Sri Lanka has announced that, it will begin the process of giving permission to the civilians who got displaced and lost their homes during the gruesome war between Sri Lankan military forces and the terrorist organization, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Since the military offensive began, the villagers and civilians from the nearby regions fled their homes to ensure their survival and have been living in government internment camps ever since. The number of the displace civilians had reached a staggering 300,000.

Many of the 300,000 refugees being held at a heavily guarded government facility called, Menik Farm in the northern town of Vavuniya, had already been released after the war was over and the remaining 130,000 will be given their freedom to go back to their lands on December 1st, 2009. The announcement was made by the brother of the country’s President, Basil Rajapaksa, who also holds the Tamil resettlement program portfolio.

Majority of refugees are said to be from the Wanni region, that saw intensive fighting and was later heavily mined to stop enemy reinforcements. The region is still in the process of being de-mined and refugees are expected to inhabit the region by January of next year. Even with Sri Lankan government’s announcement, the United Nations and several prominent human rights agencies still maintain that the government has held the ethnic minority Tamils against their will in the Menik Farm.

According to the human rights watchdogs’ complaints, the conditions inside the internment camps are inhumane and extremely crowded and has further stated that, the government of Sri Lanka is extracting revenge on the the Tamil refugees for the deeds of the LTTE.

The Sri Lankan armed forces carried out a massive offensive against the LTTE earlier this year and completely annihilated the militant outfit that had led a relentless wave of terror and intimidation in the country since the year 1983.

Via CNN.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has announced that, it will be initiating specific war games and military drills to ensure its forces’ readiness in respect of its nuclear installations. The announced drills will be carried out tomorrow i.e on Sunday and has further stated that, any intervention or provocation will lead to a missile strike against Tel Aviv, Israel.

As per the information given by Iran’s Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani to the state run media outlet, the extensively planned air defense military drill will last for five days and will be solely aimed at the protection of the country’s nuclear facilities. The announcement of the war games have come just a day after the member of the six party talks expressed their disappointment on Tehran’s rejection of the nuclear deal.

Iran’s complete rejection of the nuclear deal that was brokered by the United Nations has compelled U.S President, Barack Obama to warn the country of the possibility of sanctions and soon after the President’s statement, envoys from United States, Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France held a meeting. Furthermore, the U.S and Israel have stated that, if the diplomatic efforts prove fruitless then military actions could also very well be taken to end the threat of a nuclear Iran.

On the other hand Iran still claims that, its pursuit of nuclear energy is for civilian and energy purposes only. However, it has warned U.S and Israel that if the national security of Iran is threatened, the Islamic nation will strike back at the military bases of both the countries in the Gulf region.

According to cleric Mojtaba Zolnour,

“If the enemy should want to test its bad luck in Iran, before the dust from its missiles settles in this country, Iran’s ballistic missiles would land in the heart of Tel Aviv.”

Via Reuters.

In a recent survey conducted by the conducted by the Nielsen research company and sponsored by the British Council, it has been determined that generation next of Pakistan, specifically the youth population of the country is extremely dissatisfied with their government and see very little future for themselves.

These troublesome statistics state a disturbing and a very concrete fact, that, if Pakistan fails appease its younger generation or it does not take much needed re-conciliatory steps, the consequences to the demographic figures of the nation could be disastrous.

The unanimous mindset of the Pakistani youth has significantly leaning towards extremist thinking, where a majority of them keep the Muslim community far above their own country and nine out of ten teenagers have very little or absolutely no confidence in the Pakistani government.

According to David Steven (Center for International Cooperation, New York University),

“This is a real wake-up call for the international community. You could get rapid social and economic change. But the other route will lead to a nightmare that would unfold over 20 to 30 years.”

This latest disappointing reports comes at a time, when the country is battling an exponentially high rate of insurgency that threatens the stability as well as the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan. In the last month or so, Pakistan has witnessed a gruesome and a relentless wave of terror attacks from dreaded militant groups such as Pakistan Taliban and Al-Qaeda amid a continued military offensive in the country’s South Western region against the militant outfits.

Pakistan has been suffering from an intense unemployment rate largely due to its grievously low rate of education, where one out of four teenagers is an illiterate. Furthermore, this lack of education and basic awareness has led to a strong inclination towards Islam, where a majority of those studied identified themselves as Muslims first instead of being Pakistanis.

Via New York Times.

According to a recent report, the dreaded and perhaps the most notorious terrorist organizations of all time, Al Qaeda is now spreading its extremely violent propaganda through websites that are designed in English language and are speculated to be numbered to be 200. These websites spread Al Qaeda’s message by translating the writings and sermons in English and then publish them on the internet.

