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  • Longest serving weapons in the US military

    See the most reliable weapons in the US combat arsenal

    UH-1 Huey is a utility military helicopter powered by a single turboshaft engine, with two-blade main and tail rotors. The first member of the prolific Huey family, it was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet a United States Army’s 1952 requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter, and first flew in 1956. The UH-1 was the first turbine-powered helicopter to enter production in 1960 for the United States military, and more than 16,000 have been built since. The UH-1 was originally designated HU-1, hence the Huey nickname, which has remained in common use, despite the official redesignation to UH-1 in 1962. The UH-1 first saw service in combat operations during the Vietnam War, with around 7,000 helicopters deployed. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Bobby J. Gonzalez)

    M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires 20 mm rounds at a rate of about 6,000 rounds per minute. The Vulcan entered service in 1959. The M61 and its derivatives have been the principal cannon armament of United States military fixed-wing aircraft for fifty years. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kasey Krall/Released)The M16 entered U.S. military service in 1964 and the following year was deployed for jungle warfare operations during the Vietnam War. In 1969, the M16A1 replaced the M14 rifle to become the U.S. military’s standard service rifle. The M16A1 improvements include a bolt-assist, chrome plated bore and a new 30-round magazine. In 1983, the U.S. Marine Corps adopted the M16A2 rifle and the U.S. Army adopted it in 1986. The M16A2 fires the improved 5.56×45mm NATO (M855/SS109) cartridge and has a new adjustable rear sight, case deflector, heavy barrel, improved handguard, pistol grip and buttstock, as well as a semi-auto and three-round burst only fire selector. Adopted in 1998, the M16A4 is the fourth generation of the M16 series. It is equipped with a removable carrying handle and Picatinny rail for mounting optics and other ancillary devices. The M16 has also been widely adopted by other militaries around the world. Total worldwide production of M16s has been approximately 8 million, making it the most-produced firearm of its 5.56 mm caliber.M1911 is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operated pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It served as the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986. It was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The pistol’s formal designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original model of 1911 or Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1 for the M1911A1, adopted in 1924. The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1 in the Vietnam War era. The U.S. procured around 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols in military contracts during its service life. The M1911 was replaced by the 9mm Beretta M9 pistol as the standard U.S. sidearm in October 1986, but due to its popularity among users, it has not been completely phased out. Modernized derivative variants of the M1911 are still in use by some units of the U.S. Army Special Forces, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. Designed by John Browning, the M1911 is the best-known of his designs to use the short recoil principle in its basic design. The pistol was widely copied, and this operating system rose to become the preeminent type of the 20th century and of nearly all modern centerfire pistols.M60 is a family of general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62 × 51 mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. There are several types of ammunition approved for use in the M60, including ball, tracer, and armor-piercing rounds. Introduced in 1957, it has served with every branch of the U.S. military and still serves with other armed forces. Its manufacture and continued upgrade for military and commercial purchase continues into the 21st century, although it has been replaced or supplemented in most roles by other designs, most notably the M240 machine gun in U.S. service. (AP Photo)The M2 Machine Gun or Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun is a heavy machine gun designed toward the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning‘s earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. The M2 uses the much larger and much more powerful .50 BMG cartridge, which was developed alongside and takes its name from the gun itself. The design has had many specific designations; the official designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles and boats, light fortifications and low-flying aircraft. The M2 has been produced longer than any other machine gun. The M2 .50 caliber machine gun has been used extensively as a vehicle weapon and for aircraft armament by the United States from the 1930s to the present. It was heavily used during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan in the 2000s and 2010s. It is the primary heavy machine gun of NATO countries, and has been used by many other countries as well. The M2 has been in use longer than any other firearm in U.S. inventory except the .45 ACP M1911 pistol, also designed by John Browning. (SPC. DAVID J. BARNES)B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air Force  since the 1950s. The bomber is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds of weapons, and has a typical combat range of more than 8,800 miles without aerial refueling. Beginning with the successful contract bid in June 1946, the B-52 design evolved from a straight wing aircraft powered by six turboprop engines to the final prototype YB-52 with eight turbojet engines and swept wings. The B-52 took its maiden flight in April 1952. Built to carry nuclear weapons for Cold War era deterrence missions, the B-52 Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36. A veteran of several wars, the B-52 has dropped only conventional munitions in combat. The B-52 has been in active service with the USAF since 1955. As of December 2015, 58 were in active service with 18 in reserve. The bombers flew under the Strategic Air Command until it was disestablished in 1992 and its aircraft absorbed into the Air Combat Command; in 2010 all B-52 Stratofortresses were transferred from the ACC to the newly created Air Force Global Strike Command. Superior performance at high subsonic speeds and relatively low operating costs have kept the B-52 in service despite the advent of later, more advanced aircraft, including the canceled Mach3 B-70 Valkyrie, the variable-geometry B-1 Lancer, and the stealth B-2 Spirit. The B-52 completed sixty years of continuous service with its original operator in 2015. After being upgraded between 2013 and 2015, it is expected to serve into the 2040s. The B-52s are expected to reach the end of their service lives by 2045, and be replaced by B-21 Raiders. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Erin Babis)M1903 Springfield, formally the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is a five-round magazine fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. It was officially adopted as a United States military bolt-action rifle on June 19, 1903, and saw service in World War I. It was officially replaced as the standard infantry rifle by the faster-firing semi-automatic eight-round M1 Garand starting in 1936. However, the M1903 Springfield remained in service as a standard issue infantry rifle during World War II, since the U.S. entered the war without sufficient M1 rifles to arm all troops. It also remained in service as a sniper rifle during World War II, the Korean War, and even in the early stages of the Vietnam War. It remains popular as a civilian firearm, historical collector’s piece, and as a military drill rifle.LGM-30 Minuteman is a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile, in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. Development of the Minuteman began in the mid-1950s as the outgrowth of basic research into solid fuel rocket motors which indicated an ICBM based on solids was possible. Such a missile could stand ready for extended periods of time with little maintenance, and then launch on command. In comparison, existing U.S. missile designs using liquid rocket propellant required a lengthy fueling process immediately before launch, which left them open to the possibility of surprise attack. This potential for immediate launch gave the missile its name; like the Revolutionary War’s Minutemen, the Minuteman was designed to be launched on a moment’s notice. Minuteman entered service in 1962 as a weapon tasked primarily with the deterrence role, threatening Soviet cities with a second strike countervalue counterattack if the U.S. was attacked. However, the development of the U.S. Navy’s Polaris missile, which addressed the same role, allowed the Air Force to modify Minuteman into a weapon with much greater accuracy with the specific intent of allowing it to attack hardened military targets, including Soviet missile silos. The Minuteman-II entered service in 1965 with a host of upgrades to improve its accuracy and survivability in the face of an anti-ballistic missile system the Soviets were known to be developing. Minuteman-III followed in 1970, using three smaller warheads instead of one large one, which made it difficult to attack because the ABMs would have to hit all three widely separated warheads to be effective. Minuteman-III was the first multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle ICBM to be deployed. Each missile can carry up to three thermonuclear weapons, which have a yield in the range of 300 to 500 kilotons. Peaking at 1,000 missiles in the 1970s, the current U.S. force consists of 399 Minuteman-III missiles as of September 2017, deployed inM1919 .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S. and many other countries. Many M1919s were rechambered for the new 7.62×51mm NATO round and remain in service to this day. The M1919 was an air-cooled development of the standard US machine gun of World War I, the John M. Browning-designed water-cooled M1917. The emergence of general-purpose machine guns in the 1950s pushed the M1919 into secondary roles in many cases, especially after the arrival of the M60 in US Army service. The United States Navy also converted many to 7.62mm NATO, and designated them Mk 21 Mod 0; they were commonly used on river craft in the 1960s and 1970s in Vietnam. Many NATO countries also converted their examples to 7.62, and these remained in service well into the 1990s, as well as up to the present day in some countries. A similar conversion of the M1917 also produced the larger M2 Machine Gun, using the same basic operating principles and layout but firing the much more powerful .50 caliber (12.7mm) ammunition. The M1919 is distinguished by its smaller size and the use of a pierced cheese-grater-like jacket around the barrel used on most versions.The M14 rifle is a selective fire automatic rifle that fires 7.62 × 51 mm NATO ammunition. It gradually replaced the M1 Garand rifle in U.S. Army service by 1961 and in U.S. Marine Corps service by 1965. It was the standard issue infantry rifle for U.S. military personnel in the contiguous United States, Europe, and South Korea from 1959 until the M16 rifle began replacing it in 1964. The M14 was used for U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps basic and advanced individual training from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. The M14 was the last American battle rifle issued in quantity to U.S. military personnel. The rifle remains in limited service in all branches of the U.S. military as an accurized competition weapon, a ceremonial weapon by honor guards, color guards, drill teams, and ceremonial guards, and sniper rifle/designated marksman rifle.

