The Green Badge Solution

Interesting Article: " Pakistan addicted to using terrorist groups against India: US " by Chidanand Rajghatta / Washington published Friday, March 29th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Pakistan is addicted to using terrorist groups against India and the policy is not going to change any time soon, a key Pentagon official told the US Congress in a blunt and bleak assessment of the situation in the region. At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Sub-Committee on emerging threats and capabilities, the Obama administration's assistant secretary of defense for special ops/low-intensity conflict Michael Sheehan barely minced words on Tuesday in calling out Pakistan's now widely-known policy of using terrorism as a policy tool. But what was astonishing was his candid admission about US helplessness in changing the Pakistani mindset. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Tribe in south Libya threatens to declare separate state, 2nd secession move this month " by Associated Press / Tripoli published Tuesday, March 28th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Libyan tribe threatened Wednesday to declare a separate state in Libya’s south after days of bloody battles with a rival tribe, the second such move toward secession this month. The breakaway threats are the latest evidence of turmoil after the fall of longtime ruler Moammar Gaddafi’s autocratic regime last year. One sign is the resurfacing of old grievances and tribal conflicts Gaddafi suppressed. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Saudi diplomat kidnapped in south Yemen " by The Saudi Gazette / Sanaa published Thursday, March 29th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Saudi Arabia’s deputy consul was kidnapped on his way to work Wednesday in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, a Yemeni security official said. The gunmen snatched Abdullah Al-Khalidi as he was about to get into his car and they sped off with him in another vehicle, police in the city’s Mansoura District said. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Feds: Wilkinsburg man aspires to martyrdom with Taliban " by Brian Bowling / Pittsburgh Published Saturday, March 17th, 2012 An interesting article a Wilkinsburg man arrested on a federal weapons charge this week is a Taliban sympathizer who aspired to martyrdom, a federal agent told a U.S. magistrate on Friday. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh charged Khalifa Ali Al-Akili, 34, with being a convicted felon with a firearm. An affidavit filed in the case says the charge is based on a 7-second video showing Al-Akili at a gun range holding a .22 caliber rifle with a box of ammunition next to him. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Al-Qaeda seizes control of another town in Yemen " by Yemen Post Staff / Sanaa published Sunday, March 25th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Al-Qaeda announced on Saturday that it has taken control of the coastal town of Radum, in the Yemeni southeastern province of Shabwa. The militants moved from Azan and other areas of Shabwa to Radum, according to the official, who indicated that the militants took control of town gradually. Yemen based al-Qaeda wing, which is according to the US administration the most dangerous offshoot of the terror network, has stepped its attacks on military institutions and personnel, taking an advantage of a distracted government. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Qaddafi and Al Qaeda: What’s Behind the Coup in Mali? " by Alexis Okeowo / Mali published Friday, March 23rd, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that residents of Bamako, the capital of Mali, say that they didn’t see the coup coming. After a long night of gunfire in a battle between young, low-ranking government soldiers (most under the rank of captain) who had staged a mutiny and Presidential palace guards, the country underwent a radical regime change without anyone being completely aware of what had happened. The soldiers, who call themselves the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State, said they’d let Malians know when it was safe for them to turn over rule to a democratic leader. The whereabouts of President Toure are still unknown, and the allegiances of more senior military officers are unclear. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " French Al Qaeda fanatic was on terror watch list, caught planting Taliban bombs and a suspect in first murder two weeks ago " by Peter Allen & Lee Moran / Paris published Thursday, March 23, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that serious questions are being asked as to why French security services allowed Al Qaeda fanatic Mohammed Merah to roam free for so long. The self-confessed terrorist, who killed seven in a series of calculated killings across south west France, was yesterday shot dead in the head after a dramatic 32-hour siege. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Blast shatters windows of Indonesian Embassy in Paris " by CNN / Paris published Wednesday, March 21, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that an explosion in western Paris early Wednesday shattered several windows of the Indonesian Embassy, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Police are investigating the explosion, which took place around 5:15 a.m. Paris time in the upscale 16th district of the French capital. The precise target of the blast is unknown at the moment, the statement said. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " EU concerned over Maldives " by The Sunday Leader / Male published Tuesday, March 20, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that the European Union (EU) says it remains concerned over continued political unrest in the Maldives. EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said in a statement released by the EU office in Colombo (Sri Lanka) that it is important that a process that will lead to political reconciliation and democratic elections is agreed urgently. The EU is ready to support such efforts. What is the latest news in Maldives?

