World Situation

Deal reached to avoid US debt default

2011-08-01T00:49:00.000-07:00

Republicans and Democrats in the US congress have reached an 11th-hour agreement with President Barack Obama to raise the limit on US borrowing and prevent an unprecedented US debt default.
Just two days before a deadline to lift the US debt ceiling, the White House and both Republican and Democratic leaders in congress said the compromise would cut about $2.4tn from the deficit over the next 10 years.
Now that congressional leaders have sealed a deal, both the senate and House of Representatives are expected to vote on Monday and in principle a bill could be on Obama's desk by the end of the day.

While the senate is likely to give its approval, the agreement's fate may be less certain in the House.
If approved, the compromise would presumably preserve America's sterling credit rating, reassure investors in financial markets across the globe and possibly reverse the losses that spread across Wall Street in recent days as the threat of a default grew.
After weeks of impasse and with the final outcome hinging on support from reluctant legislators, Obama pressured both sides to follow up on the accord reached behind closed doors.
"The leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default - a default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy," Obama said at the White House.
"I want to urge members of both parties to do the right thing and support this deal with your votes over the next few days."
Two-step process
The plan - which boosted global financial markets -- involved a two-step process for reducing the US deficit.

The first phase calls for about $900bn in spending cuts over the next decade and the next $1.5tn in savings must be found by a special congressional committee. Congress must act by December 2011, under the deal.
Republicans had insisted on deep spending cuts before they would consider raising the $14.3tn limit on US borrowing, turning a normally routine legislative matter into a dangerous game of brinkmanship.
Resolution of the debt-ceiling impasse could ease the immediate crisis, which has threatened global economic
consequences, but broad repercussions will still be felt for years to come.
While the deal means the US is unlikely to default, it is far from certain whether the plan goes far enough in reducing the deficit to appease credit ratings agency S&P, which has threatened to strip America of its prize AAA rating.
Despite that, markets showed signs of relief after becoming unnerved in recent days.
The Japanese stock index rose 1.8 per cent, US stock futures built on earlier gains and the US dollar rose
modestly against the yen and the Swiss franc. Gold fell more than one per cent, indicating investors had begun to shift out of safe havens.
"For the rally to be durable, markets will need more than this down payment agreement," Mohamed El-Erian, co-chief investment officer at PIMCO, the world's biggest bond fund, said.
"They will look to a more coherent fiscal reform to emerge from the second step and, more generally, for additional measures to remove structural impediments to growth and jobs."
Selling the deal
A key provision of the deal was originally conceived as part of a "fallback" plan in case all else failed.
It would grant Obama the authority - and the blame - to raise the debt ceiling in three steps while allowing
Republicans to avoid explicitly approving each increase.
Congress would get a chance to register their disapproval on two of these, but would not be able to block them unless they muster a two-thirds vote in both the House and the senate - an unlikely prospect.
Congressional leaders will now have to gauge whether they have the votes to pass the deal - which has sharp spending cuts and no new taxes - in the senate and the House.
In the House, the political calculus is complicated by the entrenched opposition of some members affiliated with the conservative Tea Party movement.
John Boehner, the House speaker, who will face opposition from those conservatives in his ranks, told Republicans he backed the accord but that it was not the "greatest deal in the world".
A senior House Republican, Jack Kingston, predicted the deal would pass with broad Republican support, though significant Democratic votes will be needed to guarantee passage.
Harry Reid, the senate Democratic leader, said: "I am relieved to say that leaders from both parties have come together for the sake of our economy to reach a historic, bipartisan compromise."
Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic senator considered crucial to delivering enough Democratic votes to offset Republican defections, offered a muted reaction.
However, congressional insiders expect her to use her political clout with liberals to help Obama push it through.

Deadly Syrian crackdown continues

2011-08-01T00:40:00.001-07:00

Syrian forces have killed nearly 142 people, including at least 100 when the army stormed the flashpoint protest city of Hama to crush dissent on the eve of Ramadan, political activists say.
A witness in Deir ez-Zor told Al Jazeera that government forces launched fresh attacks on the town early on Monday morning.

"Military forces stormed the city from the west side and 25 people are killed and more than 65 injured," the witness said.
"Artillery and anti-aircraft weapons are being used. The situation in the city is very bad, and medical and food supplies are low."
Deir ez-Zor, Syria's main gas and oil-production hub in the east, has become a rallying point for protests along with Hama.
Sunday's attack on Hama was one of the "deadliest days" since the protests erupted, Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.
Hama 'massacre'
Death tolls provided by the observatory and other human rights groups showed at least 142 people were killed across Syria, most of them falling in Hama.
"The number of those wounded is huge and hospitals cannot cope, particularly because we lack the adequate equipment," Abdel Rahman quoted a Hama hospital source as saying.
He said the crackdown on Hama came after more than 500,000 people rallied in the city on Friday following Muslim prayers during which a cleric told the congregation "the regime must go".

A resident from Deir ez-Zor said fresh attacks were launched on Monday morning

Western powers condemned the violence amid warnings from Berlin and Paris of fresh sanctions against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an end to the violence and reminded Syrian authorities that "they are accountable under international human rights law for all acts of violence perpetrated by them against the civilian population".
Germany's UN Mission said late Sunday it has asked for a Security Council meeting on Syria and expects consultations to be held on Monday afternoon.
The Syrian authorities have consistently accused "armed gangs" and fundamentalist Salafist Muslims of stirring the unrest and aiming to sow chaos in the Sunni-majority country.
Residents in Hama said the army entered the city with tanks early on Sunday before gunfire erupted, in an apparent operation to wrest back control after security forces withdrew almost two months ago.
Syria has banned most foreign media and restricted coverage, making it difficult to confirm events on the ground.
But interviews with witnesses, protesters and activists painted a grim picture Sunday of indiscriminate shelling and sniper fire as residents fought back by erecting barricades and throwing firebombs at their assailants.
'Armed men'
The official SANA news agency said that gunmen shot dead two security forces in Hama while a colonel and two soldiers were "martyred" in Deir ez-Zor.
SANA said the gunmen torched police stations and attacked private and public property in Hama, adding that soldiers tore down barricades and checkpoints set up by the armed men at the city's entrance.

In 1982, an estimated 20,000 people were killed in Hama when the army put down an Islamist revolt against the rule of Assad's late father, Hafez.
Earlier this month, the president replaced the governor of Hama after a record 500,000 protesters rallied in the opposition bastion on July 1 calling for the fall of the regime.
The United States and France enraged the government earlier this month when their ambassadors travelled to Hama in a trip designed to demonstrate solidarity with demonstrators.
At least 1,583 civilians and 369 members of the army and security forces have been killed since mid-March in Syria, according to the observatory.

The End of Awe

2011-07-24T10:58:00.001-07:00

WEDNESDAY found both the British prime minister and the Irish taoiseach passionately addressing their parliaments about the demystified lords of their universes
Frantically distancing himself from the pope of Fleet Street, David Cameron sardonically assured riled-up lawmakers that he had never seen Rebekah Brooks in her PJs because he had not attended Gordon Brown’s wife’s slumber party at Chequers with Wendi Deng and Elisabeth Murdoch in 2008.
He conceded that he should not have ignored warnings from the palace and elsewhere against bringing a capo from the sulfurous Murdoch gang into his inner circle.
Across the Irish Sea in Dublin, Enda Kenny took on the actual pope, making a blazing speech about the Vatican’s unconscionable behavior in the pedophilia scandal.
After 17 years of revolting revelations, Kenny said the latest report on the Cloyne diocese in County Cork exposed “an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago.”
The report, he said, “excavates the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism, the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day. The rape and torture of children were downplayed or ‘managed’ to uphold, instead, the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and ‘reputation.’
“Far from listening to evidence of humiliation and betrayal with St. Benedict’s ‘ear of the heart,’ the Vatican’s reaction was to parse and analyze it with the gimlet eye of a canon lawyer. This calculated, withering position being the polar opposite of the radicalism, humility and compassion upon which the Roman church was founded.”
Pulling back the curtain to expose the profane amid the sacred would have been remarkable coming from any leader in one of the many countries scarred by pedophile priests, but from the devoutly Catholic prime minister of a nation whose constitution once enshrined the special position of the church, it was breathtaking.
The Irish were taken aback by the ire of the ordinarily amiable, soft-spoken Kenny, the longest-serving parliamentarian in the land. In his first few months as Taoiseach, the 60-year-old had not given any sign that he could throw such Zeus-style thunderbolts.
But bankrupt and battered Eire, which needed a shot of muscular national pride, was thrilled with his emphatic articulation of their revulsion at the tragedy, and his assertion of Ireland as a sovereign republic not under the thumb of Rome.
“If you look at some of his predecessors, going right back 50 years, they would have been very much of the view that they were Catholics first and politicians second,” said Diarmaid Ferriter, a professor of modern Irish history at University College Dublin.
Sounding like he could have been talking about Rupert Murdoch’s fief as well, Ferriter observed: “There has been this very obvious and planned and hugely arrogant policy of obfuscation and deliberate delaying tactics and complete avoidance of responsibility on the part of the Vatican. They were actually treating the sovereign government of Ireland with complete contempt.”
He added: “We’re fed up with hearing about canon law. This is a Republic, it’s about civil law.”
Garry O’Sullivan, the editor of The Irish Catholic, compared the resonance of the speech to the French revolution, without the violence. “The French Republic didn’t kick out the Catholic Church, but they set up a French Catholic Church and kicked out Rome,” he said. “Kenny has tapped into a vein in the Irish psyche, people saying, ‘Well done for standing up to those bloody bishops and the pope.’ It was lancing a boil.”
Like other elites in shaken Ireland, like the multimillionaire bankers and real estate developers, the church elite is rapidly losing clout. “The mighty have fallen from their thrones,” O’Sullivan said.
Diarmuid Martin, the archbishop of Dublin, who has been frozen out by the Vatican and his fellow Irish bishops for his tender solicitude toward abuse victims, teared up on Irish TV talking about Kenny’s cri de coeur.
What church “cabal” is this in the Vatican or Ireland, he asked, “who try to undermine what is being done, or simply refuse to understand what is being done?”
In Britain and in Ireland, two dictatorial institutions that once dominated with fearsome power are crumbling, brought low by highhanded cultures inured even to crimes against children.
A large part of the strategy of the Vatican and Rupert Murdoch in acquiring power was to create an aura of invincibility, a hallowed mystique. But those mythologies are cracking, and people are no longer afraid to confront these empires’ corrupt practices and vast cover-ups.
It is stirring to watch people who have long been cowed finally speaking up, shedding their fear of the authoritarian men at the top who owed their power to the awe of the people.