  • Md. AG defends Hillary Clinton lawyers against bar complaint

    Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh’s office offered a new explanation Friday for why the state has refused to pursue a bar complaint against Hillary Clinton’s lawyers over their role in deleting he

    ANNAPOLIS — Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh’s office offered a new explanation Friday for why the state has refused to pursue a bar complaint against Hillary Clinton’s lawyers over their role in deleting her emails: They changed the rules.

    Mr. Frosh’s office said a rules change last year — after the complaint was filed against David E. Kendall, Cheryl Mills and Heather Samuelson — gives them permission to ignore a complaint brought by Ty Clevenger, a crusading lawyer who says he’s being stonewalled because of politics.

    The case has taken a number of twists, with bar counsel, charged with reviewing lawyer complaints, initially saying Mr. Clevenger wasn’t aggrieved — though the rules at the time didn’t require that proof. Then at a state circuit court hearing the attorney general’s office called Mr. Clevenger’s complaint “frivolous.”

    Now, in oral argument at Maryland’s highest court Friday, state lawyers said a rules change that had been in place before the circuit hearing — but which they forgot about at the time — gives them permission to refuse to investigate any complaints from people who don’t have personal knowledge.

    In this case, they said, Mr. Clevenger is getting his information from press reports, which they said is no longer enough to force a probe.

    “The reason for denying the complaint here is he had no personal knowledge,” said Michele J. McDonald, who argued the case for Mr. Frosh, a Democrat, and the state bar.

    Under questioning by one judge, she specifically said that while the state had advanced the “frivolous” argument before, it was no longer standing by that one.

    Mr. Clevenger expressed frustration afterward, saying it’s “a moving target from one hearing to the next.”

    “We’ve got three lawyers who are accused of destroying more than 30,000 pieces of evidence that were sought by multiple subpoenas,” he said. “Any average lawyer who had intentionally destroyed one piece of evidence would have been disbarred. Period.”

    “Let’s not kid ourselves. This is political,” he said.

    Kicking off Friday’s oral argument, the state lawyers tried to get the Court of Appeals, Maryland’s equivalent to a supreme court, to clear the courtroom, kick out reporters and the public and shut down the webcast.

    Ms. McDonald said the bar rules are designed to protect the “integrity” of the court process, and Mrs. Clinton’s lawyers deserved privacy from unfair accusations.

    The court refused to close the hearing.

    “Isn’t this a problem of once the cat’s out of the bag, how do you get it back in?” said Judge Clayton Greene Jr.

    Mr. Clevenger says the old rules were clear and the state had to investigate any complaint brought before it. He said that doesn’t mean the state had to bring charges, but it must at least probe the matter.

    A circuit court had agreed with him last year, and ordered the investigation into Mr. Kendall, Ms. Mills and Ms. Samuelson.

    The Court of Appeals put that on hold in order to take the case.

    On Friday, Ms. McDonald argued that the circuit court, which had ordered an investigation, had overstepped its powers and only the Court of Appeals could force a probe.

    At this point, Ms. McDonald said, any request would also have to happen under the new rules that took effect last summer — after Mr. Clevenger’s complaint, but before the lower court’s hearing — that allow complaints to be tossed because the complainer doesn’t have knowledge.

    “That rule became effective August 1, 2017 and applies to all pending litigation as well as future complaints,” Ms. McDonald told The Washington Times in an email Friday after the hearing. “Under that rule, it is clear that Bar Counsel has discretion to decline a complaint that is not based on personal knowledge but instead is derived from published news reports of third party sources.”

    She also dismissed Mr. Clevenger’s complaint that Mr. Kendall and the other lawyers are being treated better than a non-politically connected lawyer would have been. She said a complaint about another lawyer that wasn’t based on personal knowledge “could likewise be declined under this rule.”

    The judges did not give a sense for when they might rule.

    Mr. Clevenger said after the hearing he is seeking members of Congress who were involved in the investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s emails to come forward and file complaints, which would meet the definition of someone with personal knowledge.

    The case is part of the fallout from Mrs. Clinton’s decision as State Department secretary to forgo a department-based account and instead use a secret account tied to a server she kept at her New York home.

    When her account became known during the probe into the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack Mrs. Clinton turned over about half of her more than 60,000 messages from her time as secretary, but deleted 30,000 messages she said were not work-related.

