Obama Admin. Expands Endangered Species Act

Friday, 30 September 2011

by Rebecca Terrell

Caving in to pressure from environmental groups, the Obama Administration's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is set expand the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to include more than 800 new species of plants and animals. FWS signed two agreements in federal court, one with the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), and another with WildEarth Guardians (WEG) in which the parties agreed to a timeline for review of the individual species' cases through 2018. The agreements end a number of lawsuits against FWS by various environmental organizations, including CBD and WEG, over species they claim FWS has ignored.

FWS is acting quickly to hold up its end of the bargain. On Monday it approved 374 new species for possible ESA inclusion, based on review of an ongoing 60-day public comment period. Some of the candidates for federal protection have obscure names like the Florida sandhill crane, the green floater mussel and the black rail bird. Others are more familiar, including the American wolverine, the Mexican gray wolf and the Pacific walrus.

If all the animals, sea life and plants included in the two agreements are approved, their numbers will significantly increase the more than 1,800 already protected under ESA. "This has been one of the highlights of my career," beamed CBD Executive Director Kierán Suckling (above), "and certainly one of the most important achievements of the Center for Biological Diversity."

WEG quoted author Joe Roman's enthusiasm over the agreements. "For too long, the Fish and Wildlife Service has been slow to list plant and animals in need of endangered species protection," criticized Roman. "Reducing the backlog of endangered species listings and the conflicts over how best to save them will benefit wildlife and people."

Not so, according to U.S. Representative Mike Simpson. "Today the ESA is a tool for controlling land and water, not for preserving species," says the Idaho Republican. Though he acknowledges the importance of preserving wildlife and the environment, he claims ESA is outdated and ineffective. "Nearly 2,000 species have been listed as threatened or endangered, but only 21 have been recovered. Any other program with such a poor success rate would long since have been terminated," he points out.

Simpson explains ESA authorization expired nearly two decades ago, but the Appropriations Committee continues to fund the unconstitutional agency. As Chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, he stripped its funding from this year's Department of the Interior (DOI) appropriations bill. "At a time of record financial deficits and significantly reduced federal spending, we cannot afford to continue funding outdated and unauthorized government programs," states Simpson.

There are many examples to prove his accusation of ESA enabling government control. In August federal agents armed with automatic weapons made off with $1 million in property from Gibson Guitar Corporation based on rumors the company imported endangered wood. Then there is the $112 million federal payout to farmers restricting their land use to protect a wild bird DOI says exists in such numbers it would take up to 100 years for it to be threatened by extinction. And the controversial Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), where drilling would significantly boost the economy and reduce both America's foreign oil dependence and skyrocketing fuel prices, is off limits due to pressure from radical environmentalists.

Source: The New American.
Link: http://thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/6980-obama-admin-expands-endangered-species-act.

Unions, Socialists Join Forces to "Occupy Wall Street"

WARNING: Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

Friday, 30 September 2011

by Alex Newman

A growing number of unions, prominent big-government advocates, and socialist groups are joining the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations in New York and “solidarity” protests nationwide.

The trend has some analysts very concerned — particularly after reports claimed union bosses tied to the Obama administration were plotting to bring about chaos. And while the protests which began on September 17 may be small now, supporters and critics alike say this may be only the beginning of something much bigger.

In just the last week several large labor groups have officially announced their support for the occupation. The NYC Transit Workers Union, with nearly 40,000 members, voted to back the protesters on September 28. And the SEIU’s massive 32BJ union, which claims to represent over 120,000 property service workers, recently decided to use an upcoming rally to show “solidarity” with the Wall Street occupiers.

"The call went out over a month ago, before actually the occupancy of Wall Street took place," 32BJ spokesman Kwame Patterson told the Huffington Post. But now "we're all coming under one cause, even though we have our different initiatives."

The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union, with over 10,000 members, also endorsed the demonstrations this week. “This occupation on Wall Street calls into question the very foundation in which the capitalist system is based,” it said in a statement, claiming the protests were aiming to hold accountable the “oppressors.”

“Throughout the world, from Egypt to Greece, from China to Madison, Wisconsin, working class people are starting to rise up. The IWW welcomes this,” the group concluded in its endorsement. “We see the occupation of Wall Street as another step — no matter how large or small — in this process.”

According to news reports, more major unions are now considering jumping onboard as well. And powerful organizations backed by “Big Labor” — critics call them “front groups” — are also openly supporting the efforts.

"Their fight is our fight," said Director Michael Kink of the union-backed Strong Economy for All Coalition. "They've chosen the right targets. We also want to see a society where folks other than the top one percent have a chance to say how things go."

Kink‘s organization is backed by some of the most powerful unions in the country, including the SEIU, the AFL-CIO, the Communication Workers of America, several teachers’ unions, and labor groups representing government workers. According to its website the group fights for bigger government and higher taxes.

A broad coalition of socialists and Marxists has jumped on the bandwagon, too. The Socialist Party USA, for example, announced on its website that it “supports the mobilizations to occupy Wall St. in New York and various cities across the US and encourages our locals to take part in these actions.” The party, which aims to create a “new social order,” is even broadcasting a live online video feed from the protests.

Notorious anti-capitalist agitators have recently started to draw attention to the so-called occupation as well — busily touting it to anyone who will listen. Among the biggest names is “documentary-film” maker Michael Moore, who told CNN that the protests would soon spread across America.

The multi-millionaire even went to Wall Street in an effort to attract more media coverage for the occupation. “The people here have lit the spark,” Moore said during a video-taped interview from the protest site (below). “These numbers will grow and they’re going to grow all across the country.”

Moore told the interviewer he wanted to see increased taxes, a “democratic economic system,” and Wall Street bankers whom he blames for the crisis thrown in jail. And even though he didn’t plan to camp out with the protesters, he promised to return often.

“African-American studies” Professor Cornel West, a self-described socialist and the honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, is another one of the big wigs who has joined the campaign. He called it a revolution.

“The elites will tremble in their boots,” he said, noting that Martin Luther King Jr. would smile from the grave. “Don’t be afraid to say revolution.” The crowd repeated each of West’s statements, as if in prayer, and cheered wildly following the short speech.

Openly communist propaganda venues such as the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) are also hyping the events. Even the Communist Party USA-affiliated newspaper People’s World praised the protesters’ signs “demanding curbs on Wall Street, demands for finance reform, job programs for youth, no cuts to Social Security,” and more.

“The Wall Street financiers are terribly afraid,” the publication claimed, saying more than 5,000 demonstrators were present at one point. “Youth taking to the streets to protest the deeds of this nation's financiers constitutes a welcome addition to the big fightback going on in America today. Wall Street had better get used to it.”

Similarly, the communist dictatorship ruling mainland China used its propaganda organs to tout the demonstrations. Calling the alleged American press blackout “shameful,” China Daily Deputy Editor Chen Weihua blasted the so-called “mainstream media” for having “miserably failed” to provide adequate coverage of the thousand or so protesters.

“One US journalist said it was because these people are too left-leaning and do not seem to have a clear goal for their rally,” he wrote. “I am not sure if they are all left-leaning, but a schedule I saw did include sessions on the Communist Manifesto and Spanish Revolution. Still, that does not justify a blackout imposed by the major news media outlets on such a prolonged protest.”

The increasing support for the protests is prompting a mixture of concern and celebration among conservative and free-market-oriented activists. While critical of the unconstitutional alliance between bankers — or “banksters” — and the federal government, constitutionalists remain suspicious of the overwhelming anti-capitalist sentiment displayed by protesters and their supporters.

The objectives of the purportedly “leaderless” anti-Wall Street movement remain somewhat murky — probably on purpose, according to critics. One of the most frequently cited demands, however, is that the government curtail the free-speech rights of companies and organizations.

