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Death toll of Moscow explosion reaches 6

Posted on November 1, 2009 at 09:51 - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

MOSCOW - The number of victims of the recent car explosion near the National Hotel in Moscow has reached six, a source in the Moscow Main Interior Department told RBC.

A car parked next to pearl strand wholesale the hotel supposedly was blown up. However, according to eyewitnesses the explosion might have been inside the hotel.

Daylight raids hit Baghdad, Basra under attack

Posted on November 1, 2009 at 09:49 - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

BAGHDAD - The United States and Britain unleashed their first daylight air strikes on Baghdad on Saturday after pounding it with a fearsome night blitz.

After the bombing rose to akoya pearl necklace a new intensity in the Iraqi capital, U.S. forces said they had captured a vital crossing point over the Euphrates river, and were battling towards Iraq's second city of Basra in the south.

Repeated air raids rocked Baghdad through the day after a devastating night bombardment that set off giant fireballs, thunderous explosions and mushroom clouds, reddening the sky in a major intensification of the three-day-old war.

"So this is what they meant by 'shock and awe'," said a shaken taxi driver, referring to the Pentagon's description of bombing on a scale designed to terrify Iraq into submission.

A U.S. officer near Nassiriya, about 320 km (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad, said forces trying to clear a path to the capital had secured a bridge over the Euphrates. "We've established checkpoints at both ends" of the bridge, he said.

Reuters correspondent Andrew Gray, travelling with the U.S. Third Infantry Division and about a mile (1.5 km) from the bridge, heard explosions from the area.

U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the assault on Baghdad aimed to convince Iraqis that President Saddam Hussein was "history". He said the Iraqi leadership was losing its grip.

In a defiant response, Iraq's information minister said the raids were the work of an "international gang of criminal bastards" and had wounded more than 200 civilians in Baghdad.

Health Minister Umeed Midhat Mubarak said later that at least three people had been "martyred" in the raids on Baghdad.

Red Cross workers saw at least 100 people described as war-wounded in a Baghdad hospital, but said they could not confirm the casualty figures given by Iraqi officials.

ANTI-WAR PROTESTS

The intensifying hostilities drew fresh anti-war protests around the world - and cheers from some ordinary Kuwaitis happy to see their former Iraqi occupiers punished.

Pope John Paul said the war threatened humanity. "Violence and weapons can never resolve the problems of man," he said.

Thousands of anti-war protesters staged peaceful rallies in in Asia, while Arabs outraged by the bombing of Baghdad took to cultured pearl jewlery the streets in Bahrain and Oman - two Gulf states that host U.S. forces - as well as in other Arab countries.

Aid agencies said up to half a million Iraqis had fled cities in the northern Kurdish areas ahead of the U.S.-led invasion, moving their families to outlying villages.

American Marines said their tanks were assaulting Iraqi forces defending the southern city of Basra.

"We are attacking Iraqi forces, all of which are west of Basra," Captain Andrew Bergen told reporters in the area. "I would certainly say it's a major battle."

A British military spokesman said U.S.-led forces were hoping to negotiate Basra's surrender, but gave no details.

He said seven of the hundreds of oil wells in the huge Rumaila fields west of Basra were still on fire. Iraq has denied sabotaging its own wells, saying it set oil-filled trenches ablaze to prevent enemy pilots from picking out targets.

Britain refused to be drawn on how long the war would take. It was going "acccording to plan and in many respects is ahead of the plan", British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said.

British Defence Chief of Staff Michael Boyce said Iraq's 51st Division had surrendered in Basra and "we have many thousands of prisoners of war". An Iraqi military spokesman denied that the division or its commanders had surrendered.

NO RESPITE IN BAGHDAD

The renewed raids on Baghdad meant daylight brought no respite to frightened residents. Reuters correspondent Khaled Oweis said two missiles slammed into Saddam's main palace compound in Baghdad at dawn, sending up a cloud of pulverised concrete from what appeared to have been an underground bunker.

The Iraqi leader has deployed his best troops, including elite Republican Guard units, in Baghdad, where he may try to cultured freshwater pearl draw the invaders into street fighting that would neutralise some of their overwhelming technological advantages.

A Kurdish faction running part of northern Iraq said U.S. forces had fired missiles and launched an air raid on Saturday on the mountain stronghold of Ansar al-Islam, a group Washington accuses of ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Mustafa Sayyid Qadir, a Kurdish commander in the town of Halabja, said there may have been at least 100 casualties in the raids, but these estimates could not be confirmed.

U.S. Marines in the south said they were well placed to strike into the heartlands of Iraq after an arduous cross-desert trek put them astride the main highway to Baghdad.

The Marines, driving north from Kuwait since Thursday night, bypassed Basra to reach positions some 145 km (90 miles) inside Iraq, Reuters correspondent Sean Maguire reported.

