Algeria (Higher death toll reported- at Gas plant )

HIGHER DEATH TOLL
Algeria's Interior Ministry had reported on Saturday that 23 hostages and 32 militants were killed during the assaults launched by Algerian special forces to end the crisis, with 107 foreign hostages and 685 Algerian hostages freed.

However, Minister of Communication Mohamed Said said this would rise when final numbers were issued in the next few hours. "I am afraid unfortunately to say that the death toll will go up," Said was quoted as saying by the official APS news agency.
Details are only slowly emerging on what happened during the siege, which marked a serious escalation of unrest in northwestern Africa.

Private Algerian television station Ennahar said on Sunday that 25 bodies had been discovered at the Tiguentourine plant, adding that the operation to clear the base would last 48 hours.
The bodies were believed to belong to hostages executed by the militants, said Ennahar TV, which is known to have good sources within Algerian security.
In London, Cameron said three British nationals had been confirmed killed, while a further three Britons plus a British resident were also believed to be dead.
One Briton had already was confirmed killed when the gunmen seized the hostages at the plant near the Libyan border, run by Norway's Statoil along with Britain's BP and Algeria's state oil company.

SEATTLE ( 4 Bald Eagles killed - Shot off their perches ) Suspect wanted

4 bald eagles shot dead in Washington state

By MAUREEN O'HAGAN Seattle Times

By MAUREEN O'HAGAN

The Seattle Times

SEATTLE - Four bald eagles were found shot dead in a Granite Falls, Wash., lake last week, and the state wildlife department offered a reward for information leading to the conviction of their killer.
Officers suspect the birds were shot off their perches in the trees.
"They dropped into the lake, and that's where they were found floating," said Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Jennifer Maurstad.
    
The eagles were sent to a lab to be X-rayed.
"The cause of death is pretty obvious, but if we can retrieve the bullets, at least we can match it up to something," Maurstad said.
It appears they were shot with a small-caliber rifle, she said.
It's unusual in Washington to find eagles that have been intentionally killed. But investigators say eagle parts can fetch hundreds of dollars on the black market. They're used in such things as high-end artwork, Wiccan ceremonies and Native American ceremonies.
But in this case, the carcasses were left floating in a lake.
Maurstad said the birds probably were an easy mark. Their perches aren't far from the road, the trees aren't that tall, and eagles are often spotted in the area. The agency is withholding the exact location.
Under state and federal law, it is illegal to kill bald eagles or possess any of their parts - even a single feather - without a permit. Under state law, it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail, plus $2,000 to $3,000 in fines.
A reward of $13,750, most of it from the Stillaguamish tribe, has been offered for information leading to a conviction.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/17/3187994/4-bald-eagles-shot-dead-in-washington.html#storylink=cpy

Sweden News ( Woman attacks man with Swedish sausage )

  

Woman attacks man with Swedish sausage

The woman, who is in her fifties, reportedly threw the frying pan at the man during a heated spat at their home in Borås, southern Sweden

She even threatened to kill the man, according to Sveriges Radio.

While the flying frying pan didn't hit the intended target, the man was hit with the force of the pan's contents - Swedish Falukorv and a good dose of grease.

The man was not injured by the Swedish sausage.

The woman has now been charged with attempted assault and making illegal threats, with the victim demanding compensation of 850 kronor ($130).

Falukorv is a traditional Swedish sausage, usually made with a mixture of grated pork, beef, or veal, together with potato starch flour and spices.

The sausage's name comes from the town of Falun in central Sweden, where the falukorv has history stretching back to the 16th century among workers at the local copper mine.

The sausage is a popular ingredient in many a Swedish dish, and is often served with potato, macaroni or beans.

The falukorv was even a central character in one of Sweden's cult pornographic films from the seventies, Fäbodjäntan (titled "Come and Blow the Horn" in the UK).

TT/The Local/og
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Germany Berlin ( Bank robbery - Hollywood -style ) See photo

Tunnel bank robbery possibly an inside job

Published: 19 Jan 13 14:09 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20130119-47431.html

 

The Hollywood-style bank robbery last week in Berlin, in which thieves constructed a tunnel to break into the bank’s security boxes, might have been an inside job.

A report in the Taggesspiegel on Saturday said information showed that that the bank robbers probably had inside information. Only about half of the 1,600 security deposit boxes in Berliner Volksbank’s treasury had been rented out, yet the thieves managed to figure out which boxes were occupied.
The burglars opened 309 boxes of which 294 were in use – that amounts to a 95 percent rate. A spokeswoman for the bank said there is nothing on the outside of the security boxes that would show whether the box contains anything or not.
In any case investigators agree that the professionally-built 45-metre tunnel took the thieves a lot of work and planning – even if, as the police suspect, some of the tools used to build the tunnel were stolen.
It took the robbers months to dig out the tunnel. The walls of the underground garage and the bank were drilled out with professional drilling machines. It could have taken up to a year to construct, the police said.
The tunnel continues to be under investigation and police have found empty energy drinks apparently used by the tunnel builders during their construction work.
An artist’s rendering of a suspect has been published, but to date the police have not announced any suspects.

The Local/mw

Pennsylvania ( 5 yr old girl suspended for making threats with pink bubble gun ) Terrorist threat Please ?

MOUNT CARMEL, Pa. (AP) — A 5-year-old Pennsylvania girl who told another girl she was going to shoot her with a pink toy gun that blows soapy bubbles has been suspended from kindergarten.

Her family has hired an attorney to fight the punishment, which initially was 10 days but was reduced to two.

