British fracking protests ongoing

July 31, 2013

LONDON, July 31 (UPI) -- British energy company Cuadrilla Resources defended its environmental commitment amid ongoing demonstrations against fracking in the country.

Cuadrilla aims to start an exploration program in the village of Balcombe, near the southeast coast. Chief Executive Officer Francis Egan said Wednesday the drilling program posed no threat to the environment.

"We've no intention of ruining the countryside and we won't ruin the countryside," he said Wednesday.

The British broadcaster reports two demonstrators glued themselves together to protest the campaign in Balcombe. They are protesting against the perceived dangers of hydraulic fracturing, a controversial drilling practice seen as a threat to the environment.

Cuadrilla said last week it was not employing the drilling practice, known also as fracking.

Energy company IGas said parts of the country may hold as much as 170 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, prompting the government to extend tax breaks to explorers.

Advocacy groups say the government is moving too fast in an effort to duplicate the exponential increase in U.S. natural gas production from fracking.

"It's time to pull the plug on the U.K.'s dirty fossil fuel addiction and develop clean energy that won't cost people all over England their green and pleasant land," Friends of Earth said in a statement.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2013/07/31/British-fracking-protests-ongoing/UPI-93581375272816/.

Rape endemic in eastern DRC

July 31, 2013

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 31 (UPI) -- The United Nations said it's been able to document more than 700 cases of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo since January.

More than 7,000 people were forced to flee parts of eastern DRC following renewed fighting between pro-government forces and members of the rebel March 23 Movement.

M23 is suspected of committing atrocities in DRC. Rebel commander Bosco Ntaganda surrendered to The Hague this year to face war crimes charges.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said acts of sexual violence were in the rise in DRC.

"Our protection monitoring teams have registered 705 cases of sexual violence in the region since January, including 619 cases of rape," the agency said in a statement.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in DRC said Tuesday it was giving rebels until Thursday to disarm. After the deadline passes at 4pm local time, "they will be considered an imminent threat of physical violence to civilians and [peacekeepers] will take all necessary measures to disarm them, including by the use of force in accordance with its mandate and rules of engagement," the mission said.

The U.N. Security Council this year gave a brigade within the peacekeeping mission a mandate to use force to ensure security in eastern DRC.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/07/31/Rape-endemic-in-eastern-DRC/UPI-95151375276685/.

Protesters vow to annul Thai vote, step up rallies

February 03, 2014

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai protesters vowed Monday to stage larger rallies in central Bangkok and push ahead their efforts to nullify the results of elections that were expected to prolong a national political crisis.

Despite fears of violence, voting proceeded peacefully in 90 percent of polling stations Sunday. The protesters forced polling booths to close in Bangkok and southern Thailand, disenfranchising millions of registered voters. As a result, not all Parliament seats will be filled and a series of by-elections are required to complete voting, extending political paralysis for months.

After disrupting voting, protesters say they will fight the election on several grounds including that it is required by law to be held on one day. The opposition Democrat Party, which backs the protesters and boycotted the vote, said Monday it was studying other legal justifications to invalidate the vote.

The struggle to hold the polls was part of a 3-month-old conflict that has split the country between supporters of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and opponents who allege her government is too corrupt to rule.

Demonstrators have occupied major intersections in Bangkok and forced government ministries to shut down and work elsewhere. "We are not giving up the fight. We still keep fighting," protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said. "Our mission is to keep shutting down government offices, so don't ask us to give those back."

Suthep, a charismatic speaker and former opposition lawmaker, said the movement was closing two of its Bangkok protest sites and asking crowds to consolidate at five other locations, mostly in the business center of the capital.

The new plan was bound to cause more disruption in the center of Bangkok, where protesters have shut major intersections in the Silom and Sukhumvit business districts and Ratchaprasong shopping district, where the city's upscale malls are located.

