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Showing posts from November 6, 2011

Hackers Turn Up Heat on Steam Gaming Platform

Valve's Steam platform has been hit by hackers. Although the gaming company says there's no evidence the intruders made off with users' credit card numbers or personal information, its asking customers to change passwords and keep a close eye on their statements. Up to 35 million gamers with accounts on Steam , the multiplayer and digital games distribution platform developed by Valve , may be at risk following a breach of its database. Information in the database included usernames, passwords, data on members' game purchases, and members' email and billing addresses and encrypted credit card information, Valve said on Thursday. However, there's no evidence that the hackers stole encrypted card numbers or information that could personally identify anyone, Valve claims. There's also no evidence that members' credit cards are being fraudulently used by third parties, Valve added. The first indication of the attack was the defacing of Ste

Bullets 'like other IRA shootings'

Source: pressassociation Bullets fired in a terrorist gun attack that killed two British soldiers were of a make and date similar to those used in Provisional IRA shootings, a court has heard. One of the two guns used in the ambush in which English sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, were murdered was also used in two previous gun attacks on police stations in Northern Ireland, a firearms expert told Antrim Crown Court. The two Royal Engineer sappers were shot dead as they collected pizzas with comrades outside the gates of Massereene Army base in Antrim town in March 2009. They were only hours from flying to Afghanistan to begin a six-month tour of duty and were already dressed in desert fatigues. High-profile republican Colin Duffy, 43, from Forest Glade in Lurgan, Co Armagh, and Brian Shivers, 46, from Sperrin Mews in Magherafelt, Co Londonderry, deny two charges of murder and the attempted murder of six others - three soldiers, two pizza deliv

HAF reacts to report on hatred against Hindus in Pak madrasas

The study is a validation for scores of Pakistani Hindus who face discrimination and violence because of the hatred towards Hindus that continues to be stoked in children through the education system, says the Hindu American Foundation. Aziz Haniffa reports. Reacting to a report funded by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom that textbooks in Pakistan foster hatred and intolerance of minorities, especially Hindus and their faith, the head of the influential Hindu American Foundation Suhag Shukla, said, "It's about time!" The study conducted by the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy found that Pakistan's public schools and madrasas negatively portray the country's religious minorities and reinforce biases that fuel acts of discrimination, and possibly violence, against these communities. Leonard Leo, USCIRD chair, said, "This study – the first-ever of its kind - documents how Pakistan's public schools and privately-run m

One killed in attack on police checkpoint in Pakistan

Islamabad - At least one police officer was killed and another wounded Saturday in a bomb explosion at a police checkpoint in Pakistan's troubled north-western region, officials said. The attack took place in the area of Dandoful, Charsada district, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Confirming the casualties, police officer Sabir Khan told dpa by phone that the bomb was apparently planted overnight by Taliban militants near the barricade. Khan said about 12 police officers were near the checkpoint at the time of the blast. Most were saved as they were inside a mud-and-brick hut, while two officers were at the barricade to check for suspicious vehicles. While no group claimed responsibility for the attack, Taliban have targeted police in the district, which is on the border of the tribal region of Mohmand, a hotbed of al-Qaeda-linked militants. At least 80 recruits of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary were killed in May when suicide bombers attacked their vehicles in

German-Afghan captured by Americans charged with al-Qaida membership

BERLIN — A German-Afghan man whose information led to terrorism warnings across Europe last year has been charged with being a member of al-Qaida, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Ahmad Wali Siddiqui was captured by U.S. troops in Afghanistan in July 2010 and while in custody provided details on alleged plots linked to the terror network that supposedly targeted European cities. No attacks materialized. Federal prosecutors’ spokesman Marcus Koehler said Thursday that his office had charged the 37-year-old, identified only as Ahmad Wali S. in accordance with German privacy laws, with membership in the extremist Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and al-Qaida on Nov. 2. Siddiqui is accused of training with both groups in Pakistan in the border region with Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010 with the aim of taking part in violent jihad, or holy war, Koehler said in a statement. Reached by phone, Koehler said he could not elaborate beyond the release. At an IMU camp, Siddiqui underwent gener

