Gazette 080514

Tuesday August 5th 2014

Israel pulls troops out of Gaza

Israel has withdrawn its troops from the Gaza Strip to "defensive positions" outside the Palestinian territory.

It says the main aim of its offensive - to destroy militants' tunnels - has been achieved.
A 72-hour truce - brokered by Egyptian mediators late on Monday - came into force at 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT) and appears to be holding.
Gaza officials say the four-week conflict has killed 1,800 Palestinians. Some 67 Israelis have also been killed.
"The Israel Defense Forces will be redeployed in defensive positions outside the Gaza Strip and we will maintain those defensive positions," Israeli military spokesman Lt-Col Peter Lerner said.
Just minutes before the truce came into effect, air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as Hamas militants fired a barrage of rockets at central Israel. Israeli forces also staged raids in Gaza shortly before the ceasefire began.

Israel sends delegation to Cairo for truce talks as cease-fire appears to hold 

The 72-hour cease-fire which began Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. appeared to be holding Tuesday afternoon prompting Israel to send a negotiating team to Cairo for indirect talks with Palestinians factions aimed at reaching a long-term truce.
Israel had previously said that it would wait to see if Hamas honored the cease-fire before dispatching a delegation to take part in the talks that it had thus far avoided.
"The delegates left under an hour ago. I assume they've already arrived in Egypt," an Israeli official told Reuters on Tuesday afternoon.
A flurry of rockets was fired at the South, the Shfela region and areas outside of Jerusalem in the West Bank just prior to the onset of the cease-fire. One rocket hit a house near the Palestinian West Bank town of Bethlehem, police said and residents said.
Israeli ground forces completed their withdrawal from Gaza as the cease-fire went into effect on Tuesday morning.
Senior Israeli diplomatic officials said Israel was preparing for the possibility that Hamas would violate the cease-fire, as it has done in the past, and also cautioned the Israeli public to continue to be vigilant as Hamas could try to carry out a major attack for a final “victory picture” before the cease-fire goes into effect.
They stressed that the ceasefire was unconditional and pointed out that its acceptance came after Israel finished destroying the terror tunnels.
The Palestinian delegation, who is already in Cairo, presented their demands to the Egyptians late on Sunday. The demands called for an immediate cease-fire and a lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip, in addition to the reopening of all border crossings. They also called for international assurances that Israel would refrain from launching military attacks, and for UN assistance in rebuilding the Gaza Strip.

Syrian rebels in more clashes with Lebanese soldiers

Two more Lebanese soldiers have reportedly been killed, as fighting with Syrian rebels on the Lebanese border continues for a fourth day.

A young girl has also been shot dead, after clashes spread.
The fighting began on Saturday when rebels raided Arsal, a mainly Sunni Lebanese town, after Lebanese forces detained an alleged member of Syria's Islamist militant group al-Nusra Front.
At least 15 soldiers have been killed in the area since the weekend.
The district, in the north of the Bekaa valley, is known for continuing tension between the Lebanese army and Syrian militias.
Army units were trying to recapture the courthouse in Arsal from the rebels, as well as the area surrounding a customs building, the Lebanese National News Agency reported.
Fighting spreads north On Monday night, fighting broke out in Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli - a point of tension between its Sunni population and the minority Shia Alawite community which supports Syrian President Basher al-Assad.
Reports say firing broke out after a demonstration against the army's handling of the situation in Arsal. Another spark is thought to have been reports that a number of Sunni clerics were wounded as they entered Arsal to try to broker a ceasefire.

Islamic State militants fight for Iraq's two biggest dams

Militants from the Islamic State are battling ferociously to control one of Iraq's most vital resources: water.
Fighters with the group launched a three-pronged attack over the weekend in a drive to capture Haditha Dam, in western Iraq, a complex with six power generators located alongside Iraq's second-largest reservoir. At the same time, they are fighting to capture Iraq's largest dam, Mosul Dam, in the north of the country.

