Mosque at center of Egyptian clashes

Source:CNN

Renewed clashes between protesters and security forces at a mosque in central Cairo threatened to pull Egypt into another day of widespread violence on Saturday.

The Al-Fateh mosque in Cairo's Ramses Square was the epicenter of the unrest, as security forces surrounded the building, where hundreds of protesters had spent the night.

Those holed up inside the mosque -- most of them supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsy -- and security forces outside blamed each other for instigating the violence.

According to state television, security forces said they were responding to shots being fired from atop the mosque.

At least 173 people have been killed across the country since Friday's mass protests began, a government spokesman said Saturday.

It was an especially bloody week in Egypt, as the interim government put in place by a military coup seeks to restore stability to the country while Morsy supporters fight to restore the democratically elected former president to power.

With no end to the clashes in sight, the pressure on the international community to act increases, raising questions about aid and diplomacy in North Africa and the Middle East.

Inside the Al-Fateh mosque

Hundreds of protesters defied a government-imposed curfew Friday night and stood fast at Ramses Square. The government had warned that those breaking curfew would be dealt with "firmly."

But security forces appear to have acted with restraint overnight, when 1,000 people reportedly took refuge inside the mosque located on the square.

During clashes on Friday -- which protesters had dubbed "a day of anger" -- the building had served as a makeshift morgue and field hospital for the pro-Morsy protesters.

Security forces remained outside the mosque, apparently preventing anyone from entering but not interfering with those leaving.

At one point, a group of women left the mosque and were escorted away by Egyptian security forces. In a scene carried live by several Egyptian broadcasters, officers fired guns into the air to clear the way as a crowd gathered.

The military offered to provide safe passage out for those inside the mosque, but the protesters said they feared that they would be attacked by pro-government supporters aligned with the military who were also outside the mosque.

The military told the protesters inside the mosque that they would be taken to an unspecified location, said Hanan Amin, a doctor who spoke with CNN from inside the mosque.

Without water and food, and distrustful of the military forces outside the building, those who remained inside said they felt like hostages.

"We want to go home in a very polite way," Amin said. "It's a shame for our military persons to deal with our people like this."

Amin said she could see people armed with rocks and knives outside the mosque, and that she supposed them to be supporters of the interim government. But their entrance to the mosque was blocked by the military, who formed a ring around the building to keep them at bay.

The hallways of the mosque were filled with more than 20 people who had suffered gunshot wounds -- to their abdomens, arms and elsewhere, Amin said. But, without supplies, those trying to help could do no more than apply pressure to the wounds.

A son of Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohamed Badie was killed Friday during a protest near the mosque, said the Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice party. Ammar Badie, 38, was shot in his neck and head.

More violence

Elsewhere in Cairo, the military engaged Friday night in battles with roving bands of armed protesters, state media reported.

Helicopters circled overhead, and there were reports that protesters were trying to shoot them down. Smoke wafted through Ramses Square from a fire that engulfed a nearby commercial building. It was unclear what caused the fire.

Death counts continued to rise in the confrontation that began Wednesday when an estimated 580 people were killed and 4,000 wounded as the military forced pro-Morsy protesters out of encampments in Cairo.

There was no apparent progress toward a political resolution to the crisis. An umbrella group for opponents of the military government called for daily demonstrations next week.

The casualties have not been limited to Morsy supporters and security forces. A number of bystanders, residents and journalists have been killed.

In northern Egypt, at least 25 people were killed and 171 wounded in fighting Friday between Morsy supporters and the military in the coastal city of Alexandria, a government spokesman said Saturday.

The Interior Ministry said 1,004 Muslim Brotherhood members were arrested Friday across Egypt. State-run Nile TV reported Brotherhood members were charged with rioting and creating violence. Authorities seized seven hand grenades, five automatic weapons, pistols and 710 rounds of ammunition, state media said.

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a meeting next week of European Union foreign ministers to coordinate a response.

U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the crackdown by security forces Thursday and canceled scheduled joint exercises by the U.S. and Egyptian military.

Obama has declined to label Morsy's ouster by the military a coup, a declaration that would stop U.S. military aid to Egypt.

Read More

82 child soldiers saved in Democratic Republic of Congo -- U.N. force

Source:CNN

Scores of child soldiers, some of them as young as eight years old, have been rescued from an armed group in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the U.N. mission in the African nation said.

The 82 children, 13 of them girls, were recovered since Sunday from the Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga armed group in the southeastern Katanga province, MONUSCO said Friday in a statement.

The children, aged up to 17 years, had reportedly been recruited by the armed group within the past six months, it said.

Forty of them have been reunited with their parents.

The others are being cared for until they can be returned home, the statement said.

"We are extremely concerned by continued reports of active recruitment by Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga and other armed groups in eastern DRC," said MONUSCO chief Martin Kobler.

"Children face unacceptable risks when they are recruited for military purposes. The recruitment of children, particularly those under 15 years of age, could constitute a war crime and those responsible must be held to account."

Child protection agencies in the province orchestrated the rescues, MONUSCO said.

Since the start of the year, 163 children, including 22 girls, have been rescued from Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga by MONUSCO and child protection workers, the statement said.

The country's mineral-rich eastern part is at the epicenter of a political and ethnic conflict involving its neighbors to the east, Uganda and Rwanda, and has long been embroiled in violence.

The region's humanitarian crisis involves 2.6 million internally displaced people, the United Nations says, with 6.4 million people in need of food and emergency aid.

Nearly 20,000 troops are deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the MONUSCO peacekeeping force.

Read More

Edward Snowden: My father and his legal team do not speak for me

The man wanted by the United States for leaking details of National Security Agency intelligence gathering says journalists have been misled into printing false claims about his legal situation, The Huffington Post reported Thursday.

