GAZA CITY: Israeli warplanes struck the Gaza Strip early on Friday near the southern city of Khan Yunis, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.
The air strike targeted a tunnel under Israel's security barrier that was to be used to infiltrate Palestinian militants, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.
Palestinian security officials confirmed the air strike, adding that no one was injured.
Five mortar rounds were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel on Thursday without causing damage or casualties, according to the Israeli military.
Two exploded inside Israeli territory, a third landed near the Karni crossing point into the Palestinian enclave and the other two hit near the border fence on the Palestinian side, a military spokesman said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned on several occasions that the Israeli army would respond to each rocket or shell fired into Israel.
According to the army more than 200 rockets and shells have been fired from Gaza since Israel's 22-day offensive against the Hamas rulers of the territory in December and January.
Operation "Cast Lead", which led to more than 1,400 Palestinian deaths including hundreds of civilians and which devastated swathes of the coastal strip, was officially aimed at ending the firing of rockets from Gaza. Link...
Showing posts with label World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World. Show all posts
Thursday, September 3, 2009
British soldier killed in Afghanistan
(CNN) -- A British soldier died after being struck by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, military officials said Thursday.
British soldiers on a patrol in Baba Ji district of Helmand province on July 26, 2009.
The explosion occurred Wednesday night when the soldier was in a vehicle in the Babaji district in central Helmand province, according to a British Defense Ministry statement.
The soldier's family has been informed, but officials did not release further information.
U.S., British and other international forces under the NATO umbrella bolstered their presence in Afghanistan this year to improve security for last month's presidential and provincial elections.
Fighting has been fierce in southern parts of Afghanistan, and there have been many casualties for U.S. and British soldiers this summer as offensives have been launched in the troubled Helmand province.
Last month, with 52 deaths, was the deadliest for U.S. troops since the war started following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The higher toll follows a significant U.S. troop increase for Afghanistan-- 8,000 Marines and 4,000 additional Army troops -- ordered by President Barack Obama in February.
The United States now has about 62,000 troops in the country, and NATO allies have an additional 35,000. The Pentagon plans to add 6,000 troops before year's end. Link...
Harmony breaks out over YouTube music videos
Music videos will return to YouTube in the UK, the second-largest market for the U.S. Web site, after almost six months' absence after its parent Google signed a new licensing deal with PRS for Music, the songwriters' and publishers' association.
Video-sharing Web site YouTube has agreed to a lump-sum payment of royalties.
The rapprochement comes at a time when the UK government is clamping down on online piracy.
YouTube is looking to improve relations with rights holders, as it faces increasing competition from sites such as BBC iPlayer, Hulu and Microsoft's MSN Video Player, and attract more labels to Vevo, its new online music video service in the US.
Google blocked music videos from YouTube in the UK in March and later in Germany after claiming publishers' royalty demands for a new licence were "simply prohibitive" and would lead to the loss of "significant amounts of money".
PRS has agreed to accept a lump-sum payment of royalties to cover music in any form on YouTube -- from polished music promos and TV shows to X Factor clips and user-generated content -- until June 30 2012. YouTube and PRS would not disclose the size of the payment.
By taking a lump sum, which it then divides between its members, PRS is treating YouTube more like a broadcaster such as BBC than an online music service such as Spotify or Last.fm.
Google said it was a "win-win" situation for YouTube users and the music industry. Music industry observers suggested that the deal represented a victory for Google, even though it was likely paying more to PRS than under the previous deal, negotiated in 2007.
"For PRS to even agree to anything that is not tied to actual usage is quite a step for them to take," said Paul Brindley, chief executive of Music Ally, a consultancy.
Mark Mulligan, music analyst at Forrester Research, said it was in both parties' interests to reach a deal. "A lot of the momentum in online video has shifted away from YouTube," he said.
"Music is fundamentally important to YouTube, more so than at any point in the past."
Patrick Walker, YouTube's director of video partnerships, said "it may take some more time" to reach a resolution in Germany, where it faces a similar impasse over royalties. Link...
Muslim teen fears for life after changing religion
(CNN) -- A Muslim teenager from Ohio says her father threatened to kill her because she converted to Christianity.
