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MH370 Missing Remembered A Year After Disaster

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 07 Maret 2015 | 14.59

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

Exactly a year ago, Wang Le was preparing for his mother's return from a holiday in Malaysia.

Zhang Chi had been to Kuala Lumpur with a friend. She sent her son a text message just before leaving. "At Kuala Lumpur airport" it read. She then boarded her plane for Beijing: Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

"I miss my mum every day," Wang Le says.

"Many moments I think 'Hmm, maybe I should call her now'. I want to call her, but I cannot. Too many memories."

We have joined him for dinner at his father's Beijing apartment. Wang Le and Wang Yongzhi spend every weekend together.

The two men, father and son, look after each other. Really though, it is clear that Wang Le is his father's support. Wang Yongzhi appears to be a broken man.

"Some times he misses my mum too much and he puts a bowl here and chopsticks here and he feels like he's having dinner together with my mum," Wang Le says.

They show me to a bedroom. "This is my mum's room," Wang Le says.

"Everything is not changed. The same as when she lived. Everything the same," he says.

The room is precisely as it was a year ago. Zhang Chi's makeup sits on a dressing table. The bed is made. Some washing hangs in the window.

The only change is a collection of white origami birds. Wang Yongzhi makes one almost every day in memory of his wife.

"Today is your birthday" he has written on one. "It is February already" another says.

As if to cruelly compound their grief and remind them of their loss, the apartment is under the Beijing flight path. Overhead every few minutes is the noise of a jet.

They know it makes no sense to leave the room untouched, but then none of this tragedy makes sense. Over and over again, they have asked themselves how a plane can simply disappear.

MH370 disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur airport in the early hours of 8 March, 2014, bound for Beijing.

A total of 239 people including crew were on board the flight. Searches first took place in the South China seas before radar data concluded it had veered west off course and over the Malay peninsula. The searches then shifted to the Andaman Sea.

However, painstaking analysis of satellite data from British company Inmarsat eventually concluded that the plane had flown south for up to eight hours before coming down in the southern Indian Ocean off the western Australian city of Perth.

An initial surface search of that area involved 22 military aircraft and 19 ships from eight countries. They covered search areas of more than 4.6 million square kilometres.

Since then the focus has been an extremely challenging search of the seabed within a 'priority search area' which was determined by further satellite analysis.

Currently, four ships from the Dutch firm Fugro are scanning a mountainous 60,000 square kilometre seabed.

The search is being jointly funded by the Malaysian and Australian governments and coordinated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

A little over 40% of the area has been searched with no sign of the plane. The search is due to be complete by May.

"Of course she knows we miss her. She is my mum and we have a very, very good relationship just like friends and we can talk [about] everything. We like to 'date' every week," Wang Le tells us.

I ask if he and his father blame anyone for what has happened. "We don't know what happened exactly, we don't know the truth so [to] blame anyone is not helpful," he says.

"For me I just think if my mother can see me, she can watch me somewhere. She doesn't want to see her son very sad every day so maybe she is happy to see me work hard and take care of my father, my grandmother, my whole family."


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IS Militants 'Bulldoze' Ancient City In Iraq

Islamic State militants have started bulldozing the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, the country's tourism and antiquities ministry has said.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the ministry said IS had "assaulted the historic city of Nimrud and bulldozed it with heavy vehicles".

The statement did not elaborate on the damage, saying only the group continues to "defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity" with its actions.

Officials said the destruction began after noon prayers on Thursday and that trucks that may have been used to take away artefacts had also been spotted at the site.

"Until now, we do not know to what extent it was destroyed," the official said on condition of anonymity.

UNESCO has said the destruction, if true, "constitutes a war crime" and called on people around the world "especially youth" to protect "the heritage of the whole of humanity".

Built in the 13th century BC, Nimrud is located on the Tigris River just south of Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, which was captured by IS in June.

The extremists, who control a third of Iraq and Syria, have attacked other archaeological and religious sites, claiming they encourage people to abandon Islam.

Abdulamir Hamdani, an Iraqi archaeologist from Stony Brook University, said: "I'm sorry to say everybody was expecting this. Their plan is to destroy Iraqi heritage, one site at a time.

