Iran Executes Two Men Accused of Spying for United States and Israel
Hemera/Thinkstock(TEHRAN, Iran) – Iran executed two men they had convicted of spying for the Unites States and Israel, according to Iran State Radio.
The radio report said one of the men hanged was Mohammad Heidari, convicted of providing the Israeli intelligence service Mossad with classified information. The second man was Kourosh Ahmadi, who was alleged to have given the CIA intelligence on Iran.
Iran has long accused Israel and the United States of spying on its nuclear program.
It’s not known when the two men were arrested and tried, but they were hanged at dawn Sunday, according to BBC News.
The execution comes only a few months after the Iran Supreme Court overturned Amir Mirzai Hekmati’s death sentence. Hekmati, an Iranian-American national, is accused of spying for the CIA and was arrested in August of 2011 while visiting family in Iran.
Hekmati and the United States government deny Iran’s spying allegations, and numerous groups are working to secure his release.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
EU to Ban Refillable Olive Oil Containers
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(ROME) — Fans of good olive oil should be pleased to learn about a new European Union ban on unlabeled, refillable olive oil bottles in restaurants.
The ban is intended to cut down on food fraud, as olive oil is a common target.
Instead of the ubiquitous olive oil containers that could be full of poor quality product masquerading as high quality olive oil, European restaurants may only serve olive oil in tamper-proof packaging, labeled to EU standards.
Top quality olive oil producers like Rosita Decimi of Umbria say the bottle ban will make it tougher for restaurants to pass off rancid-tasting oils for a high quality Italian product.
Though the new ban is intended to protect consumers from fraud, many are upset that the European Union is choosing to make this an issue at a time when they’re facing a serious economic crisis, according to BBC News.
Some restaurant owners are unhappy as well, claiming that their freedom of choice is being taken away.
The ban already exists in Italy and Portugal but will be enforced across Europe next year.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
British Police Have New Leads in Case of Missing Girl
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(LONDON) — Police in Great Britain said they have identified new leads in the case of Madeleine McCann, the British girl who went missing in Portugal six years ago at the age of three.
Several persons of interest, as well as “both investigative and forensic opportunities” in the case, have been identified by Scotland Yard, authorities said.
Metropolitan Police said they were working with Portuguese police to determine the next steps, even though the missing girl’s case is closed in the country.
“Our investigative review is ongoing and we are encouraged by the progress we are making,” Metropolitan Police said in a statement, according to the BBC. “We are reviewing a significant number of documents and continue to identify potential lines of inquiry.”
McCann was 3 years old when she vanished on vacation with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and twin siblings in the Algarve region of Portugal. The girl’s parents say they found Madeleine missing after having left the children in the home unsupervised while having dinner less than 500 feet away.
The review into the McCann case was opened last year after Prime Minister David Cameron responded to a plea from the girl’s parents.
Kate and Gerry McCann have maintained a website and a 24-hour tipline to keep their daughter’s case in the public eye.
On May 3, 2013, six years after Madeleine went missing, Kate McCann posted on the “Find Madeleine” website that the family was there “for the long haul.”
“We still worry about her, we miss her as much as we ever did,” McCann wrote. “We remain as determined as ever to find her and to know what has happened.”
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Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
North Korea Launches Three Short-Range Guided Missiles
Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images(SEOUL, South Korea) — The South Korean Defense Ministry says that North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into waters off its east coast on Saturday, raising concerns about the potential for more military provocation in the region.
Two KN-02 missiles were fired in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon, spokesman Min-seok Kim said.
Unlike the mid-range Musudan missiles which are believed to be capable of traveling more than 1,800 miles, within reach of Japan and South Korea, the missiles launched Saturday only have a range of 75 miles.
Kyodo News, citing an unnamed Japanese official, said the missiles never reached Japanese waters.
North Korea routinely tests short-range missiles, but the launches Saturday came amid signs that diplomacy may finally be cooling tempers on the Korean Peninsula after weeks of warlike threats from Pyongyang.
This past week, Glyn Davies, the State Department’s senior envoy on North Korea, traveled to Beijing, South Korea, and Japan, to discuss all aspects of the North Korea issue. That trip was preceded by a surprise visit to Pyongyang by one of Japan’s most experienced diplomats on North Korea, Isao Iijima.
During his four day trip, Iijima, an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, met with senior officials, including North Korea’s No. 2 leader Kim Yong Nam.
Abe has largely remained mum about the secret visit, aimed at restarting talks to bring home Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s, a key hurdle in normalizing bilateral ties.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula escalated to its worst in decades earlier this year, after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in February.
Angered by UN sanctions, and joint US-South Korean military drills, Pyongyang threatened nuclear strikes on Seoul and Washington, and unilaterally pulled out of the 60-year-old war armistice that ended the Korean War.
In April, North Korea suspended operations at the jointly run Kaesong Industrial Complex, pulling out 53,000 workers.
