Diberdayakan oleh Blogger.

Popular Posts Today

Obama Nearly Doubles Troop Numbers In Iraq

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 08 November 2014 | 10.52

By Sky News US Team

US President Barack Obama is sending 1,500 more troops to Iraq, almost doubling the current deployment.

The White House, which said the new forces would not be in combat, also asked Congress for $5.6bn (£3.5bn) to fund the mission against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The request includes $1.6bn for an "Iraq Train and Equip Fund". 

The new troops will support the roughly 1,600 US personnel already in Iraq, under what the Pentagon calls Operation Inherent Resolve.

The US says its troops in northern Iraq have no fighting role as they help to train national and Kurdish forces to battle the Islamic State jihadists.

"As a part of our strategy for strengthening partners on the ground, President Obama today authorized the deployment of up to 1,500 additional US military personnel in a non-combat role to train, advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, including Kurdish forces," said the White House.

Video: Troops Return To Iraq For IS Fight

Press secretary Josh Earnest said the new troops would operate at military facilities beyond Baghdad and Irbil, where they have hitherto been based.

Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm John Kirby said the military would set up several training sites across Iraq to instruct 12 Iraqi brigades.

It would also establish two operations centres where small advisory teams can work with Iraqi forces at headquarters and brigade levels.

One of those hubs is expected to be in Anbar province, where the extremists have reportedly been slaughtering men, women and children.

The latest deployment is based on an assessment of Iraqi security forces made by US Central Command, said the Department of Defense.

On Friday morning, President Obama hosted members of Congress at the White House, where he discussed the fight against Islamic State, among other issues.

House Speaker John Boehner reportedly told Mr Obama that Republicans would work with him next year to grant a new authorisation for military force against the jihadists.

Mr Obama's decision comes three days after his party suffered bruising losses in the midterm elections, a result driven in part by the President's unpopularity. 

The US has steadily ramped up its mission in Iraq since Mr Obama announced in June that 300 military advisers would be sent back to the country, three years after American forces withdrew.

The Obama administration is also carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, though the Pentagon has acknowledged such raids alone will not be enough to stop the group.

Last week, Iraqi forces recaptured a town from the extremists. Last month, Islamic States forces lost a string of towns near the Syrian border. 

Earlier this week, the UK said it would step up its military presence in Iraq as it seeks to train local ground forces to take on the jihadists.


10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Gang Massacred' Missing Mexico Students

Confessions by three suspected gang members indicate 43 missing college students were murdered at a landfill site before being burned beyond recognition and dumped in a river, authorities in Mexico have said.

In a sombre and lengthy news conference detailing the investigation, Attorney General Jesus Murillo said the suspects, caught a week ago, then set about removing all the evidence.

"They didn't just burn the bodies with their clothes, they also burned the clothes of those who participated... They tried to erase every possible trace."

Video of the suspects' alleged confessions and footage showing hundreds of charred fragments of bone and teeth fished from the river where the bodies were dumped was played during the news conference.

Mr Murillo said it would be very difficult to extract DNA to confirm that they are the students who went missing six weeks ago after clashing with police in Iguala in the southern state of Guerrero.

Video: Mexicans March For Missing Students

The government would continue to view the students as missing until their identities are confirmed, he added.

"I know the enormous pain the information we've obtained causes the family members, a pain we all share," Mr Murillo said.

Testimony from investigators suggests that the students, from an all-male leftist college, had clashed with the mayor of Iguala and that the city police had handed them over to a local drugs gang who murdered them.

This week, police arrested the former mayor and his wife, who the government suspects of being the probable masterminds of the abductions.

The kidnappings triggered mass protests across the country and have been the toughest challenge yet to President Enrique Pena Nieto, who vowed to restore order in Mexico after taking office two years ago.

Since 2007 around 100,000 people have died in violence linked to organised crime.

President Nieto said the findings had "shocked and offended" Mexico and pledged to round up everyone involved.

