DOLO, Somalia ? Lush patches of green dot this once-barren land, allowing goats and camels to graze. A nearby field is full of large, purple onions thanks to a U.N.-funded project.
Four months after the U.N. declared famine in much of Somalia, some regions are beginning a slow recovery from a disaster that has killed tens of thousands of people. But some Somalis ? women, mostly ? living in a stick-hut camp in this border town say they won't return home because they're afraid of hardline Islamist militants stalking those parts of the country, and of being unable to feed themselves.
The U.N. last week reduced the number of famine zones in Somalia from six to three and said the number of people at risk of starvation has dropped from 750,000 to 250,000.
Since the July 20 famine declaration, the U.N. has received $800 million in aid. But the lives of 13 million people affected by East Africa's worst drought in decades remain in doubt. Officials say aid deliveries must continue or recovering regions will plunge back into famine.
"We are just at the beginning of a phase of a potential recovery if everything goes well," said Luca Alinovi, the head of the Somalia office of the U.N.'s Food and Agricultural Organization.
He said it will likely be a year before anyone is sure the danger has passed.
Drought wiped out much of Somalia's crops. Then herds of camels and goats perished, or were forced out of low-rain regions. The arrival of seasonal rains has pumped new life into Dolo, a river town on the Ethiopian border that's in an area that until last week was considered a famine zone.
Small herds of goats frolic near Dolo's yellow flowering bushes. Camels outside town munch on green shrubs. Donkeys drink puddles of muddy water. From the air, a spotty green canopy can be seen in place of the forbidding brown landscape that existed in July.
A camp on the edge of town is home to 5,000 people, mostly women and children, who fled the famine in other parts of Somalia. Somalis have also crowded into famine refugee camps in other parts of the country, including the capital, and outside the country, in Kenya and Ethiopia.
A local U.N. worker, Abdi Nur, said many of the men at the Dolo camp have returned home to plant crops. But many of the women say they won't join them.
"I don't want to go back," said Hafida Mamood, 62. "There's no security and no animals. We don't want to go anywhere. The food is here."
Other women nodded in agreement and voiced the same conviction.
Challiss McDonough, a World Food Program spokeswoman, said the displaced Somalis "have to feel physically secure and have a livelihood that will allow them to make ends meet" in their home regions.
Doubt remains, and a recent push by Kenyan forces into Somalia has complicated matters.
Somalia's famine has been made more severe by al-Shabab militants who control the country's south have impeded the work of some aid agencies, such as WFP. U.N. officials say tens of thousands of people have died, though Mark Bowden, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official for Somalia, said he does not believe there will ever be a precise toll.
Kenyan forces moved into southern Somalia last month to battle al-Shabab, and Bowden said some Somalis have fled that fighting. The military intervention is also preventing some food supplies from being delivered, he said.
Alinovi said the conflict could keep food production down, despite the new rains. This rainy season, if all goes well, will only supply about 30 percent of Somalia's food needs.
"Where conflict increases, farmers do not go to plant. They stay out of their field. If this happens things will get worse and worse," Alinovi said.
Kenya troops in Somalia are trying to move toward the al-Shabab-controlled port town of Kismayo, but their advance has been slowed by rain. Ethiopian troops over the last week have also moved into Somalia to attack militants.
Security is not a concern for the refugees in Dolo, which is under the de facto security umbrella of Ethiopia.
On the town's outskirts, Alinovi on Monday visited an FAO-funded irrigation project that has allowed a community of 20 families to plant and harvest 10 hectares of onions, tomatoes and maize ? food that allowed the families to survive during the famine.
Big, purple onions lay in wet dirt. On the field's edge was a dusty generator that could fill the field's irrigation ditches with muddy river water in a matter of minutes. Keynan Ibrahim, a 20-year-old member of the farming project, cleared trees and bushes from the fields in early 2010 so food could be planted.
"We were not affected by the drought. We had enough food from the farm," he said.
Alinovi, doing a back-of-the-envelope calculation in the field of onions, said he thinks the FAO spent about $8,000 on the project, including labor money to clear the field, seeds, fertilizer, tools, the water pump and a generator.