"Hatra, of course, will be next," he said, referring to a beautifully-preserved city in Nineveh that is more than 2,000 years old and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

The destruction at Nimrud came a week after IS released a video showing militants armed with sledgehammers and jackhammers smashing priceless ancient artefacts at the Mosul museum.

That attack sparked widespread condemnation, with some archaeologists and heritage experts comparing it with the 2001 demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban.

Last year, IS destroyed the Mosque of the Prophet Younis - or Jonah - and the Mosque of the Prophet Jirjis, two revered ancient shrines in Mosul.

The group also threatened to destroy the city's 850-year old Crooked Minaret, but local residents surrounded the structure, preventing the militants from approaching.

Iraq's national museum in Baghdad opened its doors to the public last week for the first time in 12 years in a move Prime Minister Haider al Abadi said was to defy efforts "to destroy the heritage of mankind and Iraq's civilisation".

IS has imposed a harsh and violent version of Islamic law in the territories it controls and has terrorised religious minorities.

A US-led coalition has launched a military campaign against the group, and this week Iraqi forces began an offensive to try to retake the city of Tikrit, on the main road linking Baghdad to Mosul.


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Obama: Ferguson 'Oppressive And Abusive'

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

Barack Obama has labelled what happened in the Missouri city of Ferguson as "oppressive and abusive", on the eve of a visit to the one of the civil rights movement's most historic landmarks.

The US President will speak in Selma, Alabama, later to mark the 50th anniversary of the marches that took place to protest against the lack of voting rights.

The anniversary comes with America digesting the report from the Department of Justice detailing racial bias in Ferguson, a city which saw violent protests over the killing of an unarmed black man by a white police officer last summer.

"What we saw was that the Ferguson Police Department in conjunction with the municipality saw traffic stops, arrests, tickets as a revenue generator, as opposed to serving the community, and that it systematically was biased against African-Americans in that city who were stopped, harassed, mistreated, abused, called names, fined," Mr Obama said at a town hall-style meeting in Columbia, South Carolina.

He said Ferguson must now make a decision about how to move forward.

"Are they going to enter into some sort of agreement with the Justice Department to fix what is clearly a broken and racially biased system?" Mr Obama said.

"Or, if they don't, then the Justice Department has the capacity to sue the city for violations of the rights of the people of Ferguson."

Mr Obama will later be joined in Selma by the first family and former president George W Bush.

"Selma is not just about commemorating the past, it's about honouring the legends who helped change this country through your actions today, in the here and now," Mr Obama said at the South Carolina meeting.

"Selma is now."

The city has been propelled into the global spotlight again this year with the release of the movie Selma and the controversy over its shortage of Oscar nominations.

In March 1965, the city saw police beat back crowds attempting to march to the state capital Montgomery to protest over the inability of black people to register to vote.

The violent images broadcast on national television helped lead to passage of the Voting Rights Act after protesters were joined by Dr Martin Luther King.

Dr F D Reese, who invited Dr King to Selma to lead the protests, says some of the legacy has been wasted.

He told Sky News: "The civil rights movement still has more to do because when you deal with human beings, people have opportunities to do great things but then after doing great things, they fail to do certain things that they should do in the future."

The anniversary events will be focussed on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. A unity march of leaders from all faiths will be staged over the weekend.

Dr Jerry Light, leader of the First Baptist Church, said: "1965 was a horrible time for Selma but it was a horrible time for all of the South and, just like many of the other cities, we have overcome. We are not where we want to be but we are working in that direction."

Selma, which sits on the Alabama River, grew as a cotton port but its economy has suffered with the loss of a major military base.

Some in the city say it suffers a stigma from its association with such a notorious chapter in American history and has struggled to attract investment, but the mayor denies that.

George Evans told Sky News: "I think there is still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to race relations.

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  1. Gallery: Nov 25 - Protests Turn Ugly In Missouri

    A man watches a burning building after a grand jury returned no indictment in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri

Lesley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown, reacts to hearing the grand jury decision over the death of the 18-year-old unarmed black teenager, shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri

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IS Militants 'Bulldoze' Ancient City In Iraq

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 06 Maret 2015 | 14.59

Islamic State militants have started bulldozing the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, the country's tourism and antiquities ministry has said.

In a statement on its Facebook page it said IS had "assaulted the historic city of Nimrud and bulldozed it with heavy vehicles".

