Young Woman's Berlin Wall Diary Revealed

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Video: Remembered: The Day The Wall Fell

Anke Domscheit Berg saw a world of opportunity open when the Berlin Wall fell. In these extracts from her diary 25 years ago, when she was 21, she describes the emotional celebrations that took place across the city.

9 November, 1989

Hours ago, the news came in - the border of the German Democratic Republic has been opened.

Unbelievable. Every hour, 3,500 people are leaving the country. The Democratic Awakening (a political group formed in October 1989) stood in front of the crossing point and tried to persuade people to stay. To so many people, everything is falling apart. There are resignations all the time; everything has been turned upside down.

To America in the summer? Can I pay for the ticket? Visiting France? The Mediterranean Sea, Holland, Tunisia, Luanda? How can I have a holiday, where can I find the money? I am longing for everywhere, only to return.

Anke.

Anke Domscheit Berg described the fall of the Berlin Wall as 'unfathomable'

13 November, 1989

My friend walks into the bathroom and beams. He asks: "What do you think about our victory?"

1/55

1. Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell

   West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955

1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin

]]>

Border guards on opposite sides of the wall, viewed from the western side

]]>

Families and friends, once neighbours, wave across to each other over the wall

]]>

I knew nothing. He is talking about wall depletion.

I run to the radio and hear it for myself, everyone can cross over as they like.

Unbelievable. I go with Gundi straight to the police and we had the visa within an hour.

Video: Sound And Vision: Berlin Wall Fall

Set off early on Saturday by car to the new crossing at Bernauerstrasse-Brunnenstrasse. Dad pushed his way through. We were standing for an hour, the queue was endless, it was moving forwards all the time. We only needed to raise up our ID. All around were broken walls, construction workers and border patrols. I beamed at one of them - even they are happy now, despite the stress.

Youths from West Berlin were sitting on the wall, clapping and waving. I had tears in my eyes. Everywhere West Berliners, laughing and waving, surrounded by innumerable camera crews. One woman handed out sweets, others red and white roses.

We arrived at midday. It was a frenzy, there were so many people. Even the buses are nicer.

Video: Sky Reports The Fall Of Berlin Wall

That evening, we ate at an Italian place. The food was heavenly. I thought I was going to burst, and I felt bad about the leftovers. Everyone had a bit of everything, and the pasta was the best. The waiters rushed and beamed. At one time we were moved to another table, it was so busy. Everything was unforgettable. Tonight, we want to celebrate.

Anke.

Video: Gorbachev's Interpreter On Wall

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Video: Remembered: The Day The Wall Fell

Anke Domscheit Berg saw a world of opportunity open when the Berlin Wall fell. In these extracts from her diary 25 years ago, when she was 21, she describes the emotional celebrations that took place across the city.

9 November, 1989

Hours ago, the news came in - the border of the German Democratic Republic has been opened.

Unbelievable. Every hour, 3,500 people are leaving the country. The Democratic Awakening (a political group formed in October 1989) stood in front of the crossing point and tried to persuade people to stay. To so many people, everything is falling apart. There are resignations all the time; everything has been turned upside down.

To America in the summer? Can I pay for the ticket? Visiting France? The Mediterranean Sea, Holland, Tunisia, Luanda? How can I have a holiday, where can I find the money? I am longing for everywhere, only to return.

Anke.

Anke Domscheit Berg described the fall of the Berlin Wall as 'unfathomable'

13 November, 1989

My friend walks into the bathroom and beams. He asks: "What do you think about our victory?"

1/55

1. Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell

   West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955

1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin

]]>

Border guards on opposite sides of the wall, viewed from the western side

]]>

Families and friends, once neighbours, wave across to each other over the wall

]]>

I knew nothing. He is talking about wall depletion.

I run to the radio and hear it for myself, everyone can cross over as they like.

Unbelievable. I go with Gundi straight to the police and we had the visa within an hour.

Video: Sound And Vision: Berlin Wall Fall

Set off early on Saturday by car to the new crossing at Bernauerstrasse-Brunnenstrasse. Dad pushed his way through. We were standing for an hour, the queue was endless, it was moving forwards all the time. We only needed to raise up our ID. All around were broken walls, construction workers and border patrols. I beamed at one of them - even they are happy now, despite the stress.

Youths from West Berlin were sitting on the wall, clapping and waving. I had tears in my eyes. Everywhere West Berliners, laughing and waving, surrounded by innumerable camera crews. One woman handed out sweets, others red and white roses.

We arrived at midday. It was a frenzy, there were so many people. Even the buses are nicer.

