Posted by လြင္႕ေမာင္ေမာင္
Posted on 7:04 PM
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New York has declared a state of emergency after five people died when severe blizzards hit the state.
In the city of Buffalo, people have not been able to get out of their homes because the snow is higher than their roofs.
Nearly five and a half feet has fallen in some places.
"I've been here my whole life and seen lots of snow. It's never stopped me until now," said one local.
County
officials confirmed yesterday that there had been four snow
storm-related deaths. One of the four people was killed in a traffic
accident and the three others died after suffering heart problems, two
of whom were believed to have been shoveling heavy snow at the time.
At
least another two people are believed to have died in car accidents
caused by icy conditions and decreased visibility on the roads in New
Hampshire and Michigan over the past week.
Posted by လြင္႕ေမာင္ေမာင္
Posted on 10:36 AM
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Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at the site of a building collapse in Harlem, New York, March 12, 2014.
(Reuters) - Two
New York buildings collapsed on Wednesday in an explosion believed to be
caused by a gas leak, killing at least two people, injuring at least
18, and setting off a search for anyone trapped in the debris, officials
said.
A blast that scattered
debris onto nearby rooftops brought down adjacent five-story structures
shortly after 9 a.m. on the largely residential block at East 116th
Street and Park Avenue in Upper Manhattan.
Clouds
of thick smoke billowed from the rubble of the apartment buildings that
sat above a ground-level church and a piano store. Officials declined
to give a number of people still missing in the rubble.
Mayor
Bill de Blasio, who rushed to the scene in East Harlem, where a cascade
of twisted and burnt metal blocked the sidewalk and covered parked
cars, said preliminary information showed the explosion was caused by a
gas leak.
Just before the explosion a resident in a neighboring building complained of a gas odor to Con Edison, officials said.
"We
dispatched a crew two minutes later and the crews arrived just as the
explosion occurred," said Alfonso Quiroz, a spokesman for Con Edison.
"We are looking at any connection."
Neighbors
said they thought an earthquake was shaking them from their beds and
breakfast tables. The explosion, which could be heard from blocks away,
shattered windows around the neighborhood.
"All
of the sudden the whole building shook. We had no idea what was going
on," said Robert Pauline, 56, a Columbia University data processor whose
apartment six blocks away was rocked by the explosion.
Police spokesman Martin Speechley said the cause of the explosion was under investigation.
President
Barack Obama was briefed on the collapse and sent his condolences to
the victim families and his support to first responders at the scene.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone impacted by this incident," the White House said in a statement.
Crowds
of residents, their faces covered with protective scarves and masks,
filled the sidewalks of surrounding streets, which were blocked off with
yellow police tape.
"It's a very active scene. It's a very chaotic scene," said Fire Department spokesman Michael Parrella.
Fire
trucks used high cranes to spray blasts of water into the rubble, as
dozens of ambulances and police cruisers with flashing lights swarmed
the scene.
Commuter
trains were stopped on nearby tracks because of the debris on the rails
and passengers were ordered off the Metro-North Railroad cars at the
Fordham stop in the Bronx, passengers said.
Ref;http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/us-usa-newyork-collapse-idUSBREA2B11D20140312
Posted by လြင္႕ေမာင္ေမာင္
Posted on 11:00 PM
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(CNN) -- In two raids nearly 3,000 miles apart, U.S. military forces went after two high-value targets over the weekend. And while officials have yet to say whether the operations were coordinated or directly related, they show Washington's reach, capability and willingness to pursue alleged terrorists.
One operation took place Saturday in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, when U.S. forces captured Abu Anas al Libi, an al Qaeda leader wanted for his role in the deadly 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
In the second raid, a team of U.S. Navy SEALs in southern Somalia targeted a top leader of Al-Shabaab, which was behind last month's mall attack in Kenya. The SEALs came under fire and had to withdraw before they could confirm whether they killed their target, a senior U.S. official said.
"One could have gone without the other," said retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona, CNN's military analyst. "But the fact that they did them both, I think, is a real signal that the United States -- no matter how long it takes -- will go after these targets."
The operations were carried out even as polls show Americans are skittish about U.S. military involvement in overseas conflicts. This means, Francona said, that others who might be in the U.S. government's cross hairs could have more reason to worry.
Al Libi tied to U.S. embassy bombings
Al Libi, 49, has been high on the radar for years. He was on the FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorists" list, with a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
He is alleged to have played a key role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. More than 200 people were killed and another 5,000 wounded in the Kenya attack; 11 died in the Tanzania incident.
Al Libi has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, murder, destruction of American buildings and government property, and destruction of national defense utilities of the United States.
As early as December 2010, Libyan authorities told a United Nations committee that al Libi was living there, even providing a Tripoli address for him.
U.S. officials wanted al Libi to face trial in an American court.
