Archive for the ‘RT.com’ Category
The Toulouse gunman suspected of murdering seven people, including three children at a Jewish school, remains barricaded in his house. He admits to the killings and has agreed to surrender “late this evening,” according to the French prosecutor.
Prosecutor Francois Molins admitted that the initial raid on the suspect house had been a failure. The gunman opened the door and began firing at police, who were saved by their bullet-proof vests.
“He said he does not have a suicidal spirit, he did not have a martyr’s soul, he preferred to kill and remain alive,” Molins said, as cited by AFP.
Earlier, BFM TV reported that Mohammad Merah, 23, had been arrested during a raid on his home. Both the interior minister, Claude Guéant, and Toulouse deputy mayor, Jean-Pierre Havrin, have denied that the suspect has been arrested.
Mohammed Merah had been preparing another shooting on Wednesday, and was planning to kill another soldier, the French prosecutor said. He added that the suspect had been trained in Waziristan in north-western Pakistan.
Speaking to an Israeli radio station right-wing French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen drew attention to what she stressed was the issue of the underestimated threat of Islamic fundamentalism in France. “The discovery of the killer only confirms what I have denounced for years: the development of Islamic fundamentalism in our country, which is underestimated by public powers,” Le Figaro newspaper has quoted her as saying.
Merah, who is armed with a Kalashnikov and Uzi automatic pistol, has been surrounded by police for more than 16 hours. Three police officers were wounded in the dawn raid on the apartment. Police claim they want to take him alive so he can be brought to justice, but they insist they will storm the building should he refuse to surrender.
Several hours after the initial raid, the suspect exchanged one of his guns for a cell phone to hold talks with police. The same Colt 45 handgun was used in all the attacks and in each case the gunman was driving a Yamaha scooter with his face hidden by a motorcycle helmet. More weapons had been found in the suspect’s car.
Victims of ‘terrorist execution’
The suspect is a French national of Algerian descent, who is believed to have connections with Al-Qaeda. This person is also thought to be behind the killing of three French soldiers of North African origin last week.
Merah told police on the phone he had two reasons for shooting each of his seven victims: “to take revenge for Palestinian children killed in the Middle East” and “to attack the French army because of its foreign interventions.” He also confirmed his connections with Al-Qaeda, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said.
“He explained how he had received instructions from Al-Qaeda during his stay in Pakistan, how he had even been suggested to carry out a suicide mission but refused, though he agreed to carry out a general mission to commit an attack in France,” AFP quoted Gueant as saying.
The suspect’s mother, his brother and his companion were detained for questioning, a judicial official told Associated Press on condition of anonymity. According to Prosecutor Francois Molins, Merah’s brother was involved in a terrorist network that sent militants to Iraq.
Meanwhile, President Sarkozy visited the funeral service at Montauban Barracks to pay tribute to the victims of last week’s killings. In his speech, Sarkozy said the three soldiers were victims of a “terrorist execution.”
French authorities have been concerned with a problem of home-grown terrorism, watching this problem develop for more than a decade, journalist and author Barry Lando told RT.
“There are probably now hundreds of young men possibly women also in France, of Macrobian background a lot of them, but who are French citizens, who may have been to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and who may hold similar beliefs,” Lando said.
Before the recent events, Merah had been tracked for several years by the intelligence service, but “nothing that might give rise to suspicions that he was preparing a criminal act was ever apparent,” the French Interior Ministry said.
“You have hundreds if not thousands of people who could be potentially dangerous in France. So you have to choose which are the most dangerous. It seems that this man was not targeted as very dangerous. This was a mistake,” Claude Moniquet, director of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Centre, told RT.
The parliamentary leader of Belgium’s Vlaams Belang Party, Gerolf Annemans, believes that the EU should adopt stricter rules for granting citizenship unless the existing Muslim communities in Europe distance themselves from radicals such as Mohammed Merah.
“We can already have some conclusions, for instance that Western Europe has been too flexible in affording citizenship to people that are not real citizens,” he told RT.
Paule residence where French policemen, members of the RAID special forces unit, attempt to arrest a suspected Al-Qaeda gunman on March 21, 2012 in Toulouse, southwestern France (AFP Photo / Remy Gabalda)
French policemen and firefighters stand near the place where French policemen, members of the RAID special forces unit, attempt to arrest a suspected Al-Qaeda gunman on March 21, 2012 in Toulouse, southwestern France (AFP Photo / Remy Gabalda)
French riot policemen patrol as members of the RAID special police forces unit are still laying siege to an apartment block where Mohamed Merah, the man suspected of a series of deadly shootings, was holed up, on March 21, 2012 in Toulouse, southwestern France (AFP Photo / Pascal Guyot)
A TV grab released by French TV France 2 shows an image of 23-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent Mohammed Merah, suspected of a series of deadly shootings in Toulouse and Montauban which killed seven persons, including three children. Merah, suspected of calmly shooting dead three children and a teacher at a Toulouse Jewish school as well as three French paratroopers in two other attacks (AFP Photo / FRANCE 2)
Article source: http://rt.com/news/toulouse-shooting-police-suspect-076/
Conflicting reports are coming in about the reported arrest of the gunman suspected of murdering three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school in France.
