources, the Japanese have long cultivated a relationship with the Iranians to ensure that the oil shipments are unimpeded, including favors such as using Japanese-flagged hulls.
Perhaps "wary of" more than "fears". Israel concern homes in on recent reports that Assad is using nerve gas against the new opposition.
Concern is mounting within the IDF over the possibility that Syria will attack Israel as pressure mounts on Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... to step down. The move is seen as part of a potential effort by Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... to deter Arab countries from dispatching military support to opposition forces.
The concern is still under the surface, but the IDF's Northern Command has drawn up a number of operational responses to a range of scenarios that could evolve along the northern front.
Nevertheless, Israel fears that Assad, under pressure, could turn the military force -- that he has been using in an attempt to quell the ongoing uprising against his regime -- against Israel.
That is likely why the IDF Spokesman's Office sent out pictures taken on Tuesday of OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan and commander of the Northern Corps Maj.-Gen. Gershon Hacohen touring Mount Hermon and looking toward Syria -- showing that the IDF is preparing for attacks along the border.
Israel's concern hones in on recent reports that Assad is using nerve gas against the opposition. This has led Israel to reassess the possibility that Syria is might now be more willing to use chemical weapons against Israeli targets.
Syria is believed to have one of the most extensive chemical weapon arsenals in the world that reportedly includes Sarin, VX and Mustard Gas.
Israel's is also considering the possibility that Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons will fall into terrorist hands.
This stems from intelligence obtained by the West which indicates that advanced conventional military platforms have already been moved out of Syria by Hezbullies.
Concern over the stability of Syria's chemical arsenal comes at a time when only about 60 percent of Israelis are in possession of gas masks. The IDF is currently lacking NIS 1.2 billion to complete the production and distribution of gas masks to the rest of the public.
The Home Front Command and Defense Ministry are in talks with the Treasury in an effort to obtain the remaining required budget. Earlier this month, The Jerusalem Post reported that the distribution of the gas masks will be suspended in March due to the shortage in funds.
#2
It seems to me that with defections and desertions, the Syrian Army is seriously challenged right now. A serious gas attack would force IDF to glass Damascus.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/16/2012 0:31 Comments ||
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#3
If Obama punted on the Keystone pipeline so as not to lose part of his core constituency, I can't imagine him getting involved in a war that would alienate an even large chunk of his base.
#4
If Obama punted on the Keystone pipeline so as not to lose part of his core constituency, I can't imagine him getting involved in a war that would alienate an even large chunk of his base.
We worry about him getting involved on the Syrian side.
A group of Iranians detained after accidentally setting off explosives in Bangkok planned to target two Israeli diplomats, Thailand's national police chief confirmed on Thursday.
The men were specifically targeting Israel diplomats and planned to plant "sticky" bombs on their vehicles, the same method used in attack on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi and a foiled plot in Tibilisi on Monday.
Police General Prewpan Dhamapong said Thai authorities "know for certain that [the intended target] was Israeli diplomats. The issue was about individuals and the targets were specific. This was something personal."
Thailand is to seek the extradition from Malaysia of an Iranian man who was part of the plot.
Immigration authorities in Kuala Lumpur arrested the man Masoud Sedaghat Zadeh, 31, on unspecified charges on Wednesday as he tried to board a flight to Iran.
The man had fled neighbouring Thailand after two Iranian accomplices were caught when an accidental blast at their bomb factory at a house they rented in a quiet residential area of Bangkok alerted Thai police.
BEIRUT As Syrian forces stepped up their assault Wednesday on rebellious cities, President Bashar Assad ordered a referendum on a new constitution that would create a multiparty system in a country that has been ruled by his autocratic family dynasty for 40 years.
Once again a constitution is changed, and once again it just so happens that all the changes favor the strong-man who happens to be in charge. Coincidences abound...
Such a change would have been unheard of a year ago, and Assads regime is touting the new constitution as the centerpiece of reforms aimed at calming Syrias upheaval. But after 11 months of bloodshed, with well over 5,000 dead in the regimes crackdown on protesters and rebels, Assads opponents say the referendum and reforms are not enough and that the countrys strongman must go.
The people in the street today have demands, and one of these demands is the departure of this regime, said Khalaf Dahowd, a member of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria, an umbrella for several opposition groups in Syria and in exile.
The White House also dismissed the referendum. Press secretary Jay Carney called the move laughable in light of ongoing brutality by the Syrian military and said it makes a mockery of the uprising.
Like a stopped clock, Mr. Carney occasionally gets one right...
Assads call for a referendum, set for Feb. 26, also raises the question of how a nationwide vote could be held at a time when many areas see daily battles between Syrian troops and rebel soldiers.
Only in secured neighborhoods, of course. See how that works?
Amendments to the constitution once were a key demand by the opposition at the start of Syrias uprising, when protesters first launched demonstrations calling for change. Assad has also talked of holding parliament elections after the referendum. But after months of the regimes fearsome crackdown, the opposition dismisses any talk of reform, saying that they dont believe Assad will really loosen his iron grip on power and that his ouster is the only solution.
