Turkish charity donates winter clothes to Gazans

25 January 2015 Sunday

A Turkish charity on Sunday – in cooperation with a Palestinian NGO - distributed winter clothes to underprivileged families in the Gaza Strip and others who were affected by last year's devastating Israeli onslaught.

Ahmed al-Najjar, who heads the Peace, Solidarity and Relief Society NGO in the Gaza Strip, said that his organization collaborated with the Turkish Aziz Mahmud Hudayi charity to distribute the winter aid.

The number of families that have benefited from this three-phase program so far is 850, with the first phase costing $50,000, al-Najjar said.

He added that an additional 1,000 families would benefit from the program by the completion of the other two phases.

Alia Abu Zaid, one of the beneficiaries, told The Anadolu Agency that the aid "has eased some of her burden."

"My husband is unemployed, and I received clothes for my youngest son; now he is happy and warm," Abu Zaid, a mother of nine, said.

Palestinian resistance factions signed a cease-fire deal with Israel on Aug. 26, ending a 51-day Israeli military onslaught on the Gaza Strip in July and August.

The Israeli offensive left more than 2,160 Palestinians dead – the vast majority of them civilians – and some 11,000 injured.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/153773/turkish-charity-donates-winter-clothes-to-gazans.

Turkey's Erdogan seeks closure of Gulen-linked schools in Africa

22 January 2015 Thursday

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday Turkey would seek the closure of schools in Africa linked to his ally-turned-foe Fethullah Gulen, opening a new front in his battle with the U.S.-based Muslim cleric.

Erdogan accuses Gulen and his supporters in the judiciary and police of seeking to establish a "parallel state" and of orchestrating a corruption investigation targeting Erdogan's inner circle in December 2013 as part of a coup attempt.

Followers of Gulen's Hizmet (Service) movement run a network of schools in Turkey and across the world, including in Africa.

"They might have established educational institutions, but they will be closed down because the Republic of Turkey education ministry will be providing the needed services for students," he told a news conference in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said he would follow Ankara's advice on the issue, having worked with Gulen-linked schools in the past.

"We will follow the guidance of the government because we had never worked with these organisations without the approval of the government," he told the news conference.

After the corruption allegations emerged, Erdogan purged Turkey's state apparatus, reassigning thousands of police and hundreds of judges and prosecutors deemed loyal to Gulen. In December, a court issued an arrest warrant for the cleric, who has lived in in Pennsylvania since 1999.

Echoing Erdogan's comments, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Davos that Gulen-linked schools around the world were being used to tarnish Turkey's image, and the government planned to take action.

"We have taken a strategic decision to gather education activities under a single roof," he said, adding that the cabinet was expected to consider the matter next week.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/153544/turkeys-erdogan-seeks-closure-of-gulen-linked-schools-in-africa.

Mogadishu attack: Erdogan to go ahead with Somalia visit

22 January 2015 Thursday

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is still intending to visit Somalia despite a bomb blast outside the presidential palace near a hotel hosting a Turkish delegation of officials.

"An investigation is underway into whether it is a direct attack on the Turkish delegation," he told a press conference in the Swiss city of Davos.

Earlier today, the Interior Security Ministry of Somalia told The Anadolu Agency that security in the Somali capital has been increased significantly ahead of the planned arrival of the Turkish president Friday.

Erdogan is currently holding talks in Addis Ababa as part of an official visit to Ethiopia which started Wednesday.

No casualties from the blast were reported to be Turks, according to the Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu.

Though no group has claimed the attack thus far, the militant Al-Shabab group has often claimed similar attacks in the past.

Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu stressed that Somalia is a country that has high security risks.

He said he talked with the Turkish ambassador in Mogadishu and was told that three Somalis were killed in the attack.

"There are always risks but they cannot shatter Turkey's resolute stance. Africa policy is among our key policy areas," he said.

The Turkish premier added that it might be wrong to consider the attack as one aimed solely at Turkey.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that a Turk may have been slightly injured in the attack due to broken glass from the hotel.

The ministry added that Somali officials have strengthened security measures following the attack.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/153548/mogadishu-attack-erdogan-to-go-ahead-with-somalia-visit.

Turkey's FM to visit Gulf countries, Yemen

16 January 2015 Friday

Turkey's foreign minister will visit Kuwait, Qatar and Yemen, the Foreign Ministry announced Friday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu's schedule will start on Saturday in Kuwait, where he will spend two days discussing regional and international developments with Kuwaiti officials.

"He is expected to be received by the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber III al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah," a statement from the ministry said.

The foreign minister will then head to Qatar on Monday, where he will meet with his Qatari counterpart Khaled bin Mohamed al-Attiyah; Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani and Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Cavusoglu's visit to Qatar comes just a month after Qatari intelligence chief Jassem al-Thani's talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo to prepare for an upcoming joint summit between President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

The Turkish foreign minister's final stop will be in Yemen on Tuesday, where he will hold meetings with Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Saidi, president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and prime minister Khaled Bahah.

In an exclusive interview in The Anadolu Agency's "Editors' Desk" on Monday, Cavusoglu criticized certain Gulf countries for "lobbying against Turkey," over elections to the UN Security Council's non-permanent membership for 2015 and 2016.

“Because of our relations with Egypt, some Gulf States lobbied against us," Cavusoglu said.

Turkey put forth conditions indicating that normalization of relations with coup-ruled Egypt would be unlikely in the immediate future, unless the country goes back to "full democracy."

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/153135/turkeys-fm-to-visit-gulf-countries-yemen.

Turkey to grow faster in 2015, says Deputy PM

16 January 2015 Friday

The present year will see stronger economic growth and lower inflation than the previous year, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister responsible for the economy Ali Babacan said on Friday.

In an exclusive interview with The Anadolu Agency's Editors' Desk at its headquarters in Ankara, Turkey’s top economic policy official Ali Babacan said 2015 will be a better year than 2014 for the country's economy.

"The Turkish growth rate for 2014 at 3 percent was fine; in 2015, Turkey will be one of fastest growing economies in the EU,” Babacan said.

Turkey will see strong capital and fund inflows this year, Babacan said.

Moreover, the oil price will be a positive factor for Turkish economy.

“Every $10 drop in the oil price decreases the current account deficit by $4.4 billion; the effect of the declining oil price will be felt in Turkey by June.”

Turkey's energy bill is expected to drop by half in 2015 if oil prices remain around the $50 per barrel mark, according to economists.

The total amount of the current account deficit in the January to November period narrowed to $38.7 billion, indicating a decrease of $18 billion compared with the same period in the previous year, the Turkish Central Bank said on Jan. 13.

Thanks to this decline in the price of oil, Turkey will also be able to reduce inflation to around 6 percent, perhaps even to the 5 percent level, and to boost its growth rate to 4 percent in 2015, Babacan said.

