Weekend 05-03-14

Ukraine broadens offensive against insurgents as military observers released

Ukraine resumed a military offensive against pro-Russian forces in the country's east on Saturday, as military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who were held for more than a week were released.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Ukrainian forces had seized control of a television tower in Kramatorsk, near the rebel stronghold of Slovyansk where at least three were killed in fighting on Friday, Reuters reported. 

"We are not stopping," Avakov wrote on his Facebook page early Saturday. 
Meanwhile, insurgent leader Vyacheslav Ponomarev told The Associated Press that all seven military observers and their five Ukrainian assistants had been released. 
The observers were seized on April 25 in the city of Slovyansk, the epicenter of eastern Ukraine's unrest, as they traveled with an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observer team. The insurgents said they possessed unspecified suspicious material and alleged they were spying for NATO.
An observer from Sweden was also seized as part of the team, but was released earlier. Unlike the other observers' countries, Sweden is not a member of NATO.
Related Story: Ukraine: Odessa Unrest Planned And Financed From Abroad

Ukraine unrest: Abducted OSCE observers freed

Seven international military observers taken captive in eastern Ukraine a week ago have been released.

Five Ukrainian officers captured with the observers, who are linked to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, were also freed.
Pro-Russian separatists in the town of Sloviansk say they released the OSCE observers "without conditions".
Kiev has resumed military action against the separatists, with fighting reported in some areas.
In Kramatorsk, south of rebel-held Sloviansk, Ukrainian forces have recaptured the headquarters of the SBU security service from pro-Russian separatists, according to the interior ministry.
It said the building was now held by the national guard.

Dozens of Muslims killed in ethnic violence in north-east India

Police arrest 22 people and army called in to restore order in Assam state after 29 killed and many houses burned

Nearly 30 Muslims have been killed and houses burned in the worst outbreak of ethnic violence in the remote north-eastern region of India in two years, officials have said.
Police arrested 22 people after authorities called in the army to restore order in Assam state and imposed an indefinite curfew in the wake of the 29 deaths. They have been blamed on rebels from the Bodo ethnic group, who have long accused Muslim residents of coming into India illegally from neighbouring Bangladesh.
A state minister for border areas, Siddique Ahmed, said after visiting the affected areas that his government and the ruling Congress party had failed to protect the victims, who included at least eight women and as many children.
"Even two-year-old children who could barely walk have been shot dead. I have never witnessed such scenes in my life," he told reporters.
Police said they had arrested 22 people who allegedly burned homes or provided shelter to the insurgents, according to the regional police inspector general, LR Bishnoi.
He said the rebels belong to a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, which has been fighting for a separate homeland for the ethnic Bodo people for decades. The Bodos are an indigenous group in Assam, making up 10% of the state's 33 million people.
However, in an email to reporters on Saturday the rebel faction denied the charge and blamed the killings on the state government.
The violence came at a time of heightened security during India's general election, with voting taking place over six weeks. Tensions have been high since a Bodo politician in India's parliament criticised Muslims for not voting for the Bodo candidate, said Lafikul Islam Ahmed, leader of a Muslim youth organisation called the All Bodoland Muslim Students' Union.

Syrian rebels 'to pull out of Homs'

Opposition fighters are to be allowed to withdraw from besieged parts of the Syrian city of Homs under a deal with the government, reports say.

Rebels will be allowed to pull back to opposition-held areas north of Homs, activists say. The Syrian government has not commented on the reports.
Fighters have held areas around the Old City despite a two-year siege. Earlier this year civilians were let out.
Also on Friday, two bombs in Hama province reportedly killed at least 18.
Eleven children were among the dead after suicide bombers struck in the villages of Jibrin and al-Humeiri, both under government control, state media said.
The attack comes three days after scores of people were killed and injured in car bombings in government-controlled parts of Homs city.
There has so far been no claim of responsibility for the Hama bombings, correspondents say, but al-Qaeda affiliated rebels of the Nusra Front have carried out several car bombings in recent weeks.
'Unusually quiet' The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, said about 1,000 fighters were expected to pull out from rebel-held areas of Homs under the terms of a ceasefire.

Vandals use graffiti, damage Palestinian olive trees in suspected 'price tag' 

Latest incident takes place near the West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin; 30 young trees damaged by vandals; earlier this week, the US State Department criticized Israel for largely not prosecuting attacks by “extremist Jewish settlers.” 