Exhausted marines were trying to catch some sleep, repair battered vehicles and refuel before pushing on towards Baghdad, some 500 km (310 miles) from the Kuwaiti border.

Many were occupied with receiving Iraqi soldiers who were walking to U.S. positions to surrender by the dozen. They included army captains with pistols. Rank and file troops appeared ill-equipped, with some walking barefoot.

Two British naval helicopters collided over the Gulf, kIlling six British crewmen and an American officer.

POCKETS OF RESISTANCE

U.S. Marines still faced resistance in Umm Qasr, a day after Rumsfeld said they had taken Iraq's only deep-water port.

"We did meet some resistance, it's probably not going as quick as we would have liked," said Colonel Thomas Waldhauser, commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

He said U.S. and British forces had taken 400 to 450 prisoners in fighting around Umm Qasr and the nearby Faw peninsula at the head of the Gulf.

U.S. officials also said American troops had seized two airfields in the Iraqi desert 225 km and 290 km (140 and 180 miles) west of the capital, part of a move to game machines encircle Baghdad.

The Iraqi information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, said these claims were "illusions and lies".

Iraq said Saddam had survived air strikes on Thursday that aimed to kill him, but U.S. and British officials said they did not know if the Iraqi leader was dead or alive.

Turkey's armed forces denied they had sent forces into Kurdish-held northern Iraq overnight, amid concern any incursion would raise tension with Iraqi Kurds and Turkey's NATO allies.

Military sources earlier said Turkey had sent a vanguard of 1,500 commandos into northern Iraq.

Kurds in the northern Iraqi enclave also said there had been no crossing by the Turks.

The United States and Britain say they went to war to deprive Iraq of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons that could one day become a threat. Iraq denies having such weapons.

Danger lies ahead as Putin wins praise

Posted on November 1, 2009 at 09:47 - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

President Vladimir Putin's decision to open Russian airspace to U.S. aircraft and provide intelligence for anti-terrorist operations was hailed by experts this week as a positive shift in the country's foreign policy 每 although some cautioned there could be a violent reaction from Islamic extremists inside Russia.

As Putin backed up his decision on the U.S. campaign with an ultimatum that Chechen rebels sever ties with international terrorists and surrender, experts were quick to turquoise necklace point out that failure of that initiative could bring renewed fighting. Combined with anger over Russia's support for a U.S. assault on Afghanistan, the situation could lead to an explosion of extremism among Russia's Muslims, who account for 20 percent of the population.

"[Russia's] position is very balanced. We are not running ahead of the train. While declaring our support for, and alliance with [the United States], we have said that we will also protect our interests," said Fyodor Shelov-Kovedyaev, a former first deputy foreign minister, a man who had previously been sharply critical of Putin's foreign policy.

"The temptation to oppose the United States, which was heavily promoted by hawks in the military and political establishment, was strong," he said. "But the president resisted these moves, recognizing that it is time for Russia to return to the heart of Euro-pean civilization.

"It is now vital that we rally around the president, who has chosen the right path in a critical situation."

Shelov-Kovedyaev also pointed out that Putin had made it clear that it was not so much a case of Russia joining a coalition against terrorism, as of the world finally joining its anti-terrorist fight.

Terror connections

Indeed, in his address to the nation outlining Russia's position, broadcast on state television Monday night, Putin sought to pearl earrings connect Russia's recent experience of terrorism with the horrific attacks on New York and Washington.

"Ever since the barbaric terror acts of Sept. 11 in New York City and Washington, D.C., the whole world has remained under the impression of the tragedy," Putin said. "Russia has long been waging a lone fight against international terrorism and has many times appealed to the international community to join hands against it."

In the wake of Russia's support for the United States, the international community has certainly softened its stance toward Russian actions in Chechnya 每 becoming more accepting of Moscow's line that it is fighting against terrorism rather than waging a colonial war.

President George W. Bush made the shift clear this week when he linked groups operating in Chechnya to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization. "To the extent that there are terrorists in Chechnya, Arab terrorists associated with the al-Qaida organization, I believe they ought to be brought to justice," Bush said. "We do believe there's some al Qaida folks in Chechnya."

Putin also focused heavily on Chechnya on Monday night, saying that while he acknowledged the historical background to the conflict 每 intermittent warfare between the two sides has been going on for nearly 200 years 每 the current war, he said, could not be regarded outside the context of international terrorism.

He then delivered an ultimatum to the rebels.

"The Chechen fighters who have not surrendered to wholesale pearl jewelry this day also must have their chance to do so," he said. "That is why I call on all paramilitaries and self-styled political activists urgently to sever whatever contacts with international terrorist organizations, and to contact official spokesmen of federal ruling bodies within 72 hours to debate the following: the disarmament procedure of the paramilitary groups and formations, and arrangements to involve them in peacetime developments in Chechnya."

Maximum pressure

Observers say Putin's move is designed to try to exert maximum pressure on the rebels, and is an attempt to bring the conflict to a close.

