Signalfire

YANGON — Fears that the deaths of two young men shot in a quarrel with troops could spark unrest prompted Myanmar state media to insist Friday that the incident was “not a fight” between the army and the public.

As authorities try to avoid anti-government feeling ahead of the country’s first elections in two decades, the New Light of Myanmar said the violence that killed Soe Paing Zaw, 19, and Aung Thu Hein, 23, was “just a drunken brawl”.

The paper claimed there was a “plot” to use the incident to provoke riots in the country, adding people wanted to help the state “wipe out such elements provoking mass protests for political gains”.

“The government is now gearing up hand in hand with the people… (to take) action against those elements deceiving the people into taking to the streets with the intention of destroying State stability and peace,” it said.

Soe Paing Zaw and Aung Thu Hein, who were shot dead on Saturday night in Bago, north of Yangon, were hurriedly cremated in the town on Tuesday afternoon amid tight security, according to witnesses.

A memorial service at their homes in the town on Saturday is also expected to be heavily guarded as the junta tries to avoid unrest ahead of the November 7 vote — although there have not been any reported protests so far.

An unnamed Myanmar security officer said authorities would keep tight control over the situation as they “do not want any unrest ahead of the election”.

The pair were killed after a taxi they were travelling in with five others was hit by a motorcycle carrying two army officers, who had been drinking beer nearby.

According to the report, one officer ran away from the fight and came back with four security troops from Bago Railway Station, one of whom fired the fatal shots.

“In reality, it was just a drunken brawl in the street between some young soldiers and some young civilians, not a fight between the Tatmadaw and the public,” the paper said, using the term for Myanmar’s feared military.

“Such cases take place sometimes,” it added.

The report said that a lawsuit had been filed against the servicemen involved and stressed a “fine tradition” of punitive action being taken against offending soldiers.

It did not mention how many people would face the lawsuit, but soldiers who are to be prosecuted are thought likely to be dismissed from the army before facing criminal proceedings.

“Officers concerned called at the houses of the two victims to beg the pardon of their parents,” the paper said.

Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962, has seen sporadic eruptions of civil unrest over the years, but most have ended in a bloody victory for the junta.

The country has banned civilians from holding any weapons and strictly controls press and other freedoms to maintain an iron grip on power.

Upcoming elections — the first since democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was denied power after her party’s landslide victory in the 1990 polls — have been criticised as a sham aimed at putting a civilian face on military rule.

Riot-clad Los Angeles police officers in patrol cars Wednesday night were playing a cat-and-mouse game with throngs of protesters along 6th Street in the third straight day of violent clashes following the deadly shooting of a Guatemalan immigrant who allegedly threatened officers and passersby by with a knife.

A few hundred people had gathered at Burlington Avenue and 6th in Westlake, where some hurled bottles at squad cars. Others shouted “Pig!” and profanities at officers as they got out of their vehicles, rifles in their hands.

At least one fire was lighted, but it was quickly extinguished.

Dozens of police cars, lights flashing and sirens wailing, chased after groups of protesters who were running along 6th, near the scene where Manuel Jamines, 37, was shot Sunday afternoon by an LAPD officer.

The LAPD earlier declared a modified tactical alert, holding over extra patrol officers.

LOS ANGELES — Demonstrators pelted police for a second night in a poor immigrant neighborhood following the fatal shooting of a Guatemalan day laborer who allegedly threatened people with a knife and then turned the weapon on a responding officer.

Officers fired at least two rounds of foam projectiles at demonstrators Tuesday night and 22 people were arrested, mainly for failure to disperse and unlawful assembly, Officer Karen Rayner said.

The disturbance erupted despite police Chief Charlie Beck’s pledge to conduct a full investigation into the Sunday afternoon shooting of Manuel Jamines, 37, in the Westlake district near MacArthur Park, a neighborhood packed with recent immigrants from Central America.

An estimated 300 protesters who gathered outside the local police station hurled eggs, rocks and bottles and set a trash bin on fire. Others dropped household items from apartment buildings.

“People were throwing televisions, air conditioning units, miscellaneous furniture and other objects from the windows,” Lt. Cory Palka said.

At least one officer and a Univision reporter were slightly injured by thrown or slingshot-propelled objects, police told City News Service. A man who fell off his bicycle suffered a head injury.

In Monday night’s violence, three officers were slightly injured by thrown objects and four people were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor inciting a riot, Officer Bruce Borihanh said. Police said most of Monday’s trouble involved a group handing out revolutionary fliers.

In the wake of the protests, authorities scheduled a community meeting for Wednesday evening at a school.

Beck said the Jamines shooting occurred after someone flagged down three bicycle officers to tell them a man was threatening people with a knife.

The officers approached the suspect and told him in Spanish and English to put down the weapon. Instead, Jamines raised the knife above his head and lunged at Officer Frank Hernandez, a 13-year veteran of the department, Beck said.

Eyewitness accounts from six civilians, nine police personnel and two fire department staff indicate Hernandez fired twice “in immediate defense of life,” Beck said. Jamines died at the scene.

Investigators recovered a bloody, 6-inch knife at the scene but didn’t know where the blood came from.

“This was a very brief moment in time, just 40 seconds between first contact and the time of the shooting,” Beck said.

Beck said the timeline was based on preliminary interviews. He said the department’s Force Investigation Division will conduct a thorough, transparent probe.

The three officers involved in the shooting have been temporarily reassigned.

Jamines had a wife and three children — ages 13, 6 and 8 — in his hometown of Mazatenango, Guatemala, according to his cousin Juan Jaminez, 38. He came to the United States six years ago to find work and spent most of his time looking for jobs in a Home Depot parking lot near his home.

Jamines was drunk but not dangerous, his cousin and neighbors said.

“Killing a drunk isn’t right,” said Juan Jaminez, also a day laborer. He and others described Jamines as a friendly, hardworking man who liked to drink on the weekends but wasn’t violent.

“The officer who did this should be subject to discipline and a thorough investigation,” said Juan Flores, 39, a restaurant cook who knew Jamines.

Flores said the officers should have used a non-lethal weapon.

Beck said the officer involved in the shooting didn’t have a baton or stun gun. He said bicycle officers frequently do not carry the selection of non-lethal weapons found in patrol cars.

Juana Neri, 57, a Mexican immigrant housewife who lives nearby, pushed her grocery bag in a baby stroller past the corner where Jamines was killed.

“It’s bad, what the police did, but what’s worse is the silly stuff that people were doing here,” she said, referring to Monday’s violence. “We are not in our country, and with the problems that Hispanic immigrants have these days, it’s better not to cause problems.”

MacArthur Park was the site of a May 1, 2007, clash in which police pummeled immigration rights marchers and reporters with batons and shot rubber bullets into the crowd. Police cited significant command failures in the response to a confrontation with a group of “agitators” that triggered the sweep through the park, and a deputy chief at the scene quickly resigned after being demoted.

