An Cosantóir

14 | World Strategic Picture asia AFRICA Violence marked the beginning of a two-day referendum as Egyptians went to the polls on the 14th of January for the second time in 13 months to reshape their country's future. In all, 11 people died in events unfolding from the referendum with two dying of natural causes, while nine deaths suspected to be unlawful. Reports claim that at least four people died in Sohag and one in Beni Seouif in clashes between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood. Kenyan Defence Forces have claimed their fighter jets hit an AlShabaab camp in Somalia, killing at least 30 militants. The attack took place while the militants met at the camp in Garbarahey in Somalia's western Gedo region near the border with Kenya. An initial assessment indicates that 'key commanders' were among the fatalities. Scores of others escaped with multiple injuries with vehicles and other assets being destroyed. During a recent suicide bombing at least 13 people were killed and 28 wounded at a market near the Pakistani Army's headquarters. Those killed in the attack at the Royal Artillery Bazaar included civilians, security personnel and at least one child. The bazaar is in a highly sensitive military area close to the general headquarters of the Pakistani Army in Rawalpindi. Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. A blast at an army checkpoint in the northern Pakistani city of Bannu, resulted in 22 people killed and 38 injured. The blast struck an army convoy travelling from Bannu to Miranshah. The convoy included both military and civilian vehicles. According to intelligence sources an IED was planted in an 18-seater van. Most of those killed were passengers in that van. THE MIDDLE EAST Three members of an alleged al-Qaeda cell were arrested by the Israeli security service Shin Bet. A government spokesperson claimed the cell was planning to attack targets including the US embassy. Shin Bet said an al-Qaeda operative recruited the men in the Gaza Strip and that their other targets included a large conference centre in Jerusalem. The Hamas movement which runs the Gaza Strip rejected Shin Bet's claims. EUROPE Kensington Palace has announced that Prince Harry is ending his time with Britain's Army Air Corps and is taking a staff officer role in London. The move takes him out of a potential combat role flying Apache helicopters. His recent deployment included a four-month stint in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, known as a Taliban stronghold. Security forces killed seven militants in a counterterrorism operation in Russia's southern republic of Dagestan, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti. The six men and one woman died in a siege in Makhachkala, capital city of Dagestan. The operation came after 16 people, including several police officers, were injured in explosions from a grenade launcher and a car bomb targeting a restaurant in Makhachkala. An Cosantóir February 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie The trial of four men accused of murdering former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri has begun at an unprecedented tribunal at The Hague. The four alleged associates of the Shia movement Hezbollah, who have not been arrested yet will be tried in absentia. Hezbollah denies any involvement in killing Hariri and 21 others in a massive car bomb in Beirut in 2005. THE AMERICAS The Mexican government has sent federal forces to the western state of Michoacan to order vigilante groups fighting against the cartel to lay down their weapons. The situation has become a major problem for President Enrique Peña Nieto's government, which has vowed to reduce drug violence. The chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers claimed US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden may have collaborated with Russia, "I believe there's a reason he ended up in the hands of an agent in Moscow," he said. Rogers offered no firm evidence to back his theory, with the FBI claiming their sure Snowdon who was granted temporary asylum in Russia, acted alone.

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