The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

Satellite images, digital detective work and social media provide strongest evidence yet of Russian crossborder shelling, according to investigation

When Ukrainian forces came under withering attack in the east of the country last summer, soldiers were surprised as much as scared by the ferocity of the attack. The separatists they were up against had proven fierce and organised. But this was something else.

Now a group of British investigative journalists using digital detection techniques, satellite imagery and social media has provided near conclusive proof that the shelling came from across the border in Russia.

Dulwich Hamlet hope anti-homophobia in football campaign is blueprint to others at top of game by Yemi Abiade
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:58 AM

Non-league club’s friendly with Stonewall is worth celebrating, but only serves to highlight the antipathy by many at the elite level

On a cold February night last Wednesday, Dulwich Hamlet’s Champion Hill stadium was vibrant, with home fans bellowing chants from the terraces as the south London team roared to a 6-0 win.

But it was not the scoreline that was remarkable about last week’s fixture, rather their opponents: Stonewall FC, Britain’s top-ranking gay football team and current Gay Football World Champions. The ground-breaking friendly, the first of its kind in the country, represented arguably the biggest ever statement by a UK club in the crusade against homophobia, symbolic of the notion that fans and players can co-exist with each other, on and off the pitch, regardless of sexual orientation.

Remembering the shelling: 'We saw a glow, they were burned alive' by Oksana Grytsenko in Kiev
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:58 AM

World News - Breaking International News And Headlines | Sky News

Ukrainian soldiers recall attacks by Grad launchers and heavy artillery – which they are convinced came from within Russia

Ukrainian soldiers remember the onslaught that rained down on their positions from the middle of July 2014 onwards. Time and again they came under fire from Grad missiles and artillery shells. Now it appears that at least some of those attacks were carried out from across the Russian border.

Denys, a former fighter of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade and resident of the Kiev region, spent more than a month between July and August at a Ukrainian army stronghold near the city of Chervonopartyzansk in the Luhansk region, near the Russian border.

Greece: Key Dates As Debt D-Day Looms Large
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:57 AM

The next month is critical in Greece's efforts to renegotiate its debts or face the risk of being forced to leave the euro.

Huge explosion in Ukraine as mortar shell hits gas pipeline – video by Guardian Staff
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:52 AM

World News + Video | The Guardian

A mortar which hit a gas pipeline in eastern Ukraine causes a major explosion. TV crews film a huge fire and clouds of smoke nine miles from the besieged town of Debaltseve, despite the ceasefire agreed last week. Fighting has eased in many areas since the ceasefire came into force on Sunday, but Ukrainian government troops and Russia-backed rebels failed to pull back heavy weaponry from the frontline in eastern Ukraine Continue reading...

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Record flow of migrants likely this year: EU border chief
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:52 AM

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

WARSAW (Reuters) - A record number of migrants look set to flow into Europe this year, with human traffickers becoming increasingly aggressive as they take advantage of chaos in Africa and the Middle East, the EU borders chief said.

The Path Of Blood: Remembering Ukraine's Maidan Massacre
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:52 AM

Between February 18 and 21, 2014, antigovernment protests in central Kyiv descended into deadly violence. Ukrainian government forces fought fierce battles with the demonstrators. One year on, witnesses recall those dramatic days. (Produced by Claire Bigg, Andrew Wills, Anastasia Moskvychova)

CIA bought, destroyed Iraqi CWs - The Nation
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:51 AM

CIA bought, destroyed Iraqi CWs
The Nation
NEW YORK - The Central Intelligence Agency, working with American troops during the occupation of Iraq, repeatedly purchased nerve-agent rockets from a secretive Iraqi seller, according to an American media report. Citing current and former US officials, ...
US bought, destroyed chemical weaponsLivemint

CIA Is Said to Have Bought Iraqi Chemical WeaponsNDTV

all 22 news articles »

U.S. Intensifies Effort to Blunt ISIS’ Messageby By ERIC SCHMITT
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:50 AM

NYT > World

A tiny State Department agency will be revamped and expanded to coordinate existing attempts to counter the Islamic State’s propaganda machine.

