Russian Plane Crash in Sinai: What We Know So Far 

Plane broke apart in midair; external impact suspected but flight recorders show jet wasn't struck from outside; there is no direct evidence of terrorism; plane was in 'excellent' condition yet it had been previously damaged

Ahram Online
Monday 2 Nov 2015

A Russian passenger jet crashed in Egypt's Sinai on Saturday, killing all 224 people on board. The plane was travelling from Sharm El-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia.

Since the crash, both Russian and Egyptian officials have released a number of statements on the probable cause of the crash.

The statements, at times conflicting, are mainly speculative, since the black boxes have yet to be decoded.

The following points are taken from official statements so far:

1) The plane broke apart in midair

Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee Chief Viktor Sorochenko said on Sunday that "the disintegration [of the plane] happened in the air and the fragments are strewn over a large area.”

Sorochenko was quoted by RIA-Novosti news agency while in Cairo, where he is part of an international panel of experts from Russia, Egypt, France and Ireland who are looking into the accident.

2) The pilot did not make contact with the air traffic control

Pilot Ayman El-Mokadem, who heads a separate Egyptian committee to determine the cause of the crash, made initial statements on Saturday to the effect that the pilot sensed technical failure and reported it to the air traffic controllers.

However, since then both Egypt's civil aviation minister and Russian officials have denied that the pilot made any emergency calls.

3) The plane was in "excellent" condition

Alexander Smirnov, deputy general director of the airline, Kogalymavia, to which the jet belonged, said at a Monday press conference in Moscow that: "the plane was in excellent condition."

The Irish Aviation Authority also said on Monday the plane was registered in Ireland, and regulators there found its safety documentation in order earlier this year, AP reported.

The Airbus A321 was owned by Irish firm Willmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Ltd and leased to Russian airline Metrojet.

The aviation authority said that because the plane was Irish-registered, "in April/May 2015, the Irish Aviation Authority conducted an annual review of the aircraft certifications in support of its annual Certificate of Airworthiness renewal process and all certifications were satisfactory at that point in time."

4) The plane was previously damaged

Kogalymavia's deputy general director for engineering, Andrei Averyanov, said on Monday that in 2001 the plane's tail section had struck the tarmac on landing but was later fully repaired.

Ayeryanov said that the 2001 incident could not have been a factor in the crash.

However, previous damage to a plane, even if repaired, could in rare circumstances cause a plane to crash, even decades later.

5) The only possible explanation is an external impact

"We rule out a technical fault of the plane or a pilot error," said Smirnov on Monday. "The only possible explanation could be an external impact on the airplane," he added.

But when pressed for more details about the type of impact and what could have caused it, Smirnov insisted that he was not at liberty to discuss details because the investigation was ongoing, AP reported.

He also did not explain whether he meant something had hit the plane or that some external factor caused the crash.

6) Flight recorders show the jet was not struck from outside

The Russian plane was not struck from the outside, a source in the committee analysing the flight recorders told Reuters on Monday, basing his comments on the preliminary examination of the black boxes recovered from the Airbus A321.

7) There is no direct evidence of terrorism yet

US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Monday he knew of no "direct evidence" that terrorism was to blame for the weekend plane crash of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt, AFP reported.

Speaking at a Washington defence summit, Clapper said it was "unlikely" that the Islamic State group had the capacity to carry out such an attack, but added "I wouldn't rule it out."

"We don't have any direct evidence of a terrorist element yet," he said.

8) No cause should be ruled out

There are not yet any grounds to rule out any single theory, the Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, replying to a question about whether a terrorist attack could be to blame, Reuters reported. 

US Satellite Detects Heat Slash Over Sinai at Time of Russian Jet Crash

November 03, 7:09 UTC+3

According to the report published by CBS News, the data received from orbit was still being analyzed "in an effort to determine what caused the flash"

WASHINGTON, November 3. /TASS/. As mystery continued surrounding Saturday's crash of the Airbus A321 Russian airliner in the central part of the Sinai peninsula, CBS News said a US infrared satellite detected a heat flash over the peninsula at the time the jet went down.

The report the channel published at its website said the data received from orbit was still being analyzed "in an effort to determine what caused the flash".

Carrier’s blaming external influence for A321 crash premature — authority

"One possibility is a bomb, but an explosion in a fuel tank or engine as a result of a mechanical failure is also possible," the channel said.

The A321 operated by the Kogalymavia airline collapsed shortly at daybreak on Saturday 23 minutes after takeoff from the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh on the Red Sea. It was heading for St Petersburg and had 217 passengers and a seven-strong crew aboard.

The crash did not leave any survivors.

Russian experts have been saying there are strong indications the cockpit crew might have been incapacitated by an emergency of some kind and therefore was unable to send an alarm signal to the air controllers.

Also, it appears that the jet was losing speed and altitude fast enough in the last minutes of flight.

The airline vehemently denied any possibility of equipment failure, saying an external impact on the plane could have been the only explanation for the disaster.

Top Army General Calls Russia ‘#1 Threat’ to US

3 Nov, 2015 03:11
Rt.com

Fresh back from Kiev, Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley called Russia “aggressive” and “adversarial to the interests of the United States,” claiming that having nuclear weapons and the ability to use them makes Russia the foremost threat to the US.

Russia is the only country in the world with the nuclear capability to destroy the United States, which makes it an existential threat, Milley told the audience at the Defense One summit in Washington, DC on Monday. Moscow’s recent behavior suggested that Russia would be willing to use such weapons, the general added, saying that Russia has been violating “the Westphalian order” since about 2008 by “invading sovereign nations.”

If that sounds familiar, that’s because Milley used the exact same phrases during his confirmation hearing before the US Senate this July. The only difference is that he wore a blue service uniform then, and chose a camouflage combat uniform (ACU) for his conference appearance Monday.

What’s more, the phrasing most likely was not even his own: Two weeks prior to Milley’s confirmation hearing, General James Dunford used the exact same language at his own Senate confirmation hearing for the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford previously commanded the US Marine Corps.

“I would say that Russia’s recent behavior is adversarial to the interests of the United States,” Milley said, citing “aggressive” exercises and patrols by Russian aircraft, submarines and troops – inside Russia – for the past “four-five-six-seven” years.

“Russia bears close watching,” the general added.

When asked whether this means Russia should be treated like a foe and not a partner, Milley executed a fighting retreat, urging a “strength and balance sort of approach, which is our current policy.”

Diplomacy is a “bit more nuanced” than a binary calculation, he noted. While Russian “aggression” should be fought with sanctions and NATO posturing, the US should work with Moscow on matters of mutual interest and convenience, such as the Iran nuclear deal.

This just happens to be the official party line of the Obama administration, as espoused by Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, and President Barack Obama himself on a number of occasions.

Between the talking points and clichés, such as “Freedom isn’t free,” Milley leavened his presentation with references to the army’s favorite book on military philosophy, On War, which was written almost two centuries ago by Prussian officer Carl von Clausewitz. The unfinished book was published in 1832, following Clausewitz’s death during a cholera outbreak.

Though many of his observations have been questioned since, and others grown into truisms from overuse, Clausewitz at least knew a thing or two about Russians, having fought alongside them against Bonaparte in the Napoleonic wars.

Instead of honoring the Pentagon tradition of treating his audience to a PowerPoint presentation, Milley offered canned responses to questions from Fox News defense analyst Jennifer Griffin.

One of Griffin’s remarkably insightful inquiries was whether the US could defeat Russia in a ground war.

“Our capabilities today are plenty good enough to deal with anything that Russia has,” Milley retorted, ignoring his own words about Russia’s nuclear capabilities.

Milley had the unenviable job of arguing that the US Army was not “hollow” and could do everything asked of it, while at the same time pleading for more funding, troops and gear.

“To maintain our way of life, to maintain a military that protects that way of life, is a very expensive endeavor,” he said.

