US Navy hopes stealth ship answers a rising China

By ERIC TALMADGE | Associated Press
Mon, Jun 4, 2012

SINGAPORE (AP) — A super-stealthy warship that could underpin the U.S. navy's China strategy will be able to sneak up on coastlines virtually undetected and pound targets with electromagnetic "railguns" right out of a sci-fi movie.

But at more than $3 billion a pop, critics say the new DDG-1000 destroyer sucks away funds that could be better used to bolster a thinly stretched conventional fleet. One outspoken admiral in China has scoffed that all it would take to sink the high-tech American ship is an armada of explosive-laden fishing boats.

With the first of the new ships set to be delivered in 2014, the stealth destroyer is being heavily promoted by the Pentagon as the most advanced destroyer in history — a silver bullet of stealth. It has been called a perfect fit for what Washington now considers the most strategically important region in the world — Asia and the Pacific.

Though it could come in handy elsewhere, like in the Gulf region, its ability to carry out missions both on the high seas and in shallows closer to shore is especially important in Asia because of the region's many island nations and China's long Pacific coast.

"With its stealth, incredibly capable sonar system, strike capability and lower manning requirements — this is our future," Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, said in April after visiting the shipyard in Maine where they are being built.

On a visit to a major regional security conference in Singapore that ended Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the Navy will be deploying 60 percent of its fleet worldwide to the Pacific by 2020, and though he didn't cite the stealth destroyers he said new high-tech ships will be a big part of its shift.

The DDG-1000 and other stealth destroyers of the Zumwalt class feature a wave-piercing hull that leaves almost no wake, electric drive propulsion and advanced sonar and missiles. They are longer and heavier than existing destroyers — but will have half the crew because of automated systems and appear to be little more than a small fishing boat on enemy radar.

Down the road, the ship is to be equipped with an electromagnetic railgun, which uses a magnetic field and electric current to fire a projectile at several times the speed of sound.

But cost overruns and technical delays have left many defense experts wondering if the whole endeavor was too focused on futuristic technologies for its own good.

They point to the problem-ridden F-22 stealth jet fighter, which was hailed as the most advanced fighter ever built but was cut short because of prohibitive costs. Its successor, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, has swelled up into the most expensive procurement program in Defense Department history.

"Whether the Navy can afford to buy many DDG-1000s must be balanced against the need for over 300 surface ships to fulfill the various missions that confront it," said Dean Cheng, a China expert with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research institute in Washington. "Buying hyperexpensive ships hurts that ability, but buying ships that can't do the job, or worse can't survive in the face of the enemy, is even more irresponsible."

The Navy says it's money well spent. The rise of China has been cited as the best reason for keeping the revolutionary ship afloat, although the specifics of where it will be deployed have yet to be announced. Navy officials also say the technologies developed for the ship will inevitably be used in other vessels in the decades ahead.

But the destroyers' $3.1 billion price tag, which is about twice the cost of the current destroyers and balloons to $7 billion each when research and development is added in, nearly sank it in Congress. Though the Navy originally wanted 32 of them, that was cut to 24, then seven.

Now, just three are in the works.

"Costs spiraled — surprise, surprise — and the program basically fell in on itself," said Richard Bitzinger, a security expert at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. "The DDG-1000 was a nice idea for a new modernistic surface combatant, but it contained too many unproven, disruptive technologies."

The U.S. Defense Department is concerned that China is modernizing its navy with a near-term goal of stopping or delaying U.S. intervention in conflicts over disputed territory in the South China Sea or involving Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province.

China is now working on building up a credible aircraft carrier capability and developing missiles and submarines that could deny American ships access to crucial sea lanes.

The U.S. has a big advantage on the high seas, but improvements in China's navy could make it harder for U.S. ships to fight in shallower waters, called littorals. The stealth destroyers are designed to do both. In the meantime, the Navy will begin deploying smaller Littoral Combat Ships to Singapore later this year.

Officially, China has been quiet on the possible addition of the destroyers to Asian waters.

But Rear Adm. Zhang Zhaozhong, an outspoken commentator affiliated with China's National Defense University, scoffed at the hype surrounding the ship, saying that despite its high-tech design it could be overwhelmed by a swarm of fishing boats laden with explosives. If enough boats were mobilized some could get through to blow a hole in its hull, he said.

"It would be a goner," he said recently on state broadcaster CCTV's military channel.

___

AP writer Christopher Bodeen contributed to this report from Beijing.

Greece and 'Israel' enter into military alliance against Turkey

5 September 2011

Defense ministers of Greece and "Israel", Panos Beglitis and Ehud Barak, signed on Sunday in Zionists-occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem) a memorandum on military cooperation between the two countries, reports the Greek Ministry of Defense.

The content of the memorandum was not disclosed. The head of the Greek Defense Ministry said that the two governments are all set up for future close cooperation.

He also claimed that Greece does not address its ties with "Israel" as an affront to other countries in the region.

"Our relations with "Israel" are not under the influence of the current situation", said Beglitis, who became the first Minister of Defense of Greece to visit "Israel".

Relation between the two countries improved significantly in 2010 after a serious rift between "Israel" and Turkey because of the carnage perpetrated by the Zionists against the Freedom Flotilla trying to bring the humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Greece and Turkey traditionally regard each other as potential adversaries, despite a slight thaw in relations in recent years.

