Sunday 30 November 2014

Today's headlines - 11/28/2014

Indian jihadist ‘kills 55 for ISIS, quits because no pay’


AFP Photo/Welayat Salahuddin


An Islamic State recruit from Greater Mumbai was intercepted in Turkey, and then interrogated and arrested by India’s secret service. Suspected of killing up to 55 people, he allegedly left because they didn’t pay enough, India’s media reported.

Hosni Mubarak: Egypt court drops charges over 2011 uprisiфg deaths


  • Supporters of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak celebrate after hearing the verdict of his trial outside a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. (AAP)
  • Supporters of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak celebrate after hearing the verdict of his trial outside a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. (AAP)
  • Supporters of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak celebrate after hearing the verdict of his trial outside a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. (AAP)
  • Supporters of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak celebrate after hearing the verdict of his trial outside a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. (AAP)
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A court in Egypt has dropped charges against former President Hosni Mubarak over the killing of 239 protesters during the 2011 uprising against him.


The Cairo court erupted in cheers when the judge said Mubarak should not have been a defendant in the case as the charges against him were added late.


Charges against seven senior ex-officials were also dropped. The decision could be appealed.


Victims' relatives waiting outside expressed dismay and frustration.


And later police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of about 2,000 people who gathered near Tahrir Square to voice their opposition to the decision.


In a TV interview after the ruling, Mubarak said he had done "nothing wrong at all".


The former president, 86, is serving a separate three-year sentence for embezzlement of public funds.




Egyptian police fire tear gas at Mubarak verdict protest near Tahrir Square



Egyptian police in Cairo have used water cannon and tear gas against hundreds of demonstrators protesting against the acquittal of former president Hosni Mubarak by a local court. At least two people reportedly died and nine were injured in clashes.


2nd class citizen’: Israeli Arabs stamp Facebook pics to protest ‘Jewish state law’



Hundreds of Arab Israelis this week have chosen to stamp their Facebook profile pictures with a “second-class citizen” sign. The online campaign mocks and protests the controversial Jewish nation state law the Israeli parliament is set to vote on.

The official-looking stamp has “second class citizen” written in Hebrew and “State of Israel” in English. It was designed by two artists, Haitham Charles and Sana Jamaileh, who wanted to make a statement about the plans to anchor in law the status of Israel as “the national homeland of the Jewish people.”


Nicolas Sarkozy is back as leader of France’s main opposition party



Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been elected leader of the oppositional right-wing party UMP (Union for Popular Movement), marking his return to politics and beginning his bid for French presidency in 2017.


I would like to thank all the UMP members who did me the honor of electing me leader of our political family,” Sarkozy said on his Facebook page. “Their mobilization, at a level unequalled in the history of our movement, is the best response to two years of internal quarrels and divisions.”

Sarkozy won with 64.5 percent of the votes, beating his nearest rival Bruno le Marie, with 155,000 members of UMP taking part in the election.

Britain’s GCHQ monitored Irish internet traffic



Britain’s surveillance body, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), could be tapping underwater cables connecting Ireland to the global web, according to a new document leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and released by German media.

The document, titled ‘Partner Cables,’ identifies the cables that GCHQ has tried to gain access to, and names their owners by codename.

Vodafone subsidiary Cable & Wireless apparently cooperated closely with the British intelligence agency and provided them with details, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported as it published the leak.

A total of 63 submarine cables are listed – among which are 29 Cable & Wireless lines under the alias GERONTIC, which are mentioned as potential helpers. The Solas undersea cable – which links Ireland’s County Wexford to Wales – is included in the list.

Germany’s foreign intelligence accused of spying on own citizens abroad





BND, Germany’s foreign intelligence service, used a loophole in the law to snoop on the country’s citizens living abroad from 2000 to 2005, the former agency’s lawyer told German MPs.

Usually, there is law “G10” which specifies high legal hurdles to cover before spying on German citizens, including when they live abroad. If these requirements aren’t met, then the data on them should be filtered from foreign communications received by BND.

However, Dr. Stefan Burbaum told parliament about a loophole: a person was named “office holder” if targeted.

"The office holder is a legal person. It's a small exception. A German citizen can function as an office holder in a foreign organization," Burbaum explained as quoted by the Local.

"The decisive thing is whether he's communicating as a citizen or as an office holder," he added.

BND also breached “G10” legislation regarding telecom traffic, retaining some content the service hadn’t been authorized to check. So the law was turned into a “foot in the door” for some data they wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise, Burbaum said.

The intelligence agency came under heavy fire from MPs.

This construct of an ‘office holder’ is just as absurd in practice as it appears in the law,” Konstantin von Notz of the Green party said.


Officer who shot Michael Brown quits Ferguson police department



Darren Wilson, the police officer whose deadly shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old prompted months of protest in Ferguson, Missouri, resigned from his job on Saturday after avoiding prosecution by the state.

Wilson, 28, said in a resignation letter that he could not “put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk” by remaining in his position. “It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me,” he said.

'Westminster rule must stop!' Scottish devolution vents new independence bid



There's a strong feeling of resentment looming over the Scottish capital, after Westminster outlined just how much power it's prepared to give Scotland. Edinburgh says it's far short of the last minute pledges made to voters during September's referendum to urge them to reject independence




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