The general had just come back from Ukraine, where he had been visiting US troops who are teaching the Kiev forces “human rights and use of force.” 

President al-Assad Condoles President Putin on Victims of Plane Crash

1 November، 2015

Damascus, SANA – President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday sent a cable of condolences to the  Russian President Vladimir Putin over the victims of the doomed Russian plane that crashed yesterday in Sinai in Egypt.

President al-Assad expressed deep sorrow on behalf of the Syrian people and on his own behalf, saying “Your Excellency President and friend Vladimir Putin of Russia… with deep sorrow, we have learned the news of the Russian plane crash which was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg and we offer you the deepest feeling s of condolences.”

President al-Assad also wished the friendly people of Russia and the Russian President health and prosperity.

Earlier on Saturday, President Putin decreed Sunday, Nov 1st,  a day of mourning all over the country on the 224 victims of the plane crash.

Russian Embassy in Cairo said Saturday  that all 224 people on board the Russian plane, crashed in Sinai Egypt, were killed.

R. Milhem/ Barry

Russian Air Force Destroys 237 Terrorist Targets in Syria

Damascus, SANA – The Russian Air Force, in cooperation with the Syrian Air Force, carried out 131 sorties which resulted in destroying 237 terrorist targets during the past 48 hours, a military source told SANA.

The source said the airstrikes targeted terrorist sites in the provinces of Hama, Lattakia, Homs, Aleppo, Raqqa, and Damascus Countryside, and that they resulted in destroying 17 command centers for terrorists, 7 assorted munitions depots, 22 artillery positions and training camps, and 189 fortified sites and shelters.

The source elaborated by saying that the sorties resulted in destroying fortified bases, shelters, and a heavy machinegun nest used by ISIS in the surroundings of Palmyra in Homs countryside, in addition to destroying a weapons depot for ISIS near Harasta al-Qantara and a workshops for manufacturing explosive devices and munitions south of Douma in Damascus Countryside.

A camp for Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists which contained around 200 terrorists and a workshops for manufacturing explosive devices were both confirmed destroyed by the Russian Air Force in Aleppo countryside, while a command center for Jabhat al-Nusra was destroyed near the town of Salma in Lattakia countryside.

Syrian Army Kills More Terrorists Across the Country, Destroys Their Dens and Equipment

2 November، 2015

Provinces, SANA- Units of the army and the armed forces, backed by the army air force, on Monday continued to launch wide-scale military operations against dens and positions of the Takfiri terrorist organizations across the country, killing scores of their members and destroying their arms and equipment.

Deir Ezzor

The Syrian army air force carried out a number of airstrikes against dens and positions of ISIS terrorists to the north of Muhassan city and the villages of al-Jaffra, al-Mrai’yia and Hwaijet al-Mrai’yia in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor province, a military source told SANA said.

A number of the ISIS terrorists were killed in the strikes and their vehicles were destroyed along with amounts of arms and ammunition that were in their possession.

A number of vehicles and equipment belonging to the ISIS terrorists were also destroyed and scores of them were killed in airstrikes carried out by the Syrian army air force against their hotbeds in the neighborhoods of al-Hweiqa and al-Hamidyia in Deir Ezzor city.

Aleppo

The Syrian army air force carried out during the past 24 hours a number of sorties on the dens, headquarters and movement axes of ISIS terrorist organization in the villages and towns of tal Souseen, Hazwan, al-Taibeh, Wadeeaa, Tadef, al-Radwaniyeh, Jeb al-Safa, al-Sheikh Ahmad, Rasm al-Abed, Al-Maflsa, Maskana, Kweiris, al-Jabryeh, Kaskees and Um Argeeleh in the eastern and northern countryside of Aleppo province, the military source added .

A number of ISIS terrorists were killed in the air strikes and many dens and vehicles, some of them equipped with various machineguns, were destroyed.

Meanwhile, terrorist organizations admitted on their social media pages the killing of terrorists “Abu Mua’az al-Sham” the military leader in “Sraya al-Tawheed and al-Jihad” affiliated to Jabht al-Nusra terrorist organization in addition to “Abu Adam” and “Ashraf Jumaa a-Mhayer” the field commander and the leader in Ahrar al-Cham terrorist group.

Hama

In Hama province, the Syrian army air force carried out strikes on the axes of terrorist organizations’ movements in the villages of al-Latamina and Skeik in the northern countryside of Hama province and in several areas in Kifr Zeita.

Many terrorists, of the so-called “Jaish al-Fateh” and “the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham” ISIS, were killed, others got injured and vehicles equipped with heavy machineguns and weapons were destroyed due to the strikes.

Homs

In the southeastern countryside of Homs central province, many members of ISIS terrorist organization were killed and vehicles equipped with different sizes of machineguns were destroyed in air strikes launched by the Syrian Army targeting their dens in Alyania, Mahin town and its surroundings.

The army also targeted terrorists in Palmyra, al-Waer, Talbeseh, al-Hazm al-Awsat, al-Alyanyeh and Hawarin, killing scores of terrorists and destroying their hideouts and concentrations.

Damascus Countryside

The army advanced to Marj al-Sultan airport after targeting and destroying terrorists’ concentrations and vehicles and killing dozens of the Jabhet al-Nusra terrorists.

An army unit killed a number of terrorists and destroyed a 23 mm caliber machinegun in Douma.
The terrorist organization of “Jaish al-Islam” said 45 of its fighters were killed in Harasta’s northern farms in the past few days.

Locals from Erbin and Douma took to the streets to denounce the violations committed by “Jaish al-Islam” against the locals, the terrorists abducted 7 of the two areas’ senior citizens as a retaliation.

Hasaka

ISIS terrorist organization detonated a booby-trapped car on the road of al-Salaliyeh /Hasaka in the eastern countryside of the province,SANA reporter said.

Quneitra

The army artillery carried out concentrated bombardments against dens of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in the surroundings of Ovania village and the forests of Tranja and Jibbat al-Khashab in the northern countryside of the southern Quneitra province, field sources told SANA Monday.

The sources added that a number of terrorists were killed and their arms, ammunition, and military equipment were destroyed in the bombardments.

Meanwhile, a unit of the army, in cooperation with the popular defense groups in Khan Arnaba, destroyed one of the terrorists’ cars loaded with arms and ammunition on the axis of al-Hamidyia- Jibbat al-Khashab, the sources said.

Daraa

The army killed and injured scores of terrorists in several areas in Daraa al-Balad, according to a military source.

The source added that the army killed 5 terrorists near Kherbat Ghazala area in Daraa north-eastern countryside, 20 km from the city of Daraa.

Military Spokesman of the Army: Units of Army Go Ahead Successfully in the War Against Terrorism in Different Regions

2 November، 2015

Damascus, SANA-Military spokesman of the Syrian army affirmed on Monday that the army units are continuing their military operations successfully against terrorist organizations all over the country, synchronizing with concentrated air strikes carried out by the Syrian air force and making use of the outcomes of Russian warplanes’ raids.

“The army has expanded its control in Daraa al-Mahata through restoring scores of building blocks to the south of the national hospital, eliminating a large number of terrorists and destroying two of their command sites in Daraa al-Balad,” The army spokesman said in a statement.

He added that units of the army also destroyed a site for the Islamic State (ISIS) in Tal Ashheb and a gathering and a number of vehicles in Busra al-Cham, Atman in Daraa countryside and to the east of Rashidiyah village, Khirbat al-Ghousheh in Sweida countryside.

“Another army unit established control on Mercedes and Peugeot companies, tightening noose on a number of terrorists in al-Smadi region and killing terrorists in Daraya in Damascus countryside,” the army spokesman said.

He added that units of the army dealt blows on terrorists in more than a route in Homs countryside, destroying a large number of vehicles and killing more than 40 terrorists in Tadmour area, al-Bayarat in addition to killing tens of terrorists in Rahoum, Um Sharshouh, south of al-Rastan, ghantu and Talbeisah.

