Information Security & US & Life & Love & Fashion & Hacking & Passion

MUMBAI, NOV 27 - Sharpshooters and Indian Army commandos launched stakeouts across the heart of India's financial capital on Thursday, trying to rescue hostages trapped in luxury hotels and other locations after a series of brazen gun-and-grenade attacks that left at least 101 people dead.

The special forces teams went room-to-room in the five-star Oberoi hotel to rescue 25 hostages, and police launched a fresh offensive to sweep out gunmen believed to be still holed up in the iconic Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel.

Two explosions on the top floors of the Taj were shown live on Indian television , while the Oberoi's 18th floor was engulfed in flames. As the commando teams removed the hostages, helicopters circled overhead and crowds of onlookers cheered from the street below. Five gunmen were reportedly still inside the hotel. Earlier, at least four dead bodies and a trickle of hostages were taken out of the Taj--a castle-like, 1903 landmark that was set on fire during the attacks and has been transformed into a smoldering symbol of a city under siege.

Eight Israelis were being held hostage at a Jewish outreach center, officials said, including a young rabbi and his wife. Their condition, and the total number of hostages trapped in or rescued from the hotels, was not known.

"We can say, this is the worst most brazen attacks in Indian history because people were shooting openly on the street," said police official A.K. Sharma. He was speaking at the funeral of a popular police inspector, who was killed Wednesday night while trying to stop gunmen who were attacking at the train station. "It's a violent situation that's still ongoing. Mumbai remains at war."

With the attacks stretching into their 16th hour, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the terror strikes in a nationally televised address Thursday afternoon. Some news channels split their screens to show both the prime minister speaking and the ongoing battle between security personnel and the terrorists.

Singh said the Mumbai attacks were "well-orchestrated" by terrorists, who chose well-known and high-profile targets. The prime minister called for creation of "a central agency" to investigate terrorism in India, where some 44 bomb blasts in seven different cities have killed more than 150 people since May.

As the sun set, some hostages unfurled "Save Us" banners from the windows of the Taj hotel, across from the Gateway of India monument and Mumbai's waterfront. Others climbed from upper-story windows using bed sheets tied together as ladders.

Authorities said more than 300 people were wounded in the highly coordinated attacks that started 10:30 Wednesday night. In addition to the five-star hotels, bands of masked gunmen armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives attacked a popular café packed with tourists; the historic Metro Cinema; a crowded train station; the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish center and a hospital.

In one case, a police van was stolen and gunmen opened fire in the street indiscriminately.

At the Jewish center, five rounds of shooting were heard Thursday and a grenade was thrown, said army officials who were surrounding the site and launching a rescue effort.

Despite the recent wave of bombings in India, Wednesday's assaults were seen as unprecedented, authorities said, in terms of the open, coordinated effort to lay siege to well-known symbols of India's prosperity and to places where Westerners gathered.

Police technicians tend to the body of journalist Armando Rodríguez after he was shot outside his home in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso. (Associated Pres


CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- Armando Rodríguez, at El Diario newspaper, was the top crime reporter in the deadliest city in Mexico. He had seen it all. But this was different. This was personal. Earlier this month, someone had hung the decapitated body of a local drug thug from a bridge on the airport road. Later the head appeared downtown at the Plaza of Journalists, wrapped in a plastic bag, carefully placed at the foot of a statue of a newsboy hawking papers.

Arturo Chacón, a reporter at El Norte, a competing daily in this tough border city, said the message was unmistakable: Journalists beware. "We knew it was bad, but we didn't know how bad," he said. "A week later I heard the shots, and then I heard they got Armando."

Rodríguez, 40, was killed Nov. 13 in front of his home by a single gunman. He was shot 10 times while warming up his car, directly in front of his 8-year-old daughter, as he was about to drive her to school in the morning. The slaying highlighted the growing danger to Mexican journalists reporting on the drug war, which has claimed more than 4,500 lives since President Felipe Calderón unleashed the army and police against the cartels and corrupt officials in early 2007. Most journalists continue to do their jobs but concede they are limiting their coverage of the carnage.

The attacks against journalists, which run from threats hissed on their cellphones to grenades lobbed into their newsrooms, form a new front in the larger war the drug cartels are waging against Mexico's social and government institutions. The resulting damage is undermining Mexican civil society as the rich, powerful cartels compete for control of smuggling routes into the United States, which is consuming all the cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana the cartels can deliver.

