Mumbai: In a significant development, the 120 alleged Somali pirates nabbed in four operations expressed their intention to plead guilty in the case. This intention was communicated to the visiting officials of the Somalian embassy from Delhi earlier this week, which in turn was relayed in writing to the state home department on Wednesday.
In the event the plea is accepted after all the legal procedures are completed, the accused face conviction. Special public prosecutor Ranjit Sangle communicated the development to the court conducting the trial. The accused could end up serving their jail term in their home country, court sources said.
So far, all of the 77 Indian witnesses listed have deposed during the trial over the last three years. Statements of several international hostages rescued in the operations have also been received while some others are awaited.
Meanwhile, Sangle also filed the replies to the 32 applications filed by the accused. The prosecution opposed the bail pleas of all the accused. The matter will now come up for hearing on Friday before additional sessions judge Abhinandan Patangankar.
The 120 pirates were nabbed in four operations carried out by the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy off Lakshadweep in 2011. The Coast Guard and the navy later handed over the pirates to the Yellow Gate police to carry out the inquiry. The pirates have been booked on charges of attempt to murder. The first batch of 15 pirates was captured on January 28 in a 28-hour operation by the Indian Navy and rescued 20 fishermen of Thai and Myanmarese nationalities.
On February 6, 2012, 28 pirates were caught in a joint operation by Coast Guard and Indian Navy; 24 Thai fishermen were rescued. On March 12, Indian Navy warships intercepted a pirate mother ship, Vega 5, about 600 nautical miles off the country’s west coast, and captured 61 pirates; 13 fishermen were rescued.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/06/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
In the good old days, the pirates would have been swinging from the yardarms long before this.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/06/2015 9:22 Comments ||
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#2
Theres some catch, they know pleading guilty will result in conviction.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/06/2015 11:59 Comments ||
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[AnNahar] Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... jihadists are killing more civilians in Libya than the other warring factions, but all sides are committing "large-scale crimes," International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said Thursday.
Of the 37 car and suicide kabooms recorded this year in Libya, 27 have been attributed to the IS group, Bensouda said in a report to the U.N. Security Council.
IS fighters are executing Libyans for "perceived activities such as spying, homosexuality and social activism," she said.
Violent deaths are on the rise in Libya, where the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... is trying to broker a deal on a unity government that would be able to confront the growing threat from the Islamic State group.
No fewer than 60 people are killed per month in the north African country, which has been in turmoil since the fall of Muammar Qadaffy ...a proud Arab institution for 42 years, now among the dear departed, though not the dearest... in 2011.
IS attacks have hit mostly the southern city of Sirte, but fighting in June drove out the jihadists from Derna, in the east.
Executions and other murders of Libyans "attributed to ISIL and its allied organizations have been consistently more highly numbered than those of other perpetrators," Bensouda said in her report to the council.
In another indication of the worsening crisis, nearly 450,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the violence over the past year, double the number of displaced from the previous year, she said.
Bensouda said the Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... militia that controls Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... and the Libyan National Army loyal to the internationally recognized government were also committing "large-scale crimes."
The prosecutor told the council she was ready to open up new investigations for possible war crimes, but added that her work was hampered by funding problems.
Libya has had two administrations since August 2014, when the Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the government to take refuge in Tobruk, in the east of the country.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/06/2015 00:00:00 ||
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[RT] A Russian fighter jet was forced to enter Turkish airspace in early October while performing an evasive maneuver against a surface-to-air missile system, the commander of Russia's Air Force said. It's their story and they are sticking to it. Of course there were reports that migs were locking radars onto Turkish F-16s so maybe turnabout is fair play.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
11/06/2015 00:00 ||
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[DW] The heads of Germany's Grand Coalition have announced a basic agreement on the treatment of migrants, including faster processing of asylum requests. Some of the migrants would be required to stay in specific areas.
