World News Thread & Breaking News!!

[plawolf]

Remember how the world was apparently outraged when the Russians started banned western NGOs and scoffed at Russian claims that those NGOs were being used as fronts for covert US operations to destabilise Russia and other post Soviet governments the US didn't like because of their friendly attitude towards Russia?

Well these recent revelations would suggest that the Russians might have had a point, and casts serious suspicion on the exact role the US government played in the colour revolutions that swept across many of the former soviet block countries a few years ago, the Arab Spring that lead to the overthrow of the Libyan government and the civil war in Syria, and also in the coup recently in Ukraine.

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The White House confirms a US government aid agency was behind a text-message service that was allegedly designed to foment unrest in Cuba.

ZunZuneo, dubbed a "Cuban Twitter", had 40,000 subscribers at its height in a country with limited web access, reports the Associated Press.

The project is said to have lasted from 2009-12 when the grant money ran out.

The US reportedly hid its links to the network through shell firms and by routing messages via other countries.

There has been no official Cuban government reaction to the story.

'Bogus advertisements'
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in the Cuban capital of Havana says there is a thirst for information on the island, which has no independent media.

Continue reading the main story
Analysis


Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Havana
The ZunZuneo project seems to have focused on phone messages because internet activity is so limited in Cuba. Cubans were only permitted to own mobile phones in 2008, but now they are very common.

Since last year, 137 public internet access points have been opened - for the whole island. But one hour online costs $4.50 (£2.70) - or almost a quarter of an average monthly state salary. Getting online in a hotel is now possible for Cubans, but prices there are even higher. Last month, the government began allowing email via telephone.

In this void - telephone messaging has emerged as a common form of organisation for Cuba's small dissident community - who send photos and post to Twitter via their mobile phones. But most Cubans who do go online are generally more interested in using sites such as Facebook or email to contact family and friends now living abroad.

The scheme, first reported by the Associated Press news agency, was operated by the US Agency for International Development (USAID)

It is a federal international development organisation run under the aegis of the Department of State.

At a daily news briefing on Thursday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the project had been debated by Congress and passed oversight controls.

He said: "These are the kinds of environments where a programme like this and its association with the US government can create problems for practitioners and members of the public.

"So appropriate discretion is engaged in for that reason but not because it's covert, not because it's an intelligence programme, because it is neither covert nor an intelligence programme."

USAID spokesman Matt Herrick told the BBC the agency was proud of its efforts in Cuba and that it worked to help people everywhere to exercise their rights and connect them with the outside world.

However, the report could undermine USAID's longstanding claim that it does not take covert action in the countries where it operates aid programmes.

ZunZuneo, slang for a Cuban hummingbird's tweet, was reportedly designed to attract a subscriber base with discussion initially about everyday topics such as sport and weather.

US officials then planned to introduce political messages to spur the network's users into dissent from their communist-run government, the Associated Press reports.

Executives set up firms in Spain and the Cayman Islands to pay the company's bills and funneled the text messages away from US servers.

A website and bogus web advertisements were reportedly created to give the impression of a real firm.

Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the foreign operations appropriations subcommittee, said the revelations were troubling.

One former subscriber, Javiel, told the BBC in Havana that ZunZuneo sent him free sports news by text.

He said he had no idea the service was funded by the US and never received anything remotely political.

Javiel said that at some point over a year ago the messages stopped.

 

[aquauant]

Chinese tourist was abducted by terrorists in the resort town of singamata in Sabah, Malaysia.



Chinese:

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English:

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*Also another hotel worker was abducted as well.

It happens quite frequently in the area. Last time it was a Taiwanese woman got abducted and her friend was shot and killed during the abduction. She was eventually released.

 

[AssassinsMace]

Remember how the world was apparently outraged when the Russians started banned western NGOs and scoffed at Russian claims that those NGOs were being used as fronts for covert US operations to destabilise Russia and other post Soviet governments the US didn't like because of their friendly attitude towards Russia?

Well these recent revelations would suggest that the Russians might have had a point, and casts serious suspicion on the exact role the US government played in the colour revolutions that swept across many of the former soviet block countries a few years ago, the Arab Spring that lead to the overthrow of the Libyan government and the civil war in Syria, and also in the coup recently in Ukraine.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

The White House confirms a US government aid agency was behind a text-message service that was allegedly designed to foment unrest in Cuba.

ZunZuneo, dubbed a "Cuban Twitter", had 40,000 subscribers at its height in a country with limited web access, reports the Associated Press.

The project is said to have lasted from 2009-12 when the grant money ran out.

