Diberdayakan oleh Blogger.

Popular Posts Today

Obama Warns Syria Over Weapons 'Game Changer'

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 27 April 2013 | 18.46

Syria: Evidence Is No Smoking Gun

Updated: 2:39pm UK, Friday 26 April 2013

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Vital questions remain unanswered over the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Like the scale of casualties. Who fired the weapons? Who gave the orders?

To get that kind of information the Syrian government would need to allow in international inspectors and that isn't going to happen.

If chemical weapons have been deployed by government forces President Bashar al Assad won't cooperate in arranging a noose for his own neck.

If there is to be conclusive proof of the crossing of a "red line" Mr Assad would have to carry out an atrocity akin to the actions of Saddam Hussein against the Kurds in Halabja in 1988, where chemical weapons were used to kill at least 5,000.

It's estimated a further 7,000 were injured or suffered long-term illnesses. The nerve agents tabun, sarin and VX, as well as mustard gas, were believed to have been used at Halabja.

But Mr Assad is far too clever to carry out an attack like Halabja. He knows such an undeniable use of chemical weapons would leave the international community with no choice but to make good on its threats.

It would leave the Russians with no option but to finally and publicly turn their backs on him. For now having the Russians sitting on the diplomatic fence renders the United Nations Security Council impotent. Russia has the power of veto enabling it to block meaningful sanctions and actions against Syria.

The UN says it has a  fact-finding team on stand-by in Cyprus ready to go into Syria within 24 hours. They may well have a long wait.

The UN team has been given permission to investigate claims of chemical weapons use in Syria's second city of Aleppo but they say they will not go in unless they are given permission for a country-wide investigation. That's something the Syrians have refused.

The British Government is keeping up diplomatic pressure to try to get investigators and evidence-gatherers into Syria. But just like all other aspects of diplomacy in Syria right now there's a lot of "keeping up pressure" but little progress.

David Cameron knows only too well the consequences of rushing to conclusions without proof. Anyone remember the fruitless hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

Astonishingly, the US Republican Senator John McCain said "it's pretty obvious that red line has been crossed".  Sorry Mr McCain but where is the evidence of a smoking gun?

US President Barack Obama is being much more cautious. With America now out of Iraq and heading towards the finishing line in Afghanistan he doesn't want to rush into another war in another Muslim country.

And keeping Americans safe isn't all about the Middle East. The despot who cried wolf in North Korea - otherwise known as Kim Yong Un - hasn't entirely gone away.

North Korea's new young leader has been threatening to launch a war against America. It seems like a cry for attention rather than a promise.

But just in case Mr Kim means business it wouldn't be ideal to have American troops deployed to north-east Asia and Syria just as quickly as they had got out of Iraq and Afghanistan - which leads us to the conclusion that we are no nearer military intervention in Syria than we were before this latest round of intelligence claims.

So whatever Mr McCain says this is not a game-changing moment. Expect more deaths, more refugees, more atrocities and more heart-rending stories of despair from Syria.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

9/11 Plane Part Found Between NYC Buildings

A part from one of the commercial planes that was flown into the Twin Towers on 9/11 has been found between two buildings, police say.

New York Police Department Spokesman Paul Browne said the piece of landing gear, discovered on Wednesday wedged between a mosque site and another lower Manhattan building, has a clearly legible Boeing identification number.

The twisted and rusted equipment features cables, levers and giant bolts. It measures 5ft high, 3ft wide and 1.5ft deep.

"The odds of this being wedged between there is amazing. It had to have fallen just the right way to make it into that space," Browne said.

Landing gear from a September 11 commercial airliner in New York The part was found wedged in this narrow crevice

He added that other wreckage has been found nearby in the years since the terrorist attack.

The part was found by surveyors who had been hired to inspect the site of a planned Islamic community centre at 51 Park Place, about three blocks from ground zero.

The surveyors spotted the debris as they looked down between the buildings from the roof, quickly called 911, and the scene was secured and police documented the findings with photographs, Mr Browne said.

The National Transportation Safety Board and police will work to determine whether the wreckage belongs to American Airlines Flight 11, which struck the North Tower, or to United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower. Both planes were Boeings.

A hijacked commercial plane approaches the World Trade Center shortly before crashing into the landmark skyscraper 11 September 2001 A plane can be seen before it flies into one of the Twin Towers on 9/11

Police are awaiting a determination from a medical examiner on whether to sift the soil around the building to search for human remains.

The medical examiner's office is in the middle of a 10-week sifting operation as it attempts to identify additional human remains in debris unearthed at the World Trade Center site during construction of a new skyscraper.

If the landing gear's origin is authenticated, it would mean it sat undisturbed for nearly a dozen years.

Patricia Riley, the sister of 9/11 victim Lorraine Riley, called the discovery "very strange."

"Twelve years later we are still finding remnants of the attack on our country," she said.

Rescue workers survey damage to the World Trade Center 11 September, 2001 The ruins of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack

"For years to come we'll continue to find things that we didn't see before. Hopefully, they'll serve as a reminder that we have to stay vigilant."

More than 2,750 people were killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked the two commercial passenger planes and flew them into the upper floors of the Twin Towers, then the tallest buildings in the world.

Hijackers also took over two other planes that day, crashing one into the Pentagon in Washington DC.

The fourth plane went down in a field in rural Pennsylvania.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bangladesh Building Collapse: Five In Custody

Police in Bangladesh have arrested two clothing factory bosses based at the eight-storey building near the capital Dhaka that collapsed killing 340 people.

Two engineers - Imtemam Hossain and Alam Ali - involved in approving the design of the structure have also been detained for questioning.

Junior home minister Shamsul Haque Tuku said police had arrested Bazlus Samad, managing director of New Wave Apparels Ltd, and Mahmudur Rahaman Tapash, the company chairman. It is the largest of the five factories in the complex.

Police have filed a case against them for "death due to negligence", after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the owners forced the workers to return to work after cracks appeared in the building.

The wife of Mohammed Sohel Rana - the owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza building who has not been seen since the tragedy - has also been detained.

Protesters set fire to furniture from a police control room during a demo in Dhaka Protesters set fire to furniture from a police control room on Saturday

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association had asked the factories based in the structure to shut down on Wednesday morning, hours before the building came down.

