New Mali president Keita sworn into office

September 4, 2013

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali's new president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita took the oath of office Wednesday, promising to help unify the country after a rebellion, a coup and an Islamic insurgency plunged what was one of West Africa's most stable democracies into near ruin.

Keita emerged as the overwhelming victor of the first election held since mutinous soldiers overthrew longtime President Amadou Toumani Toure in March 2012. In the aftermath, al-Qaida-linked jihadists seized power across northern Mali and were only ousted by a French-led military offensive earlier this year.

After taking the oath of office in front of an enormous Malian flag, Keita thanked the international community for its support in retaking the north from the hands of extremists and vowed to prioritize national unity.

"I swear before God and the Malian people to loyally protect the republican regime, to fulfill my functions in the best interest of the people, to preserve democratic gains, to protect national unity, the independence of the homeland and Mali's territorial integrity," Keita said.

While he officially became Mali's president on Wednesday, an inauguration celebration is to take place on Sept. 19. World leaders, including French President Francois Hollande, are expected to take part.

Mali's constitution requires that the swearing-in ceremony takes place two weeks after official results are released.

Keita won Mali's Aug. 11 presidential runoff with 77.6 percent of the vote. His opponent, Soumaila Cisse, conceded defeat even before those results were announced.

Many voters said they thought Keita was best equipped from an initial field of 28 candidates to reunite the nation after more than a year of turmoil. Once he names his government, though, he will have only two months to resume talks with the northern Tuareg rebel group known as the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad, the name they call their homeland.

In addition to the simmering rebellion in the north, Keita also faces the tasks of tackling corruption and ethnic tensions, and rebuilding the country's economy.

And even as he tries to move past Mali's coup era, there are lingering ghosts: The coup leader Amadou Sanogo was recently promoted from captain to four-star general, making him the highest-ranking military official even after the recent democratic election.

"After a deeply troubling period, Mali stands at a crossroads," said Corinne Dufka, senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "President Keita's actions — or inactions — could usher in greater respect for human rights or a return to the problems that caused Mali's near-collapse last year."

Israel airlifts 450 Ethiopians to the Jewish state

August 28, 2013

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities have completed what they say is the final large airlift of Ethiopian immigrants, ending decades of efforts to bring the remnants of an ancient community to the Jewish state.

Tali Aronsky, spokeswoman for the semi-official Jewish Agency, says 450 people arrived Wednesday. They are Falash Mura, a community whose ancestors converted from Judaism to Christianity under duress about 100 years ago, but managed to keep some Jewish customs.

Aronsky said the airlift caps a three-year operation that brought in 7,000 Falash Mura. Thousands of Ethiopian Jews live in Israel. Many arrived in secret airlifts in 1984 and 1990. Small numbers of Falash Mura remain behind in Ethiopia. Dozens of their relatives held a protest at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem Wednesday to demand Israel bring them over.

Israel pushes forth with settlement plans

August 26, 2013

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel pushed forward Sunday with plans to construct 1,500 apartments in east Jerusalem in a move that could undermine recently renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

City spokeswoman Brachie Sprung said city officials had approved plans to lay down infrastructure for the project. She called the move a "standard and bureaucratic process" and said final government approval was still required. Actual construction is still years away, she said. 

Still, the move comes just after Israelis and Palestinians resumed talks after a five-year stalemate. Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem is one of the thornier issues separating the two sides.

The city is pushing development in the neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, a project that has also raised tensions with the U.S. Israel first announced the plans in 2010 during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel, sparking a diplomatic rift with Washington that took months to mend.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem following its 1967 war with its Arab neighbors and claims the area as an inseparable part of its capital. The Palestinians also claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for state. About 200,000 Jews and roughly 250,000 Palestinians live in east Jerusalem, which is home to sensitive Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites.

While Israelis consider east Jerusalem enclaves neighborhoods like others in the city, the international community doesn't recognize Israel's annexation of the area and rejects the areas as illegal or illegitimate settlements.

Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi accused Israel of playing a "dangerous game" by moving ahead with the plans. "It seems they're pushing ahead with infrastructure as though this is not a basic part of settlement activity!" she wrote in an email.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to comment.

Israeli navy grapples with defending Med gas fields

Haifa, Israel (UPI)
Jul 26, 2013

Amid signs Israel's effort to patch up relations with one-time ally Turkey is in difficulties, the prospect of exporting gas from offshore fields to Europe via a pipeline under the eastern Mediterranean to Turkey would seem to be dimming.

