Yongsan bans personal drones equipped with cameras

SEOUL, South Korea — The discovery of several camera-equipped North Korean drones south of the Demilitarized Zone last spring raised worries about spying. But at the U.S. military’s largest installation on the peninsula, the real security threat this holiday season may have been Santa Claus.

A new U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan policy, issued just days before Christmas, banned the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Remote Control Aircraft — aircraft without human pilots, guided by computers or remote control — on its installations.

Garrison spokeswoman Michelle Thomas said the new policy was not prompted by any specific incidents or security concerns but was meant to reinforce existing military regulations on UAV and RCA use by creating a garrison policy.

“The timing of it really had to do with people getting those as presents because it was just before Christmas… just making sure they knew what the regulations were, and that’s it,” she said.

A Dec. 19 policy letter, signed by garrison commander Col. Maria Eoff, banned the use of UAVs or RCAs equipped with cameras or data collection devices on Yongsan and other Area II installations “for public safety and OPSEC reasons.” The ban excluded UAV and RCA flights made for official military purposes.

The policy does allow RCA use in Area II with conditions. Operators must be at least 13, have their aircraft registered and inspected and go no higher than 100 feet high. RCAs can be used only at the Family Fun Park or sports fields at Yongsan’s Blackhawk Village, across from Burke Towers, or at the K-16 Air Base sports field adjacent to the running track.

Violators may be subject to Uniform Code of Military Justice punishment, administrative sanctions or civilian criminal prosecution, the policy letter said.

The letter said that while RCAs have been used recreationally by model aircraft enthusiasts, “they are increasingly being used for professional applications such as surveillance and data-gathering. Such aircraft are likely to be operated in a way that may pose a greater risk to the general public and operators may not be aware of the potential dangers… Further, the possibility of signal interference or interception might be associated with such aircraft.”

Thomas said the ban on UAVs and model aircraft was not prompted by security concerns following the discovery of several crashed North Korean drones in the South earlier this year, including one that was found to have taken pictures of the president’s residence in Seoul.

The rudimentary blue drones were similar in size and shape and were equipped with cameras and parachutes. Defense officials said they were not capable of carrying a significant load of weaponry or software to provide a live feed to a ground contact, indicating the North was in the early stages of developing UAV technology.

The drones’ ability to penetrate South Korean airspace without detection raised concerns about the country’s air defense, prompting Seoul to vow that it would respond forcefully to future drone incursions and increase its efforts to monitor and down UAVs.

rowland.ashley@stripes.com

Twitter: @Rowland_Stripes

Russia says Ukraine deal to buy US nuclear fuel poses safety risks

31 minutes ago

By Carol J. Williams

Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Published: December 31, 2014

Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of endangering public safety in Europe with its decision to buy nuclear fuel for its Soviet-built nuclear plants from a U.S. supplier, saying Ukrainian leaders had failed to learn anything from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster about safe nuclear energy usage.

“Moscow was somehow alarmed” over the deal announced earlier in the day by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk for Kiev to buy fuel for its nuclear plants from U.S. company Westinghouse through the year 2020, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

“Consequences of possible accidents and meltdowns will be the full responsibility of the Ukrainian authorities and U.S. suppliers of the fuel,” the statement added.

The shift in supplier for the Ukrainian plants that produce 44 percent of the country’s electricity was part of an effort across Eastern Europe to diversify fuel supplies currently sourced almost exclusively from Russia’s monopoly Rosatom.

Westinghouse, majority-owned by the Toshiba Group and the builder and operator of more than half of the nuclear plants around the world, noted it “has been working in the Ukrainian market since 2003, and brings diversification of suppliers, global best practices and technology to the Ukraine market.

“Westinghouse fuel is currently operating safely and efficiently at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant without any defects in performance,” the company noted in a statement from its global headquarters near Pittsburgh.

The Russian Foreign Ministry statement was carried in full by the country’s state-controlled media and appeared to signal Rosatom’s pique over erosion of its once-captive market.

“It seems that the Chernobyl tragedy did not teach Kiev authorities any lessons concerning a scientifically feasible approach to the (peaceful) use of nuclear energy,” the statement said. “In fact, it might be that nuclear safety is sacrificed for the sake of political ambitions.”

