Indian armed forces to open all combat roles to women

Indian President says women will be allowed to occupy combat roles in all sections of the army, navy and air force.

 

Indian women will be allowed to participate in combat roles in the country's armed forces [Bernat Armangue/AP]

India has announced that women will be allowed to occupy combat roles in all sections of its army, navy and air force, indicating a radical move to gender parity in one of the world's most-male dominated professions.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee announced the move on Tuesday while addressing both houses of the parliament before the budget session, saying that the government would in the future recruit women for fighting roles in India's armed forces.
India, which has one of the largest armies in the world, has previously resisted such a move, citing concerns over women's vulnerability if captured and over their physical and mental ability to cope with the stress of frontline deployments.
"My government has approved the induction of women as short service commission officers and as fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force. In the future, my government will induct women in all the fighter streams of our armed forces," Mukherjee said.
"In our country 'Shakti', which means power, is the manifestation of female energy. This Shakti defines our strength," he added.

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While most countries employ women in various roles in their armed forces, only a handful - including Australia, Germany, Israel and the United States - have allowed them to take on combat or fighting roles.
India began recruiting women to non-medical positions in the armed forces in 1992, yet only 2.5 percent of its more than one million personnel are female - most of them administrators, intelligence officers, doctors, nurses or dentists.
In October, the government took the first steps towards bringing women into fighting roles and approved plans by the Indian Air Force for women pilots to fly warplanes from June 2017 on a three-year experimental basis.
Women's rights activists welcomed the president's remarks but said that bringing real gender parity into the armed forces would be a slow process.

 

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Messi sends Afghan 'plastic shirt boy' a signed jersey

Murtaza Ahmadi, who became an internet hit after wearing makeshift Messi shirt, receives a surprise from his hero.

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I love Messi and my shirt says Messi loves me, Murtaza told UNICEF [UNICEF/Mahdy Mehraeen]

More to this story

• Afghan 'plastic bag boy' excited about Messi meeting

A five-year-old Afghan boy photographed wearing an improvised Lionel Messi shirt made out of a plastic bag has finally received the genuine article - and it was signed by the Barcelona superstar.
Murtaza Ahmadi shot to internet fame after photographs of him dressed in the blue-and-white top with Messi's name written on it went viral in January, prompting people to try to track him down.
A signed Argentina jersey and a football were delivered to Murtaza in the central province of Ghazni by the UN children's agency, UNICEF.
"I love Messi and my shirt says Messi loves me," UNICEF quoted Murtaza as saying.

Murtaza Ahmadi plays football in an improvised Lionel Messi jersey made out of plastic [Homayoun Ahmadi]

The boy's father, Mohammad Arif Ahmadi, said: "A woman from UNICEF got in contact with us and told us a couple of days ago that Murtaza might be receiving a package from Messi.
"He is very happy to receive the gifts."
Earlier in February, the Afghan Football Federation (AFF) told Al Jazeera that the boy would get a chance to meet his football hero but a date and venue had still not been confirmed.
Speaking to Al Jazeera in a phone call earlier in February, Murtaza said: "I love Messi and football. I will meet him one day."

The making of viral fame

Murtaza's brother Homayoun made the improvised shirt - that perfectly fitted the little boy - and scribbled Messi's name and his No 10 in it.
"Murtaza found a plastic bag and ran towards me, asking me to make a jersey out of it for him," 15-year-old Homayoun told Al Jazeera.
"We can't even imagine buying the original Messi jersey. We just can't afford it so, to make my brother happy, I made a shirt out of that plastic bag for him."
The boy’s father said that he has been overwhelmed by the response to the photographs.
"We did not expect that we would get this kind of support from everyone. People from all over the world have been calling me to help get Murtaza a jersey and a football," he told Al Jazeera.
"Murtaza can't hold it. He is so excited by the news of meeting Messi. We don't know when is it going to happen, but we are humbled by the response we got."

