Gazette 04-21-14

Monday April 21st 2014

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Syria to hold June presidential poll

The speaker of Syria's parliament has announced that the country will hold a presidential election on 3 June.

Mohammed al-Lahham said candidates could register to run from Tuesday.
Bashar al-Assad is expected to seek a third seven-year term, despite an uprising against his rule that has left an estimated 150,000 people dead and forced 9 million from their homes.
World powers who support the opposition have denounced the plans for an election as a "parody of democracy".

Multiple candidates

At a special session of the People's Assembly in Damascus, Mr Lahham said voting for

Syrians living outside the country would take place at embassies on 28 May. Those resident in Syria would be able to cast their ballots from 09:00 to 19:00 on 3 June, he added.
Mr Lahham did not say how the government planned to organise voting in contested areas or in the large swathes of the country that are controlled by the opposition.
He also did not mention how they would deal with the more than 6 million people who have been displaced from their homes in the past three years, the 2.7 million refugees in neighbouring countries, or many expatriates living in countries where Syrian embassies have been closed since the uprising began in 2011.
The announcement came just hours after mortar shells exploded about 100m (320ft) from the parliament building in central Damascus, killing five people, according to state TV.

Saudi court sentences 5 to death, 37 others to prison for deadly 2003 Riyadh bombings

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia –  A Saudi court has sentenced five people to death and 37 others to prison on charges related to attacks against expatriate residential compounds in the country's capital more than a decade ago.
In the May 2003 attacks, militants shot and bombed their way into the three compounds in Riyadh. The assault left 35 people dead, including eight Americans and nine attackers.

The Riyadh bombings prompted the kingdom to launch a sweeping crackdown on al-Qaida militants, who officials say were behind the synchronized attack.
State media reported Sunday that Riyadh's Specialized Criminal Court issued the five death sentences. The court sentenced the 37 others to prison terms ranging from three to 35 years on charges of abetting the attacks. The defendants have 30 days to appeal. Their nationalities were not disclosed.

Saudis report three more deaths from MERS virus

Saudi authorities say three more people who contracted a potentially fatal virus related to SARS have died amid a recent increase in infections.
The Health Ministry posted details of the deaths in a statement Sunday evening.
They included a 49-year-old resident of the city of Jeddah, which has seen a recent spike in infections of the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, coronavirus.
Two others from the southern Najran region and the area around the western city of Medina also died. Both were 68.
The deaths were among 13 new cases reported in the kingdom.
Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabiah says the ministry is making every effort to contain the virus.
A total of 79 people have died in Saudi Arabia from MERS since it was identified in 2012.

Ukraine Peace Deal Falters As Rebels Show No Sign Of Surrender

KIEV/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine, April 21 (Reuters) - An agreement reached last week to avert wider conflict in Ukraine was faltering as the new week began, with pro-Moscow separatist gunmen showing no sign of surrendering government buildings they have seized.

Washington says it will hold Moscow responsible and impose new economic sanctions if the separatists do not clear out of government buildings they have occupied across swathes of eastern Ukraine over the past two weeks. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was due in Kiev later on Monday.

Kiev and Moscow traded accusations over a deadly shooting on Easter Sunday morning, when at least three people were killed at a checkpoint manned by armed separatists. Moscow and its separatist allies accused Ukrainian nationalists of attacking the checkpoint; Kiev said Russia had provoked the violence.

In a later incident, the Ukrainian defence ministry said gunmen on motorcycles fired on an army checkpoint between Donetsk and Slaviansk shortly after dark on Sunday. The troops opened fire, wounding one attacker and capturing two, it said.

Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States signed off on an agreement in Geneva on Thursday, designed to lower tension in the worst confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

The agreement calls for occupied buildings to be vacated under the auspices of envoys from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a security body. All sides are meant to refrain from force.

But no sooner had the accord been signed than both sides accused the other of breaking it, while the pro-Moscow rebels said the pledge to withdraw from occupied buildings was not binding on them.

Yemeni officials: Suspected US drone strike kills several al-Qaida militants, local commander

SANAA, Yemen –  Yemeni security officials and tribal chiefs say that a suspected U.S. drone strike has killed several al-Qaida militants in the country's south, including a local militant commander.
The Monday morning attack targeted the rugged mountainous area of Mahfad between the provinces of Abyan and Shabwa. Tribal leaders identified the killed commander as Munnaser al-Anbouri. It was unclear how many militants died.

