ISIS jihadists gain ground in Iraq's Anbar

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group gained ground west of Baghdad Thursday, further reducing the government's already-shaky hold on Anbar province, officials said.

"The Albu Nimr area fell completely into the hand of (IS) members," Ghazi Najras, an Anbar MP, said in reference to the tract on the Euphrates River and east of the town of Heet, which fell last week.

Clashes began early Thursday and lasted until about 10:00 am (0700 GMT), police Colonel Shaban al-Obaidi said.

The militants then detained more than 60 people, including security forces members, the officer said.

ISIS, which spearheaded a sweeping offensive in June that overran much of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, has executed hundreds of captured security forces members.

Albu Nimr is the latest in a string of places in Anbar to fall in recent weeks. The series of setbacks has prompted warnings from some officials that the entire province, which borders Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Baghdad province, could fall completely.

Some officials and Sunni tribal leaders in areas most affected by the unrest have argued the world should step up its involvement from air strikes against ISIS to a ground intervention in Iraq.

But Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has repeatedly said he opposes foreign ground troops fighting in Iraq.

Rohani casts positive light despite slow nuclear talks

Fri, 10/24/2014 - 15:07

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Iranian president Hassan Rohani told reporters it is possible to reach a final nuclear agreement since consensus has been reached between Iran and the 5+1 on most of the general issues.

IRNA reported on Wednesday October 22, Rohani spoke of the nuclear talks in his trip to Zanjan saying: "Consensus has been reached on almost all general issues; of course, these general issues do have details that are of importance to both sides."

He added that "good steps have been taken to reach a final agreement" and maintained that although he had hoped for more progress at this stage, there is still enough time to reach deal.

The parties had agreed to reach a final deal by the end of November.

"We will not go back to the previous situation," Rohani spoke of the nuclear dispute; "our situation will alter for sure. We will achieve a resolution and if not, we have other solutions in mind."

He went on to add: "The rationale of the government, the people and the leader is that by making our negotiations transparent to the global eye, we will establish that we have acted rationally and that only unreasonable and excessive demands have caused the delays."

There has been little progress reported to the media in the latest rounds of nuclear talks which are still ongoing.

Saudi Arabia ( Women still driving " breaking the law " )

Female drivers in Saudi Arabia will be dealt with “strictly”, authorities said on Thursday before a right-to-drive campaign culminates at the weekend.

The kingdom is the world’s only country where women are not allowed to operate cars.

Activists said in early October they were revving up their campaign using social media.

But the interior ministry said it will “strictly implement” measures against anyone who “contributes in any manner or by any acts, towards providing violators with the opportunity to undermine the social cohesion”.

The statement was carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Activists have encouraged women to post pictures of themselves driving on Twitter under the hashtag #IWillDriveMyself, as well as on Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp.

More than 2,700 people have signed an online petition.

Activists told AFP that every day “two or three” women have shared pictures of themselves driving via WhatsApp.

But they say nothing special is expected for the campaign’s peak on Sunday.

“We just ask the ladies who need to drive, to drive as usual on the 26th” or on another day, said one activist, Nasima al-Sada.

Aziza al-Yussef, who says she runs errands in her car two or three times a week, said the campaign was about “raising the voice” and making their demand heard -- but not by doing anything illegal such as a demonstration.

Activists argue that women’s driving is not against the law.

Tradition and custom are behind the prohibition, which is not backed up by an Islamic text or judicial ruling, the online petition states.

Last year, activists also focused their demands on October 26 -- which they simply call a “symbolic” date as part of efforts to press for women’s right to drive.

At least 16 were fined for taking the wheel on that day.

Saudi women still need permission from a male guardian to work and marry, while restaurants are divided into “family sections” and separate areas for single men.

The ultra-conservative Wahhabi Islamic tradition is predominant in the kingdom, where it applies to both religious and political life.

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.