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  • 18
    Feb
    2013
    7:38am, EST

    Church bricks up windows, installs traffic-light warning system amid Mexico violence

    Daniel Becerril / Reuters

    Catholics pray near windows covered partially with cement blocks inside St. Teresa of Avila church in Monterrey, Mexico, on Feb. 17, 2013.

    Daniel Becerril / Reuters

    A green light indicates there is no danger as a priest distributes Holy Communion to the congregation inside the church.

    By David R Arnott, NBC News

    A church in the Mexican city of Monterrey has set up extreme security measures to protect worshippers, bricking up its windows and introducing a traffic light system to warn churchgoers if a crime is taking place nearby.

    During mass, a green light is activated above a side door of the St. Teresa of Avila church to indicate that there is no sign of danger outside.

    When the amber light is lit, it indicates caution, while the red light represents danger from criminal activity, such as a shooting, taking place near the church.

    A concrete wall has also been constructed in front of the main facade of the church. 

    Daniel Becerril / Reuters

    A concrete wall has been built in front of St. Teresa of Avila church.

    Last week, Mexico's new administration offered the first details of a long-touted shift in the country's war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2 billion this year on social programs meant to keep young people from joining criminal organizations in the 251 most violent towns and neighborhoods across the country. 

    "It's clear that we must put special emphasis on prevention, because we can't only keep employing more sophisticated weapons, better equipment, more police, a higher presence of the armed forces in the country as the only form of combating organized crime," President Enrique Pena Nieto said.

    -- Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Related:

    6 arrested in Acapulco tourists' rape

    Mexicans weary of drug gangs form vigilante patrols

    Slideshow: Mexico's drug war, drug culture

     

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    53 comments

    Don't those criminals realize they can't own guns in Mexico? (sarcasm)

    Show more
    Explore related topics: mexico, security, religion, americas, crime, world-news, christianity, monterrey
  • 14
    Jan
    2013
    12:22pm, EST

    Fearing reprisals, Paris tightens security following French air strikes in Mali

    Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images

    Soldiers patrol under the Eiffel Tower on Jan. 14 in Paris. Islamist forces based in northern Mali vowed Monday to avenge France's fierce military offensive against them on French soil.

    Reuters

    A French Rafale fighter jet lands in Ndjamena, Chad, before being deployed in Mali, in this picture provided by the French military and taken on Jan. 13.

    "France has opened the gates of hell for all the French," a spokesman for Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels in Mali told Europe 1 radio. "She has fallen into a trap which is much more dangerous than Iraq, Afghanistan or Somalia."

    Concerned about reprisals at home, France has tightened security at public buildings and on public transport following four days of French air strikes on the rebels' northern strongholds. Read Story

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    Remy De La Mauviniere / AP

    French army soldiers patrol Gare du Nord station in Paris on Jan. 14. France has ordered tightened security in public buildings and transport following action against radical Islamists both in Mali and Somalia.

     

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

    • Influx of foreign fighters threatens stability of Mali
    • For Mali refugees, struggle to get by is biggest battle
    • Thousands seek refuge from violence in Mali

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    1 comment

    You gotta love that happy couple on the left in the second photo. Says a lot.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: france, europe, security, paris, world-news
  • 4
    Jan
    2013
    5:46pm, EST

    Colombian company begins manufacturing children's body armor after the Newtown, Conn., massacre

    Photos by William Fernando Martinez / AP

    A worker inspects armored vests designed for children at the Miguel Caballero factory on the outskirts of Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013.

    The Associated Press reports that Miguel Caballero, who has made armored vests for adults for more than 20 years, said he had never thought about making bulletproof goods for children.

    That changed after the Dec. 14 slaying of 20 small children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

    John Vizcaino / Reuters

    Miguel Caballero, president of Miguel Caballero Company, uses a .38-caliber revolver to demonstrate the bulletproof quality of a leather jacket made at his factory.

    Related PhotoBlog posts

    • Sandy Hook students return to class for the first day in new school
    • Gun group trains 200 Utah teachers to use weapons in school
    • Images of silence: Remembering the Newtown school victims one week later
    • Memorials in New York and Washington for Conn. school shooting victims

    Related stories

    • School offers fresh start for Sandy Hook kids
    • State worker accused of showing Adam Lanza’s body to husband
    • Sandy Hook fund raises $6 million
    • Guns flood into police buyback programs
    • Woman arrested for lying about Newtown shooting scam
    • NRA chief: If putting armed police in schools is crazy, ‘then call me crazy’

    Slideshow: Newtown school massacre

    Carlo Allegri / Reuters

    A nation mourns after the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history left 20 children and six staff members dead at Sandy Hook Elementary.

