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NAZRAN, Russia (Reuters) - An opposition Internet news site owner in Russia’s troubled Ingushetia region was fatally shot on Sunday soon after being detained by police, and his colleagues called for a rally to protest his death. Magomed Yevloyev is one of the most high-profile journalists to be killed in Russia since investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead near her Moscow apartment in 2006, provoking condemnation of Russia’s record on media freedom.

Yevloyev, owner of the www.Ingushetiya.ru website, was a vocal critic of the region’s Kremlin-backed administration, accused by opponents of crushing dissent and free speech. A lawyer for the website — which survived repeated official attempts to close it down — said police met Yevloyev at the steps of the aircraft after he flew in to Ingushetia’s airport, put him in a Volga saloon car and drove him away. “As they drove he was shot in the temple… They threw him out of the car near the hospital,” lawyer Kaloi Akhilgov told Reuters by telephone. More

This time, as was the case in 1956, the Syrians were the first to land in the Kremlin, and shower the “great red army that defeated Hitler” with praise. President Bashar al-Assad landed in Russia on August 20, less than two weeks after the South Ossetia war started. Sending a strong message to the Russians ahead of his trip, he spoke to the Russian Kommerstant newspaper, “On this issue [of South Ossetia and Georgia] we fully support Russia. The Americans continue their Cold War policies … The war, which was unleashed by Georgia, is the culmination of attempts to encircle and isolate Russia.” He added, “Georgia started the crisis, but the West is blaming Russia. Everywhere there is total disinformation, distortion of facts, and international attempts to isolate Russia.”

He then added, “The Caucasus and Europe are impossible without Russia … I think that after the crisis with Georgia, Russia has become only stronger.” He wrapped up saying, “It is important that Russia takes the position of a superpower, and then all the attempts to isolate it will fail.”

The Russians, thrilled at the statement of support they were waiting to hear from a traditional friend, reciprocated with words and lucrative offers of arms. “Our position is that we are ready to cooperate with Russia in any project that can strengthen its security,” added the Syrian president. When asked if his country would accept an offer of air defense from the Russians, Assad replied, “In principle, yes. We have not yet thought about it.” More

Russia has been accused of attacking Georgian government websites in a cyber war to accompany their military bombardment. In a statement released using a replacement website built on Google’s blog service, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said: “A cyber warfare campaign by Russia is seriously disrupting many Georgian websites, including that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” More

Source: The Guardian
In a submission to the UN in May, the Pentagon said that no more than eight youths, aged 13 to 17 at time of capture, were held at Guantánamo Bay. But a prisoner list released in 2006 in response to US freedom of information act litigation names 21 inmates under 18 when they arrived. A separate defence department admission brings the total to 22. Testimonies collected by the charity Reprieve, which represents 30 inmates at Guantánamo, indicate the actual number is much higher.

Guantánamo’s child prisoners came from all over the world: they were Afghan, Yemeni, Saudi, Russian, Uighuri, and Canadian. Five of them are still there. They are: Mohammed el Gharani, aged 14-15 when he was seized while praying in a Karachi mosque; Hassan bin Attash, aged 16-17 when seized in Pakistan, and rendered to Jordan where he endured 16 months of torture before being transferred; Faris Muslim Al Ansari, an Afghan-Yemeni who was 17 when captured; Mohamed Jawad, an Afghan who was 17 when seized and faces trial by military commission; and Omar Khadr. Saudi citizen Yasser Talal Al Zahrani, 17 when captured, joined a prison-wide hunger strike in 2005. He was found dead in his cell in June 2006 after apparently killing himself.

Former congressman Curt Weldon is helping broker deals between Russian and Ukranian weapons suppliers and the Iraqi and Libyan governments as part of his new job with a private American defense consulting firm, Wired.com has learned. Weldon, who is currently being investigated by the FBI over alleged corruption during his time in office, visited Libya in March to discuss a possible military deal, according to a letter describing the trip from Weldon to Defense Solutions CEO Timothy Ringgold. In May, Weldon, together with Ringgold and another company representative, traveled to Moscow to discuss working with Russia’s weapons-export agency on arms sales to the Middle East. More

“All people know Russia is a Northern country with snow, frost, cold winter….we all know now that 65% of Russia is covered with permafrost, but there is one fact less people know: Russia has a territory that is located more to the South than Milano, Nice, Monte Carlo and other places of the European South. And this territory occupies more square [miles] than France or Germany. Meet Sochi, the Winter Olympics 2014 host. This Russia doesn’t look like Russia at all, and maybe the next place for your vacation”.
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