Early Marriage and the Nigerian Brouhaha: An African Perspective

The Nigerian state has been, currently, flooded with series of protests, most centrally, coming from the social media with twitter, as usual, taking the lead. The whole show stemmed from the decision of the Senate to retain Section 29 subsection 4(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria which discusses renunciation of citizenship with emphasis on 18 years as the classified and legal full age authenticated by law but placed a caveat by referring to a married girl as being of full age.

This is seen by many as a stamp to legalise the activities of paedophiles than endorse an Islamic injunction which of course Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima relied upon to marry and invoked upon marrying a 13-year old Egyptian girl. The girl-child as noticed in the campaigns against the retention of the subsection must be given education and protected for a virile future not married off to become a bride to an elderly man as old as 65. This, not to pass judgement, is logical.

The subsection did not expunge or affect any other provisions on marriage but definitely is capable of going a long way in affecting the girl-child. The arguments in favour of early marriage, espoused by learned scholars, rational ones and even Ahmed Yerima are so apt and germane. They are centred on the sensuousness, obscenity and lewdness that have perverted the society and this is where African culture meets with them.

Going by the Islamic injunction, it is said that the girl after marriage must acquiesce to sexual advancement willingly and not forced to. Fear of amorous advances and pregnancy which could affect the girl-child remains the bedrock of the campaigns with some bringing the issue of Vesicle Virginal Fistula into the matter. Well, as regards VVF, it can also happen to adults, say of even 30 years though that of female children is more pronounced.

To the main issue, the Noble Quran states in An Nisa; 6:

And try orphans (as regards their intelligence) until they reach the age of marriage; if then you find sound judgement in them, release their property to them... (emphasis mine)

The first question many scholars of Islam are not answering or have not been able to enlighten the public on is the relationship between the age of marriage and sound judgement which of course is well answered in the African culture and customs. Another is, what is the basis for a 65-year old man marrying a 13-year old girl?

Going by the defence, Ahmed Yerima said he can give out his daughter as age 6 because of the moral decadence in the society. Not to argue with that, one should be poised to ask: 'To who?' Another 65-year old man? This is the moral premise of the campaigns against the girl-child-bride and early marriage imbroglio.

In African culture with much reliance on indigenous researches done personally on many a cultural patterns we do not take note of today as well as on scholarly works, most notably, Camara Laye's The African Child, early marriage is well encouraged. This has been the bedrock of the 'purity' of the society. But, there are models and structures put in place for the couples which are almost non existent in the society of today.

After the circumcision rituals for men ranging the between the ages of 14 to 16 to integrate and incorporate them into the age-grade system with much lectures and orientations from the elderly ones, they are free to start having female friends and no longer will be monitored by their mothers. They are deemed to be of manly decisions but shall continue to be regulated by their fathers. This in essence proves how well structured the system is. Also, the wife belongs to the family not the man in Africa, hence, the man shall accord full respect to the woman to avoid family backlash. This is synonymous what the Noble Quran says of the respect that must be accorded to a girl that marries early.

Ahmed Yerima and other senators might most probable be hitting the nail on the head but the citizens understand perfectly well their politicians. These same set of people continue to impoverish the land and have not done anything tangible to uplift Nigerians, rather, are always interested in passing obfuscating and queasy bills. Sensible bills are on their tables needing express actions yet unattended to.

Bills like Freedom of Information Bill dragged on for almost a decade before it saw the light of day. Petroleum Industry Bill is still there. Nigerians say they want bills with the powerful force of law offering specific jail terms for anybody found guilty of corruption so that people like AbdulRashid Maina of the Pensions scam will stop walking free, senators turned deaf ears because they are thieves. They voted to kill the Local Government Autonomy Bill but endorsed a law that will ensure criminality against the girl-child.

The Child-not-Bride campaigns are not to go against an Islamic injunction because the Noble Quran has laid down guidelines for such marriage but we know it is the children of the poor that will suffer. Ahmed Yerima and other senators should show Nigerians how many of their female children married at age 6, 10 or 13. The poor man with no means of sending his children to school and having to know it is no crime to marry the girl off even against her wish since the law is there, will not delay in doing such.

Muslims do not understand that if they can defend the act with Islamic values, that man from my village can use the law to violate the fundamental rights of the girl-child and of course he is no Muslim so he has no religious responsibility to respect the child. The law says she has attained full age once she is married so he can force her to marry and claim she has attained full age.

If it remains an Islamic culture just like it is in the African culture without the voice of law, it will deter many and any violation can successfully be dealt with. Deterrence of violation is the major concern not being against what naturally is good for the society ceteris paribus. A 6-year old girl has no good sense of judgement. If she indulges in immoral acts, it is because the parents are no parents. I know a 26-year old girl who has never had sex and there are many. Immorality has been with man from time immemorial but not enough to give criminals a chance to disrespect the girl-child.

Marrying early is not a total guarantee of purity against obscenity. There are many who married early but indulged in fornication cum adultery with the excuse of convenience that they were not allowed to enjoy their youth. The society needs these senators to make education attractive. The economy is also not helping matters because in the African system, after circumcision procedures, farmlands are usually allotted to the male children in preparation to be able to feed their households.

A young man with no financial wherewithal cannot dream of early marriage. He will not be interested in breeding children who will not be able to measure up to standards. This definitely makes it easy for people like Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima, his confederates and accomplices in the Senate to take the young girls as brides. The same set of people that destroyed meaningful ventures that the able-bodied men can embark on through corruption and pillaging of resources now want to start accumulating the girls.

If Yerima had married the girl to his son who is, maybe 17, even 20 years, I will be one of those supporting him today because it is an acceptable norm. He will be in a good position to support the family if need be which by all standard is logically 'endorseable'. This is where the African system gives credence to early marriage. The family will solidly be behind the couples. It is a communal and family affair. The consent of the girl is also crucial in the African system.

Senator Yerima revealed that marriage is not about sex but assistance at home. The girl-child then can successfully be adopted, be given education and will work at home as expected not married. This is very apt, pertinent and to a free mind, not a closed one, this will be the best option if she is only needed to help at home not in bed. Why take a wife that will not grace your bed? Then, she is better as an adopted daughter than a wife.

There are violations too when fathers give their children to chiefs and prominent men at tender ages but that is an exception not a rule as against the case of what section 29 subsection 4(d) will do or is capable of doing. Our senators need to think and research well, not sit in the oval office or hallowed chamber and make pugnacious laws.

Nigeria is under International Pressure to Sign Gay Rights Bill ~Foreign Minister

Barely some weeks after the Nigerian senators passed the bill encouraging early child marriage, the minister for foreign affairs, Olugbenga Ashiru has come in the open while`interacting with diplomats on Friday that Nigeria is under real pressure from the international community to sign the gay rights bill into law.

