Souq Waqif to get huge underground parking

Follow us on: Download Booking Form Download Post Show Report Download Brochure Subscribe to the Newsletter Save the date in OutlookSupported By Platinum Sponsor Supporting Association Qatar's Diar unit to build underground car park Qatar's Diar unit to build underground car park Qatari Diar Vinci Construction (QDVC) has been awarded the contract to design and build an underground car park and landscaped gardens fronting the Sheraton Doha hotel in the financial and diplomatic district of West Bay. The contract, worth QR1.22bn covers the design and construction of a car park with around 2,000 spaces for the hotel’s guests and the general public. The car park will be fitted with an electronic system to guide drivers to vacant spaces • a first in Qatar. The work will last 34 months and will include construction of a maintenance depot and command centre for the future Doha light rail system, as well as three electricity substations, and landscaping of an area measuring 73,000 square metres, including fountains, basins, play areas and restaurants. Also included will be the construction of a cut-and-cover tunnel between the car park and the Doha convention centre, which is under construction. Qatari Diar holds a 51 percent stake in QDVC, a Qatari shareholding company, with Vinci Construction Grands Projets of France holding 49 percent. The company is working on other major projects in Qatar such as car parks, the Light Rail Transit System in Lusail and the Qatar Bahrain Causeway. ============== DOHA: A massive and multi-layer underground parking facility is planned near Souq Waqif to enable visitors get easier access to the country’s tourist hotspot. The management of Souq Waqif is literally inundated with public complaints about lack of parking space in the area, particularly in the evenings. Plans are also afoot to expand the existing roads around the Souq to make sure the traffic flow is smooth when visitors pour into the hotspot. Large parking slots that already exist in areas around the Souq might also be re-organised so visitors are not hassled on days when exceptional crowds converge. The multi-storey underground parking facility planned at stone’s throw from Souq Waqif would be able to accommodate as many as 2,000 cars at a time. The facility is to be built beneath the expansive ground overlooking the picturesque necklace along the Gulf waters on the Corniche. This is where the headquarters of Capital Police once stood. There already is one underground parking facility across Souq Waqif (near Emiri Diwan), which can accommodate 750 cars at a time. There is a subway that links the facility to the Souq. The new underground parking facility will have several subways leading to the Souq. A large green area will be developed above this facility, at the ground level with the Souq. This would be a public park and plans are afoot to have a big open-air theatre amidst lush greenery. The Director of Souq Waqif, Mohamed Al Salem, said yesterday, while outlining the plans, that once the new underground parking facility is in place and the roads are expanded, visitors would have an easy access to the Souq even during rush hours. “Visitors would have enough parking space, so there wouldn’t be a problem.” Besides, there are already two parking slots — one towards Musherib, and the other opposite the Fanar Mosque. They can together accommodate nearly 740 cars at a time, he said. Souq Waqif is attracting a lot of visitors that is prompting the management to think in terms of ensuring easier access and solving car parking woes. The Souq Najada car parking facility can also be used by Souq visitors. This facility can accommodate 600 cars, said the director. He told Al Sharq in an interview that plans are also afoot to have five more hotels within the Souq premises. “We already have four hotels and we will soon add five more.” The Peninsula ==================== Kahramaa Awareness Park Facility Name KAHRAMAA, Kahramaa Awareness Park Status Execution Type of Contract Build Classification Offices, Commercial Construction Sector Construction Commissioning Date Mar 2014 Revised Budget Value $75 million Original Budget Value $75 million Contract Value $75 million Facility Owner Qatar General Electricity Water Corporation (Kahramaa) Background In order to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030, which has sustainable development of the environment as one of its four main objectives of Kahramaas commitment,Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) is planning to develop an innovative park which has been designed as a model centre for disseminating information on ways to conserve water and electricity. The park will also demonstrate the processes of electricity generation and water desalination from the sea and serve as an innovative source of entertainment and knowledge, especially for children.The park will offers infrastructure services for development and it has developed effective measures to minimise obstruction of daylight providing landscape that encourages greenery and fights desertification. The park will use solar energy to heat water and a system to treat grey water and it also uses materials that facilitates future reuse or recycling.The park will use materials that eliminates excessive energy consumption, controls indoor pollutant sources and provides sufficient noise insulation. Scope -Building (12343 sqm)-Landscape (7000 sqm)-Car park (3000 sqm)-Asssociated facilities Main EPC Contractors Sinohydro Main Contract Bidder Habtoor Leighton Group-HBK Contracting Company WLL Consultant James Cubitt Partners Owner Qatar General Electricity Water Corporation (Kahramaa) Main Contractor Sinohydro ==============

Gunmen storm Nairobi Mall, at least 25 killed

