domingo, 30 de septiembre de 2012

Mayor Bloomberg on Empire State Building Shooting - Jeffrey Johnson Killer

A disgruntled employee was shot and killed by police officers after he allegedly shot several people near the Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan, officials said. The official said nine people suffered injuries related the shooting that unfolded around 9 am One person other than the gunman was declared dead at the scene, and another was taken to a hospital in a condition that was considered life threatening, the official said. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation are on the scene, in addition to NYPD officers, an FBI spokesman said in an email. According to one law enforcement official, the alleged shooter was an employee of a firm who appeared to be "disgruntled" after being recently fired. Friday's shooting comes on the heels of several other public shooting sprees, including one inside a Colorado movie theater last month and another at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin several weeks ago. Chris Watkins, 32, was waiting for his wife, who was completing an errand inside a nearby building, when he saw a man running through the crowd carrying a handgun and wearing a backpack. "He was shooting toward the crowd, not toward anyone in particular," said Mr. Watkins, who ran into a nearby Duane Reade. He later saw four people lying in the intersection of 34th St. and Fifth Ave. Jill Greenwood, an account supervisor at Prosek Partners in the Empire State Building, said she heard several gun shots beginning at 9:04 am Friday. In the minutes afterward, people inside the <b>...</b>
Views: 1
0 ratings
Time: 01:28 More in News & Politics

20 shiites pulled of pakistani bus and killed

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Gunmen dragged 20 Shiite Muslim travellers off a bus and killed them at point blank range in Pakistan on Thursday, the third such incident in six months, officials said. The attack happened in the northwestern district of Mansehra as the bus was travelling between Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistani army, and the mainly Shiite northern city of Gilgit. Officials said it was ambushed in the hills of Babusar Top, around 100 miles (160 kilometres) north of the capital Islamabad, although they differed over details of the incident. "Ten to 12 people wearing army uniform stopped the bus and forced some people off the bus," said Khalid Omarzai, administration chief in Mansehra. "After checking their papers, they opened fire and at least 20 people are reported to have been killed. This is initial information and the final toll may go up. They are all Shiites," he said. Local police official Shafiq Gul told AFP that the gunmen were masked, but said the victims were pulled from three separate vehicles in the district, which neighbours the Swat valley, a former Taliban stronghold. "They stopped three vehicles, searched them and picked up people in three batches of five, six and nine and shot them dead. They were all Shiites," he said. Mansehra police chief Sher Akbar Khan put the toll at 19, saying the attackers had worn military commando uniforms when they opened fire at around 6.00 am (0100 GMT). "They intercepted three buses, took people out and <b>...</b>
Views: 1
0 ratings
Time: 00:47 More in News & Politics

3-month-old Locked in Car Dies

Plus3-month-old Locked in Car Dies 3-month-old Locked in Car DiesThe Associated Press Police in Clarksville, Tennessee have arrested a woman in the death of her infant daughter in a hot car. Police said Courtni Lee Nichols of Palmyra left her baby in her car, parked at a restaurant while she went next door. (July 10) This is one of two bars where police say a new mother locked her baby in her car for at least seven hours. Witnesses saw the three year old girl in the car and called police--but it was too late. Faith was pronounced dead soon after arriving at a hospital. Her body temperature registered 104 degrees.(SOT: LORI SMITH/WITNESS)"IT WAS JUST CARELESS. IT WAS JUST CARELESSNESS. IT WAS 97 DEGREES YESTERDAY AND THAT CHILD ANY AMOUNT OF TIME SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN LEFT IN THAT CAR."Another woman who was at the Clarksville, Tennessee bar says she saw the mother come in and out of the bar several times. (SOT: LORI SMITH) "SHE WALKED IN, SHE GOT A BEER. SHE DRANK LIKE MAYBE THE NECK OF THE BOTTLE, YOU KNOW NOT MUCH. SHE SAT IT DOWN AND WALKED OUTSIDE." Balloons now mark the spot where the girl was left to die. 24-year-old Courtni Nichols faces first-degree murder charges.(SOT: SGT. CHERLY ANDERSON/CLARKSVILLE POLICE)AND WHAT PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND IS. CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT RESULTS IN THE DEATH OF A CHILD IS AUTOMATIC FIRST DEGREE MURDER.Nichols is held without bond. ___ ___, The Associated Press.
Views: 0
0 ratings
Time: 01:04 More in News & Politics

TEAR-GAS & stun grenades FIRED at PROTESTERS in VIOLENT RIOTS,POLICE shot DEAD 17 year old!

