Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 04 April 2015 | 10.52
Five people have been arrested in connection with the massacre of 148 people at Kenya's Garissa University, according to sources.
The arrests were reported by CNN, citing Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery.
They come after a reward of £148,370 was offered for the capture of alleged mastermind, former teacher Mohammed Mohamud.
Yesterday survivors told how Islamist gunmen taunted students before shooting them.
At least 148 people were killed and 79 hurt as Somalia's al Shabaab extremists targeted Christians, some praying at a lecture hall.
Video:Timeline: al Shabaab Attacks
The hall was one of the first sites the gunmen targeted.
That suggested the masked attackers, who were strapped with bombs and armed with AK-47s, planned their operation extensively, said students.
They claimed many victims were forced to phone their parents and urge them to call for Kenyan troops to leave Somalia - before shooting them.
Others appeared to have been killed by knives in the attack in eastern Kenya, near the Somali border.
But some students were freed, apparently because they were Muslim.
Video:Footage Emerges From Kenya Massacre
It was the worst terror attack since al Qaeda bombed the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing more than 200 people.
Video has emerged of the university massacre, showing students running for their lives and hiding behind bushes as bullets whistled by.
The 12-hour siege ended with four gunmen killed and one suspect reportedly arrested.
The militant group has struck Kenya several times in recent years including at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in 2013 where 67 people were killed.
Al Shabaab said the attack was in retaliation for Kenya sending troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight the militants and stabilise the Mogadishu government.
Hardline Somali al Shabaab extremists who have carried out an armed raid on a university in eastern Kenya are responsible for a catalogue of deadly terror attacks in the region.
With the raid in Garissa the latest, here are some of the other atrocities committed by the group:
Guests flee the al Shabaab attack on the Maka Al-Mukarramah Hotel
March, 2015: At least 24 people, including six militants, were killed during a siege at the Maka Al-Mukarramah Hotel in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
February, 2015: A suicide attack at the Central Hotel in Mogadishu killed 25 people and wounded 40 others. Government officials were meeting in the hotel at the time, and Mogadishu's deputy mayor and two legislators were among the dead.
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Gallery: Terror Attack At Kenyan University
A siege by militants at a university in eastern Kenya has ended after four gunmen were killed. At least 147 people have been killed, with 79 confirmed as wounded
Somalia's al Shabaab terror group has claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn attack, which began when many students were sleeping
Written By Unknown on Jumat, 03 April 2015 | 10.52
Hardline Somali al Shabaab extremists who have carried out an armed raid on a university in eastern Kenya are responsible for a catalogue of deadly terror attacks in the region.
With the raid in Garissa the latest, here are some of the other atrocities committed by the group:
Guests flee the al Shabaab attack on the Maka Al-Mukarramah Hotel
March, 2015: At least 24 people, including six militants, were killed during a siege at the Maka Al-Mukarramah Hotel in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
February, 2015: A suicide attack at the Central Hotel in Mogadishu killed 25 people and wounded 40 others. Government officials were meeting in the hotel at the time, and Mogadishu's deputy mayor and two legislators were among the dead.
1/9
Gallery: Terror Attack At Kenyan University
A siege by militants at a university in eastern Kenya has ended after four gunmen were killed. At least 147 people have been killed, with 79 confirmed as wounded
Somalia's al Shabaab terror group has claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn attack, which began when many students were sleeping
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Video:Militants Attack Kenya University
An attack by masked terrorists who stormed a university in eastern Kenya has left at least 147 people dead.
Around 80 more have been confirmed as wounded in the siege at Garissa University, which has now ended after the four attackers detonated their suicide vests.
The gunmen hurled grenades and fired automatic rifles as students were sleeping, shooting dead dozens before setting Muslims free and holding Christians and others hostage.
The authorities are offering a reward for a man linked to the attack
Survivors said the masked attackers singled out non-Muslim students and gunned them down without mercy.
Others ran for their lives as bullets whistled through the air.
