Friday, 03 September 2010 04:36

Pirates reduce ransom for Chandlers after pressure from abroad (TIMES)

----  news from sea-jackings, abductions, newly attacked ships as well as seafarers and vessels in distress ----

... and just on the same day Canadian Amanda Lindhout spoke out - this was reported from neighbouring Kenya:
Police sting frees Canadian kidnapped in Kenya

Kenyan police have freed a Canadian man kidnapped in the country by luring his captors into an ambush.
The kidnappers seized the man Wednesday after he dropped his child off at school.
Authorities agreed to pay a ransom of 10 million shillings (about $138,000 Canadian). When the kidnappers arrived, undercover officers were waiting for them.
During the ensuing gun battle, three of the suspects were shot.
The victim is safe and sound and wasn’t mistreated while in captivity.
“He has been released unharmed,” said Lisa Monette, a spokesperson for Canada’s foreign affairs department.
She added that the department was thankful to the Kenyan authorities who assisted in the rescue.
Monette did not comment on whether a ransom had been paid for the man’s release, but said consular officials are providing the victim and his family with support.
The man’s identity is protected by privacy legislation.
Kenya saw a rash of kidnappings last year, though only a few foreigners were victims.
... background:

A Kenyan police official says a Canadian citizen has been kidnapped after dropping his child off at school in Kenya's capital.
The officer said Friday the man works for an aid organization and was taken Wednesday near the International School. He says the family have received ransom demands. He asked for anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to journalists.
Ross Hynes, Canada's ambassador, says the embassy is investigating.
Last year Kenya was hit by a kidnapping epidemic. Most victims were Kenyans who were released after a ransom was paid using mobile telephone transfer. Only a few victims were foreigners.
About half of Kenyans live on less than $2 a day but there is also a thriving middle class and many foreigners living in Nairobi.

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 8 seized foreign vessels (9 sea-related hostage cases since yacht SY LYNN RIVAL was abandoned and taken by the British Navy) with a total of not less than 174 crew members (incl. 23 Filipinos onboard three vessels: two onboard the Thai Union 3, three onboard the MV St. James Park and 18 onboard the MV Navios Apollon; as well as the British sailing couple) are accounted for. The cases are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed too. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) had been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases for Somalia and the mistaken sinking of one sea-jacked fishing vessel and killing of her crew by the Indian naval force. For 2009 the account closed with 228 incidences (incl. averted or abandoned attacks) with 68 vessels seized for different reasons on the Somali/Yemeni captor side as well as at least TWELVE wrongful attacks (incl. one friendly fire incident) on the side of the naval forces.
For 2010 the recorded account stands at 15 attacks and 3 sea-jackings.
The naval alliances had since August 2008 and until January 2010 apprehended 666 suspected pirates, detained and kept or transferred for prosecution 367,  killed 47 and wounded 22 Somalis. (New independent update see: http://bruxelles2.over-blog.com/pages/_Bilan_antipiraterie_Atalanta_CTF_Otan_Russie_Exclusif-1169128.html).
Not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (although not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail - like the S/Y Serenity, MV Indian Ocean Explorer.Present multi-factorial risk assessment code: GoA: ORANGE / IO: ORANGE (Red = Very much likely, high season; Orange = Reduced risk, but very likely, Yellow = significantly reduced risk, but still likely, Blue = possible, Green = unlikely). Piracy incidents usually degrade during the monsoon season and rise gradually by the end of the monsoon. Starting from mid February until early April every year an increase in piracy cases can be expected.
Actual status of abducted crews and vessels in Somalia (scroll down and look at right hand side section)


---------------- directly piracy, abduction, mariner or naval upsurge related reports --------------------

BRITISH EX-SPY HANDS PLAYS PART IN ALAKRANA RESCUE (TheLeader)
A former British spy was the man given the job of handing over the ransom which brought the hijacked Spanish tuna-fishing boat Alakrana its freedom after 47 days in captivity at the hands of Somali pirates. The company set up in West Africa by the former British agent to specialize in kidnap operations, supplied the small plane from which the bundle containing the ransom of 2.7 million euros was thrown onto the deck of the Alakarana to secure the release of its 36 crew members, 16 of whom were Spanish.
This was a different modus operandi from that of the release of the Playa de Bakio in April 2008, which was also seized by Somali pirates.  In that case the Spanish National Intelligence Center (CNI) advanced and handed over the ransom, which was paid back over time by the ship owner.
In the case of the Alakrana it appears the money was also fronted by the Spanish secret service, as the police found no indication of the ship owner having drawn funds from his company for the ransom. It is also believed the CNI hired the services of the former British spy.
Then head of the CNI, Féliz Sanz, will have the chance to reveal all when he appears before a congressional committee.  Sanz will be giving testimony at a testing moment for the CNI, which is also embroiled in attempts to secure the release of three Catalan NGO volunteers captured by an Al Qaeda offshoot in Mauritania on November 29th of last year. The High Court judge handling the Alakrana case, Santiago Pedraz, asked the CNI for the same information he supplied to Congress’ official secrets committee, but Sanz said he could not provide it because it is classified.
Rescue effort Meanwhile, there appeared to be fresh moves afoot to free the three Catalan aid workers. Spanish new agency EFE yesterday quoted a Mauritanian security force as saying a Mauritanian citizen believed to be involved in the kidnapping had been extradited to his home country by Mali. 
The source, who requested anonymity, said Amar Uld Sid’ Ahmed, known as Omar Sahraui and the suspected head of logistics for Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, had been taken to Nouakchott last Friday under the custody of Mauritanian and Malian police. Suspects questioned about the kidnapping had named Sid’ Ahmed as the supplier of the vehicles used in the seizure of the aid workers.

Compliance Issues With The Payment Of Ransoms To Somali Pirates by John Knott

Somali piracy adds $6m to E Africa cable costs in Kenya by George Mwangi (DowJones)
Cable has had to be rerouted by 400km to avoid areas associated with pirates.
Somali pirates and insecurity off the coast of East Africa will add $6 million to East Africa Submarine Cable System costs to lay its fiber optic cable to Kenya to improve Internet services, the Business Daily newspaper reports Tuesday.
"We have had to re-route the cable out by 400 kilometers to avoid running into areas associated with Somali pirates. The additional cost has been absorbed into the total costs for the project and we are on track to meet our April 1 Mombasa landing date," the Kenyan daily quoted Chris Wood, chief executive of the West Indian Cable Company, or WIOCC, as saying.
WIOCC represents the consortium of African telcoms who own the largest share in EASSy, as the East African Submarine System is known.
Wood said the two ships from French contractor Alcatel-Lucent that EASSy is using to lay its cable each have teams of 24 highly trained French security forces on board to act as a deterrent against any piracy attempts, the daily said.
EASSy will be the third international fibre optic cable to land in Kenya.

Somali Piracy: The Effect Of Ship Hijacking On Marine Insurance Policies by John Knott

Ocean cargo/global logistics: Piracy shift suggests lack of adequate enforcement
This is also the second year in a row where incidents in the Singapore Straits have increased by Patrick Burnson (Logistics Management)

Maritime security experts are reporting a significant shift in the area of pirate attacks off Somalia. As noted in "Critical Cargoes," piracy continues to escalate worldwide, but last year more vessels were also being targeted along the east coast of the troubled African nation.
Since October increased activity has been observed in the Indian Ocean with 33 incidents reported, including 13 hijackings. Thirteen of these last quarter incidents occurred east of the recommended east of 60° east -- including four hijacked vessels. Many of these attacks have occurred at distances of approximately 1000 nautical miles off Mogadishu.
In the 2009 annual piracy report issued by the ICC International Maritime Bureau's Piracy ReportingCenter (IMB PRC), it is noted that 28 incidents were reported for Nigeria. Of these 21 vessels were boarded, three vessels were fired upon, one vessel was hijacked and three Masters reported an attempted attack on their vessel. One crew was reported killed as the robbers tried to escape after looting the vessel. Vessels attacked include, general cargo, bulk carriers, reefers, and all types of tankers. The majority of incidents related to the oil industry and fishing vessels go unreported. Information from external sources would suggest at least a further 30 unreported attacks occurred in Nigeria in 2009.
IMB Director, Captain Pottengal Mukundan, stated that the Nigerian attacks are much more violent in nature than Somalia, localized but with the capacity to attack vessels and installations further from the coast.
"The incidence of violent attacks against ships has also spilled over into neighboring states," he said.
This is the second year in a row where incidents in the Singapore Straits have increased. Nine incidents were reported in 2009 as compared to six in 2008. Of these six vessels were boarded and three reported attempted attacks.
Even though there has been significant improvement in the safety and security of the Southeast Asian and Far East waters there still remains an underlying potential for incidents to increase without any prior warning. The pressure on the pirates and the robbers has to be maintained by the littoral states and the constant physical presence in the waters,  said IMB spokesmen.

Pirates reach the Seychelles by Tristan McConnell (GlobalPost)

More than 900 miles off the coast of East Africa, the Seychelles is known for its paradise beaches, crystal waters, coral reefs and soaring granite peaks. The islands attract honeymooners and wealthy tourists to the many five-star resorts spread across the archipelago.
Recently, however, the Seychelles has earned another reputation, one it is eager to shake off. Somali pirates are a dangerous scourge of the seas grabbing vessels and mariners for ransom. In the Seychelles the pirate gangs that motor across the ocean are holding the remote country’s future hostage.
“Piracy is a real threat to the livelihoods of the Seychelles people,” finance minister Danny Faure told GlobalPost. “Tourism and fishing are the twin pillars of our economy, both of which need safe seas.”
A retired British couple was abducted aboard their boat Lynn Rival just 60 miles off the Seychelles coast last October and are still being held captive on the Somali mainland. The incident scared both private seafarers and tourists.
Attacks on bigger yachts such as the French-flagged Le Ponant in 2008 hit demand for luxury cruises explaining the many empty berths at the new Eden Park marina built on reclaimed land in the Seychelles capital Victoria. Numerous hijackings of the fishing boats that trawl the rich Indian Ocean waters around the islands have sent the trawlers elsewhere in search of safer seas.
Somali pirates never used to reach as far as the Seychelles. But in late 2008 international navies stepped up patrols in the Gulf of Aden to protect the 22,000 ships that pass through the Suez Canal each year.
Their success had a “balloon effect.” Pirate gangs felt the squeeze and moved deeper into the Indian Ocean, ever closer to the coral and granite Seychelles archipelago. In recent months the greatest number of pirate attacks have taken place around the Seychelles.
As piracy shakes the country’s economic pillars the government is spending millions to shore them up. Last year Faure allocated an extra $2.8 million to the military and coast guard, this year it will be $3 million. “Government has had to plow resources into maritime surveillance but we are not generating.
“We have a direct threat to our fisheries and our tourism, and at the same time we need to spend the resources on being more vigilant,” he said.
The Seychelles does not have resources to spare. When piracy hit, the economy was already in a fragile state. After defaulting on debt repayments in 2008 foreign exchange controls were removed, the Seychellois rupee lost more than half its value and inflation soared to over 63 percent. Pretty much everything must be imported to the Seychelles islands so the impact on ordinary people was severe.
The Central Bank Governor was sacked, state subsidies on public transport, fuel and utilities were removed — causing prices to shoot up — and a privatization program began selling off everything from the overstaffed Seychelles Marketing Board to a peculiar array of government-owned businesses including a butcher’s shop, a ketchup factory and a chick hatchery.
Just as these shock tactics were beginning to stabilize the economy the pirates arrived, frightening away fishermen and tourists alike.
The tuna industry has been worst hit. The catch of yellowfin, skipjack and bigeye tuna from within the Seychelles 540,000 square mile exclusive economic zone has fallen by 45 percent which has a knock-on effect on port revenue, which is down 30 percent from last year, and fishing license fees, worth up to $15 million a year.
Huge French, Spanish and Seychellois flagged purse-seine trawlers still unload their catch at Port Victoria’s bustling canning factory — the biggest in the Indian Ocean — but fishery officials say that a fifth of the vessels left the tuna fleet last year because of maritime insecurity.
Those that come pay additional piracy insurance and spend money on armed French marines and private security guards who have successfully thwarted attacks since they were first permitted aboard the tuna fleet last year.
“Piracy has caused a significant loss of production,” Michel Goujon, director of French trawler owners’ association Orthongel, told an international tuna conference in the Seychelles this month [February].
“[As] piracy developed around the Seychelles so pirates were waiting for us and the crews did not feel at all safe,” he said. But Goujon added that the decision to allow armed guards on tuna trawlers meant that boats could now “resume their activities in safe conditions.”

On 17th of February, FS NIVÔSE left her home port of La Reunion to join the European Naval Force Somalia - Operation ATALANTA (EU NAVFOR).
On leaving port, the warship performed an intense series of drills and training serials to prepare the crew for the demanding anti piracy task ahead in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
This is the second time that FS NIVÔSE has participated in Operation Atalanta. Last year the ship was involved in the arrest of 11 pirates after the 21,000 tonne Liberia flagged MV SAFMARINE ASIA came under sustained small arms and Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) attack from two skiffs that were operating in close company with a mother ship. In a separate incident, the arrest of another 11 pirates took place with the cooperation of a EU NAVFOR Spanish Maritime Patrol Aircraft.
[N.B.: Since the fatal shooting of French skipper Florent Lemaçon, whose case investigation has still neither been secluded nor concluded and since a French agent is still missing in action somewhere in southern Somalia, the French have been very quiet on the anti-piracy front.]

Persian Gulf: British Navy Practices "Combat Preparedness" In UAE
UAE-UK navies conduct joint marine exercise (KhaleejTimes)
ABU DHABI: Emirati and British navies are currently engaging in a two-week joint marine exercise on the UAE waters.
Code-named “Sea Khanjar”, the war games are being held from 15 to 27 February 2010 as part of a plan seeking to upgrade joint marine training and raise combat preparedness of the these forces.
These marine drills will strengthen joint action between the UAE armed forces and their counterparts in friendly countries, contribute to further enhancing joint military coordination and cooperation with the aim of continued assimilation and understanding of new tactics, gears and equipment. Such military exercise demonstrate the UAE Armed Forces’ firm commitment to keeping in touch with the latest technology. ....
Commander of the Amphibious Task Force (CATF) Comander Mike Peterson Royal Navy from the Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ) said: “The UK is committed in its cooperation with the UAE and execises such as Sea Khanjar will only serve to strengthen that cooperation.”

