The United States launched at least one airstrike against Islamic State militants near Baghdad on Monday, marking the expansion of the US military campaign against the extremist group. The airstrike was reportedly requested by Iraqi forces under attack.
According to US officials cited by the Associated Press, the airstrike was authorized after Iraqi security forces requested air power support as they engaged Islamic State (IS) fighters south of Baghdad.
An unnamed defense official, meanwhile, told NBC News that the most recent air attack near Baghdad was an “offensive” strike, and there was no suggestion that militants were making headway towards the country’s capital.
US Central Command confirmed the air strike and affirmed that it was part of a new phase in the battle against IS.
Previous airstrikes in Iraq were characterized by the US as “defensive” in nature, as they were used to protect American diplomatic sites as well as crucial Iraqi facilities like the Mosul Dam.
By directly supporting Iraqi forces from the air as they participated in what ABC News described as a “firefight,” officials say the US is beginning to act on President Barack Obama’s strategy to actively engage the Islamic State (IS). As Obama announced last week, his plan is to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the group through expanded airstrikes and by forming a coalition against it.
Additionally, the US also launched at least one airstrike near Sinjar Mountain in northwestern Iraq, where ethnic minorities like the Yazidis were previously cornered by militants and faced starvation.
The offensive strike comes as the US attempts to cobble together an international coalition in order to fight the militants in Iraq and Syria. Countries including France and Australia have committed themselves to taking part in the aerial campaign, according to CNN. France is currently carrying out reconnaissance flights over Iraq, while Australia is sending aircraft to the United Arab Emirates for potential deployment.
The United Kingdom, meanwhile, has said it would arm the Kurds in northern Iraq and continue offering humanitarian aid.
So far, most US allies, including those in the region – Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia – have ruled out deploying ground forces to fight IS militants. Saudi Arabia has said it would train Syrian rebels on its soil in light of Washington’s proposal to arm factions that will fight against the extremists.
US Secretary of State John Kerry told CBS that some countries have offered to deploy ground troops in the fight, but it was unclear exactly which nations he was referring to. State Department officials noted that Kerry’s statement did not refer to Western or Arab forces.
Meanwhile, Iran – considered a critical player in the Middle East’s latest conflict – has turned down an American offer to join an international effort to fight IS, according to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“The American ambassador in Iraq asked our ambassador [to Iraq] for a session to discuss coordinating a fight against Daesh [Islamic State],” he said.
“Our ambassador in Iraq reflected this to us, which was welcomed by some [Iranian] officials, but I was opposed. I saw no point in cooperating with a country whose hands are dirty and intentions murky."
As the US considers launching airstrikes in Syria as well, a senior White House official stated on Monday that any attempt by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government to interfere with American efforts to fight IS would be met with retaliation against his air defenses. The US has ruled out cooperating with Assad – whose government it opposes – in order to target militants inside of Syria.
A political commentator Bruce Gagnon has stated that America might use the terrorist organizations like ISIS to weaken their enemies.
Gagnon, the coordinator of the network against space weapons and nuclear weapons has stated that Saudi Arabia and America sponsored ISIS for a long time.
He has stated that the target of American team is to use this organization against Iraq, Syria, Iran and Russia.
He has further stated that as America is a declining state, they do everything possible to protect them
He has stated that due to these reasons, American cannot be trusted and the next plan is to make ISIS to pay their attention to the Russian gas resources.
Australia says it is sending 600 troops to the Middle East ahead of possible combat operations against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the deployment, initially to the United Arab Emirates, was in response to a specific US request. Nearly 40 countries, including 10 Arab states, have signed up to a US-led plan to tackle the extremist group.
France is hosting a regional security summit on Monday.US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Paris late on Saturday after a four-day tour of the Middle East trying to drum up support for action against IS.
Last week, US President Barack Obama presented a strategy to fight the group in both Iraq and Syria.Speaking on Sunday, Prime Minister Abbott said Iraq had made it clear that it would “very much welcome” a military contribution to restore security.
He said the force, which will also include up to eight Super Hornet fighter jets, was part of “an international coalition” not simply an “American-Australian operation”.
Mr Abbott said no decision had yet been taken to commit the forces, which will begin deploying next week, to combat action.The announcement comes two days after Australia raised its terrorism threat level from medium to high.
Security officials are thought to be concerned by the growing number of Australians “working with, connected to or inspired by” Islamist groups, Mr Abbott said on Friday.
Islamic State is now in control of large parts of Iraq and Syria and the CIA estimates that the group could have as many as 30,000 fighters in the region.