1/15

  1. Gallery: Protest Blaze Over Mexico Massacre

    A firefighter uses a hose to put out a blaze in Chilpancingo City Hall after it was set on fire by demonstrators, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero

The demonstrators are demanding the government find 43 college students, missing since last month's deadly clashes

]]>
10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Navy SEAL Who Killed Bin Laden Is Revealed

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 07 November 2014 | 10.52

Navy SEAL Who Killed Bin Laden Is Revealed

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Video: Osama Killer Now Number One Target

By Sky News US Team

The former Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama bin Laden has been identified for the first time as Rob O'Neill.

The revelation on the military website SOFREP came ahead of a Fox News interview in which Mr O'Neill is expected to discuss the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the terror mastermind was killed.

The 38-year-old is described as a veteran Navy SEAL who had concluded several tours of duty, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Montana native earned two Silver Stars and four Bronze Stars with Combat "V" among other decorations, the report said. He left the service after 16 years.

His decision to come out as the killer of al Qaeda leader bin Laden was made in part because he lost some military benefits, having left the SEALs before a full 20 years of service, according to the report.

1/10

  1. Gallery: Bin Laden's Hideout From Air And Ground

    This aerial view of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad shows the area (highlighted) before the building was built in 2004 and then again in 2011.

This photograph was taken in 2005. It is believed bin Laden could have lived in the compound for up to six years before he was finally tracked down by the CIA last August.

]]>

The location of the heavily fortifed villa, located just a few miles from the capital Islamabad, has raised questions about how Pakistani intelligence agents failed to detect the world's most wanted man.

]]>

This illustration shows the high walls surrounding the house and the area where all of the property's rubbish was burnt.

]]>
Navy SEAL Who Killed Bin Laden Is Revealed

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Video: Osama Killer Now Number One Target

By Sky News US Team

The former Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama bin Laden has been identified for the first time as Rob O'Neill.

The revelation on the military website SOFREP came ahead of a Fox News interview in which Mr O'Neill is expected to discuss the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the terror mastermind was killed.

The 38-year-old is described as a veteran Navy SEAL who had concluded several tours of duty, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Montana native earned two Silver Stars and four Bronze Stars with Combat "V" among other decorations, the report said. He left the service after 16 years.

His decision to come out as the killer of al Qaeda leader bin Laden was made in part because he lost some military benefits, having left the SEALs before a full 20 years of service, according to the report.

1/10

  1. Gallery: Bin Laden's Hideout From Air And Ground

    This aerial view of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad shows the area (highlighted) before the building was built in 2004 and then again in 2011.

This photograph was taken in 2005. It is believed bin Laden could have lived in the compound for up to six years before he was finally tracked down by the CIA last August.

]]>

The location of the heavily fortifed villa, located just a few miles from the capital Islamabad, has raised questions about how Pakistani intelligence agents failed to detect the world's most wanted man.

]]>

This illustration shows the high walls surrounding the house and the area where all of the property's rubbish was burnt.

]]>

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM To Warn EU Leaders Over £1.7bn Demand

By Darren McCaffrey, Sky News Politics Reporter

The scale and timetable of Britain's proposed £1.7bn extra contribution to the European Union is unacceptable, both David Cameron and George Osborne will tell EU leaders today.

The Chancellor, who is attending an ECOFIN ministers meeting in Brussels, will start negotiations with the intention of delaying and reducing what the UK should pay.

Meanwhile Mr Cameron, at a meeting of northern European leaders in Helsinki, is trying to gain support for Britain's position with the message that it is the UK this time - but could be your country next.

The meeting is part of a two-day summit of Scandinavian and Baltic state leaders called the Northern Future Forum.

The primary aim is to promote growth and economic reform throughout Europe, but Downing Street are clear the Prime Minister would be raising other issues such as budget control and migration.

