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Showing posts from August 5, 2012

The $440m computer glitch

Saturday, 11 August 2012 Computers and clever maths enable traders to buy and sell in the blink of an eye. But does high-frequency trading make matters worse when things go wrong? A strange thing happened earlier this month. The New York Stock Exchange launched a new electronic trading platform. A company called Knight Capital had created a new computer program to link up with the new platform in order to trade shares on it. The stock market opened, and Knight Capital prepared to launch its new software. "There was some problem with the program," says Felix Salmon, finance blogger for Reuters in New York. "We don't know exactly what. They switched it on and immediately they started losing literally $10 million [£6.4m] a minute. It looks like they were buying high and selling low many, many times per second, and losing 10 or 15 dollars each time. And this went on for 45 minutes. At the end of it all they wound up having lost $440 million [£281m]." Oo

Amnesty Says North Caucasus Authorities Threaten Security As Much As Militants

Rights group Amnesty International has warned that the threat to security for many residents of Russia's North Caucasus region comes as much from law-enforcement agencies as it does from armed groups. In a new report called "Circle Of Injustice," the international watchdog investigates alleged abuses by state agents in the region that include enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions. It also examines the failure of authorities to properly investigate and prosecute such cases. "You have individuals trapped between armed groups that represent a serious threat, that's true, but also a security force that is operating outside of and beyond all control by accountability mechanisms," says John Dalhuisen, director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia program. Lack Of Accountability Dalhuisen says it is the complex and "opaque" structures of law-enforcement agencies in the North Caucasus that allows authorities to abu

Al-Qaeda Resurgent In Iraq On The Back Of Syrian Turmoil

Al-Qaeda is back in Iraq, a fact underscored by a wave of spectacular attacks this summer. With 325 Iraqis killed by militants, according to statistics released on August 1 by the Iraqi Health Ministry, July was the country's deadliest month in two years. Al-Qaeda, believed to be on the wane in the country when U.S. forces withdrew troops from Iraq at the end of 2011, played a direct role in the violence through affiliates. Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which carried out numerous large-scale attacks in 2004-07, has taken the opportunity provided by the U.S. withdrawal to regroup and even expand its reach abroad. And the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), an umbrella group of militant organizations that includes Al-Qaeda in Iraq, has taken responsibility for a number of deadly attacks recently. One, on July 23, involved tens of coordinated strikes across the country that targeted Shi'a and left more than 100 people dead. Both appear to have benefitted from the unrest in neighbo

Bomb blast, gunfire in central Damascus

BEIRUT — Syrian TV says authorities are pursuing a "terrorist group" that detonated a bomb in central Damascus and opened fire on civilians there. The TV says the bomb blast went off in Marjeh, a major square in downtown Damascus. No further details were immediately available but residents in Damascus reported hearing a loud explosion followed by gunfire that lasted several minutes Saturday. Authorities routinely refer to rebels trying to topple President Bashar Assad's regime as "terrorists." Syrian troops say they have pushed the rebels from the capital after intense, week-long battles last month. But opposition fighters continue to stage hit-and-run attacks and are active in the suburbs around the city. Explosions in the capital have become increasingly common as Syria's civil war escalates. Source http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2018895796_apmlsyria.html

Assam protests by Islamic organisations in Mumbai turn violent; police lathicharge crowds to control situation

Written by Janaki Fernandes | August 11, 2012 17:42 IST Mumbai: Protests in Mumbai's Azad Maidan over the ethnic violence in Assam turned violent after a section of the crowd burnt vehicles, including media vans. The police had to then fire in the air and lathicharge the crowds to control them. Roads leading to Azad Maidan were blocked and the police managed to control the mob after 30 minutes. Police are still verifying what agitated the crowds. The State Reserve Police and riot control police were pressed into action to bring the situation under control. People gathered in Azad Maidan over the violence in Assam between people from the Bodo tribes and Muslim communities that broke out on July 20, after unidentified men killed four Bodo youths. In retaliation, armed Bodos - who dominate Kokrajhar and Chirang districts - attacked Muslims, suspecting them of being behind the deaths. Communal clashes have since ensued and fleeing survivors speak of large groups of men arm

