Gazette 01-09-14

Thursday January 09 2014

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Afghan 'Taliban inmates' to be freed

Afghanistan will release scores of prisoners considered by the US to be a security threat because there is insufficient evidence against them, President Hamid Karzai's office says.

A statement said there was not enough evidence against 72 out of 88 prisoners previously held by the US.
Correspondents say that the move will further strain relations with the US.
The two countries are at loggerheads over President Karzai's refusal to sign a security deal with Washington.
The US is strongly opposed to the releases because it says the prisoners have been involved in the wounding or killing of US and Nato troops.
Hundreds of prisoners from Bagram jail have been freed since Kabul took over the running of the prison in March 2013.
The Afghan government says that there is no evidence against 45 out of 88 prisoners, while the evidence against a further 27 detainees is not enough to put them on trial.
'Irreparable damage' "We cannot allow innocent Afghan citizens to be kept in detention for months and years without a trial for no reason at all," Mr Karzai's spokesman, Aimal Faizi, told the Reuters news agency.

Ex-Israeli PM Ariel Sharon in 'grave' condition, hospital says

The Israeli hospital treating Ariel Sharon says the former prime minister has deteriorated further and he is now in `grave' condition.

Sharon, who has been comatose since suffering a stroke eight years ago, suffered a downturn in his health last week with a decline in key bodily organs.
The Sheba Medical Center said Thursday his condition has worsened and his family is by his bedside.
Sharon, one of Israel's most controversial and iconic figures, suffered the stroke at the height of his political power as he appeared to be cruising toward re-election.

Ali Larayedh Resignation: Tunisia's Prime Minister To Resign Thursday, State News Agency Says 

TUNIS, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Tunisia's Islamist Prime Minister Ali Larayedh will resign on Thursday, handing power to a caretaker administration in a deal forged with his opponents to put the country's transition to democracy back on track, the state news agency said.
Three years after an uprising against autocrat Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia is in the final stages of establishing a full democracy before elections that would be a rare bright spot in an unstable region.
"The prime minister ... has declared he will hand his resignation to the president on Thursday afternoon," said a statement from the president's office that was published by state news agency TAP.
One of the most secular countries in the Arab world, Tunisia has struggled with divisions over the role of Islam and the rise of hardline Islamist militants since the uprising in 2011 that inspired other revolts in the region.
The killings of two secular opposition leaders by gunmen last year galvanised Islamist party Ennahda's secular foes who took to the streets to demand its members resign from power, accusing them of being too lax with hardliners.
Ennahda late last year reached a compromise with main opposition Nidaa Tounes to hand over power once parties had finished writing the new constitution, set a date for elections and appointed an electoral council to oversee the vote.
Much of that agreement has been done: The national assembly is voting on the last clauses of the new charter this week and on Wednesday night the assembly appointed a nine-member electoral commission.

South Sudan: thousands flee Bentiu as government troops advance

South Sudanese army believed to be about 16 miles away from city – one of two main centres under rebel control

A mass exodus of residents is under way from a rebel stronghold in South Sudan amid fears of an imminent battle with government troops, according to reports.
Thousands of people could be seen fleeing the city of Bentiu, one of the two main centres under rebel control, the BBC said. The South Sudanese army is believed to be about 16 miles (25km) away.
Bentiu is the capital of Unity state, which boasts significant oil, the dominant sector in the young country's economy. Oil production has slipped by a fifth since the conflict broke out three weeks ago.
The rebels' other main stronghold is Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, where fighting continued on Wednesday. Lul Ruai Koang, military spokesman for the rebels, said its forces had attacked government troops near the town.
Koang said his troops were near the capital, Juba, and would await a command from the rebels' political leaders to attack if peace talks broke down. "We are ready, and once we are told what to do we'll get into action," he said.
In Juba, the government's military spokesman, Philip Aguer, said there had been fighting around Bor and elsewhere, including the Upper Nile state, where some oil fields are located.
The lack of progress in the peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has rattled world powers, who warn of a descent into all-out civil war.

Pakistan boy tackled suicide bomber

Tributes have been pouring in for a Pakistani teenager who was killed on Monday when he tackled a suicide bomber targeting his school in the Hangu area.

Aitzaz Hasan, 15, was with friends outside school when they spotted a man wearing a suicide vest.
Despite the pleas of his fellow students, he decided to confront and capture the bomber who then detonated his vest, his cousin told the BBC.
Aitzaz is being hailed as a hero in an outpouring of praise on social media.
There have even been calls for him to receive the army's highest honour awarded to those who have sacrificed their life for their country, though it is unclear if he would be qualified to receive it as a civilian.
"We the citizens believe that State of Pk must award Nishan-i-Haider to Pk's brave son Shaheed Aitezaz," journalist Nasim Zehra tweeted on Thursday.
Confrontation The incident took place on Monday in Ibrahimzai, a Shia-dominated region of Hangu, in north-western Pakistan. There were almost 2,000 students in attendance at the time of the attack, media reports say. 

