by JORDAN NELMS

Wed, January 11, 2012

Last year, just before Thanksgiving, the Curran-Gardner Public Water Plant in Springfield, Illinois, experienced a troubling event. A computer operated in a foreign country somehow gained control of the plant’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, repeatedly turning a single pump off and on until the pump failed, causing disruption of the city’s water system. Even though initial reports of malicious intent turned out to be proven false, news reports describing a foreign terrorist gaining control of a public utility infrastructure system spread like wildfire. The Springfield event underscores the increasingly ostensible threat that an intentional or accidental failure of an information technology (IT, or cyber) system poses to the nation’s critical infrastructure.

The foundation of every jurisdiction’s emergency preparedness program is threat or hazard identification, including the calculation of risk – as measured both in monetary cost and in the loss of human life. This fundamental public safety practice – also known as “THIRA” (Threat/Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment) – examines the comprehensive picture of natural, manmade, and technological hazards that have the potential to cause an emergency incident or disaster.

Common THIRA practice across the United States focuses on hazards that public safety officials can readily identify through historic occurrences and potential vulnerability. An often overlooked threat or hazard – for which considerable resources are just now becoming available to respond to and mitigate against – is an IT disruption.

Understanding Criticality and Vulnerability
Emergency preparedness geared specifically toward mitigating the consequences of an IT disruption requires a forward-looking and comprehensive understanding of what that type of disruption might mean in terms of criticality and vulnerability. In recent years, IT systems have become ubiquitous, and affect all aspects of the daily lives of everyday citizens, business owners, government managers, and public safety officials. There is a reliance on IT systems of some sort for powering offices, communicating with others, controlling critical infrastructure, and maintaining situational awareness in the event of emergency. In 2012, one would be hard pressed to identify a single facet of daily life in which IT systems do not play a critical role.

IT systems have experienced an almost unhindered expansion into the most vital processes of the nation’s infrastructure, becoming an interconnected network that today literally reaches around the globe. A disruption of these systems may cause direct damage to computer networks that support a jurisdiction’s vital services for its residents, as well as its local critical infrastructure – e.g., traffic systems, power and other utilities, and communications systems.

When one considers that a high percentage of the nation’s critical infrastructures run on SCADA systems, it becomes obvious that an IT disruption to any of the aforementioned computer networks could be catastrophic, and would have major implications for not only a local jurisdiction but also for many other jurisdictions, entire states, and the federal government.

The Federal Approach: Increased Funding, an R&D Roadmap, NLE 2012
Over the last several years, the federal government has recognized the need for national cyber contingency capabilities by increasing this portion of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget to $443 million – $80 million over the previous fiscal year’s appropriation. The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) identified DHS as one of the components of the national homeland security enterprise that “possesses unique capabilities and, hence, responsibilities.” DHS was built on the foundation of the National Response Framework’s Cyber Terrorism Annex and now functions as the federal government’s penultimate department for coordinating IT disruption activities. In late 2011, to help guide the federal cyber-security apparatus, DHS released two strategic documents outlining the cyber-security mission, and provided a roadmap for the expenditure of research and development funds.

DHS’s National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) operates four key components of the federal government’s IT response program. The department’s newly created National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) serves as a 24-hour watch center (similar to the National Response Coordination Center) for all IT-related incidents. When an incident is identified and authenticated, an alert is published through the National Cyber Alert System. Such alerts are typically issued for potential terrorist activity and for sharing information with IT managers on potential security vulnerabilities in common software packages.

The operational arm of the NCSD is the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), which ensures the federal government’s situational awareness to IT-related threats through constant vigilance, and the coordination of the federal government’s IT emergency response. The National Cyber Response Coordination Group (NCRCG) serves as the overarching body that: (a) shares IT-related incident information with agencies throughout the federal government, and with state and local governments; and (b) coordinates the federal interagency response across all sectors and disciplines. Finally, the NCSD Cyber Cop Portal coordinates the intelligence gathering and prosecution of cyber crime and malicious cyber activity.

Recognizing the potential damage an IT disruption may cause, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) selected the National Level Exercise (NLE) 2012 to focus on identifying the current planning, organization, equipment, and training gaps in emergency preparedness to respond to a cyber incident in New England. Responding to a cyber incident with national significance requires coordination not only across a broad spectrum of federal agencies, but also through several vertical levels of government, managing the consequences of such an event on local towns and municipalities.