The statement did not elaborate on the damage, saying only the group continues to "defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity" with its actions.

An Iraqi antiquities official confirmed the news, saying the destruction began after noon prayers on Thursday and that trucks that may have been used to take away artefacts had also been spotted at the site.

"Until now, we do not know to what extent it was destroyed," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Built in the 13th century BC, Nimrud is located on the Tigris River just south of Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, which was captured by IS in June.

The extremists, who control a third of Iraq and Syria, have attacked other archaeological and religious sites, claiming they encourage people to abandon Islam.

"I'm sorry to say everybody was expecting this. Their plan is to destroy Iraqi heritage, one site at a time," said Abdulamir Hamdani, an Iraqi archaeologist from Stony Brook University.

"Hatra, of course, will be next," he said, referring to a beautifully-preserved city in Nineveh that is more than 2,000 years old and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

The destruction at Nimrud came a week after IS released a video showing militants armed with sledgehammers and jackhammers smashing priceless ancient artefacts at the Mosul museum.

That attack sparked widespread condemnation, with some archaeologists and heritage experts comparing it with the 2001 demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban.

Last year, IS destroyed the Mosque of the Prophet Younis - or Jonah - and the Mosque of the Prophet Jirjis, two revered ancient shrines in Mosul.

The group also threatened to destroy the city's 850-year old Crooked Minaret, but local residents surrounded the structure, preventing the militants from approaching.

Iraq's national museum in Baghdad opened its doors to the public last week for the first time in 12 years in a move Prime Minister Haider al Abadi said was to defy efforts "to destroy the heritage of mankind and Iraq's civilization".

IS has imposed a harsh and violent version of Islamic law in the territories it controls and has terrorised religious minorities.

A US-led coalition has launched a military campaign against the group, and this week Iraqi forces began an offensive to try to retake the city of Tikrit, on the main road linking Baghdad to Mosul.


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Tunisia: A Breeding Ground For Jihadists

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Corrrespondent

It's seen as the success story of the Arab uprisings. In four years Tunisia has gone from revolution to reform - a stable democracy in a region blighted by conflict.

There may have been bumps along the road but it's been a relatively peaceful transition culminating in the first freely elected president in the country's history.

So many are asking why Tunisia is currently the biggest exporter of foreign fighters in the world, with thousands of young men travelling to Syria and Iraq to fight with the extremists.

Khalil (not his real name), 24, says he fought with Islamic State in Iraq's second city Mosul. Eventually he left, after being shot in the leg during battle.

But Khalil was not recruited to be a fighter. He says he was sought out by the group and offered money for a specific task.

"They told me you are doing something focusing on telecommunications, which is your specialty, so nobody can hack our communications. And in case someone is listening in, you would be notified," Khalil told Sky News.

"In terms of their structure, it was very strong. Everything was carefully calculated … even if you were going to the battlefield they would arrange things so a group would fight and another would pray and then they would swap ... there were even a group of therapists available."

Khalil describes himself as a moderate Muslim and admits he was attracted to join IS because it sounded adventurous, but after six months he started having doubts.

The Tunisian government says there are around 1,200 men who have left to fight in Syria, Iraq and now increasingly Libya, while other organisations say it's more than double that figure.

Tunisia has a history of exporting fighters to other countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. But since the toppling of former president Ben Ali's regime in 2011, the numbers have spiralled. The declining economy has certainly contributed to this phenomenon but not all the fighters come from poor backgrounds.

Mounir, 19, like hundreds of others here, was radicalised by Muslim preachers in his neighbourhood despite not being particularly interested in religion.

Seven of his friends have died fighting alongside extremist groups, including IS in Iraq and Syria. Although he says he's never gone to fight, he admits he and his friends do think about it.

"All of my friends have dropped out of school at an early stage. Their understanding of social science, politics, even in religion is very little. Even in schools they don't teach us about deep religious issues, you study simple Koran verses to please your parents, nothing complicated," Mounir told Sky News.

Although they are operating less visibly now than in 2012, ultra conservative - or Salafi - mosques and associations in Tunisia actively recruit and traffic young men through a network of intermediaries that facilitate their entry into Syria and Iraq.

Under the 23-year rule of former president Ben Ali, Islamist movements were persecuted, mosques shut down and thousands imprisoned.