But in other areas, some conservative activists believe they have found common ground. Some of the websites and organizations associated with the occupation, for example, have even attacked the Federal Reserve, the banker bailouts, and various government wealth transfers to the elite.

“We demand that solutions be found that stop the Federal Reserve from stealing our future,” said a “tactical plan” released by one participating organization known as US Day of Rage. The group blasted “banksters and their minions” and “too big to fail” policies, among other targets.

But more than anything, the protesters and activists appear to be clamoring for bigger government and an end to what little remains of the free market. And according to several reports, the whole movement is actually being orchestrated by anti-capitalist union bosses and tax-funded “community organizers” connected to the Obama administration.

Two of the most prominent individuals alleged to be pulling the strings behind the scenes  are disgraced ACORN founder and union boss Wade Rathke, and regular White House visitor Stephen Lerner of the SEIU. Both were caught earlier this year calling for massive protests, with a video surfacing earlier this year of Lerner scheming to bring down the stock market and destabilize the nation. Numerous analysts called the plots “economic terrorism.”

Despite initial fears among some conservative analysts that the demonstrations would lead to riots and violence from Los Angeles to New York and Boston, the protesters have remained relatively peaceful so far. However, reports of “police brutality” and scuffles with law enforcement continue to surface. And the movement is apparently attracting more supporters every day.

Source: The New American.
Link: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/9718-unions-socialists-join-forces-to-occupy-wall-street.

Sumatran tiger on the brink of extinction, Greenpeace warns

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Environmentalists have expressed grave concern as Indonesia's tiger population in the Sumatran jungle has been reduced to only 400, Greenpeace activists said on Friday. The Sumatran tiger faces imminent extinction.

Illegal logging and plantations have been signaled as the main problem facing the tigers. According to the government of Indonesia, each year approximately 1 million hectares (2.4 million acres) of forest is being cleared. The devastating rate is likely to soon drive the Sumatran tiger into extinction unless urgent action is taken.

Forests around Sumatra's Tesso Nilo are being converted into acacia plantation by PT. Arara Abadi (a subsidiary of Asia Pulp and Paper-APP), Greenpeace Southeast Asia told the Antara news agency, adding that the last remaining forest areas where the tiger lives continues to be destroyed.

The environmental group has urged the Indonesian government to urgently review all existing concessions and increase measures to protect the forests, especially the carbon-rich peatlands.

As the natural habitat of the tigers are being destroyed, the animal is being forced out of their areas and are often seen in villages in search of food or shelter. This has increased tensions among tigers and locals.

On Thursday, Indonesian President Susilo Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed his commitment to save Indonesia's remaining forests but Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaigner Rusmadya Maharuddin emphasized that the commitment needs to materialize into concrete action.

Increasing population and the subsequent need for agricultural plantation such as rice paddies previously drove Indonesia's other two tiger sub-species into complete extinction. In the 1930s, the Bali tiger became extinct due to hunting and deforestation and in the 1970s the Javan tiger suffered the same fate, leaving the Sumatran tiger as the sole tiger sub-species in the country.

Saturday, October 1st, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/news/sumatran-tiger-on-the-brink-of-extinction-greenpeace-warns.html.

Morocco inaugurates first African TGV line

2011-09-30

French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Tangier on Thursday (September 29th) to join Moroccan King Mohammed VI in laying the foundation stone for Africa's first high-speed rail line, MAP reported. The Moroccan-French project for the Rabat-Casablanca-Tangier TGV line's design, construction and maintenance was initiated during Sarkozy's visit to Morocco in 2007.

The Morocco TGV, which will travel at 350 km/hour, will shorten the travel time between Casablanca and Tangier from over five hours to two hours and ten minutes. It is expected to be fully operational by 2015. It may eventually extend to Marrakech and Agadir.

"The high-speed link will be an asset for the development of the Tangier-Tetouan region, which is becoming a hub for the Union for the Mediterranean (UPM)," French Industry Minister Eric Besson said during the Tangier event.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/09/30/newsbrief-05.

'Arab Spring' hits Moroccan tourism

Morocco looks to adopt a more active tourism promotion strategy to stave off the impacts of regional turmoil.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 30/09/11

It has been a tough year for tourism in Morocco. The Arab Spring, the Marrakech bombing, the economic slowdown and the fact that Ramadan coincided with August all took a heavy toll on the sector, Tourism Minister Yasser Znagui said last week.

The sector growth dropped by 6% in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year. Znagui admitted that the growth was weak but added that it was higher than the global average of 4.5%.

Despite a downward trend, Morocco fared better this year than other North African countries. Tunisia witnessed a decrease in tourist arrivals by more than a third, and Egyptian tourism fell by 60%.

"Morocco is the only tourist destination in the region that came away with its head held high in 2011 despite a difficult situation marked in particular by the Arab revolutions," the tourism minister said on September 21st at Top Resa, France's biggest tourism fair.

Sociologist Amine Mrabti echoed the sentiment. The Arab world is perceived as a uniform whole by Westerners, he said, and events in one country affect the others on all levels.

Many industry insiders were disappointed with the figures. Ramadan, the beginning of the school year and regional turmoil have impacted tourism, said travel agent Mohamed Charrati.

"A lot of people opted to postpone their travels," he said. "We've coped so far, but we fear the worst. Officials must come up with effective and fast solutions to support us and turn things around."

Domestic tourism should be encouraged by means of attractive offers, said economist Moha Zaki, and Morocco's strategy on advertising in foreign countries should be reconsidered.

The tourism ministry vowed to ramp up its advertising campaign. The focal point will be the country's diversity, with various aspects to be promoted to potential visitors: the seaside, rural Morocco, ecotourism, mountains, the desert and so on. The campaign will target the traditional markets of Western Europe.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/09/30/feature-03.

Israeli jets 'buzz Turkish drill ship'

Sept. 30, 2011

Israeli planes reportedly buzzed a Turkish ship exploring for natural gas off Cyprus amid a tense confrontation over the region's rich offshore gas reserves.

NICOSIA, Cyprus, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Israeli F-15 warplanes have reportedly buzzed a Turkish seismic ship exploring for natural gas off the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus amid a tense confrontation over the region's rich offshore natural gas reserves.

There was no immediate Israeli response to reports by Turkish and Cypriot newspapers on Thursday's alleged incident.

But the face-off between Israel and onetime strategic ally Turkey has been escalating steadily in recent days, particularly when Turkey sent in the drilling ship, escorted by a navy frigate and a flight of warplanes, Monday.

Ankara was also reported to have deployed F-16 fighters to the Turkish-occupied northern sector of Cyprus, supposedly to bolster its recent naval build-up in the eastern Mediterranean.

The reports said the Turks scrambled two of the F-16s when the Israeli F-15s allegedly violated Cypriot air space.

The F-15s were intercepted and withdrew. No gunfire was reported but the Turks claimed an Israeli air force helicopter later hovered over the drilling ship, the Piri Reis.

Omer Celik, deputy chairman of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party who oversees foreign affairs, declared, "We have shown clearly to everyone that we will not allow the eastern Mediterranean to become a Greek-Cyprus-Israel goal."

The Piri Reis was ordered to drill off southern Cyprus, the Greek sector of the island, after the Greek Cypriots began drilling in the so-called Aphrodite gas field.

That is an extension of large gas fields a U.S.-Israeli consortium discovered off the port city of Haifa in 2009-10.

These contain an estimated 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Aphrodite and some of the 11 other exploration blocks off Cyprus, 150 miles northwest of Israel, are thought to contain similar amounts.

Israel and the Greek Cypriots signed a December 2010 agreement that set the boundaries of their exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded after a short-lived coup by supporters of union with Greece. The Turks seized the northern third of the island and proclaimed it the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Only Ankara recognizes the breakaway enclave. The Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus is recognized internationally.

Israel and the Greek Cypriots seek to collaborate on building undersea pipelines to transport their combined gas production to the European Union via Greece.

