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| Sunday October 5th 2014 |
Pakistan Taliban vow support for IS in Syria and Iraq
The Pakistani Taliban have expressed their support for Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria and Iraq.
In a statement marking the Muslim festival of Eid, the group
appealed to Islamists there to unite against the "enemy" - the US-led
alliance. IS has taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq, but has also been battling al-Qaeda-linked rival militant groups.
The Pakistani Taliban has been waging its own insurgency against the Islamabad government since 1997.
'Forget rivalries' Saturday's statement was issued by the leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Maulana Fazlullah, sent by his spokesman.
Addressing IS in Syria and Iraq, he said: "We are proud of your conquests against the enemies. We are with you in good and bad times."
"In these troubled days, we call on you to be patient and stay united as your enemies are now united against you. Forget rivalries."
The statement said the global Muslim community would "stand by you in these tough times and help with what we can".
The BBC's Shaimaa Khalil in Islamabad says there has been little evidence so far of an agreement between IS and the Pakistani Taliban.
But recently, our correspondent adds, supporters of IS have been spotted in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar distributing pamphlets praising the group.
Israeli troops open fire at suspected infiltrators from Lebanon, forcing suspects to flee back
JERUSALEM – The Israeli military
says troops have opened fire at a number of suspects who crossed into
Israeli-controlled territory from neighboring Lebanon.
The army says the suspects fled back into Lebanon after Sunday's shooting, and the incident is being investigated.
The army did not say whether the suspects were militants or civilians, or where exactly the incident occurred.
Israel fought Hezbollah militants during a monthlong war in 2006. Since then, the sides have observed a truce, though smaller militant groups have occasionally fired rockets into Israel.
Yet despite their pressing needs, reconstruction efforts appear stymied by a continued Israeli-Egyptian border blockade of Gaza and an unresolved power struggle between the Islamic militant group Hamas and Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Those
involved in rebuilding say the post-war paralysis finally will come to
an end next week, with an international pledging conference in Cairo.
There, Abbas is to ask for $4 billion for Gaza, including for the
rebuilding or repair of more than 60,000 homes and 5,000 businesses.
Once the money is raised, a United Nations deal is to ensure that large amounts of building materials get into Gaza, despite the blockade. Under the arrangement, Israel would gradually ease restrictions, while Abbas — who lost Gaza to Hamas in 2007 — is to regain some control there and make sure cement and steel meant for reconstruction aren't diverted.
But James Rawley, a senior U.N. official involved in the reconstruction, acknowledged the deal is fragile.
In a statement Saturday night, the Foreign Office identified the former hostage as David Bolam, a teacher at the Benghazi European School, and described him as "safe and well after his ordeal" and was with his family in an undisclosed location. It says his abduction had been kept secret for his own security.
The Foreign Office declined to provide other details on Bolam's background, captivity or release and said his family wants to protect their privacy. His LinkedIn profile indicates he was the director of the Benghazi school.
An air campaign alone against forces from Islamic State (Isis) in
Iraq and Syria will not succeed, the former chief of the defence staff
General Sir David Richards has said as he called for “western boots on
the ground” to be deployed in a supporting role.
As Nick Clegg confirmed that the Liberal Democrats were resisting Tory pressure to allow RAF Tornados to attack Isis targets in Syria, Richards said he feared that some leaders were failing to appreciate the scale of the challenge.
Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 after the beheading of the British charity worker Alan Henning, Richards said it was a “no brainer” for Britain to be involved in the air campaign against Isis targets in Syria.
But he added: “Air power alone will not win a campaign like this. It isn’t actually a counter-terrorist operation. This is a conventional enemy in that it has armour, tanks, artillery, it is quite wealthy, it holds ground and it is going to fight. So therefore you have to view it as a conventional military campaign.”
Richards said Isis would only be defeated by a ground operation, with western forces playing at least a supportive role. He said: “You either have to put your own boots on the ground at some point or else you have to very energetically and aggressively train up those who will do that with us and for us. My worry at the moment is that the scale of the challenge isn’t being met by the right scale of response.
“What we should be able to see is in the first part of the strategy we will contain Isis. They shouldn’t get any bigger. But then we have got to start doing the much more difficult thing which is attacking them and then eventually defeating them. This will take a lot of planning, a lot of logistics, outstanding command and control, and then we can get on and probably do it.
