Free Republic

An illegal arms shipment including rockets and grenades discovered in Nigeria this week was loaded in Iran by an Iranian trader, the firm that operates the vessel that delivered it said on Friday. Security agents this week intercepted 13 containers declared as building materials and discharged from the CMA CGM Everest vessel at the country's busiest port of Apapa in Nigeria's economic hub of Lagos. "The shipment in question was booked as a 'shippers owned container' and supplied loaded and sealed by the shipper, an Iranian trader who does not appear on any 'forbidden persons' listing," said CMA CGM, which...

Nigeria's secret service said on Tuesday it had intercepted 13 containers of weapons from Iran in what Israeli defense sources believe may be part of a new smuggling route from Iran to Hamas in Gaza. Rocket launchers, grenades and other explosives camouflaged as building material were seized in the Nigerian port of Lagos after being unloaded from an Iranian ship. Nigerian media reports said the ship, which came from Iran, docked in Lagos port for a few hours only, unloaded 13 containers and sailed on.

OIL prices edged back toward record highs yesterday as the threat of war on Iran and the disruption of supplies from Nigeria kept international traders nervous. Nerves were frayed further when US energy giant ExxonMobil announced it had pulled out non-essential staff from the Nigeria's largest oil export terminal amid growing fears dissidents were liable to attack the site. Meanwhile, Iran has refused to rule out the use of oil as a weapon in the worsening stand-off over the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear quest. In New York yesterday the new main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, rose...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil climbed further on Tuesday as a militant threat to Nigerian oil exports and Iran's standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions kept the market worried about supply disruptions. London Brent crude for March was up 27 cents to $63.45 a barrel by 0329 GMT, after rising 58 cents on Monday. U.S. light crude for February jumped 86 cents to $64.78 in catch-up gains after being closed for a national holiday on Monday. U.S. crude earlier touched $64.95 a barrel, its highest since October 4. Crude flows from Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, are being...

Crude futures rose Monday after another attack on an oil platform in Nigeria and Iran warned that any sanctions imposed over the country's nuclear program could send oil prices even higher. Brent crude for February delivery gained 77 cents to $63.03 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange, ahead of the contract's expiration Monday. Trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange was closed for the Martin Luther King Day holiday. Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it had evacuated over 300 staffers and contractors from facilities in the Niger Delta. Heavily armed attackers damaged the Benisede oil platform in the Niger...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Iranian diplomat is in Nigerian police custody on suspicion of spying on the Israeli embassy and other sensitive compounds in the capital Abuja, Israeli security sources said Monday. They said the Iranian was arrested on Jan. 23 when staff reported him "staking out" the embassy. Although he carried no credentials, police discovered he was a diplomat, they said. "A digital camera was found in his possession, with surveillance pictures of the embassy and several other international and local official buildings in the capital," a senior Israeli security source said. A Nigerian police spokesman said last Thursday...

... A month ago, the Iranian parliament voted in favour of a draft bill, entitled "Islamic Penal Code", which would codify the death penalty for any male Iranian who leaves his Islamic faith. Women would get life imprisonment. The majority in favour of the new law was overwhelming: 196 votes for, with just seven against. ...The new law is not yet in force in Iran: it requires another vote in parliament, and then the signature of the Ayatollah. But that could happen within a matter of weeks. "Or," says Papadouris, "it could conceivably be allowed to drop, were there a...

A militant group has however since February 2016 been making headlines through their capacity to destroy oil infrastructure. Their attacks have driven Nigeria’s oil output to near a 22-year low. Contrary to popular opinion, the group, Niger Delta Avengers, NDA for short, according to them is not just made up of Niger Deltans but has support from other parts of Nigeria, namely Northern, Western and Eastern part of the Country with the sole purpose of crippling the Nigerian Economy until their demands are met. According to reports, Diplomats and security experts say the group has shown a level of sophistication...

01 - Clinton violated a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) she signed upon becoming Secretary by retaining records with classified information. 02 - Clinton violated State Department regulations forbidding the storage of classified information anywhere other than "the chancery" or "consulate" even for "reasons of personal convenience." 03 - Clinton used a BlackBerry to transmit classified information despite State Deparment policy prohibiting its use. 04 - Clinton violated State Department policy by giving classified material to her lawyer despite the fact that he lacked an "approved classified material storage facility." 05 - Clinton violated federal rules requiring that she turn over work-related...

