Tuesday July 29th 2014

Israel steps up bombardment of Gaza

More than 100 Palestinians are said to have been killed after Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza and warned of a long conflict ahead.

Gaza's only power plant caught fire as Israel carried out 60 air strikes, targeting sites associated with Hamas, the Islamist group which controls Gaza.
UN staff members are said to be among those killed.
An Israeli military spokesman said the strikes signaled a "gradual increase in the pressure" on Hamas.
In a televised address on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the need to destroy tunnels dug under the Gaza-Israel border, to prevent militants infiltrating Israel.
Related: Chinese hackers steal Israel’s Iron Dome missile data

Israel strikes symbols of Hamas' control in Gaza, shuts down power plant

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel stepped up its military campaign against Hamas on Tuesday, striking symbols of the militant group's control in Gaza and firing tank shells that shut down the area's only power plant in the heaviest bombardment in the fighting so far.
Flares turned the sky over Gaza City orange overnight and by daybreak, as the conflict entered its fourth week, heavy clouds of dust hovered over the territory. A thick column of black smoke rose from a burning fuel tank at the power plant.

The pounding came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned of a "prolonged" campaign against Hamas. It was not clear if this meant Israel has decided to go beyond the initial objectives of decimating Hamas' ability to fire rockets and demolishing the group's military tunnels under the Gaza-Israel border.
Already, the intensity and the scope of the current Gaza operation is on par with an invasion five years ago, which ended with a unilateral Israeli withdrawal after hitting Hamas hard.
In Tuesday's strikes, Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of attacks, leveling the home of the top Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, and damaging the offices of the movement's Al-Aqsa satellite TV station, a central mosque in Gaza City and government offices.
Related: Gaza conflict: Hamas denies backing PLO call for 24-hour ceasefire

Afghanistan bomber kills president's cousin Hashmat Karzai

A suicide bomber has killed a cousin of President Hamid Karzai in the southern city of Kandahar, officials say.

Hashmat Karzai was greeting a well-wisher to his house when the man blew himself up. One report said explosives were hidden in the bomber's turban.
Mr Karzai had been receiving guests on the festival of Eid marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

He was a campaign manager for Ashraf Ghani, one of two presidential hopefuls vying to replace Hamid Karzai.
There was no immediate claim for the assassination.
It follows a series of attacks carried out by the Taliban and their allies as votes are rechecked in the bitterly disputed election.
Hashmat Karzai was influential and a key backer of Ashraf Ghani.
The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says he had emerged as a significant power-broker in the politics of Kandahar, the most important city in the south of Afghanistan.
The Karzai family had been split by a long running feud, our correspondent reports.
Hashmat, who had a pet lion, was the head of a security company with major US contracts, and had been implicated by some family members in the killing of a cousin - a charge he denied.
His own father was murdered by another family member 25 years ago.
In 2011 Hamid Karzai's brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was murdered in his home in Kandahar in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

Turkish PM Erdogan returning award from Jewish American group

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is returning an award given to him by a Jewish American group in 2004, after the group asked for it back because of comments he made regarding the conflict in Gaza.
Turkey's U.S. ambassador wrote to Jack Rosen, president of the American Jewish Congress, on Erdogan's saying that because of Israel's actions in Gaza and "the regrettable stance" of the American Jewish Congress, Erdogan "will be glad to return the award." The letter, dated July 27. was made available Tuesday.

Last week, Rosen described Erdogan as "arguably the most virulent anti-Israel leader in the world." He said Erdogan was given the Profile of Courage award for working for a peaceful solution in the Middle East his commitment to protecting Turkey's Jewish citizens.

Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei Calls For Arming Gaza To Fight Israel

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday called on Muslims from around the world to help arm Gaza Palestinians in their fight against Israel.
The call by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was his latest such message during the ongoing war between Gaza's Hamas rulers and Israel.
Khamenei claims that while Israel and America seek to disarm Hamas, Iran says "the opposite ... the Muslim World has a duty to arm the Palestinian nation by all means."

Iran, a staunch Hamas ally, does not recognize Israel and supports militant anti-Israeli groups such as the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah group.
Iran does not recognize Israel and has considered the Jewish state its archenemy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Western-backed monarchy and brought clerics to power
Khamenei spoke at a prayer ceremony in Tehran as Shiite Iranians marked the beginning of Eid al-Fitr holiday that follows the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Iraq: Isis warns women to wear full veil or face punishment

Sunni insurgents issue guidelines in mosques on how clothes should be worn to prevent women 'from falling into vulgarity'

Islamic State (Isis), the al-Qaida offshoot that seized large swathes of northern Iraq last month, has warned women in the city of Mosul to wear full-face veils or risk severe punishment.

