NEWS,05.08.2013

U.S. Embassy Closings: State Department Says Posts In 19 Countries To Remain Closed

U.S. diplomatic posts in 19 cities in the Mideast and Africa will remain closed for the rest of the week amid intercepted "chatter" about terror threats, which lawmakers briefed on the information likened to intelligence picked up before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
One lawmaker said the chatter was specific as to certain dates and the scope of the operation; others said it suggested that a major terrorist attack, akin to 9/11, was being planned by the al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen.
Diplomatic facilities will remain closed in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, among other countries, through Saturday, Aug. 10. The State Department announcement Sunday added closures of four African sites, in Madagascar, Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius. The U.S. reopened some posts on Monday, including those in Kabul, Afghanistan and Baghdad.
Last week the State Department announced a global travel alert, warning that al-Qaida or its allies might target either U.S. government or private American interests. It said Americans should take extra precautions overseas and cited potential dangers involved with public transportation systems and other prime sites for tourists.
Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the decision to keep certain embassies and consulates shuttered throughout the week was done out of an "abundance of caution" and to "protect our employees, including local employees, and visitors to our facilities."
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Monday the briefings he has received "certainly emphasize these threats are specific and credible, equal if not more serious to the kind of chatter, as the intelligence called it, that was heard prior to 9/11."
But he added: "The average American should continue to be alert and vigilant and cautious but certainly not unduly alarmed or panicky." He spoke on MSNBC.
The intercepted intelligence foreshadowing an attack on U.S. or Western interests is evidence of one of the gravest threats to the United States in years, said several lawmakers said Sunday.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the conversation was "very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11." Chambliss, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said it was that chatter that prompted the Obama administration to order the closures and issue the travel warning.
Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC's "This Week" that the threat intercepted from "high-level people in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula" was about a "major attack."
Yemen is home to al-Qaida's most dangerous affiliate, blamed for several notable terrorist plots on the United States. They include the foiled Christmas Day 2009 effort to bomb an airliner over Detroit and the explosives-laden parcels intercepted the following year aboard cargo flights.
Rep. Peter King, the New York Republican who leads the House Homeland Security subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence, told ABC that the threat "was specific as to how enormous it was going to be and also that certain dates were given."
The Obama administration's decision to close the embassies and the lawmakers' general discussion about the threats and the related intelligence discoveries come at a sensitive time as the government tries to defend recently disclosed surveillance programs that have stirred deep privacy concerns and raised the potential of the first serious retrenchment in terrorism-fighting efforts since Sept. 11.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has scoffed at the assertion by the head of the National Security Agency that government methods used to collect telephone and email data have helped foil 54 terror plots.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a House Intelligence Committee member, said while he takes the threat seriously he hasn't seen any evidence linking the latest warnings to that agency's collection of "vast amounts of domestic data."
Other lawmakers defended the administration's response and promoted the work of the NSA in unearthing the intelligence that led to the security warnings.
King, a frequent critic of President Barack Obama, said: "Whether or not there was any controversy over the NSA at all, all these actions would have been taken."
The State Department noted that previous terrorist attacks have centered on subway and rail networks as well as airplanes and boats. It suggested travelers sign up for State Department alerts and register with U.S. consulates in the countries they visit. The alert expires Aug. 31.
The intelligence intercepts also prompted Britain and Germany to close their embassies in Yemen on Sunday and Monday. British authorities said some embassy staff in Yemen had been withdrawn "due to security concerns." France said Monday it would keep its embassy in the Yemeni capital closed through Wednesday.
Interpol, the French-based international policy agency, has also issued a global security alert in connection with suspected al-Qaida involvement in recent prison escapes including those in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

Turkey's Ergenekon Trial: Alleged 2002 Coup Plotters Convicted, Including Former Military Chief Ilker Basbug

