Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Deaths as blasts hit Nigeria towns

At least 12 people are thought to have been killed and several others injured following a series of blasts that hit cities mainly in northern Nigeria.
Police on Monday were investigating the blasts, which came less than 24 hours after the inauguration of Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian president.
The most deadly incident was in the northern city of Bauchi, where three blasts tore through a beer garden in a military barracks on Sunday night.
An emergency source speaking on condition of anonymity said that at least 10 people were killed in the blast, while the AFP news agency quoted an army officer as saying that at least 20 people were killed.
"By my estimation ... the number of people killed could not be less than 20. Scores of others were injured in the blasts which occurred at five-second intervals," the unnamed officer was quoted as saying.
At least 2,000 people were thought to have been attending the "mammy market" when the blasts went off.
Such markets, which include beer gardens and eateries, are commonly found at Nigerian barracks and are open to civilians

Zuma says Gaddafi ready for truce

Muammar Gaddafi is ready for a truce to stop the fighting in his country, Jacob Zuma, the South African president, has said.

Zuma, who met the Libyan leader at an undisclosed location during a visit to Libya on Monday, also listed conditions set out by the embattled leader that have scuppered previous ceasefire attempts.

He said Gaddafi was willing to accept an African Union (AU) initiative for a ceasefire that would stop all hostilities, including NATO air strikes in support of rebel forces.

But Zuma said Gaddafi insisted that "all Libyans be given a chance to talk among themselves" to determine the country's future. The rebels, however, quickly rejected the offer.


Zuma did not say whether Gaddafi was ready to step down, a key demand of the rebels.
In April, Zuma led a delegation of the African Union to Libya with an AU proposal for a truce. Gaddafi said he would accept the truce, but quickly ignored it and resumed his attacks.

In the rebels' de facto capital of Benghazi, Fathi Baja, the rebel foreign minister, rejected the African Union plan.

"We refuse completely; we don't consider it a political initiative, it is only some stuff that Gaddafi wants to announce to stay in power," he told the Associated Press.

Ratko Mladic loses extradition appeal

A Serbian court has rejected an appeal by Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army commander, against his extradition to a UN war crimes court in The Hague.

The 69-year-old will be extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) "as soon as possible," Bruno Vekaric, Serbia's deputy war crimes prosecutor, told the AP news agency.

Tuesday's decision by the Belgrade court, paving the way for Mladic's extradition to face war crimes charges, came shortly after it had received the appeal.
Mladic's lawyers argued he was too ill to travel to the court in the Netherlands, saying he had suffered a number of strokes and had a paralysed arm.

Milos Saljic, representing Mladic, said he was not mentally and physically fit to stand trial and asked for a team of doctors to examine his client.
The former general is charged by the tribunal for atrocities committed by his Serb troops during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre where around 8,000 Muslim men and boys were rounded up and killed, and the 44-month long seige of Sarajevo which left an estimated 10,000 people dead

Monday, May 30, 2011

Pakistan 'plans' North Waziristan offensive

Pakistan will soon launch an air and ground military offensive in the tribal region of North Waziristan, the main sanctuary for armed groups on the border with Afghanistan, media reports say.

The United States has long demanded that Pakistan launch an offensive in the region to hunt down the Haqqani network, one of the deadliest Afghan armed factions fighting American troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has been reluctant, but has come under intense US pressure to act after it was discovered that Osama bin Laden had been living in the country.

The News, a leading Pakistani daily, quoted unnamed "highly placed sources" as saying Pakistani airforce planes would soften up targets under the "targeted military offensive" before ground operations were launched.

The newspaper said an understanding had been reached over the offensive during last week's visit by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state.
But a Pakistani military spokesman denied the reports as based on "rumours".

Obama promises national response for Missouri

US president Barack Obama has pledged government help to assist the victims of the deadliest tornado to hit the country in 65 years, following a memorial service for those killed in the Missouri disaster.
Obama toured the tornado site in the city of Joplin on Sunday, and offered his condolences at a service honouring the 139 known victims of the May 22 twister.
He called the incident a national tragedy that will require a national response.
"We're going to be here long after the cameras leave," Obama said, referring to federal support for rebuilding efforts that he predicted would be "a tough, long slog".
He said that it was impossible to know when or why such devastation strikes, but praised neighbours for helping each other at great risk to themselves, saying "there are heroes around us all the time".
Obama, who returned to the US on Saturday night from a six-day trip to Europe, toured a disaster scene where crushed cars, piles of wood and debris lay strewn amid the rubble on lots where houses once stood

US group says Sudan army committed war crimes

New satellite images provide evidence that northern Sudanese troops have committed war crimes, including ethnic cleansing, in the contested border town of Abyei where the forces took over more than a week ago, according to an advocacy group.
The Satellite Sentinel Project said in a statement on Sunday that satellite images by DigitalGlobe show that the Sudanese army burned about one-third of all civilian buildings in the north-south border town, used disproportionate force and indiscriminately targeted civilians.
"The totality of evidence from satellites and ground sources points to state-sponsored ethnic cleansing of much of the contested Abyei region,'' the group said.
The Satellite Sentinel Project said the evidence is being sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Security Council for assessment.
Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, is already wanted by the ICC for war crimes in the Darfur region.
Northern Sudanese tanks rolled into the town of Abyei on May 21, scattering southern troops that were there as part of a joint security unit

S Africa's Zuma in Libya for peace talks

Jacob Zuma, South Africa's president, has travelled to Tripoli for talks to end Libya's conflict, as calls mount from the international community for Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, to stand down.
Zuma's office said the main objectives of his visit on Monday include negotiating an immediate ceasefire, enabling the delivery of humanitarian aid and adopting and implementing reforms to eliminate the causes of the conflict.
It rejected as "misleading" reports the talks would focus on an exit strategy for Gaddafi, saying the visit is part of African Union efforts to end the conflict between his forces and rebels fighting to oust him.
Libyan state television said that Zuma was going to discuss the implementation of the AU "roadmap" for peace, as it reported fresh NATO raids on the Nafusa mountains in the far west and the town of Bani Walid, near Misurata.
In a statement on the eve of Zuma's visit, his ruling African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa condemned the NATO bombing of Libya.
"We also join the continent and all peace loving people of the world in condemning the continuing aerial bombardments of Libya by Western forces," it said after a two-day meeting of its executive council.
On Friday, G8 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States called for Gaddafi to step down after more than 40 years in power.
The Libyan government responded by saying any initiative to resolve the crisis would have to go through the African Union.
"The G8 is an economic summit. We are not concerned by its decisions," said Tripoli's deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaaim.
"We are an African country. Any initiative outside the AU framework will be rejected."

Yemen soldiers killed in restive city

At least six Yemeni soldiers have been killed and dozens injured in an apparent ambush as they travelled to Zinjibar, a southern city reportedly under the control of al-Qaeda fighters, a security official has said.