Police have raided buildings across Germany to search for evidence that the country’s largest neo-Nazi group is an “aggressive and combative” threat to democracy.

Senior interior ministry officials have confirmed that the sweep of 30 buildings is an investigation into whether the Aid Organisation for National Political Victims and their Relatives (HNG) should be banned.

“Today’s searches will show whether our suspicions are confirmed and the HNG is positioned against constitutional order in an aggressively violent manner,” Klaus-Dieter Fritsche , an interior minister said in Germany’s capital Berlin.

“Our findings bring us nearer to the suspicion that the HNG’s main goal is to network and strengthen the mainly fragmented neo-Nazi scene beyond trench warfare.”

The 600-strong far-right group is accused of keeping in contact with imprisoned Nazis to strengthen extremist ideology and “encourage them to commit further crimes”.

“Imprisoned comrades are not only kept within the group while in jail, but also encouraged to ‘fight on against the system’,” said Mr Fritsche.

In March 2009, the government banned a neo-Nazi organization, Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend, which sought to attract youths to an anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant ideology under the guise of activities such as summer camps and outings.

Police had uncovered swastikas, black-clad youngsters and extremist lyrics during a raid on one of the HDJ’s camping sites on the Baltic Sea coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state.

Germany has grappled with the proliferation of anti- immigrant and extremist groups, underscored by regional state election victories of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany.

27/08/2010

VietNamNet Bridge – Over 500 people from the three villages of An Lau 1, 2 and Bong Mieu in Phu Ninh district, the central province of Quang Nam surrounded and damaged the assets of the Bong Mieu Gold Company on August 25.

The attack originated from an incident that occurred on the evening of August 23. Duong Van Yen, 19, from An Lau 1 village, got into the company’s dumping ground to collect ore. Guards seized the boy and handed him over to sub-lieutenant Nguyen Duy Thanh, a local police officer who is in charge of guarding the gold company.

Thanh hurt the boy with an electric taser stick. The boy was brought to Quang Nam General Hospital for emergency aid. Hundreds of extremists used the case as a pretense to attack and rob five tons of ore from the Bong Mieu Gold Company.

Tran Van Dieu, a company guard, recalled: “At around 8pm on August 24, hundreds of people flocked to our company. They attacked a guard and destroyed the company’s assets with stones and bricks. Some cut barbed wire fences to break into the compound and steal ore.”

The gold company urgently called Quang Nam authorities for help. At 2am on August 25, the local security forces were finally able to dismiss the crowd.

Quang Nam police officials visited the site to investigate on the morning of August 25. Colonel Pham Truong Dan, deputy director of Quang Nam Police Agency, said that this case was very serious. Looters robbed a total of five tons of ore and 1 kilo of gold. Many assets, such as five cars, cameras, glass windows, tables and chairs were also damaged. Total losses are thought to be billions of dong (millions of US dollars).

Quang Nam authorities and Bong Mieu Gold Company met with local people the same day. People strongly objected to the extremists who robbed ore and other assets from the gold company. They asked that these “robbers” be seriously punished. Local people also asked police to prosecute the police officer who hit the boy named Yen.

2nd Upstate NY Mosque Painted With Racial Slur
Hudson, N.Y. (AP) – Authorities in a Hudson Valley city say they’re treating the spray painting of a racial slur on a wall of a mosque as a hate crime.

Police believe the graffiti appeared on an outside wall of the Hudson Islamic Center early Wednesday morning. During a news conference held outside the building later Wednesday, Chief Ellis Richardson said police had no solid leads in the case.

Abdus Miah, a city alderman who is Muslim, tells the Register-Star of Hudson that more than 100 people worship at 13-year-old mosque, located 110 miles north of New York City, where plans to build an Islamic center and mosque near ground zero has stirred a national debate.

Other apparent anti-Muslim incidents under investigation include last month’s disruption of services at a mosque in Waterport on Lake Ontario.

Phoenix mosque vandalism being investigated by FBI
The FBI is investigating the recent vandalism of a Phoenix mosque under construction, officials said Wednesday.

The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations had asked the FBI to investigate the vandalism of the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix, which occurred a few weeks ago, according to officials.

“We were made aware of the situation today, and we are looking into this matter,” FBI Special Agent Manuel Johnson said.

The vandalized mosque, near Interstate 17 and Northern Avenue, is being built across the street from the Islamic center’s smaller, existing mosque and has not yet been used by the public, Usama Shami, the center’s board chairman, said Wednesday.

Paint was spilled on the floor and several tall, arched glass windows were broken by what appeared to be gunshots, Shami said. There was also anti-Muslim graffiti.

Shami said the motivation for the vandalism could have been anything, but the controversy sweeping the country regarding the planned mosque near Ground Zero and the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks has him concerned about a possible motive.

“It could be related to that or it could be a random act,” Shami said. “We really don’t know.”

Johnson, a media representative for the FBI Phoenix division, said he is not sure if the local investigation will be joined with the national investigation, but it is being determined by the Phoenix office.

“When we get information of a complaint with regards to a potential civil rights violation, we’re going to assess the situation,” Johnson said.

Tayyibah Amapullah, office director for the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said she believes the FBI should investigate the vandalism and the motives because of the recent anti-Muslim incidents across the country.

“We feel that it’s related to the current nationwide anti-Muslim sentiment,” Amapullah said. “We’re erring on the side of caution and using our best judgment. We want heightened security just in case it is related.”

The Justice Department is investigating a handful of apparently anti-Muslim incidents in four states, including the stabbing of a Muslim cab driver in New York City.

FBI agents and civil rights division investigators also are looking into vandalism and other incidents at mosques or mosque construction sites in Arlington, Texas; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Madera, Calif.; and Waterport, N.Y.

The Islamic organization waited to call upon the FBI until several weeks after the incident because the council thought the mosque had already reported the vandalism, Amapullah said.

The council is asking all mosques to report incidents, and if they fail to do so, then the council will step in and start aiding the mosques in the reporting process, Amapullah said. The Arizona chapter of the council communicates mostly with 19 places of prayer, not necessarily mosques, in the Phoenix area.

“We want to make sure the FBI is aware of all the damage,” she said.

The Phoenix mosque has not yet received an estimate on the damages, but Shami said the broken glass alone could cost $1,000 to $1,500 to replace.

The same mosque was vandalized in February, Amapullah said, by people who climbed to the top of the building and wrote on the roof so that it was visible from the interstate.

Maoist guerrills Thursday triggered a landmine blast in Orissa’s Malkangiri district, blowing up a panchayat office, the second blast in the region this week, police said. No one was injured in the explosion.

‘Around 30-40 rebels trigerred the explosion at the panchayat office at Materu village under Kalimela police station area, some 40 km from the district headquarters of Malkangiri,’ police officer Dabashis Mishra told IANS.