Video: Sky Reports The Fall Of Berlin Wall

That evening, we ate at an Italian place. The food was heavenly. I thought I was going to burst, and I felt bad about the leftovers. Everyone had a bit of everything, and the pasta was the best. The waiters rushed and beamed. At one time we were moved to another table, it was so busy. Everything was unforgettable. Tonight, we want to celebrate.

Anke.

Video: Gorbachev's Interpreter On Wall

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

How The Berlin Wall Came To Be Built

By Patrick Major, Professor of Modern History, Reading University

The Berlin Wall was the Cold War made concrete.

It went up during one of its frostiest flashpoints; it came down as the eastern bloc unravelled, closely followed by the Soviet Union itself two years later.

It was built right on the East-West fault-line created by World War Two. (The bunker garden where Hitler was cremated in 1945 became part of no-man's land.) Berlin had always been a Cold War anomaly, located 100 miles behind the Iron Curtain.

Its three internationally-agreed western sectors, belonging to America, Britain and France, became a refuge for millions of East Germans fleeing in the 1950s.

A sentry on the western side of the wall looks across to the east

The decision to build the wall in August 1961 was a communist act of desperation to prevent itself from bleeding dry.

Literally overnight, the Berlin border was closed, and gradually reinforced with breeze blocks and barbed wire.

Video: Gorbachev's Interpreter On Wall

Soon, the first fatal shooting had occurred, when a young man was machine-gunned swimming a canal by the Reichstag - 135 other victims followed over the next 28 years.

"The West is doing NOTHING!" ran Bildzeitung's headline.

Although western leaders condemned the "Wall of Shame", they did not act. There were good reasons. The wall was founded on nuclear stalemate.

In October 1961, the Soviets detonated a 50-megaton Tsar Bomba which mushroomed more than 50 kilometres high (31 miles).

The message was not lost on US President John Kennedy who may not have liked the wall, but thought it "a hell of a lot better than a war".

Video: Sound And Vision: Berlin Wall Fall

This stark reality forced a rethink among some western leaders.

Willy Brandt, social democratic mayor of West Berlin in '61, later Federal chancellor, was the architect of détente - or Ostpolitik - in the late 1960s.

Now the West de facto recognised the German Democratic Republic; in 1973 both Germanys joined the United Nations.

Ironically, it was this international "bringing in from the cold" that undermined the wall in the 1980s.

The date of 9 November, 1989, when thousands thronged the checkpoints and the wall "fell", seemed like another overnight sensation.

Video: Sky Reports The Fall Of Berlin Wall

But there was a long fuse.

East Germany was trapped between Gorbachev's glasnost in the East and the West German Wirtschaftswunder in the West. In return for aid, both demanded human rights reforms which fuelled the mass demonstrations in the hot autumn of 1989.

Nor should we forget that the fall of the wall was a symptom, not a cause, of the collapse of communism. If the writing was on the wall, it was in Polish and spelled "Solidarity", the path-breaking anti-communist movement under Lech Walesa, or in Hungary, where the first McDonald's behind the Iron Curtain had opened in 1988.

The fall of the wall completely altered the geo-political landscape. Even doubters such as Mrs Thatcher could not oppose German reunification in 1990.

By 1994, Russia had left eastern Germany, and NATO was soon on her doorstep. The West had to come to terms with the realities of freedom of movement which for so long had been largely Cold War rhetoric. And the world had learnt about revolution by "people power".

1/55

1. Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell

   West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955

1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin

]]>

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama Nearly Doubles Troop Numbers In Iraq

By Sky News US Team

US President Barack Obama is sending 1,500 more troops to Iraq, almost doubling the current deployment.

The White House, which said the new forces would not be in combat, also asked Congress for $5.6bn (£3.5bn) to fund the mission against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The request includes $1.6bn for an "Iraq Train and Equip Fund". 

The new troops will support the roughly 1,600 US personnel already in Iraq, under what the Pentagon calls Operation Inherent Resolve.

The President discussed the Iraq mission with leaders of Congress on Friday

The US says its troops in northern Iraq have no fighting role as they help to train national and Kurdish forces to battle the Islamic State jihadists.

"As a part of our strategy for strengthening partners on the ground, President Obama today authorized the deployment of up to 1,500 additional US military personnel in a non-combat role to train, advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, including Kurdish forces," said the White House.

Video: Troops Return To Iraq For IS Fight

Press secretary Josh Earnest said the new troops would operate at military facilities beyond Baghdad and Irbil, where they have hitherto been based.

Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm John Kirby said the military would set up several training sites across Iraq to instruct 12 Iraqi brigades.

It would also establish two operations centres where small advisory teams can work with Iraqi forces at headquarters and brigade levels.

One of those hubs is expected to be in Anbar province, where the extremists have reportedly been slaughtering men, women and children.

The latest deployment is based on an assessment of Iraqi security forces made by US Central Command, said the Department of Defense.

On Friday morning, President Obama hosted members of Congress at the White House, where he discussed the fight against Islamic State, among other issues.

House Speaker John Boehner reportedly told Mr Obama that Republicans would work with him next year to grant a new authorisation for military force against the jihadists.

Mr Obama's decision comes three days after his party suffered bruising losses in the midterm elections, a result driven in part by the President's unpopularity. 

The US has steadily ramped up its mission in Iraq since Mr Obama announced in June that 300 military advisers would be sent back to the country, three years after American forces withdrew.

The Obama administration is also carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, though the Pentagon has acknowledged such raids alone will not be enough to stop the group.

Last week, Iraqi forces recaptured a town from the extremists. Last month, Islamic States forces lost a string of towns near the Syrian border. 

Earlier this week, the UK said it would step up its military presence in Iraq as it seeks to train local ground forces to take on the jihadists.

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Berlin Wall Fall: Millions To Party Like It's 1989

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1/15

1. Gallery: Berlin Wall Fall 25th Anniversary

   The installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) along a former Berlin Wall location is illuminated next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

People pass by a light installation of balloons tethered to lamps illuminating the course of the Berlin Wall

]]>

Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union (C), places his hands in wet cement attached to a section of the former Berlin Wall.

]]>

An impression of the hand of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is seen in cement.

]]>

Millions of people are expected to party on the streets of Berlin this weekend for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall.

Tourists from around the world are arriving in the city for a weekend of celebrations, including concerts, debates, firework displays and exhibitions. 

The weekend includes a "citizen's festival" with two million people expected to attend at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity.

Among the entertainment will be the Berlin State Orchestra, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, and East German rock band Silly.

British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel will perform the Wall anthem "Heroes", which David Bowie recorded when he lived in West Berlin.

Video: Sky Reports The Fall Of Berlin Wall

On Saturday, dignitaries will take part in several events to mark the fall of the wall on 9 November, 1989.

German chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to attend an evening memorial concert at Bertolt Brecht's historic Berliner Ensemble theatre.

The theatre stands opposite the former 'Palace of Tears', where Easterners said goodbye to visitors returning to West Germany.

Meanwhile, former Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev is expected to join former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher for a special debate.

1/55

1. Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell

   West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955

1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin

]]>

Border guards on opposite sides of the wall, viewed from the western side

]]>

They will discuss the legacy of unification, as well as renewed tensions between Russia and the West.

On Friday night, Mr Gorbachev spoke out about the renewed tensions at Berlin's former Checkpoint Charlie border crossing, an iconic Cold War site.

Referring to the crisis in Ukraine, the 83-year-old said: "We now have to watch out that we don't miss the right moment, that we get a grip on the tensions that have emerged recently." 

It was Mr Gorbachev's reforms, including a loosening of Soviet control over its former communist satellites, that led to events that brought the collapse of the Iron Curtain.

Video: Gorbachev's Interpreter On Wall

His policies of glasnost and perestroika (openness and restructuring), earned him admiration in the West and the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr Gorbachev, greeted with cheers at the Berlin event, was asked to place his hands into a wet plaster cast bolted onto an original piece of the Wall.

Earlier, Berlin's Mayor Klaus Wowereit illuminated a chain of balloons, placed on 8,000 lampposts along the route of the former wall.

The balloons will be released on Sunday, together with messages from the public describing memories of the wall.

Video: Sound And Vision: Berlin Wall Fall

The Lichtgrenze - or light border - traces the former wall as accurately as possible past landmarks such as Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and Checkpoint Charlie.

In a speech to Berliners and tourists, Mr Wowereit said the light installation offered "the possibility to tear down the wall for a second time."

"This time people from around the world will send off messages, which are fixed to the balloons, messages for peace and hope that all the walls in the world will fall, concrete walls and the walls in peoples heads," he said.

A museum dedicated to the Berlin Wall, which closed in October 2013, will reopen on Sunday to coincide with the anniversary.

Video: What Is Berlin Now?

The new Documentation Centre of the Berlin Wall Memorial shows 500 exhibits, photographs and videos illustrating Germany's separation from 1961 until 1989.

