Gazette - Afternoon Edition Sunday December 29th 2013

Sunday December 29th 2013

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'Suicide bomber' hits Russia station

A suicide attack on a train station in Russia's southern city of Volgograd has killed 16 people, officials say.

There are contradictory reports over the gender of the bomber, amid official claims it was a woman.
A suspected female suicide bomber killed at least six people when she attacked a bus in the city in October.
Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run up to the the 2014 winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi in six weeks.

Orange flash

Sunday's explosion rocked Volgograd-1 station at around 12:45 (08:45 GMT) at a time when millions of Russians are travelling to celebrate the New Year.

A nearby security camera facing the station caught the moment of the blast, showing a bright orange flash behind the station's main doors.
The explosion shattered windows and sent debris and plumes of smoke from the station entrance.
Motionless bodies were laid out in the station forecourt while ambulances rushed those hurt to hospital. About 40 people are said to have been injured, including a nine-year-old girl whose mother was killed in the attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered law enforcement agencies to take "all necessary security measures" in the bomb's aftermath, said a Kremlin spokesman.
He ordered the most gravely injured victims to be flown to Moscow for treatment.

25,000 rebel youths who were marching toward disputed South Sudan city return home, official says

Twenty-five thousand young men who make up a tribal militia known as the "White Army" are marching toward a contested state capital in South Sudan, an official said Saturday, dimming hopes for a cease-fire.

Seeking an end to the nearly two-week crisis in which an estimated 1,000 people have been killed, leaders from across East Africa announced on Friday that South Sudan had agreed to a "cessation of hostilities" against forces loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar, accused by the government of leading a coup attempt on Dec. 15 that erupted into spiraling violence.
But Machar rejected that, saying in an interview with the BBC that any cease-fire had to be negotiated by delegations from both sides. The government in the capital, Juba, seized on that statement to further condemn Machar.
"Dr. Riek Machar has put obstacles to this genuine call by issuing pre-conditions that a cease-fire cannot be reached unless a negotiation is conducted," said Vice President James Wani Igga. "This is complete intransigence and obstinacy because the main issue now is to stop violence." 

Saudi Arabia gives Lebanon $3bn to bolster military
Wave of attacks have fuelled fears that Syria's neighbour could be slipping back towards full-blown sectarian conflict

Lebanon said on Sunday night that it had received its biggest ever infusion of military aid, as Saudi Arabia offered to contribute $3bn to bolster the country's beleaguered army in the face of spiralling violence and fallout from the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
The president, Michel Suleiman, said on national television that he would discuss the purchase of French weapons with his visiting French counterpart, François Hollande, as a result of the donation.
"The king of the brotherly kingdom of Saudi Arabia is offering this generous and appreciated aid of $3bn to the Lebanese army to strengthen its capabilities," Suleiman said in a televised address. "The Saudi grant will allow the Lebanese army to purchase weapons from France."
Lebanon is struggling to cope with the fallout from the civil war in Syria. That conflict has deeply divided Lebanon along sectarian lines, and paralysed the country's ramshackle political system to the point that it has been stuck with a weak and ineffectual caretaker government since April.
A wave of deadly bombings and shootings have fuelled fears that Lebanon, which suffered a brutal 15-year civil war of its own that ended only in 1990, could be slowly slipping back towards full-blown sectarian conflict. The latest violence took place on Friday, when a car bomb killed a senior Sunni politician who had been critical of Syria and its Lebanese ally, the Shia militant group Hezbollah.

Fresh Ukraine protests draw thousands onto Kiev streets

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have gathered again in Kiev in a fresh show of force by the month-old anti-government protest movement.

Many demonstrators also marched on President Viktor Yanukovych's official residence outside the capital.
They have been re-energised by a brutal attack on a prominent journalist, Tetyana Chornovol, on Christmas Day.
She had accused Mr Yanukovych of corruption over his financing of the Mezhygirya residence in an expose.
Mr Yanukovych denies any allegation of corruption and has called for an investigation into the attack on Ms Chornovol.
"We plan to come out here until the day the authorities make changes to the constitution and limit the powers of the president," Kiev pensioner Tetyana Kornienko told AFP news agency, amid a sea of Ukrainian flags fluttering across Independence Square.
Protesters then made their way to the Mezhygirya residence, some 15km (nine miles) away on the banks of the Dnipro river, by bike, car and minibus, where they carried a coffin to symbolise what they hope is the end of his political life, AFP reported.
They were kept several hundred metres from the heavily guarded residence.

Yemeni court sentences al-Qaida militant to death over intelligence headquarters bombing

Judicial officials in Yemen say a state security court has sentenced an al-Qaida militant to death over the bombing of an intelligence headquarters in the country's south that killed a dozen soldiers in 2010.
The court headed by Judge Helal Mahfal convicted Ahmed Qadri of belonging to Yemen's al-Qaida branch and taking part in the bombing in the country's second-largest city, Aden.
The officials also said the judge convicted and sentenced another nine alleged al-Qaida militants to up to 10 years in prison for a failed assassination attempt targeting President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi earlier this year.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to brief reporters.
Yemen has been battling with al-Qaida militants from one of the most active branches in the world.