VIDEO: Will US-NATO Start World War III by Attacking Iran? by Michel Chossudovsky (GlobalResearch)
Video:
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=C4p1kD8CZX8& feature=player_ embedded
A UN nuclear watchdog report suggests Iran could be developing a nuclear bomb, apparently confirming long-held suspicions in the West. But Tehran denies the claims, again insisting that its atomic intentions are peaceful.
Michel Chossudovsky, who's from an independent Canadian policy research group, believes that what Iran says hardly matters, because the U.S. is planning for war.

... the Nintendo-boys-genaration outgrows their once harmless games:
NATO Agrees On Cyber Warfare Plan With Ukraine
NATO and Ukrainian experts discuss cyber defence (NorthAtlanticTreatyOrganization)
Both the Ukrainian and NATO Co-Chairmen of the expert staff talks noted that Ukraine is the first NATO Partner country to approach the Alliance with a request to launch co-operation in this area.
On 11-12 February 2010, cyber defence experts from Ukraine, NATO and Allied countries participated in the first NATO-Ukraine Expert Staff Talks on Cyber Defence in Kyiv. Held under the auspices of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defence Reform, the staff talks were co-organised by Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council and the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine.
The event's participants were greeted by the Ukrainian Co-Chairman of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defence Reform, First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Stepan Havrysh....
Both the Ukrainian and NATO Co-Chairmen of the expert staff talks noted that Ukraine is the first NATO Partner country to approach the Alliance with a request to launch co-operation in this area. The Alliance appreciates the initiative and is ready on its part to contribute to the series of staff talks planned for this year.....
As a result of the two-day discussions in Kyiv, it was agreed by Ukrainian and NATO representatives that the constructive and open atmosphere demonstrated at the staff talks provided an excellent opportunity for sharing expertise and knowledge in the area of cyber defence, which is currently demanding increased attention of each and every country and organisation. Participants agreed on a work plan for this year, which identifies the specific areas of cooperation.

-------- ecology, ecosystems, marine environment, IUU fishing and dumping, UNCLOS ------------

COMMUNITIES AND FORESTS
Africa: The huge value of mangroves for communities
Africa is richly endowed with mangroves, which cover over 3.2 million hectares, extending from Mauritania to Angola on the Atlantic coast and from Somalia to South Africa along the Indian Ocean.
Mangrove forests have a huge value for coastal communities that derive their livelihoods from them. Although commonly defined as “poor” in official statistics, communities living in healthy mangrove areas have what many urban people lack: diverse and abundant food. Mangroves provide for many of their needs, usually complemented with other productive activities such as farming, poultry, bee-farming and so on. Mangrove wood is a multi-purpose resource for fish stakes, fish traps, boat building, boat paddles, yam stakes, fencing, carvings, building timber, fuel and many other uses.
The Rufiji River Delta mangroves provide a good example on the above. Located in southern Tanzania, it is the largest delta in Eastern Africa and contains the largest estuarine mangrove forest on the eastern seaboard of the African continent. The Delta region is home to over thirty thousand people who live, farm and fish in its fertile agricultural lands and rich fishing grounds. The latter produce over 80 per cent of Tanzania's prawn exports with the entire catch being wild prawns.
The importance of mangroves for local communities becomes even clearer when they are degraded or disappear. In the case of Senegal, oysters, shrimp, tilapia, barracuda and catfish are among the many fish species that live in Casamance’s mangrove forests, but now, as a result of mangrove degradation "you can only find big fish, as well as shrimps and oysters, but you can no longer find catfish or other varieties, while there used to be plenty."
The depletion of fish stocks has particularly affected women who sell fish in bulk: "Women are closely involved in the fishing economy in this region. We sell fish, shrimp and oysters in the market and can earn up to US$20 a day from this, which greatly benefits our families. Now it is difficult for fish-sellers in Ziguinchor markets to earn even US$4 a day because there is so little fish left to sell."
The disappearance of mangroves harms other crops as well. Fewer mangroves means increased salt content of the water, which impedes the growth of paddy rice. "When we plant the rice now, it doesn't grow because there is so much salt in the water."
Regarding biodiversity, mangrove forests have few tree species to show (6 to 10), which may lead people to think that they are biodiversity-poor. In fact, they are exactly the opposite: mangroves are an irreplaceable and unique ecosystem, hosting incredible biodiversity and ranking among the most productive ecosystems in the world. The aerial roots of their trees form a complex web, hosting a multitude of animal species (fish, molluscs, crustaceans) and they operate as zones for mating, refuges and nursery areas for a large number of other species. The enormous quantities of fish and invertebrates that live in these coastal waters, provide an abundance of food for monkeys, turtles, and aquatic birds and they serve as an important migratory point for many birds.
Many species of animals use the Baly Bay’s 7200 hectares of mangroves as nesting, roosting and feeding areas. Located to the West coast of Madagascar, the bay’ mangroves constitute an important habitat for crab and shrimp species.
By some estimates, over 60% of fishes caught between the Gulf of Guinea and Angola breed in the mangrove belt of the Niger Delta. Mangroves have been sustainably managed by the many generations of communities living there. Sustainable use has been possible because of their profound knowledge about this ecosystem, passed on from generation to generation.
However, a number of changes have taken place over the last few decades that have resulted in mangrove destruction or degradation in many countries. Two different processes (frequently related) affecting mangroves can be observed: total destruction or degradation.
In some cases their total destruction may be due to urbanization, large-scale tourism undertakings, rice production or their eradication to give way to commercial shrimp farming. According to the FAO, Africa has lost about 500,000 hectares of mangroves over the last 25 years.
In other cases, partial deforestation is further aggravated by mangrove degradation – where most trees may remain standing – due to activities such as oil exploitation or mining. That is to say, the installation of pipelines, seismic exploration and open cast mines cause deforestation; while oil-spills, gas flaring and waste dumping pollute the water and the air and seriously degrade the ecosystem as a whole. Another important cause of “invisible” degradation is the use of agro-toxics in nearby agricultural production, where toxic chemicals end up in this ecosystem, thus resulting in severe impacts on mangrove biodiversity and peoples’ livelihoods.
In terms of degradation, major oil spills have occurred that have devastated rivers, killed mangroves and coastal life and affected the health and livelihoods of millions of inhabitants. Although this has happened in several countries in both Eastern and Western Africa, the case of the Niger Delta is probably the worst. As denounced by Amnesty International, the local communities living there rely on “the land and natural waterways for their livelihood and sustenance. Now, they have to drink, cook with and wash in polluted water and eat fish contaminated with toxins. They have lost farming land and their incomes from oil spills and breathe air that reeks of oil, gas and other pollutants.”
A further form of mangrove degradation results from overexploitation of its resources –both the trees themselves or the fish and other aquatic life forms that live there. In Africa, excessive mangrove wood extraction has been linked to fish smoking, building materials, fuelwood and charcoal production.
Within that context, efforts should be made to ensure sustainable use of existing mangroves, to restore degraded areas and to replant mangrove forests whenever possible and viable.
For the above to be possible, the necessary starting point is to identify and address all the direct and underlying causes of mangrove loss and degradation. In this respect, it is important to note that while most of the former have already been identified, the underlying causes are still a matter of debate that needs to be studied much further. Such analysis is fundamental in order to avoid the easy solution of putting the blame on “poverty” or “population growth”, while obscuring the role of governments, international institutions and corporations in mangrove loss and degradation.
While existing problems are addressed, it would be wise to prevent the development of new ones. In this respect, policies should be adopted and implemented to stop the expansion of unsustainable industrial shrimp farming, which is now looking at Africa’s mangrove areas as a new business opportunity to be exploited with little regard to the ecosystem. The negative social and environmental impacts of this activity are already well documented in all the countries where it has established itself, particularly in Latin America and Asia. The result, in country after country, is that industrial shrimp farming destroys mangroves, biodiversity and local peoples’ livelihoods. The impacts of the few existing cases of industrial shrimp farming in Africa should also serve as a basis for convincing governments on this issue.
African mangroves should be allowed to continue to play the role they have traditionally played: to ensure local peoples’ livelihoods through the conservation and wise use of their rich biodiversity.
(*) Summarized version of “African mangroves: their importance for people and biodiversity”, by Ricardo Carrere, editorial of “The relevance of mangrove forests to African fisheries, wildlife and water resources”, Nature & Faune Volume 24, Issue 1. The full article with footnotes, quoted sources and references is available at ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/ak995e/ak995e00.pdf
Communities who want to benefit from ECOTERRA's Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden Mangrove Action Programme, please write to africanode[at]ecoterra.net (you have to verify your mail if you write for the first time. New intake of communities from Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania.


Whaling: A draft of cold comfort? by Richard Black (BBC)
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has unveiled detailed proposals on how whaling could be regulated in a way that countries still engaged in the hunt and those opposed to it could both live with.
The essential dilemma is what it has been for decades: some societies view the whale as just another wild animal to be hunted, whereas for others it is a special emblem of a troubled environment, a sentient friend that should never feel the thud of a harpoon.

• Manysummits: For what it's worth, this process of politics and science and NGO's sounds suspiciously like more of the same.
  The establishment will probably vote in favor of at least some agreement, no matter how watered down, believing, for very different reasons, that any agreement is better than none.
  I think I'll go with my intuitive mind on this:
  Switch the onus to the Interacademy Panel on International Issues and the International Court.
  These preposterous committees such as the International Whaling Commission are exactly that, and pretending 'it ain't so' isn't washing with me anymore.
  There is more than a little of the rebel in me, I admit.
  For me the establishment is beginning to look not just like the 'business as usual' crowd, but is enlarging to include the safe and secure wherever they exist, whether in an academic institution or an NGO.
  
• I remember reading, a long time ago, about the then new "Law of the Sea", and thinking how wonderful this was. I may have been a member of "The Cousteau Society" at the time?
  I am now much older - certainly more cynical, if not wiser.
  ---------------
  United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
  "... the UN has no direct operational role in the implementation of the Convention. There is, however, a role played by organizations such as the International Maritime Organization, the International Whaling Commission, and the International Seabed Authority (the latter being established by the UN Convention)...
  Although the United States helped shape the Convention and its subsequent revisions, and though it signed the 1994 Agreement on Implementation, it has not ratified the Convention."
  ----------
  When are we going to wake up and smell the coffee?
  Let us clearly see and state what we should all by now know - that by and large, we the people have lost control, more or less completely, of any and all political process in the world today.
  Not so! I can hear the self-righteous cries.
  Let me say this as a mountaineer - I care little for words - actions count.
  Let me restate the words of your own foreign Secretary for the Royal Society, in charge of dealings with the Interacademy Panel on International Issues, which she considers the 'United Nations' of Science:
  \\\ The world now faces challenges on an unprecedented level, which we are unequivocally failing to address." /// - Dr. Lorna Casselton
  
• Peter Dewsnap: I would have no objection to those whalers being sunk.
  
• Asterionella : I have no cristal ball, but my forecast: nothing will happen. Both sides will blame the other for the failure to reach an agreement. Too many whales will continue to die.
  
• davblo : Some good background reading maybe... Whaling controversy
  
• b5happy : Really serves to illustrate (for me at least) what criminals are we...
• SamuelPickwick wrote: What is particularly irritating is the Japanese pretence that their whaling is "scientific". But I can't see them backing down, so I'm not anticipating any meaningful agreement.
  
• Femme : The basis for Japan´s quota as being for `scientific interest´ is blatantly false. The only scientific interest in whales is in the observation of living whales. Dead whales are for meat. There is no scientific interest in dead whales. Dead whales are for eating. So until Japan and other pro- whaling communities come clean on this issue we will continue to see these extraordinary mammals get hunted to the brink of extinction for meat.
  
• xtragrumpymike2 : We have a very interesting situation here in NZ at this minute (incidentally, NZ is "supposed" to be very "anti-whaling" but is taking zero action despite the situation with a NZ citizen)
  The various Ministers and other government MPs have been instructed to return to their respective constituencies to "indoctrinate" (my words) us, the general public, in the Government's policy.
  I thought democracy was all about electing someone from the local community to represent US in Parliament.Not the other way round where "they" ram the policies of the Government down our throats" willy nilly. Just another nail in the coffin of Democracy.
  
• manysummits : I am wondering if it is not the industrial scale and method which is the problem.
  Factory ships killing whales is doubtless efficient in some modern sense, as is clearcutting a forest.
  But intuitively, I think this is not true efficiency, for it removes the human elememt, converting a genetically endowed hunter/gatherer into an industrial machine component.
  This idea is applicable at many scales in our current civilizations, and across a wide range of modern ways of making a living.
  The central tie, the heart of the fractal, is the de-humanizing of the human being - no matter the pursuit.
• xtragrumpymike2 : Japan is hunting in what is supposed to be a Whale Sanctuary.
  The Ozzy and our Government are "supposed" to be supporting that "sanctuary" but are offering little in the way of criticism as they don't want to upset the applecart (Free Trade Agreements and all that) so it's left to the "Greenies" who can get pretty active at times.
  
• Malcolm : As a person from a strong anti whaling country - Australia, I am one of the vast majority who want end whaling in the southern ocean. Last year I spent the day at Hervey Bay in Queensland where from August to November the whales move north to breed. It was just a wonderful sight and something my partner and I talked about for weeks. It is amazing that many of these people, who go to Hervey Bay, are from Japan to see the whales . Which is ironic.
  
• xtragrumpymike2 : Pardon my flippancy here (I'm actually in total agreement, they come "whale Watching here too) those Japanese are probably thinking......."Look at all those that got away!"
  