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1/15

1. Gallery: Berlin Wall Fall 25th Anniversary

   The installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) along a former Berlin Wall location is illuminated next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

People pass by a light installation of balloons tethered to lamps illuminating the course of the Berlin Wall

]]>

Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union (C), places his hands in wet cement attached to a section of the former Berlin Wall.

]]>

An impression of the hand of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is seen in cement.

]]>

Millions of people are expected to party on the streets of Berlin this weekend for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall.

Tourists from around the world are arriving in the city for a weekend of celebrations, including concerts, debates, firework displays and exhibitions. 

The weekend includes a "citizen's festival" with two million people expected to attend at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity.

Among the entertainment will be the Berlin State Orchestra, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, and East German rock band Silly.

British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel will perform the Wall anthem "Heroes", which David Bowie recorded when he lived in West Berlin.

Video: Sky Reports The Fall Of Berlin Wall

On Saturday, dignitaries will take part in several events to mark the fall of the wall on 9 November, 1989.

German chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to attend an evening memorial concert at Bertolt Brecht's historic Berliner Ensemble theatre.

The theatre stands opposite the former 'Palace of Tears', where Easterners said goodbye to visitors returning to West Germany.

Meanwhile, former Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev is expected to join former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher for a special debate.

1/55

1. Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell

   West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955

1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin

]]>

Border guards on opposite sides of the wall, viewed from the western side

]]>

They will discuss the legacy of unification, as well as renewed tensions between Russia and the West.

On Friday night, Mr Gorbachev spoke out about the renewed tensions at Berlin's former Checkpoint Charlie border crossing, an iconic Cold War site.

Referring to the crisis in Ukraine, the 83-year-old said: "We now have to watch out that we don't miss the right moment, that we get a grip on the tensions that have emerged recently." 

It was Mr Gorbachev's reforms, including a loosening of Soviet control over its former communist satellites, that led to events that brought the collapse of the Iron Curtain.

Video: Gorbachev's Interpreter On Wall

His policies of glasnost and perestroika (openness and restructuring), earned him admiration in the West and the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr Gorbachev, greeted with cheers at the Berlin event, was asked to place his hands into a wet plaster cast bolted onto an original piece of the Wall.

Earlier, Berlin's Mayor Klaus Wowereit illuminated a chain of balloons, placed on 8,000 lampposts along the route of the former wall.

The balloons will be released on Sunday, together with messages from the public describing memories of the wall.

Video: Sound And Vision: Berlin Wall Fall

The Lichtgrenze - or light border - traces the former wall as accurately as possible past landmarks such as Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and Checkpoint Charlie.

In a speech to Berliners and tourists, Mr Wowereit said the light installation offered "the possibility to tear down the wall for a second time."

"This time people from around the world will send off messages, which are fixed to the balloons, messages for peace and hope that all the walls in the world will fall, concrete walls and the walls in peoples heads," he said.

A museum dedicated to the Berlin Wall, which closed in October 2013, will reopen on Sunday to coincide with the anniversary.

Video: What Is Berlin Now?

The new Documentation Centre of the Berlin Wall Memorial shows 500 exhibits, photographs and videos illustrating Germany's separation from 1961 until 1989.

Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain

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4. Tower Poppy Display Sections To Stay On View
5. 'Gang Massacred' Missing Mexico Students

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jihadis Join Cruises To Get To Syria And Iraq

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Thousands of people have crossed into Syria to join Islamic State

Would-be jihadis are booking tickets on cruise ships in an attempt to reach Syria and Iraq without attracting the attention of Turkish security forces.

Interpol has urged screening to be improved at all transport hubs - "airports and, more and more, cruise lines" - to stop fighters reaching Turkey, from where thousands of foreigners seeking to join Islamic State have already crossed into Syria.

The warning came as US aircraft bombed militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the Ahrar al-Sham brigades in northern Syria.

US officials have said a Nusra Front cell is planning an attack against American interests. Initial reports suggested French-born bomb maker David Drugeon was among those hit and possibly killed in the airstrikes. 

Special teams have been set up at Turkish airports and bus stations to intercept foreign jihadis aiming to cross the long and porous border, according to local officials.

1/15

1. Gallery: The Battle Against IS In Syria

   Smoke rises above the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani during fighting - seen from the Turkish border town of Suruc

Syrian rebel fighters fire a heavy machinegun against IS positions from a location west of Kobani. A rebel flag covers the front of the truck

]]>

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An EA-18G Growler electronic warfare plane launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson as part of the US operation against IS militants

]]>

Hundreds have been deported in recent months, but the success means militants have begun looking for alternative ways to travel.

