Gazette 01-15-14

Wednesday January 15 2014

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'Half of Syrians' in urgent need 

The UN secretary general says that half of Syria's population, some 9.3 million people, are in urgent need of aid.

Ban Ki-moon was speaking at a donor conference in Kuwait promoting the UN's largest ever appeal for a single issue.
The meeting aimed to raise $6.5bn (£4bn) - it had secured $2.4bn in pledges by the end of Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Syria's deputy foreign minister has said Western intelligence agencies have held talks with Damascus on combating Islamist groups in Syria.
The UK government denied having any such co-operation with Damascus.
Islamist groups, often made up of foreign fighters, have become increasingly assertive in Syria, clashing with other rebel movements and causing international concern.
On Wednesday, at least 26 people, mostly rebels, were killed by a car bomb in the northern city of Jarablus, close to the Turkish border, an area riven by rebel in-fighting in recent weeks.

World Pledges $1.4 Billion To Ease Syria Crisis

KUWAIT, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Western and Gulf Arab nations pledged $1.4 billion on Wednesday for United Nations aid efforts in Syria, where an almost three-year-old civil war has left millions of people hungry, ailing or displaced.

The pledge arose from an appeal for $6.5 billion launched last month that is the largest in U.N. history. The world body estimates that the conflict has reversed development gains in Syria by 35 years, with half its people now living in poverty.

But only 70 percent of $1.5 billion pledged at a similar meeting last year has reached U.N. coffers, hinting at donor fatigue with no end to the bloodshed on the horizon.

U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said all sides in the conflict had shown "total disregard for their responsibilities under international humanitarian and human rights law."

She decried the increasing tactic of siege warfare while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said polio had returned and he was "especially concerned" about reports of starvation.

"Children, women, men are trapped, hungry, ill, losing hope," Amos told an international donor conference in Kuwait intended to help the United Nations reach its $6.5 billion target for the crisis in 2014.

Kuwait's ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, promised $500 million in fresh assistance, while the United States announced a contribution of $380 million.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia pledged $60 million each. The European Union pledged $225 million and Britain $165 million.

7 killed in shootout in Russia during sweep for militants before Olympics

Three Russian servicemen and four gunmen were killed in a shootout in Russia Wednesday during a sweep for militants for the Sochi Winter Olympics.
According to Reuters, Russia's National Anti-terrorism Committee (NAC) said the dead gunmen included a man accused of carrying out a car bomb attack in Pyatigorsk last year that killed three people.
The country is on high alert after last month's two suicide bombings, which have fueled security concerns. 
In a statement, the NAC said a militant group was trapped in a house in the Karlanyurt village in the Dagestan region.  Five officers were also injured in the operation, Reuters reported. 
Approximately 37,000 personnel are now in place to provide security for the Olympics and the International Olympic Committee has expressed confidence the games will be safe, the report said. 
Russia's Investigative Committee, which looks into bombings and other attacks, appealed to civilians to be more vigilant and help avert the threat of terrorist attacks. 

More Bombings Kill Dozens In Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of bombings across Iraq striking busy markets and a funeral north of Baghdad killed at least 44 people Wednesday, authorities said, as the country remains gripped by violence after al-Qaida-linked militants took control of two cities in western Anbar province.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. Insurgent groups, mainly al-Qaida's local branch and other Sunni militants, frequently target civilians in cafes and public areas, as well as Shiites and members of Iraqi security forces in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government and stir sectarian tensions.
The deadliest attack struck a funeral in the town of Buhriz, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of Baghdad. That bombing killed 16 people and wounded 26 inside of a mourning tent, a police officer said.
The funeral was for an anti-al-Qaida Sunni militiaman who died of natural causes two days ago. The Sunni militia, known as the Awakening Council, was formed by U.S. forces during the height of the insurgency. They are seen as traitors by al-Qaida's local branch and other militant groups.
In Baghdad, a series of bombings killed at least 28 people.

Egypt continues referendum vote

Egyptians are voting for a second day in a referendum on a new constitution drawn up following the ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The army-backed government is seeking a "Yes" vote to endorse his removal.
Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which has been designated a terrorist group, is boycotting the vote.
Wednesday's voting has so far passed off peacefully, in contrast to Tuesday when nine people died in clashes involving Mr Morsi's supporters.

The new charter is to replace the constitution passed during the rule of Mr Morsi before he was removed last July.

