October 31, 2011

SECRETARY HILLARY CLINTON SAID U.S. PLANS TO OPEN A "VIRTUAL EMBASSY" FOR IRAN

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--The United States plans to open a "virtual embassy" for Iran that will give Iranians online information about visas and student exchange programs despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. Clinton, in interviews with the Persian language services of the BBC and Voice of America, defended U.S. sanctions against Iran and said Washington had a strong criminal case linking Tehran to a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington. Clinton used both interviews to stress that the United States hoped to broaden contacts with regular Iranians despite tensions with the Tehran government, which she said was being transformed into a military dictatorship.

     "My goal in speaking to you today is to clearly communicate to the people of Iran, particularly the very large population of young people, that the United States has no argument with you. We want to support your aspirations. "We would be thrilled if tomorrow the regime in Iran had a change of mind," she told the Voice of America. Clinton said the "virtual embassy" web site would be open by the end of the year and it would provide Iranians with information on visas and other programs. The United States broke formal diplomatic relations with Tehran in 1980 following the Iran hostage crisis, and ties have remained tense amid disputes over Iran's nuclear program and U.S. charges that Iran is the most active state sponsor of terrorism around the world. In his waning months in office, President George W. Bush weighed opening a U.S. Interests Section, which could issue visas, in Tehran, but ultimately decided against it.

    Clinton said the United States was providing both technology and training to help Iranians circumvent government limits on the Internet and other forms of communication while seeking to expand sanctions on Tehran. She acknowledged economic sanctions sometimes caused difficulties for average Iranians, but said they were the best tool to pressure Iran's leaders. "We see disturbing trends and actions having to do with the continuing covert effort to build a nuclear weapons program ... with a lot of deception, a lot of lying to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the rest of the international community," Clinton told the BBC. "We see aggressive behavior toward neighbors in the region, we see efforts to try to hijack and undermine the so-called Arab Spring awakening," She said. "We do not want a conflict with Iran but we do want to see the rulers of Iran change their outlook and their behavior."

THE ABSENCE OF MANY PRESIDENTS DIMINISHED IMPORTANCE OF IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT

     ASUNCION, PARAGUAY--The Ibero-American leaders who met in Asunción approved a declaration put in place to protect the “most vunerable sectors in times of crisis” creating policies which will be set on safeguarding social investment. Likewise, a so-called Plan of Action was approved, which includes the decision to look over the cooperation strategy approved in 2007 and prepare a new one that takes into account the advances and changes since registered, hoping to finally keep boosting the “Ibero-American identity.”

    A dozen Heads of State and Government of 22 countries of Ibero America (Latin America, Spain, Andorra and Portugal) took part in the summit, which took place amid the international economic-financial crisis moving eyes toward the possible effects in Latin America. Nonetheless, the summit’s official theme was “the transformation of State for development.” The first meeting of presidents of the 21st Ibero-American Summit began in Asunción with a speech by Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, in which he underscored that “in the current international situation, the new vision on the State is mandatory.”

    The summit stood out, particularly due to the absence of Paraguay’s fellow Mercosur partner presidents: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, her Brazilian counter part, Dilma Rousseff, and Uruguayan president José Mujica, for differing reasons. Likewise, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Cuban leader Raúl Castro and Costa Rican Head of State Laura Chinchilla and El Salvador president Mauricio Funes, and Nicaraguan counterpart Daniel Ortega and Honduran president Porfirio Lobo were also not taking part.

GASOLINE FROZEN RATES IN VENEZUELA SCOURGE THE FUEL MARKET

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA--The policy of freezing fuel prices at any cost leaves increasingly marked scars in Venezuelan domestic market. There, distortions have been dragged for more than one decade of rate lag and indexes in the numbers of state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), with the company having to face growing subvention. Supply of gasoline, diesel and gas in canisters (liquefied petroleum gas, LPG) is having frequent troubles with distribution, sale and trade, in the face of rising demand and sale prices regarded in the hydrocarbons sector itself as "unreasonable" based on the economic reality. The Executive Office has set at USD 0.002 and USD 0.016 the price per liter of 95-octane and 91-octane gasoline, respectively. The liter of diesel is anchored at 0.011, whereas gas prices have been set at USD 0.86 for 10-kg canisters; USD 1.56 for 18-kg canisters and USD 3.72 for 43-kg cylinders.

     The government rate has been an incentive to fuel smuggling in the states of Amazonas Táchira, Zulia and Bolívar. In the latter three states, not even the gas stations of the System of Fuel Special Border Supply (Safec) which work with prices nearer world prices has sufficed to stop the bleeding of illegal traffic. In these service stations there is a sale threshold for each vehicle of 40 liters. In the Andean region, there are six Safec gas stations, but only five of them are operating. There, the liter of 91-octane gasoline is sold at USD 0.34. However, there are still troubles with fuel supply, to such an extent that Pdvsa has contracted trucks to carry the fuel, as the National Transportation Enterprise has not enough vehicles.

     Distribution is not the only concern. Growing domestic demand, particularly of gasoline and diesel, means that Pdvsa has to take out more from its pocket to offset the difference in the face of such a subsidy. No matter current oil prices, Pdvsa fails to enter about USD 10 billion a year, for gasoline sales only. Due to the distortion resulting from the gasoline margins, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and Pdvsa opted to dispatch the fuel to service stations without charging its value. Only at the end of the month, the ratio between the sold fuel and the margin would be estimated. If the difference favors gas stations, it would be carried forward to subsequent shipments; if the calculation favors Pdvsa, service stations should pay the appropriate amount. Nevertheless, after two and a half months of the deal, the monthly report is not being effected. This means that sale proceeds remain in the hands of gas stations.

October 30, 2011

13 AMERICAN TROOPS KILLED IN TWO KABUL TERRORIST ATTACKs

     KABUL, AFGHANISTAN--At least 13 U.S. troops were killed in Kabul on Saturday when a suicide bomber struck a vehicle in a NATO military convoy, a U.S. military official said. NATO's International Security Assistance Force confirmed 13 deaths within its force, but did not specify their nationalities. The U.S. official emphasized details are continuing to unfold. A heavily damaged vehicle is believed to be an armored bus that was carrying U.S. troops from one base to another. The attack caused a "number" of NATO and local Afghan casualties, ISAF said in a statement. Four Afghans, including two students, were also killed, said Hashmat Stanikzai, spokesman for Kabul's police chief. Stanikzai said the vehicle used in the attack appeared to be a red Toyota Corolla packed with a significant amount of explosives.

    It was unclear how many people were wounded, said Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. The deaths were the largest single-day U.S. loss in Afghanistan since the August crash in Afghanistan's Wardak province that killed 38 people, including 17 Navy SEALS. That aircraft was brought down by an insurgent rocket-propelled grenade. A Taliban spokesman confirmed Saturday's attack in a text message, saying it killed "16 foreign soldiers, one civilian" and injured many others. Taliban casualty counts are often inflated; there was no other reliable indication 16 foreigners were killed. Deadly violence across Afghanistan The attack was one of two targeting NATO-led forces that day.

     A gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform turned his weapon on coalition forces during training, killing two, said Master Sgt. Christopher DeWitt, a spokesman for ISAF. The shooter was killed in the incident in southern Afghanistan. The coalition did not provide any other details about the shooting, and did not disclose the nationalities of those killed. In another suicide attack in northeastern Afghanistan, a woman in a burqa detonated herself near the nation's intelligence agency. She tried to enter the National Directorate of Security and was shot at, but she still managed to detonate herself, said Sabour Alayar, deputy police chief of Kunar province. Two officers and two civilians were wounded, he said, adding that the female suicide bomber was about 25 years old.

LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, EX-BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT, HAS THROAT CANCER

     BRASILIA, BRAZIL--Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was diagnosed with throat cancer, a hospital where the ex-leader went for medical exams said Saturday.SAO PAULO: Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was diagnosed with throat cancer, a hospital where the ex-leader went for medical exams said on Saturday. Following a series of tests, the 66-year-old Lula "was diagnosed with a tumor located in his larynx" and will receive outpatient chemotherapy treatment, the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital of Sao Paulo said in a statement. He was otherwise in good health, the statement read.

    The charismatic and popular Lula left power with a record 80 per cent approval rating after two consecutive terms from January 2003 to December 2010. Brazil's constitution prohibits a third consecutive term. The former copper factory worker's social programs helped lift 29 million Brazilians out of poverty, and his foreign policy turned Brazil into a global power player.

     The Syrian-Lebanese Hospital, which specializes in cancer treatment, treated Lula's former vice-president, Jose Alencar, who died in March following cancer in his abdominal area. President Dilma Rousseff was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 2009, before she was elected to Brazil's top office, and was treated in September of that year at the hospital. Doctors say she is currently cancer-free.

SYRIAN FORCES POUND THE CITY OF HOMS

    DAMASCUS, SYRIA--Syrian forces pounded the western city of Homs Saturday with jets and tanks, sustaining fire with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, activists told CNN. At least seven people were killed in the clashes in Syria Saturday, six of them in Homs, according to the Local Coordination Committees (LCC) of Syria, an opposition group that organizes and documents protests in Syria. Rami Abdel Rahman, president of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported at least four deaths in Homs Saturday. He said the fierce fighting has been ongoing between armed military defectors and loyalist forces.

    For weeks, the military has parked tanks at the entrance to Bab Amer, a Homs neighborhood known as the epicenter of anti-government activity, an activist told CNN Saturday. After the Saturday morning crackdown, the military established new checkpoints and a much heavier presence, the activist said. He said he heard jets overhead around 9:30 in the morning. A few minutes later, tanks began firing into buildings and homes. Security forces also cracked down in other Syrian cities Saturday, the LCC reported. There was heavy presence of troops in parts of Edleb and raids in Deir Ezzor. The clashes erupted after Friday's massive demonstration in Hama where Syrians demanded an end to President Bashar al-Assad's rule and called for his prosecution.

    Demonstrators also called on the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone, naval blockade and other measures to protect Syrian protesters. Security forces fatally shot 35 civilians during protests across the nation Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. At least 100 others were wounded and 500 arrested in several provinces, the opposition group said. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Friday's killings. He said the deaths of more than 3,000 people killed since the start of the Syrian uprising amounts to an "alarming" toll. Ban appealed for an end to military operations against civilians. Meanwhile, the state-run news agency SANA reported that funerals were held Saturday for 15 members of the security forces killed in clashes last week.

October 29, 2011

REP. ROS-LEHTINEN CHASTISES SEC. CLINTON ABOUT OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S DOUBLE STANDARD ON CASTRO REGIME

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, during a Committee hearing earlier today pressed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to justify the Administration’s stance on various rogue regimes such as Syria and Libya, including calling on various dictators  to leave power, but continuing to engage the Cuban regime, seemingly minimizing the threat posed by the Cuban tyranny to U.S. interests and the Cuban people.

     “Madam Secretary, your administration has remained in opposition to many of the world’s tyrants, yet the U.S. continues to engage the Cuban regime.  “In March, you stated Qaddafi ‘should leave power’   In June 1, you said Saleh should ‘move out of the way.’  In July, you stated, ‘Assad is not indispensable and we have absolutely nothing invested in him remaining in power.’ “Yet in stark contrast, this Administration continues to engage the Cuban regime and provide the Castro brothers economic lifelines in the form of allowing increased travel opportunities and supporting their offshore oil drilling aspirations.

    Two weeks ago, Undersecretary Wendy Sherman confirmed to our Committee that the Department of State had recently met with the Cuban regime to discuss Alan Gross.  “Media reports have the State Department willing to offer concessions such as allowing convicted Cuban spies to return to Cuba or taking Cuba off the State Sponsor of Terrorism list in order to obtain the release of Mr. Gross.  “The United States should not be negotiating with a State Sponsor of Terrorism, so I ask you, Madam Secretary, why is there a double standard with the Castro regime?”

SECRETARY PANETTA SAYS PENTAGON TO OFFER CUTS OF UP TO $260 BILLION IN 5-YEAR BUDGET

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reportedly said Thursday that the Pentagon will slash up to $260 billion in spending in its five-year budget that will be released to Congress in February. The cuts stem from the deficit-reduction deal President Obama struck with Congress in August to reduce the defense budget by as much as $450 billion over the next decade. According to Reuters, Panetta indicated in his comments made during a trip to South Korea that the Pentagon wouldn't shy away from making aggressive cuts in the first five years of that window.

     "It would involve a five-year budget, which is normally what we would present," Panetta reportedly said. "But that would represent probably somewhere around $250- or $260 billion of the $450 billion that we're required to reduce." Panetta has said that the $450 billion in cuts won't jeopardize national security, but he warned U.S. lawmakers earlier this month that any more than that would. He added that the level of cuts required will hit lawmakers' pet projects as well as weapons systems, which are made in U.S. manufacturing plants that provide jobs.

    "To accomplish this will require that we navigate through some very perilous political waters. There are serious dangers ahead and very little margin for error," he said in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a nonpartisan think tank.  "In this fiscal environment, every program, every contract, every facility will be scrutinized for savings -- savings that won't reduce readiness or our ability to perform essential missions." The deficit-reduction deal struck over the summer led to the formation of a congressional Super Committee to find $1.2 trillion in savings over the next decade. If the 12-member panel fails to reach a deal by Thanksgiving or Congress rejects it, $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts will be triggered across the board, with half hitting defense.

venezuela'S GOLD REPATRIATION COST ESTIMATED AT USD 9 MILLION

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA-- A narrow, dim spiral staircase leads to the last basement of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), one of the most protected buildings in Caracas dangerous downtown. There are in there the vaults prepared to receive the largest incoming amount in the history of Venezuela: USD 11 billion in gold of utmost purity. Such vaults will be the ultimate destination of 17,000 gold ingots that President Hugo Chávez ordered to repatriate in August from faraway countries such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, United States of America and Canada. It is a complicated, very risky operation. According to authorities, it will begin in the middle of November.

    A source related to the transfer told Reuters that the government plans to carry the 190 tons of gold -90% out of the total amount kept abroad- on cargo flights by the end of the year. "The total cost of the operation should not exceed USD 9 million, including transportation, guards, insurance and reinsurance," the source said. However, experts in transportation of valuables claim that private companies usually charge at least 1% of the cost of safeguarded goods. There are few precedents of haulage of gold as large as this one, and information is scarce in a business where discretion is pivotal. The very few cases of previous transfers of gold point to 1936, when Spain moved more than 500 tons of gold from Madrid to Moscow beginning the Civil War. The cost included 2.1% of fees and 1.2% for transport, storage, melting and refining.

    With gold still quoting high levels -around USD 1,700/ounce- some add quite a few dangers to the risks of accidental loss, such as raid or embezzlement. "Rest assured. Nothing will be missing here; nobody is to steal anything. This is not a film made in Hollywood," BCV President Nelson Merentes recently said. Nevertheless, analysts are positive that bringing in the ingots, the same ones which until 1986 remained in the vaults of the Central Bank before being gradually moved, will be slow, complicated and expensive and not as safe as government authorities let believe. "Lot of things can happen. Gold is a very heavy metal. Therefore, we are talking about excess load, transportation costs, security, and insurance. It could end at the bottom of the ocean; something could be sold, lost or remain at "the rear" of the truck, Russ Dallen of the BBO firm said. "Selling the gold and concomitantly buying gold nearby would be cheaper."

October 28, 2011

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ACCUSES SYRIA OF TORTURE IN HOSPITALS

     LONDON, ENGLAnd--The Syrian government has been accused by Amnesty International of torturing wounded protesters at state-run hospitals. The London-based group says the Syrian government has turned hospitals into "instruments of repression" against protesters opposed to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. In a new report, the rights group says wounded patients in at least four state-run hospitals had been subjected to torture and other abuse, including by medical workers. "The Ministry of Health has instructed health professionals, hospitals, to report wounded persons to the authorities," Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa researcher Cilina Nasser, told RFE/RL by telephone from London. "And we all know that this will put the wounded persons at risk of arrest. And usually, in Syria, when you do get arrested, you are tortured."

    The human rights group’s report states that wounded patients in at least four government-run hospitals have been subjected to torture, Reuters reports. The report also included that some hospital workers suspected of treating protesters injured from protests have faced either arrest or torture. "It is deeply alarming that the Syrian authorities seem to have given the security forces a free rein in hospitals, and that in many cases hospital staff appear to have taken part in torture and ill treatment of the very people they are supposed to care for," said Cilina Nasser, an Amnesty researcher, Reuters reports.

    The 39-page report also states that protesters and victims have avoided going to government hospitals and instead seek treatment at private facilities or “poorly equipped” makeshift field hospitals, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Syrian government has yet to respond to the allegations. The Amnesty reports says many civilians consider it safer not to go to the hospital to seek treatment. It maintains that hospital workers suspected of treating protesters have themselves faced arrest and torture. According to UN estimates, more than 3,000 people have been killed in a security crackdown since protests against Assad's regime began in March.

wasHington accelerates its plans to contain iran after leAving iraq

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--The danger that Iran will try to fill the vacuum that the U.S. will leave in a few weeks in Iraq, the U.S. administration has stepped up international efforts to isolate the Islamic regime, which reappears as the main external enemy, above even a devalued Al Qaeda. A U.S. envoy, David Cohen, Deputy Treasury Secretary on matters of espionage and terrorist financing, travels this week several capitals of Europe (London, Berlin, Paris and Rome) trying to find a consensus for concerted action to impose new sanctions on Iran. At the same time, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is to publish a new report which details the progress made by Iran in developing its nuclear program as well as new and more grounds for believing that the country is trying to build an atomic bomb.

    U.S. Concerns Iran has been growing in recent months as they failed all attempts at negotiation with the Government. But the alarm jumped the discovery this month, according to American investigators that the regime of the ayatollahs had financed and supported a plot to kill the ambassador to Saudi Arabia in Washington and probably commit other terrorist acts. The urgency to do something to contain Iran acquires a new dimension after the announcement last week of complete withdrawal from Iraq.  In its statement on the subject, Barack Obama made an implicit warning to the Iranian authorities to "respect the sovereignty of Iraq" and not trying to exploit the situation to increase its influence in the neighboring country. Despite this warning, it is difficult for Tehran to interpret the U.S. withdrawal as a small victory and not enjoy a greater role in Iraq's future. At a minimum, Iran has in Baghdad today that a team leader known for some time and which retains some ties of friendship.

    Both Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Iran spent part of his exile during the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Many Iraqi politicians share that fact, and one of the main partners in the coalition that supports Maliki, the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, lived in Iran during the time of the U.S. military invasion. Not all situations are disadvantageous to Washington. U.S. believe that the sanctions in recent years have weakened Iran economically, they may still suffer much more if you impose new punishments. More importantly, the regime has numerous examples of division between the political leadership, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his religious leadership, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The fragility of the Iraqi government, now join the growing crisis in Syria, another ally of Tehran, and the difficulties of succession in Saudi Arabia, Iran's greatest enemy. Not to mention the constant risk that Israel, which feels its survival threatened by Iran, try an action on their own.

venezuela among the 14 most violent countries in the world

    geneva, switzerland-- Six out of the 14 countries featuring very high levels of armed violence in the world are in Latin America, according to the second edition of the report "Global Burden of Armed Violence" released Thursday by he secretariat of The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, a diplomatic initiative launched in 2008.  "One quarter of all violent deaths occurred in just 14 countries," the report on armed violence and development said. The first edition of the report did not include statistics by country.

     Six of these countries are in Latin America: El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and Belize. In those countries, armed groups, often associated with drug trafficking, wreak havoc, according to a report released on Thursday. The Global Burden of Armed Violence calculated the average annual violent rate between 2004 and 2009.  This shows that "most of the states affected by violent deaths are not at war," said Keith Krause, professor at the Graduate Institute of International And Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, who was one of the authors of the report.

