Gazette 03-21-14

Friday March 21st 2014

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Ukraine crisis: EU signs association deal

EU leaders have signed an agreement on closer relations with Ukraine, in a show of support following Russia's annexation of Crimea.

The EU signed the deal hours after announcing more targeted sanctions.
Pro-Moscow leader Viktor Yanukovych's abandonment of the deal in November had led to deadly protests, his removal and Russia taking over Crimea.
On Friday, Russia's upper house unanimously approved the treaty on Crimea joining the Russian Federation.
'Rule of law' The EU Association Agreement is designed to give Ukraine's interim leadership under PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk economic and political support.
EU President Herman Van Rompuy said in a statement that the accord "recognises the aspirations of the people of Ukraine to live in a country governed by values, by democracy and the rule of law".
Mr Yatsenyuk said this was a "historic day", adding: "We want to be a part of the big European family and this is the first tremendous step in order to achieve for Ukraine its ultimate goal, as a full-fledged member."
He added that "the best way to contain Russia is to impose real economic leverage"

Defense official: France ready to send warplanes to the Baltics, Poland amid Russia tensions

A defense ministry official says France is offering to send warplanes to help provide air patrols over the Baltic states and Poland amid growing tensions between the West and Russia.

The ministry official says France was "available — if NATO requests it — to contribute to air policing patrols" in the former Soviet republics and Poland, now members of the Atlantic alliance. The comments came as French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visiting Estonia, Lithuania and Poland on Friday.
The United States and Britain have already provided such support.
A French contribution could include warplanes, AWACs surveillance aircraft and radar. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Obama Announces Sanctions On Those Close To Putin

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama announced a new round of sanctions against 20 Russians on Thursday, including a number close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The move signals a much stronger approach toward Russia just three days after earlier sanctions were met with bemusement and relief from the Russian officials who were sanctioned, as well as from the Russian markets.

The latest list includes top government leaders, such as Sergey Ivanov, Putin's chief of staff, and Vladimir Kozhin, the head of the presidential administrative directorate.
But perhaps more surprising is the inclusion of a number of super-wealthy oligarchs who are personally close to Putin. Brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, Putin's childhood friends and former judo partners, are named. Arkady has a net worth of $4 billion, and Boris is worth $1.7 billion, according to Forbes. Bloomberg reported that Arkady's companies got $7 billion in contracts for the Sochi Olympics. Vladimir Yakunin, head of the lucrative Russian Railways, was also listed. Yakunin got to know Putin in St. Petersburg, where the Russian president launched his political career.

Yury Kovalchuk, a banker and financier with a net worth of $1.4 billion, was included as well. Kovalchuk is believed to bank for Putin, and is the largest shareholder of Bank Rossiya, also targeted by the sanctions. Gennady Timchenko, the 12th richest man in Russia and another person with close ties to Putin, also made the list.

Senior administration officials told reporters on a conference call that the individuals would be banned from conducting business with Americans and barred from using U.S. dollars, and would be blocked from even participating in the world financial system. That could hurt many of the oligarchs, who are believed to hold some or most of their money abroad.

Death toll climbs in Lebanon clashes

At least two people have been killed in continuing clashes between neighbouring communities in northern Lebanon linked to the conflict in Syria.

The latest deaths brings to at least 16 the number killed since the violence erupted in Tripoli one week ago.
Battles have raged between Bab al-Tabbana, where there is strong support for Syrian rebels, and Jabal Muhsin, which backs President Bashar al-Assad.
Fighting between the two districts has flared since the Syria conflict began.
About 150 people have been injured in the clashes since last week, the Associated Press reports.
It says gunmen with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades continued to exchange fire on Friday following the deaths overnight.
The predominantly Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh, and Jabal Muhsin, populated mainly by Alawites, the heterodox sect of President Assad, have fought on-and-off for years.
The war in Syria, though, has exacerbated tensions between the two districts in the northern port city.