US air strikes have targeted IS in Iraq in recent weeks and President Obama has vowed to “hunt down” the group after it beheaded two American journalists.
Late on Saturday a video was also released appearing to show the beheading of UK hostage David Haines.
The talks come ahead of a UN Security Council meeting next week and a heads of state meeting at the UN General Assembly later this month
Rockabilly girls with a touch of New Wave took to the catwalk, showing off a collection filled with the ubiquitous Diesel leather, studs and lace-up details.
High-waisted trousers and skirts were the name of the game – many sprinkled with stars. The looks came in white, black, red and pale blue, contrasting with flickering stage lights for added dramatic effect.
Fashion Week was also a chance for Britney Spears to present her new line of lingerie, unveiled at a special show at the New York Public Library for select members of the press only.
Models dressed in delicate, lacy numbers posed on a set designed to look like a boudoir.
Made up of kimonos, bustiers and lingerie sets named after flowers, the Intimate Britney Spears collection is the pop singer’s latest in a series of product placement and endorsement deals ranging from perfumes to toys.
The 32-year old singer came on stage after the show thanking the audience for attending and saying: “This is something I’ve been working on for two and a half years. I’m really, really passionate about this and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I have.”
One of the highlights of New York Fashion Week is Fashion Rocks, where music and fashion come together for a massive charity fundraising event. Jennifer Lopez lived up to expectations with her highly anticipated show, where she performed her aptly-named hit ‘Booty’ clad a micro metallic dress with matching lingerie bottoms.
British singer Rita Ora offered her version of David Bowie’s ‘Fashion’ wearing a British flag jacket and a bustier mini jumper, before veteran US hard rock band Kiss closed the event with their legendary ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’.
Yahoo attempted to refuse user data to the NSA and filed suit in the secretive Fisa court.Photograph: DENIS BALIBOUSE/REUTERS
The US government threatened to fine Yahoo $250,000 a day if it refused to hand over user data to the National Security Agency, according to court documents unsealed Thursday.
In a blogpost, the company said the 1,500 pages of once-secret documents shine further light on Yahoo’s previously disclosed clash with the NSA over access to its users’ data.
The papers outline Yahoo’s secret and ultimately unsuccessful legal battle to resist the government’s demands for the tech firm to cooperate with the NSA’s controversial Prism surveillance program, revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden last year.
“The released documents underscore how we had to fight every step of the way to challenge the US government’s surveillance efforts,” said company general counsel Ron Bell in a Tumblr post.
The US government amended a key law to demand user information from online services in 2007. When Yahoo was asked to hand over user data the company objected arguing the request was “unconstitutional and overbroad”.
Yahoo took its case to the foreign intelligence surveillance court, also known as the Fisa court, which oversees requests for surveillance orders in national security investigations. The secretive Fisa court provides the legal authorities that underpin the US government’s controversial surveillance programs. Yahoo lost its case, and an appeal.
Federal judge William Bryson, presiding judge of the foreign intelligence surveillance court of review, which reviews denials of applications for electronic surveillance warrants, unsealed the documents on Thursday.
Disclosures in the Guardian and the Washington Post about the Prism program, which was discontinued in 2011, prompted an international backlash over allegations of overreach in government surveillance and against the tech companies which cooperated with it.
“Despite the declassification and release, portions of the documents remain sealed and classified to this day, unknown even to our team. The released documents underscore how we had to fight every step of the way to challenge the US government’s surveillance efforts. At one point, the US government threatened the imposition of $250,000 in fines per day if we refused to comply,” wrote Bell.
“Our fight continues. We are still pushing for the FISC [Fisa court] to release materials from the 2007-2008 case in the lower court. The FISC indicated previously that it was waiting on the FISC-R ruling in relation to the 2008 appeal before moving forward. Now that the FISC-R [court of review] matter is resolved, we will work hard to make the materials from the FISC case public, as well.”
Almost all the major US tech firms including AOL, Apple, Google and Microsoft were listed by the NSA as participants in the program, which was run in conjunction with the NSA’s British equivalent, GCHQ.
Begun under the Bush administration the program collected information from the major tech companies under Section 702 of the Fisa Amendments Act. The NSA’s slides obtained by Snowden contained a briefing presentation which said Prism granted access to records such as emails, chat conversations, voice calls, documents and more.
Patrick Toomey, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s national security project, said he had not yet reviewed all the documents but that it appeared Yahoo “had challenged the warrantless wiretapping program more than any other of its competitors”.
