N. Korea to restart reactor to fuel arms program

Seoul (AFP)
April 2, 2013

North Korea said Tuesday it would restart a nuclear reactor to feed its atomic weapons program, in its clearest rebuff yet to UN sanctions at the heart of soaring tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The announcement was the latest in a series of aggressive statements by Pyongyang that have prompted the deployment of nuclear-capable US B-52s, B-2 stealth bombers and a US destroyer to South Korea on "deterrence" missions.

A Pyongyang government nuclear energy spokesman said the move would involve "readjusting and restarting" all facilities at the main Yongbyon nuclear complex, including a uranium enrichment plant and a five-megawatt reactor.

The aim was to "bolster the nuclear armed force both in quality and quantity", the spokesman was quoted as saying by the official KCNA news agency.

The North shut down the Yongbyon reactor in July 2007 under a six-nation aid-for-disarmament accord, and destroyed its cooling tower a year later.

It was the sole source of plutonium for the nuclear weapons program.

Experts say it would take six months to get the reactor back up and running, after which it would be able to produce one bomb's worth of weapons-grade plutonium a year.

North Korea revealed it was enriching uranium at Yongbyon in 2010 when it allowed foreign experts to visit the centrifuge facility there, but insisted it was low-level enrichment for energy purposes.

The mention of "readjustment" will fuel concerns that it will be upgraded -- if it hasn't been already -- into a facility for openly producing weapons-grade uranium.

Tuesday's announcement triggered international alarm, with North Korea's only major ally China among the first to voice regret and call for restraint.

Kim Yong-Hyun, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University, said the nuclear initiative was in a different league from the military bluster of recent weeks.

"This goes beyond mere provocation. It's a strong, tangible move and perhaps the one that will force the US into the direct dialogue Pyongyang wants," Kim said.

The prospect of North Korea on a joint plutonium and uranium enrichment path is a hugely worrying one for the international community.

The North has substantial uranium ore deposits which provide a quick route to boosting reserves of fissile material, while plutonium has the advantage of being easier to miniaturize into a deliverable nuclear warhead.

"The international community has spent years working to stall and roll back the North's nuclear program," said Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the non-proliferation unit at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

"If the North now does what it says it's going to do, it'll be pushing ahead with both barrels," Fitzpatrick told AFP.

Many observers believe the North has been producing highly-enriched uranium in secret facilities for years, and that the third nuclear test it conducted in February may have been of a uranium bomb.

Its previous tests in 2006 and 2009 were both of plutonium devices.

The Korean peninsula has been caught in a cycle of escalating tensions since the February test, which followed a long-range rocket launch in December.

Subsequent UN sanctions and annual South Korea-US military exercises have been used by Pyongyang to justify a wave of increasingly dire threats against Seoul and Washington, including warnings of missile strikes and nuclear war.

But the tough talk has yet to be matched by action.

"Despite the harsh rhetoric we're hearing from Pyongyang, we are not seeing changes to the North Korean military posture, such as large-scale mobilizations," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

The nuclear announcement followed a top-level meeting Sunday of the North's ruling party, at which young leader Kim Jong-Un stressed the importance of upgrading the "quantity and quality" of the country's nuclear arsenal.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/N_Korea_to_restart_reactor_to_fuel_arms_programme_999.html.

N. Korea blocks access to key industrial zone

Seoul (AFP)
April 3, 2013

North Korea blocked access to and from its joint industrial zone with South Korea Wednesday, a move that could sharply escalate tensions and fuel concerns the crisis on the Korean peninsula is spinning out of control.

The Kaesong industrial complex is a crucial source of hard currency for the regime in Pyongyang and seen as a bellwether of inter-Korean relations, beyond all the military rhetoric that regularly flies across the border.

The latest North Korean move fitted into a cycle of escalating tensions that prompted UN chief Ban Ki-Moon to warn Tuesday that the situation had "gone too far" as the US vowed to defend itself and regional ally South Korea.

Hundreds of South Koreans travel to and from Kaesong, which lies 10 kilometers (six miles) inside North Korea, every day, but officials said the normal morning crossing had been delayed Wednesday.

"North Korea has not yet given us the daily permission for the entry of 484 South Koreans into Kaesong today," a South Korean Unification Ministry spokeswoman told AFP.

Another 861 South Koreans are inside the complex and the first scheduled exit by some of them was also delayed.

It was not immediately clear if the blocked movement was permanent, but the Unification Ministry stressed that plants in Kaesong were running normally.

"We are waiting, unable to leave," Kim Dong-Kyu, a company manager currently in Kaesong told the YTN news channel.

"We don't know the situation well but I'm not particularly worried.

"Plants are operating normally and the atmosphere here is like, business as usual. It doesn't appear that the complex will be closed as far as I can tell," Kim said.

North Korea has always been careful in the past not to allow crises on the Korean peninsula to impact Kaesong, which was established in 2004. Around 53,000 North Koreans work at plants for 120 South Korean firms at the complex.

The last time the border crossing was blocked was March 2009 in protest at a major US-South Korean military exercise. It reopened a day later.

Tensions have been soaring on the Korean peninsula since the North held a nuclear test in February, having launched a long-range rocket in December.

In a rare show of force in the region, Washington has deployed nuclear-capable US B-52s, B-2 stealth bombers and two US destroyers to South Korean air and sea space.

Standing side-by-side with counterpart South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, US Secretary of State John Kerry denounced Tuesday an "extraordinary amount of unacceptable rhetoric" from North Korea in recent days.

"Let me be perfectly clear here today. The United States will defend and protect ourselves and our treaty ally, the Republic of Korea," Kerry said.

