Colombia elects president in scandal-tainted race

May 25, 2014

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombians voted Sunday in a presidential election characterized by a clash of personalities and relentless mudslinging that have overshadowed differences on how to put an end to a half-century of guerrilla violence.

Despite presiding over one of Latin America's fastest-growing economies, support for President Juan Manuel Santos' re-election has been falling steadily for months, especially among poor Colombians who haven't benefited as much from the economic boom.

Amid fatigue with Santos' rule, former finance chief Oscar Ivan Zuluaga has emerged as the strongest challenger thanks to the backing of his one-time boss and mentor, the still-popular but polarizing former President Alvaro Uribe.

The last polls published a week ago placed the two in a dead heat, with about 29 percent support each, below the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a June runoff. The remaining three candidates trailed by about 20 percentage point.

The two conservative front-runners served simultaneously in Uribe's Cabinet, where they backed a free trade agreement and close anti-narcotics cooperation with the United States. Where they differ is on how to manage an 18-month peace process with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, that is the centerpiece of the president's re-election bid.

Santos, after casting his ballot early Sunday, said that whoever wins should continue to lead Colombia toward a deal with the country's largest rebel army. But concerns that rebel leaders, on the ropes after a decade-long US-backed offensive, will not be punished for any crimes have been fueling mistrust of the process that Santos' opponents have been quick to seize on.

Although Zuluaga says he too favors a negotiated settlement, he says if elected he'll give FARC negotiators in Cuba a week to demonstrate their commitment to peace by declaring a permanent cease-fire.

Zuluaga is also threatening to take a tougher stance on Venezuela, saying in a debate this week that he won't remain "silently complicit" as President Nicolas Maduro jails opponents and stamps out anti-government protests. Santos has been careful not to provoke the socialist president, calculating that extensive commercial ties with the country and relations with leftist governments in South America could suffer.

But those policy differences have largely been engulfed in the past two weeks by a string of bitter attacks and shocking revelations. It began with media reports that Santos' campaign manager, J.J. Rendon, received $12 million from the nation's biggest drug traffickers to help negotiate their surrender. Rendon quickly resigned after acknowledging he interceded in the case, though has denied taking any money.

Meanwhile, Zuluaga's campaign has been reeling over the arrest of a computer expert who worked for his campaign and is accused of hacking into the emails of the president and FARC negotiators. Zuluaga denounced the arrest as a desperate ploy to derail his campaign. But the emergence of a clandestinely shot video where the candidate listens as the alleged hacker outlines his strategy to undermine the peace talks have cast doubt on his claim that he had no knowledge of the consultant's allegedly illegal activities.

The tensions came to a head in a feisty exchange at a televised debate this week where Santos accused his rival of being Uribe's "puppet" and Zuluaga fired back: "You must show me respect." It's unclear if the last-minute feuding will affect voter preferences.

So far, none of the other candidates — former Bogota Mayor Enrique Penalosa , former Defense Minister Marta Lucia Ramirez and Clara Lopez of the leftist Democratic Pole party — appear to have capitalized on widespread disgust with the two better-funded campaigns. But after several polls in the 2010 election failed to predict a landslide win by Santos, few are certain of the outcome.

Regardless of who wins, the polarizing rancor unleashed by the race won't be easy to mend. "The entire political class comes out looking bad," said Ivan Garzon, a political scientist at the University of the Savannah in Bogota.

Malawi officials dispute president's vote order

May 24, 2014

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — Malawi's president, Joyce Banda, said Saturday she has nullified an election because of alleged irregularities and has ordered that a new vote should be held within 90 days. But a judge said her instruction was invalid, signaling uncertainty ahead for the politically fractious nation in southern Africa.

The dispute followed Tuesday's election, which was troubled by delays and other problems at some polling stations as well as scattered unrest. Banda was vice president and came to power in 2012 following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika.

Mutharika's brother, Peter, was a prominent challenger to Banda in the vote. Some of his supporters stoned shops and vehicles in the capital, Lilongwe, after Banda's announcement. Soldiers later patrolled the streets.

In announcing a new election, Banda said she would drop out of any new race for the leadership of the country, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid and has been troubled by a government corruption scandal.

"Malawians should elect a leader of their choice, but I will not take part in those elections," Banda said. A High Court judge, Kenyatta Nyirenda, said he had granted a stay order against the presidential proclamation, allowing vote-counting to proceed.

