Gazette 101614

Thursday October 16th 2014

Islamic State 'being driven out of Syria's Kobane'

The Islamic State militant group has been driven out of most of the northern Syrian town of Kobane, a Kurdish commander tells the BBC.

Baharin Kandal said Islamic State (IS) fighters had retreated from all areas of the border town, except for two pockets of resistance in the east.
US-led air strikes had helped push back the militants, she added.
It comes as the new UN commissioner for human rights described IS as a "potentially genocidal" movement.
Baharin Kandal, who commands Kurds fighting in east Kobane, said in a phone interview with the BBC's Kasra Naji that she hoped the city would be liberated soon.
Ms Kandal said her militia group had been receiving arms, supplies and fighters but she refused to say how, our correspondent on the Turkish border near Kobane says.
The battle for Kobane, which is also known as Ayn al-Arab, is regarded as a major test of whether the US-led coalition's air campaign can push back IS.
'Diabolical' Meanwhile, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, the new UN human rights commissioner, described IS as the antithesis of human rights and "a diabolical, potentially genocidal movement".
Activists say more than 600 people have been killed since the jihadist group launched its assault on the strategic town of Kobane a month ago.
IS fighters, who have seized large areas in Syria and Iraq, have gained a reputation for brutal tactics, including mass killings and beheadings of soldiers and journalists.

Hundreds Of Islamic State Militants Killed In Kobani Strikes: U.S.

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - U.S.-led air strikes have killed several hundred Islamic State fighters around the Syrian town of Kobani, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, but it cautioned that the town near Turkey's border could still fall to the Sunni militant group.

The U.S.-led coalition has launched about 40 air strikes on the mainly Kurdish town of Kobani in the past 48 hours, the largest number since the strikes inside Syria began on Sept. 22 and illustrating the difficulty of staunching a nearly month-long Islamic State offensive on the town.

Rear Admiral John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said bad weather in Iraq had freed up coalition firepower to attack Kobani targets. But he added the situation was fluid, with the Kurdish militia still controlling the town, although with pockets held by Islamic State.

"The more they want it, the more resources they apply to it, the more targets we have to hit," Kirby said, adding: "We know we've killed several hundred of them."

The strikes, he added, had degraded Islamic State's ability to move around forces and sustain themselves, "and it's not like they have a whole heck of a lot of ability to reconstitute that."

The siege of the mainly Kurdish town on the border with Turkey has become a focus of the U.S.-led effort to halt the militants, who have seized swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq. The United Nations has warned of a massacre if the town falls to the militants, who now control nearly half of it. 

Pakistani fighter jets hit militant hideouts, killing 21

ISLAMABAD –  Pakistani jet fighters struck five militant hideouts in a northwestern tribal region bordering Afghanistan on Thursday, killing at least 21 insurgents, the army said.
The "precise" strikes were carried out in the Tirah valley in Khyber tribal region, a military statement said.

It provided no further details and only said the strikes "killed 21 terrorists." There was no way to independently confirm the claim.
Pakistan's tribal areas are off limits to journalists.
Pakistan's air force often targets suspected militants and their hideouts in Khyber, and elsewhere in the country's northwest.
The region is believed to be a hiding place for Pakistani Taliban and foreign militants.
The latest strikes came a day after a suicide bomber targeted a meeting of anti-Taliban elders in the Khyber region, killing five people.
Since June 15, Pakistan's army has also been carrying out a major operation against Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaida in the North Waziristan tribal region, to the south of Khyber. It has killed over 1,100 militants in the region, which was once a base for local and foreign militants blamed for acts of terrorism in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan.

Egypt Warplanes Bombing Islamist Militias In Libya: Officials

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Egypt deepened its involvement in the fight against Islamist militias who have taken over key parts of Libya on Wednesday, with officials saying Egyptian warplanes have bombed their positions in the eastern city of Benghazi.
The two officials, who have firsthand knowledge of the operation, said the use of the aircraft was part of an Egyptian-led campaign against the militiamen that will eventually involve Libyan ground troops recently trained by Egyptian forces.
The operation, they said, was requested by the internationally recognized Libyan administration based in the eastern city of Tobruk. That elected administration was thrown out of the capital, Tripoli, by rival militias allied with Islamic political factions.