Ahmadi's father admitted he could not afford to buy him a replica jersey, adding that his son only had a punctured ball to play [Fatima Faizi/Al Jazeera]

 

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Somali leader: '200 Kenyan troops' dead in January raid

Somali president says Al-Shabab attack on El-Ade camp killed up to 200 soldiers, but Kenyan officials reject the toll.

 

Kenyan soldiers pay respects to fallen comrades killed in the January attack in Somalia [John Muchucha/AP Photo]

Up to 200 Kenyan soldiers were killed in an attack on their camp in Somalia by al-Shabab last month, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said - although Kenya rejected the figure.
On January 15, dozens of heavily-armed al-Shabab fighters assaulted a Kenyan-run military base for African Union peacekeepers in the southern Somali town of El-Ade, not far from the Kenyan border.
"When about 200 soldiers who came to help your country are killed in one morning, it is not something trivial," Mohamud told Somali Cable TV, a privately owned station. The interview was posted on YouTube on Thursday.
"We have been winning for years and months but that El-Ade battle, we were defeated. Yes, in war, sometimes something that you do not like happens to you," the Somali president added.

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READ MORE: Al-Shabab attacks African Union base in Somalia

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Kenyan authorities have refused to give a death toll following the attack, which targeted troops working under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
But Kenya Defence Forces spokesman, Colonel David Obonyo, denied the number given by the Somali president and questioned the source of the information.
"It is not true. This information never came from us or anyone in the government of Kenya," he told the Reuters news agency on Thursday.

Series of attacks

Newspaper pictures of coffins draped with Kenyan flags bringing back dead soldiers after last month's attack increased the disquiet from ordinary Kenyans and the opposition alike over Kenya's continued presence in Somalia.
Al-Shabab later distributed photos purporting to show the bodies of dozens of Kenyan soldiers, many apparently shot in the head.

Kenya sent soldiers into Somalia in 2011 after raids in the border region and kidnappings that threatened the tourism industry in the region's biggest economy and wider regional destabilisation. It later joined the AMISOM operation.
Al-Shabab's attacks in Kenya have included a raid by gunmen on the upscale Westgate shopping mall in 2013 and a university in Garissa in 2015. Hundreds of people have been killed in al-Shabab attacks in the past two years.
The group has been driven out of major strongholds in Somalia by AMISOM and Somali army offensives, but it still controls some rural areas and often launches guerrilla-style assaults and bomb attacks.
Al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda and seeks to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed government, initially said it had killed more than 100 soldiers in the attack.
The group, which is also seeking to drive the AU force out of Somalia, often says its attacks against Kenyan targets are retaliation for its participation in AMISOM, which also includes Uganda and Burundi.

Mogadishu attack

The release of President Mohamud's interview came as at least three people were killed and nine wounded on Thursday when al-Shabab fired mortars at the presidential palace in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, health officials said.
The wounded, including three children, were brought to the Dar-ul Shifa hospital from the Ago dhiig area of the Warta Nabada district, hospital director Mohamed Abas told Al Jazeera.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the midday attack and confirmed it was aimed at the palace.
"We fired nine mortars at the presidential palace and most of them hit their intended target," Abdulaziz Abu Muscab, the group's military spokesman, told Al Jazeera.
"The attack is part of our ongoing operations in Mogadishu," Muscab said.
The group attempted similar mortar attacks on the palace earlier in February, and also in January.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

 

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Curfew in Ahmedabad as caste protests turn violent

Police reinforcements deployed after 500,000 Patels protest in Indian city over job and college quotas.

 

About half a million Patels rallied in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, paralysing the city, to demand preferential treatment [AP]

India has deployed paramilitary forces and imposed a curfew in Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat state, after violence broke out at a protest led by a powerful caste to demand more government jobs and college places.

The Gujarat state government imposed a curfew in parts of Ahmedabad and four other cities and towns across the western state and called in paramilitary reinforcements on Wednesday after members of the affluent Patel caste protested in the city.