In an e-mailed statement to the news organization, Edward Snowden distanced himself from his father, Lon Snowden; his father's attorney, Bruce Fein; and Fein's associates, saying "they do not possess any special knowledge regarding my situation."

"None of them have been or are involved in my current situation, and this will not change in the future," the statement said.Big bucks for former Snowden employer

Notable leakers and whistle-blowers

Filmmaker helped NSA leaker tell story

Sharing secrets: U.S. intelligence leaks

"I ask journalists to understand that they do not possess any special knowledge regarding my situation or future plans, and not to exploit the tragic vacuum of my father's emotional compromise for the sake of tabloid news."

The statement was released the same day The Wall Street Journal reported that Lon Snowden's legal team does not trust his son's closest advisers: WikiLeaks and Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald.

"I would like to correct the record: I've been fortunate to have legal advice from an international team of some of the finest lawyers in the world, and to work with journalists whose integrity and courage are beyond question," Snowden said in the statement.

Snowden stepped forward publicly in June to claim responsibility for leaking to the media, including The Guardian, that the NSA had secretly collected and stored millions of phone records from accounts in the United States. The agency also collected information from U.S. companies on the Internet activity of overseas residents, he said.

Snowden, a former NSA contractor, fled first to Hong Kong and then to Russia, where he was granted temporary asylum despite pressure from the Obama administration to return him to the United States to face charges.

He has been charged with three felony counts, including violations of the U.S. Espionage Act, for the leaks.

The Huffington Post reported that the American Civil Liberties Union confirmed that the e-mailed statement was from Snowden. The ACLU has lauded Snowden's actions as a "service" to the country, and it reportedly is helping coordinate the former intelligence contractor's defense in the United States.

Read More

Sheriff Arpaio: Crosses will mark spots where immigrants die in Arizona desert

SOURCE:CNN
Deputies in Arizona's Maricopa County will leave white wooden crosses at desert locations to mark the spots where immigrants die as they try to enter the country from Mexico.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who made the announcement, said 14 people have died since June in the area known as Gild Bend.

More than 30 people have been rescued in the same area, he said at a Thursday news conference in the desert south of Phoenix.

"Desert crossers are dying in unknown numbers due to the desert's brutal conditions and excessively high temperatures," the sheriff said.

He said the crosses, made by inmates, also will serve as landmarks so people in distress in the desert can give their location when they call for help.

The sheriff criticized the federal government for failing to seal the border and said it should reimburse his county for "the time and resources spent on these mercy missions."

Arpaio is known for his strict approach to immigration enforcement in Maricopa County and has been at odds with the federal government over immigration policy.

In May, a federal judge agreed with the Justice Department that his deputies were illegally detaining Hispanics on pretexts to try to find undocumented people.

Arpaio has said he will appeal the judge's ruling, which stopped a program of traffic sweeps.

Read More

Former captive Hannah Anderson attends fundraiser in California

Days after being rescued in the Idaho wilderness when an FBI agent shot her abductor dead, 16-year-old Hannah Anderson attended a fundraiser Thursday for her and her family near their Southern California home.

The teenager could be seen entering the Boll Weevil restaurant in Lakeside, a community of about 20,000 people located 20 miles northeast of San Diego.

Hannah didn't speak publicly before entering the building, though her father later did talk to reporters. The media were invited to the fundraiser at the family-friendly restaurant but were not allowed inside.

"This is a small community that we are a part of, and the community came together putting on this great fundraiser for Hannah and hopefully for her future and healing," Brett Anderson said, before he thanked local residents, family and friends, the media and law enforcement. "This is how Lakeside rolls."

Hannah went missing after cheerleading practice in San Diego County, California, on August 3.

The next day, the bodies of her mother, 42-year-old Christina Anderson, and 8-year-old brother, Ethan, were found about 45 miles east in the burned Boulevard house of James DiMaggio, who had been considered a friend of the Anderson family.

Affidavits: Teen's mother, brother 'tortured and killed'

That horror spurred a manhunt, which zeroed in on central Idaho after two critical clues: the discovery of DiMaggio's blue Nissan Versa outside the city of Cascade and a sighting of the pair by horseback riders.

Affidavits: Teen's mother, brother 'tortured and killed'

One of the horsemen recalled noticing multiple "red flags" during their brief interaction with the pair, including their brand-new camping equipment and the pajama-like bottoms Hannah was wearing.

Brett Anderson said Thursday that he'd been able to offer "our thanks and our love" to the horseback riders in a phone conversation.

"It was a chance encounter, but it did save my daughter's life," he said Thursday.

The dramatic ordeal ended last Saturday, after authorities spotted DiMaggio and his teenage captive's campsite near Morehead Lake.

Hostage rescue teams had to hike more than two hours to get to the scene, local sheriffs' departments said. Eventually, they got close enough, and an FBI tactical agent fatally shot DiMaggio, before whisking Hannah away.

California teen rescued, her alleged abductor killed

Speaking Thursday about her condition, Brett Anderson said "she's just happy to be here."

"Hannah sends her love," her father said. "She's doing good day by day, and we'll keep moving forward from here."

One of her friends, Alyssa Haugum, said from outside Thursday's fundraiser that she was looking forward to seeing Hannah in person and giving her a hug. They had communicated via Facebook, she said.

Haugum described Hannah, whom she knows from school and dance, as strong, funny and "usually really bubbly."

"It takes a lot to make her upset," she said of her friend.

The entire ordeal was surreal and scary, as it hit so close to home, Haugum said.

"It just felt like it was untrue: One day somebody could be with you, and the next day they are missing and you don't know where they're at," Haugum said.

Then, alluding to her friend Hannah, she added, "But I knew she was strong. I knew she would come back."

Something stinks here. The last article I read gave me the chills. 13 phone calls between her and that guy on the day she was "kidnapped". Now it's being reported that the police found letters that she wrote to him. I really hope she wasn't involved.

