BAIDOA, Somalia -- Bashir was a true believer, a foot soldier who recently quit after seeing too many innocents slaughtered. Ahmed deserted the Shabab because he wanted a real family, not just a bunch of heavily armed, sociopathic militants who called themselves a "family," he said. And young Nurta was a slender assassin, with a bright purple scarf and wide, seemingly innocent eyes.
"There is no life with them," said Nurta, who like other Shabab defectors requested that her last name not be used for fear of reprisals.
Even before its leader was cut down in an American airstrike in September, the Shabab militant group in Somalia, once one of Al Qaeda's most powerful franchises, began unraveling. In the past few months, the group has been shedding territory — and fighters.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Good news! One wonders how many will return to civilian life, chastened by the experience, and how many will turn up in the currently fashionable jihadi battegrounds like Iraq/Syria, Yemen, and Nigeria.
Uganda has suspended 15 of its senior military commanders over their conduct in Somalia, including allegations of sexual exploitation, the army said.
I'm guessing they also had white Toyota Land Cruisers and sumptuous guest houses...
The suspension on Thursday comes in the wake of a damning report by Human Rights Watch which has accused troops with the internationally funded African Union force in Somalia, AMISOM, of preying on vulnerable women and girls.
"We are doing a general appraisal on performance of the force," Uganda's defence and army spokesman Paddy Ankunda told the AFP news agency.
"It's not sexual harassment alone," he said, but added the concerns were "one aspect we are looking at".
"Those are allegations. We are investigating. Until the investigations are completed that's when we will know their involvement [in sexual abuse], but for now they are suspended," he said.
The 22,000-strong AMISOM force comprises soldiers drawn from six nations, and has been fighting alongside Somali government troops against al-Shabab fighters since 2007. AMISOM donors include the United Nations, European Union, Britain and the United States.
The Human Rights Watch report quoted several women as saying they had gone to the AMISOM camp seeking medicine for their sick babies, but were then forced to have sex. The vulnerable women largely came from camps in the capital Mogadishu, having fled rural Somalia during a devastating famine in 2011.
African Union chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has already ordered an investigation into the allegations, and the probe is due to be completed by November 30. The pan-African bloc, however, has also accused Human Rights Watch of being unfair and inaccurate, and of undermining peace efforts in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
What do you have to do in Uganda to get charged with sex crimes?
Scratch that. I don't want to know.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
11/08/2014 19:06 Comments ||
Top||
[Libya Herald] The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) has deemed the Supreme Court decision to dissolve the House of Representatives as invalid because it believes that the ruling came under duress as judges were bullied by members of the armed militias that are occupying the capital.
"The Supreme Court has made a fatal mistake in this ruling," NCHRL rapporteur Ahmed Abdilhakeem Hamza told the Libya Herald.
Hamza also pointed out that the original appeal was made regarding the decision by the House of Representatives to convene in Tobruk rather in Benghazi, as originally planned, yet the Court's ruling had nothing to nothing to do with this. Rather, it was decided that the parliamentary elections were illegal, which in turn made the House of Representatives illegitimate.
"This call was an extremely hard blow to the Libyan judicial system and has strengthened the hold of the armed militias on the capital," stated Hamza.
Hamza went on to say that the decision had come against the will and free choice of the Libyan people, who were the true source of power.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) under Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni has warned that all gangs that have taken over government buildings in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... will be brought to justice.
The MoJ said in a statement that these groups in Tripoli, as well as those that are practicing bribery, destroying property and misusing financial and other resources that do not belong to them i would be brought before the courts in Libya and maybe even before an international court.
The MoJ appealed to international human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... groups to track the abuses and violations committed in public and in prisons by gangs. The latter plea is believed to be a reference to the alleged abuse in Misrata's prisons, reported this week by human rights' monitors.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Massive demolition of homes in attempt to evict thousand, angering locals; Egyptian gov't wants to destroy Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, smuggling tunnels
Egyptian troops are pressing ahead with the demolition of hundreds of homes along the border with the Gazoo Strip, cutting off electricity and firing warning shots in the air in a heavy-handed campaign to evict thousands of residents from the volatile area.
The forced evacuations in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula are further alienating a restive population with longstanding grievances against the government of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, raising the risk of more violence in the lawless region.
Continued on Page 49
#5
Once more, we lose "beggar-my-nachbar,"
And what have we won? A new Nakba!
In mourning disaster,
Will we irk Mo's Master
By hollering, "Anyhoo... akbar?"
[BELLANAIJA] Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Friday said that Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... principles and beliefs were not in line with Islamic tenets.
Aregbesola said this while inaugurating the Central Mosque of the state House of Assembly in Osogbo.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor also performed the Juma'at prayers at the new mosque.