According to residents, Yemeni warplanes later targeted positions held by the fighters.
Earlier on Sunday, residents spoke of up to 300 fighters entering Zinjibar and taking over "everything". The fighters were alleged to be al-Qaeda members.
Opposition leaders accuse Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's embattled president under pressure to quit and end his 33-year rule, of allowing Zinjibar on the Gulf of Aden, to fall to al-Qaeda and allied fighters in order to raise alarm in the region that would in turn win him support.
The security official who spoke about the attack in Zinjibar said he not did not know who was responsible and gave no figures of the injured soldiers.
Elsewhere in the troubled country swept by anti-government protests, at least 20 people were killed in the southern city of Taiz after soldiers opened fire indscriminately on a protest camp, a source said.

They did not give further details on the violence in Taiz, but said the death toll was likely to rise.

Ashraf Khandari, a journalist based in Aden, said protesters were sprayed with live bullets and hot water, adding that "a lot of people" had been killed.

The latest unrest came days after troops loyal to Saleh clashed with Hashed tribesmen who support the opposition.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Obama reaffirms UK 'essential relationship


arack Obama, the US president, has called the partnership between his country and the UK "an essential relationship for us and the world" as he arrived in London for a three-day trip.
In a joint article written by the US leader and David Cameron, the British prime minister, in The Times newspaper, the pair put their ties at the heart of the drive for global stability and prosperity.
"When the United States and Britain stand together, our people and people around the world can become more secure and more prosperous," they wrote.
"Ours is not just a special relationship, it is an essential relationship - for us and for the world."
They also referred to the "Arab Spring", promising not to abandon protesters fighting for democracy across the Arab world.
"We will not stand by as their aspirations get crushed in a hail of bombs, bullets and mortar fire," they wrote.
The role of NATO in Libya and the Western response to the uprisings are expected to be the focus of talks between the two leaders later this week.

The two are also expected to announce the formation of a US-British national security council to work together on international challenges and share intelligence, an Obama administration official said.
It was not developed in response to any one issue, but will help enable "a more guided, coordinated approach to analyse the 'over the horizon' challenges we may face in the future

Lagarde bids for IMF top job


France's finance minister, Christine Lagarde, has said she will apply to lead the International Monetary Fund [IMF], after she received wide European backing for the job.
"I have decided to present my candidacy," she said on Wednesday, adding that she had made the decision "after mature reflection."
Lagarde announced her candidacy after securing the unanimous backing of the 27-nation European Union and, diplomats said, support from the United States and China.
"It is an immense challenge which I approach with humility and in the hope of achieving the broadest possible consensus," Lagarde said, adding that she planned to travel extensively in the coming weeks to talk with other member states.
The 55-year-old centre-right politician, a former corporate lawyer, has won praise for her skillful chairing meetings of the G20 finance ministers, and for her communications skills.
However, unlike Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF chief who resigned last week after being charged with the attempted rape of a hotel maid in New York, she is not an economist.
Megan Greene, from the Economist Intelligence Unit in London, told Al Jazeera it looked increasingly likely there would be a European head in the IMF.
"Lagarde isn't the strongest candidate from an economics perspective but she is excellent in terms of politics," she said.
"Being at the head of the IMF during the European debt crisis would be excellent because it is fundamentally a political crisis, as much as it is a debt crisis

India to strengthen trade ties with Africa

India has intensified a push to strengthen its economic ties with Africa and emerge from the shadow of rival China's influence in the area by offering $5bn to help the continent, which is rich in minerals and commodities.

At an address to an India-Africa summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, India's prime minister trumpeted his country's historical ties with Africa in an attempt to catch up with Beijing's growing influence on the continent.

Speaking on Tuesday, Manmohan Singh said: "There is a new economic growth story emerging from Africa.

"Africa possesses all the prerequisites to become a major growth pole of the world.

"The India-Africa partnership is unique and owes its origins to history and our common struggle against colonialism, apartheid, poverty, disease, illiteracy and hunger."

Singh, who is on a six-day trip to the continent, which began on Monday, is pledging development support in exchange for trade agreements to fuel growth in India's resource-intensive economy.

"We will offer $5bn for the next three years under lines of credit to help Africa achieve its development goals," he said.

Singh said India would offer an additional $700m for new institutions and training programmes, and a further $300m for a new Ethiopia-Djibouti railway line.
He also pledged $2m to fund the African Union's peacekeeping force in Somalia

Zuma to offer Gaddafi 'exit strategy

South African president Jacob Zuma will visit the Libya next week, for talks officials say will focus on an "exit strategy" for the country's embattled leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

Zuma visited Tripoli on April 10 as part of an African Union delegation to broker a truce between Gaddafi and his opponents, but a peace plan fell through when the rebels insisted the longtime ruler step down.

"President Zuma will stop over in Tripoli for a discussion on May 30," the South African presidency said in a statement.

Two sources in the presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the talks would focus on Gaddafi's "exit strategy", the AFP news agency reported.

"The meeting is still very much in the planning stages," the source added. A second official said South Africa was working with Turkey on an exit plan for Gaddafi.

Despite attempting to broker peace in Libya, South Africa voted for a UN resolution authorising a no-fly zone over the country. But Pretoria has also since criticised NATO's bombing campaign, and said that it does not support regime change in the country

UN helicopters fired on in Abyei


Four UN helicopters were shot at, probably by militias allied to northern Sudan forces, during a visit to the disputed Sudanese region of Abyei late on Tuesday, according to a UN spokeswoman.

A total of 14 rounds were fired when the helicopters took off, but the crews landed safely, Hua Jiang , a UN spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Jiang said militias of the Arab Misseriya tribe supported by Khartoum were probably responsible for the attack, adding that they were now moving southwards after civilians had left the main settlement of Abyei.

"There are reports that they are moving south," she said.

Jiang said fighting and looting in Abyei had stopped after inhabitants left, adding that some stockpiles of UN agencies had been looted.

Sudan's northern army moved tanks into Abyei town, the border area's main settlement, on Saturday, sparking an international outcry and forcing thousands to flee.

On Tuesday, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan's president, refused to withdraw troops from Abyei, defying international calls for a withdrawal, and raising the stakes in a standoff with the south.

"Abyei is northern Sudanese land," Bashir said, adding he had given the green light to the northern army to respond to any "provocation" by the south, which also claims Abyei and plans to secede in July.

Analysts are watching how the south will react, fearing further north-south fighting could reignite a full-blown conflict that would disrupt the already fragile region.
Sudanese forces and and South Sudan separatist fighters fought for decades before a 2005 peace deal that also allowed southerners to vote overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum in January

Israel PM takes 'firm stand' on peace talks - Americas - Al Jazeera English

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Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has addressed the US congress, stressing the close ties between his country and the US and outlining his expectations for Middle East peace.

