Scotland touts green energy success

Sept. 6, 2011

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- An increase in nuclear and renewable energy resources in Scotland led to an overall decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, the government said.

Scotland published its 2009 greenhouse gas emission results Tuesday. It found that between 2008 and 2009, there was a general decrease in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in all sectors except for forestry.

The government reported that for 2009, around 51 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent were released into the atmosphere, down 7 percent compared with the previous year. Since 1990, the government said, there was an overall 28.9 percent reduction in emissions.

"The overall decrease in emissions from 2008 to 2009 is primarily due to differences between the type of fuel used to generate electricity, with a reduction in the use of oil and gas and an increase in nuclear and renewable, combined with lower fossil fuel consumption by industry and by the transport sector," the government said in a statement.

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing unveiled renewable energy targets for 30 percent renewables overall by 2020. Another 500 megawatts of community and locally owned renewable energy would be added to the grid by the end of the decade.

Edinburgh aims to get 100 percent of its electricity demand from renewable energy by 2020. The country used renewable energy to meet 27 percent of its demand in 2009.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/09/06/Scotland-touts-green-energy-success/UPI-25541315318361/.

PPP, MQM vow to shun differences

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

KARACHI: Federal Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khurshid Shah has indicated positive development in the course of patch up between the ruling party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). According to a statement issued here on Monday, Shah called on Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan at the Governor House while Provincial Local Government Minister Agha Siraj Durrani was also present. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and MQM have agreed to shun the differences thereby discharging their due role in the progress of province. It was also resolved that both parties would play their role and fend off the challenges faced by the province and the country. Political situation of the province and future line of action was also discussed in detail especially pertaining to MQM’s standing in provincial and federal cabinets.

The meeting decided that through the spirit of tolerance and accommodation, political environment would be improved in the province. The reconciliation process between PPP and MQM would be ensured on permanent basis, it was decided.

In a separate meeting with Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Hussain Wasan, Sindh governor discussed the overall law and order situation of the province and Karachi in particular, the statement added.

Political leadership would make every effort for the maintenance of peace and restoring the confidence of the people in the law enforcement agencies. Wasan apprised the governor of the prevailing situation and the steps taken in this regard. The governor expressed confidence that steps would be ensured at every level for the betterment of law and order situation.

Source: Daily Times.
Link: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\09\06\story_6-9-2011_pg7_3.

Kashmiris go on strike over detentions

Tue Sep 6, 2011

The people of Indian-administered Kashmir have gone on strike to demand the release of Kashmiri political prisoners in the disputed Himalayan region, Press TV reports.

The two-day strike, which began in the main city Srinagar and other towns on Tuesday, paralyzed much of the region as most shops, businesses, schools and offices were closed across the disputed valley.

The protest strike was called by pro-independence groups opposed to New Delhi's rule over the pre-dominantly Muslim majority region, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Top pro-independence leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said nearly 250 people have been arrested for allegedly throwing stones at government forces during anti-India protests.

Geelani called on the Indian government to release the political detainees and to accept Kashmir's independence.

Meanwhile, Kashmir's Pro-India Chief Minister Omar Abdullah warned about the improper education of people of Kashmir due to constant shutdowns of schools.

In 2010, the Kashmir Valley was rocked by a series of protests in which at least 110 people were killed. The protests sparked when Indian forces shot a student dead in June 2010.

Kashmir is one of the world's most militarized areas and roughly, half-a-million Indian forces are stationed across the valley.

The Kashmir valley has either been under curfew or shut down over the past few months. Residents have been complaining about the shortage of food, medicine and other supplies across the valley.

New Delhi has been repeatedly criticized for resorting to force rather than finding a diplomatic solution to the dispute.

Pakistan and India both claim Kashmir as part of their territory and they have fought two wars over the region since 1947.

Thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir over the past 20 years.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/197717.html.