Therefore, the assurances of politicians in Athens that Greece is going to become a friend with "Israel" not to the detriment of Ankara is unlikely to be perceived in Turkey with confidence.

Over the past year, Greece and "Israel" exchanged visits of prime ministers and conducted joint military exercises.

In turn, Turkey recently announced, that it intends to strengthen its naval fleet in the Mediterranean to ensure the safety and freedom of the movement of ships.

It is to be also recalled that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently ordered his Foreign Ministry to start preparing for a visit to Gaza that is occupied by "Israel".

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "We now want to choose the most convenient date for the visit. Our goal is to draw international attention to unfair embargo by "Israel" against Gaza".

Another Turkish representative directly warned: "Eastern Mediterranean will cease to be a place where Israeli" military can bully merchant navy vessels".

The Turks also intend to maintain a maritime route between "Israel" and Cyprus, in an area that the two countries jointly declared an exclusive economic zone, where gas production will soon be started.

"Israeli" press has already reacted to this statement of the Turkish government, pointing out that Erdogan will sail to Gaza accompanied by the Turkish Navy.

In turn, the leader of the Zionist regime Netanyahu announced that he didn't not believe that Turkey would dare to use its navy to break the blockade of Gaza.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/05/15068.shtml.

Protecting wild species may require growing more food on less land

Cambridge UK (SPX)
Sep 06, 2011

In parts of the world still rich in biodiversity, separating natural habitats from high-yielding farmland could be a more effective way to conserve wild species than trying to grow crops and conserve nature on the same land, according to a new study published Sept 2 in the journal Science.

The study, by researchers at the University of Cambridge and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, collected information on more than 600 species in southwest Ghana and northern India, two parts of the world where demand for agricultural land is putting ever more pressure on wild species. The researchers measured crop production as well as the abundances of birds and trees in forests and in various types of farmland.

"Farmland with some retained natural vegetation had more species of birds and trees than high-yielding monocultures of oil palm, rice or wheat but produced far less food energy and profit per hectare," said lead author Dr Ben Phalan from the University of Cambridge.

"As well as requiring more land to produce the same amount of food, the 'wildlife-friendly' farmlands were not as wildlife-friendly as they first appeared. Compared with forest, they failed to provide good habitat for the majority of bird and tree species in either region."

The researchers discovered that, under current and future scenarios of food demand, most species would have larger total populations if farming was restricted to the smallest area feasible, while protecting as much natural forest as possible. This was true not just for rare species but for common species as well.

This strategy, called 'land sparing', uses higher yields on existing farmland to spare land for nature (in contrast with 'land sharing', which aims to conserve wild species and grow crops on the same land). Because high-yield farming produced more food from less land, it could be used as part of a strategy to protect larger tracts of natural habitats such as forest.

"It would be nice to think that we could conserve species and produce lots of food, all on the same land," said study author, Dr Malvika Onial from the University of Cambridge.

"But our data from Ghana and India show that's not the best option for most species. To produce a given amount of food, it would be better for biodiversity to farm as productively as possible, if that allows more natural habitat to be protected or restored."

"It is critical to note that increasing crop yields would not work in isolation," said study author Professor Andrew Balmford from the University of Cambridge.

"Such increases need to be combined with active measures such as national parks and community reserves to protect natural habitats from conversion to farmland. Conservation policy-makers should explore new ways to link protection of natural habitats with efforts to increase food yield per unit area in sustainable ways. Food retailers could perhaps make these linkages a feature of environmentally-friendly food products."

The researchers cautioned, however, that although their findings in Ghana and India are remarkably consistent, they may not hold true everywhere. It is possible that land sparing will be a better strategy in some places and land sharing in others. They advise that further studies in representative parts of the world are needed to determine whether there is a more general pattern.

"Our study does not give uncritical support to large-scale agribusiness over small-scale farming systems," said study author Professor Rhys Green from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the University of Cambridge.

"High-yielding organic farming and other systems such as agroforestry can be a useful component of a land sparing strategy and may offer the additional advantage of fewer adverse effects of farming from fertilizers and pesticides. But whatever the farming system, protection of natural habitats will continue to be essential for the conservation of many species."

Source: Seed Daily.
Link: http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Protecting_wild_species_may_require_growing_more_food_on_less_land_999.html.

Afghans flee en masse from Karzai's army

5 September 2011

At least one in seven Afghan soldiers deserted from the Karzai's puppet army during the first six months this year, according to statistics compiled by NATO that shows an increase in desertion, reports the Washington Post.

Between January and June, more than 24,000 militants from Kazai's armed formations walked off the job, more than twice as many as in the same period last year, according to the NATO statistics. In June alone, more than 5,000 soldiers deserted, nearly 3 percent of the 170,000-strong force.

As recently as September 2009, more Afghan soldiers had been quitting than joining the army, but that trend had been reversed by aggressive recruiting, salary increases and guarantees of regular leave.

According to Karzai and NATO officials, soldiers who leave often complain about poor living conditions or commanders who do not allow a regular vacation schedule.

In addition, the devastating effect on soldiers has been created by rampant corruption in the ranks of the army, as well as poor management. These problems, according to Washington Times, existed for many years.

