Gazette 04-24-14

Thursday April 24 2014

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New Russia drills after Ukraine raid

Russia has ordered new military exercises on its border with Ukraine in response to an operation by Kiev against pro-Russian separatists.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow had been "forced to react" after Ukrainian commandos moved on the separatist stronghold of Sloviansk.
President Vladimir Putin had earlier warned Ukraine of "consequences".
Pro-Russian separatists are occupying key buildings in a dozen eastern towns, defying the central government.
Mr Shoigu was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "If this military machine is not stopped, it will lead to greater numbers of dead and wounded.
"We are forced to react to such a development of the situation."

German government puts exports of military goods to Russia on hold, 69 applications affected

BERLIN –  The German government says it isn't authorizing any exports of military goods to Russia at present "because of the current political situation," leaving nearly 70 export applications on hold.
The Economy Ministry replied to questions from the opposition Greens that "in critical cases" the government will also ensure previously authorized exports aren't carried out. The letter, obtained by The Associated Press Thursday, was first reported on by daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The ministry didn't detail which products or companies are affected but said none of the export applications involves "weapons of war" such as tanks and missiles. It said 69 export applications worth nearly 5.2 million euros ($7.2 million) were pending.
Last month, Germany said it put on hold a company's deal to deliver the Russian military a field exercise simulator.

Ukraine Forces Kill Several Separatists In Slaviansk Operation

SLAVIANSK, Ukraine, April 24 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces clashed with pro-Russian militants as they closed in on the separatist-held city of Slaviansk on Thursday, seizing rebel checkpoints and setting up roadblocks as helicopters circled overhead.
Reuters journalists saw a Ukrainian military detachment with five armoured personnel carriers take over a checkpoint on a road north of the city in late morning after it was abandoned by separatists who set tyres alight to cover their retreat.
No shots were heard during that takeover but the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said that its forces and troops from the Defence Ministry had killed "up to five terrorists" while destroying three militant checkpoints northeast of the centre.
A separatist spokeswoman in Slaviansk said early in the morning that two fighters were killed in clash in the same area, near a road leading to the town of Sviatogorsk.
Ukraine's government said it took back Sviatogorsk from gunmen on Wednesday as it relaunched an "anti-terrorist" operation to regain control of the Russian-speaking east.
It was unclear if Ukrainian troops were preparing to risk storming Slaviansk, a city of 130,000 that has become the military stronghold of a movement seeking annexation by Moscow of the Russian-speaking, industrial regions of eastern Ukraine.
For the past few weeks, they have held back from combat, saying they were concerned about civilian casualties - and about provoking reprisals from Russia, which does not recognise the new Ukrainian government and has warned that it would move to protect Russian-speakers in the east, as it did in Crimea.

Afghan security guard shoots dead 3 American doctors at hospital

The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan confirmed Thursday that three American doctors -- including a reported father and son -- were killed by an Afghan security guard who opened fire at a Kabul hospital.
"With great sadness we confirm that three Americans were killed in the attack at CURE Hospital," said a statement posted on the Embassy's Twitter page. "No other information will be released at this time." 

The shooting was the latest in a string of deadly attacks on foreign civilians in the Afghan capital this year.
Two of the dead Americans were a father and son, Minister of Health Soraya Dalil said, adding that the third American was a Cure International doctor who had worked for seven years in Kabul.
Dalil said an American nurse was also wounded in the attack.

Abdullah Abdullah leads Afghanistan poll count

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah remains the frontrunner with 80% of votes counted, officials say.

Dr Abdullah has 43.8% of ballots cast, followed by Ashraf Ghani with 32.9%, according to the Independent Election Commission (IEC).
The IEC said the preliminary results suggested it was unlikely there would be an outright winner and that a run-off vote would be held on 28 May.
About seven million people voted across the 34 provinces in the 5 April poll.
The next president will face several challenging issues, including the expected withdrawal of foreign combat troops from Afghanistan later this year and ongoing attacks by the Taliban.

The Independent Election Commission said the preliminary results were based on nearly 82.6% of the vote from the 34 provinces.

The final results are due on 14 May.
In order to win outright, a candidate must secure more than half of valid ballots. If that does not happen, the top two candidates face a run-off.
"With the 17.5% of the votes that are going to be counted, it is doubtful that anyone will win in the first round," IEC chairman Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani told a news conference in Kabul.
Millions of Afghans defied Taliban threats to take part in the vote.
Turnout was double that of the last presidential election in 2009, despite a number of deadly attacks in the run-up and a cold, rainy polling day.

