Drone kills 15 'Qaeda', 3 civilians in Yemen

Sanaa (AFP) - A drone strike Saturday killed 15 Al-Qaeda suspects and three civilians in Yemen's central Baida province, a stronghold of the extremist group, a security official said.

The United States is the only country that operates drones in Yemen, but officials rarely discuss the covert programme.The jihadists were travelling in a vehicle towards the southern Shabwa province, witnesses said. The three civilians were passing by in another car.

Last month, Yemen's President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi defended the use of drones against Al-Qaeda in his country, which has killed dozens of militants in a sharply intensified campaign over the past year.

Drone strikes "have greatly helped in limiting Al-Qaeda activities, despite some mistakes which we are sorry about," Hadi told the pan-Arab Al-Hayat daily.

The drone programme has come under criticism from human rights activists concerned over civilian casualties.

The United Nations said 16 civilians were killed and at least 10 wounded when two separate wedding processions were targeted in December.

The victims had been mistakenly identified as members of Al-Qaeda, it quoted local security officials as saying at the time.

Following the deaths, Yemen's parliament voted for a ban on drone strikes, but analysts say lawmakers are unlikely to be able to halt the US campaign.

The United States has defended the drone campaign, which allows it to target Al-Qaeda without the use of ground forces in lawless areas where authorities cannot or will not act against the group.

Yemen is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden and the home base of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has been linked to a number of failed attacks on the US homeland.

The group has taken advantage of the weakening of the central government since 2011, when a popular uprising erupted that eventually forced president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down after 33 years in power.

Saudi spy chief ousted under US pressure: experts

Dubai (AFP) - The exit of Saudi's spy chief was the result of US pressure over his stance on Syria but does not signal a shift in Riyadh's goal of toppling the Damascus regime, experts say.

But a Saudi expert said that Washington -- irritated for some time by Prince Bandar's handling of the Syria dossier -- had in December demanded his removal.Riyadh, as is usual, did not elaborate on its statement this week that Prince Bandar bin Sultan was being replaced, saying only that the veteran diplomat had asked to step down.

Prince Bandar was leading Saudi Arabia's efforts to finance, arm and unify the Syrian rebellion, which after three years of fighting is still far from its goal of overthrowing the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

The spy chief's efforts were especially stymied by US objections to plans to supply the rebels with advanced weapons that could tip the military balance against Assad's forces, which are increasingly gaining the upper hand on the ground.

Dubbed "Bandar Bush" for his strong links with former US president George Bush and his son George w. Bush -- forged during the time he served as ambassador to Washington -- the Saudi royal has openly criticised the current US administration headed by the Democrats.

He vented his anger in front of Western diplomats when Washington stepped back after threatening a military strike following deadly chemical attacks in August outside Damascus that the West blamed on Assad forces.

One diplomat revealed that Prince Bandar had on that occasion angrily said Riyadh no longer considered the United States to be its principal ally and that it would instead be seeking support from France and other powers.

The influential powerbroker was appointed intelligence chief in 2012.

A tank belonging to the rebel Islamic Front on a street in the Hanano district of Aleppo on April 17 …

His last public assignment was a failed attempt in December to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to abandon his support for Assad.

- Vast and complex effort -

Experts underlined Prince Bandar's encouragement to radical Islamists in Syria, which they said increased security threats already posed to the kingdom by Saudi jihadists.

"Prince Bandar's aggressive Syria approach highlighted the gap between the expectations he set and Saudi Arabia's intelligence and operational capabilities," said Emile Hokayem, senior fellow for regional security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"Running a vast and complex effort to help bring down a foreign regime supported by Iran and Russia was simply beyond Riyadh's ability," he said.

Saudi Arabia's goal is especially difficult due to the "reluctance of its main Western partner and the conflicting agendas of other important regional players such as Turkey and Qatar," he added.

Although the Arab heavyweight has supplied the rebels with "arms and rebels," Hokayem said, it had to deal with armed groups that are "dangerous and undisciplined".

The Damascus government, on the other hand, enjoys strong support from Iran, which "could count on organised and well-trained proxies and allies," such as Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement, he added.