He was speaking after the North triggered renewed alarm by warning it would reopen its mothballed Yongbyon reactor -- its source of weapons-grade plutonium.

The recent posturing by new North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was "dangerous and reckless," Kerry said.

Earlier, Ban Ki-moon warned the situation was veering out of control and stressed that "nuclear threats are not a game."

"The current crisis has already gone too far... Things must begin to calm down," the former South Korean foreign minister said, adding that negotiations were the only viable way forward.

The North shut down the Yongbyon reactor in July 2007 under a six-nation aid-for-disarmament accord, and destroyed its cooling tower a year later.

Experts say it would take six months to get the reactor back up and running, after which it would be able to produce one bomb's worth of weapons-grade plutonium a year.

North Korea revealed it was enriching uranium at Yongbyon in 2010 when it allowed foreign experts to visit the centrifuge facility there, but insisted it was low-level enrichment for energy purposes.

The North has substantial uranium ore deposits which provide a quick route to boosting reserves of fissile material, while plutonium has the advantage of being easier to miniaturize into a deliverable nuclear warhead.

Many observers believe the North has been producing highly-enriched uranium in secret facilities for years, and that the third nuclear test it conducted in February may have been of a uranium bomb.

Its previous tests in 2006 and 2009 were both of plutonium devices.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/N_Korea_blocks_access_to_key_industrial_zone_999.html.

Lebanon clashes rage near mosque; 16 soldiers dead

June 24, 2013

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese army units battled followers of a hard-line Sunni cleric holed up in a mosque complex in a southern port city on Monday, the second day of fighting that has left at least 16 soldiers dead, the military said.

The clashes in Sidon, Lebanon's third-largest city some 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Beirut, are the latest bout of violence in Lebanon linked to the conflict in neighboring Syria. They are the bloodiest yet involving the army — at least two of those killed are officers. The Lebanese media has depicted the clashes as a test for the state in containing armed groups that have taken up the cause of the warring sides in Syria, whose sectarian makeup mirrors that of its smaller neighbor.

The two days of fighting between troops and armed supporters of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir have transformed the city, which had been largely spared the violence plaguing border areas near Syria, into a combat zone.

The National News Agency said the clashes also left fifty wounded. Hospital officials said at least three of al-Assir's supporters died in the fighting. The military in a statement said the gunmen were using the religious compound to fire on its troops and had taken civilians as shields.

Machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenade explosions caused panic among residents of Sidon. Residents reported power and water outage. The city streets appeared largely deserted Monday. Local media reported many residents were asking for evacuation from the heavily populated neighborhood around the Bilal bin Rabbah Mosque where al-Assir preaches, and where the fighting has been concentrated. The local municipality said that the city is "a war zone," appealing for a cease-fire to evacuate the civilians and wounded in the area.

Many people living on upper floors came down or fled to safer areas, while others were seen running away from fighting areas carrying children. Others remained locked up in their homes or shops, fearing getting caught in the crossfire. Gray smoke billowed over parts of the city.

The military appealed to the gunmen to hand themselves in. In its statement, it said that it "reassures all Lebanese that it will continue to uproot the strife and will not stop its operations until security is totally restored to the city and its boroughs, and falls under the rule of law and order."

The clashes erupted Sunday in the predominantly Sunni city after troops arrested a follower of al-Assir. The army says supporters of the cleric opened fire without provocation on an army checkpoint. Al-Assir is a virulent critic of the powerful Shiite militant Hezbollah group, which along with its allies dominates Lebanon's government. He supports rebels fighting to oust Syria's President Bashar Assad.

A few Hezbollah supporters in the city were briefly drawn into the fight Sunday, firing on al-Assir's supporters. At least one was killed, according to his relatives in the city who spoke anonymously out of concerns for their security.

But the group appeared to be staying largely out of the ongoing clashes. Last week, al-Assir supporters fought with pro-Hezbollah gunmen, leaving two killed. Early Monday, al-Assir appealed to his supporters through his Twitter account in other parts of Lebanon to rise to his help, threatening to widen the scale of clashes.

The tweets did not give a clear statement on how the battle began. It came after a series of incidents pitting the cleric's followers against other groups in the town, including Hezbollah supporters and the army.

The cleric is believed to have hundreds of armed supporters in Sidon involved in the fighting. Dozens of al-Assir's gunmen also partially shut down the main highway linking south Lebanon with Beirut. On Monday, they opened fire in other parts of the city, with local media reporting gunshots in the city's market.

Fighting also broke out in parts of Ein el-Hilweh, a teeming Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon, where al-Assir has supporters. Islamist factions inside the camp lobbed mortars at military checkpoints around the camp. Tension also spread to the north in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city. Masked gunmen roamed the city center, firing in the air and forcing shops and businesses to shut down in solidarity with al-Assir. Dozens of gunmen also set fire to tires, blocking roads. The city's main streets were emptying out. There was no unusual military or security deployment.

Sectarian clashes in Lebanon tied to the Syrian conflict have intensified in recent weeks, especially after Hezbollah sent fighters to support Assad's forces. Most of the rebels fighting to topple Assad are from Syria's Sunni majority, while the President Bashar Assad belongs to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Walid al-Moallem, Syria's foreign minister, blamed the violence in Lebanon on the international decision to arm rebels, saying that it will only serve to prolong the fighting in Syria and will impact neighboring Lebanon.

"What is going in Sidon is very dangerous, very dangerous," he told reporters in Damascus. "We warned since the start that the impact of what happens in Syria on neighboring countries will be grave." In Syria, activists reported fighting Monday between Syrian troops and rebels in the northern province of Aleppo as well as districts on the edge of the Syrian capital and its suburbs.