Video: PM: £1.7bn EU Surcharge 'Appalling'

Mr Cmaeron's hopes of winning allies in his attempt to curb internal migration within the European Union have met with strong resistance from other EU leaders, including hosts Finland.

Finnish leader Alexander Stubb told The Financial Times: "We need to understand what the UK wants, and the UK needs to learn where are the limits of other member states.

"Whether some kind of arrangement can be found, I don't know.

"But to start putting restrictions on free movement in one way or another I would find quite difficult."

Sweden and Germany's opposition to migration reform have made the Prime Minister's task very difficult.

Video: EC Chief: £1.7bn UK Surcharge Fair

But Mr Osborne may have more success with the surcharge.

There are suggestions Brussels may be willing to allow interest-free instalments rather than the UK having to pay the full amount on 1 December.

The Labour Party has piled on the pressure, with Ed Balls and Douglas Alexander saying "the Government must have all eyes on the detail of the deal being discussed, not looking back over their shoulders at the Eurosceptic backbenchers who still seem to be pulling the strings".

An programme of instalments will not go far enough for the UK but could be the start of a process allowing for an acceptable agreement that Mr Cameron can sell to his party and the country.


10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Eight Men Jailed In Egypt Over 'Gay Wedding'

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 06 November 2014 | 10.52

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent

Eight men have been sentenced to three years in prison by a Cairo court after video emerged of them allegedly taking part in a gay wedding ceremony.

The mobile phone footage shows two men exchanging rings during a private boat party on the Nile.

There is a cake and at one point the men are seen embracing while others cheer.

While the ceremony is not legally or religiously binding, in a conservative society where homosexuality is frowned upon, the video - leaked months after the event - has sparked controversy.

Within days of its release, dozens were rounded up by police.

After a short trial, eight of the men in the video were handed jail sentences for "inciting debauchery" and other charges.

A close friend of the men in the video told us the sentencing has sent shockwaves through the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.

Kim, which is not his real name, told Sky News: "We are terrified, really terrified.

"To get to the people in the video, the police raided three parties in the space of 48 hours and made arrests. They took people from their homes."

Kim also said there is nowhere safe for homosexuals to meet or even talk now.

"There's no chatting, messaging or online dating. It feels like we are being strangled," he said.

Homosexuality has long been a social taboo in Egypt and it is not the first time the LGBT community has been persecuted.

In 2001, the famous Queen Boat trial saw 52 gay men charged with debauchery and offending religion.

But since President Abdel Fatah al Sisi took power last summer, rights organisations say there has been a sustained and co-ordinated crackdown, with more than 80 homosexuals and transexuals arrested since June last year.

Scott Long, a Cairo-based human rights activist who focuses on LGBT rights, thinks the latest arrests are part of a general crackdown.

He said: "Whether it's young atheists, or long-haired revolutionaries or even guys who sell clothes illegally on the streets downtown, there's an enormous police crackdown on any kind of behaviour the state doesn't like.

"But it's really easy for them to target LGBT people because they're unpopular nobody will stand up to defend them."

In the hours and days after the alleged gay wedding video emerged, the homophobic backlash played out on the airways. 

One of the so-called grooms called in to a popular TV station insisting the party was for a birthday and that he is not gay.

But the host mocked him, asking him repeatedly if he was gay and whether he had a girlfriend. 

Unlike other countries, Egypt does not have a law explicitly criminalising homosexuality.

Prosecutors use existing laws to do with morality and public decency to arrest those they suspect are from the LGBT community.

They are not the only ones who currently feel targeted as the state increasingly closes in on those who will not conform to its ideals - regardless of whether they pose a threat.

It is a crackdown that often seems to care more about appearances than the truth.


10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Three Israeli Soldiers Hurt In Car Ramming

Three Israeli soldiers have been wounded after a car ramming in the West Bank, police say, the second such attack of the day.

Police said the soldiers were hit by a vehicle with Palestinian licence plates as they stood guard outside El Arub Palestinian refugee camp near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the West Bank.