• hispeedlady : In the end it is down to each and every one of us. Your conscience, your choice. Eat less meat, write a letter, join an organization... or watch precious species disappear. YOU choose!
  I can't pretend to be able to produce and juggle with numbers, but if we do nothing, our children and grandchildren will be asking why. And there will be no way back.
• littlejean : I suppose the key point is being reasonable, but still, I believe we are hearing many stories of reasonable scaffolds collapsing, showing big companies' inner lies in all their frightening glory. Astrophysicians say mass can bend light, I tend to believe that the same is true with money and truth.
  I Would like to add these japanese words of wisdom (or not ?), that are very popular in Japan : "it’s the nail that stands out that gets pounded down".
  This might explain why the public opinion don't dare to voice a thing against whaling.
• bigeye : I have looked into the eye of a whale from 10 ft away. Anyone who kills these grand creatures of great intelligence is not a man . He is but a coward and will be stopped only when those who oppose them fight back by supporting action by Captain Paul Watson and Sea Sheperd.
  
• jr4412 : found this quote: "Greenpeace makes more money from anti-whaling than Norway and Iceland combined make from whaling" on http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/editorial-061220-1.html, an interesting read.
  
• Richard Black (BBC) : Regarding the issue of Japanese vs Icelandic and Norwegian whaling: one of the reasons why Japan commands so much attention from environmental campaigners is that it alone hunts in a declared whale sanctuary. Another is that it uses a factory ship to do so.
  Another important reason, though, is the political capital that Japan invests in the issue - in contrast to Norway, which does what it does quietly and unilaterally. You may find other reasons, of course.
  Articles about Icelandic hunts:
  Iceland plans big whalemeat trade
  Iceland sets major whaling quota
  Iceland minister warns on whaling

see also: http://www.ecop.info

Whales object to whaling compromise (enn)
A new draft compromise on whaling released by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) today set a dangerous precedent that the international community must reject, conservationists say.
A working group within the IWC today unveiled a new compromise aimed at unlocking the stalled negotiation process between countries fundamentally opposed to whaling and states that support it.
While the compromise contains many positive elements for whale conservation that would help bring the IWC into the 21st Century, the compromise could legitimise "scientific" whaling by Japan in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
If there is one single place in the world where whales should be fully protected, it is the Southern Ocean.
What we need is to eliminate all whaling in the Southern Ocean, including Japanese commercial whaling thinly disguised as 'scientific research'. But what we have now is a deal which could make it even easier for Japan to continue taking whales in this ecologically unique place.
The IWC has maintained a ban on all commercial whaling since 1986. But, defying this ban, Japan, Norway and Iceland use loopholes in the IWC's founding treaty to kill more than 1,500 whales a year. The loopholes allow whaling under ”objection" to management decisions (Norway and Iceland) and "scientific" whaling for research purposes (Japan).

--------------------------- anti-piracy measures ---------------------------------


Clipper brings blackmail charges against pirates (marinelog)
Clipper Project Ship Management A/S, a member of Denmark's Clipper Group, has pressed charges against the Somali pirates, who hijacked the vessel CEC FUTURE on November 7, 2008 in the Gulf of Aden. Clipper Project brought the charges through the Special International Crimes Office in Denmark headed by the public prosecutor
The CEC Future was on a voyage from Antwerp to Batam (Indonesia), when it was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. The ship was released on January 16, 2009 after 71 days under the pirates' control. The vessel was registered under the Bahamas flag and managed by Clipper Project Ship Management A/S in Denmark. The crew of 13 consisted of 11 Russians, an Estonian and a Georgian. Though quite common in the shipping industry, the range of flag, management and various crew nationalities schallenges the judicial system of the various nations involved with regard to governing law and prosecution of the pirates, should they be apprehended.
In the case of the CEC Future, the pirates absconded with the ransom without being caught, and to date, no charges have been brought forward.
On release of the crew and vessel, Clipper instructed the crew to collect all available evidence such as DNA material, pictures, letters and other relevant items. All of the evidence was handed over to U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) when the vessel arrived at Salalah, Oman. The NCIS also participated in debriefing the crew in order to support the general evidence collection and to improve its understanding of the pirates' "modus operandi".
To Clipper's knowledge the evidence from the hijacking of CEC Future has not yet been used to prosecute pirates.
THE INITIATIVE
Until now the piracy prosecution process has primarily been driven by the authorities only a passive participation byshipping companies and other relevant parties
Clipper says it is now taking an active role by adding a new element to its anti-piracy effort.
Although the vessel has a different flag and management, Clipper has now found a way to bring charges forward.
It is acting through the Special International Crimes Office in Denmark which holds national responsibility for legal proceedings concerning serious international crimes.
The principle behind the charge is a paragraph within the Danish Criminal Code which states that the Code can be enforced when the criminal act is effectively taken against a Danish company: in this case Clipper Project Ship Management A/S, based in Copenhagen.
BLACKMAIL
The core of the initiative by Clipper is to start criminal proceedings for blackmail, which is illegal under Danish law. Blackmail is committed both in the place where the blackmailer operates and in the place where the blackmailed company is situated. As Clipper Project Ship Management A/S is a Danish company based in Copenhagen, Danish criminal proceedings can therefore be initiated.
Instead of initiating criminal charges for all aspects of a hijacking, Clipper's approach focuses on that criminal activity by the pirates which undoubtedly can be dealt with by Danish authorities. Clipper says this approach of limiting the focus of thecase might also be open to ship owners in other cases.
WAY AHEAD
Clipper says its action in bringing a charge before the Danish authorities raises a number of questions. Who will apprehend the pirates? Where should the pirates be prosecuted? What will be the consequences of the charge? Clipper has already been in contact with the Danish chair of the legal Working Group of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, who has confirmed that these issues will be taken up by the Working Group to the extent they are not already on the agenda in order for the Group to contribute to an international response to these key questions.
Clipper is awaiting a response from the Danish authorities. It expects that they will take the matter very seriously and deal with the charge both speedily and in accordance with the relevant rules.
"We also expect," says Clipper,"that the Danish authorities share this information with their colleagues in other States e.g. through INTERPOL."
Clipper is encouraging other companies that have been affected by a piracy incident to investigate whether their national laws provide a similar opportunity to bring charges against the pirates as well. Clipper firmly believes that, at a minimum, the effort will bring all of the implied challenges to the attention of the relevant governments and authorities.
WORKING GROUP
Clipper says that the Contact Group on Piracy off the coast of Somalia, named Working group 2, or WG 2, is doing an impressive job of establishing the legal requirements to support the prosecution of pirates, but there remain major challenges.
CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
Presently more than 100 pirates are awaiting trial in Kenya and other countries but challenges to be overcome include:

collection of valid evidence
sharing of evidence to support court cases
witness contribution during court process
financing court systems
national laws vs. international law

Typically, a wealth of evidence is collected, both during the capture of a vessel and after its release. Examples include:
DNA evidence, debriefing and interview of the crew (some times in the presence of Naval Intelligence) and photos of the pirates
The majority of shipowners have provided such evidence after the vessels have been released. However, the question still remains: How is the evidence used? And, is it shared to the benefit of all involved?
Clipper says evidence provided by shipowners should be available to all involved authorities to support the prosecution process. It seems that evidence collected by the shipowners and vessels is not being disseminated, but to the contrary, it is being used only by the service to which it has been offered. This could be rectified by establishing a shared evidence database. To Clipper's knowledge the evidence collected from CEC Future after release, which was provided to the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS), has not been shared at all.
A major obstacle to evidence sharing is the lack of an agency that both coordinates the use of evidence and drives the prosecution process; a single point of access for a ship owner. The interface is lacking which results in evidence gathering and prosecution being handled on a Ònarrow basisÓ without required coordination to support the work.. Clipper suggests that a possible way to strengthen the entire process would be to utilize an existing organization that already holds a part of the process and possesses the required knowledge. The initiative by INTERPOL to establish a dedicated task force to coordinate the international response to the maritime piracy threat in all its facets is highly appreciated. INTERPOL already holds a part of the process, and thus, says Clipper, is an obvious choice to expand the mandate to handle a wider range of tasks.
Clipper says that resources need to be allocated to support the prosecution and imprisonment of the pirates and thinks the United Nations "seems to be the natural organization to coordinate such work."

Dar to probe radar scandal despite $46m payout by Abduel Elinanza (TheEastAfrican)
Andrew Chenge resigned as Minister for Infrastructure Development after SFO implicated him in the scandal.
Tanzania is at a crossroads.

-------------- no real peace in sight yet -----------------

More int'l support needed to solve Somalia's crisis: president (Xinhua)
More supports from the international community for Somalia's transitional government were needed to solve the country's prolonged and complicated crisis, Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said on Sunday in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Puntland authority says it has foiled explosion attacks (Somaliweyn)
The administration of the semiautonomous state of Puntland in Mudug region has said that it has thwarted series of explosions which were aimed to be attacked at the officials of Puntland state.
“There was a landmine which was buried just behind the compound of the division police station, and the objective was to attack the officials of Puntland who frequently use the street which the device was buried, and know we have succeeded to unearth it and there were several other similar cases which we have foiled” said Muse Ahmed Abdurrahman the provincial police commissioner of Mudug region speaking to Somaliweyn Website.   
The police commissioner has as well wholeheartedly thanked the inhabitants of Mudug region who closely work with Puntland authority in the side of alerting if they sight anything which is out the ordinary.
Since Puntland state has declared its self-governing state in the year 1998 it was one of the most peaceful regions in Somalia, but in the recent years it has become a horrific place, after prominent figures in the authority of Puntland were assassinated as high as Ministers and some killed in explosion buried in the ground.
When explosions and assassinations have become routine in Puntland the authority has sieved Digil and Mirifle communities from its regional of authority, but yet the explosions have been going on as usual.

ANONYMOUS HINT
An anonymous tip led to the arrest of five men who allegedly planned to have DF’s Pia Kjærsgaard killed
Five men have been arrested in connection with death threats allegedly having been made against Danish People’s Party leader Pia Kjærsgaard.
Four of the five men were subsequently released by police, but the fifth remains in custody. The men are reportedly Somali and the man in custody is known to intelligence service PET, reported Politiken newspaper.
According to the Danish People’s Party (DF), a 500,000 kroner reward was offered in connection with carrying out the death threats against Kjærsgaard. The party indicated its head office received a letter written in English from an anonymous source with details about the planned hit and the suspects’ names.
Police ransacked the suspects’ flats yesterday, but later stated there was not sufficient evidence to hold the other four men, although charges are still pending against all five. The man still in custody is also being charged with possession of counterfeit money, as he had 50 phony 500 kroner notes on him at the time of the arrest.
Police have not yet confirmed that there was any reward offered, and they emphasized that they have yet to find any concrete evidence that links the men to threats. The possibility that someone was attempting to frame the men is also being investigated.
Kjærsgaard was on the last day of a holiday abroad when the story broke the news. She returned yesterday and admitted she was shaken by the letter, but said she had confidence the police would handle the matter.
‘I’m not happy about it, of course,’ she said. ‘The threat was very detailed and that makes it more unpleasant than previous threats against me. But unfortunately it’s something that goes with being a politician in Denmark.'

