Gazette 100614

Monday October 6th 2014

Border town 'may fall soon to IS'

The key Syria-Turkey border town of Kobane might fall to Islamic State (IS) fighters soon, an official there has told the BBC.

A flag of Islamic State has been seen flying over a building on the eastern edge of Kobane.
The official, Idriss Nassan, confirmed IS was now in control of Mistenur, the strategic hill above the town.
Kobane has seen intense fighting over the past three days as Syrian Kurds try to defend the town.
The IS militants have been besieging it for nearly three weeks. Since then, more than 160,000 Syrians, mainly Kurds, have fled across the border.
Capturing the town would give IS unbroken control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.
In other developments on Monday:

• At least 30 Kurdish fighters were killed in two attacks in the north-eastern Syrian city of Hassakeh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said
• The US Central Command confirmed a fresh air strike by US-led forces "destroyed two IS fighting positions south of Kobane"; there were two other air strikes in Syria and three in Iraq over Sunday and Monday, it said
• Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg vowed to protect Turkey, a member state, saying: "Turkey should know that Nato will be there if there is any spillover, any attacks on Turkey as a consequence of the violence we see in Syria."

Thousands of civilians The BBC's Paul Adams, near the border, says the sound of gunfire overnight was intense and is still going on, with large plumes of smoke over Kobane.
Related: Isis flags raised in Kobani near Turkish-Syrian border

Hezbollah loses 8 fighters in battles with al-Qaida-linked group on Lebanon-Syria border

BEIRUT –  Al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate has attacked positions manned by Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah along the Syrian border, killing eight of its fighters.
An official close to Hezbollah declined Monday to say how many fighters were killed in Sunday's battles with the Nusra Front, but in mosques across Lebanon's eastern Bekaa valley funerals were announced for eight Hezbollah fighters.

The fighting on Sunday lasted for several hours. The official said Hezbollah's response to the attack was "huge, strong and fast." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.
Hezbollah began sending fighters to reinforce Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops last year, saying it needed to protect Lebanon from the threat of Sunni extremism

Turkey Launches Crackdown On Oil Smugglers Feeding ISIS

HACIPASA, Turkey (AP) — Sevda, a 22-year-old waitress in a brown apron, recounts how she made a small fortune running smuggled diesel from a village on Turkey's wild and dangerous border with Syria. But the days when she could earn 20 times her salary waiting tables came to an abrupt end several months ago when police arrested her and slapped her employers with a massive fine.
The smuggled fuel came from oil wells in Iraq or Syria controlled by militants, including the Islamic State group, and was sold to middlemen who smuggled it across the Turkish-Syrian border. Western intelligence officials have alleged that Turkey is turning a blind eye to a flourishing trade that strengthens the Islamic State group, and Secretary of State John Kerry has called on Turkey to do more to stem the trade. Analysts estimate that the Islamic State group gets up to $3 million a day in revenue from oil fields seized in Iraq and Syria.
But in about two dozen interviews, Turkish authorities, smugglers and vendors along Turkey's 900-kilometer border with Syria paint a remarkably similar picture: Oil smuggling was a booming business until about six months ago, when Turkish authorities ramped up a multi-layered crackdown that has significantly disrupted the illicit trade. Many of those interviewed, including Sevda, gave only their first name or asked for anonymity out of fear of reprisals by authorities or smugglers, who believe that reports in the Turkish news media led to the crackdown.

'Deadly fire' at Iran military explosives facility

A fire and explosion at a military explosives facility near the Iranian capital Tehran has left at least two people dead, reports say.

The semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (Isna) said the fire was in an "explosive materials production unit".
A pro-opposition website reported a huge blast near the Parchin military site, south-east of the capital, but this was not confirmed.
Parchin has been linked to Iran's controversial nuclear programme.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not been given access to the complex since 2005.
Analysts say the IAEA suspects Iran of experimenting with explosives capable of triggering a nuclear weapon at Parchin.
Windows shattered The pro-reform website Sahamnews said the explosion on Sunday evening was so intense that windows of buildings 15km (nine miles) away were shattered.
The glare from the blast could also be seen from a great distance, the report added.
Isna, quoting Iran's defence industries organisation, said: "Unfortunately, due to the incident, two workers of this production unit lost their lives."
It gave no further details.

