World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #6 Disinformation, Inc.

Global Politician/Ocnus.Net ^ | Dec 17, 2006 | Professor Daniel M. Zucker

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

VEVAK learned its methodology from the Soviet KGB and many of the Islamist revolutionaries who supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini actually studied at Moscow's Patrice Lumumba Friendship University, the Oxford of terrorism. Documented Iranian alumni include the current Supreme Leader (the faqih) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, under whose Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Islamic Jurisprudent) apparatus it has traditionally operated. Its current head is Cabinet Minister Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ezhei, a graduate of Qom's Haqqani School, noted for its extremist position advocating violence against enemies and strict clerical control of society and government. The Ministry is very well funded and its charge, like that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (the Pasdaran) is to guard the revolutionary Islamic Iranian regime at all costs and under all contingencies.

From the KGB playbook, VEVAK learned the art of disinformation. It's not so difficult to learn: tell the truth 80% of the time and lie 20%. Depending on how well a VEVAK agent wants to cover his/her tracks, the ratio may go up to 90/10, but it never drops below the 80/20 mark as such would risk suspicion and possible detection. The regime in Teheran has gone to great lengths to place its agents in locations around the world. Many of these operatives have been educated in the West, including the U.K. and the United States. Iranian government agencies such as embassies, consulates, Islamic cultural centers, and airline offices regularly provide cover for the work of VEVAK agents who dress well and are clean shaven, and move comfortably within our society. In this country, because of the severance of diplomatic relations, the principal site of VEVAK activities begins at the offices of Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

Teheran has worked diligently to place its operatives in important think tanks and government agencies in the West. Some of its personnel have been recruited while in prison through torture or more often through bribery, or a combination of both. Others are Islamist revolutionaries that have been set up to look like dissidents - often having been arrested and imprisoned, but released for “medical reasons”. The clue to detecting the fake “dissident” is to read carefully what he/she writes, and to ask why this vocal “dissident” was released from prison when other real dissidents have not been released, indeed have been grievously tortured and executed. Other agents have been placed in this country for over twenty-five years to slowly go through the system and rise to positions of academic prominence due to their knowledge of Farsi and Shia Islam or Islamist fundamentalism.

One of the usual tactics of VEVAK is to co-opt academia to its purposes. Using various forms of bribery, academics are bought to defend the Islamic Republic or slander its enemies. Another method is to assign bright students to train for academic posts as specialists in Iranian or Middle East affairs. Once established, such individuals are often consulted by our government as it tries to get a better idea of how it should deal with Iran. These academics then are in a position to skew the information, suggesting the utility of extended dialogue and negotiation, or the danger and futility of confronting a strong Iran or its proxies such as Hizballah (Hezbollah). These academics serve to shield the regime from an aggressive American or Western policy, and thereby buy more time for the regime to attain its goals, especially in regards to its nuclear weaponry and missile programs.

MOIS likes to use the media, especially electronic media, to its advantage. One of VEVAK's favorite tricks is setting up web sites that look like they are opposition sites but which are actually controlled by the regime. These sites often will be multilingual, including Farsi, German, Arabic French, and English. Some are crafted carefully and are very subtle in how they skew their information (e.g., Iran-Interlink, set up and run by Massoud Khodabandeh and his wife Ann Singleton from Leeds, England); others are less subtle, simply providing the regime's point of view on facts and events in the news (e.g., www.mujahedeen.com or www.mojahedin.ws). This latter group is aimed at the more gullible in our open society and unfortunately such a market exists. However, if one begins to do one's homework, asking careful questions, the material on these fake sites generally does not add up.

Let's examine a few examples of VEVAK's work in the United States. In late October, 2005, VEVAK sent three of its agents to Washington to stage a press event in which the principal Iranian resistance movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was to be slandered. Veteran VEVAK agent Karim Haqi flew from Amsterdam to Canada where he was joined by VEVAK's Ottawa agents Amir-Hossein Kord Rostami and Mahin (Parvin-Mahrokh) Haji, and the three flew from Toronto to Washington. Fortunately the resistance had been tracking these three, informed the FBI of their presence in Washington, and when the three tried to hold a press conference, the resistance had people assigned to ask pointed questions of them so that they ended the interview prematurely and fled back to Canada.

Abolghasem Bayyenet is a member of the Iranian government. He serves as a trade expert for the Ministry of Commerce. But his background of study and service in the Foreign Ministry indicates that Bayyenet is more than just an economist or a suave and savvy businessman. In an article published in Global Politician on April 23, 2006, entitled “Is Regime Change Possible in Iran?”, Bayyenet leads his audience to think that he is a neutral observer, concerned lest the United States make an error in its assessment of Iran similar to the errors of intelligence and judgment that led to our 2003 invasion of Iraq, with its less than successful outcome. However, his carefully crafted bottom line is that the people of Iran are not going to support regime change and that hardliner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually has achieved greater popularity than his predecessors because of his concern for the problems of the poor and his fight for economic and social justice. To the naive, Bayyenet makes Ahmadinejad sound positively saintly. Conveniently overlooked is the occurrence of over four thousand acts of protest, strikes, anti-regime rallies, riots, and even political assassinations by the people of Iran against the government in the year since Ahmadinejad assumed office. So too, the following facts are ignored: the sizeable flight of capital, the increase in unemployment, and the rising two-figure rate of inflation, all within this last year. Bayyenet is a regime apologist, and when one is familiar with the facts, his arguments ring very hollow. However, his English skills are excellent, and so the naОve might be beguiled by his commentary.

Mohsen Sazegara is VEVAK's “reformed revolutionary”. A student supporter of Khomeini before the 1979 revolution, Sazegara joined the “imam” on his return from exile and served in the government for a decade before supposedly growing disillusioned.

He formed several reformist newspapers but ran afoul of the hardliners in 2003 and was arrested and imprisoned by VEVAK. Following “hunger strikes”, Sazegara was released for health reasons and permitted to seek treatment abroad. Although critical of the government and particularly of Ahmadinejad and KhameneМ, Sazegara is yet more critical of opposition groups, leaving the impression that he favors internal regime change but sees no one to lead such a movement for the foreseeable future. His bottom line: no one is capable of doing what needs to be done, so we must bide our time. Very slick, but his shadow shows his likely remaining ties to the MOIS.

http://www.ocnus.net/artman/publish/article_27144.shtml

[nw_arizona_granny]

Update and More Info: Hackers Attack Key Net Traffic Computers

Many thanks to Renee Taylor who notes the serious and important
nature of this attack. And to Milford421 for sending it on....