Rifqa Bary claims her father wants her dead after she converted to Christianity.
Rifqa Bary, 17, ran away from her family in Columbus, Ohio, in July and took refuge in the central Florida home of the Rev. Blake Lorenz with the Global Revolution Church in Orlando.
The teen heard of the pastor and his church through a prayer group on Facebook. The girl's parents reported her missing to Columbus police, who found her two weeks later in Florida through cell phone records.
The teenager, in a sworn affidavit, claims her father, Mohamed Bary, 47, was pressured by the mosque the family attends in Ohio to "deal with the situation." In the court filing, Rifqa Bary stated her father said, "If you have this Jesus in your heart, you are dead to me!" The teenager claims her father added, "I will kill you!"
Mohamed Bary told CNN a lot of false information has been given and "we wouldn't do her harm." He knew his daughter was involved with Christian organizations.
"I have no problem with her practicing any faith," he said, but Bary admitted he would have preferred his daughter to practice the Muslim faith first.
Although Mohamed Bary said he did not expect his daughter to run away, Rifqa Bary was placed in foster care by an Orlando judge in August while the Florida Department of Children and Family investigated the threat allegations against the parents.
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In a court filing Monday, John Stemberger, Rifqa Bary's attorney and president of the Christian advocacy organization Florida Family Policy Council, accused the parents' Ohio mosque of having ties to terrorism and radical Islam. The Noor Islamic Cultural Center has denied the allegations.
Stemberger told CNN he agreed with his client that she would be killed by radical Muslims if she is returned to Ohio.
"She is a person who is ripe for apostate killing or mercy killing. I'm not going to let my client slip away in the night by going back," said Stemberger.
Roger Weeden, the mother's attorney in Florida, said the filing had no credible evidence but instead was meant "just to inflame the community and the court." Weeden said he believes the teen's attorney is trying to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.
The teen's attorney said his client has endured a history of abuse from her family. Stemberger said the young girl was forced to wear the Muslim headscarf called a hijab and was punched in the face by her father for being ashamed while wearing it.
Stemberger is asking the court to keep Rifqa Bary in the custody of the state of Florida until she turns 18 in a year.
Mohamed Bary, who is not a United States citizen, said he can't believe all the false allegations and the bad image caused by the situation.
"We are not bad people," Bary said. "We are not like that, we are normal."
The mother's attorney said the teenager was a normal girl, a cheerleader in Ohio, and what Muslim extremist would allow his daughter be a cheerleader?
At a court hearing scheduled for Thursday in Orlando, the parents will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations against them. Their attorney said the parents will deny all allegations.
After the court hearing, the judge may force all the parties involved into mediation, followed by an adjudication hearing. Link...
Barely a tropical storm, Erika expected to weaken
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Erika, poorly organized and barely clinging to tropical-storm status, spread wind and rain across the northeastern Caribbean early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Late Wednesday, Erika was becoming more unorganized and barely clinging to tropical-storm status.
Erika's winds were near 40 mph (65 kph), with higher gusts, forecasters said. If its winds drop below 39 mph, Erika will become a tropical depression.
"Gradual weakening is likely over the next day or so," according to the hurricane center.
A tropical storm warning remained in effect for the islands of Dominica, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius. A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions, including winds of at least 39 mph, are possible within 24 hours.
A tropical storm watch, meaning tropical storm conditions are possible within 36 hours, was in effect for Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. The Dominican Republic and Haiti, meanwhile, were advised to monitor the storm's progress.
As of 5 a.m. ET, Erika's center was about 85 miles (140 kilometers) west of Guadeloupe and about 260 miles (420 kilometers) east-southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the hurricane center said. It was moving west-northwest at near 7 mph (11 kph).
"On the forecast track, the weather associated with Erika will continue to move through the Leeward Islandsthis morning and approach the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico later today," the hurricane center said.
The storm, which formed Tuesday evening, briefly strengthened overnight Wednesday before losing much of its steam.
Rainfall is expected to total 2 to 4 inches in the Lesser Antilles over the next few days, with isolated amounts up to 6 inches. Between 3 and 5 inches of rain are forecast for Puerto Rico, with isolated amounts up to 8 inches.
