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Showing posts from December 16, 2012

4 killed in Pennsylvania shooting spree

NEW YORK: Four people died Friday and several police officers were wounded in a shooting spree in rural Pennsylvania, officials said. The shootings, exactly a week after a massacre of 20 children and six adults at a school in Connecticut, "happened over a large area" near Geeseytown, in a remote part of the eastern US state, Diane Meling, a spokeswoman for the Blair County Emergency Management Agency, told AFP. "Four people were shot dead. That number of four includes the alleged shooter," she said. "There were several Pennsylvania state troopers injured, I understand none seriously." The emergency was over, officials said. "Pennsylvania State Police have neutralized the active shooter in Franstown Township, Blair County. There is no longer a threat to residents and visitors to this area from this individual," an update on the county emergency management's Facebook page said. The bloodshed came as a national de

US drone strike kills 3 in North Waziristan

NORTH WAZIRISTAN:  A US drone strike in North Waziristan killed three people, Express News reported on Friday. According to details, two missiles were fired at a house in Miranshah area. The attack left the house completely damaged. People from the area have recovered bodies from the rubble. However, they fear that the death toll may rise further. The covert US attacks are unpopular in Pakistan, where the government criticises them as a violation of sovereignty, but US officials believe they are a vital weapon against militants. According to a September 2012 US study, US drone strikes in Pakistan have killed far more civilians than the US has acknowledged, traumatised innocent tribesmen. The study by Stanford Law School and New York University’s School of Law called for re-evaluation of the strategy, saying the number of “high-level” targets killed as a percentage of total casualties was extremely low – about 2%, according to CNN. Source:  http://tribune.com.

11 killed near Pak-Iran border

QUETTA: At least eleven people, including six Pakistanis and five Afghan nationals have been killed near Pakistan-Iran border in Balochistan’s Gawadar district while trying to illegally cross into neighbouring Iran in three vehicles , Geo News reported Saturday. Provincial Interior Secretary Captain (retd) Durrani said that the 11 people were killed by unknown armed men in Pakistani area near Iran border. He said that they were killed in Sansar, a mountainous region near Gawadar port city. The secretary didn’t elaborate as to who were behind the killing. However he said that the deceased included Pakistani and Afghan nationals. He said that the deceased wanted to enter Europe through illegally crossing into Iran. Geo News correspondent said that the bodies had been shifted to Gawadar Civil Hospital. Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-80668-11-killed-near-Pak-Iran-border-

Taiwan condemned over executions

Taiwan has executed six death row inmates, the first use of the death penalty this year. The deputy justice minister said the brutality of the men's crimes meant there was no reason to show mercy. Campaigning human rights group Amnesty International has condemned the move as " cold-blooded killing ". The executions - by shooting - "made a mockery of the authorities' stated commitment to abolish the death penalty", Amnesty said in a statement. "It is abhorrent to justify taking someone's life because prisons are overcrowded or the public's alleged support for the death penalty," the statement said. Popular support The executions were carried out in three separate prisons in different parts of the country - two in the capital, Taipei, two in the central city of Taichung and two in the south of the island. All six of the men had been convicted of murder. The BBC's Cindy Sui, in Taipei, says the executions come at a

India police fire water cannon at Delhi rape protesters

Indian police have used tear gas and water cannons to keep back thousands of protesters marching in Delhi over the gang rape of a young woman. Violence broke out as the protesters, mainly college students, tried to break through police barricades to march on the presidential palace. There has been outrage in India over the attack on a bus last Sunday that has left the 23-year-old woman in a critical condition in hospital. Six people have been arrested. The government has tried to halt the rising anger over the attack by announcing a series of measures intended to make Delhi safer for women. They include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains. 'Sips of water' But the protesters say the government's pledge to seek life sentences for the attackers is not enough - many are calling for the death penalty. Some carried placards reading "Hang the Rapists" and &qu

