Spanish shelter head on trial for 'killing' over 2,000 animals

Wolf kills beloved pet dog at farmhouse door in Galicia

Published: 22 Nov 2016 15:19 GMT+01:00

A family in Spain’s northwestern region of Galicia were left distraught after a wolf came to their door and slaughtered their pet Pomeranian.

Tatiana Díaz Fernández said she was standing in the door of her rural home in Mintiráns, near Muxía, when a wolf appeared from the darkness and snatched up her tiny pet.

The four-year-old dog weighed just 4 kg and was likely killed instantly in the jaws of the wolf before the wild animal bounded off into the night.

The tiny dog was a Pomeranian weighing just 4kg. Archive photo:Greg Treharne / Flickr

"I just opened the door to let the dog out so it could do its business and then, barely 30cm from my feet it was snatched by a wolf," the distressed owner told La Voz de Galicia.

It is just the latest in a spate of attacks by wolves on dogs in the area, reported the newspaper. In late October two farm dogs that lived outside in nearby A Frouxeira were found dead, having been ripped apart by wolves.

Residents in the region say they are now scared to leave their dogs outside or even let their children play in the garden.

"We know that the wolf is a very protected animal, but how can we dare live like this?" said Díaz.

"People are scared to let their dogs go out and we are afraid for the children," she said.

The episodes highlight the fragile coexistence between farming communities and Spain’s indigenous wolf population.

Spain’s population of Canis lupus signatus, was hunted to the point of near extinction by the middle of last century but thanks to conservation efforts has made a comeback over recent decades.

There are now estimated to be more than 2,000 individual wolves from at least 250 distinct packs roaming Spain, from the mountains of the northern Spain to just 80km of Madrid in the Sierra Norte.

But farmers are not always happy about the conservation efforts complaining that the wolf attacks aredepleting their livestock. Regional governments spend tens of thousands of euros each year compensating their losses.

Iraqi government left thousands of Iraqi Sunnis civilians displaced from #Mosul,

#MosulAid
Iraqi government left thousands of Iraqi Sunnis civilians displaced from #Mosul, with no food, no water, no tents
shame on you pic.twitter.com/t3KEwKWiFu

— #IRAQ شمرية العراق (@moonnor27) November 23, 2016

Kosovo Police Arrest 19 Suspected IS Militants, Foil Terror Plans

BELGRADE – Kosovo police in the past 10 days have arrested 19 suspected Islamic State militants suspected of preparing an attack during a soccer match in neighboring Albania, police said on Thursday.

The group was planning terror attacks in Kosovo and against the national Israeli soccer team and fans, police said, as cited by Kosovo news site “Zeri.info.”

The terror plans, allegedly led by a man identified as L.M., included an attack during the World Cup 2018 qualifying round between Albania and Israel played on Nov. 12.

Albanian authorities moved the match from the city of Shkodër, northwestern Albania, to the central city of Elbasan over fears of a possible attack.

Israel won the match 3-0, amid heightened security involving over 2,000 police officers.

Of the 19 detainees, 18 were held in preventative detention.

All of the arrested were Kosovars, with the exception of a Macedonian national.

Kosovo police reportedly found 2.5 kilograms of explosives, among other weapons such as assault rifles, shotguns, pistols and munitions, as well as extremist literature.

In 2015, Kosovo – a former part of Serbia that was granted independence in 2008 – approved 15-year prison sentences for Kosovars caught fighting in a foreign conflicts.

U.S. Intelligence Chief to Step Down

WASHINGTON – The U.S. director of national intelligence, James Clapper, announced on Thursday that he will leave the post on Jan. 20, 2017, when President Barack Obama hands over the White House to Donald Trump.

“I submitted my letter of resignation last night, which felt pretty good,” the 75-year-old Clapper said during an appearance before the House of Representatives Select Committee on Intelligence.

“I got 64 days left and I think I’d have a hard time with my wife anything past that,” he said.

The retired Air Force lieutenant general signaled some time ago that he was ready to leave the government.

Clapper initially stepped away from public life in 1995, but returned to the national security sector following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Obama named him to the post of director of national intelligence in 2010.

As Washington’s spy chief, Clapper had to respond to questions and concerns about the extent of the U.S. intelligence community’s surveillance of private individuals and the issue brought him into conflict with some in Congress.

“During Director Clapper’s tenure, senior intelligence officials engaged in a deception spree regarding mass surveillance. Top officials, officials who reported to Director Clapper, repeatedly misled the American people and even lied to them,” Sen. Ron Wyden said Thursday in a statement.

In March 2013, during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Wyden asked Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper the following question:

“Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?”

Clapper, who was under oath, responded “No, sir.”

“It does not?” the Oregon Democrat asked again.

“Not wittingly. There are cases where they could inadvertently perhaps collect, but not wittingly,” the director said.

Three months later, whistleblower Edward Snowden provided documents showing that the U.S. National Security Agency had collected the telephone records of tens of millions of U.S. residents.

Additional revelations detailed NSA programs to collect individuals’ Web-browsing histories, chat logs, e-mail usage and physical locations.

Mexico Urges Mexicans in U.S. to Avoid Confrontation

MEXICO CITY – Mexicans living in the United States should avoid “conflict situations,” Mexico’s government said Wednesday in a statement about dealing with the possible effects of Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election.

The triumph of the Republican real estate mogul, who launched his campaign with a speech denouncing Mexican immigrants as criminals and “rapists,” presents Mexico with a set of potentially major challenges.

In recommendations released by the Foreign Relations Secretariat, Mexican communities in the U.S. are urged “to reinforce dialogue with state and local authorities, on the understanding that local policies determine, to a great degree, the daily lives of Mexicans” north of the border.

Expats are likewise encouraged to strengthen ties with U.S. civil rights organizations.

Mexico’s government also appealed to Mexican communities in the U.S. “to avoid all situations of conflict and not to engage in actions that could lead to administrative or criminal sanctions.”

Since defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton last Tuesday, Trump has retreated from his campaign promise to deport all of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., suggesting instead that he will expel around 3 million people.

Trump also indicated some flexibility about the exact nature of the wall he vows to erect on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The secretariat announced measures to improve communication with Mexicans in the U.S., including the creation of a 24-hour, toll-free telephone hotline to request information or report incidents.

Another response will be to expand the presence of mobile consulates in the U.S. to offer “comprehensive protection and documentation services to a larger number of people in their communities.”

The secretariat said that the embassy and consulates will make it easier to obtain identification documents, such as passports and birth certificates, for the U.S.-born offspring of Mexican citizens.

Two Brits arrested for blowing up ATM's

Published: 11 Nov 2016 14:52 GMT+01:00

Spanish police swooped in on a pair suspected of blowing up more than a dozen cash machines on the Costa del Sol.

The two unnamed men were arrested during a pre-dawn raid on Wednesday at a residence in Calahonda, a resort between Marbella and Fuengirola that is popular with British expats.

 Officers from the National Police in Malaga suspect the two men of carrying out robberies at 13 different ATMs in towns across the Costa del Sol during the summer.

The thieves blew up the ATMs using explosives or acetylene gas before making off with large amounts of cash.

Officers discovered hand grenades at the property as well as gas cylinders, electrical cables and other equipment used to carry out the raids.

They also found cannabis and cocaine at the property.