Russia Pounds Islamic State Jihadists With 'For Paris' Bombs

Moscow:  Russia is pounding the Islamic State jihadists in Syria with bombs emblazoned with the words "For our people" and "For Paris" after Moscow vowed vengeance following the bombing of a plane over Sinai.

Russian television broadcast a video in which a man is seen scrawling "For our people!" and "For Paris!" in black pen on aerial bombs minutes before a warplane is set to take off from the country's airbase in Syria.

"For our people! For Paris! Pilots and technicians of #Hmeymim airbase sent a message to terrorists by airmail," the Russian defence ministry said on its official Twitter account.

"The armed forces are conducting an aerial campaign of retribution," the defence ministry said in a separate statement, adding the military had begun coordinating their operations with the French.

Earlier this week Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to hunt down and "punish" those behind a bomb attack that brought down a passenger jet over Sinai last month, killing all 224 people, mostly Russian holidaymakers, on board.

After the carnage in Paris which claimed the lives of 130 people Putin and French President Francois Hollande agreed to "ensure closer contact and coordination" in their countries' operations in Syria.

The two leaders will meet at the Kremlin next week.

Unverified images have been circulating on the internet of Syria-bound US missiles bearing the handwritten inscription "From Paris with love".

Russia has been conducting a bombing campaign in Syria since September 30, the country's largest foreign intervention outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.

The Islamic State group said it had bombed the Russian jet in Egypt in retaliation for the bombing raids.

Story First Published: November 21, 2015 03:46 IST

Russia can chose between Assad or legitimate Syrian govt: Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday Russia and Iran must decide whether they want to prop up Syrian President Bashar al Assad or “save the Syrian state” by finding a Syrian government that can be legitimate.

Mr. Obama made the comment during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Mr. Obama said the goal of recent diplomatic efforts is to create space that could eventually lead to a “pivot” and political transition. He said a hoped-for ceasefire might not be observed by all parties but would create “pockets of calm.”

Mr. Obama’s comments come amid U.S. hopes that Russia may be warming to the idea of a future Syria that doesn’t include Mr. Assad.

Obama says Putin a 'constructive partner' in Syria talks

MANILA: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised Russia's role in talks to end the Syria crisis and offered the prospect of better ties if Moscow focused military strikes on the Islamic State group.

Obama said Russia had been a "constructive partner in Vienna in trying to create a political transition," referring to international talks in Austria.

But, he said, there were still differences over the fate of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, and Moscow's current military focus on defending him.

"There is obviously a catch, which is Moscow is still interested in keeping Assad in power," Obama said.

But he added: "Those differences have not prevented us at looking at how could we set up a cease fire."

Obama also expressed hope that Russia may shift the military focus from defending Assad to attacking the Islamic State group.

Putin's government recently blamed the jihadists for downing a Russian aircraft over Egypt in October, killing 224 people on board.

"In their initial military incursion into Syria, they have been more focused on propping up President Assad," Obama said.

"If, in fact, he shifts his focus and the focus of his military, to what is the principle threat, which is ISIS, then that is what we want to see," Obama said using another acronym for the group.

"We are going to wait and see whether Russia does end up paying more attention to ISIL targets. If it does so, that's something we welcome."

Obama was speaking after a meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino in Manila.

Russia Offers $50 Million Reward For Information on Sinai Plane Attackers

Vladimir Putin pledged to step up air strikes in Syria after Moscow confirmed a bomb brought down a Russian passenger jet in Egypt last month, the Kremlin said on November 17. (AFP)

Moscow:  Russia's federal security service (FSB) today said it would pay $50 million for information about "terrorists" who brought down the plane in Sinai last month with 224 people on board.

The FSB appealed for "help in identifying the terrorists" that exploded a bomb on the A321 plane travelling from Egypt to Russia. "There will be a reward of $50 million for information helping to arrest the criminals," it said on its website.

Story First Published: November 17, 2015 15:49 IST

Microsoft rolls out Windows, IE, Office update to fix two dozen vulnerabilities

Microsoft has rolled out eight security bulletins to fix two dozen vulnerabilities as part of its October edition of Patch Tuesday. The software giant has also issued update addressing the "SandWorm" bug reportedly being exploited by Russian hackers to spy on NATO and the Ukrainian government.

CNET reports that the updates address vulnerabilities found in all currently supported versions of Windows, Internet Explorer, Office and the .Net framework. Three of the bulletins are rated critical, meaning Microsoft recommends systems administrators apply the patches immediately. A report said that Russian hackers targeted the Ukrainian government around the time of the recent NATO summit in Wales, where discussions on Russia's alliance with separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine were of prime focus.

iSight Senior Director Stephen Ward said that the vulnerability appeared in every version of Windows from Vista to 8.1, barring Windows XP. Security researcher FireEye said that Microsoft identified two of three so-called zero-day bugs -- flaws that are being actively exploited in the wild by hackers -- being used as "part of limited, targeted attacks against some major corporations," the report added.