201 7

•

Reply

•

Share ›

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

• 

  
  

  boomom03 JB

  • 

  • 
    

  
  

  I think something is rotten in Denmark too, JB. Something is creepy about her calm demeanor. I know everyone grieves differently, but she ran out and got her nails done, in honor of her mom and brother. Me, on the other hand, would have been beside myself with grief and have to be sedated. I hope she wasn't involved as well.

  
  

  147 3

  •

  Reply

  •

  Share ›

  • 
    
  • 
    
  • 
    
  • 

    Herenamaste boomom03

    • 
      

    This has Broken Family written all over it....
    Motive? Torturing and killing two people close to him....and keeping a 16 year old girl alive and fleeing with her?
    I'm by no means suggesting this was some sick Bonnie&Clyde love story.....however,
    Authorities have their hands-full with DiMaggio dead or alive.

    
    

    She may not have been involved with the killings of her mother and brother.
    But NOONE is that happy, from only being 'freed' a couple of days ago, after being raped(if she was..no confirmation yet on that), abducted, taken to a dark and strange land...and then, after being 'freed', find-out that your mother and brother are dead.
    Noone can be that happy from that experience, unless there is something that isn't being said, or hasn't emerged yet.
    I don't care how strong you are.
    However, I will say again...
    I hope the best of a recovery and closure that can be attained, for everyone

Read More

CAIRO GOVERNMENT HITS BACK AT OBAMA

When Egypt's first democratically elected president was tossed out earlier this year, the White House stopped short of calling it a coup.

Doing so would have forced an end to the $1.3 billion that the United States sends in military aid every year -- and changed the course of its relationship with its strongest Arab ally in the region.

But that was before Wednesday, when the military-led interim government stormed two camps full of former President Mohamed Morsy's supporters. More than 525 people were killed and 3,717 wounded in the bloodiest day in Egypt's recent history, officials there said.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama said the state of emergency should be lifted and a process of reconciliation must begin. He condemned the violence against civilians and announced the United States is canceling next month's joint U.S.-Egyptian military exercises.

The U.S. wants to sustain its relationship with Egypt, but "our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual when civilians are being killed in the streets," Obama said from his vacation home in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Obama said that he does not believe that force is the way to resolve political differences, but that "there remained a chance for reconciliation and an opportunity to pursue a democratic path."

"Instead, we've seen a more dangerous path taken," the president said.

The office of Egypt's Interim President Adly Mansour responded sternly to Obama's remarks, claiming they don't reflect "all the facts on the ground" -- including what it characterized as "terrorist attacks that targeted churches, courts, police stations and public and private property."

"The presidency fears that statements that do not rely on facts might strengthen the armed violent groups and encourage them to obstruct stability and democratic transportation," the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. "As a result, this would hinder the road map for the future, which we insist on achieving on time."

So will the carnage in Egypt cause deeper changes in U.S. policy toward the most populous Arab country? And might the hardening U.S. stance affect Egypt's own approach?

The short answer: We'll have to wait and see.

Read More

Lebanon car bomb death toll rises to 22

At least 22 people were killed and hundreds injured when a car bomb rocked a southern suburb of Lebanon's capital, authorities said Friday, raising the death toll from the blast a day earlier.

The bomb Thursday was in an area known as a stronghold of the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, the Lebanese Army said.

At least 228 others were injured, the Lebanese Internal Security Forces said.

"Army units arrived immediately at the scene, enforcing a security zone within the area of explosion while military experts initiated investigations under the concerned judiciary's surveillance," the army said.

After the blast, a YouTube video surfaced in which three masked men holding weapons claimed they are part of a group responsible for the attack. They stood before a large Arabic sign containing the Islamic creed, "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah."

The group, which calls itself "The brigade of Aisha, Mother of Believers," accused Hezbollah of being aggressors. Aisha is the last wife of the Prophet Muhammad and is especially revered by Sunni Muslims.

In its YouTube post, the group called Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah a "pig" and said he works on behalf of Iran and Israel.

"A message: To our brothers and sisters in Lebanon: Stay away from anything to do with Iran -- whether in Beirut or outside Beirut," it said.

Hezbollah is a Shiite movement in Lebanon. Along with Shiite-dominated Iran, the group is helping Syria's government fight rebels, whose ranks are dominated by Sunnis.

CNN could not confirm the authenticity of the video or the men's claims. The U.S. Embassy in Beirut tweeted condemnations of the attack.

Civil Defense units were trying to rescue some citizens stuck inside their homes due to the fire resulting from the blast, NNA reported.

The explosion comes about a month after a car bomb injured dozens of people in the pro-Hezbollah neighborhood of Bir El Abed, located in a southern Beirut suburb.

Read More

Man tweets for weed; job goes up in smoke

note to self: When soliciting for drugs on Twitter, try a direct message.

Faced down with another boring day at work, a Toronto car repair shop worker decided some weed would be just the thing to make the day fly by.

Instead of reaching out by phone or walking to his friendly neighborhood drug dealer, the user, using the handle @Sunith_DB8R, tweeted that he needed a joint delivered to his workplace in Vaughan, just north of Toronto.

The York Regional Police, @YRP, caught a whiff of the request and enthusiastically -- perhaps too enthusiastically -- responded with, "Awesome! Can we come too?"You can imagine what happens next.

The police forwarded the tweet to an account for a man listed on the board of directors for the repair shop chain.

But it didn't end there.

The exchange was re-tweeted thousands of times. At one point it was a top trend in Toronto that Tuesday.

The tweeter then tried a couple of different tactics.

First, defiance. "Never knew weed smokers are more wanted in society than shooters & rapists. Big smh to all of y'all," said one tweet.