Clashes in Lebanon have also mostly pitted Sunni against Shiite. The most frequent outbreaks have involved rival neighborhoods in the northern port city of Tripoli, close to the Syrian border. President Michel Suleiman called for an emergency security meeting later Monday.

Headlines of Lebanon's newspapers were all dominated by the violence in Sidon, with many seeing it as a test for the state to impose order. "An attempt to assassinate Sidon and the military," read the headline of the daily al-Safir. "Al-Assir crosses the red line," read another headline in al-Jomhouria daily. A third headline in al-Nahar read: "Yesterday war in Sidon. Today, decisiveness or settlement?"

Syria opposition welcomes aid boost for rebels

Beirut (AFP)
June 23, 2013

Syria's main opposition group on Sunday welcomed a decision by Arab and Western governments to boost their assistance to rebel fighters but said more such moves were needed to end the 27-month conflict.

"The Syrian National Coalition thanks the (Friends of Syria) countries for their decisions, and welcomes the assistance that they pledged," the group said.

"More steps of this decisive nature remain necessary, in order to end the conflict quickly, to stop Syrians' blood from being spilt, and to make sure their aspirations are fulfilled."

The National Coalition said that it regretted that the decision to boost assistance to the rebels had not come sooner.

It said "thousands of... lives could have been saved," had the decision been taken earlier.

The opposition's statement came a day after Qatar said the Friends of Syria had agreed on a "secret" plan to ramp up assistance to the rebels.

At the meeting in Doha, US Secretary of State John Kerry pledged new support for the rebels to end an "imbalance" in President Bashar al-Assad's favour.

The National Coalition did not have an official delegation at the meeting.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Syria_opposition_welcomes_aid_boost_for_rebels_999.html.

Thousands in pro-Erdogan demo in Vienna

June 23, 2013

VIENNA (AP) — Several thousand people have taken part in a demonstration in Vienna in support of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Police said about 8,000 people participated in Sunday's pro-Erdogan demonstration in the Austrian capital— many waving red-and-white Turkish flags and some carrying banners with pictures of the Turkish leader.

About 600 people took part in a separate protest against a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in Turkey. Protests in Turkey erupted three weeks ago after riot police brutally cracked down on environmental activists opposing plans to develop Istanbul's Gezi Park.

The demonstrations soon turned into expressions of discontent against Erdogan, who won a third term in office in 2011 elections. His critics say he is showing increasingly authoritarian tendencies. Austria has a sizeable Turkish community.

Ecuador says Snowden seeking asylum there

June 24, 2013

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Ecuador's foreign minister said Monday his country will act not on its interests but on its principles as it considers an asylum request from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, wanted for revealing classified U.S. secrets.

Speaking to reporters through a translator at a hotel in Hanoi, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said the asylum request "has to do with freedom of expression and with the security of citizens around the world."

Patino spoke briefly to reporters on his way to a meeting with Vietnam's foreign minister. He did not say how long it would take Ecuador to decide. Snowden was on a flight from Hong Kong that arrived in Moscow Sunday and was booked on a flight to Cuba Monday, the Russian news agencies ITAR-Tass and Interfax reported, citing unnamed airline officials.

"We know that he's currently in Moscow, and we are ... in touch with the highest authorities of Russia," Patino said. Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said Snowden was bound for Ecuador "via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from WikiLeaks." The organization's founder Julian Assange, was granted asylum by Ecuador last year and has been staying at the country's embassy in the United Kingdom.

The Russian reports said a plane carrying Snowden arrived in Moscow on Sunday and he was booked on a flight to Cuba on Monday. The reports cited unnamed airline officials and said he intended to travel from Cuba to Caracas, Venezuela. There was also speculation that he might try to reach Ecuador.

Snowden had been in hiding in Hong Kong for several weeks after he revealed information on the highly classified spy programs. Patino said Ecuador would not base its asylum decision on its potential to damage the country's relationship with the United States

"There are some governments that act more upon their own interests, but we do not," Patino said. "We act upon our principles." He added, "We take care of the human rights of the people." Patino was to hold a news conference Monday evening in Hanoi.

WikiLeaks said it was providing legal help to Snowden at his request and that he was being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from the group. Assange has spent a year inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about sex crime allegations. He told the Sydney Morning Herald that his organization is in a position to help Snowden because it has expertise in international asylum and extradition law.

WikiLeaks: Snowden going to Ecuador to seek asylum

June 24, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — Admitted leaker Edward Snowden took flight Sunday in evasion of U.S. authorities, seeking asylum in Ecuador and leaving the Obama administration scrambling to determine its next step in what became a game of diplomatic cat-and-mouse.

The former National Security Agency contractor and CIA technician fled Hong Kong and arrived at the Moscow airport, where he planned to spend the night before boarding an Aeroflot flight to Cuba. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government received an asylum request from Snowden, and the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said it would help him.

"He goes to the very countries that have, at best, very tense relationships with the United States," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., adding that she feared Snowden would trade more U.S. secrets for asylum. "This is not going to play out well for the national security interests of the United States."

The move left the U.S. with limited options as Snowden's itinerary took him on a tour of what many see as anti-American capitals. Ecuador in particular has rejected the United States' previous efforts at cooperation, and has been helping WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, avoid prosecution by allowing him to stay at its embassy in London.

Snowden gave The Guardian and The Washington Post documents disclosing U.S. surveillance programs that collect vast amounts of phone records and online data in the name of foreign intelligence, but often sweep up information on American citizens. Officials have the ability to collect phone and Internet information broadly but need a warrant to examine specific cases where they believe terrorism is involved.

