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Friday, January 31, 2014

Pakistani party says it reveals CIA station chief

November 27, 2013

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A political party opposed to U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan revealed what it said was the name of the top CIA spy in the country on Wednesday and called for him and the head of the agency to be tried for a recent missile strike.

CIA spokesman Dean Boyd would not confirm the Islamabad station chief's name and declined to immediately comment. The Associated Press is not publishing the name given by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party because it could not verify its authenticity.

It was the second time in recent years that Pakistanis opposed to drone strikes targeting Islamic militants have claimed to have revealed the identity of the top CIA spy in the country. The missile attacks have become an increasing source of tension between the U.S. and Pakistan, but Washington has shown no willingness to stop them.

Shireen Mazari, the information secretary for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, called for the current station chief and CIA director John Brennan to be tried for murder and waging war against Pakistan in connection with a drone strike in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Nov. 21. She claimed the station chief did not enjoy diplomatic immunity.

Mazari said in a news conference that the strike on an Islamic seminary in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Hangu district "killed and injured a large number of those present, including children." But Pakistani intelligence officials say the attack killed five Afghan militants, one of whom was a deputy to the leader of one of the most dangerous groups fighting American troops in Afghanistan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.

The Hangu district police chief, Iftikhar Ahmad, said at the time that no one was seriously wounded in the attack. The strike was one of the first to take place outside of Pakistan's remote tribal region and outraged members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which controls the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

The party is led by cricket star Imran Khan, who has been an especially vocal critic of drone strikes. He and other Pakistani officials publicly criticize the strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty, although the government secretly supported some past attacks. They also say the strikes kill too many civilians.

Human rights organizations say the attacks have killed hundreds of civilians. The U.S. rarely discusses the covert CIA drone program in Pakistan, but officials have insisted the civilian casualty figures are much lower.

Khan's party pledged on Saturday to block trucks carrying NATO troop supplies to and from Afghanistan until the U.S. stopped drone attacks. Protesters stopped trucks and roughed up drivers before the police intervened to stop them. The NATO supply trucks remain stuck though because transportation officials are still worried about what protesters will do.

The CIA pulled its top spy out of Pakistan in December 2010 after a Pakistani lawsuit accused him of killing civilians in drone strikes. The lawsuit listed a name lawyers said was the station chief, but the AP learned at the time it was not correct. Nevertheless, the CIA pulled out of the country after militants threatened to kill him.

It's rare for a CIA station chief to see his cover blown. In 1999, an Israeli newspaper revealed the identity of the station chief in Tel Aviv. In 2001, an Argentine newspaper printed a picture of the Buenos Aires station chief and details about him. In both instances, the station chiefs were recalled to the U.S.

The CIA's work is unusually difficult in Pakistan, one of the United States' most important and at times frustrating counterterrorism allies. The station chief in Islamabad operates as a secret general in the U.S. war against terrorism. He runs the Predator drone program targeting terrorists, handles some of the CIA's most urgent and sensitive tips and collaborates closely with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

The CIA station chief who ran operations in Pakistan during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden left his post in 2011 due to illness, U.S. and Pakistani officials say. American officials said at the time that the station chief clashed with the U.S. ambassador in Pakistan, who objected to CIA drone strikes during diplomatic negotiations.

Associated Press writer Lara Jakes in Washington contributed to this report.

Pakistan deploys first domestic drones

November 25, 2013

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistani military deployed its first fleet of domestically developed drones Monday, as police cracked down on a protest by demonstrators angry at the U.S. for using similar aircraft to attack Islamic militants in the country.

The new Burraq and Shahpar drones will be used by the Pakistani army and air force, the military said in a statement. It was unclear whether the aircraft are armed or unarmed, and military officials did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The announcement coincided with a move by Pakistani police to prevent activists protesting U.S. drone strikes from blocking trucks carrying NATO troop supplies to and from neighboring Afghanistan. The intervention was the latest chapter in a saga that began Saturday, when thousands of protesters led by Pakistani politician and cricket star Imran Khan blocked a road in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which is used to ship goods to and from Afghanistan.

Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said it would block NATO shipments until the U.S. ended drone attacks. On Sunday, members of Khan's party stopped trucks and roughed up drivers ferrying NATO supplies at a toll booth on the outskirts of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's provincial capital. Police were present at the scene Sunday but did not stop the protesters, some of whom were carrying wooden batons.

Police officer Behram Khan said Monday that police would permit peaceful protests on the roadside, but activists would not be allowed to stop trucks as they did before. Police also opened an investigation into the activists' actions that could lead to legal charges, he said.

Covert CIA drone strikes targeting Islamic militants in Pakistan's northwest have long been a sensitive subject, with officials regularly criticizing them in public as a violation of the country's sovereignty. The issue is more complicated, however, since the government is known to have supported at least some of the attacks in the past.

Pakistan has demanded the U.S. provide it with armed drones, claiming it could more effectively carry out attacks against militants. Washington has refused because of the sensitive nature of the technology and doubts that Pakistan would reliably target U.S. enemies.

Pakistan has also been racing to develop its own armed drones but has struggled with a lack of precision munitions and advanced targeting technology, according to Pakistani military officials and civilians involved in the domestic drone industry, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of the work. Even if Pakistan had this technology, the small drones it has developed would have trouble carrying the kinds of missiles fired by U.S. Predator and Reaper unmanned aircraft. The Pakistani drones also have much more limited range than those developed by the U.S.

Imran Khan, whose party runs the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, has been an especially vocal critic of U.S. drone strikes. The route blocked by his activists leads to one of two crossings used by trucks to carry NATO troop supplies and equipment to and from Afghanistan. The other crossing is in southwest Baluchistan province and has not been affected by the protest.

The federal government has also criticized drone strikes but has indicated it has no interest in blocking the NATO supply route, which could spark a crisis with the U.S. and other NATO countries. The police actions Monday indicated that the federal government had intervened to stop the NATO blockade.

The provincial police chief in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Nasir Durrani, ordered police to prevent protesters from stopping trucks and open an investigation into those activists who were halting vehicles on Sunday, said a statement from the police chief's office.

Although the police chief works with the provincial government, he is ultimately accountable to the federal interior minister, giving the federal government significant control. The land routes through Pakistan have been key to getting supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan. They now increasingly are being used to ship equipment out of Afghanistan as the U.S. seeks to withdraw most of its combat troops from the country by the end of 2014.

The routes have been closed in the past. The Pakistani government blocked the routes for seven months following U.S. airstrikes that accidentally killed two dozen soldiers on the Afghan border in November 2011. Pakistan finally reopened the routes after the U.S. apologized.

Associated Press writers Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Pakistani police stop NATO supply truck blockade

November 25, 2013

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police prevented activists who were protesting U.S. drone strikes from blocking trucks carrying NATO troop supplies to and from neighboring Afghanistan on Monday.

The intervention was the latest chapter in a saga that began Saturday, when thousands of protesters led by Pakistani politician and cricket star Imran Khan blocked a road in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which is used to ship goods to and from Afghanistan.

Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said they would block NATO shipments until the U.S. ended drone attacks. On Sunday, members of Khan's party stopped trucks and roughed up drivers ferrying NATO supplies at a toll booth on the outskirts of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's provincial capital. Police were present at the scene Sunday but did not stop the protesters, some of whom were carrying wooden batons.

Police officer Behram Khan said Monday that police would permit peaceful protests on the roadside, but activists would not be allowed to stop trucks as they did before. Police also opened an investigation into the activists' actions that could lead to legal charges, he said.

Covert CIA drone strikes targeting Islamic militants in Pakistan's northwest have long been a sensitive subject, with officials regularly criticizing them in public as a violation of the country's sovereignty. The issue is more complicated, however, since the government is known to have supported at least some of the attacks in the past.

Imran Khan, whose party runs the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, has been a vocal critic of the strikes. The route blocked by his activists leads to one of two crossings used by trucks to carry NATO troop supplies and equipment to and from Afghanistan. The other crossing is in southwest Baluchistan province and has not been affected by the protest.

The federal government has also criticized drone strikes but has indicated it has no interest in blocking the NATO supply route, which could spark a crisis with the U.S. and other NATO countries. The police actions Monday indicated that the federal government had intervened to stop the NATO blockade.

The provincial police chief in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Nasir Durrani, ordered police to prevent protesters from stopping trucks and open an investigation into those activists who were halting vehicles on Sunday, said a statement from the police chief's office.

Although the police chief works with the provincial government, he is ultimately accountable to the federal interior minister, giving the federal government significant control. The land routes through Pakistan have been key to getting supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan. They now increasingly are being used to ship equipment out of Afghanistan as the U.S. seeks to withdraw most of its combat troops from the country by the end of 2014.

The routes have been closed in the past. The Pakistani government blocked the routes for seven months following U.S. airstrikes that accidentally killed two dozen soldiers on the Afghan border in November 2011. Pakistan finally reopened the routes after the U.S. apologized.

Associated Press writers Asif Shahzad and Sebastian Abbot contributed to this report from Islamabad.

