Wednesday April 16th 2014
------------------------------
Israelis and Palestinians in bid to extend peace talks
Palestinian and Israeli
negotiators are to meet in an effort to extend peace talks beyond the 29
April deadline for a final deal, US officials say.
The US state department said "a range of issues" would be discussed and that both sides remained "highly engaged"."Both parties tell us they want negotiations to continue," she added.
The direct talks, which resumed last July, appeared on the verge of collapse earlier this month when both sides took what the US called "unhelpful steps".
The Palestinians submitted applications to join 15 UN treaties and conventions, while Israel refused to release a fourth group of 26 long-term Palestinian prisoners and reissued tenders for more than 700 new homes at a Jewish settlement in occupied East Jerusalem.
Egypt court sentences Islamist to 7 years for concealing his mother has US citizenship
CAIRO – A criminal court in Egypt has sentenced an ultraconservative Islamist who is an ally of ousted President Mohammed Morsi to seven years in prison after convicting him of forging official documents to conceal that his mother was a U.S. citizen.Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, a lawyer turned TV preacher, had submitted the forged documents to the elections commission in 2012 in a bid to run for president. He was disqualified after allegations surfaced that his mother had U.S. citizenship, in violation of a law that bars anyone whose parents hold any other nationality from running.
Abu-Ismail was arrested days after Morsi was ousted by the military in July 2013 following mass protests. Authorities since have conducted a sweeping crackdown on Morsi supporters and allies, detaining thousands, including Morsi.
Jordan 'targets vehicles crossing from Syria'
Jordanian warplanes have
targeted and destroyed several vehicles trying to cross the border from
Syria, the Jordanian military has said.
A statement said the "camouflaged" vehicles tried to enter
from a rugged area. When warning shots were ignored, the fighter jets
opened fire, it added.Photographs given to the BBC showed two unmarked pick-up trucks riddled with bullets, one of them on fire.
Syrian state media cited the army as saying it was not linked to them.
A Jordanian security source told the Reuters news agency that the vehicles were thought to have been driven by Syrian rebels.
Spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said the government was increasingly worried about "cases of infiltration" and "reports that talk about armed groups that are close to the border and the absence of security there".
The kingdom sees the many hardline Islamist and jihadist rebels fighting in Syria as a domestic security threat, and has boosted security along the 370km (230-mile) border to prevent them entering.
Although it publicly denies supporting either side in the Syrian conflict, the Jordanian government is reported to have provided a staging ground for secular and moderate Islamist rebel factions and their foreign backers.
Palestinians wounded in clashes with Israeli police at al-Aqsa mosque
Dozens injured by rubber bullets after Jewish visitors allowed into Jerusalem site, revered in Judaism as Temple Mount
Dozens of Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Israeli police
that erupted when the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem was opened to
Jewish visitors.
A police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, told AFP that Palestinians threw stones and firecrackers at police when they opened the walled compound's gates on Wednesday.
Rosenfeld said police responded with stun grenades and closed the complex to the Jewish visitors after a small number had toured the site.
An AFP correspondent at the scene said dozens of Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated bullets and stun grenade canisters, and were staying inside the mosque out of fear they would be arrested when leaving.
The compound, in Jerusalem's Old City, is revered as the location of the biblical Jewish temples and is considered Judaism's holiest place.
It also houses the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.
Rosenfeld said the situation on "Temple Mount" – the Jewish term for the complex – was "calm again" and police had left the site.
He noted that in a separate incident elsewhere in the Old City a police officer was lightly wounded by stones thrown by Palestinians.
Non-Muslim visits to the al-Aqsa complex are permitted and regulated by police, but Jews are not allowed to pray at the site.
A police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, told AFP that Palestinians threw stones and firecrackers at police when they opened the walled compound's gates on Wednesday.
Rosenfeld said police responded with stun grenades and closed the complex to the Jewish visitors after a small number had toured the site.
An AFP correspondent at the scene said dozens of Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated bullets and stun grenade canisters, and were staying inside the mosque out of fear they would be arrested when leaving.
The compound, in Jerusalem's Old City, is revered as the location of the biblical Jewish temples and is considered Judaism's holiest place.
It also houses the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.
Rosenfeld said the situation on "Temple Mount" – the Jewish term for the complex – was "calm again" and police had left the site.
He noted that in a separate incident elsewhere in the Old City a police officer was lightly wounded by stones thrown by Palestinians.
Non-Muslim visits to the al-Aqsa complex are permitted and regulated by police, but Jews are not allowed to pray at the site.
Abbas denounces Hebron terror attack to delegation of Israeli legislators
Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz), who was part of the delegation, told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas denounced all terror including the killing of Baruch Mizrachi in Monday evening's terror attack.
