Russian train derailed by terrorist bomb

A BOMB tore through the Nevsky Express shortly after 9.30pm on Friday 27 November killing at least 30 and hospitalising 96.

The blast derailed the train's rear three carriages sending passengers hurtling.

A second, less powerful bomb, exploded at the crash site at 11am on Saturday.

The bomb exploded near the village of Uglovka, 250 miles northwest of the capital.

The 14-car train was travelling from Moscow to Saint Petersburg and is known to carry businessmen, politicians and tourists.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but Chechen rebels are the prime suspects.

In 2007 Russian authorities blamed them for a bomb that derailed the same service and injured 30 people.

Aleksandr Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security Service, said that a device containing the equivalent of 7kg of TNT had been used in what was Russia's worst terrorist attack outside the Caucasus in five years.

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Orthodox Church, led prayers for the victims.

He said the attackers were determined "to frighten everybody who lives in Russia" and urged the Russian people to display a strong will "for a victory over terror."

The attack is part of a long history of conflict that has spilled over from the Caucuses into Russia's heartland.

In February 2004 at least 30 people died in an explosion in the Moscow Metro and in 1999 a series of bombings throughout Russia allowed President Putin to order a military assault on Chechnya.

Ahmadinejad and Chavez get close to deepen ties

OBAMA may have won the hearts and minds of Europe, but there are still bastions of anti-American statement that will take more than a fresh face and a change in tone to win over.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad received a hero's welcome on Wednesday 25 November as he arrived in Venezuela's capital Caracas to drum up support for his antagonistic attitude towards the West.

Iran is trying to strengthen its strategic relationship on the Latin American continent by courting a host of anti-American left-wing leaders, led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Tehran has opened five new diplomatic missions and signed hundreds of co-operation deals, including about 200 with Venezuela in trade, energy and defence.

The trip comes two weeks after President Peres of Israel visited Brazil and Argentina in an attempt to build a bulwark against Iran's burgeoning allies.

Saudi Arabia sentences Lebanese man to death for witchcraft

SAUDI Arabia has imposed the death sentence on a Lebanese psychic who visited the country on a pilgrimage.

Ali Sabat, 46, made predictions from his studio in Beirut that were broadcast across the Middle East.

But when he headed for the holy city of Mecca as part of the Muslim Hajj in May 2008 he was arrested and charged with “practising witchcraft”.

His lawyer, May al-Khansa, said: “He was told if he confessed to witchcraft he would be released and allowed to return to Lebanon.”

Human Rights Watch called on the Saudi government to overturn its decision and halt “its increasing use of charges of witchcraft – crimes that are vaguely defined and arbitrarily used.”

The country still has no penal code allowing judges to deem certain acts as criminal according to their whim, and exact any punishment they see fit.

Terrorists blow up Iraq-Turkey Oil Pipeline

A BOMB attack an Iraqi oil pipeline has halted exports for at least a week.

The pipeline shifts 350,000-400,000 barrels of crude a day to the Turkish port Ceyhan, where is it loaded onto ships.

Repairs were expected to take four days but today an employee of Iraq's state-owned Northern Oil Company said: "We will need another seven days."

The attack took place last week in the Salahuddin Province near Shirqat, a former hotbed of support for Al-Qaeda.

It is the second pipeline bombing in less than a month and raises fears of further attacks aimed at stunting Iraq's oil infrastructure.

The attacks come after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki signed contracts with foreign oil companies and are an attempt to undermine his chances of success in next year's election.

BP and China's CNPC secured rights to drill in Rumailla, Iraq's biggest oil field, while Exxon Mobil and Italy's Eni have made initial deals to operate the Zubair and West Qurna Phase One oil fields.

Last month, Iraq exported 1.87 million barrels per day (bpd), bringing in 4.2 billion dollars in revenues.

In September, the country exported 1.95 million bpd and raised 3.8 billion dollars.

Iraq currently produces around 2.5 million barrels per day of crude oil, two million barrels of which are intended for export, but Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani wants production to be ramped up to between 10 and 12 million bpd within six years.

Around 85 percent of Iraqi government revenues are from oil sales.

Iraq has the world's third largest proven reserves of oil, with more than 115 billion barrels, behind only Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Why not disguise all warships as commercial vessels?

Somali pirates came unstuck last Wednesday when they made the strategic error of taking on the might of the French navy.

The 18,000 tonne flagship La Somme evidently looked similar enough to the myriad commercial vessels that traverse the Gulf of Aden every day and the pirates consequently deemed it fruitful to launch an offensive with their two fibreglass skiffs.

According to a French navy spokesman, the La Somme’s crew “easily saw off the brazen night-time assault by lightly armed fighters on two lightweight skiffs and captured five pirates”.

You would have thought they would have learned their lesson by now.

On 3 May 2009 pirates, again using two assault boats, made a run at the French warship Nivose, but were promptly dissuaded from pursuing that course of action any further when a helicopter gunship started raining down warning shots.

What conclusion we can draw from this is that pirates tend to stand very little chance when they attack a NATO warship.

So it begs the question: why not disguise all warships as commercial vessels? It evidently would not take much to make a convincing transition. Perhaps merely writing 'oil' on the bow would be enough. Or 'we are not the navy, please let us past'. You get the idea.

Protesting against the protesters

Two rival protests filled Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens on Saturday as the English Defence League was met by various anti-fascist groups including Unite Against Fascism.

Ten people were injured and 44 arrested as protesters clashed with the police and each other.

The police employed the containment tactics that proved effective during the G20 demonstrations in London earlier this year.

They successfully prevented the streets from descending into violence, maintaining a strong police line backed up by horses and dogs.

The police forced the protestors into two halves of Piccadilly Gardens.

Tensions were high as both sides traded insults and antagonistic chants.

The EDL, who oppose "Islamic fundamentalism", sang patriotic songs, made Nazi salutes and held placards reading "no more mosques".

The anti-fascist protestors accuse the EDL of being a front for the racist BNP. They chanted "smash the Nazi BNP" and "Nazi scum, off our streets!".

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: “I would like to thank all those people who came to Manchester today and protested peacefully for their patience and understanding.

“I’d also like to commend the vast majority for demonstrating in a peaceful manner.

“However, the history of protest has been marred, by those who came intent on violent confrontation.

“GMP has ensured that despite the significant size of the protest, life in the city went on as normal.”

UAF spokesman Mike Gilligan said: “It was a tremendously successful day for the anti-racist movement.

“The EDL were run out of town, they were not very powerful, they completely failed.

“Our protesters reflected the energy, particularly of young people, who showed their disgust at the racists trying to group together in Manchester city centre.

“It was a vibrant celebration of multi-cultural Manchester.”