Both the officials and the elders spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.
It was the third day of a campaign of airstrikes against the al-Qaida branch in Yemen, considered one of the terror network's most dangerous.
There was no immediate U.S. comment on the strike.
A Yemeni security official says 10 suspected al-Qaida militants were arrested in Shabwa province late Sunday.

China seizes Japanese cargo ship over pre-war debt

China's seizure of a Japanese cargo ship over a pre-war debt could hit business ties, Japan's top government spokesman has warned.

Shanghai Maritime Court said it had seized the Baosteel Emotion, owned by Mitsui OSK Lines, on Saturday.
It said the seizure related to unpaid compensation for two Chinese ships leased in 1936.
The Chinese ships were later used by the Japanese army and sank at sea, Japan's Kyodo news agency said.
"The Japanese government considers the sudden seizure of this company's ship extremely regrettable," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Monday.
"This is likely to have, in general, a detrimental effect on Japanese businesses working in China."

South Sudan 'massacre' condemned by United Nations

More than 200 people sheltering inside mosque killed after rebels ousted government troops, according to UN investigators.

The United Nations mission in South Sudan has condemned what it called "the targeted killings of civilians based on their ethnic origins and nationality" in a disputed town that is under the control of anti-government forces.
In Bentiu, the capital of oil-producing Unity state, more than 200 people sheltering inside a mosque were killed last week after rebel forces seized the key town, the mission said in a statement, describing an apparent massacre after government troops were ousted.
Individuals "associated with the opposition" had used an FM radio station to broadcast hate speech, even urging "men from one community to commit vengeful sexual violence against women from another community", it said.
After rebel forces captured Bentiu last Tuesday, "they searched a number of places where hundreds of South Sudanese and foreign civilians had taken refuge and killed hundreds of the civilians after determining their ethnicity or nationality", the statement said, citing the accounts of UN human rights investigators on the ground.
At Bentiu hospital, several men, women and children from the Nuer ethnic group were killed after hiding and refusing to join other Nuers who had come out to cheer the rebels as they seized the town.
Individuals from other South Sudanese communities – as well as people from Darfur – were specifically targeted and killed at the hospital, the statement said. Hundreds more people, who were sheltering at a mosque and a Catholic church, were killed or wounded.

IAF strikes terror sites in Gaza after rocket attacks

IDF holds Hamas accountable for violence on border, including 7 rockets fired into southern Israel; IAF hits 3 targets inside southern, central Strip.

The Israel Air Force bombed three terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday following an attack on IDF forces and rocket attacks on Israel.
Fighter jets struck three targets accurately and returned to base, the IDF Spokesman’s Office said. 
Reuters cited medical sources in Gaza as saying Israel's retaliatory strike had left two Hamas militants lightly wounded.
Earlier on Monday, terrorists in Gaza fired seven rockets into Israel during the last day of the Passover holiday.
The first three projectiles struck uninhabited areas in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council, activating "Code Red" sirens. No damage was reported in the attack.
Another two rockets launched from the coastal enclave caused light damage in Sderot.
“Israeli civilians celebrating the Passover Holiday woke up this morning to the sound of Code-Red alarms and rockets. It is our obligation to seek out and target those who wish to attack our civilians and soldiers and to eliminate their capabilities. Hamas rocket terrorism is an intolerable reality Israelis should not have to accept," IDF Spokesman Lt.-Col. Peter Lerner said in a statement.
According to the IDF, 100 rockets fired from Gaza have hit southern Israel since the beginning of 2014.
In addition to the rocket attacks, the IDF reported that an RPG was launched toward IDF forces early Monday morning on the border with the Strip, but no injuries were reported.
IDF forces later shot warning shots into Gaza. The shots caused no known injuries inside Gaza. 

 

Suicide bombings, attacks in Iraq kill 19 people

BAGHDAD: Suicide bombings and other attacks across Iraq killed at least 19 people and wounded 36 on Monday, officials said, the latest in an uptick in violence as the country counts down to crucial parliament elections later this month.