Russia demands action over UN helicopter downed in S Sudan

Russia has urged South Sudan to identify and punish those responsible for shooting down a UN helicopter and killing its four Russian crew. The helicopter was apparently shot down on Friday while on a reconnaissance mission in eastern Jonglei state. The UN strongly condemned the "shooting down... of a clearly marked UN helicopter" by South Sudanese forces. South Sudanese officials have given conflicting accounts of why the helicopter may have been downed. "We call on the government of South Sudan to carry out the necessary investigation, punish the guilty and take every measure to guarantee that this never happens again," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry also named the four male crew members who died. South Sudan's minister of information told the BBC on Friday that the cause of the incident was not clear. Other officials were quoted as saying the helicopter had been mistaken for a rebel aircraft, or that i

Pakistan mob burns alive man accused of desecrating Quran

HYDERABAD: A mob broke into a Pakistani police station and burnt a man accused of desecrating the Quran alive , police said on Saturday, in the latest violence focusing attention on the country's blasphemy laws. The man was a traveller and had spent Thursday night at the mosque, said Maulvi Memon, the imam in the southern village of Seeta in Sindh province. The charred remains of the Quran were found the next morning. "He was alone in the mosque during the night," Memon said. "There was no one else there to do this terrible thing." Villagers beat the man then handed him over to police. A few hours later, a crowd of around 200 stormed the police station, dragged the man out and set him on fire, said Usman Ghani, the senior superintendent of police in Dadu district. Ghani said around 30 people had been arrested for the murder and seven police detained for negligence. At least 53 people have been killed in Pakistan since 1990 after being accused of

Suicide bombers attack offices of Airtel, MTN in Nigeria

ABUJA: Suicide car bombers today attacked the offices of a Nigerian subsidiary of Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel in the volatile city of Kano besides that of South African firm MTN, killing at least four. Survivor Bayo Osho said they were at work in the Airtel building located near Mallam Kalto Square in Sabon Gari when two suicide bombers drove separate vehicles into the premises. According to the survivor, the first car was used to force the gate open and the driver came out and exchanged gun fire with the security personnel before the second one, laden with explosives, drove in. The explosives went off and sent billows of flames and smokes into the air. Firefighters have started battling to put of the fire even as men of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) have cordoned off the area. Officials from Airtel, one of the three biggest mobile phone service providers in Nigeria, were unavailable for comment. Reports also said that a office of MTN was also atta

Taliban Claim Responsibility for a Bomb Attack That Killed a Pakistani Politician

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility on Saturday for a suicide bomb attack that killed a senior politician in northwest Pakistan who was one of the group’s most vocal critics. At least eight other people were killed in the attack and more than 15 others were wounded, senior government officials and doctors at a local hospital said. The politician, Bashir Ahmad Bilour, was a senior minister in the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, where the Taliban have a strong presence. Mr. Bilour was long on the target list of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella organization of the Pakistani militant groups, for publicly denouncing them and challenging their violent policies. Mr. Bilour was coming out of a meeting of his Pashtun nationalist Awami National Party in the provincial capital of Peshawar, when the suicide bomber blew himself up, said the secretary of home and tribal affairs, Azam Khan. Mr. Bilour had been taken to the hospit

2012: the Year of Cyberwar that wasn't

Nation-state digital posturing is certainly on the rise, but organised cybercrime is already causing real damage everywhere. It was going to be the year of cyberwar, we were told on the eve of 2012. We've seen plenty of scary news stories since about dangerous nation-state actors, usually without naming them. But I reckon we've now got the focus wrong. That's not to say there weren't real and significant incidents involving nation-state actors. We do need to pay attention. But we seem to be giving less attention than we should to the everyday but massively-growing organised criminal activity. Now it's easy to see why the cyberwar stuff got the media coverage. We already know the protagonists in this drama. Western nations good, China and Iran bad, Russia somewhere in the middle these days. It's Cold War 2.0, and we've all seen the movie. So when we learned mid-year that the Flame worm had been running loose in data networks in the M