Bahrain police shoot 17-year-old protester dead in new wave of Shia unrest Police in Bahrain shot dead a teenage protester as fresh unrest swept the island kingdom 19 months after Shia protesters first took to the streets early in the Arab Spring. As so often in Bahrain, the circumstances surrounding the death of Ali Hussein al-Ni'ma were fiercely contested. Opposition activists said that the 17-year-old schoolboy died in the early hours of Saturday after police opened fire with buckshot on a peaceful demonstration in the Shia village of Sadad. "The teenager sustained severe injuries and was left to bleed to death in police custody," the Shia opposition party al-Wefaq claimed in a statement. But the interior ministry claimed that Ni'ma was part of a large group that attacked a police patrol with firebombs and iron bars, leaving officers no choice but to respond with force. "The police responded using only necessary and proportionate force to restore order," it said. The turmoil in Bahrain has been overshadowed by the much deadlier crisis in Syria, but in some ways the two countries are a mirror image of each other. Syria's uprising has been spearheaded by Sunnis seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shia Islam. But in Bahrain it is the long-marginalised Shia majority that has turned on its Sunni rulers, the Al Khalifa royal family. The international reaction to the two uprisings, the only significant insurrections in the Arab <b>...</b>
From: WYNKnews
Views: 0
0 ratings
Time: 04:41 More in News & Politics

Labour MP Dies After Cancer Battle

Former prime ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair have led tributes to former energy minister Malcolm Wicks, who has died aged 65. Mr Brown called the Croydon North MP, who had been fighting cancer, a "great thinker, writer, campaigner and parliamentarian", while Mr Blair said he had "complete integrity in all he did". Mr Wicks was praised by Labour leader Ed Miliband as a "thoroughly decent, intelligent and compassionate man" whose death left a "huge hole" in the party. "He was a brilliant energy minister, he was a deep thinker about welfare and pensions, and Labour to his core," Mr Miliband said. "Malcolm was also a dedicated constituency MP, always putting the needs of his Croydon constituents first. He was a brilliant campaigner. "The way he handled his illness tells you everything about the man. He showed huge dignity and also kept on thinking, writing and advising right to the end. "I have lost a wise confidant and most importantly a dear friend and the Labour Party has lost one of its sharpest thinkers. Our thoughts go to Malcolm's wife, Margaret, and his family." Mr Wicks represented Croydon in Parliament for two decades, and held a variety of ministerial briefs under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - including pensions, science and energy. The married father and grandfather stepped down from the government in 2008 and spent two years as the prime minister's special representative on international energy issues. He was also made a member of the Privy Council. Mr <b>...</b>
Views: 0
0 ratings
Time: 01:01 More in News & Politics

'Tributes' As Labour MP 'Malcolm Wicks' 'Dies'

Former prime ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair have led tributes to former energy minister Malcolm Wicks, who has died aged 65. Mr Brown called the Croydon North MP, who had been fighting cancer, a "great thinker, writer, campaigner and parliamentarian", while Mr Blair said he had "complete integrity in all he did". Mr Wicks was praised by Labour leader Ed Miliband as a "thoroughly decent, intelligent and compassionate man" whose death left a "huge hole" in the party. "He was a brilliant energy minister, he was a deep thinker about welfare and pensions, and Labour to his core," Mr Miliband said. "Malcolm was also a dedicated constituency MP, always putting the needs of his Croydon constituents first. He was a brilliant campaigner. "The way he handled his illness tells you everything about the man. He showed huge dignity and also kept on thinking, writing and advising right to the end. "I have lost a wise confidant and most importantly a dear friend and the Labour Party has lost one of its sharpest thinkers. Our thoughts go to Malcolm's wife, Margaret, and his family." Mr Wicks represented Croydon in Parliament for two decades, and held a variety of ministerial briefs under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - including pensions, science and energy. The married father and grandfather stepped down from the government in 2008 and spent two years as the prime minister's special representative on international energy issues. He was also made a member of the Privy Council. Mr <b>...</b>
From: DynamoMor
Views: 0
0 ratings
Time: 01:01 More in News & Politics

George Michael Pulls Out Of Australian 'Tour'

