Gazette 071714

Thursday July 17th 2014

Militants in Gaza fire rocket at Israel as humanitarian cease-fire window expires

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a rocket at Israel Thursday just as a five-hour U.N. humanitarian cease-fire expired, the Israeli military said.
The military says the rocket struck the city of Ashkelon at precisely 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET) as the pause in military activity ended.

No injuries were reported. Gaza militants also fired three mortar shells toward Israel after the truce took effect at 10 a.m. Israel has not responded yet to either incident though it vowed to strike hard if fire continued.
The Israeli Defense Forces tweeted that the three mortar shells hit the community of Eshkol. There was no immediate word of any injuries or damage.
Shortly before the cease-fire took effect, Israel said it had thwarted an attempted attack by 13 Islamic militants.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told The Associated Press that the would-be attackers attempted to sneak into Israel through a tunnel from Gaza. They were spotted at the tunnel's opening approximately 820 feet inside Israel, near a kibbutz, and were struck by Israeli aircraft. Lerner said the military believed at least one militant was killed in the strike and that the remaining fighters appeared to have returned to Gaza through the tunnel.
Lerner said the attack "could have had devastating consequences" and said the militants were armed with "extensive weapons," including rocket-propelled grenades.
Related: Liberman denies Israel, Hamas reach deal on Gaza cease-fire

Ukraine conflict: Russia accused of shooting down jet

A Ukrainian security spokesman has accused Russia's air force of shooting down one of its jets while it was on a mission over Ukrainian territory.

Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council, said an Su-25 ground attack plane was downed on Wednesday evening.
Amateur video posted on Wednesday is said to show a plane being hit over Ukraine's eastern region of Luhansk.
So far there has been no comment from the Russian government.
The rebels in eastern Ukraine say they shot down two Su-25 jets on Wednesday.
They were downed during fighting at the Marinivka border crossing, according to rebel commander Igor "Strelkov" Girkin.
There have been a number of allegations this week of more direct Russian involvement in the conflict, the BBC's Daniel Sandford reports from Moscow.
The Ukrainian government accused Russia of shooting down a transport plane.
In addition, pro-Kiev activists have pointed to videos which appear to show Grad multiple rocket launchers being fired from Russian soil in the direction of Ukraine.
Nato says that Russian troop numbers on the border have increased again to about 12,000.

Putin Speaks Out Against New U.S. Sanctions

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday lamented the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russia, saying they will stalemate bilateral relations and hurt not only Russian but also American businesses.
Russia's benchmark MICEX was down 2.9 percent in late afternoon trading Thursday upon news of the sanctions while Russia's biggest oil company, Rosneft, was nearly 5 percent down and second-largest oil producer was trading 9 percent lower.
Putin's comments came hours after President Barack Obama announced broader sanctions against Russia, targeting two major energy firms including Rosneft, a pair of powerful financial institutions, eight weapons firms and four individuals. The increased U.S. economic pressure is designed to end the insurgency in eastern Ukraine that is widely believed to be backed by the Kremlin.
The U.S. penalties, however, stopped short of the most stringent actions the West has threatened, which would fully cut off key sectors of Russia's oil-dependent economy. But officials said those steps were still on the table if Russia fails to abide by the West's demands to stop its support for the pro-Russia insurgents who have destabilized eastern Ukraine.
The insurgents have been fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine for four months now in a conflict that the U.N. says has killed over 400 people and has displaced tens of thousands. The conflict took off shortly after Russia annexed the mostly Russian-speaking Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
In televised comments Thursday, Putin said the sanctions are "driving into a corner" relations between the two nations as well as the interests of American companies and "the long-term national interests of the U.S. government and people."
Putin warned Washington that the sanctions will backlash against American companies working in Russia.

Afghan security forces thwart attack on Kabul airport, officials say

Afghan security forces thwarted an attack on Kabul's airport Thursday morning, killing six Taliban militants in the process, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. 
Sediq Sediqqi told told the Wall Street Journal that the attackers had stormed a five-story building under construction on the northern side of Kabul International Airport after setting off a car bomb, and had used it as a base to fire at the airport and at allied jets flying overhead. Sediqqi added that Afghan soldiers were quick to surround the building and had cleared the area by mid-morning. 