The protesters want to suspend democracy and are demanding the government be replaced by an unelected council that would rewrite political and electoral laws to combat deep-seated problems of corruption and money politics. Yingluck has refused to step down, arguing she was elected by a landslide majority and is open to reform but that such a council would be unconstitutional and undemocratic.

The protesters are a minority that cannot win through elections, but they comprise a formidable alliance of opposition leaders, royalists, and powerful businessmen who have set their sights on ousting the government. They have won past battles — by ousting Yingluck's brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, in a 2006 army coup, and by forcing out two Thaksin-allied prime ministers through controversial legal rulings.

Many believe another so-called "judicial coup" will bring down Yingluck's government. Suthep's public assurance to followers that the ballot will be nullified leaves "no doubt" that the Constitutional Court will end up hearing a case to annul it, and Verapat Pariyawong, an independent Harvard-educated lawyer.

If the ballot is nullified, Verapat said there will be "more blood on the streets," a reference to the expectation that government supporters in the north are unlikely to sit idle. Before Thaksin was deposed in 2006, the Constitutional Court nullified a vote won by his party a month earlier. The ruling partly found that the positioning of ballot booths had compromised voter privacy.

Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker and Todd Pitman contributed to this report.

Thai elections peaceful, but crisis far from over

February 02, 2014

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand held nationwide elections without bloodshed Sunday despite widespread fears of violence. But the country's bitter political crisis is far from over, and one of the next flash points is likely to be an effort to nullify the vote.

Although balloting was largely peaceful, protesters forced thousands of polling booths to close in Bangkok and the south, disenfranchising millions of registered voters. Not all Parliament seats will be filled as a result, meaning the nation could stay mired in political limbo for months with the winning party unable to form a new government.

The struggle to hold the vote was part of a 3-month-old conflict that has split the country between supporters of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and protesters who allege her government is too corrupt to rule.

The crisis, in which demonstrators have occupied major intersections across Bangkok and forced government ministries to shut down and work elsewhere, overshadowed the poll's run-up to such an extent that campaigning and stump speeches laying out party platforms were virtually non-existent.

Rather than "a contest among candidates, it was about whether the election itself could happen," said Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch. "That in itself says a lot about the fate of democracy in Thailand — it's hanging by a thread."

Television stations, which normally broadcast electoral results, were reduced to projecting graphics not of party victories and losses, but of which constituencies where polls were closed. Official results cannot be announced until a series of by-elections are held and all districts have voted. The first will take place Feb. 23.

In Bangkok, protesters surrounded district offices housing ballot papers to preventing them from being delivered. They also pressured electoral officials not to report for duty, and in some cases physically preventing people from voting.

Infuriated voters cut the chains off polling stations that had been locked, futilely demanding that they be allowed to cast their ballots. In one downtown district, they hurled bottles at each other and demonstrator fired a gunshot after several people tried to push past a blockade. After authorities called off voting there, angry crowds stormed into the district office.

"We want an election. We are Thais," said Narong Meephol, a 63-year-old Bangkok resident who was waving his voter identification card. "We are here to exercise our rights." Ampai Pittajit, 65, a retired civil servant who helped block ballot boxes in Bangkok, said she did it "because I want reforms before an election."

"I understand those who are saying this is violating their rights," he said. "But what about our right to be heard?" The Election Commission said poll closures affected about 18 percent of the country's 48 million registered voters, although many of them may not have cast ballots anyway following a boycott by the opposition Democrat party, which is calling for political and economic reform first.

The protesters want to suspend democracy and are demanding the government be replaced by an unelected council that would rewrite political and electoral laws to combat deep-seated problems of corruption and money politics. Yingluck has refused to step down, arguing she is open to reform and such a council would be unconstitutional.

Yingluck called Sunday's vote after dissolving Parliament in December in a failed bid to defuse the crisis. Protests intensified, and Yingluck — now a caretaker premier with limited power — has found herself increasingly cornered. Courts have begun fast-tracking cases that could see her party removed from power, while the army has warned it could intervene if the crisis is not resolved peacefully.