Some Tunisians blame the moderate Islamist Ennahda government, which took over after Ben Ali was ousted in 2011, for the spike in numbers of foreign fighters.

They may not have agreed with the former president's crackdown but are also weary of the influence of hardliners within the Ennahda party.

One imam taking matters into his own hands is Sheikh Farid Beiji, a moderate cleric. He works with the government to identify extremist mosques and preachers.

For him, deradicalisation is possible by using the Koran to counter extremist ideology, but he admits it doesn't always work.

"We have studied how to turn young people from violence to non-violence... but for those who have reached an advanced state in adopting Islamic State's thinking, they don't listen to anyone," says Sheikh Farid.

Hundreds of fighters are returning home. A crackdown on so-called extremists under the new president has resulted in mass arrests, but with an increase in attacks on the police, some think the government's strategy is backfiring.

The heavier the crackdown, the more fuel you give to extremists to recruit young men, especially in prisons.

What's happening today is sure to have repercussions in Tunisia and elsewhere for generations to come.


14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Harrison Ford's Narrow Escape As Plane Crashes

Harrison Ford's Narrow Escape As Plane Crashes

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Harrison Ford has been injured after the plane he was piloting suffered engine failure and crash landed onto a golf course in Los Angeles.

The 72-year-old was flying solo in a World War Two training aircraft when it crashed into Penmar golf course in the Venice area at 2.25pm local time.

The single-engine plane clipped a tree as it went down shortly after taking off from Santa Monica Airport, about a mile away, the LA Fire Department said.

The yellow plane with stars on its wings was upright and mostly intact after the crash. No one on the ground was hurt.

Ford suffered multiple gashes to his head and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, entertainment website TMZ reported.

Witnesses were reported by local media as saying the actor was helped out of the plane by several bystanders and that he could use his legs.

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  1. Gallery: Harrison Ford In LA Plane Crash

    Harrison Ford has been injured after the plane he was in crash landed onto a golf course in Los Angeles

Click through for more images of the scene

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Harrison Ford's Narrow Escape As Plane Crashes

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

Harrison Ford has been injured after the plane he was piloting suffered engine failure and crash landed onto a golf course in Los Angeles.

The 72-year-old was flying solo in a World War Two training aircraft when it crashed into Penmar golf course in the Venice area at 2.25pm local time.

The single-engine plane clipped a tree as it went down shortly after taking off from Santa Monica Airport, about a mile away, the LA Fire Department said.

The yellow plane with stars on its wings was upright and mostly intact after the crash. No one on the ground was hurt.

Ford suffered multiple gashes to his head and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, entertainment website TMZ reported.

Witnesses were reported by local media as saying the actor was helped out of the plane by several bystanders and that he could use his legs.

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  1. Gallery: Harrison Ford In LA Plane Crash

    Harrison Ford has been injured after the plane he was in crash landed onto a golf course in Los Angeles

Click through for more images of the scene

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New York And Manchester Bomb Plotter Guilty

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 05 Maret 2015 | 14.59

By Hannah Thomas-Peter, New York Correspondent

A man who was plotting to blow up the Arndale shopping centre in Manchester has been found guilty of terrorism offences in New York.

The jury convicted Abid Naseer, 28, of providing material support to al Qaeda, conspiracy to provide material support to the terror group and conspiracy to use a destructive device.

The verdict was reached at a federal court in Brooklyn. No date has yet been set for Naseer's sentencing.

During the trial prosecutors argued that Naseer played a major part in a global al Qaeda plot to launch coordinated attacks in Manchester, Copenhagen and New York City.

The attacks were designed to "replicate the devastation" of the attacks on 11 September, 2001.

Greater Manchester Police's chief investigating officer in the case, Detective Superintendent Mark Smith, told Sky News it was "as big a plot as we've seen in the UK, quite seriously".

He said: "The scale of the intended attack, the number of casualties that I think we would have seen in Manchester, would have been comparable to the 7/7 attack."

The court saw photographs of alleged co-conspirator Tariq Ur-Rehman, who was never charged, posing as a tourist at the Arndale centre and other locations.

The prosecution said the images were actually reconnaissance, and that the terror cell had concentrated on locations with glass-fronted shops to maximise casualties.

To assist with the US government's case, serving undercover MI5 agents gave evidence in full public view, disguised with wigs and makeup.

