19 Syria rebels killed in fight for air base

19 Syria rebels killed in fight for air base
3 top officers among 4 dead in Iraq suicide bombing
PBB tells SAMM to get lost for contempt
Fit as a fiddle
Police crack Wisma Sanyan case
At least 18 killed in train station blast

Posted: 29 Dec 2013 03:55 PM PST

SYRIA: At least 19 rebels were killed in eastern Syria on Sunday in clashes for control of Deir Ezzor military air base, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"The toll from the fighting is 19 martyrs," said the Britain-based monitor which relies on a network of activists and medics on the ground for its reports.

The watchdog said there has been fierce fighting for the base for three days between rebels and regime troops backed by National Defence Force auxiliaries.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the rebels have succeeded in taking control of part of Al-Jafra village, a few hundred metres (yards) from the airport.

Residents of the village support the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, he said.

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3 top officers among 4 dead in Iraq suicide bombing

Posted: 29 Dec 2013 03:36 PM PST

IRAQ: A suicide bomber killed three senior army officers, among them a brigadier general, and another soldier in northern Iraq on Sunday, police and a mortuary employee said.

The bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle near a military convoy in the city of Mosul, also wounding 10 people, among them six soldiers, the sources said.

The attack comes after five senior officers, among them a divisional commander, and 10 other soldiers were killed during a December 21 operation against militants in the western province of Anbar.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a period of brutal sectarian killings.

More than 6,750 people have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of 2013, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.

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PBB tells SAMM to get lost for contempt

Posted: 29 Dec 2013 03:33 PM PST

KUCHING: PBB yesterday warned peninsula-based Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) to stay out of the state.

The party's supreme council member Dato Idris Buang said SAMM's alleged plan to stage a street protest called 'Nyah Taib' in front of the chief minister's residence yesterday to get him to step down was "disrespectful and contemptuous" towards the state Barisan Nasional (BN).

"There is no way for SAMM to bring street politics and unethical political culture to Sarawak," said Idris at PBB headquarters, which is just a stone's throw from the chief minister's residence.

Flanked by more than 100 PBB members and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), who called themselves 'Gerak Gempur Ngap Sayot', Idris said PBB would not let the state BN to be forcefully dethroned by any group or affiliated political parties using street tactics and other unethical means.

"We are holding strong to the universal law and the constitution, so if anyone wants to challenge the state government or the chief minister, do it during the election."

He added that PBB, being the backbone of the state BN, had more than 300,000 members and more than one million supporters in the state who reject the political fiasco spun by SAMM and Pakatan Rakyat.

He also questioned the credibility of SAMM founder Badrul Hisham Shahrin, or known as Che'GuBard, who was born in Negeri Sembilan but stood and lost as a Pakatan candidate in Sungai Acheh, Pulau Pinang, during the last general election.

Idris said Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud had always been at the core of the state's stable politics and development.

"Our beloved chief minister has also managed to upgrade the standard of living of all Sarawakians, regardless of race and religion. He is also elected unanimously by the BN component parties to become the chief minister to lead the state."

Yesterday, members of the media waited patiently from 11.30am till 5pm outside the front gate of Taib's residence, but no protesters showed up, only police personnel.

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Fit as a fiddle

Posted: 29 Dec 2013 03:32 PM PST

All firefighters will have to undergo an Individual Physical Proficiency Test biannually starting next year

SIBU: The next time you see a firefighter, rest be assured that you are looking at a very fit individual.

This is because the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) will become mandatory for all firefighters beginning next year.

To pass the IPPT, which is modelled after Singapore's Civil Defence, firefighters need to, among others, run 2.4km within a stipulated time frame and do push-ups.

Their body mass index (BMI) would also be screened. The BMI for new recruits must be between 19 and 25, while those in-service need to be between 19 and 30.

This nationwide exercise requires that all firefighters take this fitness test once every six months.

But State Fire and Rescue Department's (Bomba) director Nor Hisham Mohammad has other ideas for his men.

"In Sarawak, I want this to be done monthly. The mandatory test, however, is twice a year," he told reporters after officiating at Bomba's dinner here on Saturday.

The IPPT, he pointed out, was more thorough and stringent that the previous scheme, and his men had been alerted about this to enable them to have enough time to prepare for the test.

"It is tailored after Singapore's Civil Defence, and it is used worldwide. This is to maintain personnel fitness at the highest level."

But what if firefighters failed the test?

"Well, if they failed the test twice consecutively, they would be sent to undergo a special programme to tune them up physically and mentally."

Nor Hisham said the latest initiative formed part of the department's organisational culture, where physical appearance and fitness is mandatory.

He said a trial run was held last month involving 574 firefighters, and the test was conducted by experts in the field.

Meanwhile, Nor Hisham praised Sibu central station chief Abdul Mutalif Jaafar for organising the gathering to enable firefighters and their families to mingle to strengthen their bond.

