Submariners World News SitRep

Mali Islamists continue destroying historic shrines in Timbuktu

Islamists who maintain control over northern Mali are currently destroying more Muslim saints’ tombs in the ancient city of Timbuktu, witnesses told AFP on Thursday. Armed-Islamists in three separate vehicles arrived in Karaba, a neighborhood in the city’s south, to destroy the world heritage sites derided by the extremists as blasphemous. Militants have regularly targeted centuries-old shrines to Islamic saints which are revered by Sufi Muslims since July.

UN says 150,000 Syrian refugees flee to Egypt

The number of Syrian refugees who have fled the conflict and found shelter in Egypt has topped 150,000, the UN refugee agency said Thursday. However, only 4,800 Syrians have registered with the UNHCR in Cairo. A UN official suggested Syria's neighbors who have taken in refugees - Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan - are reaching “saturation point,” prompting an influx into Egypt, AP said. Egypt does not share a border with Syria, but Syrians can enter the country without a visa.

Colombian government, FARC rebels launch peace talks in Norway

Colombian government and rebel negotiators of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have held a first set of formal peace talks at a secret venue outside Oslo. The negotiations, expected to last months, are aimed at ending the nearly half-century-old conflict. The Oslo sessions that began on Wednesday were preceded by six months of secret talks in Havana held until August. The talks are to focus on agrarian reform and full political rights for rebels once they disarm.

Syria kids 'scarred for life' - UN rights chief

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has said many Syrian children “will be scarred for life” in the country’s current conflict. The top human rights official on Thursday urged nations to save Syria’s embattled and dying children. Pillay also condemned the Taliban’s shooting of Malala Yousufzai, a schoolgirl activist in Pakistan.

Karzai says foreigners will be removed from Afghan election watchdog

Foreign members should be removed from Afghanistan’s election watchdog, President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday. “The presence of foreigners in the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) is against the sovereignty of Afghanistan,” Karzai said at a news conference alongside NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Kabul. Two members of the five-member Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) are non-Afghan. The panel deemed more than half a million votes cast for Karzai as fraudulent in the 2009 presidential poll.

Amano to Iran: No ‘saboteurs or terrorists’ in IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano has rejected as “baseless” Iranian accusations that the UN watchdog has been infiltrated by “saboteurs and terrorists.” The allegation was announced by Iran's nuclear head Fereydoon Abbasi Davani on September 17. “Sometimes it is not useful to dignify these claims with official answers,” the watchdog chief said, as cited by AFP. Tehran said the IAEA November report on activities in the nuclear area was based on “forgeries” provided by Iran’s enemies.

Israel president says world leaders must encourage Iranians to revolt

Israeli President Shimon Peres called on world leaders to encourage the Iranian people to overthrow the current regime in Tehran. “We would all be happy if the Iranian regime were to fall from the high and dangerous tree that it has climbed up,” Peres told Army Radio. “We must also encourage the Iranian nation to return to itself,” he said. The statement followed recent claims of Iranian leaders and commanders that Israel itself is “vulnerable” to foreign attacks.

Four detained in Bahrain for alleged anti-king tweets

Bahrain has detained four people for alleged defaming the king on Twitter posts. The four will be held for seven days pending trial, according to the official Bahrain News Agency. The authorities did not give further details on the suspects or the contents of their tweets. Bahrain's majority Shiites are demanding a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

Syria rebels blow up 2 oil and gas pipelines

Syrian rebels have reportedly blown up two oil and gas pipelines in the northeast near the Iraqi border. The attack hit one oil and one gas pipeline Thursday near the city of Deir al-Zour, state news agency SANA said. Activists posted a video online purporting to show the blast site on the pipelines that run between Deir al-Zour and the city of Palmyra in central Syria. The Oil Ministry said the fires were extinguished and repairs would be started soon on the lines that were shut off.

Turkey not questioning legitimacy of cargo aboard Syrian jet – Moscow

The Turkish authorities are not questioning the legitimacy of the delivery of cargo that was found on board a Syrian passenger jet forced to land at Ankara's airport on October 11, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said on Thursday. Ankara has complained about the procedure of notification about this transportation, he said, as cited by Interfax. Initial claims about the presence of ammunition on board the plane “have already been effectively disavowed by the Turkish partners,” Lukashevich stressed.

Five killed as S. Korean boat on rescue mission capsizes

Five sailors were killed as a South Korean Coast Guard boat capsized after rescuing people from a damaged Malaysian cargo ship on Thursday. Fifteen Chinese and Filipino sailors were rescued from a damaged Malaysian cargo ship that eventually sank off the southern island of Jeju. The rescued sailors and the South Korean boat’s crew were transferring to a larger Coast Guard ship when the capsizing occurred, AP said. All the sailors were plucked from the water, but five were unconscious and later died in a hospital. One Coast Guard officer was injured. Another vessel rescued four of 19 sailors who were on the Malaysian cargo ship.

