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The recent attack on two North Carolina substations that cut power to thousands of people has raised concerns about security standards for the country’s electric grid and its numerous power stations, which have faced greater threats in recent years. Nearly 600 electric emergency incidents and disturbances were caused by suspected and confirmed physical attacks and vandalism on the electric grid in those nine years, the reports show. The incidents, which are self-reported by power companies to the federal government, provide little to no detail about what occurred. Paths forward for a new standardThose who want a new security standard said there remain significant bureaucratic headwinds against such a proposal. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a nonprofit originally created by the electricity industry, said it created security requirements based on risk, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

That made Vietnam one of the top buyers of Russian arms, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which tracks global military expenditures. Starting Thursday, the country will host its first large-scale international arms trade fair, for which more than 170 companies from 30 countries have registered, the defence ministry said. The Defence Ministry referred questions about the country's defence industry to the Foreign Ministry, which did not respond to requests for comment. A half-dozen Russian defence firms are registered for the Hanoi fair, including Rosoboronexport, the state agency that imports and exports weapons. That year, the COVID-19 pandemic reduced Vietnam's military imports to only $32 million, of which $9 million worth were Russian arms.

☆ Ukraine withstood the Russians in 2022. Can it drive them out in 2023?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Peter Graff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dec 6 (Reuters) - When Russia invaded Ukraine, Vadym Khlupianets, a 26-year-old ballet dancer at Kyiv's National Operetta Theatre, joined the army. Ukrainians astonished the world - and themselves - in 2022, withstanding an all-out military assault by a superpower meant to crush them within days. [1/6] A civilian trains to throw Molotov cocktails to defend the city, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, March 1, 2022. As 2022 winds down, Russia has been hurling missiles at Ukraine's energy infrastructure, plunging millions of Ukrainians into darkness and cold. Moscow claims a military justification; Ukraine says this serves no purpose but to harm civilians.

☆ Islamic State claims responsibility for attack on Pakistani embassy in Kabul
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 4 (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on Pakistan's embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday, a statement carried by one of the militant group's affiliated channels on Telegram said on Sunday. The embassy came under attack on Friday with gunfire wounding a Pakistani security guard, officials said, in what Islamabad called an attempt to assassinate its head of mission, who was unhurt. Islamic state claimed the attack was carried by two of its members armed with "medium and sniper weapons" and was targeting the ambassador and his guards who were present at the courtyard of the embassy. The attack injured at least one guard and caused damage to the building, the group said. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Student released from pro-Russian forces had to share food and sleeping bag, he says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Alexander ErmochenkoSTAROBESHEVE, Russian-controlled Ukraine, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A student newly discharged from Russian proxy forces in Ukraine says he was equipped with a Soviet-era bolt-action rifle, and had to share rations and a sleeping bag when first sent to the front. "When times were hard, we had a certain number of people and there weren't enough sleeping bags for everyone, you could only cover yourself with a raincoat. We were able to get two or three people into a sleeping bag to keep warm," said Vladimir, a young man who appeared to be in his late teens. After that, everything was fine with supplies, they were completely sufficient, but at first we shared with each other. Vladimir said he had been drafted into the forces of the breakaway Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) on Feb. 23, the day before Putin sent his forces into Ukraine.

☆ Ukrainians bid farewell to fallen ballet dancer
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoKYIV, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Mournful Ukrainians said their final goodbyes on Thursday to a 26-year-old ballet dancer who was killed fighting Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. Fellow performers and staff members carried his coffin into the theatre, where visitors lined up to tearfully bid farewell. As Khlupianets' coffin was carried away, they erupted into one last round of applause. Ukrainian forces have succeeded in expelling Russian troops from large portions of eastern and southern Ukraine in recent weeks. Reporting by Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey and Anna Dabrowska; Writing by Dan Peleschuk Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine says sniper killed Russian soldier almost 1.7 miles away, which it claims is the second-longest kill on record
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine's army claimed on Wednesday to have made the world's second-longest sniper kill. The shot would be roughly three times the height of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. The 24 seconds of grainy thermal imaging footage show a figure identified by Ukraine's armed forces as "the occupier," suggesting the apparent kill took place in occupied Ukraine. In the post, Ukraine's armed forces gave a nod to British former sniper Craig Harrison as having formerly held the record for second-longest shot, and who the Ukrainian army claims to have nudged into third place. Another pre-existing claim to second place is a kill by an unnamed member of Australia's second commando regiment in 2012, at 1.3 miles, or 2.81 km.

