US-Russia illicit export scandal:
Only four arrested Russian
Only
four of the eight people arrested in the US, for their role in an allegedly
stealing sensitive technologies, have proven to be Russian. The group stands
accused of illegally exporting high-tech microelectronics to Russia. Amongst
the four Russian nationals is Aleksandr Fishenko, the principal defendant in
the case, who owns the Housten based firm said to be behind the illicit trade.
The other defendants originate from Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, says
the Russian consulate service in Housten. The US has so far charged 11 people
over the scandal, but only eight were immediately detained since the remaining
three reside in Russia.
Two Tunisians arrested in Turkey
over US envoy killing – reports
Two men
have been arrested in Istanbul’s main international airport concerning the
September killing of US Ambassador Chris Stevens. The two appear to be Tunisian
nationals, Turkish media said Thursday. Stevens and three other diplomats were
killed in Libya after their diplomatic mission in Benghazi was stormed by
seemingly angry crowds. The suspects are currently in Turkish custody.
Originally the US believed the assault on their consulate was provoked by anger
over a US-made Islamophobic movie. Now officials say the mission was attacked by
terrorists.
NHL cancels first two weeks of
2012-13 season
The
National Hockey League has cancelled the first two weeks of the upcoming
season, as a new labor deal with locked-out players has not yet been signed.
The decision, announced Thursday, impacts 82 games which were due to start on
October 11. Due to the labor strife, pre-season ties were also cancelled.
Players object to proposed salary rollbacks in the light of the US hockey
leagues growing revenue.
91 charged in US in $430 million
Medicare fraud
Doctors,
nurses and other licensed medical professionals have been charged in the US for
their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes totaling $429.2 million
in false billing. Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven cities
resulted in suspension or other administrative action against 30 health
providers. According to court documents, the defendants allegedly participated
in schemes to submit claims to Medicare for treatments that were medically
unnecessary and oftentimes never provided.
Jordan’s king dissolves
parliament, calls early elections
Jordan’s
King Abdullah II issued a royal decree dissolving parliament and called early
elections, the royal palace announced on Thursday. The statement comes on the
eve of a major opposition rally to demand reforms. The protesters are calling
for greater political freedoms and a curbing of both corruption and
unemployment in the country.
Ivory Coast's military accused of
torture
A witness
who was detained after a series of attacks on government forces says he was
held for two weeks at a military camp, where he alleges he was beaten with
sticks and belts. Others were tortured using electrical shocks, he told the
Associated Press. Ivory Coast's military denies the allegations, saying their
campaign aimed to root out state enemies amongst the population. Recent attacks
on troops in the West African country are being blamed on supporters of former
president Laurent Gbagbo. The incidents have sparked fears of renewed violence,
after a conflict surrounding the country’s November 2010 election resulted in
at least 3,000 deaths.
S. Africa gold and coal mines not
reopening wage talks
South
Africa's Chamber of Mines is not planning to reopen wage talks to review
agreements in the gold and coal sectors, the main industry body said Thursday.
Earlier, unions had said the group had agreed to negotiations. Coal miners are
threatening with a strike after 75,000 of platinum, gold, iron ore and diamond
miners across the country have resorted to industrial actions to protest their
wages. At least 46 people died in violent clashes during a six-week stoppage at
platinum producer Lonmin in August.
Echo of Moscow radio ‘nominated
for Nobel Peace Prize’ – editor
Echo of
Moscow has been nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, the editor-in-chief of the
Russian radio station Aleksey Venediktov wrote in his Twitter entry on
Thursday. He added he did not know who nominated the radio station, known for
its critical views of the authorities. “I’ve learned it from [Agence]
France-Presse and from colleagues from Reuters,” the editor added. The Nobel
Peace Prize is awarded annually for achievements for efforts to strengthen
peace.
Four militants killed in Russia’s
North Caucasus
Four
militants were killed in a shootout with police in the Russian North Caucasus
Republic of Dagestan on Thursday, the regional department of the Investigative
Committee said. “Police tried to stop a Mercedes four-wheel drive on the Buinaksk-Kizilyurt
highway…but the people it was carrying opened fire and were eliminated in
return fire,” the committee’s official said, as cited by Itar-Tass. There were
no casualties among the police officers. Police found an assault rifle, a
grenade launcher and ammunition in the car.