Muslims Against Crusades banned

An extremist group involved in the burning of poppies on Armistice Day last year will join the likes of al Qaida on a list of terrorist organisations banned in the UK. Home Secretary Theresa May said supporting or being a member of Muslims Against Crusades (Mac) will be a criminal offence from Friday. The move to proscribe the group led to it cancelling its "Hell for Heroes" demonstration against Remembrance commemorations, which was due to take place outside the Royal Albert Hall, where poppies were burned last year. During that incident, Mac members were heard chanting "British soldiers burn in hell" before burning the symbol of remembrance during the two-minute silence on November 11. Fining Mac member Emdadur Choudhury £50 for a public order offence in March, District Judge Howard Riddle told the hearing at Woolwich Crown Court that it "was a calculated and deliberate insult to the dead and those who mourn or remember them". To

German police link "kebab murders" to neo-Nazis

BERLIN ( Reuters ) - German investigators have linked an unsolved series of murders of eight foreign-born food vendors and shopowners, nicknamed the "doner murders" to a neo-Nazi terrorist cell, the federal prosecutors' office said on Friday. They also linked the same neo-Nazi group to the killing of a policewoman in Heilbronn in southwest Germany in 2007. Police searching a burnt-out motorhome in the eastern German town of Zwickau found the bodies of two men suspected of having taken part in the Heilbronn attack on two police officers, when the female agent was killed and her male colleague injured. They also found, in the charred motorhome and a house nearby which had also been set ablaze, the two handguns used in the police woman's murder and the so-called "doner murders" that took place between 2000 and 2006. They also discovered neo-Nazi videos. Federal Prosecutor Rainer Griesbaum said the deaths of the seven men of Turkish origi

Turkish passenger ferry hijacked by alleged Kurdish militant ‘with bomb’

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Source: Nationalpost Izmit File Photo ISTANBUL — Kurdish rebels hijacked a ferry with 25 people aboard in the sea of Marmara, where Abdullah Ocalan, leader of a banned separatist group, is imprisoned, Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday. Four or five hijackers claiming to be Kurdish rebels seized control of the ferry off northwestern Turkey late Friday, he said. “We think they are four or five…. They say they belong to a branch of the terrorist organization,” he told NTV television station, referring to the military command of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), at around 1930 GMT as the hostage-taking was on course. He said that the hijackers had made no demands so far. Yildirim said that 19 passengers, four crew and two interns were aboard the ferry, the Kartepe, which was on its normal route in the sea of Marmara between Izmit and Golcuk. One of the hijackers claimed to have a bomb and told the ferry’s captain t

Two Iraqis killed, 11 injured in blasts in Baghdad

Source: KUNA BAGHDAD, Nov 11 (KUNA) -- Two Iraqis were killed and 11 injured in successive blasts in Baghdad on Friday evening, a police source said. Two civilians were killed and seven were wounded in three blasts 30 km northern Baghdad, the source told KUNA. Two other civilians were injured in a bomb blast in eastern Baghdad, he added, while two civilians were wounded in a blast caused by an explosive device in southwest of the Iraqi capital. The police cordoned off the areas and are investigating the incidents.

MUST SEE: Navy pins down Somali pirates in heroic face-off

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Source: rediff Indian Naval Ship Sukanya, deployed on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden under the operational control of the Western Naval Command, thwarted a multiple-boat attack by pirates on Thursday and rescued 26 Somali crewmembers. The ship was escorting a group of five merchant vessels through the internationally recognised transit corridor at 9:25 hours on Thursday when officers onboard detected a group of five boats approaching the merchant vessels. The warship immediately changed its route and challenged the pirates ferrying the suspicious vessels The pirates tried to reverse the course of the boats and tried to flee. Two managed to give the Indian Navy a slip, but the other three boats were intercepted. During the operation, six AK 47 rifles, 12 mag

Our biggest mistake was being born in Pakistan"

" Abroad in India, Lizzy Dutton meets a group of Pakistanis in peril By Lizzy Dutton Courtesy of Lizzy Dutton Lizzy Dutton (junior) (seated, middle) traveled five hours by bus to meet with Pakistani Hindus seeking refuge in Jodhpur, India. “What can you do for us?” they asked. Dutton pledged to share their story. This week, Occidental junior Lizzy Dutton contributes to the features section as a guest writer. Dutton is spending the semester in Jaipur, India with a Sustainable Development and Social Change program through SIT Study Abroad. A native of Austin, Texas, she is researching beekeeping as a form of economic empowerment for the tribes and castes of India's rural state of Gujarat. After meeting with a displaced group of Pakistani refugees on Oct. 6, Dutton penned this resonant reflection on the experience. What is like to be, in all senses of the word, "stuck"? Last month, I had the opportunity to meet Hindu refugees from Pakistan living in Jodhpur, In