Extremist preachers such as Anwar al-Awlaki, who is also known to be an affiliate to Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S army major, who gunned down 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas is also spreading his message of hatred through such websites. Major Hasan and al-Awlaki had infact exchanged numerous e-mails.

According to Evan Kohlmann (Senior Investigator, NEFA Foundation), “The point is you don’t have to be an official part of al-Qaida to spread hatred and sectarian views. If you look at the most influential documents in terms of homegrown terrorism cases, it’s not training manuals on building bombs. The most influential documents are the ones that are written by theological advisers, some of whom are not even official al-Qaida members.”

Even though many of the radical Islamic websites aren’t directly affiliated to Al-Qaeda, yet they prove to be extremely effective in brain washing and create a much more convenient tool for recruiters who are then able to stay in shadows and recruit willing youngsters for a dangerous cause. Al-Qaeda has been long trying to recruit as many western country members as possible by posting audio and video messages on the internet. However, these messages need to have subtitles for readers of different ethnicity to understand.

But with sermons and extremist teaching being translated into English, the reach of these texts has now exponentially increased and with it so have the chances of more and more misguided youths joining the terrorist organization.

Via Associated Press.

With only one aircraft carrier, INS Virat currently operational in the Indian Navy, India is fast looking for a replacement or another addition of an aircraft carrier to increase its naval capabilities. The INS Virat has already crossed its operational life span with 50 years and has been serving the Indian navy since its commissioning in the year 1987.

However, the Indian Navy is now on the fast track to acquire and commission a new aircraft carriers and its eyes are set on a yet to built vessel that is being built by Britain. The unconfirmed deal with the British manufacturers has come in the wake of a prolonged and and deadlocked deal with Russia for Admiral Gorshkov, an aircraft carrier that India is supposed to receive from Russia in the year 2012.

The proposed vessel being built by Britain is one of the two aircraft carriers that are on the drawing board and would cost $3.36 billion a piece and could be sold to India, under the cost cutting initiative undertaken by the U.K Ministry of Defense. According to the British aircraft carrier program, The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is slated to receive the HMS Queen Elizabeth in the year 2016 and HMS Prince of Wales has already witnessed the beginning of the project and is expected to enter service in the year 2018.

The INS Virat was originally commissioned in the Royal Navy in the year 1959 as the HMS Hermes and was later acquired by the Indian Navy in the year 1987. The aircraft carrier, INS Virat completed its 50 glorious years of service with 1,500 crew on board. The completion of the 50 years of service was marked by a massive refit of the vessel at the Cochin Shipyard in India and the overhaul has extended the operational service duration of the vessel till the year 2015.

Via SpaceWar.

In a recent breakthrough in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, two suspects, who have been identified as Pakistani nationals have been apprehended by the Italian authorities in Brescia  province. The pair of father and son, reportedly had provided the terror elements of the Mumbai attacks with logistical support.

According to the initial reports, the duo had transferred money to successfully activate their internet phone accounts, that were later used by the terrorists involved in one of the most daring and heinous attack carried out on Indian soil. The money was transferred using a stolen identity that of a U.S based company in the amount of $229 and got them access to five online telephony lines, that have long been a thorn in the bush for the intelligence agencies, as such accounts are extremely difficult to trace.

Italian authorities had been tipped off about the fraudulent by the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Indian police department and the investigations were on since December last year. The 26/11 attacks were carried out by terrorists from Pakistan, who had hit two luxury hotels, a Jewish residential compound and several other sites, including a busy train station. The horrendous attacks claimed the lives of 166 people, that included one Italian citizen, among 19 foreign nationals who were killed in the three days siege.

The pair of Pakistani nationals who were apprehended have been identified as 60-year-old Mohammad Yaqub Janjua and 31-year-old Aamer Yaqub Janjua, who have now been accused of aiding and abetting international terrorism along with illegal financial activity.

Via Associated Press.

One of the state-run coal mines in the Xinxing mine in Heilongjiang province caved in after a massive blast tore through the mining area, killing 42 miners and trapping 66 other miners, with the rescue efforts at their peak to rescue the miners.

This latest tragedy has brought the spotlight to the highly dangerous mining industry of China, that has in the recent past been marred with a string of accidents and tragedies that have led to an immense loss of life. China is one of the biggest mining nations in the world and has numerous large scale state run mines that, the government has been constantly trying to inculcate safer standards to.

Out of the 528 people who were working in the Xinxing mine at the time of the explosion, 389 people escaped the cave in. The explosion occurred at around 0230 hours local time, that killed 42 miners and trapped 66 others. However, 31 of trapped miners have been rescued from at a depth of 500 meters underground. The explosion severed ventilation and communication links in the mine, that has led to hurdles for the rescue teams.

