Weekend Gazette 081614

Saturday August 16th 2014

European Union Offers To Take Charge Of Gaza Borders

The European Union offered Friday to take charge of Gaza's border crossings and work to prevent illegal arms flows, insisting on a durable truce and saying a return to the status quo before the latest war "is not an option."

As EU foreign ministers held an urgent meeting in Brussels about global conflicts, Hamas negotiators met with the Islamic militant group's leadership in Qatar to discuss a proposal for a long-term truce with Israel. An official said the group was inclined to accept the Egyptian-mediated offer.
The Gaza blockade remains the main stumbling block. It has greatly limited the movement of Palestinians in and out of the territory of 1.8 million people, restricted the flow of goods into Gaza and blocked virtually all exports.

The EU is prepared "to play a strong role" in managing the crossings while assuring that Israel's security is guaranteed, said the 28-nation bloc's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.
The EU offered to reactivate and extend its monitoring of the Rafah crossing with Egypt and other border posts, provided there will be a U.N. Security Council mandate for the mission and a sustainable cease-fire in place. In addition, the EU says Israel must lift its blockade to allow "a fundamental improvement in the living conditions for the Palestinian people in Gaza."

Yazidi villagers 'massacred' in Iraq

Militants in northern Iraq have massacred at least 80 men from the Yazidi faith in a village and abducted women and children, reports say.

Senior Kurdish official Hoshyar Zebari said the men were killed in two groups after a column of Islamic State (IS) vehicles arrived in Kawju on Friday.
A US drone strike later destroyed two vehicles from the convoy, he said.
Reports say warplanes have struck IS positions near the Mosul dam, captured last week.
However, it is not clear whether US or Iraqi aircraft were involved.
Residents near the dam told AP news agency that the air strikes were carried out on Saturday afternoon, killing some militants.
Kurdish regional Rudaw TV earlier said several surrounding towns were also struck.
An official from US Central Command declined to go into detail.
"For the safety and security of our personnel, we will not discuss or speculate on reports of ongoing or future operations," the official told the BBC.
The dam controls the water and power supply to a large area of northern Iraq.
Related : US conducts new airstrikes as ISIS kills dozens of Yazidis in Iraq town, officials say

Hezbollah leader Nasrallah sees Islamic State as growing 'monster'

BEIRUT- The Hezbollah leader described the radical Islamist movement that has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria as a growing "monster" that could threaten Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states, according to an interview printed on Friday.
In a separate speech, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Islamic State also posed an existential threat to his own nation, Lebanon, the target of an incursion by Islamist insurgents from Syria this month. He said his heavily armed Shi'ite Muslim group was ready to fight the threat in Lebanon - if required.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah has been helping Syrian President Bashar Assad fight a Sunni Islamist-dominated insurgency that spilled into the Lebanese border town of Arsal on Aug. 2, triggering five days of battles between the Lebanese army and militants including members of Islamic State.
"Here we live, and - if the battle is imposed on us - here we fight and here we will be martyred," said Nasrallah. Hezbollah said it stayed out of the Arsal battle, wary of inflaming sectarian tensions with Lebanese Sunnis, many of whom have supported the uprising against Assad.
Nasrallah was speaking on the eighth anniversary of the conclusion of Hezbollah's one-month war with Israel.
Addressing the wider threat to the region from Islamic State, Nasrallah said it could easily recruit in other Arab states where its hardline ideology exists. Even Turkey, the passage for many foreign fighters into Syria, should beware.
"Wherever there are followers of the ideology there is ground for (Islamic State), and this exists in Jordan, in Saudi Arabia, in Kuwait and the Gulf states," Nasrallah said in the interview with the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

5 Red Cross workers abducted in Afghanistan, spokesman says

KABUL, Afghanistan –  A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan says five members of their Afghan staff members have been abducted.
Marek Resich said Saturday that the employees were traveling by road in the western province of Herat on Friday when they were detained by a local armed group.