That suggests more interest in a liquefied gas system aimed at lucrative exports to Asia via the Red Sea.

Either way, Israel's navy is trying to figure out how best to protect the Jewish state's expanding gas industry-- and if current plans work out, oil production as well -- from a wide spectrum of security threats that seem to be growing by the day amid the violence convulsing the Middle East.

Israel's Globes business daily reports the navy's at odds with the Defense Ministry over two bids to supply naval vessels from Germany and South Korea.

It seems the navy's top brass decided in April in favor of the German vessel, while the ministry favors the South Korean even though it's $105.4 million more expensive.

Globes said if the ministry decides to put the issue to tender, "it means a delay of almost three years in protecting the gas rigs, protection which was supposed to be ready this year."

The navy has said it needs a minimum of four 1,200-ton patrol-class warships to protect the offshore platforms, of which there are likely to end up being at least 20, up to 80 miles off Israel's coastline.

These will need to be armed with a range of weapons systems to counter different kinds of attack -- armed speedboats, torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, frogmen, suicide strikes, possibly even suicide air attacks.

The navy estimates the system will cost $700 million, plus $100 million more annually to maintain -- this at a time the Defense Ministry's having to make hefty budget cuts.

But the gas fields, currently estimated to contain around 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, are vital strategic assets that will earn an estimated $60 billion in export revenue over the next two decades.

Discussions between Israel and Turkey to end a rupture triggered by the Israeli naval commandos killing nine Turks when the navy intercepted a Turkish flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip have deadlocked amid some acrimony, despite the personal intervention of U.S. President Barack Obama.

The Jerusalem Post Thursday quoted Israeli officials with knowledge of the deliberations as saying the Turks " are not interested in a diplomatic reconciliation, but rather in humiliating it and bringing to its knees."

There had been hopes the prospect of the undersea pipeline from Israel's gas fields for eventual delivery to Europe, cutting its dependence on Russian gas, would bring the two military powers back together as U.S. allies in a region undergoing profound change.

But security experts say the Turkish option, which involves infrastructure outside Israeli waters, is less secure than the main alternative, establishing a floating liquefied natural gas plant within Israel's security envelope.

Abraham Sofaer, former adviser to Noble Energy of Texas which discovered Israel's gas fields and is the majority stakeholder, told an energy conference in Tel Aviv: "Since distribution and transportation infrastructure are the most vulnerable aspects of oil and gas production, additional infrastructure and transport requirements beyond Israel's control could increase risks significantly."

He stressed nearly 70 percent of terrorist attacks on oil and gas facilities in 1999-2005 targeted pipelines and transport networks, while only 15 percent hit production facilities.

By using a floating LNG plant, he said, "all security efforts would be concentrated at the drilling platform and FLNG facility, thereby reducing other, greater risks in natural gas production and transportation. Experts regard the risks of protecting vessels transporting LNG significantly lower than those of protecting pipelines and other stationary facilities."

David Wurmser, founder and head of Washington's Delphi Global Analysis Group, observed in a recent paper Israel "will likely send the bulk of any gas it exports eastward," possibly from Eilat on the Red Sea, thus avoiding the Suez Canal.

"The new gas trade ... will echo the shift already under way in Israel's export patterns more broadly as Israel's economy increases trade with Asia while deceasing trade with Europe.

"This new energy trade and expanding hydrocarbon exports to Asia will coincide with and reinforce Israel's broader plan to offer a strategic alternative to the Suez Canal," Wurmser noted.

Source: Energy-Daily.
Link: http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Israeli_navy_grapples_with_defending_Med_gas_fields_999.html.

Albania's new govt wins parliamentary approval

September 15, 2013

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania's new Socialist prime minister has easily won approval for his government in parliament, pledging to fight poverty and unemployment and take the country closer to the European Union in the next four years.

Lawmakers voted 82-55 Sunday to approve the 20-member Cabinet. Edi Rama's Socialist-led leftist coalition won a landslide election victory in June, defeating conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha on pledges of fighting widespread corruption and bringing the NATO member closer to its goal of joining the EU.

The 49-year-old Rama has promised to create 300,000 jobs at home and reduce poverty. A recent survey shows one in seven Albanians live on less than $2 per day. Albania is one of Europe's poorest countries, with a minimum salary of 21,000 leks ($199) per month.