Spain region bans Muslim call to prayer

Mon Sep 5, 2011

A northeastern Spain municipality with a 40-percent Muslim population has reportedly banned the Muslim call to prayer also known as Azan.

Salt's mayor Jaume Torramade has asserted that the proclamation to prayer was not to be heard in the municipality during his tenure.

He has accused the Muslim immigrants there of having leaned towards 'radicalism' over the recent years, the Hudson Institute policy organization reported.

In a recent interview, Torramade pointed out that "a few years ago, the Maghreb (Moroccan) women were more westernized, but nowadays one sees much less of that.”

“The large numbers of Muslim immigrants in Salt have attracted imams who are enforcing conduct and dress codes. Muslim women used to wear blue jeans, but now they cover their hair."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/197617.html.

Tanks roll as Yemen's political crisis deepens

- Ayman Khalil
Tuesday, 06 September 2011

Global Arab Network - 3 months after the forced medical leave of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a leadership stalemate in Yemen threatens to degenerate into open confrontation between Saleh loyalists and opponents.

The elite Republican Guard troops, commanded by Ahmed, the eldest son of Mr Saleh, had reinforced their presence this week and deployed tanks and missiles on the hills overlooking Sanaa, witnesses said yesterday.

Soldiers loyal to dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, fewer and less well armed, have fortified their positions in areas that they control in the city, mainly around the University Square, renamed Change Square by protesters camped there.

Armed civilians have been sighted on both sides of Zubair Street, which now divides Sanaa between the areas controlled by government forces and that held by the opposition.

"The regime rejects a political solution and could use other options. But the military option would be a mistake," said Yassin Saeed Noman, leader of the Common Forum, which groups parliamentary opposition parties.

Source: Global Arab Network.
Link: http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/2011090612044/Yemen-Politics/tanks-roll-as-yemens-political-crisis-deepens.html.

Increasing reach – Jordan expanding internet penetration rates

- Amina Murtada
Tuesday, 06 September 2011

Global Arab Network - Significant progress has been made to meet the goals set out for Jordan’s information and communications technology (ICT) in 2011, with internet penetration rates, foreign direct investment (FDI) and revenues all increasing, even as government spending declines. In light of this, expanded plans for the sector for the 2010-16 period should be finalized by the end of this year, Global Arab Network reports according to Oxford Business Group.

The National ICT Strategy (NIS) 2007-11, created by the Information Technology Association – Jordan (Int@j), set three main goals for the end of the year: increase internet penetration from 11% in 2007 to 50% in 2011; expand the ICT workforce from 16,000 to 35,000 people; and see revenues reach $3bn by the end of the period.

Jordan is well on its way to reaching the first goal: the internet penetration rate at the end of 2010 was 38%, according to Int@j’s “ICT and ITES Industry Statistics and Yearbook 2010”, released in June. The number of internet users stood at 2.32m people in 2010, up from 1.74m in 2009, the report showed.

Though mobile penetration – which was 108% in 2010 – has seen rapid growth in recent years, internet uptake has been slower to rise. Lowering the price of services is key to getting more people online, as is encouraging private operators to increase their promotional efforts.

“The price of the service is a main factor in attracting more users; even though there is competition nowadays among the service providers. What is more important at this stage is for the private and public sectors to seriously engage in efforts to promote the service,” Abed Shamlawi, the CEO of Int@j, told local media in June.

The government’s lowering of the internet services sales tax from 16% to 8% has also encouraged the private sector to expand connections to rural areas. “I think we will achieve the 50% target as we are working hard with non-governmental organizations to penetrate rural areas outside Amman,” Khaled Lahham, the secretary-general of the Ministry of ICT, told OBG.

Also critical to boosting internet use is encouraging more people to purchase the devices that will enable them to do so. “Jordan in Figures”, published by the Department of Statistics in May 2011, reports that the portion of the population using computers for personal use reached 55.7% in 2010, up marginally from 55% in 2009. The same report also showed that the percentage of the population using the internet for personal reasons was 27.2% in 2010, up from 26% a year earlier.

