World News Thread & Breaking News!!

[delft]

Doubt what?

That the US is not interested in killing less innocent civilians?

This is simply not so, delft. There is no major nation on earth, that has been so involved in combat, that has taken as great a pain to avoid innocent civilian death as the US...many times at the cost of a lot of Americans terribly wounded or killed...and at the cost of immense treasure.

And it still happens...and in war it always will. It is hell, even when it is necessary...it is hell.

I doubt that they would be interested in my thoughts. It must be clear to themselves that they are not sufficiently careful.

 

[PanAsian]

Well, if they do, they'll have their own REAPER on their tail, they've probably got homing beacons in the underwear?????? oh boy, only in America

Qatar is supposed to keep the released 5 in their territory for a year and that's in a region which is a high activity area for US drone strikes, so there is probably a non-publicized plan in place to use these released 5 to our advantage. There are still high value targets out there that these 5 may lead us to, such as Al Qaeda's Zawahiri.

At the same time I do question the circumstances of Bergdahl being captured and whether he specifically is worth the overall move, on the other hand the Taliban may have nothing better to trade with and we wanted the released 5 as bait out there and we can't just let them go for no reason.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

The Long War Journal: Mullah Omar hails release of 5 top Taliban commanders as 'great victory'



Written by Thomas Joscelyn on June 1, 2014 1:20 PM to 1 The Long War Journal
Available online at:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Mullah Omar, the reclusive head of the Taliban, has purportedly released a statement hailing the transfer of the top five Taliban commanders from Guantanamo to Qatar. Omar says their freedom is a "great victory."

The five Taliban leaders were exchanged for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who has been held by the Taliban since 2009.

A copy of the statement attributed to Omar has been posted on the Taliban's Urdu-language web site.

Omar thanks the government of Qatar, as well as its emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, for his help in brokering the deal and for hosting the Taliban leaders. In earlier statements, both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry similarly thanked Qatar for its assistance.

Omar offers his "heartfelt congratulations to the entire Afghan Muslim nation," including "all the mujahideen and to the families and relatives of the prisoners for this great victory."

The Taliban had demanded the release of the five commanders from Guantanamo for years. In early 2012, the Taliban announced that it had established a "political office" in Doha for the expressed purpose of securing their freedom.

In addition to Omar's statement, the Taliban has also posted pictures of the now ex-Guantanamo detainees being greeted by supporters and family members in Qatar. As The Long War Journal has previously documented, all five were closely linked to al Qaeda prior to their detention and deemed "high" risks to the US, its interests, and its allies, according to leaked Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) threat assessments.

The first picture posted by the Taliban appears to show Mullah Norullah Noori, a senior Taliban military commander. According to a leaked JTF-GTMO file, Noori has been "wanted by the United Nations (UN) for possible war crimes including the murder of thousands of Shiite Muslims." He fought alongside al Qaeda in pre-9/11 Afghanistan.



The second unlabeled photo, seen below, seems to be of Abdul Haq Wasiq, a senior Taliban intelligence official. He arranged for al Qaeda to train the Taliban in "intelligence methods," according to a leaked JTF-GTMO file.


The third photo [below] shows Mullah Muhammad Fazl, the former Taliban deputy minister of defense. Fazl's face is obscured in the photo. Like Noori, according to the JTF-GTMO files, Fazl is "wanted by the UN for possible war crimes including the murder of thousands of Shiites." Fazl worked closely with al Qaeda leaders, including Abdul Hadi al Iraqi, who is still detained at Guantanamo.

The fourth photo shows Mohammad Nabi Omari, a Taliban leader who served in multiple roles and coordinated attacks with al Qaeda and other affiliated groups in Afghanistan.


The fifth and final photo is of Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa, the former Taliban governor of Herat province. Khairkhwa had multiple ties to al Qaeda prior to 9/11, according to the JTF-GTMO files. He also helped broker a deal between the Iranian regime and the Taliban, who were historically at odds with one another. As a result of the deal, the Iranians agreed to support the Taliban in its war against the US.

For more on the five Taliban leaders released from Guantanamo, see The Long War Journal's previous reports.

The Long War Journal: Bergdahl-Taliban prisoner exchange 'won't help the peace process in any way' - Taliban spokesman



Written by Bill Roggio on June 2, 2014 10:14 AM to 1 The Long War Journal
Available online at:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

One of the Taliban's top spokesmen said that the recent prisoner exchange between the US and the Taliban will do nothing to further US hopes for reconciliation in Afghanistan as the Taliban "don't believe in the peace process."

The exchange of US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who reportedly went absent without leave while on duty in Paktika province in 2009, for five senior al Qaeda-linked Taliban leaders held at Guantanamo Bay took place over the weekend. The five Taliban leaders, who were deemed "high" risks to the US and its allies by Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO), include two accused of war crimes by the UN.