Russia, a top Syrian ally, has presented Assads reform promises as an alternative way to resolve Syrias bloodshed.
And who would know more about constitutional reform than the Russians?
The current Syrian constitution enshrines Assads Baath Party as the leader of the state. But according to the new draft, the states political system is based on political pluralism and power is practiced democratically through voting.
There will be the Syrian Baath Party, the Baath Party of Syria, the Popular Baath Party, the Baath Populist Party...
The draft also says the president can hold office only for a maximum of two seven-year terms. Assad, who inherited power from his father, has been in power for nearly 12 years. His father, Hafez, ruled for 30 years.
And in fourteen years, there would be a popular demand to write another constitution...
The Syrian constitution has been amended in the past most crucially, to allow Assad to take power in 2000. After his fathers death, Parliament quickly lowered the presidential age requirement from 40 to 34 so that the ruling Baath party could nominate Bashar Assad. His appointment was sealed by a nationwide referendum, in which he was the only candidate.
The new draft reinstates the requirement of 40 and mandates that any presidential candidate must have lived continuously in Syria for at least a decade. That would to rule out the candidacy of Syrian dissidents who have lived in exile out of fear for their lives.
It creates a certain problem for the dissidents: come to Syria and live in fear for their lives, or stay away and subsequently be scorned, after the revolution, as one who didn't share the pain.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
In the cases of dictators, the ballot should have one checkbox: Dictator to the gallows...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/16/2012 11:17 Comments ||
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THE HAGUE Eight lawyers representing the four Hezbollah members due to be tried in absentia for the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri have been sworn in, a UN-backed tribunal said Wednesday.
All the defence counsel signed a declaration that they will exercise their duties with integrity and diligence, honourably, freely, expeditiously and conscientiously, Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) said in a statement.
The Hague-based STL announced early this month that Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Anaissi and Assad Sabra will be tried in absentia for the massive February 14, 2005, car bombing in Beirut that killed Hariri and 22 others, including a suicide bomber.
The STL sent arrest warrants for Ayyash and the three others to Lebanese authorities in June, and Interpol issued a red notice in July. But the authorities in Lebanon, where the government is dominated by the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah militant group, have failed to arrest them.
They'll do so five minutes after Pencilneck is deposed and killed...
Ayyash, 48 and Badreddine, 50, face charges of committing a terrorist act by means of an explosive device and homicide, while Anaissi, 37, and Sabra, 35, face charges of conspiring to commit the same acts.
Created by a 2007 United Nations Security Council resolution at Lebanons request, the STL opened its doors in 2009 and is tasked with trying those suspected of responsibility for Hariris assassination. Hezbollah has denied involvement.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/16/2012 00:00 ||
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(Naharnet) - Iran announced new strides in its nuclear program on Wednesday, in a defiant blow to U.S. and EU pressure to rein in its atomic activities and amid signs of an increasingly vicious covert war with Israel over the issue.
President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad unveiled on state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
what was described as Iran's first domestically produced, 20-percent enriched nuclear fuel for Tehran's research reactor.
He also said 3,000 more centrifuges had been added to his country's uranium enrichment effort.
And Ahmadinejad said that uranium exploration in Iran had been stepped up and a new yellowcake processing factory would be "pre-launched" next month.
Officials said new-generation centrifuges had been installed at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility that are able to produce three times more enriched uranium than previous models.
Bomb them now. Friday before the start of the Sabbath would be nice, for the sake of the Orthodox missiliers.
The developments underlined Tehran's determination to forge ahead with nuclear activities despite tough sanctions from the West -- and despite speculation that Israel or the United States could be months from launching military strikes against Iran.
Iran portrayed the advances as evidence it was only interested in peaceful nuclear goals, under the slogan "nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for none."
#5
I think some of the libs in Foggy Bottom running our Middle Eastern policy would rather eat glow in the dark caviar than eat anything raised or grown in Israel.
It seems to me that the only thing keeping all of the Iranian nuke sites from being glow in the dark smoking craters is the US heel dragging and sniveling around espousing a "diplomatic solution."
The libs and most diplomats never learn you cannot negotiate a treaty with someone who will either not negotiate or has no intention of honoring the treaty once the ink is dry.
We could have put an end to this crap in Iran years ago.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/16/2012 12:23 Comments ||
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#6
#5 - or, per Spengler's rule #1: A man or a nation at the brink of death does not have a "rational self-interest
#7
NEWSMAX > {USDNI Director LTG Ronald Burgess] US INTEL CHIEF: IRAN UNLIKELY TO START [any]CONFLICT, unless it is attacked or provoked first.
* Also from NEWSMAX > PANETTA: ISRAEL SHOULDN'T ACT ALONE ON IRAN. US SecDef Leon + German DM Thomas De Maiziere'.
