Moscow police launch
criminal case over wedding shooting
The head of the Moscow police said that a three-year-old
child sustained minor injuries as a result of the shooting in the center of the
capital when a group of people from Russia’s Republic of Dagestan allegedly
fired into the air on September 30 to celebrate the wedding, they claimed.
Police had earlier said there were no reports of injuries. One of the 15 people
detained on the day of the shooting was charged with hooliganism and faces 15
days in jail, while the others paid fines.
Israel downs drone
over northern Negev
The Israeli Air Force has downed an unmanned aerial vehicle
flying over military bases in northern Negev, according to a statement released
by the country's Defense Force. The statement said the drone was spotted
entering Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean Sea, and flew over settlements
and military bases being shot down. IDF ground forces have collected the drone
fragments for analysis.
Yemeni security
forces foil Al-Qaeda plot to bomb air base
Yemeni security forces have foiled a plan by Al-Qaeda-linked
militants to bomb an air base jointly used with the US. According to Reuters, a
car packed with explosives and anti-tank missiles was found near the gate of Al
Anad air base in Yemen’s southern province of Lahj. Security forces arrested
the two men inside the vehicle. The air base is used to carry out attacks
against Al-Qaeda, mainly by using US-controlled drones.
Somali president
names political newcomer as PM
In the first major decision by an administration installed
after 20 years of bloody conflict, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has
named Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid as the country's new prime minister. Saaid, a
political newcomer, had been a prominent businessman in neighboring Kenya.
Two of 5 men
extradited to US from UK plead not guilty to terror charges
Two alleged terror suspects have pleaded not guilty to
federal terrorism charges after being extradited to the United States from the
UK. Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan have both denied being involved in
terrorist activities. Both men had arrived in the US after federal authorities
used the controversial post-9/11 extradition treaty with Britain that allows
Washington to extradite anyone considered a suspect, regardless of evidentiary
support.
Pope’s ex-butler will
not appeal jail sentence
The lawyer for the Pope’s former butler, Paolo Gabriele,
says he will not appeal his jail sentence, Reuters reported. The ex-papal
butler was sentenced to 18 months in jail on Saturday after being found guilty
of leaking thousands of Vatican documents. He was also ordered to pay court
costs. Gabriele has been held on house arrest since July, after spending two
months in a Vatican detention room.
Powerful storm in
western Russia kills 2
A 20-year-old woman and a man were crushed by trees torn
out by strong wind gusts in Russia’s westernmost city of Kaliningrad. The woman
was out in the street when a tree fell on her and the man was driving his car
when another tree came down on it. It took emergency workers some time to
extract his body. Authorities say 69 trees fell in the city. Up to 50, 000
people have been left without electricity due to the cyclone.
Rebel leader captured
in Philippines
Philippine troops have captured Benjamin Mendoza, a senior
communist rebel leader, national military spokesman said. Mendoza, who carries
a US$135,000 bounty, and three others were arrested outside their hideout in
suburban Quezon City. The regional chief of rebel New People's Army was trained
as a commando, an explosives expert and a sniper. He commanded several
successful raids against government forces.
Suspect killed in
French anti-terror operation
A man was fatally wounded as he was being arrested in an
anti-terror operation in the northeast of France, AFP quotes a source as
saying. According to reports, man shot at police officers, who returned fire.
Three police officers were wounded in the process. The operation was conducted
in connection with the investigation into the incident in which an explosive
device was hurled into a kosher grocery store in a Paris suburb last month,
slightly injuring one person. Other operations are also under way in Nice and
Cannes.
US completes
deployment of Osprey convertiplanes to Okinawa base
The three last MV-22 Osprey convertiplanes arrived at
Futenma base in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, early on Saturday, according to the
Japanese Defense Ministry. The aircraft transfer from the Iwakuni airbase in
Yamaguchi Prefecture to Okinawa began early this week amid protests by the
population of the island. Okinawa residents are worried the aircraft’s safety
is not up to standard as the MV-22 has a troubled history of crashes. US are
planning to deploy 36 convertiplanes at airbases in Japan
Russia delivers
humanitarian aid to Damascus
A Russian Emergencies Ministry plane carrying some 25
tonnes of medicines has landed in Syrian capital. Russia has sent three batches
of humanitarian aid over the last 30 days, totaling 80 tonnes of supplies.