    Launch slideshow

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

    2 comments

    Fear is what makes American's buy guns. American's with guns cause fear. Don't buy ammo and armor..just grow some b..ls.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: colombia, security, world-news, sandy-hook-elementary-shooting, newtown-conneticut
  • 20
    Dec
    2012
    10:55am, EST

    China school tests security measures after knife attack

    AFP - Getty Images

    Students and a teacher try to stop a mock attacker during a security drill at a primary school in Jinan, in eastern China's Shandong province on Dec. 18, 2012.

    AFP - Getty Images

    A guard tries to stop a mock attacker during a drill at a primary school in Jinan on Dec. 18, 2012.

    A school in eastern China's Shandong province tested its security procedures Tuesday, four days after a knife-wielding attacker stabbed 22 students at a different school in Henan province.

    China has seen several violent attacks against children over the past two years, including a spate of five incidents in 2010 that killed 15 children and two adults and wounded more than 80. -- Agence France-Presse

    EDITOR'S NOTE: Images taken on Dec. 18, 2012, and made available to NBC News today.

    Related: For teachers, school security jumps to forefront after Newtown shootings

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures
    •Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

    1 comment

    Chair is NOT going to save you from a gun

    Show more
    Explore related topics: china, asia, security, school, world-news
  • 11
    Dec
    2012
    9:55am, EST

    Women pick up guns and join men in Afghan National Police training

    Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

    Female Afghan National Police (ANP) officers aim their weapons during a drill at a training center near the German Bundeswehr army camp Marmal in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan on Dec. 11.

    Female Afghan National Police (ANP) officers trained alongside men at a training center near the German Bundeswehr army camp of Marmal in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan on Tuesday. German police are mentoring the training program for ANP, as part of an ongoing International Security Assistance Force mission, according to Reuters. Woman make up only 9 percent of the police force, according to The New York Times, as many husbands and provincial commanders are uncomfortable with women in such a role.

    Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

    A female ANP officer receives her weapon for a drill at a training center near the German Bundeswehr army camp Marmal in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan on Dec. 11.

    Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

    A German police instructor talks to female ANP officers before a drill at a training center near the German Bundeswehr army camp Marmal in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan on Dec. 11.

    Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

    Male and female ANP officers line up before a drill at a training center near the German Bundeswehr army camp Marmal in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan on Dec. 11.

    Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

    Male and female ANP officers take part in a drill at a training center near the German Bundeswehr army camp Marmal in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan on Dec. 11.

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

    • Michigan gun enthusiasts protest arrest in Birmingham
    • Piecing together a fractured Afghanistan one limb at a time
    • Relentless Afghan conflict leaves traumatized generation
    • Afghan women learn literacy through mobile phones
    • Staying up-to-date on beauty tips, even in Afghanistan
    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    Slideshow: Afghanistan: Nation at a crossroads

    Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images

    More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.

    Launch slideshow

    3 comments

    POWER to the WOMEN of Afghanistan, may God Bless all of you fighting for justice & equality! GOD Speed!!! My prayers are with you!!!

    Show more
    Explore related topics: afghanistan, security, police, guns, conflict, world-news, anp
  • 17
    Oct
    2012
    7:38pm, EDT

    New cutters replace Coast Guard's aging, cash-strapped fleet

    Joe Raedle / Getty Images

    United States Coast Guard BM1 Christopher Valdes drives the 7.9-meter small boat alongside the United States Coast Guard Cutter William Flores on Oct.17 just off the shore of Miami Beach, Fla.

    The U.S. Coast Guard is receiving new cutters to help replace its aging fleet. The USCGC William Flores is the third of 58 new Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutters. The new cutter will be put into service officially on Nov. 3, according to Getty Images.

    Joe Raedle / Getty Images

    A message is seen written on the window of the bridge on the United States Coast Guard Cutter William Flores on Oct 17 just off the shore of Miami Beach, Fla.

    Reuters reports-- The U.S. Coast Guard is on the front lines of national security, but it struggles to complete its missions with one of the world's oldest maritime fleets and a multibillion dollar replacement program years behind schedule.