Meanwhile, the army air force destroyed two sites of ISIS terrorists in al-Qaryateen and one gathering in the surrounding of Mahin, killing large numbers of the organization’s terrorists in the surrounding of al-Shaer field in Homs countryside, according to the spokesman.

He affirmed that an army unit had thwarted infiltration attempts by terrorist groups into Atshan and Tal Skeik in Hama countryside, inflicting heavy losses upon them in personnel and equipment.

“The army air force also raided ISIS terrorists to the east of Athrya, al-Sakhaneh and al-Latamneh in Hama countryside,” the spokesman said.

He added that army units, in cooperation with popular defense groups, advanced into the direction of the south-western route of the Syrian northern city of Aleppo, establishing control over more than 50 KM area, including villages and towns of Mare’en, Misherfeh, Hamidi, Dadin, Shlash and Khan Touman.

“Other army units destroyed gatherings for ISIS on Ramouseh-Sheikh Said route, in the surrounding of the Air Force Academy, Assfeirah, al-Nairab, Hreitan and Sheikh Ahmad, inflicting heavy losses upon terrorists who were trying to infiltrate into Assfeirah,” the army spokesman went on to say.

Meanwhile, the army air force destroyed depots for terrorists in Dir Hafer, Um Arjeleh, Ramouseh and Karm Maiser, dealing blows to them in Ma’aret al-Artiq, Sousan, Tadef and Rasm al-Abd, according to the spokesman.

In Lattakia northern countryside, the army spokesman added that units of the army, in cooperation with popular defense groups, established control on Tal Ghammam, Syriatel hill and a number of important hills after killing large number of terrorists there.

He added that the army in Dir Ezzor destroyed a command- center for ISIS in the old airport neighborhood, killing 24 terrorists, among them Saudi terrorist called “Abu Khabab,” and foiling an infiltration attempt from the Workers’ side.

The spokesman affirmed that the army air force also dealt blows to ISIS gatherings in Mou Hassan, Hweikah, Hamidyia and al-Mre’eya in Dir Ezzor.

He concluded that the strong strikes of the army against terrorist organizations in more than one region have led to weakening the infrastructure of terrorists and creating a state of division, conflicts and mutual liquidations among their ranks.

Iran Faced Off Saudi Arabia in Syria Talks: Abbas Araqchi

Tue Nov 3, 2015 5:1AM
presstv.ir

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif authoritatively took on Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister during recent negotiations on the Syrian crisis in the Austrian capital of Vienna, says a senior Iranian official.

The ministerial summit on Syria was held in Vienna on October 30. Apart from the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia, foreign ministers and representatives from the United States, Turkey, France, Germany, Egypt, Russia, Jordan, the UK, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, Lebanon, China and Oman also attended the talks.

Envoys from the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) were also present at the talks.

“There were many give-and-takes [during the talks]; and the conversations between us and Saudi Arabia were tense, and voices were raised,” said Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, in an interview on Monday night.

“At one point” said Araqchi, “there was a quarrel between… Zarif and Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister.”

Senior diplomats from various countries meet during international talks on the Syrian conflict, in the Austrian capital, Vienna, October 30, 2015.

Referring to Zarif’s efforts to establish the Islamic Republic’s viewpoints in the final communiqué of the summit, Araqchi said, “Had the preliminary draft been published, one would have seen how different it was from the final text, where our principled demands can be seen.”

“The foreign minister of one of the countries even declared angrily that ‘It seems we are here to bring about the realization of Zarif’s demands,” Araqchi said. “Everyone admitted that Mr. Zarif’s demands were being met.”

‘Nothing will happen without Iran’

In a joint statement at the end of the Vienna talks, the participants called for a nation-wide truce in Syria. They said “substantial differences” remained but stressed the need to “accelerate all diplomatic efforts” to end the conflict in Syria.

In the statement, the participants called on the United Nations (UN) to bring together the representatives of the Syrian government and opposition to launch “a political process leading to credible, inclusive, non-sectarian governance, followed by a new constitution and elections.”

“The reality on the ground is that if Iran’s demands – which are rooted in the legitimate outlook of the Syrian people – are not met, nothing will happen” regarding the resolution of the Syrian crisis, Araqchi said.

Iran’s diplomatic scope and capabilities as well as the Islamic Republic’s confidence in that area following the conclusion of the agreement between the country and the P5+1 resulted in Iran being the main actor in the Syria talks, he added.

Araqchi made the remarks in an interview aired on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB)’s Channel 2.

Previous talks on Syria, mediated by the UN and dubbed Geneva I and II, failed to find a solution to end the conflict in the Arab country. Iran had not been invited to any of the talks.

The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people and left over one million injured, according to UN.

Saudi failure

Also on Monday, another Iranian deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who was present at the Vienna talks, said the Saudi foreign minister behaves in an “unbalanced” manner unworthy of a foreign minister.

Amir-Abdollahian told Alalam News Network on Monday that, during the one-day negotiations in the Austrian capital, Jubeir leveled unfounded accusations against Iran once he failed to reasonably argue over his own country’s demands but saw that the logical stances of the Islamic Republic were being addressed.

The Iranian official said that Jubeir received “a strong, unambiguous response” from Zarif.

Iran Says It May Quit Talks on Syria Over Saudis’ Role

By RICK GLADSTONE and DAVID E. SANGER
New York Times
NOV. 2, 2015

Iran suggested on Monday that it might withdraw from the new peace talks on Syria because of what Iranian officials described as the unconstructive role of Saudi Arabia, Iran’s rival for dominance in the Middle East.

It was unclear whether the suggestion, carried via state-run news media, was serious or more akin to diplomatic posturing, since Iran would have much to lose if it were to leave talks it has long sought to attend.

The Iranian warning came three days after representatives from Iran and Saudi Arabia sat in the same room for the first time at a formal diplomatic meeting in Vienna of nearly 20 countries, including Russia and the United States, aimed at finding a way to end the Syrian civil war, now in its fifth year.

Little was decided at that meeting except that Syria’s territorial integrity must remain intact and that participants would reconvene within a few weeks.

Iran and Russia support President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, while the United States and Saudi Arabia support an array of Mr. Assad’s opponents who want him to relinquish power as part of any settlement. The Saudis are especially insistent that Mr. Assad should have no role in Syria’s future.

The war has left a quarter-million people dead, displaced millions more, helped incubate Islamic extremism in the region and contributed to a major refugee crisis pressing on Europe.

“In the first round of talks, some countries, especially Saudi Arabia, played a negative and unconstructive role,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students’ News Agency and other official outlets. “Iran will not participate if the talks are not fruitful.”

Mr. Abdollahian’s statement at least illustrated the deep divide with Saudi Arabia, which has accused the Iranians of fomenting instability not just in Syria but elsewhere in the region where the Saudis have a direct interest, most notably in Yemen and Bahrain.

The Iranians have leveled the same accusation at the Saudis, as seen Monday in a speech by President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, who urged Saudi Arabia to end what he called its intrusive policies.

“If Saudi Arabia’s outlook on general regional issues is brought closer to realities and it renounces its meddling, many problems including those concerning relations can be solved in the new conditions,” Mr. Rouhani was quoted by the Iranian state news outlet Press TV and other media as telling Iranian ambassadors at a meeting in Tehran.

The antipathy between Tehran and Riyadh is regarded by Secretary of State John Kerry and others as one of the biggest challenges to a diplomatic solution in Syria.

Mr. Kerry, who was in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Monday, said in an interview with that country’s Mir TV that resolving the Syria conflict was also tied to winning Russia’s agreement that Mr. Assad must step down.

“We’d like to be able to do more with Russia, but that depends on Russia really making the decision that they have to help settle the political part of the war,” Mr. Kerry said. “We have to deal with the future of President Assad, we have to deal with how we will find a political solution.”