Strengthening Emergency Preparedness at State and Local Levels
The addition of a potential IT disruption on a state or local jurisdiction’s critical infrastructure presents a new challenge in emergency preparedness at the ground level due to the threat’s physical invisibility, and its potential to be just as disruptive and deadly as any traditional intentional threat or natural hazard. Emergency preparedness in response to an IT disruption requires a jurisdiction to take the steps required to enhance its contingency planning efforts to meet the needs of its residences and businesses as well as the community as a whole.

There are many players involved in the response to an IT disruption. Engaging these stakeholders through seminars, workshops, or public meetings well prior to a potential incident is critical to improving collaboration during an actual emergency. Either individually, or through stakeholder working groups, public safety agencies must meet with officials from surrounding jurisdictions, critical infrastructure providers, and other pre-identified organizations and agencies to form a collaborative team that can work to identify issues that might require a potential emergency response, either initiated or exacerbated by an IT disruption, and to develop solutions to those concerns.

Securing a universal stakeholder buy-in is essential if public safety response operations are going to be successful. In addition to developing an appropriate response, state and local law enforcement agencies must be tied in to the national network of homeland security fusion centers to ensure the proper reporting of suspicious activities – specifically including suspicious or malicious IT activity. This critical tool for prevention of traditional terrorist activity is equally applicable to the IT realm.

With an understanding of the criticality and vulnerability posed by an IT disruption, public safety agencies can begin to develop incident-specific and functional support annexes to their Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs). An IT Disruption Annex (titled Cyber Incident Annex by the National Response Framework) outlines the concept of operations, policies, and roles and responsibilities for agencies that have primary or supporting roles in identifying, responding to, and remediating the consequences of a malicious or unintentional disruption: (1) of a jurisdiction’s computer networks; or (2) the computer networks of critical infrastructure providers within a specific jurisdiction.

The Overwhelming Consequences of a Major Disruption
Because IT is often viewed as a component of communications, an IT Disruption Annex may stand as an attachment to a traditional Emergency Support Function #2 Annex (or communications Incident Command System unit) dealing with a jurisdiction’s communications infrastructure. Where ESF #2 deals with the continuity of communications infrastructure critical for emergency response, that infrastructure (if privately administered through an IT communications provider) may become intentionally or unintentionally affected by an IT disruption incident.

Large-scale IT incidents may overwhelm a local or state government emergency response organization’s resources by disrupting the internet, taxing critical infrastructure information systems, and/or infecting critical infrastructure information systems. In a widespread IT-related incident, DHS will activate its resources to coordinate the federal response. In order to ensure proper coordination between local and federal agencies, a local or state government’s IT Disruption Annex would prepare nonfederal agencies to coordinate more effectively with DHS. Many state and local governments have chosen to develop, adopt, and exercise similar plans with great success.

NLE 2012 will involve members of the DHS-funded Boston Area Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP) multi-jurisdictional catastrophic planning group. The Boston Area Region chose, among other contingency planning efforts, to develop a Regional Cyber Disruption Annex to the Region’s Catastrophic Emergency Coordination Plan (RCCP). In addition, RCPGP funds were used to develop corresponding Cyber Disruption Annexes for the individual states within the Boston Area Region. NLE 2012 will test this regional cyber response coordination model to determine the “best practices” – in planning and operational tactics – needed to mitigate the consequences of IT-related emergencies.

Although the consequences for Springfield’s Curran-Gardner Public Water Plant may not have been catastrophic, they did highlight the increasing threat that IT disruptions pose to the government and private sector at all levels. This new lexicon of IT-specific emergency management components is becoming increasingly relevant. Today, although the federal government seems to have developed at least a preliminary strategy for organization and implementation of an effective IT emergency response program, many state and local homeland security and emergency management agencies are only just beginning their own planning processes.

