Gazette 04-10-14

Thursday April 10 2014

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Putin warns Europe of gas shortages over Ukraine debts

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned European leaders that Ukraine's delays in paying for Russian gas have created a "critical situation".

Pipelines transiting Ukraine deliver Russian gas to several EU countries and there are fears that the current tensions could trigger gas shortages.
Armed pro-Russian separatists are holed up in official buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, a European human rights body has stripped Russia of voting rights.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) monitors human rights in 47 member states, including Russia and Ukraine.
Protesting against Russia's annexation of Crimea last month, PACE suspended Russia's voting rights as well as Russian participation in election observer missions.
The Russian delegation had boycotted the meeting. Its leader, Alexei Pushkov, described the proceedings as a "farce".
The BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels says Moscow may well brush off this diplomatic snub, but it is another sign of the price it is having to pay for its annexation of Crimea.

Boston Marathon bombs: Russia 'withheld' information on Tsarnaev

The Russian government withheld intelligence from the US on one of the Boston Marathon bomb suspects that may have led to further scrutiny before the attack, a US newspaper has reported.

Russian officials warned the FBI about ethnic Chechen Muslim Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011, the New York Times reports.
But Russia declined requests for more information on the US resident.
Twin blasts killed three and injured more than 260 in April 2013. Tsarnaev was later killed in a police shootout.
Before the bombing, US authorities were aware of Tsarnaev but deemed he posed a "far greater threat to Russia" than to the US, the New York Times reports.
According to an inspector general's report reviewed by the Times, the Russians told the FBI Tsarnaev "was a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer" and "had changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the United States for travel to the country's region to join unspecified underground groups".
Investigative guidelines But according to the US report, only after the bombing did the Russians provide the FBI with additional intelligence, including a telephone conversation Russian officials had intercepted between Tsarnaev and his mother in which the two discussed what was described as Islamic jihad.
Tsarnaev, 26, and his younger brother Dzhokhar, 20, immigrated to the US from Russia as children and were reared in the Boston area, ultimately settling in Cambridge.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed days after the 15 April bombing during an attempt to evade capture. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was shot by police but caught and charged with terrorism in connection with the bombing. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

Could China launch Crimea-style action in disputed islands?

U.S. officials have told China to discourage using force to pursue territorial claims in Asia the way Russia has in Crimea. Russia's annexation of Crimea has heightened concern among U.S. allies in the region about the possibility of China using force to gain control over the disputed Senkaku Islands.
In an interview with Fox News National Security Analyst KT McFarland, Steve Orlins downplayed those fears. Orlins serves as president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and just returned from a meeting with top Chinese officials.
“The situation in Crimea and Ukraine is not one which has emboldened China,” Orlins said. “Their reaction [was] very cautious and concerned.”
Beijing has closely watched Kiev since the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych by opposition protestors.
“The annexation of Crimea is deeply concerning to the Chinese because they worry tremendously about … Tibet and Taiwan,” Orlins said. “Would they vote to be a part of China? Maybe not. Would they vote to be a part of another state? Possibly.”
Orlins sees China’s relationship with Japan as problematic. “[It] was the Japanese that started down this road,” Orlins said in regards to the disputed islands.
“Now the Chinese have overreacted. Plenty of blame to go around, but the initial change of the status-quo we often lose sight of was by the Japanese,” said Orlins.

China's second monthly drop in exports fuels market concerns

A second monthly drop in exports is fuelling financial market concerns about a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
Analysts said they were shaving their growth forecasts for the world's second biggest economy as it emerged that trade would provide much less of a boost than expected in the first quarter of 2014.
But China's premier, Li Keqiang, insisted policymakers would not rush into panic measures to stimulate activity despite signs that the annual growth rate in the first three months of the year would be below the government's 7.5% target.
"We will not take, in response to momentary fluctuations in economic growth, short-term and forceful stimulus measures," Li said in a speech.
"We will instead focus more on medium- to long-term healthy development."
Li's comments followed the release of official data showing that exports fell by 6.6% in March, following an 18.1% drop in February. Imports fell by 11.3% – China's biggest decline in more than a year.
Economists were most worried by the fall in imports, which was seen as confirming weakness in manufacturing and consumer demand. Some of the fall in exports was attributed to figures early last year being inflated by fake invoices before a government crackdown around the middle of 2013.
"My bigger concern is imports. It suggests a weakening in China's own economy," said Louis Kuijs, economist at RBS in Hong Kong.
Prakash Sakpal, economist with ING, said that despite Li's remarks, he expected the Chinese government to introduce measures to ensure growth met its official 7.5% target for 2014.

