Monday, 27 May 2013

Solider`s murder in London Prompts UK to set up task froce to target radicial preachers

AP | May 26, 2013, 06.11 PM


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READ MORE Theresa May|Radical Islamic Preachers in Britain|Omar Bakri Muhammad|Michael Adebowale|Michael Adebolajo
Soldier's murder in London prompts UK to set up task force to target radical preachers
Michael Adebolajo (front) shouts slogans as Muslims march in London in a protest against the arrest of 6 people in anti-terror raids, in this April 27, 2007 file photo. Adebolajo has been identified as one of the two men who attacked and killed a British soldier on a street in south London on May 22 2013. (AP photo)
LONDON: Britain's government is setting up a new terrorism task force to tackle radical preachers and extremism, officials said on Sunday, days after suspects apparently linked to extremist Islamist activists brutally killed a British soldier in a London street.


Home secretary Theresa May said the group will look at whether new powers and laws are needed to clamp down on religious leaders and organizations who promote extremist messages and who target potential recruits in jails, schools and mosques.


Thousands of people are potentially at risk of being radicalized in Britain, May told the BBC.


"We need to look across institutions like universities, whether there is more work we can be doing in prisons," she said in the television interview.


The force will include senior ministers, London's police chief and the head of the MI5 domestic security service, and is expected to meet within the next few weeks.


The move came after 25-year-old British soldier Lee Rigby was run over and stabbed with knives in the Woolwich area in southeast London on Wednesday afternoon as he was walking near his barracks.


The two men suspected of killing the soldier, Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, remained under armed guard in separate London hospitals after police shot them at the scene.


The gruesome scene was captured by witnesses' cellphones, and a video picked up by British media showed one of the suspects, with bloodied hands, making political statements and warning of more violence as the soldier lay on the ground behind him.


Hardline Muslim leaders have identified the man in the video as Adebolajo, an Islam convert who allegedly used to take part in London demonstrations organized by British radical group al-Muhajiroun. The group catapulted to notoriety after the September 11 attacks by organizing an event to celebrate the airplane hijackers, and was banned in Britain in 2010.


Omar Bakri Muhammad, a former al-Muhajiroun leader and radical Muslim preacher, has told Associated Press that Adebolajo is a Nigerian who was born and raised in Britain. He said Adebolajo attended his London lectures in the early 2000s, but added he had not stayed in touch with the suspect since then. Bakri fled London and resettled in Lebanon in 2005.


Suspect was arrested in Kenya


British media reported Sunday that Adebolajo was arrested in 2010 in Kenya, where he was accused of leading a group of youths trying to join al-Shabab, a terrorist group in neighboring Somalia linked to al-Qaida.


UK's Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph both reported that Adebolajo appeared in a court in Kenya in late 2010 alongside other young alleged radical Islamists. He was remanded at a local police station and eventually deported to Britain, the reports said.

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Wednesday, 15 May 2013

' Mahasen ' hits Patuakhali, Bhola

16 May 2013   11:57:37 AM   Thursday BdST   

Ctg, Cox’s Bazar signal 7, Mongla 5

Staff Correspondent
banglanews24.com
DHAKA: The cyclonic storm ‘Mahasen’ hits Khepupara of Patuakhali district around 8:00am Thursday with wind speed 80-100 kph, says Bangladesh met office.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department director Shah Alam, in the morning, said Mahasen is approaching towards coastline with 400 kilometers width.

Mentioning heavy rainfall were recorded in the areas, he added that 232 mm rain lashed Khepupara, 122mm Patuakhali, 95mm Barisal, 78mm Bhola, 75mm Feni, 54mm Hatia, 37mm Chittagong and 17mm Cox’s Bazar.

Meanwhile, an elderly person was killed as a tree fall upon him when cyclonic storm ‘Mahasen’ hit Lalmohan upazila of the district on Thursday morning.

The deceased was identified as Kashem, 65 of Dhaligour area of the upazila.

Besides, the storm is progressing towards Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar gradually. It is likely to hit the coasts of the two districts by 2:30pm to 3:00pm, Shah Alam added.

Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar sea ports have been advised to keep hoisted danger signal number seven while danger signal number five for Mongla port.