‘Nobody was inside the building when the blast took place. The building has been partially damaged,’ he said.

The rebels blew up a block office building at Padia under the same police station area Sep 7.

Malkangiri district, about 620 km from Bhubaneswar, is considered a Maoist stronghold.

The rebels often target schools, panchayats and other government buildings in the region as they suspect these buildings may be used to house security forces during anti-Maoist operations.

– Indo-Asian News Service

Raipur, Sep 8 (IANS) Seven Maoist guerrillas, including six women, were arrested with arms and ammunition in Chhattisgarh Wednesday for killing five security personnel in an ambush last month, police said.

The seven, amongst the dozens of Maoists wanted for the Aug 29 killing of five security personnel in Kanker, were arrested from a forest in the district that is part of the 40,000 sq km Bastar region along with Dantewada, Bijapur, Bastar and Narayanpur districts.

“We had been tracking the Maoists for several days and finally they were trapped today. Six of the seven Maoists apprehended were females and had been involved in an ambush on a joint patrolling party in Kanker district’s Bhuski village Aug 29, in which five jawans were martyred,” Ajay Yadav, Kanker district superintendent of police, told IANS over phone.

The arrested rebels also included minors. Six guns and some detonators were recovered from them.

Lakhan Patle, sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) of Bhanupratappur where the Maoists were arrested, said a few of the arrested were minors.

“We have got vital leads from the arrested rebels about other Maoists who were involved in Aug 29 attack. More Maoists will be arrested soon,” said Patle.

About 100 Maoists had ambushed a patrol drawn from the Border Security Force (BSF), district force (DF) and special police officers (SPOs) in Bhuski village in Kanker district, 250 km from here.

Amongst the five killed were three BSF troopers.

08/09/2010

ANKARA, Turkey — Security forces killed nine members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) during a clash in the southeast province of Hakkari, near the borders with Iran and Iraq, on Tuesday (September 7th), security officials announced. One soldier was injured. According to local media, the PKK launched a rocket attack on a military post, triggering the fighting, despite the PKK’s unilateral ceasefire that ends on September 20th.

In other news Tuesday, police in the city of Adana seized 20kg of plastic explosives and arrested two people. Authorities suspect the PKK planned to use the explosives to launch attacks, ahead of the Sunday’s referendum on constitutional amendments.

On Monday, meanwhile, one soldier was killed in the eastern province of Tunceli during clashes with suspected terrorists from the Maoist Communist Party. Authorities initially blamed the PKK for the incident. The militants attacked a transformer at a local hydro power plant, setting it on fire. (Zaman – 08/09/10; AFP, Xinhua, Press TV, Dogan, Reuters, Anadolu news agency, DPA, Hurriyet, AP, Turkish Press, UPI – 07/09/10)

LIMA – Five suspected guerrillas were captured in the Valley of the Apurimac and Ene rivers, or VRAE, located in Peru’s southern Ayacucho region, the Armed Forces Joint Command said Wednesday.

The arrests were made on Monday and Tuesday by military patrols in different parts of the VRAE, an area where a state of emergency was declared two years ago due to the presence of drug traffickers and the remnants of the Shining Path guerrilla group, the command said.

A 72-year-old man was arrested in Acocro district, a 51-year-old man was detained in the town of Totobamba and a third man, whose age was not provided, was arrested in Orcohuasi.

A 60-year-old woman was captured in Huaychao, located in Acosvinchos district, and a 39-year-old woman was detained in Orcosita, located in Pacaycasa district, the command said.

The armed forces and National Police established a special command in the VRAE to carry out counterinsurgency operations targeting the Shining Path’s main “committees,” which are working jointly with drug gangs.

The Shining Path’s command, whose top leader is “Comrade Jose,” is now running its own drug organization, the top military commander in the VRAE, Gen. Leonel Cabrera, said last month.

The Shining Path’s remnants operate in the Upper Huallaga Valley under the command of Florindo Eleuterio Flores Hala, known as “Comrade Artemio,” and in the VRAE region under Victor Quispe Palomino, alias Comrade Jose.

The United States is offering rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the capture of Comrade Artemio and Comrade Jose.

by HM Cabunoc

Camp Elias Angeles, Pili, Camarines Sur (9 September) — Four rebels were killed and three firearms were recovered following an encounter with the government forces in Masbate province Monday afternoon (September 6), a military official said.

LtCol Anthony Purugganan, Commander of the 9th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, said that a 9-man squad of the 93rd Division Reconnaissance Company, led by Private First Class Ramon Magpantay, encountered more or less 10 NPA bandits led by Ka Dady of the CPP-NPA-NDF’s Front Committee 83-Central in Sta Maria village, Mobo town at around 1:00 pm.

Purugganan said that four NPA bandits were killed in the clash, three firearms, including cal 5.56 mm M653 rifle (baby armalite), cal.30 M1 Garand and a shotgun, and combat packs containing personal effects and subversive documents were recovered.

Remains of the rebels killed were brought to the police station in Mobo town for proper identification. No one among them were identified by villagers who were at the scene after the firefight.

“I believe that one of the slain rebels is a ranking cadre as in his possession was .56 mm M653 rifle,” said Purugganan.

Purugganan also said that he sent the troops to check the report from a civilian about a group of rebels who were planning to set up improvised bombs in the area.

At least two ambuscades using roadside bombs had been staged by the NPA bandits in Mobo town this year.

Major General Ruperto Pabustan, commander of the 9th ID PA, has directed the 9th Infantry Battalion to intensify its security patrols after the deadly ambush which left 5 people dead on August 28.

September 9th

An email obtained by City Paper suggests collaboration between the state Department of Homeland Security and gas drilling interests.

The email, authored by Pennsylvania Homeland Security cheif James Powers, was written in apparent error: addressed to one Virginia Coady, a well-known participant in anti-drilling forums, the letter indicates that Powers mistakenly mistook Ms. Coady for someone associated with pro-drilling interests.

In the email (full text below), Powers warns Coady against distributing information gathered by the Pa. DHS on anti-drilling activities, telling Coady that: “We want to continue providing this support to the Marcellus Shale Formation natural gas stakeholders while not feeding those groups fomenting dissent against those same companies.”

The “support” he speaks of consists at least partly of confidential updates on anti-drilling activists and activties. A report yesterday evening by nonprofit investigative journalism outfit Pro Publica broke the news that the Pennsylvania Dept. of Homeland Security included in its regular newsletter, the Pennsylvania Intelligence Bulletin, decriptions of various activities and gatherings of activists opposed to gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

Included in a list entitled “Dates of interest” are a series of local meetings about gas drilling issues – a drilling ordinance in Cranberry County, a hearing in Damascus, Pa. on zoning regulations – as well as the recent screening in Philadelphia of the “controversial Gasland movie,” – a documentary by filmmaker Josh Fox on the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, the process used to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale.