In his speech on Tuesday, the Israeli leader stressed his country's position as a democratic "friend of America" in the region, but largely ruled out movement on the issues that are important to Palestinians.

"Israel is not what is wrong with the Middle East," Netanyahu told US lawmakers. "Israel is what is right about the Middle East."

He characterised the problems with the peace process in the Middle East as a Palestinian refusal to accept Israel.

"The Palestinians have been unwilling to accept the Palestinian state if it meant accepting a Jewish state alongside it," Netanyahu said.

His speech had been keenly anticipated because in an earlier address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) he had vowed to use it to speak "the unvarnished truth" about what was necessary for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Netanyahu and the US-Israeli lobby have been rattled by the explicit support by Barack Obama, the US president, for a Palestinian state alongside Israel on the basis of Israel's pre-1967 war frontiers.

Saleh 'won't be dragged into civil war' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

NATO steps up Libya airstrikes

NATO warplanes have hammered Tripoli with some of the heaviest airstrikes yet, as US president Barack Obama and British prime minister David Cameron said Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi would "inevitably" be forced from power.

At least 12 huge explosions rocked the capital in the early hours on Tuesday. Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said three people were killed and 150 wounded.

Ibrahim said the strikes had targeted a compound of the Popular Guards, a tribally-based military detachment. But he said the compound had been emptied of people and "useful material" in anticipation of an attack, and the casualties were people living in the vicinity.
"This is another night of bombing and killing by NATO," Ibrahim told reporters.
Led by France, Britain and the United States, NATO warplanes have been bombing Libya for more than two months since the United Nations authorised "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Gaddafi's forces in the country's civil war

Tornado leaves scores dead in US city - Americas - Al Jazeera English

Watch video here Tornado leaves scores dead in US city - Americas - Al Jazeera English

Thousands displaced by Abyei clashes - Africa - Al Jazeera English

watch video hereThousands displaced by Abyei clashes - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Sahara nations to set up desert patrol force

Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Algeria will set up, within 18 months, a joint force of up to 75,000 soldiers to secure their shared Sahara-Sahel desert zone, Mali's foreign minister said.

"The number of soldiers in the force tasked with fighting terrorism will increase to 75,000 in the next 18 months," Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said on Friday.

Leaders from the four nations gathered in Mali to look at security issues, including the fall-out from the conflict in Libya, which experts say has increased the access to arms.

The four nations are struggling to control the zone, where al-Qaeda's North African wing has stepped up attacks and is operating alongside smugglers, rebels and local criminals.

A joint command centre has been established in Tamanrasset, in southern Algeria, but regional rivalries and the lack of trust between the countries have long stymied a coordinated regional approach European nations and the US have called for.

Armies of Sudan rivals clash in Abyei region

The armies of North and South Sudan have accused each other of launching attacks in the disputed region of Abyei.
Artillery fire erupted in Sudan's contested Abyei region hours after the north accused the south of ambushing a convoy in the border area, the United Nations said.
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"We heard artillery exchanges in Abyei in Todach and Tagalei but we don't know who is fighting whom," said Kouider Zerrouk, spokesperson for the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) on Friday.

The fresh violence came after the north accused the SPLA of attacking a convoy of Sudanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers late on Thursday in Dokura north of Abyei town.

"Abyei is now a war zone," said Sadiq Amer, deputy head of northern intelligence and security forces, adding that at least 22 soldiers had been killed in what he called an "aggression" of southern forces against a convoy of around 10 vehicles.

"The troops were ambushed without any warning," he told reporters in the capital Khartoum.
"We know that they are mobilising huge numbers of troops, not only in Abyei but along the 1956 border line," he said. "They should know that the Sudanese armed forces are ready."
The SPLA denied responsibility for the attack, which the United Nations said had taken place on a convoy of northern troops escorted by UN peacekeepers under a deal for both sides to withdraw forces from the disputed territory

Ivorycoast ;World leaders attend inauguration ceremony amid hopes for peaceful new chapter in West African country's history

Alassane Ouattara has been sworn in as Ivory Coast's president in an inauguration ceremony attended by world leaders which many hope will herald a peaceful new chapter in the country's history.
At least 100,000 people from across the region gathered in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital, for Saturday's ceremony, Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege reported from the event, describing the atmosphere as "carnival-like".
Some 20 heads of state, ambassadors and international diplomats also attended, including Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president and UN chief Ban Ki Moon.
"For many people this is an opportunity to begin a new chapter in the history of the country" Al Jazeera's Ndege said.
"In 50 years of independence from France this country has known 30 years of dictatorship and 20 years of ongoing political crisis, meaning that it hasn't really been able to assert itself as a democracy."
The stately ceremony should have taken place six months ago after Ouattara was declared the winner of last year's presidential election.
But he was prevented from taking office by outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to cede power.
Gbagbo used the army to prevent Ouattara from leaving the hotel that had served as his campaign headquarters, forcing Ouattara to initially take the oath of office in a ceremony inside the hotel lobby attended only by his aides

Taliban claim Kabul hospital attack - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Taliban claim Kabul hospital attack - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Syria mourners 'attacked by security forces' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Syria mourners 'attacked by security forces' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

ANC set to lose ground in South Africa vote

The African National Congress (ANC) may be the country's strongest political bloc, but its popularity is dwindling - especially among black voters; and some plan to make their voices heard on Wednesday, Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa reported from Johannesburg.
The ANC, in power since the end of apartheid 17 years ago, is expected to storm to victory given the public esteem it still enjoys for bringing down the white-minority rule.

But the ANC and its leader, President Jacob Zuma, could be embarrassed by any gains for the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), which runs Cape Town and has campaigned as the party that can deliver municipal services.
Shadrack Gutto, a professor of African Renaissance Studies at the University of South Africa, told Al Jazeera that ANC has failed to deliver on many of its promises, on issues of high concern to its core voters, such as better services, less corruption, the provision of housing and drinking water.

The DA, meanwhile has concentrated its campaign on the low-income black population that has largely voted for the ANC in previous elections.

"We are dealing with a situation where incumbency sometimes gives an advantage, and sometimes a disadvantage,” he explained.

"This is a big day for us nationally not just in the Western Cape," Hellen Zille, the DA leader, said after casting her vote.
"It's neck and neck there so I want to encourage all of our supporters to go out and vote because we are building this democracy," Zille said.
"It's very bad to have single party dominance and the DA has proved that we deliver better for all."