Sat, Sep 21 13:05 PM EDT 1 of 14 By Edmund Blair and Goran Tomasevic NAIROBI (Reuters) - Militant gunmen stormed a shopping mall in Nairobi on Saturday killing at least 25 people, including children, and sending scores fleeing in panic from shops and restaurants onto the streets, according to witnesses and the Red Cross. Shooting continued hours after the initial assault as troops surrounded the Westgate mall and police and soldiers combed the building, hunting down the attackers shop by shop. A police officer inside the building said the gunmen were barricaded inside the Nakumatt supermarket, one of Kenya's biggest chains. "We got three bodies from this shop," he said, standing a dozen meters from the supermarket entrance and pointing to a children's shoe shop where blood lay in pools. He turned to a nearby hamburger bar where piped music still played and food lay abandoned in a similar bloody scene. "And a couple of bodies here." The Westgate mall attack was the single biggest since al Qaeda's east Africa cell bombed the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, in 1998 killing more than two hundred people. In 2002, the same militant cell attacked an Israeli-owned hotel and tried to shoot down an Israeli jet in a coordinated attack. Tiles were smeared with blood, bullet casings were strewn on the floor and shop windows were shattered. A policeman dragged the corpse of a young girl across the floor and lay her on a stretcher. Two plainclothes policemen lay on the floor with guns trained on the Nakumatt supermarket entrance. Some local television stations reported hostages had been taken, but there was no official confirmation. The Somali militant group al Shabaab, which Kenya blames for shootings, bombings and grenade attacks against churches and the security forces, had threatened before to strike Westgate, a mall popular with the city's expatriates. The chain of attacks came in answer to a cross-border action by Kenyan forces against al Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia two years ago. Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said it was too early to draw conclusions. "We don't have any proof that the people who did this are Somali," he told Reuters in Washington. Though apparently a militant operation rather than a criminal act, it was not clear whether the attackers were religious militants. One woman leaving the building told a journalist that one of the attackers had told all muslims to leave the area; but there has been no claim of responsibility. Police helicopters circled above shortly after the initial assault as armed police shouted "get out! get out!" and scores of shoppers fled the sand-colored stone building. Smoke poured from one entrance and witnesses said they heard grenade blasts. Others said they saw about five assailants storm the mall. The mall includes a number of Israeli-owned businesses, though it was not immediately clear if these were the target of the attack. At least four Israeli nationals escaped the assault, one with light wounds. "As of now this appears to be an internal Kenyan incident, that is, a terrorist attack but not one that specifically targeted Israelis," a spokeswoman at Israel's Foreign Ministry said. Kenya's Ministry of Interior said: "It is a possibility that it is an attack by terrorists, so we are treating the matter very seriously.". "CARNAGE" One eyewitness who identified himself as Taha said he heard the screech of brakes followed moments later by an explosion and then sustained gun fire from the ground floor. Another survivor said he was shot by a man who looked Somali. Some shoppers ran up stairs and escalators and hid around the mall's cinema complex. Police found another terrified group hiding in a toilet on the first floor. Some wounded were wheeled out on stretchers and shopping trolleys. Many of the victims had multiple light wounds, apparently from flying debris. Other walked out, some with bloodied clothing wrapped around wounds. Dozens of wounded were ferried away by ambulance. "I have counted twenty five dead, and that is just from the mall alone," said Kenyan Red Cross Secretary General Abbas Guled. "The attackers are still inside the Nakumatt supermarket and we have not entered there, so we expect more wounded and dead. Then we have those wounded taken to the hospitals, the death toll could be high." Al Shabaab have previously threatened to launch strikes on Nairobi's tower blocks and soft targets including nightclubs and hotels known to be popular with Westerners in the capital. But they have so far failed to carry out such an attack. "I personally touched the eyes of four people and they were dead. One of them was a child," said one former British soldier at the scene. "It's carnage up there." Asked if the attack was a robbery, one paramilitary officer said: "No, terrorist". There has, though, been no official statement from the police regarding the attackers' motive. Police cordoned off the roads surrounding the mall in central Nairobi's Westlands neighborhood. Satpal Singh, who was in another cafe on the mall's top floor said he ran downstairs when he heard the gunfire and was shot at near the mall's main exit. "A Somali guy shot at me. The guy who shot me was carrying a rifle, an AK-47," 36-year-old Singh said. (Additional reporting by James Macharia and Njuwa Maina, by Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

Insight: U.S. and allies target Hezbollah financing, ties in Africa

