Posted in: World
Yemen asks for aid to ward off al-Qa'ida - Mar 15, 2010 - 3:08:35 PM

SINCE the attempted bombing of the American passenger jet on Christmas Day was traced to al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, the Yemeni government has been trying to convince foreign donors that it needs extraordinary financial assistance to stay afloat in the face of the al-Qa'ida threat.
The Yemeni economy is in dire straits and this year, requests for aid have ranged from $US1.2 billion ($1.3bn) to a staggering $US40bn over five years, or a little more than half of the country's current annual national budget per year.
Part of the rationale behind the government's requests is the growing fear that Yemen's collapse could usher in a Taliban-style regime and create a base for al-Qa'ida to further target the West.

Posted in: World
Two suspected of planning new Mumbai terror attack - Mar 15, 2010 - 1:18:37 PM

INDIAN police say they have arrested two men for planning to attack a fuel facility and a shopping centre in Mumbai, where Pakistani gunmen killed 166 people 15 months ago.
Mumbai's anti-terrorism police chief, K.P. Raghuvansh, told reporters that the two men were Indian and had taken orders from inside Pakistan.
They intended to target a fuel storage complex owned by state-run energy firm Oil and Natural Gas as well as a popular shopping arcade, he said.

Posted in: World
Yemen launches new airstrikes on al-Qaida hideout - Mar 15, 2010 - 9:52:51 AM

SAN'A, Yemen - A senior Yemeni official says his nation's air force launched a second day of strikes against al-Qaida hideouts.
Saleh al-Shamsi, deputy governor of the southern province Abyan, said three air strikes were launched Monday. He had no information on the targets but said an earlier strike on Sunday killed two al-Qaida members and injured others.
Yemen's Defense Ministry said Sunday's preemptive strike was to forestall an imminent al-Qaida attack against a strategic site.

Posted in: World
Al-Qaida adds strength, numbers in Africa - Mar 15, 2010 - 9:47:42 AM

WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida's terror network in North Africa is growing more active and attracting new recruits, threatening to further destabilize the continent's already vulnerable Sahara region, according to U.S. defense and counterterrorism officials.
The North African faction, which calls itself Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), is still small and largely isolated, numbering a couple hundred militants based mostly in the vast desert of northern Mali. But signs of stepped-up activity and the group's advancing potential for growth worry analysts familiar with the region.

Posted in: World
Algeria to host conference on terror - Mar 15, 2010 - 9:38:15 AM

Algiers - Algeria is to host foreign ministers from the Sahara and Sahel on Tuesday for talks on fighting "a resurgence" in acts of terror, the Algerian Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
Ministers from Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania and Niger are due to take part in the conference, the ministry said in a statement quoted by Algerian news agency APS.