Seizing the dams and the large reservoirs they hold would give the militants control over water and electricity that they could use to help build support in the territory they now rule by providing the scarce resources to residents. Or they could sell the resources as a lucrative source of revenue.
They could also use the dams as a weapon of war by flooding terrain downstream to slow Iraq's military or disrupt life. They have done that with a smaller dam they hold closer to Baghdad. But with the larger dams, there are limits on this tactic since it would also flood areas that the insurgents hold.
On Friday, the fighters unleashed a powerful attack from three sides on the town of Haditha in western Anbar province. Suicide attackers tried but failed to detonate an oil tanker and several trucks packed with explosives. The aim was to obliterate the final line of defense between the militants and Haditha Dam on the Euphrates River, Lt. Gen. Rasheed Fleih, the commander of Anbar Operations Command, told The Associated Press.
For a brief moment, it seemed all was lost. The Sunni militants seized the army command headquarters in town, with very little stopping them from reaching the dam. But some local Sunni tribes who oppose the militants and feared for their livelihoods if the dam were captured sent fighters to reinforce the 2,000 soldiers guarding the town, allowing for a narrow victory. At least 35 militants and 10 soldiers were killed in clashes on Friday, Fleih said.
But the militants have been fighting every day since trying to take the town, according to four senior military sources in Anbar province. They spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak with the media.
Only 10 kilometers (6 miles) remain between the militants and the dam.
Related: Islamic State Militants Make Major Gains In Iraq

Attack On Afghanistan Military Base Kills NATO Soldier

A man dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire Tuesday on foreign troops at a military base, killing at least one U.S. soldier and wounding 15, including a German brigadier general and "about a dozen" Americans, authorities said.

Details about the attack at Camp Qargha, a base west of the capital, Kabul, weren't immediately clear. Gen. Mohammmad Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Defense Ministry, said a "terrorist in an army uniform" opened fire on both local and international troops. Azimi said the shooter had been killed and that three Afghan army officers were wounded.
A U.S. official said one American soldier was killed and "about a dozen" of the wounded were Americans, but declined to comment further. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss details of the attack by name on the record.

Germany's military said one NATO soldier was killed, while 15 NATO soldiers were wounded in an assault launched "probably by internal attackers." The wounded included a German brigadier general, who the German military said was receiving medical treatment and was "not in a life-threatening condition."
In its statement, NATO said that it was "in the process of assessing the situation."

Bloody clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia over disputed territory

Presidents to meet for talks after fresh violence over Nagorno-Karabakh leaves at least 14 dead. EurasiaNet reports

The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia are expected to meet for talks this week to try to calm tensions over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh after some of the bloodiest clashes since the two sides signed a ceasefire in 1994.
Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said 14 of its soldiers had been killed in multiple confrontations, which began on 30 July. According to Azeri news agency APA, Armenian reconnaissance groups tried to cross the contact line along the border, and Azeri armed forces responded.
“As a result of fights, the Armenians gave casualties and retreated,” the semi-official news agency reported.
An anonymous senior Armenian military official also told AFP news agency that Azerbaijan had lost 14 troops in the fighting, but blamed the Azeri side for sparking the incidents.
“Azerbaijani subversive groups were ambushed,” the official said. “As a result, they have 14 dead and lots of wounded.”
He said there had been no casualties or injuries on the Armenian side, although other reports suggested as many as five Armenian soldiers may have been killed.

Egypt to dig new canal alongside Suez Canal

CAIRO: Egypt will dig a new 72-km canal parallel to the historic Suez Canal, a move that will expand trade and generate revenue of US$ 100 billion and provide 1 million new jobs.

"The project will be finished in one year," President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday announced during the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal Corridor project.

The new multi-billion dollar project is expected to generate a revenue of US$ 100 billion and provide 1 million new jobs, state-run news agency MENA reported.

Head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamish said the new project aimed to create "a new Suez Canal parallel to the current channel."

The project has been a dream for three successive Egyptian governments.

Sisi called on the rich people to take part in Tahya Masr Fund, launched last month to support Egypt's economy.

He said Egypt had given more to its people and it was time for them to payback to help finish the digging.

"You will pay come what may, because Egypt gave you more," the President said in his speech held in the Suez governorate.

US officials warn Russian troops could move quickly against Ukraine, report says

U.S. officials say that a rapid buildup of Russian troops near the country's border with Ukraine has raised the specter of a cross-border attack with little or no warning, according to a published report. 
The New York Times reported late Monday that Russia has built up 17 battalions of infantry troops, artillery units, and air defense into a battle-ready force of approximately 20,000 men. Western officials told The Times that Russia has increased its number of surface-to-air units to fourteen from eight and deployed more than 30 artilleries. 