The number of participants in the Individual Pension System has increased to 5.1 million this year, up from about 3 million at the beginning of 2013, with the encouragement of the state contribution of 25 percent of pension deposits. The total volume of the pension funds has recently reached 37 billion Turkish liras ($16.1 billion), up from 20.3 billion Turkish liras ($9.5 billion), Babacan explained.

Regarding the improvement of the investment climate, Babacan announced that there is a package aimed at supporting industrial investments in preparation, and it will be announced within one month.

Babacan also said that Turkey expects a large amount of fund inflows and capital inflows in 2015.

The government wants to create a system for private companies seeking to borrow money using equity-based financing. The Turkish private sector has long-term debt of about $162 billion.

Babacan recalled that the government wants its citizens to keep their gold in banks instead of hiding it under the mattress.

It is believed that over 5,000 tons of gold, currently worth close to $200 billion, are thesaurized by Turkish residents as a form of personal savings, and therefore kept out of the banking system.

Babacan also said that, under its presidency of the G-20 in 2015, Turkey will work for the establishment of a permanent secretariat for the organization.

Regarding the Charlie Hebdo attack, Babacan said that all kinds of terrorist acts must be condemned, no matter their motives may be.

"Terror has no religion. Terror has no nationality, terror has no race. There is no concept like 'my terrorist- your terrorist.' We are against all terror and condemn all forms of terrorism," he said.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/153110/turkey-to-grow-faster-in-2015-says-deputy-pm.

Turkish court bans websites publishing Charlie Hebdo cover

January 14, 2015

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court on Wednesday ordered a ban on access to websites showing Charlie Hebdo's cover with the image of the Prophet Muhammad.

A court in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir prohibited access to the websites in Turkey, the state-run Anadolu News Agency said, after a lawyer reportedly filed a petition saying the four sites were a danger to "public order."

Earlier, police stopped trucks leaving a pro-secular newspaper's printing center and checked the paper's content after it decided to print a selection of Charlie Hebdo caricatures. The paper printed a four-page selection of cartoons and articles in a show of solidarity with Charlie Hebdo.

Cumhuriyet newspaper said police allowed distribution because the four-page selection of cartoons did not feature the satirical French newspaper's latest cover. But two Cumhuriyet columnists used small, black-and-white images of the cover as their column headers in Wednesday's issue.

It wasn't immediately clear if the columnists' use of the cover image escaped the attention of police. "While preparing this selection, we respected societies' freedoms of faith and religious sensitivities," Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Uktu Cakirozer said in a statement.

"There may have been some (people) who were worried that this would be an issue that would belittle religious beliefs ... But I believe that people won't think that way when they see today's issue," Cakirozer later told The Associated Press in an interview.

On the two columnists' decision to use images of the cover in their columns, Cakirozer said: "That was the personal choice of our writers." Police intensified security outside Cumhuriyet's headquarters and printing center as a precaution, and at least five protesters were detained in Istanbul, including one who shouted "you cannot attack my religion or prophet." Small groups of pro-Islamic demonstrators protested Cumhuriyet in Ankara and in the central city of Konya, Anadolu reported.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan took to Twitter to criticize use of the prophet's image, calling it an act of "sedition and provocation," without naming any publications.

Ayse Wieting in Istanbul contributed to this report.

Kurds celebrate ousting Islamic State fighters from Kobani

January 26, 2015

BEIRUT (AP) — Jubilant Kurdish fighters ousted Islamic State militants from the key Syrian border town of Kobani on Monday after a four-month battle — a significant victory for both the Kurds and the U.S.-led coalition.

The Kurds raised their flag on a hill that once flew the Islamic State group's black banner. On Kobani's war-ravaged streets, gunmen fired in the air in celebration, male and female fighters embraced, and troops danced in their baggy uniforms.

The failure to capture Kobani was a major blow to the extremists whose hopes for an easy victory dissolved into a costly siege under withering airstrikes by coalition forces and an assault by the Kurdish militia.

For the U.S. and its partners, Kobani became a strategic prize, especially after they increased the number of airstrikes against IS fighters there in October. "Daesh gambled on Kobani and lost," said senior Kurdish official Idriss Nassan, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

"Their defenses have collapsed and its fighters have fled," he told The Associated Press from Turkey, adding that he would return to Kobani on Tuesday. Kobani-based journalis Farshad Shami said the few civilians who remained had joined in the celebration. Most of the town of about 60,000 people had fled to Turkey to escape the fighting.

Several U.S. officials said they couldn't confirm that Kurdish fighters have gained full control of Kobani, but added that they have no reason to disbelieve the claims. A senior U.S. official said the Kurds controlled most of the town and have consolidated control particularly in the central and southern areas. The official said Islamic State militants still have a considerable presence in outlying areas around Kobani and are still putting up stiff resistance to the Kurds in those pockets outside it.

U.S. Central Central Command estimates that 90 percent of Kobani is now controlled by Kurdish forces. Kurdish officials and activists said Kobani was entirely in Kurdish hands, with only sporadic fighting on the eastern outer edges where the militants retained some footholds.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighters of the main Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units, or YPG, where searching houses in the eastern suburbs of the town and dismantling and detonating bombs and booby-traps left behind.

Capturing Kobani would have given the IS militants control of a border crossing with Turkey and open direct lines for their positions along the frontier. Now, it is a grave psychological loss for the extremist group, which has been dealt a series of military setbacks in both Syria and Iraq, particularly at the hands of the Kurds.

Last month, Kurdish fighters in Iraq retook the strategic town of Sinjar that had been home to many of Iraq's minority Yazidis. The focus is now expected to shift to several hundred villages around Kobani still held by the militants. Kurdish activists said they expected the fight for those to be easier than for the town itself.

In September, Islamic State fighters began capturing about 300 Kurdish villages near Kobani and thrust into the town itself, occupying nearly half of it and sending tens of thousands of residents fleeing into Turkey.

But the once-nondescript town with few resources quickly became a centerpiece of the international campaign against the Islamic State group. TV crews flocked to the Turkish side of the border and trained their cameras on the besieged town, plumes of smoke rising from explosions. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared it would be "morally very difficult" not to help Kobani.

The U.S.-led air assault began Sept. 23, with Kobani the target of about a half-dozen daily airstrikes on average. More than 80 percent of all coalition airstrikes in Syria have been in or around the town.

At one point in October, the U.S. air dropped bundles of weapons and medical supplies for Kurdish fighters — a first in the Syrian conflict. Dozens of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces joined their brethren in Kobani, bringing in heavy weapons that neutralized the Islamic State group's artillery advantage.