Aregbesola said that a true Moslem would not kill innocent people.
He said Islam is a religion that required fear of God, respect for human lives, good character as well as working in line with God's directives.
"What we are doing today is the way to fight for the cause of Allah, not the way the Boko Haram sect members are doing it.
"lslam is a religion of peace, love for mankind and respect for human lives," he said.
The governor commended members of the Assembly for constructing the mosque, saying that the gesture would be a legacy for future generations.
He said the simplicity and functionality of the mosque were two attributes that a Moslem must copy in the development of worship centers.
The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Najeem Salaam, commended the governor for his wisdom in running the affairs of the state.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi has announced the lineup of a new cabinet in the country following a UN-brokered deal with Ansarullah revolutionaries, also known as the Houthis.
On Friday, the Yemeni leader unveiled the new 37-member cabinet, including Prime Minster Khaled Bahah, 29 newcomers and seven ministers who served in the previous government.
The newcomers include Defense Minister Major General Mahmoud al-Subaihi, a top army commander in southern Yemen, Foreign Minister Abdullah al-Saaidi, a veteran diplomat, and the country's first female Information Minister Nadia al-Saqqaf.
The new cabinet also includes members of the Shia movement of Ansarullah.
The announcement came hours after tens of thousands of Yemeni people erupted into the streets to protest against US interference in the country's internal affairs.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[ARABNEWS] The Ministry of Culture will begin taking action against a number of satellite TV channels found broadcasting programs hostile to the government and people of the Kingdom, revealed a source from the ministry.
According to the source, the ministry said neighboring states from which such channels are broadcast must bear the responsibility of limiting their activities. The Kingdom will take action against these channels if the governments of these countries fail to rein them in.
The source made the remarks after the recent decision of Abdel Aziz Khoja, former minister of information, to close down the office of the Wesal TV channel in Riyadh for promoting violence, hatred and sectarian division.
The source confirmed that action was taken against Wesal TV to prohibit the broadcasting of its programs in 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... , stressing the ministry will not tolerate any channel promoting such hostility in society.
Article VI of the Regulations of the General Authority for Audio and Visual Media, which was established in September 2012, stipulate conditions of obtaining a license to open a representative office for a channel within the Kingdom. According to the regulations, a license can be canceled or rescinded by the licensing authorities for programs considered unacceptable.
The General Authority for Audio and Visual Media is responsible for monitoring programs and ensuring they are in compliance with media policies of the Kingdom.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Oh, hell! I was hoping this was here.
I got some nominees...
Posted by: ed in texas ||
11/08/2014 7:30 Comments ||
Top||
Saudi Arabia's royal-appointed advisory council recommended to the government for the first time that the blanket ban on women driving be lifted, but with conditions. Only women over 30 will be allowed behind the wheel and only until 8pm each day, and no makeup allowed while driving, a council member said Friday.
The Shura Council's recommendations are not obligatory on the government. But simply making the recommendation was a startling shift after years of the kingdom staunchly rejecting any review of the ban.
The driving ban, which is unique in the world, is imposed because the clerics say licentiousness will spread if women drive. The Shura Council made the recommendations in a secret, closed session held in the past month.
The conditions also require that a woman driver wear decent dress and no make-up, the official said. Within cities, they can drive without a male guardian in the car, but outside of cities, a male is required to be present.
The council said a "female traffic department" will have to be created so that a woman officer would deal with female drivers if their cars broke down or faced assaults, the council member said. It recommended the female traffic officers be under the supervision of the "religious agencies."
The driving ban has long forced families to hire live-in drivers for women. Women who can't afford the $300 to $400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or the doctor.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[ARABNEWS] Bangladesh's largest Islamic party faces an existential crisis after a series of body blows, including the sentencing to death of its leaders and abandonment by its main secular ally, say analysts.
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... (JI) has bucked the trend after failing to banish the taint of siding with Pakistain in Bangladesh's 1971 independence war.
And with its spiritual leader having recently died in prison, brass hats languishing on death row and a muted response to protest calls, observers say JI itself could be on its last legs.
"JI has no future unless it transforms itself into a new party and finds a new leadership that can effectively mobilize people and shake off its war-time legacy," Dhaka-based analyst Ataur Rahman told AFP.
"The sooner it comes to realize this, the better for the party," added Rahman, a former professor at the State University of New York.
Although Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. 's Awami League and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have dominated politics since independence, JI has been a kingmaker and served as a junior coalition partner as recently as 2006.
But its growing marginalization was sealed last year when it was banned from a general election after judges ruled its charter conflicted with the country's secular constitution. That ruling further inflamed supporters already fuming over the trials of around a dozen leaders accused of war crimes in the 1971 conflict.
