BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) — Soldiers have arrested the prime minister of Guinea-Bissau, a military spokesman said Friday, hours after the leader's home was attacked with grenades in what former colonial ruler Portugal described as a military coup.
The attacks that rocked the capital of this tiny country known for cocaine trafficking late Thursday came just two weeks before Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr. was to take part in a presidential runoff election as the frontrunner.
Military press attache Francelino Cunha told The Associated Press that Gomes had been detained by the military. The whereabouts of the country's interim president remained unknown.
The Portuguese Foreign Ministry said it "urges the masterminds of the military coup to respect the well-being of the Guinean democratic authorities and free those who have been detained."
However, a communique from an unidentified military commander that was released Friday claims the soldiers don't want to seize power, but instead were trying to halt an invasion from Angolan troops.
Prime Minister Gomes had been favored to win the April 29 runoff after his challenger Kumba Yala, a former president who was overthrown in a 2003 coup, said he would boycott the vote because of irregularities in the first round of balloting.
The special election was being held after Guinea-Bissau's president died in January from diabetes-related complications. Military officials said they thwarted a coup attempt in December not long before his death.
And fears of a military coup have grown since his funeral, when power was handed over to interim President Raimundo Pereira. The chronically unstable nation has been beset by coups since its independence from Portugal in 1974, and its ruler Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira was assassinated inside his home in 2009.
Portuguese and American officials warned their citizens against travel to the country.
"The threat of continued violence and an increased potential for political instability and civil or military unrest in Guinea-Bissau remains high," said a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal.
In the communique released Friday in Bissau, an unidentified military commander claimed that Gomes was going to allow troops from Angola, another former Portuguese colony in Africa, to attack military forces in Guinea-Bissau.
Angola sent about 200 troops to Guinea-Bissau in March 2011 to help reform the country's armed forces as part of a bilateral military agreement, according to Angolan state news agency Angop. Their mission recently ended but the contingent is still in Bissau, Angop said without providing further details.
"The Military Command does not want power but it was forced to act in this way to defend itself from the diplomatic maneuvers of the Guinea-Bissau government, which aims to annihilate the (country's) armed forces using foreign military force," the communique said, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
It claimed it possesses a "secret document" drawn up by the Guinea-Bissau government mandating Angola to attack Guinea-Bissau's military. It was impossible to independently verify the claim.
Angolan Defense Minister Candido Pereira Van-Dunem said Thursday in Luanda that his country would "continue to provide full support" to Guinea-Bissau, with which Angola has "excellent ties," Angop reported. He said a calendar for the return of Angolan troops to Luanda was being negotiated with the Bissau authorities.
Explosions rocked the capital, Bissau, Thursday night, according to a diplomat and witnesses. Shooting started after the state radio station signal inexplicably went dead.
Resident Edmond Ajoye, an employee of a Dutch NGO, said he was around 3 miles (5 kilometers) from his home when the shooting began.
"There was panic. Women were running," he said. "There were rockets being launched, and the soldiers were shooting with guns mounted on their trucks."
"The soldiers took downtown," he continued. "The shooting lasted from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. They then went from embassy to embassy to make sure that the politicians couldn't seek refuge there."
Guinea-Bissau — a nation of 1.5 million people — has weathered successive coups, attempted coups and a civil war. The country has been further destabilized by a growing cocaine trade. Traffickers from Latin America use the nation's archipelago of uninhabited islands to land small, twin-engine planes loaded with drugs, which are then parceled out and carried north for sale in Europe.
The traffickers, according to analysts, have bought off key members of the government and the military, creating a narcostate.
The first round of Guinea-Bissau's presidential election was marred hours after polls closed by the murder of the former chief of intelligence by gunmen near his home.
The unrest in Guinea-Bissau takes place only three weeks after mutinous soldiers overthrew the democratically elected president of Mali, who was about to retire after an April election. The country's junta leader handed over power to an interim civilian president on Thursday.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Boko Haram says will "devour" Nigeria president
KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram intends to bring down the government and "devour" President Goodluck Jonathan within three months, its purported leader said in his second al Qaeda-style video posted on the Internet on Thursday.
The 14-minute video of Abubakar Shekau seen on YouTube belittled Jonathan for saying two weeks ago that the security situation would be under control by the middle of this year.
"You, Jonathan, cannot stop us, instead we will devour you in the three months like you are boasting," Shekau said in the video entitled "message to Goodluck Jonathan", flanked by four masked men holding rifles.
"We are proud soldiers of Allah, we will never give up as we fight the infidels. We will emerge as winners ... we will finish you and end your government," Shekau said, speaking in Arabic and in the Hausa-language spoken in northern Nigeria.
Shekau has now posted two videos and one audio recording on the Internet this year, suggesting he wants to solidify his position as the sect's leader.
Boko Haram, which wants sharia, Islamic law, applied across Africa's biggest oil producer, has killed hundreds in bomb and gun attacks in northern Nigeria and around the capital Abuja this year.
Africa's most populous country, consisting of more than 160 million, is split roughly equally between a mostly Muslim north and a largely Christian south.
There were brief efforts last month at dialogue using mediators between the government and the sect but details were leaked to the press and talks collapsed. A Boko Haram spokesman has since said they will never negotiate.
Although almost daily small scale shootings continue in the northeast, a military crackdown and some high profile sect arrests in recent weeks prompted a pause in big coordinated attacks, since 186 people were killed in bomb and gun strikes in Nigeria's second city of Kano in January.
It was hoped the sect had been weakened but on Easter Sunday a car bomb killed at least 36 people after security officials prevented the vehicle entering a church compound in the northern town of Kaduna and another large car bomb was discovered undetonated in Kano.
No group has taken responsibility for the Kaduna attack but security experts believe Boko Haram may want to distance itself from the strike, which appeared to fail to hit its target and killed many Muslims.
Shekau said in Thursday's video that Boko Haram would continue to target anyone who killed its members or aided in their arrest, whether they be Christian or Muslim.