Turkey insists the Greek Cypriots cannot drill for gas unless the Turkish Cypriot minority can share in the proceeds.

Ankara also claims no drilling can take place until a peace agreement reuniting the island has been reached. All attempts to do that have failed.

However, the Greek Cypriot leader, President Demetris Christofias, and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu resumed the complex negotiations after a 10-day break for the U.N. General Assembly.

"If the Greek Cypriots agree to stop, we'll stop too," Turkish Minister for European Affairs Egemen Bagis declared during a visit Tuesday to the TRNC. "But if they insist on proceeding, they know Turkey's attitude very well."

The contentious gas issue, which already involves a dispute between Israel and its northern neighbor Lebanon, has been caught up in two of the region's most intractable conflicts, the 63-year-old Arab-Israeli confrontation and the historical rivalry between Turkey and Greece, with war-divided Cyprus as the flash point.

Turkey has effectively broken with its former ally, Israel, over its continued occupation and blockade of the Palestinian Gaza Strip. Relations nose-dived May 31, 2010, after the Israeli navy killed nine Turks during the interception in international waters of a Turkish ship carrying aid to Gaza.

The Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman, citing accounts of the reported buzzing of the Piri Reis in the Turkish daily Vatan and the Greek Cypriot newspaper Phileleftheros, said the Israeli F-15s took off from a base near Tel Aviv.

The pilots flew through the airspace of both Greek Cyprus and the TRNC, allegedly ignoring repeated warnings from Turkish Cypriot air traffic controllers.

The incident was the first reported confrontation between Israeli and Turkish aircraft since the crisis between the two countries erupted in 2010.

But, warned Israeli analyst Jonathan Spyer, given the potential energy riches at stake, "the storm clouds are gathering over the eastern Mediterranean.

"Muscle-flexing in the eastern Mediterranean forms part of Ankara's broader combined strategic and economic ambitions. Israel is part of the picture and is drawing closer to the Cypriots."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/09/30/Israeli-jets-buzz-Turkish-drill-ship/UPI-52831317402419/.

Pakistanis rally against US threats

Sat Oct 1, 2011

Pakistanis have staged nationwide rallies to condemn the United States' threats of unilaterally attacking Pakistan's tribal belt in an alleged hunt for the militant Haqqani network, Press TV reports.

Activists from religious parties took to streets on Friday, days after Washington claimed Pakistan's intelligence agency was supporting the Taliban-allied Haqqani network.

“We are not afraid of the US threats, we are ready to protect our country at all costs if the American forces attack us,” one Pakistani protester said.

The US blames the Haqqani network for recent attacks on its embassy in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

On September 13, Taliban militants fired rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles at the US embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul in a 19-hour siege of the buildings that led to the death of four civilians and two Afghan policemen.

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Thursday that there was growing support in the US Congress for military options against militants in Pakistan beyond the drone strikes Washington has been conducting against pro-Taliban groups in the Asian country.

“We have suffered a lot due to our alliance with the US and its so-called war on terror. Peace can only return to Pakistan once US troops leave the region,” Leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party Ghafoor Haidri said.

Amid escalating tensions, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani brought together leaders of major political groups, including opposition parties, in the All Parties Conference which was held on Thursday as an act of unity in the face of growing US pressures and threats.

“We will not accept any pressure to do more. We will not compromise on our national interests. I hope that all the political leaders and the nation once again get united to protect the country's sovereignty,” Gillani said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/202102.html.

Saudis want political prisoners released

Fri Sep 30, 2011

Hundreds of anti-government protesters have poured into the streets in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, demanding the immediate release of political prisoners.

Chanting slogans against the country's absolute monarchy, demonstrators in the cities of Qatif and Awamiyah on Friday also expressed solidarity with anti-government protesters in neighboring Bahrain and condemned Manama's violent crackdown on peaceful protesters.

The protests come despite tight security and a strict ban on all anti-government rallies.

Saudi activists say there are more than 30,000 political prisoners, mostly Prisoner of conscience, in jails across the Kingdom.

According to the activists, most of the detained political thinkers are being held by the government without trials or legitimate charges and they were arrested for merely looking suspicious.

Some of the detainees are reported to be held without trial for more than 16 years.

Attempting to incite the public against the government and the allegiance to foreign entities are usually the ready-made charges against political dissidents.

Families of political prisoners have repeatedly pleaded with the ruling monarchy to at least give their loved ones a fair trial. But for years now, the families say, the king has ignored their calls.

Human Rights Watch says more than 160 dissidents have been arrested since February as part of the Saudi government's crackdown on anti-government protesters.

According to the Saudi-based Human Rights First Society (HRFS), the detainees were subject to both physical and mental torture.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/202062.html.

US activists to 'Occupy Los Angeles'

Sat Oct 1, 2011

US activists are set to begin “Occupy Los Angeles” in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests that have been occurring in New York City's financial district since September 17.

Organizers said people would march from Pershing Square to City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday morning, the group said on its website.

On Friday, about 2,000 anti-corporate demonstrators marched from a protest camp near Wall Street to the headquarters of the New York Police Department. Activists remained camped out near a small park in lower Manhattan on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Members of the Occupy Wall Street movement, who are protesting issues including the 2008 bank bailouts, foreclosures and high unemployment, have vowed to stay through winter.

Protesters use the slogan "We are the 99 percent” to call attention to the fact that they are not part of the one percent of Americans in possession of the nation's wealth.

Another slogan and the tagline is "The revolution is happening; it's just not in the news."

Organizers have not mentioned the length of the protest in Los Angeles, but asked demonstrators to bring sleeping bags and tents.

New York police have arrested around 100 people so far.

Many protesters became angry after a police commander used pepper spray on four women at last weekend's march and a video of the incident went viral on the Internet.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/202170.html.

New analysis confirms sharks are in trouble

Brisbane, Australia (SPX)
Sep 30, 2011

Sharks are in big trouble on the Great Barrier Reef and worldwide, according to an Australian-based team who have developed a world-first way to measure rates of decline in shark populations.

"There is mounting evidence of widespread, substantial, and ongoing declines in the abundance of shark populations worldwide, coincident with marked rises in global shark catches in the last half-century," say Mizue Hisano, Professor Sean Connolly and Dr William Robbins from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University.

"Overfishing of sharks is now recognized as a major global conservation concern, with increasing numbers of shark species added to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's list of threatened species," they say in the latest issue of the international science journal PLos ONE.

"Evaluating population trends for sharks is complicated," explains Professor Connolly. "The simplest approach of looking at trends in fisheries catches doesn't work well for sharks. First, many countries with coral reefs don't keep reliable records of catches or fishing effort.

"Second, around 75 per cent of the world shark catch consists of illegal and unreported finning. Third, sharks may be caught, discarded, and not reported when fishers are targeting other species."

"An alternative is to take estimates of shark growth, birth, and mortality rates, and use these to calculate population growth rates. Estimates of growth and birth rates are easy to get, but it is very hard to get good estimates of mortality in sharks and other large animals," he says.

To deal with this problem, the team developed several alternative models, which combined birth rates and growth rates for sharks with a variety of different methods for estimating mortality.

They then used state-of-the art statistical methods to combine the uncertainty associated with each of these methods and arrive at a more robust long-term population prediction for two GBR shark species - the grey reef shark and the whitetip reef shark.

As a further check on their results, the researchers used their population projections to see how well their models could explain differences in shark abundances on fished and unfished reefs, based on how long the unfished reefs had been protected.

The team found that results obtained by all methods of assessing shark populations were in close agreement that sharks are declining rapidly due to fishing.

"Our different approaches all painted a surprisingly consistent picture of the current state of population decline, but also of the potential recovery of these species if they are adequately protected," says Mizue Hisano, the study's lead author.