In his third public appearance since he became the deputy leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula AQAP, Saeed Al-Shihri or as called ‘’Abu Sufyan Al-Azdi” publicized a message denying the news of his promoted death along with the organization’s leader Nasser Al-Wahayshi in an attack by a military aircraft in the Yemeni province of Shabwa on the 24th of last December.
The appearance of Al-Shihri instead of Al-Wahayshi made many analysts say that Al-Wahayshi has been killed while Al-Shihri survived the attack and took command of the organization in Yemen.
The opinions are based on speculation not on information, the appearance of the second man, the wanted No. 31 on the list of the 85 terrorism suspects for the security services in Saudi Arabia.
The list includes two wanted Yemenis, Nasser Al-Wahayshi and Qassim Al-Raimi.
His appearance would send a message that the organization exceeded locality and became an international organization that its Yemeni-Saudi leadership share the responsibility of making decisions and route messages.
And it is not subjected to any form of bureaucracy and centralization as it is ruled by the coordination relations between its leaders. At the same time, the letter addressed to members of the organization in Saudi Arabia as Al-Shihri is in charge of recruitment and funding.
The voice recording of Al-Shihri did not bring up nothing new, he brought repeated threats of operations designed to control Bab Al-Mandab strait, to emphasize that Al Qaeda was behind the attempt by the Nigerian Umar Farouk to attack a U.S. airplane on the eve of New Year’s Day, and to announce that he survived together with the organization leaders of the operations carried out against them in Abyan, Arhab, Shabwa, Al Ashajer and Marib, in addition to telling about the role of Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the war against Al-Qaeda in Yemen.
What’s new in the Saudi Saeed Al-Shihri’s recording is his indication of the plan to have U.S. troops inside Yemen to hunt down Al-Qaeda members. He called it the Petraeus plan in comparative to the U.S. Central Command Chief Gen. David Petraeus, author of the ‘’Practical Guide for Islamic Warriors’’ the war against Al-Qaeda, which was distributed to American fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to Al-Shihri, Petraeus’s plan was implemented in Iraq and focuses on three parts; first, mobilizing Muslims against each other a so-called (Al-Sahawat) that makes the war between Muslims.
Second, discredit Jihadists actions as sabotage acts such as the bombing of mosques, markets, and the assassination of some prominent Islamic leaders.
Third, broadcasting spies and money for Muslim masses via the international Intelligence.”
Al-Shihri, 35-year-old did not finish high school and worked on trade before joining Al-Qaeda. Yemeni authorities accuse him of being behind the operation that targeted the U.S. embassy in Sana’a.
He did not ignore in his recording to try to mobilize the Yemeni tribes behind Al-Qaeda in the AQAP, where he said the air strikes that targeted the movement was aimed at killing innocent civilians, and that U.S. spy planes are limiting the sites of the coming massacres, which will kill the innocent civilians, according to him.
Like Bin Laden, Al-Dhawaheri, Abu Musab Al-Suri, Naji Ibrahim, Nasser Al-Wuhayshi and other Al-Qaeda leaders, he directed his speeches to the tribes of Yemen in an attempt to emotionally bring them to stand behind Al-Qaeda and to promote it.
Saeed Bin Ali Bin Jaber Al-Shihri, who was arrested near the Pakistani-Afghani border at the end of 2001, trained on the methods of fighting inside cities in a camp located in the north of Kabul, Afghanistan, according to documents disclosed by the Pentagon as part of his file in Guantanamo Bay.
He arrived in Afghanistan two weeks after the September 11 attacks 2001, via Bahrain and Pakistan. Afterward, American interrogators said that he sought to participate in relief efforts. Also, He was wounded during an air strike, and remained hospitalized for one and half months in Pakistan.
Before leaving for Guantanamo Bay, he was detained for six years carrying the number 372 in the prison of Guantanamo Base, then he was received by Saudi Arabia along with 11 others including the former leader of Al-Qaeda Mohammed Al-Awfi who both underwent the counseling program of the Saudi intelligence for a year before he disappeared to appear later in Yemen in mid-2008.
After the appearance of the last audio recording of Al-Shihri, a Yemeni security official initiated to say that the appearance of Al-Shihri points to the correctness of the announcement by the Yemeni Ministry of Defense after the air strike against members of the organization in Shabwa last December that Nasser Al-Wahayshi, Al-Qaeda leader in the AQAP, was killed in the air-strike.
The appearance of Al-Shihri is evidence of becoming actually the leader of the organization instead of Al-Wahayshi.
But, the closest understanding is that the appearance of Al-Shihri is a desire by the organization to give an impression by the level of partnership in decision-making between the Yemeni local leaders and Saudi leaders.
Meanwhile, Al-Shihri succeeded in smuggling his wife Wafa Al-Shihri to Yemen, together with her three children.
According to information broadcasted by the Saudi security services, the ages of the three sons of Wafa Al-Shihri, range between nine years and six months, the first child 9-year-old is called Yusuf from her first husband, Saud Al-Qahtani, second, Wasif five years also of a former husband Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi, and the daughter of Saeed Al-Shihri.
That Information adds that the links of Wafa Al-Shihri, who is also known as Omm Hajer to Al-Qaeda, have deepened after her marriage to two persons belonging to Al Qaeda.
The subject of Wafa Al-Shihri and her children, who is classified as the first woman officially listed by the security services as a member of Al-Qaeda, is one of the reasons that could have lead to the assassination of the Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Mohammed Bin Nayef when Abdullah Asiri was meeting with him, where Asiri said in a phone call while he was in Yemen with Mohammed Bin Nayef that among the topics he wants to meet with her about, is the subject of preparing for her return and her children to the Kingdom.
Saeed Al-Shihri got married to Wafa after returning from Guantanamo Bay through her brother, Yusuf Al-Shihri the wanted person No. 85 to the Saudi authorities. He was Saeed’s companion in Guantanamo Bay. Yusuf Al-Shihri was killed in October of 2009 in a clash with Saudi security after he was able with his fellow Raed Al-Harbi to infiltrate the territory of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi intelligence announced that it found in Yusuf Al-Shihri’s phone an audio video recording for Saeed Al-Shihri requesting for financial support.
Al-Shihri asked Al-Qaeda followers in Saudi Arabia to raise money supports for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in which he said “what your brothers are doing in the land of Yemen of blessed Jihad against the enemies of religion of (Jews and Christians) needs lifeblood and the backbone of jihad, which is money.
The video Saeed Al-Shihri appeared on, with a member of the organization, Mohammed Abdul Karim Al-Ghazali, who was added to the wanted list of the Saudi authorities in Yemen, exposed the way the organization collects donations through persons were sent by registered recommendations of Al-Shihri, where Al-Ghazali tried to use that letter to collect donations from citizens in favor of Al-Qaeda, as he was sent and trusted by Al-Shihri.
According to the Saudi Interior Ministry, that way was followed by the organization to collect donations during last pilgrimage (hajj) season. Saudi security forces seized people carrying video messages on their mobile phones from Ayman Al-Dhawaheri, calling for contribution for the organization.
Al-Shihri added on his letter, “that Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him said: ‘’’fight the polytheists with your wealth, yourselves and your tongues’’’. This is our brother, the bearer of this letter is one of the scholars we have, and he left to invite you to what has been commanded by God (Allah) in the process of spending your money on Jihad.”
This is what calls to say that Al-Shihri is responsible for the financing and recruitment processes within the organization. The large amount funding for Al-Qaeda in Yemen still comes from supporters of Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia.
The recent Al-Shihri speech about the coordination efforts with the organization of the Young Mujahideen in Somalia; perhaps is a first step towards integration with them in a standardized format, in addition to distract the Western intelligence services and security services of Yemen and turn them toward Somalia, to enable the organization to catch its breath and plan for retaliatory operation in a place far from Bab Al-Mandab, which may lead to the disruptions and increase the readiness of security, which would increase the expenses of protecting specially protecting vessels there, as a part of the attrition strategy followed by the organization.
Al-Shihri statements established an additional burden on Yemen relating to the credibility of the official announcements about the victories achieved in the fight against Al-Qaeda on the ground, where still most of the leaders of Al-Qaeda in Yemen have the ability to plan attacks against Yemeni and foreign interests.
The fighters from Saudi citizens form a great danger, not against Yemen only but also against Saudi Arabia, where the organization stated more than once its desire to launch attacks against Saudi Arabia from Yemen.

We have heard this statement from Pan African founders in the persons of Patrice Emery Lumumba of Congo, Francis Ohanyido of Nigeria, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Haile Selassia of Ethiopia, Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea, Dr. Julius Kambarge Nyerere of Tanzania and the renowned artist Bob Marley from Jamaica/United States. There couldn’t be more than just socio-political movement in Pan Africanism surge at that time, something we can’t overestimated given our diversity. Yet Africa would have gained more if it had integrated Pan Africanism principles in their daily political life of the Africans. No one at his era outside there has African future in the heart; we are de trop to many. In the earlier 1960s the West was real, but that has fairly changed. Sincerely, we are yet independence, a sad truth we can do something about it before someone finishes us economically and politically.
Africa would have been ahead by now if African leaders struck their neck out against Western interference in the affairs of the continent. President Idris Deby of Chad underscored this point last week when he paid keen attention to his conscience in his visit to his Sudanese counterpart President Omar Hassan Al Bashir in Khartoum. The West was snubbed and miffed, but Africans celebrated the angel of peace in the person of Idris Deby Itno. His feet were invigorated in the African spirit of forgive and forget, a shock to peremptory good guys who want to be seen doing something for Africans, when in fact their agenda is always different. His knew the West outmoded diplomatic failures have hurriedly killed African renaissance and progress. What a man that is (President Deby)!
The Good Book (The Bible) again is explicit about events in time; there is time for everything. Peace has beckoned across our continent, leaders have the moral responsibility to read those signs and move people away from Western orchestrated crisis (wars). The man who claimed (say have been claimed) to be god and was idolize around the world (Barrack Obama) has since gone in to hiding after he burned his fingers in Israelis-Palestinian conflict, Iran Nuclear suspected ambition/impasse, North Korea bold face, Global warming/Greenhouse gas emission challenge, Afghanistan NATO led operations and Democratic transition problems in Iraq.
President Obama seems to have been overweighed by his domestic issues on the expense of his global initiatives including that of the Africa continent. His predecessor is fondly remembered in Africa for his aid package in the tune of $4 billions. At best President George Walker Bush had an agenda for Africa, President Obama Hussein has none, saved for his rhetoric that isn’t specific. His father home is burning and he never lifted a finger to help his cousins find peace as the Kenyan death year (elections year) draws nearer.
Somali is one dark spot/big pain that needs African solution. The US created it and continuous to fuel it (am blunt, yeah?), like other conflicts in the continent, but Africans have the duty to save lives of innocent Africans in Somali. The West is cruel and if the continent waits for its help, we shall have a long wait indeed! President Deby didn’t wait to tell Dr. Khalil Ibrahim of Justice and Equality (JEM) to join Sudan peace train and its democratic transformation. President Al Bashir didn’t wait for the West for him to agree with Dr. John Garang. The West desperately was rushing Garang to sign an agreement right in 2003 with so many important areas hanging. Some of them had hurled nasty remarks (insults) against Garang for his slow pace. However, Ms Hilde Johnson of then Norwegian International Development Ministry refused to budge. May God Almighty bless this lady wherever she might be! I named my daughter after this lady.
We live in a dangerous world; a place where interest is everything. Africa is a dumping ground and unless we stand up on our own, the likes of Luis Moreno Ocampo, a US stooge, will have reason to abuse the continent at will. Sudanese from all walks of life are yearning for peace. People crave for peace and any messenger of peace anywhere in the world is our true friend. JEM leadership has realized this fact and the country is moving towards a healing and transtion from war to peace and development. Retribution is devilish and is bad! A bygone is a bygone; we can’t be allowed by others to dwell in the past; we got to move our country to the next generation towards peace and progress.
Peace in Chad and Sudan is gregariously peace for Africa. President Mau mar Al Kaddafi knew it earlier. Africans must learn from its past mistakes and listen to voices of great founding leaders. Presidents Deby, Al Bashir, we are proud of you! Accommodate Darfur in the Presidency and everywhere. Complete the process of compensation and put back life into that region. African Union (AU) therefore should now move swiftly to entrenched the initiative by two great sons of Africa; they got to do it before the West botch the exercise altogether. The West wants to be in anything, they got to leave the continent to try its problems alone. Money alone can’t buy peace for the continent.
UN effort across the continent moreover is of great concern. Its roles have been proven woeful due to its abuses. In the Sudan, especially in the South, there are horrific stories about the force and their activities in general. There are deaths and killings everyday in this part of the world (South) and the so-called peacekeepers never conclusively find an answer to what peace are they keeping, when civilians routinely attack each other. May be after we see the light at 2011, the UN will have to pack and go, our people shall see what to do with their colored children they have been fathering everywhere, the only positive thing I think they are best doing to our people. Africans solutions are the best!
Differently: our security forces must ignore Kiir directives on their neutrality. Our people should stand with the ‘devil’ we all know than the ‘angel’ we don’t know. Comrade Salva Kiir Mayardit and his running mate Dr. Riek Machar Teny weaknesses are our own (we know when to correct them); we can’t stand aside and allow those who sat in the fence when things were tough to usurp people’s power. Return SPLM to power!
(*) Isaiah Abraham lives in Juba

‘Blood diamonds’ inspire ‘conflict minerals’ campaign by Kevin J. Kelly (DN)
A campaign is growing in the United States to end wars and atrocities in eastern Congo by discouraging the export of what organisers describe as “conflict minerals.”The effort is inspired by the movement a few years ago that helped stop murderous conflicts in West Africa by successfully targeting the “blood diamonds” that were financing them.

EA’s unholy nexus: Diamonds, guns and money-laundering by Leon Kukkuk (TheEastAfrican)
In line with a number of East African countries, Uganda’s parliament has started formulating a law against money laundering.
The intention is to bring all the money laundering laws in the EAC and SADC regions in line with one each another other and thus stem the flow of funds from the illegal economy into the legal economy.
The proposed law was cleared after the Bill was published in the government gazette in August 2009.
Nevertheless, Uganda taken made no significant steps to fight money laundering.
It appears that the whole anti-money laundering initiative in the EAC zone is driven by international pressure based on concerns regarding terrorism funding and drug trafficking.

Is Harvard Prof Advocating Palestinian Genocide? by M.J Rosenberg (HuffingtonPost)
This has to be seen to be believed.
Dr. Martin Kramer, a fellow at Harvard's National Security Studies Program, has posted a speech he delivered two weeks ago in Israel in which he urged solving the Palestinian refugee problem by population control i.e "stopping pro-natal subsidies to Palestinians with refugee status." In other words, starve the Palestinians so they don't have babies and, he seems to be saying, starving the babies so they don't grow up.
That will help reduce the terrorist threat by preventing Palestinian babies from becoming "superfluous young men." It is, Kramer says, those "superfluous young men" who become radicals.

Aging populations reject radical agenda and the Middle East is no different. Now eventually, this will happen among the Palestinians, too. But it will happen faster if the West stops providing pro-natal subsidies for Palestinians with refugee status. Those subsidies are one reason why in the ten years, from 1997 to 2007, Gaza's population grew by an astonishing 40%. At that rate, Gaza's population will double by 2030 to three million. Israel's present sanctions on Gaza have a political aim, undermine the Hamas regime, but they also break Gaza's runaway population growth and there is some evidence that they have. That may begin to crack the culture of martyrdom, which demands a constant supply of superfluous young men.