Pakistan Taliban warns of retaliation - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

New al Qaeda Leader Chosen

MG - Whos Left in Al Qaeda - Saif al-Adel
Al Qadea has chosen Egyptian Saif al-Adel as its interim leader in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death, said a source who has scoured jihadist forums and has personal communication with al Qaeda leaders. The source is Noman Benotman, who once headed the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group that at one point was aligned with al Qaeda. Benotman said al-Adel’s selection could cause a rift within the terrorist organization, as many Saudi and Yemeni members believe the group’s leader should come from the Arabian Peninsula as bin Laden did. Others said al-Adel lacks bin Laden’s star power as a leader. Another challenge for the terrorist: The intelligence gathered at bin Laden’s Pakistan compound, which has provided the U.S. with troves of valuable information about the organization

UN court in Tanzanian city of Arusha jails Augustine Bizimungu for 30 years for role in Rwanda's 1994 genocide

The UN court for Rwanda has handed the general who was army chief during the country's 1994 genocide a 30-year jail term for his role in the mass killing, including calling for the murder of ethnic Tutsis.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found that Augustine Bizimungu had complete control over the men he commanded, who were involved in the massacres that started on the night of April 6.
Augustin Ndindiliyimana, the former head of the paramiltary police, was also convicted of genocide crimes but the court ordered his release as he had already spent 11 years behind bars since his arrest.
Bizimungu and Ndindiliyimana are among the most senior figures to be tried by the tribunal, based in the Tanzanian city of Arusha, for the genocide in which 800,000 people, mostly minority Tutsis, were killed.

The genocide targeted mostly minority Tutsis and was orchestrated by machete-wielding Hutus calling themselves the Interahamwe, meaning "those who work together".
It was triggered by the shooting down of a plane carrying Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu president who was returning from peace talks with the now-ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) in neighbouring Tanzania.
All people on board, including the president of neighbouring Burundi, were killed. It is not clear who shot down the aircraft

Libyan oil minister Shokri Ghanem 'defects'

Libya's oil minister has reportedly defected and fled to Tunisia.
Shokri Ghanem, who also chaired the National Oil Corporation, is said to be on his way to the Tunisian capital, Tunis.
Hoda Abdel Hamid, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Libya, said a border guard confirmed the defection.
"He told us the minister had crossed into Tunisia two days ago and that he was alone, not with his family," she said.
"He mentioned he had tried to cross before but was held in Libya. We cannot confirm this."
Rebels fighting to end the 41-year-old rule of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's embattled leader, also said they had information that Ghanem, 68, had defected.
However, rebels and Arab media reported on a previous occasion that Ghanem had stepped down, but he later re-appeared and said he was in his office and working as usual.
If confirmed, Ghanem would be the latest high profile Libyan official to leave the Gaddafi government. In March, Gaddafi's foreign minister, Moussa Koussa, defected.
Ghanem has been in charge of the oil ministry since 2006 and was previously prime minister. His oil ministry is the biggest income generater for the country. Libya has Africa's largest oil reserves, at 41.5 billion barrels.
Rebels have taken Benghazi and the oil-producing east of the North African country, their insurgency helped by a NATO bombing campaign sanctioned by the United Nations to protect civilians

Monday, May 16, 2011

Uganda opposition leader under 'house arrest'

The house of Uganda's main opposition leader has been surrounded by police, effectively placing him under house arrest for leading protests against soaring food and fuel prices, his party said.
Kizza Besigye has been at the forefront of walk-to-work protests in Kampala, the capital, where demonstrators have opted to forgo motorised transport and walk to work in protest over rising fuel prices.
"We consider Besigye under house arrest," Anne Mugisha, deputy foreign secretary of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), told the Reuters news agency on Monday.
The protests, staged every Monday and Thursday since April 11, have led to clashes between opposition politicians and security forces and resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people, according to local media, and left hundreds injured.
   
A heavy contingent of police blocked the road to Besigye's house on Monday, anticipating another protest, according to witnesses.
But the opposition leader, who returned home last Thursday from neighbouring Kenya after receiving treatment for injuries inflicted on him by security forces, had decided not to walk due to a heavy flu, party officials said.
Besigye came a distant second to Museveni in the February election, winning 26 per cent of the vote, while Museveni, in power since 1986, took 68 per cent. The opposition dismissed the election as a sham.
   
Mugisha said Besigye's wife Winnie Byanyima, a United Nations employee, was blocked by police as she tried to drive to the airport on Monday to fly back to her office in New York.
   
"When Winnie tried to leave the house this morning the car was immediately blocked by police with water cannon trucks. They towed the car to the police station, opened it and were shocked to find he wasn't inside," Mugisha said

Kenyan marathon star falls to death

Samuel Wanjiru, Kenya's Olympic marathon champion, has died after falling from the balcony of his home in the town of Nyahururu, Kenya, police say.
Police said they were attempting to ascertain whether the 24-year-old Kenyan had deliberately killed himself by jumping off the balcony. They said that he had suffered internal injuries after the fall, late on Sunday, and was confirmed dead by doctors at a nearby hospital.
"I can confirm that Wanjiru is dead. It is not yet clear whether it was a suicide, if he jumped out of rage, or what caused him to fall to the ground," Jaspher Ombati, the regional police chief for the area, told Reuters.
Nyahururu is located in the Rift Valley, some 150km northwest of Nairobi, Kenya's capital.
"He jumped from his first floor balcony to the ground. He was bleeding from the nose and the mouth, and may have suffered internal injuries," the police chief said.
"Doctors at the district hospital tried to resuscitate him in vain," said Ombati.
Police say they are investigating the possibility of a 'love triangle' that could have been behind Wanjiru's death.
Ombati said Triza Njeri, Wanjiru's wife, had come home on Sunday to find him in bed with another woman. She then locked the couple in the bedroom and ran outside.
The police chief said that Wanjiru then leapt from the balcony. He added that Njeri and Wanjiru's companion are now assisting police in their investigation.
Wanjiru is a former winner of the Chicago and London marathons, and was the first Kenyan to win an Olympic gold in the marathon, setting an Olympic-record time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 32 seconds in Beijing in 2008.
Last December, he was charged with threatening to kill his wife and for illegal possession of an AK-47 assault rifle.
Njeri later withdrew her accusation of attempted murder in court, saying that the couple had reconciled.
In January, Wanjiru suffered minor injuries in a car crash. In that incident, he had swerved to avoid an oncoming truck, hit a pot hole and rolled his vehicle.