The roll-out of mobile broadband services by Orange in 2010 and Zain in 2011, plus the forthcoming launch of 3G services by Umniah later this year, is expected to boost internet penetration rates further.

Total ICT sector revenue has grown from $1.5bn in 2007 to $2.2bn in 2009, short of the $3bn target but significant progress nonetheless. Although overall ICT revenues have increased, IT revenue alone has fallen, from $962m in 2008 to $895m in 2009 and $732m in 2010. This is due to declining government spending in the sector, Shamlawi told Bloomberg in June. Government spending on IT in 2010 was JD25m ($35m), while in the years up to and including 2009 spending averaged JD150m ($211m), Shamlawi said.

This places growth prospects squarely in the hands of the private sector, and indeed, the NIS 2007-11 explicitly states as much. “The private sector itself must be responsible for increasing the size of the industry. The private sector must work on increasing the day-to-day relevance of ICT among Jordanians and among Jordanian businesses.”

Private investors, for their part, are taking note. Cumulative FDI in the IT sector has risen steadily since 2001, reaching $142.5m in 2010. The Jordan Investment Board notes that ICT is the fastest-growing sector of the economy, expanding by 50% per year. The sector was served by a growing IT workforce of some 22,000 people at the end of 2009.

In 2007 the NIS recognized the challenges facing the sector, which include the high cost of personal computers and technology, and government policies that lack either development or coordination. This is where the 2012-16 ICT strategy is expected to continue the work of the NIS 2007-11. Significant progress has been made in the last five years, and continuing on this trajectory should mean internet penetration growth, increasing FDI levels and a growing skilled workforce should all be features of the next several years.

Source: Global Arab Network.
Link: http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/2011090612078/Technology/increasing-reach-jordan-expanding-internet-penetration-rates.html.

Kenzaburo Oe, Nobel Winner Urges Japan To Abandon Nuclear Power

MARI YAMAGUCHI
09/6/11

TOKYO — Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe urged Japan's new prime minister on Tuesday to halt plans to restart nuclear power plants and instead abandon nuclear energy.

Oe cautioned Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda against prioritizing the economy over safety. Noda has said he will allow idled nuclear plants to resume operation when their safety is confirmed.

"The new prime minister seems to think that nuclear power plants are necessary for Japan's economy, and how to resume their operation is one of his key political agendas," Oe said. "We must make a big decision to abolish all nuclear plants."

Oe, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1994, said the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant six months ago caused the Japanese public to want to reduce their dependence on nuclear power, but that feeling seems to be fading.

He spoke at news conference Tuesday about an anti-nuclear petition drive, accompanied by other members of the campaign.

The group, which is demanding that the government decommission aging reactors and promote renewable energy, aims to collect 10 million signatures and submit them to the government next March.

Oe has actively supported pacifist and anti-nuclear campaigns and written books about the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

Noda, who took office last Friday, becoming Japan's six prime minister in five years, has said he does not plan to build new nuclear plants and will decommission those that are aged. But he said he plans to restart plants whose safety is confirmed to relieve power shortages and help Japan's economic recovery. More than 30 of the country's 54 reactors are idled, forcing a nationwide conservation effort this summer.

The nuclear accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was like "a third atomic bombing" that Japan inflicted on itself, Oe said. "We already faced the major threat of radiation from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, many children will have to live with radiation threats for 10, 20 or 30 years from now."

Source: Huffington Post.
Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/06/kenzaburo-oe-nobel-winner-japan-nuclear_n_950085.html.

Lauren Bush ties the knot with David Lauren

By Laura Donovan - The Daily Caller
Mon, Sep 5, 2011

Lauren Bush became Lauren Bush-Lauren on Sunday, when she wed 39-year-old David Lauren, the son of fashion designer Ralph Lauren, in a western-style ceremony at a ranch in Colorado.

