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Venezuela bans CNN after report alleges Iraq passport fraud - BBC News

SANTA FE New Mexico Internet connection speed ranks 48thin the nation and is similar to the average connection speed of Iraq and Molodova. According to Federal Communication Commission study, even a 7 percent increase in broadband adoption could create an estimated 15,000 jobs to New Mexico.

The New Mexico Senate overwhelmingly approved two measures Tuesday aimed at creating jobs and opportunities through increased broadband access and increased Internet speed across the state.

Senate Bill 24 sponsored by Sen.Michael Padilla, which passed the Senate by a vote of 37-2, would streamline current statute to facilitate local government investment in broadband infrastructure.

As long as internet speed across New Mexico trail the rest of the nation, we will continue to miss out on high-paying jobs for our state,Padilla said. Helping local governments provide their communities with the connectivity needed to compete must continue to be a priority.

Senate Bill 338 sponsored by Sen.Daniel Ivey-Soto and Rep.Jim Smith, which passed the Senate by a vote of 32-1, would create a statewide broadband network and make it more attractive for providers to invest in broadband infrastructure by combining demand for internet access among public and educational institutions. Lack of demand is the biggest inhibitor to broadband investment in underserved and rural communities across New Mexico.

Todays bipartisan passage signals an understanding that broadband access is a critical component to New Mexicos economic success,said Ivey-Soto said.By creating a blueprint for how we can connect every New Mexican to high-speed internet we will be making a huge investment in our future.

Investing in our states broadband infrastructure is an important step toward ensuring our states economic recovery,Smith said. Taking these simple steps will help attract investment to underserved communities.

Both Senate Bill 24 and Senate Bill 338 will now be considered by the House of Representatives.

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New Mexico Internet Connection Speed Similar To Iraq And Molodova - Los Alamos Daily Post

The number of bombings in India exceeded those in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan, and even Pakistan, during 2016, states a report quoted by the Indian media.

While India saw 406 such incidents, including those of improvised explosive devices (IED) and ordnance explosive blasts, the number of bombings in Iraq stood at 221, read a report by National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC).After India and Iraq, Pakistan has been mentioned in the list, with 161 incidents during 2016. It is followed by Afghanistan where 132 bombings were recorded, 92 in Turkey, 71 in Thailand, 63 in South Africa, 56 in Syria, Egypt 42 and 29 in Bangladesh, among others.

After India and Iraq, Pakistan has been mentioned in the list, with 161 incidents during 2016. It is followed by Afghanistan where 132 bombings were recorded, 92 in Turkey, 71 in Thailand, 63 in South Africa, 56 in Syria, Egypt 42 and 29 in Bangladesh, among others.Out of the total 406 incidents reported in India during this period, 337 were triggered using IEDs while the rest 69 occurred using ordnance explosives like grenades or ammunition shells.

Out of the total 406 incidents reported in India during this period, 337 were triggered using IEDs while the rest 69 occurred using ordnance explosives like grenades or ammunition shells.Moreover, the report states a maximum of 63 IED blasts took place in India in a week during 2016.

Moreover, the report states a maximum of 63 IED blasts took place in India in a week during 2016. March proved to be the deadliest month in India with a maximum of 42 incidents being recorded

March proved to be the deadliest in India with a maximum of 42 incidents being recorded in the month in 2016 followed by 36 in April.

However, this does not reflect the exact number and details of the incident, the National Security Guards NBDC stated in its annual compilation of such incidents called Bombshell.

The data... has been obtained from police records available from time to time. This does not reflect the exact number and details of the incident, the report added.

The NBDC report, published last week, also reported Jammu and Kashmir saw a rise of over 120% in blast and IED related incidents after the killing of militant Burhan Wani in the valley in July 2016.

While 14 IED bombing incidents were reported in J&K in 2015, the numbers went up to 31 last year.

Jammu and Kashmir saw an increase in blast incidents and casualties particularly after the death of Burhan Wani, the report read.

