VOCR-SPIII- 062313

Sunday June 23rd 2013

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Luxor governor quits after uproar

The new governor of Egypt's Luxor province has resigned amid controversy over his links to an Islamist group that carried out a deadly attack on tourists there in 1997.

Adel Khayat's appointment infuriated many Egyptians and prompted the tourism minister to submit his resignation.
Islamist President Mohammed Morsi had defended Mr Khayat's appointment.
Mr Khayat is a member of the political wing of Gamaa Islamiya, which carried out the raid that killed 58 tourists.
'For Egypt's sake' Mr Khayat, a member of the Construction and Development party, had denied any role in Gamaa Islamiya's militant past and pledged to protect tourists.
He told a news conference on Sunday: "We will not accept that one drop of blood be spilt because of a position that I did not personally aspire to at any time."
Mr Khayat was appointed Luxor's governor by President Morsi last week.
One of Gamaa Islamiya's leaders, Safwat Abdel Ghani, told local media the group had "asked the new governor to resign for the sake of Egypt".
The group - which is blamed for a series of attacks in the 1990s - has since renounced violence.
BBC Arabic's Khaled Ezzelarab says the resignation came as no surprise, but that the opposition will see the decision as a victory against Mr Morsi, ahead of anticipated protests against his rule at the end of this month.
Luxor is a prime destination for tourists, though the local economy has been struggling as visitor numbers have dropped since Egypt's political uprising in 2011.
Tourism workers there had protested against the appointment and Tourism Minister Hesham Zazou offered his resignation to the prime minister.

11 foreign tourists shot dead in Pakistan, police say 

Gunmen wearing police uniforms killed nine foreign tourists and one Pakistani before dawn Sunday as they were visiting one of the world's highest mountains in a remote area of northern Pakistan, officials said.

The foreigners who were killed included five Ukrainians, three Chinese and one Russian, said Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. One Chinese tourist was rescued, he said. Earlier reports indicated 11 foreign tourists were killed.
The attack took place at the base camp of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world. It's unclear if they were planning to climb the mountain or were just visiting the base camp, which is located in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.
The shooting is likely to damage the country's struggling tourism industry. Pakistan's mountainous north -- considered until now relatively safe -- is one of the main attractions in a country beset with insurgency and other political instability.
The gunmen were wearing uniforms used by the Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary police force that patrols the area, said a senior local government official. The attackers beat up the Pakistanis who were accompanying the tourists, took their money and tied them up, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

U.S. Urges The Taliban To Come Back To The Table For Afghan Peace Talks

DOHA, Qatar — The Taliban signaled a willingness to meet demands to keep their flag lowered as the U.S. warned Saturday that their newly opened political office in Qatar might have to be closed as talks aimed at ending nearly 12 years of war in Afghanistan remained in limbo.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the ball was in the Islamic militant movement's court, urging the Taliban to step back from the brink and begin what he called the "difficult" road ahead. He said the main U.S. envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan was in Doha and "waiting to find out whether the Taliban will respond."
The Taliban's office opened Tuesday to much fanfare and a simultaneous announcement that U.S. officials would begin formal talks with Taliban representatives, which eventually would be joined by the Afghan government raised hopes that the long-stalled peace process aimed at ending Washington's longest war could finally begin. But it ran into trouble from the outset when Afghan President Hamid Karzai temporarily withdrew from talks to protest the Taliban's use of its old flag and a sign bearing the name of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which the movement used during its five-year rule that ended in 2001 with the U.S.-led invasion.
After intervention from the Qatar government, the flag was lowered and the sign changed to the "Political Bureau of the Taliban Afghan in Doha." Both the U.S. and the Qataris said the Taliban had agreed on the pre-approved name but violated the pact at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
A Taliban spokesman in Doha, Shaheen Suhail, suggested the Taliban were willing to move forward despite "much anger" among some members over the removal of the name and the lowering of the Taliban flag – a white flag emblazoned with a Quranic verse in black.
"In the past 12 years, the opening of the political office is the first ray in the direction of peace in Afghanistan," Suhail said. "Those who want real peace in the county should support this move. These are the first days. There should not be high expectations to see everything resolved in one day, nor should there be disappointments."
He told The Associated Press in a telephone call that the U.S. had not contacted the Taliban yet to discuss a meeting.
James Dobbins, U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, arrived in Doha on Saturday.
Kerry, in the Qatari capital for separate talks on Syria's civil war, said the Americans and the Afghan government's High Peace Council were ready, and he encouraged the Taliban to remain in the process.

