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Putin's Enemies: Justice Or Show Trials?

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 31 Desember 2014 | 20.18

Anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny is the latest Russian opposition figure to feature in a series of criminal cases condemned as political "show trials" by critics of President Vladimir Putin.

The accusations have particular resonance in Russia because of the politically-motivated trials carried out over decades by Soviet leaders, which saw millions of politicians and ordinary people executed or sent to prison camps or psychiatric wards on trumped up charges.

The Kremlin denies allegations that it uses the courts to persecute opponents.

:: Alexei Navalny

The 38-year-old lawyer and activist rose to prominence by exposing political corruption in his blog before becoming a prominent speaker at anti-Putin rallies. He coined the phrase "party of crooks and thieves" to describe United Russia, Mr Putin's party.

He and his brother Oleg were charged with defrauding several companies, including the Russian subsidiary of the French cosmetics company Yves Rocher.

Alexei Navalny was previously given a five-year suspended sentence in another embezzlement case, which his supporters also say was politically motivated.

:: Sergei Udaltsov

The leader of the Left Front political grouping, the 37-year-old has described himself as a "Soviet patriot". He and his wife Anastasia have been nicknamed "Russia's Revolutionary Couple".

After playing a prominent role in anti-Putin protests, Mr Udaltsov was charged over a demonstration held the day before Mr Putin's inauguration for his third term as president in May 2012.

He was jailed for four and a half years for organising the protest, which had turned violent.

:: Leonid Razvozzhaev

A Left Front colleague of Sergei Udaltsov, he faced the same charges but fled Russia and tried to seek political asylum in neighbouring Ukraine.

He claimed that while his application was being considered, he was kidnapped, taken back to Russia, tortured and forced to sign confessions which he subsequently disowned.

Russian authorities insisted that he had given himself up voluntarily.

He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.

:: Mikhail Kosenko

The political activist was convicted of using violence against police officers during the same Bolotnaya Square protests that Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhaev were jailed for organising.

Despite testimony that he was a peaceful demonstrator, Mr Kosenko was sentenced to indefinite psychiatric detention. He was released in July 2014.

Amnesty International said: "Kosenko's only 'crime' was publicly expressing his beliefs. This is reminiscent of the Soviet-era tactics when the authorities used psychiatric treatment to silence dissenting voices."

:: Sergei Magnitsky

One of the most unusual criminal trials in that the defendant, lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, died years before his trial had even started.

Magnitsky was instructed by American businessman William Browder to investigate a multi-million tax fraud against the Russian state which Mr Browder's businesses had become unwittingly involved in.

But when Magnitsky speculated that police officials were involved in the fraud, he was arrested and charged with having carried it out himself. He died in custody in 2009 after allegedly being denied medical treatment and brutally beaten.

In July 2012 he was convicted - three years after his death - of tax evasion.

Mr Browder said: "Today's verdict will go down in history as one of the most shameful moments for Russia since the days of Joseph Stalin."

He successfully campaigned for the United States to implement sanctions against Russian individuals linked to the case.

:: Greenpeace

In September 2013, 30 Greenpeace activists, including six Britons, were arrested for taking part in a protest at an Arctic oil installation.

They were initially charged with piracy, which could have carried a prison term of up to 15 years. The charge was downgraded to hooliganism, which still could have carried a seven-year term, before they were released after two months in detention.

At the time Mr Putin said their treatment should serve as a lesson to others and suggested unnamed foreign rivals could have been behind their actions.

:: Pussy Riot

The all-female punk group were jailed for two years for hooliganism for performing an anti-Putin song in Moscow's main cathedral in March 2012.

They were freed in an amnesty initiated by Mr Putin in December 2013 shortly before the Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi.

:: Vladimir Yevtushenkov

One of Russia's richest men, the billionaire was placed under house arrest in September on suspicion of money-laundering over his purchase of a controlling stake in oil company Bashneft.

He was released from house arrest on 17 December and was praised in Mr Putin's annual press conference two days later.

However, Kremlin critics say the case is part of a bid by the Russian government to regain control of oil and gas assets sold off in the chaotic privatisations of the 1990s.

The arrest has led to comparisons with the case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

:: Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Mr Khodorkovsky was one of the original "oligarchs" - the tycoons who took advantage of the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s to make their fortunes, before using their clout to effectively rule Russia during the weak presidency of illness-plagued Boris Yeltsin.

In 2003 Mr Khodorkovsky was arrested on charges of fraud. He was jailed for nine years and his oil company Yukos broken up by the state. He and his business partner, Platon Lebedev, were put on trial again in 2010, this time for embezzlement, and were jailed for another four years. Mr Khodorkovsky was suddenly released in December 2013.

Both trials were seen as politically-motivated and a signal from Mr Putin to the rich and powerful to think twice before supporting opposition parties.


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abbas' Plan To Rally UN Support Backfires

Pushing the UN Security Council to vote on a resolution demanding a strict timetable for the end of Israel's occupation was supposed to be a win-win move for the Palestinians.

