VOCR-SPIII 062413

Monday June 24th 2013

Evening Edition

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Dozens killed in Baghdad attacks

A series of car bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has killed more than 30 people, local officials say.

They say that dozens of people were injured in the blasts that targeted mainly Shia areas of the city.
No group has so far said it carried out the attacks.
There has recently been a surge in sectarian attacks across Iraq. Last month was the bloodiest since June 2008, with 1,045 civilians and security officials killed.
The deadliest attack on Monday was in Baghdad's western district of Jihad, where at least eight people died in twin car bomb blasts on a busy road.
At least five people were also killed in the central Karrada district.
The officials also reported deadly attacks in several other parts of the city.
Tensions between Iraq's Shia Muslim majority, which leads the current government, and minority Sunnis have been steadily growing since last year.
Sunnis have accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of discriminating against them - a claim his government denies.

Syrian foreign minister says arming rebel groups will prolong war 

The decision by the United States and its allies to arm rebel groups in Syria is "very dangerous" and will prolong the violence and killing on the ground, Syria's foreign minister said Monday.

Walid al-Moallem said sending more weapons to the opposition will also hinder efforts to bring both sides to the table in a planned peace conference in Geneva. He said his country remains ready and willing to take part but added President Bashar Assad will not step down.
Al-Moallem's comments came two days after an 11-nation group that includes the U.S. met in the Qatari capital of Doha and agreed to step up military and other assistance to the Syrian rebels. He said all those who met in Doha "have Syrian blood on their hands."
U.S. Secretary of States John Kerry, who took part in the conference, would not disclose details of the aid, saying only that it would re-balance the fight between the rebels and the government. Assad's better-equipped forces are increasingly backed by fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.
"We are not scared," al-Moallem said of the decision.  "If they dream or are delusional about achieving a balance with the Syrian Arab Army, I think they need to wait years and this won't be achieved."

Lebanon Clashes Leave At Least 16 Soldiers Dead At Sidon Mosque

BEIRUT — Lebanon's third-largest city of Sidon was turned into a battle zone Monday as the military fought heavily armed followers of an extremist Sunni Muslim cleric holed up in a mosque.
Residents of the southern port fled machine-gun fire and grenade explosions that shook the coastal area in one of the deadliest rounds of violence, seen as a test of the weak government's ability to contain the furies unleashed by the civil war in neighboring Syria.
Official reports said at least 16 soldiers were killed and 50 were wounded in two days of clashes with armed followers of Ahmad al-Assir, a maverick Sunni sheik whose rapid rise is a sign of the deep frustration among many Lebanese who resent the ascendancy of Shiites to power, led by the militant group Hezbollah. More than 20 of al-Assir's supporters were killed, according to a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to reporters.
The fierce battle that al-Assir's fighters were putting up showed how aggressive Sunni extremists have grown in Lebanon, building on anger not only at Syria's regime but also its allies in Hezbollah.
"Sidon is a war zone," said Nabil Azzam, a resident who returned briefly Monday to check on his home after having fled with his family a day earlier. "This is the result of all the sectarian rhetoric that has been building because of the war in Syria. It was bound to happen," he said by telephone, a conversation interrupted by a burst of gunfire.
Machine-gun fire and explosions from rocket-propelled grenade caused panic among residents, who also reported power and water outages. Snipers allied with al-Assir took over rooftops, terrorizing civilians, and many were asking to be evacuated from the heavily populated neighborhood around the Bilal bin Rabbah Mosque, where al-Assir preaches and where the fighting has been concentrated.

Iran picks site for new nuclear research reactor

Iran's state TV says a site in southern Iran has been selected for a planned new nuclear research reactor.

There has been no timetable announced for the proposed plant, which would be similar to a research reactor in Tehran that produces medical isotopes. Iran's lone energy-producing reactor is in the Persian Gulf port of Bushehr.
Iran also is working on a so-called "heavy water" reactor that doesn't require enriched uranium fuel.
The U.S. and other do not specifically object to Iranian reactors, but fear Tehran's ability to make nuclear fuel could lead to atomic weapons. Iran denies the charges.
Thursday's report says the new site is near Zarghan, about 670 kilometers (420 miles) south of Tehran. It said the plant aims to produce medical and agricultural radioisotopes.

