Former Thai PM Faces Corruption Charges

Risk V Reward In Islamic State Hostage Deal

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 28 Januari 2015 | 20.18

Time is running out and pressure is mounting for the Jordanian and Japanese authorities.

The demand from Islamic State militants is the release, within 24 hours, of an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber in exchange for the lives of a Japanese journalist and a Jordanian fighter pilot.

Bluntly, the Jordanian authorities will now be weighing up the risks of releasing Sajida al Rishawi into the hands of a terrorist group against the reward for doing so.

:: The risks

1. Releasing a self-confessed terrorist into the hands of a terror group. Sajida al Rishawi confessed to trying to blow up the Radisson SAS hotel in Amman in 2005.

In her televised confession (which she later retracted) she said she hoped to kill as many men, women and children as possible.

Her husband's suicide belt went off. He died along with 36 other victims. Al Rishawi's belt did not go off and she was later arrested.

If she is handed over to IS militants, could she go on to carry out a successful suicide mission?

2. Bowing to terrorists' demands: No government wants to be seen to be bowing to the demands of the Islamic State.

Deals with terrorists embolden them and encourage them to take more people hostage.

The covert payment of ransoms by some governments has only added to Islamic State's wealth, which is already huge thanks to their control of oil assets in Syria and Iraq.

The Jordanian government will be under huge pressure by the Americans and others not to do any deal with Islamic State.

:: The rewards

1. The hostages survive: If Al Rishawi is released and Islamic State militants stick to the deal (there is no guarantee that they will) then clearly the lives of Kenji Goto and Lt Mu'ath al Kaseasbeh will be saved.

Emotionally, this is an overriding objective.

2. Intelligence: Agencies around the world would be extremely keen to "debrief" the two hostages and learn as much as possible about their captors.

It is thought that they were being held by a man dubbed 'Jihadi John', a Briton who was behind the beheading of a number of other hostages, including Britons David Haines and Allan Henning and Americans Steven Sotloff, James Foley and Peter Kassig.

Despite sustained efforts, he has not been located. Intelligence agencies could glean vital information from the two men.

:: Other options

There are other plausible scenarios which could secure the release of the two men.

Through backchannels in Jordan, a deal could perhaps be struck which would see the release of a number of other alleged Islamist militants who are in Jordanian jails, prisoners who are seen as less of a security risk.

If any deal is done though, the Jordanian and Japanese authorities will need a "proof of life", showing that Mr Goto and Lt al Kaseasbeh are still alive.

In Tuesday's demand, both men were seen only in photographs. Some in Jordan believe that Lt al Kaseasbeh is already dead.

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Jordan 'Ready' To Exchange Militant For Pilot

Jordan's information minister has said his country is willing to hand over an Iraqi would-be-suicide bomber if a Jordanian pilot captured by Islamic State is released.

In an announcement on state television, Mohammad al Momani said: "Jordan is ready to release prisoner Sajida al Rishawi if the Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Muath al Kasaesbeh was released and his life spared."

The pilot's father, Safi al Kaseasbeh, had earlier implored the Jordanian government "to meet the demands" of Islamic State.

"All people must know, from the head of the regime to everybody else, that the safety of Muath means the stability of Jordan, and the death of Muath means chaos in Jordan," he said.

Bassam al Manasseer, chairman of Jordan's foreign affairs committee, announced earlier that negotiations with Islamic State were taking place through religious and tribal leaders in Iraq.

The news comes as the mother of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto also being held by Islamic State made a tearful appeal to Japan's Prime Minister to help save her son.

Junko Ishido said she had begged Shinzo Abe to "Please save Kenji" and to work with the Jordanian government to secure his release.

IS warned in a video that journalist Mr Goto and Mr al Kaseasbeh would be killed within 24 hours if its demands were not met.

The video shows Mr Goto in an orange jumpsuit holding a picture of Mr al Kaseasbeh, along with an audio message of him pleading for his life.

The group said the hostages' lives would be spared if Jordan releases Sajida al Rishawi, an Iraqi woman sentenced to death for her involvement in a 2005 terrorist attack that killed 60 people.

It comes after IS apparently murdered another Japanese prisoner, Haruna Yukawa - an act condemned by Japan's government.