One of them is in a serious condition, while the other two are described as having moderate injuries.

Police spokesman Luba Samri said the driver of the "large commercial vehicle" fled the scene and a search is under way for the driver and the vehicle.

Earlier, a Palestinian rammed pedestrians in Jerusalem and killed one Israeli before he was shot dead.

Video: Car Hits Jerusalem Pedestrians

Police described the incident at a light rail station as a "hit-and-run terror attack".

Emergency services spokesman Zaki Heller said the car had driven down the light rail tracks then ploughed into people waiting on the platform.

Police named the attacker as 38-year-old Palestinian Ibrahim al-Akri, who they said had recently been released from prison after serving time for security offences.

1/13

  1. Gallery: Jerusalem: Fresh Clashes As Car Rams Crowd

    Israeli firefighters prepare to tow the vehicle of a Palestinian man at the scene of what police said appeared to be a deliberate attack on pedestrians in East Jerusalem

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man looks into the vehicle near the scene of the attack

]]>
10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Israel 'Flouted War Laws' During Gaza Conflict

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 05 November 2014 | 10.52

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter in Jerusalem

Amnesty International has claimed Israeli forces "flouted the laws of war" on numerous occasions during this summer's conflict in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of civilians.

The group's latest report, Families Under The Rubble, examined a series of airstrikes on Palestinian homes during "Operation Protective Edge".

Some of the strikes resulted in entire families being killed.

It focuses on eight incidents in which a total of 111 people were killed, of whom at least 104 were civilians, with 66 children among them.

Amnesty claims the cases indicate that Israel failed to observe its obligations under international law to limit the risk to civilian lives.

"Israeli forces have brazenly flouted the laws of war by carrying out a series of attacks on civilian homes, displaying callous indifference to the carnage caused," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East Director.

Throughout the conflict, the Israeli military issued numerous statements insisting they were doing all they could to protect civilians.

They accused militants from Hamas and other organisations of being responsible, as a result of hiding in civilian areas and using residents as "human shields".

Although the Amnesty investigation did identify named individuals who may have been the targets in some of the cases, the report claims Israel has failed to explain why the targeting of those individuals justified the huge loss of civilian life.

The most deadly airstrike examined was that on the three-storey al-Dali building in Khan Younis on 29 July, in which 36 members of four families were killed, including 18 children.

Amnesty identified one of the building's residents, Ahmad Muammar, an engineer for Islamic Jihad, as the likely target of the strike.

Witnesses told Amnesty investigators how Muammar used a room inside the house for work using computers and electronics.

The second most deadly case documented occurred in Khan Younis on 20 July, when 24 civilians, including 19 children, were killed following an airstrike on the Abu Jame house.

Amnesty believes a member of the Hamas armed wing may have been standing nearby the house.

In both cases, the report claims Israel has failed to explain what the targets were or why they justified the clear risk to civilians.

"The onus is on Israeli officials to explain why they chose to deliberately flatten entire homes of civilians (...) even if a fighter had been present in one of these residential homes, it would not absolve Israel of its obligation to take every feasible precaution to protect the lives of civilians caught up in the fighting,"  Mr Luther added.

Sky News asked the Israeli military for a response to the Amnesty International report, but none has been offered at this time.

Nearly 2,200 Palestinians died during the 50-day war in Gaza between July and August. UN figures suggest at least 1,523 of those killed were civilians.

During the conflict Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza fired thousands of rockets into Israel, resulting in the death of six civilians, including one child. Some 66 Israeli soldiers were killed over the course of Operation Protective Edge.


10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Republicans On Course To Take Over Senate

Republicans On Course To Take Over Senate

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Video: Democrats Could Lose Senate Control

By Sky News US Team

The US Republicans are close to seizing control of the Senate in midterm elections shaped by President Barack Obama's unpopularity.