For the Great Barrier Reef shark populations, the close agreement between the different methods appears to justify management actions to substantially reduce the fishing mortality of reef sharks.

"More broadly, we believe that our study demonstrates that this approach may be applied to a broad range of exploited species for which direct estimates of mortality are ambiguous or lacking, leading to improved estimates of population growth."

Population Growth Rates of Reef Sharks with and without Fishing on the Great Barrier Reef: Robust Estimation with Multiple Models by Mizue Hisano, Sean R. Connolly and William D. Robbins is published in PLoS ONE 6.9, September 2011.

Source: Terra Daily.
Link: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/New_analysis_confirms_sharks_are_in_trouble_999.html.

Turkey vows more force against Syrian shelling

October 10, 2012

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's military chief vowed Wednesday to respond with more force to any further shelling from Syria, keeping up the pressure on its southern neighbor a day after NATO said it stood ready to defend Turkey.

Gen. Necdet Ozel was inspecting troops who have been put on alert along the 910-kilometer (566-mile) border with Syria after a week of cross-border artillery and mortar exchanges escalated tensions between the neighbors, sparking fears of a wider regional conflict. Turkey has reinforced the border with artillery guns and also deployed more fighter jets to an air base close to the border region since shelling from Syria killed five Turkish civilians last week.

"We responded and if (the shelling) continues, we will respond with more force," the private Dogan news agency quoted Ozel as saying during a visit to the town of Akcakale, where he offered condolences to a man who lost his wife and three daughters to a Syrian shell.By

On Tuesday, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance was ready to defend Turkey, its strongest show of support to its ally since the firing began. The solidarity, however, is largely symbolic. NATO member Turkey has sought backing in case it is attacked, but despite publicly supporting Syria's rebels Ankara isn't seeking direct intervention. And the alliance is thought to be reluctant to get involved militarily at a time when its main priority is the war in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday schools in Akcakale reopened despite the tense situation. They had been closed due to security concerns. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported fighting between Syrian rebels and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime around the Syrian town of Azmarin, in Idlib province, across from the Turkish border. It said Syrians were fleeing homes in Azmarin, some crossing into Turkey on rowing boats over the river Orontes, that runs along the border.

Private NTV television reported that explosions and automatic weapon fire could be heard in Turkey's Hatay province, coming from the Azmarin region. It said rebels were clashing with some 500 Syrian government soldiers, and that at least 100 rebels had been injured, some of whom had been brought to Turkey for treatment.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been fiercely critical of Syrian President Bashar Assad, said Wednesday that Syria was "the bleeding heart of humanity and the whole Islamic world."

Erdogan told a meeting of the Islamic Conference in Istanbul that Turkey had refrained from responding to half a dozen shells from Syria, but when five people were killed last week "we had to retaliate in the strongest way that we could."

Frank Jordans in Istanbul contributed to this report.

Moscow court frees 1 of 3 Pussy Riot members

October 10, 2012

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow appeals court has freed one of the jailed Pussy Riot members but upheld the two-year prison sentence for the two others.

All three women were convicted in August of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for an irreverent protest against President Vladimir Putin. They argued in court on Wednesday that their impromptu performance inside Moscow's main cathedral in February was political in nature and not an attack on religion.

The judge ruled that Yekaterina Samutsevich's sentence should be suspended because she was thrown out of the cathedral by guards before she could take part in the performance.

Climate change will show which animals can take the heat

Providence, RI (SPX)

Sep 30, 2011

Species' ability to overcome adversity goes beyond Darwin's survival of the fittest. Climate change has made sure of that. In a new study based on simulations examining species and their projected range, researchers at Brown University argue that whether an animal can make it to a final, climate-friendly destination isn't a simple matter of being able to travel a long way.

It's the extent to which the creatures can withstand rapid fluctuations in climate along the way that will determine whether they complete the journey.

In a paper in Ecology Letters, Regan Early and Dov Sax examined the projected "climate paths" of 15 amphibians in the western United States to the year 2100. Using well-known climate forecasting models to extrapolate decades-long changes for specific locations, the researchers determined that more than half of the species would become extinct or endangered.

The reason, they find, is that the climate undergoes swings in temperature that can trap species at different points in their travels. It's the severity or duration of those climate swings, coupled with the given creature's persistence, that determines their fate.

"Our work shows that it's not just how fast you disperse, but also your ability to tolerate unfavorable climate for decadal periods that will limit the ability of many species to shift their ranges," said Sax, assistant professor of biology in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. "As a consequence, many species that aren't currently of conservation concern are likely to become endangered by the end of the century."

The researchers chose to study frogs, salamanders, and toads because their living areas are known and their susceptibility to temperature changes has been well studied. Based on that information, they modeled the migratory paths for each creature, estimating their travels to be about 15 miles per decade.

The climate models showed fluctuations in temperatures in different decades severe enough that four creatures would become extinct, while four other species would become endangered at the least. The other seven would "fare OK," Early said, "but they all lose out a lot."

The temperature swings can cause a species to be stopped in its tracks, which means that it has to do double time when the climate becomes more favorable. "Instead of getting warmer, it can get cooler," said Early, the paper's lead author, of the climate forecasts.

"That means that species can take two steps forward, but may be forced to take one step backward, because the climate may become unsuitable for them. Unfortunately, if they take a step back, they have to make up all of that ground. That's what causes the gaps in the climate path."

The study is unique also in that it considers at species' ability to weather adverse intervals. Early and Sax said unfavorable climate lasting a decade would put the species in a bind. If the interval lasted two decades or more, it was likely the species would become extinct.

"We've identified one critical piece of information that no one's really thought about, and that is what's the ability of species to persist under non-optimal conditions," Sax said. "If you move to those conditions, can it hang on for a while? The answer will vary for different species."

Rapid changes to climate already being witnessed underscores the study's value. A growing number of scientists believe climate change is intensifying so quickly that the planet is hurtling toward a sixth mass extinction in history - and the first widespread perishing of creatures since the dinosaurs' reign ended some 65 million years ago.

For the first time, species are grappling not just with projected temperatures not seen for the last 2 million years but also with a human-shaped landscape that has compromised and fragmented animals' natural habitats.

Confronted with these realities, Early and Sax say wildlife managers may need to entertain the idea of relocating species, an approach that is being hotly debated in conservation circles. "This study suggests that there are a lot of species that won't be able to take care of themselves," Sax said.

"Ultimately, this work suggests that habitat corridors will be ineffective for many species and that we may instead need to consider using managed relocation more frequently than has been previously considered."

Source: Terra Daily.

Link: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Climate_change_will_show_which_animals_can_take_the_heat_999.html.

Managing Future Forests for Water

Asheville, NC (SPX)
Sep 30, 2011

Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) scientists recently used long-term data from the Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory (Coweeta) in Western North Carolina to examine the feasibility of managing forests for water supply under the changing weather conditions forecast for the future.

Published in the September issue of the journal Ecological Applications, the analysis examines the interactions among changing weather conditions, forest management, and streamflow using long-term data from paired watershed studies at Coweeta, a 5,600-acre research facility and Forest Service Experimental Forest.

"Long-term data from experimental forests are truly the foundation of Forest Service research," says SRS Research Ecologist and lead author Chelcy Ford.

"For this study we took one of the longest continuous records of climate and hydrology and coupled it with data from the long-term forest management experiments on the paired watersheds to look at both precipitation patterns and the feasibility of using forest management to sustain water supply."

The data analysis revealed that precipitation patterns are changing and becoming more extreme, in line with what climate models predict for the area.

"We found significant increases in temperature and in the frequency of extreme wet and dry years since the 1980s," says Ford. "These findings tied with those on management and streamflow have implications for managers in any area where changes in precipitation patterns could occur."

Management approaches used in Coweeta watershed studies include conventional thinning strategies as well as more intensive approaches such as converting hardwood stands to pines.