"She does not have powers under the Constitution to stop the elections," he said. Maxon Mbendera, head of Malawi's election commission, urged electoral staff to keep working in order to complete the vote count.

Malawi uses the first-past-the-post system, meaning that the candidate with the largest share of votes, no matter how small a percentage of the total votes cast, is the winner. Aside from the presidential vote, legislative and local elections were also held on Tuesday.

Thailand's junta bans all anti-coup protests

May 29, 2014

BANGKOK (AP) — More than 1,000 Thai troops and police sealed off one of Bangkok's busiest intersections Thursday to prevent a planned protest, as authorities said they would no longer allow any demonstrations against last week's military coup.

Truckloads of soldiers blocked all incoming roads to the capital's Victory Monument in a massive show of force at the height of evening rush hour in an area that serves as one of the city's commuter bus hubs.

More than a dozen police prisoner trucks were parked along the emptied roundabout, but there was little sign of protesters, who have come out almost daily to defy a ban on political gatherings. A Belgian man was detained for displaying a T-shirt saying "PEACE PLEASE," and two Thai women were taken away in a police truck after they showed signs with anti-coup messages.

The anti-coup demonstrations have been generally small and mostly leaderless but protesters had planned to gather Thursday and called for a mass rally on Sunday. Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung, the deputy national police chief, said the small protests would no longer be allowed. He said nine companies of soldiers and police — about 1,350 — were deployed in Thursday's operation.

"We know their rally is mainly for symbolic reasons, but it's against the law," he said. "We have to keep the law sacred." Somyot warned that if protesters change their tactics, "we are ready to tackle that."

Earlier, in another part of the city, about 100 students held an anti-coup protest on the campus of prestigious Thammasat University which ended peacefully. The large army deployment came a day after hundreds of protesters gathered at Victory Monument and outnumbered soldiers. Scuffles broke out in which water bottles and other objects were hurled at soldiers, and a green army Humvee was vandalized with large white letters reading, "NO COUP. GET OUT."

The mounting tension comes a week after the army seized power, overthrowing a government that won a landslide election victory three years earlier. The army says it had to act to restore order after seven months of increasingly violent political turbulence.

Earlier Thursday, the army told foreign media that it eventually plans to hold elections, but offered no time frame or roadmap for guiding the country back to democratic rule. "We neither have any ambition nor desire to cling to power," said Lt. Gen. Chatchalerm Chalermsukh, the army's deputy chief of staff.

"We will definitely have an election," he said. But he added, "this will take some time. If you ask me how long it will take, that's difficult to answer." The United States, a longstanding ally of Thailand, said Thursday there isn't a legitimate reason to delay elections.

"We urge the military council to facilitate an inclusive and transparent electoral process and we encourage them to do that soon," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington. In the past week, the junta has acted to silence its critics and has warned that it will not tolerate dissent.

It has summoned more than 250 people, including members of the government it ousted and other leading political figures, journalists, scholars and activists seen as critical of the regime. Roughly 70 people are still in custody.

Several political figures, mostly on the pro-government side, were held incommunicado for a week and freed only after signing waivers agreeing not to say or do anything that could stir conflict. Foreign news channels such as CNN and BBC have been blocked, and several Thai news outlets have been shut down or are practicing self-censorship. The military has said it will crack down on online speech it considers inflammatory. It denied responsibility for a brief and partial shutdown of Facebook in Thailand on Wednesday, but has begun targeting websites deemed threatening. Among those now blocked is the Thailand page of Human Rights Watch.

Pisit Pao-in, an official at the Information and Communication Technology Ministry, told reporters Thursday that the government would ask the popular Japan-based instant messaging service LINE to cooperate in blocking users who send material considered undesirable by the military regime.

The moves have been widely criticized by the international community. Chatchalerm cited the anti-coup protests as a reason that elections cannot take place immediately. "Today there are still protests. It shows that some people want to create turmoil. So it's impossible to hold elections at the moment," he said.

At the center of Thailand's deep political divide is Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister supported by many rural Thais for his populist programs but despised by others — particularly Bangkok's elite and middle classes — over allegations of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect for the monarchy. He was ousted in a 2006 coup and lives abroad in self-imposed exile, but held great influence over the overthrown government, which had been led by his sister until a court ousted her this month.

