Ten Days Later, Still No Answers on Whereabouts of Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

More than ten days after a Malaysian Airlines 777-200 vanished from radar, investigators are no closer to finding the missing airliner than they were the weekend Kuala Lumpur to Beijing Flight MH370 disappeared. Apparently the first three days were spent looking for signs of the downed airliner in the wrong ocean, as both the Malaysian and Thai military radar tracked an unidentified aircraft on a westward trajectory across the Malay peninsula shortly after air traffic controllers in Malaysia and Vietnam had lost track of MH370.

Since the March 8th disappearance, every new development has seemingly been a false lead or raised more questions than answers. Theoretically the aircraft could be on the bottom of the Indian Ocean or at a remote landing strip anywhere between Kazakhstan and the Australian Outback, but there have been no signs of the missing flight since March 8th. My pet theory about the plane being hijacked or intentionally crashed by Islamists working on behalf of Uighurs in western China seems to be not farfetched enough.


However, searchers were erroneously directed to a debris field in the South China Sea after media reports began circulating that a Chinese satellite had snapped images of what appeared to be wreckage and debris on the water- presumably from MH370. Investigators are now convinced that the missing flight banked left and continued westward in an erratic pattern long after the transponder was disabled, heading in the direction of India's remote Nicobar Islands when it was last tracked by radar. According to avionics data that was sent to the engine's manufacturer via satellite, the missing airliner was aloft for at least another four hours. However, the signals sent via satellite could not be used to pinpoint the aircraft's exact location.

Over the weekend, Malaysian officials ruled that Flight MH370's disappearance was due to a deliberate act and was treating the disappearance as a hijacking. Aviation officials believe that the aircraft flew as high as 45,000 feet- beyond the manufacturer's recommended cruising altitude- and at times as low as 4900 feet once it pivoted west.

Villagers along Malaysia's eastern coast reported to local police that they had heard what sounded like a low-flying jet the same night MH370 went missing. Authorities in the Maldives are also investigating a report that fishermen on the southern island of Kuda Huvadhoo saw a white 'jumbo jet' with red stripes flying overhead at a low altitude shortly after dawn- colors consistent with the Malaysia Airlines paint scheme.

Currently, 26 nations- including the USA- are involved in the search for the missing airliner. More than 150 of the 239 passengers and crew on board the vanished airliner were from China and that country has undertaken a search of their western territories in the event that MH370 resumed a northbound trajectory after vanishing.

Investigators are also looking at both the pilot and co-pilot. Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah had more than 30 years flight experience and had built a home-made flight simulator at his suburban Kuala Lumpur residence. On Monday, police raided Shah's residence and were combing through the flight simulator for any possible clues. Shortly after the plane's disappearance, an Australian TV report claimed that MH370's co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, had allowed an Australian woman and her friend into the cockpit during a December 2011 flight from Phuket, Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, representing a major security breach.

US Diplomatic Posts Shuttered Throughout Middle East as Lawmakers Cite 'Specific', 'Serious' Threat in Region.

In light of a number of what lawmakers called credible and serious threats, the State Department announced that they were keeping some of their embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa closed through Saturday. The State Department's closing of the diplomatic missions coincides with the end of the muslim holy month of Ramadan and a series of high-profile jailbreaks last week in Syria, Libya, Iraq and Pakistan where Taliban and Al Qaeda inmates were being held.

The State Department has announced that it will keep several embassies in the Middle East and Africa closed throughout the week “out of an abundance of caution” in the wake of terror threats that shut them down.

Posts in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa, Tripoli, Antanarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali and Port Louis have been instructed to close for normal operations from Monday through Saturday, department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

The State Department also said some of those embassies were already going to be closed in accordance with local customs marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Those authorized to reopen Monday are in Dhaka, Algiers, Nouakchott, Kabul, Herat, Mazar el Sharif, Baghdad, Basrah and Erbil.

Capitol Hill lawmakers, including top-ranking members of intelligence committees, on Sunday described the terror threat that closed 22 U.S. embassies and consulates across the Muslim region as the most serious one since before the 9/11 attacks and related to specific act or plot.

The sources said the chatter included Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri demanding that key leaders of the terror network in the Arabian Peninsula step up their activities in the wake of recent killings of top terrorists.

A Mideast diplomat said al-Zawahiri’s “pressuring” of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to launch new terrorist attacks on American and other Western targets is “unprecedented.”

The sources also said the U.S. outpost closings and the travel alert were prompted in part by a series of recent Al Qaeda-led prison breaks that have freed hundreds of operatives over the last month, including one this weekend in Aleppo, Syria. Other recent breaks have been orchestrated in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan and Abu Ghraib, in Afghanistan.

Canada has also shut down their diplomatic mission in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka amid growing unrest in that nation while the UK, France and Germany closed down their respective embassies in Yemen.

On Saturday, a car bomb detonated outside of the Indian consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The explosion killed nine, including children from a nearby mosque. A spokesman for India's Foreign Ministry said that no Indian officials were harmed in the attack.

Indian Students Create Electrified Lingerie to Thwart Would-Be Rapists and Molesters

This enticing blue bra modelled by Canadian-Punjabi actress Sunny Leone- soon to be available in 34DD and 3800 kV?

In the wake of a series of public and disturbing rapes in India, three engineering students at Sri Ramaswamy Memorial University have devised women's underwear whose features include delivering a series of powerful electric shocks to a potential assailant while protecting the wearer.

"The lingerie with global positioning system, global system for mobile communications and also pressure sensors, is capable of sending shock waves of 3,800 kV as well as alerts to parents and police," says Manisha Mohan, co-developer of the innovative product named Society Harnessing Equipment.

"The shocks can be emitted up to 82 times," she said, adding it's an apt device which could get women "freedom from situations faced in public places", where at times they are reluctant to walk to lawmakers for help.

