Kenya: Somalis In Nairobi Fear Terror Backlash

Somalis living in Nairobi say they fear being targeted by Kenyans who blame them for the shopping centre massacre that left at least 67 people dead.

The Eastleigh area of the capital city is home to many from Somalia, the country where al Shabaab, the terror group thought to be behind the attack, is based.

Ahmed Mohammed, a security consultant in the area, said there were major concerns about a backlash against the community.

"People are worried about people coming and looting their businesses and they are also worried about authorities coming and doing a crackdown on Somalis," he told Sky News.

"Basically, when things like this happen, Somalis are the victims."

Poverty and unemployment make Eastleigh a fertile recruiting ground for al Shabaab.

Those who have glimpsed inside the organisation and witnessed its brutality are terrified of being hunted down for leaving or speaking out.

One man, who asked to remain anonymous, explained why.

Victims of the attack are honoured at a memorial in Nairobi

"What I am scared about is that Al Shabaab are beasts, they are not human beings," he said.

"If they see my face ... they will try to kill me. I have seen so many friends of mine who have been killed by al Shabaab."

Somali immigrant Farah Atosh, 25, has countless friends who have been recruited or approached by al Shabaab, but is determined to counter the terror group's propaganda.

"We are against them," he said.

"We are not supporting them. You might see or hear some people saying al Shabaab will not be able to carry out those attacks without the support of the Somali diaspora but honestly that is false information."

Many people who fled Somalia hoped they would find sanctuary and those who created new lives in Kenya want al Shabaab hounded out

One of them is Karim Muse, who told Sky News: "I would like to go to Somalia but (while) the al Shabaab are ... in Somalia, I don't want to go back.

"They have destroyed Somalia's people. They don't like Somalis, don't like other Christians, they don't like anyone, only themselves. Al Shabaab, they are cancer in the world."

It comes as forensic investigators continue to search the ruins of Westgate Mall - and after it emerged a sixth Briton had been confirmed dead following the attack.

Meanwhile, around 200 Nairobi residents, many of them of Indian descent, held a candlelit vigil on Saturday evening for victims the massacre.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Italy In Chaos As Berlusconi Ministers Quit

Former Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi has withdrawn his ministers from the government, effectively bringing down the country's fragile ruling coalition.

The move leaves the eurozone's third-largest economy in chaos and was branded a "crazy and irresponsible act" by Prime Minister Enrico Letta.

Talks will now start to find a parliamentary majority to back a new cabinet and avoid another election - just seven months after the last one.

Mr Letta said the move was a 'crazy' act

Berlusconi had earlier encouraged the five ministers in his centre-right People of Freedom (PDL) party to resign over an increase in sales tax.

He said they should not be "complicit in the latest vexation imposed on Italians by the left".

"The prime minister's decision yesterday to freeze government action, thus leading to the rise in the VAT, is a serious violation of the government pact," Berlusconi said.

The move comes just days before a senate committee is expected to strip him of his seat over his conviction for tax fraud last month.

Mr Letta hit back, saying: "To try to justify his crazy and irresponsible act, aimed fully at protecting his personal interests, Berlusconi is ... using the VAT as an alibi.

"Italians will recognise such a big lie... and return it to the sender."

The relentless political jockeying that has defined Mr Letta's five-month tenure has already thwarted efforts to push through important reforms Italy needs to emerge from a two-year recession, a decade-long economic lethargy, a 2-trillion-euro public debt and youth unemployment of around 40%.

The resignations will delay those reforms even further.

Italian Labour Minister Enrico Giovannini told Rai state television: "So many measures we were working on now risk being set back.

"On Monday our borrowing costs are going to rise by many points."

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan Police Station Bombs Kill At Least 33

Two bombs have exploded near a police station in the city of Peshawar, killing at least 33 people and injuring 70.

At least one of the explosions appeared to have been caused by a bomb planted in a parked car and detonated by remote control, local police said.

It comes just a week after two suicide bombers killed 85 people in an attack on All Saints' Church, just 300 yards from the scene of Sunday's blasts.

