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India orders deportation of 10 French nationals over Maoist links
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Melinda Clarke aka Julie Cooper in "The O.C. (TV 2003–2007)" aka Jessica Priest in "Spawn (1997)" aka Amanda in "Nikita (TV 2010-2012)" aka Candy in "La lengua asesina (The Killer Tongue)(1996)" aka Starring in "Cold Sweat (2002)" (age 44)



Rasty
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 04/24/2012 1:29 Comments || Top||

#2  nice boots!
Posted by: Glaitch Bucket5471 || 04/24/2012 3:51 Comments || Top||

#3  whimper.

How do those stay up with all the strings untied?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/24/2012 8:26 Comments || Top||

#4  Using my garden entrance is she?
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/24/2012 8:30 Comments || Top||

#5 

Don't forget Lady Heather.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 04/24/2012 11:02 Comments || Top||

#6  AKA Nandi in Firefly episode "Heart of Gold"

Go ahead, baby - show me your guns.
Posted by: mojo || 04/24/2012 11:08 Comments || Top||

#7  Something's going on over london....

An AWACS plane just flew over, followed by what looked like a JSTARs both with very tight fighters on the left and right. F16s on the AWACS, tornados on the JSTAR.

Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/24/2012 12:45 Comments || Top||

#8  They were on a landing path for Heathrow, although a bit lower than normal. Which is odd.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/24/2012 12:48 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Somali Pirates Free Italian Chemical Tanker
[An Nahar] Somali pirates have released an Italian chemical tanker with 18 crew captured off the coast of Oman in December, the foreign ministry in Rome said on Monday.

The Enrico Ievoli, owned by Naples-based shipping company Marnavi, was carrying caustic soda from the United Arab Emirates to the Mediterranean and has seven Indians, six Italians and five Ukrainians on board.

"The foreign ministry confirms the release of the crew of the Italian ship 'Enrico Ievoli' off the Somali coast," the ministry said in a statement.

Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi was quoted as expressing his "great satisfaction" and said it was part of "a wider diplomatic effort carried out also with Somali authorities in recent months."

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in February asked his Somali counterpart Abdiweli Mohamed Ali to do "everything in his power" to ensure the release.

"This incident is further confirmation of the gravity of the security threat posed by the phenomenon of piracy," Terzi said on Monday.

Ship owner Domenico Ievoli was quoted by ANSA news agency as saying: "The ship has already left Somalia and there are Italian military on board."

An Italian warship met the Ievoli after it came out of Somali waters and sent a party of armed marines aboard to protect it on the remainder of its journey.

The Ievoli, a 138-meter (453-foot) vessel, was carrying 15,750 tons of caustic soda when it was hijacked in the Indian Ocean.

The Italian navy, which is taking part in anti-piracy operations in the region, had already thwarted an attack on the same ship in 2006 near Yemen.

Three other hijacked Italian vessels were freed from Somali pirates in November and December, two of them reportedly following ransom payments, among dozens of ships that have been captured in recent years.

There are no Italian vessels now in Somali captivity but pirates still hold hundreds of hostages and dozens of ships.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Pirates

#1  The article doesn't say how much they had to pay the pirates.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 04/24/2012 11:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Ebbang Uluque6305, that's because the release was due entirely to diplomacy (wink, wink!)!
Posted by: American Delight || 04/24/2012 20:28 Comments || Top||


EU warships escort WFP vessels to Somalia coast
(Sh.M.Network)- Launched in 2008 to prevent and repress the increasing acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast and in the Indian Ocean, the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
's Naval Force Somalia -- Operation Atlanta has so far tossed in the calaboose and transferred for prosecution 117 suspected pirates and in 2011 disrupted 27 pirate action groups.

As piracy in the Western Indian Ocean has been a threat to security and international shipping, EU NAVFOR -- Operation Atlanta has been able to provide protection to vessels of the World Food Programme (WFP) delivering food aid to displaced persons inSomaliaand has escorted 155 WFP ships carrying about 900 metric tons of food toSomalia.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Pirates

#1  Now we have "pirate action groups"?

Do they have lobbyists?
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/24/2012 15:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Launched in 2008 with 117 pirates. That's 30 pirates a year, or 2 and a half pirates a month..

Better than nothing, but surely there's a more economical & effective solution..
Posted by: American Delight || 04/24/2012 20:33 Comments || Top||


Somali security forces block Mogadishu streets
(Sh. M. Network)- People in Mogadishu woke up on Monday morning hundreds of TFG security forces being put into the streets across Mogadishua head of the anniversary of armed forces.

Forces were seen patrolling streets and ordering people to stay at doors until the operations will be ended. This has affected locals to go this morning to their Business centers and educational institutions in Mogadishu.

"There were heavy army presence this morning at KM4, Ex-control Afgoye junction and as well as airport street. People have been asked to remain in their houses. The police and military jointly were conducting searches at houses to maintain security," a resident told Shabelle Media.

