FBI: Haitian Earthquake Relief Fraud Alert

The FBI today reminds Internet users who receive appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those requests. Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization and/or a good cause.

Therefore, before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, to include the following:

• Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.
• 
  
• Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
• 
  
• Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.
• 
  
• Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
• 
  
• Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.
• 
  
• Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.

Anyone who has received an e-mail referencing the above information or anyone who may have been a victim of this or a similar incident should notify the IC3 via www.ic3.gov

Federal Bureau of Investigation

How the killer Caribbean earthquake happened

...AND THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN MORE THAN 30 AFTERSHOCKS!

Thousands of people are thought to have been killed in the killer earthquake which struck Haiti on Monday

BILD.de explains how the tremor happened.

Earthquakes form through the movement of the plates of the Earth’s crust which are 30 to 50 kilometres thick.

They rub against one another, drift apart or push together. The pressures on the sides of the plates ‘explode’ with a kick as a tectonic earthquake.

Earthquakes can also be caused by volcanic eruptions.

And the deadly earthquake in Haititook place on the border between the Caribbean and North American plates, explained Jochen Zschau from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam.

The smaller Caribbean plate grinds against the North American plate, slipping in an easterly direction by around seven millimetres per year, the geologist said.

In some places, the plates become snagged – until they free themselves with an enormous vibration.

For a ‘jump’ of around a metre– as is believed to have happened in Haiti – pressure has probably been building up for 140 years.

“A strength of seven is extremely strong,” Zschau added. “That would also collapse or at the least seriously damage buildings in Germany.

“The earthquake was relatively shallow, between ten and 20 kilometres. That means the crack has gone through to the surface”.

The intensity of the tremor, which is measured on a scale of one to 12, reached nine or ten at its centre– an extremely high figure.

And just shortly after the original quake, an enormous aftershock measuring more than four hit Haiti, Zschau said.

“With such a strong earthquake, the aftershocks do not fade away so easily.

“They will definitely continue to occur for weeks and months to come”.

Bild

RTI activist Satish Shetty killed near Pune

PUNE: Prominent Right to Information (RTI) activist Satish Shetty was on Wednesday killed when he was attacked by unidentified men while on a morning walk in Talegaon, about 40 km from here.

Shetty, 38, credited with exposing several land scams in the picturesque Talegaon-Lonavala regions, now a favourite with realtors in the state, succumbed to his injuries in hospital. 

"Around 7.15am, when the deceased was on his morning walk, some unidentified people assaulted him and injured him seriously. He was rushed to a private hospital, but he succumbed later," investigating officer of the Talegaon police station Pradeep Aphale said. 

A colleague added that Shetty had left his home around 6.45am for his usual morning walk when he was attacked with swords near Bhandari Hospital. 

Shetty was actively involved in the anti-corruption movement launched by social worker Anna Hazare invoking the Right to Information (RTI) act in Maharashtra. 

He had shot to fame after exposing certain corrupt land deals in and around the country's first expressway from Mumbai to Pune over a decade ago.

The Times of India

China seeks clarity on Google's intentions

(Xinhua)

BEIJING: An official with China's State Council Information Office on Wednesday said Chinese Internet authorities were seeking more information on Google's statement that it could quit China.

The high-ranking official, who requested anonymity, made the remarks in a phone interview with Xinhua after Google's corporate development and chief legal officer, David Drummond, posted a statement on the company's official blog, saying it was to "review the feasibility of our business operations in China".

"It is still hard to say whether Google will quit China or not. Nobody knows," the Chinese official said.

He refused to reveal more, but promised to follow the case and accept more interviews if possible.

The China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center deputy director Xi Wei told Xinhua: "I am sorry, I can't say anything. I am not clear about the case".

Google's possible retreat from China has prompted the company's 700 China staff to fear for their jobs.

"We were told that Google might quit China at a general meeting on Wednesday morning, and all of us feel very sad," said an employee with Google's Beijing office on condition of anonymity.

Drummond's post said that its disputes with the government and unidentified attacks targeting Google's services in China forced the company to make the review.

However, Google.cn was still posting this rider on its searches as of 6:15 pm on Wednesday: "According to local laws, regulations and policies, some research results are not shown".

Google had been blamed by the government for showing too many links to pornographic contents and breaking the law.

Drummond's post also indicated the possibility that Google may "shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China".

If Google did quit China, about 700 employees with the company's offices around China would lose their jobs, the anonymous employee said.

In a short reply to Xinhua questions on Wednesday, a public relations officer of Google China who preferred not to be identified, said, "We are proud of our achievements in China. Currently we are reviewing the decision and hoping for a resolution".

Drummond's post also said Google would try to negotiate with the Chinese government for "more favorable" operating conditions in China.

Guo Ke, professor of mass communication at Shanghai International Studies University, said it was "almost impossible" for Google to quit China and also impossible for the Chinese government to give up its management right over the Internet.