Most of Boko Haram's attacks target the police, government officials and authority figures, rather than Christians.
The 14-minute video of Abubakar Shekau seen on YouTube belittled Jonathan for saying two weeks ago that the security situation would be under control by the middle of this year.
"You, Jonathan, cannot stop us, instead we will devour you in the three months like you are boasting," Shekau said in the video entitled "message to Goodluck Jonathan", flanked by four masked men holding rifles.
"We are proud soldiers of Allah, we will never give up as we fight the infidels. We will emerge as winners ... we will finish you and end your government," Shekau said, speaking in Arabic and in the Hausa-language spoken in northern Nigeria.
Shekau has now posted two videos and one audio recording on the Internet this year, suggesting he wants to solidify his position as the sect's leader.
Boko Haram, which wants sharia, Islamic law, applied across Africa's biggest oil producer, has killed hundreds in bomb and gun attacks in northern Nigeria and around the capital Abuja this year.
Africa's most populous country, consisting of more than 160 million, is split roughly equally between a mostly Muslim north and a largely Christian south.
There were brief efforts last month at dialogue using mediators between the government and the sect but details were leaked to the press and talks collapsed. A Boko Haram spokesman has since said they will never negotiate.
Although almost daily small scale shootings continue in the northeast, a military crackdown and some high profile sect arrests in recent weeks prompted a pause in big coordinated attacks, since 186 people were killed in bomb and gun strikes in Nigeria's second city of Kano in January.
It was hoped the sect had been weakened but on Easter Sunday a car bomb killed at least 36 people after security officials prevented the vehicle entering a church compound in the northern town of Kaduna and another large car bomb was discovered undetonated in Kano.
No group has taken responsibility for the Kaduna attack but security experts believe Boko Haram may want to distance itself from the strike, which appeared to fail to hit its target and killed many Muslims.
Shekau said in Thursday's video that Boko Haram would continue to target anyone who killed its members or aided in their arrest, whether they be Christian or Muslim.
Most of Boko Haram's attacks target the police, government officials and authority figures, rather than Christians.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
US jets scrambled over Korean Air bomb threat
US fighter planes escorted a Korean Air jet carrying 146 passengers and crew to a Canadian military base due to a bomb threat against the flight, officials and the airline said Wednesday.
Korean Air flight 72 from Vancouver bound for Seoul was diverted to the Comox base on Vancouver Island on Tuesday after an anonymous caller said a bomb had been planted on the plane, the South Korean flag carrier said.
The call was made to the carrier's US office 25 minutes after takeoff, the airline said in a statement, adding the Boeing 777 plane had 134 passengers and 12 crew members on board.
The aircraft landed at the airbase around 110 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of Vancouver without incident and was undergoing safety checks, it said.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said two US F-15 fighters were scrambled out of Portland, Oregon to intercept the plane "due to a potential threat associated with the aircraft".
"The Korean Airliner was intercepted, diverted and the aircraft was shadowed until it landed at Canadian Forces Base Comox," NORAD said in a statement.
Korean Air flight 72 from Vancouver bound for Seoul was diverted to the Comox base on Vancouver Island on Tuesday after an anonymous caller said a bomb had been planted on the plane, the South Korean flag carrier said.
The call was made to the carrier's US office 25 minutes after takeoff, the airline said in a statement, adding the Boeing 777 plane had 134 passengers and 12 crew members on board.
The aircraft landed at the airbase around 110 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of Vancouver without incident and was undergoing safety checks, it said.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said two US F-15 fighters were scrambled out of Portland, Oregon to intercept the plane "due to a potential threat associated with the aircraft".
"The Korean Airliner was intercepted, diverted and the aircraft was shadowed until it landed at Canadian Forces Base Comox," NORAD said in a statement.
Britain can extradite radical cleric Abu Hamza to US: court
Britain can extradite jailed radical Muslim preacher Abu Hamza and four other alleged terrorists to the United States, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday.
The court found that the men's human rights would not be violated if they were extradited, but allowed a three-month stay for appeal.
The men claimed that conditions at the ADX supermax prison in Florence, Colorado -- used for people convicted of terrorism -- and possible multiple life sentences they face would be grossly disproportionate and amount to inhuman or degrading treatment.
The Strasbourg-based court said Mustafa Kamal Mustafa, as Abu Hamza is also known, and four others -- Babar Ahmad, Syed Tahla Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled Al-Fawwaz -- could be extradited.
It held that "conditions at ADX would not amount to ill-treatment".
Britain's interior minister Theresa May hailed the ruling as "a very important decision".
"These individuals have been accused of some very significant crimes," she told BBC television. "Every court in the UK felt it was right that they should be extradited."
The panel decided to adjourn the case of a sixth man, Haroon Rashid Aswat, and invited parties to submit information on his schizophrenia and how this would affect US judicial proceedings.
Abu Hamza, the former imam of the Finsbury Park mosque in north London, is wanted in the United States on charges including setting up an Al-Qaeda-style training camp for militants in the northwestern US state of Oregon.
He is also accused of having sent money and recruits to assist Afghanistan's hardline Taliban militia and Al-Qaeda and helping a gang of kidnappers in Yemen who abducted a 16-strong party of Western tourists in 1998.
Hamza, who is in his mid-50s and has one eye and a hook for one hand, was jailed in Britain for seven years in 2006 for inciting followers to murder non-believers.
The court had previously halted the extradition of Egyptian-born Hamza and three of the other men to the United States, saying the case needed further examination.
It later found that, given US assurances, there was no real risk the men would either be designated as enemy combatants and be subject to the death penalty or subjected to extraordinary rendition.
"If the applicants were convicted as charged, the US authorities would be justified in considering them a significant security risk and in imposing strict limitations on their ability to communicate with the outside world," the court said.
"Besides, ADX inmates -- although confined to their cells for the vast majority of the time -- were provided with services and activities (such as) television, radio, newspapers, books, hobby and craft items, telephone calls, social visits, correspondence with families, group prayer which went beyond what was provided in most prisons in Europe."