The Sunni insurgents, who have declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria and have threatened to march on Baghdad, also listed guidelines on how veils and clothes should be worn, part of a campaign to violently impose their radical brand of Islam.
"The conditions imposed on her clothes and grooming was only to end the pretext of debauchery resulting from grooming and overdressing," the group said in a statement.
"This is not a restriction on her freedom but to prevent her from falling into humiliation and vulgarity or to be a theatre for the eyes of those who are looking."
A cleric in Mosul told Reuters that Isis gunmen had shown up at his mosque and ordered him to read their warning on loudspeakers when worshippers gather.
"Anyone who is not committed to this duty and is motivated by glamour will be subject to accountability and severe punishment to protect society from harm and to maintain the necessities of religion and protect it from debauchery," Isis said.
The insurgents, formerly called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have been systematically stamping out any religious or cultural influences they deem non-Islamic since their lightning sweep through the north.
US military and Iraqi security officials estimate Isis has at least 3,000 fighters in Iraq, rising towards 20,000 when new recruits since last month's advance are included.

Russia 'violated 1987 nuclear missile treaty', says US

Russia has violated a key arms control treaty by testing a nuclear cruise missile, the US government says.

Russia tested a ground-launched cruise missile, breaking the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed in 1987 during the Cold War, the US said.
A senior US official did not provide further details on the alleged breach, but described it as "very serious".
The bilateral agreement banned medium-range missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km (300 to 3,400 miles).

Analysis: BBC world affairs correspondent Nick Childs
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was a landmark Cold War agreement. It essentially eliminated an entire, and highly controversial, class of nuclear weapons. For that reason, it still has resonance.
There have been questions dating back at least to 2008 over whether Russia was developing a weapon that might breach the treaty. So one issue is why Washington has decided to make its declaration now. Is it a reflection of the general deterioration in US-Russian relations, and in particular the fallout from the Ukraine crisis?
Russia has said little. It might argue the Americans are simply wrong, that the missile falls below the range limit. But the widespread suspicion is that it does breach the limits of the treaty. Moscow might also argue the treaty has been overtaken by world events, that other countries are developing similar missiles, and - after all - the Americans pulled out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty when it suited them.
But there is also the argument that such an iconic treaty should actually be expanded beyond the US and Russia, rather than falling into disuse.
Related : Moscow may walk out of nuclear treaty after US accusations of breach

Double blow for Putin as Ukraine rebels suffer setbacks, West prepares to levy more sanctions

Pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine reportedly have suffered their biggest battlefield setbacks in months as the U.S. and European countries prepare to ramp up pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin by imposing more sanctions against Moscow later this week.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukraine army forces had made rapid gains near the site where Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed July 17 and were apparently trying to split the territory held by the rebels into two parts between the major cities of Donetsk and Luhansk. Officials on both sides of the fighting also told the Journal that the Ukraine army was attempting to cut off supply lines from Russia to the rebels.

Igor Girkin, a Russian citizen who is the top defense official in the separatist Donetsk People's Republic, also said Monday that more than 100 wounded separatist fighters had been evacuated to Russia because "I can't rule out the total siege of Donetsk from all sides."
Meanwhile, the separatist republic's self-proclaimed Prime Minister Alexander Borodai left the rebel-held territory for Moscow on Monday, triggering speculation that the rebels were fleeing the city.
‪Another separatist official, Vladimir Antufeyev, said that Borodai had gone to Russia to discuss "humanitarian aid" and planned to return soon.
Related : US will follow EU in likely escalation of Russia sanctions, says White House

22 Civilian Deaths Reported After One Day Of Shelling In East Ukraine

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — At least one person has been killed after three shells hit an apartment block in the center of the main separatist rebel stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
An Associated Press reporter on the scene saw gaping holes in the side of apartment block after it was fired on.
Around 50 people took refuge in a nearby underground car park and the area was heavy with the smell of household gas.
Although Donetsk is the main stronghold of rebel commanders, the government has refrained to date from attacks on the center of the city.
Rebels accuse the government of using heavy artillery against residential neighborhoods. Ukraine's government says it has banned the use of artillery in residential areas and in turn says separatists target civilians to discredit the army.

Malaysia Airlines MH17: Dutch, Australian experts turned back again

High-level meeting in Montreal to discuss risks to civil aviation in conflict zones

Dutch and Australian experts abandoned plans to access the crash site of the Malaysian airliner in Ukraine on Tuesday due to heavy fighting, the Netherlands said in a statement.