Israeli military says it's found biggest tunnel yet dug by Gaza militants for Israel attacks

The Israeli military says it has discovered another tunnel — the biggest so far — dug from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip that stretches into Israel and was intended for attacks on soldiers and civilians.

Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said Friday the opening of the "terror tunnel" was found hundreds of meters (yards) inside Israel.
Lerner did not elaborate and the tunnel is currently off limits to media because of concerns it could be booby-trapped.
Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida blamed the tunnel's discovery on recent rains that exposed its opening.
In 2013, Israel found three tunnels, including one that was a mile long. In 2006, Hamas-allied militants sneaked into Israel through a tunnel, killed two Israeli soldiers and kidnapped a third, holding him hostage in Gaza for five years.

Mass Poisoning In Chinese Kindergarten Leaves 2 Dead, Dozens Ill

BEIJING (AP) — Authorities say two children have died and another 30 are sickened in a mass poisoning at a kindergarten in southwestern China.
Investigators identified the toxic substance as a powerful rat poison, but do not yet know how it was administered Wednesday in the kindergarten in Yunnan province's rural Qiubei county. State broadcaster CCTV says the school began accepting students last year despite not being fully licensed.
Along with the victims, aged 4 and 5, 12 others remained hospitalized Friday, three of them in serious condition.
Chinese schools have suffered a series of mass stabbings and other attacks by mentally disturbed people or those bearing grudges. There have also been incidents of school staff administering medication without authorization.

Four foreigners among nine gunned down in Taliban attack on Kabul hotel

Four men with pistols stuffed in their socks attacked a luxury hotel in Kabul on Thursday, opening fire in a restaurant and killing nine people, including four foreigners, officials said.
The attack came just hours after militants killed 11 people in an audacious assault on a police station in eastern Afghanistan.
Afghan authorities initially said only two security guards had been wounded in the brazen assault on the Serena hotel in Kabul, which is home to UN staff and diplomats.
But deputy interior minister General Mohammad Ayub Salangi later told Associated Press that the Afghan fatalities included two men, two women and one child while the foreigners included two women and two men.
Salangi did not provide the nationalities of the foreigners who were believed to be celebrating the Persian new year with other guests. The attackers were all killed by security guards.
Zabihullah Mujihid, a Taliban spokesman, who claimed responsibility for the attack, said the fighters evaded security by using a back entrance. He said they were armed with light and heavy weapons and suicide vests, although only gunfire was heard during the attack.
“Tonight at 9.15 some mujahideen entered from an unofficial door,” he told the Guardian by phone. “Foreigners and officials from Kabul administration, important people were there tonight.”
As fears for security rise in Afghanistan ahead of a presidential election set for next month, its rooms were fully booked by election monitors, United Nations staff and diplomats whose embassies felt exposed.

US senators see steady defense aid to Israel despite budget cuts 

JERUSALEM - The United States will continue providing Israel with defense aid after a current package worth some $3 billion a year expires in 2017, and the grants are unlikely to wane despite Washington belt-tightening, two US senators said on Thursday.

Kelly Ayotte and Joe Donnelly, who are members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, visited Israel to confer on security issues like missile defense, on which the allies have partnered.

Talks on a new package were already under way, said Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican.

"Obviously the final negotiations have not been worked out but I do not expect that our commitment and work with Israel will diminish," she told Reuters.

Politically popular US aid to close ally Israel has held steady despite cuts to a wide range of other programs, including reducing the size of the US army to its lowest level since before World War Two and shrinking spending in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

Donnelly, a Democrat from Indiana, noted Israel's rare stability in a turbulent Middle East.

"I think there is understanding among the people across our country about the value of the relationship with Israel, not only just personal and friendship-wise, but also the importance of having Israel as an ally in this region," he said."And so I think that the people of our country feel that every dollar spent on this is worth it, is well spent."

Why is Iran building a mock US aircraft carrier?