War crimes prosecutor seeks Gaddafi warrant

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has asked a three-judge panel to issue arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his second-eldest son, Saif al-Islam, and his intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo described the evidence against the three men as "very strong" in a press conference on Monday and said he believed Libyans eventually would turn them over to the court.
The filing against Gaddafi comes just three months into the uprising against his 41-year rule, which evolved from peaceful protests in major cities to an armed rebellion based out of the east. Gaddafi's regime has brutally attempted to suppress the opposition movement by shelling rebellious cities, and imprisoning and torturing those who speak out.
Ocampo was due to present a 74-page dossier of evidence to the court in the Hague, the Netherlands, on Monday. The judges will decide whether to reject the petition, ask for more evidence or confirm crimes against humanity charges and issue international arrest warrants.
"The evidence shows Muammar Gaddafi personally ordered attacks on unarmed civilians," Ocampo said at the press conference. "[He] committed the crimes with the goal of preserving his authority, his absolute authority."
Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam and Abdullah Senussi held meetings to plan the crackdown, Ocampo said. Security forces loyal to the government then attacked civilians in their homes, used heavy weaponry on funeral processions, and set up snipers to shoot at people as they left prayers at mosques, he said.
Activists were imprisoned, held incommunicado and tortured, he said

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Libyan rebels seek European support

A senior leader of the Libyan opposition council has met French president Nicolas Sarkozy for talks in a bid to garner further international support for the fight against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Mahmoud Jibril, who serves as the foreign minister of the opposition Transitional National Council, met Sarkozy in Paris on Saturday, for a discussion on the prospects for a political transition in Libya.

 

Sarkozy and the French prime minister, Francois Fillon, welcomed Jibril on the steps of the Elysee Palace, the president's official residence. No statement was released after their talks.

France has been taking part, along with other international forces under NATO command, in air strikes on Libyan government sites in an effort to protect the country's civilian population.
The meeting on Saturday came a day after Jibril met Tom Donilon, the US president's national security adviser, at the White House in Washington, DC.
The White House called the council "legitimate and credible", but stopped short of granting full diplomatic recognition to the opposition.
"During the meeting, Mr Donilon stated that the United States views the [council] as a legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people," the White House said in a statement, released after the meeting.
"In contrast, Mr Donilon stressed that [Libyan leader Muammar] Gaddafi has lost his legitimacy to rule and reiterated [US] President [Barack] Obama's call for Gaddafi to leave immediately," it said.
Obama did not meet with the opposition leaders.
"Mr Donilon and Dr Jibril discussed how the United States and the coalition can provide additional support to the [council]. Mr Donilon applauded the [council's] commitment to an inclusive political transition and a democratic future for Libya," the statement concluded

Palestinians killed in 'Nakba' clashes


At least one Palestinian has been killed and up to 80 others wounded in northern Gaza as Israeli troops opened fire on a march of at least 1,000 people heading towards the Erez crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
A group of Palestinians, including children, marching to mark "Nakba Day" were shot by the Israeli army after crossing a Hamas checkpoint and entering what Israel calls a "buffer zone" - an empty area between checkpoints where Israeli soldiers generally shoot trespassers, Al Jazeera correspondent Nicole Johnston reported from Gaza City on Sunday.
"We are just hearing that one person has been killed and about 80 people have been injured," Johnston said.
"There are about 500-600 Palestinian youth gathered at the Erez border crossing point. They don't usually march as far as the border. There has been intermittent gunfire from the Israeli side for the last couple of hours.
"Hamas has asked us to leave; they are trying to move people away from the Israeli border. They say seeing so many people at the border indicates a shift in politics in the area."
In south Tel Aviv, one Israeli man was killed and 17 were injured when a 22-year-old Arab Israeli driver drove his truck into a number of vehicles on one of the city's main roads.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the driver, from an Arab village called Kfar Qasim in the West Bank, was arrested at the scene and is being questioned.
"Based on the destruction and the damage at the scene, we have reason to believe that it was carried out deliberately," Rosenfeld said. He did not believe the motive was directly linked to the anniversary of the Nakba.
The Nakba, or "catastrophe", is how Palestinians refer to the 1948 founding of the state of Israel.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Uganda police and opposition supporters clash - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Uganda police and opposition supporters clash - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Up to five people were killed when Ugandan police clashed with opposition supporters who attacked cars carrying African leaders at the inauguration of President Yoweri Museveni.
A government spokesman confirmed at least one death in the capital, Kampala, on Thursday. But local independent TV station WBS reported that five had died when police opened fire on opposition supporters who threw stones at the cars.
The vehicles included a convoy carrying Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian president.
"As they came past, protesters threw stones [and] smashed some of the windows," Al Jazeera's Malcolm Webb reported from Kampala on Thursday. "When police moved in to disperse those protesters, somebody was shot."
Museveni, who has held power for 25 years, was sworn in for a fourth term after winning elections that opposition parties said were rigged.
Since the vote, opposition leaders including Kizza Besigye have led a series of protests against high food and fuel prices.
At the same time as the inauguration, a crowd of thousands supporting Besigye had gathered in the capital to welcome him back to Uganda from Kenya.
The crowd began to flee as police used teargas and water cannons to scatter them. Police said they had to move in after crowds started throwing stones at vehicles carrying guests at the inauguration.
"The crowd was dispersed by police and soldiers. They fired tear gas and water cannons and chased people away with sticks," Al Jazeera's Webb said.
Soon after, however, Besigye's supporters regrouped and continued to march towards the capital.
Leaders of Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, DRC, Somalia and South Sudan were all present for the inauguration

Gaddafi: NATO bombs can't reach me - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Gaddafi: NATO bombs can't reach me - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Thousands rally for Syrian dead

Three people died on Saturday afternoon as the Syrian army stormed a town in the restive Homs province.
They were attempting to leave Talkalakh and enter Lebanon, which borders the town, a day after a demonstration there demanded the removal of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad from power.
An eyewitness on the border told Al Jazeera that at least 19 people were wounded as the military swooped into the town, after more than 8,000 people attended the funeral in provincial capital Homs of one of three protesters killed on Friday by Syrian security forces.
Mourners for Fouad al-Rajoub gathered near Bab al-Dreib and began making their way through the city chanting for an end to the siege on Homs, Baniyas and Deraa, the major flashpoints in the uprising.
An eyewitness in the city said that, due to the size of the procession, the military had removed and relocated some of the checkpoints it had established throughout the city since mass anti-regime protests erupted there last month.


"Everything is peaceful now but we will be passing government buildings and I fear the snipers will open fire on us," he said.
Syrian army personnel were deployed in Talkalakh after officials said troops and tanks were pulled out of Baniyas and Deraa.
Security barriers were set up at the entrances of the Talkalakh and heavy gunfire was heard, according to activists' accounts. Security forces were deployed in surrounding villages as well

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Osama's son Omar Bin Laden threatens to sue US

WASHINGTON: Osama Bin Laden's son Omar has condemned the killing of his father and threatened to take legal action against the US, a media report said Wednesday.

Omar, who is Osama's fourth eldest son, claimed he and the al Qaeda chief's other children are reserving the right to take legal action in the US to "determine the true fate of our vanished father", according to a statement apparently made by Omar bin Laden posted on an Islamist website.