Burning wreckage at the scene of the latest blasts

The area was crowded with shops and families.

Spokesman for the Lady Reading Hospital Jamil Shah said the dead included six children and two women as well as 70 wounded who have been brought to the hospital from the blast site.

A crowd gathered outside the hospital as relatives tried to find out the fate of their loved ones. Women sobbed as ambulances pulled up with more bodies.

A woman is carried to safety from the site of the latest blasts

Shopowner Sher Gul said he had made repeated trips to the hospital on his motorbike to bring six people to be treated for their wounds.

The northwestern frontier city is the gateway to the troubled tribal regions, which are overrun by Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.

Scenes at the Anglican church bombing a week ago

Islamist violence has been on the rise in Pakistan in recent months, undermining Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's efforts to tame the insurgency by launching peace talks with the Taliban.

The Taliban have repeatedly rejected Pakistan's constitution and have called for the full implementation of Islamic law and for war with India.

Mr Sharif was expected to meet Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly later on Sunday, only hours after Mr Singh described Pakistan as the "epicentre of terrorism in our region".

Last week's church attack by a Taliban faction was the deadliest attack on Christians in Pakistan.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nigeria College Attacked: At Least 40 Killed

At least 40 people have been killed after suspected Islamist gunmen fired on students as they slept at a college in northeast Nigeria.

The attackers reportedly stormed a dormitory and set fire to classrooms in the assault which happened about 1am local time on Sunday in the town of Gujba in Yobe state.

Nigeria's military is blaming militants from the Boko Haram insurgent group for the atrocity at the College of Agriculture.

A source told the AFP news agency that 40 bodies had been brought to hospital.

College provost Molima Idi Mato said security forces were still recovering bodies so he could not give an exact number of dead but said up to 50 had been killed.

He also said about 1,000 students had fled the scene.

The college is about 25 miles from the scene of similar school attacks around Damaturu town.

There were no security forces stationed at the college despite government assurances, said Mr Mato.

Members of Boko Haram pictured in February

Two weeks ago, state commission for education Mohammmed Lamin urged all schools to reopen and promising protection by soldiers and police.

Most schools in the area closed after militants killed 29 pupils and a teacher, burning some alive in their hostels at Mamudo outside Damaturu on July 6.

Northeast Nigeria is in a military state of emergency following an Islamic uprising by Boko Haram militants who have killed more than 1,700 people since 2010 in their quest for an Islamic state.

Yobe has seen a series of brutal attacks targeting students in recent months, all blamed on the group.

The name Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" and the group has repeatedly attacked schools, universities and colleges during its four-year insurgency.

The military has described the spate of recent attacks as a sign of desperation by the Islamists, claiming they only have the capacity to hit soft targets.

An offensive launched against Boko Haram in mid-May has decimated the group and scattered their fighters across remote parts of the northeast, the defence ministry has said. 

Boko Haram has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, but the group is believed to be made up of different factions with varying aims. 

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Assad Vows To Respect Chemical Weapons Deal

Syria's President Bashar al Assad has said in a television interview that he will respect United Nations accords on chemical weapons.

It comes after a resolution to destroy his chemical stockpile was passed unanimously by the UN Security Council on Friday.

All 15 members of the council voted in favour of the resolution, which was widely seen as a compromise between the US and Syria's key ally, Russia.

Mr Assad was asked in an interview on Italian television station RaiNews24 if Syria would comply with the deal.

He replied: "We joined the international agreement against the acquisition and use of chemical weapons even before this resolution was passed."

A member of the UN chemical weapons team in Syria

The UN vote after two weeks of intense negotiations marks a major breakthrough following two and a half years of paralysis that has gripped the council since the Syrian uprising began.

More than 100,000 Syrians have been killed during that time while millions have been displaced.

On Sunday at least 12 people, mostly students, died in an air strike that hit a secondary school in the rebel-held city of Raqqa, activists said.