Afghan apostates and NATO aggressors said they believe they can continue to make progress toward expanding the army to about 200,000 soldiers. But such a high rate of desertion may hinder their plans.

Moreover, the reduction of the Karzai armed formations is very dangerous for the Kabul regime in connection with the withdrawal of US-NATO troops from the country.

"The army has got to figure out how to get their attrition down", said Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, who oversees NATO's efforts to build up the Afghan security forces.

NATO commanders are trying to reduce the scale of defections to approximately 17% per year. Meanwhile, about 35% (on an annualized basis) of the soldiers and officers fled this summer from the Afghan army.

However, the puppet "defense minister" of the Karzai regime, Abdur-Rahim Wardak, expressed his confidence that the problem of desertion "does not exist".

However, Canadian major-general Michael Day acknowledged that the current scale of the problem is a direct threat to American plans to transfer all power in Afghanistan to the puppet Karzai's Kabul administration by the end of 2014.

"We shall have serious problems in 3.5 years, if the situation doesn't change", said Day.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/05/15069.shtml.

Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines

Mon, Sep 5, 2011

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Villagers and veteran hunters have captured a one-ton saltwater crocodile which they plan to make the star of a planned ecotourism park in a southern Philippine town, an official said Monday.

Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said dozens of villagers and experts ensnared the 21-foot (6.4-meter) male crocodile along a creek in Bunawan township in Agusan del Sur province after a three-week hunt. It could be one of the largest crocodiles to be captured alive in recent years, he said, quoting local crocodile experts.

Elorde said the crocodile killed a water buffalo in an attack witnessed by villagers last month and was also suspected of having attacked a fisherman who went missing in July.

He said he sought the help of experts at a crocodile farm in western Palawan province.

"We were nervous but it's our duty to deal with a threat to the villagers," Elorde told The Associated Press by telephone. "When I finally stood before it, I couldn't believe my eyes."

After initial sightings at a creek, the hunters set four traps, which the crocodile destroyed. They then used sturdier traps using steel cables, one of which finally caught the enormous reptile late Saturday, he said.

About 100 people had to pull the crocodile, which weighs about 2,370 pounds (1,075 kilograms), from the creek to a clearing where a crane lifted it into a truck, he said.

The crocodile was placed in a fenced cage in an area where the town plans to build an ecotourism park for species found in a vast marshland in Agusan, an impoverished region about 515 miles (830 kilometers) southeast of Manila, Elorde said.

"It will be the biggest star of the park," Elorde said, adding that villagers were happy that they would be able to turn the dangerous crocodile "from a threat into an asset."

Despite the catch, villagers remain wary because several crocodiles still roam the outskirts of the farming town of about 37,000 people.

They have been told to avoid venturing into marshy areas alone at night, Elorde said.

Belgium working to upgrade Palestinian diplomatic status

Sep 5, 2011

Ramallah - Belgium Prime Minister Yves Leterme said Monday his government is working to upgrade the diplomatic status of the Palestinian delegation in Brussels in the very near future.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Ramallah with his Palestinian counterpart, Salam Fayyad, he said Belgium will study the draft resolution the Palestinian Authority plans to soon submit to the United Nations seeking membership as a state in the world body.

The UN General Assembly is expected to debate the Palestinian request for membership on September 20.

Leterme, who later met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his Ramallah headquarters, said his government hopes to see one European position on the Palestinian UN bid.

'This will not solve all the problems,' he said. 'The road to peace should come through negotiations, which we hope to see launched between the Palestinians and Israelis as soon as possible.'

Fayyad said the Palestinians are determined to continue in their efforts to ask for UN recognition, which he said cannot be deterred by Israeli or other threats.

Earlier Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Leterme that the Palestinian UN bid would lead to a dead end in the peace process.

Netanyahu, who met with Leterme in Jerusalem in the afternoon, accused the Palestinians of avoiding negotiations and choosing instead to take their efforts directly to the UN.

He added he was prepared to travel to Ramallah to hold talks with Abbas, or have Abbas meet him in Jerusalem. They two could also parley in Brussels, Netanyahu said.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been dormant for nearly a year, after Israel refused a Palestinian demand to halt all construction at its settlements in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1661078.php/Belgium-working-to-upgrade-Palestinian-diplomatic-status.

Algeria knocked out of CAN 2012

While Algeria's shot at the African Cup of Nations is now gone, Libya's national team racked up their first victory under the independence flag.

By Abdou Tadjeddine for Magharebia in Algiers – 05/09/11

Algeria drew 1-1 with Tanzania on Saturday (September 3rd) in Dar es Salaam, ending the Greens' hopes at qualifying for next round of the 2012 African Cup of Nations (CAN).

The Algerian national team led by Vahid Halilhodzic performed better than in recent games, despite having suffered physically. But it wasn't enough to overcome the Tanzanians.

"We really wanted to achieve victory, which would have strengthened our slim chances of qualifying," Halilhodzic said after the match. "Despite our disqualification by a large margin, I think that there were some positive points in the game, such as the improved performance of the players and the return of some confidence, which will help us in the future."

The Greens performed well in the first 15 minutes of the match, reminding fans of their game against Morocco. However, the Algerian team couldn't take advantage of scoring opportunities, with Karim Matmour missing twice. A third chance was lost when Nadir Belhadj passed the ball to Karim Benyamina when he could have struck.

