Submariners World SitRep

Lebanon deploys troops to calm Syria-linked violence

­Security forces have been deployed in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, where at least 14 people have been killed and over 40 injured in clashes between supporters and opponents of the Syrian government since Friday night. Gunfire, including sniper shots, was heard in the area in the early hours of Sunday morning despite the presence of Lebanese army troops, but fighting reportedly stopped after the deployment of heavy weaponry. Prime Minister Najib Mikati held a crisis meeting in Tripoli and instructed the military to use an "iron fist" to quell the violence. The gunfire broke out late on Friday between the Bab al-Tabbaneh district, which supports the Syrian opposition, and the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood, populated by the regime's supporters.

Egypt’s top prosecutor to appeal Mubarak verdict

Egyptian officials say the prosecutor in the high-profile trial of former President Hosni Mubarak will appeal the verdict. Mubarak and his two sons were acquitted on corruption charges. The verdict also cleared senior police officers of complicity in killing protesters during last year's uprising. According to the country’s laws, the prosecutor must appeal the entire verdict, which also included convictions and life sentences for Mubarak and his former security chief for failing to stop the killing of protesters in the uprising that ousted him.

Wanted Japanese cult member arrested after 16 years on the run

Japanese media reports one of the leaders of doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo was arrested after 16 years on the run. 40-year old Naoko Kikuchi was one of two remaining cult leaders wanted for the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack. She was detained by police in Sagamihara city, southwest of Tokyo. In 1995, members of the cult staged five coordinated attacks, releasing sarin gas on several lines of the Tokyo subway. Thirteen people died and 50 were seriously injured; nearly 1,000 others suffered temporary vision problems. The attack was directed at the Japanese government, and was the most serious since the end of WWII.

US drone kills 10 suspected militants in Pakistan

­At least 10 suspected militants have been killed by the US drone in the frontier tribal areas of Pakistan, in the village of Mana Raghzai in South Waziristan near the border with Afghanistan. Four missiles targeted a group of militants who were offering condolences to the brother of a militant commander killed during another American drone attack on Saturday. The Pakistani officials said two of the dead were foreigners, and the rest were Pakistani. It was the sixth such strike in two weeks.

 ‘UNHR resolution on Houla imbalanced, biased and beyond mandate’ – Russia (Head buried in the sand Mr Putin?????)

­Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Sunday denouncing the UN Human Rights resolution on Houla adopted in Geneva on June 1. “Russia, and also China and Cuba, voted against this resolution because the text of this document is imbalanced, biased and contains a number of one-sided assessments,” says the statement. “It denounces solely the Syrian government for the tragedy. But does not show any condemnation for the actions of militants, bandits and terrorists responsible for the blasts in Damascus and Aleppo, the open chase for Syrian civilian state and municipal employees, public and religious servants, shooting of university teachers and doctors, or taking hostage of Muslim pilgrims.” The Ministry states the text of the UN Human Rights Council resolution goes beyond its mandate and actually runs counter to the UN Security Council press statement of May 27.