India's National Elections Enter Crucial Phase

PATNA, India (AP) — Indians voted in the crucial third phase of national elections Thursday, with millions going to the polls in the heartland states that are essential to the main opposition Hindu nationalist party's bid to end the 10-year rule of Congress party.
Suspected Maoist rebels, who have urged a boycott, briefly disrupted voting in their strongholds in eastern Bihar state and neighboring Chhattisgarh, carrying out acts of violence despite thousands of security forces fanning out in the area.
Nearly 110 million people were eligible to vote in the third phase of the elections in 92 constituencies in 11 of India's 28 states and three federally administered union territories. The multiphase voting across the country runs until May 12, with results for the 543-seat lower house of Parliament announced May 16.
Parts of sprawling Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra states were among the places holding balloting on Thursday.
Hours before the voting began, Maoist insurgents blew up a jeep carrying paramilitary soldiers, killing two and wounding three others and causing a suspension in voting in some parts of eastern Bihar state, police said.
The soldiers were patrolling a forest in a rebel stronghold in Munger district when their jeep hit a land mine nearly 225 kilometers (145 miles) southeast of Patna, the state capital, police officer Jitendra Rana said.
Voting was suspended at 20 nearby polling stations because of the safety threat, Rana said, but started as scheduled in other parts of Bihar state. Election authorities are expected to hold voting in the area targeted by the rebels on another day.

Narendra Modi, frontrunner for Indian PM, admits to ‘secret’ wife

Narendra Modi, India’s prime ministerial frontrunner, admitted for the first time today that he is married, confirming a widely-held rumor as millions of Indians head for the polls in national elections.
Mr Modi, 63, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who has always shunned questions about his private life, made the declaration in election papers filed this week in his home state of Gujarat.

30 dead in Central African Republic clash, priest says

BANGUI, Central African Republic –  Clashes between Christian and Muslim fighters in Central African Republic have left at least 30 people dead and forced others to flee their homes, a priest said Thursday.
Everaldo De Suza of the Saint Anne parish in the central town of Dekoa said that the fighting began Tuesday when Christian militants attacked and Muslim fighters fought back.
A Christian commander confirmed the fighting but denied that his forces had started it. The death toll could not be independently confirmed.
The Muslim fighters, members of the disbanded Seleka rebel alliance who had a tenuous hold on the town when the fighting began, called for reinforcements, De Suza said. Most of the dead were civilians, killed by Muslims who fired into a crowd of people they mistook for Christian militants, he said.
Pillaging and death threats from the fighters forced many others to flee the town for the bush, he said.
Central African Republic, long unstable, descended deeper into chaos following a coup last year by the Seleka alliance, which proceeded to commit atrocities against civilians. Christian militias sprung up in response, vowing revenge.
France has sent about 2,000 troops, and the African Union peacekeeping force says it now has about 5,000 forces in the country after the departure of Chadian troops. But the sectarian violence continues to escalate. As a result, the Security Council on Thursday unanimously approved a nearly 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force for Central African Republic. The 10,000 U.N. troops and 1,800 police will take over from African Union soldiers -- but not until Sept. 15.

