[Tolo News] Local officials of eastern Khost province ... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name... on Sunday have raised concerns about a number of Pak refugees who have entered the province armed, asking the Afghan cops to confiscate their weapons.
"We don't want Pak refugees to have weapons and are asking to them handover their weapons to the Afghan cops," Deputy Governor of Khost, Abdul Wahid Patan, said. "The Afghan forces will provide security for them."
Residents of Khost have expressed their share of concerns asking the government to take care of the issue.
"We want the responsible parties to take care of this issue and the concerns of the residents," said Farid Ahmad, a Khost local.
The Pak refugees have confirmed that they are, indeed, armed and explained it was for personal and defensive reasons.
Ahmad Afridi, a Pak refugee, said they "have weapons, but since we have come to Afghanistan we will hand over our weapons to the Afghan cops."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Debate surrounding this year's presidential election has heightened in recent days following the release of further audio recordings by the Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... camp. The recordings released on Saturday allegedly include conversations that show Paktika ...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo... Gov. Mohebullah Samim trying to cover electoral fraud.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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MOGADISHU -- Federal Government of Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed who Sunday returned to Mogadishu called on residents to keep vigil on Al Shabaab activities during the holy month of Ramadan, Garowe Online reports.
Nothing like a little starvation and dehydration to work up the 'boobs...
Prime Minister said, he received intelligence briefings disclosing that Al Shabaab is planning bombings that could harm ordinary residents of Mogadishu.
"I call on Somali people to remain vigilant against Al Shabaab threats during Ramadan. The apparent rampage aimed at targeting worshippers during Ramadan is leaking but we shouldn't expose ourselves to threat," said Mohamed referring to Al Shabaab attacks which for the first day of Ramadan claimed at killed two traffic officers in Mogadishu.
Continuing, Somalia Prime Minister urged locals to work with security agencies on the plan of tight security.
Al Shabaab's representative in Banadir Ali Mohamed Hussein unveiled that they would boost their presence with assault on foreigners on Somalia soil and Somali government.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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KHARTOUM -- Sudanese authorities and U.S. officials in Khartoum are negotiating to allow a Sudanese woman, who married an American and was recently spared the death penalty for converting to Christianity, to leave Sudan, sources close to the case said.
Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, 27, was detained at Khartoum airport on Tuesday, one day after an appeals court overturned a death sentence imposed on her for having converted from Islam to Christianity in order to marry her Christian American husband. Her lawyer Mohaned Mostafa said Ibrahim, her husband and two children had all been staying at the U.S. embassy in Khartoum since her release, which was granted on the condition that Ibrahim remains in Sudan.
"There are talks going on currently between Sudanese and American officials to try to find a way for Mariam and her family to leave the country," a source close to the case said, asking not to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media.
Seems simple enough to me. Sudan grants an exit visa and the U.S. grants her and the kids refugee status. Then again, I'm not a diplomat...
Ibrahim was detained on Tuesday for trying to use documents issued by the embassy of South Sudan to fly out of Khartoum with her American-South Sudanese husband and their two children.
Despite lifting her death sentence after huge international pressure, Sudan still does not acknowledge Ibrahim's new identity as a Christian South Sudanese because it does not recognise her marriage. Muslim women are not permitted to marry Christian men under the Islamic laws that Sudan applies.
"The talks now are aiming to get her out of Sudan on a Sudanese passport," the source said.
Ibrahim's husband Daniel Wani told Reuters that it was a "misunderstanding" and error when Sudanese authorities said her travel documents were invalid, adding that his wife should have the right to adopt his South Sudanese nationality.
"There is diplomatic work going on and the Sudanese government offers help and cooperates in this matter," Wani said in a phone conversation with Reuters. "We will leave this time in a smooth manner and with travel documents that the Sudanese authorities accept."
A U.S. spokeswoman said on Thursday before Ibrahim's release that Ibrahim had all the documents she needed to travel to the United States.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
perhaps Sudan needs to lose a vital electrical/hydro installation?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/30/2014 21:02 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Mauritania's highest court on Sunday confirmed the victory of incumbent leader Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz in presidential polls, and rejected an appeal calling for the results to be annulled.
"The candidate Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz was elected President of the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Mauritania in the first round of the presidential election," the chairman of the constitutional council, Sgheyir Ould M'barek, said during an official ceremony.