    Subsequent investigation by the FBI found out that many of them were in fact work-related.

    The FBI investigation said Ms. Mills and Mr. Kendall oversaw the review and deletion process, while Ms. Samuelson did the review and reported to the others. They suggested the emails be deleted in late 2014 — though the actual deletion didn’t happen under late March 2015, or weeks after a subpoena was issued by a House investigation.

  • New York Gov. Cuomo signs bill to move primary election date

    New York state has moved its fall 2018 primary election date back two days so it doesn’t interfere with the anniversary of 9/11 or the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.

    ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state has moved its fall 2018 primary election date back two days so it doesn’t interfere with the anniversary of 9/11 or the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.

    Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that he has signed into law a measure moving the date of the primary election from Tuesday, Sept. 11 to Thursday, Sept. 13.

    Lawmakers approved the date change earlier this month.

    Lawmakers and supporters said that they wanted to move the date so the election would occur on a less busy day, and to honor both 9/11 and the observation of Rosh Hashanah.

  • NATO rejects Putin’s ‘unacceptable’ threats to target allies

    NATO says Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to target its members are unacceptable and that the military alliance will continue using its armed forces to deter aggression.

    BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO says Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to target its members are unacceptable and that the military alliance will continue using its armed forces to deter aggression.

    NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Friday that “Russian statements threatening to target allies are unacceptable and counterproductive.”

    Putin said Thursday that Moscow has tested an array of new strategic nuclear weapons that can’t be intercepted, telling the West: “You have failed to contain Russia.”

    Lungescu said NATO’s missile defense system is built to respond to attacks from outside Europe and North America and not directed against Russia.

    Noting Russia’s “aggressive actions” in Ukraine and military buildup around Europe, she said: “NATO is pursuing a twin-track approach to Russia: strong deterrence and defense, combined with meaningful dialogue.”

  • Germany downplays ‘acute’ cyberattack amid concerns of Russian meddling

    Germany’s interior ministry has downplayed a cyberattack that reportedly resulted in sensitive information being stolen from a government computer network.

    Germany’s interior ministry has downplayed a cyberattack that reportedly resulted in sensitive information being stolen from a government computer network.

    Ministry spokesman Johannes Dimroth told reporters Friday that authorities were monitoring the attack before it was revealed in the media this week, and that “acute danger was averted soon after it became known.”

    The attack affected Germany’s Informationsverbund Berlin-Bonn (IVBB), a federal computer network used to exchange sensitive but not highly classified documents, Mr. Dimroth told reporters, according to Reuters.

    The attack was first disclosed by German news outlets on Wednesday, prompting members of the German parliament’s intelligence oversight committee to convene a special session Thursday demanding details after having been left in the dark prior to recent media reporting.

    “It is a real cyberattack on parts of the government system. It’s an ongoing process, an ongoing attack,” Armin Schuster, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party and the committee’s chairman, told reporters after being briefed on the attack. “The spilling of secrets caused considerable damage, but the government, as of today, is trying to limit the damage.”

    Authorities are investigating the leak, Mr. Dirmoth said Friday, and Germany’s chief federal prosecutor’s office said a preliminary probe is underway.

    Mr. Dirmoth declined to comment on whether authorities have linked the attack to Russia, notwithstanding media reports linking the incident to suspected state-sponsored hackers.

    German media reported earlier this week that security researchers believe the attack was waged by a hacking group known as “Snake” previously linked to Russian intelligence, drawing a reaction Friday from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

    “We note with regret that any hacking attacks in the world are associated with Russian hackers but that each time they (the allegations) are made without any tangible proof,” Mr. Peskov said during a conference call with reporters Friday.

    Like the U.S., Germany has blamed Russia before for instances of state-sponsored cyberattacks. The German Federal Office for Information Security previously said a 2015 attack against the Bundestag parliamentary network was likely waged by a hacking group known by names such as APT28, Fancy Bear and Sofacy. Security researchers have linked that group to Russian intelligence as well, including hacking campaigns waged against U.S. targets during the 2016 presidential election widely blamed on Russian operatives.

    The IVBB hack was “a technically sophisticated attack that had been planned for some time,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said Thursday.

    If positively linked to Russia, the hacking will constitute “a form of warfare against Germany,” said Greens Party member Dieter Janacek, the head of the digital affairs committee, the Berliner Zeitung newspaper reported.

    German authorities discovered the IVBB hack in December, but the attackers may have been active at that point for upwards of a year already, according to media reports.

