Russia : Negligence Over Stavropol Bomb Attack[ 1319 ]

Officials Face Negligence Probe Over Stavropol Bomb Attack

Medics and police help a wounded person after the bombing in Stavropol on May 26.

STAVROPOL, Russia -( REE/RL., May 28, 2010 ) 

Security officials in Stavropol are being investigated for negligence in connection with a bomb blast that killed seven people in the southern Russian city on May 26, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

Russia's presidential envoy in the North Caucasus Federal District, Aleksandr Khloponin, made the announcement today. He did not identify any of the officials.

The bomb went off near a cultural center as people were gathering for a Chechen dance performance.

Earlier today, Russian officials announced they had detained two suspects in the Republic of Ingushetia.

The Stavropol region of Russia, which borders Russia’s volatile Muslim republics in the North Caucasus, is observing a day of mourning today for the victims.

Thirty people injured in the bomb attack are still in hospital, RFE/RL reports.

D. Medvedev,: With the "Cheget," wherever he goes. [ 1318 ]

The Nuclear Russian button

 

 The Cheget, accompanies the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, wherever he goes

FP,by David E. Hoffman, May 27,2010
 In the event of a nuclear missile attack on Russia, three hard-shell briefcases filled with electronics are set to alert their holders simultaneously. Inside each is a portable terminal, linked to the command and control network for Russia's strategic nuclear forces. One of them accompanies the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, wherever he goes. It is known as the Cheget, and allows the president to monitor a missile crisis, make decisions, and transmit those decisions to the military. It's similar to the nuclear "football" that accompanies the American president.

But a new book by a leading Russian security analyst points to a surprising disconnect in the system, a potential flaw that has not been widely understood. Under Russia's 1993 Constitution, the president is the commander in chief, and if incapacitated in any way, all of his duties fall to the prime minister. Yet the prime minister does not have a nuclear briefcase at his disposal. The other two Cheget briefcases are actually held by the defense minister and the chief of the general staff, as was the case in Soviet times. 

The resulting ambiguity, warns Alexei Arbatov, could be dangerous in the event of a nuclear crisis. In today's Russia, neither of the military men has the constitutional or legal responsibility to make a decision about how or whether to launch a nuclear attack. Certainly, they would be among the top advisors to the president at a time of crisis, but they are not decision-makers.

 

Why the danger? The United States and Russia still maintain nuclear-tipped missiles on alert for rapid launch. The land-based U.S. missiles can be ready to launch in four minutes. Warning of an imminent attack might require a president to make very rapid decisions with limited information. In such an emergency, whether in the White House or the Kremlin, you'd want very precise roles for each decision-maker, without ambiguity or uncertainty.

But it seems like there is still some uncertainty in Russia, where the command-and-control system is shrouded in secrecy, as it was in Soviet times. This makes it all the more interesting that Arbatov is airing his concerns in public. His critique is included in his new book, Uravnenie Bezopasnosti, or The Security Equation, just published in Moscow. The volume, in Russian, covers a wide range of security issues, from Europe to Iran, from nuclear terrorism to tactical nuclear weapons. His comments on the nuclear command and control system come in a chapter titled "Democracy, the military and nuclear weapons."

Arbatov, who heads the Center for International Security at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow, is also a scholar in residence at the Carnegie Moscow Center and one of the foremost Russian analysts of strategic weapons and security issues. He has been a long-time member of the liberal Yabloko bloc, and in earlier years served in the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, where he was deputy chairman of the Duma defense committee.

Arbatov wants Russia to bring the nuclear weapons launch procedure -- the three briefcases -- in synch with the Russian Constitution. He wants to make sure it is the president and the prime minister who are making the big decision. He is a strong believer in the idea that democracy means civilian control over military affairs.