#2
Cannot Guarantee Beds,
Beds hell, you should guarantee death.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/06/2015 12:02 Comments ||
Top||
#3
"Attention! New immigrants landing
In Stockholm, the beds you're demanding
Aren't ready. We're sorry,
But please, do not worry --
For now, you can screw your Swedes standing."
[Hurriyet] Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has vowed to continue military operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) throughout the winter, while Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu has pledged to continue the fight against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
In a security summit on late Nov. 4, the prime minister ordered a continuation of military operations against the PKK "without interruption in winter conditions," a written statement from Davutoglu's office said.
Developments in Syria, cross-border operations against ISIL elements and a military campaign conducted with coalition forces were also discussed during the meeting, read the statement.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, a single surviver held tightly to the smashed prow... the foreign minister also expressed The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's determination to cooperate in the fight against ISIL during a visit to Arbil on Nov. 4.
The relative importance of the two efforts is clear when the county's chief executive is in charge of killing Kurds, while his subordinate in charge of jaw-jaw intends to work with others around the question of doing something about ISIS.
Turkey has "plans to act militarily against them in the coming days," Sinirlioglu said at a conference in Arbil, after a meeting with Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani ... hereditary head of the Kurdish Democratic Party, maybe a little too close to the Medes and the Persians for most people's tastes... . "You will see. We should all stand together against this danger," Anadolu Agency quoted him as saying.
Sinirlioglu did not specify if Ankara's action would target ISIL bully boyz in Turkey or in Syria. "The occupation of one third of Iraq, and also vast areas of Syria, by Daesh [Islamic State] [ISIL] has undoubtedly created one of the most serious challenges," he said.
"It has threatened our security and, although the Daesh [Islamic State] advance has been checked with the support of the international effort which we are a part of, the threat is far from over," he added.
"As before, Turkey stands together with Iraq and the KRG in the fight against [ISIL]. We are determined to continue our military and humanitarian assistance that has started from the very beginning of the crisis. As a country that has suffered immensely from terrorism for so many years and one that hosts more than 2 million refugees, no other country understands the undue burden that 1.7 million IDPs and refugees, as well as the war effort against [ISIL], creates on the KRG," Sinirlioglu said.
"Rest assured that Turkey is steadfast in its support for Iraq and the KRG in the fight against terrorism. We will continue our assistance to ease the suffering of so many IDPs and refugees, who have become victims of a vicious terrorist organization," he added.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson clarified a mistranslation in media reports on Nov. 5 and said Sinirlioglu did not use the word "ground operation," during his speech at the conference.
Elaborating on Sinirlioglu's visit to northern Iraq during which he pledged support in fight against ISIL, the spokesperson said, "Turkey will take all necessary measures as required."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/06/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
My money is on most of the operations will be aimed at the PKK and any other Kurds who happen to be fighting ISIS
Turkey and their love of ISIS are like Pakistan is to the Taliban.
#2
Please come to Malmo for the wintertime
I'm stayin' here with some kafirs and they've got lotsa room
You throw your garbage right on the sidewalk
By a café here I hope to be bombin' soon
Please come to Malmo
She said "Yo, would if you send the goat away it has fleas"
[Hurriyet] Ankara has welcomed a U.S. statement that the country is not currently providing arms to the People's Protection Units (YPG), the military force protecting the northern Syrian region of Rojava.
"We have gladly noted [the U.S. statement]," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic said following a statement by Col. Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based front man for the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
"We previously conveyed our concerns," Bilgic told news hounds Nov. 5 adding that they would "resolutely follow how this will be implemented in the field."
"As of now, we are not providing weapons or ammunition to the YPG. The weapons that we've provided thus far, with the ammunition that we've provided in our one airdrop executed, was for the Syrian-Arab coalition," Warren, a Baghdad-based front man for the U.S.-led coalition against ISIL, told news hounds via teleconference from Baghdad.
"As of now, future resupplies will also go to Arab-vetted Syrian opposition members," he added, after a news hound said a senior defense official had recently said the YPG would not be receiving any ammunition or weapons. "So, you know, as of now, that's where our policy stands."