Palestinian PM resignation accepted

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, who has been in office less than a month.

He offered his resignation on Thursday because of a "conflict over authority" within his cabinet, government sources said, but withdrew it the next day.
An academic and political independent, Mr Hamdallah was sworn in on 6 June.
He replaced Salam Fayyad, who stepped down following a long-running dispute with Mr Abbas.
When he was appointed, Mr Hamdallah stated his administration would rule only for "a transitional period" until a unity government was formed.
His appointment filled a political vacuum in the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, and analysts say there will now be questions about how securely that vacuum has been filled.
Mr Hamdallah's cabinet had only met for the first time last week. It consisted mainly of members of the Fatah party, one of the two main political factions, led by President Abbas.
The other main faction, Hamas, described the appointment of Mr Hamdallah as "illegal" because it was not a unity government formed as a result of a reconciliation agreement.
There has been a deep rift between the two main Palestinian factions since 2007, when Hamas, which won elections the previous year, ousted forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza and set up a rival government.
The two factions are currently engaged in drawn-out reconciliation talks. Last month, officials on both sides announced plans to form a technocratic government by August that would then prepare for new elections.

Syrian Forces Pound Rebel Strongholds Near Damascus

BEIRUT — Syrian government forces stepped up their attack against rebel strongholds north of the capital, Damascus on Saturday, while opposition fighters declared their own offensive in the country's largest city Aleppo.
The fighting in Damascus came as the Syrian government announced salary increases for state employees and members of the military, days after the Syrian currency dipped to a record low of 210 pounds to the dollar compared with 47 when the crisis began more than two years ago. The raise also covered pensions.
Both sides intensified operations as an 11-nation group that includes the U.S., dubbed the Friends of Syria, began meeting in Qatari capital of Doha to discuss how to coordinate military aid and other forms of assistance to the rebels seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The donors agreed on Saturday to do more to help the embattled rebels trying to overthrow Assad, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. While he offered no specifics, Kerry said the assistance would help change the balance on the battlefield. Kerry also denounced Assad for inviting Iranian and Hezbollah fighters to fight alongside his troops, saying the Syrian president risked turning the civil war into a regional sectarian conflict.
Activists, meanwhile, reported heavy shelling of many districts north of Damascus, apparently an attempt to cut links between rebel-held districts that have served as launching pads for operations against the capital. Three children, including two from the same family, have been killed in shelling of the outlying district of Qaboun since Friday, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on an extensive network of activists in Syria.
The Lebanese TV station Al-Mayadeen, which had a reporter embedded with Syrian government forces in the offensive, quoted a military official as saying that the operation aims to cut rebel supply lines, separate one group from another and secure the northern entrances to the capital. The regime's forces have struggled for months to regain control of these suburbs.
The Observatory said the neighborhood was being attacked from several different sides, while the shelling has caused structural damage and started fires. Activists from Qaboun posted on Facebook that government forces had deployed new tanks to reinforce its positions outside the neighborhood, and the bombardment had brought buildings down.
The Observatory said rebels targeted a police academy in the nearby Barzeh area Saturday, pushing back against a government attempt to storm the neighborhood. One rebel was killed in overnight fighting, it said.
State news agency SANA said troops "inflicted heavy losses" among rebels in several suburbs of Damascus.