A former attorney for Apple filed a lawsuit this week alleging that the company violated anti-discrimination laws by failing to accommodate his religious beliefs.In a complaint filed in state court in San Jose, Feras Mousilli claims the company refused to print Arabic on his business cards, and repeatedly told him he was not a “cultural fit.” Mousilli, who lives in San Francisco, also states that Apple AAPL refused to re-schedule weekly meetings with his supervisor so that he could attend Friday prayers.Mousilli, who is of Syrian origin, also claims Apple was a hostile environment in which other employees, named only...

No one doubted that an incoming Secretary of State would have had to sign the typical non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that also inform high-ranking officials of the criminal consequences of failing to adhere to the rules and regulations governing the handling of classified material. However, no one could actually verify that Hillary Clinton signed off on those warnings, which would make her “I didn’t know any better” defense even more threadbare than ever. Now the signed NDA has been located, thanks to a FOIA request from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, as Lachlan Markey reports for the Free Beacon: As the...

Uh-oh. By now, everyone knows that Hillary was running a largely unsecured email server out of her New York home. We also know that hundreds of the emails that passed through that system contained classified information. Now, thanks to the Washington Free Beacon, we know that upon assuming her role as Secretary of State, Hillary signed a Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement (SCI). The document outlined her responsibilities in dealing with classified information, and made her aware of the criminal penalties associated with failing to meet them.

As the nation's chief diplomat, Hillary Clinton was responsible for ascertaining whether information in her possession was classified and acknowledged that "negligent handling" of that information could jeopardize national security, according to a copy of an agreement she signed upon taking the job. A day after assuming office as secretary of state, Clinton signed a Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement that laid out criminal penalties for "any unauthorized disclosure" of classified information. Experts have guessed that Clinton signed such an agreement, but a copy of her specific contract, obtained by the Competitive Enterprise Institute through an open records request and...

As the nation’s chief diplomat, Hillary Clinton was responsible for ascertaining whether information in her possession was classified and acknowledged that “negligent handling” of that information could jeopardize national security, according to a copy of an agreement she signed upon taking the job. A day after assuming office as secretary of state, Clinton signed a Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement that laid out criminal penalties for “any unauthorized disclosure” of classified information. Experts have guessed that Clinton signed such an agreement, but a copy of her specific contract, obtained by the Competitive Enterprise Institute through an open records request and...

Dem presidential candidate and top aides signed NDAs warning against 'negligent handling' of classified information. As the nation's chief diplomat, Hillary Clinton was responsible for ascertaining whether information in her possession was classified and acknowledged that "negligent handling" of that information could jeopardize national security, according to a copy of an agreement she signed upon taking the job. A day after assuming office as secretary of state, Clinton signed a Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement that laid out criminal penalties for "any unauthorized disclosure" of classified information. Experts have guessed that Clinton signed such an agreement, but a copy of...

Obamatrade, better known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, is a trade deal that will ….; it's a partnership between the US and Pacific rim nations that would allow …; Okay, does anyone really know exactly what Obamatrade, aka the TPP, is about? Not hardly, as this trade deal is a secret. It's so secret that members of Congress must go to a classified reading room in the Capitol to even read it. After reading it, any notes they take on the deal are "confiscated" or are left in the room. Those who have been to this classified room to read it...

Humans contain 'alien' genes not passed on from our ancestors, researchers have discovered. The say we acquired essential 'foreign' genes from microorganisms co-habiting their environment in ancient times. The study challenges conventional views that animal evolution relies solely on genes passed down through ancestral lines -- and says the process could still be going on. Cambridge researchers say we acquired essential 'foreign' genes from microorganisms co-habiting their environment in ancient times. Horizontal Gene Transfer The transfer of genes between organisms living in the same environment is known as horizontal gene transfer (HGT). It is well known in single-celled organisms and...

Looking to slow Newt Gingrich's momentum from his victory in the South Carolina primary, Mitt Romney's presidential team called Monday for Mr. Gingrich to release the consulting contracts he held with Freddie Mac. The Romney camp suggested that Mr. Gingrich is trying to cover up the fact that he lobbied members of Congress on behalf of the mortgage housing giant, which reportedly paid him more than a million dollars — though the Georgia Republican says he advised them as a "historian."

Article can not be posted due to copyright issues but if you clink on this link you can read all about it.

The interior of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Kathmandu Rome, Italy, Jul 16, 2009 / 12:37 pm (CNA).- Following the recent bomb attack on the Cathedral of the Assumption, which was attributed to the Hindu group Nepal Defense Army, extremists are now threatening priests and religious in Nepal with death if they do not leave the country “within one month.” The Apostolic Vicar of Nepal, Bishop Anthony Francis Sharma, said the threats were made to the associate vicar, Father Pius Perumana.  L’Osservatore Romano reported that the police have beefed up security at the diocesan chancery in Godavari, where Father...