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Cameron Ready To Work With Iran To Defeat IS

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 23 September 2014 | 18.46

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent

David Cameron is to become the first British Prime Minister to meet an Iranian President since 1979 in a historic encounter in New York.

Downing Street says the meeting with Hassan Rouhani is part of efforts to mobilise support against the Islamic State and drop Iran's support for the Assad regime in Syria.

The Prime Minister will be attending the United Nations general assembly and is hoping to secure UN approval for a comprehensive strategy to deal with the brutal militant group.

A member loyal to the ISIL waves an ISIL flag in Raqqa, Syria

The PM will dicuss the threat posed by Islamic State with Iran's president

It marks Mr Cameron's determination to enlist the active support of regional powers in the Middle East in taking on IS, which has seized control of swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

The group has also carried out a string of atrocities against local people and foreigners as it seeks to impose its own brand of extremist Sunni Islam.

Mr Cameron will also join US President Barack Obama and other members of the UN Security Council to discuss the threat posed by foreign fighters - thought to include hundreds of Britons - engaged in the conflict.

Officials say he will set out in his speech that the threat from extremism is faced by everyone and international action is required to defeat it.

World leaders meet annually for the event in New York which is often criticised for being long on talk and short on action.

Ahead of the encounter, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei issued damning criticism of the UK and the US calling them warmongers for their planned actions in Iraq.

Also on the agenda with be Iran's nuclear-enrichment programme

Britain has yet to commit support for air strikes and there has been US speculation it may step up its military intervention now the Scottish independence referendum is out of the way.

Britain and the US also hope to see a new UN Security Council resolution preventing the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq and Syria.

Tehran will also call for flexibility on its uranium-enrichment programme which has led to sanctions due to Western concerns any nuclear capability could be used militarily.

Downing Street said Mr Cameron had "no illusion" about the threat posed by Iran's nuclear operations, but was ready to work with Tehran if it was willing to join the effort to defeat IS.

There is a sense of urgency this year given the threat posed by IS, but also the catastrophic dangers posed by global warming.

Ahead of the meeting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned time is running out to unite against the global threat of climate change.

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Israeli Missile Shoots Down Syrian Fighter Jet

Israel says it has shot down a Syrian fighter jet over its airspace - the first such incident in more than 30 years.

The aircraft was hit by a Patriot missile while trying to "infiltrate" the Quneitra area of the Golan Heights, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said.

An Israeli defence source identified the jet as a Russian-built Sukhoi Su-24 fighter plane. Previously it was reported to have been a MiG-21 aircraft.

The aircraft was hit by a Patriot missile

It flew 800 metres into Israeli airspace and tried to return to Syria after the Patriot missile was fired, he said.

The crew managed to abandon the plane in time and landed in Syrian territory, he added.

The Golan area, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war, has seen clashes between the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and Syrian President Bashar al Assad's forces in recent weeks.

Syrian state TV confirmed Israel had shot down one of its planes, and described it as an act of aggression.

A Sukhoi Su-24 jet fighter drops flares during a joint Kazakh-Russian millitary exercise at Otar millitary range

A file picture of the type of jet that was shot down

It quoted a military source saying the attack came "in the framework of (Israel's) support for the terrorist (Islamic State) and the Nusra Front".

Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said the aircraft had crossed into Israel in a "threatening way" and vowed to retaliate to any similar incidents in the future.

"We will not allow (any) element, whether it is a terror group or a state, to threaten our security and breach our sovereignty," he said.

"We are committed first and foremost to ensure the security of the Israel's citizens and we will use all means at our disposal to do so."

It came hours after the US and five Arab countries began airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time.

The raids were carried out using fighter jets, bombers, drones, and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from US ships in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar were involved in the raids, a US official said, although their exact roles were unclear.

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US And Arab Allies Attack IS Targets In Syria

The US and five Arab countries have been carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time.

Fighter jets, bombers and drones as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from US ships in the northern Persian Gulf and the Red Sea were deployed in the aerial raids.

The strikes form part of the expanded military campaign against IS insurgents that was authorised two weeks ago by President Barack Obama. He is due to meet foreign leaders at the UN General Assembly later.

Tomahawk missile launched from USS Arleigh Burke

A Tomahawk missile is launched from USS Arleigh Burke

US Central Command said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar had either taken part in or supported the Syria raids although their exact roles were unclear. The strikes did not involve the UK.

Damascus said Washington informed Syria's UN envoy before launching the bombings against the Sunni insurgent group which have grabbed swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.

The US also carried out aerial raids on its own in Syria against al Qaeda extremists that were thought to be planning an "imminent attack" against US and Western interests.