They described how they followed Naseer in March and April 2009, and the jury saw surveillance notes describing him watching a video of the 9/11 attacks on his mobile phone.

Det Supt Smith told Sky News that his operation had learned that Naseer had sent emails to a suspected al Qaeda handler speaking in coded language about an impending "wedding", meaning an attack.

He said: "Those emails indicated that he was ready to attack, and that attack was more than likely going to take place over the following weekend, which would have been the Easter bank holiday weekend."

But Manchester police were rushed into making arrests ahead of schedule when Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer, Bob Quick, accidentally allowed details of the operation to be photographed as he walked into Downing Street.

Naseer and 11 others were taken into custody, but little evidence was found and all were released without charge.

In 2013 he was extradited to America.

Det Supt Smith said: "It's always disappointing not to be able to prosecute a case in the UK, but having said that, I just wanted to see Abid Naseer brought to justice."

One of the New York plotters who had planned to target the subway system, and who is already in prison, described receiving bomb-making training in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He told the court how he had been taught to use ball bearings to injure and kill as many commuters as possible.

The prosecution said Naseer had received the same training, and was communicating using the same coded language with the same senior al Qaeda handlers.

Before they rested their case lawyers produced their final piece of evidence - never before seen documents recovered from the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

In a court building with a direct view of the 9/11 attack site, they said letters from senior terror chiefs to bin Laden made direct reference to the Manchester plot, and revealed the group's determination to attack America and its allies at home.

Naseer argued that he had come to the UK from Pakistan on a student visa to study and to find a wife.

He told the court that all the evidence against him was circumstantial, but it wasn't enough to convince the Brooklyn jury in federal court room 10A.

Naseer is facing life in prison.


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Boston Bomb Accused's Lawyer: 'It Was Him'

Boston Bomb Accused's Lawyer: 'It Was Him'

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By Sky News US Team

Boston marathon bombing accused Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's defence lawyer has told a jury he carried out the deadly attack, even though he denies all charges.

In the much anticipated trial's opening statements on Wednesday, defence lawyer Judith Clarke told the court: "It was him."

But she said the 21-year-old was heavily influenced by his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

The attorney said: "It was Tamerlan Tsarnaev who self-radicalised. It was Dzhokhar who followed him.

"The evidence will show that Tamerlan planned and orchestrated and enlisted his brother into this series of horrific acts."

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  1. Gallery: Boston Bombings Trial: Who's Who

    Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, has gone on trial accused of the Boston Marathon bombings. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. He denies wrongdoing

His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed days after the bombings on 15 April 2013

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Tamerlan Tsarnaev's widow, Katherine Russell, is under investigation and could face charges

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Robel Phillipos, a friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was found guilty of lying to investigators

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Dias Kadyrbayev (L) has admitted removing evidence of the deadly attack

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Boston Bomb Accused's Lawyer: 'It Was Him'

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

By Sky News US Team

Boston marathon bombing accused Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's defence lawyer has told a jury he carried out the deadly attack, even though he denies all charges.

In the much anticipated trial's opening statements on Wednesday, defence lawyer Judith Clarke told the court: "It was him."

But she said the 21-year-old was heavily influenced by his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

The attorney said: "It was Tamerlan Tsarnaev who self-radicalised. It was Dzhokhar who followed him.

"The evidence will show that Tamerlan planned and orchestrated and enlisted his brother into this series of horrific acts."

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  1. Gallery: Boston Bombings Trial: Who's Who

    Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, has gone on trial accused of the Boston Marathon bombings. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. He denies wrongdoing

His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed days after the bombings on 15 April 2013

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Tamerlan Tsarnaev's widow, Katherine Russell, is under investigation and could face charges

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Robel Phillipos, a friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was found guilty of lying to investigators

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Dias Kadyrbayev (L) has admitted removing evidence of the deadly attack

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14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Ambassador Slashed In Face With Knife

The US ambassador to South Korea has been slashed on the face and wrist by a knife-wielding attacker shouting for unification of the divided peninsula.

President Barack Obama called his former aide Mark Lippert to wish him a swift recovery after the assault during a breakfast speech in Seoul.

The 42-year-old envoy was taken to hospital where he underwent surgery for more than two hours, but his injuries were not life-threatening.

