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| Thursday October 9th 2014 |
Turkey's foreign minister
says it cannot be expected to lead a ground operation against Islamic
State (IS) militants in Syria on its own.
Mevlut Cavusoglu also called for the creation of a no-fly
zone over its border with Syria after talks in Ankara with new Nato
chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Turkey is under intense pressure to do more to help Kurdish forces fighting IS in the strategic Syrian town of Kobane.
Reports say IS has been pushed back towards the outskirts of Kobane.
Earlier monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights, quoting "reliable sources", said IS controlled a third of the
town and was advancing towards the centre from eastern districts.
The UN Security Council
has been told that Syria has revealed for the first time the existence
of four more chemical weapons facilities.
Three of the sites are for research and another is for production.
Correspondents say the announcement heightens concerns that
the Syrian government has not been fully open about its chemical weapons
programme.
A mission to eliminate Syria's chemical arsenal was set up after a deadly attack outside Damascus in August 2013.
The joint operation by the UN and Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) declared last week
that it had completed its mandate, after removing or destroying all
1,180 tonnes of declared toxic agents and precursor chemicals.
However, it said it would continue to deal with the
destruction of chemical weapon production facilities inside Syria and
"the clarification of certain aspects of the Syrian initial declaration"
made when it signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) last October.
TEHRAN, Iran – An Iranian official
says Tehran has denied entry into the country to a member of an
International Atomic Energy Agency delegation.
The
semi-official Fars news agency quoted Reza Najafi, Iran's envoy to the
U.N. nuclear watchdog, as saying that Iran had a sovereign right to deny
a visa to a delegation member.
Najafi did not identify the person, but said he was not an IAEA inspector and had a "particular nationality."
Iran in the past has refused to let in agency inspectors who have Western nationalities.
An
agency delegation arrived Monday in the country for two-day talks —
part of Iran's cooperation with the IAEA aimed at reaching a lasting
agreement with world powers on its contested nuclear program.
DHAMALA HAKIMWALA, Pakistan (AP) — Iram Shazadi was making breakfast
for her family when bullets started whizzing through her dusty Pakistani
village just a half-kilometer (quarter-mile) from the Indian-controlled
area of disputed Kashmir.
Then a mortar shell fired by Indian
forces slammed into her home, killing her two young sons and her
husband's mother in the worst spasm of violence in the tense Himalayan
region in years. So far, 19 people — 11 on the Pakistani side, eight on
the Indian — have died over the past week. Dozens have been injured, and
tens of thousands have fled their homes.
"I lost my whole world,"
Shazadi said Wednesday while recovering from injuries at a military
hospital. She sat crying next to her 6-year-old son, who narrowly
escaped the blast.
Bomber targets checkpoint operated by Shia Houthi rebels in centre of capital Sana’a, near where rally was about to be held
A suicide bomber has killed at least 42 people, including several
children, in the Yemeni capital Sana’a, , medics and witnesses said.
A Reuters witness in Sana’a counted at least 20 bodies immediately
after the attack on a checkpoint held by the Houthis, whose forces
seized the capital last month following weeks of anti-government
demonstrations. The Shia movement had planned to hold a rally near the
checkpoint later on Thursday.
Medical sources later said the death toll had risen to at least 42,
including several children. The death toll was expected to climb
further, with many of those wounded in serious or critical condition,
they said.
In a separate incident, at least 20 government soldiers were killed
in a suicide car bombing and gun attack in the east of the country, the
state news agency Saba reported.
The attacks occurred hours after a political showdown between the
Houthis and the president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, led to the
resignation of the prime minister, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, whose
appointment on Tuesday had angered Houthi leaders.
A policeman guarding a bank near Tahrir Square in central Sana’a said
a man apparently wearing a suicide belt approached the Houthi
checkpoint. “He then exploded amidst the [Houthi] security and ordinary
people nearby,” the policemen told Reuters.
BANGUI, Central African Republic – Witnesses
say clashes have broken out for a second consecutive day in Central
African Republic's capital in the worst violence the city has seen since
a United Nations force took over peacekeeping last month.