The Chinese government has long been trying to curb the explosion of unregulated new mines that are sprouting nowadays all across China. These unlawful mining entities amount to about 80% of the total number of mines in the country. As per government estimates, more than 303 people have died in various mining incidents in the last months and the primary reason of such accidents have been gas explosions.

Via Associated Press.

In yet another instance of the rising violence in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber, riding a motorcycle killed 13 people in Farah, Afghanistan and injured 30 more, among whom several of those injured are children. The Afghan polices repeatedly asked the motorcyclist to stop, instead the bomber detonated the explosives wrapped around him.

According to General Mohammad Faqir Askar (Provincial, Police Chief),

“These days Taliban are causing high casualties because the foreign forces and Afghan forces have been conducting operations against the insurgency in the region.”

Furthermore, the police chief stated that, three days before today’s attack, five militants and a Taliban bomb maker were killed in a raid.

This latest attack come just hours after the newly re-elected Afghanistan President, Hamid Karzai took the oath of Presidency and stated that, the peace between the insurgents and the country is paramount for his administration. In a statement he said,

“We invite dissatisfied compatriots, who are not directly linked to international terrorism, to return to their homeland.”

Also, Mr. Karzai wishes to see Afghanistan’s security forces more adept at securing the future of the country and has proposed a five year time table during which all Afghan forces will be trained and ready for taking over the security apparatus from the coalition forces, who are currently commandeering the security of Afghanistan.

The attack on the city square that killed 13 people was preceded by another suicide attack in the southern province of Zabul, where yet another suicide bomber took the lives of two U.S troops. The NATO forces stationed in the region have stated that, in the recent months, there has been an increase in the influx of Uzbek fighters in Afghanistan and in a recent search operation, Afghan and the coalition forces shot and killed an Uzbek fighter, who was believed to be the financier of militant activities and logistics provider.

Via Associated Press.

The overflights deal between Russia and the United States that was made during the Moscow summit in the month of July this year, still isn’t ratified yet and the intricate details of the deal are under intense negotiations. If the deal finally get through, it will open up a much needed supply route for the U.S supply flights and will enable 4,500 U.S transport flights over Russian airspace.

According to Ian Kelly (Spokesman, U.S State Department),

“We anticipate that regular flights will start as soon as we’ve worked out these remaining logistical details. One of the points that we’re trying to iron out is notification processes that have to be in place. And we’re also working with other countries on the transit routes since anything overflying Russia to go to Afghanistan would have to fly over other countries as well.”

While the United States and Russia have been busy figuring out the details of the U.S overflights deal, the nation of Slovakia has announced that, it will be increasing it troop commitment to Afghanistan top around 500, which would be double the number of current Slovakian troops stationed in Afghanistan.

The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown who has been rallying the NATO allies to commit more troops to the region, welcomed Slovakia’s decision to double its troop commitment and stated that, 10 more countries are expected to commit their resources to Afghanistan.

In a statement, Mr. Brown said,

“This shows the coordinated effort we’re all prepared to make to train up the Afghan forces to ensure they can take control of their own territory.   The announcement by the Slovakian prime minister that he is prepared to bring extra troops to Afghanistan is very important.”

Via Space War.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has reportedly committed its naval forces to the Yemeni waters and has stated that, this move is primarily to put a curb on the Somali pirates. However, experts have been concerned about the recent increased naval activity from Iran in Yemen, as such a move could inadvertently raise the possibilities of a naval forces clash the Iranian navy and that of Saudi Arabia, who have been at the crossroads in the Gulf and Red Sea regions.

The Iranian naval movement is near the region of the Saudi naval blockade that has been initiated to stem the flow of weapons and supplies to the Shiite rebels, that have been in intense battle with the Saudi forces. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly accused Iran of supplying the rebel forces in Yemen with weapons and other valuable that the rebels require to continue their assault.

Even Yemen has been on the side of Saudi Arabia, when it comes to denouncing Iran’s latest naval maneuvers. The government of Yemen has stated that, Iran is the force behind the Zaidi Shiite rebels, who in the recent months have been conducting offensive operations against the Yemeni government in Saada province, that borders with Saudi Arabia.

Recently, after the rebels killed a Saudi officer, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia initiated operations against the Zaidi rebels with ground troops and precision air strikes against rebel positions and strongholds. The incursion of Saudi forces into Yemeni territory has been given the go ahead even by the government of Yemen, that has been battling the rising insurgency with little effect.

Via Space War.