By early January, more than 1,000 Islamic State fighters had been killed and much of its heavy weaponry destroyed. The group continued to invest in resources, bringing in hundreds of reinforcements. Activists said these included many teenagers and even children, signaling a shortage in its forces.

The group made a last stand in the past few weeks, unleashing more than 35 suicide attacks in recent weeks, activists said. But the advancing Kurdish fighters could not be stopped. Nassan said coalition airstrikes intensified in recent days, helping the Kurds in their final push toward IS positions on the southern and eastern edges of Kobani.

The U.S. Central Command said Monday it had carried out 17 airstrikes near Kobani in the last 24 hours that struck IS infrastructure and fighting positions. Shami, the Kurdish journalist, said the remaining IS militants in eastern Kobani vacated quickly, leaving behind fresh food and heavy weapons.

"Their morale collapsed," he said by telephone as celebratory gunfire echoed in the background. Gharib Hassou, a representative of Syria's powerful Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, based in Southern Kurdistan, said most of the militants fled to the IS-controlled town of Tal Abyad to the east.

"There are a lot of dead bodies ... and they left some of the weapons," he said. Rami Abdurrahman, director of the Observatory, also confirmed Kobani was entirely in Kurdish hands. He said the Kurdish force was led by Mohammed Barkhadan, the Kobani commander of the main Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units, or YPG.

Barkhadan, a well-known militia commander, led an offensive in 2013 that ousted Islamic militants from the northern Syrian town of Ras Ayn, Aburrahman said. Retired Marine Gen. John Allen, the U.S. envoy for the international coalition fighting the IS group, had predicted in November that Kobani would be a defeat for the extremists.

The militant group "has, in so many ways, impaled itself on Kobani," he said in an interview in Ankara with the Turkish daily Milliyet. There also was joy across the border in Turkey, where Kurds set off fireworks and performed a traditional folk dance to mark the victory by their brethren in predominantly Kurdish Kobani. In Istanbul, police used tear gas and pressurized water to break up pro-Kurdish demonstrations in the city.

Shami said it was a triumph for the "entire world" that had come to Kobani's rescue. "It is a historic victory, when a small town like Kobani defeats a formidable criminal force like Daesh," he said.

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor in Washington; Suzan Fraser in Ankara; and Bram Janssen in Irbil, Iraq, contributed to this report.

Food enters Syria's besieged Homs city after local deal

16 January 2015 Friday

U.N. aid workers have started delivering food to tens of thousands of people trapped in a besieged district of Homs city in Syria following negotiations with warring parties, officials said on Friday.

In the absence of a nationwide peace deal, relief groups have tried to get localized agreements with fighters on all sides of the conflict to get convoys through to people in battle zones.

The United Nations did not give details of the Homs agreement but local opposition activists told Reuters there was a temporary ceasefire.

Food was sent to Al Wa'er on Thursday, Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'s World Food Programme, told journalists in Geneva.

"Following extensive negotiations between parties to the conflict, a first convoy carrying 8,500 family food rations were delivered to the besieged area of Al Wa'er," -- enough food for about 42,500 people for one month, Byrs said.

Two more convoys over the coming days will deliver food to 75,000 people, she added, 30 percent of the estimated quarter of a million people the United Nations says are trapped in besieged areas across Syria.

A U.N. official in Geneva said that the WFP rations were aboard an 18-truck convoy that also delivered some medical supplies and non-food items from other U.N. agencies.

Al Wa'er has witnessed an intensification of shelling and heavy clashes which prevented all access for humanitarian deliveries, WFP said in a statement.

Al Wa'er has been cut off for nearly two years by government forces, opposition activists say. Syrian state media said last month that aid was delivered to Al Wa'er "almost every month."

The U.N. peace envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has said he wants to start focusing on brokering "freeze zones," or local truces, in the northern city of Aleppo rather than a peace plan for the whole of the divided country.

"This is why ... we have put on the table the proposal of a freeze of heavy fighting in Aleppo, and eventually the return for a united, reconstructed Syrian city as it used to be because it is a symbolic microcosm of all of Syria," De Mistura told a news briefing in Geneva on Thursday, saying that Islamic State rebel forces were "only 20 miles away from Aleppo".

More than 200,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, which began in March 2011 with popular protests against President Bashar al-Assad and spiralled into civil war after a crackdown by security forces.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/153129/food-enters-syrias-besieged-homs-city-after-local-deal.

2,100 Syrians tortured to death in regime prisons

Saturday, 10 January 2015

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Friday that 2,100 Syrians had died in the prisons of the Syrian regime in 2014. The signs of torture appeared on many of their bodies, the observatory said.

The London-based SOHR stressed that the real number is much more than the 2,100 because that figure is only of those families who received bodies and death certificate from prisons.

UN investigators said in last March that they suspected there are war criminals in the units of the Syrian regime army and the armed militants involved in the 'civil war.'

They added that they were investigating reports of torture, killing and the starvation of prisoners inside the prisons of the Syrian regime. They said there were top intelligence officers on the list suspected perpetrators.

SOHR said that 76,000 Syrians were killed in the war during 2014, while the UN said that more than 200,000 have been killed since the beginning of the conflict.

A group of former war crimes prosecutors commissioned by Qatar to investigate possible war crimes in Syria reported in November 2014 that they had proof of systematic torture and killing of 11,000 Syrians inside the regime's prisons.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/16265-2100-syrians-tortured-to-death-in-regime-prisons.

Hamas declares opening of Gaza seaport

Adnan Abu Amer
February 4, 2015
Tyler Huffman

The siege on Gaza is tightening and living conditions deteriorate day by day. Voices are speaking out about the possibility of an implosion because of a lack of any glimmer of hope for Palestinians in light of the continuing closure of crossings and the lack of reconstruction.

Amid these disastrous conditions, Alaa al-Batta, the spokesman for the Palestinian Governmental Committee for Breaking the Siege in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, “The commission will launch ships from the Gaza port to a number of countries. A ship is prepared to carry patients and students, to be the first vessel departing from the port in the next two months. We have begun the necessary procedures in preparation for building the seaport that will connect the Gaza Strip to the outside world. We have received approval from several countries to begin implementing maritime trips.” He did not name the participating countries.

Al-Monitor learned from government sources in Gaza, who spoke on condition of anonymity, that Turkey, Cyprus and Greece were ready to receive ships coming from the Gaza port.

On Jan. 29, 2014, Palestinian factions in Gaza called for supporting the first maritime voyage from the Gaza port, and to challenge the siege imposed by Israel. Gaza is closed off, deprived of transport and communication with the outside world, resulting in a disastrous situation for thousands of patients, students and humanitarian cases.

Al-Monitor visited the Gaza port, where a banner was hanging that read: “The Port Authority: Gaza International Port.” Written beneath it was: “Project to establish Gaza Port facilities.” There were two additional banners that indicated a departure lounge and an arrival lounge.