"A person trying to molest a girl will get the shock of his life the moment pressure sensors get activated, and the GPS and GSM modules would send an SMS on emergency number 100, as well as to parents of the girl," she said.

Mohan, an engineering student of SRM University in Chennai, along with her two colleagues Rimpi Tripathi and Neeladri Basu Pal, developed the prototype of SHE and are busy fine-tuning the product for commercial rollout in April.

"I have approached a friend in National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to help me find the right kind of fabric for the product so that it can be washed," she says.

The design of the electrified bra and panties were reportedly inspired by the vicious gang rape of a 23 year old woman in New Delhi in December 2012. The woman later died from her injuries and the alleged attackers were arrested by police after a tremendous public outcry.

In March, a Swiss tourist was gang-raped while camping in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh- police have taken five men into custody after the attack. The incidents have reportedly spurred a noticable decline in tourism in India.

Even before the highly publicised assaults, female commuters getting groped and harassed on trains throughout major cities in India. The widespread harrassment led to the formation of women-only commuter trains in Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta.

Bollywood Actress Set to Become First-Ever Indian Playmate

A Bollywood actress will become the first Indian woman to grace the cover of Playboy, even though the print edition of the magazine is banned in her native country.

28 year old Sherlyn Chopra will be appearing in the upcoming November issue of the magazine and while her fans in India won't find the print edition at newsstands, Chopra will also be appearing in the online edition.

Born to a Christian father and Muslim mother in the southern city of Hyderabad, the news of her appearing on the cover of the American edition of the men's magazine has caused quite a stir in the subcontinent. Some commentators openly questioned if her appearance there would contribute towards continuing voyeurism and the exploitation of Indian women while Chopra defended her decision in an interview with the Hindi edition of the BBC last week.

"I have become the first Indian to pose naked for Playboy and nobody can take away that achievement from me," Ms Chopra said.

"My sister is proud of my achievement. I haven't told anything to my mother, but I think I will visit her and tell her that she has to accept me the way I am."

The 28-year-old actress, who has played some small roles in Bollywood films, said she had visited Mr Hefner and his friends at the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles.

"I had fun meeting him and his girlfriends. I am thinking of making him my idol because he lives his life on his terms and conditions. I also live my life on my terms and conditions," Ms Chopra said.

While Playboy and certain American publications have identified Chopra as a 'bombshell' and 'screen siren', the fetching Bollywood beauty has actually appeared in a relatively small number of films and didn't receive top billing in any of them.

Even with a ban on the print edition of Playboy in effect, India is no stranger to controversies involving cover girls. In late 2011, actress Veena Malik angered most of her native Pakistan by posing topless for the Indian edition of FHM with a grenade the initials of Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency scrawled on her arm. Malik [pictured above] was born in the Pakistani province of Punjab and was married to a Pakistani cricket star, but much of her work over the last decade was out of Mumbai, India.

Chopra would not be the first woman from an Islamic background to appear on the cover of Playboy, however. In April 2011, German actress Sila Sahin- the daughter of Turkish immigrants to Germany- appeared on the cover of the German edition of Playboy.

Sahin [above] had reportedly received a number of anonymous death threats within weeks of the magazine hitting the newsstand.

Horn of Africa Update- Somali, Ethiopian Troops Seize Al-Shabaab Stronghold; US Airstrike Kills Foreign Fighters; Somaliland Open for Business?

Somali troops seen on the move outside of Baidoa

SOMALIA- Backed by Ethiopian troops, the nascent Somali army captured one of al Shabaab's strongholds in the central part of the country last week.

AFP - Truckloads of Ethiopian and Somali troops on Wednesday captured the strategic Somali city of Baidoa from Al-Qaeda allied Shebab insurgents, who vowed to avenge the loss.

"We have taken control of Baidoa without a single shot, it is a great day for the people who are now welcoming us warmly," said Muhidin Ali, a Somali government military commander in Baidoa.

Baidoa, 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu, is one of the main bases of the hardline Shebab, and its capture deals a major blow to the insurgents, who control large parts of southern and central Somalia.

Sporadic shooting was reported on the outskirts of the town, but residents said the city was largely calm.

"We are at the centre now and moving towards every corners of the town, to ensure that we are in full control," Ali added. "The enemy fled the city before our army has reached the town empty."

Ethiopian troops, who moved into southern and western Somalia in November, began a major push Tuesday towards Baidoa, which hosted the transitional parliament before Islamist rebels seized the town in 2009.

"There was no fighting, the Somali troops and the Ethiopian forces entered the town, setting up their base at the police station and the main crossroads in town," said Abdulahi Hassan, a resident.

"People are out in the streets watching the soldiers who are gradually moving into the different parts of the city."

Witnesses had said earlier that Shebab fighters and their families were seen fleeing Baidoa towards rebel-held Afgoye.

"Many people, most of them Al-Shebab families and supporters, are fleeing Baidoa," said Hussein Ali, a resident. "They are heading towards the Afgoye."

An al Shabaab commander confirmed the retreat, calling it a strategic withdrawl and promising more bloodshed and attacks against the Somali transitional government and African Union peacekeepers.

In recent years, forces from Somalia's transitional government controlled little more than a few blocks within the capital city of Mogadishu as the Islamic militia al-Shabaab swept through the countryside.

Less than a week before al Shabaab forces fled Baidoa, an al Shabaab commander and 13 other fighters were killed in clashes with Kenyan security forces in the southern part of Somalia.

Then Kenyans reportedly ambushed al Shabaab financier Mohamed Asmaya in Somali territory near the Kenyan border and seized a number of areas that provided the islamic militia with the bulk of its financial support.

On Friday, two foreign members of al-Shabaab were killed in an airstrike by a US drone about 60km south of Mogadishu.

Somali militants say that a Moroccan was killed in a strike that a U.S. official said was carried out by an American drone.

The statement Saturday on an al-Shabab website named the dead Moroccan as Sheik Abu Ibrahim. The statement said two others - including a second foreigner - were killed in the overnight Friday attack.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press the attack was carried out by a drone. Somali officials identified another of the militants killed in the attack as a Kenyan citizen.