"It will not make any difference to the government if Google quits China, however Google will suffer a huge economic loss from leaving the Chinese market," Guo said.

According to the iResearch Consulting Group, the Chinese search engine market reached nearly 7 billion yuan (about $1 billion) in 2009, and Google took 32.8 percent in revenue in the third-quarter while China's home-grown search engine Baidu claimed 63.8 percent.

"I think Google is just playing cat and mouse, and trying to use netizens' anger or disappointment as leverage," Guo said.

Millions of Chinese are fans and loyal users of Google and its services such as Gmail, Gtalk and Picasa. Many Chinese journalists, like other users, rely on Google Docs to save useful information and contacts.

So far, few comments were available from Chinese Internet companies or related government departments.

Zhang Yi, an employee with Baidu.com, Google's biggest rival in China, told Xinhua she had heard of Google's statement but would not comment.

An official with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the ministry's spokesperson was not available for comment.

If Google quit, it would leave a huge hole in the market for other search engines in China to fill, said Liu Dan, a researcher with a Beijing-based consulting company affiliated to the China Center for Information Industry Development.

"The Chinese market welcomes competition, but maybe Google should also think more about adapting to China, rather than just working in its US way without flexibility," Liu said.

China Daily

Moscow, Ankara agree on nuclear power plant cooperation

Russia and Turkey on Wednesday signed a joint statement regarding plans to build a nuclear power plant on Turkish soil.

The document was signed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who is in charge of the energy and fuel sector, and his Turkish counterpart.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently on a visit to Moscow, said his country was completing preparations for the signing of a formal agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant on its territory.

He said nuclear cooperation with Russia would proceed through "direct interstate agreements".

He added that "practical results" were expected "in the foreseeable future".

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia had "significant advantages over the competition" for building a nuclear plant in Turkey.

"We provide loans and equipment, and we give local construction companies ... a share of 20-25% or even 30% in the entire volume of contracts," he said. "We provide nuclear fuel and are ready to take back spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing".

"Needless to say, we are expecting a positive decision," Putin said.

Turkey canceled a tender for the construction of its first nuclear power plant late last year, but was expected to announce a new tender for three nuclear power plants later this year.

MOSCOW, January 13

RIA Novosti

10th Mountain Soldiers begin deploying to support troop surge in Afghanistan

By Staff Sgt. John Queen

FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- The 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team began deploying Soldiers to Afghanistan Jan. 9 with the departure of nearly 130 Soldiers of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment from Fort Drum's Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield.

They are the first of more than 3,000 Soldiers from the brigade who will deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The remainder of the battalion will be deployed by the end of January.

"Our battalion, and specifically this company, was notified of the requirement to move very quickly to Afghanistan in about the middle of December," said Lt. Col. Michael Loos, battalion commander. "From the date we were notified, it has been only about 10 or 11 working days".

In that brief time, Loos said, C Company has had to rapidly organize itself by getting all of its equipment and Soldiers fully prepared for the early Saturday morning flight.

"This is the first company from our battalion that has been asked to move quickly in support of the NATO training mission in Afghanistan," Loos explained. "Along with the company, we have a small portion of the battalion staff that will help to build the [training] plans".

Commonly known as "Triple Deuce," the battalion has been tasked with training soldiers in the Afghan national army in support of OEF.

Loos, who will make this his fourth deployment to Afghanistan, said this company needed to move quickly.

"I believe it is answering what the administration asking of our Department of Defense and our Army - that is, to move rapidly, place our Soldiers in support of OEF, quickly build additional Afghan army capabilities and improve the quality of their soldiers, and to reach an end-state where the Afghan army will have the capability to operate independently of the coalition forces," he said. "This really goes a long way towards that to make it happen".

The 1st BCT was originally scheduled to deploy to Iraq during this same time frame; however, those orders were canceled in October and subsequently changed, putting the unit in line to deploy to Afghanistan. The remaining units in the brigade are set to be fully deployed by early spring.

This mission will mark the brigade combat team's fourth deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism. It is the second time 1st BCT has deployed to Afghanistan. The brigade has deployed twice to Iraq.

U.S. Army

Haiti quake buries 8 Chinese peacekeepers

Eight soldiers of Chinese peacekeeping forces in Haiti were buried and more than 10 were missing after a powerful earthquake struck Haiti Tuesday afternoon, Liu Xiangyang, deputy chief of the National Earthquake Disaster Emergency Rescue Team told China Daily Wednesday.

A 7.0-magnitude quake hit the Caribbean island country at 4:53 pm local time on Tuesday, collapsing numerous buildings including the Presidential Palace. The earthquake may lead to thousands of deaths, said Karel Zelenka, a Catholic Relief Services representative in Port-au-Prince.

China sent a 50-member rescue team to Haiti and they will set off on Wednesday.

China has dispatched 125 peacekeepers to Haiti, including six females.

China Daily