"Abu Mazen [Abbas] said this specifically, he emphasized his disgust from bloodshed and terrorism. He said he's willing to participate in the investigation of the attack and to bring those accountable to justice," Horowitz said.
Horowitz expressed optimism on Wednesday that Abbas was a genuine partner in the peace talks. He also said that only a Center-Left oriented government could bring about the end to the conflict with the Palestinians.
"Today there is a majority in the Knesset and the public to reach an agreement. (Prime Minister Binyamin) Netanyahu's manipulations harm the trust between the parties, between Israel and the US, and also endanger the stability in the region," he added.
Pakistani Taliban end ceasefire with government but say talks still on
DERA
ISMAIL KHAN (Pakistan): The Pakistani Taliban have formally ended a
40-day ceasefire but are still open to talks with the government, a
spokesman said on Wednesday.
Shahidullah Shahid said the
insurgents were not extending the ceasefire, which began on March 1,
because the government had continued to arrest people and had killed
more than 50 people associated with them.
"However, the talks
will continue with sincerity and seriousness and in case there is clear
progress from the government side, (the Taliban) will not hesitate to
take a serious step," Shahid said in a statement.
Peace talks
between the Taliban and the government began in February but the first
round ended in violence. The government has released a few low-level
non-combatant prisoners, but the Taliban want hundreds of men released
and the army to pull back from tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
Pro-Russian Separatists Seize Donetsk Council Building
DONETSK, Ukraine, April 16 (Reuters) - Dozens of masked pro-Russian
separatists armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles have seized control
of the city hall in the eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk demanding a
referendum, a local government spokesman said on Tuesday
The
three dozen men in mismatched camouflage gear and carrying assault and
hunting rifles, pistols and knives took over the building at 0700 GMT,
Donetsk city spokesman Maxim Rovinsky said.
"The
police did not intervene. I would describe this situation as
surreal... They demand the Ukrainian parliament adopt a law on local
referendums," Rovinsky said.
The men have started
assembling barricades, but are allowing people to enter and leave the
building and have agreed not interfere with the work of the regional
parliament, he added.
There were no obvious signs of barricades around the building, according to a Reuters witness.
Donetsk
is the capital of a region that has become the focal point of
Ukraine's standoff with separatist pro-Russians in its industrial east
and southeast.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, armed men in
motley army fatigues drove armoured personnel carriers, one flying the
Russian flag, into the town of Slaviansk, stopping outside the town
hall, which is also occupied by separatists. (Reporting by
Aleksandar Vasovic; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Jeremy
Gaunt)
Saudi intelligence chief Bandar bin Sultan removed
Saudi Arabia's
intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, has been removed from his
post "at his own request", state media report.
Prince Bandar, King Abdullah's nephew and a former ambassador
to the US, recently returned to Riyadh after two months abroad for
medical treatment. The 65 year old has been replaced by his deputy, Gen Youssef al-Idrissi.
His departure comes months after he was quoted warning of a "major shift" from the US over its Middle East policy.
Largely in protest over Washington's reluctance to get involved militarily in Syria, he reportedly told European diplomats in October that Saudi Arabia would be scaling back its co-operation with the CIA over arming and training rebel groups seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
A trip to Moscow to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to abandon his support for the Syrian government also failed to produce results.
"He had been more or less disengaged from the Syrian file for the past five months," Mustafa Alani, a security expert with close ties to the Saudi government, told the Reuters news agency.
"The responsibility was divided between a number of people - officers in the intelligence sphere and other princes. So the reality is that any changes have already happened."
Venezuelan crisis talks make progress on truth commission
CARACAS, Venezuela – Negotiators from Venezuela's government and the opposition agreed to broaden membership in a truth commission tasked with investigating who's to blame for 41 deaths tied to weeks of political unrest.The compromise was announced following hours of negotiations that took place Tuesday night behind closed doors in what both sides described as a much-needed if torturous attempt at dialogue in a nation polarized by 15 years of socialist rule.
Heading into Tuesday's talks the government had insisted that any probing of the protests be led by Congress, which it dominates. But it partially met the opposition's demands for an independent commission by agreeing to include national figures trusted by both sides.
Talks that began last week are being sponsored by the Vatican as well as three South American nations.
North Korea celebrates birthday of founding leader Kim Il Sung
SEOUL -- North Korea on Tuesday celebrated the birthday of its founder, Kim Il Sung, with current leader Kim Jong Un reportedly paying respects at his grandfather’s mausoleum amid efforts to more closely associate him with the late leader’s legacy.Kim Il Sung would have turned 102 this year, and his birthday, known as the Day of the Sun, is a major holiday in North Korea. Since his death in 1994, the day has been celebrated with pageantry and displays of military hardware in the capital, Pyongyang.