Attorney Robin Ficker says Mount Carmel Area School District officials labeled the girl a "terrorist threat" for the bubble gun remark, made Jan. 10 as both girls waited for a school bus.

Ficker says the girl didn't even have the bubble gun with her and has never fired a real gun. He says she's "the least terroristic person in Pennsylvania."

School district solicitor Edward Greco tells pennlive.com (http://bit.ly/13Nu0QF ) officials are looking into the case. He said Friday school officials aren't at liberty to discuss disciplinary actions.

___

Information from: The Patriot-News, http://www.pennlive.com/patriotnews

Iran ( Two more sex offenders publicly hanged in some neighborhood ) Disturbing photo

Public Hangings in Pakdasht (Yesterday) and Urmia (Today)- Two Men Are Scheduled To Be Hanged Publicly In Tehran Tomorrow

Saturday 19 January 2013

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Iran Human Rights, January 19: Two men were publicly hanged in Pakdasht (South of Tehran) yesterday morning reported the official Iranian media today.
The men were identified as "Siyavash" (27) and "Mahmood" (28) and were convicted of rape, said the state run Fars news agency.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) had warned about the scheduled public hanging of Siyavash and Mahmood (from Rajai Shahr prison) and a third man (from Varamin prison) in Pakdasht on Thursday. According to our reports Siyavash had slit his wrist to avoid being executed. We have no news of the third man who was scheduled to be executed in Pakdasht.
Public hanging in Urmia:

                                         Medieval  period, is Iran playing to the world?

A young man identified as Hamed (23) was publicly hanged in the city of Urmia (north-western Iran) early this morning. According to the state run ISNA news agency the prisoner was convicted of murdering another young man.
Two men scheduled to be hanged publicly in Tehran tomorrow:
According to the state run Fars news agency, two prisoners are scheduled to be executed in public in Tehran tomorrow morning Sunday January 20. The men were arrested 35 days ago and convicted of "Moharebeh" and "Corruption on earth" for forcefully (using a knife) stealing from a man about 50 days ago. The footage of the stealing episode was spread on the YouTube.
Last week another man was hanged publicly in a football stadium in Sabzevar (northeastern Iran)and the flogging sentences of four men were carried out publicly in Sabzevar and Akman (near Semnan).
IHR strongly condemns the wave of public executions and floggings in Iran. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR said: "The international community must react to the horror show of public medieval punishments orchestrated by the Iranian authorities". He added : "These public executions and floggings are an expression of the threat that Iran’s Supreme leader Mr. Ali Khamenei and the rest of the Iranian authorities feel as we get closer to the next Presidential elections in June 2013. The leadership of the Iranian authorities is willing to do whatever it takes to avoid repeating the Post-electoral protests after the 2009 elections. Spreading fear and terrorizing the society by public executions is their only efficient tool and we are concerned that the executions will increase even more in the coming months. We urge the international community to react immediately".

Las Vegas ( Child Predator rapist - Wants bail - NO Way ) Flight risk

Lawyer to seek release of Saudi air force sergeant

By KEN RITTER | Associated Press – Thu, Jan 17, 2013

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A defense attorney said Thursday he'll ask a judge to allow the release of a Saudi Arabia air force sergeant jailed since New Year's Eve on allegations that he pulled a 13-year-old boy into a Las Vegas Strip hotel room and raped him.

Mazen Alotaibi stood in blue jail garb, slippers and shackles, staring at the courtroom floor and listening with an Arabic translator while local lawyer John Parris stood in for defense attorney Don Chairez.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Bill Kephart agreed to hold a bail hearing with Chairez and prosecutors on Friday. The judge postponed an evidence hearing until next month. He did not pick a specific date.

Alotaibi spoke only to acknowledge that he understood the proceedings and agreed to the delay.

Chairez, of Newport Beach, Calif., said in a telephone interview that he'll offer to have the 23-year-old aircraft mechanic surrender his Saudi diplomatic passport and stay in the U.S. if he's allowed to post $25,000 bail.

Prosecutor Mary Kay Holthus said prosecutors are seeking $1 million bail, surrender of Alotaibi's passport, house arrest and electronic monitoring pending trial.
Alotaibi plans to plead not guilty to all charges, Chairez said. The charges — kidnapping, two counts of sexual assault with a minor under 14 years of age and felony sexual coercion — could get him decades in prison if he's convicted. Alotaibi also is charged with burglary, which in Nevada can stem from a person entering a building with intent to commit a felony.

Alotaibi is accused of forcing the boy into a sixth-floor room at the Circus Circus hotel and sexually assaulting him the morning before a New Year's Eve fireworks celebration on the Las Vegas Strip.

Police reported collecting DNA evidence from the boy, as well as a used condom and soiled towel from the bathroom where the boy said the attack took place. The boy lives out of state and was staying at the hotel with his family, police said.

Alotaibi produced a Saudi Arabian military identification showing he was stationed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland near San Antonio, Texas. Chairez said Alotaibi had been in the U.S. for about 18 months and was currently stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss.

Alotaibi's diplomatic passport doesn't provide full diplomatic immunity from prosecution in criminal matters, Chairez said.

According to his arrest report, Alotaibi told investigators he arrived in Las Vegas early Dec. 31, went to a striptease club, drank cognac and was intoxicated. Police said he provided various accounts of the alleged encounter with the boy.

Chairez said he has spoken several times with Alotaibi and with Saudi government officials. Chairez said the Saudi government was funding Alotaibi's defense.