United Kingdom was the first country that threatened Nigeria with economic sanctions and a closure to the flow of aid to the country. It was expressly joined by the United States

The minister stated that Nigeria has never tried to impose its culture on any country in the world and does not understand why pressure will be heavily mounted on it to accept what is not acceptable to the country and its people. He also hinted that Nigeria will longer tolerate foreign missions that intercede on their citizens' behalf not to face trial or be freed during trial whenever they bring in contraband goods or illegally ship unwanted items into the country.

Nigerians are still reacting with massive annoyance over the bill passed by the senate which they see as encouraging paedophiles and crimes against the girl-child. Senator Ahmad Sani Yerima from Zamfara, who married a 13-year old Egyptian girl much to the chagrin of many is the main sponsor and proponent of the bill.

The senate refused to amend the constitution in favour of local government autonomy as well as pass a bill that will sincerely criminalise corruption with specific jail terms as is in the cases of rape and homosexuality.

Nigeria: Government to Prosecute over 500 Oil Thieves

Oil stealing otherwise known as "bunkering" or 'illegal bunkering' in some quarters in Nigeria is very prominent in the Niger-Delta region. Gangs most times destroy and tap into pipelines in the creeks and swamps of the Niger-Delta, siphoning off hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day in operations.

Some are always running out of luck and get arrested. Those already arrested are to be prosecuted by Nigeria's government. About 500 people have been detained on allegations of stealing oil, officials said on Thursday in a crackdown on a criminal enterprise that drains up to a fifth of the country's oil output.

The governor of Delta state, Emmanuel Uduaghan, told reporters after a meeting at President Goodluck Jonathan's house that the government was preparing cases for oil theft, which carries a prison sentence of 21 years.

"The resolutions included that a legal task force ... be set up immediately to commence prosecution of proven cases, using relevant laws," Uduaghan said. Finance Minister Okonjo Iweala had earlier siad that an estimated 400,000 barrels a day was lost to theft, or about a fifth of the output of Africa's leading energy producer.

About 90 percent of the stolen fuel is sold onto international markets, to criminal networks in the Balkans or refiners in Singapore, analysts say. The rest is refined for local consumption, filling a gap left by Nigeria's defunct legitimate refineries.

Security forces said on Sunday they had impounded three barges laden with 600,000 litres of illegally refined fuel in the Delta. But enforcement has proven difficult because Nigeria's own žsecurity forces are complicit in the practice.

Residents of the Delta say the lack of development and environmental devastation in the region of mangrove swamps has given many a feeling that they are entitled to help themselves to a share of Nigeria's vast oil wealth.

President Goodluck Jonathan had earlier in the year appealed to foreign buyers to shun stolen oil from Nigeria. His appeal tilted towards labelling stolen oil as 'blood oil' just like in the case of diamond from Sierra Leone. The volatility of the Niger-Delta region is having its effect on the Gulf of Guinea where piracy is on the rise.

On Snowden: United States has no Functioning Democracy ~Jimmy Carter

Former US President Jimmy Carter lambasted the whitewashed US intelligence methods as undemocratic and described Edward Snowden’s NSA leak as “beneficial” for the country. Jimmy Carter was President of the United States from 1977 to 1981.

After leaving office, he founded the Carter Centre, an NGO advocating human rights. The ex-president’s human rights credentials won him Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. The Carter Centre or Foundation was very instrumental and active in assisting South Sudan when still under the grip and oppression of Sudan.

Carter lashed out at the US political system when the issue of the previously top-secret NSA surveillance program was touched upon at the Atlantic Bridge meeting on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia. "America has no functioning democracy at this moment," Carter said, according to Der Spiegel. Carter has also criticised America's use of drones heavily labelling it a notorious violation of rights.

He believes the spying-scandal is undermining democracy around the world, as people become increasingly suspicious of US internet platforms, such as Google and Facebook. While such mediums have normally been associated with freedom of speech and have recently become a major driving force behind emerging democratic movements, fallout from the NSA spying scandal has dented their credibility.

It’s not the first time Carter has criticized US intelligence policies. In a previous interview with CNN, he said the NSA leaks signified that “the invasion of human rights and American privacy has gone too far." He added that although Snowden violated US law, he may have ultimately done good for the country.  

"I think that the secrecy that has been surrounding this invasion of privacy has been excessive, so I think that the bringing of it to the public notice has probably been, in the long term, beneficial." Jimmy Carter also opined upon the election of Barack Obama that America's democratic standard is somehow intolerant. He said "the basic problem among whites in this country is that they can't just figure out why a black man should be President".

United States braces up for Military Action in Syria

President Barack Obama is considering using military force in Syria, and the Pentagon has prepared various scenarios for possible United States intervention. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Obama administration is deliberating whether or not it should use the brute of the US military in Syria during a Thursday morning Senate hearing.

Gen. Dempsey said the administration was considering using “kinetic strikes” in Syria and said "issue is under deliberation inside of our agencies of government,” the Associated Press reported from Washington.

Dempsey, 61, is the highest ranking officer in the US military and has been nominated by Pres. Obama to serve a second term in that role. The Senate Armed Services Committee questioned him Thursday morning as part of the nominating process when Dempsey briefly discussed the situation in Syria.

Last month, the Obama administration concluded that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons during the ongoing battles. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said, “The intelligence community estimates that 100 to 150 people have died from detected chemical weapons attacks in Syria to date; however, casualty data is likely incomplete.”

Pres. Obama said previously that the use of chemical weapons would cross a “red line” and likely trigger American intervention. When the White House concluded Assad had relied on chemical warfare, Rhodes said, “both the political and the military opposition . . . is and will be receiving US assistance."

That claim was met with skepticism, though. The Syrian Foreign Ministry called Obama’s claims a “caravan of lies.” Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, later presented to the UN evidence supplied to his government that suggested the Syrian opposition fighters used chemical weapons.

With regards to foreign intervention, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said, “Providing arms to either side would not address this current situation.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and his father, former congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) have also cautioned the White House against aiding Syrian rebels.

“You will be funding today the allies of al Qaeda” by aiding Syrian rebels, Sen. Paul said in May.

On his part, the retired lawmaker from Texas insisted that the administration’s lead up to possible intervention is “identical to the massive deception campaign that led us into the Iraq War.”

That isn’t to say the GOP is entirely opposed to taking any action. Although directly using the American military — either through boots-on-the-ground or unmanned aircraft — has been rarely discussed in public, Sens. John McCain (R-Arizona) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), two long-time leaders within the Republican party, have been relentless with efforts to equip opposition fighters.

"I don't care what it takes," Graham told Foreign Policy’s The Cable earlier this year. "If the choice is to send in troops to secure the weapons sites versus allowing chemical weapons to get in the hands of some of the most violent people in the world, I vote to cut this off before it becomes a problem."

Other US officials have previously said Washington is considering implementing a no-fly zone above Syria, and last month the Pentagon left a fleet of F-16 fighter planes and its Patriot anti-missile system on the border of neighboring Jordan following a routine military drill.

