Taliban win £1,600 bounty for each Nato soldier killed

Taliban win £1,600 bounty for each Nato soldier killed 23 May 2010
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23 May 2010
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Taliban win £1,600 bounty for each Nato soldier killed --Taliban commanders said the bounty had more than doubled since the beginning of last year. 23 May 2010 Taliban rebels are earning a bounty of up to 200,000 Pakistani rupees (£1,660) for each Nato soldier they kill, according to insurgent commanders. The money is said to come from protection rackets, taxes imposed on [CIA] opium farmers, donors in the Gulf states who channel money through Dubai and from the senior Taliban leadership in Pakistan. So far this year 213 Nato soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, including 41 British troops, bringing the potential rewards for the Taliban to £350,000.

Appeals Panel Bars Detainees From Access to U.S. Courts --The decision was a broad victory for the Obama administration in its efforts to hold terrorism suspects overseas for indefinite periods without judicial oversight. 21 May 2010 A federal appeals court ruled Friday that three men who had been detained by the United States military for years without trial in Afghanistan had no recourse to American courts. The detainees, two Yemenis and a Tunisian who say they were captured outside Afghanistan, contend that they are not terrorists and are being mistakenly imprisoned at the American military prison at Bagram Air Base. But a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled unanimously that the three had no right to habeas corpus hearings, in which judges would review evidence against them and could order their release.

'Secret Ops' cause of US deaths in Iraq 23 May 2010 An international anti-war organization, the War and Peace Foundation, says continued fatalities of US troops in Iraq is a sign of their involvement in secret operations. Speaking to Press TV on Saturday, Director of the War and Peace Foundation Kevin Sanders said the fact that the US soldiers are killed off-base in Iraq shows that the US is violating certain restrictions. Under an agreement signed between Washington and Baghdad in 2008, the movement of US troops is limited to their bases and all unilateral operations should have technically come to a halt in 2009.

Iran seeks Iraq war compensation 23 May 2010 More than twenty years after Iraq launched a full-scale invasion of Iran, a top Iranian lawmaker says Tehran's demands for war compensation should be met. "Iran has a legal right to seek compensation for the damages it endured during the war imposed by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and this matter should be pursued in all seriousness," Kazem Jalali, Rapporteur of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said on Sunday."The United States is now selling Iraqi oil as reparations for the war it waged on the Middle Eastern country. The Tehran government should also claim compensation," he added.

Candidates to Lead UK's Labour Renounce Iraq War--Candidates to Lead Britain's Labour Party Renounce Iraq Conflict As 'catastrophic' and 'wrong'23 May 2010 Two of the front-runners to head Britain's Labour Party sought to move on from divisive recent history Saturday by renouncing the Iraq war entered by their former leader, Tony Blair. Lawmaker Ed Balls said the 2003 invasion was wrong, while rival Ed Miliband said the conflict had destroyed trust in the party. "It was a mistake, it was an error. It wasn't just thousands of people (who) lost their lives, it is also millions of people who lost trust in us because they didn't think that we did it in the right way," Balls said. "There weren't weapons of mass destruction, the evidence wasn't sound, so we should say loud and clear, in retrospect, we got it wrong."
Iraq car bomb death toll rises to 30 23 May 2010 Iraqi police and morgue officials say the death toll in a car bombing at an open-air market in a town northeast of Baghdad has risen to 30. Friday's bombing struck the town of Khalis, a Shi'ite enclave 80km north of Baghdad in the largely Sunni province of Diyala. Most of those killed were sitting in a cafe in the centre of the market. About 80 people were also wounded in the attack.
Two US soldiers killed in Iraq 22 May 2010 The US military has announced that two of its combat troops have been killed in separate incidents in the restive regions of northern Iraq. The army said in a statement that one of the soldiers was killed near Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Friday. The military statement gave no details on the circumstances leading to his death. A second statement said that a US soldier died on Thursday of injuries sustained in the same region.
Iran: US main root of Afghan extremism 23 May 2010 Iran's foreign minister calls US the main perpetrator of radicalism in Afghanistan reiterating that the country's difficulties can only be resolved through regional collaboration. Flawed policies imposed on Afghanistan (by Western forces) have inflicted "extensive negative consequences" on this region's states and people, said Manouchehr Mottaki in a meeting with the Special Representative of UN Secretary General for Afghanistan Staffan de Mistura, IRIB reported Sunday.