Pieterjan
Wouda of Doctors Without Borders said heavy weapons could be heard
Thursday morning. He said staff with the humanitarian organization would
stay home because of the dangers.
The
violence began Tuesday when a former fighter with a mostly Muslim rebel
coalition that toppled the president last year was killed, prompting
reprisal attacks.
At least 5,000 people have died
over nine months of sectarian violence in the country, which is
currently led by a transitional president.
Bangkok: Thailand is about to join dozens of countries without
an American ambassador at a pivotal time for the south-east Asian
nation, a close US ally.
Ambassador Kristie Kenney has announced her departure from
Bangkok amid growing concern over the declining health of widely revered
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a towering and unifying figure in the country
for decades.
Western countries such as the United States and Australia
have faced diplomatic dilemmas in dealing with the Thai army that seized
power in a coup in May. Generals have rolled back civil liberties and
are ruling the country with an iron-fist with no definitive timetable
set for democratic elections.
Political gridlock in Washington has prevented US President Barack
Obama from getting any of his ambassadorial nominees confirmed, leaving
the US without a top diplomat in almost 50 countries at a time when
Washington is grappling with threats from Islamic militants in Iraq and
Syria, the civil war in Ukraine, Ebola in West Africa and China's rise
in the Pacific, among other global concerns.
The US has been among countries openly pressing Thailand's
military to move quickly to restore democracy in the region's second
largest economy.
Ms Kenney, a 59-year-old former ambassador to the
Philippines, delayed her departure from Bangkok for almost a year longer
than the typical ambassador's term of three years because of the
Washington logjam.
She has been waiting to join her husband William Brownfield, who has a top US State Department job, in Washington.
In a YouTube message Ms Kenny said Mr Obama would appoint a
new ambassador to Thailand and "we hope that ambassador will arrive in
the new year".
The US embassy in Hanoi has also been without an ambassador
since August as the US tries to improve relations with Vietnam, easing a
long-standing arms embargo and helping its former enemy modernise its
military to help fend off China's aggressiveness in the South China Sea.
Republicans in the Senate have held up the May appointment to
Hanoi of Ted Osius, a Vietnamese-speaking career foreign service
officer who would be America's first openly gay ambassador in Asia.
The US has ambassadorial vacancies in countries including Turkey, Sierra Leone, and nine posts in Eastern Europe.
Experts rule out Pyongyang coup and suggest lengthy absence is down to health problem
From a debilitating battle with gout, to house arrest and outright
regime collapse, speculation over the reason behind Kim Jong-un’s
lengthy absence from public life is intensifying as North Korea prepares
to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of its ruling party on
Friday.
Theories about the health of the head of its ruling dynasty have abounded since late last month, when North Korean state media admitted
that Kim, an overweight 31-year-old with a rumoured weakness for
cheese, was suffering from an “uncomfortable physical condition” caused
by an unnamed ailment.
A day earlier, Kim had failed to attend a session of the supreme
people’s assembly, North Korea’s national legislature, where leaders
would normally be expected to make an appearance.
In July, a visibly heavier Kim, who became leader in December 2011 following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, was shown on TV walking with a limp
at an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of his
grandfather and North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung. The footage prompted
surprise among observers that he had been portrayed in such an
unflattering light. He has not been seen in public since 3 September,
when he attended a concert.
His absence at celebrations to mark the 69th anniversary of the
Korean Workers’ party would not necessarily indicate a serious health
problem or political flux, because it is not a landmark year. However,
Kim attended the celebrations last year and in 2012, with late-night
visits to the mausoleum where the bodies of his father and grandfather
are interred.
Rumours emanating from China that rival power brokers at the heart of
the state apparatus have ousted Kim are wide of the mark, according to
analysts.
HONG KONG – The leaders of a Hong Kong
protest that has occupied main roads for more than a week to press for
genuine democratic reforms are stepping up their civil disobedience
campaign by a notch as they head into talks with the government.
Protest
leaders say they're calling for supporters to bring their tents to camp
out Friday at the main protest zone — outside government
headquarters, which they're dubbing "Umbrella Square."
Umbrellas used by protesters to deflect police pepper spray and tear gas have become a symbol of the nonviolent movement.