Between 1999 and 2006 all six defendants were indicted on various terrorism charges in the United States.
Bary and Fawwaz were indicted, along with slain former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and 20 others, for their alleged involvement in, or support for, the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
Ahmad and Ahsan are accused of various felonies including providing support to terrorists and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons or damage property in a foreign country.
Ahmad, 37, has been detained pending extradition since 2004, reportedly the longest a Briton has been detained without trial in modern times.
His father Ashfaq Ahmad called for his son to be allowed to go on trial in Britain immediately and said the family would appeal against the ruling.
"Babar is a British citizen accused of a crime said to have been committed in the UK, and all the evidence against him was gathered in this country," he told reporters in London.
"Nevertheless, British justice appears to have been subcontracted to the US. This should be immediately rectified by putting Babar on trial in the UK and ordering a full public inquiry."
The court found that the men's human rights would not be violated if they were extradited, but allowed a three-month stay for appeal.
The men claimed that conditions at the ADX supermax prison in Florence, Colorado -- used for people convicted of terrorism -- and possible multiple life sentences they face would be grossly disproportionate and amount to inhuman or degrading treatment.
The Strasbourg-based court said Mustafa Kamal Mustafa, as Abu Hamza is also known, and four others -- Babar Ahmad, Syed Tahla Ahsan, Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled Al-Fawwaz -- could be extradited.
It held that "conditions at ADX would not amount to ill-treatment".
Britain's interior minister Theresa May hailed the ruling as "a very important decision".
"These individuals have been accused of some very significant crimes," she told BBC television. "Every court in the UK felt it was right that they should be extradited."
The panel decided to adjourn the case of a sixth man, Haroon Rashid Aswat, and invited parties to submit information on his schizophrenia and how this would affect US judicial proceedings.
Abu Hamza, the former imam of the Finsbury Park mosque in north London, is wanted in the United States on charges including setting up an Al-Qaeda-style training camp for militants in the northwestern US state of Oregon.
He is also accused of having sent money and recruits to assist Afghanistan's hardline Taliban militia and Al-Qaeda and helping a gang of kidnappers in Yemen who abducted a 16-strong party of Western tourists in 1998.
Hamza, who is in his mid-50s and has one eye and a hook for one hand, was jailed in Britain for seven years in 2006 for inciting followers to murder non-believers.
The court had previously halted the extradition of Egyptian-born Hamza and three of the other men to the United States, saying the case needed further examination.
It later found that, given US assurances, there was no real risk the men would either be designated as enemy combatants and be subject to the death penalty or subjected to extraordinary rendition.
"If the applicants were convicted as charged, the US authorities would be justified in considering them a significant security risk and in imposing strict limitations on their ability to communicate with the outside world," the court said.
"Besides, ADX inmates -- although confined to their cells for the vast majority of the time -- were provided with services and activities (such as) television, radio, newspapers, books, hobby and craft items, telephone calls, social visits, correspondence with families, group prayer which went beyond what was provided in most prisons in Europe."
Between 1999 and 2006 all six defendants were indicted on various terrorism charges in the United States.
Bary and Fawwaz were indicted, along with slain former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and 20 others, for their alleged involvement in, or support for, the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
Ahmad and Ahsan are accused of various felonies including providing support to terrorists and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons or damage property in a foreign country.
Ahmad, 37, has been detained pending extradition since 2004, reportedly the longest a Briton has been detained without trial in modern times.
His father Ashfaq Ahmad called for his son to be allowed to go on trial in Britain immediately and said the family would appeal against the ruling.
"Babar is a British citizen accused of a crime said to have been committed in the UK, and all the evidence against him was gathered in this country," he told reporters in London.
"Nevertheless, British justice appears to have been subcontracted to the US. This should be immediately rectified by putting Babar on trial in the UK and ordering a full public inquiry."
Big quake strikes off Indonesia, tsunami warning issued
JAKARTA (Reuters) - An earthquake of 8.7 magnitude struck off the coast of Indonesia on Wednesday, sending residents there and in India dashing out of their homes and offices in fear. A tsunami warning was issued for the whole Indian Ocean.
The quake struck 308 miles southwest of the city of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, at a depth of 20.5 miles, the U.S. Geological survey said.
The quake was felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and in southern India, residents said. Hundreds of office workers in the Indian city of Bangalore left their buildings, workers there said.
The quake was in roughly in the same area as a December 26, 2004, quake of 9.1 magnitude, which sent huge tsunami waves crashing into Sumatra, where 170,000 people were killed, and across the Indian Ocean.
In all, the 2004 tsunami killed about 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.
The 2004 quake was at a depth of 18 miles along a fault line running under the Indian Ocean, off western Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal.
The quake was also felt in Sri Lanka and the southern Thai holiday island of Phuket, both of which were hit hard by the 2004 tsunami.
Thai Meteorological Department deputy chief Somchai Baimoung said there was no tsunami warning yet in Thailand. Provincial officials along the Andaman Sea coast were preparing for possible evacuation if necessary.
hai Meteorological Department deputy chief Somchai Baimoung said there was no tsunami warning yet in Thailand. Provincial officials along the Andaman Sea coast were preparing for possible evacuation if necessary.
The quake struck 308 miles southwest of the city of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, at a depth of 20.5 miles, the U.S. Geological survey said.
The quake was felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and in southern India, residents said. Hundreds of office workers in the Indian city of Bangalore left their buildings, workers there said.
The quake was in roughly in the same area as a December 26, 2004, quake of 9.1 magnitude, which sent huge tsunami waves crashing into Sumatra, where 170,000 people were killed, and across the Indian Ocean.
In all, the 2004 tsunami killed about 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.
The 2004 quake was at a depth of 18 miles along a fault line running under the Indian Ocean, off western Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal.
The quake was also felt in Sri Lanka and the southern Thai holiday island of Phuket, both of which were hit hard by the 2004 tsunami.