Snowden had been in hiding for several weeks in Hong Kong, a former British colony with a high degree of autonomy from mainland China. The United States formally sought Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong but was rebuffed; Hong Kong officials said the U.S. request did not fully comply with their laws.

The Justice Department rejected that claim, saying its request met all of the requirements of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and Hong Kong. During conversations last week, including a phone call Wednesday between Attorney General Eric Holder and Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen, Hong Kong officials never raised any issues regarding sufficiency of the U.S. request, a Justice spokesperson said.

A State Department official said the United States was in touch through diplomatic and law enforcement channels with countries that Snowden could travel through or to, reminding them that Snowden is wanted on criminal charges and reiterating Washington's position that Snowden should only be permitted to travel back to the U.S.

Those officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case. The Justice Department said it would "pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel."

Russia's state ITAR-Tass news agency and Interfax cited an unnamed Aeroflot airline official as saying Snowden was on the plane that landed Sunday afternoon in Moscow. Upon his arrival, Snowden did not leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. One explanation could be that he wasn't allowed; a U.S. official said Snowden's passport had been revoked, and special permission from Russian authorities would have been needed.

Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House's National Security Council, said, "Given our intensified cooperation after the Boston marathon bombings and our history of working with Russia on law enforcement matters — including returning numerous high-level criminals back to Russia at the request of the Russian government — we expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged."

The Russian media report said Snowden intended to fly to Cuba on Monday and then on to Caracas, Venezuela. U.S. lawmakers scoffed. "The freedom trail is not exactly China-Russia-Cuba-Venezuela, so I hope we'll chase him to the ends of the earth, bring him to justice and let the Russians know there'll be consequences if they harbor this guy," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

With each suspected flight, efforts to secure Snowden's return to the United States appeared more complicated if not impossible. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, but does with Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. Even with an extradition agreement though, any country could give Snowden a political exemption.

The likelihood that any of these countries would stop Snowden from traveling on to Ecuador seemed remote. While diplomatic tensions have thawed in recent years, Cuba and the United States are hardly allies after a half century of distrust.

Venezuela, too, could prove difficult. Former President Hugo Chavez was a sworn enemy of the United States and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this year called Obama "grand chief of devils." The two countries do not exchange ambassadors.

U.S. pressure on Caracas also might be problematic given its energy exports. The U.S. Energy Information Agency reports Venezuela sent the United States 900,000 barrels of crude oil each day in 2012, making it the fourth-largest foreign source of U.S. oil.

"I think 10 percent of Snowden's issues are now legal, and 90 percent political," said Douglas McNabb, an expert in international extradition and a senior principal at international criminal defense firm McNabb Associates.

Assange's lawyer, Michael Ratner, said Snowden's options aren't numerous. "You have to have a country that's going to stand up to the United States," Ratner said. "You're not talking about a huge range of countries here."

That is perhaps why Snowden first stopped in Russia, a nation with complicated relations with Washington. Russian President Vladimir Putin is "aiding and abetting Snowden's escape," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

"Allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States," Schumer said. "That's not how allies should treat one another, and I think it will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia relationship."

It also wasn't clear Snowden was finished with disclosing highly classified information. "I am very worried about what else he has," said Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a California Democrat who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she had been told Snowden had perhaps more than 200 sensitive documents. Ros-Lehtinen spoke with CNN. Graham spoke to "Fox News Sunday." Schumer was on CNN's "State of the Union." Sanchez appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press." Feinstein was on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Associated Press White House Correspondent Julie Pace and Associated Press writers Matthew V. Lee and Frederic J. Frommer in Washington, Lynn Berry in Moscow, Kevin Chan in Hong Kong and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

Black clouds hang over Spain's small solar farms

Thu Jun 20, 2013

(Reuters) - After retiring from a long career at IBM, Spain's Angel Miralda poured his savings into a small solar farm in the hilly northern region of Huesca, encouraged by government promises of stable returns.

Now Miralda fears a new government energy policy will deepen cuts to renewable energy subsidies, wipe out his savings and push his business over the brink.

Small-scale photovoltaic (PV) energy producers like Miralda started investing in solar panels when the government was offering lucrative subsidies under a decade-long drive to become a global leader in green energy.

But a prolonged economic recession and a yawning budget gap forced Madrid to pull back its support for renewables, and more cuts are on the way, threatening major losses on personal investments and even defaults on bank loans.

Banks financed 80 percent of a total 25 billion euros ($33.5 billion) invested in PV installations in Spain, according to industry association ANPIER, of which Miralda is one of about 4,300 members.

While big companies also raced to develop wind and solar technologies, the vast majority of PV investments were by small-time savers.

Miralda made a down-payment on a solar farm in Benabarre, Huesca, launched as a cooperative with eight other investors in 2008 when government-guaranteed returns on investments were more attractive than sovereign bond yields and an unpredictable stock market.

His local bank put up 70 percent of the financing.

"I decided to do it because it seemed like a safe, profitable investment backed by the government. I'd always been interested in energy, and I thought it was a good way to help our country's economic development," Miralda, 65, told Reuters.

"I trusted the terms laid out in the 2007 law," he said, referring to the royal decree that became a cornerstone for PV investments before successive changes to the law that have dented revenues by 40 percent.

The royal decree guaranteed regulated revenues of 450 euros per megawatt hour, but with 3,861 MW of PV capacity in 2010 - 10 times the government's goal - it started to limit entitlement to incentives.

Now Miralda says revenue from his solar farm is not enough to cover payments on his loan, which is backed by his home, or the maintenance on his 500-kilowatt installation.

Further cuts expected by mid-July could be critical.

"The situation is delicate. If there's another cut I don't know what we'll do," Miralda said, echoing the concern of thousands of Spanish PV investors, many of them farmers.