Around 500 people were killed in political violence last year, both in the aftermath of war crimes verdicts and the build-up to January's election which the BNP boycotted.
But although Jamaat's mobilizations last year were a show of strength, the subsequent violence alienated the public.
The first verdicts last year saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets. But there was a tepid response to calls for protests and a strike last week issued after JI assistant secretary general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman's appeal against his death sentence was rejected.
The International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic court, also sentenced JI's supreme leader Motiur Rahman Nizami ...During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami formed the Al-Badr Force and acted as its supreme commander. The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, looting and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them... and a key financier to death in October.
While the verdicts triggered sporadic violence, it was nothing on the scale of last year.
To compound JI's woes, there are now signs the BNP -- led by Hasina's arch rival and former Premier the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... -- is turning its back on its one-time partner in government.
The BNP refrained from condemning the recent verdicts, even though one of its own leading lights has been sentenced to hang.
Its failure to offer condolences after the death of Ghulam Azam, JI's 92-year-old spiritual leader who died last month after being convicted of war crimes, underlined the cooling in relations.
The BNP has "realized that it will alienate a big part of the electorate if it continues to support tainted JI leaders," Rahman said.
Headed by Azam during the war, JI opposed the secession of the then East Pakistain from Islamabad and branded the struggle for independence as a conspiracy by India.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[ARABNEWS] US congressional officials say they're expecting a more than $5 billion request from President Barack Obama The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesnât. But she is a typical white person... 's administration to pay for munitions and other military requirements to combat Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... turbans who have seized control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
The $5.6 billion request was expected to be a top item on the agenda of Friday's meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders.
The funding comes on top of an earlier $58.6 billion request to cover overseas military operations in the war on terror.
US national security adviser Susan Rice, meanwhile, said the US is not engaged in military coordination with Iran in countering Islamic State forces.
Rice, at a White House briefing, responded to a report that President B.O. had written a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei about Islamic State by saying, "We are in no way engaged in any coordination -- military coordination -- with Iran on countering ISIL."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
This is what's called 'being conflicted'. Not too long ago, they were giving money to the extremists.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
11/08/2014 7:32 Comments ||
Top||
#2
See article this morning entitled; "Is the man in the White House Mentally ill."
[DAWN] The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Inspector General of Police Nasir Khan Durrani has suspended a police official, and ordered departmental inquiry against him for alleged corruption and malpractices. He was directed to report to the central police office here.
A police front man on Friday said that the IGP had been receiving complaints against the SDPO Serai Naurang in Lakki Marwat for corruption and malpractices for some time. He got the senior coppers of Lakki to ascertain if the allegations were true. The police officials in their secret reports confirmed the complaints against the SDPO were based on facts. In light of the reports, the KP police chief suspended the police official.
The police front man said the IGP nominated regional police officer, Bannu as inquiry officer and directed him to submit the repot at the earliest so that further action could be taken against the erring official.
He said that during the current year over 450 police personnel of different ranks had been either sacked or suspended for their involvement in different cases of corruption, negligence and violations of police rules.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] KARACHI: The police investigation into the recent case of alleged forced conversion in Daharki has been shifted to Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , it emerged on Friday.
The parents of the alleged victim, Anjali Kumari Meghwar, met the Sindh police chief on Friday.
The police chief gave orders for the transfer of the case to Karachi.
The case will now be taken over by SSP of south Faizullah Korejo under the supervision of DIG Abdul Khaliq Sheikh.
Kundan Lal Meghwar, father of Anjali Kumari, will soon file a petition in the Sindh High Court for the trial of the case to be transferred from Ghotki to Karachi. According to reports, Anjali Kumari was kidnapped from her home, converted and married off to a Moslem man a week ago.
The family has moved to Karachi to seek refuge from increasing threats they allegedly faced in Daharki and to pursue the case. Sindh police chief Ghulam Hyder Jamali told Dawn that the family sought the transfer of the case as they had certain 'doubts'.
He said that a "fair probe purely based on merit" would be ensured in the case. He said there was nothing unusual about the case transfer as the police rules allowed transfer of a case if the complainant was not 'satisfied'.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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More than 600 U.S. service members told military medical staff that they believe they were exposed to chemical warfare agents in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, The New York Times reported Thursday. Pentagon officials said the department will now expand its outreach to veterans and establish a toll-free hotline for reporting potential exposures and seeking medical evaluation or care, the newspaper said.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an internal review of military records after the Times reported in October that U.S. troops encountered degraded chemical weapons from the 1980s that had been hidden or used in makeshift bombs. The initial newspaper report disclosed that 17 service members had been injured by sarin or sulfur mustard agent, and several more came forward after the story appeared, the Times said Thursday.
