Pakistan's Karachi Airport Hit By Fresh Attack

Taliban See Airport Attack As Job Well Done

Updated: 11:46am UK, Tuesday 10 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

A protracted gun battle. Buildings ablaze. Three dozen dead. An international airport shut down. In the morbid calculus of the Taliban - a job well done.

The scenes recalled the humiliating attack on a Navy base, also in Karachi, three years ago in which 11 died.

On both occasions the Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility and that the blood letting was revenge.

This time the Taliban used Twitter to boast of worse to come.

"We have yet to take revenge for the deaths of hundreds of innocent tribal women and children in Pakistani air strikes. It's just the beginning, we have taken revenge for one, we have to take revenge for hundreds," the militant group said.

'The one' referred to is Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone strike last November.

His predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, died the same way.

Barack Obama said recently that in counter terror operations "we must not create more enemies than we take off the battlefield".

The campaign of extra-judicial killing by remote control in the ungoverned regions of Pakistan has left an estimated 500 dead, many of them civilians.

Mostly drawn from Pashto communities, survivors will inevitably see an obligation to attack the US or her allies in a blood feud.

This is the interpretation that the Taliban want commentators to reach.

It is also largely a statement of the obvious.

But the Taliban threats of yet more bloody retribution cannot be seen as entirely US-driven.

The radical Islamist movement has been trying to take over the country and impose it's own interpretation of Sharia law for decades.

Its weekend attack on Karachi's airport was followed with another on Tuesday in which two groups on motorcycles conducted a hit-and-run against the Airport Security Force Academy on the northern perimeter.

The gunmen escaped but not before they had, for a few hours, once again shut the airport, dealing another body blow to Pakistan's commercial capital.

The movement came close to the gates of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, a few years ago when it launched a ground offensive.

The failure of talks with the government, which collapsed earlier this year, meant that a spectacular "listen to us" attack was almost inevitable.

But Pakistan's military has also been planning an all out offensive against the Taliban for several months.

It had been held back to give talks a chance.

The generals will see the attack on Karachi's international airport as a signal for their campaign to begin.

This may give the Taliban the 'victory' of more 'martyrs' – but both sides know neither can truly win.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vegas Gunman As Joker In YouTube Videos

Police are investigating social media postings in which one of the Las Vegas shooters rants against the government and announces the "dawn of a new day".

Jerad Miller, 31, and his wife Amanda Miller, 22, also posed as Batman villains the Joker and Harley Quinn in a Facebook photo.

The couple posing as the Joker and Harley Quinn. Pic: Facebook

The couple who killed two policemen and a good Samaritan on Sunday shared anti-government and white supremacist ideologies, authorities said.

They placed a yellow "Don't Tread On Me" flag and a swastika on the officers' bodies, officials said.

The yellow flag, with its roots in the American Revolution, is a symbol for anti-government groups.

In a YouTube video, Jerad Miller, can be seen saying he is under house arrest for selling pot. The camera then focuses on an ankle bracelet before he rants against what he describes as an authoritarian US government.

Pointing to a courthouse that can be seen from his window, he calls it a "monument to authoritarianism".

He laments citizens must go to the courthouse and "submit, crawling and grovelling on your hands and feet: 'Oh give me permission to do this, give me permission to do that'."

Jerad Miller,31, and his wife Amanda, 22

He says: "Sounds a little like Nazi Germany to me, or maybe Communist Russia."

In another online video, dressed as the Joker, he says he is running for President: "Year after year I've watched you Americans, my fellow citizens, vote for tyranny."

In his last Facebook posting, he says: "The dawn of a new day. May all of our coming sacrifices be worth it."

The scene of the shooting on Sunday

The attack at a CiCi's Pizza restaurant on Sunday killed Officers Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31.

Police believe while the Millers wanted to target police, the choice of Mr Soldo and Mr Beck, who were having lunch at the restaurant, was random.

The Millers then fled to a Walmart across the street, where they gunned down 31-year-old Joseph Wilcox, who pulled his concealed firearm but was shot by Amanda Miller.

When police arrived at the scene, she shot her husband several times with a handgun, killing him, before shooting herself in the head.

Officers Alyn Beck, 41 (L) and Igor Soldo, 31, were killed in the attack

It has also emerged the Millers went to Cliven Bundy's Nevada ranch during a stand-off with federal authorities in April, but they were kicked off because they were "very radical," according to Mr Bundy's son.