City Paper emailed Mr. Powers to confirm authenticity of the email and was contacted instead by Governor Rendell’s chief spokesman Gary Tuma, who acknowledged that the email was authentic and said that the Pa. Dept. of Homeland Security was sharing such information with certain local interests – including gas drilling companies – because of “recent acts of vandalism” against drilling operations.

“There have been five acts of vandalism against Marcellus Shale drilling facilities,” in the last two weeks, he said, “including two of which involved firearms … shotguns fired at equipment.”

A third incident involved theft, he said after being asked for details, and the other two were “minor incidents.”

Tuma added that “There have been peaceful protests related to MS drilling by people who oppose drilling and the increased amoutn of driling – certainly no one is trying to restrict the rights of peaceful protest conducted within the parameters fo the first amendment.”

Asked whether there have been any protests that were not peaceful, Mr. Tuma acknowledged, “There have not been any that I’m aware of.”
[ email follows]
Miss Virginia,
For Your Information & Situational Awareness
Just a short note of clarification regarding the intent of the PIB. The information provided to you via
the PIB is not for dissemination in the public domain. As indicated in the caveats on the first page, the
PIB is solely meant for owners/operators & security personnel associated with our critical
infrastructure & key resources.
Although an internet forum is certainly a great way to spread the word and receive input from forum
participants, it’s still in the public domain and thus be accessed by both pro and anti-natural gas drilling
folks.
Please assist us in keeping the information provided in the PIB to those having a valid need-to-know; it
should only be disseminated via closed communications systems.
Thanks for your support. We want to continue providing this support to the Marcellus Shale Formation
natural gas stakeholders while not feeding those groups fomenting dissent against those same
companies.
Jim

9 September 2010

Prague, Sept 8 (CTK) – The police registered 265 crimes with an extremist motive in the 10.5 million Czech Republic last year, which was 0.07 percent of all crimes and 48 more than in 2008, according to a document the Chamber of Deputies defence and security committee discussed yesterday.

The police cleared up 186 crimes last year, or 60 more than in 2008. A total of 293 people were prosecuted, which was about 100 more than in 2008, and courts convicted 103 people of racially motivated crimes.

Deputy Interior Minister Zdenek Salivar said “the extremist scene is on the defensive” now.

He said that is why rightist extremists have moderated their rhetoric. The militant wing is now trying to change the neo-Nazi label and focuses on environmental themes.

Salivar said the abolition of the Workers’ Party (DS) last year was a step of European importance.

The party, however, practically continues its acitivities under a new name, the Workers’ Party of Social Justice (DSSS).

The number of neo-Nazi concerts roughly halved to 18 last year, and only one sole was held after last June’s raid on rightist extremists, the report says.

The concerts have been moved abroad, mainly to Poland and Slovakia, Police President Oldrich Martinu said.

He said the concerts were a significant source of money for the extremist groups.

The police inspection also checked six cases on suspicion of police involvement in criminal activity with an extremist subtext last year.

The suspicion was not proved in three of them, another two continue to be checked and one case ended in a disciplinary punishment.

A total of 24 police members were involved in the cases, the report said.

It said the military police investigated ten cases, involving 12 soldiers.

Salivar said everyone who seeks a job with security corps is checked for extremism now.

Rajshahi, Sep 9 (bdnews24.com) — A high-profile leader of banned extremist political outfit – Purba Bangla Communist Party (ML Lalpataka) – was killed in an alleged ‘shootout’ with RAB, in the small hours of Thursday, in Rajshahi.

Elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) claimed that with the death of Ratan alias Titas, 38, who was also the commander of the party’s Rajshai zone, an era of Lal Pataka was brought to an end.

The claimed shootout took place at Thandar Para village under Bagmara Upazila at about 1am.

A RAB-5 press release said the Bagmara camp intelligence team of the agency had learnt that top leaders of the banned party were meeting the zonal leaders, aiming at reformation of the party. The party was without direction after the death of its former Rajshahi commander Elahi Box Mithu, on Aug 25 in another ‘shootout’.

After being tipped off, a RAB-5 team took up position at a Thandar Para village mango-orchard at about 1am.

Suspecting the presence of RAB, the extremists tried to flee. When the RAB personnel chased the alleged extremists they started firing at the law enforcers, the release claimed.

RAB personnel were then also compelled to fire back to defend themselves. The body of Titas was found as his companions escaped after a 20-minute gunfight, RAB claimed.

Police recovered a locally made single-shooter gun, a foreign-made pistol, a magazine, five rounds of bullets, a large machete, a dagger and some party leaflets.

According to RAB, Titas had at least 10 murder cases, including a police killing case, and some other cases against him.

9 September

The police in Londonderry have rejected allegations that they have been harrassing dissident republicans and their families.

Local priest Father Paddy O’Kane he said had been “shocked” by accounts of police brutality when he met dissident supporters on Wednesday night.

He said he was told that the lives of people who police wanted to become informers had been made hell.

PSNI Area Commander Jon Burrows said he had “severe doubts” about the claims.

“I hear people talking about the rights of children – we are actually out trying to protect the rights of children,” the Acting Chief Inspector said.

“Let’s cast out minds back 12 years ago to the Omagh bomb.”

He said nine children had been killed in the explosion including an 18-month-old infant.

“We are out trying to disrupt people who would bring bombs onto our streets and they are still doing it,” he said.

Fr O’Kane agreed to meet supporters and families of dissident republicans after he has publically challenged armed groups on their campaign of violence.

Dissident republicans have been blame for a number of recent car bomb explosions and hoax bomb alerts.

The Ballymagroarty parish priest said that he had heard “harrowing stories” from people who were “angry and afraid”.

He said he had “no regrets” about meeting the families but also said that he will not publicise any future talks.

SRINAGAR, India — Tens of thousands of troops enforced a rigid curfew in India’s portion of Kashmir on Tuesday, wary of violent demonstrations after the deaths of four protesters who were shot dead by security forces.

The mostly Muslim Kashmir region has been roiled by anti-government demonstrations and clashes between protesters and government forces for the past three months. Monday’s deaths brought to 69 the number of people killed in the civil unrest against rule from predominantly Hindu India.

The streets of Srinagar, Indian-held Kashmir’s main city, and other towns were deserted Tuesday with soldiers in riot gear turning out in full force.

On Monday, four people, including two teenage boys, were killed when security forces fired live ammunition into crowds to disperse rock-throwing protesters in Palhalan, a village north of Srinagar, police said.

That led to more protests, with local residents saying there was no clash and that soldiers opened fire on a peaceful protest without provocation.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. Protesters reject Indian sovereignty over Kashmir and want independence, or a merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

The recent unrest is reminiscent of the late 1980s, when protests against New Delhi’s rule sparked an armed conflict that has killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians.

The state government ordered a probe into Monday’s shooting. In the past, human rights groups have denounced such investigations as weak moves to calm public anger.