1/9
Gallery: Terror Attack At Kenyan University
A siege by militants at a university in eastern Kenya has ended after four gunmen were killed. At least 147 people have been killed, with 79 confirmed as wounded
Somalia's al Shabaab terror group has claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn attack, which began when many students were sleeping
]]>
The militants, who have links to al Qaeda, have in the past vowed retribution against Kenya for sending troops to Somalia
]]>
The militants shot dead dozens before setting Muslims free and holding Christians and others hostage at Garissa University
]]>
Survivors said the masked attackers singled out non-Muslim students and gunned them down
]]>
Two security guards, one policeman and one soldier were also killed in the siege, which ended 15 hours after the gunmen launched their assault.
The four gunmen had strapped themselves with explosives which they detonated as soldiers burst into the dormitory where they were holed up, according to Interior Minister Joseph Nkaiserry.
Somalia's al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn attack, which is the country's deadliest since the US embassy bombings in 1998.
Student Michael Bwana, who managed to flee, said most of those taken hostage were girls.
Kenya Police Chief Joseph Boinet said the gunmen forced their way into the university at 5.30am by shooting at the guards manning the main gate.
It is not clear if any of the students the militants said they were holding were alive at the time of the final assault.
However, officials said more than 500 students had been rescued.
Video:Gunmen Storm University Campus
Authorities have offered a $215,000 (£145,000) reward for a man called Mohammed Mohamud, who has been identified as a possible mastermind of the attack.
Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union, said he was preparing to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from a dorm.
"All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots; nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are," he said.
"The gunmen were saying sisi ni al-Shabab (Swahili for we are al-Shabab).
"If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot.
"With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die."
Grace Kai, a student at a neighbouring college, said there had been warnings of an imminent attack.
1/10
Gallery: A Look At The History Of Somali Terrorist Group Al Shabaab
Al Shabaab ("the Youth") emerged from a group called the Union of Islamic Courts which controlled Mogadishu before being forced out by Ethiopian troops in 2006
The group has been banned by both the US and UK but has 7000-9000 fighters, many of them foreign, and it is thought to have close ties with al Qaeda
]]>
"Some strangers had been spotted in Garissa town and were suspected to be terrorists," she said.
"Then on Monday our college principal told us ... that strangers had been spotted in our college.
"On Tuesday we were released to go home, and our college closed, but the campus remained in session, and now they have been attacked."
Kenya's northern and eastern regions, which border Somalia, have been most affected by attacks blamed on al Shabaab Islamists.
The militants, who have links to al Qaeda, have vowed to take retribution against Kenya for sending its troops to Somalia.
Al Shabaab was responsible for the deadly attack in 2013 on the Westgate shopping mall.
The US said it condemned the latest attack in the "strongest terms", while the British government pledged to continue to support Kenya in the country's battle against terrorism.
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Militants Kill 147 In Kenyan University Attack
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Militants Attack Kenya University
An attack by masked terrorists who stormed a university in eastern Kenya has left at least 147 people dead.
Around 80 more have been confirmed as wounded in the siege at Garissa University, which has now ended after the four attackers detonated their suicide vests.
The gunmen hurled grenades and fired automatic rifles as students were sleeping, shooting dead dozens before setting Muslims free and holding Christians and others hostage.
The authorities are offering a reward for a man linked to the attack
Survivors said the masked attackers singled out non-Muslim students and gunned them down without mercy.
Others ran for their lives as bullets whistled through the air.
1/9
Gallery: Terror Attack At Kenyan University
A siege by militants at a university in eastern Kenya has ended after four gunmen were killed. At least 147 people have been killed, with 79 confirmed as wounded
Somalia's al Shabaab terror group has claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn attack, which began when many students were sleeping
]]>
The militants, who have links to al Qaeda, have in the past vowed retribution against Kenya for sending troops to Somalia
]]>
The militants shot dead dozens before setting Muslims free and holding Christians and others hostage at Garissa University
]]>
Survivors said the masked attackers singled out non-Muslim students and gunned them down
]]>
Two security guards, one policeman and one soldier were also killed in the siege, which ended 15 hours after the gunmen launched their assault.