Interesting Article: " Yemeni Militants Demand 1.2 mln USD to Free Hostage " by Xinhua / Yemen published Monday, March 19th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Suspected al-Qaida gunmen, who abducted a Swiss woman in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida and moved her to Yemen's restive Shabwa province earlier this week, demanded a ransom of 250 million Yemeni rials (about 1.2 million U. S. dollars) for the release of the kidnapped language teacher, a tribal chief told Xinhua on Monday. A tribal committee which was brokering negotiations between government authorities and the al-Qaida group received a ransom call on Monday from the kidnappers, the local tribal chief who was involved in the negotiation said on condition of anonymity. So what’s going on in Yemen?

Interesting Article: " Iran: The leading state sponsor of int'l terrorism " by Irwin Cotler / Jerusalem published Sunday, March 18th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that there is increasing – and compelling – evidence of Iranian footprints in a series of recent aborted terrorist attacks in India, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Thailand. The Indian police have just reported that the Iranian connection to the bombing of the Israeli Embassy car has been “conclusively established” and that the bombing was connected to a botched attack targeting Israeli consular staff in Bangkok. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Suspected terrorists killed in shootout with police in Bali " by Kathy Quiano / Jakarta published Monday, March 19th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Five suspcted terrorists were killed Sunday in a shootout with police on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, a spokesman for Indonesia's National Police said Monday. The suspects were planning to rob several jewelry stores to help fund their alleged terror plots, and planned on making at least two thefts Sunday night, said Senior Commander Boy Rafli Amar of the National Police. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Armed ships guards foil attempted Somali pirate hijack " by The Foreigner / Bay of Aden published Monday, March 19th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that According to Norwegian company Seatrans AS, which is managing the ship, armed security guards on board the ship managed to avert Friday’s attack in a retaliatory action. The Singapore-registered 20 000 ton chemical tanker ‘Trans Catalonia’ is currently on a voyage from Indonesia to Russia loaded with palm oil. In addition to the guards, the 20 crew are from Sweden, Poland and Romania. So what is the latest on Somalian piracy?