900 U.S. Troops In Jordan To Boost Security In Wake Of Syria Conflict 

AMMAN, Jordan -- Some 900 U.S. military personnel, including dozens staying on from joint military drills, are in Jordan to bolster its defense and prevent the Syrian civil war from spreading across its border, Jordan's prime minister said Saturday.
It was the first time a Jordanian official disclosed publicly the numbers of U.S. troops in the Arab kingdom, sent there in recent weeks for military exercises and other deployments.
Abdullah Ensour told reporters Saturday that 200 of the personnel were experts training Jordanians to handle a chemical attack. The remaining 700 are manning a Patriot missile defense system and F-16 fighter jets which Washington deployed this month in case the Syrian war worsens.
"The number of U.S. forces in Jordan is small and not intended to be in preparation for a war on Syria," Ensour said.
Jordan is concerned its larger northern neighbor would use chemical weapons against Syrian refugee camps in Jordan and other neighboring countries, or that the stockpile may fall into the hands of al-Qaida or other militants if Syria's President Bashar Assad loses control.
Jordan hosts the largest number of more than a half million displaced Syrians, with an equal number sheltered in Turkey and Lebanon.
Earlier this month, Washington relocated one or two patriot missile batteries to Jordan from an unspecified country in the Persian Gulf, and also deployed a squadron of 12 to 24 F-16 fighter jets.
The deployment coincided with annual military exercises, dubbed Eager Lion 2013, which wrapped up earlier this week. Supervised by the U.S., the drills brought together more than 8,000 forces from 19 countries.
Ensour said Jordan was caught between a rock and a hard place in the Syrian crisis, which began in March 2011 with peaceful protests and later plunged into civil war.

Snowden 'arrives at Moscow airport from Hong Kong'

A plane believed to be carrying US intelligence fugitive Edward Snowden has arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong, from where the US was seeking his extradition on charges of espionage.

There is speculation that he might fly on to another country.
Hong Kong said Washington had failed to meet the requirements for extradition.
Mr Snowden, an intelligence contractor, fled to Hong Kong in May after revealing details of internet and phone surveillance by US intelligence.
The Aeroflot Airbus, flight SU213, landed in Moscow at 17:10 local time (13:10 GMT).
The Russia 24 TV channel has said Mr Snowden does not have a Russian visa, so will stay in the airport overnight before flying to Cuba on Monday.
A source at the airline company was quoted as saying that, from Cuba, he would fly on to Venezuela. Both countries are believed unlikely to comply with any US extradition request.
There has also been speculation about Ecuador as a possible destination.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said a car from the Ecuadorean embassy in Moscow, bearing a national flag, was seen at the airport just as the plane arrived.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is currently sheltering in the Ecuadorean embassy in London after being granted asylum last year.
Wikileaks has issued a statement saying that it has helped to find Mr Snowden "political asylum in a democratic country".
Related story: Snowden has ticket to Cuba, may go to Venezuela: Reports

Spy drones used in American skies: FBI

The FBI employs drones in domestic surveillance operations, Director Robert Mueller revealed, but said they were used in a "very, very minimal way."
Mr Mueller, in Senate testimony on Wednesday, acknowledged for the first time that the Federal Bureau of Investigation uses "very few" drones in a limited capacity for surveillance.
"It's very seldom used and generally used in a particular incident when you need the capability," Mr Mueller said. "It is very narrowly focused on particularised cases and particularised needs."
Mr Mueller's remarks about the FBI's use of drones -- and the regular use of the vehicles by other law enforcement agencies -- come as lawmakers and civil liberties groups are raising concerns about the reach of the government in the wake of the disclosure of two highly classified National Security Agency surveillance programs.