Washington: Iran is building a nonworking mock-up of an American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that US officials say may be intended to be blown up for propaganda value.
Intelligence analysts studying satellite photos of Iranian military installations first noticed the vessel rising from the Gachin shipyard, near Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf, last summer. The ship has the same distinctive shape and style of the Navy's Nimitz-class carriers, as well as the USS Nimitz's No. 68 neatly painted in white near the bow. Mock aircraft can be seen on the flight deck.
The Iranian mock-up, which US officials described as more like a barge than a warship, has no nuclear propulsion system and is only about two-thirds the length of a typical 1,100-foot-long Navy (335 metre) carrier. Intelligence officials do not believe that Iran is capable of building an actual aircraft carrier.

"Based on our observations, this is not a functioning aircraft carrier; it's a large barge built to look like an aircraft carrier," said Commander Jason Salata, a spokesman for the Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain, across the Persian Gulf from Iran. "We're not sure what Iran hopes to gain by building this. If it is a big propaganda piece, to what end?"

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Whatever the purpose, American officials acknowledged Thursday that they wanted to reveal the existence of the vessel to get out ahead of the Iranians.
Navy and other American intelligence analysts surmise that the vessel, which 5th Fleet wags have nicknamed the Target Barge, is something that Iran could tow to sea, anchor and blow up - while filming the whole thing to make a propaganda point, if, say, the talks with the Western powers over Iran's nuclear program go south.

Thai court rules general election invalid

Thailand's Constitutional Court has ruled the 2 February general election invalid, officials say.

The snap poll was called by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra amid major anti-government protests in Bangkok.
The ruling party was expected to win, but the opposition boycotted it and protesters disrupted voting, meaning the election has not been completed.
The vote was unconstitutional because it did not take place on the same day across the country, the court said.
Polls were not held in a number of constituencies because protesters had blocked candidate registration. 

The court, which ruled to void the election by six votes to three, was responding to a motion by a law lecturer who had challenged the election on a number of points.

It is not clear when a new election will be held.
But protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, deputy prime minister when the opposition were in power, said another election would face similar problems.
"If a new election date is declared, then we'll take care of every province and the election won't be successful again," he said late on Thursday.
A spokesman for the ruling Pheu Thai party, Prompong Nopparit, said the party would play by the rules "no matter how much we are bullied".
"The reason this election is nullified is because the polls were blocked by the protesters, weren't they? We've played by the rules all along, but what about the other side?" the Associated Press quoted him as saying.
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Condi Rice: The U.S. Can't Step Back And Let Others Lead

Condoleezza Rice is a former U.S. secretary of state. She spoke with The WorldPost

The WorldPost: Since leaving office as secretary of state, you've focused on domestic issues such as education, governance reform, civic issues and citizenship. Why this switch in focus?

Condoleezza Rice: It's not so much a switch in focus, but instead making sure we lead from a position of strength and by example. As an academic and former provost of Stanford, I have always cared deeply about the education system here in the United States. My parents were teachers, too, and I watched them from a very early age shape the young minds of our country and help mentor kids to achieve their goals and dreams.

But I also believe that America can only lead abroad if we are strong here at home. This means we must always look inward and make sure that our democracy is providing the same opportunities that we are promoting abroad. Whether it's good governance in Africa, human rights in the Middle East or education and immigration issues here at home -- we must lead in these issues both here at home and abroad.

The WorldPost: The Economist recently ran a cover story on "Democracy, what went wrong?" -- pointing out the recent overthrow of elected governments in Cairo and Kiev -- but also pointing to the continuing gridlock in Washington. Why is democracy having such troubles?