Hamas has long fought for the completion of the port, and the issue was included in cease-fire negotiations during the Gaza war in July and August 2014. The movement engaged in tough talks with Israel, under Egyptian auspices, to obtain preliminary approval for establishing the seaport, but it was not achieved.

Hamas knows well that the port’s operation — which was technically inaugurated Jan. 25 — should pass through legal and political procedures with Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), so that the Gaza Strip can connect with other ports on the opposite shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Yet, Israel’s refusal of the terms of the truce pushed Hamas to make a unilateral decision — in agreement with the various factions in Gaza — to open the port on Jan. 25. This could provoke Israel, and no one knows how the latter will react to the departure of the first ship from Gaza without its consent.

Immediately after it was announced that work had begun to open the port on Jan. 25, Gaza's residents responded with varied comments. While some welcomed the move, others wondered how the port could operate without agreement from Israel and the PA. For his part, Ismail Radwan, a Hamas leader and former minister of religious endowments, told Al-Monitor, “Opening a seaport in Gaza is linked to the truce agreement concluded after the last war, yet the occupation was not committed to implementing the agreement. We call on the countries of the world to send ships to break the siege on Gaza and inaugurate a maritime route to the Gaza Strip.”

Meanwhile, Ashraf Abu Zayed, the spokesman for the Popular Commission to Break the Siege, told Al-Monitor, “The commission has agreed with contractors to carry out construction work, to actually start establishing the port. It will be Gaza’s window to the world, in light of the ongoing Israeli siege on Gaza. We’ve been in touch with a number of European ports, and they’ve expressed willingness to deal with the Gaza port.”

“We’ve contacted the French and Dutch port authorities to secure the $43 million they committed to the port project," Abu Zayed said. "The costs for the waterway preparations that are currently underway are minor amounts, gathered from businessmen and foreign aid convoys that arrived to Gaza in the past.” He also confirmed that several European states — including Turkey, Greece and Cyprus — were prepared to receive ships through the waterway.

Abdul Fattah Abu Shakr, head of the economics department at An-Najah National University, said France and the Netherlands had pledged $43 million to establish the Gaza port. These two countries had announced that they will finance the seaport’s construction works and train the port’s workers in 2000, before the Al-Aqsa Intifada erupted.

Hatem Abu Shaaban, an engineer and a Palestinian National Council (PNC) member, said in a report published in late 2014 that the operation of the port would provide 2,000 jobs, helping to reduce unemployment in the Gaza Strip. It would also increase revenue for the government, remove Israel’s hands from Palestinian imports and exports, attract businessmen from abroad, revive tourism, facilitate the movement of people to and from Gaza, and strengthen foreign relations with all countries of the world.

Hamas is well aware that Israel will not stand idly by if the Gaza port opens without security monitoring. The Israelis say that the Gaza port, if opened, would become a sanctuary for Iranian and Turkish ships. Moreover, they will not be able to control all the borders of Gaza, nor ensure that weapons and fighters not smuggled into Gaza.

Just hours after the Gaza war ended last Aug. 26, prominent Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahhar was asked if he expected Israel to prevent the operation of the port. “The Palestinian people will build the seaport and the airport without seeking permission from anyone. If anyone attacks our port, we will respond by bombing their port. And if anyone attacks our airport, we will bomb their airport,” he answered, referring to the rockets launched by Hamas toward Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport.

The PA has refrained from commenting on Hamas’ efforts to open the Gaza port. However, a senior official from President Mahmoud Abbas’ office, speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, said, “The PA is cautious of any effort that will separate Gaza from the West Bank, paving the way for the establishment of a mini-state outside the independent Palestinian state. So long as the port’s opening has not received official approval from the consensus government and the PA presidency, it will further the separation between Gaza and the West Bank — even if it succeeds in lightening the siege on the Gaza Strip.”

It seems that Hamas is moving forward to lift the siege on Gaza by all means possible after the cease-fire talks with Israel came to an end, and relations with Egypt were strained and the PA failed to open Gaza’s crossings to the outside world.

All of this may mean opening the door to a confrontation between Hamas and Israel, calling to mind the Turkish Mavi Marmara incident in 2010.

Source: al-Monitor.
Link: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/hamas-open-gaza-port-israel-reaction.html.

Palestinians hurl eggs at Canadian foreign minister's convoy

January 18, 2015

JERUSALEM (AP) — Dozens of Palestinian protesters hurled eggs and shoes at the convoy of the visiting Canadian foreign minister Sunday in a show of defiance toward Canada's perceived pro-Israel stance.

John Baird was visiting Ramallah to meet Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki when demonstrators pelted his convoy. The Palestinian protesters also held signs reading: "Baird, you are not welcome in Palestine" and "Baird, Jerusalem is our capital."

Baird later brushed off the protest, saying "I was in Mike Harris' cabinet for four years. I got a lot worse." Baird served from 1999-2002 as Minister of Community and Social Services in conservative Ontario Premier Mike Harris' government, implementing controversial policies to cut welfare rolls and crack down on fraud.

Baird defended his government's support for Israel, calling it "the only liberal and democratic state in the region." Canada has been one of only a few Western countries to stand by Israel as it has come under fierce international criticism over deadlocked negotiations with the Palestinians, the recent Gaza war and settlement building.

Canada opposes the Palestinians' attempts to reach statehood without direct negotiations with Israel as well as their recent bid to pursue war crimes charges against Israel at the International Criminal Court.

"We take the view that a peace process, progress is best made at the negotiating table and not through unilateral actions on the other side. We're proud of that position, we believe it's the best one and don't apologize for it," Baird said.

Activists from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party earlier had called for a boycott of Baird because of Canada's Middle East policies. "This person backs up the Zionist movement," protester Abdullah Abu-Rahmeh said. "This person diminishes the rights of our people, takes part and backs up building of settlements. We tell him that he's not welcome."

Baird is in the region for five days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials. In a statement, Baird described his meeting with Malki as "cordial and constructive" and said it included "candid and frank exchanges on areas where we differ in opinion."

Alluding to the ICC, Baird said he asked Malki to "strongly reconsider the consequences of moving forward with any action that may be counterproductive to a negotiated solution" with Israel. "A desire for a future of peace, prosperity, stability and security for both Palestinians and Israelis must drive both parties toward direct negotiations," he said. "Today, we reaffirmed our will to work together on these matters at this crucial time."

In a later meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Baird suggested there was a double-standard at work at the ICC, and that Palestinian militant groups would not be held accountable for attacks on Israel.

"In the current situation, terrorist organizations are not held accountable, and have a win-win situation — whether by terrorizing Israel's citizens, or making claims against Israel when it defends its citizens. It is for the international law to clarify what a state can do in order to defend its people from terrorism."