The airport is home to the operational headquarters of the U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan. The coalition told The Journal no military casualties had been reported.  
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a call to The Associated Press. 
The attack forced the cancelation of several international flights, while other flights en route to the airport were diverted to other Afghan cities. The airport was later reopened and operations returned to normal after security forces inspected the runways for shrapnel and explosives.
Afghan Army Gen. Afzal Aman said several rockets hit the airport but no planes had been damaged. Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai told The Journal that one policeman had been injured.

Syria President Bashar al-Assad sworn in for third term

Bashar al-Assad has been sworn in for a third seven-year term as president of Syria, after an election last month that opponents dismissed as a "farce".

State television broadcast what it said was a live ceremony from the presidential palace in Damascus.
Mr Assad vowed to fight "terrorism" until security was restored to all of the country, but also promised to offer "national reconciliation" to opponents.
He has defied calls to step down since an uprising began in March 2011.
The conflict that erupted after the authorities launched a brutal crackdown on protests has left at least 170,000 people dead and driven more than nine million others from their homes.
'Monstrous faces' Mr Assad won 88.7% of the votes cast in the first multi-candidate election in decades, which took place only in areas of Syria that were under government control.
After taking the oath of office on Wednesday, Mr Assad told his supporters: "Syrians, three years and four months... have passed since some cried 'freedom'."
"They wanted a revolution, but you have been the real revolutionaries. I congratulate you for your revolution and for your victory," he added.

Pakistan police foil attack against PM's home

ISLAMABAD –  Pakistani police fought for more than 10 hours with militants they said were planning to attack the home of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, officials said Thursday.
An intelligence officer and two militants were killed when the shootout erupted during an overnight operation in the eastern city of Lahore, said police chief Zulfiqar Hameed. Shuja Khanzada, a provincial counterterrorism official, said the gunbattle took place at a house near Sharif's residence, which he said was the "prime target" of the militants.

Sharif was away from the residence at the time, receiving a briefing at Pakistani military headquarters on a major offensive launched against militants in the lawless northwest.
In a separate incident, a roadside bomb killed six people in the northwestern city of Hangu. Police official Abid Khan said a smaller bomb exploded first, causing no casualties, and that the larger bomb went off after bystanders had gathered at the scene.
The target of the bombs was not clear, and no one claimed responsibility for them.
Suspicion is likely to fall on Pakistani Taliban militants, who have been fighting to overthrow the government and impose their harsh brand of Islamic law on the country. The group has killed thousands of people over the last decade in a campaign of bombings and other attacks against government officials, security forces and civilians.
Related: Pakistan Anti-Taliban Offensive, U.S. Drones Kill Dozens Of Militants

France To Redeploy Thousands Of Troops Across Northwest Africa

PARIS (AP) — French troops are still in Mali a year and a half after they were sent there for a targeted operation against extremists. And instead of leaving, they're about to expand their mission to fighting terrorism from the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean.
That's because the region's terrorist problem hasn't gone away: French troops merely dispersed Mali's al-Qaida-linked militants, and their potential ties with Nigerian militant group Boko Haram are of increasing concern to the French government.
The redeployment of 3,000 French troops in five of its former colonies across northwest Africa is expected to become official in the coming days. Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived Wednesday in Mali, and President Francois Hollande is starting a three-day visit to Ivory Coast, Niger and Chad on Thursday.
Africans have mixed feelings about French soldiers setting up camp long-term. Some in Mali see it as a neo-colonial power grab, while others feel that the French are only extending the mission because they failed to finish the job they started in January 2013.
"A sovereign country should not accept the presence of foreign troops to assure its security. France took advantage of the weakness of our defense system to set itself up again in our country, after it was chased out in 1960 by the Malian people," said Bassirou Guindo, a Bamako vendor.
The new operation — codenamed "Barkhane" after a crescent-shaped dune in Sahara desert — will involve Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.
While Hollande said this week that the original Mali operation, called Serval, "has been perfectly accomplished," sporadic violence continues. A French soldier was killed Monday by a suicide attack while taking part in a reconnaissance mission in northern Mali. And deadly violence has rocked the north in recent months as Tuareg separatists push back against central authority.