The Army's Public Health Command collects standardized medical-history surveys, known as post-deployment health assessments, which troops fill out as they complete combat tours, the newspaper reported. Those who responded "yes" to a question about exposure to such warfare agents — "Do you think you were exposed to any chemical, biological and radiological warfare agents during this deployment?" — were asked to provide a brief explanation.
The review ordered by Hagel showed that 629 people answered "yes" to that question and also filled in a block with information indicating chemical agent exposure, Col. Jerome Buller, a spokesman for the Army surgeon general, told the newspaper. Each person who answered the questionnaire would have received a medical consultation at the end of their combat tour, Buller said.
#1
The lack of data on veterans' pre-deployment and immediate post-deployment health status and lack of measurement and monitoring of the various substances to which veterans may have been exposed make it difficult—and in many cases impossible—to reconstruct what happened to service members during their deployments nearly 20 years after the fact.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_syndrome
What is significant is servicemen from different nationalities report markedly different degree symptom prevalence. Wiki aArticle does not indicate where in Iraq they served, however.
[IsraelTimes] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, announced the creation of a âpopular armyâ in the Gazoo Strip on Friday, saying it was ready for any future conflict with Israel, particularly over the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque site at The Temple Mount.
At a ceremony at the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the devastated Paleostinian territory, a front man for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades â the military arm of the Islamist Hamas â said 2,500 recruits would form âthe first section of the popular army for the liberation of Al-Aqsa [mosque] and of Paleostineâ.
Mohammed Abu Askar, a Hamas official, said those older than 20 could sign up âto be prepared for any confrontationâ with Israel.
Hamas and Israel fought a 50-day war this summer which resulted in the deaths of 2,140 Paleostinians â at least half of them combatants, according to Israel â and 73 Israelis, the majority of them soldiers.
Abu Askar said the new Hamas force had been established "at a moment when the Al-Aqsa mosque is subject to serious Israeli violations".
Another Al-Qassam front man said "the people, arms and the tunnels are going well", in reference to Hamas's network of underground passages, hundreds of which have been destroyed by Israel and Egypt to prevent arms smuggling, and which were used during Operation Protective Edge to attack Israeli troops.
#2
Whenever I hear about a popular army I think about Obola's desire for a domestic army as strong as the real military. These are nothing more than the gangs of the fascists vicious and evil.
[Iran Press TV] Foreign gunnies are increasingly going to Turkey through booking tickets on cruise ships to join Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... groups in neighboring Syria and Iraq, Interpol has warned.
"Because they know the airports are monitored more closely now, there's a use of cruise ships to travel to those areas," Pierre St. Hilaire, the director of counterterrorism at Interpol, said on Thursday.
He added that the international police body has evidence that "the individuals, especially in Europe, are traveling mostly to [the Turkish coastal town of] Izmit and other places to engage in this type of activity."
Turkey has come under international criticism for allowing thousands of foreign gunnies to join Takfiri groups such as ISIL, which has captured large areas across Iraq and Syria.
"It's a global threat -- 15,000 fighters or more from 81 countries traveling to one specific conflict zone," St. Hilaire said.
He noted that some 300 gunnies from China have joined terrorist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq.
Speaking at an Interpol meeting in Monaco this week, Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble confirmed that Turkey was a destination for the terrorists.
The outgoing Interpol chief also called on countries to step up screening at "airports and, more and more, cruise lines" to halt the flow of gunnies to the war-torn countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/08/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
No need to put down bait, they're now coming on their own.
#2
Good, when they concentrate they make an easier target. Rounding up their imams and mullahs, who are the real cause of dissatisfaction (aka Salafism) and the principal battle commanders, and leveling their arsenals/TOCs (aka mosques) would really cause them to concentrate.
#3
More evidence of Turkeyu being a hostil nation, and deserving of treatment of such. Kick Turkey out of NATO now, rescind all military treaties and aid. Clamp down economically, and arm the Kurds. Make Erdogan and his cronies howl.
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.
[Libya Herald] The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) has deemed the Supreme Court decision to dissolve the House of Representatives as invalid because it believes that the ruling came under duress as judges were bullied by members of the armed militias that are occupying the capital.
[Iran Press TV] Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi has announced the lineup of a new cabinet in the country following a UN-brokered deal with Ansarullah revolutionaries, also known as the Houthis.
[ARABNEWS] Bangladesh's largest Islamic party faces an existential crisis after a series of body blows, including the sentencing to death of its leaders and abandonment by its main secular ally, say analysts.
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