He also branded his father's burial at sea as a "humiliation" for his family, Daily Mail reported citing the SITE Intelligence Group, an online monitoring service.

There was no independent confirmation of the authenticity of the letter. It was published on the website of Islamist ideologue Abu Walid al-Masri. Several specialists on militant propaganda said the text appeared genuine, the Mail said

At least 82 dead, including women and children, as rebels continue attacks ahead of region's independence in July

At least 82 people, including women and children, have been killed after a south Sudan rebel group attacked cattle herders, a southern army spokesperson has said.
Fighters under the leadership of Philip Bepan attacked southern troops of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in neighbouring Unity state on Saturday, Philip Aguer, SPLA spokesperson, told AFP news agency on Tuesday.
"They were chased away and went to Warrap state, where they attacked cattle camps on May 8, at a place called Balhom Weth. They killed 34 and wounded 45 civilians, including women and children," he said.
"On the same day they were returning with the looted cattle, they were ambushed by the cattle herders. Forty-eight of the fighters were killed and 48 of their new AK-47 rifles were taken."
This is the third major incidence of violence in as many months in this nation preparing for independence.
South Sudan, which is due to be recognised as an independent country in July, has been rocked by a spate of clashes between the SPLA and various armed groups since the largely peaceful vote in January that delivered a landslide for secession.
The wave of violence across the south, that has included clashes between rival ethnic groups over resources such as land and cattle, has left more than 1,000 people dead and forced at least 100,000 to flee their homes, according to UN figures.
Aguer said Bepan was working for Peter Gadet, the southern army general-turned-rebel leader who is based in oil-rich Unity state and whom the army accuses of working for and being supplied by its former civil war foes in the north.

Ugandan opposition leader barred from flight

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been stopped from boarding a flight home from Kenya, according to his party.
Besigye was due to fly from Nairobi, where he had been receiving medical treatment after being assaulted by police during a demonstration last month in Kampala, Uganda's capital.
Anne Mugisha, a leading official in Besigye's party, said Kenya Airways was told by Ugandan state security "that if Besigye was on board they would not be given landing rights."
A Kenya Airways source at Nairobi airport ,who asked not to be named, told reporters: "We are made to understand that Ugandan authorities threatened not to allow the aircraft to land at Entebbe Airport if he (Besigye) was on board the flight."
Journalists at the Ugandan airport were forcibly ejected by airport security and police, and the Ugandan government said it would hold a press conference about the incident later in the day.
Besigye was being treated for injuries from a series of demonstrations against rising food and fuel prices, which left at least five people dead.
He was first taken to hospital in Kampala at the end of April after  Ugandan police smashed the windows of his car and sprayed him with tear gas in an incident caught on camera. He was then transferred to a Nairobi hospital.
Besigye told Al Jazeera at the time that he remained committed to non-violent protest.
This incident comes a day before Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni's swearing-in ceremony, following his re-election in February elections in which Besigye mounted the strongest challenge yet to his 25-year rule.
Besigye, 50, won 37 per cent of the vote, while Museveni, 62, took 59 per cent according to official election results, which were challenged by the FDC for widespread fraud.
Museveni has accused the opposition of trying to spread chaos in response to its loss in the election, saying on Tuesday that he would change the law to deny bail to people accused of rioting and economic sabotage

UN chief calls for ceasefire in Libya

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, has called for an "immediate, verifiable ceasefire'' in Libya and urged government forces to stop attacking civilians.
Ban said on Wednesday there must also be unimpeded access for humanitarian workers trying to deliver aid to those affected by the fighting.
"First and foremost there should be an end to the fighting in Misurata and elsewhere. Then we will be able to provide humanitarian assistance and in parallel we can continue our political dialogue," Ban said.
Ban's comments followed a call from Valerie Amos, the UN humanitarian chief, for a pause in hostilities to allow food, water, medical supplies and other aid to be delivered to needy populations.
Meanwhile, NATO said a renewed bombing campaign against Tripoli was not targeting Muammar Gaddafi personally, as explosions rocked the Libyan capital once again overnight.
Explosions could be heard in eastern Tripoli for almost an hour early on Wednesday morning as jets flew overhead, a witness told the AFP news agency.
The explosions began about 7:30 am (0530 GMT) and continued sporadically until 8:15 am (0615 GMT), the witness said. On Tuesday, NATO launched strikes in Tripoli on targets that appeared to include Gaddafi's compound, witnesses said.
"All NATO targets are military targets, which means that the targets we've been hitting, and it happened also last night in Tripoli, are command and control bunkers," Brigadier General Claudio Gabellini, chief operations officer of NATO's Libya mission told reporters

Schoolgirls 'beaten' in Bahrain raids - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Schoolgirls 'beaten' in Bahrain raids - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

UN seeks help for migrants fleeing Libya


Aid agencies have called on NATO and the European Union to help migrants fleeing Libya, hundreds of whom have drowned while trying to escape the fighting there.
"We are very concerned about what is happening in the Mediterranean Sea, where we are learning of many deaths due to capsized boats," Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), told a news briefing on Tuesday.
"The full death toll unfortunately is unknown to us," she added.
In one of the latest tragedies, migrants who arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa at the weekend told the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) they had seen a ship carrying between 500 to 600 people sinking near Tripoli late last week.
It is unclear how many of those drowned.
Even before that incident, Fleming said the UNHCR believed that from March 25, at least 800 people fleeing Libya did not make it safely to shore.
Most of the migrants are from sub-Saharan Africa, according to UN officials

Assad's brother tops Syria sanctions list

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Italy rescued some 400 African migrants

ian police and coastguard officials rescued some 400 African migrants coming from Libya after their boat was tossed against rocks off the tiny island of Lampedusa.
Images of the rescue showed people jumping in panick or falling into the choppy waters as their boat heaved in the waves on Sunday.
Some managed to make their way to shore holding on to ropes that had been attached to the boat's stern; others were hauled up on shore by rescue crews in the water.
Fabrizio Pisanelli, a customs official, said the boat's steering had stopped working as the boat was nearing Lampedusa's port shortly after 4am on Sunday. Strong winds had pushed the boat against rocks, throwing migrants overboard.
Three police officials who had boarded the boat in open seas helped control the situation, and rescuers reached the migrants immediately, saving them all. Pisanelli said they included women and children, and were from sub-Saharan Africa.
The boat had apparently been headed for Malta but was escorted by the Maltese coastguard towards Lampedusa, the officials were quoted as saying.
The incident comes a day after a migrant boat laden with 600 men, women and children - mostly African refugees - sunk off the coast of Tripoli.
Al Jazeera's Karl Stagno-Navarra, reporting from the nearby island of Malta, said that most of those on the boat were feared dead. He said that a rescue operation was under way and a few bodies had been recovered.
"The information we are receiving from the island of Malta, with regards to this boat, is that so far only 15 have managed to reach the shores after they swam for about two hours," he said.
"Meanwhile, we understand that this was one of two boats that left Tripoli on Friday which was headed for Italy.
"A number of those migrants who reached Lampedusa in the first boat are now claiming to have received phone calls from relatives both in Libya and on mainland Italy to inform them that their relatives on board the second boat, which went down, are now dead."
Hopes are also fading for 22 African migrants missing after their small boat took on water off the coast of southern Spain.
Rescuers pulled 29 people from the water on Thursday and a search for the others continued about 43km from Melicena.
Some of the rescued said a woman, two infants and 19 men are missing. The boat had set off from Morocco.