US officials said North Korea withdrew two of their Musudan missiles earlier this month, but Pyongyang renewed threats of a nuclear war last week, following the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
The ship was brought in to the southern port city of Busan for joint US-South Korea naval drills.
North Korea’s state TV called the move an “extremely reckless” provocation, saying “The risk of a nuclear war in the peninsula has risen further due to the madcap nuclear war practice by the US and the South’s enemy force.”
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Russia Unmasks CIA Station Chief in Moscow
AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) – In a breach of protocol, Russia has publicized the name of a man it says is the CIA station chief in Moscow.
In comments to Russian media Friday, a spokesman for Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB (the successor to the KGB), confirmed that Russia had complained to the CIA station chief in Moscow about efforts to recruit Russian officers as spies as far back as 2011. The name of the supposed CIA agent appeared in a quote attributed to the FSB spokesman in a Russian language article by Russia’s Interfax news agency. The man’s identity was removed from the quote in an English language version.
The name could not be immediately confirmed. A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department said she had not seen the Russian reports.
The exposure comes on the heels of the latest spy scandal between the old Cold War rivals, and despite signs that the Kremlin was prepared to let that incident go.
Earlier in the week, Russia publicized the detention of an American diplomat they insist was really a spy attempting to recruit a Russian security officer as an informant. State-owned television quickly broadcast video of the man’s detention, as well as photos of his supposed spy kit. That kit included a pair of wigs, a map of Moscow, and a compass. It also included a letter instructing the potential spy how to communicate with his handlers.
The alleged spy, Ryan Fogle, is listed as a third secretary in the political section of the US Embassy in Moscow. According to Interfax, Fogle had been placed under surveillance when he arrived in Moscow two years ago, already suspected of being a spy. Interfax also reported that Fogle left the U.S. Embassy on Monday in the back seat of a car and wearing a wig. He changed wigs before going to meet his suspected contact, Interfax reported.
After Fogle’s arrest, Russian authorities revealed that another alleged American diplomat, identified by the Russians as Benjamin Dillon, was caught last December and expelled from the country in January.
Russian news reports have said that Fogle was attempting to recruit a source in the Russian security services with expertise in the North Caucasus, suggesting that he was attempting to gather information as part of the investigation in the Boston bombing suspects, who came from that restive region.
Fogle has been given until Monday to leave the country, according to RIA Novosti.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Dempsey and Hagel Call Russian Missiles to Syria ‘Ill-Timed,’ ‘Unfortunate’
Mark Wilson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — At their joint news conference Friday at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey addressed the reports of new Russian missile sales to Syria. Dempsey called it “ill-timed” and an “unfortunate decision.” Hagel agreed with Dempsey with regards to missiles “and whatever else is involved with the Russians does not help. It makes it more dangerous.”
Hagel said Secretary of State John Kerry had traveled to Moscow a few weeks ago to work out issues with Russia regarding Syria, including arms sales. He said the U.S. is trying to “convince the powers that are involved in the region to be careful with escalation of military options and equipment.”
“What’s happening there, everybody knows, is very, very dangerous. And what we don’t want to see happen, the Russians don’t want to see happen, is for Syria to erupt to the point where we may well find a regional war in the Middle East,” Hagel said Friday.
“The escalation of weaponry in the Middle East is dangerous,” Hagel continued, “and we are working with our partners in that area as well as other countries to make sure that whatever influence we have, that that doesn’t continue.”
Dempsey was blunt in calling the new anti-ship missile reports “at the very least an unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime and prolong the suffering. So it’s ill-timed and very unfortunate.”
Later during Friday’s briefing, Dempsey was asked about the sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft missiles that Russia is planning to sell to Syria. He warned that their arrival might embolden Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into a miscalculation.
“The S-300, for example — higher altitude, longer range, multiple tracking capability. It pushes the standoff distance a little more, increases risk but not impossible to overcome. What I really worry about is that Assad will decide that since he’s got these systems, he’s somehow safer and more prone to a miscalculation. So, you know, again, an unfortunate decision.”
Dempsey emphasized that Russia doesn’t have these weapons and that there are no military plans to prevent their delivery to Syria.
Hagel added there had still been no decision on whether to provide lethal aid to Syrian rebels.
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Nine Killed, Dozens Wounded in Kandahar Attack
File photo. Stocktrek Images/Thinkstock(KANDAHAR CITY, Afghanistan) — Nine people were killed more than 50 injured when twin vehicle bombs exploded in a housing complex of Kandahar City in Aghanistan. Children are reportedly among the dead and injured.
The complex, called Aino Mina, houses more than a half million people in the outskirts of Kandahar.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Kandahar media blames Taliban.
