Gazette 100214

Thursday October 2nd 2014

UN accuses Islamic State of 'gross rights abuses'

A "staggering array" of human rights abuses has been committed by Islamic State (IS) militants and associated armed groups over a nine-week period in Iraq, the UN says.

It says that abuses committed between 6 July to 10 September may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Iraqi leaders must unite to restore control over IS areas, the UN says.
It says that a number of violations have also been committed by Iraqi security forces and their associates.
The UN report, produced jointly by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (Unami) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is based on almost 500 interviews.
It says that abuses perpetrated by IS and associated armed groups have an "apparent systematic and widespread character".
"These include attacks directly targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, executions and other targeted killings of civilians, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical violence," the report says.

Iraqi official: Fierce clashes underway between security forces, IS group over western town

BAGHDAD –  A military spokesman says fierce clashes are underway between Iraqi forces and extremists from the Islamic State group in and around a small western town.
Qassim al-Moussawi says the fighting started at dawn Thursday when the militants, using at least three suicide bombers, attacked checkpoints at the entrances of Hit, a town about 140 kilometers (85 miles) west of Baghdad.

He says there are causalities among the security forces but that no precise figure is available.
The fighting over Hit in western Anbar province comes as Iraqi Kurdish security forces, known as peshmerga, have dislodged militants from northwestern towns of Rabia, Zumar and Mahmoudiyah, with the assistance of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.
The Islamic State group captured large swaths of Iraq and Syria in a blitz this summer.

Islamic State: Turkey MPs to vote on Iraq/Syria deployment

The Turkish parliament is to vote on a motion to allow its military to enter Iraq and Syria and foreign troops to use its territory for the operation.

Turkey had been unwilling to fight Islamic State (IS) militants because they were holding 46 Turkish hostages but they were released last month.
Parliament is expected to back the motion.
However, Turkey is wary of IS retaliation and fears helping the Kurds who are fighting the militants.
It has a porous and vulnerable border with Syria, more than 900km (560 miles) long.
Turkey has long been accused of permitting the flow of jihadists and resources into Syria as well as allowing IS to traffic oil from oilfields it has captured. The government in Ankara denies the allegations.

Military officials say soldiers kill a top militant amid clashes in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

EL-ARISH, Egypt –  Senior military officials in Egypt say soldiers have killed a top militant in the Sinai Peninsula amid clashes.
The officials say that Mohammed Abu Sheeta, a leader of the al-Qaida-inspired group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, was killed Thursday in the town of Rafah, which borders the Gaza Strip and Israel.

The officials say Sheeta had led the abduction of Egyptian soldiers to press the government to release his detained brother.
The officials also say soldiers discovered an underground field hospital and a store packed with explosives. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for several deadly suicide bombings in Egypt over the past year.

Abbas resolution asks UN to give Israel till 2016 to withdraw to 1967 borders

Draft by Palestinians, not yet submitted to security council, comes amid verbal war over new houses across green line

 

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, will seek a vote at the UN security council demanding that Israel ends its occupation of Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem – which began in 1967 – by November 2016.
The two-year deadline is contained in a draft resolution, drawn up by the Palestinians, which has been circulated among Arab states and some security council members.
The emergence of the text – which has not been formally put to the 15-member council and would require a backer to table it – comes amid a sharp war of words between US officials and Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, about the announcement of plans to build 2,600 new housing units across the green line in Givat Hamatos, between southern Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
The issue was raised with Netanyahu by Barack Obama during a meeting between the two men in Washington on Wednesday evening, where Netanyahu told the US president he remained “committed to the vision of peace for two states for two peoples”.
The moves were also condemned in unusually strong language by both White House and US state department officials: they said the plans – on top of a move by a rightwing settlement group into a largely Arab Silwan neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem – risked alienating “even [Israel’s] closest allies”.
A state department spokesman, Jen Psaki, said: “This development will only draw condemnation from the international community, distance Israel from even its closest allies, poison the atmosphere not only with the Palestinians but also with the very Arab governments with which Prime Minister Netanyahu said he wanted to build relations.”

U.S. Sharply Criticizes Israel Over Settlement Construction

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says that if Israel were to move forward with a controversial housing development in east Jerusalem, it would distance Israel from, quote, "even its closest allies."
The sharp criticism came just hours after President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House. The two leaders did not mention the new construction project during their remarks to reporters.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest says that the 2,500-unit project would only draw "condemnation" from the international community. He says it would also call into question Israel's commitment to peaceful negotiations with Palestinians.
The new project is contentious because it would complete a band of Jewish areas that separate Jerusalem from nearby Bethlehem.