Mr Goto was captured in Syria in October, apparently while trying to rescue Yukawa, 42, who was taken hostage last summer.

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Gallery: The Hostages Released After Deals Were Made With Terrorists

March 2007: Italian-Swiss journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo was released by the Taliban in exchange for the release of five prisoners

April 2008: A ransom of $1.2m was allegedly paid to Somali pirates by the Spanish government to secure the release of 26 trawlermen

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing 43 Students 'All Kidnapped And Killed'

Officials investigating the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico have confirmed they were kidnapped, murdered and incinerated by police.

Families of the victims believe their loved ones are still alive - but for the first time, Mexico's attorney general has said he is certain that all of the students were killed and burned before their remains were thrown into a river.

Jesus Murillo Karam also rejected claims that the army had any participation in the mass slaying.

He added: "To close the investigation is perhaps not the appropriate word, until I have all of those responsible under arrest I can't close it, so that is not the right word.

"But if you ask me if the elements of the investigation are enough to conclude that they were killed there and incinerated, I would say 'yes', and even more than in many other cases."

The case has caused considerable controversy in Mexico, with some fire experts claiming the government's rendition of events is implausible.

However, forensic evidence suggests that the fuel and temperature of a fire at a garbage dump thought to have been used to dispose of the bodies was capable of turning 43 bodies into ashes.

Mexican authorities have only been able to identify the DNA of one student, and Austrian scientists working on the case have claimed it is impossible to identify the other victims.

Relatives of the missing students have said they no longer believe a word the government says, as the theory of what happened to their loved ones has continually changed since they were last seen in September.

The brother-in-law of one victim, Valentin Cornelio Gonzalez, said: "On a personal level, it makes me mad because this is what they've always done.

"There's no chance that the parents are going to believe the government saying they're dead... they are going to look for them alive."

The conclusion that all 43 students have been killed is based on the testimony of a prime suspect arrested a fortnight ago.

Felipe Rodriguez Salgado is one of 99 people who have been detained in connection with the crime.

There have also been 39 reported confessions, nearly 400 declarations, almost 500 forensic tests, 16 raids and two reconstructions.

All 43 students were men training to be teachers. Their bus is thought to have been attacked in the city of Iguala by police who then handed them over to gangs.

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Helmet Cam Video Of Race To Save Kids From Fire

By Sky News US Team

Dramatic footage has been released showing firefighters rescuing three young children from a house fire in California.

Helmet camera video shows rescuers battling through smoke and flames to save the youngsters from their burning home in Fresno.

The one-year-old boy and two girls, aged three and four, were found unconscious and are being treated for smoke inhalation.

They are in a critical condition at Valley Children's Hospital.

The children had been left alone in the house, and their mother is being questioned by police.

"The firefighters would say it's just their job. But to get a rescue of this magnitude is something we really don't come across every day," said a spokesman for Fresno Fire Department.

The rescue came as a surprise to firefighters as they were originally called to reports of smoke in a building, he added.

Investigators believe the blaze was caused by an electrical fire, possibly from a television in the home.

The mother had left the children in the house while she went shopping and was on her way back when the fire broke out, residents told the Fresno Bee news website.

Neighbour Crystal Rodriguez said she heard an explosion that sounded like a homemade firework - and then a woman screaming.

"We were standing here pretty much watching the apartment burn from the inside," she told the Fresno Bee.

"Nobody thought there would be three little babies inside."

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Harrowing Stories From Rape Capital Of World

Written By Unknown on Senin, 26 Januari 2015 | 20.18

By Alex Crawford in Minova, Democratic Republic of Congo

The room is crowded with women, all of whom have been raped. If that's not horrifying enough, many of the women have been raped multiple times and are pregnant as a result.

Their terrifying stores of torture and terror are not even unusual. If the Democratic Republic of Congo is the rape capital of the world, then Minova is its nerve centre - and the raping is still going on.

The town is most notorious for the mass rape of hundreds of women by Congolese soldiers in November 2012.

An investigation by the United Nations found the soldiers raped at least 97 women and 33 girls (some as young as six).

The locals insist the true figure is far higher - and more alarmingly, that the rapes are still continuing.

The assaults are not confined to Congolese soldiers but also the rebel militias as well as the vigilante groups set up to 'protect' the population.