This is the latest in a series of blasts that have killed Afghan civilians. Earlier this month, at least 10 civilians were killed when a roadside bomb in Kandahar detonated, according to BBC News. Fifteen people, including two American soldiers, died Thursday after a suicide attack in the capital city of Kabul.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Jewelry Heist at Cannes Straight Out of Hollywood
ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images(CANNES, France) — It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller: while a fancy jewelry company is hosting a ball at the Cannes Festival, thieves break into a company employees’ hotel room and steal $1 million worth of jewelry.
But this story is real. It happened in Cannes overnight.
A representative of Chopard, the Swiss-based watch and jewelry company, left the stash in the safe in his room at the Novotel Hotel in Cannes while he attended a late-night gala at a much fancier hotel across town. When he returned, thieves had ripped a safe from the wall of his room.
Police are still trying to determine exactly what was inside, but they say the contents were likely Chopard jewels to be loaned to A-list celebrities as they walked the festival’s red carpet surrounded by a phalanx of eager photographers. Actress Julianne Moore has already been seen on the Cannes red carpet sporting gems from Chopard.
French police say the Chopard gala ran until 5 a.m. They believe the burglary happened around 2.30 a.m. The time suggests the thieves — they do not believe this was a solo job — knew exactly what they were doing.
In another twist worthy of Hollywood, a film with a similar plot had just been screened at Cannes. Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring is about celebrity-obsessed teenagers in Los Angeles who follow movie stars online and break into their homes while they are at public events. The film is based on a real gang of teens who broke into the home of Paris Hilton and other stars.
Chopard doesn’t just make jewels. They also make the Oscar-like trophies for the Cannes film festival, the crystal and gold Palme d’Or.
Festival officials say the Palmes are safe.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Four Possible Anonymous Hackers Arrested in Italy
FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/AFP/Getty Images(ROME) — Police in Italy have arrested four possible members of Anonymous, the global hacker group known for attacking websites of organizations that opposed the exposed WikiLeaks documents.
The suspects have been placed under house arrest, accused of targeting Italian government and parliament websites, as well as those of the Vatican.
Police say while the suspects are charged with hacking, it is not clear if they are individuals acting for their own private purposes and using the Anonymous name, or if they are really part of the Anonymous group.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Talk to the Hand: Japanese Researchers Reimagine Smart Phone
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(TOKYO) — It’s not exactly the next big smartphone, but if you spend one too many hours searching for that misplaced iPhone, this could be even better. Researchers at the University of Tokyo are developing a system that puts the mobile phone on the palm of your hand — literally.
Using a special camera that combines high-speed vision and two rotational mirrors, Masatoshi Ishikawa and his team at the Ishikawa Oku Laboratory say they’ve found a way to project a device’s display screen or keyboard onto the palm, or any other surface, so that you can operate it remotely in your home or office.
Ishikawa says the system can detect the movement of a three-dimensional object every two milliseconds. Put simply, the high-speed vision allows the program to track moving objects, so users are free to walk with the phone image in palm, without the display ever shifting.
That’s not all.
The computer system developed by Ishikawa beams ultrasonic wave emitters, so the user actually feels the keyboard pressing against their skin, without anything in their hand. The sensation is the equivalent to a 3-gram or 0.1- ounce object, he says.
“You won’t need a keyboard, you won’t need to carry a smartphone, or a computer,” Ishikawa says. “You can make a call without anything.”
The concept is similar to the one featured in the movie Total Recall last year. In the film, Colin Farrell’s character, Douglas Quaid, uses a phone embedded beneath the skin of his palm. The phone lights up, when a call comes in, allowing Quaid to answer by putting his hand to his ear.
Ishikawa says his system is far more advanced than anything featured in Hollywood, but he has yet to allow users to make actual calls from their palms. The researcher says he expects that to become reality in a year or two.
The palm phone is the latest in a string of systems Ishikawa has developed, using high-speed vision technology. Last year, he unveiled a robotic hand designed to win the game rock-paper-scissors 100 percent of the time. Processing 1,000 frames per second, the hand moved 33 times faster than humans, staying a step ahead of the opponent.
Prior to that, Ishikawa developed a mechanical finger that could dribble the ball faster than the human eye can see. Years ago, he created a batting robot capable of hitting any ball within the strike zone, every single time.
Ishikawa now hopes to perfect the projection phone, so users can dial from their palms, and view 3-D images. The phone is strictly for indoor use only, and he doesn’t expect the complete system to be on the market for at least 5 to 6 years.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Syrian ‘Cannibal’ Says He Will Stand Trial if Assad Does
Alessio Romenzi/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The recent video of a Syrian rebel commander carving open the corpse of a fighter loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, removing several organs and biting into what appeared to be a lung, shocked and revolted even the closest observers of Syria’s increasingly brutal civil war.
A new video has now surfaced of the rebel, Khalid al-Hamad — who goes by the nom-de-guerre Abu Sakkar — in which he warns that “if the blood in Syria doesn’t stop, all of Syria will become like Abu Sakkar.”