Make Way for the Radical Center

2011-07-24T10:54:00.001-07:00

DID I mention that I’ve signed a pledge — just like those Republican congressmen who have signed written promises to different political enforcers not to raise taxes or permit same-sex marriage? My pledge is to never vote for anyone stupid enough to sign a pledge — thereby abdicating their governing responsibilities in a period of incredibly rapid change and financial stress. Sorry, I’ve signed it. Nothing more I can do.
If this kind of idiocy by elected officials sends you into a hair-pulling rage and leaves you wishing that we had more options today than our two-party system is putting forward — for instance, a party that would have offered a grand bargain on the deficit two years ago, not on the eve of a Treasury default — not only are you not alone, but help may be on the way.
Thanks to a quiet political start-up that is now ready to show its hand, a viable, centrist, third presidential ticket, elected by an Internet convention, is going to emerge in 2012. I know it sounds gimmicky — an Internet convention — but an impressive group of frustrated Democrats, Republicans and independents, called Americans Elect, is really serious, and they have thought out this process well. In a few days, Americans Elect will formally submit the 1.6 million signatures it has gathered to get on the presidential ballot in California as part of its unfolding national effort to get on the ballots of all 50 states for 2012.
The goal of Americans Elect is to take a presidential nominating process now monopolized by the Republican and Democratic parties, which are beholden to their special interests, and blow it wide open — guaranteeing that a credible third choice, nominated independently, will not only be on the ballot in every state but be able to take part in every presidential debate and challenge both parties from the middle with the best ideas on how deal with the debt, education and jobs.
“Our goal is to open up what has been an anticompetitive process to people in the middle who are unsatisfied with the choices of the two parties,” said Kahlil Byrd, the C.E.O. of Americans Elect, speaking from its swank offices, financed with some serious hedge-fund money, a stone’s throw from the White House.
As the group explains on its Web site, www.americanselect.org: “Americans Elect is the first-ever open nominating process. We’re using the Internet to give every single voter — Democrat, Republican or independent — the power to nominate a presidential ticket in 2012. The people will choose the issues. The people will choose the candidates. And in a secure, online convention next June, the people will make history by putting their choice on the ballot in every state.”
Here is how it will work, explains Elliot Ackerman, an Iraq war veteran with a Silver Star, who serves as the chief operating officer of Americans Elect, and whose father, Peter, a successful investor, has been a prime engine behind the group. First, anyone interested in becoming a delegate goes to the Americans Elect Web site and registers. As part of that process, you will be asked to fill in a questionnaire about your political priorities: education, foreign policy, the economy, etc. This enables Americans Elect to put you in contact with others who share your views so you can discuss them and organize together. Then you will be invited to draft a candidate or support one who has already been drafted and to contribute to the list of questions that anyone running on the Americans Elect platform will have to answer on the site.
“The questions, the priorities, the nominations and the rules will all come from the community, not from two entrenched parties,” said Ackerman.
Any presidential nominee must conform to all the Constitutional requirements, as well as be considered someone of similar stature to our previous presidents. That means no Lady Gaga allowed. Every candidate will have to post in words or video his or her answers to the platform questions produced by the Americans Elect delegates. In April 2012, the candidate pool will be reduced to six through three rounds of voting. The six, assuming they all want to run, will then have to name their running mates. The only rule is that a Democrat must run with a Republican or independent, and a Republican with a Democrat or independent.
“Each presidential candidate has to pick a running mate outside of their party and reaching across the divide of politics,” said Ackerman. In June 2012, the online convention will choose who among the six will run as the Americans Elect candidate — automatically on the ballot in all 50 states. If President Obama wants to run with John Boehner on the Americans Elect platform that would be fine — provided they go through the process. (President Obama should dump the Democrats and run as an independent, which he is, at heart, anyway.)
Write it down: Americans Elect. What Amazon.com did to books, what the blogosphere did to newspapers, what the iPod did to music, what drugstore.com did to pharmacies, Americans Elect plans to do to the two-party duopoly that has dominated American political life — remove the barriers to real competition, flatten the incumbents and let the people in. Watch out.

Lai Changxing’s Deportation to China Is Upheld in Canada

2011-07-23T02:42:00.000-07:00

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A Canadian judge upheld the deportation on Thursday of one of China’s most wanted fugitives, calling him a “common criminal.”
The suspect, Lai Changxing, could be returned to China as early as Saturday, said Helen Park, the government’s lawyer.
Mr. Lai’s lawyer, David Matas, had asked Canada’s Federal Court to stay his client’s deportation, arguing he would not get a fair trial in his native country. Mr. Matas told Justice Michel Shore that Communist officials were using his client to deflect allegations of corruption against themselves.
“He’s become the poster boy for the fight against corruption,” Mr. Matas told the court via telephone from Berlin.
Mr. Lai, who is accused of masterminding a huge smuggling operation that robbed the Chinese government of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes, has been fighting his deportation to China for 12 years. He has long maintained that he could be tortured or killed if he were returned to his home country.
But Justice Shore ruled that “Mr. Lai has failed to establish that he will suffer irreparable harm if he were returned to China.” The judge said the fact that Mr. Lai had been in negotiations with Chinese officials to return belied his assertions of risk if he returns.
Chinese officials have assured Canada that Mr. Lai would not be executed or tortured and would get a fair trial with access to a lawyer if he is returned to face charges.

CIA veteran: Israel to attack Iran in fall

2011-07-21T03:05:00.001-07:00

A longtime CIA officer who spent 21 years in the Middle East is predicting that Israel will bomb Iran in the fall, dragging the United States into another major war and endangering US military and civilian personnel (and other interests) throughout the Middle East and beyond.

Earlier this week, Robert Baer appeared on the provocative KPFK Los Angeles show Background Briefing, hosted by Ian Masters. It was there that he predicted that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is likely to ignite a war with Iran in the very near future.

Robert Baer has had a storied career, including a stint in Iraq in the 1990s where he organised opposition to Saddam Hussein. (He was recalled after being accused of trying to organise Saddam's assassination.) Upon his retirement, he received a top decoration for meritorious service.

Baer is no ordinary CIA operative. George Clooney won an Oscar for playing a character based on Baer in the film Syriana (Baer also wrote the book).

He obviously won't name many of his sources in Israel, the United States, and elsewhere, but the few he has named are all Israeli security figures who have publically warned that Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are hell-bent on war.

Most former Mossad chiefs wary of Netanyahu

Baer was especially impressed by the unprecedented warning about Netanyahu's plans by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan. Dagan left the Israeli intelligence agency in September 2010. Two months ago, he predicted that Israel would attack and said that doing so would be "the stupidest thing" he could imagine. According to Haaretz:

When asked about what would happen in the aftermath of an Israeli attack Dagan said that: "It will be followed by a war with Iran. It is the kind of thing where we know how it starts, but not how it will end."
The Iranians have the capability to fire rockets at Israel for a period of months, and Hizbollah could fire tens of thousands of grad rockets and hundreds of long-range missiles, he said.

According to Ben Caspit of the Israeli daily Maariv, Dagan's blasts at Israel's political leadership are significant not only because Mossad chiefs, in office or retired, traditionally have kept their lips sealed, but also because Dagan is very conservative on security matters.

Caspit writes that Dagan is "one of the most rightwing militant people ever born here. ... When this man says that the leadership has no vision and is irresponsible, we should stop sleeping soundly at night".

Dagan describes the current Israeli government as "dangerous and irresponsible" and views speaking out against Netanyahu as his patriotic duty.

And his abhorrence of Netanyahu is not uncommon in the Israeli security establishment. Accordingto Think Progress, citing the Forward newspaper, 12 of the 18 living ex-chiefs of Israel's two security agencies (Mossad and Shin Bet), are "either actively opposing Netanyahu's stances or have spoken out against them". Of the remaining six, two are current ministers in Netanyahu government, leaving a grand total of four out of 18 who independently support the prime minister.

In short, while Congress dutifully gives Netanyahu 29 standing ovations, the Israelis who know the most about both Netanyahu and Israel's strategic situation think he is a dangerous disaster.

But according to Baer, we ain't seen nothing yet.

There is almost "near certainty" that Netanyahu is "planning an attack [on Iran] ... and it will probably be in September before the vote on a Palestinian state. And he's also hoping to draw the United States into the conflict", Baer explained.

The Israeli air force would attack "Natanz and other nuclear facilities to degrade their capabilities. The Iranians will strike back where they can: Basra, Baghdad", he said, and even Afghanistan. Then the United States would jump into the fight with attacks on Iranian targets. "Our special forces are already looking at Iranian targets in Iraq and across the border [in Iran] which we would strike. What we're facing here is an escalation, rather than a planned out-and-out war. It's a nightmare scenario. We don't have enough troops in the Middle East to fight a war like that." Baer added, "I think we are looking into the abyss".

Another US war?

Masters asked Baer why the US military is not mobilising to stop this war from happening. Baer responded that the military is opposed, as is former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who used his influence to thwart an Israeli attack during the Bush and Obama administrations. But he's gone now and "there is a warning order inside the Pentagon" to prepare for war.

It should be noted that the Iranian regime is quite capable of triggering a war with the United States through some combination of colossal stupidity and sheer hatred. In fact, as Baer explained, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard would welcome a war. They are "paranoid". They are "worried about ... what's happening to their country economically, in terms of the oil embargo and other sanctions". And they are worried about a population that increasingly despises the regime.

They need an external enemy. Because we are leaving Iraq, it's Israel. But in order to make this threat believable, they would love an attack on their nuclear facilities, love to go to war in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and Iraq and hit us where they could. Their defense is asymmetrical. We can take out all of their armored units. It's of little difference to them, same with their surface-to-air missile sites. It would make little difference because they would use terrorism. They would do serious damage to our fleet in the Gulf.

Given all that, is it possible that the United States would allow Israel to attack when the president knows we would be forced to join the war on Israel's side?

"The president is up for re-election next year," Blair pointed out, and Israel is "truly out of control".

What happens when you see 100 F-16's approaching Iraq and there is a call to the White House [from Netanyahu] that says "We're going in, we're at war with Iran"? What does the President of the United States do? He has little influence over Bibi Netanyahu. ... We can't stop him. And he knows it.

It's a pretty frightening scenario, made infinitely more so by the fact that top Israelis (who have heard Netanyahu's thinking from Netanyahu himself) also see the future the same way. Those Israelis deserve a world of credit for sounding the warning bell loudly enough that we would hear it and do something about it - although it's impossible to know if the people who matter are paying attention.

Actually, only one person matters: the US president. If Israel bombed Iran tomorrow, Congress would forget all about their partisan differences and run, not walk, to the House and Senate floors to endorse the attack and call for unstinting support for Israel. That is what Congress always does, and will always do so long as the lobby (and the donors it directs) are the key players in making our Middle East policies.

And who knows what Obama would do? So far, he has not exactly distinguished himself when it comes to standing up to Netanyahu.