Partly because pines keep their needles year-round, conversion from hardwoods to pines decreases streamflow. For this study, Coweeta researchers asked whether vegetation on managed watersheds responded differently to extreme dry and wet years than vegetation on unmanaged watersheds.

"The answer in almost all cases was yes," says Ford.

"But from a streamflow perspective, the extreme case of converting hardwood forest to pine produced the largest effect on available surface water.

Though it might be a good option for mitigating climate change under future scenarios of increased precipitation, species conversion from hardwood forest to pine would be a poor choice under drier scenarios where it could worsen water shortages by reducing the amount of available water in streams."

Land managers and policy makers are looking to forests for options to offset the effects of climate change, and to forest management as a way to create ecosystems more resilient to the weather effects of a changing climate, but Ford and her fellow authors advise managers to look closely at the risks and vulnerabilities involved in managing for climate change, especially in relation to water supply.

"Managers need to carefully weigh the risks of adopting one strategy over another," says Ford.

"They also need to realize that any strategies they consider will have to address these risks at the regional or even more fine-scaled level, taking into account possible changes to local precipitation patterns."

Source: Terra Daily.
Link: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Managing_Future_Forests_for_Water_999.html.

Dalai Lama waiting for South African visa

Sept. 30, 2011

PRETORIA, South Africa, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- South African officials said China is not pressuring them to deny the Dalai Lama permission to visit South Africa.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, who is invited to South Africa to attend Archbishop Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday party next week, has not been granted a visa, the BBC reported.

Tutu says the government is "kowtowing to Chinese pressure," the report said.

The Office for Tibet in South Africa said the Dalai Lama's paperwork was submitted in June and again in August. South Africa has said it is considering the request.

A South African official denied that Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe's visit to China has anything to do with the visa delay.

"The visit of the deputy president has got nothing to do with the visa application of the Dalai Lama," Clayson Monyel, spokesman for the South African Department for International Relations, told the BBC. "There is absolutely no pressure from anyone whatsoever."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/09/30/Dalai-Lama-waiting-for-South-African-visa/UPI-19071317381438/.

Sarkozy in Morocco for rail construction

Sept. 30, 2011

CASABLANCA, Morocco, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy traveled to Morocco Friday to oversee the beginning of construction of a, high-speed rail link.

When completed, the $4 billion project will connect the capital of Casablanca with the Moroccan cities of Rabat and Tangiers, the BBC reported Friday.

Financing for the project included loans from France.

The current Moroccan government said the project will enhance economic relations between the two countries but former government officials called it a waste of funds.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/09/30/Sarkozy-in-Morocco-for-rail-construction/UPI-93781317386747/.

Jordanians call for resignation of PM

Fri Sep 30, 2011

Thousands of Jordanians have taken to the streets in the capital, Amman, to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit and the dissolution of the lower house of parliament.

Accusing the government of Bakhit and lawmakers of "protecting corruption", nearly 4,000 anti-government protesters marched from Al-Husseini mosque to nearby city hall following the Friday Prayers, to call for their removal from power.

"A government that is protecting corruption cannot be trusted, and a parliament of corruption does not represent the people," chanted the protesters who held banners reading, "You will not be able to fool us".

The protest rally came after the lower house approved a bill that would criminalize corruption allegations. According to the bill, those who publicly accuse officials of corruption without proof will be fined between 30,000 and 60,000 dinars (USD42,000-USD85,000).

The demonstrators also condemned the recent constitutional changes, which were approved by King Abdullah II on Friday.

They say the amendments are insufficient and do not meet their key demands for a new electoral law and an elected prime minister.

The constitutional reforms include the creation of an independent commission to oversee elections and the limitation of the jurisdiction of the military state security court.

Similar anti-government protests were also held in other major Jordanian cities.

Jordan has faced anti-government rallies demanding reforms and an end to corruption since January.

In June, in a bid to appease protesters, King Abdullah II announced some concessions, including the formation of future governments that were based on an elected parliamentary majority rather than one appointed by the monarch.

However, the monarch said it may take two to three years to put an elected government in place.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/202002.html.

Interim govt. formation delayed in Libya

Fri Sep 30, 2011

The head of the executive office of Libya's opposition National Transitional Council (NTC) says the formation of an interim government will be postponed until all Libya is under the council's rule.

Mahmoud Jibril told reporters on Thursday that the existing executive office would continue to function as the caretaker administration, Xinhua reported.

Last week, however, he had said the county would have a new government within the next seven to ten days.

Libya has been the scene of intense fighting between forces loyal to the fugitive former dictator Muammar Gaddafi and revolutionary fighters since mid-February.

NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil has said that at least 25,000 people had been killed and 50,000 others injured during the revolution.

He has also pledged that the fight against the remnants of the former regime would continue.

Revolutionaries are now fighting Gaddafi's loyalists in the former dictator's remaining strongholds -- the cities of Sirte and Bani Walid in the north.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201910.html.

Police disperse protesters in DR Congo

Fri Sep 30, 2011

Opposition supporters in Democratic Republic of Congo have clashed with police after authorities tried to stop a march towards the country's electoral body.

The clashes happened in the capital Kinshasa on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Supporters of opposition figure Etienne Tshisekedi, who organized the march, accuse the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) of bias.

Police used teargas grenades to disperse protesters before they could reach the CENI.

Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in the African country in November and will be the second set of elections since the last war ended in 2003.

However, analysts say the votes could be hit by delays and a lack of confidence in the process.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/201915.html.

Brazil in 'urgent' need of fighter jets: minister

Brasilia (AFP)
Sept 30, 2011

Brazil's defense minister has reignited speculation about a multi-billion-dollar fighter jet deal by saying his country is in "urgent" need of new combat aircraft despite this year's budget cuts.

The French Dassault's Rafale fighter, the US Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Swedish Saab's Gripen NG have long been in stiff competition for the estimated $4-7 billion contract, as Brazil has postponed a final decision.

Brazil earlier this year postponed the expected purchase to 2012, citing the need for budget cuts in 2011 due to the deteriorating world economy.

But Defense Minister Celso Amorim said Thursday that there was little time to waste, as Brazil's current fleet is aging rapidly.

"By the end of 2013, none of the 12 Mirage (aircraft) at the Anapolis air base will be in full flying condition. This is something that is really urgent, very important," Amorim said, according to a state-run news agency.

"The need to defend the Amazon, the borders -- We need to have adequate combat aircraft," he said.

He reiterated Brazil's position that the "transfer of technology" is the key sticking point, as the emerging economic giant is keen to develop its own fighter aircraft manufacturing capability.

Brazil has repeatedly delayed making a decision on the tender for 36 new fighter jets.

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had promised to declare a winner before leaving office at the end of 2010, but instead handed the tender over to his successor, Dilma Rousseff, who has put off making a choice and shown no preference for any of the jets.

The winning jet will form the spearhead of Brazil's air force for the next three decades and replace the vintage jets now patrolling the vast Amazon forest and protecting offshore oil finds.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Brazil_in_urgent_need_of_fighter_jets_minister_999.html.

National Post: Russia over centuries is always tyrannic, only labels change

28 September 2011

The Canadian newspaper National Post reported on a new self-appointed of Putin as gang leader of Russia:

"To nobody's huge surprise, Vladimir Putin, Russia's latest red tsar, is headed back to the country's top job next year.

Only the hopelessly naive would suggest Putin still has to win a presidential election, in which Russians allegedly get to choose from an array of candidates.

It doesn't work that way in the new Russia. Rule by strongmen (and a few women) has a hallowed history, from tsars Ivan the Terrible through Peter and Catherine - both with soubriquets the Great - to the Bolsheviks rulers Lenin and Stalin.

Only the ideologies change. The tyranny remains remarkably consistent, whatever the label. And thanks to changes to the Russian constitution, enacted while Putin's poodle Dimitry Medvedev occupied the president's office, he can stay in power for another 12 years.