Fears of violence Sunday rose after a dramatic gunbattle erupted in broad daylight Saturday at a major Bangkok intersection between government supporters and protesters who were trying to block delivery of ballots. Seven people were wounded.

Late Sunday, gunmen opened fire on several vehicles that mistakenly drove onto an empty overpass in the city center controlled by demonstrators who have blocked the road off with a large sand-bagged bunker. The shooting, which shattered one vehicle's windshield and left bullet holes in another, wounded a man and a woman, according to the city's emergency services.

The protesters are a minority that cannot win through elections, but they comprise a formidable alliance of opposition leaders, royalists, and powerful businessmen who have set their sights on ousting the government. They have waged that fight successfully before — by ousting Yingluck's brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, in a 2006 army coup, and by forcing two Thaksin-allied prime ministers who followed to step down through controversial legal rulings.

Most now believe another so-called "judicial coup" will bring the government down. Analysts say the courts and the country's independent oversight agencies all tilt against the Shinawatra family, and Yingluck's opponents are already studying legal justifications to invalidate Sunday's vote.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban publicly assured followers the ballot will be nullified, and Verapat Pariyawong, an independent Harvard-educated lawyer, said there was "no doubt" the Constitutional Court will end up hearing a case to annul it.

But he said it would be "absurd" to expect judges to "to stay strictly within the limits of the law ... (because) history has shown that this court is willing to play politics from the bench." If the ballot is nullified, Verapat said there will be "more blood on the streets," a reference to the expectation that government supporters in the north are unlikely to sit idle.

Before Thaksin was deposed in 2006, the Constitutional Court nullified a similar vote won by his party about one month after it had taken place. The ruling was based partly on the argument that the positioning of ballot booths had compromised voter privacy.

Chuvit Kamolvisit, an independent candidate who served as a lawmaker until Parliament was dissolved two months ago, called the crisis gripping Thailand "a game of power" and accused Suthep and his supporters of falsely characterizing their struggle as an anti-corruption fight.

Graft "has been a part of Thai society for a long time," said Chuvit, who made a fortune operating massage parlors that doubled as brothels before turning to politics. "It's a real problem, but now it's being used an excuse for politicians to take power."

Suthep was a lawmaker for more than three decades, he said, "and what did he do to end corruption in all that time?" The burly, outspoken Chuvit was one of many in the capital who were unable to cast ballots Sunday. He was physically assaulted by a group of protesters in confrontation that devolved into a knock-down brawl.

"I have to protect my rights," Chuvit said. "Thai society has to learn that to get rights, freedom, liberty, you need to fight. But the fight should take place within the democratic system, not on the street."

Associated Press writers Thanyarat Doksone, Jocelyn Gecker and Jinda Wedel contributed to this report.

Polls open in tense Thai national election

February 02, 2014

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's tense national election got underway Sunday amid signs of disruptions at several polling stations and fears of violence, a day after gun battles between protesters and would-be voters broke out at a busy Bangkok intersection.

The extent of disruptions was not immediately clear when polls opened nationwide, but there were early indications that dozens of polling stations in Bangkok would not open because protesters blocked delivery of ballots or stopped voters from entering.

At least seven people were wounded in Saturday's clashes, including an American photojournalist, when gun battles broke out at a busy Bangkok intersection between government supporters and protesters intent on derailing the polls.

The exchange of fire was the latest flare-up in a monthslong campaign by protesters to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's beleaguered government, which they accuse of corruption. The turmoil raised the prospect of more violence Sunday, when polls opened for an electoral contest that has devolved into a battle of wills between the government and protesters — and those caught between who insist on their right to vote.

Protesters say they plan to fill the streets of the Thai capital to prevent voters from reaching polling stations. The conflict pits demonstrators who say they want to suspend the country's fragile democracy to institute anti-corruption reforms against Yingluck's supporters and would-be voters who know the election will not solve the nation's crisis but insist the right to vote should not be taken away.

