Free Republic

Report: Russia hijacked its own ship Ynet probe reveals Russian intel used secret agents to arrest the Arctic Sea vessel, thought to have been hijacked by Israel, after getting tip it was violating international accord by carrying 'destabilizing' arms to Syria or Iran Ron Ben-Yishai Published: 09.02.09, 19:03 / Israel News A Ynet investigation revealed Wednesday that the hijacking of the Russian vessel 'Arctic Sea' was ordered by the Russian government. News agencies around the world published reports tying Israel to the hijacking, as the vessel was said to have been carrying arms to the Middle East, and possibly Iran....

The captain of the Arctic Sea freighter contacted the ship’s operating company Thursday for the first time since the ship mysteriously disappeared in July. The captain made a brief call to Solchart Arkhangelsk Ltd.’s office on his cell phone, a company spokesman said. “He said the rest of the crew on the ship is all fine,” the spokesman told Interfax. Eleven of the 15-member crew have returned to their families in Arkhangelsk, while the other four are on the ship sailing to Novorossiisk. The 11 were not allowed to contact their families for more than a week after they flew...

Federal authorities said in the affidavit that in late March, Jalloh made his first contact with a source who was working with a now-deceased overseas co-conspirator who was a member of the Islamic State. The overseas co-conspirator encouraged the source to have an in-person meeting with Jalloh, the documents state, and when they did meet on April 9, the FBI was watching. At that meeting, Jalloh praised Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, who killed five U.S. service members in Chattanooga, Tenn., last year, the documents said. And Jalloh, at one point, suggested that someone known for organizing contests for cartoons of the...

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) were a major driver of the rally in oil markets over the past several months, as the outage of roughly 600,000 barrels per day helped push up crude oil prices. In June, a 30-day ceasefire between the NDA and the Nigerian government led to a few weeks of relative calm, and Nigeria’s oil minister said that the country was able to bring back a large chunk of the disrupted supply, bringing output up from 1.4 million barrels per day to 1.9 mb/d at the end of June, but still down from the 2.2 mb/d Nigeria...

In an early Wednesday attack, Niger Delta militants have blown up two Chevron oil wells in Warri, leading a shut down in the wells and promising further output drops for Nigeria. The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) have claimed responsibility for the attack via their Twitter feed, not that they “blew up Chevron oil well RMP 23 and 24 [at] 3:44 am this morning.” These are Chevron’s Bibi oil wells, run by Chevron Nigeria Limited. The militant group also noted that it had a “heavy presence of 100 gunboats, 4 warships and jet bombers,” and that the attack was meant “to...

... A month ago, the Iranian parliament voted in favour of a draft bill, entitled "Islamic Penal Code", which would codify the death penalty for any male Iranian who leaves his Islamic faith. Women would get life imprisonment. The majority in favour of the new law was overwhelming: 196 votes for, with just seven against. ...The new law is not yet in force in Iran: it requires another vote in parliament, and then the signature of the Ayatollah. But that could happen within a matter of weeks. "Or," says Papadouris, "it could conceivably be allowed to drop, were there a...

A militant group has however since February 2016 been making headlines through their capacity to destroy oil infrastructure. Their attacks have driven Nigeria’s oil output to near a 22-year low. Contrary to popular opinion, the group, Niger Delta Avengers, NDA for short, according to them is not just made up of Niger Deltans but has support from other parts of Nigeria, namely Northern, Western and Eastern part of the Country with the sole purpose of crippling the Nigerian Economy until their demands are met. According to reports, Diplomats and security experts say the group has shown a level of sophistication...

After a year in India, Zaharaddeen Muhammed, 27, knows enough Hindi to understand what bander means. Monkey. But it isn't even the daily derogatory comments that make him doubt his decision to swap his university in Nigeria for a two-year master's degree programme in chemistry at Noida International University. Nor is it the questions about personal hygiene, the unsolicited touching of his hair or the endless staring. It is his failure to interact with Indian people on a deeper level. "People often look at me as if I am different, and hard to be trusted," the tall, softly spoken student...

The much anticipated OPEC meeting in Vienna on June 2 ended pretty much as expected: the group once again failed to put any production targets in place. Without a ceiling on output, all OPEC members will continue to produce as they see fit, leaving the oil market to sort itself out. The result was largely anticipated, given the lack of agreement at several prior meetings. However, the meeting in Vienna was not without some news. OPEC members managed to agree on several small bore issues, which could be viewed as a modest success, especially after the apparent hostility on display...

Emails released by the State Department on Friday show that Hillary Clintons longtime friend Sidney Blumenthal reached out to her on behalf of a former United Kingdom diplomat who was interested in setting up secret channels between insurgents and governments. Clinton was receptive to the idea which came via Blumenthal from Jonathan Powell, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blairs chief of staff. (Quote) Hillary, Jonathan Powell has launched a new NGO that has already initiated some very interesting work below the radar, (Unquote) Blumenthal wrote in the March 18, 2012 email. (Quote)Sid We are trying to replicate what we did...