Fifteen killed in air strike in
Afghanistan’s Kandahar – reports
At least
15 people have been killed in a US-led air strike in Afghanistan’s southern
Kandahar province, Press TV said on Thursday. The strike is the second over the
past 24 hours. Four people were also reportedly killed in a US-led air strike
in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday. The air strikes carried out by the Western
coalition are intended to target militants, but locals say civilians have been
the main victims.
Israeli Arab arrested over
‘spying for Hezbollah’
Israeli
authorities have arrested an Israeli Arab citizen suspected of spying for
Hezbollah. He allegedly gathered information on President Shimon Peres’
security arrangements. The Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency said the man
shadowed a visit by Peres to an Arab town in August, AP reported. He was
arrested before he could pass over the information, security forces said,
adding that he also collected information on Israeli military facilities.
Israel has arrested several Arab citizens on suspicion of aiding Hezbollah
since a war with the group in 2006.
UK anti-terror force arrest
brother and sister over 'suspicious documents'
British
police arrested on Thursday morning a 23-year-old man and his 18-year-old
sister on suspicion of possessing terrorism-related documents. The pair was
detained in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, 195km northwest of London, and
computers and other electronic devices were seized, AP reported. The arrests
were planned ahead of time and were not made to prevent any threat, West
Midlands Police said.
Zuckerberg says Facebook crosses
1bn-user threshold
The
world's biggest social network, Facebook, crossed the 1 billion-user threshold
last month, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday. He told NBC
television it was “just unbelievable” to build things that “help a billion
people stay connected with the people they care about.” Facebook hit the
milestone on September 14, the company said.
Five dead as China landslide
topples school building
A
landslide toppled an elementary school building in a southwest China’s Yiliang
County on Thursday, burying 18 pupils and killing at least five people. Another
victim was buried in a house, and one person was seriously injured in the
landslide Xinhua said. The landslide destroyed the Tiantou Elementary School
and hit two farmhouses in Zhenhe village around 8am. More than 800 people were
relocated, and about 2,000 people were trying to rescue the students. The area
was ravaged by an earthquake last month that killed 81 people and devastated
several villages. Thursday was a holiday across China, but students were in
school to make up for days missed after the quake.
Spanish suspect planned to
imitate 1999 school killings – police
Spanish
police have arrested a man who allegedly planned to imitate the 1999 Columbine
school killings. He initially tried to purchase guns to carry out the attack,
but then opted to plant bombs around a university, AP said. The 21-year-old was
arrested in the Balearic Island city of Palma de Mallorca on Wednesday. Police
seized 140kg of bomb-making material. The suspect reportedly talked in his
diary and internet blog of his admiration for the perpetrators of the Columbine
attacks in which 12 people were killed. He also revealed his plans to place
several bombs around a campus in Palma, police said.
US drone strike kills 5 in Yemen
– reports
A strike
by a suspected US drone hit two cars on Thursday morning, killing at least five
Al-Qaeda-linked militants, Yemeni security officials said. All five known to
have been killed in Shabwa province were in one of the two vehicles. It was
unknown if there were casualties in the second car, and no further details on
the identities of those targeted were given, AP reported. Al-Qaeda-linked
groups are active in Shabwa.
Iraq gives US citizen life
sentence over Al-Qaeda ties
An Iraqi
court has sentenced an American citizen to life in prison on charges of
assisting Al-Qaeda, the Interior Ministry says. Omar Rashad Khalil, 53,
allegedly recruited by Al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2005, was also accused of financing
terrorist activities in the country, AP reports. Khalil, of Palestinian
descent, is an architectural engineer who entered Iraq in 2001. Also known as
Abu Mohammed, he “admitted to receiving money from a Syrian man in the United
Arab Emirates to pay for terror attacks,” the ministry claimed.
Double bombing in Yemen: 2
soldiers wounded
Yemen’s
Defense Ministry reports of two bombs exploding near the gate of the country’s
National Council headquarters in Ma'ala. A third bomb has reportedly been
defused.