At least, that's what one of those close to the Palestinian negotiating team told me recently.

In the unlikely event the resolution passed, he said, they would have set the clock running against Israel in the international arena.

In the almost inevitable event the US was forced to veto, he said, it would "expose" what the Palestinians see as the "true positions" of countries that they say favour a two-state solution, but only on Israel's terms.

If it was a move that the US and Israel deemed unhelpful, unilateral and counter to the spirit of negotiations, at least the majority of the Security Council would disagree.

But that's not what transpired on Monday evening in New York.

Failing to achieve nine votes meant the draft did not receive the necessary majority.

The US did not need to wield its veto, and the UK was able to fudge its reasons for abstention.

If this was Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' big play, it was a diplomatic screw-up.

Just the night before, the Jordanians, who put the Palestinian draft forward on behalf of the Arab group at the UN, voiced their uneasiness with pushing for a vote within 24 hours.

If it had been delayed until 1 January, there may have been a different outcome - not in terms of avoiding a US veto, but in getting the nine-vote majority required for the 'symbolic victory'.

Changing seats on the council would have seen Malaysia, Angola and New Zealand replace South Korea, Rwanda and Australia, who either abstained or voted against.

It could have made a difference.

Now the Palestinians must decide whether to try for a second vote with the new Council formation, or push ahead with their threat to sign the Rome Statute and join the International Criminal Court - allowing them to bring war crimes charges against Israel.

Mr Abbas has made joining the ICC one of the key cards he holds politically, and ironically for that reason he may refrain from playing the hand right now.

Not only would it likely draw fierce condemnation from the US, but also possible financial sanctions against the Palestinian Authority.

Israel welcomed the UNSC rejection, and slammed the Palestinian effort as a "march of folly" and a "violation of all understandings".

Yet if there was one message that came clearly from the Security Council, it was this - many world powers now believe the so-called "internationalisation" of the conflict is necessary and the failures of bilateral negotiations are impossible to deny.

France, Russia, in fact all of the countries on the Council apart from the US, voiced such opinions - with China going so far as saying the UNSC should "effectively assume responsibility" for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It is perhaps those sentiments, rather than the Palestinian draft resolution, that may set the tone for 2015.


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Arrested At Rally

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been detained by police after tweeting he was breaking his house arrest to join a protest.

The opposition activist - who ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013 - had been convicted of fraud alongside his brother Oleg earlier on Tuesday.

Although Alexei Navalny received a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence, Oleg Navalny, a father-of-two who has no role in the opposition movement, was jailed for the same period.

Navalny said on Twitter that he planned to join protesters in Moscow and posted a picture of himself on what appeared to be a metro train.

"I may be under house arrest, but today I really want to be with you. That's why I am going too," he wrote.

The blogger's supporters called for a mass protest near the Kremlin, with at least 18,000 pledging on Facebook to attend.

Moscow officials warned that "all unsanctioned actions will be prevented by the security forces".

TV footage showed several thousand anti-Kremlin demonstrators gathered in the dark near Red Square and ringed by police or soldiers with riot shields.

Navalny was taken into custody as he approached the rally, but he tweeted urging others to stay and protest. 

"I was detained, but they won't be able to detain everyone," he wrote.

He was then driven home and prevented from leaving his apartment again.

The protesters who gathered on the square chanted: "We are the power!" and "You won't be able to jail us all!"

About 100 other people were arrested but the rally was allowed to continue for two hours before it was broken up by security forces.

The verdict in the brothers' case was scheduled for next month, but was abruptly moved forward to the day before New Year's Eve, the main holiday in Russia, leading to speculation that authorities wanted to head off planned protests.

The trial - which saw the pair accused of stealing 30 million roubles, around $500,000 (£372,000) at the current exchange rate, from two firms - was viewed by many critics as part of a campaign to stifle dissent.

Alexei Navalny reacted angrily to the jailing of his brother, shouting out: "Aren't you ashamed of what you're doing? You want to punish me even harder?"

He briefly entered the metal cage that his brother was put into after the verdict and appeared to be holding back tears.

The European Union said the verdict appeared to be "politically motivated" but called for protesters to show restraint.

The US State Department said it was a "disturbing development designed to punish and deter political activism".


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UN Push For Palestinian Statehood Blocked

A resolution demanding Israel ends its occupation of the Palestinian territories in three years has been rejected by the UN Security Council.

The draft, put forward by the Palestinians, was one vote short of being adopted.

However, if the resolution had won enough support, the US would have exercised its right to veto, preventing the plan from being taken further.

Of the 15 nations in the council, eight voted "yes" - including China, France and Russia.

The US and Australia voted "no", while the five remaining countries - Britain among them - abstained.

Israel's closest ally, the US, had objected to the timetable imposed by the resolution - and warned the draft did not take Israel's security concerns into account.

"We voted against it because… peace must come from hard compromises that occur at the negotiating table," US ambassador Samantha Power added.