Hackers Attack Key Net Traffic Computers

Feb 06 9:19 PM US/Eastern
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/02/06/D8N4JF080.html


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hackers briefly overwhelmed at least three of the
13 computers that help manage global computer traffic Tuesday in one
of the most significant attacks against the Internet since 2002.
Experts said the unusually powerful attacks lasted as long as 12
hours but passed largely unnoticed by most computer users, a
testament to the resiliency of the Internet. Behind the scenes,
computer scientists worldwide raced to cope with enormous volumes of
data that threatened to saturate some of the Internet's most vital
pipelines.

The Homeland Security Department confirmed it was monitoring what it
called "anomalous" Internet traffic.
"There is no credible intelligence to suggest an imminent threat to
the homeland or our computing systems at this time," the department
said in a statement.
The motive for the attacks was unclear, said Duane Wessels, a
researcher at the Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis
at the San Diego Supercomputing Center. "Maybe to show off or just
be disruptive; it doesn't seem to be extortion or anything like
that," Wessels said.
Other experts said the hackers appeared to disguise their origin,
but vast amounts of rogue data in the attacks were traced to South
Korea.
The attacks appeared to target UltraDNS, the company that operates
servers managing traffic for Web sites ending in "org" and some
other suffixes, experts said. Officials with NeuStar Inc., which
owns UltraDNS, confirmed only that it had observed an unusual
increase in traffic.
Among the targeted "root" servers that manage global Internet
traffic were ones operated by the Defense Department and the
Internet's primary oversight body.
"There was what appears to be some form of attack during the night
hours here in California and into the morning," said John Crain,
chief technical officer for the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers. He said the attack was continuing and so was the
hunt for its origin.
"I don't think anybody has the full picture," Crain said. "We're
looking at the data."
Crain said Tuesday's attack was less serious than attacks against
the same 13 "root" servers in October 2002 because technology
innovations in recent years have increasingly distributed their
workloads to other computers around the globe.

[struwwelpeter]

Here's an old article that caught my eye, on a depressing topic. From Kommersant:

 

A ‘Nord-Ost’ victim is buried in absentia

 

"It all happened because of the television"

"You didn’t bury anyone, you don’t even have a coffin!"

This week the last victim of the terrorist attack at Dubrovka will be buried at the Khimkinsk cemetery, more than eight months after the attack. To be more precise, an empty urn will be placed in the earth, in memory of Gennady Vlakh, who died on October 26^th, and of whom not even the ashes remain. Just like the terrorists who killed him.

 

Gunman number 50

 

On October 23^rd, 2002, a group of terrorists led by Movsar Barayev took hostage about 900 spectators and actors at the musical ‘Nord-Ost’. During the terrorist attack and the ensuing storming of the theater on October 26^th 129 of the hostages died.

 

All of the terrorists were killed during the storming of the theater. Immediately after the liberation of the hostages, the special services troops began to count the bodies of the terrorists. They counted 49 Chechens – 31 men and 18 women. In a corner of the foyer, however, they discovered yet another corpse – a Slavic appearing man whose front teeth had been knocked out. There were no documents in the dead man’s pockets, and so he was included with the terrorists, as number 50.

 

The dead gunmen were taken to city morgue #4. There their fingerprints were recorded, and blood tests and samples for DNA testing were taken. They were also photographed in various poses, and then, it was later determined, they were sent to the crematorium and burned. Whither the ashes of the bandits, well, a commission from the Moscow city prosecutor’s office charged with solving murders is simply not saying. It is apparently confidential.

 

The unidentified man with Slavic features was at first included with the gunmen. Even if he was not a Chechen, he was at the very least an accomplice.

 

One needs to give the commission its due. Its employees did not just sit around, and in six months they found out the names of the majority of Barayev’s team, as well as the name of “the accomplice”. By careful study of the videos that the terrorists made at the theater, the detectives made note of a man who ran into the hall and began to shout “Roman Gennadyvich”. They were not able to determine the surname of this Roman Gennadyvich from the videos – it was either Lakhov or Brakhov. It was visible on the videos how two gunmen grabbed the shouting man and took him from the hall. Later, according to witnesses, the sound of automatic gunfire was heard.

 

And so, on June 19^th, 2003, the chief prosecutor of Moscow, Mikhail Avdyukov declared that they had “identified the corpse of a Muscovite with Slavic appearance”, who until the very end had been considered an accomplice of the terrorists. “We have reconstructed his real name,” declared Mikhail Avdyukov. The man killed by the terrorists turned out to be 39 year-old Gennady Vlakh.

 

How he chanced to be in the theater on the day of the assault, October 26^th, having passed through all the police cordons and barricades, will forever remain a mystery.

 

The only thing remaining for his family to do was to buy an urn, but it would have to be buried empty – at the Moscow city prosecutor’s office they were told that his ashes were no longer in existence. What had happened to them was unknown. Father Sergey Radonezhsky at the Khimkinsk church calmed the Vlakhs, saying that it would not bother church ritual, and promised that the day of the empty urn’s burial, this week, would serve as the deceased’s 40th day of purgatory, after which he would depart for heaven.

[nw_arizona_granny]

1848 books and articles, Lincoln and also song books:

http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/search3t?dbname=lincoln&period=lincoln&word=&OUTPUT=conc&CONJUNCT=PHRASE&DISTANCE=3&title=&author=&date=&DFPERIOD=1&POLESPAN=5&THMPRTLIMIT=1&KWSS=1&KWSSPRLIM=500&trsortorder=author%2C+title&genre=&publisher=&extent=&editor=&createdate=&keywords=&gender=&sourcenote=&period=&shrtcite=&filename=&filesize=&sortorder=author%2C+title&dgdivhead=&dgsubdivtag=&dgsubdivn=

[nw_arizona_granny]

February 9, 2007 Anti-Terrorism News

(Iraq) 13 Iraqis taken, 11 killed near Baghdad
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070209/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_kidnapping_1

(Iraq) 8 killed in U.S. airstrike near Baghdad
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070209/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_airstrike_3

(Iraq) 3 US soldiers killed in fighting in western Iraq
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1170359819490&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Report: Al Qaeda in Iraq Crumbling: al Masri on the run
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/186457.php

(Pakistan) Police defuse 10 bombs in Pakistan
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/February/subcontinent_February343.xml&section=subcontinent&col=

Pakistan: Govt Grilled On Library Takeover by Armed Burqa-Clad Students
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.384819430&par=0

Nuclear terrorism risk seen growing
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\02\09\story_9-2-2007_pg1_6

