Friday, February 27, 2015

Six In The Morning Friday February 27

'Jihadi John': Haines widow wants militant caught alive

  • 1 hour ago

The widow of a man killed by a masked Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John" says she wants him caught alive.
Dragana Haines says the "last thing" she wants for the man who killed her husband, British aid worker David Haines, is an "honourable death".
The militant, pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages, has been named as Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born Briton from west London.
Mr Haines' daughter said she wanted to see "a bullet between his eyes".
Emwazi, who is in his mid-20s and was previously known to British security services, first appeared in a video last August, when he apparently killed the US journalist James Foley.





China 'aggressively' expanding into South China Sea says US

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper tells US senators there is a worrying trend of conflict between China’s neighbours over expansion

China is expanding its outposts in the South China Sea to include stationing for ships and potential airfields as part of its “aggressive” effort to exert sovereignty, the US intelligence chief said Thursday.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was speaking at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on worldwide threats. His comments underscore US concern over land reclamation activities that could fuel tensions between China and its neighbours over disputed islands and reefs.
“Although China is looking for stable ties with the United States it’s more willing to accept bilateral and regional tensions in pursuit of its interests, particularly on maritime sovereignty issues,” Clapper said.

Kiev withdraws heavy weapons after lull in fighting

US intelligence chief expects Russian-backed militants to attack key port in spring


Daniel McLaughlin
 Ukraine has started withdrawing artillery from the frontline of its battle with Russian-backed militants, after a lull in fighting that Washington’s intelligence chief expects to flare up again in spring.
After two consecutive days without fatalities, Kiev’s military said yesterday it had started pulling back heavy guns that should have begun on February 15th, under a ceasefire deal that was initially ignored by both sides as they fought for the strategic town of Debaltseve.
The separatists now control that major transport hub, and insist they have already started withdrawing howitzers and other artillery pieces from the frontline of a conflict that has killed some 6,000 people and displaced about 1.5 million.

Amal Clooney slams Egyptian, Canadian governments defending client Mohamed Fahmy

Human rights attorney Amal Clooney condemned the inaction of the Canadian government to secure the release of her client. There is no reason Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy should not be sent home, she argued.
Prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney slammed the Canadian government on Thursday, calling Ottawa's efforts to secure the repatriation of Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy from Egypt "woefully inadequate."
In a statement published by Doughty Street Chambers, an organization for lawyers in Britain, she accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government of making "sheepish whimpers" to Cairo as opposed to real efforts to ensure her client's return to Canada.
A court freed Fahmy, pending retrial, along with fellow defendant Baher Mohammed earlier this month. Both are charged with promoting the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement in their news coverage, a charge Fahmy dismissed as absurd.

On the front line in Syrian Kurdistan, militias fight to free kidnapped families

February 27, 2015 - 6:12PM

Middle East Correspondent


Ruth Pollard reports from the war zone as Kurdish, Assyrian and Arab militias hold the line against the jihadists of Islamic State.

Tel Tamer, Syria: "They want to divide us, to drive us from our lands, to separate us from our families, our tribes and our homes," Atur Aisak tells me.
She is standing at her post dug into a hill in Tel Tamer, an assault rifle slung over her shoulder, and looking out to the nearby village of Tel Shamiran, where at least 90 Assyrians - most of them her extended family - were abducted by militants of the so-called Islamic State in a terrifying predawn raid on Tuesday.
We have no choice but to stay and defend our area . . . they kill whoever they please. 
Lying just a kilometre away, the village is a no-go zone for all but frontline fighters from the YPG, or People's Protection Units - the armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) - who are engaged in a fierce battle with IS to free Tel Shamiran and other Christian villages and prevent further abductions.


Judge in Argentina throws out case involving prosecutor's death

Judge Daniel Rafecas has dismissed allegations of a cover-up in a case that has grabbed the national attention of Argentina.



An Argentine judge on Thursday dismissed allegations that President Cristina Fernandez tried to cover up Iran's purported involvement in the deadly bombing of a Jewish center in 1994.
The judge "discontinued" the case brought by prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was found dead in mysterious circumstances in January the day before he was to appear in Congress to discuss his criminal complaint.
The scandal shocked the country and hurt the government's credibility ahead of October's presidential election.
The decision by judge Daniel Rafecas sparked divided opinions on whether the government had a hand in the ruling. About 400,000 Argentines marched last week to demand a more independent judiciary.














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