Saudi Arabia plans for Ebola as millions visit for hajj pilgrimage

Health minister says country has coordinated with WHO and Ebola-affected countries to protect annual pilgrimage

 

Saudi Arabia has made contingency plans in the event of an Ebola outbreak, including deploying medical staff at airports and setting up isolation units as nearly three million Muslims from across the world flock to perform the hajj pilgrimage.
Adel al-Faqih, the Saudi health minister, said precautionary steps have been taken to prevent pilgrims with Ebola from entering the country as well as dealing with an emergency, local media have reported. He said there has been no diagnosed case of Ebola so far among pilgrims who have made it to Saudi Arabia.
According to the minister, Jeddah has coordinated with international health bodies, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the countries where Ebola has struck to protect the annual pilgrimage that takes place in the last month of the Islamic calendar. Earlier in the year, Saudi Arabia had announced it will not issue visas to pilgrims coming from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea due to the spread of Ebola in those countries.
Hundreds of health officials have been deployed in international airports and more than 22,000 general practitioners assigned to deal with the pilgrims.

Ukraine rebels renew Donetsk airport offensive

Rebel forces in eastern Ukraine are conducting an offensive to capture the government-held airport in Donetsk, officials say.

Pro-Russian rebels have tried several times in recent weeks to take the airport, which lies to the north-west of the city, despite an official truce.
The Ukrainian military said the rebels were moving on "a broad front".
However a spokesman denied claims they had taken a large part of the airport and insisted it was not surrounded.
The ceasefire was called on 5 September, but on Wednesday four people were killed by a shell which landed on a school in Donetsk, and six died when a minibus was hit.
A spokesman for what the Ukrainian government calls its anti-terrorist operation said Ukrainian forces repelled four attacks on the airport on Wednesday evening.
A T-64 tank was destroyed and seven rebels were killed, Vladyslav Seleznyov told Kanal 5 TV.
The rebels used tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems, artillery and mortars, he said, resuming their attacks on Thursday morning with small-arms fire. 

Hong Kong Students Battle Exhaustion To Continue Protests

HONG KONG -- Thousands of protesters rallied for more democratic freedoms in Hong Kong on Wednesday, a national holiday marking the birth of communist China.
Huge crowds filled the streets of Hong Kong for the fifth day of mass protests, sparked by Beijing's decision to pre-screen candidates in the semi-autonomous territory's forthcoming leadership election.
Hong Kong's current chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, attended China's National Day celebrations on Tuesday and was heckled by protesters, who are calling for the pro-Beijing leader to resign. Student protesters were barred from the official flag-raising ceremony in Hong Kong but gathered outside to jeer the nationalist display.
"Communists don't talk sense... We can keep sleeping on the ground every day for a month, and they just don’t care," Kenneth Wong, an occupational therapist protesting outside the National Day ceremony, told The WorldPost. "At the end of the day nothing happens.”

North Korea overhauls launch site to fire longer-range missiles, says US think tank

Commercial satellite pictures appear to show finished upgrades to Sohae Satellite Launch Station near the Chinese border

North Korea has completed a major overhaul of its rocket launch site enabling it to fire larger, longer-range rockets, according to a US think tank.
Reclusive North Korea, which is already heavily sanctioned by the United Nations for its missile and nuclear tests, is technically still at war with the South after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. It routinely fires short-range missiles or rockets into waters off its east and west coasts.
A longer-range capability would be bound to concern its sworn enemies, Japan and the United States, whom it regularly threatens with nuclear strikes.
Commercial satellite pictures showed North Korea has finished work under a major programme to upgrade the Sohae Satellite Launch Station, in the North’s western region near the border with China, said the 38 North website, which is run by Johns Hopkins University’s US-Korea Institute.
“A key component of that programme has been to upgrade an existing launch pad, enabling it to launch rockets larger than the existing Unha-3 space launch vehicle in the future,” the think tank said.
Unha-3 is the North’s long-range rocket launched in December 2012 following a failed test in April, triggering a sharp rebuke by the UN security council, which already has a series of sanctions in force for its missile and nuclear tests.
North Korea says its rocket development is part of a space programme aimed at putting satellites into orbit and rejects charges by the international community that it is a missile development in disguise.
The launch site has since undergone months of construction work, but Pyongyang is now believed to be able to conduct another launch of a long-range rocket soon. 
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Ebola outbreak: Texas checks 100 for exposure

As many as 100 people in Texas are being checked for potential exposure to Ebola, health officials have said.

Only 12-18 people including five children are known to have had direct contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who contracted it in Liberia.
Four of his relatives have been ordered to stay home while they are watched for signs of the disease, officials say.
Mr Duncan was diagnosed with the disease on Tuesday and is in a serious condition in hospital.
He was the first case diagnosed outside of Africa, where more than 3,300 have died in the Ebola outbreak.
'Strict order' Leading charity Save the Children has warned that five new people are being infected with Ebola per hour in the west African country Sierra Leone, a rate that far outstrips the ability of local health facilities to contain the spread.
In Texas on Thursday, state health commissioner Dr David Lakey said four of Mr Duncan's "close relatives" had been ordered to stay home and not receive visitors until 19 October.
"We have tried and true protocols to protect the public and stop the spread of this disease," Dr Lakey said. "This order gives us the ability to monitor the situation in the most meticulous way."

