Bharat Rakshak

Surya wrote:http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?271977

Ashok mehtas brussels diary

sometimes I wonder which world he is in when he calls Brussels the world's swankiest airport

How do I trust his other writings now

Despite a demand by the European Union (EU), India is unlikely to allow a clause in a proposed trade pact with the bloc that permits an overseas investor to sue a host country at an international dispute settlement agency.

EU wanted the inclusion of such a clause, known as an investor to state dispute settlement mechanism, in a draft investment chapter under the proposed trade and investment agreement, negotiations for which started in 2007. Mint has reviewed a copy of the draft.

India has rejected the EU’s demand on the contentious issue, as a result of which negotiations on the investment chapter of the pact have not moved forward, according to two persons outside the Indian government with knowledge of the development. They requested anonymity.

Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar declined to comment on the matter. “As a matter of principle, India does not negotiate through the media,” he said.

The controversial clause, if agreed upon, would allow European businesses investing in India to take international legal action against the government for damages over policies such as banning of dangerous chemicals, domestic health policies such as tobacco control legislation and measures to reduce prices of essential medicines.

A_Gupta wrote:Twitter tells us : "Norwegian prosecutors on Tuesday filed a terrorism charge against Mullah Krekar, founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam,"

1739:

AFP report police say Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg had been due to attend a rally of his Labour Party's youth section on the island of Utoya where a gunman reportedly opened fire earlier.

A person dressed as a police officer to have fired several shots at the Labour Youth League summer camp at Utøya. Vitner melder om at flere personer er skutt. Witnesses report that several people are shot.

County Secretary Telemark AUF, Adrian Pracon, told Varden that at least four people have been taken.

Ifølge ham er det trolig snakk om flere drepte. According to him it is probably a matter of several killed.


Situasjonen på Utøya er kaotisk. The situation on Utøya is chaotic.

Ifølge vitner skal en person utkledd som politi løsnet flere skudd. According to witnesses, a person dressed as police fired several shots.

– Jeg fikk akkurat en sms om at en jente er skutt i arma, men hun er ikke livstruende skadd, sier Hege Haukeland Liadal til NRK. - I just got a text message that a girl is shot in the fixture, but she is not life-threatening injuries, said Hege Haukeland Liadal to NRK. no. com.

Hun er varaordfører for Ap i Haugesund, og er i løpende kontakt med ungdommer på øya. She is deputy chairman of the Labour Party in Haugesund, and is in continuous contact with young people on the island.

FOLLOWING THIS AFTERNOON’S blast in central Oslo, the country’s Prime Minister has confirmed that a situation was developing on the island of Utøya, some 80 kilometres from the capital.

There have been unconfirmed reports that the Norwegian Labour youth camp has come under attack at Utøya, an island in Tyrifjorden in Hole municipality, TV2 reports.

Around 1,00 young Labour supporters gathered at Utøya last Wednesday for a five-day summer camp. Prime Minister Stoltenberg, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland were due to make appearances over the course of the week, newsinenglish.no reports.

Norwegian journalist Ketil B Stensrud tweeted this afternoon that there had been unconfirmed ”reports of shots fired and people ‘swimming’ away in despair” at the location.

The Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that a situation was developing at Utøya, but did not give any details: ”There is a critical situation at Utøya, and several ongoing operations as we speak,” Stoltenberg said.

There have been unconfirmed reports that a man identifying himself as a police officer began shooting indiscriminately at people, VG Nett reports.

Last week, a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he is deported from the Scandinavian country. The indictment centred on statements that Mullah Krekar — the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam — made to various news media, including American network NBC

RT @hilango: Prime Minister Stoltenberg: Has heard reports of shootings at Utøya, but situation is chaotic

RT @karinabraham: according to norwegian state channel nrk person arresten is tall, blond and of nordic apperance

A_Gupta wrote:Raw footage of second Oslo explosion (via @colinfreeze)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbCCR3YK ... e=youtu.be

While Norway has seen little political violence in recent years, the country is a member of NATO alliance and has a small fighting contingent in Afghanistan. It was one of several countries cited by Ayman al-Zawahri, the Al Qaeda leader, as potential targets for attack. In 2006, Norwegian newspapers reprinted Danish cartoons that angered Muslims by lampooning the Prophet Muhammad. Norway has also historically been a frequent participant in peacekeeping missions and a host for diplomatic talks, including the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee of the Norwegian parliament.

