Outfit claims responsibility for suicide bombings
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took partial control of a dam and military barracks in the Anbar province on Friday, Iraqi security officials said. Clashes between the militant group and government troops continued through to Saturday, officials said, but poor communications made it difficult to confirm the number of soldiers who had died in the clashes. Meanwhile, the militant outfit also claimed responsibility for several suicide car bombings that killed four soldiers at a border crossing between Iraq and Jordan.
Pakistan sets three-day deadline to arrest activist’s killers:
Acting Pakistani President Raza Rabbani on Saturday gave the Sindh provincial government three days to arrest the killers of civil liberties activist Sabeen Mahmud. Rabbani sought a detailed report on the incident from provincial authorities. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah had ordered a judicial commission to probe the murder, a provincial government spokesperson said. Meanwhile, a military spokesperson said that the country’s intelligence agencies would assist investigators with their investigation. Mahmud and her mother were attacked by unidentified gunmen in Karachi on Friday after the activist hosted a talk on human rights abuses in the Balochistan province.
Russian hackers breach Obama’s unclassified emails
Russian hackers read United States President Barack Obama’s e-mails after they breached the White House’s unclassified computer system last year, senior American officials said on Saturday. White House officials said that the hackers did not breach any of their classified networks, but admitted that the unclassified system usually contained highly sensitive information. There was no official confirmation about the number of e-mails read by the hackers. Obama had earlier been targeted by Chinese hackers during his campaign for the country’s Presidency in 2008.
Two armed Palestinians killed by Israeli forces
Two armed Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron and East Jerusalem on Saturday. While one of the men was shot dead in Hebron after stabbing a border police patrolman in the head and chest, the other, identified as Abu Ghannam, was killed after allegedly attacking border police with a cleaver at a checkpoint in East Jerusalem. Ghannam’s family rejected the police account of the incident, saying that he had been on his way back from a friend’s party when he was killed. Protesters later clashed with riot police in East Jerusalem and four police personnel were injured in two separate incidents. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ office later issued a statement, saying that Ghannam’s killing had shown “the ugliness of the occupation against the defenceless Palestinian people".
UN asks Indonesia to stay drug executions
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday asked Indonesia to stay the execution of nine foreigners convicted for drug-related crimes. Ban urged Indonesian President Joko Widodo to "urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition". The convicts from Australia, Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, the Philippines and Indonesia were earlier taken to the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan, where they are set to face a firing squad. Eight of the convicts could be executed as early as Tuesday. The prisoners all lost their appeals for clemency from Widodo, who said that his country was fighting a drugs emergency.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took partial control of a dam and military barracks in the Anbar province on Friday, Iraqi security officials said. Clashes between the militant group and government troops continued through to Saturday, officials said, but poor communications made it difficult to confirm the number of soldiers who had died in the clashes. Meanwhile, the militant outfit also claimed responsibility for several suicide car bombings that killed four soldiers at a border crossing between Iraq and Jordan.
Pakistan sets three-day deadline to arrest activist’s killers:
Acting Pakistani President Raza Rabbani on Saturday gave the Sindh provincial government three days to arrest the killers of civil liberties activist Sabeen Mahmud. Rabbani sought a detailed report on the incident from provincial authorities. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah had ordered a judicial commission to probe the murder, a provincial government spokesperson said. Meanwhile, a military spokesperson said that the country’s intelligence agencies would assist investigators with their investigation. Mahmud and her mother were attacked by unidentified gunmen in Karachi on Friday after the activist hosted a talk on human rights abuses in the Balochistan province.
Russian hackers breach Obama’s unclassified emails
Russian hackers read United States President Barack Obama’s e-mails after they breached the White House’s unclassified computer system last year, senior American officials said on Saturday. White House officials said that the hackers did not breach any of their classified networks, but admitted that the unclassified system usually contained highly sensitive information. There was no official confirmation about the number of e-mails read by the hackers. Obama had earlier been targeted by Chinese hackers during his campaign for the country’s Presidency in 2008.
Two armed Palestinians killed by Israeli forces
Two armed Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron and East Jerusalem on Saturday. While one of the men was shot dead in Hebron after stabbing a border police patrolman in the head and chest, the other, identified as Abu Ghannam, was killed after allegedly attacking border police with a cleaver at a checkpoint in East Jerusalem. Ghannam’s family rejected the police account of the incident, saying that he had been on his way back from a friend’s party when he was killed. Protesters later clashed with riot police in East Jerusalem and four police personnel were injured in two separate incidents. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ office later issued a statement, saying that Ghannam’s killing had shown “the ugliness of the occupation against the defenceless Palestinian people".
UN asks Indonesia to stay drug executions
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday asked Indonesia to stay the execution of nine foreigners convicted for drug-related crimes. Ban urged Indonesian President Joko Widodo to "urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition". The convicts from Australia, Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, the Philippines and Indonesia were earlier taken to the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan, where they are set to face a firing squad. Eight of the convicts could be executed as early as Tuesday. The prisoners all lost their appeals for clemency from Widodo, who said that his country was fighting a drugs emergency.
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