But, counterterrorism analysts told CNN, he may not have been apprehended because of the delicate security situation in much of Libya. There, ex-jihadists -- especially those who once belonged to the Libyan Islamic Fighters Group -- held considerable sway since the ouster of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Photos: Kenya mall attack Photos: Kenya mall attack
Photos: Al Qaeda leader captured Photos: Al Qaeda leader captured
The Saturday operation was conducted with the knowledge of the Libyan government, said one U.S. official. The Pentagon said the U.S. military was holding al Libi in a "secure location" outside Libya.
"It's a huge deal to get him," said CNN's Nic Robertson, who has long been covering al Qaeda. "He's a big player in al Qaeda (and) he is in one of the key target areas, the north of Africa."
Beyond any psychological impact on the terrorist group, al Libi's capture could potentially yield a wealth of information about al Qaeda's plans and capabilities. The terrorist network has shown particular strength of late in Africa.
"Clearly, he may have useful information about the strength of al Qaeda and the Islamists in Libya," Robertson said. "He is somebody who is senior within al Qaeda. He was well respected, a good operative."
Al-Shabaab blamed for Kenya mall attack
Al-Shabaab long has been a target of Washington as well: It was designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2008. The group is seeking to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, though it has carried out attacks in other African countries as well.
The attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall on September 21`thrust Al-Shabaab into the spotlight once again. Washington vowed to support Kenya's government after the bloody raid, which killed at least 67 people.
The Al-Shabaab raid took place Friday in the southern Somalian port city of Barawe.
The Pentagon would only say the operation was against a "known Al-Shabaab terrorist." But town residents told CNN the "foreign forces" came via speed boat and stormed a house believed to be a hideout for several top militant commanders, including the group's top leader Ahmed abdi Godane, also known as Moktar Ali Zubeyr.
A senior U.S. official said the Navy SEALs inflicted some Al-Shabaab casualties, and came under fire.
They made the "prudent decision" to withdraw, and couldn't confirm whether they killed their target, the official said.
Abdiaziz Abu Musab, an Al-Shabaab spokesman, said at least one Al-Shabaab fighter was killed in the gunfight. But no U.S. personnel were injured or killed, a U.S. official said.
In recent months, Al-Shabaab's haven in south-central Somalia has been been increasingly squeezed as Kenyan forces fight the group from the south and African Union forces come down from Mogadishu.
At the same time, Al-Shabaab has become even more closely aligned with al Qaeda. The two groups effectively merged last year, said CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.
"This is a group that has adopted al Qaeda's ideology wholesale," Bergen said. "The reason they attacked the mall was not only because it was Kenyan, but also because it attracted a fair number of Western businessmen and others living in Nairobi."
'Most Wanted Terrorist' al Libi nabbed in native Libya after years tied to al Qaeda
U.S. officials: Navy SEALs launch raid on Al-Shabaab leader
Ref; CNN
Posted by လြင္႕ေမာင္ေမာင္
Posted on 4:00 AM
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FILE - President Barack Obama waves from Air
Force One as he departs West Palm Beach, where he spent the Presidents
Day weekend playing golf.
Dan Robinson
October 04, 2013
The White House has announced that U.S. President Barack Obama is
canceling his plans to travel to Asia for diplomatic visits and an APEC
summit because of the government shutdown. VOA's Marissa Melton spoke to
White House correspondent Dan Robinson about what that means for the
United States' relationship with its Asian allies.
Q: First of all, what does this cancellation mean in a practical sense, and then in a symbolic sense?
A: Well, this is a big deal for a U.S. president, especially one who has
emphasized the importance of the Asia/Pacific region, not only at APEC
but at other forums like ASEAN, the East Asia summit under the rubric of
ASEAN. A big deal for a U.S. president to miss two APEC summits two
years in a row. As you know, President Obama was not able to go to the
APEC summit in Vladivostok last year because of the U.S. presidential
election campaign. This is bound to raise further questions in Asia
among those who are questioning U.S. commitment not only to the
strategic pivot but to the whole regional focus or rebalancing of U.S.
economic interests in the region.
Q: We haven’t even had a president visit Malaysia in a couple of decades, isn't that right?
A: That’s right. Earlier, before the announcement that the rest of the
trip would be canceled, the White House announced that President Obama
would not be going to Malaysia. That would have been the first visit by a
U.S. president since Lyndon Johnson way back in 1966. Also cancelled
was the stop in the Philippines. President Obama has said he looks
forward to making those visits at some point during his second term, but
clearly this is going to put a lot of pressure, there’s no doubt that
Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Hagel, who have been
traveling in the region, can carry the weight for the United States,
but again this is very important for the U.S. president to attend not
only the APEC summit but also the east Asia summit and meetings with
ASEAN.
Q: Is this cancellation about the cost of the trip, or about putting pressure on Republicans here at home?
