Putin: Russia to reopen Soviet-era Arctic military base

Russia is reopening a Soviet-era military base in the Arctic, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, part of a drive to make the northern coast a global shipping route and secure the region's vast energy resources.

source reuters.com

Sudan president seeks U.S. visa for U.N. visit

The United States condemned on Monday the president of Sudan's application for a U.S. visa to attend a U.N. meeting next week, saying he should face charges of war crimes and genocide at the International Criminal Court.

source reuters.com

Six Chinese officials stand trial for torture in landmark case

Six Communist Party officials will stand trial in China on Tuesday on charges of torturing a man to death during an internal investigation in a case that has exposed the secret workings of the party's judicial system.

source reuters.com

Washington Navy Yard shooting news

The Washington Navy Yard, where an armed gunman killed 12 people Monday after reportedly gaining entry with an ID badge, has a history of faulty surveillance. Sources told McClatchy newspapers that Building 197 in particular has poor entrance controls, areas cameras are unable to view, insufficient lighting, a faulty alarm system, and other problems.

James Atkinson, a former military intelligence officer who is now the chief of Granite Island Group, a Massachusetts surveillance firm, said his company found a number of issues during a recent inspection.

Granite Island Group held a “controlled penetration” test that revealed a sensor was not working, in part because screws from a hardware store were in place were more expensive screws were necessary.

“We found not only that people opened it up, but there were traces that somebody had placed a device inside that was recording data, so somebody could hoax the unit and claim to be a person they were not,” Atkinson told McClatchy. 

Dodging snipers in Darayya

Snipers are the biggest threat in the rebel-controlled areas, where places to hide are plentiful and underground tunnels and holes in the walls are used for covert movement. Measures as simple as curtains hiding soldiers from sniper sight are occasionally enough to protect them. But often they rely on speed and luck to cross dangerous spots.

Despite the dangers and the two-and-a-half years that the conflict has raged, morale seems high in the army, Finoshina reports.

“I'm honored to defend my country, defend the Syrian people,” Abdel Ghafour Salloum, one of the soldiers, said. “Even if USA attack us with it aircrafts and tanks and everything, we will make our land their cemetery.”

source reuters.com

Deadly Mexico storms kill 42, floods strand thousands

Two powerful storms pummeled Mexico as they converged from the Pacific and the Gulf on Monday, killing at least 42 people and stranding some 40,000 tourists in the Pacific resort of Acapulco amid some of the worst flooding in decades.

source reuters.com

U.S. and Cuba talk about resuming direct mail service

The United States and Cuba concluded on Monday their second round of talks aimed at re-establishing direct mail service between the two countries after a 50-year ban, but left for later the most sensitive issue - Cuban planes landing on U.S. soil.

source reuters.com