FAO has nearly 250 such irrigation projects in Somalia, Alinovi said. He wishes he had money for more.
"They were able to continue to produce even during the drought. They've been selling their food ... and they didn't need any support from any others," he said, adding: "This is a very good example of what should be happening all across Somalia."
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Facebook users are getting more connected to each other as the service grows older, according to a new study by the company's data team and the University of Milan. Instead of the traditional "six degrees of separation" that researchers have historically observed between all people in the world (and Kevin Bacon), the number of degrees has been dropping since 2008 on the site, from 5.28 then to 4.74 now. This isn't just an interesting factoid about the modern world, it highlights Facebook's long-term strategy, and its dominant market position in social networking. Founder Mark Zuckerberg has proclaimed for years that his goal is to make the world more "open and connected." In practice, that's meant features across the site that do things like reveal what friends you have in common with any other user, and suggest that you become friends with people you've never met in person.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/wGnlIOWy-JQ/
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Authorities work the scene where the driver of a rental truck carrying beer kegs through a parking area before an NCAA college football game between Yale and Harvard suddenly accelerated, fatally striking a 30-year-old woman and injuring two other women, police said, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, in New Haven, Conn. (AP Photo/Bob Child)
Authorities work the scene where the driver of a rental truck carrying beer kegs through a parking area before an NCAA college football game between Yale and Harvard suddenly accelerated, fatally striking a 30-year-old woman and injuring two other women, police said, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, in New Haven, Conn. (AP Photo/Bob Child)
Tailgating tables remain at the scene where the driver of a rental truck carrying beer kegs through a parking area before an NCAA college football game between Yale and Harvard suddenly accelerated, fatally striking a 30-year-old woman and injuring two other women, police said, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, in New Haven, Conn. (AP Photo/Bob Child)
A man looks at the scene where the driver of a rental truck carrying beer kegs through a parking area before an NCAA college football game between Yale and Harvard suddenly accelerated, fatally striking a 30-year-old woman and injuring two other women, police said, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, in New Haven, Conn. (AP Photo/Bob Child)
People look at the scene where the driver of a rental truck carrying beer kegs through a parking area before an NCAA college football game between Yale and Harvard suddenly accelerated, fatally striking a 30-year-old woman and injuring two other women, police said, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, in New Haven, Conn. (AP Photo/Bob Child)
New Haven and Yale Police investigate the scene of an accident at Yale Bowl Lot D before the football game between Yale and Harvard on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 in New Haven, Conn. The driver of a rental truck carrying beer kegs through a parking area before the game suddenly accelerated, fatally striking a 30-year-old woman and injuring two other women, police said. It's not clear why the driver sped up, New Haven Police spokesman David Hartman said. The truck then crashed into other rental vans in the lot, an open playing field used for pre-game parties before Yale home games (AP Photo/The New Haven Register, Peter Hvizdak) MAGAZINES OUT. TV OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT
New Haven police say Brendan Ross was driving the truck carrying beer kegs Saturday morning when it accelerated after making a turn in a parking area where people were tailgating.
Thirty-year-old Nancy Barry of Salem, Mass., was killed. Two other women were injured. Thirty-one-year-old Yale student Sarah Short of New Haven remained hospitalized Sunday, and 23-year-old Harvard employee Elizabeth Dernbach, originally of Naples, Fla., was treated and released.
Messages left for Ross through email and at his fraternity, which police listed as his address, were not immediately returned Sunday.
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OWINGS MILLS, Md. ? John Harbaugh won't be hearing a lot of questions about football this week. Neither will his brother, Jim.
On Thanksgiving night, the Harbaughs will become the first brothers to face each other as NFL head coaches. Although it's a very important game for the Baltimore Ravens (7-3) and San Francisco 49ers (9-1), John and Jim are clearly the bigger story.
And that might be the only reason why John, who coaches the Ravens, and Jim, rookie coach of the 49ers, are thankful it's a short work week.
John and Jim participated separately in national conference calls Monday. Few of the questions centered upon Xs and Os.
