enlarge Credit: Mediaite Keepin’ it Klassy : One of Fox News’ various Twitter account, @FoxNewsPolitics, was hacked by a group called “Scriptkiddies.” The group sent out false information regarding the shooting death of President Barack Obama. The tweets have since been deleted from the account and a Fox News representative has promised a full investigation into the hacking. “Scriptkiddies” does not appear to have any connection to more well-known hacking entities like “Anonymous” or “LulzSec”. In addition to just the massively poor taste, I can’t help but think that Scriptkiddies wanted to tweak another Murdoch organization given the hacking that Murdoch’s “News of the World” is currently being accused of . A private detective working for Britain’s News of the World tabloid hacked into voicemail messages left on the mobile phone of a murdered schoolgirl while police were searching for her, a lawyer for her family said on Monday. Mark Lewis, of solicitors Taylor Hampton, said police investigating phone hacking by the paper had told the parents of Milly Dowler that their daughter’s own phone had been intercepted illegally. He said the family planned to sue the paper, owned by News International, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp . The disclosure comes days after British government gave its backing for News Corp to buy out British pay-TV group BSkyB, rejected complaints the move would give Murdoch too much power and influence. The government has announced a final consultation period until July 8 to consider further undertakings to guarantee the editorial independence of BSkyB’s Sky News. Five people have been arrested by detectives investigating assertions that journalists on the News of the World hacked the phones of members of the royal family, politicians, celebrities and sports stars to listen to their voicemail messages.
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Police seek three suspects, now on the run, as headteacher and friends pay tribute to ‘kind’ Yemurai Lovemore Kanyangarara, 16 In the warm sunshine on a busy high street in Welling, south-east London, bunches of bright flowers were piling up outside a shuttered shop. Girls clutched at each other in tears, while a group of young men stood in silence reading the tributes to their dead friend, the eighth teenager to die violently in London this year. It was at this spot on Friday during the late afternoon bustle that Yemurai Lovemore Kanyangarara, a 16-year-old with hopes of going to university, was stabbed in the neck in broad daylight as shoppers looked on, a brazen attack that left even police shocked. The blow severed an artery and killed him. After laying a bouquet of flowers with a card which stated “Gonna miss you a lot Yemz”, Shaquille Keith, 16, said his friend kept out of trouble. His face streaked with tears, he said: “You couldn’t not like him, he was so kind.” Asked why he thought Kanyangarara had been targeted, Keith articulated how disturbingly common deaths caused by knife crime have become, and the impact they are having on south London communities. “It was just one of those things,” he said. Police are hunting for three teenagers, who they said had gone on the run from their homes after the attack and were still fugitives on Monday. Detective Chief Inspector Mark Dunne urged them to think of Kanyangarara’s family, who fled violence in Zimbabwe when he was a toddler, and give themselves up. “We currently have three frightened teenage boys who we know have left home and are on the run from police, possibly hiding in the Greater London area. This cannot go on forever and sooner or later they will have to speak to me,” he said. “I am appealing for them to come forward now for the sake of Yemurai’s family who, needless to say, are absolutely devastated by his death.” The attack, described by Dunne as one of the worst killings he has investigated, happened on the busy high street at 5pm, moments after Kanyangarara had stepped off a bus with a friend. Police believe his neck was slashed, before three teenage boys ran from the scene. Barry Donn, co-owner of the nearby Loose Linen shop, described holding a towel to Kanyangarara’s neck to stem the blood flow. “I tried talking to him but he was not at all responsive. I asked what his name was, but his eyes were closed,” he said. “No one could have saved that boy, he was gone.” Police are believed to have identified the attackers. Friends said Kanyangarara, a keen footballer, had no links to local gangs. “He was always the calm one, he didn’t get into fights. He was just so talented, he didn’t deserve this,” said friend Natalie Miller, 16. “He wasn’t in a gang, he didn’t do anything wrong. They need to find the killer. It wasn’t his time.” Nigel Fisher, headteacher at St Columba’s Roman Catholic boys’ school in Bexleyheath, where Kanyangararaich had attended, said he had been planning to go on to university. “He had ability and he was going to use it,” he said. “His death is, in a true sense, completely tragic. What a waste of a wonderful life that lay ahead.” Knife crime Crime London Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk
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Nasser al-Shami among 40 injured in government crackdown after city’s month of ‘liberation’ from al-Assad regime An Olympic medal-winning boxer was among those injured by gunfire on Monday when government forces re-entered the city of Hama, which had slipped from the authorities’ control for almost a month, according to activists. The move could signal an escalating crackdown and draw increased international condemnation against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The regime is simultaneously crushing protests while seeking to hold a “national dialogue” on Sunday to find a way out of the crisis. Boxer Nasser al-Shami, 29, was among 40 people injured after security forces fired in the city, including a 13-year-old Omar Khalaf, according to activists in the local coordinating committees. One man was reported to be have been left disabled after being shot in the neck. At least 20 people including three women activists were detained. “I want to leave because the situation is very bad,” said a resident via Skype. Another man said he had evacuated his family from the city. Hama, a Sunni city north of Damascus, with a population of 800,000 , had been celebrating its “liberation”. The celebrations were due to the withdrawal of security forces and even traffic police, in the aftermath of huge funerals on 4 June, a day after security forces shot dead more than 70 protesters. Since then thousands have taken nightly to the central Assi square calling for the fall of the regime and tearing down posters of the president. But in a sign of a crackdown to come as protests continue, the regime apparently decided it could no longer tolerate the open dissent. Gunfire was reported in city suburbs on Sunday and in the early hours of Monday the army and security set up checkpoints on the outskirts of the city, activists said. Security forces entered, despite residents’ efforts to keep them out with burning tires. Residents also tried to protect the Hourani hospital, where the wounded were taken after forces raided neighbourhoods, according to activists. Damascus has been condemned by human rights groups for blocking access to medical treatment and arresting people in hospitals. Al-Shami is in a stable condition, Rami Abdel-Rahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the Guardian. The boxer is one of the thousands injured since the uprising began in mid-March, in addition to more than 1,400 people who have been killed. One of a handful of high-profile Syrian sports personalities, Al-Shami won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympic games in Athens in the heavyweight boxing category. Meanwhile, the army continued to assault villages including Haas and Kafer Nabul in the north-western province of Idleb on Monday, with reports of arrests, gunfire and snipers positioned on rooftops. It was unclear if anyone had been killed in the area as funerals for another two people shot dead in the Hajar al-Aswad neighbourhood of Damascus took place. Despite government attempts to woo protesters with promises of reforms, Syrians have been braced for the regime to reassert control over Hama. Activists claimed that half a million took to the city’s streets for the biggest protests yet last Friday. In an ominous sign, president Bashar al-Assad sacked governor Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz on Saturday, apparently for refusing to clamp down on protesters, activists said. Hama is a sensitive city for Syrians and the regime after an assault on the city in 1982 killed at least 200 people. The assault was ordered by Bashar’s father, Hafez al-Assad, to quash an armed Islamist uprising. The city was shelled from outside and some are believed to have starved to death during the siege, which went on for weeks without outside knowledge. Nidaa Hassan is the pseudonym of a journalist in Damascus Syria Bashar Al-Assad Arab and Middle East unrest Protest Middle East Nidaa Hassan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Nasser al-Shami among 40 injured in government crackdown after city’s month of ‘liberation’ from al-Assad regime An Olympic medal-winning boxer was among those injured by gunfire on Monday when government forces re-entered the city of Hama, which had slipped from the authorities’ control for almost a month, according to activists. The move could signal an escalating crackdown and draw increased international condemnation against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The regime is simultaneously crushing protests while seeking to hold a “national dialogue” on Sunday to find a way out of the crisis. Boxer Nasser al-Shami, 29, was among 40 people injured after security forces fired in the city, including a 13-year-old Omar Khalaf, according to activists in the local coordinating committees. One man was reported to be have been left disabled after being shot in the neck. At least 20 people including three women activists were detained. “I want to leave because the situation is very bad,” said a resident via Skype. Another man said he had evacuated his family from the city. Hama, a Sunni city north of Damascus, with a population of 800,000 , had been celebrating its “liberation”. The celebrations were due to the withdrawal of security forces and even traffic police, in the aftermath of huge funerals on 4 June, a day after security forces shot dead more than 70 protesters. Since then thousands have taken nightly to the central Assi square calling for the fall of the regime and tearing down posters of the president. But in a sign of a crackdown to come as protests continue, the regime apparently decided it could no longer tolerate the open dissent. Gunfire was reported in city suburbs on Sunday and in the early hours of Monday the army and security set up checkpoints on the outskirts of the city, activists said. Security forces entered, despite residents’ efforts to keep them out with burning tires. Residents also tried to protect the Hourani hospital, where the wounded were taken after forces raided neighbourhoods, according to activists. Damascus