     Iraq, Jamaica, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Lesotho, Central African Republic, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo complete the list of the 14 countries with the highest rates of violent death, AFP reported.  El Salvador is the most violent country in the world with more than 60 deaths per 100,000 people. In an average year between 2004 and 2009, more people per capita were killed in El Salvador than in Iraq. According to the report, 526,000 people die violently every year, but only 55,000 of them lose their lives in conflict or as a result to terrorism.

October 27, 2011

LIBYA TO NATO: STAY UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR

     TRIPOLI, LIBYA--Although NATO seems poised to bring its Libya mission to an end, the transitional government has asked it to remain through the end of 2011 to help ensure security. Two days before NATO makes a decision on whether to wrap up its Libya mission, interim leader Mustapha Abdul Jalil has urged NATO to stay through the end of the year to help ensure to help ensure that Qaddafi supporters do not leave Libya to stir up trouble from nearby countries. With Qaddafi dead, and Libya's liberation confirmed as of this past weekend, the informal benchmarks for ending NATO's mission have been reached. Last Friday, NATO members made a preliminary decision to end the Libya mission on Oct. 31, and on Tuesday, the NATO commander said that he believed the National Transitional Council (NTC) could handle any security threats, Reuters reports.

     However, the NTC seems keen to have the military alliance stay on, Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports. "We hope (NATO) will continue its campaign until at least the end of this year to serve us and neighbouring countries," Mr. Jalil, head of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC), told the conference. This request is aimed at "ensuring that no arms are infiltrated into those countries and to ensure the security of Libyans from some remnants of (slain despot Moamar) Gaddafi's forces who have fled to nearby countries," he added. The NTC is also seeking help from NATO in "developing Libya's defence and security systems," Mr. Jalil told the Conference of Friends Committee.

    Whether or not NATO chooses to stay, Libya is likely to be watched closely by the international community. The NTC is under scrutiny, particularly by human rights groups, who are alarmed by Qaddafi's death and signs of a strong desire for revenge among anti-Qaddafi fighters, The Christian Science Monitor reported yesterday. The NTC has promised to carry out an investigation into Qaddafi's death, but whether the fledgling government has the strength to do so is unclear.  And as NATO's mission draws closer to its end, questions about whether its Libya operation is a new model for foreign intervention are being more seriously considered. In an article for Foreign Policy, Eric Posner writes that the much-touted Libya operation violated international law on multiple grounds.

OAS SECRETARY GENERAL INSULZA PROBES DICTATOR CHAVEZ NONCOMPLIANCE WITH IACHR COURT RULING

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza disclosed on Wednesday his readiness to review this week along with the Secretary of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR Court) the failure of the Venezuelan State to lift a ban from public office on Leopoldo López, the coordinator of opposition Voluntad Popular party and a presidential pre-candidate.

    The IACHR Court "should keep track of its own rulings and in the event of deeming it that they have not been observed, it should report on it to the General Assembly," the senior officer said in his first opinion at the OAS Permanent Council since the decision made last month by the IACHR Court, AP quoted. Based on the opinion issued by the IACHR Court, the political disqualification of Leopoldo López violates the principles set forth in the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

    "Therefore, I am waiting for the Court to make a follow-up and for this I have an interview tomorrow (Thursday) with its Secretary Pablo Saavedra, who is coming to Washington for a few days," Insulza replied to Panamanian Ambassador Guillermo Cochez, who queried into the matter. Venezuelan Deputy Chief of Mission Carmen Velásquez refused to refer to López's case when she took the floor.

IACHR SLAMS DICTATOR CHAVEZ FOR ALLEGING "PERSECUTION"

    WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) refuted on Tuesday dictator hugo chavez's criticism and attributed it to a "plot" from Caracas, during a heated debate in a hearing held in Washington.

     The representative of the Venezuelan State for Human Rights, Germán Saltrón, "told us again the same old story: the theory of scheming; the Commission chasing Venezuela," outgoing Commissioner Paulo Sergio Pinheiro lamented during the session, AFP quoted.  "Where is the fixation with Venezuela?" Pinheiro wondered and regretted that the Venezuelan government has denied for eight years the possibility of a visit by IACHR representatives to Venezuela for an onsite review of the human rights status.

     Saltrón reasserted that "almost all" IACHR comments on Venezuela "lack veracity and validity" and they are "based on claims filed by non governmental organizations funded by the US Department of State." In addition, Saltrón noted, the reports regularly received by the IACHR that blast the human rights status in Venezuela are based on "releases from media that are fully biased against the government of legitimate President Hugo Chávez."

October 26, 2011

dictator gadhafi son seif al-islam 'near niger-libya border'

     NIAMEY, NIGER--Moamer Gadhafi’s son Seif al-Islam and his former intelligence chief, the two most wanted fugitives from the slain despot’s ousted regime, were poised Tuesday to cross the border into Niger, a Tuareg official said. The pair, wanted by the International Criminal Court, had been expected to seek refuge in Niger — which already shelters dozens of former regime officials — following Gadhafi’s death and the fall of his hometown Sirte on Thursday. Seif al-Islam “is near the Niger border, he hasn’t entered Niger yet but he’s close,” a local official from the northern Niger Agadez region told AFP on condition of anonymity. “It appears he is being escorted by former Tuareg fighters but I am not yet able to confirm this,” the official added.

    The local official said that Abdullah al-Senussi, a former intelligence chief and Gadhafi’s brother-in-law, was also approaching the border with Niger. “Both of them are near the Niger border, they can’t be very far from each other,” he said. Interpol issued a “red notice” in September for the arrest of Moamer Kadhafi, who was killed on Thursday, Seif al-Islam and Senussi. In June, International Criminal Court judges issued arrest warrants against the three for “crimes against humanity” by troops under their orders, using “lethal force” to quell the uprising against his regime. A Niger government source said Saturday that Senussi, 62, had been spotted in northern Niger, but that his presence in the country was “not yet officially established.”

     In Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi, a senior official of the National Transitional Council, interim oil and finance minister Ali Tarhuni told reporters that Seif al-Islam posed no danger to the new regime. “Seif al-Islam is not a threat. His father, his army, his mercenaries have been conquered,” Tarhuni said. He added: “I don’t know where he is.” France may demand Senussi’s extradition if he is arrested by Niamey, since a Paris court sentenced him in absentia to life in prison for the 1989 bombing of a French UTA airliner that claimed 170 lives. So far 32 members of Gadhafi’s entourage including his son Saadi have taken refuge in Niger for “humanitarian” reasons. Among them are three generals and the head of Kadhafi’s personal bodyguards, Mansur Daou, according to the authorities, who say they are under surveillance but have not been detained. However on Thursday in Gadhafi’s hometown Sirte where the strongman was tracked down, local medical staff and a fighter said Daou was wounded there, and Free Libya television in Tripoli said he was captured.

SECURITY FORCES, ARMY DESERTERS CLASH IN SYRIA

     DAMASCUS, SYRIA--Syrian security forces have clashed with suspected army deserters on a road in northwestern Syria. Rights activists say the fighting Tuesday began when the deserters attacked a military convoy at a roadblock outside a town near the Turkish border. French news agency AFP reports that seven security agents were killed. The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has blamed much of the deadly violence in Syria on "armed gunmen" and "terrorists."

    Also Tuesday, a top human rights group accused Syria of using hospitals as a tool to crush dissent. Amnesty International said patients in four government-run hospitals have been tortured, and that medical workers suspected of treating protesters have been targeted by security forces. The group urged Syria's government to direct hospitals to accept and treat all patients without delay.  In other news, China urged Syria to carry out its reform promises and respond to the demands of its people. China's Foreign Ministry said China wants all sides to refrain from violence and resolve the crisis peacefully.

    A Chinese envoy is due to visit Syria on Wednesday. China and Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council draft resolution earlier this month that would have condemned Syria for its crackdown on civilian protesters. Syria has used military force to crush months of opposition protests calling for the ouster of President Assad. The crackdown has led to international condemnation of Syria that has included a European Union decision to impose sanctions on Syria's biggest state bank. The United Nations says the death toll from seven months of anti-government protests in Syria has topped 3,000.

MOST POWERFUL U.S. NUCLEAR BOMB BEING DISMANTLED 

    AMARILLO, TEXAS-- The last of the nation's most powerful nuclear bombs -- a weapon hundreds of times stronger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima -- is being disassembled nearly half a century after it was put into service at the height of the Cold War. The final components of the B53 bomb will be broken down Tuesday at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, the nation's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility. The completion of the dismantling program is a year ahead of schedule, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, and aligns with President Barack Obama's goal of reducing the number of nuclear weapons.

     Thomas D'Agostino, the nuclear administration's chief, called the bomb's elimination a "significant milestone." First put into service in 1962, when Cold War tensions peaked during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the B53 weighed 10,000 pounds and was the size of a minivan. According to the American Federation of Scientists, it was 600 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, at the end of World War II. The B53 was designed to destroy facilities deep underground, and it was carried by B-52 bombers. Since it was made using older technology by engineers who have since retired or died, developing a disassembly process took time. Engineers had to develop complex tools and new procedures to ensure safety. "We knew going in that this was going to be a challenging project, and we put together an outstanding team with all of our partners to develop a way to achieve this objective safely and efficiently," said John Woolery, the plant's general manager.

     Many of the B53s were disassembled in the 1980s, but a significant number remained in the U.S. arsenal until they were retired from the stockpile in 1997. Pantex spokesman Greg Cunningham said he couldn't comment on how many of the bombs have been disassembled at the Texas plant. The weapon is considered dismantled when the roughly 300 pounds of high explosives inside are separated from the special nuclear material, known as the pit. The uranium pits from bombs dismantled at Pantex will be stored on an interim basis at the plant, Cunningham said. The material and components are then processed, which includes sanitizing, recycling and disposal, the National Nuclear Security Administration said last fall when it announced the Texas plant's role in the B53 dismantling. The plant will play a large role in similar projects as older weapons are retired from the U.S.'s nuclear arsenal.

October 25, 2011

U.S. WITHDRAWS AMBASSADOR TO SYRIA OVER SECURITY CONCERNS

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Obama administration pulled its ambassador out of Syria over security concerns, blaming President Bashar Assad's regime for the threats that made it no longer safe for Robert Ford to remain. The Syrian government quickly ordered home its envoy to the United States, raising the diplomatic stakes. Ford traveled to Washington this weekend after the U.S. received "credible threats against his personal safety in Syria," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday. Ford has been the subject of several incidents of intimidation by pro-government thugs, and enraged Syrian authorities with his forceful defense of peaceful protests and harsh critique of a government crackdown that has now claimed more than 3,000 lives. "We hope that the Syrian regime will end its incitement campaign against Ambassador Ford," Toner said. "At this point, we can't say when he will return to Syria."

     Toner said the U.S. embassy will remain open in Damascus and that the threats were specifically directed toward Ford. His return is conditional on a U.S. "assessment of Syrian regime-led incitement and the security situation on the ground," Toner said. In an immediate response, Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha promptly left the U.S. on Monday, said Roua Shurbaji, a Syrian Embassy spokeswoman. She said no other steps were being taken by the embassy and declined to comment on the U.S. allegations. Ford was the first American ambassador to Syria since 2005. President George W. Bush's administration withdrew a full-time ambassador from Syria over charges the country was involved in terrorism and the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria has denied any involvement.

     The Obama administration decided to return an ambassador to Syria earlier this year in an effort to persuade Syria to change its policies regarding Israel, Lebanon, Iraq and support for extremist groups. Syria is designated a "state sponsor of terrorism" by the State Department. Although Ford's appointment in January, while the Senate was out of session, was originally criticized by some Republicans in Congress, he has won praise within the administration and beyond for his determination to meet Syrian opposition leaders in a hostile environment, and tough criticism of the Assad regime's brutal military response to mass demonstrations. The Senate unanimously approved Ford's nomination earlier this month, with Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, a Democrat, praising Ford for continuing to visit cities under siege and "speak truth to power."

AFGHAN, NATO FORCES KILL OR CAPTURE 200 TALIBAN INSURGENTS

     KABUL, AFGHANISTAN--Tens of thousands of Afghan and NATO troops killed or captured 200 insurgents in eastern Afghanistan during two operations targeting the violent Haqqani network blamed for the majority of attacks in Kabul, the U.S.-led coalition said Monday. At least 20 of the insurgents had ties to the Haqqani group, which is affiliated with al-Qaida and the Taliban, said German Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, a coalition spokesman in Afghanistan. The roughly 180 others were from the Taliban or other groups, though not all have been identified.

     About half of the Haqqani fighters were identified as leaders and the other half were bomb makers or individuals who help militants in various ways, such as distributing weapons and supplies, running safe houses or preparing areas for attack.  "Removal of the midlevel cell leaders with their expertise and leadership has significantly disrupted insurgent operations and degrades the Haqqani network's ability to coordinate and execute future attacks against combined team forces and the people of Afghanistan," Jacobson said. Afghan and coalition forces have made gains in southern Afghanistan in the past two years, routing insurgents from their strongholds. They are now trying to hold that territory in the south while shifting resources to deal with insurgent hotspots in the east.

     The Haqqani network is based in Pakistan, but operates primarily in Paktia, Paktika and Khost provinces along Afghanistan's eastern border. U.S. and Afghan officials have demanded that Pakistan do more to eliminate militant sanctuaries on its side of the border. The Haqqanis aim to have maximum control over eastern Afghanistan and access to Kabul from the south, Jacobson said, adding they are "a family clan, a criminal patronage network and a terrorist organization." "For work on the other side we need help from Pakistan." Roughly 25,000 Afghan soldiers and policemen and 11,000 coalition troops were involved in the operations, said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the coalition in Kabul. More than 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of explosives, weapons, munitions and computers were seized. Although the two operations have ended, the coalition is continuing its fight against the Haqqani network. The coalition estimates fewer than 5,000 Haqqani militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to a NATO intelligence analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose the figure.

APPARENT EXECUTION OF 53 GADHAFI SUPPORTERS IN SIRTE

    SIRTE, LIBYA--Human Rights Watch says it found 53 decomposing bodies, apparently GadHafi supporters, at an abandoned hotel in Sirte, and some had their hands bound behind their backs when they were shot. This requires the immediate attention of the Libyan authorities to investigate what happened and hold accountable those responsible.  Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch (Sirte) – Fifty-three people, apparent Gadhafi supporters, seem to have been executed at a hotel in Sirte last week, Human Rights Watch said today. The hotel is in an area of the city that was under the control of anti-Gaddafi fighters from Misrata before the killings took place.

       Human Rights Watch called on Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) to conduct an immediate and transparent investigation into the apparent mass execution and to bring those responsible to justice. “We found 53 decomposing bodies, apparently Gadhafi supporters, at an abandoned hotel in Sirte, and some had their hands bound behind their backs when they were shot,” said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, who investigated the killings. “This requires the immediate attention of the Libyan authorities to investigate what happened and hold accountable those responsible.” Human Rights Watch saw the badly decomposed remains of the 53 people on October 23, 2011, at the Hotel Mahari in District 2 of Sirte. The bodies were clustered together, apparently where they had been killed, on the grass in the sea-view garden of the hotel. Anti-Gadhafi fighters from Misrata had held that area of Sirte since early October, according to witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch.

     On the entrance and walls of the hotel Human Rights Watch saw the names of several brigades from Misrata. The condition of the bodies suggests the victims were killed approximately one week prior to their discovery, between October 14 and October 19, Human Rights Watch said. The bloodstains on the grass directly below the bodies, bullet holes visible in the ground, and the spent cartridges of AK-47 and FN-1 rifles scattered around the site strongly suggest that some, if not all of the people, were shot and killed in the location where they were discovered, Human Rights Watch said. All the bodies were in a similar stage of decomposition, suggesting they were killed at the same approximate time. Some of the bodies had their hands tied behind their backs with plastic ties. Others had bandages over serious wounds, suggesting they had been treated for other injuries prior to their deaths.

October 24, 2011

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON WARNS IRAN AGAINST MOVING INTO IRAQ

     DUSAMBE, TAYIKISTAN--U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Iran on Sunday not to view the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq as an opportunity to try to build its influence in the country. "No one, most particularly Iran, should miscalculate about our continuing commitment to and with the Iraqis going forward," she told CNN's "State of the Union" when asked whether Iran's relationship with Iraq is a concern. In an interview last week with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country will not increase its involvement with Iraq because of the U.S. withdrawal. "I don't think there is going to be any change," he said.

     U.S. President Barack Obama announced last week that virtually all U.S. troops will come home from Iraq by the end of the year. Clinton, speaking to CNN from Uzbekistan, emphasized that the United States will continue a training mission in Iraq, as it has with some other countries. "What we will not have are combat troops and bases," she said. The United States will also have "a very robust diplomatic presence," as envisioned in agreements dating back to the previous administration of President George W. Bush, she said. "Iran would be badly miscalculating if they did not look at the entire region and all of our presence in many countries in the region, both in bases, in training with NATO allies like Turkey. So I'm used to the president of Iran saying all kinds of things, but I think it's important to set the record straight."

     Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, assailed the U.S. withdrawal. "I think it's a serious mistake. And there was never really serious negotiations between the administration and the Iraqis," he said on ABC's "This Week." "They could have clearly made an arrangement for U.S. troops." Speaking from Jordan, McCain complained that the withdrawal plan "is viewed in the region as a victory for the Iranians. And I don't think there's any doubt there is." He added, "I'm very, very concerned about increased Iranian influence in Iraq." "I think the fact that we have other bases in the region would have very little impact on Iraq itself," McCain said.   He cited Muqtada al-Sadr, the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric, as a potential conduit for Iranian influence, and said he believes Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is "leaning more and more toward alliances" with Iran.

AHMADINEJAD SAYS U.S. AND NATO SHOULD STAY OUT OF SYRIA

     TEHRAN, IRAN-- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday slammed NATO's role in Libya and said the United States -- and all other countries -- should stay out of the conflict in Syria. "We think it is the will of the people that should work and prevail everywhere. Justice, freedom and respect to people -- this is the right of all nations," he said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria. Ahmadinejad said his views on Libya were "not different" following the death Thursday of ousted Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi. He said NATO's military campaign exacerbated the conflict and undermined the sovereignty of the nation. Ahmadinejad also took aim at the United States, saying the country is "hated" in the Middle East and should keep out of regional affairs, such as in Syria, where a brutal government crackdown on protesters has drawn international ire.

     The position of the United States in countries such as Libya and Syria has not helped, he added. "We are going to make greater efforts to both encourage the government of Syria and the other side and all parties to reach an understanding. We believe there should be no interference from outside." Syria is widely considered Iran's closest ally in the Middle East. Leaders in both countries have been criticized for brutally repressing democratic reform movements at home while supporting violent Islamic extremism abroad. Ahmadinejad said the United States should realize the "era of colonialism is over" and change its policies, especially when it comes to pressuring the Middle East. I have "no problem with the people of the United States. We love them," he said, adding that his problem is with the government. "The United States has become weaker and weaker. Now they are hated in the region," he said.

    U.S. authorities have accused Iran of being involved in a plot to kill the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, Adel Al-Jubeir, in spring 2012. The alleged scheme involved a connection to the Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. A 56-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen and an Iran-based member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are accused of conspiring to hire hit men from a Mexican drug cartel to bomb a restaurant, where the ambassador would have been. Ahmadinejad also addressed accusations that Iran has misled the International Atomic Energy Agency, calling such claims "lies." "The era of nuclear bombs is over," he said as he questioned the credibility of the agency. Last month, the agency said Iran was not providing enough detail about its program for it to conclude Iran is engaged in only peaceful nuclear activities.

VENEZUELAN PHYSICIANS TREATING DICTATOR CHAVEZ SLAP DOWN CLAIM HE IS GOING TO DIE IN 2 YEARS

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA--Physicians treating Venezuelan DICTATOR Hugo Chavez disputed on Saturday claims made by a former doctor of the socialist leader that he would die within two years from his undisclosed cancer. In the first official public comments on Chavez's health, three physicians dressed in laboratory coats at Venezuela's main military hospital said Salvador Navarrete was uninformed and had just minimal contact with the leader a decade ago. "The President, from the standpoint of cancer has been diagnosed and treated early. Subject to the appropriate follow-up treatments, the current status is quite satisfactory with an excellent prognosis," Dr. Fidel Ramirez said in a televised midday press conference.