A BBC correspondent in the area says the fighting is the worst this week.
US-led forces have been conducting air strikes on IS positions to try to slow their advance.
Activists from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several fresh strikes had been carried out in the area late on Saturday.
The strikes appeared to have slowed the IS advance, although the jihadists had captured part of a strategically important hill which would make it easier to take the town itself, the activists added.
The army says the suspects fled back into Lebanon after Sunday's shooting, and the incident is being investigated.
Israel fought Hezbollah militants during a monthlong war in 2006. Since then, the sides have observed a truce, though smaller militant groups have occasionally fired rockets into Israel.
Steepest cost in $4 billion plan to rebuild Gaza Strip likely political will to make it happen
KHUZAA, Gaza Strip – More than five weeks after the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, tens of thousands of people whose homes were destroyed or badly damaged in the fighting still live in classrooms, storefronts and other crowded shelters. In some of the hardest-hit areas, the displaced have pitched tents next to the debris that once was their homes.Yet despite their pressing needs, reconstruction efforts appear stymied by a continued Israeli-Egyptian border blockade of Gaza and an unresolved power struggle between the Islamic militant group Hamas and Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Once the money is raised, a United Nations deal is to ensure that large amounts of building materials get into Gaza, despite the blockade. Under the arrangement, Israel would gradually ease restrictions, while Abbas — who lost Gaza to Hamas in 2007 — is to regain some control there and make sure cement and steel meant for reconstruction aren't diverted.
But James Rawley, a senior U.N. official involved in the reconstruction, acknowledged the deal is fragile.
Britain Says Libya Hostage David Bolam Released
LONDON (AP) — Britain's Foreign Office says a teacher who had been held hostage by militants in Libya for the past four months has been safely freed and reunited with his family.In a statement Saturday night, the Foreign Office identified the former hostage as David Bolam, a teacher at the Benghazi European School, and described him as "safe and well after his ordeal" and was with his family in an undisclosed location. It says his abduction had been kept secret for his own security.
The Foreign Office declined to provide other details on Bolam's background, captivity or release and said his family wants to protect their privacy. His LinkedIn profile indicates he was the director of the Benghazi school.
Former UK armed forces chief calls for ‘western boots on the ground’ in Iraq
General Sir David Richards says air power alone will not defeat Isis militants and ground operation is needed
As Nick Clegg confirmed that the Liberal Democrats were resisting Tory pressure to allow RAF Tornados to attack Isis targets in Syria, Richards said he feared that some leaders were failing to appreciate the scale of the challenge.
Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 after the beheading of the British charity worker Alan Henning, Richards said it was a “no brainer” for Britain to be involved in the air campaign against Isis targets in Syria.
But he added: “Air power alone will not win a campaign like this. It isn’t actually a counter-terrorist operation. This is a conventional enemy in that it has armour, tanks, artillery, it is quite wealthy, it holds ground and it is going to fight. So therefore you have to view it as a conventional military campaign.”
Richards said Isis would only be defeated by a ground operation, with western forces playing at least a supportive role. He said: “You either have to put your own boots on the ground at some point or else you have to very energetically and aggressively train up those who will do that with us and for us. My worry at the moment is that the scale of the challenge isn’t being met by the right scale of response.
“What we should be able to see is in the first part of the strategy we will contain Isis. They shouldn’t get any bigger. But then we have got to start doing the much more difficult thing which is attacking them and then eventually defeating them. This will take a lot of planning, a lot of logistics, outstanding command and control, and then we can get on and probably do it.
'Syria rocket from Kobane fighting' hits Turkish house
Five members of the same
family, two of them children, have been hurt as what seemed to be a
rocket from Syria landed in a house across the Turkish border.
The incident occurred near Kobane, the scene of fierce
fighting between advancing Islamic State (IS) militants and Syrian Kurds
defending the town.A BBC correspondent in the area says the fighting is the worst this week.
US-led forces have been conducting air strikes on IS positions to try to slow their advance.
Activists from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several fresh strikes had been carried out in the area late on Saturday.
The strikes appeared to have slowed the IS advance, although the jihadists had captured part of a strategically important hill which would make it easier to take the town itself, the activists added.