The capital, which has been at the heart of a four-year insurgency between beturbanned fascisti and the Western-backed government, was packed with security forces on Monday to prevent Al shabab from attacking government forces during their anniversary.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Puntland forces conduct anti-Al shabab operation at Galgala Mountains
(Sh. M. Network)- heavily armed forces from Somalia's semi-autonomous state of Puntland
...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion...
have on Monday conducted major operations against Al shabab fighters in Galgala mountainous hide outs in Barri region.

Cabdullahi Mohammed Donyale, the security advisor of Puntland president Abdirahman Farole told news hounds in Garowe town that Puntland has began this operations after Al shabab has shifted its guerilla- style warfare in Galgala, a small town that strategically located 40 Km away south of port town of Bosaso.

"I call on people in Puntland to stand firmly with the forces to avert attacks from Al shabab cut-throats against government buildings and as well as civilian targets. Al shabab seem to bee regrouping in Galagal Mountains after they were defeated in south and centralSomalia," he added.

Hundreds of residents in Galagala area started fleeing from the town to saver areas in Puntland in fear of battle between Punland forces and Al shabab myrmidons.

Al shabab fighters have sought refuge in the mountainous region of Puntland which remains relatively free of local or international police or military forces. They are publicly declaring their relocation, recruitment drive and intention to oust the government of Puntland.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab

#1  Puntland, I salute you.
Posted by: American Delight || 04/24/2012 20:27 Comments || Top||


Sudanese warplanes strike at South Sudan border towns
(CNN) -- Sudanese warplanes crossed a disputed border region to strike Monday in South Sudan, escalating fighting that threatens to return the neighboring African countries to full-scale war, a witness said.

A Sudanese military commander, Kamal Marouf, was quoted by Radio Sudan's website as saying that more than 1,200 South Sudanese had been killed.
It's a shame the South Sudanese can't get itself an air force. Too bad the Ruritanians aren't in a position to help.
A Sudanese military front man denied that Sudan had used military aircraft to bomb the south. "We have nothing to do with what's going on in Unity state," he said, implying that militias or South Sudanese rebels were behind any fighting.

The report of the bombing of the towns of Bentiu and Rubkona came days after South Sudan pulled its troops at the request of the United Nations
...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involves making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country...
from the disputed oil-rich region of Heglig, though Sudan says its soldiers retook the area from South Sudanese soldiers.

Two fighter jets fired four missiles at the neighboring towns, divided by a river, hitting an open-air market and killing at least one person, said journalist Alan Boswell, who is in Bentiu.

Boswell was in his car crossing the bridge between the two towns when anti-aircraft fire erupted. That was followed, he said, by missile strikes. "I saw one boy who about 10 years old who was completely burned," he said. "There are other casualties."

The remains of thatch-covered stalls in Rubkona smoldered for hours after the morning bombing, Boswell said.

In a statement, South Sudan Information Minister Banaba Marial Benjamin said that three bombs had struck a market in Bentiu, killing two civilians, including a 12-year-old boy.

"The Security Council must take its responsibility and punish the Republic of Sudan for continuing this aerial bombardment and the violation of the airspace of Sudan," he said.

Soon after, the United Nations called for Sudan to halt the aerial bombings after what it described as four morning attacks, including one on the capital of oil-rich Unity state.

"These indiscriminate bombings resulting in the loss of civilian lives must stop," said Hilde F. Johnson, special representative of the secretary-general for South Sudan, in a statement.

the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
condemned the bombardment and called on Sudan to cease all hostilities immediately, a front man for the secretary-general said in a statement.

He called on Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir
Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
and South Sudan's President Salva Kiir "to stop the slide towards further confrontation and urges both sides to return to dialogue as a matter of urgency," the statement said.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission said one of its helicopters was in the air during the 8:30 a.m. attack on Bentiu, the Unity state capital.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan

#1  Lets hope a shipment of anti-air missiles are on its way from Israel.
Posted by: phil_b || 04/24/2012 6:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Are they still handing out medals and awards to Obama's supporters for bringing peace?
Posted by: Woozle Sforza2495 || 04/24/2012 8:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Lets hope a shipment of anti-air missiles are on its way from Israel

A lot cheaper and more effective than setting up an air force.

Are they still handing out medals and awards to Obama's supporters for bringing peace?

Speaking of awards, congratulations - you've won Irrelevant Comment of the Day.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/24/2012 10:55 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Algeria says kidnapped diplomats are doing well
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Seven Algerian diplomats kidnapped in Gao in northeastern Mali are in good health, Algeria's foreign minister said Monday, adding that contacts had been established with the kidnappers.

The Algerian consul and six colleagues were seized April 5 and taken to an unknown destination in a brazen kidnapping claimed by Al-Qaeda dissident group, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).

"The information we've received shows the Algerian hostages are doing well," Mourad Medelci told state-run news agency
...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?...
APS.

He said Algerian authorities were in contact with kidnappers and were monitoring the health of the hostages.