"There is a lot of fighting along the road to the disaster site," the Dutch Justice Ministry said.
It was the third consecutive day experts were unable to do their work due to fighting between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian rebels.

Meeting in Montreal

Meanwhile, top officials from four international organizations are meeting today in Montreal to discuss risks to civilian aviation in conflict zones.
The meeting brings together representatives of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and three groups that represent the world's air carriers, airports and air navigation service providers.
The get-together at ICAO headquarters comes after the UN body that governs civil aviation consulted with various international and regional organizations.
ICAO said in a release Tuesday's meeting will discuss "appropriate actions to be pursued in order to more effectively mitigate potential risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones."
In recent days, tensions in the Middle East have prompted a number of airlines to temporarily halt flights to Tel Aviv. Earlier this month a rocket struck less than two kilometres from the international airport.
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Congress announces deal on veterans affairs health fix

Veterans affairs leaders in Congress have announced a compromise to help address the problems overwhelming the US veterans healthcare system.

Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Jeff Miller announced a $17bn (£10bn) deal that reconciles Senate and House bills passed in June.
The agency has been stung by revelations of falsified records and months-long waits for appointments.
It provides healthcare to about nine million veterans.
The agency has been overwhelmed in recent years by the surge of aging Vietnam veterans and young veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan seeking care.
A recent VA audit revealed more than 57,000 veterans had to wait three months or longer for initial healthcare appointments. An additional 64,000 veterans who requested appointments over the last 10 years never received them.
At the same time, it has been revealed hospital employees falsified records to conceal the long wait times from administrators in Washington DC.
The agreement announced on Monday includes about $10bn in emergency spending for veterans to obtain outside care if they cannot get prompt appointments with Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors, $5bn to hire doctors, nurses and other medical staff, and $1.5bn to set up 27 new VA clinics around the country.

Obama weighs ‘amnesty’ as Congress struggles on border bill

House and Senate lawmakers are running up against an end-of-the-week August recess without a compromise on legislation addressing the border crisis -- potentially playing into the hands of President Obama as he weighs sweeping unilateral action on immigration.
Speculation is widespread about what actions the Obama administration might take on its own, but advocates and lawmakers in touch with the administration tell The Associated Press that the White House is making plans to act to grant work permits to potentially millions of immigrants who are in this country illegally.

The claims have drawn urgent warnings from Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who said such an "amnesty" would be a "permanent stain" on Obama's presidency. Sessions on Monday urged the president to "pull back."
But inaction in Congress on the surge of illegal immigrants along the southern border could fuel Obama's claims that he is compelled to address the issue from the Executive Branch -- even if Republicans say amnesty-style measures could inflame the problem.
While Congress weighs Obama's request for $3.7 billion to deal with the crisis of unaccompanied youths, Senate Democrats are proceeding with their own $2.5 billion bill -- while House Republicans are moving on a significantly scaled-back plan that comes in well under a billion dollars. The House Republican measure would cost $659 million for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

U.S. Fuming Over Israeli Criticism Of John Kerry

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration pushed back strongly Monday at a torrent of Israeli criticism over Secretary of State John Kerry's latest bid to secure a cease-fire with Hamas, accusing some in Israel of launching a "misinformation campaign" against the top American diplomat.
"It's simply not the way partners and allies treat each other," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Her comments were echoed by the White House, where National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the U.S. was "dismayed" by mischaracterizations of Kerry's efforts. Israeli media reports have cast Kerry as seeking a cease-fire that is more favorable to Hamas and being dismissive of key Israeli concerns.
Kerry himself, in a speech to the Center for American Progress, noted the criticism but did not give ground.
"Make no mistake, when the people of Israel are rushing to bomb shelters, when innocent Israeli and Palestinian teenagers are abducted and murdered, when hundreds of innocent civilians have lost their lives, I will and we will make no apologies for our engagement," he said.
The coordinated pushback in Washington came amid growing U.S. frustration with Israel as Palestinian civilian casualties mount amid a sustained Israeli air and ground war in the Gaza Strip. In recent days, U.S. officials have been using subtle yet noticeably tougher language in pressing Israel to accept an immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire.