Iraq, Iran plot to challenge Saudi domination of OPEC

Baghdad (UPI)
Jan 29, 2013

Hussein Shahristani, Iraq's energy chief, says Baghdad is working with Iran to boost oil exports, a move by these two Shiite-majority powers that could lead to a major challenge of Sunni Saudi Arabia and its domination of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Shahristani, Iraq's deputy prime minister for energy, told a conference Tuesday at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, a London think tank: "We feel the world needs to be assured of fuel for economic growth."

The Daily Telegraph of London reported he disclosed Iraq is collaborating with Iran, its traditional Arab enemy until the Americans toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, to help it attract investment ahead of the possible lifting of U.S.-led sanctions as Tehran moves toward detente with the West.

International oil companies are reported to be lining up to secure big contracts with Iran to rebuild its long-underfunded energy industry, an endeavor that could cost as much as $200 billion.

"Iran has been in touch with us," Shahristani said. "They want to share our contracts model and experience" in opening up to international oil companies for investment, expertise and access to advanced technology as Iraq has done since 2003.

Iraq, heavily dependent on its oil exports, currently produces about 3 million barrels per day, with exports of about 2.2 million bpd.

Shahristani, who as oil minister was the architect of Iraq's drive to rebuild its dilapidated energy industry following Saddam's ouster, says Baghdad aims to triple production to 9 million bpd by 2020.

That's a step down from its earlier target of 10 million to 12 million bpd by 2017, a level energy insiders dismissed as wildly ambitious and beyond Iraq's capabilities.

But even the scaled-down target is considered beyond reach within the stated time frame, and for the same reasons: bureaucratic bungling, infrastructure delays and a worsening security crisis.

On the Iranian side, Tehran appears to be moving toward a resolution with the United States and its allies related to its contentious nuclear program, which would lead to the easing and possible lifting of sanctions that have crippled Iran's oil production.

But its energy industry has long been in poor shape and is in dire need of massive investment that will have to come from foreign oil companies, a process that will likely take years to have an impact.

Iran has seen its oil exports cut in half because of sanctions, falling from 2.5 million bpd in June 2011 to 1.2 million bpd in September 2013, the International Energy Agency in Paris reports.

That has cost Tehran an estimated $80 billion in oil revenues since 2012. Now it wants to get back to its pre-sanctions level of 4.2 million bpd, and then boost that to 6 million bpd.

At OPEC's annual meeting in December, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, called on Riyadh, which has been making billions by covering the loss of Iranian and Libyan production over the last couple of years, to cut back its production to accommodate Tehran.

Saudi Arabia, which is engaged in a potentially explosive intelligence war with Iran, is unlikely to help the Islamic republic willingly. It's been producing a record 10 million bpd, well above its long-observed level of 8 million bpd.

As the only swing producer, this has enhanced its control of the purse strings on global oil prices and so, all things considered, it's not expected to relinquish that without a struggle, particularly as it will have to contend with growing U.S. shale oil production, now running at an estimated 8 million bpd.

The shale challenge aside, the U.S. global security consultancy Stratfor observes that "in the long term, Iran and Iraq's production is the key issue" in OPEC remaining a cohesive force in the global energy industry.

"Should Iran and Iraq together boost production to a reasonable achievable level of 11 million bpd by 2020 that would represent an increase of 5 million to 6 million bpd above present levels," it said.

"OPEC's export quotas have already been a source of tension among its members, but producers have always found ways to skirt around them. That may no longer be possible."

Source: Energy-Daily.
Link: http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Iraq_Iran_plot_to_challenge_Saudi_domination_of_OPEC_999.html.

Coup in Egypt refers Al-Jazeera journalists to trial

January 29, 2014

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's chief prosecutor on Wednesday referred 20 journalists from the Al-Jazeera TV network, including four foreigners, to trial on charges of allegedly joining or assisting a terrorist group and spreading false news that endangers national security.

It was the first time authorities have put journalists on trial on terror-related charges. The charges demonstrate the expanding reach of the authorities' heavy crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood since the military's ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on July 3.

The charges are based on the government's declaration last month of the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Authorities have long depicted the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network as biased toward Morsi and the Brotherhood. But so far its crackdown on the network had mostly targeted its Arabic service and its Egyptian affiliate.

Soon after the declaration, police arrested three reporters from Al-Jazeera English, accusing them of operating a media center for the group and spreading false news. "This is an insult to the law," Gamal Eid, the head of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information said. He said there is no evidence in the case and pointed out that the charges come after this month's passage of a new constitution that authorities touted as "the charter of freedoms," for its articles guaranteeing a range of rights.

"Whoever took this decision must be punished because if there is law and justice in Egypt it wouldn't be used in political settlements," he said. "Working in Al-Jazeera doesn't mean membership in the Brotherhood."

Al-Jazeera denies bias and has demanded the release of its reporters, whose arrest sparked an outcry from rights groups and journalist protection organizations. Authorities have also denied the network's reporters accreditation.

Those arrested include acting bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy, a Canadian-Egyptian, award-winning correspondent Peter Greste of Australia and producer Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian. On Wednesday, the prosecutor's office said 16 Egyptians in the case are accused of joining a terrorist group, while the foreigners — an Australian, a Dutch citizen and two Britons — are accused of helping to promote false news benefiting the terrorist group.

The prosecutor's statement said the accused had established a media network composed of 20 people — Egyptians and foreigners — who used two suites in a luxury hotel in Cairo as a media center, supported with cameras, broadcasting equipment and computers.

The statement said the defendants "manipulated pictures" to create "unreal scenes to give the impression to the outside world that there is a civil war that threatens to bring down the state" and broadcast scenes to aid "the terrorist group in achieving its goals and influencing the public opinion."

An official from the high state security prosecution investigating the case said Fahmy, the acting bureau chief, was an alleged member of the Muslim Brotherhood, led the media operation that "fabricated footage" and aired it on Al-Jazeera and CNN with the "aim of harming Egypt's reputation" in the world. The official said equipment used to "fabricate" the footage were confiscated in the hotel where they operated, including editing equipment, microphones, cameras, computers, internet broadcasting equipment and money.

The official said national security agents implemented the prosecutor's order, seizing also in the hotel documents, and handwritten notes including "students on strike during exams," ''the most important trials of December" and "the road map has become worthless." Student supporters of Morsi were on strike and held protests that frequently turned violent for most of December.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Al-Jazeera journalists and cameramen have been detained and a court order has barred its local affiliate from broadcasting in Egypt since September, accusing it of endangering national security. The affiliate, Al-Jazeera Mubasher Egypt, has continued to broadcast using its studios in Doha, Qatar, collaborating with freelancers and using amateur videos.

The prosecutors' statement said eight of the defendants are in custody. Presumably they include the three journalists arrested in December — two Egyptians and an Australian. But it was not clear who the other five are.

The only other two Al-Jazeera reporters known to be in custody were arrested in August, while they covered a police crackdown on pro-Morsi protesters in Cairo that left hundreds dead, and it was not known if they are among the defendants in the case.

Al-Jazeera had no immediate comment. A lawyer involved in the case confirmed the referral to trial but said he was still seeking more information. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of his security.

Hundreds of the Brotherhood's leaders are now in detention or on trial, mostly on violence-related charges. Morsi himself is on trial. Eid, of the rights center, said that under autocrat Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30-year rule, there were instances of journalists detained on allegations of terror links. But he said he knows of no instance in which they were actually referred to trial. He said it is also the first time Western journalists are accused on such charges.

"It is a state of hysteria that has reached the extent of making up charges," Eid said. He said he doesn't believe the case was part of a planned crackdown, but that among the various agencies of the state, each "is practicing its repression its own way ... We have repressive republics operating in one nation."

Ousted Egypt leader in glass-encased cage at trial

January 28, 2014

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's toppled President Mohammed Morsi stood inside a glass-encased metal cage Tuesday, separated from other defendants for the start of a new trial Tuesday over charges from prison breaks during the country's 2011 revolution, state television reported.

Egypt's state news agency MENA reported that Morsi flew by helicopter from Borg al-Arab prison in Alexandria. Only 19 other of the 129 defendants in the case, including the leader of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group and other leading figures, are held by authorities. The rest, including members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, are on the run.

Egypt's state television broadcast exclusively from the courtroom. Its reporter said Morsi appeared in a separate cage from the other defendants in the case. He said defendants turned their back to the court, a form of protest of their prosecution.

The case is rooted in the 2011 escape of more than 20,000 inmates from Egyptian prisons — including Morsi and other Brotherhood members, during the early days of the 18-day uprising against ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Authorities accuse Morsi and the other defendants of plotting to "destroy the Egyptian state and its institutions," conspiring with the foreign groups who infiltrated to Egypt through Gaza and using the turmoil during the uprising to organize the prison breaks. The prosecutors said more than 800 foreign fighters entered Egypt through Gaza to take part in storming of three prisons and killed a number of police officers and inmates.

A Brotherhood lawyer has said the trial appears aimed at "denigrating" Morsi and the Brotherhood. It is Morsi's second court appearance since Egypt's popularly backed July 3 military coup. He missed a Jan. 8 hearing in another trial after security officials said bad weather grounded a helicopter meant to bring him.

The hearing is at a police academy complex in eastern Cairo, where a heavy security presence stood guard Tuesday. State television showed briefly showed live footage from inside the courtroom before the trial started.