The Palestinians now have two options - to submit another resolution after five new member states join the UN Security Council on 1 January, or try and join the International Criminal Court, where they could accuse Israel of war crimes.

There have been months of tension between Israel and the Palestinians, who are seeking to become an independent state.

A 50-day war between militants from both sides broke out in the summer, killing more than 2,200 people, most of them Gaza residents.


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Third Malaysia-Linked Air Incident This Year

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 28 Desember 2014 | 20.18

The missing AirAsia flight is the third major air incident connected to Malaysia this year.

AirAsia is a regional low-cost airline founded in 2001 by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes, chairman of Premier League football side Queens Park Rangers.

The firm - based in Kuala Lumpur - has a good safety track record and has never lost a plane before.

But Malaysia has already suffered two aviation disasters this year.

:: MH370

In March Malaysia Airlines flight 370 went missing soon after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing with 239 people on board - 153 of them Chinese.

The wreckage of the plane has never been found, and furious relatives hit out as an international effort combed the seas for clues about where the jet could have gone.

Experts say the investigation into what happened cannot move on until wreckage and black boxes are recovered.

In October Malaysia's defence minister told Sky News he is "99.9% sure" the sonar technology will find the doomed jet.

:: MH17

In July Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

All 298 people on board were killed, including 10 British citizens.

An investigation into the crash is under way in the Netherlands, which lost 193 people in the crash.

The disaster has been blamed on pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine.

An initial report by the Dutch Safety Board in September said that the aircraft was downed by "a large number of high-energy objects".

The report added that the plane broke up in the air as a result of "structural damage", caused by the items which "penetrated the aircraft from outside", consistent with the claims it had been hit by a ground-to-air missile.

After Flight 370 went missing, Mr Fernandes caused controversy by incorrectly tweeting that it had landed safely.

Since the AirAsia plane went missing, the businessman has been active on Twitter.

He used his account to post links to company statements, adding: "Thank you for all your thoughts and prays. We must stay strong.

"On my way to Surabaya where most of the passengers are from as with my Indonesian management. Providing information as we get it."

His firm has dominated low-cost travel in the region for years, flying short routes to connect large cities in Southeast Asia.

Recently it has tried to expand into long-distance flying through its sister airline AirAsia X.


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Live Updates: AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Missing

Live Updates: AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Missing

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing AirAsia Plane: What We Know So Far

A search is under way after an AirAsia plane went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore. Here's what we know so far:

:: Flight QZ8501 took off from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya bound for Singapore at 5.35am local time (10.35pm UK time).

:: At 7.24am the flight lost contact with air traffic controllers.

:: The flight was due to arrive in Singapore at 8.30am (12.30am UK time)

:: According to the air traffic control website Flight Radar, the aircraft was travelling at 32,000 feet over the Java Sea when contact was lost.

:: A request was made to deviate from the flight path due to poor weather conditions prior to contact being lost.

:: There are 155 passengers on the plane: 138 adults, 16 children and one infant.

:: Two pilots and five cabin crew are also on board.

:: The nationalities of those on the plane are: 156 Indonesians, three South Koreans, one French citizen, one Malaysian and one Singaporean.

:: The captain of the flight has logged a total of 6,100 flying hours. The first officer has logged 2,275 hours in the air.

:: The aircraft is an Airbus A320-200 which underwent its last scheduled maintenance on 16 November.

:: A search and rescue operation is under way led by the Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

:: AirAsia has set up a hotline for family members and friends of those on the plane: +62 212 985 0801.


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Search Suspended For Missing AirAsia Plane

An AirAsia flight carrying 162 people from Indonesia to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic controllers.

Indonesian Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said Flight QZ8501 stopped communicating with the Jakarta air traffic control tower at 7.24am local time.

He said the plane had asked for an unusual route before contact was lost with Indonesia's Juanda International Airport in Surabaya. The flight was expected to arrive in Singapore at 8.30am local time (12.30am UK time).

One of those on board is a British national, who according to Channel News Asia was travelling with his two-year-old daughter.

The search for the plane has now been called off for the day.

:: Follow live updates with Sky News here

An AirAsia statement said there are 155 passengers on board; 138 adults, 16 children and one infant. Also on board are two pilots and five crew members.

Most of those on board - 149 - are from Indonesia, with six from Indonesia, three from South Korea, and one each from Malaysia, France, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

The Foreign Office says the Briton's next of kin have been informed.

According to air traffic control website Flight Radar, the aircraft was travelling at 32,000-feet over the Java Sea when contact was lost.

Pilot Rakam Singh told Sky News: "As you climb higher the temperature gets lower ... if you hit turbulence you've got more chance of stalling an aircraft if you hit this kind of weather."

He said the chances of carrying out a safe landing after that were low.

2014 has been the worst year for aviation accidents in a decade - largely as a result of the MH17 and MH370 disasters.

A statement on Malaysia based AirAsia's Facebook page said: "AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that Flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07.24hrs this morning.