Indian man escapes from militants in Philippines

Associated Press | August 10, 2012 13:59 IST Manila, Philippines: An Indian man escaped from al-Qaida-linked militants on Friday after being held captive in the southern Philippines for nearly 14 months. Bijo Kolara Veetil escaped before dawn as his Abu Sayyaf captors were preparing breakfast, said Sulu Provincial Police Chief Antonio Freyra. A heavily bearded Veetil, 37, later told reporters at a hospital that after he slipped out of the militants' encampment in the hinterlands of Patikul township, a villager brought him to a provincial official, who handed him to police. He was then taken to the hospital. Veetil, who worked as an operations manager for a garment company in Kuwait, said he was kidnapped in June 2011 while visiting his wife's family in Patikul. The kidnappers demanded about 300,000 pesos ($7,100) in ransom, but his family refused to pay. He said he wasn't harmed because he is a Muslim. The Abu Sayyaf is notorious for kidnappings, beheadings

Abu Jundal: Lashkar planning aerial attacks on Indian cities, has trained paragliders

Reported by Rashmi Rajput, Edited by Surabhi Malik | August 11, 2012 15:04 IST Mumbai: Abu Jundal, the 26/11 handler who is in jail in Mumbai, has made some startling revelations to the Mumbai Police. Sources say Jundal has told his interrogators that terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba is planning to carry out aerial attacks on Indian cities and has trained 150 paragliders for this. Jundal has reportedly told the Mumbai Police that he got to know of the LeT's plans when he visited what he calls the "Jumbo Jet Room" in 2010. According to him, the "Jumbo Jet Room" is actually a huge bunglow in eastern Karachi where top Lashkar commanders plan aerial and sea route attacks on India. These attacks, claims Jundal, are supervised by a man called Yakub who is also in charge of LeT's accounts. Jundal says when he visited the "Jumbo Jet Room", he saw 150 parachutes sealed in boxes. When he enquired about them, Yakub reportedly told him about the LeT'

Man 'escaped Mexico mass killing'

Saturday, 11 August 2012 San Luis Potosi had largely been spared the drug-related violence common in the border state A man is claiming to have survived a mass killing near the northern city of San Luis Potosi, where officials discovered a van containing 14 bodies, police say. The man said he managed to survive by playing dead and letting the attackers pile him into the van along with the other bodies. He said he fled into the hills when the assailants stopped for petrol. Investigations continue into the motive for the crime. Officials have released few details about the case. The defence ministry said the victim, whose name has not been released, "played dead when he noticed what was going on, and later took advantage of the moment the alleged murderers filled the van with petrol to escape into the countryside, where he was found by state police". Police discovered the bodies in the early hours of Thursday after receiving a tip-off about an abandoned vehicle o

Millions hit in Blizzard attack

Friday, 10 August 2012 The attack exposed the email addresses millions use to get at Blizzard games such as World of Warcraft Account details for millions of players have been stolen in a hack attack on Blizzard, the maker of World of Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo. Blizzard revealed details of the breach in a message posted to its Battle.net account management service. Players in North America should change their login details for the account management service, said Blizzard. So far, it said, there was no evidence that credit card numbers and other personal details had been taken. Angry gamers In the message, Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime said it discovered on 4 August that there had been "unauthorized and illegal access" to its internal network. Its investigation into the breach revealed that whoever broke in got a copy of a list of all email addresses for Battle.net users outside China. Battle.net is the overarching account management and login service game

Traffic, mobiles and cyber attacks test Web content delivery: Akamai co-founder

Increasing Internet congestion, the proliferation mobile devices and heightened security risks are today's biggest challenges to delivering Web content, according to Akamai Technologies co-founder Tom Leighton." Akamai, one of the world's largest cloud-based content delivery network (CDN), this year has expanded its business in Australia where it sees opportunities to help businesses and government tackle these issues. Download our Smartphone Super Guide for iPad Akamai opened a Melbourne office earlier this year with 15 employees, and it's looking at another office in Canberra serving the public sector, said Akamai senior manager of Australasia, Ian Teague. The company is also adding partners in Australia, including cloud provider Helix, he said. Akamai has 150 points-of-presence in Australia, Leighton said. Leighton told Computerworld Australia that Akamai still has the same mission it had when it was founded in 1998: "Making the Internet experience bet