"We expect this will soon bear fruit," he said.

A Mali security official in Bamako told AFP that an Islamist group, led by a Malian Tuareg, was negotiating their release with MUJAO.

Ansar Dine, one of the groups that has seized control of much of northern Mali, "is currently involved in negotiations to free the seven employees from the Algerian consulate in Gao," the security official said.

Islamist fighters and Tuareg rebels seized Mali's vast north in the days following a coup in the capital Bamako.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Africa Subsaharan
AQAP Sets April 30 As Final Deadline To Execute Yemeni Troops
AQAP, alQaeda's branch in Yemen, set April 30 as the final deadline to execute about 73 soldiers who were incarcerated during raids on military posts in Abyan
...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues...
province in early March.

In a statement distributed in Jaar, one of the cities held by faceless myrmidons in Abyan and quoted by media, the group said this deadline came after it had decided to execute the soldiers.

The group declared the decision in public and put posters over the decision in Jaar on Monday, according to locals.

Earlier, al-Qaeda demanded the release of its members held inside the political security jails in return for freeing the soldiers.

Meantime, media outlets have reported the decision on the executions came after disagreements between leaders inside AQAP. Some leaders suggested releasing the soldiers but others saw AQAP has the right to determine their fate, reports said.

The few days ago, two national human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
organizations warned the soldiers were facing the danger of execution.

The HOOD and al-Karama organizations, which sent an activist team that visited the soldiers last year, revealed al-Qaeda was threatening to kill ten soldiers a week. The government has not made comment.

The government is currently battling the faceless myrmidons in Abyan and other southeastern regions killing and injuring hundreds of them.

With direct support from the US, the army in association with popular fighters has advanced toward towns, which were held by faceless myrmidons in mid-2011 including Zinjibar, the capital, taking over many areas and positions.

In early March, faceless myrmidons raided some military posts in Abyan killing and abducting scores of soldiers and looting military equipment.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Arabia
Interior Ministry to activate coastal patrols
[Yemen Post] Yemen's Interior Ministry has sated that it ordered the Coastguards Authority to activate its patrols in all Yemeni coasts and seize any suspicious boats, stressing the significance of securing Yemen's coasts.

In its online website, the ministry made it clear that the new measures aim at ending any crimes, illegal immigration, and drug trafficking and combating piracy.

It further said that its directions came on the base of information about the existence of an unidentified vessel at a distance of 6-7 miles off Al-Qasht island of Hajja governorate located beside Saada governorate in which the Houth rebels centre.

The New Times Newspaper has recently said Iran increased its political outreach and arms shipments to the Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates....
rebels and other political figures in Yemen as part of what American military and intelligence officials describe as a widening Iranian effort to extend its influence across the greater Middle East.

The US Ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein had voiced concern about Iran's efforts to raise security and political troubles in Yemen, pointing out that Iran interferes in Yemen's affairs through supporting Houthis.

Yemeni authorities said it seized in February a weapon-loaded Iranian ship while it was en route to the Houthi fighters nearby the Hodeidah port, a Saudi newspaper, Alwatan has affirmed, affirming that the ship included mortar launchers, anti-armor shells and other weapons.

Meanwhile,
...back at the game, the Babe was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally it hit him...
Somali pirates have kidnapped nine Somalis last week while they were fishing in the territorial water of the Arabian Sea, Yemen's Interior Ministry has said.

Media sources stated that 57 ships were hijacked in the Yemeni territorial waters with 225 failed hijacking attempts in 2010.Seaborne gangs have been exploiting political turmoil in Yemen to smuggle fuel, and possibly other supplies including food.

Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia

#1  And what does Iran sayeth to this naval activity by Yemen, espec as per ...

* WORLD NEWS > IRGC NAVY COMMANDER SAYS IRAN IS [a Gulf, Regional "Supervisor"] DOMINANT POWER IN THE [Persian Gulf +] STRAIT OF HORMUZ.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/24/2012 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  This AM ...

* WAFF > {Defensetech] IRAN PRETENDS TO CONTROL THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ, i.e. both Entrances as well as Exits.

IMO prolly more correct to say its being DIALECTIC, as per NEO-PERSIANISM + SHIA-LED OWG CALIPHATE; + ALSO "SHAPING THE BATTLEFIELD" AGZ ANY POTENS US-LED GROUND INVASION VEE ITS NUCPROGS, i.e. keeping US CVNS/CVBGS + Gator Navy + Sealift, etc. outside of the main Gulf + in the Sea of Oman or beyond = "KILLING ZONE".
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/24/2012 21:43 Comments || Top||


Officer Assassinated In Hadramout
[Yemen Post] Gunmen assassinated on Monday a Yemeni officer in Hadramout
...the formerly independent Qu'aiti state and sultanate, annexed by Communist South Yemen in 1968, encompassing a region along the Gulf of Aden, extending eastwards to the borders of the Dhofar region of Oman. The people are called Hadhramis and speak Hadhrami Arabic. The city Tarimis estimated to contain the highest concentration of descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (PTUI) anywhere in the world, approximately seven in every square yard...
province and bravely ran away, newsyemen.net reported, quoting a security source.