But an Israeli attack on Iran would be different. It would endanger countless Americans (in the region and here at home, too). It would kill off any economic recovery by causing oil prices to skyrocket. It would engulf us in another Middle East war. And it would threaten the existence of the state of Israel.

This is something the president needs to focus on instead of being forced to nickel and dime with the likes of Representative Eric Cantor and Senator Mitch McConnell. How incredible that these two, and their right-wing allies, have our government tied in knots in their incessant effort to elevate themselves by destroying the President of the United States. It is sickening.

Libyan rebels step up military campaign

2011-07-21T03:04:00.000-07:00

Opposition fighters say they have forced Gaddafi forces back from Brega, while southern fighters prepare for battle.

Libyan rebel fighters and medics carry the body of a member of forces loyal to the Libyan leader [Reuters]

Libya's anti-government fighters are escalating an offensive against Muammar Gaddafi's forces, pushing forward in the east of the country and preparing a fresh attack from the south of the capital, Tripoli.
Opposition forces said they had chased the bulk of the Libyan leader's eastern army from the oil town of Brega and surrounded Gaddafi loyalists holed up among oil installations in the northwest of the town.
In the west, rebels said they were awaiting orders from Benghazi, the rebel stronghold in the east, to start a fresh offensive from the Nafusa Mountains southwest of the capital just days before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when the hardships of desert fighting are likely to be intensified for those going without food and drink during the daytime.
Around Brega, the rebels' advance towards the town has been slowed by vast quantities of anti-personnel mines planted by retreating loyalists and the difficulties in attacking an estimated 200 Gaddafi troops fighting from positions near vital oil facilities.
On Tuesday, 24 rebel fighters died in one of their bloodiest day since the battle for Brega began almost a week ago, a rebel military source told the AFP news agency.
Many of the casualties came when troops closing on isolated Gaddafi forces were hit by a rocket attack.
Rebel military sources said some Gaddafi forces were launching rockets over Brega onto rebel positions from the town of Bishr, while most Gaddafi troops had retreated to Ras Lanuf, another oil town further west.
Libya's government has denied rebel claims that they had retaken Brega. The rebels said Gaddafi troops inside the town were largely conscripts and volunteers who were surrounded.
'Preparing for battle'
But across the Gulf of Sirte, near the rebel-held enclave of Misurata, the picture was reversed.
Rebels said seven of their fighters were killed and 13 wounded when they repulsed a fresh Gaddafi attack.
On the frontline of the western desert village Gwalish, rebels said they were ready to fight during Ramadan if necessary, even as summer temperatures reached 45 Celsius.
"We are preparing for the battle. We hope [it occurs], God willing, before Ramadan, or just after," Mokhtar Lakhdar, a rebel commander, said.
"If there is fighting during Ramadan, we will fight as usual," he said. "We will not stop until we have liberated Libya."
"During Ramadan, it will be harder but, God willing, we will not be weakened but rather be stronger," added another fighter, Shaban Aabor. "Ramadan is a good time to be a martyr."
The next rebel target is Asabah, 80km south of Tripoli and the last barrier between rebels and the garrison town of Gharyan.
Libyan opposition leaders met French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday to press for more support.
"France can help us get this help from friendly Arab countries," Souleiman Fortia, a representative of the National Transitional Council, told reporters after the meeting. "With a bit of help we can be in Tripoli soon."
French foreign minister Alain Juppe said earlier on Wednesday that Gaddafi could stay in Libya if he quits politics under a ceasefire deal.
But Abdelati al-Obeidi, Gaddafi's foreign minister, said after talks in Russia that the Libyan leader's "departure is not up for negotiation".

Atlantis space shuttle ready for last landing

2011-07-21T02:59:00.001-07:00

Astronauts on final manned NASA mission prepare to touch down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Space shuttle Atlantis is set to touch down early on Thursday in Florida, bringing an end to NASA's 30-year shuttle programme.
Final inspections of the shuttle's heat shield, which protects the craft during its fiery entry into Earth's atmosphere, were completed on Wednesday and NASA said the shuttle was in good shape for landing.
The weather forecast was also "very favourable" at Kennedy Space Center, NASA said, with the shuttle expected to land at 5:56am local time (0956 GMT).
Atlantis, which has traveled over 200 million kilometres in its life-span, is scheduled to begin its deorbit burn at 4:49 am (0849 GMT) to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.
The craft has been cleared for deorbit burn, during which the engines will fire for just over three minutes in order to slow the shuttle down.
If conditions do not allow for the first attempt, a second opportunity for deorbit would begin at 6:25 am (1025 GMT) with the landing at 7:32 am (1132 GMT).
The four-astronaut crew, who have spent 13 days in space, were awoken at 9:29 pm on Wednesday (0129 GMT Thursday) to the sound of "God Bless America", having left the International Space Station earlier in the day
On Wednesday, pilot Doug Hurley said they were anxious to celebrate the landing with the shuttle's on-the-ground crew.
"We're very excited about seeing those folks ... to share the memories of the mission with them and once again just convey how proud we are of them and what they've done over this 30-year programme," he said.
End of an era
Atlantis' landing will end an era of US dominance in human space exploration, leaving Russia as the sole taxi to the International Space Station until a replacement US capsule can be built by private industry.
Thursday's landing also comes 42 years after US astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the moon in the Apollo 11 mission.
"Forty-two years ago today, Neil Armstrong walked on the moon and I consider myself fortunate that I was there to actually remember the event," Chris Ferguson, the Atlantis commander, said to mission control, recalling the images of July 20, 1969.

"It is kind of interesting to be here on the final night of the shuttle mission. We don't quite know what to think. We are just trying to take it all in."
Over the course of the programme, five NASA space shuttles - Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery and Endeavour - have comprised a fleet designed as the world's first reusable space vehicles.
The first shuttle flight to space lifted off April 12, 1981.
Challenger and Columbia were destroyed in accidents that killed their crews, leaving only three in the space-flying fleet and Enterprise, a prototype that never flew in space.
The remaining quartet will become museum pieces in the coming months.
Critics have assailed the US space agency for lacking a focus with the space shuttle gone and no next-generation human spaceflight programme to replace it.
The astronaut corps now numbers 60, compared to the 128 employed in 2000, and thousands of people are being laid off from Kennedy Space Center.
But NASA chiefs say future missions to deep space should revive hope in the US programme.
"We have just not done a good job of telling our story. NASA is very busy," Charles Bolden, the space agency's administrator, said. "The president said to us, 2025 for an asteroid and 2030 to Mars. We have a lot of work to do ahead."
NASA flight director Tony Ceccacci said his team was just trying to keep emotions at bay and focus on getting the shuttle home safely.
"We have a motto in the mission control center that flight controllers don't cry, so we are going to make sure that we keep to that."

Hundreds of Syrians flee to Lebanon

2011-06-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

Exodus from Syria continues a day after 20 people are reportedly killed in anti-government protests.

Up to 1,000 Syrians have fled across the border into Lebanon over the past two days in a bid to escape the escalating violence in Syria.
A Lebanese security official said on Saturday that those crossing had entered northern Lebanon near the border town of Wadi Khaled, a day after activists said 20 people were killed in anti-government protests in Syria.
He said six of those coming through the al-Qusair crossing had gunshot wounds and had been taken to hospital.
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, said the number of Syrians fleeing to Lebanon was increasing but could not be compared to the situation on the Turkey-Syria border, where nearly 12,000 people are sheltering on the Turkish side.

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"It is important to remember that Syria has a lot of influence in Lebanon and that the regime still can reach people here," she said.
"If you're an opposition figure or an activist trying to flee the regime, Lebanon is not exactly the place to go to.
"But still, these people are still coming into Lebanon and they're being sheltered by Lebanese families and even some Lebanese politicians and activists who are giving them food and a place to stay."
Meanwhile, the head of the Syrian Red Crescent said that Syrian refugees in Turkey will not face retribution or
interrogation if they return to their country, Turkey's Anatolia news agency reported.
"We, as the Red Crescent, guarantee that the Syrian government will not call [the refugees] to account and under no circumstances will security forces take decisions about them," Abdurrahman Attar was quoted as saying.
"With the comprehensive amnesty declared, they would not be interrogated."
General amnesty
Even as reports of refugees starting to trickle in to Lebanon surface, our correspondent in Lebanon said that the situation there is far tenuous for Syrians fleeing crackdowns.
Unlike Turkey, Lebanon is not prepared to take large numbers of Syrian refugees, said Amin.
"If these people are fleeing the Syrian authorities, they know that in Lebanon if they have serious issues with the authorities, the Syrian government can reach them in Lebanon.," she added.
"They have a lot of influence here, and it's just across the border."
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday ordered a general amnesty in a bid to quell rising unrest, and has urged refugees to return home, saying their hometowns have been cleared of "armed gangs".
But residents of the northern Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughur and other towns where the military has carried out operations said the regime's claims of "outlaws " stirring unrest were baseless and have been used as a pretext to crack down on dissent.
On Saturday, mourners gathered for the funeral of one of six protesters activists said had been killed a day earlier in the Damascus suburb of Kiswah.
An activist at the scene told Al Jazeera that at least 20,000 people took part in the burial and that there was a heavy security presence in the area.

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Opposition activists said 20 people were killed and many more injured in demonstrations across the country following Friday prayers.
People had barely come out of the Ibn Affan Mosque in Kiswah, chanting for the toppling of the regime when security forces opened fire on the crowd, killing five people and wounding others, Mohammed Suliman, a human rights activist, said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported one more death in Kiswah and said security forces also gunned down three people in Homs and four people in the countryside outside.
Five people people were also reported killed in the Damascus neighbourhood of Barzeh.
"Security forces tried to break up a rally calling for the fall of the regime with tear gas before opening fire," killing five people and wounding 25, an activist in Barzeh said.
State television blamed the civilian deaths in Barzeh on "armed men", saying they also wounded several security force members, including an officer.
Activists said dozens of people in Barzeh were arrested in house-to-house searches as a curfew was imposed on the neighbourhood.
Al Jazeera is unable to verify reports from Syria because of restrictions on reporting in the country.

International condemnation
The military crackdown, which activists say has left more than 1,300 people dead, has failed to silence anti-government protests that have now lasted more than 100 days.
Although Syrian opposition figures have told the AFP news agency that they plan on holding a meeting in Damascus on Monday, the 100 or so participants have no ties to political parties.
Meanwhile, international condemnation of Syria's government has been mounting steadily in recent weeks.
The European Union on Friday extended sanctions against those supporting the government crackdown, including three members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters on Friday that he had conveyed Turkey's "concerns and thoughts" about the situation at the border in a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart.
He said he would continue to talk to Syrian officials to ensure that "reforms and peace are brought about as soon as possible".
"We hope that Syria is successful in renewing itself in a stable manner and comes out of the situation stronger. We will do all that we can to help," he said.