George Michael has cancelled the Australian leg of his Symphonica tour, revealing to fans that he is battling "major anxiety" after the pneumonia that almost killed him. Michael, 49, said he was heartbroken to have to cancel the dates, which were postponed last year due to the illness which kept him in an Austrian hospital for a month. However, the singer appeared reluctant to answer questions about his health from Sky's Lucy Cotter ahead of a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Saturday. Michael has completed a string of dates across Europe since August. His nine UK dates planned for October will still go ahead. The Australian tour was due to kick off in Perth on November 10 with concerts planned in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, finishing at the Hope Estate Winery in Hunter Valley on December 1. A statement on the singer's website said: "Since last year's illness I have tried in vain to work my way through the trauma that the doctors who saved my life warned me I would experience. "They recommended complete rest and the type of post traumatic counselling which is available in cases like mine. "I'm afraid I believed (wrongly) that making music and getting out there to perform for the audiences that bring me such joy would be therapy enough in itself. "Unfortunately I seriously underestimated how difficult this year would be." He went on: "Although I was right to believe that the shows would bring me great happiness and that my voice would recover <b>...</b>
From: DynamoMor
Views: 0
0 ratings
Time: 00:49 More in Entertainment

SHOT DEAD Valeria Alvarado MOM BACK UP CAR border patrol gilbert chula vista shoot kill san diego

INNOCENT MOM SHOT TO DEATH BY CORRUPT LYING BORDER PATROL. HE WAS NOT ON THE CAR. SHE WAS ALREADY BACKING UP AND HE SHOT HER MANY TIMES ANYWAY. SAN DIEGO (CNS) autopsy was pending Saturday on a mother of five shot to death by a Border Patrol agent in Chula Vista Valeria Monique Alvarado 32 Southcrest, allegedly ran into a Border Patrol agent car and was fatally shot through windshield about 1 pm Friday on Moss Street near Oaklawn Avenue federal agents, Chula Vista police and broadcast reports Border Patrol Deputy Chief Rodney Scott said the agent serve a warrant uniform agent was carried several hundred yards on the hood of the Honda Alvarado was driving opened fire, "fearing for his life," Scott said Alvarado family members told the UT San Diego the woman had five children, 3-17 years old Where's the evidence my wife threatened a trained officer? husband, Gilbert Alvarado I want justice newspaper Chula Vista police told the UT the Honda was going west closer to Broadway agent was struck Hector Salazar UT he was standing at his mailbox yell, "Stop! man on the hood of a two-door car, aiming a gun at the windshield. He said heard five shots Eduardo Comacho, 22, said he was walking on Woodlawn Avenue with a friend. He told the UT they heard about seven shots man in a red shirt, without a badge, holding his gun undercover officers joined him, pulling out their badges as they walked The lady was hanging out the door, barely moving," Comacho said. The agents checked her pulse <b>...</b>
Views: 72
8 ratings
Time: 04:16 More in News & Politics

2000th U.S. soldier dies in Afghanistan - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

The toll has climbed steadily in recent months with a spate of attacks by Afghan army and police — supposed allies — against American and NATO troops. That has raised troubling questions about whether countries in the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan will achieve their aim of helping the government in Kabul and its forces stand on their own after most foreign troops depart in little more than two years.

On Sunday, a U.S. official confirmed the latest death, saying that an international service member killed in an apparent insider attack by Afghan forces in the east of the country late Saturday was American. A civilian contractor with NATO and at least two Afghan soldiers also died in the attack, according to a coalition statement and Afghan provincial officials. The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity because the nationality of those killed had not been formally released. Names of the dead are usually released after their families or next-of-kin are notified, a process that can take several days. The nationality of the civilian was also not disclosed.

In addition to the 2,000 Americans killed since the Afghan war began on Oct. 7, 2001, at least 1,190 more coalition troops from other countries have also died, according to iCasualties.org, an independent organization that tracks the deaths.

According to the Afghanistan index kept by the Washington-based research center Brookings Institution, about 40 percent of the American deaths were caused by improvised explosive devices. The majority of those were after 2009, when President Barack Obama ordered a surge that sent in 33,000 additional troops to combat heightened Taliban activity. The surge brought the total number of American troops to 101,000, the peak for the entire war.

According to Brookings, hostile fire was the second most common cause of death, accounting for nearly 31 percent of Americans killed.

Tracking deaths of Afghan civilians is much more difficult. According to the U.N., 13,431 civilians were killed in the Afghan conflict between 2007, when the U.N. began keeping statistics, and the end of August. Going back to the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, most estimates put the number of Afghan civilian deaths in the war at more than 20,000.

