Mali ( French troops take back key Mali town from militants )

French troops take back key Mali town from militants

French soldiers have achieved their first victories in Mali, recapturing a key town from al-Qaeda and foiling an Islamist advance towards the Niger river.

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Malian soldiers on their way Niono, 340km north of Bamako Photo: AFP

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Some 1,800 French troops are now in Mali, with the total force expected to reach 2,500 Photo: EPA

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France deployed troops to guard the bridge at Markala, while sending special forces across the river to help the Malian army to counter-attack Photo: EPA

 

By David Blair, Sarakala

6:56PM GMT 18 Jan 2013

Convoys of French armoured personnel carriers moved north of the Niger, heading past the village of Sarakala and driving into the Sahelian plains.

The national army, supported by the French, seized back the town of Konna in central Mali from "al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb" (AQIM) and its allies.

The fall of Konna last week was the key event that triggered the French intervention. Its capture left only a single weak garrison standing between AQIM and the capital, Bamako.

But the army announced that Konna was back in their hands. A military statement said: "We have wrested total control of Konna after inflicting heavy losses on the enemy." France later confirmed the Malian army's claim. The recapture of Konna lifts the immediate threat to Bamako and the rest of southern Mali.

But AQIM's fighters have also opened a new front in a different region of southern Mali, seizing the town of Diabaley on Monday and striking towards the north bank of the Niger.

Israel News ( Obama to visit Israel and the West Bank )

Barack Obama to vist Israel and the West Bank

President Barack Obama plans to visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan as part of an upcoming trip to the Middle East.

The trip marks President Barack Obama's first visit to Israel, a staunch US ally, since he became president Photo: Reuters

7:37PM GMT 05 Feb 2013

  

Earlier, Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, confirmed Mr Obama would travel to Israel in the spring, his first trip to the Jewish state since taking office, but dates for the trip were not released.

Mr Obama will meet Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Palestinian and Jordanian leaders during the tour, Mr Carney said.

The trip marks Mr Obama's first visit to Israel, a staunch US ally, since he became president.

The White House has not released the date of Obama's trip or details about Obama's itinerary, but Israel's Channel 10 reported that a visit had been scheduled for March 20.

"The start of the president's second term and the formation of a new Israeli government offer the opportunity to reaffirm the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Israel and to discuss the way forward on a broad range of issues of mutual concern, including Iran and Syria," said National Security Council Spokesman Tommy Vietor. 

Although Mr Obama visited Israel while running for president in 2008, he has not been back since, drawing intense criticism from some pro-Israel groups who have claimed he is insufficiently supportive of the United States' closest ally in the Middle East. Other top administration officials, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have visited.
The trip could help repair Obama's tarnished image in Israel, where many view him as cold to the Jewish state. Israelis vividly remember Obama's decision not to visit when he stopped in neighboring Egypt early in his first term to deliver a speech.

Minnesota ( AMBER alert - First time Cell phone alert suspect Busted ) Alert over cell phone

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Wednesday’s quick and safe recovery of an abducted 8-month-old Minneapolis child was not only the first time an Amber Alert was sent to Minnesota cell phones, but it was the first time in the United States that a cell phone alert successfully helped recover a missing child.


The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued a message via the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) on Wednesday, and a teenager, who received it on her phone, spotted the vehicle used in the abduction, and told her father who notified police.
Police located the victim and then apprehended the suspect.
Nationwide Wireless Emergency Alerts have been used to distribute Amber Alerts since Dec. 31, 2012. And currently, only newer model phones are equipped to receive WEAs. It’s expected that all cell phones manufactured in the future will have WEA capability.
The Minnesota Amber Alert program was established in 2002, and since then, there have been 28 activations and 28 safe recoveries.