The five freed Taliban commanders have been identified as Abdul Haq Wasiq, an intelligence official; Mullah Norullah Noori, senior military commander; Mullah Mohammad Fazl, the Taliban's former deputy minister of defense; Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa, the Taliban's former governor of Herat province; and Mohammad Nabi Omari, a senior leader. JTF-GTMO had previously recommended that all five remain in custody as they posed a threat to the US. [See LWJ reports, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl exchanged for top 5 Taliban commanders at Gitmo, and Taliban says 'five senior leaders' have been 'liberated' from Guantanamo.]

The prisoner exchange took place over the course of several months of negotiations between the US and the Taliban which were brokered by the government of Qatar. The five Taliban leaders have been sent to Qatar and are banned from travel for one year.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had told NBC's Meet the Press that the US is hopeful that the negotiations that led to the prisoner exchange can further reconciliation between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

"So maybe this will be a new opening that can produce an agreement," between the Taliban and the Afghan government, Hagel said yesterday.

Within hours, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid shot down Hagel's optimism for reconciliation.

"It won't help the peace process in any way, because we don't believe in the peace process," Mujahid said.

Instead of portraying the exchange as the beginning of reconciliation, Taliban emir Mullah Mohammed Omar called the release of the five commanders a "great victory" and a "huge and vivid triumph." The Taliban also published photos of the five released commanders as they arrived in Qatar. [See LWJ report, Mullah Omar hails release of 5 top Taliban commanders as 'great victory'.]

"This huge accomplishment brings the glad tidings of liberation of the whole country and reassures us that our aspirations are on the verge of fulfillment," Omar said, according to a statement released yesterday at the Taliban website, Voice of Jihad.

Taliban have rejected peace talks in the past

This is the second time this year that US calls for reconciliation have been rejected by the Taliban. In January, the White House reiterated that it wanted to negotiate with the Taliban.

"We call again on the Taliban to put down their arms and begin peace talks, which is the surest way to end the conflict in a peaceful manner," the White House statement said.

The Taliban immediately rejected the White House's plea for peace talks.

"We strongly reject the American demand," Zabihullah Mujahid, an official Taliban spokesman, said in an email sent to The Long War Journal.

The US government has unsuccessfully pursued peace talks with the Taliban for the past five years. The administration has stated that a peace deal with the Taliban will end the fighting and prevent al Qaeda from operating in the country.

Previously, the US has demanded that the Taliban denounce al Qaeda and join the Afghan political process. The demand that the Taliban denounce al Qaeda was dropped last year as the Taliban were permitted to open an office in Qatar. Western officials wanted the Taliban to use the office to conduct peace talks, but the Taliban insisted it was to be used to raise the profile of the group in the international community and serve as a "political office." Additionally, the Taliban said they would use the office in Qatar to secure the release of the five al Qaeda-linked commanders who were finally freed this weekend. [See LWJ report, Taliban want release of 5 al Qaeda-linked commanders in exchange for captured US soldier; and Threat Matrix report, Taliban insist on using 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,' flying flag at Qatar 'political office.']

The Taliban signaled in early 2012, during another US push for peace talks, that they had no intentions of disowning al Qaeda, and refused to denounce international terrorism. A Taliban spokesman even said that al Qaeda is officially operating under the banner of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

"They [al Qaeda] are among the first groups and banners that pledged allegiance to the Emir of the Believers [Mullah Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban], and they operate in Afghanistan under the flag of the Islamic Emirate," a spokesman to jihadist forums known as Abdullah al Wazir said in February 2012.

"They are an example of discipline and accuracy in the execution of missions and operations entrusted to them by the Military Command of the Islamic Emirate," Wazir continued, calling al Qaeda "lions in war." [See LWJ report, Al Qaeda 'operates in Afghanistan under the flag of the Islamic Emirate': Taliban spokesman; and Threat Matrix report, Taliban expand list of demands, refuse to denounce 'international terrorism.']

