Daily Archives: October 8, 2015

NATO says it is prepared to send troops to Turkey to defend its ally after violations of Turkish airspace by Russian jets bombing Syria.

Russia launched its air campaign against “terrorist” targets in Syria last week but has infringed on Turkey’s airspace, and drawn accusations its intentions are to destroy opponents of president Bashar al-Assad, not Islamic State terrorists.

“In Syria, we have seen a troubling escalation of Russian military activities,” NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.

“We will assess the latest developments and their implications for the security of the alliance,” he said.

Officials at the US-led alliance are still smarting from Russia’s incursions into Turkey’s airspace and NATO defence ministers are meeting in Brussels with the agenda likely to be dominated by the Syria crisis.

Moscow has upped the ante dramatically with the launch of an unprecedented series of cruise missile attacks to cover a Syrian army ground offensive against rebels seeking the ouster of long-term Russian ally Mr Assad.

NATO has stationed anti-missile Patriot batteries in Turkey to protect it from any spillover of the Syrian conflict but they are due to be removed later this year.

Asked if NATO would now consider extending their mission in light of Russia’s actions, Mr Stoltenberg said: “NATO is ready and able ready to defend all allies against any threat, including Turkey.”

He said NATO’s decision to boost its readiness was not driven solely by Russia’s intervention in favour of pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine.

“It is a response both to the challenges we see to the east but also to the challenges we see to the south,” he said.

“NATO has already responded by increasing our capacity, our ability our preparedness to deploy forces, including to the south, including in Turkey, if needed,” he added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia wants to keep good ties with Turkey, after Ankara voiced its growing anger at Moscow’s military intervention in Syria.

“As for the Russian air force operation in Syria, our actions in support of safeguarding Syria contribute to ensuring stability and security in the region sitting on Turkey’s borders,” Mr Peskov told a call with journalists.

Mr Peskov also said any increased presence of British troops in eastern Europe would be regrettable and would amount to Britain using an alleged Russian threat as camouflage to press ahead with NATO expansion.

He added that Russia would act in order to ensure “parity” should Britain do this.

As Russian and US planes fly combat missions over the same country for the first time since World War II, NATO is eager to avoid any international escalation of the Syrian conflict that has unexpectedly turned the alliance’s attention away from Ukraine following Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year.

Russian president Vladimir Putin and his defence minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday said Russian warships launched cruise missile strikes against 11 Islamic State targets in Syria.

Four warships in the Caspian sea launched 26 missiles which passed over Iran and Iraq to reach their targets, covering what Mr Shoigu described as a distance of almost 1,500 km.

While the US has ruled out military cooperation with Russia in Syria, NATO defence ministers will discuss how to encourage Russia to help resolve the crisis, betting that Moscow also wants to avoid being bogged down in a long conflict.

“There has to be a political solution, a transition,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

“Russia is making a very serious situation in Syria much more dangerous,” Britain’s defence minister Michael Fallon said, calling on Moscow to use its influence on Mr Assad to stop bombing civilians.

source:abc.net.au

PARAMEDICS have attended about 87 reported snake and spider bites in the Hunter during the past year.

The figures, released on Thursday as NSW Ambulance appealed to the public to exercise caution as venomous creatures became more active, put the Hunter behind only western Sydney during the same period.

Hunter attacks count for more than 10 per cent of the state’s bites during the 12-month period.

Inspector John Brotherhood said paramedics had treated five bites in the past week in NSW as the weather warmed up, with all but one reportedly involving a snake.

“We’re basically urging caution,” he said.
“Around the home, remove piled up debris from the yard and keep lawns mowed to reduce the potential for unexpected visitors.”

Inspector Brotherhood also urged people to check clothing left outside before wearing it.
“Paramedics attend many cases where people have put on boots and gloves and been bitten by spiders and even snakes which were hidden inside,” he said.
“Also, if you lift something such as a rock or log, lift so it’s facing away from you.”

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Anyone bitten by a snake or spider is urged to call 000 immediately.

For snakes and funnel web spiders:

· if the bite is on a limb, apply a pressure immobilisation bandage. The bandage should not cut off the circulation;

· if the bite is not on a limb, apply direct, firm pressure to the bite site with your hands. Keep the patient still and discourage them from walking around; and

· never cut or excise the wound. Do not attempt to suck out the venom out and don’t apply a tourniquet.