Ammon Bundy said the Millers were at his father's ranch for a few days before they were asked to leave by militia members for unspecified "conduct" problems.

He told the AP news agency the couple "did not align themselves" with the beliefs of other protesters.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Angelina Jolie Hosts War Zone Rape Summit

By Rachel Younger, Sky News Correspondent

Angelina Jolie has said a message must be sent around the world that there is "no disgrace" in being a rape survivor - "that the shame is on the aggressor".

The actress is co-hosting the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict with Foreign Secretary William Hague, in London.

It is the largest ever gathering of its kind, with more than 140 countries taking part.

The aim is to make sexual violence in war zones as unacceptable as chemical weapons and cluster munitions.

Poline Akello was abducted from her home in Uganda and raped

As she arrived for the summit this morning, to a bank of photographers, reporters and broadcasters, Jolie, 39, said she was "so, so happy to be here".

Speaking at the start of the summit in east London, the Hollywood star said she had met a woman earlier this year on a campaigning trip to Bosnia.

She said the woman was too humiliated to tell her own child that she had been raped -  and had seen her attacker "on the streets free".

Jolie said: "On our way over, we spoke about the women we met recently on our last trip, and in particular one woman, who said that she had yet to tell her child that she had been raped because she was so humiliated and she could not bring herself to admit it to him.

Angelina Jolie at the summit this morning

"And she felt that having had no justice for her particular crime, in her particular situation, and having seen the actual man who raped her on the streets free, she really felt abandoned by the world.

"On the way over, we thought 'What is she going to think of this day?'. This day is for her."

Later, in the official opening statement Jolie added: "We must send a message across the world that there is no disgrace in being a survivor of sexual violence - the shame is on the aggressor." 

Every year, 150 million girls and women are raped in conflict around the world, along with 70 million men and boys, and the overwhelming majority of them never get justice.

Mr Hague, who announced the UK will pledge a further £6m to survivors of sexual violence, told Sky News: "This is an unacceptable crime practised on a vast scale.

"What we're trying to achieve is standards on documentation so that people don't get away with it."

Under the UK's presidency, the G8 last year declared rape and serious sexual violence in conflict as grave breaches of the Geneva Convention, as well as war crimes.

Some 144 world governments have now endorsed the declaration.

The London Summit wants to seize that momentum and turn it into practical action to prevent rape and help victims.

Estella Nelson says babies are being targeted too

One of the speakers will be Poline Akello, who was abducted from her home in Uganda when she was just 14.

Forced by the army of notorious warlord Joseph Kony to become a child soldier, she survived six years in the bush where she was given to one of Kony's commanders.

"I knew it wasn't the right time for me," she said. "My body wasn't mature enough but they took my virginity."

Poline became pregnant but her baby did not survive and she was not allowed to hold or bury her child.

"I wasn't allowed to mourn," she said. "If you cried, they would kill you."

Victim Estella Nelson, of Liberia Women Media Action Committee, told Sky News babies were also being attacked.

"We have girls as young as eight months being raped. We need to know why babies are being targeted by perpetrators," Ms Nelson said.

The summit, which is being held at ExCeL London, will run until Thursday and includes dozens of free events which will be open to the public.

Around 200 foreign, defence and development ministers have been invited to attend, along with experts from courts, charities and the military.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Karachi Airport 'Revenge' Attack Leaves 23 Dead

At least 23 people have been killed after gunmen disguised as police guards attacked a terminal at Pakistan's Jinnah international airport in Karachi.

Militants armed with automatic weapons, a rocket launcher and grenades stormed the airport and were involved in an intense six-hour firefight with the airport's security force, police, paramilitaries and commandos.

Ten of the dead were the attackers, according to Pakistan's paramilitary Rangers.

Also killed were at least four airport security staff, civilian airport employees and four Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) staff.

Troops joined the firefight after the major security breach

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack saying it was in revenge for their late leader Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone strike in November.

"We have yet to take revenge for the deaths of hundreds of innocent tribal women and children in Pakistani air strikes," spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said.

"It's just the beginning, we have taken revenge for one (Mehsud), we have to take revenge for hundreds."

He also dismissed the possibility of a new round of peace talks with the Pakistan government.  

Television footage showed what appeared to be a major fire and plumes of smoke floating across the runway near parked aircraft.