Demonstrations against Indian rule continued until early Tuesday with tens of thousand of Kashmiris chanting, “Go India, go back” and “We want freedom.” Angry protesters attacked police stations with rocks and petrol bombs, a police officer said.

Troops fired warning shots and tear gas to quell the protests, he said. At least 14 people were wounded in the clashes. The police officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Armoured vehicles patrolled the streets Tuesday and government forces used barbed-wire barricades to seal off public squares and neighbourhoods in Srinagar.

MAPUTO — Deadly protests that paralysed Mozambique’s capital last week were spurred by a text message that went viral on Maputo’s cell phones, signalling the power of new technology in the hands of the poor.

It is difficult to find a mobile phone user who did not get the anonymous SMS message presaging the three days of violence which left 13 dead and about 400 wounded as police clashed with people protesting sharp increases in the cost of living.

“Mozambican, prepare yourself to enjoy the great day of the strike,” it said.

“Let’s protest the increase in energy, water, mini-bus taxi and bread prices. Send to other Mozambicans.”

The message, and the ensuing unrest, shows the new organisational power cell phones have brought to the poor in a country where 65 percent of the population lives in poverty but exercises little political clout.

“That message went around to the whole world,” said Samira, a 35-year-old who lives in Mafalala, a neighbourhood of tin shacks on the edge of Maputo that saw some of the deadliest violence.

“Even me, when I saw the message I forwarded it to other people. To my friends, my sister. ‘I’m asking you, please read this message’.”

“There have been protests before, but they were never organised by SMS,” said Hares Serafim Mulango, an 18-year-old high school student from Mafalala.

“SMS is easier, because with SMS they tell you about situations far away from you.”

Organising formal protests is difficult in Mozambique, where getting a permit to march is a time-intensive bureaucratic procedure.

The explosion of cell phones has given the poor access to a political platform unavailable to them before.

“This technology is a new way of giving a voice, of giving power, of giving a means of expression that poor people themselves don’t have,” Joao Pereira, director of the Mozambican Civil Society Support Mechanism, told AFP.

“That group is never represented. That group is made up of the people who vote the least,” he said.

Only about a quarter of Mozambique’s 20 million people have cell phones, but that’s twice as many people as have access to electricity, and the number has been growing by about 50 percent a year since 2004, according to the UN’s International Telecommunication Union.

The cell phone messages added to the embarrassment the protests posed for President Armando Guebuza and ruling party Frelimo, in power since Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

Guebuza swept to victory in a 75-percent landslide in elections last year, but his government has been unable to stop the recent slide of Mozambique’s currency, the metical, which has plunged 43 percent against the South African rand.

The drop in value has made residents of the import-dependent country struggle to buy basic necessities.

After an emergency cabinet meeting Thursday ended with an appeal for calm and a statement that price increases were “irreversible”, more text messages circulated criticising the government’s response.

“Mozambicans, the government appears to have met just for a coffee and whiskey and not to resolve the problems of the people,” said one message.

Pereira said cell phone technology is giving the poor a voice in politics in a country with a weak opposition, and where media are dominated by the state-owned newspaper and television station.

“It’s an instrument of empowerment. It’s a way of increasing the participation of the most marginalised parts of this society in the democratic system,” he said.

3 September

About 24 people were hurt Friday in new clashes between government forces and Muslim protesters in Indian Kashmir, where weeks of unrest have left over 60 people dead.

Five people were hurt when security forces opened fire to quell stone-throwing protesters in northern Baramulla town Friday evening, a police statement said.

Two seriously injured people were shifted to the main hospital in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.

Some 19 more people, including eight policemen, were injured in clashes between security forces and anti-India protesters at four more locations across Muslim-majority Kashmir valley, police said.

About 65 protesters and bystanders have been killed over the past 11 weeks, mostly by security forces who have opened fire on rallies after being pelted with stones.

Government forces have struggled to contain the outpouring of anger triggered by the police killing of a schoolboy in early June. Protests against Indian rule began in Srinagar and have spread through the valley.

Meanwhile, thousands of people Friday defied a ban on protest marches and held a fresh demonstration in Srinagar.

Chanting, “Go India, go back!” protesters emerged from the region’s main mosque Jamia Masjid in Srinagar and marched through the streets.

They were led by top separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is also the head imam at the mosque.

Senior separatists Syed Ali Geelani and Yasin Malik led two separate rallies against Indian rule in Srinagar and the neighbouring district of Budgam.

Separatists have threatened to continue the protests until India declares Kashmir an “international dispute,” pulls out troops from inhabited areas, repeals tough security laws and releases all political prisoners.

Separatists have spurned recent offers of talks by New Delhi in protest against the killings by security forces.

Kashmir has faced rolling curfews and separatist-sponsored strikes since the first killing on June 11.
AFP

2010-09-04
MAPUTO, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) — Riots against price rises spread to the central province of Manica in Mozambique on Friday.

Radio Mozambique said that thousands of young people in the province were dispersed by riot police when they were trying to erect barricades on the main streets of the provincial capital Chimoio.

According to the radio and the TVM, groups of people aged between 13 and 28 took to the streets to protest against the rising prices.

The TVM showed pictures of people being chased by the riot police also in the central port city of Beira.

The man in charge of the riot police told the TVM that “It is a small group which is trying to attract other people to do what is happening in Maputo and Matola cities.”

“We are going to contain these demonstrations,” he said, without identifying himself.

There are no reports of casualties in Chimoio, according to Radio Mozambique.

Life in Maputo and Matola relatively returned to normal on Friday, despite threats to resume the industrial action.

The Mozambican government has been calling on the people to be calm and return to work after a two-day rioting in the two cities.

The riot police and the military are still patrolling the streets of Maputo and Matola.

The riots have cost the government 3.3 million U.S. dollars. Seven people were killed and 288 others injured in the riots.

September 4

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) – Mozambican state radio says police clashed overnight with rioters near the capital’s airport.

No injuries were reported in Friday night’s unrest, which followed two days’ of riots over the cost of living that left at least 10 people dead. The radio says 20 people were arrested Friday, and that calm was restored by Saturday morning.

Amid rising food prices worldwide, Mozambicans are protesting increases in the costs of bread as well as of fuel and water set by their government. Authorities are struggling to contain the violence in the southeastern African nation where more than half the population lives in poverty.

Sep 4

“Three police were injured when protesters threw stones at them. When we tried to stop them some people threw stones and other objects at police,” said police spokesman Arnaldo Chefo.

Ten people were killed and more than 440 injured in violence since Wednesday sparked by spiralling food prices. Police fired rubber bullets and live ammunition to control demonstrators.

Police said no incidents of unrest were reported overnight.

“The situation remained calm during the night. There were no deaths and no injuries, said Belmiro Muradiwa, the provincial spokesman for the central Manica province.