Notes from the field: Al Jazeera's Nidhi Dutt

The Patels are a relatively wealthy and powerful community in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Over the years many have made their mark as gem and textile merchants. The question being asked in India is why does this big and influential community need to be included in a reservation or quota system that has since independence been used to guarantee work and participation of minority communities? According to the Patels, most government jobs and school places in Gujarat are reserved for people belonging to various special categories and as a result, they miss out. Importantly, this is all unfolding in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state. The Patels are among some of his most important supporters. More than 100 different communities already benefit from the reservation system in Gujarat but according to the state government, the Patels cannot be added to the list.

Stone-throwing Patels torched cars, buses and police stations over the arrest of their leader, Hardik Patel, who had hours earlier on Tuesday led a massive protest in Ahmedabad, senior police officers said.

At least a dozen officers were injured in the violence, prompting the first curfew in the state since 2002 when communal riots left at least 1,000 people dead, Gujarat Director General of Police P C Thakur said.

"The curfew was imposed following large scale arson and rioting by members of the Patidar [or Patel] community in different cities of the state late on Tuesday," Thakur told the AFP news agency.

"There was heavy stone pelting of police vehicles and torching of police stations in Unjha and Kalol towns," he said.
Hardik Patel, 22, appealed for calm after his release overnight on bail but also called for a new strike on Wednesday.
Al Jazeera's Nidhi Dutt, reporting from the Indian capital New Delhi, said the 'Patel Movement', as it's being described, "raises some important questions about the delicacy of domestic Indian politics.

"It also raises questions over the age old 'reservation' system which guarantees members of minority communities government jobs ... the concern is the Patel's protest may prompt other groups across India to seek similar rights," our correspondent said.

As many as 100 buses were torched and property damaged in the violence in Ahmedabad, Surat, and Mehsana cities and the towns of Unjha and Visnagar, local officers said.

About half a million Patels rallied in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, paralysing the city, to demand preferential treatment.
Schools said they would remain closed on Wednesday, but it was unclear how many businesses would follow the strike call.
Gujarat's chief minister, Anandiben Patel, urged members of her own community to maintain the peace.

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Related: India lower caste still removing human waste

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India sets aside a proportion of government jobs and university places for Dalits, known as "untouchables", and for so-called "other backward castes" under measures intended to bring victims of the worst discrimination into the mainstream.
She has said that giving into the demands of the Patels was not possible because India's Supreme Court has mandated that state governments can set aside only 50 percent of jobs and school seats for "backward castes" and that existing low caste groups already fill those spots.
The Patels, one of the state's most affluent castes, who make up around 20 percent of Gujarat's 63 million population, say they are struggling to compete with less privileged castes for jobs.
The move to secure preferential treatment was launched at a rally in Visnagar, in northern Gujarat on July 6. It has since become a mass movement as thousands have taken to the streets of Surat, Vadodara, Mehsana and Ahmedabad to press for quotas.

As many as 100 buses were torched and property damaged in the violence in Ahmedabad, Surat, and Mehsana cities and the towns of Unjha and Visnagar [Reuters]

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

 

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India caste protests turn violent despite curfew

At least four dead and scores injured as members of the Jat farming community protest in support of caste-based quotas.

 

The Jats are demanding quotas in government jobs and institutions of higher education for their caste [AP]

Violent protests in northern India over caste-based quotas in jobs and education have left four people dead and nearly 80 injured, officials said.
Members of the Jats farming community have been protesting in Haryana state with mobs setting fire to vehicles, buses and shopping malls, despite curfews overnight Friday and an army presence.
The Jats are demanding quotas in government jobs and institutions of higher education for their caste.

One person was killed when police opened fire on protesters on Friday in Rohtak city, the epicentre of the protests. Three more people had died in the hospital overnight, state official DK Behera said.