The US reportedly hid its links to the network through shell firms and by routing messages via other countries.

There has been no official Cuban government reaction to the story.

'Bogus advertisements'
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in the Cuban capital of Havana says there is a thirst for information on the island, which has no independent media.

Continue reading the main story
Analysis


Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Havana
The ZunZuneo project seems to have focused on phone messages because internet activity is so limited in Cuba. Cubans were only permitted to own mobile phones in 2008, but now they are very common.

Since last year, 137 public internet access points have been opened - for the whole island. But one hour online costs $4.50 (£2.70) - or almost a quarter of an average monthly state salary. Getting online in a hotel is now possible for Cubans, but prices there are even higher. Last month, the government began allowing email via telephone.

In this void - telephone messaging has emerged as a common form of organisation for Cuba's small dissident community - who send photos and post to Twitter via their mobile phones. But most Cubans who do go online are generally more interested in using sites such as Facebook or email to contact family and friends now living abroad.

The scheme, first reported by the Associated Press news agency, was operated by the US Agency for International Development (USAID)

It is a federal international development organisation run under the aegis of the Department of State.

At a daily news briefing on Thursday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the project had been debated by Congress and passed oversight controls.

He said: "These are the kinds of environments where a programme like this and its association with the US government can create problems for practitioners and members of the public.

"So appropriate discretion is engaged in for that reason but not because it's covert, not because it's an intelligence programme, because it is neither covert nor an intelligence programme."

USAID spokesman Matt Herrick told the BBC the agency was proud of its efforts in Cuba and that it worked to help people everywhere to exercise their rights and connect them with the outside world.

However, the report could undermine USAID's longstanding claim that it does not take covert action in the countries where it operates aid programmes.

ZunZuneo, slang for a Cuban hummingbird's tweet, was reportedly designed to attract a subscriber base with discussion initially about everyday topics such as sport and weather.

US officials then planned to introduce political messages to spur the network's users into dissent from their communist-run government, the Associated Press reports.

Executives set up firms in Spain and the Cayman Islands to pay the company's bills and funneled the text messages away from US servers.

A website and bogus web advertisements were reportedly created to give the impression of a real firm.

Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the foreign operations appropriations subcommittee, said the revelations were troubling.

One former subscriber, Javiel, told the BBC in Havana that ZunZuneo sent him free sports news by text.

He said he had no idea the service was funded by the US and never received anything remotely political.

Javiel said that at some point over a year ago the messages stopped.

This just shows without a doubt after being inspired by the Arab Spring, Hillary was behind the anonymous posting in Chinese social media calling for a Chinese revolution "at this place and time" in China to where the Western media gathered to watch and nothing happened. Yeah the Western media all decided to follow what an anonymous person on the internet posted? The thing is Hillary forgot to leave the messiah complex at home to where it didn't translate well through an anonymous post from someone trying to pose as Chinese to which is why nothing happened.

It's funny that there's a lot of rage at Putin for pointing to the hypocrisy of critics over Ukraine when this was exactly what he was talking about. He made a statement that accused the West of using the world as a lab experiment without any regard what negative might result. Obama's red line in Syria was just to encourage the rebels to fight and topple Assad on their own. That was an extension of this policy. The thing is did Obama think Assad would not dare to ever use chemicals weapons after giving the red line threat or did he just not see the rebels using chemical weapons to frame Assad? The question is was involvement in Syria from the start or a fortunate opportunity?

 

[bd popeye]

Re: UK Military News Thread

I hope this young hero will receive some kind of award for his action, like a sliver star or even the Navy's Cross, post humus.

MA2 Mark Mayo is a hero in every sense of the word but he's not elegible for those medals you posted. They are awarded only for combat. He is elegible for the Navy & Marine Corps medal;

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A petition to award Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Mark Mayo the Medal of Honor has appeared on the White House’s website, but a leading expert in military decorations says that’s not in the cards.

Navy officials say Mayo was gunned down the night of March 24 while attempting to protect quarterdeck watch standers on the destroyer Mahan, after a man identified as 35-year-old truck driver Jeffrey Savage, an ex-convict, gained access to the pier and disarmed the ship’s petty officer of the watch.

“He doesn’t qualify for the Medal of Honor because it wasn’t in combat,” said Doug Sterner, a Vietnam veteran who manages the Military Times’ Hall of Valor awards database. “But what this sounds like is a Navy and Marine Corps Medal.”

If the early accounts of Mayo’s actions bear out in the investigation, his actions would rate one of the rarest of all military decorations, Sterner said.