The Sky camera crew is at a shelter set up for rape victims by a woman called Rebecca Masika (known as Ma Masika).

She has two children as a result of rape and knows the trauma and isolation of being a victim.

"If you look at my face, you can see the scar, it's a mark of rape and I have them all over my body," she says. "I had to help these women because I've been raped too.

"They made me watch them cut my husband's body into pieces, then they raped me on his dead body."

One of the young girls in the room looks heavily pregnant and has a visible weeping sore on her right ankle.

Anuarite is 16 years old - barely out of childhood herself. The rebel militia who raped her did so several times during the four months she was held captive.

She has terrible internal injuries too - and cries as she recounts her horrific story to us. Her birth won't be easy.

She says: "They took us into the bush and those who refused to sleep with them, they forced, by stabbing us with knives. They killed many girls.

"Some of them were shot with bullets in the vagina."

All these stories are uncomfortable hearing. We hear how the rapists - again in uniform - have even attacked the very house where Ma Masika has built the refuge.

All these women have been left homeless after being cast out by their families and their communities.

And the refuge is crowded out with children - all the result of rape.

It is heartbreakingly tragic. There's a whole generation of rape babies - and little interest from the outside world coupled with mass inertia as to how to make it all stop.

Congo's civil war may be two decades old but the violence is creating fresh victims every day.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Greece Lightning: Could Syriza Success Spread?

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

As car horns blared in the capital's streets, few doubted this had been a seismic night in European politics.

Five years of swingeing cuts have shrunk Greece's economic output by a third and delivered a primary budget surplus, but the price has been too high for many of the electorate.

A third of people in Greece live below the poverty line, a quarter are out of work and pensioners have seen their income dwindle.

That generalised anger finally found its expression at the ballot box.

While previously Syriza's core supporters had been students and a loose coalition of Marxists, Maoists, Trotskyites and environmental campaigners, it acted as a lightning rod across society.

Many of the squeezed middle class wanted to punish the political parties they felt had sold Greece's future prosperity to protect the banking system.

Alexis Tsipras now has something of a dilemma though: he wants to keep Greece in the single currency but the European Union, the European Central Bank and the IMF won't want the country to renege on its promises.

There were strings attached to the €240bn which have kept the country afloat and the likes of Germany are unlikely to agree to allow Greece to restructure more of its debt.

But if Mr Tsipras softens on his vow to "finish the troika" in order to prevent a default and a so-called Grexit, he may anger his core support base.

The wider repercussions could be felt outside the country's borders.

There are a host of other anti-austerity parties in Europe waiting to challenge the consensus, most prominently Podemos in Spain where an election must be held this year.

If this election grows into a pan-European movement, the plumbing of the global economy could face some determined opposition.

Syriza's progress might well embolden those willing to take on established political parties, which could have far reaching consequences.

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Alexis Tsipras: A Profile Of Syriza's Leader

Alexis Tsipras could become the youngest prime minister of Greece since 1865 but just who is he and what does he represent?

:: Teen revolutionary

Mr Tsipras joined the Young Communists Society in the 1980s and by 1991 at the age of 17 organised the occupation of his high school in protest at education reforms.

Pupils ate and slept at the school and he told an interviewer at the time: "We want the right to judge for ourselves whether to skip class."

He went on to university to study to become a civil engineer, where he continued his political rise.

:: Youngest ever political leader

In 2008 at the age of 34 he became the leader of the Syriza party, which was formed in 2004 as a coalition of left-wing groups ranging from the Maoists to the Greens.

Hailed for his no fear, firebrand approach and commitment to an anti-austerity agenda, he led the party to take a 27% vote share in the 2012 general election. It made Syriza the second biggest party in the Greek parliament.

:: Tie-hater

He doesn't like ties. Simple as that. Doesn't wear them, won't wear them.

When asked about it recently, he said: "If you haven't seen me wearing a tie until now, I doubt that you will as prime minister."

Ahead of the 2012 election his predilection for motorbikes, rather than the limos favoured by other party leaders, was much-documented. However, it has been noted that he is more likely seen in the family car these days.

:: Che Guevara fanatic

Although he has toned down his approach ahead of this election he still has a passion for the revolutionary Che Guevara.