US tells Israel: Pollard's release is still on the table

Sources in Jerusalem confirmed Thursday that Israel has presented the Palestinians with a new package aimed at extending peace talks, and the US has not taken the possible release of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard off of the table.
A diplomatic source said that "if the Palestinian Authority agrees to stop its plans to join a number of international treaties and conventions, Israel will agree to a new prisoner release package in return for the continuation of negotiations until the end of the year at a minimum."
According to the source, the Palestinians expressed willingness to consider the compromise offer put on the table by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.
The emerging deal will allow both sides to "come down from the tree" and appear publicly as if they did not compromise on their positions.
"This is part of the Israeli suggestion which is now being considered by the Palestinian side, while at the same time the US mediator sent a message to Israel - the release of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard from a US prison is still a possibility the US administration will consider, if the sides reach a deal that includes Israel freeing terrorists," the sources said.
The sides are still not close to an agreement due to the Palestinian demand that Israel freeze settlement construction and due to the fact that the details of a new prisoner release deal have not been reached.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met again in Jerusalem on Thursday, along with US envoy to the peace talks, Martin Indyk.
The Prime Minister's Office emphasized Thursday that "if the PA will not stop its unilateral joining of UN conventions, the prime minister's decision is clear - unilateral steps will be answered by unilateral steps from our side. Some of our responses have already com,e and some are still being prepared and are awaiting approval from the political echelon in the event that they will be necessary."

Syria activists say rebel infighting kills 24

BEIRUT: Fierce infighting between rival Islamic rebel groups in eastern Syria left some 24 fighters dead on Thursday, while government shelling killed at least four teenagers in a town in the country's west, activists said.

The four were killed in the rebel-held town of Rastan, just north of the city of Homs, a day after two car bombs exploded in a government controlled district there, killing 25 and wounding over 100.

It was the latest episode in a relentless cycle of blood and violence that has gripped the country since March 2011, when the uprising against President Bashar Assad's rule began.

Opposition groups including the Local Coordination Committees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the teenagers were killed in a barrage of artillery shells that struck a residential district.

"Bashar Assad and his gangs killed the children. They are slaughtering us, old and young and children," said one man, standing beside the bodies shrouded in white sheets, in a video posted online.

Other footage showed heavy smoke rising behind buildings as the shells hit. The videos were consistent with The Associated Press' reporting on the incident.

U.K. warns it may not buy electricity from an independent Scotland

Britain may not buy electricity from an independent Scottish state if imports from alternative markets are cheaper, the U.K. government has warned, putting further pressure on Scotland five months before its independence vote.
A Scotland split from Britain would have to rely on electricity exports to the United Kingdom to sell excess renewable energy generation because its grid is connected only with England and, to a lesser extent, Northern Ireland.
“With a range of generation sources within its own borders and elsewhere, a continuing U.K. would not be obliged to purchase energy from an independent Scottish state,” Britain’s Department of Energy and Climate Change said in a report.
Britain also imports electricity from the Netherlands, France and Ireland and plans to build other links to Belgium, Norway and Denmark.
The government said Scottish infrastructure investments and support costs for renewable energy would add up to 189 pounds ($320 U.S.) to annual Scottish energy bills.
These costs are currently spread across consumer bills in all of Britain.
In addition, taxpayers in an independent Scotland would face increased costs from paying a share of decommissioning expenses and liabilities paid to the coal industry, amounting to more than 24 billion pounds, the government said.
The growing cost of gas and electricity has been a grave concern to many Britons in recent months and has risen to the top of the political agenda ahead of a 2015 general election.
The government’s warning that it may not import Scottish electricity is Britain’s latest attempt to persuade Scots to vote against independence.
Scotland’s electricity network is connected with England, where the bulk of its excess electricity supplies are delivered. A smaller cable to Northern Ireland is rarely used for export.
Scotland is a net exporter of electricity, meaning it produces more than it consumes. Net exports stood at 26 per cent of generation in 2012.
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Bank of America in $783m settlement over credit card practices

Bank of America has agreed to pay $783m (£470m) in fines and refunds to settle accusations it misled customers about its credit card services.

The bank will refund $738m to affected customers and pay $45m in penalties to US regulators.
The payout relates to the bank's sales and marketing of its payment and identity theft protection add-on services from 2010 to 2012.
Regulators said nearly three million customers were affected.
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a statement that the bank had been "unfairly billing consumers" for the identity theft protection product, and "using deceptive marketing and sales practices" for the credit protection add-ons.
Bank of America neither admitted nor denied the allegations.
Instead, it said in a statement that it had stopped marketing identity theft protection products in December 2011 and credit card debt cancellation products in August 2012.
The settlement comes weeks after Bank of America agreed to pay $9.5bn to settle charges it misled US mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the housing crisis in 2008.