Mr. Kerry said the meeting in Vienna last week, which also included all of Syria’s neighbors as well as European powers, was “very effective.” But he also said that Russia, which has intervened militarily in recent weeks to bolster Mr. Assad, had still not made clear “whether it is there to find the political solution or whether it is there to simply support the Assad regime.”

Rick Gladstone reported from New York, and David E. Sanger from Astana, Kazakhstan.

Elected Officials on Leaked List of Alleged Ku Klux Klan Members

By Danika Fears
November 2, 2015 | 11:38pm

Anonymous says it will expose KKK members

White supremacist who killed three outside Jewish centers is sentenced to death

KKK member built death-ray machine to kill Muslims and Obama, prosecutors say

Internet hackers have started revealing the names of alleged Ku Klux Klan members — and one list published Monday includes a handful of elected officials.

While “hacktivist” group Anonymous said it would dump data on more than 1,000 members of the KKK this Thursday, dozens of phone numbers and e-mail addresses were leaked on the Internet starting Sunday night.

That list included Lexington, Ky., Mayor Jim Gray and Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana. Both men denied having anything to do with the hate group.

“I have no idea where this information came from, but wherever it came from, it is wrong,” Gray said.

Coats tweeted Monday, “I have never had any affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan.”

The names, posted to the site PasteBin, came from the Twitter account TheAnonMessage.

Another group claiming to be affiliated with Anonymous distanced itself from the early release.

“We believe in due diligence and will NOT recklessly involve innocent individuals #OpKKK,” wrote Twitter user Operation KKK.

Libya Embassy Email Warned State Department Not to Emphasize Video

By Bradford Richardson

Officials in Hillary Clinton's State Department were warned against saying that an anti-Muslim video contributed to the the 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, a new email released on Friday reveals.

The warning came from the U.S. embassy in Tripoli, Libya, on Sept. 14, 2012, three days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in which four Americans were killed.

“Our monitoring of the Libyan media and conversations with Libyans suggest that the films [sic] not as explosive of an issue here as it appears to be in other countries in the region,” the email said.

“And it is becoming increasingly clear that the series of events in Benghazi was much more terrorist attack than a protest which escalated into violence,” it continued.

The email, addressed to "colleagues" and whose author was redacted before it was made public, advised officials to be “cautious in our local messaging with regard to the inflammatory film trailer” so as not to “draw unwanted attention to it.”

It noted that “relatively few [Libyans] have even mentioned the inflammatory video.”

Despite the email, the House Select Committee on Benghazi said Clinton and other officials continued to blame the video on the attack.

“Secretary Clinton continued to associate the video with what happened in Benghazi in public remarks two and three days after the attacks, including at a transfer of remains ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base with family members of the victims present,” a statement from the panel on Friday said.

At a hearing with the House Select Committee on Benghazi last month, Clinton said she did not intend to “ascribe a motive to every attacker” by associating the video with the attack.
“I referred to the video that night in a very specific way,” she said. “I said some have sought to justify the attack because of the video.”

She added that she “still believes” the anti-Muslim video played a role in the attack.

“I still believe to this day that the video played a role,” she said at the hearing. “I think it is important to look at the totality of what is going on."

Clinton told the Libyan president in a call the night of the attack that Ansar al-Sharia, a local terrorist group associated with al Qaeda, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Correction: This report has been updated to reflect that the email was not addressed to then-Secretary Clinton.

Libya at the Crossroads: Imperialists Fail to Impose Neo-colonial Framework

02/11 18:28 CET

Libya has fallen into turmoil with its internationally recognised government and elected parliament on one side and a self-styled administration holding Tripoli on the other each backed by regional, tribal or Islamist armed factions.

At what point did Libyans agree on establishing the national reconciliation government that would unite them and end the current conflict in their country? The dream of a stable and secure country has been shattered for Libyans because of internal division and the spread of armed groups, highlighting the weakness of the government.

In this interview Mohammed Shaikhibrahim talked to the head of the political council of Borqa in Libya, Ibrahim Al—jadhran.

Mohammed Shaikhibrahim , euronews: “First of all, how do you describe the situation in Libya these days and what’s your position with your armed groups?”

The political council of Borqa Ibrahim Jadhran: “We can describe the situation in Libya by saying the country is at a crossroads. Either the national reconciliation government will succeed to save Libya from what is happening nowadays, or the country will go towards further division and fragmentation, but we hope that Libya under the auspices of God, plus the existence of the government will succeed in achieving security and stability for this country.”

euronews: “From your speech can we expect this government in which the names of its members were agreed that it will achieve what the former Libyan governments failed to?”

Ibrahim Jadhran: “There is no doubt about this, and I am confident that this government is moving in a clear and explicit manner, so it works strongly and quickly to restore the prestige to the Libyan state and its sovereignty, in addition to achieve social justice and to re-activate the work of the judiciary and security institutions in Libya, such as the army and police.”

euronews: “If the government begins to exercise its tasks on the ground as you said, what are the main challenges that it may face?”

Ibrahim Jadhran: “There are several challenges, including the political differences among the Libyan people, as well as the tribal and social differences, plus the presence of Islamist groups on the ground, specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, who could not understand that they are part of the Libyan people, thus they vanquish the public interest on their interest.”

euronews: “But you yourself did not comply with the decisions of the former Libyan government, you with your armed group extending your control over many oil fields containing massive quantities of oil, so how do you ask the other parties to comply with the decisions of the current government and you have not done so with the former governments?”

Ibrahim Jadhran: “I do not have any armed group. I am working as a leader to guard oil installations and I’m in charge to work with this force in the central region of Libya, it’s a security force such as police and other security forces, but let me tell you that the previous government tried to give me a big financial bribe, and I was threatened by that government in order to work under their own terms and regulations. I totally refused and demanded an investigation into the exporting of oil since the revolution in 2011 until the pending of exporting the oil, and this is the real cause of the dispute between me and with the former government.”

euronews: “Don’t you think what you did will be motivation for each ground leader to control – with his armed groups – the available oil fields and regions, therefore you yourselves become a key-factor in the division of Libya and that is what Libyans are afraid of?”

Ibrahim Jadhran: “It’s worth mentioning that we participated strongly in the fight against the Gaddafi regime and we were able to liberate those cities and oil fields from Gaddafi’s forces. Moreover, we were at the forefront of the people who were fighting to liberate these areas, and the tribe to which I belong was in this area according to virtue and the social combination in Libya, this region called Crescent oil in Libya, along with these areas and our brothers in other tribes such as Al-Ebidat in Tobruk where the port al-Hariqa is located.”

euronews: “You accuse the former government of oil smuggling and corruption. You are currently in control, as you said of five oil harbours in the country with its huge wealth. So who is watching your export of oil and the billions earned by you?”

Ibrahim Jadhran: “We exported oil because the previous government hadn’t done its duties and did not respond to our demands neither in the conduct of investigations, nor the achievement of social justice, therefore we were authorized by concerned people in these regions to export oil, and act within what is subjected in Law No. 58 of the 1951 Constitution. Therefore, we have commissioned the Executive Office of Burqa to export oil and they have already exported a large oil tanker in the past in front of the whole world.”

euronews: “Nowadays, to whom do you export oil?”

Ibrahim Jadhran: “We have not exported oil since that day, it was the only oil that we have exported and it was supervised by oil installations’ guards and they protected it. It was on its way to Greece and not North Korea, even though it was flying the North Korean flag.”

euronews: “So how do you respond to the accusations that you still smuggled oil illegally during those days?”

Ibrahim Jadhran: “We did not export any single drop of oil or gas from Libya since the incident of the oil tanker Morning Glory.”

euronews: “If you do not export oil as you say, then how do you pay your twenty-thousand fighters who work for you?”