The 27-year-old model, who is the niece of former President George W. Bush and granddaughter of former President George H.W. Bush, reportedly donned an “intricately embroidered Victorian-style gown” crafted by new father-in-law, Ralph Lauren. According to the New York Post, one of the wedding attendees declared it “one of Ralph’s most iconic designs.” While Bush-Lauren roamed around in her pretty princess dress, guests opted for a rugged western look, sporting cowboy boots, black ties, turquoise jewelry, and denim. The wedding itself reportedly began with the bride riding in on a horse-drawn carriage as guests gazed up from carved wooden benches. According to the Post, Bush-Lauren strolled down the aisle with both parents rather than solely her dad.

The Post also reports that George W. Bush, his wife Laura, and his daughters Jenna and Barbara attended the ceremony. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush was also in attendance. As ABC News reported last week, former President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush could not go to the wedding because the high altitude could cause health problems for the elderly couple. Bush is 87 years old and Barbara is 86.

A source told the Post that George H.W. Bush and Barbara sent their love and good wishes through a video message, which was played at the Saturday evening rehearsal dinner. In the video, the former first couple said they were sad they couldn’t witness the nuptials but that they were happy their granddaughter was getting hitched to Lauren, according to the Post.

Us Weekly reported Monday that the weekend affair had plenty of fun outdoors activities, including a picnic, rodeo, and softball game. The ranch itself is complete with a saloon, teepees, and cabins.

Security Official Denies Tribunal Charges Against Salafists in Zarqa Violence

2011-09-05

By Amal Ghabayen

AMMONNEWS - The Chief of Preventative Security in Zarqa governorate on Monday denied the accusations that the State Security Court (SSC) charged members of the Salafist movement with in the case of the violent clashes that erupted in Zarqa last April.

The special military tribunal had charged Salafist members who took part in the demonstration in Zarqa that left over 80 security personnel injured - according to security statements - with instigating strife and sedition and encouraging terrorist acts.

Musa Abdullat, one of the lawyers representing Islamist movements, said that the Zarqa Preventative Security chief stressed during his testimony in the second session of the trial on Monday that Salafist leader Abu Muhammad Tahawi called on demonstrators during the protest on April 15 to maintain self control and avoid altercations with security forces or counter demonstrators.

"The Preventative Security official explained in his testimony that there were no slogans or speeches by the demonstrators and Salafi current leaders during the protest that encouraged terrorist acts or offended Jordanian sects, tribes, or the national unity," Abdullat told Ammon News.

Security authorities had carried out mass arrests following the April 15th violent clashes, detaining over 100 individuals over charges of rioting, instigating sedition, and terrorism.

An official investigation by security authorities had claimed that demonstrators attacked security personnel armed with sharp weapons, including swords, axes, daggers, sticks and iron batons, and that they caused damage to public and private property.

Eight other security officers gave their testimonies during Monday's session regarding the incident.

The military tribunal adjourned on Monday and scheduled the next session on September 29th, 2011.

Source: Ammon News.
Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=13608.

Jordanian Threatens to Sue US Billionaire Embroiled in Iraq Contracting Scandal

2011-09-06

By Shaherah Khatatbeh and Banan Malkawi

AMMONNEWS -Jordanian Badr al-Masaafa has threatened to sue Mustafa Abu Naba and Harry Sargeant - the American billionaire who owns the company that suppose the Iraqi Army with oil, for his failure to be compensated for his services to the two partners.

An American tribunal condemned Sergeant and Abu Nabaa on a charge of defrauding their third partner Jordanian businessman Muhammad al-Salah, and ordered for him to be paid 28 million USD at the end of last July.