Russian researchers expose breakthrough US spying program - Reuters
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:50 AM

Reuters

Russian researchers expose breakthrough US spying program
Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency has figured out how to hide spying software deep within hard drives made by Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba and other top manufacturers, giving the agency the means to eavesdrop on the ...

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Bryan Stevenson: If it's not right to rape a rapist, how can it be OK to kill a killer? by Brigid Delaney
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:49 AM

On a visit to Australia, the acclaimed US lawyer says ‘there is no natural way to systematically engage in killing another human being’ – which is why state executions dehumanise all involved

Brigid Delaney: In your book Just Mercy you write about a death penalty case where your client Herbert Richardson was executed. You were with him in his last hours. One of the most interesting things was how you observed a sense of shame and discomfort among the prison staff involved in the execution. Tell us about that experience.

Bryan Stevenson: It was the first time I had got involved with someone who was executed, and we got involved very late. After fighting and running and rushing and pushing so hard to get a stay [of execution], they denied the stay motion and I was intimate with these people who were attempting to carry out the execution. It was surreal. But it was surreal for them too. There is no natural way to systematically engage in killing another human being who is not a threat to you, who doesn’t have to be killed, but is killed to express what kind of people we are and what our society wants.

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Video shows rampant anti-Semitism on the streets of Paris - New York Daily News
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:49 AM

New York Daily News

Video shows rampant anti-Semitism on the streets of Paris
New York Daily News
Reporter Zvika Klein of Israeli outlet NRG posted a video of the verbal abuse and physical threats aimed at him while walking around the French capital wearing a yarmulke. BY Tobias Salinger. NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. Monday, February 16, 2015, 9:52 PM.
What happened when a man dressed as a Jew walked the streets of Paris?TVNZ
'Ten hours walking in Paris as a Jew': Film by Israeli journalist shows anti ...The Independent

Jewish man wearing yarmulke abused in Paris streets9news.com.au
TheBlaze.com
all 33 news articles »

U.S. Shadow Group ‘Has Embedded Spyware in Foreign Computer Networks’ by iyengarrishi
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:48 AM

TIME

The U.S. has succeeded in embedding virtually untouchable “implants”
that are capable of spying on and even damaging foreign computer networks, according to a new report from a Russian
cybersecurity company.

Kaspersky Lab says the malicious spyware is the work of
a shadow entity called the Equation Group, which has allegedly infiltrated networks in Iran, Russia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The report says India, China and Syria are some of the other nations with a “high infection rate.”

According to Kaspersky, the implants are different from other
cyberattacks in that they directly infect a computer’s firmware — the software that links directly to the hard drive.

This means that it is beyond the reach of most antivirus and security products, and is immune to efforts to wipe clean or even replace hard drives since it can be recalled at will. It also has the ability to unravel a system’s encryption and permanently store data in a hidden area, says Kaspersky.

“It means that we are practically
blind and cannot detect hard drives that have been infected by this malware,” said Costin Raiu, director of Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research and Analysis Team.

“Your computer won’t boot up and you can’t use it,” Andrew Regenscheid of the National Institute of Standards and Technology told the New York Times in an interview, explaining the effect of a firmware infection. “You have to replace the computer to recover from that attack.”

Report bares US cyber-espionage tactics - Herald Sun
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:48 AM

World News - Breaking International News And Headlines | Sky News

Herald Sun

Report bares US cyber-espionage tactics
Herald Sun
... . The US intelligence agencies in question. Source: Associated Press. New research from a Russian computer security company offers good news and bad news for US intelligence agencies. On the one hand, the report by Kaspersky Lab appears to ...

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Massive Explosion As Oil Tanker Train Derails
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:48 AM

Investigations are under way to discover if winter storms may have caused the train to derail on a flat stretch of track.

Battle rages for town where Ukraine rebels reject ceasefire
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:47 AM

VUHLEHIRSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Pro-Russian rebels pounded encircled Ukrainian government forces on Monday and Kiev said it would not pull back heavy guns while a truce was being violated, leaving a European-brokered peace deal on the verge of collapse.

