Canada/Terrorism: Two persons arrested in Ottawa on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks

Media reported that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had dismantled an alleged terrorist cell suspected of having links to Al-Qaeda and made two arrests in separate locations in Ottawa on Wednesday.

Reportedly, the men arrested during the counter-terrorism operation dubbed “Project Samosa” are suspected of preparing terrorist attacks in the country, while first reports signalized that the ringleader had attended training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Police is currently carrying further searches in the area and more arrests related to “terrorist offences” are allegedly to be made.

Canada/Sri Lanka/Security: Ottawa concerned about migrant ship

Canada's Public Safety Minister Vic Toews stated on Monday that Ottawa is concerned that MV Sun Sea, a Thai ship heading to British Columbia with migrants on board, may be carrying some members of the Sri Lanka's vanquished terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Toews said the authorities are closely monitoring the situation, but declined to elaborate on the steps the government would take.

It is worth mentioning that earlier this month the Canadian Defence Ministry said it is prepared to intercept the ship, reportedly carrying about 200 asylum seekers including women and children from Sri Lanka.

Canada/Civil unrest: G-20 protest arrests 600 in Toronto

(C35/Zuma Press/Photo News)

Media reported that Canadian police cracked down on anti-G20 demonstrators on Sunday, bringing weekend arrests to more than 600 as they tried to prevent a repeat of Saturday's violence near the Global Economic Summit in Toronto.

Reportedly, about 70 protesters were detained after police raided the University of Toronto's downtown campus. Police said they seized weapons, including bricks, rocks and sticks.

The weekend violence started on Saturday afternoon after anti-G20 demonstrators broke away from a larger, peaceful demonstration against the G20 summit of rich and emerging economies.

The latest clashes occurred on Sunday as several hundred protesters marched on a temporary detention centre for demonstrators arrested in riots the previous day. During the demonstrations, police used tear gas against the public for the first time ever in the country's most populous city.

Police said protesters, many dressed in black gear, smashed windows of stores and banks and torched police cars in a protest that the authorities brought under control with tear gas and mass arrests. However, protesters said police were heavy-handed, using tactics that instigated violence rather than quelled it.

Jamaica/Organised crime: Four killed in drug-related violence

Drug related violence in Jamaica's capital city Kingston left at least four people dead, including two policemen, one soldier and a civilian, and several others wounded, media reported.

Tension erupted on Sunday when supporters of druglord Christopher "Dudus" Coke clashed with police and burned a police station to the ground. Gunmen carried out the attacks to prevent Coke from being extradited to the US, where he awaits charges of drug distribution. Soon after the violence Jamaica's prime minister imposed a state of emergency in volatile districts of the capital and vowed "strong and decisive action" to restore order.

Coke is a leading group of the "Shower Posse", a drug gang allegedly linked to the United States. The government has called on Coke to surrender to face a US judicial request seeking his extradition on cocaine trafficking and gun-running charges. Meanwhile, federal officials issued a warning advising Canadian and US citizens to avoid non-essential travels to downtown Kingston.

Canada/Terrorism:  Leader of ‘Toronto 18’ terrorist group  jailed for life

Zakaria Amara, the ring leader of a group of 18 alleged terrorists accused of plotting to bomb the Toronto Stock Exchange, the CSIS building and an unnamed military base has been sentenced to life in prison.

In a statement, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said: “Zakaria Amara, 24, received a life sentence for his role in a terrorist plot to bomb Toronto,” He was also sentenced to nine years "for his participation in a terrorist group," to be served concurrently, the statement added.

"What this case revealed was spine chilling," said Regional Senior Justice for the Central West region, Bruce Durno, "It cannot be said these things happen only in other countries," he said. "These things happen here." Durno earlier on Monday sentenced Saad Gaya to 12 years in prison for his involvement in the terror plot.

Amara was the ring leader of a group known as the Toronto 18, a group of teenagers and young adults who were arrested during a police sting in 2006. Police says the group of young Muslims, all Canadian citizens, planned to blow up three one-ton ammonium nitrate bombs inside vans parked in downtown Toronto.

