Deadly bomb blast hits bus in southern Russia

At least five people killed and 17 injured after explosion rocks passenger bus in city of Volgograd.

 

An explosion on a bus in the southern Russian city of Volgograd has killed at least five people and injured 17 others, emergency officials say.
The blast was caused by "an unspecified explosive device," the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said in a statement.
Investigators suspected that a female suicide bomber was responsible for the bombing, the Interfax news agency reported.
Citing a source in the regional Investigative Committee office, Interfax said identity documents belonging to the suspected bomber were found near the site and that she was believed to have been the wife of an Muslim fighter.
Irina Gogolyeva, a spokeswoman for the Emergency Situations Ministry, said 40 people were on the bus when the explosion occurred on Monday afternoon.
North Caucasus attacks
Officials had initially said investigators were probing whether the blast may have been caused by a leaking gas canister used by some city transport vehicles as a source of fuel.
Fighters who say they are fighting to create an Islamic state in Russia's mostly Muslim North Caucasus have carried out deadly bombings inside and outside the region, made up of several provinces along Russia's southern border.
The fighters claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed 37 people at Moscow airport in January, 2011, and two nearly simultaneous suicide bombings that killed 40 people on the Moscow subway in 2010.
Volgograd is a city of around one million people that lies 900km southeast of Moscow and a few hundred kilometres north of the North Caucasus and Black Sea resort city of Sochi, where Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
President Vladimir Putin has staked his reputation on the Games and ordered authorities to boost security in the North Caucasus.

This special edition of the show delves into the continuing crackdown on whistleblowers in Barack Obama’s America.

Listening Post

The US: Surveillance, secrets and security

This special edition of the show delves into the continuing crackdown on whistleblowers in Barack Obama’s America. Listening Post Last Modified: 24 Aug 2013 09:18

This week on the Listening Post, we feature a special edition of the show. On August 21, Bradley Manning, the US soldier convicted of leaking a trove of secret government documents to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, was sentenced to 35 years in prison having been convicted in July of 20 charges against him, including espionage. This is one of the latest developments in the ongoing story of secrecy and surveillance in Barack Obama’s America. When we first took an extended look at the White House’s war on whistleblowers a year ago, little did we know that there was another figure waiting in the wings, about to make political history. Edward Snowden took the stage in June 2013, revealing the sweeping extent of the NSA's surveillance programme. He has gone down as one of US' most important whistleblowers of all time, becoming the seventh person to be charged by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act, more than double the number of prosecutions of all previous presidential administrations combined. For the most part, coverage of this story by the US mainstream media has been interesting, to say the least. At the beginning of Manning’s trial, many mainstream organisations did not even bother turning up. And across the airwaves, both Manning and Snowden had their characters assassinated, their pasts smeared and their motives pathologised. Then the journalist who broke the Edward Snowden story, the Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald, became the subject of a hostile media reception himself, something that the other messenger, Julian Assange, can relate to. And in an ironic twist, the US media establishment has not been immune to government surveillance itself, as news outlets like The Associated Press and Fox News, discovered the government was eavesdropping on some of their own reporting on national security issues. Facing mounting pressure, President Obama acknowledged that his government needs to be more transparent about surveillance. He has pledged to carry out a review of the Patriot Act to see what changes need to be made to protect privacy and civil liberties. This is a story journalists and citizens in the US and around the world will be watching closely. Taking us through the debate are Michael Ratner, the president emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights; Ed Pilkington, a chief reporter for the American edition of The Guardian newspaper; Chase Madar, the author of The Passion Of Bradley Manning; Michael German, a former FBI agent and member of the American Civil Liberties Union; and Jeffrey D Gordon, former Defense department spokesman. In the second half of the show we speak to Matthew Miller, a defender of the Obama administration’s crackdown on whistleblowers and a former director of Public Affairs at the Department of Justice. He has also served as Attorney General Eric Holder’s spokesman during Obama’s first two years in office. Early last year, he wrote a piece in The Daily Beast, defending the administration’s approach to those who leak classified information. “Some things are secret for a reason,” he argued, “and when government employees violate the law, to disclose information that undermines our national security, there must be consequences.” Listening Post can be seen each week at the following times GMT: Saturday: 0830, 1930; Sunday: 1430; Monday: 0430. Click here for more Listening Post

 

France summons US ambassador over 'spying'

Move comes after newspaper publishes claims of large-scale spying on French citizens by US National Security Agency.