Ministers vote to annex Jordan Valley

Yesh Atid, Hatnua are likely to appeal vote on bill that would apply Israeli law to the area, significantly limit PM, Livni in peace talks; Erekat: Bill shows Israel's "indifference" to international law, undermines peace efforts.

The government may be on the way to annexing the Jordan Valley, with the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approving a bill to that effect Sunday.
The proposal by MK Miri Regev (Likud Beytenu) would apply Israeli law to the area, significantly limiting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni in peace talks.
If the bill becomes law, Netanyahu would be unable to accept the American offer to put the Jordan Valley and border crossings into Jordan under Palestinian control, with IDF soldiers posted at the border and the US providing additional security.
"The ministerial committee's approval of this bill now, when there are talks with the Palestinians, is a clear statement by the government that the towns in the Jordan Valley are a strategic and security asset of the State of Israel that must stay in our hands," Regev said.
According to Regev, the Jordan Valley is the "safety belt" on the eastern border.
Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar worked to convince the committee to approve the bill, saying "there is no separation between settlement and security, and the Jordan Valley is a consensus among Israeli citizens. There's nothing wrong with everyone knowing that the Jordan Valley will remain Israeli in any final status agreement."

France's 75% tax rate gains approval by top court

France's highest court has approved a 75% tax on high earners that is one of President Francois Hollande's signature policies.

The initial proposal to tax individual incomes was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council almost exactly one year ago.
But the government modified it to make employers liable for the 75% tax on salaries exceeding 1m euros (£830,000).
The levy will last two years, affecting income earned this year and in 2014.
Football clubs in France went on strike earlier this year over the issue, saying many of France's clubs are financially fragile and say the plans could spark an exodus of top players who are paid huge salaries.
The Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain has more than 10 players whose pay exceeds 1m euros, including the Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
There has also been a chorus of protest from businesses and wealthy individuals who have condemned the tax - including film star Gerard Depardieu, who left the country in protest.
Polls suggest a large majority in France back the temporary tax.
Unlike many other countries in Europe, France aims to bring down its huge public deficit by raising taxes as well as some spending cuts.
The highest tax rate in the UK is 45% and is applied to individuals. 

Protests against Bangladesh election turn violent

HAKA: Violent clashes erupted in Bangladesh on Sunday as opposition supporters took to the streets to protest against a Jan 5 general election which they are boycotting.

The opposition says it will not take part in the vote unless an interim government oversees it and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina steps down.

The boycott means more than half of 300 parliament seats will go uncontested, undermining the legitimacy of the election and making it highly unlikely it will do anything to restore stability in one of the world's poorest countries.

The leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Begum Khaleda Zia, called for a march on the capital, Dhaka, in defiance of a police ban to protest against what she calls the "farcical" election.

One person was killed as police opened fire to disperse protesters throwing stones and crude bombs in central Dhaka and a railway guard was killed in a blast at a city station, police said.

"The government is undemocratic and illegal. It should step down immediately," former premier Khaleda told reporters in front of her home after being barred from attending the march. Dozens of police were deployed late on Saturday to stop her from leaving her house.