Saudi Al Qaeda: New Attacks Will 'Shake Crusader's Pillars' - "We have
-- for some time -- been preparing for specific operations that will
shake the crusader's pillars in the Arab's Peninsula."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/02/saudi_al_qaeda_.html

(Afghanistan) Taliban said to refuse talks on captured Afghan town
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070209/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanunresttalibantalks_070209093814

(Indian Kashmir) Four killed in gunbattle in Indian Kashmir
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070209/wl_sthasia_afp/indiakashmirunrest_070209054409

(India Assam) Bomb explodes in Assam before national games
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070209/wl_nm/india_blast_dc_1

(UK) Six men to appear in court on terror charges - in London and
Birmingham
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=435047&in_page_id=1770&ct=5

(UK) Birmingham Terror raids: 5 men charged
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007060645,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21197606-1702,00.html

(UK) Man charged with plotting kidnap - Birmingham beheading plot -
four others charged with terrorist offenses in plot
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6344967.stm

(UK) Terror suspects charged as 'police state' claim denied
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,2009225,00.html

(UK) Our mosques are importing jihad
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article1354063.ece

(Update) (UK) Preacher of hate 'who praised 7/7 bombers' is arrested -
Abu Izzadeen
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=434857&in_page_id=1770
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1356211.ece

(Italy) Two Muslim officials accused of racial hatred against Italian
Jews
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_World&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=iol1170934086142T524
http://www.ejpress.org/article/13903

Italy: Main Muslim Group Says Its President Probed Over Newspaper Ad
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.384156432&par=0

Lebanon: 300 Hezbollah Rockets Seized
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.384835894&par=0

(Gaza) Islamic Jihad upgrades rocket launchers
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1170359816100&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Hamas, Fatah sign deal on power-sharing gov't
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1170359816571&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Hamas to join U.S.-funded militias? New unity deal calls for integrated
forces, not committed to peace
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54162

(France/Australia) Australian terror suspect linked to extremists -
Willie Brigitte was sent to Australia to plot a terrorist attack on the
orders of Pakistani extremists
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1843774.htm

(France/Australia) Brigitte's behavior shifty: wife
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21197716-1702,00.html

(Australia) Man in court over rocket launcher
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21197307-1702,00.html

(China) Alleged Muslim separatist executed - Uighur's Ismail Semed
possessing explosives
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21199211-1702,00.html

Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi: 'We Find No [Blood] Sweeter Than That of the
Byzantines [i.e. Christians]'
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD145407

Iran nuke envoy, IAEA official to meet
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070209/ap_on_re_as/nuclear_iran_1

(US) DHS Last in Job Satisfaction Survey -- 'Recipe for Disaster,' Says
Rep. Price
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/02/dhs_last_in_job.html

Other News:

(Australia) Mufti Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilali abandons sermon after
warning
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21198020-1702,00.html

Muslim Riot on Temple Mount
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=121270

Muslim protesters leave al-Aksa Mosque after standoff
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1170359821325&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Israeli police confront worshipers at Al-Aqsa
http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-02-09T123034Z_01_L09183723_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-SHRINE-COL.XML

Israel clashes with protestors near Muslim holy site
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-02/09/content_5720616.htm

[nw_arizona_granny]

I will never understand how Russia thinks.

Why did they not give the family a few ashes, anyone ashes and say here is your loved one, so sorry we goofed?

I think that it is actions such as your report, that started me to asking questions and fearing that the old Russia was still alive and well.

It is upsetting to think of normal families going thru the extra torture that the Nord Ost and Beslan families and I am sure many others, including Checen for no reason, except that someone wants to feel important and prove that they are.

Did you find the information that you needed?

[nw_arizona_granny]

Thanks to Milford421 for this report:

Ship with explosive cargo catches fire - Australia (Suspicious) Ammonium Nitrate

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=173778


Ship with explosive cargo catches fire
Friday Feb 9 16:43 AEDT
A flag of convenience ship carrying volatile ammonium nitrate is
being towed back to Newcastle after its engine room caught fire.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the engine or wiring of
the Bahamas flagged Baltimar Boreas had caught fire, disabling the
ship, after it left the Newcastle Port on Thursday night.

The fire had been extinguished and a tug had been sent to tow the
ship back to Newcastle, where it was expected to arrive on Friday
evening, an ATSB spokesman said.

Dean Summer, an Australian spokesman for the International Transport
Workers Federation, said the federal government had to explain what
the ship was doing plying the eastern coast of Australia with such a
dangerous cargo.




"This foreign vessel with a mix of foreign crew has been trading up
and down the east coast since January 4," Mr Summer said.

"It's visited six Australian ports over the past five weeks and it
can't do that without some sort of permit from the federal
government.

"We want the government to come clean. We want to know why a foreign
vessel is allowed to carry such high-risk cargo on the Australian
coast, putting Australian port communities, our national security
and the environment at risk.

"If this ship went up in smoke in Newcastle harbour it could take
out the whole city. We want the government to tell the Australian
people what is going on.

"Ammonium nitrate is used as an explosive in mining operations, as a
fertiliser and is the weapon of choice for terrorists. It was
ammonium nitrate that was used during the Bali bombings."

Mr Summers said the vessel was expected to arrive back in Newcastle
on Friday evening.

The ATSB spokesman said the ship had been heading for Port Moresby
with its cargo of ammonium nitrate.

He said two investigating officers had been sent to meet the ship on
its return to Newcastle to establish the circumstances of the
incident.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/under-investigation/

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://pandemicnews.blogspot.com/



Posted by Roger Smith at 5:13 PM

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* Britain probes Hungarian link to bird flu outbreak (AFP via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 09, 2007 10:43:34 am
British officials leaned toward the theory that an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu here arrived from Hungary, although a European poultry baron denies any link between his plants in the two countries.

* UK checking whether bird flu meat reached shops (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 09, 2007 09:53:21 am
Britain's food watchdog said on Friday it was investigating whether meat contaminated with bird flu had reached shops, but said there was no threat to consumers.

* UK poultry sales mostly unaffected by bird flu (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 09, 2007 08:43:54 am
Leading UK supermarket chains say the recent bird flu outbreak in Britain has had little impact on poultry counter sales so far -- a view echoed in other parts of Europe.

* UK checking whether bird flu meat reached shops (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 09, 2007 05:59:08 am
British health authorities said on Friday they were investigating whether meat contaminated with bird flu had reached shops, but stressed there was no threat to consumers.

* H5N1 bird flu in Britain probably came from Hungary (AFP via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 09, 2007 04:00:39 am
The virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu that infected a turkey farm in Britain probably originated in Hungary rather than from a migratory bird.