Rockets fired at NATO base in S. Afghanistan 23 May 2010 Rockets were fired at the military base operated by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in southern Afghanistan's restive city of Kandahar late on Saturday, officials said. Afghan government officials, who insisted on anonymity, told Xinhua that five rockets fired inside and out of the compound and casualties have so far not been clear.

Army's Top Bomb Disposal Officer Quits 24 May 2010 The Army's top bomb disposal officer has resigned after expressing concerns about the pressures on his team operating in Afghanistan, it has been revealed.The Ministry of Defence confirmed that Colonel Bob Seddon quit as principal ammunition technical officer of the Royal Logistics Corps. An Army spokesman said in a brief statement that he would be leaving the service in January.

At West Point, Obama Presses for New World Order to Defeat Al Qaeda 22 May 2010 President Obama on Saturday vowed to press for a new international order "that can resolve the challenges of our times" and help the United States defeat 'Al Qaeda' and other threats to freedom. Delivering the commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Obama ticked off a list of lofty goals this new order could accomplish; from combating violent extremism to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons to stemming climate change and sustaining global growth.

Israel's 5-day drill underway, as Hezbollah mobilizes forces 24 May 2010 Israel began its yearly home-front security drill on Sunday, as Hezbollah began mobilizing along the Israel-Lebanon border in response to the exercise, various news agencies reported. The drill, named Turn Point 4, is expected to last five days across Israel, the Israeli daily Haaretz wrote. The Israeli army sent out communiques addressing the public to prepare for the drill over the past week, which will involve the army's various command centres, emergency services and other governmental bodies.

Australia expels Israeli diplomat over Dubai hit 23 May 2010 Australia's government said on Monday it had ordered the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat over the use of fake passports in the assassination of a top Hamas militant in Dubai in January. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said an investigation had left no doubt that Israeli intelligence services had been behind the forgery of four Australian passports used by suspects in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room.
Italy groups urge boycott of Israeli goods --Pro-Palestinian groups, left-wing Gush Shalom movement call on supermarkets in Italy to ban Israeli products from West Bank settlements and Golan Heights. 23 May 2010 As the Palestinian Authority ups its efforts to boycott Israeli products made in the West Bank settlements and the Golan Heights, pro-Palestinian groups in Italy sought to take the effort one step further and boycott all Israeli products "because you can't differentiate." Pro-Palestinian groups in Italy demonstrated in front of the headquarters of two large supermarket chains, COOP and Nordiconad, demanding that they stop selling Israeli produce exported by Agrexco.
Revealed: how Israel offered to sell South Africa nuclear weapons --Secret apartheid-era papers give first official evidence of Israeli nuclear weapons 23 May 2010 Secret South African documents reveal that Israel offered to sell nuclear warheads to the apartheid regime, providing the first official documentary evidence of the state's possession of nuclear weapons. The "top secret" minutes of meetings between senior officials from the two countries in 1975 show that South Africa's defence minister, PW Botha, asked for the warheads and Shimon Peres, then Israel's defence minister and now its president, responded by offering them "in three sizes". The two men also signed a broad-ranging agreement governing military ties between the two countries that included a clause declaring that "the very existence of this agreement" was to remain secret.