"After we got the crack reports we asked them to suspend work until further examination, but they did not pay heed," said association president Atiqul Islam.

The arrests came after police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at thousands of clothing workers who took to the streets on the outskirts of Dhaka to protest over the deaths as clashes also erupted in the southeastern city of Chittagong.

There was no sign of the rescue operation being called off with authorities pledging to continue the search after 19 people were pulled out alive on Saturday - more than three days after the building came down.

With time running out to save workers still trapped in the collapsed building, rescuers have been digging through mangled metal and concrete to find more survivors.

The rescued described hearing a loud crack just before the eight-storey building collapsed, with each level pancaking on top of those below.

The building housed at least four factories producing clothes for leading Western retailers.

High street giant Primark confirmed one of its suppliers occupied the second floor of the building.

A Primark spokesman said: "The company is shocked and deeply saddened by this appalling incident at Savar, near Dhaka, and expresses its condolences to all of those involved."

Elsewhere in Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of workers walked out of their factories in solidarity with their dead colleagues.

Some workers' leaders attacked Western firms, whom they accused of turning "a blind eye" while using Bangladeshis as "money-making machines".


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bangladesh: 'Factories Ignored Evacuation Order'

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 25 April 2013 | 18.46

A building in Bangladesh was ordered to be evacuated a day before it collapsed but clothing factories there continued working and ignored police instructions, officers claim.

The order was made after deep cracks became visible - as the death toll from the tragedy rose to at least 175 and it emerged a Primark supplier was based at the premises.

After the cracks were reported on Tuesday, managers of a bank that also had an office in the building, evacuated their workers and suspended their operations.

But the garment factories continued working, ignoring the instructions of officers, said police spokesman Mostafizur Rahman.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association had also asked the factories to suspend work starting on Wednesday morning, just hours before the building fell.

"After we got the crack reports, we asked them to suspend work until further examination, but they did not pay heed," said Atiqul Islam, the group's president.

People mourn for their relatives, who are trapped inside the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, in Savar Thousands gathered on the streets where the building collapsed

Survivors say they were made to carry on working in the eight-storey block despite apparent concerns about its safety.

The building, in Savar on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, housed at least four factories producing clothes for leading Western retailers.

The high street giant Primark has confirmed that one of its suppliers occupied the second floor of the building.

Bosses at the retailer say they were "shocked and saddened" by the collapse.

In a statement released on the company's website, a Primark spokesman said: "The company is shocked and deeply saddened by this appalling incident at Savar, near Dhaka, and expresses its condolences to all of those involved.

Crowds gather at the collapsed Rana Plaza building as people rescue garment workers trapped in the rubble, in Savar Hundreds of factory workers were trapped inside the building

"Primark has been engaged for several years with NGOs and other retailers to review the Bangladeshi industry's approach to factory standards. Primark will push for this review to also include building integrity.

"Meanwhile Primark's ethical trade team is at this moment working to collect information, assess which communities the workers come from, and to provide support where possible."

Army Brigadier General Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder said late on Thursday that many people were still trapped in the building.

The disaster came less than five months after a factory fire killed 112 people and underscored the unsafe conditions faced by Bangladesh's garment workers.

Workers said they had hesitated to enter the building on Wednesday morning because it had developed such large cracks a day earlier that it even drew the attention of local news channels.

Just hours later the building came tumbling down.

Tens of thousands of people have gathered at the site, weeping and searching for family members.

Searchers worked through the night to get through the jumbled mess of concrete with drills or their bare hands, passing water and flashlights to those pinned inside the building.

"I gave them whistles, water, torchlights. I heard them cry. We can't leave them behind this way," said fire official Abul Khayer.

Abdur Rahim, who worked on the fifth floor, said a factory manager gave assurances that the cracks in the building were no cause for concern, so employees went inside.

"After about an hour or so, the building collapsed suddenly," Mr Rahim said.

The next thing he remembers is regaining consciousness outside.

On a visit to the site, Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir told reporters the building had violated construction codes and that "the culprits would be punished."


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tattoo Is Key To Sex Assault Arrest In Mexico

An American fugitive suspected of abducting and sexually assaulting a 10-year-old Los Angeles girl has been tracked down to a small Mexican village.

Tobias Summers, 30, was brought back to the US to face 37 charges, including numerous sexual assaults, after hiding out for nearly a month.

He had checked into a rehabilitation clinic in Las Missiones on the coast between Tijuana and Ensenada.

Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck credited a $25k FBI reward, that was highly publicised south of the border, for a phone tip that led to the arrest on Wednesday.

"Anybody in this city who thinks they can commit that kind of crime and remain free after doing so ... we'll hunt you, we'll find you, you cannot hide," Chief Beck said.

Summers checked into the facility under a false name, but police identified him from a Superman logo tattooed on his chest.

"He was pretty scared," said Alfredo Arenas from the Baja California police. "We had him in custody very fast."

Tobias Summers FBI composite Tobias Summers was named on the FBI's list of most wanted fugitives

The victim's parents discovered she was missing from her bedroom in her Northridge home in the early morning hours of March 27.

She was found about 12 hours later wandering near a Starbucks several miles away.

The FBI said the girl had been taken to several locations and raped by Summers.

Authorities soon arrested Daniel Martinez, 29, as a suspected accomplice and later revealed that Summers was spotted in a video recording as he crossed the border into Mexico at Tecate, east of San Diego.

He has been charged with kidnapping, burglary and nearly three dozen counts of sexual assault.

Summers has a criminal record dating to 2002 that includes arrests for robbery, battery and car theft.

He was also allegedly active in a San Fernando Valley white supremacist gang.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boston Bombing Suspect On Terror List In 2011

The name of the dead Boston bombing suspect was placed on a federal government terrorist database 18 months before the marathon attack, according to US officials.

Sources close to the investigation said that the Russian-born Chechen brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been radicalised through jihadist materials on the internet.

According to the US officials Tamerlan was added by the CIA to a classified database of known and suspected terrorists - the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, known as Tide.

The 26-year-old amateur boxer, who according to his aunt had become a devout Muslim in recent years, had been investigated following a request from Russia's security service, the FSB, which had concerns he had become a follower of radical Islam.