Algeria/Insurgency: security forces killed 10 terrorists in M'sila

Algeria's state radio reported on Sunday that Algerian troops had gunned down 10 terrorists in an ambush in the municipality of Slim, about 150 kilometres south-west of M’Sila city. “The security forces, acting on a tip, mounted the ambush on Saturday,” the radio report said, adding that a "large quantity" of weapons had been seized during the operation.

Separately, Canadian construction firm SNC-Lavalin announced on Sunday that one of its Algerian employees, who was kidnapped by insurgents southeast of Algiers on Jan. 4, has been freed. "I can confirm that our engineer was released late Thursday safe and sound, and we are very relieved," Leslie Quinton, the firm's Vice-President for Global Corporate Communications, said in an email sent to Reuters. Quinton added that "there were no other details available because an investigation is currently under way by local authorities". The kidnapped engineer was working on the construction of a water treatment plant.

Although violence has significantly decreased in Algeria in the past few years, insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda carry out sporadic bombings in kidnappings throughout Algeria and the Maghreb region.

Algeria/Insurgency: Algerian working for Canadian firm kidnapped

Citing unnamed security sources, Algerian media reported on Wednesday that armed insurgents kidnapped an Algerian engineer working for Canadian construction firm SNC-Lavalin. According to the Algerian daily's El Watan and Soir d'Algerie, the man was kidnapped on Monday morning by a group of armed men in Djebahia, some 15 kilometres north of Bouira.

However, there was no confirmation of the reports from Algerian officials, and no comment was immediately available from the Canadian firm. According to the newspapers the man had been working on a project to build a water treatment plant in the Bouira region and that he was abducted on his way to work. They said security forces had launched an operation to find him.

SNC-Lavalin is one of the largest multinationals operating in Algeria's infrastructure sector. The focal point of its projects in the North African country encompasses water desalination plants, gas treatment facilities and housing construction. Due to its omnipresence, the Canadian company has been targeted before by terrorist groups, most recently in August 2008, when a double attack on a bus saw 11 killed and dozens were injured. Up until now, no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction, although it is to be noted that Al-Qaeda linked terrorist carry out sporadic bombings and kidnappings in Algeria.

Afghanistan/United States/Canada/Terrorism: attacks kill 8 purported CIA employees, 5 Canadians

US officials and media report says a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military base in eastern Afghanistan, killing eight Americans possibly working for the CIA. Reportedly, the suicide bombing occurred at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province on Wednesday. "Eight Americans have been killed in an attack on RC-East," Pentagon spokeswoman Lt Col Almarah Belk said. “Information indicates the bomber walked into a gym facility at the base and detonated a suicide vest. It is believed six Americans were wounded in addition to the eight killed. It's not known how the bomber got past security,” a senior US official said.

Also on Wednesday, four Canadian soldiers and a Canadian journalist have been killed when a roadside bomb hit their armored vehicle in south of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, Canada's defense ministry said. "The soldiers were conducting a community security patrol in order to gather information on the pattern of life and maintain security in the area," Brig. Gen. Daniel Menard, the commander of the 2,800-member Canadian contingent, told reporters. "The journalist was traveling with them to tell the story of what Canada's soldiers are doing in Afghanistan." Four other Canadian troops and a civilian official also were injured in the attack, he said. The Calgary Herald identified the reporter as Michelle Lang, 34, who had been with the paper since 2002.

Meanwhile, the Taleban on Thursday claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in Khost, a spokesman told a news agency. "We claim responsibility for the attack," purported Taleban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, told the news agency by telephone from an undisclosed location. The Taleban spokesman, however, claimed the attack killed 16 Americans.

Canada/Terrorism: Court quashes case against terror suspect

The Federal Court of Canada on Wednesday quashed goverbment's case against Montreal resident Adil Charkaoui once and for all and has blocked all possibility of an appeal. Judge Danielle Tremblay-Lamer said it would be understandable if the government believed the court had protected the rights of an individual to the detriment of national security. "But that belief would be wrong," she wrote.