The number of American dead reflects an Associated Press count of those members of the armed services killed inside Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion began. Some other news organizations use a count that also includes those killed outside Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the global anti-terror campaign led by then-President George W. Bush.

The 2001 invasion targeted al-Qaida and its Taliban allies shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, which claimed nearly 3,000 lives.

Victory in Afghanistan seemed to come quickly. Kabul fell within weeks, and the hardline Taliban regime was toppled with few U.S. casualties.

But the Bush administration's shift toward war with Iraq left the Western powers without enough resources on the ground, so by 2006 the Taliban had regrouped into a serious military threat.

Obama deployed more troops to Afghanistan, and casualties increased sharply in the last several years. But the American public grew weary of having its military in a perpetual state of conflict, especially after the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq at the end of last year. That war, which began with a U.S.-led invasion in 2003 to oust Saddam Hussein, cost the lives of nearly 4,500 U.S. troops, more than twice as many as have died in Afghanistan so far.

"The tally is modest by the standards of war historically, but every fatality is a tragedy and 11 years is too long," said Michael O'Hanlon, a fellow at the Brookings. "All that is internalized, however, in an American public that has been watching this campaign for a long time. More newsworthy right now are the insider attacks and the sense of hopelessness they convey to many. "

Attacks by Afghan soldiers or police — or insurgents disguised in their uniforms — have killed 52 American and other NATO troops so far this year.

The so-called insider attacks are considered one of the most serious threats to the U.S. exit strategy from the country. In its latest incarnation, that strategy has focused on training Afghan forces to take over security nationwide — allowing most foreign troops to go home by the end of 2014.

Although Obama has pledged that most U.S. combat troops will leave by the end of 2014, American, NATO and allied troops are still dying in Afghanistan at a rate of one a day.

Even with 33,000 American troops back home, the U.S.-led coalition will still have 108,000 troops — including 68,000 from the U.S. — fighting in Afghanistan at the end of this year. Many of those will be training the Afghan National Security Forces that are to replace them.

"There is a challenge for the administration," O'Hanlon said, "to remind people in the face of such bad news why this campaign requires more perseverance."

Two Years After Eagle Square Bombing - Is Nigeria Winning War On Terror? - AllAfrica.com

On October 1, 2010 as Nigerians and foreign dignitaries gathered at the eagle square to celebrate Nigeria's 50th anniversary, a car loaded with bombs exploded. As a result, many Nigerians as well as security operatives lost their lives. That incident ushered Nigeria into a new era of bombing. Tomorrow marks the second year anniversary of the bombing. While the suspects are still undergoing trial, the spate of bombings and terrorism acts in the country is taking a scary dimension, Michael Oche writes.

Henry Okah, the alleged master-minder of the October 1, 2010 bombing in Abuja will tomorrow face trial in far away Johannesburg. His trial will evoke sad memories of relatives of victims who lost loved ones in the October 1st Independence Day bombing in Abuja.

A South African district court in January postponed the terrorism trial of Nigerian-born Henry Okah until October 1st 2012. Since that attack, more groups emboldened by its success have launched several attacks on innocent Nigerians, and like Okah's trial, no significant headway has been made in winning the country's fight against terrorism.

In June 2011, the Boko Haram sect attacked the force headquarters, which was eventually Nigeria's officially recognised first suicide bomb attack. The United Nation (UN) building was attacked a few months later. Without doubt, it was the October 1 bombing of 2010 that gave birth to subsequent bomb attacks in Nigeria.

Prior to these, Nigeria had witnessed various forms of uprising, especially in the country's rich Niger Delta oil region, where militants constantly attacked oil installations, but bomb attacks were rare - like in the case of the March 2010, attack in Delta state.

The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) immediately claimed responsibility for the October attack, claiming it had earlier alerted security operatives of its intent. Few hours after the attack, Henry Okah was arrested in South Africa in connection with the attack.

Tomorrow will also mark the second year since the trial of Okah. During this period, the militant group which had been granted amnesty by the Federal Government during the short administration of late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua appeared to have since 'ceased fire.' Meanwhile, the Boko Haram sect has escalated its attacks in what is now threatening to divide the country.

Hundreds of Nigerians have been sent to their early grave in the last two years as a result of terrorist activities. Attacks on worship places have escalated even as attacks on government buildings have also increased since the attack on Eagle Square.