Then, retreat. "People really think I'm serious with my tweets? MANNNNNNNN."

Finally, shame. "Can't lie, stupid move but would y'all have noticed that tweet if YRP didn't retweet it?"

Since the tweeter named the company, Mr. Lube, and the intersection where his shop was, the chain got involved.

"Thank you to the York Regional Police for your help and great work. The matter has now been handled," it said in a tweet.

Read More

IN THE WAKE OF TERROR ATTACKS, YEMEN STEPS UP SECURITY

Security forces in Yemen were on a heightened state of alert Wednesday, a day after the United States urged all Americans to leave the country amid fears of a possible terror threat.

Two U.S. military transport aircraft landed in Yemen on Tuesday to evacuate American citizens. The UK Foreign Office has also withdrawn its embassy staff.

A senior Yemeni Interior Ministry official told CNN that "a few" al Qaeda operatives have arrived in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, over the past three days, which has forced government authorities to put Yemeni forces on high alert. The official could not be named, as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

"We are confident that government security forces will be able to stop any attack from taking place in Sanaa, but the militants do have a good history of operating in Sanaa," he said Tuesday.

"It's not a secret that al Qaeda also has sleeper cells in Sanaa," the source said.

Acting on intelligence information, the United States heightened its security stance late last week, issuing a worldwide travel alert and closing a number of embassies and consulates over large areas of the Middle East and Africa this week.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the United States has "a close partnership" with Yemen and that Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken with President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to thank him for his efforts.

But in a sign of possible tensions with its international allies, Yemen's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the evacuation of embassies "serves the interests of the extremists" and undermined its efforts.

"Yemen has taken all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of foreign missions in the capital Sanaa," a statement said Tuesday.

"While the government of Yemen appreciates foreign governments' concern for the safety of their citizens, the evacuation of embassy staff serves the interests of the extremists and undermines the exceptional cooperation between Yemen and the international alliance against terrorism."

Helicopter shot down

Two separate drone strikes on two vehicles killed six al Qaeda militants in the southern province of Shabwa on Wednesday morning, officials said.

The latest strikes came a day after a pair of suspected U.S. drone strikes killed four al Qaeda militants in Yemen. Security sources told CNN about those strikes but didn't offer additional details. None of those killed Tuesday were among the 25 names on the country's most-wanted list, security officials said.

It was unclear whether Tuesday's strikes were related to the security alert in place in the country since U.S. officials intercepted a message from al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to operatives in Yemen telling them to "do something."

The message was sent to Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the terror group's Yemeni affiliate. U.S. intelligence believes al-Wuhayshi has recently been appointed the overall terror organization's No. 2 leader.

Meanwhile, a Yemeni government official not authorized to speak to media told CNN that a military helicopter was shot down in Mareb province Tuesday.

He said that the helicopter had been inspecting the country's main oil pipeline -- one that has been subject to repeated attacks -- and that "it's possible this is the work of AQAP."

At least eight people were killed, including the 107th Brigade commander, six army escorts and at least one crew member, he said.

AQAP's recent attacks have included a suicide bombing on a pro-government militia in the south in March that killed 12, and an attempted suicide bombing attack on a gas pumping facility in the port city of Balhaf in June.

In July, several soldiers were killed by a bomb in Sanaa after a lull in attacks in the capital.

American citizens evacuated

The State Department on Tuesday urged Americans in Yemen to leave immediately, citing terrorist activities and civil unrest. All nonemergency U.S. government personnel were also told to leave.

"In response to a request from the U.S. State Department, early this morning the U.S. Air Force transported personnel out of Sanaa, Yemen, as part of a reduction in emergency personnel," Pentagon press secretary George Little said in a statement.

"The U.S. Department of Defense continues to have personnel on the ground in Yemen to support the U.S. State Department and monitor the security situation," he added.

Psaki said those evacuated had been taken to Germany.

The UK Foreign Office said it had temporarily withdrawn all staff from the British Embassy and would keep the facility shut until employees are able to return.

'Abundance of caution'

The State Department said the substantial security steps it has taken reflect an "abundance of caution" over intelligence information that indicated final planning by al Qaeda in Yemen for possible terrorist attacks on Western targets to coincide with the end of Ramadan this week.

List of U.S. embassies and consulates closed this week

Three sources told CNN that the United States has information that members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are in the final stages of planning for an unspecified attack. Recent jailbreaks in Pakistan, Iraq and Libya all have the fingerprints of al Qaeda operations.

The Yemeni security forces, extensively reorganized under Hadi, have over the past 18 months recaptured swathes of territory that were briefly held by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, particularly in the south of the country.

AQAP has not mounted a large-scale suicide attack on Yemen's security forces since May 2012, when more than 100 soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber as they trained for a parade in Sanaa.

Many of AQAP's operatives, including its leadership, retreated into remote areas after the Yemeni military offensive last year and regrouped.

Read More

Russia flag stunt gets Bloodhound Gang band in trouble

An American rock band, Bloodhound Gang, is in trouble with the Russian authorities over a stunt which saw one of its band members stuff the Russian flag into his pants and pull it out from his backside.

The band member told the audience "Don't tell Putin" before whipping the flag between his legs -- beneath his trousers -- during a concert in Odessa, Ukraine, on Wednesday.

He then tossed the flag into the crowd.

The stunt, which was caught on video, was posted on YouTube and has gone viral in Russia and Ukraine. Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency named bass guitar player Jared Hasselhoff as the band member responsible.

Now the band faces repercussions in Russia, where it has been barred from performing at the Kubana music festival, in a southern Russian territory, Krasnodar Krai, officials said.

"Talked to Krasnodar territory leadership. Bloodhound Gang packing suitcases. These idiots won't perform in Kubana," Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky said on Twitter Friday.A member of the band's crew, who asked to not be named for security reasons, told CNN the band was attacked Saturday by Russian nationalists inside Anapa airport in Krasnodar Krai.

