Oman urges GCC to reduce domestic energy consumption

2013-10-21

DUBAI – Oman and neighboring Gulf states must move towards curtailing energy consumption drastically, reduce subsidies and boost efficiencies to keep the region’s rapidly rising oil and gas demand in check, the sultanate’s top energy official said Monday.

“We must drastically reduce our consumption, not only in Oman but in the region as a whole,” Oman’s Minister of Oil and Gas Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al-Rumhy said in a national keynote address at the first Gulf Intelligence Oman Energy Forum in Muscat today. The forum’s theme is focused on game changers impacting the Omani and global energy industry.

Today, the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states consume more primary energy than the whole of Africa even though their population is only one-twentieth the size of the continent’s, according to Chatham House’s Saving Oil and Gas in the Gulf report published in August. Heavily-subsidized energy has fuelled consumption growth in the region in recent years and led to rising energy subsidy bills for governments. According to International Monetary Fund estimates, energy subsidy costs in GCC countries ranged from 9-28% of government revenues in 2011.

“Subsidy is killing us. We should preserve energy on a daily level and use it wisely, which we’re not doing. We can do so much ourselves. We don’t need to start any nuclear, coal, bio-fuel activities in Oman,” the minister said. He added that there wasn’t much need for the sultanate to pursue renewable energy projects at present as “there is enough gas in the world.”

Abdulla Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, President of Qatar’s Administrative Control & Transparency Authority and the country’s former oil minister, said in an on-stage interview at today’s forum that GCC states need to make a collective effort to curtail energy subsidies or be faced with drastic consequences.

“This is not a single country issue but a GCC problem. The region needs to move quickly to find a solution,” he said.

The emergence of Gulf states as major energy consumers has fuelled concerns over their ability to maintain oil export capacity. Domestic oil consumption among Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members has increased seven‐fold in 40 years, to 8.5 million bpd. They consume almost as much oil as China, which is equivalent to one-fourth of their production.

According to OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri, who gave the international keynote address at the forum, the organization should be able to produce an additional 6 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude by 2018.

The increase would make up for declining output elsewhere, in particular in the U.S. where tight oil output is expected to start declining that year, El Badri said. OPEC output stood at 30.05 million bpd in September, down 400,000 bpd versus August levels.

Oman is the largest oil producer in the Middle East that is not a member of OPEC. The sultanate has set ambitious targets to boost the share of oil it produces from Enhanced Oil Recovery projects by 2021 in a bid to sustain a five-year trend of rising crude production levels. The country is also moving forward with an ambitious program to diversify the local economy as it seeks to reduce its dependence on income from hydrocarbons, add value to its oil and gas resources, and create jobs for its young and growing population, while at the same time strengthening ties with East Africa and South Asia.

“Oman is in an advantageous position and we must continue to make the most of our geographical location. We, as a nation, are at the gateway of the rapidly expanding regional as well as Asian and African markets,” said Mulham Al-Jarf, Deputy CEO of Oman Oil Company, which is the Title Partner at the Gulf Intelligence Oman Energy Forum.

Today’s forum is also being addressed by Nasser K. Al Jashmi, Under Secretary at Oman’s Ministry of Oil & Gas on the sultanate’s Oil & Gas In-Country-Value Program, and Dr. Aldo Flores-Quiroga, Secretary General, International Energy Forum (IEF) on Building New Partnerships for Post-Easy Oil Era.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://middle-east-online.com/english/?id=62076.

Kuwait elections begin amid hopes for political stability

2013-07-27

By Omar Hasan - KUWAIT CITY

Kuwaitis voted on Saturday in the Gulf emirate's second parliamentary election in eight months with turnout the key issue as the opposition urged a boycott.

A correspondent saw few voters at a polling station in Al-Qasia, just south of Kuwait City, when polls opened at 8 am (0500 GMT) although turnout picked up later.

Information Minister Sheikh Salman Humoud Al-Sabah said turnout was high after visiting a polling station in Jahra, west of Kuwait City.

It was the first time that an election had been called in Kuwait during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when the observant fast during the day.

Daytime temperatures were forecast to hit 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in a further disincentive to voters.

It was the second time that the opposition had called for a boycott in protest at an electoral law that it says enables the ruling Al-Sabah family-controlled government to manipulate the outcome.

The law was ruled legal in June by the constitutional court, even though it dissolved parliament on procedural flaws and ordered Saturday's election.

But its judgment failed to satisfy the opposition dashing hopes of an end to a deadlock between the two sides that has seen the oil-rich Gulf state go to the polls six times in as many years.

"I just hope this parliament completes its (four-year) term," said civil aviation employee Bassam Eid, after he cast his vote in Al-Qasia.

"We are frustrated at the repeated dissolution of the house," Eid said.

The last two parliaments were dissolved by the constitutional court on procedural grounds, while the previous houses were dissolved by the emir.

"I am really concerned at the turn of events in the country as there will be no development without political stability which we hope will be achieved after this election," doctor Jawad Abulhassan said after voting.

Pensioner Umm Mohammad said she hoped for an end to the disputes plaguing the country but was not that optimistic.

"We earnestly hope to see political stability in the country after this poll... We are still afraid that this might not happen," she said after casting her vote at a polling station reserved for women in Jabriya, south of Kuwait City.

Some groups that boycotted last time round -- notably the liberal National Democratic Alliance and some of the emirate's powerful tribes -- were taking part on Saturday.

But only a few opposition members were among the 300 hopefuls.

They include eight women, the lowest number of female candidates since women won political rights in 2005.

Around 30 Arab election observers visited some of the polling stations and were assisted by monitors from the Kuwait Transparency Society.

The opposition failed to mobilise the support on the street it succeeded in getting out ahead of the last election but has remained adamant that it will not take part in a "corrupted" political system.

Just days before polling day, the authorities arrested at least four candidates and dozens of their campaign staff on suspicion of attempted vote-buying.

Although Kuwait has the Gulf's oldest elected parliament, all key government posts are held by members of the ruling Al-Sabah family which has ruled the country without challenge for over 250 years.

Analysts see little hope the election will bring political stability to the emirate, which has been rocked by lingering disputes since mid-2006, stalling development despite an abundance of petrodollars.

Kuwait has a population of 3.9 million, but just 31 percent are citizens and of that 1.23 million just 440,000 are eligible to vote.

The voting age is 21 and Kuwaitis serving in the police or army are barred from taking part.

The first results were not expected until after midnight (2100 GMT) as ballot papers are still counted manually in Kuwait.

The OPEC member says it sits on 10 percent of global crude reserves and pumps around 3.0 million barrels of oil per day. Thanks to high prices, the emirate has amassed around $400 billion in assets over the past decade.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://middle-east-online.com/english/?id=60376.

Saudi Arabia rejects seat on UN Security Council

October 18, 2013

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Friday rejected its seat on the U.N. Security Council hours after it was elected to it, in a rare and startling move aimed at protesting the body's failure to resolve the Syrian civil war.

The Saudi discontent appeared largely directed at its longtime ally, the United States, reflecting more than two years of frustration. The two are at odds over a number of Mideast issues, including how Washington has handled some of the region's crises, particularly in Egypt and Syria. It also comes as ties between the U.S. and Iran, the Saudi's regional foe, appear to be tepidly improving.

Saudi Arabia showed its displeasure last month when Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal declined to address the General Assembly meeting. Days later, the kingdom's unease with Washington appeared to manifest when President Barack Obama spoke to Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani in a groundbreaking telephone call.

The kingdom was given one of the rotating seats on the 15-member council in a vote Thursday. On Friday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry issued a statement rejecting the seat, saying the U.N. Security Council had failed in multiple cases in the Middle East. Particularly, it said U.N. failure to act has enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime to perpetrate the killings of its people, including the use of chemical weapons. The Syrian regime denies using chemical weapons.

"Allowing the ruling regime in Syria to kill its people and burn them with chemical weapons in front of the entire world and without any deterrent or punishment is clear proof and evidence of the U.N. Security Council's inability to perform its duties and shoulder its responsibilities," the ministry said in the statement carried on the state news agency.

Saudi Arabia backs the rebels fighting to overthrow Assad in a war that has killed some 100,000 people since early 2011. Repeated attempts by the U.N. Security Council to address the conflict have fallen apart, usually because Assad's ally Russia has blocked strong resolutions. Still, in a rare consensus, the council passed a resolution on destroying Syria's chemical arsenal after an Aug. 21 chemical attack.

Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab leaders have backed the Syrian rebels with weapons and financing in part to counter their regional rival Iran, which has strongly thrown its weight behind its ally, Assad. At the same time, the friendly gestures between the U.S. and Iran's new government have made Saudi Arabia uneasy.

Russia said it was "surprised" and "baffled by the reasons that the kingdom gave to explain its position" — particularly after the chemical weapons resolution. That resolution was passed after Russia brokered Damascus' consent to surrender its chemical arsenal, which it had long kept secret.

There appear to be some efforts under way to get the Saudis to recant. Britain's deputy U.N. ambassador Peter Wilson told reporters his team is looking at what precisely the Saudis meant by their statement and are talking to them "to get a little bit more background on what lies behind this."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he has "taken note" of the media reports of the Saudi rejection, "but I would like to caution you that I have received no official notification in this regard."

"We also are looking forward to working very closely in addressing many important challenges with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," particularly the Syrian war and other issues, including combatting "terrorism and nuclear proliferation," he said.

He said member states are holding discussions on how to deal with the Saudi move. Ban talked to a senior official in the Saudi government after the news broke, a U.N. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussion was private.

U.N. diplomats and officials said the Saudi rejection of the seat appears to be unprecedented. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said U.N. officials were going back through Security Council records to check whether this was the first time a nation rejected a seat.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry statement was a sharp change in tone from comments by the kingdom's U.N. ambassador the day before. At the time, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said his country's election to the council was "a reflection of a longstanding policy in support of moderation and in support of resolving disputes by peaceful means."

He also said his country takes its election "very seriously as a responsibility." The Saudi statement Friday also blamed the Security Council for failing to transform the Middle East into a zone free of weapons of mass destruction — a reference to Israel, which has never confirmed or denied possession of nuclear weapons. It also said the Council has not been able to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict over the past six decades.

While Saudi Arabia and the United States share core strategic interests regarding mutual worries over Iran, cooperation in counter-terrorism and support for Syria's rebels, they have differed in their approach.

Most recently Saudi Arabia's leaders were furious when the United States pulled back from possible military action against the Syrian regime in exchange for the Russian plan to dismantle Syria's chemical arsenal.

Editorials in Arabic newspapers over the past several weeks have reflected the Gulf's concerns. In an opinion piece published in the Al-Hayat daily Arabic newspaper, columnist George Samaan wrote that if the Gulf states feel Washington is turning its back on them by improving ties with Iran, the Arab states could always look east to other countries.

Another columnist, Abdel-Rahman el-Rasahd, wrote in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat daily that rather than Obama striking the Syrian regime, he struck U.S. allies by calling Iran's president and pushing Gulf states to pursue their own defense policies.

Washington-based analyst Frederic Wehrey said the recent U.S.-Iranian overtures were a "shock" to Saudi rulers.. "It's not really a question that the U.S. is pursuing relations with Iran, but that Saudi Arabia feels left out in the cold," said Wehrey of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. They felt "the rug had been pulled out from under them" and saw it as American "betrayal."

The kingdom easily won the Security Council seat in Thursday's vote in New York, facing no opposition because there were no contested races for the first time in several years. The Council seats are highly coveted because they give countries a strong voice in matters dealing with international peace and security, in places like Syria, Iran and North Korea, as well as the U.N.'s far-flung peacekeeping operations.

Saudi Arabia was nominated by the Asia group for an Arab seat on the council, so Asian nations would have to select a new candidate — or candidates. The entire 193-member General Assembly would then have to hold another election to choose a new council member.

The 15-member council includes five permanent members with veto power — and 10 nonpermanent members elected for two-year terms.

Lederer reported from the United Nations in New York. AP correspondents Abdullah al-Shihri in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow; and Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report.

Saudi billionaire prince urges less reliance on oil

Riyadh (AFP)
July 28, 2013

Saudi billionaire prince Alwaleed bin Talal has warned global demand for the kingdom's oil is dropping, urging revenue diversification and investment in nuclear and solar energy to cover local consumption.

In letters to officials and published on Sunday on his Twitter account, King Abdullah's nephew warned that it was alarming that "92 percent of the government budget relies on oil".

"The world's reliance on OPEC oil, especially the production of Saudi Arabia, is in a clear and continuous drop," he wrote in letter addressed to oil minister Ali al-Naimi.

He said the threat from shale gas is "definitely coming", pointing to progress in that sector in North America and Australia.

"Revenue diversification is a must, and that necessitates a clear vision that should be implemented immediately," the Arab world's richest businessman said.

He proposed creating a sovereign wealth fund to manage the kingdom's reserves, which he said stood at $676 billion in March, citing official figures.

Alwaleed also urged action to press ahead with plans to develop nuclear and renewable energy to "reduce local consumption of oil as soon as possible".

Alwaleed was 26th on the Forbes 2013 list of billionaires, with an estimated wealth of $20 billion -- but he challenged the rating, saying he was worth $9.6 billion more.

Source: Energy-Daily.
Link: http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Saudi_billionaire_prince_urges_less_reliance_on_oil_999.html.

Saudi prince defects from royal family: Report

Saudi Prince Khalid Bin Farhan al-Saud has announced his defection from the royal family, referring to his “suffering” under reign of al-Saud and called on other princes to break their silence.

“With pride, I announce my defection from al-Saudi family in Saudi Arabia,” he wrote in his statement, according to a report from the Tehran-based Al-Alam news channel. “This regime in Saudi Arabia does not stand by God’s rules or even [the country’s] established rules and its policies, decisions and actions are totally based on [the] personal will of its leaders,” he continued.

The ruling royal family is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman al-Saud.

“All that is said in Saudi Arabia about respecting law and religion rules is factitious, so that they can lie and pretend that the regime obeys Islamic rules,” he said, criticizing the royal family for considering the country its own property and silencing all voices from inside and outside the government that called for any change or reform.

The Saudi prince said everything that the pro-reform opposition said about the country’s political, economical, judiciary, social and security conditions as well as their abuse of religious values was true, the report said. “The situation is even worse than what is said in criticisms.” He called on all those who cared for the future of the country to join him and break their silence.

July/28/2013

Source: Hurriyet.
Link: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/saudi-prince-defects-from-royal-family-report.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51544.

Saudi Arabia to launch first women's channel in full conformity to Islamic law

2013-07-27

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia will launch its first TV channel dedicated to women in early 2014 and owners said it would be run only by female employees.

The “foundation stone” for the privately-owned channel will be laid in the western Red Sea port of Jeddah by Saudi Minister of Information Abdul Aziz Al Khaja and Riyaz bin Kamal, president of the General Authority to regulate the audio-visual media.

Abdullah Al-Nazawi, the board chairman said this female-dominated TV satellite channel would project the positive aspects of women’s lives in the Kingdom and would also help in changing the stereotype attributed to Arab and Muslim women.

“The objective of the channel is to highlight the skills, traditions, culture, education, Islamic thought and problems facing Arab women in general and Saudi women in particular. The channel will fully conform to Islamic law and will help raise awareness levels among women,” he said.

Al-Nazawi said it would also feature programs which would explore women’s needs. The content of the programs would cover a wide range of topics including legitimate software, intellectual, scientific, cultural, political, social, psychological, economic, technical, administrative, educational, medical and other areas related to women’s lives.

“We are fully confident that this TV channel will help our women in polishing their lives and understanding modern terms. Women are part of our society and lives and we can’t ignore them and their needs.”

The channel would also seek to project a positive image of the incredibly conservative Kingdom.

In ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, women are dependent on their male guardians in most aspects of their lives.

Women need a close male relative to accompany them if they enter government buildings and courts.

Saudi women are also banned from driving and are obliged to cover themselves from head to toe in public.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://middle-east-online.com/english/?id=60383.

The moral courage of an Arab boy

Friday, November 08, 2013

It was not a normal school day for Ahwazi Arab schoolboy Abbas Haidari. Dressed in traditional Arab clothing, common throughout the Arabian Gulf, nine year old Abbas made his way to school in Ahwaz and stepped into a controversy that challenged endemic anti-Arab racism in Iran.

Wearing traditional Arabic clothing at school or in the office is effectively banned in Iran, a country where racial hatred of Arabs runs deep. For an Arab to "assimilate", even though they are indigenous to Ahwaz, he or she has to deny their traditions and heritage, although this is often insufficient to counter discrimination.

But a schoolboy decided to take a stand, proudly wearing the Arabic dishdasha and keffiyeh that made him stand out in a sea of blue uniforms as he queued for his class at Shahrak-Ahwaz. The brave yet peaceful act of defiance against a racist regime prompted the authorities to ban him from school.

As a result, Abbas has become a folk hero for many Ahwazi Arabs, prompting many to question and openly challenge social customs that effectively ban traditional costume. He takes inspiration from his mother, whose Arabic poem "Silent Divan" was published earlier in the year to wide acclaim within the Ahwazi Arab community.

While Article 15 of the Iranian constitution guarantees education in the mother tongue, there are no Arabic language schools in the Ahwaz region, ensuring that Arabs are second-class citizens in their own land. Arab students are often humiliated and abused at school, including being whipped in front of their schoolmates. Successive administrations have courted Ahwazi Arab support by pledging to implement the constitution, but there has been no effort to address the issue. This failure means that Arabs are often illiterate in their native tongue, yet struggle to learn in Persian, a language that is not their own.

Some educated Ahwazi Arabs have attempted to help impoverished youths learn Arabic through informal study groups, but this has proven dangerous with several Arabic teachers facing imprisonment and even execution. They include members of the Arabic civic group, Al-Hewar (Dialogue), who face imminent execution. Independent organizations seeking to celebrate Arabic culture are deemed "separatist" by the regime and banned.

Resulting low educational attainment is reinforcing discrimination and contributing to high levels of unemployment and poverty among the indigenous Ahwazi Arabs. Acts of defiance and civil disobedience, such as Abbas' decision to wear Arabic dress to school, are increasingly seen as the only means to assert ethnic rights and challenge racial discrimination..

Source: Ahwaz News Agency.
Link: http://www.ahwaziarabs.info/2013/11/the-moral-courage-of-arab-boy.html.

Diplomat: Jordan to Replace Saudis on UN Council

November 8, 2013 (AP)
By EDITH M. LEDERER

Jordan will replace Saudi Arabia on the Security Council for a two-year term starting in January after the Saudis' unprecedented rejection of the seat hours after they were elected, a U.N. diplomat said Thursday.

The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal was made privately, said Jordan's U.N. Ambassador Prince Zeid al Hussein was flying to Amman on Thursday night to discuss Jordan's new role on the U.N.'s most powerful body.

Earlier this week, Jordan dropped its bid for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, leaving Saudi Arabia a clear path in the now uncontested election next Tuesday.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a Geneva-based human rights organization, said: "It is appalling that seats on the world's top human rights body are being traded like merchandise, treated as trinkets by non-democracies."

The U.N. General Assembly, which voted on Oct. 17 to give Saudi Arabia the seat traditionally reserved for an Arab nation on the council, will have to formally approve Jordan as a replacement. Since Jordan is almost certain to be the only candidate, its election is virtually assured.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry stunned the diplomatic world with the announcement that it was rejecting the seat, less than 24 hours after it was elected. The Saudis issued a scathing attack on the Security Council's failures to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war in Syria, and to convene a conference on creating a zone in the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.

The rejection appeared largely directed at the country's longtime ally, the United States.

The oil giant and the world's superpower are at odds over a number of Mideast issues, including how Washington has handled some of the region's crises, particularly in Egypt and Syria. It also comes as ties between the U.S. and Iran, the Saudis' regional foe, appear to be improving somewhat.

Jordan, which shares a border with Israel, has been a key behind-the-scenes player in efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. U.S. Secretary of State was in Amman on Thursday trying to rally support for his peace efforts from King Abdullah II and warning of a return to violence if peace efforts fail.

Jordan also shares a border with Syria and has become a major destination for refugees fleeing the 2 1/2-year civil war.

According to the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, Jordan had 250,000 Syrian refugees in January and is expected to have 432,500 in December, second only to Turkey.

In April, Prince Zeid sent a letter to the Security Council saying the refugee crisis had sparked "a grave humanitarian situation" that threatens the country's security and stability.

In August, King Abdullah warned that ethnic and sectarian violence sweeping across several Arab countries could lead to the "destruction" of the Muslim world.

The civil war in Syria has taken on an increasingly sectarian tone, pitting predominantly Sunni rebels against a regime dominated by an offshoot of Shiism, which is allied with Shiite-majority Iran. Jordan is worried that the violence could spill across the border.

Diplomats from a number of countries had tried to persuade Saudi Arabia to change its mind and take the seat, arguing that it could achieve more inside the council than outside. But the Saudis never backed down.

On Oct. 21, Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal sent letters to a number of "friendly countries" seeking support for its decision to turn down the seat. One letter, obtained by AP, said support for the Saudi decision would be deeply appreciated and demonstrate "the depth of bilateral relations between our two countries."

Source: ABC News.
Link: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/diplomat-jordan-replace-saudis-council-20823433.

Tajik president reelected in landslide victory

November 07, 2013

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — Tajikistan's president has won a fourth term in an election that has been criticized by Western observers and extends his more than 20-year rule in the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation.

The Central Election Commission said Thursday that Emomali Rakhmon won 83.6 percent of the vote, but monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the top trans-Atlantic security and rights group, criticized the previous day's vote.

They say that state media had been dominated by coverage of Rakhmon's campaign and that registration requirements were designed to limit competition. "While quiet and peaceful, this was an election without a real choice," Gerdana Comic, Special Coordinator for the OSCE mission, said in a news conference in Dushanbe.

The Tajik government long has drawn criticism for its crackdown on dissent and its tight grip on the media. Authorities in the impoverished Sunni Muslim nation of 8 million have sought to exploit public fears of a replay of a bloody civil war of the 1990s, casting the opposition as a threat to the country's stability.

Rights activist Oinihol Bobonazarova was denied registration after the election commission claimed she had failed to gather enough signatures to run, and the remaining five challengers waged lackluster campaigns and praised Rakhmon's rule.

They voiced little criticism after the official results were released. The president's closest rival only took 5 percent of the vote. "There were some insignificant flaws and shortcomings, but nothing that could have truly influenced the results," said Olimdzhon Boboyev of the Economic Reform Party, who polled at 3.9 percent.

Tajikistan has hosted a Russian military base and recently allowed Moscow to extend its lease until 2042. Along with five other ex-Soviet nations, Tajikistan is part of the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization.

It also has been an important partner for the United States, allowing coalition troops and cargo to travel to and from Afghanistan over its territory. However, its ex-Soviet neighbors Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have played a far greater role.

"We welcome the progress Tajikistan has made in improving its electoral process, but there is still a long way to go," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. "We urge the Tajik government to begin working now to strengthen political pluralism, allow true opposition parties to operate, and expand operating space for independent media and civil society groups."

Tajik president set to win another term

November 06, 2013

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) — Voters in Tajikistan cast ballots Wednesday in a presidential election all but certain to extend the incumbent's more than 20-year rule after officials barred the only real opposition candidate from the race.

President Emomali Rakhmon, 61, is running for his fourth term in the strategically important Central Asian nation neighboring Afghanistan and China. The Sunni Muslim country of 8 million is one of the poorest among the ex-Soviet nations. It depends on the remittances of the more than 1 million Tajiks working in Russia to make up nearly one-half of the nation's GDP.

For many years, Rakhmon's government has cracked down on dissent and maintained tight control over the media, drawing harsh criticism from international rights groups. He faces virtually no competition in this vote. Rights activist Oinihol Bobonazarova was denied registration on the grounds she failed to collect the signatures of 5 percent of the nation's voters. She insisted she had done so, but the Central Election Commission claimed she fell short because the number of eligible voters had changed.

The remaining five presidential challengers have campaigned together and have even praised Rakhmon. Tajik authorities have sought to exploit public fears of a replay of a bloody civil war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"(The authorities) tried to create an impression that if people support (me), it could lead to a war and bloodshed as in the 1990s," Bobonazarova said. Rakhmon, a state farm director during Soviet times, took the helm during the war that erupted in 1992. Russia backed Rakhmon's faction against a coalition of Islamists, nationalists and democratic groups.

A 1997 peace deal gave the opposition a significant number of government posts, but Rakhmon later consolidated his power, gradually squeezing the opposition members out. There were clashes between government troops and militants in 2010 and 2012, but the government has moved quickly to uproot its foes and cement control.

"Rakhmon's positions are very strong," said Nurali Davlat, an independent analyst. "The opposition has failed to consolidate." Tajikistan has allowed U.N. coalition troops and cargo to travel from Afghanistan over its territory, although its ex-Soviet neighbors Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have played a far greater role.

Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

Poland gives coal a voice during UN climate talks

November 08, 2013

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — With coal-reliant Poland hosting U.N. climate talks, the fossil fuel industry will get a rare chance to play a more visible role in the global warming debate.

But in a move that has infuriated climate activists, the Polish government will also preside over a high-level coal industry event on the sidelines of the two-week climate conference, which starts Monday.

"It's been seen as a real provocation and a statement from the Polish government that they have no intention to move away from coal," said Wendel Trio, director of the Climate Action Network in Europe.

Coal, oil and gas companies normally keep a low profile during the annual U.N. climate talks, which are aimed at reining in the carbon emissions that scientists say are a major driver of global warming.

But Polish officials say that coal, which accounts for more than 80 percent of Poland's electricity generation, won't go away anytime soon and needs to be a key part of the climate debate. So on Nov. 18-19, as the U.N. conference enters its final week in Warsaw, the World Coal Association and Poland's Economy Ministry are organizing a conference billed as "the coal industry's most important event of the year."

Organizers say the International Coal and Climate Summit will bring together coal industry executives, policy-makers and others to "discuss the role of coal in the global economy, in the context of the climate change agenda."

In a statement Thursday to The Associated Press, the World Coal Association said the coal summit is meant as a contribution, not an alternative, to the U.N. talks. It noted that U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres will be a keynote speaker at the event.

Given the irritation the coal summit has stirred in the climate community, attending it may have been an awkward decision for Figueres, who regularly promotes efforts to boost renewable energy and cut funding for fossil fuels.

"She could either completely ignore that it's happening or go there and make a point, and I think she's chosen the latter one," said Liz Gallagher, of European environmental think tank E3G. The U.N. climate change secretariat declined to comment and Figueres did not respond to a Twitter query about the issue.

Gallagher said she believes the coal event is more about domestic Polish politics than increasing the coal industry's presence in the international climate discussions. "They want to show domestic audiences that they haven't forgotten that Poland is heavily reliant on coal," she said.

Though Poland has started restructuring its energy mix to boost renewables, officials say coal will remain the staple source of energy. The coal industry and affiliated sectors provide almost 600,000 jobs in Poland and traditionally enjoy government protection, especially now, when the jobless rate hovers around 13 percent.

That's reflected in Poland's position in climate policy discussions within the European Union, where the government has opposed deepening the bloc's emissions cuts from the current target of 20 percent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. Poland joined the EU in 2004.

On Sunday Polish labor unions and nationalists are planning a panel discussion against climate actions they say could harm Poland's economy. The nationalists will also march the next day, the conference's opening day, which coincides with Poland's independence day. Their marches sometimes turn violent.

"Rich European nations are imposing short-term goals on us which they took some 50 years to achieve," said Krzysztof Bosak, a prominent member of the right-wing National Movement.

Associated Press writer Karl Ritter in Stockholm contributed to this report.

Dutch king visits Russia amid chill in ties

November 08, 2013

MOSCOW (AP) — Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Maxima arrived in Russia on Friday for a visit that aimed to celebrate the two nations' historical ties but comes as relations between them have soured.

The key sticking point of late is Russia's seizure of a Dutch-flagged Greenpeace ship and arrest of all 30 people on board. "What was meant as a friendship year to promote these ties between Holland and Russia turned into exactly the opposite," Derk Sauer, a Dutch businessman who has lived in Moscow for 25 years, told The Associated Press.

Sauer said the Dutch royals will have to be very diplomatic to avoid adding to the tensions. "The Dutch king has to be very careful, because he cannot say anything risking trouble at home," Sauer said. "If he is too nice to Putin, in Holland public opinion will be upset. If he is not nice to Putin, the Russians will be upset."

The Netherlands has asked an international tribunal to order Russia to release the Arctic Sunrise ship and its crew. The 28 Greenpeace activists, a Russian photographer and a British videographer have been in custody since the ship was seized Sept . 19 by the Russian coast guard in international waters after a protest by a Gazprom-owned oil rig in the Arctic.

Russian-Dutch relations have also been strained over last month's assault on a Dutch diplomat at his apartment in Moscow. Russia has expressed regret, but the perpetrators haven't been found. The attack followed a brief detention of a Russian diplomat in the Netherlands.

The Dutch have also criticized Russian policies they see as anti-gay. In April, the mayor of Amsterdam refused to meet with Putin during his visit. And in August, Dutch gay groups protested before a major concert by Russian state musicians and dancers.

General strike shuts down services across Greece

November 06, 2013

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Services across Greece shut down Wednesday as unions held a 24-hour general strike to protest further austerity cuts in the cash-strapped country.

The strike disrupted public transport, halted ferry and train services, shut down courts and state-run schools, and left state hospitals and the ambulance service functioning with emergency staff. Dozens of flights were canceled or rescheduled as air traffic controllers were to walk off the job for three hours from noon in support of the labor action.

In Athens, more than 1,000 Communist party supporters marched to Parliament, shouting anti-austerity slogans in the driving rain. A second demonstration called by the country's two biggest unions was scheduled to start later Wednesday.

Greece has been surviving on international rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund and other European countries that use the euro since 2010, after a combination of dismal financial stewardship, loss of investor confidence and the global recession brought it to the brink of bankruptcy. Successive governments have passed repeated rounds of deep spending cuts and tax hikes to secure 240 billion euros ($324 billion dollars) in bailout loans.

The strike is taking place as the government holds talks with debt inspectors from the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission, known collectively as the troika, over what measures are needed to plug a budget gap next year.

Greece and the troika differ over the size of the gap. Athens maintains the shortfall will be around 500 million euros and can be plugged relatively easily, but Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has conceded creditors expect the gap to be five times as big.

At stake is Greece's next bailout installment of 1 billion euros ($1.35 billion). The country's conservative-led government insists it cannot impose more across the board cuts on a population that has already suffered an average 40 percent loss in disposable income since 2009 and seen unemployment spike to a staggering 28 percent.

Laid-off Finance Ministry cleaner Evangelia Alexaki, who lost her 500-euro a month job as part of the spending cuts, said she is now destitute. "They throw us to the streets, just like that," she said Wednesday. "Women who are 57 and 58 years old, and (too young) to get pensions or anything else. For us, this money was little but at least we could fulfill some of the family's needs. Now they're sending us to poverty."

Official: M23 chief, rebels surrender to Uganda

November 07, 2013

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The top commander of Congo's M23 rebel movement and about 1,700 of his fighters surrendered to Ugandan authorities following defeat by Congolese troops, a Ugandan military official said Thursday.

The move raised hopes the rebels might sign a peace settlement after 19 months of a brutal insurgency that displaced thousands of people in eastern Congo's North Kivu province. M23 commander Gen. Sultani Makenga and his fighters were being held by the Ugandan military in Mgahinga, a forested area near the Congolese border. The rebels had been disarmed and were being registered by Ugandan officials, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give this information.

Makenga, 39, is the subject of U.S. sanctions. The United Nations has also imposed a travel ban and assets freeze on him for "serious violations of international law involving the targeting of women and children" in armed conflict in eastern Congo. Makenga emerged as the rebel group's commander earlier this year following a violent split within M23 that saw the ouster of Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda, who then fled to Rwanda before handing himself over to United States authorities.

"Makenga should be arrested and immediately brought before the courts," North Kivu Gov. Julien Paluku told The Associated Press. "He should be made to answer for his actions in eastern Congo." Paluku disputed the tally of 1,700 M23 combatants, saying it seems too high in light of all the defections in recent weeks.

It is unlikely that Uganda, which has been hosting peace talks between the rebels and Congo's government, will immediately extradite Makenga to Congo —likely a reason the rebel leader and his fighters fled to Uganda.

The senior Ugandan official who spoke to The Associated Press about Makenga's surrender said the rebel leader and his fighters would be under Ugandan protection until regional governments, including those of Rwanda and Congo, agree on how to deal with "negative forces" in the region. Regional leaders have in the past urged Congo's government to solve the "legitimate grievances" of M23.

Angelo Izama, a Ugandan analyst who runs a regional security think tank called Fanaka Kwawote, said Makenga's surrender to Ugandan authorities "may have to do with his sensitivity for the pressure Rwanda finds itself under" for its alleged links to M23.

A report by U.N. experts has said Rwanda's government provided weapons, recruits and training to M23 rebels. That report also said some in Uganda's military aided M23, charges denied by both Rwanda and Uganda.

Izama noted that Uganda and Rwanda are "faithful" allies whose interests in eastern Congo are similar. Their militaries have in the past invaded Congo to fight militias opposed to their governments that operate in Congo's largely lawless east, he said.

M23 launched its rebellion in April 2012, becoming the latest reincarnation of a Tutsi rebel group dissatisfied with the Congolese government. The rebels accused Congo's government of failing to honor all the terms of a peace deal signed in March 2009 with M23's precursor group, the CNDP.

At their peak the M23 rebels overtook Goma, the eastern provincial capital, and threatened to march toward the Congolese capital of Kinshasa. But in the past year they had been substantially weakened by internal divisions and alleged waning Rwandan support. The Congolese military capitalized on these rebel setbacks by pushing ahead with new offensives beginning in August that were supported by a brigade of United Nations forces with a mandate to attack the rebels.

This week the rebels lost control of all the territory they once held following an intensified offensive by Congolese troops backed by U.N. forces. After their last major stronghold fell last week, the rebels appeared to flee from the border town of Bunagana to the surrounding hills and forests. Earlier this week the rebels' civilian leader, Bertrand Bisimwa, announced the rebellion was over, saying he wanted to work with Congo's government toward finding a political solution to violence in eastern Congo.

A group of international envoys to Africa's Great Lakes region, including U.S. envoy Russ Feingold, has been urging a political solution to eastern Congo's latest rebel crisis. Peace talks in Uganda aimed at getting both sides to sign an accord have repeatedly stalled since December, but a final accord may now be signed after Congolese troops militarily defeated the rebels.

Feingold said Wednesday that an agreement between M23 and Congo's government "has been worked out in great detail" and could be signed by both parties within days. But the deal offers no amnesty for rebels who face serious criminal charges, he said.

"That is not happening in this case if this agreement goes through the way I believe it will go through, and certainly, the international community and the United States would not support such an agreement," Feingold said, talking about blanket amnesty for M23 rebels.

Congo's U.N. Ambassador Ignace Gata told reporters after a Security Council meeting Wednesday that "the government wants to complete the Kampala talks and in coming days we will sign a document with the M23."

"It is not excluded that elements from the M23 be integrated into the army. But the conditions for integration have to be defined," Gata said.

Associated Press writers Saleh Mwanamilongo in Kinshasa, Congo and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

After Congo rebels end fight, challenges remain

November 06, 2013

KIBATI, Congo (AP) — A Congolese army mortar shell destroyed Emmanuel Kazingufu's home in mid-August as soldiers hunted down M23 rebels. Now that the rebels have given up their fight, the 27-year-old is rebuilding.

In mineral-rich eastern Congo, wracked by violence for nearly two decades by a myriad of armed groups, the government's victory over the M23 rebels brings only cautious optimism. "I am not sure this is the end of the M23. I learned that they had fled to Rwanda —that's where they came from. They could come back," Kazingufu said Wednesday as he worked on reconstructing his home with wooden planks.

The 19-month rebellion forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, many of whom have sought refuge too many times before. Now the government must disarm the M23 fighters and negotiate with other renegade militias to establish a sustainable peace, experts say.

On Wednesday, the Congolese flag again flew in Chanzu, the former fief of M23 leader Sultani Makenga, who is believed to have fled the country as his movement disintegrated. Congolese authorities found a stash of some 300 tons of weapons left behind there, Gov. Julien Paluku said.

M23's promise to end its rebellion "signals an important milestone," said Tariq Riebl, Oxfam's humanitarian coordinator for Congo, adding that attention must now shift to eliminating other threats to civilians.

"The demise of one group doesn't spell the end of conflict in the country's east," he said. "Now, more than ever, the Congolese government and international community must take steps to ensure that other groups don't move in to fill the space left by the disbanding of M23."

On Wednesday, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo pledged to do just that. "Armed groups should know that we're not going to leave a void. We are going to respond with force against all threats to the civilian population," Martin Kobler said.

The greatest remaining menace comes from the FDLR, a group led by Rwandan Hutus who helped commit the 1994 genocide and later escaped to Congo. The presence of the FDLR has prompted Rwanda to invade Congo twice before in an attempt to wipe out the group. It also has provoked a series of Congolese Tutsi rebellions, including the latest one launched by M23 in April 2012.

While the FDLR has weakened in recent years, analysts say it is still well entrenched and its presence in eastern Congo is a reason many of the other armed groups say they exist. Even as the Congolese military celebrated its victory, attention began shifting to the tasks now ahead to secure the peace.

Kobler briefed a closed meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York by videolink, and China's U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi, the council president, said members will be responding with "a very important message" to help countries in the region achieve peace and security on a wide scale.

France's U.N. Ambassador, Gerard Araud, said his country will circulate a draft presidential statement later Wednesday. "This success is only the beginning," Araud said. "M23 combatants must now be disarmed. The Congolese administration needs to get back to the areas that were recovered and provide basic services to the population. All other armed groups beside the M23 which threaten civilians in the Kivus need to be neutralized ... and finally the states of the region must deal with the root causes of the conflict."

Rwanda's U.N. ambassador, Eugene Richard Gasana, said the Congolese army and U.N. peacekeeping troops, including its new intervention brigade, must go after the FDLR immediately. "Otherwise I won't let them sleep," he said.

Congo's U.N. Ambassador, Ignace Gata, told reporters his country wants a durable peace. "Today we are happy to have ended the rebellion, but we know the work is not finished." Russ Feingold, special envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa and Congo, said in a conference call with U.S. State Department reporters Wednesday in Washington that an agreement has been negotiated with the M23 and could be signed this week or early next week in Uganda.

That agreement has "very specific provisions" for how the group will be disarmed and protected from other fighters operating in the region. The Congolese government also must resolve the issue of who will be eligible for amnesty and reintegration.

"If this agreement goes through the way I hope it will and believe it will, it will only provide amnesty for the rank-and-file members of M23 for purposes for having been part of a rebellion," he said.

It marks a change from 2009, when a previous agreement with rebels allowed even those accused of committing major crimes to come back into the Congolese military. Human Rights Watch has accused the M23 fighters of killing scores of civilians and forcibly recruiting child soldiers, among other abuses. Many of the rebel group's leaders are now believed to have fled into neighboring Uganda and Rwanda.

Congo's government and a U.N. group of experts have long said neighboring Rwanda has provided weapons and other support to M23, a claim the Rwandan government denies. It remains to be seen how much sway M23's military command still has over its rebels and whether they all will abide by the order to lay down their arms, said Timo Mueller, a Goma-based researcher with the Enough Project, an advocacy group active in eastern Congo.

"M23 soldiers need to disarm and to disarm they need security guarantees," he said. "It's important that the army does not resort to revenge killings and also the wider Tutsi community has to be protected."

Without full disarmament, there is a risk that the M23 could simply return with the same members only in another shape or form. The M23 itself emerged in April 2012 in the wake of a previous Tutsi rebellion. By November 2012, they swept into Goma and briefly held the city of 1 million people, only to retreat under international pressure.

In the aftermath of the Goma siege, internal divisions mounted within M23. The group was substantially weakened after its leader, Bosco Ntaganda, turned himself in to face charges at the International Criminal Court earlier this year.

The Congolese army succeeded in defeating the M23 because it reorganized to become a stronger, more competent force and it received logistical support from U.N. forces that had stronger rules of engagement, analyst said. Another crucial factor was that Rwanda's aid to the rebels substantially diminished during this latest round of clashes, they said.

In the town of Kibati, Emmanuel Kazingufu said he hopes the end to hostilities this time would be followed up with meaningful dialogue that will bring a lasting peace. "Building and rebuilding is too tiring," he said as he put back up the walls of his home.

Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Saleh Mwanamilongo in Kinshasa, Congo; Deb Riechmann in Washington; and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

M23 fighters in eastern Congo say ending rebellion

November 06, 2013

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The M23 rebel group blamed for killing scores of civilians in eastern Congo over the last year and a half announced Tuesday it was ending its rebellion as an emboldened Congolese military seized the last two hills that had remained under rebel control.

While the dramatic developments marked a significant success in the Congolese government's fight against armed groups in the embattled east, experts warned that the rebel retreat would not result in an immediate peace in a region ravaged by fighting for nearly two decades.

Envoys from the U.N., U.S., African Union and European Union welcomed the M23 announcement but stressed in a joint statement that it is "only one step" toward addressing the persistent conflict and instability in Congo and ending violence by all illegitimate armed groups in the country.

U.S. envoy to Congo Russ Feingold called it a "critical and exciting step in the right direction." In the capital, Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende vowed that the military would now focus its efforts on pursuing Hutu fighters from the FDLR. The group is led by Rwandans who helped commit the 1994 genocide and later escaped to Congo, prompting a series of Tutsi rebellions including the latest one by M23.

"M23 has been crossed off the list and now the military has its sights on the FDLR," Mende told journalists. About 100 M23 fighters have been captured by government forces. M23 leader Sultani Makenga and other high-ranking officials within the movement are now on the run and are believed to have fled into neighboring Rwanda or Uganda, Mende said.

The announcement of M23's demise came after the Congolese military backed by United Nations forces stepped up its offensive against the rebels last month as peace talks once again stalled. The Congolese military rapidly seized control of more than a half dozen towns in just a matter of days, and Mende said Tuesday they had finally recaptured the last two remaining rebel areas of Chanzu and Runyonyi.

M23 President Bertrand Bisimwa said in a statement early Tuesday that he was ordering rebel commanders to "prepare troops for the process of disarmament, demobilization and social reintegration on terms to be agreed upon with the Congolese government."

Residents of Goma, a city of 1 million people that the M23 briefly overtook one year ago, expressed cautious optimism that the end of M23 could stabilize the area wracked by a myriad of rebel groups and militias.

"That they put down their arms and stopped fighting is a good thing. We are liberated but I'm not sure it's the end of the M23," said Diane Wamahoro, a 20-year-old waitress. Ida Sawyer, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch in eastern Congo, called the M23's declaration "a significant and positive step forward." The group has documented dozens of killing and rapes blamed on M23 since it announced its formation last year.

"There are huge challenges ahead and one will be the arrests and bringing to justice of those responsible for serious abuses," she said. Jason Stearns, a Congo expert, wrote on his blog Congo Siasa that the Congolese military had been performing better than it did in 2012 and also had benefited from the U.N. mission, which helped plan the latest operations against the rebels.

"But it may be the third factor that was the determining one--the absence of support from Rwanda," Stearns wrote. "According to several reports from the front lines, despite indications of some cross-border support in the Kibumba area, the M23 was largely left to its own devices."

M23 is widely believed to have received military and financial support from the government of neighboring Rwanda, whose president is also Tutsi. Rwanda denies having aided the rebels despite evidence laid out in a report by a United Nations group of experts. However, that support appears to have waned in recent months amid growing international pressure for it to stop fueling Congo's troubles with rebels.

M23 launched its movement in April 2012, accusing the government of failing to live up to its end of the bargain on a March 23, 2009 peace agreement. Many of its leaders came from another ethnic Tutsi rebel group known as the CNDP that had effectively been neutralized.

The M23 rebels briefly seized control of Goma in November 2012 before retreating under international pressure. In the aftermath of the Goma siege, internal divisions mounted within M23. The group was substantially weakened after its leader Bosco Ntaganda turned himself in to face charges at the International Criminal Court earlier this year.

As M23 fighters flee, Sawyer said regrouping and rebranding again as the Tutsi rebels have before could prove challenging in light of the shifting landscape. "It's possible there will be another reiteration of a Rwandan-backed rebellion in eastern Congo, but I think it's probably going to be a lot harder the next time around," she said.

Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Joseph Kay in Goma, Congo and Christopher Torchia in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

India mission to Mars blasts off successfully

New Delhi (AFP)
Nov 05, 2013

India successfully launched its first mission to Mars on Tuesday, aiming to become the only Asian nation to reach the Red Planet with a program showcasing its low-cost space technology.

"It's lift off," said a commentator on state television as the red-and-black rocket blasted into a slightly overcast sky on schedule at 02:38 pm (0908 GMT) from the southern spaceport in Sriharikota.

The 350-tonne launch vehicle carrying an unmanned probe was monitored by dozens of tense-looking scientists in white lab coats who faced their most daunting task since India began its space program in 1963.

The country has never before attempted inter-planetary travel, and more than half of all missions to Mars have ended in failure, including China's in 2011 and Japan's in 2003.

After 44 minutes, applause rippled around the control room after monitoring ships stationed in the South Pacific reported that the spacecraft had successfully completed the first stage of its 300-day journey.

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan slapped a colleague on the back and said he was "extremely happy" to announce that the rocket had placed the probe in an orbit around Earth.

The Mars Orbiter Mission, known as "Mangalyaan" in India, was revealed only 15 months ago by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, shortly after China's attempt flopped when it failed to leave Earth's atmosphere.

The timing and place of the announcement -- in an Independence Day speech -- led to speculation that India was seeking to make a point to its militarily and economically superior neighbor, despite denials from ISRO.

The gold-colored probe, the size of a small car, will aim to detect methane in the Martian atmosphere. It has been hurriedly assembled and was carried into orbit by a rocket much smaller than US or Russian equivalents.

Lacking the power to fly directly, the spacecraft will orbit Earth for nearly a month, building up the necessary velocity to break free from our planet's gravitational pull.

Only then will it begin the second stage of its journey which will test India's scientists to the full, five years after they sent a probe called Chandrayaan to the moon.

The cost of the Mars mission is 4.5 billion rupees ($73 million), less than a sixth of the 455 million dollars earmarked for a Mars probe by NASA which will launched later this month.

"We didn't believe they'd be able to launch this early," project scientist for the NASA Mars probe, Joe Grebowsky, told AFP before blastoff. "If it's successful, it's fantastic."

He underlined that Mars, which has a complicated orbit meaning it is between 50-400 million kilometers from Earth, was a far more complex prospect compared with a moon mission.

"When you shoot a rocket at Mars you have to take into account that Mars is going to move a good deal before you get there. The moon is fairly close," he said.

There have been recent setbacks for India too, including when Chandrayaan lost contact with its controllers in 2009. Another launch vehicle blew up after take-off in 2010.

The program also has to contend with critics who say a country that struggles to feed its people adequately and where more than half have no toilets should not be splurging on space travel.

ISRO counters that its technology has helped economic development through satellites which monitor weather and water resources, or enable communication in remote areas.

The Bangalore-based organization and its 16,000 staff also share their rocket technology with the state-run defense body responsible for India's missile program.

The United States is the only nation that has successfully sent robotic explorers to land on Mars, the most recent being Curiosity which touched down in August 2012.

One of its discoveries appeared to undercut the purpose of the Indian mission to find evidence of methane, which would lend credence to the idea of Mars supporting a primitive form of life.

A study of data from Curiosity, published in September, found the rover had detected only trace elements of methane in the atmosphere.

"Remember that it (Curiosity's methane reading) is for a single spot. One point doesn't make it a story for the whole planet," top Indian space scientist Jitendra Nath Goswami told AFP.

NASA, which will launch its Maven probe on November 18 to study why Mars lost its atmosphere, is helping ISRO with communications.

Clouds of methane have previously been identified by telescopes on Mars, but the gas has never been confirmed by a mission there.

Methane on Earth is mostly produced by micro-organisms, so a positive reading would suggest some form of life on a planet that scientists believe was once covered with water.

Source: Mars Daily.
Link: http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Indian_Mars_mission_blasts_off_from_southern_spaceport_999.html.

Multiple Missions Will Get China Moving On Mars

by Morris Jones for SpaceDaily.com
Sydney, Australia (SPX)
Nov 06, 2013

In early December, China will land its first robot spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. Shortly after landing, the Chang'e-3 lander will release a six-wheeled rover that will trundle across the regolith.

We've been expecting this rover to land for a long time, as it represents an intermediate step in China's plans to robotically explore the Moon. China has already sent two spacecraft to orbit the Moon, and is now moving on to landings. The third phase of exploration will involve a lander that collects samples of lunar soil and returns them to Earth.

While most Chinese media coverage has focused on the upcoming first lander, it's worthwhile remembering that China has more to come in the near future. There has been little discussion of these plans in recent times, but roughly three years ago, China made signs in its state-run media that it plans a follow-up to the Chang'e-3 mission. China has two Moon rovers in the pipeline.

This fits in with a trend that China seems to be following with its lunar program. Each type of mission has two essentially identical spacecraft built for it. The first spacecraft is placed in the spotlight and given the prime mission.

The second spacecraft waits quietly in the wings, with almost no publicity. If the first mission fails, the second spacecraft can be rolled out fairly quickly to replace its lost twin. If the first mission succeeds, the second spacecraft is assigned to fly a different mission to the first. Either way, good use is made of the backup spacecraft.

China was very coy about admitting the "twin spacecraft" strategy for years, and only revealed that a second lunar orbiter had been built shortly before the launch of the Chang'e-1 spacecraft in 2007. At the time, China stated that the spacecraft was a back-up. Fortunately, Chang'e-1 performed well in its mission. The back-up spacecraft, now labeled Chang'e-2, was launched on a modified mission in 2010.

Going further (literally) than its twin, Chang'e-2 completed a shorter mission in lunar orbit and then flew deeper into space to fly past the asteroid Toutatis. Chang'e-2 also flew a different trajectory to the Moon and used a slightly more powerful launch vehicle.

Let's examine the next pair of twin lunar spacecraft. Although China has not discussed this in recent times, it seems almost certain that there is a back-up lunar lander and rover that is either mostly constructed or fully constructed.

This spacecraft is probably in mothballs right now, awaiting the outcome of the upcoming Chang'e-3 mission. If Chang'e-3 fails, we could see this backup lander launched within two years on an identical mission profile.

This analyst expects a happier outcome. The maturity of China's space technology suggests that this mission will be as successful as China's previous voyages to the Moon. It will take some time to complete the mission and then digest the copious amounts of data, both scientific and engineering, that the mission will return.

This will mean that the back-up lander will probably be grounded for a few years more. Although the spacecraft will complete the same basic mission objectives of landing on the Moon and deploying a rover, there will be changes. Planning a new mission for the spacecraft will be fun. China's engineers will have the luxury of using a proven system and the benefit of the scientific data it returns. We can expect that the next mission will be a little riskier.

The most significant change will be the landing site. China may wish to explore a region of the Moon that's geologically (ahem, selenologically) different from the first landing site. This could also involve landing in more difficult terrain, if the scientific returns are justified. Scouting areas that could help to select landing sites for Chinese lunar sample-return missions could be useful.

The instruments carried by the spacecraft could also be different. Some instruments will probably be flown again, although it is not clear if those supplied by international partners for the first mission will be repeated. This will provide opportunities for new experiments and new types of data.

Driving the rover on the Moon will be technically challenging. If China finds that the vehicle can handle its tasks, it may elect to give the next rover more autonomy or wider safety margins. This would improve its performance.

The lander and rover are heavy gear, requiring the use of the fairly powerful Long March 3B rocket. This analyst does not expect any changes in the launch vehicle or any increases in the spacecraft mass for the second landing mission.

The Chang'e-3 mission is China's first lunar landing spacecraft, but it will not be an isolated mission. More advanced Chinese lunar plans will be carried out in the decade ahead. The technology and landing systems demonstrated on this first landing will be critical to achieving these feats.

Source: Mars Daily.
Link: http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Multiple_Missions_Will_China_Moving_On_Mars_999.html.

Mythbusting India's Mars Mission

by Morris Jones for SpaceDaily.com
Sydney, Australia (SPX)
Nov 06, 2013

The successful launch of India's Mars Orbiter Mission is a major step forward for an advancing Asian space power. The global space community has applauded the flight, which will help the world to better understand the red planet.

It's thus surprising to see such a high tide of denouncements and misjudgments for this mission circulating in the media and online forums. Weeks ago, we saw naive criticisms of China's upcoming Moon rover by a Chinese scientist in the Hong Kong press. Now India is in the line of fire with even more dubious comments. What's going on?

Some of this seems to stem from surprise. India has operated one of the world's most advanced space programs for decades, but it has largely escaped the limelight. This has partially been due to some bad communications strategies, but it's also because the program has been more focused on utilitarian goals than headline-grabbing feats in space. India operates its own space launch vehicles and builds its own satellites.

It is also one of a small number of nations to have successfully recovered a satellite from space. Indian satellites are used in communications, weather observation and land management. This vast nation would be much worse off without the benefits of its space program.

The high-profile Mars mission has served as a wake-up call to many people who don't pay much attention to spaceflight. They should understand that this Mars mission is simply another step in a large, long and diverse space program. India has been in space with force for decades. If this mission serves as a wake-up call for the world, so be it.

There are criticisms that money spent on the mission could or should be spent elsewhere. Such dubious claims have been made for every nation that has ventured into space. Generally, these theories have been proven to be somewhat bunk. Stopping space missions does not stop poverty. They also neglect the true economics of the mission. The Mars Orbiter Mission uses a moderately priced, existing launch vehicle design.

It also recycles an existing spacecraft body design, with modifications for deep space. While it is not as sophisticated as other current Mars missions, the pricetag for the Mars Orbiter mission is measured in the tens of millions of dollars. This is truly Mars exploration on a shoestring budget. India's Mars program promises to return useful engineering and scientific data for a price that puts other space agencies to shame!

The science looks good, too. There have been some criticisms of the decision to include a methane detector on the mission. Recent results from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover suggest that methane gas will be hard to find in the Martian atmosphere, and the Indian detector will return a negative result. This expectation is sometimes presented as if there is no point in flying the methane experiment on the Mars Orbiter Mission.

Again, this is silly. Science is not a treasure hunt. It is the quest for truth, even when the truth is not as inspiring as our expectations. The Indian mission will nicely complement the ground data from NASA's rover. Two independent results from different missions in different places will forge a stronger case. There is probably no methane on Mars, and the data from these two missions will settle the question.

In addition, there are four other scientific payloads on the mission, including a color camera. All of them are worthwhile. The heavy focus on the Martian atmosphere by this mission also offers more bang for the buck.

The fate of the Martian atmosphere, which is believed to have been thicker in the past, is one of the hottest questions in planetary science today. Like NASA's upcoming MAVEN mission, itself largely focused on atmospheric questions, India's orbiter will help to resolve other mysteries besides the hunt for methane.

Good science. National pride. Technical advances. Inspiration for the world. India's first step towards Mars is worth the price.

Source: Mars Daily.
Link: http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Mythbusting_Indias_Mars_Mission_999.html.

Greenpeace in Spain protests 28 arrested in Russia

November 08, 2013

MADRID (AP) — Greenpeace activists have climbed the facade of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia basilica to protest Russia's arrest of 28 members of their organization.

The protesters clung to the church's intricate stonework Friday and unfurled banners in several languages demanding "Liberty" for the activists arrested in the Arctic Ocean. Russia's coast guard disrupted an attempt by Greenpeace on Sept. 18 to scale a Gazprom-owned oil-drilling platform, seized their ship — the icebreaker Arctic Sunrise — and arrested the 28, plus a Russian photographer and a British videographer.

They were first accused of piracy, but Russian officials later said the charge was downgraded to hooliganism, which carries a maximum seven-year sentence. The Arctic Sunrise sails under the Dutch flag, and Netherlands has begun legal action against Russia's seizure of the vessel.

US, Israel lose UNESCO voting right in dispute

November 09, 2013

PARIS (AP) — American influence in culture, science and education around the world took a high-profile blow when the U.S. automatically lost voting rights at UNESCO by missing a deadline to repay its debt to the world's cultural agency.

The U.S. hasn't paid its dues to the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in three years in protest to the decision by world governments to make Palestine a UNESCO member in 2011. Israel suspended its dues at the same time in support of the U.S. and also lost voting rights on Friday.

Under UNESCO rules, the U.S. and Israel had until Friday morning to resume funding or explain themselves, or to automatically lose their vote. A UNESCO official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue, said nothing was received from either country.

The suspension of U.S. contributions — which account for $80 million a year, or 22 percent of UNESCO's overall budget — brought the agency to the brink of a financial crisis and forced it to end or scale back American-led initiatives such as Holocaust education and tsunami research over the past two years.

Many in Washington are now worried that the U.S. is on track to becoming a toothless UNESCO member with a weakened voice in international programs such as fighting extremism through education and promoting gender equality and press freedoms.

Some fear that a weaker U.S. presence will lead to growing anti-Israeli sentiment within UNESCO, where Arab-led criticism of Israel for territorial reasons has long been an issue. "We won't be able to have the same clout," said Phyllis Magrab, the Washington-based U.S. national commissioner for UNESCO. "In effect, we (now won't) have a full tool box. We're missing our hammer."

The UNESCO tension has prompted new criticism of U.S. laws that force an automatic funding cutoff for any U.N. agency with Palestine as a member. The official list of countries that lose their votes was expected to be read aloud on Saturday before the entire UNESCO general conference.

In a speech Friday night, David Killion, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to UNESCO, told delegates that top U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama "have been working tirelessly to seek a legislative remedy that would allow the United States to resume paying our contributions to UNESCO. Regrettably, that remedy has not yet been achieved."

But in defense of the U.S. suspension of funds, Killion reminded member nations that the United States had articulated its "principled position" regarding Palestine long before the controversial 2011 decision.

Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, Nimrod Barkan, said in an interview that his country supports the U.S. decision, "objecting to the politicization of UNESCO, or any international organization, with the accession of a non-existing country like Palestine."

UNESCO may be best known for its program to protect the cultures of the world via its Heritage sites, which include the Statue of Liberty and Mali's Timbuktu. But its core mission, as conceived by the U.S., a co-founder of the agency in 1946, was to be an anti-extremist organization. In today's world, it tackles foreign policy issues such as access to clean water, teaches girls to read, works to eradicate poverty, promotes freedom of expression, and gives people creative thinking skills to resist violent extremism.

Among UNESCO programs already slashed over funding shortages is one in Iraq that was intended to help restore water facilities. In danger is a Holocaust and genocide awareness program in Africa to teach about non-violence, non-discrimination and ethnic tolerance, using the example of the mass killing of Jews during World War II.

This loss is a particular blow to the U.S., since Holocaust awareness was one of the areas the country aggressively promoted in the agency's agenda when it rejoined in 2002 after an 18-year hiatus, during which the U.S. had withdrawn from UNESCO over differences in vision.

Some U.S. legislators also are concerned. "The United States must not voluntarily forfeit its leadership in the world community," Rep. Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota, told the AP in an email.

With efforts by Obama to get the money restored having failed or stalled, Ellison plans to introduce legislation in Congress to overturn what he calls the "antiquated" laws that automatically halted the flow of funds to the agency from November 2011.

The Obama administration has proposed language to amend the legislation, but it remains on the table amid recent U.S. budget setbacks. For some it's a question of sooner rather than later, with the U.S. racking up arrears to UNESCO of some $220,000 a day, which it will have to pay back if it ever wants to fill the empty chair and get back the vote.

"Paying off three years is manageable, but it indeed becomes much more difficult if you allow many years to pass and the bill gets larger and larger and larger," said Esther Brimmer, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for international organizations.

The Palestinian ambassador to UNESCO, Elias Sanbar, said other countries are beginning to make up for the U.S. shortfall. "Is this in the interest of the U.S., to be replaced?" he asked. UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova lamented the changes that are not only seeing America silenced within her organization but also bringing UNESCO financially to its knees.

"I regret to say that I'm seeing, in these last two years ... a declining American influence and American involvement," Bokova said in an interview. "I can't imagine how we could disengage with the United States at UNESCO. We are so intertwined with our message. What I regret is that this decision became so divisive and triggered this suspension of the funding," she added.

Bokova said she accepts political reality and will find ways for UNESCO to continue its work, despite a 2014 budget that's down by an estimated $150 million. Some fear this debacle will have more serious consequences, if Palestine joins other more strategically important international agencies such as the World Health Organization.