Tropical storm-force winds extended outward about 230 miles (370 kilometers) to the east of Erika's center, the hurricane center said.
Tracking maps show Erika brushing the northern part of Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, before nearing the Bahamas on Sunday. Link...
Arms dealer allegedly conspires to sell military parts to Iran
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A man dubbed "the Field Marshal" by one advocacy group for alleged third-world arms dealing has been arrested on charges that he conspired to illegally export U.S. F-5 fighter jet engines and parts to Iran.
An Iranian F-5 fighter jet lands in southern Iran during a military exercise on June 23, 2009.
Jacques Monsieur, 56, a Belgium native who currently lives in France, was arrested Friday in New York, officials said. An indictment also charges Dara Fotouhi, 54, an Iranian living in France, with participating in the alleged crime. Fotouhi remains at large, official said.
Monsieur pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Wednesday in Mobile, Alabama, where he is being held.
He and Fotouhi are charged with conspiracy, money laundering and smuggling, as well as violations of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
According to the indictment and an affidavit filed in the case, both are experienced arms dealers who have been actively working with the Iranian government to procure military items.
The F-5 Freedom Fighter, also called the Tiger, is built by Northrop and is used by the U.S. military for training. It is also sold overseas as a combat aircraft. Link...
Galaxy's 'cannibalism' revealed
The Andromeda galaxy is still expanding
The vast Andromeda galaxy appears to have expanded by digesting stars from other galaxies, research has shown.
When an international team of scientists mapped Andromeda, they discovered stars that they said were "remnants of dwarf galaxies".
The astronomers report their findings in the journal Nature.
This consumption of stars has been suggested previously, but the team's ultra-deep survey has provided detailed images to show that it took place.
This shows the "hierarchical model" of galaxy formation in action.
The model predicts that large galaxies should be surrounded by relics of smaller galaxies they have consumed.
The scientists charted the outskirts of Andromeda in detail for the first time.
They discovered stars that could not have formed within the galaxy itself.
Pauline Barmby, an astronomer from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, who was involved in the study, told BBC News the pattern of the stars' orbits revealed their origin.
"Andromeda is so close that we can map out all the stars," she said.
"And when you see a sort of lump of stars that far out, and with the same orbit, you know they can't have been there forever."
Andromeda, which is approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth, is still expanding, say the scientists.
The researchers also saw a "stream of stars" of a nearby galaxy called Triangulum "stretching" towards Andromeda.
Dr Scott Chapman, reader in astrophysics at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, UK, was also involved in the research.
He said: "Ultimately, these two galaxies may end up merging completely.
"Ironically, galaxy formation and galaxy destruction seem to go hand in hand."
Nickolay Gnedin, an astrophysicist from the University of Chicago, US, who was not involved in this study, described the work as showing "galactic archaeology in action". Link...
Iran backs first woman minister
Iranian MPs have approved the first woman minister in the 30-year history of the Islamic republic. She was one of 18 nominations for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's new cabinet to be approved. Two other women were among three rejected nominees. The president's choice for defence minister, Ahmad Vahidi, who is wanted by Argentina over a deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre, won strong backing. The vote follows months of wrangling after disputed elections in June. Correspondents say Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, the female health minister-designate, is a hard-line conservative who has in the past proposed introducing segregated health care in Iran, with women treating women and men treating men. The two women rejected were Fatemeh Ajorlou, as welfare and social security minister, and Susan Keshavarz, as education minister. The third nominee to be turned down was the president's choice for energy minister, Mohammad Aliabadi. Mr Ahmadinejad has three months to propose new candidates to replace those rejected. The parliamentary confidence vote followed five days of intense debate. Before the vote, Mr Ahmadinejad urged MPs to approve his choices, saying the ballot reflected "real democracy". His government would work closely with parliament, he said. The president's proposed oil minister, Massoud Mirkazemi, was approved, despite questions over his experience. Link... |
US embassy contractors in Kabul accused of abuse
Thursday, September 03, 2009
KABUL: Guards hired by the US state department to protect diplomats and staff at the country’s embassy in Afghanistan live and work in a “Lord of the Flies” environment in which they are subjected to hazing and other inappropriate behaviour by supervisors, a government oversight group said yesterday.