Dozens in the US have received notices that their bank accounts have been closed, without explanation. Some say the banks are trying to eliminate risk, but a Muslim civil rights group suspects racist policies and has complained to the Justice Department.
The letters have been sent to business owners, nonprofits, and students across the country, according to reports. However, no explanation has been provided in any of the notices.
Last year, reports surfaced that Iranian students studying at the University of Minnesota had their accounts closed. Now banks appear to be closing the accounts of people who have connections to Kuwait and Syria.
Florida businessman Sofian Zakout had barely opened his new accounts at Chase Bank when he received a letter stating that both his personal and business accounts were being closed, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"To shut me down — this is not good,” Zakout told the Times. “This kind of prejudice is not acceptable.”
Zakout runs American Muslims for Emergency and Relief Inc., which has helped victims of Hurricane Katrina, as well as the civil war in Syria.
“Usually nonprofit and charitable organizations are scared to publicize such things,” he told the Times of the account closures. “I'm not going to be quiet. I don't want to see this happening to anyone again.”
The bank offered no explanation to Zakout. According to banking analysts, a financial institution can avoid giving a reason for such closures, as it might tip a party involved in a fraud investigation.
An attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked the US Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division to look into whether race is playing a role in the decisions.
The Justice Department told the Times that it is a matter for banking regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
What could be to blame, however, are the effects of regulation introduced since the global financial crisis, as well as US agency crackdowns on money laundering (resulting in large fines for banks) and the increased use of sanctions as a tactic of US foreign policy.
International banking giant HSBC was fined $1.9 billion by the US after a Senate sub-committee found that the bank allowed drug cartels to launder money through the US financial system. HSBC wrote to the Finsbury Park Mosque in London in August to say it was closing its bank account because it didn't fit the HSBC “risk appetite,” according to The Telegraph.
A US Treasury Department spokesman said “we expect banks to practice due diligence in order to adhere to appropriate laws.” The department's website features a current list of sanctions against various countries.
Banking experts say they are facing increasing scrutiny from the IRS, and are trying to eliminate as much risk as possible.
Brian Kindle of the Association of Certified Financial Crime told the Times that it is not inconceivable that Islamic-Americans or Arab-Americans are being singled out because of their perceived high risk.
“There's something going on here, and I think it ties back to the de-risking trend,” he said.
The Minnesota chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it became involved in a similar situation in January 2013, when several Iranian students studying at the University of Minnesota had their accounts closed.
“None of these individuals have been charged with any crimes or engaged in any transaction that violates US law. The only thing these individuals have in common, aside from TCF [Bank] abruptly and without explanation closing their bank accounts, is that they have Muslim names,” Saly Abd Alla, CAIR's civil rights director, told MintPressNews.
"All of the clients are American citizens. Some are converts to Islam, others were born into a Muslim family; they are various ages and professions; different ethnicities and races," Alla added.
The chapter said it has also heard about the closure of bank accounts belonging to Minnesota Muslims of Somali, Middle Eastern, and South Asian origin, occurring between 2012 and 2013.
The office is working with other CAIR chapters to bring a complaint against TCF Bank, Chase, and other institutions which it claims “have violated civil rights laws.”
DETROIT (Reuters) -- Toyota Motor Corp is recalling 130,000 2014 Tundra pickup trucks to correct a problem with side air bags, the automaker's U.S. sales arm said today.
An incorrectly installed piece of trim on the vehicle's center pillar could interfere with the deployment of the side airbags in a crash, according to Toyota Motor Sales USA.
Toyota said it is not aware of any injuries or fatalities related to the condition.
Today marks the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. As we move farther from the day, it has become no less difficult to process the tragedy. Here are six documentaries available for streaming that might help through whatever reflection you choose to observe.
The Heroes:
"9/11" (available via Amazon Instant) "9/11" counts itself among the strange set of documentaries that have changed course during filming. The directors intended to profile a rookie firefighter in New York City and ended up with a film that tells the story of a fateful morning from the perspective of the men and women who were called in to help. Robert De Niro is among the hosts.
"A Good Job"(available via HBOGo) Steve Buscemi's directorial debut is about the work of a firefighter in general, but has a pointed segment regarding the World Trade Center, reverently touching on the culture of the job before and after the attacks.
Individual Experiences:
"9/11 Stories in Fragments" (available via Netflix) "9/11 Stories in Fragments" is a documentary that focuses on individual memories of the day using artifacts and first-hand accounts now kept at the Smithsonian. The academic presentation makes the film perhaps less heart-wrenching to watch than other, and assists in processing the wide array of lives affected on such specific and personal levels.