* Turkish children tested for bird flu (AFP via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 09, 2007 02:49:59 am
Turkish authorities are testing four children for bird flu in a southeastern village where the virus has already infected the poultry, the agriculture ministry has said.

* UN: Wild Birds Not to Blame for Bird Flu Spread (Fox News)
posted on February 09, 2007 10:50:56 am
United Nations says spread of bird flu is mainly the result of trading live birds and not wild bird migration.

* Bird Flu Investigation Focuses on Farm (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
posted on February 09, 2007 10:43:35 am
Authorities were investigating Friday whether a bird flu outbreak at a British turkey farm was caused by a failure to follow food safety procedures.

* U.K. Bird Flu Outbreak Spreads; Hungary Link Probed (Update4) (Bloomberg.com)
posted on February 09, 2007 09:54:47 am
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. bird flu outbreak that began in one shed of a Suffolk turkey farm last weekend has now spread to three other sheds. The virus may have been imported from Hungary, where geese were infected, the government said.

* Turkey meat tested for bird flu (BBC News)
posted on February 09, 2007 07:10:18 am
The Food Standards Agency says it is probing whether bird flu-infected meat could have got into the food chain.



* Britain probes Hungarian link to bird flu outbreak (AFP via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 09, 2007 10:43:34 am
British officials leaned toward the theory that an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu here arrived from Hungary, although a European poultry baron denies any link between his plants in the two countries.

* Britain checking whether bird flu meat in shops (AlertNet)
posted on February 09, 2007 05:06:20 am
Source: Reuters LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Britain's Food Standards Agency is checking whether meat contaminated with the bird flu virus has reached shops, a spokeswoman said on Friday. "We are investigating at ...

* Cats Have Been Infected By Bird Flu Virus, Says UN (Bernama)
posted on February 09, 2007 04:40:31 am
NEW YORK, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- Cats can become infected with the highly lethal H5N1 bird flu virus, the United Nations warned Friday but advised against killing them as control option, saying there was no scientific evidence at present to suggest that there has been sustained transmission in cats or from cats to humans, said PTI Friday.

* Younger students bitten by flu bug (Columbus Telegram)
posted on February 09, 2007 05:56:48 am
COLUMBUS - Christ Lutheran School Principal Dean Prummer was catching up on some loose ends this morning after calling off classes for the rest of the week because flu hit about one in four students at the school.

* Flu threatens county (Sand Mountain Reporter)
posted on February 07, 2007 03:30:02 pm
Reports of the flu have been widespread nature this winter and many people have been convinced to get vaccinated. Dr. Mark Holder, a doctor of internal medicine at Med-Assist in Albertville, said those who heeded the warning were wise.

* Flu-like symptoms sweep through schools (The Celina Record)
posted on February 08, 2007 11:27:52 pm
Celina schools are seeing big increases in absences as flu-like symptoms sweep through North Texas.

* Cats have been infected by bird flu virus, says United Nations (New Kerala)
posted on February 08, 2007 11:54:53 pm
Dharam Shourie, New York, Feb 9: Cats can become infected with the highly lethal H5N1 bird flu virus, the United Nations warned today but advised against killing them as control option, saying there was no scientific evidence at present to suggest that there has been sustained transmission in cats or from cats to humans.

* Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Receives FDA Warning (Scoop.co.nz)
posted on February 08, 2007 06:36:32 pm
Auckland, New Zealand, 9 February 2007 - Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited (NZSX:FPH, ASX:FPH) advises that its US operating company, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Inc., has received a warning letter from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

* Bird Flu Can Infect Cats (Scoop.co.nz)
posted on February 08, 2007 01:37:34 pm
Cats can become infected with the highly lethal H5N1 bird flu virus but there is no scientific evidence at present to suggest that there has been sustained transmission in cats or from cats to humans, and they should not be killed as a control option, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.

* US warns of bird flu threat from Indonesian cats (AFP via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 07, 2007 08:02:21 am
The US embassy warned its citizens to avoid cats in Indonesia following reports that they may carry the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.



* Exercise simulates pandemic (Mount Vernon News)
posted on February 09, 2007 09:25:36 am
MOUNT VERNON ? Members of the Knox County Health Department got a taste of what it might be like should a pandemic hit Knox County. Staff participated in an exercise where they were asked to respond to a simulated influenza pandemic.

* Funds for flu-pandemic medication stall (Deseret Morning News)
posted on February 08, 2007 11:23:51 pm
More money for antiviral medication to combat a possible future flu pandemic has stalled in the Utah Legislature this week, where a request for $1 million for the drugs was relegated to No. 10 on a subcommittee's list of budget favorites. But Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert promised a pandemic flu task force Thursday that he would try to make the funding "a priority."

* Who pays to stop a pandemic? (International Herald Tribune)
posted on February 09, 2007 10:46:05 am
Avian influenza is already killing the meager hopes of some of the world's poorest people for a marginally better life.

* Two drugs urged for flu pandemic (The Evening Telegraph)
posted on February 09, 2007 03:45:13 am
The Government should consider stockpiling two types of antiviral drugs to treat people in the event of a bird flu pandemic, according to experts.

* Two drugs urged for flu pandemic (Liverpool Echo)
posted on February 08, 2007 11:13:45 pm
The Government should consider stockpiling two types of antiviral drugs to treat people in the event of a bird flu pandemic, according to experts. There are fears that humans could catch the flu from close contact with birds infected with the H5N1 virus and trigger a pandemic.

* U.S. Prepares for Flu Pandemic Scenario (The Epoch Times)
posted on February 09, 2007 12:14:25 am
Fortunately, preparations late last month to help the U.S. government prepare for the nation's largest-ever major flu pandemic was just part of a drill. Although the mock run-through went fairl...

* Notable quotes from business summit on pandemic issues (CIDRAP)
posted on February 08, 2007 04:13:34 pm
Feb 8, 2007 (CIDRAP News) ? Predictions and observations at this week's conference on business preparedness for pandemic influenza ran the gamut from how fast a pandemic would circle the globe to how well the Internet would hold up, with many topics in between.

* New OSHA guidance targets pandemic flu (CIDRAP)
posted on February 08, 2007 04:13:24 pm
Feb 8, 2007 (CIDRAP News) ? The US Department of Labor (DOL) has introduced workplace health guidelines to help businesses understand their pandemic influenza risks and what they need to do to prepare.

* State teaches how to get ready for flu pandemic (The Olympian)
posted on February 08, 2007 03:50:31 am
State health officials this week launched a campaign to tell people how to prepare for a possible flu pandemic.