"This is a battle for Egypt not Libya," one of the senior officials said. "Egypt was the first country in the region to warn against terrorism and it is also the first to fight it."
The officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the operation would last three to six months and involve the use of an Egyptian navy vessel as a command center off the Mediterranean coast near Tobruk. Renegade Libyan general Khalifa Hiftar, who has vowed to wipe out the Islamist militias, is not leading the operation, they added, with Cairo dealing directly with a newly appointed Libyan chief of staff who has visited Egypt several times in recent weeks.

Afghan intelligence arrests 2 leaders of Al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network

KABUL, Afghanistan –  Two senior leaders of the Al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network have been arrested in eastern Khost province, the Afghan intelligence service said Thursday, claiming a major blow to the Pakistan-based militant group.
Anis Haqqani, a brother of the network's leader, and Hafiz Rashid, who allegedly helped equip suicide bombers and select targets for attacks, were detained Tuesday in a special operation, the National Directorate of Security said in a statement.

"It is one of the biggest and most important arrests by NDS, and has strategic impact on this network and can cause disorder in its operations and weaken its fighting capabilities," the statement said, without providing details. The Associated Press could not immediately reach a Taliban spokesman for comment.
The statement said Anis Haqqani was an expert in computers and use of propaganda through social networks, and played a key role in the group's strategic decisions as a deputy to his brother, network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani.
"He (Anis) was responsible for collecting and preparing funds from Arabic countries to carry out operations of this network," the NDS statement said. Rashid was responsible for choosing targets and providing equipment to suicide bombers in Afghanistan, it said.

Recession in Russia, revolt in Venezuela? The knock-on effects of tumbling oil prices

Sudden slump in price of crude – now at its lowest for four years – sends tremors through capitals of the world’s great oil powers. A look at the economic and geopolitical implications of $80 oil
The sudden slump in oil prices, which have fallen 15% in the past three months, has sent tremors through the capitals of the world’s great oil powers, many of whom could face testing budget crunches if the tendency persists.
Higher output coupled with weaker demand from China and Europe has driven the price of crude down to $85 – its lowest for four years. The US also now produces 65% more oil than it did five years ago following the boom in shale production. The rise has contributed to the global glut of crude and allowed the US to import 3.1 million fewer barrels of oil a day compared with its peak in 2005. Prices are now well below the level on which many oil exporters have based their budgets.
If prices remain weak – and many forecasters suggest they will – then from Moscow to Caracas and from Lagos to Tehran governments will start to feel the impact on macroeconomic policy.
Brent has averaged $103 since 2010 – trading mostly between $100 and $120 – so a continued period of $80 oil, or less, would have an impact across the world, and from multiple angles.
The lower price isn’t bad news for everyone. For example, India would not suffer much – commodities account for 52% of India’s imports but only 9% of its exports (paywall), and unlike Brazil, Russia or South Africa, India would reap immediate advantages from a fall in commodity prices.

Putin visits Serbia for military parade and talks on natural gas pipeline opposed by EU

BELGRADE, Serbia –  Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Serbia for talks that are expected to focus on economic issues and energy, including construction of the South Stream pipeline to transport Russian natural gas to Europe that has been opposed by the European Union.
Putin's visit comes as Serbia finds itself caught in the middle of Moscow's row with the West over Ukraine. The Balkan nation is increasingly confronted with a choice: continue down its officially declared path toward EU membership, or give up that goal and forge even closer ties with its traditional Slavic ally Russia.

Putin on Thursday will attend a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Serbian capital, Belgrade, from the Nazi German occupation by the Red Army and Communist Yugoslav Partisans.

Putin Threatens To Reduce European Gas Supply

BELGRADE, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Russia will reduce gas supplies to Europe if Ukraine steals from the transit pipeline to cover its own needs, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday, stressing he was "hopeful" it would not come to that.
Russia cut off supply to Ukraine on June 16 over what gas exporter Gazprom said were billions of euros in unpaid bills. Without Russian flows, there is concern Ukraine might have to siphon off gas from flows transiting the country en route to Europe this winter.

Hong Kong government 'ready for talks' with protesters

Hong Kong's government is ready for new talks with student protesters next week, its chief executive has said.