The Fennecs made one mistake in the 23rd minute, after a cross by Nizar Khalfan towards Mbwana Samatta, where the bad positioning of Rais M'bolhi and the lack of cover by Abdelkader Laifaoui enabled Samatta to score the opening goal in front of loud cheers in the stands.

Despite that, the Algerian national team did not give up. Coach Halilhodzic made changes, putting in striker Hameur Bouazza, who managed to score the equalizer in the 53rd minute. The offensive waves continued on both sides, as a draw would not serve either of the two teams.

The Tanzanians nearly scored a second goal if not for the successful intervention of goalkeeper M'bolhi. Meanwhile, the Algerian team were unable to make use of several opportunities, including Ghezzal's pass to Matmour during stoppage time and finally Matmour's strike that was saved by the Tanzanian goalkeeper. The game ended with a draw, making both the Algerian and Tanzanian teams disqualify from the competition by a large margin.

In other CAN action on Saturday, Libya's national team defeated Mozambique 1-0 in Cairo. The match was the first for the team since Kadhafi was forced from Tripoli and the first under the independence flag. Rabie el-Lafi scored the lone match goal in the 30th minute with a pass from teammate Mohamed Al-Mughrabi. Libya will next face Zambia in October.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/articles/2011/09/05/feature-04.

Malian Touaregs return from Libya

After the downfall of Kadhafi, many Touaregs who once relied on his largesse are now heading back to Mali.

By Jemal Oumar for Magharebia in Nouakchott – 05/09/11

With increasing swaths of Libya coming under control of rebel forces, many Malian Touaregs accused of supporting Moamer Kadhafi are now returning home.

"Scores of cross-desert vehicles entered Malian soil at a late hour last Thursday (August 25th) carrying tens of Malian young people," Timbuktu resident Brahim al-Ansari told Magharebia.

"However, we don't know whether they are fleeing the Libyan war after the fall of Tripoli at the hands of revolutionaries or they are gunmen who hail from the area and who want to return and settle there," al-Ansari added.

Residents of some villages in north-eastern Mali, on the border with Niger, said they saw a group of about 10 vehicles crossing the border. Outhman Ould Aweysoun, a trader in Bokossa village in the Kidal region of Mali, said he saw "a convoy of vehicles under the command of a Touareg military officer holding the rank of lieutenant colonel in the pro-Kadhafi Libyan army".

"Those vehicles passed by without talking to the local residents and without getting water supplies or anything else. Those vehicles were without number plates," Ould Aweysoun said.

Analysts have expressed concern that the convoys could be involved in arms trafficking. However, experts downplayed the likelihood that the returnees could spark a new Touareg rebellion because of the sudden death of Touareg rebel leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga.

"The talk about a possible start of the rebellion is excluded for the time being because Touaregs will now be busy looking for a new leader capable of unifying their ranks and having the same kind of charisma that Bahanga had," security expert Iselkou Ould Rajel said.

"The other option that can be thought of is that those Malian military personnel are returning with these weapons to sell them to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and integrate into Malian locals for two reasons," he added.

Ould Rajel said the Touaregs could either sell the weapons to earn a profit or dispose of them to "avoid a reaction from the Malian army that is prepared to attack them with the first sign of any military action that may hinder the major development project that the Malian government started to execute in early August."

Some Malian security experts speculated that these armed vehicles could indicate a desire on the part of the fugitive Kadhafi to open a new front against NATO out of northern Mali where he has strong ties with the local Touareg and Arab population.

"The friendly relations that Col. Kadhafi has always had with the residents of that area, where he invested in several projects and built a number of infrastructure, made the local Touaregs and Arab population owe allegiance to Kadhafi more than they do to the Malian state which they belong to," political analyst Betar Ould Naji said.

"It was Kadhafi who supported Touareg rebels against the Malian state, providing them with weapons, and opening the Libyan borders for them at the expense of Libyan citizens," he added. "It was also him who convinced them to disarm and sign the agreement with the Malian government. Therefore, he considers himself to be their king."

Meanwhile, some northern Mali residents expressed their willingness to protect Kadhafi in the event he fled Libya.

"I'm ready to provide shelter for Kadhafi rather than abandon him because we're not mean," one Gao resident told Jeune Afrique. The magazine also quoted two other Gao residents as saying they were "prepared to protect Kadhafi".

Analyst Mohamed Ould Taqi said that Malians sympathize with Kadhafi because "they don't know the size of destruction he has caused to his own people. In addition, the residents of those regions didn't know any investments or assistance before Kadhafi, who wanted with such moves to control the Malian government."

"Things will change now that the Malian government has launched the major development project in northern regions," Ould Taqi said. "As a result, the loyalty of local population to the government will be enhanced, and the young people will be a part of the production process; something that will create difficulties for al-Qaeda to recruit them."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/09/05/feature-02.

Iran denounces Sarkozy over anti-Iran remarks

Sep 6, 2011

Tehran - Tehran on Tuesday denounced French President Nicolas Sarkozy for his anti-Iran remarks, Fars news agency reported.

Sarkozy said last week that the Iranian nuclear and missile programs pose an increasing threat to the West and could lead to a preventive attack.