Meanwhile in Europe

2 June 2014 Last updated at 13:09 ET
King Juan Carlos of Spain abdicates
COMMENTS (859)
King Juan Carlos of Spain has announced his intention to abdicate, after nearly 40 years on the throne.
"A new generation must be at the forefront... younger people with new energies," the 76-year-old king said in a televised address.
His son, Crown Prince Felipe, 45, will take over the throne.
For much of his reign, Juan Carlos was seen as one of the world's most popular monarchs, but recently many Spaniards have lost confidence in him.
His reputation has been tarnished by a long-running corruption investigation into the business dealings of his daughter and her husband.
Support for the king fell further when it was discovered he had been on a lavish elephant hunting trip to Botswana in April 2012, in the middle of Spain's financial crisis.
The first announcement about the abdication came from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who told reporters: "His Majesty King Juan Carlos has just informed me of his desire to renounce the throne and begin the process of succession."
Later, the king himself said in a televised address that it was time for a "new era" in which a new generation could take on the transformations and reforms required.
He said his son, Prince Felipe, had the maturity and preparation to be king.
Analysis: Tom Burridge, BBC Madrid correspondent
King Juan Carlos' abdication will be a surprise to most people in Spain, but not a shock.
At the beginning of this year, before his youngest daughter appeared in court in a major corruption investigation, the Spanish media was awash with speculation about the king's future.
But royal officials had said abdication was not an option and that the king's popularity was improving after a clear decline in the polls. They insisted that his mobility was also getting better, after several operations to his hips.
The royal household has always been keen for any decision over abdication to not come in the wake of intense media pressure. That is because Republicanism is a relatively potent force in Spain.
Royal officials are describing this as a "personal" decision, which the king has been considering ever since his 76th birthday in January.
Spain does not have a precise law regulating abdication and royal succession, and Mr Rajoy said ministers would hold a special meeting to discuss the process by which the prince would take over as Felipe VI.
The prime minister said Juan Carlos had been a "tireless defender of our interests".
"I'm convinced this is the best moment for change," he added.
Pivotal role
Juan Carlos took the throne on the death of General Francisco Franco, the right-wing dictator who ruled for 36 years after his victory over Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War.
The king became Spain's first crowned head of state for 44 years.
But he soon ignored Franco's supporters, who wanted an extension to autocratic rule, and ushered in a new system of parliamentary monarchy.
As the years went on the king involved himself less in day-to-day politics, and became more of a figurehead.
He has been credited as a stabilising force for independence-minded areas such as Catalonia and the Basque region, and he also helped defuse an attempted coup in 1981.
Until a few years ago his popularity was high, but the hunting trip and corruption allegations involving his youngest daughter, Cristina, and her husband Inaki Urdangarin, led to calls for him to step aside.
The king's son and successor, Felipe, appears to have been untarnished by the scandal.
Felipe and his wife - former television presenter Princess Letizia - have recently taken on more important roles in ceremonial events.
Recent European Abdications
June 2014: King Juan Carlos of Spain steps down, saying he is passing the role to a younger, energised generation.
July 2013: Belgian King Albert II abdicates in favour of his son, Philippe, for health reasons.
April 2013: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands hands the throne to her son Prince Willem-Alexander, saying he is ready to reign and it is time for the throne to be held by "a new generation".
But the BBC's Ignacio del los Reyes, in Spain, says there is still concern over whether the couple will be able to save a damaged institution.
On social networks, people are already asking whether it is time for Spain to become a republic, and some parties are calling for constitutional reform and a popular vote to pave the way for this change.
But the two main parties in parliament remain loyal to the monarchy, our correspondent says.

North America

2 June 2014 Last updated at 11:25 ET
US unveils sharp curbs on coal power plants
The Obama administration has proposed strong new rules targeting coal-burning power plants in an effort to curb global warming.
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan seeks to cut carbon emissions by 30% by 2030.
The 645-page rule is a centrepiece of President Barack Obama's plans to leverage similar commitments from polluting nations like China and India.
States must submit initial compliance plans by June 2016.
"We are here to protect public health and the environment," EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said on Monday, arguing climate change was "supercharging" risks to health, communities and the economy.
"This was the preferred path forward," she added. "Climate inaction is costing us more money in more places, more often."
The rules seek to reduce carbon emissions by 30% below 2005 levels, which the EPA says is equal to the emissions from powering more than half the homes in the US for one year.
Particle pollution, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides may also be reduced by more than 25% as a co-benefit, the EPA wrote.
Critics have argued the new US rules will cause power plants to close and electricity prices to rise.
"Miners are losing their jobs, families are struggling to make ends meet and there is no relief in sight from the heavy hand of Obama's EPA," Republican Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito wrote in a statement.
But the EPA estimates the new rules will shrink electricity bills by 8% by increasing energy efficiency and reducing demand on the electricity system.
"They're wrong," Ms McCarthy said. "We have never, nor will we ever, have to choose between a healthy economy and a healthy environment."
Administration officials have described the new rules as a step toward achieving a pledge Mr Obama made in his first year in office to make sizeable cuts in US carbon emissions by 2020.
The Democratic president has been unable to persuade Republicans in Congress to act on climate change legislation.
A 2010 Democratic effort to pass a bill limiting carbon-dioxide emissions and allowing companies to buy and sell permits to pollute was blocked by Senate Republicans.
Now, the Obama administration is relying on a 2007 US Supreme Court ruling that gave the EPA, part of the executive branch of the US government under Mr Obama's control, the authority to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act.
The new rules are expected to be finalised in June 2015 after a period of public comment.
States are then required to submit initial plans for compliance to the EPA by June 2016. They can petition for additional time - up to June 2018 - should it be required.
Strategies for state compliance may include increasing nuclear or solar power, switching to natural gas, or moving towards an emissions-trading plan known as cap-and-trade.