The chairman added that 57-year-old Abdel Aziz had won "an absolute majority of votes cast" in the June 21 election.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] An Egyptian and two Israelis, including an intelligence officer, will be tried by an Egyptian court for allegedly "spying" for Israel, judicial sources said on Sunday.
The Egyptian is in jug and the two Israeli "runaways" are to be tried in absentia, the sources said. The date of the trial has yet to be fixed.
Five Egyptians, a Jordanian engineer and seven Israeli intelligence officers are already on trial on charges of "spying" for Israel. The seven Israelis are also being tried in absentia.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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Egypt will restrict Ramadan sermons to topics of faith and morality, the state's top official in charge of religious affairs said on Sunday, in the latest move limiting political speech in the deeply polarised country.
Mohammed Mokhtar Gomaa said the decision should ensure that sermons during holy month of fasting "unite people, not divide them," compared to what he described as a more politicised past when the country was run by an Islamist president.
"The religious speech was politically driven, which affected the moral side," he told reporters at a news conference on the first day of the observance. "Now we're in a race against time trying to restore morals."
Pious Muslims spend longer times at the mosques during the month, which they devote to prayer, charity and good deeds.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
One would think Muslims would enjoy the novelty.
[An Nahar] A Saudi citizen kidnapped in Yemen has been sprung by his abductors and returned home on Sunday after "huge efforts" to secure his release, the foreign ministry said.
In a statement carried by the official SPA news agency, the ministry gave no details on when Ayedh bin Jibran Mikali had been kidnapped or who had kidnapped him.
It said only that he was released "following huge and painful efforts."
Saudi media reported that Mikali had been kidnapped by a Yemeni tribe, but gave no further details.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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Prosecutors in Russia have asked a court to sentence the former mayor of Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian republic of Dagestan, to 13 years in jail. Said Amirov is charged with involvement in plotting a missile attack against a plane carrying Sagid Murtazaliev, the head of the Russian Pension Fund's branch in Dagestan, and of organizing the 2011 murder of Investigative Committee official Arsen Gadzhibekov.
Amirov was arrested in June 2013. He denies the charges.
Amirov became Makhachkala’s first elected mayor in 1998. He has survived more than a dozen assassination attempts, one of which, in 1993, left him paralyzed.
The Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party has recently issued an order that all privately grown crops must be destroyed.
North Korea has a cooperative farming system where individuals are, in principle, banned from owning farms or smallholdings. Nevertheless, many individuals cultivate their own crops, and this is done quite openly.
But there have been serious differences in production success this year, according to sources; it has been a good year for privately owned plots, particularly in the regions of Hamgyong, Chagang and Yanggang provinces; but famine conditions have been witnessed on state-run cooperatives.
State security agents are said to have reported to the Central Committee that 'private agriculture is becoming dangerously widespread.' In response, the instructions given by the Committee has been to destroy all crops on private fields. Labour and student groups have now been mobilised to cut down privately grown crops, as these have been grown on the 'private gardens of capitalism.'
Even recently, Pudgy Kim Jong-un is seen to have expressed worry about the food situation. But with this latest move, which again prioritises the enforcement of the Party's political control mechanisms over providing duty of care, public sentiments regarding the leadership is said to have taken a hit.
Sources report that even in group situations, North Korean individuals are heard asking questions such as, 'How can [Kim Jong-un's] belly be so round when he is reduced to eating potatoes out of concern for his people?'
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds like the NORKS got a classic infestation of Kulak wreckers. There is only one known cure for this problem.
#2
Viewed in Washington as a missed opportunity. Individual initiative and productivity must always be discouraged through onerous agency permits, burdensome taxation, and fines. What were they thinking ?
Pudgy only has a hammer, and so everything is a nail.
Though contrite North Korean officials humbly bowed after the recent building collapse in Pyongyang, they are offering no apologies for the impending destruction along the Sino-North Korean border. According to South Korean media reports, North Korean authorities are planning to demolish all structures within 200 meters along a 270-kilometer stretch of the border with China. The initiative specifically targets Ryanggang Province and the provincial capital, Hyesan, which has served as a major defection route in recent years. Ostensibly, buildings will be leveled and homes destroyed to make way for a new road, though many believe the true intention is an intensified border crackdown aimed at preventing defections, smuggling and a growing influx of information from the outside world.
North Korean officials are unlikely to be able to provide alternative accommodations for the thousands of border residents displaced by the new road. Thus, the mass demolitions will likely exacerbate mounting tensions in the region and perpetuate the increasing privatization of illicit activities (pdf) by North Korea’s elite, who are “feeding off the suffering and deprivation of the population.”