Tens
of thousands of protesters have blocked roads to demand the government
abandon plans for Beijing to screen candidates for the city's inaugural
elections for its leader, though crowd numbers have dwindled this week.
An oil platform has been
evacuated after a ship carrying radioactive material caught fire and
began drifting in the Moray Firth.
The MV Parida was transporting a cargo of cemented radioactive waste when a fire broke out in a funnel.
The blaze was extinguished, but 52 workers were taken from the Beatrice platform by helicopter as a precaution.
By 22:00 on Wednesday, the ship had been towed to a "secure pier" at the Port of Cromarty Firth.
Its 15 crew were not harmed during the fire and it was understood the cargo was not damaged.
Ministers said the Scottish government was "closely monitoring" the incident.
Dounreay Site Restoration Limited has confirmed the waste was
from Dounreay, an experimental nuclear power plant near Thurso which is
being decommissioned.
The material, which was sent to Dounreay from Belgium for reprocessing in the 1990s, was being shipped back to Belgium.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said the Parida
was carrying two containers called flasks each holding three 500-litre
drums of intermediate level waste.
The NDA said the ship and its cargo had been categorised at the lowest level of safety concern.
It described Tuesday night's event as a "marine incident and not a nuclear incident".
The coastguard were alerted at about 20:00 on Tuesday as the
Danish registered Parida was taking a cargo of radioactive concrete from
Scrabster to Antwerp in Belgium.
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An off-duty police
officer in St Louis, Missouri, has fatally shot a black teenager,
leading to angry demonstrations on the streets.
The white officer was on patrol for a private security
company when he exchanged fire with an 18-year-old after a chase, say
police.
He fired 17 shots at the teenager, police added.
Two months ago a fatal shooting in the nearby suburb of Ferguson sparked weeks of unrest and international headlines.
Michael Brown, 18, was unarmed when he was killed by a white officer, who could face criminal charges.
The latest incident began when the officer, dressed in his
city police uniform, spotted three men running away from him in Shaw
neighbourhood, says St Louis Police Chief Colonel Sam Dotson.
The 32-year-old officer thought one of the men was carrying a weapon so chased him and a confrontation followed.
During the altercation, the man fired at the officer, who returned fire and killed him, said Mr Dotson.
The lead investigator into the Secret Service prostitution scandal
told Senate staffers that he was directed to delay the release of the
report until after the 2012 election, according to a published report.
According to The Washington Post,
David Nieland also said that he was instructed by his superiors in the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general's office to
"withhold and alter certain information in the report of investigation
because it was potentially embarrassing to the administration." He
likely gave the account to aides on the Senate homeland security
committee, which had looked into the case.
The Post also reported that senior White House aides were given
information suggesting that a prostitute had stayed in the hotel room of
a member of the White House's advance team, contrary to earlier denials
that any member of the administration was involved. The White House
advance team member was identified as Jonathan Dach, then a 25-year-old
Yale Law School student and volunteer who helped to coordinate drivers
for the White House travel office.
Nearly two dozen Secret Service agents were disciplined or fired as
part of the scandal, which began when Secret Service agents brought
prostitutes into their hotel in Cartagena, Colombia ahead of President
Obama's trip to the Summit of the Americas in April 2012. The Post
reports that the Secret Service twice shared the findings of its own
internal investigation with top White House officials, who concluded
that the advance team member had done nothing wrong.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Key members of Congress are weighing dramatic
changes to the embattled Secret Service, including moving it out of the
Homeland Security Department and breaking up its mission.
The
proposals come as lawmakers assess how to improve the agency after a
series of scandals, including a White House break-in by a man with a
knife last month. The agency's director, Julia Pierson, resigned amid
the controversy, but lawmakers are promising they'll continue their
focus once Congress reconvenes after the Nov. 4 midterm elections.
In
the latest development, The Washington Post reported Thursday on
evidence implicating a White House advance team member in a prostitution
scandal involving Secret Service agents in Colombia in 2012. White
House officials have denied involvement by anyone on their team, but the
Post story said White House officials were informed at the time.
