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terça-feira, 4 de maio de 2010

Iran to hold new maneuvers in Persian Gulf


TEHRAN, Iran — In the second military show in less than a month, Iran will hold a new set of maneuvers in the strategic waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.

Iran regularly holds such military exercises but they are likely to heighten tensions, coming at a time of a deepening standoff between the West and Tehran over the country's controversial nuclear program.

"The massive maneuvers dubbed Velayat-89 will show (Iran's) defensive and deterrent naval power," said Iranian Navy chief Adm. Habibollah Sayyari. Submarine and air force units are also due to participate, he added.

The new war games are to start Wednesday, said the official IRNA news agency. The semiofficial Fars news agency said the exercise will last for eight days and cover a span of about 97,000 square miles (250,000 square kilometers) of Iranian territorial waters.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard held five-day maneuvers in late April in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway for around 40 percent of the world's oil and gas supplies.

The exercises are intended to show off the country's military might and act as a warning, should U.S. or Israel consider a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. The West suspects Iran's nuclear programs is aimed at building an atomic bomb. Iran denies the charge, saying it's for peaceful purposes, such as power generation.



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Suspect is arrested in shooting death of Detroit officer, wounding of four



Richard  Schwab grieved at the Detroit building where a fellow officer, Brian  Huff, 42, was fatally shot yesterday. Richard Schwab grieved at the Detroit building where a fellow officer, Brian Huff, 42, was fatally shot yesterday. (David Coates/ The Detroit News via Associated Press)
Associated Press / May 4, 2010


DETROIT — A 25-year-old suspect in a shooting that killed a Detroit police officer and wounded four others yesterday has a past drug conviction and a history of assaults involving police, authorities said.




Police said Officer Brian Huff, 42, was killed when he and four other officers responded to a report of gunshots at a vacant duplex where a neighbor said drugs were sold.

It was the first time in five years that a Detroit police officer was killed in the line of duty, Police Chief Warren Evans said. Two of the four wounded officers were treated and released, the two still hospitalized were expected to recover, and another officer suffered a sprained ankle, Evans said.

The suspect, whose name was not released pending formal charges, was arrested after fleeing the house, police said. He was shot once in the lower back and was being treated at a hospital, police said.

Evans said the suspect had past convictions for fleeing police and attempting to disarm a police officer. The man was sentenced to three years of probation in December 2007 for attempting to disarm a police officer and cocaine possession. He did not show up in April 2008 for a probation appointment and a warrant for his arrest was issued. Evans said the man was last arrested in November on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, but was released on bond.

Evans said officers went to the two-story building about 3:30 a.m. after a next-door neighbor reported hearing shots.

The officers who responded to the call yesterday positioned themselves at the front and rear entrances of the building, Evans said. He said officers at the front of the house were met with heavy gunfire. Huff was shot inside the home and was struck two or three times, Evans said.

“It’s a tough time for all of us,’’ said Evans. “We’re all kind of in a state of shock.’’

Huff, on the job for 12 years, had a 10-year-old son.

Evans and Mayor Dave Bing visited the slain officer’s widow at St. John’s Hospital in Detroit.



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A Pakistani man accused of driving a bomb-laden ...

NEW YORK — A Pakistani man accused of driving a bomb-laden SUV into Times Square and parking it on a street lined with restaurants and bustling Broadway theaters was to appear in federal court Tuesday to face formal charges for his failed attempt to set off a massive fireball and kill Americans, U.S. authorities said. The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was taken into custody late Monday by FBI agents and New York Police Department detectives while trying to leave the country, according to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and other officials. He was identified by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was stopped before boarding a flight to Dubai, Holder said early Tuesday in Washington, D.C

A New York City police officer stands watch on Times Square in New York, Monday, May 3, 2010, as pedestrians pass by. Activity appeared normal in the wake of a car bomb incident over the weekend. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

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AP Top News : NEW YORK — A Pakistani man believed to be the driver ...

