Gazette 100314

Friday October 3rd 2014

Islamic State steps up attack on Syrian town of Kobane

Heavy fighting is being reported between Kurdish militiamen and Islamic State (IS) militants advancing on the northern Syrian town of Kobane.

A BBC correspondent across the border in Turkey saw explosions and smoke rising from buildings hit by shells.
IS has moved to within a few kilometres of the town despite US-led air strikes seeking to halt its two-week offensive.
On Thursday, Turkey's prime minister promised it would do whatever it could to prevent the fall of Kobane.
Ahmet Davutoglu spoke only hours after the Turkish parliament authorised military operations against militants in Iraq and Syria who threaten Turkey's security, and for foreign troops to use Turkish bases.
Related: Heavy fighting between Kurdish fighters, ISIS near Syrian border with Turkey

Turkey's Parliament Approves Military Operations In Iraq, Syria

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's parliament gave the government new powers Thursday to launch military incursions into Syria and Iraq, and to allow foreign forces to use its territory for possible operations against the Islamic State group.
The move opens the way for Turkey, a NATO member with a large and modern military, to play a more robust role in the U.S-led coalition against the Sunni militants. However, Turkey has yet to define what that role might be.
The vote came as the extremists pressed their offensive against a beleaguered Kurdish town along Syria's border with Turkey. The assault, which has forced some 160,000 Syrians to flee across the frontier in recent days, left the Kurdish militiamen scrambling to repel the militants' advance into the outskirts of Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab.

Canada to launch airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq

TORONTO –  Canada plans to launch airstrikes against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq following a U.S. request.
A senior government official says Prime Minister Stephen Harper will announce details later Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the plans.

The deployment still needs to be voted on in Parliament but Harper's Conservative government has the majority of seats so it is expected to pass.
Canada is among dozens of countries that have signed up to the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria.
Canada's former Liberal government refused a request to send troops when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, straining ties between the two neighbors. Canada then stepped up its Afghanistan mission.

Iraqi Shiite cleric calls on premier to avoid promoting sectarianism in new national guard

BAGHDAD –  Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has called upon the prime minister to create a national security force that doesn't promote sectarianism at a time of heightened tensions between ethnic and religious groups.
The national guard, proposed by Iraq's new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, should be a force of "patriotism and purity" to help pull the country out of the crisis, the reclusive al-Sistani said in his Friday sermon delivered by his spokesman Abdul Mehdi Karbalaie in the city of Karbala.

Militants with Islamic State group too parts of western and northern Iraq this year, causing the Iraqi military to fracture while tensions intensified between Muslim sects.
Al-Sistani called upon al-Abadi to select a defense and interior minister following the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday next week.

Sweden to recognise state of Palestine

Move by minority centre-left government led by Stefan Löfven would make Sweden the first major European country to do so

 

Sweden’s new centre-left government is to recognise the state of Palestine, in a move that will make it the first major European country to take the step, the prime minister, Stefan Löfven, has said.
The UN general assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in 2012, but the European Union and most EU countries have yet to give it official recognition.
“The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution, negotiated in accordance with international law,” Löfven said during his inaugural address in parliament on Friday.
“A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful coexistence. Sweden will therefore recognise the state of Palestine.”
For the Palestinians, Sweden’s move will be a welcome boost for its ambitions.
With its reputation as an honest broker in international affairs and with an influential voice in EU foreign policy, the decision may well make other countries sit up and pay attention at a time when the Palestinians are threatening unilateral moves towards statehood.
There is, however, likely to be strong criticism from Israel, and the US and EU, which maintain that an independent Palestinian state should only emerge through a negotiated process.
Some EU countries, such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, recognise Palestine, but they did so before joining the 28-member bloc.
Löfven leads the Social Democrats who, with the Greens, hold a minority of seats in parliament, and the incoming centre-left government is likely to be one of Sweden’s weakest for decades.

Libyan soldiers killed in Benghazi bombings and clashes

At least 29 Libyan soldiers have been killed in two car bombings and clashes in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Some 60 troops were wounded in the violence near Benghazi airport, medics and military sources say.
Libya has seen fierce fighting between rival militias that helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
In Benghazi, special army forces allied to former general Khalifa Haftar have been battling armed Islamist groups who control most of the city.
Thursday's bombings targeted a checkpoint near the city's Benina airport, which has been shut down since May.
The Islamist militias have already overrun army bases in the area, making the airport one of the last sites still under the control of Gen Haftar.
The forces are part of Benghazi's Shura Revolutionary Council, a body set up after they took control of Benghazi in August.

