Gazette 090114 -Labor day edition

Monday September 1st 2014

Labor Day Weekend

Israel to take over West Bank land

Israel has announced plans to expropriate 4 sq km of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.

The decision to appropriate land south of Bethlehem is believed to be the largest seizure by Israel in 30 years.
The military-run local administration said it was a response to the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teenagers in the area in June.
Palestinians said diplomatic action should be taken against Israel. The US urged Israel to reverse the move.
'Counterproductive' move The decision was announced on Sunday by the Israeli army department charged with administering civil affairs in the West Bank.
The takeover of the land in the area of Gush Etzion clears the way for expansion of a settlement named Gevaot.
Local Israeli settlements said they hoped to build on the land, which Palestinian officials said included many olive groves.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the world community should hold Israel accountable for "the ongoing Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem", according to the AFP news agency.

After Gaza war, Israeli children go back to school after spending summer in bomb shelters

KIBBUTZ SAAD, Israel –  Thousands of Israeli children in areas near the Gaza Strip went back to school Monday after spending the summer in bomb shelters as rockets and mortars rained on their communities during the 50-day Israel-Hamas war, while schools in Gaza remained shuttered as the territory recovered from the fighting.
The start of school brought a sense of joy and excitement to rocket-scarred communities in southern Israel, but the signs of the fighting remained fresh. In the southern city of Ashdod, employees at the "Pashosh" kindergarten, which was struck by a rocket, removed shrapnel marks off the walls and slides ahead of the students' arrival.

"We are a little scared but we are excited," said Ronit Bart, a resident of Kibbutz Saad and an English teacher in its school. "A lot of children in our area really need to go back to a routine."
Her 11-year-old daughter, Shani Bart, said it felt a "little bit weird" to suddenly be going back to school.
"There were some difficult times and we didn't leave our houses at all," she said.
President Reuven Rivlin visited the kibbutz, which is located close to the Gaza border, to offer his support.
Until a cease-fire halted the war last week, thousands of residents of border communities like Saad remained indoors or left their homes for safer areas further away from Gaza to escape rocket and mortar fire.

Iraqi Forces Break Militant Siege Of Shiite Town

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen on Sunday broke a six-week siege imposed by the Islamic State extremist group on the northern Shiite Turkmen town of Amirli, as a suicide bombing killed 14 people in Anbar western province, officials said.
Army spokesman Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said the operation started at dawn Sunday and the forces entered the town shortly after midday.
Speaking live on state TV, al-Moussawi said the forces suffered "some causalities," but did not give a specific number. He said fighting was "still ongoing to clear the surrounding villages."

Breaking the siege was a "big achievement and an important victory" he said, for all involved: the Iraqi army, elite troops, Kurdish fighters and Shiite militias.
Turkmen lawmaker Fawzi Akram al-Tarzi said they entered the town from two directions and were distributing aid to residents.
About 15,000 Shiite Turkmens were stranded in the farming community, some 105 miles (170 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Instead of fleeing in the face of the Islamic State group's rampage across northern Iraq in June, the Shiite Turkmens stayed and fortified their town with trenches and armed positions.
Related :Germany to supply arms to Kurds fighting IS in Iraq

Suicide bomb claims 37 lives in Iraq

Baghdad: Thirty seven people were killed yesterday when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-packed Humvee military vehicle into a construction site used by the Iraqi army and police.
The blast killed 22 security personnel and 15 civilians, medical and police sources said.
The nine-storey building, which was being used as a base by security personnel, was located in the centre of Ramadi in western Anbar province.