France has called in the US ambassador to protest against allegations in Le Monde newspaper about large-scale spying on French citizens by the US National Security Agency, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. "I have immediately summoned the US ambassador and he will be received this morning at the Quai d'Orsay [the French Foreign Ministry]," Fabius told reporters at a European Union foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. France and Mexico have demanded prompt explanations from Washington following fresh spying allegations leaked by former US security contractor Edward Snowden. Reports in Le Monde and German weekly Der Spiegel have revealed that the National Security Agency secretly recorded tens of millions of phone calls in France and hacked into former Mexican President Felipe Calderon's email account. The spy agency taped 70.3 million phone calls in France over a 30-day period between December 10 and January 8 this year, Le Monde reported in its online version, citing documents from Snowden. Manuel Valls, France's interior minister, said the revelations were "shocking". "If an allied country spies on France or spies on other European countries, that's totally unacceptable," Valls told Europe 1 radio. According to Le Monde, the NSA automatically picked up communications from certain phone numbers in France and recorded text messages under a programme code-named "US-985D".  Le Monde said the documents gave grounds to believe that the NSA targeted not only people suspected of being involved in terrorism but also high-profile individuals from the world of business or politics. Charles Rivkin, the US ambassador to France, declined immediate comment on reports that he had been called in by the French foreign ministry but stressed that French ties with Washington were close. "This relationship on a military, intelligence, special forces ... level is the best it's been in a generation," Rivkin told the Reuters news agency as John Kerry, the US secretary of state, arrived in Paris. In July, Paris prosecutors opened a preliminary inquiries into the NSA's programme, known as Prism, after Der Spiegel and Britain's The Guardian revealed wide-scale spying by the agency leaked by Snowden. "We were warned in June [about the programme] and we reacted strongly but obviously we need to go further," Fabius said. "We must quickly assure that these practices aren't repeated

 

Migrants say they were shot at leaving Libya

UN refugee agency calls for an investigation after several injured refugees say gunmen may have "shot to kill".

Syrian refugees who survived after their boat capsized off Malta say they were fired on by warring trafficking gangs as they set out on their perilous journey from Libya, the UN refugee agency reported.
Thirty one people were killed and more than 200 people were rescued after the boat capsized a week after another shipwreck left 369 dead, prompting Malta to warn the Mediterranean was turning into a cemetery.

The boat, carrying up to 400 migrants, mostly Syrians, left the Libyan port  of Zwara on Thursday, just 60km from the Tunisian border. Citing testimonies from some of those who survived the 10-hour crossing, the UNHCR, spoke of "several injured passengers", saying that the shots were fired "perhaps by militiamen who shot to kill". News agency Ansa said witnesses spoke of two people being killed. Molhake Al Roarsan, 22, interviewed in Valletta by the newspaper La Stampa , said that three people were injured after being shot in the arms and legs. He said on Sunday that he thought the shootings were related to a dispute between different groups of traffickers. "There was a furious fight, screaming on the radio and on the phone with someone who demanded that we return to land, but the captain did not stop," said the Syrian. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres called for an investigation into the shooting incident and expressed hope that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. He also expressed concern that Syrians fleeing conflict have sought to reach Europe by such a perilous route, calling it "inhumane." "They escaped bullets and bombs only to perish before they could ever claim asylum,'' he said. The twin tragedies have prompted the European Union to call for sea patrols   to cope with the flood of migrants.

Red Cross members kidnapped in Syria

Gunmen kidnapped a team of seven workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to ICRC spokesman

The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that six of its aid workers and a member of the Syrian Red Crescent had been kidnapped by gunmen in Syria.

"Six ICRC staff members and one member of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent have been abducted in Idlib in northwestern Syria," ICRC spokesman Ewan Watson told AFP at the organisation's Geneva base on Sunday. "We don't know who took them. It was unidentified armed men," he added. The road on which the members were travelling is notorious for kidnappings, Al Jazeera’s Omar Al Saleh reported. “We understand from talking to activists in that area there are a number of armed groups.” Magne Barth, head of the ICRC's delegation in Syria has called for the immediate release of the members in a statement released Sunday.  "Both the ICRC and the SARC work tirelessly to provide impartial humanitarian assistance for those most in need across Syria on both sides of the front lines, and incidents such as these potentially undermine our capacity to assist those who need us most," she said.  The team had traveled to Idlib on October 10 to assess the medical situation in the area and deliver supplies to Sarmin and Idlib city. The convoy, on its way to Damascus was clearly marked with the ICRC emblem.  Kidnapping has become an increasing problem in Syria, with journalists and aid workers frequently targeted in rebel-held parts of the country, largely located in the north.  Last month a German aid worker held for almost four months escaped his kidnappers in Idlib, just like his two colleagues who managed to flee in July, according to their aid group Gruenhelme. Large parts of the province are under the control of groups who fighting to oust Assad's regime in a conflict that has killed more than 115,000 people in two and a half years.

news aljazeera

 

americas: Tourists finally exit storm-stricken Acapulco

Search for survivors of deadly Mexico storms continues, as thousands line up for aid and tourists begin journey home.