Childhood photos of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Family photographs of brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev

In March 2011, about six months earlier, the FBI had separately investigated Tamerlan, also at Russia's request, but the FBI found no ties to terrorism, officials said.                 

However, the spelling the FBI used in its investigation was not the same as the spelling used by the CIA.

His six-month trip to Russia in January 2012 triggered no alerts because the FBI had closed its case and Tamerlan was not considered a risk.                 

According to the officials Dzhokhar, 19, who is being questioned in hospital but unable to speak due to a reportedly self-inflicted throat injury, has told investigators his brother had only recently recruited him to be part of the attack.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Dzhokhar said his brother recruited him for the attacks only recently

The revelations will intensify concerns about failings of the security services in both investigating and identifying Tamerlan as a terrorist threat.

Shortly after the attacks which killed three, including an eight-year-old boy and injured more than 180, US officials said the intelligence community had no information about threats to the marathon before the April 15 explosions.

Tamerlan, whom authorities have described as the driving force behind the plot, was killed in a shoot-out with police.

Boston Marathon explosion The moment of the first explosion

US officials are expected to brief the Senate on the investigation today but the latest disclosures are expected to prompt an inquiry into security failures.

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, said in his annual question and answer session today that the bombings illustrated the need for Russia and the US to work more closely on security matters.

He said: "If we truly join our efforts, we will not allow these strikes and suffer such losses."

Officials said Wednesday that Dzhokhar acknowledged to the FBI his role in the attacks but did so before he was advised of his constitutional rights to keep quiet and seek a lawyer.

Anzor Tsarnaev, father of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings Anzor Tsarnaev, father of the bomb suspects, plans to travel to the US

It is unclear whether those statements would be admissible in a criminal trial and, if not, whether prosecutors even need them to win a conviction.

Authorities have said Dzhokhar exchanged gunfire with them for more than an hour Friday night before they captured him inside a boat in a suburban Boston backyard.

Dzhokhar has told the FBI that he and his brother were angry about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the killing of Muslims there, officials said.

Memorial service for MIT police officer Sean Collier Memorial for murdered MIT officer Sean Collier

How much of those conversations will end up in court is unclear. The FBI normally tells suspects they have the right to remain silent before questioning them so all their statements can be used against them.

Investigators have found pieces of remote-control equipment among the debris from the bombing and were analysing them, officials said.

One official described the detonator as "close-controlled," meaning it had to be triggered within several blocks of the bombs, which had been placed in bags and left by the marathon finish line.

Flowers lay on the sidewalk at the site of the first explosion as people walk along Boylston Street in Boston Floral tributes at the site of the first explosion

They also recovered a 9 mm handgun believed to have been used by Tamerlan from the site of a Thursday night gun battle that injured a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officer.

US investigators had travelled to the predominantly Muslim provence of Dagestan in Russia to speak to the Tamerlan and Dzhokhar's parents Anzor Tsarnaev and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva.

Anzor Tsarnaev has told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that the family wants to take Tamerlan's body back to Russia.

Mr Tsarnaev, who described his youngest son as a "true angel", has said that his sons were framed and that they would not have been involved in the attacks.

He and his wife plan to travel to the US.

Investigators are looking into whether Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who spent six months in Russia's turbulent Caucasus region in 2012, was influenced by the religious extremists who have waged an insurgency against Russian forces in the area for years.

The brothers have roots in Dagestan and neighbouring Chechnya but had lived in the US for about a decade.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Chinese Hacking Suspects 'Back In Business'

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 24 April 2013 | 18.46

By Alistair Bunkall and Mark Stone, Sky News

A group of Chinese hackers suspected of being behind a cyber-attack on the New York Times earlier this year may be restarting their campaign.

BAE Systems, the defence contractor, says it has unearthed evidence that indicates the group is active for the first time since February, when the hackers were accused of being linked to a Chinese military unit in Shanghai.

Although the connection has not been proven, the hacking group went immediately quiet on the day the allegation was made. Now analysts believe the hackers are ready to strike again.

David Garfield, managing director of cyber security at Detica, a BAE Systems subsidiary, told Sky News: "The activity we have detected indicates that the espionage group was lying low until the attention around their activities died down, before getting back to 'business-as-usual'.

"Detica researchers have obtained a copy of malware that has all the hallmarks of being crafted by this espionage group.

"This malware was created in the last week and contains a PDF which contains the agenda of an upcoming US defence conference which is consistent with the mode of operation of these particular attackers.

"The conference, taking place at the end of this month, fits with the style of event which is commonly used as a 'lure' for this group, and others of its kind."

ANONYMOUS masked protest in spain Informal hacking groups operate differently to state-sponsored cyber units

For four months, towards the end of 2012 and into early 2013, hackers repeatedly infiltrated the New York Times, obtaining staff passwords among other things.

Security consultants found that some of the attacks were being routed through US universities to divert the blame away from the source, a method commonly associated with Chinese hackers.

The newspaper said the attacks were probably motivated by work reporters had been carrying out concerning senior figures in the Chinese government.

In February the American computer security company Mandiant published several years of research which it claimed pinpointed the hacking to one building in the Pudong district of Shanghai.

The building was reportedly the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army Unit 61398.

Mandiant represents the cyber-security interests of several major multinational companies, all of whom believe they are the victims of Chinese hackers.

A ground-level shot with military staff present (Picture: City8.com) The HQ said by Mandiant to be the source of much hacking (Pic: City8.com)

On Monday, the Chinese army's chief of the general staff, General Fang Fenghui, was asked about cyber security at a rare news conference with the visiting US chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Martin Dempsey.

General Fang issued an alarming warning on the dangers of hacking.

"Cybersecurity, if it is uncontrolled, the effects can be, and I don't exaggerate, at times no less than a nuclear bomb," General Fang said.

General Fang also reiterated a longstanding Chinese government assertion that China is also a victim of cyber attacks and that it is "strongly against any kind of cyber attacks".

China is not the only country connected with cyber attacks - the US, Russia, Israel and Iran are all suspected of developing cyber weapons. Most Western countries are believed to be doing the same.

Both BAE Systems Detica and Mandiant have commercial interests in highlighting the dangers of cyber crime.

The Chinese government has not responded to the latest allegations.

:: The Syrian Electronic Army has made an uncorroborated claim that it hacked the Twitter feed of the Associated Press news organisation. On Tuesday, the AP feed falsely stated that an attack on the White House had left the US president injured.