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Click below for additional information on:
The 2009 DHS “A Roadmap for Cybersecurity Research”

The 2011 DHS “Blueprint for a Secure Cyber Future”

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Jordan Nelms is the Homeland Security specialist at Witt Associates, a public safety and crisis management consulting firm. He was on the Witt Associates planning team that developed the Boston Area RCCP and led the development of the State of Rhode Island’s Cyber Disruption Incident Annex as well as a Cyber Annex template for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Prior to joining Witt Associates, he worked in the Emergency Operations Center and Emergency Public Information Office of Pinellas County, Florida. He is also a published researcher with Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence: National Center for Preparedness and Catastrophic Event Response Center (PACER).

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BANGKOK — Thai authorities announced the arrest of a suspected Hizbollah terrorist after the US embassy Friday warned Americans that foreign extremists may be planning attacks on Bangkok’s tourist spots.

Thai deputy prime minister Chalerm Yubamrung said one of two suspected terrorists was arrested, AFP reported. An intelligence official said that the second suspect fled the country.

“We already have one suspect in custody for interrogation at a government building in Bangkok. He is a Hizbollah from Lebanon,” the deputy prime minister said. “I want to assure people that there is nothing to worry about. The police will take care of the situation, and everything will be under control.”

The intelligence official said the original tip came from Israel, and the arrest was made Thursday. “These two men entered Thailand a while ago but did not conduct any terrorist activity. I wonder why Israel was suspicious about them,” the official said.

The US embassy in Thailand earlier said that foreign terrorists might be plotting attacks in Bangkok and that American citizens should be careful when visiting crowded tourist spots.

A message posted on the embassy’s website warned that “foreign terrorists may be currently looking to conduct attacks against tourist areas in Bangkok in the near future.”

“US citizens are urged to exercise caution when visiting public areas where large groups of Western tourists gather in Bangkok,” the warning said.

The embassy urged Americans to maintain a heightened awareness when out in public and be alert for unattended packages and bags. It also urged US citizens to report any suspicious behavior.

“We also encourage you to keep a low profile in public areas, particularly areas frequented by foreign tourists,” the warning added.

The US ambassador to Thailand, Kristie Kenney, said on Twitter that the threat was “credible.”

“The info is specific and credible, concerns foreign terrorists and tourist areas in BKK,” she wrote, warning US citizens to pay attention to the advice. BKK refers to Bangkok.

The embassy did not provide any further details on the nature of the threat, or what prompted it.

Under its existing safety advice for the Southeast Asian nation, a popular tourist destination, the US State Department warns of a “continued risk” of terrorism and urges US citizens to exercise caution.

The country has seen violent political unrest, including the deaths of 91 people between March and May 2010, two of whom were Americans. The far south of Thailand sees almost daily violence, including incidents attributed to armed local separatist groups, the State Department said.

The alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings, in which 202 mostly foreign tourists were killed on the Indonesian resort island, was arrested in Thailand in 2003

Riduan Isamuddin, an Indonesian national, was suspected of being al Qaeda’s representative in Southeast Asia.

Hizbollah is an Iranian-backed organization that dominates the government in Lebanon and is listed as a terror organization by the US.

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RUTHERFORD, N.J. –  Several Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices were thrown at a northern New Jersey synagogue early Wednesday, igniting a fire in the second-floor bedroom of the rabbi’s residence in an attack that is being treated as both a bias crime and attempted murder, police said.

Wednesday’s attack on Congregation Beth El in Rutherford was the fourth bias incident within a month against a Jewish religious institution or center in northern New Jersey, police said. Within the last three weeks, a fire was intentionally set at a synagogue in Paramus and anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered at synagogues in Hackensack and Maywood.

Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said there was no evidence yet linking the four incidents, but they hadn’t ruled out that they might be connected. He urged residents to be vigilant, but not afraid.

In addition to being classified as a bias crime, Molinelli said Wednesday’s intentionally set early-morning fire was possibly the work of more than one person. The incident occurred about 4:30 a.m., when incendiary devices were thrown at various parts of the large Victorian-style home that houses Congregation Beth El on its ground floor, and the rabbi’s living quarters on the second level.

Molinelli said it was being classified as an attempted murder, after one of the devices was thrown through a second floor window and into the bedroom of the congregation’s rabbi.

“The manner in which this heinous crime has been committed has brought our office to really raise consciousness on this,” Molinelli said. “This is certainly a hate crime, this is certainly a bias crime, this is aggravated arson, but most importantly, we are now looking on this as an attempted homicide.”