The four gunmen had strapped themselves with explosives which they detonated as soldiers burst into the dormitory where they were holed up, according to Interior Minister Joseph Nkaiserry.
Somalia's al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn attack, which is the country's deadliest since the US embassy bombings in 1998.
Student Michael Bwana, who managed to flee, said most of those taken hostage were girls.
Kenya Police Chief Joseph Boinet said the gunmen forced their way into the university at 5.30am by shooting at the guards manning the main gate.
It is not clear if any of the students the militants said they were holding were alive at the time of the final assault.
However, officials said more than 500 students had been rescued.
Video:Gunmen Storm University Campus
Authorities have offered a $215,000 (£145,000) reward for a man called Mohammed Mohamud, who has been identified as a possible mastermind of the attack.
Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union, said he was preparing to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from a dorm.
"All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots; nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are," he said.
"The gunmen were saying sisi ni al-Shabab (Swahili for we are al-Shabab).
"If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot.
"With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die."
Grace Kai, a student at a neighbouring college, said there had been warnings of an imminent attack.
1/10
Gallery: A Look At The History Of Somali Terrorist Group Al Shabaab
Al Shabaab ("the Youth") emerged from a group called the Union of Islamic Courts which controlled Mogadishu before being forced out by Ethiopian troops in 2006
The group has been banned by both the US and UK but has 7000-9000 fighters, many of them foreign, and it is thought to have close ties with al Qaeda
]]>
"Some strangers had been spotted in Garissa town and were suspected to be terrorists," she said.
"Then on Monday our college principal told us ... that strangers had been spotted in our college.
"On Tuesday we were released to go home, and our college closed, but the campus remained in session, and now they have been attacked."
Kenya's northern and eastern regions, which border Somalia, have been most affected by attacks blamed on al Shabaab Islamists.
The militants, who have links to al Qaeda, have vowed to take retribution against Kenya for sending its troops to Somalia.
Al Shabaab was responsible for the deadly attack in 2013 on the Westgate shopping mall.
The US said it condemned the latest attack in the "strongest terms", while the British government pledged to continue to support Kenya in the country's battle against terrorism.
Written By Unknown on Kamis, 02 April 2015 | 10.52
China has called for both sides to compromise in nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, warning that all previous efforts will be wasted if a deadlock continues.
The talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, will drag on into Thursday, the State Department said, a day after negotiators agreed to a one-day extension.
After Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi left the meeting, a rare statement from his delegation said: "It is important to give political guidance to the negotiations ... it is important to narrow down the differences.
"If the negotiations are stuck, all previous efforts will be wasted.
"All parties must be prepared to meet each other half way to reach an agreement."
Video:21 March: Iran's Rouhani Optimistic
Mr Wang was one of three foreign ministers to leave the negotiations in the hands of representatives, with Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and France's Laurent Fabius also departing.
The significance of their absence was not clear.
Iran's foreign minister said earlier he was hopeful Tehran and the six world powers - the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China - could begin drafting a preliminary deal after the negotiations were extended.
Mohammad Javad Zarif described the late-night talks as "very good", saying: "We hope to start drafting the text on Wednesday."
Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: "We have made some very significant progress over the last few days, but it has been slow going.
Video:3 March: Israeli PM Warns Of Threat
"We decided to break last night. Some of the staff had been working through the previous night. We wanted people to be fresh as we started the last few issues that remain.
"We are now working on them this morning. I'm optimistic that we will make further progress this morning, but it does mean the Iranians being willing to meet us where there are issues that we still need to deal with.
"So fingers crossed and we hope to get there during the course of the day."
Western powers aim to stop Iran from having the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb, in exchange for easing international sanctions that are crippling its economy.
Stumbling blocks related to Iran's enrichment research and the speed of lifting the sanctions are threatening to scupper an agreement.
Video:March: 'Progress' In Nuclear Talks
The aim is to reach an understanding that could serve as the basis for a final accord to be reached by the end of June.