The Soviet Union created the current command and control system at the peak of the Cold War in the early 1980s. The three nuclear briefcases were put on duty just as Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985. They are linked to a redundant network, called Kavkaz, made of cables, radio transmissions, and satellites. The three briefcases are essentially communications terminals to give those using them information about a possible attack, and allowing them to consult with each other. Initially, they were given to the Soviet general secretary, defense minister, and chief of the general staff because, in the Soviet system, the military has historically played a larger role in decisions about nuclear war.  If a nuclear launch were ordered, it would go from the Cheget to a receiving terminal called Baksan, located at the command posts of the General Staff, rocket forces, navy, and air force. The overall communications network is called Kazbek.

A postman has admitted guilty to 27 child sex offences [1317]

Postman admits child sex offences

The London Evening Standard., 28.05.10

A postman has admitted that he groomed hundreds of children for sex over a five-year period, using social networking sites to court his victims.

Michael Williams, 28, from Penryn, Cornwall, pleaded guilty to 27 child sex offences when he appeared at Truro Crown Court.

Michael Williams, 28, admitted a string of child sex offences

He admitted three counts of grooming, eight counts of sexual activity with a child aged between 13 and 15, nine counts of causing or inciting a child aged between 13 and 15 to engage in sexual activity, four counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one count of voyeurism.

Williams also admitted two counts of making and possessing indecent images. He has been remanded in custody for psychiatric reports and will be sentenced on a date to be fixed.

The former match secretary of Falmouth Town amateur football club also asked for some 460 similar offences to be taken into consideration.

Between 2005 and 2009 Williams pursued hundreds of schoolchildren, signing up to sites such as Facebook and Bebo, posting as a youngster.

He then carefully groomed his victims online, winning their confidence and often asking them to use an internet video camera, or webcam.

Detective Inspector Simon Snell said after the guilty plea: "He created a number of spurious profiles, portraying himself as a child and was making contact with children of the same age. He sent them questionnaires, asked about where they lived, asking for their mobile numbers, and if they had had sex. He is a manipulative and predatory paedophile."

Speaking outside court, Mr Snell added: "I hope he now understands the harm that he has caused to victims, their families and the many people who thought they could trust him. He is a predatory, manipulative and prolific offender. I hope he can reflect and if he wishes to talk to us about any other offences he should make contact with us."

Williams, who had also worked as a taxi driver, used all of his positions to bring himself in contact with the children, Mr Snell added.

Pakistan : Mosque siege, 2,000 hostages..[ 1316 ]

Gunmen take 2,000 worshippers hostage in Pakistan mosque siege

Martin Bentham
28.05.10

More than 2,000 people were being held hostage today after gunmen armed with grenades stormed two mosques in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

At least 20 people were reported to have died during the assault, which took place shortly after Friday prayers.

Dramatic television footage showed one of the gunmen firing an assault rifle and throwing grenades from one of the mosque's minarets. Earlier, witnesses reported seeing four attackers wearing suicide belts and throwing grenades
The militants also opened fire on the worshippers, members of the Ahmadi minority Islamic sect, before starting a gun battle with police.
Police confirmed that some of the gunmen were still holed up inside one mosque in the Model Town district of Lahore.
“Some gunmen have managed to enter the worship place. We have surrounded it. I have no idea of casualties,” said Illyas Saleem, a senior police officer in Model Town.
“I saw some gunmen run towards the Ahmadis' place of worship and then I heard blasts and gunfire,” Mohammad Nawaz, a resident, told the Reuters news agency.
At the other mosque, several miles away in the Garhi Shahu district, witnesses said the attack was continuing with the militants and police engaged in a gunfight.
Ahmadis are a minority Muslim sect which was founded in the late 19th century. They number about four million and have been banned in Pakistan from calling themselves Muslims or engaging in Muslim practices such as reciting Islamic prayers since 1984 when General Zia-ul-Haq made it an offence punishable by up to three years' jail.
The Ahmadis believe that Mohammed was not the final prophet, which contradicts a central tenet of Islamic belief.
The sect has been targeted before by radical Sunnis, although never on such a large scale or co-ordinated fashion.
Many Islamist militants believe it is permissible or honourable to kill non-Muslims, or even those Muslims who do not share their views.
An Ahmadi spokesman said the sect abhors violence and was deeply concerned. “We are a peaceful people and monitoring the situation and hoping and praying that the authorities are able to take all necessary action to bring the situation to normalcy with the least number of casualties,” Waseem Sayed said via email from the US, where he lives.
Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital and its second biggest city after Karachi, has suffered a series of militant attacks recently. In March, at least 45 people died after two suicide bombers attacked a crowded residential area.
Another 23 people were killed, and hundreds more injured, in May last year when a group of Taliban militants shot at police before detonating a large car bomb. Buildings belonging to Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, and the police were damaged. The fatalities included at least one child and 12 police officers.
Sri Lanka's cricket team was attacked in the city last year, and eight people were killed in a separate assault on a police compound.

