Tag Archives: security

Religious leaders face spying charges in Iran

Seven imprisoned leaders of the Baha’i faith in Iran have been accused of espionage and will face court hearings within a week, a judicial spokesman said Wednesday. Gaza’s Hamas leadership rejected the decision by Israel’s Security Cabinet to link the release of Gilad Shalit to the lifting of the blockade.

Share

Israel demands release of missing soldier

Israel on Wednesday demanded the release of an Israeli soldier seized by militants more than two years ago as a condition of lifting its economic blockade on Gaza, a government spokesman said. Gaza’s Hamas leadership rejected the decision by Israel’s Security Cabinet to link the release of Gilad Shalit to the lifting of the blockade.

Share

Hamas says it may consider Israeli soldier’s release

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said Monday that it is willing to consider the release of an Israeli soldier who was seized in a cross-border raid more than two years ago. But the Hamas leadership of Gaza will not release Gilad Shalit as part of a broader cease-fire agreement with Israel, according to a statement released Monday from Hamas political official Raafat Naseef

Share

Israel denies reports of Hamas negotiations

Israel’s prime minister denied media reports that it is negotiating with the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, but said there will be Israeli "consultations" Sunday "regarding the situation in the south." “Should a decision of any kind be required, it will be made only via a meeting of the Security Cabinet and after taking into account all of the new political circumstances that have been created in the wake of the recent Israeli elections,” Yanki Galanti, the media adviser for Ehud Olmert, said Saturday night in a statement. The consultations are to take place among Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Israel held elections Tuesday which resulted in a near-tie between Livni’s centrist Kadima party and the right-wing Likud party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

Share

Rights Groups Probe India’s Shoot-Out Cops

Scarcely a day passes in India by without news of an encounter between the police and criminals elements — “encounter” being the local jargon for shootouts involving the police, who are allowed to fire only in self-defense. On Wednesday, it was a “dreaded mafia don” who was gunned down by the Uttar Pradesh police — shot dead, and therefore unable to challenge the police account of the circumstances of the shooting. But some in India have begun to question the frequency of such “encounters”

Share

Winners and losers in the final stimulus bill

Here is a breakdown of who gained, who lost and who survived in the final economic stimulus bill that the House and Senate are expected to vote on Friday: Winners High-speed and inner-city rail: Went from $300 million in House bill to $2.25 billion in Senate to $8 billion in final version. There also is a $6.9 billion provision for public transit.

Share

Pakistan: Mumbai attackers trained here

The Pakistani government acknowledged Thursday that "some part of the conspiracy" behind the November attacks in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, took place in Pakistan. The comments by Rehman Malik — the head of the Interior Ministry — was Pakistan’s first formal acknowledgment that Islamic militants trained in his country were behind the plot and was welcomed as a “positive development” by India’s foreign minister.

Share

Israel centrists just keeping lead

Israel’s centrist Kadima is maintaining its one-seat lead over right-wing Likud but with about 100,000 ballots yet to be counted the result is not yet official, the Central Elections Committee said Thursday. About 99 percent of the vote has been counted and the parties have already begun negotiations to form a ruling coalition in the 120-seat Knesset. The elections committee said ballots from such people as soldiers and diplomats remain to be counted, and final certification of the vote totals won’t come until next week.

Share