In a 10-page letter to the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, the independent Project on Government Oversight said the situation had led to a breakdown in morale and leadership that compromises security at the embassy in Kabul, where nearly 1,000 US diplomats, staff and Afghan nationals work.
Senator Claire McCaskill called on the state department to open an investigation into the performance and management of the contract with Armor Group North America. McCaskill, who chairs a Senate subcommittee on contracting oversight, said the new evidence called into question the company’s ability to provide adequate security at a key facility.
She also demanded access to documents related to the contract, including any department reviews of alleged misconduct by Armor Group employees. Link...
KABUL: Guards hired by the US state department to protect diplomats and staff at the country’s embassy in Afghanistan live and work in a “Lord of the Flies” environment in which they are subjected to hazing and other inappropriate behaviour by supervisors, a government oversight group said yesterday.
In a 10-page letter to the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, the independent Project on Government Oversight said the situation had led to a breakdown in morale and leadership that compromises security at the embassy in Kabul, where nearly 1,000 US diplomats, staff and Afghan nationals work.
Senator Claire McCaskill called on the state department to open an investigation into the performance and management of the contract with Armor Group North America. McCaskill, who chairs a Senate subcommittee on contracting oversight, said the new evidence called into question the company’s ability to provide adequate security at a key facility.
She also demanded access to documents related to the contract, including any department reviews of alleged misconduct by Armor Group employees. Link...
Britain denies ‘double-dealing’ over Lockerbie bomber
LONDON: Britain denied on Wednesday any “double-dealing” with oil-rich Libya over the release of the Lockerbie bomber but admitted it had not wanted the former Libyan agent to die in a Scottish prison. Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was entirely a matter for the Scottish government, which freed him on compassionate grounds last month because he is dying of cancer.
“There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to influence Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to Colonel Qadhafi,” he said.
Brown met Libyan leader Moamer Qadhafi in July, weeks before the Scottish decision to free Megrahi, the only man convicted of the 1988 bombing of a plane over Scotland which killed 270 people.
On Wednesday the British premier — who underlined the strategic aim of bringing Libya back into the international fold — stopped short of confirming that he had favoured releasing Megrahi from prison before his death.
But Foreign Secretary David Miliband acknowledged that London did not want the Libyan to die in Greenock prison, west of Glasgow, from where he was released on August 20.
“We did not want him to die in prison... we weren’t seeking his death in prison,” Miliband told BBC radio, in the first public admission of London’s stance by a senior minister.
And he insisted: “There was no pressure from the British government on the Scots.” The fresh comments came nearly two weeks after Megrahi was released and was allowed to return to Libya because he is dying of prostate cancer and could have less than three months to live.
Megrahi, jailed for at least 27 years in 2001 over the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 above the Scottish town of Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, served eight years of a life sentence before being released on August 20.
The Libyan’s release — and the hero’s welcome he received on his return to Tripoli — drew a furious US reaction, both from President Barack Obama’s administration and families of the 189 US victims of the atrocity.
The minority Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) has also been heavily criticised at home — including by opposition deputies who criticised him in a debate in the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
But Salmond — who faced possible defeat in a series of votes expected from 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) — said he was proud of the support for his move within Scotland, including from the Church of Scotland and Catholic leaders.
“And I am even prouder to have the support of (former South African president) Nelson Mandela, which indicates the respect for a Scottish judicial decision across this planet.”
The British premier insisted Megrahi’s fate was not linked to strategic efforts to bring Libya back into the international fold, following its pariah status for much of the 1980s and 90s. Link...
“There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to influence Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to Colonel Qadhafi,” he said.
Brown met Libyan leader Moamer Qadhafi in July, weeks before the Scottish decision to free Megrahi, the only man convicted of the 1988 bombing of a plane over Scotland which killed 270 people.
On Wednesday the British premier — who underlined the strategic aim of bringing Libya back into the international fold — stopped short of confirming that he had favoured releasing Megrahi from prison before his death.