Chernobyl, in northern Ukraine near the Belarus border, was the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster when an explosion and fire destroyed the No. 4 reactor at the four-unit plant and sent up a radioactive cloud that circled the planet.

Russia has been chafing at Ukraine’s pivot toward economic and security alliance with the West and away from its traditional integration with Russia. The Security Council revised Russia’s military doctrine last week to label the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization the greatest threat to Russian security and earlier in the week blamed the alliance for Ukraine’s decision to renounce its nonaligned status.

———

©2014 Los Angeles Times

6 bodies recovered from AirAsia crash as weather hampers search

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia — A massive hunt for the 162 victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 resumed in the Java Sea on Wednesday, with six bodies, including a flight attendant identified by her trademark red uniform, recovered. But wind, strong currents and high surf hampered recovery efforts as distraught family members anxiously waited to identify their loved ones.

Three bodies were retrieved Tuesday, while the others were found after the search resumed Wednesday morning, said Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo.

On Tuesday, the number had varied, with different officials saying as many as six corpses had been discovered.

He said half of those found were male and half female, including the flight attendant.

The first proof of the jet's fate emerged Tuesday in an area not far from where it dropped off radar screens. Searchers found the bodies and debris that included a life jacket, an emergency exit door and a suitcase about 10 miles from the plane's last known coordinates.

On Wednesday, divers were deployed, but heavy rain and clouds grounded helicopters, said Soelistyo.

The airliner's disappearance halfway through a two-hour flight between Surabaya, Indonesia, and Singapore triggered an international search for the aircraft involving dozens of planes, ships and helicopters. It is still unclear what brought the plane down.

The plane needs to be located and its cockpit voice and flight data recorders, or black boxes, recovered before officials can start determining what caused the crash.

Images of the debris and a bloated body shown on Indonesian television sent a spasm of anguish through the room at the Surabaya airport where relatives awaited news.

The first sign of the jet turned up about 10 miles from its last known coordinates. Parts of the interior, including the oxygen tank, were brought to the nearest town, Pangkalan Bun. Another find included a bright blue plastic suitcase, completely unscratched.

"I know the plane has crashed, but I cannot believe my brother and his family are dead," said Ifan Joko, who lost seven family members, three of them children, as they traveled to Singapore to ring in the new year. "We still pray they are alive."

The corpses were spotted about 100 miles from Central Kalimantan province.

Rescue workers descended on ropes from a hovering helicopter to retrieve bodies. Efforts were hindered by 6-foot waves and strong winds, National Search and Rescue Director SB Supriyadi said.

The first body was later picked up by a navy ship. Officials said as many as six others followed, but they disagreed about the exact number.

Supriyadi was on the aircraft and saw what appeared to be more wreckage under the water, which was clear and a relatively shallow 65 to 100 feet.

When TV broadcast an image of a half-naked man floating in the water, a shirt partially covering his head, many of the family members screamed and wailed uncontrollably. One middle-aged man collapsed and had to be carried out on a stretcher.

About 125 family members were planning to travel Wednesday to Pangkalan Bun to start identifying their loved ones. Body bags and coffins have been prepared at three hospitals there. Dozens of elite military divers also joined the search.

Malaysia-based AirAsia's loss comes on top of the still-unsolved disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March with 239 people aboard, and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July over Ukraine, which killed all 298 passengers and crew.

Nearly all the passengers and crew were Indonesians, who are frequent visitors to Singapore, particularly on holidays.

Haidar Fauzie, 60, said his youngest child and only daughter, Khairunnisa Haidar, was a flight attendant who had worked with AirAsia for two years.

On learning about the crash, he struggled to console his grieving wife. They last saw their child six weeks ago, when she returned home on holiday.

"From the start, we already knew the risks associated with being a stewardess," Fauzie said. "She is beautiful and smart. It has always been her dream to fly. We couldn't have stopped her."

AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes, the airline's founder and public face and a constant presence in Indonesia since the tragedy started unfolding, said he planned to travel to the recovery site on Wednesday.

"I have apologized profusely for what they are going through," he said of his contact with relatives. "I am the leader of this company, and I have to take responsibility. That is why I'm here. I'm not running away from my obligations."

The jet's last communication indicated the pilots were worried about bad weather. They sought permission to climb above threatening clouds but were denied because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the jet disappeared from the radar without issuing a distress signal.