An Indian Woman Married Her Alleged Rapist in the Prison Where He Was Being Held by iyengarrishi
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:47 AM

TIME

An Indian woman in the eastern state of Orissa married a man she accused of raping her, saying it was her “own decision to marry him.”

The woman’s father said the family had no choice but to accept the union, the BBC reported Monday, highlighting the victim-shaming that often accompanies
sexual-assault cases in India. “Her whole life would have been ruined,” he said. “And we would have had to put up with the embarrassment forever.”

The wedding took place in the Jharpada jail where the accused, now released on bail, was held for a year following his arrest. The father told the BBC that the family was also considering withdrawing their complaint against the man.

“I am optimistic that we will have a smooth life,” the woman told the Times of India during the wedding ceremony late last month.

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A federal judge just put the brakes on Obama's immigration actions - Vox
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:46 AM

azcentral.com

A federal judge just put the brakes on Obama's immigration actions
Vox
Federal judge Andrew Hanen just ruled that the Obama administration has to temporarily halt implementation of its executive actions on immigration. The ruling comes right before the administration was going to open up applications for immigrants older than ...
Migrants eager, but judge could block Obama's actionsazcentral.com
Abbott: Judge Halts Obama's Immigration OrderTexas Tribune
Federal judge stalls Obama's executive action on immigrationDaily Mail
CBS Local
all 13 news articles »

Ukraine crisis: Army and rebels stall heavy arms pullout - BBC News
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:46 AM

BBC News

Ukraine crisis: Army and rebels stall heavy arms pullout
BBC News
Ukraine's government and separatist rebels have failed to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line, despite a Monday deadline. The two sides were given until not more than two days after the latest truce came into effect to start the pullout.

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Huge snow storm paralyses central US as New York cold hits record low by Reuters
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:46 AM

North-east in a deep freeze - in pictures

Government offices closed and 2,600 flights cancelled
Temperature plunges to 5F in New York and 6F in the capital
Ten inches of snow dumped in some areas
Schools and roads also closed – and even Graceland mansion in Memphis

Deep freeze could have helped slow murder rate in New York

Record-breaking cold gripped the eastern United States while an icy winter storm crippled the nation’s central states and then moved into the mid-Atlantic, dumping snow and forcing federal offices in Washington DC to close on Tuesday.

Heavy snowfall and ice moving eastward from the Southern Plains pounded Missouri, Arkansas, southern Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, the National Weather Service said.

Putin Visits Hungary Amid Protests
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:45 AM

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

President Vladimir Putin is expected in Hungary on February 17 -- the Russian leader's first bilateral visit to a European Union country since June.

Homeless Man Arrested for Texas Islamic Center Fire Says It Was an Accident ... - TheBlaze.com
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:45 AM

TheBlaze.com

Homeless Man Arrested for Texas Islamic Center Fire Says It Was an Accident ...
TheBlaze.com
The homeless man arrested Monday evening in connection with Friday's fire at a Texas Islamic center reportedly said the burning of the religious building was an accident. Darryl Ferguson, 55, charged by Houston police with arson, told KPRC-TV he was ...
Suspect arrested, charged in fire at Islamic instituteUSA TODAY
Man arrested for arson in US cityBusiness Standard
Texas: Arrest Made in Islamic Center FireNew York Times
KPRC Houston -Los Angeles Times -KTRK-TV
all 45 news articles »

Islamic Terror Strikes During Obama's Golf Weekend - Fox News (blog)
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:45 AM

Fox News (blog)

Islamic Terror Strikes During Obama's Golf Weekend
Fox News (blog)
By: Jim Geraghty (National Review). It's As If America's Been Benched in the War Against ISIS. We continue to lead from behind with strategic patience. The moment calls for Bill Laimbeer, and we're offering the world Carmelo Anthony. Meanwhile…

and more »

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Ebola: the race to find a cure by Sarah Boseley
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:45 AM

In October, scientists set out to do something unprecedented – conduct a drugs trial during an epidemic to find a treatment for a lethal disease. Could they make history and change the way we deal with outbreaks?