Four Hindu Doctors Gunned Down in Pakistan

(CHAKRA) The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) condemned the brutal attack on four Hindus earlier this week in a small town in Sindh province, Pakistan. The attack resulted in the deaths of three doctors: Drs. Ajit Kumar, Naresh Kumar, and Ashok Kumar, while a fourth, Dr. Satia Pal, received serious injuries and is currently in intensive care in a Karachi hospital. The incident has caused widespread fear and apprehension amongst Hindus in Sindh, who frequently complain of inadequate protection from the police. Such violent attacks on the Hindu community are fairly common in Pakistan according to the Foundation, which publishes an annual human rights report that documents the plight of Hindu minorities worldwide. “This horrific act is yet another example of the religious intolerance that pervades Pakistani society,” said Samir Kalra, Esq., HAF Director and Senior Fellow for Human Rights. “Hindus and other minorities are routinely subjected to violence and persecution, while the governme

Tibet: Officials Threaten Monks With Gunfire

Senior leaders of a Tibetan Monastery who fled security forces are ordered to return within two days or be shot Below is an article published by Radio Free Asia: Chinese authorities in Tibet are forcing the return of monks and nuns to a monastery abandoned following a bomb attack on a government building, warning senior leaders that they could be shot if they fail to heed the order, according to sources in Tibet. At least 10 of the monks and nuns have been unaccounted for following the Oct. 26 bombing in the Chamdo prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), which took place in the early morning hours and caused no injuries. But it brought Chinese security forces into the area in large numbers, leading the monks and nuns of nearby Karma monastery—suspected of involvement in the blast—to flee harassment by government authorities and police. “On Oct. 30, the authorities called all residents of the Karma area to a meeting and ordered that the monks and nuns who had

Death toll rises as pressure mounts on Arab League over Syrian 'crimes'

As many as 30 people have been killed by the fire of Syrian security forces and army troops on Friday, Al Arabiya reported citing Syrian activists. Most of the victims were reported in the restive city of Homs as Human Rights Watch accused the regime of crimes against humanity. The Arab League, meanwhile, held a ministerial meeting to discuss the Syria crisis which, according to the United Nations, has claimed more than 3,500 lives since protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in mid-March. The deaths came amid mass anti-regime rallies demanding the Arab League suspend Syria’s membership in the pan-Arab body to sanction its brutal, eight-month crackdown on dissent. Security forces broke up demonstrations in al-Malaab, a main thoroughfare in Homs, but rallies relocated and mushroomed, engulfing eight neighborhoods, including aAl-Bayada, al-Ghuta and Baba Amr, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement from Nicosia, according to AFP. In the northwest

At least 15 Yemenis killed as Saleh’s loyalist forces shell southern city of Taez

Yemeni forces killed 15 people and wounded dozens when they shelled the southern city of Taez with mortars and artillery, hitting a hospital and a square where anti-government demonstrators were taking part in the Muslim Friday prayers, Al Arabiya reported citing activists. Security forces loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh started shortly after midnight to shell areas around Freedom Square, where demonstrators hold rallies against the regime, witnesses told AFP. “A total of 15 civilians were killed, including three children and three women,” a medic source, adding that 12 women were among 40 wounded. Residents said the shelling in Yemen’s second-largest city later intensified, focusing on the al-Rawdah and Zeid al-Mushky districts, which have been at the forefront of anti-regime protests. Witnesses said Republican Guard troops, commanded by Saleh’s son Ahmed, also fired artillery rounds into central Taez where thousands of protesters were gathered to call for the

Bomb blast in South Sudan’s Unity state

A refugee camp in South Sudan’s Unity state was bombed on Thursday, increasing tensions across the border. According to Reuters there was a sound of a large explosion in the Yida refugee camp, which left a crater about two meters wide (6.6 feet) in size, an unexploded bomb wedged in the side of a school building and a white aircraft flying north. Witnesses said three explosions followed. The camp houses 20,000 refugees from the Juba Mountains region of South Kordofan, a state north of the border which has been under constant fighting between rebels and Sudan’s army since June. “They don’t want any life in Juba Mountains and now they are expanding the war to South Sudan Republic, I don't know why,” said Yousif Ismail, a refugee from the Juba Mountains. South Sudan gained independence in July after voting for secession in a January referendum. This was the culmination of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of war between north and south. Since South Sudan’s independence vi