NO RECOURSE

Unlike the large foreign funds that have initiated legal action against Spain for changing solar rules, under Spanish law domestic investors have no legal recourse because the changes were passed by executive decree.

Instead they have launched an internet platform called Nuevo Modelo Energetico with the support of attorneys, renewable associations and political parties to protest their plight in Spain and Europe.

"The government encouraged us to invest, and now they're changing the rules in the middle of the game. In any other business, contracts have to be upheld, and in this case one of the parties is our own government," Miralda said.

Spanish Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria has argued he had no choice but to put a cap on incentives that led to an uncontrolled PV bubble.

Other European countries are also struggling to reconcile years of heavily subsidized growth in renewable energy with current overcapacity and tight finances. But some, like Germany, have considered scaling back future incentives rather than changing the terms for existing projects.

Years of government support for renewables are largely to blame for a current 26 billion euro deficit in Spain's power system that the European Union has called on the country to erase as it struggles to keep public finances under control.

Soria must cut 4 billion euros from annual power system costs to keep the tariff debt from growing, but recently said he would spread the pain across sectors and wanted to ensure "reasonable returns" on investments by linking subsidies to sovereign borrowing costs.

Spain's large utilities also invested heavily in renewable energy projects and face a hit to earnings from a fresh round of cuts due by the middle of July. But the pain for small investors will be felt closer to home.

"We have to pay back those loans no matter what, even if it means selling our land," said Ramon Salvia, a 46-year-old agricultural technician who stretched his savings to join 11 other partners in a 5 million-euro, 600 kw solar farm in Linyola, northeast Spain.

"It's a question of pride," Salvia said.

(Writing by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Will Waterman)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/20/us-spain-energy-renewables-idUSBRE95J0OP20130620.

Chaos, Islamist threat plague Libya's lawless desert south

By Marie-Louise Gumuchian
SABHA, Libya | Thu Jun 20, 2013

(Reuters) - Sitting on cement blocks, surrounded by shisha pipes and machine guns, a dozen or so tribesmen guard a makeshift checkpoint outside the main city in Libya's desert south.

They are there to guard against smugglers and criminals, who have multiplied since Muammar Gaddafi's downfall in the 2011 war. They also say they are ready to battle Islamist militants that Libya's neighbors and Western nations fear are crossing the North African country's porous borders.

"If I hear al Qaeda is here, I will kill them. We know what happened in Mali and we won't allow it here, even if we only have rifles," Mohammed Wardi, 25, said as a war movie blasted from an old television nearby. "We are here to protect Libya."

A French-led military campaign this year broke Islamists' hold over the northern two-thirds of Mali, killing hundreds of al Qaeda-linked fighters and pushing others into neighboring states like Niger and eventually Libya, security officials say.

The men with Wardi are from the Tibu tribe, a black African ethnic group that also lives in Chad and Niger, which along with ill-trained tribal militias of former rebel fighters and a poorly-equipped national army are trying to maintain security in Libya's southern desert hinterlands.

The long-neglected region, with borders stretching more than 2,000 kms and home to major oil fields, has grown more lawless as the country's new rulers - hundreds of miles away in Tripoli - struggle to impose order on a country awash with weapons.

The south has seen rising violence, weapons and drug trafficking and an influx of illegal immigrants, leading the national assembly to declare the region a military zone, a decree the weak government has little power to enforce.

"The south is dying and the government is ignoring us. Crime is rampant, there are tribal animosities, smuggling and we are worried that what is happening in Mali will spread here," said a local government official, who declined to be identified.

"We are free of Gaddafi but we are prisoners to chaos."

IN NEED OF WEAPONS AND BINOCULARS

Even under Gaddafi, the south was poorly patrolled and smugglers have long used the area - a crossroads of routes to Chad, Niger and Algeria - for trafficking drugs, contraband cigarettes and people to Europe.

But now the traffickers, who also specialize in weapons, fuel, stolen vehicles and subsidized food, are as well-armed as the security forces tasked with catching them.

"We have patrol planes, convoys of cars but the area is very big," said a senior army source at the base for the south's military governor. "Sometimes phones don't work well and we need better equipment - planes, cars, weapons even binoculars."

Adding to the lack of equipment, the militias the state relies on - especially in the harsh desert terrain its soldiers do not know - are rife with long-standing grievances.

During his 42-year iron-fisted rule, Gaddafi often played off one tribe or clan against the other and tensions persist. Last year fighting between Tibu, oasis farmers by tradition, and Arab militias in Sabha and Kufra killed more than 150 people.

Skirmishes still erupt over control of smuggling routes, sometimes by the groups supposed to be catching the culprits.

In towns such as Sabha and Obari, a remote outpost 200 kms away, police struggle to rein in crime, compounded by unemployment, drug abuse and plentiful weapons.

Military convoys and bases have been attacked. Last month, Sabha airport was briefly shutdown by angry Tibu protesting against the disappearance of a militia leader.

The main prison for the southwest is in Sabha but it holds just 95 criminals. It has been attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and prisoners broke free earlier this year.

"Most of the prisoners came back as they were too afraid to be out on the streets," Mohammed Ali Azbari, who manages the former rebel fighters now acting as prison guards, said.

"We now have the army outside the prison."

At Sabha hospital, doctors tell of how patients have been shot inside the grounds by angry rival tribesmen seeking revenge. Bullet holes are still visible on the floor.

ISLAMIST THREAT

Restoring order in the south is important to the stability of the wider region, where Islamist influence is spreading after the defeat of the insurgents in Mali.

A string of attacks in Niger including on a French-run uranium mine have shown how rebels have taken advantage of a security vacuum since the Mali conflict.