Ibrahim Jadhran: “We were funding our people in the past and in the period of the crisis with the government through business men and contractors who have worked with the oil installations’ guards, and I guaranteed to pay this amount of money personally, through clear legal proceedings with the oil installations’ guards. After that I reached a political settlement with the Government headed by Abdullah al-Thani through which he is obligated to pay this amount of money for the businessmen. The political settlement also included a full years salary for workers in the oil installations’ guard. We finally concluded a deal with the defense minister in the government of Abdullah al-Thani to continue funding this force.”

euronews: “How would you estimate the chances of achieving peace in Libya in light of what is happening?”

Ibrahim Jadhran: “Achieving peace is possible in Libya if the international community stands seriously along with the national reconciliation government, however, this government also has to work seriously with the necessary files in Libya without delaying and holding up the implementation. I want to emphasize once again that the chances of achieving peace are there, especially as the Libyan citizen has suffered a lot and knows now very well the political conspiracies, so of course they aspire to achieve security, stability and comfort in their lives.”

The Latest: UNHCR Reports Record Monthly Migrants Med Tally

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NOV. 2, 2015, 12:39 P.M. E.S.T.

LESBOS, Greece — The latest as hundreds of thousands of people seeking safety flood into Europe in search of a new life. All times local.

7:35 p.m.

The U.N. refugee agency says more than 218,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean in October — a record monthly tally this year and more than in all of 2014.

UNHCR says 210,265 people crossed the sea from Turkey to Greece alone last month and another 8,129 went from north Africa to Italy through Oct. 29. The agency estimates that about 216,000 people crossed the Mediterranean last year, while another 3,000 crossed Turkey's land border.

Spokesman Adrian Edwards on Monday called the October figure "beyond anything that could have been expected even a few months ago."

European Union pledges to relocate about 160,000 refugees — less than three-fourths of the October influx — shows the response is still far short of needs.

UNHCR estimates that more than 600,000 people crossed the Mediterranean this year.
___

6:20 p.m.

The chairman of the euro currency group says financially ailing Greece needs help dealing with the huge number of migrants arriving on its shores as they flee to Europe.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a group of reporters in The Hague that "we need to do as much as we can to help Greece deal with that. It's a major challenge, it's a humanitarian challenge and it cannot be done by Greece on its own."

Discussing the broader implications of the crisis, Dijsselbloem said that the European Commission should take into account the financial impact when judging the budgets of the hardest hit nations, which do not have economies robust enough to absorb the costs.

Dijsselbloem says that for some countries, "there is a risk of, let's say, derailing the budget, getting off track."

He says that in such cases the commission "can take into consideration these very extraordinary circumstances." He did not name any of the countries that might qualify for such treatment.
___

5:15 p.m.

Following a decision to dispatch police officers in Slovenia, the Czech government has also approved a deployment of up 50 soldiers to help the tiny Alpine nation cope with the influx of thousands of migrants.

Answering a request from Slovenia, Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky says up to 50 soldiers, including medical personnel will be sent to the country by mid-November for a month-long mission.

Earlier Monday, the government approved a plan to send a unit of 20 police officers to Slovenia to help protect the external border of Europe's visa-free Schengen zone.

The Czechs already sent 50 policemen and 20 soldiers to help Hungary.

In a related move, the government agreed to provide an extra 105 million koruna ($4.3 million) this year to help refugees in the Middle East and Africa.
___

4:45 p.m.

Greek authorities have increased to 43 the number of deaths from last week's sinking of an overloaded wooden boat carrying more than 300 refugees and economic migrants from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos.

The coast guard said Monday that rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of 20 children, 17 men and six women who drowned after the battered vessel capsized off the eastern Aegean Sea island in rough seas Oct. 28.

A total of 274 people survived the accident, which was the worst in Greek waters during the mass refugee influx following the war in Syria.

At least 90 people have drowned in the Aegean Sea over the past five days, while thousands have crossed to the Greek islands on frail, unseaworthy craft provided by smuggling gangs.
___

2:45 p.m.

Germany says it expects the so-called hotspots for migrants in Greece to begin functioning by the end of the month.

The European Union agreed to set up the processing centers in those countries where the biggest numbers of migrants arrive. Those deemed likely to get asylum or some other form of protection are then meant to be redistributed across the EU.

Tobias Plate, a spokesman for Germany's interior ministry, said the centers were at various stages of completion but "we expect this to proceed rapidly."

Plate told reporters in Berlin on Monday that Germany "expect that in November...the hotspots, particularly in Greece, will become fully operational."

Germany, meanwhile, is close to completing work on two "waiting zones" capable of housing 5,000 migrants each at its border with Austria, Plate said.
___

2:40 p.m.

The Czech Republic is sending a unit of 20 police officers to Slovenia to help the tiny Alpine nation cope with the influx of thousands of migrants and protect the external border of Europe's visa-free Schengen zone.

Interior Minister Milan Chovanec says Monday's decision by the government follows a request by Slovenia and the officers are expected to be deployed along the border with EU member Croatia in a week.

Chovanec says they should stay there at least a month but that could be extended if Slovenia needs them for a longer time.

The Czechs already sent 50 policemen to help Hungary last week.

Slovenia has said its capacities are stretched to the limit with thousands of migrants crossing its territory in hopes of reaching Western Europe.
___

2:35 p.m.

Police say a total of 307,000 refugees and other migrants have passed through Croatia since the surge of people spilled over from neighboring Balkan states.

Police spokesman Domagoj Dzigumovic said Monday that 8,400 entered on Sunday alone, which made it one of the busiest days since Sept. 16 when Hungary sealed its border with Serbia and the migrant route was diverted to Croatia.

Police in Slovenia said a total of 8,500 people arrived there by trains on Sunday and early Monday. This brings the total number of arrivals in the small Alpine country to over 126,000 since Oct. 17 when Hungary also closed its border with Croatia and migrants started crossing into Slovenia.
___

2:20 p.m.

Ambulance workers are protesting on the Greek island of Lesbos, where state budget cuts have left only three vehicles in operation despite a massive daily influx of refugees.

The drivers protested in the island's capital of Mytilene, then handed out clothes to refugee children.

Costas Filis, head of the island's ambulance workers association, told The Associated Press that five ambulances were awaiting repairs and that staff shortages had forced rescuers to work up to 16 hours at a time.

More than 300,000 people have traveled on dinghies and boats from nearby Turkey to Lesbos this year, with dozens dying along the way. Most land on the north coast of the island, an hour-long drive from the main hospital at Mytilene.
___

1:35 p.m.

Greece's coast guard says it has rescued more than 1,400 people in 39 separate search-and-rescue operations in the eastern Aegean over the weekend.

The wave of people fleeing conflict and poverty to come to Europe is continuing unabated despite worsening weather conditions. High winds churned the Aegean over the weekend.

The coast guard said it had picked up 1,431 people near the islands of Lesbos, Samos, Farmakonissi, Kalymnos, Kalolymnos, Symi and Rhodes between Friday morning and Monday morning.

More than 70 people, many of them children, have died in the last week when their smuggling boats overturned or sank in rough seas as they tried to reach Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast.
___

1:25 p.m.

Bavaria's governor is declaring himself satisfied, for now, with a weekend compromise with fellow conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's party on how to handle Europe's migrant crisis.

Horst Seehofer has been the most prominent critic of Merkel's welcoming approach to the refugees and had demanded government action by Sunday to limit the influx. Leaders of Merkel's governing coalition didn't agree on new action Sunday but agreed to meet again on Thursday.

However, Seehofer's Bavaria-only Christian Social Union stepped back from a spat with the rest of Merkel's conservative bloc. The conservatives issued a joint paper calling for a reduction in the number of refugees arriving in Germany and for "transit zones" to weed out people who have no realistic claim to asylum.

About 577,000 people seeking asylum have arrived in Germany from January to the end of September.
___

12:35 p.m.

The mayor of the Greek island of Lesbos says there's no more room to bury the increasing number of asylum-seekers killed in shipwrecks of smuggling boats coming in from nearby Turkey.