His youngest son (he has two with his partner Peristera Batziana) has the middle name Ernesto by way of tribute.

:: Austerity opponent

Firmly anti-austerity, he wants to renegotiate the terms of the EU-IMF bailout, and wants Europe to agree to erase most of Greece's debt.

However, the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, has said the country has "no wiggle room".

Greece has suffered five years of recession, tax hikes and record unemployment (one in four people don't have a job).

:: Good thing or bad thing?

Critics have described Mr Tsipras as "power-hungry", suggesting he would sacrifice Greece for his own political ambitions.

But he is popular with the people. He has promised to raise salaries and pensions, halt layoffs and freeze the privatisation of state assets.

He has sought to boost his international standing meeting Pope Francis and the European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, as well as writing columns in international newspapers, including the Financial Times.

But he continues to refer to the austerity measures placed on Greece as terms of the EU-IMF £188bn bailout as "fiscal waterboarding".

However, ultimately he says that Greece's future in Europe is not a future of austerity and that has triggered fears of a Grexit.

:: Panathinaikos fan

Born in 1974, the year that marked the end of the junta which persecuted Communists, Mr Tsipras grew up in the shadow of the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium. He has remained a fan.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Greece's Syriza Forms Anti-Bailout Coalition

Greece's left-wing Syriza party has formed an anti-austerity coalition government, just hours after sweeping to victory in Sunday's national election.

Party leader Alexis Tsipras struck a coalition deal with the right-wing Nationalist Independent Greeks party which, like Syriza, opposes Greece's tough international bailout deal.

"From this moment there is a government in the country," Nationalist Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos said after talks with Mr Tsipras at Syriza's headquarters in Athens.

"The Independent Greeks give a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. There is an agreement in principle."

Syriza won 149 seats in the 300-seat parliament, just two seats short of an overall majority.

It had a 8.5-point lead over the ruling conservative New Democracy party of outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Mr Tsipras will be sworn in later this afternoon.

The unusual pairing of parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum, but with a shared drive to reverse painful austerity measures, raises the prospect of a stand-off with European creditors and economic powerhouse, Germany.

In his victory speech Mr Tsipras vowed Greece would abandon the "catastrophic austerity" measures imposed under the EU-IMF deal.

He has also promised to renegotiate the repayment terms of Greece's €240bn (£176bn) international bailout.

"Greece leaves behinds catastrophic austerity, it leaves behind fear and authoritarianism, it leaves behind five years of humiliation and anguish," Mr Tsipras told thousands of supporters in Athens.

But a spokesman for the German Chancellor said Angela Merkel still expects Greece to stand by its commitments to international creditors, while Chancellor George Osborne said Syriza's promises were going to "be very difficult to deliver".

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Gallery: Tsipras' Surprising First Post-Election Tweet

Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras' first tweet after sweeping to victory in Greece's general election was somewhat unexpected

His first victory tweet was to British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie for this message of congratulations

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The head of the Eurogroup, made up of eurozone's 19 finance ministers, Jereon Dijsselbloem, also fired a warning shot at the new government, saying Greece's eurozone membership depended on it complying with its agreements.

Greece was forced to undertake deep budget cuts and fiscal reforms as a condition for the 2010 bailout from the so-called "Troika" - the group of creditors made up of the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

Many in Greece feel slashed public spending has hit the most vulnerable hardest, while leaving the tax evasion and corruption of the apparent elites untouched.

Financial markets have reacted nervously to the result, fearing fresh trouble in Greece and a contagion of anti-austerity sentiment in other struggling eurozone countries that could put strain the currency bloc.

The euro fell to a fresh 11-year low against the dollar shortly after the result became clear but later strengthened against the dollar and while stocks initially fell across Europe, the major markets later recovered.

The AthEx market - which tracks the prices of the top 25 firms in the Athens Stock Exchange - opened 0.6% lower before losing more than 5% of its value in a volatile first hour.

Mr Tsipras vowed to cooperate with fellow eurozone leaders for "a fair and mutually beneficial solution", but said the Greek people come first.

"Our priority from the very first day will be to deal with the big wounds left by the crisis," he told supporters on Sunday evening.

"Our foremost priority is that our country and our people regain their lost dignity."