AP Top News at 4:13 a.m. EDT
NEW YORK — A Pakistani man believed to be the driver of an SUV used as a car bomb in a failed terror attack on Times Square was taken into custody late Monday by FBI agents and local police detectives while trying to leave the country, U.S. officials said. The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was identified by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport at about 11:45 p.m. Monday and was stopped before boarding an Emirates airlines flight to Dubai, according to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and other officials. Shahzad is a naturalized U.S. citizen and had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife, according to officials who spoke to The Associated Press early Tuesday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.

In this combination of images taken from video released by the New York City Police Department on Sunday, May 2, 2010, a chronological sequence of frames from top left to bottom right show a man, center right, removing a dark shirt in an alleyway in New York around the time that a car began to smoke in Times Square, leading to the discovery of car bomb Saturday night. Investigators Monday were looking to speak with the man videotaped shedding his shirt near the sport utility vehicle where the bomb was found. The surveillance video shows an unidentified white man apparently in his 40s slipping down Shubert Alley and taking off his shirt, revealing another underneath. In the same clip, he's seen looking back in the direction of the smoking vehicle and furtively putting the first shirt in a bag. (AP Photo/New York City Police Department)

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In this combination of images taken from video released by the New York City Police Department on Sunday, May 2, 2010, a chronological sequence of frames from top left to bottom right show a man, center right, removing a dark shirt in an alleyway in New York around the time that a car began to smoke in Times Square, leading to the discovery of car bomb Saturday night. Investigators Monday were looking to speak with the man videotaped shedding his shirt near the sport utility vehicle where the bomb was found. The surveillance video shows an unidentified white man apparently in his 40s slipping down Shubert Alley and taking off his shirt, revealing another underneath. In the same clip, he's seen looking back in the direction of the smoking vehicle and furtively putting the first shirt in a bag. (AP Photo/New York City Police Department)

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Sources: Man Tied to Pakistan Sought in NYC Bomb



Colleen Long and Tom Hays

AP
NEW YORK (May 3) -- The search to find out who planted a car bomb that fizzled out in crowded Times Square took an international turn Monday as investigators said they were seeking a potential suspect who had recently traveled to Pakistan and had used cash to buy the SUV from a Connecticut man.

Two law enforcement officials say that authorities have identified the buyer of the SUV used in the botched bombing. One of the officials tells The Associated Press that the potential suspect is a man of Pakistani descent who recently traveled to Pakistan.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is at a sensitive stage.
This still photo from a surveillance camera shows the Nissan  Pathfinder used in the attempted attack on Times Square passing through  Times Square early on May 1.
Henny Ray Abrams, AP
Officials have identified the man who bought the Nissan Pathfinder used in this weekend's Times Square bomb attempt as a Connecticut resident of Pakistani descent, who recently traveled to Pakistan.

The registered owner of an SUV that was parked in Times Square and rigged with a crude propane-and-gasoline bomb told investigators he sold the vehicle to a stranger for cash three weeks ago, a law enforcement official said Monday.

The owner, who lives in Connecticut, was questioned Sunday about his sale of the dark-colored 1993 Nissan Pathfinder to a man he did not know, the official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Officials say the owner, whose name has not been released, is not considered a suspect in the bomb scare. But the revelation of the sale leads authorities one step closer to whomever was aiming for mass carnage on a busy Saturday night in the heart of Times Square and achieved only streets emptied for hours of thousands of tourists.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne confirmed Monday that investigators had spoken to the registered owner.

The vehicle identification number had been removed from Pathfinder's dashboard, but it was stamped on the engine and axle, and investigators used it to find the owner of record.

"The discovery of the VIN on the engine block was pivotal in that it led to the identifying the registered owner," Browne said. "It continues to pay dividends."

Two law enforcement officials familiar with the probe said investigators considered the vehicle's history one of the best chances for cracking the case. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the probe is at a sensitive stage.

Investigators tracked the license plates to a used auto parts shop in Stratford, Conn., where they discovered the plates were connected to a different vehicle.