    The cash-strapped service operates with frequent breakdowns and obsolete gear in what one U.S. congressman has called a "death spiral," of too few ships and too many missions.

    If forced to give up some of its many jobs patrolling U.S. waters, that could mean more cocaine and illegal immigrants entering the United States, and fewer ships protecting boaters and fisheries and cleaning up oil spills, experts said. Read the full story.

    Joe Raedle / Getty Images

    United States Coast Guard Executive Officer Catherine Gillen takes the conning in the bridge of the United States Coast Guard Cutter William Flores on Oct. 17 just off the shore of Miami Beach, Fla. The cutter is the third of a planned 58 Fast Response Cutters in the Sentinel Class as the U.S. Coast Guard continues to replace its aging fleet. On Nov. 3, the USCGC William Flores will be commissioned into service in Tampa, Florida.

    Joe Raedle / Getty Images

    A container ship moves past the new United States Coast Guard Cutter William Flores on Oct. 17 just off the shore of Miami Beach, Fla.

    Joe Raedle / Getty Images

    The 26-foot small boat moves past the new United States Coast Guard Cutter William Flores after it was launched from the launch ramp on the back of the ship on Oct. 17 just off the shore of Miami Beach, Florida.

    Joe Raedle / Getty Images

    United States Coast Guard BM1 Christopher Valdes, left, and MK2 Cristobal Lopez ride in the 26-foot small boat after exiting from the back launch ramp of the United States Coast Guard Cutter William Flores on Oct. 17 just off the shore of Miami Beach, Fla.

    Related content:

    • 9 miles from Nome: Icebreaker closes in on cut-off Alaska town
    • Coast Guard icebreaker carves path towards cut-off Alaska city
    • New National Security Cutter Stratton arrives in Baltimore

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

    1 comment

    Four of the old worn out cutters were repainted and given to the Philippine Navy. The Phillipine politicians actually fell for the gimmick. Those old cutters are 40+ years old and are nothing but money holes, even the USA cannot afford.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: security, florida, coast-guard, miami-beach, us-news
  • 24
    Jul
    2012
    6:32pm, EDT

    Johan Ordonez / AFP - Getty Images

    Guatemalan soldiers search clown's car

    Guatemalan soldiers check a clown's car during a parade in the historic center of Guatemala City in the framework of the IV Latin American Clown Congress on July 24.

    • Follow @NBCNewsPictures on Twitter

    Comment

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    Explore related topics: guatemala, security, police, south-america, funny, clowns
  • 2
    May
    2012
    2:09pm, EDT

    London beefs up security before Olympics

    Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

    An Army Rapier missile defense battery is deployed at Blackheath insight of the Canary Wharf financial center on May 2, in London, England. The missiles are being readied as part of Operation Exercise Olympic Guardian which is taking place in London over the next few days to test security for the London 2012 Olympics.

    Glyn Kirk / AFP - Getty Images

    Chinook Helicopters fly over the Olympic Stadium in London on May 2. London launched a major military exercise Wednesday to check security responses for the 2012 Olympics, as the final wave of test sports events got under way.

    Alastair Grant / AP

    RAF ground technicians work on a RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft at RAF base Northolt, where four of the aircraft will be based as part of the Olympics related security exercise in west London, Wednesday, May 2. The Typhoon interceptor aircraft forms a part of a co-ordinated defense against possible threats to the London 2012 Olympic games, involving all three of the British armed services, with high end weaponry including a missile defence system, fighter aircraft and AWACS aircraft.

     

    By F. Brinley Bruton, msnbc.com

    LONDON - Brian Whelan, a 28-year-old journalist living in London, was probably expecting traffic chaos, hordes of tourists and seriously beefed-up security ahead of this summer's Olympics.

    High velocity surface-to-air missiles perched atop his apartment building he did not foresee.

    "People are quite shocked. I don't think anybody expected that the price you pay for hosting the Olympics is militarizing residential communities," he told msnbc.com.  For more on this story click here

     

    Comment

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    Explore related topics: olympics, security, london, world-news, sport
  • 2
    Mar
    2012
    2:24pm, EST

    Makeup artists and hairdressers teach Ukrainian border police

    Gleb Garanich / Reuters

    Ukrainian border guards take part in a master class in the Borispol airport near Kiev on Friday. Hairdressers and make-up artists conducted master classes for Ukrainian border guards who will meet tourists at Ukraine's main air hub during the Euro 2012 football championship.