In a landmark trial, scores of people including Turkey's former military chief, politicians and journalists were convicted on Monday of plotting to overthrow Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government soon after it came to power in 2002.
Retired Gen. Ilker Basbug was the most prominent defendant among some 250 people facing verdicts after a five-year trial that has become a central drama in tensions between the country's secular elite and Erdogan's Islamic-oriented Justice and Development Party.
The trial has sparked protests, and on Monday police blocked hundreds of demonstrators from reaching the High Criminal Court in Silivri, 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Istanbul, in a show of solidarity with the defendants.
But Monday's verdicts were not expected to set off the kind of violent anti-government demonstrations that were recently sparked by a government plan to build a replica Ottoman-era barracks at a park near Istanbul's central Taksim Square.
In addition to Basbug, at least 18 other defendants were sentenced to life in prison, including 10 retired military officers and Dogu Perincek, leader of the left-wing and nationalist Workers Party. At least 64 other defendants received sentences ranging from a year to 47 years, according to state-run TRT television news.
At least 21 people were acquitted. The fully tally of verdicts and sentences was not immediately available.
The defendants were accused of plotting high-profile attacks that prosecutors said were aimed at sowing chaos in Turkey to prepare the way for a military coup. The prosecutions already have helped Erdogan's government reshape Turkey's military and assert civilian control in a country that had seen three military coups since 1960.
The trial, which began in 2008, grew out of an investigation into the seizure of 27 hand grenades at the home of a noncommissioned officer in Istanbul in 2007.
The defendants were accused of being part of an alleged ultranationalist and pro-secular gang called Ergenekon, which takes its name from a legendary valley in Central Asia believed to be the ancestral homeland of Turks.
In thousands of pages of indictments, prosecutors maintained that the gang was behind a series of violent acts, including one in 2006 on a courthouse that killed a judge. Prosecutors say that the incidents were made to look as though they were carried out by Islamic militants, in a bid to create turmoil and provoke a military intervention.
Prosecutors say the gang also plotted to kill Erdogan, Nobel laureate author Orhan Pamuk and other high-profile figures.
The defendants have rejected the accusations, and they are expected to appeal Monday's verdicts and sentences to the Court of Appeals in Ankara.
Representatives of Turkey's main pro-secular opposition party lashed out against the verdicts, accusing the government of influencing the justice system.
"A verdict that was decided five years ago was made public today," said Akif Hamzacebi, a legislator from the opposition Republican People's Party. "All principles of rights, justice, human rights, fair trial were trampled on here."
Peter Stano, spokesman for the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele, said he would not comment on the specific rulings, but noted that the European Union has expressed concern before about defendants' rights in Turkey and indictments that are too general.
Prosecutors demanded life prison terms for 64 of the defendants, mostly on terrorism charges. Others were charged with possession of firearms or merely membership in Ergenekon.
Mehmet Haberal, a surgeon and founder of a university in Ankara, and Mustafa Balbay, the Ankara representative of pro-secular Cumhuriyet newspaper, both faced life prison terms but received sentences of 12 years and 34 years, respectively. The two men were elected to Parliament in 2011, while in prison, but were not able to take their seats. The court ordered Haberal released on time served because of health considerations.
Tuncay Ozkan, a prominent journalist who helped organize a series of anti-government protests in 2007, was given a life sentence.
The case has polarized the country between those who see it as an opportunity to unravel a shadowy network of ultranationalists known as the "Deep State" that allegedly acted behind the scenes with impunity, and those who believe it is a government attempt to muzzle Erdogan's secular-minded foes and undermine Turkey's secular legacy.
In a separate case, more than 300 military officers, including Turkey's former air force and navy chiefs, were convicted last year of other plots to bring down the government in 2003 and some were sentenced to 20 years in prison. Those verdicts are being appealed.

 

Gibraltar Entrance Fee: Chief Minister Compares Spain To North Korea Over Exit Charge

The chief minister of Gibraltar on Monday accused Spain of acting like North Korea after suggesting it could impose steep new entry and exit fees for the British territory.
Spain has long laid claim to Gibraltar, and the British territory on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula is the source of occasional diplomatic friction between Madrid and London.
The latest spat involves an artificial reef being built in Gibraltar that Spain says is hurting its fishermen. It has floated the idea of charging people entering and leaving Gibraltar 50 euros ($66) as compensation.
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told BBC radio that such fees would violate European Union freedom of movement rules, and said "hell would freeze over" before the reef would be removed.
"What we have seen this weekend is saber-rattling of the sort that we haven't seen for some time," Picardo said, describing threats of border fees as "more reminiscent of the type of statement you'd hear from North Korea than from an EU partner."
Under Spain's former Socialist government, relations between Madrid, London and Gibraltar eased greatly.
But in an interview published Sunday in Spanish newspaper ABC, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said the "playtime" of that era was over.
Britain's Foreign Secretary said late Monday that he had spoken to Picardo to express solidarity with territory's residents.
"The U.K. stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Gibraltar at this time of increasing Spanish pressure and rhetoric," William Hague said in a statement, repeating that the U.K. had pledged "not to compromise on British sovereignty over Gibraltar."
But he also nodded to the fact  so far the talk of sanctions had not amounted to real clampdown on the territory.
"We agreed that it was important to respond to actions, not rhetoric," he said.