Asked by the cameraman what drove him to mutilate the man’s body, he responded: “Cellphones [of pro-Assad militiamen] contain videos showing how they raped women, killed kids, burned the bodies, cut off a man’s arm while alive, tortured another man, then slaughtered him. Every free Syrian wouldn’t be able to control himself while watching these atrocities.”
Abu Sakkar said he would be willing to be tried for it if “Bashar and his thugs stand trial for their atrocities.”
TIME magazine uncovered the original clip in which Abu Sakkar proclaims, “I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog.”
In a follow-up interview, the rebel — who is Sunni, like almost all those fighting the regime — told TIME: “Hopefully we will slaughter all of them [Alawites]…I have another video clip that I will send to them. In the clip, I am sawing another shabiha [pro-government militiaman] with a saw. The saw we use to cut trees. I sawed him into small pieces and large ones.”
Both the political and military arms of the Syrian opposition have condemned Abu Sakkar’s actions.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Russia Urges Iran to Attend Syria Peace Summit
ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — Moscow is putting pressure on Iran to take an active role in a conference planned for the beginning of June that seeks a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict in Syria.
Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced together that they would spearhead an international peace summit on Syria with members of both President Bashar al Assad’s regime and the main Syrian opposition group expected to be in attendance.
During an interview Thursday, Lavrov stressed that its regional ally Iran, which is also close to al-Assad, can play pivotal role during the conference.
The top Russia envoy said, “We must not exclude such a country as Iran from this process due to geopolitical preferences. It is after all a very important outside player…directly interacting and supporting one or other Syrian side in a political or other way.”
However, Lavrov admitted that Tehran hasn’t responded yet to his overture. In fact, Damascus has also expressed reluctance to participate, which would undermine the intent of the conference.
Lavrov also accused some Western nations of trying to narrow the scope of the summit, saying this would also be counterproductive in finding a solution to the two-year Syrian conflict.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
New Round of Deadly Bombings in Iraq Fuels Response from PM
Iraqi Prime Minister office via Getty Images(BAGHDAD) — The sudden surge of what is to believed to be sectarian-related violence continues to spread across Iraq as a series of attacks on Thursday killed at least 30 people and wounded scores of others.
The northern city of Kirkuk in the country’s semiautonomous Kurdish region has experienced more violence lately, with a Shiite place of worship coming under attack by a suicide bomber.
Stopped from entering the building, the attacker detonated a belt rigged with explosives, leaving 13 dead and more than 40 wounded.
Ironically, some relatives of those killed in Kirkuk 24 hours earlier perished in the bombing at the place of worship.
Meanwhile, there were bombings and shootings in other parts of Iraq, including the Baghdad slum of Sadr City where six people died in a car bomb blast that injured 17 others.
The new spike in sectarian violence has been partly blamed on Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who critics say continues to marginalize Sunnis and Kurds while he preaches national unity.
Al-Maliki appeared on TV Thursday to plead for peace, saying, “The bloodshed…is a result of sectarian hatred. These crimes are a natural result of the sectarian mindset.”
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Famed Drug War Blogger Flees Mexico
Stockbyte/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — One of Mexico’s most important drug war bloggers has fled the country fearing for her life. She also fears that her main associate has gone missing.
The author of the popular website Blog del Narco is too afraid to reveal her identity and simply goes by the pseudonym of Lucy. In a Skype conversation, she told British newspaper The Guardian that she fled from her hometown in northern Mexico last week after receiving a brief call from her partner, a man in his 20s who lives in another city and runs the technical side of the blog.
Lucy told the Guardian that her partner told her to “run” and hung up immediately. The blogger duo had agreed to use “run” as a code word for fleeing the country when things get really dangerous, but had never implemented this alert before.
El Blog del Narco has been reporting on drug violence in Mexico for the past three years, providing information on executions, cartel battles and roadblocks that mainstream media rarely show.
But in spite of the blog’s fame, its creators did not speak to the press until recently, when Lucy granted an exclusive interview to The Guardian. In April, Lucy and her partner also published a book called Dying for the Truth, which talks about the dangers they have faced as they report on Mexico’s drug wars. But the bloggers never wanted to reveal their true identity, fearing that it would be too dangerous for them.
Lucy told The Guardian that she is now in Spain, but has still not heard from her partner since that fateful call last week.
She shared that she arrived in Spain on a flight from the U.S., after having crossed the U.S.-Mexico border legally, but “on foot.”
El Blog del Narco gets around three million page views a month. The Guardian says that the site has become a “must-read” source on Mexico’s drug wars for that country’s officials, cartel members and the general public.
In 2011, three contributors of El Blog del Narco were killed. Signs that promised to go after the blog’s creators were placed next to the bodies.