The border has also become increasingly vulnerable. Some border guards will not only stand watch during defections for as low as $40, they will literally carry people across the river for an extra $20. The North tried installing tens of thousands of CCTV cameras to thwart smugglers and defectors, but the footage can be erased for a bribe. Even more ominously for the regime, top-secret North Korean military data, including wartime plans and electronic warfare guidelines, are being sold to “information traders” in the Chinese border region.
Within the context of these border complications, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is faced with a ceaseless dilemma: the burgeoning private economy and cross-border information flows pose existential threats to his rule, but smuggled goods help stave off economic collapse while accompanying bribes appease corrupt, disgruntled officials.
The young leader seems more preoccupied with the former consideration, and has made tightened border security the hallmark of his new regime. Following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in December 2011, 20,000 additional soldiers were dispatched to the Sino-North Korean border, people caught fleeing were executed, and families of defectors were dragged off in the middle of the night amidst a “brutal” border atmosphere. A host of additional measures by North Korean authorities – including enhanced border surveillance techniques and modifications within the security apparatus – appear to be working in some respects, as the number of North Korean refugees reaching South Korea has significantly declined since Kim Jong-un took power.
On the other hand, outside information and smuggled foreign goods have continued to filter into the country via the long, porous border with China for years, despite numerous efforts to the contrary. This made Kim Jong-il so concerned that he initially hatched the border demolition scheme. At the time, however, smuggled goods made up a large percentage of North Korea’s underground market economy, meaning too many North Koreans – including an array of security personnel – would be suddenly plunged into even greater destitution.
Ultimately, the plan was scrapped, but Kim Jong-un has taken it upon himself to revive his father’s idea. In March, Radio Free Asia reported that North Korean authorities appeared to be preparing for the demolition of structures along the border with China, as they began marching into homes and seizing the property owners’ deeds. The justification at the time was to clear space in order to plant grass along the border, but in April, Kim Jong-un reverted to the original plan of constructing a new road.
The regime has mobilized the military to carry out these “urgent” border endeavors, which will supposedly be achieved by September, but North Korean authorities are infamous for failing to complete grand public works projects. In one instance, officials announced in 2009 the construction of 100,000 new homes in Pyongyang, but cut the target in 2011 to only 20,000 homes due to a lack of funds and building materials. By 2013, the project was completely abandoned. Moreover, many people lost their homes to make way for the failed housing project, and some of the poorly constructed buildings collapsed, causing injury and death.
It appears that residents of Ryanggang will soon be (further) afflicted by Pyongyang’s poor planning and utter disregard for the welfare of its people. In a country plagued by a dismal economy, food shortages, and declining foreign aid, one can only imagine how the leadership will justify this new road to nowhere.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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North Korea fired two projectiles Sunday that "appear to be short-range missiles" into the sea off the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean Defense Ministry official told CNN. The launch took place shortly before 5 a.m. (4 p.m. ET Saturday), according to the official. The projectiles' estimated range is 500 kilometers (about 300 miles).
A U.S. State Department official reacted to Saturday's launch, telling CNN, "We call on North Korea to refrain from taking provocative actions and instead fulfill its international obligations and commitments."
This is the second reported launch by North Korea in recent days. On Thursday, U.S. and South Korean government officials reported North Korea had launched three projectiles from its southeastern coast.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[Iraq Sun] U.S. President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... says terrorist-fueled militancy in Iraq and Syria is boosting an already-omnipresent threat to America's security at home.
Iraq's beleaguered military launched an offensive against Sunni snuffies in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, as a shipment of Russian military jets arrived in the country that could give the armed forces a tactical edge going forward.
While the bloody sectarian conflict rages on, President B.O. said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... is attracting radicalized Death Eaters in both Iraq and Syria who could pose a threat to the United States.
"They are gaining strength in some places. We have seen Europeans who are sympathetic to their cause traveling into Syria, and now may travel into Iraq, getting battle-hardened. Then, they come back. They have got European passports. They do not need a visa to get into the United States," said Obama, speaking on ABC This Week program.
The situation calls for preemptive measures, according to Republican Congressman Peter King ...U.S. Representative for New York's 3rd (central Long Island) congressional district, serving since 1993. He is of the Publican persuasion and is known for his active support for the IRA Irish republican movement... .