US appoints first cyber warfare general --Pentagon creates specialist online unit to counter cyber attack amid growing fears of militarisation of the internet --Plans for Cyber Command were originally conceived under President [sic] George W Bush. 23 May 2010 The US military has appointed its first senior general to direct cyber warfare -- despite fears that the move marks another stage in the militarisation of cyberspace. The newly promoted four-star general, Keith Alexander, takes charge of the Pentagon's ambitious and controversial new Cyber Command, designed to conduct virtual combat across the world's computer networks. He was appointed on Friday afternoon in a low-key ceremony at Fort Meade, in Maryland. The creation of America's most senior cyber warrior comes just days after the US air force disclosed that some 30,000 of its troops had been re-assigned from technical support "to the frontlines of cyber warfare".

Pakistan catering company may be linked to terrorism, U.S. embassy says 22 May 2010 Pakistan has detained at least four people suspected of links with a failed bid to set off a car bomb in New York's Times Square, including one who worked for a catering company servicing embassies in Islamabad. The U.S. embassy in Pakistan issued a warning yesterday about a catering company, the Hanif Rajput Catering Service, saying it may have terrorist links.

Pakistan detainees proud of role in NYC bomb case22 May 2010 Two men detained in Pakistan for alleged links to the attempted Times Square bombing [false flag] have admitted playing a role in the botched attack and are unrepentant, with one angrily accusing interrogators of "siding with the infidels," a senior intelligence official said Saturday. The pair are among six men officials say have been detained in Pakistan for alleged ties to Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American arrested in the United States two days after the failed May 1 attack in New York.

6 people cited after protest at Border Patrol Headquarters 21 May 2010(AZ) Six people who initially refused to leave the lobby of the Border Patrol headquarters at Davis-Monthan Airforce Base, have been cited and released by the Tucson Police Department. The demonstrators say they are protesting SB 1070 and any military presence at the border.

Iran renews offer to help on US oil spill 23 May 2010 National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) has renewed its offer to assist the US in reining in an ecologically disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Mehran Alinejad, the head of special drilling operations at NIDC, pointed to the experience gained by Iranian experts in containing huge oil leaks during the eight-year Iraqi-imposed war in the 1980s, and said, "Iranian technical teams have had major achievements in oil well capping and the Gulf of Mexico oil rig is not a great feat in comparison." [Right, but the USociopaths don't want to stop the BP-Halliburton oil gusher. Obama continues to allow BP and its contractors (and God only knows which coterie of scumbags are on *that* payroll) to control the entire situation, top to bottom, including media access. Obama's 'response' is worse than Bush's during Hurricane Katrina aka blown levies. --LRP]

Useless is as useless does: Barack Obama's top officials set to fly over Gulf Coast oil spill --Secretaries of the interior and homeland security to assess aftermath of Deepwater Horizon explosion 23 May 2010 Leading officials from President Barack Obama's administration will return to the Gulf Coast tomorrow to monitor the massive oil spill threatening the Louisiana coastline. Ken Salazar, secretary of the interior and Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, will lead a Senate delegation to fly over affected areas. It was revealed today that the justice department had been gathering information about the oil spill.

Mega barf alert! Obama selects Bush's EPA maggot to 'investigate' the BP-Halliburton oil gusher. A month after oil spill began, Obama begins taking charge 21 May 2010 Facing a growing furor over the monthlong Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the White House Friday named two environmentalists to lead a presidential commission investigating the disaster. The appointments of former Florida Democratic Sen. Bob Graham andWilliam K. Reilly, who led the Environmental Protection Agency under President [sic] George H.W. Bush, came as the Obama administration tried to defend its handling of the spill against critics who charge that the oil giant BP has been dragging its feet in measuring how much oil the company's ruptured well is spewing.

BP refuses EPA order to switch to less-toxic oil dispersant --Oil washes ashore on 50 miles of Louisiana shoreline as tensions mount over how to treat the spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 23 May 2010 BP has rebuffed demands from government officials and environmentalists to use a less-toxic dispersant to break up the oil from its massive offshore spill, saying that the chemical product it is now using continues to be "the best option for subsea application." On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave the London-based company 72 hours to replace the dispersant Corexit 9500 or to describe in detail why other dispersants fail to meet environmental standards.

