Job Cuts Enrage Air France Workers

October 6, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Two Air France managers have had their shirts torn as they were forced to flee a meeting on job cuts by angry workers.

Human resources manager Xavier Broseta and senior official Pierre Plissonnier had to clamber over a fence, while several others were injured. The men were taking part in talks about plans for 2,900 job losses when hundreds of workers stormed into Air France headquarters at Roissy. Pilots had earlier rejected an offer to work longer hours.

Parent firm Air France-KLM said it would take legal action over the protesters' "aggregated violence".

Floods In French Riviera Kill At least 19

October 6, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

At least 19 people, including one Briton, have been found dead following flash floods on the French Riviera.

The death toll rose after two bodies were discovered on Monday. One person remains missing but another was found alive, according to reports. Violent storms and heavy rain on Saturday evening sent torrents of water and mud through several towns. As well as the Briton, an Italian woman and a Portuguese man were also among those killed, AFP news agency said.

Ukraine Crisis Latest: Tanks Withdrawn On Both Sides

October 6, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The opposing sides in eastern Ukraine - government troops and pro-Russian separatists - are both withdrawing tanks and other weapons from the front line, Ukraine's military command says. The pullback is part of the ceasefire accord signed in Minsk in February. A spokesman for international monitors in the area, Michael Bociurkiw of the OSCE, said there was "encouraging" movement of heavy weapons, but storage sites would still have to be verified.

Judge In Mexico Declares Insufficient Evidence In Army killings

October 6, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A Mexican judge has ruled there is insufficient evidence to try four of seven soldiers charged with killing 22 suspects after they surrendered.

But the officer and three soldiers will still face lesser charges.

The army had said the suspects were members of a drug gang and died in a gun battle near the village of San Pedro Limon in Mexico state in 2014.

Lost Cargo Ship Sinks In Bahamian Waters

October 6, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The lost cargo ship El Faro sank in Bahamian waters after sailing into the path of Hurricane Joaquin, according to the US Coast Guard.

The 224m (735ft) vessel and its crew of 33 have been missing since issuing a distress call on Thursday. The coast guard says an "unidentifiable body" has been found but a search remains underway.

On Sunday, search planes found debris including life jackets, containers and oil in the water. It was this find that led rescuers to the conclusion that the ship had sunk.

Car Bomb Attacks In Iraq Leave At Least 60 Dead

October 6, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

At least 63 people have been killed in a series of car bomb attacks in Iraq, police and medical sources say.

One of the largest bombs was in the Shia-majority town of Khalis in the eastern province of Diyala, where at least 40 people were killed.

Another attack in the town of al-Zubair, about 15km (9 miles) south-west of the oil town of Basra, is reported to have killed at least 10 people.

A third bomb in Baghdad killed at least 13 people, police said. At least 25 others were wounded in the blast in the capital's north-eastern neighbourhood of Husseiniya, according to Associated Press.

Islamic State Continue To Destroy Ancient City Of Palmyra

October 6, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Islamic State militants in northern Syria have blown up another monument in the ancient city of Palmyra, officials and local sources say.

The Arch of Triumph was "pulverised" by the militants who control the city, a Palmyra activist told AFP news agency. It is thought to have been built about 2,000 years ago.

IS fighters have already destroyed two ancient temples at the site, described by Unesco as one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.

"The Arch of Triumph was pulverised. IS has destroyed it," Mohammad Hassan al-Homsi, an activist from Palmyra told AFP on Monday.

Whistleblower Edward Snowden Claims Smartphones Can Be 'Taken Over'

October 6, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Smartphone users can do "very little" to stop security services getting "total control" over their devices, US whistleblower Edward Snowden has said.

The former intelligence contractor told the BBC's Panorama that UK intelligence agency GCHQ had the power to hack into phones without their owners' knowledge.

Mr Snowden said GCHQ could gain access to a handset by sending it an encrypted text message and use it for such things as taking pictures and listening in. The UK government declined to comment.

Nosey Smurf

New Gun Laws Unveiled By Hillary Clinton In Wake Of Shootings

October 6, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has unveiled new gun control laws in the wake of the deadly Oregon school shooting.

She proposes abolishing legislation that protects gun makers and dealers from being sued by shooting victims.

Mrs Clinton also vowed to use executive powers as president to expand background checks at gun shows and ban domestic abusers from purchasing guns. The issue of gun control is a hugely divisive issue in the US.

Home Minister Shuja Khanzada Dies In Suicide Attack

August 17, 2015 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Punjab's Home Minister Shuja Khanzada has been killed in a suicide attack in the Pakistani province, police say.

Twelve other people died in the attack at Mr Khanzada's office in District Attock, about 80km (50 miles) north-west of the capital, Islamabad.

Mr Khanzada was seen as the man in charge of the anti-terror campaign in Pakistan's biggest province.

A Sunni militant group with ties to al-Qaeda has said it ordered the attack.