Ramadi and its sister city Fallujah have been plagued by fighting between the security forces and the extremist Islamic State and other armed groups since January.
Earlier on Sunday, a coalition of Shiite militias, regular Iraqi army units and Kurdish forces, backed by US air power, broke a long siege of Amerli, a town in northern Iraq that for weeks had been surrounded by Sunni extremists who threatened to slaughter thousands of Shiite residents.
The US airstrikes on positions held by fighters of the Islamic State near Amerli, north of Baghdad, were carried out Saturday night in conjunction with airdrops of supplies to the town's thousands of besieged residents. The US operation was supporting a ground offensive led by Shiite militia fighters, many of whom once fought fierce battles against American soldiers.
Security officials said Sunday that Amerli, a cluster of villages whose population is dominated by Shiite Turkmen who are considered infidels by the Islamic State, was not fully liberated but that the combined forces had cleared several villages from the militants. Fierce fighting in the area was continuing Sunday afternoon.
Both the United States and Iran, while not coordinating operations in Iraq, are on the same side in the conflict against the Islamic State. The United States, though, has been reluctant to pursue military operations with Iraq's Shiite militias. The militias have taken on a primary role in providing security in Baghdad and responding to the advances of the Islamic State; the Iraqi army, which had been financed and trained by the United States, has proved largely ineffective.
The Obama administration has tried to avoid being seen as taking sides in Iraq's sectarian war because the militias are especially feared by Iraq's Sunni population. The reality on the ground, however – the growing brutality of the Islamic State, the humanitarian crisis and the threat of a slaughter in Amerli – appeared to override those concerns.

Taliban attack on Afghan intelligence agency leaves 13 dead and many more wounded

At least four agents, two civilians and seven militants were killed in an attack on the Afghan intelligence agency in Jalalabad on Saturday. Two vehicles loaded with explosives were set off after which a gunfight ensued between the Taliban gunmen and security forces. As many as 40 people are wounded .CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

Egypt's rights groups get temporary reprieve

Activists fear that they will still be affected by crackdown on dissent by Egyptian government

The Egyptian government has delayed plans to shut down dozen of rights groups if they refuse to accept restrictive regulations.
Rights defenders had until Tuesday to agree to government interference or face closure. But after a fierce international backlash the deadline was delayed on Sunday until November.
The temporary reprieve is of scant comfort to the threatened parties, who fear it merely delays the inevitable. Local and international human rights defenders, including Amnesty International, say the ultimatum is the finishing touch to a year-long crackdown on dissent and an attempt to silence Egypt's remaining opposition voices.
"This is still a declaration of war against the independent human rights organisations," said Mohamed Zaree, programme director at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), one of the groups under threat. "The aim of the government is to shut down the public sphere and the horizons that were opened by the revolution in 2011. They want to shut down the last voices calling for accountability for human rights violations, and the last critics of the narrative the government puts forward about Egypt to the international community."
Since 2002, non-governmental organisations (NGO) in Egypt have been regulated by a law that gives the government the right to oversee and veto each project that an NGO carries out, and to block any overseas donation or grant. Critics say the law exists to obstruct the work of rights groups, whose work is often unfavourable to the government, and which are largely funded by international organisations. To circumvent the legislation, many would-be NGOs register as law firms or research groups, to give themselves more freedom.
In July, the government moved to end the loophole and ordered groups whose work was in any way connected to NGO-type activity to re-register under the 2002 law within 45 days.

Libya Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni resigns

Libya's militias have captured most government ministries in the capital, Tripoli, the government has said.

Armed men had blocked staff from entering offices, it added in a statement.
On Sunday, militiamen seized the US embassy with videos showing cheering men diving from a balcony into a swimming pool.
Libya has been hit by anarchy since Col Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown by the Nato-backed militias in 2011.
The militias have been fighting for power among themselves since then, with an Islamist-linked group, Libya Dawn, capturing Tripoli last week.

Islamist Militia Claims To Have 'Secured' U.S. Embassy Compound In Libya

An Islamist-allied militia group says it has "secured" a U.S. Embassy compound in Libya's capital, more than a month after American personnel evacuated from the country over ongoing fighting.