Pierre St Hilaire, director of counterterrorism at Interpol, told AP: "Because they know the airports are monitored more closely now, there's a use of cruise ships to travel to those areas.

"There is evidence that the individuals, especially in Europe, are travelling mostly to [the Turkish coastal town of] Izmit and other places to engage in this type of activity."

Video: IS Vows To Continue Kobani Fight

Cruise ships have only become a concern in the last three months, Interpol officials added.

"Originally, our concern about people on cruise ships - dangerous people on cruise ships - really focused on the classic sort of rapist, burglar or violent criminal," Ronald Noble, head of the international policing body, said in Monaco.

"But as we've gathered data, we've realised that there are more and more reports that people are using cruise ships in order to get to launch pads, if you will - sort of closer to the conflict zones - of Syria and Iraq."

Video: Jihadis' Father Tells Of Grief

The repeated stops cruise ships often make offer would-be jihadis the opportunity to leave the vessel at a number of ports, making them more difficult to track.

Video: People Smugglers Profit In Syria

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

Thousands of people have crossed into Syria to join Islamic State

Would-be jihadis are booking tickets on cruise ships in an attempt to reach Syria and Iraq without attracting the attention of Turkish security forces.

Interpol has urged screening to be improved at all transport hubs - "airports and, more and more, cruise lines" - to stop fighters reaching Turkey, from where thousands of foreigners seeking to join Islamic State have already crossed into Syria.

The warning came as US aircraft bombed militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the Ahrar al-Sham brigades in northern Syria.

US officials have said a Nusra Front cell is planning an attack against American interests. Initial reports suggested French-born bomb maker David Drugeon was among those hit and possibly killed in the airstrikes. 

Special teams have been set up at Turkish airports and bus stations to intercept foreign jihadis aiming to cross the long and porous border, according to local officials.

1/15

1. Gallery: The Battle Against IS In Syria

   Smoke rises above the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani during fighting - seen from the Turkish border town of Suruc

Syrian rebel fighters fire a heavy machinegun against IS positions from a location west of Kobani. A rebel flag covers the front of the truck

]]>

]]>

An EA-18G Growler electronic warfare plane launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson as part of the US operation against IS militants

]]>

Hundreds have been deported in recent months, but the success means militants have begun looking for alternative ways to travel.

Pierre St Hilaire, director of counterterrorism at Interpol, told AP: "Because they know the airports are monitored more closely now, there's a use of cruise ships to travel to those areas.

"There is evidence that the individuals, especially in Europe, are travelling mostly to [the Turkish coastal town of] Izmit and other places to engage in this type of activity."

Video: IS Vows To Continue Kobani Fight

Cruise ships have only become a concern in the last three months, Interpol officials added.

"Originally, our concern about people on cruise ships - dangerous people on cruise ships - really focused on the classic sort of rapist, burglar or violent criminal," Ronald Noble, head of the international policing body, said in Monaco.

"But as we've gathered data, we've realised that there are more and more reports that people are using cruise ships in order to get to launch pads, if you will - sort of closer to the conflict zones - of Syria and Iraq."

Video: Jihadis' Father Tells Of Grief

The repeated stops cruise ships often make offer would-be jihadis the opportunity to leave the vessel at a number of ports, making them more difficult to track.

Video: People Smugglers Profit In Syria

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

US General Backs Israel's Tactics In Gaza War

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter

The most senior military official in the US has backed Israel's "knock on the roof" warning tactic, used during this summer's war in Gaza.

Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said the technique of dropping a low-explosive shell on residential buildings as a warning prior to a full airstrike was an example of Israeli efforts to limit civilian casualties.

Made during a speaking event at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs in New York, his comments follow Amnesty International's recent criticism of Israel's targeting of buildings in Gaza, which led to a significant number of civilian deaths.

General Dempsey said the underground tunnel networks used by militant groups in Gaza "caused the IDF some significant challenges", but said that in his opinion Israelis "did some extraordinary things to limit civilian casualties".

He also confirmed that the US had sent a team from the Defence Department to Israel in recent months to see what military lessons could be learned from Operation Protective Edge - the 50-day war in Gaza that raged in July and August this year.

UN figures suggest that of the 2,192 Palestinians killed, at least 1,523 were civilians.

John Kerry appeared to criticise Israel's actions in Shaja'iya, Gaza

In September, a report by Human Rights Watch described Israel's strikes around three United Nations schools in Gaza as "war crimes".

An Amnesty International report this week examined eight incidents in which a total of 111 people were killed, of whom at least 104 were civilians, including 66 children.

