Witnesses: 4 Nigerian Security Agents Killed in Blast
Witnesses say four security agents were killed in northeast Nigeria in a roadside bomb explosion.
Reports say the bomb went off Thursday afternoon in the northern city of Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state. A local police officer said security forces exchanged fire with gunmen.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the region has been plagued by violence blamed on the Islamist group Boko Haram.
Explosions have also been reported in other cities in the region, including in Maiduguri, which has been targeted by the radical sect. Boko Haram has been blamed for hundreds of death and a string of bombings in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law in Africa's most populous nation.
The nation's capital Abuja has boosted security in the wake of recent terrorist attacks mostly in the country's north.
In August, Boko Haram was blamed for a suicide bombing at the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, which left at least two dozen people dead.
Nigerian police have arrested 14 suspected Boko Haram members earlier this week and seized guns and explosives from several sites.
Pakistan Rejects US Findings on Border Attack
Pakistan's military has rejected the findings of a U.S. inquiry into last month's coalition attack that killed 24 Pakistan soldiers at Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
The army said Friday the investigation's findings were “short on facts” and that it would give a detailed response once the formal report is received.
U.S. defense officials Thursday blamed inadequate coordination by both Pakistani and U.S.-led forces for last month's attack.
Brigadier General Stephen Clark, a U.S. Air Force officer who led the investigation, said “an overarching lack of trust” between the two countries prevented each side from receiving specific details on troops and combat locations.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said the investigation found that U.S. forces, given the information they had available to them at the time, acted “in self-defense and with appropriate force after being fired upon.”
He said U.S. officers had shared incorrect mapping information with the Pakistanis, leading to a misunderstanding about the location of Pakistani military posts along the border. That, he said, along with other gaps in information about the activities and location of units from both sides, contributed to “the tragic result.”
But the investigation found that there was “no intentional effort” by U.S. forces to mislead or target the Pakistani military.
The U.S. Department of Defense expressed its “deepest regret” and “sincere condolences” for the incident, but stopped short of meeting the Pakistani demand for a full apology.
Pakistan refused to cooperate in the investigation. Pentagon officials said Thursday that Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Kayani had been briefed on the U.S. military probe's findings.
The NATO-led force in Afghanistan said Thursday it agreed with the investigation report.
The attack on November 26 has inflamed already damaged tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan. Islamabad has ordered U.S. forces to vacate a Pakistani airbase they were using, and has indefinitely closed the two main overland routes NATO uses to send nonlethal supplies to Afghanistan.
American media reports on Thursday quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying NATO's failure to inform Islamabad that it was conducting the operation may have led Pakistani soldiers to mistake the coalition forces for Taliban militants.
Amnesty Announced Along with Reduction in Surcharge Rates by Gov Todd
His Excellency Ric Todd, in his capacity as Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands National Insurance Board (NIB), has announced today, December 22, 2012 that there will be a two month amnesty period on NIB surcharges, commencing January 2, 2012 and ending February 29, 2012.
During this amnesty period persons can bring their National Insurance contributions up to date without incurring any surcharges. The NIB will waive a person’s liability to pay any additional charges due in respect of late payment of contributions if:-
(a) the person provides satisfactory evidence to the NIB that all outstanding contributions payable under the National Insurance Ordinance (NIO) have been paid as at the date of commencement of this Ordinance; or
(b) the person pays all outstanding contributions payable under the National Insurance
Ordinance prior to the end of the amnesty period on February 29, 2012. For the purpose of this exercise, a “person” means contributors to the NIB; including
employers and self-employed persons.
Additional charges payable as a consequence of a court order shall not be waived. Governor Todd noted that the amnesty will benefit both Government and Business and provide much needed financial relief to many struggling i nstitutions. Once the amnesty period is concluded, the penalties will be reintroduced for late payment.
“The National Insurance Board is pleased to offer this relief to TCI businesses in this time of economic challenge, both here at home and abroad. We encourage all of our contributors in arrears to make use of this one and only opportunity to bring their accounts current without financial penalty,” said Colin Heartwell, CEO of the NIB.
In addition to the announcement of the Amnesty on Surcharges, legislative amendments have been passed to reduce the surcharge rate on contribution arrears. Contribution arrears will accrue at an initial 10% of contributions for the first month, and will subsequently incur a 3% penalty for each month or part thereof of delay. The 3% rate is a 7% reduction in the rate of 10% charged since 1993 and is in line with actuarial advice. “High penalty rates were severely impacting on businesses, noted Mr. Heartwell and these reduced penalty rates will maintain an incentive for persons to keep accounts current without driving firms into bankruptcy.”
The amnesty period stands to benefit many parties. It is expected to increase the NIB’s contribution income in 2011/2012, while significantly reducing the
level of delinquency. An improved compliance level also stands to reduce the benefit processing time; with more insured persons’ contributions being updated.
The surcharges currently contribute only about 3% of the total NIB annual revenues in 2011/2012 so the immediate financial impact in the NIF will not be significant. The NIB will be foregoing $11.8 million in potential revenue from Government and possibly up to $4 million in potential revenue from the private sector.