:: Australian police have arrested the self-proclaimed leader of non-state global hacking group LulzSec, which its members have said was responsible for breaching the CIA's external website.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boston: Suspects' Parents Face Questioning

US diplomats have travelled to Russia's Dagestan region to interview the parents of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

A delegation from the American embassy in Moscow has made the journey to the North Caucasus area to interview the pair, Anzor and Zubeidat Tsarnaev.

An embassy official said the trip was in line with the co-operation between the FBI and Russian authorities over the investigation into the deadly bombings allegedly carried out by brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Dzhokhar has been charged

The parents are currently living in Dagestan, a largely Muslim region on the Caspian Sea where the family briefly lived before leaving for the US over a decade ago.

It comes amid mounting questions in the US about whether authorities there missed crucial signals that should have raised suspicions about the brothers before the bombings.

Particular interest has surrounded a six-month trip Tamerlan made in 2012 to Dagestan and Chechnya.

Russian security sources in Dagestan told the AFP news agency he was seen four times with a figure suspected of links with the Islamist underground during his visit but there was never any reason to detain him.

Meanwhile, some relatives claimed Tamerlan, 26, fell under the influence of a Muslim convert and was steered towards a strict strain of Islam in the years before the attacks.

After befriending the red-bearded man known to the Tsarnaev family only as Misha, Tamerlan gave up boxing and stopped studying music, the family said.

Boston shootout This image appears to show the brothers crouched by a Mercedes

He became vocal about his opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and read websites claiming that the CIA was behind the 9/11 terror attacks and Jews controlled the world.

"Somehow, he just took his brain," said Tamerlan's uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, who recalled conversations with Tamerlan's father about Misha's influence.

It was not immediately clear whether the FBI has spoken to Misha or was attempting to, but efforts by the media to identify and interview the mystery man have been unsuccessful.

The brothers' mother, Zubeidat, denied Misha had radicalised Tamerlan, telling the ABC network in the US he was "just a friend".

Throughout his religious makeover, Tamerlan maintained a strong influence over his siblings, including 19-year-old Dzhokhar, who investigators say carried out the deadly attack by his older brother's side, killing three people.

Anzor Tsarnaev Tamerlan's father Anzor was said to be worried about the mystery radical

The family's claims came as new photos were released that apparently show the police stand-off that killed Tamerlan on Friday.

The images seem to have been taken from inside a house overlooking the scene of the gunfight, and show the brothers crouching near a Mercedes SUV they had carjacked.   

One of the brothers appears to be holding a gun with both hands in front of his body.

Dzhokhar survived the shoot-out and was caught by police later in the day.

He was charged on Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Based on preliminary written interviews with Dzhokar in his hospital bed, US officials believe the brothers were motivated by their religious views.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev boxing Tamerlan (L) boxes at the 2009 Golden Gloves

Two US officials say the brothers had no tie to terrorist groups, but Tamerlan's relationship with Misha could be a clue in understanding the motives behind his religious transformation and, ultimately, the attack itself.

Elmirza Khozhugov, 26, the ex-husband of Tamerlan's sister, Ailina, said Tamerlan was idolised by his siblings.

"You could always hear his younger brother and sisters say, 'Tamerlan said this,' and 'Tamerlan said that.' Dzhokhar loved him. He would do whatever Tamerlan would say," he said.

The Tsarnaev brothers, who were ethnic Chechens, were raised in a home that followed Sunni Islam, the religion's largest sect.

They were not regulars at the mosque and rarely discussed religion, Mr Khozhugov said.

Then, in 2008 or 2009, Tamerlan met Misha, who the family described as slightly older, heavyset and bald.

Uncle Of Boston Bombers Addresses The Media Outside His Montgomery Village Home Mr Tsarni made a public appeal to his nephew when he was on the run

"Misha was important," Mr Khozhugov said. "Tamerlan was searching for something. He was searching for something out there."

Mr Khozhugov did not know where they had met but believed they attended a Boston-area mosque together.

Misha was an Armenian native and a convert to Islam and quickly began influencing his new friend, family members said.

Once, Mr Khozhugov said, Misha came to the family home outside Boston and sat in the kitchen, chatting with Tamerlan for hours.

"Misha was telling him what is Islam, what is good in Islam, what is bad in Islam," said Mr Khozhugov, who said he was present for the conversation.

The conversation continued until Tamerlan's father, Anzor, came home from work around midnight.

"His father comes in and says, 'Why is Misha here so late and still in our house?' He asked it politely. Tamerlan was so much into the conversation he didn't listen."

Childhood photos of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Tamerlan is seen here with little brother Dzhokhar and their sisters

Mr Khozhugov said Tamerlan's mother told him not to worry.

As time went on, Anzor became so concerned about his son that he called his brother, worried about Misha's influence.

"I heard about nobody else but this convert. The seed for changing his views was planted right there in Cambridge," Mr Tsarni said.

Last week, Mr Tsarni made a public appeal for Dzhokhar to turn himself in when he was still at large following his brother's death.

Since the attacks, Anzor has insisted his sons are innocent and the attacks were orchestrated to frame them. Other members of the extended family have made similar claims.

But two US officials have confirmed that Tamerlan, who was married with a young daughter, became an ardent reader of jihadist websites and extremist propaganda.

Lawyers for Katherine Tsarnaeva, Tamerlan's widow, say she is doing everything she can to assist authorities.

In a statement her legal team said Tsarnaeva, a Muslim convert, and her family were in shock when they learned of allegations against her husband and brother-in-law.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bangladesh: Dozens Dead After Building Fall

At least 70 people have died after an eight-storey building collapsed on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.

Another 700 are reported to have been injured in the building's collapse which involved several garment factories.

"The toll will rise as conditions of some injured were critical," said Hiralal Roy, a senior emergency ward doctor at the nearby Enam hospital.

Tens of thousands of people gathered at the site, some of them weeping survivors, some searching for family members, with 1,000 people still reported to be trapped inside the building.

Clothing factories are usually staffed 24 hours a day.

Firefighters and soldiers using drilling machines and cranes worked together with local volunteers in the search for other survivors from the building, which fell into itself, leaving it about two storeys tall.