Thai Meteorological Department deputy chief Somchai Baimoung said there was no tsunami warning yet in Thailand. Provincial officials along the Andaman Sea coast were preparing for possible evacuation if necessary.
hai Meteorological Department deputy chief Somchai Baimoung said there was no tsunami warning yet in Thailand. Provincial officials along the Andaman Sea coast were preparing for possible evacuation if necessary.
Egypt judiciary suspends Islamist-led constitution panel
An Egyptian court suspended on Tuesday the Islamist-dominated commission tasked with drafting a new constitution amid a boycott by liberals, moderate Muslims and the Coptic church.
The administrative court in Cairo said it was "suspending the constituent assembly" without explaining the reasons, but lawyers and liberal political parties had filed a complaint accusing the Islamist-majority parliament, which formed the panel, of having abused its powers.
The decision comes amid a tense stand-off between Islamist and secular forces just six weeks ahead of the country's first post-revolution presidential elections.
Mohammed Nur Farhat, a lawyer and official of the liberal Social Democratic Party, said the "constitutional commission has been made null and void by this judicial decision and may not continue its work.
"Parliament must meet to re-form the constitutional commission, and we invite it to begin setting out the criteria that will guarantee an equitable representation of social and political forces, so that it is not dominated by a single political current," he added.
The 100-member panel, which is evenly divided between parliamentarians and public figures, was elected by the parliament, which also voted for a number of reserve candidates who could replace the panelists.
But most of its members are from the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist fundamentalists who hold the majority in both houses of parliament.
The head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, Mohammed Mursi, said the FJP would not appeal Tuesday's decision.
"The Freedom and Justice Party fully respects the decisions of the Egyptian judiciary, including the decision by the administrative court to suspend the constituent assembly," Mursi said in a statement.
He said the FJP was ready to cooperate with all parties and groups in drafting a charter "that reflects all Egyptians."
The secular parties had already withdrawn from the commission, believing that their presence was only used as a smoke screen allowing the Islamists to draft a basic law that reflects their political-religious ideologies.
The prestigious Sunni Islamic institution, Al-Azhar, and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt have also decided to boycott the panel.
Islamists believe the commission should reflect the composition of a parliament where the FJP holds nearly half the seats and the Salafist Al-Nur party almost one quarter.
The secularists want a more balanced commission, fearing that the Islamist grip would lead to the strengthening of a demand for Islamic sharia law to be the point of reference for legislation.
On Tuesday, around 150 people demonstrated outside the State Council, which has the power to rule on administrative disputes, to protest against Islamist control of the constitutional project.
One banner proclaimed: "The constitution is not a matter of majorities. Egypt will remain a civil state."
Another read: "There are (entities) that cannot be trusted -- the army and the Muslim Brotherhood."
A junta known as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has ruled Egypt since a popular uprising toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
The SCAF is overseeing the transition to democratic civilian rule, which has already seen the election of a new parliament and will see presidential elections beginning in late May.
When the Coptic church, whose faithful make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population, withdrew from the panel its Holy Synod said it considered it "inappropriate to continue to be represented given the reservations of various political forces on how the constitutional commission was composed."
Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court also pulled out, expressing "doubts and confusion" over the make-up of the panel," while Al-Azhar said it did not consider itself properly represented.
In principle, the panel has up to six months to draft a new constitution to replace the one suspended by the military when it took power last year.
The decision to suspend the panel comes amid uncertainties over who will actually be permitted to run for Egypt's presidency, after registration of candidacies closed on Sunday.
The election is scheduled for May 23 and 24, raising fears among many of having to elect a president whose powers have not been defined.
A provisional list of candidates includes ex-Arab League chief Amr Mussa, ultra-conservative Islamist preacher Hazem Abu Ismail, the Brotherhood's Khairat El-Shater, ex-Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, Mubarak's last premier Ahmed Shafiq, and former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.
..
The administrative court in Cairo said it was "suspending the constituent assembly" without explaining the reasons, but lawyers and liberal political parties had filed a complaint accusing the Islamist-majority parliament, which formed the panel, of having abused its powers.
The decision comes amid a tense stand-off between Islamist and secular forces just six weeks ahead of the country's first post-revolution presidential elections.
Mohammed Nur Farhat, a lawyer and official of the liberal Social Democratic Party, said the "constitutional commission has been made null and void by this judicial decision and may not continue its work.
"Parliament must meet to re-form the constitutional commission, and we invite it to begin setting out the criteria that will guarantee an equitable representation of social and political forces, so that it is not dominated by a single political current," he added.
The 100-member panel, which is evenly divided between parliamentarians and public figures, was elected by the parliament, which also voted for a number of reserve candidates who could replace the panelists.
But most of its members are from the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist fundamentalists who hold the majority in both houses of parliament.
The head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, Mohammed Mursi, said the FJP would not appeal Tuesday's decision.
"The Freedom and Justice Party fully respects the decisions of the Egyptian judiciary, including the decision by the administrative court to suspend the constituent assembly," Mursi said in a statement.
He said the FJP was ready to cooperate with all parties and groups in drafting a charter "that reflects all Egyptians."
The secular parties had already withdrawn from the commission, believing that their presence was only used as a smoke screen allowing the Islamists to draft a basic law that reflects their political-religious ideologies.
The prestigious Sunni Islamic institution, Al-Azhar, and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt have also decided to boycott the panel.
Islamists believe the commission should reflect the composition of a parliament where the FJP holds nearly half the seats and the Salafist Al-Nur party almost one quarter.
The secularists want a more balanced commission, fearing that the Islamist grip would lead to the strengthening of a demand for Islamic sharia law to be the point of reference for legislation.
On Tuesday, around 150 people demonstrated outside the State Council, which has the power to rule on administrative disputes, to protest against Islamist control of the constitutional project.
One banner proclaimed: "The constitution is not a matter of majorities. Egypt will remain a civil state."
Another read: "There are (entities) that cannot be trusted -- the army and the Muslim Brotherhood."