Egypt's army to step in if anti-Morsi rallies become violent

Egypt's army has cautioned that it will intervene next weekend if mass rallies against the president descend into chaos – but stopped short of endorsing either the president or his secular opponents. In one of the military's strongest warnings since it handed over to civilian government a year ago, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the defence minister, said he would not allow Egypt to descend into "a dark tunnel of conflict", and called on all political factions to reach consensus in the week before next Sunday's mass rallies against President Mohamed Morsi.
"There is a state of division in society and the continuation of it is a danger to the Egyptian state and there must be consensus among all," Sisi said.
Morsi's opponents plan to organise massive protests on 30 June, the first anniversary of his election – a day that is the subject of frenzied speculation on both the Egyptian streets and in its media. Many claim they will not leave the streets until the fall of Morsi's regime, arguing that for all his talk of democratic legitimacy, he has little respect for wider democratic values. The army has said it will deploy troops on the streets on that day, while the president says he may introduce a state of emergency if, as expected, the protests spark widespread civil unrest.
More than 15 million Egyptians have signed a petition calling for the president's downfall, furious at Morsi's unilateralism and impatient at plummeting living standards. On Saturday, Mohamed ElBaradei – a leader of Egypt's secular opposition – asked Morsi to step down, at a press conference provocatively entitled "After the departure". Wael Ghonim, one of the most prominent activists from the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak, has also called for Morsi to act as a "patriotic Egyptian" and resign.

Israel on alert for further rockets after IDF reprisals

The IDF remained on high alert for additional rocket attacks from Gaza on Monday, hours after Islamic Jihad shattered a relatively lengthy period of calm by firing five rockets into southern Israel.
Two rockets heading towards Ashkelon were intercepted by an Iron Dome air defense battery. Additional rockets, including some fired in the direction of Beersheba, exploded in uninhabited areas and failed to cause injuries or damages. The projectiles set off air raid sirens across regions in southern Israel, startling local residents who had grown accustomed to the quiet.
Responding to the strikes, the Israel Air Force bombed two weapons storage facilities in central Gaza, as well as an underground rocket launching pad and a fourth target in the southern part of the Strip.
The IDF views the attacks out of Gaza as an attempt by Islamic Jihad to challenge Hamas’s sovereignty there, but does not believe Hamas has lost its grip on the territory.
Security officials said a major flare-up is seen as unlikely.
Speaking to Army Radio on Monday, IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai noted that Islamic Jihad is based in Damascus, and is a part of the fanatical Iranianled axis. Israel ultimately places responsibility for attacks out of Gaza on Hamas, Mordechai added.

Eight soldiers killed In India's Kashmir

Eight soldiers were killed and six others injured in rebel attacks in India's Jammu and Kashmir state, an army spokesman said on Monday, in a sign of escalating violence ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the state.

Militants have escalated attacks on security forces since March this year, killing 27 security men so far, with Monday's the deadliest so far.
The security incidents follow protests in February when India hanged Mohammad Afzal Guru for an attack on parliament in 2001.
Guru was convicted of helping organise arms for the gunmen who mounted the attack and finding a place for them to stay. He always maintained his innocence.

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On Monday, militants ambushed a vehicle carrying army personnel. They opened fire, lobbed a grenade and fled, Naresh Vij, a Srinagar-based defence spokesman, told Reuters.
Militant group Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the ambush and warned of more such attacks.
On Saturday, Hizbul Mujahideen militants shot dead two policemen in the heart of Srinagar city despite forces beefing up security before Singh's two-day visit, beginning on Tuesday.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, both of which claim the region and rule it in part. They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.

Musharraf to be tried for high treason: Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, who ruled the country with an iron fist, is set to face charges of high treason that could carry death penalty or life imprisonment. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday that the former military dictator would be tried for subverting and abrogating the country's Constitution.

The move could strain ties between the newly elected civilian government and the all-powerful military in Pakistan. Though Musharraf's support has dwindled since the days he ruled the country, analysts said the army may not relish one of its former chiefs being put to trial for treason.

The apex court is already hearing petitions against the former president for detaining judges of higher judiciary after imposition of emergency rule in November 2007 but a treason trial in Pakistan can be initiated only by the state. In April, the interim government had refused to try him for treason, saying it was beyond its mandate. Musharraf is currently under house arrest under various charges at his farmhouse in Islamabad.