An Associated Press journalist walked through the compound Sunday after the Dawn of Libya, an umbrella group for Islamist militias, invited onlookers inside. Windows at the compound had been broken, but it appeared most of the equipment there remained untouched.
A commander for the Dawn of Libya group said his forces had entered and been in control of the compound since last week.
A video posted online showed men playing in a pool at the compound. In a message on Twitter, U.S. Ambassador to Libya Safira Deborah said the video appeared to have been shot in at the embassy's residential annex.

Ukraine forces lose more ground to rebels as Putin calls for 'statehood' talks

Ukrainian forces lost more ground Sunday as Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Kiev to engage in talks on "statehood in southeastern Ukraine" ahead of cease-fire talks scheduled to begin Monday in Belarus. 
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, later told the Russian news agency Interfax that Putin did not envision sovereignty for the two separatist eastern regions that style themselves as "Novorossiya" (New Russia), despite his use of the word "statehood." 

Putin has previously made comments supporting federalization, which would devolve more powers from the central government in Kiev to Ukraine's regions. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko released a peace plan in June that proposed an unspecified level of decentralization of executive powers and budgetary matters. But rebels have so far rejected any talks unless Ukrainian forces halt their offensive.
Hours after Putin's comments, Ukraine said a border guard vessel operating in the Azov Sea was attacked by land-based forces. Oleksiy Dmitrashkovsky, a Ukraine military spokesman, said  the attack occurred Sunday afternoon but he had no further information, including how many people were aboard the boat. The incident appears to be the first such clash at sea since fighting began in April, and will only heighten concern that the rebels are attempting to seize a key land bridge linking Russia and Crimea.

Hong Kong protests as China rules out democracy

HONG KONG: Hong Kong police used pepper spray to disperse pro-democracy activists on Monday as the Asian financial center braces for a wave of disruptive protests against China's decision to rule out full democracy.

China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee set the stage for a political showdown on Sunday when it rejected democrats' demands for the right to freely choose Hong Kong's next leader in 2017, leading scores of protesters to take to the streets.

Scuffles broke out on Monday during a tense stand-off at the entrance to a center where a senior Chinese official was explaining Beijing's decision, prompting police to use pepper spray amid chaotic scenes inside and outside the venue.

Activists from a movement called Occupy Central have threatened to lock down Hong Kong's financial district on an unspecified date unless Beijing grants full democracy.

"Occupy Central is an illegal activity. If we give in, it will trigger more illegal activities," said Li Fei, deputy secretary general of the NPC Standing Committee, who flew to Hong Kong to explain Beijing's decision.

Pro-democracy activists inside the building heckled Li, shouting slogans and interrupting his speech.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with wide-ranging autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland under a policy of "one country, two systems".

The activists want universal suffrage, but Communist Party rulers in Beijing say any candidate for the territory's chief executive has to be first approved by a nominating panel - likely to be stacked with pro-Beijing loyalists and making it almost impossible for an opposition democrat to get on the ballot. 
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Ukraine crisis: US senators urge arms 'to fight Russia'

Leading American senators have called for the US to send weapons to help Ukraine fight what they say is "a Russian invasion".

The head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Russia must face a cost for its "aggression".
Earlier, Russian leader Vladimir Putin called for talks to discuss the issue of "statehood" for eastern Ukraine.
Some 2,600 people have died since fighting erupted between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian troops in April.

The conflict broke out after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula in March.

The separatists have been gaining ground on Ukrainian forces in recent days, in both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and further south around the port of Mariupol.
Last week's first direct talks between Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Minsk did not lead to any major breakthrough.
A meeting of the so-called Contact Group on Ukraine is expected to start later on Monday in Minsk, Belarus.
Representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe will attend the talks. The participation of pro-Russian rebels from eastern Ukraine remains unclear.