He received an 11cm wound to the right of his face requiring 80 stitches and a cut to his left arm which ruptured a tendon and caused nerve damage.

The ambassador was said to be calm and composed throughout the procedure.

A State Department spokeswoman said: "We strongly condemn this act of violence."

Footage taken in the aftermath of the attack, showed the ambassador being rushed out of the building holding one hand to his bleeding right cheek, with his other hand smeared with blood.

Security staff and police officers were seen jumping on the ambassador's assailant who was armed with a 10-inch blade.

Police have identified the suspected attacker as 55-year-old Kim Ki-Jong, who has a previous conviction for assaulting the Japanese ambassador to Seoul in 2010.

"I carried out an act of terror," Kim shouted as he was pinned to the floor.

District police chief Yoon Myung-Soon said: "We have detained him and are investigating the cause of the attack and other circumstances."

A spokesman for the Korea Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, which hosted the event, apologised for the lack of security.

Mr Lippert, a long-time adviser to President Obama and former US assistant secretary of defense for Asian affairs, only took up his post in South Korea last October.

His wife recently gave birth to their son, to whom they gave a Korean middle name. 

Mr Lippert has previously served as a intelligence officer for naval special operations, and won a Bronze Star Medal following a tour in Iraq.

South and North Korea have been divided since the 1950-53 Korean War and are still technically at war because the fighting ended in a truce.

The US and South Korea launched annual joint military exercises this week leading to heightened tensions with the communist North.

Pyongyang claims they are rehearsals for an invasion, while South Korea and the US argue they are purely defensive.

Following the attack on the ambassador, a South Korean defence ministry spokesman said the exercises would continue as planned.

America has almost 30,000 troops permanently stationed in the South.


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Briton Killed Fighting Against IS In Syria

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 04 Maret 2015 | 14.59

A British man reportedly killed while fighting against Islamic State in Syria has been named by Kurdish sources.

Konstandinos Erik Scurfield was believed to be fighting alongside Kurdish YPG forces in the northern province of Hasakah.

The details of the death were confirmed by British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights - but it said it was not clear whether the man was a British national or a Greek man who had been living in Britain.

The Foreign Office is investigating reports the dead man is a former Royal Marine.

Sky sources have confirmed a man with the same name used to serve with the Royal Marines.

Pro-Kurdish rights activist Mark Campbell told Sky News he broke the news of the man's death to his family.

"To be honest it was a harrowing phone call.

"There were three questions really his mother wanted to know immediately...

"She wanted to know if there's a body - and there is. She wanted to know when he died - he died yesterday. And she wanted to know  if he died in combat - which he had."

He was wounded during fighting between the towns of Tal Hamis and al Hol and died from his wounds.

The Foreign Office said in a statement: "We are aware of reports of the death of a British national in Syria.

"As we do not have any representation in Syria, it is extremely difficult to get any confirmation of deaths or injuries and our options for supporting British nationals there are extremely limited."

Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the observatory, said just over 100 Western fighters have joined Kurdish forces in Syria from countries including the US, France, Spain and the Netherlands.

Their numbers are small in comparison with those foreign recruits who have joined IS and other hardline groups.

An Australian man fighting with Kurdish forces was killed in the country last week, the Observatory and a Kurdish source said.


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Bali Nine Drug Smugglers Taken To Execution Jail

Bali Nine Drug Smugglers Taken To Execution Jail

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Two Australian men convicted of drug smuggling in Indonesia have been taken from a prison in Bali to an island where they face execution by firing squad.

Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31, were found guilty in 2005 of being the ringleaders of the so-called "Bali Nine" drug smuggling gang.

They were sentenced to death the following year.

Australia has been pursuing a campaign to save the men - but the Indonesian president has refused to grant them clemency.

The pair lost their latest appeal in February.

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  1. Gallery: Australian Prisoners Convicted Over Drug Smuggling

    The Bali Nine are a group of Australians jailed for attempting to smuggle over £2m of heroin out of Indonesia. Their sentences vary: some face life - the ringleaders face the firing squad

Named as one of the ringleaders of the heroin smuggling operation, Andrew Chan was 21 years old when he was arrested

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Si Yi Chen was first sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed against the decision but was then given the death penalty. After an appeal he was sentenced to 20 years

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Michael Czugaj was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006. He also appealed against the decision but the sentence was upheld later in the year

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Matthew Norman was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006 but the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty after he appealed

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Bali Nine Drug Smugglers Taken To Execution Jail

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

Two Australian men convicted of drug smuggling in Indonesia have been taken from a prison in Bali to an island where they face execution by firing squad.

Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31, were found guilty in 2005 of being the ringleaders of the so-called "Bali Nine" drug smuggling gang.

They were sentenced to death the following year.

Australia has been pursuing a campaign to save the men - but the Indonesian president has refused to grant them clemency.

The pair lost their latest appeal in February.

1/14

  1. Gallery: Australian Prisoners Convicted Over Drug Smuggling

    The Bali Nine are a group of Australians jailed for attempting to smuggle over £2m of heroin out of Indonesia. Their sentences vary: some face life - the ringleaders face the firing squad

Named as one of the ringleaders of the heroin smuggling operation, Andrew Chan was 21 years old when he was arrested

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Si Yi Chen was first sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed against the decision but was then given the death penalty. After an appeal he was sentenced to 20 years

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Michael Czugaj was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006. He also appealed against the decision but the sentence was upheld later in the year

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Matthew Norman was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006 but the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty after he appealed

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14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Thirty Killed In East Ukraine Mine Explosion

Thirty people have been killed and 70 more are trapped following an explosion at a coal mine in rebel held eastern Ukraine.

The blast took place at a mine in the Donetsk region of the country and emergency services have launched a rescue attempt to reach those trapped.

"More than 30 people were killed. Rescue workers have not yet come to the place of the explosion, they are removing the poisonous gas and then will go down," said Vladimir Tsymbalenko, head of the local mining safety service.

The mines in Donbass are among some of the most dangerous in the world due to the high levels of methane and the risk of explosions.

Some 300 men die from mine accidents in the region every year.

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Boris Nemtsov's Girlfriend: 'I Saw No One'

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 03 Maret 2015 | 14.59

The girlfriend of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov who was with him when he was gunned down in Moscow has been allowed to return home to Ukraine.

Anna Duritskaya had earlier complained she was being held against her will by investigators following the murder.

The 23-year-old said in an interview she had not seen the killer as the shots were fired behind her and had little recollection of the attack as the couple walked across a bridge in Moscow after having dinner in Red Square.

She said she had given all the information she could to the authorities but they were preventing her from leaving Russia, citing concerns for her security.

But Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman later announced she had left Russia and was travelling to Kiev.

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  1. Gallery: Profile: Who Was Boris Nemtsov?

    Rose to prominence under Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s and grew into a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin. He was also an environmentalist, a nuclear scientist and father of four

In 1997 he was made deputy prime minister and put in charge of economic reform. The economic crisis of 1998 cost him his job in parliament and any presidential hopes he had

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Iraqi Forces Launch Operation To Recapture Tikrit

Iraqi security forces have launched a major military operation to take back the town of Tikrit from Islamic State militants.

Some 30,000 troops and militia, supported by aircraft, attacked jihadist positions around the city.

The hometown of Saddam Hussein, it fell under the control of the group last summer along with Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul.

Backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition, Iraqi troops recently seized the nearby refinery town of Baiji.

US military officials have said an operation to retake Mosul could begin in April or May and involve up to 25,000 Iraqi troops, but would only take place if Tikrit has been recaptured because of its strategic location on the road to Mosul.

Al-Iraqiya television said forces were attacking Tikrit from different directions and were being supported by artillery and air strikes from Iraqi fighters.

Ahead of the operation, Prime Minister Haider al Abadi called on Sunni tribal fighters to abandon IS, and offering what he described as "the last chance" to get an official pardon.

He said: "I call upon those who have been misled or committed a mistake to lay down arms and join their people and security forces in order to liberate their cities."

Mr al Abadi also called for "utmost care in protecting civilian lives and property".

According to Iraqi and Iranian media, Qassem Soleimani - commander of the Quds Force covert operations unit in Iran's Revolutionary Guard - was in Salahuddin province to help coordinate the operation.

Hadi al Ameri, commander of the government-controlled volunteer group Popular Mobilisation, called for residents in Tikrit to leave their homes so government forces could "wrap up the battle of the revenge for Speicher".