Russia Today

Pirates Hijacked Vessel off the Coast of Gabon

Barely some weeks after West and Central African leaders met to discuss the rising case of piracy and insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, pirates struck again. The new technique really worked perfectly well. The pirates seemingly boarded the Malta-flagged Cotton tanker, carrying a partly loaded cargo of fuel oil, on Monday near Port Gentil, Gabon, in the first reported attack in that region in the past five years, Turkish operator Geden Lines said according to Reuters.

The piracy was on an oil products tanker with 24 crew on board off the Gabon coast, the vessel's operator said on Wednesday. "The company is in contact with the families of the 24 Indian crew members on board and the appropriate authorities have been contacted," Geden Lines said in a statement.

The Gulf of Guinea is really under real and imagined threats with the piracy scourge. It includes Nigeria, Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire as well as Gabon and remains a major source of oil, cocoa and, increasingly, metals for world markets. International navies are not actively engaged in counter-piracy missions in the region.

The anchorage of vessels off West African coastal nations, with little protection makes them readied target for criminals unlike waters off Somalia and the Horn of Africa, where ships can move past at high speed with armed guards on board.

The UN had earlier lauded the efforts of the West African leaders who met in Cameroon on the rising case of piracy and even called for the intervention of a multinational naval force. "The attack occurred around 200 nautical miles (NM) further south than the previous most southerly attack, which was around 160NM southwest of Bonny Island (in Nigeria) on 26 April," security firm AKE said.

"It therefore marks a significant expansion of the geographical range of Gulf of Guinea piracy. It also demonstrates the regional nature of the illegal fuel trade, the supply of which tankers such as Cotton are generally hijacked for."

Maummar Gaddafi's Stronghold to Become an Amusement Park ~Libyan Tourism Minister

Libyan Tourism Minister revealed that the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi’s residence will be turned into an amusement park. The seat of the ex-leader’s power was reduced to rubble by NATO bombardment and has since been occupied by squatters.

Work is ongoing in earnest to clear the rubble from the ruins of Bab al-Aziziya, which has since been a black spot in Tripoli and a source of concern for residents according to the Tourist Minister, Ikram Basha Imam on Tuesday. She went on to say the space will be converted into “a green area and an amusement” for the entertainment of Libyan families. Moreover, eight private enterprises have already signed contracts for the site’s development Basha Imam said.

When speaking on the squatters that took up residence in the ruins of the former sprawling complex, she said social services were currently searching for new homes for them. The massive compound which served as a military base for Gaddafi was a key bombing target for the NATO 2011 aerial campaign against the former leader. Rebels stormed the fortress on August 23 after guards surrendered aided by NATO aerial cover in a no-fly-zone-turned-invasion scenario. The site was subsequently completely ransacked and vandalized by them.

Premises of high-profile NATO’s enemies are gradually emerging into tourist zones. Pakistani officials announced plans to build a recreation complex with a zoo, paragliding club and water sports facilities in the town where the former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by US navy seals in 2011. Since the 2003 US invasion of  Iraq, the government is still trying to secure international investments to turn some 70 abandoned villas and palaces of Saddam Hussein into tourism sites.

Gaddafi was killed by rebels as he tried to flee to his hometown of Sirte in October of 2011. Libya is still subdued by shackles of unrest and heavily arrested by violence, two years after his demise with the interim government unable to bring the country’s many militia groups under its command. Over the last couple of months locals have clashed with armed militia groups who are a law unto themselves in rural areas of the country. NATO is largely nowhere to be found now.

ACN Rivers Slaps Lai Mohammed, ACN National on Amaechi

Below is the text of the statement signed by Rivers ACN Secretary Amonibia Akoko:

“It has come to the notice of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Rivers state Chapter that Mr. Lai Mohammed, National Publicity Secretary of the party, has been issuing statements on the unfortunate events unfolding in Rivers state. We the ACN in Rivers Chapter know the true picture of events that are unfolding in Rivers State.

“And we know that in this incidence the main culprit is Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, who during the last electioneering campaign and election, sealed up the Campaign Secretariat of Dr. Abiye Precious Sekibo, used the Nigerian security agencies to arrest and intimidate our members. When all this was going on, Mr. Lai Mohammed did not send us word of encouragement or support, as a party in Rivers state.

“Political parties have structures; starting from the Ward level to the National Headquarters. It is against the party’s constitution for the National Publicity Secretary to usurp the functions of the party at the State, Local and Ward levels.

We as members of the ACN in Rivers state, have never met and passed a resolution or informed the National Headquarters of the ACN that we want President Goodluck Jonathan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to be impeached. Mr. Lai Mohammed should respect the high office he holds as Publicity Secretary of our great party.

“Consequently, we the Executive and members of the Rivers State Chapter of the ACN totally disown the call for the impeachment of President Goodluck Jonathan, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. We unanimously condemn the hasty action and resolution passed by one arm of the National Assembly – the House of Representatives, to take over the business of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“We however commend the Nigerian Senate for the unbiased and balanced position it has taken to send a fact-finding mission to Rivers State, and find out the true position of things. We also call on the Inspector General of Police not to heed the one-sided call for the deployment of Mr. Joseph Mbu the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, as Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi had used the police to hunt down, harassed and intimidated members of the ACN party of Nigeria and other opposition parties in Rivers State.

“We ask that the status-quo in Rivers State should be maintained until the fact-finding mission dispatched by the Senate, arrives to ascertain the true picture of events. We urge Rivers State people to be law-abiding, as whatever we do shall affect our people and not the likes of Mr. Lai Mohammed, the uninformed members of the House of Representatives and their acolytes, whose inciting statements would only ignite more fire for us to burn.

"Iran wants weapons that can hit the United States" ~Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday that Iran was moving closer to developing nuclear weapons capable of striking the US and urged the Obama administration to take a harder line.

In his address on “Face the Nation,” Netanyahu revealed that the new government in Tehran will not stop the process no matter how liberal it is thought to be. He said Iran’s nuclear programme would have intercontinental ballistic missiles that could carry a nuclear weapon to the United States within a few years.

“They don’t need these missiles to reach us,” Netanyahu said. “They already have missiles that can reach us.”

The series of sanctions imposed on Iran by the US are not enough to satisfy Netanyahu's quest; he prefers and wants an all-out war spearheaded by Washington. The Obama administration signaled optimism following the election of new Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, who was the country's chief nuclear negotiator in 2003-2005 when Iran struck a deal with the European Union to suspend enrichment. To Netanyahu, little has changed under Rouhani.

“They’re getting closer and closer to the bomb, and they have to be told in no uncertain terms that that will not be allowed to happen,” he said. The United States, he said, has a crucial role to play in demanding that Iran cease enrichment efforts and dismantle its nuclear facility.

“You should ratchet up the sanctions and make it clear to Iran that they won’t get away with it. And if sanctions don’t work, then they have to know that you will be prepared to take military action,” Netanyahu said. “That’s the only thing that will get their attention.”

When he was asked the condition that could prompt Israel to attack Iran, Netanyahu said “I won’t wait until it’s too late.” Israel has been speculated to be the only nuclear nation in the Middle East and bearing that in mind, it really does not want a rival for the MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) theory to be plausible.