He said the organization is trying to secure their release.
Raouf Ahmadi, a police spokesman in Herat, said the aid workers were delivering sheep to local villages when they were stopped by the gunmen.
Militants carry out near-daily attacks in Afghanistan, usually targeting security forces.
But recent attacks have rattled civilian aid workers. On July 24, gunmen opened fire on two Finnish aid workers in the city of Herat, killing them both.
Related:  Is Afghanistan running out of cash?

Iran says 'little chance' of reaching nuclear deal with West by November

Iran's foreign minister said on Saturday that he believed it was unlikely a final-status agreement would be reached with the West over the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program within the time frame that has been allotted in the negotiations.
"The chances that we will come to final understandings within the four months remaining are low," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is quoted as saying.
Zarif added that even if the parties come to a deal by the November deadline, they would still need more time to flesh out the fine print. The foreign minister said that the talks could lead to "quick results" if the P5+1 powers – the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany – display the necessary will. He said that in recent months, the discussions have proceeded carefully, although there has been progress.
In July, Iran and the six powers agreed to extend the talks after both sides were unable to reach agreement. The main dispute centered on the question of the extent to which Iran would be permitted to enrich uranium. The powers demanded that the Islamic Republic reduce the number of centrifuges to a symbolic few, while the Iranians countered with a proposal to increase the number of centrifuges and to subject them under international inspection.
This past Wednesday, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying that Washington has become increasingly hostile to Iran. "There's no point in engaging in direct negotiations with Washington," he said.
The moderate camp, led by President Hassan Rouhani, believes that Iran must reach an agreement immediately, particularly in order to boost the Iranian economy. The West has shown greater interest in investing in the Iranian economy, as evidenced by the 30 percent increase in oil exports.
"Cowards, go to hell," Rouhani said of the conservatives in Iran, this during the same week in which Iran's central bank received the final payment of funds that were frozen - $500 million, out of a total of $4.2 billion.

India shamed by sexual violence, says Narendra Modi

Prime minister uses his first Independence Day speech to call on parents to take responsibility for actions of sons

India has been shamed by a string of high-profile rapes and sexual attacks on women, the country's prime minister, Narendra Modi, has said in his first Independence Day speech as prime minister.
Addressing the nation from the Red Fort citadel in Delhi, Modi called on Indian parents to take responsibility for the actions of their sons, rather than put the blame on their daughters. He said every Indian household should have a toilet within the next four years, and promised separate toilet facilities for girls in public schools.
"Our heads hang in shame when we hear about rapes," he said. "Why can't we prevent this? When a daughter steps out, parents demand to know where she's going. But when a son returns home, does anyone dare ask where he is coming from? He might have been with the wrong people, doing wrong things. After all, a person raping is someone's son. Why don't parents apply the same yardstick of good behaviour for their sons as for their daughters?"
A brutal gang rape on a moving Delhi bus in December 2012 has led to an unprecedented national debate about sexual violence and prompted calls for changes in cultural attitudes as well as policing and legal reform. But many attacks still go unreported amid an entrenched culture of tolerance for sexual violence and social stigma for the victims of such assaults.
"The law will take its own course, but as a society every parent has a responsibility to teach their sons the difference between right and wrong," the prime minister said.

Fiery cleric leads anti-government protest in Pakistan as thousands demand premier step down

ISLAMABAD –  A fiery anti-government cleric is leading a massive really in Pakistan's capital, demanding the country's prime minister step down over alleged fraud in last year's election.
Tahir-ul-Qadri, along with famous cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan, are leading tens of thousands to protest in Islamabad. They want Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down over alleged fraud in the country's May 2013 election.

Sharif has said he won't step down, raising fears of possible political instability in this nuclear-armed country.
On Saturday, Qadri told his supporters to continue protesting until they bring a "peaceful revolution." Khan's supporters have camped out nearby.
Both Khan and Qadri have vowed to bring 1 million followers into the streets of Islamabad, a city of roughly 1.7 million inhabitants.

