Somali Singer, Parliament Member Killed in Mogadishu

A popular Somali singer who was also a member of parliament has been killed by Islamist militants.

Militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Wednesday's shooting of Saado Ali Warsame outside the Ambassador Hotel in Mogadishu.  A witness said that gunmen in a car shot her several times in the chest, then fled.

Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed strongly condemned Warsame's killing, describing the attack as "barbaric."

Warsame was a well-known singer formerly based in the U.S. city of Minneapolis.  A lawmaker there of Somali origin, Abdikadir Hassan, said he worked with Warsame on projects to fight injustice in Somalia. 

“I worked with her while she was here. She was a true leader that loved her country [and] locals.  Her bravery made her go to Somalia and become an official elected to parliament," said Hassan.

In 2012 Warsame returned to Somalia and became one of the few women in the country's new legislature.

She was the fourth member of parliament killed by al-Shabab this year.

Gadhafi’s 42-Year Rule Marked By Controversy

Moammar Gadhafi was known for both his controversial policies and his flamboyance during his 42-year rule of Libya.

Gadhafi was in power from 1969 when he deposed the nation's king in a military coup until his ouster in August.

Colonel Gadhafi gained a reputation as an eccentric, donning flowing robes and animal skins and surrounding himself with all female bodyguards.

Labeled the “mad dog of the Middle East” by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the Libyan leader drew attention for his often-controversial political decisions.

He supported a number of revolutionary movements around the world, including in Chad and Iran. He was accused of sponsoring Islamic militant groups and terrorist attacks.

In 1986, U.S. President Reagan ordered air strikes in Libya because of the Gadhafi government's alleged involvement in the bombing of a German nightclub that killed two U.S. servicemen.

Just two years later, Libya was blamed for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie that killed 270 people. Gadhafi admitted responsibility for the attack in 2003 and agreed to pay victims' families more than $2 billion in compensation.

That same year, the Libyan leader agreed to renounce terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, clearing the way for the lifting of U.S. and European sanctions, and the restoring of diplomatic relations. The United Nations also lifted its sanctions related to the Lockerbie bombing.

But the goodwill did not last long. Gadhafi fought to hold onto power against a large-scale uprising that began in February. He was under immense international pressure to step down after responding to the uprising with deadly violence. The government crackdown on protesters prompted new international sanctions against Libya, and in March, NATO began an air campaign against Gadhafi's forces under a U.N. mandate to protect the Libyan people.

Born in 1942 to a Bedouin family in the Libyan desert, Gadhafi graduated from the University of Libya and became an army officer.

Less than a decade after taking control of the country at age 27, he invented a system of government called the “Jamahiriya,” Arabic for “state of the masses.” In theory, the system was to be run by people's committees, with Gadhafi assuming the title of “Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution.” But in reality, he quashed dissent and reportedly survived several assassination attempts.

Gadhafi was a strong advocate of the ideology of Arab unity known as Pan-Arabism, and also led a Pan-African effort seeking to unify African nations.

Photo: Muammar Qaddafi, the Libyan chief of state, attends the 12th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feb. 2, 2009. Qaddafi was elected chairman of the organization. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse B. Awalt/Released)

Afghan President's Half-Brother Assassinated

12 July 2011
Phillip Ittner
Kabul

Ahmad Wali Karzai, the half brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a powerful political figure in his own right, has been killed in his home in  Kandahar, apparently by his own bodyguard.

The Taliban is claiming responsibility for the assassination of Ahmad Wali Karzai, who served as the head of the provincial council in Kandahar, a region of Afghanistan significant both as the birthplace of the Taliban and the focus of the recent "surge" of U.S. troops in the country.

A clearly shaken Afghan President Hamid Karzai confirmed the death of his brother during a press conference with visiting French President Nikolas Sarkozy.

"My younger brother was martyred in his house today," the Afghan president said. "This is the life of all Afghan people. I hope these miseries which every Afghan family faces will one day end."