Vandals sprayed "Arabs are thieves" and "price tag" and damaged 30 young olive trees in a suspected price tag attack near the West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin. The vandalism was discovered by Palestinian residents on Saturday.
Police opened an investigation into the incident. 
“Price tag” is the term used to describe acts of vandalism by extreme Right-wing Jews, generally directed at Arabs, to protest government policy.
Earlier this week the US State Department criticized Israel for falling short in the prosecution of price tag offenses by "extremist Jewish settlers" against Palestinians.
Though such attacks began in the West Bank, over the past few months there has been a marked increase in price tag incidents within the Green Line. Just since December there have been six attacks, with property damage and anti-Arab graffiti reported in Jaljulya, Umm el-Fahm, Kafr Akbara, Kafr Kasim and Baka al-Gharbiya, and an incident in Fureidis that occurred this past week.  
In the Fureidis incident, graffiti reading, “Shut down mosques, not yeshivot,” was sprayed on the outside of a mosque, and inside, the vandals spray-painted a Star of David. They slashed the tires of cars belonging to residents.

Nigeria to close Abuja schools in security crackdown

Nigeria's government is to shut schools and government offices across the capital Abuja, while a World Economic Forum conference takes place next week.

A big security operation is being promised to protect more than 1,000 delegates at the three-day meeting, after two deadly bomb attacks in Abuja.
An explosion late on Thursday killed 19 people, two weeks after a nearby bombing left 75 dead.
Islamist militant group Boko Haram is being blamed for the violence.
The same group is believed to be behind the kidnapping of more than 200 teenage girls from their school in Borno state in north-eastern Nigeria more than a fortnight ago.
The group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, has staged a wave of attacks in northern Nigeria in recent years, with an estimated 1,500 killed in the violence and subsequent security crackdown this year alone.

Brunei introduces Islamic sharia penalties, including death by stoning for adultery

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei: A controversial new penal code for oil-rich Brunei that will eventually include tough Islamic sharia penalties such as severing of limbs and death by stoning came into effect on Thursday.
Brunei's all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah had said on Wednesday that he would push ahead with the introduction of the new criminal code that has sparked rare domestic criticism of the fabulously wealthy ruler and international condemnation.
The initial phase beginning introduces fines or jail terms for offences including indecent behaviour, failure to attend Friday prayers, and out-of-wedlock pregnancies.
There were no known events to mark Thursday's implementation.
A second phase covering crimes such as theft and robbery is to start later this year, involving more stringent penalties such as severing of limbs and flogging.
Late next year, punishments such as death by stoning for offences including sodomy and adultery will be introduced.
The sultan – one of the world's wealthiest men – had announced the implementation last year.
He first called for the penal code in the late 1990s and has increasingly voiced plans to strengthen Islam's role in the already conservative, energy-rich Muslim country on Borneo island.
But the plans by the revered father-figure monarch triggered unprecedented criticism earlier this year on Brunei's active social media, though the move appears to enjoy broad support, especially among Muslim ethnic Malays, who make up about 70 per cent of the population.
The UN's human rights office and various international rights and legal activist groups also have condemned the move as out of step with modern society.
Brunei is the first country in east or south-east Asia to introduce a sharia penal code on a national level, joining several mostly Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Attorney-General Hayati Salleh late on Wednesday sought to ease concerns over the code's implementation, stressing that sharia cases will face high burdens of proof before the tough penalties are imposed.
"It is crucial that we, and the international community, understand these distinctions and not focus solely on the punishments but rather, on the evidence-gathering process that is complicated and strict," she said.
The monarch's wealth – estimated three years ago at $US20 billion ($21.6 billion) by Forbes magazine – is legendary with reports of a vast collection of luxury vehicles and huge, gold-bedecked palaces.

Islamic plot to take over British classrooms
 
LONDON: An Islamic plot to take over British classrooms have now been unearthed.
The National Association of Head Teachers has confirmed "concerted efforts" to infiltrate at least six schools in Birmingham.

The union's investigation has also revealed that schools in other large cities have been targets too including those in Bradford, Manchester and parts of east London.

A "Trojan Horse" plot in Birmingham was unearthed last week that had put schools under pressure illegally to segregate classrooms and change teaching to reflect radical Islamic beliefs.

NAHT held a meeting for school leaders in Birmingham on May 1 to support the investigation into the Trojan Horse allegations.

More than 100 head teachers and school leaders attended, along with council officials and West Midlands Police.

The association affirms that a small number of primary and secondary schools in both the maintained and academy sectors have experienced concerted efforts to alter their character in line with the Islamic faith.

"Most of these efforts took place within the freedoms permitted by our education system. Schools are free to alter their curricula and their timetables, for example. Community involvement in schools is encouraged and it is sensible to take some account of religious observances when leading a school in order to maximise attendance and achievement," NAHT said.