Abu Hamza due to
appear at trial hours after extradition
Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza is due to appear in a New
York court to face terrorism charges following his Friday night extradition
from the UK. The hearing is to take place within 24 hours of landing in the US.
Hamza and four others have been extradited to face American justice.
N. Korean soldier
defects across Demilitarized Zone after ‘killing 2 officers’
A soldier from North Korea has shot his platoon and company
commanders and crossed the heavily-guarded border with the South, a South
Korean Defense Ministry official said. He was taken into custody for
questioning. People from North Korea often try to reach South Korean territory,
but usually do so with the help of intermediaries through China and Southeast
Asia. The last instance of a North Korean military crossing the border directly
was in October 2008.
iPhone 5 manufacturer
says no strike at plant, just worker dispute
Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group that manufactures Apple’s
iPhone 5 said on Saturday it has resolved two disputes between the production
and quality teams at its factory in Zhengzhou. The company denied reports that
there had been a strike at the facility. On Friday, New York-based advocacy
group China Labor Watch said 3-4,000 production employees walked off the job at
the plant in protest over being made to work through a holiday week and being
subject to “overly strict” product-quality demands without adequate training.
Dozens injured in
major pileup on Florida highway
At least 52 people have been injured in a massive pileup on
Florida’s Interstate 75 highway, AP reports citing authorities. At least 12
crashes occurred at the highway involving 47 vehicles, the Florida Highway
Patrol reported. The collisions occurred Friday afternoon near the border of
Sarasota and Manatee counties. Fortunately, there have been no fatalities.
Turkey to Syria: ‘We
are not far from war’
Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Syria
that future attacks on its territory would be a “fatal mistake,” Reuters
reports. The statement from Ankara comes after Turkish military forces returned
fire after a Syrian mortar hit a farm in the Turkish province of Hatay on
Friday. “We are not interested in war, but we're not far from war either. This
nation has come to where it is today having gone through intercontinental
wars," Erdogan said in his speech. "Those who attempt to test
Turkey's deterrence, its decisiveness, its capacity, I say here they are making
a fatal mistake." A mortar shell fell near the town of Yayladagi, some 50
meters away from the Syrian border, on Friday afternoon. There were no injuries
in Turkey, according to authorities in the region. The exchange of fire between
the two countries follows a similar incident on Wednesday, which left five
people dead and eight others wounded. The clash severely escalated tensions
between the neighbors. Turkey's artillery pounded targets inside Syria for
twelve hours in retaliation for the killings.
S. African union
leader shot dead amid mine strikes
A senior figure in a South African miners union has been
shot dead. The death reportedly occurred
Friday evening, in the same northwestern town where 46 people have been killed
during violent strikes at the Lonmin platinum mine, AFP reports. "A branch
secretary of the union at Western Platinum was shot and killed at his house in
Marikana this (Friday) evening," the National Union of Mineworkers
spokesman, Lesiba Seshoka, said in a statement. This comes after Anglo American
Platinum fired up to 12,000 employees on Friday following a three-week strike.
The world's largest platinum producer says it has lost over $80 million in revenues
since a major strike gripped their mines in mid-September, involving at least
20,000 miners. The workers have been demanding an increase to monthly pay.
US stations four
warships in Spain as part of NATO missile defense
The Spanish government will participate in NATO’s missile
defense shield after agreeing to allow the United States to send four
specialized destroyers to the Spanish naval base in southeastern Spain on
Friday. The agreement will see 1,400 US naval personnel deployed at the base
along with the four Aegis-equipped warships. Moscow has long opposed the
shield, as the US and NATO have refused to provide legal guarantee s that it
will not target Russia.
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