"[Obama] should be very aggressive on this. Syria is our biggest threat right now, because not only are there thousands of Europeans who have visas to enter the United States, going to Syria, there are also at least 100 or so Americans who are over there in Syria right now. So, any of these people can go back to the United States and carry out the type of attack that they are being trained in, in Syria," said King.
The United States stands ready to act, according to President B.O..
"We are spending a lot of time, and we have been for years, making sure that we are improving intelligence so we can respond to that [threat]. We have to improve our surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence there. Special forces are going to have a role [to play], and there are going to be times where we take strikes against organizations that could do us harm," said Obama.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Fear notteth, Amerika, COMMUNISM + TOTALITARIANISM + MORE OBAMA "RED LINES" are coming to save the day from American-empowered Nuclear Hard Boyz.
'Tis why Amerikans will no longer need to privately own any guns.
#2
The situation calls for preemptive measures, according to Republican Congressman Peter King.
Here's a "preemptive measure." Sit back, sip a pint, and let them sort out their own affairs. If they move toward the Jordanians or Kuwaitis, use B-52's in tight formations to carpet bomb the MSR's and staging areas.
#5
I await breathlessly a new round of security financing and the queuing of "homeland security companies" owned by campaign contributors patriotic citizens.
[DAWN] Expressing reservation about the launch of military operation in North Wazoo Agency without timeframe, the all-party conference organised by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... government here on Saturday warned that the continuation of the offensive for indefinite period would be dangerous.
"Launching military offensive without planning and timeframe was not correct. Its continuation for indefinite period will be dangerous," said a joint declaration issued after the conference.
Chief Minister Pervez Khattak presided over the event, where leaders of all major political parties, including 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... , Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...the political wing of the Pak Taliban... -Fazl, Awami National Party founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism.... , Pakistain People's Party and Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... , were in attendance.
The conference was convened to discuss the launch of the Zarb-e-Azb military operation in North Waziristan and its impact on Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, especially its law and order situation.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Though another foreign airline diverted its Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. -bound scheduled flight to Islamabad on Saturday, the Civil Aviation Authority is confident major foreign airlines will resume flights for the quiet provincial capital next week.
CAA manager (public relations) Abid Kaimkhani told Dawn that foreign airlines, which had temporarily stopped flights for Peshawar, would decide about resumption of flights shortly.
"They (foreign airliners) will make a decision on July 1 and we're waiting for it. We hope they'll resume flights for Peshawar very soon," he said.
Kaimkhani said a few airlines had diverted flights from Peshawar to Islamabad after attack on a commercial flight in Peshawar lately and security had been improved at vulnerable points at and around the city's Bacha Khan International Airport since then.
Three world-class airlines, including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Ittehad, have suspended flights for Peshawar in the wake of a gun attack on Pakistain International Airlines' Airbus A-310 during landing at the Peshawar airport on Tuesday night.
The flight with 196 passengers and 10 crew members on board was coming from Riyadh (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... ) when it was fired upon on the city's outskirts, leaving one woman passenger dead and two stewards injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Only cargo flights with very well insured aircraft. (So, which episode of 'Death Wish' are we doing today?)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/30/2014 8:09 Comments ||
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#2
Flights will resume once we figure out how to carve an airplane from a solid block of Kevlar(tm).
Sincerely, the airlines.
[DAWN] Religious segments from Shia and Barelvi sects have demanded that the government reopen the Bari Imam shrine, located in the federal capital.
"We do not want to make a fuss over the matter in the wake of the military operation, otherwise we would give a protest call from our mosques," G-6 Imambargah ...since Pakistain is very religiously correct™, Shia Moslems can't call their houses of worship 'mosques,' which are reserved for Sunnis. It's not clear if imambargahs are used for explosives storage like mosques are... Information Secretary Naeem Abbas said.
Speaking at a presser here at Markazi Imambargah in G-6, members of the management committee demanded that local administration should open the shrine to the public immediately.
"The shrine has been sealed since May 29, when an bomb was discovered there," Abbas said, and continued, "So it is for security reason — but then why not shut down ministries, cop shoppes and even the roads, since bombs have been found everywhere."
He said that the Imambargah management has contacted various mosques and seminaries belonging to the Barelvi sect and held a meeting with the local administration.