    Gleb Garanich / Reuters

    A Ukrainian border guard takes part in a master class in the Borispol airport near Kiev.

    Gleb Garanich / Reuters

    A Ukrainian border guard looks at her reflection in a mirror.

    Gleb Garanich / Reuters

    Ukrainian border guards chat as they take part in a master class in the Borispol airport.

    Gleb Garanich / Reuters

    Ukrainian border guard working at the Borispol airport near Kiev.

    Gleb Garanich / Reuters

    Ukrainian border guards and a sniffer dog are seen in the Borispol airport near Kiev.

    More pictures from the Ukraine in PhotoBlog, as well as posts featuring women.

    Follow @msnbc_pictures

    4 comments

    OK, let's have the men's turn

    Show more
    Explore related topics: women, security, airport, border, ukraine, world-news, beauty, makeup
  • 27
    Feb
    2012
    7:43am, EST

    Seoul security practice reminiscent of the movie 'The Matrix'

    Yonhap via EPA

    Security guards take part in an event at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 27 to demonstrate their skills on how to deal with terrorism and other emergencies as part of their preparations for the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit. Top leaders from more than 50 nations and international organizations are expected to attend the summit, set for March 26 - 27 in Seoul.

    Kim Jae-Hwan / AFP - Getty Images

    A South Korean presidential body guard shoots a net at a "terrorist" during an anti-terror drill at the president's residence on Feb. 27, showcasing security preparations for an upcoming nuclear summit in Seoul.

    Kim Jae-Hwan / AFP - Getty Images

    A female presidential body guard shows her martial art skills during an anti-terror drill at the president's residence on Feb. 27, showcasing security preparations for an upcoming nuclear summit in Seoul. South Korea vowed tight security to guard world leaders against attacks by protesters and terrorists.

    By Phaedra Singelis, NBC News

    AFP reports: SEOUL — Deploying a mixture of high-tech weaponry and high-kicking martial arts, an elite South Korean security force demonstrated Monday how it will protect dozens of world leaders at an upcoming Seoul summit.

    The Presidential Security Service, whose normal job is to guard Seoul's leader, will also oversee the safety of about 40 heads of state or government during the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit.

    At the presidential residence known as the Blue House, some 70 officers staged a demonstration involving martial arts, sub-machineguns, ropes, vehicles and even a net.  Full story on the South Korea security unit's show.

    1 comment

    Looks like the fellow in the yellow vest (1st picture) is having something adjusted..

    Show more
    Explore related topics: security, south-korean, world-news, seoul, nuclear-security-summit
  • 15
    Feb
    2012
    7:37am, EST

    Lee Jin-Man / AP

    South Korean police officers cover a mock VIP during a police security demonstration in Seoul on Feb. 15, 2012. The Nuclear Security Summit will be held in Seoul from March 26 to 27.

    South Korean police run, jump, crash, bang and wallop

    By David R Arnott, NBC News

    I'm not normally a fan of photographs that are staged to show off the skills of soldiers or police, but occasionally they are just so ridiculous that I can't resist publishing them.

    Comment

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    Explore related topics: asia, security, police, south-korea, staged
  • 8
    Feb
    2012
    7:22am, EST

    China vows to continue crackdown on Tibetan unrest

    Andy Wong / AP

    Chinese police officers stand next to their vehicles as they stand watch near a Tibetan village inside the Jiuzhai Valley National Park in Jiuzhaigou, in northwestern China's Sichuan province, on Feb. 8, 2012.

    The Associated Press reports from BEIJING:

    China on Tuesday vowed to crack down on unrest in Tibetan areas and accused overseas activist groups and the Dalai Lama of fomenting the recent violence.

    Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said clashes last month between Tibetans and security forces in Sichuan province were the work of criminals and were instigated by overseas groups advocating for Tibetan independence. Read the full story.

    Related content:

    • Behind the Wall: China tightens its grip on Tibetans
    • More pictures related to Tibet on PhotoBlog

    Andy Wong / AP

    Tibetans sit on a motor cart outside a monastery after attending a religious ceremony at a monastery in Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan province, China, on Feb. 7, 2012.

    Follow @msnbc_pictures

    1 comment

    or maybe they could give the Tibetan people back their country and focus on the social unrest of their own people.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: china, asia, security, police, tibet, sichuan
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