Rather, they were asked about themselves. Both recalled the last time they were on opposing teams (an American Legion baseball game when they were in high school). Everyone wanted to know what it was like growing up with a father who's a football coach. One reporter even asked John about the treatment their younger sister received ("She pretty much had the run of everything," John revealed).
This much is certain: It's going to be a one-of-a-kind Thanksgiving for the Harbaugh clan.
"All the extended Harbaughs will have a great time, one way or the other," John said. "There will be one Harbaugh side that will be really happy, and there will be another Harbaugh side that will be really, really disappointed. And then Mom and Dad will be torn. That's how I think it will go."
The sellout crowd at M&T Bank Stadium will include plenty of Harbaughs, and John will be footing the brunt of the bill.
"I'm the one who's had to get the tickets. That's been kind of an expensive proposition," John said. "I haven't heard from Jim. I haven't really gotten an offer. I was surprised about that."
Told about John's concern, Jim said, "I'm not keeping score on that. We'll just keep score of the ballgame."
The 49ers can clinch the NFL West title with a win and a loss by the Seahawks on Sunday, and the Ravens are looking to maintain their perch atop the AFC North. But even the Harbaughs realize the significance of this game is in the matchup of John, 49, and younger brother Jim, 47.
"It's an amazing thing. To say that you're not thinking about it probably wouldn't be real," John said. "It's a historic thing, it's very special. I couldn't be more proud for our parents or for Jim. I just think it's really neat."
Jim Harbaugh would probably have a warmer regard for the matchup if he didn't have to bring his team from San Francisco to Baltimore just three days after playing Arizona.
"As far as the nostalgia of it, I think it's very considerate of the NFL to fly us out there," Jim said. "I haven't seen him on Thanksgiving in I don't know how many years."
Just in case his sarcasm wasn't evident, he added: "There's no doubt we got the short end of the straw on this one, but we'll see if we can make history ? it's the first two brothers have coached against each other, and the first time an NFL team has traveled three times zones to play a Thursday night game after a Sunday game since the league went to a 16-game schedule."
It really won't be much of a family gathering. Jim and the 49ers will head back to the West Coast after the game, and John isn't even sure if their parents, Jack and Jackie, will watch the game at the stadium.
"They're talking about coming pregame and being out there on the field and then sneaking away and watching it on TV," John said. "I think they're kind of torn and conflicted about that."
The similarity of the brothers was evident by their answers to identical questions. Asked if the Harbaughs are the first family of football, John answered: "I would never even go there."
Jim responded: "I don't have an opinion on that."
The inevitable comparison between the brothers veered way off target when a reporter asked John: Is Jim cockier than you are?
The answer: "That's the most ridiculous question I've ever heard."
During John's conference call, the topic drifted briefly to football when someone wondered whether standout linebacker Ray Lewis would be available Thursday after missing Sunday's win over Cincinnati with a toe injury.
John had no desire to give his brother ? or anyone ? a clue about the status of the team's defensive leader.
"Is that something I really want to share right now?" he said. "Would there be any value in doing that?"
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Hackers are alleged to have destroyed a pump used to pipe water to thousands of homes in a US city in Illinois.
Hackers with access to the utility's network are thought to have broken the pump by turning it on and off quickly.
The FBI and Department for Homeland Security (DHS) are investigating the incident as details emerge of what could be a separate second attack.
Experts said the news revealed a growing interest in critical infrastructure by cyber criminals.
Information about the 8 November incident came to light via the blog of Joe Weiss who advises utilities on how to protect hardware against attack.
Mr Weiss quoted from a short report by the Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center which said hackers obtained access using stolen login names and passwords. These were taken from a company which writes control software for industrial systems.
The net address through which the attack was carried out was traced to Russia, according to Mr Weiss. The report said "glitches" in the remote access system for the pump had been noticed for months before the burn out, said Mr Weiss.
Peter Boogaard, A spokesman for the DHS, said it was gathering facts about the incident.
"At this time there is no credible corroborated data that indicates a risk to critical infrastructure entities or a threat to public safety," he said.