Major Adnan Ukaish, deputy director of the drug combating department in the eastern province of Hadramout, was killed by unidentified gunnies after noon Monday, the website said.

"The gunnies intercepted the car of the officer in the Ghail Bawazeer area and shot him dead," it said, quoting the security source as saying an investigation was launched into the incident.

In recent years, many officers and troops have been killed in wide-spread attacks on security and military targets in southern and eastern regions.

With some blamed on and claimed by al-Qaeda, gunnies held ambushes for commanders, carried out suicide kabooms on security offices and military camps and targeted checkpoints, convoys and patrols.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Governor: We need fatwa against militants
[Yemen Post] The former governor of Abyan
...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues...
, Ahmed Al-Maysari, has demanded Yemeni holy mans to issue a fatwa against Ansar Al-Shariah (Supporters of the Islamic Law), a group linked to Al-Qaeda.

In remarks to the London-based Al-Sharaq Al-Awsat Newspaper, he asked religious scholars to issue a clear-cut fatwa against criminal acts committed by Islamic fascisti in Abyan.

Al-Maysari affirmed that the military could separate Zinjibar from Jaar, the two towns that are considered the main strongholds of the group in Abyan.

Confrontations have been continuing between Ansar Al-Shariah and the Yemeni Army in the outskirts of Zinjibar, leaving dozens of both sides killed and maimed.

Local sources affirmed that the army could control on the southeast of the town and could reach to the hear of the town after air-fighters launched strikes on the town.

The Defense Ministry affirmed that it is determined to expand its military operations to the neighboring town of Jaar , ensure the return of the displaced persons and impose security and stability.

The ministry affirmed that 32 Al-Qaeda Islamic fascisti were killed during two days of raids against Lawdar, stressing that many veteran leaders of Al-Qaeda.

Military sources have said strikes targeted vehicles in the desert, destroying one and partly disabling another, pointing out that third vehicle was able to escape.

They further said President Abdurabu Mansour Hadi
...the second and possibly the last president of Yemen, successor to former President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh...
ordered to send military reinforcements to fight Al-Qaeda amid an objection to use US drone in the military attacks by some members of parliament.

Gerald Feierstein, the U.S. ambassador to Yemen, during a presser at the embassy on Sunday attributed the army's progress to changes made by President Abdurabu Mansur Hadi in the military's leadership.

Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Suspected abductors of French arrested
[Yemen Post] Security services have managed to arrest five suspects who kidnapped a French aid worker in Al-Zaidiah of Hodeidah governorate on Saturday night, security sources said.

The sources said that the suspects were held on Sunday night at a checkpoint of Al-Qanawas located in port city of Hodeidah, pointing out that three of the arrestees are from Shabwah governorate and one of Saada. They did not spoke about the identity of the fifth one.

The kidnapped French is an aid worker of the International Committee of the Red Thingy as he was travelling from north Yemen to the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, the ICRC said on Sunday.

Media sources said the French was with two Yemeni drivers who were released shortly afterwards.

Yemeni analysts did not rule out that terrorist groups were behind the abduction of the man, indicating that most the captors were from Shabwah governorate that Al-Qaeda are active.

A Swiss woman working as a teacher was also kidnapped in Hodeida in March. French news agency AFP reported that she is being held by al-Qaeda after being taken to the far eastern province of Shabwa.

Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.
If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!...

the fate of a Saudi diplomat, Abdullah Al-Khalidi, kidnapped in the port city of Aden is still uncertain after three weeks of abduction.

The diplomat have been holding by Al-Qaeda for three weeks after being kidnapped outside his home by Al-Qaeda cut-throats who called for the release of cut-throats held in Saudi prisons in return for his release.

The Saudi Embassy in Sana'a has cautioned against plans of Al-Qaeda to target it, asking all its officials and employees to be alert and take all precautions, diplomatic sources said.

Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Houthi leader: We will participate in Yemen's National Dialogue
[Yemen Post] Yemen's Chief Prosecutor, Ali al-Awash, referred to the Military justice a complaint by the Air Force members calling for arresting commander Muhammad Saleh, who has rebelled against a decree removing him from his post by President, Hadi.

Spokesman for the Air Force, Major Abdul Rahman al-Hilali, said the decision by the prosecutor was good, though the man has just avoided responsibility.

"The decision to arrest and try al-Ahmer, a half-brother of ex-president Saleh, remains good because the Yemeni people realize no one has that authority to prosecute military commanders," he continued.

The complaint of the forces suggested the arrest and the stripping of the military ranks of and a trial for al-Ahmer. It also called for a decision by the chief prosecutor to prevent him from travel and seize his properties.

Within the reforms inside the armed forces according to a power transfer deal sponsored by the international community, President Hadi issued weeks ago decrees firing senior army commanders including relatives of Saleh.