"The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC. At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service."

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  1. Gallery: In Pictures: Missing Flight QZ 8501

    The A320-200 took off from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya. There are 155 passengers on board the flight. This includes 138 adults, 16 children and one infant

The passengers and crew were from six countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, France, South Korea and Indonesia. There was also one British passenger on board

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea Accuses US Over Internet Blackouts

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 27 Desember 2014 | 20.18

North Korea has blasted the US President following the release of The Interview, which features a fictional plot to kill its leader Kim Jong-Un.

In a statement, the reclusive nation's National Defence Commission (NDC) described the president as a "monkey inhabiting a tropical forest".

The statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, accused Mr Obama of encouraging the release of the film, and threatened the United States with "inescapable deadly blows".

It also blamed the US for shutting down its Internet earlier this week, something the United States has denied.

The Interview was first screened on Christmas Day after Mr Obama and a number of high-profile Hollywood figures slammed Sony Pictures for pulling the film.

Sony had cancelled the film's release following a cyber attack and threats of violence against cinemas that chose to screen it. 

Mr Obama accused North Korea of being responsible, warning that the US would respond "in a place and time and manner that we choose".

Pyongyang denied any involvement in the attack.

It went on to suffer internet blackouts, triggering speculation the US had launched a retaliatory attack.

"Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest," the NDC statement said.

"If the US persists in American-style arrogant, high-handed and gangster-like arbitrary practices despite (North Korea's) repeated warnings, the US should bear in mind that its failed political affairs will face inescapable deadly blows."

The statement once again condemned The Interview, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco, as "a movie for agitating terrorism".

The film took in a million dollars after its limited release on Christmas Day when it  was screened in some 300 largely independent theatres.

It was also released online for rental or purchase.

It is not the first time North Korea has resorted to crude insults to slam foreign leaders.

Earlier this year it called US Secretary of State John Kerry a wolf with a "hideous" lantern jaw and described South Korean President Park Geun-hye as a prostitute.

In May, it published a dispatch saying Obama had the "shape of a monkey".


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pregnant Mum's Life Support Switched Off

A brain dead woman, who was 18 weeks pregnant, has been taken off life support in Ireland after a court found it would not contravene the country's strict abortion laws.

Three judges at Dublin's High Court accepted the testimony of doctors who said the baby would not survive long enough to be delivered safely

The court decided that keeping the young mother alive would deprive her of dignity in death.

It added that keeping her alive would subject her father, partner and two young children to "unimaginable distress" in a "futile exercise".

The panel of judges said it was in the best interest of the unborn child to authorise the withdrawal of life support in what was a "tragic and unfortunate case".

The High Court added that it was a case of "great public importance".

The 26-year-old was pronounced clinically dead on 3 December after suffering a trauma injury last month.

Her family had sought to switch the equipment off to preserve her dignity.

But doctors refused, fearing they might be prosecuted under Ireland's strict Catholic-influenced abortion laws, which give the 18-week-old foetus the same constitutional rights as the mother.

Under the Irish constitution, the foetus is regarded as a citizen.


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

IS Positions Targeted In Coalition Airstrikes

Coalition forces have launched 39 airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria over the past 48 hours, according to the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF).

Unmanned drones, fighter jets and bombers launched the attacks as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the name given for the aerial bombardment campaign against IS.

A statement released by the CJTF claimed aircraft hit 19 targets in Syria, while 20 strikes were carried out in Iraq.

It was claimed 17 strikes in Syria concentrated on an area near the city of Kobani and destroyed several Islamic State buildings, vehicles and fighting positions.

Two strikes near Hasakah and one near Raqqa also caused damage while in Iraq, the strikes hit near Al Asad, Sinjar, Mosul, Al Qaim, Baiji, Kirkuk, Falluja and Tal Afar, the statement said.

Video released by the US also showed coalition airstrikes in Syria on 21 December.

The US and its allies have been targeting Islamic State in Syria since 23 September and waging an air campaign against the group in Iraq for even longer.

The operation aims to push back the organisation after it took over much of Iraq and Syria.

Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are participating in the Syria airstrikes, with logistical support from Qatar.

The strikes come after the United Nations urged Islamic militants holding a Jordanian pilot whose warplane crashed in Syria to treat him in line with humanitarian law.

IS supporters claimed the plane, which was flying with coalition forces, was hit by a heat-seeking missile near Raqqa city in northern Syria.

Jordan said the F-16 fighter was shot down during a "military mission against the hideouts of the terrorist group", but added it was unclear why the plane crashed.

An army statement read on Jordanian state television said: "Jordan holds the group and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life."


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine: New Round Of Prisoner Swaps Expected

Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian separatists are set to complete a prisoner swap which has already seen the release of almost 370 people.

Ukraine expects another four soldiers to be freed in the coming hours, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, a spokesman for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

The number of separatists earmarked for release has not been confirmed.

The swap will complete a two-day mass prisoner exchange which forms part of a 12-point peace plan aimed at ending fighting which has claimed the lives of more than 4,700 people.