     "Navarrete was not Chavez's physician, a trusted party or his family," Ramirez said, adding that Navarrete had no scientific evidence or understanding of Chavez's condition. Navarrete, in an open letter published by local media on Friday, said he has since fled the country, fearing for his safety after an interview published a week ago quoted him saying Chavez would be dead in two years. Navarrete attended to Chavez a decade ago and claims he is in touch with some relatives and members of his medical team. In his letter, Navarrete said the interview with Mexico's Milenio Semanal magazine was intended to combat official secrecy over Chavez's condition. He stood by his original prognosis of Chavez, which caused an uproar.

    The three doctors on Saturday still would not disclose the type of cancer Chavez has, four months after surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his pelvis. This was followed by four cycles of chemotherapy treatment. Experts say it is possible for a patient to be considered cancer free at the time of testing if no cancer cells are found, but that typically no one is considered cured of the disease unless tests are negative for a number of years. By common convention, oncologists say a person can be considered cured after two to five years of clean tests. Dr. Earle Siso Garcia, director of the military hospital, disputed claims that Chavez was having kidney problems. Navarrete mentioned again in his open letter Chavez has seen a psychiatrist. However, this claim was denied as well. "The president never ever had psychiatric treatment. This is a total fallacy," said Dr. Rafael Vargas.

October 23, 2011

CHAVEZ DOCTOR WHO WARNED OF HIS IMPENDING DEATH ABRUPTLY FLED VENEZUELA

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA--A doctor who said Venezuelan DICTATOR Hugo Chavez had only two years to live has fled the country saying he fears for his life. Medical officials said police had visited Dr Salvador Navarrete's office after his comments were published last week.  The doctor said that President Chavez had a very aggressive form of cancer. On Thursday, Mr Chavez returned from a medical check-up in Cuba saying he was cured. Dr Navarrete treated Mr Chavez around 10 years ago and has stayed in touch with members of the president's family and medical team.

    In an interview with a Mexican magazine, Milenio, published last Monday, Dr Navarrete said he had information from the family that the president was suffering from a serious form of cancer - a sarcoma - in his pelvis. "I'm worried that the president and those around him do not know the full magnitude of his illness given it has been handled with complete secrecy," he said. The BBC's Sarah Grainger in Caracas says that that is in sharp contrast to the picture the president has painted of his illness.  Arriving back in Caracas on Thursday following a check-up with doctors in Cuba, Hugo Chavez said he had beaten cancer and that his body was free of malignant cells. In an open letter published by Venezuelan newspapers on Friday, Dr Navarrete claimed that police had searched files and computers at his office and he had been forced to flee the country with his family to an undisclosed location.

     There has been an enormous amount of speculation in Venezuela about Mr Chavez's illness since he announced in June that he was being treated for cancer. He has released few details about his illness, fuelling speculation that it may be worse than officially stated. But the 57-year-old president insists he is well enough to run in the 2012 elections and serve another six-year term. Mr Chavez travelled to Cuba four months ago for surgery, and says he has had four cycles of chemotherapy. "Everything went perfectly. I got top marks, 20 out of 20," he told reporters on returning to Venezuela on Thursday.  Mr Chavez has been in power since 1999, and has transformed Venezuela with sweeping nationalisations.  Last month, he denied US media reports that he had been rushed to hospital with kidney failure linked to his cancer treatment.  Doctors warn that patients must generally wait at least two years after treatment before they can be considered out of danger.

GADHAFI SQUIRRELED AWAY MORE THAN $200B

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--Muammar QadHafi squirreled away more than $200 billion in bank accounts, real estate and corporate investments before he was killed Thursday, double the previous estimates made by Western governments, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday, citing senior Libyan officials. "No one truly appreciated the scope of it," said one person who has studied detailed records of the Qaddafi asset search.

     Western governments had previously estimated the deposed Libyan dictator's wealth at around $100 billion -- including $37 billion in now-frozen investments in the US, roughly $30 billion seized in France, Italy, England and Germany and a further $30 billion believed to be invested around the world. Subsequent investigations carried out by American, European and Libyan authorities, however, have found that Qaddafi sent tens of billions more abroad during his 42 years in power and made investments in a large number of countries, including much of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the Times reported.

     While most of the money was invested under the name of government institutions -- including the Central Bank of Libya, the Libyan Investment Authority, the Libyan Foreign Bank, the Libyan National Oil Corp. and the Libya Africa Investment Portfolio -- Qadhafi and his family members had direct access to the money, investigators told the newspaper. Qadhafi was killed Thursday after being captured on the outskirts of his hometown of Sirte by revolutionary forces. While some of his relatives have already fled across the border into Algeria, the fate of several others remains unclear.

RUSSIA BANS U.S. OFFICIALS IN TIT-FOR-TAT VISA ROW

    MOSCOW, RUSSIA--On the basis of reciprocity, the list of U.S. citizens whose stay in the Russian Federation was considered undesirable was approved," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on the ministry's website. Lukashevich said the list included "high-ranking officials accessorial to ... crimes," such as "de facto legalized tortures in American special jails, kidnapping ... continuous imprisonment of detainees in Guantanamo, uninvestigated killings of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan."

     The State Department said in July it had placed visa restrictions on Russian officials accused of involvement Magnitsky's death in a Russian prison as he awaited trial on tax evasion and fraud charges in 2009. Russia's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. visa restrictions were unjustified and it would respond with "adequate measures."

     Lukashevich said that the list of U.S. citizens barred from entering Russia could be expanded, without giving further details. "If the U.S. party follows the path of visa confrontation, we will be prompted to expand the list." The statement, which confirms reports by Russian media, is another sign that the "reset" aimed at improving U.S.-Russian relations under President Barack Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev is under threat.

October 22, 2011

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON WARNS TALIBAN OF 'CONTINUING ATTACKS'

      ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN--US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged the Taliban to be part of a peaceful future in Afghanistan or "face continuing assault". She also kept up the pressure on Pakistan to deny militants sanctuary in tribal areas near the Afghan border.  Mrs Clinton was speaking in Kabul after talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. She is due to travel on to Pakistan. Relations between the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan are currently strained. Mr Karzai has expressed frustration at the process to engage the Taliban after the assassinations of several key Afghan leaders. "We are increasing the pressure on the Taliban," Mrs Clinton said. She added that militants could be part of a peaceful future for Afghanistan or "face continuing assault".

      Mrs Clinton called for a new partnership between the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight insurgents. She said Pakistan "must be part of the solution" . "That means ridding their own country of terrorists who kill their own people and who cross the border to kill people in Afghanistan," Mrs Clinton said.  The US secretary of state is due in Islamabad later on Thursday where she will be joined by CIA chief David Petraeus and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin Dempsey.

     Foreign troops are handing over responsibility for security to Afghan forces in 2014 "We will be looking to the Pakistanis to take the lead because the terrorists operating outside of Pakistan pose a threat to the Pakistanis as well as to others. "Our message is very clear: We are going to be fighting, we are going to be talking and we are going to be building... and they [militants] can either be helping or hindering but we are not going to stop." She added: "Insurgents must renounce violence, abandon al-Qaeda and abide by the laws and constitution of Afghanistan, including its protections for women and minorities. "Reconciliation is possible - indeed, it represents the best hope for Afghanistan and the region." US officials say Mrs Clinton also wants to convince Afghans that Washington is committed to a long-term relationship with their country. The US is planning to withdraw troops and hand over security to the Afghans by 2014.

BOLIVIA'S EVO MORALES SCRAPS AMAZON ROAD PROJECT

     LA PAZ, BOLIVIA--Bolivia's President Evo Morales has scrapped plans for a road project in the Amazon that had triggered protests by indigenous people. Morales said the road would no longer go through a rainforest reserve.  He made the announcement two days after protesters arrived in La Paz following a two-month march from the Amazon lowlands to voice their opposition.  It is not yet clear what the demonstrators' response will be.  The president said he would send a measure to Congress that would accommodate the protesters' demands.  "The matter is resolved," Mr Morales said. An indigenous leader, Rafael Quispe, said the president's proposal was a "good sign" but said they had 15 other demands that needed to be discussed, the Spanish news agency Efe reported.

    President Morales had been under fire ever since he announced his government's plan to build the road, no matter what, says the BBC's Mattia Cabitza in La Paz.  This is the second time in less than a year that Mr Morales has backtracked under popular pressure, our correspondent adds.  The last time, just after Christmas, was dubbed the "Gasolinazo", when he tried to almost double petrol prices but was forced to drop the plan. Then, like today, he said he was "governing by obeying the people". Thousands of residents were on the streets of La Paz this week as some 1,000 protesters arrived to call for the project to be stopped.

     The government had argued that the road would boost economic development and regional integration. The protesters said the project - funded by Brazil and built by a Brazilian company - would encourage illegal settlement and deforestation in their rainforest homeland.  The plans were for a highway through the Isiboro Secure Indigenous Territory and National Park - known by its Spanish acronym Tipnis. President Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, had already suspended the project and offered talks with the protesters.  However, there were also demonstrations in support of the road project from indigenous groups that are loyal to the president.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT --  DICTATOR CHAVEZ SAYS THAT GADHAFI WILL BE REMEMBERED AS A "MARTYR"

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA--From now on, FORMER Libyan DICTATOR Muammar GadHafi will be remembered as a martyr, according to Venezuela's dictator  Hugo Chávez. "Unfortunately, Gadhafi's death has been confirmed. He was murdered. It is another onslaught on life," Chávez commented and added that the north-African leader was also a "great fighter." "We will remember Gadhafi forever as a great fighter, a revolutionary and a martyr," the Head of State told reporters in the Venezuelan Andean city of La Grita. From the very beginning of the uprising in Libya eight months ago, Chávez jumped in defense of Gaddafi.  The Venezuelan dictator regarded Gadhafi as a friend and encouraged him to resist the "imperialist aggression" from NATO, which supported Libyan rebels from the outset last February.

     According to Chávez, all that world super powers want is to grab the Libyan oil. "That story in Libya is just starting now," Chávez reasoned and reasserted that "the Yankee empire (...) will not be able to master this world."    Most regrettably, in their intent to rule over the world, the empire and its allies are setting fire to it," he added. Chávez had a close relationship with the late Gadhafi. In September 2009, on the occasion of the Africa-South America Summit held on Margarita Island, the Libyan leader was a special guest, and Chávez decorated Gaddafi and presented him with a replica of a sword used by Venezuelan independence hero Simón Bolívar.

     In his address, which was aired on radio and TV, Chávez highlighted that "What is Bolívar for us, Gadhafi is for Libya." Gadhafi gave Chávez a saddle. "It was made especially for you, President," the Libyan strongman said at the time the Venezuelan dictator received the gift. Gadhafi's visit to Margarita Island also was known for putting up a tent in the pool area of the former Margarita Hilton Hotel. There, the late Libyan dictator received, among other leaders, Chávez himself. Chávez has visited Libya five times. In 2006, during a tour of the Arab countries, the Venezuelan president visited Tripoli days after Gadhafi had announced the normalization of relations between Tripoli and Washington, after 30 years of severed ties. Years later, during the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Gadhafi as the strongman of Libya, the Venezuelan Head of State declared: Venezuela and Libya "...have the same fate, the same battle against a common enemy and we will win."

October 21, 2011

gadhafi is dead, interim libyan prime minister says

      tripoli, libya--Deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi has been killed, interim Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril told reporters in Tripoli on Thursday. There are conflicting reports surrounding the circumstances of his killing, which reportedly happened in or near Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte on Thursday. Libya's ambassador to the United Kingdom says that Gadhafi's body is in Misrata, Libya. A different source – a spokesman for a member of the Tripoli military council – says that one of Gadhafi's sons, Mutassim, and Moammar Gadhafi's chief of intelligence, Abdullah al-Senussi, also have been killed. A grisly video that aired on the Al Jazeera Arabic network appears to show a lifeless Gadhafi with a wound to his head.  A photograph distributed by the news agency Agence France-Presse also appeared to show the longtime dictator severely wounded.

    Libya's information minister also said Moammar Gadhafi was killed Thursday when revolutionary forces overwhelmed his hometown, Sirte, the last major bastion of resistance two months after the regime fell. Amid the fighting, a NATO airstrike blasted a fleeing convoy that fighters said was carrying Gadhafi. The head of Libya's interim government did not immediately confirm Gadhafi's capture or death, and many officials said they were still trying to verify what happened. Al-Jazeera TV showed footage of a man resembling Gadhafi lying dead or severely wounded, bleeding from the head and stripped to the waist as fighters rolled him over on the pavement.  Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam said he was told that Gadhafi was dead from fighters who said they saw the body. "Our people in Sirte saw the body," Shammam told The Associated Press. "Revolutionaries say Gadhafi was in a convoy and that they attacked the convoy." He said the government head, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, would officially confirm the death, but it was not clear when. Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, the number two in the administration, called a press conference for 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m EDT)

   Other military officials in the government also said Gadhafi was dead and several revolutionary groups fighting in Sirte also said he was either killed or captured. Celebratory gunfire and cries of "Allahu Akbar" or "God is Great" rang out across Tripoli as the reports spread. Cars honked their horns and people hugged each other. In Sirte, the ecstatic former rebels celebrated the city's fall after weeks of bloody siege by firing endless rounds into the sky, pumping their guns, knives and even a meat cleaver in the air and singing the national anthem. Despite the fall of Tripoli on Aug. 21, Gadhafi loyalists mounted fierce resistance in several areas, including Sirte, preventing Libya's new leaders from declaring full victory in the eight-month civil war. Earlier this week, revolutionary fighters gained control of one stronghold, Bani Walid, and by Tuesday said they had squeezed Gadhafi's forces in Sirte into a residential area of about 700 square yards but were still coming under heavy fire from surrounding buildings. After the battle, revolutionaries began searching homes and buildings looking for any hiding Gadhafi fighters. At least 16 were captured, along with cases of ammunition and trucks loaded with weapons. Reporters saw revolutionaries beating captured Gadhafi men in the back of trucks and officers intervening to stop them.

images of captured gadhafi, bloodied and dazed BUT STILL ALIVE, broadcast

     tripoli, libya--Moammar Gadhafi, the man who ruled Libya with a dictatorial grip for 42 years, was seen on Arab television pinned against a car, being struck on the head with a pistol while a group of fighters manhandled him.  Video footage showed Gadhafi, dazed and bloodied but still clearly alive and gesturing with his hands as he was dragged from a truck by jostling government soldiers who hit him and pulled his hair. He then appeared to fall to the ground and was enveloped by the crowd. NTC officials later announced Gadhafi had died of his wounds after capture.  One of Gadhafi's sons, Muatassim, also was killed and had been hiding with his father, Libya's interim government information minister told Reuters. The fate of his other son, Seif al-Islam, as well as other top figures of his regime remained unknown. Al Jazeera TV broadcast the images of Gadhafi on Thursday, hours after the embattled leader was killed during an invasion by revolutionary forces in his hometown, Sirte, the last major bastion of resistance. The pictures, which come two months after Gadhafi's ouster in a bloody civil war, were first aired by a Libyan television channel, Al Jazeera said.  

    The 69-year-old Gadhafi is the first leader to be killed in the Arab Spring wave of popular uprisings that swept the Middle East, demanding the end of autocratic rulers and the establishment of greater democracy.  Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril confirmed Gadhafi had been killed. "We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Moammar Gadhafi has been killed," Jibril told a news conference in the capital Tripoli.  Initial reports from fighters said Gadhafi had been holed up with the last of his fighters in the furious battle with revolutionary fighters assaulting the last few buildings they held in his Mediterranean coastal hometown of Sirte. At one point, a convoy tried to flee the area and was blasted by NATO airstrikes, though it was not clear if Gadhafi was in the vehicle.  However, France's defense minister said a French fighter jet fired on the convoy carrying Gadhafi, stopping the convoy of about 80 vehicles heading for Bani Walid, but did not destroy it.  Gerard Longuet told reporters in Paris on Thursday that fighters on the ground then intercepted the vehicle carrying Gadhafi himself.

     Libya's interim leadership confirmed that Gadhafi was killed Thursday.  After being taken from Sirte, Gadhafi's body was paraded through the streets of the nearby city of Misrata on top of a vehicle surrounded by a large crowd chanting, Conflicting reports have been made regarding how Gadhafi died on Thursday. Libyan Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam told CNN that revolutionary fighters attacked a house where Gadhafi was hiding, and that Gadhafi was shot while trying to flee. Guma el-Gamaty, a Libyan political activist and former London coordinator for Libya's National Transitional Council, told CNN from London that Gadhafi was conscious and was talking shortly after he was injured. El-Gamaty, citing leaders of anti-Gadhafi forces, also said that Gadhafi was injured as he resisted attempts to capture him. Gadhafi said, “who are you, what’s going on?” after he was injured, but died later, according to el-Gamaty, who cited anti-Gadhafi forces. El-Gamaty said Gadhafi died as he was being transported to a hospital in Misrata. Abdel-Jalil Abdel-Aziz, a doctor who was part of the medical team that accompanied the body in the ambulance to Misrata, said Gadhafi died from two bullet wounds, to the head and chest.

secretary of state hillary clinton in libya vows for democracy

    tripoli, libya--US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets Libyan soldiers at the steps of her C-17 military transport upon her arrival in Tripoli in Libya. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went to Libya Tuesday to show support for the leaders Washington and other NATO countries helped bring to power.  The visit highlights the struggle of Libya's interim government to prove it is strong enough on its own. Hillary Clinton is the highest level U.S. official to go to Libya since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi and the rise of the National Transitional Council. She met with NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil and interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril and offered a variety of assistance and support for a transition to democratic rule.

    In a press conference with Jibril, Clinton said it was an honor to stand on the soil of a "free Libya" and a privilege to see a "new future for Libya being born." America's top diplomat offered help for Libya to establish greater security. "I am pleased to announce that we are going to put even more money into helping Libya secure and destroy dangerous stockpiles of weapons. And the administration, working with Congress, is going to provide $40 million to support this effort.  We will also work with Libya to destroy chemical weapons stock," said Clinton. And she promised millions more dollars in aid for a nation trying to rebuild. The help ranges from military equipment to educational and economic programs, medical care for wounded fighters, and archeological help in preserving Libya's Greek and Roman-era ruins.

    The United States was an early backer, along with France and Britain, of intervention on behalf of the anti-Gadhafi uprising earlier this year and helped persuade the United Nations to mandate a NATO-led air mission to protect civilians. But such help could come at a cost.  The NTC has yet to consolidate either military or political rule. Libya scholar Ziad Akl of the Ahram Center in Cairo says the various parties contending for power could accuse the NTC of over-reliance on the West. "There seems to be an agreement on the necessity of the role of the West," said Akl. "It's just the amount of obedience that they have to show and the amount of autonomy that the West should provide. And [it] should not condition its aid to following a specific agenda laid down by the Western allies."

October 20, 2011

BOLIVIA AMAZON ROAD DISPUTE DENTS EVO MORALES' SUPPORT AMONG THE INDIGENOUS MAJORITY

      LA PAZ, BOLIVIA--The election of Evo Morales in 2005 as Bolivia's first indigenous president represented a triumph for the country's indigenous majority.  Morales, an Aymara Indian, promised radical change to end centuries of discrimination and marginalisation.  On the international stage, he also established himself as an uncompromising defender of what he calls Pachamama - "Mother Earth".  Six years on, that reputation has been tarnished. Morales stands accused of authorising excessive police force against indigenous protesters - charges he denies - and of putting economic development ahead of the conservation of the Amazon rainforest. Many of the social movements that helped bring him to power have turned against him. The cause of their discontent is a government plan to build a road linking the Andean highlands of central Bolivia with the Amazon lowlands to the north.  