Spain's new leftist party: We're the No. 2 political force

February 13, 2015

MADRID (AP) — The leader of Spain's new far-left Podemos party says it's now the country's No. 2 political force behind the governing center-right Popular Party.

Pablo Iglesias also says his party owes much of its rise to what it calls the capitulation by Europe's Social Democrats to austerity policies that have angered many working class voters. The pony-tailed university professor says he agrees with efforts by Greece's new far-left government to ease harsh economic conditions imposed in return for European bailouts.

Podemos, which was launched last year, means "We Can" in Spanish. Recent polls have shown it ahead of Spain's Socialist Party as the country faces a general election late this year. Iglesias did not outline any specific economic proposals his party would enact at a press conference Friday.

Ukraine cease-fire deadline provokes bitter last-gasp battle

February 14, 2015

ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine (AP) — Russian-backed separatists mounted a vicious assault Friday in eastern Ukraine ahead of a weekend cease-fire deadline, pummeling a strategic railway hub with wave upon wave of shelling in a last-minute grab for territory. At least 26 people were killed across the region.

The fiercest confrontations focused on the government-held town of Debaltseve, a key transport center that has been on the receiving end of dozens of artillery and rocket salvos in the 24-hour period after the peace deal was sealed Thursday by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.

Associated Press reporters observed intense shelling Friday along the highway north of Debaltseve, which remains the town's only land link with the rest of government-controlled territory. The deadline for the warring sides to halt hostilities is Sunday at one minute after midnight. Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted Petro Mekhed, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, as saying that separatist forces had been tasked with hoisting their flags over Debaltseve, as well as the key port city of Mariupol, before the cease-fire takes hold.

Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said 11 soldiers have been killed and 40 wounded across eastern Ukraine since the agreement was reached in the Belorussian capital, Minsk. At least eight civilians also have died in government-controlled territory, regional authorities loyal to Kiev said, while the rebels said seven civilians were killed in artillery attacks on the separatist-held cities of Luhansk and Horlivka.

Shells landed Friday as far as Artemivsk, a government-held town 25 miles behind the front line. Associated Press reporters saw the body of a child killed after rocket fire hit a kindergarten there, and regional officials said the child and one other civilian died in the attack.

In recent days, separatist fighters have nearly completely encircled Ukrainian forces in Debaltseve, where all but a few thousand civilians have fled the fighting. Ukraine says Debaltseve should remain in government control under the terms of a September peace deal. A copy of that agreement leaked to Ukrainian media shows the town lying on the government's side of the line of division agreed by both the rebels and Ukrainian officials.

But even as Thursday's peace deal was announced, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appeared to disagree over the town's future. Putin said the rebels consider the Ukrainian forces there surrounded and expect them to surrender, while Ukraine insisted its troops have not been blocked.

On Friday, Ukrainian access to the sole highway linking Debaltseve to government-held territory looked to have been compromised with the apparent capture of Lohvynove, a village just to the north. AP reporters on Friday saw the smoldering remains of two Ukrainian army trucks on a road nearby.

The Donbass Battalion, a unit with Ukraine's National Guard that is engaged in battles around Lohvynove, said in a statement that captured combatants had confirmed that Russian troops were actively involved in the battles.

Moscow vehemently denies that it provides manpower and weapons to the rebel forces, but the sheer quantity of powerful weapons at the separatists' disposal belies that assertion. Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Friday that Moscow would act only as a guarantor in the peace process, and could not affect developments on the ground.

"We simply cannot do this physically, because Russia is not a participant in this conflict," Peskov was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, Russia circulated a draft resolution Friday in the United Nations Security Council endorsing the agreement and calling on all parties involved to carry it out. The Council is expected to vote on the resolution Sunday, hours after the cease-fire is to take effect.

Elsewhere, by the Azov Sea in southeastern Ukraine, government troops said they had retaken a handful of villages. Troops there have denied reporters access to those operations, which aim to push rebel fighters back from the government-held port of Mariupol.

The cease-fire is to be monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's observer mission in Ukraine. OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said in Kiev that he hoped hostilities would be halted by the deadline.

"We would really hope to see a decrease already between now and that moment," he said. Zannier said that combatants would have to do more to enable the OSCE peace-monitoring mission, which makes ample use of drone cameras, to properly fulfil its mandate.

"Aerial vehicles have been targeted more than once, monitors have been taken hostage, so we need a change of attitude," he said. The next step after the cease-fire is to form a sizeable buffer zone between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels. Each side is to pull heavy weaponry back from the front line, creating a zone roughly 30-85 miles wide, depending on the caliber of the weapons. The withdrawals are to begin Monday and be completed in two weeks.

Other thorny political questions, including a degree of autonomy for the disputed eastern regions, are to be settled by the end of the year. The peace deal envisions an amnesty for people involved in the conflict, but the vague terms of that provision will likely be provoke further disagreements. Speaking to parliament, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said amnesty would not be granted to anyone suspected of committing crimes against humanity.

"This is an absolute position that was unambiguously underlined during negotiations," Klimkin said.

Leonard reported from Kiev. Associated Press writers Alexander Roslyakov in Kiev, Laura Mills in Moscow, and Cara Anna at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Marathon talks produce Ukraine peace deal; cease-fire Sunday

February 13, 2015

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — The peace deal reached Thursday for Ukraine, if it holds, would be a partial win for both Moscow and Kiev: Ukraine retains the separatist eastern regions and regains control of its border with Russia, while Russia holds strong leverage to keep Ukraine from ever becoming part of NATO.

But neither side came away from the marathon talks unscathed. There's no sign Russia will soon escape the Western sanctions that have driven its economy down sharply, and Kiev's price for regaining control of the border with Russia is to grant significant new power to the east.

But the complicated calculus of whether any side came out truly ahead can't be determined unless a single, straightforward term is fulfilled: halting the shooting and artillery salvos that have killed more than 5,300 people since April. That is supposed to happen on Sunday, at one minute after midnight.

A cease-fire called in September never fully took hold and fighting escalated sharply in the past month. Questions remain about whether either side possesses the will or discipline to ensure a truce this time.

The cease-fire is to be monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's observer mission in Ukraine. But that "will probably go nowhere if there isn't a huge political will to beef up the OSCE, pull in many more monitors, give them clear support," said analyst Judy Dempsey, an associate of the Carnegie Europe think-tank.

The OSCE mission head, Ertugrul Apakan, said Thursday that he expected it would expand by the end of the month to about 500 observers, up from about 310 currently, the Interfax news agency reported. Under the terms of the deal reached after 16 hours of talks between the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France, the next step is to form a sizable buffer zone between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels. Each side is to pull heavy weaponry back from the front line, creating a zone roughly 30-85 miles (50-140 kilometers) wide, depending on the weapon caliber.