He added that a protest call is the last option, and also expressed support for the ongoing operation in North Wazoo. He said that the elimination of dangerous forces is an urgent requirement.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The army gave a final call on Saturday to all tribal people stranded in North Wazoo to leave the area as air force planes carried out bombings and artillery shelled hideouts, leaving 19 suspected Death Eaters dead. The army claimed arresting a man suspected to be an Al Qaeda hard boy.
"Most civilians have been evacuated from North Waziristan. To make sure that there are no innocent civilians still left in the area, announcements are being made that any tribal person who may have stayed back for any reason should leave," a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations said.
According to the Fata Disaster Management AuthÂoÂrity, 456,508 displaced persons have been registered at Sadgai checkpoint so far.
There are reports that some civilians have stayed back to protect their property.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... on Sunday visited the Islamabad International Airport to view newly inducted A320 aircraft into fleet of Pakistain International Airlines (PIA) after a period of almost ten years.
On the occasion, the Prime Minster offered his all out support for making PIA as one of the leading airlines of the world.
He said that he would like to see more Paks travelling in the national flag carrier which should be the preferred choice of passengers.
He also emphasised on providing best services to passengers and expressed his best wishes for the success of PIA.
Special Assistant to the PM on Aviation Shujaat Azeem, Managing Director PIA Muhammad Junaid Yunus and Director Flight Operations PIA Captain Qasim Hayat accompanied the Prime Minister during the visit, said a blurb.
Sharing his views the PM said "It's pleasing to see the new aircraft being inducted in PIA fleet and prayed that with the present initiatives being taken, PIA will soon be revived to its past glory".
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Buy here pay here, one way okay, cash is fine for ID.
[DAWN] The massacre of 10 foreign climbers on Pakistain's "Killer Mountain" a year ago came after a failed attempt Curses! Foiled again! to capture a Chinese-American to use him as a high-value bargaining chip, officials and bully boy sources have said.
The June 22 attack at the base camp for the 8,126-metre Nanga Parbat, Pakistain's second-highest mountain — nicknamed for its treacherous terrain — was the deadliest assault on foreigners in the country for a decade.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] A joint-declaration made after the All-Party Conference (APC) held by Pakistain Awami Tehrik (PAT) on Sunday asked for Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... 's resignation over Lahore's Model Town incident, where a violent clash had broken out between police and PAT supporters earlier this month.
The joint-notification issued by the APC participants asked for the dismissal of all government machinery involved in the incident and called to for the president to suspend those who fails to do so. It demanded for a commission empowered enough that could summon the prime minister as well.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The krazed killer onslaught that has overrun swathes of Iraq is even more dangerous than a brutal period of sectarian killings in which tens of thousands died, an official said Sunday.
"Now, the danger is definitely more... than 2006, 2007," Amr Khuzaie, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Maliki imposed order on Basra wen the Shiites were going nuts, but has proven incapable of dealing with al-Qaeda's Sunni insurgency. Reelected to his third term in 2014... 's national reconciliation adviser, told Agence La Belle France Presse, referring to the height of the Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict.
Before, krazed killer groups sparked a "sectarian war, but now (the) war is more organized" and the abilities of the snuffies are greater, Khuzaie said.
"ISIL wants to form a... state from provinces in Iraq and provinces in Syria," he said, referring to jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... , which has spearheaded the krazed killer offensive that has overrun chunks of five provinces this month.
ISIL is also a major force in the rebellion against Syria's Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... , and controls territory inside Iraq's neighbor to the west as well.
Though they are performing better now, Iraqi security forces wilted during the initial krazed killer offensive, in some cases shedding uniforms and abandoning vehicles in their haste to flee.
The withdrawal of federal security forces allowed Iraqi Kurds to take control of a swathe of disputed northern areas that Storied Baghdad has long opposed them adding to their autonomous three-province region.
Iraqi Kurdistan aims to keep control of these areas, with regional president Massud Barzani declaring the territory dispute finished.
Khuzaie had harsh words for the Kurds' actions during the crisis, saying that they "acted as ISIL acts (because) they want to obtain the disputed areas."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
crises is more dangerous partly because of al Maliki but also for other reasons (e.g., the US Prez)
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/30/2014 0:44 Comments ||
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Part of an omnibus article from Reuters on the current situation in Iraq.
In a stunning political intervention on Friday that could mean the demise of Maliki's eight-year tenure, powerful Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani urged political blocs to agree on the next premier, parliament speaker and president before a newly elected legislature meets in Baghdad on Tuesday.