Philippine clashes erupt despite truce effort

September 14, 2013

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) — Muslim rebels holding more than 100 people hostage in the southern Philippines exchanged gunfire with government troops Saturday despite efforts by the country's vice president to arrange a cease-fire and end the six-day standoff.

The standoff began Monday when about 200 fighters from a Moro National Liberation Front rebel faction stormed several coastal communities in Zamboanga city and seized residents. The military says 22 people, including 15 rebels, have since been killed in sporadic clashes between the guerrillas and troops who have surrounded them.

Vice President Jejomar Binay said rebel leader Nur Misuari agreed to a truce late Friday by telephone, and he relayed the news to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, who has been helping deal with the crisis in Zamboanga city, a major port. Binay said he planned to fly to Zamboanga Saturday to help the negotiations.

But Gazmin said the rebels have continued to fire in violation of the agreement. "Everybody wants peace, to stop this without more bloodshed," Gazmin told DZBB radio network. "But as we speak, there's firing so there's no cease-fire. We agreed that government forces will not fire only if the MNLF will not open fire."

President Benigno Aquino III flew to Zamboanga earlier Friday to visit government troops and some of the 24,000 residents displaced by the violence. He warned in a speech that his government won't hesitate to use force to end the most serious security crisis his administration has faced since he came to power in 2010.

There was also fighting on Friday, and ABS-CBN TV reported that voices presumably of hostages were heard shouting "cease fire, cease fire." One government soldier was reportedly wounded. The Moro National Liberation Front rebels have been overshadowed by a rival group in talks with the government for a new minority Muslim autonomy deal.

Misuari signed a peace deal in 1996, but the guerrillas did not lay down their arms and later accused the government of reneging on a promise to develop long-neglected Muslim regions in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation. The government says Misuari kept on stalling and making new demands.

Misuari has not been seen in public since the standoff began. "There are lines they should not cross," Aquino said of the rebels. He said the government would be obligated to use "the force of the state" if those lines are crossed.

__ Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report.

Philippine rebels take hundreds hostage

09 Sep 2013

At least six killed and more than 200 civilians taken hostage by suspected Muslim rebels outside Zamboanga city.

At least 200 people have been taken hostage in southern Philippines after rebels rampaged through coastal communities, leaving at least six people dead, local news reports say.

The fighting happened after troops backed by tanks blocked Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels from marching into Zamboanga city to raise their flag at a city hall, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said on Monday.

At least six people, including a naval soldier, were killed and about 220 civilians have been taken hostage by the rebels, military officials said after the pre-dawn attack.

Zagala said that the hostages were being held as "human shield", but army spokesman Brigadier General Domingo Tutaan said about 200-300 people were "stranded" in a village occupied by the rebels.

Army officials said they have secured hospitals and schools but clashes were still ongoing. The Philippine aviation authority has shut down the city's airport.

Claire Jose, a regional health officer in Zamboanga, told Al Jazeeera that the city looked like a "ghost town" because of a widespread shutdown.

We are contained in our houses," Jose said.

Meanwhile, Abdul Sahrin, secretary general of the Moro National Liberation Front, blamed the faction of Nur Misuari for carrying out the attack. Misuari is a former MNLF leader, who previously entered into a peace agreement with the Philippine government.

The pre-dawn clash later spilled into Rio Hondo as people slept, prompting scores of residents to flee and with rebels taking up the hostages to thwart government forces, officials said.

Reinforcement troops and police have been deployed to help secure Rio Hondo, which is located near the central Zamboanga, a bustling trading hub in the south.

Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Salazar ordered all schools and offices to remain closed.

"Their target is the City Hall. They want to raise their flag of independence at city hall," she told radio station DZBB on Monday.

Decades-old insurgency

The Moro group signed a 1996 peace accord with the government, but many of its fighters held on to their arms and accused officials of reneging on a promise to develop an autonomous region for minority Muslims in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines.

MNLF has said it was being left out in government's negotiations with another rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which broke away from the MNLF in the early 1980s.

The 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front has engaged the Philippine government in Malaysian-brokered peace talks, which have progressed recently towards a new Muslim autonomy deal.

A decades-old insurgency by Muslim rebels in the south has claimed about 150,000 lives.

Source: al-Jazeera.
Link: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/09/2013990014907480.html.

IOC to choose 2020 host, new president and 1 sport

September 02, 2013

Rarely, if ever, has so much been on the line at a single Olympic meeting.