Earlier BFM TV reported that Mohammad Merah, 23, was arrested during a raid on his home.
Interior Minister Claude Guéant now denies that the suspect has been arrested.
Toulouse Deputy Mayor Jean-Pierre Havrin also denies the report. “I’m standing 50 meters from the [besieged] apartment,” he told Reuters. “Any nearer and I would actually be inside with him. This report about him being arrested is absolute nonsense.”
Merah had been surrounded by police for several hours, armed with a Kalashnikov and Uzi automatic pistol. Three police officers were wounded in a dawn raid on the apartment. Police claimed they wanted him alive, so he can be brought to justice, but insisted they would storm the building should he refuse to surrender.
Several hours after the initial raid, the suspect exchanged one of his guns for a cell phone to hold talks with police. He later interrupted negotiations.
The suspect is a French national of Algerian descent, who is believed to have connections with Al-Qaeda. This person is also thought to be behind the killing of three French soldiers of North African origin last week.
Merah told police on the phone he had two reasons for shooting each of his seven victims: “to take revenge for Palestinian children killed in the Middle East” and “to attack the French army because of its foreign interventions.” He also confirmed his connections with Al-Qaeda, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said.
Before the recent events, Merah had been tracked for several years by the intelligence service, but “nothing that might give rise to suspicions that he was preparing a criminal act was ever apparent,” the French Interior Ministry said.
Article source: http://rt.com/news/toulouse-serial-killer-arrested-108/
If next time celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise comes to Moscow for a premiere he gives someone one of his religious texts, he will be spreading extremism. At least according to the Moscow Regional Court.
The court upheld a district court decision from last year to recognize Scientology literature as extremist.
The court ruling states that Scientology texts “foster the creation of an isolated social group, whose members are taught to precisely carry out commands, many of which are aimed at confronting the outside world.”
An expert opinion accepted by the judges also accused Scientology of spreading hate speech towards specific social groups. This may be a reference to Scientology classifying certain individuals – whose crime is sometimes no more than doubting the veracity of this religion – as incurably evil “Suppressive Persons”.
The literature considered by the court is a selection of books and leaflets by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who founded scientology in the 1950s.
A decade in court
This marks another chapter in the long-running battle between Scientologists and the Russian legal system.
Dating from 1996, various regional Russian courts have refused to recognize Scientology as an established religion, accused it of being a money-extorting cult, or branded its books extremist.
Scientologists have always fought back vigorously, winning a decision at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in 2009, which fined Russia 20,000 euro for repeatedly failing to register a Scientology cell in the Siberian city of Surgut as a religious organization.
As recently as March 19, a court in the Russian region of Tatarstan dismissed a very similar extremist literature case passed on from a lower court, after a Scientologist appeal.
Religion or sect?
There are estimated to be around 100,000 practicing Scientologists in Russia.
While Scientology’s core belief in the concept of “thetan” – an individual soul created from the universe’s life force – may seem benign, other aspects of Scientology have alarmed observers.
Members have been accused of swindling new recruits by forcing them to pay greater sums for receiving “exclusive” Hubbard teachings as they move up the church hierarchy. Scientologists are also encouraged to restrict contact with family members who refute their religion, while those who have tried to expose Scientology are harassed through legal and other means.
German authorities unsuccessfully tried to ban Scientology in 2007, while French parliamentarians have branded it a “sect.”
In Russia, current legislation makes a unified verdict on Scientology unlikely.
“The Russian law on extremism means that court cases are held where the literature or a branch of an organization is found, but not where it originated from,” Pavel Chikov, a human rights lawyer, told TV Rain “which means that different courts come to different verdicts and there is no clear legal status for Scientology and its literature that applies throughout the country.”
Article source: http://rt.com/news/scientology-court-extremist-literature-116/
A mysterious cylinder has fallen on a tiny village in Siberia, causing widespread speculation as to what it is.
Russian media have identified it as a piece of space debris, while others say it is the fuel tank of a ballistic rocket.
Tests show that the object is not radioactive, and it appears to be made of a titanium alloy.
The Russian Federal Space Agency has denied ownership of the cylinder.
“The object is not a rocket or a spacecraft, but final conclusions can only be drawn once it is examined,” said an agency statement.
Article source: http://rt.com/news/space-mystery-object-siberia-127/
Toulouse’s deputy mayor has confirmed that the assault on school shooting suspect’s flat has begun.