Polling stations are scheduled to close at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT), although it remains unclear when results will be announced.
The BBC's Sally Nabil, at a polling station in Alexandria, says the number of people queuing as voting began was noticeably lower than at the same time on Tuesday.
However, another polling station for voters from outside Alexandra was busy, our correspondent reports.
Correspondents in Cairo also suggest that polling stations were not as busy as on Tuesday. The BBC's Ahmed Kilany says it was a similar story in the southern cities of Assiut and Sohag.
The overall turnout for the poll remains uncertain, but the vote is expected to endorse the new charter.
A huge security operation has been in evidence throughout the two days of voting, with some 160,000 soldiers and more than 200,000 policemen deployed nationwide.

2 UK men arrested in terrorism investigation

British police say two men have been arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of participating in terrorist activities in Syria.

Police say the men — both 21 and from Birmingham, central England — are believed to have traveled to Syria in May of last year. Police say neither poses any imminent threat to the public.
West Midlands Police said the men were detained Monday afternoon after they arrived in the U.K. on a flight from Istanbul.
European officials are concerned about domestic threats posed by fighters returning from Syria. British intelligence officials say they have seen "low hundreds of people" from Britain go to Syria to fight.
A handful of people have been arrested in the U.K. on suspicion of attending terrorism training camps in Syria.

Mozaffar Khazaee 'tried to ship F-35 documents to Iran'

US authorities have arrested an Iranian-American engineer accused of attempting to ship stolen documentation on a high-tech military plane to Iran.

Federal prosecutors have charged Mozaffar Khazaee, 59, with trying to smuggle thousands of pages of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter documents.
Mr Khazaee stole the documents from defence contractors that employed him as an engineer, prosecutors said.
No lawyer was listed for him in US court documents.
Mr Khazaee is an ex-employee of military contractor Pratt & Whitney, US media have reported, and in that capacity was responsible for carrying out strength tests on military engine parts.
He was made redundant from a defence contractor in August, prosecutors said.
He is being held by the US Marshals Service and will be transported to Connecticut for further court proceedings, Thomas Carson, a spokesman for the Connecticut US Attorney's office, told the BBC.
Mr Khazaee was arrested on 9 January at the airport in Newark, New Jersey, on his way to Iran, Deidre Daly, US attorney for Connecticut, said in a statement.
The investigation began in November, when US customs officials and homeland security agents intercepted a shipment Mr Khazaee sent by truck from Connecticut to a freighter in Long Beach, California, bound for Iran, according to court records.
The shipment was marked as containing household goods, but officials instead found boxes of documents containing technical manuals and proprietary material related to the F-35 programme, including diagrams, blueprints, and documents relating to the inner-workings of the jet's engine, prosecutors allege in court documents.
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Shin Bet thwarts terror kidnapping plot 

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) thwarted an attempt by a Hamas-affiliated group to set up a terrorist cell in the West Bank for the purpose of kidnapping Israelis, security forces announced on Wednesday. The terror plot was directed by Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons, the Shin Bet added.

"Those involved were in their first stages of planning the attack," the Shin Bet said in a statement.

The domestic intelligence service named Muhammad Bel, 24, of Zeitoun in Gaza, doing time in the Eshel prison since 2008, as a suspect who recruited two Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank for the plot.

The recruits have been named as Ali Harub, 21, of Dora, near Hebron, serving a sentence for being a member of a military terrorist cell, planning attacks, and manufacturing bombs and Molotov cocktails, and Rajab Salah Al-din, 53, of Hamza, near Ramallah, a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in prison since May 2012 for three failed kidnapping attempts.

The three suspects confessed to the plot during questioning, the Shin Bet stated, and were charged in late December with terrorist offensives as the Beersheba District Court.

The investigation revealed that the highest levels of the Kataib Al-Mujahadin (Holy Warriors Brigades) terror group were involved in the planning stages of the attacks. Bel was in touch with a liaison in Gaza, named as Amar Khalil Kassam, 29, who is in charge of dealing with prisoners and who answers directly to the head of the organization.

Russia's Olympic torch relay loses its way

If Russia's version of the Olympic torch relay is any indication, this year's Winter Games could be among the most entertaining ever.
Without meaning to, the relay's organisers have served up a wide-angle view of the real Russia: corrupt, innocently patriotic, accident-prone, creative, ridiculous, resourceful and occasionally flat-out awesome.
The plan was grandiose: Carry the Olympic flame 65,000 kilometres through every region of Russia, visiting 2900 towns and allowing 130 million Russians, or 90 percent of the country's population, to see it in person. It would be the longest relay at a Winter Games since the Nazis started the torch-carrying tradition in 1936.
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8 arrested after blast in China's gambling den killed 15 

BEIJING: Chinese police said eight people have been arrested in connection to an explosion which killed 15 people at a gambling site in Kaili City of southwest China's Guizhou Province.