Here is Kramer himself touting his idea on his personal blog.
This is right out of Jonathan Swift. Instead of arguing for jobs, economic opportunity, and self-determination to ensure that these baby boys can have productive lives, Kramer argues for preventing them from growing up.
Watch the clip yourself. This guy, Harvard, Washington Institute of Near East Policy, and President of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem seems to be advocating genocide.Unbelievable.
(Here is Kramer's response to the above piece. It is, if anything, creepier than his original presentation.
WATCH the VIDEO
(*) M.J Rosenberg - Senior Fellow Media Matters Action Network

Israel relies on a deadly specialty by Edmund Sanders
Dubai allegations put the Jewish state on the hot seat again for its use of assassinations.
When Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman faced questions Monday from European diplomats over Israel's suspected role in the Dubai assassination of a Hamas militant, he responded with familiar indignation: Why is Israel always the first to be blamed, he asked.
Perhaps no other country's use of assassinations has been more scrutinized, condemned and celebrated than that of Israel. The policy is not likely to change, analysts and diplomats say, because such killings, from Israel's point of view, have proved effective in fighting a nonconventional enemy. And despite legal questions and international backlash, Israel has usually emerged unscathed.
Confronting a hostile region, Israel sees targeted killings as an essential tool in decapitating militant groups or putting them on the defensive, experts say.
"They seem to be extremely focused on this kind of tactic," said Aaron David Miller, former U.S. negotiator in the Middle East and now scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
"This is the price of living in the neighborhood," he added. "It's a symptom of the ongoing confrontation and their perceptions about the long war. Both sides perceive that acting, even with the negative consequences to image and public diplomacy, is still effective and it's going to continue."
Israel is certainly not the only nation to engage in targeted killings. Despite presidential orders to restrict political assassinations, the U.S. has killed terrorism suspects in Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia, usually with airstrikes. European spy agencies have also been accused of assassinations.
In 2001, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine killed Israel's tourism minister at a Jerusalem hotel. Two months earlier, Israel had assassinated the group's leader.
Israel has been relatively open and public in defending its use of targeted killings. In 2006, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled the practice justified in some instances under international law. In addition, countless books and movies have mythologized the Israeli spy agency Mossad's knack for revenge.
But when such activities occur on foreign soil, and evidence emerges implicating Israeli agents, the nation has found itself under fire.
After the exposure of a 1997 attempt to poison Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Jordan, Israel was not only pressured by the Jordanian king to deliver an antidote, it also agreed to release another imprisoned Hamas leader as part of the apology.
But Israel had the last word, one might say. The released man, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike seven years later.
In the Dubai killing, Israel has refused to confirm or deny its role, though Dubai authorities say they've collected evidence implicating the Mossad.
Israel resorts to assassination, analysts say, because its superiority in military might only goes so far in defeating underground cells of militants.
Such limits were apparent in the perceived failure of the 2006 war with Lebanon and the mixed results of the Israeli military's offensive in the Gaza Strip a year ago.
"Targeted killings is a tool that is sometimes necessary," said Yoram Schweitzer, senior fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. "It's a very delicate instrument, but as long as it is not used that often, it works."
He said the Mossad's reported 1978 assassination of Palestinian militant Wadie Haddad, who was said to have been poisoned by a box of tainted chocolates, led to the collapse of Haddad's terrorist cell.
Critics, however, question the legality of Israel's use of targeted killings and say the violence only leads to retaliation.
Though international attention usually focuses on attacks taking place on foreign soil, Israel's military has killed several hundred suspected militants in Gaza since 2000, according to the Jerusalem-based human rights group B'Tselem. The group says the killings are at best a moral and legal gray area and at worst extrajudicial executions.
"The biggest problem is it's completely nontransparent," said B'Tselem Executive Director Jessica Montell. "They are killing people and saying [the person] was a senior operative. But we don't know, because nobody has access to that information."
Israeli commentator Guy Bechor says the hoopla over Israel's role in the Dubai assassination has actually helped Israel by striking fear in enemies about a "crazy" aggressive nation that should not be messed with.
Senior Hamas figure Mahmoud Mabhouh was killed in his Dubai hotel room in January by assassins whose pre- slaying moves were captured on a security video. Eleven people using fake European passports allegedly entered Dubai to carry out the killing of Mabhouh, who has been accused of smuggling arms from Iran and of involvement in the capture and killing of two Israeli soldiers in the 1980s.
Many here expect that despite the diplomatic protests from Britain, Ireland, France and Germany, whose passports were forged for use by the assailants, international outrage will fade -- though the mesmerizing security camera video of the operation lives on.
"After 9/11, people understand that democracy sometimes has to be not as clean as we would like it to be," said former Mossad agent Gad Shimron.
Behind the scenes, Israel's intelligence agency works closely with Western nations against joint threats, Shimron said. So though foreign governments might lodge public complaints, he said, "when the door closes, they'll wink."

Consequences of Drone Strikes by Sajjad Shaukat (KashmirWatch)

UN Official Ali Treki Is on EU Travel Ban List of Libyans, UN Sources Tell Inner City Press, Swiss Silence
By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive (InnerCityPress)
As Libya moved to deny visas to citizens of 25 European countries due to what it calls their ban on travel by 180 prominent Libyans, Inner City Press has been told at the UN that the Libyan President of the General Assembly, Ali Treki, is on the travel ban list.
One member of Treki's office at the UN said he is on the list, and that is why in his trans-Atlantic trip he visited only the UK, which is not a part of the EU's Schengen passport agreement. Another member claimed that, despite the list, Switzerland had provided assurance that Treki could visit Geneva, since he is president of the UN General Assembly.
Swiss diplomats at the UN have been non-transparent. The mission's spokesman forwarded Inner City Press' request for confirmation or denial to two officials in Geneva, saying he is on the way to Burundi. One of these officials has an "out of office" auto-responder on; the other has not replied. Nor has Ambassador Peter Maurer, chairman of the GA's budget committee under Treki's presidency.
All of Inner City Press' inquiries said the questions were on deadline, and Inner City Press has waited more than 48 hours.
The dispute began when Switzerland arrested Libyan leader Gaddafi's son Hannibal and his wife, for abusing his employees, though later all charges were dropped. Libya retaliated by locking up two Swiss businessmen. Libya says Switzerland prepared a list of Libyans to be barred from travel from all 25 members of the Schengen agreement. Italy has asked Switzerland to reconsider.
Can a UN member state like Switzerland put the president of the UN general assembly on a travel ban list? Watch this site.
Footnote: Inner City Press' sources describe tensions between Treki and Libya's Mission to the UN, which hired and controls many of the members of Treki's staff. There are a number of festering problems in the PGAs office on which Inner City Press is showing restraint before reporting. For now, a simple update: long time UN Security officer Ralph Hering remains on suspension for a visit to the PGA's office -- and Treki's daughter employed there -- by a KFC Colonel Sanders impersonator....
Meanwhile: Iran seized a top Sunni militant on a flight from Dubai on Tuesday just 24 hours after claiming he was in Afghanistan at a US military base, in what it hailed as a "defeat" for its Western arch-foes.
The claim by Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi, who said Abdolmalek Rigi had been issued an Afghan passport by the "Americans," travelled to Europe and met a NATO military chief in Afghanistan, was dismissed by Washington as "bogus."

Kevin Rudd - The BUSH of the POMMS
Kevin Rudd says Australia faces major terror threat (BBC) Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned that his country is now under a permanent and increased threat of militant attack.
He also announced plans to fingerprint and face-scan visitors from 10 high-risk countries.
Mr Rudd said there was a growing threat from Islamist radicals born or raised in Australia.
Last week, five Australians of foreign origin received heavy sentences for conspiring to launch a jihadist attack.
Home grown
Mr Rudd said that many "home-grown terrorists" were inspired by what he called international jihadist narratives, as he released a new report compiled by intelligence agencies.
"The threat of home-grown terrorism is now increasing," he said.
"This white paper is clear: some of the threat we now face comes from the Australian-born, Australian-educated and Australian residents."
Al-Qaida-linked groups in Yemen and Sudan are the new centre of threat internationally, the policy paper says, and the risks posed by Afghanistan and Pakistan remain high.
The paper says that, despite Indonesia's successes against terrorism, the Jakarta hotel attacks of last July point to an ongoing threat there.
No escape
"Terrorism continues to pose a serious threat and a serious challenge to Australia's security interests. That threat is not diminishing," Mr Rudd said.
"In fact, the government security intelligence agencies assess that terrorism has become a persistent and permanent feature of Australia's security environment. These agencies warn that an attack could occur at any time."
Australia will spend A$69m ($62m; £40m) on new biometric facilities and will set up a national control centre to co-ordinate efforts to fight extremism.
The government also plans to work with communities to stamp out radicalism by helping all ethnic groups integrate better with mainstream society.
Last week five Australian citizens of Lebanese, Libyan and Bangladeshi origin were jailed for up to 28 years for gathering weapons in preparation for an attack on an unknown target.
In August, five men with alleged links to Somalia's al-Shabab militants were arrested and charged over an alleged plot to attack a Sydney military barracks.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said about 40 people have been arrested in Australia on terror charges since 2000. "Whilst the numbers are small... it only takes one to get through," he said, adding that the techniques used by home-grown militants were evolving.
"We are now seeing emerging the potential so-called lone wolf escapade where we don't have sophisticated planning but an individual is seduced by the international jihad and as a lone wolf does extreme things," he told ABC radio.
He said the 10 countries to face more stringent entry procedures would not be named yet. "There may be a diplomatic effort required in regards to some of those countries, as you would expect," he said.
Australia is a close ally of the United States. It was among the first to commit troops to US-led campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It has not suffered a major peacetime attack on home soil, but 95 Australians have been killed in militant bombings in neighbouring Indonesia since 2001.

Home-grown terror risk 'overstated' in AUSTRALIAN Government's terrorism white paper, says expert Hugh White (AAP)

Latin American and Caribbean leaders have backed Argentina's claim over the Falklands, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has said.
At a regional summit in Cancun, Mexico, a document has reportedly been drafted giving Argentina unanimous support.
It comes a day after a British oil rig began drilling for oil off the islands, a move Argentina formally objected to.
The UK's defence minister said the government would take whatever steps necessary to protect the Falklands.
Argentina and Britain went to war over the South Atlantic islands in 1982, after Buenos Aires invaded the archipelago.
The conflict ended with UK forces wresting back control of the islands, held by Britain since 1833.
No official statement has been made in Cancun, but Mexican President Felipe Calderon reportedly said a document had been drawn up offering Buenos Aires full support in its territorial dispute with London. The Argentine president accused the British government of ignoring international law by allowing a British oil exploration company to begin drilling near the islands.
She said: "I think the important thing is that we have achieved very strong support, something that legitimates our claims fundamentally against the new petroleum activity."
The BBC's Andy Gallacher in Cancun says that any broad agreement at the summit could put more pressure on the British government in what has become an escalating diplomatic row.
'Return the Malvinas'
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reiterated his support for Argentina.
"We demand, and I think all of us should do the same, the withdrawal of the submarine platform, and that the English government... give that land back," he said.
Before leaving for the summit, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega called for "Britain to return the territory of the Malvinas to its real owners - to return it to Argentina" on Venezuelan Telesur television.
Leaders at the summit, between the Rio Group and the Caribbean Community (Caricom), are also said to have discussed plans for a new pan-American alliance which would exclude Canada and the United States.
The new grouping would serve as an alternative to the Organisation of American States, the main forum for regional affairs in the past 50 years.
The British rig Ocean Guardian began drilling 100km (62 miles) north of the Falklands on Monday, despite fierce opposition from Argentina.
Desire Petroleum, which is carrying out the drilling, said operations had started on the Liz 14/19-A exploration well at 1415 GMT.
Argentina claims sovereignty over what it calls the Islas Malvinas and has imposed shipping restrictions.
But UK Defence Minister Bill Rammell said the government had a "legitimate right" to build an oil industry in its waters.
Mr Rammell said the UK would take "whatever steps necessary" to protect the islands and that it had made Argentina "aware of that".
Argentina has ruled out military action and is trying to pressure Britain into negotiations on sovereignty.
During the seven-week war in 1982 over the Falklands, 649 Argentine and 255 British service personnel were killed.
Last year Argentina submitted a claim to the United Nations for a vast expanse of ocean, based on research into the extent of the continental shelf, stretching to the Antarctic and including the island chains governed by the UK.
It is due to raise the issue at the UN later this week.

-------------------------

We do not send pictures with these reports, because of the volume, but picture this emetic scene with your inner eye:
A dying Somali child in the macerated arms of her mother besides their bombed shelter with Islamic graffiti looks at a fat trader, who discusses with a local militia chief and a UN representative at a harbour while USAID provided GM food from subsidised production is off-loaded by WFP into the hands of local "distributors" and dealers - and in the background a western warship and a foreign fishing trawler ply the waters of a once sovereign, prosper and proud nation, which was a role model for honesty and development in the Horn of Africa. (If you feel that this is overdrawn - talk to people who lived in Somalia in the 70s and 80s and come with us into Somalia and see the even more cruel reality today for yourself!)
- and if you need lively stills or video material on Somalia, please do contact us.

-----------

Friday, 03 September 2010 04:36

Well informed sources say the shipowner wants to prevent any investigation concerning the involvement of WIN FAR 161 in the attack on MAERSK ALABAMA or the death of the sailors, which was credibly reported from Somalia.
As reported the limping fishing vessel, which had come under naval fire and sustained damages, was or still is escorted by a naval vessel from mainland China, while experts wonder how she can make the all the way to Taiwan and why she was scheduled then to first sail to Mauritius which is off the shortest track.
Maybe the shipowner hopes that with the present severe weather and serious storm around Mauritius the vessel still could be made to sink in order to cash the insurance sum.


----  news from sea-jackings, abductions, newly attacked ships as well as seafarers and vessels in distress ----

Worries about captured crew grow as ransom talks resume (RussiaToday)
The health of the Russian captain of the ship Thai-Union 3, who was wounded last year when Somali pirates seized the vessel, is worsening.
Itar-Tass news agency reports that, according to piracy watchdog Ecoterra International, the situation with the crew of the Russian fishing vessel is causing concern as their food and fresh water supplies are running out. It is also reported that a ransom deal to free the ship is still a long way off.
The crew of 27, most of which is Russian, was captured by Somali pirates off the coast of the Seychelles in October 2009. The vessel was on its way to new fishing grounds.

Eleven crew members of the hijacked tug Asta have been rescued by the Malaysian Navy vessel off Adraiser Reef, the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre has reported.
But a chief engineer is still missing in the pirate attack, the centre said.
According to the crew members, who were rescued from a lifeboat on 17 February, the barge was boarded by eight people dressed in dark clothes when the tug was about 3 n-miles southeast of Pulau Tioman at about 0115 on 6 February.
The pirates, who carried rifles, reportedly blindfolded the crew and locked them in the cabins of the master and the chief engineer. Then the pirates set the crew adrift on the boat on 10 February at about 2100.
The tug – which had been bound for Cambodia from Singapore and was towing the barge Callista, which was not carrying cargo – had lost communication with the vessel agent at position 02º 59.40’ N, 104º 00.60’ E. The vessel had deviated from its planned course and was tracked to be heading toward the northeast South China Sea.
The shipowner, who suspected piracy, reported to the Singapore Port Operations Control Centre, which issued a broadcast to all vessels to report sightings of Asta and Callista. Maritime authorities and ReCAAP Focal Points were alerted.
Then five sightings of the barge Callista were received from passing ships over 10-14 February.
Recovery of the Callista is under way, but ReCAAP has classified Asta as missing, though the tug is reported to be heading toward Natunas Island.

