3 January, 2015 20:56 18 militants killed in NATO air strikes in Afghanistan – report At least 18 militants have been eliminated by NATO forces in south eastern Paktika province of Afghanistan, Anadolu agency reports. The air strikes were targeting a convoy of gunmen at the border with Pakistan. Local officials say they sent forces to investigate the origin of the convoy. 20:55 New Mexico police officer shot at overnight traffic stop A police officer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was shot twice by a suspected drunk driver during a traffic stop on Saturday. The officer was able to return fire but the attacker ran away and it is unknown if he was wounded. The officer was taken to hospital in stable condition and expected to survive. The police are searching for the gunman. 20:51 UK couple with baby in NYC to have their $200,000 medical bill covered Lennox Hospital in New York City has said on Friday no financial impact will be imposed on the British couple who feared a $200,000 hospital bill as there were some doubts if the insurance will cover the expenses. Katie Amos and Lee Johnston’s baby was born 11 weeks premature last December, 28, while young parents were travelling with plans to come back home before childbearing. The baby is being kept in the neonatal intensive care unit. The hospital also said it would help them arrange a place to live for the duration of their stay, the Guardian reports. 20:51 Libyan govt launches air strikes on Misrata port Forces loyal to the officially recognized Libyan government have launched air strikes on Misrata, an important sea port and free trade zone. There are also clashes near the biggest port equipped for oil export, Reuters reports. Misrata is held by armed militias, while Libyan capital, Tripoli is under control of a non-recognized rival government. After Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011, Libya descended into a chaos with various militias scrambling for control over the country or regions. 15:20 17 killed in attack at Libya checkpoint - report A group of militants attacked a military checkpoint in Sukna in western Libya on Friday, killing 17, including three civilians, RIA Novosti reports. The attackers captured three military cars. No militant group has so far taken responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, AP reports that armed and masked militants captured 20 Egyptian Coptic Christians in the coastal city of Sirte on Saturday. 15:12 French hackers steal personal data from almost 2mn people – report French hackers have stolen data from around 1.9 million customers of Viapresse, a company that which processes subscriptions to various magazines. According to the local media, the perpetrators obtained account details as well as people’s email addresses and passwords. 14:51 British Ebola nurse condition ‘critical’ – hospital The British nurse who contracted Ebola while volunteering in West Africa is now in a critical condition despite receiving treatment at a London hospital. “The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is sorry to announce that the condition of Pauline Cafferkey has gradually deteriorated over the past two days and is now critical,” the hospital announced on its website. Cafferkey’s contracting of the virus was first detected on December 30 after she traveled from Sierra Leone via Casablanca to London Heathrow. When authorities confirmed she had Ebola, it is understood she returned to London from Glasgow in an RAF military plane. 13:56 40 boys and young men abducted in Nigeria - report Armed militants abducted 40 boys and young men from a remote village in northeast Nigeria on Wednesday. The raid became known only when residents who escaped from the village informed the authorities on Saturday, AFP reports. The age of all the kidnapped males is from 10 to 23. Officials suspect the militants were Boko Haram members, who still hold in captivity over 200 schoolgirls abducted last April. 12:44 360 migrants disembark ‘ghost ship’ near Italy Some 360 migrants, including women and children, have successfully been brought to safety after the crew of a ship they were sailing on abandoned it, leaving it drifting in tumultuous seas, without fuel or electricity. The Ezadeen docked at the southern port of Corigliano Calabro at 10pm (GMT) on Friday after an Italian naval operation to reel in the ship. Two hundred and thirty two men, 54 women and 74 children were aboard, the majority of them Syrian, thought to be fleeing the conflict in their home country. 09:37 2 killed in Kashmir artillery fire exchange Pakistani and Indian border guards exchanged artillery fire in the disputed region of Kashmir on Friday night, killing two and injuring 8, officials told AP. Both sides blamed each other for initiating the firefight. The incident follows an escalation of tensions in the region which has led to similar low-level skirmishes. Islamabad also accused Indian forces of killing two of its soldiers on Wednesday in a crossfire that also left an Indian soldier dead. 09:25 Al-Qaeda suspect dies days before NY trial 50-year-old Libyan Abu Anas al-Libi, accused of the 1998 US embassies bombings in Africa, has died in hospital, just days before he was to stand trial in New York, his lawyer said. Al-Libi had been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list before his final capture in Tripoli in October 2013. He and Saudi businessman Khalid al-Fawwaz were due to stand trial on January 12 over the bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 244 people and injured more than 5,000. 09:14 India arrests 3 in suspected kidnap, gang-rape of Japanese woman Police in India have detained three men suspected of kidnapping and gang-raping a 22-year-old Japanese research academic near a Buddhist pilgrimage in a village 80 miles south of Patna, the capital of Bihar state, officials said Friday. Authorities are still searching for two more individuals in the case. The woman managed to escape her captors on December 26 after three weeks of captivity and contacted police. A Kolkata-based tour guide, who reportedly escorted the Japanese woman to the Buddhist pilgrimage site, was one of the five suspects who kept the woman in captivity and raped her, police said. 08:25 UK issues ice warning as cold front approaches British authorities have issued a cold warning for Saturday as forecasters say that sweeping rain across the country may turn into ice due to a cold front. According to John Lee, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, in Scotland “there is a stream of showers coming in from the north west turning into sleet and snow.” “For England and Wales it should clear and get colder tonight, with a risk of ice pretty much anywhere and freezing fog patches,” he added. Also a “widespread frost” is predicted overnight. 03:40 Indonesian AirAsia search and rescue finds two large objects Search and rescue teams in Indonesia have found two “big objects” in the Java Sea, possibly belonging to the wreckage of the recently crashed AirAsia plane, Reuters reports. The objects are 90 feet (30 meters) underwater and search teams are trying to get images taken of them by underwater vehicles. Vessels from the United States and three other countries are scouring the ocean floor, trying to find the wreckage and the planes black boxes. The AirAsia flight plunged into the sea on Sunday while flying to Singapore with 162 people on board. Rescue efforts have found 30 bodies but no survivors so far.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 03:06:39 +0000
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