has been condemned by human rights groups for blocking access to medical treatment and arresting people in hospitals. Al-Shami is in a stable condition, Rami Abdel-Rahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told the Guardian. The boxer is one of the thousands injured since the uprising began in mid-March, in addition to more than 1,400 people who have been killed. One of a handful of high-profile Syrian sports personalities, Al-Shami won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympic games in Athens in the heavyweight boxing category. Meanwhile, the army continued to assault villages including Haas and Kafer Nabul in the north-western province of Idleb on Monday, with reports of arrests, gunfire and snipers positioned on rooftops. It was unclear if anyone had been killed in the area as funerals for another two people shot dead in the Hajar al-Aswad neighbourhood of Damascus took place. Despite government attempts to woo protesters with promises of reforms, Syrians have been braced for the regime to reassert control over Hama. Activists claimed that half a million took to the city’s streets for the biggest protests yet last Friday. In an ominous sign, president Bashar al-Assad sacked governor Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz on Saturday, apparently for refusing to clamp down on protesters, activists said. Hama is a sensitive city for Syrians and the regime after an assault on the city in 1982 killed at least 200 people. The assault was ordered by Bashar’s father, Hafez al-Assad, to quash an armed Islamist uprising. The city was shelled from outside and some are believed to have starved to death during the siege, which went on for weeks without outside knowledge. Nidaa Hassan is the pseudonym of a journalist in Damascus Syria Bashar Al-Assad Arab and Middle East unrest Protest Middle East Nidaa Hassan guardian.co.uk
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Canadian ship Tahrir part of international attempt to break Israeli blockade of Palestinian territory An attempt by one of the Gaza-bound “freedom flotilla” ships to defy the Greek government and escape from port was thwarted on Monday when armed coastguard officials caught up with the vessel and forced it back to shore. On a day that activists had dubbed “make or break” for the international coalition of boats seeking to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, the Canadian ship Tahrir burst out of Agios Nikolaos port in Crete at 6pm local time after supporters blocked the coastguard with manned kayaks. “We have left port [and] are full steam ahead – coastguard boat about 5-10 [minutes] behind us,” announced passengers on the ship’s official Twitter feed as they raced towards international waters. But the faster coastguard boat caught up with the Tahrir and prevented it from going any
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Canadian ship Tahrir part of international attempt to break Israeli blockade of Palestinian territory An attempt by one of the Gaza-bound “freedom flotilla” ships to defy the Greek government and escape from port was thwarted on Monday when armed coastguard officials caught up with the vessel and forced it back to shore. On a day that activists had dubbed “make or break” for the international coalition of boats seeking to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, the Canadian ship Tahrir burst out of Agios Nikolaos port in Crete at 6pm local time after supporters blocked the coastguard with manned kayaks. “We have left port [and] are full steam ahead – coastguard boat about 5-10 [minutes] behind us,” announced passengers on the ship’s official Twitter feed as they raced towards international waters. But the faster coastguard boat caught up with the Tahrir and prevented it from going any
Continue reading …NJ Gov. Chris Christie called a ‘Bully’ and a ‘Punk’ by Senate President Sweeney for Line Item Veto
July 4, 2011 No CommentThere was a lot of anger pouring out from Democrats in New Jersey over their budget battle. I’ve heard Sweeney is in hot water also and he responded to Christie’s line-item veto by having one of the angriest responses I’ve ever heard. Senate President Stephen Sweeney went to bed furious Thursday night after reviewing the governor’s line-item veto of the state budget. He woke up Friday morning even angrier. “This is all about him being a bully and a punk,” he said in an interview Friday. “I wanted to punch him in his head.” Sweeney had just risked his political neck to support the governor’s pension and health reform, and his reward was a slap across the face. The governor’s budget was a brusque rejection of every Democratic move, and Sweeney couldn’t even get an audience with the governor to discuss it. “You know who he reminds me of?” Sweeney says. “Mr. Potter from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ the mean old bastard who screws everybody.” This is not your regular budget dispute. This is personal. And it could have seismic impact on state politics. Because the working alliance between these two men is the central political fact in New Jersey these days. If that changes, this brief and productive era of bipartisan cooperation is over. “Last night I couldn’t calm down,” Sweeney said. “To prove a point to me – a guy who has stood side by side with him, and made tough decisions – for him to punish people to prove his political point? He’s just a rotten bastard to do what he did.” It is a law of nature that Democrats and Republicans fight over budgets, like dogs chasing cats. And both parties are playing to their ideological scripts in this dispute. But