Mexican journalists say the threats may serve to muzzle their investigations and stop them from naming names. They also suggest that the cartels are attacking them to demonstrate their own power. For years, Mexican journalists often served as stenographers to the government. Now an increasingly independent press is being weakened by the drug war, just when society may need it most.

Since 2000, 28 journalists have been slain and eight others have disappeared and are assumed dead, according to Ricardo González of the group Article 19, which works to protect freedom of expression in Mexico, now the most dangerous country in Latin America in which to be a journalist. González said, "Journalists are now included among the casualties of this war."

Five reporters have been killed this year. "The border is now a terrifying place to be a journalist, and Juarez is ground zero," said Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The extreme violence is fueled by the crackdown on traffickers by the Calderón administration and by a power struggle between two competing cartels, one based in Juarez, the other in Culiacan, bitter enemies engaged in a mafia bloodbath. The United States has pledged $400 million to help Calderón fight the cartels.

A week ago, two grenades exploded outside the offices of El Debate newspaper in Culiacan. No one was injured. "I don't know if they were narcos or if this was an act of revenge or just some jokers. But we think it was a message, a message for all media and the government," said Lucía Mimiaga, editorial director at El Debate. Several newspapers have been attacked by men spraying bullets from machine guns in the past two years.

Editors at many newspapers and television stations now say they no longer deeply investigate the cartels or attempt to plot the intersecting lines of corruption and cash between the drug traffickers and their partners in government, business and law enforcement. News directors insist that organized crime in Mexico now employs all the tools of terrorism -- violence, threats, sophisticated use of media -- to create an atmosphere of fear and impunity.

"I am the first to recognize that this situation is intolerable," Chihuahua state Attorney General Patricia González said in a statement promising to find Rodríguez's killer. Yet the police have arrested no suspects, and none of the journalists interviewed here expect the case to be solved. Rodríguez was not robbed. His editor calls the killing "an assassination."

Reporters along the border say they are routinely threatened in phone calls, e-mails and on Internet comment boards. Many times, the journalists say, they know who is calling but dare not report the warnings to authorities for fear their complaints will be passed to cartel enforcers, who include former and current military and police officers. Many say their families beg them to find other work, or cover sports, business or society news.

Protesters Flood Thailand's Main Airport, Shutting Down Flights

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- A group including former U.N. chief Kofi Annan and former U.S. President Carter postponed a visit to Zimbabwe meant to highlight the country's humanitarian crisis after the government refused to cooperate, Annan said.

Annan said the delegation, which had been set to arrive in Zimbabwe this weekend, needed "no red carpet treatment" but only the government's "permission to help the poor and the desperate."

"However the refusal of the Zimbabwean government to facilitate our visit in any way has made it impossible for us to travel at this time," Annan said.

The government denied that it barred the officials from entering, however, saying it instead asked them to postpone their visit.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said Saturday that Annan "misrepresented" the facts.

He said the postponement was necessary because Annan had not consulted with the Zimbabwean government regarding the timing and purpose of his visit.

The trio -- which also included rights activist Graca Machel, wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela -- wanted to find ways to ease the plight of Zimbabweans, nearly half of whom are in need of emergency food aid. In addition, a cholera epidemic sweeping the country has claimed several lives and spread to neighboring South Africa.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- A group including former U.N. chief Kofi Annan and former U.S. President Carter postponed a visit to Zimbabwe meant to highlight the country's humanitarian crisis after the government refused to cooperate, Annan said.

Annan said the delegation, which had been set to arrive in Zimbabwe this weekend, needed "no red carpet treatment" but only the government's "permission to help the poor and the desperate."

"However the refusal of the Zimbabwean government to facilitate our visit in any way has made it impossible for us to travel at this time," Annan said.

The government denied that it barred the officials from entering, however, saying it instead asked them to postpone their visit.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said Saturday that Annan "misrepresented" the facts.

He said the postponement was necessary because Annan had not consulted with the Zimbabwean government regarding the timing and purpose of his visit.

The trio -- which also included rights activist Graca Machel, wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela -- wanted to find ways to ease the plight of Zimbabweans, nearly half of whom are in need of emergency food aid. In addition, a cholera epidemic sweeping the country has claimed several lives and spread to neighboring South Africa.

But the state-owned daily newspaper, The Herald, said Thursday that the three -- who belong to a group of senior statesmen known as the Elders -- were trying to boost the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, in power-sharing talks with President Robert Mugabe.

"The visit has been deemed a partisan mission by a group of people with partisan interests," The Herald quoted an unnamed government source as saying.

"The Elders wrote to [Mugabe's] government on the intended visit, but they have been advised that while it appreciates the humanitarian concern by the group, it was important for them to plan their visit on a date that is convenient and agreed to by both sides."

When Annan announced the visit, he said it was purely humanitarian and would not touch on the negotiations that continue to drag on to form a unity government in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe signed a power-sharing deal with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in September, but it is yet to take effect.

The Movement for Democratic Change accuses Mugabe of grabbing all key ministries such as home affairs, information, local government, foreign affairs and defense. It said it wants an "equitable" distribution.

Mumbengegwi said Saturday that Mugabe's government is aware of the humanitarian challenges facing Zimbabwe and is determined to address them.

"The government takes strong exception ... to any suggestions that there are those that care more about the welfare of our people than we do," he said.

Asked whether he would allow Annan's team to visit in the future, Mumbengegwi said, "If we come up with a mutually agreed date. We told them that."

Annan, in announcing the postponement Saturday, said the group wanted to use its influence to get international aid to the millions of people in Zimbabwe in need of help.

Machel said she was "extremely disappointed."

"We want to talk to the people and hear their stories directly. We want people to know that we care and that we will do all we can to help them. People are dying from hunger every day in Zimbabwe, and hospitals are unable to treat the sick. With schools struggling to stay open, children are missing out on an education. One in four children has lost one or both parents. The government's attitude to our visit is deeply regrettable."

Carter noted that he supported Zimbabwe's liberation struggle, led by Mugabe, while he was the U.S. president.

"I am partisan. I make no apology for that. I supported Zimbabwe's liberation struggle, and I oppose suffering and misery. But I am very sorry that we are unable to visit Zimbabwe. We will continue with our plans to learn as much as we can while we are here in the region, where millions of Zimbabweans inside and outside the country face a daily struggle for survival."

Annan and Carter said they would remain in South Africa to monitor the situation in Zimbabwe.

AFP/File – Ram Bahadur Bomjam (right), a young man who is believed by followers to be a reincarnation of Buddha, …

MOSCOW, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Russia's gas firm Gazprom wwould like to avoid supply cuts to Ukraine in 2009 but will not continue deliveries without a new contract, Gazprom's spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said on Saturday.

Russia has often threatened to cut gas supplies during pricing disputes with Ukraine and has fulfilled the threat in early 2006, briefly halting supplies to Europe, 80 percent of which go via Ukrainian territory.

Gazprom said on Thursday Ukraine must repay a $2.4 billion gas debt before new supply contracts are signed, raising fears the two sides face another battle in their gas war.

"We would like to avoid such a scenario (this time). We have time to reach an agreement before the new year but as you understand we cannot supply gas without a contract," Kupriyanov told Vesti 24 television channel.

Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz said its debt to RosUkrEnergo, a Russian-Ukraine intermediary gas trader, co-owned by Gazprom, amounts to only $1.27 billion.

Kupriyanov said the Ukrainian side counted only Sept-Oct debt while Gazprom included November debt as well as penalties. He denied there were major differences in the overall debt estimates.

"Everybody understands pretty well who owes to whom and how much," Kupriyanov said.

Ukraine and Russia are engaged in talks on a 2009 price for gas, currently set at $179.50 per 1,000 cubic metres. Kupriyanov said a market price for 2009 gas deliveries was $400 per 1,000 cubic metres.

GAS BURNING IN FURNACES

A memorandum signed in October by Prime Ministers Vladimir Putin and Yulia Tymoshenko sees a gradual transition to market pricing and direct supplies without intermediaries such as RosUkrEnergo.

Kupriyanov said direct supplies as well as lower gas prices for Ukraine in 2009 were only possible if other conditions set out in the memorandum, such as debt redemption in full, were met. He said Russia would not discount for the global crisis.

"If Ukraine's consumption drops, our deliveries will fall as well but it is not happening. Gas is burning in furnaces of Ukraine's economy as it had been before, therefore the crisis has nothing to do with it," Kupriyanov said.