The band members were "beaten up" by a crowd of men, he said, who punched and kicked them. Some of the attackers had whips.

He said there were no serious injuries and that the band and its entourage were now safe. A Russian police guard is accompanying them as they wait for the next flight out, he said.

Bloodhound Gang is still listed among the acts on the website for the weeklong Kubana festival on the Black Sea coast, which started Thursday.

Bloodhound Gang had a big hit in 1999 with the song "The Bad Touch." The band is known for releasing satirical and provocative songs.

Read More

US air strike kills five Afghan police

A US air strike killed five Afghan policemen during a joint operation against insurgents, officials said Thursday, in an incident likely to further strain ties between the allies.

Afghan and US forces called for aerial support while fighting in the eastern province of Nangarhar, the US-led NATO coalition said, with local officials reporting special forces were reacting to an insurgent attack on a police post.

“We can confirm five Afghan police were accidently killed yesterday (Wednesday),” Lieutenant Colonel Will Griffin, a spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), told AFP.

“It was a combined ANSF (Afghan National Security Force) and ISAF operation and it was a combined call for supporting aerial fire which resulted in the deaths of five Afghan policemen.

“Our condolences go out to the families of the policemen who lost their lives.”

Civilian casualties from US air strikes have often provoked a furious reaction from Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the deaths of the five policemen come at a sensitive time for Afghan-US relations.

With the US-led NATO force due to withdraw its 100,000 combat troops by the end of next year, the Afghan police and army are increasingly taking responsibility for thwarting the insurgency that erupted after the Taliban were ousted in 2001.

Read More

Al Qaeda's kinder, gentler image makeover

Al Nusra fighters stand ready to fight Syrian regime forces near Aleppo in April. Al Nusra has pledged allegiance to al Qaeda.An al Qaeda-produced video posted on a website in early July opens with uplifting images of smiling Syrian children and jovial old men listening to speeches delivered by al Qaeda militants.

The video seems startlingly out of place on a website usually devoted to serious young men learning to fire machine guns, bloodshed and graphic images of civilian casualties purportedly caused by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Instead, the video, featured on a site aligned with al Qaeda, shows a Jordanian member of al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria insisting that his group's poor image is just a myth propagated by Western media. He says: "The international channels try to twist the picture and portray the mujahedeen as bloodthirsty, as distanced from the people -- that they reject the people and don't love them." As the Jordanian militant speaks, young Syrian boys crowd around him

Al Qaeda-affiliated fighters have set up "Advocacy Tents" in Syria's largest city, Aleppo, where the jihadists can "educate the people on our point of view."

In another apparent attempt to soften its image, al Qaeda members in Syria held something akin to a town fair. Another al Qaeda video produced in Syria surfaced online in July, this one showing an al Qaeda-organized ice cream-eating contest in Aleppo.

Around the same time, an Arabic-language news outlet, Aleppo News, published a video of a tug-of-war between members of the two al Qaeda-affiliated rebel groups fighting in Syria. In the video, crowds of young boys and older men cheer on the members of al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda and its regional franchises understand they need to try to win the "heart and minds" of the local population; something they have generally failed to do in the past and something that the leaders of these groups have come to understand is a major problem.

In documents recovered in Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, bin Laden and his top advisers privately criticized the brutal tactics of al Qaeda in Iraq, which had provoked a tribal uprising known as "the Sunni Awakening" that almost destroyed al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate in 2006 and 2007.

Now, al Qaeda in Iraq and in neighboring Syria are experiencing a revival, a revival at least somewhat fueled by al Qaeda learning from some of the mistakes it made during the previous decade in Iraq.

This is significant because al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, al Nusra, is widely considered to be the most effective rebel force fighting the Assad regime, and the group pledged allegiance to the leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in April.

But videos of al Qaeda militants playing tug-of-war or joking with members of the local community are hardly signs of moderation.

Al Qaeda's Syrian branch releases lengthy and passionate sermons dedicated to denouncing Shi'a Muslims as apostates who should be killed.

And although some al Qaeda fighters in Syria might be engaging the public with ice cream, games and conversation, their colleagues in neighboring Iraq continue to launch bloody attacks on civilians.

On Monday, at least 50 people were killed in 15 separate car bomb attacks in Baghdad. Many of those bombings are believed be the work of al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate.

In all likelihood, al Qaeda and its allied groups are doing too little, too late, in their quest to win the public's hearts and minds.

The group's senior leaders recognized the dangers of killing too many Muslim civilians as far back as 2005, when Zawahiri reprimanded the founder of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, for alienating the Iraqi people with indiscriminate violence.

And the majority of Muslims around the world reject violence in the name of Islam, particularly in the form of suicide bombings. This is unsurprising, given that al Qaeda's violence has primarily claimed Muslim lives.

Read More

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan up by nearly a quarter, U.N. says

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan increased 23% in the first six months of this year, the United Nations said in a report released Wednesday.

The rise in the number of ordinary Afghans killed and injured reverses a decline in 2012. That was the first drop in civilian casualties since the U.N. began publishing the figures in 2007.

The increase in deaths and injuries so far this year was mainly driven by the stepped up use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in its report.

Civilian deaths increased 14% from the first six months of 2012 to 1,319, the report said, while injuries rose 28% to 2,533.

"The violent impact of the conflict on Afghan civilians marked by the return of rising civilian casualties in 2013 demands even greater commitment and further efforts by parties to the conflict to better protect civilians who are increasingly being killed and injured in the cross-fire," said Jan Kubis, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan.

Nearly three-quarters of all civilian casualties in the first half of the year resulted from actions by anti-government groups, notably the Taliban, the U.N. report found.

