By David Lewis DAKAR | Thu May 24, 2012 2:09pm EDT DAKAR (Reuters) - The leader of al Qaeda's North African wing has put his group's fighters in Mali's north at the disposal of Ansar Dine rebels seeking to impose Islamic law across the West African state, the first public comments officially linking to two groups. Fighters should impose sharia only gradually and look to collaborate, not clash, with separatist rebels also operating in Mali's north, the head of AQIM said in speech posted on the internet and translated by the SITE jihadist monitoring service.The comments by Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, also known as Abdelmalek Droukdel, firm up reports of cooperation between al Qaeda and Iyad Ag Ghali's Ansar Dine rebels, who swept across Mali's ... Continue reading →

If the Senate Appropriations Committee has its way, Pakistan’s military assistance package will be docked $33 million— $1 million for every year the doctor who assisted the U.S. in tracking down Osama bin Laden sits in a Pakistani jail. The amendment by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was adopted during the full Appropriations committee markup of the State and Foreign Operations bill on Thursday with a unanimous 30-0 vote. A Pakistani court this week sentenced Shakil Afridi, a doctor from the Khyber tribal area, to 33 years in prison for helping the CIA collect DNA for a vaccination program, which eventually confirmed the al-Qaida leader’s presence in Abbottabad where he was killed last May. (RELATED—FOR MEMBERS ONLY: Leahy, Graham Eye Cuts in Obama's Operations Package) “We ... Continue reading →

A new company - the NOLA Media Group, which will include The Times-Picayune and its affiliated web site NOLA.com - was announced today by Ricky Mathews, who will become its president. The change is intended to reshape how the New Orleans area's dominant news organization delivers its award-winning local news, sports and entertainment coverage in an increasingly digital age. NOLA Media Group will significantly increase its online news-gathering efforts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while offering enhanced printed newspapers on a schedule of three days a week. The newspaper will be home-delivered and sold in stores on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays only. A second new company, Advance Central Services, will print and deliver the newspaper. Both of the new companies are owned ... Continue reading →

A young man, who is bleeding apparently due to gunshot wounds, runs for his life after unknown assailants opened fire at a rally in Karachi on Tuesday, May 22, 2012.—Photo by Faysal Mujeeb/Whitestar KARACHI: At least eleven people were killed and more than 30 people wounded as violence erupted in Karachi after unidentified armed assailants opened fire at a political rally in the provincial capital on Tuesday, DawnNews reported. The rally was organised by members and workers of Awami Tehrik Party, a small nationalist group, backed by the banned People’s Amn Committee and several other parties, in protest of the proposed Mohajir province and the recent operation in Lyari. The ‘Muhabat-e-Sindh’ (Love of Sindh) rally was also attended by a large number of women. After ... Continue reading →

The New Orleans Times-Picayune, which distinguished itself amid great adversity during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, is about to enact large staff cuts and may cut back its print publishing schedule to several days a week, according to two employees with knowledge of the plans.Newhouse Newspapers, which owns the Times-Picayune, will apparently be working off a blueprint the company used in Ann Arbor, Mich., where it reduced the frequency of the Ann Arbor News, emphasized the Web site as a primary distributor of news and in the process instituted wholesale layoffs to cut costs.A request for comment from the newspaper’s editor, Jim Amoss, late Wednesday night was not returned.The plans have been kept under wraps, but the newspaper will likely cease to exist as a ... Continue reading →

Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber who is serving life in prison for sending deadly mail bombs, won’t be able to attend his 50th reunion festivities at Harvard College. But he did contribute a bizarre entry to the Harvard College alumni report for the class of 1962. While many of his classmates sent in lengthy updates on their lives for the 2 ½-inch-thick “red book,” the entry for “Theodore John Kaczynski” only contains nine lines. The listing says his occupation is “Prisoner,” and his home address is “No. 04475-046, US Penitentiary—Max, P.O. Box 8500, Florence, CO 8126-8500.” AP File/1995 A 1994 photo of Kaczynski. Under the awards section, the listing says, “Eight life sentences, issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, ... Continue reading →

By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON | Wed May 23, 2012 9:14pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two female soldiers filed suit on Wednesday to scrap the U.S. military's restrictions on women in combat, claiming the policy violated their constitutional rights. Command Sergeant Major Jane Baldwin and Colonel Ellen Haring, both Army reservists, said policies barring them from assignments "solely on the basis of sex" violated their right to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution."This limitation on plaintiffs' careers restricts their current and future earnings, their potential for promotion and advancement, and their future retirement benefits," the women said in the suit filed in U.S. District Court.Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Secretary John McHugh are among the defendants. Baldwin is from Tallahassee, Florida, and ... Continue reading →

By Mohammed Abbas LONDON | Wed May 23, 2012 7:14pm EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Rights group Amnesty International lambasted the United Nations Security Council on Thursday as "tired, out of step and increasingly unfit for purpose". In its annual report, Amnesty said the failure of world powers to take stronger action on Syria was evidence that a sclerotic security council was hamstrung by vested interests, and also warned of abuses arising from Europe's economic crisis.Permanent security council members Russia, a key arms supplier to Syria, and China have shielded Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from tough sanctions.The United Nations says at least 9,000 civilians have been killed in Assad's crackdown on a March 2011 uprising. Amnesty said the security council had failed to fulfill its mandate ... Continue reading →

NEW YORK | Wed May 23, 2012 7:16pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - A South African pilot who testified against his former associate and jailed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was himself sentenced to five years in federal prison on Wednesday. Andrew Smulian, 71, was arrested in 2008 in Thailand along with Bout in an undercover sting by U.S. agents posing as Colombian guerrillas looking to buy weapons.Bout, the subject of a book titled "Merchant of Death," was sentenced to 25 years in prison by Manhattan federal court Judge Shira Scheindlin in April after being convicted at trial.Bout has maintained his innocence.Upon his arrest, Smulian immediately began cooperating with U.S. authorities, Manhattan federal prosecutors said. Smulian testified against Bout at the weapon dealer's three-week trial ... Continue reading →