Mayor Spyros Galinos told Greece's Vima FM radio Monday there were more than 50 bodies in the morgue on his eastern Aegean island that he was still trying to find a burial location for. Galinos said he was trying to fast-track procedures so a field next to the main cemetery could be taken over for burials.

Hundreds of thousands of people have made the short but dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greek islands this year. With rougher fall weather coming on, the bodies of 19 people were recovered from the Aegean in three separate incidents on Sunday alone.
___

11:40 p.m.

An Afghan official in Kabul says authorities will take back all Afghan citizens deported from Germany, which is struggling to accommodate the hundreds of thousands who have arrived this year seeking safety.

Afghans currently make up the second largest nationality, after Syrians, arriving in Europe.

The deputy presidential spokesman, Zafar Hashemi, says as a signatory to the Geneva Convention, Afghanistan is obliged to accept its citizens whose asylum applications have been rejected. He says Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have discussed the issue.

Germany's interior minister has said many Afghans who arrive will have to go home.

Officials say Monday that 120,000 Afghans have left the country so far this year.
___

The item timed at 7:35 p.m. has been corrected to reflect that more people crossed in October than in the whole of 2014, following clarification issued by UNHCR.

EU Considers Sanctions Against Libyan Rebels Over Stalled U.N. Peace Deal

Oct. 30, 2015, 11:20 AM

TRIPOLI/BRUSSEL - Rival Libyan rebel leaders could face European asset freeze and travel sanctions if they are deemed to be deliberately blocking attempts to broker a settlement between the country's warring factions, diplomats said on Friday.

After months of negotiations, the U.N. envoy has presented Libya's rival factions with a proposed national unity government, but hardliners on both sides have resisted the power-sharing deal and talks have stalled.

The United Nations has warned about possible sanctions before and the European Union has previously considered travel bans and asset freezes against five Libyan military commanders threatening violence against a future government.

Lawmakers in both the elected House of Representatives parliament in eastern Libya and the rival General National Congress in Tripoli in the west of the sprawling North African OPEC state have delayed any official vote on the deal.

Western powers say a U.N.-backed agreement for a unity government is the only way to end the conflict between the rival factions and their armed allies competing for power four years after the a massive destabilization and bombing campaign coordinated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Pentagon and NATO overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.

They have been prodding both sides to accept the peace plan and promised more aid, worried that Islamist militants and people-smugglers have gained ground in Libya's chaos just across the Mediterranean from mainland Europe.

"Sanctions are back on the agenda. The option of U.N. sanctions would be better, but if we can't do that we can go through the EU. We will at some point need to look at who meets the conditions for these sanctions," one diplomat said.

"CRUNCH TIME"

"We are at a crunch time, we need the political leadership to take political decisions so the national accord can work. Those who prevent that from happening need to see there will be consequences."

Any EU sanctions would still be in coordination with the United Nations envoy Bernardino Leon to make sure they supported his dialogue efforts, another diplomat said.

European sanctions were last discussed on Oct. 20 at the ambassadorial level in Brussels and they are also being debated at EU working group level. They are likely to come up again at the next EU foreign ministers' meeting in mid-November.

"Sanctions are definitely part of the conversation, but anything will be carefully coordinated with Bernardino Leon and right now the focus is on diplomacy," the diplomat said.

Libya has fallen into turmoil with its internationally recognized government and elected parliament on one side and a self-styled administration holding Tripoli on the other, each backed by regional, tribal or Islamist armed factions.

Moderates in both camps supporting the agreement have faced resistance from political hardliners and from some military commanders who believe they can still gain from fighting.

U.N. envoy Leon said last week consultations continued with both sides and warned small factional leaders not to obstruct attempts to create a unity agreement and peace deal.

Since last year, Tripoli has been controlled by Libya Dawn, an alliance of armed factions linked with Misrata city, and more Islamist-leaning armed groups who took over the capital and set up their own government and reinstated the old parliament.

The imperialist-recognized regime and parliament have since operated out of the east, backed by a coalition of other armed factions, including General Khalifa Haftar, an asset of the CIA.

But a rebel supreme court ruling against the rebel parliament and the Oct. 20 end of its mandate have critics questioning its legitimacy, especially after lawmakers extended their own term until they can hand over power to the next elected body.

Libya Court Adjourns Trial of Gadhafi Son

Agence France Presse

TRIPOLI, Libya: Saadi Gadhafi, a son of Libya's slain Revolutionary Pan-Africanist Moammer Gadhafi, appeared in rebel court Sunday to face trial on charges of murder and repression during the 2011 western-backed counter-revolution.

Dressed in prison-issued blue uniform, Saadi, 42, sat in the dock as the presiding judge consulted with a defence lawyer.

Minutes later the judge announced that he was adjourning the trial to December 6.

He gave no reason for the delay.

Gadhafi's third oldest son had sought refuge in Niger after the 2011 massive bombing and destabilization campaign that toppled his father's government.

He is charged with the first-degree murder in 2005 of a former trainer at Tripoli's Al-Ittihad football club and his trial opened in May.

Sunday's court hearing came days after Human Rights Watch said it had been able to meet Saadi at Tripoli's Al-Hadba prison, where he said his rights were being violated.

"He said lawyers were not present during any of the interrogation sessions, where, he alleged, prosecution officials had intimidated and threatened him and other witnesses," HRW reported.

The New York-based rights watchdog said it met Saadi in September, a month after Arabic news website clearnews.com published a video appearing to show officials and guards at Al-Hadba ill-treating several detainees including Saadi.

HRW reported that Saadi said he had been "held in solitary confinement at Al-Hadba prison since his extradition in a windowless cell, though with a fan, and has had no communication with other detainees".

Three of Gadhafi's seven sons were killed in the 2011 NATO-backed uprising while he himself was captured and killed by imperialist-supported rebels in October of that year.

In July, a court sentenced another Gadhafi son and one-time heir apparent Seif al-Islam to death for defending Libya against the counter-revolution funded by Washington, London, Paris and Brussels.

EU Mulls Libya Sanctions Over Stalled U.N. Peace Deal

Oct. 30, 2015, 11:20 AM

One of the members of the military protecting a demonstration against candidates for a national unity government proposed by U.N. envoy for Libya Bernardino Leon, is pictured in Benghazi

By Patrick Markey and Francesco Guarascio

TRIPOLI/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Rival Libyan rebel leaders could face European asset freeze and travel sanctions if they are deemed to be deliberately blocking attempts to broker a settlement between the country's warring factions, diplomats said on Friday.

After months of negotiations, the U.N. envoy has presented Libya's rival factions with a proposed national unity government, but hardliners on both sides have resisted the power-sharing deal and talks have stalled.

The United Nations has warned about possible sanctions before and the European Union has previously considered travel bans and asset freezes against five Libyan military commanders threatening violence against a future government.

Lawmakers in both the elected House of Representatives parliament in eastern Libya and the rival General National Congress in Tripoli in the west of the sprawling North African OPEC state have delayed any official vote on the deal.

Western powers say a U.N.-backed agreement for a unity government is the only way to end the conflict between the rival factions and their armed allies competing for power four years after CIA-backed rebels overthrew Muammar Gaddafi's government.

They have been prodding both sides to accept the peace plan and promised more aid, worried that Islamist militants and people-smugglers have gained ground in Libya's chaos just across the Mediterranean from mainland Europe.

"Sanctions are back on the agenda. The option of U.N. sanctions would be better, but if we can't do that we can go through the EU. We will at some point need to look at who meets the conditions for these sanctions," one diplomat said.

"CRUNCH TIME"

"We are at a crunch time, we need the political leadership to take political decisions so the national accord can work. Those who prevent that from happening need to see there will be consequences."

Any EU sanctions would still be in coordination with the United Nations envoy Bernardino Leon to make sure they supported his dialogue efforts, another diplomat said.

European sanctions were last discussed on Oct. 20 at the ambassadorial level in Brussels and they are also being debated at EU working group level. They are likely to come up again at the next EU foreign ministers' meeting in mid-November.

