Tag Archives: lifestyle
Wave of bombings, attacks in Iraq kill at least 67
Iraq bombing wave claims 33 lives (AP) / 4 September 2013 A series of coordinated evening blasts in Baghdad and other violence killed at least 67 people in Iraq on Tuesday, officials said, the latest in a months-long surge of bloodshed that Iraqi security forces are struggling to contain. Many of those killed were caught up in a string of car bombings that tore through the Iraqi capital early in the evening as residents were out shopping or heading to dinner. Those blasts struck 11 different neighbourhoods and claimed more than 50 lives in a span of less than two hours. The evening’s deadliest attack happened when two car bombs exploded near restaurants and shops Baghdad’s northeastern suburb of Husseiniyah, killing nine people and wounding 32. A row of restaurants was also hit in the eastern neighbourhood of Talibiyah, killing seven and wounding 28. Another car bomb hit the nearby neighbourhood of Sadr City, killing three and wounding eight, according to police. At around the same time, authorities say back-to-back car bombs blew up near a police station in the western neighbourhood of Sadiyah, killing six and wounding 15. Another blast hit a central square in the commercial district of Karradah, killing six and wounding 14. The force of the blast shattered the windows of Karim Sami’s nearby clothing shop. Like many Iraqis in recent months, he expressed frustration with the Shia-led government’s inability to stop repeated attacks despite assurances that it is tightening security. “We started to feel a little bit safe over the past few days because they were relatively calm, but the violence is back today,” he said. “Whenever the government assures us that security is being tightened, we see attacks like these.” Car bombs also struck shopping streets in the religiously mixed western neighbourhood of Shurta, killing five people and wounding 12; the southeastern neighbourhood of Zafaraniyah, killing four and wounding 11; the southern neighbourhood of Abu Dashir, killing two and wounding nine; the New Baghdad area, killing six people and wounding 17; and the Dora neighbourhood, killing two and wounding five, according to police. Another car bomb exploded near an outdoor market in the village of Maamil, in the eastern suburbs of the capital, killing 3 people and wounding 41. No one claimed immediate responsibility for the attacks, but coordinated car bombings and attacks on civilians and Iraqi security forces are a favorite tactic of the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda. It typically does not lay claim to attacks for several days, if at all. Iraqi officials say the lawlessness roiling neighbouring Syria, where the civil war has taken on sharp sectarian overtones similar to those that nearly tore Iraq apart, is fueling the upsurge of violence inside Iraq. “The recent threats of a military operation against Syria have encouraged the insurgents to wage more attacks inside Iraq. We have warned of this, but unfortunately, nobody is listening,” said Ali Al Moussawi, the spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. The evening blasts added to a death toll that had been mounting throughout the day. Authorities awoke to find four bodies with gunshot wounds to the back laying in the streets in different locations around the Iraqi capital. Gunmen shot two other people dead in Baghdad’s southern Dora neighborhood, police said. In Baghdad’s southern suburbs, gunmen stormed the house of a member of a Sunni militia opposed to Al Qaeda, killing him and his wife and three children in a southern suburb of the capital, according to police. Elsewhere, a car bomb blew up early Tuesday at a restaurant in the town of Jbala just south of the capital, killing two people and wounding seven. Continue reading
Obama should strike Syria, says diplomat
Obama should strike Syria, says diplomat Sarah Young and Patrick Michael (Interview) / 4 September 2013 TWO FLIP FLOPS in as many days, one on each side of the Atlantic, demonstrate both the complexity and divisiveness of the Syrian situation, but one former ambassador in the region is admant a US show of force will – and should – take place. Last Thursday, the House of Commons voted down the UK Government’s plan to join the US in launching air strikes against Syrian targets as punishment for using chemical weapons. And then, on Friday night, President Obama changed his mind on launching air strikes without clear Congressional approval. For Obama this is an extraordinary climbdown. All indications were that an attack was imminent. Several cruise missile-equipped US destroyers were deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean just off the Syrian coast. Secretary of State John Kerry, who had earlier confidently laid out the case for an attack, seemed to dither through the Sunday morning US talk shows as he groped to explain what had happened. However, in an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times , Adam Ereli, former US ambassador to Bahrain from 2007-2011, said he still expected force would be used – and he did not believe UN approval was needed, despite the fact international law states one state may not unilaterally attack another state except in self-defence, even when that state violates the 1925 Geneva protocol prohibiting the use of chemical weapons. “I expect the United States will take action — perhaps not as soon as some would like, but force will be used,” Ereli said. “The use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime against its own people demands a military response. The United States cannot let this atrocity go unpunished. To do so would embolden the enemies of peace in the region.” A punitive strike was justified given Syria had violated the Chemical Weapons Convention, he said, citing similar past action from the international community against Slobodan Milosevic in Bosnia and Kosovo as an example. In fact, if the international community had responded forcefully “the first time” these weapons were used, he did not think the August 21 attacks would have taken place, Ereli added. “If we do not punish Assad now, he will use chemical weapons again. Also, this is not just about Syria. Iran is supporting the Assad regime. They are providing it money and weapons and fighters. If ruthless dictators are allowed to use chemical weapons without consequences, the whole region is in danger. The risks of doing nothing are far greater than the risks of taking action.” He said the results of the UN report justified a response – given “UN inspectors were able to get hair, soil and other physical samples that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt… the Syrian army used sarin gas to kill innocent women and children.” “Assad is like a school-yard bully. He beats up kids who are weaker than him. It’s time we give him a bloody nose, and he’ll back off.” President Obama said on August 31 he would seek Congressional approval for military action, following concern from both liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans that any strikes without this would violate the Constitution. However, the Guardian reported yesterday [Monday] Kerry maintaining the US had the right to strike with or without this approval, despite refusing to give details on where America was sourcing its evidence of the use of sarin gas from, other than saying it did not come from the UN. Ereli agreed, saying Obama should “strike Syria anyway”. “A limited strike, which means launching cruise missiles against Syrian military targets [including military and army bases, intelligence headquarters, and defense ministries], does not put US forces at risk. It is not expensive and will send a strong message to Assad and his supporters in Moscow and Tehran that they don’t have a free hand in Syria.” America’s “friends in the region” should be able to count on the United States to take action and protect them, unlike Russia, China and Iran who “want(ed) to protect their investments in Syria”, he said. Ereli said he “did not expect” US forces to “strike chemical weapons depots or other targets that could cause widespread civilian casualties”, and any rise in oil prices or hits to economies would be “temporary”. Diplomatic talks were no longer an option “given all efforts to negotiate a political transition had failed”, however that did not mean giving up on a negotiated solution in the long-term. A no-fly zone, which could restrict the delivery of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), also did not make sense, given most attacks on civilians had come from ground forces, Syrian air power was not a “big factor”, and the American people did not want to see US forces deployed, he added. However, he admitted that the question of ‘what happens next’ remained a tricky one. “We learned in Iraq that removing Saddam Hussein was necessary but not sufficient. While Iraq is definitely better off now than it was before 2003, we must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of the past.” Finding a successor and preventing the kind of sectarian violence “sure to follow” would require a level of international coordination and cooperation that had not been seen to date, he said. sarah@khaleejtimes. com patrick@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Outgoing calls suspended for 3m cellphone users
Outgoing calls suspended for 3m cellphone users Haseeb Haider / 2 September 2013 Telecom providers etisalat and du have suspended the service for almost three million subscribers who were late in updating their information during the last phases of ‘My Number, My Identity’ campaign, launched by the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA). This means that a subscriber cannot make any outgoing calls, however he can receive incoming calls and text messages. Both etisalat and du have started to gradually cease their services for subscribers who were targeted during the previous stages. These subscribers were previously informed to update their information but failed to do so even after their service was suspended for three months. The total number of subscribers whose subscriptions have been cancelled is almost two million. ‘My Number, My Identity’ campaign, launched in July 2012, successfully entered its fifth phase, on schedule with the previously announced timeline, announced the TRA. The campaign was initiated in collaboration with etisalat and du to increase mobile subscriber awareness on the new registration procedures for mobile phone services. It also seeks to highlight the important role the subscribers play in protecting their SIM cards to maintain their privacy to avoid any misuse that may occur, since the registered subscriber of the number will be legally and financially accountable. The subscribers and licensees etisalat and du are participating in the process of updating information and registration in order to put into action the new policies and procedures set by the campaign which has a timeline of 18 months until the beginning of 2014 and divided into six stages in order to successfully include the whole country in the registration process. Etisalat and du have finished targeting four groups of subscribers and will now target around four million subscribers during the remaining stages of the campaign. On the launch of the fifth stage of the ‘My Number, My Identity’ campaign, Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director-General said: “The campaign focuses on the procedures that will be taken by the TRA in order to ensure the transparency in dealing with mobile subscribers and protecting their privacy if misuse occurs by users who use mobile services not registered under their names.” According to latest statistics registered during the month of August 2013, more than 12 million subscribers have registered and updated their data packages. This number continues to increase as more subscribers register. Al Ghanim called upon subscribers to register and update their data in order to avoid disconnection of their service, saying: “The licensees suspended the service for almost three million subscribers who were late in updating their information during the last phases of the campaign. He added: “The TRA encourages e-registration and encourages the licensees etisalat and du to make sure the facility is available to e-register which goes in line with the new registration procedures and to smoothly facilitate the process.” He said: “Companies can arrange with etisalat and du in order to register a large number of subscribers through one visit to the company’s office, in order to facilitate the registration process for subscribers who may find it difficult to do so individually.” The TRA confirmed that the current and targeted numbers mentioned above are approximate numbers that may increase or decrease, as the total number of subscribers in the telecommunications sector is subject to change as it is controlled by several factors such as the decrease due to cancellation of many subscriptions or the recycling of numbers by operators. haseeb@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