Local reports claim that the total number killed in the airstrike was 4.

PUNTLAND- While under pressure from troops from Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia's transitional government as well as African Union peacekeepers in the South, Al Shabaab made its way north into the semiautonomous Puntland region, reportedly joining forces with a previously unaffiliated militia.

An Islamist militia group in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region has merged with the al Shabaab rebel group, said the insurgents on Saturday, a union which threatens to destabilize the relatively secure area targeted by oil explorers.

Al Shabaab said it wanted to scrap the licenses of Western oil and gas firms drilling in Puntland. The al Qaeda-backed insurgents used social media site twitter to declare all oil and gas exploration and drilling licenses nullified.

While they do not hold the administrative control in the region needed to enforce their demand, the militants could try to target installations operated by Western oil companies.
The union comes as the insurgents are being weakened, relinquishing ground to African Union troops around the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and losing territory to Kenyan and Ethiopian forces in parts of southern and central Somalia.

Puntland security officials have previously said the Islamist militia camped out in the Golis hills outside the port city of Bosasso is led by Yasin Khalid Osman.

"I ... the leader of Golis ranges Islamists have signed an agreement with al Shabaab leader Sheikh Muktar Abu Zubeir. We are now al Shabaab," a voice identifying itself as Osman said in an audio recording on al Shabaab's website.

"I urge residents to take part in the jihad against the Christian invaders and the Somali infidels that work with them," he said, referring to the foreign troops inside Somalia.

Osman rarely makes statements and it was not immediately possible to verify his voice.

Al Shabaab's announcement comes a month after western companies began drilling an exploratory well in Puntland- the first to be sunk since the 1991 collapse of the Said Barre regime that left Somalia without a functioning government for more than 20 years.

Canadian-based Africa Oil Corp [TSX- AOI.V] along with Australian-based Red Emperor Resources [LSX: RMP] and Range Resources [ASX: RRS] are targetting what could be 300 million barrels worth of recoverable oil.

Somaliland moneychanger with stacks of Somaliland shillings in the capital city of Hargeisa- photo; Phoenix of Somalia

SOMALILAND- In the hopes of attracting foreign investment to the relatively stable breakaway region of Somalia, Somaliland has established a UK-linked development corporation to circumvent concerns over potential problems arising from the fact that it is not recognized as an independent state.

President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo told Reuters that the purpose of the Somaliland Development Corporation was to "to attract companies and institutions which want to invest in our country."

"Since we are not a recognised country, insurance is always a difficult problem in Somaliland so if this can help with that, it would be useful."

Silanyo did not indicate what economic sectors he wished investors to target. But energy and mining minister Hussein Abdi Dualeh said in November the northern enclave had hydrocarbon potential with a geology similar to basins containing 9 billion barrels across the Gulf of Aden.

A number of big oil companies with permits to operate there left what is now Somaliland in the late 1980s and declared force majeure during Somalia's escalating civil conflict.

Several foreign banks have expressed interest in operating in Somaliland where they are keen to capitalise on its untapped market potential. Somaliland has no formal banking sector and its people rely heavily on remittances from diaspora communities in Europe, North America and the United Arab Emirates, as there are no ATMs or loan facilities.

Somaliland was briefly independent from Britian in 1960 before joining the rest of Somalia. However, with the 1991 collapse of the Barre regime, Somaliland once again declared independence. Despite establishing the rule of law as well as trading with Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and a number of Gulf States, circulating its own currency and aiding international navies in combatting piracy, Somaliland's independence remains unrecognized by most nations as well as the UN and a number of international agencies.

Currently, Somaliland's economy depends heavily on remittances from Somalis overseas, but the breakaway nation has been doing a robust business in exporting cattle and camels

Some speculate that if Somaliland gains internationally recognized independence from Somalia, it could trigger a number of similar secssionist movements throughout Africa.

MOGADISHU- The director of a Mogadishu radio station that was once shut down by al Shabaab was shot and killed by two unknown gunmen at his home this week, becoing the third journalist to be slain since December 2011.

Radio Somaliweyn is an independent radio station operating in northern Mogadishu.

The National Union of Somali Journalists has condemned the killings. Union Secretary General Mohamed Ibrahim said it is not clear why Mohamoud was targeted, but noted that in recent times he was involved in civil society activities.

“He was planning to bring the radio on air again. The reason is yet unclear, though he was very involved in civil society activism, such as youth in Banadir region in recent days. This is a really worrying trend for the journalists working in Mogadishu and the government has not done enough to investigate and bring suspects for prosecution,” said Ibrahim.

The killing came just a month after another journalist, Radio Shabelle Network Director Hassan Osman Abdi, was gunned down outside his house in Mogadishu. The Transitional Federal Government promised to investigate the murder and arrested two suspects.

In December, a government soldier killed journalist Abdisalan His at a checkpoint in the capital.

A number of media-rights groups say that due to the prolonged lack of any form of government, Somalia is the most dangerous country in Africa for journalists.

INDIA- Due to a steep decline in the number of pirate attacks off the western coast of India from Somali-based pirates, India plans on petitioning the International Maritime Organization to de-list their territorial waters from a list of high-risk nautical areas.

Citing the noticable dip in pirate attacks as well as increased patrolling by the Indian Navy off the west coast, India is hoping that the de-listing would lower insurance premiums on vessels operating through that area and possibly decrease demand for armed guards on some ships. The increased costs of both the insurance and armed protection means that the cost of shipping goods would be passed along to consumers worldwide.

Following aggressive expansion by the pirates further off the coast of Somalia and closer to Indian territorial waters, the Indian Navy stepped up patrols off the Western coast in 2011 resulting in the capture of a number of pirates and sinking a captured pirate 'mothership' which the pirates would use to launch smaller vessels to stage attacks on ships.