Verizon: Cyber-war fears are overblown

Bucking the conventional wisdom, coalescing around 2013 cyber-threat predictions that a full-scale cyber-war is in the offing, the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) researchers say that the most likely threats for the next year involve more tried-and-true vectors: authentication attacks and failures, continued espionage and hacktivist attacks, web application exploits and social engineering. "Many security experts are using anecdote and opinion for their predictions, whereas Verizon's researchers are applying empirical evidence to help enterprises focus on what will be truly important in the coming year – and also what isn't," said Wade Baker, principal author of the DBIR  in  a new breakdown of its research oriented toward 2013. He added, "First and foremost, we don't believe there will be an all-out cyber war, although it's possible," he said. "Rather, an enterprise's 2013

A Somali Soap Opera: Al-Shabaab’s Split With Omar Hammami

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An analysis of activity on the forum Islamic Awakening as well as on Twitter highlights that strategic support for Omar Hammami from Western audiences is fading.   L ast month, ICSR released the report ‘Lights, Camera, Jihad: Al-Shabaab’s Western Media Strategy’ part of which outlined the ideological development and perspective of Shabaab’s most well known English language spokesperson, Omar Hammami AKA Abu Mansur Al-Amriki. On Monday a press release was distributed through the al-Shabaab Twitter account which said: Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen hereby declares that Abu Mansur Al-Amriki does not, in any way, shape or form, represent the views of the Muhajireen in Somalia.   and additionally that Hammami’s statements and actions stem from a …narcissistic pursuit of fame and are far removed from the reality on the ground. This release has garnered significant attention within the online Islamist community, particularly on the popular Islamist forum “Islamic Aw

Four dead, three state troopers wounded in Pennsylvania shooting

Reuters | Updated: December 22, 2012 00:33 IST Four people were killed on Friday during a shooting in Frankstown Township, Pennsylvania, including the gunman, while three Pennsylvania state troopers were injured, the Altoona Mirror reported, citing the county prosecutor. The gunman, two other men and a woman were killed, the newspaper said, citing Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio. The troopers were wounded in a shootout with the suspect, the newspaper said. The shooting took place one week after a gunman killed 20 school children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Newtown held a moment of silence in remembrance on Friday, while the pro-gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, issued a statement in response to the Newtown shooting, urging armed guards at the nation's schools. One trooper was hit in his bulletproof vest and another was hit by flying glass when the shooter fired on his car, the Mirror said. The third trooper was i

10 arrested after Iraqi Finance Ministry abductions, state media reports

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Iraqi Finance Minister Rafei al-Essawi is shown second from left, next to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, in 2008. Baghdad (CNN) -- Nine bodyguards for Iraq's finance minister have been arrested, a spokesman for the Supreme Judicial Council told Iraqi state TV on Friday, a day after the minister said 150 members of his staff and guards had been kidnapped. Spokesman Abdul Sattar al-Berqdar told Iraqiya State TV that the security commander of the finance minister's protection regiment had also been arrested two days ago, according a legal arrest warrant. He told the channel that the security chief had admitted during interrogation that he committed "terrorist" acts. Finance Minister Rafei al-Essawi said Thursday that he holds Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki responsible for the safety of the 150 people seized when "a militia force" raided his house, headquarters and ministry in Baghdad. Read more: 150 kidnapped from Finance Ministry, minis

Police ‘foil terrorist plot to bomb meeting of top ANC officials’

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President Jacob Zuma waves upon arrival at the start of the 53rd National Conference of his ruling ANC in Bloemfontein. Photo: Reuters SOUTH AFRICAN police have foiled a plot by suspected right-wing Afrikaner extremists targeting an ANC conference attended by President Jacob Zuma and dozens of top government officials. Four men aged between 40 and 50 were arrested and a police spokesman said there was evidence they were planning acts around the country and not just at the ANC meeting in the central city of Bloemfontein. The vast majority of South Africa's whites accepted the ANC's victory in the 1994 election that brought Nelson Mandela to power and ended decades of white-minority rule. However, a tiny handful continues to oppose the historic settlement. "Their acts are widespread. We arrested them in different provinces," spokesman Billy Jones said. ANC spokesman Keith Khoza said preliminary information suggested

Is there a greater risk of cyber attack over the holidays?