The site regularly features graphic images of Mexico’s drug violence, and detailed information of where murders committed by drug gangs take place.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
State Department Designates Syrian Extremist Opposition Leader a Terrorist
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The State Department has added the leader of the al Qaeda-affiliated Syrian opposition group al-Nusrah Front to the terror list, making him a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.”
According to the agency, Muhammed al-Jawlani “was specifically tasked by al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI),” to carry out “the overthrow of the Syrian regime and the institution of Islamist shari’a law throughout the country.”
Under his leadership, al-Nusrah Front has carried out multiple suicide attacks throughout Syria, mainly in Damascus, killing innocent Syrian civilians.
Al-Nusrah was already a designated a terrorist group, but this announcement targets al-Jawlani specifically.
“The violent, sectarian vision of al-Jawlani’s al-Nusrah is at odds with the aspirations of the Syrian people, including the overwhelming majority of the Syrian opposition, who seek a free, democratic, and inclusive Syria and have made clear their desire for a government that respects and advances national unity, dignity, human rights, and equal protection under the law – regardless of faith, ethnicity, or gender,” the State Department said Thursday in a statement.
Additionally, the Department of Treasury has also designated four Assad Regime Senior officials, Syrian Arab Airlines and the privately-owned Addounia Television Station as sponsors of State terror, subject to sanctions.
Making clear that all U.S. citizens are prohibited from “engaging in transactions” with al-Jawlani, the State Department condemned terrorist ideology and urged Syrians to speak out against the terror leader and al Qaeda affiliations.
“Extremism and terrorist ideology have no place in a post-Assad Syria, and all responsible Syrians should speak out against al-Qa’ida and other extremist elements,” the State Department said.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Six Americans Killed in Kabul Car Bomb Attack
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Six Americans — two soldiers and four civilian contractors — are among at least 14 people killed in a massive car bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday morning, according to U.S. and Afghan officials.
More than 30 Afghan civilians, including a number of children, were wounded.
The attack happened just after 8 a.m. The bomber drove a car filled with explosives directly into a military convoy as it drove through the city.
The explosion was so powerful it reduced a series of vehicles to piles of twisted, mangled metal, and set nearby buildings on fire. The scene was quickly secured by NATO troops as fires smoldered on the freshly blackened street. Some of the bodies were so badly burned they were difficult to identify.
The militant group Hezb-Islami, run by notorious Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, quickly claimed responsibility, saying they targeted a convoy carrying American military advisers. A statement by the group’s spokesperson says it has formed a special cell to carry out attacks on U.S. targets.
Hekmatyar, though not affiliated with the Taliban, has been waging a violent campaign against U.S. troops in Afghanistan for several years. He is a former prime minister and key U.S. ally who fought against the Soviets, but is now on the U.S. State Department’s terror list. His group maintains a formal presence in Afghan politics, with members affiliated with his group currently in Afghanistan’s parliament.
Last September, Hekmatyar’s group claimed responsibility for another attack that killed 12 foreign contractors working for an airline in Kabul.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Cyclone Mahasen Makes Landfall in Bangladesh, Threatens Millions
NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team (ISLAMABAD) — A powerful cyclone is battering a wide stretch of South Asia and could bring “life-threatening” conditions to millions of people, the United Nations warns.
Cyclone Mahasen made landfall Thursday morning, hitting the southern coast of Bangladesh with strong winds and heavy rains.
The U.N. says more than eight million people are in the cyclone’s path in Bangladesh, India and Myanmar. Many live in low-lying farms and villages vulnerable to flooding.
In Myanmar, tens of thousands of the country’s minority Rohyngya community have refused mandatory evacuation orders, afraid they won’t be allowed to return to their homes after the storm has passed.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Insider Attacks Drop in Afghanistan
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Last year at this time, there was an alarming rise of “insider attacks” in Afghanistan as supposed Afghan allies turned their weapons on coalition forces, particularly U.S. troops.
By the end of May in 2012, 34 U.S. and NATO soldiers had been killed by Afghan security forces or those dressed in their uniforms. Through the first four-and-a-half months of this year, six coalition forces have died as the result of insider attacks.
There are a number of factors responsible for the steep decline, not the least of which is the Afghan government installing hundreds of counterintelligence officers in their army to keep close watch on any soldiers expressing sentiment against coalition allies, which often occurs after they’ve come back from an extended leave.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is providing security for its own forces with so-called “guardian angels” — American soldiers who are responsible for protecting U.S. troops training and accompanying Afghan forces taking the lead in fighting the Taliban.
Along with improving counterintelligence capabilities, the military has also boosted cultural sensitivity training among its troops to help avoid incidents such as the unintentional Quran burnings at Bagram Air Base last year that led to deadly riots throughout Afghanistan.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Iran Again Refuses Nuclear Watchdog’s Request to Inspect Facilities
IIPA via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — There was yet another setback Wednesday in the international community’s attempts to force Iran into becoming more transparent about its nuclear ambitions.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, was unable to obtain any commitment from Tehran to allow its inspectors to tour atomic facilities.