However, as recently as December 2011, Indian Navy officials warned that Somali pirates remained within striking distance of the southwestern archipelego of Lakshadweep.

UK- During an international conference on Somalia last week, Britain announced that it would pledge £20 million for a rapid reaction force to train police in areas retaken from al Shabaab.

Under the plans, Britain will contribute £20 million to a 'stability fund' for Somalia to help its new government secure the territory it has won from the al-Qaeda backed insurgency.

This will pay for a civilian force of “chino-clad warriors” who will be sent into vulnerable areas to help establish a police presence, health care facilities, schools and basic services before the militants can return.

The fund would target areas where either al-Shabaab had been driven out completely, or reduced as a fighting force. Its experts would be trained in forging local peace deals as well as overseeing government services in battle-ravaged regions. Andrew Mitchell, the International Development Secretary, said Britain hoped to attract further backing from around the world for the scheme. Somalia has had no functional government for two decades and has been described by William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, as “the world’s most failed state”.

In addition to the 40-nation conference in London, the United Nations security council is expected to take up a resolution regarding increasing the number of peacekeepers in the Horn of Africa. Currently, the African Union is combatting al-Shabaab in Somalia with soldiers from Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti while Ethiopian and Kenyan troops operating seperately from each other and the AU force have opened up a second and third front against al Shabaab elsewhere in the country.

Veena Malik Found Alive and Well in Mumbai, Earns Fatwa

Shortly after being reported missing by her manager, Pakistani Bollywood actress Veena Malik checked in safe and sound from a Mumbai luxury hotel earlier this month.

The actress had gone missing amid a furor in her native Pakistan over her appearing nude on an Indian magazine cover with the acronym for Pakistan's spy agency (the ISI; or Interservices Intelligence Directorate) stenciled on her arm. Her father had reportedly disowned her shortly after the shoot and many in Pakistan were calling for her citicizenship to be revoked or worse.



Earlier this week, an Indian Muslim organization issued a fatwa against the Pakistani starlet for reportedly signing onto a contract to allow her upcoming wedding to be televised nationally in India.

Majlis-e-Shura , 70-member supreme body of the All India Muslim Tyohar Committee, in Bhopal was receiving complaints from all corners and was urged to take stringent action against her.

Talking to a daily, Ausaf Shahmiri Khurram, chairman of the Majlis-e-Shura said, “We were getting complaints from concerned community members who said that the activities of this Pakistani female actor was sending a wrong message to our teenagers, especially girls.”

“The complaints said that there were offensive photographs of this woman all over the internet and that she was going to have a `Swayamvar` on television. Islam has a certain procedure for a `Nikaah`. We do not have `Swayamvar`,” he added.

The members of the body sat for over two days to take a call on Veena Malik. At the end, a unanimous call was taken and a “fatwa” was issued on her, which means that she will be socially boycotted.

Although the fatwa from India doesn't involve any overt death threats, earlier this year a Taliban splinter group issued a death threat against her and her family in her native Pakistan.

Playing With Fire- Pakistani Firecracker Veena Malik in Hot Water (Again) Over Provacative Magazine Cover

Lollywood actress Veena Malik was once again in the eye of a firestorm of controversy after a racy photo shoot for the cover of the December 2011 issue of FHM India magazine. The pictures show a nude or semi-nude Malik with her arms strategically crossed and the initials 'ISI' stenciled on one of them. The ISI- or Interservices Intelligence Directorate- is Pakistan's national intelligence agency. The text adjacent to the stencil says 'Hand in the end of the world, too?'

Indian newsstand displaying one version of the FHM magazine cover featuring Malik

Granted it doesn't take much to provoke outrage in Pakistan these days, but Malik's photo shoot and the FHM cover have done just that.

For her part, Malik has filed a £3m million defamation suit against the publisher, Maxposure Media Group, claiming the final images used by FHM on the cover were doctored [not sure if she means the nudity, the ISI stencil or both- NANESB!]. FHM and the publisher are reportedly filing a counter suit.

Another version of the FHM India cover features a semi-nude Malik clad only in an ammo belt and clenching the pin of a grenade in her teeth. Both version feature an ISI tattoo on Malik's arm, provoking outrage in her native Pakistan

I think this is the part where I tell you that Malik is no stranger to controversy.

In 2010, the actress testified before cricket's international governing body against her ex-boyfriend- Mohammed Asif from the Pakistani national team- in a match-fixing scandal.

Later that year, she appeared on the Indian version of Big Brother- called Bigg Boss- and raised hackles in her native Pakistan after she was filmed cuddling with one of her housemates on the reality show.


What really put the Pakistani bombshell on the map was her January 2011 on-air confrontation with an Islamic mufti critical her conduct while on the reality show and preforming in Bollywood.

Earlier this year, she was unscathed after her car was totalled in a hit and run collision on an expressway between Lahore and Islamabad, leading some to speculate the accident was an attempt on her life.

Of the uproar in her homeland, Malik said in an interview with the UK's Guardian "This attitude, I'm sorry, is in the society. When they say they have become modern, grown up, that's wrong. They still live in the stone age."

However, shortly after the FHM India magazine hit the newsstands her father disowned her, saying her actions on Indian soil was "the height of humiliation for Pakistan" [Really? The most wanted terrorist leader in the world getting shot dead by US Navy SEALS a few hundred yards from the front gate of Pakistan's equivalent of West Point doesn't rate? NANESB!].


I actually first heard of the FHM cover flap from Weasel Zippers earlier this month, but took my own sweet time updating it despite older articles about Malik drawing increased traffic.

When I finally got around to doing some online searches earlier tonight, Google's auto-suggest hinted at an ominous development when I began typing in 'Veena Malik' and it suggested 'Veena Malik missing'.

Sure enough, the Times of India is reporting that Ms. Malik has gone missing after wrapping up work on her latest film Mumbai 125 Km in Gorageon. The film's director said he received a text message where she apologized for seeming distracted on the set. Her manager has also been unable to get in contact with her.