     Morales says the 300km (185 mile) stretch of road from Villa Tunari to San Ignacio de Moxos is vital for regional integration, and will benefit communities throughout Bolivia.   But the planned highway would cut through the heart of the Isiboro-Secure Indigenous Territory and National Park (Tipnis), a rainforest region of exceptional biodiversity.  Tipnis is home to an extraordinary wealth of plant and animal species The 12,000 sq km reserve is home to isolated communities of Chiman, Yurucare and Moxos Indians, who live by hunting, fishing and farming in the rainforest.  They fear the road will open their territory to illegal logging and land grabs by migrants from the Andes who grow coca - the raw material for illegal cocaine.  They also say the government ignored their right as indigenous nations to be consulted about any development that affects them - a right enshrined in the constitution Mr Morales himself introduced.

     In September, about halfway along their route to La Paz, the marchers were stopped by hundreds of police outside the town of Yucumo, ostensibly to prevent clashes with Aymara communities that support the road project.  After a week long stand-off, riot police suddenly attacked the protesters' camp, using tear gas and batons and detaining hundreds of people.  Although initial reports of fatalities proved false, television footage of the crackdown provoked outrage across Bolivia.  Defense Minister Cecilia Chacon resigned in protest and Interior Minister Sacha Llorenti - accused of ordering the crackdown - also stepped down.  Mass demonstrations in support of the marchers were held in La Paz and other cities, backed by the main indigenous and trade union federations that helped bring Mr Morales to power.

LEOPOLDO LOPEZ SAYS HE WILL CONTINUE PRESIDENTIAL BID DESPITE VENEZUELAN COURT RULING

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA--In a televised speech Tuesday Lopez told supporters, "I can and will be a candidate for the president of Venezuela." The high court said Monday that the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights' ruling last month that Lopez's exclusion from the presidential race was unjustified, cannot be enforced.  The Venezuelan Supreme Court went on to say that Lopez may run for office, but cannot serve if elected. Lopez accused the Venezuelan Supreme Court of being controlled by Chavez.  Leopoldo Lopez is the former mayor of the Chacao district in Caracas. He was expected to win the 2008 election to become mayor of all of Caracas before corruption charges were leveled against him and scores of other politicians by President Chavez's comptroller general.   Lopez was never brought to trial on the charges, but he and several other opposition candidates were barred from seeking office.

     The ban on Lopez remains in effect until 2014. Lopez has called the suspension unconstitutional.  The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is a part of the Organization of American States (O.A.S.). Venezuela is a member of the O.A.S., but Chavez claims the group is a pawn of the United States. Venezuela's Supreme Court said that opposition López can't take office, even if he beats Hugo Chávez in next year's presidential race, despite an international court ruling otherwise. The move disregards an international court ruling and could help dictator Hugo Chávez split an already fragmented opposition before next year’s vote.  Top  Chávez rival sounds confident note after key court victory Can Venezuela's anti-Chávez politicians unite? Venezuela sets date for 2012 presidential election Topics

      López has already fought long and hard for what may ultimately be a Pyrrhic victory for the opposition. His defiance will worry many opposed to Mr. Chávez who were looking forward to the selection of Henrique Capriles Radonski – a state governor who appears to be Chávez’s first real competition during 12 years in power – in February’s primaries ready for elections less than a year away.  López insists that his decision to run will not jeopardize opposition unity. “This is a decision in the hands of the people,” López said, dodging suggestions that by continuing his campaign, he will add to the opposition’s notorious lack of unity and organization. López was mayor of Chacao, a wealthy Caracas neighborhood for two terms beginning in 2000. As his tenure came to an end in 2008, López looked set to win the mayoralty of Caracas with a 65 percent lead in the polls. But the Venezuelan government declared him “inhabilitado” – ineligible for public office – along with 300 other Venezuelan politicians.

VENEZUELAN TELECOMS AGENCY FINES GLOBOVISION FOR COVERAGE OF PRISON RIOTS

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA--Venezuelan opposition TV channel Globovision has been fined $2.1m (£1.3m) for its coverage of a prison riotS earlier this year.  Media regulator Conatel said it was being punished for justifying crime and fuelling public anxiety.  Globovision says the fine is "unpayable" and has accused the government of trying to shut it down.  Dictator  Hugo Chavez has previously accused the channel of supporting a coup attempt against him.  Conatel said Globovision had broken broadcasting regulations in its coverage of disturbances in the El Rodeo prison outside Caracas in June, in which more than 20 people were killed. Conatel director general Pedro Maldonado said the channel was being fined for its "editorial conduct," which had "promoted hatred and intolerance for political reasons".

     The fine is the latest development in a long conflict between the government and Globovision, which has been very critical of President Chavez.  Several other private radio and television stations have been forced off air for failing to comply with regulations requiring them to broadcast government information. Pedro Maldonado, the director of Conatel, said that the penalty is mandatory and must be paid immediately.  "The fine was imposed by the editorial behavior and the way Globovisión dealt with the events carried out in El Rodeo (prison)," said the Venezuelan official. Maldonado added that the private TV news channel reported that the National Guard was "massacring" inmates and "this is a way of promoting hatred." He said that the network "created unrest" when it aired the statements made by the mothers of some prisoners.  He ruled out any additional penalty against the TV network.

     The opposition Unified Democratic Panel (MUD) railed on a fine meted out by the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) to private news channel Globovisión of over two million US dollars and regretted that the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez "tries to shut down the news channel by means of economic suffocation." "In applying a coward method of State financial terrorism, another attack has been carried out on Venezuelans' right to information. This renewed, in-disguise attempt at shutting down a TV channel is another token of the intolerance and fear of truth suffered by a government that fails to address and solve Venezuelans' problems," the dissenting alliance said in a press release. According to the MUD, Conatel has turned into "a docile tool of the government policy."

October 19, 2011

ISRAELI SOLDIER GILAD SHALIT, PALESTINIANS FREED IN CAPTIVE SWAP

      JERUSALEM, ISRAEL--Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and hundreds of Palestinians crossed Israel's borders in opposite directions on Tuesday as a thousand-for-one prisoner exchange brought joy to families but did little to ease decades of conflict.  Sergeant Shalit, 25, returned home to a national outpouring of emotion in Israel after five years in captivity in the Gaza Strip. The first few hundred of over a thousand Palestinians being freed in stages from Israeli jails were greeted with kisses and flags in Gaza and the West Bank. "I missed my family very much," a gaunt Shalit, his breathing labored at times, said in an interview with Egyptian television, conducted before he was transferred to Israel. "I hope this deal will promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians."

     But there was no sign from Israel or Hamas, an Islamist group dedicated to its destruction, that the Egyptian-brokered deal could be a starting point for dialogue. "The people want a new Gilad, the people want a new Gilad," tens of thousands of people chanted at a rally in Gaza for freed prisoners, urging that their fighters capture more soldiers to help free some of the 5,000 Palestinians still held by Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, welcoming Shalit home, warned the former prisoners they would be "taking their life into their own hands" if they "returned to terror." Defending a deal that left a bittersweet aftertaste in Israel, Netanyahu said he felt the pain of the relatives of Israelis killed by some of the Palestinians released, but saving a soldier from captivity was a Jewish Biblical imperative. "It is a difficult day," he said, describing the price Israel paid for Shalit's release as high.

    Shalit was taken across the frontier from the Gaza Strip into Egypt's Sinai peninsula and driven to Israel's Kerem Shalom - Vineyard of Peace - border crossing, from where a helicopter flew him to an Israeli air base for a reunion with his parents. Simultaneously Israel freed 477 Palestinian prisoners, most of them to the Gaza Strip and many serving life terms for attacks that killed Israelis. Hamas leaders greeted former prisoners piling off buses bearing Red Cross insignia. Egypt helped to mediate the long-awaited deal, and its army-backed interim government has sought to revive a role as a diplomatic linchpin in the Middle East. Palestinians, awaiting the release of prisoners at a West Bank checkpoint, hurled rocks at Israeli soldiers, who responded with tear gas, after the military announced to the crowd over a loudspeaker that the group had been taken to another crossing. In the television interview, Shalit said he found out a week ago that he was to be released. The soldier, who had not been seen since a 2009 video, said he had feared he would be held "for many more years."

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON IN TRIPOLI

     TRIPOLI, LIBYA--US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Libya on an unannounced visit aimed at showing support for the Libyan people and building ties.  Mrs Clinton is in the capital, Tripoli, for only a few hours - the first US cabinet-level official to visit since Col Muammar Gaddafi was ousted.  Her visit comes as fierce fighting erupted again in the former Libyan leader's hometown of Sirte. Mrs Clinton wanted to make sure there was something specific on the agenda of talks, beyond congratulations for the end of Col Gaddafi's rule. So she has come here with a set of specific offers of technical assistance.

    Oil-rich Libya has its own billions of dollars but lacks expertise in key areas. Mrs Clinton's predecessor Condoleezza Rice visited Libya in 2008, a few years after the US removed Libya from the US list of state sponsor of terror and re-established diplomatic ties with Tripoli. Washington at the time had hope for better relations with Libya but it never really panned out. Now Washington sees a new opportunity to expand ties, including trade, with Libya but also across North Africa. Mrs Clinton held talks with top officials from the NTC - Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril and Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni.  She is also due to hold a town hall meeting with women, young people and civil society leaders.

     Mrs Clinton's visit was kept secret because of safety concerns, and heavy security measures were in place ahead of her arrival.  Her trip follows visits to Libya by the British and French leaders. US officials say the visit is meant to show support for the NTC and the Libyan people, but also to start building a solid relationship with Libya. Mrs Clinton flew in to Tripoli from Malta. There she met Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to discuss the situation in Libya and thank the Maltese authorities for their assistance during the crisis in the north African country. The island has been a centre for humanitarian aid efforts and the evacuation of workers from Libya. Mrs Clinton is the most senior US administration official to visit the island since her predecessor Condoleezza Rice in 2008.

VENEZUELAN COMPTROLLER GENERAL: LEOPOLDO LOPEZ'S NOMINATION WOULD BE A FRAUD

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA--Acting Comptroller General Adelina González said Tuesday that the nomination of Leopoldo López, the leader of opposition Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) party, to the opposition presidential primary election or to the presidential election would be a "legal fraud because he knows that he has been disqualified, which prevents him from occupying the position for which he is running."  She explained that López's case is similar to the situation people face when, under the law, they are required to be of legal to exercise a given professional activity. 

    She said that there is no legal limbo following the ruling issued by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) because López may continue to exercise his political rights as he did when he created Popular Will party or when he ran for president of the political organization.  However, "he can not hold public office." Therefore, it makes no sense that he runs for a presidential primary vote or for the presidential election because if elected he will not be able to perform his duties. "If (his party) decides to nominate him and if he is elected by people, he will not be able to hold public office," González stressed. The Acting Comptroller General said that the "discourse" of the coordinator of Popular Will "is not applicable."

      She said that López's case has become "a media circus; a perverse campaign that encouraged anti-values, and discredited the action of a supervisory authority."  "There is no such thing as good corruption and bad corruption, and any attempt to distort a technical investigation" is not valid, she added.  González dismissed claims that the investigation conducted into the former Chacao municipality mayor has a political motivation. She recalled that the Comptroller's General Office filed an investigation in 2000. "Back then, we did not have any idea that he would be a candidate," she added.  According to González, the Venezuelan State is not failing to comply with international treaties, as those instruments provide that any action or proceeding must respect the sovereignty of the signatory country.

October 18, 2011

DICTATOR HUGO CHAVEZ ARRIVES IN CUBA FOR MEDICAL TESTS

      HAVANA, CUBA-Cuban DICTATOR  Raúl Castro welcomed his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez at Havana's international airport late on Sunday. Chávez is undergoing on Monday "a comprehensive review" after the four rounds of chemotherapy he has received after the removal of a cancer tumor. Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party, reported Monday that Chávez arrived on Sunday night. It released a photo of the Venezuelan President greeting General Raúl Castro, Efe reported.  According to Granma, Chávez was accompanied by Minister of Science and Technology Ricardo Menéndez, as well as Minister of Health Eugenia Sader and Minister of Agriculture Juan Carlos Loyo.

    In comments broadcast on Venezuelan state television before his trip, Chavez, 57, said he was going to Cuba to undergo "rigorous examinations" to check for cancerous cells, and would "inform the people" on his return to Venezuela.  "Four months ago I was in a very critical situation," Mr Chavez said.  "Thanks be to God, four months have passed and here I am, all in one piece and on my feet." Chavez, who has been in power since 1999, has said his illness will not stop him from standing for re-election next year.  Last month he denied US media reports that he had been rushed to hospital with kidney failure linked to his cancer treatment.

     However, Chavez’s  former personal surgeon, Salvador Navarrete,  said that Chávez has a "tumor in the pelvic area" which is "very aggressive" and "his life expectancy could be up to two years." Navarrete was part of the staff of personal surgeons that treated President Chávez,  he made the statement in an interview with Mexican weekly magazine Milenio.  "The information I have from his family is that Chávez has a sarcoma, a tumor with a poor prognosis. I am pretty sure that this is the reality," said the Venezuelan doctor. "I am the surgeon of the (Chávez) family. I met with another member of his (family) medical staff. We shared available information and we fully agreed on this diagnosis," Navarrete said.

CUBAN CARDINAL JAIME ORTEGA PRESENTS HIS RESIGNATION TO THE POPE

     HAVANA, CUBA-Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega will celebrate his 75th birthday on Tuesday. And, as required by Catholic Church law, he has offered his resignation as archbishop of Havana. Most analysts agree the Vatican is highly unlikely to accept the resignation of a prelate who guides the most powerful non-government organization in Cuba, officially atheist 1962-1991 and still communist-ruled. Raúl Castro’s government has allowed Ortega to build a new seminary, launch a business school and run charity programs that include homes for the elderly and soup kitchens for the poor.  Ortega also helped carry out Castro’s decision to free more than 100 jailed dissidents, and last year mediated a halt to brutal attacks by state-organized mobs on the Ladies in White — female relatives of political prisoners.

    His resignation as archbishop may be accepted — he will remain a cardinal — in two years, perhaps after a papal visit for the Lady of Charity events, church officials said. And it’s way too early to speculate on a successor. Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba in 1998 also unleashed a spike in church attendance, marriages and baptisms. And while attendance dropped off in recent years, the church now runs a variety of social welfare programs. Nuns run nursing homes, and some churches send parishioners to visit the elderly and disabled at home. Others run free food programs and drug dispensaries for adults, and religion, computer and other classes for children. The new home for the San Carlos and San Ambrosio seminary inaugurated in November was the first such construction permitted since 1959, and priests have been given more access to government-run TV and radio.

    Church publications also have run essays praising or criticizing the radical economic reforms that Castro has proposed, including a significant opening for small private businesses and deep cuts in central government controls. The church also joined with a Spanish university in a Havana program that offers a master’s in business administration, and organized classes for the new entrepreneurs on how to keep accounting ledgers. It is also exploring the possibility of arranging micro credits for start-ups. That’s a massive improvement from 1961, when Fidel Castro expelled hundreds of priests and nuns —13 on the ship Covadonga alone —closed all church schools and seized almost all of their buildings.

VENEZUELAN HIGH COURT PRESIDENT SAYS LOPOLDO LOPEZ MAY PARTICIPATE IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA--According to the president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), the presidential pre-candidate for opposition Voluntad Popular party "has no impediment whatsoever to enroll as a candidate at the National Electoral Council"

     Luisa Estella Morales, the president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), reported in a press conference on Monday that Leopoldo López, ex Chacao municipality mayor and presidential pre-candidate for opposition Voluntad Popular party, enjoys all his political rights and "has no impediment whatsoever to enroll as a candidate at the National Electoral Council."

     "Leopoldo López has no impediment whatsoever to register for any elected office, if he wants so," the justice said after the news on Monday afternoon of a ruling from the TSJ Constitutional Chamber, headed by Morales, declaring "unenforceable" a decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR Court) in favor of the political leader. Queried by reporters, the TSJ president argued: "What we deem as unenforceable is that Venezuela takes a step back in the progress made in the fight against corruption (...) but we safeguard first and foremost Venezuelans' political rights; the political participation of all citizens is most important."

October 17, 2011

IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER CALLS U.S. ACCUSATIONS OF TERRORIST PLOT MEANINGLESS

      TEHRAN, IRAN-- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday U.S. accusations that two Iranians planned to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington were "meaningless," state TV reported. A meaningless and nonsensical accusation has been raised against a few Iranians in America, which was made into an excuse to present the Islamic Republic as a supporter of terrorism," Khamenei told a crowd in the western province of Kermanshah. "It didn't work, it won't work," he said. Khameni, who is on a nine-day tour of the province, said the west repeatedly made unfounded accusations against Iran. "They undertake such conspiracies on a regular basis ... to no avail," he said. "They say we want to isolate Iran, (but) it's they who have isolated themselves."

    Iran's English-language Press TV quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying the U.S. allegations were "untrue and baseless." "It is a comedy show fabricated by America," he said. The relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia was based on "mutual respect" and could not be harmed by "fabricating such baseless claims." U.S. authorities say they broke up a plot to bomb the Israeli and Saudi Arabian embassies in Washington and assassinate the Saudi ambassador. The alleged plotters were identified as Manssor Arbabsiar and Gholam Shakuri -- both originally from Iran -- in a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in New York City.

     The United States has said it held rare direct contacts with Iran over the allegations. An Iranian news agency quoted an Iranian official at the U.N. as denying that. "I will again confirm that we did meet with the Iranians," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Friday. "They know that very well, and any efforts on their part to deny it speaks again to how truthful they are about any of these sorts of matters." Political tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been increasing since Saudi forces intervened in March to help Bahrain's Sunni rulers crush pro-reform demonstrations backed by the Shi'ite majority. Iran and the United State are at odds over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, which Washington and its allies say is a cover to build bombs. Tehran denies this, saying it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity to meet its booming domestic need. The United States and Israel, which Iran refuses to recognize, have not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the row with Iran.

IRAN'S KHAMENEI WARNS U.S. OVER TERRORIST  PLOT

     TEHRAN, IRAN--Iran's supreme leader warned the United States on Sunday that any measures taken against Tehran over an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington would elicit a "resolute" response. Two men, including a member of the Iranian special foreign actions unit known as the Quds Force, have been charged in New York federal court with conspiring to kill the Saudi diplomat, Adel Al-Jubeir. U.S. officials have said no one was ever in any immediate danger from the plot. "If U.S. officials have some delusions, (they must) know that any unsuitable act, whether political or security, will meet a resolute response from the Iranian nation," state TV quoted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying. Iran also demanded that a diplomat be allowed to visit one of the men in prison.

      Khamenei's comments may reflect Iranian concerns that Washington would use the Al-Jubeir case to ratchet up sanctions and recruit international allies to try to further isolate Tehran. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been blunt in saying the United States would use the allegations as leverage with other countries that have been reluctant to apply harsh sanctions or penalties against Iran. Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, said that the U.S. accused Iran of terror in order to divert attention from its economic woes and from the Occupy Wall Street protest movement. "By attributing an absurd and meaningless accusation to a few Iranians, they tried ... to show that Iran is a supporter of terrorism. ... This conspiracy didn't work and won't work," he said.

    Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for his part, dismissed the U.S. accusations as a fabricated "scenario." "Iran is a civilized nation and doesn't need to resort to assassination," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying Sunday by the official IRNA news agency. "The culture of terror belongs to you," he said, addressing the United States. Iranian officials have consistently denied the allegations since they first emerged last week. An earlier statement by Khamenei on Saturday, and Ahmadinejad's remarks on Sunday, were the first comments made by the country's two highest leaders. In a formal statement released Saturday, the Iranian government said it has no connection to Manssor Arbabsiar, the man arrested in the alleged plot. On Sunday Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned the Swiss Charge d'Affairs to Tehran to demand consular access to Arbabsiar. "Offering personal information about the accused and providing consular access to him is an obligation of the U.S. government. Any delay is contrary to international law," a report on Iranian state TV's website said.