"Forever Changed" (available via Amazon Instant) In "Forever Changed," the American Center for Law and Justice confronts the pain of the individual experience, set against a backdrop of the way the attacks changed the world. Attorney General John Ashcroft provides commentary, though aims to focus on "those who sacrificed the most."
Indirect Experiences:
"Grounded on 9/11" (available via Veoh.com) "Grounded on 9/11" was created for the fifth anniversary of the attacks. First premiering on the History Channel, the film explores Operation Yellow Ribbon and the way U.S. airspace was handled in response to the attacks, ultimately giving perspective on the far-reaching impact 9/11 had on our sense of safety at a national level.
"The Woman Who Wasn't There" (available via Netflix) Originally featured on HuffPost's first set of mind-blowing documentaries to watch on Netflix, "The Woman Who Wasn't There" deals primarily with the story of an impostor. Yet, from beneath a troubling narrative emerges an account of the bonds that formed among survivors in the wake of such devastating trauma.
(CNN) — Ahmed Godane, the leader of the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab, was killed in a U.S. military operation, the Pentagon said Friday.
“The U.S. military undertook operations against Godane on Sept. 1, which led to his death. Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss to Al-Shabaab,” said Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby.
On Monday, U.S. military conducted a strike in the African country targeting Godane, who pledged allegiance to al Qaeda. He has headed the Al-Shabaab as it has terrorized East Africa, killing Somali officials, aid workers and others in a spate of suicide bombings. Godane allegedly was behind 2013’s deadly siege of a Nairobi, Kenya, shopping mall.
Navy divers confirmed Monday that a wrecked vessel in southeast Asia is the World War II heavy cruiser Houston, a ship sunk by the Japanese that serves as the final resting place for about 700 sailors and Marines. The Houston, nicknamed “The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast,” sank in the Java Sea during the Battle of Sunda Strait on Feb. 28, 1942. It carried 1,068 crewmen, but only 291 sailors and Marines survived both the attack and subsequent imprisonment by the enemy. The survival of those men came as a shocking, though welcome, surprise in August 1945, the month the war in Asia ended with the surrender of the Japanese. In a wire story published in the Los Angeles Times under the headline "Men of U.S.S. Houston Come Back From Dead," a military official said that five men had escaped from a prisoner of war camp in Thailand and confirmed there were about 300 other survivors. By then 42 months had passed since all aboard the cruiser had been presumed dead. lRelated Navy conducts first series of drone and manned fighter jet operations NATION NOW Navy conducts first series of drone and manned fighter jet operations SEE ALL RELATED 8 In recent months Navy archaeologists worked with Indonesian Navy divers to survey the wreck over the course of 19 underwater searches, said U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Harry Harris. The Navy History and Heritage Command confirmed that the recorded data is consistent with the identification of the former Houston. Documented evidence shows the gravesite was disturbed, noting that hull rivets and a metal plate were removed from the ship. Both U.S. and Indonesia officials are working to coordinate protection of the historic site, which is also a popular recreational dive location. The report voices public safety and security concerns, citing "active seepage of oil from the hull." cComments Interesting article. Why did the ship have so many portholes? Would those windows not just speed up a sinking? SIX GENERATION ANGELENO AT 2:15 PM AUGUST 19, 2014 ADD A COMMENTSEE ALL COMMENTS 8 A final report will be completed in the fall as underwater archeologists continue to collect data from the dives. The Navy estimates more than 17,000 sunken ships and aircraft rest on the ocean floor.
It is reported that America has released few satellite photographs to prove that Russia has made shell attacks to Ukraine.
The special feature is these evidence are published in the Twitter social web site.
The Director office of national intelligence unit has prepared these photos as an email message and the American Ambassador in Ukraine Jefry Piyat has added them to the Twitter.
It is said that these photographs have been taken between July 21st to 25/26th.
The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) today said that the United States had revoked a visa given to the General Secretary of the organization Galabodaaththe Gnanasara Thero. Speaking to Ada Derana the Chief Executive Officer of the BBS, Dilantha Vithanage said that this was another conspiracy against the BBS.
Gnanasara Thero had obtained a US visa in 2011 and the visa is valid for five years, Vithanage added.
We received a telephone call from the embassy detailing that the visa has been temporarily revoked, he claimed. Vithanage stated that many organizations in Sri Lanka have conspired to have this visa revoked.