Thousands protest in Israel Saying Netanyahu and Morsi are Same

On Saturday, thousands of people marched on Tel Aviv’s Habima Square, marking the two-year anniversary of social protests against the high cost of living and economic policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minster Yair Lapid.

The organizers planned a vigil to last until Sunday morning, marking two years since the massive street demonstrations of 2011.

Protesters blocked traffic in downtown Tel Aviv as police declared the demonstration illegal and attempted to disperse the crowd. Protesters shouted, “Bibi [Netanyahu] and [deposed Egyptian President Mohammed] Morsi are the same revolution."

One person was arrested in the protest, which lasted until midnight. The city’s mayoral candidate, Nitzan Horowitz, told Haaretz that the demonstrations are “more just than ever…People are crying out for two years, and the problem only gets worse.”

He added that Lapid - who essentially built up his popularity by supporting the previous protests - has turned into a servant of the same system, enacting worse budget laws than his predecessors.

The leader of the 2011 protest has called on Lapid to step down, hoping this year’s demonstration will provide “an opening for a new season of protest," underlining that it is not about food or medicine, but that “a response to thieves must be revolution” – one that belongs to everyone, not just the middle classes.

Over 55,000 Congolese refugees flee to Uganda as clashes intensify

Uganda is gradually being extremely flooded by refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo with the incessant rise and intensification of communal clashes. About 3,000 were earliest recorded to have fled but the number represented a drop in the ocean with the latest reports. From 3,000, it soared to about 30,000.

The number of Congolese refugees to Uganda was recorded to have exceeded 55,000 late Saturday and increased by nearly 20,000 compared with the day before. Thousands of newcomers temporarily settle at schools in Bundibugyo, about 20km (12 miles) from the border with Congo.

Mass exodus began as the town of Kamango in the northernmost part of DR Congo's North Kivu province was attacked Thursday by a Ugandan-led rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces, which was formed in the mid-1990s. Congo is really battling with heavy insurgencies and high cases of militants attacks with that of and from the M23 rebels being the most prominent and the highest national headache.

FG confiscates 1500 double barrel guns illegally imported by Zamfara State Governor

By Malik Shabbazz

FG has ordered the confiscation of 1500 double barrel guns illegally imported by Zamfara State Governor. Sources revealed that the Federal Government ordered the seizure of the guns based on the alleged contravention of firearms laws of the land.

The governor is said to harbour feelings of betrayal against the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, also an indigene of the state due to a soft approval given the governor by the IG which is now being trampled upon.

Sources revealed that there was an armed robbery crisis in the state in 2012, during which the governor sought and clinched approval from the state police commissioner on the formulation of a vigilante group. It is said to have been agreed that the group would be armed at which time, the governor then decided to import double-barrel guns.

A source said: “The governor ordered for 1,500 double-barrelled guns through a dealer in Kano who got supplies from Ukraine.’

However the federal government has ordered the repatriation of the guns to Abuja because there was no executive approval to import the arms.

Sources disclosed that the importation was executed to bypass the approval of the presidency because of the belief that individuals can buy double-barrel guns and apply for licence from police.

The source said, “Due to the brouhaha and outrage the issue generated and in order to avoid a presidential hammer, the police had to follow the rules and now the IG had ordered that the guns be taken to the Force Headquarters. They were being taken to Abuja right now.”

Latin American Countries to Recall Ambassadors from Selected European Countries

Leaders in Latin American took a very drastic decision in the wake of the mistreatment of one of their own by the symphatisers of the United States over the Snowden saga. The leaders are to summon the European ambassadors for countries who blocked their airspace to Bolivian President Evo Morales and demand an explanation. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela, on Friday decided to call their representatives in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal for consultations.

Bolivia demanded apologies from the four European nations for the July 2 dramatic airspace blockade and detour to Vienna, when Morales' plane was blocked from entering the airspace above several countries. The president was flying home from a meeting of natural gas producers in Moscow.

European governments are believed to have acted on suspicions that fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who had been in diplomatic impasse in the Moscow airport, was on board the plane. The decision to take this stance was made during a summit of the Mercosur trade bloc. Bolivia is in the process of becoming a full member of Mercosur but is currently an associate.

"We emphatically reject the interception of telecommunications and espionage actions in our nations, as they constitute a violation of human rights, of the right of our citizens to privacy and information,'' Mercosur leaders said in the summit's final statement. "It's unacceptable behaviour that breaches our sovereignty and harms relations between nations."

The South American group also defended the right of asylum after Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua recently offered it to Snowden. Washington has put pressure on regional presidents to block Snowden from finding refuge in Latin America. "We repudiate any activity that could undermine the authority of States to grant and fully implement the right of asylum," the statement said.

"We reject any attempt in pressuring, harassment or criminalisation of a State over a country's sovereign right to grant asylum." Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro said the four Mercosur trace bloc nations will recall their own ambassadors in the European countries involved for consultations over the incident. The actions of the four European countries were "unfounded, discriminatory and arbitrary, in a flagrant violation of the precepts of international law," Almagro said.

He said the summit found that Morales was subjected to "neo-colonial practices." "It is an incredible, unfriendly and hostile action that violates human rights and affects the freedom of transit and movement and the immunity that every head of state enjoys," Mercosur leaders concluded, according to Almagro.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that the European actions were offensive to each of the leaders at the summit as Latin American presidents, and vowed "concrete and effective actions, be it with regard to the governments or the ambassadors of those countries." According to US National Security Agency (NSA) documents leaked by Snowden that the United States spied on many countries around the world including Mercosur members Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.

Snowden was granted audience by Human Rights Watch in Moscow. He hinted that he would prefer to be in Russia where he is safe because of the hurdles of and dangers in flying to Latin America. He earlier wrote to 21 countries for asylum and has received no positive response. Wikileaks later revealed he wrote to additional six.

Reports from Moscow reveal Russia is yet to formally receive his asylum request. The Russian  President has expressed willingness in granting him asylum only to the extent that he stops the damaging act of revealing US secrets.

The White House, after Snowden's meeting with HRW, said Russia should not provide him with 'Propaganda Platform'. UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay in her first reaction on the Snowden imbroglio said the fiugitive NSA leaker is worth protecting and the world rejects US espionage act.

Egyptian prosecutors launch criminal investigation against Morsi

Egypt’s public prosecutor’s office has started investigating allegations and complaints against ousted president Mohammed Morsi accused of spying, inciting the killings of protesters, and damaging the economy. The country’s first freely elected leader has been held at an undisclosed location since the military, yielding to popular uprising and in a bid to 'save' the country, removed him from power on July 3. No charges have been pressed against him.

In the Egyptian legal system, complaints are to be investigated for days or months before formal charges are brought. Such complaints can be triggered by any member of the public or police. The announcement is an unusual step, as prosecutors typically wait until charges are filed before making any public statements. Eight other Muslim Brotherhood leaders are being investigated alongside Morsi not excluding the Supreme Guide; Mohamed Badie.