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... regards the YPG as "terrorists" like the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been involved in a fight against the Turkish state for greater cultural rights for over 30 years. The state launched a grinding of the peace processor to solve the Kurdish problem in the country in the early 2010s, but the solution process was halted by the state during the run-up to Turkey's general elections on June 7.
Responding to a question as to whether or not the U.S. would talk to Turkey about the issue, Warren said they were in "very close contact" with Turkey.
"Obviously the Turks have concerns. You know, they're our partners and allies. We're going to address those concerns. We're going to work with them to achieve our common goal, which is to defeat ISIL," Warren said.
[Rudaw] The Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) umbrella organization on Thursday declared a resumption of a deadly conflict with the Turkish government, formally ending a unilateral truce.
"We are going to resume our military activities in northern Kurdistan and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ," said the leadership of the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), which was founded by the PKK to put into practice jugged You have the right to remain silent... leader Abdullah Ocalan's ideas.
The statement said that Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is unwilling to solve the Kurdish question in Turkey, and is demonstrating "the will to fight."
It added: "We are always ready for a bilateral ceasefire; when we declared a unilateral truce the Turkish army kept attacking us in northern Kurdistan."
"Turkey does not take any initiative to solve the Kurdish question in Turkey because they are not serious," it said.
The KCK praised the role of other democratic parties in Turkey: "through struggle we will fulfill a free and a democratic environment and all democratic parties should ramp up to stand against the Fascist AKP."
The KCK's announcement followed Turkey's declaration of a curfew on parts of its southeastern Kurdish Diyarbakir province on Wednesday, reportedly ahead of an expected major crackdown against the outlawed PKK.
[Rudaw] A Kurdish military commander assigned to Shingal on Thursday criticized the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as the main hurdle delaying an offensive to liberate the Yezidi town and its surroundings from ISIS.
"The PKK is the main reason behind the delay of the Shingal operation," said Qasim Shasho, the Yezidi commander assigned to lead the Shingal Command.
"We do not want to start a fight. We all have one enemy. PKK wants to claim that they liberated Shingal and owns it," he added.
Referring to the The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... -based PKK and its affiliate in Syria, Shasho said: "Let them go and save the Kurds in Syria and Turkey, but we will never let them gain power over Shingal."
The PKK sent forces to the Shingal, to fight alongside the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga forces, after ISIS stormed the town in August last year and unleashed a campaign of murder, looting, rape and kidnapping of girls and women.
[Rudaw] The Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) has locked away Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! at least 500 civilians from Iraq's Anbar province since taking over its capital, Ramadi, in mid-May, a provincial official said Thursday.
"Since ISIS captured most of Anbar, including Ramadi and Fallujah, ... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperity or a really nice place to raise your kids... some 500 civilians were arrested and jugged I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! in the group's secret prisons," said Ali Dauod, head of the Khalidiya distrcit council in Anbar.
He added that over the past few days ISIS has carried out torture and executions of civilians, including death by hanging, beheading and being burnt alive.
Daoud said ISIS was also using some of the detainees as human shields against an expected assault by Iraqi forces.
"Iraqi forces insist they would free the detainees and secure their safety," once they move into Ramadi, Daoud said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Alamo, Davy was counting their remaining cannon balls and not liking the results... the Baghdad-based front man for the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve last week praised Iraqi efforts toward the recapture of ISIS-held Ramadi, while declining to say when the quiet provincial capital would be liberated.
"This is a tough fight. There's a lot of obstacles. There's a determined, dug-in enemy," Colonel Steven Warren told news hounds.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/06/2015 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Russia has sent anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria to back up its air campaign, the commander of the air force Viktor Bondarev said in an interview published Thursday.
"We sent there not just fighter planes, strike aircraft and helicopters but also anti-aircraft rocket systems," Bondarev told the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid.
He said that Russia made the decision to bring missile systems to Syria because "we took into account every possible threat."
"There could be various force majeure situations. Let's imagine a military plane is hijacked and taken to a neighbouring country and air strikes are aimed at us. And we have to be ready for this."