* AIDS ignorance rampant in pandemic-hit Malawi (AFP via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 09, 2007 04:03:12 am
About 60 percent of people aged between 15 and 49 in AIDS-ravaged Malawi lack comprehensive knowledge about HIV prevention, a new survey has said.



* EU probes UK-Hungary bird flu link (Euro Observer)
posted on February 09, 2007 12:32:53 am
09.02.2007 - 09:20 CET | By Helena Spongenberg The European Commission is working closely with the UK and Hungarian authorities to establish whether the recent bird flu outbreaks in the two member states are linked, after UK experts said the viruses seem "identical."

* ImmuneRegen's Viprovex Demonstrates Immune Response Potential in Treatment of Avian Influenza and Spanish Flu (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
posted on February 09, 2007 06:08:00 am
ImmuneRegen BioSciences, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IR BioSciences Holdings, Inc. announced today that Viprovexhas demonstrated the potential for treating potentially resurgent Spanish Flu , Avian Flu and other infectious diseases based upon studies the Company has conducted in animal models showing protection from infection by Bacillis anthracis and influenza A viruses.

* Britain probes Hungarian link to bird flu outbreak (AFP via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 09, 2007 10:43:34 am
British officials leaned toward the theory that an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu here arrived from Hungary, although a European poultry baron denies any link between his plants in the two countries.

* Canada finds no pathogenic flu in wild birds (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
posted on February 09, 2007 08:36:56 am
Canada's second annual wild bird survey for avian influenza has concluded with no findings of highly pathogenic strains of bird flu, including the Asian strain of H5N1, the government announced on Friday.

* Hungary Link To Suffolk Bird Flu (FOX 5 Atlanta)
posted on February 08, 2007 12:15:34 pm
02/08/2007 -- The outbreak of bird flu in Suffolk is being linked by investigators to cases in Hungary and poultry meat imported from that country. Defra, the Government department, says preliminary scientific tests show the viruses in Suffolk and recent outbreaks in Hungary may be identical.

* ImmuneRegen Drug Has Potential Against Bird Flu (RedNova)
posted on February 09, 2007 10:13:08 am
ImmuneRegen BioSciences has said that Viprovex has demonstrated the potential for treating potentially resurgent spanish flu, avian flu and other infectious diseases based upon studies in animal models.

* Canada finds no pathogenic flu in wild birds (AlertNet)
posted on February 09, 2007 08:36:10 am
Source: Reuters OTTAWA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Canada's second annual wild bird survey for avian influenza has concluded with no findings of highly pathogenic strains of bird flu, including the Asian strain of H5N1, the ...

* Good health habits prevent spread of flu (News Democrat & Leader)
posted on February 09, 2007 07:03:27 am
The Barren River District Health Department reminds the public to practice good health habits to prevent the spread of flu at home, work and school.

* Guest lecturer speaks about seasonal, pandemic flu (Daily Vidette)
posted on February 07, 2007 06:29:04 pm
"Pandemic Influenza: Preparedness Prevents Panic" was the topic of the 2007 Scholar in Health Education Lecture presented Tuesday. "The flu, also known as influenza, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by influenza viruses. Flu season in the U.S. begins in the fall and ends at springtime.

* Britain probes Hungarian link to bird flu outbreak (AFP via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News)
posted on February 09, 2007 04:36:32 am
Signs were growing that an outbreak of lethal H5N1 bird flu in Britain arrived from Hungary, despite previous denials by a European poultry baron of a link between his plants in the two countries.

[these are live links at the site:]

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6390895,00.html

Looters Still Ransacking in Afghanistan


Saturday February 3, 2007 9:01 AM

By RAF CASERT

Associated Press Writer

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - More than five years after the fall of the Taliban regime, the plundering of Afghanistan's archaeological sites and museums not only continues but has evolved into a sophisticated trade that could be financing the country's warlords and insurgents, experts say.

The International Council of Museums, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the world's natural and cultural heritage, on Friday published a ``red list'' of Afghan antiquities at risk, urging collectors, dealers and museums to be vigilant when they come across objects that might have been stolen.

The list includes pottery and statuettes from the 3rd millennium B.C., golden reliquaries from the 1st century and Islamic panels from the 13th century.

``Ancient sites and monuments, ranging from the Old Stone Age to the 20th Century, are being attacked and systematically looted,'' the Paris-based organization of museums said in a statement.

Some of the artifacts have turned up in fancy auction houses and antique shops in London, Tokyo and New York, the group said.

``Afghanistan is now at serious risk from organized destruction and plundering,'' said ICOM Secretary General John Zvereff.

A crossroad of Asian culture for centuries, Afghanistan has always been a treasure trove for archaeologists.

The world was shocked when the Taliban blew up two 1,600-year-old Buddha statues along the ancient Silk Road in March 2001. The fundamentalist Islamic movement deemed the statues, famed for their size and location, idolatrous.

Later that year the Taliban, which had controlled most of Afghanistan since 1996, was ousted by the U.S. and its allies for hosting al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

However, remnants of the former regime are still fighting to regain power, and there is concern that profits from the sale of looted art could be going to profit the insurgents or the country's warlords.

``Some of the trade is used to finance armaments and militia,'' said Lucas Verhaegen, a Belgian police investigator of illegal trafficking.

The fledgling government has said that with its police and army struggling against resurgent Taliban fighters, warlords and opium barons, it has insufficient resources to protect archaeological sites and museums.

``The means we have are not sufficient. We see worsening vandalism,'' said Humayum Tandar, Afghan ambassador to Belgium.

Verhaegen described a highly organized trade that uses complicated smuggling routes to avoid detection - over the 3,500-foot Khyber Pass connecting Afghanistan to Pakistan, on to Lebanon, and then via the airport either in Brussels or Amsterdam to a final destination in Switzerland or the United States.

``The more transit points you have, the more difficult it is to retrace the origins,'' Verhaegen said. Certificates could be changed along the way to make the art appear legitimate.

Much has been made of an exhibit at Paris' Guimet Museum, where 22,000 pieces of jewel-encrusted crowns, golden daggers and baubles from an ancient burial mound are back on display after being hidden for years by Afghans at great personal risk.

Still missing, however, are more than 55,000 art objects that were stolen from all over the country since the 1980s, said Zemaryalai Tarzi, a prominent Afghan archaeologist.

``Never has a country been looted so systematically as Afghanistan,'' he said. ``It was before the Taliban, it was during the Taliban, it was after. And it continues,'' he said.

---

On the Net:

International Council of Museums: http://icom.museum

[nw_arizona_granny]

kdwn.com

Heard on the radio, the Las Vegas Humane Society, has been 'shut down'.