Bombing kills 21 at Iraq army recruiting center

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a military recruiting center in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 21 people in an attack likely meant to send a message to the government and would-be army volunteers over the Iraqi troops' ongoing push to retake two cities overrun by Al Qaeda militants.

The blast struck as an international rights group warned of the apparent use of indiscriminate mortar fire in civilian areas by Iraqi forces in their campaign to reassert control over the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.
Al Qaeda-linked fighters overran parts of both cities in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province last week, seizing control of police stations and military posts, freeing prisoners and setting up their own checkpoints.
Iraqi troops, backed by pro-government Sunni militiamen, since have been clashing with the fighters and carrying out airstrikes against their positions in an effort to reassert control of the cities.
Tribal leaders in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, have warned Al Qaeda fighters there to leave to avoid a military showdown.

6 Victims Found Dead Inside Abandoned Vehicles In Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian investigators were trying Thursday to determine who killed six men whose bodies were found in four cars abandoned in an area of southern Russia close to the volatile Caucasus Mountains.
Three of the cars had been rigged with explosive devices, but only one of the bombs went off and no one was hurt. The victims had been shot, according to investigators.
The killings, discovered Wednesday on the outskirts of Pyatigorsk, further heightened security concerns ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Both cities lie near the Caucasus region, where an Islamic insurgency is simmering.
Vladimir Markin, spokesman for Russia's main investigative agency, said in a statement that Federal Security Service officers had joined the investigation, and that no motive had yet been determined.
NTV television reported from the scene that security had been heightened on the nearby border with Kabardino-Balkaria, one of several predominantly Muslim republics in Russia's Caucasus.
Three men whose bodies were in three of the cars have been identified: Two were taxi drivers and the third assembled furniture for a private businessman, Russian state news agencies reported, citing law enforcement agencies. Their names have not been released. The men were said to be local residents and drove inexpensive Soviet-model Lada cars.
The three other victims were found late Wednesday in a fourth vehicle. An explosive device had been placed next to the car in a metal bucket, but was defused by investigators, Markin said.

Report: Syrian Rebels Targeted Chemical Weapons Depots

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Western diplomat says Syria's representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says insurgents have twice launched unsuccessful attacks on Syrian depots where chemicals used in poison gas and nerve agents are being stored.
The diplomat said Thursday that Syria's ambassador to the OPCW reported the alleged attempted attacks Wednesday at a closed meeting of the group's executive council. The diplomat, who was at the meeting, spoke on condition of anonymity because it was closed to the media.
The Syrian representative who spoke was not available to comment and the OPCW itself declined comment because the remarks were made at a private meeting. The New York Times first reported the Syrian comments.
According to the diplomat who spoke to The Associated Press, Syria claims that the insurgent attacks on storage sites near the city of Homs and in a Damascus suburb were repelled. It was not clear when the alleged attacks happened and the report could not be independently verified.
The reported attacks underscore the risks involved in international efforts to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons program.
The first batch of toxic chemicals was shipped out of Syria this week, a week later than expected due to the poor security and bad weather in the war-torn country.
Also Thursday, Germany said it would help destroy Syria's stockpile of chemicals used as the raw materials for poison gas and nerve agents. The government said German experts at a site in Munster will get rid of the byproducts created when the chemicals are destroyed — which is currently slated to be done aboard a U.S. ship at sea.

Hamas and Iran rebuild ties three years after falling out over Syria

News that high-level contacts between Palestinian party and Tehran have resumed is likely to dismay Israel and US

A rapprochement between Hamas and Tehran is under way almost three years after a breach over the Palestinian party's refusal to back the Syrian government in the civil war, and amid its current political isolation following the demise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
The rebuilding of the relationship is likely to dismay Israel and the US, which had welcomed the weakened ties between Gaza's rulers and their powerful political, financial and military sponsors.
"Relations between us are now almost back to how they were before [the crisis over Syria]. We believe we will soon be back at that point," said Taher al-Nounou, an aide to Gaza's prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh. Contacts between high-ranking officials from both sides had resumed, he said.
Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas's political bureau, based in Qatar, has met Iranian representatives in Ankara and Doha in recent months, and may visit Tehran in the coming months.
According to Nounou, a delegation of Hamas officials based outside Gaza visited Tehran two months ago. Hamas leaders inside Gaza have been unable to leave the blockaded coastal strip since the military coup in Egypt last July.
Another senior Hamas official, Bassem Naim, confirmed the renewed contacts between his organisation and Tehran. "Ties had never been conclusively severed, but recently there have been a number of meetings that brought new blood back into our relationship with Iran," he said.
"There were several visits and meetings, as there had been previously. But this time the meetings were held at a high level on the part of Hamas and Iran. This led to a marked improvement and progression in the relationship."

Nuclear talks exposed US hatred of Muslims, Iran's supreme leader says

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday that nuclear negotiations with world powers had revealed US "enmity" towards the Islamic state.
He was speaking hours before the resumption of talks in Geneva.