The relatives of Saleh including the commander of the Air Force refused to leave their posts, in a move that triggered skepticism about the ability of the new government to control the situation. Some senior commanders within the army and the securit systems are relatives of Saleh including his son, Ahmed, the commander of the elite republican guard.

In response to the rebellion of the commanders, Hadi warned to strip them of their military ranks and turn them over to a military court.

The countries sponsoring the power transfer deal, which ended turmoil in November, announced their support to Hadi and warned anyone trying to hinder the deal.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Britain
Five men arrested in Luton on terrorism charges
Five men have been arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, Scotland Yard said.

Anti-terror police swooped on a series of different addresses before dawn as part of a 'pre-planned, intelligence-led' operation.

The men, aged 21, 23, 24, 25 and 30, were all arrested at separate homes in Luton this morning and have been taken to a central London police station for questioning.
Posted by: tipper || 04/24/2012 17:17 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Nuevo Laredo enters 3rd day of fighting

For a map, click here. For a map of Tamaulipas state, click here

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A reported third day of gunfights between Mexican Army units and armed suspects took place in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas Monday afternoon, according to various Mexican news reports.

As of Monday evening gunfights between Mexican Army soldiers and armed suspects were reported on the road to the airport in Nuevo Laredo. Earlier Twitter reports had mentioned two international bridges were the locations of roadblocks put up by drug gang shooters, but it was later confirmed that the bridges mentioned were the two bridges that lead to the airport.

Reports from El Norte news daily website Monday evening claimed a number of dead and wounded armed suspects at the hands of army troops, but those reports will remain unconfirmed. All Mexican federal government entities are under restrictions under Article 41 of the Mexican Constitution not to publish government propaganda during federal elections.

At least one pursuit and gunfight took place on Avenida Reforma at about 1530 hrs when a Mexican Army road patrol encountered a convoy of armed suspects travelling aboard several pickup trucks. Attempts by the army patrol to pursue were stopped as taxis, trucks and cars were, presumably carjacked, left in the path of pursuing security forces.

Roadblocks have been reported throughout the commercial zone, including Paseo de la Reforma hotel, avenidas Monterrey and Lago de Chapala, the airport roads and the road to Piedras Negras, Coahuila or Mexico Federal Highway 2.

Roadblocks have also been reported in Bulevar Luis Donaldo Colosio and near the intersection of Avenida Reforma and Cesar Lopez de Lara.

Nuevo Laredo is generally considered to be Los Zetas territory, but that drug gang has been under considerable pressure from Gulf and Sinaloa drug cartel operatives, who have threatened to end Los Zetas' dominance in the city.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Mexican Army bags 3 bad guys

For a map, click here. For a map of Nuevo Leon state click here For a map of Monterrey, click here

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Three unidentified armed suspects died in an encounter with Mexican Army troops in Cadereyta municipality, Nuevo Leon Monday morning, according to Mexican news reports.

The shootout took place near the intersection of Calle Mango and Avenida Naranjo in Huertas del Sauc colony. The army unit had been dispatched to the area three kilometers from the La Boca-El Castillo road on reports of a criminal group operating in the area.

The road patrol observed a suspect run into a residence at about 0600 hrs after the patrol had been spotted. Shooting began shortly afterwards. Mexican Army counterfire killed two armed suspects inside the residence. A third armed suspect died while attempting to flee aboard a parked sedan.

The firefight lasted about ten minutes. Afterward it was determined that two more suspects had been in the house, but fled into the bush.

Soldiers seized a stolen Dodge Stratus sedan, one AR-15 rifle, one AK-47 rifle and an undisclosed quantity of AK-47 ammunition found in the vehicle.

Milenio news daily in its website Monday evening reported that two more Cadereyta city workers were shot to death Saturday afternoon less that five kilometers from where three other city workers were murdered. The two victims, identified as Alfonso Gonzalez Leal, 42 and Omar Garcia Mata, 59, worked for the Cadereyta Secretaria de Desarrollo Social or Ministry of Social Development.

The report said that the two workers were travelling aboard a Nissan Tsuru sedan near the village of El Castillo on the Allende-Cadereyta road when they were attacked, presumably while still on the move. Their vehicle was attacked from behind.

Cadereyta is about ten kilometers east of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national politicial news for Rantburg.com
Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Death in Durango: 9 die

For a map, click here. For a map of Durango state, click here?

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Four individuals, three of them unidentified, were found shot to death in a remote location in Durango state Sunday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.

One of the dead was identified as Israel Diaz Martiniano, 43 from the village of Garrame de Arriba. The four were found a few meters from the Los Herrera-Topia road in the Durango Sierras, but Durango state authorities have failed to disclose a more accurate location.

Five other individuals were killed in Durango state in ongoing drug and gang related violence.
  • A father and his son were shot to death in an apparent home invasion last Thursday morning in Gomez Palacio. Armando Cardoza Marrufo, 64 and José Armando Cardoza Gutierrez, 31 were shot to death at a residence on calle 16 de Septiembre in Filadelfia, colony as they resisted an apparent attempt by armed suspects to steal their vehicles.