Terrorism is not limited to Nigeria. From Somalia to Pakistan, Yemen to Afghanistan, the world has witnessed an upward surge in the activities of terrorism. Last Tuesday the world celebrated the eleventh year anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in the United States. However the new threat from terror groups is on the increase globally.

In Africa, the Arab spring and the Libyan war have been blamed for the proliferation of weapons in the region. And Nigeria's Boko Haram militant group has been identified as one of the main causes for an increase in terrorist attacks in Africa.

Other groups such as Al-Shabaab in Somalia and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have seriously been linked to al-Qaeda.

Africa experienced 978 attacks in 2011, an 11.5 per cent increase over the previous year. Boko Haram conducted 136 attacks in 2011, up from 31 the previous year, according to a US Department of State report on terrorism.

Since the October 1, 2010 bombing and the subsequent attacks by Boko Haram sect, the country has witnessed the biggest deployment of soldiers in peace time. From Bayelsa to Kano, Yobe to Jos, soldiers have been deployed to volatile areas to maintain peace in the country.

The country has also seen emergency rule declared in various states in the country. And the question remains: Is Nigeria winning the war against terror?

Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Azubuike Ihejirika, said that efforts of the Federal Government in fighting terrorism and other similar crimes are so far paying off.

"When you consider the fact that for every bomb that goes off, several others have been stopped from going off. Arrests have also been made. Only this week, and the week before, bomb batches were uncovered; in some instances, the perpetrators were killed; in some other instance, others were arrested. So I think we are making tremendous progress," he told reporters after commissioning some completed projects at the 103 Battalion, Awkunanaw Barracks, Enugu.

While taking over as the acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar vowed to fight the dreaded Boko Haram sect in all its ramifications.

Today, Nigerians live in fear unsure of where and when the next attack will take place. The last independent day anniversary was not celebrated at the traditional Eagle Square, after the President insisted he wanted a low-key celebration. Many analysts said the 'low-key' celebration was not unconnected with the security threat the country faced at the time.

A security analyst, Okoye Emmanuel told leadership sunday that "The security operatives are doing their best. However, what is required to win this war is not only the use of force but intelligence gathering that is significant and effective. Meanwhile, there is need to also engage in dialogue but that depends on whether the terrorist group is ready for peace talks"

The military authorities in the country have introduced several measures including training of its personnel on anti-terrorism as measures to defeat the insurgents.

"Anybody or group has the right to have that aspiration to rule Nigeria by a certain set of rules. But the way to do it is to form a political party, contest an election and then the rest of us, even if we did not vote for you, we will subject ourselves to your rule.

But for anybody or group which has not formed a political party, has not won an election, to want to impose a type of rule on the country, it will never happen in Nigeria," Nigeria's Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, said while commissioning the Nigerian Army Dog Centre in the Ipaja area of Lagos.

The Defence Chief explained that the establishment of the Dog Centre demonstrates determination of the Armed Forces to fully embrace transformation agenda of the Federal Government. As the country celebrate its 52nd anniversary, and as the court begins hearing of the Okah case, the revelations will definitely help in the fight against terrorism in the country.

Police: 26 killed in blasts across Iraq - USA TODAY

Ex-NY Times publisher 'Punch' Sulzberger dies - USA TODAY

Labour MP, 65, Dies After Cancer Battle.

The Croydon North MP, who had been fighting cancer, was praised as a "thoroughly decent, intelligent and compassionate man" whose death left a "huge hole" in the party. "He was a brilliant energy minister, he was a deep thinker about welfare and pensions, and Labour to his core," Mr Miliband said. "Malcolm was also a dedicated constituency MP, always putting the needs of his Croydon constituents first. He was a brilliant campaigner. "The way he handled his illness tells you everything about the man. He showed huge dignity and also kept on thinking, writing and advising right to the end. "I have lost a wise confidant and most importantly a dear friend and the Labour Party has lost one of its sharpest thinkers. Our thoughts go to Malcolm's wife, Margaret, and his family." Mr Wicks represented Croydon in Parliament for two decades, and held a variety of ministerial briefs under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - including pensions, science and energy. The married father and grandfather stepped down from the government in 2008 and spent two years as the prime minister's special representative on international energy issues. He was also made a member of the Privy Council. Mr Wicks was re-elected with an increased majority of nearly 16500 at the 2010 general election. He is understood to have been unwell for some time. Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "Tonight we mourn the passing of Malcolm Wicks, who was a great thinker, writer, campaigner and parliamentarian. "He <b>...</b>
Views: 2
0 ratings
Time: 01:01 More in Sports