U.S. Drone Strike Kills Senior Uzbek Commander In Pakistan

(Reuters) - A suspected U.S. drone strike killed five militants in Pakistan's tribal north-west on Sunday including a senior ethnic Uzbek commander, intelligence sources said.

The attack took place in the tribal South Waziristan region and was the first U.S. drone strike in Pakistan since late September.

Air strikes by unmanned U.S. aircraft, which are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, have become increasingly rare, particularly outside the North Waziristan region where the Pakistani army is fighting to flush out Islamist militants.

Intelligence sources told Reuters the latest strike killed five Uzbeks and wounded at least three people in the Shawal area of South Waziristan. The sources did not specify whether the three wounded people were also militants.

Ethnic Uzbeks and other foreign militants fight alongside the Pakistani Taliban but their exact number in Waziristan is not known.

Drones, which are operated remotely, are key to the U.S. policy of targeting militants holed up in inaccessible corners on the Pakistani-Afghan border. The then leader of the Pakistani Taliban was killed in one such attack in late 2013.

Al-Shabab Militants Pushed Out Of Last Significant Stronghold In Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — African Union and Somali troops on Sunday won control of a key coastal town that had been used by the Islamic militants of al-Shabab, forcing the insurgents from their last significant stronghold and major money-making port.
The African Union said that Barawe, 220 kilometers (135 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, had not been controlled by Somali government forces since 1993. Al-Shabab used the Barawe port to bring in troops and weapons and to export charcoal worth millions of dollars to fund its military operations.
The loss of Barawe is the latest blow to al-Shabab, which has seen the territory it controls shrink rapidly since 2011, when its fighters fled Mogadishu after years of urban, close-range combat with African Union troops. Al-Shabab once controlled nearly all of the seaside Somali capital.

No sign of Kim Jong-un as North Korea welcomes home Asian Games athletes

Sports-mad leader, who is thought to be ill, did not attend celebrations for returning athletes after impressive medal haul

 

North Koreans lined the streets of Pyongyang to welcome home athletes from the Asian Games – but sports-fanatic Kim Jong-un, who is believed to be ill, was not among them.
Senior officials from the Workers’ party and the military welcomed the athletes at the airport on Sunday, state media said, but there was no mention of Kim attending.
North Korea’s leader has not been seen in public for more than a month, prompting speculation about his health. However, officials on a surprise visit to South Korea denied on Sunday that there was anything wrong with him.
Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans came out on to the streets to greet the athletes who took part in the games in South Korea, state media reports said.
North Korea’s 150 athletes won 11 gold medals and 25 silver and bronze in the country’s best Asian Games performance since 1990.
The North Koreans were widely cheered by South Korean crowds at the event in Incheon even though the two countries remain technically at war.
Each athlete left the plane at Pyongyang airport wrapped in a North Korean flag.
North Korea’s women footballers, who beat Japan 1-0 in the Asian Games final, led the cavalcade, according to the reports.
“The players received fervent welcome from hundreds of thousands of citizens in Pyongyang who lined the streets,” the Korean Central News Agency said.
The mass welcome lasted for more than six miles, according to KCNA, adding that the “streets turned into a sea of flowers”.

Hong Kong protest numbers dwindle as exhaustion sets in

Student leader says ‘ball in government’s court’ but demonstrators’ hopes of serious reform appear to be ebbing

 

Ending the Hong Kong democracy protests is up to the government, a student leader has said, as demonstrations dwindled and exhaustion began to set in.
Schools reopened and government employees returned to work – one or two wearing yellow ribbons, a symbol of support for the movement – as the number of demonstrators dropped to the hundreds. At its peak, more than 100,000 people had taken to the streets of the city.
The remaining protesters had defied a Monday morning deadline to withdraw. They slept on the tarmac at the main occupation zone at Admiralty, around government offices, but allowed workers to enter the buildings. A much smaller number remained at Mong Kok in Kowloon.
The demonstrators were braced overnight for police attempts to remove them after Hong Kong’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, said “all necessary actions” would be taken to restore social order by Monday morning. Many residents were on holiday for much of last week.
“This is definitely not the end. We’ve never set a timeframe for how long this should go on. It’s normal for people to go home, to come and go,” said Alex Chow, of the Hong Kong Federation of Students.
“It’s up to the government now. This is the first step, but the pressure has to continue.”
He told the South China Morning Post: “The ball is in the government’s court … We are all waiting and watching how the government acts, to see if this is their tactic to draw this out or whether they are willing to actually hold dialogue.”
The federation held a late-night meeting with officials on Sunday, but failed to reach an agreement on the basis for formal talks over political reform.