Despite the latest political upheaval, life has continued largely as normal in most of the country, with tourists still relaxing at beach resorts and strolling through Buddhist temples in Bangkok and elsewhere.

A curfew remains in effect, although it was shortened Wednesday to midnight to 4 a.m., from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. earlier. The curfew has not affected critical travel, including that of tourists arriving at airports.

Associated Press writer Jocelyn Gecker in Bangkok and Mathew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.

Thai troops detain gov't minister who blasted coup

May 27, 2014

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai troops detained a Cabinet minister who defiantly emerged from hiding on Tuesday to condemn last week's military coup and urge a return to civilian rule, in the first public appearance by any member of the ousted government.

About half a dozen soldiers took Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang into custody in a chaotic scene at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand in Bangkok, where he had just finished giving a surprise news conference.

The junta, which seized power Thursday, is already holding most top members of the Southeast Asian country's elected administration and has ordered the rest to surrender. Chaturon called for elections and warned that resistance to the army overthrow could grow, which could lead to "a disaster for this country."

When the news conference was finished and Chaturon was being interviewed by a group of Thai journalists, soldiers entered the room, surrounded him, and escorted him out through a crowd of reporters. Before being hustled into an elevator, Chaturon said: "I'm not afraid. If I was afraid, I wouldn't be here."

The military takeover, Thailand's second in eight years, deposed an elected government that had insisted for months that the nation's fragile democracy was under attack from protesters, the courts, and finally the army.

The country is deeply split between an elite establishment based in Bangkok and the south that cannot win elections on one side, and a poorer majority centered in the north that has begun to realize political and economic power on the other.

A "coup d'état is not a solution to the problems or conflicts in Thai society, but will make the conflicts even worse," Chaturon said. Chaturon said he told only a few people in advance of his appearance. He said he would not resist arrest or go underground, but since he does not "accept the coup, I could not report to those who staged it."

"I still insist to use my own rights and liberty to call for returning the country to democracy," he said. After declaring martial law May 20, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha invited political rivals and Cabinet ministers for two days of peace talks to resolve the crisis. But those talks lasted just four hours. At the end of the meeting, Prayuth ordered everyone inside detained, and announced the army was seizing power on state television almost immediately afterward.

Prayuth, who was endorsed Monday by the king as the nation's new ruler, warned opponents not to criticize or protest, saying Thailand could revert to the "old days" of turmoil and street violence if they did.

Still, small numbers of protesters have gathered on Bangkok streets in defiance of martial law. Several hundred people gathered Monday at Victory Monument and eventually dispersed on their own, vowing to return on Tuesday.

The junta has ordered more than 200 people to report to the authorities. Among them are scholars, journalists and political activists seen as critical of the regime. It is unclear how many are in custody, but some have been released, including former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who had already been forced from power by a court ruling before the putsch took place.

Others are being summoned daily, and some have fled or are in hiding. Human rights groups describe a chilling atmosphere with soldiers visiting the homes of perceived critics and taking them away in the night.

Prayuth said the army was taking people into custody to give them time "to calm themselves down" and none was being tortured or beaten. "When summoned, they will be asked about what they've done. ... If they are calm and still, they will be released."

Chaturon called the detentions "absurd" and said "they are taking people who have done nothing wrong just because they might resist the coup." "The problem is, we don't know how long they are going to be detained," he said. "I'm worried more about the people who fight for democracy and the academics. ... We don't know what happened to them. We don't really know."

Chaturon dismissed speculation that members of the ousted government and their allies could form a government-in-exile. But warned that "from now on there will be more and more resistance. ... It will be a disaster for this country."

He did not elaborate. The junta has yet to map a way out of the crisis, but Prayuth has said there would be political and administrative reforms. On Monday, he gave the green light for the Finance Ministry to seek billions of dollars in loans to pay debts owed farmers under a disastrous rice scheme instituted by the ousted government.

The junta has given no timetable for restoring civilian rule, and Chaturon said Prayuth "might want to hold onto power for some time." Prayuth, he said, has "assigned the generals to take care of the jobs at the ministries — the tasks they know the least."

Associated Press writers Grant Peck and Kay Johnson contributed to this report.