Crowds gather at the collapsed Rana Plaza building as people rescue garment workers trapped in the rubble, in Savar Hundreds of factory workers were trapped inside the building

Some workers complained that the building had developed cracks on Tuesday evening, triggering an evacuation, but they had been forced back to the production lines by their managers.

"The managers forced us to rejoin and just one hour after we entered the factory the building collapsed with a huge noise," said a 24-year-old worker who gave her first name as Mousumi.

"I am injured. But I've not found my husband who was working on the fourth floor," she said, estimating that 5,000 people worked inside the building, which also housed apartments, a bank and shops.

People mourn for their relatives, who are trapped inside the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, in Savar Thousands gathered on the streets where the building collapsed

The collapse stirred memories of a fatal fire in a clothing factory in November that killed 112 people and raised an outcry about safety in the nation's garment industry.

That fire at the Tazreen factory drew international attention to the conditions workers toil under in the $20bn-a-year (£13bn) textile industry in Bangladesh.

The country has about 4,000 garment factories and exports clothes to leading Western retailers - the industry wields vast power in the South Asian nation.

Tazreen did not have emergency exits and its owner said only three floors of the eight-story building were legally built.

Surviving employees said gates had been locked and managers had told them to go back to work after the fire alarm went off.

The factory made clothes for Wal-Mart, Disney and other Western brands.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boston Bomb Suspects 'Had Religious Motive'

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 23 April 2013 | 18.46

The two brothers suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon appear to have been motivated by a radical brand of Islam, but they do not seem connected to any Muslim terrorist groups, US officials have said.

Authorities have interrogated and charged the surviving brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with crimes that could bring the death penalty.

The 19-year-old remains in a serious condition with a gunshot wound to his throat and other injuries suffered during his attempted getaway.

His older brother, Tamerlan, 26, died on Friday after a fierce gun battle with police.

Tsarnaev was charged in his hospital bed with using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.

He was accused of joining with his brother in setting off the shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs that killed three people a week ago.

Childhood photos of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Tamerlan is seen here with little brother Dzhokhar and their sisters

The brothers, ethnic Chechens from Russia who had been living in the US for about a decade, practised Islam.

Two US officials said preliminary evidence from the younger man's interrogation suggests the brothers were motivated by religious extremism but were apparently not involved with Islamic terrorist organisations.

Dzhokhar is said to have communicated with his interrogators in writing due to his injuries.

They said they were still trying to verify what they were told by Tsarnaev and were looking at such things as his phone and online communications and his associations with others.

In the criminal complaint outlining the allegations, investigators said Tsarnaev and his brother each placed a backpack containing a bomb in the crowd near the finish line of the marathon.

The FBI said surveillance-camera footage showed Dzhokhar manipulating his mobile phone and lifting it to his ear just moments before the two blasts.

A moment of silence near the finish line of the Boston marathon. A silent tribute was held in Boston on Monday

After the first explosion, a block away from Dzhokhar "virtually every head turns to the east ... and stares in that direction in apparent bewilderment and alarm", the complaint says.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev "virtually alone of the individuals in front of the restaurant, appears calm".

He then quickly walked away, leaving a backpack on the ground; about 10 seconds later, a bomb blew up at the spot where he had been standing, the FBI said.

The FBI did not say whether he was using his mobile phone to detonate one or both of the bombs or whether he was talking to someone.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying two foreign nationals arrested on Saturday in the Boston area on immigration violations are from Kazakhstan and may have known the two marathon bombing suspects.

The foreign ministry said US authorities came across them while searching for "possible links and contacts" to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Their names have not been released.

Bombings at end of Boston Marathon The aftermath of the Boston Marathon blasts

On Monday, Boston residents observed a moment of silence exactly a week after the first of two bombs went off near the marathon finish line.

A private funeral was also held for Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant worker who was among the dead.

Later in the day, a memorial service was held at Boston University for another victim, Lu Lingzi, 23, a graduate student from China.

The youngest person to die was eight-year-old Martin Richard, while police officer Sean Collier was killed during a confrontation with the suspects in the early hours of Friday.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Libya: French Embassy In Tripoli Attacked

The French embassy in Libya has been damaged after a car bomb attack in the capital of Tripoli.

Officials have confirmed that two security guards were injured in the attack.

"There was an attack on the embassy. We think it was a booby-trapped car," a Libyan official said.

The damaged French embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli Pic: @Eh4b10 The blast happened at 7am in an upmarket residential area of the city

"There was a lot of damage and there are two guards wounded."

The blast destroyed a security wall and severely damaged the building when the blast occurred at about 7am local time.

The French mission is located in a two-storey villa in the uptown Gargaresh area of Tripoli.

Journalist William Crisp, at the scene, told Sky News: "The engine block of the car landed quite a way from the embassy so it was quite a strong blast.

Libya Map The unprecedented attack occurred in Tripoli

"The attack was in a sleepy, wealthy part of town. It was a middle-class neighbourhood."

The motive for the attack, the first assault launched on an embassy in the Libyan capital, was not immediately clear.

A French source confirmed an attack against the embassy and said one guard was seriously wounded and another lightly hurt.

Buildings opposite the embassy were also damaged in the attack and two cars parked near the embassy were destroyed.

People stand among debris outside the French embassy after the building was attacked, in Tripoli The bomb appeared to have been detonated directly outside the embassy

Libyan foreign minister Mohammed Abdel Aziz condemned the attack on the embassy, calling it a "terrorist act".

"We strongly condemn this act, which we regard as a terrorist act against a brother nation that supported Libya during the revolution" of 2011 that ousted the regime of Moamer Kadhafi, Abdel Aziz told AFP news agency at the scene of the blast.

In Paris, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius condemned the bombing, calling it an "abhorrent act."

In a statement, Mr Fabius said his ministry was "in liaison with the Libyan authorities" and that France will "do everything it can to shed light on the circumstances of this abhorrent act and to quickly identify the perpetrators".

Graffiti against France is sprayed on a wall outside the French embassy in Tripoli, Libya, on August 30, 2011 The embassy was daubed in anti-French graffiti in 2011

Mr Fabius is expected to make a visit to the city to discuss the situation with both Libyan officials and French diplomatic staff.

Sky News Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall added: "It is another indication of how things are not doing well in Libya.