Tunisian soldiers killed in attack near Algerian border

At least 14 Tunisian soldiers have been killed in a militant attack near the Algerian border with at least 20 others wounded, the defence ministry says.

They say gunmen, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and rifles, raided two checkpoints near Mount Chaambi.
It is reportedly the heaviest death toll registered by the army since independence in 1956.
The Tunisian army has been waging a crackdown on militants operating in the mountainous region over the past year.
Islamist militants, including fighters linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM), are believed to be hiding out in the border region.
The soldiers were attacked "by terrorist groups" on Wednesday evening as they were breaking their fast as part of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Tunisia's Tap state news agency reports.
A group called the Okba Ben Nafaa Brigade has reportedly said it carried out the attack in a post on its Facebook page.
The office of the Tunisian presidency has declared three days of mourning starting on Thursday, Tunisian TV reports.
Eight soldiers were killed in an attack in the Mount Chaambi district in July 2013, days before the assassination of secular politician Mohamed Brahmi, which plunged the country into political turmoil.
Islamist militants have been increasingly active around the Algerian-Tunisian border since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled long-term leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

China lightning, floods and landslides leave dozens dead

BEIJING: Dozens of people have died in the past week as torrential rain batters swathes of China, with at least six killed by lightning, thousands of homes destroyed and more than 300,000 evacuated, state media said.

There had been six deaths from lightning strikes in the central province of Jiangxi since last Friday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

There were other fatalities from lightning in Guizhou in the southwest, it said, where a total of seven people died.

A landslide in the province early Thursday buried eight people, Xinhua said, with two rescued by mid-morning but six still missing.

Another landslide in the southwestern province of Yunnan on Wednesday left at least nine people dead, Xinhua said.

Officials are bracing for more devastation, the China Daily said, reporting a warning that "local authorities should make full-scale preparations for geological disasters that could be triggered by rains".

The most severe downpours, which began on Sunday night, destroyed 5,800 homes and damaged another 16,300 in Guizhou, Xinhua said, in a report late Wednesday.

Three people were reported missing and more than 91,000 relocated in the province, the report added.

Five people were killed and 14 missing in landslides in Anhua county in Hunan, also in central China. Across the province the torrential rain has destroyed 1,330 homes and forced 283,000 people to be relocated.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Rammasun, which has wreaked havoc and killed at least 38 people in the Philippines, is expected to make landfall in China's southern province of Hainan on Friday, forecasters said, packing winds of 140 kph (87 mph).

Putin denies Russia plans to reopen spy base in Cuba

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied reports that he made a deal with Cuba to reopen an electronic listening post on the Caribbean island.

The Lourdes base near Havana was used by the Soviets to spy on the US during the Cold War.
Speaking at the Brics summit in Brazil, Mr Putin said Russia could "meet its defence needs without this component".
Russia's Kommersant newspaper had earlier reported that Russia and Cuba had agreed to reopen the spy facility.
Mr Putin closed the base in 2001, citing concerns over its cost.
The paper said the deal to make the base operational again had been reached during Mr Putin's visit to Cuba last week.
A Russian security source quoted by Reuters news agency had confirmed the Kommersant report, saying "a framework agreement" had been agreed.

Pentagon plans to transfer six detainees from Gitmo to Uruguay

U.S. officials said the Pentagon has notified Congress of its intent to transfer six Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainees to Uruguay.
Uruguayan President Jose Mujica has opposed the way detainees are treated at Guantanamo and has said that he would take them in, but then they would be free to leave.
The officials, who spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because it is the administration’s policy not to publicly confirm such notifications, said the Pentagon alerted Congress of the plan last week. In practice, the actual transfer would not take place until at least 30 days after the congressional notification.
It would be the first transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees since five former Taliban commanders were exchanged in May for Bowe Bergdahl, the Army sergeant who had been held for five years by the Taliban. The release of the five for Bergdahl irritated Congress because it was not given the required 30-day notice.
There currently are 149 Guantanamo detainees.
The New York Times, which first reported the plan to release the six detainees, reported that the group includes four Syrians, one Palestinian and one Tunisian.
U.S. and Uruguayan officials have spoken publicly in recent months about their negotiations over terms under which Uruguay would allow a number of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to resettle there. It is not clear what Uruguay would gain, beyond advancing the cause of eventually closing Guarantamo Bay.