Rice: I firmly believe that history has a long arc and democracy takes time. If you look back at the history of the United States, we've been through many times of trial and turmoil. We fought a Civil War, we've had challenges with civil rights and equality, we've gone through the Great Depression. Democracy is not easy and it's certainly chaotic at points, but it's the only form of government where people have the right to consent to be governed and elect their leaders.
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Lawmakers take sanctions from Russia as badge of honor

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress who were hit Thursday with sanctions by Russia celebrated their standing as a badge of honor, pledging to continue pressing for Ukraine from their spot on President Vladimir Putin's enemies list.
"I guess this means my spring break in Siberia is off," quipped Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who just returned from leading a group of lawmakers to Ukraine with Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).
House Speaker John A. Boehner's spokesman said the Ohio Republican was "proud to be included on the list of those willing to stand against Putin's aggression."
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who was meeting with American allies in Brussels, said that "if standing up for the Ukrainian people, their freedom, their hard-earned democracy and their sovereignty means I'm sanctioned by Putin, so be it." 
The retaliatory move barring several American leaders from entering Russia came after the U.S. imposed another round of...

Hillary Clinton set for Colorado trip in June

Washington (CNN) – Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will continue her tour on the paid-speaking circuit when she headlines two June events in Colorado.

Since leaving the State Department in early 2013, Clinton has spent the last year collecting paychecks by keynoting events hosted by different interest groups and organizations around North America.
Clinton will head to Colorado Springs, Colorado on June 3 to keynote the annual meeting of the American Chemistry Council, a politically active industry trade association for chemical manufacturing companies. In 2012, the group spent 72% of the almost $500,000 they raised on Republican federal candidates, according the Center for Responsive Politics.
Clinton's speech – which will take place at the The Broadmoor, a swanky five star resort in the city on the edge of the Rockies – is sponsored by Accenture, a large consulting firm with contracts with the federal government.
On their website, the chemical trade group says their annual event "brings together the elite senior executives from U.S. and international companies in June to discuss the latest business, regulatory and legislative trends affecting the chemical industry."

Obama enlists DeGeneres, other celebrities in final healthcare push

WASHINGTON -- President Obama teased Ellen DeGeneres about the selfie she took at the Oscars and confessed to leaving his socks and shoes lying around while the first lady is out of town, but before the end of his Thursday appearance on the talk show he got to put in a plug for the Affordable Care Act.

That’s Obama's deal with popular media these days as the president enlists help in his effort to boost healthcare sign-up numbers before the March 31 enrollment deadline.
In recent days, Obama has filled out his March Madness brackets on ESPN, joked around with comedian Zach Galifianakis on “Between Two Ferns” and defended his “mom jeans” on-air with radio host Ryan Seacrest -- all with the agreement that he’d get a moment to pitch his healthcare plan.

The White House is aiming to bring young consumers into the fold, and not just because they represent roughly 40% of the uninsured population.
Young participants are more likely to pay into the system without drawing heavily on its benefits and are seen as key to ensuring the president's healthcare reform is economically viable.
Administration officials estimate they have signed up more than 5 million of the 6 million people they hope to enroll by the deadline -- a downward revision from the 7 million target they named before all the trouble with the rollout of the sign-up website, HealthCare.gov.
As healthcare experts predicted, young people are taking their time getting on board. Now, the White House is going after them through every media outlet and opinion leader they can mobilize. “Validators,” aides call them.

Personal FBI flights for Holder and other Justice officials went unreported

Senior Justice Department officials including Attorney General Eric Holder and former FBI Director Robert Mueller used federal aircraft for hundreds of personal trips that were not properly reported, according to a watchdog report.

Congress’s nonpartisan Government Accountability Office determined that the flights cost taxpayers $7.8 million. But the General Services Administration, which oversees such trips, did not require documentation because of a GSA reporting exemption that covers intelligence agencies, even in cases of unclassified personal travel.
The GSA exemption contradicts decades-old executive-branch requirements, specifically guidelines established by President Bill Clinton and the Office of Management and Budget, according to the report. The report said GSA “has not provided a basis for deviating from executive branch requirements.”
The findings, released Thursday, came out nearly 19 months after Republican lawmakers began questioning Holder’s use of an FBI jet for travel unrelated to Justice Department work.
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Stephen Harper to make historic stop in Ukraine on trip to Europe