'Unfortunately the French president makes remarks which are superficial and unacceptable,' Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi told Fars news agency.

'Such remarks are made by someone who likes to exaggerate everything but his choice of words are not only ill-mannered but also incompetent,' the minister added.

Tehran-Paris relations soured following the 2008 arrest of French lecturer Clotilde Reiss, who was sentenced to a 10-year jail term for espionage during anti-government protests.

The sentence was later reduced to a cash fine of 300,000 dollars. Despite her release in May 2010, relations remain cool with France accusing Iran of seeking a secret nuclear weapon program.

Tehran has constantly denied the accusations.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1661162.php/Iran-denounces-Sarkozy-over-anti-Iran-remarks.

Syrian forces raid cities, as ICRC granted access

Sep 5, 2011

Beirut - Syrian troops and security forces intensified Monday their assault on the central cities of Hama and Homs, while the government granted access to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit a detention center.

Hisham Hassam, the ICRC Public Relations Officer in the Near and Middle East, confirmed to the German Press Agency dpa from Geneva that the ICRC were granted access to visit a jail in Syria.

ICRC's president, Jakob Kellenberger, who concluded a two-day visit to Damascus on Monday, said ICRC delegates started visiting on September 4 the Damascus Central Prison, in the suburb of Adra.

'The Syrian authorities have granted the ICRC access to a place of detention for the first time. Initially, we will have access to persons detained by the Ministry of the Interior, and we are hopeful that we will soon be able to visit all detainees,' said Kellenberger.

'This is an important step forward for our humanitarian activities in Syria,' he added.

Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al-Arabi was also due to visit Damascus on Wednesday to discuss recent developments, at the request of Arab foreign ministers, the Al Arabiya Satellite channel reported.

Last month, the Arab League launched a peace initiative aimed at solving the crisis in Syria, where more than 2,000 people have been killed in anti-regime protests since March.

The developments came as security forces intensified their assaults against pro-democracy protesters in the central cities of Hama, Homs and in the province of Idlib, killing at least nine people and arresting dozens.

'Dozens of troops backed by at least 30 military vehicles and security forces raided Hama,' a spokesman of one of the Local Coordination Committees who identified himself as Omar Idlibi told dpa.

He added that security forces carried out a similar operation in Homs.

Idlibi said some 100 people were rounded up in the Khan al Sabul, in the province of Idlib.

'Security forces were seen dragging men from their houses, blindfolding them and pushing them into buses,' Idlibi said.

Earlier, activists in Lebanon told dpa that 'at least nine people were killed in Homs by firing by the Syrian security forces.'

They added that Syrian security forces were conducting arrests in the Al-Khalediya neighborhood of Homs, 'when the troops started shooting randomly at a group of people near a mosque in the area.'

Activists based in northern Lebanon told dpa that sounds of heavy shelling could be heard in the Wadi Khaled, an area facing Tal Kalakh.

They told dpa that one of their members was killed by the Syrian security forces as he was trying to escape from Syria into Turkey.

The dead man was identified as Adelsalam Hassoun, 24. He was killed by Syrian army snipers just after he had crossed into Turkey from the village of Ain al-Baida on the Syrian side.

Activists based in the Syrian capital said soldiers have defected from the Syrian army at Mezzeh airport in Damascus. They gave no further details.

The Syrian Local Coordination Committees said the defected Syrian soldiers had escaped to Turkey.

Meanwhile former Syrian vice president Abdel Halim Khaddam - who now lives in exile in Paris - demanded a military intervention in Syria, Al-Jazeera reported.

In his letter to 'Syrian revolutionaries,' Khaddam said the country needed an intervention like the one in Libya. 'Military intervention is not the same as an occupation,' he added.

In another development, the Syrian attorney general of the city of Hama - who announced his defection last week - arrived in Cyprus, the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya channel reported, without providing further details.

Activists based in Lebanon confirmed to dpa that Bakhour was 'safe and sound,' but refused to say where he was.

Bakhour appeared in videos last week, saying he had resigned because of a massive government campaign of killing and torture in Hama. The government responded that Bakhour had been kidnapped and was forced to issue the statement.

On August 15, the 22 members of the Arab League called for an 'end to the spilling of blood and (for Syria) to follow the way of reason before it is too late.'

Syria rejected the statement at the time, saying it amounted to 'a clear violation ... of the principles of the Arab League charter and of the foundations of joint Arab action.'

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1661061.php/Syrian-forces-raid-cities-as-ICRC-granted-access.

Syria's Kurds see better lot if Assad goes-activists

Tue Sep 6, 2011

AMMAN, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Syria's minority Kurds support the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad because it could usher in democracy but long-standing grievances have to be addressed in any post-Assad order, Kurdish activists said.

In a declaration issued on Monday at the conclusion of a conference in Stockholm to unify Kurdish efforts against Assad, the activists said they will strengthen backing for Kurdish protests against Assad, led by a younger generation of street leaders critical or elders in established Kurdish parties.

"The Kurdish people, as a part of Syria's diverse mosaic, are a main component of the revolt against the regime and it is in their full interest for the regime to fall," the statement said.