"The situation is really tense with the clashes raging for the second day and protesters setting shops on fire in marketplaces," Behera said.
Army brought in
Protesters also set a railway station on fire in Jind city and targeted petrol pumps in several other towns.
The army used helicopters to bring in troops to the worst-hit districts, including Rohtak, Jhajjar and Bhiwani, where a curfew was imposed.

The agitation had reached Delhi with protests being reported on some colleges as protestors also blocked a highway that links the national capital to some northern cities.

Talks between community leaders and the state government failed on Friday with the leaders adamant on continuing the agitation until legislation was passed that met their demands.

Haryana chief minister ML Khattar appealed to the Jats to end the protests saying the violence was creating disharmony in the society.

India has an affirmative action policy which includes quotas for the lowest castes who have faced discrimination for centuries.
Over the years, the government has expanded the quotas to include other communities that are economically or socially disadvantaged.

Protesters run some with sticks during a pro caste quota protest in Rohtak [AP]

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'In five years there won't be any Yazidis left here'

Many members of the Yazidi religious minority in Iraq, fearing persecution, are choosing to migrate to Germany.

 

According to human rights workers, Iraq was originally home to 800,000 Yazidis, but just 450,000 remain today [Taylor Smith/Al Jazeera]

Lalish - Deep in the mountains of Iraq's Kurdish region lies a sanctuary for the Yazidis, a religious minority that has been viciously persecuted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Lalish, which means both silence and listen, is the oldest Yazidi temple in the world. Usually quiet and peaceful, the temple has more recently become a refuge for internally displaced Yazidis who fled ISIL's advance on the city of Sinjar in 2014.
Although Kurdish forces have expelled ISIL from Sinjar, many Yazidis displaced from the city have no plans to return.
"In five years there won't be any Yazidis left here," said Najim Aleas Abdi, a Yazidi general fighting with the Peshmerga, a Kurdish armed group battling ISIL.

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READ MORE: Yazidis long for home as Sinjar operation stalls

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According to the Yazidi Human Rights Organisation, Iraq was originally home to 800,000 Yazidis, but just 450,000 remain today.

For Iraq's Yazidis, horrors of past refuse to go away

Much of this is due to emigration. Abdi's oldest son lives in Germany, and he plans to take the rest of his family there soon. "No family is complete here. Everyone has brothers and sisters in Germany," Abdi told Al Jazeera.
The dream is shared by many Yazidis.
"I will either be eaten by the fish or make it to Germany," said Ziad Shangar, who is originally from Sinjar. Shangar said he planned to cross the Mediterranean Sea next month, and travel onwards to Germany. For the time being, he works as a volunteer at the tomb of Sheikh Adi, a Yazidi saint.
Shangar says he has found a German woman on Facebook who is willing to marry him, and he is confident it will all work out.
It is estimated that 50,000 Yazidis are living in Germany.
"The Yazidis aren't fleeing just Iraq; they are fleeing their homeland, where their holy city, Lalish, is located -which to them is the equivalent of Saudis having to flee Mecca," said Kyle Msall, a University of Chicago PhD candidate with expertise on the crisis facing Yazidis.
Yazidi culture is so intertwined with their religion that it seems "unfathomable" for them to leave this area, where their religion has been for centuries, Msall said.

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READ MORE: A year after ISIL attack, Yazidis 'will never forget'

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Over scalding tea in Lalish's mountainside temple, which is used for worshipping the sun, four Yazidi men discussed the possibility of a better life in Germany and their concerns about returning to Sinjar.