Then come the knotty and volatile political questions. While Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters the deal envisages special status for Ukraine's separatist regions, Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, maintained there was no consensus on any sort of autonomy or federalization for eastern Ukraine.

In addition, the agreement foresees the regions being able to form their own police forces and to trade freely with Russia, both of which would bring a degree of division and uncertainty within Ukraine that could be leverage to keep the country out of NATO.

Those measures would require constitutional reform, certain to be a highly fraught process. "Anything that has to go through the Ukrainian parliament has a huge question mark attached to it," said Eugene Rumer of the Carnegie center. "It is going to be the subject of a huge and very fierce debate in Kiev."

Only after such reform is passed would Ukraine's full control over its border with Russia be restored, according to the pact. Aside from the political resolution of the east's status, Ukraine also faces severe challenges with its troubled economy, which is close to bankruptcy. On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund agreed to give Ukraine a new bailout deal worth $17.5 billion (15.5 billion euros). The World Bank, meanwhile, announced it was ready to commit up to $2 billion to help Ukraine with reforms, to fight corruption and for other purposes.

Despite the uncertainties, the agreement's initiators saw it as a step forward. "We now have a glimmer of hope," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who brokered the talks in the Belorussian capital of Minsk together with French President Francois Hollande.

"But the concrete steps, of course, have to be taken. And we will still face major obstacles. But, on balance, I can say what we have achieved gives significantly more hope than if we had achieved nothing."

As for Putin, he told reporters: "It was not the best night of my life." "But the morning, I think, is good, because we have managed to agree on the main things despite all the difficulties of the negotiations," the Russian leader said.

Battles continued Thursday even as the talks went on, and Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Russia sent 50 tanks and a dozen heavy weapons overnight into Ukraine. In the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, residents who have seen their city pounded daily by artillery since late May were skeptical of the deal.

"We will see whether there will be a cease-fire or not," said resident Tatyana Griedzheva. "You have seen it with your own eyes, the kind of cease-fire that we have already had." A previous cease-fire in September was violated repeatedly as Ukrainian forces and the rebels both tried to gain more ground.

Poroshenko stressed that the pact contains "a clear commitment to withdraw all foreign troops, all mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine," a reference to the Russian soldiers and weapons that Ukraine and the West say Russia has sent into eastern Ukraine to back the rebels.

Moscow has denied the accusations, saying any Russian fighters were volunteers, but the sheer number of sophisticated heavy weapons in the rebels' possession belies that. Still, Merkel said, in the end, Putin exerted pressure on the separatists to get them to agree to the cease-fire.

"I have no illusions. We have no illusions. A great, great deal of work is still necessary. But there is a real chance to make things better," she said. In Brussels, European leaders said the cease-fire must be respected before any scaling back of sanctions against Moscow can be considered.

"Our trust in the goodwill of President Putin is limited," said EU President Donald Tusk. "We didn't discuss any new sanctions but we didn't decide also about postponing the sanctions." The French-German diplomatic offensive came as President Barack Obama considered sending U.S. lethal weapons to Ukraine, a move that European nations feared would only widen the hostilities.

"The true test of today's accord will be in its full and unambiguous implementation, including the durable end of hostilities and the restoration of Ukrainian control over its border with Russia," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.

The urgency felt by all sides was underlined by the extraordinary length of the talks, which began Wednesday evening and continued uninterrupted through the night as crowds of reporters waited anxiously in a marble-floored, chandeliered convention hall in Minsk.

While the four leaders hailed the agreement, Russia and Ukraine still disagreed on how to end the fighting around Debaltseve, a key transport hub between the rebels' two main cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Putin said the rebels consider the Ukrainian forces there surrounded and expect them to surrender, while Ukraine says its troops have not been blocked.

Heintz reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Peter Leonard and Balint Szlanko in Donetsk, Ukraine; Vladimir Isachenkov, Nataliya Vasilyeva and Lynn Berry in Moscow; Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Key sticking points in Ukraine peace talks: borders/buffers

February 11, 2015

MOSCOW (AP) — Significant differences remain between Ukraine and Russia as their leaders gather for crucial talks that aim to end the fighting between the Russian-backed separatists and government forces that has torn up eastern Ukraine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, who are brokering Wednesday's talks in Minsk, Belarus, hope for a comprehensive peace deal based on a much-violated September truce.

Here's a glance at the main sticking points at the talks:

WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE?

Ukraine says a new cease-fire deal must respect a division line agreed upon between the warring parties in September's peace agreement. Russia, however, wants to move that line back to include the significant territorial gains the rebels have made since then.

While the original Minsk agreement envisaged that each party pulls heavy artillery back 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the line of division, Hollande says the plan under negotiation would see a 50- to 70-kilometer (31- to 44-mile) demilitarized zone.

THE WITHDRAWAL OF FIGHTERS AND WEAPONS

Ukraine's key demand is that Russia withdraws its troops and weapons from the country. Ukraine and the West say Russia has fueled the insurgency with soldiers and equipment and accused it of breaching the original Minsk agreement that envisaged the pullout of foreign fighters.

Moscow denies the accusations and insists that the Russians fighting alongside the rebels are volunteers. The sheer number of sophisticated heavy weapons in the rebel hands belies that denial, however.

WHO CONTROLS THE BORDER?

Ukraine is demanding that it gets back control over its border with Russia and that rebels hand back border posts they have captured. It also wants the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to monitor the border to stem the flow of Russian troops and weapons.

Russia has allowed OSCE monitors at two border checkpoints, but said the OSCE needs to talk to the rebels to monitor other sections of the border. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Wednesday that border controls could only be fully restored after Ukraine gives a broad autonomy to the east, grants amnesty to the rebels and ends its financial blockade of rebel-controlled areas.

UKRAINE'S ASPIRATIONS TO JOIN NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin's fears that Ukraine will eventually join NATO triggered the current crisis and he will keep urging the West to guarantee that Ukraine will not become part of the military alliance.

The West says Ukraine has a sovereign right to determine its own future. Concessions on the subject are unlikely since the Ukrainian parliament dropped the nation's non-aligned status last month.

AUTONOMY FOR REBEL AREAS

The exact measure of autonomy for Ukraine's rebellious east is a major sticking point in the talks.

Russia has demanded that the Ukrainian government approve a wide autonomy for the separatist eastern regions, hoping that would allow Moscow to preserve leverage over its neighbor and prevent Ukraine from ever joining NATO.

Shortly after September's peace deal, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a law offering broad rights to the rebel-controlled territories, including local elections under the Ukrainian law and the ability to form their own police force. But the rebels rejected the law as inadequate and went ahead with their own local elections that Ukraine and the West dismissed as a sham.