This year, Kim Jong Un, who is believed to be 31, made a midnight visit to Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the embalmed bodies of his grandfather and father, Kim Jong Il, lie in state, North Korea’s official media reported.
All members of the North’s military were called on to pledge loyalty to the current leader, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported.
-
Michael Bloomberg in $50m gun law election push
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced a $50m (£30m) election year push for stricter gun laws across the US.
In an interview with the New York Times, Mr Bloomberg said his new group Everytown for Gun Safety would focus on building grassroots support.Gun control laws face a difficult path in the US Congress, which is packed with allies of the powerful gun lobby.
But Mr Bloomberg noted that some states have tightened gun laws on their own.
'Hearts and minds' In a co-ordinated media push on Wednesday, Mr Bloomberg said the new spending would not focus on TV advertisements but on outreach and organising campaigns, mirroring efforts by the nation's largest gun rights lobby group, the National Rifle Association.
Pence hits Obama on missile shield in Berlin speech
Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., will deliver a speech today at the historic Hotel Adlon by Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate in which he will decry “Russian aggression” and call on President Obama to resurrect a planned missile-defense shield for Eastern Europe that Obama scrapped in 2009. Pence, who said he will make a decision on a potential 2016 presidential run in the coming months, is in Germany on a privately funded trade mission. But touting his decade on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Pence will strike a hawkish tone.
From the prepared remarks provided to Fox News First: “With Russian aggression on the rise, clearly conciliatory diplomacy has failed. While sanctions are of some value, in the interest of our alliance, I believe the United States and the EU must respond with deeds more than words to strengthen our economic and strategic defenses.”Missile shield - “And, with continued instability in the Middle East, Iran’s ongoing effort to develop long-range missiles and nuclear technology, and Putin’s annexation of Crimea and aggression in Ukraine, I believe we must take immediate steps to deploy a robust missile defense in Europe – especially Poland and the Czech Republic – to protect the interests of our NATO allies and the United States in the region.”
Obama to announce $600 million in grant programs to prepare workforce for jobs
President Obama will announce Wednesday a pair of grant programs designed to bring academic institutions and businesses closer together in preparing the American workforce for jobs that may otherwise go unfilled.
The grant programs will total $600 million, money already in the federal budget. The decision to designate the money for these grant programs arose from a review of federal jobs programs by Vice President Biden, who will join Obama at a community college outside Pittsburgh to make the announcement.Michigan, White House discuss federal money for bankrupt Detroit: report
(Reuters) - Michigan officials and President Barack Obama's
Administration are discussing a plan to free up $100 million in federal
money to aid Detroit's retired city workers, the Detroit Free Press
reported on Tuesday.
Citing two people
familiar with the talks, the newspaper said the talks were centered
around federal money flowing to Michigan for blight removal. Under the
plan, $100 million would be earmarked for Detroit, reducing the $500
million the city's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, plans to use to
eliminate blight over the next 10 years.
The
$100 million saved could then be used by Orr to ease pension cuts for
retirees under the city's plan to adjust its $18 billion of debt and
exit the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, according to the report.
Hillary Clinton Blasts the Supreme Court for Ruining Campaign Finance
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton isn't a fan of the Supreme Court's recent penchant for eroding campaign finance law. At an event in Portland, Oregon, earlier this week Clinton joked that, if the conservative majority on the Supreme Court continues on its current path, all elections would soon be decided by a handful of wealthy benefactors."With the rate the Supreme Court is going, there will only be three or four people in the whole country that have to finance our entire political system by the time they are done," she said, according to CNN, after being asked about the public perception of Congress. "Understand," she added, "that you can be a liberal, you can be a conservative, but you want to vote for someone who understands, respects, and cherishes the Democratic process."
Clinton's critique of the Supreme Court was a clear reference to the justices' ruling last week on McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. In that 5-4 decision, the court's conservative justices tossed out the rules on aggregate limits—a total cap on the amount a donor can contribute to federal campaigns or political committees during a two-year window. While there are still limitations on donations to individual candidates, the big-time spenders are now free to cast a wide net and send money to as many candidates as they please. That decision builds off Citizens United, the marquee campaign-finance case of Chief Justice John Roberts' tenure, that began when an outside group created an anti-Clinton film during the 2008 campaign.
No comments:
Post a Comment
THE VOCR
Comments and opinions are always welcome.Email VOCR2012@Gmail.com with your input - Opinion - or news link - Intel
We look forward to the Interaction.