Macedonian criminal court sentences 17 people in country's 1st espionage trial

SKOPJE, Macedonia –  A Macedonian court has convicted 17 people in Macedonia's first espionage trial since the country proclaimed independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
Eight of the defendants were convicted Monday of espionage. The others were found guilty of charges including criminal association, blackmail and fraud in a case in which the group were accused of passing classified documents to the security services of an unspecified country.

Much of the trial was held behind closed doors and the defendants were not officially identified. A police official said they included employees of the intelligence agency, anti-money laundering agency, defense ministry and financial crimes police. Sentences ranged from probation to 15 years' imprisonment. All are to appeal.
The official spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to confirm the defendants' professions.

Russian dissident Vladimir Ashurkov seeks UK asylum

A key ally of Russian anti-Kremlin campaigner Alexei Navalny - Vladimir Ashurkov - has asked for political asylum in the UK.

Mr Ashurkov, 42, now wanted by Russian police, managed campaign funding for Navalny last year in the Moscow mayoral election. Navalny - currently under house arrest - failed to get elected.
Mr Ashurkov is accused of embezzlement.
In a tweet he said he wanted asylum because of "political persecution by the Russian authorities".
Mr Ashurkov, a former banker, is executive director of Navalny's anti-corruption fund.
In July the Russian Investigative Committee - a state body modelled on the American FBI - issued an arrest warrant for Mr Ashurkov. At the time Navalny dismissed allegations that Mr Ashurkov had stolen campaign contributions.
Navalny, 38, also dismissed the committee's allegations against another of his aides, Konstantin Yankauskas, who is under house arrest.
The Russian daily Izvestia reports that Mr Ashurkov requested asylum after flying to the UK with his partner in May. It says they are in the UK now with their newborn son and his partner's daughter.
Navalny is famous for using social media to mock the establishment loyal to President Vladimir Putin. He is seen as a thorn in the side of Mr Putin, whom he accuses of fostering widespread corruption.
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Joe Biden apologises to UAE for Syria extremist comments

US Vice-President Joe Biden has apologised to the United Arab Emirates after suggesting it had fuelled the rise of extremist groups in Syria.

The White House confirmed the call to the UAE, a day after Mr Biden offered a similar apology to Turkey.
The authorities in the UAE had earlier condemned his remarks to students at Harvard University last week.
The UAE is among several Arab states that have joined the US-led alliance against jihadists in Syria and Iraq.
The coalition has been bombing the extremist Islamic State (IS) group, which controls a broad swathe of territory in Iraq and Syria, in recent weeks.
'Amazing' comments Mr Biden told the Harvard students on Thursday that Turkey, the UAE and Saudi Arabia had extended "billions of dollars and tens of thousands of tonnes of weapons" to Sunni fighters battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
He called the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Sunday to offer his apologies, following a request from the UAE authorities for "a formal clarification" of the comments.

Colorado welfare recipients withdraw money in Hawaii, St. Thomas, Vegas

Taxpayers are apparently buying welfare recipients booze and cigarettes for the road — at times a very exotic road.
A Watchdog.org analysis of a Colorado Department of Human Services welfare ATM withdrawals database shows that $3.8 million was withdrawn by Colorado welfare recipients outside the state in the past two years. There were withdrawals at out-of-state liquor stores and tobacco outlets, as well as vacation destinations like Hawaii, Las Vegas and even the Virgin Islands, data shows.