With Syria's one million Kurds concentrated in the oil- producing northeast, the Kurdish issue would loom large if Assad, who is struggling to contain a five-month uprising against his rule, was removed, with regional implications for Turkey, which also has a large Kurdish minorities, and Iraq, where Kurds have a large degree of autonomy.

Syria's overall population is around 20 million.

Pro-democracy protests have spread to Kurdish areas in Syria, but the authorities, mindful of a 2004 Kurdish uprising crushed by force, have not used the same level of deadly violence employed to crush protests elsewhere.

The two-day conference at the Swedish Parliament building, which drew 50 participants, was the first to bring a broad group of Kurdish activists since the uprising. Among the participants were Kurdish writer Massoud Akko, who fled Syria several years ago and now resides in Norway, and dissent Mohammad Sida, who lives in Sweden.

The statement said the removal of Assad and his ruling Baath Party could allow for a new political system that divulges power to the provinces and "free of racist and extremist ideology.. a nation where tolerance would prevail".

"The Syrian revolution will not be complete without a just solution to the Kurdish cause," the statement said, adding that any new constitution should recognize Kurdish as an official language and that Kurds have a right to seek compensation for "historic discrimination and persecution".

A month into the uprising in April, Assad sought to placate Syria's Kurds by issuing a decree to grant thousands of disenfranchised Kurds Syrian nationality and easing discrimination on the transfer of properties in Kurdish areas.

But activists and Kurdish politicians said little progress has been made on the ground, with only a fraction of the stateless Kurds becoming citizens and a multitude of other laws that still discriminate against Kurdish language and customs, as well as heavy secret police presence in Kurdish areas.

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL5E7K53U720110906.

Pro-Gaddafi forces agree to yield town

Tue Sep 6, 2011

Libyan fighters and tribal leaders in the besieged town of Bani Walid agree to a peaceful takeover of the town, a report says.

Reports coming out of Libya indicate that tribal elders in the town of Bin Walid have been persuading ex-regime forces to end the fighting amid fresh signs of retreat by the Gaddafi loyalists.

However, other reports suggest more resistance from pro-Gaddafi men as Gaddafi regime spokesman Moussa Ibrahim has claimed that the fugitive leader will continue fighting.

Gaddafi is “in excellent health, planning and organizing for the defense of Libya,'' the Associated Press quoted Ibrahim as telling Syrian television on Tuesday.

``We are fighting and resisting for the sake of Libya and all Arabs,'' Ibrahim noted. ``We are still strong and capable of turning the tables on NATO,'' he went on to say.

This is while thousands of Libyan fighters have closed in on the besieged town, waiting for orders from their commanders to launch fresh assaults on Gaddafi's last stronghold.

The fighters have built a field hospital near Bani Walid and installed 10 volunteer doctors prepared to treat injured fighters in the event of a battle with forces still loyal to the former regime in the town.

Revolutionary forces control most of the oil-rich North African nation, except for some central and southern areas, including Bani Walid and Gaddafi's birthplace of Sirt.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/197675.html.

Solar-powered plane leaves Spain for Morocco

June 05, 2012

MADRID (AP) — An experimental solar-powered plane has taken off from Madrid en route to Morocco in a bid to complete its first transcontinental flight.

The single-seat aircraft fitted with 12,000 solar cells is the size of a jumbo jet. Organizers said in a statement it is due to arrive in the Moroccan capital Rabat late Tuesday night after leaving Spain before dawn.

Solar Impulse arrived from Switzerland in late May on the first leg of the journey. The mission is being described as a final dress rehearsal for a round-the-world flight with a new and improved plane in 2014.

The project began in 2003 and is estimated to cost about $100 million over 10 years. The two-leg Europe to Africa trip covers 2,500 kilometers (1,554 miles).

IRA supporters force Olympic torch to alter course

June 04, 2012

LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland (AP) — Irish Republican Army supporters clashed with police Monday and forced Olympic torch organizers to divert the route of their relay, marring what had been a jubilant day's procession through a sun-soaked Northern Ireland.

Police said at least one protester was arrested after members of a 200-strong group broke through police lines as the torch passed the city hall building in Londonderry, Northern Ireland's second-largest city. Londonderry is a power base for several small IRA factions still plotting to wreck the peace process. No serious injuries were reported.

The protesters made clear they were seeking to confront police, not the Olympic torch itself. Many carried placards denouncing the police, who have mounted raids in hardline Irish republican parts of the city ahead of the torch's visit.

Hours before the torch arrived in Londonderry, British Army experts dealt with a suspected bomb left near a Catholic high school but declared it a hoax device. Police also arrested a suspected IRA member in an unrelated raid. On Saturday, police were attacked with a homemade grenade, wrecking the front of their sports utility vehicle but injuring no officers.

While most IRA members renounced violence and disarmed in 2005, several splinter groups continue to mount attacks, particularly against police. Officers surrounding the torchbearer, 58-year-old Isobel Coote, quickly changed course and escorted her down a side street where she resumed her journey to the city's new pedestrian Peace Bridge. It spans the River Foyle, which divides Londonderry into a predominantly British Protestant east side and an Irish Catholic west.

Londonderry's member of the British Parliament, Mark Durkan, said most residents would be "absolutely disgusted" that anti-British militants had undermined such a positive day for the city. He said they broke a behind-the-scenes agreement not to interfere with the torch run.