Top News Fri, Sep 20 02:23 AM EDT By David Lewis DAKAR (Reuters) - The United States and its allies are clamping down on suspected Hezbollah activity in West Africa, which Washington says is a major source of cash for the Lebanese group as its patron Iran feels the pinch of sanctions. The push coincides with Hezbollah's deepening role in Syria, where it has dispatched thousands of fighters to back President Bashar al-Assad. It also comes in the wake of attacks outside Lebanon linked to Hezbollah that Western experts say are part of global campaign that could soon include Africa. Critics, however, argue that Washington and its allies may be exaggerating the threat and failing to distinguish between different forms of support for various elements of the Shi'ite Islamist guerrilla and political movement, which was founded with Iran's help after Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982. U.S. officials say that while most Lebanese in West Africa have few links to the group, Washington's financial sanctions have reduced an annual flow of millions of dollars which Hezbollah receives from people and businesses in the region. Iran remains the main sponsor and armourer of a group which fought Israel with missiles in a month-long war in 2006. But Western sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear plans add significance to Hezbollah's other income, U.S. officials say. "(West Africa) is more important in the sense that what they're getting from Iran is squeezed. Iran's capacity to fund Hezbollah has been impaired," said David Cohen, U.S. treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "There's reason to think Hezbollah is not just collecting money but it is also using these outposts as places where they can plan and conduct activities," he added. Nigeria, with support from Israel, says it has uncovered a Hezbollah cell and arms cache and arrested has locals it accuses of spying for Iran. A resource-rich but poorly policed part of the world, which already sees al Qaeda-linked activity, could see future Hezbollah attacks, some Western experts say. While there are disputes over the scale of the support Hezbollah receives from West Africa, there is little doubt over how important Lebanese businesses are to the region. With interests ranging from mobile phones, import-export and heavy industry to street stalls and fast-food joints, Lebanese-owned businesses are present at every level of the economy. But Western security officials and Lebanese businessmen say common use of cash and informal transfers by such enterprises makes it hard to detect whether any engage in money laundering. Businesses move money across borders through friends and family rather than banks. Some may even send cash by the suitcase load. Individuals targeted in the most recent wave of U.S. sanctions have denied the accusations and complain Washington is penalising charity and family ties with Shi'ite areas of Lebanon where Hezbollah plays a major social and political role. Rudy Atallah, a former Africa Counterterrorism Director in the U.S. Defense Department said the United States viewed Hezbollah as "the linchpin in all sort of activities - money laundering, drug trafficking and weapons". "They feel if they can clamp down on them in West Africa it would have some sort of impact on them back home," added Atallah, who now is now a private security consultant. Representatives of Hezbollah in Beirut did not respond to requests for comment. The group gives no detail on its financial arrangements. It has elected members in parliament but its leadership, facing a permanent threat of Israeli attack, generally stays undercover and limits public comment. MONEY TRAIL West Africa has for a century or more been home to Lebanese communities built around trade. Many also retain close ties to Lebanon and especially to the Shi'ite heartlands of the south. Senegal alone has some 30,000 Lebanese. Their businesses account for 70 percent of domestic industry, according Abdul Monem El Zein, the senior figure in the Shi'ite community, which he says make up around 90 percent of all Lebanese in Senegal. Washington fears that some funds generated in these weak and often unregulated economies are channelled back to Hezbollah. Magnus Ranstorp, a Hezbollah expert at the Swedish National Defence College, said West Africa's lack of regulations had offered the group a "free run", but Washington was catching up. "There is a greater activity in listing individuals and getting at the financial assets," he said of U.S. efforts to clamp down on those it saw as organising funding for Hezbollah. U.S. investigations led to a 2011 criminal case in New York accusing Hezbollah of involvement in a money laundering network that funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars to Lebanon through a web of banks, used car businesses and drug traffickers in the United States, Latin America, West Africa and Lebanon. Cohen said the network was not run by Hezbollah but was a web that the group was able to tap into. He declined to say how much Hezbollah received but called it "not insubstantial". In June this year, the Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank agreed to pay $102 million to settle the case. Hezbollah members in Lebanon have said the movement does not promote activities contrary to Islamic teaching, like drugs and money laundering. Some observers say the movement may not run such crime gangs but may use its power within Lebanon to help enable some activities and it may accept payments from criminals. The U.S. Treasury accuses some African Lebanese of actively raising funds for Hezbollah. It imposed sanctions in June this year on four Lebanese citizens, living in Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, accusing them of being involved in operations to raise money and recruit members in the region. The main thrust of such sanctions is to deny their targets access to U.S. banks, effectively blacklisting them throughout much of the global financial system due to the central role the U.S. dollar plays in all international banking transactions. Money that is found can also be frozen or seized. While some effects can be mitigated - for example, by having transactions handled by associates - financial sanctions have hit income and trade for governments including Hezbollah allies Iran and Syria. Also in June, Gambia expelled Husayn Tajideen, one of three Lebanese brothers who