Several countries rushed to Indonesia to help with search and recovery efforts.

The United States said it was sending the USS Sampson destroyer, joining at least 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters in the search for the jet.

A Chinese frigate was on the way. Singapore said it was sending two underwater beacon detectors to try to pick up pings from the plane's all-important cockpit voice and flight-data recorders. Malaysia, Australia and Thailand are also involved in the search.

McDowell reported from Jakarta. Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini, Ali Kotarumalos and Margie Mason in Jakarta and Eileen Ng in Surabaya, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

9 people, including 2 kids, found dead at 3 crime scenes in Canada

EDMONTON, Alberta — Nine people, including seven adults and two young children, were found dead at three separate crime scenes in what Edmonton's police chief on Tuesday called the city's worst mass murder.

Chief Rod Knecht told a news conference the killings were the result of domestic violence. The victims included a middle-aged woman found Monday night by officers who were responding to a report of a man entering the south-side home, opening fire and fleeing.

Police were later called to a house in a quiet cul de sac in the northeast Monday afternoon to check on reports of a depressed, suicidal male earlier in the evening.

"The male was not located and there was no response, and nothing suspicious was noted at the residence."

Knecht said police received new information after midnight that prompted officers to return to the house where they found the seven bodies. He didn't say how the victims died or what prompted police to return.

"It is a tragic day for Edmonton," he said. "This series of events are not believed to be random acts. ... These events do not appear to be gang-related, but rather tragic incidents of domestic violence."

The police chief didn't give the ages of the two children, other than to say they were very young. The adult victims were all middle-aged.

Neighbor Moe Assiff said he saw officers come out and talk to a woman sitting with a man in a white car outside the house.

"She just let out a hysterical scream. It was eerie," Assiff said." She was screaming about her kids: `My kids! The kids!,' grabbing her hair and trying to pull her hair out. The cops then ushered her down the road into a police cruiser."

About two hours after that, the drama shifted to the VN Express Asian restaurant in the bedroom community of Fort Saskatchewan where a man matching the description of the suicidal male was found dead on Tuesday morning, Knecht said.

"Our homicide investigators have established associations and linkages between these homicides," he said.

Police would not elaborate on the connection between the deaths.

"It's a really complex case involving multiple locations and police have yet to identity the suicide victim so police cannot yet say with 100 percent accuracy what the connection is," said police spokesman Scott Patterson.

In Edmonton, a city of 878,000 people, mass murders are extremely rare. Knecht said the case was the worst mass killing in the city since at least 1956, when six people were murdered.

John Etter Clark, a provincial politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for four years, killed his wife, son, three daughters and an employee of their family farm before taking his own life in 1956. Clark had been suffering from frequent nervous breakdowns in the years before the killings.

Alberta Justice Minister Jonathan Denis said in a statement that his thoughts and prayers were with the families and friends of those involved as well as with first responders.

Amid protest in Ferguson, guardsmen rescued flag

No one said anything to either man. No one gave an order, or even made a suggestion. But the two soldiers seemed to simply know what they had to do.

Maj. Lance Dell and Sgt. 1st Class Eric Allison of the Missouri National Guard rescued a burned American flag.

“They treated the flag like it was trash,” Allison said. “It’s not trash to us.”

In a demonstration on South Florissant Road in Ferguson on Dec. 4, several protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks lit an American flag on fire. After letting it burn for a bit, they let it drop to the wet ground.

At that point — it could have been one or two seconds, it might have been 30 — two Missouri National Guardsmen in combat gear crossed into the fray of South Florissant.

With as much tenderness as can be mustered when covered in riot gear and hit by angry insults, Dell and Allison picked up the remains of the flag off the street, folded as much of it as they could, picked up smaller, charred pieces of fabric and then walked it inside for safe keeping.

In a telephone interview with the Post-Dispatch (and with a public information officer in the room with them), the two shared their thoughts about the protests and the night of Dec. 4.

Allison said local police officers always took the lead in making any arrests, and that the guard units were there strictly to back up those officers.

“The majority of the protesters were very peaceful,” Dell said. “There were very few instances of us having to get involved because the protesters got violent.”

Dell, 46, and Allison, 43, are full-time National Guard members, assigned to the 205th Military Police Battalion in Poplar Bluff.