Diplomats indicated in February that the kingdom had sidelined Prince Bandar from the Syrian dossier, assigning it to Interior Minister Prince Mohamed bin Nayef, known as the kingdom's iron fist in the fight against Al-Qaeda.

Soon afterwards Riyadh announced tougher punishment for Saudi Islamists fighting abroad, warning that they could spend 20 years behind bars.

"The ballooning number of Saudi jihadists in Syria -- with probable negative consequences for the Saudi regime -- and the setbacks suffered there contributed to a rethinking and consequently a reshuffling in Riyadh," argues Hokayem.

Saudi analysts insist however that replacing Prince Bandar does not mean a shift in the Saudi position towards the Syrian conflict.

"There is no change. Saudi Arabia wants the fall of Bashar al-Assad," stressed columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

"There is no such thing as the politics of Bandar. There is government policy as well as directives given by King Abdullah that any intelligence chief would implement," he said.

For the time being Prince Bandar's deputy, Yusef al-Idrissi, has been appointed as a caretaker but Saudi sources have said that another member of the royal family is likely to be named to the post.

Nigeria Continues to be Terrorized by Extremist Group Boko Haram

Nigerian-natives are left in despair and turmoil once again, as the country continues to be terrorized by the extremist group Boko Haram.  Authorities say that as many as 200 girls were abducted from their boarding school in northeast Nigera when witnesses say heavily armed members of the Islamist militant group arrived in a large convoy of vans, trucks, and busses late Monday evening. This coming just a day after a blast at a bus station in the nation’s capital, Abuja, killed 71 people, while also injuring 133. An incident that is also being attributed to Boko Haram.

Officials say that the convoy of vehicles arrived at about 9 PM, as the students slept in their dormitories. They then engaged the soldiers who were guarding the school in a lengthy firefight. After killing both of the soldiers, they stormed the school, gathered up the children, and took the girls back to their vehicles. The gunmen also proceeded to burn down local homes and businesses in the Borno State town as they fled with the students.

“Many girls were abducted by the rampaging gunmen who stormed the school in a convoy of vehicles,” said Emmanuel Sam, an education official in Chibok. Sam could not say how many of the girls were kidnapped, but one student who managed to escape estimates that the number could be as high as 200. The student is one of a dozen girls who managed to escape their abductors when one of the vehicles broke down, and some of the men were forced to leave the students and attempt to fix the automobile. 

The student student who escaped from the convoy, told authorities that when the original truck they were being transported on broke down, they were transferred to another vehicle as the abductors burned the truck. Then, when a second vehicle broke down, the group of students were able to make a run for it, and eventually found their way back to the school.

The incident is one of many that have recently attributed to the group, as their frequency of attacks within the region continues to rise. It is also undoubtedly a follow-up attack to a video that Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau released last month, which threatened to raid and abduct girls from schools. A threat that led to the decision by the Borno State government to shutdown all of its 85 secondary schools and send home more than 120,000 students in early March.

Boko Haram, which translates to english as “western education is sin,” continues to wage their campaign of violence in northeast Nigeria. Nigeria continues to be terrorized by the extremist group, while the frequency, along with the severity of the attacks continue to escalate. The group’s exact demands are somewhat unclear. However, what they have made known to the public, is that their ambitions range from a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across the predominately muslim northern region of Nigeria. Along with the total destruction of the Nigeria state and its government.

Nobody’s Sure How or Why an American Plane Ended Up in Iran

On Tuesday, a New York Times reporter in Tehran spotted an American plane at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, an extremely unique sight given the harsh sanctions imposed on the country by the United States and other Western nations.

For an American plane to enter Iran legally, a number of hoops would need to be jumped through. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control needs to give approval for an American aircraft to travel to Iran—they gave a “no comment” to the Times. Complicating things further, the jet’s engines are made by General Electric, meaning that the Commerce Department would also have to sign off on allowing American-made equipment to enter the isolated country.

So whose plane is it? The plane’s tail number is N604EP, which records show is owned by the Bank of Utah (it also has a small American flag on its tail). This means almost nothing. As the Times notes, the Bank of Utah is a relatively small community bank with 13 branches in the state. However, the bank is a trustee for 1,169 planes, “more planes than just about any other bank.”

