Osama says veil ban justifies attacks on France

DUBAI: Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warned France on Wednesday that its ban on the veil in public places justified violence against its nationals as militants kept seven hostages captive, five of them French.

In an audio recording aired by Al-Jazeera television, Bin Laden said last month’s kidnapping claimed by the jihadist network’s North African branch in the Sahara desert in northern Niger was a warning.
He called on France to pull its troops out of Afghanistan.

“As you wrongly have decided that you have the right to ban Muslim women from wearing the veil, is it not our right to drive out your conquerors by killing them?” Bin Laden asked.

“The kidnapping of your experts in Niger... is in retaliation for the tyranny you practice against our Muslim nation.
“How is it possible to interfere in the affairs of Muslims, especially in north and west Africa, and support your agents against us and exploit much of our resources via suspect transactions while our people there suffer from poverty and misery,” he said in the speech, which lasted 1 minute 55 seconds.

The seven hostages — five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan — were seized in a Niger uranium-mining town on the night of September 15 to September 16.

They are believed by intelligence agents in countries concerned to be held in an area of the Sahara desert in neighbouring Mali.
The Al-Qaeda leader warned the French government that continuation of its role in the NATO force in Afghanistan would rebound on domestic security.

“The way to protect your security is to bring your tyranny against our nation to an end, most importantly to withdraw from the damned war of (former US president George W.) Bush in Afghanistan,” he said in the message, the authenticity of which could not immediately be verified.

“How could you take part in occupying our countries and support the Americans in killing our children and women, and then expect to live in peace and security?” he asked.

“It is very simple — as you kill, you will be killed, as you take hostages, you will be taken hostages, and as you compromise our security, we will compromise your security.”

Bin Laden began his message to the French people by saying he wanted to set out “the reasons for threatening your security and taking your people as prisoners.”

The authenticity of the latest recording could not immediately be independently verified.

On September 30, Al-Qaeda’s North African branch posted a photograph and audio recordings of the seven hostages, who were mostly working for the French nuclear group Areva and its subcontractors.

The French government has indicated it is willing to talk to the kidnappers, but has received no contact from the group.

The last message from the elusive Al-Qaeda chief was in early October, when he issued a call for aid to flood victims in Pakistan.

In a speech posted on the Internet entitled “Help Your Pakistani Brothers,” the Al-Qaeda leader focused on the reluctance of Arab and Muslim countries to help Pakistanis, singling out Gulf states, Malaysia and Turkey, US monitoring group SITE Intelligence said.

Bin Laden’s whereabouts are unknown, but in August, the US commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, said he is “far buried” in the remote mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan and that capturing him remains a key task. -- AFP


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INDONESIA: Volcano-displaced face increased health risks

JAKARTA, 27 October 2010 (IRIN) - Indonesian health authorities are warning of increased health risks for thousands of people displaced by the volcano eruption in central Java.
The Mount Merapi volcano [ http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=90881 ] erupted before dusk on 26 October, spewing clouds of extremely hot ash and covering entire neighbourhoods on its southern slope.
At least 28 people are now confirmed dead and 90 hospitalized for burns, the Health Ministry said in a statement on 27 October.

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/LSGZ-8AMGGP?OpenDocument&RSS20=18-P

Indonesian tsunami kills 108, scores missing

A tsunami that pounded remote islands in western Indonesia following an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra killed more than 100 people, officials said on Tuesday, and hundreds more were missing.

The 7.5 magnitude quake hit 78 kilometers west of South Pagai, one of the Mentawai islands, late on Monday. Local legislator Hendri Dori Satoko told Metro TV the latest toll was 108 dead and 502 missing.

Most buildings in the coastal village of Betu Monga were destroyed, said Hardimansyah, an official with the regional branch of the Department of Fisheries.

"Of the 200 people living in that village, only 40 have been found. 160 are still missing, mostly women and children," he said. "We have people reporting to the security post here that they could not hold on to their children, that they were swept away. A lot of people are crying."

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/indonesia/2010/10/27/277608/Indonesian-tsunami.htm