control large stakes in the local economy and, through interests reaching as far as Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo, were accused in a previous U.S. investigation of being among Hezbollah's top financiers in Africa. Gambia accused Husayn, a major food importer, of profiteering. But Cohen said he believed the expulsion of Tajideen was linked to U.S. sanctions. The governments of Angola and Nigeria have also investigated the brothers, he added. The Tajideens could not be reached for comment. Cohen said pressure on the network had reduced their annual contributions to Hezbollah to below $10 million, down from tens of millions of dollars before. DENIALS The European Union put Hezbollah's "military wing" on its terrorism blacklist in July due to concerns over its involvement in Syria, where EU governments back rebels against Assad, and a bus bombing in Bulgaria last year that killed Israeli tourists. Other elements of the movement are not under EU sanctions. The United States and Israel make no such distinction between parts of Hezbollah, arguing that its welfare services and elected political role in the government of Lebanon are part and parcel of a project to destroy the Jewish state. Ranstorp in Stockholm said such divisions were artificial. "The terrorism unit is controlled entirely by the top," he said. "All these three dimensions are pistons in an engine." Individuals complain this means they are wrongly targeted. Ali Ibrahim al-Watfa, one of the four Lebanese in West Africa barred by Washington in June from access to U.S. dollars and the U.S. banking system, denied having any role for the group in Sierra Leone, where the United States accused him of being a permanent liaison and coordinator of cash transfers. "This is a big surprise to me," he told Reuters at his home on a busy market street in the capital, Freetown. Ibrahim, secretary general of the local Lebanese community organisation, suggested that he had been set up: "Maybe there is someone who doesn't like me, who put this on me?" In Senegal, El Zein, for 30 years the leading Shi'ite figure in the country, said the U.S. charges had no foundation: "I have never heard of there being a Hezbollah group here in Senegal," he said at his Islamic Social Institution, which runs a mosque, health clinics and a network of religious schools. A retired Israeli intelligence official who has access to current assessments also played down the importance of African cash to Hezbollah, calling diaspora contributions "negligible". The official estimated Iran accounted for 70-90 percent of an annual Hezbollah income of $800 million to $1 billion. The U.S. approach is questioned by academics like Augustus Richard Norton. He says that the reality is muddied by those raising cash for Hezbollah and many Lebanese sending money to communities at home using the same informal money networks. "If a person is found to have given one dollar to a designated terrorist, the entire sum is poisoned," Norton, a professor at Boston University who has written extensively on Hezbollah, said of the U.S. legal view of sanctioned funds. NEW FRONT? Along with dispatching fighters to the frontline in Syria, Hezbollah has been linked to plots to attack Israelis in Thailand and Cyprus as well as in the Bulgarian city of Burgas. Matthew Levitt, a former U.S. counter-terrorism official who has written a book on Hezbollah, says this is a sign that Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are embarking on a new wave of violence targeting the interests of Israel, the United States and other Western states. U.S. attacks on Syria, or on Iran's nuclear sites, could trigger further Hezbollah action abroad, Levitt believes. Other security experts question the extent of a threat in Africa, though Nigeria this year said it uncovered a Hezbollah cell in the northern city of Kano and charged two Nigerians with helping Iranians plan attacks on Israeli targets. Western governments fear their enemies have found a haven and security sources say Israel is countering efforts by Hezbollah to build contacts with impoverished West African governments by offering its own security training and equipment. "It is very easy to operate in Africa. Money can buy anything," said a diplomat in the region, adding that the Kano seizure indicated that Hezbollah was in a position to carry out attacks in Nigeria. "They will wait for the right moment." Few Lebanese discuss openly with outsiders any support for Hezbollah. A quick glance at Facebook profiles of some living in the region reveals many images of its yellow, Kalashnikov-emblazoned flag and of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, its leader. But El Zein said Lebanese in Senegal see Hezbollah, as it portrays itself, as a humanitarian organisation and opponent of U.S. and Israeli policy; they do not consider that charitable giving to the movement is funding aggressive guerrilla warfare. "There may be ten, a hundred, even a thousand people in these communities who support orphanages in Lebanon - orphanages for children whose parents were killed by weapons the West gave Israel," El Zein said. "But to think that the community in Senegal can buy weapons and send money back to Hezbollah is crazy." (Additional reporting by Warren Strobel and Anna Yukhananov in Washington, Tim Cocks in Lagos, Tommy Trenchard in Freetown, Alastair Macdonald in London, Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Elise Knutsen in Dakar; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Alastair Macdonald) Email Article Next Article in Top News Home » Top News Search | Quotes | Videos | Currency | Slideshows | Top News | Oddly Enough | Business | Entertainment | Sports | Deals | Hot Stocks | Technology | Politics | More Categories

The mine project would use cyanide to extract 314 tonnes of gold and 1,500 tonnes of silver. The company says the technology is safe.