A commentary in the Canadian newspaper illustrated by a photograph from Reuters, on which Putin was filmed with a pistol in the dash. Putin's words under photo: "Now put up the photo of Khodorkovsky".

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/28/15185.shtml.

Russian army prepares to suppress popular uprisings

28 September 2011

According to Moscow media reports, Operational and Strategic Exercises Center-2011, conducted by the Russian army, showed that the army was preparing for bloody suppression of food riots.

The experts found a lot of inconsistencies in the "exercises". In particular, it remains unclear why the military demonstrated mainly the ability to perform police duties, and no answer was found to the question why the military exercises were called strategic, but were devoted to the elaboration of tactics.

The exercises were conducted in Putin's Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and on the Caspian Sea. The final stage of the maneuvers was held in Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk region, and was watched Putin's poodle Medvedev.

The "Russian supreme commander" Medvedev saw "a special operation to free hostages", apparently, imprisoned KGB officers, cops and gang members of the Putin's ruling United Russia party.

There was nothing strategic in the special operation of capturing a village from "bandits", i.e. rebellious people, by a tank brigade, special forces and interior troops.

Participants of a popular uprising were "disarmed" and "neutralized" with tanks, infantry and drones. "Probably, military leadership envisages such a warfare in the future", noted the media.

According to Lieutenant General Yuri Netkachev, a scenario, under which the troops acted, brings sad thoughts. Indeed, based on the alleged progress of events, we can conclude that Russian leadership envisages uprising in many Russian communities, he says.

Colonel General Vladimir Popov, in turn, expressed surprise that army and police forces are engaged in such exercises, when there is still no Putin's "stability" in the North Caucasus.

Military experts do not understand why the General Staff focuses on teaching the troops to conduct combat operations in populated areas. However, everything gets clear, if we assume that popular uprisings start in populated centers throughout Russia. In this scenario, such military exercises by the Russian Army get some sense, the media concludes.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/28/15189.shtml.

Polio Spreading Out From Pakistan

By Zofeen Ebrahim

KARACHI, Sep 26 2011 (IPS) - Despite two decades of mass oral polio vaccination (OPV) drives, Pakistan has failed to control the crippling pediatric disease. Health authorities now fear that it is exporting the virus and setting back global eradication plans.

Over the last two months, seven cases have been confirmed in China’s western Xinjiang province where a vaccination drive is under way. It is the first outbreak since 1999, when it was traced to India. China’s last indigenous case was in 1994.

“It is a sad piece of news, but not altogether unexpected,” said Dr. Nima Abid, polio team leader for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Pakistan, talking to IPS.

The strain of polio isolated in China is genetically linked to the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) currently circulating in Pakistan, according to a Global Alert and Response (GAR) warning from the WHO released on Sep. 20.

WHO says this confirms that the poliovirus is spreading internationally from Pakistan, and blames inadequate immunization in the country for the spread.

“In 2011, supplementary immunization activities in Pakistan have been inadequate in quality in key high- risk areas,” states the GAR.

WHO’s concern is shared by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “Clearly there was enough travel between the two countries for the virus to have been exported,” said Dennis King, head of UNICEF’s polio unit in Islamabad.

“It is a very serious concern,” King said. “The floods last year and the security conditions have presented real challenges to immunization activities for eradication.”

According to King, despite the immunization programs the virus has continued to circulate in parts of Balochistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Sindh and Karachi.

Since 1988, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative – spearheaded by WHO, Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF – has achieved a 99 percent reduction in polio incidence worldwide.

This spectacular achievement has been possible through the mass administration of OPV simultaneously to all children below the age of five, to induce ‘herd immunity’ in entire regions and replace the wild polio virus with a cultured, attenuated strain.

Pakistan now leads four countries including Afghanistan, Nigeria and India where polio remains endemic. But Pakistan is the only country that has seen resurgence.

The last 10 years saw Pakistan taking massive strides to reduce the polio incidence. In 2005, the number of cases went down to just 28, but since then there were signs of the OPV drive losing momentum.

In 2008, there was a jump to 117 cases, followed by 89 in 2009 and 144 in 2010. This year, the country has already reported 90 cases, with the cold season, when virulence increases, yet to begin.

King said there is now pressure on the Pakistan government to improve the quality of immunization drives.

While partners and donors acknowledge factors like natural catastrophes and insurgency, King is “not sure how patient they will be if they don’t see big drop in polio cases by the end of this year or early next year.”

Referring to the outbreak in China, he said polio will spread as long as there is “uncontrolled polio transmission in any country.”

There is now better coordination between Afghanistan and Pakistan authorities, especially after it was found that the strain of the virus circulating in both countries was the same.

“Transit teams at every border post ensure that children are vaccinated irrespective of which side they are coming in and we’re impressed with that,” King told IPS.

An outbreak of polio in 2010 in areas of Tajikistan along Afghanistan’s northern borders, which left 500 children paralyzed, shows the rapidity with which the virus spreads.

India has, since September, made it mandatory for all children up to five years of age crossing the border overland by bus or train to be given polio drops.

For five years now, Saudi Arabia has been following a policy of requiring people coming into that country from Pakistan and other polio-endemic countries to carry certificates of vaccination, and also have OPV drops on arrival.

For now, more than the export of the virus to neighboring countries, health experts are concerned with increased transmission within Pakistan.

“The government needs to get to the root of the problem,” Dr. Mubina Agboatwala, former head of the polio clinic at Karachi’s government hospital, told IPS.

“Is it campaign fatigue? Why has the enthusiasm sapped? Are the vaccinators doing their job? Why are certain pockets persistently unreached?"

Agboatwala says it is now clear that the key to controlling polio in Pakistan lies in micro-planning to ensure that every child is vaccinated.

There is emphasis on micro-planning for vaccination campaigns at the operational as well as the communication level, under the National Emergency Action Plan for Polio Eradication launched in January by President Asif Ali Zardari.

“We are leaving no stones unturned to reach and vaccinate every child under five years of age in every vaccination round,” said King.

“We have to reach every doorway and convince every parent that OPV is safe and necessary to prevent polio. By having their children vaccinated every time teams come to their door, Pakistani parents can protect their children,” King said.

“Further, by cooperating, Pakistani parents can gift a polio-free world to countless unborn generations of the world’s children,” King added.

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).
Link: http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/09/polio-spreading-out-from-pakistan/.

South Sudan's Most Vulnerable

By Danielle Batist

JUBA, Sep 29 2011 (Street News Service) - At first sight, the village of Rokwe on the outskirts of Juba looks like any other village in South Sudan. The sun shines bright on the grass roofs of the mud huts and sounds from a church choir practicing can be heard in the distance. Only the scenery at the local health center gives away that this is no ordinary place.

Dozens of patients seek shelter from the sun on the concrete veranda. Many have more than one disfigured limb. Some are able to move around, others struggle to walk. Rokwe is a colony for leprosy patients.

Erkolan Onyara was only 13 when he discovered a few sore spots on his legs. He did not know what they were, and when more painful spotting appeared all over his body, he showed his mother. Recognizing the symptoms from her own illness, she got very upset. Erkolan – just like her – had leprosy.

Soon, he lost sensation in the affected skin areas and the wounds started to get infected. By the time his illness got worse, his mother had passed away.

Not knowing how they could care for Erkolan, the family heard of a village where people with leprosy were taken care of by a group of church brothers. Erkolan’s elder brother brought him to Rokwe in 1976 and the St Martin De Porres Brothers accepted him in the colony.

Erkolan remembers his first months in the village like it was yesterday. “I was all alone and I felt scared. I did not know anyone and I did not know what was happening to my body. It was a difficult time for me.”