Adili, a Moroccan-born, was arrested in 2003 under a security certificate - a rarely used administrative tool that allows authorities to arrest and detain non-citizens without charge and without showing them or their lawyers the evidence against them.He spent almost two years in prison, then was under virtual house arrest until last month, when Tremblay-Lamer ordered that he be freed of all restrictions, including an electronic ankle bracelet that allowed authorities to track his every move.

Meanwhile, the Moroccan native said he simply wanted to celebrate. "Finally, after 6 1/2 years, I can enjoy not only freedom, but justice," he told a news conference. "We'll be organizing a huge party and everyone will be invited."

Canada/Mexico/Organised crime: police say slain Canadians linked to drug trade

Police expert Sgt. Bill Whelan, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), said Monday that two Canadians murdered in Mexico on Sunday were involved in drug trade. Gordon Douglas Kendall and Jeffrey Ronald Ivans were indeed killed execution-style in the Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta on Sunday.

Sgt. Whelan further said investigators in Canadian province of British Columbia were aware that Kendall and Ivans had underground connections. "They have come up during a drug investigation. We can't talk about that right now, as it is an ongoing investigation." He also explained, saying the slain men were probably brokers for B.C. drug traffickers who smuggle Colombian cocaine. However, he did not named any particular drug gang or criminal organization they were probably involved with. "Obviously, if you are going to be in Mexico and be taken out by Mexican cartels, you are working at a high level and you are probably not doing that by yourself," he said. "We knew what they were up to. We knew they were in Mexico."

Canada/Terrorism: youth jailed for terrorist plot

The city court in Brampton in Canada on Thursday pronounced 14 years of jail to a Canadian muslim youth for his role in the country's first home grown terrorist plot. Justice Bruce Dorno of the city court sentenced 22-year-old Saad Khalid for his role in the 'Toronto-18' terror plot to avenge Canada's participation in the Afghan mission. In sentencing Saudi born Khalid, Justice Bruce Dorno said "though he was not the brain behind the plot, he nevertheless was a major player as he bought electrical components for making bombs and recruited another person into the plot."

The plot was unearthed in June 2006, with arrest of 18 Canadian Muslims allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda. The plotters had planned to blow up the Toronto Stock Exchange and offices of the Canadian spy agency, and storm parliament in Ottawa to take leaders hostage and behead the prime minister. Of the 18 arrested, 10 are in jail and four on bail. One youth was jailed for 30 months last year. Khalid is the second terrorist to be jailed.

Canada/Ethiopia/Terrorism: Canadian convicted of terror charges

Bashir Ahmed Makhtal, a Canadian national could face the death penalty in Ethiopia after a court found him guilty on Monday of being a member of a rebel group fighting for autonomy for an ethnically Somali part of the country. Diplomats in capital Addis Ababa said, Bashir, who was born in Ethiopia but became a Canadian citizen in 1994 was found guilty of membership of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). "Bashir was convicted of membership of the ONLF and supporting terrorism in Ogaden," one diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity.

Bashir, 40, of Toronto is to be sentenced on August 3, but in the meantime, his supporters in Canada are urgently pressing the federal government to intervene in his case. "The chances are high he will get the death penalty," said Said Maktal, the imprisoned man's cousin. "This is the time we need the prime minister's intervention."

Canadian officials attended the court session, and Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Emma Welford said consular staff in Ethiopia and Canada would continue to provide support and assistance to Bashir. Ethiopia considers the ONLF a terrorist group which it says is supported by rival Eritrea.

Afghanistan/Canada/Terrorism: roadside blast kills Canadian troop in Panjwai

A Canadian soldier was killed in a roadside bomb explosion in the Panjwai district, about 20 km southwest of Kandahar on Sunday. Corporal Martin Dube, a combat engineer, died while trying to defuse an improvised explosive device planted by militants in a culvert beneath a roadway. The explosion also killed an Afghan police officer and seriously wounded an Afghan interpreter.