Speicher is a military base near Tikrit from where hundreds of mostly Shia recruits were kidnapped and executed in June last year at the start of the IS offensive north of Baghdad.

Iraqi forces have tried and failed several times to recapture Tikrit, which is around 100 miles north of Baghdad.


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Mourners Gather For Boris Nemtsov Memorial

Mourners are gathering in Moscow for the funeral of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead four days ago.

Long queues are forming outside the Sakharov Center in central Moscow where Mr Nemtsov's body is lying in state ahead of a funeral later this afternoon.

The former deputy prime minister and long-time critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin while walking with his girlfriend late on Friday.

No suspects have been arrested.

Sky News' Moscow Correspondent Katie Stallard, who is at the Sakharav Centre, said people have been queuing since the early hours of the morning to pay their respects to Mr Nemtsov.

Many are carrying carnations, the traditional flower of mourning in Russia.

Leading Russian opposition figures have branded Mr Nemtsov's murder a "contract killing".

According to colleagues, at the time of his death he was working on a report which apparently included concrete evidence that Russia was directly involved in the separatist movement which erupted in Ukraine last year.

The Kremlin has pledged to hold a full investigation into what Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov described as a "heinous crime".

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Mass March To Honour Murdered Putin Critic

Written By Unknown on Senin, 02 Maret 2015 | 14.59

Mass March To Honour Murdered Putin Critic

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

Tens of thousands of protesters have marched through the streets of central Moscow to honour murdered Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.

Organisers said more than 70,000 people joined the rally to mourn the former deputy prime minister, who was gunned down near the Kremlin on Friday.

Many of the demonstrators carried portraits of Putin critic Mr Nemtsov, as well as placards declaring "I am not afraid" and "He died for Russia's future".

Opposition leaders said the protest was aimed at stopping a "campaign of hate" directed at those who question President Vladimir Putin's rule.

"If we can stop the campaign of hate that's being directed at the opposition, then we have a chance to change Russia," said Gennady Gudkov, an opposition leader.

"If not then we face the prospect of mass civil conflict.

"The authorities are corrupt and don't allow any threats to them to emerge. Boris was uncomfortable for them."

Police estimated the crowd on Moscow's streets was around 21,000 people.

Mourners earlier laid flowers and lit candles on a bridge near the Kremlin where Mr Nemtsov was gunned down.

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  1. Gallery: Thousands in Moscow to honour opposition politician

    Russia's opposition supporters carry portraits of Boris Nemtsov through Moscow with the words "He fought for a free Russia," "He died for the future of Russia"

Russian Communist party supporters also rallied against the policies conducted by the Russian government

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Nemtsov was due to lead an opposition march but his supporters marched to mourn his death

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They will march to the spot on Great Moskvoretsky Bridge where he was killed

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Many also carried black balloons through the city

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Mass March To Honour Murdered Putin Critic

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

Tens of thousands of protesters have marched through the streets of central Moscow to honour murdered Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.

Organisers said more than 70,000 people joined the rally to mourn the former deputy prime minister, who was gunned down near the Kremlin on Friday.

Many of the demonstrators carried portraits of Putin critic Mr Nemtsov, as well as placards declaring "I am not afraid" and "He died for Russia's future".

Opposition leaders said the protest was aimed at stopping a "campaign of hate" directed at those who question President Vladimir Putin's rule.

"If we can stop the campaign of hate that's being directed at the opposition, then we have a chance to change Russia," said Gennady Gudkov, an opposition leader.

"If not then we face the prospect of mass civil conflict.

"The authorities are corrupt and don't allow any threats to them to emerge. Boris was uncomfortable for them."

Police estimated the crowd on Moscow's streets was around 21,000 people.

Mourners earlier laid flowers and lit candles on a bridge near the Kremlin where Mr Nemtsov was gunned down.

1/8

  1. Gallery: Thousands in Moscow to honour opposition politician

    Russia's opposition supporters carry portraits of Boris Nemtsov through Moscow with the words "He fought for a free Russia," "He died for the future of Russia"

Russian Communist party supporters also rallied against the policies conducted by the Russian government

]]>

Nemtsov was due to lead an opposition march but his supporters marched to mourn his death

]]>

They will march to the spot on Great Moskvoretsky Bridge where he was killed

]]>

Many also carried black balloons through the city

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