“It’s no small honor,” he said. “It’s what’s known as the non-combat Medal of Honor.”
Sterner said the Navy and Marine Corps Medal has only been awarded between 5,000 and 10,000 times since its creation in 1942.

In order of precedence, the medal ranks below the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross, but above the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal.

Notable recipients of the award include President John F. Kennedy for his actions to save his crew on PT-109, and James E. Williams, the most decorated enlisted sailor in history.

 

[bd popeye]

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Rescuers recovered the bodies of two North Korean sailors, pulled three survivors and were searching for 11 others missing after their cargo ship sank off South Korea's coast early Friday, the coast guard said.

The Mongolian-flagged ship was carrying 16 North Korean crew members when it sent a distress signal in international waters about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of the southern port city of Yeosu, South Korea's coast guard said in a statement.

Three people were rescued and told investigators they escaped from the ship as it was tilting with its freight being pushed to one side.

South Korean coast guard officers said that high waves and strong wind were reported in the area where the 4,300-ton ship sank. It was carrying iron ore to China from the North Korean port city of Chongjin.

The coast guard said it mobilized 13 vessels and six aircraft to search for the missing crew. Bad weather was still hampering rescue operations, according to the coast guard officers.

It was not immediately known how South Korea will handle the rescued North Korean sailors. Seoul usually repatriates North Korean sailors found drifting in South Korean waters if they want to return home.

All three rescued sailors were taken to a hospital on the southern South Korean island of Jeju and none of them was in life-threatening condition, the coast guard statement said.

The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. On Monday, the rival Koreas fired hundreds of artillery shells into each other's waters in a flare-up of animosities.

 

[Equation]

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The first picture on the article shows the two dead NKorean sailors were wearing their emergency wet suit and hugging each other for warmth (my heart goes out to their families). They obviously die from hypothermia.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

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The White House confirms a US government aid agency was behind a text-message service that was allegedly designed to foment unrest in Cuba.

ZunZuneo, dubbed a "Cuban Twitter", had 40,000 subscribers at its height in a country with limited web access, reports the Associated Press.

Youah Know What? TERRAN EMPIRE LIKE! This has to have been the most softest of Anti-Castro programs. Back in the day they tried to kill Castro Now We are giving him sports Scores! News And Likes!

5 April 2014 Last updated at 08:10 ET
Malaysia missing plane search China ship 'picks up signal'
A Chinese ship searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane in the southern Indian Ocean has picked up a pulse signal, Chinese media say.
They say the signal has a frequency of 37.5kHz per second - the same as those emitted by the flight recorders.
However there is no evidence so far that it is linked to MH370.
Dozens of ships and planes have joined the search, with the operation moving into its most intensive phase before batteries on the data recorders fade.
The Chinese search ship Haixun 01 on Saturday picked up the signal at about 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
"It is yet to be established whether it is related to the missing jet," it cautioned.
The flight is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, although no confirmed debris has been found.
It is still not known why the plane diverted from its planned flight path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing four weeks ago with 239 people on board.

4 April 2014 Last updated at 21:33 ET
Brazil troops in Rio slum operation before World Cup
Nearly 3,000 Brazilian troops are preparing to enter one of Rio de Janeiro's most dangerous shanty towns.
It is the biggest such operation since the authorities began tackling powerful drug gangs in key areas of the city ahead of the football World Cup.
Tanks, helicopters and armoured vehicles are being used in the operation at the Favela da Mare district.
Elite troops are expected to remain in the area until after the tournament.
For decades the area, near Rio's international airport, has been controlled by some of the city's most powerful drug gangs.
Turf wars between rival groups have often forced the closure of the highway linking the city centre to the airport and other key access roads to Rio, where the World Cup final will be played.
The soldiers will replace policemen who entered the area last Sunday in the first stage of the occupation.
Three hundred of the 2,000 military police officers who took part in last week's operation have remained in the community.
They are expected to leave once the 2,700 soldiers - most of them elite army troops - secure the area.
The air space above the shanty town has been closed indefinitely, which will force planes to change their landing and take-off routes.
'Curfews and shootings'
The programme of "pacification" of Rio's notorious shanty towns, or favelas, began in November 2008.
There have been setbacks to the scheme, with some clashes and attacks on security forces in favelas previously occupied.
But the programme, known as Pacification Police Unit (UPP), has the support of most of the population, says TV Record's editor Renato Chappot in Rio.
"In previous occupations, residents came out to the streets to cheer the police and celebrate," he said.
"Before the UPPs, people in the favelas lived in fear, in a war-like situation. Many residents were injured by stray bullets and they have to obey curfews imposed by the drug lords," added Mr Chappot.
Many point out, however, that other types of crime, such as muggings and car robberies, have gone up sharply since the pacification scheme began.
Many gangs have been pushed into other areas of the city and have had to pursue new criminal activities to replace the income lost with illegal drug sales.
Some 160,000 people live in the 16 favelas that make up the Favela district, according to the Pereira Passos Institute, linked to Rio's mayor's office.
Two of the favelas are controlled by the Comando Vermelho gang; the other 14 by a rival group, the Terceiro Comando Puro.
The operation in the Favela da Mare community was ordered by President Dilma Rousseff, as Brazil prepares to host the biggest event in its history.
The World Cup will begin in Sao Paulo on 12 June and will end in Rio's famous Maracana stadium on 13 July.