Oil spill to reach Europe, Arctic 22 May 2010 The oil spill BP-Halliburton oil volcano in the Gulf of Mexico is gradually finding its way toward Europe and the Arctic to damage, endangering wider ecological basins, scientists say. Briefing a congressional panel on Friday, senior US scientists warned that the bad consequences of the massive oil leak are not confined to the US coasts, and the wildlife are endangered in a far broader scope.

BP oil spill reaches delicate wetlands of Louisiana --Local reports described heavy sheets of oil clogging marshes in Mississippi delta that provide haven for migratory birds 21 May 2010 Thick sheets of crude oil spread through the delicate wetlands of Louisiana today, as the BP oil spill continued to threaten the American coastline. Local reports described heavy sheets of oil the consistency of latex paint clogging the marshes in the Mississippi delta that provide a haven for migratory birds, and buffer the shore from Gulf hurricanes.

Stand up to BP and say: 'You know, I’m not taking your s*** any more' 22 May 2010 It is 19 years since Erin Brockovich first went into battle against corporate America. She was a small-town single mum who stood up to an industrial Goliath and won. Now, as she champions a new case with a depressingly similar plot, it is clear that she has lost none of her fighting spirit or trademark candour. "Stand up to BP and say, 'You know what, I'm not taking your shit any more'," she tells an audience of more than 300 anxious individuals in Pensacola, Florida, who have gathered to hear how they can seek legal redress for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Farmers hold massive march in Paris 23 May 2010 Swarms of French farmers have poured into the most prestigious avenue in Paris, calling for their government to tackle the brewing crisis in the agricultural sector. Champs Elysees, Paris's famous neighborhood was covered with plants, flowers and livestock on Sunday as more than 800,000 farmers, whose industry has been battered by falling prices and climbing production costs in recent years, demanded more financial aid and government support.

Meet The Sloths: Watch The Animals Be Naturally Adorable 21 May 2010 Filmmaker/blogger Lucy Cookehas traveled to Aviaros del Caribe, a sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica, and the world's only sloth orphanage. According to Cooke, baby two- and three-toed sloths "whose mother's have either been run over or zapped by power lines are brought to the sanctuary and looked after by legendary sloth whisperer Judy Arroyo." (Video)

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Previous lead stories:
Judges Rule Prisoners at Bagram Cannot Challenge Indefinite Detention 21 May 2010 Detainees Prisoners at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan cannot use U.S. courts to challenge their imprisonment the way detainees in Guantanamo Bay have, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The United States is holding the detainees at the military prison on Afghan territory through a cooperative arrangement with Afghanistan, three appeals court judges said in a unanimous decision turning aside the request of a Tunisian and two Yemeni prisoners. The jurisdiction of the U.S. courts does not extend to foreigners held at Bagram in the Afghan theater of war, added the judges, who said a U.S. district judge should have thrown out the detainees' petitions.

House Panel Rejects a Plan to Shift Detainees to Illinois 20 May 2010 The House Armed Services Committee has dealt a blow to President Obama's hopes to shutter the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, by unanimously approving legislation that would prohibit creating a detention center inside the United States. The administration had asked Congress to approve about $350 million to buy and renovate a nearly empty prison in Thomson, Ill. The White House plan was to empty Guantánamo and transfer its detainees to Illinois -including 48 who would be held without trial as wartime prisoners. But late Wednesday, the House committee unanimously approved a defense bill for 2011 that bans spending money to build or modify any facility inside the United States to house Guantánamo detainees, according to a summary of the bill.

Hague Orders Probe Into Whether U.K. Agents Colluded in Torture 21 May 2010 Foreign Secretary William Hague ordered a judicial inquiry into claims U.K. intelligence agencies were complicit in the torture of terrorist suspects overseas. Hague, a member of the Conservative-led coalition that took power after May 6 elections, had supported calls for an inquiry while in opposition last year. Binyam Mohamed, a former Guantanamo detainee and U.K. resident, alleges he was tortured with the collusion of British officials while held in the Guantanamo Bay prison.

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