Al Qaeda kidnaps Italian tourist in Algeria

 

(Reuters) - An Italian woman on a tourist trip to the Sahara desert in Algeria has been kidnapped by al Qaeda insurgents, Algeria's official news agency and a government security source said on Friday.

Insurgents operating as al Qaeda's north African wing have been active in the Sahara desert and have kidnapped several foreigners, but until now most of their activities have been in areas of the desert south of Algeria's borders.

"It seems that this is a group which was freed from prison a few months ago and which then joined al Qaeda and has now kidnapped this Italian woman," the Algerian security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.The woman was kidnapped on Wednesday night in the desert south of the Algerian town of Djanet, the official APS news agency reported, citing an unnamed source in the local authority.It said a major operation, involving security services and the military, was under way to find the woman.The kidnappers allowed the woman to use a satellite telephone to call her tour operator, who then notified the authorities, the agency reported.

TOURIST AREA

The Algerian security source said the hostage was a 56-year-old woman and she was in an area of the desert frequented by tourists when she was seized.She was kidnapped along with her guide and a cook, but they were released, the source said.Al Qaeda's local branch, known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has for years targeted Westerners for kidnap in the Sahara, mostly releasing them in exchange for ransoms or prisoner releases though some hostages have been killed.The group said last month it was responsible for the abduction of two Frenchmen found dead after a failed rescue attempt in Niger.It is also holding seven hostages, including five French nationals, who were kidnapped from a uranium-mining town in Niger last September.

It killed French tourist Michel Germaneau in July last year after kidnapping him in Niger three months earlier. It also killed British man Edwin Dyer in 2009 after kidnapping him on the border between Niger and Mali.AQIM emerged out of a long conflict between security forces and Islamist militants in the populous north of Algeria, along the Mediterranean coast.Under pressure from Algerian security forces in the north, it moved some of its operations to the desert area straddling Niger, Mali, Algeria and Mauritania where the vast expenses and porous borders have provided it with a safe haven.It is unusual for the group to carry out attacks inside Algeria, but several Western countries changed their travel advice last year to urge visitors to exercise caution if going to some traditional tourist areas in the Algerian desert.

Protection urged for journalist after suspected radical Muslim gunman targets his car

Potenza, 10 Jan. - A director of Italian public broadcaster RAI has urged the government to protect to one of its journalists after a suspected radical Muslim opened fire on his car in southern Italy. Nello Rega was uninjured in the attack as he drove home late on Thursday. Rega wrote a book on Islam's uneasy relationship Christianity [sic] and has received several threats from alleged Muslim extremists over the past two years.

"Last night's attack should leave people in no doubt. Rega could have been killed. Why is he not adequately protected?" said Antonio Bagnardi, director of RAI Televideo, where Bagnardi works.

"Isn't it enough that he has been intimidated for months on end and now is a victim of attempted murder," Bagnardi added, calling on Italy's interior minister Roberto Maroni to intervene.

A single shot was fired at Rega's car from a vehicle that drew up alongside as he drove along a state highway near the city of Potenza in Italy's Basilicata region, damaging Rega's rear window. He reported the attack to police, who were examining his car as part of their investigation.

Since his book 'Different and Divided - a Diary of Coexistence with Islam' Rega has received threats in the Italian capital, Rome, and in Potenza including an envelope mailed to him with bullets inside.

Bagnardi urged media not to under-report or ignore such incidents.

 

Anarchists claim responsibility for Rome bombs

(Reuters) - An Italian anarchist group claimed responsibility for parcel bombs on Thursday that wounded two people at the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome, a reminder of Europe's home-grown threats at a time of political instability.

A Swiss man was seriously wounded and rushed to hospital. An employee at the Chilean embassy was less seriously hurt. A note was found stuck to his clothing, claiming responsibility for the attack on behalf of the FAI, or Informal Anarchist Federation."We have decided to make our voice heard with words and with facts, we will destroy the system of dominance, long live the FAI, long-live Anarchy," said the note, written in Italian, which was released in the evening by the police.The incidents bore similarities to an episode in Greece last month in which far-left militants sent parcel bombs to foreign governments abroad and to embassies in Athens.

The note was signed by the "Lambros Fountas revolutionary cell" of the FAI, named for a Greek anarchist killed in a clash with Athens police in March. It also made reference to anarchist movements in Chile, Mexico, Spain and Argentina.

"Greece, Italy and Spain have seen the presence of anarcho-insurrectionalist groups that are tightly linked," Italy's Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said before the note was found. "They are very violent."The FAI is well known to Italian authorities. Intelligence services said in a report to parliament last year that it was "the main national terrorist threat of an anarchist-insurrectionalist type."In December 2009 the group claimed responsibility for a bomb that partially exploded in a tunnel under Milan's Bocconi University at 3 am, causing no casualties.No note was found at the Swiss embassy, but police said the packages that exploded were almost identical.The explosions came at a time of tension in Italy. Last week saw an anti-government student protest that descended into some of the worst street violence in Rome for many years.Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini condemned the incidents, which he said were a serious threat to diplomatic missions in Rome. He urged caution and warned against alarmist reactions.The attacks, like those in Greece, focused attention on Europe's domestic security threats at a time when authorities had otherwise been warning of the risk of attacks by al Qaeda.