The latest buildup comes as Ukraine's army is making progress in retaking territory in the country's east that was seized by pro-Russian separatist rebels earlier this year. Kiev's army has been advancing for several days against the city of Donetsk, the last major rebel stronghold, in an attempt to divide the rebel-held territory into two sectors. 
The purpose of the Russian troop buildup is reportedly unclear to Western intelligence. However, The Times reported that officials are considering the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin could order troops to cross the border in the guise of a peacekeeping operation should Ukraine threaten to annihilate the rebel resistance in Donetsk. 
"That's a very real option," a senior Defense Department official told the paper. "And should Putin decide, he could do that with little or no notice. We just don’t know what he’s thinking."
Also on Monday, Reuters reported that Moscow had announced that it would conduct military exercises near the border this week. The Interfax news agency quoted a Russian air force spokesperson as saying that the exercises would include missile-firing practice and will assist 'coordination between aviation and anti-missile defense.' More than 100 aircraft, including fighter jets, and bombers were expected to take part in the maneuvers.

Man arrested for hoax bomb threat on plane escorted by fighter jet to Manchester Airport

Manchester: British police have arrested a man on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat after two fighter jets escorted a Qatar Airways plane into Manchester Airport. The pilot had reported a possible explosive device was on board.
The incident, which prompted the authorities to close the northern England airport for 25 minutes, briefly raised fears of a terrorism attack.
Qatar Airways said the Airbus A330-300 plane was flight QR23 from Doha to Manchester with 269 passengers and 13 crew on board.

A Reuters photographer saw armed police remove a handcuffed male passenger dressed in baggy trousers and a sports shirt from the plane.
"We can confirm that Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby in their quick reaction alert role this afternoon to investigate a civilian aircraft whose pilot had requested assistance," Britain's Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
"The aircraft was escorted to Manchester where it landed safely. This incident is now being handled by the civilian authorities."

Saudi Arabia suspects case of Ebola infection

RIYADH: Doctors in Saudi Arabia are testing a patient suspected of having contracted Ebola during a trip to West Africa, hit by an epidemic of the virus, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

The Saudi man was admitted to hospital in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after showing symptoms of haemorrhagic fever upon his return from Sierra Leone.

The patient, in his 40s, is in critical condition and has symptoms "similar to that of Ebola infection."

Ebola-like symptoms include fever, vomiting, severe headaches and muscular pain and, in the final stages, profuse bleeding.

The UN World Health Organization said on Monday that at least 887 people have died from Ebola since the beginning of the year, after the virus spread across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In April, Saudi Arabia announced a ban on visas for Muslims in the three West African nations wishing to perform the pilgrimage to the Muslim holy sites there.
Related: Experimental Ebola drug given to 'improving' US aid workers

Ebola crisis: NY patient tested after return from Africa

A US man who became sick after visiting West Africa last month is being tested for Ebola, health officials have said.

It is seen as unlikely the man has the disease, but doctors at Mount Sinai hospital in New York say they will have a definite answer by Tuesday morning.
Two American aid workers who were working in West Africa are known to have contracted the deadly virus.
The recent Ebola outbreak has killed at least 887 people, mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Strict isolation Doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital said the man arrived in the emergency room early Monday morning with a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms.
"Odds are this is not Ebola," Dr Jeremy Boal, Mount Sinai's chief medical officer told reporters.
The patient told staff he had recently travelled to a West African country where Ebola had been reported, doctors said. He has been placed in strict isolation.
Related: U.S. Health Authorities Concealing Number of Suspected Ebola Victims From Public

VA scrambles to create private care alternative for veterans

The bipartisan overhaul of the Department of Veterans Affairs approved last week by Congress has touched off a race against the clock, as the agency now is tasked with setting up a private health care alternative for veterans within 90 days. 
Whether the already-struggling VA can meet that deadline remains to be seen. But Congress set an ambitious timetable in the bill -- expected to be signed by President Obama any day now -- when it gave the VA three months to create a system where veterans enduring long waits can go outside the VA system for care. 

The Washington Times reported that the VA needs to find manufacturers for printing millions of "choice cards" for these veterans, and the agency may have to find a new contractor to do it. 
"Getting that within 90 days might be pretty tough," Ray Kelley, national legislative director at Veterans of Foreign Wars, told the newspaper. 
The VA faces several deadlines in the bill, including deadlines to issue various reports on its progress. But the private care alternative was at the heart of the bill. The legislation included $10 billion for that new system. 
The measure would require the VA to pay private doctors to treat qualifying veterans who can't get prompt appointments at the VA's nearly 1,000 hospitals and outpatient clinics, or those who live at least 40 miles from one of them. Only veterans who are enrolled in VA care as of Aug. 1 or live at least 40 miles away would be eligible to get outside care. 