Interesting Article: " Al Qaeda claims it killed American in Yemen " by Hakim Almasmari / Sanaa published Monday, March 19th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that gunmen fatally shot an American teacher in the Yemeni province of Taiz on Sunday, two defense ministry officials said. The U.S. Embassy in the capital Sanaa said it had heard reports of an American death and was investigating. It did not confirm an American had been killed. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Monday begins with more explosions, gunfire across Syria " by CNN / Syria published Sunday, March 18th, 2012 Fresh explosions and riveting gunfire punctuated the pre-dawn hours Monday in cities around Syria, opposition activists said, with the ongoing violence coming on the heels of yet another bloody weekend in the embattled nation of Syria. The same group also reported other pockets of violence early Monday around the capital, including "intense shooting" in Dummar and Keswa "from the security checkpoints all over the city." Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Al-Qaeda creates terrorists’ base in Nigeria " by Tribune / Nigeria published Monday, March 12th, 2012. An interesting article mentioned that the terrorism challenges facing Nigeria may have been complicated by credible reports indicating that Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb has established an operational base in the North-Western part of the country to source for funding through high-profile hostage business. This is coming at a time the United States Department is said to be considering adding the Boko Haram sect to the official list of terrorist organizations in the world. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Iran and the era of cyber infection " by Dominic Basulto / Washington Post published Monday, March 12th, 2012. An interesting article mentioned that like it or not, we’ve entered a new era in which the global geopolitical balance may be determined by hackers and cyber-activists in hooded sweatshirts rather than career diplomats in fashionable pantsuits. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Al-Qaida-linked militants celebrate killing more than 100 Yemeni soldiers " by MSNBC / Sanaa published Tuesday, March 7th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Yemen's new president vowed Monday to pursue militants linked to al-Qaida to their last hiding place after they killed more than 100 soldiers in their deadliest attack on the Yemeni army. The militants said they had also captured dozens of soldiers in a raid after suicide bomb attacks on two military posts outside the southern city of Zinjibar Sunday, the most lethal attack since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office last month. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " A Benghazi Breakaway HighlightsLibya's Uncertain Future " by Abigail Haulohner / Benghazi published Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Libya's increasingly precarious post-Gaddafi stability was further clouded Tuesday, when a conference of tribal leaders and militia commanders unilaterally declared a semiautonomous state in the country's oil-rich east. The plan hatched in Benghazi calls for a revival of the pre-Gaddafi three-state system, with Libya governed on the basis of the old Roman provinces of Tripolitania in the west, Fezzan in the southwest and Cyrenaica in the east. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Libyan mob’s desecration of British and Canadian war cemetery ‘absolutely appalling’ " by Stephanie Findlay An interesting article mentioned that At Benghazi war cemetery, in Libya's east, where 48 Australian World War II Diggers are buried, armed extremists desecrated 198 graves and took to the Cross of Remembrance with a sledgehammer. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Syrian forces overrun opposition in rebel stronghold of Homs " by Liz Sly / Beirut published Thursday, March 1st, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Syrian government forces overran an opposition stronghold in the central city of Homs on Thursday, raising concerns about the safety of the civilians still trapped there and exposing the limitations of the fledgling armed resistance movement that has sprung up to confront the Syrian regime in recent months. With all communications to Bab Amr severed, including satellite connections, it was difficult to ascertain exactly what was happening. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Muslim Brotherhood’s political party consolidates power in Egypt parliament " by Leila Fadel / Cairo published Tuesday, February 28th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Egypt’s newly elected upper legislative chamber chose a member of the country’s most powerful Islamist group to lead it Tuesday, extending the control of parliament by the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing. The vote for the Freedom and Justice Party’s Ahmed Fahmy, a pharmacology professor, as speaker of the upper house followed the election of the party’s Mohammed Saad el-Katatny last month to lead the much more powerful lower house. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " Al-Shabaab: the growing menace of the al-Qaeda affiliate " by Aislinn Laing / Johannesburg published Thursday, March 1st, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that in the eyes of Western intelligence, the growing threat of Somalia's al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab movement and its British ties makes it the new Afghanistan. For militant young Britons looking for a cause, Somalia is currently the hottest ticket. An estimated 200 Britons and Americans have travelled to the Horn of Africa in the past six years, intelligence agencies say, to help al-Shabaab wage terror attacks against government troops in Somalia and plan assaults further afield. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " July 7 bomber's widow 'on the run' over links with terrorist cell " by The Telegraph / London published Wednesday, February 29th, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of one of the July 7 bombers, Jermaine Lindsay, is thought to be on the run accused of links with a terrorist cell planning bomb attacks in Kenya. Police in Kenya have issued an arrest warrant for a woman using the name Natalie Faye Webb, and carrying a forged South African passport. But investigators say the woman has three separate identities and one is that of Samantha Lewthwaite, who was married to Jermaine Lindsay, one of the 7/7 bombers. Would you like to know more?

Interesting Article: " LeT militants arrested in foiled New Delhi attack: Chidambaram " by Associated Foreign Press / New Delhi published Wednesday, February 29, 2012 An interesting article mentioned that India's Home Minister P. Chidambaram announced that two men were arrested at New Delhi’s main station after a tip-off from intelligence agencies and work by three state police agencies. India’s home minister said Wednesday that police had foiled an attack by suspected militants allegedly from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group who were caught with explosives at a rail station. Would you like to know more?