Rebels in eastern Ukraine defy truce, try to seize key airport

DONETSK, Ukraine –  Pro-Russian rebels pressed Friday to seize a key airport in eastern Ukraine despite fierce resistance by government forces.
An AP reporter on Friday saw three rebel tanks firing their cannons at the main terminal of Donetsk airport, where government forces have holed up. Sniper shots rang around the area.

Rebels have made some gains in the area near the airport, seizing some buildings on its fringes and using them to target the main terminal.
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko said two Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and another nine wounded since Thursday. He said that Ukrainian forces at the airport have undergone rotation and firmly stood their ground.
The airport, located just north of Donetsk, the largest city in the east, gives the Ukrainian forces a convenient vantage point to target rebel positions. Its loss would be a major blow to Ukraine and would also allow the rebels to receive large cargo planes with supplies in addition to truck convoys from Russia.
Fighting for the airport has intensified this week, threatening to derail the truce declared Sept. 5. A follow-up deal which called for both parties to pull back their artillery to create a buffer zone hasn't been implemented.

Hong Kong Leader Leung Chun-ying Says He Will Not Resign

HONG KONG, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying defied pro-democracy protesters' demands to step down by Friday, and repeated police warnings that the consequences would be serious if they sought to surround or occupy government buildings.
Leung, speaking to reporters just minutes before an ultimatum for him to resign expired, also said that Chief Secretary Carrie Lam would hold a meeting with students soon to discuss political reforms. He gave no time frame.

Some of the thousands of people massed outside Leung's office voiced disappointment, although the atmosphere was calm.
"The request is very simple. We want real democracy. When you ask for an apple you should get an apple. You don't get an orange made to look like an apple," said Howard Hu, a 35-year-old engineer.
Others suspected that Hong Kong authorities were trying to buy time and wait for demonstrations to dwindle.
"The government says it wants to talk to us but we can predict the outcome," said Isaac Chan, a private music tutor, as he sat on the road wearing a paper face mask.

Hong Kong protests: Leaders threaten to call off talks

Leaders of pro-democracy protest groups in Hong Kong have threatened to call off talks with the government after demonstrators were involved in scuffles with angry opponents.

The government must prevent "organised attacks" on supporters, they said. One group representing students has since said it would not take part in talks.
Protesters angry at plans to vet poll candidates have occupied some areas.
They had earlier accepted an offer of talks from Hong Kong's chief executive.
In the commercial district of Mong Kok, on the Kowloon peninsula, opponents of the demonstrators dismantled tents.
Police linked arms to try to separate the opposing groups. 
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U.S. Ebola Patient's Family Under Guarded Quarantine In Texas

Both Thomas Eric Duncan and his four relatives exposed to Ebola symptoms are being kept under the watchful eye of the law in Texas. A guard is watching over the door to Duncan's hospital room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, and a member of law enforcement is standing guard outside the apartment unit where the four Texas residents are currently under quarantine.
Both security measures are to ensure that no one gets in -- or out -- until the threat of spreading Ebola is ruled out. Authorities wouldn't disclose details about what prompted the need for a guard outside the family's apartment unit except to cite a lack of confidence that they would be able to monitor their temperatures twice a day without law enforcement. However, David Lakey, M.D., commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, who signed the court order for the law enforcement guard, said that other residents who were being monitored did not require a law enforcement guard.

Pennsylvania pornographic email scandal grows as top officials resign

Officials close to Governor Tom Corbett resign after being implicated, with current state police commissioner, in sharing emails

A widening scandal over the exchange of emails containing pornography by current and former members of the attorney general’s office has gripped the Pennsylvania capitol all week.
Pennsylvania’s state supreme court chief justice demanded information on whether any judges were part of the exchanges. Governor Tom Corbett, who was attorney general when the emails were exchanged, was forced to defend his management of the office as he campaigns for a second term.
And on Thursday, two top officials who followed Corbett from the attorney general’s office into his gubernatorial administration resigned.
Corbett disclosed the resignations of Environmental Protection secretary Christopher Abruzzo and Glenn Parno, a top lawyer in the Department of Environmental Protection, in separate announcements hours apart, just as the attorney general’s office was releasing copies of their email messages to the governor’s office and news organizations.
Their departures came a week after Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s office identified them as being among eight ex-employees who sent or received hundreds of pornographic images or videos in emails that were discovered during Kane’s review of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse prosecution.
All eight men, who also include state police commissioner Frank Noonan, worked under Corbett while the latter was the state’s elected attorney general from 2005 to 2011. Corbett had requested details on the emails in question before determining if the four men employed in his administration should keep their jobs.
Kane is a Democrat who took office last year. Corbett, a Republican, is in the closing weeks of an uphill re-election campaign against Democrat Tom Wolf.