Saudi King Abdullah pledged in talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to use his influence to encourage Sunni Muslims to join a new, more inclusive Iraqi government to better combat Islamist insurgents, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday.
Abdullah, of course, continues to play both sides in the conflict...
Abdullah's assurance marked a significant shift from Riyadh's unwillingness to support a new government unless Maliki, a Shi'ite, steps aside, and reflected growing disquiet about the regional repercussions of ISIL's rise.
Thinking that their dog might slip its leash...
"The next 72 hours are very important to come up with an agreement ... to push the political process forward," said a lawmaker and former government official from the National Alliance, which groups all Shi'ite Muslim parties.
The lawmaker said he anticipated internal meetings by various parties and a broader session of the National Alliance including Maliki's State of Law list to be held through the weekend. Some Sunni Muslim parties were to convene later on Saturday.
Iraqi Sunnis accuse Maliki of freezing them out of any power and repressing their community, goading armed tribes to support the insurgency led by the fundamentalist group ISIL. The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region has also said Maliki should bow out.
Sistani's entry into the fray will make it hard for Maliki to stay on as caretaker leader as he has since a parliamentary election in April. That means he must either build a coalition to confirm himself in power for a third term or step aside. Sistani's message was delivered after a meeting of Shi'ite factions including the State of Law coalition failed to agree on a consensus candidate for prime minister.
Maliki, whose State of Law coalition won the most seats in the April election, was positioning himself for a third term before the ISIL offensive began. His closest allies say he still aims to stay, but senior State of Law figures have said he could be replaced with a less polarizing figure.
"It's a card game and State of Law plays a poker game very well," said the official from the premier's alliance. "For the prime minister, it will go down to the wire."
Under Iraq's governing system put in place after Saddam's overthrow, the prime minister has always been a Shi'ite, the largely ceremonial president a Kurd and the speaker of parliament a Sunni. Negotiations over the positions have often been drawn out: after the last election in 2010 it took nearly 10 months for Maliki to build a coalition to stay in office.
Divvying up the three posts in the four days before parliament meets, as sought by Sistani, would require leaders from each of Iraq's three main ethnic and sectarian groups to commit to the political process and swiftly resolve their most pressing political problems, above all the fate of Maliki.
Allies of Maliki said Sistani's call for a quick decision was not aimed at sidelining the premier but at putting pressure on all political parties not to drag out the process with typical infighting with Iraq facing disintegration. Even so, they acknowledged Sistani was not happy with Maliki's policies.
“It is other groups telling Sistani they cannot accommodate Maliki for a third term. Sistani doesn't want to get involved in who is the next prime minister, but there has to be progress," said one official from Maliki's State of Law list.
The roadmap is far from smooth. Kurds have yet to agree on a candidate for president and the Sunnis, long riven by intense rivalries and shaken by the loss of their cities to militants, are divided among themselves over the speaker's post.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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Iraq said it received the first batch of Sukhoi warplanes from Russia as it pressed a counter-attack on Sunday against Sunni militants whose offensive threatens to tear the country apart.
The arrival of the fighter jets comes with Iraqi forces, backed by aerial cover, pushing to retake the militant-held city of Tikrit and world leaders urging a speeding up of government formation following elections in April.
The Su-25 ground attack jets are expected to be pressed into service as soon as possible, bolstering Iraq's air power as it combats a sweeping offensive by militants, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), that has killed more than 1,000 people and sparked a humanitarian crisis with hundreds of thousands displaced.
But it remains unclear who will fly them — executed dictator Saddam Hussein's air force had Su-25s, but even if they were both trusted and willing, those pilots are unlikely to have had time in the aircraft in more than a decade.
Wonder if any Iranian 'volunteers' have air time in the Sukhoi...
#2
Did they include a trainload of ordinance, or will the Iraqis be buying from Fingerhut?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/30/2014 8:13 Comments ||
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#3
The SU-25 was designed to counter the US A-10. It's good, but nowhere near as effective as the A-10 (no GAU-8). It will work well enough against Islamic snuffies. The Russians used them in Afghanistan, but not very effectively.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/30/2014 11:44 Comments ||
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#4
It does have a nice 30mm cannon on it, but as OP says... nothing replaces the GAU-8.
For operations against 3rd world enemies, the SU-25 is a pretty decent aircraft. Nice load, nice handling and rugged.
[Ynet] Israel cannot trust any other country to protect it from ISIS threat, prime minister says; he also calls for fence on the eastern border.