Besides, Bangladesh weather office bulletin at 11am Thursday said it was centered about 150 kms southwest of Chittagong port, 140 kms west of Cox’s bazar port and 140 kms southeast of Mongla port (near lat 21.50 n and long 90.60 e).
It is likely to move northeasterly direction further and may take 3-5 hours to complete crossing Chittagong-Noakhali coast near Meghna estuary.

The cyclone started crossing the coast near Patuakhali (Khapupara). The coast grazing cyclone is likely to move northeasterly direction further and may cross Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar coast by noon.

Maximum sustained wind speed within 54 kms of the storm centre is about 62 kph rising to 90 kph in gusts/ squalls.

Accuweather.com, however, said it is likely to reach its maximum wind speed between 85kph and 95kph in gusts/squalls at 3:00pm.

Mahasen may weaken somewhat prior to making landfall Thursday afternoon or evening. Heavy rainfall associated with stormy wind Mahasen fell across parts of Bangladesh.

As per accuweather.com, the wind speed of the cyclone will be 51 kilometer per hour (kph) around 10:00am, 58kph at 11:00am,  66kph at 12:00pm,  74-77kph at 1:00pm,  80-87kph at 2:00pm, 85-95kph at 3:00pm, 89-93kph at 4:00pm, 72-82kph at 5:00pm, 61-72kph at 6:00pm 50-61kph at 7:00pm, 30-50kph at 8:00pm, 27-39kph at 9:00pm and 24-37kph at 10:00pm.

Sea will remain very rough near the storm centre.

The coastal districts of Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Bhola, Borguna, Patuakhali, Barisal and their offshore islands and chars will come under danger signal number seven.

The coastal districts of Pirozpur, Jhalokathi, Bagherhat, Khulna, Satkhira and their offshore islands and chars will come under danger signal number five.

Under the influence of the storm the low-lying areas of the coastal districts of Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur,  Feni, Chandpur, Borguna, Bhola, Patuakhali, Barisal,  Pirozpur, Jhalokathi, Bagherhat, Khulna, Satkhira and their offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated by storm surge of 8-10 feet height above normal astronomical tide.

The coastal districts of Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Feni, Chandpur, Borguna, Patuakhali, Barisal, Bhola, Pirozpur, and their offshore islands and chars are likely to experience wind speed up to 90-100 kph in gusts/ squalls with heavy to very falls during the passage of the storm.

The coastal districts of Jhalokathi, Bagerhat, Khulna, Satkhira and their offshore islands and chars are likely to experience wind speed up to 80-90 kph in gusts/ squalls with heavy to very falls during the passage of the storm.

Due to very heavy rainfall, landslide may occur at places over the hilly regions of Chittagong division.

All fishing boats, trawlers and marine vessels over North Bay have been advised to remain in shelter till further notice.

BDST: 1150 HRS, MAY 16, 2013
Edited by: Rubaiat Saky, Newsroom Editor/M. Mahbub Alam, Asst Output Editor/ SM Salahuddin, Output Editor- eic@banglanews24.com
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Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Is Aung San Suu Kyi the real enemy?