Mr Samaras had insisted voters would be making a huge mistake to elect Syriza at a time when painful fiscal reforms may be about to pay off.

After conceding defeat, he told supporters: "My conscience is clear because I told the truth to the Greek people until the very end.

"I received a country that was almost destroyed and I was asked to hold a hot potato and I did that."

Mr Tsipras, meanwhile, used his first post-election tweet to respond to a message of congratulations from British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie.

"Thank you Dr", he wrote, in apparent reference to Laurie's role in the US television series House.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Japanese Mock IS With 'Photoshop Grand Prix'

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 23 Januari 2015 | 20.18

Many Japanese have responded to the Islamic State's demand for a $200m ransom for two hostages with a meme mocking the Islamist group.

A hashtag, which translates as "ISIS crappy collage grand prix" or "photoshop grand prix", was created and users have been using it to post parodies of the hostage video.

The video released by the group on Tuesday shows a militant, dressed in black and brandishing a knife as he stands between Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, who are both clad in orange jumpsuits.

This image has been photoshopped to make the British-accented jihadi a ninja and Dr Evil, while in others the two hostages appear as Japanese anime characters.

In another mocked-up image the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is seen laughing and pointing as the video plays on a screen.

The meme plays on the fact that the image of the two kneeled figures and their captor appears to have been photoshopped onto the desert background.

According to the social media analytics site, Topsy, the hashtag has been used more than 70,000 times since Tuesday as many use it to express their defiance.

djvjgrrl wrote on Twitter: "Tomorrow will be sad but it will pass and #ISIS will still be a big joke. You can't break our spirit."

But some people have criticised the posts for not taking the IS threat seriously.

JB~kun wrote: "So here I was checking this hashtag and apparently some of the Japanese tweets are making fun of the whole thing. Japan pls."

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Former Thai PM Faces Corruption Charges

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Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is to be put on trial in connection with a rice subsidy programme that lost the country billions of dollars.

The charge against the country's first female prime minister concerns her role in a scheme that paid farmers far above market prices for rice.

It also cost Thailand its place as the world's leading exporter.

If found guilty, she could face up to 10 years in prison. Her successful impeachment by parliament has already seen her banned from politics for five years.

The former PM was removed from office last May days before a military coup, amid allegations of abuse of power.

She later issued a statement on Facebook saying: "Democracy has died in Thailand today, along with the rule of law. That move to destroy me is still ongoing and I face it now."

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Gallery: Hunger Games Salute Is Thai Protest

People in Bangkok protesting against military rule hold their three middle fingers in the air during a brief demonstration at a shopping centre. The military has warned it will arrest anyone who uses the gesture, which is borrowed from the Hunger Games as a form of protest against the country's recent coup.

Thailand's military government sent thousands of troops and police into central Bangkok to prevent demonstrations against its seizure of power.

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The raised arm gesture has become a symbol of opposition to the military takeover on May 22 and a response to bans on political gatherings of more than five people. Click through for more pictures...

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The commission in July recommended criminal charges be filed against Ms Yingluck for the subsidy programme, which paid the farmers double the market price for rice.

The programme was a flagship electioneering policy, with Ms Yingluck saying the scheme would directly benefit Thai farmers and reduce the income equality gap in the country.

She won a landslide electoral victory in 2011 backed by the rural poor who benefited from the rice scheme.

Her supporters say the courts and ruling National Legislative Assembly (NLA) are biased and aligned with an establishment intent on blocking her powerful family from politics.

The decision to prosecute may renew tensions in the divided country, with Ms Yingluck's Red Shirt supporters seeing the move as part of an effort to deal a final blow to her party's political power after last year's coup.

The capital's streets were quiet on Friday, as residents obeyed the military junta's ban on public gatherings.

The government of coup leader and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has urged Ms Yingluck's supporters to stay out of Bangkok this week, although a repeat of the protests that have dogged the country in recent years is unlikely.

The impeachment is the latest chapter in 10 years of turbulent politics that have pitted Ms Yingluck and her brother Thaksin, himself a former prime minister, against the royalist-military establishment which sees the Shinawatras as a threat.

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Risk V Reward In Islamic State Hostage Deal

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Former Thai PM Faces Corruption Charges

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