Activists: Government airstrikes on vegetable market in northern Syria kill at least 18 people

BEIRUT –  Opposition activists say Syrian government airstrikes on a vegetable market in a rebel-held town in the northern Aleppo province have killed at least 18 people and wounded scores.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says fighter jets hit the crowded market in the town of Atareb on Thursday morning.

The Observatory says the death toll is likely to rise because many were seriously wounded.
Another activists group, the Syria-based Local Coordination Committees also reported the airstrikes on Atareb, saying that 24 people were killed.
The discrepancy in the death toll is not unusual in the immediate aftermath of such large attacks.

Pakistan fighter jets target 'militant hideouts'

At least 16 suspected militants have been killed in air strikes in north-western Pakistan, officials say.

Warplanes targeted "terrorist hideouts" in the Khyber agency, which borders Afghanistan, a military statement said.
It was a response to a number of recent attacks on police and civilians in the capital, Islamabad, and the nearby city of Peshawar, the statement added.
A ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and the government formally ended last week.
Earlier on Thursday, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the southern city of Karachi, killing four people and wounding 15 others.
Ground operation The BBC's Shumaila Jaffery in Islamabad says the Pakistani fighter jets attacked two compounds in the Sipah and Koka-Khel areas of the Tirah Valley early on Thursday.

Egypt's army says it has 'complete control' over Sinai Peninsula

Egypt's military said on Thursday it had gained "complete control over the situation" in the Sinai Peninsula, where Islamist insurgents have been carrying out attacks against security forces for several months.

Violence has spiralled in the Sinai since last July when the army toppled President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, prompting militants who had previously focused on attacks against neighboring Israel to turn their attention to Egyptian police and military targets.

"There is obvious stability in Sinai despite rumors that there are still terrorist elements and tunnels in north Sinai," said Major General Mohamed al-Shahat, who heads Egyptian forces in the peninsula, in comments carried by state news agency MENA.

A recent Reuters investigation found that a few hundred militants - a mix of Egyptian Islamists, foreign fighters and disgruntled youth - are successfully playing a cat-and-mouse game with Egypt's army and are nowhere near defeat.

Days after the report was published, Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has since resigned his post to run for president, removed the top military official in the Sinai and appointed Shahat to replace him.

China's Military Is On A Spending Spree While U.S. Holds Back

QINGDAO, China (AP) — China's navy commissioned 17 new warships last year, the most of any nation. In a little more than a decade, it's expected to have three aircraft carriers, giving it more clout than ever in a region of contested seas and festering territorial disputes.
Those numbers testify to huge increases in defense spending that have endowed China with the largest military budget behind the United States and fueled an increasingly large and sophisticated defense industry. While Beijing still lags far behind the U.S. in both funding and technology, its spending boom is attracting new scrutiny at a time of severe cuts in U.S. defense budgets that have some questioning Washington's commitments to its Asian allies, including some who have lingering disputes with China.
Beijing's newfound military clout is one of many issues confronting President Barack Obama as he visits the region this week. Washington is faced with the daunting task of fulfilling its treaty obligations to allies such as Japan and the Philippines, while also maintaining cordial relation with key economic partner and rising regional power China.
China's boosted defense spending this year grew 12.2 percent to $132 billion, continuing more than two decades of nearly unbroken double-digit percentage increases that have afforded Beijing the means to potentially alter the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific. Outside observers put China's actual defense spending significantly higher, although estimates vary widely.
Increases in spending signal "strength and resolve to China's neighbors," requiring other countries to pay close attention to where Beijing is assigning its resources, said China defense expert Abraham Denmark, vice president for political and security affairs at the U.S-based National Bureau of Asian Research.

B31: huge Antarctic iceberg headed for open ocean

An enormous iceberg half the size of Greater London that broke off an Antarctic glacier last year is headed for the open ocean, scientists said on Wednesday.
B31, which calved from Pine Island glacier last November, is large enough at 33km long and 20km wide to lead Nasa to monitor its movements via satellite. It is up to 500 metres thick.
Nasa glaciologist Kelly Brunt said: "It's one that's large enough that it warrants monitoring," noting that US agencies monitored several dozen icebergs at any one time.
While Brunt said the iceberg was not in a particularly busy shipping area at the moment, Dr Bethan Davies, a research scientist at the University of Reading, said it could head into areas with more ships.
"It's floating off into the sea and will get caught up in the current and flow around the Antarctica continent where there are ships," she told Sky News.
She said by itself the iceberg would not significantly contribute to sea level rises but that Pine Island Glacier itself had the potential to raise sea levels by 1.5m, although there is uncertainty over long it will take to melt. "[The iceberg itself] could take a very long time to melt, well over a year or even longer," said Davies.
Scientists are also able to track B31 via sensor-laden "javelins" that were dropped onto it in 2013 and have GPS trackers.
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Senators call for probe into VA hospital deaths

Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake are calling for a Senate investigation and hearings into allegations that up to 40 Arizona veterans died while awaiting medical appointments at the Phoenix VA Medical Center.
The two Republican senators from Arizona sent a letter Wednesday to leaders of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs requesting a probe into "recent reports of gross mismanagement and neglect" at the facility.

