London hotel thief guilty of hammer attack on UAE sisters

A thief who crept into a London hotel room and brutally attacked three sisters from the United Arab Emirates with a claw hammer was found guilty of attempted murder on Tuesday.

Philip Spence, 32, attacked the three women tourists as they slept with their children at the four star Cumberland Hotel on April 6.

A jury of seven women and five men at London's Southwark Crown Court found Spence, from Harlesden in north-west London, guilty and he could be sentenced to life in prison.

"The sentence I will have to consider is a full life term," said Judge Anthony Leonard.

The Emirati sisters -- Ohoud, Khulood and Fatima al-Najja -- were sharing adjoining rooms in the hotel and had left their doors open to allow a fourth sister to return later.

Spence crept in and was seen by Khulood shortly before 1:30 am, rifling through handbags.

The "sustained and vicious" attack left all three unconscious, prosecutor Simon Mayo told jurors.

"Each woman was struck repeatedly to the head by a man wielding a claw hammer -- their skulls fracturing and splintering under the onslaught," he said.

Ohoud, 34, now has only five percent brain function, has lost one eye and cannot speak. Khulood, 37, and Fatima, 31, still require medical treatment for their injuries.

The court heard how drug addict Spence made off with iPads, gold jewellery and mobile phones, before dumping the claw hammer close to the crime scene.

Prosecutor Baljit Ubhey called it "a truly horrific crime".

"Not only were the three sisters severely injured in the attack, their children were in the room at the time and witnessed the horror of the violence," he said.

Neofitos "Thomas" Efremi, 57, was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary and providing Spence with the claw hammer.

The two men will be sentenced on November 17.

The police has sought to reassure visitors from the Gulf since the incident -- one of a series of attacks on wealthy Emiratis earlier this year.

"I would like to give reassurance that an incident of this nature is thankfully very, very rare and the victims were not specifically targeted, followed or attacked because they are from the UAE," a senior officer, Mak Chishty, said on Tuesday.

The UAE foreign ministry earlier in the year warned visitors that Oxford Street, the main shopping thoroughfare, plus the neighboring areas of Soho and Piccadilly, and Edgware Road -- often considered the heartland of Arab London -- were the "most dangerous areas".

In an impact statement, Khulood, 37, said that she had to give up work due to her injuries and that her life had changed forever.

"When that man attacked myself and my sisters, and stole our belongings, he took far more than our property; he took away our futures, things that I had planned; dreams that I had for my family and children. He also stole my children's innocence."

"I will say that 100 years in prison will not be enough."

U of A Campus -Sex Offender targets females

Frightening incidents around the University of Arizona: men target female students

TUCSON- Two frightening incidents have occurred in the past few days around the University of Arizona campus. In both cases, men were targeting women in broad daylight.

Cierra Vollmer is a sophomore at the University of Arizona, majoring in journalism.

She was hanging out with her friends, before grabbing dinner Monday afternoon. She heard a knock on the door and when she answered it, she saw a strange man standing there.

"I went over to the door and it was this random guy that I've never seen before," said Vollmer. "He was like dripping sweat and I opened the door . . . He asked if we wanted to have sex with him and if we wanted to make love to him and then he asked if he could look through our refrigerator and then he looked back and did this really vulgar motion like very sexual. Like looking like he was doing something sexual."

The other incident happened Sunday when a female student was walking near Mabel and Park. A man pulled up to her and asked her for directions. That's when she noticed he was naked and performing lewd acts in his car. Luckily, she was able to get away.

Some female students are uneasy about certain areas around campus.

"Like here. It is really not safe actually," said Ying Jia. "I'm not sure like daylight time, but at night this street's like really really dark."

Tucson Police Department is still investigating. If you have any information on either of these crimes, please call 911 or 88-CRIME.

Picture of " Saudi man " who killed American ( wanted )

An image of the man suspected to have killed an American citizen in Saudi Arabia’s capital on Tuesday has been obtained by Al Arabiya News Channel’s online Arabic platform.

Read also: ‘No terror suspicion’ behind Saudi killing of American

An image obtained by Al Arabiya News showing the killing of an American in Saudi Arabia's capital.

Abdulaziz Fahad Abdulaziz Alrashid, 24, the alleged shooter who authorities say was wounded in a gunfight with security forces, is a U.S.-born Saudi who had been fired from U.S. defense contractor Vinnell Arabia, an interior ministry spokesman said in a statement late Tuesday.

Riyadh's embassy in Washington said in a statement Tuesday that the suspect was recently dismissed from his job "due to drug related issues."

