Africa Horn |
Somalia: ISIS closes commercial centers in Bosaso over extortion money |
2023-08-25 |
[Garowe] In a chilling development, Bosaso, the thriving business center of Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... , has now succumbed to the control of the notorious terrorist groups, ISIS and al-Shabaab ![]() . With a strong foothold in one of the mountainous areas of the Bari region, these krazed killer factions are relentlessly extorting money from the local businessmen, paralyzing the economic heartbeat of the city. Several construction equipment companies, including Omaar, Horseed, and Tawfiq, have been forced to close doors in recent days following failed negotiations with ISIS. Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, the radioactive tadpoles grown into frogs. Really big frogs, in fact... Garowe Online has obtained information that reveals that businesses complying with the extortion demands continue to operate as usual, but under a shadow of constant fear. In a desperate cry for help, the city's businessmen convened a meeting with the administration of the Bari region yesterday. They expressed their deep frustrations over tripled tax payments, despite receiving no corresponding services from the government. Furthermore, they articulated the alarming challenges they face at the hands of ISIS, such as the substantial extortion money being demanded, all while feeling abandoned by a government failing to ensure their protection. ISIS's ruthlessness knows no bounds, as they have commanded companies that have been closed for a week to pay sums between $300,000 and $500,000. The terror that grips these businesses is palpable, with the ever-present fear of a Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, the radioactive tadpoles grown into frogs. Really big frogs, in fact... the outgoing president of Puntland, Saeed Deni, has drawn sharp criticism for his perceived abandonment of the security crisis, as he travels to the United Arab Emirates without government officials' accompaniment. Security experts express growing concern that Deni appears to have given up on managing the deteriorating security situation, focusing instead on preparing for a potentially one-sided election. In June this year, Multiple businesses have been forced to close due to threats from the terrorist group ISIS while political intrigue unfolds at the state level. [Read here]. The situation in Bosaso has reached a critical and precarious juncture, leaving the local community in a state of despair and the broader region on edge. The dire circumstances call for urgent intervention, solid leadership, and a unified front against the forces that threaten to unravel the social and economic fabric of the city. |
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Afghanistan |
NDS arrest ISIS members involved in deadly Kabul mosque attack |
2018-03-05 |
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least two senior members of the ISIS terrorist group involved in the deadly mosque attack in Kabul city have been tossed in the slammerYou have the right to remain silent... by the Afghan intelligence operatives. The National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) said the detained individuals have been identified as Ehsanullah son of Karimullah and Omaar target=_blank>Omaar son of Abdul Hadi. A statement by NDS said the Ehsanullah is a senior member of the military commission of the ISIS terrorist group while Omar was a member of the recruitment commission of the terror group. The statement further added that the detained individuals have confessed that they had planned and executed the deadly attack on Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul city. According to NDS, the detained individuals have also confessed that they were involved in various other terrorist related incidents. |
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Caribbean-Latin America |
Zeta leader 'captured over killings' |
2011-04-18 |
[Al Jazeera] The Mexican Navy has said it has ![]() Martin Omaar Estrada Luna, said to be the local leader of the gang, was captured on Saturday. He is accused of criminal masterminding the murders of 145 people in Tamaulipas state near the US border. Their remains were discovered in a mass grave earlier this month. A navy statement said Estrada Luna, alias "El Kilo", is also the main suspect in the massacre of 72 central and south American migrants last August, also in the same township of San Fernando in Tamaulipas. He was one of six people tossed in the calaboose in a navy operation on Saturday, the statement added. A series of bus hijackings alerted authorities to the killings. Since April 1, officials have found about 20 mass graves in San Fernando alone. The Zetas, a notorious gang formed in the 1990s by ex-military commandos, is now engaged in a fight to death with its former bosses. Seven major narco gangs are operating in Mexico, and over 34,000 people have been killed since December 2006 in the raging wars for control over smuggling routes and government efforts to crack down on illegal activities. |