Industrial actionThe comments by the DHS prompted a hacker using the handle "pr0f" to claim he had access to the control systems for a second US water utility.
He posted a document to the Pastebin website which purportedly contained links to screenshots of the internal control systems for a waste water treatment plant in South Houston.
The hacker's claims about their ability to penetrate the control systems have yet to be confirmed or denied by South Houston's Water and Sewer Department.
In an interview with the Threat Post website, Pr0f said the hack of the South Houston network barely deserved the name because only a three-character password had been used to protect the system.
The attacks are the latest in a series in which different hackers and groups have targeted so called Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. These specialised computer systems are used to control machinery used to filter water, mix chemicals, distribute power and route trains and trams.
One of the best known SCADA attacks involved the Stuxnet worm which caused problems for Iran.
There were reports that the malware crippled centrifuges used in the nation's uranium enrichment program. Iran denied the claims saying that it had caught the worm before it reached its intended target.
Earlier this year, security researchers who investigated ways to attack SCADA systems were persuaded to cancel a public talk about their findings because of the "serious physical, financial impact these issues could have on a worldwide basis".
Lani Kass, a former advisor to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff on security issues, said America had to start doing more work to understand attacks on critical infrastructure.
"The going in hypothesis is always that it's just an incident or coincidence," she said. "And if every incident is seen in isolation, it's hard - if not impossible - to discern a pattern or connect the dots."
"Failure to connect the dots led us to be surprised on 9/11," she said.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-15817335
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TEHRAN, Iran ? A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander killed in an explosion at an ammunition depot west of Tehran last week died while testing an intercontinental missile, his brother was quoted by a government newspaper as saying Saturday.
Mohammad Tehrani Moghaddam, himself a Guard officer, also said in an interview published Saturday that his brother Gen. Hasan Tehrani Moghaddam had founded the missile unit of the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Gen. Moghaddam was killed together with 20 other Guard members Nov. 12 at a military site outside Bidganeh village, 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Tehran. The Guard said the explosion was an accident, and occurred while military personnel were transporting munitions.
But Mohammad Tehrani Moghaddam was quoted by the government-run Iran newspaper as saying that his brother was killed when the weapon exploded during testing. He did not dispute that the explosion was accidental.
"He lost his life while doing a final test of the missile," Moghaddam said. "The project was in the final testing phase. It was related to an intercontinental ballistic missile ... It was a completely high-tech, confidential process."
These key quotes were left out of the text printed by the newspaper. They appeared on the paper's website early Saturday, but were deleted later in the day.
The Guard has praised Moghaddam as the founder of the elite unit's surface-to-surface missile capability.
In a statement released after the explosion, the Guard said it would not forget Moghaddam's "effective role in the development of the country's defense ... and his efforts in launching and organizing the Guard's artillery and missile units."
Moghaddam headed a "self-sufficiency" unit of the Guard's armaments section, it said.
In the interview, Mohammed Tehrani Moghaddam said that this brother had set up Hezbollah's missile capability. "Hasan ... visited Lebanon and created Hezbollah's missile unit there," he was quoted as saying.
Iran is a key supporter of Hezbollah and is believed to funnel it weapons and millions of dollars in funding, though Tehran denies arming the Shiite group. Hezbollah, also closely allied to Syria, boasts a heavy arsenal of rockets capable of reaching deep inside Israel.
The Revolutionary Guard, Iran's most powerful military force, is in charge of Iran's missile program.
Iran's arsenal boasts missiles with a range of about 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) that were designed for Israeli and U.S. targets. The missile capability, along with Iran's nuclear program, are among the reasons why Israel considers Iran its most dangerous enemy.
Moghaddam said his brother was also involved in Iran's space program, assisting the rocket that took an Iranian satellite into orbit.
He didn't elaborate but said Hasan was favored by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Moghaddam himself was once Khamenei's bodyguard.
The Guard initially said 17 Guard members were killed in the explosion. The semi-official Mehr news agency listed the names of 21 victims prompting the military force to say some of those critically injured had succumbed to their wounds later.
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