CY Leung was speaking after scuffles between protesters and police continued for a second night on a major road near government buildings.
He said officials had been negotiating with students via mediators this week.
The protests were sparked by a Chinese government ruling that limits who can stand as a candidate in Hong Kong's leadership elections in 2017.
Rising tensions The demonstrations are in their third week, with protesters occupying key parts of the city to try to pressure the authorities to implement greater political reforms, including fully free elections.
Thousands of people took to the streets at the beginning of the demonstrations but the numbers have dwindled in recent days.
"Over the last few days, including this morning through third parties, we expressed a wish to the students that we would like to start a dialogue to discuss universal suffrage as soon as we can and hopefully within the following week," Mr Leung told reporters.

Ebola crisis: WHO says major outbreak in West 'unlikely'

A major outbreak of Ebola in the US and elsewhere in the West is unlikely given the strong health systems, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

US President Barack Obama also said the risk of Americans getting the virus was "extremely low", although he ordered a "much more aggressive response".
The US is investigating how a nurse infected when treating a victim in Texas was allowed to travel on a plane.
Officials are trying to trace the 132 people who flew with Amber Vinson.
The disease has killed about 4,500 people so far, mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
EU health ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss the crisis, including increased screening of travellers and the possibility of sending more troops to West Africa to help contain the virus.
Meanwhile, US federal health officials will appear before a congressional committee on Thursday to answer questions about their handling of the crisis.
'Very low' Christopher Dye, WHO director of strategy, said the introduction of Ebola into the US or other countries in Western Europe was a matter "for very serious concern".
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White House scrambles to ease concerns over Ebola, lawmakers demand changes

The White House scrambled Wednesday to ease concerns over the spread of Ebola after a second Texas hospital worker tested positive for the virus, as lawmakers showed patience wearing thin with the current response and demanded immediate changes.
One lawmaker, Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., went so far as to call for the resignation of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden.

"This Ebola situation is beginning to spiral beyond control," Marino said in a statement, accusing the government of giving a "false sense of security to many of our citizens."
He and others urged the Obama administration to name a single point person to coordinate the Ebola response and to impose a travel ban for the affected West African countries -- a step the White House opposes.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, joined the call Wednesday night, saying the president "should absolutely consider" a temporary ban on travel to the U.S. from countries afflicted with the virus. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, also weighed in, urging the administration to temporarily suspend the visas of those from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone until the outbreak was under control.

Paratroopers Train To Fight ISIS, Even As U.S. Pledges 'No Boots On The Ground'

FORT POLK, La. -- Moments after landing in the blackness of a warm night and securing his parachute, Col. Joseph A. Ryan huddled on the drop zone with several of his officers. Radio messages crackled in his earpiece. Red flashlights illuminated a folded map. Above him, a thousand paratroopers were plummeting out of the sky, and the armored trucks that came down with them were already expanding their defensive lines. The sporadic thunk-thunk-thunk of .50-caliber machinegun fire and the crackle of rifle shots marked contact with the enemy.
Ryan, a boyish 45-year-old West Pointer, commands the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division. He had jumped in with this first wave of paratroopers to seize and defend an airfield deep in fictional hostile territory at the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center for 12 days of high intensity warfighting.
If the United States does end up having to put "boots on the ground" to fight Islamic State militants in Iraq or Syria, these are the troops who might go. This is how they would do it. And despite the assurances from Washington about keeping American combat troops out of the region, they are preparing aggressively.

Pentagon 'unlikely' to investigate after blockbuster chemical weapons report

New York Times investigation revealed US service members were exposed to chemical weapons like sarin gas during Iraq war

