September 2013 - Armoured & Luxury

Obama urges diplomatic push on Iran nuclear programme

September 26, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

President Obama: ”We should be able to achieve a resolution” over Iran’s nuclear programme

US President Barack Obama has said recent moves by Iran should offer the basis for a “meaningful agreement” on its nuclear programme.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting, Mr Obama said words now had to be matched by actions.

The US leader recently exchanged letters with his newly-elected counterpart over the nuclear issue.

Later, President Hassan Rouhani insisted Iran posed “absolutely no threat to the world or region”.

Deathly Blast hits Syrian capital Damascus

September 26, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Activists said at least seven people were killed in the blast

Several people have been killed and wounded in an explosion in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Syrian state TV reports.

The state new agency Sana said a “terrorist bombing” attack had taken place in the Tadamon district in the south of the capital.

Tadamon has been a battleground between rebel forces and the army for months.

Later on Tuesday, the UN General Assembly is due to meet, with much of its focus on the Syria crisis.

Kenya Foreign Minister says one militant is a woman

September 26, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Kenya Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed told the US PBS network that one of the militants was a British woman

A British woman is thought to be among militants who killed at least 67 people at a Kenyan shopping centre, the country’s foreign minister has said.

Amina Mohamed said the woman had “done this many times before” and “two or three” Americans were also attackers.

Earlier, Kenya’s interior minister said all of the militants were men although some may have been dressed as women.

Six British nationals are confirmed dead in the attack on the Westgate centre in Nairobi.

Kenyan forces secure the Westgate Shopping Centre

September 26, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Kenyan forces are securing the Nairobi shopping centre attacked by suspected al-Shabab militants, as the stand-off enters its fourth day.

A senior police source said early on Tuesday the operation was “over”, however journalists at the scene have reported sporadic gunfire at the mall.

There has been no official confirmation the siege is over. Kenya’s president is expected to make a statement shortly.

At least 65 people have been killed, including three soldiers.

The Kenyan Red Cross says 51 people are still missing, and the BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse says mortuaries in the capital are expecting to receive more bodies.

Hundreds die in Pakistan Earthquake

September 26, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The BBC’s Shahzeb Jillani: “The scale of the disaster is beginning to unfold”

A powerful earthquake has killed at least 328 people and wounded hundreds more in Pakistan’s remote south-west province of Balochistan.

The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on Tuesday afternoon at a depth of 20km (13 miles) north-east of Awaran, the US Geological Survey said.

Many houses were flattened and thousands of people have spent the night in the open.

After the quake, an island appeared off the coast near the port of Gwadar.