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Africa Horn |
Somali PM downsizes cabinet |
2010-11-13 |
[Al Jazeera] ![]() The leaner cabinet was unveiled on Friday nearly a month after Mohamed was appointed to head the beleaguered Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which is fighting al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-inspired group seeking to take power. "The Somali people and the international community were waiting for a competent and credible Somali cabinet, and I am happy to appoint this lean but capable cabinet," he said in a statement. Sharif Sheikh Hassan, Somalia's president, welcomed the new cabinet, sayig in the same statement: "Somalia is in good hands." "We do not have time to waste and our people deserve nothing less than this," he added, urging parliament to approve the new line-up. Doubts on cabinet Despite the optimism, some legislators said the new ministers may not be approved by parliament. "I doubt we shall approve them - because they were not selected on the basis of the constitution," Ismail Ahmed told the Rooters news agency. Only two members of the Western-backed government, which has been beset by a dispute between Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, the former prime minister, and Presedent Sharif Sheikh Hassan managed to keep their jobs. The new line-up also sees the entry of Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, a powerful Sufi organisation that took up arms two years ago to fight al-Shabaab. The Sufi group was given the interior and labour portfolios. Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa is seen as a key force if the TFG is to rein in the Islamist insurgency but had routinely complained that the outgoing government was refusing to give it its share of power. Hussein Halane heads a consolidated finance and treasury ministry while the foreign ministry and one of the deputy prime ministerial positions was handed to Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar, who already held the post under Sharmarke's predecessor. Somalia has been in turmoil since 1991 when Siad Barre was removed from power and is relying on an under-resourced African Union (AU) peacekeeping force to provide security in parts of Mogadishu, the capital, and the presidential palace. |
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Arabia |
Britons at Al-Jazeera TV station rapped for 'drinking binges' |
2006-11-15 |
British staff working for the new English language Al-Jazeera channel drank so much alcohol that they were ordered to undergo special "cultural awareness" training on how to behave in a Muslim country. Presenters and producers hired on massive taxfree salaries to launch Al-Jazeera International (AJI) were lectured by Islamic groups on " appropriate behaviour" after a series of marathon drinking sessions in Qatar, where the new service is based. The channel's owner, the Emir of Qatar, is understood to have personally ordered the move. AJI has signed up broadcasters including Sir David Frost, Rageh Omaar and Darren Jordon, to help attract a worldwide audience. It is not known whether any of the more famous presenters had been singled out as being involved in the boozing. Sources based at Al-Jazeera's Doha headquarters say that a clash of cultures is causing a damaging rift between the largely-Muslim workforce on the Arabic service and the predominantly-British recruits to AJI. A source said: "There are people who have come over to Doha to work for Al-Jazeera and they do not understand and respect the customs of living in a Muslim country. While the launch was being delayed they would just spend their time getting drunk in the hotel bars. They were drinking too much and behaving inappropriately, so they were put on cultural awareness courses. "There were Islamic groups lecturing them on how to behave in a Muslim country - it was embarrassing for the whole network." AJI, which launches tomorrow, is the English language version of the Arabic channel which made its name broadcasting footage released by al Qaeda, including videos of Osama Bin Laden and 7/7 bomber Shehzad Tanweer. The 24-hour news channel is the world's first English news channel to have its headquarters in the Middle East. The Emir of Qatar has bold ambitions for the new service which he hopes will challenge the traditional networks. But AJI has already faced accusations of "selling its soul" to the West. A growing list of critics including former employees, Right and Leftwing bloggers and Muslim commentators, have all predicted a disastrous future for the fledgling channel as it attempts to crossover into the mainstream. The Arabic channel controversially refers to Palestinian suicide bombers as "shaheeds" (martyrs) and has been accused by the Bush administration of being an Islamist propaganda tool. Yvonne Ridley, political editor of the Islam Channel and former Al-Jazeera employee, said: "Al-Jazeera led the way 10 years ago with its heroic style of journalism reporting without fear or favour. "This brand of journalism cost some of their staff their lives but if the English version opts for a more glamorous approach, then I know that viewers will switch off." Sir David will launch his new programme Frost Around The World On Friday with an interview with Tony Blair. |