Three disease out breaks, one was named, Parvo.

Also closed, is the 'shots' location and the 'neuter' section.

This was a breaking bulletin, the first that I have heard on this subject.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2009574,00.html

Execution of Chinese Muslim condemned


Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Friday February 9, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

China has executed an alleged Muslim separatist with a bullet through the heart, prompting condemnation from human rights groups who say the convict's trial was flawed and his confession coerced.

Ismail Semed, an Uighur from China's far western region of Xinjiang, was sentenced to death in 2005 after being found guilty of trying to "split the motherland" and of possession of firearms and explosives.

According to Radio Free Asia, he was shot yesterday morning after being allowed a short final meeting with his wife earlier in the week.

Article continues

"It was only for 10 minutes, we didn't have too much time to talk," his widow, Buhejer, told the US state-funded radio station. "He said, 'What can I do, it's my fate. Please take care of our children, and let them get a good education'."

Chinese authorities refused to confirm the details of the case. But a spokeswoman for the Urumqi intermediate people's court told Reuters news agency that a group of people had been executed yesterday.

Semed was accused of being a founding member of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which Beijing and Washington have designated as a terrorist organisation.

He served two jail sentences in connection with a 1990 uprising in Baren, which left 22 dead. In 1997, he fled to Pakistan, but was deported in 2003.

Amnesty warned in a report last year that Semed's confession may have been extracted under torture. The US-based Human Rights Watch said the trial was flawed.

"The death penalty was widely disproportionate to the alleged crimes," said Nicholas Bequelin, the group's China researcher. "We don't think there was sufficient evidence to condemn him."

The most prominent exile from Xinjiang, Rebiya Kadeer, said the death penalty was another case of injustice.

"His trial, like most Uighur political prisoners' trials, was not fair," said Kadeer, who is president of the Uighur American Association.

Overseas Uighur and human rights groups accused the Chinese government of exaggerating the threat of violence to crackdown on movements committed to democracy and freedom of religion.

Turkic-speaking Muslim Uighurs account for 8 million of the 19 million people in Xinjiang.



Special reports
China

Archived articles
More on China

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://education.guardian.co.uk/faithschools/story/0,,2009581,00.html

Raided Islamic school is shut down


Staff and agencies
Friday February 9, 2007
EducationGuardian.co.uk

An independent Islamic school raided by police as part of an anti-terror operation last year has been closed by the government, ministers announced today.

But the Jameah Islamiyah school in Mark Cross, near Crowborough, east Sussex, was shut down for educational - not security - reasons, said the Department for Education and Skills.

Jim Knight, the schools minister, said it was now illegal for the school to continue to operate after it failed to follow an improvement action plan in the wake of a critical Ofsted inspection.

"It is important that parents and the wider public are assured that all schools - whether in the maintained or independent sector - provide their pupils with a suitable education, and that we will take strong action against those that are failing," said Mr Knight.

Following the arrest of 14 men in September for alleged glorification of acts of terrorism, security forces revealed they had been monitoring outdoor training in the Lake District and suspected they were using the vast grounds of the Jameah Islamiyah school for radicalisation and training activities.

The independent school has 54 acres of land and, according to its last Ofsted report, only nine pupils. It advertises in mosques around the country, saying its grounds can be hired for camping trips offering a refuge from city life for young Muslims. It is a registered charity and charges up to £900 a week for groups.

Run on donations from Muslims around the country, the Jameah Islamiyah school provides education for a fee of £1,000 a year. Ofsted inspectors reported that it failed to provide a satisfactory education for its pupils and had significant weaknesses. "Provision for welfare, health and safety" was "unsatisfactory" and it failed to provide a "safe environment" for students.

The DfES said the school had been deleted from the Register of Independent Schools and faces prosecution if it continues to operate.

Ofsted conducted a series of inspections at the school after concerns were raised. The school was then required to follow an action plan to address failings.

The department said the school had failed to meet the action plan and was also struggling through lack of pupils - a situation which was thought likely to continue.

Mr Knight went on: "In the past three years more than 45 independent schools have shut down as a consequence of this government's tough approach."

The recent Education and Inspections Act 2006 would make it easier for independent schools to enter the state sector to improve standards, said Mr Knight.

He added: "The government has funded the Association of Muslim Schools to advise independent Muslim schools interested in joining the state sector."



04.09.2006: Training camps link to anti-terror arrests in UK

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/

Has several articles and reports to read.

[nw_arizona_granny]

The Litvinenko affair
On Sunday 04 February 2007, Andrew Marr interviewed Yuri Felshtinsky, Historian

Please note "BBC Sunday AM" must be credited if any part of this transcript is used.

ANDREW MARR: My next guest is the co-author of a book that should contain a very serious health warning on the cover.

Two members of the Russian Parliament who were making a documentary based on its contents were gunned down, another member of the Duma who planned to publish extracts from the book was poisoned and of course, as we all know, the book's other author, the co-author Alexander Litvinenko died in November from radiation poisoning here in London.

Despite being warned by the FBI that a trip to the UK was too risky, I'm very glad to Yuri Felshtinsky has travelled from New York to be with us.

Thank you very much indeed for coming and taking this risk.

Now this is the book, still banned in Russia, and the central allegation in it I suppose is that there was a murderous plot by the Secret Service, we used to call them KGB, to kill a lot of people to ferment the war in Chechnya which also brought Putin to power.

Is that the key allegation?

YURI FELSHTINSKY: This is the key allegation, this is the first book since Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's books which is prohibited in Russia.

The documentary which was done was also prohibited in Russia. And unfortunately a lot of people as you told, who were connected to his book were killed. Yes we claim that in September of 99 when terrorist acts took place in several cities in Russia...

ANDREW MARR: Blowing up apartments?

YURI FELSHTINSKY: Blowing up apartment buildings, killing 300 people which I believe is still the worst terrorist case for Russia yet. Yes we claim that this operation was organised by the Russian Secret Service.

ANDREW MARR: Now, it wasn't simply that, it was that this, by your account, brought Vladimir Putin to power. And he has pursued the authors of this book and the story ever since.

YURI FELSHTINSKY: Well, this is a historical fact, the historical fact is that the second Chechnian war was started the next day after the last attempt to blow up the building and that Putin came to power because he was kind of promoted by this event.

ANDREW MARR: Now, BBC interviewed Mr. Lugovoi in Moscow and asked him if he was the killer, the assassin who's used the Polonium to kill Litvinenko, and he perhaps not surprisingly said no. But you believe it was him, and you believe the Russian state was certainly behind this. Now, why? You had a conversation I think with a Russian general few years back.