The man remained barricaded in his house for over 20 hours, armed with an Uzi machine gun, Kalashnikov assault rifle and other weapons. He was identified as Mohammed Merah, a French national of Algerian descent.
He had earlier admitted to the killings and agreed to surrender “late this evening.” Police always hoped to capture him alive, so he can be brought to justice, but were ready to storm the building had he not surrendered.
Article source: http://rt.com/news/assault-france-toulouse-merah-153/
One of the guards involved in the 2004 Abu Ghraib abuse scandal says she does not regret her actions. The revelation comes in the wake of the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians by a US soldier, further tarnishing the image of the American military.
“Their lives are better. They got the better end of the deal,” England said in an interview with The Daily referring to the Iraqi prisoners who were sexually and physically abused in the infamous prison near Baghdad. “They weren’t innocent. They were trying to kill us and you want me to apologize to them? It’s like saying sorry to the enemy.”
Lynndie England, 29, became one of the symbols of the controversial 2003 US invasion of Iraq after photographs of her smiling while giving a thumbs-up in front of a pile of naked Iraqi detainees and pulling a man by a leash went public. The pictures sparked international outrage and shone a spotlight on the abuse and misconduct committed by US soldiers, fueling anti-American sentiments across the world.
“All the prisoners that were there were on the tier of high-priority. They were there for a reason. They had killed coalition forces or they were planning to,” England told The Daily on Monday. “They had information about where insurgents were hiding.”
Instead of feeling remorse, the former prison guard Lynndie England is more worried about the lives of fellow US soldiers who could have been endangered by the scandal. “I think about it all the time – indirect deaths that were my fault, losing people on our side because of me coming out on a picture.”
England was among eleven military personnel convicted in 2005 in connection with the torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib. She was sentenced to three years in prison and dishonorably discharged from the military.
The Daily says Lynndie is now “virtually unemployable” and lives with her parents in rural West Virginia. She is raising her seven-year-old child whose father, accused Abu Ghraib ringleader Charles Graner, “didn’t want anything to do with the baby.”
The latest interview by the infamous prison guard comes in the shadow of a chain of ill-fated actions by the American military. After a Koran-burning incident at a US base in Afghanistan sparked violent protests, a US soldier went on a bloody rampage in Kandahar Province, killing 16 Afghan civilians, among them children and women.
Photo from wikipedia.org
Photo from wikipedia.org
Article source: http://rt.com/news/abu-ghraib-lynndie-england-061/
A US government-contracted private security firm is helping the Syrian opposition to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad regime, leaked Stratfor emails indicate. The same firm earlier operated extensively in Libya.
The private military company SCG International had been contracted to engage the Turkey-based Syrian opposition, according to correspondence released by WikiLeaks.
Their assignment was called a “fact finding mission”, but “the true mission is how they can help in regime change,”an email addressed to Stratfor VP for counter-terrorism Fred Burton says.
The source reporting the info is most reliable – it is SCG Chief Executive James F. Smith, who used to be director of notorious company Blackwater, now known as Academi. In a separate message Smith introduces himself to Stratfor as having background in CIA and heading a company “comprised of former DOD, CIA and former law enforcement personnel.”
SCG’s mission with the Syrian opposition is said to have “air cover from Congresswoman [Sue] Myrick,” a Republican lawmaker from North Carolina, who is a member of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The body is charged with overseeing the American intelligence community.
The email adds that Smith “intends to offer his services to help protect the opposition members, like he had underway in Libya.”
Smith has an extensive record of sharing intelligence with Stratfor, according the Al-Akhbar, the Lebanese daily newspaper, which is one of the media outlets chosen by WikiLeaks as an information partner for disclosure of private Stratfor emails.
The security contractor provided insider data on services he provided to members of the Libyan National Transitional Council during the 2011 uprising, the search for the portable surface-to-air missiles that went missing during the civil war there, and the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi, among other things.
The trail on email ends in mid-December, days before Stratfor mail servers were reportedly hacked by the hacking group Anonymous. The WikiLeaks whistleblower website began publishing the emails, apparently handed over to it by the hacker team, in late February.
The US has been increasingly dependent on private contractors like SCG, outsourcing functions to them that were previously fulfilled by regular troops. Employees of these “modern mercenaries” provide services like personal and area security, intelligence gathering and recruit training in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Critics of the practice say such firms lack accountability and allow the government to carry out “black op” tasks while being able to deny any involvement.
Article source: http://rt.com/news/stratfor-syria-regime-change-063/
The West will launch a package war against Iran, Syria and Hezbollah as soon as they decide what to do with the Iranian nuclear program, Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of a London-based Arabic newspaper told RT in an interview.
Atwan also believes the West is not intervening in Syria because they are waiting to decide whether they are going to bomb Iran or not.
The editor of Al Quds al Arabi newspaper noted: “If they have decided to bomb Iran I think they will bomb Iran and Syria and Hezbollah. I think they will launch a package war.”