This amnesty will benefit TCIG as it reduces the country’s deficit by a third and it helps business as it removes the immediate financial burden of surcharges.
The surcharges are intended to encourage firms to make their contributions on time rather than help drive them into bankruptcy. In this current poor economic climate, many of the public and private
contributors with outstanding surcharges are in severe financial difficulty. This initiative will assist them in their economic recovery and bring new additional contribution revenues in the future.
The surcharge level of 10% was deemed to be too high for some time and this move will reduce the burden to employers while still encouraging NIB payments.
TCIG Voluntary Severence Update
The TCI Government’s Office of Public Service Management can confirm that it began distributing 697 voluntary severance package quotations to civil service applicants this morning.
These quotations outline the compensation package available to individual applicants should they decide to apply for voluntary severance, and TCIG accepts their application.
The quotation pack also includes the application form should individuals wish to proceed. It also provides details of the support package that would be made available to successful volunteers.
This support includes financial advice from a variety of sources such as TC Invest and all the locally represented banks, CV and interview skills advice, general careers advice, how to identify private sector job opportunities, vocational and academic training and skills courses.
Each individual will have three weeks to consider their own offer and decide whether or not to apply.
24 Hour Crime Recap
During the past twenty-four hours Police in Providenciales have responded to three (3) reports of a serious nature, namely two (2) Burglaries –Blue Hills and one (1) Attempted Burglary – Turtle Cove.
During the said period one male was arrested for Possession of Ammunition and Possession of Cannabis.
Here in Grand Turk during the same period, Police in Grand Turk responded to one (1) report of serious nature namely Theft-Church Folly.
However the Police did not state the seriousness if theft.
Lady Gaga fans hit by hack on Twitter and Facebook
Singer Lady Gaga has been the victim of a targeted attack on her Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Multiple messages, seemingly from the singer, offered "free iPad2's to each one of you".
Attached links directed more than 100,000 of her followers to a site requesting personal details, possibly as part of a phishing scam.
The 25-year-old, Twitter's most followed user, later tweeted: "Phew. The hacking is over!"
Her Facebook page, which is "liked" by more than 45 million fans, had earlier posted the message: "Lady Gaga's new iPad comes out in 3 days!
"So for the next 72 hours we will be hosting a massive giveaway to all the Mother Monster fans. Sign up and receive your special Lady Gaga edition iPad in time for the Holidays! For contest rules and registration visit the link below."
This was followed later by a tweet saying: "Monsters, I'm giving away FREE ipad2's to each one of you in the spirit of the holidays :)"
The singer often refers to her fans as "monsters", suggesting the hack was specifically targeted at the singer - rather than a more general phishing attack often seen on social networking sites.
Personal data
Phishing attacks typically trick users into believing they are signing in to a legitimate website, but instead illegally gather personal data which can then be used to gain access to private accounts such as email and banking.
The offending messages have now been removed, but web statistics show more than 100,000 of her fans followed the links.
The Grammy award winner's management would not comment on the attack.
Security researcher Graham Cluley noted that other artists, such as Nelly Furtado and Maroon 5, seemed to have come under similar targeting.
"It is, of course, particularly important that the administrators of popular Facebook pages - which can have many millions of fans - take security seriously to minimise the possibilities of passing a scam on," Mr Cluley wrote.
"If nothing else, it's not terribly good for the brand to annoy your fans or to put them at risk."
Taylor Swift's CoverGirl ad pulled
We never thought Taylor Swift could be controversial, but according to E! News, the singer’s ultra-glossy CoverGirl NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara ad has been yanked after it caught the attention of an ad industry watchdog group.
The offense? Excessive Photoshopping.
Procter & Gamble voluntarily pulled Taylor’s mascara print spot when it was flagged by the industry’s self-regulatory group, The National Advertising Division.
NAD was pleased with P&G’s response, and issued a statement saying "it has determined that the Procter & Gamble Company acted properly in discontinuing superior performance claims made in print advertising by the company for its CoverGirl NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara."
The group had questioned P&G about claims that the mascara, as shown in the ad, has two times more volume vs. bare lashes and is 20 percent lighter than the most expensive mascara.
Additionally, NAD didn’t appreciate the ad’s "implied messages" that buyers "would get lashes like those depicted in the advertisement and that the lashes depicted in the photograph were achieved solely by using [the mascara]…without post-production enhancement."
P&G/CoverGirl rep Brent Miller explains the pull to CNN: “Our scientists work very closely with our advertising teams to ensure that benefits are accurately portrayed, and P&G’s policy is to feature visuals and claims that accurately reflect these benefits. As soon as we were aware that the NAD had concerns, we voluntarily discontinued the advertising – a move that the NAD itself regarded as entirely proper.”
CNN
US boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr jailed for domestic abuse
US boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr has been jailed for 90 days by a Las Vegas court after pleading guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Josie Harris, in 2010.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of $2,500 (£1,600) and complete 100 hours of community service.
Mayweather, 34, agreed to a plea deal, meaning he will not have to answer felony charges of beating Ms Harris and threatening two of their children.