Sweeney’s beef with the governor goes much deeper. He feels the governor has acted in bad faith. The governor’s budget, he says, is full of vindictive cuts designed to punish Democrats, and anyone else who dared to defy him. And he is furious that the governor refused to talk to him during the final week. “After all the heavy lifting that’s been done – the property tax cap, the interest arbitration reform, the pension and health care reform – and the guy wouldn’t even talk to me?” Sweeney asks. The details are even uglier. The governor, Sweeney said, personally told him they would talk. His staff called Sweeney and asked him to remain close all day Wednesday. At one point, the staff told him the governor planned to call in five minutes. No call. No negotiations. “I sat in my office all day like a nitwit, figuring we were going to talk,” Sweeney says. As for the vindictive cuts, Sweeney’s list of suspects is a long one. Are you shocked that Christie acted this way? No phone call after he sandbagged you? How could he expect anything less? I’ve heard that Sweeney’s action have damaged the Democratic Party in NJ tremendously. “He’s mean-spirited,” Sweeney said in the Friday interview. “He’s angry. If you don’t do what he says, I liken it to being spoiled, I’m going to get my way, or else.” And: “He’s a rotten prick.” The truth is that in New Jersey, the governor has all the power in a budget fight. He simply vetoes any budget line he doesn’t like, and it disappears. Check out this article to read about some of the important funding that he slashed: Outrage and disappointment follow Gov. Christie’s line-item veto of Democrats’ $30.6B budget “The only people that benefit in Chris Christie’s new normal are economically well-off, white and male.” The governor’s office declined to answer questions about specific cuts yesterday, including why some programs were chopped and others were not.
Continue reading …NJ Gov. Chris Christie called a ‘Bully’ and a ‘Punk’ by Senate President Sweeney for Line Item Veto
July 4, 2011 No CommentThere was a lot of anger pouring out from Democrats in New Jersey over their budget battle. I’ve heard Sweeney is in hot water also and he responded to Christie’s line-item veto by having one of the angriest responses I’ve ever heard. Senate President Stephen Sweeney went to bed furious Thursday night after reviewing the governor’s line-item veto of the state budget. He woke up Friday morning even angrier. “This is all about him being a bully and a punk,” he said in an interview Friday. “I wanted to punch him in his head.” Sweeney had just risked his political neck to support the governor’s pension and health reform, and his reward was a slap across the face. The governor’s budget was a brusque rejection of every Democratic move, and Sweeney couldn’t even get an audience with the governor to discuss it. “You know who he reminds me of?” Sweeney says. “Mr. Potter from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ the mean old bastard who screws everybody.” This is not your regular budget dispute. This is personal. And it could have seismic impact on state politics. Because the working alliance between these two men is the central political fact in New Jersey these days. If that changes, this brief and productive era of bipartisan cooperation is over. “Last night I couldn’t calm down,” Sweeney said. “To prove a point to me – a guy who has stood side by side with him, and made tough decisions – for him to punish people to prove his political point? He’s just a rotten bastard to do what he did.” It is a law of nature that Democrats and Republicans fight over budgets, like dogs chasing cats. And both parties are playing to their ideological scripts in this dispute. But Sweeney’s beef with the governor goes much deeper. He feels the governor has acted in bad faith. The governor’s budget, he says, is full of vindictive cuts designed to punish Democrats, and anyone else who dared to defy him. And he is furious that the governor refused to talk to him during the final week. “After all the heavy lifting that’s been done – the property tax cap, the interest arbitration reform, the pension and health care reform – and the guy wouldn’t even talk to me?” Sweeney asks. The details are even uglier. The governor, Sweeney said, personally told him they would talk. His staff called Sweeney and asked him to remain close all day Wednesday. At one point, the staff told him the governor planned to call in five minutes. No call. No negotiations. “I sat in my office all day like a nitwit, figuring we were going to talk,” Sweeney says. As for the vindictive cuts, Sweeney’s list of suspects is a long one. Are you shocked that Christie acted this way? No phone call after he sandbagged you? How could he expect anything less? I’ve heard that Sweeney’s action have damaged the Democratic Party in NJ tremendously. “He’s mean-spirited,” Sweeney said in the Friday interview. “He’s angry. If you don’t do what he says, I liken it to being spoiled, I’m going to get my way, or else.” And: “He’s a rotten prick.” The truth is that in New Jersey, the governor has all the power in a budget fight. He simply vetoes any budget line he doesn’t like, and it disappears. Check out this article to read about some of the important funding that he slashed: Outrage and disappointment follow Gov. Christie’s line-item veto of Democrats’ $30.6B budget “The only people that benefit in Chris Christie’s new normal are economically well-off, white and male.” The governor’s office declined to answer questions about specific cuts yesterday, including why some programs were chopped and others were not.