Over the past 18 months, the IAEA has met with Iranian officials 10 times to try and resume inspections of facilities where it’s believed the rogue nation is developing nuclear weapons. The inspections ended in 2008.
Iran has consistently maintained that it only wants nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, such as generating electricity — a claim scoffed at by the U.S. and its Western allies.
Although the IAEA had nothing to show from the latest talks, Iranian officials seemed to feel the meeting was constructive.
Most observers contend Iran is purposely dragging its feet to give its scientists more time to develop atomic bombs.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Report: Israel May Launch More Strikes in Syria to Destroy Missiles
Uriel Sinai/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Israel is mulling additional air strikes in Syria to halt the transfer of Iranian missiles to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, The New York Times reports.
Although the Israeli government has not commented directly on attacks by its war jets in Syria, the U.S. says there have been three operations since last January to destroy Lebanon-bound missiles.
Israel has no intention of getting involved in the two-year conflict between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s military and opposition forces, but at the same time, won’t stand for advanced rockets being transferred for use by Hezbollah, it’s sworn enemy.
The Times quoted an unidentified Syrian official as saying, “Israel is determined to continue to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah. The transfer of such weapons to Hezbollah will destabilize and endanger the entire region.”
Furthermore, Israel is warning Damascus not to retaliate against the air strikes or use proxies, such as from Iran, to hit back at Israeli interests in its homeland or elsewhere.
The Syrian government has condemned the Israeli air strikes inside its borders without making any firm commitment to immediately retaliate. Iran, a close Syrian ally, has been more definitive about possibly taking action against Israel.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Dozens Killed, Over 100 Injured in Baghdad Explosions
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BAGHDAD) — A series of explosions Wednesday evening killed 23 and wounded over 100 people in Baghdad, according to police.
Authorities say the 11 explosions occurred in mainly Shia areas of the Iraqi capital.
These car bombings are the latest incidents in a month of sectarian violence, which has claimed 250 deaths total.
Tensions between minority Sunni Muslims and the Shia majority are at their highest since U.S. troops pulled out in 2011, making April the deadliest month in Iraq over the last five years.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Grisly Execution Videos Show Growing Brutality in Syria
Stockbyte/Thinkstock(RAQQA, Syria) — The camera pans up from three blindfolded men with their hands bound to a rebel fighter speaking into a megaphone. He stands by a white pickup truck, his face covered with a white and red checkered scarf.
In classical Arabic, the man reads out the death sentence of the three men. It lasts one minute and 45 seconds before the man proclaims “God is great” and two of his comrades — wearing black ski masks — fire single bullets into each of the three captives’ heads. As they slump over, a crowd erupts in cheers with celebratory gunfire.
In the two years since the war in Syria started, there have been innumerable videos of summary executions, beheadings and the aftermath of massacres. But in recent days, the videos posted online from Syria have highlighted a deepening sectarianism and a brutality never before seen in this conflict.
The execution of the three men, who were officers of the Syrian government, took place in a public square in Raqqa, a northern city controlled by the Sunni, al Qaeda-linked extremist rebel group, Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. The slain men were Alawites, the sect of Shia Islam that President Bashar al-Assad and his most loyal forces belong to.
”We respond to the criminal Bashar who is killing Sunnis everywhere,” the man with the megaphone said. “Now we decided to come close to God by killing those Alawites…”
The speaker in the Raqqa video said the executions were in revenge for — among other things — recent massacres in and around the majority Alawite coastal city of Baniyas in early May. There, regime forces are reported to have carried out “cleansing” operations of Sunni areas, slaughtering hundreds of men, women and children. Videos showed rows of dead bodies, shot or stabbed, as well as the charred remains of bodies burned in a building. Many more remain missing, feared dead.
“The fear of ethnic cleansing has increased among all populations of Syria and with good reason,” wrote Syria analyst Joshua Landis at the University of Oklahoma. “Sunnis claim today that the regime is effectively trying to clear many areas of its Sunni inhabitants.”
“If Assad reasserts his control over rebel held parts of Syria, large populations of Sunnis would likewise flee,” Landis continued. “They would fear ruthless retribution and possible massacres.”
The Raqqa public execution clip surfaced just days after another grisly video was posted online of a Sunni rebel commander slicing open the body of a dead regime soldier with a knife, removing his lung and biting into it. “I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog,” the man says to the camera.
“Hopefully we will slaughter all of them [Alawites],” the commander, Khalid al-Hamad, later told TIME Magazine, which first uncovered the clip. “I have another video clip that I will send to them. In the clip, I am sawing another shabiha [pro-government militiaman] with a saw. The saw we use to cut trees. I sawed him into small pieces and large ones.”
As the world reacted with horror, the main political Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, condemned the action and called for the man to be tried. The military wing, the Free Syrian Army said it “completely rejects the ill-treatment of the wounded and the disfigurement of the dead.”