Like many leprosy sufferers, Erkolan was losing sensation in his hands and feet, leading him to often cut himself or injure his feet while walking. When he was 19 years old, disaster struck. “I was cooking dinner and tried to grab a pot that was on the fire. I did not feel the heat and both my hands burnt very badly. I lost my fingers and part of my hands.”

Life as a young boy in the colony was a struggle for Erkolan. With the help of some of the Brothers he had built a small tukul (mud hut), but as a boy alone he had trouble feeding himself.

“I could not work because of my disfigurement. I went fishing in the Nile sometimes or tried to grow some crops to eat, but often I was hungry.” One of the Sisters from a nearby parish used to visit Erkolan and help him with basics like cooking and laundry.

The small health centre the Brothers ran from within the colony was chronically under-resourced. The ongoing war made the supply of medicine unstable. Still, they were determined to treat the village’s patients and cure them of their leprosy. Erkolan was cured in 1986, but the disease had taken its toll on the young man’s body: his hands were badly disfigured and he missed several toes, causing him instability when walking.

The medical breakthrough in the battle against leprosy came in 1981, when a World Health Organization Study Group on Chemotherapy of Leprosy prescribed the use of a multidrug therapy (MDT) as the standard treatment for the disease.

Despite being cured of leprosy, most of the patients stayed on in the village. Their often severe disabilities made life in one of the poorest regions in the world even harder for them than for most other people. And in the middle of the brutal civil war, the colony too many felt like the safest place to stay.

Brother Bruno Dada has been working in the colony for the past 23 years. He says fighting did happen around the village over the years, especially since the army built military barracks very close to the colony.

However, the stigma against leprosy has in some way protected the 350-strong village from the violent raids many other places in the area endured. Soldiers used to ignore the village because they believed there was nothing there to plunder. They were also afraid to enter the colony as they believed they would catch the disease.

As Brother Bruno puts it: “There is a stigma. People think that they will get leprosy if they shake hands with a patient, whereas in fact, it is impossible to get infected that way. Even if patients’ leprosy has been cured years ago, many people are still afraid to go near them.”

Despite the preconceptions, many leprosy patients in Rokwe lived in fear throughout the war. Erkolan expresses the anxiety that was felt by many villagers: “We were always afraid because we knew we were vulnerable. If any fighting did break out, we could not defend ourselves.”

Erkolan married a woman from the village and they still live in the hut he built when he arrived as a young boy. He is the proud father of three boys and three girls, the oldest of whom is now married and has moved away.

If Erkolan could make one miracle happen, it would be for his oldest daughter to finish her education. “We struggled badly for money and had to take her out of school”, he says. “She was a very good student but we just could not provide. We had to send her to get married so that her husband’s family could look after her. I still feel bad about that now.”

A recent gift from an uncle has improved life slightly for Erdokan’s family. He was given an old bicycle, which he uses to go to the forest and collect firewood to sell. “Cycling for me is easier than walking. I can carry the wood on the bike to the roadside. I don’t sell a lot but sometimes I get a few (Sudanese) pounds.”

Whilst most South Sudanese are hopeful about the future of their country, independent since July, Erkolan can’t help but be skeptical. “There has been no development here for so long. No government cares for us. I hope things will change but we will have to wait and see.”

According to the WHO there has been a dramatic decrease in leprosy cases in the past decades – from 5.2 million cases worldwide in 1985 to 805,000 in 1995 and 213,036 cases at the end of 2008. However, more than 200,000 new cases are still reported each year, mostly in poverty-stricken places like Sudan.

In Rokwe, the lack of government support for the leprosy patients and their families has to some extent been compensated by the work of international aid organizations.

During the war, the World Food Program and a charity group supplied meals in the colony. Although occasional new cases of leprosy still emerge, the disease is largely under control in the region, thanks to a widespread treatment campaign which cures patients fast and stops spread of the disease.

But for people like Erkolan and others in the leper colony, the treatment came too late. Their illness might be under control, but the damage to their limbs cannot be undone.

The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF), with the assistance of Sudanaid, supports some of the poorest sufferers and their families. They provided them with non-food items including 481 mosquito nets, 400 cooking pans, 400 sleeping mats, 400 blankets and 400 jerry cans for fetching water.

SCIAF is currently working on a new project with the Brothers to provide income-generating opportunities for residents and to set up a vocational training centre. They also help improve the housing situation for villagers in most urgent need of a new tukul or repairs to stop leaking in the rainy season.

One of the beneficiaries of the house repair scheme is Laurence Modi, 24. His life story – like that of so many in southern Sudan – is intensely sad. He was brought to the colony in the late 1980s by relatives.

Just a toddler, his small body was full of painful wounds that were the starting point of a childhood full of suffering. Both his parents had passed away, and tiny Laurence was dropped in the colony together with his sister, who was barely a teenager. The children moved into an abandoned mud hut and were left to their own devices.

Laurence received treatment from the Brothers to stop his leprosy, but his hands and feet were so badly affected that the simplest tasks like making a fire or digging the ground to cultivate land became impossible. He relied on his sister, who played the role of a mother, despite being only a child herself.

When in 2004 she left the village to get married, Laurence’s small world fell apart. “She was all I had,” he says, fighting back tears as he speaks. “I was really sad when she left.”

Lonely in his tukul, he started worrying about his future. A neighbor had begun to cook him food every day and help him out with household tasks, but he knew this could not go on forever. The grass roof of his tukul was leaking and at night during the rainy season, he often woke up because of the water dripping down inside. He suffered bouts of depression and saw no way out of his problems.

Early this year, one of the Brothers informed Laurence that he had been put on a list for a new roof. “I thought I was dreaming. I worried so much about the house. I was afraid I would have to go and find shelter at other people’s huts. I built this hut with my sister in 2000, we did it all by ourselves. It means a lot to me to live here.”

The prospect of an improved house has given Laurence reason to look towards the future again. When the sun sets over Rokwe each night, Laurence sits in front of his hut and takes a moment to himself. He often dreams of the day he will no longer be by himself. “I would love to find a girlfriend and marry and have children. That is natural. My dream is to improve the house and start a family here.”

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).

Link: http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/09/south-sudanrsquos-most-vulnerable/.

Algeria faces new health sector strike

2011-09-29

Algerian healthcare unions threatened new strike actions next month, El Watan reported on Thursday (September 29th). A work stoppage, with the exception of emergencies, is slated for October 9th. The strikes will then increase by one day each week. Healthcare professionals are complaining of unsatisfactory working conditions. Earlier this year, Algerian paramedics staged a 2-day walkout to demand that the government comply with its promise to implement a salary-related "special status" change.

Source: Magharebia.

Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/09/29/newsbrief-04.

Iran sends cruise missiles to its navy

Sept. 28, 2011

TEHRAN, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Cruise missiles with a range of 124 miles were delivered to the Iranian navy to bolster the country's national defense, the military said.

The Iranian Defense Ministry said it supplied "large numbers" of anti-ship cruise missiles to the Iranian navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reports.

Iranian military officials noted, during a ceremony commemorating the delivery, that the cruise missiles were manufactured domestically.

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, the Mehr News Agency in Iran reported, said his country was working on a radar system to counter incoming cruise missile threats. An anti-missile system, he added, is being designed with the aim of retargeting enemy missiles.

Tehran had wanted Russia's S-300 missile defense system to protect its nuclear installations from a possible aerial attack by the Israelis, who bombed an Iraqi nuclear facility in the 1980s.

A 2005 contract signed by Moscow and Tehran outlined terms of the sale of the S-300 missile defense system. The missile system boasts a range of around 100 miles and can engage several targets at once.

However, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed an executive order last year prohibiting the sale of military equipment to Iran.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/09/28/Iran-sends-cruise-missiles-to-its-navy/UPI-13011317217158/.

Health workers given jail terms in Bahrain

Sept. 29, 2011

MANAMA, Bahrain, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- A military prosecutor in Bahrain announced charges against 20 healthcare workers for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government.