A junta known as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has ruled Egypt since a popular uprising toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
The SCAF is overseeing the transition to democratic civilian rule, which has already seen the election of a new parliament and will see presidential elections beginning in late May.
When the Coptic church, whose faithful make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population, withdrew from the panel its Holy Synod said it considered it "inappropriate to continue to be represented given the reservations of various political forces on how the constitutional commission was composed."
Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court also pulled out, expressing "doubts and confusion" over the make-up of the panel," while Al-Azhar said it did not consider itself properly represented.
In principle, the panel has up to six months to draft a new constitution to replace the one suspended by the military when it took power last year.
The decision to suspend the panel comes amid uncertainties over who will actually be permitted to run for Egypt's presidency, after registration of candidacies closed on Sunday.
The election is scheduled for May 23 and 24, raising fears among many of having to elect a president whose powers have not been defined.
A provisional list of candidates includes ex-Arab League chief Amr Mussa, ultra-conservative Islamist preacher Hazem Abu Ismail, the Brotherhood's Khairat El-Shater, ex-Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, Mubarak's last premier Ahmed Shafiq, and former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.
..
US jets scrambled over Korean Air bomb threat
US fighter planes escorted a Korean Air jet carrying 146 passengers and crew to a Canadian military base due to a bomb threat against the flight, officials and the airline said Wednesday.
Korean Air flight 72 from Vancouver bound for Seoul was diverted to the Comox base on Vancouver Island on Tuesday after an anonymous caller said a bomb had been planted on the plane, the South Korean flag carrier said.
The call was made to the carrier's US office 25 minutes after takeoff, the airline said in a statement, adding the Boeing 777 plane had 134 passengers and 12 crew members on board.
The aircraft landed at the airbase around 110 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of Vancouver without incident and was undergoing safety checks, it said.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said two US F-15 fighters were scrambled out of Portland, Oregon to intercept the plane "due to a potential threat associated with the aircraft".
"The Korean Airliner was intercepted, diverted and the aircraft was shadowed until it landed at Canadian Forces Base Comox," NORAD said in a statement.
Korean Air flight 72 from Vancouver bound for Seoul was diverted to the Comox base on Vancouver Island on Tuesday after an anonymous caller said a bomb had been planted on the plane, the South Korean flag carrier said.
The call was made to the carrier's US office 25 minutes after takeoff, the airline said in a statement, adding the Boeing 777 plane had 134 passengers and 12 crew members on board.
The aircraft landed at the airbase around 110 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of Vancouver without incident and was undergoing safety checks, it said.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said two US F-15 fighters were scrambled out of Portland, Oregon to intercept the plane "due to a potential threat associated with the aircraft".
"The Korean Airliner was intercepted, diverted and the aircraft was shadowed until it landed at Canadian Forces Base Comox," NORAD said in a statement.
Boy, 5, brings 50 packets of heroin to school for show and tell
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Police say a five-year-old Connecticut boy brought 50 packets of heroin to school for show and tell, and his stepfather has been arrested.
Bridgeport police tell the Connecticut Post that 35-year-old Santos Roman went to the Barnum School on Monday to retrieve the drugs and found police waiting for him.
He was detained on $100,000 bail on risk of injury to a minor and drug charges.
Police say the boy wore Roman's jacket to school Monday.
When it came time for his show-and-tell presentation, the kindergartner displayed bags of heroin. The teacher confiscated the drugs and told the principal, who called police.
The boy was put in state custody until other relatives could be located.
Bridgeport police tell the Connecticut Post that 35-year-old Santos Roman went to the Barnum School on Monday to retrieve the drugs and found police waiting for him.
He was detained on $100,000 bail on risk of injury to a minor and drug charges.
Police say the boy wore Roman's jacket to school Monday.
When it came time for his show-and-tell presentation, the kindergartner displayed bags of heroin. The teacher confiscated the drugs and told the principal, who called police.
The boy was put in state custody until other relatives could be located.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Football: Kwasi Appiah named Black Stars coach
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has appointed James Kwesi Appiah as the substantive head coach of the Black Stars. A statement posted on the website of the GFA on Monday said the Executive Committee of the Association confirmed the appointment of the former Black Stars assistant coach at a meeting in Accra earlier in the day.
It said the meeting was called to discuss the head-hunting exercise undertaken by the GFA to find a permanent Black Stars coach. He takes over from Serbian Goran Stevanovic who was dismissed last month following the poor performance of the Black Stars at the African Cup of Nations tournament hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea whwre they placed fourth.
It said Appiah would meet the Executive Committee of the GFA on Tuesday 'to formalise the deal'.
The former international has been the assistant coach of the Black Stars since since 2008 and led the Black Meteors to win the Gold medal at the 2011 All African Games.
It said the meeting was called to discuss the head-hunting exercise undertaken by the GFA to find a permanent Black Stars coach. He takes over from Serbian Goran Stevanovic who was dismissed last month following the poor performance of the Black Stars at the African Cup of Nations tournament hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea whwre they placed fourth.
It said Appiah would meet the Executive Committee of the GFA on Tuesday 'to formalise the deal'.
The former international has been the assistant coach of the Black Stars since since 2008 and led the Black Meteors to win the Gold medal at the 2011 All African Games.
U.S. should lead to end World Bank tradition: Nigerian finance minister
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should take the lead and break the long tradition of an American always heading the World Bank, Nigerian finance minister and a nominee for the top post Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said on Monday.
Speaking after a "marathon" three-and-a-half-hour interview by the World Bank board, Okonjo-Iweala said the decision on who leads the global development institution should go to the candidate with the best skills for the job.
During her interview with the board, Okonjo-Iweala said she did not ask for the support of countries but pressed them to ensure that the selection process was open and merit based.
Under an informal agreement between the United States and Europe, an American has always headed the World Bank and a European has led the International Monetary Fund since their founding after World War Two.
Rising economic powers such as China, India and Brazil have called for an end to the long-standing tradition and are demanding more influence in global finance institutions.