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is on his way to Ukraine where he will be the first G7 leader to visit the eastern European country since Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to make Crimea a part of Russia.
Canada has joined other G7 leaders in their condemnation of Russia's military action against Ukraine and last Sunday's referendum results which have been denounced as a violation of international law.
Harper's visit to Kyiv on Saturday – where he will meet with Ukraine's Interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk –​ will be further "expression of Canada's principled stand on Ukraine," said the prime minister's director of communications, Jason MacDonald in an interview with CBC News on Thursday.
Harper will use Saturday's photo op with Yatsenyuk as an opportunity to show that Canada condemns "Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea" and continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they move to build a democratic country with presidential elections set for May 25.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, who was in Kyiv's Independence Square amid protests last month, will be accompanying Harper on his visit to Ukraine.
The opposition New Democrats and Liberals both told CBC News on Thursday they were not invited to take part in the prime minister's visit to Ukraine.

Marois remains cagey on referendum timetable during debate

MONTREAL - Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois refused to be boxed in on her timetable for a sovereignty referendum on Thursday during the first leaders' debate of the campaign.
The premier refused to say if she would hold a plebiscite to break up Canada should voters give the PQ a majority on April 7.
Her former separatist colleague, Francois Legault, who now runs the breakaway centre-right CAQ party, pressed Marois on the unity question but she didn't bite.
"No, there will not be any referendum ... so long as Quebecers are not ready," she repeated more than once.
"There will not be any tomorrow," she said at another point. "And it will not be in secret, you know very well.
"Are we holding a referendum election? No. This is an election to choose a government."
Polls have indicated support for sovereignty is flat and Marois largely avoided talking about sovereignty while leading her short-lived minority government.
But the issue came back to the fore when Marois' star candidate, former Quebecor tycoon Pierre Karl Peladeau, joined the PQ earlier this month by declaring "I am a sovereigntist."
Peladeau also said he's running for the PQ to "help give his three children a country that they can be proud of."
The debate also became heated Thursday over the issue of the PQ's proposed secularism charter that would bar public servants from wearing religious symbols at work.
Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard, whose party crept ahead of the PQ in the polls last week, asked Marois how many women would be fired from hospitals if the charter is passed.
Marois was quick to remind Couillard that he tossed Liberal member Fatima Houda-Pepin from his caucus last month for supporting the PQ proposal that Couillard opposes.

Justin Trudeau under fire from Trinity-Spadina Liberals

It appears that supporters of one-time Liberal candidate Christine Innes are ready to fight for her right to enter the nomination race for the still-undeclared byelection in Trinity-Spadina — and they've got the blessing of the local riding association executive to take their case straight to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. 
On Thursday, the Federal Trinity-Spadina Liberal Association announced, via press release, that the local executive has "voted to condemn both the process and the decision made by the Liberal Party to block its only known nominee in an imminent by-election."
The release claims the party "made unproven and malicious allegations against the candidate and her family" in an effort to "cover up its desire to control the nomination process" — specifically, they allege, in response to Innes's refusal to sign a written pledge to run for the nomination in Spadina-Fort York in 2015.
"There was absolutely no due or fair process," riding president Julia Metus is quoted as saying in the release.
"No one picked up the phone to contact me, there was no opportunity to discuss their concerns, and there was zero local involvement. This is contrary to everything the Liberal Party — new or otherwise — is supposed to stand for.”
The riding executive has requested a face-to-face meeting with Trudeau to review the decision "and return to fairness and due process."