The same tribunal called on 13 people in Jordan, including al-Masaafa, to testify in the case last April in one of the Amman hotels after The Association of Jurors and Interpreters and Scribes attended the tribunal along with the complainants and defendants and their lawyers.

al-Masaafa's testimony was made after Abu Nabaa sent him a text message saying 'Hello Badr, if necessary are you ready to talk about what our friend said to you when he called threatened me",

Another text sent by Abu Nabaa before the testimony said 'you don't have any objections to telling me what you heard word for word?'. Al-Salah had sent a threatening verbal message to Abu Nabaa via al-Masaafa after the the two partners argued.

During the trial al-Salah's lawyer asked al-Masaafa whether Sergaent or Mustafa Abu Nabaa had paid him money to testify. al-Masaafa denied it and said before the Jurors that he had rights to claim from the partners and that he would sue them to obtain compensation that he estimated to be around 150 thousand Jordanian Dinars.

Abu Nabaa and Sergaent lost the case and the American tribunal ruled for millions of dollars to be paid to al-Salah for being cut out of the partnership and as a share of the money and benefits earned by the partners since 2004.

al-Masaafa's story began early 2006 after he had asked to retire from the Jordanian army in mid 2005 and began working with Mustafa Abu Nabaa - a Jordanian with Danish nationality - after a short period working as a bodyguard without a contract with Harry Sergaent, the American billionaire.

al-Masaafa recounted to 'Ammon News' 'I was working as a driver for a member of the royal family and I met Mustafa Abu Nabaa who was visiting al-Salah, the husband of Princess Alia, and I decided to work with him, so I asked for retirement from the army and began working for him.

al-Masaafa said that during the 2006 war when Israeli warplanes attacked Beirut and other Lebanese towns he was assigned with getting Harry Sergeant's son out of Beirut. He went by land after the Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut airport, using a taxi, and drove for 20 hours to reach the Royal hotel in Beirut where he met 'Harry Junior'. After two days of tele-communications and transport breakdown he paid a Syrian taxi driver 3000 Jordanian dinars to return to Amman.

When al-Masaafa and Harry Junior reached Amman they went to one of the Amman hotels meet Sergaent and Majdi al-Bastami, Director General for the State Center for Trading Petrol which had a monopoly for providing oil to the US forces in Iraq via Jordan.

When al-Masaafa handed over Sergaent's son and asked for the dangerous nature of the task he had undertaken to be taken into account when he was paid, Sergaent agreed to pay him later.

Not long afterwards, after al-Masaafa had signed a contract with the company, Abu Nabaa asked him to bring 'friends' from Beirut. He returned a second time to Beirut in 2008 when the country was witnessing murders and bombings.

al-Masaafa affirms that he completed his task. He acted as a bodyguard to the partners and their families and undertook various other tasks such as protocol issues, and was responsible for the safety of Harry Junior while he was traveling through Lebanon and Jordan and Egypt.

His jobs often came out of the blue, and he was required to rapidly travel from one state to another, for example when he was required suddenly to travel to Egypt after Abu Nabaa asked him to accompany Harry Junior.

al-Masaafa was surprised and asked Harry Junior why they were traveling, and was taken by surprise when Harry Junior told him that his father and Abu Nabaa were being threatened by 'al-Qa'ida'.

al-Masaafa added that Harry Junior was attacked in Khalda area of Amman when unidentified individuals driving two Mercedes cars attacked him, prompting al-Masaafa to intervene to protect him. As a result al-Masaafa's lips were spilt and his eyelid torn and he had to get 11 stitches in hospital.

al-Masaafa then traveled to Germany for a cosmetic procedure at his own expense. On returning to Amman he asked Mustafa al-Nabaa's father, Abdul Qadr Abu Nabba to intervene in order for him to be financially compensated. Abdul Qadr spoke with the company's financial director who refused to pay the amount on the pretext that al-Masaafa worked for Abu Nabaa and Sergaent, which meant that he had to be paid by them privately and not by the company.

al-Masaafa, who is 38 and three children, said that he then tried to call Sergaent to demand the compensation he deserved by being exposed to danger on more than one occasion in the course of work, but Sergaent did not reply to phone calls. Once when al-Masaafa called someone who he thinks is 'Marty Martin' who worked previously as a boss in the CIA and was appointed by Sergaent to replace al-Salah to improve relations with the Jordanian government, according to documents from the US tribunal.