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Yingluck Shinawatra announces deal to buy her valuable breathing space from opponents of her brother Thaksin Yingluck Shinawatra has moved fast to consolidate the Thai opposition’s resounding electoral victory by announcing a coalition deal that supporters say should buy her valuable breathing space from opponents of her brother Thaksin. The Puea Thai party, fronted by Yingluck and backed by the exiled former prime minister, won an absolute majority with 264 seats in the 500-seat parliament, according to preliminary results. But cementing its position will make it harder for opponents to intervene before Yingluck forms a government when the final results are announced in a few weeks. She said the agreement with four minor parties would give a coalition 299 seats. The outgoing Democrat prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, said he would step down as party leader. Yingluck, who would be Thailand’s first female prime minister, said her first task was the “roadmap to reconciliation” after years of unrest. She also cited the need to tackle high prices, improve international relations and curb corruption. But both sides warned of fresh conflict in a country beset by turmoil since a coup toppled Thaksin in 2006. Last year more than 90 people died when the military cracked down on Thaksin supporters. The defence minister said the army would accept a government led by the 44-year-old businesswoman. “I’ve said this several times,” General Prawit Wongsuwon told Thai newspapers. “We are not going to intervene.” Puea Thai are understood to have held talks with the army before the election. Political analyst Chris Baker cautioned: “[The military] always say they have nothing to do with politics and then keep interfering. But they are obviously feeling quite sensitive after the last five years. They are going to be reluctant to make a move that puts them in the public eye in politics. They are going to pull the strings of the [anti-Thaksin, conservative and monarchist] yellowshirts and that sort of thing. “I think we are more likely to see a formula of street demonstrations and judicial action [than coups].” Sean Boonpracong, formerly a redshirt spokesman and close to Puea Thai, predicted the coalition “should buy six months’ peace” at best. Democrat MP Surichoke Sopha said a Puea Thai government would not last long. “They will have to compromise with the ruling class and at the same time satisfy the grassroots. [Yingluck] has many problems including the case against her in the courts and other things which could come up and really destroy her credibility.” Supporters say allegations of perjury, which relate to the confiscation of Thaksin’s assets, are a smear. Opponents have filed a complaint calling for the dissolution of Puea Thai because it is a proxy for Thaksin, who is banned from Thai politics. The billionaire has a passionate support base drawn largely from rural workers and new money – but has earned the enmity of the old elites and the urban middle class, alarmed by his rapidly expanding power and warnings of crony capitalism. He has already seen two parties disbanded and lives in Dubai as a fugitive due to a conviction for abuse of power that he says was politically motivated. Yet each apparent setback has boosted his support. “The vote is about having a voice that is heard,” Kevin Hewison, professor of Asian studies at the University of North Carolina, told Associated Press. Dr Andrew Walker, a political analyst at the Australian National University, suggested that Thaksin was now in a stronger position than if the coup had never happened. Experts say much will depend on how Puea Thai plays its hand. It campaigned in part on an amnesty allowing Thaksin to return, but knows introducing one quickly could galvanise opposition. Asked if he would return to politics, Thaksin said: “I may be too old … I really want to retire.” Activist and former senator Jon Ungpakorn, who voted Puea Thai largely due to his opposition to the crackdown on demonstrators, warned that people should “not allow Puea Thai to behave like the old Thaksin government, trying to stifle political opposition and criticism”. Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Aircraft reportedly crashes on recreation ground after midair collision with second plane, which landed safely One person is believed to have died after a light aircraft collided with another plane in midair near an airport. The incident was reported close to Shoreham airport, near Brighton, at about 4.30pm, Sussex police said. One aircraft is understood to have crashed on a nearby recreation ground after the collision, while the second plane landed safely. No one is thought to have been injured on the ground. Motorists were warned to expect delays as the A259 Brighton Road was sealed off during the evening rush hour. A police spokesman said: “Emergency services are attending the scene of a light aircraft crash at Shoreham airport. Initial reports suggest that one person has died. “The alarm was raised at 4.28pm. Initial accounts suggest that the aircraft was in collision with another and then crashed on a recreation ground close to the airport.” He added: “It is believed at this stage that the second aircraft involved landed safely. No one is believed to have been injured on the ground.” Air transport guardian.co.uk
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