US embassy in Yemen bombed
At least 16 people have been killed in an attack on the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa by a suicide bomber and armed fighters. The attack is suspected to be carried out by al-Qaeda. George Bush, the US president, said the attack was a bid by extremists to drive the United States out of regions like the Middle East. Yemen is an Arab country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia. It is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the world.
Palin’s Yahoo Mail Hacked and Published
U.S. vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s Yahoo account gets hacked and of its contents are reportedly published on the Wikileaks Web site. A hacking group known as Anonymous gained access to Palin’s Yahoo account late Tuesday night and sent the information to Wikileaks. “Governor Palin has come under criticism for using private e-mail accounts to conduct government business and in the process avoid transparency laws,” Wikileaks wrote in a note.
McCain Invented the BlackBerry
“If John McCain hadn’t said that ‘the fundamentals of our economy are strong’ on the day of one of our nation’s worst financial crises, the claim that he invented the BlackBerry would have been the most preposterous thing said all week”, said Bill Burton, Barack Obama’s campaign spokesman,in response of the comment made by a top McCain policy adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin. Earlier McCain policy adviser told reporters “You’re looking at the miracle that John McCain helped create”, showing his blackberry. McCain has acknowledged that he doesn’t know how to use a computer and can’t send e-mail. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is a Canadian company.
Pakistan Orders Army To Fire On U.S. Troops
Pakistan’s military has ordered its troops to fire on US troops conducting cross border raids from Afghanistan. US commandos carried out a raid near the town of Angoor Ada in Pakistaon on Sept. 3rd. There have also been frequent U.S. drone aircraft strikes against militant targets in Pakistan, most recently on Sept. 12. The new firing orders were disclosed by Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas.
U.S. to expell Venezuelan envoy
In the latest move in an escalating diplomatic battle between the United States and Venezuela,the United States is expelling the Venezuelan ambassador, Bernardo Alvarez Herrera. The U.S. decision comes a day after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that he was expelling the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela. Chavez told a crowd of supporters. “When there’s a new government in the United States, we’ll send an ambassador. A government that respects Latin America.” Hugo Chavez is the elected president of Venezuela who has instituted sweeping reforms since taking office. He has shunned U.S. and European support and focused on South American and Third World solidarity. In 2004, a US backed coup against him foiled when large crowd of demonstrators and a palace guard contingent joined hands in favor of him. Tensions between the US and Venezuela had already risen after Russia sent two strategic bombers to Venezuela for military exercises.
US oil agency accused of ethics violations
The US interior department agency Minerals Management Service was accused of ethics violations, ranging from accepting high-priced gifts from energy companies and manipulating contracts to cocaine use and sexual misconduct. An investigation by Minerals Management Service Inspector General Earl Devaney revealed, nearly a third of the staff of the Denver Minerals Management Service office accepted gifts from oil and gas companies between 2002 and 2006. The report also says that several employees “frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives”. MMS collects roughly $10 billion in royalties each year.
9/11 moment by moment
On September 11, 2001,terrorists crashed two airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the building, causing both buildings to collapse within two hours. As the world marks the seventh anniversary of the attack on the twin towers we look back at the key moments of that day .
- 7:59 a.m: American Airlines Flight 11 a Boeing 767-223ER with a maximum capacity of 181 passengers and 23,980 gallons of fuel, lifts off from Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, bound for Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California.
- 8:01 a.m: United Airlines Flight 93 a Boeing 757-222 with a maximum capacity of 200 passengers and 11,489 gallons of fuel, rolls from the gate in Newark International Airport, Newark, New Jersey with 44 people aboard bound for San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California.
- 8:13:31 a.m: American Airlines Flight 11 last transmission from Boston Air Traffic Control.
- 8:14 to 8:20 a.m: American Airlines Flight 11 goes off course and is hijacked.
- 8:20 a.m: American Airlines Flight 11 transponder signal stops transmitting Identification, Friend or Foe (IFF) beacon signal.
- 8:21 a.m: Betty Ong, a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, calls Vanessa Minter at American Airlines reservations from the seatback phone.
- 8:22 a.m: Amy Sweeney another flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, calls American Airlines ground manager Michael Woodward and speaks calmly to him until the plane crashes.
- 8:26 a.m: American Airlines Flight 11 is heading westnorthwest, its location is between Albany and Lake George, New York, when it suddenly makes a 100 degree turn to the south and starts heading directly toward New York City.