Vinnell Arabia is a U.S. military contractor supporting Saudi National Guard military programs in Riyadh.

“We are deeply saddened and regret to confirm the death of one of our employees, and the injury to another in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” a statement from Vinnell Arabia said.

Vinnell Arabia also confirmed that the suspect involved in the attack was a former employee.

“Vinnell Arabia can confirm the suspect is a former employee and both victims are both current employees that were involved in yesterday’s incident," the firm said in a seperate statement, adding that it could not publicly release employee information

U.S., Canada air defenses on alert after Ottawa shooting

U.S. and Canadian air defenses were put on heightened alert Wednesday following a shooting in Canada's parliament, and the American embassy in Ottawa was placed on lockdown, officials said.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) "is taking appropriate and prudent steps to ensure we are adequately postured to respond quickly to any incidents involving aviation in Canada," said a U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The move came as a precaution after a gunman opened fire in and around the Canadian parliament. The gunman was killed after shooting dead a Canadian soldier who was guarding a nearby war memorial.

NORAD spokesman Captain Jeff Davis declined to provide details but said steps had been taken to ensure defenses were "adequately postured." 

State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed the U.S. embassy in the Canadian capital was on lockdown, and staff movements had been restricted.

President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, while Secretary of State John Kerry was also briefed as he flew home from a visit to Germany.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," Harf said, adding all U.S. embassy staff had been accounted for.

While the shooting incident in Ottawa raised fears of a potential link to extremists, NORAD's Davis said there were no signs of possible hijackings or imminent threats to aviation.

"We're not aware of any current, specific threats against the aviation system," he told AFP.

U.S. intelligence officials were not immediately available to comment as to whether there were any suspected links to extremists in the shooting in Canada.

NORAD, founded during the Cold War, is a combined U.S. and Canadian military command designed to safeguard the air space over the two countries, with its headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

After the attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, the command regularly scrambles fighter jets to intercept private aircraft that enter prohibited areas over the U.S. capital or elsewhere, escorting them to the nearest runway. 
 

Bomb explosion outside Cairo University

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

An explosion outside Cairo University wounded at least seven people on Wednesday, among them police and civilians, security sources said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Islamist militants have carried out a series of attacks against police and soldiers, mainly in the remote but strategic Sinai region, since the army ousted President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood last year after mass protests against his rule.

Cairo University was a focal point for protests against the government that succeeded Mursi until authorities tightened security with the start of the new term this month.

Egypt has cracked down on the Brotherhood and declared it a terrorist organization, but the group says it is peaceful.

Attacks in the capital are less common than in Sinai but when they do occur, they tend to prompt questions about the effectiveness of the government's efforts to end the bloodshed that has hit tourism, a pillar of the economy.

Iranians protest rash of acid assaults on women

Wed, 10/22/2014 - 17:09

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Iranians took to the streets in Isfahan and Tehran to protest the recent incidents of acid throwing in Isfahan and demand that the authorities provide security for all citizens.

In Isfahan, reports indicate that more that 2000 people gathered in front of the Justice Department buildings demanding swift action from the government.

Demonstrators in Isfahan also called on city authorities to use their closed circuit cameras installed around all over the city to identify the acid throwers.

In recent weeks in a number of incidents, women have been assaulted with acid, leaving at least one dead and many others struggling with serious burns to their hands and faces.

In Tehran people gathered in front of parliament to demand safety and security for all citizens.

The authorities have said that according to investigations from the victims, the assailant appears to be a single individual.

Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, head of the country's security forces told ISNA that foreign media have tried to link the incidents to hijab and the Islamic dress code in public, but he stressed: "The victims are pious individuals from religious families."

3 Denver female teens stopped in Germany trying to travel to Syria

DENVER, AZ - Sources tell ABC News that three teenage girls from the Denver metro area were taken into custody by the FBI in Germany after authorities said they were trying to travel to Syria.

The three girls, all under the age of 18, were persuaded to travel overseas and were in contact with someone in Germany. Someone close to them notified authorities, and the FBI tracked them down in Germany, ABC News reported.

Sources said the teens may have been on their way to Syria, but they were turned around and sent back to the United States. It's not clear if the teens are being charged.

One law enforcement official told ABC News that this is part of a particular concerning trend of "disaffected youth" who are being radicalized.

The officials said the teens were trying "to fulfill what they believe is some vision that has been put out on a slick media campaign" by radical groups in Syria, including ISIS, ABC News reported.