A: Well, absolutely, and you saw this in the White House statement,
blaming “the Republican shutdown,” what the White House calls the
Republican shutdown of the U.S. government. The White House has made the
point that East Asia, the Asia-Pacific region, is so important for U.S.
jobs, for the U.S. economy, and here you have this dilemma that exists
in Washington where the government remains shut down and President Obama
has been in such a quandary with Republicans on Capitol Hill. The
analysts that I’ve spoken to over the last few weeks in reporting this
story leading up to this cancellation say there have been serious
questions beginning at least a year ago about the U.S. budget
sequestration and the fact that the United States couldn't get a budget
done and concerns about the U.S. maintaining security relationships.
Now, the U.S. military strategic pivot is moving forward, analysts say,
but again there are these nagging questions about whether the full U.S.
government has been engaged or can be engaged in this Asia rebalance.
Q: How likely is it that this cancellation will have an effect
on the standoff between the Republicans, the Democrats and the White
House?
A: Personally, from my observations, I don’t think this is going to
have much of an effect. One of the things some of these analysts noted
was that the members of Congress who used to be very, very engaged and
concerned about our relationships with the Asia Pacific -- Senator Jim
Webb, for example, Joe Lieberman - many of the lawmakers are no longer
in Congress. So the impact of the president having to miss such a trip
is probably going to be reduced, although there'll clearly be some
concern. The real question is, how Obama will be able to recover from
this and, in the next year or so, make it clear to Asian allies and
partners that the United States is definitely committed, at least for
the second term that Obama has in the White House.
Q: Is a rescheduled visit enough to make it up to the Asian
countries he’s having to cancel on right now, or will he need to go an
extra mile to reestablish the relationship with them?
A: He will have to go the extra distance. For some who have suggested
for example that he make a specific, lead a trip to the Asia Pacific, to
lead a group of business CEO’s and go with them to the region, to kind
of reinforce the United States’ determination to remain engaged.
Copy:http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-asia-trip-cancellation-qa-ramifications-and-strategy/1762769.html
Posted by လြင္႕ေမာင္ေမာင္
Posted on 3:47 AM
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VOA News
October 04, 2013
Police in Washington are searching for clues as to why a woman led
them on an erratic car chase from the White House to the Capitol on
Thursday before being shot and killed by authorities.
Lawmakers and other staffers in the U.S. Capitol Building were put on
lockdown for about an hour as the situation unfolded, but police say
there never was a threat to lawmakers inside the building.
Police say the driver of a black sedan attempted to breach a security
barrier at the White House before leading police on a chase through the
streets near the Capitol Building. Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy
Lanier said shots were fired in at least two locations before the driver
was shot to death inside her vehicle. Lanier said she is "pretty
confident" the driver's actions were not an accident.
Police say a one-year-old child removed from the car after the shooting is in good condition.
Authorities said two officers were hurt in the incident, but that both
are in good condition and expected to recover. They do not believe the
incident is related to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
Washington's Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the
incident, with help from three other branches of law enforcement: the
U.S. Capitol Police, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, or FBI.
A witness told VOA's Indonesian service he was less than 20 meters away
when he saw a car racing toward the Capitol pursued by police cars. He
said police stopped the car and approached it with guns drawn and
ordered the driver out.
Instead, the witness said, the driver accelerated in reverse, smashing
into a police car and spinning around. The driver then began to speed
off, and police fired into the car.
U.S.-funded Alhurra TV captured footage of what appeared to be a chaotic car chase.
Posted by လြင္႕ေမာင္ေမာင္
Posted on 6:20 PM
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WINSTON-SALEM, NC (AP) -- Police
say a student at a Winston-Salem high school was shot and wounded, and
that another student is in custody.
A statement from police said officers responded to a report of a
shooting at around 2:30 p.m. Friday at Carver High School, which is on
the city's northeast side. Winston-Salem Police Chief Barry Rountree
told a news conference that the school was conducting a fire drill at
the time.
The report came more than an hour before classes would have been dismissed.
Police said the victim was taken to N.C. Baptist Hospital with what they described as non-life threatening injuries.
Neither the suspect nor the victim has been identified.
The high school, which has an enrollment of approximately 700 students, postponed its home football game.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Posted by လြင္႕ေမာင္ေမာင္
Posted on 7:53 PM
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30 June 2012Last updated at 04:20 GMT
Samsung's Galaxy Nexus launched in the US in April
A
judge in California has blocked US sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus
smartphones while the court decides on the firm's patent dispute with
Apple.
US District Judge Lucy Koh said Apple "has shown a likelihood of establishing both infringement and validity".
Earlier this week, she barred sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the US until the case was resolved.
However, she said that Apple would have to post bonds of nearly $100m (£64m) to enforce the rare pre-trial injunctions.
The bonds serve to secure payment of damages sustained by Samsung should it win the cases.
Samsung, the South Korean electronics giant, said it was "disappointed" by Friday's decision.
"We will take all available measures, including legal action,
to ensure the Galaxy Nexus remains available to consumers," it said in a
statement.
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