4 April 2014 Last updated at 16:48 ET
US authorises South Sudan conflict sanctions
US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order authorising sanctions against anyone aggravating the conflict in South Sudan.
The order sets out a list of offences for which sanctions may be imposed, including attacking UN peacekeepers and commissioning human rights abuses.
In December, fighting broke out between troops loyal to President Salvar Kiir and his sacked deputy, Riek Machar.
The South Sudanese government says it is considering its response.
South Sudanese Presidential spokesman Ateny Wek Ateng told the BBC that ministers were now studying the US order.
The conflict has forced more than 860,000 people to flee their homes.
A ceasefire was agreed between the two sides towards the end of January, but they have accused each other of violating it.
Peace talks between the two sides are being hosted in neighbouring Ethiopia.
'No excuses'
The executive order authorises sanctions against both individuals and entities who take part in a wide number of offences, including: threatening "the peace, security, or stability of South Sudan", obstructing the peace talks and the use or recruitment of child soldiers.
"The United States will not stand by as those entrusted with South Sudan's future put their own interests above those of their people," White House spokesman Jay Carney said, according to AFP.
"Both the government of South Sudan and Riek Machar's rebels must immediately engage in and follow through on the inclusive peace process... and resolve this conflict.
"The people of South Sudan are calling for peace. There is no room for excuses or delay."
Reports say the EU and UN Security Council are also considering similar actions.
Despite the 23 January ceasefire deal, sporadic fighting has continued.
South Sudan, the world's newest nation, became independent after seceding from Sudan in 2011.

4 April 2014 Last updated at 17:36 ET
US accuses Chinese man of breaching Iran nuclear sanctions
A Chinese national faces US criminal charges that he conspired to export devices to Iran that could be used in uranium enrichment.
US prosecutors said Sihai Cheng supplied thousands of parts to a company involved in Iran's nuclear programme in violation of US sanctions.
Mr Cheng is in custody in the UK after being arrested at Heathrow Airport in February on a US provisional warrant.
He faces a hearing in June over whether he will be extradited to the US.
Iran is subject to a raft of international sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme.
The US indictment, unsealed on Friday, comes as Iran and six world powers are trying to strike a permanent deal to address Western concerns that Tehran is secretly trying to develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran has always insisted it only wants nuclear energy.
Mr Cheng - who is based in Shanghai - is alleged to have conspired with an Iranian to illegally supply US-made pressure transducers to Iran through China.
These transducers - a special type of sensors - are alleged to have been sold to a "front" company for the Iranian nuclear programme.
Pictures are alleged to show the transducers in use at the Natanz enrichment facility.
BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera says that in the detailed indictment, it appears that an Iranian purchaser - also indicted - made a transfer from a UK bank into Mr Cheng's Chinese bank.
However, it is not clear if there were any further business dealings in the UK, our correspondent adds.
Iran's economy has been badly hit by international sanctions.
In an interim deal agreed last November, Iran agreed to curb uranium enrichment in return for an easing of sanctions.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

Warning Language! Turn about is always Fair play Two Russian Ambassadors on the Phone.
[video=youtube_share;xJK00daiKD8]http://youtu.be/xJK00daiKD8[/video]

Russian ambassadors: 'next we'll take Catalonia, Venice, Scotland and Alaska'
Unauthenticated, expletive-laden recording of pair joking about which countries to annex after Crimea is leaked online
Shaun Walker in Moscow
theguardian.com, Friday 4 April 2014 07.13 EDT
A recording has surfaced online purporting to be a leaked conversation between two Russian ambassadors discussing which parts of the world they would like to annex after Crimea.

The five-minute recording, laden with expletives, has been posted on YouTube and claims to be a telephone call between Igor Chubarov, Russia's ambassador to Eritrea, and Sergei Bakharev, the ambassador to Zimbabwe and Malawi. It has not been authenticated.