"The French would be a target, along with Britain, as they spearheaded regime change from the Gaddafi era."

Two years after the country's civil war, Libya has struggled to maintain security, build a unified army and reign in its militias.

On the anniversary of the September 11 US attacks last year, armed men launched an assault on the US consulate in Benghazi, killing four US citizens including the ambassador to Libya.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Canada: 'Al Qaeda Train Terror Plot' Foiled

Canadian police have foiled an al Qaeda-backed "major terrorist plot" to attack a passenger train on a railway line between New York and Toronto.

Two people have been arrested and charged with conspiring to carry out the attack and murder people in association with a terrorist group, police revealed at a news conference in Toronto.

The suspects - Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35 - had been under surveillance since August 2012 after authorities were tipped off about one of the men.

They will attend a bail hearing in Toronto today.

The pair were allegedly planning to target and derail a Via Rail passenger train in the Toronto area, and are alleged to have received "direction and guidance" from al Qaeda "elements" in Iran.

Police said there was "no indication that these attacks were state-sponsored" and declined to say where the suspects were from.

They confirmed they were not Canadian citizens but had been in the country "a significant amount of time".

The suspects' plans were "not based on their ethnic origins but on an ideology," police said.

"This is the first known al Qaeda-planned attack that we've experienced in Canada," Superintendent Doug Best said.

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said the claim that the men were backed by Tehran-supported al Qaeda was "ridiculous".

RCMP Chief Superintendent Strachan, Assistant Commissioner Malizia and Chief Superintendent Courchesne speak during a news conference in Toronto, Ontario Canadian police hold a news conference to reveal details of the arrests

"This is the most hilarious thing I've heard in my 64 years," he said.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews warned later that the "arrests demonstrate that terrorism continues to be a real threat to Canada".

Canadian authorities, the FBI and US Homeland Security police and agents have been involved in a year-long cross-border operation that led to the arrests in Toronto and Montreal.

Assistant Commissioner James Maliza, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said: "Had this plot been carried out it would have resulted in innocent people being killed, or seriously injured."

His colleague Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan added: "We are alleging that these two individuals took steps and conducted activities to initiate a terrorist attack.

"They watched trains and railways in the Greater Toronto area. It was definitely in the planning stage but not imminent."

Sky's US correspondent Amanda Walker said: "They are really hailing this as a successful operation, something that they have managed to prevent.

"It does seem they have treated this as a very serious and major threat which was certainly well on in the planning.

"But not far enough for the public or railway staff to be in any immediate danger.

"So obviously they had a difficult act here to actually balance the timing of when they made these arrests - getting enough intelligence, enough information, but not taking that up to the point when the public would have been in real danger."

The news comes one week after twin bombings at the Boston Marathon killed three people and wounded 180 - and as Canada's parliament debates a proposal to beef up anti-terror measures.

A US Justice Department official in Washington said there was no connection between the thwarted terrorist plot and last Monday's attacks in Boston.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boston Bombs Suspect 'Awake And Responding'

Written By Unknown on Senin, 22 April 2013 | 18.46

The surviving Boston marathon bomb suspect is beginning to respond to questions from investigators, reports say.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev remains in a critical but stable condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, where some of the 180 people wounded in the blasts are also being treated.

The 19-year-old is said to have a wound to his throat - reportedly caused by a gunshot through his mouth that exited the back of his neck - which prevents him from speaking.

Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Tamerlan died in a gunfight

But major US news networks say he is responding to questions in writing.

He is under armed guard in hospital and federal prosecutors are preparing to file criminal charges against him.

Dzhokhar is also reported to have been shot in the leg during a shootout with law enforcement the night before his arrest.

His older brother and fellow suspect Tamerlan, 26, died in that gunfight.

A lawyer for Tamerlan's wife, Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, said US authorities have also asked to speak with his client.

Katherine Russell wife of marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev Tamerlan's wife apparently did not suspect her husband of anything

Amato DeLuca said Mrs Russell Tsarnaev did not suspect her husband of anything, and nothing seemed amiss after the bombings.

After Tamerlan was killed early on Friday, Dzhokhar escaped, triggering an hours-long manhunt that shut down Boston.

It ended with the teenager's capture in a boat parked in a backyard late on Friday night.

It has also emerged police chiefs believe the Tsarnaev brothers were planning further attacks.

Commissioner Ed Davis said officers found a large stockpile of weapons and more than 250 rounds of ammunition at the scene of the earlier gun battle.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the boat in a Boston backyard Dzhokhar leaves the boat he was hiding in

"They had IEDS," he said, referring to improvised explosives devices. "They had homemade hand grenades that they were throwing at the officers.

"The scene was loaded with unexploded improvised explosive devices that actually we had to point out to the arriving officers and clear the area."

He said one IED was found in a Mercedes the brothers had abandoned. "This was as dangerous as it gets in urban policing," Commissioner Davis said.

The city's residents have been asked to observe a moment of silence at 2:50pm today, exactly a week after the first of two bombs went off within seconds of each other near the marathon finish line.

A private funeral was also set to take part later for Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant worker who was among the dead.

US-ATTACKS-BOSTON There was a big manhunt for Dzhokhar who escaped after the first gun battle

A memorial service will be held at Boston University for another victim, Lu Lingzi, 23, a graduate student from China. The youngest person to die was eight-year-old Martin Richard.

Mr Davis said federal authorities were trying to track down how and where the two suspects obtained the firearms and explosive devices.

The two were ethnic Chechens who had been living in the United States for a decade.

Runners continue to run towards the finish line as an explosion erupts at the finish line of the Boston Marathon Three people were killed in the twin bombings

Dzhokhar became a US citizen in 2012, while his older brother's application was reportedly held up.

Tamerlan began posting militant videos on social media sites in recent years, and travelled to Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, in 2012. Both Russian regions host separatist rebel groups.

The brothers' social media pages appeared to express sympathy with the struggle in Chechnya, which has been ravaged by two wars since 1994 between Russia and increasingly Islamist-leaning separatist rebels.

Three people died and more than 180 others were injured in the twin blasts at the marathon, the worst bombing to take place in the US since 9/11.

The Boston Red Sox, Major League Baseball and several affiliated organisations have contributed more than £400,000 to One Fund Boston, established to help people most affected by the blasts last Monday.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boston: 'Wife Heard Husband Was Suspect On TV'

The wife of one of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers apparently found out he was a suspect on television.