  • A man in his 20s was shot to death in Durango city last Saturday night. Manuel Alejandro Rodriguez Gonzalez, 27, was travelling by foot along calle Vicente Guerrero in Insurgentes colony when two suspects aboard a motorcycle shot him twice, once in the chest and once in the head. Three 9mm spent shell casings were found at the scene.

  • Two men were shot to death and another two were kidnapped in Mapimi municipality Saturday night. Ignacio Montelongo Cardenas, 36 and Edgar Roberto Alvarado Montelongo, 19 were attempting to buy alcohol in the village of Bermejillo when several armed suspects travelling aboard two vehicles fired on them. The suspects also took two other unidentified individuals and fled the scene. A total of 18 spent shell casings for a .223 AR-15 rifle and 15 from an AK-47 rifle were found at the scene.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
India orders deportation of 10 French nationals over Maoist links
[Dawn] Indian police have ordered the deportation of 10 Frenchies who they say worked with a non-governmental organization that supports Maoist bad turbans.

Police official Paras Nath said the Frenchies violated their tourist visas by working for Unity Forum in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.

Nath said the group was flown to New Delhi on Monday and would be deported.

The Frenchies were jugged in a densely forested area of Bihar where Unity Forum had organised a meeting of local farmers.

Unity Forum says it works to protect the land and water rights of the poor.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Police shoot dead 'two sectarian killers' in Balochistan
[Dawn] Pak police rubbed out two people allegedly involved in sectarian violence in the troubled southwestern province of 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...
, officials said Monday.

Anti-Islamic fascisti officers in the province, a flashpoint for violence between Pakistain's majority Sunni Moslems and minority Shia's, gave chase after they tried to approach the suspects in a Toyota car which sped away.

The suspects then abandoned the vehicle and tried to escape into fields under the cover of fire, provincial police chief Qazi Abdul Wahid told AFP.

"An ensuing gunbattle police potted the pair," he said, adding that the encounter took place near Quetta's suburban Akhtarabad neighbourhood which lies close to the Shia Hazara community. Police recovered six pistols and one hand grenade from the suspects.

"We firmly believe they are hit mans who had been on some mission. They belong to some bad boy group involved in sectarian violence," Wahid added.

Around 35 people have been killed in Balochistan over the past month in what police called assassinations by gunnies from the rival Moslem sects.

The minority Shia's account for around a fifth of the country's 167 million population.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Jhangvi


Southeast Asia
US commander reaffirms defense treaty with Philippines
Hat tip to Rantburg regular Joseph Mendiola. Thank you, sir!
A top US commander in the Pacific reaffirmed the mutual defense treaty between the Philippines and the United States on Sunday amid increased tensions between the archipelago and China.

In the strongest comments yet from an American official on the South China Sea dispute, Commander of the US Marines in the Pacific Lieutenant-General Duane Thiessen said, "The United States and the Philippines have a mutual defense treaty which guarantees that we get involved in each other’s defense and that is self explanatory."

Thiessen was replying to a question about whether the US would help if Chinese forces attacked Philippine units over conflicting claims to the Scarborough Shoal which have sprung up recently.

The US commander also stressed that US-Philippine military exercises that began last week were neither directed at China nor linked to territorial tensions. He said, "There is no direct linkage. There is no tie between Scarborough Shoal and US movement in the Pacific."

His comments came after Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Albert del Rosario issued a call for other countries to take a stand on China’s alleged aggressiveness in the region.

He said, "Since the freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce in the (South China Sea) are of great import to many nations, all should consider what China is endeavoring to do in the Scarborough Shoal. All, not just the Philippines, will be ultimately negatively affected if we do not take a stand."

The standoff in Scarborough Shoal began on April 8, drawing attention to the annual joint military exercise this year. A Coast Guard ship and two Chinese vessels are still facing off over the two countries’ conflicting claims to the shoal.

Del Rosario said yesterday the current dispute is China’s way of showing that it can set the rules for any country. He said the sea situation is a manifestation of a "larger threat to many nations".

He said, "The standoff is something they should be concerned about if they are interested in maintaining the freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce in the West Philippine Sea…The bigger picture is anybody can be targeted and consequenced by this.

"I think the other nations should be paying attention to what is happening. With China claiming everything, having sovereign rights to the entire South China Sea, what’s the message? The message is – I can set the rules for anybody."
Posted by: ryuge || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Bomb attack foiled in southern Thailand
Security forces narrowly escaped death from a powerful improvised bomb buried underground in front of a village defense unit in Narathiwat province.

Hamadma Damaree, 40, a defense volunteer, was waiting for someone to replace him on shift. He sat at a marble table in front of his unit late Monday when he noticed that the dirt underneath the table appeared to have been freshly dug up and replaced. He examined the spot further and discovered what appeared to be a sheet of metal buried underneath the ground and alerted police.