Various Perts + Bloggers around the MSM-Net feel similarly, i.e. believe Israel can't + shouldn't attack Iran by itself.
* SAME > [Sky News] FEAR IRAN HELPING ["core" = Ayman] AL-QAIDA FOR SPECTACULAR ATTACK, agz the US-West, e.g. 2012 London Olympics, in retaliation for any US or Israel milstrike on Iran or revenge for the successful US SEAL-led raid on Osama Bin Laden at Abbottabad.
(Naharnet) - Syria's Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... has decreed to hold a referendum for a new constitution on February 26, the official SANA state news agency reported on Wednesday.
Don't we have a Supreme Court justice we can lend out for the effort?
"President Bashir al-Assad issued today a decree setting Sunday, February 26, as the date for the referendum on the draft constitution," SANA reported.
Syrian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said the new constitution would allow the "people to govern the people" under a new multi-party democratic system.
It said that under the proposed text, freedom is "a sacred right" and that any violation of personal freedom is considered a crime punishable by law.
On Sunday, a commission tasked with drawing up a new constitution submitted a draft charter to Assad, SANA reported, adding he would review it and send it to the People's Assembly before a vote.
In January, Assad said a new constitution was being drawn up by a committee set up in October to replace the current one, which enshrines his Baath party's dominant role.
At the time, he said it could be put to a popular vote as early as March, although that date for the ballot has now been brought forward.
Syria's government lifted a state of emergency in April last year and in July adopted a law allowing a multi-party political system.
(Naharnet) - Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... on Wednesday declared the death of the Taef Agreement which ended the 1975-1990 civil war in Leb, calling on Syria's ruling Baath Party to leave power.
At a seminar organized by the Friends of Kamal Jumblat Association on the topic of "The Rise of Islamists and Fundamentalism to Power in the Arab Countries", Jumblat reassured that "the revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya -- which were liberated from the chains of the regime -- are not in danger."
"But we fear for Syria, where we heard about a miracle today, which was the issuing of a new constitution and abolishing Article 8" of the old constitution, which stipulates that the ruling Baath Party is the "leader of the state and society."
"The Baath Party is replicating itself and the best thing for it to do is to step down," Jumblat added.
Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... has decreed to hold a referendum later this month for a new constitution that would effectively end nearly 50 years of single party rule, state media said Wednesday.
"President Bashir al-Assad issued today a decree setting Sunday, February 26, as the date for the referendum on the proposed constitution," the official SANA news agency reported.
Assad has said the constitution would usher in a "new era" for Syria, the agency reported.
Under the new charter, freedom is "a sacred right" and "the people will govern the people" in a multi-party democratic system based on Islamic law, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported.
Criticizing Russia and China, which have recently used a rare double veto at the U.N. Security Council to block a resolution condemning Assad's brutal crackdown on dissent, Jumblat said the two countries want Assad to remain in power in order to preserve their interests.
"They have refused any Yemen-style settlement and the situation will become worse should the bloodshed persist," he added.
Addressing the Lebanese situation, Jumblat said: "The Taef Accord is dead, we need a 'new Taef' between the Sunnis and the Shiites, hence a new settlement."
However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... he reassured: "We don't fear a civil war and we don't foresee a civil war and there is dialogue among the Lebanese."
Jumblat's remarks come one day after ex-PM 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 liquidation. 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. reiterated adherence to the 1989 Taef Accord during the rally held by the March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... forces to mark the seventh anniversary of the liquidation of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.
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.
(Naharnet) - Sacked South Sudanese members of the Sudanese military pelted motorists and police with stones and blocked traffic on Wednesday to protest delays in their severance pay, witnesses said.
Hazam al-Thahb, Yemeni tribal chief from the southeastern Yemeni town of Rada, which was briefly taken over by al-Qaeda militants, killed his younger brother, Tariq al-Thahb, a high-profile leader in AQAP.
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat -- The latest session of the trial of the 85-member terrorist cell accused of being responsible for the 2003 
Zawahiri
(Naharnet) - Jordan has given assurances to 
David Cameron
ANKARA - A former head of Turkey's armed forces is to go on trial after judges agreed on Wednesday there were sufficient grounds to prosecute him on charges of attempting to overthrow the government.
A U.S. embassy employee was released after being held for questioning in Pakistain on Tuesday when airport security officials discovered bullets in his luggage, police said.
QUETTA: The Functional Committee of Senate on Human Rights on Wednesday expressed its serious concerns over violation of human rights in Balochistan and suggested laws to curb the powers of intelligence agencies. The committee also expressed its concern over the recovery of mutilated bodies of missing persons, target killings of labourers, doctors, teachers and increasing incidents of kidnapping for ransom in the province.
(Naharnet) - India will next month test a new long-range nuclear-capable missile which can strike targets more than 5,000 kilometers away, a defense research 
Mahmoud 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Walid 