Molinelli said there was nothing to suggest that the rabbi had been personally targeted, but that nothing had been ruled out so far as the investigation was continuing.

A wide coalition of law enforcement agencies, including the Newark office of the FBI, is participating in the investigation.

The rabbi, his wife, five children and the rabbi’s parents were sleeping when the fire occurred. No one was seriously hurt. Police said the device thrown through the rabbi’s bedroom window did not explode, but ignited, and the rabbi suffered minor burns putting it out.

Rabbi Nosson Schuman of Congregation Beth El told CBS 880 Radio that he saw a flash of fire outside his bedroom window before his bedspread caught fire. The rabbi said he got his wife and five children out of the building safely, and said damage to the building was minimal, in his estimation.

Investigators could be seen examining the sides and roof of the large white Victorian structure that houses the synagogue, which is set far back from the leafy, quiet street and has a large synagogue sign, a child’s swing set and a trampoline in its front yard. The neighborhood is ethnically diverse, and is dotted with houses of worship of several different religions.

The prosecutor said northern New Jersey residents shouldn’t be afraid, but should be vigilant, and that all religious institutions, not just those of the Jewish faith, should be on alert.

Law enforcement and representatives from more than 80 synagogues and Jewish day schools had planned to discuss the incidents on Thursday. Meeting organizer Joy Kurland of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey said the meeting would go on as planned.

Etzion Neuer of the Anti-Defamation League, which has offered a $2,500 award for the arrest and conviction of a suspect, said they were very concerned that there had been four bias incidents in such a short period of time.

“We view these as part of a deeply troubling continuum that we pray will end now,” he said.
The synagogues in Maywood and Hackensack are about a mile apart. The other two are within about seven miles of each other in Bergen County, just across the Hudson River from New York City and near the Meadowlands sports complex.

The fire at Congregation K’Hal Adath Jeshuran in Paramus was discovered on the morning of Jan. 3 when members smelled gas in the building and contacted authorities. Fire and police officials determined an accelerant had been used in the rear of the building to start a fire. The fire had quickly burned itself out, and no injuries were reported. No arrests have been made.

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As the Stuxnet attack shows, malicious hackers “clearly have the upper hand” over power grid systems, a new study says. A lack of strict standards and a hodgepodge of products have created today’s chaotic state of utility cybersecurity.

CIO — Near chaos. That’s the current state of security for smart grids, according to Pike Research. A recent report by the research firm finds that a lack of security standards, a hodgepodge of products and increasingly aggressive malicious hackers will make 2012 a challenging year for securing smart grids. (A smart grid uses IT and smart meters in an effort to make electric utilities more efficient, reliable and sustainable.)

“After years of vendors selling point solutions, utilities investing in compliance minimums rather than full security, and attackers having nearly free rein, the attackers clearly have the upper hand. Many attacks simply cannot be defended,” says Bob Lockhart, an analyst at Pike Research.

But he adds: “There is hope.” Lockhart says there’s a “dawning awareness by utilities during the past 18 months of the importance of securing smart grids with architecturally sound solutions.”

Smart-grid pioneer Andres Carvallo, a former CIO at Austin Energy and co-author of The Advanced Smart Grid: Edge Power Driving Sustainability (Artech House, 2011), says security is a complex situation. He notes that a fully secure smart grid requires secure edge devices, secure networks, secure data centers and secure applications.

Looking at the current state of affairs, Carvallo says “security from the application data center to the utility sub-station is pretty good.” However, he says “security from edge devices back to the sub-station and/or data center needs a lot of work.”

The hackers aren’t waiting. “Development of cybersecurity solutions and standards has somewhat stalled, while the attackers are steaming ahead at full speed,” Lockhart says. “While we do have lots of good point solutions available,” he says, “they are just that: point solutions.” The problem is that hackers find the gaps between those products.

Lockhart says that, outside of defense agencies, it’s rare to find a utility with a well-planned smart grid security program that integrates those products into a working whole.

There’s also a danger of overlooking the insider threat. “Most people believe smart grid security is for only viruses and worms from hostile governments and terrorist groups,” says Joshua Flood, an analyst at ABI Research. “However, one of the main reasons for increased spending on smart grid security software and management systems is simply to make sure the correct people have access to the equipment and systems they should have access to.” Among other things, this means protecting systems from disgruntled employees or others who might commit internal sabotage, Flood says.