Pakistani police station attacked

2011-06-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

At least 12 people killed in standoff in Dera Ismail Khan district, after station was assaulted with guns and grenades.

At least 12 people have been killed after a police station in northwestern Pakistani came under attack from gunmen and suicide bombers, authorities say.
Three explosions sent plumes of smoke into the air at the Kolachi police station in the Dera Ismail Khan district during the assault, which prompted a standoff with the police, on Saturday.
Ten policemen were killed and another five wounded in the assault. Two of the gunmen, of whom police say there were more than a dozen, were also killed.
The fighters attacked the police station on Saturday afternoon with guns and grenades.
Dera Ismail Khan is located just outside of the South Waziristan tribal agency in Pakistan's restive Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Television footage showed black-clad security guards armed with rifles taking up positions around the station after the initial raid.
"They threw grenades and opened indiscriminate firing as they stormed into the police station," local police chief Imtiaz Khan told the Reuters news agency.
Suicide attack
Javed Khan, a police commando said that at least one of the attackers was a suicide bomber who blew himself up when an armoured vehicle tried to enter the police compound after the initial raid.
Police officials said that around 17 policemen were on duty when the attackers hit the station.
The Pakistani Express-Tribune newspaper reported "heavy firing" as being under way on Saturday evening as security forces launched an operation to retake the building.
It quotes sources as indicating that up to 35 policemen could still be trapped inside the station, which is located in a residential area.
Mohammad Raees, a witness, told Reuters that three of the attackers approached the station on a motorbike, and that one of them was wearing a burqa, which he took off as they attacked the building.
Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, told the Associated Press that his group was claiming responsibility for the attack.
Ahsan said the attack was partly aimed at avenging the raid by United States Special Forces that killed Osama bin Laden, the former al-Qaeda leader, on May 2.

美日要求中国停止在南海“妨碍”他国船只

2011-06-21T19:29:00.001-07:00

据日本共同社6月21日消息，美日两国政府21日公布了共同战略目标，强调“将敦促某些国家不追求及部署可能给地区安全带来不稳定因素的军事力量”。报道称，声明虽然并没有点名敦促对象，但明显展示出牵制中国军力扩张，联手对抗中国的姿态。

共同社报道称，这是两国自2005年2月以来首次全面修改共同战略目标。中国2011年度国防开支约比2005年度增加了约1.5倍。据日本外交消息人士透露，美日双方一致认为“地区安全环境趋于严峻”。

美日共同战略目标强调(双方)“将在中国军事近代化及相关活动方面提高开放度与透明度，进一步加强信赖关系”，并指出通过扩大军事交流来提高“开放度”、进一步提升国防支出等方面的“透明度”，这些对消除有关军事扩张的担忧而言不可或缺。

报道还称，鉴于南海争端日趋紧张，共同战略目标强调“遵循国际准则”和“通过遵守航行自由的原则维护海洋安全”尤为重要，并明确要求中国停止对他国船只采取“妨碍行为”。

此外，美日共同战略目标还指出，双方“将就实现稀土等重要资源及原材料的供给多样化展开对话”，并谴责中方自去年9月发生钓鱼岛海域撞船事件以来采取了“限制对日稀土出口”的措施。(记者仲伟东)

外交部发言人：南海航行自由不存在任何问题

有记者问，新加坡外交部日前发表声明，对于中方在南海问题上的立场表示关切，中方对此作何评论？中方是如何落实《南海各方行为宣言》的？

洪磊表示，中国在南海的主张是明确、一贯的。中国维护在南海的主权和海洋权益，不影响各国按照国际法在南海享有的航行自由。事实上，南海的航行自由不存在任何问题。

美日举行安保磋商会议声明将联手牵制中国

2011-06-21T19:28:00.001-07:00

环球网记者王欢报道美日两国政府安保磋商委员会(2+2)会议当地时间6月21日上午在位于华盛顿的美国务院办公大楼进行，美日双方外长以及防长共同出席会议并联合发表共同声明文件。文件中明确指出，要将“联手牵制中国”定位两国美日最新共同战略目标，并决定敦促中国“遵守国际准则”。

日本共同社6月21日报道称，美日双方首先在联合声明中就双方共同关心的普天间军事基地搬迁问题达成一致，声明文件中指出，在将冲绳县宜野湾市的美军普天间机场迁至名护市边野古的问题上将放弃2014年这一期限，改为“尽早”实现。双方一致认为，美军参与日本地方政府的震后防灾训练对于加强两国关系意义重大。

报道称，此次会议是美日两国自2007年5月以来，时隔4年的首次会议。关于普天间机场搬迁问题，会议决定修建呈V字型的2条跑道作为替代设施。文件指出，在不影响环境评估工作且建设不延迟的前提下“可考虑稍加调整”，为应对冲绳县此前提出的降低噪音要求留下了余地。

而文件未能反映冲绳方面提出的尽早归还位于冲绳县嘉手纳町等地的美军嘉手纳基地以南设施这一强烈要求，维持了与普天间机场搬迁问题进行配套处理等表述。文件还写明，将考虑把暂时在东京都硫磺岛进行的美军航母舰载机的陆上航母起降训练(FCLP)转移到鹿儿岛县马毛岛。

此外，声明文件中还确认，允许美国向第三国出售海基型拦截导弹“SM-3 block 2A”。

报道还称，在此次美日两国联合发表的共同声明文件中还明确指出，敦促中国“遵守国际准则”将成为美日新的共同战略目标之一，决定“联手牵制中国”。

文件就共同战略目标指出，要敦促中国为维护地区稳定而负起责任，在全球性课题上“遵循国际准则”，并提高“军事透明度”。文件还指出，将对中国大陆与台湾的关系发展表示欢迎，并希望通过对话和平解决相关问题。

另外，文件还明确指出，允许美国仅向有助于日本安全和国际和平稳定并严格进行出口管理的国家出售海基型拦截导弹。文件还表示，日方将加快有关参与防御装备武器的国际共同开发的磋商步伐，对修改武器出口三原则留下余地。双方还就推进有关宇宙及网络空间安全方面的美日磋商达成共识。

Libyan rebel official in China for talks

2011-06-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

Mahmoud Jibril's visit comes after the Libyan foregin minister visited China [AFP]

A senior Libyan rebel leader has arrived in China amid intensifying efforts by Beijing to resolve the crisis in the north African country.

Mahmoud Jibril's visit comes after the Libyan foregin minister visited China [AFP]

Mahmoud Jibril, a senior foreign affairs official in the Libyan opposition's National Transitional Council (NTC), will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during his two-day visit, ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

"China's immediate task is to promote peace and encourage talks," Hong said on Tuesday, adding the situation in Libya, where rebels are attempted to topple the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, "should not be left as it is anymore".

"The Libyan crisis has lasted for four months - during this period of time, the people of Libya have suffered to the fullest extent the chaos caused by war, and infrastructure was greatly damaged," Hong said.

"China expresses great concern in this regard."

Pushing for ceasefire
China has taken no firm side in the war between Gaddafi's troops and opposition forces and says its recent meetings with rival Libyan groups were only intended to encourage a ceasefire.

Beijing hosted Libya's Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi earlier this month.

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China was among the emerging powers that abstained in March when the UN Security Council authorised the NATO-led air strikes against Gaddafi's forces. China could have used its veto power as a permanent member.

However, Beijing quickly condemned the expansion of the strikes, and has since urged a ceasefire it says could open the way for compromise between the government and rebels.

Around half of China's crude oil imports last year came from the Middle East and North Africa, where Chinese companies have a big presence. Beijing mobilised navy ships and civil aircraft to help tens of thousands of Chinese workers flee Libya this year.

China's commercial interests in Libya include oil, telecoms and rail projects.
Chinese interests

Observers say the protection of Chinese interests in Libya was likely to be on the agenda in talks with the visiting rebel official.

Only 5.68 per cent of the losses suffered by 13 Chinese state-owned companies in Libya were covered by insurance, the Global Times reported, citing other state media. The newspaper said total losses could amount to $20bn.

China was forced to evacuate more than 35,000 workers from Libya when unrest broke out four months ago [AFP]

The West has also thrown its diplomatic and financial support behind the NTC, which has been recognised by about a dozen countries including Britain, France and the United States.

Jibril could also ask senior Chinese officials for financial help, as the council has set a budget of around $3.5bn for the next six months.

At a conference in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, donors vowed to help the rebels with cash and supplies.

Italy promised loans and aid worth $438-584m. France meanwhile said it would release $415.9m of frozen Libyan funds for the NTC.

Diplomats said $180m had been pledged by Kuwait and $100m by Qatar.

Deaths reported amid rival Syria rallies

2011-06-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

Activists say seven people killed as government supporters and opponents clash in three cities.

Thousands of Syrians rallied in support of President Assad in Umayyad Square in Damascus [AFP]

Syrian security forces have shot dead seven people after government supporters and opponents clashed in three cities, activists say.
The reported deaths on Tuesday came as tens of thousands of Syrians demonstrated in support of President Bashar al-Assad in major cities, a day after he pledged further reforms in an address to the nation.
The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), an activist network, said a 13-year-old boy was killed when security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in a main square in the central city of Hama.

Three other people were reported killed in Homs, central Syria, and three in the Mayadeen district in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour.
Activists said three people were killed in Homs and three others in the Mayadeen district in Deir al-Zour when army and security forces intervened on the side of Assad's supporters.
"Security forces opened fire when pro- and anti-government demonstrators came to blows," Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said, citing witnesses.
"It is difficult to say who started first, but the army's armoured personnel carriers drove through the [anti-Assad] demonstration firing at people," a resident of Mayadeen said.
Two residents in Homs said security forces fired at protesters who had staged a demonstration to counter a pro-Assad rally backed by secret police and Assad loyalists known as "shabiha".
Pro-Assad rallies
Tens of thousands of pro-Assad demonstrators rallied in central Damascus on Tuesday, converging on the Umayyad Square, which is normally a busy roundabout.
They waved Syrian flags and the president's portrait, chanting, "We will sacrifice ourselves for you, Bashar!".
Syrian state television also aired footage from pro-Assad demonstrations in Homs, Aleppo, Latakia, Hassake and Deraa.

President Assad addressed the nation in a televised speech on Monday, pledging more reforms

However, Edward Djerejian, a former US ambassador to Syria, said he doubted all those rallying were genuine supporters of the president.
"I think many of these are people in the middle class, public servants and others," he said.
"But the regime is orchestrating these popular demonstrations in order to make the point that there is support for the regime, in contrast to the widespread protests in the rest of the country."
The demonstrations followed a new general amnesty ordered by the president for all crimes committed in the country up until June 20.
The president ordered a reprieve on May 31 for all political prisoners in the country, including members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Hundreds of detainees were released, but rights groups say thousands still languish in jail and that hundreds more have since been arrested in an escalating crackdown.
On Monday, Assad addressed the nation in a televised speech in which he acknowledged demands for reform were legitimate, but said "saboteurs" were exploiting the situation.