Army chiefs tell Government: stop Gulf states funding terrorism
Government urged to put pressure on Gulf leaders into tackling extremism by strangling the funding of terrorist networks and the religious ideology that fuels them
Pressure is mounting on the Government to take action against wealthy Gulf
states accused of funding Islamist terrorism after the beheading of Alan
Henning, the British aid worker kidnapped in Syria.
Two retired generals and a former defence secretary claimed that nations such
as Qatar and Saudi Arabia were helping the rise of violent extremism by
channelling cash to terrorist groups such as Islamic State in Iraq and the
Levant (Isil), which carried out Mr Henning’s murder.
The trio of senior military figures said air strikes against Isil were
insufficient to defeat the terrorist threat. Instead, they called on the
Government to pressure Gulf leaders into tackling extremism by strangling
the funding of terrorist networks and the religious ideology that fuels
them.
Investigations by The Telegraph suggest that tens of millions of pounds have been raised for Isil — and al-Qaeda — by wealthy individuals in the Gulf region while its leaders have “turned a blind eye” to the problem or been complicit in funding certain groups.
A statement from the ministry said police were searching a "suspicious" young man when he detonated a device.
Grozny was ravaged by two wars between Russia and Chechen separatists but has been relatively calm in recent years.
They said they would agree to the government's offer of talks if attacks on them were investigated and protest sites were not forcefully cleared.
Hong Kong's leader says public offices and schools will open on Monday.
The protesters are angry at China's plans to vet election candidates in 2017.
They are demanding that the central government in Beijing allow Hong Kong to hold fully free elections in the next vote for the territory's leader.
Numbers dwindling But the BBC's John Sudworth in Hong Kong says the feeling on the streets of the city is that the endgame is about to begin.
The number of protesters has dwindled and many do not relish a brave last stand in the face of an expected forceful eviction by police, he adds.
Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung had called on the protesters to end the demonstrations, warning that police had a responsibility to take all actions necessary to resume social order.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) said it had always maintained access to the government headquarters, adding that there was no reason for employees not to return to work on Monday.
Investigations by The Telegraph suggest that tens of millions of pounds have been raised for Isil — and al-Qaeda — by wealthy individuals in the Gulf region while its leaders have “turned a blind eye” to the problem or been complicit in funding certain groups.
Grozny: Suicide bombing hits Chechen capital
Four police officers have been killed and four
other people hurt in a suicide attack in the Chechen capital, Grozny,
Russia's interior ministry says.
The attack took place outside a hall where a concert marking Grozny's City Day was about to take place.A statement from the ministry said police were searching a "suspicious" young man when he detonated a device.
Grozny was ravaged by two wars between Russia and Chechen separatists but has been relatively calm in recent years.
Hong Kong protesters regroup at main protest site
Pro-democracy
demonstrators in Hong Kong appear to be withdrawing from some protest
sites and regrouping at the main site outside government buildings.
But student protesters denied blocking entrances to government HQ and insisted civil servants could return to work.They said they would agree to the government's offer of talks if attacks on them were investigated and protest sites were not forcefully cleared.
Hong Kong's leader says public offices and schools will open on Monday.
The protesters are angry at China's plans to vet election candidates in 2017.
They are demanding that the central government in Beijing allow Hong Kong to hold fully free elections in the next vote for the territory's leader.
Numbers dwindling But the BBC's John Sudworth in Hong Kong says the feeling on the streets of the city is that the endgame is about to begin.
The number of protesters has dwindled and many do not relish a brave last stand in the face of an expected forceful eviction by police, he adds.
Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung had called on the protesters to end the demonstrations, warning that police had a responsibility to take all actions necessary to resume social order.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) said it had always maintained access to the government headquarters, adding that there was no reason for employees not to return to work on Monday.
North Korea agrees to resume high-level talks with South
Surprise agreement comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's number two makes rare visit to South for close of the Asian Games
Three of North Korea’s top officials travelled to South Korea on Saturday for
the first time in five years, meeting the South Korean prime minister and
agreeing a new round of talks between the two countries.
The surprise visit came amid intense speculation about the fate of Kim
Jong-un, the North Korean leader, who has not been seen in public for almost
a month.