Security Standards Need Teeth

The Pike Research report suggests that the lack of enforceable security standards or regulations for power distribution grids “leads to a scene of mass chaos in utility cybersecurity” and will cause utilities to take a wait-and-see approach to significant security investments.

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LIC Working Women Coordination Committee organised a seminar on the subject ‘declining girl child ratio’ here on Friday.

Addressing the seminar, Nalini of the A.U. Department of Politics expressed concern at the dwindling women population and the increasing female infanticide. In the year 2001, the ratio of female population was 933 for 1,000 males and the same further dwindled to 914. She said that every year more than 8,000 cases of female infanticide were being reported.

She attributed the killing of a girl child to poverty and social conditions and the basic attitude towards the feminine gender.

Ms. Nalini said that the economic burden of girl education and their marriage by paying huge dowry was driving several people to choose only male child.

She appealed for a change in the attitude of males towards girl child. Gynaecologist I. Vani made a power-point presentation on the declining birth rate of females since the year 1901. She said that every year in India, an estimated 6,00,000 girl babies were being destroyed right in the wombs. In a city like Mumbai the male and female ratio is 1000: 898.

All India Women’s Association district wing secretary B. Padma called for transformation of the mindset of parents in this regard and viewing of both the sexes on an equal footing. Seminar convenor G. Surya Prabha and treasurer P. Purnima also spoke.

Massive solar storm ‘could knock out radio signals’ over next three days, warn scientists

By TED THORNHILL

Last updated at 3:23 PM on 28th December 2011

Skywatchers will be hoping for clear skies from today because particles from a recent solar storm will slam into Earth and produce amazing Northern Lights, or auroras.

On the downside, experts expect radio blackouts for a few days, caused by the radiation from the flare – or coronal mass ejection (CME) – causing magnetic storms.

The flare is part of a larger increase in activity in the Sun, which runs in 11-year cycles. It is expected to peak around 2013.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center wrote: ‘Category G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storms are expected 28 and 29 December due to multiple coronal mass ejection arrivals. R1 (Minor) radio blackouts are expected until 31 December.’

Devices that depend on radio waves include GPS systems, radios and mobile phones.

A coronal mass ejection contains billions of tons of gases bursting with X-rays and ultraviolet radiation that are flung into space at around 5million mph.

They are mind-bogglingly hot – around 100,000,000C.

The Earth is occasionally hosed by these ejections, leading to amazing shimmering light shows.

They are caused by the ionised solar particles becoming imprisoned by Earth’s magnetic field, exciting the gases in the atmosphere and emitting bursts of energy in the form of light.

However, these particles can also cause magnetic storms, which in extreme cases have been known to disrupt satellites and electricity grids.

In 1989, a CME was held responsible for leaving six million people in Quebec, Canada, without power.

Last month one of the largest storms our star can produce was detected.

Known as an X1.9 flare, it was one of the biggest seen in years.

The flare was so powerful that it disrupted communications systems on earth a short time later.

Another gigantic flare occurred in August – shown in the video below – but because it took place on the side of the Sun not facing Earth, there was no disruption to communications or power.

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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea declared on Thursday the young untested heir Kim Jong-un as supreme head of the country, as tens of thousands of people rallied in Pyongyang one day after the funeral of his father, Kim Jong-il, to swear their allegiance to the dynastic transfer of power.

The large crowd, mostly of soldiers, packed the plaza named after Mr. Kim’s grandfather, the North’s founding president Kim Il-sung, to hold a memorial service for Kim Jong-il. The event capped 13 days of national mourning over Kim Jong-il’s death and introduced the era of his son.
“Respected Comrade Kim Jong-un is now supreme leader of our party, military and people,” said Kim Yong-nam, president of the North Korean Parliament and the ceremonial head of state. ”He inherits the ideology, leadership, courage and audacity of Comrade Kim Jong-il.”

In a speech to the crowd, he also called on the North Koreans to “solidify the monolithic leadership” of Kim Jong-un.

From a balcony, with top party officials and military brass standing behind him, the new leader looked over the snow-covered plaza, where people stood in neat rows. He was dressed in a black greatcoat — a winter dress code favored by his grandfather, who was a Godlike figure among North Koreans that the young leader appeared to copy in dress, demeanor and physique.