Obama tries pivot, but voters want follow through

Buzz Cut:
• Obama tries pivot, but voters want follow through
• Mitt’s campaign swing heads to Mich., Ky.
• Orman goes negative in Kansas
• Crossroads’ big buy in N.H.
• Never a wrong time to do right

Improbable as it may sound, President Obama today will deliver a speech in Chicago explaining why Americans are wrong about the condition of the economy. The message: You are better off than you were six years ago, you just don't know it. Not only are voters are unlikely to reappraise their dismal view of the economy, that’s not the topic they are most interested in right now. Whether it is the arrival of Ebola on our shores or the growing concerns that the war against ISIS is not making adequate headway, what Americans are really talking about – and really concerned about – are things that require action rather than explanation. Just look at the polls.

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson Resigns Amid White House Controversy

Julia Pierson has resigned as director of the Secret Service, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said in a Wednesday statement.
In the statement, Johnson said he would appoint Joseph Clancy as interim acting director.
During a White House briefing, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama had called Pierson to "express his appreciation for her service to the agency and the country."

"The president concluded that new leadership of that agency was required,” Earnest said.
In an interview with Bloomberg News following her resignation, Pierson described the decision as "painful."
“I think it’s in the best interest of the Secret Service and the American public if I step down,” Pierson said. “Congress has lost confidence in my ability to run the agency. The media has made it clear that this is what they expected. ... It’s painful to leave as the agency is reeling from a significant security breach."
Pierson came under fire after a number of Secret Service security breaches, including an armed man jumping over the White House fence and entering the executive mansion. According to reports in the Washington Post, the man dashed through the unlocked front door of the White House and into the East Room while armed with a knife. He reportedly overpowered a Secret Service agent near the main foyer before eventually being tackled by an off-duty agent who was leaving work for the day.

Detroit bankruptcy manager cites 'slow emails' in bid to stave off creditors

Kevyn Orr, tasked with managing historic city bankruptcy, testifies before judge in creditor case about crumbling conditions

Emergency manager Kevyn Orr testified in bankruptcy court Wednesday that when he took over Detroit’s finances, he found a city with poor services for residents, next to no cash flow and significant neighborhood blight.
Orr, who was hired by the state in March 2013 to fix Detroit’s finances and who took the city into the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history, was called to the stand and questioned by city lawyers in federal court in Detroit.
Judge Steven Rhodes is to decide whether Orr’s plan to remove $7bn in debt is fair to creditors. Orr has said Detroit’s unsecured debt is about $12bn.
Before he filed for bankruptcy, Orr said of creditors: “Everybody wanted to get paid in full. Each of the groups had a view that their situation was special … and did not want to take a haircut.”
At the same time, the city was struggling, he testified.
Police and ambulance response times were slow, he said. Most fire runs were to abandoned houses and buildings. Communications and computer systems were antiquated.
“A lot of things surprised me,” Orr said. “The simple things … sending an email … took an excessive amount of time.”
Orr’s debt restructuring plan, in which deals have already been reached with most creditors, sets aside $1.7bn for improving city services. A centerpiece is an agreement where businesses, foundations and the state will donate more than $800m to soften cuts to retiree pensions. The so-called “Grand Bargain” also would keep city-owned art from being sold to satisfy some debt.
Orr said last week that the trial could end before the end of October.

Louisiana VA hospital lacks pajamas and sheets, but spends millions on new furniture, TVs and solar

Veterans at the Shreveport, La., Veterans Affairs hospital have been going without toothbrushes, toothpaste, pajamas, sheets and blankets while department officials spend money on new Canadian-made furniture, televisions to run public service announcements and solar panels, a Watchdog investigation has revealed.
Sources inside the hospital told Watchdog.org that patients also have had to contend with substandard care, as many nurses spend less time on work than on cell phones, iPods or accessing personal data on hospital computers.

“It shouldn’t be like this. These are our veterans,” one employee said. “When I saw those solar panels out there and they waste money on things like new TVs that just play (public service) announcements, it really made me angry.”
According to the VA, the department spent $74,412 on 24 flat screen TVs for “patient/employee information” — one 50 inches wide and the others 42 inches. The furniture cost $134,082 and the solar project was approximately $3 million.
Shreveport’s Overton Brooks VA Medical Center was built in 1950 and its linens look like they’ve been around just as long. Sheets and blankets often have holes or are threadbare. Pajamas are missing buttons or snaps and are ripped. But patients who get even these items are the lucky ones.
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