1/16

1. Gallery: Daily Life Among The Ruins Of Gaza

   A Palestinian woman hangs laundry on a rope outside her house that witnesses said was damaged by Israeli shelling during the most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the east of Gaza City

Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed in August to a ceasefire aimed at ending a weeks-old conflict which left more than 2,100 Palestinians and scores of Israelis dead. The first torrential downpour of an approaching winter has soaked the Gaza Strip, compounding the difficulties of thousands of Palestinians who scrambled to patch homes wrecked during the conflict

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Uruguay President Offered $1m For VW Beetle

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Video: Uruguay President's Beetle For Sale

Uruguay's president has revealed he was offered a million dollars for his blue 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.

The car has become a symbol of the Jose Mujica's austere lifestyle.

Mr Mujica, the man once nicknamed "the poorest president in the world", told a local publication that an Arab sheik had offered to pay $1m (£631,000) for the humble car.

The offer followed the Mexico's ambassador to Uruguay suggestion that Mr Mujica auction the Beetle in Mexico, predicting he could get 10 four-wheel-drive trucks for it.

Mr Mujica, who famously owns a three-legged dog, Manuela, said any money he received for the car would be donated to a programme he supports providing housing for the homeless.

The leader, who swears by vegetarianism, at his farmhouse

The former leftist Tupamaro guerrilla leader said that if he bought trucks for it, they could go to Uruguay's public health office or his campaign workers.

The South American country's citizens have been amused by the idea.

1/18

1. Gallery: Meet 'The World's Poorest President'

   Dubbed the "world's poorest president", Uruguay's President Jose Mujica has been offered $1m for his 27-year-old Volkswagen Beetle

The 79-year-old says he will donate any money he receives to an organisation that provides housing for homeless people

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A former urban guerrilla fighter with left-wing movement Tupamaros, he lives on a flower farm, where he is pictured here, in 2004

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Here he is in the month before his election as leader, on his farm on the outskirts of Montevideo

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One Montevideo resident said: "It's like Hitler's car. I remember people were looking for it and wanted to give millions for it. Since this one has a history, its value goes up."

Another admitted he was surprised by the figure: "To tell the truth at first I thought it was funny. Because to offer so much money for a Beetle, but if they have it, they have millions.

"I do not think he needs it, but if he wants to sell it and the car is on sale, let him take advantage of it. He'll have the money."

Mr Mujica became famous across the world when he assumed Uruguay's presidency in 2010 and declared that his entire wealth amounted to the 1987 Beetle.

The ramshackle farm he lives on was in his wife's name, he explained.

Since then, in his official declarations of wealth, he has included the farm and his earnings of around $11,000 (£7,000) a month as president, of which he donates 20% to his political movement.

Earlier this year, he put his total wealth at $323,000 (£204,000) with the flower farm reportedly worth $108,000 (£68,000).

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Video: Uruguay President's Beetle For Sale

Uruguay's president has revealed he was offered a million dollars for his blue 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.

The car has become a symbol of the Jose Mujica's austere lifestyle.

Mr Mujica, the man once nicknamed "the poorest president in the world", told a local publication that an Arab sheik had offered to pay $1m (£631,000) for the humble car.

The offer followed the Mexico's ambassador to Uruguay suggestion that Mr Mujica auction the Beetle in Mexico, predicting he could get 10 four-wheel-drive trucks for it.

Mr Mujica, who famously owns a three-legged dog, Manuela, said any money he received for the car would be donated to a programme he supports providing housing for the homeless.

The leader, who swears by vegetarianism, at his farmhouse

The former leftist Tupamaro guerrilla leader said that if he bought trucks for it, they could go to Uruguay's public health office or his campaign workers.

The South American country's citizens have been amused by the idea.

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1. Gallery: Meet 'The World's Poorest President'

   Dubbed the "world's poorest president", Uruguay's President Jose Mujica has been offered $1m for his 27-year-old Volkswagen Beetle

The 79-year-old says he will donate any money he receives to an organisation that provides housing for homeless people

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A former urban guerrilla fighter with left-wing movement Tupamaros, he lives on a flower farm, where he is pictured here, in 2004

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Here he is in the month before his election as leader, on his farm on the outskirts of Montevideo

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One Montevideo resident said: "It's like Hitler's car. I remember people were looking for it and wanted to give millions for it. Since this one has a history, its value goes up."

Another admitted he was surprised by the figure: "To tell the truth at first I thought it was funny. Because to offer so much money for a Beetle, but if they have it, they have millions.