Both men spent 13 months in Afghanistan around 2010, and Allison also spent 18 months in Iraq in 2004-05. They’ve served together long enough that they knew their thoughts were aligned when the flag was burned. They looked at each other and acted.

'We love the flag'

Said Allison, “My dad used to tell me that you can’t even count the people who gave their lives so we can fly that flag. We love the flag, or at least what it stands for.”

Dell noted that he and his men are well aware of the court rulings concerning flag burning.

“We know that it’s a constitutional right to burn the flag,” Dell said.

“But I knew we couldn’t leave it just lying in the road.”

Two weeks after the incident, the flag was still in the two soldiers’ possession.

They’re not sure what exactly will become of it, but Dell said anyone concerned should know that it will be handled “by the code.”

©2014 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

AirAsia jet wreckage, bodies found in sea could hold clues to crash

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia — A massive hunt for the 162 victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 resumed in the Java Sea on Wednesday, focusing on an area of the aqua-colored waters where the first bodies and debris were located a day earlier. But wind, strong currents and high surf hampered recovery efforts as distraught family members anxiously waited to identify their loved ones.

The first proof of the jet's fate emerged Tuesday in an area not far from where it dropped off radar screens. Searchers found as many as six bodies and debris that included a life jacket, an emergency exit door and a suitcase about 10 miles from the plane's last known coordinates.

On Wednesday, divers were deployed, but heavy rain and clouds grounded helicopters, said Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo.

The airliner's disappearance halfway through a two-hour flight between Surabaya, Indonesia, and Singapore triggered an international search for the aircraft involving dozens of planes, ships and helicopters. It is still unclear what brought the plane down.

The plane needs to be located and its cockpit voice and flight data recorders, or black boxes, recovered before officials can start determining what caused the crash.

Images of the debris and a bloated body shown on Indonesian television sent a spasm of anguish through the room at the Surabaya airport where relatives awaited news.

The first sign of the jet turned up about 10 miles from its last known coordinates. Parts of the interior, including the oxygen tank, were brought to the nearest town, Pangkalan Bun. Another find included a bright blue plastic suitcase, completely unscratched.

"I know the plane has crashed, but I cannot believe my brother and his family are dead," said Ifan Joko, who lost seven family members, three of them children, as they traveled to Singapore to ring in the new year. "We still pray they are alive."

First Adm. Sigit Setiayanta, commander of the Naval Aviation Center at Surabaya Air Force base, told reporters six corpses were spotted about 100 miles from Central Kalimantan province.

Rescue workers descended on ropes from a hovering helicopter to retrieve bodies. Efforts were hindered by 6-foot waves and strong winds, National Search and Rescue Director SB Supriyadi said.

The first body was later picked up by a navy ship. Officials said as many as six others followed, but they disagreed about the exact number.

Supriyadi was on the aircraft and saw what appeared to be more wreckage under the water, which was clear and a relatively shallow 65 to 100 feet.

When TV broadcast an image of a half-naked man floating in the water, a shirt partially covering his head, many of the family members screamed and wailed uncontrollably. One middle-aged man collapsed and had to be carried out on a stretcher.

Their horror was captured by cameras on the other side of windows into the waiting room. Officials later blacked out the glass.

About 125 family members were planning to travel Wednesday to Pangkalan Bun to start identifying their loved ones. Body bags and coffins have been prepared at three hospitals there. Dozens of elite military divers also joined the search.

Malaysia-based AirAsia's loss comes on top of the still-unsolved disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March with 239 people aboard, and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July over Ukraine, which killed all 298 passengers and crew.

Nearly all the passengers and crew were Indonesians, who are frequent visitors to Singapore, particularly on holidays.

Haidar Fauzie, 60, said his youngest child and only daughter, Khairunnisa Haidar, was a flight attendant who had worked with AirAsia for two years.

On learning about the crash, he struggled to console his grieving wife. They last saw their child six weeks ago, when she returned home on holiday.

"From the start, we already knew the risks associated with being a stewardess," Fauzie said. "She is beautiful and smart. It has always been her dream to fly. We couldn't have stopped her."

AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes, the airline's founder and public face and a constant presence in Indonesia since the tragedy started unfolding, said he planned to travel to the recovery site on Wednesday.

"I have apologized profusely for what they are going through," he said of his contact with relatives. "I am the leader of this company, and I have to take responsibility. That is why I'm here. I'm not running away from my obligations."

The jet's last communication indicated the pilots were worried about bad weather. They sought permission to climb above threatening clouds but were denied because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the jet disappeared from the radar without issuing a distress signal.

Several countries rushed to Indonesia to help with search and recovery efforts.

The United States said it was sending the USS Sampson destroyer, joining at least 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters in the search for the jet.

A Chinese frigate was on the way. Singapore said it was sending two underwater beacon detectors to try to pick up pings from the plane's all-important cockpit voice and flight-data recorders. Malaysia, Australia and Thailand are also involved in the search.

McDowell reported from Jakarta. Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini, Ali Kotarumalos and Margie Mason in Jakarka and Eileen Ng in Surabaya, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

Stripes.com's top 10 most read stories of 2014

Word gets around online — especially if the news is bad behavior by troops.

That was reflected in stripes.com's most read articles of 2014, where three of our website's top 10 stories were about troops under investigation over an incident. Social media outrage no doubt propelled the stories to the top of the list.

Stripes.com readers also clicked en masse this year on stories about pay changes, fiscal waste and offbeat news.

Here's our website's top 10 stories of 2014:

No. 10

Biden challenges graduating AF Academy cadets to create 'new world order', by Tom Roeder of The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette, posted May 28.

In a graduation speech at the Air Force Academy, Vice President Joe Biden urged cadets to "shape a new world order for the 21st century," and to rebuild "America’s foundations, our economic foundations, our moral and strategic foundations."

No. 9

Female fighters of the PKK may be the Islamic State's worst nightmare, by Seth Robson of Stars and Stripes, posted Aug. 30.

Stars and Stripes reporter Robson and photographer Joshua L. DeMotts traveled to Makhmur, Iraq, where they met female guerillas fighting Islamic State militants along with their male counterparts.

No. 8

Feds: Navy engineer tried to steal schematics for new carrier class, by Hugh Lessig and Peter Dujardin, (Newport News, Va.) Daily Press, posted Dec. 5.

A civilian engineer at Norfolk Navy Shipyard was arrested and charged with trying to pass U.S. military technology to the Egyptian government.

No. 7

Former Marine wins award for self-portrait, by Victoria Brito, The Brownsville (Texas) Herald, posted May 12.

An Iraq and Afghanistan veteran received a Marine Corps Heritage Foundation award for her striking charcoal painting that portrays her clutching a uniform and American flag.

No. 6

DOD announces changes to imminent danger pay, by Jon Harper of Stars and Stripes, posted Jan. 3.

At the beginning of the year, the Defense Department removed and added regions to the list of areas where servicemembers qualify for imminent danger pay.

No. 5

DOD wants bullet that can change direction after being fired, by Matthew M. Burke of Stars and Stripes, posted Dec. 15.

In a story that went viral online, a YouTube video posted by secretive military tech agency DARPA shows tests for a program to develop ammunition that can change direction in midair.

No. 4

Parris Island sergeant major charged in alleged assault during protest, by Rebecca Lurye, The (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) Island Packet, posted June 7.

The sergeant major at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., was charged with third-degree assault and battery after a confrontation with a protester outside the base.

No. 3

Army's top sex assault prosecutor suspended after assault allegation, by Chris Carroll and John Vandiver of Stars and Stripes, posted March 6.

Amid rising reports of sexual assault in the military, the Army's top prosecutor for sexual-assault cases was removed from his job while the Army investigated a report that he had tried to kiss and grope a subordinate lawyer at a sexual assault conference two years prior. The story was picked up by several major media outlets.

No. 2

Report: Pentagon to destroy $1B in ammunition, by Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, posted April 28.

According to a government watchdog report, the Pentagon plans to destroy more than $1 billion worth of ammunition, some of which could still be used by troops.

No. 1

Air Force will take 'appropriate action' over viral POW/MIA emblem photo, by Jon Harper of Stars and Stripes, posted Feb. 15.

A photo that went viral on social media of an airman posing with her tongue "licking" the mouth of the silhouetted prisoner of war in the iconic POW/MIA emblem sparked outrage with readers and veterans and "disappointed" Air Force officials. A spokeswoman at Fairchild Air Force Base identified the airman and said an investigation had been launched.

news@stripes.com