The hope of anyone surviving in the water after 10 hours is remote, officials say

Scores held in Egypt after sectarian clashes

Egypt's military rulers have detained 190 people in connection with the clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo in which at least 12 people were killed and more than 230 wounded.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces ordered "the transfer of all those arrested in connection with (Saturday's) events, and they number 190, to the Supreme Military Court, as a deterrent to all those who think of toying with the potential of this nation."
The council, which has ruled Egypt since a popular uprising toppled president Hosni Mubarak, also said it would "set up a committee to assess the damage from the clashes" and restore property.
In a statement on Sunday, it also called on "all communities in Egypt, the youth of the revolution, the national forces and Islamic and Christian scholars to stand like a wall against any attempt by the forces of evil and darkness to tear the national fabric."
Egypt's cabinet also said on Sunday in an emergency meeting that it will use an "iron hand" to protect national security.
The government has said it will step up security at religious sites and activate laws dealing with terrorism, to give police more power to prevent interfaith clashes. The rules also enable stricter punishments for vandalising houses of worship.
Egypt's prime minister had called Sunday's meeting to discuss the sectarian violence, a day after witnesses said a mob of conservative Muslims marched on a Coptic church in the northwestern neighbourhood of Imbaba.
The march began over an apparent relationship between a Coptic Christian woman and a Muslim man, amid reports that the woman was being held inside against her will and prevented from converting to Islam.
The verbal clash on Saturday soon developed into a full-fledged confrontation where the two sides exchanged gunfire, firebombs and stones, and another church nearby was set on fire

Raids on Libyan weapons depots reported

NATO air attacks have hit Libyan government weapons depots near Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, the capital, according to a rebel spokesman in the town.
Separately, two loud explosions rocked a western sector of Tripoli on Sunday as jets flew overhead, witnesses told the AFP news agency.
An international coalition began carrying out attacks on forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's long-time ruler, on March 19, under a UN mandate to protect civilians in the country. NATO took command of operations over Libya on March 31.

"NATO struck weapons depots five minutes ago in an area which lies about 30km southeast of Zintan," Abdulrahman, the rebel spokesman,  told the Reuters news agency by telephone on Sunday.
"We heard a loud explosion ... I think the strike hit some of them [the depots].
"We are now at a cemetery burying 11 people martyred during yesterday's fighting, in which 35 other fighters were also wounded."
The reported air raids came a week after the Libyan goverment said that Gaddafi's son, Seif al-Arab Gaddafi, and three of his grandchildren were killed in a NATO air strike on a compound in Tripoli.
The Tripoli-based government said that the attack was a bid to assassinate the Libyan leader, a claim NATO denies.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Commodity exchange market coming to Dar es Salaam

President Jakaya Kikwete in conversation with South Africa’s President Jackob Zuma during the opening plenary of the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa yesterday evening at the Cape Town’s International Convention Centre. Looking on at the centre is the founder and Executive Chairman of WEF Prof Klaus Schwab. The annual meeting with the theme, ”From vision to Action,” aims to discuss ways in which Africa can sustain its growth path and attract further regional and global investment

Tanzanians lose out on consultancy jobs

90 percent of the 4.2trn/- spent annually goes to foreign firms
At least 90 per cent of 4.2trn/- spent annually for consultancy services in Tanzania go into the pockets of foreign firms. The amount is equivalent to 34.4 per cent of the government budget, currently standing at 11.1 trn/-.
Worse, the companies deny the government a substantial amount of revenue.
This was disclosed yesterday in Dar es Salaam by Tanzania Association of Consultants (TACO) Chairman Aloyce Mushi during a stakeholders’ workshop called to discuss and contribute to the National Consultancy Industry Council draft Bill.
The TACO boss said a study conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2000/01 showed that over 500bn/- was used to pay for consultancy services in Tanzania.
“It is generally known that foreign consulting firms carry out most of the consultancy work in Tanzania,” he said, adding that between 90 and 95 per cent of the services are done by foreign firms.
He stressed that this trend shows that local consultants are highly marginalised.
Mushi revealed also that most of the firms do not pay taxes, denying the country an important input into economic development.
“Where local consultants have managed to secure works, such assignments have either been small in value or they have been engaged as junior partners,” he added.
He further said that the consultancy industry though not visible to the wider public is a substantial foreign exchange earner.
Developed countries have strong laws and regulations that guide the industry enabling them to earn foreign exchange through export of services.
By developing national consultancy capacities, he observed, developing countries would be able to save foreign exchange spent on importing consultancy services.
He called on the government to speed up establishment of the council to help solve the challenges currently facing the sector.
Explaining the importance of the Bill, he said it would enable private consultants, ministries and public institutions and even academicians to do consultancy in a more formalised manner.
He said consultants would have a legal framework to do business in a more efficient and professional manner, contribute more to the national economy and improve their livelihoods.
Implementation of the policy has been pending for a long time because there was no instrument to operationalise it, he said.
The most important step in its implementation is to pass the Consultancy Services Bill provided for under the policy, he added.
“It must be observed that professors, researchers and investors all over the world agree that investment in human capital has the greatest rate of return on investments,” he stated.
The consultancy industry involves economic studies which are not so conspicous and therefore, not appreciated by the general public. But they encompass activities which are knowledge intensive, he said.
Citing cases, he said behind every elegant building in Dar es Salaam, for example, there must have been elaborate and knowledge intensive work done by consultants such as architects and engineers.
He said the government is committed to creating the required environment in which consulting firms can flourish, but the presence of many bureaucratic bottlenecks continues to be the major problem

War crimes court to seek Libya warrants

The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) has told the UN Security Council that he will seek three arrest warrants for crimes against humanity in Libya.
Charges against the three members of the Libyan government may include murder and unlawful detention, use of cluster bombs and rape as a weapon, Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Wednesday.
The UN Security Council referred the Libyan violence to the ICC in February.

Moreno-Ocampo is investigating Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, some of his sons and aides over a "pre-determined plan" to attack protesters.

He did not, however, name the targets of the arrest warrants, which he said he will request in several weeks for crimes against humanity committed in Libya since February 15.