The North Korean leaders included the man currently thought to be Kim
Jong-un’s second-in-command, Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong So, and his
predecessor Choe Ryong Hae.
The third top official was Pyongyang’s former spy chief, Kim Yang Gon, who now
heads the United Front Department, the ministry that oversees inter-Korean
relations.
The three men first met with a key advisor to South Korea’s president Park
Geun-hye, as well as the country’s unification minister, before going on to
meet prime minister Chung Hong-won at the stadium in Incheon during the
closing ceremony for the Asian Games.
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It follows the release of an IS video on Friday, which showed the beheading of British aid worker Alan Henning.
That video ended with a threat to kill 26-year-old Mr Kassig.
It was the fourth such video released by the group calling itself Islamic State.
Previous victims were American reporter James Foley, American-Israeli journalist Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines.
Mr Kassig's parents said he had been working for the relief organisation he founded, Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA), when he was captured a year ago on his way to Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria.
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US hostage Peter Kassig's family in video appeal
The parents of US hostage Peter Kassig have appealed in a video to Islamic State (IS) militants to "show mercy" and release him.
Calling their son by the name he now uses, Abdul-Rahman, Ed and Paula Kassig say they are proud of their son and his aid work.It follows the release of an IS video on Friday, which showed the beheading of British aid worker Alan Henning.
That video ended with a threat to kill 26-year-old Mr Kassig.
It was the fourth such video released by the group calling itself Islamic State.
Previous victims were American reporter James Foley, American-Israeli journalist Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines.
Mr Kassig's parents said he had been working for the relief organisation he founded, Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA), when he was captured a year ago on his way to Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria.
3.6 magnitude earthquake shakes southwest Nevada, felt in nearby Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS – The U.S. Geological
Survey says a small earthquake shook southwest Nevada, about 15 miles
from Las Vegas. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The USGS reported on its website that the quake happened at 3:11 a.m. Sunday and had a preliminary magnitude of 3.6. It was centered 9 miles from Enterprise, Nevada, about 15 miles southwest of Las Vegas.
USGS geophysicist Randy Baldwin described the quake as having "non-damaging intensity."
Tim Szymanski of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue said the quake was felt in downtown Las Vegas, but no calls were received by the 911 center.
Thomas Duncan, from Liberia, has been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian hospital in Dallas since last Sunday. On Saturday, his condition worsened from “serious” to “critical”.
On Sunday, a Nebraska hospital said it was preparing for the arrival of a US citizen who contracted Ebola in Liberia. The hospital did not name the man; news media reported that he was Ashoka Mukpo, a freelance cameraman who was working for NBC when he contracted the disease.
On Friday, the World Health Organisation said Ebola had killed more than 3,400 people in west Africa – principally in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – out of 7,470 confirmed or suspected cases. The WHO added that of 382 health workers infected, more than half have died.
The virus that causes Ebola is not airborne and can only be spread through direct contact with blood, sweat, vomit, faeces, urine, saliva, semen or other body fluids of an infected person who is showing symptoms.
Speaking to CNN, Frieden said: “As of now the man in Dallas, who is fighting for his life, is the only patient to develop Ebola in the US. We know there are going to be concerns and rumours and we will track them down. We want people to be concerned, but appropriately concerned.”
Frieden said “about 10” people had definitely had contact with Duncan, who was initially misdiagnosed, and that “about 40 might have had contact”, including people who subsequently rode in an ambulance which had carried Duncan. He added: “Every one of them will be monitored every day to see if they have fever. If they do, they will be promptly isolated. That’s how you stop it. That is why we are confident we won’t see a large number of cases from this.”
Titled "Taboo Talk," the ad in April 2013 raised alarm bells for this city's cybercrime unit.
"Looking for someone to chat with and have them tell me about their fantasies nothing is off limits. We can share each other's fantasies. Getting together is also a possibility......"
Eli Portillo, 32, was looking for more than just a sexually charged conversation - he wanted to keep filling an insatiable appetite for child porn.
By the time London police, U.S. Homeland Security and other forces around the world had peeled back some layers of Portillo's network, five children who'd been sexually abused were rescued: a boy in Florida, two boys in Louisiana and two girls in New Zealand.
And more than 300 packages of material that could potentially identify child pornographers and their victims had been sent to authorities in 17 countries.
