Seoul prosecutors investigate data leak at nuclear plant operator

SEOUL (Reuters) - Seoul prosecutors have launched an investigation of a leak of non-critical data at South Korea's nuclear power operator, the prosecutors' office said on Sunday, as worries mount about nuclear safety and potential cyberattacks from North Korea.

Tunisia's old regime hopes makeover can win it the election

TUNIS (Reuters) - In the corner of his office, Tunisian presidential candidate Beji Caid Essebsi keeps a bust of Habib Bourguiba, who led the country in 1957 after its independence from France. It is a symbol, he says, of the kind of statesman Tunisia now needs.

U.S. Drone Strike Kills 6 Militants In North Waziristan

US Drones Strike In Jihadist Stronghold In North Waziristan -- Long War Journal

The US launched a drone strike in the jihadist haven of Datta Khel in Pakistan's tribal agency of North Waziristan earlier today. The Pakistani military claimed it "cleared" Datta Khel in September as part of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, which was launched in mid-June this year.



The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or Reapers fired a pair of missiles at a compound in the village of Mada Khel in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan during the early morning, killing six jihadists, The News reported. A "high value target," who has not been named, is said to have been among those killed, Dawn noted.



Pakistani and regional jihadist groups, including al Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, have not released a statement or commented on the strike.



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More News On A U.S. Drone Strike Killing 6 Militants In North Waziristan

Six Militants Killed in U.S. Drone Attacks in Pakistan -- NYT

US drone strike kills 5 militants, Pakistan military says -- FOX News

Drone strike kills four suspected militants in North Waziristan -- DAWN

Seven killed in NWA drone strike -- International News

Australian mother charged with murder of eight children

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian mother has been charged with the murder of eight children, seven of them hers, two days after their bodies were found in a home in the city of Cairns.

SAS Hit Squad Sent To Iraq To Hunt Down Islamic State Leaders

The squadron, from Hereford, had been due to travel to Afghanistan to hunt Taliban leaders before they were ordered to turn their attentions on Isis (file picture)

SAS Hit Squad Sent To Iraq To Hunt Down ISIS Jihadists After Militants 'Started Learning How To Avoid Air Strikes' -- Daily Mail

* Squadron diverted from Afghanistan mission in a bid to target Isis leaders

* Executioner Jihadi John believed to be a primary target for 60-strong team

* Troopers will also pinpoint targets within Iraq to assist with air strikes

* Comes amid reports Isis fanatics executed 100 of its own foreign fighters

* Militants recruited from abroad killed for trying to flee from Isis stronghold



Up to 60 SAS fighters are heading to Iraq to hunt down Islamic State leaders after militants started learning how to avoid airstrikes, it has been reported.



The full squadron of troopers had initially been dispatched to Afghanistan for a separate operation, but have been diverted to battle Isis fanatics.



There have been reports this morning that one of their primary targets will be Jihadi John, the Briton believed to have killed British and American hostages in a series of gruesome executions.



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Update: SAS sent to Iraq to hunt down Jihadi John and Isis fighters -- IBTimes



My Comment: As military missions go .... this is as dangerous as it can get.

Australian defense minister out in cabinet reshuffle

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Defense Minister David Johnston was thrown out of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's cabinet on Sunday, a month after he embarrassed the government with comments critical of government-owned ship builder ASC.

Today's Insurgencies Is Changing The Market For Military Jets

How ISIS And Boko Haram Could Change The Way Countries Purchase Air Power -- Clay Dillow, Fortune

Textron’s Scorpion recon and strike jet offers cash-strapped countries air power on the cheap. Global events are making it more attractive.



Like spaceships and sports stadiums, military strike jets typically aren’t the kind of things that companies build—much less sell—off the shelf. Take the Pentagon’s new F-35, for instance: Two decades and $400 billion in the making, the F-35 had nine committed customers lined up to buy thousands of aircraft (at between $80 million and $110 million per copy) before Lockheed Martin LMT 0.63% ever started bending metal in earnest. Rarely does a contractor fully develop a military jet on spec.