Militants blow two CDs shops in Swabi

Militants blew up two CDs shops with explosives here in Swabi late Thursday night. According to police, unknown miscreants had planted explosives outside two CDs shops located in Yar Hussain locality of Swabi which went off with big bang late at night. Both shops were completely destroyed in the blasts while three surrounding shops were partially damaged. However no causality or injury was reported in the blast because no one was present in the market during night. Police and Bomb Disposal Squad reached the scene soon after the blasts and gathered the evidences. It should be mentioned that owners of CDs shops were repeatedly getting threats from militants to look for alternate source of livelihood or to face dire consequences if they did not close their CDs business. Source http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/11-Nov-2011/Militants-blow-two-CDs-shops-in-Swabi

4 bombs defused in North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat

DAVAO CITY (Updated) -- Four hours after three bombs were defused in separate locations in North Cotabato early Wednesday, another bomb was found at a gasoline station in Sultan Kudarat. The Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the bomb discovered in Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat used as main charge a 60-mm mortar and a mobile phone as triggering device. "The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ. It was placed in one corner of the gasoline station Flying V, which is located along the national highway in Poblacion, Isulan. A worker of the gasoline station found the bomb at 11 a.m. Wednesday. The Explosives and Ordnance Disposal Team (EOD) from the Philippine Army received the distress call an hour after and immediately proceeded to the area. They successfully defused the explosive using a water disruptor. Meanwhile, the three defused bombs in North Cotabato were recovered in thre

LRH becomes world’s top hospital in treating blast victims

Peshawar—Dr Rahim Jan Arfidi, Medical Superintendent (MS) Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) said that we have treated more than 4000 bomb blast victims, during the last two and a half years which is record for a teaching hospital not only in Pakistan but throughout the world. Almost century old, LRH, which stands tall and distinctive in comparison with other public sector hospitals for provision of medical cover to ailing humanity, has also attained a new distinction of becoming the World’s top hospital in terms of handling mass emergencies and treating maximum number of bomb blast victims. LRH was established in 1924 for providing medical cover to the limited population of Peshawar, presently the 1544 bedded Pakistan’s largest hospital extends treatment to patients from the whole Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, FATA and even Afghanistan. Dr Afridi said that LRH tops lists of hospitals around the world in meeting emergencies does not have any official certification, but the assertion has been made

Kasab a terrorist, must be hanged, says Malik

ADDU (Maldives): Rejecting allegations of harbouring Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and providing support to militants, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that Ajmal Kasab is a terrorist and he should be sent to the gallows. Talking to the media at the Shangrila resort in Villingli, an island of Addu city, Malik said on Thursday that Kasab was a non-state actor who should be hanged for his crime. "We felt the same pain caused by the acts of Kasab which we felt after the Samjhota Express tragedy. "We have suffered the most at the hands of terrorists; 36,000 people of my country have fallen victims to terrorism," the interior minister said while responding to queries of journalists at the meeting venue. Stressing focus on "credible evidence", Malik said the government was awaiting a visit of the Judicial Commission to India and get some evidence that could help in prosecuting the accused in his country. About allegations of Pakistan sheltering Osama bin

Cyber-Terror: Still Nothing to See Here

BY DEREK BAMBAUER Friday, November 11, 2011 at 06:49 AM EST Cybersecurity is a hot policy / legal topic at the moment: the SEC recently issued guidance on cybersecurity reporting, defense contractors suffered a spear-phishing attack, the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive issued a report on cyber-espionage, and Brazilian ISPs fell victim to DNS poisoning. (The last highlights a problem with E-PARASITE and PROTECT IP: if they inadvertently encourage Americans to use foreign DNS providers, they may worsen cybersecurity problems.) Cybersecurity is a moniker that covers a host of problems, from identity theft to denial of service attacks to theft of trade secrets. The challenges are real, and there are many of them. That's why it is disheartening to see otherwise knowledgeable experts focusing on chimerical targets. For example, Eugene Kaspersky stated at the London Cyber Conference that "we are close, very close, to cyber terrorism. Perhaps already the cr