The Pentagon said on Wednesday that it was unlikely to conduct a new investigation into the exposure of US service members to chemical weapons encountered during the last Iraq war, despite allegations that troops had been exposed to thousands of munitions.
The Pentagon said that it estimated that only 20 service members were exposed to dangerous chemical weapons. But the Pentagon press secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby, said on Wednesday that a Pentagon-level investigation into the extent of troops’ chemical vulnerability was not on the cards.
After the New York Times published an extensive investigation about Iraq veterans’ exposure to chemical weapons like sarin gas, which it said had been considered a state secret, Kirby told reporters he had no information about US troops being denied medical treatment owing to the secrecy surrounding the operation.
“The treatment they received on the battlefield was at the operational level, and the treatment that they are or are not receiving now is either for the VA or for the services to speak to,” Kirby said, referring to the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is recovering from a scandal over the length of time veterans have had to wait to receive medical care.
The Times found cases, dating back to 2004, of US troops serving in Iraq encountering some 5,000 munitions containing sarin, mustard gas, nerve agents and other chemical weapons. It reported that the Pentagon has acknowledged 17 exposure cases, but a fuller accounting remains classified.
Soldiers, particularly those tasked with explosive ordnance disposal, recounted to the Times painful blistering on their skin after encountering what one called “full-up sloshers” of oozing and mysterious chemicals. They received inadequate or inappropriate medical care, occasionally from doctors unprepared to address chemical burns, and were encouraged by superiors to describe chemical munitions they found as insignificant, owing to the sensitivities around the origins of the war.

Mulcair ignores unconfirmed reports ISIS has chemical weapons

OTTAWA - Opposition leader Tom Mulcair declined Wednesday to acknowledge reports that the terror group ISIS is occupying parts of Iraq known to house caches of chemical weapons from the days of Saddam Hussein's rule.
The New York Times reported that thousands of chemical weapons - mustard gas warheads, shells and aviation bombs - still remain in parts of central Iraq now controlled by ISIS.
Those weapons are left over from the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
The Pentagon, however, said Wednesday that they are not aware of chemical weapons being in the hands of ISIS.
"We have no indications right now that they have possession of those kinds of munitions," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said.
Immigration Minister Chris Alexander has mused about the potential for ISIS to get its hands on the weapons - a claim repeatedly dismissed Mulcair, whose party has not surprisingly taken a pacifist position on the war against ISIS.
Watchdog group Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) reported earlier in the week that hundreds of photographs smuggled out of Syria indicated ISIS may have used chemical agents against Syrian Kurds in July. Photos showed bodies with injuries consistent with mustard gas exposure.
Following reports of chemical weapon stockpiles in ISIS-controlled territory, Mulcair wouldn't say Alexander's claims were vindicated, but criticized the feds for "saying that our great women and men in uniform could be at the beck and call of someone of the ilk of (Syrian president ) Bashar al-Assad, I'm quite concerned."
Al-Assad has has been accused of using chemical weapons against his people.
"I have seen no evidence of the type "¦ that would vindicate anything Mr. Alexander has said," Mulcair said.

Ontario government made funding rule changes to allow MaRS loan

TORONTO ─ The Ontario government quietly changed borrowing rules four years ago to restart the stalled MaRS Phase 2 project with a taxpayer-backed loan.
Regulation 46/10 was filed in February 2010 for the sole purpose of allowing the MaRS Discovery District to qualify for a $224-million Infrastructure Ontario loan, one the non-profit entity is currently unable to pay back.
Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid acknowledged Wednesday that the building did not have the 70% confirmed occupancy rate usually required to secure a commercial loan so the government stepped into the void.
"The alternative would have been to see Phase 2 collapse," Duguid said.
Infrastructure Ontario, which usually gives out construction loans to municipalities and now to not-for-profits like universities, charged MaRS less than 3% interest.
NDP MPP Percy Hatfield quizzed Duguid about why MaRS qualified for a taxpayer-backed loan.
"The original regulation was set up to allow Infrastructure Ontario to make loans to municipalities so MaRS came along and said, 'We have a problem'," Hatfield said. "Nobody at the time made much about it ... they were never forthcoming about it."
In a bizarre twist, Hatfield asked Duguid in estimates committee who was the minister responsible for the regulation change, but did not get a definitive answer.
Duguid had been the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure for about a month when the regulation was introduced in 2010.
The regulation did not authorize the Infrastructure Ontario loan but made MaRS eligible to apply, Duguid said.
Opposition MPPs have been demanding answers to the MaRS deal ever since it was revealed during the spring election campaign that the government was secretly negotiating to buy out a private sector U.S. real estate company involved in Phase 2, a commercial tower adjacent to the MaRS Discovery District at College St. and University Ave. in downtown Toronto.
The Ontario government recently announced that it has paid out $309-million-plus interest for MaRS Phase 2.
Duguid said he has been as forthcoming as possible without revealing commercially sensitive information.
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