Ahmad Wali Karzai was a controversial figure on the Afghan political scene. Considered the most powerful man in Kandahar, he had been accused of criminality, corruption and drug running. But he was also a broker for stability in the strategically important area. He consistently rallied the tribes to show support for the central government in Kabul. His death will leave a vacuum at a time when NATO and Afghan government forces are trying to regain the initiative in the 10-year-old war.

The outgoing commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, conveyed his personal condolences to President Karzai and swiftly issued a condemnation of the killing. He said that the international forces would assist the government in bringing to justice those involved in the murder.

While the Taliban has issued a claim of responsibility for the killing of Ahmad Wali Karzai, there is no clear proof it orchestrated the murder. It has, in the past, capitalized on events not of its own making.

All sides in the conflict are trying to show strength as the apparent endgame in the war gains momentum. Both NATO forces and Taliban leaders want to enter peace negotiations from a position of strength.

The assassination sends the message that the Taliban is still very much a force to be reckoned with, says Afghan member of parliament Daud Sultanzoi.

"This is a show of power. And they show how far they can reach. How deep they can penetrate. And this means that we have to reckon with that and be prepared for worse things. Every time they do something like this, it’s not just the action itself but it’s the message that is sent through those actions that is more important," he said.

Reports that Ahmad Wali Karzai's killer was a member of the Karzai inner circle also show that security is far from guaranteed in Afghanistan, regardless of how much effort and expense is devoted to achieving it.

Police and military forces are on high alert in Kandahar, with extra roadblocks and checkpoints in place to try and capture any other individuals who may have had a role in the assassination.

President Karzai’s office says he is traveling to the city to collect his brother's body and initiate a full investigation.

Ahmad Wali Karzai
* Born in the southern Afghani city of Karz in 1961.
* Member of the Kandahar Provincial Council, the local governing body for the region, since 2005. Served as council's chief.
* Openly accused in the Afghan parliament in 2007 of being involved in the international drug trade.
* Suspected of orchestrating voter fraud in his brother's favor near Kandahar during the 2009 presidential election.

Photo: Ahmad Wali Karzai speaking to the media following a shura in Kandahar in June 2010. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O'Donald/Released, ISAF Headquarters Public Affairs Office from Kabul, Afghanistan

Argentine Folk Singer Killed in Guatemala

Saturday, 9 July 2011

One of Latin America's most famous folk singers, Facundo Cabral, has been murdered in Guatemala.

Officials say gunmen opened fire on the Argentine singer's vehicle Saturday in Guatemala City. At least one other person was wounded in the attack.

The 74-year-old Cabral had been on his way to the airport. A second car carrying one or more of his bodyguards was also struck by bullets.

The motive of the shooting was not clear.

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said officials are investigating.

Cabral became famous in the 1970s as a protest singer. He went into exile in Mexico after Argentina came under military rule in 1976.

One of his most well-known songs, “No Soy de Aqui, Ni Soy De Alla” - “I'm Not From Here Nor There” – was covered by many other artists, including Spanish singer Julio Iglesias.

(Photo of singer and writer Facundo Cabral by UNLP.)

Pakistan Rejects US Claim About Slain Journalist

8 July 2011
VOA News

The top-ranking U.S. military officer says elements within the Pakistani government apparently "sanctioned" the killing of a journalist in late May, but he could not tie the death to the country's intelligence service.

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he has not seen anything to counter reports that Islamabad approved the beating death of Pakistani reporter Saleem Shahzad.

An unidentified Pakistani government spokesman told the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan that Mullen's statements are "extremely irresponsible."  He said Pakistan has established an independent panel to investigate Shahzad's death.  

Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency has dismissed allegations of its involvement as "baseless."

Shahzad, who worked for the Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online, disappeared from  Islamabad on May 29.  His body was found in a canal two days later bearing signs of torture.

Before his death, Shahzad had been investigating alleged ties between Pakistan's military and Islamist groups. He reported that al-Qaida militants had attacked a Pakistani naval base after talks failed to secure the release of two naval officials arrested on suspicion of links to the global terror network.

Mullen acknowledged U.S. relations with Pakistan are "under extraordinary pressure."

He said Islamabad's already fragile bond with Washington became severely strained when U.S. special operations forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in a raid on his compound deep into Pakistan in May.