Japan ( 3 year old girl starves to death after mom leaves her alone )

3-year-old girl starves to death after mother leaves country

CrimeFeb. 22, 2013 - 06:49AM JST( 9 )

GUNMA —

A 3-year-old girl apparently died of starvation in Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture, after being left in the care of her 14-year-old sister while their mother was out of the country, police said Thursday.
According to police, the children were left alone with food and spending money by their mother, while she went home for a visit to the Philippines on Feb 9. TBS reported that police received an emergency call from the woman’s 14-year-old daughter at about 7 p.m. on Feb 18, saying that her younger sister had collapsed. Emergency workers rushed to the scene where the child was confirmed dead.
Police say there were no obvious signs of injury, but that they suspect the girl may have starved to death. Investigators say they are planning to question the girl’s mother when she returns to Japan and said she may faces a charge of abandonment leading to death. The single mother, who is 37, lived with her two daughters.

TUCSON Az ( Man tries to KIDNAP woman by U of A campus ) See picture

Suspect grabs woman walking near UA campus

Posted: Feb 21, 2013 11:07 AM by Tania Shofron
Updated: Feb 21, 2013 11:09 AM

Rating:

TUCSON - Tucson Police are trying to identify a man they believe tried to kidnap a woman walking near the University of Arizona campus last weekend.
The alleged incident happened Sunday, February 17 at about 9:15 in the morning. The female victim was walking in the area of North 3rd Avenue and East University Boulevard when an unknown male suspect approached her in a vehicle and asked for directions. The victim said he then offered her money to personally guide him.
The victim refused to go with the suspect and he drove away, but returned shortly after on foot. That is when the victim says the man said something, then picked her up and carried her to a nearby alley. When she began to scream, he dropped her and ran away. She was not injured.
The suspect is described as a Caucasian male, 30-40 years of age, approximately 5'08" tall, with a medium
build, graying black hair, blue eyes, and an unkempt beard. He was last seen wearing a black leather jacket with brown stripes on the sleeves and faded blue jeans.
The vehicle he was initially seen driving was a white
1990's model SUV.
If you recognize this man or have any information, please call 911 or 88-Crime

Libya ( 4 missionaries arrested for printing Christian books )

Foreign 'missionaries' arrested in Libya

Four foreigners suspected of carrying out Christian missionary activities have been arrested in the Libyan city of Benghazi.

The main Catholic Church's clergyman in Libya have said that Christians are being driven out of eastern Libya by Muslim fundamentalists Photo: ALAMY

9:17PM GMT 17 Feb 2013

Hussein bin Hameida, a security official, told the AFP news agency that an Egyptian, a South African, a South Korean and a Swedish-American were arrested at a printing house, "where they were printing books calling for conversion to Christianity."

"Libya is a Muslim country and preaching another religion is a crime under Libyan law," he said.

Mr bin Hameida said an investigation was still under way and the suspects "will be handed over to the intelligence services soon."

Since the 2011 fall of Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime, the small Christian community fears for its safety, especially after a church bombing in December killed two people in the Mediterranean town of Dafniya.

The main Catholic Church's clergyman in Libya have said that Christians are being driven out of eastern Libya by Muslim fundamentalists.

The Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, has said the situation was "critical" and the "atmosphere very tense."
Two religious communities in the east of the country – the Congregation of the Holy Family of Spoleto and the Franciscan Sisters of Child Jesus – were forced to leave "after being pressured by fundamentalists."
Source: AFP

New Delhi India ( 12 killed -52 injured - 3 bombs go off at movie theater )

At least 12 killed and dozens injured as three bombs tear through Indian city

At least 12 people were killed and 52 injured when three bombs shook the southern Indian city of Hyderabad late on Thursday, police said.

A relative at the Omini hospital Kothapet after bomb blasts in Hyderabad Photo: AFP

3:13PM GMT 21 Feb 2013

"I can confirm that 12 people have lost their lives and at least 52 people have been injured," Amit Garg, a senior police officer at the scene of one of the explosions, told AFP.

The blasts occurred about 10 minutes apart outside a movie theater and a bus station, police officer Syed Anwarul Huda said.

Television images showed the injured being taken to hospitals.

The last major bomb attack in India was a September 2011 blast outside the high court in New Delhi that killed 13 people.