The unrest has interrrupted fuel supply in Maputo and long lines have formed outside fuel stations, as people scramble to fill up their cars.

Prices hike for several essential foodstuffs including bread were implemented on September 1 and the government said this week the increases were “irreversible.”

Mozambique police kept a close watch over the capital Maputo on Saturday after three days of riots over food and fuel price hikes that left ten people dead.

No new cases of unrest had been reported since last night, when three police officers were injured in clashes with demonstrators, police officials said. “Three police were injured when protesters threw stones at them. When we tried to stop them some people threw stones and other objects at police,” said police spokesman Arnaldo Chefo.

Ten people were killed and more than 440 injured in violence since Wednesday sparked by spiralling food prices. Police fired rubber bullets and live ammunition to control demonstrators.

The Red Cross, which has been monitoring the demonstrations since they started, said no fresh incidents of unrest had been reported.

“We have no incidents reported since yesterday,” said Americo Ubisse, the organisation’s spokesman in Maputo.

“Everything is fine, the situation is still under control,” he added.

The Red Cross also said Chomoio in the centre part of the country was quiet, following fresh skirmishes on Friday night.

In markets around the city people went about their usual business, with shops re-opened and buzzing with customers.

But the impact of the riots was still evident everywhere in the city, with charred debris scattered across the streets and blockades being removed by the police.

The unrest interrupted fuel supplies in Maputo and long lines formed outside fuel stations, as people scrambled to fill up their cars.

Price hikes for several essential foodstuffs including bread were implemented on September 1 and the government said this week the increases were “irreversible.”

“It is not just bread. So many things have got too expensive here in Mozambique. Electricity went up, water and rice,” said Joao Francisco Chirindze, a carpenter.

Chirindze said the cost of living was too high for many people. He said his household expenses amounted to between 5,000 and 7,000 meticals (140 and 190 dollars, 100 and 150 euros) a month, more than twice his salary.

He said he supplemented his wages by doing odd jobs on the side, helped by the money brought in by his wife from selling potatoes.

“The metical is down right now, it doesn’t have the same value it used to. The dollar and the South African rand have gone up a lot. Everything is difficult to buy,” he lamented.

According to the United Nations, more than half the 22 million Mozambican population survives on less than one dollar a day.

“The customers are complaining, they do not want to accept the price of six meticals for bread. They say it is very expensive,” said Alcido Manjate, a bread vendor from Benfica, a poor neighbourhood outside Maputo.

The violence was the worst in Mozambique since 2008, when six people were killed in protests against a public transport fare increase.

The southern African country which lies on the Indian Ocean coast relies on neighbouring South Africa for many goods, while a large number of Mozambicans work in South African mines.

Government employees close schools, hospitals and challenge President Jacob Zuma and ANC.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A nationwide strike by 1.3 million government workers — now in its third week — has brought to a standstill many of South Africa’s schools and hospitals.

The strike of public sector workers, including teachers, nurses, immigration officers and most other government employees, is for higher wages and benefits and threatens to become the most serious work stoppage since the end of apartheid in 1994.

The strike is also a battle for the political high ground in the country.

Government hospitals across the country are closed or operating with skeleton staffs including 3,000 military medical officers deployed to strategic hospitals. Several patients have died because of the reduced medical care, according to local news reports.

Strikers allegedly stabbed a non-striking nurse at Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg a week ago and in Bloemfontein a fire is alleged to have been set by strikers.

Police have fired rubber bullets into striking workers, and hundreds of incidents of violence on the part of workers are being investigated by the courts. Schools are closed, exams are being missed, and there is no end in sight.

The country that so successfully hosted the World Cup of soccer has seen its government business crippled. The real estate business is hampered because government clerks are not processing  housing clearance certificates. The immigration office is not issuing work permits, passports or travel documents.

The car manufacturing industry, the biggest in Africa, shut down as well when the National Union of Metalworkers (NUMSA) joined the strike on Aug. 30.

Nevertheless, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, said last week that the strike would not have a major economic impact.

This seems like hopeful thinking, since any pay increase would likely increase the South African government’s spending by 1 to 2 percent and would increase the national deficit significantly. If the strike carries on for much longer, there is every reason to expect economic growth will indeed suffer.

South Africa’s strong labor unions helped to bring about the end of apartheid to bring the ANC party to power. But now their demands for higher wages are often cited by potential foreign investors as a reason to avoid South Africa, depriving the nation of much-needed foreign direct investment.

In this country of almost 50 million people, unemployment runs at roughly 30 percent and inflation is about 4.2 percent. The unions are asking the government for an 8.6 percent rise in yearly take-home pay, more than double the inflation rate. The government has offered a 7.5 percent rise but the strikers are holding out for the remaining 1.1 percent and vow they will continue to do so.

The strike hits South Africa just as it was recovering from the worldwide recession.

Wages in South Africa are relatively low and living standards of workers are bad. Many black workers, especially trade union members, are angry that their lives have not improved significantly since the end of apartheid. More than 50 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to surveys.
The strike also comes at a sensitive time, when opposition to President Jacob Zuma’s government has grown, giving the work stoppage deeper political implications.

Zwelenzima Vavi, the head of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is pushing the ANC government to implement more socialist policies to improve the lives of workers. He has also called for the government to crack down on corruption and cronyism.

Cosatu is a key supporter of the ANC party along with the South African Communist Party. But both the labor unions and the Communist Party are becoming increasingly angry with the ANC’s pro-business policies.

Cosatu is arguably the most powerful organization in the country and boasts a membership of more than 2 million. Vavi is at loggerheads with alliance partner the ANC over economic policy, media regulation and what some have called “the soul of the nation.”

Within this context, the strike is a show of power by Cosatu ahead of the ANC General Conference starting on September 20th.

“We will not make the mistake of voting into power our worst political butchers,” said Vavi recently.

“We have nothing to celebrate. We lost more than 1.1 million jobs. As a result, 5.5 million South Africans have been pushed into poverty,” Vavi said recently, reported the AFP news agency.

He has publicly lambasted Zuma for allowing corruption, especially in high profile cases of government ministers and his son Duduzane, who has reportedly amassed a fortune. Such criticism of the ANC by a trade union leader is a public break that last surfaced in 2001.

The test of whether or not the trade unions will continue to support the ANC may come later in September at the party’s National General Council. Without the support of Cosatu the ANC will struggle to lead to country.

The more likely scenario, according to local experts, is that Cosatu may try to force the ANC to change its direction. This may mean eventually replacing Zuma with his short-term predecessor, Kgalema Motlanthe, who is seen as above the fray, uncorrupt, and much more reliable as a leader by both business and labor.

The strike may ultimately decide more than the take home pay of a teacher or nurse. Less than a cry for more money, social commentators suggest the strike’s greater implications are about what kind of country South Africa’s black majority wants and who they want to lead it.