Congress Could Easily Fix A Huge Obamacare Problem. It Won't

WASHINGTON -- A handful of simple words in a piece of legislation could prevent more than 4 million people losing their health insurance, but Congress isn't going to write them.
At issue are several lawsuits against Obamacare moving through the legal system that may go all the way to the Supreme Court. Among other things, the suits contend the precise phrasing of the Affordable Care Act means that low- and moderate-income health insurance consumers in most states can't receive subsidies to make coverage more affordable.
Lawmakers could end that threat any time by changing the law's wording to make it clear subsidies are available nationwide. But in today's take-no-prisoners Congress, Republicans won't let it happen and Democrats won't even try.

"The political point has been very clearly made by Democrats: Let's fix it," said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who was chairman of the the House Energy and Commerce Committee, one of five panels that wrote the law in 2009 and 2010, and is now its ranking Democrat. "The Republicans won't allow it. The only thing they want to pass is repeal."
It's a sign not just of the unruly politics of President Barack Obama's health care reform law, but of the dysfunction that has taken root in a national legislature that used to routinely pass so-called technical corrections bills to clear up legislative ambiguity and assert Congress' authority.

Dem lawmaker uses German Luftwaffe uniform to portray US Navy in campaign mailer

Democratic lawmaker Julia Brownley sent a political mailer to her constituents in late July featuring a woman wearing fake military attire and a German Luftwaffe insignia — apparently unaware that the costume was not an official uniform worn by U.S. personnel.
On Monday Jeff Gorell, Brownley’s Republican opponent in California’s 26 congressional district, sent out a press release highlighting the congresswoman’s taxpayer-funded faux pas.

The candidate claims that “concerned local veterans” brought to his attention a photograph featured along the top of the flyer — which also contains pictures of a young family, a child going to school, a vibrant classroom and other common campaign themes.
That photograph shows a young woman in a white, open-collared military uniform, wearing a white cap displaying a gold insignia and blue-and-gold trim.

The Presidency and the Press

Somewhere between Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, with Air Force One cruising just shy of the speed of sound, Barack Obama decided to have a word with the press.
It has been tradition for Obama to make a visit back to the press cabin during the last leg of exhausting presidential foreign trips – just a friendly off-the-record chat – but this junket, a barnburner taking the chief executive to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines this past April, wouldn't be over for three days. The president's blood was up over two analysis pieces in The New York Times. One, written by national security correspondent David Sanger and timed for Obama's arrival in Seoul, accused the administration of dangerously underestimating Kim Jong-Un. A second story, splashed on the paper's front page, had effectively declared the trip a failure while it was still in progress: "President Obama encountered setbacks to two of his most cherished foreign-policy projects on Thursday," it read, citing the inability to reach a trade deal with Japan and the breakdown of Middle East peace talks. That piece had been co-bylined by White House correspondent Mark Landler, who had been tagging along on the president's jaunt and hence was at that moment sitting in the press cabin.
Jay Carney, the press secretary, arrived to give the heads-up and secure the standard agreement from the reporters to treat Obama's visit as off the record, meaning that the contents could never be published or broadcast. Carney was followed by the president himself, who assembled his lanky eminence against the bulkhead at the fore of the cabin and proceeded to dress down Landler and his colleagues.
With the chat being off the record, a definitive accounting of what was said is hard to come by; it is clear, though, that the thrust of the president's message was this: Foreign policy is hard, you guys are scoring it like a campaign debate, and moreover, you're doing it inaccurately. He went further, telling the dozen or so reporters that what he favored was a judicious use of American power, and that his primary concern was not to get the country embroiled in situations from which it might take a decade to extract ourselves. He offered up an oddly sophomoric mantra for his foreign policy: "Don't do stupid shit."
The White House insists that Obama's walk to the back of the plane wasn't motivated solely by irritation, and as a rule, correspondents say they value the chance to hear the president explain his thinking. But if the idea was to help shape the coverage, well, then that didn't work either. "Obama Criticized News Coverage During Off-the-Record Meeting With Reporters," flashed Huffington Post media writer Michael Calderone. "Stop whining, Mr. President," Maureen Dowd wrote with glee.
It was the latest in what has come to seem like an endless string of bad headlines: ongoing Benghazi investigations, bias and deleted e-mails at the IRS, indecision about Syria, the health care website fail, the conundrum of Ukraine, mismanagement at the VA, redeployment of American troops to Iraq, and the cringe-worthy handling of the coverage of the prisoner swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The discomfort here is more than just the ritual excoriation of a second-term American president: It's more jarring, and more lurid, because it runs contrary to the set idea of coziness between Obama and the news media.
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