Rep. Mike Rogers: Obama Foreign Policy Is In 'Free Fall'

The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said on Sunday that President Barack Obama's foreign policy is in "absolute free fall" in the face of challenges in Iraq, China and Russia.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) cited in particular Obama's lack of a plan for dealing with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
"We have a serious host of problems presenting itself, and our traditional allies are now standing up and saying, well, maybe America is not the best one to lead us through these troubles," Rogers said on "Fox News Sunday."
Obama admitted this week that his administration has no strategy for dealing with the threat posed by the Islamic State. A White House spokesman pointed a finger at the Pentagon, saying it is still coming up with plans -- but Rogers said Obama has already failed to act, and should have acted earlier to assist Arab allies in the region.
"There have been plans on the table, the president just did not want to get engaged in any way. That is a decision, that is a policy, that is a strategy -- and it's not working," Rogers said.

Hill intelligence leaders urge Obama to form ISIS strategy ahead of NATO summit

The leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees criticized President Obama on Sunday for failing to decide yet on whether to hit Islamic State targets in Syria and urged him ahead of this week's key NATO summit to take decisive action before the militant group attacks on U.S. soil.
"His foreign policy is in absolute free fall," Michigan GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told Fox News Sunday."

California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a separate interview that Obama is perhaps "too cautious" in his approach to combating Islamic State.
"This is a group of people who are extraordinarily dangerous," she said on NBC's Meet the Press." And they'll kill with abandon."
Feinstein's comments came 12 days after Islamic State released a video of a warrior beheading American journalist James Foley.
The NATO Summit is Thursday and Friday in Wales.

Clintons keep up with a sprawling, yet aging, political network in Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK — While Bill and Hillary Clinton were vacationing in August at their rented mansion on a scenic bluff in the tony Hamptons, they read a flurry of e-mail updates from an earlier life.
At 7:41 one Monday morning, the Clintons received word that the elderly mother of longtime Little Rock radio and television personality Craig O’Neill had passed away.
A few days later, another bulletin: Rufus Ellis “Buddy” Tate Jr., a farmer and lumberer from Marvell, Ark., died five days shy of his 100th birthday. His only child, Sherman Tate, is an old friend of Bill’s.
Then another: Dorothy Jean Darr Martinous, who managed the bridal salon at J.C. Penney and was a prize-winning dancer of the Charleston, died at age 98. She had been active for decades in Arkansas Democratic politics.
In each case, the notices came from a 70-year-old retiree named Lynda Dixon, who worked as Bill Clinton’s personal secretary when he was governor of Arkansas and now fires off e-mails to her old boss, Hillary Rodham Clinton and their aides from her home here in downtown Little Rock, within view of the Clinton Presidential Center.

Anti-radicalization program being developed by RCMP

Report says 80 'extremist travellers' back in Canada

The RCMP is developing a program to stop Canadians from becoming radicalized by violent ideologies, a new report reveals.
As of early 2014, about 130 people with Canadian connections were believed to be in countries such as Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan participating in terrorism-related activities, the Public Safety Canada report said.
Another 80 have returned to Canada, according to the 2014 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada.
The RCMP is putting in place the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program to stop Canadians at risk of being radicalized. The police force says it aims to have the program in place by year's end.
It's not entirely clear how the program will work.
In an email, the RCMP says it will work with families of "vulnerable individuals" who are experiencing behavioural changes. It also says the program "will include educating Canadians on the role of law enforcement and the responsibilities that they, in turn, have in safeguarding Canada."

'Tarnishing Canada's reputation'

Public Safety Minister Stephen Blaney says radicalized Canadians represent a "small number of individuals" who are "putting lives at risk and tarnishing Canada’s reputation."
He cites the example of Xristos Katsiroubas and Ali Medlej of London, Ont., who were killed while staging a bloody attack on an Algerian gas refinery in 2013.
The government points to its 2012 counter-terrorism strategy as a means of dealing with potential threats. The strategy aims to prevent, detect, deny and respond to terrorism.
It also cites a law passed in 2013 that made it illegal to leave or attempt to leave the country to commit certain terrorism-related offences. The legislation was criticized by some because it also allows preventative detention of some suspects.
The Public Safety Canada report says there is also concern about what happens when so-called "extremist travellers" leave the countries in which they are fighting.
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