The accused are expected to be questioned in the coming days, according to the public prosecutor’s office. Details of those who made complaints were not revealed. It was announced earlier this week that Badie and several other Brotherhood officials already face charges of inciting violence, though most of them have avoided arrest.

Pressure to release Morsi from the international scene is increasing, with the US joining Germany’s call to “end to all restrictive measures” against the ousted president. The Muslim Brotherhood believes the military’s actions amounted to an undemocratic coup while the army claims that it carried out the will of millions of the people when it ousted Morsi . Morsi’s supporters say they will not stop calling for protests until the former leader is restored to power.

On Friday, tens of thousands of people turned out for what the Muslim Brotherhood called a "day of marching on,” which ended peacefully before dawn on Saturday. High-ranked Brotherhood figure Essam El-Erian, who is among those facing arrest, has called for more protests on Monday. "Egypt decides through the ballot box, through protests, mass marches and peaceful sit-ins," he wrote on his Facebook page.

The interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi is expected to swear in a new cabinet next week to enforce a military-backed “road map” to restoring civilian rule in Egypt. “The final composition of the new government will, possibly, be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday,” el-Beblawi said, as quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency. The interim PM said that he will have two advisers, with the future government consisting of 30 ministries.

Leopard and Its Spots: Harassment and Intimidation all Over Again in Zimbabwe

Amnesty International revealed Zimbabwean police raided the offices of civil society organisations and detained human rights workers in the run-up to elections scheduled to be held on July 31.

“The clampdown on the work of human rights defenders is a worrying indicator that government agencies remain actively hostile to civil society,” Noel Kututwa, Amnesty’s deputy programme director for Africa, said in an e-mailed statement. Even, the Carter Centre, created by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, said it was refused permission to monitor Zimbabwe's elections.

Amnesty in its report titled “Walk the Talk.” said 'civil society organisations carrying out election-related activities including voters' education, domestic election observation and those perceived to be critical of government policies have had their offices raided by police and equipment, including computers, seized whilst human rights defenders have been unlawfully detained.'

Rugare Gumbo, spokesman for Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, did not answer calls to his mobile phone before the report was released according to amnesty. Zimbabweans will vote in presidential and parliamentary elections on July 31, to end a power-sharing government led by President Robert Mugabe and his rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The coalition was formed four years ago following a disputed election that was marred by voter irregularities and violence, according to international observers.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, failed in a bid to postpone the election. The Southern African Development Community, which brokered the power-sharing agreement four years ago also pushed for the ballot to be delayed to allow more time for voters to be registered and ensure certain reforms are carried out for free and fair elections but all efforts proved abortive.

Amnesty said it is 'concerned that partisanship by some members of the country’s security services, who have openly expressed their preferred outcome in the next election, is directly undermining Zimbabwe’s ability to realise its obligation to respect and protect internationally guaranteed civil and political rights.' Robert Mugabe, 89 has dubbed the election to be a 'do or die affair' showing the level of desperation which of course must definitely come with harassment.

Israel runs the World: Twitter hands over confidential data of anti-Semitic users to French authorities

A legal battle started last year between Twitter and Jewish students in France when the French Union of Jewish Students sued Twitter for allowing hate speech. In a bid to end the legal fracas and dance to the tune of the students, twitter decided to hand over confidential account information to French authorities in order to track the anti-semitic users.

Twitter said in a statement that the disclosure of information “enables the identification of some authors" and  "puts an end to the dispute" with the French Union of Jewish Students (UEJF), AFP reported. The social network added that the two parties had "agreed to continue to work actively together in order to fight racism and anti-Semitism.”

In June, the court upheld a January  ruling that said the social media site must provide personal information on some users to the UEJF and four other organizations that filed a complaint against the company in November last year. On Thursday, Twitter lost its legal fight after the Paris Court of Appeal dismissed its objections against the original ruling.

The complaint came after a deluge of anti-Semitic messages tweeted under the hashtag  #unbonjuif (#agoodjew), with some users posting offensive tweets such as “#agoodjew is a dead Jew.” Some of the tweets were later removed by the social network.

Hate crimes are strictly punished in France. However, Twitter originally argued that it does not adhere to French law, and that only an American judge could force the company to release such information, Twitter’s lawyer, Alexandra Neri, said. While Twitter says it defends freedom of speech from anonymous users, French prosecutors say the social media site has “commercial interest.”

“Twitter is playing a commercial game by raising a number of legal hurdles to not having to comply with its legal obligations,” Stephane Lilti, counsel for the UJEF students, told the court.

Twitter also shut down the account of neo-Nazi group “Better Hannover,” following a request by German police last year, which was banned by the state for spreading nationalist socialist ideology and damaging to Israel who suffered greatly during Adolf Hitler's reign. It was the first time Twitter withheld content by request of a specific country.

Al Shabaab Attacks African Union Peacekeepers in Somalia

Suicide bombers struck again in Mogadishu, ramming a vehicle packed with explosives into an African Union peacekeeping convoy killing eight civilians but no soldier died. 

The blast was claimed by Islamist al Shabaab rebels. Al Shabaad had carried out a deadly assault on United Nations base last month and another bombing in a Mogadishu market this week.

Al Shabaab was pushed out of bases in Mogadishu by Somali and African forces about two years ago, raising hopes of a return to relative security in a city hit by years of war since 1991. The militants on the contrary have kept up guerrilla-style attacks and continue to control large rural areas, challenging the authority of a government less than one year old. This latest 'show of strength' is to prove the fragility in the security gains and for Somalia to know that the last of the group has never been heard.

"I have confirmed the bomber and seven civilians died on the spot, and in the hospital, another civilian died of the blast wounds," Mohamed Osman, a senior police official, told Reuters. 

"Most of the casualties were caused by shrapnel and splinters of blown-off iron sheet pieces." Al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, told Reuters the convoy was carrying a number of American officials, but the claim could not be confirmed independently.

"We are behind the martyrdom explosion ... The Americans were our main target," he said. The blast flattened makeshift shops on Maka Al Mukarama road in central Mogadishu and ripped the wheels off one vehicle belonging to the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Somalia.

No peacekeepers died but a number of people were wounded, said an official from the Mogadishu mayor's office, although al Shabaab said at least eight AU troops had been killed. "We shall not bury the remains of the bomber. 

We shall throw them into the rubbish pit," the mayor's secretary, Abdikafi Hilowle, told reporters at the scene."If al Shabaab are Muslims, they would not kill Muslims during Ramadan," he said, referring to the holy Islamic month which began this week.

Ambulance sirens wailed through the congested streets and a plume of black smoke billowed into the sky above the city near the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) base where 22 people were killed in an al Shabaab assault last month. "We have carried eight injured civilians including two women," the director of Mogadishu's ambulance service, Abdikadir Abdirahman, said.

The fragile government is being backed by international aid aimed at preventing it from becoming a haven for al Qaeda-style militants in east Africa.