Vithanage claimed that the attempt by some to associate the name of BBS with the recent incidents at Althgama and Beruwala was the main reason behind the revocation of the US visa.
NASA will test out new space exploration technology – including some used for asteroid landings – by having its teams live on the ocean floor off Florida coast for extended periods of time in two upcoming summer missions.
The so-called ‘aquanauts’ will only get down to about 19 meters below, but that is enough to perform the crucial task of assessing new gear that will help the agency’s astronauts live in orbit more comfortably and even assist future asteroid landings and explorations.
The missions will include extra-vehicular activities (EVAs), simulated spacewalks and other activities – all performed underwater, about 10km off the coast of Key Largo, Florida.
Aside from the primary objectives, the assignments will also test for health and behavioral issues, as well as evaluate the usefulness of ‘telementoring’, in which the astronaut is given instructions by voice or video.
The Extreme Environment Mission Operations program (NEEMO) has taken charge of organizing the upcoming missions. Its project Manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Bill Todd, has admitted to journalists in a statement that, “It is both challenging and exciting for our astronaut crews to participate in these undersea missions in preparation for spaceflight.”
Todd explained that only the closest-matching conditions that accurately replicate the conditions astronauts are to face in space are good enough for the task, as “the extreme environment of life undersea is as close to being in space as possible.”
The EVAs, according to NASA officials commenting on the NEEMO 18 and NEEMO 19 missions, will“focus on evaluating man-machine work systems and EVA tools and techniques for exploration tasks in varying levels of gravity ranging from that of asteroids to the gravity of Martian moons and Mars itself.”
The NASA missions will actually be an international effort comprising Japanese, European and Canadian astronauts from their respective space agencies – all professionals and occupying key positions in their scientific fields.
In an unprecedented, three-year cyber espionage campaign, Iranian hackers created false social networking accounts and a fake news website to spy on military and political leaders in the United States, Israel and other countries, a cyber intelligence firm said on Thursday.
ISight Partners, which uncovered the operation, said the hackers' targets include a four-star U.S. Navy admiral, U.S. lawmakers and ambassadors, members of the U.S.-Israeli lobby, and personnel from Britain, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The firm declined to identify the victims and said it could not say what data had been stolen by the hackers, who were seeking credentials to access government and corporate networks, as well as infect machines with malicious software. "If it's been going on for so long, clearly they have had success," iSight Executive Vice President Tiffany Jones told Reuters. The privately held company is based in Dallas, Texas and provides intelligence on cyber threats.
ISight dubbed the operation "Newscaster" because it said the Iranian hackers created six "personas" who appeared to work for a fake news site, NewsOnAir.org, which used content from the Associated Press, BBC, Reuters and other media outlets. The hackers created another eight personas who purported to work for defense contractors and other organizations, iSight said.
The hackers set up false accounts on Facebook and other online social networks for these 14 personas, populated their profiles with fictitious personal content, and then tried to befriend target victims, according to iSight.
The operation has been active since at least 2011, iSight said, noting that it was the most elaborate cyber espionage campaign using "social engineering" that has been uncovered to date from any nation.
To build credibility, the hackers would approach high-value targets by first establishing ties with the victims' friends, classmates, colleagues, relatives and other connections over social networks run by Facebook Inc, Google Inc and its YouTube, LinkedIn Corp and Twitter Inc.
The hackers would initially send the targets content that was not malicious, such as links to news articles on NewsOnAir.org, in a bid to establish trust. Then they would send links that infected PCs with malicious software, or direct targets to web portals that ask for network log-in credentials, iSight said.
The hackers used the 14 personas to make connections with more than 2,000 people, the firm said, adding that it believed the group ultimately targeted several hundred individuals.
"This campaign is not loud. It is low and slow," said Jones. "They want to be stealth. They want to be under the radar."
ISight said it had alerted some victims and social networking sites as well as the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and overseas authorities. An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment.
Facebook Inc spokesman Jay Nancarrow said his company had discovered the hacking group while investigating suspicious friend requests and other activity on its website.
"We removed all of the offending profiles we found to be associated with the fake NewsOnAir organization and we have used this case to further refine our systems that catch fake accounts at various points of interaction on the site and block malware from spreading," Nancarrow said.
LinkedIn spokesman Doug Madey said the site was investigating the report, though none of the 14 fake profiles uncovered by iSight were currently active.
Twitter declined to comment and Google could not immediately be reached for comment.
POST-STUXNET ERA
ISight disclosed its findings as evidence emerges that Iranian hacking groups are becoming increasingly aggressive.