State Rep. Tim Dore, R-Elizabeth, who has urged limitations on where welfare recipients can use their electronic benefit transfer cards in Colorado, was shocked taxpayers are apparently funding some exotic travel.
“I wasn’t even aware of that,” said Dore, who promised to try to address the misuse of cards at liquor stores, casinos and marijuana shops in the next legislative session after Watchdog asked him about those items for previous stories. “That’s an additional issue we need to look into it.”
Last week, Watchdog.org published stories about Colorado welfare withdrawals at liquor stores and casinos despite federal and state law banning such actions and welfare recipients taking out money at the state’s legal marijuana shops. Federal law prevents EBT withdrawals from ATMs at liquor stores, casinos and other adult establishments, and Colorado law since 1996 prevented ATM use in liquor stores and casinos in Colorado.

Harry Reid's Favorability Rating Hits New Low

More than twice as many Americans view Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unfavorably than feel otherwise, according to a new Gallup survey. The Nevada Democrat’s favorability rating is now at its lowest point since he became majority leader in 2007.

Just 21 percent of Americans view him favorably, a drop from 27 percent six months ago. Forty-five percent hold negative views of Reid; in April, that number was 41 percent.

Fewer than half of Democrats view Reid favorably, and only 13 percent of independents agree. Republicans earlier this year launched a “Fire Reid” campaign to help motivate their base; that may be a reflection of the finding that just 5 percent of GOP adherents have a positive view of Reid.

According to Gallup, the five-term senator’s current net favorability score (the percentage that views him favorably minus the percentage that views him unfavorably) is at its lowest point ever, -24 percentage points.

Reid’s numbers took the biggest hit this year, but his House counterpart isn’t exactly popular either. Speaker John Boehner is viewed favorably by 28 percent of Americans, and 50 percent view him unfavorably.

The Ohio congressman is almost underwater with Republicans. While he fares better with independents than Reid (22 percent favorable), he earns as equally a dismal rating from his own party (46 percent favorable).

The survey of 1,252 national adults was conducted Sept. 25-30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

New York's Waldorf Astoria hotel sold to Chinese company for nearly $2bn

Arbang Insurance Group snatches up glamorous New York City hotel but Hilton will continue to manage it for the next 100 years

A Chinese insurance company is buying one New York’s most glamorous hotels – the Waldorf Astoria in midtown Manhattan.
Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd is purchasing the Waldorf for $1.95bn from a subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Anbang will pay Hilton a $100m deposit, and is expected to pay off the hotel’s $525m mortgage as part of the deal. Hilton will continue to manage the hotel for the next 100 years.
“We are very excited to be entering into this long-term relationship with Anbang, which will ensure that the Waldorf Astoria New York represents the brand’s world-class standards for generations to come,” said Christopher J Nassetta, Hilton Worldwide CEO.
The new owners are slated to renovate of the Art Deco building, restoring it to its “historic grandeur”. The 60,000 square foot hotel was opened in 1931, in its second location. The hotel was first was built before the turn of the century on what is now the site of the Empire State Building. The Waldorf was famously called “the greatest of them all” by Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton hotel company.
Hilton purchased the Waldorf in 1972. In December, Hilton raised $2.35bn in the largest ever initial public offering by a hotel company. The majority of Hilton is now owned by Blackstone Group LP, a private equity firm. Hilton plans to use cash from the Waldorf’s sale to buy more hotels across the US, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Closing is scheduled for New Year’s Eve, though it could take until 31 March 2015 to finalize the sale.
Andang is a Beijing-based life, health and property insurance company with 20 million customers and 30,000 employees, according to a Hilton press release. The company has $113bn in assets. 

White House personnel chief McBride is leaving

Jonathan McBride, head of presidential personnel — meaning all presidential appointees — is leaving the administration. McBride, who had worked for former Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) from 1992 to 1995, and for Goldman Sachs from 1997 to 2000, was named deputy personnel director in 2009 and became head of the office in February 2012, replacing Nancy Hogan.
President Obama praised McBride for having  helped ensure this ensure the administration got “dedicated public servants who work diligently and effectively each day to move our country forward,” adding that he was “grateful to Jonathan for his service, judgment and sound counsel.”
No word on where he’s going, but five years dealing with whining, never-satisfied applicants and jostling with heavyweight Democrats, is enough for anyone. No doubt the Obama personnel operation will wind down considerably as the administration enters its final two years.
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