I will either be eaten by the fish or make it to Germany. Ziad Shangar, Iraqi Yazidi

Luqman Mahmood, a native of Mosul, now works as a teacher at a high school in Sheikhan, Iraq. He said most of his students refuse to shake his hand because they liken his religion to devil worship.
This misconception stems from the link between the devil and Tausi Melek, the Peacock Angel believed to have been created by God to reign over the universe. The Peacock Angel is identified as a fallen angel, but is not the devil in Yazidism.
Mahmood said that on one occasion, students appreciative of his help pulled him aside after school to offer a sign of their gratitude. They told him that he would go to hell for being Yazidi, but that they would help him convert to save his soul.
"We don't have a problem with people. But people have a problem with us," Mahmood told Al Jazeera.
The persecution of Yazidis predates the rise of ISIL, but has increased in recent years. In 2007, two Yazidi communities were reduced to rubble by bombings that killed 500 people and displaced more than 1,000 families.
"When families feel their children will have no future, that's when they choose to leave. The aggregate situation for all children in Iraq is extremely troubling - including Yazidis," said Karim Elkorany, a spokesperson for UNICEF's Iraq branch.

Qasim Hussein, a local Kurdish translator, has applied to go to Germany legally. Asked whether he would consider himself a refugee, he vehemently shook his head, saying Iraq is still home. "But if you get slaughtered and killed, what's the point? We have to let go," he said.
According to Msall, "Many individual Yazidis believe that everyone wants the Yazidis gone from the Middle East, so the option for Europe seems like best-case scenario in their opinion."
After tea, the Yazidi men walked through Lalish towards a baptismal pool. Only Yazidis may enter the room surrounding the baptismal pool, and an old woman guards the entrance to enforce this rule. She said that 10 families had visited the holy site on a recent day before making the dangerous journey to Europe.
In colder weather, the price charged by smugglers to bring families to Europe drops by thousands of dollars, and families who previously could not afford the risky journey have been jockeying to secure spots.

 

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Syrian war: Opposition groups set new ceasefire terms

Assad's opponents want ceasefire to be accompanied by lifting of sieges, prisoner releases and aid access across nation.

 

A halt in hostilities failed to materialise on Friday despite diplomatic talks [Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda via AP]

A number of Syrian opposition groups have declared that they agree to the "possibility" of a temporary truce if the Syrian government and its allies respect several conditions, including halting fire.
The groups on Saturday said they would agree provided there were guarantees that the Syrian government forces and its allies would respect a ceasefire, sieges were lifted and aid deliveries permitted across the country.

Turkey calls on allies to fight Syrian Kurdish fighters

The announcement came as fighting continued on the ground despite a Friday deadline for cessation of hostilities.
Russian fighter jets are repeatedly striking rebel targets, particularly in Aleppo, backing government forces as they push towards Syria's second city.
The opposition factions "expressed agreement on the possibility of reaching a temporary truce deal, to be reached through international mediation", a statement from the High Negotiations Committee said.
It said the UN must guarantee "holding Russia and Iran and sectarian militias ... to a halt to fighting".
All sides should cease fire simultaneously and the government should release prisoners, the statement said.
The UN is struggling to deliver aid to about 4.5 million Syrians who live in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 400,000 people in besieged areas.
The fighting in Syria started as an unarmed uprising against Assad in March 2011, but has since expanded into a full-on conflict that has killed more than 260,000 people, according to UN estimates.

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READ MORE: The politics of war crimes in Syria

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Meanwhile, Russia said UN-led talks planned for Saturday between major international players on establishing a ceasefire in Syria had been postponed, as disagreement between the various sides continued.
Maria Zakharova, foreign ministry spokeswoman, told Russian news agencies the meeting in Geneva had been put back to an unspecified later date as "consultations" between key nations continued.

Military and diplomatic officials from Russia and the US held talks on Friday to try to finalise the details of a possible ceasefire, as a hoped-for halt in hostilities on the ground failed to materialise.
That gathering was supposed to pave the way for a broader meeting after the 17 key international players involved in negotiations to end the Syrian conflict agreed on January 12 that a ceasefire should come into force within a week.
The truce failed to take effect on Friday as fighting continued in Syria, with Kurdish-led forces backed by US-led air power seizing a key town from the Islamic State of the Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
Russia is currently flying a bombing campaign in Syria to back up forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, while the US is leading a coalition against ISIL, which has seized territory in Syria and Iraq.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

 

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Cyclone Winston hits Fiji's main island Viti Levu

The most powerful storm to hit Fiji has made landfall on the Pacific nation's main island, Viti Levu.