"It was not a massive detour ... but it was not what was planned and that is pretty embarrassing," Durkan said. The brief clash near Londonderry's Guildhall was at total odds with the rest of the day's celebratory, even giddy air as the symbol of the London Games enjoyed a leisurely stroll along stunning coastal scenery and a string of tourist hotspots basking in rare sunshine.

The Olympic cavalcade began Monday on the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, a vertigo-inducing attraction that connects mainland cliffs to a tiny island. One torchbearer crossed the footbridge, with its views underfoot of crashing waves 30 meters (yards) down, and used her flame to light another runner's torch.

Next, another torchbearer walked carefully along the Giant's Causeway, an up-and-down natural stairway composed of tens of thousands of six-sided basalt rocks that run right into the Atlantic. The carrier, 54-year-old Ironman athlete Peter Jack, said he had to concentrate not to slip or stumble on the wet, flat-topped columns of basalt. About 1,000 spectators and visitors cheered as he reached the highest rock nearest the waterline and raised the flame.

The torch next visited the ruins of Dunluce Castle, a cliffside residence that was abandoned after its kitchen and staff fell one night into the Atlantic. Then the flame was loaded onto an eight-man rowing boat and ferried across the Bann, the major river of Northern Ireland that cuts the province into a predominantly Protestant east and mostly Catholic west.

On the road into Londonderry, torchbearers passed through the villages of Ballykelly and Greysteel, names synonymous with two of the worst mass killings of Northern Ireland's conflict. In December 1982 in Ballykelly, an IRA splinter group called the Irish National Liberation Army killed 17 people and wounded 30 with a time bomb left in a crowded disco frequented by British soldiers from a nearby base.

The small bomb, placed beside a pillar, made the roof collapse. Eleven of the dead were soldiers, the other six local Protestant women and teenagers. It was the second-worst death toll from a Northern Ireland bombing, overtaken only by the Omagh bombing of 1998, when a car bomb by the Real IRA faction killed 29 civilians.

Greysteel, a mostly Catholic village on the road to Londonderry, entered world headlines in October 1993, when anti-Catholic militants from the outlawed Ulster Defense Association burst into a pub full of party-goers celebrating Halloween, shouted "Trick or treat!" and tried to shoot everyone inside. Eight civilians died and 13 were wounded in the Rising Sun Bar. A plaque outside the pub honoring the eight dead reads: "May their sacrifice be our path to peace."

The torch travels Tuesday through more than a dozen Northern Ireland towns and villages, including Omagh. On Wednesday, it crosses the border for a circuit of Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland, before returning north for a tour of Belfast and party outside Belfast City Hall.

Albania fails a second time to elect a president

June 04, 2012

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania's parliament has failed for a second time to elect a new president, after leaders of the two main political parties could not agree on a candidate.

Lawmakers have a maximum five attempts to choose a successor for Bamir Topi, whose five-year term expires July 24. If they fail, early national elections must be held within 45 days. A third session is likely expected later this week.

The parliament again did not hold a vote Monday after Prime Minister Sali Berisha of the governing Democratic Party and the main opposition Socialist Party leader, Edi Rama, held unsuccessful talks the previous evening.

Topi is not running for a second term and Democratic nominee Xhezair Zaganjori, a Constitutional Court judge, has been rejected by the main opposition Socialists.

Turkish women protest plans to curb abortion

June 03, 2012

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday staged the largest protest yet against plans by Turkey's Islamic-rooted government to curb abortion, which critics say will amount to a virtual ban.

Around 3,000 women — their ages ranging from 20 to 60 years old — gathered at a square in Istanbul's Kadikoy district. Some carried banners that read "my body, my choice" and shouted anti-government slogans.

Many of the women were accompanied by husbands and boyfriends. One young protester — her left fist clenched aloft — carried a placard that read "State, take your hands off my body," while a man waved a slogan reading "My darling's body, my darling's choice."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called abortion "murder," and his government is reportedly working on legislation to ban the operation after 4 weeks from conception, except in emergencies. Fusun Sirkeci, a London-based obstetrician and gynecologist, said in an email Saturday that most women don't learn they are pregnant until after 4 weeks and it is also difficult to establish the placement of the pregnancy sac during that period.

Abortion is presently legal in Turkey up to 10 weeks from conception. "They say it is my body, my choice. Feminists say this," Erdogan said Saturday during a rally in the country's southeast. "No one has the right to abort a fetus in a body."

Analysts say Erdogan is pursuing a delicate strategy of beefing up Turkey's regional power with a large population, while trying to balance the country's demographics in the face of a high birth rate among the country's Kurds, a source of concern for Turkey since it is engaged in a bitter fight against Kurdish rebels who want autonomy in the largely Kurdish southeast.

Remarks by members of Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, however, have also revealed deep-rooted moral and religious concerns. Health Minister Recep Akdag caused an outcry Thursday when he told reporters that if necessary the government would even look after the babies of "rape victims." Facing criticism, he said Saturday that he did not mean rape victims can never have an abortion.

Deniz Ulke Aribogan, a professor of international relations at Istanbul's Bilgi University, wrote in Aksam newspaper Friday that the government was seeking to use abortion to balance the Kurds' high birth rate, since "ethnic reproduction is used by some organizations as a political tool" — an apparent reference to the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, that is fighting for autonomy, and a pro-Kurdish political party also demanding the same.