Portillo, a Salvadoran immigrant, was sentenced Sept. 24 in a London courtroom to 6 1/2 years for distributing child pornography, luring and conspiracy.
Until now, Portillo's name hadn't been linked to the rescues in November and December because other targets from his chat network were on police radar.
It was a time-consuming and exhaustive investigation. Portillo was found to have 55,672 images and 2,039 videos on various electronic devices. He also had 3,813 chat partners who exchanged 23,413 files of child porn.
Det. Grant Fair of London's cybercrime unit said Portillo's collection was "super horrific and dealt with very young children being abused."
His preference was boys, from infants to about age eight. But Portillo also collected images of girls that he would use as trading material for the images he wanted.
His appetite was so intense it was almost like a full-time job for the unemployed Londoner, Fair said.
"When you think about the amount of contacts and text conversations and that he had to be constantly on his devices every waking moment, texting and trying to make contacts with these people."
Online pedophiles search for the newest images possible - often using little-known distribution networks - and hold them out as bait to get the images they're after.
Portillo traded with a 15-year-old Florida boy and encouraged the teen to videotape himself having sex with his nine-year-old brother.
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The videos show Syrian prisoner Abu Wa'el Dhiab being forcibly removed from his cell and fed.
But the tapes will remain sealed until some information, including faces and voices, has been redacted.
"We are very gratified by this decision, which will enable the American people to see with their own eyes the sorts of abuses that are being heaped on these peacefully hunger-striking detainees," Mr Dhiab's lawyer Jon Eisenberg told the Associated Press news agency.
"Once the truth is fully brought to light, we believe these terrible practices will come to an end."
Mr Dhiab has been held at the Navy-run prison in Cuba since 2002.
— Mistaken traffic stop: A broken brake light led a North Carolina police officer to pull over a car in which cocaine was later found. Turns out, the state requires only one functioning brake light. The court is weighing a case about whether a defendant's constitutional protection against unreasonable searches was violated because of the officer's mistaken understanding of the law.
— Prison beards: An Arkansas inmate is challenging a prison policy that
prevents him from growing a short beard in accordance with his Muslim
religious beliefs. Prison officials say the policy prevents inmates from
concealing contraband or quickly changing their appearance in an
escape.
— Teeth whitening: The North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners is challenging a Federal Trade Commission order that said the dentist-filled board is trying to kill off competition from day spas and tanning booths that offer teeth-whitening.
— Dishonest juror: Claims that a juror's comments during trial deliberations over a South Dakota traffic accident raise questions about her impartiality and possibly could result in a new trial.
— Born in Jerusalem: The case of an American born in Jerusalem who wants his passport to list his birthplace as Israel underlies a major dispute between Congress and the president, with Middle Eastern politics as the backdrop. The United States has never recognized any nation's sovereignty over Jerusalem, believing the city's status should be resolved in peace negotiations. The administration says a 2002 law passed by Congress allowing Israel to be listed as the birthplace of Jerusalem-born Americans would in essence be seen as a U.S. endorsement of Israeli control of the city.
— Alabama redistricting: Democrats and black lawmakers contend that Republican leaders in Alabama drew a new legislative map that illegally packed black voters into too few voting districts to limit minority political power. Republicans say they complied with the law by keeping the same number of districts in which black voters could elect candidates of their choice.
— Facebook threats: A Pennsylvania man challenges his conviction for making threats on Facebook. He says his online rants about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a school and slitting an FBI agent's throat were simply rap lyrics, and that he didn't mean to threaten anyone.
Following a speech that touched on foreign policy at the Harvard Kennedy School on Thursday, Biden recounted a recent conversation he had with Erdogan, whom he called an "old friend." The vice president suggested that the Turkish leader had admitted that Turkey made mistakes by allowing foreign fighters allied with the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, to cross into Syria.
"[Erdogan] said: 'You were right. We let too many people through.' Now they're trying to seal their border," Biden said.
On Saturday, Erdogan warned that Biden would become "history for me" if he did not apologize.
"I have never said to him that we had made a mistake, never. If he did say this at Harvard, then he has to apologize to us," Erdogan said, according to the Associated Press. "Foreign fighters have never entered Syria from our country. They may come to our country as tourists and cross into Syria, but no one can say that they cross in with their arms."