By Mark Farmaner   |   Monday, 06 May 2013

There is an old saying that love can easily turn into hate but it has been surprising to see how quickly this has happened regarding Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
It was always going to be impossible for her to meet expectations. First, because of the sheer scale of the problems Myanmar faces, and second because after spending so many years under house arrest, she became all things to all people. In the absence of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi being able to comment and act herself, expectations were based on hope, not reality.
Successive dictatorships in Myanmar ruthlessly pursued divide and rule policies. Unity was essential to counter this. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, though, has now chosen the path of party politics rather than leading a whole movement. In the 2012 by-elections, the National League for Democracy stood alone, not as part of a coalition of pro-democracy parties and organisations. As such, the situation has changed. Criticism of political parties and their policies is an essential part of any democracy. It would be dangerous and unhealthy if people were not criticising Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, the level of vitriol and hatred being directed at her by some people in Myanmar, and some external observers, is worrying. Her picture has been burned during protests, and she has even been compared to Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. These attacks are all the more worrying because the level of criticism exceeds that directed at President U Thein Sein.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has made compromises that many people are unhappy with. She has been silent on key human rights issues where her intervention could have made a real difference. Her role in the Letpadaung commission has been controversial. There are many decisions she has made that are worthy of comment and debate. In doing so, however, it is important to keep things in perspective.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi does not keep hundreds of political prisoners in jail. She does not have an army which is committing war crimes by targeting civilians in Kachin State, with soldiers who rape ethnic Kachin women, and even children. But President U Thein Sein does.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi doesn’t control a government budget which allocates around five times as much to the military as health, or have security forces committing horrendous abuses against the Rohingya. President U Thein Sein does.
There has not been a single repressive law completely repealed that is not already covered by another law, or has not been replaced by another law that does not meet international standards. Myanmar is violating multiple international humanitarian and human rights laws. As head of state it is U Thein Sein who is responsible for this, not Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Aung San Suu Kyi used to be the one winning peace awards but now faces criticism that crosses the line into personal attacks. Now it is President U Thein Sein who is winning the peace awards – and avoiding criticism.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would be among the first to admit she isn’t perfect. Her actions and decisions should be scrutinised and questioned. But let’s not forget it is the head of state who has ultimate responsibility for human rights abuses. U Thein Sein rules a country that two years into the reform process still has one of the worst human rights records in the world – and he is getting a free ride.
(Mark Farmaner is Director of Burma Campaign UK.)
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Saturday, 4 May 2013

Committee formed for creating an Arakanese National Day

Sittwe: A temporary endeavour committee for an Arakanese National Day has been formed in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan, to choose a day for Arakanese National Day, said U Aung Mra Kyaw, Arakan state lawmaker.
Committee formed for creating an Arakanese National Day
“We formed a endeavour committee with 15 prominent scholars and historians in Sittwe on Thursday to choose a day  as Arakanese National day,” he said.
The committee was formed during a meeting held in the RNDP office in Sittwe. Around 50 prominent people including politicians, scholars, ministers and historians attended in the meeting.
“We are a nationality. So we should have a national day like other nationalities around the world. The committee was formed with this intention and objective,” he said.
The committee will invite all Arakanese people, not only inside but also outside of country, to cooperate with the committee in choosing a day from several important historic days to Arakan for the National day of Arakan.
The temporary committee is also going to hold a conference with Arakanese scholars, historians and politicians within six months to determine a day to be the National day of Arakan.
Arakan was an independent country in Asia till 1784 before the Burmese king invaded Arakan.  All national identities and characters of the Arakanese have been missing since it lost its sovereignty.
 

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2 Arakanese political prisoners released with presidential amnesty

Yangon: The Burmese authority released about 90 prisoners on Tuesday around Burma according with presidential amnesty. Among them, two Arakanese students were included in the release.
Ko Naing Soe and Ray Htet Soe
Ko Naing Soe and Ray Htet Soe
One is Ko Ray Htet Soe who was released from Insien’s notorious prison in Yangon after having served  3 and a half years in prison.
Ko Ray Htet Soe was sentenced to nine years in total, including three years for having connections to illegal organizations outside Burma under section No 7 , five years for possession of explosives under section No 5 , and one year for illegal possession of a satellite phone under section No 16(1).
Replying to Narinjara soon after his release from prison, Ko Ray Htet Soe said that he is very happy to be released from the prison and he has no words to express his feelings.
Another person is Ko  Naing Soe who was released from Thetyet prison located central Burma.
He was sentenced to eight years in total, including three years for having connections to illegal organizations, and five years for possession of explosives in the same year.
According to sources, the authorities released 90 prisoners this time with presidential amnesty but most are reportedly political prisoners.
In Insein prison in Yangon, there were 10 prisoners released. Among them six are political prisoners including Ko Zaw Min,  Nay Myo Thura and Sai Aung Kyaw.
AAPP, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners , confirmed the release of 56 political prisoners from five jails but 176  remain in different prisons in Burma.
It was learned that  more than 800political prisoners were freed in amnesties between May 2011 and November 2012.
 
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Mizoram starts lifting FCI rice for distribution among 40,000 refugees, displaced

  Aizawl: Mizoram food, civil supplies & consumer affairs (FCS&CA) dept has started lifting FCI rice for distribution among 40,000 r...