Russia should reconsider participation in Kyoto Protocol - Medvedev

Russia’s further involvement in Kyoto Protocol should be reconsidered because the country did not gain much from participation, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday. “We did not gain particular commercial benefits from the Kyoto Protocol and failed to use it to our advantage,” he told the government. The premier ordered to give a final evaluation to the initiative and discuss it in the near future. The Kyoto Protocol, signed in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, binds developed countries and emerging markets to reduce or stabilize greenhouse gas emissions.

S. Africa’s Gold Fields issues ultimatum to 11,000 striking miners

Gold Fields, the world’s fourth-largest bullion producer, warned on Thursday that 11,000 strikers at its KDC West operations in Carletonville, near Johannesburg, had until 12:00 GMT to return to work or face immediate dismissal. A similar ultimatum may be issued to miners striking at KDC East, the company said, as cited by Reuters. All of the 9,000 workers at the Beatrix mine have reportedly returned to work after a dismissal ultimatum. Around 15,000 workers have been sacked in the country during the last two weeks after mass strikes in the sector.

New round of Iran, 6-powers talks in November ‘realistic’ – Moscow

A new round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear problem between Iran and six powers could be held in November, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Thursday. The next full-format round is expected to be hosted by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili. It is “realistic to talk about arranging it in November,” Ryabkov told Interfax. The venue has not been chosen yet, and the official stressed “this will not be in Moscow in any case.”

Twitter blocks account of neo-Nazi group for first time

Twitter has blocked an account for the first time, after German police asked to restrict access by a neo-Nazi group, the micro-blogging site said on Thursday. “We announced the ability to withhold content back in January,” Twitter's chief lawyer Alex Macgillivray said in a message on the website. Twitter is using the measure “for the first time” as the group is deemed illegal in Germany. A link led to a message from the police in the northern German state of Lower Saxony asking Twitter to block the account of Besseres Hannover. The far-right outfit was outlawed last month.

Merkel backs calls for budget control over EU member states

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken in favor of a proposal for the EU to be given the power to veto member states’ budgets. Germany’s Finance Ministry said this week the EU's monetary affairs commissioner should have the power to veto budgets if they violate deficit rules. Many nations oppose Brussels’ power to intervene in budgets, Merkel told the parliament on Thursday. She stressed, however, that Germany will “continue to push for it.”

Syria warns Turkey against possible violation of sovereignty

“Syria will retaliate to any violation of its sovereignty,” the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad said on Thursday, referring to possible Turkish actions. But he told Syrian daily Al-Watan that Damascus “hopes peace will prevail along Syrian-Turkish border.” The official noted that Damascus agreed to a Russian initiative to form a joint security committee. It could monitor the border on both sides in the aim of “preserving security and peace on the border,” he said.

Brahimi to visit Damascus on Saturday - Syria

International peace envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi will arrive in Damascus on Saturday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry says. “Brahimi will meet with Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Saturday morning,” ministry spokesman Jihad Maqdisi told AFP. The envoy on Wednesday called Damascus to observe a truce for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Israeli Air Force strikes Hamas site in Gaza after rocket attacks

The Israeli Air Force targeted a Hamas security site south of Gaza City early Thursday morning, hours after rockets from the enclave hit southern Israel. The IDF said its “aircraft targeted a terror activity site in the northern Gaza Strip.” Palestinian sources reported no injuries, AFP said. On Wednesday, militants in the Gaza Strip reportedly fired two rockets into southern Israel, causing no casualties or damage. Rocket fire on Tuesday night caused property damage to a home in southern Israel.

Seven Al-Qaeda suspects killed in Yemen drone strike

A drone strike near the south Yemen city of Jaar killed at least seven Al-Qaeda suspects on Thursday, a local official said. “A drone, likely American, fired several rockets at a group of Al-Qaeda members northwest of Jaar killing all of them,” he told AFP. The US is the only country that operates drones in the region against suspected Al-Qaeda militants.

Iranian man pleads guilty in Saudi envoy assassination plot

An Iranian-born US man has pleaded guilty to plotting to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States. Manssor Arbabsiar, a used car salesman from Texas, said the plan had been to kill the ambassador at a restaurant in Washington last year and that his co-conspirators had included Iranian military officials. The 57-year-old entered the plea of two conspiracy charges and a murder-for-hire count in the US District Court in Manhattan on Wednesday. The alleged plot initially involved attempts to hire Mexican drug traffickers to commit the murder. But what Arbabsiar thought was a drug cartel representative turned out to be a US confidential informant. Tehran strongly denies any involvement in the case.