"Corporal Dube believed in his mission and his work saved several lives in Afghanistan," Canadian Brig-Gen. Jonathan Vance praised Dube at a press conference in Kandahar. "The IED that Martin was dismantling could have killed an entire family, as it was deliberately aimed at passing traffic," said Vance. Dube, 35, was a member of the 5 Combat Engineer Regiment, based in CFB Valcartier outside Quebec City.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement offering deepest sympathies to the families and friends of Cpl. Dube. "We are eternally grateful for his sacrifice for this country, while helping to ensure a brighter future for the Afghan people. We are all saddened by this loss," Harper said.

Somalia/Canada/Piracy: NATO warship seize pirate skiffs, arms recovered

The HMCS Winnipeg, a NATO warship from Canada, seized two pirate skiffs off the coast of Yemen on Monday, recovering a huge haul of arms and ammunitions. Nine suspected pirates detained along with the skiffs were questioned and later released under an international law governing the mission. It doesn't permit arrests, provided there is evidence to prove the suspects' involvement in attacking a merchant vessel. Weapons that were relieved of the suspects include four AK-47 rifles, magazines, one M-16 rifle, one pistol and one rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher with two warheads. A ladder with hooks at one end was also seized.

"The pirates are going to get on streaks and the (NATO) coalition is going to get on streaks and right now, we're on the hot streak," said Cmdr. Craig Baines, the captain of the Winnipeg. `"We've definitely improved our ability to detect and engage," he added. There are currently five frigates under NATO command – which is carrying out the anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast. The European Union (EU), along with the United States, China, Russia and India, also contribute in fighting piracy.

Russia/Canada/Diplomacy: Moscow expels 2 Ottawa diplomats

A Russian Foreign Ministry statement has announced on Wednesday the dismissal of Isabelle Francois and Mark Opgenorth, two NATO diplomats from Canada who were employed in the Information Office in Moscow. “Canadian Ambassador to Russia Ralph Lysyshyn was summoned to Russia's Foreign Ministry, where he was informed that in response to an unfriendly act on the part of NATO regarding Russian officials in NATO headquarters, the Russian side made a forced decision to withdraw diplomatic accreditation from the director of the NATO Information Office in Moscow, Canadian Embassy attache Isabelle Francois, and a second bureau official, Canadian Embassy attache Mark Opgenorth,” said the statement.

Meanwhile, the Canadian government has expressed its concern over Moscow's decision, calling it "counterproductive." Nicholas Brousseau, a Canadian embassy spokesman said Ottawa “strongly regrets the decision,” adding that "Canada and NATO allies have been seeking to re-engage Russia."

It has been reported that NATO's military exercises in Georgia, which apparently aggravates Russia, and NATO's decision last week to fire two Russian diplomats involved in spying, provoked the current diplomatic spat. "The responsibility for what happened lies exclusively with those who initiated the attempt to destroy agreements on the restoration of Russia-NATO relations," said Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to NATO.

Canada/Terrorism: Canadian appeals conviction in UK bomb plot

Lawrence Greenspon, lawyer of Momin Khawaja, the first person sentenced under Canada's anti-terrorism law said on Thursday that he will appeal his conviction, adding that he asked the Ontario Court of Appeal to overturn a finding that his client aided the group of British extremists. “The sentence was too harsh because the judge had indicated in his ruling that authorities were unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Khawaja was aware of the specific details of the plot planned by a British terror group”, Greenspon said.

Khawaja, a 29-year-old Canadian of Pakistani descent, was sentenced last month to 10 1/2 years for participating in a foiled 2004 plan to attack London's Ministry of Sound nightclub, a shopping center and electrical and gas facilities in Britain. The plot included attacks on a nightclub, a shopping center and electrical and gas facilities. During the trial, the defense had argued that Khawaja wanted to participate in jihad (holy war) in Afghanistan but had never intended to take part in terror attacks in Britain.