Although he called for "national dialogue," he said, "there is no political solution with those who carry arms and kill".
Protesters took to the streets across Syria on Monday to denounce the speech, saying his address did not meet popular demands for sweeping political reform.
Russian reaction
The Syrian authorities' bloody crackdown on protests, which rights groups say has killed more than 1,300 civilians, has been met with international condemnation.

"We need to apply pressure on the leadership of any country where massive unrest, and especially bloodshed, is happening."
Vladimir Putin,
Russian prime minister

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for international pressure on Syria's leadership, but said Iraq-style international intervention would only make matters worse.
Russia has been resistant to a new draft UN resolution condemning Syria's government.
However, Putin said that "we need to apply pressure on the leadership of any country where massive unrest, and especially bloodshed, is happening."
He called for a political solution in Syria, and said Russian officials are working on this at the United Nations, without elaborating.
He dismissed talk of a Russian alliance with Syria, saying their close ties dated to the Soviet era and that no "special relationship" exists with the Assad regime.
Meanwhile, France warned that the UN Security Council cannot "stay silent" much longer on Syria's crackdown on protests and said the time was near when "everyone will have to face up to their responsibilities."

Greece: Athens faces moment of truth, EU's Barroso says

2011-06-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Greece faces a "moment of truth" as the government battles to win support for austerity measures, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said.

A vote of confidence late on Tuesday is a first step towards a vital 12bn euro ($17bn; £10bn) loan from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Greece needs the loan to pay its debts.
If the government survives the vote, Greece's parliament will be asked to back the latest spending cuts - worth 28bn euro - on 28 June.
The EU and IMF will only release funds once the austerity measures have been voted through.
"No-one can be helped against their will," Mr Barroso said in Brussels.
"Next week is the moment of truth, where Greece needs to demonstrate that it is genuinely committed to the ambitious package of further fiscal measures and privatisations put forward by Prime Minister [George] Papandreou's government."
Protesters against the austerity plan have again gathered in Syntagma Square in Athens, in front of the Greek parliament.
One protester, Calliope Iris, told the BBC: "The Greek police treat us like criminals. I used to have my own company and had to close it down at the beginning of 2010. The economic climate is forbidding anything new.
"I will continue to go back to Syntagma Square to protest."
Mass demonstrations
Tuesday's vote of confidence is on the new Greek cabinet, which Prime Minister Papandreou put in place last Friday.
Mr Papandreou hopes the new cabinet, and specifically the new Finance Minister, Evangelos Venizelos, will help secure parliament's backing for further austerity measures that are already proving deeply unpopular with the Greek people.
At the weekend, eurozone finance ministers decided to postpone their decision on whether to grant Greece the 12bn euro loan until the country introduces the additional spending cuts and privatisation programmes.

Greece needs this aid - the latest tranche of the EU and IMF's 110bn-euro aid package - by July to be able to keep up with payments to the creditors of its huge debts, which amount to 30,000 euros per person.

If the Greek parliament does back the austerity measures, eurozone finance ministers will meet again on 3 July, with the funds expected to be released by the middle of next month.
However, lawmakers are having to ponder their decision in the face of mass demonstrations, strikes, and even riots.
The latest protest against the cutbacks involves workers at Greece's state-owned electricity company, who are on a 48-hour walkout.
BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt, who is in Athens, says ministers have argued that without further austerity measures in exchange for a new bail-out, Greece is heading for bankruptcy. However, many Greeks appear to prefer that option to further austerity, he says.

Mr Venizelos said the decision of the eurozone finance ministers to delay the loan showed that urgent action was now needed. "We have plenty to do," he said.
If Greece were to default on its debt - worth 150% of its annual GDP output - it would have to leave the 17-member euro group of nations.
UK Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan said the bailout would not help the people of Greece: "This is not assistance for Greece, it's not how anyone there sees it. They understand perfectly well what the bail-out means, which is that the money will go to European bankers and bondholders, but the repayment will come from Greek taxpayers. So far from being helped, Greece is being sacrificed to save the euro."
Olli Rehn, the European Union's Monetary Affairs Commissioner, urged Greece to continue with its austerity measures.
"The greatest weight of responsibility lies on the shoulders of the new Greek government," he said.
Mr Rehn added that the situation in Greece was the worst crisis Europe had faced "since the Second World War".
IMF mission
On 20 June, EU finance ministers agreed in principle on a second bail-out package for Greece, about the same size as the first - 110bn euros - passed last May.

The new package, to be outlined by July, will include loans from other eurozone countries.

It is also expected to feature a voluntary contribution from private investors, who will be invited to buy up new Greek bonds as old ones mature.
Officials said this money had to be freely given, or it would be seen as technical default on Greece's debt repayments.
If Greece were to default - or seen to be in default - it would mean massive losses for European banks that hold Greek debt, including the European Central Bank.
Officials said the new plan was expected to fund Greece into late 2014 and total about 120bn euros.
Inspectors for the EU and IMF are making another visit to Athens on Tuesday in what the European Commission said would be a "technical mission".
The visit, which comes after teams from both bodies have spent months poring through the country's accounts, is unscheduled, and the Commission did not say what its objective would be.

菲律宾向南海派驱逐舰称与中国海巡船经过无关

2011-06-20T07:33:00.001-07:00

据6月18日出版的《环球时报》报道，菲律宾各大报纸17日均在头版报道中国最大海巡船赴南海的消息。《菲律宾每日问询者报》以“中国开展炮舰外交”为题称，中国派出其最大的海巡船之一进入南海，可能会加剧中国与邻国在南海问题上的紧张关系。菲律宾国防部长加兹明表示，如果这艘船“侵犯”菲律宾的水域，菲方有可能提起外交抗议。报道还称，从中国媒体的报道来看，这艘海巡船显示了北京的“决心”。南海紧张局势被该地区对中国海军和海巡船现代化的担忧放大。作为中国最先进的海巡船之一，这艘“海巡31”号排水量3000多吨，有直升机起降平台，可以18节航速连续在海上航行40天。

《菲律宾星报》报道说，前往新加坡途中，这艘海巡船会经过西沙群岛、南沙群岛等中国与多国在南海争议的核心地带。这类海巡船曾被指责骚扰在南海的外国船只，包括一艘美国监测船。

同样引起警惕的还有中国公布的在南海演习的消息。法新社17日评论说，在与邻国关系紧张之际，中国媒体当天透露，14艘中国海军舰艇近来在中国海南岛附近水域举行了反潜、登陆演习，演习旨在“保护岛礁和海上航线”。路透社说，在向南海派出最大海巡船后，中国海监部门公布了扩大计划。到2020年，中国海监部门将从现在的9000人扩大到1.5万人，2015年中国海巡船总数将达到350艘，飞机16架。报道称，这又是一个可能会增加与邻国紧张的举动。

“中国是和平崛起吗？”《菲律宾星报》17日发表以此为题的评论文章说，中国喜欢称自己是和平崛起，但每当中国在南海的军事活动触怒邻居后，这种描绘就变得可疑。与世界主要大洋相比，南海是一个很小的后院，中国的强硬行动正促使这一地区的国家加强与美国结盟。报道还称：“如果北京以一度连接中国与亚洲许多其他地区的史前大陆桥为依据，那菲律宾也是中国领土的一部分。”

报道称，菲律宾和越南官方没有直接批评中国海巡船出访一事，但法新社17日报道说，在与北京关系紧张之际，菲律宾当天表示将出动其海军旗舰“拉贾•胡马邦”号前往南海争议海域。菲国防部发言人巴塔克表示，此举是例行安排，与中国派海巡船航经这一区域无关。《菲律宾星报》援引菲律宾海军将领亚历山大•帕马的话说，“拉贾•胡马邦”号不会主动挑衅，“我们将严格遵循我们的交战规则，如果发生交火，也不会是我们首先开火”。法新社称，“拉贾•胡马邦”号堪称“世界最古老的军舰之一”，它是美国在二战时期的护卫舰，1980年开始在经费短缺的菲律宾海军服役。

Fukushima: It's much worse than you think

2011-06-17T10:44:00.001-07:00

Scientific experts believe Japan's nuclear disaster to be far worse than governments are revealing to the public.

Many Japanese citizens are now permanently displaced from their homes due to the Fukushima nuclear disaster [GALLO/GETTY]

"Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind," Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry senior vice president, told Al Jazeera.
Japan's 9.0 earthquake on March 11 caused a massive tsunami that crippled the cooling systems at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan. It also led to hydrogen explosions and reactor meltdowns that forced evacuations of those living within a 20km radius of the plant.
Gundersen, a licensed reactor operator with 39 years of nuclear power engineering experience, managing and coordinating projects at 70 nuclear power plants around the US, says the Fukushima nuclear plant likely has more exposed reactor cores than commonly believed.
"Fukushima has three nuclear reactors exposed and four fuel cores exposed," he said, "You probably have the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactor cores because of the fuel cores, and they are all in desperate need of being cooled, and there is no means to cool them effectively."
TEPCO has been spraying water on several of the reactors and fuel cores, but this has led to even greater problems, such as radiation being emitted into the air in steam and evaporated sea water - as well as generating hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive sea water that has to be disposed of.
"The problem is how to keep it cool," says Gundersen. "They are pouring in water and the question is what are they going to do with the waste that comes out of that system, because it is going to contain plutonium and uranium. Where do you put the water?"
Even though the plant is now shut down, fission products such as uranium continue to generate heat, and therefore require cooling.
"The fuels are now a molten blob at the bottom of the reactor," Gundersen added. "TEPCO announced they had a melt through. A melt down is when the fuel collapses to the bottom of the reactor, and a melt through means it has melted through some layers. That blob is incredibly radioactive, and now you have water on top of it. The water picks up enormous amounts of radiation, so you add more water and you are generating hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive water."
Independent scientists have been monitoring the locations of radioactive "hot spots" around Japan, and their findings are disconcerting.
"We have 20 nuclear cores exposed, the fuel pools have several cores each, that is 20 times the potential to be released than Chernobyl," said Gundersen. "The data I'm seeing shows that we are finding hot spots further away than we had from Chernobyl, and the amount of radiation in many of them was the amount that caused areas to be declared no-man's-land for Chernobyl. We are seeing square kilometres being found 60 to 70 kilometres away from the reactor. You can't clean all this up. We still have radioactive wild boar in Germany, 30 years after Chernobyl."
Radiation monitors for children
Japan's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters finally admitted earlier this month that reactors 1, 2, and 3 at the Fukushima plant experienced full meltdowns.
TEPCO announced that the accident probably released more radioactive material into the environment than Chernobyl, making it the worst nuclear accident on record.
Meanwhile, a nuclear waste advisor to the Japanese government reported that about 966 square kilometres near the power station - an area roughly 17 times the size of Manhattan - is now likely uninhabitable.
In the US, physician Janette Sherman MD and epidemiologist Joseph Mangano published an essay shedding light on a 35 per cent spike in infant mortality in northwest cities that occurred after the Fukushima meltdown, and may well be the result of fallout from the stricken nuclear plant.
The eight cities included in the report are San Jose, Berkeley, San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Portland, Seattle, and Boise, and the time frame of the report included the ten weeks immediately following the disaster.
"There is and should be concern about younger people being exposed, and the Japanese government will be giving out radiation monitors to children," Dr MV Ramana, a physicist with the Programme on Science and Global Security at Princeton University who specialises in issues of nuclear safety, told Al Jazeera.
Dr Ramana explained that he believes the primary radiation threat continues to be mostly for residents living within 50km of the plant, but added: "There are going to be areas outside of the Japanese government's 20km mandatory evacuation zone where radiation is higher. So that could mean evacuation zones in those areas as well."
Gundersen points out that far more radiation has been released than has been reported.
"They recalculated the amount of radiation released, but the news is really not talking about this," he said. "The new calculations show that within the first week of the accident, they released 2.3 times as much radiation as they thought they released in the first 80 days."
According to Gundersen, the exposed reactors and fuel cores are continuing to release microns of caesium, strontium, and plutonium isotopes. These are referred to as "hot particles".
"We are discovering hot particles everywhere in Japan, even in Tokyo," he said. "Scientists are finding these everywhere. Over the last 90 days these hot particles have continued to fall and are being deposited in high concentrations. A lot of people are picking these up in car engine air filters."
Radioactive air filters from cars in Fukushima prefecture and Tokyo are now common, and Gundersen says his sources are finding radioactive air filters in the greater Seattle area of the US as well.
The hot particles on them can eventually lead to cancer.
"These get stuck in your lungs or GI tract, and they are a constant irritant," he explained, "One cigarette doesn't get you, but over time they do. These [hot particles] can cause cancer, but you can't measure them with a Geiger counter. Clearly people in Fukushima prefecture have breathed in a large amount of these particles. Clearly the upper West Coast of the US has people being affected. That area got hit pretty heavy in April."
Blame the US?
In reaction to the Fukushima catastrophe, Germany is phasing out all of its nuclear reactors over the next decade. In a referendum vote this Monday, 95 per cent of Italians voted in favour of blocking a nuclear power revival in their country. A recent newspaper poll in Japan shows nearly three-quarters of respondents favour a phase-out of nuclear power in Japan.
Why have alarms not been sounded about radiation exposure in the US?
Nuclear operator Exelon Corporation has been among Barack Obama's biggest campaign donors, and is one of the largest employers in Illinois where Obama was senator. Exelon has donated more than $269,000 to his political campaigns, thus far. Obama also appointed Exelon CEO John Rowe to his Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future.
Dr Shoji Sawada is a theoretical particle physicist and Professor Emeritus at Nagoya University in Japan.
He is concerned about the types of nuclear plants in his country, and the fact that most of them are of US design.
"Most of the reactors in Japan were designed by US companies who did not care for the effects of earthquakes," Dr Sawada told Al Jazeera. "I think this problem applies to all nuclear power stations across Japan."
Using nuclear power to produce electricity in Japan is a product of the nuclear policy of the US, something Dr Sawada feels is also a large component of the problem.
"Most of the Japanese scientists at that time, the mid-1950s, considered that the technology of nuclear energy was under development or not established enough, and that it was too early to be put to practical use," he explained. "The Japan Scientists Council recommended the Japanese government not use this technology yet, but the government accepted to use enriched uranium to fuel nuclear power stations, and was thus subjected to US government policy."
As a 13-year-old, Dr Sawada experienced the US nuclear attack against Japan from his home, situated just 1400 metres from the hypocentre of the Hiroshima bomb.
"I think the Fukushima accident has caused the Japanese people to abandon the myth that nuclear power stations are safe," he said. "Now the opinions of the Japanese people have rapidly changed. Well beyond half the population believes Japan should move towards natural electricity."
A problem of infinite proportions
Dr Ramana expects the plant reactors and fuel cores to be cooled enough for a shutdown within two years.
"But it is going to take a very long time before the fuel can be removed from the reactor," he added. "Dealing with the cracking and compromised structure and dealing with radiation in the area will take several years, there's no question about that."
Dr Sawada is not as clear about how long a cold shutdown could take, and said the problem will be "the effects from caesium-137 that remains in the soil and the polluted water around the power station and underground. It will take a year, or more time, to deal with this".
Gundersen pointed out that the units are still leaking radiation.
"They are still emitting radioactive gases and an enormous amount of radioactive liquid," he said. "It will be at least a year before it stops boiling, and until it stops boiling, it's going to be cranking out radioactive steam and liquids."
Gundersen worries about more earthquake aftershocks, as well as how to cool two of the units.
"Unit four is the most dangerous, it could topple," he said. "After the earthquake in Sumatra there was an 8.6 [aftershock] about 90 days later, so we are not out of the woods yet. And you're at a point where, if that happens, there is no science for this, no one has ever imagined having hot nuclear fuel lying outside the fuel pool. They've not figured out how to cool units three and four."
Gundersen's assessment of solving this crisis is grim.
"Units one through three have nuclear waste on the floor, the melted core, that has plutonium in it, and that has to be removed from the environment for hundreds of thousands of years," he said. "Somehow, robotically, they will have to go in there and manage to put it in a container and store it for infinity, and that technology doesn't exist. Nobody knows how to pick up the molten core from the floor, there is no solution available now for picking that up from the floor."
Dr Sawada says that the creation of nuclear fission generates radioactive materials for which there is simply no knowledge informing us how to dispose of the radioactive waste safely.
"Until we know how to safely dispose of the radioactive materials generated by nuclear plants, we should postpone these activities so as not to cause further harm to future generations," he explained. "To do otherwise is simply an immoral act, and that is my belief, both as a scientist and as a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing."
Gundersen believes it will take experts at least ten years to design and implement the plan.
"So ten to 15 years from now maybe we can say the reactors have been dismantled, and in the meantime you wind up contaminating the water," Gundersen said. "We are already seeing Strontium [at] 250 times the allowable limits in the water table at Fukushima. Contaminated water tables are incredibly difficult to clean. So I think we will have a contaminated aquifer in the area of the Fukushima site for a long, long time to come."
Unfortunately, the history of nuclear disasters appears to back Gundersen's assessment.

"With Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, and now with Fukushima, you can pinpoint the exact day and time they started," he said, "But they never end."

Deaths as fresh protests rock Syria

2011-06-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

At least 16 killed as security forces open fire on anti-government protesters across the country.
Syrian security forces have shot dead at least 16 people, including a 16-year-old boy, during fresh anti-government protests, activists said.
The Local Co-ordination Committee, a group that documents the demonstrations, said nine people were killed in the central city of Homs, two in Harasta, a suburb of the capital Damascus, and one in the northern city of Aleppo, while a teen died in the southern village of Dael.
Fresh protests were also reported from Hama, Deraa, Der al-Zour, Jableh and other cities after morning prayers on Friday.
An activist said security forces had opened fire on protesters in the coastal city of Baniyas.
"There was intense firing to disperse the demonstrations in Baniyas and there were casualties" among the protesters, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, told the AFP news agency.
Other activists reported that heavy machine gunfire had been heard in the Bab Tudmor area in Homs, and witnesses said security forces had dispersed a protest in Latakia.
Syrian state television reported that a policeman was killed and more than 20 were wounded when "armed groups" opened fire at them.
Six police officers were also wounded in the eastern town of Deir el-Zour when gunmen attacked a police station there, the report said.
Tensions were also reported in neighbouring Lebanon, where about 200 people protested against Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, in the northern city of Tripoli.
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from Beirut, the Lebanese capital, said four people were killed in clashes that broke out amid the Tripoli demonstration.
Army raid
Earlier, Mustafa Osso, a Syria-based rights activist, said a large numbers of soldiers had entered the northern town of Maarrat an-Numan early on Friday morning.

Omar Idilbi, another activist, said troops were in full control of the town, which the army surrounded a day earlier along with nearby Khan Shaykhun on the main north-south road linking Damascus and Aleppo.
The military action came as European Union officials confirmed they were planning to add more firms and a dozen people to a list of targeted asset freezes and travel bans that already includes President Assad and key allies.
"France supports an expansion of the European sanctions against Syria to economic entities," Bernard Valero, a French foreign ministry spokesman, said, adding that Syrian banks and private firms linked to regime figures could be hit.
Earlier, Ban Ki-moon, the UN chief, appealed to the Syrian president to halt the crackdown on demonstrations.
"I again strongly urge President Assad to stop killing people and engage in inclusive dialogue and take bold measures before it's too late," he said in Brazil on Thursday.
Makhlouf quits business
Friday's protests came a day after Rami Makhlouf, a businessman cousin of President Assad and focus of popular anger, announced he was quitting business and moving to charity works.
In a statement, Makhlouf said he took the decision to quit because he no longer wants "to be a burden on Syria, its people and its president".
Makhlouf will channel his wealth into charity and development projects, according to Syrian television.
"As for his businesses, they will be directed so that they ... create jobs and support the national economy. He will not enter into any new project that [brings] him personal gain," the report said on Thursday.
Makhlouf controls several businesses including Syriatel, the country's largest mobile phone operator, duty free shops, an oil concession, airline company and hotel and construction concerns, and shares in at least one bank.
Under sanctions
State news agency SANA quoted Makhlouf as saying he will put his 40 per cent holding in Syriatel up for sale in an initial public offering, with profits allocated to humanitarian work and families of those killed in the unrest.
Offices of Syriatel were some of the first buildings to be torched by demonstrators as protests first erupted in Deraa in mid-March, as the company and Makhlouf are seen as symbols of Syria's widespread corruption.
Makhlouf has been subject to US sanctions since 2007 for what the US calls public corruption, as well as EU sanctions imposed in May, but repeatedly maintained he is a legitimate businessman whose firms employ thousands of Syrians.
The announcement of Makhlouf's new plans was seen as a concession to the opposition, as protests show no signs of losing strength despite the brutal response from authorities.
Syrian rights groups say 1,300 civilians and more than 300 soldiers and police have been killed since the uprising began.
The latest focus of the crackdown has been in Idlib province in the northwest, around the town of Jisr al-Shughurwhere authorities say 120 security personnel were killed earlier this month.