Pakistan's military spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa said after the operation had ended: "Update: Area cleared. No damage to aircraft, fire visible in pics was not plane but a building, now extinguished. All vital assets intact."

Hakimullah Mehsud was killed by a drone strike last year

Maj Gen Bajwa added that ammunition, rockets and grenades were recovered from the dead attackers.

"Precautionary sweep after day light. Airport will be cleared by midday for operations, handed back to CAA (Civil Aviation Authority)/ASF (Airport Security Force). Pakistan Zindabad (long live Pakistan)!" he tweeted.

Heavy gunfire and multiple explosions had been heard coming from the airport as authorities scrambled to secure the area.

The terminal targeted by the militants was said to be used for VIPs and cargo. Passengers were evacuated and all flights diverted.

The attack will raise fresh concerns about Pakistan's security situation, and questions about how militants were able to penetrate the airport which serves one of the world's biggest cities.

Karachi has been the site of frequent militant attacks in the past.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Las Vegas Suspects Were 'White Supremacists'

The pair who fatally shot two Las Vegas officers and a civilian before killing themselves were reportedly white supremacists who targeted police.

The two suspects were married, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. They killed themselves in an apparent suicide pact.

Their identities have not been released but their home was being raided by police.

The Review-Journal said investigators had found paraphernalia associated with white supremacy theories as well as swastikas.

The attack at a CiCi's Pizza restaurant on Sunday killed Officers Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31, who were both husbands and fathers.

Alyn Beck (L) and Igor Soldo were having lunch

One of the shooters yelled: "This is a revolution".

The two suspects, a man and a woman, then fled to a Walmart across the street, where they gunned down a person just inside the front door and exchanged gunfire with police before killing themselves.

The officers were "having lunch when they were ambushed", Las Vegas police said in a statement.

Walmart remained closed

Both officers were pronounced dead at hospital.

Mr Beck had been with the department since 2001 and leaves behind a wife and three children. Mr Soldo had been with the force since 2006 and is survived by a wife and baby.

A witness, Pauline Pacheco, was shopping at Wal-Mart when she saw the armed man and grabbed her father to escape, KLAS-TV reported.

"We saw when the man was walking, he was shouting, yelling bad words, and suddenly he had a gun," she told KLAS-TV.

The rampage took place in a matter of minutes

"It was terrible, it was terrible. That man was crazy."

Both the pizza restaurant and the Walmart store remained closed while detectives carried out forensic investigations.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Search For Indian Students Feared Drowned

The bodies of four Indian students have been recovered by rescuers searching for dozens who were swept away while bathing in a river in northern India.

A group of 65 engineering students on a college trip were standing on the edge of the Beas River when they were suddenly struck by a surge of water released by a dam near the mountain resort town of Manali in Himachal Pradesh.

They were travelling by bus when they stopped in the Kullu Valley, some 130 miles from the state capital Shimla, on Sunday evening to take photographs and bathe.

Soldiers search for missing students in the Beas River

Rescue teams assisted by the police and soldiers searched through the night for missing students and were still combing the river and its banks on Monday when the bodies were discovered.

A further 20 students and a member of staff from VNR Engineering and Technology College in the southern city of Hyderabad are feared drowned.

Police official Rajesh Kumar, said the chances of finding them alive were "minimal", adding: "But we're trying."   

Staff and fellow students told of how they desperately screamed and shouted to alert the group about the rush of water and looked on helplessly as they "disappeared under the waves".

"I did not walk down to the river but saw the sudden rise of the water and screamed to the students to run but the waters quickly engulfed and swept them away," staff member A Aditya told the CNN-IBN news channel.

Anxious parents await news of their loved ones at the college in Hyderabad

"We saw a wall of water hit those who were on the banks. They fell flat and disappeared under the waves," one of the students told the Indian Express newspaper.

The torrent of water occurred after the Larji hydropower station opened its floodgates, sending tonnes of water downstream.

There is a dispute over whether warning signals were sounded before the dam release.

According to the college's principal, there was no warning.

However, an engineer from the dam told CNN-IBN warnings were sounded and local residents "definitely warned the students to come out of the river" several times.

Chief minister Virbhadra Singh has demanded the dam's engineer is suspended while the sequence of events is investigated.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

MH370 Families Offer Whistleblower Reward

What Next In Search For Missing Flight MH370?