"I do not think he needs it, but if he wants to sell it and the car is on sale, let him take advantage of it. He'll have the money."

Mr Mujica became famous across the world when he assumed Uruguay's presidency in 2010 and declared that his entire wealth amounted to the 1987 Beetle.

The ramshackle farm he lives on was in his wife's name, he explained.

Since then, in his official declarations of wealth, he has included the farm and his earnings of around $11,000 (£7,000) a month as president, of which he donates 20% to his political movement.

Earlier this year, he put his total wealth at $323,000 (£204,000) with the flower farm reportedly worth $108,000 (£68,000).

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5. Breaking News: Russia Sends Dozens Of Tanks Into Ukraine

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dozens Of Tanks Enter Ukraine From Russia

NATO sources have confirmed the Russian military invasion of Ukraine after a column of 32 tanks entered the country from Russia.

The convoy made up of 32 tanks, 16 howitzer cannons and 30 trucks of troops and equipment crossed the border into the rebel-controlled Luhansk region.

"The deployment continues of military equipment and Russian mercenaries to the front lines," Ukraine's military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a televised briefing.

The news sparked panic in Russia's currency market, with the euro reaching the 60 ruble mark for the first time, in a year when it has lost more than a third of its value against the US dollar.

A truce had been signed between the Russians and Ukraine on 5 September, a sign of hope in the conflict, which has claimed more than 4,000 lives.

But that ceasefire has looked increasingly fragile over the past week, with each side accusing the other of breaching it and the pro-Russian side holding its own controversial election last Sunday.

On Thursday tensions were further heightened when five Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 16 injured in fighting.

Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said that Russia was committed to the two-month-old Minsk agreement on ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and wanted to build on peace talks.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is due to meet with a number of world leaders next week, including UK Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande, Mr Ushakov said.

He will also meet with International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde during an Asia-Pacific summit in Beijing on 10 and 11 November.

More follows...

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Navy SEAL Who Killed Bin Laden Is Revealed

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Video: Ben Laden's Killer Reveals Himself

By Sky News US Team

The former Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama bin Laden has been identified for the first time as Rob O'Neill.

The revelation in the Mail Online came ahead of a Fox News interview in which Mr O'Neill is expected to discuss the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the terror mastermind was killed.

The website described Mr O'Neill, 38, as a veteran Navy SEAL who had concluded several tours of duty, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Osama bin Laden was tracked down in Pakistan and killed on 2 May 2011

He earned two Silver Stars and four Bronze Stars with Combat "V" among other decorations, the report said. He left the service after 16 years.

His decision to come out as the killer of al Qaeda leader bin Laden was made in part because he lost some military benefits, having left the SEALs before a full 20 years of service, according to the report.

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1. Gallery: Bin Laden's Hideout From Air And Ground

   This aerial view of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad shows the area (highlighted) before the building was built in 2004 and then again in 2011.

This photograph was taken in 2005. It is believed bin Laden could have lived in the compound for up to six years before he was finally tracked down by the CIA last August.

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The location of the heavily fortifed villa, located just a few miles from the capital Islamabad, has raised questions about how Pakistani intelligence agents failed to detect the world's most wanted man.

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This illustration shows the high walls surrounding the house and the area where all of the property's rubbish was burnt.

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He did so fully aware of the risks he faced.

"People are asking if we are worried that ISIS will come and get us because Rob is going public," his father, Tom O'Neill, told the Mail Online.

"I say I'll paint a big target on my front door and say 'come and get us'."

Video: May 2011: 'Bin Laden Is Dead'

Mr O'Neill had already spoken to Esquire magazine in a piece published last year, but his identity had not been revealed and he had been identified only as "The Shooter".

In that interview, he said he had joined the US Navy at the age of 19 following a heartbreak. He described the top secret lead-up to the raid, his training and finally the mission.

"I'm not religious, but I always felt I was put on the Earth to do something specific. After that mission, I knew what it was," he told Esquire.

1/6

1. Gallery: Seals Shirt From Bin Laden Raid Displayed

   The shirt a Navy Seal wore in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden is being displayed at the September 11 museum. Pic: 9/11 Memorial/Jin Lee

The shirt was among items that went on display just days before the anniversary of the 2001 attack. Pic: 9/11 Memorial/Jin Lee

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US Navy SEALs, both on active duty and retired, possess highly sensitive information about tactics and techniques that are central to the success of their secret and often dangerous missions overseas.

That is why they are obliged to sign non-disclosure agreements when they enter service and when they leave.