According to a statement from his office provided to The Huffington Post, Biden called to "clarify" his remarks and to apologize for "any implication that Turkey or other Allies and partners in the region had intentionally supplied or facilitated the growth of ISIL or other violent extremists in Syria."
"The Vice President made clear that the United States greatly values the commitments and sacrifices made by our Allies and partners from around the world to combat the scourge of ISIL, including Turkey," the statement read. "The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of Turkey and the United States working closely together to confront ISIL."
MPs will vote Monday on a proposed six-month air combat mission over Iraq.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper laid out the rationale for the mission and some of its parameters Friday.
Within minutes of Harper's House of Commons speech, though, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said he and his party would vote against it. Trudeau was also dismissive of the military assets the Conservatives will commit to Iraq.
"Canada can make a more helpful contribution to the international effort ... than a few aging warplanes,"
Trudeau said in the House of Commons. "This prime minister has not been upfront with Canadians on his plans. He is intent on taking Canada to war in Iraq."
It was the second day in a row Trudeau made light of Canada's fleet of fighter jets. On Thursday, he joked at a policy conference about what the prime minister was about to announce, saying it was "not about whipping out our CF-18s to show how big they are."
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The USGS reported on its website that the quake happened at 3:11 a.m. Sunday and had a preliminary magnitude of 3.6. It was centered 9 miles from Enterprise, Nevada, about 15 miles southwest of Las Vegas.
Tim Szymanski of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue said the quake was felt in downtown Las Vegas, but no calls were received by the 911 center.
Hackers’ Attack Cracked 10 Financial Firms in Major Assault
The huge cyberattack on JPMorgan Chase that touched more than 83 million households and businesses was one of the most serious computer intrusions into an American corporation. But it could have been much worse.
Questions over who the
hackers are and the approach of their attack concern government and
industry officials. Also troubling is that about nine other financial
institutions — a number that has not been previously reported — were
also infiltrated by the same group of overseas hackers, according to
people briefed on the matter. The hackers are thought to be operating
from Russia and appear to have at least loose connections with officials
of the Russian government, the people briefed on the matter said.
It is unclear whether
the other intrusions, at banks and brokerage firms, were as deep as the
one that JPMorgan disclosed on Thursday. The identities of the other
institutions could not be immediately learned.
The breadth of the
attacks — and the lack of clarity about whether it was an effort to
steal from accounts or to demonstrate that the hackers could penetrate
even the best-protected American financial institutions — has left
Washington intelligence officials and policy makers far more concerned
than they have let on publicly. Some American officials speculate that
the breach was intended to send a message to Wall Street and the United
States about the vulnerability of the digital network of one of the
world’s most important banking institutions.
“It could be in
retaliation for the sanctions” placed on Russia, one senior official
briefed on the intelligence said. “But it could be mixed motives — to
steal if they can, or to sell whatever information they could glean.”
Top US health official 'confident we won't see large number' of Ebola cases
- CDC head says all Dallas patient’s contact being monitored
- NBC cameraman with Ebola reported on way to Nebraska
Thomas Duncan, from Liberia, has been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian hospital in Dallas since last Sunday. On Saturday, his condition worsened from “serious” to “critical”.
On Sunday, a Nebraska hospital said it was preparing for the arrival of a US citizen who contracted Ebola in Liberia. The hospital did not name the man; news media reported that he was Ashoka Mukpo, a freelance cameraman who was working for NBC when he contracted the disease.
On Friday, the World Health Organisation said Ebola had killed more than 3,400 people in west Africa – principally in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – out of 7,470 confirmed or suspected cases. The WHO added that of 382 health workers infected, more than half have died.
The virus that causes Ebola is not airborne and can only be spread through direct contact with blood, sweat, vomit, faeces, urine, saliva, semen or other body fluids of an infected person who is showing symptoms.
Speaking to CNN, Frieden said: “As of now the man in Dallas, who is fighting for his life, is the only patient to develop Ebola in the US. We know there are going to be concerns and rumours and we will track them down. We want people to be concerned, but appropriately concerned.”