"The problem is the rapid rise of population in eastern regions, while it has almost came to a standstill in western regions," Aribogan wrote, adding that the decision had been taken for political reasons, rather than out of moral or religious concern.

The largely Kurdish southeast has the highest birth rate in Turkey with 27.3 births in every 1,000, compared to 11,4 births in the northwest, according to the latest available figures in 2010 by the Turkish Statistical Institute. More than 25 percent of Turkey's nearly 75 million population is under the age of 14, according to a December survey.

Tino Sanandaji, a post-doctoral fellow at Chicago University who researches demographic change and its link to policy, said in an email Saturday that in the long run the higher Kurdish growth rate is certain to have social and political implications, although the process is "quite slow" for now.

"If it continues for four to five decades, however, the balance of power could start shifting, which is what seems to concern Turkish nationalists," he said. Sirkeci warned in her email of the dangers of a virtual ban saying it will force "some women to terminate themselves which could potentially be fatal or disabling."

Sirkeci said any ban would also create an illegal market for abortions, and have a huge psychological impact on women. "I feel the danger is very obvious," she said.

Serbia's new president revives Balkan tensions

June 04, 2012

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's new nationalist president has been in office for less than a week and he's already rocking fragile Balkan stability and casting doubt over his proclaimed pro-European Union policies.

Tomislav Nikolic, a former ultranationalist ally of Serbia's wartime leader Slobodan Milosevic, revived ethnic tensions in the still volatile region by stating that the Srebrenica massacre, in which Bosnian Serb forces killed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in 1995, was not genocide but a "grave crime."

"There was no genocide in Srebrenica," Nikolic told Montenegro state TV last week. Europe's worst slaughter of civilians since World War II was proclaimed genocide both by the International Court of Justice and a U.N. war crimes court for the former Yugoslavia that has convicted several Bosnian Serbs for taking part in the carnage.

In Brussels, the office of EU's Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned Nikolic's comments Monday, saying that "the EU strongly rejects any intention to rewrite history." Spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said that "the massacre in Srebrenica was a genocide ... a crime against all of humankind.

"We should never forget and it should never be allowed to happen again." Nikolic also told a German newspaper that Croatia's border town of Vukovar, which was bombed to the ground by the Serb-led army during the country's war for independence in 1992, was in fact a "Serb town."

The statements were reminiscent of the war era of the 1990s, when Milosevic launched the wars in Croatia and Bosnia to create a pan-Serbian state after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. They fueled fears that Nikolic's surprise victory over liberal Boris Tadic in a May 20 presidential runoff vote will threaten the volatile process of postwar reconciliation in the Balkans — one of the main conditions set by the EU for Serbia to become a member.

The war in the former Yugoslavia claimed more than 100,000 lives and left millions homeless. The United States and its EU allies have sought to foster harmony in the region, encouraging the Balkan states to put the past behind them and work together to join the EU.

While campaigning, Nikolic — a former right-wing extremist who supported Milosevic's war campaigns — claimed to have become a conservative populist who supports Serbia's integration into the EU. But his resurgent nationalism has triggered alarm in the region and could derail Serbia's EU membership bid.

Bakir Izetbegovic, one of Bosnia's three presidents, said that Nikolic's remarks are "an insult to the victims" of the 1995 Srebrenica killings. The comments "cast a shadow and seriously brought into question his publicly proclaimed pro-European rhetoric and statements in which he supported regional cooperation," said Izetbegovic, who represents Bosnia's Muslims. He added that "unfortunately, Nikolic has shown that he is not ready to face the events of the recent past."

A prominent Serbian human rights group, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, demanded that Nikolic apologize to the families of the Srebrenica victims. The group said that Nikolic's remarks "added uncertainty to future of the regional relations."

Serbia had slowly started to shake off its troublemaker image under Tadic, who championed the country's pro-EU reforms. During his eight years in office, Tadic had moved to mend ties with both Croatia and Bosnia. He visited Srebrenica and apologized for the massacre, and parliament passed a declaration condemning the killings. Nikolic now says he won't apologize over Srebrenica.

"If Boris Tadic, the (former) Serbian president, has already been to Srebrenica, if he condemned the crime in Srebrenica, if the Serbian parliament has done the same, then why would I revive that issue again?" Nikolic asked.

While taking important steps on the road to the EU, Tadic fell victim to Serbia's economic crisis and plummeting living standards. Nikolic campaigned on promises of reviving the economy and fighting corruption.

Tadic is still hoping to forge a pro-EU government with Socialist allies and a liberal group, which would sideline Nikolic as a figurehead president because the post of the prime minister is more powerful than that of president.

During his inauguration Thursday, Nikolic pledged to maintain friendly relations with Croatia and Bosnia. But he reiterated that Serbia should abandon its EU ambitions if it means giving up its claim on Kosovo — the former province that declared independence in 2008.

Nikolic said cooperation with Croatia will be "very much welcome and open." But Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said that Nikolic still needs to revise his wartime stands. "Once it is clear that Mr. Nikolic is firmly on that road, there will be no obstacle for cooperation," Josipovic said. "But this needs to be shown and proven."

Associated Press correspondent Dusan Stojanovic contributed.