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My Comment: The A-10 does a very good job in providing support for ground forces .... and it is a hell of a lot cheaper than a F-35. But the above military jet shows that the market is big enough for more "players" .... especially if the military jet is cheap and easy to maintain.

The U.S. Air Campaign Against The Islamic Satte Has Cost $1 Billion

Smoke rises over Syrian town of Kobani after an airstrike, as seen from the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the town of Suruc in this file photograph taken Oct. 18, 2014. Reuters

U.S. Airstrikes In Iraq And Syria Have Cost $1 Billion -- ABC News

The cost of U.S. military airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria has topped $1 billion.



"As of Dec. 11, 2014, the total cost of operations related to ISIL since kinetic operations started on August 8, 2014 is $1.02 billion and the average daily cost is $8.1 million," said Commander Bill Urban, a Pentagon spokesman.



The Pentagon’s latest statistics show that as of Friday the U.S and its coalition partners had flown 1,371 airstrikes in both countries – 799 in Iraq and 572 in Syria.



American military aircraft have conducted 82 percent of the total number of airstrikes.



Lt. Gen. James Terry, the commander of the Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve, told reporters Thursday at a Pentagon briefing that the airstrikes are having a significant effect on Daesh's ability “to command and control, to resupply, and to conduct maneuvering.” Daesh is the Arabic name for the ISIS acronym.



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Update: US Airstrikes Targeting ISIS Cost Over $1 Billion, Pentagon Says -- IBTimes



My Comment: $1 billion and counting .... with the U.S. commander pleading for patience .... something tells me that a few years from now that $1 billion will be just a drop in the bucket.

Castro: Cuba Won The War And We Will Stay Communist

Castro Thanks The U.S. In A Speech But Reaffirms Communist Rule in Cuba -- New York Times

HAVANA — President Raúl Castro declared victory for the Cuban Revolution on Saturday in a wide-ranging speech, thanking President Obama for “a new chapter” while also reaffirming that restored relations with the United States did not mean the end of Communist rule in Cuba.



In a televised speech before Parliament and a group of favored guests — including Elián González, the center of a tug of war in 2000 between Cuban exiles and Havana, and the three men convicted of spying in the United States who were released as part of the historic agreement announced on Wednesday — Mr. Castro alternated between conciliatory and combative statements directed at the United States.



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More News On Cuban President Raoul Castro Reaffirming Communist Rule In Cuba

Raul Castro: Don't expect detente to change Cuban system -- AP

Cuba says U.S. must respect its communist system -- Reuters

Castro: Cuba will remain communist, despite new deal with United States -- UPI

Cuba 'will not change' communist system, despite thaw with US -- BBC

Castro Lauds US Outreach, Says Cuba to Remain Communist -- VOA

Castro insists Cuba won’t abandon communism despite deal with U.S. -- Washington post

Castro: Obama’s Policy Won’t Break Communism In Cuba -- Daily Caller

Cuba to stand by its communist principles, Castro says -- RT

North Korea denies hacking Sony, U.S. stands by its assertion

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday U.S. accusations that it was involved in a cyberattack on Sony Pictures were "groundless slander," and that it wanted a joint investigation into the incident with the United States.

Tunisians vote in historic presidential run-off

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisians vote on Sunday in a presidential run-off election that completes the country's last steps to full democracy nearly fours years after the uprising that toppled autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

A French Soldier's View of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

U.S. Marines observe surrounding compounds during a security patrol in Washir district in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 29, 2014. The Marines are assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. The Marines patrolled to disrupt enemy operations against the Bastion-Leatherneck Complex. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. John A. Martinez Jr.

A French Soldier's View of US Soldiers in Afghanistan -- Wes O'Donnell, Warrior Lodge

What follows is an account from a French ISAF soldier that was stationed with American Warfighters in Afghanistan sometime in the past 4 years. This was copied and translated from an editorial French newspaper.



A NOS FRERES D’ARMES AMERICAINS



"We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of a prestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing "ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events". Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company.



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My Comment: There is a lot here .... read it all.