Syria (Female English teacher -turned sniper 'Guevara' ) The Female Sniper

Syria: the former English teacher turned Aleppo's female sniper

Her fame has spread throughout Aleppo. Her comrades have nicknamed her 'Guevara', but to many of the city's residents she is known simply as: 'the female sniper'.

Guevara near the frontline in Salah Addeen Photo: ALESSIO ROMENZI

By Ruth Sherlock, Aleppo

7:30PM GMT 04 Feb 2013

Standing stock still, her finger suspended over the trigger, she stared through the sniper sight of her Dragonov rifle. Her view framed by the jagged concrete edges of the fist-sized hole that has been cut into the wall of her hideout on one of the most dangerous front lines in Aleppo, Guevara, named after the revolutionary, watched the enemy – government soldiers – moving along the other side of the street.

"I like fighting. When I see that one of my friends in my katiba [rebel division] has been killed, I feel that I have to hold a weapon and take my revenge," she said.

Dressed in green khaki trousers, a grey jumper dress, tight fitting hijab and a camouflage combat jacket, Guevara, 36, cleaned and loaded her gun, sitting in a half demolished building just metres from where government troops patrol.

^{Guevara watches the enemy lines through her sniper sight on the frontline in Salah Addeen (ALESSIO ROMENZI )}

Despite the war, she was immaculate – eyebrows perfectly plucked, blusher and a little eyeliner. Small leather boots with heels, and a gold bracelet are touches of her feminine side.

China ( China warns New York Times of " cyber attacks" )

New York Times cyber attacked by Chinese hackers for four months after Wen Jiabao investigation

The New York Times was subjected to a four-month cyber attack by Chinese hackers who infiltrated major information systems and captured passwords of every single employee as part of a "spy campaign", the newspaper has reported.

53 employees have had their personal computers accessed Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Carolynne Wheeler, in Beijing and Mark Hughes in New York

4:17PM GMT 31 Jan 2013

The attacks began last autumn as the newspaper published an investigation into the family finances of the outgoing Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao. The paper reported that an estimated $2.7 billion had been accumulated by relatives of the former premier.

Chinese officials had warned the paper there would be "consequences" for the article, published last October.

On Thursday the New York Times said that the attacks were consistent with other hackings "believed to have been perpetrated by the Chinese military".

It reported that 53 of its employees had had their personal computers accessed, including that of the Shanghai-based correspondent, David Barboza, who broke the Wen investigation and a former Beijing bureau chief now based in India, Jim Yardley.

The newspaper said that, fearing possible repercussions for the article, it had asked an IT company to monitor activity on the networks beginning on October 24th, the day before the article was published.

Manila ( 22 killed in clash of Filipino extremists rebels )

22 killed in clash of Filipino extremists, rebels

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MANILA (AP) — A rebel group said Monday it attacked Abu Sayyaf gunmen after the Al-Qaida-linked militants refused to free hostages, sparking fierce jungle clashes that left up to 22 combatants dead in the southern Philippines. There was no word on whether the hostages were hurt in the fighting, but they remained in the grip of the Abu Sayyaf militants, police said. Rebel commander Khabir Malik of the Moro National Liberation Front, which has an autonomy deal with the government, said his group decided to attack the Abu Sayyaf in the rugged mountains of Patikul town in southern Sulu province after negotiations collapsed on the release of several of its foreign hostages, including a Jordanian TV journalist and two European men who have been held since last year. Abu Sayyaf militants did release two Filipino hostages over the weekend after an unspecified ransom was paid, security officials said, adding the captives were let loose on their own and not turned over to the Moro rebels. “We had no choice,” Malik told The Associated Press by telephone from Patikul. “They told us they won't hand over their hostages to us even if they die.” The Moro rebels battled the Abu Sayyaf with guns and knives at close range Sunday, Malik said, adding his group lost eight men, including one who was beheaded and a few others who were hacked to death. Military and police officials in Sulu said up to 14 Abu Sayyaf men were killed, citing intelligence. The fighting subsided Monday after Abu Sayyaf gunmen split into smaller groups, with a large group seen fleeing from Patikul to an adjacent town. But the clashes could erupt again, Sulu provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Antonio Freyra said. It was the first major bloody confrontation between the two insurgent groups, which have coexisted for years and at times were suspected of collaborating on kidnappings and backing each other in clashes against government troops.

FBI News ( The FBI arrested Malcolm X's grandson before he departs for IRAN )

FBI arrests Malcolm X's grandson before he departs for Iran

TEHRAN, Feb. 4 (MNA) – In US, FBI has arrested Malcolm Shabazz, Malcolm X’s grandson, a Muslim and civil activist, and has moved him into an unknown location.