Addressing the House before announcing the former army chief's trial for treason, Sharif told lawmakers: "We were pressured to provide legal cover to Musharraf's unconstitutional steps of November 3, 2007. But we clearly conveyed them that PML-N will abide by the rule of law." Though Sharif did not specify who pressured, observers said it was a veiled reference to the army.

Reading from a written statement, the Prime Minister said,"The federal government firmly subscribes to the view that the holding the Constitution in abeyance on November 3, 2007 constituted an act of high treason within the meaning of Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan."

US scrambles to find Snowden

Washington criticises China for allowing NSA whistleblower to leave but Snowden's whereabouts remain a source of confusion
The attempt by Edward Snowden to escape the clutches of US authorities descended into farce when the 30-year-old surveillance whistleblower outpaced the world's biggest intelligence apparatus in a round-the-world chase that was still under way on Monday.
Washington could barely disguise its fury at the manner in which Snowden was hustled out of Hong Kong, despite the US having revoked his passport and demanded his detention. The White House made it clear that China-US relations had been placed under great strain.
The whereabouts of Snowden were unclear on Monday night. Journalists who boarded a flight from Moscow to Havana, a suspected lay-over stop on a journey to Ecuador, reported that they could not see the former National Security Agency contractor on the plane, despite reports that he had checked in. Later the plane arrived in Cuba without any sign of Snowden.
Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, was sharply critical of Hong Kong's decision to allow Snowden to leave. He said the administration did not believe the explanation that it was a "technical" decision by Hong Kong immigration authorities. "The Hong Kong authorities were advised of the status of Mr Snowden's travel documents in plenty of time to have prohibited his travel as appropriate. We do not buy the suggestion that China could not have taken action."
Speaking in Dehli on Monday, US secretary of state John Kerry expressed frustration that China had failed to detain Snowden. "It would be deeply troubling, obviously, if they had adequate notice, and notwithstanding that, they make the decision wilfully to ignore that and not live by the standards of the law."
Related story: China Reportedly OK'd Whistleblower's Departure 

Obama Climate Change Push Faces Ticking Clock

President Barack Obama's national plan to combat climate change will include the first-ever regulations to limit carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, as well as increased production of renewable energy on public lands and federally assisted housing, environmental groups briefed on the plan said Monday.

In a major speech Tuesday at Georgetown University, Obama will announce that he's directing his administration to allow enough renewables on public lands to power 6 million homes by 2020, effectively doubling the capacity from solar, wind and geothermal projects on federal property. He'll also say the U.S. will significantly expand production of renewable energy on low-income housing sites, according to five individuals briefed on the plan, who were not authorized to discuss it publicly ahead of Obama's announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The far-reaching plan marks Obama's most prominent effort yet to deliver on a major priority he laid out in his first presidential campaign and recommitted to at the start of his second term: to fight climate change in the U.S. and abroad and prepare American communities for its effects. Environmental activists have been irked that Obama's high-minded goals never materialized into a comprehensive plan.
In taking action on his own – none of the steps Obama will announce Tuesday require congressional approval – Obama is also signaling he will no longer wait for lawmakers to act on climate change, and instead will seek ways to work around them.

US envoy: Administration 'outraged' over Taliban's handling of new office

The U.S. representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan said Monday that the Obama administration was "outraged" over the way the Taliban opened its new office in Qatar last week. 
The opening of the Doha office was meant as a big first step toward peace talks, and a possible peace deal, in the Afghanistan war. But the Taliban last week angered Afghan President Hamid Karzai by using their flag  and calling the office the "Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan." Karzai objected to the wording of its name, saying it was tantamount to the establishment of a rival government office, not a political office. 
U.S. envoy James Dobbins echoed his concerns on Monday.

Border security plan clears key hurdle

The effort to reform the nation’s immigration laws took another important step forward Monday when a Republican proposal to bolster security along the U.S.-Mexico border cleared a key procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate by a margin that bodes well for its eventual approval.

Senate voted 67 to 27 to proceed to debate on the proposal, exceeding the threshold necessary to move forward, but falling short of the 70 votes that some supporters had hoped it might earn. The vote was one of just a final few steps left before the Senate is expected to give final approval to the bipartisan measure later this week.

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.
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