A fighter jet takes off from USS George H W Bush

The US military said it had destroyed or damaged multiple IS targets around the militant stronghold of Raqqa as well as Deir al Zor, Hasakah and the border town of Albu Kamal.

It said targets included IS fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance centre, supply trucks and armed vehicles.

There were at least 50 airstrikes on IS targets and dozens of fighters were killed, according to activists.

The apparent aftermath of a US airstrike in Idlib

They also said 30 fighters from the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front group died, along with eight civilians, including children, following strikes in Aleppo and Idlib.

Residents in Raqqa said last week that IS was moving underground after Mr Obama signalled on September 11 that air attacks on its forces could be expanded from Iraq to Syria.

Where airstrikes took place targeting Islamic State in Syria

Where the airstrikes took place in Syria

The group had evacuated buildings it was using as offices, redeployed its heavy weaponry, and moved fighters' families out of the city, the residents said.

The strikes follow a summit of world leaders in Paris where agreement was reached to form a broad coalition to counter the advance of IS in Syria and to provide military aid to Iraq to fight the extremist network.

Military leaders have said about two thirds of the estimated 31,000 IS militants are in Syria.

Countries involved in airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar were involved in the raids

International efforts to combat the group have taken on an added urgency after the beheading of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines, and the threat to kill UK hostage Alan Henning.

Islamic State have made rapid gains in Iraq and Syria

Meanwhile, a second propaganda video of another British hostage John Cantlie has been released by IS.

Speaking to the camera and seemingly under duress, he addresses the coalition of states targeting the group, though it is not clear when the video was filmed.

A second video of UK hostage John Cantlie has been released by IS

"Everyone now is getting involved," he said. "Denmark and France have sent air power, Britain is arming the Kurds, Iran is sending troops and contractors are being sought in Iraq.

"Even Bashar al Assad, until earlier this year the most hated and villainised tyrant in the Arab world, is being approached for permission to go into Syria.

The group is still holding British hostage Alan Henning

"It's all quite a circus. Not since Vietnam have we witnessed such a potential mess in the making."

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Blair: Airpower Alone Not Enough To Defeat IS

Written By Unknown on Senin, 22 September 2014 | 18.46

Tony Blair has said Britain should not rule out sending forces into Syria and Iraq to counter the threat posed by Islamic State.

In a 6,500-word essay, the former prime minister said that while no desire existed for ground engagement in the region, airpower alone would not be enough to defeat the group.

"We have to fight groups like ISIS," he said. "There can be an abundance of diplomacy, all necessary relief of humanitarian suffering, every conceivable statement of condemnation which we can muster.

"But unless they're accompanied by physical combat, we will mitigate the problem but not overcome it.

"Airpower is a major component of this to be sure, especially with the new weapons available to us. But - and this is the hard truth - airpower alone will not suffice.

"If possible, others closer to the field of battle, with a more immediate interest, can be given the weapons and the training to carry the fight.

The Ceremonial Funeral Of Former British Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher

Tony Blair: 'The enemy we're fighting is fanatical'

"I accept fully there is no appetite for ground engagement in the West. But we should not rule it out in the future if it is absolutely necessary."

The militant Islamist group has made rapid territorial gains across the region and released graphic videos depicting the beheading of two US journalists and British aid worker David Haines.

Mr Blair warned that any solution to the threat posed by the extremist group would involve casualties.

"Because the enemy we're fighting is fanatical, because they are prepared both to kill and to die, there is no solution that doesn't involve force applied with a willingness to take casualties in carrying the fight through to the end," he said.

France and the US have launched airstrikes on IS positions

The US and France have already launched airstrikes against IS targets, and the UK has not ruled out joining the bombing campaign.

He said the lessons learned from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq had improved Western forces' "capacity and capability" to respond to the threat of IS and similar groups.

"To those who say that after the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq we have no stomach for such a commitment, I would reply the difficulties we encountered there are in part intrinsic to the nature of the battle being waged," he said.

Former taxi driver Alan Henning is being held by the group

"And our capacity and capability to wage the battle effectively are second to none in part because of our experience there."

Former taxi driver Alan Henning, from Manchester, is currently being held hostage by IS after he was kidnapped in the Syrian town of al Dana while volunteering with a humanitarian aid convoy.

The group has threatened to kill Mr Henning and warned Britain and America not to get involved in another Middle East war.

:: Watch Tony Blair live on Sky News Tonight at 7.15pm - live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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Islamic State Urges Militant Attacks In Egypt

Islamic State extremists are urging militants in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to continue with beheadings and attacks against security forces.