Fun-filled activities, awards presentations and study incentives were among the highlights of the gathering.

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Police crack Wisma Sanyan case

Posted: 29 Dec 2013 03:31 PM PST

SIBU: A 'Special Ops' busted a crime wave of 11 men and a woman arrested on suspicion of snatchings, housebreakings and robberies, and provided a lead to solve the snatch theft at Wisma Sanyan which left a woman comatose in November.

Sibu police chief ACP Kamal Kordi, when contacted yesterday, confirmed the arrests from the blitz launched from Christmas Eve – to continue until New Year's Eve.

"We will continue to carry out this operation and we hope to make more arrests," Kamal stressed.

"My men are working very hard and managed to solve some cases during this Special Ops," he said.

The police chief urged members of the public to assist them with tips.

Those with information should call ASP Yeoh Chun Shyan at 012-262 6191 or Inspector Heng Kok How (012-383 6857).

Following the arrest of the 12 suspects, police recovered a range of stolen items including a baton, knives, electric guitars, notebook computers, handphones, a camera and other electronic gadgets.

All 11 male detainees also tested positive for drugs.

Police have linked one of them, who has been charged, to the snatch theft of a woman at Wisma Sanyan, which caused a public furore when she slipped into a coma.

The rest of the men and the woman had been placed under remand.

Initial investigation showed the woman has no previous criminal record.

In a case of impersonation, the woman allegedly teamed up with two male detainees posing as policemen to rob three Indonesian men at a hotel at Market Road last week.

Police said the woman from Peninsular Malaysia would target victims in the hotel she had been cordoned in for a month, before tipping off her two male accomplices to act.

The two male suspects, one armed with a baton, knocked on the door of the foreigners' room at 2am, then barged in and made off with RM10,000 in cash along with other belongings, they said.

The foreigners, who stopped over at the hotel on their return to Indonesia, subsequently lodged a report at the Central Police Station here.

Police, who identified the two impersonators from pictures, nabbed the suspects who led them to the arrest of the woman.

The two men were placed under remand until Jan 2 while the woman was remanded until Jan 5.

A member of the Titi Gang and his accomplice were among the detainees.

Police also seized a stolen van from the two men.

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At least 18 killed in train station blast

Posted: 29 Dec 2013 03:31 PM PST

Female suicide bomber sets off explosion in Volgograd ahead of Sochi Olympics

BPMOSCOW, Russia: At least 18 people were killed and dozens injured yesterday when a suicide bomber blew herself up in a train station in the Russian city of Volgograd ahead of February's Olympic Games in nearby Sochi.

Regional officials said the woman set off her charge near the metal detectors stationed at the entrance to the city's main train station while it was packed with afternoon travellers.

Footage on Russian state television showed windows blown off across the top two floors of the grey brick building and numerous ambulances gathered at the station's front entrance amid piles of debris and snow.

"Initial indications are that the blast was set off by a female suicide bomber," the National Anti-Terror Committee said in a statement.

Russia's Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said officials had launched an inquiry into a suspected 'act of terror'. A regional government spokesman told the RIA Novosti news agency that at least 18 people were killed and more than 40 injured in the attack.

But a federal health ministry spokesman told Russian state television that the number of people wounded stood at more than 50.

The city of Volgograd — known as Stalingrad in the Soviet era — was already attacked in October by a female suicide bomber with links to Islamists fighting federal forces in Russia's volatile North Caucasus.

The October 21 strike killed six people aboard a crowded bus and immediately raised security fears ahead of the February 4-23 Winter Games in Sochi.

The Black Sea city lies 690 kilometres southwest of Volgograd and in direct proximity to the violence ravaging North Caucasus regions such as Dagestan and Chechnya on a daily basis.

Militants are seeking to impose an Islamist state throughout Russia's North Caucasus. Their leader Doku Umarov has ordered his footsoldiers to target civilians outside the region and disrupt the Olympic Games.

The Sochi Games' success carries heavy political overtones for the Kremlin amid its efforts to use patriotism to mobilise support for President Vladimir Putin's 14-year rule.

Putin staked his personal reputation on the Games' success by lobbying for Sochi's candidacy before the International Olympic Committee and then spending more than $50 billion (US$36 billion euros) for the event.

Russian authorities have repeatedly vowed to take the highest security precautions in Sochi, and there have been few indications to date of foreign sports fans cancelling their attendance out of security fears.

Female suicide bombers are often referred to in Russia as 'black widows' — women who seek to avenge the deaths of their family members in North Caucasus fighting by targeting Russian civilians. Female suicide bombers set off blasts at two Moscow metro stations in March 2010 that killed more than 35 people.

So-called black widows were also responsible for taking down two passenger jets that took off from a Moscow airport within minutes of each other in 2004, killing about 90 people. — AFP

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