"We've got Crimea, but that's not fucking all folks. In the future we'll damn well take your Catalonia and Venice, and also Scotland and Alaska," says the voice labelled as Chubarov, interspersing his speech with laughter and punning the word for Scotland in Russian so it sounds like "Cattleland".

After this, Chubarov says Russia will make a move for "all those fucking border countries", such as Estonia, as well as Romania and Bulgaria. He adds that the head of the EU mission to Eritrea had jokily said that he wished Russia would "take back" Romania and Bulgaria.

In the end, the ambassadors agree it is probably better to leave Bulgaria, Romania and the "Baltic shit" in the EU for now, and Bakharev says it would be more interesting to go for California or Miami.

"Exactly, Miamiland is fucking 95% Russian citizens," says Chubarov. "We have a full right to hold a referendum." Bakharev suggests holding one in "Londonland" as well, to jovial laughter.

Chubarov congratulates Bakharev on the fact that Zimbabwe was one of only 11 countries, with Syria and North Korea, to back Russia at the UN over its annexation of Crimea. There is also consternation that the "bastards" from Malawi did not support Moscow.

It is possible that the leaking of the recording is revenge for the recent spate of high-profile leaks of western diplomatic discussions over Ukraine. A call between the US assistant secretary of state, Victoria Nuland, and the US ambassador in Kiev was leaked, in which Nuland discussed strategy advice for the leaders of the Ukrainian protest movement, as well as stating "fuck the EU" in reference to differences over Ukraine policy. Nuland as good as confirmed the authenticity of the recording, claiming "the tradecraft is really quite impressive".

Later, a recording of a conversation between the EU foreign policy chief, Lady Ashton, and the Estonian foreign minister, Urmas Paet, was leaked. They discussed the theory that those who died in Kiev violence could have been shot by snipers hired by the opposition rather than government forces, a line which the Russian foreign ministry has pushed.

The reaction in Moscow to the African ambassadors' tape was one more of amusement than anger, especially given that the taped diplomats are significantly lower ranking than Nuland or Ashton.

An official Russian source, claiming Nuland not only swears in English, but is proud of her ability to swear in Russian, said: "If this was their response to Nuland's strong expressions, then be assured that no Russian ambassador could outdo her when it comes to swearing in Russian."

Maria Zakharova, deputy spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, wrote on Facebook that she had no idea who was talking on the tape, but noted that the photograph appended to the YouTube video of Bakharev bore no resemblance to him.

Zakharova insinuated that the recording was clumsy US handiwork and compared it to the incident during the "reset" of relations between Russia and the US, when the then secretary of state. Hillary Clinton. presented the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, with a button that was meant to say "reset", but got the Russian word wrong and thus said "overload".

"It's like with the 'overload' button. They wanted to do something better than usual, but it turned out as it always does," wrote Zakharova.

Since the crisis in Ukraine began, there has been an increase in the diplomatic war of words and leaks. Last month, in an official statement detailing what it said were false claims from Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, the US state department said: "The world has not seen such startling Russian fiction since Dostoevsky".

On Thursday, Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov accused the US of "childish tantrums" over Crimea.

"What can we advise our American colleagues? They should get more fresh air, do yoga, eat healthily, maybe watch some sitcoms on television," said Ryabkov, in comments to Interfax news agency.

Our Scottish members might want to bush up on there Russian
Наши шотландские члены, возможно, захотите куста вверх на там-русски.

 

[delft]

Remember large parts of England being inundated a few weeks ago?

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Sheffield Half Marathon cancelled due to lack of water for runners

Sheffield's Half Marathon has been cancelled because of insufficient water supplies for runners on the route, organisers said.

BBC Radio Sheffield said there were chaotic scenes at the starting point on Sunday morning as some runners attempted to set off along the route.

South Yorkshire Police were attempting to set up road blocks to stop runners trying to cover the route.

Organisers confirmed there had been a problem with the delivery of water.

"It is with huge disappointment and regret that we have been forced to cancel this year's race due to a problem with the delivery of water," organisers said.

 

[AssassinsMace]

Not surprised diplomats talk rudely about others. Look at Australian Prime Minister Paul Rudd and what he said of the Chinese exposed by Wikileaks. Or look at what Prince Charles said about Chinese leaders when pages from his diary were leaked. Is it surprising to allies when allies talk about allies in that way. No one likes it when someone declares, "Do as I say, not as I do." I don't think anyone is surprised Russians talk that way.