Mumbai Rocked By Trio of Deadly Blasts

Three separate blasts tore through a commercial district in India's largest city of Mumbai earlier Wednesday, killing at least 17 and injuring 141.

Although no group claimed responsibility, the explosions hit locations where a terror siege nearly three years ago killed 166 people. Wednesday also coincided with the birthday of the lone surviving gunman of the 2008 attack.

Arup Patnaik, a top police officer, said the attackers used improvised explosive devices in the attack, hidden in an umbrella in the Jhaveri Bazaar jewelry market and kept in a car in the business district of Opera House.

Indian officials say they believe the responsibility of Wednesday's attack rests with the Indian Mujahideen, a group that works closely with Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is the group suspected to be behind the 2008 attack.

All three blasts happened from 6:50 p.m. to 7 p.m., when all the neighborhoods would have been packed with office workers and commuters.

The blasts hit the crowded Dadar neighborhood at rush hour, the famed jewelry market Jhaveri Bazaar and the busy business district of Opera House, an official at the city's Police Control Room said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of office policy.

The explosions happened around 7 p.m., when all the neighborhoods would have been packed with office workers and commuters.

Authorities say an early indicator of a terror strike was the close timing of the string of explosions.

The November 2008 attacks targeted a pair of landmark luxury hotels, a train station, a hospital and a Chabad house. According to diplomatic cables released via wikileaks, and testimony from a Chicago trial of a US citizen accused of scouting locations for the Mumbai attack, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) provided training and support to Lashkar-e-Taiba members prior to the Mumbai attacks.

Indian authorities have not yet identified any suspects, although the locations of the targets and the timing of the blasts to coincide with the lone surviving Mumbai gunman's birthday hardly seem coincidental.

India's Home Affairs Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram confirmed that the explosive devices were made from ammonium nitrate and investigators believe that the devices weren't set off remotely.

Iron Horse Roundup for June 2011

photo Brock Hansen

NEVADA: As the death toll from the June 24th collision between a gravel truck and Amtrak's California Zephyr was revised upwards to 6, investigators are focusing their attention on the truck driver, identified as 43 year old Lawrence Reuben Valli of Winnmeucca, NV, and a number of traffic citations and moving violations he accumulated in recent years.

Investigators from the NTSB are also looking into the safety records of John Davis Trucking of Battle Mountain, NV as well as Valli's medical history. The company has has two accidents in the last two years and an January 2011 inspection showed tired so bald on one trailer that it had to be taken off the road. Officials refused to speculate whether or not such a record was typical for a company the size of Davis Trucking (currently with over 100 drivers on its payroll).

The rig in the California Zephyr collision was longer and heavier than the law allowed, but the trucking company was able to obtain a waiver prior to the accident. Investigators also believe that the fireball after the collision was caused by the two sidesaddle tanks, each with a capacity of 110 gallons.

According to a Nevada Highway patrol spokesman, the speed limit on that stretch of highway 95 is 70 MPH and visibility to the crossing was half a mile that day. The gates were also working and should've been activated at least 25 seconds before the train approached the crossing in Churchill County.

AP Photo

INDIA: The death toll has risen to at least 60 in India and is expected to climb as many more passengers are trapped after a passenger train crashed into a bus carrying a wedding party and derailed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Predesh. Initial reports indicate that the bus with about 80 wedding guests got caught on an unguarded rural crossing when the rear axle broke. Upon colliding with the train, the mangled bus was dragged another 1000 feet before the Kalka Mail was able to come to a stop.

Another 200 people were injured, with some being treated at the scene or in nearby hospitals in clinics.

Railway officials estimate that the express train was travelling 108 Km PH at the time of its impact, close to it's maximum speed limit along the route.

Last BNSF train makes its way through Minot, ND as the Souris River tops the levees on June 23rd

NORTH DAKOTA: Traffic levels for the BNSF mainline through North Dakota began returning this week as record flooding of the Souris River in and around Minot, ND severed both the BNSF's former Northern Pacific's Northern Transon line and Canadian Pacific's former Soo Line track between Portal, ND and the Twin Cities.

An official for the North Dakota National Guard said that an estimated 4000 homes in Minot and Ward county have been damaged by floodwaters that have reached anywhere from 6 to 10 feet. Unofficial estimates say that as many as 800 homes may have to be demolished as the floodwaters recede.

A pair of BNSF GE's lead a ballast train through Minot as the floodwaters begin to recede on July 4- Stephen M Welch photos

The BNSF line through Minot reopened to work trains on the 4th of July and saw some of the detoured traffic return gradually throughout the week. Amtrak's Empire Builder- operating on BNSF's Northern Tanscon- was suspended between Havre, MT and St Paul, MN. While it's not unusual for BNSF or Canadian Pacific to divert traffic over each other's lines in the event one line is shut down, the two lines intersected at Minot, necessitating even longer detours for the carriers. The BNSF rerouted trains south across its former Milwaukee Road line through South Dakota while Canadian Pacific detoured trains through Manitoba and on south through Glenwood and Thief River Falls, MN for its Chicago to Vancouver traffic while repositioning motive power and Maintenance of Way equipment over the Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western south of Minot.

A leased Willamette Valley GP35 leads a work train through on the North Western Pacific line in Penngrove, CA in July 2009: Photo- Kevin Sheridan

CALIFORNIA: Final preparations are underway for limited freight service to resume on a 62-mile stretch of former Northwestern Pacific trackage in Northern California this month after the line's operator ran a series of test trains on the rebuilt trackage.

In late June, a single NWP Co locomotive and a pair of loaded freight cars traversed the tracks between Napa Jct and Petaluma, CA to gauge the status of different trestles and crossing signals along the line with further test trains scheduled to run to the current end of the operable track at Windsor, CA.

A number of shippers in communities along the dormant line have expressed an interest in shipping by rail once the line is reactivated. Traffic is expected to include grain, feed, aggregates, lumber and wine.