Romanian gold miners end underground protest after PM's visit Sun, Sep 15 16:29 PM EDT image 1 of 5 By Radu Marinas BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romanian gold miners who staged a five-day protest underground against plans to halt development of the site ended their sit-in on Sunday after the prime minister went into the pit to meet them. "I promised them a parliamentary commission to assess the proposed mine (before a vote in parliament)," said Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who wore a white miner's cap and green overalls and was surrounded by cheering miners. Thirty three workers had blockaded themselves into the Rosia Montana site 300 metres below ground and threatened to go on hunger strike over fears jobs would be lost if plans by Canada's Gabriel Resources' to set up Europe's biggest open-cast gold mine did not go ahead. Rosia Montana in the Carpathian Mountains in northern Romania is the site of Roman-era gold works where archaeological conservation works were being carried out. The government approved a draft law to allow the mine project to go ahead in August. But Ponta said last week lawmakers were set to reject the Canadian company's 14-year bid to develop the mine due to mounting resistance from the public and political leaders, who are worried about its impact on the environment. Thousands of people in cities across Romania have staged demonstrations in past weeks against the mine project, including 10,000 in the capital Bucharest on Sunday, where they blocked a main boulevard. Thousands also gathered in Rosia Montana on Sunday to support the mine development and protest against widespread poverty in the area, arguing the plan would create jobs. The mine project would use cyanide to extract 314 tonnes of gold and 1,500 tonnes of silver. The company says the technology is safe. "Save Rosia Montana," read banners in Bucharest in protests attended by mainly young, educated people. "Save Rosia Montana people," read posters in Rosia. Ponta's Infrastructure Ministry said on Thursday Romania would have a hard time defending itself in court if it rejects the plans by Gabriel Resources. Gabriel, whose largest shareholder, hedge fund Paulson & Co, has a 16 percent stake, said it may resort to legal action. Romania, which joined the European Union in 2007, resorted to IMF-led aid in 2009 after years of recession and is in dire need of investment, including in its mining, energy and farming sectors. A vote in parliament on the mine has yet to be scheduled but political sources said it could be called as early as next week after the special commission has its say. (Editing by Janet Lawrence)

In 962, Baghdadi Shia marked Ashura. In 999, Baghdadi Sunnis marked death of Zubyar, who killed Mukthar, who killed killers of Imam Hussain.

In 962, Baghdadi Shia marked Ashura. In 999, Baghdadi Sunnis marked death of Zubyar, who killed Mukthar, who killed killers of Imam Hussain. it's an example of sectarian tensions in 10th century Baghdad during the Buyid reign when Shia began marking Ashura in public. In memory of Zubair, probably due to his grave, the city is named Zubair which is so oil rich situated close to IRAQ-Kuwait border. Buyid dynasty Buyid Dynasty آل بویِه Āl-e Buye 934–1055[1] → → The Buyid dynasty in 970 Capital Shirāz Languages Persian (mother tongue)[2] Arabic Religion Shī‘ah Islam[3] Government Hereditary monarchy Emir/Shāhanshāh - 934-949 'Imad al-Daula - 1048-1055 Al-Malik al-Rahim Historical era Middle Ages - Established 934 - 'Imad al-Daula proclaimed himself "Emir" - 'Adud al-Daula proclaimed himself "Shāhanshāh" - Disestablished 1055[1] Today part of Iran Iraq Kuwait Oman Turkey UAE History of Iran History of Iran ANCIENT Proto-Elamite 3200–2700 BCE Elam 2700–539 BCE Mannaeans 850–616 BCE IMPERIAL Median Empire 678–550 BCE (Scythian Kingdom 652–625 BCE) Achaemenid Empire 550–330 BCE Atropatene 320s BC–3rd century AD Seleucid Empire 312–63 BCE Parthian Empire 247 BCE – 224 CE Sasanian Empire 224–651 (Dabuyid dynasty 642–759/760) MIDDLE AGES Umayyad Caliphate 661–750 Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258 Bavand Dynasty 8th century–1349 Samanid Dynasty 819–999 Saffarid Dynasty 867–1002 Ziyarid Dynasty 928–1043 Sallarid dynasty 941–1062 Sajid dynasty 889/890–929 Buyid Dynasty 934–1055 Ghaznavid Empire 963–1186 Great Seljuq Empire 1037–1194 Ghurid Dynasty 1148–1215 Khwarazmian Empire 1077–1231 Mihrabanids 1236–Mid-16th century Kurt Dynasty 1244–1396 Ilkhanate Empire 1256–1335 Chobanid Dynasty 1335–1357 Muzaffarid Dynasty 1335–1393 Jalayirid Dynasty 1336–1432 Sarbadars 1337–1376 Timurid Empire 1370–1405 Qara Qoyunlu 1406–1468 Timurid Dynasty 1405–1507 Agh Qoyunlu 1468–1508 EARLY MODERN Safavid Empire 1501–1736 (Hotaki Dynasty 1722–1729) Afsharid Empire 1736–1747 Zand Dynasty 1760–1794 Afsharid Dynasty 1747–1796 Qajar Empire 1796–1925 MODERN Pahlavi Dynasty 1925–1979 Interim Government 1979–1980 Islamic Republic 1980–present Related articles Timeline of Iranian history Economic history Education history Military history Naval history The Buyid dynasty or the Buyids (Persian: آل بویه‎ Āl-e Buye), also known as Buwaihids, Bowayhids, Buyahids, or Buyyids, were a Shī‘ah[4] dynasty of Daylimite[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] or Kurdish[13] origin from Daylaman in Gilan.[14] They founded a confederation that controlled most of modern-day Iran and Iraq in the 10th and 11th centuries. During the 10th and 11th centuries, just prior to the invasion of the Seljuq Turks, the Buyids were the most influential dynasty in the Middle East.[15]