Ukraine crisis: Rebel leader says Russian arms on way

Alexander Zakharchenko, self-proclaimed PM of the Donetsk rebel area, said on Friday 150 vehicles and 1,200 personnel were approaching their border.
Russia has denied claims by Ukraine and Western reporters that military aid to the rebels is crossing over.
Meanwhile a controversial humanitarian aid convoy from Russia is stalled on the Russian side of the border.
The convoy is apparently awaiting inspection by Ukrainian border guards, as Russia, Ukraine and the Red Cross decide how the aid will be delivered.
On Friday Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu assured his US counterpart Chuck Hagel that there were no Russian military personnel involved with the convoy, nor would it be used as a pretext for further intervention.
Journalists inspected some of the vehicles on Friday.
'Good news' Mr Zakharchenko, who became self-declared prime minister of the "Donetsk People's Republic" (DPR) last week, is seen on a video posted on YouTube addressing the region's self-styled parliament in a session said to be on Friday.
"I'd like to give you some good news," he says. "At present, moving towards the corridor [a link across the border into Russia established by the rebels] are... 150 items of military hardware, 30 of which are tanks and the rest are infantry fighting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers." 

Liberia to open 2nd Ebola center in capital 
 
MONROVIA (Liberia): Authorities in Liberia are opening a new center to treat Ebola patients after the existing one in the capital became overwhelmed with patients.

Assistant health minister Tolbert Nyenswah said the first center was only meant to treat 25 people and now has about 80 patients.

The new center opening on Saturday will have 120 beds but may eventually be tripled in size because of the ongoing crisis.

Isolating Ebola patients is key to slowing the spread of the disease, as sick people can transmit it through their bodily fluids such as blood, sweat or urine.

The UN health agency has warned that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa may last another six months.

It also says the current toll of 1,069 may "vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak." 

Condemned but Undeterred, Boko Haram Is Still Abducting Nigerian Youths

ABUJA, Nigeria — The pattern is becoming all too familiar to residents of Nigeria’s embattled northeast: Gunmen believed to be members of the militant Islamist sect Boko Haram descend on a village, burn houses, round up scores of young people, load them onto trucks and then drive away.

Four months after Boko Haram shocked the world by abducting nearly 300 girls from a rural school, fighters shouting “God is great” snatched dozens more young people from another village in recent days, according to officials, local journalists and Nigerian news media.

This time, the target was boys and young men, who were waved into trucks at gunpoint, prompting fears that they would be hauled off and forced to fight for the militants in their war against the Nigerian state.

Senator Ahmed Zannah of Borno State, which has been battered by the Islamist insurgency for years, confirmed the latest abductions but said that Chadian soldiers had since freed the kidnap victims. The group had been taken to an island in Lake Chad, he said, where the soldiers rescued them. His account could not be independently verified.

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Missouri: Police confront new protests over Michael Brown

Riot police have confronted dozens of protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, as tensions again rose over the shooting of a black teenager by police there.

Several stores were looted and bottles thrown in the area of a convenience store, shown in CCTV footage released by police to demonstrate that Michael Brown, 18, was a robbery suspect.
The footage appears to show Mr Brown stealing and intimidating the owner.
The unrest came despite an appeal for calm by Mr Brown's family.
It said their son was not "perfect" but criticised what they see as a police attempt to "justify the execution-style murder".
"Stay with us, we don't want to see any violence on the streets. Please continue to peacefully protest," said Michael Brown's cousin, Eric Davis.
Police later said that the officer who shot Mr Brown did not know he was a robbery suspect.

Los Angeles weighs cash incentive in bid to boost voter turnout

Near-perfect weather and an abundance of "I voted" stickers haven't been enough to lure Los Angeles residents to the polls. Now some city officials are floating another idea: cash.
In a bid to boost turnout, Los Angeles's Ethics Commission has voted to recommend that the city consider offering cash, which might include a prize as high as $50,000, after fewer than a quarter of registered voters showed up for recent municipal elections.