Death rant was Mayor Ford channelling Hulk Hogan: Court document

TORONTO -- Mayor Rob Ford is tagging Hulk Hogan to help him fight a lawsuit filed against him by his ex-brother-in-law alleging he orchestrated a jailhouse beating.
In a statement of defence filed in court Tuesday and obtained by QMI Agency Thursday, Ford denied that a video depicting him punching and threatening to kill someone was meant seriously or had his former brother-in-law Scott MacIntyre in mind.
The statement argues that Ford was doing a wrestler impression ahead of his August arm-wrestling match with legendary wrestler Hulk Hogan.
Ford's lawyer, Gavin Tighe, goes on to stress in the statement that the lawsuit's claims alleging the mayor orchestrated MacIntyre's beating in the Metro West Detention Centre in 2012 "knowingly lacks merit, is frivolous and vexatious, is an abuse of the process of this Honourable Court, and is utterly irresponsible being designed for the collateral and improper purpose of maximizing publicity and notoriety.
"The baseless allegations of criminal conduct ... against (Ford) are reprehensible and deserving of this Honourable Court's sanction," the document states.
MacIntyre filed a $1.5 million lawsuit in January, claiming Ford arranged the jailhouse beating that left him with a fractured left leg, facial cuts and dental damage. All of the allegations have yet to be tested in court.
At the time he was attacked, MacIntyre, then 46, was being held on allegations he uttered threats against the mayor while trying to recover a debt owed by Ford's sister, Kathy.
He was sentenced in June 2012 to five months in addition to time already served for uttering death threats, possession and attempting to break a court order.
In his statement of claim, MacIntyre pointed to the video that came out last November featuring Ford ranting about wanting to murder someone as evidence that the mayor wanted him dead.

Nenshi For Premier? Calgary Mayor Doesn't Say No

While Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi didn't come right out and say he would run for Alberta premier – he didn't exactly rule it out, either.
In a scrum with reporters Wednesday evening, Nenshi was asked if he would run for province's top job following Alison Redford's announcement she would step down.
"I can tell you regardless of whatever role I’m in personally, I will take a very serious part in this next election, always fighting for the interests of Calgarians and Albertans," Nenshi answered, according to the Calgary Herald.
Could it be a change of political heart from the two-term mayor? In his college years, Nenshi played Quebec premier during a mock First Minister's conference, but that's as close as he's come to the role. When asked about a possible foray into federal politics in 2015, Nenshi was cool to the idea.
“I’ve got the best political job in Canada right now. I can’t imagine why I would take a demotion and run for the federal government,” he told Global News earlier this month.
Still, that hasn't stopped his loyal base of supporters from encouraging the mayor to try his hand at provincial politics.
Following the Southern Alberta floods of 2013, social media and comment boards lit up with expressions of support for Nenshi, who was applauded during that time for his take-charge, can-do attitude. Many suggested he run for premier, or even prime minister.

Back-to-work legislation, licence terminations set to end port strike 

The B.C. government will introduce back-to-work legislation and Port Metro Vancouver (PMV) will start to terminate the licenses of some truckers in an effort to end Vancouver's 22-day old port trucking strike.
Victoria plans to introduce back-to-work legislation, which will include a 90-day cooling off period, on March 24. It will affect 250 truckers who are members of Unifor, according to a government press release.
In an interview March 14, B.C.'s transportation minister, Todd Stone, told Business in Vancouver he was reluctant to use back-to-work legislation, describing it as pouring "gas on the fire" of an already tense situation.
PMV hopes that taking away permits from truckers will prompt them to return to work.
"However, if they do not return to work and their permits are cancelled, those permits may be given to others who wish to become truck operators," said PMV in a March 17 statement.
Around 1,000 members of the non-unionized United Truckers Association (UTA) have been off the job since February 26. Four hundred members of Unifor-Vancouver Containter Truckers' Association have been on strike since March 8. Both groups are concerned with low pay and long waiting times at terminals.
Manny Dosange, a spokesman for UTA, questioned where the extra truckers would come from if the port started to revoke licenses.
"Morale's pretty low because no one's talking at the table," Dosange said. "Even if they wanted to go back to work, they can't, because there's no stability as far as going to work and being guaranteed they're going to make a living."
On March 14, the provincial and federal governments presented a 14-point plan to the truckers that offered a review of wage rates, extended terminal hours, a strengthened audit process to ensure drivers are getting paid the proper rate and a review of the truck licensing system.
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