Briefsfromshittu

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Saudi Arabia severs diplomatic relations with Iran

Saudi Arabia has announced that it is severing diplomatic ties with Iran following Saturday's attack of its embassy in Tehran during protests.

Adel al-, Saudi foreign minister, made the announcement on Sunday as the foreign ministry announced that it would ask the Iranian diplomatic mission to leave the kingdom within 48 hours.

The Saudi foreign ministry has also announced that the staff of its diplomatic mission have been evacuated, and are now on their way back to Saudi.

At the press conference, al-Jubeir also said that during the violent protest in Tehran on Saturday, Saudi's diplomatic representative asked for help from the Iranian Foreign ministry, but their requests were disregarded three times.

Skeleton Found Under School Could Be Pirate

A facial reconstruction of the man, believed to have been in his fifties, has been created from the skull with the help of a forensic artist.

The skeleton, uncovered at Victoria Primary School in Newhaven, Edinburgh, has been carbon dated to the 16th or 17th centuries.

The school, which is the city's oldest primary, is near Newhaven harbour where a gibbet once stood 600 years ago.

It is thought the man could have been executed for piracy or other crimes before being buried in a shallow, unmarked grave.

The condition of the bones and location of the burial close to the water and gibbet, rather than in nearby graveyards, suggests he was killed before being displayed to act as a deterrent to other pirates, said archaeologists.

Councillor Richard Lewis, culture convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: "Edinburgh has an undeniably intriguing past and some of our archaeological discoveries have been in the strangest of places.

"Thanks to carbon dating techniques, archaeologists now know that the skeleton was likely to have been a murder victim - and quite possibly a pirate.

"It's fantastic that through the council's archaeology and museums service, we are able to investigate such discoveries and add to our understanding of Newhaven's heritage."

Head teacher Laura Thompson said: "The pupils think it's fantastic that a skeleton was found deep underneath their playground.

"The archaeologists will hold a special lesson with some of the children about how they have used science to analyse the remains and it will be a good learning opportunity for them."

Indian consulate in Afghanistan attacked

The Indian consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif has come under attack, with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades rocked the surrounding area.

With an unknown number of gunmen holed up in a house across the street from the consulate, special forces units on Sunday night prepared an operation to clear the attackers, police spokesman Shir Jan Durani said.

Two loud explosions and gunshots were heard earlier as the gunmen launched an attack from a nearby house, Muneer Ahmad Farhad, a spokesman for the Balkh province governor said.

Al Jazeera's Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said some casualties had been reported but initial details were scarce.

"It's not the first time an Indian diplomatic post has been attacked in Afghanistan. A couple of years ago, the Indian embassy in Kabul was attacked," he said.

Farhad said the attackers had hidden in a house near the consulate and struck after darkness fell.

He said the attackers had tried to enter the consulate but had not been able to and had shut themselves into a house across the street.

All Indian consular staff were safe, the Indian consul-general confirmed.

Sunday's attack came as Indian security forces were still trying to suppress an assault on an air base near the border with Pakistan that has killed at least seven military personnel and wounded 20 others.

Video shows ISIS fighters executing 5 'spies'

A video circulating online purports to show ISIS executing five men accused of spying for Britain in Syria.

The footage Sunday bears the markings of the ISIS media wing, and shows five men "confessing" to filming and photographing sites in exchange for money within Raqqa, the capital of the group's self-declared caliphate. It could not be independently verified.

The men, speaking Arabic, are introduced as "the enemy" and "apostates." Later they kneel lined up in orange jumpsuits in the desert, where they are shot in the head by masked executioners.

Before the shooting, a masked man with a British accent mocks British Prime Minister David Cameron, calls the men "spies," and says ISIS will one day invade Britain and impose their version of Islamic law.

Woman accuses singer Chris Brown of battery after incident in Vegas hotel room

Las Vegas police are investigating an allegation of battery against Chris Brown, the R&B singer who drew headlines when he was charged in 2009 with beating then-girlfriend Rihanna.

Authorities received a call shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday about the alleged battery at the Palms Casino Resort, Lt. Jeff Goodwin said. A police statement Saturday evening said an altercation took place in a room at the resort when the woman went to take a picture of Brown.

The woman said she was struck by Brown and that he had taken her cellphone, police said. Detectives tried to speak with Brown at his hotel room, but the singer left before police had arrived.

A crime report has been taken for misdemeanor theft and misdemeanor battery listing Brown as a suspect, police said.

Nicole Perna, publicist for Brown, issued a statement Saturday night calling the woman's charges "unequivocally untrue."

The woman "was escorted out of the private after party at the Palms Casino Resort for being disruptive and out of control," Perna said. "Once she was in the hallway, while waiting for Chris Brown's security to bring out her phone, she had a total meltdown -- throwing her purse to the ground and claiming that she 'could buy everyone in the hotel' -- as witnessed by numerous people waiting to get into the party. The Palms Casino Resort security also saw her wild behavior via hotel security cameras and immediately came up to the hallway to escort her out of the hotel."

"Her claim that she had her phone in her possession inside the after party and was able to take a photo causing an altercation with Chris Brown is a complete fabrication," Perna said.

Brown performed Friday at Drai's nightclub at The Cromwell Las Vegas, where he appears regularly.

Brown was arrested in Los Angeles in February 2009, on the eve of the Grammy Awards, for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna.

TMZ posted a photo of Rihanna's injuries turning Brown into an object of intense criticism, Reuters reported. He pleaded guilty later that year to assault.

He was sentenced to five years' probation, and after some brushes with the law his probation was lifted nearly a year ago, Reuters reported.