The government documents indicate that Sergaent appointed Marty Martin, previously Director of the CIA in the Middle East and appealed to him to strengthen the relationship with the Jordanian government at a time when al-Salah was being estranged and defrauded, according to al-Salah's lawyer.

Sergaent, a former official in the Republican Party in Florida, was one of the closest business partners to the Pentagon and won billions of dollars worth of oil contracts during the war in Iraq.

A member of the US congress, Henry Waxman, who headed the inquiry, said in a letter to the US Minister of Defense, Robert Gates, that Sergaent had exploited his effective monopoly over supply routes across Jordanian land to inflate the prices of his services 'scandalously', and he described this as the worst form of war profiteering and trafficking.

The Pentagon's audit process last month revealed that the ministry had paid up to 204 million USD too much to Sergaent for fuel contracts thought to be worth around 2.7 billion USD over six years.

The financial audit report added that the Ministry of Defense had agreed to Sergaent's highly inflated prices because there was no competitive service that could obtain an 'exclusive' authorization letter from the Jordanian government.

al-Masaafa asked the person who believes was Marty Martin to deliver a message to Sergaent saying that he was entitled to compensation from him, and 'Martin' replied in Arabic that he would tell Sergaent and get back to him, which he never did.

al-Masaafa is threatening to sue the Jordanian partner Abu Nabaa and the American, Sergaent, in Jordanian courts if he is not financially compensated to the value of 150 thousand Jordanian Dinars.

Source: Ammon News.
Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=13609.

Current Communications between Jordan and Hamas

2011-09-06

* Hamas Leader denied that Syrian government is asking Hamas leadership to leave Syria

AMMONNEWS - A leader of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement , Hamas, reveled that Hamas is having direct communications with Jordanian Authorities.

The source explained that the movement’s communications with Jordanians was not Confidential.

The leader told Ammon News that the movement hopes that the relations between Jordan and the movement would be at the same level of the movement relations with the other Arab countries.

He denied any Syrian pressure on the movement or any attempt to force it to move out from Damascus regardless of Hamas Stand on what is going on in Syria,he stressed that Hamas has never interfered in the internal affairs of Syria or any Arab State.

Source: Ammon News.
Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=13615.

Pakistan monsoon rains affect five million, kill 132

Karachi (AFP)
Sept 5, 2011

Monsoon rains in Pakistan have affected up to five million people and killed 132 others in a month, a senior disaster official said Monday, as the country braced for more wet and wild weather.

Southern Sindh, a flood-prone province where authorities said more heavy rain was expected in the coming days, was the hardest-hit area, with crops and many houses destroyed.

"The floods triggered by heavy rains have killed 132 people and affected four to five million people," doctor Zafar Qadir, the country head of the National Disaster Management Authority, told a press conference in Islamabad.

Qadir said most of those killed died as a result of falling roofs, drowning and water-borne diseases.

An unknown number of women and children are among the victims.

"The magnitude of the calamity is worse than our expectations. We are facing difficulties with every passing time," Qadir said.

"A total of 690,000 houses were damaged, in which 250,000 were completely destroyed," Qadir said, adding floods also killed an estimated 100,000 cattle.

Last year, the worst floods in Pakistan's history affected 21 million people and killed an estimated 1,750, with the south again taking the brunt of mother nature.

Charities have accused Pakistan of since failing to invest in flood prevention measures.

Sajjad Haider Shah, an official at the disaster management authority in Sindh, earlier told AFP that 2.2 million people have been affected and 300,000 displaced there.

"We are providing tents and food to the people and our supplies are getting better everyday," said Shah.

The meteorological office has forecast more rain this week.