Okonjo-Iweala, who left a top post at the World Bank last year for a second stint as Nigeria's finance minister, is up against former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo and U.S. nominee Korean-American health expert Jim Yong Kim.
Ocampo and Kim are set to be interviewed by the 25-member World Bank board on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
It is the first time that candidates from developing countries have challenged Washington for the top post.
"Somebody has to break this" agreement, Okonjo-Iweala told an event hosted by the Center for Global Development and Washington Post. "Therefore, who is the leader in this world? The U.S. is looked on for that leadership," she added.
The board is set to decide through consensus on a new president of the World Bank on April 16. Kim is likely to succeed Robert Zoellick as World Bank president given the U.S.'s large voting bloc and support by European allies.
Okonjo-Iweala dismissed the argument by some U.S. politicians that the United States would stop financing the World Bank if a non-American took the reins of the institution.
She said she would use her "persuasive powers" to convince Congress to keep funds flowing to the World Bank.
"You cannot look at global governance in the same old way and should recognize the changing constellation of powers," Okonjo-Iweala said. "I do not believe that if we ignore this reality we can really have global governance that works because these countries will not feel valued in the global system."
Okonjo-Iweala said her vision for leading the World Bank was influenced by her own life story of growing up in a village in Nigeria and her experiences as an international economist.
"It is not good enough to say you know about poverty. You have to live it," she said.
As head of the World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala said she would focus on job creation, which was a problem facing both rich and poor countries alike.
"Across the globe, policymakers are grappling with one problem, and that is the problem of job creation," she said, "I have yet to meet a single poor person who did not want the dignity of a job."
She said her experience as finance minister and as managing director of the World Bank gave her unique insights into the complex problems facing emerging market and developing countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
She said the World Bank should also focus more on helping developing countries build roads, railway systems and power grids to help their economies grow, and it should invest more in education, health and gender issues.
She said complex global problems facing developing countries required a World Bank that could respond quickly and creatively to the needs of the poor.
"We need a Rolodex of experts that we can call on very fast," she said. "The bank needs to be fast in delivering knowledge. Middle-income countries are no longer willing to wait when they need a question answered."
While working at the World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala said she compiled a list of 11 issues that frustrated her the most about the institution, which she shared with the board during her interview on Monday.
On her list of frustrations was the lack of data to make vital decisions on poverty reduction in low-income countries.
Speaking after a "marathon" three-and-a-half-hour interview by the World Bank board, Okonjo-Iweala said the decision on who leads the global development institution should go to the candidate with the best skills for the job.
During her interview with the board, Okonjo-Iweala said she did not ask for the support of countries but pressed them to ensure that the selection process was open and merit based.
Under an informal agreement between the United States and Europe, an American has always headed the World Bank and a European has led the International Monetary Fund since their founding after World War Two.
Rising economic powers such as China, India and Brazil have called for an end to the long-standing tradition and are demanding more influence in global finance institutions.
Okonjo-Iweala, who left a top post at the World Bank last year for a second stint as Nigeria's finance minister, is up against former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo and U.S. nominee Korean-American health expert Jim Yong Kim.
Ocampo and Kim are set to be interviewed by the 25-member World Bank board on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
It is the first time that candidates from developing countries have challenged Washington for the top post.
"Somebody has to break this" agreement, Okonjo-Iweala told an event hosted by the Center for Global Development and Washington Post. "Therefore, who is the leader in this world? The U.S. is looked on for that leadership," she added.
The board is set to decide through consensus on a new president of the World Bank on April 16. Kim is likely to succeed Robert Zoellick as World Bank president given the U.S.'s large voting bloc and support by European allies.
Okonjo-Iweala dismissed the argument by some U.S. politicians that the United States would stop financing the World Bank if a non-American took the reins of the institution.
She said she would use her "persuasive powers" to convince Congress to keep funds flowing to the World Bank.
"You cannot look at global governance in the same old way and should recognize the changing constellation of powers," Okonjo-Iweala said. "I do not believe that if we ignore this reality we can really have global governance that works because these countries will not feel valued in the global system."
Okonjo-Iweala said her vision for leading the World Bank was influenced by her own life story of growing up in a village in Nigeria and her experiences as an international economist.
"It is not good enough to say you know about poverty. You have to live it," she said.
As head of the World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala said she would focus on job creation, which was a problem facing both rich and poor countries alike.
"Across the globe, policymakers are grappling with one problem, and that is the problem of job creation," she said, "I have yet to meet a single poor person who did not want the dignity of a job."
She said her experience as finance minister and as managing director of the World Bank gave her unique insights into the complex problems facing emerging market and developing countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
She said the World Bank should also focus more on helping developing countries build roads, railway systems and power grids to help their economies grow, and it should invest more in education, health and gender issues.
She said complex global problems facing developing countries required a World Bank that could respond quickly and creatively to the needs of the poor.
"We need a Rolodex of experts that we can call on very fast," she said. "The bank needs to be fast in delivering knowledge. Middle-income countries are no longer willing to wait when they need a question answered."
While working at the World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala said she compiled a list of 11 issues that frustrated her the most about the institution, which she shared with the board during her interview on Monday.
On her list of frustrations was the lack of data to make vital decisions on poverty reduction in low-income countries.
U.S. should lead to end World Bank tradition: Nigerian finance minister
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should take the lead and break the long tradition of an American always heading the World Bank, Nigerian finance minister and a nominee for the top post Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said on Monday.
Speaking after a "marathon" three-and-a-half-hour interview by the World Bank board, Okonjo-Iweala said the decision on who leads the global development institution should go to the candidate with the best skills for the job.
During her interview with the board, Okonjo-Iweala said she did not ask for the support of countries but pressed them to ensure that the selection process was open and merit based.
Under an informal agreement between the United States and Europe, an American has always headed the World Bank and a European has led the International Monetary Fund since their founding after World War Two.
Rising economic powers such as China, India and Brazil have called for an end to the long-standing tradition and are demanding more influence in global finance institutions.