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With Christmas only a few days a way, most businesses will be shutting down for a holiday break at the close of business today. It should be a time of peace and relaxation—a time to reflect on the year that has slipped away, and to envision goals for the year to come. But, it seems a majority of IT admins and security professionals will still be losing sleep over potential cyber attacks. nCircle , an information risk and security management company, commissioned a survey of 270 IT security and business professionals. It asked a range of questions around information security risks and practices, and the breakdown of the results is interesting. If you have solid security in place, you're not at any greater risk over the holidays. Let’s start with the big question: “Are you concerned that your company may be more vulnerable to attack during major holidays  such as Christmas and New Year’s?” Overall, nearly six in ten answered, “No”. But, when you break the responses

3 foreigners kidnapped in Yemen's capital, sources say

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Three foreigners were kidnapped in Yemen's capital Friday, two Interior Ministry officials told CNN. The incident occurred in the center of Sanaa, in Tahrir Square, a crowded and well-known tourist destination. Three gunmen and one driver were waiting for the foreigners to leave an electronics shop. As they come out, the gunmen forced them into a four-wheel-drive vehicle and fled. The foreigners didn't appear to be tourists. "As of now, the government does not know who stands behind the kidnapping, but is doing all in its ability to set them free," one of the officials said. The foreigners' whereabouts are unknown. Security forces at checkpoints surrounding the city are on high alert. The officials were not authorized to talk to the media. The Interior Ministry refused to officially comment on the kidnapping when contacted by CNN. Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/21/world/meast/yemen-kidnapped-tourists/index.html

Dublin IRA man charged over Northern Ireland prison officer murder

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  Vincent Banks, 44, from Smithfield, Dublin was brought before the Irish Special Criminal Court in Dublin on Wednesday where he was charged in connection with the murder in November of Northern Ireland prison officer David Black. Banks was charged with membership of an unlawful organization styling itself as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on December 18th, 2012. Banks was also charged with withholding information in relation to the murder of David Black. According to the Irish Times , Banks was accused of possessing information which he knew might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of another person for the murder of David Black, but failed to disclose the information to police. Father-of-two David Black, 52, worked at the high security Maghaberry prison in County Antrim and was shot dead as he drove to work on a motorway near Lurgan in County Armagh on November 1. Dissident republicans claimed responsibility

Sri Lankan Tamil movie releases to rave reviews

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This is the first Tamil movie on LTTE to be made post-war   A Tamil movie by a Sri Lankan director has been making waves across the world long before its release in the country. Slated for release today [December 21, 2012], Ini Avan is the first Tamil movie to be made on LTTE post-war. And that is reason enough to trigger curiosity among Lankan film buffs worldwide. The title 'Ini Avan' is a beautiful play of words. When used separately it means 'Him, Here, After' and when used as one word 'IniAvan', it means 'a sweet person'. It's only when you hear Asoka Handagama, Director, you realise the title could not have been more apt. "I wanted to give a [message] to Sinhala audience through this film. Often an 'ex-militant' is portrayed as a 'bad guy'. They suffer a negative image in society and I wanted to challenge that."     Going by the response the film has generated at the three international