North Korea Floods: Army Drills Cut Short To Provide Relief

North Korea has cut short summer military drills to mobilise troops for flood relief efforts after torrential rains left dozens killed and ravaged farmlands nationwide, according to a South Korean report.
The North's military ordered troops based in the country's west and southeast regions to hold "minimum" summer exercises and to instead focus on post-floods reconstruction, Yonhap news agency said.
It cited an unnamed Seoul government source.
"Many military units stopped the exercises and have mobilised troops for floods relief works," said the source quoted by Yonhap.
The communist state has staged summer military drills that partially coincided with the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise conducted by its rival South Korea and the United States, that usually takes place in August.
"But this year's summer drill in the North will be scaled back considerably because it needs to focus on repairing floods damages," the source was quoted as saying.
Floods caused by heavy rains that pummelled the North since early July have destroyed some 6,000 houses, displaced more than 23,000 people and washed away a large swathes of farmlands, the North's state media said late last month.
The death toll has reached 33 across the nation and some 13,300 hectares of farmlands have been damaged, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said last week, warning of "longer-term impact" on the country's food security.
Decades of deforestation and decrepit infrastructure have left the impoverished North vulnerable to floods, which led to some 170 deaths last summer.

Berlusconi: 'I Am Innocent'

Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi pledged his support for Italy's fragile coalition government to a gathering of thousands of supporters on Sunday, but he remained defiant in the face of a supreme court ruling confirming his tax fraud conviction and four-year prison sentence, declaring: "I am innocent."
The three-time ex-premier and media mogul, who also faces a ban from public office, said he would not resist criticizing the verdict against him, nor the judges who passed it, calling Italian magistrates "irresponsible."
Berlusconi looked energized and appeared to speaking off the cuff throughout the 15-minute rally in front of his Rome residence, in contrast to his nine-minute video address after last week's ruling in which he appeared shaken and on the verge of tears as he read a prepared statement.
The crowd, many of whom arrived on buses during the day, waved flags and posters urging Berlusconi, 76, not to give up and declaring support from cities and regions throughout Italy. Supporters repeatedly chanted: "Silvio."
"I don't believe that anyone can come and say to us that this is a subversive demonstration, as many have said," Berlusconi said. "And no one can come and say, as they have, that we are irresponsible. Because we have said loud and clear that the government needs to continue to approve economic measures that we have requested."
The confirmation of Berlusconi's conviction on final appeal has put more stress on Premier Enrico Letta's uneasy cross-party coalition government, which requires the support of both Berlusconi's conservative forces and the center-left to pass urgent economic measures.
Berlusconi said the last few days were "the most anguished and painful of my life," and he thanked supporters for demonstrating their affection.
"I am here. I am staying here. I won't give up," Berlusconi said.
Italy's highest court on Thursday upheld Berlusconi's four-year prison sentence, the first time that the media mogul was definitively convicted and sentenced in two decades of trials and other criminal probes.
A law to reduce prison overcrowding slashes his sentence to one year and since he is over 70, he can choose home confinement or perform social services instead of going to prison.
He also faces a public office ban, which would deprive him of his Senate seat and prevent him from running in elections for the duration of the ban. Another appeals court in Milan has been ordered to decide its length.