PEACEKEEPERS

Russia has talked about the potential deployment of international peacekeepers to monitor the cease-fire, while Ukraine has remained cautious about the idea. Russia appears to want a peacekeeping contingent that includes soldiers from Moscow-friendly ex-Soviet nations like Kazakhstan, Belarus or Azerbaijan — something Ukraine reportedly opposes.

Fighting in Ukraine continues ahead of peace talks

February 11, 2015

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Shelling rocked a bus station in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk Wednesday as fighting continued to rage in eastern Ukraine ahead of crucial peace talks later in the day.

An Associated Press reporter saw one body and was told by rebel officials that another body had been recently removed from the scene. Donetsk city officials said in a statement that three people had been killed overnight.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko posted a statement on his website saying that he had made an impromptu visit to the war-torn region early Wednesday. Poroshenko stopped in the city of Kramatorsk, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the nearest front line, where nevertheless Kiev says 16 people were killed and 48 wounded in a rocket strike Tuesday.

"We demand an unconditional peace," Poroshenko said. "We demand a cease-fire, a withdrawal of all foreign troops, and closing of the border. ... We will find a compromise within the country." Poroshenko will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later for peace talks in Minsk, Belarus. France and Germany, who are brokering the talks, have called on the warring parties to refrain from hostilities that could derail the four-way summit.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said early Monday that "quite a number of problems remain" in negotiations aimed at ending the fighting. Fabius said that it was "very probable" but not certain that French President Francois Hollande would attend the talks.

He said difficulties remain on the future of embattled eastern Ukraine, guarantees about the Ukraine-Russia border near the area, and the prospects of a possible cease-fire, weapons pullback and prisoner exchange.

Fabius said the aim of the talks is to win an accord, but "not just one on paper." Ahead of Wednesday's talks, representatives of the separatists, Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe met for talks in Minsk.

These consultations were to continue on Wednesday afternoon, Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov told the AP. Asked whether any progress has been achieved already, Surkov said "it's too early to say."

Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus, and Laura Mills in Moscow contributed to this report.

Serbia tries to stop massive migrant exodus to EU

February 11, 2015

SUBOTICA, Serbia (AP) — Serbian security forces stepped up patrols and deployed an elite unit Wednesday on its border with Hungary, trying to halt a torrent of migrants that has triggered alarm in many European Union countries.

The last few months have seen a massive exodus of mostly Kosovo Albanians fleeing poverty and unemployment in search for a better life in the European Union. Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Residents must cross through Serbia to reach Hungary, a member of the 28-nation EU.

Serbian authorities say about 1,000 asylum seekers are caught daily by either Hungarian or Serbian border guards as they try to cross illegally through forests and freezing rivers. The migrants also include many Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis and others.

Some 23,000 asylum seekers reached Hungary during the first six weeks of 2015, compared to 43,000 in all of last year, Hungarian authorities said. Officials in Kosovo estimate at least 100,000 Kosovo Albanians have left since last summer.

"We want to earn some money to feed our children," a Kosovo Albanian man caught on the border Tuesday by Serbian police told The Associated Press. He refused to be identified by name, fearing legal consequences. "We don't see a future in Kosovo. ... Back home, there are no jobs. We cannot live."

Once migrants are inside Hungary, they can travel freely to most other EU nations. Many are seeking asylum in richer EU countries such as Germany, Austria, France or Sweden, and some even try to smuggle across the English Channel to Britain.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, on a visit to Hungary, described the figures as "truly alarming" and pledged that Serbia will do "everything possible" to stop the migrant flow. "This is a European issue and the European Union has to take this issue seriously," said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

Dusan Stojanovic from Belgrade, Serbia, and Pablo Gorondi, from Budapest, Hungary, contributed.

Polish farmers ride on Warsaw to demand government funds

February 11, 2015

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Hundreds of angry Polish farmers on Wednesday drove their tractors toward Warsaw, where their leaders were seeking government compensation for crops destroyed by wild boar, profits undercut by Russia's import ban and new market regulations.

The protest added to strikes held by coal miners in southern Poland, in objection to plans to cut jobs and benefits. The unrest appears at a time when Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, who took office in September, is criticized as being a weak government leader. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for the fall and Kopacz's center-right Civic Platform party is facing a serious challenge from the pro-social welfare opposition Law and Justice party.

Many farmers put hand-written "bank-owned" notes on their tractors, to suggest they need bank loans to run their farms. People along the roads waved to them as they drove toward the capital. In an agreement with police, they were stopped on the outskirts, not to block the city.

Radical farmer leader Stanislaw Izdebski left the talks, saying Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki wasn't offering to meet their demands. He warned of an escalation of the protest. Sawicki later said an agreement was reached with other leaders and farmer organizations to work in teams to solve the problems that include pork procurement prices falling under a Russian import ban, excessive costs of milk production and crops lost to wild boar and other wild animals.

"There are civilized ways of solving problems," Sawicki said. "Leaving the negotiating table solves nothing."

Greek archaeologists find couple locked in millennia-old hug

February 13, 2015

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Death did not part them.

Archaeologists in southern Greece have discovered the grave of a man and woman buried as they died some 5,800 years ago — still tightly embracing. A senior member of the excavation team, Anastassia Papathanassiou, says the discovery — made in 2013 and publicized this week after DNA testing determined each skeleton's sex — is the oldest of its kind in Greece. She says the couple most likely died holding each other.

Papathanassiou told The Associated Press on Friday that the remains of the couple, estimated to be in their 20s, were found near the Alepotrypa Cave, an important prehistoric site. It's unclear how they died and whether they were related, but Papathanassiou says further DNA testing should answer the latter question.

70 years after: Dresden bombing still fresh for survivor

February 13, 2015

DRESDEN, Germany (AP) — The Soviet troops were pressing into Germany from the east and the other Allies from the west, but for 12-year-old schoolboy Eberhard Renner the war seemed far away.

Dresden had been spared the destruction suffered by other cities like Berlin and Hamburg, and Renner clung to the hope that the Saxon capital would stay off the target list with the war so near its end.

Even as air-raid sirens started screaming 70 years ago Friday, Renner's father dismissed the attack as another reconnaissance mission. Then the bomb fell into Renner's backyard. It blew the thick oak door off the basement shelter where the family had taken refuge, slamming him and his mother to the ground. Somebody yelled that the roof was on fire, and they ventured out into the streets as the bombs rained down.

The Allied decision to firebomb Dresden — immortalized in Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Slaughterhouse Five" — has long been a source of controversy. At the time, the Allies hoped the bombing would hurt the Nazis where they would feel it most, and help force their capitulation. Some historians, however, said the destruction was a tragic waste of human life and cultural patrimony — with little to no effect on the outcome of the war.