There are concerns about links between the terror group and insurgents in a region popular with tourists, including the beach resort of Sharm el Sheikh.

Egyptian officials, including the foreign minister, have acknowledged co-ordination between the two groups but insist there are no IS fighters in the country.

Egypt has faced an Islamist insurgency since the ousting of Mohamed Morsi

The terror group controls swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, where it has declared an Islamic state, or caliphate.

In the latest violence, its fighters have been locked in fierce clashes with Kurdish forces to the east of a Syrian city near the border with Turkey.

The IS offensive on Kobani, also known as Ayn al Arab, has led tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds to flee, many across the Turkish frontier.

Egypt has faced an Islamist insurgency since the army ousted president Mohamed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, last year.

The aftermath of the bomb attack in Cairo that killed three policemen

IS spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani said in a statement released online: "Rig the roads with explosives for them. Attack their bases.

"Raid their homes. Cut off their heads. Do not let them feel secure."

He praised Egyptian militants for carrying out "blessed operations against the guards of the Jews, the soldiers of Sisi, the new Pharaoh of Egypt".

Current president Abdel Fattah al Sisi, who as the then head of the army led the overthrow of Mr Morsi in 2013 following mass protests, has raised concerns about the threat posed by Islamist militants in Egypt and other parts of the Middle East.

A militant from the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al Maqdis, which has killed hundreds of Egyptian security forces in the past year, has said IS has provided instructions on how to operate more effectively.

A bomb attack outside the Egyptian foreign ministry in Cairo on Sunday, claimed by a militant group, killed three policemen, including a key witness in a trial of Mr Morsi.

Meanwhile, authorities in Belgium said several arrests had been made to prevent attacks by jihadist extremists, although the European Commission said it had not been told of any specific threat against it after reports suggested its Brussels headquarters was a possible target.

More than 800 officers were involved in Australia's anti-terror operation

And in Australia, sweeping new security powers are being sought by the government to tackle what it says is the growing threat from militant extremists.

Measures include making it a crime for Australian citizens to travel to overseas areas declared off limits.

The move follows the largest anti-terror operation the country has ever seen to thwart what the government said was a plot by IS supporters to behead a random member of the public.

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Hundreds Face DNA Tests In Beach Murder Probe

Thai police are to take DNA from all the men on Koh Tao island - potentially hundreds of people - in their investigation into the murders of two Britons.

The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on a beach on September 15.

Police have been criticised over the investigation and are now expanding testing, with some 150 officers drafted in to the popular holiday island, which has 1,300 residents.

Ms Witheridge was caught on CCTV in the hours before her death

"We will submit one set of DNA samples and wait for their results before collecting another set of samples," said Colonel Uakrissadathikarn in The Phuket Gazette.

"We will do this until we find the culprits."

Police are also trying to trace fishing boat workers who may been on the island on the day of the killings.

Ms Witheridge's family have brought her body back to the UK

Officers previously said "sexual jealousy" may have been the motive and revealed DNA taken from Ms Witheridge's body was from two Asian men.

Claims the pair may have argued with a Thai man in a local bar are also being investigated.

Chief of Royal Thai Police Somyot Pumphanmuang

Thailand's police chief (centre) has visited the island

Police Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen said: "We have discovered fresh evidence which could lead to a new suspect who may have had a relationship or one-night stand with Hannah or one of her friends or David the night before they were killed.

"We have asked the Metropolitan Police to go back and make enquiries of Hannah's friends on this matter."

Ms Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, suffered severe head wounds and Mr Miller, from Jersey, died from blows to the head and drowning, post-mortem examinations showed.

Pictures of killed British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge and a message of support to their friends and families are displayed during special prayers at Koh Tao island

Islanders have also been helping to raise reward money

A garden hoe with Ms Witheridge's blood on it was discovered nearby, and investigators are searching for a blunt metal object used on Mr Miller.

Ms Witheridge's family said they had now brought their "beautiful Hannah" back to the UK.

A £4,000 police reward is on offer for information, and shocked island residents have also raised several thousand pounds on top of that.

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Rwanda Militia Commander 'Tired Of War'

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 21 September 2014 | 18.46

Key Events In Rwanda

Updated: 9:32am UK, Sunday 21 September 2014

Up to 5 million people have died in DR Congo during two decades of violence which followed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Many of those blamed for the mass killings fled to DRC, then called Zaire.

Here is a timeline of key historical events in Rwanda:

:: January 1, 1932: Belgium, which controlled Rwanda, introduced identity cards which distinguished between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis for the first time. These cards helped identify Tutsis in the 1994 massacre.