The three-person panel unanimously voted Thursday to have a committee overseen by City Council President Herb Wesson consider offering the financial incentives.
A mere 23 percent of registered voters showed up for the 2012 mayoral election, down from the 37 percent that turned out in 2001. Even fewer voted in the city-attorney and -controller elections, and turnout was a low as 15 percent for district elections, city officials said.
"I would say our turnout is abysmal, and it's embarrassing," Mr. Wesson said.
The idea to boost voter participation involves a "lottery-type structure where there could be prize winners of some sort," said Mr. Wesson. The lottery would only be allowable in elections that don't include candidates for federal offices or federal measures.

Obama Faces Potential Rifts With Democrats In Mounting Immigration Fight

President Barack Obama is facing potential rifts with members of his own party in tough re-election contests as he barrels toward a fall fight with Republicans over his ability to change immigration policies.

If Obama takes the broadest action under consideration — removing the threat of deportation for millions of people in this country illegally — the short-term risks appear greatest for Senate Democrats in conservative-leaning states. Weeks before the November vote, they could find themselves on the hot seat for their views not only on immigration but also on Obama's use of his presidential powers.
Wary of what could be coming, some of those lawmakers have said Obama should act with caution.

"This is an issue that I believe should be addressed legislatively and not through executive order," said Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., one of the top targets for Republicans trying to retake control of the Senate.
Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., another vulnerable incumbent, said in a statement that he also is "frustrated with the partisanship in Washington. But that doesn't give the president carte blanche authority to sidestep Congress when he doesn't get his way."
Such statements have immigration advocates on edge.

Al Gore sues Al Jazeera America for unpaid millions

Former Vice President Al Gore is suing Al Jazeera America, saying the news network is withholding tens of millions of dollars that it owes for buying Current TV from him and other shareholders for $500 million last year.
David Boies, Gore's attorney, said in a statement that Al Jazeera America "wants to give itself a discount on the purchase price that was agreed to nearly two years ago." He said the suit was filed in Delaware Court of Chancery on Friday.

Al Jazeera America didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Qatar-owned news channel took over Current TV's signal last August and hired a slew of U.S. TV news veterans like Soledad O'Brien and John Seigenthaler. It is available in nearly 60 million U.S. homes.
Gore and co-founder and former Current TV CEO Joel Hyatt each had 20 percent stakes in Current, while Comcast Corp. had less than a 10 percent stake. Another major investor in Current TV was supermarket magnate and entertainment industry investor Ron Burkle.

For Rick Perry: It’s not the crime, it’s the politics

So this is what happens when the fox cuts the food supply of the dog guarding the henhouse.

A Travis County grand jury on Friday indicted Gov. Rick Perry on two felony counts, alleging he abused his power by threatening to veto funding for the state's Public Integrity Unit unless Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, who had pleaded guilty to drunk driving, stepped down.

It appears to those on the governor’s side of the argument that he has the right to cut the funding of agencies run by people who will not quit on his demand.

It appears to those on the prosecutor’s side that his funding veto and the threat that preceded it were an attempt to intimidate and coerce the office that has the job of policing corruption and ethics cases in state government.

The threat is the thing. Had the governor simply cut the funding without saying anything — especially in public, but even in private — this would just be a strange veto. That is not unprecedented.

But Perry did speak out. He decided that Lehmberg’s serving time for a drunk driving arrest, or running a gauntlet of public opprobrium that includes an eternal presence of arrest night video on the Internet, was not enough.

That’s where this goes next: Why did he want more? The complaint against the governor came from partisans. That ought to raise the burden of proof, but the fact that his detractors would like to topple him doesn’t automatically make them wrong; it just makes their motives suspicious. They contend the governor’s appointees at the Cancer Prevention Research Institution of Texas were under investigation and that Perry’s veto might have hobbled that operation.

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