But Foreign Secretary David Miliband acknowledged that London did not want the Libyan to die in Greenock prison, west of Glasgow, from where he was released on August 20.
“We did not want him to die in prison... we weren’t seeking his death in prison,” Miliband told BBC radio, in the first public admission of London’s stance by a senior minister.
And he insisted: “There was no pressure from the British government on the Scots.” The fresh comments came nearly two weeks after Megrahi was released and was allowed to return to Libya because he is dying of prostate cancer and could have less than three months to live.
Megrahi, jailed for at least 27 years in 2001 over the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 above the Scottish town of Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, served eight years of a life sentence before being released on August 20.
The Libyan’s release — and the hero’s welcome he received on his return to Tripoli — drew a furious US reaction, both from President Barack Obama’s administration and families of the 189 US victims of the atrocity.
The minority Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) has also been heavily criticised at home — including by opposition deputies who criticised him in a debate in the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
But Salmond — who faced possible defeat in a series of votes expected from 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) — said he was proud of the support for his move within Scotland, including from the Church of Scotland and Catholic leaders.
“And I am even prouder to have the support of (former South African president) Nelson Mandela, which indicates the respect for a Scottish judicial decision across this planet.”
The British premier insisted Megrahi’s fate was not linked to strategic efforts to bring Libya back into the international fold, following its pariah status for much of the 1980s and 90s. Link...
Relocation of US troops will test Japan’s new PM
TOKYO: Reservations within Japan’s incoming government about a plan to move thousands of US Marines off Okinawa will likely be the first test of its leader’s efforts to remake the country’s relationship with Washington while maintaining their strong alliance.
Yukio Hatoyama, riding a landslide victory by his Democratic Party of Japan in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, is expected to be formally voted in as prime minister as early as early as Sept. 16, ending more than a half-century of almost uninterrupted rule by the staunchly pro-Washington Liberal Democratic Party.
Though Hatoyama is facing a mountain of economic problems, including Japan’s worst unemployment rate since World War II, attention is also keenly focused on his ability to fulfill promises that he will remake Tokyo’s relationship with Washington. Hatoyama has said he wants Japan’s relationship with the US — a key trade partner and the Asian power’s strongest ally — to be more equal.
The transfer of Marines off the southern island of Okinawa could be the first test of that effort, analysts said Tuesday.
Under a deal negotiated with the US, Tokyo agreed to foot part of the bill to move 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to a new base in Guam by 2014, easing overcrowding on the Japanese island that hosts more than half of the 50,000 American troops stationed in the country. About 10,000 Marines will remain.
But the accord is murky on a number of points, and one of Hatoyama’s first dealings with Washington will be to iron it out.
Another key issue he’ll have to address is a long-delayed plan to relocate Okinawa’s Futenma Marine Corps Air Station to a new location.
Washington has already tried to head off any attempts by the new government to re-negotiate the terms of the agreements.
“The United States has no intention to re-negotiate the Futenma replacement facility plan or Guam relocation with the government of Japan,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Monday.
The challenge comes amid concerns over Hatoyama’s inexperience in foreign affairs and worries that his desire for more balanced relations with Washington and deeper ties with Asian neighbors could open a rift between the old allies.
Those have largely been fuelled by an op-ed published in The New York Times ahead of Sunday’s election, in which he suggested that Japan had suffered under US-led globalization.
He appeared to try and distance himself somewhat from the controversy, however, saying in comments broadcast Tuesday on Japanese television that what he wrote “was in no way an expression of anti-US views.”
But the Democrats have raised concerns with several components of the accords with the US
Some members, for instance, have questioned Japan’s contribution to the cost of moving the troops. It has pledged more than $6 billion. The party is also resisting US plans to build an air base to replace Futenma elsewhere on Okinawa — a component Washington says is integral to the deal.
In August, some 200 people gathered to oppose the use of Futenma at the campus of Okinawa International University, where a helicopter crashed five years ago, damaging a school building and triggering calls for shutting the base. They want the base off the island altogether, not simply relocated to a less congested area.