In one suicide attack, the bomber drove his explosives-laden car into a police checkpoint in the town of Suwayrah, killing 12 people, five policemen and seven civilians. A police officer said the explosion in Suwayrah, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Baghdad, also wounded 19 people.

In the nearby town of Madain, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of Baghdad, another suicide car bomber struck an army checkpoint, killing three soldiers and two civilians, a second police officer said. Twelve other people were wounded in that attack, he said.

An Iraqi soldier was killed and three were wounded when a roadside bomb struck their patrol in the northern town of Mishahda, 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Baghdad, a police officer said. And in the town of Latifiyah, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, gunmen in speeding car went on a shooting spree, killing one civilian and wounding two, a police officer said.

Four medical officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Since last year, Iraq has been experiencing a surge in violence to levels unseen since 2008. The recent uptick has become the Shiite-led government's most serious challenge as the nation prepares to hold the national parliamentary elections on April 30, the first voting in Iraq since the US army withdrawal in 2011.- 

2 UNICEF staffers missing in Pakistan

(CNN) -- Police are investigating after two UNICEF staff members went missing in Karachi, Pakistan, a United Nations spokesman said Sunday.

The staffers went missing on Thursday evening, United Nations spokesman Vittorio Cammarota said.

Police are in close contact with the UNICEF employees' families, he said.

The port city of Karachi is Pakistan's financial capital.

On Saturday, gunmen wounded a prominent Pakistani TV news anchor there. His brother linked the attack to the nation's government, drawing a denial from military officials.

Hamid Mir was shot three times by gunmen in a car and on two motorcycles near Karachi's airport, his network Geo News -- a CNN affiliate -- reported.

Amir Mir -- the targeted news anchor's brother and a journalist himself -- said his brother believed ISI, Pakistan's powerful intelligence agency, had plans to assassinate him.

The Pakistani military public relations agency ISPR said that "raising allegations against ISI or the head of ISI without any basis is highly regrettable and misleading."

In the same statement, a spokesman for that agency condemned the attack and "prayed for (Mir's) well-being and quick recovery."

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Joe Biden In Ukraine To Show Support As Tensions Rise

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden on Monday launched a high-profile visit to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to Ukraine and push for urgent implementation of an international agreement aimed at de-escalating tensions even as violence continues.
Biden planned to meet Tuesday with government leaders who took over after pro-Russia Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February following months of protests. The White House said President Barack Obama and Biden agreed he should make the two-day visit to the capital city to send a high-level signal of support for reform efforts being pushed the new government.
Biden has scheduled a series of meetings Tuesday, including with Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Oleksandr Turchynov, the acting Ukrainian prime minister and president. He also is scheduled to meet with legislators from across the country and democracy activists before returning to Washington Tuesday night.
A senior administration official told reporters onboard Air Force Two en route to Kiev that Biden plans to announce new technical support to the Ukrainian government to implement energy and economic reforms. The official, speaking on a condition of anonymity to allow Biden to publicly announce any agreements, said the vice president also will follow up on recent U.S. commitments of non-lethal security assistance and discuss what more Washington can offer to help.
Biden also plans to discuss preparations for next month's presidential election and the latest developments in eastern Ukraine, where insurgents are accusing leaders in Kiev of aiming to suppress the country's Russian speakers concentrated in the region.

White House involved in soliciting money for pro-ObamaCare group, watchdog says

The White House allegedly was involved in seeking financial support for a pro-ObamaCare group, according to a new report issued in response to Republican concerns about the administration's...

The White House allegedly was involved in seeking financial support for a pro-ObamaCare group, according to a new report issued in response to Republican concerns about the administration's fundraising efforts. 
Until now, outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was the only

official known to have solicited financial support for Enroll America, a nonprofit that promoted enrollment for the Affordable Care Act. But a Government Accountability Office report released Monday detailed not only the secretary's involvement but that of a White House adviser.