When International Olympic Committee members gather in Buenos Aires, Argentina, they will be faced with three decisions that will shape the direction of the Olympic movement for the next decade. At stake: Choosing the host city of the 2020 Olympics, electing a new IOC president to succeed Jacques Rogge and selecting one sport to add to the 2020 program.

The favorites: Tokyo, Thomas Bach and wrestling. Prime ministers, royalty, sports stars and celebrities will be part of the election extravaganza at the IOC session. The weeklong meetings will have the flavor of a political carnival replete with last-minute campaigning, backstage vote-chasing and round-the-clock lobbying by spin doctors, consultants and strategists.

While most IOC members are primarily interested in the Sept. 10 presidential election, the first big vote comes on Sept. 7 with a secret ballot on the 2020 host city. It's a three-way contest between Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul.

All three are repeat candidates: Istanbul is making its fifth overall bid, Madrid a third straight attempt and Tokyo a second try in a row. Tokyo has been seen as a slight front-runner, though the leak of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant is causing concern. Madrid — once counted out because of Spain's economic crisis — has picked up momentum recently and now looks like a legitimate challenger. Istanbul has slipped following the anti-government protests and doping scandals in Turkey and the escalating war in neighboring Syria.

With each bid facing political, economic or other drawbacks, the winner could be determined not for its positive attributes but for having fewer weaknesses than its rivals. "There's no obvious choice," senior Canadian IOC member Dick Pound told The Associated Press. "Where do you go? None of the three is risk free. Probably somebody ends up backing into it this time."

Each city offers a different narrative. Istanbul would bring the games to a new part of the world, to a predominantly Muslim country for the first time, to a city linking Europe and Asia. Madrid has most of the venues ready and would spend the least. Tokyo offers safety and reliability at a time of global uncertainty.

In the end, the decision could center on which city offers the least risk. After taking gambles by sending the 2014 Winter Games to Sochi, Russia, and 2016 Olympics to Rio de Janeiro, some members feel it's time to opt for certainty. Delays in Rio are causing serious concerns and the IOC is eager to avoid more headaches.

"We're looking for the city which we can look toward to be the most secure option at this stage, given global uncertainties and the fact that we're entering into a new era with a new presidency," longtime Australian IOC member Kevan Gosper said. "We're looking for a safe pair of hands."

That sentiment works in favor of Tokyo, which hosted the games in 1964 and has repeatedly played up its case as being the "safe" choice. Tokyo also received the best overall review in an IOC technical report this summer.

"Of course we know how serious the Japanese are and we know they would deliver what they propose for sure," Swiss IOC member and presidential candidate Denis Oswald said. The last few days and hours of the campaign could be vital. The final presentations on the day of the decision could swing a few votes that decide the outcome. Leading the bid delegations will be prime ministers Shinzo Abe of Japan, Mariano Rajoy of Spain and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

With a majority required for victory, the city with the fewest votes from the 100-or-so members is eliminated after each round. In this case, the vote is expected to go the maximum two rounds. "I think the ultimate choice will be a matter of a difference of two, three votes, not more than that," Rogge said.

Members often vote for personal, sentimental or geographical reasons. Some will still be undecided when they get to Buenos Aires. "IOC members vote with their hearts, not with their heads," veteran Norwegian member Gerhard Heiberg said. "They will look at the presentations and vote right there and then, not thinking that this is seven years ahead. That could decide who will take the gold medal."

Tokyo also can benefit from the sentimental factor of using the Olympics to help rebuild the nation's spirits after the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. Yet, it's the fallout from the disaster that is now posing the bid with its biggest challenge — the leak of radiation-tainted water into the Pacific from the crippled plant.

"Japan has got to recover from the real effects and perceived effects of the biggest nuclear meltdown since Chernobyl," Pound said. "That's not chopped liver." Madrid's bid has been hindered by the economic meltdown in Spain, which has been mired in recession for most of the past four years and has a 26.3 percent unemployment rate. In addition, Rajoy has been embroiled in a party financing scandal, and Spain's record on doping and handling of the Operation Puerto case have dogged the bid.

But Madrid, and a speech by Crown Prince Felipe, made the biggest impact in presentations to IOC members in Lausanne, Switzerland, in early July. The Spaniards hammered home this point: The games pose no economic risk, 80 percent of the venues are ready, the construction budget will be only $1.9 billion ($10 billion less than Istanbul's).