Cybersecurity company FireEye Inc reported earlier this month that a group known as the Ajax Security Team has become the first Iranian hacking group to use custom-built malicious software for espionage.
Iranian hackers stepped up their activity in the wake of the Stuxnet attack on Tehran's nuclear program in 2010. The Stuxnet computer virus is widely believed to have been launched by the United States and Israel.
ISight said it could not ascertain whether the hackers were tied to the government in Tehran, though it believed they were supported by a nation state because of the complexity of the operation.
The firm said NewsOnAir.org was registered in Tehran and likely hosted by an Iranian provider. The Persian term "Parastoo" was used as a password for malware associated with the group, which appeared to work during business hours in Tehran, according to iSight.
Among the 14 false personas were reporters for NewsOnAir, including one with the same name as a Reuters journalist in Washington; six employees who purportedly worked for defense contractors; a systems administrator with the U.S. Navy; and an accountant working for a payment processor.
A spokesman for Thomson Reuters Corp, which owns Reuters, declined to comment.
A woman learned how to satisfy her dolphin sexually.
In the 1960s, Margaret Howe worked for Dr John C. Lilly, a neurologist who tried to teach a six-year-old dolphin to speak English.
His 23-year-old assistant, Howe, who lived on the Virgin Islands, took care of the dolphin day and night. She fed it, bathed it, slept and played together in complete isolation.
The dolphin, named Peter, apparently fell in love with her, according to the BBC documentary called: “The Girl Who Talked with Dolphins.”
The dolphin would often rub itself against Howe’s hands and knees, and at one point injured her. Howe said that when the dolphin became a bit more aggressive she placed it with female dolphins.
However, the dolphin allegedly took a liking to Howe, so she decided to satisfy the dolphin sexually.
U.S. Author Malcolm Brenner wrote a book called: “Wet Goddess,” based on her nine-month sexual relationship with the dolphin in the Floridaland amusement park in 1970.
Interestingly enough, some studies have found evidence that male dolphins are attracted to women, because they give off similar pheromones to female dolphins.
U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, held for nearly five years by the Taliban after being captured in Afghanistan, has been released and is now in U.S. custody after years of on and off negotiations, U.S. officials said on Saturday
As part of Bergdahl's release, the United States is turning over five Taliban detainees at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the custody of Qatar, the officials said.
Bergdahl's freedom followed a renewed round of indirect U.S.-Taliban talks in recent months, with Qatar acting as intermediary, the officials said.
President Barack Obama announced the release, saying he had called Bergdahl's parents to let them know.
U.S. special operations forces took custody of Bergdahl in a non-violent exchange with Taliban members in eastern Afghanistan, the officials said, adding that he was believed to be in good condition. He was now undergoing a medical examination in Afghanistan.
Alyssa Funke committed suicide after cyber bullies reportedly harassed her for her decision to appear in a pornographic video.
The 19-year-old was a straight-A student at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, but the teenager took her life after countless taunts. Minnesota news site KMSP revealed local police will not pursue charges on those who bullied Funke. Video: Click Here
Funke reportedly committed suicide at a boat landing on Big Carnelia Lake, which is 9 miles from Oak Park Heights and 26 miles from River Falls.
She appeared in an adult film for website, and it wasn’t long until classmates from her high school in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, found out about the X-rated flick. The abusive messages via Twitter and Facebook soon began to role in.
Though her family did not want to speak about her suicide on camera, they told KMSP that they believe the cyber bullying played a major role in her decision to take her own life.
Before her death, the teen took to her Twitter account to seemingly mock her haters before she died on April 16.
Daily Dot reported her family established the Alyssa Stop Bullying Fund. It has since raised $165. “Social media has revolutionized the way people bully each other now days,” the fundraiser says. “Now you can say whatever you want and not have to look the person in the face while doing it.”
According to the Huffington Post, many porn actresses struggle to protect their privacy.
Funke aspired to major in biology and a minor in chemistry. She reportedly wanted to become an anesthesiologist.
CCTV footage shows a woman falling headfirst onto the tracks at the Back Bay subway station in Boston, USA.
At the time of the fall, Kelly Smith, 44, was reported to be suffering from pain on the right side of her body.
The incident, which was captured by station security cameras, shows the woman walking down the steps and into the station before she suddenly veers to her right, steps over the edge, and crashes onto the tracks face first.
Several bystanders rush to the woman’s assistance and help her back onto the station platform.
A spokesperson for the Boston Transit Agency said luckily, the woman did not make contact with the third rail. There was no train in the immediate area either.
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