The remainder were caused by pro-government forces (9%), ground engagements between pro- and anti-government forces (12%) and unattributed factors like unexploded ordnance (5%).

The report singled out the devastating effect of the use of IEDs, which caused 35% of deaths and injuries. The devices killed 443 civilians and injured 917. That's a 34% increase in overall casualties from the first half of 2012.

"The increase in the indiscriminate use of IEDs and the deliberate targeting of civilians by anti-government elements is particularly alarming and must stop," Kubis said.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan welcomed the report, saying it had taken "a number of positive steps to reduce the number of civilian casualties in this country."

But the Taliban criticized the report, saying it was "in favor of Americans and part of the propaganda against the Taliban

Read More

EU TAKES TOES IN EGYPT

Egypt's factions must find a way to bridge their differences and pave the way for a political solution that involves all sides if the country is to leave its current chaos behind, the European Union's top diplomat said Tuesday.

"Only an inclusive process will work," EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton told reporters Tuesday after visiting with the country's deposed president, current leaders, Muslim Brotherhood members and others during a brief trip.

"And though I recognize that is challenging, it is really important to begin now," she said.

Egypt has suffered from sporadic violence since the July 3 military coup that removed President Mohamed Morsy from power on the heels of mass protests against his rule. He is being held at an undisclosed military facility on a variety of criminal charges.

Most recently, violent clashes between security forces and protesters in Cairo on Saturday left dozens of Morsy supporters dead, and officials have threatened to disband a sit-in of the former president's supporters -- an act that could spur yet more bloodshed.

Several Egyptian human rights groups demanded in a statement released Tuesday that Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim resign over the Saturday incident and demanded that government forces refrain from further violence.

"The Egyptian security forces' recurrent use of excessive, lethal violence in the face of political protest will only exacerbate the political ills that led Egyptian society to rebel against the policies of Mubarak, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), and the Muslim Brotherhood," according to the statement, which was signed by 10 human rights, womens' and legal organizations.

From CNN correspondent: Egypt's revolution of the mind

Speaking at a news conference with Ashton, Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei said he agrees with Ashton's call for a non-violent approach that includes the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups in a political solution.

"I want to emphasize again that our immediate priority, as we shared with Lady Ashton, is to stop violence in all its forms and shapes and try every possible way to find a peaceful solution," he told reporters. "Violence is not a solution. It opens new wounds. It doesn't heal old wounds."

Muslim Brotherhood officials said on the group's website that they will continue protesting until Morsy is restored to office.

Read More

WEDDING TURNED FUNERAL

Wedding plans have turned to funeral arrangements as New York authorities try to piece together what went wrong in a horrific weekend boating accident that killed a bride-to-be and best man.

"We're looking into every single thing," Rockland County, New York, Sheriff Louis Falco said. "What we're going to do is bring in an accident reconstruction team."

Lindsey Stewart and Brian Bond were planning to marry on August 10.

Mark Lennon, who was to have been the best man in the wedding party, and Stewart disappeared late Friday when a 21-foot Stingray power boat they were passengers on slammed into one of three construction barges strapped together near the Tappan Zee Bridge, 25 miles north of Manhattan.

Stewart and Lennon were thrown from the boat.

Stweart's body was recovered Saturday. But the search for Lennon continued until Sunday morning when a jet skier called police to report a body in the river. Investigators are working to positively identify the body.

It was supposed to be a short boat ride up the Hudson River from the village of Piermont in Rockland County to Tarrytown.

The couple had just dined at a restaurant with friends when Stewart and Bond boarded the power boat, along with three friends.

What went wrong?

Potential alcohol use and poor lighting are key points of interest as authorities look into the deadly crash.

The barge the power boat crashed into had been anchored in the river since April, according to Robert Van Cura, undersheriff of the Rockland County Sheriff's Office.

"The barge had some lights on it; whether or not it was properly lighted is part of the investigation," Van Cura said.

"On a clear, moonlit night, with the bridge lights on, you can see pretty well," said Tom Sobolik in a telephone interview from aboard his sailboat near the accident site.

The moon was last full on Monday.

But Craig and Celeste Kmiecik said they were boating in the area Friday night, and it was dark.

"There was a moon last night, but you really can't see anything," said Craig Kmiecik.

"The barge was not lit up," said Celeste Kmiecik. "We saw that last night coming back to the marina."

Another area resident, Anthony Fowler, said having barges on the waterway were an accident waiting to happen.

"If you put an immovable object that's dark in the path of recreational boaters, you have a recipe for disaster."

Boat operator arrested

Meanwhile, boat operator Jojo K. John, 35, has been arrested.

"We have probable cause to believe that he operated the boat while intoxicated," Van Cura said.

John was arraigned at an area hospital on one count of first-degree vehicular manslaughter and three counts of second-degree vehicular assault. More charges are possible, Van Cura said.

John, along with the others who were not thrown from the boat, all suffered head injuries.

'In no condition to talk'

Bond, the groom, was hospitalized at Westchester Medical Center, said Stewart's stepfather Walter Kosik, who visited him Saturday. "He was in no condition to talk."

A spokesman for the medical center said Bond was in fair condition, with serious head injuries. He was the one who called 911 from the boat, reporting the accident.

For the families, the tragedy was magnified by the pending nuptials.

"She's supposed to be married two weeks from today," said Carol Stewart about her daughter. "It just can't end like this.

Read More

5 FEARED DEAD IN TARABA ATTACK

Five persons were killed yesterday in Tapga Village of Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba state when armed militia group from the neighbouring Tarok Village of Plateau state attacked the Taraba village.

It was gathered that many others sustained varying degrees of injuries in the attack while others were forced to desert Tapga village. The injured were said to have been taken to some clinics in Wukari and Ibi towns for treatment. It could not however be ascertained the reason for the attack.