Hatoyama’s party, too, says the base should be moved someplace else in Japan — though no other sites have been suggested. Failure to find a suitable replacement could throw off the timing of the Marines’ move and damage the new government’s relationship with the US
“Japan-US alliance and security issues will be a crucial test for the Democrats,” said Tsuneo Watanabe, director of foreign and security policy at the Tokyo Foundation, a private think tank. “If the Okinawa issues don’t go smoothly, it could affect the Japan-US alliance.”
Security relations with the United States are good, but Okinawans have long bristled at the difficulties of hosting so many troops, such as crime by US personnel and congestion caused by the existence of the bases that take up a large swath of the island, and analysts said tensions over the Marines’ presence could flare up.
“Basically, the DPJ will try to buy as much time as possible, but they can’t avoid the issue,” said Masaaki Gabe, professor of international relations at the University of the Ryukyus on Okinawa. “The good news is that President Barack Obama may be willing to take a fresh look at the problems.”
Japanese officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the schedule has not been finalized, said US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is expected to visit Tokyo by November to discuss the military alliance.
Another thorn in the relationship could arise if Tokyo decides not to renew a refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean that provides support for US-led coalition troops in Afghanistan. The Democrats have said they want to end it when it next comes up for renewal in January.
“The Democrats’ security and diplomatic stance is pretty much a blank sheet, but they will have to come up with a convincing policy as soon as possible,” the Tokyo Foundation’s Watanabe said. “It’s a difficult task, like delivering a baby.” Link..
Yukio Hatoyama, riding a landslide victory by his Democratic Party of Japan in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, is expected to be formally voted in as prime minister as early as early as Sept. 16, ending more than a half-century of almost uninterrupted rule by the staunchly pro-Washington Liberal Democratic Party.
Though Hatoyama is facing a mountain of economic problems, including Japan’s worst unemployment rate since World War II, attention is also keenly focused on his ability to fulfill promises that he will remake Tokyo’s relationship with Washington. Hatoyama has said he wants Japan’s relationship with the US — a key trade partner and the Asian power’s strongest ally — to be more equal.
The transfer of Marines off the southern island of Okinawa could be the first test of that effort, analysts said Tuesday.
Under a deal negotiated with the US, Tokyo agreed to foot part of the bill to move 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to a new base in Guam by 2014, easing overcrowding on the Japanese island that hosts more than half of the 50,000 American troops stationed in the country. About 10,000 Marines will remain.
But the accord is murky on a number of points, and one of Hatoyama’s first dealings with Washington will be to iron it out.
Another key issue he’ll have to address is a long-delayed plan to relocate Okinawa’s Futenma Marine Corps Air Station to a new location.
Washington has already tried to head off any attempts by the new government to re-negotiate the terms of the agreements.
“The United States has no intention to re-negotiate the Futenma replacement facility plan or Guam relocation with the government of Japan,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Monday.
The challenge comes amid concerns over Hatoyama’s inexperience in foreign affairs and worries that his desire for more balanced relations with Washington and deeper ties with Asian neighbors could open a rift between the old allies.
Those have largely been fuelled by an op-ed published in The New York Times ahead of Sunday’s election, in which he suggested that Japan had suffered under US-led globalization.
He appeared to try and distance himself somewhat from the controversy, however, saying in comments broadcast Tuesday on Japanese television that what he wrote “was in no way an expression of anti-US views.”
But the Democrats have raised concerns with several components of the accords with the US
Some members, for instance, have questioned Japan’s contribution to the cost of moving the troops. It has pledged more than $6 billion. The party is also resisting US plans to build an air base to replace Futenma elsewhere on Okinawa — a component Washington says is integral to the deal.
In August, some 200 people gathered to oppose the use of Futenma at the campus of Okinawa International University, where a helicopter crashed five years ago, damaging a school building and triggering calls for shutting the base. They want the base off the island altogether, not simply relocated to a less congested area.
Hatoyama’s party, too, says the base should be moved someplace else in Japan — though no other sites have been suggested. Failure to find a suitable replacement could throw off the timing of the Marines’ move and damage the new government’s relationship with the US
“Japan-US alliance and security issues will be a crucial test for the Democrats,” said Tsuneo Watanabe, director of foreign and security policy at the Tokyo Foundation, a private think tank. “If the Okinawa issues don’t go smoothly, it could affect the Japan-US alliance.”