"Crimes against humanity have been and continue to be committed in Libya, attacking unarmed civilians including killings and persecutions in many cities across Libya," the prosecutor said in a statement.

The prosecutor added that he was also investigating the deaths of dozens of sub-Saharan Africans in the rebel capital of Benghazi by an "angry mob" who believed they were mercenaries for Gaddafi.

Khalid Kaim, the Libyan deputy foreign minister, dismissed the ICC allegations saying Moreno-Ocampo's report painted a partial picture.

"Any decision or any conclusion can Mr. Ocampo draw out of his visit to Benghazi and to Egypt will be just one party review or one party position," Kaim said.

"Of course, since we are not party of the ICC, we cannot invite Mr. Ocampo but instead of that we can invite another fact-finding mission from the [UN] Security Council."

Ivorian court confirms Ouattara as president


Ivory Coast's constitutional council has ratified the results of last year's presidential election showing that Alassane Ouattara won, reversing an earlier decision to reject them.
The court's initial rejection of electoral commission results from the November 2010 poll sparked a more than four-month power struggle between Ouattara and incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo.
Paul Yao N'Dre, the president of the constitutional council, said on Thursday that the top legal body now accepted Ouattara had won the election.
"The constitutional council ... proclaims Alassane Ouattara president, takes note of decisions made by [him] and declares them all valid," N'Dre announced to journalists in Abidjan, the country's commercial capital.
"The constitutional council invites the president Alassane Ouattara to take an oath in front of an official audience as soon as possible. All decisions contrary to this one are null and void

Three arrested over Morocco cafe blast

Police in Morocco have arrested three people in connection to a bomb blast in the city of Marrakesh on April 28 that left at least 16 people killed.

The three arrested on Thursday were all Moroccan nationals, state media quoted the country's interior ministry, as saying.
The ministry said the chief suspect was "well-versed in jihadi ideology and shows loyalty to al Qaeda", who had previously tried to fight alongside Islamist fighters in Chechnya and Iraq.
It said he dressed like a tourist to plant two remote-detonated devices, which then tore through a cafe overlooking Marrakesh's Jemaa el-Fna square, a spot that is often packed with tourists.
A security official told AFP news agency that the three suspects were arrested in the town of Safi, 350km south of Casablanca.

It was the first such attack in Morocco since 2003, when suicide bombings in Casablanca, killed at least 45 people.

Nearly a week after the bombing, Morocco's Islamists movements said they felt reassured that authorities acted with restraint and did not carry out mass arrests as they did in the wake of 2003 attacks

Al-Qaeda vows revenge for bin Laden death

Al-Qaeda has confirmed the death of its leader, Osama bin Laden, and said in an online posting that it would continue to launch attacks on the West.
The group said it would not deviate from the path of armed struggle and that bin Laden's blood " is more precious to us and to every Muslim than to be wasted in vain".

The statement was released on forums sympathetic to al-Qaeda and translated by the SITE monitoring service on Friday.

"It [bin Laden's blood] will remain, with permission from Allah the Almighty, a curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries,"al-Qaeda said.

It was not clear what country the statement had been posted from.

The message called upon Pakistan, where bin Laden was discovered, to "rise up and revolt to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them... and to clearn their country from the filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it".

It added that the group would soon release an audiotape of bin Laden that was recorded one week before he was killed by US commandos on Monday

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

US rejects releasing bin Laden death photos





Barack Obama, the US president, has decided not to release photos showing the body of Osama Bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, after he was killed by US commandos, US television networks have said.
In an interview with CBS, Obama said "he won't release post-mortem images of Osama Bin Laden taken to prove his death," the network said in a statement on Wedensday.
The CBS interview for its "60 Minutes" programme is due to air on Sunday and comes after US commandos stormed bin Laden's hideout in a Pakistani compound and shot him dead.
US officials who have seen the pictures taken of bin Laden's body have described them as "gruesome".
There are fears that if the photos are released they could provoke anger and trigger a backlash against US personnel in the Muslim world.
Kelly Ayotte, a Republican senator, said on Wednesday that she had seen one picture showing bin Laden's face and that she believed it confirmed his identity.
'National self-defence'
The US attorney general has said that killing bin Laden was an act of national self-defence, countering allegations that the raid by US forces on his Pakistani hide-out was illegal.



Eric Holder said on Wednesday that the al-Qaeda leader was a legitimate military target and that he had made no attempt to surrender to the commandos that stormed his fortified compound.
"It was justified as an act of national self-defence," Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee, citing bin Laden's admission of being involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
It was lawful to target bin Laden because he was the enemy commander in the field and the operation was conducted in a way that was consistent with US laws and values, he said, adding that it was a "kill or capture mission".
"If he had surrendered, attempted to surrender, I think we should obviously have accepted that, but there was no indication that he wanted to do that and therefore his killing was appropriate," Holder said.
Washington's acknowledgment on Tuesday that bin Laden was unarmed when shot dead had raised accusations that the US had violated international law.
Geoffrey Robertson, a prominent London-based human rights lawyer, said the killing "may well have been a cold-blooded assassination" that risked making bin Laden a martyr.
'Intelligence failure'
Pakistan has welcomed bin Laden's death, but its foreign ministry expressed deep concerns about the raid, which it called an "unauthorised unilateral action".
The CIA said it kept Pakistan out of the loop because it feared bin Laden would be tipped off, highlighting the depth of mistrust between the two supposed allies.
Pakistan's prime ministeer blamed worldwide intelligence lapses for a failure to detect bin Laden, while Washington worked to establish whether its ally had sheltered the al-Qaeda leader, which Islamabad vehemently denies.
"There is an intelligence failure of the whole world, not just Pakistan alone," Yusuf Raza Gilani told reporters in Paris.
"[If there are] ... lapses from the Pakistan side, that means there are lapses from the whole world."
Pakistan has come under intense international scrutiny since bin Laden's death, with questions on whether its security agencies were too incompetent to catch him or knew all along where he was hiding, and even whether they were complicit.
National 'embarrassment'
The Pakistani newspaper Dawn compared the incident with the admission in 2004 that one of the country's top scientists had sold its nuclear secrets.
"Not since Abdul Qadeer Khan confessed to transferring nuclear technology to Iran and Libya has Pakistan suffered such an embarrassment," it said.
The streets around bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad remained sealed off on Wednesday, with police and soldiers allowing only residents to pass through.
"It's a crime, but what choice are you left with if I'm not handing over your enemy who is hiding in my house?" said Hussain Khan, a retired government official living nearby, when asked about the apparent violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.
"Obviously you will go and get him yourself."
A New York Times/CBS News poll showed Obama's approval ratings jumped 11 points to 57 per cent after the operation, though many Americans fear revenge attacks