Africa

2 June 2014 Last updated at 10:51 ET
Libya fighting: 18 killed in Benghazi
At least 18 people have been killed in intense fighting in eastern Libya, medics say.
The fighting started when Ansar al-Sharia militants attacked forces loyal to renegade General Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi, who hit back with airstrikes.
Benghazi is at the centre of a two-week long campaign by Gen Haftar's forces against Islamist armed groups.
The government in the capital Tripoli has condemned the campaign, calling it an "attempted coup".
It is not known whether the casualties from Sunday night's fighting are military or civilian, but both sides have accused the other of firing indiscriminately in residential areas.
Dozens were also reported injured in the neighbouring city of Al-Marj.
While Libya and in particular Benghazi has been plagued with violence since the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, the latest fighting has been particularly ferocious.
Combat helicopters have reportedly been used to carry out strikes against rival armed groups in the west of Benghazi.
Eyewitnesses said one of the rockets fired on Sunday missed its target and instead hit a university engineering faculty.
The groups being targeted by Gen Haftar's forces are the Ansar al-Sharia Islamist militia and the February 17 brigade, which fought against Gaddafi in 2011.
The groups are accused of being behind much of the violence and assassinations in Benghazi in recent years, but they deny this.
Libya has no functioning national army and has had to rely on armed groups to provide security.
However, the groups have clashed on many occasions over political and ideological issues.
Crisis government
Gen Haftar wants the judiciary to appoint a crisis government to oversee new elections after accusing Libya's leaders of "fostering terrorism".
Dozens of state bodies have already pledged their support to him.
But the government called his assaults an "attempted coup" and ordered the arrest of those taking part.

South America

1 June 2014 Last updated at 16:04 ET
El Salvador: Salvador Sanchez sworn in as president
Former left-wing rebel leader Salvador Sanchez Ceren has been sworn in as president of El Salvador.
Mr Sanchez, 69, of the FMLN party, becomes the first former guerrilla to lead the Central American country following his March victory.
In his inauguration speech, he promised to fight corruption and violence, and to govern "for everybody".
El Salvador remains violent and deeply divided despite the end of a civil war in which some 75,000 people died.
Mr Sanchez narrowly defeated the conservative candidate Norman Quijano by 0.2% in a run-off vote on 9 March.
'No corruption'
Speaking at his inauguration ceremony in the capital, San Salvador, he pledged "to serve as president of all Salvadoreans".
He added he would lead "with honesty, austerity, efficacy and transparency" in a country with high levels of corruption.
Last month, a Salvadorean judge issued an arrest warrant for a former President, Francisco Flores, who is accused of using $10m (£6.5m) of public money for personal use. He denies any wrongdoing.
Mr Sanchez also promised that "security, employment and education" would be the priorities of his government.
El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world, a problem largely blamed on gang violence.
As a rebel leader, Mr Sanchez fought US-backed government forces during the civil conflict in which tens of thousands of people also disappeared.
His Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front became a political party after the 1992 peace accords.
It first won the presidency in 2009 with the outgoing leader Mauricio Funes (2009-2014), a former journalist who did not fight in the war.
Salvador Sanchez served as vice president in the Funes government.