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Britain |
Galloway, Gore set for Edinburgh |
2006-05-19 |
![]() The 2006 lineup for the annual industry event - held over three days in August - also includes journalist Rageh Omaar and comic writer Armando Iannucci. Galloway will go head-to-head with former Sun editor Kelvin Mackenzie in a debate on whether it is easier to get on TV if you are right wing, while former US vice-President Gore will talk about his viewer-created content network, Current TV, in the Alternative MacTaggart Lecture. ITV chief executive Charles Allen was previously confirmed for the keynote MacTaggart Lecture. ![]() "This is a great line up," said Alison Sharman, advisory chair for the festival. "I am very excited by the quality and breadth of the speakers announced. I am sure they will make waves - and make news - in their contribution to the great debate of our broadcasting time: how do we all as broadcasters respond to the huge challenges of the rapidly changing digital environment." |
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Axis of Evil | |||||
Iraq âpreparing for chemical warâ | |||||
2003-01-24 | |||||
Iraqi documents obtained by the BBC indicate that Baghdad is equipping key units with protection against chemical weapons. (sarcasm alert)why would they do that? they said they don't have any, and we're not going to use any "We know from multiple sources that Saddam has ordered any scientist who cooperates during interviews will be killed," said Paul Wolfowitz, US Deputy Defence Secretary.
The hand-written papers, said to have been smuggled out by the Iraqi opposition, refer to new chemical warfare suits to protect soldiers and distribution of the drug atropine to counter the effects of nerve gas. "No, we needed the atropine....to party with, that's why we ordered so many self-adminstering kits...yeah ...that's the ticket" The notes, passed on by the opposition Iraqi National Coalition, also included details for attacking ships in the Gulf. Commenting on the reported Iraqi plans the BBC's defence correspondent Paul Adams says "this is not necessarily true - but it's very likely. American and British planners have speculated on the possibility of Iraq using drones to spray chemical weapons on coalition troops, but there is no conclusive proof this has been done." they won't work after the EMP tomahawks deploy "They recognise there's a real possibility that the Iraqis will try to take them on that way. Military commanders don't regard Iraq's use of chemical weapons as a likely conclusive factor in the war." it will, however, play a factor in the warcrimes trials, hangings The Iraqi National Coalition is a group of former Iraqi army officers who have turned against Saddam Hussein and are now living in exile. The Secretary General of the coalition, Tawfik al-Yassiri - a former brigadier-general - told the BBC's Today programme that the documents originated from serving members of the Iraqi military. KEY DATES"We have members of our organisation in most of the camps and cities in Iraq, from soldiers to generals," he said. Mr al-Yassiri said the information had been verified through various sources. Iraq's Republican Guard and Special Republican Guard are among the recipients of special suits and atropine, according to the documents. A former arms inspector, Bill Tierney, told Today that "if both these two units have new equipment, then it would indicate that they are prepared to use chemical weapons".
The report of Iraqi war preparations is bound to intrigue UN weapons inspectors who don't have a clue about anything Iraq's been doing, the BBC's Rageh Omaar reports from Baghdad. DEPLOYMENT DETAILSAccording to a UK Government report last year and UN inspectors' findings, Iraq has undeclared stocks of VX and sarin nerve agent. It is thought Iraq could deploy such chemicals quickly.
Meanwhile, the US Government has been stepping up its case for tougher action against Saddam. Wait til Blix reports nothing found, then the "Adlai Stevenson moment" when we produce our own evidence In a key speech in New York, US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz recited a long list of instances in which, he said, Iraq was still lying about and concealing its weapons programmes.
Earlier in Baghdad, Iraqi officials had said they were encouraging scientists to speak to the UN, but six had so far resisted efforts to question them alone. "We did our best to push the scientists but they refused such interviews without the presence of representatives of Iraq's National Monitoring Directorate," Iraq's chief liaison officer Hossam Mohammed Amin told a news conference.
The weapons inspectors are due to present their crucial report to the Security Council on 27 January. then get the hell outta Dodge | |||||
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