Weekend 101313

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US borrowing crisis 'days away' from danger, says World Bank head

The president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, has warned that the United States is just "days away from a very dangerous moment" because of the government's borrowing crisis.

He urged US policymakers to reach a deal to raise the government's debt ceiling before Thursday's deadline.
The US Treasury will start to run short of funds if no agreement is reached for it to borrow on financial markets.
Mr Kim warned this could be a "disastrous event" for the world.
"The closer we get to the deadline the greater the impact will be for the developing world.
"Inaction could result in interest rates rising, confidence falling and growth slowing," said Mr Kim, speaking at the World Bank's annual meeting in Washington.

"If this comes to pass it could be a disastrous event for the developing world and that will in turn greatly hurt the developed economies as well," he added.

Syria rebels executed civilians, says Human Rights Watch

Rebel forces in Syria killed as many as 190 civilians and seized more than 200 hostages during a military offensive in August, Human Rights Watch says.

A report by the US-based group says the deaths occurred in villages inhabited predominantly by members of President Bashar al-Assad's minority Alawite sect near the coastal city of Latakia.
It said the findings "strongly suggest" crimes against humanity were committed.
The group has previously documented atrocities by pro-government forces.
The report calls on the UN to impose an arms embargo on all groups where there is credible evidence of their involvement in war crimes.

Journal connects Britain's 'White Widow' to al Shabaab terror group 

A Kenyan intelligence report and excerpts from the personal journal of a suspected terrorist known as the “White Widow,” reveal new details about the inner workings of the al Shabaab terror network, which masterminded last month’s deadly attack on a Nairobi mall.
Sky News obtained the 35-page report, which indicates that “White Widow” Samantha Lewthwaite is a central figure in al Shabaab, plotting several terror attacks across Kenya. The British Lewthwaite, 29, is called the “White Widow” because she was married to one of the suicide attackers responsible for the deadly bombings on a London subway and bus in 2005 that killed 52 people and injured 700 more.
The report also indicates the group was apparently planning multiple attacks targeting Kenyan parliament buildings, UN offices in Nairobi, restaurants and a series of assassinations focusing on senior politicians within Kenya.
The intelligence report provides a detailed breakdown of how the terror network operates throughout Africa, with recruits and cells working in a range of countries including Tanzania, Mali, South Africa, Somalia, Uganda, Burundi, and Zambia, as well as efforts in Pakistan and Yemen.

Iran Puts Alleged Israeli Spies On Trial

TEHRAN, Iran -- TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A news agency in Iran says a group of suspected Israeli spies have gone on trial in the country's southeast.
Judge Dadkhoda Salari was quoted Saturday by the semiofficial Mehr news agency as saying that the group was led by three people who hired some 60 others to conspire against Iran's ruling Islamic government.
Salari was quoted as saying many of those charged confessed during interrogation. He said they acted against Iran's security, collected information and transferred it outside the country and assisted anti-religious establishments in Israel. He didn't provide further details, nor said when they were tried or if they were sentenced to prison.
Iran periodically announces the arrest of suspects charged with espionage or attempts to sabotage its nuclear facilities. It normally does not release further details.

Syrian Chemical Weapons Site Near Rebel-Held Targets Bombed By Air Force

Syrian air force warplanes bombarded rebel-held targets close to a major chemical weapons facility on Friday in fighting that highlights the perils facing an international mission to eliminate President Bashar al-Assad's chemical arsenal.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, is due to visit 20 sites across Syria to verify the destruction of 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents and precursors.

The mission in the midst of a civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people is an unprecedented challenge for the OPCW, whose members came under fire near Damascus in August.

The OPCW experts have visited three undisclosed sites in their first week of operation and say that Syrian authorities have been cooperating. But they will face great challenges reaching locations in rebel-held or disputed territory.

The air raids struck the town of Safira, on the edge of a sprawling military complex believed to hold chemical weapons production facilities, after overnight clashes between rebel fighters and Assad forces in a nearby village, activists said.

The army has fought hard to retain control of the Safira military complex and is now trying to recapture the town from rebel brigades including the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

Unless they succeed in pushing those fighters back, any attempt by the OPCW experts to visit Safira would be risky.

"Right now it would be impossible with the clashes and the air strikes, especially as there is a strong presence of the Islamic State and the Nusra Front, who don't believe in anything called the international community," said Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Northern Ireland bomb alert closes Belfast motorway

Police in Ireland still hunting for chief suspect in Derry murder after bout of dissident republican activity