India/Asia

2 June 2014 Last updated at 08:14 ET
India police fire water cannon at gang-rape protesters
Indian police have fired water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters in Uttar Pradesh state where two teenage cousins were gang-raped and hanged.
The protesters, many of them women, were demonstrating outside the office of state chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Police have detained five people, including two policemen, in connection with the attacks.
Meanwhile, reports say another woman has been found dead after being gang-raped elsewhere in the state.
The body of the woman, thought to be 22, was discovered on Saturday in the Baheri area, the Press Trust of India reported quoting police sources.
A post mortem revealed she had been forced to drink acid before she was strangled.
The two teenage girls were found hanged from a tree in Badaun district last week. The victims' families say it took police more than 12 hours to respond to reports they were missing.
A federal police investigation has been ordered amid growing anger over the killings.
Police in the city of Lucknow used force and water cannons to keep back hundreds of protesters demanding that Mr Yadav put an end to violence against women in the state.
Mr Yadav's government has come under criticism for its lax approach towards women's safety,
"We're not going to sleep, we'll be here, they have to stop this [violence against women]," one protester told the NDTV news channel.
"We're going to stay here, we're not going to give up," one man said before the crowd was drenched by the police.
'Confessions'
Three suspected attackers have been held, along with two policemen accused of dereliction of duty and criminal conspiracy.
Indian media have quoted the local police as saying that two of the attackers have "confessed to their crime during interrogation", but this could not be independently confirmed.
The girls, thought to have been 14 and 15, went missing last Tuesday night. They had apparently gone out to relieve themselves as they had no toilet at home.
Their bodies were discovered the following day. A post-mortem examination confirmed multiple sexual assaults and death due to hanging.
Scrutiny of sexual violence in India has grown since the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus.
The government tightened laws on sexual violence last year after widespread protests following the attack.
Fast-track courts were brought to the fore to deal with rape and the death penalty was also brought in for the most extreme cases.
Some women's groups argue that the low conviction rate for rape should be challenged with more effective policing rather than stiffer sentences.
Rape cases that have shocked India
23 January 2014: Thirteen men held in West Bengal in connection with the gang rape of a woman, allegedly on orders of village elders who objected to her relationship with a man
4 April 2014: A court sentences three men to hang for raping a 23-year-old photojournalist in Mumbai last year
15 January 2014: A Danish woman is allegedly gang raped after losing her way near her hotel in Delhi
17 September 2013 : Five youths held in Assam for allegedly gang-raping a 10-year-old girl
4 June 2013: A 30-year-old American woman gang-raped in Himachal Pradesh
30 April 2013: A five-year-old girl dies two weeks after being raped in Madhya Pradesh
16 December 2012: Student gang raped on Delhi bus, sparking nationwide protests and outrage; she later dies of her injuries

Middle East

2 June 2014 Last updated at 13:59 ET
Palestinian unity government sworn in by Mahmoud Abbas
A new Palestinian unity government has been sworn in, marking a key step towards ending a major rift between factions in the West Bank and Gaza.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hailed the event, saying "a black page in history has been turned forever".
The two sides had governed separately since Hamas, which won elections in 2006, ousted Fatah from Gaza in 2007.
Israel says it will not deal with a Palestinian government backed by Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction.
Following the Palestinian announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet said it would hold Mr Abbas and the new Palestinian government accountable for any rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
"The agreement with Hamas makes Abbas directly responsible for any terrorist activity from Gaza," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement.
Analysis - Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, Ramallah
A seven-year split, a number of failed reconciliations, a month of negotiations and still, at the last minute, the unity government almost didn't happen. A disagreement over the post of prisons minister was resolved, though, and the swearing-in of the new cabinet in Ramallah took place. It was another clear indication of the frailty of this uneasy partnership.
In the end, political and economic pressures won the day. Gaza is broke and Hamas needs the help of Mahmoud Abbas. For his part, he needs a political victory following the failure of peace talks with Israel over a month ago.
It's a partnership that many Palestinians have long wanted, and one that Israel says the world should reject. Hamas wants Israel's destruction and believes in an armed struggle to achieve this end. Israel says Mr Abbas' claim that the government of technocrats has no party loyalties is a "trick" that shouldn't be believed. The United States and others are reserving judgement for now, but sanctions from Israel are almost certain to follow.
Israel suspended crisis-hit peace talks with the Palestinians in April in response to the announcement of the reconciliation deal.
Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by Israel and other countries, opposes the peace talks, though President Abbas has said the new government will abide by previous agreements.
'One people'
The new government comprises 17 politically independent ministers and will be tasked with organising elections to be held within six months.
It is headed by incumbent Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.
The ministers took the oath of office in a televised ceremony at President Abbas' compound in Ramallah.
"Today, with the formation of a national consensus government, we announce the end of a Palestinian division that has greatly damaged our national case," said President Abbas.
"This black page in history has been turned forever."
As the new administration took office, the Hamas government in Gaza resigned.
Hamas' outgoing Prime Minister Ismail Haniya welcomed the new cabinet as "a government of one people and one political system".
"We're leaving the government, but not the nation. We're leaving the ministries but not the question of the nation," he said.
Three Gaza-based members of the new government were denied permission by Israel to cross into the West Bank for the ceremony.
Israel tightly controls who exits Gaza into its territory as part of what it says are security measures to prevent attacks.
Israel warning
President Abbas' decision to reconcile with Hamas has been denounced by Israel. Its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world leaders not to "rush to recognise" the new government.
"Hamas is a terrorist organisation that calls for Israel's destruction, and the international community must not embrace it. That would not bolster peace, it would strengthen terror," he told a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Israel has said it would cease all but security co-ordination with the Palestinians if the government was formed.
A statement from Mr Hamdallah's office denounced Mr Netanyahu's remarks, calling them part of a campaign intended to "cement [Israel's] occupation by all means".
The US, which has sponsored the Israel-Palestinian peace talks, has expressed concern over any Hamas role in the new government.
In a phone call with President Abbas on Sunday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the new government must "commit to the principles of non-violence, recognition of the State of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements with it," the State Department said.
When Hamas and Fatah formed a coalition government in 2006, the US and other Western nations withheld millions of dollars of aid to the Palestinians because of Hamas' participation.
The Hamas-led government was dissolved by President Abbas in June 2007 in a move not recognised by Hamas, a day after Hamas forces ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas had continued to govern in Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) under President Abbas in the West Bank.
The enduring split has been deeply unpopular among Palestinians but previous reconciliation efforts have failed.
However, Hamas' isolation in Gaza and the failure of peace talks with Israel to produce tangible results created fresh impetus for both sides to heal the division.