“It is not enough for Syria’s opposition to condemn such behavior or blame it on violence by the government,” said Nadim Houry, the Middle East deputy director of Human Rights Watch. “The opposition forces need to act firmly to stop such abuses.”
The clips have come to light as the U.S. and its allies continue to grapple with the question of arming the rebel forces, worried that any weapons could end up in the hands of extremists. Videos like that of the rebel eating the organs of his enemy have compounded those fears since he is part of what the West considers to be the more mainstream rebel forces, those that would theoretically receive any arms.
Syrian opposition leaders blame the West for the rise in sectarianism and extremists rebel groups like Jabhat al-Nusra which are among the most ferocious groups fighting Assad forces. It could have been stopped, they say, if the more moderate forces had been supported earlier.
Both the execution and “cannibal” videos rocketed around the Internet, creating a firestorm on social networking sites. Opposition activists argue they are isolated incidents not representative of the rebel forces fighting the Assad regime, while supporters of Assad argued that their true character is finally coming to light.
On both sides, many fear the sectarianism is now so deep-seated that Syria will never be able to recover from it.
“Two yrs ago, there was no such thing as decapitation, massacre & cannibalism in Syria,” wrote one Assad supporter on Twitter. “Today these barbaric acts are synonymous to the country.”
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Chinese Cops Confiscate Millions of Counterfeit Condoms in Raid
Obtained by ABC News(BEIJING) — A ring of underground workshops producing millions of counterfeit brand-name condoms — including Durex, Contex and Jissbon — was busted by police in central and east China.
Cops confiscated 4.65 million already-packaged prophylactics and another 1,100 pounds of unpackaged condoms were found at the scene.
In a dimly lit room in the countryside of southeast China’s Fujian province, dozens of workers were busy on a production line, lubricating the condoms when cops raided. The floor was piled high with the contraceptives, and according to police, the stench of the cheap oil lubricants was nauseating.
The racket was exposed in February when a policeman in Fujian province noticed that a store on Taobao.com, China’s most popular online shopping site, was selling ridiculously low-priced condoms. He bought a few to test, and they proved to be fakes. The police then traced the fake products from the online store to a network of underground workshops.
A total of 37 suspects from Fujian, Zhejiang and Henan provinces were arrested during the police raid on the workshops on March 29. The details were announced by the police on Tuesday.
The official People’s Daily newspaper reported that one of the ring’s two bosses was surnamed Liu. He reportedly started his business last December.
First, he allegedly bought the raw latex from a factory in Hebei, the province that surrounds the capital, Beijing. Then, he applied cheap lubricants and packaged them in bags and boxes bearing well-known brand names, police told the newspaper.
Liu’s factory could crank out 20,000 counterfeit condoms a day. Each one cost 0.17 yuan to produce, and was sold for 1 Yuan, or about 16 cents.
Liu reportedly told the police that the condoms produced in his workshops were mostly sold on the Internet, and through small vendors, supermarkets, pharmacies and rural sex toy stores.
About a month ago, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported that Ghana was facing a “major public health issue” after condoms supplied to the country’s health service were found to contain holes and burst easily. The one million condoms, carrying the brand name “Be Safe,” were all imported from China.
“When we tested those condoms, we found that they are poor quality, can burst in the course of sexual activity, and have holes which expose the users to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease,” Thomas Amedzra, head of drug enforcement at the Ghanaian Food and Drug Authority (FDA), told the Guardian.
The FDA traced the condoms back to the original manufacturer, which was in Henan province in central China.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Air India Pilot Gets Locked Out of Cockpit
SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Just weeks after it was revealed that Air India pilots were suspended for leaving two flight attendants at the controls, comes a report that another flight was diverted when the pilot got locked out of the cockpit.
Perth Now reports an Air India flight from Delhi to Bangalore was rerouted when a pilot couldn’t get back into his seat after a trip to the bathroom. With the door hopelessly jammed, a trainee pilot safely landed the plane in Bhopal, in central India.
Maintenance crews on the ground were able to get the door unstuck, the site reports.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Bomb Hoax, Extreme Air Rage Impede Travel in China
Comstock/Thinkstock(BEIJING) — What officials say were false terror threats against three domestic carriers led to significant delays and cancellations at many of China’s main airports on Wednesday.
Authorities are still investigating calls made to China Eastern Airlines, Juneyao Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines.
They say no one and no plane was ever in real danger.
Chinese airlines have been targeted in the past. A man convicted of a bomb hoax last year, for instance, received a four-year prison sentence.
Passengers in Shanghai’s Pudong International airport waited for hours without any explanation. But that is not unusual in China, where extreme air rage is increasingly common.
In China, air travel is like car ownership was in the 1990s. Air travel is cheaper and millions are choosing to fly instead of taking the train.