By the time the raid was over, the city was littered with corpses and tens of thousands of Dresden's buildings had been turned to rubble, including its famous opera house and museums in the historic old city. The baroque Church of Our Lady appeared initially to have survived, but, weakened by the intense heat, it collapsed two days after the bombing under its own weight.

As Renner wandered the streets of Dresden after emerging from shelter, he saw a dead body for the first time in his life. In the days to come, he would see many more. Renner still remembers stumbling across the corpse of a woman in a street littered with bodies a week after the attack.

"She was burned to a cinder, had become very small, but her hand was held up and on it was her gold wedding band, shining, not blackened at all," said the 82-year-old retired architecture professor. "I will never forget this scene."

It was not just the bombs dropped by the waves of British and U.S. bombers that wreaked devastation. The fire made superheated air rise rapidly, creating a vacuum at ground level that produced winds strong enough to uproot trees and suck people into the flames. Many Dresden residents died of collapsed lungs.

Renner's family made it safely to the home of one of his dentist father's patients. They were able to stay the night and regroup. After that they moved in with an uncle. Nazi propaganda from 1945 put the death toll at 200,000 and after the war some scholars estimated as many as 135,000 were killed — more than the combined total of those immediately killed by the nuclear blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

After neo-Nazis began inflating the figure further, talking of 500,000 to 1 million victims of a "bombing Holocaust," the city established an expert commission to investigate. It concluded in 2008 that closer to 25,000 people were killed in the attack.

Whatever the number, Renner mourns the victims as friends, schoolmates and neighbors. Even if the Allies thought it would shorten the war, he said he thinks of the bombing as unjustifiable. "To sacrifice 25,000 woman and children, innocent people for that? That's a war crime," he said. "We started the war, but it is a war crime."

Rising reported from Berlin.

South African opposition disrupts president's speech

February 12, 2015

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Opposition lawmakers have interrupted South African President Jacob Zuma during an annual address to parliament, saying he should answer questions about a scandal over more than $20 million in state spending on his private home.

Zuma began his state-of-the-nation speech Thursday evening, but several opposition lawmakers rose to their feet to protest the president's purported failure to provide answers about the spending at his Nkandla residence.

Julius Malema, leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters, says Zuma should refund the money to the state. Zuma has denied any wrongdoing, saying government security officials controlled the spending project.

Earlier, the start of Zuma's speech was delayed because of opposition allegations that the cell phone signal in the parliament had been jammed. The signal was later restored.

South Africans mark 25th anniversary of Mandela's release

February 11, 2015

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nelson Mandela insisted that he wanted to walk out of prison, when then President F. W. de Klerk told him he would finally be freed 25 years ago.

On Wednesday, South Africans marked the anniversary of the release of Mandela who four years later became the country's first black president. Mandela was released on Feb. 11, 1990, after 27 years in prison. Holding the hand of his then wife, Winnie, the 71-year-old was met with crowds of euphoric South Africans. Mandela raised his clenched first, signaling his determination to end apartheid, the system of racial discrimination. It was a turning point in South Africa's history.

A few hours later Mandela delivered his first speech since he was sentenced to life in prison in 1964 after being convicted of treason for opposing white minority rule. Mandela emphasized the need for peaceful negotiation and consensus to rebuild South Africa.

"The need to unite the people of our country is as important a task now as it always has been," Mandela told thousands outside the Cape Town City Hall. The next day, Mandela flew to Johannesburg, where tens of thousands filled a soccer stadium, welcoming him home to Soweto, a blacks-only township where he once lived.

South Africans today are still inspired by Mandela's vision of a non-racial, democratic and prosperous society, current President Jacob Zuma said in a statement Wednesday. "This day ... marked a giant leap in the long walk to freedom, not just for Nelson Mandela but also for the people of South Africa," Zuma said.

Mandela, who died in 2013 at the age of 95, would have been proud of South Africa's achievements, but would have been disturbed by the continued instances of racism, said the last apartheid president F.W. de Klerk, marking the anniversary.

Boko Haram launches first attack on Chadian village

February 13, 2015

MOUNDOU, Chad (AP) — Suspected Boko Haram militants staged their first attack in Chad on Friday, hitting the third country outside their home base of Nigeria in recent days as the region beefs up its military response to the armed Muslim extremist group.

The assault took place in the village of Ngouboua on the shore of Lake Chad early Friday, and left a community leader, one Chadian soldier and at least two militants dead, Chad's military said. Boko Haram has threated any nation contributing to the fight against them. The nation of Chad is contributing the most military muscle to the effort, with its soldiers already attacking the insurgents in the countries of Cameroon and Nigeria.

"The assailants have scattered and the army is now pursuing them," Chad army Col. Azem Bermandoa Agouna told The Associated Press by telephone. Ngouboua is already home to nearly 3,300 refugees who had fled Boko Haram-related violence back home in Nigeria, according to the United Nations. The U.N. refugee agency said Friday it had heard reports of the deadly violence there and was investigating.

"Security is a major concern for all humanitarian agencies, and for the refugees themselves," the agency said Friday at a briefing in Geneva. Boko Haram's insurgency has forced some 157,000 people to seek refuge in Niger, while 40,000 others have gone to Cameroon and 17,000 are in Chad, the U.N. said. Almost 1 million Nigerians are internally displaced, according to the country's own statistics.

The United Nations special representative for West Africa said Friday that Nigeria's military needs to show "greater resolve" in the widening fight against the extremist group Boko Haram. "I think we all expect more from the Nigerian military," Mohammed Ibn Chambas said at the U.N.

Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin all have pledged to send military support though Chadian soldiers are already fighting Boko Haram militants inside Cameroon and Nigeria. The multinational force to fight Boko Haram is expected to be formally launched in coming weeks.

Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press reporter Cara Anna at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Russian Supreme Court upholds ban on hijab

11 February 2015 Wednesday

Russia's Supreme Court has upheld a ban on pupils wearing the hijab in schools, the Russian Legal Information Agency has reported.

The decision came Wednesday after the Muslim Tatar community in Mordovia appealed against the ban, which was approved by the Supreme Court of Russia's Mordovia region in October, 2014.

The court judge said: "The judicial board decided the supreme court of Mordovia's banning of the hijab in secondary educational institutions is to remain unchanged, and the appeal to overturn the decision is unsatisfactory."

In addition to hijabs, the regulation also bans the wearing of "religious symbols," piercings, mini-skirts, jeans and bright-colored hair in schools.

Mordovia is the second region in Russia to institute a ban on hijabs after Stavropol Krai, which banned the wearing of the head scarf in schools in October, 2012.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/world/154849/russian-supreme-court-upholds-ban-on-hijab.