According to eye-witnesses, some of the refugees are taking refuge in Jibo -a settlement of Wukari.

Chairman of Ibi council Adamu Ishaku, who confirmed the attack and killing to newsmen, said “the attackers took my people unaware”.

Ishaku said the attackers had planned to invade Sarki-Kudu village of his council but they couldn’t succeed before “they ended up lunching the attack on the unsuspecting residents of Tapga,”

Ishaku however gave the casualty figure at three while eye-witnesses said the death toll rose to five as at press time.

Our source added that the fate of little children and women left behind was still unknown.

The Ibi chairman said security in parts of Ibi has been porous especially at the coastal and border areas.

Read More

BLAST IN KANO

A series of loud explosions rocked Nigeria’s second city of Kano on Monday, residents said, describing at least four blasts in the Sabon Gari neighbourhood, which has been previously targetted by Boko Haram Islamists.

“There is confusion all over the place. There were four huge explosions, so huge that they shook the whole area. Everywhere is enveloped in smoke and dust,” said Chinyere Madu, a fruit vendor.

The blasts were said to have targetted Enugu street in Sabon Gari, a strip filled with outdoor bars and eateries.

Resident Kola Oyebanji said he believed “beer parlours” were the target.

“My house is not far from there,” he told AFP. “All my windows are shattered.”

Kano is the largest city in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, but Sabon Gari is a mostly Christian neighbourhood.

The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear, with police and emergency officials in Kano not available to comment.

Boko Haram, the extremist group which has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, was blamed for coordinated suicide blasts at a bus park in Sabon Gari in March that killed at least 22 people.

Read More

Authorities want answers in boating accident that kills bride-to-be, best man

Wedding plans have turned to funeral arrangements as New York authorities try to piece together what went wrong in a horrific weekend boating accident that killed a bride-to-be and best man.

"We're looking into every single thing," Rockland County, New York, Sheriff Louis Falco said. "What we're going to do is bring in an accident reconstruction team."

Lindsey Stewart and Brian Bond were planning to marry on August 10.

Mark Lennon, who was to have been the best man in the wedding party, and Stewart disappeared late Friday when a 21-foot Stingray power boat they were passengers on slammed into one of three construction barges strapped together near the Tappan Zee Bridge, 25 miles north of Manhattan.

Stewart and Lennon were thrown from the boat.

Stweart's body was recovered Saturday. But the search for Lennon continued until Sunday morning when a jet skier called police to report a body in the river. Investigators are working to positively identify the body.

It was supposed to be a short boat ride up the Hudson River from the village of Piermont in Rockland County to Tarrytown.

The couple had just dined at a restaurant with friends when Stewart and Bond boarded the power boat, along with three friends.

What went wrong?

Potential alcohol use and poor lighting are key points of interest as authorities look into the deadly crash.

The barge the power boat crashed into had been anchored in the river since April, according to Robert Van Cura, undersheriff of the Rockland County Sheriff's Office.

"The barge had some lights on it; whether or not it was properly lighted is part of the investigation," Van Cura said.

"On a clear, moonlit night, with the bridge lights on, you can see pretty well," said Tom Sobolik in a telephone interview from aboard his sailboat near the accident site.

The moon was last full on Monday.

But Craig and Celeste Kmiecik said they were boating in the area Friday night, and it was dark.

"There was a moon last night, but you really can't see anything," said Craig Kmiecik.

"The barge was not lit up," said Celeste Kmiecik. "We saw that last night coming back to the marina."

Another area resident, Anthony Fowler, said having barges on the waterway were an accident waiting to happen.

"If you put an immovable object that's dark in the path of recreational boaters, you have a recipe for disaster."

Boat operator arrested

Meanwhile, boat operator Jojo K. John, 35, has been arrested.

"We have probable cause to believe that he operated the boat while intoxicated," Van Cura said.

John was arraigned at an area hospital on one count of first-degree vehicular manslaughter and three counts of second-degree vehicular assault. More charges are possible, Van Cura said.

John, along with the others who were not thrown from the boat, all suffered head injuries.

'In no condition to talk'

Bond, the groom, was hospitalized at Westchester Medical Center, said Stewart's stepfather Walter Kosik, who visited him Saturday. "He was in no condition to talk."

A spokesman for the medical center said Bond was in fair condition, with serious head injuries. He was the one who called 911 from the boat, reporting the accident.

For the families, the tragedy was magnified by the pending nuptials.

"She's supposed to be married two weeks from today," said Carol Stewart about her daughter. "It just can't end like this.

Read More

Bahrain enacts stiff laws against 'terrorism' before opposition protests

Lawmakers in Bahrain have passed tough new laws for "terrorism acts" ahead of massive protests planned by the opposition next month

The National Assembly, in a session Sunday, approved new penalties for those who commit or incite "terrorism," including stripping Bahrainis of citizenship.

Legislators also banned any demonstrations in the tiny kingdom's capital, Manama.

The anti-government opposition bloc has called for mass protests on August 14.

According to BNA, Bahrain's National Institution for Human Rights praised the efforts "to protect the Kingdom's gains and future generations and (face) the recent dangerous escalation that aim at pushing the country to unrest and political tension, which is contrary to the Islamic values and international norms, conventions and treaties."

But global human rights activists have denounced what they call appalling human rights abuses by Bahraini authorities, particularly in the past few years.

In April, Human Rights Watch said Bahraini security forces had raided homes and arbitrarily detained a number of prominent anti-government protest leaders.

Bahrain is an ally of the United States and home to the 5th Fleet, a large U.S. naval presence in the Persian Gulf.

Tensions in the kingdom remain high following the 2011 uprising, in which the majority Shiite population protested against the ruling Sunni minority.