Malcolm Shabbaz was preparing to travel to Tehran to attend ‘Zionist Holywoodism’ conference. Tasnim News reported that FBI had arrested and moved him to an unknown place. FBI has not provided the reason for his arrest. The arrest was coincided with Lifetime TV airing of ‘Betty & Coretta,’ a dramatization of lives of two women after deaths of their husbands. Betty was Malcolm X’s wife, and Coretta was Martin Luther King’s spouse.

Iran (Secret mass executions - Mashhad's Vakilabad Prison ) See photo

Secret Mass Executions Resume in Mashhad’s Vakilabad Prison: Several Hundred Prisoners Possibly Executed In Past Four Months

Sunday 3 February 2013

 

Iran Human Rights, February 3: According to reports from reliable sources in Iran, as many as 400 prisoners may have been executed in Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad. According to the sources, there have been secret executions of prisoners taking place every Wednesday and Sunday, and sometimes up to three times a week. No detailed information is available on the amount of prisoners executed, but at least on one occasion the number of executions were as high as 50 people. Sources say that up to 400 prisoners may have been executed in the past four or five months.
Sources say weekly executions are still taking place.
The information on these executions has been confirmed by two independent sources. Iran Human Rights (IHR) will publish more details when available.
IHR and several other human rights organizations warned in September 2010 about secret mass executions in Vakilabad Prison. According to IHR’s annual reports on the death penalty in Iran, at least 226 prisoners were executed in 2010 and 133 prisoners were executed in 2011. More than 200 additional reported executions were not included in the reports due to lack of details.
Iran saw a temporary halt in executions in late 2011 as a result of international attention on the issue.
IHR urges the international community to react to reports of secret mass executions in Vakilabad Prison. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR said: "We ask the UN to conduct a fact-finding mission in Iran to urgently investigate reports of mass executions in Vakilabad Prison."

Saudi ( Preacher who raped and killed his 5 yr old daughter gets fine ) Short jail time

Saudi preacher gets off light for raping, killing daughter

TEHRAN, Feb. 3 (MNA) – Saudi preacher who raped and tortured to death five-year-old girl is ordered by court to pay 'blood money' to mother after having served short jail term

According to Ahram Online, Saudi preacher who raped his five-year-old daughter and tortured her to death has been sentenced to pay "blood money" to the mother after having served a short jail term, activists said on Saturday. Lamia al-Ghamdi was admitted to hospital on December 25, 2011 with multiple injuries, including a crushed skull, broken ribs and left arm, extensive bruising and burns, the activists said. She died last October 22. Fayhan al-Ghamdi, an Wahhabist preacher and regular guest on Muslim television networks, confessed to having used cables and a cane to inflict the injuries, the activists from the group "Women to Drive" said in a statement. They said the father had doubted Lama's virginity and had her checked up by a medic. Randa al-Kaleeb, a social worker from the hospital where Lama was admitted, said the girl's back was broken and that she had been raped "everywhere", according to the group. According to the victim's mother, hospital staff told her that her "child's rectum had been torn open and the abuser had attempted to burn it closed." The activists said that the judge had ruled the prosecution could only seek "blood money (compensation for the next of kin under Wahhabist law) and the time the defendant had served in prison since Lama's death suffices as punishment." Three Saudi activists, including Manal al-Sharif, have raised objections to the ruling. The ruling is based on Wahhabist law that a father cannot be executed for murdering his children, nor can husbands be executed for murdering their wives, activists said.

LONDON ( Man stabbed at court- Security entrance )

Man stabbed at London court

Young man taken to hospital after being attacked by youths at security entrance of Inner London crown court in Southwark

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• guardian.co.uk, Friday 1 February 2013 09.07 EST

A witness to the stabbing in the Inner London crown court in Southwark said a group of youths fled from the scene after the attack. Photograph: Jack Sullivan/Alamy

A young man has been stabbed in the entrance to a court building and a group of youths were seen running from the scene.
Shocked staff and lawyers looked on as the young man lay in the security entrance to the Inner London crown court in Southwark, south-east London, while paramedics treated him.
Four or five youths were seen running from the scene through the car park, some with scarves covering their faces and some with hoods up.
A witness, who did not want to be named, said: "I was sitting inside and there was a group of lads standing at the top of the steps. They weren't doing anything. Then all of a sudden four unknown guys came in from the car park. They came in and one guy got stabbed. They tried to rush through, then stabbed him in the stomach and then ran out."
Several police officers and paramedics attended the scene and the victim was given oxygen in an ambulance before being driven away.