McCain also wrote to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, citing a report in the Arizona Republic on whistle-blower allegations about veteran deaths and accusations about VA administrators keeping secret waiting lists.
"I am appalled by the number of veterans who stated to my office that the VA was just “waiting” or 'hoping' that they would die and be one less burden on the system," McCain wrote. "These increasing individual delays clearly illustrate systemic problems with how effectively the VA is providing care to our veterans." 
Last week, Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, said the panel's investigators concluded as many as 40 Arizona veteran deaths could be related to VA delays in providing them medical care. 
Some veterans say wait times now average 55 days.

Obama Faces Growing Rebellion Against The Secure Communities Deportation Program

WASHINGTON -- Last Wednesday, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (D) announced a significant change to the city's law enforcement policies. Going forward, Philadelphia officials would no longer acquiesce to the federal government's requests that they hold certain undocumented immigrants for extra time solely for deportation purposes.
The change in policy is among the latest acts of rebellion against the euphemistically-titled Secure Communities, a federally-run program launched in 2008 that allows U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to find and pick up immigrants it will eventually deport. The program has played a central role in deportations over the past six years, and, in the process, has raised the ire of immigration reform advocates who argue that not only is it a blunt and costly instrument that forces police officers to play the role of ICE agents, it also tramples on civil liberties. Nutter isn't the only one to grow tired with the program.

Obama warns sanctions against Russia are 'teed up' as tension builds in Ukraine

President Obama said Thursday that new sanctions targeting Russia are "teed up" in the wake of a fresh warning by the Russian foreign minister that attacks on Russian citizens or interests in Ukraine would bring a firm response. 
Obama said Russia has not abided by the spirit or the letter of an agreement reached in Geneva last week that aimed to ease tensions in eastern Ukraine. He said Russia has failed to halt aggression by pro-Russian militants in the region.

Still, he cautioned that the United States needs to secure the support of allies to ensure that additional economic pressure is even applied. He conceded that new sanctions may not change Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions and that the crisis in Ukraine may not subside.
"How well they change his calculus depends on the cooperation of other countries," Obama said during a news conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his first stop of a four-country tour of Asia. 
The president did not put a timeline on when sanctions could be applied, saying only it was a matter of days, not weeks.

Obama Arrives in Asia as Disasters Complicate Mission

TOKYO — President Obama arrived here on Wednesday evening to begin a four-country tour of Asia, after first stopping in Washington State to survey the devastation left there by last month’s deadly mudslide. It was a fitting start, given that everywhere on this trip, he will witness the lingering fallout of disasters, natural and human-made.

From South Korea, where public outrage is surging in the wake of a ferry accident that has claimed the lives of scores of teenagers, to Malaysia, where the authorities face harsh scrutiny over their handling of a missing jetliner, Mr. Obama will encounter leaders under pressure from angry, often grief-stricken constituents.

Hagel begins first trip to Latin America as U.S. defense chief

(Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday his first trip to Latin America as Pentagon chief would add "muscle and sinew" to growing North American defense ties and highlight the importance of helping partner nations improve their militaries.
Hagel, who will meet his Canadian and Mexican counterparts in Mexico City before traveling to Guatemala, said the three-day visit will give him an opportunity to focus on relationship-building in a vital area that often receives little attention.
"The region is important to America," Hagel told reporters aboard his plane to Mexico City. "I don't think over the years we've probably ever done enough to reach out to our Latin American partners."
He said part of the reason was that U.S. relations in the region have been stable and good in recent years, so Washington has tended to focus its attention on the world's trouble spots.
The U.S. defense chief arrived in Mexico on Wednesday afternoon for talks on Thursday with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts. It is the second trilateral meeting of the ministers, coming two years after the inaugural meeting of the group.
Hagel said the meeting would be an opportunity to add "muscle and sinew" to the growing relationship, possibly by developing a secretariat to help guide and follow through on the regular sessions.
The U.S. defense chief is to travel to Guatemala late on Thursday. He will meet with senior government officials there on Friday and observe military exercises.
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