NEWS,22.07.2013

Japan's Abe says he will focus on economy

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, fresh from a strong election victory, vowed on Monday to stay focused on reviving the stagnant economy and sought to counter suspicions he might instead shift emphasis to his nationalist agenda.
The victory in parliament's upper house election on Sunday cemented Abe's hold on power and gave him a stronger mandate for his prescription for reviving the world's third-biggest economy.
At the same time, it could also give lawmakers in his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), some with little appetite for painful but vital reforms, more clout to resist change.
"If we retreat from reforms and return to the old Liberal Democratic Party, we will lose the confidence of the people," Abe told a news conference on Monday.
He emphasized that his priority remains proceeding with his "Abenomics" programme of hyper-easy monetary policy, government spending and economic reform, describing it as the cornerstone of other policy goals.
"It is not easy to overcome 15 years of deflation," Abe said.
"It is a historic project. We will concentrate on that. We won't be able to strengthen the financial base for social security without a strong economy. The same goes for security and diplomacy."
Abe's LDP and its coalition partner, New Komeito, won 76 of the 121 seats contested. Along with seats that weren't up for election, the bloc now has a commanding 135 seats in the 242-seat upper chamber.
The win also raises the chances of a long-term Japanese leader for the first time since the reformist Junichiro Koizumi's rare five-year term ended in 2006.
It also ends a parliamentary deadlock that began in 2007 when Abe, then in his first term as premier, led his party to a humiliating upper house defeat that later forced him to resign. The LDP remains short of a majority on its own.
Ever since Abe stormed back to power with a big win in a December lower house poll, some - including Japanese businesses with a big stake in the matter - have worried the hawkish leader will shift focus to the conservative agenda that has long been central to his ideology.
That agenda includes revising the post-war pacifist constitution, strengthening Japan's defence posture and recasting Tokyo's wartime history with a less apologetic tone.
Despite the hefty win, Abe's mandate was undercut by low voter turnout, with 52.61% of eligible voters casting ballots, more than 5 percentage points below the turnout in the last upper house poll in 2010. That could keep up pressure to stay focused on the economy.
"Three faces"
For now, many experts suggest, Abe will stick with economic matters as he tries to beef up his so-far disappointing economic reform plans. He also confronts a decision on whether to go ahead with raising the 5% sales tax to 8% next April, part of a planned doubling by October 2015 aimed at reining in Japan's massive public debt.
"My understanding is that Abe-san has three faces: Abe as right-wing, Abe as a pragmatist, Abe as the economic reformer," said Shinichi Kitaoka, president of the International University of Japan.
"He has been showing the third face so far and will try to do the same after the election."
Still, Abe is moving towards security policy changes that mark a big shift in a country that has prided itself on pacifist ideals even as it built up a military bigger than Britain's.
Abe reiterated on Monday that he wants to debate changing a self-imposed ban on exercising the right of "collective self-defence", or aiding an ally under attack.
The ban means Japan would be unable to intercept an enemy missile fired at a US navy ship, Abe noted, which he said would call into question the US alliance itself.
Abe's government is also reviewing the possibility of acquiring a preemptive strike capability and creating a Marine force to protect remote islands such as those at the core of a territorial row with China.
One clue to how Abe intends to proceed on the touchy topic of wartime history will be whether he visits the Yasukuni Shrine for war dead, where Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal are also honoured, on the emotive Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War Two.
A pilgrimage to the shrine would outrage China, where bitter memories of Japan's past militarism run deep, and upset Washington, which fears a further fraying of Tokyo's already fraught relations with its neighbours.
Abe moved quickly to improve ties with China and South Korea at the start of his first 2006-2007 term but it is unclear whether he will repeat that success in his second.
He has since taken a tougher stance towards Beijing, but reiterated on Monday his "door is always open" to diplomacy.
Ties between China and Japan have been seriously strained by territorial rows and feuds over wartime history.
Concerns are simmering about the risk of an unintended clash near disputed isles in the East China Sea where Japanese and Chinese vessels have been playing a cat-and-mouse game for months.
"In that environment, something could go wrong," said Michael Green, Japan Chair at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. "That's the Black Swan."
Abe again said he wants to revise the 1947 constitution, drafted by US occupation forces after Japan's defeat and not altered since, although he made clear that was a long-term goal.
Conservatives see the constitution as not only restricting Japan's right to defend itself but as responsible for eroding traditional mores such as duty to the state.
The LDP and smaller parties that also favour revising the constitution failed to obtain the two-thirds majority required in both houses before a constitutional revision can be put before the government in a referendum.
The LDP's coalition partner is cautious about changing the charter's signature war-renouncing Article 9 which, if taken literally, bans maintenance of armed forces.
Sunday's election also left many wondering about the future of a competitive two-party democracy in Japan.
The opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which surged to power in 2009 only to be ousted last year, suffered its worst drubbing since its founding in 1998. 

Japan ruling party wins elections

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won an overwhelming victory in elections for the upper house of parliament, recapturing control of the chamber, final returns showed on Monday.

The conservative LDP won 65 seats and its ally, the New Komeito, captured 11 seats in Sunday's voting. The ruling coalition had needed 63 for a majority.

"I must respond to people's hopes that I will bring about [an economic recovery] that they can actually feel," the premier said on Sunday night.

Abe, who took office in December, promoted aggressive monetary easing to prop up the economy and appealed to voters to support his economic policies as he vowed to pull the country out of 15 years of deflation.

On Sunday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan grabbed only 17 seats, its worst showing in an upper house election since its foundation in 1996, while the Japanese Communist Party made significant leaps, winning 8 seats, the biggest number since 1998.

"It is a crucial step forward for us to take the offensive" against the LDP, JCP leader Kazuo Shii told a news conference.

"Citizens are concerned that the LDP will go out of control," he said.

In the 2007 upper house elections, the LDP led by then-premier Abe suffered a crushing defeat, losing a majority for the first time in its history.

The upper house has elections for half of its 242 seats every three years, and this year 433 candidates competed for the 121 seats.