U.S. DROPS PLANS TO KEEP TROOPS IN IRAQ

    WASHINGTON, D.C.--The U.S. is abandoning plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq past a year-end withdrawal deadline. The decision to pull out fully by January will effectively end more than eight years of U.S. involvement in the Iraq war, despite ongoing concerns about its security forces and the potential for instability. The decision ends months of hand-wringing by U.S. officials over whether to stick to a Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline that was set in 2008 or negotiate a new security agreement to ensure that gains made and more than 4,400 American military lives lost since March 2003 do not go to waste. In recent months, Washington has been discussing with Iraqi leaders the possibility of several thousand American troops remaining to continue training Iraqi security forces.

     A Pentagon spokesman said Saturday that no final decision has been reached about the U.S. training relationship with the Iraqi government.  But a senior Obama administration official in Washington confirmed Saturday that all American troops will leave Iraq except for about 160 active-duty soldiers attached to the U.S. Embassy. A senior U.S. military official confirmed the departure and said the withdrawal could allow future but limited U.S. military training missions in Iraq if requested. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Throughout the discussions, Iraqi leaders have adamantly refused to give U.S. troops immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, and the Americans have refused to stay without it. Iraq's leadership has been split on whether it wanted American forces to stay. Some argued the further training and U.S. help was vital, particularly to protect Iraq's airspace and gather security intelligence. But others have deeply opposed any American troop presence, including Shiite militiamen who have threatened attacks on any American forces who remain.

    Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has told U.S. military officials that he does not have the votes in parliament to provide immunity to the American trainers, the U.S. military official said. A western diplomatic official in Iraq said al-Maliki told international diplomats he will not bring the immunity issue to parliament because lawmakers will not approve it. A White House spokesman, Tommy Vietor, said discussions with Iraq about the security relationship between the two countries next year were ongoing. Pentagon press secretary George Little said the U.S. remains "committed to keeping our agreement with the Iraqi government to remove all of our troops by the end of this year." "At the same time we're building a comprehensive partnership with Iraq under the Strategic Framework Agreement including a robust security relationship, and discussions with the Iraqis about the nature of that relationship are ongoing," Little said. The Strategic Framework Agreement allows for other forms of military cooperation besides U.S. troops on the ground. Signed at the same time as the security accord mandating the departure deadlines, it provides outlines for the U.S.-Iraqi relationship in such areas as economic, cultural and security cooperation.

October 16, 2011

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA HONORS LAURA POLLAN, FOUNDER OF THE LADIES IN WHITE

      WASHINGTON, D.C.-- "Through their brave actions, the Ladies in White draw attention to the plight of those who are unjustly held in Cuba's prisons and pushed Cuban authorities to release those political prisoners wrongly jailed in the Spring of 2003," said a White House statement issued this morning.  An Associated Press dispatch out of Havana described Pollan as "one of the best-known and most vocal opposition figures in a country where those who dissent publicly risk reprisals or imprisonment." "Even after the Ladies accomplished the goal for which they were founded -- their husbands' freedom -- the group continued to protest against the government, which excoriated the women as traitors doing the bidding of the United States," AP reported.

     The statement from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney: The President's thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and colleagues of Laura Pollan, the founder of Las Damas de Blanco, who passed away Friday in Havana. Pollán and the quiet dignity of the Ladies in White have courageously voiced the core desire of the Cuban people and of people everywhere to live in liberty. Through their brave actions, the Ladies in White draw attention to the plight of those who are unjustly held in Cuba's prisons and pushed Cuban authorities to release those political prisoners wrongly jailed in the Spring of 2003.  Since the beginning of the Administration we have worked to reach out to the Cuban people in support of their desire to freely determine their future and Cuba's future. We will continue that work in Pollan's memory.. "She has played a fundamental role, without a doubt even beyond winning freedom for her husband."

    Few can remember a time Pollan was seen in any color other than white, but before 2003 she was a nearly anonymous high school literature teacher who loved cats and plants. She steered clear of politics and was reluctant about her husband's dissident activities. Then the government struck with one of the biggest crackdowns on dissent in decades, arresting her husband and 74 other activists, social commentators and opposition leaders, accusing them of accepting money from the U.S. and other foreign sources for counterrevolutionary activities. Known as the Group of 75, they received sentences ranging from six to 28 years, prompting international condemnation. The European Union froze relations with Cuba for more than a year. The arrests sparked the creation of the Ladies in White and began Pollan's transformation from activist's spouse to agitator in her own right.

CUBAN DISSIDENTS MOURN PASSING OF LAURA POLLAN

     HAVANA, CUBA--Cuba's tiny dissident community gathered on Saturday to mourn the loss of one of its most prominent leaders, Ladies in White founder and leader Laura Pollan, who for years made her home a headquarters for planning protests against the communist government. Family members, government opponents and diplomats gathered at Pollan's house in a working-class neighborhood of Havana, welcomed by her widower, formerly imprisoned dissident Hector Maseda. The U.S. Interests Section in Cuba brought a floral wreath. "We have had a physical loss. It's not easy especially for me, because we have been together these past eight years," said Bertha Soler, who helped Pollan found the group in 2003 to press for the release of their husbands and 73 other activists, social commentators and government opponents imprisoned in a crackdown on dissent.

     Pollan, 63, died Friday night of cardiorespiratory failure, a week after being hospitalized with an aggressive respiratory virus. Family members reported that Pollan's doctors tried for nearly an hour to revive her. "They acquitted themselves well. Professionally they are very capable," Maseda said. In the front living room, which for years was decorated with portraits of Maseda and 74 other dissidents jailed in 2003, only a painting of Pollan was on display Saturday surrounded by flowers, a rosary and candles. The last of the dissidents, including Maseda, were released earlier this year under a deal brokered by the Roman Catholic Church.

     Pollan's body was cremated before dawn. Half the ashes were taken to her birth city of Manzanillo in eastern Cuba, and the rest were in the Havana home. We are going to do what she wished ... and scatter her ashes in a flowery field," Maseda said. Pollan was one of the most prominent and vocal opposition figures in a country where those who dissent publicly risk reprisals or imprisonment. Even after the Ladies accomplished the goal for which they were founded, the group continued to protest against the government, which excoriated the women as traitors doing the bidding of the United States. Soler, considered the group's No. 2 leader despite its avowed nonhierarchical organization, said the Ladies will continue their weekly protest marches following Sunday Mass, dressed in white and carrying gladiolas. "Everything will continue as always, without the physical presence of Laura Pollan, but spiritually she will be with us," Soler said. "Tomorrow we will go to the Church of Santa Rita as we have been doing for eight years."

LADIES IN WHITE MOURN THEIR LEADER, VOW TO GO ON

    HAVANA, CUBA--Late "Ladies in White" leader Laura Pollan was remembered on Saturday with a simple altar in her home in the crumbling Central Havana neighborhood and vows that the dissident group she founded would go on. A blue vase holding the ashes of Pollan, who died on Friday after a brief illness, sat on a small table with several photos of her and flowers brought by friends who included diplomats.    Some of Cuba's most prominent dissidents attended the wake, where they grieved for the former school teacher who became one of Cuba's top opposition voices as she led the Ladies in White with a fearless defiance of the Cuban government. In contrast to other turbulent moments when her group was harassed by pro-government mobs, the streets outside her home were quiet, with life going on as usual.

   Leaders of the communist island have said nothing about her death, but in Washington White House Press Secretary Jay Carney praised Pollan and her group for having "courageously voiced the core desire of the Cuban people and of people everywhere to live in liberty." "Since the beginning of the (Obama) administration we have worked to reach out to the Cuban people in support of their desire to freely determine their future and Cuba's future. We will continue that work in Pollan's memory," he said. Pollan led the founding of the Ladies in White after 75 dissidents, including her husband Hector Maseda, were imprisoned in a March 2003 government crackdown known as Havana's Black Spring. Dressed in white and each carrying a single white flower, the women defied government pressure by staging silent marches every Sunday on one of Havana's main avenues demanding the release of their loved ones. At the end of each march, they shouted in unison "libertad," or freedom.

    Public protests were unheard of at the time and remain a rarity today in tightly controlled Cuba, where the government views dissidents as mercenaries for the United States, its longtime enemy that works closely with dissidents to promote political change. Last year, after international condemnation for the death of an imprisoned dissident who staged a long hunger strike, President Raul Castro relented and released 115 political prisoners, including those from the 2003 crackdown, in a deal brokered by the Catholic Church. The Ladies in White, saying Cuba still has political prisoners, have continued their marches and will do so again this Sunday and into the future, said Berta Soler, Pollan's longtime co-leader of the group. "We're going to continue our peaceful fight for the liberation of all political prisoners. We'll also continue defending the human rights of the Cuban people," vowed Soler, speaking in the hushed, grief-stricken ambience of Pollan's wake. "We plan to march tomorrow on Fifth Avenue like we do every Sunday. It will be a special march for Laura," she said.

October 15, 2011

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SENDS U.S. TROOPS TO CENTRAL AFRICA TO FIGHT REBEL GROUP

      WASHINGTON, D.C.--President Obama is sending about 100 U.S. troops to central Africa to help local forces battle the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group that the administration says has waged a campaign of murder, rape and kidnapping for more than two decades.  Obama said Friday the troops will act as advisers in efforts to hunt down rebel leader Joseph Kony but will not engage in combat except in self-defense, according to a letter to Congress that was obtained by Fox News.  The White House says the first troops arrived in Uganda on Wednesday. Ultimately, they will also deploy in South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Congo.  A senior administration official downplayed the notion that the armed troops could be drawn into a hostile, combat situation, saying the move was sparked by Congress passing a law year urging the administration to do something to crack down on the Lord's Resistance Army.  

     Long considered one of Africa's most brutal rebel groups, the Lord's Resistance Army began its attacks in Uganda more than 20 years ago but has been pushing westward.  The administration and human rights groups say its atrocities have left thousands dead and have put as many as 300,000 Africans to flight. They have charged the group with seizing children to bolster its ranks of soldiers and sometimes forcing them to become sex slaves.  Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court under a 2005 warrant for crimes against humanity in his native Uganda. Obama's announcement came in low-key fashion -- a letter to the leader of the House, Speaker John Boehner, in which he said the deployment "furthers U.S. national security interests and foreign policy and will be a significant contribution toward counter-LRA efforts in central Africa."  

     The deployment drew support from Sen. James Inhofe, a Republican who has visited the region.  "I have witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by the LRA, and this will help end Kony's heinous acts that have created a human rights crisis in Africa," he said in a statement. "I have been fervently involved in trying to prevent further abductions and murders of Ugandan children, and today's action offers hope that the end of the LRA is in sight."  But Obama's letter stressed the limited nature of the deployment.  "Our forces will provide information, advice and assistance to select partner nation forces," it said. "Although the U.S. forces are combat-equipped, they will ... not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense." The troops deployed to central Africa will be mostly U.S. special operations forces. It's likely many of these forces will be Army Green Berets, one military official told Fox News, but it's unlikely that will be announced publicly.

U.S. OFFERED CUBA TO SWAP A CONVICTED SPY FOR ALAN GROSS

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--THe United States offered to let a convicted Cuban spy return home in exchange for the release of an imprisoned American, but Cuba rebuffed the offer, U.S. officials said. The U.S. also indicated it would be willing to address other Cuban grievances after Havana had released imprisoned contractor Alan Gross, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the sensitivity of the issue. Cuba rejected the offer, noting that the Cuban, Rene Gonzalez, already had served most of his sentence. It wanted pardons for at least some of the four other Cubans convicted with Gonzalez. U.S. officials said they would not consider pardons.  The December 2009 arrest of Gross, a Maryland native, has aggravated relations between the United States and Cuba just as the Obama administration was making tentative movements to ease decades of tension.

    The Cuban government has long been upset about the fate of Gonzalez and four other Cubans, known as the "Wasp Network," who were convicted in 2001 of spying on U.S. military installations in South Florida. Cuban officials say the five were trying to prevent terrorist attacks on the island by monitoring Cuban exiles. Gonzalez was released this month after 13 years in prison but a judge has ordered him to serve three years' probation in the United States before returning to Cuba. U.S. officials offered to press a Miami federal court to allow Gonzalez to finish the parole in Cuba, in exchange for Gross' release. Under the U.S. proposal, Gonzalez, a dual U.S.-Cuban citizen, would have renounced his U.S. ties.

     The Gross-Gonzalez swap was raised by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, as well as by senior U.S. officials in a series of meetings with Cuban officials. Richardson traveled to Cuba last month seeking Gross' release. He also told Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez that the U.S. would be willing to consider other areas of interest to Cuba. Among them was removing Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism; reducing spending on Cuban democracy promotion programs like the one that led to the hiring of Gross; authorizing U.S. companies to help Cuba clean up oil spills from planned offshore drilling; improving postal exchanges; ending a program that makes it easier for Cuban medical personnel to move to the United States; and licensing the French company Pernod Ricard to sell Havana Club rum in the United States. A U.S. official stressed that the offer was only to discuss those issues after Gross was released, with no guarantees that U.S. policies would change.  Richardson's initiative blew up after he referred to Gross as a hostage in an interview and the Cuban government refused to allow him to see Gross.

FLORIDA LAWMAKER PROPOSES BRINGING BACK FIRING SQUADS

    TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA--Saying it's time to stop letting convicted killers "get off that easy," a Florida state lawmaker wants to use firing squads or the electric chair for those on death row.  Rep. Brad Drake filed a bill this week that would end the use of lethal injection in Florida executions. Instead, those with a death sentence would choose between electrocution or a firing squad.  Drake, a Republican, said the idea came to him after having a conversation with a constituent at a Waffle House over the legal battles associated with the Sept. 28 execution of Manuel Valle.  Valle's lawyers tried to stop the execution by arguing that a new lethal drug cocktail would cause him pain and therefore constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Courts, however, rejected that argument and let the execution go forward.

    But Drake said the person at the restaurant questioned why death row inmates should even be allowed to die by lethal injection. Drake said he agreed and decided to sponsor the bill that would mandate a switch. The GOP-controlled Florida Legislature will consider the bill during the 2012 session that starts in January.  He said government is spending too much time listening to advocacy groups and instead should put in place a death sentence that forces convicted murderers to contemplate their fates.  Lethal injection just allows a person to die in their sleep while a firing squad or electrocution would force death row inmates to think about their punishment "every morning," Drake said.  "I think if you ask a hundred people, not even talking to criminals, how would you like to die, if you were drowned, if you were shot, and if you say you were put to sleep, 90 percent of some of the people would say I want to be put to sleep," Drake said. "Let's put our pants back on the right way."

     Florida first began using the electric chair in 1924. Before then, most executions were carried out by hanging.  But the state switched to lethal injection in 2000. Then-Gov. Jeb Bush and the Republican-controlled Legislature pushed through the change after several botched electrocutions raised concerns that the state's death penalty would be declared unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court had agreed at the time to hear a challenge to the use of the electric chair.  Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said Drake's legislation would just cause embarrassment for Florida if it were adopted.  "Just when you thought that public policy in Florida couldn't get worse, along comes a state rep who develops proposed legislation from what he overhears at the Waffle House," Simon said.  "Given all that former members of the Florida Supreme Court and the American Bar Association have said about Florida's broken death penalty system, including the nation's highest number of exonerations, this would be embarrassing -- if our legislature were capable of embarrassment."  But Drake said that those who caused suffering and grief for families should get their day of reckoning.  "I just don't think they should be able to get off that easy," he said.

October 14, 2011

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA CENSURES IRAN OVER TERRORIST PLOT

      WASHINGTON, D.C.--President Barack Obama has said the US can back up all its allegations of an Iranian conspiracy to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington. In a White House news conference, Mr Obama accused the Iranian government of reckless behaviour. The state department meanwhile said it had been in "direct contact" with Iran about the alleged plot. Two men were charged in a New York federal court on Tuesday with conspiring to kill the Saudi envoy. "Now those facts are there for all to see," Mr Obama said at a joint news conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.  "We would not be bringing forward a case unless we knew exactly how to support all the allegations that are contained in the indictment."

     The US government announced on Tuesday it had foiled the alleged plot, which it said involved members of the Iranian government and the Quds Force, an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. One of the accused allegedly approached an undercover US informant to carry out the assassination The indictment says one of the accused approached a US informant, who was posing as a member of a Mexican drug cartel, to carry out the assassination. Iran has labelled the claims a fabrication, but Mr Obama said there would be no dispute about the facts of the case. "We believe that even if at the highest levels there was not detailed operational knowledge, there has to be accountability with respect to anybody in the Iranian government engaging in this kind of activity," the president said. "The important thing is for Iran to answer the international community, why anybody in their government is engaging in these kinds of activities."

     Asked on Thursday about the alleged plot, state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters: "We have had direct contact with Iran." Manssor Arbabsiar, 56, an Iranian-American used-car salesman who lived in Texas, was arrested on 29 September. US authorities say he wired $100,000 (£63,000) to a US bank account as a down payment for the assassination, which he discussed with an informer posing as a Mexican drug gangster. The US Treasury has since imposed sanctions on five men, including Mr Arbabsiar, and an Iranian commercial airline. Washington says Mahan Air secretly transported members of the Quds Force and Hezbollah across the Middle East.

COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT JUAN MANUEL  SANTOS APPLAUDS FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH U.S.

     BOGOTA,  COLOMBIA-- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos calls free trade agreement with the U.S. "the most important" economic deal in Colombia's history while a law maker says it is the country's "worst decision" since independence from Spain. The Colombian government on Thursday (October 13) celebrated U.S. approval of a free trade agreement which it says should boost the Andean nation's investment prospects, cut violence against union leaders and create jobs. But there were some dissenting voices amid worries Colombian industry could suffer with at least one lawmaker calling the trade pact the South American country's worst decision since independence from Spain. The Colombian trade ministry said the deal - which was stuck in the U.S. Congress since 2006 before passage on Wednesday (October 12) - may help triple Colombian exports to the United States to $50 billion over five years and create 300,000 jobs.

     Santos described the approval as "historic' saying it would usher in a "new era" in U.S. ties. "The moment to think of the big picture and work towards successful implementation and to take advantage of this treaty, which in business terms is the most important that we've signed in our history, has come. We are not below this great test, but we are going to have to work hard because there are some big challenges," Santos said. One of the sectors expected to see a boost is Colombia's thriving flower industry. Colombia is the world's second-largest exporter of cut flowers after the Netherlands and the largest supplier to the U.S. market. Seventy-six percent of the $1.24 billion in flowers Colombia shipped globally last year went to the United States.

     "Today marks a new hour in our relations with the United States and above all it marks a new hour of continuing to create jobs and opportunities for Colombians. To continue to confront poverty and continue to advance, without pause, towards the prosperity we so badly yearn for. Prosperity for all our countrymen," Santos added. The potential benefits are expected to go both ways as Colombia, which has received about six billion U.S. dollars in U.S. anti-narcotics aid since 2000, will now offer more investor certainty by fixing trade privileges that had been subject to renewal by the U.S. Congress. The pact, which may take more than a year to kick in, could serve as a shield for Colombia from the impact of a global slowdown and help add as much as one percent to economic growth, already forecast to expand at least five percent in 2011, the trade ministry said. Colombia had preferential tariff access since the early 1990s under the Andean Trade Preferences Act but that legislation expired in February and exports like Colombian coffee and flowers were slapped with duties ranging from 3.2 percent to 7 percent. With the free-trade agreement, those duties will be eliminated.

top haqqani leader killed in pakistan

    peshawar, pakistan--A top leader in the Haqqani network who played a central role in attacking coalition forces was killed Thursday in Pakistan, U.S. officials said. Janbaz Zadran was killed in the Haqqani stronghold of Miram Shah in North Waziristan, Pakistan. The area reportedly was targeted in a drone strike the same day he died. U.S. officials say Zadran's death makes him the most senior Haqqani leader in Pakistan to be taken off the battlefield. The officials said Zadran helped the Haqqani network orchestrate attacks on troops in Kabul and southeastern Afghanistan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. Zadran had access to Haqqani's leadership in Miram Shah. He served as a key lieutenant to Haqqani network commander Badruddin Haqqani.