Several killed, injured at Washington Navy Yard shooting

Mon, Sep 16 11:10 AM EDT image 1 of 17 By Ian Simpson and Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several people were killed and others injured when at least one gunman opened fire at the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington on Monday, authorities said. A Washington police spokesman said five people had been shot at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters, including a District of Columbia police officer and one other law enforcement officer. The Navy did not elaborate. NBC News, citing a senior naval officer at the Navy Yard, said at least 12 people had been shot, with four killed and eight wounded. This could not be independently confirmed. A Navy official told Reuters a suspected shooter has been contained, adding that several people died and several others were injured. The total number of victims was unclear, he said on condition of anonymity. Another Navy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than one shooter may have been involved. The Washington Post reported that there were several shooters. The Navy said in a statement the shooting took place at the heavily guarded headquarters, where about 3,000 people work. Dozens of police and emergency vehicles surrounded the complex in southeast Washington, which is about a mile south of the U.S. Capitol, local media reported. Helicopters circled the headquarters with some touching down on the building's roof, according to a live feed by Washington's WJLA TV. A Washington police spokesman said the first reports of shots were received at 8:36 a.m. EDT (1236 GMT). A White House official said President Barack Obama had been briefed on the shooting. The shooting briefly shut down flights at Reagan National Airport. The Navy Yard dates to the 18th century and is the oldest Navy installation. It houses a museum, the residence of the chief of naval operations and is responsible for weapons development, among other functions. (Additional reporting by the Washington bureau; Editing by Vicki Allen and Doina Chiacu) =========================== 4 dead, both shooters down in Washington Navy Yard shooting – US Navy Published time: September 16, 2013 12:49 Edited time: September 16, 2013 15:45 Get short URL Photo from twitter.com user @timjhogan Photo from twitter.com user @timjhogan Share on tumblr Two suspected gunmen responsible for the shootings at the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast D.C. are "down", US Navy officials report. Four people were killed and eight others, including two police officers, wounded during an attack early on Monday. ABC Channel 7 reports different data on the number of casualties, citing two police sources, claiming that up to 8 people were killed. Meanwhile, News 4 reports that two sources within the law enforcement agencies say that both “downed” gunmen were killed by the police. The spokeswoman for the MedStar Washington Hospital Center said that it has received three gunshot victims from the Navy Yard. A male police officer and two civilian women are in critical conditions, but have “very good” chances for survival. The victims said that shots from semi-automatic guns were fired at them, the she added. After going on a rampage, the the gunmen have reportedly barricaded themselves in one of the Navy Yard's facilities where they were cornered by the police. Police have closed South Capitol and M streets due to the incident. The shooting happened inside the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters (NAVSEA) building, the Navy said in a statement. It’s the largest of the Navy's five system commands. It engineers, builds, buys and maintains ships, submarines and combat systems that meet the Fleet's current and future operational requirements. Program management analyst, Rick Mason, who is a civilian with the US Navy, told AP that a gunman was shooting from a fourth floor overlook in the hallway outside his office. He said the gunman was aiming down at people in the building's cafeteria on the first floor. Mason said he could hear the shots but could not see the shooter. ================================= D.C. Police Set Up Staging Area for WNY Families (11:40 a.m. EST) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Number: NNS130916-04Release Date: 9/16/2013 8:53:00 AM A A A Email this story to a friend Print this story From Naval District Washington WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Washington D.C. Metro Police Deptartment advises family members of Washington Navy Yard employees may meet their loved ones at Nationals Stadium. CORRECTION: Lot B, South Capitol & N St SE