US investigators have asked to speak to Muslim convert Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, according to her lawyer Amato DeLuca, as they try to establish a motive for the attacks.

She did not suspect her husband Tamerlan Tsarnaev of anything, and nothing seemed amiss after the bombings, he added.

Mr DeLuca said she had been working 70 to 80 hours a week as a home health care aide while her husband looked after their toddler daughter.

The lawyer said on the last day his client saw her husband alive, Tamerlan, 26, was home when she left for work.

She was at university in Boston when friends introduced her to her future husband at a nightclub and they dated on and off, before marrying in 2009 or 2010, Mr DeLuca said.

Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Tamerlan Tsarnaev (left) and his younger brother Dzhokhar

Mrs Russell Tsarnaev, reportedly aged 24, was raised as a Christian, but at some point after meeting Tamerlan Tsarnaev she converted to Islam, he said.

When asked why she converted, he said: "She believes in the tenets of Islam and of the Koran. She believes in God."

The suspected bomber was killed after a shootout with police early on Friday.

His brother Dzhokhar, 19, escaped, triggering an hours-long manhunt that shut down Boston before he was caught.

The siblings are accused of planting two bombs near the marathon finish line last Monday, killing three people and injuring more than 180.

Officials take crime scene photos a day after two explosions hit the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts Forensic officers at one of the blast sites

Mrs Russell Tsarnaev did not speak to federal officials who on Sunday evening came to her parents' home, where she has been staying since her husband died.

Mr DeLuca said he spoke to officials but he would not offer further details.

"We're deciding what we want to do and how we want to approach this," he said.

When asked whether anything seemed amiss to the wife following the bombings, DeLuca said, "Not as far as I know."

"When this allegedly was going on, she was working, and had been working all week to support her family," he said.

He said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was at college and she did not see him "at all" at the apartment they shared with her mother-in-law.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

US: Five Killed In Apartment Complex Shootings

Five people have been killed at an apartment complex in Washington State, including a suspect who was shot by officers.

Police say officers responded to a report of shots being fired at the Pinewood Apartments complex in Federal Way, south of Seattle, at 9.30pm.

As well as the suspect, the victims include three other men and one woman.

Federal Way police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock said: "When we arrived, there was a lot of gunfire already being fired and multiple calls, 911 calls of gunfire."

Police found two injured men in a parking lot, one of whom reached for a gun as the officers moved in to assist them, she said.

At that point other officers opened fire.

Seattle Map

The suspect was killed but it was not immediately clear if it was from police gunfire.

The other man on the ground and a third man in the parking lot were found dead.

Police found another dead man in one apartment and the body of a woman in another.

Police carried out searches of the area, and authorities said afterwards they did not think another gunman was on the loose.

It is not clear what sparked the shootings and police are trying to determine if the woman was accidentally hit by gunfire.

"We're gonna continue to go door-to-door in hopes that we can find some additional witnesses, and hopefully we won't be finding any more victims," Ms Schrock said.

Federal Way is about 20 miles (32km) south of Seattle.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: US Offers Rebels $123m Non-Lethal Aid

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 21 April 2013 | 18.46

The United States is providing Syrian rebels with $123m (£80m) in new non-lethal aid that may include body armour and other supplies.

The money will double the amount of non-lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition, as well as increase humanitarian aid.

The aid could include armoured vehicles, night vision goggles and advanced communications equipment.

Foreign ministers from the main supporters of the rebels trying to topple the Syrian government have been meeting in Istanbul to increase pressure on Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

The United Nations estimates the fighting in Syria has killed more than 70,000 people.

"The stakes in Syria couldn't be more clear," said US Secretary of State John Kerry.

"Chemical weapons, the slaughter of people by ballistic missiles and other weapons of huge destruction, the potential of a whole country ... being torn apart into enclaves, the potential of sectarian violence.

Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu and U.S. Secretary of State Kerry attend a news conference after the Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul John Kerry meets Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul

"This bloodshed needs to stop and that's what brought us here tonight on Saturday and a very early Sunday morning to talk about the possibilities for peace and transition."

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers said they welcomed the Syrian National Coalition's "firm rejection of extremism and its commitment not to use chemical weapons".

They cited those commitments in agreeing to enhance and expand support for all coalition institutions.

The foreign ministers said they recognised the "need to change the balance of power on the ground" and welcomed the additional pledges and commitments to further increase the support to the Supreme Military Council.

The head of the council provided a military briefing during the meeting.

Syrian opposition leader Moaz al Khatib said: "Our revolution is for the entire Syrian people."

US President Barack Obama has said he has no plans to send weapons or give lethal aid to the rebels, despite pressure from Congress, some administration advisers and appeals from the Syrian opposition leadership.

Since February, the US has shipped food and medical supplies directly to the Free Syrian Army, but Mr Obama recently expanded the aid to include defensive military equipment.

Mr Kerry's announcement on Saturday was the first under that new authorisation.

So far, the US has provided an estimated $117m in non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition.

Today, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel heads to Israel in a week-long trip to the Middle East that will be dominated by the Syrian conflict as well as the Iran's nuclear programme.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

China Quake: Over 11,000 People Injured

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

The death toll in the Chinese earthquake is expected to rise above 200 today as rescuers find more bodies under rubble.

More than 11,000 people are confirmed to have been injured after the earthquake struck China's Sichuan province.

The Chinese news agency Xinhua said the quake, measured at varying magnitudes between 6.6 and 7.0, struck at 8.02am local time on Saturday close to the city of Ya'an in Lushan county.

The epicentre had a depth of a little less than eight miles (13km).

The quake triggered landslides and destroyed buildings. A major rescue operation involving emergency services and more than 6,000 troops has worked through the night to reach trapped people in various communities across the region.

The rescue effort is understood to have been hampered by aftershocks. Some of the tremors that followed the main quake have been almost as strong.

China quake In one area, about 50% of buildings have been destroyed

According to local media reports, a vehicle carrying 17 soldiers fell off a cliff and into a river as it travelled to the epicentre. One soldier was killed and seven more injured, three seriously.

But extraordinary stories of survival are already emerging. According to one local media report, a mother managed to lift concrete weighing 50kg to rescue her son from the rubble.