Sudan/France/Canada/Kidnapping: French foreign ministry confirms the abduction

A statement issued by the French foreign ministry has confirmed the announcement of the Aide Medicale Internationale, the French humanitarian-aid non-governmental organisation, which declared on Sunday that unidentified gunmen in Ed el Fursan (Southern Darfur) had kidnapped on Saturday, two of their workers – a French and a Canadian. According to Sudanese officials, the gunmen also abducted two Sudanese guards along with the workers, but the guards were released later.

"Two staffs have been taken. Both are women. One is Canadian and one French," said Ali Youssef Ahmed, head of protocol at Sudan's Foreign Ministry. "Efforts to release them are going on and we are hoping that will happen very soon," he added. Meanwhile, the official Sudanese Media Centre said a ransom has been asked for the release of the hostages, but Ahmed declined to confirm the report.

On the other hand, the French Foreign Ministry confirmed that its crisis centre in Paris has been asked to look into the matter and the French embassy in Khartoum was in touch with the aid organisation and with local authorities. Officials in the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) declined commenting on the case.

Somalia/Canada/Piracy: Canadian naval warship foil pirate attack, rescue refugees

The HMCS Winnipeg, a Canadian naval warship currently deployed in the Gulf of Aden for the NATO-led Operation Allied Protector, on Saturday foiled a pirate attack on the motor vessel (MV) Pacific Opal, an Indian merchant vessel.

Commander Craig Baines of the HMCS Winnipeg responded to a distress call from the Opal and the ship's Sea King helicopter was sent to check out the call. "Whatever their intentions were they complied with our instructions and allowed the merchant vessel to go," said pilot Major James Hawthorne, noting the pirates had withdrawn upon instructions.

Baines later confirmed they were escorting another ship when they received the call. "We were actually escorting another vessel at the time when we noticed that another ship launched three smaller vessels that rapidly closed in on a merchant vessel that was nearby in the area," he said. There are also reports of the Canadian warship saving the lives of a group of Somali refugees on Sunday.

Canada/France/Terrorism: terror suspect gets bail with strict conditions

Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger on Tuesday granted bail to Hassan Diab, a teacher who has been accused for carrying out the 1980 synagogue bombing in Paris that killed four people, under strict conditions. He has been ordered to wear an electronic tracking bracelet and banned from leaving his house unaccompanied.  "It's almost a virtual house arrest," said Maranger. The professor is going to face a hearing on extradition to France, where he will face charges of murder, attempted murder and destruction of property.

According to the judge, the bail condition was made strict as Diab might flee the country to Lebanon before his hearing, which has not been fixed yet. "In my view, the risk of flight is a real concern in this matter," said the judge. "He is not a person who has specific long-term roots or family ties in this country. The concern here is that if Mr Diab were to somehow make his way back to Lebanon, he could forever avoid extradition."

Canada/Ethiopia/Terrorism: alleged rebel leader to go on trial

Bashir Makhtal, a Canadian born in Ethiopia has appeared on Thursday at the High Court in Addis Ababa  that accuses him to be a leader of the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). He is accused "to be a member of the ONLF, to have recruited and trained ONLF members in Eritrea, to have led a contingent of the ONLF in the field against the Ethiopian army and to have collaborated with Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts in Eritrea ". The defendant pleaded not guilty but if convicted he could face a sentence to death.
 
Bashir Makhtal was arrested in 2007 and there is skepticism about a fair trial. “There's just no way that Bashir could possibly get a fair trial in Ethiopia," says Lorne Waldman, his Canadian lawyer. In the prison he was kept secluded and denied consular access. A former said, "He was limping. He had a deep cut in one of his legs. He looked weak. He looked so famished." His case has been adjourned to April 20.

In the meantime, a Federal Transport Minister John Baird is making plan to visit Ethiopia. He said, "I'm going to take it one step at a time. I won't forecast what will happen. We've made our case to the Ethiopian government”.