Bomb disposal squad agents used a mobile phone jammer to stop phone signals in the area and spent about 10 minutes defusing the bomb. The device was made of explosives placed in a fire extinguisher and ready to be detonated by a phone signal.

The area where the bomb was hidden is a popular gathering area for police officers and defense volunteers after they finish work.

Suspect in the killing of two policeman arrested

In Yala, police yesterday arrested a man suspected of killing two policemen in 2007 in Yala province. The two were patrolling Bang Lang dam when they were ambushed.

The 37-year-old suspect, Mayalee Doka, denied the charges and told the police that he worked as a village defense volunteer reporting on the movements of terrorists separatists. However the inspector in charge said police had enough witnesses and solid evidence to back up the charges.
Posted by: ryuge || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
49 Dead in New Syria Violence, Including 34 in Hama
[An Nahar] Syrian troops killed 44 people across the country on Monday, including 34 civilians in the central city of Hama alone, monitors said, as U.N. military observers toured protest centers near the capital and both the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
and the United States imposed new sanctions.

Regime forces killed 35 people in Hama, three in the southern province of Daraa, two in the central province of Homs, one in the northwestern province of Idlib and one in the eastern protest hub of Deir Ezzor, the Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said.

The persistent bloodshed 11 days into a promised ceasefire sparked growing criticism from opposition activists of the fledgling U.N. mission which still numbers just eight observers out of a planned initial deployment of 30.

Government troops strafed Hama's Arbaeen neighborhood and its environs with light and heavy machineguns, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Video footage posted online by activists showed mortar rounds hitting the area with plumes of smoke rising skywards.

The U.N. observers visited several rebel suburbs near the capital and were met by thousands of protesters demanding the collapse of the regime.

Amateur video posted by activists on YouTube showed four of the unarmed observers in blue helmets walking in Douma, a northern suburb of Damascus
...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
, surrounded by a huge crowd waving Syria independence flags.

"The people demand the fall of the regime," some chanted while others called for the arming of the rebel Free Syrian Army.

Monitors also visited the town of Zabadani, 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of the capital, where regime forces and rebel fighters have clashed repeatedly in past months.

Fares Mohamed, an activist in Zabadani, said the observers' visit lasted barely a half hour.

"They refused to head to a location less than a kilometer (mile) from the town to see tanks hidden by the regime," said Mohamed, who was reached by Agence La Belle France Presse via Skype.

Two members of the observer advance team on Sunday set up base in the central city of Homs, scene of some of the fiercest fighting between government troops and rebels since the outbreak of the 13-month revolt against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
's regime.

The official state news agency SANA said the observers toured the battered city's al-Waer neighborhood on Monday.

U.N. leader the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
has decided that the deployment of 300 ceasefire monitors in Syria can start next week, a U.N. front man told AFP on Monday.

Following a U.N. Security Council resolution that allowed the mission, Ban was left to make an "assessment" as to whether it was safe for the monitors to go. "The decision has been taken" and the monitors should start arriving next week, deputy U.N. front man Eduardo del Buey said.

Activists have been skeptical of the U.N. mission, saying the regime was simply buying time and was not committed to the ceasefire plan.

Abu Omar, an activist in Damascus, said the observers were playing by the regime's rules by coordinating all their movements exclusively with the authorities.

"They are not coordinating with us and by not doing so, their mission does no good to the Syrian people," he told AFP. "Their mission is a failure because they are not working with people on the ground."

Despite a lull in the fighting in regions visited by the observers, the violence has continued unabated in other areas, activists say.

One civilian was killed overnight in Damascus province amid festivities between opposition and government forces, the Observatory said.

Five soldiers were also killed in festivities in Hama province and in Daraa province, south of Damascus, the watchdog added.

The United Nations
...Parkinson's Law on an international scale...
has estimated that more than 9,000 people have died in Syria since the revolt against the regime of Bashir al-Assad broke out in March last year.

In a sign of Western frustration with Damascus, the European Union agreed Monday to slap new sanctions on the regime, banning luxury goods exports and further restricting the sale of items used to repress dissidents, a diplomat said.

The extent of the luxury ban has yet to be defined but the aim is to deliver a symbolic blow against the posh lifestyle of Assad and his glamorous British-born wife Asma, another diplomat said.

"The Assad couple, as well as his inner circle and leaders of the regime, must be made to understand that events in Syria will also impact their personal lives," the source added.

Brussels also decided to expand the blacklist of dual-use goods which can be used for internal repression or for the manufacturing of equipment used for internal repression.

U.S. President Barack Obama
My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it...
ordered sanctions and visa bans for companies and individuals providing technological know-how, computers or other equipment that help Syria and its main regional ally Iran oppress their people.

Obama said in an executive order that the two nations had committed serious human rights
...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state...
abuses through network disruption and by using tracking technology and by perpetrating the "malign use of technology."