Joint statement for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma..[ 1315 ]

Japan, U.S. issue joint statement on Futenma; SDP leader Fukushima expresses opposition

The U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma

(Mainichi Japan) May 28, 2010 

Japan and the United States on Friday issued a joint statement on the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, saying that the base would be moved to Okinawa Prefecture's Camp Schwab Henoko-saki area and adjacent waters.

The statement said that the replacement site's runway would be 1,800 meters long, and that Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima would be considered as a place to conduct bilateral and unilateral training outside of Okinawa "subject to the development of appropriate facilities." In the statement, Japan and the U.S. also "committed to examine the relocation of training outside of Japan, such as to Guam."

The government is set to convene an extraordinary Cabinet meeting over the relocation and decide on related measures after passing a Cabinet resolution, which requires the signatures of Cabinet members, or reaching a Cabinet agreement.

Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Mizuho Fukushima, a member of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet, had opposed including references to Henoko in the joint statement. If she refuses to sign a Cabinet agreement, it is believed that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will consider dismissing her. Hatoyama refrained from holding a news conference immediately after the statement was issued, as government negotiations over the issue remain turbulent.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Fukushima said, "I never imagined that we would return to Henoko, so it's very disappointing." However, she indicated she would not resign from the Cabinet of her own accord.

"I am not thinking of that at all," she said.

On Friday the SDP held a meeting of party members in both houses of the Diet and agreed that Fukushima would not sign a Cabinet agreement based on the joint statement. Earlier, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano met with SDP Secretary General Yasumasa Shigeno and told him that an extraordinary Cabinet meeting would be held later in the day to confirm the government's policy on the issue.

SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima, center, is pictured Friday following talks with party officials. (Mainichi)

On Friday morning, Hatoyama suggested that he would settle the relocation issue the same day, telling reporters, "We will present a conclusion today. This goes without saying."

Fukushima, meanwhile, criticized the fact that the SDP had not been informed of the details of the joint statement in advance.

"We're in a coalition government, so we should be informed of the details in advance. I would have liked to have been told," she told a news conference. Later, Fukushima told reporters that she had decided in a meeting of party officials not to sign any Cabinet agreement if the joint Japan-U.S. statement included references to relocating the Futenma base to the Henoko area.

Due to Fukushima's resistance, there is a strong view within the government that Hatoyama will have no option but to dismiss her from the Cabinet.

In a news conference on Friday, Minister of Defense Toshimi Kitazawa suggested that Fukushima should leave the Cabinet if she refuses to sign an agreement.

"Refusing to resign is an expression of distrust toward the prime minister. As she is a politician, it goes without saying that she should make her position clear before all this. If she stays in the Cabinet and retains her opposition, it will threaten the existence of the Cabinet," he said.

Meanwhile, Shizuka Kamei, leader of the People's New Party, which also belongs to the ruling coalition, told reporters at the Diet, "In the end it's an issue that can't be solved without cooperation and understanding from people in Okinawa. It's a developing situation."

Click here for the original Japanese story