President Obama’s competence problem is worse than it looks

You can understand President Obama's current political problems -- and how those problems could make things very tough for his party in this fall's midterm election -- in a single word. And that word is "competence".
Obama was elected in 2008 on a stated promise that he would restore competence to government. He pitched himself as the antidote to "Heck of a job, Brownie" and the Bush years, the person who would always put the most qualified candidate in every job in his Administration. That the basic functioning of government would never be in question.
Almost six years on from that election, however, Obama is faltering badly on the competence question and, in so doing, badly imperiling not only his ability to enact any sort of second term agenda but also Democrats' chances this fall. A series of events -- from the VA scandal to the ongoing border crisis to the situation in Ukraine to the NSA spying program -- have badly undermined the idea that Obama can effectively manage the government.
The latest evidence is a question in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Sunday that asks whether the phrase "can manage the government effectively" applies to Obama. Just more than four in ten (42 percent) said that it does while 57 percent said it does not. (It was the lowest that Obama scored on any of the six characteristic questions CNN asked in the survey.)
Obama's trajectory on the question is all to the bad for Democrats. Back in December 2009, more than three quarters of respondents in a CNN/ORC poll said that Obama was an effective manager of the government. By early November 2009 that number had dropped to 58 percent. It dipped below 50 percent for the first time in June 2010 and in the three polls in which CNN has asked the question since mid-November 2013, 40 percent, 43 percent and now 42 percent, respectively, have said that he is a good manager.

Report: DOD workers with access to secrets owe $730M in taxes

About 83,000 Pentagon employees and contractors who held or were eligible for secret clearances had more than $730 million in unpaid taxes as of June 2012, according to an internal government audit.
"Federal laws do not prohibit an individual with unpaid federal taxes from holding a security clearance, but delinquent tax debt poses a potential vulnerability," said the Government Accountability Office, which conducted the report.

The report underscores concerns in the government that individuals with access to classified information could become targets of foreign intelligence agents if they are having financial troubles.

It also comes as the government is trying to crack down on so-called insider threats similar to NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who stole millions of classified documents before leaking them to the media and seeking asylum in Russia.

The GAO report found more than 5.1 million civilian and military employees and contractors held a security clearance as of October.

Of the 83,000 Pentagon employees and contractors with both delinquent tax debts and security clearances, about 26,000 actually had access to secret documents at the time of the study, which was conducted from 2006 to 2011. Combined, those employees owed about $229 million in back taxes, GAO found.

About 4,800 of the 83,000 employees had IRS liens against their property, and 23,000 were subject to wage garnishment and other IRS collection tactics.

The GAO first recommended in 2013 mechanisms to improve federal agencies' ability to detect delinquent federal tax debts by those eligible for security clearances.

However, statutory privacy protections limited access to this information, the GAO said. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) had formed an interagency working group to explore creating an automated process similar to what the Treasury Department uses.

In June, the ODNI's working group said due to the legal and logistical challenges of obtaining tax compliance information from Treasury, it was exploring other sources of information.

The working group said it was their goal to establish an automated system by 2017, but efforts are still in the initial planning stages.

Canada Temporarily Suspends Consular Operations In Libya

OTTAWA - The Canadian government is temporarily suspending its consular operations in the Libyan capital of Tripoli and pulling out all staff.
In a statement, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Lynne Yelich, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, cite an ‘‘unpredictable security environment.‘‘
They say Canada’s chargé d’affaires and Canadian diplomats in Tripoli will temporarily work out of the Canadian embassy in Tunisia.
Libya is witnessing one of the worst bouts of violence more than three years after the downfall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Libya's interim government, which relies on militias filled with rebels who battled Gadhafi's forces for security, now finds itself unable to rein them in.
On Saturday, the United States also evacuated its diplomats from Tripoli to neighbouring Tunisia and shut its embassy.
“The government of Canada takes the safety and security of our diplomats abroad very seriously,” said the joint statement from Baird and Yelich.

Hackers force National Research Council Canada to shut down its computers

National Research Council Canada, which the government calls its "premier research and technology organization," has been hacked.
CTV News reported Chinese hackers have been trying to get into NRC computers for the past month, and the decision was made Monday for a complete shutdown to prevent sensitive information from getting out.
In a statement Tuesday morning, NRC said a "cyber intrusion" was detected and confirmed.
"Action has been taken to contain and address this security breach, including protecting its information holdings and notifying the privacy commissioner. NRC has also taken steps to inform its clients and stakeholders about this situation," a statement on NRC's website says.
NRC said it could take up to a year to create a new, secure IT infrastructure, but "every step is being taken to minimize disruption."
There are plans to update the public about the situation on Thursday.

First Nation chiefs' salaries due to be posted under Transparency Act

The vast majority of First Nations chiefs and band councils have yet to post their financial statements online under new transparency rules passed by the federal government last year.
Under the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, First Nations leaders have 120 days after the first quarter to make public their audited financial statements for the last fiscal year, including the salaries and expenses of their chiefs and councillors.

