August 2013 - Armoured & Luxury

Rwanda condemns ‘bombing’ DR Congo

August 30, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Rwanda has accused government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo of deliberately shelling its territory, killing a woman and wounding her baby.

Ten bombs fell on Rwandan territory on Thursday and the “provocation can no longer be tolerated”, said Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo.

A Congolese army spokesman denied the allegations.

UN and Congolese forces have been pounding M23 rebels on the Congolese side of the border since last week.

DR Congo and the UN accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, a charge it denies.

BBC Great Lakes service editor Ally Yusuf Mugenzi says that even when Rwanda twice invaded Congolese territory during the 1990s, it never made such strong accusations against the Congolese army.

Muslim Brotherhood Leader Mohammed Badie arrested

August 22, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The most senior leader in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, has been arrested in Cairo.

Mr Badie, who was wanted over alleged incitement to violence and murder, has been temporarily replaced as “general guide” by his deputy, Mahmoud Ezzat.

In another development, Egypt’s ex-vice president Mohamed ElBaradei is to face trial on charges of breaching national trust after resigning last week.

Almost 900 people have been killed in the country since Wednesday.

Among them are 36 Islamist protesters who died in a prison van in Cairo on Sunday.

Fake Bomb Detector maker Jailed for 7 Years

August 22, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A businessman who sold fake bomb detectors around the world has been jailed for seven years.

The devices made by Gary Bolton, 47, were simply boxes with handles and antennae, the Old Bailey heard.

The prosecution said he sold them for up to £10,000 each, claiming they could detect explosives. The trial heard the firm had a £3m annual turnover selling the homemade devices.

Bolton, of Redshank Road, Chatham, Kent, had denied two charges of fraud.

As he passed sentence, Judge Richard Hone QC described the equipment as “useless” and “dross” and said Bolton had damaged the reputation of British trade abroad.

Musharraf arrested over assassination of Benazir Bhutto

August 22, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Pakistani ex-President Pervez Musharraf has been charged in connection with the 2007 assassination of opposition leader and former PM Benazir Bhutto.

The former military ruler has denied charges of murder, criminal conspiracy to murder and facilitation of murder.

It is the first time a current or ex-army chief has been charged with a crime in Pakistan. Mr Musharraf says the charges are politically motivated.

Ms Bhutto was killed at an election rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007.

This indictment had long been expected but was delayed because of threats to the former military ruler from the Pakistani Taliban. When he finally made an appearance in the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi it was amid tight security.

Radioactive leak discovered at Fukushima

August 22, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Radioactive water has leaked from a storage tank into the ground at Japan’s Fukushima plant, its operator says.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said the leak of at least 300 tonnes of the highly radioactive water was discovered on Monday.

The plant, crippled by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, has seen a series of water leaks and power failures.

The tsunami knocked out cooling systems to the reactors, three of which melted down.

An employee discovered the leak on Monday morning, Tepco said in a statement.

Officials described the leak as a level-one incident – the lowest level – on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (Ines), which measures nuclear events.