"Sanctions are definitely part of the conversation, but anything will be carefully coordinated with Bernardino Leon and right now the focus is on diplomacy," the diplomat said.

Libya has fallen into turmoil with its internationally recognized government and elected parliament on one side and a self-styled administration holding Tripoli on the other, each backed by regional, tribal or Islamist armed factions.

Moderates in both camps supporting the agreement have faced resistance from political hardliners and from some military commanders who believe they can still gain from fighting.

U.N. envoy Leon said last week consultations continued with both sides and warned small factional leaders not to obstruct attempts to create a unity agreement and peace deal.

Since last year, Tripoli has been controlled by Libya Dawn, an alliance of armed factions linked with Misrata city, and more Islamist-leaning armed groups who took over the capital and set up their own government and reinstated the old parliament.

The internationally-recognized government and parliament have since operated out of the east, backed by a coalition of other armed factions, including General Khalifa Haftar, once an ally of autocrat Gaddafi.

But a supreme court ruling against the elected parliament and the Oct. 20 end of its mandate have critics questioning its legitimacy, especially after lawmakers extended their own term until they can hand over power to the next elected body.

(Additional reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Read the original article on Reuters. Copyright 2015. Follow Reuters on Twitter.

Somalia Official: 9 Dead in Hotel aAttack in Capital

Nov. 1, 2015 | 1:06 a.m. EST
By ABDI GULED

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — At least nine people were killed and 10 injured when Islamic extremists attacked a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu, a police official said Sunday.

The attack started at dawn when a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle laden with explosives at the gate of the Sahafi Hotel and then gunmen on foot shot at people in the hotel, Capt. Mohamed Hussein said. There was a secondary explosion outside the hotel that is suspected to have come from car bomb parked by the building.

"They have killed the owner of the hotel, a former military general, and other officials during the attack," Hussein said by phone from the scene as gunfire could be heard in the hotel.

"There's a hostage situation inside the hotel," Hussein said.

Al-Shabab, the Islamic extremist rebels waging an insurgency against Somalia's weak U.N.- backed government, claimed responsibility for the attack through the group's radio Andulus. The fighters infiltrated the hotel and are still in control of the building, Sheikh Abdiaziz Abu-Musab, al-Shabab's military spokesman, told the radio station.

Somali troops and African Union forces were at the scene of the attack, according to a Twitter post by the African Union Mission in Somalia, which has deployed troops to bolster Somalia's government against al-Shabab's insurgency.

The hotel is often frequented by Somali government officials and business executives and it has been targeted before. Two French security advisers were abducted from the hotel by militants in 2009.

Despite being forced out of Mogadishu and many other cities and towns across Somalia, al Shabab continues to launch lethal attacks in the capital and elsewhere.

Gunmen Lay Siege to Hotel With Bombs and Other Weapons in Somalia

By Robyn Kriel, CNN
Sun November 1, 2015
Nairobi, Kenya

Gunmen stormed a popular hotel in Mogadishu on Sunday after opening their attack with multiple blasts, Somali officials said.

At least five people were killed and 13 more wounded, Somali police Capt. Mutaf Abdi said. Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate, claimed responsibility for the attack via a Somali radio station run by the group.

Many of the dead were civilians, said interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Yusuf Osman, who was at the attack site, the Sahafi Hotel. The armed men pushed inside the building, then Somali special forces deployed to fight the militants.

The attack kicked off when a suicide car bomb exploded at the gates of the hotel, which government officials use as a residence, Osman said.

An intelligence service official, who did not want to be named, said that two more explosions detonated during the attack -- one believed to be a bomb remotely targeting first responders. The third explosion was believed to be carried out by a suicide attacker.

Intelligence services are still investigating the attack.

CNN's Yousuf Basil contributed to this report.

Mini Preparatory Meeting to Be Held After Talks With Sudan’s Rebels : AU

October 31, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The African Union (AU) said a mini-meeting to prepare for the national dialogue between the Sudanese government and the opposition forces will be preceded by separate security talks on Darfur and the Two Areas scheduled for mid-November.

Earlier last month, it was announced that Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) will meet in Addis Ababa in early November to resume discussions on a cessation of hostilities agreement in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations announced Wednesday that the African Union mediated meeting between the Sudanese government, SPLM-N and Darfur rebel groups will start respectively on 16 to 17 and 18 to 19 November.

The head of the AU Liaison Office in Sudan, Mahmoud Kane, told the pro-government Sudan Media Center (SMC) Saturday that talks on Darfur and the Two Areas will be held two or three days ahead of the dialogue preparatory meeting.

He pointed out that the mini-pre-dialogue meeting will be held with the participation of the rebel groups of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) and the National Umma Party (NUP), disclosing the Sudanese government agreed to take part in the meeting.

Khartoum had previously refused to participate in a comprehensive preparatory meeting including the political opposition and civil society groups. Only it reiterated its readiness to meet the rebels to discuss the conditions and guarantees related to their participation in the internal process.

However, the Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir last week instructed the dialogue body known to meet with the signatories of Addis Ababa agreement including the SRF and the NUP.

The SRF and the NUP from one side and 7+7 committee from the other side on 5 September 2014 signed an agreement on identical term with the AU High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) “on the national dialogue and constitutional process”.

Kane added that the government and Darfur groups will hold talks on the cessation of hostilities while negotiations on the Two Areas will be held separately; pointing that Darfur problem differs from the issues of the Two Areas.

He said the AU will extend the invitations for the meetings following the completion of consultations with all parties.

The Sudanese government since November 2014 objected the participation of civil society groups and showed scepticism towards the coalition of the opposition National Consensus Forces.

Sudan’s presidential assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid had earlier stressed the government readiness to convene talks on the Two Areas, pointing the two sides have agreed on 90% of the items in the framework agreement proposed by the AUHIP.

He also underscored that the 7+7 committee is ready to meet the rebel groups abroad in order to make the necessary arrangement for the participation in the internal dialogue.

“The next meeting with the [armed] movements would be based on what had been agreed upon previously [in the Addis Ababa agreement],” he added.

Hamid added the two sides agreed on several issues including that the comprehensive political solution is the best option to resolve Sudan’s problem, cessation of hostilities in order to create climate conducive for dialogue, allowing political freedoms and releasing political prisoners.

The presidential aide stressed that the 7+7 committee wouldn’t mind to added new items to the roadmap approved by the internal dialogue parties, renewing readiness to continue contacts with the holdout opposition provided that the dialogue must be held inside Sudan.

(ST)

African Standby Force to be Operational Early Next Year: AU

October 31, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – The newly established African Stand-by Force (ASF) consisting of brigades from the five continental blocs will start operating early next year.

JPEG - 49.7 kb
An African Union Regional Task Force in Juba, March 16, 2012 (ST)
The 25,000-strong multinational force, African Union officials said, has started joint military exercise for the first time since its launch and will be ready by January.

The force was created for immediate and effective responses to crises arising in Africa. It seeks to curb reliance on foreign powers whose forces are deployed in Africa’s conflict zones.

Some African countries, mainly Zimbabwe, had been opposing European Union and other foreign power’s military interventions in Africa to stop it’s mushrooming conflicts.

The ASF will always be ready for deployment anywhere on the continent at short notice.

The rapid reaction force would be deployed to trouble spots around Africa up on request by a member states in order to restore peace and security. Parts of ASF’s mission reportedly include monitoring, observation and peace making and peace building support in post-conflict disarmament, demobilization and humanitarian assistance missions.

AU officials say ASF, the most critical component of the African Peace and Security Architecture will swiftly intervene in a member state if the 54-member body believes there are grave conflict circumstances with possible war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity.

The unified force, AU military experts told Sudan Tribune, would require an estimated up to $1 billion to finance its effective operation, which currently lacks critical funding.

ASF will depend almost entirely on development partners for funding as African countries are incapable to finance the unified force. Currently, the first round ASF military exercise is ongoing in South Africa and will continue until 5 November.