Family members looking for information about their loved ones can contact the Warfighter and Family Support Center at 202-433-6151 or 202-433-9713. Several people were injured and there are reports of fatalities in a shooting at the Washington Navy Yard Sept. 16. An active shooter was reported inside the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building (Bldg. 197) on the Washington Navy Yard at 8:20 a.m. (Eastern Time). Emergency personnel remain on scene and a "shelter in place" order has been issued for Navy Yard personnel. A number of agencies are investigating the incident including the Naval Criminial Investigative Service, D.C. Metro Police, and the FBI which has lead. "I'm deeply shocked and saddened by the shooting this morning at the Navy Yard," said Secretary of the navy Ray Mabus. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. I have complete confidence in our first responders, and I continue to be completely focused on this very difficult situation." This release will be updated as new information is confirmed. The Naval Sea Systems Command's headquarters is the work place for about 3,000 people. The organization is comprised of command staff, headquarters directorates, affiliated Program Executive Offices (PEOs) and numerous field activities. Together, we engineer, build, buy and maintain ships, submarines and combat systems that meet the Fleet's current and future operational requirements. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the Navy's five system commands. With a fiscal year budget of nearly $30 billion, NAVSEA accounts for one quarter of the Navy's entire budget. With a force of 60,000 civilian, military and contract support personnel, NAVSEA engineers, builds, buys and maintains the Navy's ships and submarines and their combat systems. =================== Authorities question vetting of Washington gunman who killed 12 Tue, Sep 17 11:12 AM EDT image 1 of 15 By Mark Hosenball and Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington authorities questioned on Tuesday how a U.S. military veteran with a history of violence and mental problems could have gotten clearance to enter a Navy base where he killed 12 people before police shot him dead. The suspect, Aaron Alexis, 34, a Navy contractor from Fort Worth, Texas, entered Washington Navy Yard on Monday morning and opened fire, spreading panic at the base just a mile and a half from the U.S. Capitol and three miles from the White House. Investigators are still trying to determine the shooter's motive. Alexis had been given clearance to enter the base on the Anacostia River, despite two gun-related brushes with the law and a discharge from the Navy Reserve in 2011 after a series of misconduct issues. A federal law enforcement source told Reuters Alexis had a history of mental problems but gave no details. CNN reported that Alexis had contacted two Veterans Administration hospitals recently and was believed to be seeking psychological help. "It really is hard to believe that someone with a record as checkered as this man could conceivably get, you know, clearance to get ... credentials to be able to get on the base," Washington Mayor Vincent Gray told CNN. He said automatic U.S. budget cuts known as sequestration could have led to skimping on vetting that would have barred Alexis from the heavily guarded base. sequestration a. Seizure of property. b. A writ authorizing seizure of property. "Obviously, 12 people have paid the ultimate price for whatever was done to have this man on base," Gray said. The incident prompted immediate calls for reviews of base security procedures. Congressman Michael Turner called for Defense Department officials to release information on an inspector general's audit of its system for controlling civilian workers' access to military bases. The Navy may have "implemented an unproven system in order to cut costs," Turner, an Ohio Republican, said in a letter dated Monday to Lynne Halbrooks, the Pentagon's acting inspector general. "Potentially numerous felons may have been able to gain unrestricted access to several military installations across the country," said Turner, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. WEAPONS BAN Military personnel are generally banned from carrying weapons on military installations in the United States but most people with proper credentials are not routinely checked for firearms. Eight people were hurt, including three who were shot. Police have identified seven of those killed, with identification of the others pending notification of relatives. The three gunshot victims, including a Washington police officer severely wounded in the legs, were doing well, Janis Orlowski, the chief medical officer at Washington Hospital Center, told NBC's "Today" program. Police shot Alexis in a gun battle after he entered the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters about 8:20 a.m. (1220 GMT) and started picking off victims in a cafeteria from a fourth-floor atrium, witnesses said. Alexis was armed with an AR-15 military-style assault rifle, a double-barreled shotgun and a handgun, a federal law