Thai army: Ex-PM, protest leaders held 'to think'

May 24, 2014

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's coup leaders said Saturday they will keep former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Cabinet members and anti-government protest leaders detained for up to a week to give them "time to think" and to keep the country calm. They also summoned outspoken academics to report to the junta.

The moves appear aimed at preventing any political leaders or other high-profile figures from rallying opposition to the military, which seized power Thursday after months of sometimes violent street protests and deadlock between the elected government and protesters supported by Thailand's elite establishment.

For a second day, hundreds of anti-coup protesters defied the military's ban on large gatherings and shouted slogans and waved signs outside a Bangkok cinema. Dozens of soldiers with riot shields stood nearby but so far did not move in to stop them.

Deputy army spokesman Col. Weerachon Sukondhapatipak said that all the detained politicians were being well-treated and that the aim of the military was to achieve a political compromise. "This is in a bid for everybody who is involved in the conflict to calm down and have time to think," Weerachon said. "We don't intend to limit their freedom but it is to relieve the pressure."

The country's military leaders also summoned an additional 35 people including more politicians, political activists and, for the first time, outspoken academics, to "maintain peace and order." It was not immediately clear whether they would be detained.

One of those on the list, Kyoto University professor of Southeast Asian studies Pavin Chachavalpongpun, said by telephone from Japan he would not turn himself in. He said that the summons meant that the junta felt insecure.

"The military claiming to be a mediator in the Thai conflict, that is all just nonsense," he said. "This is not about paving the way for reform and democratization. We are really going back to the crudest form of authoritarianism," he said.

Thailand's key ally, the United States, on Friday suspended $3.5 million in military aid and State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that Washington was reviewing a further $7 million in direct U.S. assistance. The U.S. also recommended Americans reconsider any non-essential travel to Thailand

Thailand's powerful military says it launched the coup to prevent more turmoil after two days of peace talks in which neither political faction would agree to step aside in their demands. The anti-government protesters have in recent months blocked streets in Bangkok demanding that the government step down over allegations of corruption and ties to Yingluck's brother, exiled ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was himself deposed in a 2006 military coup.

Populist parties affiliated with the Shinawatras have won every election since 2001 in Thailand. Thaksin still wields enormous influence over Thailand's political affairs and remains at the heart of the ongoing crisis.

It was unclear Saturday exactly how many political leaders were being detained by the army. Among the officials who showed up at an army compound in Bangkok on Friday were Yingluck, who was removed from office by a court earlier this month on nepotism charges, and her temporary replacement, Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan, according to Yingluck's aide Wim Rungwattanachinda.

Several Cabinet members as well as leaders of the anti-government protests have been held since Thursday's coup. Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang, an outspoken critic of the military's intervention in politics, remained in hiding. Chaturon said in a Facebook post that the coup would only worsen the country's political atmosphere. He vowed not to turn himself in, but said he would not resist arrest.

Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, criticized the detentions of political leaders. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged Thailand to "ensure respect for human rights and a prompt restoration of the rule of law in the country."

"The regime must immediately clarify a legal basis for this move and where they are. No one should be detained on the basis for their peaceful political opinions or affiliations," said Richard Bennett, Asia-Pacific director for Amnesty.

Krakow withdraws 2022 Winter Olympics bid

May 26, 2014

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Krakow is dropping its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics after residents voted overwhelmingly against the plan, the Polish city's mayor said Monday in the latest blow to a race already in disarray.

Almost 70 percent of voters opted against hosting the games in the referendum on Sunday. The turnout was nearly 36 percent, enough to make the vote valid. Krakow Mayor Jacek Majchrowski said he will inform the International Olympic Committee that he is withdrawing the city's bid.

"Krakow is closing its efforts to be the host of the 2022 Winter Games due to the low support for the idea among the residents," he said in a statement. "I regret that the referendum has put a definite end to ... the project that I considered to be very important for the development of the whole region."

Krakow proposed hosting the games together with neighboring Slovakia. Some of the events were also to have been held in Poland's Tatra Mountain resort of Zakopane. The candidacy was rocked in April when bid leader Jagna Marczulajtis-Walczak resigned following allegations her husband offered money to journalists in return for favorable stories.

Majchrowski said that under the leadership of Marczulajtis-Walczak the previous bid team had "squandered" the popular trust and backing for the project, while the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk did not show sufficient enthusiasm.