Military operations in Idlib province have prompted more than 9,000 Syrians to stream north across the border into Turkey. An official told AFP that about 1,200 Syrians crossed into Turkey overnight Thursday to Friday.
Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from the Altinozu camp, said refugees sheltering there had staged a peaceful demonstration.
"They came out to make sure that the world does not forget them. They have been chanting 'Down with the Assad regime', 'Stop killing our children', 'Allah, Syria, freedom, that's all we need'.
"But the point they are making even more than just the demonstration today is they want the international community to act."
She said 200 refugees in Altinozu and the same amount in Yayladagi camp had started a hunger strike to get the world's attention.
"They want the United Nations to act on behalf of the people of Syria. They want Amnesty International and other human rights organisations to investigate the disappearances, the killings, the destruction of villages."
Thousands of people are also sheltering inside Syria close to the border.
Turkish officials are preparing to send food, clean water, medicine and other aid to thousands more stranded on the Syrian side.
"We have taken precautions and humanitarian aid will be supplied for around 10,000 people who are waiting on the Syrian side of the border," Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said after he met with an envoy from Assad on Thursday.
He also reiterated Turkey's support for major democratic reform in Syria.

Tension Rises in South China Sea

2011-06-14T09:36:00.001-07:00

Tension is escalating over the South China Sea.
On June 13, Vietnam conducted a military exercise
in the disputed area. Philippines also made claims,
renaming the disputed area “West Philippine Sea.”
US aircraft carrier surveyed the area on June 12.
China waded in with vessels and a submarine.
Worries about open conflicts increase.

On Monday Vietnam conducted a live-fire drill
around Hon Ong Island in the South China Sea.
VOA radio reported that the drill lasted 4 hours.
Vietnam Navy revealed that the drill included
canons and other weapons, but not missiles.

Rifts between Vietnam and China are enlarging.
Analysts say Vietnam's drill is to contain China.

The drill took place 40km from the Vietnam coast,
in an area believed to be rich in oil.

Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei
and Taiwan claim islands in the South China Sea.
The China-Vietnam dispute is the tensest.

The conflict started when Hanoi accused Beijing
of interfering in May with its oil survey ship,
cutting its cables. The incident led to a 2-day
anti-Beijing protest in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.

Chinese military was mobilized on June 8 and 9,
sending 11 military vessels and one submarine
to the Pacific, passing East China Sea and Japan.
Chinese Defense Ministry said it is a routine drill.

Ai Ping from the International Department
of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),
said the communist parties in China
and Vietnam have a blood-sealed friendship,
and can find a solution to the current crisis.

George Jan, a China expert and political scientist,
said Ai's words are a political show.

George Jan: “China wants to put down disputes
over the South China Sea and develop together.
China does not want to discuss sovereignty,
but believes all the disputed islands are China's.
Not to discuss sovereignty – this is not acceptable
to other countries. Philippines, Malaysia
and Vietnam cannot accept China's terms.
This is a deadlock that has to be resolved. “

Philippines also claim sovereignty over the area.
VOA radio reported that Philippine President
Aquino III said through his spokesperson
that Philippines has renamed the disputed
Spratly area “West Philippine Sea.”
China calls the area Nansha Islands.

Liu Jianchao, Chinese ambassador to Philippines,
recently invited President Aquino III to China
as a “new friend” to Chinese leaders and people.

The US pays close attention to South China Sea.
VOA said that the US aircraft carrier,
USS George Washington, left its base
in Japan's Yokosuka for West Pacific on June 12.
The carrier's Commander David Lausman said
that the carrier's mission is to stabilize the region.

According to AP, US State Department
Spokesperson Toner said the US doesn't support
anything that adds to the tension in the area.

How to resolve the conflicts in South China Sea?
George Jan said, “For the long run, in the end,
other countries will probably be forced
to accept China's terms, putting aside the issue
of sovereignty and focus on development.”

Ma Dingsheng, a Hong Kong military analyst,
said all-out open conflict is not likely in the area.
He said China will not enter into a war
in which the US is certainly involved.

Last July, US Secretary of Sate Hilary Clinton
said in Vietnam at the ASEAN forum that the US
“has a national interest” in the South China Sea.

Security tight in riot-torn south China city

2011-06-14T03:25:00.000-07:00

Riot police pour into Xintang, a day after attempting to quell violence over alleged abuse of street vendor.

China's ruling Communist party has long worried about the challenge of absorbing tides of rural migrants [Reuters]

Security forces are continuing to patrol the streets and man roadblocks in Xintang, a southern Chinese city where rioting factory workers attacked police stations and torched vehicles over the weekend.
Xintang residents contacted by phone on Tuesday said the security forces were a constant presence on city streets and shops and restaurants had been ordered to close early.

No major incidents have been reported since Sunday in the city, which is in the southern manufacturing hub of Guangdong province.
The violence in Xintang broke out on Friday evening after a pregnant woman was allegedly pushed to the ground in a sweep against street vendors, most of whom are migrants from the southwestern province of Sichuan.

Such disputes are common and bystanders often side with the vendors and accuse police of heavy-handed tactics.
Fears of unrest
Residents of Xintang said they had been told not to go out at night or transmit photos of the unrest online.

That demand reflects authorities' fears of unrest spreading via the internet amid scattered calls for migrants to converge on Xintang for a new round of protests to demand the release of 25 people reportedly arrested over the violence.

"Nobody wants to come out. They fear running into danger," said a worker at the Xintang Ruilong clothing factory, located near the scene of Sunday's rioting, outside the local government headquarters.

The man would only give his surname, Wang, for fear of reprisals.

Along with the security crackdown, authorities have sought to pressure businesses to prevent their workers joining any protests.

Managers from 1,200 businesses in the area were called to a meeting on Monday and ordered to "pay good attention to your people and keep a close eye on your front gate".

"Get your own houses in order and act on your own to maintain social stability," managers were told, according to an account posted on the Xintang government's website.

Staff answering calls to local police and government offices said they were not permitted to comment further and refused to give their names.

Frequest protests
While violent protests in China have become more frequent over the past decade, recent weeks have seemed particularly turbulent.

Last month, the vast region of Inner Mongolia saw its biggest street demonstrations in two decades.
In another southern city, a man angry over land seizures, set off three homemade bombs at government buildings, killing three people and wounding at least nine others.

Thousands of protesters attacked government offices in the central city of Lichuan last week following the alleged beating death of a local city council member while in police custody.

Though the triggers for the events are different, most are driven by common resentments over social inequality, abuse of power and suppression of legitimate grievances.

In recent months, hundreds of government critics have been questioned, arrested or simply disappeared.

China's Communist Party leadership has reacted nervously to the turmoil.
'Threat to stability'
A report published by a top state think-tank has warned that China's millions of rural workers will become a serious threat to stability unless they are better treated in their new urban homes.

The report from the State Council Development Research Centre, published on Tuesday, found that while the overwhelming majority of migrant workers and business owners from villages see their future in cities and towns, they are often treated as unwelcome "interlopers" and have few rights.

The huge shift from the countryside to cities will continue for decades, and unless the migrants have better welfare, housing and legal status in towns and cities, their discontent could turn into a serious threat to stability, the study, published in Reform magazine, said.

China's ruling Communist Party has long worried about the challenge of absorbing tides of rural migrants.

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have said their priority is improving the lives of 750 million rural residents, including 153 million migrants.

In February, Hu singled out migrant workers as one of the threats to the stability that the Communist Party prizes as a key to one-party control and economic growth.

The new study found that migrants have made gains, but it also illustrates the magnitude of the government's task.

Migrant workers have won higher wages and better treatment, the survey of 6,232 migrant workers found.
The report did not spell out exactly when the survey was conducted, but results refer to conditions in 2010.

It also showed that the percentage of migrant workers who said their wages were in arrears fell to 4.3 per cent, a fall of 16 percentage points on the results of a 2006 survey.

Hackers break into US Senate website

2011-06-14T03:21:00.001-07:00

Officals to review all of the Senate's websites following a cyber break-in by hacker group Lulz Security.

The cyber attack on the Senate's website is the latest security breach to hit a major US-based institution

The US Senate's website was hacked over the weekend, leading to a review of all of its websites, in the latest embarrassing breach of security to hit a major US-based institution.
Lulz Security, a loosely organised hacker group, broke into a public portion of the Senate website but did not reach behind a firewall into a more sensitive portion of the network, Martina Bradford, the deputy Senate sergeant at arms, said on Monday.
Despite the breach, the sergeant at arms office, which provides security for the Senate, said that the breach had not compromised any individual senator's information.
Lulz Security announced the hack on Monday.
"We were responding to their allegations. Basically what we're saying that the server they got into is for public access and is in the public side," Bradford said.
Lulz Security, which has previously claimed to have hacked into Sony's website and the US Public Broadcasting System (PBS), posted online a list of files that appear not to be sensitive but indicate the hackers had been into the Senate's computer network.
"We don't like the US government very much," Lulz Security said at the top of their release.

"This is a small, just-for-kicks release of some internal data from Senate.gov - is this an act of war, gentlemen? Problem?"
The comment refers to reports that the US military had decided that it could respond to cyber attacks from foreign countries with traditional military force.
Senate staffers were alerted about the breach late on Monday.
"Although this intrusion is inconvenient, it does not compromise the security of the Senate's network, its members or staff," Bradford said in a statement.
"Specifically, there is no individual user account information on the server supporting senate.gov that could have been compromised."
Stewart Baker, a former cyber official at the Department of Homeland Security, said: "The hackers may have done the equivalent of burglarising the Senate and bragging because they managed to steal a bunch of souvenirs from the gift shop."
'Especially embarrassing'
The Senate has been the frequent target of hacking attacks, with tens of thousands thwarted each month, Senate sergeant at arms Terrance Gainer told the Reuters news agency in early June.
The break-in is just the latest in a series of embarrassing hacks against companies and organisations.
The International Monetary Fund has been hit, as have Lockheed Martin Corp, Citigroup Inc, Google and Michaels Stores.
The break-in would cause embarrassment at the Senate, John Bumgarner of the US Cyber Consequences Unit think tank, said.
"They're all valid directories," he said after looking at data that Lulz posted online.

"This is an especially embarrassing incident for the US Senate, because they are often asking others to explain why their cybersecurity programmes have failed.
"The information disclosed online ... shows that the intruders had administrator-level access to the Senate server.
This access could have potentially been used as a jump-off point to compromise other systems in the network," he said.
'Laugh out loud'
Lulz, which is internet slang for 'laugh out loud,' has claimed hacks into websites owned by Sony Corp.
It has also claimed responsibility for defacing the PBS network websites, and for posting on Monday data from PBS servers to protest a "Front Line" documentary about WikiLeaks.
Lulz claimed credit for breaking into a Fox.com website and publishing data about contestants for the upcoming Fox TV talent show, "X Factor".
Another loosely affiliated hacking group, Anonymous, gained prominence when it temporarily crippled the websites of MasterCard, Visa and PayPal after they cut off financial services to WikiLeaks.
It has also attacked websites in Syria, Tunisia, Egypt and India for political reasons.