Morsi is facing three other trials on different charges as well. Only one of those trials, where he is accused of inciting murder of his opponents while in office, has begun. Many of the charges he faces carry the death sentence.

In his first appearance, Morsi insisted he was still the country's legitimate president and challenged the legitimacy of the court, regularly interrupting the judges and prosecutors. The glass window over the metal cage is apparently to muffle the defendants' outbursts.

Since Morsi' ouster in July 3 in a popularly backed military coup, hundreds of senior Brotherhood leaders have been arrested in a widening crackdown against a group that authorities accuse of retaliating to Morsi's removal with a violent campaign. Hundreds of supporters also have been killed in security crackdown on protests that often turned violent. The group denies using violence to achieve its goal of having Morsi reinstated.

On Tuesday, hundreds of Morsi supporters clashed with police officers, with television footage showing protesters burn tires and police shooting tear gas canisters. Tuesday marked the third anniversary of the "Friday of Rage," one of the most violent days of the 2011 uprising when protesters and police clashed for hours before police withdrew from the streets and the military deployed.

Meanwhile, the interior ministry said two gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed a senior police officer as he left his home in the Haram district of Giza, a Cairo neighborhood. Maj. Gen. Mohammed El-Said was the head of the technical office in the interior ministry, which is in charge of police.

Also Tuesday, MENA reported that gunmen blew up a natural gas pipeline Monday night in the volatile Sinai Peninsula south of el-Arish, the capital of the North Sinai governorate. It said firefighters rushed to the scene to extinguish a fire there.

Gas pipelines have come under attacks several times since Mubarak's downfall, which led to a fracturing of Egypt's security agencies. Suicide bombings also have spiked and spilled into the capital, Cairo, and other cities. An al-Qaida-inspired group called Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or Champions of Jerusalem, has claimed responsibility for most of those attacks.

Associated Press writer Maamoun Youssef contributed to this report.

Activists: Siege of Damascus camp grows deadlier

January 29, 2014

BEIRUT (AP) — Starvation and illnesses exacerbated by hunger or the lack of medical aid in a Palestinian camp in Damascus besieged for months by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have killed at least 85 people, activists said Wednesday.

The Yarmouk camp, located on the southern edge of the Syrian capital, is one of several opposition areas where humanitarian conditions have crumbled under a tight blockade imposed by pro-government forces. Activists and aid groups have accused the military of using starvation as a weapon of war.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said the first person died in Yarmouk in June, and that as of Wednesday a total of 85 people had perished there. Five days ago, activists and residents said the death toll stood at more than 60.

The need to open humanitarian corridors to ferry desperately needed aid into blockaded areas and to relieve civilian suffering has been one of the topics discussed at ongoing peace talks in Switzerland between the Syrian government and the opposition. Despite encouraging signs early in the discussions, no concrete progress has been made on that front.

Authorities recently allowed a few hundred food parcels into Yarmouk in what appeared to be a goodwill gesture ahead the peace talks, but residents said only a tiny amount of aid entered because government officials ordered aid workers to distribute the parcels in an area under sniper fire.

Also Wednesday, Turkey's state-run news agency said the Turkish military fired artillery and heavy machine guns at a convoy across the border in Syria belonging to the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The Anadolu Agency said the attack on the Islamic State vehicle was in response to gunfire that had targeted Turkish troops patrolling the frontier at the border in Kilis province. Turkish troops used tanks, self-propelled artillery and machine guns to destroy two trucks and a bus in the convoy, the agency said. No casualty figures were given.

The military declined to immediately confirm the report. In October, Turkey's military fired artillery at Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant positions in Syria in retaliation for a mortar that had landed near another Turkish military post.

The Islamic State and another al-Qaida-linked group, the Nusra Front, have become a dominant force in Syria's armed opposition, causing jitters in Western capitals and leading to a drop in international support for the rebels.

Haniyeh congratulates Tunisia leader on new constitution

Wednesday  29/01/2014

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday telephoned Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki to congratulate him on the country's new constitution.

The historic document, seen as one of the most modern in the Arab world, was signed by outgoing Islamist premier Ali Larayedh, Speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar, and President Moncef Marzouki during a ceremony at the National Constituent Assembly on Monday.

The charter, which took more than two years to draft, will enter into force in stages after its publication in the official journal, and in the run-up to fresh parliamentary and presidential elections later this year.

Haniyeh updated Marzouk on developments in the Gaza Strip and spoke about the consequences of Israel's crippling siege.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=669019.

Jordan's balancing act on Syria

January 27, 2014
Osama Al Sharif

For Jordan, one thing is definite about the peace conference on Syria which opened in the Swiss resort of Montreux last week: It proved that relations with the Damascus government have reached an historic low! Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem dedicated most of his long-winded speech to attacking Syria’s neighbors for aiding terrorists and smuggling weapons. While he did not name Jordan specifically, he referred to it as “the weak southern neighbor” that is “ordered around.” He saved his most vitriolic attacks for the United States, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Reaction in Amman was acerbic. A number of columnists waged an unprecedented attack against Moallem and the regime he represents. Muhannad Mubeideen, a popular talk show host, retorted in Addustour daily by saying, “This weak southern neighbor refused an order to join [a US-led international coalition] in Hafr Al Baten [in Saudi Arabia] to wage war on Iraq [in 1990] while Syria obeyed such an order.” He reminded Moallem of Syria’s sinister role in Lebanon and of the regime’s daily crimes against its own people.

Another writer, Bassam Badarin, reminded the Syrian minister, in the daily Al Arab Al Youm, that it was he who took his marching orders from Moscow and Tehran, and that the army of the “weak southern neighbor” had protected the common borders with Syria and never allowed the official crossing point between the two countries to fall into the hands of rebels.

It was another chapter in the turbulent relations between Amman and Damascus, which have witnessed short spells of warmth and eras of hostility. But the Amman punditry was equally critical, if not equally harsh, of the speech that Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Joudeh delivered at the same opening ceremony. Joudeh used all the time allowed to describe the sacrifices that Jordan had made to care for more than a million Syrian refugees. In the view of former minister Sabri Irbeihat, Jordan missed an historic opportunity to express its position on the crisis and Joudeh’s speech “dwarfed Jordan as only a seeker of international aid.”

Another former minister, Ahmad Massadeh, told a local newspaper that Joudeh had missed the chance to respond to Moallem’s attack and present a comprehensive view of the region’s ailments while underlining Jordan’s crucial role.

Such reactions amplified both fears and resentments of the repercussions that the 3-year-old Syrian crisis has had on Jordan. Officially, Amman supports the Geneva II conference that seeks to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict. But Jordan has tried to play all sides as well. It has joined the “Friends of Syria” group and signed onto communiqués that stated clearly that President Bashar al-Assad had no role in the future of Syria. It even hosted a meeting for the group in May of last year. On the other hand, the Syrian ambassador has never left Amman in spite of popular calls for his expulsion.

Since the breakout of the Syrian uprising in March 2011, the Damascus government has been critical of Amman’s alleged role in allowing fighters and weapons to cross into southern Syria. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Al Miqdad had accused Jordan, as recently as December last year, of sponsoring “an operations room” in the north run by US, Israeli and Saudi intelligence officers. Amman has received a number of defecting senior military officers, in addition to former Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijjab, who fled to Jordan in August 2012.

In addition, Jordan is one of few countries that host a large number of Syrian refugees, now numbering between 600,000 and 1 million. The Syrian government had alleged that Free Syrian Army (FSA) personnel were being trained by the CIA in north Jordan.

Sources confirm that Jordan has tried to ameliorate its political stance on Syria over the past 12 months in response to changing realities on the ground. Its calculated position has been described as one of the most difficult balancing acts that the regime has had to play. While continuing to participate in the “Friends of Syria” meetings, analysts note that Amman has not received a senior member of the National Syrian Coalition (NSC) in months. In addition it has stopped allowing fighters and weapons to pass through its borders with Syria since the summer of last year.

Lately, the government has waged a campaign to arrest Jordanian Salafist jihadist fighters trying to cross into Syria. At least 70 are in prison awaiting trial before the State Security Court. Between 1,500 and 2,500 Jordanians are thought to be fighting with Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria.

One sign of Jordan’s hesitance to cut ties with Damascus completely is that the government has resisted calls to expel Syrian envoy Bahjat Sulieman, even when he has repeatedly attacked Jordanian critics of Assad. Last week, Sulieman lambasted Jordanian lawmaker deputy Abdullah Obeidat, describing him publicly as “a demented Qatari mercenary.” After Moallem’s tirade in Montreux last week, the chances of expelling Sulieman are greater.

But the prospects of Geneva II ending Assad’s rule are weak, if not impossible. This is the public perception here and it is now shared by senior government officials. In spite of Moallem’s attack on Jordan, pundits believe that the regime will not engage in direct confrontation with Damascus. Sources said that Jordan’s middle-of-the-road approach has been criticized by the Saudis, Assad’s biggest enemies, as well.

Defenders of the Jordan position say that the country hosts a million Syrian refugees, who pose social and economic challenges. Jordan has more than 300-kilometer [186-mile] border with Syria and it is a country with which it had historic problems. If the Damascus regime survives, Jordan would want to keep its options open.