Cyclone Winston brought winds of over 320 kph (200 mph), torrential rain and waves of up to 12m (40ft).
Flights have been cancelled, evacuation centres activated and a nationwide curfew put in place.
The category five storm - the highest level - is expected to move westwards over the main island overnight Saturday and into Sunday morning.
Before it landed, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama warned that Fiji was facing "an ordeal of the most grievous kind".
"We must stick together as a people and look after each other. Be alert and be prepared," he said.
Cyclone Winston has already brushed some of Fiji's smaller islands, but the extent of the damage is unclear.

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EU referendum: Cameron sets June date for UK vote

The UK will vote on whether to remain in the EU on Thursday 23 June, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

The prime minister made his historic announcement in Downing Street after briefing the cabinet.
He said he would be campaigning to remain in a reformed EU - and described the vote as one of the biggest decisions "in our lifetimes".
Ministers immediately divided up into the leave and remain camps as the campaigns got under way in earnest.

• Follow rolling reaction to the Brussels deal as UK cabinet meets
• The UK's EU vote: All you need to know
• Remain v Leave: Where Conservative ministers and MPs stand

Home Secretary Theresa May heads the list of those who announced they will campaign to stay - but Justice Secretary Michael Gove has signed up to the leave campaign.
London Mayor Boris Johnson, who was not at the cabinet meeting, has yet to declare where he stands.

'Source of instability'

The referendum announcement comes after a reformed deal renegotiating Britain's relationship with Europe was finalised on Friday night after intense wrangling at a two-day summit in Brussels.
In his statement, Mr Cameron warned that leaving the EU would be a "leap in the dark" as he urged voters to back his reform deal.
"The choice is in your hands - but my recommendation is clear. I believe that Britain will be safer, stronger and better off by remaining in a reformed European Union."

Image copyright Vote Leave

Image caption Ministers nail their colours to the Vote Leave campaign

Mrs May said the EU was far from perfect but "for reasons of security, protection against crime and terrorism, trade with Europe, and access to markets around the world" it was in the national interest to remain in.

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Read more

• UK and the EU: Better off out or in?
• High stakes and missed meals - how the EU summit unfolded
• Nick Robinson: Why EU vote is about you
• Katya Adler: A hard-headed calculation to avoid Brexit

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Mr Gove said it had been the most difficult decision of his career to go against the prime minister but he believed "our country would be freer, fairer and better off outside the EU". He added: "Far from providing security in an uncertain world, the EU's policies have become a source of instability and insecurity."
Commons leader Chris Grayling, another leave campaign backer, told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg: "I actually believe the EU is holding this country back. We cannot control our borders, limit the number of people who come here do trade deals.
"I do not believe we can take decisions in the national interest when we are part of the European Union."

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Media captionChris Grayling: "I believe the European Union is now holding this country back"

He said the prime minister had "put in a Herculean effort to try to deliver change" to Britain's relationship with the EU, but the "concessions" he had brought back from Brussels did not "give us the opportunity to take decisions in the national interest" without consulting Brussels.

'Special status'

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers and employment minster Priti Patel, who is not a full cabinet member but attends meetings, have also joined the leave campaign.
Energy minister Andrea Leadsom - who is not a member of the cabinet - will also back the leave campaign.