A source told Interfax news agency that the systems deployed to Syria included the BUK and Pantsir systems.
"The system is set up along the lines of Israel's Iron dome," the source said.
Bondarev said Russia has "more than 50 planes and helicopters" in Syria, "precisely the number we need. At the moment, we do not need more."
He said that a Russian jet that strayed into Turkish territory in October had done so because as it flew along the Turkish border in dense cloud "the equipment showed that some ground-based air defence systems were trying to capture the plane.
"Therefore the pilot had to make an anti-missile manoeuvre. So he passed into the Turkish air a tiny bit. As we honestly admitted," Bondarev said.
The defence ministry previously said only that the plane strayed into Turkish air space on October 3 because of bad weather conditions.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... said the Russian aircraft exited its airspace after it was intercepted by two Turkish F-16 fighter jets.
NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... called the incident a "serious violation".
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/06/2015 00:00 ||
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Chemical weapons experts have determined that mustard gas was used during fighting in Syria in August, according to a report by an international watchdog seen by Reuters.
The chemical – which causes severe delayed burns to the eyes, skin and lungs and is banned under international law – was used during a battle between ISIS insurgents and another rebel group, diplomatic sources said.
The confidential Oct. 29 report by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a summary of which was shown to Reuters, concluded “with the utmost confidence that at least two people were exposed to sulphur mustard” in the town of Marea, north of Aleppo, on Aug. 21.
“It is very likely that the effects of sulphur mustard resulted in the death of a baby,” it said.
[WSJ] Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard military force hacked email and social-media accounts of Obama administration officials in recent weeks in attacks believed to be tied to the arrest in Tehran of an Iranian-American businessman, U.S. officials said.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, has routinely conducted cyber-warfare against American government agencies for years. But the U.S. officials said there has been a surge in such attacks coinciding with the arrest last month of Siamak Namazi, an energy industry executive and business consultant who has pushed for stronger U.S.-Iranian economic and diplomatic ties.
Obama administration personnel are among a larger group of people who have had their computer systems hacked in recent weeks, including journalists and academics, the officials said. Those attacked in the administration included officials working at the State Department's Office of Iranian Affairs and its Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
"U.S. officials were among many who were targeted by recent cyber-attacks," said an administration official, adding that the U.S. is still investigating possible links to the Namazi case. "U.S. officials believe some of the more recent attacks may be linked to reports of detained dual citizens and others." More at the link.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
11/06/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Imagine a republican president whose lax email security resulted in the capture of a CIA agent in Iran.
Front-page on the NYT & WaPo.
Fraud is the eighth circle in Dante's Inferno.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
11/06/2015 13:18 Comments ||
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[AlAhram] The French presidency on Thursday said it would deploy its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to boost its operations against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
The presence of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the flagship of the French navy, will add to the six Rafale jets stationed in the United Arab Emirates and the six Mirages flying out of Jordan.
The Charles de Gaulle did a two-month stint in the Gulf from February, from where strikes against IS in Iraq were carried out, before returning to its base in the French port of Toulon. During this time about 20 aircraft carried out 10-15 combat sorties a day, according to the army.
France launched air strikes against the jihadists in Syria in October, after a year of bombing IS in Iraq, saying it was acting in self defence. France was hit by a jihadist attack in January that left 17 dead and has foiled several other attempted attacks. The country fears hundreds of citizens that have left to fight with IS in Iraq and Syria will return to launch attacks on home soil.
Since beginning operations in Iraq, French fighter jets have carried out 1,285 aerial missions, resulting in 271 strikes and the destruction of 459 targets. Only two known strikes have so far been carried out in Syria.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/06/2015 00:00 ||
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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.
International Criminal Court
Massoud Barzani
[WSJ] Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard military force hacked email and social-media accounts of Obama administration officials in recent weeks in attacks believed to be tied to the arrest in Tehran of an Iranian-American businessman, U.S. officials said.