Security relations with the United States are good, but Okinawans have long bristled at the difficulties of hosting so many troops, such as crime by US personnel and congestion caused by the existence of the bases that take up a large swath of the island, and analysts said tensions over the Marines’ presence could flare up.
“Basically, the DPJ will try to buy as much time as possible, but they can’t avoid the issue,” said Masaaki Gabe, professor of international relations at the University of the Ryukyus on Okinawa. “The good news is that President Barack Obama may be willing to take a fresh look at the problems.”
Japanese officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the schedule has not been finalized, said US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is expected to visit Tokyo by November to discuss the military alliance.
Another thorn in the relationship could arise if Tokyo decides not to renew a refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean that provides support for US-led coalition troops in Afghanistan. The Democrats have said they want to end it when it next comes up for renewal in January.
“The Democrats’ security and diplomatic stance is pretty much a blank sheet, but they will have to come up with a convincing policy as soon as possible,” the Tokyo Foundation’s Watanabe said. “It’s a difficult task, like delivering a baby.” Link..
China chemical explosion kills 18
BEIJING: A chemical explosion in eastern China has killed 18 people and injured 10 others, state media reported.The blast occurred as workers unloaded chemicals from a truck in Lanshan district in Linyi city, Shandong province. It was not known what chemicals were involved.
Seven people died immediately at the scene and 11 others succumbed to injuries at a hospital.
A fire ignited by the explosion was extinguished shortly afterwards.
An investigation into the blast was under way, the report said.
No other details were immediately available. Link...
Indonesia quake toll rises to 46
CIANJUR: The death toll from a powerful 7.0-magnitude Indonesian earthquake has risen to at least 46, an official said Thursday as rescue workers searched for survivors."At least 46 people have been killed so far. We are still searching for the survivors who might still be buried under their houses or buildings," disaster management agency staff Maman Susanto told foreign news agency.
"About 18,000 houses and buildings have been damaged," he said.The quake hit off the densely populated island of Java less than 200 kilometers (123 miles) south of Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon.
Thousands of people fled homes, shopping centres and office towers across West Java province and in the capital Jakarta, where high-rise buildings swayed violently for at least a minute. Link...
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
A Nuclear Deadline Looms for Iran — and for Obama
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) kisses the Koran, during the inauguration of the country's first nuclear fuel manufacturing plant (FMP), located near the central Iranian city of Isfahan, 09 April 2009.President Barack Obama took office promising to pursue a diplomatic solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, but so far, he's gotten little out of Tehran. So little, in fact, that the President has given Iran a September 15 deadline to respond positively to his offer of negotiations, or face a heightening of sanctions. As U.S. officials huddled with European, Russian and Chinese counterparts in Germany on Wednesday to review the issue, Iran signaled that it will, indeed, respond — by offering its own package of proposals to achieve a diplomatic resolution to the standoff. Western leaders at the meeting in Germany urged Iran to agree to a meeting with Russia, China, the key European nations and the U.S. before September 23. But nobody is expecting Iran's proposals to come close to meeting current Western demands, and that could leave Obama facing the unenviable choice either of being painted as feckless, or else moving down a road of escalation that puts a diplomatic solution further beyond reach. Link...
Devastating suicide strikes show Taliban expansion
KABUL — Two devastating suicide attacks in Afghanistan in the fortnight since elections show the Taliban is penetrating ever deeper in its war against the Kabul government and its international backers.
Insurgents are taking advantage of the government's inability to provide security to spread their tentacles from areas where they have long held sway.
An attack on Wednesday that killed the country's deputy spy chief, three other officials and 20 civilians, showed "a serious crisis threatening the government," said analyst Ahmad Sayedi, a former politician and diplomat.
"This shows the failure of the Afghan security institutions -- especially the intelligence services," he said.
"When the Taliban attack and assassinate the head of the provincial council, the deputy intelligence chief, it shows they are extending their grip over a wider area with higher targets," he said.