Image copyright BSIE

Image caption Britain Stronger in Europe has released a video attacking leave campaigners

The rest of the cabinet joined Mr Cameron in the remain camp, including Business Secretary Sajid Javid - previously seen as a potential leave supporter.
Mr Cameron claims his EU reform deal will give Britain "special status" within the bloc - tackling concerns over migrants getting "something for nothing" from the benefit system and exempting the country from the EU drive for "ever-closer union".
But critics say it does nothing to tackle high levels of immigration or take back powers from Brussels.
UKIP Leader Nigel Farage said: "The 23rd is our golden opportunity, let battle be joined. Mr Cameron keeps on telling us that Britain would be better in a 'reformed Europe'. But he fails to point out that there is no reformed European Union on offer here. The prime minister's EU deal is pathetic."
Britain Stronger in Europe released a campaign video accusing leave campaigners of "utter hypocrisy" for attacking Mr Cameron's deal, claiming that many of them have been calling for the same reforms.
The key points of Mr Cameron's reform deal are:

• an "emergency brake" on migrants' in-work benefits, with payments phased in during their first four years in a new country, when there are "exceptional" levels of migration. The UK will be able to operate the brake for seven years
• child benefit for the children of EU migrants living overseas will now be paid at a rate based on the cost of living in their home country - applicable immediately for new arrivals and from 2020 for the 34,000 existing claimants
• The amending of EU treaties to state explicitly that references to the requirement to seek ever-closer union "do not apply to the United Kingdom", meaning Britain "can never be forced into political integration"
• The ability for the UK to enact "an emergency safeguard" to protect the City of London, to stop UK firms being forced to relocate into Europe and to ensure British businesses do not face "discrimination" for being outside the eurozone

The Labour Party is officially campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU, although a small group of the party's backbenchers have joined the leave campaign.
Leader Jeremy Corbyn voted for Britain to leave the European Economic Community, as the EU was then known, in 1975 but has since changed his mind, arguing that "it brings investment, jobs and protection for British workers and consumers".
He branded Mr Cameron's negotiations a "sideshow" aimed at appeasing critics in the Conservative Party and said he had missed an opportunity to protect jobs and "stop the spread of low pay".
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said in a statement the SNP will be "leading the positive case to keep Scotland in the EU".

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Al-Shabab intelligence chief killed: Kenyan army

Armed group denies Mahad Karate and 10 other commanders died in air strike, saying top official is "safe and sound". 

 

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for a purported bomb attack on a Daallo Airlines passenger plane in Somalia earlier this month [AP]

Kenya's army has said it killed al-Shabab's intelligence chief and another 10 of the armed group's commanders in an air strike in Somalia.
Al-Shabab, however, denied the claim, saying Mahad Karate, a top commander also responsible for the group's internal security, and his colleagues were "safe and sound" and that the air strikes did not happen.

Kenya commemorates troops killed in Somalia conflict

Kenyan troops, who are part of an African Union force in Somalia (AMISOM) fighting al-Shabab, claimed to have killed Karate in a strike at an al-Shabab training camp on February 8.
"The Kenya Defence Forces, under AMISOM operations, would like to confirm that Mahad Mohammed Karate... and 10 other middle-level commanders were killed in a major KDF strike in southern Somalia," a Kenyan army statement said on Thursday.
"The killing ... is a major blow to the terrorist group," the statement said.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify the deaths but al-Shabab described the Kenyan report as "lies".

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"The person they claimed they killed is safe and sound. None of our camps have been attacked in any way. They are telling lies to please their people after we killed their troops in El-Adde," the group's military operations spokesman, Abdiaziz Abu Mus'ab, told Al Jazeera.
Al-Shabab's intelligence wing has been involved in suicide attacks and assassinations in Somalia, Kenya and other surrounding countries. It provides logistics and support for the group's operations throughout the Horn of Africa.
The US government had placed a $5m bounty on Karate.
A US Rewards for Justice wanted notice said: "Karate, also known as Abdirahman Mohamed Warsame, played a key role in the Amniyat, the wing of the Shabab responsible for assassinations and the April 2, 2015 attack on Garissa University College."
The armed group aims to overthrow Somalia's central government and establish a state based on its interpretation of Islamic law.
The group was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

 

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