Israel needs to maintain military presence along the Jordan border so it could defend itself from the threat of murderous Moslem Islamist forces, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted Sunday at Tel Aviv University's INSS think tank.
Shortly before Netanyahu's speech, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an offshoot of al-Qaeda which has captured swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, has declared itself an Islamic "Caliphate" and called on jihadi factions worldwide to pledge allegiance to it.
The group, that has renamed itself "Islamic State," declared its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghadi as "Caliph" - the head of the state.
Charging that Israel could not trust other security forces - such as that of Jordan or the Paleostinians - to stop the Islamist threat, Netanyahu stressed that in any future agreement with the Paleostinians, "Israel will have to remain along the Jordan river for a very long period of time."
Following reports over the weekend that Israel might be called to help Jordan in the war against ISIS, that is now threatening the Hashemite Kingdom, Netanyahu has called for "support in the international efforts to strengthen Jordan."
"Our first challenge is to protect our borders. Extremist Islamic forces are knocking on our doors in the north and south and we've set up obstacles against them, except for in one sector," Netanyahu said, referring to the border with Jordan.
"The first thing we must do is build a fence in the east. While the fence doesn't stop all infilitrations, gun and rocket fire though it or over it, or the digging of tunnels, it dramatically narrows down infilitration to Israel.
"Think what would've happened if we didn't have a fence on the Israeli-Egyptian border. Now it is also clear why I insist that our eastern border is along the Jordan River. We must be able to stop the waves of zealotry on the Jordan border," he added.
Support for Kurdish statehood
Netanyahu also voiced support for Kurdish statehood, taking a position that appeared to clash with the US preference to keep sectarian war-torn Iraq united.
Israel has maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with the Kurds since the 1960s, seeing in the minority ethnic group a buffer against shared Arab adversaries.
The Kurds have seized on recent sectarian chaos in Iraq to expand their autonomous northern territory to include Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... which sits on vast oil deposits that could make the independent state many dream of economically viable.
But Iraqi Kurds, who have ethnic compatriots in Iran, Turkey and Syria, have hesitated to declare full independence, one reason being the feared response of neighboring countries.
"We should ... support the Kurdish aspiration for independence," Netanyahu said, after outlining what he described as the collapse of Iraq and other Middle East regions under strife between Arab Sunni and Shi'ite Mohammedans.
Kurds, Netanyahu said, "are a fighting people that has proved its political commitment, political moderation, and deserves political independence".
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed open support on Sunday for Kurdish independence. Netanyahu said that among the challenges facing his nation was the need to build cooperation with moderate countries in the region to help face the threat posed by extremists such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. He also said Israel must back efforts to support Jordan so that the insurgency doesn't spread there.
Netanyahu said, "It is upon us to support the international efforts to strengthen Jordan, and support the Kurds' aspiration for independence," adding that the Kurds are a "fighting people that have proven political commitment and political moderation, and they're also worthy of their own political independence."
This was Netanyahu’s first explicit comments on the subject after other Israeli officials hinted at this broadly. In talks with US Secretary of State Kerry last week, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was quoted as saying that "Iraq is breaking up before our eyes and it would appear that the creation of an independent Kurdish state is a foregone conclusion."
President Shimon Peres also mentioned the topic in a meeting with President Obama last week. He said, "The Kurds have, de facto, created their own state," adding that the Kurdish entity already was democratic.
These comments came amid media reports that Israel recently received a shipment of crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan, shipped via tanker that was loaded in a Turkish port.
A tidbit in the Naharnet news feed focusing on the recent bombings in Beirut, in greater detail yesterday by moderator TW, and here today because it's important for a Monday.
Interrogation with the detained would-be suicide bomber Abdul Rahman al-Shenifi revealed that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is selling oil to finance its terrorist operations, LBCI television reported on Saturday.
"Al-Shenifi revealed that ISIL is selling oil in Syria and Iraq and through this activity has managed to have cash money," LBCI said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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The leaders of Shiite Iran and Sunni Qatar vowed Sunday to cooperate to fight "terrorism in the region," President Hassan Rouhani's office reported. The pledge to play a "constructive role to establish security and stability" came in a phone call between Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Rouhani, a statement from the Iranian president's office said.
The quoted words mean something different in Arabic, and a LOT different in Farsi...