The operation is intended to evaluate the force’s readiness to respond to crises and monitor peacekeeping missions.

(ST)

Black Box From Russian Plane Could Tell Us What Happened: Egyptian PM Ismail

Ahram Online
Saturday 31 Oct 2015

Egyptian PM Sherif Ismail announced in a press conference that the black box in the Russian plane which crashed in Sinai on Saturday morning will arrive in Cairo this evening, saying that "We cannot know what exactly happened to the plane before we first listen to the black box recordings."

Egyptian civil aviation experts and the armed forces had located the box at the crash site in North Sinai earlier on Saturday, Ismail said at a press conference in Cairo.

The plane, which was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members, was on its way from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh Russia's St Petersburg when it crashed inthe Sinai Peninsula, killing all on board.

Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamel told the gathered journalists that communication between the Russian plane and air traffic control seemed completely normal prior to the crash

"The crew didn't even send an SOS and suddenly the plane disappeared off the radar," Kamel said.

However, earlier during the day, Ayman El-Mokadem, who is heading a government committee to determine the cause of the crash, said that the pilot sensed a technical failure and reported it to the aviation authorities [air traffic controllers], requesting to land at the nearest airport. El-Mokadem added that the plane seems to have crashed during the attempt to shift directions in order to land at Al-Arish Airport in North Sinai.

Ismail announced that 129 dead bodies have been recovered so far from the crash site and transported to Zeinhom morgue in Cairo.

"A team of experts from the Russian government and from the company which manufactured the plane will arrive in Cairo on Saturday evening to join the investigation team," he added.

Earlier on Saturday, Ismail along with other ministers visited the crash site to monitor the search and rescue efforts.

The Russian MetroJet Airbus A-321 disappeared off Egyptian air traffic control radars 23 minutes after takeoff in Sharm El-Sheikh. It was reportedly cruising at an altitude of 30,000 feet, heading to St Petersburg.

All passengers and crew members have been confirmed dead.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/162332.aspx

Egypt's Prosecution to Cooperate With Moscow in Russian Plane Crash Inquiry

Ahram Online
Saturday 31 Oct 2015

North Sinai prosecution summoned air traffic control staff at Al-Arish Airport; Russia's top investigative committee launches case against Kogalymavia, operator of the crashed AirBus

Egypt's general prosecution has agreed to cooperate with a Russian government onthe Russian plane crash in central Sinai earlier Saturday.

The North Sinai prosecution also summoned air traffic control workers at Al-Arish Airport for investigations, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

A total of 217 passengers and seven crew members were killed in the crash.

Some news reports suggested that a technical error might have caused the accident.

The plane, which mainly carried Russian tourists, washeading from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh to Russia's St Petersburg, had lost contact with radar at 6.20am CLT (Cairo local time), less than half an hour after takeoff.

It was reportedly flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet at the time of the crash.

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail along with other ministers headed to Sinai on Saturday afternoon to monitor latest developments and rescue efforts.

Meanwhile, Egypt's Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal said it is "too early to decide the reason behind the crash."

Russia's top investigative committee has launched a case against the airline Kogalymavia under an article regulating "violation of rules of flights and preparations for them."

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/162310.aspx

Russian Airliner Crash Kills 224 in Egypt's Sinai; Causes Not Yet Determined

Ahram Online
Saturday 31 Oct 2015

Investigators have retrieved black boxes; Cairo agrees to Russian participation in inquiry; Lufthansa and Air France-KLM will avoid flying over Sinai; contradictory statements on pilot's SOS

A Russian airliner crashed in Egypt's central Sinai Saturday, killing all 217 passengers and seven crew members, with the reasons behind the crash yet to be determined.

The plane, whose passengers were mainly Russian tourists, lost contact with radar at 6.20am CLT (Cairo local time), less than half an hour after takeoff. It was flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet.

Reuters quoted an anonymous officer on the scene as saying that "the plane split into two, a small part on the tail end that burned and a larger part that crashed into a rockface."

An aviation team has retrieved the black boxes of the plane in order to determine the reason behind the crash of the Airbus A-321, which was heading from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh to Russia's St Petersburg.

German carrier Lufthansa and Air France-KLM, two of Europe's largest airlines, have decided to avoid flying over the Sinai Peninsula while they wait for clarity on what caused the airliner to crash. Spokeswomen for the carriers said the decision was made for safety reasons.

"We took the decision to avoid the area because the situation and the reasons for the crash were not clear," a Lufthansa spokeswoman told Reuters. "We will continue to avoid the area until it is clear what caused the crash."

Final minutes: Contradictory stories

Egyptian officials released contradictory statements on what happened during the minutes leading up to the incident.

Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamel told a press conference in Cairo that communication between the Russian plane and air traffic control seemed completely normal prior to the crash.

"The crew didn't even send an SOS and suddenly the plane disappeared off the radar," Kamel said.

Earlier during the day, however, Ayman El-Mokadem, who is heading a government committee to determine the cause of the crash, said that the pilot sensed a technical failure and reported it to air traffic controllers, requesting to land at the nearest airport.

El-Mokadem added that the plane seems to have crashed during the attempt to shift directions in order to land at Al-Arish Airport in North Sinai.

The northern part of the mountainous Sinai Peninsula has been the epicentre of an Islamist insurgency that spiked following the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Egypt President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi had announced on Wednesday that a state of emergency has been extended for a further three months in parts of North Sinai.

Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail told the same conference that the black boxes will arrive in Cairo Saturday evening, saying that "We cannot know what exactly happened to the plane before we first listen to the black box recordings."

Egyptian, Russian investigations

El-Sisi has spoken on the phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the crash, the Kremlin said in a statement. Offering deep condolences, the Egyptian president promised to create conditions for the widest possible participation of Russian specialists in the investigation into the cause of the crash, the statement added.

Egypt's general prosecution has agreed to cooperate with representatives of the Russian government while investigating the incident.

"A team of experts from the Russian government and from the company which manufactured the plane will arrive in Cairo on Saturday evening to join the investigation team," Ismail said.

Russia's emergencies ministry has sent five of its planes to the site of the crash, according to the Russian embassy in Egypt.

Russia's top investigative committee, meanwhile, has launched a case against airline Kogalymavia under an article regulating "violation of rules of flights and preparations for them," Russian news agencies said, citing the committee's spokesman.

The Russian investigative committee said it was checking fuel samples from the airliner's last re-fueling stop in the Russian city of Samara, RIA news agency reported, citing spokesman Vladimir Markin.

Markin also said that investigators are questioning the airport workers involved in preparing the aircraft and its crew, and carrying out searches at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport where the airline that operated the plane is based.

214 Russians, 3 Ukrainians

Putin has expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims. He also declared Sunday 1 November a national day of mourning. Egypt's presidency has extended its condolences to Russia.

A total of 214 passengers were Russian, while three passengers were Ukrainian, an Egyptian cabinet statement read.

An Egyptian search and rescue team were dispatched after the crash to search for survivors, but the Russian embassy in Egypt has said that no passengers survived. Reuters also reported that there were no survivors among the passengers or the crew.

Bodies were reportedly found strapped to their seats inside the crashed plane.

Seventeen children and teenagers, aged from two to 17, were among the passengers on the Russian jet, Russia's RIA news agency quoted a source in the Russian aviation authority as saying.

Military planes have transported some of the bodies of the victims to Cairo, a medical source told Al-Ahram Arabic news website. Other bodies were sent to a Suez hospital, a medical source told the same site.

Egyptian premier Ismail announced that 129 dead bodies have been recovered so far from the crash site and transported to Zeinhom morgue in Cairo.

At least 50 ambulances were dispatched to the crash site, an Egyptian cabinet statement said. Ismail along with other ministers had headed to Sinai in the afternoon to monitor the latest rescue efforts before flying back to Cairo.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/162254.aspx