Frieden said “about 10” people had definitely had contact with Duncan, who was initially misdiagnosed, and that “about 40 might have had contact”, including people who subsequently rode in an ambulance which had carried Duncan. He added: “Every one of them will be monitored every day to see if they have fever. If they do, they will be promptly isolated. That’s how you stop it. That is why we are confident we won’t see a large number of cases from this.”
Inside a global child porn bust that started in London, Ontario
LONDON Ontario - It started with a kinky personal ad on a popular classifieds site.Titled "Taboo Talk," the ad in April 2013 raised alarm bells for this city's cybercrime unit.
"Looking for someone to chat with and have them tell me about their fantasies nothing is off limits. We can share each other's fantasies. Getting together is also a possibility......"
Eli Portillo, 32, was looking for more than just a sexually charged conversation - he wanted to keep filling an insatiable appetite for child porn.
By the time London police, U.S. Homeland Security and other forces around the world had peeled back some layers of Portillo's network, five children who'd been sexually abused were rescued: a boy in Florida, two boys in Louisiana and two girls in New Zealand.
And more than 300 packages of material that could potentially identify child pornographers and their victims had been sent to authorities in 17 countries.
Portillo, a Salvadoran immigrant, was sentenced Sept. 24 in a London courtroom to 6 1/2 years for distributing child pornography, luring and conspiracy.
Until now, Portillo's name hadn't been linked to the rescues in November and December because other targets from his chat network were on police radar.
It was a time-consuming and exhaustive investigation. Portillo was found to have 55,672 images and 2,039 videos on various electronic devices. He also had 3,813 chat partners who exchanged 23,413 files of child porn.
Det. Grant Fair of London's cybercrime unit said Portillo's collection was "super horrific and dealt with very young children being abused."
His preference was boys, from infants to about age eight. But Portillo also collected images of girls that he would use as trading material for the images he wanted.
His appetite was so intense it was almost like a full-time job for the unemployed Londoner, Fair said.
"When you think about the amount of contacts and text conversations and that he had to be constantly on his devices every waking moment, texting and trying to make contacts with these people."
Online pedophiles search for the newest images possible - often using little-known distribution networks - and hold them out as bait to get the images they're after.
Portillo traded with a 15-year-old Florida boy and encouraged the teen to videotape himself having sex with his nine-year-old brother.
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US judge unseals Guantanamo Bay force-feeding tapes
A US judge has ordered
the government to release videotapes depicting a Guantanamo Bay prisoner
being force-fed while on hunger strike.
US District Court Judge Gladys Kessler granted a request from a number of media organisations for their release.The videos show Syrian prisoner Abu Wa'el Dhiab being forcibly removed from his cell and fed.
But the tapes will remain sealed until some information, including faces and voices, has been redacted.
"We are very gratified by this decision, which will enable the American people to see with their own eyes the sorts of abuses that are being heaped on these peacefully hunger-striking detainees," Mr Dhiab's lawyer Jon Eisenberg told the Associated Press news agency.
"Once the truth is fully brought to light, we believe these terrible practices will come to an end."
Mr Dhiab has been held at the Navy-run prison in Cuba since 2002.
A look at cases the Supreme Court will hear this term, and others that are on the way
A look at some of the noteworthy cases the Supreme Court will hear this term, which begins Monday:— Mistaken traffic stop: A broken brake light led a North Carolina police officer to pull over a car in which cocaine was later found. Turns out, the state requires only one functioning brake light. The court is weighing a case about whether a defendant's constitutional protection against unreasonable searches was violated because of the officer's mistaken understanding of the law.
— Teeth whitening: The North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners is challenging a Federal Trade Commission order that said the dentist-filled board is trying to kill off competition from day spas and tanning booths that offer teeth-whitening.
— Dishonest juror: Claims that a juror's comments during trial deliberations over a South Dakota traffic accident raise questions about her impartiality and possibly could result in a new trial.
— Born in Jerusalem: The case of an American born in Jerusalem who wants his passport to list his birthplace as Israel underlies a major dispute between Congress and the president, with Middle Eastern politics as the backdrop. The United States has never recognized any nation's sovereignty over Jerusalem, believing the city's status should be resolved in peace negotiations. The administration says a 2002 law passed by Congress allowing Israel to be listed as the birthplace of Jerusalem-born Americans would in essence be seen as a U.S. endorsement of Israeli control of the city.