YURI FELSHTINSKY: Well, first of all we have too much information now to claim that this was state-sponsored operation, that this was definitely an operation conducted by the Russian Secret Service, which is the FSB. I believe we know now at least two people who definitely participated in this operation - one is Mr. Lugovoi, another one is Mr. Kovtun, both of them are the FSB officers. I think there is a third person whom we still do not know, and who probably was the major player.

ANDREW MARR: And you actually saw Lugovoi in London by accident?

YURI FELSHTINSKY: By accident on 12 October when I came to London I met Lugovoi in Piccadilly Street. Ironically when I talked to Scotland Yard about this they told me that I am mistaken because they had no record of Lugovoi being in London on 12 October. And I submitted a whole bunch of proof for them...

ANDREW MARR: ...that he was...

YURI FELSHTINSKY: ...that he was here. But you were right, in 2000 in May I had conversation with the FSB general, discussing with him the fate of Alexander Litvinenko when Litvinenko was in Moscow.

And we basically knew that the FSB of course targeted him, and I went to negotiate the deals, whether there are any conditions under which the FSB would allow him to live a life, and quietly in Moscow.

And the general honestly explained me that there is no way Litvinenko would be left alone and he told me that, look, if I ever meet him again I will kill him with my own hands. And he was really strong man.

ANDREW MARR: I mean, we should emphasise that the Kremlin denies all of this, says they had nothing to do with it. And indeed Russian investigators are coming to this country probably to interview all sorts of Russian exiles here. They want to talk to Mr. Berezovsky and others.

YURI FELSHTINSKY: Well first of all, our Russian government of course denied always, everything, as they denied Trotsky murder participation. They denied the murder of the former president of Chechnya which was killed several years ago. And people were arrested and they happen to be from the Russian Secret Service. So this is no surprise at all that they deny it.

What is surprising probably was they are taking a very active surgical move coming here questioning, or planning to question hundred people in connection with their investigation of this murder. Also they know quite well that at least two people who actually participated in this murder, once again Kaftoon and Lugovoi, are walking free now in Moscow.

ANDREW MARR: But when, when the Russians, when the Kremlin say that you and your colleagues have an agenda that you want to get rid of Putin ultimately. That's true, isn't it?

YURI FELSHTINSKY: Well, we want to get rid of Putin not with, because we do not like his face or do not like his last name. We want to get rid of Putin because he created a system when our people are not safe, not only in Russia and in Moscow, but in London and in the Great Britain. And if they used British tea to kill a British citizen, what's going to happen next?

ANDREW MARR: The FBI told you not to leave, suggested to you that you should not leave America and come to Britain because it was too dangerous for you. Do you fear for your own personal safety now?

YURI FELSHTINSKY: Well, the security question always was an issue since we started to deal with this project. And as you know unfortunately there are deaths around in connection with this book.

But I think the question is not how safely I could live my life, I think the question is how safely we can live our live and again how London is safe for the British citizens first of all because I am here for a short time and you are here for the rest of your life.

ANDREW MARR: I hope. Yuri, thank you very much indeed, thank you for joining us.

YURI FELSHTINSKY: Thank you for the invitation.

INTERVIEW ENDS

NB: this transcript was typed from a recording and not copied from an original script.

Because of the possibility of mis-hearing and the difficulty, in some cases, of identifying individual speakers, the BBC cannot vouch for its accuracy

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/sunday_am/6329409.stm

Published: 2007/02/05 08:18:43 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[nw_arizona_granny]

Venezuelan state buys power firm
The Venezuelan government has bought the country's leading privately-owned power provider, marking a new phase in its nationalisation programme.

The state is to pay $740m (£378m) for the 82% stake in Electricidad de Caracas owned by US company AES Corp.

In private hands since 1885, the firm provides power to the capital, Caracas.

Key resources such as power and oil are being brought under state control to fulfil President Hugo Chavez's vision of a "socialist economy".

Public ownership

The country's leading telecommunications firm is also being nationalised.

The Chavez government argues that public ownership of key industries will enable Venezuela to channel its natural resources better for the benefit of its people and tackle poverty more effectively.

However, the nationalisation drive has worried foreign investors and affected the country's stock market.

Despite taking control of Electricidad, ministers said that minority investors would be permitted to keep their shares if they wanted.

"We are preserving the integrity of the minority shareholders," said Rafael Ramirez, president of state-owned oil firm Petroleos.

In a ceremony in Caracas, AES president and chief executive Paul Hanrahan said the process had been conducted in a "fair" manner, in line with Venezuelan law.

"We strongly believe in Venezuela and in EDC as a company," he said.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6345211.stm

Published: 2007/02/09 08:01:06 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[nw_arizona_granny]

[Isn't this the same company that does not check for criminals or citizenship papers, on its drivers?]

FirstGroup buys Greyhound buses
UK rail and bus operator FirstGroup has agreed to buy US-based yellow school bus firm Laidlaw for £1.9bn ($3.7bn).

The Illinois firm operates across 37 states in the US and six provinces in Canada, it also owns the Greyhound cross-country coach company.

Aberdeen-based FirstGroup will become the biggest US school bus operator as it will combine the buy with its First Student bus service - bought in 1999.

FirstGroup will issue £200m in new shares to finance the deal.

After the announcement shares in the UK group rose by 14 pence to 575p.

"FirstGroup's acquisition of Laidlaw will considerably enhance the group's existing activities in North America, which themselves have grown strongly since we first invested in the US in 1999," First Group chief executive Moir Lockhead said.

FirstGroup said in the first year of ownership it expected the purchase to generate about $70m (£36m) of annualised pre-tax cost savings.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6345627.stm

Published: 2007/02/09 09:36:50 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[nw_arizona_granny]

Cuba deports suspected drug baron
The Cuban government has deported to Colombia a suspected narcotics baron wanted in the US on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.

Colombian officials escorted Luis Hernando Gomez Bustamante, 49, from Havana to Bogota on a government plane.

Mr Gomez Bustamante, who is also known as "Rasguno", or "Scratch", is an alleged head of Colombia's biggest drug cartel, Norte del Valle.

He was arrested in Cuba in July 2004 after entering on a false passport.

Officials in both Cuba and Colombia confirmed that the deportation had been completed.

The US is seeking his extradition and had offered a $5m (£2.55m) reward for information leading to his arrest.

An unidentified Colombian official told the Associated Press news agency that an order had already been signed to send Mr Gomez Bustamante to the US.