The protesters, a minority that cannot win power at the polls, are demanding the government be replaced by an unelected council that would rewrite political and electoral laws to combat deep-seated problems of corruption and money politics. Yingluck has refused to step down, arguing she is open to reform and that such a council would be unconstitutional.

Since protests began late last year, at least 10 people have been killed and nearly 600 wounded. "How did we get to this point?" asked Chanida Pakdeebanchasak, a 28-year-old Bangkok resident who was determined to cast her ballot Sunday no matter what happens. "Since when does going to vote mean you don't love the country?"

Although unrest has already hit Bangkok and polling stations are not expected to open in some parts of the south, voting was expected to proceed smoothly in most of the country. Police said they will deploy 100,000 officers nationwide, while the army is putting 5,000 soldiers into Bangkok to boost security. More than 47 million people are registered to vote.

Whatever happens, the outcome will almost certainly be inconclusive. Because protesters blocked candidate registration in some districts, parliament will not have enough members to convene. That means Yingluck will be unable to form a government or even pass a budget, and Thailand will be stuck in political limbo for months as by-elections are run in constituencies that were unable to vote.

Confederations Cup: Brazil 2 Uruguay 1

ROB HARRIS
Thursday 27 June 2013

Paulinho headed Brazil into the Confederations Cup final with an 86th minute header last night to give the host nation a 2-1 victory over Uruguay as anti-government protesters clashed with police near the Mineirao Stadium.

With the semi-final heading into extra time, Paulinho rose to meet Neymar's corner and score the winner.

Paulinho and Neymar also combined to play a part in Brazil's opener just before half time after Uruguay striker Diego Forlan's penalty was saved early in the game.

Neymar brought down Paulinho's high ball and, after his initial shot was saved by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, Fred pounced on the loose ball to score.

Although Edinson Cavani seized on sloppy defending to equalize for Uruguay three minutes into the second half, Brazil fought back to secure victory in the 2014 World Cup warm-up tournament.

Outside the stadium, protesters' anger was directed at the government and police. Inside, the animosity was directed from the start at Uruguay captain Diego Lugano, who enraged Brazil by accusing Neymar of diving on the eve of the match.

The crowd was even more incensed when Lugano won a penalty in the 13th minute, although there was little to dispute David Luiz's tugging of the defender's shirt.

Facing a wall of noise, Forlan struck low and goalkeeper Julio Cesar dived correctly to his left.

It was the fourth penalty out of eight in the tournament so far to be missed.

Forlan, though, was the most potent attacking threat on the pitch as Brazil struggled to impose itself on the South American champions.

The swagger and verve the Brazilians had rediscovered to open the tournament with three group-stage victories was missing in an edgy start by the hosts.

Neymar, on whose shoulders the nation's World Cup hopes are resting, was lacking the service to make an impact.

There was the occasional moment of menace, with Hulk using his strength to burst through the defense, but Uruguay came closer to taking the lead.

Forlan unleashed a curling strike on the half-hour from outside the penalty area which crept wide of the post.

Uruguay's resistance was eventually broken by a deep ball from Paulinho that went high over the defense and reached Neymar.

From a tight angle, Neymar brought the ball down with his chest, and Muslera did well to deny the striker his fourth goal of the tournament.

From the save, the loose ball trickled across the penalty area before reaching Fred. And two defenders proved to be an ineffective barrier, even to a scuffed shot from Fred which landed in the bottom corner of the net.

The relief was clear: Fred jumped over the advertising hoardings to celebrate closer to the Brazil fans who packed the stadium.

Brazil's elation disappeared three minutes into the second half.

Slack defending gifted Uruguay its way back as several chances to clear the danger were wasted. A clearance from Luiz lacked urgency, then Thiago Silva's pass to Marcelo was easily intercepted by Cavani, who scored past Cesar.

However shoddy the work of Brazil's defenders was, the quality of the forward players was starting to shine through as the game became feisty, with five yellow cards awarded.

