Weekend

IAF attacks terror targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire

Sderot residents report on a series of explosions that caused panic in the city; earlier, rocket hits open field in Hof Ashkelon Regional Council.
The Israel Air Force attacked terror targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday night in response to a rocket fired earlier towards the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. The rocket fell in an open field. No one was hurt from the rocket fire and no damage was caused.

Sderot residents reported to Ynet via the red mail on a series of explosions that caused panic in the southern city.

Palestinian sources in the Strip said the airstrike's target was in the northern Gaza Strip, likely a rocket launching pit. No injuries

were reported by the power was cut in the buildings near the target.
This was the fifth rocket fired since Thursday. An IAF fighter jet attacked five terror targets in the Strip on the night netween Thursday and Friday, following three rockets that were fired towards the Israeli south. The IDF said all targets were hit - four of them in the north of the Strip and one in its center.

According to Palestinian sources, several of this airstrike's targets were in Gaza City and some in the the northern Strip. Some of the targets were launching pits which others were outposts of Hamas' military wing.

At least 20 Iraqi soldiers killed in attacks

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - At least 20 Iraqi soldiers were killed on Saturday, most of them upon entering a house rigged with explosives northwest of the capital, security officials said.

Militants last week overran the house in the town of Garma, 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Baghdad, which had previously been used as an army post, officials said.

The army moved in on Saturday morning after militants retreated, but when they entered the house, a powerful blast tore through the building, two security officials said.

The identity of the attackers was not clear, but Sunni Islamist insurgents are regaining ground in Iraq and have taken over several towns and cities since the start of the year, including Falluja, around 70 km (44 miles) from Baghdad.

Ongoing violence has raised doubts parliamentary elections can be held nationwide later this month as intended.

Also in Garma, two government-backed Sunni militia fighters were killed when a mortar hit their post, security officials said.

Separately, three soldiers were killed and six wounded when a roadside bomb struck their patrol in Mishahda to the north of Baghdad, police and medical sources said.

An army colonel and three soldiers were also killed in an attack on their patrol in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad.

Of the 592 Iraqis killed in acts of violence in March, 108 were members of the security forces, according to figures published by the United Nations.

Afghanistan Presidential Election: High Turnout Amid Threats Of Violence

KABUL/KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 5 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's presidential election drew to a close on Saturday amid relief that attacks by Taliban fighters were fewer than feared for a vote that will bring the first-ever democratic transfer of power in a country plagued by conflict for decades.

"I congratulate all Afghans for this successful and historic election," said Election Secretary Zia-ur-Rahman, as counting got underway. "People participated beyond our expectations."

Due to Afghanistan's rugged terrain it will take six weeks for results to come in and a final result to be declared in the race to succeed President Hamid Karzai. Even then one of the eight candidates will have to score over 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off with his nearest rival.

Despite the Taliban threat, turnout was seven million out of 12 million eligible voters, or about 58 percent, according to preliminary estimates, election commission chief Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani said. That was well above the 4.5 million who voted at the last election in 2009, as voters refused to be cowed by the militants.

"I am here to vote and I am not afraid of any attacks," said Haji Ramazan as he stood in line at a polling station in rain-drenched Kabul. "This is my right, and no one can stop me."

 Crowd attacks Ebola treatment center in Guinea

CONAKRY, Guinea –  A crowd angry about an Ebola outbreak that has killed 86 people across Guinea attacked a center where victims were being held in isolation, prompting an international aid group to temporarily evacuate its team, officials said Saturday.
The violence took place in the southern town of Macenta, where at least 14 people have died since the outbreak emerged last month. The mob who descended upon the clinic accused Doctors Without Borders health workers of bringing Ebola to Guinea, where there had never previously been any cases.
Some young people threw rocks at the aid workers, though no one was seriously hurt, said Sam Taylor, a spokesman for Doctors Without Borders.
"We understand very well that people are afraid because it is a new disease here," Taylor said. "But these are not favorable working conditions so we are suspending our activities."
Patients are continuing to receive treatment from Guinean health ministry personnel, Taylor said.

