India wins another gulf war, gets Fasih

NEW DELHI: After the arrest of 26/11 handler Abu Jundal, India is on the verge of another success in Saudi Arabia having convinced the authorities there to deport Bihar engineer Fasih Mahmood, accused of carrying out terror strikes in India and recruiting youths for terror-related activities.

Highly placed sources in the government said India issued an identity certificate to the Saudi authorities for Fasih last week after Pakistani agencies too laid claim by stating that Fasih had a valid Pakistani passport. Pakistani agencies had made a similar claim for Jundal.

Sources said US pressure helped in swinging the case in India’s favour.

Another suspect to be deported with Fasih

Saudi authorities said they had the option of ignoring the identity certificate issued by India through the ministry of external affairs for terror suspect Fasih Mahmood to counter Pakistan’s claim that he was a Pakistani national. Sources said that US pressure helped swing the case in India’s favour. In fact, it was Washington that had worked on the Saudis to get Fasih detained in the first place.

It is also learnt that the Saudis have agreed to deport another Indian terror suspect along with Fasih, but his identity has not been confirmed yet. Indian authorities suspect Fasih is linked with Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal, leaders of LeT proxy Indian Mujahideen (IM).

Sources say the two absconding terrorists won Fasih over when he was studying engineering in Karnataka. The engineer from Bihar’s Darbhanga district has since tried to find new recruits for LeT plots. A CBI team is likely to be sent to Riyadh to bring him back.

Sources said they had to face stiff opposition from Pakistani agencies bent on proving that Fasih was a Pakistani national. He was even said to have a passport issued from Lahore. “Fasih was obviously in regular touch with agencies in Pakistan which tried to protect him,” said a source. Pakistani agencies apparently wanted Fasih to be either released or sent to Pakistan.

Indian agencies said his interrogation will be crucial because as a prime recruiter for terrorist activities in India he has knowledge of several sleeper modules operating across the country. “Keeping that in mind he is no less a catch than Jundal,” added the official.

According to the Interpol Red Corner Notice issued for Fasih, his name surfaced in the Pune’s German Bakery blast case followed by the Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore. The notice says that he has been a member of Indian Mujahideen since 2003. He is alleged to have been involved in the 2010 Jama Masjid blast and shootout cases.

Extreme pitbulls

pitbulls

U2 singer Bono and K’naan perform at the Clinton Foundation’s Decade of Difference concert on October 15, 2011 at the Hollywood Bowl in California.

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Music star K’naan

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(CNN) — His name means “traveler” and Somali-born poet, rapper and musician K’naan has certainly come a long way.

The hip-hop sensation, who’s been compared by critics to both reggae hero Bob Marley and rap star Eminem, fled war-torn Somalia as a teenager to eventually settle down with his family in Canada.

Strongly influenced by his native country, his socially conscious lyrics stem from life as a refugee and memories of civil war. Yet, the talented rhymesmith says today that he is more interested in emotional journeys, penning songs about the battles of the heart instead of street ones.

“In some ways, love can be harder than war — it’s a very difficult thing when human beings acknowledge their vulnerability,” he says.

Andy Murray Wimbledon column: I’m ready for Baghdatis

My victory over Ivo Karlovic took more than three hours in pretty hot conditions, but I feel absolutely fine, there are no physical issues and I’m in good shape.

It’s just as well because the matches are only going to get harder. With guys like Marcos Baghdatis, Milos Raonic, Juan Martin del Potro and David Ferrer still in my quarter of the draw, if I want to go deep in the tournament I’ll have to do a lot of running.

Researchers use spoofing to ‘hack’ into a flying drone

American researchers took control of a flying drone by hacking into its GPS system – acting on a $1,000 (£641) dare from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

A University of Texas at Austin team used “spoofing” – a technique where the drone mistakes the signal from hackers for the one sent from GPS satellites.

The same method may have been used to bring down a US drone in Iran in 2011.

Analysts say that the demo shows the potential danger of using drones.

Drones are unmanned aircrafts, often controlled from a hub located thousands of kilometres away.

They are mostly used by the military in conflict zones such as Afghanistan.