Okonjo-Iweala, who left a top post at the World Bank last year for a second stint as Nigeria's finance minister, is up against former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo and U.S. nominee Korean-American health expert Jim Yong Kim.
Ocampo and Kim are set to be interviewed by the 25-member World Bank board on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
It is the first time that candidates from developing countries have challenged Washington for the top post.
"Somebody has to break this" agreement, Okonjo-Iweala told an event hosted by the Center for Global Development and Washington Post. "Therefore, who is the leader in this world? The U.S. is looked on for that leadership," she added.
The board is set to decide through consensus on a new president of the World Bank on April 16. Kim is likely to succeed Robert Zoellick as World Bank president given the U.S.'s large voting bloc and support by European allies.
Okonjo-Iweala dismissed the argument by some U.S. politicians that the United States would stop financing the World Bank if a non-American took the reins of the institution.
She said she would use her "persuasive powers" to convince Congress to keep funds flowing to the World Bank.
"You cannot look at global governance in the same old way and should recognize the changing constellation of powers," Okonjo-Iweala said. "I do not believe that if we ignore this reality we can really have global governance that works because these countries will not feel valued in the global system."
Okonjo-Iweala said her vision for leading the World Bank was influenced by her own life story of growing up in a village in Nigeria and her experiences as an international economist.
"It is not good enough to say you know about poverty. You have to live it," she said.
As head of the World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala said she would focus on job creation, which was a problem facing both rich and poor countries alike.
"Across the globe, policymakers are grappling with one problem, and that is the problem of job creation," she said, "I have yet to meet a single poor person who did not want the dignity of a job."
She said her experience as finance minister and as managing director of the World Bank gave her unique insights into the complex problems facing emerging market and developing countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
She said the World Bank should also focus more on helping developing countries build roads, railway systems and power grids to help their economies grow, and it should invest more in education, health and gender issues.
She said complex global problems facing developing countries required a World Bank that could respond quickly and creatively to the needs of the poor.
"We need a Rolodex of experts that we can call on very fast," she said. "The bank needs to be fast in delivering knowledge. Middle-income countries are no longer willing to wait when they need a question answered."
While working at the World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala said she compiled a list of 11 issues that frustrated her the most about the institution, which she shared with the board during her interview on Monday.
On her list of frustrations was the lack of data to make vital decisions on poverty reduction in low-income countries.
Speaking after a "marathon" three-and-a-half-hour interview by the World Bank board, Okonjo-Iweala said the decision on who leads the global development institution should go to the candidate with the best skills for the job.
During her interview with the board, Okonjo-Iweala said she did not ask for the support of countries but pressed them to ensure that the selection process was open and merit based.
Under an informal agreement between the United States and Europe, an American has always headed the World Bank and a European has led the International Monetary Fund since their founding after World War Two.
Rising economic powers such as China, India and Brazil have called for an end to the long-standing tradition and are demanding more influence in global finance institutions.
Okonjo-Iweala, who left a top post at the World Bank last year for a second stint as Nigeria's finance minister, is up against former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo and U.S. nominee Korean-American health expert Jim Yong Kim.
Ocampo and Kim are set to be interviewed by the 25-member World Bank board on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
It is the first time that candidates from developing countries have challenged Washington for the top post.
"Somebody has to break this" agreement, Okonjo-Iweala told an event hosted by the Center for Global Development and Washington Post. "Therefore, who is the leader in this world? The U.S. is looked on for that leadership," she added.
The board is set to decide through consensus on a new president of the World Bank on April 16. Kim is likely to succeed Robert Zoellick as World Bank president given the U.S.'s large voting bloc and support by European allies.
Okonjo-Iweala dismissed the argument by some U.S. politicians that the United States would stop financing the World Bank if a non-American took the reins of the institution.
She said she would use her "persuasive powers" to convince Congress to keep funds flowing to the World Bank.
"You cannot look at global governance in the same old way and should recognize the changing constellation of powers," Okonjo-Iweala said. "I do not believe that if we ignore this reality we can really have global governance that works because these countries will not feel valued in the global system."
Okonjo-Iweala said her vision for leading the World Bank was influenced by her own life story of growing up in a village in Nigeria and her experiences as an international economist.
"It is not good enough to say you know about poverty. You have to live it," she said.
As head of the World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala said she would focus on job creation, which was a problem facing both rich and poor countries alike.
"Across the globe, policymakers are grappling with one problem, and that is the problem of job creation," she said, "I have yet to meet a single poor person who did not want the dignity of a job."
She said her experience as finance minister and as managing director of the World Bank gave her unique insights into the complex problems facing emerging market and developing countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
She said the World Bank should also focus more on helping developing countries build roads, railway systems and power grids to help their economies grow, and it should invest more in education, health and gender issues.
She said complex global problems facing developing countries required a World Bank that could respond quickly and creatively to the needs of the poor.
"We need a Rolodex of experts that we can call on very fast," she said. "The bank needs to be fast in delivering knowledge. Middle-income countries are no longer willing to wait when they need a question answered."
While working at the World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala said she compiled a list of 11 issues that frustrated her the most about the institution, which she shared with the board during her interview on Monday.
On her list of frustrations was the lack of data to make vital decisions on poverty reduction in low-income countries.
Report: 150,000 languish in NKorean prison camps
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 150,000 North Koreans are incarcerated in a Soviet-style, hidden gulag despite the communist government's denial it holds political prisoners, a human rights group reported Tuesday.
The U.S.-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea said it based its report on interviews with 60 former prisoners and guards. It includes satellite images of what are described as prison labor camps and penitentiaries.
The report documents the alleged incarceration of entire families, including children and grandparents for the "political crimes" of other family members, and infanticide and forced abortions of female prisoners who illegally crossed into China and got pregnant by men there, and were then forcibly repatriated to North Korea.
The committee, a private, U.S.-based group, is holding a conference Tuesday in Washington, timed for Pyongyang's celebrations to mark the centennial of the repressive nation's founder.