Multiple environmental agencies in the area have threatened to sue the North Coast Rail Authority- the line's owner- if the NWP resumes operations without addressing their concerns, claiming that re-opening the line would endanger the Eel River if the former NWP line between Willits and Eureka, CA reopened [inquiring minds want to know- did the Natural Resources Defense Council put them up to it, or are environmentalists naturally inclined to be insufferable douchewaffles who savor keeping more trucks on already crowded highways and even more people out of work? -NANESB!]

John Sesonske photo

NEW YORK: New York's newest railway is expected to begin operating in a few days as crews familiarized themselves with new motive power along the former Delaware & Hudson North Creek branch between Saratoga Springs and North Creek, NY. Over the winter, Wayne County and the town of Corinth- the line's owners- announced that Chicago-based Iowa Pacific Holdings would be the new operator of the line. The new railroad will operate as the Saratoga & North Creek and power will be a pair of GE B39-8s and a rare EMD BL2 painted in a scheme reminiscent of the D&H 'Lightning Stripe' colors.

Previously, the limited excursion service over the line was operated by the Upper Hudson Railroad. Iowa Pacific presently operates a number of shortline railroads in the western USA- a number of them, such as the Arizona Eastern or San Luis and Rio Grande, also operate excursion trains.

An invitation-only VIP train is scheduled to operate on July 12th while regular excursions will begin on July 14. By re-opening the line to Saratoga Springs, the line is not only able to connect with Amtrak passenger trains, but also the national rail freight network by interchanging with CP Rail's former D&H Montreal-Albany line. Iowa Pacific is hoping to court Barton Mines, LLC as a shipper while the town of Corinth is hoping that a rail connection could attract a potential tenant to the dormant International Paper mill in town.

Bob Lyndall photo

WISCONSIN: For the first time in over a decade, the Mid-Continent Railway Muesum in North Freedom, WI will have trains powered by steam. Diminutive 1930-built Porter 0-4-0 #75, built for Flagg Coal, will be trucked into the museum in August by the family-operated, family-run Gramling Locomotive Works. The Museum plans on operating an extended schedule for August, anticipating additional riders with the arrival of the old Porter.

However, that is not the biggest news for the Mid-Continent Railway Museum, as a local foundation offered a $250,000 challenge grant to go towards the full restoration of the MCRM's last operating steam locomotive- 1907 built Chicago & North Western ALCo 4-6-0 #1385. The old C&NW Ten Wheeler routinely saw service hauling not only the museum's excursions, but also the Baraboo Circus Train based out of the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI until the flatcars used to haul the wagons were deemed too old to operate on a common carrier after 2000.

In order for the MCRM to obtain the $250,000 grant, the museum must raise an additional $250,000 on its own.

"We have supported the museum over the past few years and have been impressed with their programs, their popularity with young families and their determination to recover from the destruction of 2008's flooding," said Dick Wagner, president of the Wagner Foundation. "We couldn't think of any more important way to support the museum further than to help it get its steam program going again."

When the restoration project begins, it could take as long as 18 months to put the engine back into service. But museum officials hope to get the ball rolling soon, and have named Tom Diehl, president of the Tommy Bartlett Shows and Exploratory World in Wisconsin Dells, honorary chairman of the fundraising campaign to match the grant.

The 1385 has been out of service since 1998- the locomotive was awaiting boiler work when the FRA revised the guidelines for steam boiler operations, nearly tripling the costs of restoring the disassembled steam locomotive.

Pakistani Actress Veena Malik Unscathed After Car Wreck

Those of you who had Veena Malik/May 2011 in the dead pool, you're out of luck.

Veena Malik- the outspoken Lollywood actress who delivered an epic verbal beatdown of an Islamic cleric on a Pakistani talk show- was involved in a car accident on the M2 expressway between Lahore and Islamabad last month. There were conflicting reports out of Pakistan that claimed the Muslima spitfire was hospitalized at an undisclosed location with shoulder and arm injuries and accounts from India that the actress and passengers in her car were unhurt despite the vehicle being totalled.

Ultimately Ms. Malik linked to the Times of India write-up on her homepage, which I'm assuming is an endorsement of their version of events.

Pakistani media reported that Veena Malik was injured in an accident while she was on her way to Lahore from Islamabad and she is recovering well. Reacting to the report, the actress cleared the speculations by saying that those are not true and she is fine.

"I didn't even get a single scratch. It was a miracle. If you see the car I was travelling in, you'd think everyone in it had perished. The vehicle is completely mangled. But I escaped totally unhurt, and so did the people who were with me. I think there's a guardian angel who is watching over me.", the Times of India quoted the actress as saying.

In her native Pakistan, the crash had fuelled speculation whether it was merely a hit and run traffic accident or unsuccessful attempt on the actress' life [on a side note, have you seen IRT: Deadliest Roads? The random car careening out of control and crashing into her before speeding off hypothesis isn't as far fetched as you might think in that part of the world]. If that were the case, one would have to wonder why the assailants didn't bother using firearms, explosives or grenades like any radical islamist worth their salt. I mean....c'mon! It's not like there's a shortage of any of those things in Pakistan.

The Actress who had previously appeared in India on the Bigg Boss reality show and as a cricket presenter during the 2011 Cricket World Cup is set to make her Bollywood feature film debut, with filming to start shortly.

Veenal Sins Update- Outspoken Pakistani Actress Recieves Death Threats From Taliban

Not surprisingly, in a country where religious minorities and moderate politicians are assassinated by radical muslims on a shockingly regular basis, Pakistani actress Veena Malik and her family have received death threats by militants from the Tareek-e-Taliban for her controversial appearance on the Indian reality TV show Big Boss (the Indian equivalent of Big Brother) and her subsequent smackdown of an Islamic scholar on a Pakistani talk show when she was accused of 'immoral' behavior and 'shaming' Pakistan.

You had to figure that it was only a matter of time.