They also spoke to the owner of an auto sales shop in nearby Bridgeport because a sticker on the Pathfinder indicated the SUV had been sold by his dealership. Owner Tom Manis said there was no match between the identification number the officers showed him and any vehicle he sold.

In New York, police and FBI were examining hundreds of hours of video from around the area and wanted to speak with a man in his 40s who was videotaped shedding his shirt near the Pathfinder.

The video shows the man slipping down Shubert Alley and taking off his shirt, revealing another underneath. In the same clip, looks back in the direction of the smoking vehicle and puts the first shirt in a bag.

They traveled to Pennsylvania for video shot by a tourist of a different person, but determined they would not release it to the public. They have also received around 120 tips, and three of which were considered promising. They also collected forensic evidence from the Pathfinder.

In Washington, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Saturday's attempted bombing was a terrorist act.

Attorney General Eric Holder, who earlier in the day refused to classify the incident as terrorism, said the bomber intended to spread fear across New York and said investigators had some good leads in addition to the videotape that was released Sunday.

Investigators had not ruled out a range of possible motives, and federal officials said they hadn't narrowed down whether the bomber was homegrown or foreign.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told NBC's "Today" show that no suspects or theories had been ruled out.

"Right now, every lead has to be pursued," she said.

Barry Mawn, who led New York's FBI office at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and has since retired, said suspects could range from those sympathetic to the interest of U.S. enemies to a domestic terrorist to a disgruntled employee who worked in Times Square.

The Pakistani Taliban appeared to claim responsibility for the bomb in three videos that surfaced after the weekend scare, monitoring groups said. New York officials said police have no evidence to support the claims.

The SUV was parked near offices of Viacom Inc., which owns Comedy Central. The network recently aired an episode of the animated show "South Park" that the group Revolution Muslim had complained insulted the Prophet Muhammad by depicting him in a bear costume.

The date of the botched bombing - May 1 - was International Workers Day, a traditional date for political demonstrations, and thousands had rallied for immigration reform that day in New York.

Security had been also been tight in the city in advance of a visit to the United Nations by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a nuclear weapons conference.

Police said the bomb could have produced "a significant fireball" and sprayed shrapnel with enough force to kill pedestrians and knock out windows. The SUV was parked on a street lined with Broadway theaters and restaurants and full of people out on a Saturday night.

The SUV was captured on video crossing an intersection at 6:28 p.m. Saturday. A vendor pointed out the Pathfinder to an officer about two minutes later. Times Square, clogged with tourists on a warm evening, was shut down for 10 hours.

The explosive device had cheap-looking alarm clocks connected to a 16-ounce can filled with fireworks, which were apparently intended to detonate the gas cans and set the propane afire in a chain reaction, said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

A metal rifle cabinet placed in the cargo area was packed with fertilizer, but NYPD bomb experts believe it was not a type volatile enough to explode like the ammonium nitrate grade fertilizer used in previous terrorist bombings.

The exact amount of fertilizer was unknown. Police estimated the cabinet weighed 200 to 250 pounds when they pulled it from the vehicle.

To experts in explosives, it seemed to be the work of someone who really didn't know what they were doing.

Chris Falkenberg, president of Insite Security, which works with Fortune 500 companies, said the device, as described by authorities, "doesn't differ much at all from 'The Anarchist Cookbook'" - the underground 1971 manual for homemade explosives.

He said revelations that the fertilizer used could not have exploded suggested "this is amateur hour. My kids could build a better bomb than this."

President Barack Obama telephoned handbag vendor Duane Jackson, 58, of Buchanan, N.Y., on Monday to commend him for alerting authorities to the smoking SUV. The White House said Obama thanked Jackson for his vigilance and for acting quickly to prevent serious trouble.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister, Deepti Hajela, Ula Ilnytzky and Jim Fitzgerald in New York; Darlene Superville and Pete Yost in Washington; and John Christoffersen in New Haven, Conn.


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