The message resonates at a time when the Olympics are being criticized for being too expensive— the price tag for construction in Sochi is more than $50 billion. Madrid's strong showing in the 2012 and 2016 races also underlines its capability of securing votes.

Once seen as a favorite because of its compelling story line, Istanbul — which bid previously for the 2000, '04, '08 and '12 Olympics — has been scrambling to keep in contention after a tumultuous summer in Turkey.

Images beamed around the world of police using force on anti-government protesters in the heart of Istanbul in June rocked the bid. More than 30 Turkish track and field and other athletes were suspended for doping. FIFA complained of empty seats at the Under-20 World Cup in Turkey. Civil war continues to rage in Syria, with Western countries now weighing military action in response to suspected chemical weapons attacks.

Three days after choosing the host city, the IOC will pick a leader who will lead the organization through the 2020 Games for a term of eight years — and a potential second term of four years. Rogge is stepping down after completing 12 years in the job.

Making up the record six-man field are IOC vice president Bach of Germany; vice president Ng Ser Miang of Singapore; finance commission chairman Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico; executive board members Sergei Bubka of Ukraine and C.K. Wu of Taiwan; and former board member Oswald.

It shapes up as a three-man race, with Bach the favorite and Carrion and Ng the challengers. Bach, a 59-year-old lawyer, has long been viewed as the man to beat. He ticks the most boxes: former Olympic athlete and gold medalist (team fencing in 1976), long-serving member on the policy-making board, chairman of the legal commission, head of anti-doping investigations, negotiator of European TV rights, president of Germany's national Olympic committee.

"If you were handicapping, you'd have him in front, but whether it's by a nose or a neck or open water, I don't know," Pound said. The voting process is the same as for the bid cities. Some of Bach's supporters believe he could win in the first round. If not, things could get trickier, as it's not clear where the votes will go in the next rounds. Wu and Bubka appear to be the most vulnerable of going out first.

If Bach is elected, he would continue Europe's hold on the presidency. Of the IOC's eight leaders, all have come from Europe except for Avery Brundage, the American who ran the committee from 1952-72.

Bach brushes off the pressure of being the front-runner and exudes confidence heading into the final days. "I take this campaign like I prepared for a big competition as an athlete," he told the AP. "You know how important good training is, that it's very helpful if your test events are going well. This can give you confidence. But, on the other hand, all that does not count when it comes to the grand final. That is the same for Sept. 10. You want to see the competition taking place. I'm really looking forward to this day."

Wrestling, meanwhile, looks set to end its seven-month limbo and win back its place in the 2020 Games. The vote will take place on Sept. 8, with squash and a combined baseball-softball bid also vying for the single spot on the program.

Wrestling, featured in every Olympics except for 1900, was dropped from the list of core sports by the IOC executive board in February, a stunning decision that provoked an international outcry. The United States joined with unlikely allies Russia and Iran in fighting to save the sport.

Wrestling governing body FILA responded quickly, replacing Raphael Martinetti as president and electing Nenad Lalovic, adding two new weight classes for women and enacting rule changes to make the sport more fan-friendly. In May, wrestling easily made it onto the shortlist for inclusion in 2020.

"I have no doubt it will happen," Oswald said. "It was such a mistake. It has to be corrected."

Mali: PM Unveils 34-Member Cabinet

09/09/2013

Mali's new prime minister, technocrat Oumar Tatam Ly, has named a 34-member Cabinet that includes a new ministry tasked with promoting reconciliation in the country's war-ravaged north.

The new department of National Reconciliation and Northern Development aims to heal scars from a 2012 rebellion by an Islamist-led mix of rebel groups, including radicals with links to al-Qaida. That uprising, which followed a coup in Bamako, was crushed by a French-led military intervention early this year.

In a key move, the prime minister named one-time rebel leader Zahibi Ould Sidi Mohamed to head the Foreign Ministry. Four women were named to the new government, including Finance Minister Bouare Fily Sissoko -- an economist who has worked for the World Bank.

The U.S. State Department last week announced the resumption of development aid to the West African nation. But a statement said Washington will continue to evaluate when and how to resume military assistance.

Last week, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was sworn in as president, after winning the country's first election since French intervention.

Source: African Seer.
Link: http://www.africanseer.com/news/african-news/general/307441-mali-pm-unveils-34-member-cabinet.html.