The Taliban claimed the attack in Mihtarlam, capital of eastern Laghman province, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying deputy head of the National Directorate of Security, Abdullah Laghmani, was the target.
The city is just 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Kabul and equidistant from the Pakistan border.
The attack came eight days after a massive truck bomb in southern Kandahar killed more than 40 people, injured another 60 and devastated the city centre in the deadliest militant attack for more than a year.
The Taliban have waged a vicious campaign around elections held on August 20, which appears to have successfully kept turnout low.
Poll results are being released gradually, with incumbent Hamid Karzai leading challenger Abdullah Abdullah in a race tainted by fraud that threatens to undermine its credibility.
"The government is paralysed by bribery, drugs and incompetence," said Sayedi.
"People are distanced from the government and this gap gets bigger and bigger every day. People do not support Taliban but at the same time they are dismayed by the unbelievable extent of official corruption."
Corruption watchdog Transparency International rates Afghanistan the world's fifth most corrupt nation.
A foreign aid worker said graft and lack of security made Afghans "nostalgic for the rough justice of the Taliban" regime pushed out in a 2001 US-led invasion.
"They didn't like it, but at least they knew the rules," she said on condition of anonymity.
The insurgents have long held sway in southern Helmand and Kandahar provinces, where troops under US and NATO command have escalated operations to establish government control.
Increased battle has led to record foreign troop deaths -- with 2009 already the deadliest year since the war began eight years ago.
The Taliban have been retreating from military engagement and escalating terrorist-type attacks, diplomats and military leaders have told AFP.
The rising death toll and vote fraud allegations have seen a dramatic fall in Western public support for a continued presence in Afghanistan.
But Western leaders promise a long-term presence, determined to train Afghans to take on military and civilian challenges and allow a troop drawdown.
In the meantime, said Haroun Mir, of the Centre for Research and Policy Studies, "the Taliban is filling the vacuum".
"There are not enough security forces to protect everyone so people get their protection from the Taliban in order not to be subject to Taliban retribution," he said.
European, US and NATO leaders at a meeting in Paris on Wednesday of international envoys to Afghanistan said Western troops will stay until security is achieved.
This is at the heart of a review by US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, who wants to use counter-insurgency tactics to boost Afghans' confidence in the face of the Taliban encroachment.
But Mir said that Taliban use of improvised explosive devices, or hidden roadside bombs, against foreign troops has been devastating, facilitating insurgent expansion.
From a post-election tour of Afghanistan's north, he reported Taliban checkpoints on previously clear roads in Kunduz and Takhar provinces.
Reports have detailed recent attacks in previously peaceful areas, including western Badghis and Faryab provinces.
On Wednesday, a child was killed when a bicycle bomb exploded near Red Cross vehicles in Jawzjan, capital of normally quiet northern Jawzjan province.
"They are moving from their bases in Helmand to other parts of the country, north and west," said analyst Sayedi of the insurgents. Link...
India minister helicopter 'found'
A helicopter carrying a powerful Indian politician which disappeared during a flight in southern India on Wednesday has been located, officials say. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy's helicopter was found on a small hill, some 70km (43 miles) east of Kurnool, they said. It is not yet clear whether the helicopter crashed or if anyone has died, an air force officer said. Mr Reddy is an influential politician from the Congress party. Air Commodre Sagar Bharati told reporters that two air force helicopters were trying to land on the hill, in a thickly forested area. The discovery follows a massive search and rescue operation launched by the state government. Remote forest Some 2,000 members of the security forces, supported by 11 helicopters and airplanes, took part. Rain has reduced many areas to mud, making the search difficult. The helicopter carrying Mr Reddy and four others was on what should have been a two-hour flight from Hyderabad's Begumpet airport.
It took off at 0845 IST (0315 GMT) on Wednesday bound for the village of Anupally in Chittoor district. The aircraft went missing over Kurnool district more than an hour before it was due to land. The remote Nallamalla forest area where it vanished is a stronghold of Maoist rebels in Andhra Pradesh state. But federal officials have ruled out the possibility that insurgents shot down the helicopter. Andhra Pradesh is one of several Indian states with a significant Maoist rebel presence. Link... |