King Abdullah II and President Assad took over from their fathers almost at the same time, at the beginning of the new millennium. They are both Western-educated and at one point they shared the same reformist view for the future of their countries. But that personal relationship has floundered in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Today they are on opposite tracks. The king has been critical of Assad at times, most recently in a lengthy interview with The Atlantic. Most Jordanians support the Syrian rebellion, but there are many, from the left, who favor the regime — until now. For the time being Jordan will continue to maintain its balancing act in its relationship with war-torn Syria.

Source: al-Monitor.
Link: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/jordan-syria-relations-tensions-moallem-critique-refugees.html.

For UN's patient Brahimi, no war is irresolvable

January 28, 2014

GENEVA (AP) — Lakhdar Brahimi has seen faces like these before, barely able to remain in the same room, much less speak to each other. Lebanese, Afghans, Iraqis, now Syrians. Even, two decades ago, Algerians like himself.

For days now, the veteran U.N. mediator has presided over peace talks intended to lead the way out of Syria's civil war. He brought President Bashar Assad's government and the opposition face to face for the first time on Saturday, while still ensuring that they don't have to enter by the same door or address each other directly. He is 80. He is patient.

"I am often accused of being too slow. But I think that being slow is a better way of going fast than precipitation. If you run, you may gain one hour and lose one week," he told journalists at the end of another long day. "So, we are going slow, and I hope we will continue to go slow."

He speaks deliberately and fluently in French, English and Arabic, often switching among the three. Without a microphone, he would be nearly inaudible. By the end of several days of negotiating in Geneva, the creases in his face seem deeper and he enters the room slowly before easing into a chair. But he inevitably has enough spark left for a gently sarcastic comment or two — just enough to draw laughs.

Brahimi's negotiating style is famous among diplomats. Young ones emulate him, and veterans hope for favorable comparisons. "One of the keys to his success is that he is, I would call, strategically patient. And he knows when to be firm, and he knows when to be patient, and he understands the dynamics of peace processes," said Michael Moller, a Danish diplomat who is acting head of the U.N. office in Geneva.

Brahimi has lived through two dark periods in his own homeland of Algeria, during the country's battle for independence from France and later in the 1990s when an estimated 200,000 people died in a civil war between the government and Islamists. Officially retired, he lives much of the time in Paris, where he was educated as a young man.

Outside Algeria, he has been involved in some of the world's most intractable conflicts. During seven years as undersecretary-general of the Arab League, Brahimi served as the organization's special envoy trying to mediate an end to Lebanon's civil war. There were several failed attempts to end the fighting, he said, but he negotiated a cease-fire on Sept. 24, 1989, that finally held, leading to the Taif agreement that ended the 15-year conflict. He went to South Africa as apartheid ended, ultimately seeing the election of Nelson Mandela.

Brahimi worked in Afghanistan both during and after the Taliban's fall. And, with the support of the second Bush administration, he negotiated an interim government in Iraq after the U.S. ousted Saddam Hussein. His daughter, Rym, was a CNN correspondent who covered the war until her marriage to a Jordanian prince.

He is also a member of The Elders, the international group of prominent statesmen founded by Mandela. His work in Afghanistan was not without criticism. The 2001 negotiations in Bonn, Germany, helped solidify the place of warlords in the country's leadership — and allowed them to avoid trial for human rights abuses. Human rights defenders express concerns about that in the current talks.

"We have not seen appropriate emphasis that there will be accountability and Mr. Brahimi's track record in a comparable situation — in Afghanistan — leaves us concerned," said Richard Dicker, director of the international justice program at Human Rights Watch. "My point is not that this be the first order of business but rather it be in the room."

Members of the Syrian opposition, who have seen Brahimi every day during the talks, are respectful. "He is a calm and collected man and he tries to be as just as possible," said Murhaf Joueijati, who was at Monday's session. "He is a man who is doing his job and I think he is doing it well. I do not think he could have done better than he is doing today."

Brahimi came out publicly against a military response to the chemical weapons attack in August that the U.S. and others blamed on Assad, and his ties to Syria's ruling family date to the 1980s. "Brahimi is a man of consensus. He's a cool, distant man who does not voice his opinions strongly in public," said Hasni Abidi, director of the Geneva-based Arab and Mediterranean Studies Center. "Today he finds himself dealing with a crisis which is much graver than the Lebanese war, but the players are almost identical."

He tends to avoid negotiations without strong international backing for his cause, and nowhere is this more true than in Syria, where even the U.S. and Russia — backing opposite sides — are pressuring the antagonists to stick it out in Geneva, whatever the result.

"I think Brahimi and the Geneva conference represent the last life-vest, the last political and diplomatic chance for a solution," said Abidi, "but Brahimi without the help of the Americans and the Russians cannot do much."

Associated Press writer John Heilprin in Geneva contributed.

Seoul gives green light to two nuclear reactors

Seoul (UPI)
Jan 29, 2013

The South Korean government has granted final approval to build two new nuclear reactors at the Shin Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Ulsan, about 255 miles southeast of Seoul.

Construction on the $7.09 billion project is scheduled for September, with completion slated for December 2020, Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday. Each reactor will have a generation capacity of 1.4 million kilowatts.

Yonhap reported Reactor Unit 5 at the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant came to an automatic halt Wednesday morning after a warning signal was activated at the facility, 205 miles southeast of Seoul.

"The reactor currently remains stable," a Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. official was quoted as saying by Yonhap. The official, whose name was not reported, said an investigation was in progress and may take up to two days.

It is the second time since July operations at Hanul's No. 5 reactor have had to be halted due to problems.

South Korea operates 23 nuclear reactors, generating about 30 percent of the country's electricity.

A long-term energy plan finalized this month calls for reducing the target for nuclear energy to 29 percent of total power supply by 2035. The previous government had called for an increase in nuclear energy supply to 41 percent by 2030.

The reduction comes amid increasing concerns about the safety of nuclear power after Japan's 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and discontent among South Koreans following a scandal over bribery and faked safety tests for the country's reactors.

"The public has totally lost trust in nuclear power," Suh Kyun-ryul, a professor of atomic engineering at Seoul National University, was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

Even the government's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, in a report to lawmakers last year, acknowledged the scope of the country's nuclear power scandal.

"In the past 30 years, our nuclear energy industry has become an increasingly closed community that emphasized its specialty in dealing with nuclear materials and yet allowed little oversight and intervention," the report stated. "It spawned a litany of corruption, an opaque system and a business practice replete with complacency."

Yet, South Korea's long-term energy plan finalized this month says the country needs to build at least 12 additional nuclear reactors by 2024 to maintain the proportion of electricity supplied by nuclear reactors at around 30 percent.

Construction on five new reactors, including Shin Kori Reactor units 3 and 4, is already under way.

Source: Nuclear Power Daily.
Link: http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Seoul_gives_green_light_to_two_nuclear_reactors_999.html.

Asteroid Diversity Points to a "Snow Globe" Solar System

Cambridge MA (SPX)
Jan 31, 2014

Our solar system seems like a neat and orderly place, with small, rocky worlds near the Sun and big, gaseous worlds farther out, all eight planets following orbital paths unchanged since they formed.

However, the true history of the solar system is more riotous. Giant planets migrated in and out, tossing interplanetary flotsam and jetsam far and wide. New clues to this tumultuous past come from the asteroid belt.

"We found that the giant planets shook up the asteroids like flakes in a snow globe," says lead author Francesca DeMeo, a Hubble postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Millions of asteroids circle the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, in a region known as the main asteroid belt. Traditionally, they were viewed as the pieces of a failed planet that was prevented from forming by the influence of Jupiter's powerful gravity. Their compositions seemed to vary methodically from drier to wetter, due to the drop in temperature as you move away from the Sun.

That traditional view changed as astronomers recognized that the current residents of the main asteroid belt weren't all there from the start. In the early history of our solar system the giant planets ran amok, migrating inward and outward substantially. Jupiter may have moved as close to the Sun as Mars is now. In the process, it swept the asteroid belt nearly clean, leaving only a tenth of one percent of its original population.

As the planets migrated, they stirred the contents of the solar system. Objects from as close to the Sun as Mercury, and as far out as Neptune, all collected in the main asteroid belt.

"The asteroid belt is a melting pot of objects arriving from diverse locations and backgrounds," explains DeMeo.

Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, DeMeo and co-author Benoit Carry (Paris Observatory) examined the compositions of thousands of asteroids within the main belt. They found that the asteroid belt is more diverse than previously realized, especially when you look at the smaller asteroids.

This finding has interesting implications for the history of Earth. Astronomers have theorized that long-ago asteroid impacts delivered much of the water now filling Earth's oceans. If true, the stirring provided by migrating planets may have been essential to bringing those asteroids.

This raises the question of whether an Earth-like exoplanet would also require a rain of asteroids to bring water and make it habitable. If so, then Earth-like worlds might be rarer than we thought.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Asteroid_Diversity_Points_to_a_Snow_Globe_Solar_System_999.html.

China threatens US military superiority: official

Washington (AFP)
Jan 29, 2014

China poses an increasing challenge to the US military's technological edge while budget pressures are hampering Washington's effort to stay ahead, a senior defense official warned on Tuesday.

Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, told lawmakers that when it comes to "technological superiority, the Department of Defense is being challenged in ways that I have not seen for decades, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region."

Citing China's major investments in anti-ship missiles, stealth fighter jets, hypersonic vehicles and other hi-tech weaponry, Kendall said the United States could lose its dominant position if it failed to respond to the altered strategic landscape.

"Technological superiority is not assured and we cannot be complacent about our posture," he told the House Armed Services Committee.

Asked to assess what one lawmaker called an arms race between the two countries, Kendall said there was cause for concern as China dramatically increases its military spending.

"Their budget is far smaller than ours, but their personnel costs are also far smaller than ours," said Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.

"Our budgets are going in the opposite direction. So just by that metric alone, it's not positive."

Lawmakers and defense analysts say China is making strides in modernizing its military, particularly in the area of so-called "anti-access" weapons -- such as missiles and electronic jamming systems -- that could potentially limit the reach of US aircraft carriers or warplanes.

Kendall said when he returned to the Pentagon after being away for 15 years, he was "struck immediately by the nature, scope and quality of the investments that are being made in A2AD, as we call it, anti-access area denial capabilities."

As a result, the Pentagon is "looking very carefully at Pacific Command's requirements and what they need for the operations in that area," he said.

Kendall added that Washington was concerned about China exporting its newer weapons abroad.

Echoing Kendall's wider concerns, Admiral Samuel Locklear, head of US Pacific Command, said last week that the American military's "relative dominance" is declining as other countries invest in sophisticated weapons.

The admiral, however, said it was "not something to be afraid of" and that the US had to be "pragmatic" as it plans for the future.

Kendall, however, said that mandatory budget cuts adopted by Congress were tying the Pentagon's hands as it tries to maintain America's military power.

"Our ability within the department to respond to that challenge is severely limited by the current budget situation," he cautioned.

While the department grapples with the uncertainty triggered by the automatic budget cuts, "we are losing time, an asset that we can never recover," he said...

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/China_threatens_US_military_superiority_official_999.html.

Amid Ukraine protests, some defect from government

January 29, 2014

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — For several years, Ihor Medelyan worked for a government he didn't support. He endured his job at a state-owned Ukrainian TV channel only because he loved being a journalist and had a family to feed.

But Medelyan just couldn't accept his employer's stance after a police crackdown on anti-government protesters two months ago that was so brutal it stained pavements red with blood. First National Channel, a government mouthpiece, blamed protesters for provoking police, which contradicted the version of countless witnesses.

"There came a moment when I said: 'My family, please forgive me, but I must do it. I just must quit and leave it all behind me,'''said Medelyan, 32, as he stood in front of tall barricades near government buildings where protesters and police have clashed.

While there aren't any official figures to give a sense of how widespread the phenomenon is, Medelyan isn't alone. Throughout the protesters' camps, there are stories of Ukrainians who have left their state jobs or publicly condemned the government after scores of protesters were beaten or kidnapped, and at least three died in vicious street fighting.

Four journalists have left First National Channel since the protests began, Medelyan said. Far away from Kiev, Ukraine's consul-general in Istanbul, Bohdan Yaremenko, saw news of the beatings and put up a Facebook post accusing the government of being "fascists." He was soon pulled back to Kiev.

"Police beating people in the streets of Kiev was a point of no return for me," said Yaremenko, who joined the anti-government protest in Kiev together with his wife and two children when they returned.

"I don't want to (be associated) with such an oppressive system," he said. "I don't want to be a part of it. I don't want to be responsible for it." "Because I have my family living here, they are also protesting right now. I don't want them to be killed just for expressing their view."

Yaremenko, a 20-year career diplomat, says he will not return to work at the Foreign Ministry under the current government and is working to start a civic group to promote Ukraine abroad. So far, there have been too few defections to cause President Viktor Yanukvoych's government to crumble. He still controls parliament and the feared security forces. That makes the defections all the more commendable in the eyes of protesters, because many of those who spoke out are now jobless and fear government retaliation.

Although the defectors have been relatively few, abandoning comfortable jobs underlines growing discontent with Yanukovych's rule. Over the past few days, demonstrations have spread from Kiev to other parts of the country, even arising in eastern Ukraine, which has been Yanukovych's loyal political base.

Anger grew last week after a video posted online showed riot police abusing and humiliating a protester, who was stripped naked in the bitter cold, near the barricades in Kiev. He was punched and forced to pose for photos. In the western city of Lviv, where support for Yanukovych is minuscule, a riot policeman saw the video, packed his belongings and walked out on a 20-year career.

"I became ashamed to tell people that I work in the special division," said the man, who gave his name only as Yaroslav because he feared repercussions. "If you think that your job is to beat innocent people, then I think that's not the kind of job someone can earn their living with."

Volodymyr Lulko, a judge at the district court in the town of Tulchin, showed up at the regional council's office, occupied by protesters, and announced he was laying down his mantle. "When I began working as a judge, I was proud," the 38-year-old Lulko said by telephone. "But when all those illegal actions began on the part of officials, law enforcement bodies and judges ... I made the decision that it would be shameful for me to work in that system. Simply shameful."

Some of the walk-outs were met with skepticism. For years, Inna Bohoslovska was one of the most prominent members of Yanukovych's Party of Regions. She was a popular guest on prime-time TV talk shows, where she gestured emotionally, shouted at opposition figures and once even burst into tears defending the government.

But she quit the party after the student rally breakup in November and soon showed up at demonstrations, urging eastern Ukraine, where support for Yanukovych is still strong, to defy him and take to the streets.

"How much longer are you going to be asleep?" she shouted from a giant stage. Some protesters, however, took her gesture with a grain of salt, suspecting she may not have experienced a genuine change of heart, but was rather jumping from a sinking ship before it was too late.

During a recent talk show, Bohoslovska accused her former Party of Regions colleagues "of stuffing your pockets" with government money during the three years of Yanukovyvch's presidency. Her opponent, Party of Regions lawmaker Oleg Tsaryov, laughed off her tirade. "So we stole and you didn't?"

Medelyan, meanwhile, has found a new job as a reporter for a media freedom watchdog. As protesters behind him filled giant white bags with crushed ice to fortify barricades, he reflected on his decision.

"There is a line. Either you tread close to it and slowly move away or you cross that line," Medelyan said.

Laura Mills contributed to this report from Lviv.

Ukraine lawmakers consider protester amnesty

January 29, 2014

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's parliament discussed an amnesty Wednesday for those arrested during weeks of protests in the crisis-torn country — but some of the possible conditions attached to it would be unacceptable to the opposition.

The amnesty bill is part of a series of concessions from embattled President Viktor Yanukovych, after a week of street clashes between police and protesters and protesters' seizure of government buildings in western Ukraine. The prime minister has resigned and harsh anti-protest laws have been recalled but those moves did not address the protesters' other key demands that Yanukovych resign and early elections be held.

Two amnesty proposals were up for a parliamentary vote Wednesday, one of which says amnesty would be granted only if demonstrators leave their massive street protests and vacate buildings they now occupy. Parliament was also discussing a political reform, sought by the opposition, which would strengthen the government at the expense of the presidency.

Opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the protesters will not agree to leave the streets in exchange for an amnesty and wanted the condition dropped. Over the course of two months, anti-government protesters have established a large tent camp in the main square of Kiev, called the Maidan, and seized three buildings nearby as operation centers and sleeping quarters. They have also erected large barricades of ice, wood, furniture and other materials.

"They have set a number of conditions, and the key condition under the draft bill is to let the Maidan go and only afterwards all protesters will get an amnesty," Yatsenyuk said. "This is unacceptable for us."

But Vadim Kolesnichenko, a lawmaker with Yanukovych's Party of Regions, said the government is ready to grant amnesty only after protesters clear the streets and vacate the government buildings. Under a government-backed bill, the opposition will have 15 days to do that.

Out on the streets of Kiev, one group of protesters clashed with another Wednesday in bid to free a government building that they had seized. At least two protesters were injured. Andriy Khoronets, an activist with the Svoboda party which represents more moderate protesters, tried to force members of the more militant Spilna Sprava group to vacate the Agriculture Ministry building as part of a compromise with the government.

"We must be seen as people who can fulfill one's obligations," Khoronets told The Associated Press outside the building. "There should be no anarchy." Kolesnichenko, the government supporter, criticized opposition leaders for not being able to control their more radical factions.

"I am surprised by the statement of the opposition leaders that they don't know how to influence the radicals," Kolesnichenko said, according the party's website. "Then who runs the Maidan, the U.S. Embassy? Then you (opposition) must walk out of the negotiations."

The protests erupted after Yanukovych turned down a deal in November with the European Union in favor of getting a $15 billion bailout from Russia, but they have since shifted to demanding more human rights, less corruption and more democracy in this nation of 45 million.

Ukrainian parliament repeals anti-protest laws

January 28, 2014

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — In back-to-back moves to try resolving Ukraine's political crisis, the prime minister submitted his resignation Tuesday and parliament repealed anti-protest laws that had set off violent clashes between protesters and police.

The twin moves were significant concessions to the protesters who have occupied the capital's main square for two months and fought sporadically with police for the last 10 days. Yet key issues remain unresolved in Ukraine's political crisis, including the opposition's repeated demands for President Viktor Yanukovych to resign and a new election to be held.