The protests were spurred by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

But the demonstrations failed to gain the traction of other Arab Spring uprisings after a crackdown by authorities in the island state, backed by troops from nearby Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates under the banner of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Read More

LEADERS TRADE BLAMES IN EGYPT OVER CRISIS

All agree that scores angry at Egypt's military-backed government and the ouster of President Mohamed Morsy died in late-night clashes in the volatile nation's capital.

But they are of opposite minds as to who began firing first and who is to blame.

Dr. Mohammed Ali Sultan, chairman of Egypt's ambulance services, told CNN that 72 had been killed in Nasr City, an area of Cairo the Muslim Brotherhood has made its base after the group's former leader was forced from power and ordered jailed.

Medics in a Brotherhood field hospital there earlier Saturday had put the death toll at 66, with another 61 on life support and thousands more wounded.

How did they end up in such straits?

Ask the Muslim Brotherhood -- the Islamist group that was sidelined under longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak only to become the country's dominant political force after his forced exit in 2011 -- and its members will say police fired live ammunition on protesters Friday and Saturday.

A wounded protester getting medical treatment at a field hospital said he saw men in plainclothes fire on pro-Morsy demonstrators with shotguns.

He referred to them as "thugs," a term commonly used for young men who support the government and resort to violence.

"Police forces were standing behind them. Also, military forces were outside blocking three entrances to Rabaa Adawiya neighborhood," the protester said, adding he had also seen corpses with gunshot wounds at the hospital.

Yet the prosecutor general's office, according to a report early Sunday on state-run Nile TV, concluded that protesters not only initiated the clashes but also fired live bullets on security forces.

A police spokesman likewise rejected any allegations police opened fire, saying they only used tear gas canisters and were not responsible for the deaths.

Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim offered a similar view during a televised news conference.

The protesters were at fault for starting violence that wounded 14 police, none of whom fired back, he said.

"I want to emphasize here that the Interior Ministry police force has never and will never fire its weapons at any Egyptian citizen," Ibrahim said.

Fresh clashes erupted early Sunday in Helwan south of Cairo between residents there and pro-Morsy protesters, reported state TV, citing witnesses.

Meanwhile, an attorney has filed a lawsuit at a district court in Cairo, asking that the military overthrow of Morsy be overturned. Tarek Al Kashef is basing his challenge on the country's constitution, specifically sections that stipulate that a presidential term is four years and that the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces. A hearing is slated for October 8.

source: CNN

Read More

20 CIVILIANS KILLED IN BORNO BY ISLAMIST

Suspected members of Nigeria’s Islamist group Boko Haram shot dead more than 20 civilians when a vigilante group attacked them in the northern Borno state, a military spokesman said Sunday as gathered by RCRM(RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS AND OTHER RELATED MATTERS)

“The suspected sect members came armed and fired sporadic shots that killed over twenty innocent civilians,” Haruna Mohammed Sani, spokesman for the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) said.

The violence took place on Saturday in Dawashe village, the army lieutenant said in a statement.

He said men from the Civilian Joint Task Force, a vigilante group formed in Boko Haram’s bastion Maiduguri to combat the Islamist gunmen who have been terrorising the region for years, entered Dawashe to search for suspects.

Suspected Boko Haram members subsequently opened fire in the village, the spokesman said, adding that the 20 victims were mostly fishermen and traders.

Sani said a dozen other civilians sustained gunshot wounds during the incident but provided no information on casualties among the belligerents.

The toll and circumstances of the incident could not immediately be verified independently.

The MNJTF, a joint military force set up in 1998 to combat border crimes, consists of troops from Nigeria, Chad and Niger.

Its mandate was recently expanded to fight Boko Haram, whose insurgency is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by security forces.

courtesy:RCRM

Read More

UNDERAGE MARRIAGE: Playing games with child’s rights

We claim that we’ve embraced democracy, yet, our upper House is pushing a law which gives full right for male adults to sexually abuse very young girls, under the guise that a married girl, no matter the age, is considered an adult!
The endorsement of child marriage by the Senate through constitutional amendment is generating ripples. Sunday Vanguard learnt that Senate considered Section 29, which deals with renunciation of citizenship for amendment.

Section 29(1) provides that any citizen of Nigeria of full age who wishes to renounce his Nigerian citizenship shall make a declaration in the prescribed manner for the renunciation.’ Section 29(4) (a) and (b) provides, ‘For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section: (a) “full age” means the age of eighteen years and above; (b) any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.’ The Senate voted to remove the latter, that is, Section 29(4)(b).

Then, Senator Yerima, a former governor of Zamfara State – who had married a 13 year-old Egyptian girl -raised an objection on the grounds that the removal of the provision was ‘un-Islamic,’ citing Second Schedule, Part 1, Item 61 of the constitution entitled, ‘The formation, annulment and dissolution of marriages other than marriages under Islamic law and Customary law including matrimonial causes relating thereto.’
The senator mobilized his colleagues and got the amendment put to vote again and those who earlier supported the removal could not muster the two-thirds majority votes required to seal the removal. By not being able to get two-thirds majority votes, Section 29(4)(b) remains in the constitution.

Meanwhile, Nigerians, through social and conventional media, have continued to express their opinions on the issue. Some of them are reproduced hereunder:

The world is watching us – Dr. Princess Olufemi-Kayode

Ashoka FELLOW & Executive DirectorMedia Concern Initiative – for Women & Children

It is sad and disgraceful that at this time in the 21st century, we are voting for marriageable age for the girl-child in our Senate during a constitutional review.. It is shameful and does not portray our governance system as a serious one. We continually make a mockery of democracy – the government of the people, by the people and for the people. It is obvious that this is all about a one-man riot squad: Yerima.

He married a 13-year-old and nothing happened. If I recollect, the Senate called it a personal issue. We need to know that the world is watching us.

Read More