But the service industry has a long way to go, and passengers routinely go, well, a little crazy. About 20 people stormed the runway last year in front of an oncoming plane. Staff are routinely assaulted (it seems every week there is a new video of airport brawls) and a state official was caught on camera recently going ballistic in front of his own family. He was later reprimanded with a heavy fine.
Manufacturers estimate that a new plane will take to the skies every other day for the next decade to service millions of domestic fliers. That has caused concern about already clogged routes and limited air space.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Kerry Predicts Early June Syrian Peace Summit
Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images(STOCKHOLM) — Secretary of State John Kerry expressed optimism on Tuesday that a Syrian peace conference being brokered by Washington and Moscow will occur in early June.
Speaking with reporters in Stockholm, America’s top envoy said he was confident that officials from President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the main opposition will be in attendance.
His announcement came as Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said Damascus wants more details about the summit before his government agrees to send representatives.
However, Kerry warned of dire consequences if Damascus decides not to participate.
“If President Assad decides to miscalculate again about that, as he has miscalculated about his own country’s future over the course of the last years, it is clear the opposition will be receiving additional support, there will be additional efforts made, and unfortunately the violence will not end,” said Kerry.
The secretary of state did not elaborate on what kind of extra assistance the rebel forces would receive.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Shocking Video Shows Syrian Rebel Biting Heart of Dead Soldier
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — There was new outrage Tuesday over atrocities committed in Syria as a shocking video went viral. The video shows what appears to be an opposition fighter biting into the heart of a dead government soldier.
The U.S. and its allies have talked about giving more assistance to Syrian rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad’s forces but the new video, along with the rising influence of al Qaeda-linked groups in Syria, might convince Washington to rethink its strategy.
People familiar with the Syrian conflict identified the man in the video as Khaled al-Hamad, a commander of the Omar al-Farouq Brigade, one of the many factions opposed to al-Assad.
In the video, he is seen leaning over a dead soldier, cutting out his heart and then proclaiming, “I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog.” Al-Hamad then bites the organ while shouts of “God is great!” are heard in the background.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said that a longer version of the video includes a slur against Alawites, the minority sect to which al-Assad belongs.
If true, it typifies the growing sectarian conflict in Syria. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed on Tuesday that as many 41,000 Alawites have died since March 2011 when al-Assad began a crackdown on pro-democratic activists.
The total death toll in the conflict has been hard to determine given the news blackout in Syria. The latest official figure was 70,000, although British Prime Minister David Cameron said 80,000 earlier this week.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, it may be as high as 120,000.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
For $400 Slight, Chinese Man Drops Hammer on His $423K Maserati
Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — When you’re rich and upset, only then you can express your frustration with a car dealership by deliberately destroying your own Maserati.
However, that’s exactly what happened Tuesday morning at the Qindao Auto Show, according to the China Car Times. The unidentified owner of a $423,000 Maserati Quattroporte was furious with the Furi Group, the company that serviced his 2011 car.
The owner claims the company repaired his car with used parts costing nearly $400, and to demonstrate his dissatisfaction, the owner and his friends destroyed the car at the entrance of the auto show.
And this isn’t the first time this has happened at the event: in 2011, another disgruntled car owner had his Lamborghini Gallardo — which cost somewhere between $500,000 to $700,000 — smashed in protest of treatment at the hands of Lamborghini Qindao.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Iraqi Insurgents’ Liquor Store Assault Kills 12
iStockPhoto/Thinkstock(BAGHDAD) — Some ultra-conservative militants are not happy that alcohol is available in Baghdad, especially since Muslims are supposed to shun liquor because Islamic law prohibits it.
Insurgents let their distaste for booze be known in Iraq’s capital on Tuesday when they shot up a row of liquor stores in an eastern part of the city that is predominantly Shiite.
At least 12 people were reportedly killed in the attack, which was carried out by carloads of assailants using silencers to shoot up the establishments.
Police said three store owners and nine customers died in the bloody assault. Three other people were seriously wounded.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
New Pakistani Prime Minister Avoids Political Showdown with Rival
Former cricket star Imran Khan and his Tehreek-e-Insaf party thought they had a real shot at gaining the most seats in the election, only to win about 32 to Sharif’s bloc of 124, guaranteeing that the once and future Pakistani leader won’t rule with a coalition government.
There were plenty of sour grapes from Khan’s supporters earlier in the week along with demonstrations alleging voter fraud. Khan couldn’t join in because he fractured his back last week after taking a fall from a speaking platform.
But apparently, Sharif’s visit to Khan’s hospital bed in Lahore went a long way to smooth out bad feelings, with the new prime minister telling reporters afterwards, “Today, we have made peace. He was receptive and acknowledged my gesture.”
Sharif has more to worry about than a political rivalry. His country faces threats from the Taliban, strained relations with Afghanistan and decades-long disputes with India.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio