Russian researchers expose breakthrough U.S. spying program

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency has figured out how to hide spying
software deep within hard drives made by Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba and other top manufacturers,
giving the agency the means to eavesdrop on the majority of the world's computers, according to cyber
researchers and former operatives.
That long-sought and closely guarded ability was part of a cluster of spying programs discovered by
Kaspersky Lab, the Moscow-based security software maker that has exposed a series of Western
cyberespionage operations.
Kaspersky said it found personal computers in 30 countries infected with one or more of the spying
programs, with the most infections seen in Iran, followed by Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Mali,
Syria, Yemen and Algeria. The targets included government and military institutions, telecommunication
companies, banks, energy companies, nuclear researchers, media, and Islamic activists, Kaspersky said.
(http://reut.rs/1L5knm0)
The firm declined to publicly name the country behind the spying campaign, but said it was closely linked
to Stuxnet, the NSA-led cyberweapon that was used to attack Iran's uranium enrichment facility. The NSA
is the U.S. agency responsible for gathering electronic intelligence.
A former NSA employee told Reuters that Kaspersky's analysis was correct, and that people still in the spy
agency valued these espionage programs as highly as Stuxnet. Another former intelligence operative
confirmed that the NSA had developed the prized technique of concealing spyware in hard drives, but said
he did not know which spy efforts relied on it.
NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines said the agency was aware of the Kaspersky report but would not
comment on it publicly.
Kaspersky on Monday published the technical details of its research on Monday, a move that could help
infected institutions detect the spying programs, some of which trace back as far as 2001. (http://
bit.ly/17bPUUe)
The disclosure could hurt the NSA's surveillance abilities, already damaged by massive leaks by former
contractor Edward Snowden. Snowden's revelations have upset some U.S. allies and slowed the sales of
U.S. technology products abroad.
The exposure of these new spying tools could lead to greater backlash against Western technology,
particularly in countries such as China, which is already drafting regulations that would require most bank
technology suppliers to proffer copies of their software code for inspection.
Peter Swire, one of five members of U.S. President Barack Obama's Review Group on Intelligence and
Communications Technology, said the Kaspersky report showed that it is essential for the country to
consider the possible impact on trade and diplomatic relations before deciding to use its knowledge of
software flaws for intelligence gathering.
"There can be serious negative effects on other U.S. interests," Swire said.
TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH
According to Kaspersky, the spies made a technological breakthrough by figuring out how to lodge
malicious software in the obscure code called firmware that launches every time a computer is turned on.
Disk drive firmware is viewed by spies and cybersecurity experts as the second-most valuable real estate
on a PC for a hacker, second only to the BIOS code invoked automatically as a computer boots up.
"The hardware will be able to infect the computer over and over," lead Kaspersky researcher Costin Raiu
said in an interview.
Though the leaders of the still-active espionage campaign could have taken control of thousands of PCs,
giving them the ability to steal files or eavesdrop on anything they wanted, the spies were selective and
only established full remote control over machines belonging to the most desirable foreign targets,
according to Raiu. He said Kaspersky found only a few especially high-value computers with the hard-
drive infections.
Kaspersky's reconstructions of the spying programs show that they could work in disk drives sold by more
than a dozen companies, comprising essentially the entire market. They include Western Digital Corp,
Seagate Technology Plc, Toshiba Corp, IBM, Micron Technology Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
Western Digital, Seagate and Micron said they had no knowledge of these spying programs. Toshiba and
Samsung declined to comment. IBM did not respond to requests for comment.
GETTING THE SOURCE CODE
Raiu said the authors of the spying programs must have had access to the proprietary source code that
directs the actions of the hard drives. That code can serve as a roadmap to vulnerabilities, allowing those
who study it to launch attacks much more easily.
"There is zero chance that someone could rewrite the [hard drive] operating system using public
information," Raiu said.
Concerns about access to source code flared after a series of high-profile cyberattacks on Google Inc and
other U.S. companies in 2009 that were blamed on China. Investigators have said they found evidence
that the hackers gained access to source code from several big U.S. tech and defense companies.
It is not clear how the NSA may have obtained the hard drives' source code. Western Digital spokesman
Steve Shattuck said the company "has not provided its source code to government agencies." The other
hard drive makers would not say if they had shared their source code with the NSA.
Seagate spokesman Clive Over said it has "secure measures to prevent tampering or reverse engineering of
its firmware and other technologies." Micron spokesman Daniel Francisco said the company took the
security of its products seriously and "we are not aware of any instances of foreign code."
According to former intelligence operatives, the NSA has multiple ways of obtaining source code from tech
companies, including asking directly and posing as a software developer. If a company wants to sell
products to the Pentagon or another sensitive U.S. agency, the government can request a security audit to
make sure the source code is safe.
"They don't admit it, but they do say, 'We're going to do an evaluation, we need the source code,'" said
Vincent Liu, a partner at security consulting firm Bishop Fox and former NSA analyst. "It's usually the NSA
doing the evaluation, and it's a pretty small leap to say they're going to keep that source code."
The NSA declined to comment on any allegations in the Kaspersky report. Vines said the agency complies
with the law and White House directives to protect the United States and its allies "from a wide array of
serious threats."
Kaspersky called the authors of the spying program "the Equation group," named after their embrace of
complex encryption formulas.
The group used a variety of means to spread other spying programs, such as by compromising jihadist
websites, infecting USB sticks and CDs, and developing a self-spreading computer worm called Fanny,
Kaspersky said.
Fanny was like Stuxnet in that it exploited two of the same undisclosed software flaws, known as "zero
days," which strongly suggested collaboration by the authors, Raiu said. He added that it was "quite
possible" that the Equation group used Fanny to scout out targets for Stuxnet in Iran and spread the virus.

Egypt bombs Islamic State targets in Libya after 21 Egyptians beheaded

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian jets bombed Islamic State targets in Libya on Monday, a day after the group
there released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians, drawing Cairo directly into the
conflict across its border.
Egypt said the pre-dawn strike hit militant camps, training sites and weapons storage areas in the
neighbouring oil-producing country, where factional fighting has unleashed virtual anarchy and created
havens for jihadi Islamists.
While Cairo is believed to have provided clandestine support to a Libyan general fighting a rogue
government in Tripoli, the 21 decapitations pushed President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi into open action,
expanding his battle against Islamist militancy.
"And let those near and far know that the Egyptians have a shield that protects and preserves the security
of the country, and a sword that eradicates terrorism," the Egyptian military said in a statement.
Egyptian state television aired footage of fighter planes leaving a hangar with "Long live Egypt"
emblazoned on their tails, followed by night-vision aerial footage showing bomb explosions and the aircraft
returning in early daylight.
Libya's air force also participated in Monday's attack, which targeted Derna, an eastern coastal city
regarded as a base for fighters of the ultra-radical Islamic State.
"There are losses among individuals, ammunition and the (Islamic State) communication centres," Libyan
air force commander Saqer al-Joroushi told Egyptian state television, adding that dozens had been killed.
Joroushi, who is loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government, which set up camp in the city of
Tobruk after losing control of the capital Tripoli, said there would be more strikes on Tuesday.
The rival Tripoli-based parliament, which is supported by some Islamist groups, said the air raids were an
assault on Libya's sovereignty. Omar al-Hassi, premier of the self-appointed Tripoli government, said three
children, two elderly men and a 21-year-old woman were killed in the attack.
It was not possible to confirm either faction's accounts of the number or nature of the casualties.
CHRISTIAN ANGER
Cairo called on the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to broaden the scope of their
operations to include Libya, highlighting how the insurgent group has expanded its reach around the Arab
world.
Since the fall of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, a number of Islamist movements have taken hold in
Libya. Recently, some have declared ties to Islamic State and claimed high-profile attacks in what appears
to be an intensifying campaign.
The U.S. military estimated in December that only around 200 Islamic State fighters were operating in the
country.
Egypt is not the only Arab nation sucked into confrontation with the group by the gruesome killings of its
citizens.
Jordan has taken a leading role in conducting air strikes against the group in Syria and Iraq this month
after the militants released a video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive in a cage.
The 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians were marched to a beach, forced to kneel and then beheaded on video,
which was broadcast via a website that supports Islamic State.
The victims were among thousands of unemployed Egyptians desperately seeking work in Libya, despite
the risks. Egypt's foreign ministry said it was banning travel to Libya and had set up a crisis centre to
bring home Egyptians.
Thousands of traumatized mourners gathered at the Coptic church in al-Our village, where 13 of the 21
victims came from, struggling to come to terms with the fate of compatriots who paid a gruesome price for
simply seeking work.
Before the videoed killings, one of the militants stood with a knife in his hand and said: "Safety for you
crusaders is something you can only wish for." Afterwards, he says: "And we will conquer Rome, by the
will of Allah."
The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, condemned the beheadings. "They were killed
simply for the fact that they were Christians," he said at the Vatican.
Egypt's Coptic Christian pope was one of the public figures who backed Sisi when he, as army chief,
ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against him.
The killings put pressure on Sisi to show he is in control of national security, even as he makes progress
against Islamist militant insurgents in the Sinai, some of whom have recently pledged allegiance to Islamic
State.
"It's swift and decisive, it's not about strategy, it's about containing anger within Egypt," said Hassan
Hassan, co-author of a book on Islamic State.
"Just like in Jordan, it's more about saving face, saying: 'You can't mess with us'. .... It's likely to evolve
into a sustained strategy of helping in the fight against ISIS (Islamic State) in neighbouring countries."
Fears the crisis in Libya could spill across the border had already prompted Egypt, the Arab world's most
populous nation, to upgrade its military hardware.
Egypt signed a 5.2 billion-euro deal to buy French weaponry on Monday, Egyptian media said, including 24
Rafale combat jets made by Dassault Aviation, a multi-mission naval frigate, and air-to-air missiles.

Justin Bieber Hey NYPD Dinner's On Me!

(TMZ)Justin Bieber came face-to-face with a group of NYPD officers Friday night ...
and even though they took a picture of his mug -- it was only out of
appreciation for his generous donation. Bieber was eating at the Comfort Diner
in NYC when he noticed a few officers eating next to him ... so when it came
time to pay up, Justin coughed up the dough for their tab -- around $200. The
officers walked over and thanked Bieber for hooking them up ... then snapped a
pic -- which Justin posted on Shots -- so they could prove to their family the
whole thing actually went down.

Saturday fixtures result.

England - FA Cup February 14
FT West Bromwich Albion 4 - 0 West Ham United FT Blackburn Rovers 4 - 1 Stoke City FT Derby County 1 - 2 Reading FT Crystal Palace 1 - 2 Liverpool
England - Championship February 14
FT AFC Bournemouth 1 - 1 Huddersfield Town FT Blackpool 4 - 4 Nottingham Forest FT Bolton Wanderers 3 - 4 Watford FT Charlton Athletic 3 - 0 Brentford
FT Fulham 1 - 2 Ipswich Town FT Leeds United 1 - 0 Millwall FT Norwich City 2 - 0 Wolverhampton Wander... FT Sheffield Wednesday 0 - 0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Italy - Serie A February 14
FT Sassuolo 1 - 3 Fiorentina FT Palermo 3 - 1 SSC Napoli
Spain - Liga BBVA February 14
FT Sevilla 3 - 0 Cordoba FT Real Madrid 2 - 0 Deportivo La Coruna FT Granada 0 - 0 Athletic Bilbao FT Malaga 0 - 2 Espanyol
Germany - Bundesliga February 14
FT Bayer Leverkusen 4 - 5 Wolfsburg FT Bayern Munich 8 - 0 Hamburger SV FT Borussia Moenchenglad... 1 - 0 FC Cologne FT Hoffenheim 2 - 1 VfB Stuttgart
FT Werder Bremen 3 - 2 Augsburg FT Eintracht Frankfurt 1 - 0 Schalke 04
France - Ligue 1 February 14
FT Paris Saint Germain 2 - 2 Caen
FT Lens 0 - 2 Evian Thonon Gaillard FT Lille 0 - 0 Nice Postp. Monaco ? - ? Montpellier FT Nantes 0 - 2 Bastia FT Toulouse 2 - 1 Rennes
Netherlands - Eredivisie February 14
FT Heracles 2 - 0 Feyenoord FT Excelsior 1 - 1 FC Groningen FT Vitesse 2 - 0 Willem II
FT ADO Den Haag 3 - 2 NAC Breda
Netherlands - Jupiler League February 14
FT Jong FC Twente 3 - 1 Telstar
Belgium - Jupiler League February 14
FT Zulte-Waregem 1 - 1 Standard Liege FT Lierse 2 - 1 Cercle Bruges FT Mouscron-Peruwelz 0 - 1 Oostende FT Waasland-Beveren 1 - 0 Kortrijk
Portugal - Primeira Liga February 14
FT Gil Vicente 1 - 0 Pacos de Ferreira FT Belenenses 1 - 1 Sporting CP
Scotland - Premiership February 14
FT St.Johnstone 1 - 2 Celtic FT Dundee FC 1 - 0 Partick Thistle FT Kilmarnock 3 - 2 Dundee United FT Ross County 3 - 2 Motherwell
FT St. Mirren 1 - 2 Inverness CT
International - Friendly February 14
FT Romania 2 - 1 Moldova
International - Club Friendlies February 14
FT AIK 0 - 0 Gefle FT FC Koebenhavn 1 - 1 IFK Gothenburg FT SoenderjyskE 2 - 1 AC Horsens FT FC Vestsjaelland 2 - 2 Helsingborg
FT Lyngby 0 - 1 Falkenbergs FF FT Mjoendalen 1 - 1 Follo FT OB 2 - 1 Shonan Bellmare FT Spartak Moscow 3 - 1 Ulisses FT FC Midtjylland 0 - 2 Molde
FT FC Krasnodar 2 - 0 Viktoria Plzen FT GIF Sundsvall 1 - 1 Ranheim
Finland - League Cup:: group C February 14
FT Seinaejoen JK 4 - 0 FF Jaro
Austria - Bundesliga February 14
FT Rapid Wien 3 - 0 Ried FT Altach 2 - 0 Admira Moedling FT Wiener Neustadt 0 - 2 Salzburg
Switzerland - Super League February 14
FT Basel 1 - 1 Sion FT Young Boys 4 - 2 Grasshoppers
Greece - Super League February 14
FT Panaitolikos 2 - 0 Asteras Tripolis FT PAS Giannina 1 - 3 Panionios FT Olympiakos 3 - 0 Ergotelis
Turkey - Super Lig February 14
FT Karabukspor 0 - 0 Kasimpasa FT Akhisar Belediye Gencli... 1 - 0 Erciyesspor FT Gaziantepspor 0 - 5 Fenerbahce
Argentina - Primera Division February 14
FT Gimnasia LP 0 - 1 Defensa y Justicia FT San Lorenzo 2 - 0 Colon FT Godoy Cruz 1 - 1 San Martin San Juan FT Newells Old Boys 2 - 3 Independiente
FT Banfield 0 - 1 Temperley
February 15
FT Crucero del Norte 0 - 0 Tigre
Argentina - Primera B Nacional February 14
FT All Boys 1 - 1 Patronato de Parana
February 15
FT Union de Mar del Plata 2 - 2 Santamarina
FT Atletico Parana 3 - 2 Ferro Carril Oeste
Argentina - Primera B Metropolitana February 14
FT Barracas Central 0 - 1 Acassuso FT Deportivo Armenio 0 - 1 Comunicaciones
FT Sportivo Italiano 1 - 0 Colegiales FT Tristan Suarez 2 - 0 CD UAI Urquiza FT CA Defensores de Belgr... 0 - 0 Deportivo Riestra FT Deportivo Moron 1 - 1 Deportivo Merlo
Brazil - Paulista A1 February 14
FT Corinthians 2 - 1 Botafogo SP FT Sao Bernardo 0 - 1 Santos FC FT Bragantino 0 - 5 Sao Paulo FT Sao Bento 0 - 1 Palmeiras
Chile - Primera:: clausura February 14
FT Antofagasta 1 - 2 Colo Colo FT Union La Calera 2 - 0 Universidad de Concepc...
Colombia - Primera A:: apertura February 14
FT La Equidad 0 - 2 Aguilas Pereira FT Alianza Petrolera 0 - 1 Santa Fe FT Envigado 1 - 2 Atletico Nacional FT Chico FC 0 - 0 Autonoma
February 15
FT Millonarios 3 - 0 Cucuta
Ecuador - Serie A:: apertura February 14
FT River Plate 3 - 1 El Nacional
Paraguay - Division Profesional:: apertura February 14
FT Sol de America 2 - 1 Sportivo San Lorenzo FT Luqueno 0 - 3 Cerro Porteno
FT Rubio Nu 3 - 1 Nacional
Peru - Copa Inca:: group A February 14
FT Deportivo Municipal 1 - 1 Juan Aurich FT FBC Melgar 2 - 1 Sporting Cristal
Peru - Copa Inca:: group C February 14
FT Union Comercio 4 - 1 Ayacucho FC
February 15
FT Sport Loreto 0 - 1 Alianza Lima
Uruguay - Primera División:: clausura February 14
FT El Tanque Sisley 1 - 0 Montevideo Wanderers FT River Plate 2 - 5 Atenas
FT Sud America 1 - 1 Rampla Juniors FT Cerro 0 - 3 Club Atletico Penarol
Mexico - Primera Division:: clausura February 14
FT CF America 5 - 0 Jaguares
FT Puebla 2 - 0 Monterrey
February 15
FT Tigres 1 - 0 Morelia FT Leon 2 - 1 Leones Negros
FT Atlas 1 - 3 Pachuca
Costa Rica - Primera División:: clausura February 14
FT Belen Siglo XXI 1 - 4 Limon
February 15
FT Universidad de Costa R... 1 - 1 LD Alajuelense
Guatemala - Liga Nacional:: clausura February 14
FT CSD Comunicaciones 0 - 1 Antigua Guatemala
February 15
FT CD Suchitepequez 2 - 0 CSD Municipal FT Deportivo Marquense 1 - 1 Halcones FC FT Club Xelaju 2 - 0 Coatepeque
Honduras - Liga Nacional:: clausura February 15
FT CD Vida 1 - 1 Parrillas One FT Platense FC 1 - 0 CD Victoria

Apple studies self-driving car, auto industry source says

FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Technology giant Apple ( AAPL.O ) is
looking beyond mobile devices to learn how to make a self-driving electric car,
and is talking to experts at carmakers and automotive suppliers, a senior auto
industry source familiar with the discussions said on Saturday.
The Cupertino, California-based maker of phones, computers and, soon,
watches is exploring how to make an entire vehicle, not just designing
automotive software or individual components, the auto industry source said.
"They don't appear to want a lot of help from carmakers," said the source, who
declined to be named.
Apple is gathering advice on parts and production methods, focusing on electric
and connected-car technologies, while studying the potential for automated
driving, the source said.
"Fully automated driving is an evolution. Carmakers will slowly build the market
for autonomous cars by first releasing connected and partially automated cars,"
the auto industry source said. "Apple is interested in all the potential ways you
can evolve the car; that includes autonomous driving."
Whether it will build and release an electric car or a more evolved autonomous
vehicle remains to be seen, the source said.
But clearly Apple has sharply raised its ambitions in automotive technology. Car
technology has become a prime area of interest for Silicon Valley companies
ranging from Google Inc ( GOOGL.O ), which has built a prototype self-driving
car, to electric car-maker Tesla Motors Inc ( TSLA.O ).
An Apple spokesman in London on Saturday declined to comment on "rumors or
speculation".
Trying to build an actual car would mark a dramatic shift for the maker of the
iPhone and iPad. Apple often researches projects which are then discarded, but
has so far mainly stuck to its core expertise in mobile and electronic devices.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple had set up a secret lab
working on the creation of an Apple-branded electric car, citing people familiar
with the matter. The lab was set up late last year, soon after Apple revealed its
forthcoming smart watch and latest iPhones, the Financial Times said.
The Journal said that the Apple project, code-named "Titan", employed several
hundred people working a few miles from Apple's headquarters in Cupertino.
Apple executives met with contract manufacturers including Magna Steyr in
Austria, a unit of Magna International ( MG.TO ), the Journal said. A Magna
spokeswoman declined to comment.
THE PATH TO SELF-DRIVING CARS
Autonomous driving is likely to emerge progressively as driver assistance
systems become more sophisticated.
Already, carmakers such as Daimler ( DAIGn.DE ), BMW ( BMWG.DE) and
Volkswagen's ( VOWG_p.DE ) Audi ( NSUG.DE ) have revealed cars that can travel
long distances without human intervention.
Analysts at Exane BNP Paribas have said they see a $25 billion market for
automated driving technology by 2020, with vehicle intelligence becoming “the
key differentiating factor”. But the brokerage does not expect fully automated
cars to hit the road until 2025 or 2030, in part due to regulatory hurdles.
Short of building entire cars, there is money to be made from the software to
run a self-driving vehicle, as well as the services associated with autonomous
driving, such as mapping, car-sharing and car recharging services, the auto
source said.
"It's a software game. It's all about autonomous driving," the industry source
said.
Apple may be pursuing mainly auto industry expertise rather than full-scale
partnerships with established car companies.
With its soon-to-be-launched Apple Watch, the company had held limited
discussions with Swiss watchmakers, but no broad-based alliance emerged
from the talks.
Instead of partnerships, Apple pursued a go-it-alone strategy and turned to
poaching talent from top watch brands.
Two different sources have told Reuters that Apple has tried to recruit auto
industry experts in areas such as robotics.

Guns fall silent in Ukraine's Donetsk as Poroshenko orders ceasefire

DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Shelling stopped abruptly at midnight on
Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk after President Petro
Poroshenko ordered government forces to halt firing in line with a ceasefire
agreement aimed at ending the country's bloody conflict.
Poroshenko, wearing the uniform of the armed forces supreme commander, said
in a televised address in the capital Kiev that there was still "alarm" over the
situation around Debaltseve, a key transport hub, where government forces have
been hard pressed by encircling Russian-backed separatists.
The ceasefire, negotiated in four-power talks on Thursday, foresees creation of a
neutral "buffer zone" and withdrawal of heavy weapons responsible for many of
the 5,000 deaths in a conflict that has caused the worst crisis in Russia-West
relations since the Cold War a generation ago.
Kiev and NATO have long charged that Moscow has supplied pro-Russian
separatists in eastern Ukraine with arms and men, and Washington and its allies
have slapped Russia with a series of economic sanctions. Russian President
Vladimir Putin denies Moscow is involved in fighting for territory Putin calls
"New Russia," although Western officials cite overwhelming evidence to the
contrary.
Pososhenko warned on Saturday night that Ukraine, if it was slapped once,
would not offer the other cheek. But, seated alongside armed forces chief of
staff Viktor Muzhenko, he added: "I very much hope that the last chance to
begin the long and difficult peaceful process for a political settlement will not be
wasted."
"As a first step I now give the order to the armed forces of Ukraine ... to cease
fire at 00:00 hours on February 15," he said.
Military spokesman Vladyslav Selezynov said the Ukrainian armed forces
immediately fulfilled Poroshenko's order and the big guns fell silent in Donetsk
and some other parts of the separatist-leaning east.
In the hours leading up to the ceasefire, heavy artillery and rocket fire roughly
every five seconds had reverberated across Donetsk, the main regional city in
the east which is under the control of the secessionists.
In Artemivsk, a town in government-controlled territory north of Debaltseve that
has been hit twice in two days by rocket attacks, there was also silence at
midnight.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged implementation of the ceasefire in a
telephone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and expressed
concern about efforts by Russia and the separatists to cut off Debaltseve, the
U.S. State Department said.
U.S. President Barack Obama also expressed "deep concern" about the violence
around Debaltseve in a telephone call with Poroshenko, the White House said.
'IT'S QUIET'
A member of a Ukrainian pro-government unit near the eastern town of
Horlivka, who only gave his nickname of Turnir, said on television channel 112
soon after midnight: "It's quiet. It's been quiet for half an hour. But we are
waiting. We don't believe them. For the past three days they have been
banging us hard."
Debaltseve, a strategic rail junction that lies in a pocket between the two main
rebel-held regions, has been the focus of some of the fiercest recent fighting.
Four shells hit Donetsk on Saturday, blasting craters in the streets. A Reuters
witness saw one dead body from the attacks.
Obama also talked to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who negotiated the
ceasefire this week with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and France in Minsk, the
capital of Belarus.
Obama and Merkel "agreed on the pressing need for all signatories to
implement the ceasefire and protocol agreements reached at Minsk last
September and reaffirmed by the Minsk Implementation Plan this week," the
White House said.
The 15-member United Nations Security Council was discussing a Russian-
drafted resolution that would welcome the ceasefire agreement and call on all
parties to fully implement it. Diplomats said the council could vote as early as
Sunday on the draft resolution.
WEAPONS AROUND DEBALTSEVE
The U.S. State Department, pressing its case that Russia was backing the
rebels in the latest fighting, on Saturday released three commercial photographs
that spokeswoman Jen Psaki said showed "the Russian military has deployed
large amounts of artillery and multiple rocket launchers around Debaltseve,
where it is shelling Ukrainian positions."
"We are confident that these are Russian military, not separatist systems," she
said.
On Saturday, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a televised
briefing in Kiev: "Ahead of midnight, rebels are trying to complete tactically
important plans to enlarge the territory under their control, primarily in the
direction of Debaltseve."
Heavy shelling could be heard at a rebel checkpoint about 15 km (10 miles)
west of Debaltseve, a Reuters witness said, reporting outgoing artillery rounds
almost every minute.
A column of new military vehicles and artillery passed through the checkpoint in
the direction of Debaltseve. The checkpoint was manned by several dozen
professional-looking combatants. Tanks and armored vehicles could also be
seen.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a rebel at the checkpoint said local fighters
were being supported by "guests from Russia."
Spokesman Lysenko said separatist forces continued to be reinforced by
fighters and military equipment crossing Ukraine's eastern border from Russia
over the past 24 hours.
The rebels have advanced far past the line of an earlier ceasefire deal, agreed in
September. The new accord appears to envisage them withdrawing their guns
around 75 km (50 miles), to take them back behind it, while Ukrainian guns
would move 25 km (15 miles) back.
Thursday's accord also prescribed constitutional reform to give more autonomy
to eastern Ukraine, where many Russian speakers live. Kiev rejects
independence for the "people's republics" the rebels have declared.

Boko Haram regional mastermind arrested in Niger

The suspected mastermind of different attacks by Boko Haram
islamist sect in Niger’s Diffa region near the Nigerian border
has been arrested by Nigerian security forces, local media
reported Thursday.
Niger’s Anfani private radio station said the suspect going by the
name Kaka Bounou, was a trader based in Diffa. He had a title
of a captain in Boko Haram, and was behind all the attacks
carried out in Diffa.
“He is a habitual offender who had been arrested several times
and released, including by the Nigerian judiciary,” the same
source said. Elsewhere, security forces in Maine-Soroa town, 80 km west of
Diffa, on Thursday managed to halt a suicide bomber who was
carrying explosives.
Nigerien forces have continued with the fight against Boko
Haram and are still in the Nigerian territory where they have
liberated the town of Damasak that had been held by the islamist
sect for a long time.