A Norwegian security analyst, who asked not to be named, said the country has historically been seen as at low risk from terrorism, but cautioned that the nature of the explosion was still not known.

Nevertheless, Muslim leaders in Norway swiftly responded as speculation swirled around a possible attack. “This is our homeland, this is my homeland; I condemn these attacks and the Islamic Council of Norway condemns these attacks, whoever is behind them,” said Mehtab Afsar, Secretary General of Islamic Council of Norway.

A threat assessment released in March by the Norwegian police said that though support for extremist Islamic terrorism was not widespread, “activity in certain communities” meant that the threat level would be heightened in 2011. “Some extreme Islamists currently appear to be more globally oriented,” the report said, “and it is primarily this group who could present a direct threat to Norway in the year ahead.”

Brain Paddick Former Deputy comminsioner of Oslo police pointed his finger of suspicion on the “reasonable amount of radicalised pakistani population in and around Oslo” behind the Nor-e-way Jihad. He was commenting on BBC, a short while ago.

Apparently armed groups of paki robbers have already been major takleef for Oslo police to deal with.

Also, many people are reported to be killed at the shootout incidence in Norway, as per Reuters.

A group called "Helpers of the Global Jihad" have claimed responsibilty for the attacks, but their claim is unsubstantiated. Was reportedly posted to al-Shmukh, a leading jihadi forum. If you can read Arabic, please get in touch: [email protected].

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This was also posted to a web forum today:


Praise be to God Nasser slaves combined and humiliating the people of shirk and kufr companions, prayer and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, his family and companions and after
The Almighty said: (then fight for God but do not cost yourself and rouse the believers may be that Allah keeps those who disbelieve and Allah is more powerful and in punishment) [women: 84]
Here have reached the countries of Europe is another message from the militants and further proof of the countries of Europe that the Mujahideen will not stand idly towards their war against Islam and Muslims.
Today has been targeting Norway to be a lesson and a lesson to the rest of Europe has already threatened us since the invasion of Stockholm more operations has asked European countries to withdraw their armies from the land of Afghanistan and stop its war against Islam and Muslims, and we repeat our warning again to the countries of Europe and tell them carried out the demands of the mujahideen, what you see is only the beginning and the next more.
The reasons for the targeting of Norway there are many of the most important of their participation in the occupation of Afghanistan and the abuse of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Praise God that enabled slaves to the combined .. and pray to God to save our brothers and our fighters everywhere.
Glory and praise God I bear witness that no god but You Astgrk and I repent to you.

Abu Suleiman Al-Nasser
Ansar al-Jihad of the world

translate.google.com
by Brad Frenette, Vancouver Sun 7/22/2011 6:03:34 PM 2:03 PM

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LATEST: This eye-witness was assisting police by evacuating youths in his boat. Apparently, he could count 20-30 people shot dead. Awful.
by ketilbstensrud via twitter 7/22/2011 6:18:47 PM 2:18 PM

NORWAY: SOCIALIST LEFT PARTY TO VOTE ON MOTION CALLING FOR BOMBING ISRAEL IF IT ACTS AGAINST HAMAS IN GAZA

Tundra Tabloids 29 March 2011

Allegedly traveling freely in violation of Norwegian asylum law, he helped create Ansar al-Islam, an Islamist group that enforced Taliban-style governance in Kurdish areas of Iraq prior to the U.S. invasion. After the invasion, Ansar al-Islam became part of the Salafist insurgent alliance known as Ansar al-Sunna.

Although Krekar played in important inspirational role in the insurgency, the Norwegians couldn't successfully mount a terrorism case against him. Extradition requests reportedly came from Jordan, Iraq, and the United States, but efforts to deport him ran aground on red tape and Norway's robust legal protections and benefits for refugees.

"He is a walking provocation and is making a mockery out of Norwegian respect for human rights," said Ola Flyum, a Norwegian journalist with whom I have worked, in an e-mail this morning. Flyum has investigated Krekar's story for years.

"He and his whole family are supported by the Norwegian government, but he continues to threaten people and central leaders," Flyum said. "The Norwegian government has for years tried to find a way out of this dilemma."

Indeed, Krekar showed little concern about losing his safe haven, running his mouth to the press at every opportunity.

In his autobiography, he wrote of meeting Osama bin Laden during the 1990s and called the al-Qaeda leader "a jewel in the crown of Islam."