enforcement source said. The shooting was the worst attack at a U.S. military installation since Army Major Nidal Hasan opened fire on unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, killing 13 people and wounding 31. Alexis, a contract employee, had legitimate access to the Navy Yard and used a valid pass, the FBI said. Authorities have not addressed how he could have gotten weapons onto the base. Alexis, a one-time Texas resident who was known to worship at a Buddhist temple, served full time in the U.S. Navy Reserve from May 2007 to January 2011, becoming an aviation electrician. He was recently hired as a civilian information technology contractor to work on the Navy and Marine Corps intranet. He was given a security clearance classified as "secret," his company's chief executive told Reuters. Alexis was arrested on September 4, 2010, in Fort Worth, Texas, on a misdemeanor charge of discharging a firearm. The case was dropped when investigators determined he was cleaning his gun and it accidentally fired, Tarrant County prosecutors said. He was also arrested in Seattle in 2004 for shooting out a construction worker's car tires in an anger-fueled "blackout" triggered by perceived "disrespect," according to the Seattle Police Department. The base was closed to all but essential personnel on Tuesday as police continued their investigation. Military police were stationed at the four entrances, checking the identifications of the employees who were being allowed back in. Other personnel milled around outside, hoping to retrieve cars that remained locked inside the gates. "I still don't know when I can get my car," said a woman who identified herself only as Linda. She declined to give her last name because she was not supposed to return to work on Tuesday. She said she had had no Internet access on Monday due to security in her building and only found out about the shooting from her family. "My phone just blew up," Linda said. (Additional reporting by Alina Selyukh; Editing by Scott Malone and David Brunnstrom)

Bombings and shootings across Iraq kill at least 36 people- police

Bombings and shootings across Iraq kill at least 36 people- police Sun, Sep 15 14:12 PM EDT image 1 of 4 BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A wave of car bombs and shootings across Iraq killed at least 36 people on Sunday, police sources said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which appeared coordinated, but Sunni Islamist insurgents, including an al Qaeda affiliate, have been regaining momentum in recent months. The civil war in neighboring Syria has aggravated sectarian divisions in Iraq, fraying an uneasy government coalition of Shi'ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish factions. The deadliest attacks were in the city of Hilla, where two parked car bombs exploded simultaneously near a busy market and a third blew up near vehicle repair workshops, killing nine people in total, police said. "I was about to get my breakfast in a nearby restaurant when a huge explosion happened and smoke and dust filled the place. Before I had taken a step forward another explosion happened," said Abu Ahmed, who runs a grocery store. "I ran to check on my son who was covering for me in my shop and found him covered with blood among many other bodies. There is no trace left of my shop." In Baghdad's Shi'ite eastern district, a parked car bomb exploded in a commercial street killing at least five people and wounding 17, police said. Another explosion took place in the oil-exporting southern city of Basra, where a car bomb blew up near another vehicle repair workshop killing five people. A car bomb in the city of Kerbala killed two others, police said. In the capital, three security personnel were killed when a car bomb exploded near the convoy of the head of Baghdad provincial council, and two more people were killed when a roadside bomb blew up in a western outskirt. A further two car bombs exploded inside a market killing two people and wounding another 16 in the town of Dibis, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. In a separate incident, gunmen riding a car shot dead two Shi'ite farmers who had recently returned to their homes in a town east of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad. In the same area, militants engaged in clashes with policemen at a checkpoint, killing two of them. On the southern outskirts of Baghdad, police said they found the bodies of four Sunnis who were kidnapped from their homes last night by unidentified gunmen. The corpses had gunshot wounds and were handcuffed. About 800 Iraqis were killed in August, according to the United Nations, with more than a third of the deadly attacks happening in Baghdad. The bloodshed, 18 months after U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq, has stirred concerns about a return to the sectarian slaughter of 2006-7, when the monthly death toll sometimes topped 3,000. (Reporting by Ali al-Rubaie in Hilla, Aref Mohammed in Basra, Kareem Raheem in Baghdad; Writing by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Alison Williams and Robin Pomeroy)