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Leaks by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden to the Washington Post and the UK's Guardian newspaper unveiled surveillance programs that sweeps up telephone call data from millions of US citizens as well as internet traffic that the Obama administration says involves foreigners based outside the US suspected of plotting terrorist attacks.
The revelations about the surveillance programs have reignited a political debate that has repeatedly flared since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US about the balance between civil liberties and protection from terrorism.
The Department of Homeland Security uses drones in its patrol of the US border with Mexico.
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Turkish intelligence agency probes 'foreign links' to anti-government protests

Turkey's intelligence service (MIT) has begun investigating alleged foreign links to the anti-government protests which have been taking place in the country over the last several weeks, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported on Saturday.
The protests broke out some three weeks ago in Istanbul when police used force and tear gas to disperse environmental activists demonstrating against a government plan to develop a mosque and shops at Istanbul's' Gezi Park in the city's Taksim Square.
The Turkish government, however, has suggested that the protests are part of a plot against the country, involving foreign governments and financial institutions.
Earlier this month, Hurriyet quoted Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as hinting that Israel was "delighted" with the protests.
According to Hurriyet, Erdogan said that "we had foreseen these events [the protests] as a series of conspiracies three months ago," even if the way in which the events unfolded was not predicted. "We had received some intelligence reports," he said.
Officials in Ankara have said that foreign governments are helping to foment unrest in order to slow down the political and economic rise of Turkey.

Australian soldier dies in Afghanistan

Special forces member was on his fifth tour of the country and becomes 40th Australian casualty there since invasion

An Australian special forces soldier has been killed and two of his fellow troops wounded in a gun battle with insurgents in southern Afghanistan.
The chief of the Australian Defence Force, Lieutenant General David Hurley, said the soldier from the Sydney-based 2nd Commando Regiment was killed on Saturday on his fifth tour of Afghanistan.
He is the 40th Australian casualty of the campaign and the first since October. His name has not been released at the request of his family.
General Hurley said he was a decorated soldier and had previously served in Iraq and East Timor.
His comrades had described him as "one of the most iconic figures in the regiment" and a true leader.
Hurley said a seriously wounded Australian soldier was flown to Kandahar for surgery to a gunshot wound and was expected to make a full recovery. An Australian airman was treated for minor wounds at the Australian base at Tarin Kowt.
The Australian troops had been supporting an operation by elite Afghan troops of the Uruzgan Provincial Response Company in southern Afghanistan.
He is the first Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan since Corporal Scott Smith was killed by an improvised explosive device last October.
The prime minister, Julia Gillard, expressed her condolences to the family of the soldier and said the nation would be hit hard by the loss.
Ms Gillard said his death was a stark reminder that the dangers facing ADF personnel were still very real even as Australia prepared to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

Obama calls for reduction in nuclear arms in broad-brush Berlin speech

Obama sticks to big themes of freedom and openness but acknowledges concerns over threats to privacy and drone strikes

Barack Obama called for a renaissance in the shared liberal values that underpin western nations on Wednesday as he announced plans to cut nuclear weapons in a much-anticipated speech in Berlin that also acknowledged unease over privacy and drone strikes.
Speaking at the Brandenburg Gate, in the shadow of historic speeches by Presidents Kennedy and Reagan, Obama stuck to big themes but clearly sought to address concerns in Germany caused by recent revelations of internet surveillance and US drone warfare.
After quoting Immanuel Kant on freedom and his belief "in open societies that respect that sanctity of the individual", the president echoed calls he made during a recent speech in Washington for an ending of America's war on terror.
"Threats to freedom don't merely come from the outside; they can come from within, from our own fears. For over a decade, America has been at war, but much has changed … no nation can maintain its freedom if it does not move beyond mindset of perpetual war."
The president called for tight controls on the "use of new technology like drones and balancing security with privacy" but said he was confident the US could strike the right balance.

Obama promises US climate plan

US President Barack Obama has promised to outline his plan to deal with climate change in a speech at Georgetown University on Tuesday.

