Man held at Guantánamo for 13 years a case of mistaken identity, say officials
Mustafa al-Aziz al-Shamiri was low-level Islamist foot soldier, not al-Qaida courier and trainer as had been believed
A man who has spent 13 years in the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was arrested partly in a case of mistaken identity, US officials conceded Tuesday.
Officials admitted that Mustafa al-Aziz al-Shamiri, 37, was a low-level Islamist foot soldier and not an al-Qaida courier and trainer as previously thought, during a Guantanamo hearing.
Wearing a beard and voluminous white T-shirt, and accompanied by a linguist and two personal representatives, the Yemeni appeared before a panel assessing whether he can be released.
A profile published by the Department of Defense maintains he fought in Afghanistan and mixed with members of al-Qaida. But officials concede that they wrongly believed he had a more significant role because he was confused with others who had a similar name.
Britain is on the verge of entering into a long war in Syria based on wishful thinking and poor information
British air strikes in Syria will be too few to make much difference to Isis
Britain is on the verge of entering a conflict in Syria in which its political and military strategy is based on wishful thinking and poor information. British air strikes in Syria will be too few to make much difference to Isis, but are important because they signal Britain’s entry into what may be a long war.
In one crucial respect, David Cameron’s approach is similar to that which saw Britain fight two small but unsuccessful wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003, in both cases without an effective local partner on the ground. Similarly in Syria, Britain will be at the mercy of events which are being shaped by the numerous other players in the conflict, all of whom have their own highly contradictory agendas.
Students recount how a terrorism drill turned deadly in Kenya
Gunshots, smoke, and masked attackers: the terrorism drill that police carried out Monday at Strathmore University in Kenya looked and sounded like the real deal. So much so that students believed it was really a terrorist attack, and panicked. As a result, one person died and 40 were injured after jumping out windows.
At around noon, four men, armed and dressed like Al Shabab terrorists, entered the private university’s campus. They were actually actors, tasked with simulating an attack resembling the one on Garissa University last April. But there was a major problem: none of the students had been told about this drill. Neither had the university’s staff, save for a few campus security officers who had organised the operation with local police, according to Betty Ngara, the university’s spokeswoman.
“We stayed on the roof for an hour, panicked”
Robert (not his real name) is a student at Strathmore University.
I was in the Student Centre, which is the first building that the ‘terrorists’ entered. There were many students inside, studying for exams. I heard gunshots, and saw three men, dressed all in white, with their heads covered in red and white keffiehs. They were holding automatic rifles. From videos I have seen, that’s what Al Shabab gunmen look like.
‘Most’ Iraqis believe US is Islamic State ally
December 2, 2015 – 4:06PM
On the front lines of the battle against the Islamic State, suspicion of the United States runs deep. Iraqi fighters say they have all seen the videos purportedly showing US helicopters airdropping weapons to the militants, and many claim they have friends and relatives who have witnessed similar instances of collusion.
Ordinary people also have seen the videos, heard the stories and reached the same conclusion – one that might seem absurd to Americans but is widely believed among Iraqis – that the United States is supporting the Islamic State for a variety of pernicious reasons that have to do with asserting American control over Iraq, the wider Middle East and, perhaps, its oil.
“It is not in doubt,” said Mustafa Saadi, who says his friend saw US helicopters delivering bottled water to Islamic State positions. He is a commander in one of the Shiite militias that last month helped push the militants out of the oil refinery near Baiji in northern Iraq alongside the Iraqi army.
Ghostly ships filled with bodies arrive on Japan’s shores
Updated 0314 GMT (1114 HKT) December 2, 2015
An unsettling mystery has washed up on Japan’s shores.
Over the past two months, at least 12 wooden boats have been found in the Sea of Japan on or near the coast, carrying a chilling cargo — the decaying bodies of 22 people, police and Japan’s coast guard said.
All the bodies were “partially skeletonized” — two were found without heads — and one boat contained six skulls, the coast guard said. The first boat was found in October, then a series of boats were found in November.
Coast guard officials are trying to unravel the riddle of where these ghostly boats came from and what happened to those on board.
Their best guess so far is that the ships are from North Korea.
One clue pointing that direction is Korean lettering on the hull of a boat containing 10 decomposing bodies, one of three boats that were found adrift off the city of Wajima on the west coast of Japan on November 20.
Aung San Suu Kyi meets president and army chief in transition talks
Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won a massive victory in Myanmar’s landmark elections last month, has met President Thein Sein to discuss the handover.
She will also meet army chief Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Nay Pyi Taw.
Both men have pledged to assist in a smooth transfer of power putting an end to decades of military-backed rule.
However, Ms Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from becoming president and the army retains a quarter of seats in the upper and lower houses of parliament.
Myanmar’s constitution bars anyone with foreign national children from becoming president and Ms Suu Kyi’s sons have British passports. However, she has repeatedly said that she will be above the person she nominates for the role.
A spokesman for Mr Thein Sein said the discussion with Ms Suu Kyi lasted 45 minutes and focused on how to achieve a peaceful transition of power.
Ye Htut told the BBC’s Jonah Fisher that she did not broach the subject of changing the constitution to allow her to become president, nor was there any discussion around who the next president might be.
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