Japan/Pacific

2 June 2014 Last updated at 13:59 ET
Palestinian unity government sworn in by Mahmoud Abbas
A new Palestinian unity government has been sworn in, marking a key step towards ending a major rift between factions in the West Bank and Gaza.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hailed the event, saying "a black page in history has been turned forever".
The two sides had governed separately since Hamas, which won elections in 2006, ousted Fatah from Gaza in 2007.
Israel says it will not deal with a Palestinian government backed by Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction.
Following the Palestinian announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet said it would hold Mr Abbas and the new Palestinian government accountable for any rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
"The agreement with Hamas makes Abbas directly responsible for any terrorist activity from Gaza," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement.
Analysis - Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, Ramallah
A seven-year split, a number of failed reconciliations, a month of negotiations and still, at the last minute, the unity government almost didn't happen. A disagreement over the post of prisons minister was resolved, though, and the swearing-in of the new cabinet in Ramallah took place. It was another clear indication of the frailty of this uneasy partnership.
In the end, political and economic pressures won the day. Gaza is broke and Hamas needs the help of Mahmoud Abbas. For his part, he needs a political victory following the failure of peace talks with Israel over a month ago.
It's a partnership that many Palestinians have long wanted, and one that Israel says the world should reject. Hamas wants Israel's destruction and believes in an armed struggle to achieve this end. Israel says Mr Abbas' claim that the government of technocrats has no party loyalties is a "trick" that shouldn't be believed. The United States and others are reserving judgement for now, but sanctions from Israel are almost certain to follow.
Israel suspended crisis-hit peace talks with the Palestinians in April in response to the announcement of the reconciliation deal.
Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by Israel and other countries, opposes the peace talks, though President Abbas has said the new government will abide by previous agreements.
'One people'
The new government comprises 17 politically independent ministers and will be tasked with organising elections to be held within six months.
It is headed by incumbent Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.
The ministers took the oath of office in a televised ceremony at President Abbas' compound in Ramallah.
"Today, with the formation of a national consensus government, we announce the end of a Palestinian division that has greatly damaged our national case," said President Abbas.
"This black page in history has been turned forever."
As the new administration took office, the Hamas government in Gaza resigned.
Hamas' outgoing Prime Minister Ismail Haniya welcomed the new cabinet as "a government of one people and one political system".
"We're leaving the government, but not the nation. We're leaving the ministries but not the question of the nation," he said.
Three Gaza-based members of the new government were denied permission by Israel to cross into the West Bank for the ceremony.
Israel tightly controls who exits Gaza into its territory as part of what it says are security measures to prevent attacks.
Israel warning
President Abbas' decision to reconcile with Hamas has been denounced by Israel. Its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world leaders not to "rush to recognise" the new government.
"Hamas is a terrorist organisation that calls for Israel's destruction, and the international community must not embrace it. That would not bolster peace, it would strengthen terror," he told a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Israel has said it would cease all but security co-ordination with the Palestinians if the government was formed.
A statement from Mr Hamdallah's office denounced Mr Netanyahu's remarks, calling them part of a campaign intended to "cement [Israel's] occupation by all means".
The US, which has sponsored the Israel-Palestinian peace talks, has expressed concern over any Hamas role in the new government.
In a phone call with President Abbas on Sunday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the new government must "commit to the principles of non-violence, recognition of the State of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements with it," the State Department said.
When Hamas and Fatah formed a coalition government in 2006, the US and other Western nations withheld millions of dollars of aid to the Palestinians because of Hamas' participation.
The Hamas-led government was dissolved by President Abbas in June 2007 in a move not recognised by Hamas, a day after Hamas forces ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas had continued to govern in Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) under President Abbas in the West Bank.
The enduring split has been deeply unpopular among Palestinians but previous reconciliation efforts have failed.
However, Hamas' isolation in Gaza and the failure of peace talks with Israel to produce tangible results created fresh impetus for both sides to heal the division.