Source: Terra Daily.
Link: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Pakistan_monsoon_rains_affect_five_million_kill_132_999.html.

Putin's hard line against protests to be tested

June 08, 2012

MOSCOW (AP) — Helmeted riot police round up hundreds of protesters, including some whose only apparent crime is wearing white ribbons of opposition. A teacher who spoke out about election rigging is dragged into court and fined. Now a new law awaiting President Vladimir Putin's signature raises fines for participating in unauthorized protests 150-fold, to nearly the average annual salary in Russia.

Putin has cracked down on the opposition since returning to the presidency, and he seems to be betting that by threatening demonstrators with prison time and harsh fines he can quash the street protests that have posed an unprecedented challenge to his 12-year rule. His strategy faces a major test on Tuesday when the opposition plans its first mass demonstration since he began his third presidential term on May 7.

Some opposition leaders contend that the tough line will help their cause by fueling anger and bringing more people out for next week's protest. Others say the repression will scare away the middle-class protesters who turned out in the tens of thousands for peaceful demonstrations this winter.

Putin, for his part, is refusing any talks with the opposition. "He understands only one language, the language of force, and therefore he perceives any normal discussion and any rational compromise as personal weakness," said Yevgenia Chirikova, an environmental activist who has campaigned against Kremlin-backed road construction that is destroying a forest outside Moscow.

Chirikova and Ilya Yashin, who recently spent 15 days in jail for leading unsanctioned protests, were among a group of opposition leaders who met Thursday in Moscow to discuss the implications of the new law, which would jack up fines to 300,000 rubles ($9,000).

Yashin tried to ease worries, saying protest leaders would collect donations for those punished, as was done within hours when St. Petersburg teacher Tatyana Ivanova was fined 30,000 rubles ($1,000) last week. Ivanova was found guilty of damaging the reputation of an education department official she had accused of pressuring her and other poll workers to falsify the December parliamentary vote.

The anti-Putin protests broke out after the December election, which observers said was riddled with fraud in favor of Putin's party, and continued in the run-up to the March presidential vote. As many as 100,000 people turned out in the frigid cold for demonstrations demanding free elections, and the streets of Moscow rang with cries of "Russia Without Putin" and "Putin Is a Thief."

Although he was denied a majority in Moscow, Putin won the election to return to the Kremlin post he had held from 2000 to 2008 before moving into the prime minister's office to avoid violating a constitutional ban on more than two consecutive terms.

With the election over, the protest movement seemed to fade. But on the eve of Putin's inauguration, an opposition march and rally drew tens of thousands, far more than either the organizers or the police had expected. The demonstration turned violent after police restricted access to the square where the rally was to be held. Bottles and pieces of asphalt were hurled at police, who struck back by beating protesters with truncheons and detaining more than 400. Some demonstrators were dragged away by their hair. Opposition leaders claim the clash was provoked by pro-Kremlin thugs.

In the days that followed, police chased opposition activists around the city, detaining hundreds. Then the crackdown eased, as the authorities allowed the opposition to set up camp on a leafy boulevard. But there were strings attached: The organizers could not put up placards or make political demands, since that would technically turn the camp into an unsanctioned protest.

The authorities tolerated the camp for about a week before getting a court to rule that the activists were creating a mess in the neighborhood, giving police the legal right to disperse them. The anti-protest legislation also would provide police with new powers against such Occupy-style camps. "Large-scale public gatherings" could be banned and the organizers fined if they disrupted public order.

In a Levada poll released Thursday, 65 percent said they expected the protests to continue, although they differed on how likely the protests were to intensify or spread. The poll, conducted May 25-29 among 1,604 people across Russia, has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

The bill was rushed through the Kremlin-controlled parliament this week in an effort to get it in place before Tuesday's big protest. Putin's signature could come as soon as Friday. Some opposition leaders held out hope that Putin would refuse to sign it. Others, however, said they had no illusions, pointing to a comment by Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov after the violence on the eve of the inauguration. Protesters who hurt riot police, he said, "should have their livers smeared on the asphalt."