Ukraine handed over a total of 222 prisoners on Friday in exchange for 146 soldiers.

The swap, which took place in an area of no man's land north of the eastern rebel stronghold of Donetsk, was supervised by heavily-armed soldiers.

They were later met by President Poroshenko. 

"As a president and as an ordinary citizen my heart is full with joy," he said.

Although hundreds of captives have been released over the past few months, it was the largest single exchange since the conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in April.

Announcing the swap on Facebook, Mr Tsegolko said Ukraine's security service, the SBU, expected the remaining four soldiers "to be able to celebrate New Year ... with their families".

The peace plan, agreed by both sides in September, also included a ceasefire which has since seen numerous violations. 

According to the United Nations, 1,300 people have died since the implementation of the deal. Nevertheless, fighting is reported to have decreased significantly throughout December.

Peace talks attended by envoys for Ukraine, Russia, the separatists and European security watchdog the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the Belarussian capital Minsk ended without resolution on Wednesday.

The talks had been aimed at paving the way for the signing of a comprehensive peace accord on Friday, although the only deal reached was on the least contentious of four agenda points - the prisoner swap.

Ukraine has since suspended all bus and rail links to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March, citing security concerns.

The rebel uprising in eastern Ukraine began shortly after Crimea's annexation, and followed the overthrow of Ukraine's Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovych. 

It is not known exactly how many prisoners are still held by the two sides.

However, Ukraine said this month that about 600 of its nationals were in rebel hands.


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mourners Remember Boxing Day Tsunami Victims

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 26 Desember 2014 | 20.18

Mourners Remember Boxing Day Tsunami Victims

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Survivors and families of victims have gathered across Asia for memorials to mark 10 years since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Around 230,000 people died after a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's western coast triggered a series of huge waves in the Indian Ocean.

The rising waters caused devastation across the region, striking countries as far apart as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

The wave swept the whole of the Indian Ocean's shoreline, also hitting the coasts of India, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Maldives and Bangladesh.

Around six hours after the start of the disaster the coasts of east Africa - Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya - were struck by the wave.

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  1. Gallery: Sri Lanka Marks 10th Anniversary of Indian Ocean Tsunami

    Tsunami survivors offer flowers as they pray at a graveyard to commemorate the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami on December 26, 2014 in Peraliya, Sri Lanka

A Sri Lankan local dancer stands in a graveyard in Peraliya commemorating victims

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Sri Lankan Buddhist monks attend the Alms Giving Ceremony for remembrance and prayer for the victims

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A young Buddhist monk prays for the victims at the Alms Ceremony

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Sri Lanka was one of the worst hit countries of the 9.1 magnitude quake with around 35,000 deaths

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Mourners Remember Boxing Day Tsunami Victims

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

Survivors and families of victims have gathered across Asia for memorials to mark 10 years since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Around 230,000 people died after a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's western coast triggered a series of huge waves in the Indian Ocean.

The rising waters caused devastation across the region, striking countries as far apart as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

The wave swept the whole of the Indian Ocean's shoreline, also hitting the coasts of India, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Maldives and Bangladesh.

Around six hours after the start of the disaster the coasts of east Africa - Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya - were struck by the wave.

1/13

  1. Gallery: Sri Lanka Marks 10th Anniversary of Indian Ocean Tsunami

    Tsunami survivors offer flowers as they pray at a graveyard to commemorate the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami on December 26, 2014 in Peraliya, Sri Lanka

A Sri Lankan local dancer stands in a graveyard in Peraliya commemorating victims

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Sri Lankan Buddhist monks attend the Alms Giving Ceremony for remembrance and prayer for the victims

]]>

A young Buddhist monk prays for the victims at the Alms Ceremony

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Sri Lanka was one of the worst hit countries of the 9.1 magnitude quake with around 35,000 deaths

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Girl Refuses To Explode Bomb Belt In Market

A 13-year-old girl has said she was made to wear a bomb belt and taken to a market in Nigeria by Boko Haram extremists but refused to detonate the device.

Zahara'u Adam said her father gave her to the Islamist group, but she told her captors she did not want to be a suicide bomber.

She allowed them to strap the bomb on her because they threatened to bury her alive.

She was taken to a market in Kano, Nigeria's second largest city in the north, with two other girls, who detonated the bombs.

Four people were killed in the explosion on 10 December.

Zahara'u said she was too scared to detonate the bomb when she saw the aftermath of what her counterparts had done.

Injured by the blasts, the girl found her way to a hospital where police arrested her while she was receiving treatment.

She was presented to journalists by police and instructed to recount how the militants allegedly forced her to take part in the attack - a move police hope will boost public awareness of the group's tactics.

"My father took us to the bush which was surrounded by gunmen, I was asked if I want to go to heaven, when I answered they said I have to go for a suicide mission and if I attempt to run, they will kill me," she recounted at a press conference.