"The reason for [the ultimatum] is that there have been serious changes in the international situation and the rebels need to realize it," said Yury Kobaladze, a former head of the information service with the SVR, successor agency to the KGB's foreign intelligence service. "If earlier [the Chechen rebels] received financial and moral support from abroad, now most of those channels are likely to be closed."

Alexander Chuyev, a State Duma deputy with the pro-Kremlin Unity faction, said Putin's ultimatum was not a prelude to a new wave of "revenge attacks" against Chechnya but a "humanitarian move."

"This is a move toward ending the conflict," he said. "That does not amount to negotiations. It is a strict position and provides a chance for [the rebels] to change their minds."

But, he added, the main danger for Russia, particularly arising out of support for U.S. strikes in Afghanistan, was the possible rise of radical movements. "Any anti-terrorist activities could easily activate radicals inside Russia and lead to an extremely dangerous situation."

Vyacheslav Igrunov, a Duma deputy with the liberal Yabloko faction and deputy chairman of the State Duma C.I.S. Committee, agreed that Russia faced a huge danger of a rise in fundamentalism among its Muslim population.

"If the conflict in Central Asia explodes as a result of hasty moves by the Americans in Afghanistan, Russia could be in danger of a profound destabilization," he said. "Indeed, it is even more threatening to Russia than the situation in the North Caucasus 每 Russia's powder keg is in fact Central Asia. Putin was absolutely right to stress that we are working closely with those Muslims that don't support terrorism and extremism. But I fear America is about to open a Pandora's box, and Russia will bear the brunt of extremism in the area," he said.

As to the possibility of Russia sending ground forces to freshwater pearl jewelry Afghanistan alongside the Americans, in a meeting with German journalists Wednesday Putin ruled it out completely.

He said the country's horrific decade-long experience in Afghanistan following the 1979 Soviet invasion made a return to the country impossible. He likened it to the United States invading Vietnam again, and said that Russia's Western partners fully understood this position.

Associated risks

But that does not mean Russia will be insulated from risks associated with American action in Afghanistan.

"The main risk for Russia is obvious," said Kobaladze. "What is going to start [in Afghanistan] is in our immediate vicinity, and as a result Russia could find itself exposed."

Igrunov agreed. "Even if only peaceful refugees flee the conflict in Afghanistan, their arrival in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan will radically destabilize the situation there."

"As a result, the conflict could spread to the C.I.S. Central Asian republics with which Russia has no borders," he said. "Indeed, the only protected border we have is that of the former Soviet Union. The situation could get very dangerous."

Dalai Lama may visit Russia in August

Posted on November 1, 2009 at 09:45 - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

MOSCOW - The Dalai Lama will likely visit Russia later this summer and travel to traditionally Buddhist regions of the country near the border with Mongolia and along the shores of the Caspian Sea, a Buddhist church representative said Friday.
"We sent a delegation to his holiness, and he expressed the possibility of a trip to bread pearl Russia in August. He accepted the invitation. There's a good chance he will come," said Balzhirov Sanjailama, a representative of the Buddhist Traditional Church in Russia.
Several areas of Russia are predominantly Buddhist, including the republic of Kalmykia on the Caspian Sea coast and the Buryatia region near the Mongolian border. The trip would be the second by the Buddhist leader to Russia after a 1991 visit before the Soviet Union collapsed.
The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan branch of Buddhism but has lived in exile from his Himalayan homeland since a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

Czech man found dead in Russia's Dagestan region

Posted on November 1, 2009 at 09:45 - 0 Comments - Post Comment - Link

MAKHACHKALA - The body of a Czech man who had been shot and knifed was found by a river in southern Russia's Dagestan region, police said Monday.

The body, which had knife and gunshot wounds, was found Friday on a riverbank in a mountainous Gumbet district of Dagestan, not far rom Chechnya, said regional Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Musayev.

A spokesman for the Czech Embassy in Moscow, Jan Tomasek, said Dagestan's Interior Ministry told consular officials the man's name was Martin Kraus and that he was registered with local officials in Dagestan as a businessman.

Musayev said Kraus was born in 1973 and was from Prague. He said he had been detained briefly in Dagestan on Aug. 5 and had told authorities at the time that he was a businessman.

Earlier Monday, the regional Interior Ministry had said Kraus was a journalist who was registered to pearl jewelry wholesale work in Chechnya. The office of President Vladimir Putin's top aide on Chechnya, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, said the man named in media reports did not have the accreditation required to enter Chechnya as a journalist.

Musayev said the Czech man's body was found Friday, and that two suspects had been detained on charges of robbery, assault and murder.

Dagestan is plagued by violence both related and unrelated to the fighting in Chechnya, where the second war between Russian forces and separatists in a decade is nearly four years old.

A Dutch aid worker, Arjan Erkel, was abducted by gunmen in Dagestan a year ago and has not been released.