SIx In The Morning Friday September 5

EUROPE

On Ukraine, the West Sidesteps a Fraught Term

By ANDREW HIGGINS

BRUSSELS — Whether on the streets of Budapest in 1956, the mountains of Afghanistan in 1979 and again in 2001 or in the swampy forests of Grenada in 1983, invasions have tended to be noisy, unmistakable affairs that screamed their purpose from the start.

After four months of conflict in eastern Ukraine, however, few have chosen to use the “I” word to define the slow-burning war fed by a steady flow of Russian weapons and soldiers across the border.

“I do not want to define it right now, but you can call it what you want,” Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany told a news conference last weekend in Brussels, where European Union leaders agreed that Russia had increased the “inflows of fighters and weapons” to Ukraine and mounted “aggression” but made no mention of any invasion.

Syria crisis: British jihadists becoming disillusioned at fighting rival rebels and want to come home

One fighter claimed they would be willing to undergo deradicalisation and submit to surveillance if they were assured of avoiding jail terms on their return

LEWIS SMITH 

 

 

Friday 05 September 2014

British jihadists fighting in Syria are increasingly disillusioned and want to come home, it has been reported.

The jihadists have become frustrated that instead of fighting President Assad’s forces they are finding themselves in fire fights with rival rebel groups.

Dozens of them are reported to want to return to Britain but are afraid they will be locked up for years if they do so.

One jihadist claiming to represent 30 British fighters with a group linked to Islamic State said they would be willing to undergo deradicalisation and submit to surveillance if they were assured of avoiding jail terms on their return, according to The Times.

Renewed shelling heard in Ukraine ahead of truce talks

Shelling has been reported on the outskirts of the Ukrainian port city Mariupol, hours ahead of ceasefire talks in Minsk. The talks are set to involve representatives from the separatist movement, Moscow and Kyiv.

Witnesses heard renewed shelling on Friday near Ukraine's eastern port city of Mariupol. The city, which has become the latest flashpoint in the conflict between Kyiv and pro-Moscow rebels, lies along the Sea of Azov, between Russia and the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula. Seizure of the city would give the pro-Moscow rebels a strong foothold.

The shelling comes hours ahead of peace talks in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The Minsk discussions are set to involve representatives of the separatist movement, Russian and Ukrainian governments and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko voiced cautious optimism about the possibility of a ceasefire with pro-Russian separatists while at a NATO summit in Wales.

Chinese Islamist fighter reportedly held by Iraqis

September 5, 2014 - 4:05PM

Edward Wong

Beijing: The Iraqi Defence Ministry has posted on its Facebook page photographs that it says show a captured Chinese man who was fighting on behalf of the Islamic State.

Iraqi officials have not released further details, but the photographs, if confirmed, would be the first visual evidence of a Chinese citizen fighting with IS, which has members from around the world, including the United States. Both the leader of IS and a Chinese diplomat said this summer that Chinese fighters had joined IS.

The first of the Defence Ministry's photographs, posted on Monday, shows an Iraqi soldier holding up a muscular, Asian-looking man with a severely bruised and bloodied face. The man is wearing an olive-green camouflage T-shirt, pants, black gloves and an armband with white Arabic lettering on a black background.

Paranoid president axes more top spooks

05 SEP 2014 00:00 QAANITA HUNTER

Jacob Zuma is at it again, "redeploying" senior spies he feels he can no longer trust.

NEWS ANALYSIS

Barely three years after a massive purge of senior intelligence managers, three more top spies have been removed.

This is the latest example of political meddling in the state security agencies by the ANC and President Jacob Zuma, who seems increasingly mistrustful of his top spooks.

This brings to six the number of senior intelligence leaders, once perceived to be loyal to Zuma, who have been removed in five years during his administration. It raises serious questions about the stability of the country’s key security institution and the consequences of the president’s mistrust. 

State Security Minister David Mahlobo confirmed on Wednesday that head of the national intelligence co-ordinating committee Dennis Dlomo, director of the domestic branch of the State Security Agency Simon Jabulani Ntombela and deputy director general of domestic collection Nozuko Bam have been “redeployed” to the department of international relations and co-operation.

As Brazil presidential candidate surges, focus turns to evangelicalism's clout

Within 24 hours of launching her presidential campaign, Marina Silva withdrew her support for bills recognizing gay marriage after public pressure from the leader of her evangelical Christian church.

By Miriam Wells, Correspondent

SALVADOR, BRAZIL — It was "divine providence" last month that stopped Brazilian presidential candidate Marina Silva from getting on the plane that killed her running mate, Eduardo Campos, she said.

For the devout evangelical Christian – and the tens of millions of Brazilians like her – it will surely be God's hand guiding her all the way into the country's top office if recent polls predicting her victory over President Dilma Rousseff prove correct.

A former rubber tapper and renowned environmentalist, Ms. Silva has surged in popularity following Brazil's first presidential candidate debate late last month.