The Model Continues: Tunisia frees former regime members from jail

The Arab Spring has known today began in Tunisia after the hero of the Spring, Mohammed Bouazizi's self-immolation. He was a cigarette seller who out of frustration of unemployment, despite being a graduate took to selling cigarette to keep body and soul together.

The Tunisian street vendor set himself on fire on 17 December 2010, in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation that he reported was inflicted on him by a municipal official and her aides.

The public's anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death, leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power. The success of the Tunisian protests inspired protests in several other Arab countries, plus several non-Arab countries.

Soon, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt fell. Yemeni President, Abdullah Saleh fell too and Maummar Gaddafi was killed. Syria is still battling its own and Bahrain is yet to have a bearing.

Egypt among others that followed Tunisia is still inconclusive. Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi was recently ousted through popular uprising concluded by the military to save the country. Since then, the situation has deteriorated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the party backing President Morsi defiant on any negotiation and vow to continue mass protests.

Though the former Prime Minister of Tunisia, Hamadi Jebali resigned too but it has largely avoided the resultant effects noticeable elsewhere in Egypt, Yemen, Libya and in Syria, probably because it was the origin of the spring and a model others must watch out for.

The authorities on Thursday released from jail,  two former figures from the toppled regime who were arrested following the 2011 uprising for abuse of power, according to the justice ministry. Mohammed Ghariani, ex secretary-general of the Rally for Constitutional Democracy party and former interior minister of now ousted dictator Zine El Adidine Addallah Kallel were freed by a Tunisian Appeals Court.

In 2012 a military court sentenced Kallel to two years in jail for the arrest and torture of army officers who were accused in 1991 of trying to topple Ben Ali, while Ghariani was arrested in April 2011 for abuse of power and embezzlement.

Tunisia is quietly charting its future, at least in a peaceful fashion though fighting al Qaeda-linked militants in the mountainous region. It is recording successes which if compared to others who took the spring can be regarded as giant strides towards a dynamic future if all things remain the same and go on with the present panache.

Snowden: United States and Israel created the Stuxnet Virus that attacked Iran

The Stuxnet virus that decimated Iranian nuclear facilities was created by the NSA and co-written by Israel, Edward Snowden has confirmed. The whistleblower added the NSA has a web of foreign partners who pay “marginal attention to human rights.”

In an interview with Jacob Applebaum published in German daily Der Spiegel on Monday, Snowden stated that the US and Israel were behind the computer worm. Stuxnet infiltrated Iranian nuclear facility networks in 2009-2010 and was used to change the speed of thousands of gas-spinning centrifuges, sabotaging nuclear research.  

Washington and Tel Aviv were thought to have been behind the cyber-attack, however, this was never confirmed by either government. “The NSA and Israel wrote Stuxnet together,” Snowden told Applebaum in the interview that was carried out in May.

Snowden stressed that the National Security Agency (NSA) often cooperates with foreign partners through a special body known as the Foreign Affairs Directorate (FAD). Referring to Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, also known as the ‘Five Eye Partners,’ he said their practices often go further than those of the NSA.

In particular he flagged the system used by the UK’s General Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), TEMPORA as one of the worst offenders. “TEMPORA is the signals intelligence community's first ‘full-take’ internet buffer that doesn't care about content type and pays only marginal attention to the Human Rights Act,” said Snowden.

The UK buffer is able to hold a vast quantity of internet data for up to three days, said the whistleblower. “You should never send information over British lines or British servers. Even the Queen’s ‘selfies’ with her lifeguards would be recorded, if they existed.”

While Snowden conceded that monitoring abroad had its limits and the NSA has to prioritize the information it collects, he stressed that monitoring on its own territory was “practically limitless.” Private enterprise is also involved in the NSA’s mass collating of internet data, but proving their complicity is very difficult.

“The names of the cooperating telecom companies are the crown jewels of the NSA... Generally you can say that multinationals with headquarters in the USA should not be trusted until they prove otherwise,” Snowden pointed out.

When asked about how one could avoid falling into the traps of NSA surveillance, Snowden said anyone who had been targeted “was just owned.” The analyst charged with following an individual receives a report every day, meaning the “target's machine doesn't belong to them anymore, it belongs to the US government.”

Snowden’s interviewer, 30-year-old Jacob Applebaum, has also fallen foul of US law enforcement in the past. Applebaum co-wrote a book with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange detailing tips on how to evade cyber-surveillance while surfing the web.

The book called ‘Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet’, was also co-written by Jeremie Zimmermann and Andy Muller-Maguhn. Assange invited his co-authors on to the Julian Assange show, which aired on RT last year in March, to discuss cyber resistance.

“Two of them, besides myself, have been targeted by law enforcement agencies as a result of their work to safeguard privacy and to keep governments accountable. Their words, and their stories, need to be heard,” Assange told the New York Times.

The members of the Cypherpunks movement shared their stories with Julian Assange whilst sitting down to discuss the problems of privacy, online communication and freedom on the internet.

US citizen Edward Snowden is believed to be eluding an extradition order to the US on charges of espionage in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Snowden has sent a number of applications for political asylum. Thus far Venezuela and Nicaragua have confirmed receipt of the applications, but are yet to grant asylum. However, Snowden is still unable to travel as his passport has been voided by the US authorities.

Russia Today

Drones and Gunships May Land in South Sudan Soon

As the Security Council sets to renew the mandate of the UN mission in South Sudan later this month, the UN special envoy to South Sudan stated that the United Nations should consider deploying surveillance drones and helicopter gunships to South Sudan because peacekeepers are struggling to protect civilians from violence and rights abuses.

Hilde Johnson while speaking to the UN Security Council said after a UN civilian helicopter was shot down in December, new developments in safety procedures and a lack of military helicopters had slowed the mission's ability to respond. The peacekeepers' arsenal is equipped with just three helicopters in such a precarious terrain.

According to Johnson, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had outlined several options to boost the South Sudan mission in a report to the 15-member Security Council, including surveillance drones, helicopter gunships and more cargo and riverine transport capabilities.

According to Reuters, Johnson said: "I urge the council to take urgent action to support the mission in filling these critical resource and capability gaps," Johnson told the Security Council in a video link briefing. South Sudan will mark two years of its freedom from Sudan on July 9 and Johnson said that while most parts of the country remained stable, fighting between South Sudanese troops and armed groups in the eastern state of Jonglei was of "deep concern."

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes because of the violence and Johnson said there had been rights violations by both armed groups and national security authorities. On April 9, gunmen ambushed and killed five UN peacekeepers and seven civilian staff in Jonglei. The UN mission has fewer than 6,900 troops to cover a country the size of France that has barely 300 km (200 miles) of paved roads.

Seasonal rains have turned the region into a swamp, severing road access. Johnson said "critical resource and capability gaps" had caused a mobility crisis for the peacekeepers that particularly affected operations in high-risk areas such as Jonglei. "This is having a particularly detrimental effect on the mission's ability to implement its protection of civilians' mandate," she said. "Effective protection is only possible through being present in those communities most at risk."