Voter turnout in Sunday's elections was estimated at 51.57%, the lowest since the 1995 race, according to a tally by the Kyodo news agency.

Detroit not banking on Fed help - city

Detroit must dig itself out of the hole it created and cannot wait to see if the federal government will come to its rescue, the city's emergency manager said on Sunday.
Kevyn Orr, charged with guiding the collapsed Motor City out of the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history, said any outside assistance would be "great" but he is not banking on it.
"Hope is not a strategy from my perspective. I can't plan on the basis of what may or may not happen or what help may or may not come," Orr said on "Fox News Sunday."
"We are not expecting the cavalry to come charging in," he said. "We have to fix it because we dug the hole."
Detroit filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, setting the stage for a costly court battle with creditors and opening a new chapter in the long struggle to revive the cradle of America's auto industry.
If approved by a federal judge, the bankruptcy would force Detroit's thousands of creditors into negotiations with Orr to resolve an estimated $18.5bn in debt.
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said he was talking to officials in Washington about what they could do to help.
"I'm not sure exactly what to ask for. I mean, money is going (to) help, no doubt about that, but how much?" Bing said on ABC's "This Week."
The mayor has had no executive authority since Orr's appointment as emergency manager in March.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder told CBS' "Face the Nation" the city's problems had been 60 years in the making and he saw no prospect of a federal or state bailout.
Detroit has been hit hard by the move away from industrial manufacturing in America since the 1950s, its problems compounded by chronic mismanagement and a dwindling population. Retirees now far outnumber active workers among the city's 700 000 residents, and unfunded pension liabilities are a key source of its problems.
After the economic collapse of 2008, Washington injected billions of dollars into automakers General Motors and Chrysler as the first step of a quick bankruptcy process. But the federal government made no promises this time.
Vice President Joe Biden said on Friday said it was unclear whether Washington could help.
Steven Rattner, who led the auto industry restructuring in 2009, said it would be a mistake for Michigan and the federal government not to provide funds for the city.
"America is just as much about aiding those less fortunate as it is about personal responsibility. Government does this in so many ways; why shouldn't it help Detroit rebuild itself?" Rattner wrote in an opinion piece Friday in The New York Times.
The bankruptcy led investors to dump the city's municipal bonds on Friday but Orr deflected criticism that it will be hard for investors to lend the city money again.
"The reality is, they are going to look at the credit rating of a rehabilitated city. And if that city is capable, they're going to make rational decisions because they are financial institutions," Orr said on the Fox programme.

"After some time, after this little kerfuffle, we'll be back in business."

Biden on visit to fire up US-India ties

US Vice President Joe Biden was due in India on Monday at the start of a four-day visit designed to revive momentum in flagging diplomatic ties and fire up bilateral trade.
Biden, the first vice president to visit India in three decades, will meet senior leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi before heading to the financial hub Mumbai to deliver a keynote speech on the economy.
In an interview published in Monday's Times of India newspaper, Biden said the world's two biggest democracies had a "tremendous capability to work together" but should be doing more.
He also emphasised that he wanted to see an acceleration in bilateral trade, which he said was on track to meet $100bn this year.
Emerging market
"The United States has welcomed India's emergence and both nations have profited from it," the vice president said.
"India's rise as a global economic power is one of the most powerful stories of the 21st century," he added.
The announcement of Biden's visit was made during a trip to India last month by Secretary of State John Kerry, who sought to assuage Indian fears about the aftermath of next year's withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
India, which has spent more than two billion dollars of aid in Afghanistan, fears any return of the Taliban, hard-line Islamists who were strong allies of Pakistan before being toppled in 2001.
Nascent talks between the US and Taliban were due to start last month after the Islamists opened an office in Doha, but they collapsed before even getting off the ground.
Renounce violence
In his meeting with Indian leaders, Biden is expected to reiterate that the US will not back any peace process involving the Taliban unless they renounce violence.
"If the Taliban are to have any role in Afghanistan's political future, they will need to break ties with al-Qaeda, stop supporting violence and accept the Afghan constitution as part of the outcomes of any negotiated peace settlement," he told the Times of India.
"We strongly support the role India has played in Afghanistan, leveraging its economic strength to improve Afghanistan's economy ...in projects that will help to ensure our common goal of a stable and prosperous future for the Afghan people," he added.
Biden will fly on Wednesday to Mumbai where he is expected to hold a roundtable with business leaders and press for stronger intellectual property protection.
While bilateral trade has grown in recent years, there is still widespread frustration among US business leaders over what they see as unfair trading practices.
Among the points of contention is India's championing of generic drugs - which advocates say save lives in poor nations - despite protests from Western drug firms.
India in turn has been alarmed by proposals in the US Congress to curb visas for high-tech workers.
Insecurities
India's Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma were both in Washington last week to pitch for investment and discuss India's readiness to open talks on a bilateral investment treaty.
"Economic engagement in both trade and investment, though robust, is well below potential, given the opportunities a growing economy like India offers and the opportunities in the largest economy of the United States," Sharma said.
Biden will be the most senior administration official to visit India since President Barack Obama visited in 2010.
While the US has been among the world powers calling for India to be given a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, observers detect a sense of drift in ties.
"India is a natural ally of the US but... relations require greasing occasionally because insecurities have crept in, especially on the Indian side," Subhash Agrawal, of the Delhi-based think tank India Focus, told AFP.
Biden will head from India to Singapore on Thursday, where officials say he will tackle tensions over the disputed South China Sea.