Microsoft set to axe 18,000 jobs

Microsoft is to cut up to 18,000 jobs marking the deepest cuts in the technology firm's 39-year history.

The bulk of the cuts, around 12,500, will be in its phone unit Nokia, which Microsoft bought in April, the firm said.
Microsoft pledged to cut $600m (£350.8m) per year in costs within 18 months of closing the acquisition.
The cuts are much more severe than the 6,000 initially expected.
The firm employs 127,000 globally, including 3,500 staff in the UK.
Microsoft declined to say how many jobs in the UK would be cut as a result of the changes.
Chief executive officer Satya Nadella, who took the helm in February, wants the firm to shift its focus away from software to online services, apps and devices.
"Making these decisions to change are difficult, but necessary," Mr Nadella wrote in the announcement to staff.
The firm said it also planned to have fewer layers of management "to accelerate the flow of information and decision making."
Microsoft said staff affected by the job cuts would be notified over the next six months, and they would be "fully completed" by the the end of June next year.
In total it said the cuts, including severance pay, would cost it between $1.1bn to $1.6bn (£643m to £935m) over the next year.

Federal judge rules California's death penalty unconstitutional

LOS ANGELES –  A federal judge ruled California's death penalty unconstitutional Wednesday, writing that lengthy and unpredictable delays have resulted in an arbitrary and unfair capital punishment system.
The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney represents a legal victory for those who want to abolish the death penalty in California and follows a similar ruling that has suspended executions in the state for eight years.

Carney, in a case brought by a death row inmate against the warden of San Quentin state prison, called the death penalty an empty promise that violates the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
"Inordinate and unpredictable delay has resulted in a death penalty system in which very few of the hundreds of individuals sentenced to death have been, or even will be, executed by the State," wrote Carney, a George W. Bush appointee.
He noted that death penalty appeals can last decades and as a result most condemned inmates are likely to die of natural causes before their executions are carried out.
Carney also wrote that since the current death penalty system was adopted by California voters 35 years ago, more than 900 people have been sentenced to death, but only 13 have been executed.

Obama Tells Lawmakers He Won't Cave On Deportation Review

WASHINGTON -- As Republicans blame President Barack Obama's executive actions for the crisis along the border, the president assured members of his own party Wednesday that he won't back down from his plans to ease deportations.
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, meeting at the White House with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden amid the intensifying debate over unaccompanied minors surging across the southern U.S. border, made a two-prong political push, according to attendees. The first was to protect a law that keeps many unaccompanied minors from being rapidly deported. The second was to ensure that the administration doesn't waver from its pledge to get relief for millions of undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years.
A few weeks ago, these two Hispanic Caucus priorities seemed well protected. But both have been imperiled in recent days as Republicans have ratcheted up their argument that the wave of unaccompanied minors -- more than 57,000 have crossed the border this fiscal year -- has been due in part to Obama's 2012 policy allowing young people who entered the U.S. as children years ago to remain here.
Some, such as Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), have said Congress should withhold money to handle the crisis until Obama vows not to grant more deportation relief to those already here. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) made a major splash on Wednesday night, demanding that Obama entirely dismantle his policy on undocumented young people in exchange for funding to deal with the unaccompanied minors.
A Cruz spokesperson told The Huffington Post it was "premature" to say whether the senator would lead a filibuster over any funding bill without a repeal of the administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

More Democrats oppose weakening legal protections of kids crossing the border

The influx of migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border has slowed in recent weeks, administration officials told lawmakers Wednesday.
The ebb of migrations into the country came as a growing number of congressional Democrats are opposed to weakening legal protections for young children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border from Central America, making it less likely that Congress can agree on a deal to address the crisis before lawmakers leave Washington for a five-week summer recess.
The issue is a flash point in the debate over how to stem a tide of tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors coming into the United States, primarily from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. A 2008 law grants extra protections to youths from those countries compared with Mexico or Canada, making it more difficult to deport them quickly.

As the Obama administration seeks to win passage of $3.7 billion in emergency funding to handle the influx, Republicans and some Democrats have said they cannot support authorizing more money to deal with the crisis unless it is coupled with changes in current policy to speed up deportations.
-

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW PAGE