Security officials say lawless southern Libya has become the latest haven for Islamist groups. Paris has put the blame firmly on these groups for attacking its embassy in Tripoli in April.

Libyan officials insist Islamists have not found shelter in their deserts.

"There are no al Qaeda groups here. We can say that and we know," said Mahmoud Abdelkareem, an official from Obari council involved in security matters for the south. "Our men in the desert would find them easily and this has not happened."

But Western nations are worried. Earlier this month NATO, which played a major role in toppling Gaddafi, said it would send experts to Libya to see how it can improve security.

"We can't deny some activities are going on. The fact that the area is not properly secured encourages smuggling, perhaps even training camps," said one Libyan security official from the town of Ghadames, on the border with Algeria.

Residents in Sabha tell of hearing stories of weapons being sold across the border and areas briefly shutdown by militias.

"There are people who went to fight in Mali and others have come from there. But they are keeping a low profile, most likely near the borders," said the first local government official.

"Any cooperation however between a tribal group here and them is likely to be financial rather than ideological."

Gaddafi's overthrow flooded the Sahara with pillaged weapons and ammunition, which Tripoli has failed to clamp down on.

"Libya is an open air arms market; it will remain a source of weaponry for 10 years," an Algerian security analyst said.

Security sources say veteran al Qaeda commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar acquired arms in southern Libya and his fighters used it as a transit route before a mass hostage-taking at a gas plant in Algeria in January in which dozens were killed.

Many fear Libya's oil facilities, also guarded by former rebels, may face a similar threat.

"The situation in the south has worsened dangerously fast," Muftah Bukhalil, head of the intelligence office in Kufra, said.

"You can just about expect anything these days."

(Additional reporting by Ghaith Shennib in Kufra and Myra Macdonald in Algiers; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/20/us-libya-south-idUSBRE95J0NO20130620.

Airbus shows off new military transport plane

Le Bourget, France (AFP)
June 21, 2013

The new Airbus military transport plane, much delayed and much needed by European defense forces, flew in to the Paris Air Show on Friday with the French President on board.

The plane, offering an exceptional range of capabilities, was a highlight of the fifth day of the 50th Paris Air Show when the gates were also thrown open to the public.

French President Francois Hollande, flew in to the show in one of the first Airbus A400M military transport planes.

Hollande came from a base west of Paris to the Le Bourget business airport were the show takes place every two years, but was to return to nearby Paris by road later in the day.

The A400M is set to enter service with the French Air Force within weeks, following years of troubled development owing in part to problems with its powerful turbo-prop engines.

The plane, a star at Le Bourget, was built to transport 37 tonnes of personnel, armored vehicles or helicopters up to 3,300 kilometers (2,000 miles) to rustic landing strips near battle or disaster zones.

Delays in production meant that the aircraft was not available to transport French troops when Hollande sent forces into Mali.

"It is ready and will be a great success," Hollande forecast, both in military terms and commercially, generating badly-needed jobs for the French economy.

The French leader vowed that the plane would honor its "rendez-vous on July 14," the national holiday when military aircraft of all stripes participate in an aerial parade above the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Airbus expects to sell 400 of the cargo planes in the next 30 years, 174 of which have already been ordered by Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey.

It is four years behind schedule however, and has exceeded its initial budget by 6.2 billion euros ($8.2 billion), or about 10 percent.

As Hollande strolled through the show, two women activists from the Femen movement bared their breasts to highlight the plight of two others jailed since May 29 in Tunisia for having also demonstrated topless.

They were quickly handcuffed and taken away by the president's security detail.

-- New Airbus 'Hushliner' A350 flies over --

Another professional highlight of the show was a brief flyover by the new Airbus A350 passenger jet, in the air for just the third time since its maiden flight a week ago.

Airbus spokesman Alan Pardoe insisted the flyby was "not choreographed" but a part of the extensive flight tests, which are to total 2,500 hours, that all new planes undergo before they can be delivered to clients.

Dubbed the "Hushliner," the plane passed in front of an effectively hushed crowd, followed by eight screaming jets of the Patrouille de France precision military flying team.

"It's very elegant," approved Genvieve Lefranc, a pensioner from the southern Dordogne region who came to Le Bourget with friends to see the A350.

"Handsome and majestic," commented Jacques Juillet, another of those who made the trip, before adding: "Our pride and joy."

Pardoe said Airbus was not sure when the plane first flew over Toulouse, southern France, "whether there was any prospect of getting it here," noting that "the weather has kept us on our toes."

Heavy thunderstorms that have drenched the show this week are not the kind of atmosphere that test officials prefer to begin with, he explained.

Airbus has booked 613 firm orders for the plane, 53 percent of which is composed of titanium and advanced aluminium alloys, and which has a list price that starts at $254.3 million for model that has 270 seats.

It is expected to cut fuel consumption by about 25 percent compared with most current long-haul airliners, competing directly with the Boeing 878 Dreamliner.

The public showed that they were highly impressed by the aircraft, as they milled about with cameras, folding chairs and strollers on the first day the show was open to the public.

Gray skies did little to dampen the mood as crowds gathered to see all sorts of aircraft, from combat helicopters and jets to tiny drones that can stream high-definition images to smartphones and iPads.

Show organizers broadcast snippets of conversations with the A350 cockpit and carefully selected musical backgrounds, while the drones danced in formation to the soundtrack from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and Tony Bennett singing "Fly Me to the Moon."

Source: Space Mart.
Link: http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Airbus_shows_off_new_military_transport_plane_999.html.

Syria rebels say now have 'game-changing' weapons

Beirut, Lebanon (AFP)
June 21, 2013

Syrian rebels have recently received new weapons that could "change the course of the battle" against the Syrian regime, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army told AFP on Friday.