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline
blasted, gas deliveries to Turkey suspended
Gas
deliveries to Turkey from Azerbaijan have been suspended after a pipeline
explosion in the woods of the northern Turkish province Kars, gas delivery has
been suspended. The detonation was heard from a distance of 20km. The pipeline
reportedly has been ruptured, but no fire on site occurred. Specialists from
the BOTAS Company that maintains the pipeline in Turkey are repairing the
damaged section. An investigation is underway with the possibility of a
terrorist act being thoroughly examined. The annual delivery of gas from
Azerbaijani oilfield Shakh Deniz to Turkey through the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum
pipeline amounts to 6.6 billion cubic meters. The last incident on the pipeline
happened on May 29, when flames after a pipeline exploded rose up to 100
meters.
Russian woman allowed to stay
with children at Finnish care center
Finnish
authorities have allowed Russian citizen Anastasiya Zavgorodnyaya to live with
her children in a care center, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
Final permission could be issued by November 7. Russian diplomats met with
Finnish social service officials on Wednesday to settle the crisis caused by
the removal of Zavgorodnyaya’s four children. Anna Cantell-Forsbom, head of the
Vantaa Family Service, which ordered Zavgorodnyaya’s children be taken away,
said the decision was taken in accordance with Finland’s law. Zavgorodnyaya
wants to obtain the Russian citizenship for all her children. They were
reportedly put in an orphanage and then transferred to a foster family,
following the elder girl's complaint that her dad had slapped her.
Prosecutors accuse Kyrgyz
opposition of attempt to seize power
The
Kyrgyz Prosecutor General’s Office has started a criminal investigation into
“public calls for a violent subversion of the constitutional system” against
opposition parliament deputies Kamchibek Tashiyev, Talant Mamytov and Sadyr
Zhaparov. The detained deputies were also accused of an attempt to “seize
power,” Interfax reported. The inquiry was launched on October 3, after clashes
at a rally organized by the deputies. Tashiyev is suspected of publicly calling
on his supporters to try to burst into the Kyrgyz parliament building, prosecutors
say.
Car bomb kills 5 in Baghdad
A car
bomb explosion in western Baghdad has killed five people and wounded 13, Iraqi
police and officials say. The parked car bomb went off Thursday morning in the
upscale Mansour district. It narrowly missed a passing convoy of employees
working for a foreign security company, AP said. Three policemen were wounded
in the attack.
Honduran court says ‘private
cities’ unconstitutional
The
constitutional chamber of Honduras' Supreme Court has ruled that privately-run
cities are unconstitutional. Wednesday’s decision threatens a project to build
“model cities” with their own police, laws, government and tax systems, AP
said. The constitutional judges said the foreign investment expected to be
received by the state of Honduras “implies transferring national territory,
which is expressly prohibited in the constitution.” The case will go to the
full 15-member Supreme Court, because the decision was not unanimous. The
Honduran government earlier signed a memorandum of understanding with the
investment group MGK on the construction of three “private” cities expected to
boost economic growth.
Philippine court orders 3rd
arrest of ex-president Arroyo
The
Philippines anti-graft court on Thursday issued an order to arrest former
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for a third time for allegedly misusing state
lottery funds. It was not clear if she will be immediately arrested, as Arroyo’s
defense lawyers questioned the charges, AP reported. Arroyo, who suffers from
neck pain, spent about eight months in detention in a hospital on a separate
electoral sabotage case. She posted bail in July, as well as bail in another
case over an overpriced deal with a Chinese telecommunications company. The
ex-president has accused her successor, Benigno Aquino III, of political
persecution. Aquino, who promised to rid the Philippines of corruption, has
accused Arroyo of graft.
Karzai says 2014 Afghanistan
election will be on time
Afghan
President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday that presidential elections in 2014
would happen on time and “without interruption.” Karzai said “the election will
definitely happen” when his term ends, despite a continuing insurgency and the
planned NATO combat troop exit. “Go on and choose your own favorite candidate,”
Reuters quoted the president as saying in Kabul. “My term, if prolonged by even
a day, will be seen as illegitimate.”
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