Thousands of Mexicans have lined up for food and shelter following deadly storms, as many tourists finally left flood-stricken Acapulco by road after being stranded for days. 
Rescuers continued to search for survivors of a deadly mudslide in mountains near the holiday resort, as tourists trapped in the city for almost a week packed into cars and buses after authorities reopened the road link to Mexico City on Friday.
The highway department told travellers that the trip north on the Sun Highway, which usually takes about four hours, would last nine to 10 hours, with only a single lane open in some stretches.
Two tropical storms, Ingrid and  Manuel, have left a trail of destruction across the country, damaging 35,000 homes, flooding cities and killing about 100 people.
After regenerating into a hurricane and hitting the northwestern state of  Sinaloa late on Thursday, affecting 100,000 people and killing three, Manuel  finally dissipated over the mountains.
The government said on Friday at least 165 people were dead or missing across the country.
The southwestern state of Guerrero was the hardest hit, with at least 65 deaths.
While rescuers dug through mud in La Pintada, authorities were searching for a police helicopter that disappeared while conducting relief missions in the same mountain region of Guerrero.
Authorities said 68 people had been reported missing and two bodies were pulled out for now, but villagers fear that scores have perished.
Local farmer Diego Zeron said many were believed to be dead.
"A lot of my relatives died, they're buried and we can't do anything," he said.
Local farmer Diego Zeron said many were believed to be dead.
"A lot of my relatives died, they're buried and we can't do anything," he said.
Villagers evacuated
The mud collapsed on the village of 400 people during independence day celebrations on Monday, swallowing homes, the school and church before crashing into the river.
Soldiers and civil protection workers, many wearing surgical masks, removed pieces of broken homes and chopped up fallen trees with machetes.
Helicopters evacuated more than 330 villagers to Acapulco, but a few families decided to stay back, waiting for news on the missing.
Traffic piled up in Acapulco as police allowed cars to leave in groups of 50 to avoid huge backups on the Sun Highway.
Waiting to board a bus, Alejandro Tubias, a Mexico City resident, said it was high time to leave after his wife contracted a stomach bug that they blamed on the lack of drinking water.
"We are more than happy. We are in a hurry to go because my wife is sick and because we don't have any money to pay the hotel room," he said.
                       
                                          news aljazeera

 

Baghdad bombings target Shia funeral

At least 65 people killed after three explosion strike near funeral tent in Sadr City neighbourhood of Iraqi capital.



                                                                                                                                                                    
At least 65 people have been killed in car bombings targeting a funeral in the Iraqi capital, officials said.
Police said a first car bomb went off near a funeral tent for a Shia man in the Baghdad neighbourhood of Sadr City on Saturday afternoon. A suicide bomber driving a car then blew himself up near the tent, and a third explosion came as police, ambulances and firefighters were gathering at the scene.
The officials said women and children were among the dead, and that at least 60 people were wounded.
The first explosion set several nearby cars on fire, sending a towering plume of thick black smoke over the city.
Earlier in the day a suicide assault on a police headquarters and other attacks in northern Iraq killed 11 members of the security forces.
Police officials said four suicide bombers stormed a headquarters for police commandos in the city of Beiji, killing seven policemen and wounding 21 others.
Guards killed one suicide bomber while the three other bombers were able to set off their explosive belts inside the compound, they said.
Beiji, a centre for oil refining, is 250km north of Baghdad.
Soldiers killed
In other violence, gunmen shot and killed two prison guards after storming their houses in a village near the city of Mosul early on Saturday.
Also in Mosul, two soldiers were killed and four others were wounded when a roadside bomb struck their convoy.
Saturday's violence comes as voters in the northern Kurdish autonomous region cast ballots in local elections for the Kurdistan Regional Government's 111-seat legislature.
Iraqi Kurds are looking to bolster their autonomy while insulating their increasingly prosperous enclave from the growing violence roiling the rest of the country.
Violence has surged this year to levels not seen since 2008, when Iraq was emerging from a sectarian conflict that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed thousands of people.
With the latest incidents, more than 500 people have been killed so far this month and more than 4,300 since the beginning of the year, according to AFP news agency figures based on security and medical sources.