Rwandan official gets 35 years for genocide

Former Rwandan government minister Augustin Ngirabatware was sentenced to 35 years in jail by the UN war crimes tribunal for involvement in the country's 1994 genocide. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , based in Tanzania , said the former Rwandan minister of planning instigated, planned, aided and abetted attacks on and killings of Tutsis during the genocide. Ethnic Hutu militia and soldiers butchered 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus in the tiny east African country in just 100 days between April and June 1994. The court said that after the case against Ngirabatware (55), it had no more suspects on trial, though there are still nine more accused still at large, including Felicien Kabuga, for whose arrest the US has offered a $5m (€3.7m) bounty. Source: http://www.independent.ie/world-news/africa/rwandan-official-gets-35-years-for-genocide-3333106.html

FARC-EP: We Offer Colombians a Peaceful Christmas

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Havana, Dec 20 (Prensa Latina) Commander Ivan Marquez, member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP), stated on Thursday that after a month after the unilateral ceasefire, the guerrilla will offer the country a peaceful Christmas, according to a communiqué released at the International Convention Center in Havana. In contrast with our stance, the communiqué underlined, President Juan Manuel Santos has announced that he will strengthen the war in the national territory, a senselessness that is not in tune with the people. Colombians know the guerrilla forces have never yielded to military pressures. Marquez urged the Government that "if it is still determined to go to war, at least it should reduce its effects on the population by signing a normalization treaty to govern the conduct of adversaries in order to preserve people's lives." At the declaration, Marquez described the agricultural forum, which recently concluded

‘LTTE training, police ammo strengthened Reds’

NEW DELHI: A new book offers fresh insights into the way the Maoists built their military prowess, starting with special training by the LTTE. Their first-ever professional military camp was held in the forests of Bastar in 1987, where they were trained by an LTTE leader named Suresh. Among those trained was Ganapathy, currently the man at the helm of CPI Maoist. "The Indian army had trained Suresh at the Indian military academy in Dehradun while he was in the LTTE. Now, it was his turn to teach the Maoists to fight the Indian security forces. What goes around comes around," writes Shubhranshu Choudhary, a former BBC journalist, in his book 'Let's Call Him Vasu'. The book is based on Choudhary's forays in the jungles of Dandakaranya, the region at the tri-junction of Chhattisgarh , Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh , where he met and interviewed dozens of Maoists including some of the senior-most figures in the rebel movement. A Maoist lea

Syrian rebels cut off escape route to trap Assad

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Activist takes a picture of a Free Syrian Army fighter aiming a weapon in Darya near Damascus. Photo: Reuters An eerie silence hangs over what was once a busy highway that cuts through the mountains and makes for Latakia city. Abu Yassin, who lives in one of the Sunni villages in Jebel Akrad, drove his vehicle, the only one on the road, past the carcasses of burnt-out tanks, abandoned government checkpoints and row upon row of empty villages. In the distance, war was raging. Government helicopters circled over frontline towns, dropping barrels filled with explosives and metal debris on buildings below with deafening effect. Rebel fighters shot back with anti-aircraft guns hidden amid narrow buildings or in nearby forests that cover the mountainsides. It is here, in this mountainous Mediterranean coastline of Syria 's Latakia province, that Syria's president Bashar al-Assad may hope to make his last stand. For centuries, this was hi

Gilgit-Baltistan unrest: Amidst tense calm, public transport banned on key highway

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A day after two people were killed in a spate of sectarian violence in Gilgit city on Tuesday, police arrested four suspects and banned public transport on Karakoram Highway for security reasons. “Action against the troublemakers is on as we have arrested four suspects so far,” Deputy Inspector General Police Ali Sher told The Express Tribune. Traffic remained thin on the roads, though schools and offices were open on Wednesday. The ban imposed on motorcycles last week remained in force. The administration also banned the entry of pickups in the city to ensure peace. “A high-level meeting has decided that a ban should be imposed on pickups,” said an official. As part of security measures, the government banned public transport between Gilgit and Rawalpindi via Karakoram Highway. “We have been asked not to run public transport buses on the highway for security reasons,” said Ehsan Shah, a spokesperson for the government-sponsored Natco bus service. Meanwhile, Chief