— Alabama redistricting: Democrats and black lawmakers contend that Republican leaders in Alabama drew a new legislative map that illegally packed black voters into too few voting districts to limit minority political power. Republicans say they complied with the law by keeping the same number of districts in which black voters could elect candidates of their choice.
— Facebook threats: A Pennsylvania man challenges his conviction for making threats on Facebook. He says his online rants about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a school and slitting an FBI agent's throat were simply rap lyrics, and that he didn't mean to threaten anyone.
Joe Biden Apologizes For Saying Turkey Admitted To Border Security Failures In ISIS Fight
Vice President Joe Biden phoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday to offer a mea culpa for his recent remarks on Turkey's role in confronting Islamic State militants in neighboring Syria.Following a speech that touched on foreign policy at the Harvard Kennedy School on Thursday, Biden recounted a recent conversation he had with Erdogan, whom he called an "old friend." The vice president suggested that the Turkish leader had admitted that Turkey made mistakes by allowing foreign fighters allied with the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, to cross into Syria.
"[Erdogan] said: 'You were right. We let too many people through.' Now they're trying to seal their border," Biden said.
"I have never said to him that we had made a mistake, never. If he did say this at Harvard, then he has to apologize to us," Erdogan said, according to the Associated Press. "Foreign fighters have never entered Syria from our country. They may come to our country as tourists and cross into Syria, but no one can say that they cross in with their arms."
According to a statement from his office provided to The Huffington Post, Biden called to "clarify" his remarks and to apologize for "any implication that Turkey or other Allies and partners in the region had intentionally supplied or facilitated the growth of ISIL or other violent extremists in Syria."
"The Vice President made clear that the United States greatly values the commitments and sacrifices made by our Allies and partners from around the world to combat the scourge of ISIL, including Turkey," the statement read. "The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of Turkey and the United States working closely together to confront ISIL."
US Secret Service agent: 'This isn't a who's got bigger biceps contest – we're there to keep the president alive'
Former US Secret Service agent, who protected both Barack Obama and George W Bush as a member of the Secret Service's elite presidential protective division, recalls the drama and the tedium of guarding the world's most powerful man
They train you to "get big". That means when the shooting starts and
everyone is ducking you're making yourself as big as possible to get in the
way of the bullets. If you just need an example of how well it's ingrained
in the training process, just watch the 1981 Reagan shooting and watch Tim
McCarthy, one his agents. He spreads his arms, his legs, and puts his torso
towards the bullet and he eats it. That's what they train you to do, to get
big. You don't have to think about it. When you look at McCarthy there is no
thinking, he just does it.
Good agents I know rehearse it in their heads. They would say: if there's a
gunshot, I'll grab the president, turn left, go down the hallway. If someone
on the rope line has an overly aggressive handshake, I'll pull their thumb
back. You go over and over it in your head so that when it happens, you just
do it.
I'd like to give you a romantic description of the average work day, thinking: "You're
under fire, you're fearing death." But you don't want to operate like
that day-to-day. You couldn't. You'd go grey quickly. Let me just tell you,
the fear of failing your fellow agents is far, far worse than the stress of "Wow
I'm standing a foot away from the most powerful man on earth, I may become a
casualty of war here." It is a brotherhood, and the stress of failing
your fellow agents is the worst part.
Tories likely to be alone supporting Iraq combat mission
OTTAWA - Canadian fighter pilots will head to Iraq to help destroy Islamic terrorists as part of a combat mission that only Conservative MPs seem likely to support.MPs will vote Monday on a proposed six-month air combat mission over Iraq.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper laid out the rationale for the mission and some of its parameters Friday.
Within minutes of Harper's House of Commons speech, though, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said he and his party would vote against it. Trudeau was also dismissive of the military assets the Conservatives will commit to Iraq.
"Canada can make a more helpful contribution to the international effort ... than a few aging warplanes,"
Trudeau said in the House of Commons. "This prime minister has not been upfront with Canadians on his plans. He is intent on taking Canada to war in Iraq."
It was the second day in a row Trudeau made light of Canada's fleet of fighter jets. On Thursday, he joked at a policy conference about what the prime minister was about to announce, saying it was "not about whipping out our CF-18s to show how big they are."
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