"So from there we were sent to Kano. When we came to Kano market, one of us said we should go separately, but I refused.

"After my friend detonated her own I was wounded."

There was no way to independently verify her story and she had no lawyer present.

Boko Haram has been fighting for five years to establish an Islamist state in Nigeria's northeast.

The group has increasingly used female suicide bombers.


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Tsunami Survivors Overcome Grief With Charity

Many survivors of the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 have spent the last decade struggling to deal with grief and trauma, but some chose to channel it into helping others.

In a new documentary to be shown on Sky One this evening, Sky News has spoken to survivors who have set up charities in memory of some of the 230,000 people who died.

Kim and Tristan Peatfield were staying on the south coast of Sri Lanka, in Tangalle, with their five-year-old daughter Isabella when the tsunami hit their hotel bungalow.

Tristan was washed away and Kim was left holding Isabella.

"I think I must have been knocked out and I guess that's when I let her go - because I don't remember letting her go. I would never, never have let her go," she said.

Isabella was later found dead.

Despite their grief, the couple returned to Sri Lanka a few weeks after Isabella's funeral and set up a charity in her name to help Sri Lankan children.

"Anybody who was there would know children there lost everything, they didn't just lose a sibling or a parent or grandparents or a roof over their head - they lost everything," Kim said.

The charity is still going ten years later. In that time they have helped to rebuild Tangalle Children's Hospital and built 10 playgrounds, among other projects.

"It came out of love, not wanting to let her die, and that's what sustained us, that's what keeps the charity going," the Peatfields said.

Luke Simon works full-time on the charity that he set up after the Boxing Day tragedy.

When the wave hit he was staying with his brother Piers and three friends on the island of Phi Phi in southern Thailand.

Phi Phi was hit from both sides simultaneously - and the thin strip of land in between was engulfed.

"The sea beyond was just boiling up in front of me," Luke said.

"The tsunami turned Phi Phi into canals - the little alleyways became two and a half metres of water filled with debris - a lot of people who lost their lives, they didn't drown, they were just hit by debris."

Piers was trapped under the water as he tried to push another friend to safety. It took five days for Luke to find his body.

Luke launched the charity - the Piers Simon Appeal - at his brother's memorial service and two weeks after the tsunami he was back in Phi Phi with £10,000 to help local people.

"The charity really came about because we had received so much goodness from Thai people who helped me to find Piers," he said.

Ten years on, and the charity has now become School In A Bag, which sends schoolbags to children affected by the disaster.

"It was born out of a natural disaster - the sad circumstances of losing my brother. I always wanted to be able to help disaster-affected children, mainly because of the experience that I had picked up in the tsunami," Luke said.

"I still feel like Piers is with me now - I feel as though he's tagging along with me, except he's the reason we are doing it."

:: A special documentary Tsunami: Ten Years After The Wave can be seen on the Sky News Catch Up service.

:: If you have been affected by any of the issues in the show, the following helplines can offer help and support:

Samaritans - anyone struggling to cope can talk to Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90.

Mind - for mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress, call the confidential information and support line on 0300 123 3393 (charged as a local rate call) open from 9am - 6pm Monday - Friday.

Cruse Bereavement Care - promotes the well-being of bereaved people and enables people to understand grief and cope with their loss - national helpline on 08444 779 400.


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistani School Massacre Planner Is Killed

The alleged planner of the Peshawar school massacre has been killed in a shootout, a Pakistani official has said.

The commander was killed on Thursday night in the hour-long gunfight with security forces in the restive Khyber tribal area, which borders the northwestern city of Peshawar, police said.

The militant was known only as Saddam. His six accomplices were injured and arrested in the shootout, said Shahab Ali Shah, head of the local police administration.

Authorities are currently interrogating the six, he said.

On 16 December, Taliban militants strapped with explosives broke into a military-run school in Peshawar, and killed 148 people, including 132 children.

The horrific attack shocked the nation and led Pakistan to crack down on militants.

According to authorities, Saddam helped plan the Peshawar school attack and was also involved in attacks on health workers giving polio vaccinations in the Peshawar valley.

Meanwhile, drone attacks in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region killed at least seven alleged militants on Friday.

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  1. Gallery: Bloody Aftermath Of School Attack

    A Taliban massacre that killed 149 teachers and children at an army-run school in Pakistan has left a scene of heart-wrenching devastation

Blood is seen still splattered on the floor and the stairs as local media are allowed inside the school a day after the attack

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Black Teen Shot Dead By Police In St Louis

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 24 Desember 2014 | 20.18

A black teenager has been shot dead by a police officer in the same city where the killing of Michael Brown sparked global protests.

The 18-year-old was killed at a Mobil petrol station in the suburb of Berkeley in St Louis, Missouri, on Tuesday night.

Sergeant Brian Schellman, from St Louis County Police, said a police officer was conducting a routine business check at around 11.15pm when he saw two men and approached them.

He said one of the men pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officer.

Sgt Schellman said: "Fearing for his life, the Berkeley Officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him."

