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Showing posts from May 9, 2015

UN officials unhappy with Saudi Arabia’s plans for Yemen aid

Smoke billows from a Saudi-led airstrike, in Sanaa, Yemen, April 8, 2015. | Hani Mohammed AP By John Zarocostas The United Nations and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are locked in a bitter dispute over Riyadh’s insistence that humanitarian aid for Yemen be coordinated through Saudi authorities. Senior diplomats in Geneva say that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was taken aback when Saudi King Salman scheduled a May 17 conference in Riyadh to discuss aid to Yemen. Ban had planned to hold such a conference in Geneva on Monday, at which he hoped to restart the failed U.N. peace process. The scheduled Saudi conference and a proposal that the Saudi capital be the coordinating point for aid also violate the U.N.’s principle that aid delivered to a war zone should not be controlled by one of the belligerents in the conflict. “The active engagement of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is appreciated,” Johannes Van Der Klaauw, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for Yemen , said Friday. “However, in

New cartel arises from Mexico's assault on big drug lords

. FILE - In this May 1, 2015 file photo, state police stand next to a charred passenger bus, that was extinguished by firefighters in Guadalajara, Mexico. Authorities in western Mexico asked residents to stay at home as they scrambled to extinguish burning vehicles that blocked roads in various parts of Guadalajara. Such blockades are a common cartel response to the arrest of important members or are used to foil police and military operations. (AP Photo, File) MEXICO CITY (AP) — It has the drugs and distribution system of a traditional cartel — and it has the modern weapons and audacity of an army. After attacking federal forces, downing a military helicopter and shutting down streets in Mexico's second-largest city last week, the New Generation Jalisco cartel is now the main enemy in the country's fight with drug cartels. In just a few years, New Generation has grown from being an offshoot of the powerful Sinaloa cartel to one of Mexico's strongest criminal groups in its

Saudi-led warplanes pound Yemen rebel stronghold

Sanaa (AFP) - Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition have struck Yemeni rebels in their northern stronghold as Riyadh vowed "harsh" punishment for deadly cross-border bombardments, shortly after proposing a humanitarian ceasefire. The UN children's agency warned Friday that restrictions on delivering food and fuel are hampering aid efforts and threaten the lives of tens of thousands of Yemeni children. Thursday's raids targeted control centres, a communications complex, a landmine factory and other rebel positions across Yemen's northern Saada province bordering Saudi Arabia, state media in Riyadh said Friday. Witnesses in Saada said coalition jets dropped leaflets urging residents to leave and an AFP correspondent in Sanaa reported scores of families arriving on Friday. The coalition warned that "all of Saada will be a military target to coalition strikes after 7:00 pm (1600 GMT)" Friday, Saudi media said. Saudi Arabia, which has led six weeks of air stri

Shocking CCTV footage seen by jury shows Libyan soldiers 'looking around for cameras before they raped man'

Chilling CCTV footage has been released of the moment two Libyan soldiers who were training in Britain allegedly scouring Cambridge city centre for security cameras before raping a man. Moktar Ali Saad Mahmoud, 33, and Ibrahim Abugtila, 23, left their base at Bassingbourn Barracks in Cambridgeshire to meet their alleged victim, it is claimed. A court heard the British victim had consumed a 'formidable amount of alcohol' and the pair acted like 'hunting dogs' before taking it in turns to hold down and rape him. The pair had been undergoing training in Britain as part of an agreement by the UK government to help war-torn Libya after the 2011 collapse of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Scroll down for video +10 The CCTV allegedly shows defendants circled in red (Ibrahim Abugtila) and green (Moktair Mahmoud) first approach members of the public as they ancient city streets +10 The footage allegedly showed Abugtila, 23, first approach a woman in the early hours of Oct