Another member of the team, Matt Bissonnette, who wrote a first-hand account called No Easy Day under the pseudonym Mark Owen, is under criminal investigation.

Video: On 9/11 Eve, Clinton Rued Bin Laden

He is suing his ex-lawyers for allegedly giving him bad advice.

The Fox News documentary is scheduled to air this month.

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

Video: Ben Laden's Killer Reveals Himself

By Sky News US Team

The former Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama bin Laden has been identified for the first time as Rob O'Neill.

The revelation in the Mail Online came ahead of a Fox News interview in which Mr O'Neill is expected to discuss the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the terror mastermind was killed.

The website described Mr O'Neill, 38, as a veteran Navy SEAL who had concluded several tours of duty, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Osama bin Laden was tracked down in Pakistan and killed on 2 May 2011

He earned two Silver Stars and four Bronze Stars with Combat "V" among other decorations, the report said. He left the service after 16 years.

His decision to come out as the killer of al Qaeda leader bin Laden was made in part because he lost some military benefits, having left the SEALs before a full 20 years of service, according to the report.

1/10

1. Gallery: Bin Laden's Hideout From Air And Ground

   This aerial view of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad shows the area (highlighted) before the building was built in 2004 and then again in 2011.

This photograph was taken in 2005. It is believed bin Laden could have lived in the compound for up to six years before he was finally tracked down by the CIA last August.

]]>

The location of the heavily fortifed villa, located just a few miles from the capital Islamabad, has raised questions about how Pakistani intelligence agents failed to detect the world's most wanted man.

]]>

This illustration shows the high walls surrounding the house and the area where all of the property's rubbish was burnt.

]]>

He did so fully aware of the risks he faced.

"People are asking if we are worried that ISIS will come and get us because Rob is going public," his father, Tom O'Neill, told the Mail Online.

"I say I'll paint a big target on my front door and say 'come and get us'."

Video: May 2011: 'Bin Laden Is Dead'

Mr O'Neill had already spoken to Esquire magazine in a piece published last year, but his identity had not been revealed and he had been identified only as "The Shooter".

In that interview, he said he had joined the US Navy at the age of 19 following a heartbreak. He described the top secret lead-up to the raid, his training and finally the mission.

"I'm not religious, but I always felt I was put on the Earth to do something specific. After that mission, I knew what it was," he told Esquire.

1/6

1. Gallery: Seals Shirt From Bin Laden Raid Displayed

   The shirt a Navy Seal wore in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden is being displayed at the September 11 museum. Pic: 9/11 Memorial/Jin Lee

The shirt was among items that went on display just days before the anniversary of the 2001 attack. Pic: 9/11 Memorial/Jin Lee

]]>

US Navy SEALs, both on active duty and retired, possess highly sensitive information about tactics and techniques that are central to the success of their secret and often dangerous missions overseas.

That is why they are obliged to sign non-disclosure agreements when they enter service and when they leave.

Another member of the team, Matt Bissonnette, who wrote a first-hand account called No Easy Day under the pseudonym Mark Owen, is under criminal investigation.

Video: On 9/11 Eve, Clinton Rued Bin Laden

He is suing his ex-lawyers for allegedly giving him bad advice.

The Fox News documentary is scheduled to air this month.

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2. Petrol Price Cuts Demanded By Treasury
3. Bakery Faces Legal Action Over Gay Rights Cake
4. Cameron: I Want To See British-Asian PM
5. AC/DC Drummer Rudd Charged Over Murder Plot

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

WireLurker Malware Infects Apple Devices

Apple devices are coming under attack from malware known as WireLurker - which collects call logs, phone book contacts and other sensitive information.

Researchers at Palo Alto Network say more than 450 Mac OS X applications offered on a Chinese third-party application store called Maiyadi have been seeded with WireLurker.

The apps affected include Pro Evolution Soccer 2014, The Sims 3 and International Snooker 2012.

The affected apps have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times over the last six months, the firm said, and hundreds of thousands of users may have been affected.

The network's intelligence director Ryan Olson said the malware appears to be an "information gathering operation".

Once an iOS device was connected to an infected Mac using a USB cable, the WireLurker malware would check for security vulnerabilities and attempt to install itself on the phone or iPad.

Palo Alto has contacted Apple to make it aware of the vulnerability.

Apple said in a statement: "We are aware of malicious software available from a download site aimed at users in China, and we've blocked the identified apps to prevent them from launching. As always, we recommend that users download and install software from trusted sources."

Last month Apple's iCloud storage service in China was attacked by hackers who tried to steal user information.

The Chinese government denied claims it was behind the attack.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More