He added that the second suspect fled.

Detectives said they recovered the dead man's weapon at the scene.

A crowd of up to 300 people gathered at the scene, where a police cordon was set up around the forecourt.

Video, which was live-streamed online, showed a wall of police officers, some wearing riot helmets, guarding the scene with bystanders shouting at them in a tense standoff.

Footage showed fireworks or smoke bombs being let off and bricks were also thrown at officers.

Four people were arrested and there were also reports of people trying to break into local businesses.

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  1. Gallery: Shooting Is Close To Where The Michael Brown Killing Sparked Protests

    Black teenager Antonio Martin is shot by a police officer at a petrol station in Berkeley, St Louis

St Louis Police say during a routine check two males approached officers, one of the men pulled a gun

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Deadly Tornadoes Strike Southern United States

Deadly Tornadoes Strike Southern United States

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Four people have been killed and thousands left without power after tornadoes tore across the southern United States.

Heaviest-hit was the state of Mississippi, where the severe weather damaged hundreds of homes and businesses.

Governor Phil Bryant has declared an emergency in Jones and Marion counties where all four victims lost their lives.

Several other people have been injured by the wild weather.

"We've got whole roofs lying in the road, people trapped in houses, cars flipped over," Marion County Sheriff Berkley Hall said.

County coroner Norma Williamson said two of the victims were killed in Columbia, about 30 miles west of Hattiesburg.

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  1. Gallery: Tornadoes Cause Widespread Devastation In Southern U.S.

    Four people are confirmed dead after the tornadoes swept across the south of America Pic: @MS_TeresaM

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The states of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama were all hit Pic: @MS_TeresaM

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Thousands have been left without power Pic: @MS_TeresaM

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A state of emergency has been declared in two Mississippi counties

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Deadly Tornadoes Strike Southern United States

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

Four people have been killed and thousands left without power after tornadoes tore across the southern United States.

Heaviest-hit was the state of Mississippi, where the severe weather damaged hundreds of homes and businesses.

Governor Phil Bryant has declared an emergency in Jones and Marion counties where all four victims lost their lives.

Several other people have been injured by the wild weather.

"We've got whole roofs lying in the road, people trapped in houses, cars flipped over," Marion County Sheriff Berkley Hall said.

County coroner Norma Williamson said two of the victims were killed in Columbia, about 30 miles west of Hattiesburg.

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  1. Gallery: Tornadoes Cause Widespread Devastation In Southern U.S.

    Four people are confirmed dead after the tornadoes swept across the south of America Pic: @MS_TeresaM

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The states of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama were all hit Pic: @MS_TeresaM

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Thousands have been left without power Pic: @MS_TeresaM

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A state of emergency has been declared in two Mississippi counties

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Two Men Arrested In Sydney Over Attack Plot

Two men have been arrested in Australia as part of an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation into a group accused of plotting to kill a random member of the public in Sydney.

Police made the announcement a day after Prime Minister Tony Abbott warned of heightened extremist "chatter" in the aftermath of the deadly Lindt cafe siege.

Sulayman Khalid, 20, was charged on Tuesday with possession of documents designed to facilitate an attack, while a 21-year-old was charged with breaching a control order.

Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Michael Phelan said there was no specific threat and the arrests were related to an ongoing counter-terrorism operation that led to a series of raids in Sydney in September.

"There is nothing that indicates at all that (there were) any specific targets or timeframe in relation to this particular activity at all," Mr Phelan said, though he added that the documents seized by police did talk about potential government targets.

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  1. Gallery: Sydney Mourns Cafe Siege Victims

    Women comfort each other in Martin Place, near to the scene

Hundreds of bouquets of flowers were laid

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Coalition Pilot Shot Down And Captured By IS

A Jordanian pilot has been captured by Islamic State militants after his plane was downed during coalition air raids in Syria, the Jordanian army says.

An army statement read on state television said: "Jordan holds the group and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life."

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group quoted pro-IS activists as saying the plane was brought down near Raqqa city, a stronghold of Islamic State fighters in northern Syria.

The IS in Raqqa published photographs on jihadist websites purporting to show its fighters holding the captured pilot and showed a military card identifying him as 26-year-old First Lieutenant Maaz al Kassasbeh.

Several photographs were released, including one showing the pilot, wearing only a white shirt, being carried from water by four men.

Another showed him on land, surrounded by about a dozen armed men.

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  1. Gallery: Militants Claim To Have Captured Jordanian Pilot In Syria

    The plane was said to have been brought down near Raqqa city, a stronghold of Islamic State fighters in northern Syria

Several photographs were released, including one showing the pilot, wearing only a white shirt, being carried from water by four men

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Man Shouting 'Allahu Akbar' Drives Into Crowd

Written By Unknown on Senin, 22 Desember 2014 | 20.18

A man heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest") has been arrested in France after ploughing his car into crowds of people.

At least 13 people were injured, two of them seriously, after the driver targeted passers-by in five different areas of the eastern city of Dijon.