And Of course the PRC

1 June 2014 Last updated at 00:12 ET
China denounces Japan and US over 'provocative' speeches
China has denounced the Japanese PM and US defence secretary for making "provocative" speeches against China at an Asian security forum in Singapore.
Chinese army general Wang Guanzhong said Chuck Hagel and Shinzo Abe's comments at the Shangri-La Dialogue were "unacceptable".
Mr Hagel had earlier said China was "destabilising" the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, Japan's PM Shinzo Abe had vowed to give greater support to South-East Asian countries.
The forum, which brings together the US and South-East Asian countries, comes amid growing tensions between China, Vietnam and the Philippines, with Japan-China ties also strained over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
'Unwanted criticisms'
Apparently deviating from his prepared speech, Mr Wang accused Japanese Prime Minister Abe and Defence Secretary Hagel of coordinating and encouraging each other to attack China in their remarks.
He said it was "unimaginable" to receive such "unwanted criticisms against China".
In a keynote address on Friday, Japan's Shinzo Abe outlined his vision for a more robust role in resolving territorial disputes in the region.
He also offered to provide coastal boats to neighbouring countries wary of Beijing's tactics.
Chinese officials responded at the time by saying Mr Abe was using the "myth" of a China threat to strengthen Japan's security policy.
Chuck Hagel later weighed in, accusing China of threatening the region's long-term progress by undertaking "destabilising, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea".
He warned the US would "not look the other way" when nations ignored international rules.
Tensions have flared recently, with China declaring an air defence zone in the East China Sea and adopting a more confrontational stance over the disputed islands in the South China Sea, correspondents say.
They say that although some Asean members will be reluctant to antagonise China because of their economic and political ties, others are likely to welcome an increased role from Japan.
Beijing claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea that covers areas other South-East Asian nations say are their territory.

 

[kwaigonegin]

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had told NBC's Meet the Press that the US is hopeful that the negotiations that led to the prisoner exchange can further reconciliation between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

"So maybe this will be a new opening that can produce an agreement," between the Taliban and the Afghan government, Hagel said yesterday.

Within hours, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid shot down Hagel's optimism for reconciliation.

"It won't help the peace process in any way, because we don't believe in the peace process," Mujahid said.

Instead of portraying the exchange as the beginning of reconciliation, Taliban emir Mullah Mohammed Omar called the release of the five commanders a "great victory" and a "huge and vivid triumph." The Taliban also published photos of the five released commanders as they arrived in Qatar. [See LWJ report, Mullah Omar hails release of 5 top Taliban commanders as 'great victory'.]?

I rest my case!

I abhor violence and will do most anything to avoid it however there are some individuals in this world that cannot be talked down, cannot be negotiated with and cannot be control.
It's best Hagel learn this quickly before more blood is shed but unfortunately it's already to late. Hagel is old school and thinks it's Vietnam.. It isn't.

While the Vietcongs were often brutal and cunning they do have a code of honor and were fighting what they thought were imperialism and tyranny in thier minds.
AL Queda and their affiliates on the other hand seek only destruction and death on anyone or anything in this world that don't subscribe to their own insanity.

 

[Jeff Head]

>>>>>>>>>> MODERATOR'S INSTRUCTIONS <<<<<<<<<<
​

Guys, this is a World News thread, not a place to hammer out the ideological differences and motivations of nation states and terrorists.

That is political and ideological and to date is not allowed on SD. There are numerous other forums where that can be argued all the day long...but not here.

Get back on topic and let it rest. I will remove the purely ideological posts...on both sides of the issue.

Any more back and forth on this will lead to warnings and suspensions.

>>>>>>>> END MODERATOR'S INSTRUCTIONS <<<<<<<<
​

 

[Jeff Head]

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

​

In the Milky Way there’s a single X-ray binary — a system consisting of a black hole capturing and heating material from an orbiting companion star — known as Cygnus X-1. But 30 million light-years away in the Whirlpool galaxy, M51, there are hundreds of X-ray points of light and a full 10 X-ray binaries.

Nearly a million seconds of observing time with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has revealed these specks. “This is the deepest, high-resolution exposure of the full disk of any spiral galaxy that’s ever been taken in the X-ray,” said Roy Kilgard, from Wesleyan University, at a talk presented at the American Astronomical Society meeting today in Boston. “It’s a remarkably rich data set.”

Within the image there are 450 X-ray points of light, 10 of which are likely X-ray binaries.

The Whilpool galaxy is thought to have so many X-ray binaries because it’s in the process of colliding with a smaller companion galaxy. This interaction triggers waves of star formation, creating new stars at a rate seven times faster than the Milky Way and supernova deaths at a rate 10-100 times faster. The more-massive stars simply race through their evolution in a few million years and collapse to form neutron stars or black holes quickly.

“In this image, there’s a very strong correlation between the fuzzy purple stuff, which is hot gas in the X-ray, and the fuzzy red stuff, which is hydrogen gas in the optical,” said Kilgard. “Both of these are tracing the star formation very actively. You can see it really enhanced in the northern arm that approaches the companion galaxy.”