US House votes to block funding for Libya

2011-06-14T03:05:00.000-07:00

Bill to prohibit funds for US military operations in Libya unlikely to become law, but seen as snub to president.

Fighting has been going on between Gaddafi troops and opposition forces on several fronts in Libya [Reuters]

The US House of Representatives has voted to prohibit the use of funds for US military operations in Libya.
Politicians adopted the amendment to a military appropriations bill by a vote of 248 to 163 late on Monday.
A number of members of Congress have expressed their dissatisfaction at Barack Obama's, the US president, decision to go ahead with operations in Libya in March and to continue without congressional authorisation.
According to US law, the president must seek congressional authorisation to send US troops into combat and must withdraw the forces within 60 days if Congress has not authorised the military action.

The amendment, introduced by Democratic representative Brad Sherman from California, invokes the War Powers Resolution, a 1973 law that limits presidential powers on sending troops abroad into combat zones without the consent of Congress.

Sherman's text states that "none of the funds made available by this act may be used in contravention of the War Powers Act."

Politicians must still approve the appropriations bill as a whole and the measure must still be approved by the Senate.
Al Jazeera Patty Culhane, reporting from New Hampshire, said: "This is going to be a bit of a shock for Obama administration as the vote was so overwhelmingly against allowing him to use the fund in Libya.
White House under pressure
The White House has been under rising pressure from congressional critics demanding details about US goals in Libya.
"President Obama might face an uphill battle because even his own party has been very concerned about his action in Libya," said Culhane.
"Lot of people, both in his party and Republican side, think that he has over-stepped his bound.
"[The] House of Representative's message to Obama: You can't use any money until you get our permission to continue in Libya."
"It doesn't mean US planes are necessarily going to stop flying, but it does mean that the president has to get back to Washington and try to convince the Senate not to go along with House of Representative," she said.
Gaddafi shelling
On Tuesday, Libyan troops fired several grad rockets from positions controlled by Gaddafi over the border into Tunisia, witnesses said, causing no damage.
"At least five rockets fell on Tunisian soil today in the Mrabeh. It was a heavy bombardment from Gaddafi's side of the mountains," Mohammed Nagez, a local trader, said.
Meanwhile, fighting has been going on between forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, and opposition forces on several fronts in Libya.

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The shelling an oil refinery in the western rebel-held city of Misurata appears to have hit the refinery's power generators but not its oil storage facilities.
Rebel fighters said they were making gains towards Zlitan from Misurata. Zlitan is one of three towns separating Misurata from the capital Tripoli.
Battles were also being fought in the Berber mountains southwest of Tripoli, in nearby Yafran, and at Dafnia near Misurata, rebel sources said.
Government forces posted a few miles east of Zintan, which remains under rebel control, fired Grad and Katyusha rockets at the town.
Rebel casualties
On Monday, Gaddafi troops killed at least 25 anti-government fighters on the frontline between Ajdabiya and Brega in eastern Libya, according to rebel sources.
The rebels have spent months trying to seize the strategic oil hub of Brega, which would open the road to Sirte, the Libyan leader's home town, and from there to the capital.
Dozens more fighters were wounded and transferred to a hospital in Ajdabiya, 160km south of Benghazi, the de facto capital of the rebels who have been fighting to overthrow Gaddafi since mid-February.
Brega boasts an important oil refinery which, once operational, could supply the east of the country with much-needed fuel to produce electricity.

Suicide blast kills five in Iraq's Basra city

2011-06-13T01:28:00.001-07:00

Suicide bomber detonates vehicle outside a police compound in southern oil port, killing five and wounding at least 25.

A suicide attack has left five people dead and at least 25 wounded in the Iraqi southern oil port city of Basra, police sources have said.
Monday's blast occurred when a suicide bomber in a car blew himself up outside a police brigade unit in the city.
"It was a suicide car bomb ... The bomber tried to drive into the compound but guards shot at him after he failed to stop and he detonated his vehicle," Ali Ghanem al-Maliki, the head of the Basra provincial council security committee, told the Reuters news agency.
At least four bodies were brought to a local hospital, health officials said. All of the casualties were police personnel.
A local police official told the AP news agency that the bomber crashed through the gate and made it a few metres into the compound before blowing up the car.
He spoke anonymously as he was not authorised to talk to the media.
The attack occurred during the morning rush hour.
The large explosion also damaged the police building and destroyed or damaged several vehicles at the main gate of the compound belonging to a police rapid reaction unit.
Basra, 550km southeast of the capital Baghdad, is becoming the hub for Iraq's burgeoning oil industry, and suicide bombings like Monday's are rare.
The province is crucial to Iraq's economy as 80 per cent of the country's oil exports, which comprise the vast majority of government income, pass through it before being shipped overseas.

Turkish PM 'to govern for all' after poll win

2011-06-13T01:27:00.000-07:00

Erdogan's AK party wins election but fails to get enough seats to unilaterally rewrite country's constitution.

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has won a third term in parliament, winning nearly 50 per cent of the vote in the country's general election.
But the AKP, led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country's prime minister, fell short of its target of 330 seats on Sunday, which would have allowed it to press ahead with its plans to unilaterally rewrite the country's constitution.
In a victory speech before thousands of flag-waving supporters in the capital Ankara, Erdogan pledged "humility" and said he would work with rivals.

"People gave us a message to build the new constitution through consensus and negotiation," he said.

"We will discuss the new constitution with opposition parties. This new constitution will meet peace and justice demands."
Erdogan said a new constitution, replacing one introduced under martial law in 1982, was needed to make Turkey more democratic and to enhance individual freedoms.
Celebrating crowds waving Turkish and AKP flags gathered outside the party's headquarters in Ankara, where Erdogan addressed supporters.
Crowds also gathered in Istanbul's main Taksim Square to watch the speech on big screens, Al Jazeera's Ayse Alibeyoglu reported from the scene.
Turkey's booming economy during the AKP's decade-long stewardship, as well as the country's heightened international profile, had been seen as Erdogan's main strengths going into Sunday's vote.

Consolidating power
Opponents say the AKP wants to write the constitution to consolidate its grip on power, and said Erdogan wants to introduce a system with more executive powers for the president - a role they accuse him of coveting.
Erdogan's socially conservative party won 49.9 per cent of the vote, with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) getting 25.9 per cent, and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) 13 per cent.

Independent candidates, representing the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in the Kurdish-majority southeast, polled 5.9 per cent of votes.

Under Turkey's electoral system, a party must gain at least 10 per cent of the national vote to win seats in the National Assembly.
Final results indicate that the AKP will have 326 seats in the new parliament, the CHP 135, the MHP 53, and independents 36.
'End of long marathon'

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the CHP, who voted in Ankara, said: "We have come to the end of a long marathon ... There is a good mood. There is a democracy feast".

The CHP, a secularist centre-left party, had built its election campaign on pledges of democratic reform, arguing that the AKP was turning Turkey into a "police state".

Sex tapes forced 10 leading members of the MHP to quit the election race, prompting speculation over whether the party could slip under the 10 per cent threshold.

Voters cast their ballots in transparent plastic boxes, rather than traditional wooden boxes, for the first time - a measure introduced to prevent allegations of fraud.

Istanbul will be represented by 85 deputies in the new parliament, while Ankara gets 31 seats. Many of Turkey's less populated provinces will be represented by a single deputy.

Seats are awarded on the basis of proportional representation, with each party gaining a number of seats in each district based on its share of the local vote.

Vietnam begins navy drills in South China Sea

2011-06-13T01:22:00.000-07:00

Vietnam holds live-fire drills in disputed waters amid escalating tensions with China.

Hundreds gathered in Vietnam's capital for a rare public protest demanding that China stay out of their waters [AFP]

Vietnam has started live-fire naval drills in the South China Sea, a move that analysts see as raising the risk of a "showdown" with Beijing over a deepening territorial rift.
"The first live firing by the Vietnamese Navy began at 0100 GMT [on Monday] and will last until 0500GMT," said a naval officer based in the central city of Danang, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The exercise is taking place around Hon Ong island, about 40km off Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, the officer said.

A long-standing dispute between the communist neighbours over sovereignty of two potentially oil-rich archipelagos has erupted again following recent sea confrontations that have left relations at their lowest point in years.

About 300 people in Hanoi, the capital, and Ho Chi Minh City held anti-China rallies on Sunday to proclaim Vietnam's maritime sovereignty.

Demonstrations are rarely allowed in Vietnam, but this was the second weekend in a row that protesters have criticised Beijing.
'Routine annual training'

A second phase of live firing lasting about six hours is due to start at 1100 GMT, part of what the foreign ministry has described as "routine annual training".

"I can't reveal the number of Vietnamese ships mobilised for these exercises but there will be gun fire, not missiles," said the officer.

The exercise has raised temperatures in the South China Sea, said David Koh, a Vietnam analyst from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

"But I do not think there is much of a choice right now," Koh said, adding that ultimately he foresees "a showdown on the seas".

The drills are inside the area claimed as Vietnam's 200 nautical mile economic zone.
Hanoi last month accused Chinese surveillance vessels of cutting the exploration cables of an oil survey ship inside the area.

On Thursday, Vietnam alleged a similar incident in the zone, saying a Chinese fishing boat rammed the cables of another oil survey ship in a "premeditated" attack.

Beijing countered by warning Vietnam to halt all activities that it says violate China's sovereignty in the disputed area.

The US said it was "troubled" by tensions triggered by the maritime border dispute, calling for a "peaceful resolution".

The live-fire exercise zone is about 250km from the Paracels and almost 1,000km from the Spratlys, the two archipelagos which are claimed by both nations and which straddle strategic shipping lanes.

'Commitment to peace'

Vietnam has made clear its desire for peaceful resolution and adherence to international laws.

Beijing, too, says it is committed to peace in the South China Sea, but its more assertive maritime posture has caused concern among regional nations and beyond.

Tensions have also risen this year between China and the Philippines, another claimant to the Spratlys, where Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also say they have a stake.

"No one wants a war but the possibility of some shots being fired in anger or of some ships running into other ships has increased," said Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum CSIS, the Asia-Pacific arm of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Despite that possibility, Cossa said all sides will ensure that any escalation will "not get out of control".

Vietnamese bitterly recall 1,000 years of Chinese occupation and, more recently, a 1979 border war.
More than 70 Vietnamese sailors were killed in 1988 when the two sides battled off the Spratlys.

In the same area, in July 2007, China's navy reportedly fired at a Vietnamese fishing boat, killing one sailor.

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