Friday, December 14, 2012

UK pays $3.5m to settle Libya rendition claim - Africa - Al Jazeera English

UK pays $3.5m to settle Libya rendition claim - Africa - Al Jazeera English
A Libyan man who claims he was forcibly sent back home, along with his wife and children, in 2004 to face imprisonment and torture under Muammar Gadaffi's regime, has accepted a settlement of $3.5m from the UK government over its alleged role in his illegal rendition.
A British foreign office spokesman said: "We can confirm that the government and other defendants have reached a settlement. There has been no admission of liability and no finding of liability in any court."

Politkovskaya suspect to be tried separately - Europe - Al Jazeera English

A Moscow court has ruled against the relatives of murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, after they had
requested that one of the accused, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, not be tried separately from the rest of the defendants.

Pavlyuchenkov is accused of helping track Politkovskaya's movements to assist the killers.

The former police officer made a deal with investigators, confessing his guilt and revealing information about who ordered the crime in return for a closed court session and a sentence that can only be two-thirds the maximum punishment for such a crime.

Russia denies 'Syria regime falling' remarks - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Russia has denied that its deputy foreign minister said that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad was losing control of his country.
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday Mikhail Bogdanov did not say that "an opposition victory can't be excluded".
The statement said Bogdanov was simply citing the stance of the Syrian opposition while giving a speech on Thursday.

Putin warns of foreign meddling in Russia - Europe - Al Jazeera English

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has warned against foreign meddling in Russian politics and criticised opposition politicians of being in the pay of foreign interests.
"Direct or indirect meddling in our internal political process is unacceptable," Putin said in his annual state of the nation address on Wednesday.
Putin, who last year accused the United States of encouraging opposition protests and claimed foreign governments spend money to seek to influence elections, said Russians receiving money from abroad should be barred from politics.

Syrian opposition victory possible, but at unacceptable price – Moscow

A Free Syrian Army fighter aims his weapon towards a Syrian military warplane (not pictured) in Aleppo's al-Amereya district December 12, 2012. (Reuters/Saleh Anadani)

Moscow has admitted the possibility that the Syrian opposition may emerge victorious as government forces continue to lose more territory as the conflict rages on, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said.
“We must face the facts: the current tendency shows that the government is progressively losing control over an increasing part of the territory,'' Bogdanov told the Public Chamber. “An opposition victory can't be ruled out."

Battle over Internet: US web authority challenged - report

Delegates at the first morning session of WCIT 2012, Dubai U.A.E., 3-14 December 2012 (Photo from flickr/itupictures)

Several countries including Russia, China and Saudi Arabia are reportedly seeking to reduce US dominance over the Internet. If successful the move will empower governments to silently eliminate troublesome websites.

US Senate bill to make Europe less energy dependent on Russia

Published: 13 December, 2012, 15:32

A drilling rig operates as a sign warns of underground natural gas pipelines outside Rifle, Colorado, June 6, 2012. (Reuters/George Frey)

The US seeks to lift limitations on its LNG deliveries to Europe and strengthen competition in European energy markets. It’s to break the EU’s dependence on Russian gas, as “the Russians overplayed their hand”, says US Senator Richard G. Lugar.
“In the past, Moscow showed itself quick to use energy as a club to punish and coerce its neighbors — but the Russians overplayed their hand,” The Washington Times quotes Indiana Republican Richard Lugar.

Putin on Magnitsky Act: Why do those behind Guantanamo lecture us on human rights?

President Vladimir Putin (RIA Novosti/Mikhail Klimentyev)

Vladimir Putin has lashed out at the US’s Magnitsky Act dubbing it “a purely political, unfriendly move.” The President has approved the speeding up a counter list addressing American foster parents guilty of abusing Russian orphans.
“We should certainly react [to the bill] appropriately,” Vladimir Putin said, welcoming the State Duma’s initiative regarding the sanctions list against US nationals. “We should make sure that our decisions are adequate, but not exorbitant,” he underlined.

OPINION: Fighting back against the eurozone tyrants

Crisis countries in Europe must find more ways to tilt the market to produce more favourable outcomes for workers.

One thing eurozone crisis countries should begin doing is forcing property owners to lower rents for their housing and apartments by imposing a vacancy tax [EPA]

The eurozone crisis countries still have not developed a workable strategy for countering the policies being imposed by the troika - the European Central Bank (ECB), the IMF and the European Union. Their main problem is not profligate government spending, as fans of data everywhere have long known; the problem is an imbalance in relative prices between the crisis countries and Germany and other northern countries.

This imbalance is causing the crisis countries to run chronic trade deficits. Prior to the collapse of housing bubbles in the peripheral countries, this deficit was financed primarily through massive lending to the private sector in the crisis countries by banks in the northern countries. Since the collapse, the trade deficit has been largely financed with official lending to peripheral country governments. However, the core problem is the trade deficit, not government borrowing in the crisis countries.

Global economy 'set for sharp downturn'

Eurozone debt crisis "remains the greatest threat to the world economy at present", the OECD warns.

A potentially catastrophic budget standoff in US could threaten business activity around the world [GALLO/GETTY]

Global growth is set for a sharp slowdown next year and the eurozone debt crisis "remains the greatest threat to the world economy at present," the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned.

"Economic prospects are very uncertain and highly dependent on the risks associated with the nature and timing of policy decisions related to the euro area crisis, [and] the US fiscal cliff"

- OECD analysts

In its latest Economic Outlook, drafted on Tuesday before the eurozone and IMF unblocked almost $57bn (44 billion euros) in emergency loans for Greece, the OECD also cautioned that "the risk of a new major contraction cannot be ruled out" after a global slump in 2009.

Eurozone and IMF agree Greek bailout deal

Loans will be released to Greece in order to keep the near-bankrupt economy afloat and reduce debt by $51bn.

Workers across the continent are protesting against unemployment and spending cuts.

Anti-austerity demonstrators clashed with police in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy [AFP]

Workers across the European Union have launched an unprecedented string of strikes in a co-ordinated battle against austerity cuts on Wednesday.

The strikes are intended to paralyse factories and public sector offices, and have grounded more than 700 flights. Organisers are urging national leaders to abandon fiscal austerity measures and address growing social anxiety.

Walkouts are expected in Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy, with other protests planned in Belgium, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Italian students stage anti-austerity protest

Marches against education spending cuts fill Rome's famed avenues after leaders push through new economic measures.

Three student protests converged into one mass march in the Italian capital [AFP]

Thousands of students and teachers have marched through central Rome to protest against education spending cuts.

Saturday's demonstration comes as Mario Monti, the prime minister, pushed through "austerity measures"; raising taxes and reining in public spending, at a time when schools and universities say they desperately need more support.

"We need to fight for our rights. This government doesn't represent us and these austerity measures and all the cuts they've introduced are totally anti-democratic," Tommaso Bernardi, student protester, said.

'Good progress' made on Cyprus bailout

Government officials say they have reached 'in-principle' agreement with the troika on terms of a bailout deal.

Cyprus' President Demetris Christofias says his team and the troika had "reached a convergence" [Reuters]

Cyprus’ potential international creditors say they have made "good progress" in negotiations on a possible bailout for the crisis-hit country.

Despite earlier hopes that a deal was imminent, representatives from the so-called troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund said long-distance talks would continue on securing an agreement.

In a statement issued on Friday, the troika said that there had been "productive discussions" with Cyprus on the "policy building blocks of a macroeconomic adjustment programme."

EU budget talks end in failure

Tensions between rich and poor states and UK demands for austerity had set Brussels summit on rocky course from start.

A European Union summit in Brussels has wound up with "no agreement" sealed for the bloc's next long-term budget.

With the 27 heads of state and government bitterly divided over spending policy, there had been little hope of a deal on a trillion-euro budget for 2014-20 during the two-day summit.

"There is no agreement," one EU official said on Friday.

Tensions between rich and poor states and Britain's demands for austerity in the budget for the seven years from 2014 to 2020 had set the summit on a rocky course from the start.

German Chancellor warns another summit may be needed as EU diplomats say UK's "virulent" demands are blocking deal.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that she doubts European leaders taking part in a summit this week on the EU's 2014-2020 budget would reach an agreement.

Merkel's statements on Friday came as EU diplomats said that UK Prime Minister David Cameron's "virulent" demands for austerity measures were blocking a deal on the budget.

A day after talks on the nearly one trillion euro spending framework saw a rocky start with serious disagreements among officials in Brussels, Merkel said that another summit on the budget of the 27-country bloc would most likely be required at a later date, probably early next year.

The vultures swooping on vulnerable nations

Could vulture funds be turning their sights on troubled eurozone countries like Ireland and Greece?

Their critics call them vulture funds because they prey on vulnerable countries that have defaulted on their debts - usually poor countries in Africa. But this time, a vulture fund has swooped on the Libertad, a ship belonging to the Argentine navy and now docked in a port in Ghana. A court there impounded the ship at the request of NML Capital, which is owned by a US hedge fund called Elliot Associates and run by Paul Singer, one of Mitt Romney's supporters.
The dispute goes back almost a decade to when Argentina decided to default during its economic crisis.

French party in chaos over leadership row

Leadership crisis further divides France's UMP, with Francois Fillon alleging voter fraud and calling for a re-vote.

Jean-Francois Cope, who won the controversial vote, dismissed calls from his opponent for a re-vote [EPA]

France's opposition conservatives have sunken deeper into a leadership crisis that could split the party, as moderates demanded a new vote to replace the disputed election of a hardliner and formed a breakaway wing.

An appeals court in the northern French town of Douai has postponed a ruling on whether to annul pimping charges levelled against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund chief.

The charges are the last sex crime case against him in France.
The court, which was due to pass the ruling on Wednesday, set December 19th for the case known as the "Carlton affair" in France. It centres around allegations that business leaders and police officials in Lille operated a vice ring supplying girls for sex parties.

Hungarian MP denounced for 'Jewish list' call - Europe - Al Jazeera English

A call in the Hungarian parliament for Jews to be registered on lists as threats to national security has sparked international condemnation of Nazi-style policies and a protest outside the legislature in Budapest.
The parliamentarian, from the far-right Jobbik party, dismissed demands on Tuesday that he resign, however, and said his remarks during a debate on Monday had been misunderstood. Marton Gyongyosi said he was referring only to Hungarians with Israeli passports.

Court clears US airline over Concorde crash - Europe - Al Jazeera English

A French appeals court overturned manslaughter convictions against Continental Airlines and a mechanic for the July 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde that killed 113 people, ruling that their mistakes did not make them legally responsible for the deaths.
The crash hastened the end for the already-faltering supersonic Concorde, synonymous with high-tech luxury but a commercial failure.
The programme, jointly operated by Air France and British Airways, was taken out of service in 2003.

UN court acquits former Kosovo prime minister - Europe - Al Jazeera English

The UN Yugoslav war crimes court acquitted Kosovo's ex-Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and two aides in a retrial on charges of murder and torture during the 1990s war of independence from Belgrade.
"The chamber finds you not guilty on all counts in the indictment," Judge Bakone Justice Moloto told the Hague-based court, ordering the men released.
Judges in the retrial ruled on Thursday that there was no evidence that Haradinaj and two accomplices had taken part in such a plan.
The court's public gallery erupted in cries of joy as the acquittals were announced.
The proceedings were broadcast live on a giant screen in the Kosovo capital Pristina, where Haradinaj is considered a hero by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority who had high hopes of an acquittal.

France to support Palestinian 'statehood' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

"This Thursday or Friday, when the question is asked, France will vote yes," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced in the lower house of parliament.
The move recognises efforts made by Palestinian officials to establish a statehood bid for the occupied territory.

Russian mafia whistleblower found dead in UK - Europe - Al Jazeera English

A Russian businessman helping Swiss prosecutors uncover a powerful Russian fraud syndicate has died in mysterious circumstances outside his mansion in Britain.
Alexander Perepilichnyy had collapsed on a road early on the evening of 10 November, in the county of Surrey, southern England, in a chilling twist to a Russian mafia scandal that has strained Moscow's ties with the West.

Ukraine's Chernobyl site reaches milestone

Colossal arch-shaped structure created to shelter exploded reactor raised to its full height by decontamination workers.

Construction of a shelter at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant reached a significant step on Wednesday [AFP]

Work to build a permanent shelter to secure the exploded reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine has reached a key milestone when workers raised the arched section that will cover the destroyed unit.
The explosion at reactor number four at the Chernobyl power plant on April 26, 1986 sent radioactive fallout into the atmosphere that spread from the Soviet Union across Europe. It remains the world's worst nuclear accident.
The structure that was raised to its full height on Tuesday will be part of the so-called New Safe Confinement, a colossal arch-shaped structure which when completed will be slid on rails over the existing sarcophagus covering the reactor.

Farmers spray EU parliament with milk

Hundreds of angry farmers from across Europe protesting at falling dairy prices have sprayed fresh milk in Brussels.

Thousands of dairy farmers joined a demonstration to urge politicians to take action over the milk market [Reuters]

Dairy farmers sprayed thousands of litres of fresh milk at the EU parliament in Brussels in protest at what they say are excessive milk quotas and prices below the cost of production.
Hundreds of farmers from across Europe took up position with tractors in a park near the European Commission and at a square in front of the parliament building in the early afternoon on Monday, after blocking traffic along several of Brussels' busiest streets.
They then turned their hoses on parliament, a collection of vast marble, glass and steel buildings on a downtown city square, unleashing torrents of milk, some of it raining down on police and passers-by.
Afterwards, they set alight barrels of hay and a pile of tyres, sending plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky.
They planned to stay put outside parliament until Tuesday afternoon.

Milk quotas

The European Milk Board, which co-ordinated the two-day protest, said prices with current quotas were putting small
farmers out of business.

The EU is the world's largest milk producer and spends more than 40 per cent of its annual 130 billion euro ($173bn) budget paying subsidies and other forms of financial support to farmers, including those in the diary industry.In Belgium, for example, the board said the wholesale price for a litre of milk was 0.26 euros, but the cost of producing it is 0.40 euros.
It sets an annual milk production quota - which sits at around 130 million tonnes, too much for EU-consumption - but has agreed to phase that out by 2015.
Farmers have held similar protests in the past, including one in 2009 which led to a small increase in wholesale prices.
On Monday, tractors came from across Belgium as well as neighbouring France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Among a total of nearly 2,500 farmers, around 100 came from Poland, with many other nationalities also present.

Pretty amusing, but messing with the farms means no food.

Eurozone and IMF agree Greek bailout deal

Loans will be released to Greece in order to keep the near-bankrupt economy afloat and reduce debt by $51bn.

Greece will receive urgently needed loans to rescue its stricken economy after eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund agreed a deal on reducing the country's debt.
The agreement was reached on Monday after 12 hours of talks at the third meeting of the finance ministers and the IMF in as many weeks.
Lenders agreed on a package of measures to reduce Greek debt by $50bn, cutting it to 124 per cent of gross domestic product by 2020.
In a significant new pledge, ministers committed themselves to take further steps to lower Greece's debt to "significantly below 110 percent" in 2022.

This is the most explicit recognition so far that some write-off of loans may be necessary from 2016, the point when Greece is forecast to reach a primary budget surplus, according to Reuters.
"When Greece has achieved, or is about to achieve, a primary surplus and fulfilled all of its conditions, we will, if need be, consider further measures for the reduction of the total debt," Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany's finance minister, said.
Jean-Claude Juncker, Eurogroup chairman, said ministers would formally approve the release of a major aid instalment needed to recapitalise Greece's ailing banks and enable the government to pay wages, pensions and suppliers on December 13.

Eurozone unemployment hits record 11.6 percent

Unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high of 11.6 percent in September, official Eurostat figures revealed Wednesday, with more than 18 million people out of work. The new figures showed a rise of 146,000 unemployed over the previous month.

German police said on Tuesday that they had arrested a 37-year-old Frenchman wanted by Moroccan authorities in connection with the 2003 bombings in Casablanca, which left a total of 45 people dead. The suspect was detained at a Munich airport.

France pledges help for Syrian 'Revolutionary Councils'

The French government repeated its commitment to provide humanitarian aid and cash for the provision of basic services in rebel-held areas of Syria, as representatives of elected “Revolutionary Councils” attended a Paris conference.

By Yuka ROYER (video)
FRANCE 24 (text)

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Wednesday reiterated France’s support for Syria’s opposition movement at a meeting with elected Syrian Revolutionary Councils to which Paris has been providing direct aid for several months.

France, Germany clash on reform ahead of EU summit

European Union leaders arrived in Brussels on Thursday for talks on how to support the bloc’s struggling banking industry, with France and Germany already making it clear that they disagree on any proposed reforms.

By Yuka ROYER (video)FRANCE 24 (with wires) (text)

European leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday to discuss how to save the euro currency from collapse and support countries that are facing too much debt and not enough growth.
But the two-day summit promises to be just a small pit stop on the road to recovery, with few decisions expected. The leaders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union are set to focus on how to support their banking sectors.

Merkel pledges support for Greece on Athens visit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens on Tuesday that the “tough path” of punishing spending cuts will pay off, while thousands took to the streets to protest her visit.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece on Tuesday that the "tough path" of painful spending cuts will pay off, as tens of thousands of protesters massed in the capital in a show of anger against her visit to the eurozone's most indebted nation.

Iran says EU new sanctions are futile

Tehran says EU's new sanctions will not force any retreat on the country's suspect nuclear programme.

Last Modified: 16 Oct 2012 18:45

Feedback

Analysts say that EU sanctions will hit the value of the rial, but Iran will continue to trade internationally [Reuters]

Stringent new sanctions imposed by the European Union will not force Iran back into negotiations over its nuclear programme, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says.
European Union governments imposed sanctions on Tuesday against major Iranian state companies in the oil and gas industry, and strengthened restrictions on the central bank, increasing financial pressure over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Portugal unveils harsh austerity budget

Portugal revealed details of its draft 2013 budget on Monday, which included a raft of tax hikes and spending cuts. The budget, considered one of the harshest in recent history, comes just days after mass street protests against austerity.

The Portuguese government pushed ahead on Monday with a draft 2013 budget that includes massive tax rises and spending cuts, just two days after mass street protests against further austerity.
"The proposed budget is the only one possible ... we don't have any room for manoeuvre," Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar told journalists after submitting the budget bill to lawmakers.

I did 'everything’ to avoid war, Karadzic tells UN court

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic told the UN’s war crimes court for the former Yugoslavia on Tuesday that nobody could have foreseen the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica and that he “should have been rewarded” for trying to avoid war.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, on trial accused of some of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War Two, said he should be praised for promoting peace rather than charged with war crimes, an assertion hotly denied by some victims.
Karadzic is one of three Serb leaders brought to trial in The Hague for war crimes during the violent break-up of multi-ethnic Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1999, in which more than 100,000 people were killed and millions were displaced.
Now 67 and still recognisable by his shock of white hair, he began his own defence on Tuesday against charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and cross-examined witnesses himself.

Instead of being accused for the events of our civil war, I should have been rewarded for all the good things I've done.

Looking resigned but relax

Twitter may face legal action over anti-Semitic tweets

Following a wave of anti-Semitic posts on Twitter, anti-racism groups in France say they were looking at all legal options to target the authors of thousands of offensive tweets - and possibly Twitter itself.

By Tony Todd (text)

French anti-racist groups on Tuesday said they were launching wide-ranging legal action following a wave of anti-Semitic posts on microblogging site Twitter.

The move follows an explosion last week in the use of the Twitter hashtag #unbonjuif - meaning “a good Jew” - to spread anti-Semitic jokes online.
By October 10, the hashtag was trending third in France (meaning it was the third most popular tagged subject on the site in the country) and a deluge of offensive posts -- as well as tweets decrying the racist tone of many of the comments -- continued for days.

And with anti-Semitic hate crimes on the rise in France, organisations like SOS Racisme and the French Jewish Students Union (UEJF) said they were determined pursue those that took part through the courts.
“We are taking this extremely seriously,” said SOS Ra

UN condemns Syrian attack on Turkey

The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously condemned Syria's shelling of a Turkish town that killed five people, in a statement approved by all 15 council members, including Syria's most important ally, Russia.

The U.N. Security Council overcame deep divisions on Thursday to unanimously approve a statement condemning "in the strongest terms" Syria’s shelling of a Turkish town that killed five women and children.
Council members managed to bridge differences between the strong statement demanded by the United States and its Western supporters and backed by their NATO ally Turkey, and a weaker text pushed by Russia, Syria’s most important ally, after negotiations that began late Wednesday and continued through Thursday.
In the press statement, which needed approval from all 15 council members, the U.N.’s most powerful body said the incident “highlighted the grave impact the crisis in Syria has on the security of its neighbors and on regional peace and stability.”

TURKEY - SYRIA

Turkey approves Syria raids, but disapproves of war

It also extended condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Turkey.
The council demanded an immediate end to such violations of international law and called on the Syrian government “to fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors.” Russia’s agreement that the Syrian shelling violated international law was a key concession by Moscow.

Turkish Stocks, Currency Fall on Growing Tension With Syria

Published: Thursday, 4 Oct 2012 | 9:55 AM ET

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By: Reuters

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Turkish assets weakened on Thursday on investor concerns about increasing tension with Syria, after a mortar bomb hit a residential district in southeast Turkey, killing five people.

STR | AFP | Getty Images

Market sentiment deteriorated after Turkish artillery hit targets near the Syrian border late on Wednesday and early on Thursday afterartillery shelling from Syria killed five Turkish civilians.

The government won parliamentary approval to send soldiers to foreign countries if necessary.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Thursday, December 13, 2012