Peaceful protests against Yanukovych's decision to turn toward Russia for a bailout loan instead of signing a deal with the European Union turned violent after the president pushed through new laws to crack down on protests and raise prison sentences for creating disorder. The laws included prohibiting people from wearing helmets and gas masks, which many protesters had done due to fears that riot police would try to violently disperse their demonstrations.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a lawmaker who is one of the opposition's top figures, hailed the parliament's move. "We have repealed all the laws against which the whole country rose up," he said. The parliament vote Tuesday came hours after Prime Minister Mykola Azarov — one of the government figures most disliked by opposition supporters — submitted his resignation.

Azarov's resignation must be accepted by the president, but that is likely to be only a formality. Yanukovych over the weekend had offered the premiership to Yatsenyuk, but the opposition leader refused the post.

The opposition also wants amnesty for scores of people arrested in the protests. But Yanukovych said Monday that such an amnesty is possible only if demonstrators agree to clear the streets and vacate the buildings they now occupy. That condition could be unacceptable to a large segment of the demonstrators.

The parliament is to vote later Tuesday on the amnesty measure for protesters.

Ukrainian premier submits resignation

January 28, 2014

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The prime minister of protest-torn Ukraine submitted his resignation on Tuesday, saying he hoped the move would help bring peaceful resolution to the crisis that has gripped the country for two months.

Mykola Azarov's resignation would remove one of the figures most despised by the opposition. It came as the parliament opened a special session that is expected to repeal harsh anti-protest laws that were imposed this month. Those laws set off the police-protester clashes in which at least three protesters died.

His resignation must be accepted by President Viktor Yanukovych, but that appears to be only a formality. Yanukovych last week offered the premiership to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, one of the opposition's top figures. Yatsenyuk turned down the offer on Monday.

In addition, Yanukovych says an amnesty for dozens of protesters arrested in the demonstrations would be implemented only if protesters leave the streets and vacate buildings that they have occupied. Ending the protests without having other demands met appears unlikely.

The Tuesday moves would fall short of opposition demands, which also include Yanukovych's resignation and a call for new elections. The pro-Western protests in Kiev began Nov. 21 after President Viktor Yanukovych shelved a long-planned political and economic treaty with the European Union, then accepted a huge bailout package from Russian President Vladimir Putin instead. The crisis was aggravated in recent days after protesters and police clashed violently.

In a statement on the government website, Azarov offered his resignation in order to encourage what he called "social-political compromise." Police violently dispersed two of those protests, after which crowds grew substantially, angered by the brutality. Protesters established an extensive tent camp in downtown Kiev's main square, where demonstrators have gathered around-the-clock since early December.

Protesters also seized several buildings, including the city hall, which they have used as makeshift operations centers and shelters. After Yanukovych approved the anti-protest laws, demonstrations spread to other parts of the country, including to some cities in the Russian-speaking east, the base of Yanukovych's support.

Also unresolved is the issue that originally set off the protests — Yanukovych's shelving in November of a long-awaited agreement to deepen ties with the European Union.

German foreign policy perks up under new gov't

January 29, 2014

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has been called a reluctant giant — Europe's biggest power, but one that balks at a front-line leadership role beyond finance.

There are signs that's changing since a new coalition government of conservative and center-left parties took power last month. That doesn't mean Germany — mindful of its Nazi past and harboring painful memories of defeat and devastation in two world wars — will soon be dispatching combat troops to global hotspots like France and Britain, the European Union's main military leaders.

But a more robust Germany willing to commit resources in support of joint operations or play a bigger role diplomatically could bolster Europe's position on the global stage and enhance its so-far limited capability to respond to crises.

The new tone is being set by ambitious foreign and defense ministers who assumed office with Chancellor Angela Merkel's new government last month. Both are keen to make their mark. Since taking office, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has declared that Europe "cannot leave France alone" in its peacekeeping missions in Africa. Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's first female defense minister, says the country "cannot look away when murder and rape are going on" beyond its borders. Both are preparing to reinforce Germany's military role in Mali and setting the scene to help France — at least logistically — in Central African Republic.

In the past month, Germany has reversed its previous refusal to help destroy Syrian chemical weapons and has been outspoken in criticizing the Ukrainian leadership's response to massive protests. With no one offering clear political leadership, Europe is often seen as rudderless. Poland's foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, famously said in 2011 that he fears German power "less than I am beginning to fear German inactivity."

The center-left Steinmeier has started out by dusting off foreign-policy ties with France, agreeing with French counterpart Laurent Fabius to make joint trips to countries where they have "common interests" and coordinate policy more closely. Officials in both countries say it's hard for the EU to agree on issues if France and Germany don't agree, but there's been little sign of such coordination in recent years.

Von der Leyen — widely viewed as a potential successor to Merkel at the head of her conservative party — also champions greater European cooperation. "Europe won't get ahead in the game of global powers if some discreetly hold back when military deployments come up and others rush ahead without consulting," she told the weekly Der Spiegel last weekend. She followed that up by declaring that "it's important that Germany takes more responsibility within our alliances — within the European alliance and within NATO."

"For the Germans, it's important not to stand alone in these things," said Olaf Boehnke, who heads the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a multinational think-tank, arguing that a deeper French-German partnership could help "move Europe forward."

Germany gradually emerged from its post-World War II diplomatic and military shell after reunification in 1990, sending troops to Kosovo and Afghanistan, while also refusing to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

In recent years, it has shown a marked reluctance to join in military interventions; in 2011, it abstained in the U.N. vote authorizing a no-fly zone in Libya, setting it apart from traditional Western allies.

That was the most prominent example of the "culture of military restraint" frequently preached by the foreign minister until December, Guido Westerwelle — a conspicuous contrast with the undisputed financial power Germany exerted in Europe over recent years.

The new German government "is reacting to increasing demands from its international surroundings to do more on one thing or another, not to stand aside," said Eberhard Sandschneider, director of research at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin.

With the change of government, the instinctively cautious Merkel now has two key ministers "who will be pro-active and build their own profile (and) who could to some extent force her out of a reactive stance," Boehnke said.

The change is one of evolution rather than revolution, with Germany first showing its willingness to participate and only later perhaps doing more, Boehnke said. While less talk of "military restraint" is likely, he said, "I don't think we will in the foreseeable future see Germany in a pro-military culture of going in on a large scale with combat troops — that is simply too unpopular."

For now, ministers are making clear Germany wants to strengthen its military training mission in Mali. Von der Leyen is talking of raising to 250 the maximum troop strength in Mali, where Berlin currently has 99 soldiers. But they say it won't commit combat troops to Central African Republic, and Merkel insisted Wednesday that "no conflict can be resolved by military means alone."

Even such a cautiously more assertive stance alarms Germany's biggest opposition party. "The increasingly aggressively articulated foreign and security policy of a government that shows itself ready to use military means ... awakens bad memories — particularly in 2014, 100 years after World War I began," Left Party lawmaker Alexander Neu said.

New Czech Republic coalition government sworn in

January 29, 2014

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech President Milos Zeman on Wednesday swore in a new government, ending seven months of political instability following the collapse of the previous cabinet in a whirlwind of corruption allegations.

It marks a return to power for the left-wing Social Democrats for the first time since 2006. The coalition government led by party chairman Bohuslav Sobotka is expected to be more pro-European Union than previous center-right governments led by the conservative and euro-skeptic Civic Democratic Party.

Lubomir Zaoralek, the new foreign minister said the country has "no alternative" other than to adopt the euro currency, and the new finance minister, Andrej Babis, says he has no problem with that. The previous center-right governments had set no target date for adopting the euro, which the country is officially committed to join.

The coalition has pledged to fight corruption, encourage better governance and support economic growth following the longest recession in history. The Social Democrats scored a victory in October's parliamentary elections, but its efforts to form a coalition bogged down for months over several issues, in particular the Social Democrats' desire to increase income tax for those in the highest bracket. They finally gave up the goal, at least for 2014, signing a deal with the centrist ANO (Yes) movement led by billionaire businessman Babis and the centrist Christian Democrats to form a center-left coalition.

"I'm sure that this coalition is the only possible option under the current circumstances," Zeman said during a ceremony at the Prague Castle. The government still has to face a parliamentary confidence vote, but that is expected to be a formality because it has a comfortable 111 seats in the 200-seat lower house of Parliament.

The Slovak-born Babis is currently suing Slovakia's Institute of the Nation's Memory, which claims it has evidence that Babis was an agent of the communist-era secret police, a charge he denies. "I never collaborated," Babis said Wednesday.

A court in the Slovak capital of Bratislava might issue a verdict on the suit on Thursday. Babis became a rising star after he attracted a surprisingly high number of voters who were disgusted by corruption scandals and didn't seem to care about the allegations about his past.

Cold grips parts of Europe; 4 die in Bulgaria

January 29, 2014

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — A cold spell and snowstorms are sweeping across parts of central and eastern Europe, disrupting power supplies, travel and schools. Four people have died in Bulgaria over the past few days, and Wednesday was the coldest day of the year in Moscow.

In Bulgaria, heavy snow and strong winds have left dozens of villages in the eastern half of the Balkan country without electricity and water. A 76-year-old man died after getting stuck in a snowdrift in the village of Povet, near the Bulgarian-Turkish border. Three other men have died in weather-related incidents in eastern villages in the last two days. Many roads are closed to traffic while rescue teams try to bring food supplies to remote areas. Hundreds of schools remain closed, and the main Black Sea port of Varna was shut because of high winds.

Snow fell in the central Adriatic coast in Croatia, which is highly unusual because the region has a Mediterranean climate. The ice and snow in the seaside town of Sibenik prompted authorities to close down schools there. Heavy snow is also falling in neighboring Montenegro, causing road traffic problems.

Temperatures dipped to -22 C (-8 F) in Moscow and -31 C (-24 F) in surrounding regions, making it the coldest day of the year in the Russian capital. The temperature was 10 degrees below average for this time of year and expected to drop further. Many Muscovites, however, welcomed the sun and blues skies of a real Russian winter after the gray clouds that hung over the capital for much of December and January.

"The weather is magnificent and the sun is shining," said Yulia Sukhorukova, who was taking pictures near the Kremlin. "I'm in a good mood. No problem with the frost — winter has just now arrived." Big snowstorms have been hitting Romania in recent days, closing down schools and snarling road and rail traffic.

Romanian authorities declared a "red code" weather warning in six eastern counties, warning residents of blizzards, winds of up to 85 kph (52 mph) and near zero visibility. Heavy snow and high winds were forecast for the capital.

A 33-year-old woman traveling by train in northeastern Romania went into labor early and gave birth to a 3.5 kilogram (7.7 pounds) boy aided by a female ticket collector early Wednesday. She was transported from the train to a nearby hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Ana Rinder, who said both the mother and infant were doing well.

Railway authorities said more than 160 trains had been canceled as snow blocked railway tracks in southern and eastern Romania. About 5,000 people experienced power outages as the high winds disrupted electricity supplies in southern Romania. Authorities said schools were expected to reopen Thursday in the capital, but would stay closed in others area where residents have been snowbound since the weekend, when blizzards swept through Romania.

Associated Press journalists Vladimir Kondrashov in Moscow, Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, and Alison Mutler in Bucharest, Romania, contributed to this report.

Norway lawmakers nominate Snowden for Nobel

January 29, 2014

STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — Two Norwegian politicians have jointly nominated former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, saying his disclosures of secret U.S. documents have contributed to making the world more peaceful.

Anyone can be nominated for the prestigious award, so the submission Wednesday by Socialist lawmakers Baard Vegard Solhjell, a former environment minister, and Snorre Valen just means Snowden will be one of scores of names that the Nobel committee will consider.

"We do not necessarily condone or support all of his disclosures," the two lawmakers said in their nomination letter. "We are, however, convinced that the public debate and changes in policy that have followed in the wake of Snowden's whistleblowing has contributed to a more stable and peaceful world order."

The five-member Nobel committee won't confirm who's been nominated. Saturday is the deadline for nominations from a range of people, including members of national parliaments and governments, university professors or previous laureates.

Valen agreed that the documents leaked by Snowden "have damaged the security interests of several nations." "But to have the debate, you have to be aware of what is going on," he told The Associated Press.

The Nobel prize committee members can add their own candidates at their first meeting after Saturday's deadline. The winner will be announced in October. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons won last year's Nobel Peace Prize.

US activists rally against Okinawa base plan

Washington (AFP)
Jan 29, 2014

Prominent US liberal activists on Wednesday pledged solidarity with Okinawa residents opposed to a US military base, despite efforts by Japan and the United States to finalize a relocation plan.

More than 100 scholars and activists including the filmmakers Oliver Stone and Michael Moore signed a joint statement opposed to construction of a US Marine base in Nago, a quiet town on the east coast of the subtropical Japanese island, to replace the aging and unpopular Futenma Air Station.

"Not unlike the 20th century US civil rights struggle, Okinawans have non-violently pressed for the end to their military colonization," the statement said.

"We support the people of Okinawa in their non-violent struggle for peace, dignity, human rights and protection of the environment," it said.

Other signatories included two leading US scholars of modern Japan, the Pulitzer Prize winners Herbert Bix and John W. Dower, along with linguist and left-wing activist Noam Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg, the former military analyst who leaked the secret Pentagon Papers on the Vietnam War.

Okinawa, which was administered by the United States until 1972, hosts the bulk of the 47,000 US troops in Japan. Futenma has been a particular source of grievance due to its proximity to crowded urban areas.

US officials insist that the plan to move the base to more remote Nago is meant to respond to residents' concerns while ensuring the defense of Japan, which has been officially pacifist since World War II. Okinawa is strategically close to waters that have seen rising tensions between Japan and China.

Japan and the United States agreed on the relocation plan in 1996 but opponents have campaigned to remove the base altogether, accusing US troops of noise and crime.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a conservative who supports stronger defense, appeared to achieve a breakthrough in December when Okinawa's governor accepted the relocation plan after promises of at least 300 billion yen ($2.9 billion) in aid every year until 2021.

But the plan hit a fresh setback earlier this month when the town of Nago re-elected a mayor opposed to the base.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_activists_rally_against_Okinawa_base_plan_999.html.

French struggle to stop C. African Republic mobs

January 29, 2014

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — The French patrol in two armored personnel carriers showed up just as the bystanders started pulling out their mobile phones to photograph what moments ago had been a human being.

Now his body lay on the side of the road after the mob killed and mutilated him. "He was a Muslim carrying grenades," shouted one man, defending the crowd's actions. "He is Seleka," shouted another, referring to the Muslim rebels who became deeply despised by Bangui's Christian majority after they overthrew the president in March 2013 and began killing and torturing civilians.

Now, after the Seleka leader-turned-president has stepped down from power, Bangui residents are taking revenge on anyone perceived as having supported the Seleka rebels — using stones, machetes and bare hands to kill their victims in broad daylight.

The 1,600 French and 5,000 African peacekeepers in Central African Republic are struggling to keep a lid on the violence. Murderous mobs roamed the capital on Wednesday, even though the French killed 13 vigilantes, according to a French army captain who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to journalists.

Crowds started to yell not long after the French patrol showed up at another murderous scene in the Miskine district of Bangui. A stone's throw from the main airport checkpoint, another Muslim man was being killed in his shop.

The French soldiers did not move. As they watched dozens rush toward the scene, they called to the peacekeeping headquarters. "The crowd seems to be moving ... awaiting orders," a French soldier said.

A good 10 minutes later they moved forward, firing in the air to disperse the gathering. From the cover of trees, they called on a group of men who had run away from the firing to come out, their hands in the air, and proceeded to secure the area.

Confident there was no threat from gunmen, they pulled back, leaving the already dead man and his workshop to the now hundreds who had gathered. The horror here has reached a level where the bodies of the dead are viciously mutilated.

Former colonizer France sent its troops in early December to stabilize a country that teetered on the brink of anarchy after the men behind the March 2013 coup failed to control the ethnic and religious violence sweeping across the country. Then Christian militia fighters who opposed the Seleka forces launched an attempted coup that led to more than 1,000 deaths in a matter of days.

Violence has continued unabated throughout Bangui, so fast that local Red Cross officials have not been able to keep up with the tally of dead. The peacekeepers have also suffered losses: In less than two months, two French soldiers have been killed while trying to disarm the former Seleka fighters.

At dusk on Wednesday crowds gathered again, this time yelling "The French are fake," and "The whites are here to kill us." African peacekeepers from Rwanda and Burundi managed to keep the mob at bay and evacuated a group of Muslims to a mosque in PK5, a traditionally Muslim neighborhood.

Before leaving, one Muslim man begged journalists to take with his 25-year-old tortoise. "If we leave it here, they will eat it," the fleeing man said, putting the 80-kilogram (175-pound) creature into a journalist's car for safekeeping.

Muslims who can are now fleeing en masse toward neighboring Chad while those left behind are in fear for their lives. "It's like they have no need for us anymore," said Mustafa Abakar, a Muslim who had sought shelter at a Seleka base now abandoned by the Muslim fighters. "And we are Central Africans, this is our country. Foreigners can go home, but where are we to go?"

As night falls on Bangui, more than 100,000 refugees huddle in makeshift tents at the French-guarded airport, bracing for another night of fear.

Jerome Delay is the chief Africa photographer for The Associated Press, and has been documenting the violence in Central African Republic since early December.

Mining the Moon: Plans Taking Off, but Rules Lacking

By Joshua Philipp, Epoch Times
January 29, 2014

Just two years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, a treaty was signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. Signed even as the race to get to the moon was well underway, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty declared that no nation-state could ever own the moon.

The treaty, however, was written at a time when current threats were too real and visions of the future were too dim. Concepts like space tourism, orbital hotels, and companies mining the moon for minerals would have been written off as science fiction.

Fast-forward to today and you’ll find companies like Virgin Galactic ferrying wealthy tourists into space, a man skydiving from low orbit for a Red Bull advertisement, and companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries looking to mine the moon for its resources.

While the 1967 Space Treaty governs what countries can and cannot do on the moon, it leaves private companies unregulated. For countries like China, where many large companies are state-owned, the line separating the interests of government and business is unclear.

Before China’s Yutu “Jade Rabbit” moon rover malfunctioned, it was prodding the moon dirt with a bottom-mounted ground-scanning radar system searching for valuable minerals. China’s interests in these resources have been reported in Chinese media.

Ouyang Ziyuan, a senior adviser to China’s lunar program, told China’s state-run Xinhua newspaper, “Everyone knows fossil fuels such as gas and coal will be used up one day, but there are at least one million metric tons of helium-3 on the moon,” AFP reported.

Helium-3, is a valuable gas here on Earth, but its only “fuel” potential is in fusion energy—which is still highly experimental.

Russia is also eyeing the moon for helium-3, however, and plans to begin mining by 2020. The announcement was made back in January 2006 by Nikolai Sevastianov, head of Russia’s Rocket and Space Corporation Energia.

NASA has outlined its own interests in lunar mining. Its Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute argued in a report that mining rare minerals on the moon may be vital to national security.

The moon is rich with rare earth minerals, but NASA points out in its report, “Few see the moon as an alluring mining site, ripe for the picking of rare elements of strategic and national security importance.”

It adds that on Earth, where China controls about 95 percent of the global supply of rare earth minerals, Chinese authorities often limit exports.

“China is increasingly putting the pinch on quotas of such elements out of their country,” NASA states. “And as the scarcity of these valuable minerals grows, so too does the concern in other nations regarding the availability of this limited resource.”

The Next Wild West

The moon is well underway to becoming the next frontier, complete with space tycoons already surveying the business landscape, and under the current law it could be a very lawless frontier indeed.

The law has many holes. If companies like Bigelow Aerospace succeed in building lunar bases, there is currently no law saying they’ll own the ground it’s on. If companies like Shackleton Energy Company succeed in wrangling an asteroid to mine its resources, there is no law saying someone else can’t start mining the same asteroid as well. And there are also no laws to limit damage or destruction, or to preserve historical or visible elements of the moon.

The only limiting factor is that private companies need the blessings and supervision of their host nation for any operations, and the host nation will be responsible if anything goes wrong.

The current system is based heavily on good faith, and whether each space-faring country will play nicely is yet to be seen. A system lacking a clear legal framework has thus far worked for scientific ventures, such as the International Space Station. But history tells a different story when big businesses and competing nations turn their sights on a new frontier.

Ian Crawford, a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Birkbeck College, University of London, believes that for lunar mining to go smoothly private companies will need a legal framework for their operations.

He also believes that lunar areas with scientific importance should have legal protection.

“The ’67 Treaty does not explicitly cover either of these aspects, which is why I think there is a case for updating it,” Crawford said in an email.

“Just as no nation-state can currently appropriate the moon there is a case for ensuring that private companies also cannot claim to own the moon, but nevertheless would be legally entitled to materials that they extracted from it as a result of their own private investment,” Crawford said.

As for guarding areas of scientific importance, there is proposed legislation aimed at doing just that. The 2013 Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act intends to create lunar national parks around historical sites, and was referred to a congressional committee in July 2013. Passing the law is going to be difficult, however, since it would conflict with the 1967 treaty.

NASA also released a proposal in 2011 to protect lunar artifacts, but following it is voluntary.

According to Dale Tietz, CEO of Shackleton Energy Company, which intends to mine the moon for water and minerals, commercialization of space started when the AT&T Telstar satellite went into orbit in 1962.

Tietz believes the 1967 treaty works as a legal framework for now, and that “In the future, as the market grows and operational needs expand, new standards and methods may arise for the benefit of all stakeholders just like they do in terrestrial environments.”

Source: The Epoch Times.
Link: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/476806-mining-the-moon-plans-taking-off-but-rules-lacking/.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Pakistani girl, 16, survivor of Taliban, visits US

October 11, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) — A defiant 16-year-old Pakistani girl whose advocacy for education made her the target of a Taliban assassination attempt a year ago told an audience in New York on Thursday she one day hopes to become her country's prime minister.

Malala Yousafzai made her comments in an interview with CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour at the 92nd Street Y. She spoke a few hours after being awarded Europe's top human rights prize and on the eve of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize, for which she is considered a likely contender.

Asked if she wanted to be a doctor or a politician, Malala said she initially wanted to be a doctor but had learned she could help more people as prime minister. "I can spend much of the budget on education," Malala said to applause and laughter as she sat next to her father, human rights activist Ziauddin Yousafzai, the founder of an all-girls school in Pakistan.

In the interview, to be broadcast on CNN on Sunday, Malala recounted the moment she was shot while sitting in the back of a vehicle traveling home from school and reiterated that she was not intimidated by threats.

"I'm never going to give up," Malala said when asked about repeated death threats made against her by the Taliban. "They only shot a body but they cannot shoot my dreams." On Oct. 9, 2012, a masked gunman jumped into a pickup truck taking girls home from the school and shouted "who is Malala" before shooting her in the head.

Her father asked his brother-in-law to prepare a coffin. But Malala woke up a week later at a hospital in Birmingham, England, and gradually regained her sight and her voice. She said Thursday her first thought was of two friends she was with who were also injured in the attack.

"If I was shot that was fine for me but I was feeling guilty that they have been the target," she said. The world's horrified reaction to the attack led to the creation of Malala Fund, which campaigns for girls' education around the world. Malala has received multiple awards, including the $65,000 Sakharov Award, which she was awarded just hours before her interview.

The assassination attempt drew worldwide attention to the struggle for women's rights in Pakistan. Malala addressed the United Nations on her 16th birthday, and she expects to meet with Queen Elizabeth II later this month.

The Nobel Peace Prize committee will say only that a record 259 candidates, including 50 organizations, have been nominated this year. Speculation on front-runners for Friday's announcement is primarily based on previous choices and current events.

Malala said Thursday it would a "great honor and more than I deserve" to win the accolade, but insisted she still had more to do before she felt she'd truly earned it. "I need to work a lot," she said.

Malala's father said he didn't regret how outspoken his precocious only daughter has been since she was 11 years old, when she first started blogging and speaking out against the denial of education to young girls in Pakistan's Swat Valley.

"I will never put my head into the yoke of slavery," he said. Malala spoke passionately Thursday against forced marriages and the denial of education to girls and boys throughout the world. She urged young girls in the developed world to take advantage of their education — and to do their homework and be kind to their teachers.

"I would like to tell all the girls: Realize its importance before it is snatched from you," she said. Malala lives with her family in Birmingham, England. She said that while in Pakistan she liked to listen to Justin Bieber, but now longs for the Pashto music of her homeland.

New major earthquake rocks southwest Pakistan

September 28, 2013

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A major earthquake rocked Pakistan's southwest Saturday, sending people running into the street in panic just days after another quake in the same region killed 359 people, officials said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said on its website that a 6.8 magnitude quake was felt in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province. Pakistan's Meteorological Department measured the earthquake at 7.2 magnitude. The department said its epicenter was located about 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of the town of Khuzdar.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, said Abdur Rasheed, the deputy commissioner of Awaran district where both quakes were centered. There may have been little left to damage after Tuesday's disaster. Few of the mud and homemade brick houses in the area survived the 7.7 magnitude quake that leveled houses and buried people in the rubble.

Since then tens of thousands of people have been sleeping under the open sky or in tents. Rasheed said they had received reports that some homes damaged but still standing after Tuesday's quake had collapsed Saturday.

He said they are trying to get information whether people were living in some of the partially damaged homes. Chief Pakistani meteorologist Arif Mahmood told Pakistani television that it was an aftershock from this week's earthquake and such tremors might continue for weeks.

Pakistan television showed people at the main hospital in Awaran district fleeing into the street. In the provincial capital of Quetta, the tremor was so strong it prompted members of the local parliament to evacuate the building.

Baluchistan is Pakistan's largest but least populated province. The rough terrain and the lack of decent roads have made it difficult for rescue staff. The Pakistani Air Force has been making air drops of supplies and using helicopters to ferry injured people to medical care.

But at least two of those helicopters have come under fire from separatists, say Pakistani officials. The Pakistani military has been trying to suppress an uprising in the vast, arid province for years by separatists who want their own state for the Baluch people.

To the north Pakistan is dealing with militants who want to overthrow the central government and establish a hard-line Islamic state. Newly-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed to pursue peace talks with the militants as a way to end the fighting. But the militants have given little indication they are interested in negotiations. They initially rejected talks with the government and later demanded Islamabad release prisoners and begin withdrawing troops from the group's tribal sanctuary before talks could begin. Recent attacks have also called into question their interest in negotiating.

On Saturday, a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban criticized Sharif, saying his new government is not serious about holding peace talks. The spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, did not explicitly reject the offer but his words gave little room for negotiations.

The comments appeared to have been sparked by an interview Sharif made with the Wall Street Journal during a trip to New York, in which he said militants must lay down their arms and follow the constitution. Previously Sharif had not given preconditions for the talks.

"By telling us that we will have to lay down arms and respect the constitution, the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, showed that he is following the policy of America and its allies," the spokesman said. "We will hold talks with it only when it gets the real power to take decisions."

__ Sattar reported from Quetta. Associated Press writer Rasool Dawar in Peshawar contributed to this report.