Japan Ready To Intercept North Korean Missiles

Japan to strike if fears missile might hit its territory

* Aegis carrier ordered to prepare intercept
* Fresh tensions come amid sabre-rattling, renewed talks (Adds conditions that would prompt intercept; recent developments)
TOKYO, April 5 (Reuters) - Japan will strike any North Korean ballistic missile that threatens to hit Japan in the coming weeks after Pyongyang recently fired medium-range missiles, a government source said on Saturday.
Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera issued the order, which took effect on Thursday and runs through April 25, the day that marks the founding of North Korea's army, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Following the order, meant "to prepare for any additional missile launches," a destroyer was dispatched to the Sea of Japan and will fire if North Korea launches a missile that Tokyo deems in danger of striking or falling on Japanese territory, the source said.
Tensions have been building between North Korea and its neighbours since Pyongyang - in an apparent show of defiance - fired two Rodong missiles on March 26, just as the leaders of Japan, South Korea and the United States were sitting down to discuss containing the North Korean nuclear threat.

23 killed in feud between families in south Egypt

LUXOR: A bloody feud in southern Egypt between an Arab

clan and a Nubian family killed at least 23 people in two  

days of fighting, leaving bodies strewn on hospital floors and homes torched in its wake, government officials and witnesses said Saturday. An Interior Ministry statement said the fighting in Aswan province erupted over the harassment of a girl and students from the two sides later spray offensive graffiti at local school.

Vendetta killings are common in southern Egypt, where perceived violations of honor often spark violence, but this violence apparently raged while security forces did nothing to stop it. Nubian students´ graffiti accused members of the Arab Haleyla clan of working for the former governments of ousted President Hosni Mubarak and overthrown Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, witnesses said.

They said offensive graffiti sprayed earlier this week on the school wall accused the Nubians of backing the military after a community delegation met former military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. El-Sissi, who led the military overthrow of Morsi, is now running for president.

A security official also said tensions come from accusations that some Arab Heleyla members take part in an arm and drugs smuggling ring. Aswan is a way station for a smuggling ring from Sudan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn´t authorized to speak to journalists.

  A Nubian resident who asked not to use his name for fear of retribution said he locked himself and his family inside their house, fearing revenge attacks. He said two members of his family were killed in the fighting."There is terror now in the area," he said. "At the outset, we´d call the police and they tell us, ´You work it out.

´"Footage from the area on social media that appeared consistent with Associated Press reporting showed school children pelting a rival group, despite the presence of an armored police vehicle before the bloodshed/

$1.5M Hotel Bill for President Obama’s One-Day Visit to Brussels

In late March, President Obama took a week-long trip through Europe which included a stop of less than 24 hours in Brussels, Belgium for meetings with the European Union and NATO. The president stayed at The Hotel, a twenty-seven story hotel in the center of the city. The estimated cost for the president’s stay, including about two weeks for an advance team, was $1,522,646.36.


 Mitt Romney Says Obama Has “Faulty Judgment”

A quick comparison between the two candidates for president and 2012 and their statements and predictions about geopolitical affairs will inevitably lead to the conclusion that one was right about just about everything and the other was wrong about just about everything.
Mitt Romney correctly stated that Russia is our greatest geopolitical foe and was mocked for it by Obama.  He was right in 2012, but in 2014 events have shown that he was more correct than we thought at the time, as even liberals are admitting.  Perhaps Obama would be more informed about world affairs if he didn’t skip so many national security staff meetings.
Since the election, Mitt Romney has been a vocal critic of the president, going after him for his “failed leadership” and “naivete” on Russia and his getting outperformed by Putin on the world stage.  He recently said that Obama showed “faulty judgment” by failing to analyze the situation with Russia correctly.

Poll: Sarah Palin tops list of women Americans want to run for president

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the darling of the Tea Party movement, tops a new list of women other than Hillary Clinton who Americans want to run for president.
A series of Economist/YouGov polls, wrapped up in an article released this week, found overwhelming support for women candidates and a woman president, and has Palin on top of eight women most often mentioned by voters as their top choice to run.
Because Clinton is the runaway favorite potential woman candidate in a number of polls, the Economist/YouGov poll asked this question: “Other than Hillary Clinton, is their any other woman you would want to run for president either in 2016 or 2020?”