☆ A former bodyguard for Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt shares what his job was like and the biggest misconceptions about protecting celebrities
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Mark Ellwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Mark "Billy" Billingham was a bodyguard for years for stars like Angelina Jolie and Russell Crowe. Billingham's biggest job, he said, was an 18-month position working full time for Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and their family. "I was literally working 18 hours a day, every day, and I stayed with them," he said. Decoys and detours are great ways to test new security detailsIn his role as the head of security, Billingham had to coordinate the entire security team, including what's often a huge army of drivers. The ruse for new chauffeurs began with telling them about the next day's route for Pitt and Jolie in advance.

☆ Amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, iconic arms-maker Kalashnikov is churning out a record number of guns
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Kalashnikov, maker of the legendary AK-47, is reporting a huge increase in small arms sales. Many of the new rifles these reluctant conscripts will inevitably need will come from Kalashnikov, which manufactures most Russian small arms. SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images"The Kalashnikov Concern increased the production of small arms by 40 percent," the company said. Already in September, actual exports of civilian weapons were equal to the total figure for 2021." Kalashnikov, which comprises a group of manufacturing firms, provides 95% of Russian small arms.

☆ American woman who led an ISIS military battalion sentenced to 20 years in prison
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

An American woman who led an all-female Islamic State battalion was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday after she admitted to training dozens of women and girls in Syria for the militant group known as ISIS, federal authorities said. The prison term given to Fluke-Ekren, formerly of Kansas, was the maximum sentence allowed under a plea agreement reached in June. According to the prosecutor's office, Fluke-Ekren left the U.S. for Egypt in 2008 with her second husband, who later became ISIS' sniper leader in Syria. Fluke-Ekren trained female ISIS members through a women's center and in the all-female battalion known as Khatiba Nusaybah, the prosecutor's office said. Fluke-Ekren taught trainees how to use AK-47 rifles, grenades and suicide belts packed with explosives, the prosecutor's office said.

☆ Smart bombs were a game-changer for militaries. Smart bullets may be next.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Travis Pike | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Smart bullets aren't new, but they're still early in development, and they have some drawbacks. If DARPA, aka the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has its way, smart bullets will become a very real thing. Beyond offensive combative measures, guided smart bullets can be used to defeat future threats from swarming UAVs to incoming missiles. Smart bullets currently availableAs of this writing, smart bullets aren't being deployed. Regardless, smart bullets could provide a new surgical option for snipers, infantrymen, and naval personnel.

But a shorter and more satisfying narrative would not have been as true to the material, or to Remarque’s pacifism. This "All Quiet on the Western Front” doesn’t have a real plot, per se. For most of the movie, viewers and soldiers alike know that peace is coming at any moment. War is a kind of anti-narrative, which causes a rupture in the satisfying progress of the plot. “All Quiet on the Western Front” is an antiwar movie that refuses to turn war into a tale of progress or success.

☆ Putin shown firing rifle as he inspects mobilised soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin wears glasses as he visits a training centre of the Western Military District for mobilised reservists, in Ryazan Region, Russia October 20, 2022. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERSLONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday inspected a training ground for mobilised troops and was shown firing shots from a sniper rifle in footage apparently intended to show his personal backing for soldiers heading to fight in Ukraine. Footage showed a figure who appeared to be Putin lying flat on the ground and firing from a rifle. Faced with a series of defeats in the war, Putin last month declared a "partial mobilisation" to call up hundreds of thousands of extra troops. On Thursday he ordered all Russia's regions to do more to support army needs and stressed that all mobilised men needed to be sent to the front with proper equipment.