NEWS,24.06.2013

Iraq oil exports dip on weather, sabotage

Iraq's oil exports fell in May as poor weather hits its southern ports and saboteurs blew up a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, the oil ministry said on Sunday.
Iraq exported 76.9 million barrels of oil, equivalent to an average rate of 2.48 million barrels per day (bpd), representing a five percent decline from daily export levels in April.
Average oil prices were $97.23 (€74.10) per barrel, meaning the country took in $7.477 billion from crude sales in May.
"There was a small reduction in exports during the month because of bad weather in the southern ports, and sabotage to the pipeline between Kirkuk and Ceyhan in Turkey," ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said in a statement.
Militants have repeatedly targeted the export pipeline which runs through northern Iraq, sometimes killing members of the oil police and the facilities protection service.
At least two attacks hit the pipeline in May.
Iraq is dependent on oil exports for the lion's share of its government income, and is seeking to dramatically ramp up its sales in the coming years to fund reconstruction of its battered infrastructure.
Officials are aiming to increase production capacity to nine million bpd by 2017. Oil output currently stands at 3.4 million bpd.
Earlier this month, Iraqi officials unveiled an ambitious energy strategy that aims to raise $6 trillion from oil and gas sales by 2030.

Snowden's HK exit shows Chinese anger

Officially, admitted leaker Edward Snowden was able to leave Hong Kong because US authorities made a mistake in their arrest request, but the semiautonomous Chinese city also indicated displeasure over Snowden's revelation that the former British colony had been a target of American hacking.

Beijing, meanwhile, says it had nothing to do with allowing the former National Security Agency contractor to fly to Russia on Sunday. But analysts believe the move was orchestrated by China to avoid a prolonged diplomatic tussle with the US over his extradition.

Snowden slipped out of Hong Kong on an Aeroflot flight to Moscow and was expected to transit through Cuba and Venezuela en route to possible asylum in Ecuador. His journey illustrates how the United States finds itself with few friends as it tries to apprehend the former CIA technician, who disclosed information on top-secret surveillance programmes.

Snowden, who had been hiding in Hong Kong for several weeks, had also revealed to a local newspaper details about the NSA's hacking of targets in Hong Kong. The revelations ratcheted up tensions between Washington and Beijing, which for months has been trying to counter US accusations that its government and military are behind computer-based attacks against America.

The Hong Kong government said it allowed Snowden to leave because the US request to provisionally arrest Snowden did not comply with legal requirements. At the same time, however, it mentioned that it asked the US for more information on the hacking, suggesting the issue played some role in its decision.

While Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy from the rest of China, experts said Beijing orchestrated Snowden's exit to remove a minor irritant in Sino-US relations.

Heading off a crisis

"The central government had to have intervened since this is an issue of international relations and national security," said Shen Dingli, director of the Centre for American Studies at Shanghai's Fudan University.

Ultimately, Shen said, China compromised by deciding to neither grant Snowden protection nor hand him over as the US requested. That approach has the advantage of heading off a crisis in relations with the US and demonstrating to Washington that Beijing values the overall relationship over any advantage it might gain from keeping Snowden, Shen said. He said handing Snowden over would have been an unpopular move within China.

The Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Party, said in an editorial that Snowden "has performed a service" by uncovering "the sordid tale of how the US government violates the rights of its citizens and conducts cyber spying throughout the entire world".

China's Foreign Ministry distanced itself from any role in Snowden's departure from Hong Kong, saying the territory had the right to make its own decision.

"We have read reports but got no details. We will continue to follow up on relevant developments," spokesperson Hua Chunying was quoted as saying Sunday by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Hua said Beijing had "always respected" Hong Kong's ability to deal with such matters through its robust legal system.