    A total of 17 computers are believed to have been affected, including at least one machine apparently belonging to an employee of the Federal Ministry of Defense, Germany’s NDR/WDR reported Friday. The attack was part of a global operation that also targeted computers Scandinavian, South American and Ukrainian computer systems, the report said.

    Palo Alto Networks, a U.S. cybersecurity firm, warned earlier this week that Fancy Bear hackers have been actively foreign affairs agencies and ministries in North America and Europe.

  • Facebook’s fact-checkers flag satire as fake news

    Facebook on Friday said it mistakenly threatened to demonetize a satirical website’s social networking account after one of its articles, “CNN Purchases Industrial-Sized Washing Machine To Spin News B

    Facebook on Friday said it mistakenly threatened to demonetize a satirical website’s social networking account after one of its articles, “CNN Purchases Industrial-Sized Washing Machine To Spin News Before Publication,” was debunked by Snopes, the fact-checking site used to help counter the platform’s fake news problem.

    “A page you admin (The Babylon Bee) recently posted the link (CNN Purchases Industrial-Sized Washing Machine To Spin News Before Publication) that contains info disputed by (Snopes.com), an independent fact checker,” Facebook wrote in a message sent Thursday to The Babylon Bee founder Adam Ford. “Repeat offenders will see their distribution reduced and their ability to monetize and advertised removed,” the message said.

    The blatantly satirical article should not have been flagged as fake news, Facebook conceded Friday.

    “There’s a difference between false news and satire,” Facebook said in a statement. “This was a mistake and should not have been rated false in our system. It’s since been corrected and won’t count against the domain in any way.”

    According to the Snopes, the article’s satirical nature wasn’t immediately apparent among everyone who read it.

    “Although it should have been obvious that the Babylon Bee piece was just a spoof of the ongoing political brouhaha over alleged news media ‘bias’ and ‘fake news,’ some readers missed that aspect of the article and interpreted it literally,” Snopes said.

    The Babylon Bee brands itself as “Your Trusted Source For Christian News Satire.” Nonetheless, Snopes has debunked 13 of its articles since 2016, including write-ups with titles including “Southern Baptist Convention Purchases Chick-Fil-A For $5.5 Billion” and “Is Playing Christmas Music Before Thanksgiving Now a Federal Crime?”

    “This is the first time Facebook has used that to threaten us with reduced reach and demonetization,” Mr. Ford told PJ Media after receiving the initial warning Thursday. “Also it seems that anyone who clicked on the article got a notice that it was ‘disputed.’”

    Established in 1995, Snopes partnered with Facebook in 2016 to help fact-check a flood of fake news stories being shared among its users.

    “Our goal is to help empower Facebook users to better control and enhance their own online experience, and we believe that increasing the flow and visibility of accurate, vetted information is one of the best ways to do that,” Snopes said at the time.

    More recently, the Department of Justice last month filed criminal charges against 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies accused of using Facebook to spread disinformation during the 2016 U.S. presidential race.

  • 4 charged in fake ID operation that netted $4.7M in bitcoin

    Four people accused of operating a large-scale fake ID operation that netted investigators $4.7 million in bitcoin have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Ohio.

    TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Four people accused of operating a large-scale fake ID operation that netted investigators $4.7 million in bitcoin have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Ohio.

    The four from the Toledo area are facing federal charges announced Thursday that include making false identification documents and possessing document-making equipment.

    The group was arrested in early February after investigators seized electronic bitcoin wallets, computers, printers and gold and silver bars inside a Toledo home.

    Ohio authorities began investigating in 2015 after receiving several fake ID cards from a bar in Springfield. A college student told investigators his friends bought IDs from Reddit.

    Documents say buyers had to follow specific instructions to hide the transactions and use bitcoins, digital money that isn’t tied to a bank or government.

  • Explosions, gunfire rock Burkina Faso’s capital

    Gunfire and explosions rocked Burkina Faso’s capital early Friday in what the police said was a suspected attack by Islamic extremists.

    OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Gunfire and explosions rocked Burkina Faso’s capital early Friday in what the police said was a suspected attack by Islamic extremists.

    By midday the gunfire became intermittent and helicopters flew over the French Embassy in Ouagadougou. Witnesses at the national television office which faces the French Embassy told The Associated Press that five people came in a pick-up truck in front of the embassy and started shooting after saying “Allahu Akhbar.” They then set fire to the truck and began shooting.

