Month: April 2010

Washington, April 03: A second woman was charged in the case of the terror suspect dubbed “JihadJane” after she flew back to the United States and surrendered to authorities, the US Justice Department said.

Jamie Paulin Ramirez, 31, a US national and a former Colorado resident, was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, the department said in a statement.

The Department of Justice said Ramirez had travelled with Colleen LaRose, who dubbed herself “JihadJane” online, “to and around Europe to participate in and in support of violent jihad”.

Washington, April 03: The US military’s drawdown in Iraq and build-up in Afghanistan represents the biggest movement of troops and equipment since World War II, a top general said.

“This is the largest operation, that we’ve been able to determine, since the build-up for World War II,” said Lieutenant General William Webster, who oversees the effort as head of the Third Army.

Webster described a mammoth logistical task in moving 30,000 troops and tons of supplies to Afghanistan, while pulling out equipment and tens of thousands of forces from Iraq all by a September deadline.

Washington, April 03: US President Barack Obama declared Tuesday that he wants to see the UN Security Council adopt sanctions against Iran within “weeks” over the Islamic republic’s refusal to resolve the dispute over its nuclear activities.

“I’m not interested in waiting months for a sanctions regime to be in place. I’m interested in seeing that regime in place in weeks,” Obama said at a press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Caracas, April 03: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has received Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the presidential palace in Caracas.

Putin is in Venezuela as Moscow is actively seeking closer ties with South America. The two leaders discussed further military cooperation among other things.

Venezuela plans to secure the purchase of 90 “T-72” class tanks.

The two sides have also discussed further cooperation in the energy sector and granting Caracas a financial credit worth as much as over two billion dollars.

Washington, April 03: According to a poll conducted by CBS News, Barack Obama’s overall job approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 44 percent.

The latest figure is down five points from late March — just before the healthcare bill’s passage in the House of Representatives.

Forty-one percent of those questioned have said they disapprove of the president’s performance.

The CBS poll also shows half of the American people are not happy with Obama’s handling of the economy.

84 percent of those polled think the US economy is still in a bad condition.

Moscow, April 03: Russia has completed the sale of a package of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to China in a deal which is said to be worth over two billion dollars.

Igor Ashurbeili, the general director of the Almaz-Antei joint, which manufactures the S-300 system has confirmed the delivery of 15 batteries of the long range surface-to-air missile system to Beijing, reported RIA Novosti.

All the supplied S-300 systems will be used for the defense of the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai, according to a Russian official.

Moscow, April 03: A 17- YEAR- OLD girl has been identified as one of the two suicide bombers who carried out the blasts at Moscow’s tube stations on Monday.

Quoting police sources, leading Russian business daily Kommersant reported on Friday that Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova from Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan belonged to the ‘ Black Widows’ brigade.

‘ Black widows’ — as Russian journalists have dubbed women suicide bombers — are the preferred choice of Islamic rebels from the North Caucasus to carry out such attacks.