Eight of the 10 X-ray binaries are located close to star forming regions.

Chandra is providing astronomers with an in depth look at a class of objects that has only one example in the Milky Way.

“We’re catching them at a short window in their evolutionary cycle,” said Kilgard. “The massive star that formed the black hole has died, and the massive star that is accreting material onto the black hole has not yet died. The window at which these objects are X-ray bright is really short. It’s maybe only tens of thousands of years.”

 

[shen]

I like this story

Would be even cooler if he secretly built a glider in the attics of the nursing home and flew to Normandy.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

HE conducted his own secret D-Day assault complete with Misdirection, Daring and Hutspah! Good on you Sir Good On you.

I bet the Nurses Were a lot easier to fool then the Nazi's though.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

CIA @CIA · 7h
We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.

6 June 2014 Last updated at 19:16 ET
CIA launches Twitter and Facebook accounts
The United States Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA, has opened its first official accounts on Twitter and Facebook, it announced on Friday.
The spy agency said it would help it to engage more directly with the public and make unclassified information on the agency "more accessible".
"We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet," the spy agency quipped in its first tweet.
Within five hours, it had already generated more then 200,000 followers.
Twittersphere frenzy
The agency confirmed the news of its launch on the social networking sites in a press release on Friday.
"By expanding to these platforms, CIA will be able to more directly engage with the public and provide information on CIA's mission, history, and other developments," said CIA Director John Brennan.
Followers can also look forward to images posted of artefacts on display at the CIA's museum, which is not open to the public, as well as updates to its "World Factbook" - a database of world leaders and maps.
The infamous response to journalists queries cited in the CIA's first tweet reveals the agency's sense of humour, sending the international Twittersphere into an utter frenzy, the BBC's Aleem Maqbool says.
Some of the many followers dared the CIA to "follow" Angela Merkel after Germany opened an investigation into the hacking of her phone by US spies, he continues, while others have simply asked for help recovering their lost email passwords.
The New York Review of Books reacted to the launch of the CIA's Twitter account by tweeting links to articles about CIA interrogation methods for "high-value detainees" held in the years since the 9/11 attacks.
The agency managed to secure its @CIA Twitter handle after filing a complaint with Twitter about someone who was impersonating the agency, the CIA's K Jordan Caldwell told the BBC.
On both of its Twitter and Facebook profiles, the CIA's tag line reads: "We are the Nation's first line of defence. We accomplish what others cannot accomplish and go where others cannot go."
The CIA also has accounts on YouTube and Flickr.

The @CIA Could Confirm it was there First Tweet but then they would have to kill you.

6 June 2014 Last updated at 07:09 ET
Afghan candidate Abdullah Abdullah survives Kabul bombs
The front-runner in Afghan's presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah, has survived a suicide bomb attack targeted at his convoy in Kabul.
Police told the BBC that six people were killed - including one of Mr Abdullah's body guards - and at least 22 injured when two blasts hit a rally.
He appeared live on television to reassure his supporters that he was unharmed in the attack.
The run-off round of the presidential election takes place next week.
No group has said it carried out the attack but the Taliban have repeatedly threatened to target the poll campaign.
The first blast was detonated by a suicide bomber in a car, a Kabul police spokesman told the BBC's Bilal Sarwary.
The spokesman said the second explosion was probably caused by what he described as a "sticky bomb" but our correspondent says details about it are still unclear.
The dead and injured include policemen and civilians.
Correspondents say that this appears to be the first attack on a presidential candidate since the campaign began.
Both the two presidential candidates are holding several rallies daily in Kabul and across Afghanistan.
Attack condemned
The attack took place as Mr Abdullah was leaving an election gathering in a wedding hall.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic and chaos after two loud explosions were heard. Our correspondent says that Mr Abdullah and his colleagues narrowly escaped.
"Thank God, we have not suffered any injuries.," Mr Abdullah told national television. "However, regrettably, a number of security guards were wounded.
"Thank God, they are not in serious condition."
His opponent in the run-off, Ashraf Ghani, voiced his condemnation of the attack on Twitter.
The run-off is set to take place on 14 June after neither candidate managed to secure more than 50% of the vote needed for an outright victory after the first round of voting in April.
The winner of next week's vote will preside over the withdrawal of coalition combat troops.

 

[ABC78]

Published on Jun 5, 2014

The G7 summit on Wednesday stopped short of taking a pro-Japan stance over disputes in the South and East China seas. The communique, issued in Brussels, comes as a blow to Japanese officials who have been trying to sell an anti-China agenda in the run-up to the meeting.

[video=youtube;sEWJXBs4Nfs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEWJXBs4Nfs[/video]