Updated: 10:50am UK, Friday 30 May 2014

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

The news that teams searching for missing flight MH370 have finished combing the patch of Indian Ocean 1,000 miles off the coast of Western Australia is a huge setback.

The search focused on that area because four pings - or acoustic signals - were detected almost two months ago which were thought to have come from the plane's two flight recorders.

Nothing has been found and now it appears the noises did not come from the black box recorders at all.

It has been rumoured for some time they could have been caused by the search vessels themselves.

Now the US Navy's deputy director of ocean engineering has said much the same.

"Our best theory at this point is that (the pings were) likely some sound produced by the ship ... or within the electronics of the towed pinger locator," Michael Dean told CNN.

"Always your fear any time you put electronic equipment in the water is that if any water gets in and grounds or shorts something out, you could start producing sound."

The pings may have come from another source - sound plays strange tricks that deep in the ocean - and the US Navy has officially said the comments are "speculative".

Either way, it looks like the search is back to square one.

So now it moves to a new stage. 

All existing information and data will be re-examined and the whole of the 23,000 square mile 'southern arc' will again be in the frame.

A bathymetric survey will be carried out, essentially mapping out the sea floor.

It is work already partly underway by the crew of the Chinese ship Zhu Kezhen.

Commercial contractors will then be brought in to carry out the new deep sea search.

It's possible they won't start for a couple of months, and the job will be both long and expensive.

Australia has previously said this work could cost around £40m. It is not clear how expensive the search operation has been so far.

Scott Hamilton, managing director of US-based aerospace consultancy Leeham, said all the data will have to be re-examined "from start to finish".

However, he does not believe the search will be called off any time soon.

"I think it will be some time, perhaps years, before they completely throw in the towel," he said.

And for some, news the search has ended in the area which has been the focus so far is, in a way, welcome.

Sara Bacj, whose partner Philip Wood is among the missing passengers, told Sky News: "If they'd found the hull of the plane under the water then our loved ones would be dead for sure ... (but) most family members are not willing to accept that.

"They believe something else has happened to the plane so this is validation for them that keeping their hopes alive is not crazy."

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine: Poroshenko Promises To Bring Peace

Petro Poroshenko promised the Ukrainian people he would "bring them peace" after being sworn in as the country's fifth president.

Mr Poroshenko told parliament Ukrainians would "never feel the blessing of peace and security until we resolve our relations with Russia".

He pledged an amnesty to any insurgents in the east who had "no blood on their hands" but said he would not open dialogue with "gangsters and killers".

Ukrainian officials say some 200 people have died during troubles in eastern parts of the country.

Mr Poroshenko arrives for his inauguration

And the 48-year-old tycoon - dubbed the "chocolate king" for his popular brand of sweets - stated he would not accept Russia's seizure of Crimea nor attempts to divert his pro-European course.

"Crimea will remain a part of Ukraine," said Mr Poroshenko.

"Ukraine now returns to its natural European condition that so many generations have longed for."

The inauguration was attended by US Vice President Joe Biden and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.                 

The latter sent this message to Russia: "All neighbours ... need to respect (Ukraine's) sovereign choices, including stronger ties with the European Union and its territorial integrity."

Moscow was represented by its acting ambassador to Kiev, Mikhail Zurabov, who said the pledges "sound reassuring".

Mr Poroshenko met world leaders including Barack Obama in France this week

The Kremlin's only official response to Mr Poroshenko's comments was to call for him to act by "the principles of a democratic society" and release two Russian journalists detained in the east of the country.

Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin reportedly ordered his Federal Security Service to strengthen protection of the country's border with Ukraine to prevent people crossing illegally.

This came after talks with world leaders in France, where US President Barack Obama urged the Kremlin to cease support for separatists in eastern Ukraine - including stopping arms and materials crossing the border.

Insurgents in both Luhansk and Donetsk responded to Mr Poroshenko's pledge of an amnesty with scepticism.

"I don't believe it," said Valery Bolotov, the insurgent leader in the Luhansk region.                 

Insurgent leader Valery Bolotov

Mr Poroshenko is the first permanent successor to Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled the country in February after months of street protests against him.

The new incumbent met Mr Putin at D-Day commemoration ceremonies in France on Friday and expressed his satisfaction that dialogue had begun.

Mr Putin added: "I can only welcome Mr Poroshenko's position that the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine must be stopped immediately."