In a 2003 interview with Dutch TV, he urged terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in Iraq. "Not just the officers, but also the civilians who help the Americans. If anyone so much as fetches them a glass of water, he can be killed," Krekar said.

But in the end, his words would be his downfall. Krekar was indicted last week for threatening death against Norwegian politicians should he be deported.

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Police press conference finished. Updates to come.
by ketilbstensrud via twitter 3:44 PM
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I see rumors that the gunman is a local cop and recent convert to Islam. The police has CONFIRMED that this isn't the case. #oslo #utøya
by fwalloe via twitter 3:44 PM
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Police pressr cont: ..that someone looking like the assailant may have been observed acting strangely just by the bomb scene."
by ketilbstensrud via twitter 3:44 PM
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Police pressr: "We still believe that the bombings in Oslo are connected with the shootings at Utøya, and we've had reports suggesting..
by ketilbstensrud via twitter 3:43 PM
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Police pressr: "As we said, we're still searching for people on Utøya, and we can't say anything about any youths in the water."
by ketilbstensrud via twitter 3:42 PM
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Police pressr: "The assailant has NEVER been part of the police force, and has no relation to us. We can't say anything about nationality"
by ketilbstensrud via twitter 3:41 PM
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Police confirms that the gunman wasn't one of them. #oslo #norway #utøya
by fwalloe via twitter 3:41 PM
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Police pressr: "The assailant is being interrogated, and we can confirm that he was dressed as a policeman."
by ketilbstensrud via twitter 3:40 PM
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New police pressr: "We can confirm that there are 10 killed at Utøya, and several injured. Search continues."
by ketilbstensrud via twitter 3:39 PM

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Police do not believe this was an act of international terrorism, according to www.nationen.no -- we're looking for confirmation on this report.
by Brad Frenette, Vancouver Sun 7/22/2011 8:02:52 PM 4:02 PM

STOCKHOLM—The 32-year-old suspected of massacring at least 80 young people at a summer camp and setting off a bomb in downtown Oslo that killed at least seven is a mystery to investigators: a right-winger with anti-Muslim views but no known links to hardcore extremists.

"He just came out of nowhere," a police official told The Associated Press.

Public broadcaster NRK and several other Norwegian media identified the suspected attacker as Anders Behring Breivik, a blond and blue-eyed Norwegian who expressed right-wing and anti-Muslim views on the Internet.

Norwegian news agency NTB said Breivik legally owned several firearms and belonged to a gun club. He ran an agricultural firm growing vegetables, an enterprise that could have helped him secure large amounts of fertilizer, a potential ingredient in bombs.

But he didn't belong to any known factions in Norway's small and splintered extreme right movement, and had no criminal record except for some minor offenses, the police official told AP.

"He hasn't been on our radar, which he would have been if was active in the neo-Nazi groups in Norway," he said. "But he still could be inspired by their ideology."

He spoke on condition of anonymity because those details had not been officially released by police. He declined to name the suspect.

Neo-Nazi groups carried out a series of murders and robberies in Scandinavia in the 1990s but have since kept a low profile.

"They
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have a lack of leadership. We have pretty much control of those groups," the police official said.

Breivik's registered address is at a four-story apartment building in western Oslo. A police car was parked outside the brick building early Saturday, with officers protecting the entrance.

National police chief Sveinung Sponheim told public broadcaster NRK that the gunman's Internet postings "suggest that he has some political traits directed toward the right, and anti-Muslim views, but whether that was a motivation for the actual act remains to be seen."

A Facebook page under Breivik's name was taken down late Friday. A Twitter account under his name had only one Tweet, on July 17, loosely citing English philosopher John Stuart Mill: "One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests."

Police where interrogating the man, first at the scene of the shooting, and later at a police station in Oslo.

"It's strange that he didn't kill himself, like the guys that have carried out school shootings," the police official told AP. "It's a good thing that he didn't because then we might get some answers pointing out his motivation."

He said the attacks appeared to be the work of a lone madman, without links to any international terrorist networks. The attack "is probably more Norway's Oklahoma City than it is Norway's World Trade Center," he said referring to the 1995 attack on a federal building in Oklahoma City by domestic terrorists.

Investigators said the Norwegian carried out both attacks—the blast at the prime minister's office in Oslo and the shooting spree at the left-wing Labor Party's youth camp—but didn't rule out that others were involved. But the police official said it wouldn't be impossible for one man to carry out the attacks on his own.

"He's obviously cold as ice. But to get close to the government is easy. The streets are open in that area," he said.