"However, in a small number of cases the association believes the actions may have broken the principles of governance, contravened good employment practices and risk eroding the basic entitlement of children to a rounded education. There is therefore a case to answer but it requires independent and official inquiry to verify. We believe that a thorough investigation into the situation by Ofsted, Birmingham City Council and the Department for Education is justified." It further said "We have supported around 30 of our members throughout this incident, with detailed case work in around a dozen schools and serious concerns in half that. Should other head teachers have concerns we encourage them to contact the association".

G7 to discuss Russia, Keystone XL

Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford will use a G7 energy ministers meeting next week to highlight the global importance of Canada’s vast oil and gas reserves, and urge the U.S. to approve the stalled Keystone XL pipeline to enhance energy security.
Against the backdrop of a deepening crisis in Ukraine, the minister will travel with Group of Seven colleagues to Rome on Monday to discuss measures to counter Russian dominance of European energy markets, and eastern Europe in particular.
Mr. Rickford will meet separately with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, and will again lobby for quick passage of TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline project. The State Department has delayed the decision, pending a court decision in Nebraska over whether the state violated its own constitution when it approved the pipeline route.
“I’m not going to lose an opportunity to raise it,” Mr. Rickford said, adding that the crisis in Ukraine illustrates the importance of energy security not just in North America but around the world. “Energy security is the cornerstone of national security, economic prosperity and global stability.”
In the short term, there is little the G7 can do to wean Eastern Europe off its dependence on Russian energy. Ukraine and Slovakia have agreed to reverse the flow of a pipeline to bring gas from Western Europe east, but the volumes will be small.
Ukraine depends on Russia for almost all its imported gas, most of its crude oil and all the enriched uranium needed to run its nuclear power plants. Last month, Moscow’s OAO Gazprom announced an 80-per-cent increase in the price it will charge the former Soviet republic, which it formerly subsidized.
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FBI chief: more Americans joining Syrian war