Countries including the US, UK and France have accused Mr Assad's regime of carrying out a chemical attack in Damascus that killed hundreds of civilians last month.

The Syrian government said rebels fighting to overthrow the president were responsible for the atrocity.

UN inspectors confirmed a chemical attack had taken place but they not say who did it. They have been investigating other sites of alleged chemical atrocities.

The UN resolution calls for consequences if Syria fails to comply, but those will depend on the council passing another resolution in the event of non-compliance.

That will give Russia the means to stop any punishment from being imposed.

US Secretary of State John Kerry

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the "strong, enforceable, precedent-setting" resolution showed diplomacy can be so powerful "that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war".

He said the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile would begin in November and be completed by the middle of next year.

For the first time, the council endorsed the roadmap for a political transition in Syria adopted by key nations in June 2012 and called for an international conference to be convened "as soon as possible" to implement it.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the target date for a new peace conference in Geneva was mid-November.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria Chemical Weapons: UN Resolution Passed

A "historic" resolution to destroy Syria's chemical weapons has been passed unanimously by the United Nations Security Council.

All 15 members of the council voted in favour of the resolution, which was widely seen as a compromise between the US and Syria's key ally, Russia.

The vote after two weeks of intense negotiations marks a major breakthrough following two and a half years of paralysis that has gripped the council since the Syrian uprising began.

More than 100,000 Syrians have been killed during that time while millions have been displaced.

Russia's Sergei Lavrov votes in favour of the resolution

Russia and China previously vetoed three Western-backed resolutions pressuring President Bashar Assad's regime to end the violence.

Speaking immediately after the vote, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the council: "Today's historic resolution is the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time."

Foreign Secretary William Hague described the development as "ground-breaking".

"The failure of the council to tackle the crimes committed on a daily basis has resulted in a culture of impunity in which a brutal regime believed it could get away with murdering its own men, women and children," he said.

UN chemical weapons experts carried out inspections in Syria

"So it is vital that the council now builds on the consensus we have reached today to make progress today towards a sustainable resolution of the crisis.

"With renewed purpose and resolve, we need to achieve a political transition."

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the "strong, enforceable, precedent-setting" resolution showed diplomacy can be so powerful "that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war."

He said the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile would begin in November and be completed by the middle of next year.

Volunteers in Aleppo at a class on how to respond to a chemical attack

For the first time, the council endorsed the roadmap for a political transition in Syria adopted by key nations in June 2012 and called for an international conference to be convened "as soon as possible" to implement it.

Mr Ban said the target date for a new peace conference in Geneva was mid-November.

The resolution calls for consequences if Syria fails to comply, but those will depend on the council passing another resolution in the event of non-compliance.

That will give Assad ally Russia the means to stop any punishment from being imposed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that the resolution does not automatically impose sanctions on Syria.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

China: Dozens Of Kidnapped Children Freed

Chinese police have rescued 92 children and two women kidnapped by a human-trafficking gang and arrested 301 suspects.

In one of the biggest operations of its kind in years police simultaneously swooped on locations in 11 provinces after a six-month investigation.

Police also found sleeping pills used for the babies in the process of trafficking.

The raids were reported by China Central Television and state news agency Xinhua, quoting the Ministry of Public Security.

Police investigations started in March with a child trafficking case in central China's Henan Province.

They found members of the network followed a clear pattern, with kidnappers collecting children in southwest China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.

They were then driven to other regions into the hands of sellers, according to the statement released by the Ministry.

Armed police prepare to raid premises where children were held

The freed children have been sent to hospitals for checkups and some of them have been handed over to a children's home in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.

Zhang Wenli, head of Zhengzhou Children's Welfare Home, said: "Our childcare workers have been professionally trained, so they know how to communicate with the babies, and know how to comfort and rear them. 

"Meanwhile, we are working together with hospital staff to cure these children's diseases."

Before their biological parents are identified, the freed children will stay at the home, Ms Zhang added.

A traditional preference for boys, especially in rural areas, and a strict one-child policy have contributed to a rise in the trafficking of children and women in recent years.

State media did not give a breakdown of how many boys and girls were taken.

Kidnapped women are sold to men in remote areas who are unable to find brides because of a shortage of women blamed on the one-child policy.

The government will impose harsh punishments on people who buy kidnapped children, as well as parents who allow them to be sold, state television said.

China has trumpeted the success of an intensified crackdown on the kidnapping and sale of children and women.

In 2011, police said they had rescued more than 13,000 abducted children and 23,000 women over the past two years or so.

The latest arrests happened on September 11 but no reason was given for the delay in reporting the operation.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenya Attack: New Video Shows Aftermath

Sky News has filmed pictures from the rear of the Nairobi shopping mall showing the devastating aftermath of last Saturday's terror attack.

Hundreds of tons of masonry, debris and metal fell down several floors after part of the roof collapsed where the car park was.

The scene has been described as a 'mini Ground Zero' by one forensic expert who spoke to Sky News.

It comes as the Foreign Office said a sixth British national had been confirmed dead following the atrocity. The figure had earlier been lowered to five.

Burned out cars were filmed hanging precariously over the edge of the pit and the tin roof of the supermarket atrium was severely damaged.

Below the hole in the roof was where a cookery competition was taking place involving adults and children when the gunmen began shooting at them.

The air conditioning system on the left of the picture was burnt out

Some people said the roof collapse was caused by the terrorists starting a fire, others said it was the military who detonated explosives or fired rocket propelled grenades that set off the blaze.

The pictures were filmed from a private property of resident Sukhbir Singh who told Sky News he heard "really loud blasts" and "several gunshots".

He said at the part of the roof which has now fallen down he saw two or three gunmen opening fire towards children, adding "it was really really bad".

He went on: "They just came in and sprayed bullets without talking."

Sky News filmed from the rear of the shopping centre

Meanwhile, new footage from the Kenyan Red Cross shows the organisation's staff helping shoppers as they emerged from Westgate Mall during last week's terror attack.

The video was filmed on September 21 - the first day of the siege and just hours after gunmen attacked the mall with assault rifles and grenades.

The organisation's secretary general, Abbas Gullet, is a prominent figure in the footage, not just overseeing the medical care of the injured, but also providing direct medical assistance himself at times.

Mr Gullet's team of medics regularly risked their own lives to bring people out of the shopping centre.

Resident Sukhbir Singh witnessed the terror attack

One man can be seen with is hand on a body covered with a red blanket weeping, while medical teams look on.

Stretchers were repeatedly run in and out of the mall despite the ongoing attack by gunmen.

The Red Cross also helped to transport those who lost their lives in the deadly assault.

Seven days after the attack which left at least 67 people dead, there is still no clear word on the fate of dozens who have been reported missing and no details on the gunmen who carried it out.

Shoppers were told to leave the mall with their hands up

Al Shabaab said it carried out the massacre to punish Kenya for sending its troops into Somalia to fight the al Qaeda-linked militant group that had seized large parts of that country for years before being dislodged from the capital, Mogadishu.

The Kenyan Red Cross has said 59 people are unaccounted for, raising fears of bodies in the debris.

President Uhuru Kenyatta's government is facing tough questions after the reported leaking of an intelligence report dated September 13 which warned of an elevated risk and which some top officials said was treated too casually.

Senior security officials told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity that an intelligence report warning of an attack had been sent to the treasury, interior, foreign affairs and defence ministers, as well as the army chief.

"Briefs were made to them of increasing threat of terrorism and of plans to launch simultaneous attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa around September 13 and 20, 2013," according to the report, quoted in the Nation newspaper.

The report also apparently said Israel, which has close security ties with Kenya, had warned of plans to attack Israeli property in September, a month which included several Jewish holidays.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iran Leader Met With Protests After US Trip

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has been met with protesters chanting "Death to America" as he arrived from New York after a historic phone call with Barack Obama.