Brazil pressed and probed for the winner: Fred struck over from Neymar's cross and the star forward had an effort saved himself.

The game was heating up, and Neymar exchanged taunts with Uruguay's Alvaro Gonzalez before sarcastically blowing him a kiss.

But Neymar helped to ensure Brazil had the last say in the match, as he floated a corner into the penalty area that Paulinho rose above Martin Caceres to meet and head into the net.

Brazil will meet Italy or Spain in Sunday's final at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Source: The Independent.
Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/confederations-cup-brazil-2-uruguay-1-8675993.html.

Thousands of anti-Putin protesters march in Moscow

February 02, 2014

MOSCOW (AP) — Several thousand protesters marched through central Moscow on Sunday to call for the release of 20 people who were arrested after clashes between police and demonstrators in May 2012.

Some of them face up to 10 years in prison if convicted for the protest, held on Bolotnaya Square on the eve of President Vladimir Putin's inauguration to a third term as Russia's president. Putin's return to the presidency saw the passing of new laws aimed at cracking down on anti-government protests and restricting non-governmental organizations.

The protesters marched Sunday with portraits of the jailed protesters and a banner stretching across the street reading: "Freedom to the Bolotnaya heroes, the hostages of Putin." Some also carried Ukrainian flags to show their support for the anti-government protesters in neighboring Ukraine, where demonstrations have been going on for more than two months.

Of the 28 people rounded up in the Bolotnaya case, eight were recently freed on amnesty. Several defendants have been under house arrest, but most of the others have been in jail for more than a year and a half.

Only three of the cases have been decided: Two defendants received light sentences after cooperating with investigators and a third was sent for forced psychiatric treatment. That man, Mikhail Kosenko, who was convicted of beating a policeman, had a history of schizophrenia, but rights activists charged the court was reviving the Soviet-era practice of using punitive psychiatry against dissidents.

Report: Putin to visit Iran for stalled nuclear talks

2013-07-24

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin is to visit Iran in August to try and restart talks on Tehran's controversial nuclear program, Russia's Kommersant daily reported on Wednesday.

Putin's visit is planned for mid-August, shortly after Iran's new president Hassan Rowhani formally takes office on August 3, Kommersant reported, citing sources in the Kremlin and the Iranian foreign ministry.

It will be Putin's first trip to Iran since 2007.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "I cannot so far confirm this".

Moscow hopes the visit will provide impetus to restart the currently stalled talks on Iran's nuclear program, the newspaper cited sources as saying.

Kommersant cited a source in the Iranian foreign ministry as saying the trip would take place August 12-13. It said a Kremlin source confirmed the trip, but said it was not yet decided whether it would last one or two days.

Western powers have expressed cautious hopes for a change in tone in talks after the June election of Rowhani, a centrist cleric who has vowed to engage constructively with the international community and to ease tensions raised by Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Iran is accused by the West and Israel of seeking to produce nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian atomic program, while Iran insists it is for peaceful purposes.

It has been slapped with international sanctions over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, which have severely hit its economy.

Russia is a member of the so-called P5+1 group that has been negotiating with Iran over the program and which is made up of the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=60311.

Australia starts Afghanistan withdrawal

Sunday 28 Jul 2013

Australia has begun preparing to pull out of Afghanistan ahead of the closure of their main Australian Defense Force base in the country on December 31st.

Around 1000 soldiers will return home while 300 will remain in the country and move on to roles in Kabul and Kandahar including training.

Around 240 people have been brought in to help Australia withdraw.

Around three-quarters of the base has already been torn down, but the base's gym will be left for Afghan forces.

No Australian weaponry, ammunition or armor will be handed over to Afghan forces – it will be destroyed or returned to Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a surprise visit to troops in Trinkot yesterday thanking troops for their service. It's Rudd's sixth visit to the country.

Forty Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001 and 257 have been wounded.

Source: 3 news.
Link: http://www.3news.co.nz/Australia-starts-Afghanistan-withdrawal/tabid/417/articleID/306645/Default.aspx.