The "Friends of Syria" group of countries that support the rebels is expected to announce in Doha on Saturday that it will arm the opposition, FSA media and political coordinator spokesman Louay Muqdad said.

"We've received quantities of new types of weapons, including some that we asked for and that we believe will change the course of the battle on the ground.

"We have begun distributing them on the front lines, they will be in the hands of professional officers and FSA fighters," he said.

He did not specify what weapons had been received or when they had arrived, but added that a new shipment was expected in the coming days and recalled that the rebels had asked for "deterrent weapons".

"That means anti-aircraft weapons, anti-tank weapons, as well as ammunition," he said.

Senior opposition figure Burhan Ghalioun confirmed that the FSA had recently received "sophisticated weapons" including "an anti-aircraft defense system".

Another opposition source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the system was "Russian-made" but declined to say which country had supplied it.

The apparent influx of arms comes after the United States said it would provide rebel forces with "military support", although it has declined to outline what that might entail.

"The weapons will be used for one objective, which is to fight the regime of (President) Bashar al-Assad," Muqdad insisted.

"They will be collected after the fall of the regime, we have made this commitment to the friends and brotherly countries" that supplied the arms, he said.

On Thursday, Muqdad said rebels needed short-range ground-to-air missiles, surface-to-air missiles known as MANPADs, anti-tank missiles, mortars and ammunition.

Saturday's Friends of Syria talks in Qatar will be attended by ministers from Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

They are expected to discuss military help and other aid for rebels after an onslaught by government forces who have retaken key areas.

"We are optimistic because the international community has finally decided to protect the Syrian people and Syrian civilians and arm the FSA," Muqdad said.

He added that rebels were expecting "a clear and official announcement by the countries participating (in Doha) on the arming of the FSA".

"That's what we are hoping for, that's what we are waiting for," he added, declining to say which countries were providing new weaponry.

"We received information that in the coming days, we will receive new shipments of weapons that will change the course of the battle and the equation of death imposed by Bashar al-Assad," he said.

Muqdad said that FSA chief of staff General Salim Idriss was not expected to attend the Doha gathering.

"For now, our presence is not required" because "all the countries are aware of the clear demands of the revolution after numerous meetings with Idriss."

Syrian rebels have frequently urged nations that back the uprising to supply them with heavy weapons to tackle the regime.

But their backers, especially in the West, have been reluctant to do so for fear that those weapons could fall into the hands of radical rebel groups such as the Al-Qaeda-allied Al-Nusra Front.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Syria_rebels_say_now_have_game-changing_weapons_999.html.

As Iraq grapples with bombings, Arbil booms

Arbil, Iraq (AFP)
June 21, 2013

As central Iraq grapples with a surge in violence and a longer-term struggle to wean its economy off a dependence on oil, Abdullah Abdulkarim stands at a car dealership in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil and smiles.

"Every day, things are getting better."

Abdulkarim is not the only one who feels that way -- the economy of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, with Arbil as its capital, is growing faster than the rest of the country and sees none of the violence that has raged across Arab areas.

In Arbil, crowded cafes overflow onto sidewalks, customers pack out restaurants with no fear of attack and, perhaps most importantly for the three-province region's future prospects, foreign investors appear keen to plant their flag.

"It is really easy to set up shop here," said Jorge Restrepo, an American of Colombian origin who runs a consultancy business in Kurdistan targeting Spanish and Canadian energy companies.

"The government of Kurdistan is very open to foreigners," he said.

Over the course of 22 years since the establishment of a no-fly zone over the region to keep out Saddam Hussein's forces, Kurdistan has increasingly distanced itself from the rest of Iraq.

The region, comprised of Arbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk provinces and their capitals of the same names, has its own president and prime minister, and the Kurdish flag flutters over government buildings.

Rather than the Iraqi army and police, the peshmerga and asayesh comprise the region's security forces.

It is currently enjoying economic growth of 12 percent, according to its regional investment commission, while Iraq's economy as a whole is projected to expand by nine percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

And almost 800 foreign firms -- the majority of them from neighboring Turkey -- have so far entered the Kurdish market, apparently encouraged in particular by a 2006 investment law that exempts them from taxes on imports and profits for their first 10 years in the region.

Firms are not obliged to hire local staff, have local investors or local partners, and can repatriate their profits at their discretion, according to Kamiran Mufti, head of the regional investment commission.

But the crucial difference between Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq remains security.

"Security is really the key to success," said Ghada Gebara, head of Korek, Iraq's third-biggest mobile phone operator, which is headquartered in Arbil.

Nationwide violence in Iraq last month was its worst since 2008, according to both UN and official figures, but Mufti said the autonomous region, by contrast, did not record a single incident throughout May.

And there are more differences.

"The bureaucracy is enormous here as well, but in Baghdad, you also have religious divisions (between Sunni and Shiite Arabs), and of course the corruption," Restrepo said.

Iraq is rated one of the world's most corrupt countries, placing 169 out of 176 states listed in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, but Mufti insisted Kurdish regional leaders have "implemented a plan to combat it".

-- 'But now, everything is good' --

Regional officials also tout an economy that they say is more diversified than the rest of the country -- cement, pharmaceuticals, steel and electricity.

The latter is produced in significant-enough quantities that the region exports surplus power to the neighboring provinces of Nineveh and Kirkuk which, like much of Iraq, suffer from shortfalls.

But the northern region shares one crucial characteristic with the rest of the Iraq -- the heart of its economy is based on oil production.

The region has proven reserves of around 45 billion barrels of crude, or about a third of Iraq's total reserves, according to regional officials, and its sale is the subject of tense debates.