Malik, for her part, took it upon herself to point out during the interview-turned-shouting match that Pakistan has much bigger concerns at hand than what she wore while in India. It gets even more interesting when the mufti challenging her (via remote video feed) admitted that he hadn't even watched the Big Boss series where the Lollywood star was filmed cuddling and massaging the neck of one of her Indian housemates.

Malik is currently back in India taping for a show she is hosting called Big Toss, covering the Cricket World Cup through April 2. Her agent in Lahore, Pakistan was able to produce a copy of one of the threatening letters for the AFP, although the news outlet couldn't immediately verify the credentials sender.

"The letter says that Tehreek-e-Taliban has taken a decision as a Muslim to punish Veena Malik soon," [Malik's agent Sohail] Rashid told AFP.

"We want our daughters and sisters in our homes only and Veena Malik, who is humiliating Pakistan's name in India, will be punished soon," Rashid quoted from the letter.

"We are soon going to punish Veena Malik so that our future generations may be afraid of going to India. It is the responsibility of all Pakistanis and Muslims, but now we are going to accomplish it," Rashid quoted the letter as saying.

While testifying against ex-husband and Pakistani cricket player Mohammed Asif, before the International Cricket Council (cricket's international governing body) Malik's family reportedly received death threats last year. The popular Asif was implicated in a match-fixing scandal in September 2010 and Malik had provided the ICC with phone records proving that Asif had been in contact with an Indian bookmaker prior to a match with England.

Horn of Africa Update- Who's Minding the Store? Maersk Alabama Saga Coming to Silver Screen? Attempt to Rescue Danish Family Botched

With all the naval assets from the USA and Europe being redeployed from antipiracy patrols in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea to the Mediterranian to support the blockade and no-fly zone overe Mumar Ghdaffi's Libya, one would think it would only be a matter of time before the pirates took advantage. Of course, even before the deteriorating situation in Libya, the pirates simply got around the increased international naval patrols by venturing further out into the Indian Ocean- from the Straits of Hormuz to the north, Mozambique to the south.

Photo- The Hindu

INDIA: The Indian Navy took 61 pirates into custody after the fast attack craft INS Kalpeni pursued and exchanged fire with a Somali pirate 'mother ship' earlier this month. The mother ship was the Vega 5, a Mozambique fishing vessel that was seized by pirates some 200 nautical miles southwest of the Comoros Isles in the straits of Mozambique in late December 2010.

According to naval officials, the operation began when they received a distress call from MV Vancouver Bridge which was under pirate attack on Friday last. A naval Dornier maritime recce aircraft located Vega 5 in the area. Seeing the naval aircraft, the pirates abandoned their attack and tried to flee. While the Dornier continued to track the pirate mother vessel Vega 5, the Navy's missile corvette Khukri and FAC Kalpeni, which had been deployed in the area for anti-piracy patrol, were diverted to intercept and investigate Vega 5, the Navy said. The pirate mother vessel launched two skiffs which fired at Kalpeni, which was closing in on Vega 5 in Saturday night. INS Kalpeni responded with limited firing. By then it was observed that a fire had broken out on Vega 5, apparently originating from the additional fuel drums that the mother vessels of the pirates are known to be carrying to fuel the skiffs. Personnel were also seen jumping overboard. INS Kalpeni along with INS Khukri nabbed 74 men, including 61 pirates and 13 members of the original crew of the fishing vessel. Preliminary investigations revealed that the pirates were carrying about 80 to 90 small arms and rifles and a few heavier weapons likely to be RPGs, the release said. Indian Navy has already apprehended two pirate mother ships on January 28 and February 11 and had nabbed 43 pirates in those two operations.

According to Oceanus Live the turnaround time for the pirates using a captured vessel as a 'mother ship' is remarkable.

The most surprising aspect of Somali piracy this week has been the speed of turnaround for capturing a merchant vessel and using it as a mothership to conduct operations against other innocent seafarers. The Indonesian MV Sinar Kudus was hijacked by up to 50 pirates, taking the 20 Indonesian crew hostage. Within 24-hours the vessel had enabled the pirates to carry out an attack on the MV Emperor. The Sinar Kudus capture followed the release of the MV Hannibal II, which had been held for 4 months and used as a mothership, for a ransom of $2million.

PUNTLAND: Earlier this month, an attempt by Puntland to rescue a Danish family held captive inland after their yacht was seized failed as the would-be rescuers were ambushed.

An attempt by Somali security forces to free a Danish family being held by pirates failed yesterday after the rescuers were ambushed. One of the pirates, Bile Hussein, told the Associated Press that armed forces from the northern region of Puntland, which is where most Somali pirates are based, tried to surround the village of Hul Anod and free the Danish family. He said some of the government forces were killed and others were captured in the botched rescue attempt. “We defended ourselves and foiled their attempt to recover the Danish family,” he told AP. “We have killed and captured some of their soldiers and burnt two (government) pickup trucks. They have run away back to where they came from …The hostages are safe and still in our hands.”

The Danish family was seized by pirates on the open waters of the Indian Ocean last month and have since been taken inland.

Photo- U.S. Army Africa

MOGADISHU: The African Union announced that it was going to commit another 3000 Peacekeepers to the AU's Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) in support of the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government. The soldiers will be deployed from Uganda and Burundi, although the defense minister for Somalia's Transitional government said that Djibouti and Ghana were preparing to send soldiers as well.

TUNISIA: Somali pirates have released a Panamanian-flagged Tunisian tanker and it's crew after negotiating a $2 million ransom with the Tunisian government.