Shoes and eggs were thrown towards his motorcade as it left Tehran's Mehrabad Airport, as some 60 hardline Islamists also chanted "Death to Israel".

They were outnumbered by 200 to 300 supporters of the president who shouted: "Thank you Rouhani."

Mr Rouhani, who was returning from a UN General Assembly meeting in New York, stood up through his car's sunroof to acknowledge the crowds.

Mr Rouhani's supporters outnumbered his opponents as he arrived home

He did not appear to have been hit by any of the projectiles. Throwing shoes is considered deeply offensive in the Middle East.

Mr Rouhani's 15-minute telephone conversation with Mr Obama on Friday was the first contact between leaders of the two countries in more than three decades.

The exchange could reflect a major step in resolving global concerns over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.

Mr Obama said he had a constructive conversation, adding: "While there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution."

Both leaders will now direct their teams to work quickly to find an agreement after the first direct verbal communication between the nations' presidents since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Earlier, Mr Rouhani said he hoped talks with the US and other world powers over its nuclear programme will lead to results in "a short period of time".

Surrounded by tight security, Mr Rouhani waved to crowds at Tehran airport

He said Iran would present its plan for a resolution to the nuclear issue at discussions with the six countries scheduled for Geneva on October 15 and 16.

The six are the five permanent UN Security Council members - Britain, China, France, the United States and Russia - and Germany, known as P5+1.

Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is a peaceful attempt to generate electricity but America and its allies including Israel have long demanded a halt to Tehran's uranium enrichment, fearing it could secretly build nuclear warheads.

Mr Rouhani vowed his country would not build a nuclear bomb, adding his government would be transparent and had the backing of authorities at home to handle the nuclear issue.

In his latest comments, he said: "We say explicitly that we will be transparent; we say explicitly that we will not build a bomb. Through the P5+1 we want to provide even more assurances."

Around 60 hardliners waved anti-US placards at Mehrabad Airport

Earlier Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met US Secretary of State John Kerry along with representatives from the other P5+1 powers. That was followed by a brief bilateral meeting between Mr Zarif and Mr Kerry.

The two sides said the tone was positive but they remained cautious about resolving the long-running stand-off over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Mr Rouhani and Mr Zarif, both in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, have said they are eager to clinch an agreement quickly that could bring relief from what the president called "illegal" sanctions.

The sanctions have slashed Iran's vital oil exports by more than half, restricted its international bank transfers, devalued its currency and sent inflation surging.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan Earthquake: At Least 12 Killed

A powerful earthquake in Pakistan has killed at least 12 people just days after hundreds were killed by a quake in the same area.

The 6.8-magnitude quake hit the region of Balochistan in the south west of the country on Saturday morning, sending people running into the streets in panic.

On Tuesday a 7.8-magnitude tremor rocked the same impoverished Awaran district killing 359 people, razing hundreds of mud-and-brick homes to the ground and leaving tens of thousands homless.

People still recovering from injuries sustained in the first disaster fled the hospital where they were being treated fearing the building would collapse.

The epicentre was 90 miles west of Khuzdar

The US Geological Survey measured the earthquake at 6.8 magnitude, however, Pakistan's Meteorological Department said it measured 7.2.

The department said the epicentre was located 90 miles west of the town of Khuzdar, a short distance from the epicentre of the earthquake earlier in the week.

A number of people were wounded, and officials fear the number of dead could significantly increase.

There have been reports that homes still standing after Tuesday's earthquake had collapsed on Saturday.

Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but least populated province. The rough terrain and the lack of good roads have made it difficult for rescue staff.

People visit an island formed by Tuesday's tremor

The Pakistani Air Force has been making air drops of supplies and using helicopters to ferry injured people to medical care.

However, the aid efforts have been hampered by militants who want to overthrow central government and establish a hard-line Islamic state. The separatists have fired at the military aircraft helping with the aid and rescue mission.

Around 300,000 people were affected by Tuesday's earthquake which was so strong it is believed to have caused a small island to emerge just off the coastline in the Arabian Sea.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More