Gazprom supplies a quarter of Europe's gas needs and sends one fifth of its total exports via Belarus with the rest going via Ukraine, giving both countries extra leverage over the firm in pricing disputes.

Kupriyanov said Gazprom's financial standing was sound, debt portfolio "healthy" with the share of short term loans only 14 percent, while a revision of the capital investment plan will not concern priority projects such as the Nord Stream pipeline. "We can talk about not receiving some of expected profit (from domestic operations). The demand is falling, warm weather in November has also played a role," Kupriyanov said.

He said the firm was in intense talks with Belarus and Moldova to switch to rouble payments. Gazprom supplied 15.32 bcm of gas to Belarus at $128 per tcm in Jan-Sept 2008 and 1.9 bcm to Moldova.

With the Russian rouble under depreciation pressure as a result of falling prices for oil, Russia's main export commodity, Russia is seeking to boost international demand for roubles from its ex-Soviet neighbours.

"The rouble is the most reliable currency. Our expenditure is also in roubles. Matching our revenues and expenses is a reasonable thing," Kupriyanov said.

He added that the transition will require changes to contracts with Belarus and Moldova. He said Russia was not yet talking about switching to roubles with Ukraine but it was "theoretically possible". (Reporting by Gleb Bryanski, Editing by Peter Blackburn)

EHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran has executed a man found guilty of spying for Israel, state media reported Saturday.

Tehran's Revolutionary Court convicted Ali Ashtari, 45, in June of spying for Israel's intelligence agency, the Mossad, in exchange for money.

While Ashtari was put to death by hanging on Monday, the execution was officially announced by the government Saturday.

"Evidence of Ashtari's crime was overwhelming," Iran's intelligence ministry director told Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.

According to Ashtari's "confession," published by the news agency Fars, Ashtari was a salesman who obtained high-end but security-compromised electronic equipment from Mossad and sold them to military and defense centers in Iran.

During the trial prosecutors displayed spying tools that Mossad had allegedly provided, Iranian Student's News Agency said.

Iran and Israel have been engaged in an escalating war of words. Iran accuses Israel of trying to destabilize the republic. Israel has not ruled out military action to halt Iran's nuclear aspirations.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A suspected missile strike from a U.S. Predator drone killed at least four people at a house in Pakistan's North Waziristan region early Saturday.

The attack occurred in the Mir Ali subdivision in the village of Ali Khel, according to local political official Muhammad Nasim Dawar.

The names of the victims have not yet been released. It is also not yet known why the house was targeted.

Six people were injured in Saturday's attack, the fourth suspected U.S. strike on Pakistani soil in November.

Meanwhile, an explosion inside a mosque in northwest Pakistan's tribal region on Saturday killed three people and injured four others, a government official said.

The explosion happened just after 4 p.m. (6 a.m. ET), leaving the Hangu district mosque in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province in ruins, said Omer Faraz Khan, deputy superintendent of Hangu.

He said rescuers were trying to save people trapped under the debris. It was not immediately clear how many people were inside the mosque at the time of the blast.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson on Thursday to lodge a formal protest against another suspected U.S. missile strike on its territory, an act Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani called a violation of his nation's sovereignty.

Wednesday's strike in the Bannu region of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province left five dead and seven wounded Wednesday. That attack was further inside Pakistani territory than previous attacks.

The attack targeted a home outside the tribal areas that U.S. intelligence says have become a haven for Taliban and al Qaeda fighters battling U.S. and NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

The U.S. government has not acknowledged hitting targets within Pakistan, an ally in the war on al Qaeda launched after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. However, Pakistan's government has repeatedly complained about the strikes.

Gilani took to the floor of the parliament and renewed his condemnation of the attacks Thursday, but added he thinks they will be controlled when President-elect Barack Obama takes office.

In October, the foreign ministry summoned Patterson to lodge a "strong" protest on continuing missile attacks and said they should be stopped immediately. At the time, a missile strike from a suspected U.S. drone on a compound in South Waziristan killed 20 people.

Pakistan's government said the attacks cost lives and undermine public support for its counterterrorism efforts.

The U.S-led coalition and NATO, based in Afghanistan, have been seeking a way to effectively battle militants who are launching attacks from Pakistan's swath of tribal areas along the border.

They have become frustrated with Islamabad over the years, saying it is not being active enough against militants, a claim Pakistan denies.

The United States is the only country operating in the region known to have the capability to launch missiles from drones, which are controlled remotely.