South Sudan still suffers largely from lack of infrastructure as well as high level of corruption and consistent oil face-off with Sudan. Senior council envoy said that peacekeepers should focus more on protecting civilians "rather than on spreading out across the country and doing infrastructure projects and nation building."

Turkey Pushing for the Reinstatement of Mohammed Morsi Desperately

Turkey is extremely dissatisfied with the actions of its Western allies; the European Union and the United States over the ousting of Morsi. The nation is making frantic efforts at making sure Morsi gets the seat back amidst rising cases of violence and deaths in Egypt.

Led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Ankara’s diplomatic campaign includes the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and prominent Arab countries, such as Qatar.

“Our message is clear: Call this a coup,” a senior Foreign Ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily News. “Military coups are unacceptable, in Egypt or elsewhere. Undoing the coup and re-instating the toppled government should be the priorities of countries with a democratic understanding.”

For Turkey, establishing an interim government is meaningless and what should be done is to announce immediate elections with no restrictions on any political group, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

A senior Foreign Ministry official said “Not underlining these points would be a very bad message to not only Egyptians but to those who are in search of democracy in other parts of the world”.

Turkey was a lone voice in completely condemning the action of the Egyptian military among countries who many naturally expected to condemn it. The deepest and strongest disappointment  for Turkey came from its prominent Arab allies, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which were the front-runners in congratulating the new transitional leadership and the army that conducted the coup.

“There is a serious disappointment with regard to their approach. We have made clear to them that this process in Egypt will be an important test for the Arab Spring. We hope they will revise their position and will adopt a similar line with ours,” the Foreign Ministry official said.

Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been in close cooperation in efforts to topple the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria since mid-2011, in the latest chain of the Arab Spring movement. Egypt joined in their efforts to oust Assad fully weeks before Morsi was ousted; broke diplomatic relations with Assad and called  for the imposition of a no-fly zone. The development in Egypt will definitely affect their actions on Syria but the consequential result remains unclear.

Turkey is really finding solace in the United Nations as UN Secretary-General seemed the only prominent international figure who condemned the Egyptian army's action loudly. Ban had echoed prominent international powers in defining the ousting of Morsi as “a military intervention” and in not making a strongly worded statement against the army.

The meeting point of the camps with interest in Egypt; Turkey, the US and other prominent countries is that they agree on the need to hand power back to civilian rule immediately, questions on how it will take place is also crucial for the Turkish government.

“We know perfectly that the position we are taking is carefully watched in Egypt and elsewhere. This position is also very important in terms of Turkey’s image in Egypt as well as of Turkey-Egypt bilateral ties,” the official said.

Given that Turkey had established strong cooperation with the Morsi government, there are questions as to whether Ankara will continue its ties with Cairo under any new government established by the military junta. Officials, however, say their biggest priority is avoiding any bloodbath in the country.

“In the heat of the moment, our priority is to take steps with regard to these undemocratically unfolding developments. The coup is at a crossroads. Both parties have millions of people on the streets. And it’s been only three days since the coup,” the official said.

Turkey will still keep its ambassador in Egypt acceding to the wise saying that 'cutting the head off is not the panacea to a notorious headache'. Ambassador Hüseyin Avni Botsali will remain in his post for some time although his mandate ended and June 30, with Ahmet Yildiz set to replace him. “We notified him just before the coup that his mandate was being extended. He is a very experienced diplomat and has close ties with all political camps,” the official said.

Peace Coming Home: Malian Army Enters Kidal

Just as the United Nations peacekeeping force took over security affairs with the 6000-strong Ecowas force in Mali, it wasn't long enough before the malian military entered the northern city of Kidal on Friday afternoon, returning for the first time since they were chased out 16 months ago by a Tuareg separatist group, and later by an army of al-Qaeda-linked fighters.

"It was around 17:00 that the soldiers entered Kidal and penetrated Camp 1 inside the city. The Malian military was accompanied by the French military, just as they were when our soldiers entered Timbuktu and Gao," said Lt Col Souleymane Maiga, the director of information and public relations for the Malian military.

Kidal, like the rest of northern Mali, fell to a mixture of rebel groups in March of 2012 following a coup that toppled the democratic leader. It remained in rebel hands during the past six months, even after French forces launched a military intervention to free northern Mali from the fighters, succeeding in liberating all of the other major towns. Tuareg rebels re-entered Kidal in February and March of this year, erecting roadblocks, levying taxes and creating a de facto Tuareg state.

The Tuareg groups controlling Kidal signed an agreement last month, seen as the road-map for election to be held and paved the way for the return of Mali's military. The entry of the military removes one of the major obstacles to an upcoming presidential election, scheduled to take place in just three weeks; presumably by July 28.

"The Malian army arrived in Kidal," said Deputy Mayor Abda Ag Kazina. "There were two demonstrations - one was to support the army. The other was to prevent the army from returning. There were shots fired in the air and the protesters dispersed," he said.

Mali's north and south could easily be two different countries - inhabited by radically different ethnic groups. Kidal is home predominantly to Tuareg and Arab ethnic groups, both lighter skinned than the sub-Saharan ethnic groups common in the south, where the capital and the seat of power is located. The Tuaregs had recently threatened to sack all the blacks which brought possible fear of a Sudan-South-Sudan-Darfur triad.

United States missile interceptor test ends in failure

Though the United States and Russia are showing interests in reducing the stock of destructive nuclear batteries, the decisions are not effective. The tones are still more like that of the predecessors; SALT1 and SALT2 as well as the STARTs.

The two 'pledges' but the consequent actions are always anti-pledges. Russia recently successfully tested a prototype ICBM with mammoth destructive capabilities which was antithetical to its reduction facade.

United States of course did not go to bed despite Obama's interest in engaging Russia. It is also advancing to prove that arms race has no end in sight. The latest test of a US missile interceptor system from a Southern California coastal base failed to destroy its target, the third such consecutive result for Boeing Co., according to the Defence Department.

In the test, target designed to emulate an incoming long-range ballistic missile was launched from the US Army's Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll, in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

The interceptor missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, though it failed to intercept its target. The US military has tested the ground-based defence system a total of 16 times, with eight confirmed instances of a successful interception, the last of which was reported in December of 2008.

The Pentagon has said that the latest test will not affect a decision to expand the missile defence system, which is in part aimed at North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. Defence secretary Chuck Hagel announced in March an additional 14 new anti-missile interceptor batteries at a cost of nearly $1 billion.

The North Korea and Iran debacle have been Washington's excuses to bolster its arsenal while Russia usually cites US expansion into its 'sphere of influence'; Georgia, Poland and Ukraine as reason to be security-conscious and not go to bed too on missiles' build-up.

Drones Kill Ten Times more than Conventional Aircraft ~ Expert

An expert on drone casualties has told reporters that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles by American forces has caused 10 times the number of deaths brought on by more conventional aircraft.

Speaking to The Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman, Larry Lewis of the Center for Naval Analyses claimed United States-led drone strikes in Afghanistan are not only more likely to cause civilian casualties than traditionally piloted planes, but the impact of UAVs is 10-fold what would be found by using more antiquated air ships.