     In May, the U.S. designated Badruddin Haqqani a terrorist. He's the son of the group's founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, according to the State Department. U.S. intelligence considers the Haqqani network the No. 1 threat in Afghanistan and that it is supported by Pakistani security forces. The strike came as U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman arrived in Pakistan to improve ties between Washington and Islamabad that have been severely strained by stepped-up American claims of Pakistan assistance to the Haqqanis.  The missiles hit close to Dande Darpa Khel village, which is home to a large seminary with links to the Haqqanis. Later Thursday, another pair of drone-fired missiles hit a militant position on hills close to the frontier in South Waziristan, killing six people, intelligence officials said.

     The al Qaeda-allied Haqqani network is one of most organized insurgent factions fighting the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, and it has been blamed for high-profile assaults against Western and Afghan targets in the Afghan capital, Kabul. Washington has long urged Islamabad to attack the fighters, who live undisturbed in North Waziristan despite the region being home to several thousand Pakistani troops. At the same time, the U.S. is pursuing the possibility of peace talks with the Haqqanis and other Taliban factions, reflecting the fact that the insurgency can't be defeated militarily.  In brief remarks to reporters, Grossman, whose mission is to promote the peace process, talked about his confidence that the U.S. and Pakistan can "can make a commitment to future work" together, suggesting work still needs to be done to restore the relationship. Last month, senior American officials accused Pakistan's spy agency of assisting the Haqqani network in attacks on Western targets in Afghanistan, including a strike last month on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Pakistani officials have denied the charges.

October 13, 2011

PLOT TO KILL SAUDI AMBASSADOR FUELS U.S. PUSH TO ISOLATE IRAN

      WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Iranian government-backed plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States is quickly exacerbating already flaring tensions between Washington and Tehran. Members of Congress were quick to condemn Iran over the plot.  Rep. Michael McCaul R-Texas, said if it was indeed sponsored by the Iranian government, "this would constitute an act of war not only against the Saudis and Israelis but against the United States as well." Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., issued a similar statement saying, "Iran's assassination of a foreign diplomat in our country would have violated both U.S. and international law, and represented an act of war." Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, speaking on Fox News, called the plot an "act of war" against the United States. "We have to do something," he said, saying the specifics of the response should be left up to the Defense Department and the president. 

    But a senior Defense official told Fox News the announcement Tuesday "is not a trip wire for military action in Iran."  "No one should read into this as a pretense for any type of military response," another senior Defense official added.  Speaking to Fox News on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject, the officials said the Pentagon sees the alleged plot as a criminal act that is rightly being handled by the Department of Justice.  Late Tuesday night, the State Department issued a travel alert for Americans, warning those at home and aboard to watch out for possible attacks linked to the alleged plot. Attorney General Eric Holder, in announcing the plot and criminal charges filed against two individuals, would not say exactly how high up the plot went in the Iranian government. He said it was "directed and approved by elements of the Iranian government," specifically noting the alleged involvement of members of Iran's special operations Quds Force. 

     But U.S. officials made clear they will use the plot to marshal international pressure against the regime. "The United States is committed to holding Iran accountable for its actions," Holder said.  A State Department official on Tuesday called the case a "flagrant violation of international law."  And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. would work with its allies to "send a very strong message that this kind of action, which violates international norms, must be ended."  In a separate interview with the Associated Press, Clinton said the plot "crosses a line," and that she and President Obama were calling international leaders to tell them what happened. She said they want to "pre-empt" any efforts by Iran to deny responsibility, as well as "enlist more countries in working together against what is becoming a clearer and clearer threat" from Iran, according to the Associated Press. She said the reaction could "further isolate Iran."

LIBYAN REBELS CLAIM THEY HAVE CAPTURED ONE OF EX DICTATOR GADDAFI'S SON

     BENGHAZI, LIBYA-- Mutassim Qaddafi has been captured on the outskirts of Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte, the National Transitional Council (NTC) said Wednesday. Mutassim is the ousted Libyan leader's fifth son, who served as National Security Adviser of Libya in Qaddafi's regime. Forces also claim the city is now under the control of revolutionary fighters, but NTC has not officially confirmed. Libya's de facto leader said Wednesday he is optimistic the ex-rebels will declare total victory over forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi in less than a week, opening the way for a new transitional government to be formed within a month. Despite heavy resistance, revolutionary forces are closing in on Qaddafi's forces in the ousted dictator's hometown of Sirte, the most important of two major cities yet to be cleared of armed supporters of the old regime. 

    "I hope that liberation will be declared in less than a week, after we free Sirte, and within less than a month we will form a transitional government and the youth and women will have a role in that," said Mustafa Abdul-Jalil. Libya's new rulers have promised to declare victory after Sirte is captured and to name a new government that will guide the oil-rich North African nation to elections within eight months. Ousted leader Qaddafi is still on the run and his supporters also hold the desert enclave of Bani Walid. But the new leaders say Sirte's capture will give them full control of the country's ports and harbors, allowing them to move forward with efforts to restore normalcy and establish a democracy.

     Abdul-Jalil made his assertion at a joint news conference with Tunisian Prime Minister Caid Essebsi, who is visiting the eastern city of Benghazi to restore the two countries' once-lucrative trade ties. Essebsi met with Abdul-Jalil and other Libyan officials during his one-day visit, his first trip since Qaddafi was forced into hiding as Tripoli fell to revolutionary forces in late August.  Before Libya's uprising against Qaddafi broke out in mid-February, Libya and Tunisia had close ties, with some $2 billion in trade and tens of thousands of Tunisians working in Libya. During the civil war that ensued, Tunisia hosted close to a million refugees from Libya, including tens of thousands of Libyan citizens, many of whom were housed by Tunisian families. In recognition of that, Libyan officials have said Tunisian workers will be given priority for any reconstruction projects -- a boon to the nation of 10 million that has at least 700,000 unemployed.

NIGERIAN MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO PLANE BOMB ATTEMPT

    WASHINGTON, D.C.--The man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner with explosives hidden in his underwear pleaded guilty Wednesday and said the U.S. should "be warned."  "I intended to wreck a U.S. aircraft for the U.S. wreckage of Muslim lands and property," he said. The bomb didn't work, and Abdulmutallab was badly burned. Hours later in the hospital, he told the FBI that he was working for Al Qaeda in Yemen.

     U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds reviewed the charges and possible penalties with Abdulmutallab before he entered his pleas, including that he faces a sentence of up to life in prison. The eight charges against him include conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism and attempted murder on an aircraft. Abdulmutallab told Edmunds that he wants to plead guilty to all charges.  "Are you therefore pleading guilty freely and voluntarily?" Edmunds asked. "That's right, yes," Abdulmutallab replied. Abdulmutallab told the courtroom he made an agreement with at least one person to carry out the attack in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel and for what he described as the killings of Muslims in Yemen, Iraq, Somalia and other countries in the Middle East. He attempted to justify the attack as "an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth."

     "The United States should be warned that if they continue to persist and promote the blasphemy of Mohammed and the prophets ... the United States should await a great calamity that will befall them through the hands of the mujahedeen soon," Abdulmutallab said.  His last words as he left the courtroom were "Allah Akbar."  On Tuesday, passengers on the flight testified that Abdulmutallab took a long bathroom break in the plane, during which prosecutors say he was preparing for martyrdom. He took a small bag to the bathroom and was gone 10 to 15 minutes, according to passenger Mike Zantow, the first witness in Abdulmutallab's terrorism trial. "I thought he was freshening up for arrival in Detroit. ... We had less than an hour to go," Zantow said. A prosecutor said Abdulmutallab was performing a cleansing ritual to prepare for death.

October 12, 2011

EX-UKRAINE PRIME MINISTER SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS IN JAIL

      KIEV KYIV, UKRAINE--Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Tuesday was sentenced to 7 years in prison on charges of abuse of office in signing a gas deal with Russia, a verdict immediately condemned by the European Union as politically motivated. Tymoshenko, the driving force of the 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution and now the nation’s top opposition leader, denounced the trial as rigged by President Viktor Yanukovych in order to get rid of a popular political opponent. The case has galvanized the opposition. A crowd of several dozen angry Tymoshenko supporters clashed following the verdict with helmeted riot policed who flooded the city center, but they were quickly pushed away and it was unclear if the protests would last. Judge Rodion Kireyev declared Tymoshenko, 50, guilty of exceeding her authority as premier when she signed a natural gas imports contract with Russia in 2009. He also banned her from occupying government posts for three years after the completion of her prison term and fined her 1.5 billion hryvna ($190 million or (euro) 140 million) for the damages her actions cost the state.

    Tymoshenko, clad in a beige dress and wearing her trademark blond braid around her head, has called the trial a “lynching.” She appeared unfazed by the verdict and began addressing reporters in the courtroom without waiting for Kireyev to finish reading the lengthy ruling. She said Yanukovych wrote the verdict himself and compared it to the show trials and horrific purges by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. “The year 1937 has returned to Ukraine with this verdict and all the repression of citizens,” she said. “As for me, be sure that I will not stop my fight even for a minute. I will always be with you as long as it is necessary.” “Nobody, not Yanukovych, not Kireyev, can humiliate my honest name. I have worked and will continue to work for Ukraine’s sake,” Tymoshenko told reporters earlier. As Kireyev was leaving the courtroom, Tymoshenko’s husband Oleksandr yelled out that the judge would someday get a similar verdict. One Tymoshenko supporter shouted “Shame!” She was taken back to jail in a detention van right after the verdict was announced.

    The EU was quick to condemn the verdict as politically driven and urged the Ukrainian authorities to ensure a transparent and fair appeals process for Tymoshenko. A failure to do so would have “profound implications” for Ukraine-EU relations and could jeopardize the conclusion of a landmark association agreement, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement. That would be a major blow to Yanukovych who has lobbied for membership in the bloc. Tymoshenko said she would contest the ruling in the European Court of Human Rights and her lawyers said they would appeal the verdict in local courts. Some analysts believe Tuesday’s decision could still be reversed, giving Tymoshenko the chance to walk free and still take part in elections next year. That could be done either on appeal or by decriminalizing the article under which she is being charged — something lawmakers loyal to Yanukovych have hinted they could try to do. “A compromise is still possible,” said political analyst Oleksiy Haran. “She gets the guilty verdict and Yanukovych’s sense of revenge is satisfied, but then she is released and allowed to stand in elections.” Yanukovych himself appeared to signal Tuesday that Tymoshenko’s case was not over yet and hinted that new legislation, adopted by the time the case is heard by an appeals court, could be of great importance.

TOP SYRIA CLERIC THREATENS ATTACKS ON U.S. AND EUROPE IF MILITARY INTERVENES

     DAMASCUS, SYRIA--Syria's top Sunni Muslim cleric has warned Western countries against military intervention in Syria and threatened to retaliate with suicide bombings in the United States and Europe if his country comes under attack. Western countries have shown no willingness to open a Libyan-style military campaign against the regime of President Bashar Assad, who has launched a bloody crackdown on the seven-month uprising against his rule, and NATO's chief said last week the alliance has "no intention whatsoever" of intervening in Syria. Still, the prospect of such an intervention seems to have rattled the Assad regime, although publicly, officials say they are confident there would be no such thing because no one wants to foot the bill. In a speech late Sunday, Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, a state-appointed cleric and Assad loyalist, issued a clear warning to the West. "I say to all of Europe, I say to America, we will set up suicide bombers who are now in your countries, if you bomb Syria or Lebanon," Hassoun said in a speech late Sunday. "From now on an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Hassoun spoke to a delegation of Lebanese women who came to offer their condolences for his son's death by unknown gunmen earlier this month. "Don't come near our country, I beg you," Hassoun said.

      The international community's unwillingness to get directly involved stems from a mix of international political complications, worries over unleashing a civil war and plausible risks of touching off a wider Middle East conflict with archfoes Israel and Iran in the mix. Hassoun's comments follow another warning by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, who told the international community Sunday not to recognize a new umbrella council formed by the opposition, threatening "tough measures" against any country that does so. Moallem did not specify what measures Damascus might take. But he went on to say that countries that do not protect Syrian missions could find their own embassies treated in the same way. The Syrian National Council, announced last week in Turkey, is a broad-based group which includes most major opposition factions. No country or international body has recognized it so far as a legal representative of the Syrian people, but the European Union is intensifying its contacts with the nascent Syrian opposition.

     EU officials said Monday the were also moving to widen sanctions against Assad's regime, whose ongoing crackdown on civilian protesters has killed nearly 3,000 people. "I believe we have to get to know them better and get to know their intentions," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said in Luxembourg of the council. Earlier in the day, the members of the council said they agreed on a democratic framework for a future nation and that they want international observers to be allowed into Syria to gauge the situation. Ghied Al Hashmy, a political scientist who participated in a conference of Syrian opposition members in Sweden, said the council opposes military intervention but wants more political pressure on Syria, such as the targeted economic sanctions the EU has been applying. Despite the mounting international pressure on Assad, his regime has been unrelenting in its crackdown. On Monday, Syrian troops clashed with opponents in the flashpoint city of Homs, a hotbed of dissent where hundreds of army deserters are believed to be active. The renewed fighting in the central city illustrates the difficulty regime forces face in stamping out anti-government protests that have been bolstered by army deserters fighting back soldiers.

UN MEMBERS URGE VENEZUELA TO MEET INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA--Venezuela's failure to comply with the rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR Court), as well as its criticisms of the IACHR Court and its refusal to let the Court's and the United Nations' rapporteurs visit Venezuela to ascertain the situation of fundamental rights, did not go unnoticed during the Universal Periodic Review Venezuela underwent last Friday.

    The delegations of Japan, Australia, Belgium, and Slovakia to the United Nations Human Rights Council expressed their concern over the position of the Venezuelan State and urged Caracas to fulfill its international obligations.  The Slovakian representative welcomed the announcement made by Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro during his presentation at the Council. Maduro said that Venezuela has signed most of the international treaties and covenants on human rights. However, the Slovakian delegate regretted, in a diplomatic tone, that these agreements have become a dead letter. He invited Venezuelan authorities to "observe them."

     The Belgian delegation said that its government is "deeply concerned" about the fact that Venezuelan authorities announced that the IACHR Court rulings will not be enforced in Venezuela, despite the mandate set forth in Article 68 of the American Convention on Human Rights.  Meanwhile, Australia urged Venezuela to fulfill the petitions filed by Catalina Botero, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Organization of American States (OAS), and Frank La Rue, the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression, to ascertain the situation of fundamental rights in Venezuela.

October 10, 2011

TURKEY MOVES TO DIRECTLY SUPPORT SYRIAN OPPOSITION

      ANKARA, TURKEY--The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is increasingly taking the lead in supporting the Syrian opposition. Erdoğan condemned the vetoing of a United Nations resolution against Damascus and has announced it will impose its own sanctions. This week saw the start of military exercises on the Syrian border.  The Turkish military is currently holding a five-day military exercise on the Syrian border. The last time such a major exercise occurred was 13 years ago when Ankara threatened to invade Syria unless it expelled the Turkish Kurdish rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The diplomatic correspondent for the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, Semih Idiz, says the exercises are aimed at sending a message to the Syrians. "This will represent a kind of muscle flexing on Turkey's part," said Idiz. "But I think we've got a long way for this to translate into a some kind of military confrontation. But I don't think we are at that stage. But its a clear indication the government has given up on Damascus. and its now concerned about protecting its 850-kilometer border with this country."

     Protecting that border is important Idiz says, with the expectation in Ankara that an uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will continue to grow along with a risk of more refugees crossing the border. Already thousands have fled to Turkey.  Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to visit the refugee camps in the near future. Following that visit sanctions are expected to be announced. Mr. Erdogan,  during a visit this week to South Africa, condemned the vetoing of a United Nations motion against Syria. Erdoğan promised that Turkey and the European Union will move to tighten sanctions against Syria.  Details of the moves remain unclear. Turkey already is imposing an arms embargo. Last month the Turkish navy intercepted a Syrian bound ship from Iran carrying arms.

    But chief economist Emre Yigit of the Istanbul financial trading house Global Securities, says any new measures will have a limited effect. "We don't know the amount held by the Syrian leaders in Turkish bank, if any. It could hurt them that way," said Yigit. "I dont think the Syrian economy would collapse as a result of Turkish sanctions. It would have an impact, it would make life a little difficult. But it would not stop the Syrian government from having the ability to rule the country as it wished."  Ankara is closely coordinating its sanctions' plan with Washington, says Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and visiting scholar of the Carnegie Institute in Europe, says:  "There have been a number very high level phones calls, conversations between the Turkish leaders and the U.S. leadership," said Ulgen. "And now the two sides are really on the same page and Turkish policy regards to Syria does seem to have the full support of the U.S. administration." Ankara is also allowing the Syrian opposition to meet and organize in Turkey. The leader of a self styled "Syrian Free Army," made up of defectors from Syria's armed forces, is allowed to organize in Turkey.

SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS AGAINST RECOGNITION OF NEW OPPOSITION COUNCIL

     DAMASCUS, SYRIA--Syria's foreign minister warned the international community Sunday not to recognize a new umbrella council formed by the opposition, threatening "tough measures" against any country that does so. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem did not specify what measures Damascus might take but alluded later in his comments to attacks on embassies. Addressing reports that protesters had broken into Syria's embassy to Germany, al-Moallem said that countries which did not protect Syrian missions could find their own embassies treated in the same way. "We will take tough measures against any country that recognizes this illegitimate council," al-Moallem said without elaborating on what type of reaction it might bring.

    The Syrian National Council, announced last week in Turkey, is a broad-based group which includes most major opposition factions. No country or international body has recognized it so far as a legal representative of the Syrian people. Bourhan Ghalioun, the opposition council's most prominent official, said he expects the organization will be recognized "in the coming few weeks." Al-Moallem's comments came as the council was scheduled to hold two meetings Sunday, one in Cairo and another in Stockholm. Damascus appears concerned that if the Syrian National Council is recognized by the international community, it could play the same role as the National Transitional Council in Libya that ultimately overthrew longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

     Syria's top diplomat was speaking during a joint news conference with a delegation from the left-leaning ALBA bloc of mostly Latin American countries, which includes Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. The ALBA officials were visiting Damascus to express solidarity with Syria and met Sunday with President Bashar Assad. Assad is facing the most serious challenge to his authority since he took power 11 years ago. The uprising against his regime began in mid-March amid a wave of anti-government protests in the Arab world that has so far toppled autocrats in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Assad has reacted with deadly force that the U.N. estimates has left some 2,900 people dead. Al-Moallem criticized European countries where Syrian missions have recently been stormed by protesters, implying that Damascus might allow foreign delegations to be attacked in turn. "If they don't provide security to our missions, we will treat them the same way," he said. He also criticized the U.S. and the French ambassador to Syria, who have condemned the regime's crackdown and visited tense areas outside Damascus angering authorities. "We don't interfere in their business the way some of them do in Damascus," he said.

afghans rally in kabul, demand nato troops leave immediately

    KABUL, AFGHANISTAN--Hundreds of people marched through the streets of the Afghan capital, demanding the immediate withdrawal of international military forces ahead of the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion. The peaceful demonstration in downtown Kabul was meant to mark the Oct. 7 invasion of Afghanistan 10 years ago, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the United States. The U.S. invasion came after Taliban leader Mullah Omar refused to hand over Usama bin Laden, purportedly because of his disbelief that the Al Qaeda chief was responsible for the attacks and because it went against the Afghan tradition of hospitality and protection of guests. U.S. forces killed bin Laden in a raid on his hideout in Pakistan in May.