Calcutta, Sept. 4: West Midnapore police today said they had arrested Manoj Mahato during a “massive combing operation” in Jungle Mahal although the People’s Committee chief’s family had claimed yesterday that he had been picked up from his house.

The police had earlier denied having arrested Manoj, 21.

West Midnapore superintendent of police Manoj Verma said at a news conference today: “Yesterday and today, we carried out intense raids with the joint forces in parts of Goaltore, Lalboni, Salboni and Lalgarh. During one of the raids, we arrested Manoj Mahato from Kantapahari.”

Verma said a 9mm pistol and cartridges had been seized from Manoj. The SP added that another “senior Maoist leader”, Naba Kumar Mahato, had also been arrested from the same place.

Manoj’s mother Durga had told The Telegraph yesterday that a group of armed people, dressed in camouflage gear, had surrounded their Birkar home at 7am and taken away Manoj with them. Neighbour, too, had made the same claim.

The People’s Committee leader’s father, Kalipada, had claimed that Manoj had been taken to the CRPF camp at Kantapahari. Kalipada had said that when he went to the camp, he was told that Manoj had been taken to Midnapore town.

Verma denied these claims. “People have their individual claims about Manoj’s arrest but the fact is, he has been arrested following a raid,” he said.

The police said Manoj was wanted in at least seven cases relating to murder, sedition and arson.

Sources said Manoj could be charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Five Maoists arrested in Jharkhand
2010-09-04
Five Maoist rebels were arrested from two districts of Jharkhand Saturday, police said.

According to police, three guerrillas, including a woman, belonging to the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC) were arrested from Mangra village under Barwadih police station of Latehar district, around 140 km from Ranchi.

A rifle, live cartridges and Maoist literature were recovered from the arrested rebels.

Two guerrillas belonging to the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) were arrested from the jungle area of Vishnugarh police station of Hazaribagh district, around 145 km from Ranchi.

Two BSF troopers injured by Maoists
2010-09-05

Two Border Security Force (BSF) troopers were injured in a gunfight with Maoists Sunday in Chhattisgarh’s restive Bastar region, police said.

The battle, lasting for about two hours, took place in the Antagarh forested pocket of Kanker district when Maoists opened fire on a group of BSF men on a routine patrol.

The BSF retaliated but two troopers received gun shots. They were taken to Raipur by helicopter for medical attention, sources here at the police headquarters told IANS.

A few live bombs were recovered from the attack site where the Maoist attackers melted into the forests after the fighting, the sources said.

Kanker, along with four other districts, is part of the the 40,000 sq km mineral rich Bastar region which has been the nerve centre of the guerrillas for the last three decades.

From hunter to hunted: Salwa Judum leaders have nowhere to hide
2010-09-05
Raipur: Leaders of Salwa Judum, the anti-Maoist civil militia, say they are being hunted down in a planned manner by the rebels even as the Chhattisgarh government, which was widely accused of arming the movement at one time, looks the other way.

The movement, which took birth in 2005, grew under government patronage and was blamed for the escalation of violence and for victimising and alienating thousands of tribal villagers in the Bastar region, has almost fizzled out in the last two years.

Now police also confirm that Salwa Judum leaders are being killed.

‘Maoists have assigned a separate unit for killing Judum leaders and the rebels are getting regular success in wiping them out,’ Mahendra Karma, a former Bastar MP and Congress heavyweight who was credited for the launch of the movement.

‘About 200 Judum leaders have been killed in the past two years and some 400 face the threat of being killed any moment,’ Karma told IANS.

Raghu Singh, a key Judum leader in Bijapur, was killed by Maoists on July 22. Dozens of Maoists on July 8 attacked the house of Avdhesh Singh Gautam, another leader who is also linked to the Congress, in Dantewada district. He survived, but his son received a bullet wound and two others were killed.

Rights activists say under Salwa Judum, civilians were armed by the state government to go after Maoist supporters in the Bastar region in a planned manner, even though the authorities called it a spontaneous people’s uprising against the rebels.

‘The state government has distanced itself completely from the movement, leading to the collapse of the biggest popular public resistance against Maoists,’ said Karma, 60, who tops the hit-list of Maoists and has survived several attempts on his life.

Over 50,000 people became homeless as a fallout of Salwa Judum. Mostly tribal poor, they were uprooted from their forested villages and the government rehabilitated them in 23 makeshift camps in Dantewada and Bijapur districts.

Karma said the movement has been dormant for about two years now – no rallies have been held during the period and its leaders are living in relief camps. He said whenever they go outside their camps, Maoists target them as the government does not provide them security.

Chhattisgarh’s director general of police Vishwa Ranjan said, ‘Everybody, including police, know that Salwa Judum leaders face a serious threat, as Maoists keep track of them.

‘They get police escorts, but they get killed when they leave the camps for some work or visit their native villages without informing police. Judum leaders fall prey only when they leave the relief camps without informing police because at the camps they are fully protected.’

Anil Vibhakar, a Raipur-based columnist, said, ‘The Chhattisgarh government succumbed to the pressure of rights activists and pulled out support from the Salwa Judum and the movement collapsed. Now its leaders are either dead or living in fear of being killed any moment.’

The state’s first chief minister and Congress leader, Ajit Jogi, who was one of the strongest critics of the movement, said in the state assembly in July while referring to Salwa Judum, ‘the movement destroyed tribal culture and displaced thousands of poor tribals. It also became a hub of corruption.’

He came down heavily on the state’s BJP government for fully supporting the Salwa Judum. ‘The Maoists have a list of all leaders associated with the Salwa Judum whom they will wipe out as had happened with a similar movement in Bastar called Jan Jagran.’

The Bastar region is made up of five districts – Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Bastar and Kanker – and is a considered the nerve centre of Maoist militants in India.

Chhattisgarh has witnessed over 1,948 Maoist attacks in the past three years claiming the lives of at least 418 civilians and 435 policemen.

Maoists kill 86 policemen since 2005 in Bihar: Report
September 5 2010
Patna: Maoists have killed 86 policemen in Bihar since 2005, being claimed in a official report. According to the statistics provided by the state police headquarters, 86 policemen and 188 civilians lost their lives in various Maoists attacks in Bihar.

The state government has initiated steps for ensuring speedy trial of cases related to Maoists and 226 cases have been disposed off by courts between 2007 and 2009 in which 109 Maoists were convicted.

In the mean time, Maoists have claimed that they have freed the 3 policemen, who were abducted in Lakhisarai district.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had said on Saturday the all-party meeting had reached a consensus on appealing to the Maoists to release the hostages unconditionally.

He said on Sunday that he had no knowledge about Maoists releasing the three policemen abducted during the Lakhisarai encounter on August 29.