Lewis has conducted multiple studies on the use of drones in Afghanistan and made his recent determination after reviewing data pertaining to air strikes that occurred there between mid-2010 and mid-2011, Ackerman reported.

“Lewis told the Guardian he found that the missile strikes conducted by remotely piloted aircraft, commonly known as drones, were 10 times more deadly to Afghan civilians than those performed by fighter jets,” Ackerman wrote.

Lewis said that statistic comes from viewing classified information about the number of civilian casualties, data which he is legally prohibited from sharing. But while his findings in full or only accessible to those with proper standing, an unclassified executive summary of his report offers a mere glimpse into how deadly America’s drone wars really are.

“The US government has described drone airstrikes in operations outside declared theatres of armed conflict as surgical and causing minimal civilian casualties,” the summary begins. “Analysis of air operations in Afghanistan, combined with a review of open-source reports for drone strikes in Pakistan, suggest that these fell short of intended goals.”

Elsewhere, the report acknowledges that the classified nature of these statistics could be preventing Americans from lessening the number of civilian drone deaths in the future.

“While consequence management approaches used in Afghanistan may not translate directly into cases where the US does not want to officially acknowledge its actions, the use of proxies or leveraging relationships with cooperative host-nation governments could provide options during these operations.

Conducting more comprehensive assessments of civilian harm during airstrikes in operations outside declared theatres of armed conflict, followed by effective consequence management efforts, should help to protect the reputation of the US, combat false allegations and mitigate negative second-order effects that can undermine US campaign objectives and freedom of action,” it reads.

Ackerman does not stop short of recalling a speech by President Barack Obama earlier this year at Washington’s National Defense Institute in which he insisted that "conventional airpower or missiles are far less precise than drones, and likely to cause more civilian casualties and local outrage.” On the contrary, however, the unclassified summary notes that drone strike are “an order of magnitude more likely to result in civilian casualties per engagement” than traditional aircraft.

In an earlier address last year, President Obama said drones had "not caused a huge number of civilian casualties” and insisted "this thing is kept on a very tight leash.”

An August 2011 report from the UK’s Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that US-led drone strikes in Pakistan have caused upwards of 775 civilian deaths, with total casualties being at least 40 percent higher than what the US government previously reported. This past February, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said the number of total kills attributed to US drones is close to 5,000.

“We’ve killed 4,700,” the senator said at an event in his home state. “Sometimes you hit innocent people, and I hate that, but we’re at war, and we've taken out some very senior members of al-Qaeda.”

Courtesy: Russia Today

Vigilantes Fight Boko Haram Back in Borno; Assist Soldiers in Their Mission

Vigilantes in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri are setting up roadblocks and conducting house-to-house searches to aid the army’s fight against Islamist militants. These groups of young men are armed with only clubs and matchetes. While the military welcomes the public’s support in the battle against the Boko Haram Islamist group, human rights activists say vigilantes’ activities may worsen violence and lead to abuses against innocent civilians.

So far the vigilantes have seized more than 100 suspected insurgents in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital that has borne the brunt of Boko Haram’s violent campaign to impose Shariah law on Nigeria, according to Abubakar Malum, a leader in a group that calls itself the Civilian Joint Task Force.

“The activities of the vigilantes is a step in the right direction,” Mohammed Modu, a fish seller in the city of about 1 million, said on June 25. “They seem to be more effective in capturing Boko Haram members than the soldiers.”

Human rights activists say that since the vigilante groups have no legal standing, abuses may occur.
“Where vigilantes exist, they aren’t part of the legally established law enforcement order,” Clement Nwankwo, executive director of Abuja-based Policy and Legal Advocacy Center, said in a June 21 interview. “So the possibility of abuse, of people being targeted and victimized, is real.”

Vigilantes burned down the house of Alhaji Mala Othman, the Borno state chairman of the opposition All Nigeria People’s Party, Inuwa Bwala, the state commissioner of home affairs and information said. The arsonists, who accused Othman of supporting Boko Haram, torched his house after failing to catch him for the second time as security forces let him out through the back door, Bwala said.

“The incident is quite unfortunate; nobody has the right to take the law into their hands to the extent of burning down people’s houses,” Bwala said from the town of Gombe, the capital of neighboring Gombe state. Borno state governor Kassim Shettima is a member of the ANPP.

Though the military’s air and ground assaults since May forced many militants to flee, large numbers have since regrouped, killing 24 people last month in three attacks on schools in Maiduguri and Damaturu, the Yobe state capital, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) southwest of Maiduguri. This is the reason while the vigilantes are particularly useful because they understand the terrain well. The military’s offensive has also hit civilians.

“As much as the youth are doing great work in fishing out the terrorists,” Majidadi said in an interview in Maiduguri, the security forces “must act fast before other youth abuse the good work currently going on.”

The combined military-police Joint Task Force in the area said in a June 30 statement that it was “monitoring, guiding and regulating the activities of the vigilant youths with a view to making them operate within the ambit of the law.”

Boko Haram has acknowledged that some residents are turning against them and has vowed to retaliate.

“We have established that youths in Borno and Yobe states are now against our cause,” a Boko Haram spokesman, who gave his name as Abu Zinnira, said in a statement e-mailed to reporters on June 18. “They have connived with security operatives and are actively supporting the government of Nigeria in its war against us. We have also resolved to fight back.”

Kidnapping of Corps Members: Rivers to Withdraw From Funding Police, Governor Attacks Jonathan

Governor Chibuike Amaechi expressed dissatisfaction over the recent kidnapping of 3 corps members in the state when the state coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps visited him to register his displeasure. The governor stated that the state is already planning to withdraw from funding the police till relevant actions are taken  to secure lives and properties.

The governor noted that the Commissioner of Police is no commissioner but a politician because he attends political party meetings actively. He said the CP lacks any concrete sense of duty and does not know the real mission of him being in the state. 

He told the state coordinator of NYSC to inform the IG who has authority over the police on how to protect corps members, especially in their lodges. He mentioned that he has no authority over him (the CP) because the police have been politicised although the constitution permits him. For security of lives and properties to be ensured in Rivers state, the CP has to be removed Amaechi revealed.

The brawl between the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan and Rivers state governor, Chibuike Amaechi got a bit complicated with the swipe the governor took at the president. The governor said 'how can we say we have a brother from Bayelsa as the President and Rivers is insecure?' The governor said is it till when Rivers turns to Borno where corps members can no longer be posted before anything tangible will be done?

He said there was a case of  kidnapping of corp members among the last batch that left the state and now, another has just occurred. Some commentators said Amaechi is not comfortable with the present commissioner of police because he is unable to use him to attack opponents like the previous commissioner.

The rift between  the president and the governor became pronounced when Governor Amaechi who was deemed to have won the Nigeria Governors' Forum election was shortchanged. The election became characterised by allegations of corruption in a 35-elders cum first citizens of states' election. The Jonah Jang faction is backed by the presidency. Jonah Jang himself was a late entrant into the election.