Vladimir Putin Accuses Barack Obama of Hostility, Meddling

Moscow, Russia:  Russian President Vladimir Putin accused US counterpart Barack Obama of a hostile attitude towards Russia, warning against "attempts to blackmail" Moscow.

Speaking ahead of his visit to EU aspirant Serbia on Thursday and key talks with EU leaders on Friday, Putin minced no words, demanding that Washington take Moscow's interests into account.

In some of his most combative comments on US-Russia ties yet, the Kremlin strongman took issue with Obama's speech at the United Nations General Assembly last month, when he listed "Russia's aggression" in eastern Ukraine among top global threats, along with Islamic State jihadists and the Ebola outbreak in western Africa.

"Together with the limits introduced against entire sectors of our economy it is hard to call such approach anything but hostile," Putin told the Serbian daily Politika.

"We are hoping that our partners will understand the recklessness of attempts to blackmail Russia, (and) remember what discord between large nuclear powers can do to strategic stability," Putin said in comments released by the Kremlin late Wednesday.

Putin also accused Washington of meddling in his country's affairs, charging that the United States provoked a crisis in Ukraine and then shifted the blame onto Russia.

"What has been happening since the start of the year is even more dispiriting," Putin said in commments which resonated with Cold War-style rhetoric.

"Washington actively supported the Maidan (protests) and began to blame Russia for provoking a crisis when its proteges in Kiev through their rabid nationalism turned a significant part of Ukraine against it and threw the country into civil war."

Putin, who is set to meet Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko in Milan on Friday, called on Kiev to start nationwide dialogue and address the issue of "constitutional makeup" to put the conflict to rest.

"A real opportunity has appeared to halt military confrontation, essentially civil war," he said.

"It is necessary to as soon as possible start genuine internal Ukrainian dialogue with the participation of representatives of all regions, all political forces," Putin said in an apparent reference to Kremlin-backed separatists.

Putin on Sunday called back 17,600 soldiers from the Ukrainian border, in what many interpreted as a gesture aimed at persuading the West to ease punitive sancions.

'Dialogue based on equality'

Putin reiterated that Moscow was ready to mend fences with Washington but only if its interests are genuinely taken into account.

"We are ready to develop constructive dialogue based on principles of equality and taking each other's interests into account in earnest."

"Our partners should clearly realise that attempts to put pressure on Russia through unilateral illegitimate limiting steps do not bring a resolution (of the Ukraine crisis) closer but only complicate dialogue," he said, referring to the Western sanctions.

Russia is at loggerheads with the West after its annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March and its support for separatist fighters in the former Soviet country's eastern belt.

Kiev and the West have accused the Kremlin of sending regular troops into Ukraine to prop up separatists battling against Kiev authorities. Moscow has denied the claim.

Putin's predecessor at the Kremlin, Dmitry Medvedev spearheaded a "re-set" in ties with Washington but those ties have quickly unravelled since Putin returned to the Kremlin for a third term in 2012.

Russia is now facing its deepest period of international isolation since the end of the Cold War over its stance on Ukraine, with Western sanctions dealing a blow to its already stuttering economy.

Putin reiterated that Western sanctions would backfire, adding that US and EU companies would sustain "reputational damage" because of them.

"At the same time other countries will thoroughly think about just how reasonable it is to entrust their funds to the American banking system and increase dependence on economic cooperation with the United States," he said.

Putin also called on Brussels to give its backing to the controversial South Stream gas pipeline project.

"It is necessary to unblock the situation around the South Stream," he told Politika.

"Everyone would win from this: both Russia and European consumers - including Serbia."

EU member Bulgaria has suspended work on building its section of the multi-billion-euro project following pressure from the EU and the United States.

Story First Published: October 16, 2014 08:54 IST    

US, Russia to step up intelligence sharing on IS militants: Kerry

PARIS: US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that he and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov have agreed to step up intelligence sharing over the Islamic State (IS) group. 

"I suggested to Foreign Minister Lavrov that we intensify intelligence cooperation with respect to ISIL and other counter-terrorism challenges of the region and we agreed to do so," Kerry said using an alternative name for the IS jihadists. 

 He said that during a three-hour-and-15-minute meeting in Paris, the two top diplomats had discussed "whether Russia could do more to support Iraqi security forces" fighting IS. 

The hardline group has seized large swathes of territory in both Iraq and Syria. 

"The foreign minister indeed acknowledged their preparedness to help with respect to arms, weapons, they are doing that now, they already have provided some, and also potentially with the training and advising aspects," said Kerry. 

He said he and Lavrov recognised "that ISIL has absolutely no place in the 21st century". 

"No decent country by any definition can support the horrors perpetrated by ISIL. And no civilised country should shirk its responsibility to stand up and be part of the effort to stamp out this disease." 

For his part, Lavrov said that while Moscow and Washington still had "differences of opinion" they both had a particular role to play in resolving global problems. 

"They must cooperate more effectively, especially in the fight against terrorism."