The main motorway linking Belfast to Dublin has been reopened after a bomb alert temporarily closed the M1 at the end of one of the bloodiest and most active periods of dissident republican violence in almost a year.
While the Police Service of Northern Ireland has allowed motorists to again use the M1 between the two cities after the security shut down earlier on Saturday, their counterparts across the border are still hunting for the chief suspect in a murder that took place in Derry on Thursday morning.
Armed Garda Síochána officers almost intercepted the ex-Real IRA prisoner Kieran McLaughlin at a farmhouse in Co Donegal late on Friday night. While they surrounded a barn in Burnfoot just across the border from Derry it is understood that the 58-year-old veteran republican had fled from the area only an hour earlier.
McLaughlin is wanted for questioning about the murder on Thursday morning of Barry McGrory at a flat in Derry city centre. The PSNI took the unprecedented step of naming McLaughlin as the chief suspect in the killing of the father of four. An all-Ireland manhunt is still under way to track down McLaughlin, who has served several prison sentences for the Real IRA and, earlier, the Irish National Liberation Army.
Meanwhile the PSNI are still questioning a 39-year-old man arrested in west Belfast on Friday over the murder of Kevin Kearney, whose body was found dumped in a lake in a public park on Wednesday. The dissident republican New IRA admitted responsibility for murdering Kearney.
As well being behind two murders, dissident republicans were also responsible for a series of bomb alerts across Belfast and Derry over the last week.

IDF uncovers Palestinian terrorist tunnel leading from Gaza to kibbutz in Israel 

The IDF recently uncovered a Palestinian terrorist tunnel leading from the Gaza Strip to Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, they announced on Sunday.

The tunnel was dug in order to either kidnap civilians and soldiers, or to infiltrate the community and carry out an atrocity in it, the army believes.
The tunnel was over 1.5 kilometers in length and represents a grave attempt by Palestinian terrorists to perpetrate an attack, army sources added.
The entrance of the tunnel on the Israeli side was reportedly dug near a kindergarten.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised the IDF for unearthing the tunnel, his spokesman said.
The Coordinator of Activities in the Territories, Major-General Eitan Dangot called for Israel to stop the transfer of construction materials to the Gaza Strip following the IDF's announcement, Israel Radio reported.
Leaders from communities near the Gaza border called for the the IDF to revoke its previous decision to pull soldiers out from deployments on frontline communities on northern and southern borders.
The radio station cited Haim Yalin, head of the Eskol Regional Council, as commending the army's discovery, saying it prevented disaster.
MK Omer Bar-Lev (Labor) on Sunday called on the IDF to provide maximum security to residents of communities near the border with the Gaza Strip in light of the discovery.

Libya demands US returns al-Qaeda suspect Abu Anas al-Libi

Tripoli: Libya's top political authority has demanded the US "immediately" hand back an alleged al-Qaeda operative its forces captured in Tripoli, as activists urged that his rights be respected.
The country is bristling after the US operation to snatch Abu Anas al-Libi on Saturday, with the government summoning the US ambassador and Prime Minister Ali Zeidan insisting that all Libyans should be tried on home soil.
The case has embarrassed and put the Libyan government under pressure from its critics - notably former rebel groups in the 2011 revolt that ousted and killed dictator Muammar Gaddafi. 

Iran rejects demand to ship out uranium stockpiles



DUBAI: Iran will not ship enriched uranium stockpiles out of the country, the Iranian deputy foreign minister said on Sunday, rejecting one key demand of world powers due to resume nuclear negotiations with Tehran this week.

Abbas Araqchi's comment may disappoint western officials, who want Iran to ship out its stockpile of uranium enriched to a fissile concentration of 20 per cent, a short technical step away from weapons-grade material.

However, he signalled flexibility on other aspects of Iran's uranium enrichment.

"Of course we will negotiate regarding the form, amount, and various levels of (uranium) enrichment, but the shipping of materials out of the country is our red line," Araqchi was quoted as saying on Sunday on state television's website.

Araqchi will be part of the Iranian delegation at nuclear talks with six world powers that are due to start in Geneva on Tuesday.

He did not specify the 20 percent material but his comments implied that Tehran might refuse this demand.

Since the Islamic Republic started producing 20-per cent enriched uranium in 2010 it has amassed more than the 240-250 kg of uranium gas needed for a bomb, which Israel has suggested it sees as a "red line" for possible military action against Iran.

Obama's absence at Asia-Pacific summits lets China dominate

President Obama's decision to skip two Asia-Pacific summits this week to deal with the U.S. government shutdown and threatened debt default allowed Chinese leaders to strut the world stage as regional superpower envoys and have their way on critical issues.

Maritime disputes in the East and South China seas have poisoned relations among half a dozen members of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, which met on the Indonesian island of Bali this week, then joined the U.S., Russia and other regional powers in Brunei for the annual East Asia Summit.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told the Brunei gathering Thursday that "positive, steady progress" was being made on a legally binding code of conduct to manage disputes in the South China Sea, where Beijing claims sovereignty over its islands, rich fisheries and energy resources.
Li also said that freedom of navigation through the disputed seas "has never been an issue and will never be one."
But in a pointed warning to the United States, Li said countries not directly involved in the territorial dispute should stay out of it.
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US shutdown debate shifts to Senate

Negotiations over how to end a political stalemate in Washington that has led to a partial government shutdown have shifted to the Senate.

The Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate held direct talks for the first time in weeks, but there is little sign of any breakthrough, correspondents say.
The shutdown began when Congress missed a 1 October deadline to pass a budget.
The US faces another deadline on Thursday to raise its debt limit.
If a deal is not reached by then, the US faces potential default, a prospect which has caused alarm both domestically and abroad.
Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, said the aim was to reach a deal on extending the debt limit before markets reopen on Monday.

ObamaCare rates trigger more sticker shock

Andy Mangione, who lives in Louisville, Ky. with his wife Amy and their two boys, is doing the same thing millions of people are doing --trying to figure out how much his insurance will cost under ObamaCare.
Before the exchanges opened, his insurance company said his rates would soar. But now that there are subsidies, he's been trying for days to find out how much he would get.
"To logically compare plans, I've been calling them every day since October 1st," says Mangione, "several times a day on some occasions. Sometimes enduring 45, 50 minute holds, half an hour holds."
Although Kentucky officials were unable to give him a firm number on his subsidy because of repeated ITproblems, they did refer him to a Kaiser Family Foundation site, which suggests his subsidy will be $414 a month -- on a premium of $868.
"What I'm concerned about is our doctor visits, our emergency room visits, and what I'm paying in my premium," says Mangione.
The problem is the plan closest to what he has now will mean a 24 percent increase over his current payment-- after subsidies.
And his co-pay for emergency room visits almost tripled -- from $125 to $350 -- an important factor for a family with two young boys.
"They're climbing trees, they're falling out of trees. They're running around falling off their bike, they're very active. They're not unlike any other 8 and 10 year old boys," their dad says.
The Mangiones found one plan with smaller premiums, but their doctor was out of network, ultimately making it more expensive for them.
They're not the only ones with sticker shock.
Members of Congress say constituents have been complaining, as they recently described some of their mail.
Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn., read from one constituent who said "I remember our president saying the new health care bill will reduce costs. I have my health care renewal forms, and the premium has increased about 15 percent, a $700 deductible is added, and my co-payment has increased."
Rep.Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., also read letters from some of his constituents.
"Mike from Hickory saw his premiums rise from $388 to $650. Phil from Forest City saw an increase, even though his policy didn't change, saw an increase of 42 percent."

Several iconic national parks reopen with state funding

On Saturday, the barricades at Utah’s Natural Bridges National Monument disappeared, allowing visitors to return to the tourist draw despite the government shutdown. They also came down at Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, Arizona’s Grand Canyon and New York’s Statue of Liberty.

What began as a sort of modern Sagebrush Rebellion — with Utah county commissioners threatening to bring in a posse and dismantle federal barricades themselves — has become an intense negotiation between Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and governors across the country eager to reopen public lands that generate valuable tourism revenue.
The push by some of the most conservative governors in the nation to get federal workers back on the job comes as President Obama and congressional leaders struggle with how to resolve the budget impasse.
In an interview Friday, Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) said he and Jewell worked out the agreement in the course of three or four conversations in recent days. After initially seeking permission to reopen the park and staff it with volunteers and others provided by the state, he agreed to pay for federal employees to return in order to revive the tourism that sustains several local communities near federal lands.
“This is, for them, their livelihoods,” said Herbert, adding that he has gotten calls from governors around the country seeking his advice. “It’s not just a little bit of it, it’s all of it. And it’s seasonal. Once you lose October, you can’t make it up in January.”

US Army plans 'Iron Man' armour for soldiers

The US Army is working to develop "revolutionary" smart armour that would give its troops "superhuman strength".

It is calling on the technology industry, government labs and academia to help build the Iron Man-style suit.
Other exoskeletons that allow soldiers to carry large loads much further have already been tested by the army.
The Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (Talos) would have such a frame but would also have layers of smart materials fitted with sensors.
The suit would also need to have wide-area networking and a wearable computer similar to Google Glass, the US Army said.
Increase strength It should be made of smart material fitted with sensors to monitor body temperature, heart rate and hydration levels.
The exoskeleton, which could be attached to arms and legs, would be likely to use hydraulics to greatly increase strength.
"The requirement is a comprehensive family of systems in a combat armour suit where we bring together an exoskeleton with innovative armour, displays for power monitoring, health monitoring, and integrating a weapon into that," said Lt Col Karl Borjes, a science adviser at the US Army's research, development and engineering command.
"It's advanced armour. It's communications, antennas. It's cognitive performance. It's sensors, miniature-type circuits. That's all going to fit in here, too," he added.

Sunday talk show tip sheet

“Meet the Press” on NBC
• Christine Lagarde, managing director, International Monetary Fund

• Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)

• Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
• Former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta
“Face the Nation” on CBS
• Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
• Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
• Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)
• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.)
“This Week” on ABC
• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
• Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho)
•  Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)
• Former White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe
• Senate Chaplain Barry Black
“Fox News Sunday” on Fox
• Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), ranking member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
• Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)
•  Rep. Jim Jordon (R-Ohio)
• Black
“State of the Union” on CNN
• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
• Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
• Gingrich
• Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer
“Political Capital” on Bloomberg TV
• Corker
• Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.)
“Newsmakers” on C-SPAN
• Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), ranking member, House Foreign Affairs Committee
“Al Punto” on Univision
• Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.)
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