The move blocks the property and interests of people who have participated in such trade and suspends their right of entry to the United States.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Suspected cyber attack hits Iran oil infrastructure
[Emirates 24/7] Iranian authorities are investigating a suspected cyber attack on Iran's main oil export terminal, Iranian industry sources said on Monday.

The virus struck late on Sunday, affecting the main Internet and communications systems of Iran's Oil Ministry and national oil company, Mehr news agency reported.

As a precaution, the IT systems controlling Kharg island and a number of Iran's other oil facilities have been disconnected from the Internet, the report said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


UN stays in Homs on people's plea
[Emirates 24/7] Two UN observers set up base on Sunday in Homs, their front man said, a day after video footage showed residents pleading with them to stay and ensure an end to bloodshed in the Syrian city.

The front man, Neeraj Singh, said other members of the eight-member advance UN team of observers mandated to monitor the April 12 ceasefire were pursuing field visits elsewhere in the country.

"Yesterday (Saturday), the UN advance team visited Homs where they met with the local authorities and all the parties," Singh told AFP.

"The team drove or walked around the city of Homs and stopped at different locations to talk to the people.

"Following the visit, two UN military observers have now been stationed at Homs since yesterday evening."

On Saturday, their visit to Homs included a stop in Baba Amr, a rebel stronghold battered by a month-long army bombardment that killed hundreds, according to monitors, before it was retaken on March 1.

Video activists uploaded to YouTube showed at least four of them meeting with residents who begged them to stay in the central city. Its authenticity could not immediately be verified.

"Today is the first day since two months, exactly since 5 February... in Homs without shelling... without killing, without fire," one unidentified man said in the footage.

"Because of that, we want you to stay. Please stay. This is what we want. When you come, shelling stops. When you come, killing stops," he told the observers, who sat around a table displaying the tail ends of mortars and wore blue helmets and bullet-proof vests marked "UN".
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Work Accident in Syria
Lebanon's Most Wanted Sunni Terrorist Blows Himself Up

When one of Lebanon's most wanted terrorists kills himself while planting a bomb it is cause for at least some sort of grim celebration. But when the chief bomb-maker of the country's most notorious terror group self detonates while helping rebels fight in Syria, it is cause for concern.
Concern? No, pass the popcorn please.
TIME has learned that Abdel Ghani Jawhar, one of the leaders of the Sunni fundamentalist terror group Fatah al-Islam, died in the Syrian city of Qsair on Friday night. The founding cleric of Fatah al Islam, Sheikh Osama al Shihabi, confirmed Jawhar's death to TIME with a quote from the Koran:

This is not the first time that Jawhar is thought to have been killed; several previous death announcements have been retracted over the years.
Is this guy a cat, with nine lives or something?
News of his death has been relayed by multiple--and unrelated--sources in both Syria and Lebanon. According to a fellow fighter, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Ali, Jawhar had been preparing an explosive device to be used against the Syrian army, which had been attempting to enter the rebel-dominated town not far from Homs. As Abu Ali narrated the tale over Skype, the sound of bombs and explosions could be heard in the background. Jawhar's bomb went off prematurely, says Abu Ali. "He was killed directly. We wanted to send his body back to Lebanon but we couldn't because it was torn into pieces." Instead Jawhar's fellow fighters were forced to bury what was left of him in a neighboring garden because it was impossible to reach the graveyard during heavy fighting.
I just love a happy ending.
This article starring:
Abdel Ghani Jawhar
Sheikh Osama al Shihabi
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/24/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



Who's in the News
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3Govt of Syria
2Commies
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1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1Lashkar e-Jhangvi
1Govt of Iran
1Houthis
1Thai Insurgency

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On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2012-04-24
  India orders deportation of 10 French nationals over Maoist links
Mon 2012-04-23
  Kazakh court sends 47 men to prison for terrorism
Sun 2012-04-22
  Tons of Explosives Seized from Militants Planning Attack in Kabul
Sat 2012-04-21
  Sudan Rebels Kill 79 Troops, Militia in Blue Nile
Fri 2012-04-20
  8 die in Michoacan state as conflict goes hot
Thu 2012-04-19
  Qaeda leader suicide bombs himself and family in Iraq
Wed 2012-04-18
  Hadi Refuses to receive Former Yemen President
Tue 2012-04-17
  UN Camp in South Sudan Targeted by Sudanese Warplanes
Mon 2012-04-16
  US drone strike kills senior al-Qaeda Militant in Yemen
Sun 2012-04-15
  Afghan capital hit by blasts, gun attack
Sat 2012-04-14
  U.S. drone strike kills 7 al-Qaeda members in Yemen
Fri 2012-04-13
  23 Reportedly Dead as Syria Regime, Opposition Trade Charges of Breaking Ceasefire
Thu 2012-04-12
  Nork rocket launched, then 'breaks up'
Wed 2012-04-11
  Syria denounced for not adhereing to agreed peace plan
Tue 2012-04-10
  Syrian Rebel Army Ready to Respect Truce

Better than the average link...



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