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 9 seized foreign vessels (10 sea-related hostage cases since yacht SY LYNN RIVAL was abandoned and taken by the British Navy) with a total of not less than 189 crew members (incl. 23 Filipinos onboard three vessels: two onboard the Thai Union 3, three onboard the MV St. James Park and 18 onboard the MV Navios Apollon; as well as the British sailing couple) are accounted for. The cases are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed too. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) had been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases for Somalia and the mistaken sinking of one sea-jacked fishing vessel and killing of her crew by the Indian naval force. For 2009 the account closed with 228 incidences (incl. averted or abandoned attacks) with 68 vessels seized for different reasons on the Somali/Yemeni captor side as well as at least TWELVE wrongful attacks (incl. one friendly fire incident) on the side of the naval forces.
For 2010 the recorded account stands at 13 attacks and 3 sea-jackings.
The naval alliances had since August 2008 and until January 2010 apprehended 666 suspected pirates, detained and kept or transferred for prosecution 367,  killed 47 and wounded 22 Somalis. (New independent update see: http://bruxelles2.over-blog.com/pages/_Bilan_antipiraterie_Atalanta_CTF_Otan_Russie_Exclusif-1169128.html).
Not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (although not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail - like the S/Y Serenity, MV Indian Ocean Explorer.Present multi-factorial risk assessment code: GoA: YELLOW / IO: ORANGE (Red = Very much likely, high season; Orange = Reduced risk, but very likely, Yellow = significantly reduced risk, but still likely, Blue = possible, Green = unlikely). Piracy incidents usually degrade during the monsoon season and rise gradually by the end of the monsoon. Starting from mid February until early April every year an increase in piracy cases can be expected.
Actual status of abducted crews and vessels in Somalia (scroll down and look at right hand side section)


---------------- directly piracy, abduction, mariner or naval upsurge related reports --------------------

NATO commander reiterates danger of piracy in the Gulf of Aden by Juliet Benning (synfo)
NATO maritime commander, Admiral Sir Trevor Soar today warned seafarers sailing through the Gulf of Aden of the danger of complacency towards pirate attacks. Although there has been a rise in the number of attacks being made, the deployment of NATO forces has meant that fewer of these attacks have been successful. Regardless of this, Admiral Soar has emphasised that it is vital that all yachts making their way through the Gulf of Aden act with strict vigilance. 
"Whilst NATO, her maritime partners and other navies are working hard conducting counter-piracy patrols, ships' masters have to accept personal responsibility for the safety of their crew and should have in place the recommended self protection measures against pirate attacks" said Admiral Soar, who is based at NATO's maritime HQ in Northwood, London.                    
Self Protection 'Best Management Practices' for maritime shipping have been in place for 12 months. They advise, amongst other things, that vessels who sail through the Gulf of Aden transit within the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (ITRC) - a sea corridor which is patrolled by warships from NATO, the EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) and the Combined Maritime Force (CMF) and other maritime nations.  Vessels are also advised not to travel at low speeds or give pirates easy access by leaving ropes or boarding ladders hanging over the side. Larger ships are advised to have water cannons rigged and razor sharp wire around their structure to prevent pirates climbing on board.
All international vessels transiting the area are encouraged to register with the UK's Maritime Trade Organisation (UKMTO), based in Dubai and the EU's Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSCHOA), London so that their transits can be monitored and any incidents quickly reported by the master of the vessel.
"Since the NATO mission started, there has been a 50% drop in piracy incidents in the Gulf of Aden, but there is still a need for vigilance. The monsoon period is due to end and over the next few weeks we may well see a rise in pirate gangs attempting to hijack vulnerable ships".  Admiral Soar stated.
NATO's counter-piracy mission is code-named Operation Ocean Shield. The aim of the mission is to deter and disrupt piracy, and last week NATO Danish warship Absalon successfully thwarted a pirate attack on a vessel, MV Ariella.
Meanwhile Paul and Rachel Chandler, who were captured while sailing towards Tanzania on 23 October, remain in captivity with pirates threatening to kill the British couple if their ransom of £4.4m is not met. In the UK British Somalians are campaigning to get the couple freed saying that the acts of piracy blacken the name of Somalis everywhere.

Iran's navy Friday launched in the Gulf its first domestically made destroyer in a ceremony attend by the supreme leader and the commander-in-chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the media reported.
"Iran's navy on Friday took the delivery of the first indigenously designed and developed guided missile destroyer 'Jamaran' in the Persian Gulf," Iran's English-language Press TV reported.
The vessel has a displacement of around 14,000 metric tons and is equipped with modern radars and electronic warfare capabilities, the report said.
"Jamaran, a multi-mission destroyer, can carry 120 to 140 personnel on board and is armed with a variety of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles with a top speed of up to 30 knots and has a helipad," the report added.
"The vessel has also been equipped with torpedoes and modern naval cannons."
State television also showed footage of the vessel and the ceremony at which it was launched by Khamenei flanked by the top Iranian military commanders.
Much of Iran's naval equipment dates from before the 1979 Islamic revolution and is U.S. made. Since the revolution, Iran has purchased a number of Russian-made submarines.
In the past year Iranian navy has carried out a number of missions in the Gulf of Aden and offshore Somalia, where it was commissioned to escort Iranian merchant ships and oil tankers.
Iran is enriching uranium, which many Western countries and Israel fear is a step toward manufacturing an atomic bomb. Iran rejects such charges, saying its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
The U.N. atomic watchdog Thursday expressed concern that Iran might have been trying to develop a nuclear warhead. Iran Friday dismissed the concern as "baseless."
Iran is under U.N. sanctions for failing to obey Security Council resolutions demanding that it halt enrichment. Neither the U.S. nor Israel have ruled out military action if it doesn't do so.

Intl co-operation to tackle piracy an unprecedented feat: US (PTI)
International cooperation against piracy off the Somalia coast by several countries including the US, India, China and Russia is an unprecedented feat which could be a good model for any such future endeavours, a senior US official said.
"The number of nations contributing to international naval force in Gulf of Aden has risen to above 20," principal deputy assistant secretary for political-military affairs Tom Countryman said.
On any given day there are about 17 ships patrolling the Gulf of Aden that provides security for nearly 30,000 cargo ships that pass through this area every year.
"Melding of the US, the EU, NATO forces, together with contributions by a number of other countries, including Russia and China, has been accomplished with a shared mechanism for coordination without need for there to be a supreme commander in charge of the effort," he said.
"It is an unprecedented feat that so many different countries are participating... it's a good model not only for the Gulf of Aden and the Somali bases, but also for future such endeavours," Countryman told reporters at a conference.
He said the Contact Group on Piracy working closely with International Maritime Organisation, has established and codified best management practices that ships should employ in this dangerous territory.
"From US Government's side, US Coast Guard and Maritime Administration have required US-flagged vessels to employ these practices when they are delivering food aid or undertaking other commercial voyages in that region," he said.
Countryman said the US and its international partners encourage the states affected by piracy to prosecute pirates.
"Kenya has stepped forward and offered itself as a site for the prosecution of suspected pirates," he said.
Countryman said success rate for pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden has fallen to nearly zero. [N.B.: ... which is not correct.]
"There's been only one successful hijacking in that area since last summer. That's the area where international naval vessels are concentrated and where an internationally recognised transit corridor exists. That's an area of about a million square miles," he said.
In 2009, there were 198 pirate attacks on commercial vessels, of which 50 were successful.
At present there are seven known vessels in pirate custody, with around 160 crew members in captivity.
Crew members held captive have historically hailed from several countries including Bulgaria, China, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, Tuvalu, and Ukraine, among others.
Since beginning operations, the US has captured 25 suspected pirates, transferring 24 suspects to Kenya for prosecution in Kenyan courts, and is currently prosecuting one case in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.


-------- ecology, ecosystems, marine environment, IUU fishing and dumping, UNCLOS ------------

Susan Rice of US Insists UN "Misconstrues" Somalia Aid Restrictions by Matthew Russell Lee

Susan Rice, the US Ambassador to the UN, accused the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Somalia Mark Bowden of "misconstruing" US restrictions on aid. Ambassador Rice asserted a "diversion of resources" to the Islamist group Al Shabab. Since it is on US terrorism lists, US law requires the restrictions the US is demanding.

But what are these U.S. restrictions? Bowden, while publicly complaining about them, would not provide any description. Rather, he said that when he went to Washington to discussed them with US aid officials, they told him the issue was "above [their] pay grade."

Inner City Press asked Ambassador Rice about precisely this quote. She insisted that it is Al Shabab which is responsible for the lack of aid.

But what of Bowden's quoting of US aid officials? A US State Department official in Washington, described as "irritated," has said of Bowden, "We're going to talk to him." The quote reminded on UN observer of "something from the Sopranos," or the Mafia film "Good Fellas."

When Bowden's boss, top UN humanitarian John Holmes, stood before a UN microphone on Thursday evening, Inner City Press asked him to explain what Bowden had said, and to describe the US restrictions to which the UN is publicly taking exception.

But Holmes responded that the message was only that the UN needs more funds. Even pressed, he declined to follow or back up Bowden.

Was this "good cop, bad cop," an observer mused afterwards. Or was Holmes showing his political stripes, declining to criticize the U.S. as, for example, his predecessor Jan Egeland did after the tsunami?

Following Ambassador Rice's two responses to the Press about Somalia, she went in to a Security Council meeting about Haiti. Speaking first, from a prepared text, was the UN's John Holmes. So goes diplomacy at the UN.

Footnotes: While Ambassador Rice also took two questions about Iran's nuclear program, the Press was not able to ask for her views on developments in Sudan and Darfur, or on anti-democratic moves in Niger and Cote d'Ivoire, nor the incorporation of a presumptive war criminal into Guinea's interim government. But the answers on Somalia, although of a piece with Washington's script, were appreciated.

Thursday a UN official told Inner City Press that "Susan Rice, as an expected future Secretary of State, is playing it safe. She will not, for example, criticize [former South African president Thabo] Mbeki about Sudan." Until questions are asked, and answered, we'll stick to an open mind.

--------------------------- anti-piracy measures ---------------------------------

Oceans beyond piracy (EurActiv)
"We must make heavy weapons, excessive horsepower, grappling hooks and boarding ladders proof of intent to commit acts of piracy," argues Bob Haywood, executive director of American think-tank One Earth Future Foundation, in a February op-ed sent to EurActiv.
"In 2009 over thirty countries, including the United States, contributed warships to protect vital tankers and cargo ships sailing around the Horn of Africa. While these navies have indeed reduced the number of successful hijackings per 100 attacks, the pirates doubled the number of attacks, vastly increased the area where they can mount assaults, and succeeded in hijacking forty-seven ships in 2009 - five more than they seized in 2008. Despite the presence of a multi-billion dollar armada, merchant ship crews face an increasingly dangerous situation.
Naval commanders, such as the UK's First Sea Lord, Admiral Mark Stanhope, admit "we are not going to eradicate piracy […] While navies will do their very best […] we will never solve the problem that is causing it."
The problem the admiral refers to is the lack of a functioning and national government in Somalia, despite fourteen failed state-building attempts by the United Nations and various international powers.
That leaves two choices for suppressing piracy in the region. Rely upon a 'surf and turf' approach whereby an international force systemically destroys pirate ports; or change the 'low-risk, high-reward' business model that currently exists for pirates through changes in international maritime law.
Sending Marines to raid pirate ports in order to destroy boats, fuel supplies, and weapons has too many costs to be a workable option. Such an option requires that the international community at least temporarily occupy seventy or more pirate-capable ports in Somalia. This occupation undoubtedly would infuriate the local and regional populations, reduce the chance of establishing a Western-leaning Somali government for decades, and create an unnecessary humanitarian crisis. In sum, this method might eliminate piracy from Somali waters but only at the cost of being engaged in another war in an Islamic country involving thousands of Western troops.
There is a better option. One of the great difficulties facing the naval fleet is its limited options for detaining and prosecuting suspected pirates. A robust international legal framework already exists for prosecuting piracy, but it works poorly around Somalia. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a pirate ship is defined as a vessel operated with the intent to commit piracy and a pirate as one who crews such a ship. But a prosecutable definition of intent is not in the treaty and has never been formally expressed. That renders the crime non-prosecutable.
This forces navies to employ a 'catch and release' policy sustaining one side of the attractive low-risk, high-reward piracy model. Changing this incentive structure requires eliminating the economic incentives that make piracy attractive. Surprisingly, this war-averting policy option is relatively easy to do.
Our solution resides in updating modern maritime equipment laws and providing a viable judicial system. Just as the 19th century suppression of the slave trade required laws making the presence of leg irons and wooden racks proof of the intent to be a slaver, so too today must we make heavy weapons, excessive horsepower, grappling hooks, and boarding ladders proof of intent to commit acts of piracy. Notably, such changes can be made by the UN Security Council or any national government.
Secondly, the world needs a venue for such prosecutions. Any individual state can and should incorporate piracy equipment laws into the jurisdiction of its national courts to make the crime prosecutable. Some East African courts, like Kenya, are making a commendable attempt to prosecute pirates, but lack the capacity to do so and cannot accept new suspects.
An attractive alternative might be India. Piracy attacks are spreading closer to India, and Indian ships or seafarers have been victims in over 30% of hijackings. For these and other national security reasons India – supported by the international community – should have an interest in providing the robust legal capacity needed to prosecute a thousand or more suspected pirates on equipment charges proving intent. Armed with the ability to detain pirate boats and a place to deposit crews for prosecution, the navy fleet off Somalia and in the Indian Ocean could effectively sweep the seas clean of pirate vessels. Prospective pirates would quickly learn that the risks have become substantial, and a reward unlikely.
Compared to going it alone, a legal, prosecutorial response upholds international law in cooperation with established and emerging powers. It is an opportunity for this administration to demonstrate that a cooperative foreign policy can be more effective at creating security for merchant ships and it might even make our homeland more secure."