JP Morgan sees 76 million customer accounts hacked

JP Morgan has revealed it suffered a massive cyber attack on 76 million private and seven million business customers in the US.

The raid gathered account holders names and addresses but the bank said it did not involve critical information such as account and social security numbers.
It said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it had not seen any "unusual customer fraud related to this incident".
JP Morgan is the US's biggest bank.
Earlier this year there were reports that Russia had hacked into its systems.
In August the bank said it was co-operating with law enforcement officials over this suspected incident.
Passwords The bank said that "customers [whose accounts had been hacked] are not liable for unauthorized transactions on their account that they promptly alert the firm to".
JP Morgan says it is unlikely customers will need to take any action, such as changing their passwords or account information.
Its company spokeswoman, Patricia Wexler, said that the bank is not offering credit monitoring to customers either because it does not believe any financial information, account data or personally identifiable information was taken.
Other major US firms, including Home Depot and Target have been the subject of similar widescale attacks.

Report: Secret Service leaked Obama travel plans

A Secret Service agent leaked President Obama’s travel plans to a staffer on Mitt Romney’s campaign in the days leading up to the 2012 election, a former aide to Romney said.
Shawn McCoy, who served as Iowa communications director for the Romney campaign and is now publisher of the opinion website InsideSources, said two Romney campaign aides witnessed a Secret Service agent “providing details of President Obama’s schedule” to a Romney staffer he was romantically pursuing and trying to impress.

The information, according to McCoy’s report, included the locations and timing of Obama’s planned campaign events.
Sharing the information would not be as big a breach as some of the other recent problems revealed about the Secret Service, but it raises questions about the agent's judgment.

Obama Heckled Defending Immigration Action Delay

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama attempted on Thursday to reassure and re-energize Latinos who are frustrated, angry and disenchanted after his decision to delay executive action on deportations that could shield millions from being expelled from the U.S.
Some of that frustration burst through during his speech at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala, when an undocumented activist named Blanca Hernandez interrupted his speech by yelling for him to stop deportations. The woman interrupted twice, yelling, "We need relief now!" She was escorted out by security.
Obama knew he was coming into a crowd that, while friendly, was wary of his promises. He pushed back plans for executive action on deportation from a previous end-of-summer deadline until after the election. Some decried the delay as craven politics, allowing thousands to be deported each week.

The president said he understands the frustration Latinos feel.
"If anybody wants to know where my heart is, or whether I want to have this fight, let me put those questions to rest right now: I am not going to give up this fight until it gets done," Obama told the crowd.
He said his executive action would come sometime between the election and the end of the year, but gave few hints as to what it would entail. "This is not a question of if, but when," he said.
The timing for the conference was awkward, given Obama's delay in taking executive action. Other speakers, including Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) in his introduction of the president, talked about the need for Obama to take action as soon as possible. Outside the conference, activists from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and Presente.org held a protest demanding Obama halt deportations. Obama faced other protesters earlier in the day outside a speech in Evanston, Illinois.

Stephen Harper to reveal ISIS combat mission plan today

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will tell Canadians today how Canada will further contribute to a combat mission against Islamic jihadists in the Middle East.
Harper will make a statement in the House of Commons at noon ET, which will be followed by responses from Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. CBCnews.ca will carry the statements live.
Insurgents calling themselves the Islamic State have established themselves in northern Iraq and parts of Syria, conducting a brutal campaign against religious minorities and other residents of the region. ISIS, as the fighters are also known, has attracted foreign fighters to their cause, including Canadians.
Canada is already contributing humanitarian aid to people fleeing the fighting and airlifts of munitions to Iraqi and Kurdish forces battling ISIS fighters. Canada sent an initial deployment of miltary advisers to Iraq last month as part of a 30-day mission.
Harper's statement, which comes a day before the current mission ends, will be accompanied by the tabling of a motion on the expansion of Canada's role in a coalition led by the United States, with a debate and vote expected to follow Monday.
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