Ethiopia Charges Opposition Figures, Reporter With Terrorism

By Peter Heinlein November 11th, 2011 Ethiopia has formally charged 24 people, including senior opposition politicians and an outspoken Internet journalist, with plotting terrorist acts to create public chaos. Eight of the defendants appeared in court to hear the charges, while the others are to be tried in absentia. Two leaders of Ethiopia’s Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, Andualem Arage and Natnael Mekonnen, stood alongside columnist Eskinder Nega in federal court Thursday to hear the charges against them. Most of the six charges involve alleged violations of an anti-terrorism law that has come in for harsh criticism from human rights and press freedom groups. The trio were among the opposition figures arrested in police sweeps in September. They have since been held without bail. Former Ethiopian president Negaso Gidada, who attended the proceedings, told VOA by telephone that Natnael told the court he had been abused repeatedly in custody. “Natnael complained that

Our concern over cross-border terrorism not diluted, says Mathai

“India has provided extensive communication and evidence to Pakistan on 26/11” India's concern over cross-border terrorism has in no way been diluted because of the recent thaw in relations with Pakistan, according to Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai. Briefing journalists at the end of the inaugural of the 17th SAARC summit here on Thursday, he said India had provided extensive communication and evidence to Pakistan on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. “We believe there is enough in that to take forward an investigation in Pakistan of the seven accused,” he observed. Asked if Siachen was on the table for discussions, he said there was an ecosystem of dialogue on various themes. “We have plans between Commerce Secretaries in a few days' time, meeting between the Home Secretary [India] and the Interior Secretary [Pakistan] and a discussion on Tulbul.” Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani did mention that Siachen and Sir Creek were among the things that both nations needed t

HackDay Miami: 40 Hackers, 24 Hours, $10K in Prizes

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South Florida hackers, coders, developers, and designers unite to compete for cash and prizes during 24 hour hackathon this weekend MIAMI, Nov 08, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- HackDay Miami is just days away, and Miami's tech community is gearing up for the 24-hour hackathon event taking place at MiamiShared located at 990 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami, FL Nov.12th-13th. Forty hackers will compete for $10,000 in cash and prizes, and the chance to present their application in front of venture capitalists and investors at FIU's 2011 Americas Venture Capital Conference. In addition all finalists will receive a new $200 Kindle Fire. HackDay Miami will have eight diff

Operation AntiSec: Anonymous Hackers 'Expose' Finnish Parliamentary Aid as Neo-Nazi in Latest Hack

The Finnish cell of the Anonymous hacktivist collective has issued a statement claiming responsibility for "exposing" a parliamentary aid's affiliation to an active neo-Nazi group. The attack and subsequent data release reported by Anonymous Finland was released on the PasteBin web site Monday . The attack on the neo-Nazi Kansallinen Vastarinta website followed the collectives' previous pattern, breaking into the site and posting the names and details of several of the groups members. According to the Finnish broadcaster YLE, Ulla Pyysalo, a former aid to the True Finns MP Juho Eerola announced her intention to resign from her post after her name appeared on the list published by Anonymous. In its subsequent PasteBin statement the groups specifically cited the site's neo-Nazi leanings as the primary motivation for the attack. "We have no tolerance for any group based on racial, sexual and religion discrimination a

Researchers: Hackers Could Enable Mass Jailbreaks

Security researchers have warned that vulnerabilities in federal prison control systems could allow hackers to open prison doors remotely. "The vulnerabilities – which stem from flaws in industrial control systems and programmable logic controllers – were demonstrated by a team led by John Strauchs, who demonstrated the flaws at the recent Hacker Halted information security conference in Miami," writes The Register's John Leyden . "Possible exploits include overloading the electrical system that controls prison doors, locking them permanently open, or crashing either CCTV or prison intercom systems," Leyden writes.

Chinese hackers hitting many more places than Japan

TAIPEI — Computer networks of the Diet and Japan's largest defense contractor have been attacked by alleged Chinese hackers, but Japan is not the only target in the region. Taiwan has long been a key target of such attacks, especially from China. The attacks began in 1999 after then President Lee Teng-hui upset Beijing by saying negotiations between the two sides should be conducted on a "special state-to-state" basis. Since then Chinese hackers claimed to have launched more than 100,000 attacks on Taiwanese government websites. These claims could not be confirmed until 2001 when evidence surfaced that attacks on Taiwanese websites originated in China. In 2003, Taipei finally accused China of waging systematic cyberwarfare across the strait, and formed a Cabinet-level task force under the Defense Ministry to counter these attacks. A top Taiwanese official in charge of information security said recently that China has some 900,000