    Heavy smoke rose from the army joint chief of staff’s office in Ouagadougou, and witnesses said loud explosions were still heard around the military headquarters in the western part of the capital’s city center and far from the other area under attack that houses the embassies, the prime minister’s office and United Nations offices.

    Burkina Faso’s police director general Jean Bosco Kienou told AP “the form is that of a terrorist attack.”

    Plumes of black smoke could be seen above the army offices in western Ouagadougou where police and gendarmerie responded. Barricades were erected to keep people from all areas under assault.

    Burkina Faso’s police said the defense and security forces are responding to attacks around the Prime Minister’s office and the United Nations.

    France’s foreign affairs ministry published a message on their website warning of gunfire in the capital, and said that security forces are now intervening and enhanced security measures could be taken by authorities. It recommended people stay off the streets and remain in a safe place.

    Ouagadougou has been attacked by Islamic extremists targeting foreigners at least twice in the past few years.

    In August, extremists opened fire as patrons dined on a Sunday night at the Aziz Istanbul restaurant, killing at least 18 people. In January 2016, Islamic extremists attacked another cafe popular with foreigners in the capital, killing 30 people.

    Both times security forces have struggled to contain the violence, waiting for hours before intervening at the scene.

    Islamic extremist threats also moved into new parts of Burkina Faso earlier this month with an attack by 10 people in an eastern town that killed an officer and wounded two others. Increased attacks staged at the border with Mali have forced thousands to flee over the past year. An Australian doctor who had spent decades treating civilians was also abducted along this border and remains missing.

    The region is also now the home of a Burkina Faso extremist figure, Malam Dicko, who has collaborated with militants across the border in Mali. Among his objectives has been seeking to end the use of French, the former colonizer’s language, in regional schools. Burkinabe forces backed by French military counterparts have tried to capture Dicko but he remains at large.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Carley Petesch in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.

  • Angela Merkel, Donald Trump discuss Syrian cease-fire, Vladimir Putin’s new weapons

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump about Syria, and both sides agreed that Syrian government forces and their Russian and Iranian allies must abide by a U.N. S

    BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump about Syria, and both sides agreed that Syrian government forces and their Russian and Iranian allies must abide by a U.N. Security Council cease-fire resolution, her office said Friday.

    Following their call Thursday, Merkel and Trump urged Russia to stop participating in the bombardment of Damascus’ rebel-held suburbs known as eastern Ghouta, according to her office.

    “The five-hour cease-fire announced by the Russian side isn’t being adhered to. The Syrian regime in particular is constantly breaking it,” Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told reporters.

    Germany appeals “to all parties to the conflict to fully implement this U.N. resolution and we see a particular responsibility on the part of Russia,” he added.

    Seibert said attacks should stop for 48 to 72 hours in order for aid to be effectively delivered to civilians. He called it “particularly cynical that the regime in Damascus used chlorine gas against its own population again just one day after the passing of the U.N. resolution.”

    According to Merkel’s office, both she and Trump also expressed concern about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unveiling of new weapons systems Thursday “and their negative consequences for international arms control efforts.”

    Seibert said Germany watched Putin’s announcement with concern, noting the Russia’s military modernization program and what he described as doubts about Moscow’s adherence to international treaties, its annexation of Crimea and threats against some of its neighbors.

    Still, Seibert said Berlin was always ready to talk with the Kremlin even when the two sides differ significantly on the issues.

  • Explaining ‘headscarf’ from Iran

    In relation to the arrest incidents caused by the headscarf, İbtikar used expressions such as “I think that these topics should be discussed more with the new generation and the demands of young people should be taken into consideration.”

    Deputy Iranian President Masume Ibicar stated that they are opposed to the pressure and violence of the headscarf in the country.

    Ihtimar, the assistant responsible for the Women and Family Affairs of Hasan Ruhani, had to explain to local and foreign journalists at a press conference in Tehran for Women’s Day in Iran.

    The headscarf reminds that Iran is a legal obligation, he argued that it has begun to be applied to the people after the revolution in order to prevent social abuse.

    “NEW GENERATION AND MORE TALKING THEM”

    Ibicar, regarding the arrest incidents due to the headscarf, “I think that these issues should be discussed more with the new generation and that the demands of the young people should be taken into consideration.” He expressed his opinion.

    In describing the opposition to the pressure and violence of the headscarf in Iran, İbtikar noted that women continued to negotiate with religious officials and scholars to allow them to go abroad alone without their husbands’ permission.

    Ibidar added that these issues are among the priority issues of the government.