Norte del Valle became Colombia's most powerful drugs organisation after the dismantling of the Medellin and Cali cartels in the 1980s and early 1990s.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, it is believed to be behind as much as 60% of all the cocaine consumed in the US.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6345111.stm

Published: 2007/02/09 06:23:07 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[nw_arizona_granny]

Bolivian troops seize key smelter
The Bolivian government has seized control of the country's largest, privately-run tin smelter complex.

Signing a decree nationalising the Vinto complex, President Evo Morales said there were no immediate plans to pay compensation to the site's owners.

More than 200 Bolivian soldiers were sent to occupy the complex, run by Swiss company Glencore.

Bolivia's leftist president last year moved to nationalise the country's energy industry.

The seizure of the Vinto complex comes a day after more than 20,000 miners called off demonstrations over planned tax increases, which had seen protestors clash with police in the administrative capital, La Paz.

'Financial control'

Mr Morales, South America's first indigenous national leader and a close ally of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, has been pressing for the country's key mining industry to come under state control.

"The Vinto Metallurgical Complex returns to the control of the Bolivian state with all its current shares, allowing the [state] Vinto Metallurgical Company to assume immediate administrative, technical, legal and financial control," the decree signed by Mr Morales said.

The Venezuelan government earlier announced it had taken over the country's leading privately-owned power provider, marking the latest phase in Venezuela's nationalisation programme.

The state is to pay $740m for the 82% stake in Electricidad de Caracas, owned by US company AES Corp.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6347947.stm

Published: 2007/02/09 17:21:25 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[nw_arizona_granny]

Colombia hostage in jungle rescue
A Colombian soldier who had been missing for three years and presumed dead has been rescued by army troops.

Capt Leonardo Nur, 35, was being held hostage by left-wing guerrillas in the jungle. He was found chained to a tree.

The army said it had raided the rebel camp after learning there was a hostage there. They did not know who it was.

Last year, the president ordered the military to rescue hostages being held by the armed groups involved in the country's long-running civil conflict.

Head buried

"It's like being reborn," Capt Nur told a news conference after his rescue on Thursday.

He said he had carved his name and rank onto his arm so that his body could be identified if he was killed.

Fearing for his life, he said that when he heard gunfire early on Thursday, he had dug a hole with his hands, and buried his head in it while shackled to a tree.

It was in this position that he was found by soldiers some 250km (155 miles) west of the capital, Bogota.

He was being held by the Guevarista Revolutionary Army, a dissident faction of the National Liberation Army (ELN), the country's second-largest rebel group.

Capt Nur said he remembered very little about his capture - which happened as he was in his car in May 2003 - because he had been drugged.

There was never any information about his possible kidnapping, so legally he was considered disappeared and presumed dead.

Rebel groups frequently turn to kidnapping to claim ransom or political leverage.

The four-decade long conflict between left-wing rebels, right-wing paramilitaries and state forces has left tens of thousands of civilians dead.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6345741.stm

Published: 2007/02/09 11:36:20 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[nw_arizona_granny]

[He is using the same script as France]

Plea for gang violence crackdown
The mayor of the US city of Los Angeles has called for international efforts to deal with gang crime, saying his city was "ground zero" for Latino gangs.

Antonio Villaraigosa told the BBC that many gangs across North and Central America were started from his city.

Regional police chiefs are in LA to discuss fighting the gangs, blamed for a spree of murder, rape and robbery.

The three-day meeting will focus on improving co-operation and intelligence sharing to stop the gangs.

Rising gang crime

Mr Villaraigosa said there was a connection between poverty, low education levels, lack of job opportunities and gang membership.

These root issues needed to be addressed as part of a solution to gang violence in the United States and elsewhere, he said.


HAVE YOUR SAY
Where gangs are prevalent they run the neighbourhood and challenge you to join
Maureen, Florida

"Gang violence is a problem of international scope, and we must face it on a international scale," he said, quoted by AFP news agency.

"We must coordinate with our international counterparts in a smart and effective way."

In an interview for the BBC World Service Newshour programme, Mr Villaraigosa said that gang crime had risen in Los Angeles despite a drop in overall crime rates.

"This is a city that has a real problem," he said.

"And yet, this is the second-safest big city in America - violent crime is down five years running".

On Tuesday, the US Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, announced the state department would fund a new transnational anti-gang unit for Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize.

Until now, the gangs have mostly been tackled on a country-by-country basis.

The heads of the national police forces of several countries where gangs are prevalent, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico are meeting officials from US drug enforcement agencies and the FBI.

Some Central American officials have expressed concern about US methods of deporting gang members to countries where local authorities are unable to arrest them because they have committed no crime in their country of origin.

Of the 120 people arrested in a recent anti-gang raid in El Salvador, 40 had been deported from the US at least once, the country's police chief Rodrigo Avila-Aviles said.

"I cannot blame the United States for deporting them," he added. "However... we need to look out for new mechanisms so we have more control over these guys."

Mayor Villaraigosa said increased funds and greater political will were needed to ensure gangs were tackled in the region in the long term.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6338609.stm

Published: 2007/02/08 01:24:05 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[nw_arizona_granny]

UN troops flood into Haiti slum
Hundreds of United Nations troops have moved into Haiti's largest slum, sparking a major gun battle with suspected gang members.

Up to 700 UN peacekeepers entered Cite Soleil, a coastal area of the capital Port-au-Prince, at 0300 (0800 GMT).

UN troops make regular incursions into Cite Soleil - home to about 300,000 people - but a spokesman said this was the biggest so far.

He said troops had forced a major criminal gang out of its headquarters.

The Brazilian-led force of 8,000 has been deployed in Haiti since the ousting of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004.

Fierce resistance

UN spokesman David Wimhurst told the BBC that Friday's operation was the largest incursion into Cite Soleil yet attempted by the UN.

Troops entered an area of Cite Soleil known as Boston, the stronghold of a gang leader known only as Evans.

Evans has been blamed for kidnappings, killings and rapes in the areas under the control of his gang.

There was fierce fighting and heavy resistance from gang members, Mr Wimhurst said, but few reports of casualties.

The spokesman said the UN forced gang members out of a school they had occupied, and out of their major headquarters, known as Jamaica Base.

"That means Evans no longer has a base in Cite Soleil," Mr Wimhurst said.

Local radio reported heavy and sustained gunfire coming from the area of Cite Soleil, making an accurate assessment of casualty figures difficult.

At least four people were killed and six wounded during the UN's previous incursion into Cite Soleil, in late January.

There was further violence in December, with at least five people killed in similar clashes.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6348139.stm

Published: 2007/02/09 21:52:30 GMT

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