As results trickle in across the US, the conservatives are projected to have won five of the six seats they need to take from Democrats: West Virginia, Arkansas, South Dakota, Montana and Colorado.

The Democrats are also battling to hold on to Senate seats in Alaska, Louisiana, North Carolina, Iowa and Virginia.

The Republicans held on to Senate seats in Georgia and Kentucky, but Kansas remained too close to call.

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, who cruised to re-election, could become the new leader of the Senate.

1/15

  1. Gallery: Midterms: Election Day In America

    Americans have been voting in the US midterm elections

Voters line up early in North Carolina

]]>

Kentucky Senate candidate Mitch McConnell is photobombed in a voting booth

]]>

Elections judge Constance Rolon, 96, hands out "I Voted!" stickers in Denver, Colorado

]]>
Republicans On Course To Take Over Senate

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Video: Democrats Could Lose Senate Control

By Sky News US Team

The US Republicans are close to seizing control of the Senate in midterm elections shaped by President Barack Obama's unpopularity.

As results trickle in across the US, the conservatives are projected to have won five of the six seats they need to take from Democrats: West Virginia, Arkansas, South Dakota, Montana and Colorado.

The Democrats are also battling to hold on to Senate seats in Alaska, Louisiana, North Carolina, Iowa and Virginia.

The Republicans held on to Senate seats in Georgia and Kentucky, but Kansas remained too close to call.

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, who cruised to re-election, could become the new leader of the Senate.

1/15

  1. Gallery: Midterms: Election Day In America

    Americans have been voting in the US midterm elections

Voters line up early in North Carolina

]]>

Kentucky Senate candidate Mitch McConnell is photobombed in a voting booth

]]>

Elections judge Constance Rolon, 96, hands out "I Voted!" stickers in Denver, Colorado

]]>

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Virgin Galactic Crash: What We Know So Far

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 04 November 2014 | 10.52

Sky News looks at the details that have emerged since the Virgin Galactic spaceship crashed in California's Mojave Desert on Friday, killing one of the two pilots on board.

:: Feathering Function

Experts say the critical "feathering" function, which involves the tail boom rotating and the wings being placed in an upward position to slow the spacecraft for re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, was performed too early.

According to investigators from America's National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the feathering system was deployed when SpaceShipTwo was flying at a speed of around Mach 1.0 (the speed of sound), instead of the faster speed of Mach 1.4.

But the NTSB said is too soon to speculate on whether this caused the crash and that the investigation is still in its earliest stages.

:: Warnings

A rocket-propulsion expert with the Netherlands-based International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety has claimed multiple warnings about the spacecraft's motor were issued to Virgin since 2007 when three engineers died during a ground-based rocket test.

Carolynne Campbell's warnings related to nitrous oxide, reportedly used as a fuel component in the craft along with a new substance derived from nylon plastic grains.

Ms Campbell said she outlined her concerns to Virgin Galactic in a subsequent telephone conversation, but her warning again went unheeded.

"Based on the work we've done, including me writing a paper on the handling of nitrous oxide, we were concerned about what was going on at Virgin Galactic," Ms Campbell said.

"I sent copies of the paper to various people at Virgin Galactic in 2009, and they were ignored."

:: No Explosion

Witnesses to Friday's crash say there were no obvious signs of an explosion before SpaceShipTwo broke apart and hurtled to earth.

Despite crashing from an altitude of 45,000ft (13,700m) the spacecraft's fuel tanks and engine were recovered intact.

This almost certainly suggests the disaster was not caused by the fuel tanks exploding and that the engines were operating normally up until the moment the feathering function was executed.

"The engine burn was normal up until the extension of the feathers," the head of NTSB, Christopher Hart, said.

:: Safety

After the crash, Virgin boss Richard Branson said that safety was Virgin's paramount concern.

"Safety has always been our number one priority," he said, adding the company would not "push on blindly" with its space programme until the causes of the accident had been determined.