    The demonstrators chanted "no to occupation," and "Americans out" as they marched through the streets holding pictures of Afghans killed in violence, and later burned an American flag. The demonstration was organized by a small left wing party. No official events have been announced so far to mark the invasion, neither by the government nor NATO. "The United States said it came to help the Afghan people and provide a good life to Afghan people, but their true purpose was to occupy our country," said Farzana, a 22-year-old woman who goes by one name. "It is 10 years since the invasion of Afghanistan and all it has left behind is the blood of the Afghan people. We want the U.S. to leave our country." She added that "suicide attacks, insecurity and corruption are increasing day-by-day." In Copenhagen, military officials said a Danish soldier was seriously wounded by an explosive device during an operation Thursday in southwestern Afghanistan. The blast occurred west of a Danish base in Helmand province, the military said, providing no other details

     The Danish Army Operational Command says the soldier was taken by helicopter to a field hospital for treatment. Denmark, which has about 750 soldiers in Afghanistan, will begin withdrawing them this year and gradually shift its role to the training of Afghan forces. Also in Helmand, insurgents opened fire on a civilian bus traveling in the Girishk district, killing a man and a child and wounding 16 others, the governor's office reported. And in southern Uruzgan province, a car bomb killed the commander of a highway security force, Wali Jan, as he walked out of his home, the police said. And in the southern Herat province, two Taliban gunmen shot and killed acting police chief of Shindan district as he was riding his motorcycle. Kahmir Khan was on his way to work when he was attacked, said the governor's spokesman, Mohyaddin Noori. The U.S.-led coalition currently has more than 130,000 troops in Afghanistan, with about 98,000 from the United States. International forces have begun handing over responsibly for security to Afghan forces and all foreign combat troops are to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. President Barack Obama in July announced that he would pull 10,000 troops out of Afghanistan this year and 23,000 more by next September.

October 6, 2011

RUSSIA, CHINA VETO U.N. RESOLUTION TO  CONDEMN SYRIA FOR CRACKDOWN

      UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK--Russia and China vetoed a European-backed U.N. Security Council resolution Tuesday that threatened sanctions against Syria if it didn't immediately halt its military crackdown against civilians. It would have been the first legally binding resolution adopted by the Security Council since President Bashar Assad's military began using tanks and soldiers against protesters in mid-March. Its defeat reflects the deep divisions in the U.N.'s most powerful body over how to address the ongoing violence in Syria, which the U.N. estimates has led to more than 2,700 deaths. The European sponsors of the resolution tried to avoid a veto by watering down the language on sanctions three times, to the point where the word "sanctions" was taken out, but they failed. The vote was 9-2 with four abstentions -- India, South Africa, Brazil and Lebanon.  It was the first double veto by Russia and China since January 2007 when they vetoed a resolution calling on Myanmar to release all political prisoners, initiate a wide-ranging dialogue and end military attacks and human rights abuses.

      Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council after the vote that his country did not support the Assad regime or the violence but opposed the resolution because it was "based on a philosophy of confrontation," contained "an ultimatum of sanctions" and was against a peaceful settlement of a crisis. He also complained that the resolution did not call for the Syrian opposition to disassociate itself from "extremists" and enter into dialogue. China's Ambassador Li Bandong said his country is concerned about the ongoing violence and wants to see speedy reforms but opposed the resolution because "sanctions, or threat of sanctions, do not help the situation in Syria but rather complicates the situation." Supporters of the resolution expressed disappointment and outrage. France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud called the veto "a rejection of the extraordinary movement in support of freedom and democracy that is the Arab Spring" and commended "all of those who fight against the bloodthirsty crackdown in Syria."

      Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said the veto "will be a great disappointment to the people of Syria and the wider region that some members of this council could not show their support for their struggle for basic human rights." "By blocking this resolution, the onus is now on those countries to step up their efforts and persuade the Syrian government to end the violence and pursue genuine reform," he said. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said "the courageous people of Syria can now clearly see who on this council supports their yearning for liberty and human rights -- and who does not." "Those who oppose this resolution and give cover to a brutal regime will have to answer to the Syrian people -- and, indeed, to people across the region who are pursuing the same universal aspirations," she said. "The crisis in Syria will stay before the Security Council, and we will not rest until this council rises to meet its responsibilities." Rice accused Russia and China of wanting to sell arms to the Syrian regime rather than stand with the Syrian people -- an accusation vehemently denied by Russia's Churkin.

REMAINS OF FORMER PRESIDENT CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ ARRIVE IN VENEZUELA

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA--The remains of former Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez arrived late Tuesday in Venezuela, after being repatriated from the United States, where he died last 25 December.  Henry Ramos Allup, the president of Pérez's opposition Acción Democrática party (AD), confirmed on his social network account on Twitter that the remains of the former president arrived at Maiquetía International Airport, on the coast near Caracas, reported DPA.  The funeral of Pérez (1922-2010) will take place Tuesday and Wednesday at the headquarters of Acción Democrática, in western Caracas. The burial will be held Thursday at the Cementerio del Este, where he will rest beside the remains of former President Rómulo Betancourt (1959-1964), the founder of AD.  Pérez's will not be paid special honors as former Head of State because of his fierce rivalry with current President Hugo Chávez, who as an army commander led a coup against Pérez on February 4, 1992.

     Pérez, commonly known by the acronym CAP, was president of Venezuela in two terms: 1974-1979 and 1989-1993. In his first term, he had to manage the oil boom stemming from by the Arab oil embargo after the Yom Kippur War in 1973.  Meanwhile, his second period was turbulent and faced a popular uprising known as the Caracazo, which left hundreds dead and missing; two coup attempts, and finally impeachment removed him from power a year before the end of his term, which also resulted in his expulsion from Acción Democrática in 1996.  The former president died in Florida last December 25, but his remains were at the center of a legal battle between the families Pérez Rodríguez -the children of the marriage of the former president and his wife Blanca Rodríguez Pérez, living in Venezuela- and Pérez Matos, the children of CAP and his longtime companion Cecilia Matos, who live in Miami.

     The dispute was complicated because CAP, even though he had long separated from his wife, never divorced, which in turn prevented him from marrying Cecilia Matos, with whom he lived for several decades.  The dispute focused on the return to Venezuela of the remains of the former president. The Pérez Rodríguez family wanted him to be buried immediately in Venezuela, while the Pérez Matos family claimed that CAP would be buried in Venezuela only after the departure of Chávez from power. Following the election of Chávez in 1998, CAP was exiled in the Dominican Republic and the United States, after the Venezuelan government accused him of crimes of human rights violations in connection with the Caracazo, which CAP always rejected. However, in mid-August the Pérez Rodríguez family and the Pérez Matos family reached an agreement to repatriate the remains of Carlos Andrés Perez in Venezuela.   The funeral will be conducted by the Pérez Rodríguez family, but AD will pay CAP special tribute, as he was one of its historical leaders. The participation of several opposition leaders and presidential candidates is also expected.

PLOT TO KILL AFGHAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI FOILED

    KABUL, AFGHANISTAN--Afghanistan's intelligence agency said on Wednesday it had thwarted a plot to assassinate President Hamid Karzai after arresting a bodyguard and five people with links to the Haqqani network and al Qaeda. The plotters, who included university students and a medical professor, had been trained to launch attacks in the capital Kabul and had recruited one of Karzai's bodyguards to kill the president, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said. "A dangerous and educated group including teachers and students wanted to assassinate President Hamid Karzai," spokesman Lutfullah Mashal told a news conference. "Unfortunately they infiltrated the presidential protection system and recruited one of the president's bodyguards."

       Mashal said those detained had ties with three men, including an Egyptian and a Bangladeshi, who were all members of al Qaeda and the Haqqani network which is based in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan. Those arrested were part of a "most sophisticated" group who confessed to having been trained to use guns, rockets and suicide attacks, he said, with top government officials among the targets. They also said they had received $150,000 to fund their activities, and planned to kill Karzai during one of his trips outside the capital, Mashal added. Karzai has been the target of at least three assassination attempts since becoming Afghan leader in 2002, most notably in April 2008, when insurgents fired guns and rockets at a military parade he attended near the presidential palace in Kabul. Mashal said the bodyguard, Mohebullah Ahmadi, was from Kazai's home village of Karz in southern Kandahar province, and he had been shown al Qaeda and Haqqani video propaganda to persuade him to take part in the assassination plot.

      The Haqqanis are one of three Taliban-allied insurgent factions fighting in Afghanistan. Perhaps the most feared, they are thought to have introduced suicide bombing to the country, and to be behind many high-profile attacks. They have sworn allegiance to the Taliban, but have long been suspected of also having ties to Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate. NATO-led forces fighting in Afghanistan said on Wednesday that an airstrike had killed a senior Haqqani commander and two of his associates in eastern Khost province, near the Pakistani border. Dilawar, known by only one name, was a "principal subordinate" to Haji Mali Khan, who was captured by NATO last week and said at the time to be the top Haqqani commander for Afghanistan. Dilawar's death is "another significant loss for the insurgent group," the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement that described his responsibilities as including coordinating attacks on Afghan forces, and arranging weapons deliveries.

October 5, 2011

DOZENS KILLED IN BOMB BLAST IN SOMALIA

      MOGADISHU, SOMALIA--Somalia’s al Shabaab insurgents warned civilians on Tuesday to stay away from government buildings and military bases because they were planning more attacks, following a truck bomb blast that killed scores. “We are still in Mogadishu. How else could we conduct such an attack in the heart of the town?” al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage told reporters. “Somalis, we warn you: keep away from government buildings and the bases of their soldiers, more serious blasts are coming,” he said. Islamist militants detonated a truck bomb Tuesday in front of the Ministry of Education in Mogadishu, killing at least 70 people, wounding dozens and shattering a relative calm that had prevailed in the Somali capital for weeks.

    The bomb blew up after coming to a halt at a security checkpoint. It left blackened corpses on the debris-strewn street and set other vehicles alight. Uniformed soldiers were seen dragging the wounded away. Ali Muse, the chief of Mogadishu’s ambulance service, told the Associated Press that at least 70 people died and at least 42 others were wounded. The Al Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab immediately claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack on a website it uses. It was the biggest attack in Somalia’s capital since al-Shabab withdrew most of its forces in August amid an offensive by African Union forces.  The group had been expected to fight back with guerrilla-style attacks, including car bombs. Several car bombs have been defused or exploded before reaching their targets in recent weeks. Ali Hussein, a police officer in Mogadishu, said the vehicle blew up after pulling up to a checkpoint at the entrance to the Ministry of Education.

    Suicide bombings were unheard of in Somalia before 2007 but have become increasingly frequent. Al-Shabab claims allegiance to al-Qaeda, which often uses car bombs and appears bent on gaining a foothold in the Horn of Africa. Al-Shabab includes militant veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts who have trained Somalis in tactics like suicide bombs and sniper fire. The group carried out a double suicide bombing in Uganda in July 2010 that killed 76 people watching the World Cup final on television. Americans of Somali heritage also have joined the group. In 2009, a suicide bomber attacked a university graduation ceremony in Mogadishu, killing 24 people, including three government ministers, medical students and doctors. Somalia has endured mostly anarchy for the last two decades. Peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi compose the AU force that is shoring up the weak UN-backed Somali government. The nation is gripped by famine, which is mostly effecting southern parts of the country controlled by al-Shabab.

thousands of libyans leave the besieged city of sirte

     sirte, libya--The stories told by the people streaming out of Muammar Gaddafi's hometown, mostly recounted at checkpoints manned by anti-Gaddafi forces, provide a grim snapshot of life inside. "It is unimaginable back there," Masoud Awidat, who had just driven out of the town in a car with a bullet-riddled windshield and door, told Reuters. "It gets worse every day. There's no food. There are fires, apartments are destroyed." Terrified residents are sleeping in the streets and under stairs for fear that their roofs will fall in overnight. People talked of two families whose cars had been hit by rocket propelled grenades as they tried to flee the city. One man showed a piece of string holding up his trousers because he had not eaten for so long. "These used to fit me," he said.

      A Red Cross team who managed to deliver medical supplies to Sirte's hospital has reported that the city of about 100,000 people has no power. Civilians say many streets are flooded. Sirte has been under attack for about three weeks, the target of a couple of all-out assaults and near-constant shelling by interim government forces and NATO air strikes. Pro-Gaddafi fighters inside are putting up fierce resistance and, NATO and some civilians say, forcibly recruiting locals to fight alongside them and preventing people from getting out. "We reached the outskirts of the city but the militia stopped us from leaving," Awidat said of a previous attempt he made to leave. He managed to slip out Tuesday morning. "Where we live there are still families trapped," he said. Sirte presents a conundrum for the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) and for NATO, whose mandate in Libya is to protect of civilians.

     The NTC must strike a balance between a prolonged fight that would delay their efforts to govern and a quicker but bloody victory that would worsen regional divisions and embarrass the fledgling government and its foreign backers. Some civilians say pro-Gaddafi fighters are hiding in residential areas, raising fears of vicious street battles ahead. "Sirte is not going to be like Tripoli," said NTC medic Mashallah Al-Zoy, referring to the relatively easy manner in which anti-Gaddafi fighters swept into the capital. "It will be street-to-street, house-to-house, like (Gaddafi) said."    Some residents now cannot afford the scarce fuel they need to drive out to safety, the United Nations and aid groups say. NTC fighters, viewed with suspicion by many people leaving Sirte, have been handing out food and drinks at makeshift kiosks along the route. Some people leaving Tuesday looked lost. Three women and two men from Chad, who said they had lived in Sirte for years, wandered along a roadside not far from the town, with nine bewildered children but no belongings. When asked how much longer he estimated food supplies in Sirte could last, one of the men answered: "what food?."

17 cuban prisoners freed to spain now living in THE UNITED STATES

    miami, florida--Seventeen Cuban ex-political prisoners are now living in the United States after spending several months in Spain, where they went as a condition of being released from jail by the Cuban government, dissident sources said. The latest to move on were Blas Giraldo and Luis Enrique Ferrer, who left Spain this week after completing the necessary administrative procedures and being granted permission by U.S. authorities, the sources said.

     The lack of connections and job opportunities in Spain were what chiefly spurred this group of ex-prisoners to go to Florida, where the largest community of Cuban exiles is located. The first member of the Cuban opposition who moved to the United States was Arturo Perez de Alejo in September 2010, to be followed in separate stages by Adolfo Fernandez, Omar Ruiz, Jorge Luis Gonzalez Tanquero, Fidel Suarez, Antonio Villarreal, Normando Hernandez, Antonio Diaz, Manuel Ubals, Prospero Gainza, Lester Gonzalez, Victor Arroyo, Juan Carlos Herrera, Pablo Pacheco and Horacio Piña.

     Still awaiting a response are the applications of other Cuban ex-political prisoners wishing to move to the United States with their families. From July 2010 until last April, 115 former prisoners of conscience arrived in Madrid along with 647 family members who accepted exile to Spain as a result of an accord reached between Havana authorities and the Catholic Church in Cuba with the support of the Spanish government. Besides those who have moved to the United States, another two dissidents have also left Spain – Jose Ubaldo Izquierdo to Chile and Rolando Jimenez to the Czech Republic.

October 4, 2011

BODY OF VENEZUELAN EX PRESIDENT CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ GOING HOME

      MIAMI, FLORIDA--The remains of former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez will be removed Monday morning from a temporary mausoleum in a cemetery in Miami to begin the repatriation process which will culminate on Tuesday with his arrival in Caracas, said a lawyer for the family. A casket wrapped in a Venezuelan flag was placed in a hearse Monday to begin the journey to Venezuela. The former president's body has been in Miami during a bitter family feud that was finally settled in August. Perez died in December at age 88. He was president from 1974-79 and 1989-93.  A family attorney says the body will be flown to Venezuela on Tuesday for a Wednesday public viewing followed by a funeral mass and burial Thursday. "They remove the remains of the President of the cemetery and a funeral will begin  Tuesday morning a long flight to Venezuela, which is scheduled for 9:15 pm arrival in Caracas," said the lawyer who represented the lawful wife of Perez, Blanca Rodriguez, who lives in Caracas.

     The feud was between Perez's estranged wife in Venezuela and his longtime companion over where Perez would ultimately be buried. The lawyer explained that a grandson of the former president will travel from Venezuela to accompany the remains in a Delta Airlines flight will make a stopover in Atlanta (Georgia, southeastern U.S.) A daughter of former President, Carolina Perez Rodriguez, announced  last week the repatriation of the remains of his father to Venezuela. "We are pleased to have achieved his desire. After nine long months of anguish we will get him to come and rest in peace in Venezuela," she said in Caracas. Carlos Andres Perez died Dec. 25 of cardiac arrest in Miami at age 88 and the final burial place became a legal dispute between his wife, Blanca Rodriguez, who fought for the remains were repatriated to Caracas, and his former secretary and companion, Cecilia Matos, who wanted him to be buried in Miami.

      According to Matos, the former president did not want to return to Venezuela while the current dictator  Hugo Chavez was in power. On 30 June, the remains of Perez were temporarily deposited in a crypt in the cemetery Flagler Memorial Park in Miami, fulfilling an order from the Court of Appeals of the State of Florida. Finally in August the two families reached an agreement whose terms were not disclosed and avoided a trial on the burial place of the Social Democratic leader. Perez was twice president of Venezuela (1974-1979 and 1989-1993). During his second term suffered two coup attempts, including one featuring President Chavez, whose government was strongly opposed by Perez from his exile in the Dominican Republic and later in Miami. The former Venezuelan president had come to America after he was ousted in 1993, briefly jailed and charged with corruption.

SEVERED HEADS FOUND NEAR MEXICAN DEFENSE MINISTRY

     MEXICO CITY, MEXICO-- The severed heads of two men were found near the Defense Ministry in Mexico City on Monday in one of the most brazen drug-linked killings in the capital, which so far has been spared the worst of gang violence. One head was left on the pavement along a busy road by the Defense Ministry where a number of generals live, according to a Reuters witness. The other was placed on the roof of a car a few yards (metres) away, local media said.

    The attorney general of Mexico City, Miguel Angel Mancera, said a message left with the heads attributed the killings to the "Hand with Eyes" drug gang, a splinter group of the Beltran Leyva cartel that was little known until this year. The message suggested the victims were members of an organization allied to Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, leader of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel and one of the country's most wanted men. Violence linked to drug gangs has claimed more than 42,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon sent in the army to crush the cartels shortly after taking office at the end of 2006.

    The government has captured or killed several top drug lords but other ruthless gangs have sprung up to take the place of more established cartels weakened by the conflict. The killings, once concentrated on the northern border, have showed no sign of abating. Some of the worst incidents in recent weeks have occurred farther south, notably the dumping of 35 bodies in the port of Veracruz last month. In August police arrested "Hand with Eyes" leader Oscar Garcia. An ex-marine, Garcia admitted killing 300 people and ordering the murders of 300 more.

FOURTH TIBETAN MONK SELF-IMMOLATES IN ANTI-CHINA PROTEST

    LHASA, TIBET--A young Tibetan monk set himself on fire Monday in a remote western town to protest Chinese policies, the fourth monk from Kirti Monastery to self-immolate this year, according to a Tibet advocacy group based in London.  The group, Free Tibet, said in a news release that the monk, Kalsang, set himself ablaze at 2 p.m. in a vegetable market in the town of Aba, known in Tibetan as Ngaba. Kalsang was holding a picture of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled religious leader, at the time and called for religious freedom, the group said. Security officers extinguished the flames. the group said, but the monk’s condition was unclear.  Free Tibet did not specify the sources of its information. There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials, and no mention of the self-immolation in China’s state-run press.