The flow of foreign fighters into Syria has grown in the last few months, with dozens of Americans joining the country's civil war alongside thousands of Europeans, the director of the FBI has said. Speaking to reporters at FBI headquarters on Friday, James Comey said he was "determined" to keep any scenario similar to the September 11 attacks arising out of Syria, as more foreign fighters join the conflict. Comey compared the civil war in Syria to Afghanistan in the 1980s and 90s, when fighters there eventually formed al-Qaeda and declared war on the US, leading to the New York attacks. "All of us with a memory of the 80s and 90s saw the line drawn from Afghanistan in the 80s and 90s to September 11. We see Syria as that but an order of magnitude worse," Comey said. US-Syria diaspora The FBI chief said the number of Americans who had either travelled to Syria or sought to do so had grown by a few dozen since the start of the year and that there were Americans in Syria who were trying to bring others over. The problem was "getting worse, just because with time more and more people are traveling there from here and all over the world" to take part in the fighting, he said. Comey predicted "there's going to be a diaspora out of Syria at some point", adding he was "determined not to let lines be drawn from Syria today to a future September 11". US law enforcement officials have expressed concern about the influence of hardline fighters in Syria, many of them linked to al-Qaeda, as they seek to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. Officials say fighters from the US or Europe looking to join the cause could easily become radicalised and impart those beliefs on their return home. - John Boehner: US House to open new Benghazi inquiry The US House speaker has said he will convene a congressional special committee to investigate the White House response to the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Republican John Boehner said the Obama administration was "obstructing the truth" on the matter. Republicans say the Democratic Obama administration mislead the public on the nature of the attack. Four Americans including US Ambassador Chris Stevens were killed. "Americans learned this week that the Obama administration is so intent on obstructing the truth about Benghazi that it is even willing to defy subpoenas issued by the standing committees of the people's House," Mr Boehner wrote in a statement. "These revelations compel the House to take every possible action to ensure the American people have the truth about the terrorist attack on our consulate that killed four of our countrymen." Related Story : Darrell Issa Subpoenas John Kerry To Testify On Benghazi Rice declines Rutgers commencement invite; says it has become a distraction Condoleezza Rice announced Saturday that she will not be delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University’s graduation ceremony this month, saying the invitation has become a "distraction." Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families. Rutgers' invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time,” the former secretary of state under President George W. Bush said in the statement. "I understand and embrace the purpose of the commencement ceremony and I am simply unwilling to detract from it in any way."- Condoleezza Rice "I am honored to have served my country. I have defended America's belief in free speech and the exchange of ideas. These values are essential to the health of our democracy. But that is not what is at issue here. As a professor for thirty years at Stanford University and as (its) former Provost and Chief academic officer, I understand and embrace the purpose of the commencement ceremony and I am simply unwilling to detract from it in any way." On Monday, roughly 50 Rutgers University students staged a sit-in at a school administration building in New Brunswick to protest the school's invitation to  Rice to appear at the university's commencement. The school's Board of Governors voted to pay $35,000 for her appearance at the May 18 ceremony. She was going to be awarded an honorary degree. But several faculty members and students wanted the invitation rescinded because of Rice's role in the Iraq War. Rutgers' New Brunswick Faculty Council passed a resolution in March calling on the university's board of governors to rescind the invitation. Photos and videos of Monday's protest posted to Twitter showed students lining a staircase leading to University President Robert Barchi's office, The Star-Ledger reported. Some students held up signs reading, "No honors for war criminals," "War criminals out" and "RU 4 Humanity?" the report said. The sit-in was one of the largest in Rutgers' history, according to The Daily Targum, a student newspaper. Police reportedly responded to the site of the protest after a glass door was broken and a student cut their hand. Barchi and other school leaders had resisted the calls to "disinvite" Rice, saying the university welcomes open discourse on controversial topics. Obama and Merkel: US and Germany still at odds over spying The US and Germany remain at odds over digital spying and privacy policy, US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have said. At a joint White House news conference, the two leaders said they were committed to an ongoing dialogue. And Mr Obama sought to assure the German people they were not subject to "continual surveillance". US-German relations have been strained by revelations US intelligence agencies had spied on Ms Merkel's mobile phone. That came out in secret National Security Agency documents leaked last year by Edward Snowden, a former technical contractor with the US electronic spy agency. At the joint appearance, Mr Obama acknowledged he was "pained" that Mr Snowden's disclosures had strained the US-German relationship. And he noted that in a broad overhaul of US electronic spying practices he ordered over the past year, he had directed US intelligence agencies to weigh the privacy interests of non-Americans as well as US citizens and residents, "in everything that they do". "These are complicated issues, and you know, we're not perfectly aligned yet, but we share the same values, and we share the same concerns," Mr Obama said. House sets vote on measure pushing special counsel for IRS probe House Republican leaders have set a vote for next week on a resolution urging the Justice Department to name a special counsel to investigate the IRS targeting scandal.  The decision follows GOP complaints that the individual currently probing claims that the IRS unfairly targeted conservative groups. Barbara Bosserman, is an Obama donor.  “It is time for Attorney General (Eric) Holder to appoint a special counsel to investigate the IRS targeting scandal and bring the appropriate charges against those responsible,” House GOP leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said in a written statement Friday, announcing the vote for next week. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan introduced the nonbinding resolution Friday calling for a special counsel.  Jordan called an ongoing investigation by the Justice Department "a joke." “We need this Special Counsel to help us get to the truth because the so-called investigation by the Justice Department has been a joke,” Jordan said. “The current investigation has no credibility because it is being headed by a maxed-out donor who is financially invested in the President’s success.” Ex-Chicago Comptroller Amer Ahmad Arrested In Pakistan, May Be Extradited To U.S. LAHORE, Pakistan, May 2 (Reuters) - A former aide to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel who fled to Pakistan while awaiting sentencing in the United States on corruption convictions has been arrested in Pakistan and authorities there are deciding whether to hand him over to the United States, Pakistani officials said on Friday. Amer Ahmad was detained on fraud allegations four days ago when he tried to enter Pakistan at the airport in Lahore carrying large amounts of cash, an airport official said. "We recovered $170,000 and 124,000 euros from his person," the airport official told Reuters on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media on the matter. "We had already been alerted about his arrival and fraud allegations. He is still in Lahore but may be moved to Islamabad in the coming days." Ahmad faces up to 15 years in federal prison in the United States after pleading guilty in December to conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud and bribery. He was accused of conspiring with others from about January 2009 through January 2011 to use his role as deputy treasurer for the state of Ohio to direct official state of Ohio broker services business to a securities broker in exchange for payments from that broker. A sentencing date has not been set. Ahmad, 39, had gone on to become a comptroller for the City of Chicago, where he lived with his wife and children while awaiting sentencing. He resigned as Chicago comptroller before his indictment in August on the Ohio charges. A federal judge issued an arrest warrant for him last week for violating the terms of his bail agreement. His wife, Samar Ahmad, 35, had sought an order of protection against him in Chicago on April 24, accusing him of verbal abuse, threatening to take their children and asking her to get him a fake birth certificate from Pakistan for a passport.