Fri Sep 3, 2010

* New outbreaks of violence, police fire rubber bullets

* Damages estimated at $3.3 million

* Seven killed, 288 injured in riots

MAPUTO, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Mozambique police fired rubber bullets and teargas at demonstrators on Friday as rioting flared in the capital following two days of protests over high bread prices that saw seven people killed and hundreds injured.

After initial calm in the capital Maputo, police said protestors began looting in the city’s outskirts and officers used rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.

“Rioting has resumed on the outskirts of Maputo in Benfica and Hulene. They are trying to carry on looting. Police are firing rubber bullets and teargas to disperse them,” police spokesman Arnaldo Chefo said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The deaths in the disturbances which broke out on Wednesday included two children who were killed when police opened fire on protesters who blocked streets, set tyres alight and looted stores in the deadliest riots to hit the southern African country of 23 million since 2008.

Mozambique’s Trade and Industry Minister Antonio Fernandes estimated damage at around 122 million meticais ($3.3 million) in the southern African country where 70 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

“The losses from the events of Wednesday and Thursday are estimated at 122 million meticais and we registered seven deaths and 288 injuries,” Fernandes said on state-controlled Radio Mozambique.

The police and army are patrolling the streets of the Mozambique capital Maputo after two days of deadly riots over rising food prices.

The BBC’s Jose Tembe in the city says some businesses have now reopened but there are long queues for goods such as bread and petrol, which have been unavailable since Wednesday.

He says there are no reports of any violence so far on Friday.

Although the city is now calm, our reporter says there is still a shortage of public transport, as some minibus-taxi owners are keeping them parked, fearing they could be damaged in a renewed outbreak of violence.

There are, however, reports of riots breaking out in the central city of Chimoio.

Portuguese radio says protesters used stick and stones to prevent shops and market from opening.

Seven people died in the riots, leading to an emergency cabinet session on Thursday.

The price of bread has risen by at least 20% in the past year in Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest countries.

Government spokesman Alberto Nkutumula said the cabinet meeting had emphasised “the importance of all citizens to abstain from participating in acts of upheaval, vandalism, looting and violence in general to enable the quick return to normality”.

He condemned the violence on the streets of the capital and appealed for people to remain calm, but said the government would not reconsider increasing the price of bread.

“The price hikes are irreversible,” he told reporters.

Troops were deployed on the streets of the capital on Thursday to clear barricades, debris and burning tyres left by protesters. Sporadic gunfire was heard during the day.

Many witnesses say police have used live bullets to break up the crowds, but this has been denied by officials.

Home Affairs Minister Jose Pacheco said the government was trying to trace the source of text messages circulating among the city’s residents, urging them to continue protests on Friday.

“I received an SMS saying the strike must continue for three more days,” Abel Salvador Bild, a street vendor in the capital, told the AFP news agency.

The violence has been the worst in Mozambique since 2008, when clashes between police and rioters over rising prices left at least four people dead.

September 02, 2010

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Madera’s Planned Parenthood clinic is closed Thursday after someone firebombed it with a Molotov cocktail. The FBI is investigating this case as it continues to search for clues in an attack on a mosque last week on the other side of town.

This Planned Parenthood clinic in Madera has been open for 20 years and officials here say they’ve never seen any kind of violent crime before.

Madera Police are investigating the crime but they’re also getting help from the FBI who also happens to be investigating another crime in Madera at the same time.

Burnt blinds on the grass and a boarded up window show the damage caused by a firebombing attack early Thursday morning.

“Upon arrival responding officers discovered that Planned Parenthood had been attacked by an unknown person with an incendiary device.” said Madera Police Chief Michael Kime.

Madera Police do not have anyone in custody but a spokesperson with Planned Parenthood says she has a good idea of who it might be.

“I believe it’s extremists who are, want to make a statement.” said public affairs director Pasty Montgomery.

This attack comes just one week after someone targeted a local Muslim mosque across town. Investigators found a brick thrown through the window and anti-Muslim signs posted on the walls.

Local Muslim leaders on Thursday night held a news conference to denounce the hate crimes against them.

“And this is a message to those bigots, that anytime you attack a community we all come together united as one.” said Basim Elkarra from the council on Islamic American relations

The U.S. Attorney’s Office also told reporters they are working with the FBI to prosecute those responsible for the mosque crimes.

The FBI is also investigating what took place at Planned Parenthood because it’s classified as a medical clinic. But authorities at this time aren’t connecting the two crimes.

Ruth Gadebusch attended the mosque news conference and is also a supporter of pro-choice rights for women in the Valley. She’s outraged that more tolerance isn’t being practiced by those with different views.

“It’s a terrible message. If you have a message to send there are better ways to do it. There are peaceful ways and in this nation we need to learn to respect views that differ from ours.” said Ruth Gadebusch from the National Women’s Political Caucaus.

Staff members do perform early term medication abortions, but we’re told those procedures make up less than one percent of the services offered there.

This Planned Parenthood clinic will remain closed through Labor Day weekend and re-open on Tuesday.

02, 2010

A previously unknown group of Russian anarchists called “Friends of Freedom” claimed responsibility for the attack on the Russian embassy in the capital of Belarus, Minsk, the Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.

The assailants threw two fire bombs at the Embassy’s backyard Monday night, damaging a car parked there.

The group published a statement on the Internet saying that this was an act of protest against the detention of activists who defended the Khimki forest near Moscow against highway construction.

The website where the statement was posted has been inaccessible since.

Earlier, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko hinted that Russia was behind the bombing of its own embassy.

The Belarus Foreign Ministry called the incident an act of vandalism aimed to undermine Russia-Belarus relations.

2010-09-03

Maoists Friday alleged that the spokesperson of the pro-Maoist tribal body Peoples’ Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) was arrested by the police. However, the police denied the charge.

According to PCAPA members, Manoj Mahato was arrested by police Friday morning from his native Birkara village in Lalgarh area of West Midnapore district.

Manoj Mahato’s father, Kalipada Mahato, alleged that security personnel raided their house and adjacent areas Thursday night in search of his son. As Manoj was not present in the house at that time, they went back.

‘Friday morning some policemen came to our house and took Manoj with them. They said they were taking him to the Joint Forces camp in Kantapahari of Lalgarh,’ Kalipada told IANS.

‘We rushed to Kantapahari camp where the the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans said that Manoj was taken to the police headquarters at Midnapore town,’ he added.

The police officers in Midnapore, however, denied Manoj’s arrest, said Kalipada.

West Midnapore Police Superintendent Manoj Verma said: ‘We have no knowledge about the arrest of Manoj Mahato’.

‘Manoj Mahato was wanted in several cases including sedition, murder and looting of government properties,’ he added.

A prominent PCAPA leader expressed fear that the police could stage a fake shootout and kill Manoj. ‘We are taking legal advice and would announce our plan in the evening,’ said the PCAPA leader, who did not want to be named.

However, Kalipada Mahato, said: ‘We would lodge a complaint against the police for kidnapping Manoj with the Lalgarh police station’.