"I find it slightly irresponsible that people who know nothing about what they're saying can be saying things before the NTSB makes their comments," he told reporters.

Virgin Galactic's chief executive George Whitesides also cautioned against early speculation of the causes of the crash.

"In the space community you will be able to find people who have favourite technologies of different types," he said.

"One group will say their type of technology is better than another," he told the Financial Times.


10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Virgin Galactic Descend System Deployed Early

The investigation into the fatal Virgin Galactic spaceship crash has found one of the pilots deployed the "feathering" function too early.

Camera footage from inside SpaceShipTwo revealed that the key safety feature which helps the craft descend was unlocked by the co-pilot.

But the head of America's National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Christopher Hart, stressed he was not saying this had been the cause of the disaster and that the investigation was still in its earliest stages.

Mr Hart said the "feathering" function - which involves the rotation of the tail boom - should have been deployed when the vehicle was travelling about 1.4 times the speed of sound. 

But the feather began rotating when the vehicle was travelling at Mach 1.0.

Video: 'Feathering' - How Galactic Slows

"Normal launch procedures are that after the release, the ignition of the rocket, and acceleration, the feathering devices are not to be moved," he said.

"The lock/unlock lever is not to be moved into the unlock position until the acceleration is up to Mach 1.4. Instead, as I indicated, that occurred at approximately Mach 1.0."

Mr Hart also said the craft's fuel tanks and engine had been recovered intact, indicating there was no explosion.

He told reporters the fuel tanks and engine showed no signs of "burn through" or of being breached.

Video: Branson On 'Irresponsible Innuendo'

"The engine burn was normal up until the extension of the feathers," Mr Hart told reporters.

Nearly all the important parts of the vessel had been recovered and had been taken to a hangar for examination.

SpaceShipTwo crashed into California's Mojave Desert during its 35th test flight shortly after being released at high altitude from its mothership WhiteKnightTwo.

Virgin boss Richard Branson said the NTSB were doing "an incredibly thorough investigation" and that "irresponsible innuendo" in some sections of the media over the cause of the crash had been "hurtful".

Video: NTSB News Conference

Speaking to Sky News from his Virgin Islands retreat Necker, he said: "It was incredibly hurtful to the 400 engineers who had worked so gallantly at Virgin Galactic and all the engineers who worked on the manufacture of the spaceship.

"If the press had looked at the photographs they would have seen full fuel tanks and engine intact on the ground.

"Yet they were talking about a massive explosion and of people ejecting out of the plane; we do not have (ejector) seats. The British press at its worst, to be honest."

Leading British rocket scientist Carolyn Campbell-Knight has told Sky News that the crash was an accident waiting to happen.

1/13

  1. Gallery: Virgin Galactic Crash Wreckage

    Investigators examine the wreckage of the Virgin Galactic spacecraft which crashed in the Mojave Desert. They claim it could take a year to determine the cause of the accident

  2. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) team is expected to spend the next week at the crash site in California

  3. The ship broke up in mid-air during a test flight on Friday. One of the pilots was killed and the other injured

  4. The team has already completed its first full day of the investigation

  5. Officials say they are expected to trawl through "extensive data" - which is why the full investigation could take about 12 months or so

  6. The craft's debris was spread over an area measuring five miles from end to end

  7. Police secured the crash site in the Mojave Desert amid fears that some of the debris could be explosive

  8. The spacecraft was on its first test flight for nine months when it crashed near the town of Bakersfield

She said: "I was shocked and upset but I wasn't surprised. It was always my opinion sooner rather than later something would go wrong with this device."

But Virgin Galactic has rejected the claim. The firm had been aiming to become the first commercial "spaceline" by beginning tourist flights to the edge of space next year.

Mr Branson emphasised that the crash occurred during a test flight and that Virgin would not take tourists into space unless it was safe.

"I once said if we had an accident... once we had started carrying passengers in the early days, it would be very difficult to recover from that," he said.