The talks, which have lasted nearly two years, have already been extended twice since an interim agreement was reached in November 2013.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes the negotiations, said the agreement being put together in Lausanne sends the message "that Iran stands to gain by its aggression".
Mobile phone footage taken from inside the Germanwings flight during its final moments has reportedly been recovered from the crash site in the French Alps.
European newspapers Paris Match and Bild have reported that the video, which Sky News has not seen, was discovered on a mobile phone found among the wreckage of flight 4U 9525.
Paris Match, which has not published the video, reported: "The scene was so chaotic that it was hard to identify people, but the sounds of the screaming passengers made it perfectly clear that they were aware of what was about to happen to them.
"One can hear cries of 'My God' in several languages."
The newspaper added that metallic banging can be heard in the footage, before the screaming gets louder and the video ends.
Video:New Details Of Co-Pilot's History
It comes after Lufthansa revealed that the co-pilot accused of deliberately crashing the Germanwings plane told officials at a training school that he had gone through an "episode of severe depression".
Andreas Lubitz, 27, informed instructors in 2009 that he had to break off from his pilot training for several months because of his illness.
After he had resumed training six years ago, he provided the school with medical documents which showed he had gone through a "previous episode of severe depression," Lufthansa said.
1/9
Gallery: Tributes Laid Near Crash Site
A memorial, carved in French, German, Spanish and English, in memory of the victims of the Germanwings Airbus A320 crash, in the small village of Le Vernet, French Alps
The chapel prepared for the families of the victims and the medico-legal tents for investigators at Seyne les Alpes near the crash site
Iran's foreign minister says he is hopeful Tehran and six world powers can begin drafting a preliminary nuclear deal later today after negotiations were extended in Switzerland.
Talks are scheduled to resume this morning in the Swiss town of Lausanne where the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China have been working to break the negotiations deadlock.
A midnight deadline passed without any definitive agreement being reached over Tehran's nuclear programme, although negotiators agreed to a one-day extension.
Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described the late night talks as "very good", adding: "We hope to start drafting the text on Wednesday".
President Barack Obama spoke with key national security advisors late on Tuesday amid suggestions negotiators were close to striking a deal.
Video:21 March: Iran's Rouhani Optimistic
Mr Obama was briefed by Secretary of State John Kerry and the Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz.
Marie Harf, a spokeswoman for the US State Department, earlier confirmed an extension of the deadline.
"We've made enough progress in the last days to merit staying until Wednesday," she said.
"There are several difficult issues still remaining."
Western powers aim to stop Iran from having the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb, in exchange for easing international sanctions that are crippling its economy.
Video:3 March: Israeli PM Warns Of Threat
Stumbling blocks related to Iran's enrichment research and the speed of lifting the sanctions are threatening to scupper an agreement.
The aim is to reach an understanding that could serve as the basis for a final accord to be reached by the end of June.
The talks, which have lasted nearly two years, have already been extended twice since an interim agreement was reached in November 2013.
Most of the parties had indicated they did not want another extension, although they also said the interim agreement would remain in place until 1 July.
The six powers want more than a 10-year suspension of Iran's most sensitive nuclear work.
Video:March: 'Progress' In Nuclear Talks
Tehran, which denies it is trying to develop nuclear weapons, is demanding a swift end to sanctions in exchange for temporary limits on its atomic activities.
Iran says it wants nuclear enrichment only for energy, science, industry and medicine.
But many countries fear Iran could use the technology to make weapons-grade uranium.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes the negotiations, said the agreement being put together in Lausanne sends the message "that Iran stands to gain by its aggression".
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 31 Maret 2015 | 10.52
The co-pilot in the French Alps plane disaster was treated for suicidal tendencies in the past, German prosecutors have said.
But prosecutors' spokesman, Christoph Kumpa, told a news conference in Dusseldorf that Andreas Lubitz, 27, had not been treated recently.
He said: "There still is no evidence that the co-pilot told before that he'll do what we have to assume was done and we haven't found a letter or anything like that that contains a confession.
