Hotspots

Economic power has not shifted since the days of Apartheid – you can bet there are no white bodies.

 

At least 18 killed as S. African police open fire on thousands of striking miners

At least 18 bodies were seen lying bloody and motionless on the ground after local police opened fire on striking miners, a South African news agency reports. Some of the protesters allegedly armed with machetes and spears

ere allegedly armed with machetes and spears.

RT,

16 August, 2012

The incident is believed to have occurred after police, in the process of laying down barricades of barbed wire, were outflanked by a crowd of 3,000 demonstrators.

Nine people had been killed prior to Thursday’s clashes in a spate of protest in the mining town, located northwest of Johannesburg. The platinum mine, owned by Lonmin PLC, has been the focal point of protests over wage disputes since last Friday.

Fighting intensified over the weekend when two police officers were killed. Striking workers and local security guards have also been caught up in the violence.

Some 3,000 police massed in the area on Wednesday, some wearing riot gear and supported by helicopters. Demonstrators were reinforced on Thursday by a group of women pledging to stand by their husbands in their demand for increased wages.

Lonmin announced that the disruption means the company is unlikely to meet its 2012 production targets. Shares in the company have tumbled 6 percent following Thursday’s violence, bringing total losses since the outset of the strike to 13 percent.

Gunmen Have Attacked And Entered A Pakistani Air Force Base Thought To House Nuclear Weapons

Business Insider,

16 August, 2012

Gunmen have attacked and entered a Pakistan air force base, according to Reuters 

.

The target is the Minhas Air Base in the town of Kamra, located around 40 miles outside Islamabad. The attacked is believed to be conducted by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — reports in the Pakistan press have suggested they were planning attacks in retaliation for upcoming military action.

A three hour gun battle is reportedly raging between security guards and attackers.

Time Magazine's Omar Waraich points out that this is the third attack on the base since 2007.

Worryingly, the militants may have good reason to attack the base. Waraich says that the site is home of Pakistan's nascent drone program, and a Telegraph report from 2009 said the site was thought to house Pakistan's nuclear weapons. Saeed Shah wrote at the time:

Pakistan’s nuclear sites are tightly guarded. While experts do not think that terrorists could seize an actual nuclear bomb — the weapons are not kept in a useable form, with parts dispersed — it is possible that they could cause a fire or explosion inside a nuclear site, or perhaps seize radioactive material.

UPDATE: 2 soldiers and 6 militants have been left dead from the fighting, Reuters reports.

Persian Gulf States Are Telling Their Citizens To Leave Lebanon 'Immediately' As Syrian War Spills Over

Business Insider,

16 August, 2012

The embassies of several Gulf states in Beirut, Lebanon, are telling their citizens to leave the country immediately as Syria's civil war spills over the border.

The UAE received information about its nationals being targeted "because of the difficult and sensitive circumstances in Lebanon."

Saudi Arabia cited "reported threats to kidnap Saudi citizens" in Lebanon, according to BBC News.

In May Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait (along with the UAE) issued similar travel warnings, urging their citizens to avoid traveling to Lebanon – which lies along the western border of Syria – and that those in the country leave immediately.

The evacuation orders come amid reports that armed Shiite clansmen in Lebanon kidnapped more than 20 Syrians "and will hold them until one of their relatives seized by rebels inside Syria is freed," according to AP.

The kidnappings (or associated threats) may be in response to a Syrian rebel strategy to abduct those perceived as supporters of the embattled Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, specifically Iranians and Lebanese Shiites.

In May the predominantly Sunni rebel force kidnapped 11 Lebanese Shiites as they crossed into Syria from Turkey and earlier this month rebels captured 48 Iranians near Damascus.

From AP:

Lebanon is deeply divided between supporters and opponents of President Bashar Assad's regime. The country, which was devastated by its own 15-year civil war that Syria was deeply involved in, has witnessed clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian groups over the past months, mostly in the northern city of Tripoli.

Assad's minority Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam that is being actively supported by Shia-dominated Iran and its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon while predominantly Sunni nations such as Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have strongly supported the rebels.

Bahrain jails prominent activist Rajab for 3 years

Bahraini Human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been sentenced to three years in jail for “participation in an illegal assembly” and “calling for a march without prior notification.”

RT,

16 August, 2012

Rajab has been in police custody since June 6 over comments he made on Twitter critical of the Bahraini Prime Minister, which called for him to step down. Rajab was sentenced on July 9 to three months for the remarks, raising concerns worldwide among free-speech activists.

Rajab, a prominent human rights activist, led several anti-regime demonstrations in recent months. The activist is also affiliated with international rights groups such as Human Rights Watch. Opposition rallies have repeatedly called for his release.

A lower Bahraini court added three years to Rajab’s sentence on Thursday for“involvement in illegal practices and inciting gatherings and calling for unauthorized marches through social networking sites,” and for his “participation in an illegal assembly” and “participation in an illegal gathering and calling for a march without prior notification.”

"Jail me 3 years or 30, I will never give up," Rajab’s son Adam tweeted, quoting his father’s remarks.

Souhayr Belhassen, president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), condemned the sentence: “It’s been over a year that the Bahraini people have been peacefully asking for human rights and democracy,” he said. “How does the government remain so deaf to these calls? Arbitrarily imprisoning human rights defenders will not stop the people from aspiring to freedom and democratic change. We hope that the international community will firmly condemn this decision and will call for Nabeel’s release.”

Before his arrest, Rajab appeared as a guest on episode four of ‘The World Tomorrow’ on RT, hosted by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. In the interview, he criticized the US-led invasion of Iraq, as well as US refusals to take action during the Bahraini protests and the wider Arab Spring.

“The Americans from the beginning, they didn’t want to change those regimes, they didn’t want to change the regime in Egypt, they didn’t want to change the regime," Rajab said. “You see now for example, Bahrain is a good model. Iraq is maybe the closest to us democratic state but Americans are against democracy in Bahrain now.”

Rajab was arrested May 5th, days after his appearance on the show, leading many to believe it was a government reprisal against his protest actions.

Rajab’s sentencing is the latest in a fierce crackdown on dissent in Bahrain. On Wednesday, human rights activist Said Yousif wrote on Twitter that he had been arrested at a checkpoint in the town of A'ali. Yousif had previously spoken out in support of Rajab.

ci

Security forces manning the checkpoint had contacted his wife so that she could pick up his“two little kids,” Yousif said, and no further information was forthcoming.

A couple of months ago Rajab was interviewed by Julian Assange