Video: Astronaut On Risks Of Space Travel

"I think that hopefully this is slightly different, in that we had test pilots testing the spacecraft, in extreme situations, to make sure it was safe for passengers."

::  Virgin Galactic Crash: What We Know So Far


10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Taliban Kills 55 In Border Crossing Attack

Written By Unknown on Senin, 03 November 2014 | 10.52

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News Producer In New Delhi

At least 55 people have been killed and dozens injured in a suicide bombing at a border crossing between India and Pakistan.

Jundullah, a militant group affiliated to al Qaeda and the Pakistan Taliban, has said it was responsible for the attack.

The blast came as people were leaving a daily ceremony to close the Wagah border gate near the eastern city of Lahore.

"I was sitting in my office near the border when I heard the blast," a Pakistani intelligence source told Reuters.

"I rushed to the scene and saw scattered bodies, injured men, women and children and smashed cars."

Lahore police chief Amin Wains confirmed it was a suicide attack.

"People were returning after watching the parade at Wagah border when the blast took place. Ball bearings were found at the scene," he said.

Huge crowds gather on both sides at Wagah at sunset to watch the display of military pageantry that accompanies the formal closing of the border post.

Being a holiday the crowd at Sunday's function was even larger than usual.

Pakistan has been wracked by a Taliban insurgency that has killed thousands of people in recent years.

But attacks have tailed off since the army launched a major offensive in the North Waziristan tribal area in June.

More than 1,100 militants and 100 soldiers have been killed since the start of the operation and more than 100 militants have surrendered, according to the military.

The government wants to complete the offensive by the end of this year to coincide with the pull-out of western forces from Afghanistan.

Judullah says it carried out the Wagah attack in retaliation to the operation.

Wagah is the main land crossing between India and Pakistan, and much of their trade passes through it.

The two countries have been at odds since independence from Britain in 1947, fighting three full wars, two of them over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.


10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Soldiers Fight To Quell Burkina Faso Protests

Gunfire has erupted at the headquarters of Burkina Faso's state television channel as clashes continue to hit the capital, eyewitnesses have said.

Shortly before the shooting, a politician had entered the building of RTB Television, flanked by dozens of supporters.

The AFP news agency is reporting that control of the station has now been seized by army soldiers.

Troops have also brought the main square in Ouagadougou, the capital, under their rule. Barricades have forced thousands of protesters to disperse.

There has been widespread unrest in the impoverished African nation in the last week. Thousands of people were involved in a mass protest against Blaise Compaore, the long-serving president who was pushing for a fifth term in power.

Since his resignation on Friday, Col Issaac Zida, a senior army official, has been named as Burkina Faso's acting leader.

He has suspended the country's constitution, which would have seen the speaker of parliament become interim head of state.

However, riots have continued, with demonstrators calling for the military to transfer power to the civilians. The UN is now threatening to impose sanctions on Burkina Faso unless these demands are met.

Some of the protesters have compared their movement to the Arab Spring, and in a march on Sunday, thousands accused Zida of "the theft of our victory" after he replaced the leader they had successfully ousted.

Jan Psaki, spokeswoman for the US State Department, said: "We urge civilian leadership to be guided by the spirit of the constitution of Burkina Faso, and to move immediately towards free and fair presidential elections."

This is the worst spate of unrest to hit the former French colony in three years.  


10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brit Held Over Woman's Body Found In Suitcase

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 02 November 2014 | 10.52

A British man, thought to work for a top bank, has been arrested in Hong Kong after the bodies of two women were found at an apartment, including one inside a suitcase.

The other woman, aged between 25 and 30, is believed to have had her throat cut.

She had wounds to her neck and buttock and was found unconscious in the living room by police officers who said they were called by the suspect.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene in the Wan Chai district.

Assistant Commander Wan Siu-hung said: "We believe the death was caused by a sharp object which cut the throat of the deceased.

"This led to copious bleeding. When the police found her, she was lying in the living room. The room was messy."