The Hannibal II, whose 31 crewmembers are mostly Tunisian, is currently on its way to Djibouti in the Red Sea, the ministry said. "This release comes after the success of negotiations undertaken by the Tunisian government with the Somalia pirates and the payment of a ransom estimated at $2 million," the official TAP news agency quoted the ministry as saying. It did not say who paid the ransom, or how. The Tunisian shipowner Gabes Marine Tankers (GMT) had announced that the release of the ship was imminent late Wednesday. "Negotiations have not been easy and we cannot be sure the ship will be released until it leaves Somalian waters accompanied by a naval protection vessel," said company owner Farid Abbas. The crew is composed of 23 Tunisians, four Filipinos and one each from Croatia, Georgia, Russia and Morocco. "All possible means of security has been provided, and a civilian plane will be sent (to Djibouti) to repatriate the Tunisian crew today," the ministry said in a statement. "All the crew are in good health," it said. The 24,000 tonne chemical tanker was carrying vegetable oil from Pasir Guadang in Malaysia to Suez in Egypt when it was attacked and boarded by pirates some 860 nautical miles east of the Horn of Africa on November 11. The area where it was attacked is considerably closer to India that it is to Somalia.

'I'm ready for my close-up!'

HOLLYWOOD: Reports are circulating that actor Tom Hanks is set to portray MV Maersk Alabama captain Richard Phillips in an upcoming movie about the 2009 pirate attack on the vessel and ensuing standoff some 200 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia. The upcoming movie is being produced by the same team behind 2010's The Social Network.

Veenal Sins: Pakistani Actress Lashes out at Muslim Cleric Over Indian Reality Show Controversey

As the past month has shown, running afoul of religious figures in Pakistan can be hazardous to one's health.

Lollywood actress Veena Malik got into a heated exchange with an Islamic mufti during a talk show on Pakistan's Express TV this week after the Islamic cleric criticized her appearance on an Indian Big Brother-style reality show called Bigg Boss where she appeared to be cuddling with an Indian co-star.

Malik is no stranger to controversey, having testified in September in a probe by Cricket's international governing body involving her ex-boyfriend, who was involved in a match-fixing scandal.

"You have insulted Pakistan and Islam," Mufti Abdul Qawi accused her on the Express TV channel talk show via a television link. The exchange first aired Friday and then again Saturday.

A furious Malik shot back, saying Qawi targeted her because she is a woman, reminding him that the Quran admonishes men not to stare at a woman's beauty beyond a first glance, and telling him there were bigger problems in Pakistan, including the alleged rape of children at mosques [say what!? If this were the Catholic Church, these allegations would be above the fold headlines for the next 6 weeks- NANESB!]

During the exchange, Qawi admitted he had not seen the clips of the show but had heard about it from others.

"What does your Islam say, mufti sir?" the actress asked. "You issue edicts on the basis of hearsay."

Malik said she had read the Quran and she knew what lines not to cross as a Muslim as well as an entertainer in South Asia. She pointed out that she never kissed Patel, for instance.

"I am a Muslim woman, and I know my limits," she said. The cleric seemed unable to respond to her flood of words.

Malik's fierce outburst sparked a barrage of comments on Twitter. While some writers said they didn't agree with her and one called her a "porn star," others said she was brave for standing up to the Pakistani clerical establishment, especially when such an act can mean personal danger.

That's not mere hyperbole, either. The governor of Pakistan's wealthiest and most populous province was murdered by one of his own bodyguards on January 4th. Upon interrogation, the bodyguard told police that he was upset Governor Salman Taseer was opposed to Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which call for imprisonment or even execution for 'defaming Islam'.

Taseer had supported leniency for Asia Bibi, a 45 year old Pakistani Christan woman sentenced to hang in late 2010 after being convicted of 'defaming the prophet Muhammed'.

Germany's Reichstag Dome Closed off in Face of 'Credible' Terror Threat

German authorities have closed the top of Berlin's Reichstag building and stepped up security after an informant and Western intelligence agencies have passed along intelligence regarding a suspected Islamic Jihadi plot to storm the Reichstag building and take hostages while demanding Germany's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Germany's interior minister raised the country's threat level and the FBI forwarded intelligence to the Germans warning that an Indian crime lord residing in Pakistan and with ties to radical Islamic groups could be dispatching operatives to Germany to take part in attacks against targets in that country.

According to the information, two operatives are already in the Berlin area while 54 year old Dawood Ibrahim- on the run from authorities in India since a spate of 1993 bombings in Mumbai that he was allegedly the mastermind of which killed 257- will attempt to smuggle the remaining members of the cell into Europe via the United Arab Emirates.

Equipment the German cell allegedly requires for the possible Reichstag attack reportedly had to be brought in from the Balkans, while an informant said that at least four other men were in the advanced stages of training at an al Qadea camp in Pakistan.

Exclusive Sneak Peek at Lisa Kelly's Tatas...

And by 'Tatas', I mean the company that manufactures trucks and other vehicles in India [NYSE: TTM]....jeez, get your minds out of the gutter already. You'd think that was a sugestive or misleading headline or something.
Last night marked the debut or the History Channel's IRT: Deadliest Roads where some of the ice road truckers from Alaska and Canada travel all the way to Delhi, India to haul cement and construction supplies to a hydroelectric project in the Himalayas. To get there, they have to traverse the clogged, chaotic streets of Delhi before heading to a narrow mountain road hewn out of the mountainsides with little or no protection from a sheer 1,000 foot drop in many places. The company assigned spotters to each of the drivers (Alex Debagorski, Rick Yemm and Lisa Kelly) not because they're foreigners (although being unfamiliar with the road rules could play a role) but apparently that's a requirement in India to help the driver negotiate congested areas or parts of the roadway with tight clearance.

The most experienced truckers in the trio, Alex Debogorski, didn't last one day after getting into two accidents before he even left Delhi....and with some of the driving habits in that part of the world, it would be something of a stretch to say he was at fault. Then again, with 30+ years on the northern ice roads, it's not as though Alex has anything left to prove.

The thing I took away from the first episode was that truckers in India must belong to a particularly despised caste. How else could you explain jamming them into wooden-framed trucks with no air conditioning that wouldn't survive any significant impact and then sending them up mountain roads almost narrower than the trucks?