The border crossing did not look encouraging. Dense tropical forest spilled over the banks of the rushing Mano river, which divides Guinea from Liberia. Three scientists from Oxford University – Jake Dunning, 38, Peter Horby, 47, and Laura Merson, 37 – stood on the bank and watched as the boatman used a plastic canister to bail out brown water from the bottom of the canoe. They then climbed in with their bags – they had no time to lose.

It was 20 October 2014 and the travellers carried passports with visas for the three countries worst afflicted by the Ebola epidemic: Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. They also carried mission papers, which gave them government approval to cross border posts that had been closed in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease.

The local people were terrified and suspicious. Foreigners in space suits were carrying dead bodies out of their homes

Nobody was allowed to stay more than six weeks for fear of losing ‘that paranoid edge’

Greece defies creditors, seeking credit but no bailout
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:44 AM

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Talks between Greece and euro zone finance ministers over the country's debt crisis broke down on Monday when Athens rejected a proposal to request a six-month extension of its international bailout package as "unacceptable".

Ukraine Truce Hangs by Thread as Fighting Rages Near Eastern City of Debaltseve by David Stout
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:44 AM

TIME

The fragile cease-fire in Ukraine appears to be near collapse just 48 hours after
it was implemented, as separatist fighters and government troops continued to engage in tit-for-tat
clashes.

On Monday, rebels and Ukrainian forces exchanged artillery fire throughout the day near the strategic rail hub of Debaltseve, east of Donetsk. A leading representative from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) pledged to travel to the city on Tuesday to assess the situation after members of the group were denied access over the weekend.

The ongoing hostiles threatened to nix the second Minsk accords hammered out in the Belarusian capital last week. They were aimed at bringing an end to months of fighting in southeast Ukraine, after an earlier peace deal reached in September unraveled last month.

Western leaders launched fresh appeals for restraint as a deadline to remove heavy weapons from the front approached Tuesday.

“It was always clear that much remains to be done. And I have always said that there are no guarantees that what we are trying to do succeeds,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel toldreporters in Berlin. “It will be an extremely difficult path.”

In Washington, the U.S. State Department said it was “gravely concerned by the deteriorating situation in and around Debaltseve,” and used its Twitter account to emphasize that diplomats were closely monitoring reports that a new column of Russian military equipment was headed toward the embattled hub.

“We call on Russia and the separatists it backs to halt all attacks immediately, engage with the OSCE to facilitate the
cease-fire, and, as called for in the packet of measures agreed to on Feb. 12, fully implement their Sept. 5 and 19 Minsk commitments,” Jen Psaki, a spokesperson with the State Department, said in a statement.

The E.U. announced Monday the addition of 19 Russian-linked individuals and nine organizations to a sanctions list, in an apparent bid to ratchet up pressure on the Kremlin. The individuals targeted by the latest rounds of sanctions included leading pro-Moscow separatist fighters in Ukraine along with Russian singer and MP Iosif Kobzon.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was “bewildered” by the E.U.’s decision and accused the body of doing Kiev’s “war bidding.”

“Such decisions … defy common sense and are ruining the emerged opportunity to find a solution to the internal Ukrainian conflict,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.

Read the whole story

· ·

Malware hidden in hard drive firmware - iAfrica.com
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:44 AM

iAfrica.com

Malware hidden in hard drive firmware
iAfrica.com
The company said the threat posed by the attackers, known as The Equation Group, "surpasses anything known in terms of complexity and sophistication of techniques". According to Kaspersky, The Equation Group makes use of a variety of "implants" or ...

and more »

Video confession shown at trial over 'American Sniper' death - Lake Placid News
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:43 AM

Video confession shown at trial over 'American Sniper' death
Lake Placid News
STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) — A videotaped confession by the former Marine accused in the fatal shootings of "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and his friend was shown to jurors Monday as the trial resumed in Texas. Eddie Ray Routh, 27, confessed to ...