The U.S. envoy on North Korean human rights, Robert King, is due to address the conference, which takes place as the international spotlight shines on the North over its plans to launch a long-range rocket and, according to South Korean intelligence, a third nuclear weapons test.
"It is not just nuclear weapons that have to be dismantled," said Roberta Cohen, chairwoman of the committee's board of directors, "but an entire system of political repression."
The report says the camp system was initially modeled in the 1950s on the Soviet gulag to punish "wrong thinkers" and those belonging to the "wrong political class" or religious persuasion.
It cites estimates from North Korean state security agency officials who defected to South Korea that the camp system holds between 150,000 and 200,000 people out of a total population of around 24 million. It urges North Korea to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access, and to dismantle the camps.
The 200-page report described different kinds of detention facilities, including penal labor colonies where it says political detainees are imprisoned without judicial process for mostly lifetime sentences in mining, logging or agricultural enterprises.
The labor colonies are enclosed behind barbed wire and electrified fences, mainly in the north and north central mountains of the country, the report says, alleging high rates of death in detention due to systemic mistreatment, torture, execution and malnutrition.
The report says former prisoners were able to identify their former barrack and houses, work sites, execution grounds and other landmarks in the camps via imagery available through Google Earth.
The committee says the report's findings contradict a December 2009 statement by North Korea to the United Nations Human Rights Council that the political prisoner camps do not exist.
Greg Scarlatoiu, the committee's executive director, said more than 30,000 North Korean defectors have now fled the country, up from just 3,000 a decade ago, so Pyongyang cannot hide the harsh reality of its political prison camps.
The U.S.-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea said it based its report on interviews with 60 former prisoners and guards. It includes satellite images of what are described as prison labor camps and penitentiaries.
The report documents the alleged incarceration of entire families, including children and grandparents for the "political crimes" of other family members, and infanticide and forced abortions of female prisoners who illegally crossed into China and got pregnant by men there, and were then forcibly repatriated to North Korea.
The committee, a private, U.S.-based group, is holding a conference Tuesday in Washington, timed for Pyongyang's celebrations to mark the centennial of the repressive nation's founder.
The U.S. envoy on North Korean human rights, Robert King, is due to address the conference, which takes place as the international spotlight shines on the North over its plans to launch a long-range rocket and, according to South Korean intelligence, a third nuclear weapons test.
"It is not just nuclear weapons that have to be dismantled," said Roberta Cohen, chairwoman of the committee's board of directors, "but an entire system of political repression."
The report says the camp system was initially modeled in the 1950s on the Soviet gulag to punish "wrong thinkers" and those belonging to the "wrong political class" or religious persuasion.
It cites estimates from North Korean state security agency officials who defected to South Korea that the camp system holds between 150,000 and 200,000 people out of a total population of around 24 million. It urges North Korea to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access, and to dismantle the camps.
The 200-page report described different kinds of detention facilities, including penal labor colonies where it says political detainees are imprisoned without judicial process for mostly lifetime sentences in mining, logging or agricultural enterprises.
The labor colonies are enclosed behind barbed wire and electrified fences, mainly in the north and north central mountains of the country, the report says, alleging high rates of death in detention due to systemic mistreatment, torture, execution and malnutrition.
The report says former prisoners were able to identify their former barrack and houses, work sites, execution grounds and other landmarks in the camps via imagery available through Google Earth.
The committee says the report's findings contradict a December 2009 statement by North Korea to the United Nations Human Rights Council that the political prisoner camps do not exist.
Greg Scarlatoiu, the committee's executive director, said more than 30,000 North Korean defectors have now fled the country, up from just 3,000 a decade ago, so Pyongyang cannot hide the harsh reality of its political prison camps.
Dozens of Boko Haram in Mali's rebel-seized Gao: sources
Among the rebels controlling Mali's northern city of Gao are dozens of Nigeria's Islamist Boko Haram group, a regional deputy told AFP on Monday, while a security source confirmed the information.
"There are a good 100 Boko Haram fighters in Gao. They are Nigerians and from Niger," said Abu Sidibe, a regional deputy. "They're not hiding. Some are even able to speak in the local tongue, explaining that they are Boko Haram."
Militants from Boko Haram "were in a majority among those who attacked the Algerian consulate" in Gao on Thursday, a Malian security official said, adding that "they had black skin".
Seven Algerian diplomats, including the consul, were taken hostage at the time.
Witnesses interviewed by telephone from Bamako said members of Boko Haram were later seen openly driving the kidnapped consul's car.
The kidnapping was claimed in a statement on Sunday by an Al-Qaeda dissident group, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).
MUJAO is said to have broken off from the main group, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), in order to spread jihad to west Africa rather than confine themselves just to the Maghreb or Sahel regions.
Boko Haram, which has also kidnapped westerners in Nigeria, has been blamed for a series of attacks over Easter weekend in northern Nigeria that left at least 45 dead.
Mokhtar Belmokhtar, one of the leaders of AQIM, was also spotted over the weekend in Gao, witnesses said.
"There are a good 100 Boko Haram fighters in Gao. They are Nigerians and from Niger," said Abu Sidibe, a regional deputy. "They're not hiding. Some are even able to speak in the local tongue, explaining that they are Boko Haram."
Militants from Boko Haram "were in a majority among those who attacked the Algerian consulate" in Gao on Thursday, a Malian security official said, adding that "they had black skin".
Seven Algerian diplomats, including the consul, were taken hostage at the time.
Witnesses interviewed by telephone from Bamako said members of Boko Haram were later seen openly driving the kidnapped consul's car.
The kidnapping was claimed in a statement on Sunday by an Al-Qaeda dissident group, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).
MUJAO is said to have broken off from the main group, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), in order to spread jihad to west Africa rather than confine themselves just to the Maghreb or Sahel regions.
Boko Haram, which has also kidnapped westerners in Nigeria, has been blamed for a series of attacks over Easter weekend in northern Nigeria that left at least 45 dead.
Mokhtar Belmokhtar, one of the leaders of AQIM, was also spotted over the weekend in Gao, witnesses said.
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