Share this -Link copiedCommittee votes to subpoena Trump The committee voted on Thursday unanimously to subpoena Trump. Trump would not be the first president to be subpoenaed, nor would he be the first former president subpoenaed by Congress. "Even before the networks called the race for President Biden on Nov. 7th, his chances of pulling out a victory were virtually nonexistent, and President Trump knew it," Kinzinger said. “At times, President Trump acknowledged the reality of his loss. “What did President Trump know?

That's based on a Secret Service email from 9:09 a.m. "The head of the President’s Secret Service protective detail, Robert Engel, was specifically aware of the large crowds outside the magnetometers," Schiff said. A Secret Service report at 7:58 a.m. said, "Some members of the crowd are wearing ballistic helmets, body armor carrying radio equipment and military grade backpacks." On Dec. 26, a Secret Service field office relayed a tip that had been received by the FBI, Schiff said. Trump would not be the first president to be subpoenaed, nor would he be the first former president subpoenaed by Congress.

Three people were gunned down in a quiet Chicago suburb on Friday before the alleged shooter was found dead inside a burning home, authorities said. Police responded to a domestic disturbance call at 6:35 a.m. CDT in the 5500 block of Ann Marie Lane, in Oak Forest, which is about 27 miles south of central Chicago, officials said. A fourth body was found inside that burning house and that person “is believed, at this time, to be the offender in this case,” police said. But three hours later, Oak Forest authorities said all was clear: "There is no longer a threat to the community." The gunfire and blaze happened about 50 miles south of downtown Highland Park, where a sniper allegedly killed seven people at a Fourth of July parade 2 1/2 months ago.

☆ Palestinian President Abbas calls on Israel to resume negotiations immediately
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sept 23 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid's call for a two-state solution was a "positive development" but said the proof would be a return to negotiations. Israel captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza - areas that Palestinians seek for an independent state - in the 1967 Middle East war. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEfforts to reach a two-state deal, which involves an Israeli and Palestinian state existing side by side, have long been stalled. Most countries deem Israel's West Bank settlements illegal. Lapid spoke less than six weeks before a Nov. 1 election that could return to power the right-wing former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longstanding opponent of a Palestinian state.

☆ Ukraine's troops have been highly effective with the M777 howitzer, but US troops can turn it into a 'giant sniper rifle'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

US troops also have a new targeting system that makes the M777 even more precise. LCpl Samantha L. Jones/USMCIn 1979, the M198 155mm medium-towed howitzer entered service for the United States. While it would take two C-130s to deliver an M198 artillery system to the battlefield, the entire M777 setup could arrive in just one. That's more than all of the 155mm artillery rounds fired by the entire US military in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. US soldiers with the Joint Effects Targeting System Target Laser Designation System at Fort Greely in Alaska.

☆ How the Russian officer elite was decimated in Ukraine – 29 generals and commanders who were killed in action
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-01 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Vitaly GerasimovMaj. Gen. Vitaly Gerasimov became the second senior Russian commander reported to be killed after Ukrainian military intelligence claimed he was shot dead in Kharkiv. Ivan GrishinColonel Ivan Grishin, commander of Russia's 49th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, died in Ukraine, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Vyacheslav SavinovLieutenant Colonel Vyacheslav Savinov, who headed Russian artillery intelligence, was killed in Ukraine, a Russian artillery school confirmed. A damaged Russian military vehicle is seen after Russian Forces withdrawal as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on September 14, 2022. The Ukrainian military said that Botashev was killed when a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft was shot down over the Lugansk region.

Persons: Михаил Ведерников

☆ 50 de mii de cartușe care urmau să ajungă în Republica Moldova, reținute în România; Cine era la volanul automobilului
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-22 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +3 min

La volanul automobilului se afla fratele fostului viceministru de Externe, Valeriu Ostalep - Ion Ostalep, fondatorul agenției de pază „Combat-Service” și al magazinului de arme „Sniper Elite”. Potrivit poliției de frontieră române, cazul a avut loc în seara zilei de 15 aprilie, în Punctul de Trecere a Frontierei Albiţa - I.T.P.F. „Marfa a fost declarată la intrarea în România, compania deține toate actele necesare, autoritățile române nu au pretenții la legalitatea mărfii. Juriștii se clarifică, așteptăm decizia finală a autorităților române”, a spus Ion Ostalep. În 2019 însă, compania a luat turații, înregistrând un venit de 753 de mii de lei.

Persons: Valeriu, Ion Ostalep, Ostalep, Valentin Zubic, Vladimir Plahotniuc Organizations: Argus, PD Locations: Republica Moldova, România, Albița, Iaşi, Frontieră, Cehia, României, Moldova, Rădeni, Strășeni

☆ 'Quiet professionals': These are the legendary Vietnam War marksmen every Marine scout sniper trains to be
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-15 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Modern Marine Corps scout snipers are required to study their history, to learn from the outstanding snipers that came before them. In many conflicts throughout US history, Marine Corps snipers have proven to be valuable assets on the battlefield. Carlos N. Hathcock:Carlos Hathcock USMC ArchivesIn Vietnam, Hathcock had 93 confirmed enemy kills and several hundred unconfirmed. That never mattered to him though, according to Charles Henderson's book, "Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills." The only US military sniper with more confirmed kills than Mawhinney in Vietnam was Army sharpshooter Adelbert Waldron with 109 confirmed kills.

Persons: Charles Mawhinney, Eric England, Carlos Hathcock, —, Charles, Chuck, Mawhinney, Joshua Coulter, Coulter, Carlos N, Hathcock, Edward James Land, Cobra, Charles Henderson's, Sgt, Eric R, Eric, Corps Mawhinney, Joseph Ward, Adelbert Waldron Organizations: Marine Corps, Marine, Service, Marines, Staff, Corps, In Vietnam, Arkansas, 3rd Marine Division, Union, Historical Society, Los Angeles Times, National Museum of, Army, Scout Locations: Vietnam, England, Vietnamese, Georgia, Oregon

☆ A skilled sniper evaded about a dozen Marines — no one saw him even when he was only a few feet away
▼ + stars: | 2019-09-30 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Insider recently observed scout snipers going through stalking training at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. Not only was everyone unable to find the sniper with various optics at the observation post roughly 1,000 feet from his position, but about a dozen Marines, a couple of Army Rangers, and this reporter were unable to spot him even when he was only a few feet away. Insider visited Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia recently to observe US military snipers as they practiced hiding in plain sight. Scout Sniper School instructor shows Marines and Army Rangers the tricks of the trade at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. A dozen Marines, a couple Army Rangers, and this reporter failed to spot the man, even when he was only a few feet away.

Persons: —, Ryan Pickrell Organizations: Marine Corps Base Quantico, Marines, Army Rangers, Service, Marine, Base Quantico, Sniper Locations: Virginia

☆ This soldier may look like Chewbacca, but his suit helps make him one of the deadliest fighters on the battlefield
▼ + stars: | 2019-08-20 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The ghillie suit, a kind of artificial camouflage, is key to concealment. The US Army recently released photos of a sniper school instructor showing off the various pieces of a sniper's ghillie suit. Read more: Army snipers played hide-and-seek to test new camouflaged ghillie suits for next-level combat"Ghillie suits provide snipers that edge and flexibility to maintain a concealed position,"he added. US Army Staff Sgt. David Smith, an instructor at the service's sniper school, recently showed off a ghillie suit that he put together from scratch using jute twine and other materials.

Persons: Ricky Labistre, Read, David Smith Organizations: US Army, Service, Staff, 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, California National Guard, Army, US Army Staff Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ (video) Recomandări: 30 de filme pe care să le privești în această iarnă
▼ + stars: | 2016-01-05 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +21 min

Însă Watney supravieţuieşte urgiei şi descoperă că a fost lăsat singur pe ostila planetă. Va fi Kaz cel care ii va da curajul necesar lui Noni, pentru a se descatusa din inchisoarea emotionala in care a fost prinsa? The Walk (2015) / The Walk: Sfidează limitele / IMDB: 7.5Doisprezece oameni au păşit pe Lună. Spectre (2015) / IMDB: 7.1Un mesaj enigmatic din trecutul lui James Bond îl aruncă pe agentul 007 într-o investigaţie ce-i dezvăluie acţiunile unei organizaţii sinistre. Brooklyn (2015) / IMDB: 7.9Povestea unei fete irlandeze (Saoirse Ronan) care îşi caută norocul în New York-ul anilor ’50.

Persons: Affleck, Nick Dunne, Amy, Rosamund Pike, Nick, vitregă, Margo, Mark Watney, Damon, Watney, Gustave H, Ralph Fiennes, Hazel Grace Lancaster, fermecătorul Augustus Waters, Hazel, Gus, Mason, Ben Whittacker, Jules Ostin, Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Anders Holm, Adam Devine, Zack Pearlman, Aceşti, Strayed, Cheryl, îşi, Noni, Thomas Pynchon, Doc, Joaquin Phoenix, Katherine Waterston, Mickey Wolfmann, Eric Roberts, Mickey, Selma, Martin Luther King, Scott King, Lyndon B . Johnson, King, Johnson, Montgomery, Mad Max, George Miller, Max Rockatansky, Imperator, Joe, Matt Charman, Joel, Ethan Coen, James Donovan, Tom Hanks, Francis Gary Powers, Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Chris Kyle, S.U.A . Chris, Acurateţea, Chris, Philippe Petit, Joseph Gordon - Levitt, Papa Rudy, Ben Kingsley, Robert Zemeckis, Forrest, Brian Helgeland, Reggie, Ronnie Kray, Ronnie, Charlie Richardson, Frances Shea, Poe, Isaac, Kylo, Adam Driver, Darth Vader, Rey, Daisy Ridley, Finn, John Boyega, Han Solo, Harrison Ford, Roboţelul, Leia, Carrie Fisher, Michael Lewis, FBI Kate Mercer, Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Kate, Nathaniel Philbrick, Ron Howard, Marty Barton, Schreiber, Walter ‘ Robby, Robinson, Keaton, Michael Rezendes, Sacha Pfeiffer, Matt Carroll, James Bond, Bond, Carol, Therese Belivet, Rooney, Carol Aird, Ethan, Tom Cruise, Faust, Rebecca Ferguson, Ethan Hunt, Riley Organizations: NASA, Zero, Bridge, Polar Express, londonezi, Wall Street, FBI, Națiunii Secrete Locations: ţară, Mississippi, Budapest, fermecătorul, Austin, Drama, Anrew, Los Angeles, Statelor Unite, sfârşit, segregatul, Selma ( Alabama, Berlin de Vest, Postdam, Germaniei, Est, Uniunii Sovietice, american, S.U.A, Irak, Tinereţe, Alpi, Londra, Imperiu, Mexic, Statele Unite, Benicio, Benicio Del Toro, graniţă, omonim, ambarcaţiunea Essex, Boston, New York, Cannes, Brooklyn, Minnesota, San Francisco

☆ ‘Waco: American Apocalypse’ Review: A Calamity in Context
▼ + stars: | 1993-04-19 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The federal government can be said to have misplayed its hand in both instances, to put it mildly. But on the 30th anniversary of the Branch Davidian debacle, “Waco: American Apocalypse” attempts to put the Texas battle into a sensible context. Heather Jones was 9 years old when she became the last child “freed” from the compound known as Mount Carmel Center during the 51-day standoff (she didn’t want to go). Kathy Schroeder , a follower of the evidently delusional Branch Davidian “prophet” David Koresh , defends the sect’s beliefs and its leader’s dictates, including his sexual dominion over all women at the Mount Carmel compound. Chris Whitcomb , an FBI sniper who witnessed the entire siege, harbors such anger that one wonders if he should be handling a gun.

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