Beijing might be calling the shots

Writing on the ministry's website, Hua also raised the issue of cybersecurity.

"We are gravely concerned about the recently disclosed cyberattacks by relevant US government agencies against China," she wrote. "It shows once again that China falls victim to cyberattacks. We have made representations with the US."

Hong Kong lawmaker and lawyer Albert Ho said he suspects authorities in Beijing were calling the shots.

He said his firm had been representing Snowden in an effort to clarify his legal situation with the government. Snowden wanted to know what his circumstances would be like in the event he was arrested and whether he would be able to leave the city if he wanted. Ho said an intermediary who claimed to represent the government relayed a message to Snowden saying he was free to leave and should do so.

Ho said he didn't know the identity of the intermediary and wasn't sure whether the person was acting on Hong Kong's or Beijing's behalf.

"The entire decision was probably made in Beijing and Beijing decided to act on its best interests," Ho told reporters. "However, Beijing would not want to be seen on stage because it would affect Sino-US relations. That's why China has somebody acting in the background."

Computer access

Under Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the city is allowed a high degree of autonomy from mainland Chinese authorities until 2047, although Beijing is allowed to intervene in cases involving defence and foreign affairs. The city has its own legal and financial system, a holdover from the British colonial rule that ended in 1997.

Ho also revealed a few more details about Snowden's life in hiding in Hong Kong, saying he had been living in a "private place" after he was forced to check out of the hotel where he was staying once he was discovered by journalists.

"Most of the time he did not leave the place where he was living, though once or twice he changed locations," Ho said.

"He only left at night, very carefully. He didn't want anyone to see him. He was very cautious."

Ho said Snowden lived in a "very small place. Fortunately he had a computer. He could contact anyone in the world".

Obama: US will apprehend Snowden legally

President Barack Obama said on Monday the United States was using all appropriate legal channels to apprehend fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who fled Hong Kong and landed in Moscow.

"What we know is that we are following all the appropriate legal channels and working with various other countries to make sure that the rule of law is observed," Obama told reporters at the White House.
The president then deferred to the US justice department, as American authorities seek to persuade Russia to expel Snowden, and not let him flee elsewhere, likely to asylum in Ecuador.
Earlier the White House warned that the decision to let Snowden leave Hong Kong has damaged efforts to rebuild trust in US-China relations, and said it expected Russia to hand him over.

Nuke terror - more talk, less action

More than 100 states meeting next week will warn of the threat of nuclear terrorism but without deciding on any concrete new steps to counter the danger, a draft ministerial statement showed on Monday.
The document, which member states of the UN nuclear agency have been negotiating since March, looked unlikely to satisfy those who advocate stronger international action to ensure that potential nuclear bomb material does not fall into the wrong hands.
Still, Vienna-based diplomats said it would form a basis for future measures to improve global nuclear security, and stressed that the responsibility was mainly national.
To get all countries on board, "you are not going to have a document as ambitious" as some may have wanted, one envoy said.
Analysts say radical groups could theoretically build a crude but deadly nuclear device if they have the money, technical know-how and the amount of fissile material needed.
They say groups such as al-Qaeda have been trying to get the components for such a nuclear bomb. Obtaining weapons-grade fissile material - highly enriched uranium or plutonium - poses their biggest challenge, so keeping it secure is vital, both at civilian and military facilities, experts and officials say.
Experts describe the threat of a crude fissile nuclear bomb technically difficult to manufacture and requiring hard-to-obtain bomb-grade uranium or plutonium, as a "low probability, high consequence act" that is, with the potential to cause massive harm to life and property.
On the other hand, a "dirty bomb", where conventional explosives are used to disperse radiation from a radioactive source, is a "high probability, low consequence act" with more potential to terrorise than cause large loss of life.
Diplomats say many countries regard nuclear security as a sensitive political issue that should be handled primarily by national authorities, and this was clearly reflected in the language of the ministerial statement.
Radiological terrorism
The statement, to be formally adopted at a 1 - 5 July conference hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said substantial progress has been made in the past few years to strengthen nuclear security, but that more is needed.
Ministers "remain concerned about the threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism and other malicious acts or sabotage related to facilities and activities involving nuclear and other radioactive material", said the document, obtained by Reuters.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano told Reuters last week that he saw "persistent risks" of nuclear terrorism. The information the UN watchdog receives about illicit nuclear-related trafficking may be the "tip of the iceberg", he said.
The international nuclear security regime "is not sufficiently robust" to protect against this kind of threat, an expert group said in a report this year.
An apple-sized amount of plutonium fashioned into a nuclear bomb and detonated in a highly populated urban area could instantly kill or injure hundreds of thousands of people, the Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group said.
"Preventing one of the world's major threats deserves bold action and new thinking," they added.
One of them, former Danish ambassador to the IAEA John Bernhard, said on Monday he believed the UN agency should have both more powers and resources to help enhance nuclear security.
US President Barack Obama last week said he would host a summit in 2016 on securing such materials and preventing nuclear terrorism. He put on such a summit in 2010, a second was held in Seoul in 2012 and a third will be in The Hague next year.
Unlike those meetings, attended by leaders from around 50 countries, next week's conference in Vienna is open to all members of the 159-nation IAEA, which says it expects officials from some 112 countries as well as 20 organisations.