Mr. Kim, believed to be in his late 20s, was unveiled as successor in September last year, following his father’s 2008 stroke. After his father’s sudden death on Dec. 17, he was rapidly elevated to the top military and party posts, though he has yet to assume those official titles.

How much he has consolidated his grip on power before his father’s death — and whether he would have to depend on caretakers or even regents — remain topics of intense speculation and contention among outside analysts. All indications from the North, however, suggest that at least in the public eye, he will not share power with anyone.

North Korea said the “great successor” will faithfully follow his father’s songun, or “military-first,” policy, which has raised tensions with Washington and Seoul.

The regime often stages huge rallies or military parades at Kim Il-sung Plaza to mark important state events and demonstrate unity.

The repeated reference of Kim Jong-un as “supreme leader” in the North Korean media in the past week signaled that he would get official titles, such as supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army and general secretary of the Workers’ Party, at party meetings in coming months. Those meetings are largely regarded as formalities.

At noon Thursday, the country observed three minutes of silence nationwide. Trains and ships sounded their horns, state media reported.

On Wednesday, when the funeral motorcade traveled through Pyongyang, people lined the streets weeping and wailing over the death of Kim Jong-il, who ruled their country for 17 years, partly with the help of a government-orchestrated personality cult.

CDC Survey: 1 In 4 Women Attacked By Partner

by The Associated Press
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December 14, 2011

It’s a startling number: 1 in 4 women surveyed by the government say they were violently attacked by their husbands or boyfriends.

Experts in domestic violence don’t find it too surprising, although some aspects of the survey may have led to higher numbers than are sometimes reported.

Even so, a government official who oversaw the research called the results “astounding.”

“It’s the first time we’ve had this kind of estimate” on the prevalence of intimate partner violence, said Linda Degutis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The survey, released by the CDC on Wednesday, marks the beginning of a new annual project to look at how many women say they’ve been abused.

One expert called the new report’s estimate on rape and attempted rape “extremely high” with 1 in 5 women saying they were victims. About half of those cases involved intimate partners. No documentation was sought to verify the women’s claims, which were made anonymously.

But advocates say the new rape numbers are plausible.

“It’s a major problem that often is underestimated and overlooked,” said Linda James, director of health for Futures Without Violence, a San Francisco-based organization that advocates against domestic abuse.

The CDC report is based on a randomized telephone survey of about 9,000 women and 7,400 men.

Among the findings:

As many as 29 million women say they have suffered severe and frightening physical violence from a boyfriend, spouse or other intimate partner. That includes being choked, beaten, stabbed, shot, punched, slammed against something or hurt by hair-pulling.

That number grows to 36 million if slapping, pushing and shoving are counted.

Almost half of the women who reported rape or attempted rape said it happened when they were 17 or younger.

As many as 1 in 3 women have experienced rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetimes, compared to about 1 in 10 men.

Both men and women who had been menaced or attacked in these ways reported more health problems. Female victims, in particular, had significantly higher rates of irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, frequent headaches and difficulty sleeping.

Certain states seemed to have higher reports of sexual violence than others. Alaska, Oregon and Nevada were among the highest in rapes and attempted rapes of women, and Virginia and Tennessee were among the lowest.

Several of the CDC numbers are higher than those of other sources. For example, the CDC study suggests that 1.3 million women have suffered rape, attempted rape or had sex forced on them in the previous year. That statistic is more than seven times greater than what was reported by a Department of Justice household survey conducted last year.

The CDC rape numbers seem “extremely high,” but there may be several reasons for the differences, including how the surveys were done, who chose to participate and how “rape” and other types of assault were defined or interpreted, said Shannan Catalano, a statistician with the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

“It is an evolving field, and everyone is striving to get a handle on what’s the best estimate,” Catalano said.

The CDC’s numbers don’t seem surprising to people who work with abused women.

“I think that the awareness is growing,” said Kim Frndak, community educator for the Women’s Rescue Center to End Domestic Violence, which operates a shelter on the outskirts of Atlanta.

“More and more people are really saying, `Oh, this is something that we need to pay attention to as well,’ because it’s your sister, it’s your mother, it’s your daughter, it’s your son, it’s your brother. Someone in your own circle is being affected by domestic violence, and the effects can be devastating,” she said.

