Rebels supported by al-Qaeda take Syrian Town

According to time.com, a town on the border of Turkey that was being held by the Free Syrian Army has fallen to a group of Islamist rebels who have been supported in the takeover by al-Qaeda. The BBC reports that in the town of Azaz, north of Aleppo, violence broke out when a fighter from the rebel group was filmed at clinic being treated. The already wounded fighter was adamant the man filming was a journalist and wanted his footage to be handed over immediately. According to the report, in Syria being a western journalist is the equivalent of being a spy.

The argument over the filmed footage is what ignited this fight over this border town. While the death toll hasn’t been officially announced, Associated Press announced hundreds of people from both sides have been killed already. Reuters says Turkey has put a stop to all border crossing, cutting off vital supplies to rebels. It seems Syria is fighting a civil war within their own struggle to claim freedom from President Bashar Assad’s regime. Reporter for BBC, Paul Wood, at the Turkish border said, “If the rebels are fighting each other, they are not fighting the regime.”

U.K. Kids falling prey to cyber blackmailing

Cyber blackmailers have been preying heavily on children and teens performing various sex acts online. The blackmailers originally pose as children and teens luring others into committing sex acts on camera and then threaten to expose them to friends and family if they do not keep the online relationship or pay the blackmailers large amounts of money.  Of the 424 children who have been blackmailed into these acts 184 of them have been from the U.K. Seven victims have already taken their lives, and seven more, six of whom are from the U.K., have taken part in self harming. According to the BBC, Daniel Perry ended his own life this summer after he was tricked into believing he was talking to young woman who turned out to be a blackmailer who demanded thousands of pounds. The blackmailer said he would share the conversations with Perry’s friends and family unless he agreed to pay the sum of money.

Operation K, a large case of this kind, had targeted 322 children, and 96 of them were from the U.K. The target victims are boys ages 11 to 15 according to the BBC. The attack was led by an Eastern European gang, they reported, and they stand trial in the next few weeks.

Case against Meshael Alayban, Saudi princess, dropped

Latimes.com reports 42-year-old Saudi princess Meshael Alayban was charged with human trafficking in July. Alayban reportedly made a Kenyan woman her modern day slave, forcing her to work long hours for little pay. Alayban was released on 1 million dollar bail, and her passport, which was taken from Alayban in fear she may flee the country, was returned by Orange County Superior Court Judge Gerald G. Johnson. One of Alayban’s attorney’s said this was a ploy for the employee to obtain legal status in the United Sates. One of the victims main defences, that she was not recieving medical benefits from the job, was proved false in court.

Egyptian security forces free Kerdasa, Egypt

Kerdasa, a tourist city famous for its location in relation to the great Pyramids and its dresses and rugs, was liberated by Egyptian security forces, according chron.com. The Egyptian security forces drove Islamist rebels out of the town to the cheers of Kerdasa’s residents. Islamist rebels took the city in August, attacking the police station and killing 15 officers and then mutilating their bodies. Kerdasa still fears the rebels will return.  Youssef Hussein, a resident of Kerdasa, said, “We have been living in a bubble. We thought we could die every day. Kerdasa has really been wrecked.”