Thousands of Cambodians call on PM to quit 

Opposition supporters, backed by striking garment-factory workers, stage huge rally in Phnom Penh. Tens of thousands of Cambodian opposition supporters, backed by striking garment-factory workers, have gathered to demand long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen step down and call an election. The garment workers have in recent days joined the opposition protests to press their demand that the government raise the minimum wage to $160 a month from $95, as recommended earlier this week. "Hun Sen and his illegal government can hear us, they can't ignore us, the people show their will for change," Sam Rainsy, leader of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, told the rally in a Phnom Penh park on Sunday. "We demand that Hun Sen steps down and a new election," the former finance minister told the crowd, some of whom have been camping out in the park since December 15. Hun Sen's long-dominant Cambodian People's Party won a July election but with a reduced majority. It has rejected opposition complaints of vote-rigging. Hun Sen, who has been in power for 28 years, has ignored opposition demands for an investigation into the election and says that he will not resign or call a new election. - Congress, in bipartisan tone, disputes report Al Qaeda not involved in deadly Benghazi attack House lawmakers on Sunday disputed a new report that concludes Al Qaeda played no role in the fatal 2012 terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. The report, published Saturday in The New York Times, found no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had a role in the assault that killed four Americans on Sept. 11, 2012, and that it appeared that the attack was fueled in large part by anger at an American-made anti-Islamic video, as the Obama administration first claimed. “I dispute that, and the intelligence community, to a large volume, disputes that,” Michigan GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told “Fox News Sunday.”   He also repeatedly said the story was “not accurate.” Rogers was joined on the show by California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who said, “intelligence indicates Al Qaeda was involved.” The findings in the New York Times story also conflict with testimony from Greg Hicks, the deputy of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who was killed in the attack. Hicks described the video as "a non-event in Libya" at that time, and consequently not a significant trigger for the attack Sean Smith, a foreign service officer, and former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were also killed in the 2012 attack. Three ominous signs for Democrats head into the 2014 midterm year With just days until the 2014 midterm election year is officially upon us, there are fresh signs of trouble for congressional Democrats. A trio of findings spells bad news for Democrats in a new CNN/ORC International poll released Thursday: The generic ballot test has broken sharply toward Republicans, voter enthusiasm for Democrats is lower than it is on the GOP side, and President Obama is shaping up as an albatross for candidates who support him. Let’s take a closer look at each one starting with the generic ballot test. Republicans have opened up a 49  to 44 percent lead over Democrats on the question of which party’s candidate for Congress voters would choose in their district. That’s a sharp reversal from October, when Democrats led Republicans 50 percent to 42 percent. The movement on the generic ballot — which tends to tilt toward Democrats in the first place — seems to be explained by the disastrous rollout of Obamacare that dominated much of the fall. What’s clear is that the advantage Democrats seized in the wake of the October government shutdown that badly damaged the GOP’s image has now been wiped out — and then some. While the GOP’s five-point advantage is wider than other recent polls, which show a tighter race — the most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Democrats with a two-point lead — what’s clear in all the surveys is that voters are tilting toward Republicans. And for a Democratic caucus that needs to pick up 17 seats to win back the majority, that’s disturbing news. Plans under way for Michelle's 50th The countdown may be on for New Year’s Eve, but the White House is already looking ahead to another big day in 2014: Michelle Obama’s 50th birthday. To celebrate the first lady’s birthday on Jan. 17 the White House will be holding a party the following day called, “Snacks & Sips & Dancing & Dessert,” the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday, citing sources.

Save-the-date emails are already being sent with instructions for guests to “wear comfortable shoes, eat before you come and practice your dance moves,” the paper said.

No word yet on the guest list or entertainment.
The president celebrated his 50th birthday in 2011 with a barbecue in the Rose Garden with plenty of friends, lawmakers, donors and celebrities joining the festivities. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also rang in her 50th birthday as first lady in 1997, with nearly 500 attending a party held on the South Lawn.

Issa stands by claims of al Qaeda-affiliation in Benghazi attacks

Rep. Darrell Issa on Sunday stood by claims that a group affiliated with the terrorist organization al Qaeda was involved in the 2012 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi.
"It was accurate," Issa said on NBC's Meet the Press. "There was a group that was involved that claims an affiliation with al Qaeda."
The comments by Issa, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and one of the most outspoken critics of the White House's handling of the attack, came after an investigative New York Times report concluded that the raid was conducted by local militants rather than by Al Qaeda or by another international terrorist group. 
The report by journalist David Kirkpatrick further asserts that a major cause of the attack was outrage over an American-made video offensive to Muslims. 
Issa said that Kirkpatrick did "very good work" but that he has seen no evidence that the video was the attack's leading cause, a claim made by then-UN ambassador Susan Rice in the immediate aftermath of the attack. 
He maintained that the administration should come clean about misstatements about the causes of the attack, even if those claims were made to protect the CIA outpost in Benghazi. 
"They went out on five stations and told the story that was at best a coverup for the CIA or at worst something that cast away this idea that there was a real terrorist operation in Benghazi," Issa said. 
The September 11, 2012 attack left four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, dead. 
Also appearing on Meet the Press, Kirkpatrick said that Republicans like Issa are conflating local Islamic militant groups with the international terror network founded by Osama bin Laden. 
"If you're using the term al Qaeda to describe even a local group of Islamist militants who dislike democracy or have a grudge against the United States, If you're going to call anybody like that 'al Qaeda,' then, okay," he said. 
A senior Obama administration official told NBC News on Saturday that the White House does not dispute the New York Times report. 

The Worst Long-Term Unemployment Crisis Since the Depression

Officially, the Great Recession of 2007 ended in June 2009. Yet the economic downturn remains in full effect for millions of Americans, particularly the nearly 40 percent of the unemployed who have been looking for work for six months or more.
In less than a week, emergency federal unemployment benefits for 1.3 million of these jobless Americans are set to run out. Proponents of ending the benefits argue that the economy is expanding and that the benefits prevent people from finding work. "You get out of a recession by encouraging employment not encouraging unemployment," according to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who opposes extending benefits. However, the data shows that while corporate America has bounced back, it is not restoring all the jobs it shed when the economy tanked five years ago.
Currently, nearly 11 million Americans are unemployed. The unemployment rate stands at 7 percent. Both of those stats are improvements from a little more than four years ago, when the post-recession jobless rate peaked at 10 percent and more than 15 million people were out of work.
However, there currently are more than 4 million Americans who have been unemployed for six months or longer. Not since the Great Depression has the United States experienced such massive and persistent long-term unemployment. 
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