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Owning the plane through a trust allows the owner privacy. A bank employee said that the bank has no operation control or financial exposure to the planes. They're owners by proxy.

There is one slight clue though. The jet was spotted in Zurich, Switzerland on January 22, 2014, right around the time of the World Economic Forum in Davos. That probably narrows the list down to 2,633 powerful people.

The plane was also in Accra, Ghana on January 3 and in Luton, England on October 1 of last year and February 16 of this year.

If you own a Bombardier Challenger CL-604 with the tail number N604EP, or know somebody who does, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Zimbabwe's Mugabe slams Europe's 'homosexual nonsense'

Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe's strong man ruler Robert Mugabe lashed out at Europe's "homosexual nonsense" and condemned the refusal of its leaders to accept his grip on power in his latest marathon tirade on Friday.

"The Europe of yesterday is gone, we have a Europe of today which has no principles at all," the 90-year-old told a crowd of thousands gathered in a Harare stadium to mark 34 years since the country's independence from Britain.

Mugabe, who has been Zimbabwe's ruler since independence, faces EU sanctions as a result of his authoritarian rule. He refused to attend an EU-Africa summit earlier this month after his wife was denied a visa to enter Europe.

"The Europeans will never ever accept a ZANU-PF government in this country," referring to the political party he dominates.

"What is natural is made unnatural. And what is unnatural they want to say it is natural," he said in the speech, which lasted an hour and a half.

Mugabe repeated his claims that Europe is trying to force gay rights on Africa.

Zimbabwe ruler Robert Mugabe (C) in Harare on April 18, 2014 (AFP Photo/Jekesai Njikizana)

"(Europe says) If you pass a law that rejects homosexual marriages we will punish you like they are doing to Uganda and us," he said.

"Let Europe keep their homosexual nonsense there and not cross over with it here."

Mugabe, who once said gays and lesbians are worse than pigs and dogs, warned Western diplomats in Zimbabwe against preaching gay rights, saying they would be deported.

His election victory last year was rejected by many Western countries amid claims of widespread rigging and intimidation.

But a defiant Mugabe has refused to brook any dissent, and threatened the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change, saying its plan to lead protests over the deteriorating economy and high unemployment would not be accepted.

"We shall never tolerate acts of violence," he said.

The forgotten man who almost became president after Lincoln

On April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln died from his assassin’s wounds. But if John Wilkes Booth’s plot were entirely successful, a little-known senator may have been thrust into the White House.

View photo

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Lafayette Sabine Foster

Lafayette Sabine Foster

Booth’s full plot included killing Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward. General Ulysses Grant was another possible target. But only two attacks took place on April 14, 1865, with Seward surviving an assassination attempt and Lincoln suffering from Booth’s single gunshot

Blast in Nigerian capital

Police spokesman Frank Mba says Monday's blast destroyed 16 luxury coaches and 24 minibuses. 

There was only believed to be one blast with secondary explosions as vehicle fuel tanks ignited and burned. 

Reporters saw rescue workers and police gathering body parts as ambulances rushed the wounded to the hospitals. (AP)

Israel minister warns Kerry over 'surrender' to Iran

Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's intelligence minister Monday slammed as unacceptable comments by US Secretary of State John Kerry on negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme which he said indicated a "surrender" to Tehran.

"We watch the negotiations with concern. We are not opposed to a diplomatic solution but we are against a solution which is entirely a surrender to Iran and which leaves it a threshold nuclear state," Steinitz said."The things Kerry said in the Congress are worrying, they are surprising and they are unacceptable," Yuval Steinitz, who is also strategic affairs minister, told public radio.

APNewsBreak: Russian jet passes near US warship

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Russian fighter jet made multiple, close-range passes near an American warship in the Black Sea for more than 90 minutes Saturday amid escalating tensions in the region, U.S. military officials said Monday.

In the first public account of the incident, the officials said the Russian Fencer made 12 passes, and flew within 1,000 yards (900 meters) of the USS Donald Cook, a Navy destroyer, at about 500 feet (150 meters) above sea level.

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