"It doesn't look like a typical jihadist thing. It looks more like the act of a leftist, fringe group," said Stephan Bierling, professor of International Politics at Regensburg University in Germany.Spending cuts caused by the financial crisis have led to demonstrations and strikes around Europe, and experts expect a rise in political violence by far-left groups."Given the similarities with the recent parcel bombs in Greece following anti-austerity protests, this could be a copycat incident by domestic activists," said Samantha Wolreich, European risk analyst at advisory firm AKE.

A return by “Angels for a Day”: young students and academics engaged on behalf of children in difficulty

Rome – On Sunday, 12 December, in various cities (Rome, Florence, Milan and Palermo), “Angels for a Day” returns, the volunteering initiative carried out on behalf of needy children on the outskirts of the Italian cities, guests in host and various group homes or living in situations of neglect, violence, poverty and degradation. The “angels” are young high school and university volunteers who, divided into groups, take responsibility for some children, accompanying and assisting them throughout the day according to the program provided by the organization: games, movies, group activities, performances and surprises. Many of these children do not limit themselves to being simply “angels for a day”, but continue for longer periods. Thanks to this day, the “angels” in fact become an important reference point for the child. These friendships motivate the most sensitive and willing volunteers to engage in ongoing weekly activities held at various group homes. “Angels for a Day” is a volunteer project now running for ten years in nine Italian cities: Rome, Milan, Florence, Modena, Brescia, Caserta, Naples, Palermo and Catania. 

September unemployment rises

Italy,Rome, 30 Oct. (amenews) - Italy's unemployment rate rose in September as Europe's fourth-largest economy struggles to create jobs following last year's recession.
Joblessness climbed to a seasonally adjusted 8.3 percent from a revised 8.1 percent in August, Rome-based national statistics office Istat said on Friday.
More than 2.7 million Italians were without work in September.
The Bank of Italy recently said the country's jobless rate is significantly higher than the offical data.
Using a broader measure of joblessness calculated by adding those paid by the redundancy fund known as Cassa Integrazione, was over 11 percent, the Bank of Italy said on 15 October.
Europe's fourth-largest economy shrank 5.1 percent last year. It expanded just 0.4 percent in the first quarter compared with October-December 2009 and grew 0.5 percent in the second quarter compared with January to March.

اٹلی:منی سکرٹ پر پابندی کی تجویز

اٹلی کے ساحلی شہر کیسٹلامارے ڈی سٹیبیا کی انتظامیہ کا کہنا ہے کہ وہ عوامی مقامات پر منی سکرٹ اور اس جیسے دیگر نیم عریاں ملبوسات پہننے پر پابندی عائد کرنے کے بارے میں سوچ رہی ہے۔
اگر یہ پابندی عائد ہو جاتی ہے تو یہ شہر ان شہروں کی فہرست میں شامل ہو جائے گا جنہوں نے عوامی مقامات کو تہذیب کے دائرے میں رکھنے کے لیے اقدامات کیے ہیں۔
کیسٹلامارے ڈی سٹیبیا کے میئر کا کہنا ہے کہ منی سکرٹ اور چھوٹے چھوٹے کپڑے پہننے کی ممانعت کی خلاف ورزی کرنے والے پر پینتیس ڈالر سے لے کر چھ سو چھیانوے ڈالر تک کا جرمانہ عائد ہوگا۔
شہر کے میئر کی نئی پالیسی ہے غیر مناسب کپڑوں کی اجازت نہیں۔ میئر کا کہنا ہے کہ وہ اس قانون سے ان لوگوں کو ہدف بنانا چاہتے ہیں جو ہنگامہ پرور ہوں یا جن کو معاشی طور طریقے میں رہنا نہیں آتا۔
پیر کے روز اس پابندی پر ووٹنگ ہوگی۔ نئے قانون کے تحت غسلِ آفتابی، عوامی مقامات پر فٹ بال کھیلنے اور مذہب کی توہین کرنے پر بھی پابندی ہوگی۔
مقامی پادری کا کہنا ہے میرے خیال میں یہ اچھا فیصلہ ہے۔ اس فیصلے سے بڑھتی ہوئی جنسی زیادتیوں پر بھی قابو پایا جا سکے گا۔
اس شہر سے قبل کئی شہروں میں ریت سے بنائے جانے والے گھروندوں اور گاڑی میں بوس و کنار جیسے عمل کو ممنوع قرار دیا ہے۔