:: November 5, 1959: A Hutu rebellion against the Belgian colonial power and the favoured Tutsis led to 150,000 Tutsis fleeing to Burundi.

:: July 1, 1962: Rwanda and Burundi became independent with the Hutus ruling in Rwanda and Tutsis retaining power in Burundi.

:: December 1, 1963: Up to 20,000 Tutsis massacred in Rwanda in response to a cross-border attack by exiled Tutsis in neighbouring Burundi.

:: June 10, 1987: Exiled Tutsis from Rwanda formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in Uganda.

:: October 1, 1990: A 7,000-strong RPF force attacks Rwanda from Uganda following the death of thousands of Tutsis at the hands of the government-trained Interahamwe militia.

:: August 4, 1993: The Arusha Accord brought an end to the civil war and a power-sharing agreement between the RPF and the Hutu-led government.

:: October 5, 1993: UN Security Council establishes a peacekeeping mission to oversee the Accord and around 2,500 UN military personnel were deployed.

:: April 6, 1994: Aircraft carrying President Habyarimana of Rwanda and President Ntaryamira of Burundi was shot down, killing all on board.

:: April 7, 1994: Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, a moderate Hutu, and 10 Belgian Peacekeepers were murdered by Rwandan government soldiers.

This marked the start of 100 days of genocide which saw up to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus killed by extremist Hutus.

:: July 19, 1994: RPF takes control of Rwanda and sets up a Government of National Unity. About 2 million Hutus, including some involved in the genocide, flee to Zaire fearing revenge attacks.

In the following 20 years, fighting continued in DRC with Rwanda accused of invading to pursue Hutus implicated in the genocide and of supporting rebel movements there.

Numerous ceasefires failed to stop the bloodshed and the UN declared that by 2001, 2.5 million had died.

Further peace deals followed, with agreements to hand over Hutus blamed for the genocide in Rwanda.

But more fighting erupted in 2008 as Rebel General and Tutsi Laurent Nkunde's forces clashed with Congolese troops. Rwanda denied backing Nkunde.

Other groups, like the infamous Lord's Resistance Army and pro-Hutu militias intent on the overthrow of the Rwandan government, have operated inside DRC and added to the bloodshed.

More recently, warlords like Bosco Ntaganda and Thomas Lubanga have been brought to justice but Congolese and Rwandan troops clashed on the countries' borders as recently as June this year.

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Rival Afghan Leaders Sign Power-Sharing Deal

A deal to create a power-sharing government in Afghanistan has been signed by the rival presidential candidates after months of wrangling following a disputed election.

Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani, who will become president under the deal reached on Saturday night, embraced rival Abdullah Abdullah, who takes the new role of chief executive, after they signed the agreement in a ceremony broadcast live on television.

The deal, brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry, was swiftly welcomed by Washington.

"This agreement marks an important opportunity for unity and increased stability in Afghanistan," said a statement issued by the White House.

"We continue to call on all Afghans - including political, religious, and civil society leaders - to support this agreement and to come together in calling for co-operation and calm."

Abdullah Abdullah (L) and Ashraf Ghani sign deal

The deal ends three months of political wrangling

A Downing Street spokesman welcomed the deal, adding: "This will bring to an end a period of uncertainty and enable a peaceful and democratic transfer of power.

"The UK remains committed to supporting Afghanistan. We look forward to working with the new Government to help the Afghan people realise the prosperous and peaceful future they deserve."

With the departure of foreign troops, the new administration faces huge challenges in fighting an emboldened Taliban-led insurgency and paying its bills amid plummeting tax revenue.

It will also face significant difficulty in improving the lives of ordinary Afghans as aid flows fall and as contracts with the Nato-led coalition dry up.

The signing ceremony took place at the presidential palace which is still occupied by outgoing leader Hamid Karzai, who had been in power since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.

US Secretary of State John Kerry at a press conference in Egypt

US Secretary of State John Kerry brokered the deal

Mr Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi said Mr Ghani is expected to be sworn in as president within a week.

He said one of Mr Ghani's first acts would be to sign a long-delayed bilateral security agreement with the US to allow a small force of foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014.

The uncertainty surrounding the political transition has seen more Taliban-led attacks across Afghanistan, just as the newly trained Afghan security forces prepare to lead the fight against the militants on their own after foreign troops withdraw.

Teams from the Ghani and Abdullah camps met late into Saturday night to try to finalise the power-sharing deal before the planned release of results of a UN-monitored audit of all eight million ballots cast in the June 14 run-off.

No time has been set for the announcement.

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Jude Law 'Overwhelmed' By DR Congo Suffering