Republicans Vote To Hold Former IRS Official Lois Lerner In Contempt Of Congress

WASHINGTON -- Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted on party lines Thursday to hold in contempt of Congress the former Internal Revenue Service official at the heart of the agency's inappropriate scrutiny of political nonprofits. This is the first time congressional lawmakers have acted to hold someone in contempt for asserting his or her Fifth Amendment rights since the McCarthy era.
Lois Lerner was in charge of the IRS' exempt organizations unit when it looked to the names of organizations -- rather than what they were doing, according to the IRS inspector general -- to select some for extra scrutiny in determining whether they were actually eligible for tax-exempt status. Most of the groups singled out were conservative.
Lerner twice refused to testify before the House Oversight Committee, first professing her innocence and then invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Her refusal to answer questions infuriated Republicans, who insisted that she waived her rights when she asserted that she had done nothing wrong.
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) argued that Lerner made 17 separate statements of fact in her denials of wrongdoing and that such statements would have cost her opportunity to plead the Fifth in any regular court.
"That is a lot of talking for somebody who wants to remain silent. That's a lot of talking," Gowdy said. "Please tell me what constitutes waiver if saying 17 separate factual things does not."
Other Republicans on the Oversight Committee seemed to believe that Lerner is guilty of crimes and will face prosecution from the Justice Department, which is investigating the matter.

Congress approves bill to bar Iran ambassador from US

The House has approved a bill that would bar Iran's choice for ambassador to the United Nations from stepping on U.S. soil. 
By voice vote, lawmakers endorsed the measure and sent it to President Obama for his signature. The bill would deny entry to the United States to an individual found to be engaged in espionage, terrorism or a threat to national security. 
American officials objected to the selection of Hamid Abutalebi because of his alleged participation in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days in the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. 
The Obama administration has told Iran the choice is unacceptable, but White House spokesman Jay Carney refused to say Thursday whether the president would sign the bill.

House passes Ryan's Republican budget with deep spending cuts

(Reuters) - U.S. House Republicans narrowly passed a new balanced budget plan from Representative Paul Ryan on Thursday in a vote that will help shape the debate ahead of November's congressional elections.
The plan authored by Ryan, the influential House Budget Committee chairman, would eliminate deficits within 10 years, due largely to deep cuts to social safety net programs, grants for college students, and research and infrastructure spending. It also seeks to boost defense spending over the next decade without any increase in tax revenues.
The plan, which is not expected to be considered by the Democratic-controlled Senate, passed on a party-line vote of 219 to 205, with 193 Democrats and 12 Republicans voting against it.
The budget will serve largely as a campaign manifesto, highlighting Republicans' determination to shrink the federal debt, while opening the party up to attacks from Democrats over its proposed cuts.

Carter Criticizes Hillary Clinton

In an interview with Time, Jimmy Carter took a shot at Hillary Clinton and her tenure as the nation's top diplomat.

Said Carter: "I know from experience that the best way to have the United States be a mediator is for the President himself to be deeply involved. In this occasion, when Secretary Clinton was Secretary of State, she took very little action to bring about peace." 

House panel backs hitting pause on US transfer of Internet oversight

A House panel has endorsed a Republican plan to hit the brakes on the administration's move to cede the U.S. government's last bit of oversight over the Internet. 
In a 16-10 vote, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Thursday recommended a GOP-backed resolution that would require an independent study before the transition can move forward. 
The measure now goes to the full committee. 
At issue is an organization that administers the Internet -- a Los Angeles-based nonprofit called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN -- which the government for years has contracted with. A Commerce Department agency announced in March it would relinquish control over ICANN, presumably when its contract expires in September 2015. 
The office said it wants the group to convene "global stakeholders" to come up with a transition plan -- a transition to what remains unknown. 
Some lawmakers and free Internet advocates have taken a skeptical view toward the transition. 
At a brief meeting by the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Wednesday, Republicans continued to warn that the move could risk foreign governments making a play for Internet control.
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