Another report described how a woman gave birth at a bike shelter just a few hours after the quake hit.

And remarkable TV footage from one collapsed building shows rescue workers pulling a tiny baby alive from the rubble. The child's mother was also saved.

Tremors were felt in neighbouring provinces and in the provincial capital city of Chengdu. Users of Weibo, China's microblogging service, have posted images of damaged buildings and described scenes of panic as residents rushed outside.

Local seismologists registered the quake at magnitude 7.0 while the US Geological Survey (USGS) put it at 6.6.

The USGS said "significant" casualties were likely and "extensive damage is probable and disaster is likely widespread."

A Chinese general, flying over the region in a helicopter, told local media that as many as 50% of buildings in one area had collapsed.

People rest outside damaged houses after a strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit, at Longmen village, Lushan county Thousands of rescuers have been deployed

China's new Premier Li Keqiang has visited the region to survey the damage.

The quake is the first big test for the new Chinese leadership. Their ability to respond to it is likely to be scrutinised on an ever growing social media forum.

The epicentre is close to the location of the 2008 earthquake which killed 68,000 people. That quake had a greater magnitude of 7.9 but its epicentre was further underground.

The 2008 disaster destroyed large swathes of the province along with areas of neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu. The government faced significant criticism for allowing badly constructed buildings to be erected and for covering up their failings.

This time, early indications suggest a much better level of preparedness.

Cai Jing, the Deputy Secretary-General of Sichuan's Provincial Government, attempted to reassure people at a late news conference last night.

"The main road sections in Lushan County have been reopened," he said.

China map

"Hospitals in the province are ready to receive and transport the injured. A total of 28,971 rescuers from 95 professional rescue teams with 933 sets of equipment have been dispatched," he told reporters at the briefing in Chengdu City.

"At present, about 13,466 rescuers have arrived at the epicentre and 2,058 others are heading to the area. In addition, 13,547 rescuers are put on standby."

Better technology is also helping the authorities. For the first time, unmanned drones are being used over the disaster zone to send back pictures and assess damage.

But new technology is also putting increased pressure on the authorities. This is the first natural disaster in China in the "Weibo era". The twitter-like social media phenomenon has allowed "netizens" to openly criticise the government for failings.

International offers of assistance have already been received.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague sent the condolences of the nation.

"My thoughts are also with the Chinese authorities and the emergency services as they continue their rescue efforts. We are in contact with local authorities through our Consulate-General in Chongqing and will continue to follow the situation closely," he said.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin sent China's President Xi Jinping a telegram expressing his condolences and offering help.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boston Bombings: Footage Of Suspect Hiding

Boston Marathon Blasts: Timeline

Updated: 11:14am UK, Saturday 20 April 2013

Here is a timeline of events from the Boston Marathon bombings to the death of one of the suspects and another one being taken into custody.

Monday, April 15 (Times are local)

2.50pm: An explosion takes place near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Around 10 seconds later, there is another blast about 100m further back down the same road, Boylston Street, also on the marathon route.

The explosions occurred four hours into the race and two hours after the men's winner had crossed the line, but thousands of runners were still on the course.

2.57pm: The Boston Globe's Twitter feed reports a witness hearing "two loud booms" near the finish line.

4.02pm: Two people have died and 23 injured in the explosions, Boston Police confirms via Twitter.

6.12pm: President Barack Obama addresses the nation, saying: "The American people will say a prayer for Boston tonight."

8.49pm: At a news conference, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announces the FBI has taken over the investigation.

It is confirmed three people died as a result of the bombings and at least 100 others were hurt. The injury toll was later put at over 180.

Tuesday, April 16

Two victims of the blasts were identified as Martin Richard, eight, and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell.

Martin was waiting with his family to give his father a hug at the finish line when he died.

Restaurant manager Ms Campbell had gone with her best friend to take a picture of the friend's boyfriend crossing the finish when the bombs went off.

Wednesday, April 17

The third victim is identified as 23-year-old Chinese graduate student Lingzi Lu.

Boston University confirmed Ms Lu was studying mathematics and statistics there and was due to receive her degree in 2015.

It said she and two friends had been watching the marathon near the finish line. One of the friends, also a Boston University student, was injured while the other was unharmed, it added.

There are reports a suspect has been detained in connection with the explosions and is due to appear in court - but authorities said there had been no arrests.

The federal court in the city is evacuated due to a bomb scare but people are later allowed to return.

Thursday, April 18

Afternoon: Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend an interfaith service at a Roman Catholic cathedral in Boston to remember the bombing victims. The president vows the attackers will face justice.

Evening: The FBI releases photos and video footage of two bombings suspects at the scene before the attacks.

One is pictured wearing a black baseball cap and a second had a white baseball cap on back to front.

Police say the suspects tried to rob a supermarket in Cambridge, across the river from Boston, on Thursday evening.  

10.20pm: Officers receive reports of shots fired on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Cambridge.

10.30pm: A police officer at MIT is found with gunshot wounds in his vehicle after being shot several times. He died in hospital.

The bomb suspects are suspected of carrying out the shooting.

They are then thought to have stolen a Mercedes car at gunpoint and later release its driver unharmed.

Friday, April 19

1am: Witnesses in Watertown near Boston report hearing multiple gunshots and explosions. The suspects reportedly threw explosives from the vehicle as police followed it into the area.

The suspects and police exchange gunfire, during which an officer is hurt.

Police say one of the two suspects in the MIT officer shooting, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is dead. But his younger brother, Dzhokhar, remains at large. The pair are suspected of carrying out the bombings.

An extensive manhunt takes place in the Watertown area for Dzhokhar, who is said to be armed and dangerous.

Almost a million residents in Boston are warned to stay indoors and public transport is stopped as armed police search for Dzhokhar.

The two suspects are said to be from a Russian region near Chechnya and have lived in the US for at least one year.

6.60pm: Massachusetts Governor Patrick Deval announces the "stay indoors" order is being lifted, even though Dzhokhar remains in hiding.

Around the time the order is lifted, a flurry of gunfire breaks out in the community that is being searched. Law enforcement officials locate Dzhokhar in a boat parked behind a home.

8.45pm: Dzhokhar is taken into custody by police.


18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More
techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger