Bulgarian Govt 'Fans' Call for President's Impeachment

August 26, 2013, Monday

People who support Bulgaria's Socialist-led government pledged Monday to continue to stage counter protest rallies until President, Rosen Plevneliev, resigns.

The statement was made before bTV by one of their representatives, Lenko Petkanin.

The demonstrators gathered once again Monday on Independence Square, near the Office of the President and his Administration, shouting "Resignation," "Impeachment," and "Go Away!"

They are outraged by what they deem verbal support on Plevneliev's part for those who want the resignation of the Cabinet of Prime Minister, Plamen Oresharski.

Petkanin further stated he harbored strong doubts the President will change his behavior as he has had scores of opportunities to do so until now.

"I have not seen anything from him, beyond tarnishing Bulgaria and the presidential institution, so, the only solution is to have him step back and be replaced by a dignified person to represent Bulgaria and its citizens," said the government's supporter.

Another protester asked Plevneliev to come outside and talk to the people who are rallying every day under his windows and to organize a round table to work on a new public contract.

Bulgaria's ruling Socialist-led coalition was, however, exposed recently in organizing dozens of chartered buses carrying people from all over the country to Sofia.

Over 40 chartered buses arrived in the capital early on August 16, carrying 4000 to 5000 government supporters. The move resulted in tensions, as anti-government protesters from Sofia also gathered in the city's center to rally against a controversial budget revision.

Source: Sofia News Agency.
Link: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=153145.

Center-right bloc takes power in Norway

September 10, 2013

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg — nicknamed "Iron Erna" — will become Norway's new prime minister as the leader of a center-right coalition government likely including an anti-immigration party.

Preliminary results from the oil-rich Nordic country's parliamentary elections shows the Conservative Party got 26.8 percent of votes, the best result for the party in 28 years. Solberg, who will be Norway's second female prime minister after Gro Harlem Brundtland, thanked the voters Monday for a historic victory.

"The voters had the choice between 12 years of red-green government or a new government with new ideas and new solutions," Solberg said. The current prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, who has led Norway for eight years, conceded defeat, saying his Labor Party tried "to do what almost no one has done, to win three elections in a row, but it turned out to be tough."

The discovery of oil and gas in Norway's waters in the 1960s turned the Scandinavian nation into one of the richest in the world, with a strong welfare system and a high living standard. The oil wealth helped it withstand Europe's financial crisis and retain low unemployment throughout Stoltenberg's years in power. Still, the Conservative Party has managed to attract votes amid pledges to increase the availability of private health care and cut taxes on assets over $140,000.

Frank Aarebrot, Professor of comparative politics at the University of Bergen, said the election campaign was dominated by classical welfare issues, such as better care for the elderly, improved hospitals and better schools.

Yet, none of the parties suggested that Norwegians should have to pay for things such as hospital visits, college education or elderly care. "Everybody agrees that should be for free," he said. The Conservative Party has said for the first time that it is prepared to form a coalition government with the anti-immigration Progress Party, which was the third biggest party in the election. Solberg will now likely begin negotiations with them, as well as with the Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats.

According to preliminary results, she needs the support of all three parties to get a majority government, but could end up running a minority government with the Progress Party with support from the two others, if they refuse to share power with the Progress Party.

This was the first parliamentary election since Anders Behring Breivik — who was a member of the Progress Party before he lost faith in democracy — killed 77 people in 2011 and thirty-three survivors of the massacre were seeking national office in the election.

Stoltenberg was admired for his calm demeanor after the terror acts, which were unequivocally condemned by all parties, and there was a short-lived boost in support for Labor. However, a report last year criticizing Norwegian police for a litany of institutional failures before and during the attacks dented his government's prestige.

In Monday's election, the Labor Party appeared set to remain the biggest single party, with 30.8 percent of the votes. Still, together with its two coalition partners, the Socialist Party and the Center Party, it lost support since the last election, getting only 40.4 percent of votes.

"I want a change of government because I am liberal-conservative and believe in more deregulation and private solutions," said Haakon Gloersen, a 25-year-old communications adviser, who voted for the Liberal Party.

Oeyvind Nordli, a 44-year-old salesman, said he voted for the conservatives because he thought it would benefit him personally and because he dislikes the Labor Party's tax policy.

Malin Rising reported from Stockholm. Associated Press television producer David MacDougall contributed to this report.

New US ambassador arrives in Brazil amid tensions

September 16, 2013

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The new U.S. ambassador to Brazil landed in the capital Monday amid increasing tensions over a U.S. spy program that aggressively targets Latin America's biggest nation, reportedly including the personal communications of its president.

Ambassador Liliana Ayalde is a career diplomat with three decades of experience and a former ambassador to Paraguay. She most recently served as the deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, covering Cuba, Central America and the Caribbean.

"This is a very important moment for our relations, full of opportunities and possibilities," Ayalde told reporters at Brasilia's airport, speaking in Portuguese. "I'm sure that together, we can expand and deepen the ties that exist between our two important nations."

The new ambassador didn't respond to Brazilian journalists' questions about the National Security Agency's spying program. Ayalde arrives just as Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is expected to make a decision on whether she'll cancel a trip to Washington next month in protest over the NSA program. She is scheduled to be honored with a state dinner, the only one scheduled so far this year in the U.S. for a visit meant to show Brazil's growing economic and strategic importance.

Several reports on Brazil's Globo television and in the Globo newspaper have been based on NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden. In addition to indicating that Rousseff's communications with her top aides were intercepted, reports say that the NSA targeted the private computer network of state-run oil company Petrobras and that the NSA has collected data on billions of emails and telephone calls that flow through Brazil.

Ayalde is also arriving in a nation shocked by huge anti-government protests in June. Demonstrations continue to linger and could be sparked again by a number of factors, including a slowed economy, next year's presidential election year and the World Cup. Many Brazilians are outraged at the billions of public funds being spent to refurbish or build stadiums while hospitals, schools and infrastructure widely remain in a woeful state.

Ayalde succeeds Thomas Shannon, who is now a counselor to Secretary of State John Kerry.

Protesters Discuss Expansion Plans

by Brian Richardson
September 2, 2013

EUGENE, Ore. — The recently formed protest at Chambers St. and Northwest Expressway continues to grow and evolve.

About 20 tents now fill the vacant corner lot. The demonstrators have grills to cook on and two portable bathrooms on site to use.

Organizers say they’re an offshoot of the Occupy movement, but no longer affiliated with SLEEPS. That’s the group camping out in the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza, demanding code be changed to provide people a safe place to sleep.

They’re calling this new camp ‘Whoville’.

They’ve got plans to continue their protest, even if the county gives them eviction notices later this week.

“Sidewalks have traditionally been used as protest sites and I’m sure the mayor has a sidewalk in front of her house,” said Tin Man. “I’m sure legally we can go to the sidewalk in front of her house and peacefully protest.”

The Lane County Board of Commissioners will hold a special session on Wednesday to talk about the protest at the Free Speech Plaza and its health implications. Commissioners are considering an emergency closure of the area for no more than four weeks.

Source: KIEZ.
Link: http://www.kezi.com/protestors-discuss-expansion-plans/.

Senator warns Hizbullah may have chemical weapons; Jordan's king could be toppled

Tuesday, August 27th, 2013

WASHINGTON — The administration of President Barack Obama has been warned that Syria’s chemical weapons could be dispersed and that Jordan could collapse.

A leading senator said the Hashemite kingdom was under tremendous strain from the civil war in neighboring Jordan. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Jordan’s King Abdullah could not bear the huge Syrian refugee population as well as threats from Iran and Al Qaida-aligned rebels.

“You ask me about my biggest fear would be to lose the king of Jordan for prolonged war, that the Al Qaida elements of the rebels could wind up seizing the chemical weapons cache, that Assad would share chemical weapons or advance Russian weapons with Hizbullah, which would be a direct threat,” Graham said.

Over the last few months, Graham has repeatedly warned of Jordan’s vulnerability. In July, the senator told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Abdullah said in 2012 that the influx of Syrian refugees — now reported at more than 650,000 — could destroy his regime. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he shared that concern.

“Will [Abdullah] be in power a year from now?” Graham asked Dempsey. “I have met with him and he is concerned with the demographic change. He told me last year he did not think he will be there in another year because there will be a million Syrian refugees destabilizing Jordan. Do you agree with that?”

“That is his concern,” Dempsey replied.

Earlier, Graham said Abdullah could not face an emboldened regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The senator urged Obama to use Jordan and Turkey to neutralize Assad’s military, backed by Iran and Russia.

“So the balance of power is really now on Assad’s side,” Graham told a television roundtable on June 13. “And if we don’t do more than add AK-47s into the mix, he will continue to win. And the king of Jordan is going to become toast.”

One option raised by Graham was the use of Jordan and Turkey to establish a no-fly zone in Syria to protect Sunni rebels. Graham cited the U.S. deployment of F-16 multi-role fighters and PAC-3 air and missile defense systems in the kingdom.

Graham, in close contact with Abdullah, envisioned the fall of the Hashemite kingdom and its replacement by an Al Qaida-aligned regime.

He said Washington must ensure the departure of Assad for regional stability.

“But if the war lasts six, four months, Jordan’s going to go,” Graham said. “And Israel’s going to be surrounded by a Syria on fire, Jordan more radical, and Egypt becoming more radical. The whole region’s about to blow up. And our foreign policy to me, I don’t understand it. Whatever it is is not working.”

Source: World Tribune.
Link: http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/08/27/senator-warns-hizbullah-may-have-chemical-weapons-jordans-king-could-be-toppled/.

Cindy Sheehan Formally Launches Campaign for CA Governor

August 26, 2013

by Cindy Sheehan
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox Blog

I am here on the steps of the capitol building to announce that I am running for governor of California in 2014 with the Peace and Freedom Party. One of the goals of this campaign is to break the stranglehold on this state’s politics by the two parties of, by and for, the corporations and the 1% because I am devoted to improving the lives of the working and poor classes and protecting our precious and compromised environment.

Why am I running now?

First of all, I believe that politics are local and that change should come from the grassroots and a state executive should be more accessible and responsive to his/her employees than a federal official.

Secondly, and more importantly, I am exhausted with the struggle of living in a state that puts the bottom-line of corporations above the needs of its citizens; that puts prisons over education; that puts balancing the budget off the backs of senior citizens, students, and the physically and mentally ill over healthy job creation and bigger social safety nets.

The people of this state need education, jobs and healthcare, not more empty promises and pandering to the wealthy from Sacramento.

I don’t own a car and I rode my bike here from Davis because I know that it’s past time that the practice of ruining our environment by fracking and other disastrous forms of energy extraction be ended. The sitting Governor has received the maximum campaign contribution of over $27,000 from his buddies at Occidental Oil. I would rather have 27,000 individuals send me one dollar each because I will work for them, not big oil.

As if we needed more proof, Fukushima has terrifyingly demonstrated to us that nuclear power has the potential of ending life on this planet, and the nuclear plants in our state are super-vulnerable to be destroyed by earthquake and/or fire. They must be shut down!

This state is in urgent need of expanding the use of clean, renewable, and sustainable energy production and also to invest in protected bike and pedestrian lanes and better, cheaper, and more comprehensive public transportation. We have the resources to do it.

During the Great Depression, California Socialist, author and intellectual, Upton Sinclair, ran for state governor on the platform of END POVERTY IN CALIFORNIA (EPIC) and Cindy Sheehan for Governor will go forward with our EPIC campaign to do the same and to also ESTABLISH PEACE IN CALIFORNIA, END THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX and EMPOWER PEOPLE INSTEAD of CORPORATIONS.

Cindy Sheehan for Governor will also put the restoration of our indigenous cultures at the forefront of our administration. This state has an appalling record regarding our first people and, as descendants of the colonizers, we need to recognize this fact and empower our first peoples to take a leadership role in the recovery of our state.

The state that I was born in and love has never had a female governor and the time is here that we tried our EPIC recovery with woman-driven people power and I think the most challenging thing we face in this campaign is to convince the people of this state that I am not just another b.s.ing politician and that I mean it when I say I will strive, with the people, co-create peace, ecological health, and economic equality and vibrancy, in this state.

I have been doing peace and social justice activism almost non-stop since my son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in 2004. I live here, I struggle with the people here, and I am dedicated to working for a better life for my surviving children and my beloved grandchildren.

I am not asking for the voters of California to support me; I am asking the voters to support themselves, their families, their communities and this state by voting for true change and putting our hopes in each other.

Source: Dandelion Salad.
Link: http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/cindy-sheehan-formally-launches-campaign-for-ca-governor/.
Original Source: http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/2013/08/text-of-cindys-announcement-for-epic.html.

Largest Ferris wheel nears completion in Las Vegas

September 09, 2013

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Strip is getting the world's largest Ferris wheel.

The outer wheel of the 55-story High Roller ride is scheduled to be hoisted into place Monday. The gargantuan project is now visible from all over the city, including the airport. Early next year, it will be outfitted with 1,500 LED lights and start its slow spin.

"It's going to be an icon," Project Director David Codiga said. "It's going to be a part of your visit to Las Vegas if you ride it or not." Caesars Entertainment Corp. is building the ride as part of a $550 million development across the street from Caesars Palace.

The High Roller will be 100 feet (30 meters) taller than the London Eye, which opened in 2000, 30 feet (9 meters) taller than China's Star of Nanchang, which opened in 2006, and 9 feet (2.7 meters) taller than the Singapore Flyer, which opened in 2008.

These giant urban Ferris wheels typically transport riders in large, fixed capsules instead of the smaller, teetering baskets some people remember from childhood. The Las Vegas ride will take 30 minutes to make one revolution.

Tickets will be comparable to the London ride, which costs about $30, according to Caesars spokeswoman Christina Karas. The High Roller will also likely have to surrender its tallest in the world title before long. Another monster wheel is looming in New York City, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans last year for a 625-foot (190-meter) ride on the waterfront.

Climate Change Threatens Crop Yields in Brazil

By Fabiana Frayssinet

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 17 2013 (IPS) - Crop yields in Brazil, an agricultural powerhouse, are set to decline as a result of climate change, according to the most complete diagnosis yet of climate trends in this country.

Brazil is about to overtake the United States as the world’s top producer of soy, which could see yields fall 25 percent by 2050. Drops in productivity are also projected for beans, rice, maize, sugar cane, coffee and oranges.

Some of these products already saw declines in this year’s harvests.

The first exhaustive report on climate change in South America’s giant predicts that temperatures could be three to six degrees C higher by 2100, and says agricultural losses will be one of the most notable effects.

The report’s chapter on agriculture estimates that the sector will suffer some 3.1 billion dollars a year in losses after 2020.

“If temperatures continue to go up and down, like what is happening, we will have strong waves of heat and cold and losses in agricultural productivity,” Eduardo Assad, a researcher with Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, and one of the authors of the report, told IPS.

Some of the food products mentioned in the report are staples of the Brazilian diet.

That means “we are without a doubt talking about food security,” Carlos Rittl, the head of the climate change and energy program of WWF-Brazil, told IPS.

The report is the first of a series of three to be published by the Brazilian Panel on Climate Change, which was created in 2009 by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of the Environment.

This first volume, which focuses on the scientific aspects of global warming, is a compilation of studies by 345 researchers.

It was presented at the first national conference on climate change, held Sept. 9 to 13 in the southern city of São Paulo. The next two volumes will come out in October and November.

The data from the first volume will be included in the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, part of which will be published on Sept. 27.

The heat, aggravated by a shortage of rainfall, could reduce the water levels in the country’s rivers and lead to a decline in groundwater supplies if emissions of greenhouse gases are not reduced, the report says.

“We have already been affected,” said Rittl, who has a doctorate in ecology. “We are suffering increasingly frequent extreme meteorological events, storms, flooding, intense rains, associated with landslides and other disasters like the ones we had in the hilly areas of Rio de Janeiro (in 2011) or extreme drought like what we have seen in the Northeast,” he said.

These droughts can drag on “for years, leaving agriculture without water and people without drinking water, and accelerating the desertification process,” he added.

In the Amazon jungle, rainfall could decline by 45 percent. A drop in water in the rainforest, where a large number of hydroelectric dams are being built, would pose risks to the country’s energy supply.

In the pampas grasslands in the south and southeast, rainfall will rise 40 percent, causing more floods, Rittl said.

“In very poor areas of the Northeast, subsistence farming will suffer severe consequences, aggravating poverty and fueling migration to urban areas,” he added.

Food supplies in Brazil depend heavily on family farming. “But in some regions, it won’t b possible to produce crops anymore,” he said.

Assad, however, stressed that the report did not reach the conclusion that food insecurity would increase in Brazil, although “a possible change in the geography of agriculture should be expected,” he said.

Researchers at Embrapa and the University of Campinas show that the coffee-growing areas of the southeast will no longer be suitable for the crop.

Embrapa is already working to develop more climate-resistant strains of coffee. It is also seeking more adaptable soy, maize and sorghum, as well as a kind of bean tolerant of high temperatures.

The report does not offer news with respect to climate scenarios, which have already been projected in Brazil. But because it systematizes existing knowledge while revealing gaps in information, it is a roadmap for future research.

In 2009, Brazil committed itself to cutting greenhouse gas emissions between 36 and 39 percent, based on two scenarios of GDP growth.

The government says it is already two-thirds of the way towards that goal, thanks to the marked reduction in the deforestation rate.

But although advances have been made in that area, and a low-carbon agriculture plan (ABC) has been drawn up, climate change “is not a priority issue for the government” of Dilma Rousseff, according to Rittl.

He compared the 1.6 billion dollars spent by the government on ABC in 2011 and 2012 to the nearly 50 billion dollars in agribusiness incentives.

“The big investment is still in traditional agriculture, which produces emissions,” he said.

Agriculture and energy “together account for 90 percent or more of the country’s emissions,” the expert said.

Assad mentioned things that are being done, such as investment in mixed agricultural systems – farming, livestock and forestry, recovery of degraded grasslands, greater use of direct planting or no-till farming, and biological fixing of nitrogen.

“We are implementing systems that capture, instead of emitting, carbon,” he said.

The aim is to reach 2020 with 20 million hectares cultivated using these methods. ”If monoculture continues, we’ll have problems, because with more rain and moisture, there will be more pests and plant diseases,” he said.

The expansion of the main monoculture crop, soy, is one of the causes of soil degradation and deforestation.

“The big agricultural sectors that used to believe that climate change wasn’t important now see that they are also vulnerable, and have become our allies,” Assad said.

But all of these methods and plans will fall short if the different ministries, “which do not communicate among themselves, do not start working together,” said Rittl. “We have to be much more prepared for the consequences if we’re going to confront this.”

Source: Inter-Press Service.
Link: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/climate-change-threatens-crop-yields-in-brazil/.

Brazilian president's popularity rebounding from post-protest slump

By Anthony Boadle
BRASILIA | Tue Sep 10, 2013

(Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's approval ratings are recovering from a wave of popular discontent and she has broadened her lead over other possible contenders in next year's election, a poll published on Tuesday showed.

However, her negative numbers remain high enough to force a run-off vote, which could still complicate a re-election bid.

Rousseff's approval rating, which was in the 70's before the massive street protests that shook Brazil in June, recovered to 58 percent at the start of this month, from 49.3 percent in July, according to the poll commissioned by private transport sector lobby CNT and conducted by MDA Pesquisa.

Approval of her government's performance has risen to 38.1 percent from 31.3 percent in July, the survey showed.

In an outburst of anger against politicians of all stripes, hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets in June to protest against corruption, mismanagement of government money, the high cost of living and poor public services.

Rousseff has scrambled to improve public transportation, health and education services, while pushing for reforms to make the country's political establishment more accountable.

The latest poll showed that two in every three Brazilians believe her government has acted to meet the demonstrators' demands.

Rousseff's controversial program to improve medical attention in remote and poor parts of Brazil by bringing in foreign doctors, mainly from Cuba, was backed by 73.9 percent of those polled.

On the downside, 75.9 percent of Brazilians think inflation has not been brought under control, the poll showed, a perception that undercuts the government's credibility as it strives to revive a slow economy.

Rousseff's recovery in the polls will strengthen her ability to keep spending pressures from legislators in check and may give the central bank more room to raise interest rates "without feeling political heat," said the Eurasia consultancy in Washington.

"But it also reinforces complacency. We no longer think a change in the economic team to shore up credibility is likely," Eurasia said in a note to clients.

2014 ELECTIONS

The latest poll confirmed a trend by other recent surveys that point to a recovery in Rousseff's popularity as she heads toward a widely expected re-election bid in October 2014.

Her negatives have come down, with 41.6 percent of those polled saying they would never vote for her, down from 44.7 percent in July. For MDA pollster Marcelo Costa Souza, that is still not enough to avoid a run-off with an uncertain outcome.

Rousseff's main potential rival, environmentalist Marina Silva, continues to gather steam. Voting intentions for Rousseff increased to 36.4 percent from 33.4 percent in July, compared to 22 percent for Silva, who edged up from 20.7 percent in July.

Support for the likely candidate of the main opposition party PSDB, Aecio Neves, remained unchanged at 15.2 percent, while that for Eduardo Campos, the governor of Pernambuco state, slipped to 5.2 percent from 7.4 percent in July.

Silva, a former environment minister, is not identified with Brazil's traditional political establishment and the recent protests have boosted her standing. Silva came third in the 2010 election, winning 20 million votes as a candidate for the Green Party. She has since founded a new party, but it is not certain that she can register it in time for the 2014 election.

The poll of 2,002 people was conducted between August 31 and September 4, and has a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.

(Editing by Doina Chiacu and Christopher Wilson)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-brazil-politics-rousseff-idUSBRE9891C220130910.

Congo conflict spills over into Rwanda

August 29, 2013

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Fighting from the war in eastern Congo that pits U.N. and Congolese forces against rebels spilled over into Rwanda on Thursday when 10 shells landed in a Rwandan border town and a nearby village, killing at least one person, authorities said.

Rwanda, which the U.N. accuses of backing the rebels in the neighboring nation of Congo, blamed the Congolese military for the shelling of its territory, saying it was done with the intention of dragging them into the conflict.

But in New York, the United Nations said the U.N. force "can confirm firing incidents into Rwandan territory originated from M23 positions" from Aug. 22-29, and stressed that "it has not witnessed any Congolese Armed Forces firing into Rwandan territory during this period."

Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said a projectile fired by Congolese forces at 9:45 a.m. killed a woman and seriously injured her 2-month old baby in a market in Rubavu town, located 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Congolese border.

"We have remained restrained for as long as we can but this provocation can no longer be tolerated. We have the capacity to determine who fired at us and will not hesitate to defend our territory. Rwanda has a responsibility to protect its population," Mushikiwabo said. She said a second projectile landed at 11:20 a.m. in Rubavu, injuring one person, and that eight landed at nearby Busasamana village 10 minutes later.

Goma, a city of 1 million located on the Rwandan border, briefly fell to the M23 rebels last year, whose ranks are swollen with undercover Rwandan soldiers, according to repeated reports by the United Nations Group of Experts. The soldiers from Rwanda join the M23 in small groups, hiking across footpaths into Congo. Rwanda has also supplied them with arms and sophisticated equipment, including night vision goggles, the report said.

Meanwhile, combat continued in eastern Congo on Thursday, and Congolese Minister of Information Lambert Mende confirmed that two shells had landed in two separate neighborhoods in the provincial capital of Goma overnight, killing one person and wounding eight.

That brings to 13 the number of people killed in Goma by shelling from rebel positions north of the city in just over a week, ever since the Congolese army backed by United Nations troops went on the offensive against the M23 rebels.

Paluku Kavunga, a resident of Goma, said he had seen the latest victim of the shelling: "I saw the body torn into pieces of a boy who was 16 years old and who was killed last night," he said. "This morning I heard another two detonations not far from Goma and I also saw four helicopters from the United Nations who were flying over the city of Goma."

The fighting in recent days has been among the most intense in the past year, and comes after the United Nations Security Council in March authorized the creation of a special intervention brigade which, unlike the other 17,000 peacekeepers stationed in this vast nation, have a mandate allowing them to go on the offensive against the M23 rebel group. The brigade, made up of soldiers from Tanzania and South Africa, was created in the wake of the criticism following the fall of Goma to the rebels last year.

Reached by telephone, M23 President Bertrand Bisimwa said that the fighting had lasted until 11 p.m. on Wednesday, and resumed at 4 a.m. Thursday. He said the U.N. troops are mixed in with the Congolese soldiers.

"The Congolese and the U.N. attacked us with their infantry, with their combat tanks and with their heavy weapons," he said. "They are mixed in together. On the front line you can see them together. We especially see the U.N. soldiers in the tanks."

Pikkie Greeff, the national secretary of the South African National Defense Union, a military union which represents some of the soldiers fighting in Congo, said that South African Special Forces snipers have been "taking out" rebels manning machine gun posts, barriers and other positions. He also said the South African and Tanzanian troops are launching attacks from the air and hitting the rebels with artillery shells. As the fight intensifies "the possibilities of casualties are very high ... and we see the possibility that soldiers might die in combat," he said.

Congo, a nation the size of Western Europe, has been in a perpetual state of crisis for almost two decades. Even before the creation of the M23 in 2012, its forest-covered hills were crawling with other rebel groups, ethnic militias and renegade units of the regular army. The latest flare-up is causing people to flee from the very refugee camps that became their temporary homes in previous conflicts.

"Things are really bad when people are being forced to run away from displacement camps," said Frances Charles, the Goma-based advocacy director for international aid group World Vision, who was reached by telephone. "The DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) level of emergency is so much worse than anywhere else. What we now take as 'normal' would be considered a catastrophe anywhere else. For us a good day is, for another country, the biggest catastrophe they have ever seen."

Jason Straziuso reported from Nairobi, Kenya. Associated Press writers Rukmini Callimachi in Dakar, Senegal, Rodney Muhumuza in Johannesburg and Peter James Spielmann in New York also contributed to this report.

WAR ON ISLAM. Putin's KGB banned Holy Koran in Russia

18 September 2013

A Russian translation of the Koran is now officially banned by the KGB. According to Russian media, on September 18, an "October district court" in the Russian-occupied Emirate city of Tsemez ("Novorossiysk") banned reading "The semantic translation of the Holy Koran into Russian" (translated from Arabic by E.R. Guliyev. 1st edition. King Fahd Complex for Printing of the Holy Koran, Medina, Munawwara, Saudi Arabia, 2002).

According to the KGB court, the Koran is "extremist literature" under the Russian Criminal Code article # 282. "The Koran calls for hostile and violent acts of one group of people against another on the basis of religion, in this case, Muslims against non-Muslims", the KGB court ruled. According to Russian federal laws, it is now forbidden to read the Koran translation all over Russia, and keeping it at home is a criminal offense.

It is interesting to note that this unprecedented act of war on Islam remained virtually unnoticed by the media. Russian as well as western media outlets ignored the ruling of the KGB court. So-called muftis and various Muslim organizations in Russia are also silent.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2013/09/18/18291.shtml.

Palace: Prince William ends active military career

September 12, 2013

LONDON (AP) — There will be no more perilous military helicopter missions for Prince William in the rugged mountainous terrain of northern Wales.

With the military's announcement Thursday that he has completed the operational phase of his career, William looks free to spend more time with his wife, Kate, and their 2-month-old son, Prince George, while he takes on more royal engagements and charity roles.

The move marks the end of an exciting phase in the prince's life — he became adept at piloting a Sea King helicopter in foul weather, helping mountaineers in distress and rescuing mariners in the frigid waters of the Irish Sea. His active military career, a traditional rite of passage for senior royals, lasted more than seven years, first in the Army and then in the Royal Air Force.

Air Chief Marshal Andrew Pulford said William had been an important part of the Royal Air Force's search and rescue force for the past three years. "Throughout his tour his airmanship, often in the most demanding of conditions, has contributed directly to saving lives in the mountains of North Wales and from the ravages of the Irish Sea," Pulford said. "He has earned the respect of all who have worked with him as a highly professional and competent pilot."

William, 31, started as an officer cadet at Sandhurst military academy in 2006. He began search and rescue helicopter training three years later and has the RAF rank of Flight Lieutenant, similar to a captain in the U.S. Air Force.

The military said he had participated in 156 search and rescue operations, helping to rescue 149 people. He has completed more than 1,300 flying hours. The palace said William would "expand his work in the field of conservation, particularly in respect of endangered species" and would work on charities that help children and veterans.

As part of his growing emphasis on wildlife protection, William on Thursday teamed up with sports stars David Beckham and Yao Ming to record public service announcements designed to reduce demand for rhino horn and ivory.

William spent his air force time stationed on the quiet rural island of Anglesey. He was able to blend in with residents and fellow military personnel, enjoying a degree of privacy. Kate — known formally as the Duchess of Cambridge — was often seen shopping at local grocery stores, and the royal couple were able to go to pubs and restaurants without attracting unwanted attention.

Now that William's active military career is finished, the family will move into a refurbished apartment at Kensington Palace in London. They had been living in a rented home in Anglesey. William's younger brother, Prince Harry, remains active in the military, and has served in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter pilot with the army rank of captain.