Prosecutors said Mayweather's history meant jail time was appropriate.
"He just continually gets himself into trouble and he is able to get himself out of it as well," Prosecutor Lisa Luzaich told Judge Melissa Saragosa.
"Essentially it is because he is who he is and is able to get away with everything. The only thing that's going to get this man's attention is incarceration."
The judge said she decided to jail Mayweather after he admitted hitting Ms Harris and twisting her arm. Ms Saragosa, citing a police report, said that two of the former couple's children, ages 9 and 10, also witnessed the attack, in which Mayweather threatened to make Ms Harris "disappear".
Pacquiao bout
Mayweather has been told to report to jail on 6 January.
He is facing another court appearance next week on charges of assaulting a security guard outside his home in November 2010 in an argument over parking tickets. He is expected to plead no contest.
Ms Luzaich cited previous assault arrests, two in which Mayweather either paid fines or was required to complete community service, saying fines were of no consequence to the boxer.
Mayweather earned $25m for the fight than won him a World Boxing Council welterweight belt.
His lawyer, Karen Winckler, called Mayweather "a champion in many areas", including buying toys for children at Christmas and promising to donate $100,000 to breast cancer research by the end of the year.
Ms Winckler argued that a full community service sentence would be more productive.
His jail sentence means he will be released only two months before a major fight, likely to be against the Philippines' Manny Pacquiao, scheduled to take place on 5 May.
Kobe with torn wrist ligament; status for opener unclear
Kobe Bryant did not play in the Los Angeles Lakers' preseason finale against the Clippers on Wednesday night because of a torn ligament in his right wrist, and his status for the season opener on Christmas Day is up in the air.
A MRI revealed the extent of the injury, which occurred early in the in the third quarter of the Lakers' 114-95 loss to the Clippers on Monday night. Bryant was examined by Dr. Steven Shin of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic. Depending on the degree of the tear, he could be sidelined as long as three to four weeks.
"He's day-to-day. As soon as I figure it out, I will let you guys know," said coach Mike Brown, who took over this season after the retirement of Phil Jackson. "The doctor has to clear him. Guys will go through the year and get hurt, obviously. Sometimes they'll get hurt and can't play, sometimes they'll get hurt and still can play. It just depends on the situation. Come Sunday, we'll see how it is. There's a chance, though, that he could play Sunday."
Bryant, who shoots right-handed, was sent crashing to the floor by Clippers center DeAndre Jordan on a blocked layup and came up holding the wrist. He stayed in the game for another 3 minutes, then went to the bench for a good stretch and was allowed to return to the floor during the fourth quarter.
"I knew he landed on his wrist, but I was not aware that he was in significant pain," Brown said. "He did not tell me he was in pain, nor did our trainer (Gary Vitti) tell me he was in pain."
Bryant practiced Tuesday, but did not participate in Wednesday morning's shootaround. He did not talk to the media before the game and camped out in the trainer's room.
After Monday's game, when asked about the wrist, Bryant said it wasn't a problem. Brown's understanding was that his best player did not need surgery. Last season, Bryant played in all 82 games for the fourth time in his career. And with this season reduced to 66 games because of the 149-day lockout, every game without him is a bigger deal. But the NBA's sixth all-time leading scorer continually has demonstrated his ability to play through pain at a high level.
AP
Mexico disbands Veracruz-Boca del Rio police force
An entire municipal police force in Mexico has been disbanded as part of a campaign to root out corruption and improve security in the face of drug-related violence.
More than 900 officers in Veracruz-Boca del Rio are losing their jobs.
The Mexican navy is taking over responsibility for law enforcement.
The move comes three months after 35 bodies were found dumped on a main road in the municipality, which includes part of the city of Veracruz.
Navy troops backed by federal police officers took control of local police buildings and were patrolling the streets.
Veracruz state governor Javier Duarte de Ochoa said the decision to disband the force was part of a national programme to reform the police.
"All those who belong to the now defunct Veracruz-Boca del Rio force can join the police again once they have passed the tests of trustworthiness demanded by the national system of public security," he said.
He did not say how long the navy would be in charge of policing the municipality, which is home to around 600,000 people and includes wealthy residential districts and popular tourist areas.
Turf war
Hundreds of marines had already been deployed in Veracruz-Boca del Rio after 35 bodies were dumped on busy road in the middle of the day in September.
Two weeks later the navy found another 32 bodies in three different buildings.
The killings are thought to be the result of a battle for control of drug-trafficking routes between two of Mexico's most powerful drugs gangs - the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel.
The armed forces and federal police have taken over security in a growing number of municipalities across Mexico because local police have been unable to cope with the power of the drugs gangs.
Corruption and infiltration of the police by criminals are among the biggest challenges Mexico faces in its fight against the cartels, says the BBC's Ignacio de los Reyes in Mexico City.
As well as using troops to confront the gangs militarily, President Felipe Calderon has stressed the need to reform the police and judiciary as part of his strategy to restore public security.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since December 2006, when Mr Calderon began deploying the military to fight the gangs.