Muslim Brotherhood mobilizes to elect Democrats

The terrorist front group known as "The Muslim Brotherhood," which has relentlessly infiltrated every level of Obama's incredibly treasonous administration (see here, here, here, here, here, and here) has set the stage for the creation of an official U.S. political party with the stated goal of mobilizing and uniting Muslim voters against American interests. The idea, according to Nihad Awad, of the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations, is to turn Sharia-supporting Islamists in the US into critical "swing voters in 2016" and beyond.

The terrorist front group known as "The Muslim Brotherhood," which has relentlessly infiltrated every level of Obama's incredibly treasonous administration (see here, here, here, here, here, and here) has set the stage for the creation of an official U.S. political party with the stated goal of mobilizing and uniting Muslim voters against American interests. The idea, according to Nihad Awad, of the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations, is to turn Sharia-supporting Islamists in the US into critical "swing voters in 2016" and beyond.

Series of small earthquakes rock Oklahoma in record seismic activity

(Reuters) - Earthquakes rattled residents in Oklahoma on Saturday, the latest in a series that have put the state on track for record quake activity this year, which some seismologists say may be tied to oil and gas exploration.

One earthquake recorded at 3.8 magnitude by the U.S. Geological Survey rocked houses in several communities around central Oklahoma at 7:42 a.m. local time. Another about two hours earlier in the same part of the state, north of Oklahoma City, was recorded at 2.9 magnitude, USGS said.

Those two were preceded by two more, at 2.6 magnitude, and 2.5 magnitude, that also rolled the landscape in central Oklahoma early Saturday morning. A 3.0 magnitude tremor struck late Friday night in that area as well, following a 3.4 magnitude hit Friday afternoon.

Austin Holland, a seismologist with the Oklahoma Geological Survey who tracks earthquake activity for the USGS, said the earthquake activity in the state is soaring.

"We have had almost as many magnitude 3 and greater already in 2014 than we did for all of 2013," Holland said.

Last year's number of "felt" earthquakes - those strong enough to rattle items on a shelf - hit a record 222 in the state. This year, less than four months into the year, the state has recorded 253 such tremors, according to state seismic data.

"We have already crushed last year's record for number of earthquakes," Holland said.
Most earthquakes occur naturally. But scientists have long linked some small earthquakes to oil and gas work underground, which can alter pressure points and cause shifts in the earth.
Oil and gas exploration has increased in recent years across the country, spurred by U.S. efforts for energy independence. Modern hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is one particularly controversial technique.
For bigger quakes, so far this year the state has recorded 106 at 3.0 magnitude and above, according to Holland. For all of last year the state had 109 at 3.0 and above.
In November 2011, Oklahoma suffered a 5.6 magnitude quake that damaged more than a dozen homes and several businesses.

Wastewater disposal related to the fracking is suspected by many scientists to contribute to the earthquake activity. Millions of gallons of wastewater are typically trucked from a fracking site to wells where the water is injected thousands of feet underground into porous rock layers. That work, if done near a fault, can trigger larger quakes, according to several recent scientific studies.

Oklahoma recorded 278 earthquakes from 2008 through 2013 that have registered on the Richter scale at a magnitude of 3.0 or greater, a level that can shake objects inside a home.

Before that, from 1975-2008, the state on average recorded less than six earthquakes a year.

U.S. Navy testing more sophisticated pilotless helicopters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The helicopter kicked up a cloud of freshly fallen snow that partly obscured the ground below, but despite the poor visibility, it gently touched down in a landing that was unremarkable except for the fact no one was at the controls.
The helicopter, filmed during testing by the Naval Research Laboratory, was piloted by a 100-pound (45-kg) sensor and software package that officials said can turn any rotary-winged aircraft into a virtually autonomous drone able to fly with minimal input from the Marine Corps troops it was designed to serve.

Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, chief of Naval Research, said the sensor and software pack is "truly leap-ahead technology" that will let a Marine with no flight experience issue landing instructions to a cargo helicopter via tablet computer after just a few minutes of training.