"We had announced previously that on certain issues, if we feel it is expedient, we would negotiate with the Satan (the United States) to deter its evil," Khamenei told a gathering, reported by the official IRNA news agency.

"The nuclear talks showed the enmity of America against Iran, Iranians, Islam and Muslims," he said.

Iran and the European Union will hold talks in Geneva on Thursday to discuss the practical details of implementing a nuclear agreement reached in Geneva in November. US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman is also due to take part.

The Geneva deal was designed to halt Iran's nuclear advances for six months to buy time for negotiations on a final settlement. Scope for diplomacy widened after Iran elected the pragmatic Hassan Rouhani as president in June. He had promised to reduce Tehran's isolation and win an easing of sanctions.

Christie apology for bridge scandal

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has fired an aide who allegedly orchestrated traffic mayhem to pursue a petty political vendetta.

Mr Christie, seen as a potential Republican White House candidate, apologised for the scandal, which he said "embarrassed and humiliated" him.
The gridlock was allegedly engineered to punish a Democratic mayor who did not endorse the governor's re-election.
Mr Christie denied any involvement, blaming "deceitful" staff.
"I'm embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team," he said on Thursday morning at the statehouse in the city Trenton, as he revealed he had fired his top aide, Bridget Anne Kelly.
'Abject stupidity' He said repeatedly that he had nothing to do with the lane closures.

Republicans call for removal of Obama supporter leading IRS targeting probe

Republicans claim the Justice Department's investigation of the IRS targeting scandal is "compromised," after revealing that it's being led by one of President Obama's political supporters. 
In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the lawmakers said they've learned trial attorney Barbara Kay Bosserman is leading the probe. They detailed federal campaign finance records showing she's given more than $6,000 to Obama's two presidential campaigns -- and urged Holder to remove her from the case. 
"By selecting a significant donor to President Obama to lead an investigation into inappropriate targeting of conservative groups, the Department has created a startling conflict of interest,"  Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in the letter. "It is unbelievable that the Department would choose such an individual to examine the federal government's systematic targeting and harassment of organizations opposed to the President's policies. 
"At the very least, Ms. Bosserman's involvement is highly inappropriate and has compromised the Administration's investigation of the IRS." 
The letter comes amid questions over the status of the criminal case, which has not yet produced any public results. 
It has dragged on for months, ever since the IRS last May first acknowledged that it had slow-walked the applications of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

Gates of Wrath

Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates’s controversial  new memoir, “Duty,” contains an explicit and useful warning to future presidents:
In your first term, never, ever appoint someone to a senior post that will be his or her last job in government. You will likely come to regret it — a sentiment President Obama, Vice President Biden and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton may be feeling quite keenly these days. (The advice is especially important when that appointee is not a member of your political party or has no personal relationship with you.)
Second term? No problem. Secretary of State John Kerry, for example, can say whatever he wants in his memoir, and who cares? Obama will be out of office. And Obama’s book could well come out before Kerry’s.
Meanwhile, Gates and Osama bin Laden may not have agreed on much, but their views of Biden are truly harsh.

Devyani Khobragade row: US court rejects diplomat's plea

A US federal judge has denied a request by the lawyer of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade to delay proceedings in a case of visa fraud that has led to a diplomatic row and outrage in India.

Judge Sarah Netburn has refused to extend the deadline of 13 January for the indictment of the diplomat.
Ms Khobragade was detained on charges of visa fraud and of underpaying her housekeeper in New York last month.
She denies all the charges and has been released on bail.
India has demanded an apology from the US over her alleged "humiliation".
Minimum wage Ms Khobragade's lawyer Daniel Arshack had appealed for an extension of the deadline of indictment, saying that it was coming in the way of plea negotiations with the US government to resolve the visa fraud case.
But Judge Netburn ruled that since Ms Khobragade was arrested on 12 December last year, she "must be indicted by 13 January."

Two House Democrats Announce Retirement

WASHINGTON — Two House Democrats, Carolyn McCarthy of New York, and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina, on Wednesday announced plans to retire.

While Mrs. McCarthy’s seat is likely to stay in Democratic hands, Mr. McIntyre’s district, which includes Wilmington and other parts of eastern North Carolina, is an almost certain pickup for Republicans. After 18 years in Congress, Mr. McIntyre said in a news release, he is ready for a “new chapter” in his life.

Republicans saw evidence of Democrats’ vulnerability over the health care law in Mr. McIntyre’s announcement, which comes on the heels of a decision by Representative Jim Matheson, Democrat of Utah, to retire from the House. Yet Mr. McIntyre and Mr. Matheson both voted against the Affordable Care Act.

“This retirement announcement also proves that Obamacare and its negative impact continues to burden Democrats in 2014 — even for Democrats who voted against the law like McIntyre and Matheson,” said Representative Greg Walden, chairman of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee. “When these two throw in the towel, you have to wonder who is next, especially among those Democrats in similar districts who backed Obamacare and other reckless policies.”

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