Police later found the body of the second woman, who also had neck injuries, in a suitcase on a balcony.

She was bloated, wrapped in a blanket, and police estimate she could have been dead for some time, according to reports.

Officers were called to the address in the early hours on Saturday. A knife was seized inside the property and a small quantity of cocaine was also found.

Police in the former UK colony said a 29-year-old British man was arrested at the scene over the double murder.

A statement said: "Police are investigating a murder case in Wan Chai in which a foreign woman aged between 25 and 30, and another woman were killed.

"At about 3.42am, a 29-year-old foreign man made a report and requested police to investigate a case in a unit at 60 Johnston Road, Wan Chai.

"Police sped to the scene and an unconscious woman aged 25 to 30 was found lying inside the unit. Sustaining cut wounds to her neck and buttock, the woman was certified dead at the scene.

"In the course of investigation, police found a suitcase at the balcony of the unit, and a female dead body with neck injuries was found inside the suitcase.

"Police arrested the 29-year-old man at the scene for murder."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a British national has been arrested in Hong Kong.

"We are in touch with the local police and stand ready to provide consular assistance."


10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boko Haram: Schoolgirls 'Married Off'

More than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the Nigerian terror group Boko Haram have all converted to Islam and been "married off", according to its leader.

The video message by Abubakar Shekau contradicts claims by Nigeria's government that the students would soon be freed.

He also denied agreeing to any ceasefire with the authorities.

Laughing, he said: "The issue of the girls is long forgotten because I have long ago married them off.

"In this war, there is no going back."

Video: 12 May, 2014: Taken Girls On Show

More than 270 students were taken from a boarding school in the in the remote northeastern town of Chibok in April, prompting a high-profile political and social media campaign using the hashtag #Bring Back Our Girls.

Dozens of the girls escaped on their own in the first couple of days, but 219 remain missing.

Those who managed to flee have have described the physical torture, rape and forced marriage that many endure in the group's secret forest camps.

Video: 20 June 2014: Fighting Boko Haram

Shekau's denial of the ceasefire appears supported by the violence that has continued since the government announced it two weeks ago.

As well as raising doubts about the actual influence of Danladi Ahmadu - the man with whom the government has been negotiating - and will further undermine the authority of President Goodluck Jonathan, who is seeking re-election in February.

The five-year-old insurgency by Boko Haram has killed thousands of people and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes in northeast Nigeria.

Video: Life in Boko Haram Captivity

The group poses the biggest threat to the security of Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer.

Boko Haram has attacked targets almost every day for weeks and recently seized control of Mubi, the home town of Nigeria's defence chief Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, who had announced the ceasefire.

The government has blamed the violence on Boko Haram's allied criminal networks that the group cannot control.

1/7

  1. Gallery: Profile: Boko Haram Leader

    Abubakar Shekau is the leader of Boko Haram. He took control of the Islamist group after the death of founder Mohammed Yusuf in 2009.

  2. Little is known about him, although he was born in Shekau village in the northeastern state of Yobe and is now thought to be in his early 40s.

  3. Shekau is Nigeria's most-wanted man and was designated a terrorist by the U.S. government in 2012. A reward of $7m (£4.6m) and 50m Nigerian naira (£182,000) has been issued for information leading to his location.

  4. Shekau is also known as "Darul Tawheed", a reference to his knowledge of an orthodox doctrine of Islam centred on the oneness of Allah.

  5. Nigerian authorities thought he had been killed in 2009 during clashes with security forces, but he reappeared in a video in 2010 to claim leadership of Boko Haram.

  6. Shekau is believed to have been behind the August 2011 bombing of the UN compound in the capital Abuja, which killed at least 21 people.

  7. In a video released after the abduction of 276 girls from a boarding school in the village of Chibok on April 14, he described the youngsters as "slaves" and threatened to "sell them in the market".

There are believed to be several competing factions within the group.


10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More
techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger