Obama's grandma arrives in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUsaDwbQ7bndlersVORxxZjKNd1CCBndShVHfNyZ7iusNlRDxd34trFTb67aQBPV9rsJpCxd_Nt6fi0wRU8HrBvh3-c4ZjI6uqEaCaTqsI-91z0neqZ2cPit_uPbSii7eShCbM0ItQNU-/s1600/11168893_10153327749582125_5692723017193844841_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUsaDwbQ7bndlersVORxxZjKNd1CCBndShVHfNyZ7iusNlRDxd34trFTb67aQBPV9rsJpCxd_Nt6fi0wRU8HrBvh3-c4ZjI6uqEaCaTqsI-91z0neqZ2cPit_uPbSii7eShCbM0ItQNU-/s1600/11168893_10153327749582125_5692723017193844841_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><!-- adsense -->

Obama's grandma arrives in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah

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Google Malaysia service disrupted by hackers

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Internet users were denied access to <span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Corporation" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Google Inc</span>(NASDAQ:<span class="aqPopupWrapper" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">GOOGL</span>)'s Malaysia website on Tuesday, and were redirected to a hacked page saying "Google Malaysia Hacked by Tiger-Mate #Bangladeshi Hacker."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc0jfSuGB5N0AMuhQlVcOT3yVhDfmT4xu4dRE5jTF6kctVpOVzN56YVfiJ4RP2J8lugAAW6jNzqtRZz8tuIanGTYMrbgMkKJY5g2vD3zLssGQsNxFALtIFScELZlD-c9brC4lcJMyT88OK/s1600/LYNXMPEA8I0M2_L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc0jfSuGB5N0AMuhQlVcOT3yVhDfmT4xu4dRE5jTF6kctVpOVzN56YVfiJ4RP2J8lugAAW6jNzqtRZz8tuIanGTYMrbgMkKJY5g2vD3zLssGQsNxFALtIFScELZlD-c9brC4lcJMyT88OK/s1600/LYNXMPEA8I0M2_L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The company has reached out to the organization that manages the domain name to resolve the issue, MYNIC, a Google Malaysia spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.</div><!-- adsense1 --> <br /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">MYNIC is operated by the country's ministry of communications and multimedia, and is the administrator for all websites ending with ".my," according to the company's website.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The website for Malaysia Airlines experienced a similar problem in January, but the airline quickly reassured users that their bookings and private data had not been compromised.</div></div>

Google Malaysia service disrupted by hackers

Internet users were denied access to  Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL )'s Malaysia website on Tuesday, and were redirected to a hacked page sa...

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Crude oil edges up, as record supply and Yemen remain in focus

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Crude Oil futures edged up on a choppy day of trading, as record supply levels and geopolitical risks in Yemen remained in focus.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for May delivery rose 0.32 or 0.62% to $51.96 a barrel. <span class="aqPopupWrapper" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a class="aqlink" data-pairid="8849" hoverme="aql" href="http://www.investing.com/commodities/crude-oil" id="552c2a52c65f3" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; border: 0px; color: #1256a0; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px 1px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">Crude oil futures</a></span> moved above $53 a barrel in U.S. morning trading, before falling to a daily-low of $51.48 early in the afternoon session as traders locked in earlier gains.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Last week, Texas light sweet closed at $51.64, as crude futures moved higher for the fourth consecutive week. It came during a volatile week of trading, when WTI crude plunged more than 6% on April 8, following the largest weekly buildup in a dozen years. A glut of supply has exacerbated concerns of a looming slowdown in production, which some analysts predict will lead to a further downturn in prices.Crude oil prices have declined by more than 50% since peaking above $100 a barrel last July.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8aLO4vdefuDcJwhF_-KNFRve0tb5NeIPy8vJX9SETVuvXedk3VAKGRsXnn2MV6_23W_BPImKDTWTayxOo-QazyiqscNuMGxq-v7gDfZIBTYEkshmIu6XnvpAC2etcnUBL7PmOWHKav1W/s1600/oil_800x533_L_1412175213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8aLO4vdefuDcJwhF_-KNFRve0tb5NeIPy8vJX9SETVuvXedk3VAKGRsXnn2MV6_23W_BPImKDTWTayxOo-QazyiqscNuMGxq-v7gDfZIBTYEkshmIu6XnvpAC2etcnUBL7PmOWHKav1W/s1600/oil_800x533_L_1412175213.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Consequently, speculative traders have entered the market at a low price in hopes of turning a profit. Since the end of January, strike options for WTI crude at $60, $70, $80 and $90 have increased steadily, Reuters reported. During the same span, options for WTI crude at a strike price of $100 a barrel are up by approximately 20%.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">On international markets, future and option trading levels have also spiked. Last week, speculators in brent crude futures and options raised net long positions to the highest level since July, 2014, according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange obtained by Fox Business.On Monday, brent crude for June delivery gained 0.28% or 0.17 to $59.12 a barrel. The spread between the international and U.S. domestic benchmarks for crude stood at $7.64 a barrel.</div><!-- adsense1 --> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Poor trade data, however, in China weighed on energy prices. Last month, China imported 6.3 million barrels per day, down 5.2% from a month earlier. Iran, which is primed to increase crude exports as economic and financial sanctions from Western powers ease, counts on China as one of its top energy partners.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Meanwhile, steady fighting in Yemen between Iranian-backed, Shiite-led Houthi rebels and Sunni-led troops from Saudi Arabia continued to boost crude prices. While Saudi Arabia foreign minister Prince Saud Al Faisal told reporters on Sunday that his country is not at war with Iran in Yemen, he insisted that Iran withdraw its political and military support of the Houthis. This came as the U.S. has expanded its role in the conflict by inspecting military targets in the area and searching nearby vessels for Iranian arms headed for Yemen.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Yemen is strategically located on the Bab el-Mandeb strait, one of the world's largest chokepoints for oil. A closure of the narrow entrance could limit outflows into the Gulf of Aden. Energy traders are sensitive to risky geopolitical news involving Saudi Arabia.</div></div>

Crude oil edges up, as record supply and Yemen remain in focus

Crude Oil futures edged up on a choppy day of trading, as record supply levels and geopolitical risks in Yemen remained in focus.On the New ...

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Clashes with Taliban take growing toll on Afghan civilians in 2015

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> Ground clashes between Afghan government forces and the Taliban claimed 8 percent more civilian casualties in the first three months of 2015, the United Nations said on Sunday, and the approaching summer could match last year's deadly record.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Since most foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan last year, following more than a decade of inconclusive war against the Taliban ousted from power in 2001, the conflict has intensified across much of the country.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2LmcoRx8YfR2UyXJpxk1gbJTcnZ7CK6Gn3TZtOwL6dJ0EeTZ5HtkPIz2QwISh7YeFgMA5Oyld4tOGIt3KS5LU3lNSc6UqjfNK1xW-a-_L25y9-Tp9lzewJbvKgzinWya9Cw-Gq2C5IVY/s1600/LYNXMPEB3B093_L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2LmcoRx8YfR2UyXJpxk1gbJTcnZ7CK6Gn3TZtOwL6dJ0EeTZ5HtkPIz2QwISh7YeFgMA5Oyld4tOGIt3KS5LU3lNSc6UqjfNK1xW-a-_L25y9-Tp9lzewJbvKgzinWya9Cw-Gq2C5IVY/s1600/LYNXMPEB3B093_L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Last year was the deadliest since the U.N. began keeping records in 2009, when more than 10,000 civilians were either killed or wounded in the conflict.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">In the first quarter of 2015, clashes on the ground caused 521 casualties including 136 deaths. The toll on civilians is likely to rise further in the summer, when snow melts and warmer weather facilitates the transit of fighters and weapons, leading to an increase in combat.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">"With the seasonal resumption of higher levels of conflict-related violence...parties in particular should refrain from using mortars and rockets in any areas populated by civilians," said U.N. Special Representative Nicholas Haysom.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">While total civilian casualties - due to ground clashes as well as other conflict-related incidents such as roadside bombs and targeted executions - fell two percent to 655 deaths and 1,155 injuries, the toll remained near 2014's record first-quarter figures.</div> <!-- adsense1 --> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The main factor behind the dip was a 19 percent fall in casualties caused by roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices, intended for government or foreign forces, but that often hit civilian vehicles instead. These, however, remained the second leading cause of casualties, causing 155 deaths and 275 injuries.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The Afghan war is also taking a growing toll on women and children, who made up an increasing proportion of victims in the first three months of the year. Child casualties rose to a record at 123 deaths and 307 injuries.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The Taliban are expected to announce the start of their spring offensive around the beginning of May.</div></div>

Clashes with Taliban take growing toll on Afghan civilians in 2015

 Ground clashes between Afghan government forces and the Taliban claimed 8 percent more civilian casualties in the first three months of 201...

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Iran, Israel cooperate in nuclear test detection drills

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Iran and Israel have been cooperating under the auspices of an international body set up to monitor a ban on nuclear bomb tests, its director said on Monday.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Negotiated in the 1990s, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty enjoys wide global support but must be ratified by eight more nuclear technology states -- among them Israel and Iran, as well as Egypt and the United States -- to come into force.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7B-BeoAO0D-IeQ9T-ERZ48inthXeommNKa47E7pchZiLNiQE05lBnjx-H94Vn5ZQRIfIf3rbVJB-XMxmGRo2RveAwQ2ARHIyXHcgAmCr3sCgD2tGCX4RoK9f2K3XPk3r8Uv8HzpahWK-i/s1600/LYNXMPEB3C0JJ_L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7B-BeoAO0D-IeQ9T-ERZ48inthXeommNKa47E7pchZiLNiQE05lBnjx-H94Vn5ZQRIfIf3rbVJB-XMxmGRo2RveAwQ2ARHIyXHcgAmCr3sCgD2tGCX4RoK9f2K3XPk3r8Uv8HzpahWK-i/s1600/LYNXMPEB3C0JJ_L.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">In the interim, Middle East signatories have regularly held technical meetings, including in Jordan in November and December to practice detecting illicit testing."Iran took part in the drill. Egypt was part of this drill. I think all the Arab countries were represented in Jordan for this exercise," Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), said during a visit to Israel.</div><!-- adsense1 --> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">"During the exercise, when we had our round-table discussions or dinner or lunches, you had Iranian experts and Israeli experts sitting at the same table," he told Reuters. "It's not unusual that we see that in the technological field we have people who don't necessarily get together politically but who find things to agree on in the scientific framework."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The CTBTO has established a system to detect any nuclear blasts, with more than 337 monitoring facilities in the world.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Among these are two seismic stations in Israel and another in Iran which, Zerbo said, has been inactive since 2006 when the international network was upgraded and sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program made taking equipment there difficult.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">An April 2 framework deal between Iran and world powers clears the way for a settlement to allay Western fears that Iran could build a nuclear weapon, with economic sanctions on Tehran being lifted in return.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Zerbo voiced hope of getting the Iranian site back on line, effectively putting Iran on the same detection grid as Israel, which accuses Tehran of harboring designs on nuclear weaponry.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Israel -- which is believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, but neither confirms nor denies this -- says it believes Iran is committed to its destruction.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Iran insists its nuclear projects are purely peaceful, a position Zerbo argued would be shored up by ratifying the Test Ban treaty. But, he said, "their approach is that diplomacy is always one step at a time."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">By not signing the voluntary nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which Iran belongs, Israel has kept its main nuclear facilities away from foreign inspection.</div></div>

Iran, Israel cooperate in nuclear test detection drills

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Iran and Israel have been cooperating under the auspices of an international body set up to monitor a ban on nuclear b...

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Boston bombing jury to hear closing arguments, begin guilt deliberations

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pZN7tR0c8Z0xNRkMRaGxNpM1vom-cKqI1fR6Mpvo9gbT-lKJzyKc77gD6mrsPRk5i0hVSAldcGBX6_24pRf0C9PoKc678pm675hdCF-pSouLqjyu4lcewgVX04LsqGYalzcewnWXeZqf/s1600/LYNXMPEB3502K_L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pZN7tR0c8Z0xNRkMRaGxNpM1vom-cKqI1fR6Mpvo9gbT-lKJzyKc77gD6mrsPRk5i0hVSAldcGBX6_24pRf0C9PoKc678pm675hdCF-pSouLqjyu4lcewgVX04LsqGYalzcewnWXeZqf/s1600/LYNXMPEB3502K_L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">BOSTON (Reuters) - Attorneys for accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and federal prosecutors who say he killed four people are due to make their closing statements on Monday before a jury begins deliberations on whether he is guilty of the attack in 2013.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">But a month after defense lawyers bluntly admitted the 21-year-old's role in the bombing and the four chaotic days that followed it, each side's focus will be less on guilt than on the question of whether Tsarnaev will die for his crimes.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The first half of Tsarnaev's trial in Boston federal court proceeded at a blistering pace, with the two sides making their case in just 16 days, less time than it took to select the jury.</div> <!-- adsense --> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">That speed reflects the fact that the defense was not able to make its primary argument, that Tsarnaev was a junior partner in a scheme hatched and largely carried out by his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan, who died following a gunfight with police four days after the bombing.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Blocked from making that case until after Tsarnaev is found guilty, defense attorneys opted to cross-examine less than half the prosecution's witnesses and called just four of their own.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Monday's closing statements could be a preview of the arguments each side plans to make during the next phase of the trial, when the same jury will hear a fresh round of witness testimony before determining whether to sentence Tsarnaev to life in prison without possibility of parole, or to death.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">"The rules of evidence are severely relaxed during the penalty phase of a capital trial and much more open to any sort of mitigating evidence of any sort that limits the defendant's responsibility," said Peter White, a lawyer at Schulte Roth & Zabel in Washington and former federal prosecutor.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Witnesses in the trial so far have testified that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's fingerprints were not found on bomb-making material at his brother's Cambridge, Massachusetts, apartment and that extremist literature found on his computer, including copies of Al Qaeda's "Inspire" magazine, had initially been downloaded by Tamerlan.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The jury also saw images of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev standing with a backpack in the crowd at the marathon's finish line minutes before the blasts that killed restaurant manager Krystle Campbell, 29, Chinese exchange student Lingzi Lu, 23, and 8-year-old Martin Richard. Tsarnaev is also accused of the fatal shooting of Massachusetts of Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier, 26.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">WILL HE TALK?</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The jury has yet to hear from Tsarnaev, though it has so far heard from friends and family of those who were killed, from 17 people who lost limbs in the attack, and from emergency responders, including a police officer who described wrestling with Tamerlan in his final moments.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The defendant has sat quietly in court through the proceedings and has generally avoided looking at witnesses.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">But if he is found guilty, he may testify during the sentencing phase of his trial, legal experts said.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">"He is fighting for his life at this point in time. What has he got to lose?" said David Weinstein, an attorney at Clarke Silverglate in Miami, who brought death penalty cases when working as a state and federal prosecutor.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">"If you can put the client on the stand and humanize him and get the jurors to understand this is a life worth saving, then he needs to testify."</div></div>

Boston bombing jury to hear closing arguments, begin guilt deliberations

BOSTON (Reuters) - Attorneys for accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and federal prosecutors who say he killed four people are ...

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Islamic State takes 90 percent of Damascus refugee camp: monitor

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNkvSyzHxPqOhgpgkEFtt5XumkKI4zL5nz5kODeaMGuPcJ9-OwYP3MPYYbBi4kHc85Wd90KliNqlpCo4k5f1yLQSQqmyTY9ZEyIne8gdUjaB2Q3MG6wZSfpup0YD-yYKD6OzMli0wtqXO/s1600/world_news_3_69x52._800x533_L_1419494235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNkvSyzHxPqOhgpgkEFtt5XumkKI4zL5nz5kODeaMGuPcJ9-OwYP3MPYYbBi4kHc85Wd90KliNqlpCo4k5f1yLQSQqmyTY9ZEyIne8gdUjaB2Q3MG6wZSfpup0YD-yYKD6OzMli0wtqXO/s1600/world_news_3_69x52._800x533_L_1419494235.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State has taken control of 90 percent of a Palestinian refugee camp on the Damascus outskirts where 18,000 civilians have suffered years of bombing, army siege and militia control, a monitoring group said on Saturday.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The hardline group's offensive in Yarmouk gives it a major presence in the capital. Islamic State, the most powerful insurgent group in Syria, is now only a few kilometers from President Bashar al-Assad's seat of power.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The United Nations has said it is extremely concerned about the safety and protection of Syrians and Palestinians in the camp. Civilians trapped there have long suffered a government siege that has led to starvation and disease.</div> <!-- adsense --> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">"The situation in Yarmouk is an affront to the humanity of all of us, a source of universal shame," U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) spokesman Chris Gunness said.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">"Yarmouk is a test, a challenge for the international community. We must not fail. The credibility of the international system itself is at stake," he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict from Britain, said Syrian air force jet bombed the camp on Saturday.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The Islamic State on Wednesday launched an attack on other groups of fighters in Yarmouk, in particular Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis, an anti-Assad militia of Syrians and Palestinians from the camp.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Islamic State supporters posted photos on social media of the severed heads of two men they said had been beheaded after fighting for Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis.</div> <!-- adsense --> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The Observatory said Islamic State and al Qaeda's official Syria wing, the Nusra Front, made gains overnight, pushing into the northeast of the district, close to central Damascus. They now control 90 percent of the camp, it said.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Tayseer Abu Baker, head of the Palestinian Liberation Front in Syria, part of the Palestine Liberation Organization, told Reuters over the phone that Islamic State had killed 21 people including fighters and civilians since Friday.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">"Some families are trying to exit the camp but with Islamic State snipers on rooftops of high buildings that is very difficult," he said. He added Islamic State had kidnapped at least 74 people from the camp and that civilians were trying to flee.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Reuters cannot independently verify reports in Syria due to security and reporting restrictions.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Islamic State rules swathes of eastern Syria and Iraq and is the target of a U.S.-led campaign of air strikes.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Yarmouk was home to half a million Palestinians before the Syrian conflict began in 2011. The was has killed 220,000 people and displaced millions.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Government officials could not be reached for comment. Syria's state news agency SANA said terrorists in the camp had prevented aid from reaching civilians. It added the army had encircled Yarmouk.</div><br /></div>

Islamic State takes 90 percent of Damascus refugee camp: monitor

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State has taken control of 90 percent of a Palestinian refugee camp on the Damascus outskirts where 18,000 civili...

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Pentagon chief to visit Japan, Korea on first Asia-Pacific trip

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2US-5MyrV9HQDwcCC1TThXWJITT_9l_DLixkwuxPpld1-4cbrPE9xklUH8EmKpGt5ZRS4llJrbwCiVs098ci4v-6X2ZlesaVrnvvIQGli9o5HQCvY3I6qdmSl0yehGrfDbC7moH6s-zX/s1600/LYNXMPEB320KH_L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2US-5MyrV9HQDwcCC1TThXWJITT_9l_DLixkwuxPpld1-4cbrPE9xklUH8EmKpGt5ZRS4llJrbwCiVs098ci4v-6X2ZlesaVrnvvIQGli9o5HQCvY3I6qdmSl0yehGrfDbC7moH6s-zX/s1600/LYNXMPEB320KH_L.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Defense Secretary Ash Carter will travel to Japan and South Korea next week on his first trip to the Asia-Pacific region since becoming Pentagon chief, working to boost the U.S. strategic rebalance to the region, the department said on Friday.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The trip, which begins on Monday, is one of two trips Carter plans to make to the region over the next two months. In May, he will visit Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue, where he will meet partners from Southeast Asia, and then travel on to India.</div> <!-- adsense --> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The visits come at a time of tensions in the region as China and its closest neighbors jockey for control of resources in the contested waters, reefs and islands of the South China and East China seas. The United States has urged China and its neighbors to resolve their maritime and territorial disputes peacefully.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Carter will stop at Arizona State University on the first leg of his journey to speak to students about the links between national security and economic security, the Pentagon said in a statement.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">He also will discuss the administration's plans to push ahead with the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific that President Barack Obama announced in his 2012 defense strategic guidance. The rebalance called for an intensified focus on the region by the Pentagon as well as other government agencies.</div> <!-- adsense1 --> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Carter arrives in Japan late on Tuesday and will meet Japanese leaders on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss bilateral security and other issues ahead of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Washington at the end of April.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The U.S. defense chief will arrive in Seoul on Thursday and will meet with senior government officials on Friday to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to South Korea's security. Carter will visit senior U.S. military leaders in the Pacific during a visit to Pacific Command in Hawaii on Saturday, the Pentagon said.</div><br /></div>

Pentagon chief to visit Japan, Korea on first Asia-Pacific trip

Defense Secretary Ash Carter will travel to Japan and South Korea next week on his first trip to the Asia-Pacific region since becoming Pent...

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U.S. targets overseas cyber attackers with new sanctions program

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSANRMgIbKc_a23WPUmy6mHrfATb64EWckzwQDjeyCng47WAbwwkMJuqH5FxZfBRrFsrZaaBhAY_cUopa7Ihc-lUXps8KQahieLZbHXjJvGIN3r70QoZuquFJf7lBjrBVsNlH4NP6TlkwH/s1600/LYNXMPEB301SO_L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSANRMgIbKc_a23WPUmy6mHrfATb64EWckzwQDjeyCng47WAbwwkMJuqH5FxZfBRrFsrZaaBhAY_cUopa7Ihc-lUXps8KQahieLZbHXjJvGIN3r70QoZuquFJf7lBjrBVsNlH4NP6TlkwH/s1600/LYNXMPEB301SO_L.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama launched a new sanctions program on Wednesday to target individuals and groups outside the United States that use "malicious" cyber attacks to threaten U.S. foreign policy, national security or economic stability.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">In an executive order, Obama declared such activities a "national emergency" and allowed the U.S. Treasury Department to freeze the assets and bar other financial transactions of entities engaged in destructive cyber attacks.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The executive order gives the administration the same sanctions tools it now deploys to address other threats - including crises in the Middle East and Russia's aggression in Ukraine - and makes them available for less visible cyber threats.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">It is the Obama administration's latest effort to get tough with hackers, following indictments of five Chinese military officers and the decision to "name and shame" North Korea for a high-profile attack on Sony.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">It also follows a string of cyber attacks aimed at Target, <span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Corporation" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Home Depot </span>(NYSE:<span class="aqPopupWrapper" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a class="aqlink" data-pairid="8064" hoverme="aql" href="http://www.investing.com/equities/home-depot" id="551c5b9106062" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; border: 0px; color: #1256a0; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px 1px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">HD</a></span>) and other retailers, as well as military networks.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Obama said in a statement that harming critical infrastructure, misappropriating funds, using trade secrets for competitive advantage and disrupting computer networks would trigger the penalties.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Companies that knowingly use stolen trade secrets to undermine the U.S. economy would also be targeted.</div><!-- adsense1 --> <br /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">"From now on, we have the power to freeze their assets, make it harder for them to do business with U.S. companies, and limit their ability to profit from their misdeeds," Obama said of those targeted by the order.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The program was designed to fill a gap in U.S. cybersecurity efforts where diplomatic or law enforcement means were insufficient, Michael Daniel, Obama's cybersecurity adviser, told reporters. He said there was not a timeline for determining an initial round of targets.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Under the program cyber attackers or those who conduct commercial espionage in cyberspace can be listed on the official sanctions list of specially designated nationals, a deterrent long-sought by the cyber community.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">"This sends a signal that the days of free-range hacking are over," said James Lewis, a cyber expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Subjecting cyber criminals, companies that benefit from commercial espionage and even foreign intelligence operatives to tough financial sanctions could have a "momentous" effect in deterring the growing number of cyber attacks seen daily on U.S. networks, said Dmitri Alperovitch, chief technology officer of Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity firm.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">The program could prompt a strong reaction from China. Cybersecurity has been a significant irritant in U.S.-China ties, with U.S. investigators saying hackers backed by the Chinese government have been behind attacks on U.S. companies, and China rejecting the charges.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Senior administration officials said the new program was not directed at specific countries or regions, but instead was focused on specific activities. The order was intended to serve both as a deterrent and a punishment, Daniel said, adding that Washington hoped its allies would join in the effort.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Obama has moved cybersecurity toward the top of his 2015 agenda after recent breaches, and last month, the Central Intelligence Agency announced a major overhaul aimed in part at sharpening its focus on cyber operations.</div><br /></div>

U.S. targets overseas cyber attackers with new sanctions program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama launched a new sanctions program on Wednesday to target individuals and groups outside the Uni...

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