Australia provides $2m to fight piracy

AUSTRALIA is to provide another $2 million to help tackle piracy in the Indian Ocean. Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Australia would also extend the secondment of an Australian Federal Police officer to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Senator Carr said Somali piracy in the Indian Ocean was a serious international threat. As of late May this year, 13 vessels and about 280 crew members were being held hostage by Somali pirates who had demanded ransoms of millions of dollars. "Pirate groups move regularly and use hostages and locals as human shields to protect themselves and extract ransom payments," he said in a statement. "This puts Australians at risk, including seafarers crewing foreign-owned ships or Australian tourists on pleasure craft or cruise ships. It impacts on international trade and tourism and undermines regional development efforts." Senator Carr said since 2009 Australia had been supporting th

Five French hostages kidnapped in Sahel seen alive in video

A Mauritanian online news agency has published a video showing five of six French hostages kidnapped by the North African Al-Qaeda branch from Mali and Niger in the past two years. The video, seen by AFP Friday, is a montage of images filmed in different locations, and shows the five hostages separately introducing themselves and leaving a message for their families while surrounded by armed and turbaned men. One hostage, Philippe Verdon, spoke of "difficult living conditions" and health problems, saying he had not taken his medication for three months. It was not clear what the medication was for. Verdon was kidnapped in November with Serge Lazarevic from Hombori in northeastern Mali, where they worked as geologists. He appeals to former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who was beaten in a second round election on May 6 by Francois Hollande, and international organisations to intervene and free himself and his colleague. Verdon said Al-Qaeda in the Isla

Nigeria military alone can't beat Islamists

Abuja - The United States wants to help Nigeria fight Islamists it sees as a growing regional menace, but the country cannot rely on military might alone, an official travelling with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. Clinton visited Africa's most populous nation on Thursday and met with President Goodluck Jonathan. Washington is offering support in the fight against Boko Haram, a Taliban-like group that wants to create a strict Islamic state in Nigeria's north. She said Nigeria was "one of the most vitally important strategic partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa" in remarks at the U.S. embassy, shortly before leaving. Africa's top oil producer is a major exporter of light crude to the United States, whose refiners favour it because it is easy to refine into motor fuel. Its proven oil and gas reserves outweigh those of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa put together. Boko Haram has launched bomb and gun attack

People Are Beginning To Freak Out About The Growing Islamist State In Africa

In the past two weeks in northern Mali, an unwed couple accused of of having children were stoned to death and a man accused of stealing had his hand chopped off, reports the NY Times .  These acts, both done in public, follow the capture of about 60% of Mali's overall territory, a region called Azawad, by a separatist movement with links to al-Qaeda. And to many, they're just getting started.  Early in the year, there was  a coup of the Mali government by soldiers upset with its failure to control the rebellious north. B y the time the coup relinquished power to an interim government though, the country was already split into two,  Ansar Dine, an Islamist group, and MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad), a more secular organization of indigenous ethnic Tuaregs, joining together to firmly seize control of the northern territories. Before long, the MNLA and Ansar Dine found themselves at odds. Ansar Dine wanted strict, Islamic Sharia law while th

African Union pledges continuing support for Somalia

The Somali capital has been enjoying relative peace and a resurgence of economic activities since last year’s ouster of Al- Shabaab fighters from their bases   MOGADISHU (Xinhua) -- The African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia on Tuesday vowed its commitment to supporting the horn of African country’s peace process as the nation marks one year after the ouster of Al-Shabaab from Mogadishu. Islamist group of Al-Shabaab abandoned their bases in the Somali capital Mogadishu in August last year after concerted offensiv