The group of Bahraini doctors and nurses were given sentences ranging from 5-15 years in prison on charges of "spreading fabricating stories and lies" and gaining access to "unlicensed weapons to topple the regime," the official Bahrain News Agency stated.

All of those sentenced to prison had worked at the Salmaniya medical complex in Manama. Bahraini security forces raided the facility in March as part of a crackdown on a Shiite uprising in the country.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay described the March 16 seizure by security forces of the hospital as "shocking and illegal conduct."

Human Rights Watch in a 54-page report published early this year said it had documented "serious government abuses" against medics and patients wounded during opposition protests.

In a separate case, BNA said Ali Yusuf Abdulwahab al-Taweel was sentenced to death and Mehdi Ali Attia was given a life-in-prison sentence for their role in the death of a Bahraini police officer.

Human Rights Watch said Washington was sending the wrong message when it authorized a $53 million arms sale to Bahrain. Bahrain was criticized for its response to the uprising.

Bahrain is host to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/09/29/Health-workers-given-jail-terms-in-Bahrain/UPI-39851317315622/.

Merkel gets a hostile reception on Greek visit

October 09, 2012

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel got a hostile reception from many ordinary Greeks Tuesday when she flew into Athens on her first visit to the country since its debt crisis erupted three years ago.

But she praised the current Greek government for covering "much of the ground" required for recovery. "I hope and wish that Greece remains a member of the eurozone," Merkel said. "As partners, we are working hard to achieve that."

Her visit triggered protests attended by some 50,000 demonstrators in Athens. The rallies were mostly peaceful, but police briefly clashed with several dozen demonstrators and detained nearly 200 people throughout the day.

As Europe's largest contributor to the bailout fund that has rescued Greece from bankruptcy, Germany is viewed by many Greeks as the primary enforcer of the austerity measures the Greek government enacted in exchange for emergency aid.

Debt monitors from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, known as the "troika", will deliver a report within coming weeks on whether Greece should receive its next bailout payment, without which it will go bankrupt.

Merkel, who stopped in Athens for five hours, said the coalition government led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras still had to push through more key cost-cutting reforms. "Much of the ground has been covered ... There is daily progress," Merkel said after talks with Samaras. "This is an effort that should be seen through because otherwise it would make the circumstances even more dramatic later on."

Although the German leader damped expectations in Athens of a stronger message of public support for Greece, Samaras said Merkel's visit had ended "the country's international isolation." Greece has depended on bailouts from Europe and the International Monetary Fund since May 2010. To get the loans, it has implemented a series of deep budget cuts and tax hikes, while increasing retirement ages and facilitating private sector layoffs. To date, Greece has received €240 billion ($310 billion) in bailout loans and has renegotiated a €110 billion deal on the repayment of some of its bonds.

However, Athens must pass further austerity measures worth €13.5 billion over the next two years to qualify for its next rescue loan payment — without which the government will run out of cash next month.

Enduring austerity is set to extend Greece's recession to a sixth year in 2013 and push the rate of unemployment up to nearly 25 percent, according to government estimates. "Greece is determined to carry out its commitment and overcome the crisis," Samaras said. "At this moment, the country is bleeding but is determined to remain in the euro ...We are not asking for more money or favors — but only a chance to stand on its feet."

Merkel's stop in Athens was welcomed by the Greek government as a much-needed boost for the country's future in Europe — but protesters viewed it as a harbinger of further austerity and hardship. Dozens of youths broke away from the peaceful rally and threw rocks and flares at riot police, who responded with pepper spray and stun grenades, in clashes that were relatively minor.

More than 7,000 police had cordoned off parks and other sections of city to keep demonstrators away from the German leader. As a helicopter buzzed overhead, thousands of protesters, chanting "History is written by the disobedient" gathered in front of Greek parliament. One group of demonstrators burned a Swastika and threw it onto a police barrier, while a group of special forces reservists appeared in uniform and chanted "Merkel out of Greece" in time to their march.

"I have no doubt that (Merkel) has good intentions, and wants to help, but that won't solve Europe's problem," retired teacher Irini Kourdaki said. "Europe is polarized and ... we need a major change in policy."

Merkel's visit followed a subtle shift in political rhetoric in Germany toward the Greeks, with the chancellor repeating her desire to keep Greece in the eurozone and urging political allies to refrain from public criticism of the Athens government. It appeared that a goal of the trip was to affirm her support for Samaras as Germany's best bet to see through painful structural reforms which the Germans believe are necessary if Greece is to regain economic stability.

That was a marked difference with the tone of statements made last summer, when some Merkel allies were openly dismissive of the Greeks for alleged economic mismanagement. Some politicians even suggested that Greece's departure from the common currency would not produce the economic shock that many fear.

The visit was also likely aimed at preventing the opposition Social Democrats from criticizing her for allegedly failing to display strong personal leadership in the euro crisis in the run-up to national elections expected in about a year.

Merkel told reporters in Athens that the troika report was "taking longer than was originally thought." "But it's better to deal with problems in detail that to try and address them quickly," she said.

A senior Greek government official said rescue creditors had given the country a list of around 90 structural reforms to be approved immediately so that the vital next loan installment could be paid sometime next month.

The official asked not to be named, since talks between Merkel and Samaras were ongoing.

AP writers in Berlin and AP television and photography staff and in Athens contributed.

Red Cross launches first Spain crisis fund

October 10, 2012

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish Red Cross on Wednesday launched its first-ever campaign for donations to help Spaniards hit by economic crisis, in a sign of how needy this nation has become.

The Red Cross and other aid groups say soaring unemployment and government austerity measures are leaving tens of thousands of people in need of food and financial help. While the Spanish Red Cross does already help people in the country, its fundraising has always been directed at helping poorer nations.

Wednesday's campaign, titled "Now More than Ever," aims to collect €30 million ($39 million) over two years to help an extra 300,000 people. The agency helped some 2 million in Spain last year, most of whom needed food and financial assistance because of the crisis.

The agency set up collection points in cities across Spain and thousands of volunteers paced the streets seeking contributions. Spokesman Jose Javier Sanchez Espinosa said the crisis "is affecting more sectors of society than before" and that now "even people from the middle class who have lost one or two jobs in their households are finding themselves in need of our help."

On top of this, "25 percent of children are living under the poverty level and old people now have their children and their grandchildren depending on their pensions," he said. Spain is in its second recession in three years, and has near 25 percent unemployment.

The government has introduced a series of austerity measures, involving tax hikes, wage freezes and job cuts as well as labor and financial sector reforms. They're aimed at reducing debt and increasing investor confidence, amid fears that Spain's troubles could hurt the entire eurozone and force it to ask for a public finances bailout too expensive for the zone to handle.

But the measures have so far had little positive effect on the economy, while causing increased hardship for many people. "The situation is getting worse and worse," said Sanchez. The Red Cross campaign coincides with reports by other groups signaling that increasing unemployment and reductions in social services are pushing more people than ever into seeking social and economic aid.

The Catholic Church charity organization Caritas recently reported that last year it helped more than 1 million people, up from 350,000 in 2007. "We find in recent years poverty is intensifying, (and) not just affecting more people but hitting those already suffering even harder," said Caritas' Francisco Lorenzo.

He described the situation in many households as "chronic," pointing out that 52 percent of the nearly 5 million people now out of work have been jobless for more than a year, compared to 23 percent in 2007.

He said this did not just imply reduced income, but also lower morale and motivation to look for work. UNICEF in Spain said Tuesday that latest Eurostat figures show there are 2.3 million children now living below the poverty line in Spain, up by 80,000 from last year.

It said there were now some 760,000 households with children that had no adult working, 46,000 more than last year. Paloma Escudero of UNICEF Spain said it was imperative for the government to take into account the effect its economic measures have on children.