Nearly 20% of women in the US are raped or suffer attempted rape at some point in their lives, a US study says.

Even more women, estimated at 25%, have been attacked by a partner or husband, the Centers for Disease Control said.

The findings form part of the first set of results from a nationwide study surveying sexual violence by intimate partners against men and women.

More than 24 people a minute reported rape, violence, or stalking, it says, with 12 million offences reported.

Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) described the results of the first year of the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey as “astounding”.

Among the key figures included in the survey’s findings were:

more than one million women were raped in the 12 months prior to the survey, estimates show
more than six million women and men were a victim of stalking
more than 12 million women and men reported rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner over the course of a year.

Lifelong hurt

“People who experience sexual violence, stalking or intimate partner violence often deal with the effects for their entire life,” said Dr Linda Degutis, director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Many of those attacked experience rape or sexual assault in their early years, with almost 80% of rape victims suffering their ordeal before the age of 25.

Some 35% of women raped before they were aged 18 were also raped as adults, Dr Degutis added.

Among the effects measured by the study, Dr Degutis said, were increased fears for safety and incidents of post-traumatic stress among victims.

Clinical conditions including asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, frequent headaches, chronic pain and difficulty sleeping were also more likely in women who are raped or subject to assault.

There were also clear findings about the incidences of attacks on men and observations about health impacts on men who suffer rape or sexual assault.

An estimated one in 71 men has been raped at some point in their lives, the study finds.

Almost 53% of male victims experienced some form of intimate partner violence for the first time before the age of 25. Some 25% of male rape victims were first raped when they were 10 years old or younger, the findings show.

The study data was based on a survey of 9,086 women and 7,421 men from around the US, the CDC said. Results were weighted in an effort to ensure nationally representative results.

Researchers conceded that sample size limited the study, but said they felt the methods used in the survey were likely to encourage genuine responses.

Research was carried out in a health context, the CDC said, without involvement of law enforcement, in an effort to ensure respondents felt able to describe incidents that could have involved close friends or family members.

From Enas Muthaffar and Kevin Flower, CNN

Bethlehem, Israel (CNN) – Clergy from two Christian sects came to blows in the Church of the Nativity on Wednesday morning, prompting police to storm the Bethlehem holy site.

Several dozen Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests were cleaning the interior of the church Wednesday morning when, according to witnesses, two of them began fighting.

The fight quickly escalated, and soon, 50 to 60 priests were exchanging blows with broomsticks.

Bethlehem police were sent in to quell the fighting, Palestinian police Maj. Ahed Hasayen said.

“This is an internal problem related to the Nativity church only. The Palestinian police had to interfere to stop the clashes as soon as possible to avoid devastating consequences,” he said.

According to tour guide Ghassen Tos, the fight, while intense, was short in duration.

“This did not last for long as soon as the Palestinian police interfered and succeeded to halt the clashes immediately,” he said.

There were no reports of any serious injuries.

The Church of the Nativity is built in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on the site where Christian tradition holds Jesus Christ was born, and it is a major attraction for tourists coming to the Holy Land.

The interior of the church is traditionally cleaned by priests in between celebrations of Christmas on December 25 and the Orthodox celebration in the first week of January.

The church is administered jointly by the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian religious authorities, and tension between the sects is not uncommon.

In 2007, clergy from the same sects came to blows in a similar incident.

“This is an internal problem related to the Nativity church only. The Palestinian police had to interfere to stop the clashes as soon as possible to avoid devastating consequences,” he said.

According to tour guide Ghassen Tos, the fight, while intense, was short in duration.

“This did not last for long as soon as the Palestinian police interfered and succeeded to halt the clashes immediately,” he said.

There were no reports of any serious injuries.

The Church of the Nativity is built in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on the site where Christian tradition holds Jesus Christ was born, and it is a major attraction for tourists coming to the Holy Land.

The interior of the church is traditionally cleaned by priests in between celebrations of Christmas on December 25 and the Orthodox celebration in the first week of January.

The church is administered jointly by the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian religious authorities, and tension between the sects is not uncommon.

In 2007, clergy from the same sects came to blows in a similar incident.