Rouhani said that in order to defeat "the hurdle of terrorism and extremism all Muslims should come hand in hand and cooperate," it said. Iran is ready, he said, to do just that and "fight security problems and instability in the region" that benefit only "Zionists and the enemies of the Muslim world."
He did not elaborate.
Predominantly Shiite Iran has vowed to support ally Baghdad against the Sunni insurgency led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), whose fighters have overrun swathes of five Iraqi provinces since launching an offensive in early June.
Iranian leaders insist the Iraq crisis is not sectarian but a fight against terrorism. Iranian media, however, have accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of supporting the jihadist Sunni fighters. Without naming anyone, Rouhani himself warned on June 22 that Muslim states which funnel petrodollars to "these savage terrorists" of ISIL would become their next target.
There's a grain of truth to that...
Sunday's statement said the Qatari emir noted "the necessity for cooperation between Muslim nations to prevent the further spread of (the Iraqi) crisis in the region."
"We should all cooperate together against terrorism in the region because the current crisis is very dangerous," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy jihadist fighting in Iraq and Syria, and newly declared leader of a "caliphate" encompassing all Mohammedans, is increasingly seen as more powerful than al-Qaeda's chief.
The leader of the powerful Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... (ISIL) krazed killer group was declared Sunday the "caliph" in an attempt to revive a system of rule that ended nearly 100 years ago with the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
"The Shura (council) of the Islamic State met and discussed this issue (of the caliphate)... The Islamic State decided to establish an Islamic caliphate and to designate a caliph for the state of the Mohammedans," ISIL front man Abu Mohammad al-Adnani said in an audio recording distributed online.
"The jihadist holy man Storied Baghdadi was designated the caliph of the Mohammedans," said Adnani.
Storied Baghdadi, born in Samarra in 1971 according to Washington, apparently joined the insurgency that erupted shortly after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, at one point spending time in an American military prison in the country.
In October 2005, American forces said they believed they had killed "Abu Dua," one of Storied Baghdadi's known aliases, in a strike on the Iraq-Syria border.
But that appears to have been incorrect, as he took the reins of what was then known as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in May 2010 after two of its chiefs were killed in a U.S.-Iraqi raid.
Since then, details about him have slowly trickled out.
In October 2011, the U.S. Treasury designated him as a "terrorist," and this year, Iraq released a picture they said was of Storied Baghdadi, the first from an official source, depicting a balding, bearded man in a suit and tie.
U.S. officials said last year that the jihadist was likely in Syria, but information of his whereabouts since has been unclear.
Late last month, Lieutenant General Abdulamir al-Zaidi, who heads a northern security command center, said his forces believed Storied Baghdadi was inside Iraq, but other officials have contested this.
He is touted within ISIL as a battlefield commander and tactician, a crucial distinction compared with al-Qaeda chief 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... , has attracted legions of imported muscle, with estimates pegging them in the thousands.
At the time Storied Baghdadi took over the group in April 2010, when it was ISI and tied to al-Qaeda, it appeared to be on the ropes, after the "surge" of U.S. forces combined with the shifting allegiances of Sunni rustics to deal him a blow.
But the group has bounced back, expanding into Syria in 2013.
Storied Baghdadi sought to merge with al-Qaeda's Syrian franchise, al-Nusra Front, which rejected the deal, and the two groups have mostly operated separately since.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[Legal Insurrection] HEN MAZZIG: I HOPE I MADE A DIFFERENCE
November 21st of 2012, Hen Mazzig was walking down Shaul Ha Melech street in the heart of Tel Aviv when an ear splitting explosion ripped through the air. The gut wrenching sound echoed across the apartment and office buildings for several seconds soon to be replaced by sounds of agony, then sirens. A Dan commuter bus, No. 142, was running its usual route when at twelve noon Muhammad Mafarji used his cell phone to detonate an explosive device packed with nails and shrapnel. Hen was a block away. Hen knows the value of peace. I hope Hen made a difference as well.
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.
morality, the state's top official in charge of religious affairs said on Sunday, in the latest move limiting political speech in the deeply polarised country.
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Wazoo
Wazoo
[DAWN] Prime Minister Muhammad 
[DAWN] The massacre of 10 foreign climbers on Pakistain's "Killer Mountain" a year ago came after a 
Nouri al-Maliki
Iraq said it received the first batch of Sukhoi warplanes from Russia as it pressed a counter-attack on Sunday against Sunni militants whose offensive threatens to tear the country apart.
Zawahiri