He said it would include measures to reduce carbon pollution and to lead global efforts to fight climate change.
Mr Obama has said repeatedly he would tackle climate change, but has been blocked by Congress.
He is believed to be planning to pass the new measures by executive action, meaning he will bypass Congress.
"There's no single step that can reverse the effects of climate change," he said in a video message.
"But when it comes to the world we leave our children, we owe it to them to do what we can."
He made similar points earlier this year at his inauguration and in his State of the Union address.
He returned to the theme in Berlin on Wednesday: "We know we have to do more, and we will do more."
Mr Obama also promised at the beginning of his first term in office in 2009 to provide global leadership on climate change.

Proposed bill would fire federal employees who refuse to testify

Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks has introduced legislation that would fire any federal employee who refuses to answer questions or gives false testimony at a congressional hearing.
The legislation was introduced in response to Lois Lerner, the IRS employee who revealed the agency's practice of targeting of tea party groups and subsequently declined to answer questions at congressional hearing on the issue, The Hill reported.
The proposed bill would require the termination of "any federal employee who refuses to answer questions in a congressional hearing after being granted immunity," according to the report.
If three-fourths of the congressional body to whom the testimony was given finds that a federal worker "willfully or knowingly gave false testimony" during a hearing, then that employee would be fired under the legislation.
Lerner cited her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination in refusing to testify at a congressional hearing in May. The move angered many who say she should have been forced to answer why the tax agency targeted conservative groups applying for tax exempt status.

Contractor responsible for Snowden’s security clearance investigated for inadequate background checks

The private company responsible for vetting Edward Snowden for a security clearance is under criminal investigation for systemic failure to adequately conduct background checks.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., announced at a Senate hearing Thursday that USIS, a government contractor headquartered in Falls Church, Va., conducted a background check for Snowden in 2011. The 29-year-old systems administrator’s clearance gave him access to classified documents he later leaked to the media, revealing secret surveillance by the National Security Agency.
“We are limited in what we can say about this investigation because it is an ongoing criminal matter, but it is a reminder that background investigations can have real consequences for our national security,” McCaskill said. “Federal agencies, like the Defense Department, rely on these background investigations to make assessments of whether people should be trusted with our nation’s most sensitive information. . . . It appears that this trust has been broken.”
USIS is the largest commercial provider of background investigations to the federal government. The company said in a statement that USIS has never been informed that it is under criminal investigation, although it did receive a subpoena for records from the inspector general of the Office of Personnel Management in January 2012. “USIS complied with that subpoena and has cooperated fully with the government’s civil investigative efforts,” the statement said.
The company declined to comment on whether it had conducted a background check on Snowden.
Inspector General Patrick McFarland confirmed during the hearing of a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee that an investigation is underway, and added that “we believe there may be some problems” with Snowden’s background check. McFarland declined to comment further, citing the ongoing probe.
About 75 percent of all background investigations on behalf of the federal government are conducted by contractors, and USIS performs 65 percent of those investigations, McCaskill said. The Office of Personnel Management paid the company more than $200 million last year for its work, she said.
McCaskill and other lawmakers at the hearing grilled federal officials about how the government screens employees and contractors who have access to some of the country’s most sensitive information.

Trail of Benghazi security lapses leads to State Department senior leadership, records show

The decision to keep U.S. personnel in Benghazi with substandard security was made at the highest levels of the State Department by officials who have so far escaped blame over the Sept. 11 attack, according to a review of recent congressional testimony and internal State Department memos by Fox News. 
Nine months before the assault that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, State Department Under Secretary Patrick Kennedy signed off on an internal memo that green-lighted the Benghazi operation. 
The December 2011 memo from Jeffrey Feltman -- then-Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) -- pledged "to rapidly implement a series of corrective security measures." However, no substantial improvements were made, according to congressional testimony to the House oversight committee from Regional Security Officer Eric Nordstrom. 
Nordstrom said the Benghazi operation never met the rigid standards set out by the Overseas Security Policy Board, or OSPB, which according to the State Department website "is an interagency body created to assist the secretary" in carrying out security obligations under a 1986 law. 
"We did not meet any of those standards with the exception of perhaps the height of the wall," Nordstrom testified. 
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