It has not cited the cause yet of the blast which took place on Monday.

State media quoted the police as saying that a "suspicious crater measuring between one and two meters in diameter" was found under the tent which was used as a gambling den. The police is collecting evidence and are trying to identify the bodies, it said.

The blast also left eight people injured. All of them are in stable condition in hospital. The gambling site was a simple tent pitched on a flat area in mountains, it said.

The gambling site specialized in a dice game called 'Gundilong' and took large bets from gamblers who travelled long distances in cars to gamble, locals told Xinhua.
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NSA could 'spy on offline computers'

The US National Security Agency (NSA) used secret technology to spy on computers that were not even connected to the internet, it has been reported.

Citing documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden, the New York Times said 100,000 machines were fitted with small devices that emitted radio waves.
Targets included the Chinese and Russian military as well as drug cartels, the newspaper claimed.
On Friday, the US President is expected to address concerns over NSA activity.
Quoting sources "briefed" on Barack Obama's plans, the Times reported that restrictions on the scope of collecting bulk telephone data will feature, and that a person will be appointed to represent the views of the public in secret intelligence meetings.
Furthermore, tighter controls on foreign surveillance will be implemented - an attempt, the paper suggests, to dampen the political fall-out from revelations the US had obtained data from the communication tools of world leaders without their knowledge.

Senate report: Benghazi attackers tied to Al Qaeda groups

A comprehensive report by the Senate Intelligence Committee definitively declared that individuals tied to Al Qaeda groups were involved in the Benghazi attack, challenging recent claims that the terror network was not a factor.
The report was released Monday, nearly one year after then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, under congressional questioning over the nature of the attack, shouted at lawmakers: “What difference, at this point, does it make?”
The administration initially claimed the attack sprung out of a protest, but has since given a more complicated assessment. Still, administration officials all along have downplayed Al Qaeda involvement, recently seizing on a New York Times report that supported those claims.
While the report does not implicate Al Qaeda “core” -- the leadership believed to be in the Pakistan region -- it does blame some of the most influential Al Qaeda branches, including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Talks to extend jobless benefits stall in Senate

Negotiations to extend emergency benefits for the long-term jobless deadlocked in the Senate on Tuesday. That leaves more than 1.3 million people without federal unemployment aid at least until late January, when lawmakers are likely to resume consideration of the legislation.

Democrats and Republicans accused each other of bad-faith negotiations, and by late Tuesday they had rejected each other’s latest proposal. After parliamentary votes to advance the legislation failed, senators moved on to debating the bill to fund government agencies through 2014. Congress leaves town Friday for a weeklong recess and will return Jan. 27, the earliest that new talks could provide a breakthrough on an unemployment plan.

Obama to Announce Program to Create Jobs

WASHINGTON — President Obama, seeking to fulfill a pledge from his last State of the Union address before his next one in two weeks, will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday to announce the establishment of a manufacturing institute to help create well-paying jobs.

A consortium, led by North Carolina State University and comprising 18 companies and six universities, will use advanced semiconductor technology to develop a new generation of energy-efficient devices for automobiles, consumer electronics and industrial motors.

It is the first of three such institutes the president plans to announce and will be financed by a five-year, $70 million grant from the Energy Department. The grant will be matched by money from consortium members, including the equipment manufacturer John Deere and Delphi, an auto-parts maker.

The president also plans to tour a North Carolina research and development center for Vacon, which makes drives that are used to control the speed of electric motors to increase their efficiency.

Iran Sanctions Battle Heats Up

Harry Reid doesn’t seem to want to allow a vote on the Iran sanctions bill, so advocates are shifting tactics and working with House leadership to pass it there first.

The Senate is stalling on bringing new Iran sanctions legislation to a vote following another diplomatic breakthrough, but pro-sanctions Senators say the House may not wait to pass the bill that the White House says could kill the talks and lead to war.
On Sunday, Iran and the P5+1 countries announced they had completed the implementation agreement for an interim deal regarding Iran’s nuclear program, starting the clock on a six-month period during which a potential final deal will be negotiated. Reports said today that there is also a 30-page informal side deal, known as a “non-paper,” that would spell out details of the interim agreement the parties don’t want made public.
The new progress in negotiations with Iran prompted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to say Tuesday the time was not right for a vote on the Menendez-Kirk Iran bill, which would set out Congressional parameters on what a final deal should look like and impose new sanctions if Iran does not complete the final deal or honor it.
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