According to the report, though HHS officials said they were "not aware" of any federal government officials outside the agency soliciting funds for Enroll America, a representative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation told GAO "about a discussion" in 2012 between one of their staffers and the "Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy." 
Though not named in the report, this would have been Jeanne Lambrew. The GAO said they were told the official nudged the foundation to give a "significant" contribution. 
The report said: "According to RWJF, this official estimated that Enroll America or other similar national enrollment organizations would likely need about $30 million to finance a national outreach effort. RWJF told us that the official also indicated a hope that RWJF would provide a significant financial contribution to support such efforts, but did not make a specific funding request on behalf of Enroll America or any other outside entity."

New Batch of Clinton Documents Is Released

WASHINGTON — The National Archives on Friday released its largest batch yet of previously withheld documents from the Clinton administration, with topics including the conflicts in Somalia and Rwanda, Middle East peace negotiations, the Oklahoma City bombing and public figures as varied as Richard M. Nixon and Oprah Winfrey.

The bundle that is likely to receive the most attention, though, is one that covers Hillary Rodham Clinton’s ill-fated attempt as first lady to overhaul the health care system. Mrs. Clinton, who ran for president in 2008, is considering a second attempt in 2016.

Here are some notable sections:

Vice President Al Gore

The memos offer a glimpse at tensions between the offices of President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in the second term.

“I am trying to knock down the idea that the Clinton White House’s support for Gore is based on legacy notions, and build up the idea that it is based on respect, relationships and in-the-foxhole camaraderie,” Ron Klain, Mr. Gore’s chief of staff, wrote to a White House speechwriter, Jonathan Prince, in September 1997.

Mr. Klain pointed to Mr. Clinton’s use of an anecdote in the 1996 State of the Union speech, about a government worker named Richard Dean who re-entered the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City after it had been bombed the previous spring. Mr. Clinton cited Mr. Dean as an example of why Congress should respect federal workers and avert a repeat of the government shutdown of 1995-96.

The anecdote, which was featured prominently in news coverage of the State of the Union address, had been Mr. Gore’s idea.

“You will recall that many around here made fun of Gore’s push for this item, and until very late in the day, this idea appeared in SoU draft as ‘Gore anecdote,’ ” Mr. Klain wrote. “But it turned out to be one of the most powerful moments in the 96 SoU and a key moment in the budget battle.”

He went on: “This anecdote rebuts the charge that Gore lacks a Clinton type of feel for political rhetoric.”

Republican campaign committee has $31M to hold House

The House Republican campaign committee raised almost $10 million in March and has $31.2 million banked to defend the party's majority, according to financial reports filed Sunday.
The National Republican Congressional Committee's $21.2 million fundraising haul in January, February and March gave the group its best first-quarter showing since 2003. It also puts the committee roughly $8 million ahead of its fundraising at this point in 2012.

Still, the GOP committee faces a well-funded challenge from House Democrats, who amassed a $40 million fund.
Those fundraising updates -- like dozens of others due by midnight Sunday -- suggest that donors are starting to open their wallets for groups willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on federal races from coast to coast. The fundraising was fast approaching the $1 billion mark, fueled by donors on each side writing checks to committees and organizations in a show of just how politically divided the United States remains.
"This outstanding fundraising effort will enable the NRCC to stay on offense against House Democrats who continue to support Obamacare and failed leadership of (House Democratic leader) Nancy Pelosi," committee executive director Liesl Hickey said.

Crisis manager leaves White House counsel's office

WASHINGTON – From Solyndra to Benghazi to the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, Ed Siskel has been the bespectacled, behind-the-scenes lawyer with the forensic assignment – figure out exactly what went wrong so the White House can fix it, explain it and make sure it does not happen again.
After three years in the Office of White House Counsel, one as its deputy, the Chicago-area native has left the job of damage prevention and control to others, and moved on to private practice with a firm in the nation’s capital.
His departure comes as the head of the office, Kathy Ruemmler, is also preparing to leave. The White House is expected to name her replacement soon.
However the new office takes shape, one top advisor to President Obama says he hopes the White House can retain the “Midwestern sensibility” that Siskel brought.
“Ed is somebody who just stays calm, no matter if he’s in the middle of a crazy document request or it’s just a quiet day,” said Denis McDonough, Obama’s chief of staff. “He is just tireless in his determination to get to the ground truth and not be blown off course by partisan investigators.”
Investigations led by House Republicans have filled Siskel’s to-do list since 2011, when he left the Department of Justice and joined Ruemmler at the White House.
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