For spiders (eg redbacks, white-tails, trapdoors):

· apply an ice pack or cold compress to relieve the pain; and

· if severe symptoms develop, seek medical aid; and

· in the case of small children involved in a suspected redback spider bite, medical aid should be sought, irrespective of whether symptoms manifest.

source:theherald.com.au

High school student Farhad Jabar was recruited by a group of western Sydney extremists to carry out a terrorist attack because they thought they were under too much surveillance to do it themselves, police believe.

CCTV from Parramatta Mosque, now in the hands of police, shows several men meeting Jabar at the mosque on Friday, hours before the quiet year 10 student walked to the Parramatta police headquarters and shot accountant Curtis Cheng, 58, in the back of the head.

On Wednesday, police raided four homes across Sydney and arrested four men as part of their investigation into the brutal execution on Friday.

Police raided a home in Merrylands on Wednesday that had been investigated for firearms supply earlier this year.

High school student Farhad Jabar was recruited by a group of western Sydney extremists to carry out a terrorist attack because they thought they were under too much surveillance to do it themselves, police believe.

A Middle Eastern crime gang is being investigated in relation to supplying the gun used by Jabar.Police believe Jabar acquired an older-style handgun at the mosque that afternoon and put it in his Nike backpack.

Talal Alameddine, a known criminal on firearms charges, was detained at the home but it’s not believed he sourced the gun.

He was also not part of the group that met Jabar at the mosque.

A man from north-west Sydney, two brothers, aged 16 and 18, from Wentworthville and Mr Alameddine were arrested. Mr Alameddine’s brother, Rafat, was also arrested on outstanding fraud warrants.Jabar, who recently started going by the name Abu Zaid on social media, also wrote a chilling note on Friday afternoon, found in his backpack dumped near the scene.

Among the ramblings, described by one source as mostly “jibberish”, the note said: “blood will run into the streets” and “know your security means nothing to us”. The handwriting has been confirmed as Jabar’s, Fairfax Media has been told.

As part of their investigation into Mr Cheng’s murder, police raided homes in Merrylands, Guildford, Wentworthville and Marsfield on Wednesday and arrested five men.

The man from the north-west and the Wentworthville brothers had previously been targeted in sweeping Operation Appleby counter-terrorism raids in September 2014 but they were not arrested at the time.

A source said they were considered “peripheral” players to the plot at the centre of the Appleby raids – an alleged phone call between Guildford man Omarjan Azari, 23, and Islamic State recruiter Mohammed Ali Baryalei, about beheading a random person on the streets of Sydney.

Two of Mr Azari’s brothers were targeted in the raid in Guildford on Wednesday but they were not arrested.The men targeted in Operation Appleby last year met at Parramatta Mosque often and operated a group called the Shura, an Arabic term for consultation.

The men have been under heavy surveillance since last year, leading them to look elsewhere in their efforts to carry out a terrorist attack, Fairfax Media understands.”Some of them might have been wanting to do an attack but were concerned. They’ve managed to radicalise a poor vulnerable person to do it instead,” a police source said. “It’s almost like they’ve groomed him like paedophiles to do something for them.”

Jabar was a quiet, cheerful student who vigilantly attended the mosque but was not considered extremist and was not on any police radar before Friday.Fellow students told Fairfax Media he never spoke openly about religion and was more concerned with playing basketball and joking around.

It was only a few weeks ago that he was drawn into the extremist circle by the 16-year-old Wentworthville boy, one of Jabar’s year 10 classmates at Arthur Phillip High School.The pair regularly attended the same sessions at Parramatta Mosque and school lunchtime prayer groups.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named, was charged last year for driving past a Christian school in Harris Park, yelling death threats and waving an Islamic State flag.His Facebook page reveals odd connections with extremist preachers in Canada, Sydney and Lebanon.

His older brother spoke to Fairfax Media online just hours before Wednesday’s raid, saying the killing of Muslims overseas was more important than Mr Cheng’s death.”Why don’t you do something useful,” he wrote. “And talk about real events occurring in Palestine.

The killing of Muslims all ova [sic] the world.”The men made sure they only communicated with Jabar at the mosque and not through social media, Fairfax has been told.Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn did not rule out further arrests and said it was an “unfortunate reality” that undetected lone wolves will continue to launch attacks on home soil.

Australian Federal Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan said authorities were in “an unprecedented time of operational tempo”.”The threat level remains high and that means a terrorist attack is likely. That’s not going to change in the foreseeable future,” he said.Mr Gaughan also revealed that Jabar’s sister, Shadi, left Australia without warning last week.

He said Turkish police had been notified and they were attempting to find her.

source:smh.com.au