"Added to this, we have not found anything in the surrounding be it personal, or his family, or his professional surrounding, that is giving us any hints that enable us to say anything about his motivation.
"We have found medical documentation that show no organic medical illness.
Video:Co-Pilot 'Had Suicidal Tendencies'
"The co-pilot has been, before he got his pilot's licence, in psychotherapy. He had at that time been in treatment of a psychotherapist because of what is documented as being suicidal at that time.
"In the following time, up to now, right until he took the plane, there have been several visits at medical doctors and we have found as we have already communicated evidence that his doctors documented him to be unable to work and to fly.
"But these documents don't show any hint of being suicidal or being aggressive against other people."
Video:Airbus Video On Anti-Terror Doors
Mr Kumpa added that there was no evidence Lubitz was suffering any problems with his sight.
The Germanwings co-pilot is believed to have deliberately crashed Flight 4U 9525 last week, killing all those on board.
He had been given a sick note on the day of the crash, but the note was never submitted to Germanwings.
Video:Co-Pilot's Motives 'Not Relevant'
Police found medicines for the treatment of psychological conditions during searches of Lubitz's home in Dusseldorf.
A summary of the transcript of recordings from the voice recorder on board, published by German newspaper Bild, revealed Lubitz began the descent after the captain left the cockpit.
The voice recorder also picked up the captain shouting "open the damn door" as he desperately attempted to get back into the cockpit as the plane went down.
Video:Plane Crash: Special Report
Investigators have so far been unable to find the aircraft's second black box, which would provide technical flight data of its final moments.
It comes after French prosecutors said the DNA of 78 of the 150 people on board have been identified.
Recovery teams have described the difficulty of the search for victims as "unprecedented" because of the mountainous terrain and the violence of the impact.
Video:Is Pilot Testing Rigorous Enough?
Patrick Touron, deputy director of the French police's criminal research institute, said: "We haven't found a single body intact.
"We have slopes of 40 to 60 degrees, falling rocks, and ground that tends to crumble."
He added that in catastrophes, normally around 90% of identifications are done through dental records, but that DNA would most likely play a greater role in normal with the Germanwings crash.
1/16
Gallery: The Victims Of The Germanwings Crash
American Emily Selke, a recent graduate, was on the plane with her mother Yvonne. Raymond Selke has described his wife and daughter as 'amazing people'. Pic: Facebook
Iranian sports journalist Hussein Javadi was on his way to Austria to cover a football match. A friend said he was 'a kind, loving, caring man'. Pic: Maysam Bizær/Hossein Javadi
Raffaele Sollecito has given a news conference in Rome after he was acquitted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
The 31-year-old began the conference by thanking his family for supporting him, but said he had been accused of "being an assassin without an element of proof".
He said: "I feel today as though I'm a prisoner who after seven years and five months am free again.
"For me it was a rebirth.
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in Perugia before their arrest
"Seven years and five months is an incredibly long time when you're suffering, when you're living an unbearable tragedy. I felt desperate.
"I can't tell you that I no longer have any pain. I still feel the pain.
Video:Amanda Knox Acquitted
"I don't expect from now on ... to be called an assassin and I'll be ready to defend my dignity."
Mr Sollecito and his former girlfriend Amanda Knox were acquitted of murder on Friday by Italy's Supreme Court.
The judges, after 10 hours of deliberation, concluded that a conviction could not be supported by the evidence. Their reasoning will be released within 90 days.
Ms Kercher, who was 21 and from Coulsdon, Surrey, was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in Perugia in 2007.
Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito spent four years in jail for her murder, but were freed on appeal in 2011.
The American returned to the US before an appeal court threw out the acquittal and reinstated the guilty verdicts last year.
Speaking from Seattle on Saturday, she said: "The knowledge of my innocence has given me strength in the darkest times of this ordeal."
1/24
Gallery: Meredith Kercher Murder: Key Events
2 November 2007: The body of Meredith Kercher, 21, is found in her Perugia apartment. Investigators say she was killed the night before
Ms Kercher's flatmate, Amanda Knox, is pictured kissing her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito in the days after the murder