Three Czech officers have started to fully work at the command of the Atalanta EU anti-piracy operation in Northwood that is aimed against pirates along Somalia's shore, the Defence Ministry told CTK yesterday.
The Czechs will participate in the management of military activities. The Defence Ministry sent them to the Atalanta operation in January.
The international units serving in the operation are to protect ships transporting humanitarian aid to refugees in Somalia [ N.B.: ... which is a legend and unnecessary.] as well as commercial ships from possible pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and its surroundings.
One of the three Czech officers in the operation serves as an analyst in the Intelligence Division, the other is the Assistant Watchkeeper in the Joint Operations Centre monitoring all vessels registered with the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa in the area.
The third Czech works as the Accounting Officer in the Finance Division of the operational command.
The Atalanta anti-piracy mission, which the EU approved in December 2008, is the first naval military operation in the EU history. Its mandate expires at the end of 2010.
Czechs will rotate in the operation after six months.
Eight countries are now permanently involved in the operation: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Spain. Norway, which is not an EU member, also takes part in the operation.

-------------- no real peace in sight yet -----------------

Somali PM welcomes accord with pro-govt militia (garoweonline)
Somalia's Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke has welcomed a move by the government to reach agreement with pro-government Islamist Ahlu Sunnah.
Speaking in the restive capital Mogadishu on Thursday, Prime Minister Sharmarke said his government would welcome any party interested in peace and stability of the war-torn country.
“The government welcomes anyone who wants peace and they will be rewarded with top positions. Beside that, we will fight those who are against peace,” he said.
Somalia’s government spokesman AbdulQadir Walayo, who spoke with the reporters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, where the meeting has been going on, said the government would provide details of the meeting once its delegation returns to Mogadishu.
The agreement is yet to be signed; however, sources within the parties involved said the deal would be inked once both parties return to their respective organs in the war-torn country.
Ahlu Sunnah is said to be settling on five cabinet slots in the bloated government after backing down from its early demands of premiership position.
Prime Minister Sharmake hails from the Puntland region of NE Somalia, a traditional ally of the TFG in Mogadishu while Ahlusunna militias control several districts in central Somalia.
The two weeks-long meeting was organized by Ethiopian government under the backing of African Union and some of the neighboring countries.

Anti-Somaliland Campaigners: Descending to the lower of pan-Somali polemics by Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi
In the last two decades, Somalia was dooming into devastation, and until today it has no signs of a recovery. After the collapse of brutal regime of Siyad Barre, the armed struggle between rival Mohamed Farah Aideed and Ali Mehdi, and beginning of Warlords, the international community hosted many peace conferences for Somalis to settle their differences including the latest in Djibouti. However, all failed due to reasons with personal interest.
The entire infrastructure of Somalia collapsed and thousands of civilians were killed and other run away from their homes to the refugee camps in Kenya. The rape of women is common in southern Somalia and millions of children don´t go to schools, in addition to bloody so-called Islamic fundamentalism. This nonsense conflict in Somalia takes different shapes including tribal, political and religious.
In other hand, Somaliland restored its lost sovereignty of 26th June 1960 with colonial border. Somaliland focused on peace-making, state building, democracy, creating social services including free education to all Somaliland children from Elayo to Loyado cities. Today´s Somaliland is based on 1960 territory that won independence from Britian and 35 countries including Israel, Egypt, Ethiopia and the five permanent members of Security Council recognized with predefined colonial border, permanent population, capacity interrelations with other states. We should remember that entire African states are based on colonial border.
Somaliland rehabilitated refuges from Ethiopia. These refuges escaped the air bombing, killing and ethnic clearing against the people of Somaliland by the brutal military regime of Barre. Somaliland established multiparty political system and organized free and fair elections under international and African observers. Somaliland disarmed thousands of militia, trained and transformed them into National Army and Police. In last 20 years, Somaliland had three consecutive elected presidents and two parliaments in addition Municipal Council.
The election took place without outside support. The democracy in Somaliland is homegrown, and every Somalilander contributed in to the democracy creation. The voters standing in long queues hit the headline of international news agencies. Somaliland established sustainable economy and social services, and today the government regularly pays the salaries of more than 150,000 security officers including army, police and jail guards.
All these remarkable achievement was in less than 20 years, and without international support. UN, AU or EU did not send nor did Somaliland request crisis diffusers and election experts to support Somaliland in democracy development and state building. The commitment of the people of Somaliland towards peace, democracy and independence led these developments and progress.
Unfortunately, the international community spends millions of dollars to restore peace and security in Somalia, and neglected to help Somaliland in state building and democracy promotions. AU fact-finding delegate to Somaliland in 2005 advised the African Union to recognize Somaliland because it fulfils all the requirements of statehood.
Moreover, Somaliland is victim of terrorist attacks from lawless Somalia including Al-Shabab recent suicide bombing at the sensitive locations in Somaliland including UN Headquarter and Presidential Palace.
There is Anti-Somaliland campaigns via the media, and they misbelieve that success of Somaliland will have backfire on their interests. Such campaigners tried many times to create chaos between Somaliland tribes who lived together for thousands of years in peace and harmony. The Anti-Somaliland figures support the recent bombing in Las Anod City of eastern Somaliland, and these series of bombs killed security officers and large number of civilians.
In unsuccessful attempts, the Anti-Somaliland figures hire writers on the internet to change the centuries old history of Somaliland into their own favor. They talk to governments in Africa and Asia to disable their trade connection with Somaliland, which led the ban on Somaliland livestock to Arabian Peninsula.
One of such Anti-Somaliland campaigners is Former Somali Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdullah Oomar in the cabinet of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who asked the WFP and UNDP to stop their development and aid programs in Somaliland. This desperate attempt was to downgrade Somaliland.
The below paragraphs are note of Somaliland Constitution in 1960; this is to prove to Anti-Somaliland campaigners that Somaliland was an independent country with defined borders and today, it restored its lost sovereignty after 40 years of detrimental union with Italian Somalia. If anyone need more prove about existence of Somaliland and its constitution, he/she either visit www.somalilandlaw.com or www.untreaty.un.org and search for Somaliland agreements with Britain, and announcement of UK that Great Britain don´t represent Somaliland because it is an independent state:
A note on the Somaliland Constitutional History between 1946 to 1960
Somaliland Constitutional History – 1946 to 1960
The Somaliland Protectorate was of course governed directly by the Queen´s representative, the Governor, who exercised all legislative and executive powers.
In 1946, an Advisory Council was established. This consisted of 48 selected members representing all the districts and the sections of the community. It had no executive or legislative power and only met usually once a year. The Council´s main purpose was "to stimulate the interest of the people themselves in the administration of the country and the in the collection and expenditure of public funds" (Touval, S Somali Nationalism, Harvard University Press, 1963, at page 107). Selection to the Council took the form of nominations made at clan meetings, with the District Commissioner aiming to "ensure that a reasonably representative body of delegates is sent from each District" (Lewis, IM The Modern History of Somaliland Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1965 at page 279).The Somaliland (Constitution) Order in Council 1955 was made on 10 February 1955, but did not come into force until 1957, when the first Legislative Council was set up for the first time. The Council consisted of 15 members, and was presided by the Governor. The rest of the members consisted of the three ex officio members (the Chief Secretary, the Attorney General and the Financial secretary), five official members who were heads of the Government Departments and six unofficial members nominated by the Governor. Nominations for the latter six seats were sought in the Advisory Council, but no agreement was reached on the nominations. "In the end, however, as was to be expected, 24 candidates representative of the main clans and lineages in the six Administrative Districts of the Protectorate were proposed, very much on the basis of the Advisory Council" (Lewis: 280). There was an Executive Council which consisted of the Governor, the 3 ex officio members and two of the heads of the Government Departments.
The Somaliland (Constitution) Order in Council 1959 came into force on 20 February 1959. There were of course demands for elected representation on the Council, and in 1959, a new Council was formed, which consisted of the Governor as President, 12 elected members, 2 nominated unofficial members and 15 official members. In March 1959, elections for the 12 seats were held by secret ballot in a limited number of urban and rural districts and a vote by acclamation was sought in the remaining districts. Although the election was boycotted by the main political party, the Somali National League (SNL), because their demand for "an unofficial majority" (i.e Somali representation) in the Council was not accepted, this was, in effect, the first Somaliland election. Voters were males over 21 years old. In town constituencies, voters were required to possess either a dwelling or 10 camels, 10 head of cattle or 100 sheep and goats. The 12 seats were divided equally amongst the six principal districts.
The Somaliland (Constitution) (No.2) Order in Council 1959 came into force on 21 November 1959. The number of the elected members of the Council was increased to 33 and the appointed membership was reduced to 3.
The Somaliland (Constitution) Order in Council 1960 came into force on 16 February 1960. The composition of the Legislative Council remained the same, but the executive Council now consisted of three ex officio members and four unofficial members appointed by the Governor from among the elected members of the legislative Council. The Executive Council was designated as the principal instrument of policy and its members "shall be styled Ministers". Elections for the legislative Council were held in February by universal adult male suffrage. This Order therefore heralded the second and more comprehensive Legislative Council elections which were held in February 1960. SNL won 20 of the seats, the USP, 12 seats and the NUF, 1 seat. Although the SNL and the USP won all but one of the seats, the number of votes which they obtained was only a little more than twice of that NUF. (SNL and USP gained 68.75% of the votes (as compared to NUF´s 31.25% and that netted them 99% of the seats - see Touval, S Somali Nationalism, Harvard University Press, 1963, at page 106). Four ministerial posts were held by Somalis for the first time, and the SNL leader, Mr Ibrahim Haji Ibrahim Egal was one of the ministers and the Leader of Government Business in the Legislative Council.
On independence on 26 June 1960, the first Constitution of the independent State of Somaliland came into force. The Constitution which was annexed to the Great Britain Somaliland Order in Council 1960 (S.I 1060 of 23 June 1960). The Constitution, which consists of a total of 53 sections and a schedule is important, because marks the unique juridical status of Somaliland as an independent, sovereign state, albeit, for a short period. The Executive consisted of the Council of Ministers – a Prime Minister and three other Ministers- which had the full executive authority vested in them. Up to three Assistant Ministers may be appointed by the Prime Minister from among the members of the Legislative Assembly. The Legislature consisted of the Council of Ministers and the members of the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly consisted of a speaker and 33 members. Under s.18 of the Constitution, the first Legislative Assembly was the Legislative Council elected in February 1960. The term of office of the Assembly was three years, which applied also to the first Assembly. The Prime Minister had, however, power, under s.38 to prorogue or dissolve the Assembly at any time, which would lead to a general lection within three months of the dissolution. The Judicature consisted of the Somaliland High Court, the judges of which shall be appointed by the Council of Ministers. Section 40 set out clear terms for tenure of office of judges who shall hold office until the age of 62, and can only be removed from office "for misbehaviour or for inability to discharge the functions of his office". If the Council of Ministers consider that a judge ought to be removed from office for these reasons, then it shall appoint a tribunal of no less two persons "who held high judicial office in Somaliland or any other country". Other than the High Court, the Constitution stated that Somaliland shall have such other subordinate courts as prescribed by law.
Sources: www.somalilandlaw.com, www.untreaty.un.org

--------------  reports, news and views from the global village with an impact on Somalia -------------------

Eritrean rebels say killed 17 intelligence agents by Tesfa-Alem Tekla (Reuters)
An Eritrean rebel group said on Wednesday it had killed 17 intelligence agents in a strike against a government increasingly painted as a pariah state by African and Western powers.
"Our fighters on Monday attacked a camp belonging to the 28th sub-division and killed (or) wounded 37 government intelligence members," Yasin Mohamed, spokesman for the rebel Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation (RSADO) told Reuters.
"After the strike we took control of the military camp for over 4 hours and we counted 17 bodies, all belonging to a government intelligence unit."
There was no immediate comment from the Eritrean government and the report could not be independently confirmed.
The U.N. Security Council accuses Asmara of providing funds and weapons to Islamist insurgents in Somalia where violence has killed 21,000 people since the beginning of 2007. The council slapped sanctions on Eritrea last December.
Eritrea has repeatedly denied the allegations and accuses Washington and arch-foe Ethiopia of fabricating lies.
The two Horn of Africa neighbours have had long running hostilities and tensions simmer along their common border due to a dispute over the frontier.
Relations have been at an impasse since they fought a 1998-2000 war in which at least 70,000 people were killed.
The same rebels said in December they had killed 25 government soldiers and wounded at least 38 more in ambushes on two military camps.
Eritrea denied that, saying it had killed 10 Ethiopian troops after they attacked Eritrean positions.
Rebel leader Ibrahim Haroun, who comes from the Afar ethnic group -- and says they are persecuted by Eritrea -- told Reuters they would continue attacks.
"We will intensify our military attacks until the rights and self-determination of the Afar people are assured," he said. "We call on all Eritrean opposition forces to reunite and join us in the struggle to overthrow the regime once and for all."
[N.B.: The Afar people were together with the Issa forcefully colonized into what presents itself today as the Republic of Djibouti, where after bloody skirmishes over the years both peoples are joined today in the governance of this tiny piece of Greater Somalia, which serves as base for navies and troops from France, the US, Japan, South-Korea and Germany operating in the zone.]

The African Union has condemned a coup in Niger, where soldiers detained President Mamadou Tandja after gun battles in the capital, Niamey.
Former colonial power France has also criticised the coup and West African bloc Ecowas has sent a team to talk to the plotters, led by Col Salou Djibo.
But one opposition activist told the BBC the soldiers were "honest patriots" who were fighting tyranny.
State TV reported that Mr Tandja was "safe" but did not say where he was.
Heavy artillery
Mr Tandja provoked a political crisis last August when he changed the constitution of the uranium-rich country to allow him to remain in power indefinitely.
"France condemns the taking of power by non-constitutional means," French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.
AU chief Jean Ping said he was watching developments "with concern".
The Economic Community Of West African States (Ecowas), which suspended Niger after Mr Tandja's actions, said it had "zero tolerance" for any unconstitutional changes of government.
"We condemn the coup d'etat just as we condemn the constitutional coup d'etat by Tandja," Ecowas official Abdel Fatau Musa told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
He said the group had already sent a team to Niger and would maintain sanctions "until constitutional order is restored".
The BBC's Idy Baraou in the capital, Niamey, says 10 people, including four soldiers, died in the coup.
The morning after the gun battles, people in the city were going to mosques and shops as normal.
There was not an obvious military presence on the streets, but heavy artillery had been deployed around the presidential palace, our correspondent added.
Freedom fighters?
In a televised address on Thursday evening, a spokesman for the plotters announced that the constitution had been suspended and all state institutions dissolved.
The junta, which has called itself the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy, imposed a curfew and closed the country's borders - measures that were lifted on Friday.

NIGER JUNTA Col Salou Djibo Coup leader Col Djibrilla Hima Hamidou Involved in 1999 coup Col Goukoye Abdul Karimou Junta spokesman Col Amadou Harouna

The plotters said their aim was to restore democracy and save the population from "poverty, deception and corruption".
Col Djibo is commander of "military zone 1", which includes Niamey, Dosso and Tillaberi regions.
Analysts say his position puts him in control of 40% of the country's military arsenal.
Another of the plotters, Col Djibrilla Hima Hamidou, was junta spokesman during the last military takeover in 1999.
The president was assassinated during that coup, but civilian rule was restored within a year.
One opposition activist, Mahamadou Karijo, whose Party for Democracy and Socialism has been bitterly opposed to Mr Tandja's rule, praised the soldiers for fighting tyranny.
"They behave like they say - they are not interested in political leadership, they will fight to save the Nigerien people from any kind of tyranny," he told Network Africa.
History of instability
The government and opposition had been holding on-off talks since December to try to resolve the country's political crisis.
Mr Tandja, a former army officer, was first voted into office in 1999 and was returned to power in an election in 2004.
The 71-year-old leader was grabbed by soldiers while he chaired his weekly cabinet meeting.
The junta issued a communique on Friday saying government departments would now be run by senior civil servants. It is thought that the soldiers are holding the cabinet ministers, although no mention has been made of their fates.
Niger has experienced long periods of military rule since independence from France in 1960.
It is one of the world's poorest countries, but Mr Tandja's supporters argue that his decade in power has brought a measure of economic stability.
Under his tenure, the French energy firm Areva has begun work on the world's second-biggest uranium mine - ploughing an estimated $1.5bn (£970m) into the project.
China National Petroleum Corporation signed a $5bn deal in 2008 to pump oil within three years.

Man the pedaloes, chaps, we're off to save the Falklands by Richard Littlejohn (TheMail)

Argentina is threatening to stop a Scottish oil rig drilling in disputed waters off the Falkland Islands.
The deep-sea platform, which is due to begin exploration today, has been shadowed by Argentine air force jets and Buenos Aires has declared a shipping blockade.
While this is hardly the Cuban missile crisis and no one is suggesting it could lead to a second Falkands war, the diplomatic tensions have thrown into sharp relief Britain's ability to defend her sovereign territory in the South Atlantic.
Twenty-eight years ago, 255 British servicemen gave their lives to liberate the islands after General Galtieri's invasion. Mrs Thatcher's campaign was our last great imperial adventure.
Could we do it again? Although the Falklands are far better defended than they were in 1982, all the evidence suggests not.
Our under-equipped armed forces have been stretched to breaking point in Afghanistan and Iraq. A recent spending review even proposed merging all three branches of the services to save money.
Let's imagine Argentina attempted a second invasion. The British garrison would offer fierce resistence. So would the local territorials, Port Stanley's answer to the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard. We've also got four fighter planes, one destroyer and one patrol boat stationed in the area.
But military experts have been saying for years that we would never again be able to mount another Falklands rescue.
And even if we tried, how would we go about it? The Americans wouldn't be too thrilled if we withdrew our troops from the global war on terror in Helmand Province to relieve an obscure outcrop of empire in the South Atlantic.
Even if we had enough soldiers back home ready to deploy, we'd have trouble getting them there. The QE2, which last time served as a troop ship, is now a floating hotel and casino in Dubai harbour.
I suppose if we sailed it across to the Falklands, we could invite the Argies on board and ask them to settle their territorial dispute over a game of cards and a glass of duty free.
Best of three, and we'll raise you the Isle of Wight.
Otherwise, we'd be reduced to commandeering cross-Channel ferries and Roman Abramovich's yacht.
The SBS would be putting ashore on pedaloes borrowed from municipal boating lakes. In the skies, the Government is already talking about scrapping the RAF and air-sea rescue has been sold off to the French.
We're down to the Red Arrows and a couple of Spitfires from the museum at Hendon.
The Government could always prevail upon civilian airlines to provide transport. I'm sure Richard Branson would be happy to oblige.
But by the time the Army has spent days queueing at Heathrow, the war would be over. Actually, I'd love to see airport security try patting down the Paras at check-in and attempt to confiscate their weapons on the grounds that they could be Islamic terrorists.
That's always assuming the MoD could afford to meet the bill for excess baggage and in-flight meals. In the unlikely event that we did manage to get a task force out to the Falklands, what would be the rules of engagement? If our performance in the Persian Gulf and off the coast of Somalia is anything to go by, not very encouraging.
Faced with an Argentinian gunboat, the Royal Navy would be ordered to drop their weapons and surrender without a shot being fired, just as they did in the Shatt-al-Arab.
If we actually captured an Argentinian combatant, we would have to release him immediately for fear of infringing his yuman rites.
Otherwise he could be flown back to London in a private jet, where the BBC could interview him about how he was tortured and he would be in line for a book deal and shedload of com-pen-sayshun.
And that's before elf 'n' safety have got in on the act and ruled the entire operation too dangerous. Meanwhile, back in London, the Not In My Name Crowd would be having a field day.
Of course, all of this presupposes that this government has any interest in defending the Falklands. Given that Gordon flew to Lisbon to sign away British sovereignty over Britain, why would he bother about defending a crop of rock in the South Atlantic?
Maybe our best bet would be to give the sex-starved crew of the oil rig a bottle of Scotch each and send them on shore leave, where they could engage in hand-to-hand combat in the bars of Port Stanley.
The Argies wouldn't stand a cat in hell's chance.
The Falklands Or Las Malvinas? (informationdissemination)
According to the BBC, Argentina has announced that all ships passing through its claimed territorial waters (so that includes the Falklands) must have a new permit.
The reason for this is British plans to drill for oil, an operation that is set to begin next week. The oil-field off the Falklands is said to have a capacity of 60 billion barrels.
The Argentine government has already prevented one ship, the MV Thor Leader, to sail for the Falklands. The government said the vessel had supplies on board for oil drilling.
Currently the oil rig Ocean Guardion is on its way to the islands and should arrive tomorrow, the 19th. Some claim the rig has been shadowed by Argentine aircraft.
At this moment I wouldn't expect a 2nd Falklands War, because the risks for Argentina are too high.
When the Falklands War started there were about 80 military personnel at the islands, together with the patrol vessel HMS Endurance.
Currently there are just over 1,000 military personnel, 4 Eurofighters, a VC-10 refuelling plane, a Hercules and 2 Sea Kings. Naval assets currently at the Falklands are the type 42 destroyer HMS York and patrol vessel HMS Clyde. Underway are the fleet tanker RFA Wave Ruler and survey vessel HMS Scott.
I'd expect one or more submarines to emerge in the waters of the Falklands as well.
If it would come to a war expect the UK to go 'all in'. Yes, because of the oil reserves, but also because of the upcoming general elections in the UK. These must be hold before June 4 and the Labour Party of Prime Minister Gordon Brown could use a boost, since most recent polls indicate Labour is 9 percentage points behind the Conservative Party (the Tories).
So don't expect 'the Falklands War part II', but do expect tensions to be rising between the UK and Argentina.

Uruguay-Germany Rift (informationdissemination)

The international significance of Sri Lanka’s emerging police state by K. Ratnayake (WSWS)
The rapid moves by the Sri Lankan government towards a police state not only spell danger for the working class on this island, but are a warning to workers around the world. As debt crises erupt in country after country and governments encounter resistance to the savage austerity measures being demanded by international finance capital, the anti-democratic methods of President Mahinda Rajapakse are an advance notice of the measures that will be used elsewhere.
Political tensions in Colombo illustrate broader international processes in an acute form. The island was embroiled in a savage communal war for 26 years which came to an end with the defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last May. President Rajapakse, who had restarted the war in 2006 and conducted it with particular ruthlessness, declared that he would now bring “peace and prosperity” to the island.
The opposite has been the case. The end of the fighting solved none of the underlying problems. Having mortgaged the country to pay for his criminal war, Rajapakse was compelled to take out a $2.6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to prevent a major balance of payments crisis. Now with the IMF calling the tune, the government is preparing to make major inroads into the living standards of working people.
Rajapakse has been seeking to consolidate his grip over the state apparatus in preparation for social convulsions. In the course of the war, he increasingly operated through a presidential cabal of relatives, close advisers and generals acting independently of parliament and with growing contempt for constitutional and legal norms. The president wielded his extensive powers under the state of emergency, which is still in place, to ban strikes, threaten the media and conduct widespread detentions without trial. Pro-government death squads acting with the complicity of the security forces killed hundreds of people, including politicians and journalists.
Calculating that he could politically exploit the military “victory” over the LTTE, Rajapakse called the presidential election two years early in a bid to entrench himself in power. The opposition parties backed the country’s former top general, Sarath Fonseka, as their “common candidate” in the bitterly fought election on January 26. Fonseka had been part of Rajapakse’s inner circle but fell out with the president and resigned last November to contest the poll.
Rajapakse’s election win, far from settling the issues, produced what can only be described as factional warfare in the country’s ruling elites. Fonseka refused to concede defeat and threatened to mount a legal challenge. The government responded last week by placing the former general under military arrest, on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations that he was plotting to overthrow Rajapakse.
A day later, the president prorogued parliament and announced a general election for April 8 which will now take place in a political climate of fear and intimidation. The government has already announced that its aim is to obtain a two-thirds majority, giving it the power to change the constitution and thus provide the legal fig leaf for Rajapakse’s autocratic rule.
For all the venom of the infighting in the Colombo establishment, the factional disputes are of a tactical character—how to impose new economic burdens on working people and where to line up in the sharpening rivalry between the major powers, especially between the US and China. Rajapakse’s extreme measures are a sure sign that class tensions on the island are reaching a breaking point.
While Greek debts are in the international headlines, Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is of a similar magnitude. The country’s overall debts rose to four trillion rupees ($US35 billion) in the first 10 months of 2009. According to the IMF, the ratio of total public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) reached 87 percent in 2008. The budget deficit has risen to 11.3 percent of GDP and the IMF is demanding that the ratio must be slashed to 5 percent by the end of 2011.
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Corporation senior economist, Robert Prior-Wandesforde, told a seminar in Colombo last week that the government had to go far further in slashing public spending. Dismissing Rajapakse’s economic figures, Prior-Wandesforde said: “He has to deliver like he did with terrorism [the LTTE]. The one thing that would prevent Sri Lanka from reaching its true potential is the kind of recklessness, wastefulness and corruption in public expenditure.”
Greek economic measures now have to be applied in Sri Lanka and more broadly. But the corollary is that Sri Lankan political methods will increasingly be employed in Greece and elsewhere as popular opposition grows to huge new economic burdens. The crisis is not isolated to economically backward countries like Sri Lanka and problem European states such as Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland. A default by Greece would impact heavily on Germany and France and reverberate throughout the EU. Britain is heavily indebted, as is the US which is only able to sustain a budget deficit at 10.6 percent of GDP because its dollar remains the international reserve currency.
The present global economic crisis is not a temporary phenomenon, but results from the breakdown of the mechanisms put in place after World War II to restore the equilibrium of world capitalism. The United States, which was central to the post-war restabilisation, is now in economic decline and is at the centre of the present financial turmoil. Whatever the short-term ups and downs of particular economies or the global economy as a whole, the world has entered a new period of economic convulsions that has profound political ramifications for the working class.
Anyone who dismisses the warning signs in Sri Lanka would be badly mistaken. Because of its particular history and relationship to the global economy, this small island often sharply reflects economic and political processes taking place internationally. In the final analysis, amid heightened economic and social tensions, the ruling elites around the world are being driven to defend their privileged position by adopting Sri Lankan methods.
The working class needs to draw the necessary conclusion: the only means of defending their basic democratic rights and living standards is to abolish the present social order and to restructure society to meet the pressing needs of the majority, rather than the profits of the wealthy few.

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We do not send pictures with these reports, because of the volume, but picture this emetic scene with your inner eye:
A dying Somali child in the macerated arms of her mother besides their bombed shelter with Islamic graffiti looks at a fat trader, who discusses with a local militia chief and a UN representative at a harbour while USAID provided GM food from subsidised production is off-loaded by WFP into the hands of local "distributors" and dealers - and in the background a western warship and a foreign fishing trawler ply the waters of a once sovereign, prosper and proud nation, which was a role model for honesty and development in the Horn of Africa. (If you feel that this is overdrawn - talk to people who lived in Somalia in the 70s and 80s and come with us into Somalia and see the even more cruel reality today for yourself!)
- and if you need lively stills or video material on Somalia, please do contact us.

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