Witnesses told police he was also heard shouting he was "acting for the children of Palestine" during the rampage, which lasted about half an hour.

It came a day after another man, who was also heard shouting "Allahu Akbar," stabbed three police officers in the central town of Joue-les-Tours.

The motives behind this latest attack remain unclear. French president Francois Hollande has urged authorities to display the "utmost vigilance" following the incidents, and urged the public not to panic.

France's Interior Ministry said the 40-year-old driver was known to authorities for petty offences dating back to the 1990s. 

"The man...  is apparently unbalanced and had been in a psychiatric hospital," one source said.

There is local media speculation that two other people were in the car at the time of the attack.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has tweeted to express his "solidarity" with the victims, while Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will travel to Dijon later on Monday.

Two attacks within the space of two days have heightened fears in France over the possibility of further "lone wolf" atrocities.

Islamic State and other terrorist organisations have repeatedly called for attacks against France, partly due to its military participation in US-led strikes in Iraq.

Anti-terrorism police are investigating Saturday's attack at the police station in Joue-les-Tours, which left two of the three officers seriously injured.

The 20-year-old attacker was shot dead at the scene. 

Mr Cazeneuve told television station TF1 he was "very unstable".

Police suspect the attack to have been motivated by radical Islam.

The Interior Ministry has said it was too early to tell whether there was any connection between the two incidents.


20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan To Execute 500 Terror Convicts

Pakistan plans to execute around 500 militants after the government lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases.

It comes after Taliban gunmen killed 149 people, including 133 children, in a school massacre in the northwestern city of Peshawar last week.

Six militants have been hanged since Friday amid rising public anger over the slaughter.

Around nine gunmen stormed the army-run school on 16 December taking teachers and students hostage and killing them in classrooms.

After the deadliest terror attack in Pakistani history, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ended the six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for terrorism-related cases.

"Interior ministry has finalised the cases of 500 convicts who have exhausted all the appeals, their mercy petitions have been turned down by the president and their executions will take place in coming weeks," a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Of the six hanged so far, five were involved in a failed attempt to assassinate the then-military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2003, while one was involved in a 2009 attack on army headquarters.

Police, troops and paramilitary Rangers have been deployed across the country and airports and prisons put on red alert as the executions take place and troops intensify operations against Taliban militants in northwestern tribal areas.

Mr Sharif has ordered the attorney general's office to "actively pursue" capital cases currently in the courts, a government spokesman said.

The decision to reinstate executions has been condemned by human rights groups, with the United Nations also calling for it to reconsider.

Human Rights Watch described the executions "a craven politicised reaction to the Peshawar killings" and demanded that no further hangings be carried out.

Pakistan began its de facto moratorium on civilian executions in 2008, but hanging remains on the statute books and judges continue to pass death sentences.

Before Friday's resumption, only one person had been executed since then - a soldier convicted by a court martial and hanged in November 2012.


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New York Cop Killer's Chilling Warning Revealed

New York Cop Killer's Chilling Warning Revealed

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The gunman who shot dead two New York City police officers told passers-by to "watch what I'm going to do", moments before the attack.

Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said witnesses recall Ismaaiyl Brinsley asking them to follow him on Instagram, before making the chilling warning.

Instagram posts attributed to Brinsley, 28, have been described as "very anti-police".

One appears to threaten to carry out an attack in retaliation for the death of Eric Garner, who was killed in a New York officer's chokehold, sparking weeks of mass protests.

Part of the caption read: "I'm Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours ... Let's Take 2 of Theirs."

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  1. Gallery: New York Vigil For Dead Police Officers

Mourners have taken part in a prayer vigil at the location where two NYPD cops who were shot in the head in their squad car in Brooklyn

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Police officers lined up to pay their respects to Liu Wenjin, 32, and Raphael Ramos, 40

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Lucy Ramos, the aunt of Mr Ramos, paid tribute to the officers during a press conference at the vigil

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Click through for more images

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New York Cop Killer's Chilling Warning Revealed

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

The gunman who shot dead two New York City police officers told passers-by to "watch what I'm going to do", moments before the attack.

Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said witnesses recall Ismaaiyl Brinsley asking them to follow him on Instagram, before making the chilling warning.

Instagram posts attributed to Brinsley, 28, have been described as "very anti-police".

One appears to threaten to carry out an attack in retaliation for the death of Eric Garner, who was killed in a New York officer's chokehold, sparking weeks of mass protests.

Part of the caption read: "I'm Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours ... Let's Take 2 of Theirs."

1/8

  1. Gallery: New York Vigil For Dead Police Officers

Mourners have taken part in a prayer vigil at the location where two NYPD cops who were shot in the head in their squad car in Brooklyn

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Police officers lined up to pay their respects to Liu Wenjin, 32, and Raphael Ramos, 40

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Lucy Ramos, the aunt of Mr Ramos, paid tribute to the officers during a press conference at the vigil

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Click through for more images

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More
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