Lebanon banks under attack by virus Gauss

A new computer virus tied to some of the most sophisticated cyberweapons thus-far discovered has been found circulating in the Middle East, a Moscow-based computer security company said Thursday. If a link were confirmed, the find would expand the electronic arsenal reportedly deployed by the US and Israel against their rivals in the region. Kaspersky Lab ZAO said in a statement that the new virus, dubbed “Gauss,’’ was aimed at stealing financial information from customers of a series of Lebanese banks. The researchers said the target banks included several of Lebanon’s largest — the Bank of Beirut, Blom Bank, Byblos Bank and Credit Libanais — along with Citibank and the online payment system PayPal. The firm said that similarities in coding, structure, and operation meant it could say “with a high degree of certainty’’ that Gauss was related to “Flame,’’ spyware which prompted an Internet blackout across Iran’s oil industry in April, and to “Stuxnet,’’ a worm whose

Soldier escapes from communist captors

Friday, August 10, 2012 A SOLDIER kidnapped by the New People's Army (NPA) was found wounded in Sitio Quibaton, Barangay Dominga, Calinan, Davao City on Wednesday. Senior Inspector Jack Leon Tilcag, chief of the Calinan Police Station, identified the victim as Army Private First Class (PFC) John Oliver Ayuman, 24, of the 10th SF Company of the 5th Battalion who is assigned in North Cotabato. Tilcag said the victim was found around 6:30 a.m. with wounds on his left knee, right wrist, and nape. He is now at General Robillo Hospital and will be transferred to Panacan Hospital. Based on the investigation conducted by the Calinan police, the victim was with his girlfriend in a boarding house in Barangay Dominga around 7:30 p.m. of August 7 when four unidentified armed men arrived and invited him. According to Ayuman, the suspects believed that he was with the military. He refused the invitation and denied being a soldier. The suspects handcuffed him, while his gi

President Obama Considering Cybersecurity Executive Order; John Brennan

White House Homeland Security Adviser John Brennan said that the White House is considering the issuance of an executive order in order to strengthen U.S. cybersecurity, Reuters reports. Brennan said President Obama will have to issue the executive order if Congress is not going to act on securing the nation’s infrastructure. Brennan also told Reuters, “One of the things that we need to do in the executive branch is to see what we can do to put additional guidelines and policies in place under executive branch authority.” Reuters reports that there is no schedule for the executive order to take place and no determination on its content. In response to talks of an executive order, former DHS senior official Stewart Baker said the president could be using it as an election year ploy to gain votes. He also noted that the White House could not enforce the executive order, nor could congressional legislation be enforced because those powers were stripped from the bill t

'FARC' attack leaves Southwest Colombia without electricity

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An alleged FARC attack destroyed power stations in the Southwestern departments Valle de Cauca and Cauca leaving 30,000 people without electricity, reported local media Friday. Two car bombs detonated at the power station Ingenio la Cabaña on Thursday afternoon cutting the power supply for the residents of the Cuachane municipality in Cauca. Another alleged FARC bomb destroyed transmission towers in the area of El Placer and La Esmeralda in the Valle de Cauca. The attacks leave in total 30,000 people without electricity. No deaths or injuries were reported. Source: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/25487-farc-attack-leaves-southwest-colombia-without-electricity.html

Where Have All the Pirates Gone?

Breaking a five-year record, no pirate attacks off of Africa’s east coast and mainly Somalia have been reported in the last month. The last documented attack was on a Maltese-flagged cargo vessel on June 26th – well over 30 days ago. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has stated that this is normally a quiet time of the year for maritime piracy, but this is the first time where nothing has happened in July and August (better known as the monsoon months) so far since 2007. There are generally a small handful of attacks. The month of inactivity follows a 60 percent drop in piracy attacks in the region over the first half of this year.  [See the IMB’s latest report – Six month drop in world piracy ] The decline in Somali piracy is often credited to the preventive counter piracy tactics now employed by the international navies. A rising number of countries have authorized the use of armed guards aboard ships transiting the dangerous waters off the Horn of

Somali piracy remains a global shipping threat; responsible for growing kidnapping on land - UN

In spite of a drop in attacks, Somali piracy remains a threat to global shipping and represents a humanitarian tragedy for hijacked seafarers and kidnapped hostages, according to a United Nations report. Somali pirates are currently holding 174 hostages and eleven vessels. In its Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, the United Nations said that the drop in pirate attacks this year, mainly due to better maritime security, is causing pirate militias to adapt to this more hostile environment and focus on kidnapping people for ransom on land. The report described Somali maritime piracy as a form of money-driven, clan-based, transnational organized crime, saying that it remained a threat to global shipping in 2011 and 2012, and represented a humanitarian tragedy for hijacked seafarers and kidnapped hostages, their families and employers. “Somali pirates have never been more active than in 2011, registering a total of 237 incidents versus 219 in 2010.