- 8:32 a.m: Bush�s motorcade leaves The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort on Longboat Key, Florida for Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota.
- 8:40 a.m: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notifies NORAD that American Airlines Flight 11 has been hijacked.
- 8:41:32 a.m: United Airlines Flight 175 last communication with the New York air traffic control.
- 8:46:26 a.m: American Airlines Flight 11 impacts the north side of the North Tower (1 World Trade Center) of the WTC between the 94th and 98th floors.
- 8:49 a.m: United Airlines Flight 175 now deviates from its assigned flight path.
- 8:51 a.m: Bush arrives at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida for a photo op with 16 second graders.
- 9:02:54 a.m: United Airlines Flight 175 impacts the south side of the South Tower of the WTC between the 78th and 84th floors at a speed of over 500 MPH. Parts of the plane including an engine leave the building from its north side, to be found on the ground up to six blocks away.
- 9:08 a.m: FAA orders all aircraft to leave New York area airspace and orders all New York-bound planes nationwide to stay on the ground.
- 9:15 a.m: American Airlines orders no new takeoffs in the United States.
- 9:32 a.m: The New York Stock Exchange closed.
- 9:37 a.m: American Airlines Flight 77 is lost from radar screens and impacts the western side of the Pentagon.
- 10.05: The south tower collapses, 62 minutes after being hit.
- 10.29: The north tower collapses. The death toll was feared to be as high as 20,000 but gradually dropped to about 2,800.
For more detail information 911timeline.
Al-Qaeda Accuses Iran of Cooperation with US
Ayman al-Zawahiri, believed to be the second in command of Al-Qaeda has accused Iran of collaborating with Washington in Afghanistan and Iraq. Zawahiri claimed Tehran was “cooperating with the Americans in occupying Iraq and Afghanistan” and blamed Iran for recognizing the two democratic governments there. He also celebrated former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf’s resignation. But US recently condemned Iran for having secret contact with leadership of al Qaeda. Al-Qaeda has issued the video to mark the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Protestors Organize Themselves Using Twitter in Rupublic Convention.
Protesters targeting the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, used the micro blogging tool Twitter to organize their movements. One Twitterer who calls himself “Notq” collected and posted the Tweets as they were coming in during the protest. Twitter began as a research and development project inside San Francisco start-up company Obvious in March 2006. Twitter is increasingly being used to broadcast short messages. Some high profile use of Twitter.
~ The Los Angeles Fire Department put the technology to use during the October 2007 California wildfires.
~ NASA used Twitter to break the news of discovery of what appeared to be water ice on Mars by the Phoenix Mars Lander. Other NASA projects, such as Space Shuttle missions and the International Space Station, also provide updates via Twitter.
Is Kim Jong-il Dead?
Some crazy reports are coming out that North Korea’s,leader Kim Jong-Il has been dead for five years. A Japanese expert on North Korea is claiming doubles are being used to give the impression that he’s still alive. He succeeded his father Kim Il-sung, founder of North Korea, who died in 1994, and commands the fifth largest standing army in the world. North Korea is celebrating its 60th anniversary.
Walmart Advocating Against Obama?
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is being accused of violating federal election laws by urging its employees into voting against Barack Obama. Store and Department Mangers are asked to attend mandatory meetings where they are told that a vote for Democrat Barack Obama would be a vote for unions. The AFL-CIO and three other labor-rights groups have asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unlawfully pressured employees to vote against Democrats. Wal-Mart,employs 1.4 million workers. It has rigorously resisted being unionized and opposes the bill. Last month, the Wall Street Journal first revealed the details of this accusation. Barack Obama supports a bill in Congress that proponents say would make it easier for workers to organize.
Russia Tests Stealth Missile Capable of Penetrating US shield
As tensions rising with Nato, Russia shows its might by test fired a a long-range ’stealth’ missile, Topol RS-12M. With a range of 9,500 Kms, Topol puts Europe and much of the US within its reach. The missile can carry one 550-kiloton nuclear warhead. Col Alexander Vovk of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces said: “The launch was specially tasked to test the missile’s capability to avoid ground-based detection systems.” Earlier,Vladimir Putin, said that Moscow was working on new types of nuclear weapons to boost the country’s defense against the threat of the US shield.