Situation in Nigeria For a country that produced nearly 2.4 million barrels of oil (NYSEARCA:USO) per day just a few months ago, Nigeria is facing some really serious issues. A militant group called the Niger Delta has disrupted the country's 2.4 million b/d of production by blowing up pipelines, hassling producers, and threatening to destroy additional oil producing facilities. As a result, Nigeria's oil production has fallen from 2.4 million b/d to 1.4 million b/d and further pressuring a growing nation more and more reliant on its oil as revenue. Nigeria is a fast growing country. Its economy is the...

Shell has evacuated nearly 100 essential oil personnel from a major production facility in the Niger Delta, following a series of attacks from a newly formed militant group that has vowed to renew the fight abandoned after a 2009 amnesty deal. Some 98 Shell personnel were airlifted from the Shell-operated Eja Oml 79 oil production facility in the Niger Delta over the weekend, bringing into question the facility’s 90,000 barrel-per-day production capacity. The facility is run by Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC (Shell Petroleum Development Corporation). The evacuations come after militants of the Niger Delta Avengers attacked an offline oil platform...

‘Transactional’ sex has gone digital. In the city of Lagos, the digital revolution takes firm grip on the daily life of the citizens as shoppers are abandoning cash for digital payment using their Value Cards to purchase needful things and luxurious items––including sex! The cashless option has become popular among prostitutes and operators of brothels and strippers. Patrons of the city’s ‘fleshpots’ can attest that payment via PoS has become the preferred payment mode in high-end brothels and strip clubs of Lagos. “The introduction of PoS is a good one. Me, naturally don’t go out with raw cash,” an old...

Two years ago today the savage barbarians of Boko Haram, an Islamic jihadist organization, kidnapped 276 Christian schoolgirls in Nigeria. At the time, this was but the latest example of Boko Haram’s reign of terror. Up to that point, Boko Haram specifically targeted and slaughtered Christians–especially Christian worshippers on Christian Holy Days, such as Christmas, Palm Sunday and Easter. In fact, Boko Haram is said to be directly responsible for more deaths than the Islamic State (ISIS). But it wasn’t until they kidnapped these hundreds of schoolgirls that the world was finally awoken to the danger that Boko Haram posed....

The "safe space" created by political corruption is one reason terrorist organizations can infiltrate, collect intelligence, launch attacks and frankly, continue to exist. This is a global phenomenon, and it isn't new. In the mid-1990s and after 9/11, western intelligence services found evidence that Balkan criminal gangs had assisted Islamist terrorist networks. In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, European criminal gangs assisted anarchist terrorists. The new fear was that Balkan smugglers assist Islamists -- for money. Some Balkan gangs run human trafficking operations. That produced a hypothetical thought: crime gangs could help al-Qaida move terrorists into Western Europe....

The Matrix of Heaven is about to be, Your template and Tapestry, Yeah everything falling into place right where you are, For I am with you as you are in my hands I am your car, Your transportation immaculately Let your visions come to life in Me, For I am your shelter ,sword and arm, I place you far from harm, just be here with me , I will show you where you are to be No more crying but eternal joy, My angels surround you they have already been deployed look up You are already in my lap for...

My name is more prominent than understanding for before all things ((( (( ( "I AM" ) )) ))) and I became The Foundation for all I created and it is in my wisdom the very heavenlies rest, as my knowledge reveals their place of rest as my understanding is the tongue and spirit as a thread and needle led by my love to hold all these things together and so it is that I have created a gown of protection and warmth for my church and Bride drawn and sewn from my light for this pleases The Father of...

The four Mexicans apparently wanted to be pioneers of sorts. But they were breaking the law in a big way, Nigerian officials say, to achieve that distinction. Nigerian drug agents say they have arrested four Mexicans who were helping to build a methamphetamine "super lab." It is believed to have had the potential to rake in billions of dollars, the nation's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said Monday. Spokesman Mitchell Ofoyeju said it was the first industrial-scale production of crystal meth found in West Africa, and possibly on the continent. "The Nigerians invited the Mexicans in to leverage their expertise...

Dozens of emaciated-looking Boko Haram members begging for food have surrendered in northeast Nigeria, the military and a civilian self-defense fighter said Wednesday. Seventy-six people including children and women gave themselves up to soldiers last Saturday in Gwoza, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Maiduguri, according to a senior officer. All are being detained at military headquarters in Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram and currently the command center of the war against the Islamic extremists, according to the officer. He insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to journalists. ...

One of the few interesting items in the New York Times' whitewash of Hillary and Obama's illegal Libyan war is the confirmation of weapons shipments. ... The story blames the problem on Qatar aiding Jihadists and Obama's unwillingness to defy the terror oil state. But the claim that we had to arm terrorists to fight Qatar's arming of terrorists doesn't hold up too well. Furthermore we already know that US forces were told to turn a blind eye to Qatar's weapons shipments. We could have blocked them instead. ... Qatar was backing the Muslim Brotherhood. Just like Hillary and Obama.