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India saw more bombings than Iraq, Pakistan did in 2016 - Geo News, Pakistan

Officials have confirmed that the U.S. military, despite vowing not to use depleted uranium weapons on the battlefield in Iraq and Syria, fired thousands of rounds of the such munitions during two high-profile raids on oil trucks in Islamic State-controlled Syria in late 2015.

The air assaults mark the first confirmed use of this armament since the 2003 Iraq invasion, when it was used hundreds of thousands of times, setting off outrage among local communities, which alleged that its toxic material caused cancer and birth defects.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Maj. Josh Jacques told Airwars and Foreign Policy that 5,265 armor-piercing 30 mm rounds containing depleted uranium (DU) were shot from Air Force A-10 fixed-wing aircraft on Nov. 16 and Nov. 22, 2015, destroying about 250 vehicles in the country's eastern desert.

Earlier in the campaign, both coalition and U.S. officials said the ammunition had not and would not be used in anti-Islamic State operations. In March 2015, coalition spokesman John Moore said, "U.S. and coalition aircraft have not been and will not be using depleted uranium munitions in Iraq or Syria during Operation Inherent Resolve."

Later that month, a Pentagon representative told War is Boring that A-10s deployed in the region would not have access to armor-piercing ammunition containing DU because the Islamic State didn't possess the tanks it is designed to penetrate.

It remains unclear if the November 2015 strikes occurred near populated areas. In 2003, hundreds of thousands of rounds were shot in densely settled areas during the American invasion, leading to deep resentment and fear among Iraqi civilians and anger at the highest levels of government in Baghdad. In 2014, in a U.N. report on DU, the Iraqi government expressed "its deep concern over the harmful effects" of the material. DU weapons, it said, "constitute a danger to human beings and the environment" and urged the United Nations to conduct in-depth studies on their effects.

Such studies of DU have not yet been completed, and scientists and doctors say as a result there is still very limited credible "direct epidemiological evidence" connecting DU to negative health effects.

The potential popular blowback from using DU, however, is very real. While the United States insists it has the right to use the weapon, experts call the decision to use the weapon in such quantities against targets it wasn't designed for - such as tanks - peculiar at best.

The U.S. raids were part of "Tidal Wave II" - an operation aimed at crippling infrastructure that the Islamic State relied on to sell millions of dollars' worth of oil. The Pentagon said the Nov. 16 attacks happened in the early morning near Al-Bukamal, a city in the governorate of Deir Ezzor near the border with Iraq, and destroyed 116 tanker trucks. Though the coalition said that the strikes occurred entirely in Syrian territory, both sides of the frontier were completely under the control of the militant group at the time.

Any firing of DU in Iraqi territory would have far greater political repercussions, given the anger over its previous use there. The Nov. 16 video below shows tankers hit first by larger ordnances, before others are engulfed in sparks and ripped apart by fire from 30 mm cannons.

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Official: US military used depleted uranium for first time since 2003 Iraq invasion - Chicago Tribune

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 14, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterdays strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft, as well as rocket artillery, conducted 18 strikes consisting of 21 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an oil pump jack.

-- Near Raqqa, 15 strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units; destroyed 13 fighting positions, a tactical vehicle and an ISIS headquarters; damaged three supply routes and a bridge; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed nine oil tanker trucks and two oil pump jacks and damaged on oil wellhead.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter and rotary aircraft, as well as artillery, conducted eight strikes consisting of 27 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed four watercraft, three front-end loaders and a mortar system; damaged nine supply routes; and suppressed eight ISIS mortar teams.

-- Near Rawah, three strikes damaged three supply routes.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIS fighting position.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed a front-end loader.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIS to use.

Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIS terrorist group and the threat it poses to Iraq, Syria, the region and the wider international community. The destruction of targets in Syria and Iraq further limits ISIS' ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

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Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIS in Syria, Iraq - Department of Defense