It was the kind of language that Putin likes.

Irina Titova in St. Petersburg contributed to this report.

Russian parliament approves harsh bill on protests

June 05, 2012

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin-controlled Russian parliament on Tuesday rammed through a harsh bill that raises fines 150-fold for people taking part in unsanctioned rallies, a move aimed at discouraging the opposition from challenging President Vladimir Putin.

The bill would jack up fines from the current 2,000 rubles to 300,000 rubles ($9,000), and comes after a series of massive protests that have reflected growing public frustration with Putin's 12-year rule. The potential punishment is more severe than for many other crimes, including even violations in the storage of nuclear materials.

The opposition factions in the lower house, the State Duma, put forward several hundred amendments in an unprecedented attempt to stymie the bill's passage, reflecting a new willingness to stand up to the Kremlin.

But members of the Kremlin's majority United Russia party voted the amendments down one by one during a marathon session that lasted nearly six extra hours and ended just before midnight. United Russia then used its majority in the 450 seat parliament to approve the bill in the second and third readings. The final vote was 241-147.

The Kremlin wants the new bill to become law by next Tuesday when the opposition plans a major protest in Moscow. The bill also will require approval by the upper house and Putin's signature, but both steps are formalities.

Since returning to the presidency in May, Putin has toughened his line toward the opposition, whose protests over the winter drew up to 100,000 in an unprecedented challenge to his rule. Due to term limits, Putin spent four years in the prime minister's seat after already serving two consecutive terms as president from 2000 to 2008.

He recently has spoken in support of the bill, saying, "We must shield our people from radical actions." Russian authorities routinely deny permission for opposition rallies or offer rally organizers venues away from the city center.

Sergei Mironov, the leader of the Fair Russia opposition faction, said the bill was a "spit in the face of the Russian people." "This odious bill is an attempt to scare the people and shut their mouth," he said before leading his faction out of the session hall before the final vote.

He and other opposition leaders warned that the law would exacerbate tensions in Russian society and leave the public with no free outlet for discontent. "In the past, tightening the screws in Russia has only caused bloodshed. This is a sure path to a civil war," Gennady Gudkov of Fair Russia faction told the house. "You're assuming responsibility for the country's future and pushing it toward a crisis, collapse and bloodshed."

Fair Russia and the Communists submitted more than 400 amendments to the proposed bill to slow down its passage and raise public awareness about the legislation. "It will destroy the social peace and deepen the divide in the society," said Anatoly Lokot of the Communist Party. "Instead of a dialogue you are offering a big stick."

Sergei Ivanov of the nationalist Liberal-Democratic Party, which usually votes along with Kremlin wishes, said its members opposed the bill. "It was the worst day in the history of the State Duma," he said. "The State Duma hasn't yet seen such a shame."

Several dozen opposition activists, including the leader of the liberal Yabloko party, were detained Tuesday morning outside the State Duma for holding an unsanctioned gathering. Some were released shortly afterward.

The bill would see maximum fines for taking part in unsanctioned rallies rise from 2,000 rubles ($60) to 300,000 ($9,000). United Russia originally proposed an increase to a whopping 1.5 million rubles ($45,000).

For public officials, the maximum fine would be raised to 600,000 rubles ($18,000) from the current 50,000 rubles ($1,500). In comparison, violating safety precautions in designing, building and using nuclear energy facilities that could cause danger or radioactive contagion is punishable by a fine of 200,000 rubles ($6,000).

The bill's authors also included similar punishments for any mass public gathering even if it lacks the formal signs of a political protest. That was a clear response to a series of recent creative demonstrations in Moscow, where participants left their slogans and posters at home and walked silently so that their actions don't formally count as rallies.

Maria Rybakova and Nataliya Vasilyeva contributed to this report from Moscow.