SONY:TUTAONYESHA FILAMU YA KIM JONG-UN

Kampuni ya Sony pictures imesema kuwa itaonyesha filamu ya The interview kuhusu mauaji ya Kim jong-un

Kampuni ya Sony Pictures imesema kuwa inatafuta njia mbadala za kuonyesha filamu ya ucheshi 'The Interview' baada ya kusema kuwa haitaonyeshwa kufuatia shambulizi la mtandaoni lililotekelezwa na Korea Kazkazini.

Kampuni hiyo imesema kwamba ilisitisha maonyesho ya filamu hiyo siku ya krisimasi baada ya kumbi za sinema kusema kuwa hazitaionyesha.

Hatua hiyo inajiri baada ya rais Obama kusema kuwa kampuni hiyo ilifanya makosa makubwa kusitisha maonyesho ya filamu hiyo.

Hatuwezi kuwa na jamii ambayo itakuwa na dikteta mahala fulani ambaye atakuwa akijaribu kuamua nini kitakachoonyeshwa na nini hakitaonyeshwa.

Filamu ya The Interview ambayo imezua mgogoro kati ya serikali ya marekani na ile ya Korea Kazkazini

Obama ameapa kulipiza kisasi shambulizi hilo la mitandai.

Shirika la ujasusi la FBI limesema kuwa Korea kazkazini ndio iliotekeleza shambulizi hilo,madai ambayo Pyongyang inakataa.

Filamu ya 'The Interview' inaonyesha mauaji ya kiongozi wa Korea Kazkazini Kim Jong-un.

Russia heading for crash as ruble plummets

Russia's economy is crashing and its currency appears to be in free fall.

The ruble plunged by about 12% Monday, meaning it's lost nearly 50% against the dollar this year.

A double-whammy of collapsing oil prices and Western sanctions is driving up inflation. Cash is flooding out of the country and the risk that some Russian companies may default is increasing.


Russia's central bank has raised interest rates five times this year, and spent nearly $90 billion trying to defend the ruble and prevent prices spiraling out of control.

But investors are growing increasingly alarmed about the prospects for the Russian economy.
The Bank of Russia said Monday that the country could sink into a deep recession next year if oil prices remain at $60 a barrel. GDP could contract by as much as 4.7% in 2015, and then by a further 1.1% in 2016 unless oil prices pick up.
 

Related: Wall Street bets on Russia and Venezuela defaults
The falling ruble makes it harder for Russian companies and banks to repay their foreign creditors.
Russia has relatively low government debt and hefty international reserves of about $430 billion. Yet Wall Street has pushed up the yield on Russian government debt, betting on greater risk.


The cost of insuring Russia's five-year bonds have also risen, to their highest levels since 2009.
A collapse in oil income takes a bite out of government revenue, meaning it has less to spend.


President Vladimir Putin has already ordered government departments to cut their budgets by 5%, and more cuts could follow. Defense and national security has so far been spared the ax -- Russia is pumping trillions of rubles into modernizing its military.
 

Related: Could Russian economic turmoil lead to Putin's downfall?
Ordinary Russians are feeling the squeeze instead. Consumer price inflation is expected to hit 10% by the end of the year, in part due to the weakness of the ruble, but also due to a ban on imports of most food products from the West.


That was retaliation for U.S. and European sanctions imposed over Russia's actions in Ukraine.
Even the price of bread is rising, prompting some Russians to begin hoarding staples.


Putin's approval rating remains high but Russians are losing confidence in the future. Some opposition politicians say the economic storm will eventually sweep Putin from office.


"In three years the situation will change," Dmitry Stepanov of the liberal RPR-PARNAS Party said at an opposition conference in Moscow this week. "The country is in economic crisis and no one in the government knows how to solve that."

Gunman, two others dead in Sydney siege, police say

Australian authorities stormed the cafe where a self-styled Muslim cleric had been holding hostages early Tuesday, killing the gunman and ending a crisis that had paralyzed central Sydney for hours.

They moved in more than 16 hours after the siege began, only after hearing gunfire inside the Lindt Chocolate Cafe, New South Wales police Commissioner Andrew P. Scipione told reporters Tuesday.

Two of the 17 hostages initially held by the gunman died, according to Scipione.

A police officer suffered a wound to the face from gunshot pellets. He was expected to recover, police said.

"This will not change the things that we hold dear in this country," Scipione said.

Man Haron Monis.

The gunman had been identified earlier as Man Haron Monis by an official with direct knowledge of the situation.

The raid ended the standoff but left many other questions unanswered: What did the gunman want? Why did he choose the cafe as his target? And was he acting alone?

Before the raid, Monis had demanded a flag and phone call with Prime Minister Tony Abbott, CNN affiliate Sky News Australia reported. He made the demands through hostages who contacted media organizations, Sky News reported.

Some hostages had also reportedly posted messages to social networking sites and the YouTube online video service. Police urged media early Tuesday not to show the videos.

Monis, also known as Sheikh Haron, pleaded guilty in 2013 to writing letters to relatives of Australian service members saying they were "Hitler's soldiers," according to Australian media reports.

He was believed to be acting alone, and he didn't appear to be part of a broader plot, additional U.S. law enforcement and intelligence sources said Monis.

 

Photos: Hostage situation in Sydney

Grenades, gunfire as heavily armed police storm Sydney cafe

How the siege unfolded

Hundreds of police officers, including snipers, surrounded the cafe in Sydney's central business district shortly after the gunman took over the building at 10 a.m. Monday (6 p.m. ET Sunday).

Chilling images from Australian media on Monday showed people, believed to be hostages, with their hands pressed against the cafe's windows. They were holding up a black flag with Arabic writing on it reading, "There is no God but God and Mohammed is the prophet of God."

Five hostages sprinted out of the cafe toward heavily armed police officers several hours into the standoff, sending the gunman into an agitated tirade, according to an Australian reporter.

Chris Reason, a correspondent for CNN affiliate Seven Network, said the gunman became "extremely agitated" when he realized what had happened and "started screaming orders" at the remaining hostages.

Reason said he could see the gunman pacing past the cafe's windows from his vantage point at the network's nearby offices. He described the man as unshaven, wearing a white shirt and black cap and carrying a shotgun.

As night fell, lights went out in the cafe, Reason reported.

After a tense night, police could be seen early Tuesday throwing flash-bang grenades into the cafe in video aired by Seven Network.

Gunfire erupted amid the chaos. After a brief episode of violence, the crisis appeared to ease, with police officers assuming a more relaxed pose, according to Australian media.

A national security source in the United States said a team of Australian special forces troops and police had entered the Lindt Chocolate Cafe from two directions early Tuesday morning and killed the gunman.

Video captured medics working on some people and others being carried away in stretchers.

Australians worried

The hostage situation left Australians shaken.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called it "profoundly shocking" in a series of Tweets.

"It's been a difficult day, which has tested us, but like Australians in all sorts of situations, we have risen to the challenge," he said