WikiLeaks to release a million more secret files

WikiLeaks founder Juilan Assange has emerged for a rare public address to announce plans to release a million more secret documents. In a speech from a balcony at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has spent six months in refuge, he said the files to be published in 2013 would affect "every country in this world". Addressing supporters, the 41-year-old Australian looked healthy despite half a year spent trapped inside the small apartment he shares with Ecuador's diplomatic staff. Mr Assange, who is being investigated by US officials over his spectacular leaks of classified documents, is also wanted over allegations of sexual assault stemming from a trip to Sweden in mid-2010. Although diplomatic immunity means that authorities can't reach him at the embassy, British officials have vowed to arrest him if he sets foot outside. Mr Assange gave no hint yesterday that the stand-off would end, but said that the "door

Balochistan unrest: Gunmen attack Lahore bound buses, kill three

QUETTA:  At least three passengers were shot dead and six injured when armed men attacked two buses in the Machh area of Kachi district, some 40 kilometres southeast of Quetta, on Thursday night. The gunmen also kidnapped two passengers after ascertaining their ethnicity by checking the CNICs of the passengers, sources said. Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durani, talking to The Express Tribune, said that unidentified assailants opened fire on two Lahore bound buses. Sources added that over two dozen armed men charged down the hills in Gyatani area of Machh and sprayed bullets on both buses. Durani said that Levies personnel challenged the attackers and an exchange of fire ensued which lasted for over two hours. The deceased were identified as Muhammad Siddique, resident of Faisalabad, Muhammad Kashif and Muhammad Jamshaid both residents of Quetta and a injured truck driver identified as Mohammad Essa. Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/482386/balochistan-unrest-gun

Rebels exerting effort to win back Leyte to their influence

LEYTE province is a rich source for resources for the New People’s Army (NPA), that is why the rebel group is doing all it can to once again win the province, a government official said. “Their number now is not that big but they are doing all effort to win back the province because you have resources and the logistics. If they win Leyte back, this would mean a rejuvenation of their group,” said Regional Director Rolando Rodriguez of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica). He said aside from rebel groups that are in Leyte, his office received reports that rebel augmentation forces from Samar will be sent in to the province. Colonel Rafael Valencia of the 802nd Infantry Brigade of the 8th Infantry Division also said the recent show of force of the NPA in Leyte has something to do with the forthcoming elections. “This is aside from informing people that they still exist in the province despite Leyte being declared under the status of NPA-free,” he said.

Turkey to fly troops to bases after deadly road convoy attacks

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey signed an agreement on Thursday to transport troops to and from their military bases by air after a string of fatal attacks on road convoys prompted it to rethink security their arrangements. The agreement, with state carrier Turkish Airlines, follows a dramatic increase in attacks on Turkish security forces in the past 18 months by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, who have launched a series of fatal raids on troop convoys in the mainly Kurdish southeast. Turkey's government and military began discussing alternative transport arrangements with the airline after a bomb attack on a security convoy in southeastern Bingol province which killed 10 people in September. At the signing ceremony on Thursday, Turkey's defense minister said he envisaged some 250,000 soldiers and non-commissioned officers would be transported under the scheme. It will begin on December 28. Flights will be free of charge for troops with all costs

Expressing concern: India disappointed over ISI’s immunity in US civil suit

NEW DEHLI:  New Delhi has expressed disappointment over an affidavit filed by the US State Department regarding immunity for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and two of the agency’s former director generals. The US State Department filed the statement in the Eastern District Court of New York, in response to a wrongful death suit brought by the American relatives of the victims of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. In response to media queries, the spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said, “It remains of vital importance for India that justice is done and that those who organised and perpetrated this horrible crime be brought to justice, irrespective of the jurisdiction under which they may reside or operate.” “Our position has been made known to the US consistently,” the spokesperson maintained, implying New Delhi had expected the US to act differently. He asserted that Washington would have to explain a stance which appeared ‘at variance with its sta