“I believe the war will take place, the question is when? The Israeli and the Americans do agree there will be a war. But the difference is about the timing of this war. It could be either before the American presidential election or after it. The Israeli want it before the election, the American will like to wait until they finish this election,” he said.
Atwan explained that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad falls it would be easier for the West to intervene in Iran, as it would mean the West had managed to secure the front against Israel.
“They could neutralize tens of thousands of Syrian missiles and war planes, which could participate in any war against Iran, but in order to that you have to invade in Syria which is a very complicated and costly adventure.”
The journalist is sure that nothing but the Iranian deadlock could make Syria a military target.
“The West intervened in the Arab world to change regime twice – in Iraq and Libya, because there are huge oil reserves there. But here are no oil reserves in Syria, so who will compensate the West their losses?” he wonders.
Article source: http://rt.com/news/west-war-syria-iran-065/
The suspected serial killer behind Monday’s murder of three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school, is trapped inside his home by French RAID special forces.
The suspect, identified as Mohammed Merah, has barricaded himself in and has so far has refused to give himself up.
Two policemen were wounded in an attempt to storm the suspect’s house, which he repelled. Police claim they want him alive, so he can be brought to justice.
Reports suggest the suspect planned to surrender this afternoon.
Merah is heavily armed, believed to have an Uzi machine gun, Kalashnikov assault rifle and other weapons. If he does not surrender, police are expected to launch a second assault on the premises.
More identity details are emerging as the siege continues.
According to Kandahar prison director, he was arrested in Afghanistan for planting bombs and had been sentenced to three years in jail. But was broken out of prison in Taliban mass jailbreak, Reuters reports.
The suspect is a French national of Algerian descent. He claims connections with Al-Qaeda and gives two reasons for the attacks – “to take revenge for Palestinian children killed in the Middle East” and “to attack the French army because of its foreign interventions.”
Police have been negotiating with the suspect since the dawn raid. Earlier the gunman exchanged a handgun for a phone, but recently he has stopped talking to police.
His mother and brother were brought to the scene, but she claims she has little influence on him while his brother has been placed under arrest.
The French Interior Ministry says Merah has been tracked for several years by the intelligence service. Merah is also believed to be behind the killing of three soldiers of North African origin last week.
The same Colt 45 handgun was used in all attacks and in each case the gunman was driving a Yamaha scooter with his face hidden by a motorcycle helmet.
Paule residence where French policemen, members of the RAID special forces unit, attempt to arrest a suspected Al-Qaeda gunman on March 21, 2012 in Toulouse, southwestern France (AFP Photo / Remy Gabalda)
French policemen and firefighters stand near the place where French policemen, members of the RAID special forces unit, attempt to arrest a suspected Al-Qaeda gunman on March 21, 2012 in Toulouse, southwestern France (AFP Photo / Remy Gabalda)
Article source: http://rt.com/news/toulouse-shooting-police-suspect-076/
Police rushed a crowd of OWS protesters near Union Square Park in Manhattan early on Wednesday, shoving and attacking people. Activists report a woman was badly injured after officers grabbed and threw her to the ground.
The officers, some in riot gear, were trying to force out Occupy protesters and homeless from the sidewalk after police had barricaded and closed the public city park, usually open-24-hours a day.
Activists said about 500 people came out near the park late on Tuesday. Protesters went face-to-face with police, chanting “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?”
Police reportedly filmed the activists’ faces, which caused some to tweet about the need for bringing bandanas or masks for those arriving to “reinforce” the protest. From one to four people were arrested, according to various sources.
Officers also blocked subway entrances to prevent any protesters from escaping. There were reports on Twitter that WiFi service was cut from the Union Square area.
Police left the area at about 5 am local time and protesters started to return to the park, saying “goodbye” to police. The park officially reopened shortly after.
The protest comes after a rally the Occupy Wall Street protesters held on Tuesday calling on New York City’s Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to resign. Occupiers claim the officer “authorized brutality and extreme abuse of police power.”
The rally was inspired by Saturday’s re-eviction of Liberty Square in lower Manhattan and mass arrest of at least 73 Occupy protesters. Many activists have described Saturday’s events as one of the most violent police crackdowns since the movement against US government financial policies and what they call “financial greed” began in September.
A man affiliated with Occupy Wall Street yells at police officers before the NYPD confronted protesters who are camping in Union Square in New York March 21, 2012 (Reuters / Andrew Kelly)
A police officer and protesters tend to an injured protester after the NYPD confronted Occupy Wall Street protesters who are camping in Union Square in New York March 21, 2012 (Reuters / Andrew Kelly)
People affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement stand beneath a banner after being ordered to stop camping in Union Square in New York March 21, 2012 (Reuters / Andrew Kelly)
Article source: http://rt.com/news/ows-police-park-protest-080/