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Rebels say cannot 'morally' stop fighting Ukraine troops in Debaltseve
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:43 AM

DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Pro-Russian separatists cannot "morally" stop fighting for the town of Debaltseve in east Ukraine because it is "internal territory" and must respond to fire from Ukrainian troops, Denis Pushilin, a rebel representative, said on Tuesday.

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Malware hidden in hard drive firmware - iAfrica.com
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:43 AM

iAfrica.com

Russian researchers find ‘US spy software’
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:43 AM

World News

Kaspersky Labs said it found programs in computers used in 30 countries including Iran and China

Merkel, Putin, Poroshenko agree steps on ceasefire: Germany
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:43 AM

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed on concrete steps with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to allow the OSCE to observe the situation in eastern Ukraine given the fragility of the agreed ceasefire, a German government spokesman said on Tuesday after the three leaders held a conference call.

Ukraine rebels say they cannot 'morally' stop fighting government troops by Reuters
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:43 AM

Struggle for the rail junction of Debaltseve in east Ukraine involves ‘internal territory’ and therefore separatists will fight on despite ceasefire agreement, says spokesman

Pro-Russian separatists cannot “morally” stop fighting for the town of Debaltseve in east Ukraine because it is “internal territory” and must respond to fire from Ukrainian troops, Denis Pushilin, a rebel representative, said on Tuesday.

“We do not have the right (to stop fighting for Debaltseve). It’s even a moral thing. It’s internal territory,” Pushilin told Reuters in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.

Merkel: Ukraine, Russia Agree to Allow Monitors in Contested Town by webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:42 AM

Voice Of America

The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, and Germany have reached an agreement to provide European security monitors access to eastern Ukraine, where fighting has raged on despite an internationally brokered cease-fire. A German government statement said Tuesday the agreement was reached during a conference call between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The statement said the leaders agreed on unspecified "concrete...

Egypt's Sisi urges U.N. mandate for Libya coalition
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:42 AM

PARIS (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called for a United Nations resolution mandating an international coalition to intervene in Libya after its jets bombed Islamic State targets there.

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Indian millionaire charged with murder after SUV hit guard - Washington Post
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:41 AM

Times of India

Indian millionaire charged with murder after SUV hit guard
Washington Post
NEW DELHI — Police say an Indian millionaire has been charged with murder in southern India after he allegedly rammed his SUV into his security guard he accused of being too slow. Mohammed Nisham slammed his Hummer into the guard and hit him ...
Murder charge for Indian tycoon accused of ramming guardBBC News
Kerala 'Ferrari dad' rams Hummer into guard: Murder chargeEmirates 24/7
Millionaire charged with murder of security guardGulf Daily News

all 51 news articles »

What will it take to stop Isis using rape as a weapon of war?by Yifat Susskind
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:40 AM

When so many women have been raped by Isis fighters, the stigma surrounding survivors is gradually being eroded

Noor (not her real name), a 14-year-old girl from a small village in northern Iraq, was sold 15 times, passed from one Islamic State (Isis) fighter to the next. Each time, she was raped. Noor managed to escape and made her way, mostly on foot, to a refugee camp. There, she met Yanar Mohammed, an Iraqi women’s rights activist, who told me Noor’s story. “The worst moments,” Noor said, “were when one man would sell me to another. And I would have to hear them debating what my life was worth.”

I heard many more stories like Noor’s at a recent gathering of Iraqi and Syrian women’s rights activists in Istanbul. Some of the women had never met before, but they shared a common purpose: to end the scourge of rape unleashed on them by civil war and the ascent of Isis.

It's harder to blame a woman for having been raped when it's happening to so many

The world's tallest tower block goes on sale - Telegraph.co.uk
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:40 AM

Telegraph.co.uk

The world's tallest tower block goes on sale
Telegraph.co.uk
The World One Tower is the tallest tower of three in the scheme that also includes a gym, spa and cricket pitch with pavillion and club house, and will be completed in 2016. Mumbai-based Lodha announced its arrival in London in 2013 with the purchase ...

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Winter Storm Warning Remains In Effect Through Noon Tuesday - WBAL Radio
Tuesday February 17th, 2015 at 11:39 AM