Visit CBC Aboriginal for more stories

As of Monday night, on the eve of the deadline, the government confirmed that 20 First Nations out of more than 600 had their financial statements posted on the government's web site.
First Nations already have to produce their financial statements as part of their funding agreements with the federal government, but this is the first time they are being asked to post the information online.
First Nations without a website can ask larger First Nations organizations to post their financial statements for them.
Under the new rules, the minister in charge must also publish the documents on the department's website.
First Nations who refuse to comply could be subject to a court order or see funds withheld from them.

Transparency and accountability

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt reminded First Nations of the new rules in a written statement last Friday.
"First Nations, like all Canadians, deserve transparency and accountability from their elected officials," he said.
"With increased access to basic financial information, community members can make more informed decisions about the financial management and reporting of their elected officials."
"First Nations that have yet to submit their audited consolidated financial statements and schedules of remuneration and expenses for chiefs and councillors are encouraged to submit the documents as soon as possible. My department will continue to post as the documents are received," Valcourt said.
The Assembly of First Nations does not support the new legislation.
The AFN regional chief for B.C., Jody Wilson-Raybould, has told Parliament on more than one occasion that many chiefs resent the added measure.

Christy Clark says British Columbia 'a friend of Israel'

VANCOUVER - B.C. Premier Christy Clark has waded into one of the most controversial issues on the planet -- openly supporting Israel after three weeks of heightened violence in the region this summer.
In a letter to the Ottawa-based Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Clark stressed the importance of a ceasefire and went on to write, "British Columbia can be counted as a friend of Israel."
"Israel is an example not only to the region, but the world," she wrote. "Support for Israel abroad makes a difference."
On Monday, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a protracted war in the region following ground raids by Palestinian fighters.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported eight children and two adults were killed in an explosion in a Gaza park Monday, with Israel claiming it was an errant rocket from Hamas and Palestinians saying it was an Israeli airstrike.
Hanna Kawas of the Canada Palestine Association, a group which has called for boycotts against Canadian companies supporting the Israeli government in the past, said Clark should stick to running the province.
"To start with, it's none of her business to comment on foreign policy," Kawas said. "We have enough fools and idiots in Ottawa commenting on the situation."
Kawas alleged Clark is, in effect, supporting laws that discriminate against Palestinians in Israel and the hundreds of deaths of Palestinians by supporting the Israeli government.
The premier's office said Clark was asked to write the letter by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver for an event Sunday night, but would not go into further detail.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish affairs said it felt the letter represented British Columbians' views on the issue.
"We appreciate Premier Clark's balanced, moderate and thoughtful statement on the tragic situation in Israel and in Gaza," wrote the centre's Darren Mackoff in an e-mail.

European Trade Deal: Harper Might Have To Compromise To Relieve German Concerns

OTTAWA - It's an open question whether Canada needs a free trade deal with Europe, but it is more certain that the Harper government does.
With a cloud suddenly appearing over the Stephen Harper's "historic achievement" because of German concerns over a clause that allow firms to sue governments, free trade advocates are advising the prime minister to compromise if he has to, but get the deal done.
The German objection — signalled in a news leak on Saturday that it would not sign the agreement with the current language on investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) — has since been modified by a government official saying Germany would examine "meticulously" the deal once it has been finalized.
In a response to a media question, the European Union's trade official in Canada, Karsten Mecklenburg, said "negotiators have almost finished their work" and only then would EU member states be asked to approve the document.
Germany's ambassador to Canada, Werner Wnendt, says investor protections are not a deal-breaker for his country, but they deserve close scrutiny.
"That (ISDS) is the concern of people in Germany and it's something that needs to be taken seriously by the government," he told CBC.
He also said Canada and European nations have functioning court systems, so "the question is do we need a separate conflict resolution mechanism."

Premier Alison Redford’s flights had ‘false passengers,’ auditor general says

Alberta premier’s staff ‘blocked’ other passengers from government planes

A review by Alberta's auditor general found "false passengers" were booked on at least a dozen government flights, making it possible for then Premier Alison Redford to fly alone with her entourage.
Merwan Saher also concluded Redford derived a "personal benefit" by taking her daughter on dozens of government flights. Saher raises the question of whether Redford's desire to take her daughter on out-of-province trips may have influenced the decision to use government aircraft rather than commercial carriers.
These findings are contained in an internal report to the government obtained exclusively by CBC News.

University of Alberta political scientist Jim Lightbody said he has never seen anything like the report.
"It reveals a scarcely disguised contempt for taxpayers' money," Lightbody said.
Under pressure from the opposition and the public, Redford on March 4 suspended all out-of-province travel on government planes and asked the auditor general to review the government's use of aircraft.
Saher is expected to issue a final public report next month.
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