Author: Sikh Temple Massacre Is the Outgrowth of Pervasive White Supremacism in US Military Ranks

Wisconsin Sikh temple shooter Wade Michael Page was open about his neo-Nazi views when he served in the U.S. military from 1992 to 1998. We speak to journalist Matt Kennard, who details the rise of the far-right radicals in the armed forces in his forthcoming book, "Irregular Army: How the U.S. Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror," out next month. "Every base has its problem with white supremacists because they are allowed to operate freely," Kennard says. "This is not a problem that is specific to certain bases ... it’s all over the United States. It was all over Iraq and it’s all over Afghanistan." TRANSCRIPT: AMY GOODMAN : We are talking about the killings of the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Our guest is Pete Simi. He is a University of Nebraska at Omaha criminology professor, co-author with Robert Futrell of the book, "American Swastika: Inside the White Power Move

‘Gunman hated Jews, blacks; never mentioned Sikhs’

A sociologist who had interacted with the gunman who killed six Sikhs at a US gurdwara said he was a neo-Nazi “whose primary targets were blacks and Jews”. Pete Simi, a professor of criminology at the University of Nebraska, hung out with Wade Michael Page, 40, for nearly two years when he was researching for his book on white supremacists and neo-Nazis, American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement’s Hidden Spaces of Hate. Simi said when he learnt Page had murdered six people at the gurdwara before being shot dead by police, he felt “sick to my stomach”. In his interactions with Simi, Page “never mentioned Sikhs”. “Blacks and Jews were the primary targets of his rhetoric,” Simi said. Sometime after 9/11, Page had also sent Simi an email in which he expressed a lot of anger about Muslims. “He said something like ‘America should just plaster all of the Middle East’,” Simi was quoted as saying by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We became friendly,” Simi said of h

Clinton to discuss Boko Haram with Nigeria leader

LAGOS: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due in Nigeria for talks expected to focus on the growing insecurity caused by Islamist militants. She will discuss with President Goodluck Jonathan the recent wave of attacks by the Boko Haram group.Its militants have stepped up attacks in the past year, targeting the UN headquarters in the capital, Abuja, churches and security buildings.The ties between the two countries are strong largely due to the trade in oil. Nigeria, Africa's leading oil producer, is the US's fifth largest supplier. The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says with spiralling violence, the possibility of Nigeria's oil production being affected cannot be ruled out.In the US, politicians have been debating to what extent Boko Haram poses a danger to the US. The group is believed to have built links with al-Qaeda affiliates and so could be a greater threat to the region. The military effort to deal with this Islamist extremist group, which wants

Arrest of FARC Gunrunner Points to Ecuador's Illicit Arms Trade

The capture of a FARC operative who obtained arms for the guerrilla group in Ecuador is the latest sign that the country is increasing cooperation with authorities in neighboring Colombia to crack down on rebel activity in its territory. Working with Colombian intelligence, Ecuadorian police arrested Edilson Castro Lopez , alias “Chicanero” (pictured) near Quito on August 4. Chicanero is accused of managing arms purchases for the Joint Western Command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). According to El Tiempo , he oversaw arms trafficking operations through at least 175 points along the Ecuador-Colombia border. He is believed to have orchestrated a recent shipment of 78 firearms destined for the FARC’s 6th Front in the southwestern province of Cauca, which was seized on July 27 . In addition to serving as a gunrunner for the guerrillas, officials claim that Chicanero is an explosives expert and has trained members of the FARC’s tactical units in ma