The central government has angrily criticized Arbil for signing contracts with foreign energy firms without the expressed approval of the federal oil ministry, dismissing such deals as illegal, and slamming the transport of oil to Turkey as "smuggling".

Gebara described the disputes -- which also include a row over a swathe of territory stretching from the Iranian border to the Syrian frontier -- as "healthy democratic debate", but analysts and officials point to the disagreements as among the biggest threats to Iraq's long-term stability.

For now, businesses in Arbil are not worried -- at the dealership where Abdulkarim was eyeing a $24,500 pick-up truck, owner Hunar Majid was upbeat.

His glass-walled Toyota dealership lies at the center of the city and is packed. Majid hopes to increase sales threefold compared with last year.

At the entrance, Abdulkarim, a shepherd wearing the traditional baggy Kurdish garb, wasted little time debating whether to buy the truck of his dreams.

"Before, life was tough," he said. "I could never pay for this truck."

"But now, everything is good."

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/As_Iraq_grapples_with_bombings_Arbil_booms_999.html.

Turkish PM praises police 'heroism'

June 24, 2013

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's prime minister has brushed off criticism by human rights groups and some European countries, insisting police officers have displayed "legendary heroism" in quelling weeks of anti-government protests.

Addressing police academy graduates at a ceremony in Ankara Monday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was protesters — not police — that were violent, and praised the security forces for showing restraint.

The protests started off as a small environmental sit-in but quickly turned into a nationwide expression of discontent with Erdogan's 10-year rule. Erdogan has blamed the demonstrations on a foreign conspiracy to harm Turkey.

At least four people — three demonstrators and one police officer — have been killed. Human rights groups say police used excessive force on protesters.

Counting underway in Albania election

June 24, 2013

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Vote counting has begun a day after Albania's general election, which was marred by gunfire at a polling station which left one man dead and two others wounded.

Initial returns indicated a narrow lead for the opposition Socialist Party-led coalition of Edi Rama, who is running against Prime Minister Sali Berisha of the Democratic party. Both men claimed victory after polls closed Sunday evening.

Turnout was 53 percent of some 3.3 million registered voters, according to preliminary estimates by the country's Central Election Commission, in the eighth national polls since the fall of communism in 1990.

Official results were not expected to be announced earlier than Tuesday. A police spokesman said Gjon Gjoni, 49, died after being shot in an exchange of fire that also wounded Mhill Fufi, 49, a candidate for Berisha's governing Democratic Party, and a relative of Fufi.

The violence drew condemnation from an EU official. "Violence is simply not acceptable and cannot be tolerated," Ettore Sequi, the EU ambassador to Tirana, told Associated Press television. Berisha and Rama have both expressed the hope that Albania can gain entry to the EU, and Sunday's election was seen as a test of whether the country can run a fair and safe election.

"These elections are a crucial test for the democratic maturity of the country a test for the smooth functioning of the Albanian institutions," Sequi said. Preliminary findings of some 400 international observers were expected later Monday.

Although the election campaign was highly acrimonious, it was generally considered peaceful. In 2009, three people were killed in politically motivated attacks during the campaign. The Socialists boycotted the parliament for a long time in protest to what it called manipulation from the governing Democrats.

Albania, now a NATO member despite a rocky road to democracy, has been denied EU candidate status twice since 2009 because of criticism that it has not done enough to fight corruption and proceed with democratic reforms that include its ability to hold elections that comply with international and European standards.

Last month, parliament held an extraordinary session to pass the last three laws in a series of 12 key recommendations required by the EU as part of the country's quest for eventual membership.

Associated Press writer Nebi Qena in Tirana contributed to this report.

Egypt's president denounces sectarian killings

June 24, 2013

CAIRO (AP) — President Mohammed Morsi's office on Monday condemned the killing of four Shiite Muslims by a Sunni mob, reportedly incited by ultraconservative Salafis, in a village near Cairo.

It said in a statement that authorities will not be "lenient" with anyone who interferes with the nation's security and stability or harm its society. The statement echoed one issued earlier by Prime Minister Hesham Kandil.

Both said the culprits must be quickly found and brought to justice. Egypt is an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim nation with a tiny minority of Shiites. About 10 percent of its 90 million people are Christians.

According to security officials, the Sunday attack came after Salafi preachers in the village of Zawiyet Abu Muslim gave a small local Shiite community an ultimatum to leave the town by sundown. They said Salafis also joined the crowd. They spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

The incident also comes among a broad rise in hostile statements made against Shiites, including by the president's hard-line allies, fed in part by the growing sectarian overtones of Syria's civil war.

The killings came a week after Salafi clerics insulted Shiites during a June 15 rally attended by Morsi, who listened silently. One cleric, Mohammed Hassan, called on Morsi "not to open the doors of Egypt" to Shiites, saying that "they never entered a place without corrupting it."

Egypt's Salafis have vehemently objected to the arrival in Egypt of tourists from Shiite Iran, forcing authorities to suspend their tours before allowing them to resume later. The tourists are not allowed in Cairo, home to some religious shrines revered by Shiites, flying directly to southern Egypt or Red Sea resorts.

Morsi's government has implicitly sanctioned travel to Syria by Egyptian volunteers who wish to join the mostly Sunni rebels fighting forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, a member of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism.

Assad's forces are backed by fighters from Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah group, a longtime ally of the Syrian regime. Shiite Iran is Assad's chief foreign backer. Egyptian volunteers have been fighting on the side of the Syrian rebels for over a year now, but the involvement of Egyptians in that nation's civil war is likely to widen after Morsi's decision to break diplomatic relations with Damascus and calls at the June 15 rally for jihad, or holy struggle, in Syria.