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Al Sissi Sworn In As President Of Egypt

Egypt's former army chief Abdel Fattah al Sissi has been sworn in as president for a four-year term.

The inauguration comes less than a year after the army ousted Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist who was the country's first freely-elected leader.

Al Sissi, 59, took his oath live on television at the headquarters of the Supreme Constitutional Court in a suburb south of Cairo. 

Police stood guard outside the court as helicopters dropped posters of al Sissi on his supporters.

Sunday has been declared a national holiday but tight security is in place across the Egyptian capital, with scores of police and soldiers keeping watch.

There are fears al Sissi could bring in an increasingly autocratic regime

Al Sisi said: "I swear by almighty God to preserve the republican system, and to respect the constitution and the law and to care for the interests of the people; and to preserve the independence of the nation and its territorial integrity."

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, Arab royals and African leaders are among the guests at a reception being held at Cairo's presidential palace.

Al Sissi was named president after a landslide election victory at the end of May when he won 96.9% of the vote. However, turnout was low with many boycotting the poll.

Al Sissi swept to victory in elections last month

The retired field marshal ousted Mohammed Morsi following mass protests against his regime in June last year.

Mr Morsi, who is now on trial for charges that carry the death penalty, was in power for only a year after the 2011 revolution which ousted former president Hosni Mubarak.

The last year has seen repeated violent clashes between the army regime and supporters of Mr Morsi.

More than 1,400 people are thought to have died in the crackdown on the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group. Thousands more have been arrested.

Mohammed Morsi is behind bars and his group has been banned

Opponents of al Sissi are worried he will bring in an another restrictive autocratic regime. In the run-up to the election he said "national security" took precedence over democracy.

Western leaders have sent low-level officials to the inauguration and are urging the new regime to safeguard human rights.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine And Russia Talk Of 'Ending Bloodshed'

Ukraine's newly sworn-in President Petro Poroshenko has met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for informal talks on the sidelines of the D-Day commemorations in France, raising hopes of ending the continuing violence.

The two men met for around 15 minutes on Friday to discuss resolving the most serious East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Putin welcomed proposals set out by Mr Poroshenko, who was officially sworn in as Ukraine's new president on Saturday morning, for ending the conflict.

Petro Poroshenko is sworn in

He said: "I can only welcome Mr Poroshenko's position that the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine must be stopped immediately."

And Mr Poroshenko said: "The dialogue has begun, and that's a good thing.

"A Russian representative will travel to Ukraine, and we will discuss with him the first steps towards a plan (to resolve) the situation ... We have a good chance of implementing it."

French President Francois Hollande told a war veteran at the main ceremony in Normandy that world leaders had wanted to use the 70th anniversary commemorations to bring the two sides together to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

The two men spoke for up to 15 minutes, according to some observers

Mr Hollande, responding to a question about Mr Putin during a conversation with the war veteran, described the meeting as "friendly".

He said: "Yes we talked to him and with President Poroshenko, we made Ukraine and Russia talk."

After the photo, Mr Poroshenko, Mr Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel remained outside as they talked.

The talks were the first meeting between the two leaders since Mr Poroshenko was elected on May 25, after promising to bridge the East-West divide that has split the country and thrown it into conflict.

Awkward: The two presidents smirked when pictured on a split screen

US President Barack Obama also spoke to Mr Putin at the commemoration ceremonies, marking their first face-to-face conversation since the crisis began in Ukraine.

The White House said the conversation was informal and lasted around 15 minutes as the leaders ate lunch inside a chateau.

"President Obama made clear that de-escalation depends upon Russia recognising President Poroshenko as the legitimate leader of Ukraine, ceasing support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, and stopping the provision of arms and material across the border," said US deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes.

"If Russia does take this opportunity to recognise and work with the new government in Kiev, President Obama indicated that there could be openings to reduce tensions," added Mr Rhodes.

Mr Obama and Mr Putin conversed on the sidelines

Mr Putin also held meetings with Prime Minister David Cameron, Mrs Merkel and French president Francois Hollande this week to discuss sanctions imposed on Russia after it annexed the Crimean peninsula.

It comes after 15 pro-Russian rebels were killed at a border crossing on Thursday.

Five Ukrainian soldiers were also injured during the clashes. Parts of the border in eastern Ukraine were closed after the incident.

Officials have claimed more than 200 people have died in fighting between Ukraine government troops and pro-Russian rebels in recent weeks.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More