    The first self-immolation this year at Kirti, a monastery that was at the heart of local protests against the authorities in 2008, occurred on March 16, when Phuntsog, a 20-year-old monk, killed himself. On Sept. 26, two other young monks at Kirti set themselves on fire, but were believed at the time to have survived. One of the two monks, Lobsang Kalsang, was a brother of Phuntsog.  Prior to this year, the only known instance of a monk setting himself on fire in recent times occurred at Kirti in Feb. 2009. The monk, Tapey, survived after his flames were extinguished by security officers.  A local court gave three monks long prison sentences in August and September for what it said was their roles in the death of Phuntsog. One of the monks was an uncle of Phuntsog.  Aba is in Sichuan Province, which contains large swaths of the Tibetan area known as Kham. The Tibetans of Kham, known as Khampas, have a reputation for impassioned ferocity. In spring of 2008, many Khampas took part in a widespread uprising against Chinese rule that began with protests and riots in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

     On Saturday, Tibetans in the town of Seda in Sichuan Province, known in Tibetan as Serthar, hung a large picture of the Dalai Lama from a central building, according to a blog post by Woeser, a Tibetan writer who lives in Beijing. Images of the Dalai Lama are illegal anywhere in China, including in Chinese-ruled areas of Tibet. When the authorities took down the picture and a Tibetan flag, about 200 Tibetans held a peaceful protest in the streets.  Leaflets were passed around that called for resistance to China. A translation by High Peaks Pure Earth, a blog that tracks Tibet news, said the first two lines of one leaflet were: “Tibetan brethren do not fall asleep under the oppression of the Chinese. Fight for the your religion, language and customs.”

October 3, 2011

U.S. GENERAL SAYS MILITARY MISSION IN LIBYA LARGELY COMPLETE

      WASHINGTON, D.C.--The military mission in Libya is largely complete and NATO's involvement could begin to wrap up as soon as this coming week after allied leaders meet in Brussels, according to the top U.S. commander for Africa. Army Gen. Carter Ham, head of U.S. Africa Command, told The Associated Press that American military leaders are expected to give NATO ministers their assessment of the situation during meetings late in the week. NATO could decide to end the mission even though ousted leader Muammar Qaddafi is still at large and his forces are still entrenched in strongholds such as Sirte and Bani Walid.

    NATO's decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, agreed on Sept. 21 to extend the mission over the oil-rich North African nation for another 90 days, but officials have said the decision would be reviewed periodically. Ham said that the National Transitional Council and its forces should be in "reasonable control" of population centers before the end of the NATO mission, dubbed Unified Protector. And he said they are close to that now. When NATO makes its decision, Ham said he believes there would be a seamless transition of control over the air and maritime operations to U.S. Africa Command. And, at least initially, some of the military surveillance coverage would remain in place. "We don't want to go from what's there now to zero overnight," Ham said. "There will be some missions that will need to be sustained for some period of time, if for no other reason than to offer assurances to the interim government for things like border security, until such time that they are ready to do all that themselves."

     U.S. intelligence and surveillance assets, such as drones, will likely stay in the region also to keep watch over weapons caches, to prevent the proliferation of weapons from Libya into neighboring countries. But Ham said air strikes would likely end, unless specifically requested by the Libyan transitional government. NATO took over command of the mission in March, after it was initially led by the U.S. in the early days of the bombing campaign. The mission was designed to enforce a U.N. resolution allowing the imposition of a no-fly zone and military action to protect Libyan civilians.

SYRIA'S OPPOSITION ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF NATIONAL UNITY COUNCIL

     istanbul, syria--The Syrian opposition grouped all of its political factions abroad under one roof when it announced on Sunday the formation of the National Unity Council during a press conference held in Istanbul.  The Paris-based Burhan Ghilyon, who is a sociology professor at Sorbonne and considered to be one of the main opposition figures abroad, announced the formation of the council in Turkey after meetings there. “The Syrian Council is open to all Syrians. It is an independent group personifying the sovereignty of the Syrian people in their struggle for liberty,” Ghilyon said.

     Ghilyon was also designated as leader of the National Unity Council. While the newly formed council united all of the opposition outside the country, its officials said that it is open to opposition in Syria joining it. They added that they were not in favor of dismantling the Syrian army. The council rejected foreign intervention but asked for U.N. articles that would protect civilians in the country. It has also vowed to push for the creation of a democratically elected civilian state and to fulfill the aspiration and goals of the Syrian revolution, which began six months ago. Ghilyon said that peaceful means are the only solutions to the conflict in Syria, and that peaceful protests will continue until the toppling of the Syrian regime.

     One of the opposition figures in the conference said Syrian was a progressive nation not tainted by sectarianism and that their council includes all of Syria’s different factions, including Kurds, Assyrians, liberals and the Muslim Brotherhood. When asked about the structure of the council, Basma Qadhmani, one of the council’s members, that the conference is political in nature and that details will be made public at a later day. But Qadhamni said that the council includes a general assembly, general secretariat, and an executive committee. Forming a united front abroad is a milestone for Syria’s opposition, because critics have criticized its disunity, making it difficult for the movement to attract adherents.

VENEZUELA, GUYANA REACH AGREEMENT TO NEGOTIATE MARITIME BORDER 

    GEORGETOWN, GUAYANA--The diplomatic envoys of Venezuela and Guyana signed a joint declaration in which Foreign Minister of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro and his counterpart of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett pledged to "negotiate the delimitation of maritime boundaries between the two States."  According to official information disclosed by state-run news agency Agencia Venezolana de Noticias (AVN), the joint statement "was signed on Friday in Port of Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, where the two ministers reviewed various matters of mutual interest." The text of the document highlights that "several issues of mutual interest, including Good Offices," were reviewed.

     They expressed their satisfaction "at the superb relations developed between the two countries and reiterated their commitment to maintain this level."  "They recognize the historical level they have reached in bilateral relations, characterized by respect, fraternity and solidarity. They agree that now Guyana and Venezuela develop cooperation projects in diverse areas, and strengthen their integration into mechanisms such as the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), Petrocaribe, and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Clacs), with the conviction that the ties that unite them overcome their legacy of divide inherited from colonialism."  "Guyana stated that it recognized the right of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to present its views to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). For its part, Venezuela recalled its legitimate right to sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Atlantic Front," read the document.

     The ministers agreed that in the future their facilitators will discuss topics related to Guyana's request to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) -seeking an extension of Guyana's continental shelf by 150,000 miles- and inform their respective governments. "Both Ministers recognize that the delimitation of maritime boundaries between the two States remains an unresolved issue and agreed that such a solution will require negotiations," stressed the statement.  "Recognizing that the dispute concerning the Arbitral Award of 1899 on the border between Guyana and Venezuela continues to exist, the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the Geneva Agreement and the Good Offices. They recognized that this dispute is a legacy from colonialism and should be resolved. The ministers informed the UN Secretary General's Personal Representative Prof. Norman Girvan about their conversations," added the statement.

October 2, 2011

CUBAN JEWISH LEADERS MEET WITH ALAN GROSS

      HAVANA, CUBA--Two leaders of Cuba's tiny Jewish community have visited an imprisoned U.S. government contractor, celebrating the Jewish New Year with him in a small private room near his cell. The Jewish leaders, Adela Dworin and David Prinstein, said in an email sent to journalists Friday that they spent two hours with Maryland-native Alan Gross on Wednesday and found him to be in good spirits and health. As host, Gross led the three in a traditional toast "to life," and the three shared sweets and coffee. Dworin and Prinstein said it was the second time they had met with Gross in jail.  Gross, 62, was arrested in December 2009 and later sentenced to 15 years in jail for crimes against the Cuban state after he was caught bringing communications equipment onto the island illegally while working on a USAID-funded democracy program.

    Cuban officials say such programs are a thinly veiled U.S. attempt to bring down the island's Communist government. Gross has said he was only trying to help some members of Cuba's 1,500-member Jewish community gain better Internet access, and his jailing has torpedoed efforts for improved ties between Cuba and the United States. The latest manifestation of the rift came on a trip several weeks ago by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said he was invited to the island by Cuban officials to negotiate Gross' release, but when he arrived was told he would not even be allowed to meet with Gross in jail. Richardson declared Gross to be a "American hostage" and briefly vowed to remain in Cuba until he was granted access to him. He ultimately left without seeing Gross, saying he doubted he would ever be able to come back as a friend. Cuban officials, in turn, blasted Richardson, accusing him of trying to blackmail and strong-arm them.

    After Cuba's Supreme Court upheld Gross' conviction and sentence in August, efforts turned to winning his release on humanitarian grounds. Both his elderly mother and adult daughter are battling cancer and his family has suffered financial hardship since his arrest. Those who have seen him say the once portly Gross has lost 100 pounds in jail and now looks gaunt and weak. But Dworin and Prinstein said Gross told them that he was in good health and was getting adequate medical attention. Dworin and Prinstein said Gross did express great concern about the health of family members. "We gave him a promise to have them present in our prayers for a quick recovery," they wrote. They said the meeting ended with exchanges of "Shalom" and "Shana Tova" - the Hebrew words for Peace and Happy New Year.

NATO CAPTURES SENIOR HAQQANI LEADER IN AFGHANISTAN

     KABUL, AFGHANISTAN--NATO captured a senior leader of the Al Qaeda- and Taliban-allied Haqqani network active inside Afghanistan, the alliance said Saturday, describing it as a "significant milestone" in disrupting the terror group's operations. NATO said Haji Mali Khan was seized Tuesday during an operation in eastern Paktia province's Jani Khel district, which borders Pakistan. It was the most significant capture of a Haqqani leader in Afghanistan, and could dent the group's ability to operate along the porous border with Pakistan's lawless tribal areas. Shortly after NATO's announcement, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid denied in a message to Afghan media that Khan had been arrested but provided no evidence that he was free. NATO described Khan as an uncle of Siraj and Badruddin Haqqani, two of the son's of the network's aging leader Jalaludin Haqqani. However, in a recent report on the Haqqani's by the Institute for the Study of War, Khan appears as a brother in-law to Jalaludin Haqqani.

    The Pakistan-based Haqqani network is affiliated with both the Taliban and Al Qaeda and has been described as the top security threat in Afghanistan. The group has been blamed for hundreds of attacks, including a 20-hour siege of the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters last month. Last week, U.S. officials accused Pakistan's spy agency of assisting the Haqqanis in attacks on Western targets in Afghanistan -- the most serious allegation yet of Pakistani duplicity in the 10-year war. The United States and other members of the international community have in the past blamed Pakistan for allowing the Taliban, and the Haqqanis in particular, to retain safe havens in the country's tribal areas along the Afghan border -- particularly in North Waziristan. "He was one of the highest ranking members of the Haqqani network and a revered elder of the Haqqani clan," NATO said of Khan, adding that he "worked directly under Siraj Haqqani, and managed bases and had oversight of operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

     Khan also moved forces from Pakistan to Afghanistan to conduct terrorist activity, NATO said. "Jalaluddin Haqqani consistently placed Mali Khan in positions of high importance." NATO also said that Khan had in the past year established a militant camp in Paktia and "coordinated the transfer of money for insurgents operations, and facilitated the acquisition of supplies." During the operation Tuesday, Khan surrendered without resistance and NATO forces also arrested his deputy and bodyguard, along with a number of other insurgents, the alliance said. "The Haqqani network and its safe havens remain a top priority for Afghan and coalition forces," NATO concluded. The NATO statement said security forces have conducted more than 500 operations so far in 2011 in an effort to disrupt the Haqqani network leadership, resulting in the deaths of 20 operatives and the capture of nearly 300 insurgent leaders and 1,300 suspected Haqqani insurgents.

AFGHAN PRESIDENT KARZAI ABANDONS PEACE TALKS WITH TALIBAN 

    KABUL, AFGHANISTAN--Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said his government will no longer hold peace talks with the Taliban. He said the killing of Burhanuddin Rabbani had convinced him to focus on dialogue with Pakistan. Former Afghan President Rabbani was negotiating with the Taliban but was killed by a suicide bomber purporting to be a Taliban peace emissary.  Mr Karzai, speaking to a group of religious leaders, said there were no partners for dialogue among the Taliban. It was not possible to find the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, he added. "Where is he? We cannot find the Taliban Council. Where is it?" he said. "A messenger comes disguised as a Taliban Council member and kills, and they neither confirm nor reject it. Therefore, we cannot talk to anyone but to Pakistan," Mr Karzai told the meeting. "Who is the other side in the peace process? I do not have any other answer but to say Pakistan is the other side in the peace talks with us."

     A statement by members of the nationwide council of religious scholars praised Rabbani's efforts to bring peace to the country, and condemned his killing in the strongest terms. Last week, the US military accused Pakistan's spy agency of helping the Haqqani militant network in a recent attack on Kabul. Pakistan's foreign minister responded by warning that the US could lose Pakistan as an ally if it continued to publicly accuse Islamabad of supporting militants. Late on Friday, President Barack Obama renewed calls for Pakistan to take action against the group. "My attitude is, whether there is active engagement with Haqqani on the part of the Pakistanis or rather just passively allowing them to operate with impunity in some of these border regions, they've got to take care of this problem," said Mr Obama.

      Pakistan has long denied supporting the Haqqani group, but BBC correspondents say it has a decades-old policy of pursuing foreign policy objectives through alliances with militants. Although Islamabad denies the network has safe havens inside Pakistan, the country's former national security adviser told the BBC that it was operating in North Waziristan, in Pakistan's restive tribal belt. "Today North Waziristan is a hot bed," said Retired Maj Gen Mahmoud Durani. "It's not just Haqqanis. Everybody who is anybody in the terrorist field is there. Although there is military (there)... I think they have a fair amount of freedom of action." He said the army was too overstretched to take on the Haqqani group. The BBC's Orla Guerin says that, privately, officials admit that the group is not a target for Pakistan because its members don't kill and maim inside the country.

October 1st., 2011

ANWAR AL-AWLAKI DEAD: U.S.-BORN AL QAEDA LEADER KILLED IN YEMEN

      SANAA, YEMEN--Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born Islamic militant cleric who became a prominent figure in al-Qaida's most active branch, using his fluent English and Internet savvy to draw recruits to carry out attacks in the United States, was killed Friday in the mountains of Yemen, American and Yemeni officials said. The Yemeni government and Defense Ministry announced al-Awlaki's death, but gave no details. A senior U.S. official said American intelligence supports the claim that he had been killed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. Yemeni security officials and local tribal leaders said he was killed in an airstrike on his convoy that they believed was carried out by the Americans. They said pilotless drones had been seen over the area in previous days. Al-Awlaki would be the most prominent al-Qaida figure to be killed since Osama bin Laden's death in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in May.

     In July, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the Yemeni-American was a priority target alongside Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden's successor as the terror network's leader. The 40-year-old al-Awlaki had been in the U.S. crosshairs since his killing was approved by President Barack Obama in April 2010 – making him the first American placed on the CIA "kill or capture" list. At least twice, airstrikes were called in on locations in Yemen where al-Awlaki was suspected of being, but he wasn't harmed. Al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, was believed to be key in turning al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen into what American officials have called the most significant and immediate threat to the Untied States. The branch, led by a Yemeni militant named Nasser al-Wahishi, plotted several failed attacks on U.S. soil – the botched Christmas 2009 attempt to blow up an American airliner heading to Detroit and a foiled 2010 attempt to main explosives to Chicago.  Known as an eloquent preacher who spread English-language sermons on the internet calling for "holy war" against the United States, al-Awlaki's role was to inspire and – it is believed – even directly recruit militants to carry out attacks.

     U.S. officials believe he went beyond just being an inspiring spiritual leader to become involved in operational planning for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Yemen branch is called. Yemeni officials have said al-Awlaki had contacts with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the accused would-be Christmas plane bomber, who was in Yemen in 2009. They say the believe al-Awlaki met with the 23-year-old Nigerian, along with other al-Qaida leaders, in al-Qaida strongholds in the country in the weeks before the failed bombing. In New York, the Pakistani-American man who pleaded guilty to the May 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt told interrogators he was "inspired" by al-Awlaki after making contact over the Internet. In a statement, the Yemeni government said al-Awlaki was "targeted and killed" 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the town of Khashef in the Province of al-Jawf. The town is located 87 miles (140 kilometers) east of the capital Sanaa. The statement says the operation was launched on Friday around 9:55 a.m. It gave no other details. The Yemeni Defense Ministry also reported the death, without elaborating, in a mobile phone SMS message.

U.S. LAWMAKERS URGE REPSOL TO DROP CUBA OIL PROJECT

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--A group of 34 U.S. Congress members has asked Spain's Repsol YPF to drop plans to explore for oil off Cuba, saying the company could face commercial risks and lawsuits in the United States. Repsol's plans to use a contracted Chinese-built rig to drill exploration wells later this year in Communist-ruled Cuba's deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico has aroused opposition in neighboring Florida, which is a Cuban exile stronghold. But the Cuban oil project has also prompted calls for the United States to cooperate with Havana to avert any possible environmental accident similar to the massive BP oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico last year.

    In a letter dated Sept. 27 sent to Repsol Chairman Antonio Brufau, Republican and Democratic representatives led by Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen warned the Spanish oil firm it risked damaging its commercial interests with the United States if it went ahead with its oil plans in Cuba. "We respectfully ask that Repsol abandon any of its proposed oil drilling activities in Cuban waters," the letter signed by the 34 said. It included the signature of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the National Democratic Committee. Cuban-born Ros-Lehtinen chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is a fierce critic of Cuba's communist rulers. "The decaying Cuban regime is desperately reaching out for an economic lifeline, and it appears to have found a willing partner in Repsol," Ros-Lehtinen said in a public statement accompanying the letter. "This oil drilling scheme endangers the environment, and enriches the Cuban tyranny," she added.

     The U.S. lawmakers' letter said that since any foreign investment in Cuba required joint ownership and fiscal payments to the Cuban government of President Raul Castro, "any drilling operations that Repsol conducts in Cuban waters will provide direct financial benefit to the Castro dictatorship". The letter warned Repsol its drilling plans in Cuba could violate U.S. law -- including the complex web of sanctions that constitutes the longstanding U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, so exposing the Spanish company and its affiliates to "criminal and civil liability in U.S. courts". Repsol, in a consortium with Norway's Statoil and a unit of India's ONGC , is expected to use the Chinese-built Scarabeo 9 rig to drill one or two wells. The rig, owned by Italian oil giant Eni SpA's offshore unit Saipem , is on its way to Cuba. Repsol is then expected to pass the rig to Malaysia's state-owned oil company Petronas and then to ONGC unit, ONGC Videsh, which also have leased offshore Cuban blocks. Oil experts on the Caribbean island say Cuba may have 20 billion barrels of oil in its still-untapped portion of the Gulf of Mexico, although the U.S. Geological Survey estimates reserves are a more modest 5 billion barrels.

REPSOL DEFLECTS U.S. LAWMAKERS'S COMPLAINT OVER CUBA PROJECTS

    MADRID, SPAIN--Spanish oil major Repsol-YPF said Thursday its plans to explore for oil in Cuban waters strictly comply with U.S. law governing a decades-old trade embargo on the communist-ruled island.

    A group of 34 Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Repsol Chairman Antonio Brufau warning that the company could face legal action in the United States if it does not abandon its offshore drilling plans. “Any drilling operations that Repsol conducts in Cuban waters will provide direct financial benefit to the Castro dictatorship,” the lawmakers said. They also suggested that “Repsol may be in jeopardy of subjecting itself and its affiliates to criminal and civil liability in U.S. courts.”

     Repsol spokespersons told Efe they also are complying Cuba law governing their activities and that all of Repsol’s operations in Cuban waters are being conducted under the highest quality and safety standards. Repsol is one of several foreign oil companies, including Venezuelan state-owned giant PDVSA and PetroVietnam, with offshore drilling plans in Cuba’s Exclusive Economic Zone of the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. The zone, which is estimated to hold up to 9 billion barrels of petroleum, covers some 112,000 sq. kilometers (43,240 sq. miles) and is divided into 59 blocks of 2,000 sq. kilometers (772 sq. miles) each.