Krakow is the second city to pull out of the contest, after Stockholm withdrew in December because of concerns over the financial costs. The Polish city's withdrawal leaves four contenders in the 2022 field — Almaty, Kazahkstan; Beijing; Lviv, Ukraine; and Oslo, Norway.

Krakow's decision comes six weeks before the IOC executive board meets in Lausanne, Switzerland, to select a short list of finalists. With so much uncertainty, it's possible the IOC could be left with only two uncontested bids.

The fate of two other bids — Lviv and Oslo — also remains in the balance. Lviv's candidacy has been in limbo amid the political crisis in Ukraine. It's unclear whether Sunday's election of billionaire Petro Poroshenko as Ukraine's new president will allow the bid to go forward or not.

Oslo, which hosted the 1952 Winter Games, has faced large-scale public opposition to the bid and has yet to secure government financial backing. One of the two parties in the coalition government came out against the bid earlier this month.

IOC President Thomas Bach visited Norway last week and sought to shore up support for the Olympics, but no final decision from the government is expected until the autumn. Almaty and Beijing are the only two bids that have avoided turmoil. Beijing, which hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, is seeking to become the first city to stage both summer and winter games. Almaty, bidding for a second time, is the commercial capital of the oil-rich former Soviet republic in central Asia.

The instability of the 2022 race comes amid growing concerns over the costs of hosting the Olympics. Munich and Davos-St. Moritz decided not to bid for the 2022 Games after voters in Germany and Switzerland rejected the idea, respectively.

Potential host cities have been scared off by the $51 billion overall price tag associated with the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Much of that money went to long-term regeneration projects for the Sochi region, but that has not alleviated the concerns.

The situation poses a major challenge for the IOC and Bach. The German, who was elected president in September, is seeking to change the bidding process to put less financial and other pressures on prospective host cities.

The IOC will choose the 2022 host city on July 31, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

AP Sports Writer Stephen Wilson in London contributed to this report.

SpaceX Completes Qualification Testing of SuperDraco Thruster

Hawthorne CA (SPX)
May 28, 2014

SpaceX reports it has completed qualification testing for the SuperDraco thruster, an engine that will power the Dragon spacecraft's launch escape system and enable the vehicle to land propulsively on Earth or another planet with pinpoint accuracy.

The qualification testing program took place over the last month at SpaceX's Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas. The program included testing across a variety of conditions including multiple starts, extended firing durations and extreme off-nominal propellant flow and temperatures.

The SuperDraco is an advanced version of the Draco engines currently used by SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to maneuver in orbit and during re-entry. SuperDracos will be used on the crew version of the Dragon spacecraft as part of the vehicle's launch escape system; they will also enable propulsive landing on land. Each SuperDraco produces 16,000 pounds of thrust and can be restarted multiple times if necessary. In addition, the engines have the ability to deep throttle, providing astronauts with precise control and enormous power.

The SuperDraco engine chamber is manufactured using state-of-the-art direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), otherwise known as 3D printing. The chamber is regeneratively cooled and printed in Inconel, a high-performance superalloy that offers both high strength and toughness for increased reliability.

"Through 3D printing, robust and high-performing engine parts can be created at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional manufacturing methods," said Elon Musk, Chief Designer and CEO. "SpaceX is pushing the boundaries of what additive manufacturing can do in the 21st century, ultimately making our vehicles more efficient, reliable and robust than ever before."

Unlike previous launch escape systems that were jettisoned after the first few minutes of launch, SpaceX's launch system is integrated into the Dragon spacecraft. Eight SuperDraco engines built into the side walls of the Dragon spacecraft will produce up to 120,000 pounds of axial thrust to carry astronauts to safety should an emergency occur during launch.

As a result, Dragon will be able to provide astronauts with the unprecedented ability to escape from danger at any point during the ascent trajectory, not just in the first few minutes. In addition, the eight SuperDracos provide redundancy, so that even if one engine fails an escape can still be carried out successfully.

The first flight demonstration of the SuperDraco will be part of the upcoming pad abort test under NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capabilities (CCiCap) initiative. The pad abort will be the first test of SpaceX's new launch escape system and is currently expected to take place later this year.

Source: Space-Travel.
Link: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/SpaceX_Completes_Qualification_Testing_of_SuperDraco_Thruster_999.html.