Klunder, who will preview the technology for industry and military leaders at a conference in Washington on Tuesday, said the aim of the project was to give troops a simple tool for battlefield resupply, reducing the casualties inherent in using ground convoys to deliver food, water and weapons.

An Army study of data from 2003 to 2007 showed that one person was killed or wounded for every 24 fuel resupply convoys in Afghanistan and one was killed or wounded for every 29 water resupply convoys.
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Kathleen Wynne sues Tim Hudak, MPP Lisa MacLeod and PC party

Premier Kathleen Wynne is following through with a threat to sue Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak ‎for saying she "oversaw and possibly ordered the criminal destruction of documents."

A notice of libel was sent to Hudak, his party and MPP Lisa MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton) Friday afternoon after their refusal to back down from the controversial comments about deleted emails in the $1.1-billion gas plants scandal as requested by the premier last Sunday, Wynne's office said.

"Premier Wynne gave the opportunity for Mr. Hudak to pull back from his statements. Unfortunately, he did not," Wynne spokeswoman Zita Astravas said Friday night.

Despite the notice of libel, the premier's office was unable to disclose what damages are being sought, if any, in the legal action being quarterbacked by Mark Freiman — a former deputy attorney general — now with the law firm Lerners LLP.

Wynne was attending the Blue Jays home opener Friday night.

‎Hudak's office had no comment but MacLeod, who was also critical of Wynne, tweeted, "Oh dear."

Earlier this week, MacLeod said, "I won't be muzzled, nor will my leader" in criticism over the bombshell revelation that Ontario Provincial Police are investigating former premier Dalton McGuinty's deputy chief of staff, David Livingston, for breach of trust in the alleged wiping of computer hard drives to delete politically sensitive documents.

Livingston, through his lawyer, has denied any wrongdoing.

Police have not disclosed any evidence hard drives were wiped under Wynne's premiership but are doing a forensic examination of computers seized from the premier's office from the time of the McGuinty-Wynne transition.

Police have said Wynne herself is not a suspect.

Province cancels Redford security contract with Calgary Police

With the departure of Alison Redford from the premier’s office, city police are no longer providing security for the premier within Calgary.
Alberta sheriffs have traditionally provided the security detail for Alberta’s premiers throughout the province.
But in early 2013, the Calgary Police Service was approached by Redford’s office to provide ongoing protection in the city.
Premier Dave Hancock — who took over for Redford after her recent resignation — confirmed Friday that the contract with Calgary police has been cancelled and the sheriffs were once again on the job.
He did not provide a reason and declined to say why Calgary cops had begun providing security for Redford in the first place.
“I can tell you this, decisions about security are made by security,” Hancock said in a news conference announcing funding for victims services organizations.
The cost of paying Calgary police to provide security for Redford has not been provided.

Woman shot dead in Lachine was a wanted drug ‘queen-pin’ in U.S.

MONTREAL — The woman found shot in the head on a street in Lachine last month has finally been identified as an American wanted on drug and money-laundering charges.
Elizabeth Barrer, 32, was found slumped in the passenger seat of a rented Nissan at 10:10 p.m. on March 19, on du Pacific Ave., in the former Ville St-Pierre area of Lachine. She was taken to a hospital, where she died a short while later.
She had no valid identification papers with her at the time of her death and the car had been rented under another name, adding to the difficulty of figuring out who she was.
Barrer had been wanted for at least seven years in Spotsylvania County, Va., for drug trafficking and distribution.
"Yes, I can confirm that it (the body found in Lachine) is the same person we had opened an investigation on" in 2007, captain Jeff Pearce of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office said on Friday, when asked whether he could confirm the body found in Lachine on March 19 is Barrer.
"We are collaborating with Canadian authorities and the U.S. Marshals Service, but we are not releasing any additional information," he said.
He confirmed that Barrer was wanted on narcotics-related charges and that the case is being handled by the county's special investigations unit.
The circumstances surrounding Barrer's death have sparked a new joint investigation involving Spotsylvania investigators, the U.S. Marshals Service and Montreal police, he said.

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