Pakistan to try Musharraf for treason

Pakistan's new government said on Monday it would put former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason, charges punishable by death or life imprisonment.

The retired general, who returned from four years of self-imposed exile in March, has been under house arrest at his villa on the edge of Islamabad since 19 April.

Any trial could put the civilian government at loggerheads with the powerful army, which vehemently opposes the prospect of its former chief facing the courts in Pakistan.

It also threatens to sabotage the chances of a quiet deal that Musharraf's legal team had hoped would allow the 69-year-old to win bail and quietly leave the country.

Once the most powerful man in the country, Musharraf faces a slew of charges relating to his 1999-2008 rule after seizing office from then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who won landmark elections in May.

"Musharraf's actions came under the purview of high treason," Sharif told parliament.

"He should face trial... and will have to answer for his guilt before the court," he added.

‘Unwarranted’ charges

Attorney General Munir Malik delivered the same statement on behalf of the government in the Supreme Court. A treason trial can be initiated only by the state.

"Those who aided or abetted holding the constitution in abeyance will also be brought to justice," Malik said.

Pakistan's highest court has for months been hearing a petition from lawyers demanding that Musharraf be tried for subverting the constitution by imposing emergency rule and sacking judges in 2007.

Judge Jawad Khwaja ordered the attorney general to inform the court on Thursday about the precise steps required to bring those guilty of treason to justice.

Musharraf's office accused the Sharif government of "demonstrating recklessness" in pursuing "unwarranted" treason charges, which it warned could destabilise the country.

"The former president has served Pakistan with selfless devotion and perseverance. The people of Pakistan will not tolerate this circus, which is primarily meant to create a diversion," it said.

‘Pandora’s box’

On Saturday, Islamist gunmen dressed as police killed 10 foreign tourists and a Pakistani at a remote base camp in the Himalayas, an unprecedented attack on mountaineers and the worst attack on foreigners in around a decade.

Musharraf's defence lawyer told reporters that putting Musharraf on trial would open "Pandora's box" in the country, which sits on the frontline of al-Qaeda and Taliban violence.

"Those who were collaborators are equally responsible, they should also be put on trial," Ahmed Raza Kasuri told reporters outside the Supreme Court.

"Whatever he did was in the interest of the state. I am confident, God willing, he will be exonerated," he said.

Pakistan's 11 May elections marked the first time that a democratically elected civilian government has served out a full five years in office and handed over at the ballot box.

It was an astonishing comeback for Sharif, who was deeply unpopular as prime minister in 1999 and whose replacement by Musharraf was widely welcomed.

Constitution violations

In April, a caretaker government guiding Pakistan through the elections refused to initiate the trial against Musharraf, saying it was beyond its mandate and up to the new government.

Sharif did not mince his words.

"Musharraf violated the constitution twice. He overthrew an elected government in 1999 and put everything into jeopardy. He sacked judges and imprisoned them," said Sharif.

"We will follow the process of law and all political forces will be taken into confidence," he added.

The two main opposition parties, Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by politician Imran Khan welcomed Sharif's remarks.

"This house should have another resolution against all dictators so that no one can cast an evil eye on this house," said Syed Khurshid Shah, PPP opposition leader in the national assembly.

House arrest

PTI's Shah Mehmood Qureshi said his party would support the prime minister on "every move towards supremacy of the constitution and law".

Musharraf faces three other cases dating back to his rule.

He has won bail for sacking judges and over the 2007 murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, but remains under house arrest over the 2006 killing of a Baluch rebel leader.

On Monday, courts in south-western province Baluchistan adjourned until 10 July a petition seeking to move the Baluch trial to Islamabad for security reasons and the hearing on the killing to 15 July, lawyers said.

Musharraf is serving his house arrest at his luxury villa in the upmarket suburb of Chak Shahzad on the edge of Islamabad. He is currently barred from leaving the country.