One suggestion for improving operations at the Secret Service
involves moving it back into the Treasury Department, where it resided
for decades until the creation of the Homeland Security Department
following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
"Looking at the
positioning of the agency, whether it should be in Treasury or be in
Homeland Security, is one issue that must be taken up" as part of an
independent review, said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, top Democrat
on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which hosted
Pierson at a hearing last week prior to her resignation.
Screenings, more staff for Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary
Canada will step up border screening to try to prevent an Ebola
importation to this country, federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose says.
"Our government will be taking the additional step of taking targeted
temperature screens," she told the House of Commons on Wednesday,
though she offered no detail about what that would mean or whether it
would be only at airports or all border crossings.
The Canadian Press requested an interview with an official of the
Public Health Agency of Canada to get clarification on Canada's plans,
but one was not granted. However, several hours after Ambrose made her
remark in the Commons, the agency issued a press release providing some
detail of what increased screening will look like.
The statement, from the new head of the Public Health Agency of
Canada, noted there are no direct flights to Canada from the affected
countries in West Africa.
Dr. Gregory Taylor said under the Quarantine Act, travellers to
Canada who are unwell are supposed to declare that fact when they arrive
in this country. Likewise they should declare if they've been in
contact with a sick person. Anyone who is ill or reports having had
contact with a sick person is referred to a quarantine officer.
Quarantine officers will be stationed at six airports across the
country: Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Ottawa and Calgary.
"Quarantine officers have the necessary training and equipment,
including temperature monitoring devices, to conduct a health assessment
and determine whether additional health measures are required," he said
in the statement.
"Should these travellers identify themselves in this manner, a temperature check will now be administered."
OTTAWA - The head of Canada's spy agency said there are no signs of
an imminent terrorist attack against the country, but authorities are
monitoring 80 suspected Canadian terrorists who have returned home from
violent hot spots around the world.
In a rare public speaking
appearance, Michel Coulombe, head of Canadian Security Intelligence
Service (CSIS), said 80 is a "firm number" of terror suspects in Canada
"and we know where they are."
Coulombe, along with the head of
the RCMP and the federal public safety minister, spoke to a
parliamentary committee Wednesday about the terrorist threats facing
Canada.
Coulombe said the 80 suspects have not been charged due to the ongoing difficulty of gathering solid evidence against them.
Public
Safety Minister Steven Blaney said he will introduce new legislative
tools in the coming weeks to help law enforcement agencies better "track
terrorists."
Blaney didn't give details about what those new measures will be.
Public
safety committee member and NDP MP Craig Scott, however, was
incredulous to the safety minister's claims that the government knows of
80 suspected terrorists in Canada.
"It doesn't make sense if, in
fact, (the 80 suspects) are guilty of a crime," he said. "If (the
police) think they are guilty and have evidence and they are not doing
anything about it, it suggests (the government) might not have the
actual proof."
Coulombe said CSIS also knows of between 130 and
145 Canadians around the world who are actively involved with terrorism
groups, but that number fluctuates.
"By the time I leave this room, that number will change," he said, "but it hasn't increased much since February."
Coulombe
rejected the notion that the violence committed by Islamic State in the
Middle East does not affect Canada. He read aloud from statements
posted on the Internet from terrorists associated with Islamic State who
said they want to slaughter Canadians and non-Muslims.
"The threat is real," he said.
WASHINGTON — The FBI is now
explicitly seeking the public’s help in identifying and tracking former
U.S. residents who may now be allied with terrorists overseas.
On Tuesday, in an intriguing move, the Bureau posted a short excerpt from
a longer ISIL propaganda video. The excerpt, a little bit longer than
one minute, shows a masked man who, according to investigators,
“alternates seamlessly between English and Arabic in pro-ISIL
pronouncements intended to appeal to a Western audience.”
“We’re
hoping that someone might recognize this individual and provide us with
key pieces of information,” Michael Steinbach, assistant director of the
FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, said in a statement. “No piece of
information is too small.”
The FBI posted the video along with an online tip form.
The
latest effort follows up a project initiated earlier this year by the
FBI’s Minneapolis Division, which included a tip line and the
distribution of business cards to community leaders asking for
information about suspicious travelers.
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